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Acts of worship compared to rituals of man- made regligions?
Dear brother, there is a fundamental difference between the acts of worship and the rituals in man-made religions. In man- made religions, rituals are no more than whispers and certain movements done by worshipers in their temples. They are nonsense, but what about acts of worship ? Imam Shafi’i, may Allah have mercy on him, said: “Acts of worship are justified by the interests of the creatures.”
Ignorant people fast in Ramadan, but their fasting is a traditional and a social one. Fasting for some people is a kind of traditions and customs inherited from one generation to another. That is why you see bad things in Ramadan; vices, sins, open parties, feasts, meetings and spending nights watching T.V. This is Ramadan for people; it has become part of their folklore and traditions that have nothing to do with worship.
Implication of the following Ayat?
Almighty Allah says,"O you who believe! Observing As-Saum (the fasting) is prescribed for you as it was prescribed for those before you, that you may become Al-Muttaqun (the pious)"
“May” here indicated expectation. Allah the Almighty shows us the reason of fasting in the above mentioned Ayah:"So worship Me, and perform As-Salat (Iqamat-as-Salat) for My Remembrance. "
The purpose is remembrance:"Fall prostrate and draw near to Allah! "
The purpose is drawing near to Allah:"Verily, As-Salat (the prayer) prevents from Al-Fahsha' (i.e. great sins of every kind) and Al-Munkar (i.e. disbelief, polytheism, and every kind of evil wicked deed, etc.) and the remembering (praising, etc.) of (you by) Allah (in front of the angels) is greater indeed [than your remembering (praising, etc.) Allah in prayers, etc.]."
It prevents from Al-Fahsha' (great sins) and Al-Munkar. When you perform prayer you come closer to Allah, and you remember Allah the Most High. Thus, worshiping is justified and it has clear purposes.Sings of Allah’s Mercy on us:
Dear brother, the powerful who is not an educator give orders to sh3er without explaining why they should obey him. They have no right to ask why; just do what you are asked to do. However, when it comes to Allah it is a different case. Our Great Creator is Allah and we are His servants, yet, when He orders us to do something He gives us the reason or the purpose of doing so e.g. prayer: "Fall prostrate and draw near to Allah! "
The meaning of prayer is drawing near to Allah:"So worship Me, and perform As-Salat for My Remembrance. "
“One is only rewarded for what he/ she is aware of in his/her salat” "As-Salat is the Me’raj of the believer"
"As-Salat is purification; it purifies the heart from its sins"
It purifies us from the grudge, envy, arrogance, pride, and gossip, so it is a kind of purification"As-Salat is light"
The person who performs prayer has a vision. People act according to their visions, for example, when a man commits a crime, he does so because he thought that such a crime would bring him a great benifit, but he did not see that he would be hanged or arrested. All he saw was the fortune that he would enjoy for the rest of his life, forgetting all about the crime. Therefore, he is blind.In other words the most serious thing in life is work, which is based on vision, vision is based on light, and prayer is light. As a result, the one who performs prayer rarely commits big mistakes because he sees with the Light of Allah.
Look at the Favor of Allah:
Allah the Most High says:"Fall prostrate and draw near to Allah! "
He says:"So worship Me, and perform As-Salat for My
Remembrance. "
"Verily, As-Salat (the prayer) prevents from Al-Fahsha' (i.e. great sins of every kind, unlawful sexual intercourse, etc.) and Al-Munkar (i.e. disbelief, polytheism, and every kind of evil wicked deed, etc.) and the remembering (praising, etc.) of (you by) Allah (in front of the angels) is greater indeed [than your remembering (praising, etc.) Allah in prayers, etc.]."
The Prophet, may Allah’s Peace and Blessing be upon him, said,“One is only rewarded for what he/she is aware in his/her salat”
He said,"As-Salat is the Me’raj of the believer"
He said,“If the one who performs prayer knew Whom he/she is talking to, he wouldn’t stop parying”He said,
"As-Salat is purification."
He said,"As-Salat is light.",
And he said,"Relieve us with it Bilal. "
Look how acts of worship are justified; this is a Favor from AllahSuch are the acts of worship in Islam:
Fasting:"O you who believe! Observing As-Saum (the fasting) is prescribed for you as it was prescribed for those before you, that you may become Al-Muttaqun"
Az-Zakat:
"Take Sadaqah (alms) from their wealth in order to purify them and sanctify them with it, and invoke Allah for them. Verily! Your invocations are a source of security for them, and Allah is All-Hearer, All-Knower. "
Al- Hajj:"That you may know that Allah has knowledge "
Because of the Favor of Allah all of the ritual acts of worship are justified by the interests of people. Consequently, they are worships in the divine religions and in Islam.What about other religions?
Dear brother, how about the other religions?You may not believe it; those who achieved the top development in industry and technology in Japan, what do they worship? You may not believe it.
One of our dear brother lived there for a long time and he could enter their temples, what do they worship? They worship man’s penis. In India, they worship rats.
I saw a photograhic report in a French magazine about worshiping rats. They have big temples, armors, arrows, palaces full of rats. They worship them instead of Allah. What do people in North Tibet worship? They worship fire. How about people in Brazil? They worship waves. We are dignified and honored by Allah since we worship our Creator, the Creator of heavens and earth:
"O mankind! Worship your Lord (Allah), Who created you and those who were before you so that you may become Al-Muttaqun (the pious - see V.2:2). "
Gandi, the famous and greatest leader in India, said in an article that he preferred the cow to his mother. They worship cows. The cow is worshiped, and roads are closed for hours if a cow stands in the middle of a road. They made perfumes of its urine and dirt to be used in festivals. If a cow enters into a big grocery and eats the most expensive fruit, the grocer will be very happy, because his god visited him and ate from his grocery.
Ramadan as most people see it today:
Allah the Most High honored us by obeying Him, worshiping Him and drawing near to Him. Our worship is justified, we do not have rituals, but people who are far from Deen aare described by the noble Prophet- may Allah have His Peace and Blessings upon him- as"the camel, that was confined then set free. It had no idea why it was confined nor why it was set free. "They don’t know why they are fasting. Ramadan has become part of our folklore; this dancing party is for Ramadan, and these kinds of wines are needed for Ramadan…etc. This has nothing to do with worship, but we are believers and Muslims, praise be to Allah.
It is a golden opportunity:
Dear brother, fasting is a golden opportunity to reconcile with Allah.The Prophet, May Allah have his Peace and Blessings upon him, ascended the steps, and said: The Prophet, May Allah have His Peace and Blessings upon him, ascended the minbar, he said, "Amen, " then he ascended the second step and said, "Amen, " and he ascended the third step and said, "Amen. " His Companion- may Allah be pleased with them, asked him:" O Messenger, why did you say ameen? He said, "Jibreel came to me and said, May his nose be rubbed in dust (a sign of humiliation) , who attains Ramadan and is not forgiven by it, so I said: Amen”.
It is the month of worship, repentance, reconciliation with Allah, praying in Masjed, praying Night prayer, praying al-Fajr in the Masjed, and controlling the heart, the eye:"The one who satisfies his eyes by looking at something forbidden, Allah will fill his eyes with the fire of Hell. "
It is the month of controlling the tongue:
"The faith inside everyone can never stay straight unless his heart stays straight, and his heart can never stay straight unless his tongue stays straight. "
And the ears:
"On the Day of Resurrection, Allah will pour molten lead into the ears of whoever sits listening to a songstress."
This is the month of controlling the hand from hitting other people, the feet from going to a forbidden place, the house from committing a sin and the job from getting money illegally. It is the month of reconciliation with Allah and of true repentance; this is really an opportunity.
This is how Ramadan should be:
Most of you work in trade. If you borrow a big amount of money- let us say millions of pounds- and you cannot pay it back. You receive many phone calls to pay the money back, you are threatened if you don’t pay it back.Suddenly, someone tells you that you can keep the moneya and have a new start. Ramadan is like this; if you fast a true fasting, Allah will forgive your sins. That is to say if you fast, the past with its sins will be deleated; in one second all sins of the past will be forgiven. Moreover, when you perform Taraweeh prayer in Ramadan, Allah will forgive you. Ramadan is an extensive course for you that lasts for thisty days. What should we do in Ramadan?
Our lesson today is an introduction that will be completed later inshaa Allah.Some people fast like animals; they only abstain from eating and drinking during the days of Rmadan. Ramadan in this case is nothing more than a social month for parties, meetings, feasts, visits, satisfying desires, and watching the best T.V shows. It has become a social month and a month for the T.V shows.
We are Muslims, we need this month to be a month of worship. Therefore, it needs a total commitment, controlling the senses and the heart. The fasting that has to do with eating and drinking is not fasting, for the Prophet, may Allah have Peace and Blessings upon him, said:
"Whoever does not abandon falsehood in word and action, then Allah Mighty and Majestic has no need [i.e. will not accept] that he should leave his food and drink"
Who is the most miserable?
Dear brother, the most miserable person is the one who performs acts of worship without knowing that the purpose. For example, if a boss asks one of his employers to go to Aleppo and when this employer asks the boss, “What should I do there?” His boss says, “When you arrive at Aleppo, come back here.” He has no reason and no purpose. This boss must have a mental disorder, because there should be a purpose for every order. Allah the Most high orders us to abstain from eating and drinking throughout the day, why? He orders us to abstain from having sexual relation throughout the days of Ramadan, why? There is a logical reason.When Allah orders you to abstain from eating and drinking during the days of Ramadan though they are usually, He is training you to avoid doing what is forbidden. When you are able to stop doing what is allowed, definitely you can avoid doing the forbidden things. That is why Ramadan is the time of reconciliation with Allah:
"When a servant turns back to Allah, a caller calls those in the heavens and earth to congratulate him as he has reconciled with Allah. "
Ramadan is when you get back to Allah; it is the month of repentance:“Allah is happier with the repentance of His slaves than the lost one who finds his way, the sterile one who begets children, and the thirsty one who reaches a fountain of water.”
What is the point of giving this example?Allah the Almighty inspired His Prophet, may Allah have Peace and Blessings upon him, to give us the following example: A man was riding his camel carrying his food and drink. He fell asleep and when he woke up, he camel was lost. He felt sad and started to cry until he fell asleep once again. When he woke up, he found his camel in front of him. He was so happy that he didn’t know what to say, so he said, “O Allah I am Your lord and You are my servant.”
That is why the Prophet, may Allah have Peace and Blessings upon him, said,
"Allah’s happiness with his servant’s repentance is more than the happiness of this bedouine with his lost camel. "
That is the meaning of repentance.What are you supposed to do in Ramadan?
Dear brother, repentence should be achieved inshaa Allah. This is the first day in Ramadhan; turn with true repentance to Allah and reconcile with Him. Control your home and your job. You have control over these two circlesYou are the head of your family and you have control over your job, so you should apply Islam in these two circles. Once you do that, Allah will not ask you to do things out of your control. The noble ayah says,"Verily! Allah will not change the good condition of a people as long as they do not change their state of goodness themselves (by committing sins and by being ungrateful and disobedient to Allah). "
The Prophet, may Allah have His Peace and Blessings upon him said,"Whoever fasts Ramadan out of faith and exepecting reward from Allah, Allah forgives all his past sins. "
He said in another Hadith,"Whoever performs night prayer out of faith and expecting reward from Allah, Allah forgives all his past sins."
So, Night prayer in Ramadan is extremely important.Your life should be programmed according to Ramadan:
Dear brother, we should plan our daily life in Ramadan according to the program of Ramadan, we should not plan Ramadan according to our programs. In other words, we should not miss the taraweeh prayer one day because we have breakfast in a distant restaurant, or because we are invited to some relatives’ house…. Traweeh prayer is essential in Ramadan. You should be in a Masjid performing prayer and listening to the Noble Qur’an reauthord by Imam. The highest level of reciting the Quran is when you reauthor it or listen to the imam reciting it during prayer. So Ramadan is an opportunity.We don’t know if we would live till next Ramadan? No one does. Death ends the life all of a sudden, and the grave is the box of your deeds.
Ramadan is your opportunity to reconcile with Allah, to call yourself to account and get back to Allah to be purified of your sins like a new born baby. However, accomplishing these things requires a strong will to control yourself. Straightness is the basis of fasting, and I hope that we are all far from the social fasting which is part of folklore. For us, Ramadan is the month of worship, repentance, piety, forgiveness and being safe from hell. The more we are sure of Allah's forgiveness, the more we are keen to keep worshipping Him. O Allah, accept our fasting and save us from Hell.
Supplication:
Praise be to Allah, the Lord of the Worlds. O Allah send Your Peace and Blessings on our master Muhammad, the truthful and the honest. O Allah, give us and don’t withhold from us, honor us and don’t disgrace us, choose us and don’t turn away from us to sh3er, satisfy us and be satisfied with us. O Allah send Your Blessings on our master Muhammad, the Illiterate Prophet and his Family and Companions.
