With the end of Ramaḍan fast approaching, this lecture by our noble brother Abu ʿUways, (may Allāh have mercy upon him), serves as a poignant reminder for the believers to make the most of what is left, and cling to the worship and obedience of Allāh like one would cling to a sinking ship seeking salvation.
This noble and blessed month of Ramaḍan is a month of mercy, a month in which Allāh accepts the tawbah of His servants; a month in which the doors of the fire are closed, and the doors of the Paradise are open for those who seek its abode. In it lies the opportunity to increase ourselves in the worship and obedience of Allāh and to correct ourselves for being neglectful during the year. To correct ourselves because the hearts have become as hard as stone, and some hearts have died, attaining no benefit at all, seeing the good as a munkar, (evil), and the evil as a good. They are not as they should be.
We are in dire need of a Ramaḍan in order rectify and mend our connection with Allāh (subḥānahu wa taʿāla). We are in need of a Ramaḍan because the relationships between brother and brother, sister and sister, and husband and wife are in a miserable condition; we need a Ramaḍan because of the ever present ẓulm, injustice done to one another through jealousy, envy, backbiting and slander; we need a Ramaḍan because that is the only thing that is going to bring us back together. We need a Ramaḍan so that we can increase in our generosity in aiding others when we have been neglectful, stingy and lazy throughout the year.
We are in severe need of Ramadan, so that we come into Ramaḍan with repentance, we come into it with regret, we come into it realizing that we are weak, that we need Allāh (tabārak wa taʿāla) to correct us, realizing that we are wrong and that we need Allāh (tabārak wa taʿāla) to place upon us that which is right, realizing that we are weak and that we need Allāh (tabārak wa taʿala) to grant us strength.
O Ahl al-Sunnah! For how long will you stay sleeping? For how long will you remain heedless? How long until you realise that you are in need of Allāh and this blessed month that comes with His infinite Mercy and Maghfirah? Do not let it slip through your hands; do not slow down in the race just as you are nearing the finish line, for indeed in these last ten nights, there is a night which is better than a thousand months, so let us strive and increase in our worship; for how many who were present with us last year, did not reach Ramaḍan this year, and how many that reached Ramaḍan this year, but through the qadr of Allāh, did not live to reach its end. Do not be heedless in what remains of this blessed month, for we may not live to see another.
