Ramadan Reminders 2025 – #14

Auto-generated transcript:

From the minds of my brothers and sisters, we continue with our reminders on Ramadhan Al-Kareem. Allah has been very kind. Allah has given us Ramadan. Allah has given us the ability and the tawfiq up to fast. Allah gave us the free time to spend in His dhikr, seeking His pleasure. This is the purpose for which we were created. Allah is giving us the opportunity to fulfill the purpose for which we are created. There is nothing bigger and more valuable than to live your life according to the purpose for which you were and I were created. A very important thing in Ramadan is to make goals and tell yourself and ask yourself, what are my goals in Ramadan? What am I going to do different and better from what I normally do? So, of course, obviously, normally we pray five times a day and we try to go to the masjid to pray those five prayers. If not five, then four or three or two or one at least a day. In Ramadan now, try to increase that. Try to increase that and say, well, I’m going to go all five prayers. Isha, of course, will go because of tarawih. But don’t make that Isha and tarawih into a social gathering. One of my very dear friends, Haider bhai, I lived in Hyderabad. He always says this. He says, people say, you are studying tarawih. No one asks you to study Fajr. This is very appropriate and very true. Because you don’t have to study Fajr. People ask, where are you praying tarawih? So that we can meet there. But they don’t ask, where are you praying Fajr? Because Fajr, you are praying. Fajr time you are sleeping, so you don’t want to be disturbed. Please, let’s get out of these habits and get into positive habits. So, say, for example, the habit of eating less. Ramadan must not become, you know, sometimes we say jokingly that in Ramadan we actually put on weight and that is true. I mean, it’s may Allah have mercy on us. A lot of people actually put on weight because you eat more in Ramadan instead of eating less. You eat all kinds of fancy stuff in Ramadan which normally you would not eat. So these are all very bad habits. So don’t get into that. Simplify your life. Ramadan has come to help us to simplify our life. Simplify your life. Eat less, sleep less, pray more, read more Quran, make more zikr, send more salat and salam on Rasulullah, peace be upon him, and keep targets for all this. What you do not measure, you cannot improve. This is the standard in quality control. So everything, metrics is everything. Everything must be measured. So, and we are talking about extras. We are not talking about, am I praying the five prayers? The five prayers we are praying, it’s like saying, am I breathing? There is no compromise on that. In addition to that, what am I doing? So, okay, maybe you say, I am praying Talaweeh. Alhamdulillah, excellent. You are praying Talaweeh. Are you praying the four till the Imam, which is Talaweeh plus wither and then to the end where the Imam ends or are you escaping midway? I used to call them racketeers, eight racketeers, and not the twenty racketeers. So, jokes apart, the point is that since Allah subhanahu wa ta’ala gives us a benefit that hasanat for every letter of the Quran that you read or listen to carefully, it’s well worth that. So make target for yourself. How much extra, extra, extra, extra, how much extra Quran will I read? How much extra salah will I, now, now I feel which is Talaweeh is one of them, and now I feel will I pray? How much extra dhikr will I do? How and especially the dhikr, salah and salaam on Rasulullah, he, salallahu alaihi wasalam, how much extra will I do? And then make this into your lifelong habit going forward. And then the following Ramadan, inshallah, maybe we try to increase that to make goals and targets for yourself in Ramadan, which inshallah help you and me to improve and become better human beings.