الحمد لله، الحمد لله الذي جعل لإتمامِ رمضانَ فرحة، وعمّ سرورِ وبركاتِ عيدِه بسَنِّ زكاةِ الفِطرَة، نحمده تعالى ونستعينه، ونشكره تعالى ونستغفره ونستغيثه، نعوذ بالله من شرور أنفسنا ومن سيئات أعمالنا، من يهد الله فهو المهتد ومن يضلل فلن تجد له وليا مرشدا، ونشهد أن لا إله إلا الله وحده لا شريك له، له الملك و له الحمد، يحيي ويميت، بيده الخير، وهو على كل شيء قدير،  ونشهد أن سيدنا و مولانا محمداً عبده ورسوله، وحبيبه وصفيه، بلغ الرسالة وأدّى الأمانة ونصح الأمة، النبي الأمي الذي أرسله الله بالهدى والدين الحق، بشيرا ونذيرا بين يدي الساعة، صلى الله عليه وسلم وعلى آله وأصحابه ومن تبعهم بإحسان إلى يوم الدين.

أما بعد! فيا عباد الله اتقوا الله حق تقاته ولا تموتن إلا وأنتم مسلمون. يأيها الذين ءامنوا اتقوا الله وقولوا قولا سديدا يصلح لكم أعمالكم ويغفر لكم ذنوبكم. ومن يطع 

الله ورسوله فقد فاز فوزا عظيما. اتقوا الله فيما أمر وانتهوا عما نها عنه وزجر.

قال الله تعالى في كتابه الكريم: شَهْرُ رَمَضَانَ الَّذِي أُنزِلَ فِيهِ الْقُرْآنُ هُدًى لِلنَّاسِ وَبَيِّنَاتٍ مِنْ الْهُدَى وَالْفُرْقَانِ

 

Allah says in His Noble Book, tthe translation of which is, “The month of Ramadan is the one in which the Qur‘an was sent down as guidance for mankind, with Clear Signs containing guidance and furqan (discrimination).”

Muslims, the time of Ramadan is a special one as we have mentioned a number of times, for it is the month that Allah chose to send down His Eternal Words in the form of the Noble Quran to creation, and it is the month in which the gates of Heaven are thrown wide upon for its entire duration and the Shayatin are kept locked up in chains. Now, the month is coming to an end and we are wondering if we have made best use of it. Have we filled its times with what will benefit us here and in the Next World or have we squandered then? Have we benefitted and drawn closer to our Lord? These are questions every one of us must ask himself, and if you find yourself lacking, then take steps to remedy the matter before it is too late. 

The end of Ramadan is fast approaching - tomorrow could very well be the last day of fasting - and opportunities for taking advantage of its times are slipping away. If you have neglected Allah’s Book, then fill these next days with recitation; and if you have neglected to bring its nights to life, then fill these next nights with prayer. And even if you have strived hard throughout the month to gain maximum benefit from it, you must keep gong right to the end and not rest on your laurels now that the 27th night has passed. As Muslims, we know very well that the worth of an action lies in its seal and the payment for work is not received until the end of the day. So let us make the last part of our Ramadan the best part of our Ramadan. Let us not slacken and simply wait for the Eid to come and Ramadan to end, but let us reinvigorate our efforts and make these remaining precious moments count. Fill them with Qur’an, fill them with prayer, fill them with dhikr and of course, fill them with du‘a, for this month is one of the times when our duas are accepted, as is indicated by the fact that Allah says, in the midst of a number of ayas dealing with Ramadan and fasting:

 

وَإِذَا سَأَلَكَ عِبَادِي عَنِّي فَإِنِّي قَرِيبٌ أُجِيبُ دَعْوَةَ الدَّاعِ إِذَا دَعَانِ فَلْيَسْتَجِيبُوا لِي وَلْيُؤْمِنُوا بِي لَعَلَّهُمْ يَرْشُدُونَ

 

the translation of which is, “If My slaves ask you about Me, I am near. I answer the du‘a of the caller when he calls on Me. They should therefore respond to Me and believe in Me so that hopefully they will be rightly guided.”

Du‘a is ‘ibada, du‘a is a direct address to your Lord and, as such must be performed with the correct adab. You must never doubt for an instant that Allah hears your call and responds to it. Allah says: 

وَقَالَ رَبُّكُمُ ادْعُونِي أَسْتَجِبْ لَكُمْ

 

the translation of which is, “Your Lord says, ‘Call on Me and I will answer you.” And you must never become impatient for what you asked to happen - Allah knows what is best for you and when it is best for you, not you. The Prophet has said,

 

ما من مسلم يدعو بدعوةٍ ليس فيها إثمٌ ولا قطيعةُ رَحِمٍ إلا أعطاه اللهُ بها إحدى ثلاث: إمّا أن يُعجّلَ له دعوتَه وإمّا أن يدّخِرَ له وإمّا أن يكُفَّ عنه من السوءِ بمثلِها

 

“There is no Muslim who makes a du‘a to Allah for something that is neither sinful nor involves the cutting of ties except that Allah will give him one of three: either he will answer his dua quickly or he will store it up for him or he will ward off from an evil equivalent to the good he asked for.”

And, indeed, since du‘a is ‘ibada and the slave is being rewarded for every moment in which the du’a has yet to be answered, it is often better for the response to be delayed until the Next World. Yazid ar-Raqqashi said,

 

إذا كان يومَ القيامةِ عرض اللهُ تعالى كلَ دعوةٍ دعا بها العبدُ في الدنيا فلم يُجبْ بها، فيقولُ له: عبدي دعوتَني يوم كذا فأمسكتُ عليك دعوتَك فهذا الثوابُ مكانُ ذلك الدعاءِ، فلا يزال العبدُ يعطَى من الثواب حتى يتمنّى أنه لم يكن أجابه في الدنيا دعوةً قط.  

 

“On the Day of Rising, Allah will set before a slave every du’a He did not answer in this world, and will say to him, ‘My slave, you called on Me on such-and-such a day and I did not answer, so take this reward in exchange for that dua.’ And the rewards will keep on coming and will be so great that the slave will wish that none of the duas he made in this world had ever been answered.” 

And you must steer clear of allowing anything haram to pass your lips. The Prophet said when Sa‘d ibn abi Waqqas asked about his du’as not being answered,

 

يا سعدُ اجتنبِ الحرامَ، فإن كلَ بطنٍ دخل فيه لقمةٌ من حرامٍ لا يستجاب دعاؤه أربعين يوما.

 

“Sa’d, keep away from the haram, for the duas of anyone who allows even a morsel of something haram to enter his stomach will not be answered for forty days.” 

Other things one should do when one calls on Allah is to start by praising Allah and praying upon His Prophet and then make the dua as general as possible, for the more people one includes in one’s duas, the more likely there are those among them whom Allah loves, and by Allah accepting your dua for them, He accepts your dua for yourselves. So akthiru mina-dua - do dua much and mind its courtesies and perhaps they will be accepted.

Muslims, one of the great joys of fasting is in its breaking - gathering with one’s fellow Muslims at the end of a long day’s fast and together celebrating its successful completion. And just as that applies to its days, so too does it apply to the month as a whole, for the month of Ramadan is followed by a great day of joy and celebration - a day for all the Muslims - the Eid al-Fitr. This year, the Eid will fall on Sunday or Monday, depending on the sighting of the moon, so in preparation for that day, I would like to mention a couple of things. 

First, you must know that it is forbidden to fast on the day of the Eid, as has been mentioned in the hadith literature. 

Second, the Eid prayer is a sunna and after the Witr prayer, is perhaps the most strongly-stressed sunna prayer in the din. It is best prayed in a Eidgha or Musalla, such as a public park, since such a large public gathering of Muslims inspires awe and demonstrates their strength, but it is permissible to pray it in the mosque when there is a fear of bad weather. Such is the case this weekend, and so we will be doing the Eid prayer here in the mosque, inshallah.

Third, the Eid prayer should be attended by everyone, men and women, young and old. 

 

عن أم عطية أن رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم كان يُخرج الأبكارَ والعواتقَ وذواتِ الخدورِ والحيضِ في العيدين فأما الحِيضُ فيعتزِلْن المصلى ويشهِدْن دعوةَ المسلمين

 

Umm Atiyya narrated that the Messenger of Allah used to make the young unmarried women, older women, those who were secluded in the homes and even menstruating women go out for the Eid prayer. The menstruating, women, however, kept out of the Musalla and joined in the duas of the Muslims from afar.

Fourth, although it is permissible to pray the Eid prayer at time up to Dhuhr, the earlier it is prayed after sunrise the better. So we will be praying it at 8:30 am, inshallah.

Fifth, one should break one’s fast before coming to the prayer, preferably with dates or water.

 

عن أنس قال: كان رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم لا يغدو يومَ الفطر حتى يأكلَ تمراتٍ ويأكلَهن وِترا

 

Anas narrated that the Messenger of Allah did not used to go out on the day of Fitr until he had first eaten some dates, of which he would eat an odd number.

Sixth, one should raise one’s voice in takbir from the moment one leaves one’s house until the imam comes out for the prayer. Allah says:

 

وَلِتُكْمِلُوا الْعِدَّةَ وَلِتُكَبِّرُوا اللَّهَ عَلَى مَا هَدَاكُمْ وَلَعَلَّكُمْ تَشْكُرُونَ

 

the translation of which is, “You should complete the number of days and proclaim Allah's greatness for the guidance He has given you so that hopefully you will be thankful.” 

 

وَرُوي أن النبيَ صلى الله عليه وسلم كان يخرجُ يومَ الفطرِ والأضحى إلى المصلى رافعاً صوتَه بالتكبير

 

And it is narrated that the Prophet used to go out to the Musalla on the day of Fitr and that of al-Adha raising his voice in takbir. The recommended form of this takbir is:

 

الله أكبر ، الله أكبر، الله أكبر، لا إله إلا الله.

الله أكبر، الله أكبر، ولله الحمد

 

Seventh, it is recommended that one should have a ghusl, dress up in one’s best clothes, preferably wearing something new, and, in the case of men, put on perfume before coming to the Musalla. 

 

عن معاذ رضي الله عنه قال: كان صلى الله عليه وسلم يأمرُنا إذا غدونا إلى المصلى أن نلبسَ أجودَ ما نقدرُ عليه من الثيابِ لما في ذلك من إظهارِ النعمةِ والفرحِ والسرور 

 

Mu‘adh narrated, ‘The Prophet used to command us when we went out to the Musalla to wear the best clothes we could find, since that was one of the best ways of showing our happiness and joy and the blessings we had received.” This is one occasion you must not dress down for, for the day is all about taking pride in the blessings that our Lord has granted us.

Finally, one must not neglect the night that precedes the Eid. Although, there is no tarawih that night, still it is strongly recommended to fill it with dhikr and night prayers. The Prophet has said,

 

من أحيا ليلةَ العيدِ وليلةَ النصفِ من شعبانَ لم يمتْ قلبُه يومَ تموتُ القلوب

 

“The heart of anyone who brings to life the night of the Eid and the night of the middle of Sha’ban will not die on the day when the hearts die.” 

 

أقول قولي هذا و أستغفر الله لي و لكم و لسائر المسلمين من كل ذنب فاستغفروه إنه هو الغفور الرَّحيمالحمد لله الحمد لله رب العالمين، وأشهد أن لا إله إلا الله وحده لا شريك له وأشهد أن محمداً عبده ورسوله، صلى الله وسلم وبارك عليه وعلى آله وصحبه، والتابعين وتابعي التابعين ومن تبعهم بإحسان إلى يوم الدين.

أما بعد! فيأيها الذين ءامنوا اتقوا الله ما استطعتم واسمعوا وأطيعوا وأنفقوا خيرا لأنفسكم. يا عباد الله أوصيكم وإياي بتقوى الله وطاعته وأحذركم وإياي عن معصيته ومخالفته.

عَنِ ابْنِ عُمَرَ رَضِي اللَّهم عَنْهممَا قَالَ: "فَرَضَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهم عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ زَكَاةَ الْفِطْرِ صَاعًا مِنْ تَمْرٍ أَوْ صَاعًا مِنْ شَعِيرٍ عَلَى الْعَبْدِ وَالْحُرِّ وَالذَّكَرِ وَالْأُنْثَى وَالصَّغِيرِ وَالْكَبِيرِ مِنَ الْمُسْلِمِينَ وَأَمَرَ بِهَا أَنْ تُؤَدَّى قَبْلَ خُرُوجِ النَّاسِ إِلَى الصَّلَاةِ"

 

“The Messenger of Allah enjoined the payment of one sa‘ of dates or one sa‘ of barley as Zakat al-Fitr on every Muslim be he slave or freeman, male or female, young or old, and ordered that it be paid before the people went out to the ‘Eid prayer.”

 

بعث رسولُ الله صَلَّى اللَّهم عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ منادياً ينادي في فِجاجِ مكةَ ألا إن صدقةَ الفطرِ واجبةٌ على كلِ مسلم

 

And at-Tirmidhi transmitted that the Messenger of Allah sent out someone to call out in every street of Makka that Zakat al-Fitr was obligatory upon every Muslim.

As is clear from these hadiths, Zakat al-Fitr is obligatory on every Muslim, regardless of social status, age, sex or wealth although those who are so poor that they do not even have enough to meet their families’ basic needs for the day of Eid are exempt. So, the master of a household should pay it for every single one of his dependents, even one who was only born the previous day.

Zakat al-Fitr should be paid in the basic staple foodstuffs of the country in which a person lives, be that rice or pasta or dates or whatever else, on condition that it be a staple. This is the generally accepted position of both Maliki and Shafi’i madhhabs, although the Hanifis permit substituting the food for a cash equivalent. In paying zakat al-Fitr, one must, at the very least, give of the quality that most people are used to, but it is better to give food that you would be pleased to receive yourself, and best of all to give of the highest quality you can find.

The amount of zakat al-fitr that should be given for every person is a sa’ of the sa’s of the Messenger of Allah. A sa’ is four mudds or four double handfuls measured according to the size of the hands of the Messenger of Allah. That has been calculated as being approximately two kilograms of rice or grain. So, if you have a family of three, you should give six kilos and if you have a family of five you should give ten kilos and so on.

The best time to give Zakat al-Fitr is between the time of Fajr on the day of the Eid and the Eid prayer, although it is permissible to give it a day or two beforehand. In fact, in order to ensure that it is distributed before the Eid prayer, it is probably best to give it to the amir or the relevant authority the night before, any time after Maghrib. If you delay beyond the time of the Eid prayer, then you have missed the time of Zakat al-Fitr, even though you should still pay it. The Prophet said,

 

من أدّاها قبل الصلاةِ فهي مقبولةٌ ومن أدّاها بعد الصلاةِ فهي صدقةٌ من الصدقات

 

“If you pay it before the prayer it is accepted, but if you pray it after the prayer it is the same as any other sadaqa.”

As we just mentioned, it is best to give your zakat al-fitr to the amir or relevant authority in your community, since he is far likelier to know the condition of the people and who is in need and who is not. But you are permitted to give it directly yourself if you know of someone who is in dire need of it. You should be aware that zakat al-fitr is only given to Muslims, no one else, so if you want to be generous to poor non-Muslims whom you know, then do so from outside the zakat al-fitr.

The purpose behind Zakat al-Fitr is twofold: firstly, it acts to purify and cleanse a person’s fast of whatever filth and impurity might have become attached to it; 

 

عن عبد الله بن ثعلبة رضي الله عنه أن النبيَّ صلى الله عليه وسلم قال: أَمَّا غَنِيُّكُمْ فَيُزَكِّيهِ اللَّهُ وَأَمَّا فَقِيرُكُمْ فَيَرُدُّ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى عَلَيْهِ أَكْثَرَ مِمَّا أَعْطَى

 

Abdullah ibn Tha’labah narrated that the Prophet said (on zakat-ul Fitr): “As for the rich among you Allah will purify them, and as for the poor among you Allah will give them back more than they gave.”

And secondly it gives the poor sufficiency and enables them to share in the joy and happiness of the Eid without being forced to beg or ask for hand-outs. The Prophet said,

 

أَغنوهم عن طوافِ هذا اليوم

 

“Spare them the need of going around (begging) on this day.” And that is also the reason why Zakat al-Fitr should be distributed before the Eid prayer, so that those to whom it is given are able to cook it and make use of it on that day. We ask Allah that he accept our Ramadan from us, both our fasting and our prayer, and make it weigh heavily in the balance for us on the Day of Rising. We ask Him that He enable us to continue in the same vein and with the same himma after Ramadan and that He grant success to our community. We ask Him that He make the upcoming Eid a joyous occasion and that He shower His mercy upon us.

 

إنَّ اللهَ ومَلائِكَتَهُ يُصلُّونَ على النَّبِي يَا أَيُها الذينَ آمنوا صَلُّوا عَلَيْهِ وسَلِّمُوا تَسْليماً. اللهمَّ صَلِّ وسَلِّم وبارِك عَلَيْهِ وعلى آلِهِ وصَحْبِهِ  أجمعين. 

وارض اللهم عن الخلفاء الراشدين أبي بكرٍ وعمرَ وعثمانَ وعلي ، وعن سائر الصحابة أجمعين، خصوصا الأنصارَ منهم والمهاجرين، وعن التابعين وتابعي التابعين ومن تبعهم بإحسان إلى يوم الدين.

اللهم اهد ولاة أمور المسلمين لما يرضيك ولاتباع سنة نبيك صلى الله عليه وسلم  وثبت أقدامهم على الصراط المستقيم وأصلحهم يا رب العالمين.

اللهم بارك على شيخنا، و على أميرنا، وعلى جميع أمراءِ وزعماء المسلمين.  

اللهم بارك على المسلمين في هذه المدينة ووفقهم لما تحبه وترضاه يا أكرم الأكرمين. 

اللهمّ أَعِزَّ الْلإسلامَ والمُسِلمينَ (3)  واَخْذُلِ الكُفْرَ والكافِرينَ، وانْصُرِ المُجاهِدينَ في سَبِيلِ اللهِ. واجْعَلْ كَلِمََتَكَ هِيَ العُلْيَا وكَلِمَةَ الكُفْرِ هِيَ السُّفْلى.

ربنا ءاتنا في الدنيا حسنة وفي الأخرة حسنة وقنا عذاب النار. 

اللهم لا تضعْ في مقامِنا هذا ذنبا إلا غفرْتَه، ولا عيبا إلا سترْتَه، ولا مريضا إلا شفيتَهُ وعافيتَه، ولا مسجونا إلا طلَّقْتَ سراحَه، ولا مسافرا في برِّك وبحرِك إلا سلِمتَهُ وغنِمْتَه.

إن الله يأمر بالعدل والإحسان وإيتاء ذي القربى وينهى عَنِ الفحشاءِ والمُنكَرِ والبغي، يعظكم لعلكم تذكرون، ولَذِكْرُ اللهِ أكبر والله يَعْلَمُ ما تَصْنَعُون. وقُومُوا إِلَى صَلاتِكُمْ يرحمكم الله