Repentance and Laylatul Qadr

Listen Here: “Repentance and Laylatul Qadr” by Shaykh Zulfiqar Ahmad

Ramadan is going by so fast, tonight is already the 27th! It is the second to last night odd night, so it might be Laylatul Qadr (The Night of Power). Accordingly, here are some quick notes on a talk about Laylatul Qadr by Shaykh Zulfiqar Ahmad. It actually goes well (yes, certain talks go well together like biryani and raitha) with a recent talk by Shaykh Omar Hussaini called The Importance of Working Hard and Keeping Busy because he energizes you and motivates you to work hard, which is especially key in the last couple of days of Ramadan.

In the first half of this lecture, Shaykh Zulfiqar highlights the parts of the Quran in which Allah سبحانه و تعالى‎ establishes himself as forgiving. Allah سبحانه و تعالى‎ is the Most Forgiving, he loves to forgive. We should spend the nights of Laylatul Qadr in deep repentance. However, achieving forgiveness has conditions:

• The person should be ashamed and regret his sin.

• The person should not engage in that sin again even though he his capable of it.

• The person rids himself of that sin for the sake of Allah سبحانه و تعالى‎ (someone may seek forgiveness for gambling after losing a ton of money, but his aim is not Allah, he is just afraid of losing wealth)

• If the person has done something against another, he should first seek forgiveness from that person (if you engaged in backbiting, it is not proper to tell the person what you said about him, rather ask forgiveness in generalities: “Please forgive me for my mistakes”).

• The person should perform good deeds similar to the sins he committed (If he used to drink alcohol, he should spend extra time providing water to the thirsty. If he used to hurt others, he should spend time making them happy).

The Importance of Ramadan

Listen Here: “Ehmiyat-e-Ramadan” by Shaykh Zulfiqar Ahmad

Ok, so I haven’t attained consistency. It’s a work in progress. But I will be putting up notes on different Ramadan related talks this month insha’Allah. This is a talk by Shaykh Zulfiqar Ahmad in which he discusses Ramadan and the Quran.

Someone recites a wonderful nasheed in the beginning of the talk, here are some lines (poorly translated):

Sari dunya mein asa nazara nahin,                        There is nothing in the world like this,

Asa manzar zamanay mein dekha nahin,               The ages haven’t seen anything,

Jaisay manzar Madinay main moujud hai.               Like the scene in Madinah.

Hai nazar main jamal-e-habib-e-Khuda,                 The beloved of Allah is in sight,

Jiski tasveer seenay main moujud hai.                   The one whose picture is within my heart.

Ramadan is the month of patience, the month of forgiveness, and it is also the month of Quran. It is the month in which the Quran was revealed. Our fasts and the Quran have a strong connection; both will stand as intercessors on our behalf on the Day of Judgment. The Quran should be recited as much as possible throughout this month.

It was normal for the pious predecessors to read at least one full Quran (usually more) e v e r y d a y. It might sound unusual to us because we have never interacted with such people but they existed. It was easy for them because of their righteousness. The person who has loads of sins on his head will find it very hard to even read one page of Quran. The similitude of this person is like one who has an illness. A person with a fever will not be able to walk around, do work, or even eat. If that same person is healthy, then everything will be easy for him. In the same way, a person who is spiritually ill will find it hard to do spiritual works.

“Salah is heavy for those who lack khushu (presence of heart)”.  

We should pray to Allah to be among those who love the Quran, who love to read the Quran, who love to hear the Quran, who are impacted and changed by the Quran. The pious predecessors would fall in prostration crying upon hearing the Quran. When have we last fallen in prostration from the words of the Quran, much less in tears? Aisha رضي الله عنه reported that she saw the tears of the Prophet صلی اللہ علیہ وسلم fall to the floor while reciting the Quran. We have made our hearts so hard that hearing Allah’s words doesn’t induce tears. We have to sincerely request Allah سبحانه و تعالى to soften our hearts, we have to repent for our sins, and consistently do Istaghfar, do good works, and seek His mercy.

We should aim to make the Quran very close to our hearts this Ramadan, so much so that its recitation is the joy of our day.

“If someone wants to know how close he is to his Lord, let him find out how close he is to the Quran.”

My thoughts: Need to learn Arabic. It is essential in developing a lasting relationship with the Quran.