Title of Sermon: (So, Follow Their Guidance): The Guidance of the Righteous in the Last Ten Days.
Elements of Sermon:
The Virtue of the Last Ten Days.
The State of the Prophet ﷺ and the Righteous Predecessors during These Days.
I'tikaf is a Prophetic Sunnah.
The Greatness of Allah's Pardon.
Allah praise be to Allah, the Pardoner, the Most Forgiving, who accepts the good deeds from His servants, pardons their misdeeds, and I bear witness that there is no deity worthy of worship except Allah, alone without any partners, and I bear witness that Muhammad is His servant and Messenger. May Allah's peace and blessings be upon him, his family, and his companions, abundantly.
To proceed:
Fear Allah, O servants of Allah, with true piety, and be mindful of Him in private and in secret.
يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا اتَّقُوا اللَّهَ حَقَّ تُقَاتِهِ وَلَا تَمُوتُنَّ إِلَّا وَأَنْتُمْ مُسْلِمُونَ
"O you who believe, fear Allah as He should be feared and do not die except as Muslims."
يَا لَيْتَنِي قَدَّمْتُ لِحَيَاتِي
"Oh, I wish I had sent ahead [some good] for my life."
This is what person will say on the Day of Resurrection when he see with certainty that the hereafter is the true life, and everything else is but a fleeting mirage.
Servants of Allah:
Indeed, the provision for that everlasting and blessed life is one's righteous deeds, to which Allah guides them by His mercy.
Allah the Almighty says in a divine hadith: "O My servants, it is but your deeds that I account for you, and then I will recompense you for them. So, whoever finds good, let him praise Allah, and whoever finds other than that, let him blame no one but himself." Reported by Muslim.
And from the vast mercies of Allah, He has graced them with breaths of His mercy, doubling the rewards for their obedience, and opening the door of forgiveness for sins and misdeeds.
Among the great bounties of the Generous are the last ten nights of Ramadan, within which is the blessed night, the Night of Decree. And what can make you know what is the Night of Decree?
It is the night of forgiveness; whoever stands in prayer during it, in obedience to the Most Merciful, sincerely for Allah the Almighty, his previous sins will be forgiven.
The Prophet ﷺ said: "Whoever stands the Night of Decree in faith and hoping for reward, his previous sins will be forgiven." Reported by Bukhari and Muslim.
It is a night where the earth is filled with the angels of the Most Merciful, including the Spirit of Holiness, Gabriel, peace be upon him. What do you think of a night that the angels fill the sides of the world?
The Prophet ﷺ said: "The angels that night on the earth are more than the number of pebbles." Reported by Ibn Khuzaimah.
Therefore, the one who is deprived of the bounty of this night is truly deprived.
The Prophet ﷺ said: "This month has come upon you, and in it is a night better than a thousand months. Whoever is deprived of it is deprived of all good, and no one is deprived of its good except the deprived." Reported by Ibn Majah.
That night is of immense status and honor. Allah revealed in it the best of His books to the best of His messengers, for the best nation produced for mankind. That night, which Allah made better than a thousand months.
Indeed, it was from the wisdom of Allah the Almighty that He did not specify which night of the last ten; so that the servant strives in obedience to Allah throughout the ten.
Aisha, may Allah be pleased with her, said: The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said: "Seek out the Night of Decree in the last ten nights of Ramadan."
For this reason, the Prophet ﷺ exerted the greatest effort in the last ten nights, staying up its nights, and waking his family for prayer and remembrance.
Aisha, may Allah be pleased with her, said: "When the last ten nights began, the Prophet ﷺ would tighten his waistband, stay up the night, and awaken his family." Reported by Bukhari and Muslim.
And she said: "The Messenger of Allah ﷺ used to strive in the last ten nights more than he would at any other time." Reported by Muslim.
Thus were the last ten nights for the Messenger of Allah ﷺ, and so were they for the righteous predecessors, nights filled with prayer, remembrance, supplication, and Quran.
Al-Sa'ib ibn Yazid said: "Umar ibn al-Khattab ordered Ubayy ibn Ka'b and Tamim al-Dari to lead the people in prayer with eleven Rak'ahs. He said, 'And the reciter would recite with hundreds [of verses] until we would lean on sticks from the length of standing, and we would not leave until the approach of dawn.'" Reported by Malik.
And from the righteous predecessors were those who would bathe every night of the last ten, wear their best clothes and perfume, to be in the best and most beautiful state while supplicating to their Lord and Master.
Among the prophetic Sunnah in the last ten nights of Ramadan is the Sunnah of I'tikaf in the mosques. Abdullah bin Umar, may Allah be pleased with them, reported: "The Messenger of Allah ﷺ used to observe I'tikaf in the last ten days of Ramadan." Reported by Bukhari and Muslim.
I'tikaf is the devotion of the heart to Allah the Almighty, and the servant's turning with his heart, soul, and limbs to Allah the Almighty, not being distracted by anything other than Him. His only concern is seeking the pleasure of the Lord of the worlds. Your motto in your I'tikaf is: "And I hastened to You, Lord, so that You may be pleased." You pray to Him so that He may be pleased with you and thus, please you. Have you not heard His saying:
وَسَبِّحْ بِحَمْدِ رَبِّكَ قَبْلَ طُلُوعِ الشَّمْسِ وَقَبْلَ غُرُوبِهَا وَمِنْ آنَاءِ اللَّيْلِ فَسَبِّحْ وَأَطْرَافَ النَّهَارِ لَعَلَّكَ تَرْضَى
"And exalt [Allah] with praise of your Lord before the rising of the sun and before its setting; and during periods of the night [exalt Him] and at the ends of the day, that you may be satisfied"
O servants of Allah:
It is a turning in seeking closeness, so you may be among the foremost and the nearest, to attain solace and paradise of delight. You turn to Allah knowing that His attention to you is greater than your attention to Him. Have you not heard the saying of the Prophet ﷺ: "Allah the Almighty says: 'I am as My servant thinks of Me, and I am with him when he remembers Me. If he remembers Me to himself, I remember him to Myself; and if he remembers Me in a gathering, I remember him in a gathering better than it. And if he draws near to Me a hand's span, I draw near to him an arm's length; and if he draws near to Me an arm's length, I draw near to him a fathom's length; and if he comes to Me walking, I go to him at speed.'" Reported by Bukhari and Muslim.
You turn to Allah for companionship, for He, glorified be He, is the Companion of those who remember Him. What greater comfort is there than to delight your eyes with the remembrance of the Lord of the worlds and His supplication? You turn to Allah, beseeching Him to rectify your heart and purify your soul. It is a devotion of heart and soul, as reported from Ataa' Al-Khurasani, may Allah have mercy on him: "It was said: 'The example of the one observing I`tikaf is like a servant who throws himself at the threshold of his Lord and then says: My Lord, I will not leave until You forgive me, my Lord, I will not leave until You forgive me.'"
You turn to Allah so you may be among His allies, whom He loves, and they love Him. Has not the Lord of the worlds said in the divine hadith: "My servant does not draw near to Me with anything more beloved to Me than what I have obligated upon him, and My servant continues to draw near to Me with voluntary deeds until I love him. And when I love him: I become his hearing with which he hears, his sight with which he sees, his hand with which he strikes, and his foot with which he walks. If he asks Me, I will surely give him, and if he seeks My protection, I will surely protect him." Reported by Bukhari.
O servants of Allah:
This world is perishable, and what is with Allah is better and more lasting. So, let not the life of this world deceive you. It is but days that pass, and the world will leave us. So, take provision from deeds before the arrival of death. Allah the Almighty said:
وَإِذَا رَأَوْا تِجَارَةً أَوْ لَهْوًا انْفَضُّوا إِلَيْهَا وَتَرَكُوكَ قَائِمًا قُلْ مَا عِنْدَ اللَّهِ خَيْرٌ مِنَ اللَّهْوِ وَمِنَ التِّجَارَةِ وَاللَّهُ خَيْرُ الرَّازِقِينَ
"But when they saw a transaction or a diversion, [O Muhammad], they rushed to it and left you standing. Say, 'What is with Allah is better than diversion and than a transaction, and Allah is the best of providers'"
May Allah bless me and you with the Great Quran and benefit me and you with the verses and the Wise Remembrance. I seek Allah's forgiveness for me and for you, so seek His forgiveness. Indeed, He is the Forgiving, the Merciful.
Second sermon
All praise be to Allah, and may Allah exalt and send peace to the Messenger of Allah, his family, his companions, and those who follow him. Thereafter:
Fear Allah, servants of Allah, and be conscious of Him, obey Him and do not disobey Him.
O followers of Islam:
The Mother of the Believers, Aisha, may Allah be pleased with her, asked the Messenger of Allah ﷺ, saying: "O Messenger of Allah! What should I say if I know which night is the Night of Decree?" He said: "Say: 'O Allah, indeed You are Pardoning and You love pardon, so pardon me.'" Narrated by Tirmidhi.
How noble is this supplication that the Prophet ﷺ chose for that blessed night, and why not? For all goodness lies in Allah's pardon and well-being.
Indeed, sins and disobedience cast a veil over hearts, are poison in the bodies, a cover over sight, humiliation on the face, deprivation of success, complication of matters of goodness, and a reason for the descent of divine punishments.
Yet, Allah, the Exalted, is the Pardoning, His mercy precedes His anger, and His pardon is more beloved to Him than His punishment. He is the One who accepts repentance from His servants and pardons bad deeds. If He pardons His servant, He forgives his sin and erases all its traces in this world and the hereafter. And that, by Allah, is the great success.
O Allah, we seek refuge in Your pleasure from Your wrath, and in Your pardon from Your punishment, and in You from You, we cannot enumerate praise for You; You are as You have praised Yourself.
O Allah, support Your servants who strive in Your way, destroy the murderous Jewish criminals, and save Your weak servants with Your mercy.
O Allah, guide our leader to what You love and are pleased with, and lead him to righteousness and piety. Our Lord, give us good in this world and good in the hereafter, and protect us from the punishment of the fire.
Servants of Allah: Remember Allah much, and glorify Him in the morning and the evening, and our last call is that all praise is due to Allah, the Lord of the Worlds.
