Sermon's Title: Indeed, My Lord Is Near and Responsive
Themes of the Sermon:
1- Ramaḍān is the month of nearness.
2- Having great hope in Allah, the Near One.
3- Supplication to Allah is never lost.
All praise belongs to Allah, the One who answers supplications, forgives sins, pardons mistakes, and whose mercy is vast and immense. I bear witness that there is no deity worthy of worship except Allah alone, without partner. I bear witness that Muḥammad is His servant and Messenger. May Allah send abundant peace and blessings upon him.
To proceed:
Fear Allah, O servants of Allah, with true and sincere Taqwā. Be mindful of Him in private and in secret conversations. Allah says:
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 in a state of Islam.” [Sūrat Āl ʿImrān 3:102]
Servants of Allah,
Ramaḍān is the month of nearness—the nearness of mercy from our Lord, who is Near and Responsive. How miserable is the servant whom Allah distances during the very month of nearness!
One day, the Messenger of Allah ﷺ ascended the pulpit. When he climbed the first step, he said, “Āmīn.” Then he climbed the second step and said, “Āmīn.” Then he climbed the third step and said, “Āmīn.” Afterward, he said:
“Jibrīl came to me and said: ‘O Muḥammad, whoever reaches Ramaḍān and is not forgiven, may Allah distance him.’ So I said: Āmīn.” Narrated by Ibn Ḥibbān.
Allah, the Most Forgiving, has made the means of forgiveness easy for His servants in the month of Ramaḍān. Our Prophet ﷺ informed us:
“Whoever fasts Ramaḍān with īmān (faith and sincere belief) and iḥtisāb (seeking reward from Allah alone) will have his previous sins forgiven. Whoever stands in prayer during Ramaḍān with īmān and iḥtisāb will have his previous sins forgiven. And whoever stands in prayer on Laylat al-Qadr (the Night of Decree) with īmān and iḥtisāb will have his previous sins forgiven.” Narrated by al-Bukhārī and Muslim.
This is the nearness of forgiveness from the Most Merciful.
There is another form of nearness as well: the nearness of Allah in answering the supplication of those who call upon Him.
Have you not read that magnificent verse placed in the midst of the verses about fasting? Allah says:
وَإِذَا سَأَلَكَ عِبَادِي عَنِّي فَإِنِّي قَرِيبٌ أُجِيبُ دَعْوَةَ الدَّاعِ إِذَا دَعَانِ فَلْيَسْتَجِيبُوا لِي وَلْيُؤْمِنُوا بِي لَعَلَّهُمْ يَرْشُدُونَ
“And when My servants ask you concerning Me, then indeed I am Near. I respond to the call of the one who calls upon Me when he calls upon Me. So let them respond to Me and believe in Me, that they may be rightly guided.” [Sūrat al-Baqarah: 186]
He is Allah, the Near One. He is above His Throne, yet near to His creation as He wills. He is near to all of them with His knowledge, His encompassing awareness, His hearing, and His seeing. He is especially near to His believing servants—near with support, response, protection, and victory.
When a servant turns to Him, calls upon Him, and hopes in Him, Allah responds to him. Indeed, Allah turns toward His servant even more greatly than the servant turns toward Him.
If Allah is near to the one who calls upon Him and seeks refuge in Him, then He is even nearer to the fasting person when he supplicates.
The Prophet ﷺ said: “Three supplications are answered: the supplication of the fasting person, the supplication of the oppressed, and the supplication of the traveler.” Narrated by al-Ṭabarānī.
O you who fast for Allah with faith and seeking His reward, you are promised the acceptance of your supplications as long as you fast for His sake. He is the Near, the Responsive.
Who besides Him answers the distressed, removes harm, relieves the desperate, pardons slips, forgives the repentant, cures the sick, enriches the poor, returns the absent, mends the broken, guides the lost, removes anxiety, rescues from hardship, settles debts, opens the chest with peace, and grants well-being after trials? He alone is the Lord of the earth and the heavens.
O fasting ones,
The verses of the Qurʾān came as light, reviving hope in the hearts of the believers, so that their hope would cling to Allah, the Near and Responsive.
O seeker of guidance, call upon your Lord. He alone guides and is near. He alone can bring you out of misguidance and illuminate your heart after darkness.
Stand and ask Him for guidance as the Prophet ﷺ used to say: “O Allah, guide me among those whom You have guided.” Narrated by al-Tirmidhī.
If trials surround you and you fear slipping into sin, stand with sincerity and hope in your Lord, as Yūsuf al-Ṣiddīq stood and said:
رَبِّ السِّجْنُ أَحَبُّ إِلَيَّ مِمَّا يَدْعُونَنِي إِلَيْهِ وَإِلَّا تَصْرِفْ عَنِّي كَيْدَهُنَّ أَصْبُ إِلَيْهِنَّ وَأَكُنْ مِنَ الْجَاهِلِينَ
“My Lord, prison is more beloved to me than what they call me to. And unless You turn their plot away from me, I will incline toward them and be among the ignorant.” [Sūrat Yūsuf: 33]
Allah, the Near One, responded:
فَاسْتَجَابَ لَهُ رَبُّهُ فَصَرَفَ عَنْهُ كَيْدَهُنَّ إِنَّهُ هُوَ السَّمِيعُ الْعَلِيمُ
“So his Lord answered him and turned their plot away from him. Indeed, He is the All-Hearing, the All-Knowing.” [Sūrat Yūsuf: 34]
O repentant one filled with regret,
Stand before your Lord, acknowledging your sin and regretting your mistake. Say as Ādam (may peace be upon him) said:
رَبَّنَا ظَلَمْنَا أَنْفُسَنَا وَإِنْ لَمْ تَغْفِرْ لَنَا وَتَرْحَمْنَا لَنَكُونَنَّ مِنَ الْخَاسِرِينَ
“Our Lord, we have wronged ourselves. If You do not forgive us and have mercy upon us, we will surely be among the losers.” [Sūrat al-Aʿrāf: 23]
Ask Him for repentance and pardon, and you will find Him Pardoning, Ever-Accepting of repentance, and Forgiving. Is He not the One who said:
فَاسْتَغْفِرُوهُ ثُمَّ تُوبُوا إِلَيْهِ إِنَّ رَبِّي قَرِيبٌ مُجِيبٌ
“Seek His forgiveness, then repent to Him. Indeed, my Lord is Near and Responsive.” [Sūrat Hūd: 61]
O you who are surrounded by worries—how can you despair when Allah is with you, the One who alone removes all distress?
Has your Lord not told you the story of His servant Yūnus? Allah says:
وَذَا النُّونِ إِذْ ذَهَبَ مُغَاضِبًا فَظَنَّ أَنْ لَنْ نَقْدِرَ عَلَيْهِ فَنَادَى فِي الظُّلُمَاتِ أَنْ لَا إِلَهَ إِلَّا أَنْتَ سُبْحَانَكَ إِنِّي كُنْتُ مِنَ الظَّالِمِينَ * فَاسْتَجَبْنَا لَهُ وَنَجَّيْنَاهُ مِنَ الْغَمِّ وَكَذَلِكَ نُنْجِي الْمُؤْمِنِينَ
“And Dhā al-Nūn (the one of the fish, Yūnus) when he went off in anger and thought that We would not constrain him, then he called out in the darkness: ‘There is no deity worthy of worship except You. Glory be to You. Indeed, I have been among the wrongdoers.’ So We responded to him and saved him from distress. And thus do We save the believers.” [Sūrat al-Anbiyāʾ: 87–88]
O you who have been touched by harm—who have tasted the pain of illness or the humiliation of debt—do not despair. Your Lord alone removes harm.
Have you not seen how the Most Merciful removed harm from Ayyūb (may peace be upon him)? Allah says:
وَأَيُّوبَ إِذْ نَادَى رَبَّهُ أَنِّي مَسَّنِيَ الضُّرُّ وَأَنْتَ أَرْحَمُ الرَّاحِمِينَ * فَاسْتَجَبْنَا لَهُ فَكَشَفْنَا مَا بِهِ مِنْ ضُرٍّ وَآتَيْنَاهُ أَهْلَهُ وَمِثْلَهُمْ مَعَهُمْ رَحْمَةً مِنْ عِنْدِنَا وَذِكْرَى لِلْعَابِدِينَ
“And Ayyūb, when he called upon his Lord: ‘Indeed, harm has touched me, and You are the Most Merciful of the merciful.’ So We responded to him, removed the harm that was upon him, and restored his family to him and the like of them with them, as a mercy from Us and a reminder for the worshippers.” [Sūrat al-Anbiyāʾ: 83–84]
O you whose soul longs for a child to bring comfort, whose hope has been cut off and whose heart feels empty of expectation—do not despair. The treasures of Allah are full and never exhausted.
Have you not heard of Zakariyyā, peace be upon him?
A noble prophet who had reached extreme old age, his bones weakened and his hair blazing white with gray—yet he never despaired of the mercy of Allah. He stood calling upon his Lord in a quiet, humble voice, speaking as a poor and weak servant who has no refuge except in Allah:
ربِّ إِنِّي وَهَنَ الْعَظْمُ مِنِّي وَاشْتَعَلَ الرَّأْسُ شَيْبًا وَلَمْ أَكُنْ بِدُعَائِكَ رَبِّ شَقِيًّا * وَإِنِّي خِفْتُ الْمَوَالِيَ مِنْ وَرَائِي وَكَانَتِ امْرَأَتِي عَاقِرًا فَهَبْ لِي مِنْ لَدُنْكَ وَلِيًّا * يَرِثُنِي وَيَرِثُ مِنْ آلِ يَعْقُوبَ وَاجْعَلْهُ رَبِّ رَضِيًّا
“My Lord, indeed my bones have grown weak, and my head has flared with gray, yet I have never been disappointed in my supplication to You, my Lord. And I fear what will come after me from my relatives, and my wife has been barren, so grant me from Yourself an heir—who will inherit from me and inherit from the family of Yaʿqūb, and make him, my Lord, pleasing to You.” [Sūrat Maryam: 4–6]
Allah answered his supplication and gave him more than he asked for. Allah says:
فَاسْتَجَبْنَا لَهُ وَوَهَبْنَا لَهُ يَحْيَى وَأَصْلَحْنَا لَهُ زَوْجَهُ إِنَّهُمْ كَانُوا يُسَارِعُونَ فِي الْخَيْرَاتِ وَيَدْعُونَنَا رَغَبًا وَرَهَبًا وَكَانُوا لَنَا خَاشِعِينَ
“So We responded to him and granted him Yaḥyā, and We made his wife suitable for him. Indeed, they used to hasten toward good deeds and call upon Us with hope and fear, and they were humble before Us.” [Sūrat al-Anbiyāʾ: 90]
Servants of Allah,
We need to truly feel who Allah is when we call upon Him. We need to remind our hearts, when we say “O Allah” and “Our Lord,” who is the One we are hoping in and calling upon.
The Prophet ﷺ advised us: “Call upon Allah while you are certain of being answered, and know that Allah does not respond to a supplication from a heedless, distracted heart.” Narrated by al-Tirmidhī.
Feel that you are calling upon Allah, the All-Hearing, the All-Knowing. He hears your supplication even if your voice is faint, and He knows your need even if grief has left you silent.
Our Prophet ﷺ informed us about his Lord and said: “O people, be gentle with yourselves. You are not calling upon One who is deaf or absent. He is with you. Indeed, He is All-Hearing and Near. Blessed is His Name and Exalted is His Majesty.” Narrated by al-Bukhārī and Muslim.
Feel that you are asking the One who owns everything. To Him belong the treasures of the heavens and the earth. Sovereignty belongs to Him alone. Nothing is beyond His power, and everything is easy for Him. Allah says:
وَإِنْ مِنْ شَيْءٍ إِلَّا عِنْدَنَا خَزَائِنُهُ
“There is nothing except that its treasures are with Us.” [Sūrat al-Ḥijr: 21]
Zakariyyā, peace be upon him, was amazed when he was given the glad tidings of Yaḥyā. He said:
رَبِّ أَنَّى يَكُونُ لِي غُلَامٌ وَكَانَتِ امْرَأَتِي عَاقِرًا وَقَدْ بَلَغْتُ مِنَ الْكِبَرِ عِتِيًّا
“My Lord, how can I have a boy when my wife is barren and I have reached extreme old age?” [Sūrat Maryam: 8]
Allah answered him:
كَذَلِكَ قَالَ رَبُّكَ هُوَ عَلَيَّ هَيِّنٌ وَقَدْ خَلَقْتُكَ مِنْ قَبْلُ وَلَمْ تَكُ شَيْئًا
“Thus said your Lord: It is easy for Me, and I created you before when you were nothing.” [Sūrat Maryam: 9]
Feel that you are asking a Lord who is Rich beyond need, who provides to whom He wills without measure. He gives greater, better, and more than what is asked. He does not fear poverty, and His treasures never decrease.
Is He not the One who said in the divine ḥadīth (a sacred narration in which Allah speaks, reported by the Prophet ﷺ): “O My servants, if the first of you and the last of you, the human of you and the jinn of you, were to stand together on one plain and ask Me, and I gave every person what he requested, that would not decrease what I possess except as much as a needle decreases the sea when dipped into it.” Narrated by Muslim.
Feel that you are asking Allah, the Most Modest and Most Generous, who is too generous to turn away a servant who raises his hands to Him.
The Prophet ﷺ said: “Indeed, Allah is Modest and Generous. When a man raises his hands to Him, He is too modest to return them empty and disappointed.” Narrated by al-Tirmidhī.
O servant of Allah,
Our Lord is al-Wahhāb (the Bestower), al-Barr (the Most Kind), the Most Generous and Beneficent. He loves generosity and goodness. His Hands are outstretched; He gives as He wills.
The Prophet ﷺ said: “The right hand of Allah is full; spending does not diminish it. It overflows night and day. Have you seen what He has spent since He created the heavens and the earth? It has not decreased what is in His right hand.” Narrated by al-Bukhārī and Muslim.
Raise your hands to your Master and ask Him for whatever good you desire in this world and the Hereafter. Increase your hope and longing, and never think that anything is too great to ask of your Lord, for nothing is too great for Allah to give, as our Prophet ﷺ said.
And he ﷺ said: “Indeed, Allah is Generous and loves generosity.” Narrated by Ibn Abī Shaybah.
May Allah bless me and you through the Great Qurʾān, and may He benefit me and you through its verses and wise reminder. I seek forgiveness from Allah for myself and for you, so seek His forgiveness. Indeed, He is the Most Forgiving, the Most Merciful.
The Second Sermon:
All praise is for Allah. May peace and blessings be upon the Messenger of Allah, upon his family, his companions, and all who follow his path.
Servants of Allah,
Do you know who the most incapable of people is?
The Prophet ﷺ said: “The most incapable of people is the one who is incapable of making duʿāʾ (supplication—calling upon Allah).” Narrated by al-Ṭabarānī.
Do you know why he is the most incapable?
Because despite his intense poverty before Allah, his great need, and the fact that he does not possess for himself or for others even the weight of a speck—yet in his weakness and neglect he fails to do the easiest thing for him and the most noble act in the sight of his Lord: to turn to his Lord in supplication.
He fails to seek refuge in the One in whose Hand are the keys of the heavens and the earth, forgetting that Allah, the Near One, does not turn away the one who asks and does not disappoint the one who hopes.
The Prophet ﷺ said: “There is no Muslim who makes a supplication in which there is no sin and no severing of family ties except that Allah gives him one of three things: either He hastens the response for him, or He stores it for him in the Hereafter, or He diverts from him an equivalent harm.”
They said, “Then we will increase in supplication!”
He replied, “Allah is greater in abundance.” Narrated by Aḥmad.
Your supplication is never lost. Allah hears you. He knows your need. He answers you in the way He wills—with what is best for you. So do not despair, for the mercy of Allah is near.
O Allah, grant victory to Islam and honor the Muslims. Destroy the Zionist criminals. O Allah, send tranquility into the hearts of those striving in Your cause. Rescue Your oppressed servants. Raise high the banner of this religion by Your power, O Most Strong, O Most Firm.
O Allah, grant us security in our homelands. Rectify our leaders and those in authority over us. Place our leadership in the hands of those who fear You, are conscious of You, and follow Your pleasure.
Our Lord, grant us good in this world and good in the Hereafter, and protect us from the punishment of the Fire.
Servants of Allah, remember Allah often, and glorify Him morning and evening.
And the last of our supplication is that all praise belongs to Allah, Lord of all the worlds.
