Mar 07 2025 4 mins 2
Auto-generated transcript:Bismillahir Rahmanir Raheem. Alhamdulillahir Raheem. Wasalaatu wasalaamu ala ashrafil anbiya wal mursaleen. Muhammadur Rasoolulahi sallallahu alaihi wa ala alihi wa sahbihi wa sallam tasleeman katheera katheera. From abadhu, alhamdulillah, we are in the month of Ramadan. Fasting has started. Taste the sweetness of this. What are we doing in fasting? Let me remind myself and you. What are we doing in fasting? What are we doing in this fasting? What we are doing in this fasting is that things which were and are and continue to be halal, things which were permissible, things if we did them for the sake of Allah SWT, we would be rewarded for them. Those things during a specific period of time in the day, we make them haram on ourselves. Eating of halal food is halal except in the period of the fast. From the time of the beginning of the fast to the end, it is haram to eat. Drinking is normally halal. In the period of the fast, it is haram. Sohba with our spouses being with our spouses halal during the period of fast, haram. Now why? Why is something which is normally permissible being made impermissible during a specific period of time? Very simple answer. Because Allah said so. There is no other answer. We are not doing this to reduce our glycemic index or to have some positive effect on blood sugar or to lose weight or nothing. We are doing it because Allah said so. Now this is the fundamental principle of Islam. A Muslim is the one who submits to Allah SWT. Why does he submit? Because Allah is Allah. Because he recognizes his relationship with Allah. I am the creature of Allah. I am the slave of Allah. I exist because Allah created me. I exist for the purpose of glorifying and praising and worshipping Allah SWT. Allah SWT said, We have not created the human being and the jinn for anything other than worship. And what is worship? Worship is the actions of worship of which Ramadan, the fasting and Ramadan is one. But worship is to obey. And then the month of Ramadan is supposed to reinforce this. Obedience. Why are you not eating? Because Allah said so. Why are you not drinking? Because Allah said so. Why are you not doing things which were normally halal? Because Allah said so. And the same things which we have not been doing and which we did not do all day today until the time of iftar become halal, once iftar is over. Once the time of iftar comes, they become halal. Obedience. Islam means obedience. Islam means submission. وَيِذْكَعْلَ لَهُ رَبُّهُ أَسْلِمْ قَالَ أَسْلَمْتُ لِلَبِّ الْعَانَمِينَ Allah SWT said about Ibrahim Ali, Allah SWT said to him, Submit. He said, I have submitted. It is to inculcate this spirit of submission, the spirit of total and complete obedience, not blind obedience. It is obedience because our eyes are wide open, our hearts are wide open and we recognize Allah SWT. We are not obeying blindly. We are not obeying without understanding anything. We are obeying because we understand. The one who is not obeying is blind. The one who is not, a Muslim who is not fasting is blind. A Muslim who is not fasting in the month of Ramadan has not understood anything. He doesn't know who he is. He does not know who Allah is. He does not know that he will die one day. He does not know that he will be resurrected, that he will stand before Allah SWT. He will be questioned and he will have no answer. The one who is fasting is the one who understands all of this. And therefore he said, لَبَّيْكَ اللَّهُمَّ لَبَّيْكَ Oh Allah, I am here. I am here to obey you and I am obeying you. I ask Allah SWT to make us among those who respond to the call of obedience, to the hukum and the order and the command of obedience of Allah SWT, which must be done in the way, the sunnah of Muhammad SAW. And may Allah's peace and blessings be upon the Prophet, his family and the water of the sea be upon him. With your mercy, O merciful and merciful. And praise be to Allah, the Lord of the worlds.
