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First Khutba:
The Night of al-Qadr:
Dear brother, the subject of today's khutba is the Night of al-Qadr.
I will not discuss the details of the texts (ayaat and ahadith) about it, but I will, insha-Allah, offer some reflections related to what should be believed about this Night. Allah the Almighty says:
"No just estimate have they made of Allah, such as is due to Him. And on the Day of Resurrection the whole of the earth will be but His Handful, and the heavens will be rolled up in His Right Hand."
As regards the meaning of this ayah, which is related to the sense of the word 'qadr' (estimate), scholars of the principles of jurisprudence said that it is contradictory in its opposition; i.e. given that Allah the Almighty says that His servants, some or most of them, have not made a just estimate of Him, such as is due to Him, this means we should make the fair estimate of Him. Actually, this meaning shows the big difference which exists between a worshipper and a scholar.
The difference between a scholar and a worshipper
Dear brother, the worshipper complies with Allah's commands, but on account of his not having made a just estimate of Allah, such as is due to Him, he may have a fragile resistance to sins; he may lose, at the smallest pressure or temptation, his uprightness, his firmness in the Path of Allah, which will keep him away from the acts of worship.
Actually, although it was reasonably easy for the worshipper to be firm a hundred years ago, nowadays, at the time of growing desires and temptations, of pressures, of the alteration of moral values; at the time when people enjoin what is bad and forbid what is good; when there are women who are dressed yet appear to be naked, and incline towards men and try to seduce them; when the one who clings to his deen is as the one who holds an ember; when a child becomes a cause of wrath; the rain makes you hot; mean people are so many and noble men are very few; when the traitor is trusted while the loyal one is mistrusted and the innocent is accused; when the believer's heart melts with sorrow at seeing wrongdoing, yet he cannot change anything –if he keeps silent, they will violate his rights; and if he speaks they will kill him; when people who enjoin good and forbid wrong are treated unjustly and when good is deemed bad and bad is deemed good, at such a time rather than devotional compliance what becomes badly needed is accurate knowledge.
In fact, devotional compliance cannot resist pressures, nor withstand ambiguity or desires, so we are in desperate need of knowledge with certainty based on knowing Allah the Almighty.
Dear brother, when Man certainly and surely believes in the Hereafter, this will reflect upon all his standards (of good and bad). However, if such is not the case, that means he will not hold on firmly to Allah's Commands.
Dear brother, when Islam has turned into mere formal acts of worship, a framework, an inherited behavior, a habit; a framework rather than content; when we profess our Islam and act according to other people's ways; when the western values fill our ears and eyes;
When we imitate non-Muslims in everything; when we sacrifice our own Islamic way, which came to us from Allah, in order to imitate the powerful and please them; at such a difficult time, when the believer's heart melts with sorrow; there arises an overwhelming need for knowledge; of course, the kind of knowledge that emanates from acts of worship rather than leads to hollow acts of worship, devoid of what is certain knowledge.
Dear brother, we read in the noble ahadith:
"The preference of a scholar over a worshipper is like that of the full moon over the planets."
And in another hadith:
"… is like the preference of myself over all of you."
What a huge distance between the Prophet's station and that of a negligent believer!
Dear brother:
It is easier for Shaytan to seduce a thousand worshippers (who have no Islamic knowledge) than to seduce one scholar.
I repeat once again: At a time which is full of ambiguities, delusions, nonsense, (atheistic) thoughts, and insults to Islam, to the Noble Qur'an, to the Revelation, and to the Prophet of this nation; when everything you read or see in this life induces you to wrongdoing; at such a time we are in desperate need of the Night of al-Qadr.
The meaning of al-Qadr:
The meaning of al-Qadr (estimate) is to make a just estimate of Allah, such as is due to Him; to know His Lordship and His Divinity, to declare that there is only One God, to believe that there is no one with power over the Universe except Allah, and His Hand (His Power) is above everything.
And to believe that:
"And it was not you who threw, when you threw, but Allah threw."
And that:
"It is He Who is God in heaven and God on earth."
And that:
"What Allah out of His Mercy bestows on mankind none can withhold; what He withholds, none can grant, apart from Him.."
This difficult time the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, described in his hadith in the following way:
Anas ibn Malik narrated that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said:
"There will come a time when the one who clings to his deen will be as someone who holds an ember."
Verily, at the times of pressure, of threats; when the disbelievers are powerful (and practice their power over Muslims), arrogant, proud and haughty; at such a difficult time, a critical need for the Night of al-Qadr arises –for making a just estimate of Allah, such as is due to Him. So let us sacrifice everything –from what is most valueless to the most precious things, ourselves included, for His Pleasure.
At this difficult time all of us should rush to reinforce this deen, its principles, its values, and the patterns of Islamic behavior.
Better than a thousand months:
Dear brother, Allah the Almighty says:
"The night of al-qadr is better than a thousand months."
The best explanation of the commentators about it is that if you have worshiped Allah for more than eighty years, which is more or less the longest lifep for a human being, because death generally occurs between the age of sixty or seventy; so if you have been performing hollow acts of worship for eighty years, and then for only one minute in Ramadan you make a just estimate of Allah, such as is due to Him, it is better than all those previous eighty years.
Faith is a barrier to sinning:
Dear brother, we should take a thoughtful pause to reflect upon the Words of Allah the Almighty:
"O you who believe! Remember Allah with much remembrance."
Commentators explain: The matter is related to remembering Allah with much remembrance since hypocrites do not remember Allah but a little. So it requires remembering Allah a lot, as when Allah the Almighty says in this ayah:
"This was he that would not believe in Allah Most High."
The crucial factor is to believe in the Greatness of Allah, in His Oneness and in His Perfection, not only to believe in Allah as the Creator. Verily, Iblis (Shaytan) believed in Allah as the Creator. He said:
"You created me… "
And he believed in Him as the Lord when he said:
"O My Lord… "
And he believed in His Might when he said:
"By Your Might…"
And he believed in the Hereafter when he said:
"Give me then respite till the Day the (dead) are raised."
He believed in all of that despite of his being Iblis. So, what is important is not to say that Allah has created the heavens and the earth, because even idol worshippers admitted that this Universe has a Creator, and they claimed that they worshipped idols hoping they would bring them closer to Allah. Thus, we must have the kind of faith that keeps us away from disobeying Allah.
It was narrated in a hadith that whoever says sincerely that there is no god but Allah, will enter Paradise. They asked: "How does one say it sincerely?" The Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said:
"When it keeps one away from what Allah has prohibited."
So make this an accurate measure of your faith. In other words, does your faith lead you to obeying Allah? And does it prevent you from disobeying Him? Verily, do not consider how small your sin is, but consider Whom you dare to disobey.
The link between knowledge and fear (of Allah):
Dear brother, Allah the Almighty says:
"Those truly fear Allah, among His servants, who have knowledge."
Scholars of the Arabic language said that the word "only" in Arabic is a restrictive and limiting particle, which gives the meaning: Only those who have knowledge, and no one else apart from them, fear Allah as is His due. So, if you want to fear Allah and obey Him, you should know Him perfectly well.
Dear brother, how do we deduce from the Noble Qur'an the way to get to know Allah?
From the same ayah which is related to the Night of al-Qadr:
"No just estimate have they made of Allah, such as is due to Him. And on the Day of Resurrection the whole of the earth will be but His Handful, and the heavens will be rolled up in His Right Hand."
The requirements of the ayaat related to the Universe:
Here is a scientific brief overview as evidence and the proof:
The nearest incandescent star to us outside the Milky Way and outside the solar system is four light-years away from us, which means that if we wanted to travel to that star by a vehicle, it would take fifty million years, this is the nearest one. What about the polestar which is four thousand light-years away, the Andromeda which is about two billion light-years away, and a newly discovered galaxy which is twenty billion light-years away? How long it would take to reach those?
You reauthor the following ayah of the Noble Qur'an which was revealed by Allah the Almighty:
"So I swear by the Setting of the Stars."
And then you grasp the meaning of the following one:
"And that indeed is a mighty adjuration, if you but knew."
Dear brother, would you be able to accept that the one thousand and three hundred ayaat in the Noble Qur'an related to the universe are meaningless?
Is not it obvious that the ayah that contains Allah's order requires obedience? And the ayah that contains prohibition requires refraining, and the one that talk about some scenes of the Day of Judgment requires fear? Then what do ayaat related to the Universe require? They require contemplation:
"Behold! In the creation of the heavens and the earth, and in the alternation of night and day, there are indeed Signs for men of understanding; those who remember Allah standing, sitting, and lying down on their sides."
Is there a fourth situation? You can only be standing or sitting or lying:
"And contemplate the (wonders of) creation in the heavens and the earth."
The verb "contemplate" is in the present tense (the present tense in Arabic has a rhetorical meaning of continuation, which means "they always do that"). The Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said about an ayah similar to that one:
"Woe unto those who read it and do not contemplate it."
The Night of al-Qadr implies to get to know Allah, to make a just estimate of Him, such as is due to Him, and to know what awaits us if we obey or disobey Him.
These are some reflections related to what should be believed about the Night of al-Qadr:
Glorification, fear and love:
It has been transmitted to us that:
A servant of Allah's said: "O My Lord, whom of Your servants do you love most so that I can love him due to Your Love?" He said: " I love most the pious-hearted, the one with immaculate behavior, who does not harm anybody, who loves Me and loves whoever loves Me, and makes My servants love Me." He said: "O My Lord! You know that I love You, and I love whoever loves You, but how could I make Your servants love You?" He said: "Remind them of My Greatness, My Graces and My Attributes. Remind them of My Greatness so that they glorify Me; remind them of My Graces so that they love Me; and remind them of My Attributes so that they fear me."
Thus, there must be in the heart of the believer glorification of Allah, together with loving and fearing Him:
"And whosoever holds in honour the Symbols of Allah, such (honour) should come truly from piety of heart."
Merits of the Night of al-Qadr:
Dear brother, Abu Huraira, may Allah be pleased with him, reported that the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said:
"Whoever prays at night during Laylat al-Qadr out of faith and in the hope of reward, all his previous sins will be forgiven."
And the Mother of Believers Aisha, may Allah be pleased with her, transmitted:
"I said: 'O Messenger of Allah, if I happen to spot the Night of Qadr, how should I supplicate?' He said: 'Say: O Allah, You are All-Forgiving, All-Generous, and You love forgiveness, so forgive me.' "
Knowledge and contemplation are two ways to know Allah:
The way to know Allah is to contemplate the wonders of Creation in the heavens and the earth. If we want to go into some details –the first ayah which was revealed to the heart of the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, when he was in the cave of Hira was:
" Read!"
Which means: Seek knowledge.
Allah the Almighty represents knowledge by its key feature –reading, which is a very broad concept. You can read (contemplate) the Universe because it is a silent Qur'an (it shows the Greatness of its Creator); you can read the Noble Qur'an because it is a speaking Universe (through its ayaat related to the Universe); and you can read the Sunnah extracted from the life of the Prophet because he was the Qur'an walking (his conduct was entirely what the Qur'an ordered us to do). So "Read" means: Learn.
Unless you seek knowledge, you are not a human being. Nothing confirms your humanity more than fulfilling the exalted need of seeking knowledge, while the lower needs, such as food, drink and sex, are common for human beings and other creatures.
Abu Huraira, may Allah be pleased with him, transmitted that the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said:
"Let the slave of dinar and dirham and of khamisa (i.e. money and luxurious clothes) perish as he is pleased if these things are given to him, and if not, he is displeased. Let such a person perish and fall headlong, and if he is pierced with a thorn, let him not find anyone to take it out for him."
On the other hand, the slave of Allah will be pleased.
Verily, when do you obey Allah? When do you fear Him, hope for His Reward, trust in Him, commit your affair to Him, pay no attention to the threats of the powerful; never give up, despair or humble yourself before sh3er? This happens when you know Him perfectly well:
"Among the believers are men who have been true to their Covenant with Allah; of them some have fulfilled their obligations and some of them are still waiting, but they have never changed (their determination) in the least."
So the basis of the deen of Islam is to know Allah the Almighty.
It has been transmitted to us:
"O Son of Adam! Seek Me and you will find Me; if that happens, it is as if you have found everything, while if you miss Me, it is as if you have missed everything, and I shall make you love Me more than anything else."
Conditions of reading and contemplation:
Dear brother, the first word of the Noble Qur'an which was revealed to the heart of the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, was "Read", which means: learn, contemplate the Creation of the heavens and the earth, consider the Noble Qur'an with care, consider the actions of Allah the Almighty, think deeply about the life of the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, and his sayings.
Read! But in Islam, knowledge should lead you to faith. Thus, it is restricted by faith; it excludes reading nonsense, about the art of ballet, for example, or the art of sedition among people.
In fact, the number of books printed in the English language each day is such that they could not be read in two hundred years. So what should you read? You must select what is the best for you. Imagine that you enter a library in which there are a million books, but there is only one book of benefit to you for the test which you are going to have in a few days' time. Your future, your marriage, the purchase of your house and the stability of your life depend on this test and your graduation. Is it reasonable to read any other book?
Actually, people are capable of reading anything. They can read, for example, an 800-page-long story which can be summarized in one single word: Love. Despite that, they still read it.
Allah the Almighty says:
"Read! In the Name of your Lord, Who has created (all that exists)."
You must read employing your sense of faith; your reading should lead you to genuine belief in Allah, and your belief in Allah should be followed by obedience to Him and righteous deeds.
"Read! In the Name of your Lord, Who has created (all that exists)."
You might say you do not have a telescope in your house, or a microscope, or scientific encyclopedias; you do not have the means for contemplating the Universe. Allah the Almighty says:
"Read! In the Name of your Lord, Who has created (all that exists); has created man out of a leech-like clot."
Then, think about yourself. Think about how your son was a drop of insignificant fluid, and then he became a well-proportioned human being. Is not this within your hearing and your sight, easily available for reflection? Think about your five senses, your body systems, your organs, your speech, your discourse, your food and your drink, and consider from what you were created.
"He is created from a drop emitted, proceeding from between the backbone and the ribs.."
"Then let man look at his food (and how We provide it)."
Allah does not lay on you a burden greater than what you have strength to bear. He does not order you to be an astronaut, or a scientist in a space agency; nor to carry out autopsies at a mortuary. Just think about your body:
"And also in your own selves. Will you not then see?"
Kinds of reading in Surat al-'Alaq:
Allah the Almighty says:
"Read! In the Name of your Lord, Who has created (all that exists); has created man out of a leech-like clot."
He joined here by means of a conjunction the particular (the creation of man) with the general (the creation of all that exists).
The first reading is:
Read in order to believe in Allah.
Read in order to believe in Allah, and obey Him.
Read in order to believe in Allah, obey Him, and get closer to Him by means of righteous deeds.
The second reading is:
"Read! In the Name of your Lord, Who has created (all that exists); has created man out of a leech-like clot. Read! And your Lord is the Most Generous."
Allah grants you the grace of existence, and provision; He provides you with food and drink, wife and children, skills through which you earn money, human feelings deposited in your heart for those around you, and makes sh3er feel affection for you. Verily, Allah provides you with everything:
"Read! In the Name of your Lord, Who has created (all that exists)."
This is the reading through the sense of faith:
"He has created man out of a leech-like clot."
The way is to start with yourself:
"Read! And your Lord is the Most Generous."
Cognitive subjection and honouring subjection:
You should know for certain that Allah the Almighty has subjected to you all that is in the heavens and all that is on the earth; it is all as a favour and kindness from Him.
"And has subjected to you all that is in the heavens and all that is in the earth; it is all as a favour and kindness from Him."
The one who is subjected to Him is better than the one who is subjected to other than Him. You are the first creature, you accepted to bear Trust when Allah the Almighty offered it to the heavens and the earth and the mountains, and they declined to bear it and feared it; but man undertook to bear it. So you are the first creature with regard to the rank not to the time of creation.
You undertook to bear it and wanted to be the first creature when Trust was offered to you in the world of eternity, and you accepted it. You wanted to come to this world, and believe in Allah, and to get close to Him by righteous deeds –in exchange for Paradise which is as wide as the heavens and the earth. So, Allah the Almighty granted you the grace of existence, provision, guidance and reason:
"And has subjected to you all that is in the heavens and all that is in the earth; it is all as a favour and kindness from Him."
There are two subjections: cognitive and honouring
I would like to further clarify this point to you. If you were in dire need of a very useful complex electrical device which has many advantages and a friend of yours came to you and offered you this device, which he himself has invented, as a gift, what would you feel? Two complementary feelings would be aroused in you: the feeling of appreciation because of this device, so advantageous, and the feeling of love, because it was a gift. So, Allah the Almighty, to Whom belongs the loftiest similitude, subjects to you the Universe to make you know Him through His Creation, which is the cognitive subjection, and to honour you, which is the honouring subjection.
What should you do in return for the cognitive subjection? You should believe in Him.
And what should you do in return for the honouring one? You should obey and thank Him.
Thus, if you believe in Allah and thank him, you achieve the aim of your existence, and when that happens all treatments from Allah will come to an end (all trials that Allah sends to you to purify you from your sins and to bring you closer to Him). Thus, Allah the Almighty says:
"Why should Allah punish you if you have thanked (Him) and have believed in Him?"
When you believe in Allah and thank Him, you have adopted the right attitude with regard to the cognitive and honouring subjection.
So the second reading is for thanking Allah and knowing Him, while the first reading is for seeking knowledge and believing in Allah. Thus, your reading should be restricted to these goals:
"Read! In the Name of your Lord, Who has created (all that exists); has created man out of a leech-like clot. Read! And your Lord is the Most Generous. He Who taught (the use of) the Pen."
The blessings of eloquent speech, writing and translation:
Have you ever paid attention to this incomparable grace? Allah the Almighty says:
"The Most Beneficent! It is He Who has taught the Qur'an. He has created man. He has taught him an intelligent speech (and power of expression and explanation)."
Allah has given you a very exquisite means of communication –speech. You may express your ideas, feelings, needs, thoughts, and hopes, and you may also familiarize yourself with other people's ideas, feelings, emotions, wishes, and thoughts through language. Therefore, language is the most exquisite means of communication between the members of our species.
For example, if the security of a state requires imposing a curfew, it will issue a declaration consisting of just a few words, and consequently, you will find no one in the streets. How did the state communicate with its citizens? Through language. Thus, language characterizes Man:
"The Most Beneficent! It is He Who has taught the Qur'an. He has created man. He has taught him an intelligent speech (and power of expression and explanation)."
But the bounty of Allah has no limits –there is, furthermore, writing and also reading. In other words, a pen makes a writer and a book makes a reader which means you can communicate with someone you will never meet personally, and that happens through his book; like when you read a book whose author died a thousand years ago, in this way you meet different generations.
How do culture and knowledge circulate among people? It is through the pen:
"He Who taught (the use of) the Pen."
If we add translation to the pen, knowledge gets spread among all people, and that is what happens at conferences, when people of different nationalities meet and understand each other through interpreters, so they can get acquainted with other people's cultures:
"Read! And your Lord is the Most Generous. He Who taught (the use of) the Pen."
The third reading is the reading through Revelation:
"Has taught man that which he knew not."
There are thousands, or even millions of topics you can get familiar with by means of your mind, but what about the distant past, the distant future, what happens after death? What about the Creator of the heavens and the earth? What about His Beautiful Names and His Attributes? Your mind cannot find out about those issues, so Allah informs you about them through Revelation:
"Has taught man that which he knew not."
"You were not with them, when they cast lots with their pens as to which of them should be charged with the care of Maryam (Mary); nor were you with them when they disputed."
So, dear brother, we have discussed three kinds of reading: reading for seeking knowledge and believing in Allah; reading for thanking Him and knowing Him; and reading through Revelation in order to submit to Allah.
The fourth reading:
We seek refuge with Allah from the fourth reading, which is the reading of non-Muslims and the arrogant kafirun:
"Nay, but man does transgress all bounds, in that he looks upon himself as self-sufficient."
It is when Man learns how to destroy, when he invents biological and chemical weapons, when he conquers whole nations to build his glory on the ruins of sh3er, and feels pride at the expense of their humiliation, and feels secure at the expense of their fear, and builds his wealth at the expense of their poverty. So, powerful people acquire strength on account of their knowledge. Actually, they would not be strong without this knowledge. We seek refuge in Allah from the fourth reading.
Allah provides us with the description of people who read in this way: they do not read to thank Allah and know Him, and they do not read through Revelation in order to submit to Allah. Instead, they read to humiliate other human beings.
The Ad (people) and the fourth reading:
Dear brother, with regard to the 'Ad:
"Did you not see how your Lord dealt with the 'Ad (people)? Who were tall like lofty pillars? The like of which were not created in (all) the land?"
They excelled in various fields; what we could call in modern terminology agriculture, industry, construction, military, media, and monetary affairs...
"The like of which were not created in (all) the land?"
"Do you build a landmark on every high place to amuse yourselves? And you get for yourselves palaces as if you will live therein forever."
Thus, they achieved incomparable superiority in construction.
"And when you strike, you strike as tyrants?"
And they achieved absolute superiority in military power, like when the powerful nowadays can kill everybody (in a specific place) without destroying their buildings, and they act in this way against an Islamic country.
So, the 'Ad achieved military, construction and scientific superiority.
"… though they were intelligent."
Dear brother, whenever Allah talks about destroying a people, He mentions that He had destroyed before peoples mightier than them, except when He talks about the 'Ad. He says:
"See they not that Allah, Who created them, was mightier in strength than them?"
Which means that no one, except Allah, was mightier than them:
"Nay! Verily, man does transgress all bounds, in that he looks upon himself as self-sufficient."
He has considered himself self-sufficient due to his strength, so he has become tyrannical, violent and oppressive. He has forgotten his origin and his end, and he has forgotten the Powerful One, the Most High One.
Dear brother, this is arrogance:
"And they said: "Who is mightier than us in strength?"
So, they achieved excellence in various fields –in construction, in military strength, and in science, and they behaved with absolute arrogance.
The fate of the 'Ad and people like them:
Dear brother, how did Allah the Almighty deal with them?
"And as for 'Ad, they were destroyed by a furious violent wind, which Allah imposed on them for seven nights and eight days in succession, so that you could see men lying overthrown (destroyed), as if they were hollow trunks of date-palms! Do you see any remnants of them?"
You can see what a hurricane is capable of. The last one cost a hundred billion dollars; it caused the destruction of homes and the displacement of one million people.
Dear brother, there is a slight hint here. Allah the Almighty says:
"And that it is He Who destroyed the former 'Ad (people)."
We may understand from this ayah, it is just a possibility, that in modern times there are another 'Ad.
Dear brother, seek knowledge, but for the sake of Allah; for thanking and knowing Him; and for gaining knowledge through Revelation in order to submit to Allah. Do not seek knowledge for tyranny, because this is one of the unbelievers' characteristics:
"Nay! Verily, man does transgress all bounds, in that he looks upon himself as self-sufficient."
Finally:
Dear brother, call yourselves to account before you are called to account, and weigh your deeds before they are weighed against you, and know that the Angel of Death has passed over us to reach sh3er, and will pass over sh3er to reach us, se let us be cautious. It is the clever one who condemns himself, and works towards what is after death; and the incapable is the one who follows his desires, and then expects to be rewarded by Allah.
* * *
The Second khutba:
Praise be to Allah, and I bear witness that there is no god but Allah, the Protector of righteous people; and I bear witness that Prophet Muhammad is His servant and His Messenger, whose character is exalted. O Allah! Bless sayyidina Muhammad and grant him peace, and to all of his Family and his Companions.
Al-I'tikaaf:
Dear brother, to complete the benefit of this talk we should take a brief look at al-i'tikaaf.
Actually, the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, did i'tikaaf for several nights in the cave of Hira. What was he doing there?
It is obvious, without going to too much trouble, or making a lot of effort at research and study, that he was contemplating the wonders of the Creation of the heavens and the earth, invoking Allah, supplicating Him, seeking His forgiveness, making invocation in secret, declaring being a monotheist, glorifying Him, and declaring that there is no other god but Him.
If a Muslim cannot do i'tikaaf for consecutive days, he can do it on separate days. If you sit alone every day, reauthor some ayaat of the Noble Qur'an, remember Allah the Almighty secretly till tears fill up your eyes, invoke Allah, seek His forgiveness, and turn to Him in repentance, then this worship seclusion in order to be with Allah has a great effect (on your faith).
It has been transmitted to us:
"O Musa, would not you like Me to stay with you?" He said: "How could that happen, O My Lord?" He said: "Do not you know that I am with whom remembers Me, and whenever My servant seeks Me, he will find Me, I am the Companion of those who remember Me."
Dear brother, i'tikaaf can be practised in Ramadan and also after Ramadan; when you make worship seclusion for the sake of Allah for a little time, reciting the Noble Quran, asking the Self-Sufficient and the Judge in secret, contemplating, remembering Allah, reciting the Noble Qur'an or making supplications to Allah –this is worship seclusion for the sake of Allah. Thus, dear brother, we can start this worship seclusion in Ramadan and continue to do it throughout the whole year.
Invocation
O Allah! Guide us together with those You have guided, and protect us together with those You have protected, and be our Tutor as You are of those for whom You have become their Tutor, and bless us with what You have bestowed on us.
You always judge with truth while You cannot be judged; and he whom You protect shall never be humiliated, and he whom You turn into an enemy shall never be honoured.
Blessed and dignified are You! And all the praise is for You for what you have decreed!
We ask Your forgiveness and we repent to You.
O Allah! Guide us to the good deeds for no one guides to them but You; and guide us to the good conduct for no one guides to it but You.
O Allah! Make us do well in our deen, which protects our affairs, and make us do well in our deen, which is our way of life, and grant us safety on the Day of Judgment for it is our final destination.
Make our lives in this world righteous, and make our death the rest from everything that is evil.
O Allah, our Master, the Lord of all Worlds!
Make me prefer everything You made lawful to everything You made unlawful, and let Your Mercy make me independent of all sh3er,
and make me obedient to You, and turn me away from disobedience.
O Allah! Do not put us to the test of Your trials, and do not unveiled our faults to the sh3er.
Do not make us forget Your Remembrance, O Lord of the Worlds!
Bless what remains of the month of Ramadhan, and help us fast in this month and be awake for worship; and help us lower our gaze and guard our tongue. Make us enter the Garden in peace, and free us from the dependence on sh3er in the month of Ramadhan.
