Steadfastness of Obedience

Dear brothers, with Ramadhan over now we are embarking on another 11 months of striving and struggling until the blessed month approaches us once again.

For those of us who reflect back on the month gone, we often are self-critical and wonder whether our deeds were even good enough? Was our Ramadhan a productive one? Were our fasts, our deeds and our prayers accepted?

Scholars state that one of the signs of our good deeds being accepted is the continuation of the good deeds we established during the month of Ramadhan. Likewise, a sign that we may be amongst those whose deeds weren’t necessarily accepted by Allah SWT is when the bad deeds that were left out in Ramadhan are resumed after Eid. Allah knows best.

Allah SWT clearly states the necessity for steadfastness in Sura Hud:

So remain on a right course as you have been commanded, you and those who have turned back with you to Allah, and do not tansgress. Indeed He is seeing of what you do.

And do not incline to those who do wrong, lest you be touched by the Fire, and you would not have other than Allah any protectors; then you would not be helped.

And establish prayer at the two ends of the day and at the approach of the night. Indeed good deeds do away with misdeeds. That is a reminder for those who   remember.

Dear brothers, Ramadhan enabled us to boost our levels of worship to Allah SWT. Whether it be the recitation of the whole Quran or just the establishment of the five prayers, the month passed only serves to highlight it’s true beauty when it has finally gone.

But we must hold on to the boost it gave us. Our Prophet SAWS has referenced all the acts we may have established in the month of Ramadhan but just to give an example of one.

The Prophet SAWS said:

Whoever stopped praying Asr prayer, its as if he’s lost his family and his wealth.

Dear brothers, the point here is that we must keep hold of our habits and whatever standard we established to the best of our ability. Nobody is perfect but the effort and intention must be there if we are to be successful in front Allah SWT.

The remainder of this khutba offers 5 boosters to achieve steadfastness and maintain the standard we set for ourselves last month:

1. Clinging to the Quran. The Quran is the rope of Allah. Whoever clings to it then inshAllah Allah SWT will prevent him from slipping. Make it a part of your life. Through recitation, listening and understanding it through translation, it will provide you with tranquility and the ability to remain focused in your efforts inshAllah.
2. Dua. Staying steadfast is essentially a matter of the heart my dear brothers. Therefore the best way to achieve this is to implore our Lord to instill that desire to be steadfast into our hearts and thus into our minds.
3. Dhikr. The rememberance of Allah SWT is also a key to steadfastness. Whether that is through quiet contemplation of his mercy and blessings in our lives to clutching the tasbih, dhikr is like a strong fortress that protects us from falling.
4. Keeping righteous company. We are already blessed in that we have this place which is our collective home. And everyone here is our family. We should lean on one another to be steadfast and this can be best achieved by establishing the practice of coming to the masjid for congregational prayers every day.
5. And lastly, remembering death and the hereafter. Dear brothers, it is a certainty of this life and although we live in a society where death is a taboo topic, we shouldn’t feel that and instead we should be comfortable with this fact. As a result it will enable us to keep us on our toes as we will become acutely aware of how fickle life really is. Dear brothers, think of the Jannah that awaits your arrival inshAllah. It is worth giving your all and then some. It is worth every drop of blood, sweat and tears. You can convince yourself to keep walking if you remind yourself of the beautifully amazing abode that lies ahead.

Dear brothers, this life wouldn’t be a test if it was easy. However, with these tips we can continue to achieve the standards we set for ourselves in the blessed month of Ramadhan and more inshAllah.

May Allah SWT maintain the boost we acquired in Ramadhan. May Allah SWT make us steadfast in our worship. And may Allah SWT reward us for every single act of steadfastness we perform for the sake of Allah SWT.

Ameen wal hamdullilahi rabilalameen.