IOK Ramadan 2025: Welcome Ramadan | Sh Furhan Zubairi

This Ramadan, MuslimMatters is pleased to host the Institute Of Knowledge‘s daily Ramadan series: Ramadan Reflections. Through this series, each day we will spend time connecting with the Qur’an on a deeper, more spiritual, uplifting level.

[Transcript]

All thanks and praise are due to Allah subhanahu wa taala and may his peace and blessings be upon on His Last and Final Messenger his family his companions and those who follow them until the end of times.

May Allah subhanahu wa taala make this the most beneficial and productive Ramadan we have ever experienced. May Allah subhanahu wa taala make all of us among those who nurture and develop tawa through this blessed month. May Allah subhanahu wa taala make this a month where we reform ourselves and make ourselves worthy of receiving Allah’s mercy, grace, pardon, and forgiveness.

Ramadan is a very beautiful month. We can feel the energy in the air. There’s a lot of excitement and we know that this is the month where all of us are doing something to draw closer to Allah subhanahu wa taala. This is the month of worship. It’s the month of praying, fasting, reciting Quran, giving charity, supplication, and serving others. And throughout this month Allah subhahanahuwa taala has given us very unique opportunities – opportunities that don’t exist at any other time of the year.

During this first night of Ramadan, certain events took place in the universe that are from the world of the Unseen. We can’t see them with our own two eyes but we can definitely experience them and we definitely believe in them because we were told about them by the Prophet, sallah allahu alayhi wa sallam. The Prophet, sallah allahu alayhi wa sallam, told us when Ramadan comes the gates of paradise are opened. All eight Gates of paradise are opened.

On that first night of Ramadan the Gate of prayer the Gate of zakah the Gate zakat, the gate of Rayyan, that specific gate that’s for those who constantly and consistently fast. So on this first night of Ramadan all eight Gates of paradise were opened and one of the results of that is that it becomes easier for us to engage in those behaviors in those acts and those acts of worship that will allow us to enter into Paradise because all the gates of paradise are opened it becomes easier for us to engage in righteous Deeds.

So although we can’t see the gates of paradise being opened it’s something we definitely experience. For example, throughout the year, if you come to the Masjid you might find one row of people, perhaps two three or four. Depending on where you live there might be more, there might be less. If you live here in LA, like I do, then perhaps there’s only a row, a row and a half, two rows, if you live in Dallas mashaallah maybe there’s 3 or 400 people but on that first night of Ramadan the size of the congregation increases. The Masjid is full. The Masjid is packed. There’s no space. Just the night before it was a little bit empty and immediately on that first night of Ramadan the masjid is bursting at the seams because the gates of Parise have been opened.

Through this month, Allah subhahanahu wa taala facilitates ease. He makes it easy for us to engage in those acts that will make us worthy and deserving of his mercy of his grace of His pardon, His forgiveness, and it’s through his Mercy that all of us are going to be admitted into Paradise, so that’s the first event that takes place.

All the Gates of Hell Fire are closed. The seven Gates of Hell Fire are shut. And as a result, it becomes easier for us to stay away from sin. It becomes easier for us to avoid acts of disobedience. It becomes easier for us to stay away from all the prohibitions of Allah subhanahu wa taala. And all the devils are chained up. As a result of that, it becomes easier for us to control and suppress our most base carnal desires. It becomes easier for us to struggle and fight against our nafs, against our egos. So Allah subhahanahu wa taala during this blessed month has made becoming a righteous, God conscious, committed believer easier. Allah subhahanahu wa taala is making it easy for us to be among the people of taqwa, those who are mindful, conscious, and aware of Allah subhahanahu wa taala in everything that we do in our behavior, in our conduct, in our speech, in public and in private 24/7, 365.

That’s why this is the month for us to put in work. It’s time to roll up our sleeves. It’s time to get busy. It’s time to put in that effort, that struggle, that sacrifice. It doesn’t matter that we’re going to get less sleep. That lack of sleep should not impact us. It doesn’t matter that we’re going to be standing for an hour or two hours extra at night in prayer. It doesn’t matter that we’re going to be experiencing hunger and thirst throughout the day because this is our chance to earn Jannah.

In another version of the hadith, the Prophet says that an angel calls out – an angel makes a proclamation – he makes an announcement: “Oh you who’s intending good – anyone who wants to do something good, anyone who wants to engage in worship, who wants to earn the mercy, grace, pardon and forgiveness of Allah, come forward, come on put in that work, that struggle, that sacrifice. All this reward is being given out freely. But oh you who intends evil, if you’re thinking about doing something wrong, if you’re thinking about sinning, if you’re thinking about disobeying Allah, hold yourself back, check yourself, stop.”

And Allah subhanahu wa taala frees people from the fire and that happens every night during Ramadan so this blessed month is an opportunity for all of us to reform ourselves to transform our lives, to make our lives more meaningful and purposeful, to have our lives have direction, and most importantly to align our lives with its true purpose, which is to worship Allah, and that is why we should try our best to take advantage of this very beautiful and blessed month.

I’m going to mention just five things that all of us can focus on. These are five things that all of us can do and hopefully by doing so we are going to be taking advantage of all the unique blessings of this beautiful month.

Number 1: Sincere genuine repentance – this is the time if we have been far away from Allah, if we have not been fulfilling our obligations to God, if we have not been fulfilling our responsibilities to others, if we have any shortcomings, any weaknesses, any faults, now is the time to fix them. Now is the time to sincerely turn back to Allah.

Number 2: Fasting in a way that’s approved by Allah – making sure that we are not just fasting in terms of the surface level appearance. It’s not just the form but we’re also focusing on the substance. We are fasting in a manner that’s going to nurture and develop taqwa.

Number 3: Quran – this is the month of the Quran. We should try our best to spend more time in the company of Allah’s Divine Speech – reciting, memorizing, studying, reflecting, learning, teaching.

Number 4: Dua. Supplication – this is the time for us to ask Allah subhanahu wa taala for anything and everything we want and need in this world, but most importantly in the Hereafter.

Number 5: Spending – becoming more generous, and engaging in more acts of charity.

So five practical things: Repentance, fasting properly and correctly, engaging with the Quran, more supplication, and being generous (charity). Inshallah in the next videos we will explore each of these things in a little bit more detail and provide some practical tips for what all of us can do to take advantage of this beautiful and blessed month. May Allah subhanahu wa taala accept all of our worship. May Allah subhanahu wa taala bless our Ramadan.