"O People! The month of Allah has
come with its mercies, blessings and forgiveness. Allah has decreed this
month the best of all months. The days of this month are the best among
the days and the nights are the best among the nights and the hours
during Ramadan are the best among the hours.
This is a month in which you have been invited by Him. Allah has honored you in it. In every breath you take is a
reward of Allah, your sleep is worship, your good deeds are accepted and
your invocations are answered.
Therefore, you must invoke your Lord in all earnestness with hearts
free from sin and evil, and pray that Allah may help you to keep fast,
and to recite the Holy Qur’an. Indeed! Miserable is the one who is
deprived of Allah’s forgiveness in this great month.
While fasting remember the hunger and thirst on the Day of
Judgment. Give alms to the poor and needy. Pay respect to your elders,
have sympathy for your youngsters and be kind towards your relatives and
kinsmen. Guard your tongue against unworthy words, and your eyes from
scenes that are not worth seeing and your ears from sounds
that should not be heard. Be kind to orphans so that if your children
may become orphans they will also be treated with kindness.
Do repent to Allah for your sins and supplicate with raised hands at
the times of prayer as these are the best times, during which Allah
Almighty looks at His servants with mercy. Allah Answers if they
supplicate, responds if they call, grants if He is asked, and accepts if
they entreat.
O people! You have made your conscience the slave of your desires.
Make it free by invoking Allah for forgiveness. Your back may break from
the heavy load of your sins, so prostrate yourself before Allah for
long intervals, and make this load lighter. Understand fully that Allah
has promised in His Honor and Majesty that, people who perform Salat
and Sajda will be guarded from Hell-fire on the Day of
Judgment.
O people! If anyone amongst you arranges for Iftar
for any believer, Allah will reward him as if he had freed a slave, and
Allah will forgive him his sins." A companion said: 'but not all of us
have the means to do so,' to which the Prophet (S) replied: 'Keep
yourself away from Hell-fire though it may consist of half a date or
even some water if you have nothing else.'
"O people! Anyone who, during this month cultivates good manners,
will walk over the Sirat on the day when feet will
tend to slip. For anyone who during this month eases the workload of his
servants, Allah will make easy his accounting, and for anyone who
doesn’t hurt others during this month, Allah will safeguard him from His
Wrath on the Day of Judgment. Anyone who respects and treats an orphan
with kindness during this month, Allah shall look at him with kindness
on that Day. Anyone who treats his kinsmen well during this month, Allah
will bestow His Mercy on him on that Day, while anyone who mistreats
his kinsmen during this month, Allah will keep away from His Mercy.
Whomever offers the recommended prayers during this month, Allah
will save him from Hell, and whomever observes his obligations during
this month, his reward will be seventy times the reward during other
months. Whomever repeatedly invokes Allah’s blessings on me, Allah will
keep his scale of good deeds heavy, while the scales of others will be
tending to lightness. Whomever recites during this month an Ayaat of the Qur’an, will get the reward of reciting the whole Qur’an
in other months.
O people! The gates of Paradise remain open during this month. Pray
to your Lord that they may not be closed for you; while the gates of
Hell are closed, pray to your Lord that they never open for you. Satan
has been chained, invoke your Lord not to let him dominate you."
Baihaqi reported on the authority of Salman Al-Farsi (R) that Prophet
(S) delivered this sermon on the last day of the month of Sha'ban
