In the Name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful
Praise is due to Allah, Lord of the worlds, may the blessings and peace be upon our beloved master Muhammad, the last of Prophets, on his family, and all his companions.
Dear brothers and sisters! As the beautiful, blessed month of Ramadan draws nearer, Muslims around the world are getting their Ramadan preparation in order. And at the moment – with so much happening in our Ummah, that brings great pain and sorrow to the heart, particularly in Nigeria, Palestine etc – it is all the more important to ensure we make the most of it, not only for ourselves, but for the sake of the Ummah as a whole.
Respected Servants of Allah! Part of that preparation is knowing that Ramadan is a marathon that rewards you for doing your best and participating in it from start to finish. It is not a sprint for the first (or the last) few days.
As the Prophet Muhammad (Peace be upon him) said:
“When there comes the month of Ramadan, the gates of mercy are opened, and the gates of Hell are locked and the devils are chained.” [Sahih Muslim]
This, indeed, is an opportunity worth preparing for. In today’s sermon, I look at some important key dimensions of preparation that all Muslim believers need to consider to get the most out of the month.
Fellow brothers and sisters! “You only get out what you put in” is relevant to Ramadan on so many levels. Ramadan rewards those who enter it with preparation, and the companions of our beloved Prophet Muhammad (Peace be upon him) were the best in this regard, preparing for a good six months in advance to make the most of it.
My beloved people! Prepare for Ramadan spiritually by spending some time beforehand working on key spiritual practices that you may have neglected or allowed to get worn down in their quality. Also, remember to set your intentions for Ramadan, renew and realign your purpose, reflect on the state of your heart, and focus on the qualities you want to purify.
For instance, when it comes to prayer (Salah), encourage yourself to learn new chapters (Surahs) to recite during prayer to make your prayers, both obligatory and Sunnah, more spiritually fulfilling.
Likewise, make finding recitation time easier on yourself by reading the Qur’an after prayer. Even if it’s looking at the translation and listening to a recitation, any effort to improve your understanding of the Qur’an will bring you immensely closer to Allah Almighty and prepare you for the month that is to come.
Ramadan fasting is both physically and mentally taxing and requires a level of spiritual dedication. All the dimensions work together to allow you to do the best you can to please Allah Almighty. As such, what I discuss in this sermon should be seen as a whole.
But there is absolutely no doubt that some particular practices won’t hold you in good stead. In that regard, here’s a quick fireside of tips and well-worn examples of deeds that have been known to assist people get into the Ramadan “zone” and make the most of their deeds in this great month:
If you have an understanding of what the significance of Ramadan is, it makes it much easier to immerse yourself within it fully.
• Invest in a Ramadan planner
There are many Ramadan planners on the market that allow you to track prayers and fasting, make Du’a lists, and much more. Get organised – it will help immensely!
• Fast once or twice a week in the lead up
This will get your body used to going for extended periods of time without food or drink. You could fast on Mondays and Thursdays, as this is the Sunnah, and there are still a few weeks left to do so!
And making a Du’a list will provide you with ready access to Du’as that you can recite throughout the month, a time in which Allah is more likely to answer your Du’a. This Du’a list is an absolute must so you can be organised well ahead of time!
Also increasing Qur’anic recitation will get you into the habit of blocking out time for this noble purpose. Ramadan is, after all, the month of the Qur’an! Even if it starts with a few verses, make it happen!
• Understand the Qur’an
Read a translation of the Qur’an to understand it alongside your recitation.
• Get into the habit of giving charity more readily!
Sadaqah (charity) is an integral feature of Ramadan, and it’s important to get into the habit of carrying out charitable acts. Give more in this blessed month, and watch your wealth increase, as the Prophet Muhammad (Peace be upon him) promised us!
Dear servants of Allah! Know that, Ramadan is not just about abstaining from eating and drinking, but also from anger and hurtful acts. It requires focussed mental preparation to get into the right frame of mind in order to make the most of it from a mental perspective.
Ramadan is an ideal time to monitor and figure out strategies to help manage the stressors in our life. To reduce them, mitigate them and do our best to counteract them.
Here are some very practical tips in our modern day and age that may help you mentally get into the right zone, as you work on your spiritual preparation and physical preparation in tandem!
• Stop mindless browsing of social media
From the temptations this can lead to (seeing things we’re not meant to) to the sheer wastage of time, there is little benefit from mindless scrolling, and during the precious time of Ramadan, it is all the more imperative that we make the best of what we have! If you are on social media, make sure you have a clear purpose for the time you are spending.
• Practice Truthfulness
According to Hadith on the matter, your fast is meaningless to Allah Almighty if you don’t abstain from false speech. This is the time to become of the truthful!
• Patience and Anger Management
The Messenger of Allah (Peace be upon him) advised us explicitly about what to do if triggered/angered during this month (to turn away and say “I am fasting”) – what does that say about just how important it is to get into the right mindset for Ramadan? Getting into this mindspace is critical.
• Mental Health and Ramadan
With Shaitan locked up, Ramadan is a great time to work on our mental health and assess it without the noise/interference of our greatest enemy. What of our mental loads are from Satanic impulse, and what are from ourselves or need genuine outside intervention and support? How anxious do we feel? How stressed do we feel? Leading into Ramadan, we should be asking these questions so we can actively gauge how we go within Ramadan and how we baseline for the rest of the year!
• Physical Preparation
Ramadan requires us to fast from dawn till dusk, so it’s important to take care of our physical health in the lead-up to the month. Indeed, the lead up to Ramadan is a fantastic way to prepare for what is to come.
Ramadan itself can be a fantastic detox for our bodies. When our systems are less under pressure to digest the food we are constantly consuming, they work better. The positive impacts of fasting on the body are widely noted and you are likely to see immense benefit on your gut health and overall well being during the blessed month.
Use the lead up as a chance to start preparing for this – reduce your caffeine intake and addictions, eat less, drink more water to stay hydrated, and get into a zone for the month where your worship includes intending for your body to be cleansed through the benefits of fasting.
Make sure to eat well-balanced meals, exercise regularly, and stay hydrated. This helps us maintain our energy levels throughout the day and keeps our bodies strong.
Try to use Ramadan as a great baseline for the year ahead. Make commitments to your physical health in the lead up that you’ll maintain during and after the month. It is – indeed – the ultimate time to make “resolutions” for the year ahead for a Muslim believer!
If you have a medical condition that requires you to take medication during your fasting, visit your doctor to help you figure out a schedule that works best for you while fasting.
Even if you don’t have any outstanding medical conditions, it’s still important to take the steps you need to take to ensure you’ll be able to stay healthy throughout Ramadan as well as after it.
By preparing early and allowing your body to get ready for fasting before Ramadan, you’ll get a head start on your health goals and be better at maintaining them for the rest of the year.
Dear brothers and sisters! Taken together, these dimensions work together to create a synergy in our mind, body and spirit in the lead up to Ramadan. Let’s focus on each of them a little to ensure we get the most out of this incredible time.
Respected servants of Allah! Wallahi, it was our beloved Prophet Muhammad (Peace be upon him) who made us raise our eyes from the dust beneath to view the glory of the starry heavens above. It was Prophet Muhammad (Peace be upon him) who led us from the depths of darkness to the grandeur of the light of Allah Almighty.
The Prophet Muhammad (Peace be upon him) was the one who led us to break our stone statues and wooden gods. It was Prophet Muhammad who lifted us out of the filth of idolatry to relish the serenity of Allah’s transcendence.
On the Night of Power in one Ramadan, the Qur’an descended on Prophet Muhammad, and he received its first verses in the Cave of Hirah.
Thereafter the Prophet Muhammad (Peace be upon him) taught us how to celebrate Ramadan through days of fasting and nights of prayer: to honour each day of Ramadan as a day of patient endurance through fasting, and each night as a night of gratitude through prayers.
It was nothing short of miraculous how the Prophet Muhammad (Peace be upon him) reformed and refined those unruly tribes of Arabia and transformed them into pious, disciplined, Allah-fearing ascetics, who stood in prayers in the Mosque five times a day seeking the guidance of Allah Almighty.
And imagine: these same people who once reveled in the pleasures of “wine and women” could now spend the whole month of Ramadan in fasting and prayers.
Into the hearts of his followers, the Prophet Muhammad (Peace be upon him) instilled the love and fear of Allah and love for humanity. His example was inspiring and irresistible; and each of them became eager to be his closest follower.
To them he was the sincerest and the most cordial of leaders. And his life was open before them like a book; they could see him practicing most closely in his own life what he was preaching.
The Prophet Muhammad (Peace be upon him) demonstrated to his people how this world is less important than the next, and how the body is less important than the soul. In fasting, the Prophet Muhammad (Peace be upon him) taught them step by step how to ignore the physical demands so that the spirit reigns supreme.
Abandoning food, drink, and sex was only a prelude to the next stage of greater significance: of conquering avidity and cupidity, lust and licentiousness; of liberating one’s mind from flights of passion and fits of temper. Indeed the Prophet Muhammad (Peace be upon him) said:
“The strong person is not the one who can wrestle someone else down. The strong person is the one who can control himself when he is angry.” [Sahih Bukhari]
Also about the effect of fasting on one’s behaviour, the Prophet Muhammad (Peace be upon him) said:
“Fasting is a shield, so the one who fasts should avoid obscene speech and ignorant behaviour. If someone abuses him or starts to fight with him, he should reply by saying: ‘I am fasting. I am fasting’.” [Sahih Bukhari]
The core of fasting according to the Prophet Muhammad (Peace be upon him) was one’s willingness not merely to give up self-indulgence, but to feel the need of one’s brother as one’s own. And no one was more kind-hearted and generous than the Messenger of Allah (Peace be upon him); and his generosity reached its peak in Ramadan.
The Prophet Muhammad stressed on the importance of treating people nicely when he said:
“Make things easy for people and do not make them difficult, and cheer people up and do not drive them away.” [Sahih Bukhari]
He also said:
“The most beloved of actions to Allah Almighty, is making another Muslim happy, removing a hardship that has befallen him, paying off a debt of his or ridding him of hunger. It is more beloved to me indeed that I walk with my Muslim brother to see to a need of his than secluding oneself in a Mosque for a month…” [Tabarani]
The heart of one who sincerely fasts is open to the contemplation of the magnificence of the countless bounties of Allah. That is why the Prophet Muhammad (Peace be upon him) asked his followers to avoid gluttony. He said:
“The food of two people is enough for three, and the food of three people is enough for four.” [Sahih Bukhari]
Respected brothers and sisters! Allah is All-Merciful and He has expressed His Mercy to us His creatures through the sending of His final Messenger Muhammad (Peace be upon him) as an embodiment of mercy. The Prophet Muhammad (Peace be upon him) said:
“Have mercy to those on earth so that He Who is in Heaven will have mercy on you.” [Tirmidhi]
“The Muslim believer is not the one who eats his fill when the neighbour beside him is hungry.” [Baihaqi]
So it was not surprising that the Prophet Muhammad’s Companions loved him dearly, as he was the kindest of men, bestowing his mercy not only upon humans but also on other creatures of the world as well.
My fellow Muslim brothers and sisters! No leader could be more considerate and solicitous of his followers than Prophet Muhammad (Peace be upon him): he never allowed any Muslim believer to bear any burden more than they could bear, as taught by Allah Almighty Himself.
For he was well aware of the infirmities of people; and this is evident from his consideration for his followers in the matter of fasting: He taught Muslim believers to delay the sahur (the pre-dawn meal before fasting) till a little before Dawn Prayer and not to delay the iftar (the meal to break the fast) after the call to Sunset Prayer so that no unnecessary strain is laid on the fasting person by prolonging the fast time.
During travel in Ramadan, the Prophet Muhammad (Peace be upon him) would either fast or break his fast; and he allowed his companions to choose between the two, according to their ability.
It is noteworthy that the Prophet Muhammad (Peace be upon him) did not specify a particular distance in travel as a minimum limit for a person to break the fast. His Companions sometimes broke the fast immediately after leaving home, because this was the example set by the Prophet Muhammad himself.
Similarly during times of heat or thirst they were permitted to cool themselves by pouring water on the head, and the Prophet Muhammad himself did so.
His example in the matter of consorting with his wives during Ramadan was not different; he disallowed only such acts that would obviously undermine the fasting.
As for the Tarawih Prayers (the supererogatory night prayers performed in Ramadan), it is recorded that the Prophet Muhammad (Peace be upon him) began praying them in congregation and then he stopped, fearing that such prayers would become obligatory if he continued to pray them in congregation.
Thus while he demonstrated through his example that the Tarawih Prayers are better offered in congregation, he allowed leniency in the matter out of his mercy.
And the highest point of Ramadan for Muslim believers is seeking the Lailatul-Qadr (the Night of Power) during the last ten days. One act of worship the Prophet Muhammad emphasised particularly during this time is I’tikaf, which is a spiritual retreat in which one confines oneself to a Mosque to spend one’s time entirely to the worship and remembrance of Allah.
In these modern days when people hanker after indulgence in ephemeral pleasures, one needs to return to the seclusion of the house of prayer from time to time; which is essential for one’s spiritual rejuvenation and the return to one’s Creator.
Thus the beloved Prophet Muhammad (Peace be upon him) has taught us how to use Ramadan as a month for disciplining our intransigent passions, for renouncing our desires for self gratification and for practicing patient endurance in the face of hardships.
The Prophet Muhammad (Peace be upon him) exhorted us that during Ramadan most especially it is our duty to support and uplift our less fortunate fellow humans.
Above all, Ramadan is a month of contemplating the Grace and Bounty of Allah Almighty, of returning to our Guardian Lord in repentance, of sincerely seeking His forgiveness.
Respected brothers and sisters! Every time you read the Prophet Muhammad’s (Peace be upon him) sermon on Ramadan you find something new and moving in it. It never fails to inspire us, remind us how blessed Ramadan really is for us and take us back to why we fast and what we should be doing during this special month:
Imam Baihaqi reported on the authority of Salman Al-Farsi (RA) that Prophet Muhammad (Peace be upon him) delivered a sermon on the last day of the month of Sha’aban. In it he (Peace be upon him) said:
“O People! The month of Allah, Ramadan has come with its mercies, blessings and forgivenesses. 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 to fast and pray. Allah has honoured 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 Noble 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 Judgement. 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 (forbidden) 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 Honour and Majesty that, people who perform prayer (Salah) and Sajdah (prostration) will be guarded from Hell-fire on the Day of Judgement.
O people!, if anyone amongst you arranges for iftar (meal at sunset) for any Muslim believer, Allah will reward him as if he had freed a slave, and Allah will forgive him his sins. A companion asked: “but not all of us have the means to do so” The Prophet Muhammad (Peace be upon him) 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 (bridge to Paradise) 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 Judgement. 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 a verse of the Noble 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.”
Finally, respected servants of Allah! Prepare for Ramadan 1447/2026 by building spiritual momentum now through fasting in Sha’aban, increasing Qur’an recitation, and making sincere Taubah. Strengthen your heart by clearing distractions, aiming for consistency in prayers, and strengthening your connection with Allah to enter the blessed month with focused devotion.
I ask Allah Almighty to accept from you, and from us, ameen.
All praise is due only to The Almighty Allah, and may His peace and blessings be upon Prophet Muhammad (Peace be upon him), the final Messenger and the seal of Prophets.
Murtadha Muhammad Gusau is the Chief Imam of Nagazi-Uvete Jumu’ah and the late Alhaji Abdur-Rahman Okene’s Mosques, Okene, Kogi State, Nigeria. He can be reached via: [email protected] or +2348038289761 or +2348024192217.
This Jumu’ah Khutbah (Friday sermon) was prepared for delivery today, Friday, Sha’aban 11, 1447 AH (January 30, 2026).
