By Shaykh Syed Anisul Haque
30 January 2026

﷽ 

My dear brothers and sisters in Islam,

Once again, by the mercy of Allah, we find ourselves standing at the doorstep of a mighty guest. A guest that carries forgiveness. A guest that carries mercy. A guest that carries salvation.

The blessed month of Ramadan is approaching us.

It feels as though only yesterday that messages began to circulate asking about moon sightings and timetables. Only yesterday that masajid began calling for volunteers. Only yesterday that hearts began to stir, conversations began to change, and anticipation began to rise.

This feeling is familiar. It returns every year.

And this excitement, my brothers and sisters, is not from culture alone. It is not from routine alone.

It is from Iman.

The Messenger of Allah ﷺ himself would prepare the Companions for this month. He would address them before its arrival and say, as authentically reported, that a blessed and noble month has come to you – a month in which Allah has obligated fasting, a month in which the gates of Jannah are opened, the gates of Hellfire are closed, and the rebellious devils are chained.

A month in which there is a single night better than a thousand months. And whoever is deprived of its goodness is truly deprived.

The Salaf understood this reality. They understood the weight of this month.

It is reported that they would spend six months before Ramadan begging Allah to allow them to reach it. And six months after Ramadan begging Allah to accept it from them.

They would say in their duʿa:

O Allah, allow us to reach Ramadan. Preserve Ramadan for us. And accept it from us.

But my dear brothers and sisters,

While Ramadan is close, let us not fall into the trap of certainty. Let us not assume that we will surely be among those who witness its first day.

Between us and Ramadan is time. And time is something no soul has been guaranteed.

How many people were with us last year?

Fasting beside us. Standing shoulder to shoulder in Taraweeh. Raising their hands in duʿa.

And today, they lie beneath the ground.

How many hearts longed for Ramadan? How many tongues whispered, “O Allah, allow me to reach Ramadan”?

Yet before the first fast was tasted, the Angel of Death reached them first.

My brothers and sisters in Islam,

One of the great scholars of the early generations explained that if it were said to the people of the graves, “Wish for something,” they would wish for nothing except one more day of Ramadan.

Why?

Because when a person dies, their deeds come to an end.
No more salah.
No more fasting.
No more charity.
No more repentance.

The door of action is sealed forever.

Allah tells us in the Qur’an:

In the grave, the veils are lifted. A person sees the reality of their actions as they truly were. Without excuses. Without distractions. Without self-deception.

It is there that they realise the true value of moments wasted. Prayers delayed. Nights slept through. Seasons of worship allowed to pass.

And above all seasons, Ramadan stands alone.

Ramadan is a mercy that cannot be replaced. A gift that does not return on demand. A guest that, once it departs, may never return again.

This is why the people of the graves wish for Ramadan.

They see how desperately they needed forgiveness – and how easily it was available.
They see how wide the doors of Jannah were opened.
They see how the doors of Hellfire were closed.
They see the value of fasting, of duʿa at iftar, of tears in sujood, of Qur’an recited in the stillness of the night.

And they see that one night of sincerity was better than a lifetime.

So my brothers and sisters,

Ramadan is not just a month.

It is a lifeline.

It is a divine opportunity for those who are still breathing. Still able to repent. Still able to change.

If the dead, who now see with certainty, would give anything for another Ramadan, how can we meet this month with distraction? With laziness? With delay?

Let us ask ourselves a simple question.

A question that does not need an answer from the tongue. But demands honesty from the heart.

If Allah allows me to reach this Ramadan – how will it be different?

Will it be a month of full plates and empty hearts? A month of long nights and tired bodies, yet no change once the moon departs?

Because the tragedy is not that Ramadan ends. The tragedy is that Ramadan leaves and we return exactly as we were before – or worse.

Allah did not prescribe fasting so that we only feel hunger and thirst. He did not reveal the Qur’an in Ramadan so it becomes background sound in our homes.

Allah Himself tells us the purpose:

Not hunger. Not exhaustion. But taqwa. God-consciousness. And this is where preparation must begin.

The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said:

Actions are only by intentions, and each person will have only what they intended.

[Bukhari and Muslim]

Why are we entering Ramadan?

Habit? Routine? Or sincerity?

A small deed with sincerity outweighs mountains of action without it.

Be realistic in your goals. This religion was built upon ease.

The Prophet ﷺ said:

This religion is easy, and no one overburdens himself except that it overwhelms him.

[Bukhari]

Consistency matters more than intensity.

And remember, Ramadan is also about what leaves our lives.

The Prophet ﷺ warned that fasting is not only from food and drink, but from false speech and sinful action.
If someone abuses you, say, “I am fasting.”

Choose one sin. One bad habit. One door to disobedience. And close it for the sake of Allah.

Finally, do not walk this journey alone.

Islam was never meant to be lived in isolation. We pray together. We stand together. We fast together.

Strengthen your circle. Push one another towards Allah.

And remember the frightening Hadith in which the Prophet ﷺ ascended the pulpit and said “Ameen” three times. When asked why, he explained that Jibreel made duʿa against the one who reaches Ramadan and is not forgiven – and the Prophet ﷺ said Ameen.

If Ramadan passes and we are not forgiven, the problem was never a lack of opportunity. It was a heart that did not respond.

May Allah allow us to reach Ramadan. May He make us among those who are forgiven in it. And may He make this Ramadan a turning point, not a regret.

O Allah, allow us to reach Ramadan with sincere hearts. O Allah, accept it from us with full acceptance. O Allah, do not let us be among the deprived.

Ameen.

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