Today, I’m grateful for the opportunity to witness another Ramadan and the chance to enjoy fellowship with my brothers and sisters in faith as we celebrate on this blessed day of Eid al Fitr, the celebration of the breaking of the fast. May Allah accept our fast, charity, and supplications, may He bless us with many more Ramadans together, in worship of Him alone, without any partners, and may He strengthen our hearts and keep us steadfast, Ameen.
During Ramadan, Allah azza wa jall makes it easy for us: the doors of heaven are thrown wide open, the doors of hell are locked tight, and the devils are chained. But now that Ramadan has ended, the devils are out on the prowl again, looking for any and every opportunity to drag us down. Remain steadfast, my brothers and sisters: I know it’s hard, but we’ve just completed a month of watching our tongues and our eyes, guarding our ears and limbs, and generally avoiding much of the sins we normally engage in. We have 11 long months until another Ramadan, and it’s going to be tough. There is so much temptation, but we’ve been strong and steadfast for this long, let’s keep it going!
Sheikh Omar Suleiman gave an excellent reminder and pep talk this morning at the Valley Ranch Islamic Center that may be of some benefit. There’s a drop out in the video from 8:00 to 8:50 or so, but stick with it, it may do you some good.
(tl;dw: make dhikr. When you start to think about sinning, or even get close to your old, pre-Ramadan ways, remember Allah: subhanallah, alhamdulillah, la ilaha il Allah (how perfect is Allah, all praise and thanks belong to Allah, there is nothing worthy of worship except for Allah), and kick the devils out!)
