My dear brothers, the ummah of Prophet Muhammad s.a.w.,
This blessing from Allah, named Ramadan, will meet us in just a few days time. Let us prepare ourselves to welcome it.

Open our hearts and ask ourselves. Are we awaiting this month of Ramadan, like a lover who has not met his beloved for a long time? Do we love Ramadan because it is a gift from Allah, with all His compassion and mercy, even His promise to forgive all our wrongdoings?

Or we grieve when Ramadan approaches, because we feel it is a burden upon our lives? A month that we think does not bring any benefit for us? We despise its presence, and we do not care whether this gift of Allah exists or otherwise?

My dear brothers,
I would like to call upon myself and everyone who listens to this sermon, to prepare ourselves to welcome this blessed month of Ramadan. Allah s.w.t. says in verse 183 of surah al-Baqarah:
Which means: “O you who believe! Fasting is prescribed for you, even as it was prescribed for those before you, that you may be those who are conscious of Allah.”

My dear brothers, let us make this verse a guide in our preparation to welcome this month. This verse begins with the phrase “O you who believe!” So let us, now, before Ramadan arrives, and before we start fasting as made obligatory by Allah s.w.t., let us strive to strengthen our iman. Let us cleanse our intentions – that we fast because of Allah. Let us strengthen our belief in the greatness of Allah.

Let us fill our hearts with a yearning for Allah’s mercy and compassion. Let us reignite in our hearts a sense of shame and regret for all our sins to Allah s.w.t.

Let us soften our hearts and cleanse our souls from all evil traits; from arrogance, hatred and enmity for others. We replace these with a sincere and strong iman, one that we can taste its sweetness in our hearts.

My dear brothers,
The verse 183 of surah al-Baqarah ends with the phrase kalimah “ that you may be those who are conscious of Allah.” Hence, let us put for ourselves a clear objective and goal for our fast, which is to succeed in strengthening our taqwa. Do not be contented with the good deeds that we have done thus far. Certainly, there are ways and means for us to improve our deeds, as much as there are many shortcomings in our iman and taqwa.

Let us emulate the examples of our beloved Prophet s.a.w. as seen from the story we heard earlier, how the Prophet s.a.w. intensified his devotion to Allah s.w.t. and expressed his endless gratitude, despite his special status and being assured of forgiveness by Allah s.w.t.

May this Ramadan be one of our best Ramadans and the most meaningful one. Let us grab this opportunity, and appreciate this gift. Do not waste it. None of us know if we will meet next year’s Ramadan.