My beloved brothers and sisters, balancing your life is something important.
Sometimes during the month of Ramadan,
we tend to do more of one thing, neglecting our other duties.
For example, because of the importance given to acts of worship, such as prayer,
such as reading the Quran, such as the dhikr and the remembrance of Allah,
such as going out to help people who are in need.
Sometimes we neglect our own family members.
Sometimes we neglect our duties that are primary.
This happens even outside of Ramadan, where the balance we strike between family life,
the work we have to do, and the worship of Allah.
These three things connected are all actually the worship of Allah.
Because if you take a look at the meaning of the worship of Allah,
to lead your life in a way that is in the obedience of Allah
and not in transgression of Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala.
That is called worshiping Allah.
Even if you're sleeping, you're worshiping Allah.
You're earning, you're worshiping Allah.
You go out to do something, you're worshiping Allah.
You're playing with your children and family members.
That is worshiping Allah.
For as long as you are not doing something
in transgression of the command of Allah, you're conscious of the command
and the prohibition of Allah, and you've kept that as the limits.
So if you have that in mind and you bear that in mind all the time,
you will be engaged in constant worship of Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala, even though
it's part of your family life, it's part of your work, your job, and so on.
To earn sustence, that is halal, to ensure that what you're earning is halal
is considered worship of Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala.
The balance that we strike when we speak about the three things,
the worship of Allah, the work that we have, and the family life.
In essence, it's mainly these two things,
the family life and the work, on condition that we make sure we don't
miss out that which Allah has ordained, like your prayer and everything else.
All of it should be within what Allah Almighty has taught.
While you're spending time at work doing
things, earning a living, don't forget your prayer.
It's part of it. Don't forget your duty to earn halal,
to not cheat people, don't deceive them, don't transgress while you're working.
Don't shortchange your employer if you're working for someone.
Don't be busy on your phone when they're paying you to do something else.
Unless there is permissibility and scope
of using your phone, well, to that degree, you may do so.
But it's wrong for a believer to lose
consciousness of the fact that they're at work and they're not supposed to be
doing something and they're just busy doing that, especially in the age
of social media and the gadgets that we do have.
Similarly, when you are spending time with your family,
make sure that you don't miss your prayers.
Make sure that you're dressed appropriately, depending on who you're with.
Obviously, the closer the circle, the more relaxed the rules of dress code are.
Or the dress code is because it becomes your spouse,
your parents, perhaps your children, your brothers and sisters.
These are those who are very close relatives.
The way you dress would probably be
different from the way you dress when you walk out of the house.
All of this, when you're conscious of it, you convert it into acts of worship.
This balance is something tremendous.
It's amazing.
So if I'm walking out of the house just
for recreational purposes, say I want to take a walk,
walk in the park because I just need a bit of breath of fresh air.
If I walk out of the house,
bearing in mind that I'm a Muslim, I'm to be dressed modestly,
I'm supposed to carry myself respectfully, I'm supposed to bear my prayers in mind.
If I'm going to eat something in the process, it must be halal.
If I'm going to interact with people, it must be respectful.
I can start off with salam and I can make sure that
while I'm walking, I know where and how to lower my gaze and so on.
Automatically, my exiting from the home
just for purposes of a promenade, taking a walk, becomes an act of worship.
How's that? Amazing.
In the same way, everything else, we convert it into an act of worship
because I'm conscious, I'm a Muslim, I'm conscious, I'm a believer.
I should carry myself as well.
Now, when we talk of acts of worship,
like I said, there are three things, your worship, your work, and your family life.
I remember saying the two are what we're talking about.
But when we say worship,
we're talking about the obligation, that which you cannot let go of,
such as your prayer, five daily prayers,
such as in the month of Ramadan, your fasting.
Yes, some people have a leeway.
Some people definitely are allowed not
to fast because they're sick, they're on journey,
they may be breastfeeding, they may be pregnant, there is permissibility.
Then there's also Prohibition of Fasting.
If you're on your menstrual cycle, you're not allowed to fast and you should
be excited about the fact that you're obeying Allah's command.
I'm going to get a full reward and even greater reward because
I'm gutted deep down that I can't fast in the month of Ramadan.
However, I'm excited to be adopting Allah's command and instruction.
He told me, don't fast, do it later.
I will reward you not just for the fast, but for having abstained in Ramadan
and did it after Ramadan, you get a greater reward
because you're fulfilling my instruction in a very unique way.
I'm the one who forced you and compelled
you to go through these changes that have resulted in this menstrual cycle.
Subhanallah, that's Allah. That's Allah.
So do not despair.
However, strike a beautiful balance.
Sometimes people spend so much time cooking in Ramadan.
And yes, it's beautiful to have something nice to make iftar with.
It's lovely to have a little beautiful meal, be it suhoor, be it iftar.
But to take so much time that it
compromises your acts of worship, then it becomes wrong.
So spend some time with the Quran,
set yourself, maybe time limits, spend some time listening to good lectures,
maybe attending a few good lessons, expanding your knowledge,
spend some time maybe finding out about your family members, perhaps those who are
sick and ill, and Allah Almighty will grant you a lot.
So if you then set aside the time for the cooking, it might be one to hours.
You know what?
Make sure that you don't prolong it too much.
I know that some people say, Well,
you're going to get a reward for cooking, which is true.
You do get a great reward for cooking for others and feeding them.
It'am ad da'am is one of the great acts of worship to feed people.
Now, whether you're feeding strangers, whether you're feeding broader family
members, whether you're feeding the close circle family, all of it is included.
And whether you're a person who paid for it or who made it,..
is one of the cornerstones of the Islamic teachings to feed people food,
to give them food, to care for them enough to prepare the meal.
So it is very rewarding, but not at the expense of your Salah,
not at the expense of your other duties unto Allah.
You've never read Quran.
I'm busy cooking and I'm getting a big reward for it.
Someone told me I get a bigger reward than reading Quran.
No, you don't.
Reading Quran is a different type of act of worship, indeed.
So you need to strike the balance.
And this is how we will become people who grow in a beautiful way.
We care for others, we serve others.
We also concentrate on our own growth.
I, for one, am here speaking to you, but I'm always concerned about my own
personal growth, my private recitation of the Quran, my private adhqar
that I need to fulfill, my Salah, the way I should be growing,
how I should be expanding my knowledge, how I can improve myself.
That's a constant concern.
And if I don't do something about it, I will stagnate, stop exactly where I am.
Maybe even go back backwards.
And that's not good.
In the same way, all of us need to make sure that we are progressing somehow.
People sometimes go to work during Ramadan.
They forget that fasting is an act of worship.
They're just doing it because everyone is doing it and we're fasting.
And I know that, well,
I'm going to just spend the day and end of the day I'm going to eat,
so I'll just wait to stay hungry for the day.
Allah says it's not about hunger, it's not about thirst.
It's more about the taqwa
and the consciousness of Allah that lies within all of that.
That's why Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, says,
Some people achieve nothing from their fast besides hunger and thirst.
And some people achieve nothing from their
standing in prayer besides becoming tired and losing sleep.
So if that's the case, let's ask ourselves, who are those?
They are the ones who think that the only
thing that you're supposed to be doing here is staying away from food and drink.
That's it. No, it is development of yourself.
It is the consciousness of Allah.
Once you develop that consciousness,
like the example I gave you of walking out of the house, the minute you intend
to walk out of your home, you convert that walking out into an act
of worship just by becoming conscious of who you are.
That's it.
And if you carry yourself through out your trip,
wherever you went to the shops or to the stalls, whatever it might have been,
you went to do the school runs, the fact that you continuously bore
in mind who you are, and you carried yourself in a respectful
way that is be fitting a believer, you're in a constant act of worship.
And that's why Allah Almighty tells us,
I have not created mankind or jinnkind except for them to worship me.
And people think, Oh, does that mean I need to stand in constant
prayer or fast every day, or be reading the Quran throughout the day every day?
Hang on.
The fact that you lead your life conscious of who you are and who your Maker is
and what you owe your maker, and you carry yourself appropriately
automatically makes your entire life this huge worship of Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala.
You're obeying His instructions to the best of your ability.
And you know what?
You are fulfilling
what you're supposed to and staying away from what you're supposed to.
Now, if that is the case,
then surely we would develop ourselves in such a beautiful way.
May Allah grant us the best of this world in the next.
May Allah help us strike a beautiful balance.
This month of Ramadan, we take things a little bit more seriously.
Outside of Ramadan, yes,
we can engage in recreation and everything else a little bit more, perhaps.
But still, the Lord within Ramadan is the same one outside of Ramadan.
May Allah bless you all.