Dear Brothers and Sisters!

We bid farewell to the blessed month of Ramadan, after a month of intense worship. May Allah (swt) allow us to reach many more Ramadans with the same excitement and peace. In the month of Ramadan, we disciplined our souls with fasting, purified our property with zakat, became familiar with the Qur’an and we acquired the consciousness of being a community with the tarawih prayer. In short, we spent a month as we were commanded, and attained prosperity and peace. It is a requirement of our servitude to continue this. One of the countless wisdoms of fasting is that it prevents us from evil and equips our bodies with good virtues. As Rasulullah (saw) said, “Fasting is a shield […]” [1]. Just as we avoided heartbreaking, backbiting, bad habits and all similar sins while fasting, it is important that we stay in this state from now on. As a matter of fact, life continues at full speed and our nafs can dominate us at any moment. Allah (swt) mentions in the Quran, “And worship your Lord until there comes to you the certainty [i.e., death].”^[2] So, we must ensure that we continue to fast with all our limbs and aim to live a life as a requirement of our servitude.

Dear Brothers and Sisters!

Servitude requires continuity that should never be interrupted. The good gains we made in Ramadan should continue in the same way after today. Our habit of praying with the congregation in Ramadan should continue with the same excitement from now on, and we should keep the awareness of being a community alive. We should maintain the same enthusiasm for the Qur’an and make an effort to comprehend and apply it.

The narration from Alqama (r.a.) gives us a good measure of the continuity of worship: “I asked Aisha (ra), the mother of the believers: ‘O mother of the believers! How was the worship of the Messenger of Allah (saw)? Would he have something to dedicate to one of the days?’ Aisha (ra) gave me the answer: ‘No! His work was constant. Which of you can do what the Messenger of Allah (saw) was able to do?”[3]

Those of us who gain the consciousness of worship in Ramadan should not limit this awareness to the month of Ramadan and should not fall into neglect. Shawwal fasting is an opportunity for us to continue our fasting and not to lose our gains. Rasulullah (saw) has said, “Whoever fasts in Ramadan and then adds six more days in Shawwal, it will be as if he fasted the whole year.”[4]

Dear Jama’ah!

Let’s continue our fasting. Let’s continue with the congregation and encourage our family and friends to pray in congregation. Let’s get rid of our troubles with charity. Let’s integrate the beautiful virtues we acquired in Ramadan with our lives. Let’s tell our children about the continuation of fasting and set a good example for them. Let’s continue to meet with the Qur’an. Let’s always remember the Ummah in our prayers. I pray that Eid-al Fitr will bring blessings, and that the suffering of our brothers and sisters all over the world, will be relieved, and I complete my khutba with the following saying: “The pilgrimage begins when the pilgrim returns from Mecca, the prayer begins when you leave the mosque, and the fasting begins when Ramadan ends.”

May our Allah (swt) grant us to live with this saying and allow us to reach the next Ramadan. Ameen!

[1] Buhârî, Savm, 2

[2] Surah Al-Hijr, 15:99

[3] Buhârî, Savm, 64

[4] Müslim, Sıyâm, 204

Khutba – Continuation of Fasting