Dear Brothers and Sisters!

The three months we are in are the months of mercy, blessings and forgiveness that Allah (swt) has bestowed upon us. Our Prophet (saw) would enter the three blessed months with a different excitement and preparation. He paid special attention to the month of Sha’ban, increased his worship, and spent most of his days fasting. Our mother Aisha (ra), who woke up on a night of Baraat and could not find our Prophet (saw) with her, she got up and started looking for him. Finally, she found our Prophet (saw) in the Jannatu’l-Baki cemetery with his head raised to the sky, and our Prophet (saw) expressed the virtue of this night to Aisha (ra) as follows: “Verily, Allah Almighty manifests His mercy to the heavens of the world on the fifteenth night of Shaban and forgives people as much as the hairs of the sheep of the Banu Kelb Tribe..”[1]

Dear Brothers and Sisters!

The three months prepare us for Ramadan both with our body and soul. With the nights of Raghaib and Miraj, we remember our consciousness of servitude again. With the Night of Baraat, we ask for Allah’s forgiveness. In Ramadan, we discipline our souls by fasting, fulfill our financial responsibility with worship of fitra and zakat, and we are rewarded with the countless blessings of Allah during Eid. The Night of Baraat, which we will revive on next Monday, was called “baraat” because of the abundance of blessings it carries, and the forgiveness of people’s sins and the fact that they are cleared. In other words, on this night, Allah, with His mercy, grace and forgiveness, will open the doors of forgiveness wide open, answer the prayers of believers, forgive their sins, and reward their worship in folds.

Therefore, as Muslims, we have to make good use of this night. For this, we need to evaluate the day with fasting and the night with various worships. Rasulullah (saw) said: “Fast on the fifteenth day of Sha’ban. Get up to pray at night. Because that night, when the sun went down, Allah Almighty manifested to the nearest sky and said, “ is there any person repenting so that I forgive him, and any person seeking provision so that I provide for him, and any person with distress so that I relieve him, and so on until dawn…’.”[2]

Dear Jama’ah!

As humanity, we are going through difficult times. We do not know what we may face tomorrow and how we will be tested. In this respect, let’s take ourselves to account before being held to account and give up our bad habits and sins before reaching Ramadan. Let’s repent of our sins and organise our lives according to the Qur’an and Sunnah. Let’s find peace, especially with our obligatory and sunnah prayers. Let’s get used to praying in congregation in our mosques. Let us pray for ourselves and for our brothers and sisters. The Quran mentions, “Except for those who repent and correct themselves and make evident [what they concealed]. Those – I will accept their repentance, and I am the Accepting of Repentance, the Merciful..”[3] As stated in this verse, Allah (swt)’s mercy is so endless that believers never lose hope in His mercy. No matter what sin they have committed, they do not get tired of running to His door of repentance and taking refuge in Him. He is Rahim, Rahman, and His mercy is for all.

Dear Brothers and Sisters!

Let us pray that Allah (swt) will treat ourselves, our family, the ummah and all humanity with mercy. May Allah (swt) make this blessed night a means for our troubles and pains to go away. Let us reach the month of Ramadan prepared. Ameen!

[1] Tirmizî, Savm, 39

[2] İbn Mâce, İkâmet, 191

[3] Surah Al-Baqarah, 2:160

Khutba – Laylatul Baraat