Do the Obligatory Then Supererogatory Worship

As-Salāmu ‘Alaykum wa RaḥmatuLlāhi wa Barakātuh. A‘ūdhu BiLlāhi Minash-shayṭāni r-rajīm. BismiLlāhi r-Raḥmāni r-Raḥīm. Wa ṣ-Salātu wa s-Salāmu ‘alá Rasūlinā Muḥammadin Sayyidi l-Awwalīna wa l-Akhirīn. Madad yā RasūlAllāh, Madad yā Sādāti Aṣḥābi RasūliLlāh, Madad yā Mashāyikhinā, Dastūr Mawlana Shaykh Abdullāh al-Fā’iz ad-Dāghistāni, Shaykh Muḥammad Nāẓim al- Ḥaqqānī. Madad. Ṭarīqatunā aṣ-Suḥbah wa l-Khayru fi l-Jam‘iyyah.

This holy month of Muharram is the last of the Hurum/Sacred months. It is one of the great months. Fasting in it is a righteous deed with great Thawab. Our Holy Prophet salla Llāhu ‘alayhi wa sallam says that whoever fasts from the 1st until the 10th reaches the highest rank in Firdaws paradise. These are Nafl/supererogatory fastings, not Fard/obligatory.

Before the Fard of Ramadan in old times, the Fard fasting was done in the month of Muharram. By the will of Allah ﷻ, Ramadan became Fard after that. The month of Ramadan is Fard for everyone. Its fasting is one of the pillars of Islam.

This month [Muharram] is virtuous. Its a Nafl fasting, a Sunnah fasting. It cannot reach Fard, but has a great Thawab. Some people don’t fast in Ramadan but fast during this month. It is a great loss when people do so, because they leave the Fard and do the Nafl. If you leave the Fard and do the Nafl throughout your life, it won’t replace a Fard. The Fard is more precious, because if you don’t do the Nafl, there won’t be questioning in Akhirah. You won’t be asked why you didn’t do the Nafl. But if you don’t do the Fard, there is a punishment for it in Akhirah. They will make you do it in such a way that it will be equal to millions of worldly years.

Therefore, we shouldn’t mix up Nafl and Fard. The highest worship is Fard. To perform Fard is the highest worship. As long as you do it, performing Nafl worship alongside it will make you closer to Allah ﷻ. It is said in Hadith Qudsi, “My servant comes nearer to Me with Nafl worship. With the Nafl worship he performs, I will be his arms and legs, and eyes with which he sees”. Allah ‘Azza wa Jalla says that.

Nafl prayers are very important. But as we said, if you don’t do the Fard, the Nafl prayers don’t have any value. Therefore, we should be careful. We should not miss the holy days and holy months. But more importantly, we should do the main Fard all year round. Since reaching maturity until death, prayer is Fard. You should do it without skipping. And you should fast every year in Ramadan. And do Nafl as much as you can the rest of the time. May Allah ﷻ bless this holy month. May Allah ﷻ make us all successful in doing good deeds and charity.

Wa min Allah at-Tawfiq. Al-Fatiha.

Mawlana Sheikh Muhammad Adil ar-Rabbani 01 August 2022/ 03 Muharram 1444 Fajr Prayer, Akbaba Dergah

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