Islamic Religious Council of Singapore

Friday Sermon

22 Apr 2022 / 20 Ramadan 1443H

Strengthening Our Relationship with the Quran This Ramadan

Blessed brothers and sisters,

Let us increase our taqwa of Allah (s.w.t.) by obeying His commands and abstaining from His prohibitions. Let us strive to increase our deeds in this blessed month by reciting the Quran and reflecting upon its meaning as the Quran is a source of guidance for humankind.

Blessed brothers and sisters,

The month of Ramadan and the Qur'an are like an inseparable knot. The month in which the Qur'an was revealed. Allah (s.w.t.) says in surah Al-Baqarah verse 185:

Which means: “Ramadan is the month in which the Qur’an was revealed as a guide for humanity with clear proofs of guidance to distinguish between right and wrong”.  

 

Brothers and sisters,

We can understand from this verse that the Qur'an provides guidance for our life. Thus, it will be a great loss if we do not try to strengthen our relationship with the Qur’an in this blessed month of Ramadan. Therefore, I would like to share a few steps that we can take to strengthen our relationship with the Qur'an:

Firstly: Let us strive to increase our recitation of the Qur'an. This was among the many deeds in which the Prophet (s.a.w.) would increase in the blessed month of Ramadan.

As narrated by Ibn Abbas (r.a): The Prophet (s.a.w) was the most generous of all the people, and he used to become more generous in Ramadan when Jibril (a.s) met him. Jibril (a.s) used to meet him every night during Ramadan to revise the Qur'an with him. Indeed, the Prophet (s.a.w) is more generous in doing goodness than the fast wind.

Brothers and sisters,

No doubt, many of us will try to complete reading the Qur'an as it is an encouraged deed. However, let us not feel disheartened if we are unable to do so. What is more important is that we make an effort to read it more in this month than in other months.

And for those who are unable to recite the Qur’an well, let us not give up and continue to learn from qualified Qur’an teachers. Let us remember the advice by our beloved Prophet (s.a.w.):

"The one who is proficient in the recitation of the Qur'an will be with the honourable and obedient angels whereas one who finds difficulty reciting the Qur'an and keeps doing his best to recite it in the best way possible, will have double rewards." (Hadith reported by Imam al-Bukhari and Imam Muslim) 

 

Brothers and sisters,

The second step that we can take to strengthen our relationship with the Qur'an, is by pondering and reflecting upon the verses of the Qur'an. Even though reading the Quran alone has its own rewards but let us not stop there. Among the obligations of a believer towards the Qur’an is to ponder and take lessons from it. Allah (s.w.t.) says in surah Al-Qamar, verse 32:

“And We have certainly made the Quran easy to remember. so is there anyone who will be mindful to take lessons from it?”

So let us take the opportunity in this blessed month of Ramadan to increase our religious knowledge by participating in the programs run by our mosques throughout Singapore, be it online or physical. For example, we can learn more about the Quran by attending tadarus or listening to bite-sized audio or lecture series on Quranic reflections, and many other ways that are easily accessible.

May this Ramadan bring us closer to the Qur'an and in return, increase our taqwa towards Allah (s.w.t.) Amin. Ya Rabbal ‘Alamin.

أَقُوْلُ قَوْلِي هَذَا وَ أَسْتَغْفِرُ اللهَ العَظِيْمَ لِي وَ لَكُمْ، فَاسْتَغْفِرُوهُ إِنَّهُ هُوَ الغَفُوْرُ الرَّحِيْم

 

 

 

Second Khutbah

الحَمْدُ للهِ حَمْدًا كَثِيرًا كَمَا أَمَرَ، وَأَشْهَدُ أَن لَا إِلَهَ إِلَّا اللهُ وَحْدَهُ لَا شَرِيكَ لَهُ، وَأَشْهَدُ أَنَّ سَيِّدَنَا مُحَمَّدًا عَبْدُهُ وَرَسُولُهُ. اللَّهُمَّ صَلِّ وَسَلِّمْ عَلَى سَيِّدِنَا مُحَمَّدٍ وَعَلَى آلِهِ وَأَصْحَابِهِ أَجْمَعِينَ. أَمَّا بَعْدُ، فَيَا عِبَادَ الله، اِتَّقُوا اللهَ تَعَالَى فِيمَا أَمَرَ، وَانتَهُوا عَمَّا نَهَاكُم عَنْهُ وَزَجَرَ.

أَلَا صَلُّوا وَسَلِّمُوا عَلَى النَّبِيِّ الْمُصْطَفَى، فَقَدْ أَمَرَنَا اللهُ بِذَلِكَ حَيْثُ قَال فِي كِتَابِهِ العَزِيزِ: إِنَّ اللهَ وَمَلَائِكَتَهُ يُصَلُّونَ عَلَى النَّبِيِّ يَـا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ ءَامَنُوا صَلُّوا عَلَيهِ وَسَلِّمُوا تَسلِيمًا. اللَّهُمَّ صَلِّ وَسَلِّمْ وَ بَارِكْ عَلَى سَيِّدِنَا مُحَمَّدٍ وَعَلَى آلِ سَيِّدِنَا مُحَمَّدٍ.

وَارْضَ اللَّهُمَّ عَنِ الخُلَفَاءِ الرَّاشِدِينَ المَهْدِيِّينَ أَبِي بَكْرٍ وَعُمَرَ وَعُثْمَانَ وَعَلِيِّ، وَعَن بَقِيَّةِ الصَّحَابَةِ وَالقَرَابَةِ وَالتَّابِعِينَ، وَتَابِعِي التَّابِعِينَ، وَعَنَّا مَعَهُم وَفِيهِم بِرَحْمَتِكَ يَا أَرْحَمَ الرَّاحِمِينَ.

اللَّهُمَّ اغْفِرْ لِلمُؤْمِنِينَ وَالمُؤْمِنَاتِ، وَالمُسْلِمِينَ وَالمُسْلِمَاتِ، الأَحْيَاءِ مِنهُم وَالأَمْوَاتِ. اللَّهُمَّ ادْفَعْ عَنَّا البَلَاءَ وَالوَبَاءَ وَالزَّلَازِلَ وَالمِحَنَ، مَا ظَهَرَ مِنْهَا وَمَا بَطَنَ، عَن بَلَدِنَا خَاصَّةً، وَسَائِرِ البُلْدَانِ عَامَّةً، يَارَبَّ العَالَمِينَ. رَبَّنَا آتِنَا فِي الدُّنيَا حَسَنَةً، وَفِي الآخِرَةِ حَسَنَةً، وَقِنَا عَذَابَ النَّارِ.

عِبَادَ اللهِ، إِنَّ اللهَ يَأْمُرُ بِالعَدْلِ وَالإِحْسَانِ وَإِيتَاءِ ذِي القُرْبَى، وَيَنْهَى عَنِ الفَحْشَاءِ وَالمُنكَرِ وَالبَغْيِ، يَعِظُكُمْ لَعَلَّكُمْ تَذَكَّرُونَ، فَاذكُرُوا اللهَ العَظِيمَ يَذْكُركُمْ، وَاشْكُرُوهُ عَلَى نِعَمِهِ يَزِدكُمْ، وَاسْأَلُوهُ مِن فَضلِهِ يُعطِكُم، وَلَذِكرُ اللهِ أَكبَرُ، وَاللهُ  يَعلَمُ مَا تَصنَعُونَ.