Shaykh Mokhtar would like to wish all the brothers and sisters a Ramadan Mubarak!

He counsels us all as follows:

Fasting is abstaining from that which is otherwise permissible, such as food and drink. But there is also fasting with the rest of my senses. I must fast with my eyes. I must not use my eyes in ways that Allah ﷻ does not love, whether online or in real life. My ears, my tongue, and my limbs must fast. My sexual drive must fast.  I must even fast with my intellect, memory and emotions.  Finally, my heart (qalb) must fast.

If I don’t fast in this deeper way — but I am not eating and drinking — then what is the true value of my fast?  My fasting is, at least, very deficient.  Rasulullah ﷺ said that, for some, the only thing they gain from their fasting is hunger. They fast, but they allow their senses and hearts to indulge in that which Allah ﷻ does not love or allow.  Such do not gain the ultimate benefits and gifts of fasting.

May the spirit of fasting permeate us, and may Allah ﷻ, by His Grace and His Merciful-Love (Rahma), grant us the resolve (himma), orientation and focus to fast with the letter and spirit of fasting.

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Please remember Shaykh Mokhtar and his family in your du’a.  As he reminds us regularly, you are all in his du’a after every salah, walhamdullillah.

Ramadan Mubarak.