The Blessed Month Of Ramadan And Reform 8/10

'A'udhu bi’l-Lahi, min ash-Shaytan, ar-rajim. Bismi-Llah, Al-Rahmani, Al-Rahim. Al-hamdulil-Lahi Rabbi al-‘Alamin, wa afdhal as-salawti wa 'tamu at-taslim 'ala Sayyidina Muhammad, wa ahlih, at-tahirin. As human beings, we are made up of certain things. We all have an intellect, we all have a heart. We all have physical body. And we are also restricted to time and place as well, in the material sense, of course. And that means that we were born in a certain place, in a certain time.

There are things that we are able to change, and there are also things that we are not able to change. There are things that we have an obsession with. There are things that we don't have an obsession with. In this day and age, I am very sure you know that there are so many of us that have the wrong obsession for the least useful thing. And that least useful thing is the vessel of our 'Aql and Qalb, our body, our physical body, the vessel of our intellect and our hearts.

Everyone says, don't judge your book by its cover or it is inside that counts, but then how many of us are really practicing that? How many of us who really remember that when we look at someone, we don't judge them by their outer appearance. And I think that is why one of the detrimental damages of today's society is that obsession in wanting to perfect yourself in the outside appearance, cosmetic surgery, and all these other things.

But then we have someone who says, when it comes to their conduct and their behaviour, well, I am who I am and I can't change anything about it. You can change some of your physical appearances by cosmetic alteration. But when it comes to our behaviour, we try to cover up and justify it. This is why when I say obsession with certain things and lack of obsession with certain other things, we fall into this kind of problem where we are getting things wrong. We are miscalculating the way a society should function.

And this is why, when it does come to the Holy month of Ramadan, when it does come to the practice of fasting, it is reminding you that it doesn't matter how and who you may be. Most importantly is your willingness to change, that you want to become a better person. And that is how we are able to see a society becoming better, because change will happen. You do change in your time, in your place, even your heart changes, even your intellect and your brain changes, your reasoning changes.

There is a reason as to why in Arabic, the heart is called "al-qalb". Sumi al-qalbu qalban li taqallubihi, yataqallab. A heart is always changing, and always drifting away from something that you might like and then coming back from something that you don't like. And it is always in that kind of altering and changing modes. And that is exactly why we need to be careful, of controlling our 'Aql, of controlling our qalb, of controlling our Zaman and our Makan that we live in. Because in the time that we have, if I don't utilize it in the right way, I am going to be held accountable and responsible. The place that I am in, if I don't make sure that I make that place a better place, that I am going to be responsible and accountable.

Do you not have a responsibility for who you are and where you are? Who you are? You are a Muslim. Imam As-Sadiq, alayhi as-salam, as he says, along the lines of how shameful is it that there is a group of people, there is a community, there is a society where in that society, the follower of Ahl ul-Bayt is not the most loyal, the most committed, the most truthful, the most honest person among them. And that is where it becomes a very big responsibility for all of us.

We need to continue to remember that if we don't have that kind of change, not only in our outlook, but also in our attitude in our soul, you might not be able to change a lot of things in your outer appearance. Maybe now, but when it comes to your soul, there is a lot that can be changed. When it comes to your way of thinking, there is a lot that can be changed.

Why is it that in our religion it speaks about always making sure that you have benefit of the doubts? That is thinking. Why is it that in our religion it is always saying that you need to remember that you don't fall into lust? That is change. That we control our heart, that we control our mind. This is what fasting is going to be able to do to us. Wa al-hamdulil-Lahi Rabbi al-'Alamin. Wa as-salat wa as-salamu 'ala ashraf khalqi Allahi Muhammad, wa ahlih at-tahirin.