المحاضرة الرمضانية الأولى للسيد عبد الملك بدر الدين الحوثي 1443ه الموافق 02-04-2022 

I seek refuge in Allah from Shaytan, the outcast. 

In the name of Allah, the Most Beneficent, the Most Merciful. 

Praise is to Allah, the Lord of Worlds. I believe that there is no god but Allah, He is the Sovereign and the Manifest Truth; and that Muhammad, our master, is His servant, messenger, and last prophet.   

O Allah, confer Your Salat (prayers) and blessings upon Muhammad and the Family of Muhammad just as You conferred Your Salat (prayers) and blessings upon Ebrahim and the Family of Ebrahim. You are Owner of Praise, Owner of Glory! And be pleased with Muhammad good companions and all Your righteous servants and mujahedeen. 

Brothers and sisters, peace be upon you, as well as the mercy of Allah and His blessings. 

As we live the climate of the month of Ramadan, I reiterate my congratulation and ask Allah to grant us success in seeking good deeds that make Him pleased with us and in obtaining Taqwa in the month of fasting and Taqwa.  

The Month of Ramadan comes as one of the many opportunities Allah provides for us and through which He creates the climate for us to enjoy faithful discipline and self-purification and to follow His guidance.  

The gates of His mercy are always open, and righteousness and Taqwa are always required. However, Allah creates the climate and various opportunities at the temporal level and in terms of events and developments that take place. So, many are the things that Allah creates to provide people with an opportunity to remember, which helps them keep to righteousness. In addition, Allah (Glory be to Him) gives people many opportunities that help them transcend in their faith and their ethics on the one hand, and that help them obtain reward, achieve nearness to Allah (Glory be to Him), and strengthen their relationship of faith with Him on the other hand. Allah also makes it possible for people at the individual level and the collective level—as Muslim society that goes in the path of faith based on His guidance—to obtain His great care, resulting in great, good benefits, and outcomes in this immediate life and the Hereafter.     

The atmosphere of fasting and its blessings in the month of Ramadan as an annual stop make the conditions perfect for the clarity of mind and soul and for receiving Allah's guidance (Glory be to Him) in a remarkable way. It is a great opportunity to remind ourselves of divine guidance: Allah says, {'And keep reminding, because reminding benefits the believers'}[Adh-Dhariyat 51:55]. In addition, the Holy Quran was first revealed during the month of Ramadan, and there is a strong connection between fasting in terms of its desired purpose (Taqwa) and the Holy Quran and its guidance, which Allah called as a healing [the Holy Quran] in its great impact on the educational level. Indeed, it heals the human soul from all that kind of impurities, including moral and educational impurities that defile the soul, badly affect its wellbeing, and lead to bad effects, resulting in the occurrence of bad deeds and deviation in this life. Therefore, the Holy Quran has a great effect when we use it to remind ourselves and others and start paying attention to it with deep reflection, while evaluating ourselves, realities, and deeds and sincerely working on remedying shortcomings and fixing deficiencies.    

In this context, the first thing we are going to speak about is the intended and practical purpose of fasting. Allah (Glory be to Him) says, {‘O believers! Fasting is prescribed for you (as it was for those before you) so you may become Muttaqin [mindful of Allah’}[Al-Baqara 2:183]. Here, Allah points out a practical benefit of an educational nature that plays an important role in helping the person keep to righteousness and, as a result, protects him/herself from the consequences of bad deeds.    

Therefore, the source of evil in this life is bad deeds and their immediate consequences as well as the punishment for such deeds. And here comes the importance of Taqwa, as it controls people's practical performance in terms of protecting them from those bad results, from those bad deeds, and from their bad consequences. We note, for example, how the wicked (the criminals, the unjust, and the corrupt) cause great problems in people’s lives in all fields: in the economic field, in the security field, in the social field, in the political field, and in many fields.  We can also see how serious the consequences of negligence and carelessness towards good deeds and great responsibilities are: That can have very serious and negative consequences that help the wicked, the criminals, the unjust, the bad, and the corrupt to spread their corruption, injustice, criminality, and evil. The effects of that will spare no one.  

Taqwa is a very crucial issue for this worldly life and for the Hereafter. Therefore, we have to take into consideration the importance of this issue when we perform the task of fasting in this month and when we seek all that can help us in obtaining spiritual purification and righteousness in our behaviours and attitudes. We need to pay attention to that desired fruit, the practical aim that is essential when it comes to all other things: reward, blessings, good things, and what Allah promised. All these things depend on this practical fruit: {'that you may become Muttaqin‘}. Through fasting, through keeping to good deeds and patience, through gaining self-control in the face of the whims of the soul and its desires that often lead to deviation from the right path, and through taking great care of the Holy Quran (Allah's guidance) and what is in it (insights, light, guidance, and healing), the person gains this fruitful and great result: Taqwa. As a result, s/he protects him/herself from the bad consequences of bad deeds, and s/he protects him/herself from serious deviation that makes him/her go stray from the path of faith and Taqwa. 

When reflecting on the reality of our Muslim society, we—even though affiliation to Islam is a great blessing and Islam itself is a great blessing through which Allah completed His blessings upon us—can see what kind of reality is the reality of those affiliated to Islam: They live a state of negligence carelessness, and neglectfulness, a state of bad manifestations in the reality of this life as well as deviations and wrong doings. (That can be clearly seen.) And when we evaluate the reality of our Muslim society based on the Holy Quran and Allah's guidance (Glory be to Him), we can see a great gab between the current state lived by people and the required practical commitment.  

Our Muslim society does not lack faith in Allah, in the Hereafter, in the Holy Quran, in what is right, or in the principles mentioned in the Holy Quran. It does not even lack general knowledge of what Allah has allowed or what He has forbidden, especially those obvious matters. Mostly, when people commit forbidden acts, that is not because of ignorance on the part of people. Indeed, they commit such acts even though they know that these acts are forbidden. Also, when they neglect or shy away from their duties, responsibilities, or the good deeds that Allah has ordered us to do, it is not mainly because these people do not know what Allah has ordered us to do. Rarely does lack of knowledge become the reason of negligence. So, knowledge exists to a great extent and covers main principles and actions. Similarly, there is a list of clear forbidden acts that are known but also committed!  

Our Muslim society does not lack faith, acknowledgement, or knowledge of a lot of those matters; what it lacks is Taqwa. A long list of what Allah has prescribed for us emerges before us (especially when we read the Holy Quran or when we remind ourselves of what our Prophet said), yet we do not do them or we neglect doing them. In addition, there is a long list of what is forbidden or what Allah (Glory be to Him) has told us to avoid, yet a lot of Muslims commit those forbidden acts, which Allah (Glory be to Him) told us to avoid. 

Therefore, it is all about lack of Taqwa, so we recognize the importance of Taqwa, the importance of providing ourselves with Taqwa, and the importance of all that can help us to stick to Taqwa as a state of faith at the educational and practical levels. In reality, Taqwa is a must for us to be safe from the torment of Allah (Glory be to Him) and to be safe of the punishment with which Allah has threatened those who commit forbidden acts or neglect their responsibilities. 

When we, as believers, look at Taqwa, we recognize that the greatest advantage of Taqwa is being safe of Allah's torment. We, as Muslim society, believe in Judgement, believe in the Hereafter, believe in Resurrection and Reckoning, believe in Al-Jannah [Heaven] and Hell, and believe in Allah’s promise and warning. Howbeit, we might have some weakness in our belief, so it does not produce necessary, sufficient attention that prompts us to guard against the causes of Allah’s wrath and torment. 

Allah warns against many specific misdeeds; however, a lot of people insist on committing them. Allah warns us against neglecting those main and important responsibilities He (Glory be to Him) imposed on us, yet many people evade those main doings, and they do not do them or adhere to them. This kind of misdeeds that have to do with neglecting what Allah has ordered us to do are probably more committed by most people, especially by the religious, than this kind of misdeeds that have to do with what Allah has forbidden us to do! 

In the Holy Quran, Allah (Glory be to Him) reminds us of the importance of working to save ourselves from His torment. Allah says, {‘O you who believe'}, and we always hear this call from Allah (Glory be to Him) so that we remind ourselves that we are meant with that call, not as if that call were addressed to others or as if that call had nothing to with you. You—out of your affiliation to faith, all practical commitments this affiliation requires, and all that your affiliation represents in terms of connecting you to Allah (Glory be to Him)—must remember that these words are addressed to you. 

{'O you who believe, protect yourselves and your families from a fire whose fuel is people and stones, and is overseen by rigorous and stern angels, who never disobey whatever Allah commands and do whatever they are commanded'’} [At-Tahrim 66:6]. {'O you who believe'} shows that affiliation to faith is not enough to protect you from Hell and Allah’s torment. If affiliation to faith were enough, Allah would not have warned us and attracted our attention to this important note. Hence, people must work hard to protect themselves from this horrible torment: {'Protect yourselves and your families'}– this shows that people have responsibilities towards their families to work to protect them from Allah’s torment, {'Fire whose fuel is people and stones’}. This fire is the fire that we believe to be the punishment Allah made in the Hereafter for the disobedient, the criminals, the unbelievers, and the transgressors. The Holy Quran talked extensively about Hell, as well as its descriptions and the different kinds of punishment in that place. It is too horrible and of very serious consequences. Therefore, the most terrible loss is when a person falls into a state of negligence and carelessness and when s/he depends on vain hopes, when s/he fools him/herself, and so s/he starts to take things lightly and neglects what Allah (Glory be to Him) has commanded. Some responsibilities, when neglected, can lead the person to Hell, as Allah has presented the warning on that and made His torment and punishment for that.  

Being neglectful towards what Allah has forbidden and falling into a state of carelessness and negligence, as well as following one’s desires, anger, and mood states, away from what Allah (Glory be to Him) has commanded and instructed, can lead the person to Hell. There, his/her loss will be great, especially if the person was affiliated to faith and had the opportunity and right conditions to protect him/herself and win. His/her regret becomes greater. 

Allah says, {'protect yourselves and your families from a fire whose fuel is people and stones, and is overseen by rigorous and stern angels, who never disobey whatever Allah commands and do whatever they are commanded'’}[At-Tahrim 66:6]. Indeed, this is enough for the believer to seek Taqwa. It is too dangerous an issue to end up in fire forever (may Allah forbid), lose Allah’s pleasure, His Jannah, and eternal happiness due to your habit of being careless and neglectful and following desires and vain hopes. Therefore, one of the things the prophets and the righteous and good people always keep in mind and pay attention to is being cautious of Allah’s torment and not to be involved in it. They fear Allah’s torment and remain cautious, serious, and attentive in dealing with what Allah commands and what He warns against. 

In addition, the immediate punishment we may suffer in life gives us enough of a reason to  push us to seek Taqwa because many are the things we suffer in life due to our misdeeds, carelessness, and negligence—misdeeds that transgress what Allah (Glory be to Him) has forbidden or commanded and that include neglecting our responsibilities.  

Allah (Glory be to Him) says, {‘And whatever calamity befalls you is of your own making’}[Al-Shura 42:30]. What befalls people at the personal level and the difficulties they suffer are often the outcome of their deeds, transgressions, shortcomings, and wrongdoings. This makes the importance of Taqwa very clear and protects us from a lot of calamities and alleviates the rest of hardships. 

Allah says, {‘If Allah were to take people to task for their evil doings, He would not leave on the surface of this [earth] a single living creature. But He grants them respite till a stated term. And when their appointed time comes, Allah has His servants well under His eyes'}[Fatir 35:45]. This shows how huge the sins, wrongdoings, crimes, and flaws committed by people are. That tremendous amount of such practices would be enough to spare nothing in this life from destruction if Allah were to hold people accountable in this world before the Hereafter— a critical issue that shows the extent of negligence in the reality of people in general and Muslim society in particular. Indeed, there are many misdeeds that can lead to total destruction if Allah were to [fully] punish people for such misdeeds. However, out of His mercy, Allah (Glory be to Him) grants people respite to an appointed time but also strikes them with some kind of punishment that serves as a reminder and a warning: {‘Do they not see that they are tried every year once or twice. Still they do not repent nor would they take heed’}[Al-Taubah: 9:126]. Therefore, in their course of life, people might face punishment and painful consequences that affect their lives as a reminder so that they might change course and seek repentance and forgiveness. 

For example, when we notice the difficulties and hardships we (as Muslim society) face in this life, this will attract us to Allah, for there is no salvation but through going back to Allah: {‘And if the people of townships had believed and guarded against transgression, We would invariably have opened for them the blessings of the heaven and  the earth’}[Al-Araf 7:96]. 

The drought (if we notice) that we are suffering these days should make us return to Allah, make us seize the chance of this blessed month to repent to Allah, seek forgiveness, and appeal and return to Him in a practical way that makes us look for our shortcomings and what we have neglected and fell short in, as well as our transgression of Allah’s commands. Then, we should move to get things right in our life. It is this kind of returning to Allah—it includes repentance, supplication as well as mending deeds, seeking forgiveness, and paying attention to all shortcomings— that He accepts, for He is the most Merciful and the most Generous Who accepts his servants when they repent.  

Allah shows us the great results of Taqwa notably in the Hereafter, in the everlasting and eternal life, that great reward: Allah says, {‘Hurry towards your Lord’s forgiveness and a Garden as wide as the heavens and earth prepared for Al-Muttaqin’}[Al-i-Imran 3:133].  

Al-Jannah, whose grace and eternal happy life is mentioned a lot in the Holy Quran, is made for those who are Muttaqin [mindful of Allah]. Therefore, Taqwa is a must in order to reach Al-Jannah: {‘Such is Al-Jannah [the Paradise] which We give to those of our servants who guard against evil’}[Maryam 19:63]. 

If you are pious and adhere to Taqwa in your life and your actions, then this great fruit will be yours, which is a great victory. However, without Taqwa—If a person keeps sticking to carelessness and negligence, remains overwhelmed by his/her desires in his/her attitudes, actions, and words, and follow his/her own mood, desires, passions, and anger—s/he will be far from this fruit, and s/he will definitely lose this great result. 

As for the immediate life, there are many great things that Allah has promised as reward for Taqwa. That can be summarized in Allah’s saying: {'Indeed, Allah is with those who are pious'}[An-Nahl 16:128]. He guides, supports, and helps them and grants them success; He eases their suffering, takes care of them, and ensures them tranquility: {'Indeed, Allah is with those who are pious'}. So, if you are of the pious, you will never find yourself alone in the face of the burdens of this life and its worries, troubles, difficulties, and challenges, for Allah is with you! When you fear God (Glory be to Him), you will never end up bearing the burdens of your responsibilities and what accompanies such responsibilities on your own, for Allah is with you. Indeed, when you are mindful of Allah (Glory be to Him), He will ease your suffering and take great care of you; therefore, do not depend only on what you have (your limited capabilities and abilities), but depend on Allah's great bounty that never runs out—{'Allah is with those who are pious and those who are good doers'} [An-Nahl 16:128]. We are going to talk more (Allah willing) about the fruit of Taqwa with regard to its immediate reward in this life, but we need to talk [first] about the different areas of Taqwa. 

Allah extensively mentions Taqwa and orders us to stick to it in the Holy Quran. It comes in the contexts of deeds: What we have to do, what we need to remain mindful of and seek not to neglect, and what is forbidden. We are going to briefly shed light on some aspects of Taqwa, and we call upon every person to recite Quran attentively and reflect on what was mentioned about Taqwa when reading the Holy Quran. Allah (Glory be to Him) says, {'O believers, be mindful of Allah in the way He deserves, and do not die except as Muslims’}[Ali’Imran 3:102]. This command introduced in this way—{‘be mindful of Allah in the way He deserves’}—is found in one position in the Holy Quran. The expression {'in the way He deserves'} comes in the context of talking about the conspiracy of the evil team from the People of the Scripture, who support one another against Muslims, the Islamic Ummah, and the society of believers. This comes in the context of talking about those seeking to turn Muslims away from their religion, its principles, and the instructions of Allah (Glory be to Him), His true path, and the responsibility assigned to Muslims in facing that evil team and its conspiracies and protecting Muslim society from following them and being obedient to them. 

The verse {‘O believers! Be mindful of Allah in the way He deserves’} involves a very great, important, fundamental responsibility; Allah strongly warns us not to neglect it.  Allah shows its importance by saying, {‘in the way He deserves’}, so we have to be extremely careful and cautious, be at the highest level of vigilance and diligence in fulfilling our responsibility and avoiding falling into a state of negligence, since negligence leads to terrible consequences in this life and in the Hereafter. 

Therefore, we need here to stick to Taqwa and realize the danger of neglectfulness, negligence, and carelessness in everything related to our responsibility as we stand up to the conspiracy of the People of the Scripture who seek to make our Muslim society turn away from its religion and rightful way of life. 

On another issue, the issue of settling disputes among people, Allah (Glory be to Him) also says, {'so be mindful of Allah and settle your affairs'}[Al-Anfal 8:1]. Here we need to keep to Taqwa in our pursuit to settle our disputes and spare no effort to achieve that end and avoid all that can affect our relationships as Muslim society that strives in the cause of Allah. So, anything less than that indicates weakness in Taqwa and can lead to negative consequences that affect our ability to perform our collective responsibilities and duties. In addition, when dispute arises and relationships deteriorate among Muslim society, many and many misdeeds and transgressions directly take place: abuses, transgressions, backbiting, slander, accusations, and mistrust! That means dispute is a major sin that leads to many other sins, not to mention the fact that it badly affects our ability to carry out our collective responsibilities because we have responsibilities that we need to perform collectively: {'The believers, both men and women, are Auliya of one another. They encourage good and forbid evil'} [Al-Tawbah 9:71]. 

The responsibility of jihad for the sake of Allah is a collective responsibility, so is the responsibility of encouraging good and forbidding evil, as well as cooperating with one another in goodness and Taqwa. There are Many collective responsibilities, and that is why we must stick to Taqwa and fear Allah (Glory be to Him) by seeking to fulfil such responsibilities and work on settling dispute among us and avoiding all that can affect our relationships. In doing so, we translate Taqwa into action and become Muttaqin. 

In addition, when it comes to financial transactions, Allah says, {'O you who believe, fear Allah and give up what remains of usury'} [Al-Baqarah 2:278]—to show discipline in financial transactions and caution beginning with usury, this evil and very bad phenomenon that has spread in the Islamic arena and is now used among Muslims. It is one of the most serious crimes and sins that can lead to serious consequences at the economic level and deprivation of blessings and bounties, as well as the spread of dangers. 

For example, with regard to family ties, Allah says in the beginning of Surah An-Nisa, {‘And fear Allāh, through Whom you ask one another, and the wombs’}[An-Nisa 4:1].  When it comes to your interactions and relations, beginning with your family, you need to be mindful of Allah (Glory be to Him) in order for you to fulfil your moral obligations, which are related to your behaviors, dealings, and deeds of kindness. And you have to be aware of what Allah (Glory be to Him) has forbidden. 

One of the collective responsibilities of Muslim society is to cooperate and work together on righteousness and Taqwa, which is one of the important, great titles to which we will devote a lecture due to its importance and its results. Here, a command comes from Allah (Glory be to Him), as he says {‘Help each other in righteousness and Taqwa, and do not help each other in sin and aggression. Fear Allah. Surely, Allah is severe at punishment’}[Al-Ma'idah 5:2]. Fearing Allah requires us to cooperate in righteousness, which is a wide circle of deeds and responsibilities. Fearing Allah also requires us to abstain from cooperating in sin and aggression, like what happens with some people, especially when they get prejudiced, sometimes in favour of a friend or relative, or sometimes as a result of being attracted towards falsehood by temptation and materiality. {‘Surely, Allah is severe at punishment.’} 

As an example, Taqwa is one of the essential responsibilities that jihad in the cause of Allah reminds us of: {‘O you who believe, do your duty to Allah and fear Him. And seek the means of approach to Him, and strive hard in His Cause as much as you can. So that you may be successful’}[ Al-Maida 5:35]. So, 'do your duty to Allah' and do not neglect this great, important responsibility that leads to your honor, your strength, your victory, your protection from your enemies, and your ability to be independent, free, honorable, and free from subordination to your enemies and their control over you. Fear Allah and take this responsibility seriously. 

Also, when Allah calls to patience, endurance, and standing on guard, He accompanies His command with Taqwa: {'O you who believe, endure and be more patient [than your enemy] and stand on guard, and fear Allah, so that you may be successful'}[ Al-Imran 3: 200]. The command is accompanied with the call to Taqwa to warn us not to neglect our duty to stand on guard and show endurance and steadfastness in our positions. And He reminds us of the great goal that we aim to achieve if we stick to those commands: {‘So that you may be successful’}—that makes it possible for us to obtain the great reward that Allah has promised us with in this life and the Hereafter. 

In addition, with regard to following the Holy Quran, the command to follow the Quran is linked to Taqwa, {'And this is a blessed Book which We have sent down, so follow it and fear Allah, that you may receive mercy'} [ Al-An'am 6:155]. Fear Allah in how you follow the Holy Quran so that you do not neglect it or turn away from it. If you turn away from following the Holy Quran and neglect it, the consequences of that will be great punishments and serious consequences in this life and in the Hereafter. 

Thus, the fields related to Taqwa expands to every affair in our lives, so we need to pay attention to the issue of Taqwa in our adherence to the instructions and guidance of Allah in terms of what we have to do, what we have to guard against, and how we get rid of the habit of following our whims, moods, desires, and psychological fears. These things must not be followed nor what we base our actions, attitudes, impressions, and behaviors on. 

That is enough for this lecture… 

We ask Allah (Glory be to Him) to grant us success and lead us to what satisfies him. O Allah (Glory be to You), have mercy on our martyrs, heal the wounded among us, set free our captives, and grant us victory. You are All-Hearing! 

Brothers and sisters, peace be upon you, as well as the mercy of Allah and His blessings.