The Trial of Ease: Preparing Our Hearts for Ramadan
[Arabic,إِنَّ الْحَمْدَ لِلَّهِ، نَحْمَدُهُ وَنَسْتَعِينُهُ وَنَسْتَغْفِرُهُ، وَنَعُوذُ بِاللَّهِ مِنْ شُرُورِ أَنْفُسِنَا وَسَيِّئَاتِ أَعْمَالِنَا، مَنْ يَهْدِهِ اللَّهُ فَلَا مُضِلَّ لَهُ، وَمَنْ يُضْلِلْ فَلَا هَادِيَ لَهُ، وَأَشْهَدُ أَنْ لَا إِلَهَ إِلَّا اللَّهُ وَحْدَهُ لَا شَرِيكَ لَهُ، وَأَشْهَدُ أَنَّ مُحَمَّدًا عَبْدُهُ وَرَسُولُهُ.]
Indeed, all praise is for Allah. We praise Him, seek His help, and His forgiveness. We seek refuge with Allah from the evil within ourselves and from the consequences of our wrong actions. Whomsoever Allah guides, none can misguide; whomsoever He leaves astray, none can guide. I bear witness there is no deity worthy of worship but Allah alone without partner, and Muhammad ﷺ is His servant and Messenger.
Part One: The Test That Destroys Without Warning
Brothers and sisters,
Before we begin, I want to share an important announcement. The Erie Masjid has confirmed that Ramadan will begin this Tuesday night, February 17th. Tarawih prayers will start that night, in shaa Allah, and fasting will begin the following day, Wednesday, February 18th. So when I say Ramadan is upon us — I am not speaking in generalities. We are talking about four days from now.
And that is exactly why this khutbah is so urgent. The question I want to pose to every person in this room today is simple: Are you ready?
Not ready in the sense of stocking your kitchen for iftar. Not ready in the sense of adjusting your work schedule. I mean: Is your heart ready? Is your soul prepared to meet this month in a state that Allah will accept from you?
Because here is the reality that most of us are unwilling to face — the greatest threat to our Ramadan is not hardship. It is not persecution. It is not poverty. The greatest threat to our Ramadan is comfort. It is ease. It is the fact that we have every blessing at our fingertips and yet we are spiritually asleep.
Allah tells us plainly:
[Quran,2:155-156,"We will certainly test you with a touch of fear and famine and loss of property, life, and crops. Give good news to those who patiently endure — who, when faced with a disaster, say, 'Surely to Allah we belong and to Him we will return.'"]
We hear this ayah and we think of calamities. We think of war, of prison, of illness. But Allah also tests through ease. He says:
[Quran,21:35,"Every soul will taste death. And We test you with evil and with good as a trial. And to Us you will be returned."]
Both evil and good are tests. And the scholars have long recognized that the test of good — the test of wealth, health, freedom, and comfort — is often the more dangerous of the two.
The Prophet's Fear for This Ummah
The Prophet ﷺ himself feared this for us. He did not primarily fear poverty for his ummah. He feared what would happen when the dunya was opened up to us. He said:
[Hadith,Bukhari & Muslim,"By Allah, it is not poverty that I fear for you. Rather, I fear that the world will be spread out before you as it was spread out before those who came before you, and you will compete for it as they competed for it, and it will destroy you as it destroyed them."]
Look at us today. Has this not come true? The dunya has been spread before us in ways previous generations could never have imagined. We have food delivered to our doors. We have entertainment in our pockets. We have comfort in every corner of our lives. And what has it done to our worship?
We struggle to wake up for Fajr — not because we are exhausted from hard labor, but because we stayed up watching videos until 2 AM. We struggle to read Quran — not because we lack access, but because our phones offer a hundred distractions that feel more appealing. We struggle to fast voluntary fasts — not because we lack food, but because skipping lunch feels unbearable when a restaurant is five minutes away.
[Hadith,Tirmidhi,"The son of Adam will not be dismissed from before his Lord on the Day of Resurrection until he is questioned about five things: his life and how he spent it, his youth and how he used it, his wealth and how he earned it and spent it, and how he acted upon what he learned."]
When Hardship Produces Strength
Let me share something with you from my experience that puts this into perspective.
Most Fridays, when I am not here at Erie, I give khutbah at Lake Erie Correctional Institute. I stand before Muslim brothers who are incarcerated — men who have lost their freedom, who are told when to eat, when to sleep, when to move. Men who cannot simply walk to a masjid. Men who are denied the ability to pray in congregation, who cannot pray tarawih together, who have no access to a proper Islamic library or a scholar to ask questions.
And right now — as we sit here today — I am in the middle of fighting alongside the Chaplain just to get these brothers approved to receive three dates each for iftar during Ramadan. Three dates. That is the battle. Not a feast, not a buffet, not a choice of restaurants — three dates to break their fast, and even that is not guaranteed. Meanwhile, any one of us could walk outside right now and buy an entire box of dates without a second thought. Let that sit with you.
And yet — and listen to this carefully — some of the most sincere worship I have ever witnessed has been behind those walls.
I have seen men weep in sujood with a sincerity that would humble any of us. I have seen men memorize Quran in cells with no teacher, just a mushaf and sheer determination. Their struggle is freedom — they have none. But that very struggle has forced them to cling to the one thing no one can take from them: their relationship with Allah.
The Prophet ﷺ described this beautifully:
[Hadith,Muslim,"How wonderful is the affair of the believer! Everything is good for him — and that is for no one except the believer. If something good happens to him, he is grateful, and that is good for him. If something bad happens to him, he is patient, and that is good for him."]
Those brothers in prison are being tested with hardship, and many of them are passing that test. But here, on the outside, we are being tested with ease — and too many of us are failing.
From the Battlefield to the Prayer Mat
I want to share something personal. When I became Muslim, I was serving in the Army. I had just accepted Islam, and I was trying to learn how to pray. There were times my chain of command refused to let me pray because, to them, it conflicted with training. I would have to sneak away during breaks, find a quiet corner, and rush through my salah before someone noticed.
Did I resent it at the time? Of course. But looking back, those moments of difficulty cemented my faith in ways that comfort never could. When you have to fight for the right to make sujood, that sujood means something to you. When prayer comes easy, when the masjid is right down the street, when no one is stopping you — it is dangerously easy to become careless with it.
And look at our brothers and sisters in places like Gaza, like Syria, like the Uyghurs in China. They pray under bombardment. They fast while their cities are being destroyed. They teach their children Quran in refugee camps. They hold onto their deen with both hands because they know what it means to almost lose it.
Allah describes these people:
[Quran,33:23,"Among the believers are those who have proven true to what they pledged to Allah. Some of them have fulfilled their vow with their lives, others are waiting their turn. They have never changed in the least."]
And then there is us. We have peace. We have safety. We have full fridges and warm homes and masajid on every corner. And yet our attachment to this deen is often so fragile that a busy week is enough to make us skip Jumu'ah.
[Quran,57:16,"Has the time not come for the hearts of the believers to be humbled at the remembrance of Allah and what has been revealed of the truth, and not be like those given the Scripture before — who were spoiled for so long that their hearts became hardened? And many of them are rebellious."]
This ayah should shake us. Allah is asking: Has the time not come? How long will we wait? How many more Ramadans will pass while we sleepwalk through them?
The Danger of Spiritual Laziness
The Prophet ﷺ used to seek refuge from laziness. This was not a casual du'a — it was a consistent, repeated supplication:
[Hadith,Bukhari,"The Prophet ﷺ used to seek refuge with Allah saying: O Allah, I seek refuge in You from laziness and cowardice, and I seek refuge in You from miserliness and the torment of the grave."]
He placed laziness alongside cowardice and miserliness — serious spiritual diseases. Because laziness in worship is not a minor thing. It is one of the characteristics that Allah attributes to the hypocrites:
[Quran,4:142,"Surely the hypocrites seek to deceive Allah, but He outwits them. When they stand up for prayer, they do it half-heartedly, only to be seen by people — hardly remembering Allah at all."]
And in another ayah:
[Quran,9:54,"And what prevented their contributions from being accepted is that they have lost faith in Allah and His Messenger, they do not come to prayer except half-heartedly, and they do not spend except reluctantly."]
Half-heartedly. Reluctantly. Lazily. These are not descriptions of believers. These are descriptions of munafiqeen. And when we drag ourselves to Fajr, when we rush through our salah to get back to our phones, when we treat Ramadan as an inconvenience rather than a gift — we need to ask ourselves honestly which description fits us.
Part Two: From Prisoners of Circumstance to Prisoners of Choice
Brothers and sisters,
I described for you the brothers at LECI whose struggle is the lack of freedom. They cannot choose when to eat, where to pray, or who to spend their time with. Every act of worship is a battle against the system around them.
But our struggle is fundamentally different. Our struggle is choice. We have the freedom to pray — we choose not to. We have the ability to fast — we choose comfort. We have access to knowledge — we choose entertainment. We have time for Quran — we choose social media.
And in many ways, this is the harder test. Because when someone prevents you from praying, you long for it. When you are denied food, fasting becomes meaningful. When freedom is taken, you appreciate every moment of worship. But when everything is available and you still do not take it — that is a sickness of the heart that is far more difficult to treat.
The Prophet ﷺ warned about exactly this when he said:
[Hadith,Tirmidhi,"Take advantage of five before five: your youth before your old age, your health before your sickness, your wealth before your poverty, your free time before your busyness, and your life before your death."]
Every one of those five blessings describes our current state. We have youth, health, wealth, free time, and life. But are we taking advantage? Or are we squandering these gifts on things that will have no weight on the Day of Judgment?
Ramadan: The Training Ground
This is precisely why Allah gave us Ramadan. It is not a punishment. It is a training program. Allah tells us its purpose directly:
[Quran,2:183,"O believers! Fasting is prescribed for you — as it was for those before you — so perhaps you will become mindful of Allah."]
The goal is taqwa — consciousness of Allah. Ramadan is designed to break us out of our comfort zone. For thirty days, we are forced to say no to our desires during daylight hours. We are forced to stand in prayer at night when our beds call us. We are forced to confront our weaknesses.
But here is the question: If you enter Ramadan without preparation, without a plan, without having already begun to fight your laziness — what do you think will happen? You will sleepwalk through it just as you sleepwalk through the rest of the year. You will fast from food but not from sin. You will stand in tarawih but your mind will be elsewhere. And when Eid comes, nothing will have changed.
The scholars used to prepare for Ramadan months in advance. Mu'alla ibn al-Fadl said:
[Quote,Mu'alla ibn al-Fadl,"The Salaf used to supplicate Allah for six months asking Him to allow them to reach Ramadan, and then they would supplicate for six months after it asking Him to accept it from them."]
Six months of anticipation. Six months of gratitude. That is how seriously they took this month. And we cannot even be bothered to adjust our sleep schedule a week before it starts.
A Practical Plan: Start Now
Brothers and sisters, Ramadan is not the time to start training. Ramadan is the race. The training happens now. Let me give you practical steps that you can begin today — not tomorrow, not next week, today:
1. Fix your Fajr. If you are not praying Fajr in its time consistently, nothing else matters. This is the foundation. Set your alarm. Make wudu the night before. Sleep early. Do whatever it takes. The Prophet ﷺ said:
[Hadith,Muslim,"Whoever prays the Fajr prayer is under the protection of Allah. So do not let Allah find anything wanting in His protection of you."]
2. Begin voluntary fasting now. Fast Mondays and Thursdays. Fast the white days (13th, 14th, 15th of the lunar month). Get your body and your soul accustomed to hunger again. When Ramadan comes, the transition will be seamless instead of a shock.
3. Open the Quran daily. Even if it is one page. Even if it is five ayat. Build the habit now so that when Ramadan arrives, you are already in rhythm. The one who opens the Quran for the first time in Sha'ban will struggle to maintain it in Ramadan. Start now.
4. Cut one distraction. You know what it is. The app that steals your time. The show that keeps you up past Isha. The habit that adds nothing to your akhirah. Cut one thing now and replace it with dhikr, with Quran, with beneficial knowledge.
5. Make du'a to reach Ramadan. This is from the Sunnah. The Prophet ﷺ would say when Rajab entered:
[Hadith,Ahmad & Tabarani,"O Allah, bless us in Rajab and Sha'ban, and allow us to reach Ramadan."]
We are not guaranteed another Ramadan. People we prayed with last year are in their graves today. Ask Allah to let you reach it, and ask Him to let you reach it in a state of readiness.
6. Make tawbah before Ramadan. Do not enter the most blessed month carrying the weight of unrepented sins. Clean your slate now. The Prophet ﷺ said:
[Hadith,Ibn Majah,"The one who repents from sin is like the one who has no sin."]
The Standard We Should Hold Ourselves To
Brothers and sisters, the Companions understood what was at stake. They did not treat Ramadan casually. Ibn Umar, may Allah be pleased with him, would prepare for Ramadan by increasing his charity, his fasting, and his night prayers in the months before. Aisha, may Allah be pleased with her, reported that the Prophet ﷺ himself would increase his worship in Sha'ban more than any other month:
[Hadith,Bukhari & Muslim,"The Prophet ﷺ used to fast so much in Sha'ban that we thought he would never stop fasting, and he would go so long without fasting that we thought he would never fast."]
He was building momentum. He was training. And this is the Prophet of Allah — the one whose past and future sins were already forgiven. If he prepared for Ramadan, what excuse do any of us have?
A Final Reflection
I want to leave you with this thought. When I stand before the brothers at LECI next Friday, some of them will ask me, "How do we prepare for Ramadan when we can barely practice our deen?" And I will tell them what I always tell them — that their struggle, their patience, their persistence in worshipping Allah despite every obstacle, is beloved to Allah in ways they cannot imagine.
But when I stand before you today, I have a different message. You have no obstacles. You have no excuse. The masjid is open. The Quran is on your shelf. The food for suhoor is in your fridge. The only thing standing between you and a transformative Ramadan is you.
Allah will not change our condition until we change what is within ourselves:
[Quran,13:11,"Indeed, Allah would never change a people's state of favour until they change their own state of faith."]
So make the change now. Not in Ramadan — now. Because Ramadan is not a magic switch that transforms you overnight. It is a magnifier. Whatever state you enter it in, that is what gets amplified. Enter it lazy, and you will be lazy throughout. Enter it prepared, hungry for Allah's mercy, desperate for forgiveness, disciplined in your worship — and you will leave it transformed.
The Prophet ﷺ said:
[Hadith,Bukhari & Muslim,"Whoever fasts Ramadan with faith and seeking Allah's reward, all his past sins will be forgiven."]
[Hadith,Bukhari & Muslim,"Whoever stands in prayer during Ramadan with faith and seeking Allah's reward, all his past sins will be forgiven."]
[Hadith,Bukhari & Muslim,"Whoever stands in prayer on Laylat al-Qadr with faith and seeking Allah's reward, all his past sins will be forgiven."]
Three chances for a complete slate. Three doors to a new beginning. But the condition is the same in each one: with faith and seeking Allah's reward. That requires sincerity, and sincerity requires preparation. It does not happen by accident.
Brothers and sisters, let this be the Ramadan where we refuse to be lazy. Let this be the year where the trial of ease does not defeat us. Let this be the moment we decide that comfort will not make us complacent, that freedom will not make us forgetful, and that blessings will not make us ungrateful.
We end by asking Allah...
O Allah, allow us to reach Ramadan in good health and strong faith.
O Allah, do not let our comfort make us heedless of You.
O Allah, soften our hearts and make us among those who prepare for Your blessed month.
O Allah, forgive us for the times we chose laziness over worship, distraction over remembrance, and comfort over obedience.
O Allah, bless our brothers and sisters who worship You behind prison walls, in war zones, and under persecution — and let their steadfastness be a witness against our excuses.
O Allah, make this Ramadan a turning point for every person in this room.
O Allah, accept our fasting, our prayers, and our repentance.
O Allah, do not let us be among those who leave Ramadan unchanged.
We ask Allah to make us firm upon His straight path, to guide us and not let us go astray, to have mercy on us and forgive us.
Whatever good was said in this khutbah is from Allah alone, and whatever mistakes or errors are from myself and from Shaytan. I ask Allah to forgive me and you for any shortcomings.
I say these words of mine, and I seek forgiveness from Allah for myself and you all. Seek His forgiveness — indeed, He is Most Forgiving, Most Merciful.
[Arabic,أَقُولُ قَوْلِي هَذَا، وَأَسْتَغْفِرُ اللَّهَ لِي وَلَكُمْ، فَاسْتَغْفِرُوهُ إِنَّهُ هُوَ الْغَفُورُ الرَّحِيمُ.]