All praise be to Allah Who Guided to goodness and Made His Book a guide for the people of faith. May peace and blessings be upon him whose Lord adorned with the Quran and gifted him with Laylatul-Qadr (i.e. the Night of Decree) in Ramadan, his family and Companions, who are the masters of all times, and those who follow them from among the people of truth and gratitude.
My brother and sister, did you prepare your happiness for the advent of the month of the Quran?
My Muslim brother and sister: These days are sending glad tidings of the advent of the blessed month and scattering before it different kinds of blessings! To tell the slaves: “the month of mercy and forgiveness has come to you, so what did you prepare for it”?
My brother and sister: There, in the city of the Prophet good tidings were given every year to the purified Companions, may Allah be pleased with them.
Here is the Prophet giving them divine glad tidings saying: "Ramadan has come to you and it is a blessed month. Allah The Almighty Enjoined upon you to fast it. Therein, the gates of the Heavens are opened, the gates of Hell are closed and the rebellious devils are chained! Allah Has a night therein that is better than a thousand months! Whoever is deprived of its good is indeed deprived!." [An-Nasaai] [Al-Bayhaqi: Saheeh At-Targheeb: 985]
Imaam Ibn Rajab said: "This Hadeeth is a basic evidence on exchanging congratulations among people for the month of Ramadan. How can a believer not rejoice with the opening of the gates of the Heavens?
How can a sinner not rejoice at the closing of the gates of Hell? How can a reasonable person not rejoice at a time when the devils are chained?"
My brother and sister: This is the glad tiding for which people worked and prepared for and at which believers rejoiced. Brother and sister: Where is your happiness? Where is your smile when you see that days are approaching you gradually to place before you the happiness of every Muslim (i.e. the month of Ramadan!)?
My brother and sister: What a blessed month it is! For its sake, the hearts of the pious yearn for it and they ache for the pain of its departure! [Ibn Rajab]
My Muslim brother and sister: How happy are those who attain the reward of the month of forgiveness…
How happy are those who attain the reward of the month of mercy…
How happy are those who attain the reward of the month of the Quran…
How happy are those who attain the reward of the season of acts of obedience…
How happy are those who attain the reward of the days which The Exalted Lord of all slaves Granted awe, splendor and beauty.
My brother and sister: Did you know that the righteous used to supplicate Allah The Almighty for a long time to Make them reach the days of (the month of Ramadan)?
Mu'lla ibn Al-Fadhl said: "They used to ask Allah for six months to Make them live till Ramadan! Then, they used to supplicate Allah for another six months to Accept it from them."
Yahya ibn Abi Katheer said: "One of them would supplicate saying: 'O Allah, keep me safe until Ramadan, make Ramadan faultless for me and receive (my deeds in) it as accepted (by You).'"
My brother and sister: You too should supplicate like them and feel happiness like theirs. Perhaps Allah The Almighty Will Envelope you with the gifts of Ramadan…So He Forgives you for your sins and you leave Ramadan after being saved from Hellfire.
My Muslim brother and sister: Have you ever thought of the virtue of those who reached Ramadan? Have you ever contemplated the great reward of those upon whom Allah The Almighty Bestowed the favor of attaining this blessed month?
My brother and sister: To complete your happiness for attaining this month, I leave you with this story…
Abu Hurayrah, may Allah be pleased with him, narrated that two men from Bali from the tribe of Qudhaaʻah embraced Islam with the Messenger of Allah . One of them died as a martyr for the Sake of Allah and the other remained alive for another year and then passed away. Talha ibn ʻUbaydillaah, may Allah be pleased with him, said: "I dreamed that the person who died last entered Paradise before the martyr.
Therefore, I was astonished! I mentioned this to the Prophet or this was mentioned to him, so he said: "Did the second not fast in Ramadan one year after him? Did he not perform six-thousand Rak’ahs and so and so Rak’ahs in voluntary prayers?" [Ahmad] [Al-Albaani:Saheeh]
My brother and sister: May Allah Make me and you witness Ramadan in many years and lead a happy life because of it and righteous deeds.
My brother and sister: Have you prepared a sincere intention?
My Muslim brother and sister: Have you prepared a sincere intention and determination for your fasting?
My brother and sister: Have you searched in your heart while receiving Ramadan to know its determination and honesty when it is approaching you?
My brother and sister: Many people witness Ramadan without a sincere intention! I do not mean the intention of fasting because this is done by every fasting person.
But, my brother and sister, have you prepared the intention of sincere fasting and truthful worship in this blessed month?
My brother and sister: Have you prepared strong determination before your fasting?
My brother and sister: Many people share your thinking of the expenses of Ramadan and preparing the required food!
However, preparing for the food of the soul, thinking of purifying your own self and heading towards Allah The Almighty in this blessed month is the useful preparation for receiving the month of Ramadan!
My brother and sister: Do you think that the one who prepared this determination and he who did not are equal?
My brother and sister, if you want to know the difference between the two determinations, consider this Hadeeth in which the Prophet said: "Whoever fasted the month of Ramadan out of sincere faith (i.e. belief) and hoping for a reward from Allah, all his past sins will be forgiven. And whoever spent the night of Al-Qadr in prayers and worship out of sincere faith and hoping for a reward from Allah, all his previous sins will be forgiven." [Al-Bukhari and Muslim]
Imaam Ibn Rajab said: "If the yearning of the soul to what one desires is intense and he is capable of obtaining it, but he abandons it for the sake of Allah The Almighty in a condition where none can view him except Allah, then this constitutes evidence of the soundness of faith."
My brother and sister, prepare truthful sincerity and firm determination when receiving the month of fasting and prepare sincere determination for the day when you break your fast.
My brother and sister: The most truthful determination and sincerity you can prepare for your fasting is your determination to perform acts of obedience to Allah The Almighty, and receive the month of fasting with sincere repentance and your determination to sign on a clean, blank page which you fill with righteous deeds. This page is clear and free from the impurities of acts of disobedience. It resembles the purity and cleanliness of this blessed month of Ramadan. Concerning the truthful intention for the day of breaking your fast, you should have firm determination to adhere to the righteous deeds that Allah The Almighty Guided you to perform in the month of mercy and blessings (Ramadan).
My brother and sister: If you receive the month of fasting by repenting, returning to Allah The Almighty and being determined to perform righteous deeds and if you receive the day of breaking your fast by being determined to continue on this pure path then you are indeed the winner of the fruits of fasting and the blessings of this blessed month!
My brother and sister: You should completely prepare your heart to receive the month of Ramadan with a pure heart and sincerity to Allah The Almighty in devoting worship to Him Alone. Allah The Almighty Says (what means): {Say, [O Muhammad], "Indeed, I have been commanded to worship Allah, [being] sincere to Him in religion.} [Quran 39:11]
My brother and sister: May Allah Grant me and you sincerity in words and deeds and may He Make us among the people of truthfulness in absence and in presence.
My brother and sister: Ramadan is the month of forgiveness, so have you reckoned yourself?
My Muslim brother and sister: Many Ramadans pass while people are heedless! They only care about the Ramadan they are currently witnessing!
My brother and sister: Before the advent of Ramadan and before you say: “Ramadan has come”!, you know that Ramadan will come whether you are absent or present! However, if you said: "I lived till I reached this Ramadan"…, what righteous deeds have you offered in many similar months?
My brother and sister: Have you ever reckoned yourself honestly for every Ramadan you lived?
My brother and sister: Forget the last question for here is a better one! Have you ever reckoned yourself for a single Ramadan you witnessed?