Fasting should build sacrifice and justice
“You have to actually do your job.”
Ramadan fasting should move beyond abstaining from food toward taqwa and self-sacrifice, preparing believers to support truth, justice, peace, and the Imam’s cause.
The khutbah in 6 steps
- Reviews Shia fasting exemptions and distinctions between azimah and rukhsa.
- Explains qadha and fidyah rules for illness, age, pregnancy, and nursing.
- Honors Imam Hasan and presents his treaty with Muawiyah as a protective sacrifice.
- Connects communal support for justice to personal moral transformation.
- Defines meaningful fasting as resisting desires and cultivating sacrifice.
- Calls believers to follow the examples of Imam Hasan and Imam Husayn and support Imam al-Mahdi’s cause.
In the khateeb's words
“the continued existence of imam hassan alayhi salam is due to his treaty with muawiyah you know without this you know treaty you know you are not here today to do salat al-jumma here”
“if you don't make change in yourself to support the truth to support the justice don't expect that the victory would come to you by miracle you know you have to actually do your job”
“it is not just to empty the the stomach you know fasting means that are you ready to replace actually the refraining from the food and drink with filling with the spirit of sacrifice”
For the dinner table
The khateeb explained that Ramadan fasting is an old practice shared by earlier believers and that its deeper goal is taqwa, or awareness of God. He reviewed Shia rulings about when illness, travel, age, pregnancy, or nursing excuse someone from fasting and when make-up fasts or a charitable food payment are due. He honored Imam Hasan, saying his treaty with Muawiyah protected the continuing life of the Shia community when support was lacking. The sermon connected that lesson to our own lives: change must begin within us, and fasting should teach us to give up immediate pleasure for truth, justice, peace, and generosity. We should reflect on Imam Hasan and Imam Husayn and become people who support what is right, including the cause of Imam al-Mahdi.
- What is one pleasure or habit you could give up during Ramadan for a higher purpose?
- How can we support truth and justice through a change in our own behavior?
- What can Imam Hasan’s treaty teach us about patience, strategy, and protecting others?
More on Ramadan & fasting
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