Ramadan & fastingFrom the masjid's own video, Feb 7, 2026.
Ramadan begins with a cleansed heart
“How do you prepare your home for your guests?”
In one sentence
Ramadan should be welcomed like a cherished guest by cleansing the heart and abandoning harmful habits, so that fasting produces taqwa and deeper closeness to Allah.
The khutbah in 5 steps
- Opens with a personal story about preparing one’s home for an important guest.
- Applies that metaphor to preparing the heart for Ramadan.
- Uses Quranic guidance and the shahada to frame purification as removing barriers before adding worship.
- Explains fasting as restraint over speech, reactions, limbs, and desires, not merely food and drink.
- Defines taqwa as mindful self-protection and closes with Allah’s nearness and prayers for safety and relief.
Try this week
Identify habits, sins, or attachments to remove before Ramadan.
Practice restraint in speech, reactions, and harmful conduct, not only food and drink.
Use hunger and fatigue as reminders to increase awareness of Allah.
Prepare the heart for Ramadan through cleansing and renewed worship.
Sources the khateeb cited
Quran 2:255-256Frames Allah’s majesty, rejects compulsion, and emphasizes holding firmly to guidance.
Quran 2:183Identifies taqwa as the purpose of fasting.
Quran 2:186Emphasizes that Allah is near when His servants call upon Him.
Quotes
In the khateeb's words
“When you have a guest that you care about, "How do you prepare your home for your guests?"”
“The process of accepting and living by right guidance. begins with removing and disbelieving and rejecting in every other means.”
“So we see the prioritization of removing before addition. addition by subtraction. This is what the core of fasting is.”
“This is what taqwa is. It's protecting oneself. from Allah's displeasure. by doing those things that He has commanded and refrain from those things that He has prohibited.”
Talk about it at home
For the dinner table
The khutbah compares Ramadan to a beloved guest and asks us to prepare our hearts before it arrives. Preparation means more than adding prayers, Quran, remembrance, and community gatherings; it also means removing habits, attachments, and sins that block closeness to Allah. Fasting trains us to restrain not only food and drink, but also harmful speech, reactions, and behavior. The goal is taqwa, walking through life carefully, remembering Allah, and trusting that He is near.
- What is one thing you could remove from your routine to make more room for Allah?
- When you feel hungry or frustrated, how can you remember Allah and choose a kinder response?
- What would it look like to welcome Ramadan like a special guest?
Keep listening
More on Ramadan & fasting
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The most valuable thing is time.16:36NWIIC · Crown Point, IN · Apr 3, 2026Carry Ramadan’s taqwa throughout the year
Every single day you are doing something to make Allah happy.26:16ISGW · Worcester, MA · Apr 3, 2026Turn Ramadan’s remainder into lasting worship