8:24 the goal is not to…9:09 Because Ramadan is to…21:03 The right preparation…25:16 Enter Ramadan with…
Ramadan & fastingFrom the masjid's own video, Feb 13, 2026.

Ramadan should transform how we live

FMCCNJ · Mazooz Sehwail

“The goal is not to fast, it's to achieve taqwa.”

The khateeb, at 8:24

Watch the khutbahFamily kit
In one sentence

Ramadan should be approached as a deliberate process of spiritual and moral transformation rather than merely fasting and performing rituals.

The khutbah in 5 steps

  1. A hadith warning frames Ramadan as an extraordinary opportunity for forgiveness.
  2. The khutbah explains taqwa, gratitude, and Quranic guidance as Ramadan's central objectives.
  3. Fasting is presented as purification and nourishment for the soul.
  4. Listeners are urged to prepare through repentance, sincerity, settling rights, and guarding speech.
  5. The khutbah calls for reconciliation, concern for suffering communities, and family preparation before Ramadan.
Try this week
Begin preparing for Ramadan before it arrives.
Make sincere repentance for major and minor sins.
Renew the intention to seek taqwa and apply Quranic teachings.
Return people's rights and seek forgiveness where needed.
Avoid foul language, lying, and false speech.
Reach out to people involved in animosity and forgive for Allah's sake.
Prepare the family for spiritual transformation and remember suffering communities in prayer.
Sources the khateeb cited
Sunan Ibn MajahA warning about those who reach Ramadan without receiving forgiveness emphasizes using the month fully.
Quran 2:183Fasting is prescribed to help believers attain taqwa.
Quran 2:185Ramadan and the Quran are connected with guidance, ease, and gratitude.
Sunan Ibn MajahA story about two converts shows how witnessing another Ramadan can dramatically increase one's reward.
Quran 2:186Allah's nearness and response to supplication support Ramadan's purpose of guidance.
Sahih al-BukhariFasting requires abandoning falsehood, lying, harmful speech, and related behavior.
Quotes

In the khateeb's words

“the goal is not to fast, it's to achieve taqwa. We need to make sure that when we fast, we are striving, we're trying to achieve taqwa.”
FMCCNJ · Paramus, NJ
Play from 8:24
“Because Ramadan is to transform ourselves. We have to make sure that we've been changed. My personality first, in my relationship to Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta-Ala, closer to Allah, and then with better relations with the humans.”
FMCCNJ · Paramus, NJ
Play from 9:09
“The right preparation is different. How do we prepare? The very first thing that you have to prepare for is repentance, sincere repentance.”
FMCCNJ · Paramus, NJ
Play from 21:03
“Enter Ramadan with clear heart. And don't forget your brothers and sisters in Ramadan who are overseas suffering in Gaza, in Sudan, in India, in all the whole world, everywhere.”
FMCCNJ · Paramus, NJ
Play from 25:16
Talk about it at home

For the dinner table

The khutbah teaches that Ramadan is not only about being hungry or completing rituals; fasting is a means to grow in taqwa, gratitude, and guidance from the Quran. We should prepare by sincerely repenting, renewing our intentions, making right anyone whose rights we owe, guarding our speech, and letting go of animosity. Ramadan can change our relationship with Allah and with other people, so we should make our worship shape our character. We should also remember people suffering around the world and enter the month with a clear, caring heart. The central invitation is to use this Ramadan for real transformation, not merely routine.

  1. What is one change you hope Ramadan helps you make?
  2. How can our family prepare our hearts before Ramadan begins?
  3. What can we do to show compassion for people who are suffering?
Where it was given

The masjid

Fusion Muslim Community Center of North Jersey650 Pascack Rd, Paramus, NJ 07652Jumu'ah 1:10 PM & 2:30 PMKhateebMazooz SehwailMore khutbahsArchiveAll khutbahs at FMCCNJ70 khutbahs
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