Ramadan Advice from Shaykh Hamza Yusuf (ISNA 2008)
Published by Haseeb September 2nd, 2008 in Events, Hamza Yusuf, ISNA, IslamAlhamdulillah, ISNA 2008 Convention Over… and not only is it time to get back to work, but Ramadan is here! Inshallah ill try to post some pics/vids/notes from the conference over the upcoming days if not weeks.
Nonetheless, since it is the start of Ramadan I thought i would share some notes from Shaykh Hamza Yusuf’s final talk at the main MSA Session in which he gave some Ramadan Advice: (Note: These are only notes from my interpretation of his lecture, and any mistakes I may have made are solely my fault.)
- The Quran is our GPS on our road of life. It is the book that provides us with a map and clearly guided directions on how to live our life. The more we give to the Quran, the more it will give back to you.
- At the beginning of any struggle (mujahada) - you have to work hard. The harder you work the easier Allah 
will make it for you to do that work and gain benefit from it. Shaykh Hamza mentioned the account of a man who came to him who asked how he could develop the persistence of prayer that his father had (he would always perform many additional prayers (tahajjud) in addition to the daily 5 everyday) - and Shaykh Hamza mentioned that his father must have been doing this for years - and he didnt reach that state overnight. We have to continually struggle!
- And we will have ups and downs and change. The believer’s state will change 40 times per day whereas the disbeliever’s state stays the same for over 40 years. A child for example - always lives in the moment - because change quickly manifests in their state at that moment. We as Muslims need to make the most of each moment.
- Muslims feeling depressed? - Do more for the sake of God (Pray more, read more Quran, give more charity…)
- Know yourself. Understand your own personality and issues and work on self-knowledge. For he who knows himself knows his Lord. (Shaykh Hamza gave the example of the 4 classic temperaments: choleric, sanguine, melancholic, and phlegmatic.)
Specific Ramadan Advice:
1. No Television. If you have a TV - put it away in a closet for this month.
2. No Computer (:().
3. Cut Down all sensory stimulation
- He understands how many of us (This goes especially for me) are addicted to the internet and e-mail. He says if the first thing we do in the morning is check our email - we have problems. (I actually noticed myself reaching for my Treo to check my email as i was turning to shut my alarm off this morning - but stopped myself thinking of what Shaykh Hamza said!).
- The first thing we should do when we get up in the morning is be thankful and look forward to praying to Allah and say:
All praise is for Allah
who gave us life after having taken it from us and unto Him is the Resurrection
- TIME MANAGEMENT. We all need to work on prioritizing our time. The Prophet Muhammad 
never wasted any of his time. Time is a limited gift from God. Shaykh Hamza never accepts the excuse that “I don’t have time”, for ALL WE HAVE IS TIME!
- One of the greatest tribulations facing this planet today is tribalism. Tribalism = Iblisism. No (insert race/tribe here) is better than any other race/tribe. In America - tribalism means nothing. One positive thing about the African American experience is that it removed tribalism.
- Some final comments about America. He realizes and condemns all the injustices committed by our country. Shaykh Hamza is anti-war and against the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, and torture (Guantanamo Bay). This universe is a moral universe, and Shaykh Hamza believes in cause and effect, and that the chickens do come home to roost! He quoted Thomas Jefferson who said that “[He] shudders for my country when I reflect that God is just, (that His justice cannot sleep forever)”. America needs to be redeemed!
10 Responses to “Ramadan Advice from Shaykh Hamza Yusuf (ISNA 2008)”
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from: United States us
Trackback on Dec 22nd, 2008 at 6:34 am
Thank you very much for the post. I was there as well but was lazy to take notes. These notes are helpful for me to remember.
One thing I wanted to add to your notes was about tribalism in that how S. Hamza also reminded the audience about ‘religious tribalism.’ He told us that no Muslim should look down to any non-Muslim, because no one knows how s/he will die. We will know who we really are only in the day of resurrection. Thus, we are not supposed to use our religious affiliation, along with ethnic, racial, national affiliations (as you mentioned above), to feel better or arrogantly proud over others….
His last bit on tribalism and America in need of redemption was really emotional, wasn’t it?
Ramadan mubarak!!
“Iraq is Arabic for Vietnam!” - Shaykh Hamza Yusuf
NO internet!? No email!? Uff, how must I do that, how oh how!? But I must….
JazakAllahu khayr for sharing the precious advice.
Ramadan Kareem! I was also at that talk, alHamdullillah. And thanks, as always, for the music in the previous post.
Sami Tuna: yes - he was almost yelling at that point! Was very moving!
MR: that was from his previous lecture on Saturday night!
Maria I: yea i dunno how to do that either… im trying to cut back to checking email like 3 times a day
musicalchef: oh snap - iA maybe next time at a future event we can meet up.
Salam alaikum:
How can I avoid the email/internet if my business depends on it?
Wa alaikum as salaam
well of course if your livelihood depends on it - then u cannot avoid it. But try to cut back all useless time wasted on the internet.
Ramadan Kareem as well! insha’Allah
you have an amazing one, and hopefully you’re able to cut back on your internet/e-mail use, and trying to make most of the shaykh’s advice.
(..i’m still working on it, only 26/27days left
)
OK yea, so I’m gonna go back and finish reading the post on ISNA’s Muslim Artist session! err..
I’ve learned so much from you Shaykh Hamza Yusuf, and I tend to even learn more. Thank you very much for your teachings of islam. Inshallah we will meet someday.