The month of great rewards has come to us in all its beauty and glory. It is an honoured guest and a blessed month; its virtues are clear and its blessings manifest. No one can enumerate its bounties and fruits. When it comes, a caller gives this beautiful call: "O seeker of good, proceed! O seeker of evil, desist! Allah saves some people from Hell."

It is true that the souls of the believers long for its visit and pure hearts yearn for its arrival.

Many are those who aspired to reach this month but could not, those who hoped to seize this opportunity but failed, as they were suddenly overtaken by death and passed away.

The departure of those who have died represents a warning for us, to make us realize that death is near; that we are about to leave this world very soon and that we do not have sufficient provisions for the long journey we have ahead of us. Thus, we must make haste to avail of the prizes and rewards of Allah The Almighty before no repentance is accepted, no obstacles are removed and no amount of money can be offered to save someone. Show Allah The Almighty goodness from yourselves. It is by serious hard work that the winners attain victory and through determination do the successful succeed. ‘Aa’ishah said, "The Messenger of Allah used to exert more [in worship] in Ramadan than in other months.” [Muslim]

O slave of Allah, it is time for hard work if you are serious, time for worship if you are ready. The stream of blessings is pouring out and the door of goodness is open for whoever likes to enter. The Prophet said: "When Ramadan comes, the gates of Paradise are opened and the gates of Hell are closed and the devils are chained." [Muslim]

It is time for the one who is used to committing sins and perpetrating crimes to regret his misdeeds and repent to Allah The Almighty, as your hopes and rewards are within reach. Allah The Almighty loves to bestow His favours upon His slaves and to grant them mercy. Indeed, those who repent are granted His favours only because of His generosity and benevolence.

If you were held captive by sins in the past, here is the month of Ramadan coming to you. It is in this month when captives are freed, criminals are pardoned and sinners are forgiven. Therefore, do not be among the rejected. The Prophet ascended the Minbar (pulpit) and said: “Aameen, Aameen, Aameen.” It was said, ‘O Messenger of Allah, you ascended the pulpit and said, “Aameen, Aameen, Aameen.” He said: “Jibreel came to me and said, ‘If Ramadan comes and a person is not forgiven, he will enter Hell and Allah will cast him far away. Say Aameen.’ So I said Aameen.” [Al-Albaani: Hasan Saheeh]

Brothers and sisters, many months of Ramadan have passed in previous years, yet many people did not witness a significant change in themselves, whether through increasing their acts of worship or avoiding sins.

The only reason is that many of them lose out in the month of fasting. They are losers, as they have never truly tasted the delight and pleasure of Ramadan nor experienced the happiness and sweetness of doing good deeds.

Year after year, the month of Ramadan passes by and their memories of it are nothing but long hours of sleep during the day, staying up late at night, gossiping and incurring a burden of bad deeds and a heavy bulk of sins.

They gain nothing by way of good deeds except a little Quran recited hastily, and prayers performed quickly, that do not take even one-tenth of the time that is spent immersed in desires and worldly pleasures.

A loser is he who wastes his days and nights in Ramadan in doing what displeases Allah The Almighty.

A loser is he who wastes one day of Ramadan after the other, not reading the Quran except a little, to the extent that he comes to the end of Ramadan while he is still racing in order to complete the Quran only once.

A loser is he who loses the reward of his fasting, as it is rejected and returned to him and his deeds are thrown at him. He gets nothing from his fast, except hunger and thirst. He abstains from food but does not refrain from eating what is forbidden, committing the worst sins, speaking obscene language, backbiting, insulting and attacking others.

A loser is he whose soul is too lazy to perform the Taraaweeh and Qiyaam prayers (voluntary night prayers) with the Muslims who worship their Lord by praying, supplicating, and weeping while he is heedless and engaged in idle talk with others.

A loser is he who is rich but does not spend his money generously in sympathy for the poor. Thus, the poor never come to his door nor do they receive any food or drink from him. Generous people spend abundantly in Ramadan while the loser focuses his watchful eye on his money and the life of this world. He does not take part in feeding the fasting people, helping the poor or supporting the needy. He stands in contrast with his Prophet who was the most generous person ever in ordinary times, and was even more generous in Ramadan as he was likened to the fast wind that brings rain and benefits others.

A loser is he who fasts the days of Ramadan and safeguards himself, but when it is time for breaking the fast, he breaks his fast with watching and listening to what Allah The Almighty has forbidden, surfing channels, gazing at immoral scenes, and listening to forbidden singing and music for long hours.

A loser is he who wastes most of his time in Ramadan with his family hanging out in markets and shopping malls and walking the streets.

I am sure people like these have never considered the verse in which Allah The Exalted Says (what means): {O you who have believed, decreed upon you is fasting as it was decreed upon those before you that you may become righteous. [Fasting for] a limited number of days …} [Quran 2:183–184]

Allah, the Most Truthful, described the days of Ramadan as a limited number of days, in truth. They pass by quickly and swiftly, and thus, are precious to the righteous and extremely valuable and high in the estimation of the Lord of the Day of Judgment. The winner is he who fills them with good deeds, struggles with his soul and purifies it and the loser is he who in stills them with corruption and avoids all goodness.