In those young days, Khabbab ibn Al-Arat, radi Allahu 'anhu, came to Rasul Allah - sal Allahu alayhi wa sallam - and remarked, "Won't you pray for us! Won't you seek help from Allah for victory over these people!"

 Rasul Allah - sal Allahu alayhi wa sallam - turned to him and said, "There were believers that came before us, they would be cut from the top of their head right down their body - others were combed with iron rakes, their skin separated from their muscles separated from their bones ... but all that did not cause them to renounce their faith.  But nay ye are hasty."

 Allah ta'ala revealed: [Or did you reckon you will enter Jannah when the same thing never happened to you such as happened to those who have passed away before you? Suffering and hardship assailed them, and they were battered about until the Messenger and those who believed along with him said, 'When is Allah's support?'  Indeed Allah's support is near.] - surah Al Baqarah 2/214

 Remember before Ramadan we spoke about the Ramadan Warrior. He's just like the weekend warrior - an employee who sits at a cubicle all week long, eating donuts and drinking coffee, then on the weekend he rushes to the sport courts and mountains, and by Monday he is in the hospital.

 The Ramadan warrior is the one who fasts only when Ramadan comes. He is the one who does Qiyaam-ul-Layl only on the nights of Ramadan. The generosity and feeding of the hungry is a practice for him that ends with the moon of Shawwal.

 Allah ta'ala tells us in the Qur'an; a verse that we read so many times in the past month: [O ye who believe! Fasting was prescribed for you as it was prescribed for those before you so that you may become pious.]

 This piety that Allah wants us to achieve is not Ramadan exclusive piety.  For the entire year, Ramadan is the training period.

 For our early generations, from the Sahaabah, Taabi'een, and Tabi' at-Taabi'een, their intensity of work for the pleasure of Allah was all-seasonal.  Their intensity was focused in (a) learning the Qur'an and Sunnah and teaching it to others (b) Ibaadah (c) Da'wah and Jihad.

 Let's spend a few moments with each:

(a) Learning the Qur'an and Sunnah and teaching it to others The media is full of stories of men and women lost in the ocean or a deserted island and the struggle those people went through to survive.  But seldom do we hear of all the Ulumaa' that suffered very horrific moments where they were on the threshold of death - all in the path of traveling to learn the Qur'an and Sunnah.

Bakr ibn Hamdaan al-Mirwazi said, "I heard Ibn Kharash say that he drank his urine in the path of this knowledge 5 times."

And al-Wakhshee Abu Alee Al-Hasan said, "I was in 'Asqalaan attending the lessons of Ibn Musahhah and others.  In those days, my money dwindled and I spent many nights with nothing to eat.  I sat one day to write some notes and the pain was just too intense.  So I went out to the market and sat by a vendor selling bread just to smell the aroma of food.  After a while my senses returned and I was able to return home."  When you see people in our society spending the nights outside on the streets to buy tickets to a pop concert, or to save $5 on a radio, our Ulumaa' strove harder in their pursuit of knowledge, to get 'front row seats' to the hottest Halaqahs in town.

 Ja'far ibn Distuwayh said, "We used to camp out by the chair of Ali bin al-Madeenee after Asr the day BEFORE his class. All night long we would sit there for fear that when the people come the next day we won't be in position to hear the Shaykh."

 And the examples go on and on.

 (B) Ibaadah
Here is just a sampling of their attitude to the Ibaadah of Allah: Al Hasan said, "Whoever races you in your Deen, then race them; Whoever races you in their Dunya, throw it back in their face."

 Wuhayb ibn Al-Wird said, "If you can, do not allow anyone to beat you to Allah's pleasure."

 And Ash-Shaykh Shamsuddin Al-Turkistaanee said, "If news every came to me that someone had done something for the pleasure of Allah, I would always do exactly what that person did and then some."

 Compare this now to Arab countries that have received news of the Guiness book of World records and are spending their time and the Ummah's wealth to outdo those records. Wallaahul Musta'aan.

 Hammad ibn Salamah said, "We have seen Sulaymaan At-Teemee in a moment of worship to Allah, except that he was participating in that worship.  If it was time for Salah, we would see him in Salah.  If it was other than the Salah time, he would be either making wudu or visiting the sick, or following a funeral procession, or reflecting in the Masjid.  Such much so, that we actually thought he didn't know how to disobey Allah."

(c) Da'wah and Jihaad
Allah ta'ala tells us in the Qur'an of the strenuous concern Rasul Allah - sal Allahu alayhi wa sallam - had for the people's acceptance of this Deen.

 [Taa, Seen, Meem / These are the verses of the clear Book / Perhaps, (O Muhammad), you would kill yourself with grief that they will not be believers. / If We willed, We could send down to them from the sky a sign for which their necks would remain humbled. / And no mention comes to them anew from the Most Merciful except that they turn away from it.]
- Surah Shura 26/1-5
 It is not a simple matter that we have accepted the responsibility of the Messengers to teach humanity about Allah.  As Shaykh Salah As-Sawi spoke about this matte here during Ramadan, he said, "What if all these people on the day of judgement come and say as their excuse, 'O Allah, here the Muslims lived all around us and they never came to tell us about this Deen.'"  Indeed the matter is grave.

 Ja'far ibn Sulaymaan said, "I hear Malik ibn Deenar saying, 'If I was capable of never sleeping I would never sleep for fear that Allah's wrath would befall me while I am sleeping. And had I those that would assist me I would send them all around the world to announce: O humanity, save yourselves from Hellfire, save yourselves from Hellfire!'"

 And when it came to defending the Deen of Allah, we see the example of Rasul Allah - sal Allahu alayhi wa sallam - shining for all those who would wish to be guided by it.

 Ali - radi Allahu 'anhu - said, "Whenever the battle would intensify, and the swords began to burn red, we would seek shield from Rasul Allah - sal Allahu alayhi wa sallam.  There was no one closer to the enemy ranks than him."

 And 'Imraan ibn al-Husayn - radi Allahu 'anhu - said, "Whenever the Muslim battalion would encounter the enemy, Rasul Allah - sal Allahu alayhi wa sallam - was always the first one to strike."

 There is a principal that we spoke about earlier: Al-Maysoor Laa YasQut bil Ma'soor.  It means: What one finds easy is not cancelled by what is difficult; i.e. those things that the Mukallaf can do with ease does not get cancelled just because he or she cannot do what is hard upon them.

 Examples of this in Fiqh include:

- If someone knows a few verses of AlFatiha, then they must read it in Salah.  Just because they do not know the whole Surah does not mean they don't have to read the verses they CAN recite.

- If a person is in such a situation that he cannot cover his complete private area during Salah, then he must cover whatever he can.  Just because he cannot cover the entire area does not cancel the obligation to cover what he can.

- If a person is not capable of performing Sajdah, that doesn't mean he can sit down throughout the entire Salah if he is capable of standing for Ruku' or Qiyaam.

Etc.

 When it comes to studying the Qur'an and Sunnah, Ibaadah, Da'wah and Jihad, you'll see that many people focus on the ideal which is unattainable for them at that moment. Then they say to themselves, since it is unattainable then I just have to be patient and do nothing. No, keep moving a step down until you find what is attainable and do it.

 - If you can't memorize the Qur'an by next Ramadan, you can for sure finish 2 Juz'.  If you can't do 2 Juz' in one year, then you can do one.  If one is all you can do, then do it. In sha' Allah, 30 years from now you would be Hafidh al-Qur'an.

- If you can't come to every Minhaaj-ul Muslim Halaqah all year long, doesn't mean that you come to none.

- If the Masjid is far away from your home and it's hard to come for every Salah, doesn't mean you never come to the Masjid. Come for Maghrib and stay for Isha or something similar.

 The proof of this is the words of Rasul Allah - sal Allahu alayhi wa sallam, "What I command you in, perform what you are capable of."

 In conclusion, there are three ingredients to making your resolution to improve yourself successful.

 (1) Have a truthful determination.

(2) Be economical in what you decide to do.

(3) Make dua to Allah to make your effort successful.