Abdur Rahman ibn Yusuf Mangera – Don’t Compare Yourself to Others
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Al Hamdulillah Al Hamdulillah Handan cathedra on the human
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Gmail, your humble Rabona were Yoruba Jalaja, who was Salatu was
Salam or either so you will have EABL Mustafa SallAllahu Taala are
they who are the early he was so happy he or Baraka was seldom at
the Sleeman kefir on Eli Yomi Dean Allah Bard.
So my dear respected Friends of the respected brothers, our
sisters Salaam Alaykum Warahmatullahi Wabarakatuh.
Nice to be in your midst today
in this masjid, mashallah, in the Northern Hemisphere,
we ask Allah subhanahu wa taala to give us Tofik to speak about
something that will be useful to all of us inshallah.
Because you know, these 20 minutes, they're the most valuable
20 minutes of the week for the Muslims. And if the Imam who's
standing here, waste your time, then it's not worth it. So I asked
Allah to protect me from wasting your time.
Because it's a big responsibility.
Just some time ago, about two months ago, there was a brother
who I met, he was a graduate of Imperial College, which is one of
the top universities of the world, one of the top 10 universities of
the world.
He had graduated several years ago, meaning maybe 15 years ago,
top top marks
and he graduated with a number of other people in accountancy.
He was only making 27,000 Now,
whereas the people who graduated with him we're making now 50,000
around the 50,000 pounds mark. So he wasn't making as much as them.
Mashallah, he's a religious brother.
And he said that I feel that I'm not making enough.
And I'm not doing enough.
So I asked him a few things and mashallah, he still lives with his
parents. He's not married. And I said, do you save any money? Does
your income allow you to get everything you want? Yes. Do you
save money? Yes. I said you make more than a lot of Imams. Right?
27,000 in England, I know Norway has a different equation, right?
Because water in London cost 70 pounds to one pound. Whereas in
Norway, you the basic water costs two pound a bottle. So it's no
it's very expensive anyway, right.
But
he makes more than a lot of Imams. So now the question is, is that
why are you feeling this way?
He is feeling this way. Because he is comparing himself.
Everything that he has, it's enough. But he's comparing himself
and he's feeling bad.
Now there are two words that I want to speak about quickly. One
is called topical. And the other one is called Canara. Tawakkol.
I'm assuming everybody knows that term. Because although it's an
Arabic word, we use it in order do we use it in Somali we use it in
it's an Islamic term. And it crosses all borders. So most
people know what our call means. They have some idea if I was to
ask you, yeah, he you know what your what do you think our call is
to you? Then we will probably get a few different answers here.
The other word is cannot How many of you know what kinda admins
Okay, one, at least you got one and I'm sure more than that, bro.
You know. So, unfortunately, that's not as a popular term. It's
called contentment. Satisfaction with what you have. That's a very
important Islamic ideal. It's a it's a it's something that we must
have. It's part of the necessary things that are Muslims character
should be made of cannot Tawakkol and cannot they actually go
together? It's very difficult to have Tawakkol without Canara or
Connor and without the vocal. The vocal means to rely on Allah
subhanho wa Taala that he is the source. He is the giver of
everything. And we rely on him to look after us. No believer will.
Allah always wills the best for believers? Generally, that's the
case. So we rely on Allah subhanho wa taala. That's what you call
Tawakkol Karna it means to be satisfied with what Allah has
given us. And not to complain. No Sheikah No, no complaints, no
crying over that, especially if you have enough.
Now keep those two concepts in mind. And now I'm going to tell
you a story. I have 20 minutes I have to rush this, but I'm going
to tell you a story.
This story inspired me a lot. If you find it boring. Then at the
end after we finish off the Juma please come and tell me this was
boring story.
All right, please write so listen to it carefully. And if you find
it boring and uninspiring, then please come and tell me and I will
stop using the story then. But I find it very, very, very inspiring
and Hamdulillah
this story is about a Hakeem sob. Do you know what a Hakeem sob is?
I mean, the ODU people will know what the Hakeem service but you
probably don't know what a Hakeem service. Right? That's fine. You
don't need to. I'll tell you what it is. A Hakim Sam is somebody in
the Indian subcontinent who deals with you nanny forms of treatment
medicine. You in any form is an old Greek medicine. They use a lot
of herbs and they use a lot of natural things. It's very similar
to i a Vedic medicine in India. And it's supposed to be very good,
right. So there was a Hakeem Saab who was from Gujranwala. Anybody
from Gujranwala here.
Right? You're from her from Gujranwala.
So there was a Hakeem Saab who used to live in a village, a
government entity, he was in a village outside of the small city,
which normally is a small city, right, or a town or something. He
used to come every day to work. So it's somebody who lives in
Gardermoen, or in Riga, or whatever it is, and he comes to
Oslo, and he's got a clinical, he starts off in the morning, he
comes in his wife every day, every two days gives him a small piece
of paper on which is the shopping list, because you can't get
everything in the villages, you have to come to the city to buy
it. Every day he comes he looks at the shopping list, this much
masala, this much spice, this much milk, this machinist and he puts
the pricing down. And then he taught us the price. 2000 rupees,
5000 rupees, 10,000 rupees, whatever it is, and then he starts
Bismillah he starts his work is as Yala I'm only doing this for your
sake.
Imagine this, like a taxi driver. We have taxi drivers here I'm
assuming a taxi driver who starts off in the morning or in the
evening when they start work. Okay, this is what I need today.
Yeah, Allah, I'm leaving this in your hands. I am responsible for
my family. That's why I need to be doing this. So oh Allah give me
Baraka. That's how he starts his day. He starts seeing the
patients, you know, they check your, your knob, they check your,
your, your your pulse. And recently there was a big Hakeem
that came from India. He just touches your hand like this. And
he can tell you what your problems are is amazing. I went with my
whole family, they it's quite amazing how they just feel your
pulse. And they can say, okay, you've got cancer, you got this,
you got that. It's quite amazing. And another story, that's another
story. So he sees patients, as soon as he's made enough money,
3000 5000 rupees. He closes his shop and he goes home.
Every day, he does that.
Now what happened is, he's been doing this for a long time.
Apparently, there was a person one day, he's in his shop, and a
person comes in who looks different. He's all suited,
booted, looks like he's Pakistani as well. But he looks like a
foreigner.
And he's sitting on the side. So Hakeem self says that after he
sees everybody around him, he says, come here, I can check your
pulse if you've got a problem or if it's about somebody else and
let me know. So the person came over, he says Hakeem sub I don't
think you have. I don't think you have recognized me. says no, who
are you? He says, I was here 15 years ago. I came here 15 years
ago, Pandora Sal Bella, right? 15 years ago. This is no I don't
remember. He said what happened is we were going from Lahore to
miracle right, which is in Azad Kashmir. And we were passing
through
Gujranwala and might tire bust. So we were outside in the heat. And
you saw us while the tire was getting fixed, so you told me to
come and sit in your shop 15 years ago.
So I sat there, and I looked at you and your patients and you had
a small girl there. And this was late morning, like you know,
nearly afternoon and the girl kept saying to you, you finished your
patients off. And then I felt that I should be supporting you giving
you something. So I said, Look, let me go and ask him to make an
excuse. I'll give him I'll speak to him so I can maybe pay him some
money for the good kindness he has shown me. So I came to you and I
said to you that Hakeem sub, we have been in England for the last
five, six years. Right? He was from England, but originally from
Mirabaud. We've been in England for five, six years. Me and my
wife, we can't have children. We've done all the tests in the
hospital but we can't have children.
So, you know, so the Hakeem Saab while he was speaking and
listening to him, he was making the wine for him his his medicine,
he was making something. So when he finished he said okay, here
this is for you. This is for your wife, giving children is in the
hands of Allah subhanaw taala nobody can help you except Allah
subhanaw taala but take this insha Allah Allah will give you a baraka
and then he then the person said, his name was Muhammad Ali, I think
he said how much because he's this was an excuse to pay him. He says
how
Watch. He says Alaska, Hatha been like today's balance is closed. So
what do you mean today's balance is closed? Somebody else was
sitting there, he said, What he means is that every morning he
comes, he makes the exact amount that he needs for his day. And
then after that he doesn't he doesn't do it take any more
patients. Or Jim. Very strange. So he said, I went away. Now after 15
years, and he says, I remember on that time, you had a daughter who
kept saying, Baba, let's go home. Let's go home. Right? It's late.
It's late. And you kept telling her just wait, just wait. You
waited for us until our car was fixed. 15 years ago. Now I'm
coming back to you. We came because now my entire family is in
love is in the UK. And what is new, the whole Gujarat is sitting
here in Norway. Right? So he goes what's new? So he said yeah, all
my family is in the UK we all settled Alhamdulillah Allah
subhanaw taala has now given me three beautiful children. We took
your medicine hamdulillah has given us three beautiful children.
This time I we came here because my we have one sister left here,
who is a widow, her husband has passed away. We had all decided
that she's got one daughter and we are going to pay for her Nikka all
her marriage and everything. And we've done the shopping and she
was supposed to get married on the 21st or something like this. She
was just a few days ago she went to shopping you know out in
wherever it was they went to do shopping she started feeling a bit
dizzy, but they carried a headache or something and then eventually
she fell down they took her to the hospital. But unfortunately when
they took her to the hospital eventually she did not survive she
passed away just a few days or a week or two before the wedding.
Now we have all of the all of the summer now what happened is this I
forgot to tell you one very important thing on this day when
Hakeem self had come in the morning
and he opened up his note from his wife that morning which he has
been doing for the last 20 years or whatever long in there it was
okay this much this respect this small small things and at the
bottom lurky Jessica salmon
all the expenses and all of the whatever you need for your
daughter's wedding. So he had put all of the budgeting he had put
you know the price and under that one it was a lot that has to be
you know 50,000 Whatever big amounts sometimes because the
unfortunately the rewards and the culture he demands a certain
number. He wrote a lotta Aloka come on Naja Allah Tala knows this
is Allah's work. Allah knows that's what he had written because
he was in the morning he is I don't know, how are we going to
make this much money. That's what he had written there. Then the
story happens. So now this, this visitor is telling him that we had
come for our daughter's wedding, our niece's wedding, but she's
passed away, we've got all the Summon, and me and my wife have
been deciding that you also have a daughter, because 15 years ago,
you had that daughter, I remember, if she is gonna get married soon,
then inshallah all the we have purchased will come and drop it or
give us your address, we'll send the truck and he will drop
everything off there. If it's later, we're willing to pay for
it. And the Hakeem sub is just looking at him and saying, I can't
believe this. I can't believe this. And finally he takes the
paper he says they call you and he says he saw on there. He said when
I first came in the morning, I didn't know how this was gonna
happen. And subhanAllah Why did this happen? Now, this happens
because every day you have been thankful to Allah, you have been
satisfied with what Allah has given you. And you know that Allah
is always going to give you what you need. So when it was his need,
which was unusually it, you don't get daughters married every day.
Allah subhanaw taala then provided him I found that to be extremely
inspirational. The reason is that today, the taxi drivers, and I'm
not picking on taxi drivers may Allah subhanaw taala give them a
good job and a better Inshallah, but this is just an example people
with their own businesses.
When you're in your own business, when you're doing taxi driving,
the more you work, the more money you make. It's very difficult to
have a limit.
That okay, I'm only going to work this much to this much telling me
Do you know anybody who works like the Hakeem so that they only make
the money they need and then were they satisfied? How many of us are
even satisfied with the extra money that we make? On twee I can
talk about myself. Allah has given me the clothing I want to wear.
Allah has given me the food and food that I want to eat. I am not
forced to eat cardboard. I am not forced to eat scraps as our
brothers in Syria are facing the Rohingya Muslim are facing
Alhamdulillah in the UK and in Norway. Allahu Akbar, Allah has
blessed us. It's just like no doubt about it.
Now the question
When is that? What are we supposed to do? What should our mind be?
Where is the debacle in our life? Where is the corner in our life,
the satisfaction and contentment in our life? That's the question.
This is exactly what I told his brother, you, you know, the
brother from Imperial College who had graduated that accountant. I
said, the reason why you're feeling bad is because you're
comparing yourself. Those people who are making 50,000 Do they have
any time for their family? ask them that question maybe. Right?
Maybe they've got a 50,000 pound job or 100,000 pound, whatever.
But is that all it's about? Is it just about the number? Aren't you
getting satisfied? There's a hadith that has really, really
benefited me. When I read that hadith afterwards. It helped me so
much that look, there's no point running after money, extra money.
Look, if you don't, if you can't make enough, and you just can't
survive, then I can understand that you are trying to get another
job and so on. Right? There's people like this. There's one
person who called me recently, his rent is, I think, 1400 pounds 1400
or 1400 a month, he makes 1100 pounds. He's got three children,
he lives in a two bedroom that's renting for two bedrooms. He gets
another job to try to even just cover his rent, he makes 1100 rent
is 1400 He has to get a second job to try to cover them. He's also
thinking that I'm going to give one of those rooms I'm going to
rent it out. So his family of five are gonna live in one bedroom.
There are people who are struggling, there's no doubt about
that there are people are saying May Allah make it easy for them.
But those of us mashallah who don't have to struggle. We make
more than we need for the day. The hadith of rasool Allah is a sahih
Hadith the Prophet sallallahu sallam said,
Whoever wakes up in the morning,
more often feed yesterday he, he wakes up in the morning, and he's
got health. He's got decent health. Number two, he is secure.
He is secure, you can go outside. Even in South Africa was there in
Ramadan, my friend cannot let his daughter or wife go out just down
the road to the shops. It's that dangerous. And that's a good
country, like a decent country. Can you imagine in all of these
other places, right? Can you imagine in all of these other
places, we have security you can walk around Alhamdulillah with a
relative amount of safety. So we have safety, we have health and
the province Hello. Some said we have a safety we have as has
health in the morning. And number three, he has his days sustenance,
you have enough food to survive for your day. Then the Professor
lorrison said it is as if the whole dunya has been brought to
your feet and rolled up and brought to your feets. Dunya be
Heather Ophelia.
Now tell me, if you have that for your day, then tomorrow's another
day. On that day. We also have, you know, from our history, that
every day Allah has given us
I'm not saying don't earn more and give sadaqa I'm not saying that.
I'm just saying Don't feel bad. By comparing yourself to others.
Comparison is extremely dangerous. They have their life you have your
life. Allah subhanho wa Taala may have given you slightly less than
that person. I walk past I meet with people who have Allahu Akbar
so much, if I'm going to be competing with them and looking at
that as a standard, I'm going to be miserable for all my life,
because there's always somebody who has more. There is one of the
princes of Saudi Arabia, who has been right now who's in trouble.
Right? A friend of mine has been to his house, he says is a mile
long. That's how big that house is that he used to live in and he was
he says he was showing off and showing me everything.
What are you going to compare yourself with? What is really life
about? That's what we have to ask ourselves. Don't compare. Just be
the the meaning of contentment, is that Oh Allah, you have given me
Al Hamdulillah I've got clothing, I've got food. I've got
hamdulillah the deen and I have my daily sustenance. Alhamdulillah my
health hamdulillah Allah Thank you very much. Hamdulillah that is the
MO don't compare yourself. Always look at lower people. So at least
you can do sugar. You look at higher people than you will always
complain. So we ask Allah subhanho wa Taala to give us contentment to
give a satisfaction to give us baraka to give us blessing and may
Allah subhanaw taala bless all of you brothers from Oslo, Norway and
wherever else that you come from JazakAllah Hadron well athlete
that runner and Al Hamdulillah European