Bilal Assad – In pursuit of your rizq
AI: Summary ©
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The speaker discusses the importance of pursuing one's dreams and not worrying too much about the future. They stress the need for effort and true oneself to avoid negative consequences. The speaker also discusses the negative consequences of negative behavior and offers advice on how to avoid them. They emphasize the importance of avoiding procrastination, building one's skill and expertise, finding one's way to achieve success, and avoiding negative behavior. The speaker also emphasizes the importance of gratitude, charity, and carelessness in achieving wealth.
The speaker discusses the importance of pursuing one's dreams and not worrying too much about the future. They stress the need for effort and true oneself to avoid negative consequences. The speaker also discusses the negative consequences of negative behavior and offers advice on how to avoid them. They emphasize the importance of avoiding procrastination, building one's skill and expertise, finding one's way to achieve success, and avoiding negative behavior. The speaker also emphasizes the importance of gratitude, charity, and carelessness in achieving wealth.
AI: Summary ©
بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم الحمد لله والصلاة والسلام
على رسول الله We've now arrived at the
beautiful topic in رياض الصالحين by Imam al
-Nawawi about provision, sustenance, content, and we have
called it pursuit of sustenance and rizq.
So hands up if you know or heard
of the word rizq.
Every Muslim says that word, rizq.
All the hands up.
You can stretch if you like, just act.
Put your hands up.
Rizq.
Rizq.
Okay, good, alhamdulillah.
For those of you who don't know, the
word rizq has been repeated in the Qur
'an more than 128 times.
So it's a very, very important and big
topic.
It's what comes to people's mind all the
time.
My provision, my sustenance, my money, my income.
All of that, rizq.
And it's what people usually think about.
I've got to chase rizq, I've got to
chase the money, I've got to pursuit for
my livelihood.
So basically, livelihood.
So today we're going to talk about pursuit
of your rizq and how it is written
for you already and the Muslim's position and
how we deal with interacting with future fears.
Will I get a job?
Will I get married or not?
Are my children going to be good?
Will I have enough money?
Am I going to have a house?
Will Allah give me children?
How will my health be?
And I begin by saying that human beings
in general, their worries and anxieties revolve around
two matters.
What are these two matters?
The human being, all our fears and worries
and anxieties revolve around two matters.
Everything around them, what are they?
They are death.
We're always knowing that our time's running out,
we're going to die.
There's worries and anxiety of the future, death.
And number two, our health and wealth.
Will I have enough money?
Will I be healthy enough?
And Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala has taught
us how to minimize that stress and that
worry.
So I begin with the verse of the
Quran first of all, which is in surah
51 verse 22.
Very quickly, Allah says, أعوذ بالله من الشيطان
الرجيم بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم وفي السماء رزقكم
وما توعدون Allah says, and in the heaven
is your provision and also what you are
being promised.
In the heaven means the heavens, meaning from
Allah has written in the لوحة المحفوظ, in
the preserved tablet above, in the heavens, every
single person's sustenance, their livelihood and their provision.
All the rain that drops on the earth,
all the sustenance and the resources and everything
that comes to us as human beings in
this world has already been decided and it
is written in a preserved tablet in the
heavens.
No one can change it.
It has ended, it has been written, the
pages are closed, the ink has dried and
it is set.
The second part of this verse, and whatever
you are promised, that's talking about both believers
and non-believers, that the day of judgment
is coming and the promise that Allah has
given that a day of judgment will come,
accountability will come about and then Allah will
judge and rule and sentence who deserves what,
paradise or hellfire, punishment or reward, forgiveness or
consequence.
This is a promise from Allah, it's a
وعد, it will come.
And so this world begins to become like
a mirage or an imagination.
And truly this world will become like that.
My brothers and sisters, the hadith presented to
us is in Sahih Bukhari and I'll quote
it to you.
The Prophet ﷺ said, the matter of creation
of a human being is put together in
the womb of the mother in 40 days.
When your mother first conceives you, when you
are a drop of sperm mixed with your
mother's egg and you become a little tiny
embryo or whatever it is, for 40 days
you stay that way.
The Prophet ﷺ says, and then he becomes
a clot of thick blood for a similar
period, for another 40 days, that's now 80
days.
So you change your form slightly.
And then a piece of flesh for a
similar period.
Become like a little flesh with no face
yet, just something that is a creature that
cannot be identified very well, except of course
with new technology, for another 40 days, that's
120 days.
Then he said, then Allah sends an angel
who is ordered to write four things.
He is ordered to write down his, meaning
the new creature in the stomach, you and
I, to write down your deeds, everything you're
ever going to do.
Number two, his livelihood, everything you're going to
earn in your lifetime.
His date of death, exactly when you're going
to die, it will not be changed.
And whether he or she will be blessed
or wretched in religion, then the soul is
breathed into him or her.
That's when you become a living being with
a soul and a body, 120 days.
What does this mean?
That Allah has written all this stuff?
Because a person can look at that and
say, so everything I do, Allah decided it,
I have no choice?
The answer is no, it's the other way
around.
Allah's knowledge of you in your future, he
knows what you're going to do.
And he tells the angel at that point,
write down what I already know, in other
words, that has been written in the preserved
tablet.
Why does Allah write it?
Because there is a wisdom, there is a
way that Allah runs this world and the
way the system works.
Number one, Allah knows, then he writes, then
he preserves, then he creates, then he makes
it happen.
The way he makes it happen is, first
of all, it is written.
Where is it written?
Allah only knows.
By whom?
By the angels.
Why?
Because the angels have a job to do.
They're going to carry out certain things that
are going to facilitate what happens in your
life based on Allah's prior knowledge of what
you're going to become.
Like a time machine going to the future,
seeing what you're going to do, and then
writing everything you're going to do, and then
coming back into the past, and there you
have it.
You have a report of what you're going
to do in your future.
Allah does that because it gets created.
That's the only way things get created.
By Allah knowing them, writing them, creating them,
willing them.
Therefore, your deeds are your choice.
Number two, his livelihood.
All the provision you're going to get has
been set by Allah.
How much money you're going to earn throughout
your life, the time that you have, the
resources that you're going to get, the health
that you're going to have, all the different
types of provisions that you're going to get
in your life.
They have been set within a boundary, again,
based on Allah's knowledge, and a few other
things we're going to explain.
And also, your time of death.
There are people who try to take their
own life, but they don't die.
And there are those who Allah allows to
die when they take their life, but they
have a consequence for that, and that's another
story.
That's up to Allah to judge them.
But why I mention that is to show
you that just in case someone says, but
if their date of death is written, we
have no control, what about those who take
their life?
I say to you, that's only with Allah's
permission.
And there are those who don't want to
take their life, but they still die.
And in the end, everybody will meet their
death.
One way or another, it is inevitable.
It's been written before you were even born.
And lastly, whether you're wretched or blessed.
What does that mean?
It means whether you're going to be from
the people of paradise or hellfire.
What does that mean?
It means Allah knows what you're going to
do, and where you're going to end up.
You might ask them, why would Allah create
us?
This is not our business to ask Allah
about himself.
Allah is nothing like us.
But it is for us.
There is a wisdom why he created us
and put us in this world, and here
we are.
But it is written and created, and everything
comes to be.
You start living it out.
Of course, it's all based on your choice
as well.
Allah didn't say, this person is going to
pray, this person is not going to pray,
because I don't want them to pray, or
I want them to pray.
No, no, Allah doesn't do that.
Allah just writes what you are going to
do in the future.
Now that we've said this hadith, you can
see these four matters, every single one of
them is called in Arabic, Rizq, which means
sustenance and provision.
What does Rizq actually mean in Arabic, in
Islam, and in the Arabic language?
It literally means, anything that you receive that
benefits you.
I repeat one more time, Rizq, mentioned in
the Quran 128 times or so, means anything
that you receive that benefits you.
Unfortunately, the majority of people, when they talk
about provision and Rizq, what's the only thing
they think about?
Or majority of people, what do they focus
on?
Money.
Is money the only thing that benefits us?
It benefits, but is it the only thing?
I will argue with you, and lots of
scholars argue that it's among the last ones.
A lot of people say money brings you
happiness, it brings you some happiness, yes.
But it's not all the happiness.
So provision and sustenance comes in many different
ways and types.
Why do I say this?
Some people have more money than others.
Just because you have less money than someone
else does not mean that Allah is not
looking after you in other ways.
Because if you start thinking only money, then
you've restricted your entire life and your happiness
to just that.
That is a very shallow thinking and very
narrow thinking.
I'll give you an example.
A person cannot make money if they don't
have the intelligence.
A person cannot make money if they don't
learn how to make it.
A person cannot make money from areas that
they want to get into without having the
knowledge and the skill for it.
A person cannot make money if they don't
have the opportunity.
A person cannot make money if, for example,
they want to get into an area that
requires health but they're not healthy.
So everybody has their own sustenance in a
way that Allah knows you need it, and
use that to your advantage as much as
you can.
It doesn't mean everybody is exactly the same.
It doesn't mean just because you're not rich,
it doesn't mean Allah is not looking after
you.
So change, first of all, the mindset that
rizq is not just money.
Money is just a means to something else.
For example, if you have connections, that's wealth.
You have connections with other people, powerful people,
that's wealth.
You have a really good way of communicating.
Communication is wealth.
People are making amazing careers out of insignificant
things such as knowing how to use AI
and the internet, social media.
Isn't that correct?
So the idea is rizq is not just
money, but it's a whole lot of different
types.
We'll go through them inshallah.
So anything a person benefits from is called
rizq.
Benefit from in your livelihood, and for a
Muslim, also in your hereafter.
Some people forget that rizq, provision and sustenance,
is also for your hereafter.
Let me explain to you.
In the Quran, when Allah SWT says, وَرِزْقُ
رَبِّكَ خَيْرٌ وَأَبْقَىٰ The rizq, the provision, the
sustenance, the gift which Allah gives you is
far better and more everlasting.
What's he talking about here?
Every time rizq is mentioned in the Quran
that Allah gives it to you, it generally
means paradise, jannah.
Jannah is better than anything that you can
ever imagine, and it is everlasting.
Which rizq would you like?
A temporary sustenance or an everlasting sustenance?
Which one would you choose?
Everlasting or temporary?
Everlasting.
Would you prefer a sustenance that's everlasting and
better than a temporary and less worthy one?
Or would you prefer a temporary less worthy
than an everlasting better one?
Obviously you want the latter.
What's everlasting and better and far more greater
worth?
So for us, let's begin from here.
A Muslim works backwards.
The ultimate sustenance that we are after is
the everlasting ultimate best sustenance, which the end
is jannah.
Because we're all going to die.
Now who's worse?
Somebody accumulates a lot and then has to
leave it all behind and gets buried in
that little tiny hole in the ground?
Or a person who has much more to
look forward to beyond their death?
A person who has more to look forward
to beyond their death.
And that is our belief, alhamdulillah, as Muslims.
This is just a testing life here.
It's just a means.
Money is a means.
Rizq is a means.
And there's some happiness.
So here are the types of rizq that's
mentioned in the Quran and in hadiths and
different types of statements from scholars.
So rizq comes material and immaterial.
The material is obviously money, things like money,
gold, silver, food, clothing, farm, livestock, home, and
so on.
The immaterial rizq, sustenance and provision and things
that Allah gives people is things like intelligence,
knowledge, connections, health, status, inherently good character, looks,
family, even love.
Love is rizq.
You are granted that from Allah.
You can work on it, but the granting
of it is from Allah.
So brothers and sisters, rizq is far wider
than the narrow mindset that most people think
of when they say only money.
I mean, what is money?
Money is a currency which we as human
beings gave importance to.
Otherwise, there's nothing important about it.
We made it important.
Isn't that correct?
So brothers and sisters, broaden your mindset and
watch your provision and your sustenance and your
happiness and your content also grow wider so
that you don't look at someone else and
say, man, they drive a better car than
mine, and then you start feeling that you've
been betrayed.
No, they may have a better car.
You may have better skills.
They may have more money.
You may have better connections.
They may have a nicer house.
You may have greater intelligence.
Whatever it is, this is all part of
rizq.
And that is why Rasulullah ﷺ, he told
us, the way to contentment and to seeing
everything in a good way is one of
the strategies is try not to focus on
those who've got more than you in a
particular area, but rather look at those who
have less than you in a particular area.
And then he said, أَن تَزْدَرُوا نِعْمَةَ اللَّهِ
عَلَيْكُمْ Because if you keep looking at people
who've got more than you, you will then
fail to see the blessings which you already
have which they don't have.
That is how we start becoming ungrateful to
Allah by not recognizing what Allah has given
us because we're focusing on one thing.
Subhanallah.
So brothers and sisters, we begin with that.
So that's basically what rizq is.
And where does rizq come from?
Where does rizq come from?
Who's the one?
Look, sustenance has to come from somewhere.
It either comes from yourself or it can
come from the universe.
It can come from people, it can come
from your parents, or it can come from
Allah.
Who is the source of everything that is
given to us in Allah?
Muslims believe it is Allah.
He is the source of everything.
Who provided your parents?
Who provided your employer?
Who provided the earth that is growing for
you?
Who brings the rain down from the clouds
above and makes the crops grow for you?
Who is the one who gives you water?
Who is the one who gives you protection
in this universe?
A drought happens, who's the only one that
can save you from it?
We come together, we try, but at the
end of the day, Allah is the one
that provides the sustenance.
He is the source.
So we are first and foremost grateful to
the source, who is Allah subhanahu wa ta
'ala.
If you are not grateful to him, then
watch poverty come to you.
And I don't mean poverty, money only.
Poverty, remember, we said rizq is a whole
lot of things.
You may have a lot of money, but
you will be the most miserable person.
You may have a lot of money, but
maybe your family is dysfunctional and disunited.
Maybe you've lost sense of fulfillment and purpose
in life.
Who are you?
Where are you going?
Perhaps when death comes to you, you'll be
the most miserable and most scared to die
because there's nothing beyond this world.
That's terrible, just to live this world and
die and that's it.
So my brothers and sisters, moving on.
I gathered 15 best types of rizq in
life.
If you have these or most of them,
then you are the happiest person in the
world.
Number one, peace and tranquility of your soul.
Number two, purity of your heart.
Number three, clarity of your mind.
Number four, health of the body.
Number five, mental health.
Number six, caring and loving parents.
Parents who make dua for you like your
mother and your father who shows you compassion.
Rizq of happiness is number seven, siblings who
love and care for you.
Number eight, righteous and loving children, a progeny
who smile to you.
Number nine, a loving spouse, a loving husband
or a loving wife.
Number ten, an honest and genuine friend is
good rizq in this life.
Number eleven, iman, your spiritual health.
Number twelve, knowledge and wisdom.
Number thirteen, material wealth and money.
And number fourteen, a natural respect and acceptance
of people for you.
Due to your good character which Allah gives
you and your personality, you find that people
lean towards you and accept you and they
like you.
But on condition that you are the same
in private and in public.
That is a sign of good rizq.
If you have this or part of it,
then know that alhamdulillah, you have a wealth
of provision that Allah is looking after you
with my brothers and sisters.
I want to give you a little case
study, a little scenario and ask you what
you think with this question.
Are you ready for it?
I heard this from one of the scholars,
a story about two brothers.
One brother, we call him lazy.
He's got lazy dependence.
In Arabic it's called tawakul.
Remember the word tawakul, which means to rely
on Allah.
This one, this kid, he's got tawakul, which
literally means lazy dependence.
Won't do anything and relies on others.
His other brother, he's the opposite.
He's proactive with tawakul and he relies on
Allah.
So they had a debate.
The one who is proactive says to his
brother, get off the couch, start working.
You will not receive your sustenance, your rizq,
unless you pursue it, you have to work
for it.
Otherwise you're not going to get it.
His other brother says to him, the lazy
one, he says no.
Whatever Allah has written for me is going
to come to me, even if I sit
right here on my couch.
So the brother who believes that you have
to work for it goes out and he
starts looking for sustenance.
On his way he sees a branch of
a tree full of apples outside of someone's
farm or backyard onto the road.
In Islam, if it's outside on the public
road, whatever drops, you can take it.
It's public property.
So there were apples that had dropped and
a little bit on the branch.
He took them and put them into his
basket and brought back about 50 or so
apples back home.
He looks at his brother and he goes,
look at this sorry case of a brother
of mine.
Here man, take an apple.
His brother looks at him eating the apple
and he goes, I told you, you cannot
get apple without working.
I had to go out seeking it and
this is why I got the apples.
His brother smiles at him and he goes,
you've lost the case.
I sat here and the apple came to
me.
Now the question is, who's right and who's
wrong?
The brother who said you have to work
for your sustenance or the one who sat
down and the sustenance came to him without
lifting a finger?
Who's right and who's wrong?
Anyone want to have a little jab at
it?
Maybe brother there.
Both of them are right?
Both of them are wrong.
And you my young son?
The lazy one is wrong but he got
the apple.
He got the apple.
He can't be wrong.
We just read here that Allah has written
your rizq, isn't that correct?
So if he's written your rizq, you are
sure going to get it and that is
true.
You will get your rizq and it will
chase you and you will not die until
you get it.
Mark my words, that is a factual belief
in the Quran.
Every single one of you will not die
until whatever has been written for you, you
have received it and once you've received it
all, then you'll die.
So he's kind of right.
But at the same time, the other one
is also right.
Brother, both of them are right half way.
Let's combine the two.
Let's combine the two and answer the question.
You see, there are two types of rizq
which Allah gives you.
The rizq without effort and the rizq with
effort.
About 70% of the rizq which is
with effort is a given.
And about 20 or 30% could be
rizq without effort.
And even if you put the effort, the
amount of rizq that you're going to get
is also variable.
It all depends on Allah how much he
wants to give you.
But you know what the scholars said about
both these brothers?
They said they are both right but there's
only one difference.
The one that went and worked for it,
he gets the reward from Allah while the
other one who sat there gets nothing from
Allah.
He only gets the apple.
Whereas the other one gets the apple and
the rewards of the hereafter.
So he gets more apples in paradise.
And that is the meaning of the verses
in the Quran and the statements of the
Prophet ﷺ that the person who gives is
better than the person who receives.
The person who supports is better than the
person who is dependent.
Always.
Now Allah gave that person who was sitting
down an apple.
How often do you think this will happen
if he stays with that attitude though?
He's got a much smaller chance of having
as much as his brother.
Because Allah has also made the system of
life to be that majority of your rizq
will come through your working.
Why?
Because Allah wants you to act.
He wants you to work because that's what
he created you for.
He created you to do, to work, to
move.
And that's how he rewards you.
That's the whole purpose of life.
Reward you, do the right thing, help other
people.
If everybody just sat there, what's the difference?
What's the purpose of life anymore?
So Allah has made your rizq dependent on
number one.
What he decides to give you, that will
not change.
And number two, partly also your seeking and
your pursuit.
As for the rest of it, yes, your
rizq will still come to you, some of
it by you sitting down.
Example, if a person inherited a large amount
of wealth from their parents who passed away.
You didn't do anything, they did everything, but
you inherited it.
You didn't lift a finger.
That's rizq from Allah.
Alhamdulillah.
A person can go fishing.
You fish, fish, fish, and you may come
with fish, you may not come with fish.
Isn't that right?
That's also rizq from Allah subhanahu wa ta
'ala.
You can think about the tidal waves, you
can think about the timing, you can get
some information, you can use your resources, but
at the end of the day, the outcome
is to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala.
But Allah never leaves anyone out.
My brothers and sisters, here are some things
I wrote about this second part that Allah
subhanahu wa ta'ala gives you the rizq
that comes from your effort.
Number one, sometimes Allah looks into, well, first
and foremost, Allah looks into your future and
knows what you're going to seek and what
you're not going to seek.
And based on that, He writes what you
will be allowed to get out of what
you seek and what you're not allowed to
get out of your seeking.
So if you don't get what you intended,
just say, قَدَّرَ اللَّهُ مَا شَاءَ فَعَلًۭ My
Lord has pre-measured in what He wills
He does.
Alhamdulillah, whatever He wills for me is insha
'Allah better.
Move forward, move on, don't think about the
past.
Rely on Allah because you're moving forward towards
the hereafter.
Number two, sometimes what you will get is
through haram means.
Did you know that?
If you did something haram to earn your
money in haram, in a forbidden way, you
may get it as well with the permission
of Allah and that is called rizq.
That is a provision as well.
But there's a big problem with that one.
Allah may allow for you to earn your
money and your wealth and your provision and
your resources from haram, but that would be
based on your choice.
Meaning that Allah swt knew you're going to
choose that choice and He allowed it to
come to you through the choice that you
made.
You could have done it halal, you could
have done it haram.
That rizq was written for you, but He
allowed you to go either way and He
knew you're going to go through the haram,
so He permitted it within His wisdom.
But it really is your choice.
You could have done it halal, you could
have done it haram.
And you did it haram, Allah may allow
it, but you will suffer its consequence by
being judged about it and either forgiven or
punished by Allah.
And you may even suffer the consequence in
this life and also the hereafter.
You know, you could steal that thousand dollars
and it will come to you, but Allah
has already written for you, had you worked
in the halal way, it was still going
to come to you.
Rizq will come to you, but your choice
of how you went about it, in some
cases, may be that Allah will allow you
to earn it in haram.
Number three, sometimes you don't seek it in
haram.
You don't seek it in haram, you seek
it in halal.
But you still don't get what you really
wanted.
You might say, bro, my mate next door,
my cousin so and so, he's got a
big tobacco farm, he's got a big marijuana
farm, right?
And they're getting away with a lot and
they're making millions.
And I'm sitting here working in this job
that I have and I'm struggling and striving
and I'm not even getting 2% of
what he or she is getting.
That's not fair, I might as well go
and work in haram.
Sometimes, you don't seek it in haram, but
then you say to yourself, if only I
took the haram means, I'll be like my
cousin, I'll be like my mate.
No, that means you were not meant to
have it, that's number one, you were not
meant to have it anyway.
And that if you went to the haram,
it would be written against you and you
still won't get it.
And if you look back and you say,
if I had worked in the marijuana business,
in the drug business, the last 20 years
of my life, I would have been a
billionaire.
The fact that you are not a billionaire
means, no matter what you could have done,
you were never going to be a billionaire
in the last 20 years.
It was not written.
Don't look backwards.
Now, you've got a choice to change and
say, I'm going to go through the haram.
You may not get it, but guess what?
It comes with a consequence.
Some people, Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala lets
you go.
Sometimes Allah stops you.
If Allah stops you, thank Allah subhanahu wa
ta'ala.
Don't say if only.
Don't have that narrow mindset.
If Allah lets you go into the haram,
you should be concerned.
You should be concerned.
The Prophet ﷺ, he used to teach us
a beautiful dua.
He says, اللهم إني أسألك الجنة وما قرب
إليها من قول أو عمل Oh Allah, I
ask you for paradise and everything that leads
me closer to it, of words and actions
that I do.
Guide me to those words, guide me to
those actions.
وأعوذ بك من النار وما قرب إليها من
قول أو عمل And I seek refuge in
you, Allah, to protect me from the fire
and all the words and actions that will
get me closer to it.
But if Allah allows a person to go
into haram and lets him go and you're
enjoying this great money, don't ever think for
one minute that this is a blessing from
Allah, my brother and sister.
For it could be your punishment that is
being prepared for you in the hereafter, or
probably even in this life.
And then there are people who Allah just
lets them have whatever they want to have
in haram or halal and he leaves them
to themselves.
Those are the people who just don't care
about Allah and people who don't even believe
in Allah, you might think how come they're
more wealthy.
Don't ever make that mistake.
Allah tells us in the Qur'an, And
do not ever assume that those who you
see are receiving more in this life, while
they are against Allah, they are disbelievers in
Allah, and some of them are evil or
bad, don't ever think that this is a
blessing from Allah.
But rather it could be that Allah subhanahu
wa ta'ala has just allowed them to
take their share in this world because in
the hereafter they will have nothing.
Nothing.
And if they say anything Allah will say
to them, I already gave you your share,
you took it all in the former world.
The sad thing is you'll never go back
to it.
Or it could be that Allah subhanahu wa
ta'ala is giving this person wealth for
another wisdom.
We don't know what's going on in their
life and what pathway Allah subhanahu wa ta
'ala is leading and using this person for
someone else.
That person could accumulate all the wealth and
never enjoy it and then die and leave
those billions for someone else to work at
because maybe Allah has a plan.
So brothers and sisters do not ever look
at that.
Allah says to the Prophet sallallahu alaihi wa
sallam, وَلَا تَمُدَّنَّ عَيْنَيْكَ إِلَىٰ مَا مَتَّعْنَا بِهِ
مِنْهُمْ أَزْوَاجًا مِّنْهُمْ زَهْرَةَ الْحَيَاةِ الدُّنْيَا وَرِزْقُ رَبِّكَ
خَيْرٌ وَأَبْقَى He says to the Prophet sallallahu
alaihi wa sallam, don't ever allow yourself to
look outside at the wealth and the accumulations
of what they have, meaning the enemies who
fought the Prophet sallallahu alaihi wa sallam.
زَهْرَةَ الْحَيَاةِ الدُّنْيَا They are only receiving a
temporary flower of this world.
It's a metaphor.
What's a flower?
For those of you who know how a
flower grows, does it last?
Does it blossom for very long?
How long does a flower stay in its
beauty and its nice smell?
A few days and then it withers away.
That's how Allah describes this entire world.
He says this world is like a flower.
It grows, blossoms, everyone looks at it, it's
nice, but it looks nice, it smells nice
and then what happens?
It doesn't last, it withers away and it
crumbles as if it was never existing.
So Allah says don't look at them, those
who are enemies to Allah.
وَرِزْقُ رَبِّكَ خَيْرٌ وَأَبْقَى What Allah has for
you is far better and more everlasting.
Now of course a Muslim, it doesn't mean
that you don't go after provision and get
wealthy in this world.
You could have both worlds.
And I've mentioned before that 7 out of
10 of the companions who are mentioned in
one continuous hadith by the Prophet ﷺ who
are promised paradise, you know the 10 promised
paradise.
There are more, there are more who are
promised paradise.
But these are the 10 mentioned in a
row, in one setting.
That Rasul ﷺ said so and so, so
and so, so and so is in paradise.
7 out of 10 of them were extremely
wealthy with money.
But they used it for the sake of
Allah.
My brothers and sisters, sometimes Allah may give
you a different type of rizq which may
be replaced instead of money.
Such as skills, health, mental health, lessons and
so on.
And as I said once again, the problem
is that when we assume rizq is only
money.
Of course even money, you need it.
But remember, if you focus on the other
resources you have, that can be a pathway
to even Allah ﷻ giving you more money.
You see, instead of having this restricted mindset,
have an abundance mindset.
Have a broader, larger mindset.
Inshallah things will be well.
Optimistic mind is encouraged in Islam and relies
upon Allah.
And if things don't come your way, then
say alhamdulillah, qaddarallahu masha'a af'al.
Either Allah has a plan for me, or
it is a test for me, or good
is going to come out from this suffering,
or it was a mistake I made which
I'm going to learn from.
That's it, no fourth thing, four things.
My brothers and sisters, I will now go
to eight reasons.
Eight reasons for the increase of wealth and
the quality of life.
You don't just want wealth, right?
You want quality of life as well, don't
you?
Allah says in the Quran, Whoever
does actions of righteousness, whether you are a
male or a female, while you are true
believers and faithful in Allah ﷻ, then we
will surely give them a goodly life here
now, now here, a quality life now in
this life.
And also in the hereafter, we will reward
them abundantly without reducing or decreasing any of
their rewards.
So you can have both worlds inshallah.
Here are eight ways to increase that wealth
and quality of life.
Number one, brothers and sisters, top of the
list for a Muslim, getting closer to Allah
by implementing what He told you to do
and avoiding what He told you to avoid
to the best of your ability.
The verse in the Quran which backs this
up or is evident to this in Surah
At-Talaq, verse 2-3, Allah says, وَمَن
يَتَّقِ اللَّهَ يَجْعَلْ لَهُ مَخْرَجًا وَيَرْزُقُهُ مِنْ حَيْثُ
لَا يَحْتَسِبُ وَمَن يَتَوَكَّلْ عَلَى اللَّهِ فَهُوَ حَسْبُهُ
إِنَّ اللَّهَ بَالِغُ أَمْرِهُ قَدَ جَعَلَ اللَّهُ لِكُلِّ
شَيْءٍ قَدْرًا Allah says, and whoever fears Allah,
meaning that you try to do what He
commanded and stay away from what He avoided
and you get through it even if it's
hard.
Allah says, He will open up doors for
you and create an exit from every hardship
you go through.
وَمَن يَتَّقِ اللَّهَ يَجْعَلْ لَهُ مَخْرَجًا If you
fear Allah properly, Allah will always make an
opening and an exit out of all of
your worries and your hardships you are currently
going through.
And inshallah, the opening will come.
And then Allah says, وَيَرْزُقُهُ مِنْ حَيْثُ لَا
يَحْتَسِبُ Not only will He make an opening
and an exit out of your hardship, He
will provide you with sustenance from places you
never imagined.
You're going that way and Allah takes you
that way and says, from that door I'm
going to give you.
You did not expect that, did you?
And you say, سُبْحَانَ اللَّهَ لا إِلَىٰهِ لَا
اللَّهِ Truly Allah gives me from places I
never imagined.
I was thinking about her, to marry her,
Allah gave me right from there.
Where?
Where?
From the moon.
From the moon, سُبْحَانَ اللَّهِ, she came to
me.
From such and such countries, she came to
me.
Allah drove him to me.
يعني الله سبحانه وتعالى helps you.
Sometimes the wealth comes from places you never
expected.
You're going this way, Allah gives you that
way.
You go for this job, Allah gives you
that job.
Sometimes you're going this way, Allah brings it
from you that way.
Whoever fears Allah, then Allah will create an
opening for them and grant them from places
they never imagined.
But also remember this, Allah says, And whoever
relies truly upon Allah and trusts in Allah
and assumes well of Allah, whatever happens to
them, they say, I accept the decree and
the whatever Allah brought to me, even if
it wasn't what I wanted.
وَمَن يَتَوَكَّلْ عَلَىٰهُ Truly relies and trusts in
Allah.
فَهُوَ حَسْبُهُ That is sufficient for you.
Allah is enough for you if you trust
in Him.
You need no one else.
فَهُوَ حَسْبُهُ إِنَّ اللَّهَ بَالِغُ أَمْرِهُ You have
to understand and know that without a doubt,
Allah is going to continue to reach what
He has decreed.
Nothing is going to change it.
He's going to reach it one way or
another.
So it's not up to us, it's up
to Allah.
قَدْ جَعَلَ اللَّهُ لِكُلِّ شَيْءٍ قَدْرًا Allah has
made for every single existing thing a pre
-measured destiny.
Your atoms have a destiny, your hair has
a destiny, everything has a destiny.
So, my brothers and sisters, this is the
case.
Number one.
The second way to increase your wealth and
quality of life is to be proactive.
Meaning, avoid procrastination.
This is discouraged in Islam.
And one of the ways the scholars say
is, try to wake up early and start
your day early.
Now, there's a few hadiths that say that
the Prophet ﷺ made du'a for people
who wake up early and stay up after
fajr.
All these hadiths are actually weak in their
narration, so we can't rely on them.
They're not necessarily the law.
But in general, starting your day early, not
procrastinating and leaving things to the last minute,
and in general, starting early, you have a
fresh mind, you have a more focused mind,
your body is energized, and there is a
lot of, alhamdulillah, results and studies that have
shown that people who start their day early,
whether you go to the gym, whether you
take a walk, whether you read something, whether
you do something else before you start your
work, there is great provision and goodness, inshaAllah,
in starting early.
I know a friend who is back in
Adelaide.
I went and visited there.
MashaAllah, he's very successful in his business and
whatever he does.
MashaAllah, he takes his prayer mat with him.
He prays in his office where he works.
But he runs his own business in this
big apartment.
And he says to me, For the past
10 or so years, my work has always
been from 5 a.m. to 12 p
.m. That's it.
I don't work a single thing after 12.
How he managed to do that doesn't apply
to everyone.
But the point is that he loves to
do his work in the morning.
After 12, he goes after his hobbies.
He doesn't touch anything of his work.
And he says, Wallahi, it has made a
huge difference for me.
Mentally, I have time for my family.
I have time for my hobbies.
I have time for my other things.
So it's not a luxury for everybody, of
course.
Those of you who work 9 to 5.
I mean I was working 20 years 9
to 5 until last year, Alhamdulillah.
So once you build your skills and expertise
and you're able to do something else, Alhamdulillah.
If you're not able, then remember that every
hardship and every struggle that you go through,
so long as you're doing it in halal
and for a good purpose, Allah will not
let your efforts go in vain.
Number three is optimistic mindset, planning and setting
goals.
This is part of Islam.
The Prophet shallallahu alaihi wa sallam would wake
up in the morning and he would plan
his day.
The day.
Number four, trusting in Allah in all matters
big or small.
Coupled with carrying out the means to it
and using your resources that Allah gave you.
It's haram in Islam to only rely on
Allah and not use the means and resources
He gave you.
This is called asbab, you have to follow
the means.
You can't just say I rely and sit
where you are.
You have to tie your camel and at
the same time rely on Allah.
Number five, consistent repentance and repeating istighfar and
dhikr.
Dhikr means words of remembrance.
Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala says, وَمَنْ أَعْرَضَ
عَن ذِكْرِ فَإِنَّ لَهُ مَعِيشَةً ضَمْكَا Whoever avoids
and abandons my remembrance, then they will have
a restrictive life.
You may have a lot of money, big
house, but your life is just always claustrophobic.
You have too many problems.
You have problems in your family.
You have problems with your kids.
You have problems within yourself.
You're always angry.
You're always frustrated.
And you have the world really.
But if you've abandoned Allah's dhikr and remembrance,
you're not doing it the right way, you're
not doing it from your heart, then Allah
says you will have a restrictive life, claustrophobic
life.
And on the Day of Judgment they will
be gathered blind.
Those who avoided Allah's dhikr and remembrance.
So istighfar and seeking Allah's forgiveness has a
way of opening your sustenance.
Number six, connecting family ties and good relationships
with your relatives to the best of your
ability, those you are able to connect to.
Rasulullah ﷺ said, Whoever loves that he be
granted more wealth and that his life be
prolonged with goodness, then he should keep good
relations with his kith and kin.
Be good to your parents, be good to
your siblings if you can, your uncles and
aunts, people who, your brothers and sisters.
Of course within your ability, within your ability.
I always say to people, some people they
have toxic family members unfortunately.
It's very hard to create a good relationship
with them.
You do good to them, they do bad
to you.
So Islam doesn't tell you you have to
subject yourself to get yourself stepped on and
abused.
But of course look at how far you
can get.
If you cannot have a totally good relationship,
have half a good relationship.
If you can't have a half, have a
quarter.
If you can't have a quarter, have a
bit less, a tenth, whatever it is.
Have but don't cut it off completely.
I know people whose children for example became
really bad.
And I had mothers and fathers come to
me and say, what should I do with
this son, with my daughter or with so
and so.
And I say to them, listen, no matter
what, keep even if a thin thread of
hair that you can keep between you and
them, even if it's just a messaging, just
every now and then, keep it.
One day they may wake up and may
come back to you.
And inshallah you'll rebuild that relationship.
But don't cut off a person completely.
And that's what Allah SWT is asking you
to do.
You're not the person who cuts it off
for no reason.
If the other one cuts it off, it's
not your fault.
But you always are open inshallah to a
relationship.
But it doesn't have to be the same
as before.
It doesn't mean you give all yourself.
It doesn't mean you don't learn from it.
It doesn't mean you have to trust them
in everything.
Some people think that if you forgive someone
or you establish your relationship, that you're going
to have to be best mates.
And you have to give your money to
them.
No, it doesn't mean that.
But it means to maintain some elements of
tie.
Because family, brothers and sisters, there are many
studies about it, that family and having good
relationship with your parents, with your children, with
your family, actually gives you a better mental
health.
And people like that are more focused and
they have a much more quality of life,
if you can.
If you can't do it with your parents,
do it with your children inshallah and break
the cycle.
Number seven, gratitude.
Gratitude with your tongue and with your actions.
How do you show gratitude to Allah subhanahu
wa ta'ala?
By saying alhamdulillah.
By obeying his commands as much as you
can.
By giving the zakat for your money.
By donating from it.
By using it in the right way.
By earning it in halal.
By not wasting it in haram.
By not being an extravagant spender to the
point where you can't afford your own things.
By putting it in the right places.
This is being grateful for your wealth.
And number eight, charity.
Charity, giving and spending on others.
Especially your dependents first and then others.
That increases your quality of life and your
wealth inshallah.
Finally, I'll talk about the ten causes that
decrease your rizq, your wealth and your quality
of life.
And the ulama, the scholars have summed them
up into ten.
Ten of them.
Number one, a person's rizq and sustenance is
decreased and their quality of life is decreased
if they are lazy dependent.
Like that boy who said, sustenance will come
to me.
Lazy dependent person will decrease your rizq and
your quality of life.
Number two, israf and tabdheer.
Which means extravagant spending, wasting and mismanagement of
resources.
So if you have a lot of wealth
and you are able to afford more things,
then go for it.
But if you have less wealth and you
want to buy the same thing as the
wealthy person, then you are doing israf.
You are extravagantly spending.
So extravagantly spending is relative within your affordability.
Within your affordability.
Wasting your money is when you spend it
on haram things.
When you spend it on haram things, it's
called tabdheer.
Prophet ﷺ said, مُبَذِّرُونَ إِنَّ الْمُبَذِّرِينَ كَانُوا إِخْوَانَ
الشَّيَاطِينَ Those who waste their money on haram
things are the brothers and sisters of the
shaitan.
And those who are musrifin, meaning that you
overspend beyond your means, Allah says, وَإِنَّ اللَّهَ
لَا يُحِبُّ الْمُسْرِفِينَ Allah does not like those
who are extravagant spenders beyond their means.
And the final ones of them are, that
decrease your sustenance, is repeated sins and its
accumulation.
It has an effect on your sustenance quality
of life.
Number four, ingratitude and ungratefulness.
Including thanking others instead of thanking Allah.
Number five, stinginess.
You're stingy on yourself, you're stingy on your
family, you're stingy on others.
What does stinginess mean?
It means that you do not give yourself
the minimum right.
And you don't give your family their minimum
rights.
And you don't give the rights of others
with your wealth.
That means you are stingy.
If you give more than their rights, then
you are considered starting on the journey of
being generous.
So I know that some people, they might
think that others are stingy because they didn't
take them on a holiday, for example, or
to a restaurant.
It doesn't mean you're stingy.
It means you're just trying to manage your
wealth.
But being stingy, meaning that when you are
stingy on food, on clothing, on shelter, on
livelihood, you know, the minimum requirements of a
person to live.
Number six is relying on superstitious and delusional
beliefs.
These decrease your wealth.
People like that go mentally crazy.
They rely on superstitions, delusional beliefs, omens and
signs to increase their wealth and their quality
of life.
Number seven, abandoning zakah.
Zakah purifies your wealth.
And that's when you work something and some
haram wealth comes into your wealth, let's say
a small percentage of it and you couldn't
avoid it, zakah purifies your wealth.
Otherwise, your wealth is not blessed and there
is no barakah.
Number eight, abandoning your obligations, the fara'id,
which Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala said to
do, that decreases sustenance and quality of life.
Number nine, carelessly earning forbidden income.
You don't care where it comes from.
There are people who can't avoid it.
Allah is not talking about them.
He's talking about those who don't care.
I don't care if I get it from
haram.
And number ten, destroying family relationships.
Destroying them, of course, we already talked about
it, outside of your control.
You want to destroy it.
For your own whims and desires, that creates
a bad quality of life, even if you
think it's going to be better.
Last things I want to share with you,
my brothers and sisters, is a few du
'as, a few dhikrs that you can do,
insha'Allah, that the shari'ah, our shari
'ah has taught us, the Prophet ﷺ taught
us, it's also in the Qur'an.
And I'll just say a few of them
and conclude with a beautiful poem, if you
don't mind.
So one of the du'as that the
Prophet ﷺ taught us to increase sustenance and
quality of life is the following.
I just chose the shortest ones.
Allahumma inni as'aluka ilman naafi'an warizqan
tayyiban wa'amalan mutaqabbala O Allah, I ask
you for knowledge that is of benefit, a
good provision and deeds that will be accepted.
And you should recite this du'a upon
waking up in the morning.
Once again, Allahumma inni as'aluka ilman naafi
'an warizqan tayyiban wa'amalan mutaqabbala The second
one is a du'a of Yunus ﷺ
to take you out of any difficulty.
Subhanaka Allahumma inni kuntu minal dhalimeen or Subhanaka
inni kuntu minal dhalimeen O Allah, you are
so perfect.
I am not.
I have oppressed and wronged myself.
Saying this du'a will take you out
of every hardship.
The Prophet ﷺ said so.
Another du'a that you can say and
dhikr is this.
Allahumma inni a'udhu bika minalfaqri walqillati waldhillah
O Allah, I seek refuge in you from
poverty and from lack of resources waldhillah and
humiliation needing to ask people wa'audhu bika
an adhlima wa an udhlam and I seek
refuge in you my Lord from being an
oppressor to others and from others oppressing me.
And this is Rasul ﷺ told us in
a hadith narrated by Imam Ahmed.
So these are some ways brothers and sisters
some dhikr.
Download a book called Fortress of the Muslim
and take some dhikr du'as from there
that insha'Allah when you say them bi
-idhnillah by the will of Allah ﷻ it
has an effect on the provision and Allah
ﷻ works with you when you make this
dhikr.
Finally I finish with this beautiful poem of
reflection.
Someone wrote it.
I don't know it's an anonymous person but
I really love it.
It says I asked for riches that I
might be happy.
I was given poverty that I might be
wise.
I asked for power that I might have
the praise of men.
I was given weakness that I might feel
the need of God and empathy.
I asked for all things that I might
enjoy life.
I was given life that I might enjoy
all things.
I got nothing I asked for but everything
I had hoped for.
Almost despite myself my unspoken prayers were answered.
I am among men most richly blessed.
In the Quran every time I saw rizq
there are always four things about it that
Allah connects.
Number one, rizq is always accompanied with gratitude.
You have to be grateful to Allah for
the rizq.
Number two, that it is accompanied with knowing
that you get what you need not what
you want always.
Allah gives you what you need for what
he wants you to be in this life.
Number three, it talks about never letting pursuit
of wealth take over your obligations and worship.
You stop it, you pray.
You don't let it overcome your purpose of
life and your worship.
And number four, rizq is always attached to
charity.
Give.
And when I say charity I don't mean
just to the poor and through charity organization.
Everything you spend to benefit others is called
a charity in Islam.
Your wife, your husband, your mother, your father,
your children, your siblings, your uncles, your aunts,
whatever is within your means and abilities.
Even what you spend on yourself for your
sustenance and livelihood is also called sadaqa and
infaq, charity.
May Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala protect our
brothers and sisters in Palestine and everywhere around
the world.
May Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala guide us
to that which is best and forgive our
shortcomings.
Wa sallallahu alayhi wa sallam wa alhamdulillahi rabbil
alamin.