Bilal Philips – The Best in Islam #10 – Charity (Part 4 of 4)

			Salam alaykum Warahmatullahi Wabarakatuh
		

			we Allah's peace and blessings beyond each and every one of you. I'd like to welcome your dear
viewers, to our series, the best in Islam, where we're looking at what Revelation has clarified for
us with regards to what's best in our life as Muslims, from the perspective of God, what is really
the best?
		

			And we are currently looking at what's best in charity, who are best to be charitable to? Where
should that charity come from? What is the best place? What is the best source all of these, the
prophet may God's peace and blessings be upon him based on revelation from Allah, Most Great and
Glorious, has been enlightening us in this field. And
		

			the Prophet may God's peace and blessings be upon him
		

			had gone on to say, of the Losada karate, and the thought duck hour and so he one shot here, one
that melon Avena what actual fucker? Well, Tim Hill had either Bulaga tilahun comb, filter, well, if
we're learning, Kedah,
		

			Allah work at the Calphalon in Canada, the best charity is to give while you are healthy, and
covetous, hoping for wealth
		

			and fearing poverty, do not delay until the soul reaches the throat. And then you say this is for so
and so. And that is for so and so. For it is already for so and so.
		

			The Prophet may God's peace and blessings be upon him had given us another scenario
		

			for the best charity.
		

			Because charity, when you're sick, people give charity hoping that Allah will reward them with good
health,
		

			heal their sickness, or they feel they're gonna die. Okay? Give. The best time to give is not when
you're in that state. The best time to give is when you feel perfectly fine, you're healthy, you're
at your best. Now you give, give when
		

			you have wealth that you desire. You don't want to fall into poverty, you have a fear, even of
poverty, this is the time that's best to give. When you're sure that you're not going to fall into
poverty, obviously giving them is good. But it's not like giving when you fear poverty. And the fear
of poverty is something which hits even people with great wealth, we're not talking about a
borderline case, a person who may be on the verge of losing his wealth. Now, what tends to happen is
that when people have wealth, they develop a stinginess, not wanting to share that wealth. They fear
that those around them may try to take their wealth, so their character changes.
		

			Normally in society, if somebody smiles at you, you smile back. That's why the Prophet may God's
peace and blessings be upon him and said that smiling at your brother is sadaqa it is charity to
smile, because it brings out good feelings and they normally will smile back. However, when you are
a person who has developed wealth, you're now wealthy, and you have to strive and struggle to get to
that wealth. Then you look at people around you, when you have that wealth in a different light.
They start to look at the people around you as wanting to get at your wealth. That's why they want
to know you. That's why they want to
		

			be with you. They want to access your wealth. So when somebody smiles at you, instead of thinking
that, okay, you know, that's very nice, you smile back sadhaka
		

			you think? What does that person want?
		

			They want to get to my wealth, you think the worst. And that's what tends to happen to people when
they get wealth. So that's why the Prophet SAW Solomon said, the best charities to give while you're
healthy and covetous, covetous, meaning, you don't want to let go of your wealth. You want to hold
on to it as tightly as possible. This is the best time to give charity to break that love, of wealth
to break that addiction,
		

			to your wealth. And it should be at a time when you fear poverty, because that is the consequence of
your covetousness. You have that wealth. And you fear you look around, and you fear others wanting
to take from you and put you in a situation of poverty. And poverty is relative, where you may feel
poverty means for you that you've lost the wealth you have, you know, the great wealth that you
have, but doesn't necessarily mean that you're poor, that you will become poor. As was the case, a
few years back, when the meltdown of the banks in the US finally reached Europe, banks were being
closed, people were losing millions overnight. There was one
		

			individual, a German businessman, who they said was the 47 richest person on the face of the earth.
His family had amassed a huge fortune. It was some
		

			$19 billion.
		

			And in the course of one week, during that period, with the meltdown,
		

			the great banking crisis, in one week, he lost $10 billion 10 billion in one week.
		

			What did he do? There is a man who has companies he has all this wealth, he loses 10 billion, as I
say, easy come easy go. Of course, it wasn't easy come. His family had struggled and striven for
many years to get to where they had gotten. But in one week's time, he lost $10 billion.
		

			What did he do? He went home. And this is a man who is in his late 70s. He went home,
		

			went to his desk, sat behind his desk, open the drawer, took out a revolver, and blew his brains out
		

			how
		

			he lost 10 billion.
		

			I will say yeah, that's huge as a massive loss, but he still had 9 billion. He was so caught up in
the loss. This is the fear this is that fear of poverty, that strikes the heart of those who are
very rich, and makes them
		

			also, you know, very stingy, very greedy. It struck him.
		

			It took his life. He couldn't see the 9 billion that he still had, he could only see the 10 billion
that he lost. So this is what the prophet may God's peace and blessings be upon him, was addressing
that giving charity when one has that
		

			desire to hold on to one's wealth, fearing poverty, looking at everything around you from the
perspective of it, causing you financial loss. This is the time this is the big challenge, to give
it that time to break that addiction to wealth. And the Prophet SAW Salem warned that one should not
delay.
		

			When you have the means to give or you are driven. You have the feeling the desire to give, then you
shouldn't wait don't delay it. Because you don't know the future. Give
		

			when you have the idea, the concept etc. If you delay it and what's what tends to happen that people
delay it until death is upon them. They know there's no coming
		

			back,
		

			you're giving, when you didn't think you're gonna die is far different from the earth giving, when
you know you're gonna die. That's the bottom line. So the Prophet SAW Selim is telling us give,
while you're not thinking, you're gonna die, that's much greater. That's real. That's charity,
that's real charity, give, when you're not thinking that you're going to die, you feel your healthy
lot of life ahead of you. You give them
		

			that has real value. We're going to take a brief break here now, and continue to look at Charity,
when one is wealthy, and healthy.
		

			So now alikoum Rahmatullahi Wa Barakatuh. So now they come Warahmatullahi Wabarakatuh.
		

			How many of you have thought about polygamy?
		

			It's a topic which
		

			the Western society the Western world,
		

			sees as something negative is Islamic Lee, of course, it is a part and parcel of the Islamic marital
system.
		

			It is not something harmful to society. In fact, it is something beneficial to society.
		

			It has rules it is not just any man can marry any number of women, under any circumstance, there are
rules governing it.
		

			So it is important for every Muslim to understand
		

			why Polygamy In Islam, Prophet Muhammad sallahu wa sallam was polygamous. He had multiple wives. And
if we don't understand what polygamy is, when people speak about the Prophet, may God's peace and
blessings be upon him, they denigrate him, they speak ill of him, etc, etc, in especially in this
area, then we have nothing to say. I mean, we may react emotionally, but we really don't have a
proper defense, because we haven't understood this part of Islam. So from this perspective, it's
worth taking this course, to get some insight into how polygamy functions within the Islamic System,
or how it's supposed to function.
		

			We don't judge it based on individuals we see or know etcetera, and what they have done, or are
doing, and have said, we judge it according to what Islam actually says. So, enjoy this course. And
share the knowledge that you gain from it to others. So you are rewarded both for your effort in
gaining that knowledge as well as the effort in conveying that knowledge as the prophet may God's
peace and blessings be upon him told us all by level and he will either convey whatever you have
learned from me, even if it is only a single verse from the Quran. Baraka Luffy comes consolidate
kumara how to live by cattle.
		

			So,
		

			welcome back from the break, we were looking at Charity, when we are
		

			with surplus, fearing poverty, and
		

			its implications when you have
		

			a new fear, losing it, to give it that time requires a spiritual struggle. You have to overcome your
desire, your greed, your desire to keep for yourself. That is the big challenge. And that is where
the greater reward lies. So the Prophet may God's peace and blessings be upon him, had said the best
charities to give while you're healthy and covetous, hoping for wealth and fearing poverty. Then he
went on to say, and don't delay until the soul reaches the throat. Don't delay until you're sure
you're gonna die. You can feel it. Death is upon you. This is a time that you give why? Because it's
already gone. You're giving us that time. Is not
		

			rewardable It's done. Your opportunity is over. When the soul we
		

			reaches the throat. And that's why the Prophet Solomon said, that's the time when repentance is no
longer acceptable
		

			is that repentance will continue as long as
		

			the world continues, but once the sun rises from the West, that's one of the signs. It's all over.
Repentance at that point, the stand of the world sign for the end of the world. Repentance is no
longer acceptable, you know, the world's ending.
		

			Similarly,
		

			when death is upon you,
		

			soul is reached the throat, there's no way to escape, for you to repent at that point, is not
acceptable. Like Pharaoh, chasing Moses alayhi, salam, the water is separated, and he's going across
the land in between. Pharaoh is not thinking, look at this water, standing here standing there. No,
this is a miracle, This man must be a man of God. Without a doubt, it's in so many other signs
before anyway, oh, he's only thinking of getting
		

			Moses catch him and punish him, kill him in his people. Course when the water now is released, and
he sees the water coming from both sides, he knows it's all over.
		

			He calls out I believe in the God of Moses. But that declaration of faith at that point is of no
value.
		

			It doesn't change anything too late. Similarly, charity, at the time, when a person knows the depth
is upon him or her charity at that point is of no value, it is of no value.
		

			So, the Prophet SAW Selim had said to say at that point, this is for so and so and that is for so
and so,
		

			it is already for so on. So,
		

			they will get it they will take from your wealth, you can take it with you. So sadaqa
		

			are voluntary charity
		

			is best given when we are not fearing death. When we feel confident, we are healthy, everything is
okay. This is the time to give sadaqa and the Prophet SAW Salem,
		

			as he had explained,
		

			charity is best given when there is difficulty involved. So this is when the difficulty lies. When
you feel confident about life, you're successful. To give at that time is a trial. It's a challenge.
There is challenge in it. And that is why
		

			he said it was the best charity. So we looked at the best charity, from revelation from the Sunnah
of the Prophet may God's peace and blessings be upon him
		

			as being serving the cause of defense of Islam. It is also the best charity when we give from our
surplus wealth. And it's also the best charity when we give to those who are resentful to our
relatives.
		

			But charity should begin at home. And of course, among the great challenges for charities to give
when one is in a state of destitution one is destitute when you have little to have nothing.
		

			One occasion, a woman came to Ayesha wife of the Prophet may God's peace and blessings be upon him.
		

			She had two children.
		

			She was starving. And
		

			I shall could only find three dates.
		

			She gave the three dates to this woman and her two children. The woman gives
		

			to the two children
		

			who are crying and they eat the dates. After she's made sure they finished eating the date. She's
about to eat the third date. So she gets one they got two. And they look at her with this date in
her hand about to put in their mouth and they start to cry. They want more. And what does she do?
She takes that one date that she has and
		

			divides it into two
		

			and gives it to her children.
		

			Oh, no, this really amazed. I Aisha, when she related to the Prophet may God's peace and blessings
be upon him. He praised this woman, he praised her for what she had done, because he or she was,
this is the sadaqa, she's in a state of destitution, she's hungry, like they are. And even after
giving them she gives, what she has. And there are a number of examples from the life of the
prophet, God's peace and blessings be upon him, where his companions had done similar acts, which
were highlighted to show the value and the greatness of giving, while one is in a state of
destitution. And when one is greedy,
		

			to give at that time, is the biggest challenge, because greed,
		

			that desire to want to keep for oneself, this is one of the main causes for
		

			difficulty, calamity,
		

			poverty in society, that the haves are not sharing with the have nots, the Islamic principle,
obligatory charity is there, to do what it is there to
		

			circulate wealth, so everyone is obliged to who has this surplus is obliged to give, so that their
wealth is not accumulated. And then that wealth which was produced by the society as a whole, the
value and the benefit is denied to the members of the society. So when people
		

			want to hold on to that wealth, not share it, this is when charity is best for those people to give
at that time, is the biggest challenge for them.
		

			And that's why the reward is the greatest and the Prophet may God's peace and blessings be upon him,
had said in our final Hadith,
		

			on the chapter,
		

			or the segment on charity of the Lusaka tea circle, man, the best charity is water given for
drinking to the public water,
		

			which is scarce in places where water is scarce. To provide public access to water by digging wells,
providing, you know, water container, or something to produce water, in one way or another. This is
one of the best forms of charity because you're benefiting the society as a whole. It's not a
particular individual, but you're sharing that water which Allah has given you control of or access
to, you're sharing it with the society as a whole. And this is why you'll find in many parts of the
world, you will find houses having taps outside, where people can pass by and get a drink. They're
easily accessible, because of this recommendation of the Prophet, God's peace and blessings be upon
		

			him to share water with people that this is amongst the best charity. So the digging of wealth is a
very popular way of being charitable. Many charitable organizations engage much of the time in the
digging of wealth for various societies. So with that, their viewers we will be concluding now our
session on charity, the best of charity, and we hope that you will continue to follow our program
into the next segment, where we'll be looking at other elements of charity in society, and we bid
you farewell. Closing out Salaam Alaikum Warahmatullahi Wabarakatuh