Kamal El-Mekki – Contentment
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AI: Transcript ©
And
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Ah,
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Allahu. Alaihi wasallamura at infinar, Brothers and
Sisters in Islam today, our khutba is about a Rida, or contentment,
being content with what you have in the dunya and and even though
we've given this khutbah a couple of years ago, the reason to repeat
it is that we become more aware of our youth and how they are not
pleased with their life, even though, by comparison to youth in
Other parts of the world, they have a great life, but you find
this high level of depression and people and suicide thoughts,
suicidal thoughts, and people who hate their life, or they don't
believe that they have a good life, or it's so rampant, and it
is also amongst our youth, and sometimes we do this unrealistic
thing where we assume this is amongst non Muslim teenagers in
America, but for some reason, the Muslim teenagers are exempt from
that. No, they're exactly like everybody else. They're in the
exact same environment. They're the same stimuli and things that
affect them, so they're exactly like everybody else. But
I want to start with this incident, story narrated or
related by this scholar, a Syrian scholar by the name of Hassan
habernaka. He was born in 1908
and he said it was Ramadan. And I just finished teaching a class,
and I was going home for Iftar. And there was this poor person in
the street, and he was very happy to see me, and he swore to me by
Allah that I have to have Iftar in his home. So we started walking
towards his house, and when we got there, it was at the rooftop of
some building, and it was just a very small room and a kitchen. And
he said the man's heart, even though he was poor and his place
of living was so simple, he said the man's heart was just filled
with happiness. And the man was telling me, yes, Sheik, I have no
money, and I just have this room. And I watched the sun rise as it
comes from this window, and it sets when it goes down from this
window. And this is the place I recite my Quran after fajr. And
this is the place I recite the Quran before the sun sets. And he
says, The man said, Wallahi, it's as if I'm living in a Jannah
and and all this. And on the way up, he was telling me about his
happiness. And then we got there, and I saw just a small place. And
he he went in, and he spoke with his wife, and it was a small
place, so I could hear them speaking. And she said, he says, I
brought the sheik with me for Iftar. And then she tells him, we
don't have anything but fool fava beans, and it's only half an hour
to Iftar. It's not even enough time to cook it. So it's not
enough time for me to make anything. So he says, When the man
came out, I told him that I'll have Iftar.
With you on the following conditions. Number one, I only
break dates with make break the thought with dates and water. So
what he's trying to do because of what he heard, trying to make it
less embarrassing for him. This is my first condition. I only break
my fast with dates and water. That way he doesn't have to, you know,
put pressure on himself to bring me something else. And then I
pray, mother of and then I finish all the ADKAR. And then half an
hour later, I only eat fool and potatoes, nothing else. Lesh, half
an hour to give him to give his wife more time to cook. And then
fool, because he heard they already have that. And back then
he said, poor people always had potato potatoes in the house. So I
said, just to make it easy for him and allow him to save face, he
says, so I left after I ate and I felt and I left so happy. He said
he made me love the dunya. What he means by that, he said he made me
content with what I have. He made me love what little I owned. He
made me love the dunya. He said, days later, we were invited to an
Iftar at a rich man's house, and it was a mansion that was on a
farm, and he had a pool, and he had horses, and he had all kinds
of food for us to break fast with. He said, When we were leaving his
house, he was walking me out from his the door of his house to the
door of my car, and in that brief moment, he told me about all his
worries and his problems and his problems with his wife and his
family and his and his wealth and how people want his money. And he
said, just from the door of his house to the door of the car, he
blackened the whole world and constricted the whole world in
front of in in my eyes, just so he says, the sheik says, rahamullah,
Alhamdulillah, Allah. He said, Alhamdulillah for the blessing of
contentment, being content, content and pleased with whatever
Allah, Subha, Allah has given you. And in a long Hadith, and Nabi
Salallahu, alaihi salam, towards the end of this hadith, said
famine. Radiya falaho, Raba woman, sakhipa falahu, Sukh,
whoever is pleased, he will earn the pleasure of Allah. And whoever
is pleased with what Allah has given them, he will earn the
pleasure of Allah Azzawajal. And whoever is displeased, he will
Allah subhanahu, Allah will be displeased with them. So that
means what is important for us now is to understand what are some
ways so that we can be pleased with what Allah subhana, Allah has
given us, given us in this life, even if it's little, what are the
ways to be pleased and accepting even the bad that we're afflicted
with? The first thing the scholars mention, Know Allah Azza, wa jal,
Know Allah AJ know His names and know his attributes. Why? What
does that have to do with anything? Because when you
understand that Allah, is wise, that he is merciful, that he is
just. When you understand the love he has for the believers, you will
see everything that happens to you through those lens. You will see
everything that happens to you through the lens of Allah. AJ,
being merciful, being wise, being just, that he loves the believers.
So that's the first thing they said, understand and know the
names and attributes Allah. Understand Allah Azzawajal,
because if you know that, you will never accuse Allah subhanhola of
being cruel. And we heard these words from Muslims and non
Muslims. They're using the word cruelty and such as because they
don't know the description of Allah azza wa jal. The second
thing the scholar said that understand that there is a wisdom
behind everything, but we know there's a wisdom behind
everything. But what I want you to focus on is the following. Look at
the difference between how quickly you are pleased with something,
when you immediately know and recognize the difference, versus
when you don't recognize, the sorry, the wisdom, and when you
don't recognize the wisdom, how look at the difference between how
quickly you accept Allah's decision when you see the wisdom
before your own eyes. Let's illustrate it this way. And this
is a story that happened to two mashaya that were traveling for
dawah in Africa, and they tell the story themselves. They said that
we got on the plane after everything and all the process. We
got on the plane. And it's a small domestic flight, small airport
from one part of the country to another part of the country. He
said. Then this man decked out in military like gear and medals and
everything, came on the plane, and he pointed to both of us, and he
took us off the plane.
And we thought he's just going to take us for a secondary screening
or something wrong with our papers. So when we got to the
airport building, we asked him, Why did you take us off the plane?
He was about to take off on the runway, and this man came in and
removed them. He said we needed the seats.
For two high ranking military officials,
and then they started arguing and yelling, and they were so upset,
and how dare you, and why would you just take us? And he said,
while we're arguing like that, our plane started heading on the
runway, started taking off, and while we're still arguing with the
man, we can see through the window, the plane takes off, and
then it just gets off the ground a little bit, and then it crashes
and burns instantly, while we're looking at it like when that
happened. Did they continue arguing with the man? Were they
angered that they were taken off the plane? Did they object to
being discomforted this way? Why? Because they sued. They saw them
wisdom. It was immediate, and they saw it right in front of them. So
they were content and they were pleased very quickly.
But the real, the real secret, brothers and sisters, is to be
pleased and content quickly, even if you don't see the wisdom.
That's not how the believer is. And Ya Allah, will be pleased once
you show me and I see it in front of my eyes, and if I don't, I'll
continue complaining and making noise about it for the rest of the
my life.
Understanding that there's a wisdom behind everything, and
whether you see the wisdom or not, behave as if you can see it.
Understand and trust that Allah Subha Allah has a lesson of
wisdom. Trust his wisdom. Whether you see it, maybe you'll see it in
the future. Maybe you'll never see it, but trust in the wisdom of
Allah Azzawajal. So the first thing we said, understand Allah
Azzawajal, and when you understand Allah and His mercy and His wisdom
and His justice, you will not accuse him of being cruel to you.
You'll not accuse him of being vindictive, or all these words
that are used today. The second thing understand that there is a
wisdom behind everything that happens. Trust in that wisdom,
whether you see it in your lifetime and with your own eyes,
or you if you don't see it. The next thing the scholars mention
is,
what one thing that brings you contentment and peace and ease is
to understand that Whatever befalls you, whatever happens, was
decreed by Allah azza wa jal, 50,000 years before creating this
universe. And then we know in the Hadith that ALLAH SubhanA the
first thing he created, and the scholars explained the first thing
he created in relation to our world was the pen. And then Allah
Azza told the pen, write. So the pen said, What should I write? And
Allah azza wa jal told the pen, write everything that will happen
from now until the day of judgment. So 50,000 years before
the earth even existed, Allah decreed that you will go through
this difficulty, that you will experience that calamity. And when
you always put that in the forefront of your mind, it closes
the door of the whisperings of the shaytaan. It closes the door of Lo
ya Ani, had I not if we hadn't done that? And by the way, many
people wrongly misunderstand that you have to remove the word low,
or if out of your vocabulary. But the scholars explain only using
low in a way that shows objection to the decree of Allah azza wa
jal.
This is that simple. So you can use the word if or had I not done
this, this wouldn't have happened. You cannot speak like that if
you're objecting to the decree of Allah AJ, but if you're just
speaking normal language, you know, if I didn't lock the car,
the man would have stolen it. There's nothing wrong with that.
It's not objecting to the decree of Allah Azzawajal,
then the scholars mentioned that focusing on what you have and not
what you don't have. And that we're talking about contentment
being pleased with what you have. One of the ways to be pleased with
what you have is to focus on what you have and not to focus on what
you don't have. And that's one of the main reasons we're bringing up
this khutbah. Because what are what are we exposed to, and what
are our youth exposed to all the time, someone who supposedly has a
better life, who's having a better experience, who is showing off
their new car or their house or their trip or their experience or
their vacation or and so that's what they're seeing all the time,
and they're always comparing themselves to people that have
more than them, and
Allah Azza gives us some
phenomenal advice in Surah Paha, Allah Azza says, wala tamud, dan
na, ayneka, ILA, Mama, Tana, be he azwaja, Min hum, Zara hayati,
dunya, linaf, Tina, hum, fee what is corrupt? Beka Hai, rum wa APA,
this verse in English, the translation doesn't do it justice,
because it says, Do not strain your eyes with desires towards
what we have given them to enjoy of this life. Yani, don't start
staring and looking longingly at.
We have given other people from the things of this world, but in
Arabic is it's stronger even wala Tamu, Dan nainik, so yes, Do not
strain your eyes. Do not look intently. Ila, Mama, taanabihi as
wa Jamin hum to what as waj Hina, it means al asmaath, al muhtalifa
as waj here doesn't mean spouses. It means the different pairs of
different kinds of varieties of things. So Allah Azza is saying,
don't look longingly at the different kinds of blessings and
different varieties of things that we have given them. Then Allah
Azza yil says, zaharat al hayatid Dunya, Zahara tal Hayat dunya and
why
zahrani, the translation is from the flower of this worldly life.
So the scholar said, Why did Allah use the word flower? And they
said, if you look at a flower, how does it work? It blooms, it looks
good, possibly even smells good. But how long does it last just it
lasts a few days, and then later it loses its color, it loses its
beauty, and it withers down and collapses, and it falls off. So
Allah Azza will use zaharat Al Hayat a dunya to tell you is just
this. It's blooming, it's glittering, it's it's beautiful
for just a short period of time, whatever we have given them, we
just gave it to them for just a few moments, and then it's going
to be gone.
And then what is Ko RAM wa abkha. And then the risk of your Lord is
better and more lasting. So a risk, as we explained many times,
a risk. Hua kulma, whatever you benefit from is risk. It's not
just money, but it's wisdom, it's courage, it's spiritual insight.
Basira, it's wealth, it's health. All of that is a risk.
So,
but what we're talking about is knowing what you have. But we'll
pause here. We'll continue in the second for Allah. Ask Allah azzael
for his forgiveness. Indeed, those who ask for his forgiveness shall
prosper. Abu,
alhamdulillahi, Rabbil Alameen wa salatu, salaam wa Allah rasuli,
hilamin wa Allah Ali. He was Abu asmaae
focusing on what you have. We said, Don't focus on what other
people have. But what Allah, Subha Allah has given you, and even
that's one of the techniques that scholars mention of being more
thankful to Allah. If you always look at what other people have
that's better than what you have, you feel like you have less, and
you even become less thankful to Allah azzawit. But if you look at
what you have, and then you look at people who have less than you,
you feel you have a lot more and you are more thankful. And one of
the best examples of that is the famous story of arwah ibn Zubayr.
So Abu Zubayr was obviously the son of azubar. He was the younger
brother of Abdullah ibn Zubayr, but he did not have the honor of
being a companion. He was born after the death of the Prophet
Sallallahu Alaihi salaam Bay was a scholar, and he was of the
earliest writers of the Sira of the Prophet sallallahu alaihi
salam. So in one of his one of his visits to the Khalifa, his leg
became afflicted or infected with gangrene, and they had to cut off
his leg, and the same day they cut off his leg, which is an amazing
story in and of itself, but it's not our focal point. The same day,
one of his sons was killed by a horse, so people came to offer
their condolences, expecting him to be devastated. He lost a limb,
and he lost a son on the same day, but, and that's the point of our
story, his focus was not what he lost. His focus is on what was on
what remained. And that's why, when they came to offer
condolences and to console him, he says that Allah took one and he
left me three. Yani, Allah took one of my limbs and he left me
three others. He could have taken two, he could have taken three, he
could have taken four. He could have taken my life. But Allah just
took one limb, he left me three other limbs. And Allah took one
and he left me five. Yani, he had six children, and Allah said, He's
saying that Allah could have taken all of My children, or three or
four of them, but he only took one and left me five. He was focusing
on one he had left, what he had left. And perhaps we can add a
fifth to our list, a fifth technique for becoming content
with what you have, because there will be someone who is
experienced.
Something worse than you have. And to finish the story of Arab ni
Zuber, here, he said, on the same day, a group of people came to
visit the Khalifa, and one of them, he had an injury on his
head, and he was blind. So the Khalifa asked him what happened to
him, and then he explained his story, and his story was so much
worse than what happened to arwah Brother, Allah anumi, losing a
child and losing a limb that the Khalifa said, let him go and speak
to aura and tell his story to arwah so Arwa could see that
people have the others have had a worse experience than he has.
So
that's those in a nutshell, we're saying to repeat everything. We're
saying that today, many people are not content, and if this doesn't
apply to us, it will almost most likely apply to our youth, because
they're constantly bombarded by images and videos of people who
are presenting the best moments of their life as if it's every moment
of their life, so they feel that they have less and they are less
blessed. And we began in the beginning by talking about how
people the amount of depression and suicidal thoughts in our
youth, it's really alarming. It's really alarming that's beyond what
we think it would be.
Whereas, if you compare them to the rest of the youth and the rest
of the world, like there, they have of the best lives, and they
have everything, but they're so unhappy. And so we said, part of
the ways to become appreciative and content with what Allah Azza
has given you is to know and understand Allah subhanahu wa know
his attributes, and you will see whatever happens to you through
the lens of those attributes. We know then to believe that there is
a wisdom behind everything that happens then we mentioned, to
understand that Whatever befalls you has been decreed 50,000 years
before this earth was even created. And in that way, you will
close the doors to the whisperings of the shaytaan and to had I not,
and if it had been, and then to always focus on what you have.
Don't look at what you don't have. Don't look at what people have
that's better than you, but you look at what people have that's
less than what you have, and you will feel more thankful to Allah
azza wa jal. And the fifth point, remember that ALLAH SubhanA, Allah
would no matter how he tests you, someone who is tested with
something more difficult. With that, we ask Allah Azza to make us
of those who recognize the truth as clear truth and follow the best
of it, and to make us of those who recognize falsehood as clear
falsehood and abstain from it. For Allah, Allah dunya Akbar rahamina,
wala,
you Abu