Mufti Menk – Dealing with Difficulty #15 Health Matters
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The importance of health is a reward from Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala, and individuals are rewarded for their behavior. The speaker advises managing sickness and not throwing yourself into destruction, seeking help from a professional doctor, and praying for others to help with medical expenses. The importance of good health for resolving illness and the need to be thankful for the good health they have is emphasized. The speaker encourages the audience to use their health and faith to overcome challenges and achieve their dreams.
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Welcome to this episode of dealing with difficulty.
Health is a gift from Allah
He's definitely made some of us healthier than
others. Some have struggles from the point of
birth.
May Allah grant them goodness, and may Allah
make it easy for them and their parents.
My brothers and sisters, we take health for
granted. And this is why one of the
things that the Prophet Muhammad
has told us about is
the 2 gifts that people take for granted.
He says,
There are 2 gifts of Allah Subhanahu Wa
Ta'ala that many people are deceived regarding. Many
people take for granted. What are they? Good
health and your spare time.
People are lazy. They don't use their spare
time in a productive way. And then when
it's not there, they need the time to
do something productive, but they no longer have
it.
Similarly, with health, when we have health and
we don't do what we're supposed to be
doing, beginning with our fulfillment of the obligations
unto us, like prayer and fasting and so
on, then a day comes when the health
is no longer and we realize the importance
of those things we were supposed to do,
starting with our obligations, but going on to
that,
which may not be an obligation, but something
beneficial.
So this is why
when a person
goes through sickness,
what we need to realize is Allah rewards
you for every moment of Sabr that you
bear. Allah will reward you for every moment
of patience that you bore
Each moment
that you did not curse or swear, and
you just took it in your stride. You
prayed to Allah
Almighty, pray for cure, but you were patient.
Allah says,
this is my worship for him is a
reward with me. That's Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala.
It is said that a person who's terminally
ill,
the patience that they bear will be enough
to get them into Jannah by the will
of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala because if they
see or when they see the reward of
their patience
on the day of judgment and the surrendering
to the decree of Allah for them,
they will
they will have they will hope that they
were sick or ill for a longer time
so that they could have had a bigger
reward because the reward is multiplied.
When you fall ill, you need to make
sure you
seek help
and seek medication. It's part of your duty
unto Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala as a believer.
Your health is an Amana, meaning it's a
trust
entrusted to you by Allah. You have a
cough, you have a flu, you have something
light. You may want to try out home
remedies, but do something about it.
Similarly, before that, don't do something that's going
to miss your health. I went out on
a cold night without a little jacket, and
I thought I was very brave. I came
back very ill and sick. We went to
swim in the cold water in the middle
of winter and we didn't have jackets and
we didn't you know that what you did
caused the problem. So in that case, Allah
holds you accountable.
Allah holds you accountable.
He expects you to take heed put on
your little jackets if it's cold and use
your common sense
in order to save yourself from throwing yourself
into
destruction with your own hands.
Don't throw yourselves with your own hands into
destruction.
That's Allah's instruction.
But if you do happen to then get
ill and sick, make sure you do something
about it. Be it something as simple as
maybe just a nasal nasal drip or something
like a headache.
Try to do something about it and Allah
will reward you because every time you try
and heal yourself
with something you and the intention is for
me to look after this trust
known as the body that I've been entrusted
with. Allah will reward you. And then if
it is something more serious, you would need
to visit the doctor. Visiting the doctor
is not defying the decree of Allah, but
rather it's part of the plan of Allah.
Allah did something to you that required that
you went to seek help from a person
who is a professional in that particular field.
So you came out
and you sought the help of a doctor.
He told you we need to operate on
you. May Allah make it easy.
Take it in your stride. You might want
to go for a second opinion. You might
want to see if there is alternative remedies.
And if not, you will need to make
a decision to go for that procedure.
Ask Allah's help and Allah Almighty will open
your doors. I know that many people cannot
afford medication
to that level. We have to keep trying
and do whatever we can to the best
of our ability and Allah will open our
doors. Don't lose hope because of a sickness
that you've been affected with. You need to
try your best. So if you do end
up going for a procedure, look after yourself.
Make sure the aftercare is proper as per
the instructions of the doctor and even better
than that. If the doctor tells you you
need a week's rest,
you can try and rest for even longer
than that if you can and go easy.
Take it easy.
Similarly, ask Allah for good health. I've learned
one thing when you appreciate
the healthy days,
Allah prolongs them and Allah gives you good
health. How many of us have actually said,
Oh, Allah, I thank you for giving me
good health all these years, and I ask
you to continue to give me good health
so I can worship you and do a
lot of good. That's a beautiful dua that
helps you dealing with the difficulty even before
it strikes.
Amazing because you are thanking Allah.
If you are going to be thankful, Allah
says, we will grant you more and increase
in the goodness.
So be thankful to Allah Subhanahu wa'ta'ala.
Use your health when you have it in
a good way.
However, like I said, once we're dealing with
recovery,
don't lose hope in the mercy of Allah.
We've known of people who've been told that
they have a terminal illness,
but
by the will and mercy of Allah Subhanahu
wa'ta'ala, they've been cured. So don't lose hope
in the mercy of Allah. No matter what.
Even if we end up dying,
even if we end up dying as a
result of a sickness that we've had that
was terminal or non terminal.
If we end up returning to Allah Subhanahu
WA Ta'ala, having had the hope and praying
to Allah for cure and we were not
cured, Allah will reward us for the hope
Because having hope in the mercy of Allah
is an act of worship
and having hope at a time where where
there is hopelessness
all around us is a massive act of
worship that many people don't talk about. It's
actually so great that it will help us
deal with the difficulty
and prepare for the day of ease. The
ease will come either by the cure or
either by us returning to Allah. So if
we return to Allah, it was a good
thing because Allah is going to reward us
for the hope, for the dua, for the
supplications,
for the conviction we had even on our
deathbed that a miracle can happen. Allah is
able to grant us a miracle. The fact
that we had that conviction conviction is an
act of worship.
The Yaqeen that you have
conviction
and the hope that you have in Allah.
Those are acts of worship.
So the person who has the greatest conviction
and the greatest hope, Allah gives them contentment
to begin with. And then Allah rewards them
in a unique
way because they went through something that others
were not chosen to go through.
We've spoken about bearing patience, but we've also
spoken about having hope and being convinced and
calling out to Allah
believing that I'm going to be cured
and
Allah will do what he wills.
He may grant you the cure, or he
may give you something better than the cure.
For indeed,
the eternal abode of Jannatul Firdaus and Paradise
is way better than the cure you would
have on earth. At some point, you are
going to return to Allah anyway.
So whenever that is and Allah has chosen
it. If Allah has chosen for you to
return to Allah in a condition that he's
pleased with you and you get paradise,
surely that's far better
than having been cured for a few more
years and then heading into the wrong direction
and not paradise.
May Allah grant us paradise and may he
grant us the cure. Ameen.
So learn to pray for others. Learn to
visit others. Inquire about others. Feel the pain
when someone else is unwell and reach out
to them in whatever way you can contribute
towards the costs of
medical expenses
for others who cannot afford it
to your ability.
Whatever you can do, let's get it done.
Inshallah.
You hear that someone else is struggling to
pay a bill. You can help with a
dollar,
$5 help and Allah Almighty will bless you
with good health. Similarly, don't take the gifts
of Allah and the favours of Allah for
granted.
Ponder over the favours of Allah and utilise
them, insha Allah, in the best possible way.
Allah will grant you the best of this
world and the next. May Allah grant cure
to all those who are sick and ill
and help us deal with the difficulty of
sickness.
And may Allah Almighty reward all those taking
care of those who are ill and sick.
Amin.