Mufti Menk – Get the Best Deal

			smilla rahmanir rahim al hamdu Lillahi Rabbil alameen wa Salatu was Salam ala
		

			nabina Muhammad wa ala alihi wa sahbihi wa
		

			ala Medina.
		

			We praise Allah subhanho wa Taala. We send blessings and salutations upon Muhammad sallallahu alayhi
wa sallam, his household and all his companions, may Allah bless them. And may He bless every single
one of us, my brothers and sisters in Islam, every one of us should be having a stock of good deeds,
we should be having, perhaps a number of good deeds that we've done, that we can be holding with us
so that on the day of piano, we would be having something to place on the right side of the scale.
And I'm convinced that every one of us has engaged in good deeds and continues to engage in whatever
good deeds possible. So that is a good note. It is something really encouraging. However, it is
		

			important for us to get the best deal, isn't it? Every time we have something we want to buy and
purchase. If it costs, especially now in this country, for example, things are quite expensive, it
would be worth your while to shop around and to make sure that the deal you're getting is worth it.
It would be foolish for you to buy something for $2 somewhere and find it elsewhere for 80 cents and
you would actually want to smack yourself. May Allah subhanho wa Taala protect us. So similarly, we
have something that we find in the hadith of Rasulullah sallallahu alayhi wa sallam that tells us
what the best deals are when it comes to your deeds, because I like to read my Salah. I like to, for
		

			example, do so much that I can and I'm sure we all are the same. Whatever is made easy for us we do
in terms of good, but when is it that I will get the most out of my deeds. So inshallah we will
spend the next few minutes talking about this point number one, we do things for the sake of Allah
without wanting a reward from humankind. Like Allah subhanho wa Taala says, In surah, two in
		

			Allah says, We feed you speaking about feeding the poor, those who are good and close to Allah who
want the best deal. They say we are feeding you for the sake of Allah subhanho wa Taala from you, we
don't need anything we don't even want the statement of thanks. All we need is for Allah to accept
it. So this shows us sincerity of intention. When we do a good deed, we give out a charity, we give
money, we donate something, we help out some way, never do it in order to get a chip on your
shoulder or to be acknowledged from humankind. If they do say thank you, Jessica Lafave, they make a
draft for you. It's their goodness, but don't ever request it from them to say, you know what, I did
		

			this for you one day, and this is and you forgot about it? If that is the case, then did you do it
for them to remember? Or did you do it for the sake of Allah, so you will have a deal, but it won't
be as fruitful as if you had done it for the sake of Allah subhanho wa Taala alone, may Allah
subhanho wa Taala make us from those whom, when we do good, we would expect a reward from Allah and
Allah alone. I mean, secondly, when we do a deed, it's important for us to try our best to hide the
deep love. Now one might say What do you mean? What this means is sometimes we do know it's
encouraging when we have the intention of encouraging others to do a deed that others would know.
		

			Like, for example, if here we are collecting money for a good cause a very good cause. And someone
would or we are to announce in public brothers and sisters put up your hands and donate something
and a man says I donate $5 and the man next to him says I donate $10. The intention should be that I
am saying it aloud so that others can actually compete with me in goodness, that is permissible. Did
you hear what we've just said? It's permissible if you are doing it with the intention that look,
I'd like others to compete with me in goodness. And this is shown by the action of the Sahaba of the
Allahu anhu when the Prophet sallallahu wasallam made an open announcement for donations, they came
		

			in with a certain percentage, the other one came in with more and they looked at each other and said
now this one will not be able to come with more than I will. And then the other one Abu Bakr Siddiq
of Allah who came with everything he had, and this was the competition that they had. It was for the
sake of Allah subhanho wa Taala. No contamination in that but sometimes we may publicize it if it is
for the right reasons. However, when it is not necessary to publicize it, let it be between you and
Allah subhanho wa Taala brother, I donated this, it's from an anonymous brother, lockable or
anonymous sister has done this if possible. It would give you
		

			a better deal you would get better returns for that. Investment Allahu Akbar, because you have done
it solely for the sake of Allah subhanho wa Taala. And when we say hi do did we learn from this that
when you are fulfilling voluntary prayer, it is best to do it at home. This is the Sunnah of
Muhammad Sallallahu sallam, your first you read in the masjid. And obviously if you are a person who
is weak you and I would want to read our sooner and etc, etc, in the masjid as well, because perhaps
if we left and we left it, we would not even read it. So it's better in those cases to make sure you
read it in the masjid. But the hadith of Rasulullah sallallahu wasallam speaks of how important it
		

			is to live and up the home by engaging in voluntary acts of Salah or voluntary acts of worship like
reading of the Quran and so on within the home. So that will number one is you live in the home, the
angels of mercy, the angels that come with the blessings would actually be around the home and
surrounding and the blessings would be descending and it would be a better deal for you so much so
that the Prophet sallallahu wasallam speaks of Salah to the head. Do you know that Judas in the
early hours of the morning, or the last third of the night as it would be in that particular Salah
The best thing to do is to read your prayer while the others are asleep. Get up in a way that you
		

			haven't disturbed anyone. It's a voluntary prayer unless your spouse or children or someone parents
have told you to get them up because they would like to fulfill the Salah. The best deal you could
get is to do it in a silent manner. No one knows you gotta no one knows you made you do no one knows
you fulfill Salah, because that can only be for the sake of Allah. So this is what we mean when we
say hi God, when you hide your deep, there is a better deal that you struck with Allah subhanho wa
Taala. For example, when I'm reading my Quran, I may do so there's nothing wrong, I can do it in the
masjid, I can read it here, I can do my deeds. But I would get a better deal if I were to do it
		

			silently, quietly without anyone watching. And that would be the best for me May Allah make it easy
for us to do that.
		

			Another brilliant deal that is mentioned in more than one hadith of Rasulullah sallallahu Sallam is
when you do something regularly, even if it is very little. So in Islam, a better deal than doing
something big once would be to do small things on a regular basis. That is it. So if I'm very kind
of generous, and one day I donate $100 to a good cause, obviously the finger would differ depending
on the size of your pocket. Mashallah. But if I made a big donation one day, and then I forgot about
it for the rest of the year, it would be better for me to donate on a regular basis, something that
would continue. And there are reasons for this, you never know the time of acceptance, the time of
		

			acceptance of your do our perhaps, or the time when the multiplication of your good deed is
sometimes you do a deed for example, I might do a deed in Ramadan. in Ramadan, it's multiplied. We
definitely notice if I fast, for example, on the 10th of Muharram, and the ninth with it or the the
11th. With it, the reward is far greater than if I were to just fast on an ordinary day. But it is
assumed that too fast on a Monday and a Thursday. We don't deny that. But I'm only making mentioned
to you that some days are higher than others. So if you were to do it regularly, it would coincide
at some at some time with a moment of greatness. And perhaps you just be as we would term it
		

			accepted in that may Allah subhanho wa Taala grant acceptance. So when we do a deed of goodness,
let's continually do it. There is no point in getting up for 200 and reading Long, long record, but
only once in your life.
		

			Try and make it regular, even if it is once a week, but let it be once a week. If it is once a
month, let it be once a month. Let's hope that it becomes every day in Sharla Why not? But if you do
something regularly, it shows responsibility. It shows dedication, and it shows that by the will of
Allah subhanho wa Taala you are a person who would like to see improvement and growth in that
particular aspect. If I'm a person who doesn't want to see growth for example, in a certain aspect
of my spiritual life, my religious life For example, I will come for Salatu Juma and that's it. And
I wait for the next Juma. But if I come for Juma and the next time I make sure that I've come a
		

			little bit earlier, I've improved I'm showing that I want growth. And this brings us to the next
point. If you want the best deal, not only should you continuously do a deed, but you should think
of ways of improving and start implementing. I give you an example of a sister, a sister who is
Mashallah starting to dress more appropriately so Mashallah when she comes to the masjid or when she
goes for an Islamic program or when she goes you know, to visit at the funeral home, etc, etc. You
find she's covered properly in her heart
		

			should be that I want this to be maintained throughout my life, I don't want to just to be an
occasional correct dressing, I want it to be so correct that the day I die no matter where I am, but
I will be dressed correctly and I will have earned the pleasure of Allah because Allah knows my
struggle with my own clothing. And this is why we are not allowed to judge people. When we say
judge, we mean passing a judgement to say this man is bad, this woman is bad, because we don't know
how the condition will be the day that they end. And we don't know our condition, the day we will
end. So this is why it's of absolute utmost importance for us to worry about ourselves. And this is
		

			another deal. That would be really, really great when we are concerned more about ourselves than
others. And the concern we have for others should only be a positive concern, not a negative
concern. For example, if you see someone with a bottle of beer bottle, for example, a true Muslim
who wants the best deal out of it will firstly make a dua for the person praying for them. And a
person who's going to lose the deal is one who quickly tweets about it, and puts it on WhatsApp and
takes a picture without the person knowing that this person is with the bottle and wants to disgrace
them on Facebook and everywhere else. What would happen, not only would we lose a deal, but we would
		

			actually suffer a loss. However, we want to solve the problem, we will make a deal out for the
individual, we will continue we will try our best and we will perhaps speak to them in a beautiful
direct manner. Brother, you know, two days ago, I saw you and you tell you I don't even start, you
know, like I was giving an example. One some years back I saw a brother with a bottle in his hand.
And you know when I say bottle what we're talking about. So when I looked at him and I asked him a
question, or in fact, even before that, he tells me Do you think there's alcohol in here? No, I use
this for water. I said okay, Brother, don't worry, it's okay. It's fine, because the message got
		

			across and the respect was there and he knew that what he was doing was wrong. But Alhamdulillah the
same brother Mashallah. He perhaps I'd like to hope has quit it completely, because we've never ever
seen that. And it's not up to us, he doesn't owe that deed to me or you. He owes it to Allah.
Remember this, he does not owe it to me or you he owes it to Allah. So do not become a person who
wants to play the role of Allah subhanho wa Taala, to condemn people, and to bring them closer
thinking that it's your duty and responsibility, you know, your duty, My duty is to encourage people
in a positive way. So to strike the best deal, we would need to be worried about our own weakness.
		

			When we see that look, someone else is engaged in a weakness, we we can or we should contribute
positively to try and help them but it must humble us to think what about my own weakness, and for
your information, there is no human being that does not have a weakness, no human being, but the
level of the weakness differs from person to person. That doesn't make you a saint, nor does it make
you a person who's totally condemned because all it takes from a person who's been engaged in bad
behavior is to repent to Allah to turn to Him. And guess what his sins are wiped out. This is how
easy it is. And all it takes from a person who's been on the right path to become deviated is to
		

			slip once
		

			and to fall into the trap of the devil. May Allah subhanho wa Taala not do that to us really, may he
make us from those whom when we do good deeds, it humbles us that is also another way of striking
the best deal when you've done something good you came for Salah early and you sitting for example
in the first stuff you know sometimes what happens to us Mashallah, this Masjid the first stuff, you
really have to be in competition to get into it because, you know, it's not as long as perhaps other
places. However, a person who comes very, very early and they make it to the first stuff
Alhamdulillah it will humble them if they have the correct intentions. They feel that you know,
		

			Allah has blessed me, a person who comes early for Salah they fulfill it correctly, they sit there
after they engage in they have come they do good deeds they have Mashallah tried their best to read
one page of the Quran every single day. Like we said moments ago, even if it is just a page, make
sure it's every day, don't just come and read one hole juice a day. And the next time you see the
Quran is the next year, read a page a day, even half a page a day, a verse a day, but it is regular
that is more loved to Allah than something that is only done once in a blue moon. May Allah subhanho
wa Taala protect us. So the deal we're talking about here is when your good deed makes you humble
		

			down to earth, you look at other people, you talk to them with utmost respect. You have that respect
of others, even though you might know that on specific aspects, they may have weaknesses, but you
speak to them with utmost respect as though they are your bigger brother or as though they are
people who are far more in their closeness with Allah subhanho wa Taala than you are
		

			This is how you strike a deal.
		

			But the minute shaytan gets grip of someone, how do you know that shaytan gets grip of you when
you're doing good deeds when you start feeling no I'm the one doing the good deeds as for all these
other guys they are By the way, the minute you start thinking others are By the way, you need to now
know shaytan has got you properly gripped, and your deal is no way profitable. May Allah subhanho wa
Taala grant us deals that are profitable. And this is why the environment in the house of Allah and
the masjid should be such that people want to come, they should feel respected and honored. They
should be people who we should be contributing towards making the environment such that people feel
		

			like they want to come to the house of Allah subhanho wa Taala. And this is why another deal. You
want to strike the best deal out of your attendance in the masjid. Make sure when you come into the
masjid, all your dealings are left outside the gate. You need to make sure everything to do with
you're dealing outside the gate, you have a problem with an individual, it's outside the gate, you
come into the masjid, that's it. It's you It's Allah and it's the goodness of the worshipers who
have come for the sake of Allah simple reason it's not your house, nor is it mine. Nor does it
belong to anyone. It belongs to Allah, you It's your duty to ensure that the guests who have come
		

			for the sake of Allah to his house, you make them feel wanted, you make them feel comfortable, you
welcome them, you greet them with a smile. And if you do have a problem, perhaps it's your
opportunity to resolve it in a way that would achieve everlasting peace between the two May Allah
subhanho wa Taala help us solve and resolve our matters and problems and disputes that we may have
between us. So this is the house of Allah, you want the best deme coming for Salah with a good
heart. And this is why we say when getting up for Salah, and when straightening the rose, you know
it's important to make an announcement following the sooner Muhammad sallallahu alayhi wa sallam to
		

			straighten the rows to ensure the shoulders are all touching one another's, the rows are filled the
first and then the next you don't leave a gap for the devil. It is said that if there is a gap, the
devil comes in between the two people. And this is why the proper way of fulfilling the SFX is to be
such today, we would call it I'm slightly squashed. That's what we would say and feeling slightly
squashed because someone's shoulders on mine and the other ones on mine. And the other ones on his
That is the proper sooner the proper way of standing in the south is that the shoulders are touching
one another's, that shows that is the proper way the profits or losses I'm used to spend time
		

			really, he used to spend time going through the software through the rows in order to make sure that
things are all in a line. The shoulders are touching one another's nobody's standing in front and
you know, maybe missing the line and so on. Because he used to say voila, salifu fatale fabuleux
bukem Do not be jagad because your hearts will become jagad imagine, you stand in a line you're
showing love. You're showing the feeling you are my brother. In the case of the sisters, you are the
sister indeed. And this is why it will be straight. No matter who you are, I could have had an issue
with you and so on. The fact is we all come to the masjid on a specific level of purity and
		

			cleanliness. We've all washed our hands our feet, no one can say I'm smelling This one is smelling
in fact if a person has eaten something offensive, like onion or something of that nature, it is a
sooner that before you come to the house of Allah wash your mouth properly so that the people next
you don't have to move away because now if someone says why isn't your shoulder touching his he
might say Hey, brother, you know what this guy's eaten onions? May Allah protect us to protect us
from this. The prophet SAW Selim clearly says if you've eaten onion or raw garlic and so on, mouth
has a stench. Wash it before you come in, we would add to the list cigarettes, may Allah subhanahu
		

			Allah grant us clean mouth, may Allah make us such that we can actually wash before we come to talk
to him to communicate with him. I mean, so as we enter the house of Allah, we have this announcement
that is made to say straight in the rows. Why? Because if you don't, yes, your facade is done, but
the great achievement of that Salah is not there. And this is why sometimes we would hear any man
say, cleanse the heart. Wow. cleanse the heart before you start your prayer because indeed, that
prayer which is the best deal is that wearing your heart is as clean as possible. What's the point
of me saying Allahu Akbar, Allah is the Greatest and I'm going down in frustration for him but my
		

			heart is full of jealousy, malice, hatred, the brother who's next to me, that's who the problem is
with Allahu Akbar. So I need to clean my heart. I need to understand how temporary this dunya is.
This life is if I would like to achieve the best deal from my salah and I need to fulfill Salah in a
way that I am convinced that it might just be my last Salah. That's the best deal when it comes to
prayer. Suddenly Salah thermodyne the Hadith says and I'm adding to this to say if you'd like to
strike the best deal but the Hadith the wording of it is when you fulfill your Salah, fulfill it as
though it is the last opportunity. You're going
		

			To have to pray for the sake of Allah. And Allah if you do that, wouldn't you have the best deal?
Forget about the whole world. Take your time. These are just a few pointers that I've made mention
of how to strike the best deal when it comes to various deeds. May Allah grant us sincerity and open
our doors are sal Allahu wa salam o Baraka ala nabina Muhammad