Mufti Menk – Make Life Beautiful

			Beloved brothers and sisters,
		

			it is indeed Allah subhanho wa Taala, whom all thanks and praise is owed to no matter how much we
thank him, it will never be sufficient, we try our best and we should be constantly bearing in mind
that whatever we have, he is the one who has provided, whatever we have has been given to us, as a
test from him in order to see how we utilize it for our benefit and the benefit of others. And at
the same time, it is important to realize that we returned to Allah leaving behind absolutely
nothing besides our deeds, your wealth will remain, your family will remain, the health you have
shall be gone totally. And everything you own in this world shall be left behind your deeds will
		

			come with you. So let us do as many deeds and good deeds as we can, so that we can really be from
those who are successful not only in this world, but even in the next. Remember, whatever Allah has
ordained and whatever he has prescribed upon us, it is for our benefit and our good. Nothing is to
our detriment, it is impossible for the almighty to have instructed us to do that which is harmful
for us. It is impossible for the one who loves us more than our own parents to have asked us to do
something that is dangerous for us or detrimental. So when we are asked to reach out to others
Remember, it is very important to dig deep in our pockets, and to look into our homes and to see
		

			what we have no matter what amount. But if it is done for the correct reasons with sincerity to
please the almighty to reach out to fulfill the Almighty's instruction, then indeed we will have
fulfilled our duty, and we will have earned closeness to the Almighty.
		

			For this reason, when we say
		

			reaching out to others is extremely important. It is because Allah subhanho wa Taala has instructed
it and he has kept our own happiness through reaching out to others reach out to your children, by
spending time with them by being a good role model for them, by showing them the way in the past by
making choices for them in their early lives such that when they grow older, they will have the
knack of making the correct choices. We should never make wrong choices for our children from a
young age in a way that when they grow up, they have no idea how to make choices. So we will be able
to reach out and help our children if we do fulfill the role that Allah has placed on our shoulders
		

			as parents and as adults reach out to our women by fulfilling their rights by honoring them, by
raising them to the platform that Allah has raised them upon, by not oppressing them, that is the
way we reach out to our sisters and our women, by granting them what Allah has granted them, by
involving them in whatever Allah has involved them in, and at the same time respecting them, like
nobody else has respected them. If you look at those before us, they have disgraced a female. And at
the same time, they have made her believe and think that through that disgrace, she is achieving
freedom. Whereas Allah subhanho wa Taala says, No, we should honor the female. And that is how we
		

			will reach out to her. May Allah make us from amongst those who can reach out to the women folk, we
should reach out to the orphans and to the widows as well. Reaching out to those and assisting them,
even if it means through a prayer, even if it means through a donation, whether it be in a box that
might be by the door of one of the messages, or it means a visit where we will offload that which we
are not even using in our homes. Within the homes of those orphans. It is important we have so much
in our houses that if we were to declutter, and if we were to take out only that which we have not
made use of within the last year, we will find tons of items that will be of benefit to others who
		

			perhaps do not have. So I call on you to go home and to search in your cupboards to search in your
to search in your home to take out that which you are not making use of to take our debt which is
excess and to donate it to a good cause the Almighty will open your doors. Remember you are not
going to take anything into your grave from that which you have amassed besides the good deeds and
that which you have deposited in the bank of Allah subhanho wa Taala. So May the almighty make us
from those who can reach out to the orphans, the homeless, the widows when the Prophet sallallahu
alayhi wa sallam says the one who is striving to fulfill or to alleviate the suffering
		

			To fulfill the needs of the orphans and the widows is similar to he who stands all night in prayer.
And he who fasts every single day, imagine the reward of fasting every day. And the reward of
standing all night, every night in prayer is achieved by reaching out to the widows and the orphans.
May Allah subhanho wa Taala make us from those. At the same time, we ask Allah subhanho wa Taala to
help us reach out to those who are struggling across the globe. Today, it has become so easy to
reach out to those who are struggling, whether they be in Burma, whether they be in Bangladesh,
whether they be in Sri Lanka, whether they be in Afghanistan, or Iraq or Syria or Yemen, you name
		

			the countries, the names are increasing on a daily basis. They are organizations that work serving
on humanitarian grounds, my brothers and sisters and yours across the globe. So it has become easy
for myself to search for such organizations and to donate to that cause they will fulfill for me,
before it was much more difficult where people had to go out themselves. Today, there are others who
are doing that job just to ensure that they are genuine and legitimate. And if that is the case,
then inshallah we should be assisting in that course. How many of us are ready to assist even those
in our own country, in this beautiful country, Allah has kept people on different levels of finance,
		

			different levels of need different levels of independence in terms of need, because it is a test for
both sides.
		

			A test for those who don't have to bear patience, and to pray and the test for those who have to
reach out to those who don't have, and to protect themselves from arrogance, to protect themselves
from that pride. Because remember, the days can turn at any moment, we have seen people who have had
a lot and at the same time overnight, Allah decided to take it away, they would suffer much more,
much more and in a greater way than those who have not had from the beginning. Because once you are
used to a certain life, it would be difficult to downgrade. May the almighty grant us a luxurious
life in the era in the life after death, and may make us from those whose suffering is alleviated in
		

			this world, and who help others to alleviate their suffering as well. My brothers and sisters, no
matter what we say, no matter what we say every one of us can do much more and we can improve and do
better when it comes to assisting others. And I call upon you to make life easy for those whom you
live with to start with. Those whom you live with within your home within the parameters of the
walls of your home, make life easy for them, whether they be a relative or a worker, may Allah
subhanho wa Taala use us to create beauty and goodness in the lives of those whom we live with.
Thereafter. It is important for us to search search every single day for ways of improving ways of
		

			making the lives of others beautiful, touching them in a way that they will remember touching them
in a way that they will smile whenever they think of the goodness that has come to them from our
direction. And if that is the case, and that is how Muslims should be, then we should be the
furthest away from harming people, we should be the furthest away from creating difficulty in the
lives of people. If the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam has stated in the hadith of Abu huraira,
which appears in Sahih Muslim, he says whoever alleviates the dire suffering of those who are
suffering from amongst their brothers and sisters, Allah will alleviate their suffering on the Day
		

			of Judgment, we need to know that the one who creates difficulty then what would happen Allah may
create difficulty for that person as well. So in the same way, whoever creates ease, Allah will
create ease for them. Whoever creates difficulty we would not like it, that Allah create difficulty
in their lives. May the almighty protect us. That Hadith continues to say whoever assists anyone
from their brothers and sisters in any way. Allah will assist them in this world and then the next.
And then the Hadith continues to say
		

			whoever treads a path seeking knowledge. Whoever is treading a path of seeking knowledge, the
Almighty will definitely create ease in their path to paradise. And why is this mentioned in the
same Hadith? In the same narration, that makes mention of reaching out to people, the Almighty says
if you make an effort, and if you are treading a path, in order to seek any form of knowledge, the
Almighty will create ease
		

			in your path to achieving paradise. One of the reasons is, you will only be able to fulfill
		

			The rights of others when you know what they are, you need knowledge, you will be able, you will
only be able to fulfill your acts of worship. If you know what they are, you will only be able to
understand and realize the value of others. If you have knowledge as to what their value is, how
would ignorance help me or you in any way, may Allah subhanho wa Taala cure us of ignorance. May He
make us from those who can make an effort to learn more about this religion. Remember, if you are
attending a Friday sermon, it is your duty to come early. It is your duty to sit and listen to the
talk, it is your duty to take back some beneficial knowledge home, and it is your duty to share it
		

			with those who may not have been able to attend in terms of women and children. And it is our duty
to ensure that we make use of the various lessons around us in the massage. There are lessons of the
same. There are lessons of adif there are beneficial lectures, how many of us make the time to go
out and learn and seek knowledge, put it into practice and convey to others Well, that is the way
you will be able to create ease on your path to paradise May the Almighty granted to us.
		

			We have seen many people suffering across the globe if the almighty had wanted, he would not have
made them suffer. But as I said moments ago, the suffering is connected to the test for them. And
for us, how many of us have reached into our pockets and put a small donation into boxes that have
passed us or into boxes that we see by the doors of the massage sometimes the change that we have
the change that we have after making purchases in a big department store, that change can actually
make a change to Panama. So do not underestimate the value of the change that you get. When you have
made a small purchase at a convenience store. May we be able to be from amongst those who can make
		

			the right decisions as to how to help those who are suffering. It is important for us to know the
organizations that we are giving towards and to make sure that they are genuine legitimate and they
are approved by authority. May Allah subhanho wa Taala grant us goodness
		

			when we say a friend in need is a friend indeed it is also important for us to realize Don't run
away from those who are in need solely because they are in need today yet yesterday when they were
your close friends, then they will not in that means it is a hypocrite who runs away from his
friends when they are in need. And we would not like the same to happen to us the day I am in need.
I would like those who are my friends to stand up with me and to be of assistance to me. In that
particular case I should also be from amongst those who stands up for his friends when they are in
need. May the almighty help us to help one another. My brothers and sisters, Islam is a religion of
		

			assisting one another, whereas others on the globe today they teach and promote selfishness and
miserliness everyone is living for themselves. Everyone is interested in how they will benefit.
Everyone wants to reach out to what will be theirs and theirs alone. People are such that they don't
even want to share things with their own family members. This is the world and this is where it has
taken us. Whereas Islam and this beautiful religion of ours teaches us the exact opposite. You would
like to achieve the happiness of the Almighty learn to share what you have. Teach your children to
share what they have from a very early age. Tell them about the benefits of sharing and tell them
		

			how the more they share the more they will get because the owner is the one who gave it to you is
the one who will multiply it and this is why the Almighty has stated in the poem to the moon
		

			was done with
		

			whatever you have put forth, whatever you have deposited, whatever you have given forward for
yourselves it will benefit you you will find it with Allah it will be multiplied it will be much
benefit. seek forgiveness of Allah for indeed he is most forgiving, Most Merciful beloved brothers
and sisters, be conscious of the Almighty and be conscious of the fact that he has created you and
he is the one in absolute control of every aspect of your existence in mind and in every aspect of
the creation at large and be conscious of the fact that you are becoming older as the days passed
and not younger.
		

			And be conscious of the fact that Allah can take you away right now. So therefore be conscious of
depth and be conscious of the preparation for that day when you will meet your maker. For indeed
every one of us is going to meet our maker, and he will question us as to how and what we did during
our short stint in this particular life. So remember, the object is not this life, but the object is
prep preparing for the everlasting life. Never lose focus upon that, because it is definitely a
loser. And the person who is in the clutch of shavon, who will lose focus upon the fact that they
are going to meet Allah subhanho wa Taala. I will meet my maker and so will you and we will see him
		

			and we will definitely be questioned about everything. Many of us may have done things we would like
to delete from our slaves. My brothers and sisters, I give you good news. Whatever you have done is
very delectable. It is that which we would be able to delete through what is known as repentance and
Toba. Brothers and sisters, we need to admit where we are wrong. We need to admit what we have done
when it is wrong. And we need to understand we must regret our wrongdoings and we should ask the
almighty for forgiveness. And we should promise not to do it again. With those conditions we are
able to delete whatever we have done, we can smile once again and prepare to the to the meeting with
		

			Allah subhanho wa Taala for the day when we meet Allah subhanho wa Taala. So be conscious of where
you are and where you are heading. And be conscious of the fact that at any moment the almighty can
have written my demise and yours, death would only be a suffering for those who have led an evil
life. But as for the believer, the messenger peace be upon him says death is actually a gift,
because now he gets to where he was supposed to get to. And this is why it is important for us.
Whilst we prepare ourselves for that big day. We help others prepare for the day as well. Those who
are under your authority, my brothers and sisters, it is your duty placed on your shoulders by the
		

			almighty to create for them an environment whereby they will not lose focus, and they will know why
they are in this world. This world we have not been placed in it in order to amass without an end,
but in order to collect so that we can help ourselves and others. So how many of us have helped
others and how many of us have given portions of our wealth to those in need, when we look at the
lives of the companions of the prophet may peace be upon him and may Allah be pleased upon all of
them, they gave at times everything they owned in order to serve the cause of the deen and they gave
sometimes 50% which is half of what they owned. Sometimes we cannot even give two and a half percent
		

			of our savings without counting 20 times as to whether this figure is correct, because it seems too
large May Allah subhanho wa Taala not make us from those May we be from the generous May we be from
amongst those who when we give him that wells will return to us in goodness in this world and the
next May we be from amongst those who when we give we do not expect cloud in return we give for the
sake of Allah we do not give because we want to have a say or control people and we do not give
because we want to show people that we have rather we give in order to please the Almighty and to
set an example for the others who can perhaps learn that we give and we give for the sake of the
		

			Almighty and if you see us giving and it encourages you to give we will earn a reward as well.
		

			It is very important that we send blessings and salutations upon Muhammad salallahu alayhi wa sallam
for Indeed Allah subhanho wa Taala has ordained that for us as Allah subhanho wa Taala has
instructed us all in the law Amala eketahuna soluna Allen levy Johan Medina amanu sallu alayhi wa
sallam Otis Lima Allahumma salli wa sallim wa barik mala Mohammed bin of salty salty water only
recently
		

			been invited in Medina be back in one Omar Osman Ali Allahu anhu. Once it is a habit to be in one
home Dominica waka Monica Yakama Tommy