Mufti Menk – Negative Effects of Laziness

			Salam aleikum wa rahmatullah wa barakato.
		

			smilla rahmanir rahim al hamdu Lillah wa Salatu was Salam ala rasulillah Allah Allah He was happy as
		

			we praise Allah subhanho wa Taala we send blessings and salutations upon Muhammad sallallahu alayhi
wa sallam, his household, his companions. We ask Allah Subhana, Allah to Allah to bless them all,
and to bless every one of us and to grant us goodness, my brothers, my sisters,
		

			Allah subhanho wa Taala created us, He made us. And if he wanted, he could have told us to relax.
And he will drop from the skies, whatever we needed. We needed food, he could have caused him to
drop from the skies or to be at our feet, we needed sustenance, money, wealth, he could have caused
it to drop from the ceiling, if he wanted, he could have.
		

			For example, if we wanted anything, your clothing, your goodness, your education,
		

			whatever it was, he could have made it such that we did not need to make an effort, no effort
required.
		

			But you and I know
		

			that that is not how he has created us. He made us from the very beginning, such that if we don't
work, we will not achieve.
		

			If we don't try, we won't get.
		

			But if we do try how much we get, he will determine Subhana Allah, if we do try how much we achieve.
He knows it's up to him.
		

			For this reason, some people work very, very hard. And at the end of the month, they get a small
amount.
		

			And some people work, but not so hard. But at the end of the month, they get a big amount.
		

			So people work very hard, and they get a big amount it happens. But there is no one who just sits
back does absolutely nothing. And they get something has to have happened. Someone might be thinking
perhaps if a person leaves a wealthy parent, or grandparent, and they've left something, well,
someone worked for it, someone worked very hard. And the day comes when it is depleted because my
brothers and sisters, men only truly appreciates what he has earned with his own sweat.
		

			What he did not earn with his own sweat, he does not truly appreciate it, even though he might
slightly appreciate it. So with this, we need to understand life is not going to be easy. You want
to become a half of the Koran, you want to memorize the Book of Allah subhanho wa Taala. You need to
make an effort. day in day out you need to toil you need to try hard, you need to struggle, you want
to be a doctor in the future, you are going to need to go to school to work hard, your parents will
probably work hard to get to pay your school fees. And when they pay it, you will go to school when
you go to school. If you play games and you don't work hard, you will fail and you will be a
		

			dropout.
		

			But if you work very hard, you will get good results. If you get good results, your opportunities
are increased, you might not be able to do exactly what you want to, but at least some doors will
begin to open because whoever tries Allah will open his doors. Whoever does not try. Allah will not
open his doors. The same applies to guidance. When you want guidance. You don't just say that, Oh
Allah, I want guidance. And then you just stop. But rather what you do is you ask for guidance and
you go out and you search for it. You look for it, you make an effort to go to the masjid. You look
for the knowledge, look for the knowledgeable look for the correct books, read them, look for the
		

			correct programs, participate in them, then you will get the right guidance. When you have questions
in your mind. Don't keep them in your mind and think you are a genius. You need to find out from
Revelation in Scripture. What is God Almighty saying about this matter that I need to know about and
you are going to need to make an effort. The problem is laziness has overtaken generations that are
coming in
		

			In a way that people are not achieving.
		

			So without working hard, we are not going to be able to achieve. If you are prepared to work hard,
you will stand out, you one day you are going to be a big person, you will be someone who has
achieved, even if it is, like I said, just learning the boron, ask those who have memorized the
Quran, how tough it was, how hard it was when they had to get up and read when they had to read
again and again and repeat and go back. That's something to do with the word of Allah, it will help
you in this world and the next. But if you want to achieve a little bit of money, to be able to get
married, to be able to have a house, to be able to afford a little bit of clothing and food, you
		

			will have to also work very, very hard. without working hard, what will happen, a day will come when
corruption overtakes a nation because of laziness. When there is laziness, we feel that we are owed
something that is not actually ours. We have not worked for it. But we feel entitled that
entitlement results. In so many problems, people begin to pinch and steal. That is a problem in
society that has taken over where such societies do not attract growth, because people are too
scared to invest in it.
		

			Imagine you want to grow a business, but you know that everyone i'm going to employ is probably
going to steal, what are you going to do, you're going to look for something else to do. So panela.
So this disease of pinching and stealing stems from a root. And then route is when we want something
that is not ours. When we want something, we want to live upon a standard that is above our own. My
brothers and sisters, if you earn $50 $100, every two weeks or every month, you need to know your
food, your clothing, your accommodation must be equivalent to how much you are getting. You cannot
say I'm earning $100 a month, for example, but I'm going to live in a palace in Borrowdale and where
		

			the rent is 1000. How are you getting the 1000? So the brother says
		

			just make a plan. You know, what plan are you making? What is it? It means there is something wrong
that is happening? Because because you want to live above your means many of us have mobile phones,
that mobile phone we need to know what package we have, what data we have, how much we can afford,
can you afford to make a call? Or can you afford only to receive it? Are you a Wi Fi person, which
means wherever there's Wi Fi, we are there. It's okay, for as long as your budget and your
expenditure is telling. Don't be shy to downgrade your lifestyle. Don't be shy to downgrade your
lifestyle to come in line with how much you are earning. Some people want to send their children to
		

			private schools when the fee is in the 1000s. But their salaries are so small. And then they go to
bank. And they say You know what? I need this and I need that yet. If you take a look at the rules
schools in our country here, while law he may have produced better results than a lot of the private
schools. Check the statistics I'm speaking from knowledge. So it goes to show that it does not mean
that you sent your child to a school that has more feed so that child is now going to be a person
who achieved it's got to do with how hard they work. It's got to do with how dedicated they are. The
problem is when we spoil our children, they tend to become lazy. Take a look at the rural areas of
		

			our own country. How many of those children do you find them playing on little gadgets and doing
things know when they need to do something they will go
		

			to the pitch and perhaps kick a ball real games they interact with human beings What else do they
do? They will go to the foul run and get happy because they are looking after the chickens counting
the eggs everyday taking them back in and they are happy. They will probably go and do something
that is meaningful, cut the firewood and bring it back because that is meaningful, real growth.
		

			Whereas with us it's all about gadgets. At what age do you want your first phone? Five years old?
The baby's already crying. I need the phone. What phone do you need? So Pamela, you don't need any
phone. And if you don't give them a phone they want to pinch the phone when the person steals now
		

			One they have earned the Wrath of Allah, Allah Almighty from the top will take away from their life,
something that they want to because they took away from someone else. What was not this? If it
doesn't happen today, it's going to happen sometime down the line. So stealing is not for a
movement. It's not for a believer, we don't steal, it's okay, we won't have those things, we will
work hard with our books, we will study we will sweat one day when we can afford it, at least we may
have some of that, or we may be able to afford it for our children to a certain degree. But my
brothers and sisters, when the person is not happy with what Allah has given him, he develops a lot
		

			of bad habits, he starts becoming jealous and envious of others while working hard. But brother You
are sitting at home you have developed bad habits, this person is working so hard, so hard. And you
know what they're earning because of that hard work and that closeness to Allah, we are becoming
further and further away from Allah. So someone might argue to say, but I'm looking for a job and I
cannot find a job. Well, there are 1000s of people who are looking for jobs, but from among those
some give up. If you gave up, that's where it stops. Don't give up. Keep on looking for that job.
Keep on getting up every morning, keep on going, keep on trying. Try 1000 places, one day, your door
		

			will open so wide, that you will smile and say Oh Allah, I waited for this. And I thank you. So
opportunity stops when you stop searching for it. Remember that opportunity stops when you stop
searching for it. If one day, your business went bad, you suffered the loss. If you become
depressed, what will happen, you will never be able to pay those whom you owe money, you will never
be able to come up again because you gave up. But don't give up. One thing went bad. I'm going to
work hard and learn from my mistakes. And I will do it properly the second time, if not second, the
third time and it will come right. I have read some of the lives of some of the wealthiest people on
		

			earth. Nearly all of them have failed in their initial attempts to secure a decent earning or job in
life. At all of them. They were either kicked out of the job fired, they lost some properties went
into a loss because of their business going down but they never gave up. So my brothers and sisters,
if you are looking for a job, keep looking. Keep trying hard. Get up every morning, pray to Allah
and go out and try your best. The Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam has taught us never to give
up. He says is Allah Maya, work hard to achieve what you think is beneficial for you. If I think
it's beneficial for me, for example, to achieve something, I want to become a doctor, I need to work
		

			hard. It's not going to be a joke. It's not going to be easy. I need to work very hard. If I want a
good job somewhere I need to go and prove my point. They might tell me you don't have a certain
qualification. What if I am dedicated I will go out even if it takes me one or two years, and I'm
going to make sure that I come back two years later with that qualification. And I tell them I've
done it, then is a person who's dedicated. Let's not become people who want quick money. We see
someone driving a Mercedes and we say tomorrow we're gonna show this gal have a better one. What are
you going to do in 24 hours? If it's not bingeing, May Allah forgive us? May Allah subhanho wa Taala
		

			open our doors. I'm speaking like this because it's happening. You take a look at South Africa, for
example, the amount of robberies, the amount of crime that is happening is alarming. And if we don't
talk about being satisfied with what Allah has provided us, then we do think we will be heading we
need to be happy. We have you know, we are so fortunate. We cannot stop by the help of Allah. Why?
Because Allah has blessed us with land that is so fertile, that if you wanted to plant anything, it
will go but you know what, we are too lazy. And those in the desert whom when they plant something,
it doesn't grow. They are trying to transform that land into land that will begin to grow because
		

			they know the importance of it and we who have that gift from Allah. We are crying a I didn't get
tomatoes or tomatoes today. I didn't get them. But you could have planted them. Who's going to plant
that's the answer. But you are lazy Subhanallah You see what I'm saying? So I'm not saying every one
of them
		

			To plant but what I am saying is, we cannot claim to die of hunger when we have land blessed by
Allah subhanho wa Taala for us such that it is fertile. The same applies. We have hands, we have
feet, we have eyesight, we are normal, we can work.
		

			If someone is disabled, sometimes you find them doing a job. And you find those who are able, they
don't do the job. And if you ask them, they say there's no work. While I tell you, number one we
spoke about you have to search for the job. Number two, my brothers, my sisters, when you have a
job, look after it. Look after it's so well and appreciate that there are so many others who would
love to be in your position. Because shaytan comes to you. And he makes you do something, say
something he makes you become unappreciative. And he makes you then lose your job so that you regret
and you are out. I was I am now unemployed, but you had a job. So look after your jobs. And let's
		

			not become from among those who are overtaken by shapen. With thoughts, thoughts. So Pamela, those
thoughts sometimes want to drive us far beyond where we are. It's okay to catch a public transport
every day, I might afford a vehicle after 10 years, or 15 years, I might not afford the vehicle. But
guess what the amount I get, I'm just about managing, I can feed I can pay my rent, I can do one or
two things. Alhamdulillah I think Allah another thing when you have a job, I spoke about budgeting,
but I want to add, don't waste your money. Don't waste it. You need to know Don't be extravagant,
don't we use the term blow. Don't blow your money, don't because
		

			it is a gift of Allah sustenance was written for you. Do you know that before you were born, it was
already written how much you're going to get. Keep it use it wisely. Don't be stingy. Use it when
you have to, but don't be wasteful as well.
		

			While
		

			kamalu Latin Illa Allah, Allah.
		

			Allah subhanho wa Taala says, Don't hold back, don't hold back totally. And don't give completely
which means don't be miserly. And don't be so generous that you gave away what you needed. Also, in
the middle, there are many other verses that also apply will imply the same. So my brothers and
sisters, the day we are overtaken by laziness, and the day we are trying to look at other people's
lives and comparing ours with this in a way that we have envy and jealousy. It's the very day we
start thinking of wrong means of earning. One of the issues I've already spoken about is stealing
and pinching, and that crumbles society. If you want to build a nation, you have to cut out stealing
		

			and pinching. And do you know what one of the ways of stealing and pinching unfortunately, is
corruption through primary bribery. When primary gets to a point, the Hadith of the Prophet
sallallahu alayhi wa sallam has prohibited it from the beginning. But when it gets to a point, it
destroys the very fabric of society. When you want something that is your rights, you are not going
to get it why I don't see the money in my hand, but I'm getting a salary to do this job. No, you
have to pay. If you cannot pay, you're not going to get it. That's it. Pay what you have to give me
something for myself, let's never be like that. We do it we will earn a salary and by the will of
		

			Allah, we will be able to enjoy the blessings of that. What's the point of having $1,000 when all
that 1000 needs to go on medical bills, whereas another person has $200 but he's happy sitting at
home he spent he's got a little bit of change, etc. It's called Baraka blessings. And that's why the
happiest people are never ever the richest people go and check. They are not happy. Show me one rich
man who's happy. They are not. They cannot sleep at night. They cannot. And I challenge you. It's
difficult because there's so much of issues they have on their minds this problem, that problem and
what happens with us I said it last week in the same machine and I'm repeating it again, man is such
		

			that when you say hey, you know what? The day I earn my first million. I'll be happy. Do you
remember I said that last week? Then what happens? Your first million comes? Are you happy? You are
actually more sad because you will now
		

			Want another million I promise you you know what another one when you make your first billion trust
me well at that time you can call me also Charlotte's okay? But when you when you make your first
billion trust me you are going to want another one and and you're not going to sleep you're not
going to sleep. men cannot stop even if he says today make my first million I'll retire I'm stopping
he won't. Allah says it already we understand it already that if man has a value of gold in one day,
another one another one full of gold in one the third until he dies and his mouth is filled with the
dust then it's okay.
		

			So, we need to know when you compare yourself with someone else that has much more.
		

			That is wrong. If you see someone who has more self hamdulillah mashallah Inshallah going to work
hard. Let's try and achieve no harm. There's no harm in trying. And there's no harm you might even
get beyond that person. But it will be through hard work through happiness, you are not going to get
something by dropping someone else down.
		

			You see, when you have a business, in order for that business to succeed, you have to prove it. You
have to work hard, your product has to be good. You do not have to talk about the other business
next door and say their product is bad, those dew point and others don't even say their name. Not at
all. You don't need to talk about anyone else. Talk about yourself and your product, make people
believe in your product and you are going to proceed. The minute you start talking about someone
else, it shows you have nothing to offer. It's sour grapes, it is perhaps jealousy. Perhaps our
product is not that good. So we have to talk about others. Let's not do that. It doesn't work that
		

			way. Allah says to us, you work hard and we will open your doors. Like I said the Hadith says is
Allah Maya and Phalke then it continues to say was that in Billa, while attaches, seek the help of
Allah. seek the help of Allah. And don't give up. Don't become lazy. Don't give up don't work hard.
keep on working for what you want. Like I said, if not today, tomorrow, if not this year, next year,
if not next year, after 10 years, but that door is going to open for as long as you keep knocking on
the same door and you are trying hard, it will open by the help of
		

			Don't be lazy.
		

			So when corruption overtakes what happens, Justice is lost. Because a person who would like
something that is his right, he does not achieve it because he didn't pay a backhand. He didn't give
that bribe. And this is why the Hadith speaks about how it is a disease. bribery is a disease, it
gets to a point where only the wealthy achieve and if you can't pay up, you don't achieve. And that
is how society crumbles. So what can we do about it? People might say, what can I do a everybody is
corrupt. Hang on, you see, what you have said now is already a solution. When you say everybody is
corrupt, they have three fingers pointing back at you to Panama. So what you have to do, you have to
		

			say, we are not going to be corrupt, we are going to make a difference. Well, I can only start with
myself. And I can only encourage others, that's all. But for as long as I know I started with
myself, that trend will commence and it's going to go far and wide. If any nation or any individual
would love to see growth truly in themselves in their lives in that particular nation. One thing you
have to eradicate is bribery.
		

			Without that we are going absolutely no way. No way. Because what's your right is given to someone
else because they paid for it. And what is not theirs? They got it because they paid for it. So
panela and if someone else pays more, it will go to a third party. That is what primary is all
about. So we need to speak about it at home, at our workplace everywhere else to say listen, no to
primary.
		

			And we start with ourselves. No to primary. It's tough because society becomes used to a certain
norm, any small thing that happens if you don't have that, you know, greasing hands, you're going to
get nothing. It's going to get nothing imagined we actually know the terminology because that's
what's happening. So panela you know, they look at you they say I remember once I was stopped
sometime back last year, and the man who stopped my vehicle told me it's a hot day. How about a
coke? I said Yeah, no problem. I had a coke in my cup. I picked it up I gave it to him. He said no,
I don't mean this coke. I said Is there another type of coke here? So
		

			so my brothers and sisters, it goes to show
		

			That it because the know of society, we need to do something about it. inshallah, let's pray, let's
pray for our nation, let's pray for ourselves, our families, our communities, let's pray for the
glue, we need to effect the change. And Allah says, in Allah, Allah, you'll be coming.
		

			To see him alone will not change a nation until each one changes himself, you change yourself, the
nation is going to change, you keep pointing fingers, you achieve nothing. That's why I said a loser
is He who talks about another man. But a winner is the one who talks about himself. What am I going
to do? How am I going to contribute? I recall walking into an office somewhere. And the people were
sad, and they were looking depressed, and they were sending you from pillar to post and I said, Can
I just talk to you guys for a moment? You know, can we smile because we want to change the country
don't we? If we don't smile and show that we are enthusiastic about our job here, we're going to
		

			change nothing. You have to happen. You have to happen into your job. And then the people who come
to see you will be happy and you create an excitement, that excitement is already growth. Trust me
my brothers and sisters, when people are excited about something collectively, we are heading in the
right direction each other. But the problem I am depressed and said the other one is said you can
put a pin that way he fills a form like this and gives it back to you. He throws you to the other
corner tells you come tomorrow all those things they show depression and depression not just in
people's minds, depression in society, community, everything would go down. So let's have a positive
		

			attitude. Growth is coming. solutions are coming. Jobs are coming. Everything is coming by the will
of Allah subhanho wa Taala keep a positive outlook. Let's look at it positively. Let's make sure
that we don't lose hope. I told you and I'm repeating this.
		

			Your opportunities stop the day you give up. For as long as you did not give up. The doors of
opportunities are totally open completely. keep knocking on them. Don't ever get up every morning
and go and search again. Go and search again. Go and try again. Go and try again. One day that trial
will open the doors May Allah subhanho wa Taala bless every one of us. And may Allah subhanho wa
Taala grant those who are suffering ease. May Allah bless those who are sick and ill with cure. May
Allah grant those who don't have jobs, beautiful jobs that they can take care of themselves. May
Allah subhanho wa Taala bless those who have passed away with his mercy. May Allah subhanho wa Taala
		

			help every one of us every one of us in a way that tomorrow will be better than today. I mean, I
could only have I
		

			been hammered.