Mufti Menk – When the Poor Pay for The Rich
AI: Summary ©
The importance of praying for oneself and building relationships with others is emphasized in Islam. The use of 2.5% for mining and farming is discussed, as it is relevant for every pound that is harvested. The speaker emphasizes the importance of showing gratitude and faith in oneself, and offers advice on how to do so. The speaker also discusses the challenges of difficult situations and the importance of showing patience and faith in oneself. They stress the need for respect and understanding among members of the community, and offer a reward for those who do so.
AI: Summary ©
As-salamu alaykum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuh.
Bismillah walhamdulillahi wassalatu wassalamu ala rasulullahi wa ala
alihi wa sahbihi ajma'in.
I visit your masjid and your community at
a time where or when many people are
struggling across the globe.
And each one of us has our own
struggles as well.
I've met people who have told me that
I'm struggling, pray for me, I need a
job.
Another says pray for me, I need to
get married.
Another says pray for me, I'm writing examinations.
Another says pray for me, I'm going through
a divorce.
Another says pray for me, I'm going for
a driving test.
Another says pray for me, for whatever reason
it is.
While we ask others to pray, just a
side note is we should be praying.
And we should really do a lot in
order to ensure that we get what is
best for us.
Let me explain.
You and I do not know exactly what's
best for us sometimes.
Pray for me, I want to get married.
For example, Allah knows whether it's good for
you to marry or not in the first
place.
He knows when it is good for you
to get married.
He knows to whom it is better for
you to get married because it's a commitment,
it's a sacrifice.
The person is going to be the parent
of your children.
If Allah blesses you with children, when He
will give you, what He will give you,
how He will give you, He knows best.
So your best option is to build the
best relationship with the giver.
And He will ensure that whatever you get,
you'll get it in the best way.
Once you have a good relationship with Allah,
don't worry.
You can keep asking Him, but you must
trust that He has delayed something.
If He has delayed it, for a good
reason.
And if He has given it to you
when you have wanted it, then He did
it for a good reason.
Not everyone who marries whom they want to
marry end up happy.
You follow?
Not everyone who has what they wanted to
have is content.
But one guarantee is everyone who has the
correct relationship with Allah is content.
There's a big difference.
So we have travelled with Abdullah Aid to
many countries.
Abdullah Aid works in 25 countries.
I've travelled to several countries.
And each time we see people struggling, I
tell myself, you don't have any problems.
Meaning I'm telling myself that I don't really
have problems as compared to what I'm witnessing.
Whereas these people are so content and so
happy.
And yet they are going through struggles in
the way that you and I reach out
to them to give them.
And then some ask, why did Allah make
them go through this?
And sometimes the weak from amongst us, we
ask the same question.
If you are going through health matters, if
you are going through difficulty and hardship, sometimes
you begin to ask, why is Allah doing
this?
Is that not a question?
Why is Allah doing this?
We are not asking it because we are
disagreeing or defying Allah.
But we just want to know.
Perhaps there might be a reasoning.
Maybe something I'm missing.
Maybe there is something I don't understand.
So you say, why is Allah letting this
happen?
I remember visiting a country where the poverty
was so much that when I came back
and I was explaining to some of the
brothers and sisters what we saw, one young
boy puts his hand up and says, why
did Allah allow them to be so poor?
You follow?
So I told the young boy, because Allah
gave you so much and told you to
give them, He wants to see if you
are going to do it.
It's not like He didn't give them.
He will give them through you.
Are you prepared to give?
He looked at me and he says, I'm
not convinced.
Imagine youngsters nowadays, they're not convinced.
You can't just convince them with small things.
I said, okay, how much do you eat
a day?
So he showed me so much with his
hands, right?
I said, okay, and how much can you
afford to eat?
And he showed me with both hands all
the way from one to the other, almost
east to west.
So I said, so if you can only
eat this much and you have so much,
what are you going to do with the
rest?
It's going to get stale.
You won't be able to eat all of
it.
Surely Allah wants you to do something with
it.
You're a Muslim, you're a believer.
You have way more than you need.
So Allah says, if you're a true believer,
you must know, we have created an opportunity
for you to earn greater closeness to us
and to earn paradise by giving from the
extra that we gave you, from the extra
and excess that we gave you to those
who don't have.
Do you know we as Muslims believe that
zakat is a pillar of Islam, which means
to give once you have more than a
certain amount.
Do you know what you have to give?
Do you know how small the percentage is,
anyone?
What's the percentage?
2.5, everyone knows.
Anyone knows anything more than 2.5, put
up your hand.
So that means no one is into farming
and no one is into mining.
Anyone into mining and farming, put up your
hands.
No one.
We're lucky we're here in London.
In my country, we know that if you're
into farming, you're going to either be giving
10% or 5%, depending on how it
was irrigated.
And if you're into mining, you're going to
be giving 20%.
Did you ever know that?
You probably didn't.
Well, here's some information that you have, some
knowledge.
When you are a miner and you're mining
gold, when you extract the gold, the day
you extracted the gold, you owe 20%
of it to Allah.
That's it.
Allah says, why?
Because you took it out.
It's not yours, it's ours.
We put it there.
Now that you've taken it out, 20%
must go.
When you're a farmer and you're farming and
you're cultivating your cabbages, for example, if you
had watered them with water and irrigation that
you had put up, then you owe 5
% to Allah.
It's a one-off thing.
So zakat is usually every year 2.5%.
For mining and farming, the day you have
extracted or the day you've harvested, that's the
time you need to give that percentage and
it's done.
So subhanallah, it's something amazing.
However, for all of us that are here
today, and for most of us across the
globe, 2.5% is relevant.
What is 2.5%?
For every thousand pounds that you have, how
much is it?
Please tell me.
25 pounds.
25 pounds for every thousand, is that a
lot?
Allah says, no, it's not a lot.
And Allah says, it's not actually 25 for
every thousand, it's even less.
Because we want you to know, it's only
for every thousand beyond a certain point.
If you have a few thousand, for example,
and it's less than a certain point, depending
on the currency, less than a certain value,
you don't have to actually give.
Or if you have not held it for
the entire year, and even if you have
20,000, but you didn't hold it for
the entire year, it was part of whatever
you were giving and receiving, you didn't have
to actually give.
Allah says, if you want, you can give.
But we won't make it compulsory upon you
because you didn't have it for the whole
year.
But when you have it for the whole
year, and it's beyond a certain point, and
it was your wealth, your savings, your stock
in trade, your cash, then you have to
give only 2.5%. Still, some people feel,
you know what, 2.5%, 25, I'm going
to mess up my notes because it's all
in 50 pound notes.
How will I give the 25?
Excuses.
And then you have people who own houses
and buildings, there's no zakat on what you're
using and your necessity.
I could have two motor vehicles and I'm
using them, no zakat on it.
When I'm trading in vehicles, I got to
pay.
I can have buildings, they're on rent.
I got to look at the rental income
that I'm getting.
If I've kept it for the whole year,
yes.
If I haven't, no, no zakat.
Do I pay on the buildings?
No, I'm not trading in buildings, I've got
the buildings.
I might end up selling them, but it
doesn't mean I'm trading in it.
But if you are, then it's going to
be a little bit more.
People will tell you, you know what, I'm
worth a few million, but I'm not liquid.
A lot of people say, I've got a
lot of gold and silver, but I'm not
liquid.
I tell you, melt it.
And it will become liquid.
You have to do something about it.
You can't say, I'm not liquid.
When you go to Allah subhanahu wa ta
'ala, why didn't you pay your zakat?
They say, because I wasn't liquid.
I mean, what's that?
Is it an excuse?
It's not.
Don't be afraid to break your note.
50 pound note, no problem.
If you owe from 100 pounds, 2 pounds
50.
And you only have 2 50 pound notes,
don't be ashamed or frightened or hesitant to
break it.
Because that's where the blessings of Allah lies.
I will give.
And Allah promises you, when you give, we
will give you.
Now listen, this goes back to the first
sentence I said when I started the talk.
Allah says, Spend O son of Adam, I
will spend on you.
When you are spending, what are you spending?
You're spending from your wealth.
Or the wealth that Allah gave you.
When Allah spends on you, what does He
give you?
Let me tell you.
He gives you more wealth so that you
can give more.
And He solves your problems one by one
as a result of Him giving you.
Subhanallah.
Because He's saying, I'm giving you now.
You gave, I'm going to give.
When I give, it's not just money.
It's contentment, it's cure, it is safety, so
much more.
As-sadaqatu tutfi'ul bala.
Many of us, sometimes the elderly, when we're
leaving for a journey, they will say, give
out a little sadaqa, Allah will safeguard you.
Have you ever heard that?
It comes from a hadith about a charity
extinguishing hardship and calamity.
Yes, so they'll tell you, well you know
what, before you go, just give a little
charity for the sake of Allah.
It's not a wrong thing, it's a right
thing.
What happened?
You gave wealth, what are you expecting in
return?
Some form of protection from evil or bad
or some calamity.
That's there.
As-sadaqatu tutfi'ul bala.
The charity, as a return of it, it's
not just that Allah gives you more money,
He will.
Because another hadith says, ma naqa samalun min
sadaqa.
Nobody's wealth has ever become depleted because of
a charity they gave.
But this hadith, it teaches us that, when
you give a charity, Allah will protect you,
grant you some form of protection.
So you have a bonus, things that are
priceless.
When Allah has safeguarded you, your five or
ten or twenty or hundred or thousand pounds,
you will tell yourself, I thank Allah subhanahu
wa ta'ala, He gave me something that
was priceless.
Perhaps as a result of a good deed
you did.
And then you don't have an excuse to
say, well I don't really need to pay
the zakat because I don't have nisab.
Nisab is the minimum amount that you need
to cross the threshold before you actually have
to give the zakat.
Because the hadith tells you about giving voluntary,
that which is not compulsory.
After a certain point, and if the year
has passed, for every hundred pounds you give
two pounds fifty.
Which means, if you make a hundred pounds,
only 97.5 belongs to you.
The other 2.5 belongs to who?
To Allah.
And Allah tells you, okay, you've got my
money, I need you to give it to
so and so, so and so.
Here's a list of people, give it to
anyone of them, they'll collect it on my
behalf.
Allahu Akbar.
Now when you see a poor person, you
don't just throw them the money.
They are collecting it on behalf of Allah,
because it's His instruction to you to give
it to His cause.
And that's His cause.
Allah has a list.
Allah has a list in the Quran.
He tells you, these are the people who
will be recipients.
And I'm the instructor to tell you, you
give, and just give these people.
Any one of them, they can collect.
Subhanallahi rabbil alameen.
So, when you give, consider yourself fortunate.
I thank Allah for giving me the chance
to give.
We were in the Gambia.
We've traveled to many countries.
We went to Pakistan.
We actually went to a lot of places.
And each time I see the people, I
try my best to offer them honor, respect.
And I try to make them feel that
actually we are the ones who are in
need.
And they are the ones whom we have
come to see.
I remember, several years ago, there was a
wealthy man who gave a certain amount of
zakat.
And he said, I want you to do
food hampers in a certain place for the
poor people.
And so, the people in that place arranged
it.
They got X amount of hampers for exactly
the amount of money this brother had given.
And they invited 5,000 poor people to
come to collect it from the depot.
Because it's a large amount.
It's a big hamper.
And when these people came, there was a
scholar who said, All these people who've come,
how did they come?
They came with public transport.
How much did they pay?
They paid, in that country, a few dollars.
Two dollars, three dollars, depending on where they
came from.
And what have they come to do?
They've come to collect zakat in the form
of hampers.
And how will they go back?
They will go back with public transport.
And how much will they pay?
They're going to pay two to three dollars
again to go back.
Which means, the rich man has asked the
poor man to pay five to ten dollars
to come and help him fulfill a pillar
of Islam.
He should be ashamed.
And I'm listening to the scholar and I'm
thinking, I never thought of it that way.
Why should the poor man spend his money
to come to you to collect something to
fulfill your pillar of Islam and pay again
to go back just because it's food and
he needs it.
You are supposed to go all the way
to him, look for him, find him, give
him.
Thank Allah that you found him.
And he's not supposed to incur a single
penny to fulfill a rich man's zakat.
تُؤْخَذُ مِنْ أَغْنِيَئِهِمْ فَتُرَدُّ فِي فُقَرَائِهِمْ The hadith
of Mu'adh ibn Jabal and Abu Musa
al-Ash'ari رضي الله عنهما Where the
Prophet ﷺ speaks about, especially in the hadith
of Mu'adh, he speaks about how wealth
or zakat is to take from the rich
and to give the poor.
In this case, we are taking from the
rich, but we are also incurring an expense
on the poor.
So I made it my business to ask
some of those poor people, how did you
pay for the public transport?
Guess what was one of the worst answers
I heard?
I took a loan, listen, from someone living
in our neighborhood and I told them when
I come back I'll sell some of what
I brought, what I got, and I'll pay
you back your money.
And I'm thinking to myself, that means we
actually ate into that person's zakat just for
the transport.
And this is why from that day I
always tell people, if you know what I
said now and you think about it carefully,
and you are a person giving zakat, when
you give your zakat, say for example you
owe a hundred pounds, give the hundred and
put another ten with it and say, this
ten is towards any expense that you might
incur to fulfill my hundred.
How's that?
How's that?
Is it not fair?
If you understand my story, you will never
ever do less than that.
And I've seen it with my eyes, you
won't know it, because if you haven't been
on the ground, or you haven't thought about
it, or you didn't have a scholar who
was conscious of it remind you that, hang
on, this is what it is.
From that day I became so conscious of
so many factors, that when I enter a
masjid, and I've read salah in the masjid,
I try my best to put a pound
as I'm walking out, or a dollar or
fifty cents, or whatever I might be able
to do, because there was electricity used, I
benefited from it.
There were carpets that were cleaned, I benefited
from it.
There was sound, their salaries, their payments, their
rates, their council taxes, so many other things,
and I'm a wealthy person if I am,
and subhanallah, I used the facility and never
ever paid for it, someone else is paying
for me to come and fulfill salah in
the masjid, the lights and everything, someone else
paid the bills.
So many of us come into the masjid,
and we never ever think of putting a
single penny into the box, because we think,
where is it going to go?
How will they justify it?
Brother, they used it on you man, on
you.
How much do you want to pay for
one prayer?
What do you think it costs for you
to come and make one prayer here?
Let's not look at the value of it,
because it's priceless, but let's look at the
exact cost of it.
Value is one thing, it's priceless.
Because one salah you can put a billion
pounds, I'll tell you it's more, right?
But the cost of it, I'm sure it's
50p to 1 pound per prayer, that they've
used on you, you came and you used
the facility, you came around, you parked your
car, we never charge you parking my brother,
I mean depending on the masjid obviously, sometimes
you might even get a fine if you
park in the wrong place.
But nonetheless, are you getting the point I'm
saying?
Now going back to the first sentence I
said that we have problems across the globe,
we have issues in our own lives.
When you want ease in your own issues,
try to think about those who have bigger
issues than you, and reach out to them
and Allah will create ease in your own
issues.
That's the point, that's the point.
I have a problem, wallahi when I see
someone with a bigger problem, my problem is
nothing.
You watch what's happening in Lebanon now, right
now.
Watch what's happening in Palestine right now.
You will think to yourself, I'm living in
paradise.
You've never tasted a problem in your life,
if you compare it to what's going on
now, with our brothers and sisters, may Allah
grant them protection, successes and victories, ameen.
This is compassion, I need to think.
I'm a human, and on top of that
I'm a Muslim.
As a Muslim I'm supposed to have started
the charities before I had money.
Do you know that?
When you're young like these young kids that
we see here, before you have any money
you start a charity, how?
Speak nicely, learn to smile, learn to greet,
learn to help, learn to be pleasant, learn
to talk to each other, learn to solve
problems.
All of what I've just mentioned now can
be an act of charity.
It's a charity.
I always say, you're in the house of
Allah, to make someone comfortable to come to
the house of Allah, if they come as
a result of how lovely they felt, guess
what?
You get a full reward of the prayers
they prayed in that salah, in that masjid.
Because you're the one who encouraged them to
come.
You saw someone, brother how are you?
I missed you my brother.
It's so nice to be with you.
It gives me a good vibe, mashallah.
So nice, I like to hear that.
Whether it gave you a good vibe or
not is besides the point.
But the fact that you told them something
that encouraged them to come back, and you
didn't make their life tough and difficult, you
got a reward.
Everyone is different.
So, would you like ease in your difficulties?
Would you like ease in your life?
Well I can tell you, make dua to
Allah.
Call out to Him, supplicate to Him, cry
to Him, turn to Him.
Change your life bit by bit.
Small things that need changing, start changing them
one by one.
Commit to Allah.
Commit to pray.
Commit to do what you know you have
to do.
Start off slowly but surely.
I know and I acknowledge that the real
world out there is a tough place to
navigate.
It's not easy.
You walk out for example from the masjid,
you're going to be going through so much
of pressure, from so many angles, so many
different ways, so many different things.
But if you are going to try your
best and work hard on yourself, wallahi you
become a person who's always content.
You're smiling, no one knows what you're going
through.
You know why?
Because they think you've got no problems in
the world.
Allah will take care of your problems.
Another very important factor you want is, bear
patience.
I'm sure you've heard that so many times.
Allah is with those who bear patience.
Allah wants you to bear patience.
Allah puts in your life sometimes hardship because
He wants to bring you closer to Him,
so don't go further away.
When you have a problem, don't tell yourself,
You know, I've been praying for so long,
my problem's not getting solved, I'm stopping to
pray.
Some people say that.
You're a believer, it should be the other
way around.
What's the worst thing that could happen?
Maybe you might die and go back to
Allah.
When you go back to Allah, will you
tell Him, well I stopped praying.
He'll say, well now you're back with me.
Now what?
Maybe through His mercy, He alone knows what
He's going to do, but He's told us,
don't lose hope in My mercy.
If I kept you in hardship, it's because
I love the way you worship Me.
When you are in hardship, many of us
we are struggling.
Then you say, you know, I can't get
married, I've been getting up for tahajjud every
night.
Does that mean that if you get engaged
tonight, the tahajjud stops?
You follow what I'm saying?
Because people say, make dua for me, I've
got examinations.
So now you get up for tahajjud for
how long?
For a week.
And the exam is on Monday.
What happens on Tuesday, guys?
Any tahajjud?
Any tahajjud?
Come on, be honest, guys.
No.
Why?
Because now exams are over.
That means Allah says, if Allah loves you
so much, the way you used to get
up and so on, Allah says, you know
what, we've got another exam next week.
Come.
Isn't it?
So the same would apply if hardship brought
you to your knees, and Allah loves the
way you are on your knees, what will
He do?
He brings in another hardship.
So Allah says, إِنَّ اللَّهَ إِذَا أَحَبَّ عَبْدَ
نِبْتَلَاهُ When Allah loves His worshipper, He tests
him.
And He'll put a...
Why?
Because of the same reason I'm telling you.
Because when He tests you, you get closer
to Him.
He tests you again, you get even closer
to Him.
Subhanallah.
I know a brother who passed away of
cancer.
May Allah grant everyone jannah who's passed away.
Make it easy for us the day we
pass away.
And may Allah grant cure to all those
who are sick and ill.
I met him sometime before he passed away.
And he told me, أَنَا فِي أَحْسَنِ حَالَةٍ
He says, I'm in the best condition.
I told him, how's your health?
He says, الحمد لله, beautiful.
The doctors have given me a short span
of time to live.
But Allah knows how long or short I'm
going to live.
But the reason I'm happy is I was
never so close to Allah before.
I'm the closest I ever was.
And he said, I'm so happy that Allah
gave me a warning before He's going to
take me away.
So I seek forgiveness and I'm preparing.
I've spoken to my family.
I've done whatever I have to.
I've made all preparations.
Imagine if I died in a car crash
suddenly without any form of warning.
I think, the man is telling me.
He says, I think it would have been
very difficult.
I wouldn't have known how close or distant
I was from Allah.
So to me, being terminally ill has been
a blessing.
And I looked at him and I'm thinking
to myself, imagine telling people this.
How would they feel?
That my brother, you have cancer.
It's a blessing.
They'll tell you, what?
Blessing?
In what way?
Wallahi, it's very challenging.
I won't tell you it's a blessing, but
I will say it comes with a silver
lining.
Some goodness has to come out of it.
If Allah's going to take you, He's going
to take you.
Your date of death is written.
Is that not correct?
If your date of death is written, Alhamdulillah,
I'm going to go back to my Maker.
What options do you have?
I have no option.
I'm going to go back to my Maker.
I trust His mercy.
I'm going to go to Jannah with the
mercy of Allah.
I'm trying.
I'm trying to be a decent person, a
good person.
I'm trying to do my obligations to the
best of my ability.
I slip up now and again.
I'm a human.
I live in an environment that's very, very
tough.
But, O Allah, I'm trying every day.
I'm becoming stronger.
Make me strong.
Make me strong, O Allah.
Forgive my shortcomings.
Strengthen me.
That is beautiful.
That is amazing.
What a powerful way of looking at things.
I'm not going to lose hope in the
mercy of Allah.
Allah knows your challenges.
He knows that you are trying for as
long as you are trying.
And you are improving bit by bit, day
by day.
Inshallah, you're heading in the right direction.
So, my brothers and sisters, patience is very
important.
Bear patience.
Patience is not easy.
It's difficult.
But a day will come when you will
smile and you will be happy.
You are going through hardship, be it sickness,
disease, loss of job, trying to get married,
going through divorce, whatever it might be.
Allah knows.
بَلَا إِن تَصْبِرُوا وَتَتَّقُوا In one of the
verses of the Qur'an, at a time
of warfare, Allah Almighty is speaking about His
help coming to the believers if they had
two qualities in them.
Sabr and Taqwa.
He says you need to have sabr, which
is patience.
And Taqwa means consciousness of Allah.
Get closer to Allah with your problems, with
your issues.
And Allah Almighty will give you a blessing.
Would you rather be a person who has
no problem but is far from Allah?
Or a person who's been tested one after
the other and is close to Allah?
Look at the messengers of Allah.
All of them without exception have had lots
and lots of challenges.
The hadith says the ones who had the
greatest challenges are the prophets of Allah.
That's what the hadith says.
The ones that have been tested the most
are the prophets of Allah.
And then the most pious and those who
followed one after the other.
Close to Allah.
Your life is not going to be so
smooth sailing.
Why?
Because you are created in a way that
you will endure for Allah.
The reward of which will be everlasting bliss
beyond that of those who are not prepared
to endure.
Like I said, a pin prick and a
guy can't sleep all night.
I can give you my example as weak
as we are.
A mosquito around us making a sound from
a distance.
And the ear gets to hear it and
we have a sleepless night.
Get up in the morning, how did you
rest my brother?
You say, I didn't really rest.
Do you know why?
There was one mosquito eeeewing around my ear.
Am I right?
One mosquito.
Imagine one mosquito.
You had such a big problem.
There are people whom live missiles and bombings
and so much is going on.
Imagine that.
Which is the problem?
The mosquito or those things?
Let's be honest.
Mosquito is nothing.
Let it sit and bite and have a
bit of its sustenance.
If Allah has written a small droplet of
your blood from that, so be it.
I don't mean don't spray.
I don't mean just let it happen.
But what I mean is if it is
going to, big deal.
You get up with a pimple or two,
we've all gotten up with a few more
pimples sometimes.
Depending on where we are.
In fact I was in the Gambia now.
You know surprisingly we didn't really face many
mosquitoes.
There was a massive mosquito net.
Some of you might not even know what's
a mosquito net.
If you haven't traveled, you may not know.
It's a net that they give you over
your bedding in order to cover yourself so
that mosquitoes don't get in.
So we didn't have to use all of
that.
And I've known of times when I have
used those mosquito nets and guess what?
Two, three mosquitoes were in already.
And I'm thinking to myself, what's the point?
I've actually given them a party tonight.
May Allah Almighty bless us.
Getting back to the most serious point I'm
making is my beloved brothers and sisters.
Everything is relative.
Your problems and your life with your problems
is actually a paradise to other people.
You follow what I'm saying?
If you were to go to someone and
say, look, I've got this problem, this problem,
this problem, this problem.
If they could swap with you, they'd say,
I'd swap right now.
I'd take you with all your problems, take
whatever I'm going through.
I'd take yours.
Subhanallahi rabbil alameen.
So thank Allah.
Thank Allah Almighty.
One of the ways of helping yourself is
to show gratitude for the goodness that Allah
has given you.
When I said thank Allah, that point sprung
to mind where Allah says, لَإِن شَكَرْتُمْ لَأَزِيدَنَّكُمْ
If you are going to be thankful, I
will give you increase.
I'm going to increase the good that you
have.
Thank Allah.
Oh Allah, you blessed me.
Oh Allah, you granted me.
I have much less problems than compared to
others.
Oh Allah, you've granted me things I didn't
even ask you for and so on.
Many things we have right now, we didn't
ask Allah for them.
He gave them to us without us asking
Him.
So thank Allah for this.
If you would like to create ease in
your life, you need to ensure that you're
connected to the Qur'an.
There's no ways that you're going to get
true contentment and ease as a believer when
you're not connected to the Qur'an.
Connect to revelation.
See what it does for you.
Allah says, وَنُنَزِّلُ مِنَ الْقُرْآنِ مَا هُوَ شِفَاءٌ
وَرَحْمَةٌ لِّلْمُؤْمِنِينَ We have revealed in this Qur
'an that in which there is cure and
mercy for the believers.
You believe?
The Qur'an has in it cure for
you and mercy for you.
You want mercy?
Connect with the Qur'an.
Allah says, we have in it.
This morning, someone spoke to me asking me
to give them a certain recitation.
Please give me some recitation through which I
can achieve comfort.
And I told him, look, in my experience,
the best thing you could ever do is
to start the Qur'an from the beginning
with a marker.
You know, you have a bookmarker.
Start the Qur'an from the beginning with
a marker.
Read a page a day minimum.
Put the marker where you stopped and continue
the next page the next day.
You won't believe it.
Within two years, you'll have completed the whole
Qur'an.
And you know what?
In it, there is cure and mercy.
Different things, different verses, different places.
Just the word of Allah alone has the
power in it that you will not imagine.
And protection.
As you read through it, Allah will grant
you more and more and more.
So it's not just a specified recitation only.
Although there are some specified recitals proven in
the Qur'an and the hadith of the
Prophet ﷺ that do benefit you.
But I'm talking of something holistic.
Don't leave part of the Qur'an only
because you're concentrating on one thing.
We have to read ayatul kursi.
I'm sure you know what it is.
If you don't, you can Google it and
check it out.
We have to read ayatul kursi.
We have to read the mu'awwidat every
morning and evening.
The verses of protection.
قُلْ أَعُوذُ بِرَبِّ الْفَلَقِ قُلْ أَعُوذُ بِرَبِّ النَّاسِ
So many, a few other verses that are
there from the sunnah of the Prophet ﷺ.
The most prominent of which is ayatul kursi.
اللَّهُ لَا إِلَهَ إِلَّا هُوَ الْحَيُّ الْقَيُّومُ And
the verse continues.
We're taught to read that in fact after
every farad prayer as well.
In one narration.
But the fact that I'm reading that, it
doesn't mean that I gave time to recite
the Qur'an every day.
No, no, no, no.
That is mu'awwidat.
You're reading it for protection, for dua and
so on.
Yes, you will get a reward of that
recitation.
But you owe the word of Allah to
read from the beginning to the end with
a marker so that you can finish it.
Please do it and see what happens in
your life.
Please do it.
Please do it.
You see, on the bookshelves here there are
a lot of Qur'ans.
Pick them up once in a while.
And read them.
And see what Allah does for you.
We've walked into the masjid a hundred times
and never picked up a Qur'an.
At least that Qur'an will bear witness
on the day of judgment to say, that
you know what, I was read and picked
up.
Now you might be a smart guy and
say, Well I read it on my app.
Right?
I read it on my app.
Do you?
Are you sure?
Or is that just an excuse?
If you read it on your app, alhamdulillah,
mashallah, you're doing a good deed.
You know, people say, and this is just
a ruling of jurisprudence, is it better to
read from the book or the phone?
Can I ask you that question?
I want to read Qur'an.
I've got two options.
I either read from my app, or I
can read from the Qur'an, the book,
which I can open and read, printed in
ink.
Which is better?
Which is better?
Okay, some are saying same and some are
saying Qur'an.
Anyone saying the phone is better?
No one.
You notice that?
So what's the difference of opinion?
Nobody says the phone is better.
But there are some who say it's same.
And there are some who say the Qur
'an is better.
I can explain.
Those are the two opinions correct.
I've heard some scholars say, Well you know
what, it's both the same because you're achieving
the recitation.
I want to tell you the opinion that
I follow is that, it is better to
read from the Qur'an and the book
for many reasons.
I can tell you.
Number one, to read from your app, you
don't need wudu.
To read from the Qur'an, you need
wudu.
So that's already one higher level.
It already shows you there's an element of
sacredness beyond just the phone.
But you will get a reward with both.
There's no doubt.
Your ten rewards per letter for recitation, you
will achieve with both the phone as well
as the book.
But, you get a reward over and above.
You get a certain perk over and above.
A few days ago something happened in Lebanon
with the pages.
A few days ago something happened in Lebanon
with the phones.
A few days ago something happened in Lebanon
with so many electronic gadgets that suddenly just
exploded, hurting people, killing people, and a massive
war crime was committed.
I sat with one of the brothers and
I told him, Now I understand what is
meant.
When the hadith says that a time will
come when you open the mushaf and it
will be blank, nothing in it.
You know why?
Within the next few years, all of us
will eradicate books and everything will be on
device.
And one day, flick, switch off and there
will be no more.
Nothing.
What happened?
We moved you completely.
Already half of it is moved to the
phone, right?
We moved you totally from books and getting
used to those books to something totally electronic
that they said clearly.
I have a clip of one of those
guys.
Years back he said we can switch it
off the day we want.
Anything, anywhere.
And when I'm listening to this, now I
believe it because they just proved it to
us.
That we did what you will never imagine.
They were saying to us, we are 50
years ahead of your imagination.
We never believed it.
Now we can.
You know what?
We are too busy fighting each other.
Your hands here, you up here, you're a
Muslim, you're not a Muslim.
It's gonna continue.
It's part of the plan.
To say you guys need to be divided
so that you will never ever have any
strength whatsoever.
My entire life I've told people, With your
differences learn to respect each other.
Don't just throw non-Muslim at anyone else.
They're reading the shahada, they're Muslim.
I may disagree with them.
I may think that they're a strain X,
Y and Z.
But they're Muslim.
That's what it is.
They are my brothers ultimately and sisters.
And I care for them.
The minute the care for the rest of
the ummah has been snatched from your heart,
you are in a problem bigger than theirs.
That's what it is.
And some people actively work in this direction
with knowledge.
And they'll quote for you verses and Quran
and hadith and everything.
All of those they throw it on their
own brothers and sisters who are also saying
the shahada.
Where are you going?
Brother, discuss the matter.
Address the matter.
Say that you disagree and disagree.
But respect them.
They also have another opinion that you consider
wrong.
But they are Muslimin.
May Allah Almighty grant us goodness.
May Allah forgive us.
Wallahi I tell you my brothers and sisters,
if you want to save the ummah, you're
going to need to respect members of the
rest of the ummah.
That's what it is.
Without that it's not coming.
So the point I'm raising, going back, sorry
I became a bit passionate.
But who wouldn't?
The point I'm raising is, the mushaf that
you see, the Quran that you see, subhanallah,
to handle it with wudu, for me is
one notch higher than to manage it on
your phone.
But still you will get the reward of
the ten is achieved.
This is one notch higher.
And I've explained to you a few of
the reasons.
Still, may Allah Almighty make it such that
we read it either way.
Because in that argument we don't want to
stop reading.
Because it's a new question I'm going to
ask the young kids.
Or even the older people to say, listen,
which is better, the phone or the book?
And we'll hear the answers.
But guess what's more important?
Do you read it either from the phone
or the book?
A lot of them will say, we don't.
So what was the point of arguing what
was better?
Right?
For example, the people might say, which prayer
is better?
Tahajjud or Fajr?
They say, well some will say Fajr, some
will say Tahajjud.
Right?
Say, which one do you read?
No, I sleep.
So what's the point of the whole argument?
Subhanallah.
Same thing here.
Which one is better, the phone or the
book?
They say, the phone.
Or the book.
Or whatever.
Do you read it?
No, I don't.
What's the point of the whole argument?
Please read it.
Phone, book, off by heart, reading, copying someone,
whatever it might be.
Listening and repeating.
Anything.
At least read.
May Allah Almighty grant us cure.
So the point that I was raising from
which I diverted was, You want ease and
goodness?
Connect with the Qur'an.
That was the point.
And Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala will connect
with you.
Anyway, my beloved brothers and sisters, I've spoken
quite a bit.
And mashallah, I've mentioned a few pointers just
to tickle our conscience a little bit.
And to be able to be motivated towards
goodness.
Learn to spread love and kindness.
Even with those whom you disagree.
You don't have to be hurtful, hateful and
abusive.
It doesn't mean you agree with everything.
We will never agree.
I won't agree with you.
You may not agree with me.
And we may not agree with one another.
Some of those differences might be less and
lighter.
Some might be big differences.
It's okay.
It's okay.
We are still part of the ummah of
Nabi Muhammad s.a.w. May Allah Almighty
forgive us all.
May Allah Almighty grant us goodness and success.
May Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala use us
to give generously to good causes.
And may Allah multiply our reward.
Gather us in Jannatul Firdaus.
May Allah Almighty grant the marhum uncle who
put up this place, Jannatul Firdaus.
And the fathers and mothers of this community
and society, May Allah forgive their shortcomings and
have mercy on them.