Sikander Hashmi – Spread Joy Relieve Distress & Sorrow KMA Friday Message
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AI: Transcript ©
Respected elders,
dear brothers and sisters,
my young friends,
Imagine a person
walking
with a heavy load.
This is a person who is trying to
carry
heavy
bags,
a heavy suitcase,
a heavy piece of furniture,
and they keep falling.
They try to hold it this way, they
try to hold it that way, like this.
They maneuver different ways, they put it on
their back,
but they keep falling. And they're not able
to manage
the load. They're not able to move forward.
They are clearly struggling
with
the weight
of their load.
Or imagine someone who is injured.
They have a cast, a broken leg,
and they're walking with crutches.
When we see someone who is struggling
visibly, physically,
in such situations, most of us would help
out
and offer a helping hand.
Somebody who is struggling to get into their
car,
not able to load their groceries.
So we would offer a helping hand,
which of course is
would be the right thing to do.
Rasulullah
said,
Whoever
removes
a worldly hardship from a believer,
Allah will remove one of the hardships
of the day of resurrection
from them.
Whoever grants respite
to a person in debt,
who is in difficulty,
whoever grants respite to a person in financial
difficulty,
Allah will grant them relief in this world
and in the hereafter.
Whoever conceals
the fault
of a Muslim,
the weakness
of a Muslim in this world, Allah
will conceal
their faults in this world
and in the hereafter.
Allah will help a person
so long as they are helping their brother,
or of course, their sister.
I need to point out that the concealing
of faults is one it does not have
to do with the rights of others.
If it is a matter that is personal,
that is not affecting others,
a person has committed a sin. They had
a mistake. They made a mistake. They have
a weakness
that we should not expose.
With the exception that if it has to
do with the rights of others,
if someone has been wronged,
or if we know that someone is about
to be wronged,
or about to be hurt, someone is about
to have their rights infringed upon, then we
have a responsibility
to actually not hide that,
so that we can protect
and restore the rights of people.
But generally, when we know about the faults
of others,
we should try to hide them because
if we do that, Allah
will conceal our faults in this world and
in the hereafter.
So the point was my brothers and sisters,
that removing
of difficulties
and hardships
of others
is something that we are taught to do.
And I trust that most of us
will step forward, and do step forward, masha'Allah,
to help out whenever we become aware of
a need of a person, especially if they
are right in front of us, and the
need is visible.
However,
sadly,
there are many people
who fall
and who struggle
or who are injured
in ways that we cannot see.
There are many people who struggle,
who are injured.
They are they have difficulties,
but in ways that we are not able
to see.
So perhaps
they have experienced
oppression
or injustice
or
horrible acts of violence and war,
lived through tremendous difficulties that have left them
traumatized.
They are facing
the effects
of being deprived,
of being hurt,
of being discriminated against.
So these are actions which perhaps happened to
them in the past,
at some time,
in some place,
but the effects are being
seen now.
But the thing is, we often don't see
the oppression
or the trauma that they have gone through.
We just see the effects.
So today my brothers and sisters,
let us discuss and reflect
upon
the responsibility,
the virtue
in removing
distress,
and grief, and sorrow,
and also in bringing joy to others.
Too many times what happens?
Society judges people
based on the effects
without realizing or recognizing the context.
And perhaps this is one of the reasons
that oppression
has been described
as being darkness
for the oppressor on the day of judgment.
From the darknesses of the day of judgment
is oppression.
Perhaps it could be because it is it
often makes
life
dark and hopeless for the victims.
The oppressor does their oppression,
does their injustice,
But what effect does it leave on the
victims?
Right? Especially when those victims are children, when
they're innocent,
and they're young.
And they're abused
in different ways.
Or they do not receive love and care
during their childhood
from their parents.
Maybe because of no fault of the parents,
maybe the parents themselves were oppressed, and they
were not able to
give proper love and care and attention to
their children.
Or perhaps, you know, the parents were oppressors
to their children.
And thus the child
grows up
with
this neglect and this abuse,
and therefore is not able to
live
and perform
in a good way, in a way that
we would expect them to.
Right? But we don't see that, right? We
see the effects. We see a person who
is behaving like a criminal.
We see a child who is misbehaving.
We see a person
who doesn't interact with people nicely.
We see a person
who doesn't talk properly to people.
We see a person who is not able
to study properly. We see a person who
is not able to work properly.
Many times, you see people who are involved
in substance abuse and crime.
And
of course, society looks down upon people because
those actions are wrong, right?
Taking drugs is wrong, it's haram.
Right? Substance abuse is wrong.
Crimes, of course, are wrong.
But it's not because they're necessarily bad people,
but it's a consequence of the wrongs
that were done to them,
or the deprivation that they faced as children.
Right? So you see a people or you
see people who behave a certain way,
which you don't like or you look down
upon.
Perhaps even rightly so,
but they may be like that because of
what they have gone through.
It is a consequence of what they have
endured, and what they have been
subjected to.
Sometimes the effects of war, of injustice, of
discrimination,
and other types of oppression
are not only even limited
to the people who were directly impacted.
Right? So if a person, a a group
of people are impacted,
are subjected to oppression, or injustice, or discrimination,
other types of oppression,
it's not just they who suffer,
but the effects can also pass on to
their children
because of what they have gone through, because
the scars are so deep,
and what was done to them was so
horrible,
that it had the effects of that pass
on to their children as well. And this
is referred to as
intergenerational
trauma.
What does it refer to as? Intergenerational
trauma. So one generation goes through a trauma,
and then that trauma passes on
to their children.
Now as human beings,
we naturally tend to judge and make assumptions
based on what is apparent to
us. But Allah
has the complete view,
and absolute complete knowledge.
Thus, Allah
will judge accordingly,
and His justice,
His judgment
will be the most just and the most
fair.
Right? Yes. As human beings, yes. If someone
comes to you and ask you, Oh, what
type of person is this?
I'm considering this person for marriage,
or my son or daughter is considering this
person for marriage,
or I am considering getting into a business
transaction, a deal with this person.
What can you tell me about this person?
Are they trustworthy or not?
Then yes, of course, we go by what
is apparent,
right? When we have to make judgments, you're
hiring someone.
Or someone asks you for a reference. This
is a big one, right? I get request
for reference letters and things like that. Right?
We have to be honest.
We have to
be honest.
Right? This is what is required of us.
So, yes, when we are asked
for our opinion,
for our advice,
for our reference,
absolutely, we have to be truthful.
Right? Yes. We wanna be helpful, perhaps, but
we absolutely have to be truthful.
So we base that on what is apparent
to us.
Whatever we see, whatever we observe,
we describe in a fair way.
But Allah
is aware of the things that we are
not aware of. Allah
is aware of the context that we are
not aware of. And thus, Allah
when He will judge people,
and when He judges people, meaning in the
sight of Allah
Allah
is taking into consideration
the entire context.
Each person could be carrying the burden
or effects
of something that we do not know or
that we cannot see.
And perhaps
that is why
we are even encouraged to bring joy to
others.
We are encouraged
not just to remove distress,
not just to remove difficulty,
not just to help people, but also to
bring joy to people.
Ibn Umar
says, that a man came to the Prophet
and said,
You Rasulullah,
which
of the people
is dearest to Allah?
And which deeds
are dearest to Allah? Which of the people
are dearest to Allah, and which deeds
are dearest to Allah
Rasulullah
said,
The dearest of people to Allah
is the one who does
the most benefit to people. The dearest is
what?
The one who does the most benefit to
people.
And the dearest of deeds to Allah
is
joy that you bring to a Muslim,
is joy,
happiness
that you bring to a person to a
Muslim,
or relieving
them of distress
or sorrow. Right?
Right? And with korba, we take understand as
distress,
but also
sorrow, grief,
something that is causing them to feel gloomy,
feel down. So relieving that person of that.
So bringing joy
to a person,
removing
or relieving a person of distress or sorrow,
paying off
a debt for them, or dispelling their hunger.
And the Prophet
goes on to say,
And to walk with a brother
to meet his needs
is dearer to me than observing anti kaaf,
seclusion in this masjid, meaning the masjid of
Madinah, for a month.
Subhanallah.
To walk
with a brother to meet his needs
is dearer to me
than observing in
this masjid, in masjidun nabawi for a month.
So my brothers and sisters, it's one thing
to remove distress,
to pay off a debt, to dispel hunger.
Right? These are
things where you would need to be aware
of. You would need to know that a
person is in debt in order to pay
off their debt. You would need to be
able to know that a person is in
distress to remove their distress.
You would need to know that a person
is hungry in order to remove their hunger.
Right? Like you're able to tell somehow that
this is a person that appears to be
hungry.
But even bringing joy to another,
bringing happiness to another
unconditionally, right? He doesn't say bring joy. He
didn't say
that, you know, bringing joy to a person
who's
in difficulty,
bringing joy to a person who's in pain,
bringing joy to a person who's in hardship.
No. It's unconditional.
Bringing joy
to another
without them being visibly in need is from
the dearest of deeds to Allah
SubhanAllah. You Sometimes my brothers and sisters, it's
a smile
that brings joy to a person who is
down.
Sometimes it's just a simple
genuine salaam,
a genuine greeting.
Right? Perhaps it's a kind comment
for a person
who feels
like they are dismissed
by society,
that nobody cares for them,
that there's nothing good in them, they have
low self esteem. A kind comment can uplift
that person, can give that person hope.
Sometimes it's listening
to
their story of pain and suffering,
and I refer to that as the charity
of our ears.
What do I call it? I call it
the charity of our ears.
Because you may not be able to practically
solve that person's problem or difficulty.
Perhaps they have a problem or difficulty that
has no solution, apparent solution,
or that you don't know how to solve
it.
But even having someone who will just listen
can help a person through their pain and
difficulty.
And you make a dua for them.
Right?
That's why talk therapy is a thing. People
just sometimes need to talk to relieve their
burden.
Right? They know that Allah
is in control. They know that there is
no solution to this problem. They know that
you're not gonna be able to help.
But they just need
a compassionate ear.
Someone who's willing to take a few moments
to listen
to their story, to listen to what is
happening, to listen what has happened, to listen
to what has happened. Although, I was listening
to the radio yesterday.
And,
of course, yesterday was a National Day for
Truth and Reconciliation.
The first such day in Canada.
And there was an indigenous grandmother
who was describing
how much joy she felt.
She said, there was so much joy in
my heart
when she saw
others.
And she referred to white people,
others as well, who showed up to show
solidarity.
Who showed up and took and recognized
the grave wrongs that had been committed.
The shameful legacy of residential schools in this
country.
Right? And all the wrongs that have been
committed to the indigenous people of this land.
Right? Just that recognition.
Just that people actually cared and showed up
and were listening.
That was actually part of the healing process.
Right? That's why it's called truth and reconciliation.
That first, the truth has to become apparent
and has to be accepted
in order for healing to occur, in order
for reconciliation
to occur.
Right? People say, We want peace.
Yes. Everyone wants peace.
But without justice,
it's very difficult to have peace. You can't
have peace without justice.
And part of justice is having the truth
recognized
and talked about,
and accepted as the truth.
That is the starting point of reconciliation.
Abu Laith al Samarqandi reported that Yahya ibn
Mu'ad
he said that,
If you cannot benefit,
then do not harm.
If you cannot bring joy,
then do not bring distress.
If you cannot praise, then do not blame.
Was born during the first immigration to Abyssinia.
She reported,
The Prophet
was given some clothes including
a black
a black cloak.
The Prophet
said,
to whom shall we give this to where?
So the companions kept silent.
Maybe they were thinking for
my child, for my family, for myself, but
they didn't say anything.
So the prophet
said,
Fetch for me. So she says, I
was brought
or carried, because she was small girl at
the time,
to the Prophet
and he took the cloak in his hands
and made me wear it.
And he said,
May you live so long that your dress
will wear you out, and you will mend
it many times.
And
this is something he repeated.
And she says that on the cloak,
there was some green or pale designs, and
the prophet
saw these designs.
And he said, Oum Khaled,
this is Sanah.
And the narrator says that is
an Ethiopian word meaning
beautiful.
So you see here my brothers and sisters,
a small gesture, a small gift and gesture
that made a little girl happy,
and gave her a lifelong memory. Of course
she's narrating this hadith after she has grown
up. She's an older woman.
But it's a memorable moment for her. It's
a moment of joy, especially coming from the
Prophet
It is said that she kept onto that,
held onto that for a very very long
time. And why would she not? Of course,
because it was from the Prophet
So my brothers and sisters, we learn a
few things. First of all,
let us not judge
or try not to judge. Leave judging to
Allah
unless you absolutely need to do so.
Unless you are being asked,
then you go by what is apparent.
Otherwise, we leave judging to Allah
And be kind and compassionate,
and try to remove hardship and relieve burdens
in whichever way is possible
for us.
Right? We may not be capable
of
removing the distress or the sorrow completely,
but in whichever way we are able to
do so,
let us try to help and contribute
in making things better.
And even if no hardship is apparent,
let us try to bring joy to others.
Try to bring joy to others,
even if a person doesn't appear to be
in difficulty, or if you're not able to
figure out whether they are in difficulty or
not. Try to bring joy to others,
even if it's with little things, a good
word, a salaam, a small gift, a smile.
And if we cannot,
then at the very least,
let us not harm
or distress
or blame. May Allah
make us those who bring joy to others.
May Allah make us those whose presence
relieve sorrow and dress and and distress from
others. May Allah
remove
our sorrows and worries
and those of all of our brothers and
sisters and faith in humanity.
We have the sad news of the passing,
of the uncle
of our brothers, Ahmed Tawakkul, Bassem Abdul Aynin,
and Mohammed Shafi,
doctor Hani Shafi who passed away in Cairo
in Alillahi.
So make dua for him and all of
those who have passed away.
Ask Allah
to grant beautiful patients to all loved ones
at this difficult time.
Please cure all of those who are ill.
Please grant relief to all of those who
are suffering. You Allah, our brothers and sisters
who are battling cancer and other serious illnesses.
Oh Allah, those who have long term pain
and injuries. Oh Allah, those who are mentally
unwell, those who are emotionally distraught. O Allah,
who are living in fear and anxiety,
O Allah, please cure them quickly and completely,
O Allah, please remove their hardship and grant
them relief.