Suleiman Hani – How to Increase Barakah – Blessingsin Life
AI: Summary ©
The speakers discuss the concept of "ust believes" and how it can lead to a "has been made" decision. They stress the importance of family and practice for personalized blessings, rather than just reciting the word. The speakers also emphasize the importance of practice for productive activities and health, and stress the need to be mindful of one's intentions. They encourage the audience to use their time wisely and not waste it.AI: Transcript ©
Some societies spend 1,000,000,000 of dollars
in the pursuit of shortcuts or
efficiency
or productivity
hacks or productivity tips or faster results.
Some products are literally advertised as being the
the product that will help you to attain
the result that you
want in a shorter span of time. And
people are willing to spend more time or
more money on things like this because it
saves them time. People are willing to use
technology,
to use,
support systems, to use products and services that
will save them as much time as possible
in the pursuit of whatever it is that
they want. That's what instant gratification is at
times, that you want to have that feeling
of fulfillment in the short term and not
in the long term. For example, many university
students
will be looking for productivity hacks, how to
study better, study tips, using AI in some
of their studies as well and trying to
find shortcuts, trying to find ways to learn
what they need to have the desired outcome
quickly. So when we look at the changes
in the landscape, in economy, in
corporations utilizing different technologies, especially now as more
and more companies are integrating different types of
software and different types of processes,
we think of an Islamic concept that oftentimes
is neglected
and is the concept of barakah,
the concept of barakah,
loosely translated as blessings
and something that is intertwined with every single
thing that you do. Whether you're thinking about
being a parent, you're talking about being a
student, you're talking about your workplace, you're talking
about your health, your energy, your food, whatever
it is you wanna think about.
The concept of barakah, a divine blessing that
Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala gives to whomever He
wills amongst His creation. You can find it
in people or in things. You can find
it in time as well. And the things
that you find barakah in, of small quantity,
you will find them lasting longer. You will
find they are more sufficient. You'll find a
bottle with water in it that is almost
empty, but has a lot of barakah for
whatever reason we'll get to. That this amount
of water will quench the thirst of the
person who wants it much more than perhaps
a bottle that is full, as an example.
So the concept of barakah applies to many
things.
And the prophet sallallahu alaihi wasallam used to
make du'a for it. And he used to
pray for the Sahaba for it. And he
made du'a for the city of Madinah to
have it.
And this is his du'a for Madinah. And
what made it so special was the prophet
sallallahu alaihi wa sallam status in his dua.
And so an example is Anas bin Malik
radiAllahu an. A young companion started learning at
a really young age from the Prophet Sallallahu
Alaihi Wasallam. And one time the Prophet made
dua for him Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam. And he
said, Oh
Allah, increase
his wealth and his offspring.
And then he said,
and put in the things that you have
given him. Similar to what similar to the
dua we should be making every night in
winter.
In
the dua of.
So when you think of
you find this example, this reality
in stories like this because Anas went on
to become one of the wealthiest of companions
of the
because of this dua. And also, he had
so many children and grandchildren. The historians say
we cannot actually document and know who they
all are because there were almost 100 by
the time he died, and he lived for
or to the age of 103 approximately.
So you saw the example
of this dua in his life,
in his practice. And when we think of
the concept of barakah,
it's something that we should seek. And Allah
subhanahu wa ta'ala is the one who controls
all provisions, all arzaq. Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala
is the one who gives and he is
the generous Al kareem.
But we are told that there are certain
things that we should do that will increase
one's barakah. And these are the things we're
going to cover with the limited time that
we have, Insha'Allah. Number 1, it always begins
internally with sincere intentions.
If someone says, I want to be part
of an organization. I wanna volunteer for a
noble cause. I wanna advocate on behalf of
our brothers and sisters in Palestine. I wanna
take care of the situation in Sudan. I
wanna take care of this matter in my
local community.
We recognize that your intention will not just
affect the reward that you get.
The actions are judged by the intentions.
And anything you do that you say is
an act of worship, then it must be
purely for the sake of Allah and it
must be done correctly. These are the two
conditions. Must be sincere and it must be
correct.
So as you're advocating, as you're working, as
you're volunteering, as you're doing Ibadah,
because of
the strength of your ihlas, your sincere devotion,
you will notice or you might not see
it in the moment, but there will be
a barakah in the effect of the action,
the impact. And it could be, as is
the case for many people, long after you
left this world or stopped the act of
worship, long after you finished the project or
volunteering for the cause,
that your sincere intention
was the reason you were able to get
so much more,
where if you were to compare this to
someone who had no barakah in their actions
and their effort and what they were doing,
they would find a lot less in it.
Of course, we have many examples when it
comes to Ikhlas
benefiting your time, benefiting your work, the raising
of your children, the terbiyyah that you've given
them, the efforts towards noble causes, what are
you doing all of this for?
If it does not start,
and if it's not purely
devotional to Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala, you will
find that it is lacking in its potential.
May Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala grant us sincerely,
Allahumma amin.
Number 2. We find in the hadith
upholding the ties of kinship. The prophet sallallahu
alaihi wasallam told us whoever would like for
his rizq to be increased
and his lifespan to be extended,
then let him uphold the ties of kinship.
And in another narration as well,
Many scholars say the way that this happens
could be number 1 that
Allah wrote in
that you did this thing, you made that
choice so you were given an extension in
your life. Number 2, the second possibility
many scholars, state is that it adds a
to your lifespan. So you're going to get
much more out of your life with the
time that you have left because of the
acts of worship that you do. And this
applies to everything we are striving for. Why
is this being mentioned here? Many times in
an individualistic world
where technology increases,
where social media use increases, where people become
more isolated,
even amongst Muslims, of course, you find that
we have to emphasize how important family is,
how important it is to have Birir Walidayn.
For many students as well, You go off
to colleges and universities your responsibilities increase. But
oftentimes you start to become more disconnected and
distant from family.
Remember the role of family in Islam and
how much blessing there is in family. Number
3
is the Quran.
On numerous occasions do you find Allah
referring to it as Mubarak?
Blessed.
This book that came down is blessed, and
the scholars say
the one who connects to the Quran will
not maybe notice immediately, but will have a
blessing in their lives in ways they couldn't
have anticipated
otherwise.
And the one who connects to the Quran
is not just the one who memorizes
or reads and doesn't understand, but the one
who reflects on it as well.
The
one who puts it to practice.
The point of revelation is to practice, to
internalize,
to change, and to change others as well.
And specifically,
there are 2 narrations,
2 a hadith. One of them is a
saying of
that the prophet salallahu alaihi wasalam when he
was sick at the end his life, she
would read Surat Al Farak and Surat An
Nas on him as he taught her to
for the barakah, for the healing, for the
shifa
found in the Sur and the the blessing
that Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala has given through
the recitation of the Sur. But there's one
specific narration where the prophet sallallahu alaihi wasalam
explicitly
says, read the Quran. Meaning read it often.
It will come on the day of judgment
interceding for its companion. If you make the
Quran your friend in this world, it will
be your friend on the most important day
of your existence. It will be the reason
that it intercedes for you and causes you
to enter jannah as we find in the
hadith. But then the hadith continues. The prophet
sallallahu alaihi wa sallam says recite the two
lights. The two lights are Al Baqarah and
Al Imran. These are the 2 lengthy opening
surah of the Quran. There are other lengthy
surah too. But notice this, the hadith continues
in Bukhari.
And the prophet sallallahu alaihi wa sallam says
and he mentions Surah Al Baqarah specifically.
And he says the one who reads it,
the one who recites it, the one who
befriends it, the one who practices, in other
words, the one who reads Surah Al Baqarah,
it will be a source of barakah.
The explicit reference to blessings
in the lengthiest surah of the Quran should
cause us to think,
should cause us to really think about what
many of the scholars say with this hadith.
Because right after this the Prophet sallallahu alaihi
wa sallam says the one who abandons it,
meaning if you don't befriend Surah Al Baqarah,
if you don't read it in your home
or for yourself,
then it's going to be a cause of
regret, a cause of loss.
And then he says, and the sorcerers cannot
penetrate it. Now some of the scholars say,
is not sorcerers. Is the lazy people. The
people who always come up with excuses, they
will not be able to recite it. They
won't ever have the time to sit down
and say, let me finish reading Surat Al
Dhakkara on this day or during this week.
May Allah
protect us wherever we are in in our
homes as well.
The barakah here many scholars say could be
in your time. Because of how much time
you spent reciting Surah Al Baqarah, Allah subhanahu
wa taala puts barakah in the rest of
your time. And ironically
of course if you were to look at
this from a dry empirical naturalistic
perspective you will think well I'm sacrificing 2
or 3 or 4 hours to read the
surah. How is this going to increase the
blessings in my time?
If you're looking at it empirically, you won't.
You won't understand how. But it the the
empirical equation
leaves out a divine blessing that cannot be
measured,
cannot be understood scientifically.
The blessing that Allah gives you for acts
of worship that are specified is not something
we can understand or even retest in a
lab,
But those who read it regularly
will attest to it. Those who are connected
to dikr and dua, those who are connected
to the Quran, they know what they have
with it. And if they stop this practice
after seeing these blessings from Allah 3, 5,
10, 15 years later, they will feel like
they're missing something that is necessary. They will
feel like they cannot function this month because
they missed something important. Surah Al Makkara does
not need to be recited in one sitting.
But generally speaking, you should try to have
the practice of having it recited in the
home, having it recited for the blessings, having
it recited for the protection as well. Because
the devils cannot enter a home, cannot come
near a home. That Surah Al Baqarah is
recited in. May Allah protect
us and grant us and allows us to
unlock the barakah that is found in these
specific acts of worship. Number 4 is to
seek barakah in time.
Specifically, there's a du'a the prophet sallallahu alaihi
wa sallam made 1400 years ago that is
still accepted to this day when he said
May Allah put blessings for my ummah, my
nation in the morning times. And the scholars
say that this is the time of fajr.
This is the early hours of the day.
The Sahabi who reported this hadith used to
do his business later in the day around
noon. When he heard the prophet sallallahu alaihi
wa sallam say this, he changed his transactions
his business to start earlier and he said
I noticed my profits increasing. He is the
one who narrated this hadith. And of course
you will find that most people
for example who memorize Quran or review their
Quran or doing acts of worship or even
secular work, you will find many people testifying
that these morning hours are precious and you're
able to accomplish a lot more if you
take advantage of it. We have many examples
like this from the sunnah, from the Sahaba,
from the Tabireen, from the scholars as well.
But one thing I wanna emphasize with this
point of time
is that most people will probably share a
similar
feeling and sentiment when a younger person asks
them how should I use my time in
high school, in college, in my, current phase
of life.
Somebody who has a lot of life experience
will tell them, don't waste your time.
Don't waste your time. One of the most
important consistent advices
because you start to realize how regretful and
painful it is when you look back 5,
10, 15 years later. But I I wish
I used my time more wisely. It's never
too late, but I wish I used my
time more wisely. And the reality is the
prophet sallallahu alaihi wa sallam told us about
this.
2 blessings many people waste. They're heedless of.
Free time and good health. Meaning free time
until you get too busy.
And then as you get busy, you say,
I wish I had more time to do
more productive things, more beneficial things, more fruitful
things, and good health as well. May Allah
subhanahu wa ta'ala put barak in our health,
in our time as well. May Allah subhanahu
wa ta'ala make us amongst those who live
a fruitful life. There are people who live
very fruitful lives, and the lifespan is very
short. And there are people who live for
many decades, and there's no benefits. There's no
fruits in their lives. They haven't really strived
for anything. May Allah grant us that barakah.
And, of course, it is an act of
worship to ask Allah for barakah and the
things that you have, including time. Number 5
is dua and dikr.
Different types of dua that are explicit and
obvious,
like the dua of in witter,
or
This is an example. But we notice in
our greetings to one another, when someone has
a child, there's a certain dua you'll make.
When someone gets married, there's a certain dua
you make. And a lot of these dua
revolve around the concept of
or with the newborn that you have. So
use these words very frequently.
You should think about what they mean. When
you see someone who has something good, make
dua for them. You say, masha Allah. May
Allah put barakah in it for them. And
as you make dua for them, you make
dua for yourself too if something that's maybe
you don't have and you want. But as
you're making dua for barakah and what other
people have, and you're making dua for barakah
in the things that you have, Think about
the reason you want the barakah.
The fruit of barakah is not to just
have more of something.
The reason that you think when you give
charity, there will be a barakah in the
rest of my wealth is not just so
I have more money.
The objective of barakah is to use it
to please Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. That's the
fruit of it. That now that you have
more of it, you're more grateful to Allah.
Now you're closer to Allah. Now you're using
the things that Allah blessed in a manner
that is pleasing to him. There are many,
many other examples as well, but we wanna
be consistent with the dua and with dikr.
Number 6 would be the business transactions, the
prophet tells us when 2 people have an
honest, clear transaction, to paraphrase the narration, and
they know what they are buying and selling,
there are no defects in their products unless
they've expressed it. There will be baraka in
their business. Number 7 is charity. We know
this. We hear this all the time that
the one who gives the rest of their
wealth will have more baraka. And that Allah
promises
I will spend on you. If you spend,
oh son of Adam, in charity, I will
spend on you. In other words, you will
be taken care of, and what you give
in charity is not lost. Number 8 is
actually something that studies show is becoming more
individualistic,
which is food,
eating, meal times.
As people in families are more and more
eating alone and in private and, just disconnected
from one other, The prophet sallallahu alaihi wasallam
says
eat together and do not become divided, do
not separate. Meaning when it comes to meal
times,
There's a in the gathering, in the congregation.
And even when you eat, there's a in
eating from the similar foods. When you eat,
for example, suhoor, when you have your pre
dawn meal before you fast, there's a barakah
in it. The prophet sallallahu alaihi wa sallam
says, when you break your fast in the
hadith of Tirmih, if you can find dates,
there's a barakah in it for you. If
not, then water according to one narration. So
when you look at these narrations,
you find that the very practice
you have every single day with things that
are seemingly
mundane,
eating,
making dua,
walking, going to school, your studies, your time,
your schedule, it's all connected to Allah subhanahu
wa ta'ala for the believer. And the believer
looks for barakah in everything. The believer seeks
that barakah in everything. Why?
So that you can maximize your impact. So
that you can maximize your reward with Allah
subhanahu wa ta'ala. So that you can do
more with less,
more with less, more with less. You're getting
more for your time, more for your money,
more out of your health. And so if
you say I wanna spend this time studying,
working, raising a child, advocating for our brothers
and sisters around the world,
then it is necessary for you to say,
how can I do so in an efficient
manner? How can I increase my efficiency?
The next time you're going to post something,
share something, attend an event, or whatever it
may be with regards to injustice whether in
Gaza or anywhere else, think to yourself about
your intention as well. And as you're on
the way there about the du'a that you're
making, the barakah of the events. May Allah
put barakah in this campaign, in this project,
in this event, in the impact of this
work, the charity that you give. Right before
you give it you think to yourself you
Allah grant me sincerity and put baraka in
this and allow it to go far and
put baraka in the rest of my wealth
We should be as mindful as possible when
it comes to these matters.
But, of course, one of the things that
could prevent barakah in one's life is sinfulness,
to stray from Allah to disobey him, especially
for those who don't go back to him
frequently.
To sin is still far is a door
of relief, and it adds more barakah to
one's life, and sinfulness may be the reason
that you are deprived from something great. And
so this would be the 9th point.
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