Radwan Saleh 6 2 17

Assalamualaikum Warahmatullahi Wabarakatuhu. I bear witness that there is none worthy of worship except Allah.

The Investment That Guarantees 110% Return

They tell us to get a 401k if you work in corporate America. They tell us a penny saved is a penny earned in the future. Save for a rainy day. It is the 401k, or the typical savings, or whatever cash reserve that we keep for the future. But there is not a single financial advisor that will guarantee you 110% that you and I will get a full return on our investment. They will go bankrupt if they promise such.

But Khairuddin Effendi, 800 years ago, he saved for the future. In fact he had a 110% return on investment, and that was 800 years ago. Every time he would wish to eat some sweets - and they were dire at the time - to buy sweets meant you have means. He would tell himself in the Turkish language, "Sanki yedim" - "As if I have eaten already." And so he would take that money and keep it. And his goal in life was one day to build a masjid, that one day a place of worship will be erected for his efforts.

And the time goes by, and every time he sees some sweets that he desires to buy, he says "As if I have already eaten this," and he will put that into his savings account. And one day he found a land and he bought it. And the first thing he did, he surrounded the land and he put a plaque at the entrance and said: "Anyone who wants to pray, this is a masjid. It is a waqf. It is for my town."

And so subhanallah, after 800 years, there is now a masjid in Turkey called Sankiyedim - "As if I have already eaten."

Building Masajid Builds Communities

When we build a masjid, brothers and sisters, no matter where it is at, we build a community. This was not a masjid a few years ago. This was a completely different establishment - this very facade. But today, because it is a masjid, it brought the whole world into it. People from Ghana, Pakistan, India, Indonesia, Bangladesh, Sudan, Somalia, Nigeria, Africa, Far East, Middle East, and of course Latinos, African Americans, and Caucasians. It is truly a rainbow of representation. Without having a masjid, it would not have happened. So someone did make an investment as well. When we build a masjid, we build a community.

The First Houses of Worship

The first house that was ever built on the face of the earth - a house of worship - was the one in Mecca. When Abu Dharr asked the Prophet, "Which was the very first masjid that was ever erected on the face of the earth?" And he pointed at Al-Ka'bah. He said Al-Aqsa - the furthest masjid in Jerusalem. Allah honoured it.

He said, "O Prophet of Allah, by the time the Ka'bah was built and people came from afar surrounding it and worshipping Allah, how long did it take to build a different masjid in Al-Aqsa, the furthest land in Jerusalem today?" He said, "40 years."

So as the community grows, there is a necessity to build another masjid. As the community becomes bigger, there is a need to house us in the house of Allah - a place where we pray Eid, we pray Taraweeh, Sunday school for our children, and funeral as we pray the last prayer without any ruku or sujud on a dead person before we bury them.

A Masjid is a Place of Da'wah

A masjid is a place of da'wah. I know someone who gives khutbah in this very masjid - Hood Bradford, who many of us have heard his khutbah before. In his town in Florida, he visited a masjid. He didn't know what to make out of it, but he saw people bowing and making sujud. And he waited until the imam gave him his attention, explained to him the deen. Then he studied about it and became a Muslim. And today he has Masters in Islamic finance. A masjid was the trigger that pointed him towards the right direction.

It is a place to teach Hifzul Qur'an, and for all of us to come together where every prayer is equal to 26 or 27 hasanat - rewards from Allah.

The Best Investment in This World

This, brothers and sisters, is the best investment you and I can make. There is no other better investment in the world. In fact, the Prophet, according to Ibn Majah, said:

(Sunan Ibn Majah)

And wallahi we cannot imagine what a house in al-jannah is. But the Prophet said: "To have a line worth territory in al-jannah is worth the heavens and the earth combined." That is the investment that we should all aspire to, brothers and sisters. May Allah forgive me and you.

The Story of Ibn Abi Hatim

Ibn Abi Hatim is a well-known scholar in Islam. Look him up. Often times we need to look up these names to not only be inspired, but to learn more about our deen through them.

Ibn Abi Hatim comes to a masjid where he visits as a visiting scholar. And so the congregation were so happy they gathered around him. And one person from the administration of that masjid, they saw the opportunity and they asked him to give a fundraising.

When he stood up, the first thing he said - so he stood up and he narrated this authentic hadith:

So one of the wealthy merchants stood up. He said, "Yes, I'm listening." He said, "I beg you by Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala, is this what the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wasallam said?" He said, "Extend your hand and bring me a piece of paper, ink and pen, and write the following: 'And the sheikh so and so, I witness that this hadith is true, and that wallahi if you help in building a masjid, even if it was a bird's nest, I will get a house in al-jannah, and I will take this with me to my grave.'"

The sheikh said, "What kind of deal is this? What do you mean that you want me to write a contract to prove to you that yes, Allah will give you a house in al-jannah?" But then the sheikh pondered and thought and said, "Bring it."

And subhanallah, he wrote from so and so to so and so that Rasulullah sallallahu alayhi wasallam said this, and that you will get a house in al-jannah. He shook hands and they parted ways, and the merchant gave generously.

That night, Ibn Abi Hatim - the sheikh - he saw the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wasallam in his dream. He said, "Glad tidings. You not only have spoken the truth - he will get his house in al-jannah."

This, brothers and sisters, is how we treat the ahadith.

The Topic of Sadaqah

And the topic of sadaqah is vast and open in this subject. Often times, brothers and sisters, we look at our bank accounts and we say, "How can I give in sadaqah? Look how small it is."

Rasulullah - our messenger - said: "The best time to give sadaqah is when you are worried, want to be more richer than what you have, and when you are able-bodied before you are sick, old and bone decrepit, or that you are inching towards your grave."

The Rewards of Giving in Ramadan

In Ramadan, any time we give any type of charity, it's equal 77 times or 70 times outside of Ramadan. And so the reward is multiplied either 77 times or 70 times. Even if it was only double, Allah is the one who gives.

The Prophet said: "Giving in sadaqah will extinguish our sins like water extinguishes fire, and it will lock away or keeps us from 70 types of harms. And if there is any harm that's coming to us, sadaqah will halt it, and that it will extend our age but with barakah, and it shields us from harm's way, and that on the day of judgment it's a shield from Jahannam."

A Question for Reflection

But I have a question of my own to all of us, especially for us who are avid - those who are active saving individuals. There is nothing wrong with that, brothers and sisters. I would rather leave my family financially situated than leaving them behind extending their hands for handouts. But the idea of giving is wallahi receiving. Let me repeat: in giving, we receive, because we are giving to the One who is the most generous. Of course he gives back with multiple generosity.

So the question is: What is the most important thing in our lives? Ask yourself this right now. What is the most important thing in your life? And then ask yourself the same question when you are told you have two years to live. What becomes the most important thing in your life? And then all of a sudden, if you are told you have six months to live - really, then what becomes the most important thing in my life? What if I was told you only have two weeks to live?

Strange isn't it, that money is not a factor anymore? It is not the most important thing, is it? I only have two weeks to live and I am thinking about how much money I am going to hoard? What is the best business contract I can make? That's not the most important thing in my life, is it? There is something else that becomes the most important thing in my life.

Let's Spend Before We Die

Between this world and the hereafter, in this verse is the summation of the entire khutbah, that Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala says:

"Give from what I have already given you." We didn't have anything when we came to this dunya. So Allah is saying give from what I have given you before we come to the point where there is no return. Then we say, "Ya Allah, let me go back just a few more seconds." And you know what these few more seconds we will do? He said, "That so I could make sadaqah." Amazing isn't it, that the very first thing we want to do if Allah gives us the so-called second chance is just to go back and give in sadaqah - "so that I may give in sadaqah."

The Story of Muhammad and the Bread

In the old times, poverty was the most challenging thing. People would wish to be sick than to be poor. And in the case of this man Muhammad, he was so hungry - a wife and a little girl at home. He didn't know how to feed them, so he walked out in the middle of the day. And subhanallah, he sat under the shade of some wall.

And all of a sudden, a man walked by that he knew, and he had four pieces of bread. They locked eyes, and then he said, "What are you doing here?" He said, "What do you think? Wallahi, there is not even water in my place." He says, "Take these two pieces of bread." He said, "I became so happy with it that I could not believe it." So he grabbed them and he ran towards his place to feed his wife and his girl.

And all of a sudden, a lady - she had a baby crying and she said, "Look at the baby. We are hungry. There is not a single food for the whole day that we have eaten. She is hungry, please help us." He paused: My wife and child, or her and her baby? And finally he said, as the ayah says:

"And those who are willing to sacrifice even if they are most needy of it." He says, "Take the two pieces and feed your child."

And he said, wallahi, the moment he did that, someone was calling, "Ya Muhammad! What is going on? I have the most amazing glad tidings for you." He said, "What is it?" He said, "I wanted to be the first one to give you this good news. There is someone who is walking behind me in the market asking for you specifically, describing who you are, and I knew who you are. So I ran towards you. I saw you sitting here earlier, and he is coming right there behind me."

When the man arrived, he says, "Your father is so and so." He said, "Yes." "My father borrowed money from your father 35 years ago. We looked for him everywhere and we couldn't find him, and finally I was told that you are his only son in this town. It was a hefty amount. We kept it, we invested it, and now it is yours." And he said, "How much?" He says, "35 thousand dinar." At that time, it is a treasure.

He said, "I was the most happy person in the entire Kufa. I took the money and I divided it, and I gave to the needy and I gave to the widows and the orphans. I built masajid, I built schools. I was so happy that anyone who was in need, I gave without question."

And he said, "Subhanallah, subhanallah, one day I slept and I saw in my dream that it was the day of judgment, and I came to Al-Hisab, and I was looking at my scale. I saw mountains of hasanat - masajid and Islamic schools and sadakat and everything that I could give. And subhanallah, I saw my sins and they were few, but all of a sudden all of them were gone, and then I was so scared.

"And within few seconds, the two pieces of bread came and landed on the other scale, and then the caller says: 'Take him to al-jannah.'"

So you see, brothers and sisters, al-sadaqah, no matter how small it is, no matter how small it is, it is the type that gets us out of harm's way in al-dunya and in al-akhirah.

A Personal Story

And now I have a personal story to tell you. A while before the salah, in a very wealthy country, a masjid was being built. Only the air conditioning was left. This was in a very hot country. And subhanallah, the brother who does the fundraising goes out in the neighborhood, and he specifically went to a wealthy person. He knocks on their door and the servant came out, and he says the owner of the house says, "Go! He's not here." He says, "Please let me meet with him," and he shouted his name and he became a nuisance, but finally he was ushered in.

When he walked in, he sat with him and this wealthy man was so arrogant he says, "What do you want? Another masjid? Another masjid? The neighborhood already has one masjid. Why are you building another one?" And he says, "Ya sheikh, it's remote. It's for specific groups of people that cannot afford to drive or walk to the other side of town. Help us. And all that we need from you is 6000 dinars."

He says, "You want 6000 dinars?" He says, "Yes." He says, "Open your hands." When he opened his hand, he spit in his hand. So the man says, "This is for me," and he wiped it on his chest. He said, "Where is the right of Allah?"

Of course at that moment, he was extremely apologetic and he was extremely generous after making so much istighfar.

Supporting This Masjid

And the reason I say this story specifically, brothers and sisters, is to trigger one emotion - and one emotion, and that's it. We look at a masjid like this and we say, "I should give to the masjid where I live near." But we forget the resources that this masjid provides. We forget the convenience for this sea of people who work in downtown and there is no other place except on Fridays to come to this place. We look at the ability to feed a lot of homeless who live near this area, who come to this masjid for safe haven sometimes. We look at the university who now uses the library in this masjid as resource, and that requires your and my financial contribution as well.

And so, suffice it to say, after the khutbah I will take only two minutes, and I will ask each and every one of us to give $100 a month. Consider it your parking ticket to come to the masjid every Friday for the entire year, free of charge - $100 a month. We only need $1000 from as many people as we can, so that we upkeep this place, make it a ma'lam - a point of contact for the entire city of Houston, and for any non-Muslim that comes to the city and sees this and becomes mesmerized.

The call is yours. I made the call, and you need to answer inshallah.

Closing Du'a

O Allah, protect us and protect our city and state and country, ya arham al-rahimin. O Allah, protect us from all harm. O Allah, shield us from those who hate us and enable them to understand this deen and love the Muslims and get the correct understanding, ya arham al-rahimin.

هَذَا وَمَا كَانَ مِنْ تَوْفِيقٍ فَمِنَ اللَّهِ، وَمَا كَانَ مِنْ خَطَأٍ أَوْ ضَلَالٍ أَوْ نِسْيَانٍ فَمِنِّي وَمِنَ الشَّيْطَانِ، وَاللَّهُ وَرَسُولُهُ مِنْهُ بَرَاءٌ، وَأَقِيمُوا الصَّلَاةَ