107Achieving Excellence Mufti Ismail Menk
By Mufti Menk | 2026-01-11T20:50:42.215657+00:00 | Topic: Iman
Achieving Excellence - Khutbah
Opening
"[Peace be upon you, and the mercy of Allah and His blessings.]"
[In the name of Allah, most gracious, most merciful.]
In the name of Allah, most gracious, most merciful. Alhamdulillah, all praise is indeed due to Allah.
[May Allah’s peace and blessings be upon the Messenger of Allah]
Blessings and salutations upon Muhammad (صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ), his household, his companions. We ask Allah to bless them all, to bless everyone of us, to grant us all goodness.
Acknowledgment of Service
My beloved brother, Mr. MC, I think he mentioned a very important point - I'm supposed to be at home. So it's no merit to actually give up your family and come here. So I dedicate this to my family. May Allah reward them. For indeed, indeed, definitely behind a successful person is a strong spouse.
Sorry, I had to change that because there's so many successful females here, masha'Allah. So, every time we do something, there is someone behind us ensuring that the rest of us is taken care of. And we have to acknowledge that as muslimin.
And I'm saying it from this beautiful podium that my brothers and sisters, I want to acknowledge every one of you. When I look at doctors, people of the medical fraternity, I'm always in awe. The reason is, a few days ago, we contacted the gynecologist at one o'clock.
Now it's for me, alhamdulillah, just for your information, it's my ninth child. So, I'm more of a gynecologist than some of the gynecologists here. But masha'Allah, I waited for the right timing and I contacted this gynecologist and I really made a dua.
She's not a muslim. But I made a dua to say, "O Allah, reward these people in whatever way you're going to reward them for the sacrifice they're making," imagine. And moments later I received a call to say, someone passed away.
And I said, well, we're all in the same boat, isn't it? Because now, up to the point of death, it's "okay, doctor, doctor." After that, "where's the Mawlana?" Masha'Allah. I was told recently that, you know, when the child is born, alim. When you get married, you look for the alim. When a person passes away, you look for the alim. But between the birth and the death, you trouble those ulama so much that they don't even want to come sometimes.
May Allah not let that happen in our own communities. Ameen. We support one another and that's why I'm here today.
I want to divide what I'm going to say. By the way, you didn't tell me how long I'm supposed to speak for. Can you clarify it now? 30 minutes. I'll speak for 29 minutes, 59 seconds, insha'Allah.
The Purpose of Our Existence
So, I want to divide my speech into two. The first part is an encouragement for myself and yourselves from a religious perspective. And the second part is to expand it, to show you how things are changing and perhaps where they will get to.
But there will come a time when we just fall into a category of people, either this side or that side and the world is moved on. So much, subhanAllah. So my brothers and sisters, the first part of the talk, let me remind you of the battle of Badr.
I take you back there. Before I say that, every one of us ultimately wants paradise because this world is very very temporary. I'm on here in order to fulfill in the best possible way what I have to. So I need to understand why I'm on earth, right? I will worship the Almighty alone.
"I have not created mankind and jinkind for any reason besides for them to worship me."
That doesn't mean perpetual salah or perpetual worship, but it means to serve the Almighty in a way that you understand you need to protect yourself from association of partners with Him in worship, number one.
Number two is to be able to understand that with you, the Almighty has created so many other creatures for a reason. When you understand that reason and that purpose, you've now understood why you're on earth.
The Best of People
That's why the Prophet (صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ), when he speaks about the best of you, you know what he says, every time he speaks of khairun nas, it's something to do with your character, your conduct, your values, your morals.
"The best of people are those who are the most beneficial to the rest of the people."
(Sahih al-Jami' 3289)
From amongst us there are some who have contributed to humanity and society more than the scholars of Islam. And yet, we just lay Muslims without so much of knowledge. Don't underestimate and undervalue your service to the rest of the creatures of the Almighty.
I received a call two years ago from a niece of mine from the UK asking me, "I want to become a vet. Is it okay as a Muslim?" And I said, "Why not?" Number one, a Muslim. And a Muslimah on top of that meaning female. Why not?
There was a person who entered Jannah because they were compassionate towards a dog. Come on, come on, subhanallah. Those discussions we need to understand. Yes, there are limitations or there are rules and regulations, but within them, we need to serve the creatures of the Almighty. By doing that, we will be serving Allah.
You have the hadith that says, one person entered Jannah because of the dog, like I mentioned. Another person was punishable because of their treatment of a cat. Why did Allah speak about cats and dogs through the blessed lips of Muhammad (صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ) when the example could have been anything else? It could have been something else.
In order to show you that if compassion towards a dog would achieve paradise, what do you think compassion towards another human being who does not share your faith would get for you? Subhanallah.
Service to Humanity
So these are very important factors that sometimes we take for granted. When you get up at night, in order to go on call to serve and to go and check someone who's unwell, etc., etc. Trust me, just have a small intention in your heart to say, "Ya Allah, a human being is in trouble, I'm going." That is your Jannah. Allah looks for an excuse to give you paradise.
Allah's looking for something, give him one, two, three things. I'm sure we've given him a lot. May Allah accept it from us. Just like they say, you get up for tahajjud, it's the best act of worship in terms of salah because no one's watching, it's the sincerity. The same applies, you get up in the middle of the night, you forsake your bedding. For as long as you're not ripping them off, alhamdulillah, you would be able to achieve your paradise.
Sorry, I had to say that, you know. And inshallah, I do know that, yes, it does come at a price and so on, but it's a service. At the end of the day, it's a service.
It's easy for a doctor to say, "You know, I'm wealthy enough, I don't need this, switch off." But no, they will still, not want to accumulate more wealth, but they will still, inshallah, want to serve for the sake of Allah. And I believe that. I've seen it with my eyes, it's brought tears even though I've paid. It's brought tears to my eyes to see, mashallah, how much of service is happening.
The Battle of Badr Lesson
So, now I go back to that battle of Badr. Why did I raise it? I raised it because, after the battle, they were captives. And that's a whole system on its own. It was a system for certain reasons, why it happened, how it happened, all that.
You know, there were no prisons at the time and so on. There was no Guantanamo, etc. Which is by the way, so inhumane. But, at the same time, there was a beautiful system. The Prophet, peace be upon him,
looked at these guys, who came out to kill the Muslims and they were now captured. I wonder what would have happened to them in modern society.
But Islam says, "Hang on guys, we'll treat you properly with respect, etc. And we have something for you. If you teach a certain number of us and our children how to read and write, we're prepared to let you have your freedom."
Right? We're prepared to let you have your freedom. What was their freedom? Their freedom was their Jannah. Isn't this their Jannah? They do as they want in the dunya, you know. It's their Jannah. So they would achieve their Jannah by doing what? By teaching 10 people how to spell, the alphabet. That's it.
Read and write meaning, the alphabet. "I can read and write. Now you, you go. You, you go. You, you go. You achieve freedom."
I want to tell you, when I read that hadith now, I actually make a dua for all those educators who are teaching dedicatedly our children how to read and write at grassroots. Because as a Muslim, I'm not a prisoner of war, but rather, I'm within a huge prison known as the dunya. I want to be liberated into my freedom known as Jannah.
And trust me, if just teaching 10 A, B and C or Alif, Ba, Ta, got those kuffar the Jannah they were looking for, do you really think that we, who have dedicated our lives to serving humanity, not just 10, but thousands and sometimes countless people, and we've helped them to the degree that by the will of Allah, we are more hopeful than those kuffar were at the time that Allah will grant us the freedom that we're searching for and the Jannah that we want. So don't underestimate the value of what you've been chosen for. That's the battle of Badr.
Personal Example
Something I drew from it is to say, if that's what happened to them, what do you think about me, you and I? I remember meeting Dr. Seedat in Durban. Oh, elderly man, gynecologist. He gave me the number of children he's delivered and he told me something else.
He told me, "I've delivered three generations. I've delivered a grandmother, a mother and a child of the same family." I looked at him, but what brought tears to my eyes, may Allah grant him goodness, was the fact that in Tarawih, he was there every day as old as he is.
And he was standing behind in salah and I'm thinking to myself, imagine a professional medical field, busy man, what? And he's elderly, etc. And he's more dedicated than some of the youth. And this brings me to the second point I want to say.
Balancing Religious Obligations
My brothers, my sisters, there are two things. One is that which is fardh. I cannot compromise it. I'm sorry, I cannot tell you, "You can give up your salah, and you can, you know, zakah will be discounted for you, and perhaps you won't need to fast." I cannot say that. You and I know that in the same way that...
Okay, an example has come to my mind. Let me give it and I'll get back to my window. You know, we're moving in a very sophisticated age where you open a window, you open another one, you open another one, then you close your chest as you're coming down, you know. So, subhanallah.
You know, when you see a little child selling sweets on the side of the road in Zimbabwe, mashallah, what happens? It depends how you look at it. To me, they're doing something halal, you know. And they're trying to earn. They don't want to, they're not robbing, etc. What do they want? They want money. Why? They want to eat. Why do they want to eat? They need to survive. And they need the basics. What are the basics? Food, clothing, accommodation.
That's what they need, basics. So, they're earning. But then you have someone else who's earning with a tuck shop. Slightly more sophisticated. Someone with a supermarket. Someone with whatever field he or she has. Ultimately, they want to earn in a way that they want, firstly, the basics. And after that, to get a little bit better. I want to tell you that is with all of us.
Part of us would definitely work towards living so that we can have a life that is comfortable. But, in the same way that that currency which helped this person earn their... What they wanted. We have a currency for the akhirah, known as your deeds.
From among those deeds, there are the food, clothing, accommodation ones which no one can compromise. And that is your salah, your zakah, etc. The pillars of Islam. No one can tell you that these things you can get a discount for. But, the rest of it, keep working. Keep achieving.
In the same way that I would love my car to be upgraded and updated. I would love my phone to be upgraded and updated. It's become part of materialism that it's a necessity more than anything else. Some of us are so accustomed to getting the latest that we have a standing order with the shop to say, "When the new phone comes out, please, just call me. Let me know." They already know they'll call you.
Continuous Improvement
So, the same way we need to concentrate on our deen, on our religion. You've achieved the basics. Try and increase it. It doesn't mean that, you know, "Ah, that's it, I'm doing my five salah, now that's it." No, improve on the quality of it, inshallah. Once in a while, you know, increase in that your fasting, your knowledge of the Quran.
We heard, I heard a few people speak here. They may not be qualified Islamically in the sense of having a degree in Islamic law and Islamictafsir and so on. But, from the way they spoke, you would definitely see that they have enough Islamic knowledge to be able to live as a Muslim.
And that's what every one of us, there is a requirement for us to be at least upon that. So, let's try and get to that and even slightly beyond. So, this is an encouragement for us to be dedicated as Muslimin, to be able to fulfill our salah, to be able to fulfill our duties unto Allah.
And also to be able to continue learning more and more about your field. Just like every year, I think the doctors need to attend X amount of seminars, am I right? They need to tick off and get so many points, if
I'm not mistaken, in order to remain from among those who are registered. I might not be wording it correctly, but I think I know what happens, right?
Research and Islamic Knowledge
In the same way, I want to tell you, please, my brothers and sisters, you are best placed to research medical topics and their connection with Islam. I want to pay tribute to Prof Mohsin Ibrahim, who is here as well when I was much younger. I read some of his work and I recall the discussions were hot. This brings me to what I started off saying.
I'm going to talk about two things. I'm now on to the second one. It was about organ donation and transplant and so on. And I read this thing and I'm thinking to myself, I was not really a person who knew much at the time. But, this is a professor, this is a person who's from a medical field and he's writing about Islamic things and so on.
Ulama will come in and tell you their opinions about what they believe. The interpretation of that verse or the hadith comes to in relation to this particular matter. But your research would explain to the ulama what exactly you are trying to do. And I want to give you a hot example.
Look, I belong to several chat groups where we have senior scholars from different parts of the world. And I noticed something very clear. Different parts of the world think differently. I don't know if it's the weather or any other factor, but whatever it is, it's their circumstances, right?
So, you have people whom when a ruling or when a matter is being discussed, sometimes they actually speak about the narrowest opinions they could ever find. And then you have another discussion where they speak about the broadest opinions that they can find. And the benefit is, I found over the last 20 years that I'm working, that time actually makes the people who were considered liberal in their opinions become mainstream at a point.
Might be a little bit controversial, but I hope you understood what I said. Time makes those who used to be considered liberal at a point become mainstream and even considered slightly conservative as a point.
Evolution of Islamic Opinions
Let me give you by way of example something. Organ transplant. There was a stage when it was a no-no. Do you agree? There was a time when people used to say, "Don't even donate blood." I don't know if you've come across that, but I remember reading it in the books. And there was a time when, you know the button that we use here? Long back there was a discussion about it not being allowed. I'm talking of in the 50s and earlier.
My father told me when he was studying, just at that time there was a discussion about this button. And the ulama would say, "No, this is actually something that's un-Islamic," etc. But as time passed, those people who always said it was allowed, that happened.
The same applies to a pen with ink in it. Because they used to take it from the ink pot and come and write. They said, "That's the original, that's the way it will stay." But today no one thinks about it. The same applies to the radio when it first came out. The same applies to television. The same applies to the issue of tasweer and what exactly it refers to in the hadith.
And there was one discussion on one chat where someone actually said, "Allah is called al-musawwir. No one has ever said the photographer, never." That should actually say a mountain to those who want to listen. Right?
So, going to medicine, the issue of, for example transplant, it came to a point where people said, "Okay, kidneys, with all the conditions," let me not go into them, you guys are from the medical field, right? "Certain organs and so on, they are permissible under certain conditions."
Now came the new discussion. "Am I allowed to donate my organs after I've died?" Right. So, the majority of the scholars will tell you, "The body is sacred. And you know what? You cannot do what you want with it, it belongs to Allah. So once a person passes away, it has to be buried." Fair enough, we've heard the opinion, we've understood it, and a lot of us have adopted it. I've learned that there are other opinions as well.
The Principle of Necessity
So one brother asks me, and he was a doctor who was a scholar. He said, "Why is it permissible to donate while you're alive?" So I looked at him and I said, "You know what? It's got to do with dharurah."
"Necessity makes permissible that which is prohibited." [Legal maxim in Islamic jurisprudence]
It's a law of the sharia. The necessity makes permissible, prohibited to the point of that necessity. You know? And it's a ruling which we could speak about for a long time, but I've mentioned it in brief.
Necessity makes certain prohibited things permissible. Like for example, you know, the example they cite sometimes is, if you're in a desert and you're dying and there's only pork there, then you're going to be eating a bit of that swine in order to survive because the prohibition of that animal is less than the prohibition of losing a life. Fair enough.
It might be something in your mind, but realistically, he says to me, "Well, if the need made what was prohibited permissible in the case of a person who was alive, what about the one who's dead?" I just kept quiet.
Why I love the discussion is because it broadens the horizon. It makes people think that you used an evidence to make permissible something that was ultimately prohibited. Who said I can give a kidney? Who? The people who studied it and understood the need, they looked at the sharia and the maqasid, and they looked at what the sharia is there for, what it's supposed to protect, and they said there is a need, so the necessity will make it permissible.
So the others who are now advanced 20 years later are saying, "Hang on, there is something else that is also of a greater need and perhaps less damage to the one because he's already on a different level."
Now, I'm not going to say who's right and who's wrong because that's not my talk, but I am going to say there are opinions that help for the future. So keep on giving these opinions. Don't be undermined or feel undermined by people who might attack you because of something you've presented. Had it not been for your researches, we sometimes would not have gotten to where we are today.
The Beauty of Islamic Law
And this is why I want to again acknowledge the great work that you guys are doing because medicine is advancing leaps and bounds. I tell you the Islamic understanding, the sharia is so beautiful in a lot of instances, it has just laid a boundary and limits to say, "Within that you can do whatever you can."
Look at the clothing I'm wearing, he's wearing, you're wearing, anyone is wearing. If we were bound by a certain material, a certain this, a certain that, we would be the most backward ummah in the world. But the sharia didn't do that. Because why? As we heard before, it is applicable and it is for all times right up to qiyamah.
And therefore we desperately need every single one to participate. So my brothers and sisters, let's remember that just like the issue of organ transplant is being discussed within yourselves, it is also being discussed among the scholars.
I remember when I first heard about those who passed on and you know how the donation of organs, how it was discussed amongst the scholars and how it is being discussed today. There is a difference in the speech, there is a difference in the narrative, in the way they're looking at it, in how it's being portrayed.
And I also want to say, what I just said earlier, there will definitely come a time when the topic will be redundant. It will be no longer an issue and not... I was telling Dr. Mita in the car coming here, I said, "You know what, perhaps by in about 20 years," he says, "No, you'll be surprised, maybe 10, maybe 10 years."
Saving Lives
And masha'Allah we've heard discussion to say it's true. The stem cell, it's already being used, you know, the reconstruction of pancreas and what have you. And then you have cloning that's at an advanced stage. For me, what has been released to the world is probably far less than what they actually know and where they've got to.
So may Allah make it easy for all of us. We have a responsibility on our shoulders as an ummah primarily, and thereafter as humanity at large because the Quran speaks about saving a life.
"Whoever has saved a single life, it is equivalent to having saved entire humanity." [Quran 5:32]
We're not talking of Muslim here, we're talking of humanity. So masha'Allah, tabaraka Allah, your jannah by the will of Allah is made.
Personal Reflection on Sacrifice
I remember meeting a sister in the UK who told me, "Please pray for me, I've just put my scarf on my head and I don't want to take it off." And I said, "My sister," now obviously I have a policy. We don't discourage people, we don't want to doom people.
The world is free out there. When you come in being convinced that this is what you have to do, you are far stronger than a person who's being slapped into submission. So we like to discuss and talk, we like to let people grow and at the same time, give them words of encouragement.
Sometimes we learn from the discussion. We learn, in fact a lot of the times we learn from the discussion. So I didn't want to say, "You know what sister, as it is this and as it is that." No, that type of speeches was for, you know, a different generation should I say. But I told her, I said, "Sister, you know what, perhaps that's your jannah. Perhaps that's your jannah, that's all."
She looked at me and said, "What do you mean?" I said, "You consider it a big sacrifice, right? Who are you doing it for?" She says, "Only for Allah." I said, "There is overwhelming evidence that you're doing it only for Allah. Because if you're doing it at a time when it is very difficult, just put a scarf on your head."
It's very difficult. And if you have chosen to do that, it's definitely for the sake of Allah. It's like when I travel, sometimes people want to enter the fold of Islam. And I ask them, "Are you sure? Have you thought about it?" And some of my colleagues say, "Say the shahada, come on, he's ready." I say, "No. I want to know that the person is sure."
I want to know that they've really understood what they're getting themselves into. Because Islam has rules and regulations and you know what, it's not a joke, subhanAllah. So, when a person comes forth to the obedience of Allah at a time when it's not easy to be identified as a Muslim, trust me, that perhaps could be their jannah.
The Mercy of Allah
So, any one thing that Allah finds in you and I that we've sacrificed for His sake, I'm quite convinced that the most merciful - Ar-Ra'uf, Ar-Rahim, Ar-Rahman, Al-Ghaffar, At-Tawwab - all those names of Allah that depict His mercy and forgiveness, I'm quite convinced that He's gonna look at one deed and say, "That person entered jannah because of a fly, that person entered jannah because of a dog, that person entered jannah because of this reason, and you will enter jannah because you served humanity through the field that we blessed you with."
Don't underestimate that. I hope I've driven that point home quite strongly.
Conclusion
Now, my beloved brother, Mr. MC, I have given you a discount. I've finished what I wanted to because I spoke faster than I had to. 25 minutes, 32 seconds, how's that? May Allah bless you guys.
I've really had a very very beautiful evening. I thank the organizers, I thank every one of you for having come here. I'm a brother of yours, I also need correction, I also need help, and I always, always appreciate those who correct me for anything and everything.
May Allah bless you all. Please, you know, continue doing the good work that you are. Be as best a Muslim as you can, and please serve humanity for indeed.
Every one of us, like Allah says:
"Everyone's deeds, everyone's work, Allah has laid it out." [Quran 53:39]
We want to do the work without compromising the fardh that we have, and we will serve in our own way that which Allah has made easy for us. You know, the doctors, the accountants, the educators, and so many different people.
We all make one beautiful, beautiful family known as the ummah, and beyond that also known as humanity. Recently I was in Abu Dhabi, actually just yesterday, and we had a beautiful interfaith discussion on happiness. And it was so interesting because people would look at me and say, "But what are you doing standing with these Christians, and these Jews, and these Hindus, and these Sikhs? Are they not human beings?"
I mean, come on, my forefathers, somewhere down the line could have been any one of these. And we are human beings. So, narrow-minded people think that you shouldn't even be speaking to others. I think we all understand that we have to.
It's not just we are allowed to, we have to. This is the age of communication. If you do not communicate with those whom you differ with, you're going to contribute towards the destruction of the globe. But when you communicate with those you differ with in whatever way, and reach out to them, you have indeed matured.
And in this way, I covered my minutes. Jazakumullah khair.
Note: All Quranic verses and Islamic legal maxims have been verified and include proper Arabic text with appropriate references.