Contentment
By Mufti Menk | 2026-01-10T15:51:42.94378+00:00 | Topic: Iman
Contentment
Mufti Ismail Menk
Opening
My brothers, my sisters, the first and foremost piece of advice and reminder that we should be commencing with at all times is the consciousness of Allah. Develop a relationship with your Maker. That is what will help you in this world and the next.
The Certainty of Death
My brothers and sisters, when we came on to the earth, one thing was certain that we tended to forget. We're going to leave this place. When we came into this world, we came in order to leave it at some point.
That is the only thing that is certain when we don't know. Unfortunately, while Allah gives us more days to live, we tend to forget the fact that we are going to go back to Him. When a baby is born, if that baby were to die in the early stages of life, it would be a great loss for the parents and for humanity at large.
But that particular baby is gone back to the best possible place it could be because it didn't even start its life on earth. It was not witness to all the distractions on this earth. And as children grow up, the same applies to them.
Once they clock puberty, they become responsible. At that juncture, the angels begin to write all the good and the bad that is done. And everything that that child now that it has become an adult will do to develop the relationship with Allah is also written.
The Evolution of Human Desires
That will be a bonus. You and I grew up. Today we're seated here. May Allah grant us contentment. We're all searching for happiness. Yet when we were babies, we were quite happy and content with a little feed and a little burp.
And so on, we started smiling at small things. For as long as we were not wet, we were not soiled, it wasn't too hot. And we were not made to be scared. We were okay. For as long as we were fed, we were fine. Small things made us happy.
As time passed, we were sad with small things. Now we want bigger things. We need more complicated stuff. The toys that made us happy when we were babies no longer made us happy as we grew older, four years, five years. You can't give me the same toy I had when I was two years. Later on, we were dissatisfied until we had the latest of the time in our hands.
Today, the little children are not happy until you give them the latest technology, the phones and the iPads. And sometimes parents give them these things without actually considering how dangerous it is to give the child this piece of technology if it were unrestricted. But my brothers and sisters, the more Allah gives us life and the longer we live, why is it that we become so discontented? We're not happy anymore.
The Cycle of Dissatisfaction
Nothing makes us happy. We want more and more. You have a job whereby you're getting a salary, you can live, you have clothing, you have food, you have a decent place to live, you have a bedding, you have a place you can bath and shower, perhaps you have a toilet, you can relieve yourself, but you're not happy.
What do you want? I need more. I want a bigger salary. I want a promotion. I want a better home. I want a better car. I want the next phone.
But you only had the phone just about a year ago. We're not happy. Do you know what? We need to develop contentment.
Finding True Happiness
It won't come on its own. Your happiness is a switch that you need to turn on. You become conscious of the gifts of Allah upon you.
The more you concentrate on the fact that you are only here temporarily, the greater the chances of you being happy. You could go right now, so could I. I could drop from where I am at this moment, and I'm gone. And I lived a life, for example, if someone were to do so, of unhappiness.
Why was I unhappy? But Allah says, but I gave you, I gave you a lot. I gave you more than you asked for. I gave you things you didn't even ask from me, millions of things.
A few things I kept away from you because I knew it was not good for you. Or I wanted to just make you closer to me. You know, when you want a promotion and you start asking Allah, at least it brings you closer to Allah.
You asked Allah. So Allah says, we love the way you asked us. We love the way you cried to us. We love the way you came to our house finally. And we love the way you started praying. So we just said, let's hold it back further.
So you can keep on coming and going for a longer time. That was Allah's plan. It was a bonus.
Change the way you look at things, my brothers and sisters. Allah has blessed you. Allah has blessed you.
Be happy with a morsel of food and always look at those who have less than you. Take a look at those across the globe. Our brothers and sisters, not only in humanity, but in faith as well, struggling without a morsel of clean food or water.
And here we are sitting and we're still unhappy. They wouldn't even mind a grain of rice. And we have a plate that we throw into the bin when we're done.
May Allah forgive us. And we're still not happy. In order to achieve this happiness, my brothers and sisters, Allah has sent down messengers with messages.
The Path to Contentment through Islam
The Qur'an is here only for us to follow it in order to get happiness, contentment. The sunnah of the Prophet ((صلى الله عليه وسلم)) and its simplicity is only there for us to get contentment and happiness. This contentment is connected to the dunya as well as the akhira.
When you lose focus that you're about to go into the hereafter, you become very, very sad because you don't know what's going to happen in the hereafter. The world is such, it progresses faster than you can run behind it. So as you're running after the dunya and the world, it will always run faster than you.
You can have the best and the latest and you could be the wealthiest. Someone will overtake you. Something will overtake what you have.
There will be things that will progress in a way that you will no longer be at the top. That's how the world is. No matter how much you want something, it will always go quicker in terms of dunya.
It will run faster and it will keep you running behind it. But when you are running behind Allah in order to please Allah, then you will definitely be the happiest person even if you have a basic salary.
The Command to Rush Towards Allah
"Rush towards Allah."
It will solve your problems of this world and the next. Rush towards your maker. Worship Allah.
The Importance of the Five Daily Prayers
You will not achieve contentment if there is no five daily prayers in your life. There is no chance of you achieving the total contentment of this world and the next. Zero chance.
You might have temporary happiness due to something material around you, but that is not contentment. There is a big difference between the two. Contentment is a condition that you would actually feel and you would live through even if you didn't have a lot of what others have.
You're still content. Allah does not promise the believers money, nor does he promise them that you will have authority on land or good looks or good health and so on. With all your sickness and your problems and your unemployment and your difficulties and whatever other issues you have when you are close to Allah, it becomes irrelevant.
My salah was in order. The minute I said Allahu Akbar, I had a smile on my face. We removed our shoes before we entered the masjid.
Our connection and contact to the dunya is outside. As you come in, forget about it. Leave it out behind.
The minute you come in and you've brought the whole dunya with you, you have a problem. You are here for Allah. It's your chance to get close to Allah.
Imagine Allah made us. He says, look, you can spend your 24 hours how you want, but a few things I'm going to tell you to do for me. Even those few things we're not prepared to do.
The Remembrance of Allah
I ask you a serious question. Very serious. And most of us are guilty.
And I'm saying it because I want you to change in a nice way. How many of us have praised Allah today in terms of dhikr? We can do better. How many of us said:
(سُبْحَانَ اللَّهِ ، الْحَمْدُ لِلَّهِ ، اللَّهُ أَكْبَرُ ، لَا إِلَهَ إِلَّا اللَّهُ - SubhanAllah, alhamdulillah, Allahu Akbar, la ilaha illallah)
How many of us have said that? When the hadith says clearly:
(Kalimatani khafifatani alal lisani, thaqilatani fil mizani, habibatani ilal rahmani, subhanAllahi wabi hamdihi, subhanAllahil azeem)
"Two words that you say very light on your tongue, very loved by Allah, very heavy on the scale. The praise of Allah: Glory be to Allah and praise Him, Glory be to Allah the Great."
(Sahih al-Bukhari 6682, Sahih Muslim 2694)
We know that, but we don't say it. We need to be reminded.
Quranic Verse on Remembrance
We need to be tapped. Indeed, those who believe achieve contentment of the heart through the remembrance of Allah:
(Alladhina amanoo wa tatmainu quloobuhum bidhikri Allah ala bidhikri Allahi tatmainu al-quloob)
"For indeed, it is only through the remembrance of Allah that the hearts will achieve contentment."
(Quran 13:28)
You want contentment? Simple answer, remember Allah. Increase your remembrance of Allah. Relate your day to Allah:
(سُبْحَانَ اللهِ ، لَا إِلَهَ إِلَّا اللَّهُ ، مَا شَاءَ اللَّهُ ، تَبَارَكَ اللَّهُ ، الْحَمْدُ لِلَّهِ - SubhanAllah, la ilaha illallah, mashaAllah, tabarakAllah, alhamdulillah)
And so many other ways of remembering Allah.
The Value of the Quran
Even if you were to pick up the word of Allah and read it, it's the remembrance of Allah. If you were to make an effort to try and understand it, it's the remembrance of Allah. If you're putting it into practice, it's the remembrance of Allah.
If you're teaching it to others, it's the remembrance of Allah. The best from amongst you is the one who learns this Quran and teaches it to others. It doesn't only mean the recitation, although the recitation is a part of it definitely, and it is absolutely important, and you will achieve a reward, and you will achieve contentment even if you just recite it without understanding, but the right of the Quran extends beyond that.
Don't forget. Even if you were to listen to the Quran, you'll be having some contentment. If you replace those CDs or those tracks of whatever else that is not beneficial that you have with you, with the Quran, you will definitely be able to achieve contentment.
Listen to the words of Allah. They are not ordinary words. They are powerful words. Experiments have been done with people who don't believe. When they listen to the words of Allah, they feel moved. It has a different impact.
Those are the words of Allah, but we are Muslims. We don't give so much importance to the word of Allah. My brothers and sisters, Allah has blessed us with the month of Ramadan.
Ramadan and Self-Discipline
You want contentment? Learn discipline. Simple. Ramadan is there to discipline yourself.
With that discipline, you achieve God-consciousness. It is called taqwa. Your relationship with Allah improves.
You become a person who is refined, beautiful. You speak with respect because the whole month of Ramadan, no swear words, nothing abusive, no harmful words. My brothers and sisters, many of us, we don't care how we speak.
Why? Because I'm a man or I'm a boss. I can say what I want. So what? We swear, we abuse, we use words as we please that are hurtful to our own family members and we expect contentment and the pleasure of Allah.
It's not going to come. If you say bad words from your mouth, forget about true contentment. You might be happy for a moment.
Those words are going to come back to you to haunt you. In Islam, what you do, you pay for. What you do, you pay for.
Don't be mistaken. What you say, you pay for. Unless you change your ways, unless you repent and seek forgiveness, then Allah says, never mind, forgiven.
Sometimes Allah says, we will replace that with something good because you changed your life. So watch how you speak. If you want contentment, your character must improve.
Hadith on Fasting Etiquette
Ramadan is there to improve your character. That's why the hadith says, while you're fasting, even if someone else swears you, you should just say, I'm fasting. Have you heard that hadith?
It says, if a person swears one who's fasting, abuses, they should just say:
(Sahih al-Bukhari 1904, Sahih Muslim 1151)
"I'm fasting," which means I'm not going to respond in the same way.
That doesn't mean that if you were not fasting, you should have sworn them back. But it does mean that this discipline I'm going to learn right now will be extended beyond the month of Ramadan. I'm becoming a better person.
The Lesson of Hunger
When you can stay away from food and drink, it should make you calm. Many of us become angry. Don't you know I'm fasting? Get out of here.
Take it easy. It happens to almost all of us, especially when the fast is long and when your belly is rumbling, you start grumbling. May Allah not let that happen to us.
That should not be the case. As the fast is longer, the extended period of patience, think and keep thinking of those who don't have food. Those whose days are like this every day and even their nights are like this.
Keep thinking about them. What will that do to you? It will help you to extend your hand into your pocket and take out the 50p that you can afford or the one pound. My brothers, my sisters, do not underestimate a charity, even if it is 10p.
The Power of Change
Your change will make a change. Remember that. But be dedicated.
Be dedicated. Give, even if it is a little bit. You don't know which cause it will be that will grant you that entry into paradise.
And if there was a cause so loved by Allah, your 10p were in there. Allah will grant you success. You see, we're thinking holistically.
I want to reach out. The first people I reach out to must be my own family. Change your lives, my brothers, my sisters.
Reach out to your family, your spouse, your children, your parents, your brothers, your sisters. It's going to be very hard. You have to do it.
When Allah tells you you're going to get paradise for something, that thing is not going to be easy. It's not a walk in the park.
So my brothers and sisters, it is something tough. Work on yourself. Are you prepared to refine, to become a better person? Allah guarantees you contentment. You'll be happy.
Oh, that guy, he was shouting and swearing at me. I just smiled and walked away. How happy do I feel? I feel excited.
But no, I've been to the gym. I've built my muscles. When he swore me, I lifted him up. I slapped him, bashed him. And now there is a court case pending. What happened? You lost your contentment, your happiness.
You can't even sleep because you went to do something foolish. You must be responsible. You must be a person who's able to respond.
You are responsible. When someone does something, you don't react in a way that is foolish. You're a believer.
The hadith teaches you and Ramadan teaches you that you need discipline. Control yourself. Think about the reactions of your actions before you act.
And if your actions are the reaction of someone else's actions, you still need to consider what will happen as a result of that. Think about it. Another blessed way of achieving contentment.
The Remembrance of Allah
We spoke about the good words regarding Allah. It's called the remembrance of Allah. Adhkar in the morning, in the evening, after salah, etc.
Are you going to do those adhkar a little bit? Are you going to try? I promise you, your life will change.
Remember me, I will remember you. Allah says, you engage in my remembrance, I'll remember you.
But we don't engage in the remembrance of Allah. What do we want? Allah says, be thankful. Don't be ungrateful.
We've given you a lot. How do I show gratitude to Allah? Minimum is five salah a day. Did you hear that? What did Allah give you? He gave you everything.
How am I going to show gratitude to Allah? Five salah a day. It's amazing to show gratitude to Allah is very different from showing gratitude to a human being. When you say, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you to a human being.
I really appreciate it. They'll probably nod their head and say, okay, when you say to Allah, I'm going to fulfill my salah because I'm thanking you. The reward of that salah will be bigger than the thing that you actually got initially from Allah.
That's how Allah works. Amazing. But you need to fulfill salah.
The Importance of Salah for Youth
We are Muslimin. And so many young people come up and say, I'm struggling with salah. Yes, it's interesting to hear that.
And we will still continue to encourage you. But you're a Muslim. The five salah, you should be enthusiastic about it.
You should get up with honor, with dignity, as though you're catching a flight to go to your favorite destination. Because one day you will be. You'll be catching a flight to Jannatul Firdaus.
May Allah grant us ease. You start off the day with one verse of the Quran. You will change your life.
Your day will be content. And then you don't spoil. You don't spoil your good deeds with bad deeds in the middle.
The Analogy of Pure Juice
You don't. What's the point of struggling to extract the juice from a beautiful, succulent orange? And I've got a glass of orange juice. And then you spoil it with one droplet of najasa and dirt in it.
Who's going to drink the juice? You won't drink it. The whole glass was beautiful. And last minute, we dropped one drop of dirt in it.
No one wants it. The same applies. We work hard.
We do a lot of good and we spoil it with one drop. Don't do that. That drop is dangerous.
It can spoil your entire effort. Keep it out. So I was saying that as you praise Allah, you need to understand saying good words to those who deserve the good words around you and those whom you are living with and your parents, your spouse, etc.
Investment in Relationships
is also an act of worship. Say good words to them. It's free.
You're investing. Today, if I told you, listen, there is an investment opportunity here and the returns are really, really great. Everyone wants to say, what is it? SubhanAllah, we want to know because I need a bit of extra income.
Even if I'm wealthy, the wealthier we get, the bigger investments we are looking at. Amazing. But have you invested for the hereafter? How do you do that? Go to your wife and tell her, I love you so much.
You look so good. Even if, for example, she may have just gotten up from her sleep or she might have been busy. That is your investment.
You know the returns there? Not only will Allah be happy, but it will improve your relationship in your home. She'll be very happy. SubhanAllah, attitudes change.
This is a simple example. Go to your children and sit with them for 20 minutes, putting your phone away. You're investing worth one billion pounds.
You have your phone, investment comes down. There's a loss, big water leak. You're going to have to repair it one day.
But we don't communicate with our kids and we think we will achieve contentment. What contentment? Your fault, your problem, you were never there for your child as your child grew up. And today when the child is deviated, old and doing things that are unacceptable to humanity, let alone to the deen of Allah, then you want to complain.
But dad, where were you all along? Mom, where were you all along? You were never here to guide. You were never here to speak. You were either on your phone when you were here physically or you were never here because you were out working.
What did you invest? What contentment do you want? What happiness do you want? Happiness is when you appreciate the time with them by telling them good words, by going out of your way to tell them how lovely they look. Your children need to hear it from you, how much you love them. They need the embrace.
They need protection. They need a male figure, a female figure as far as possible. Yes, there are people living in broken homes.
You're going to have to do a double job because Allah has placed it on your shoulders. May Allah make it easy for all those living in such homes. Life is tough.
Looking in the Right Places
The difficulty with us, we're looking for contentment, we're looking for happiness, we're looking for everything else. But do you know what? We're looking in the wrong places. Someone wants happiness so they go and commit adultery with the prettiest girl they can find who's accessible to them.
What happened? Two minutes of joy, they were actually a seed that you sowed of the destruction of the tree of contentment. It's a wild weed that came up and destroyed the proper tree that was growing in your yard. Your wife, your children, your family, that entire tree that is solid in its bark and beautiful in its branches and the fruit that you got, you're destroying it by a poisonous plant around it that just took you one minute to throw the seed in.
What did you gain? What really did you gain by the adultery? What did you gain by the gambling? What did you gain by the intoxicants? What did you gain by the pornography? What did you gain? Nothing. If anything, it was a seed of destruction of my contentment. No longer happy.
Why? Because I've been watching these dirty things for so many years. Cut it out, you'll be content. You'll be happy with your spouse and everyone else.
Conclusion
This is contentment, this is only a tip of the iceberg. My brothers and sisters, what's important for us to know is the month of Ramadan is coming. I have chosen to speak on a series known as contentment from revelation, where we will look at verses of the Quran and extract lessons for all of us to be able to derive happiness and contentment.
What does Allah say? We want to be happy, we want to be content actually. And Allah tells you, well I've told you what contentment is all about. If you want it, you've got to follow this path and you know what? You will achieve it.
You will definitely achieve it. We've tried everything else, it doesn't work. May Allah grant us success.
For this reason, I decided to speak about the topic today. We need a tapping and I encourage you once again, increase the remembrance of Allah. For indeed, when you do that, you will be a changed person.
Closing Dua
"May Allah bless you and me in the Quran and Sunnah, and may He benefit you and me through the verses of the Quran and Sunnah. I say this, and I ask Allah to forgive me and you and all Muslims, so ask Him to forgive you. Indeed, He is the Forgiving, the Merciful."