Hope in the Mercy of Allah

Hope in the Mercy of Allah

Mufti Ismail Menk

Opening Khutbah

Alhamdulillahi allathee hadana lihaza wama kunna lina ahtadiyya lawla an hadana allah wa a'udhu billahi min shururi anfusina wa min sayyi'ati a'malina man yahdihi allahu fala mudhilla lahu wa man yudhulilhu fala hadiyya lah

Wa ashhadu an la ilaha illa allahu wahdahu la sharika lah wa ashhadu anna muhammadan abdullahi wa rasuluhu imamul muttaqeen wa rasulurabbil alameen alladhi bu'itha ila al ahmari wa al aswadi

Walladhi tarakana ala al mahajjati al baydai layluha kanahariha la yazeeghu anha illa halik sallallahu wasallama wa baraka alayhi wa ala alihi wa ashabihi waman salaka tariqahum wasara ala nahjihim wa da'a bidawatihim ila yawmiddeeni

Amma ba'du fattaqullaha ibadallah wattaqu yawman turja'una fihi ilallah thumma tuwaffa kullu nafsin ma kasabat wa hum la yughlamoon

The Importance of Taqwa

My beloved brothers and sisters, every time we get a chance to speak to one another and to remind one another about goodness, the first point that we should be raising is the development of the connection with Allah.

It is always important for us to build this relationship with Allah. It is known as Taqwa Allahi.

If you notice in the Quran, every time Allah says Ittaqullah, which means develop the relationship with Allah, be conscious of Allah, be fearful of His punishment and hopeful in His mercy. That is part of the meaning of Taqwa.

May Allah grant us this beautiful relationship with Him such that when we fulfill the instructions, we do so with pleasure, with happiness, with great zeal, and when we stay away from the prohibitions that make Him angry, we do so also out of the love of Allah.

The Example of Bilal ibn Rabah

My brothers and sisters, when Bilal ibn Rabah (may Allah be pleased with him) at the beginning of Islam was being tortured, he was being dragged in the hot sand, on the hot stones, and he was being harmed.

He kept on repeating:

أَحَدٌ أَحَدٌ - Ahadun Ahad

"One, One [Allah is One]"

At that juncture, he had no idea what the future held, but he had hope in the mercy of Allah. He did not know that a day will come when he will be given the honor of calling out the Adhan in the same Makkah, in the same Masjid, on the same Kaaba, in the vicinity of which he was being punished and penalized.

At that juncture, right at the beginning, he didn't give up, but he knew that Allah has a better plan. When victory came, it came sweeter than he expected it.

The Victory Promised by Allah

When Abu Bakr as-Siddiq (may Allah be pleased with him) and the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم), together with a few, were being persecuted in Makkah al-Mukarramah, the companions had conviction and hope in the mercy of Allah, but they didn't know exactly how Allah had planned the victory. That victory was sweeter and better than they had ever imagined.

When Musa (peace be upon him) was faced with the pharaoh, the destruction of the pharaoh, and he used to kill the boys, and he used to commit and perpetrate the most heinous of crimes, they didn't know exactly in what shape the victory would come or when it would come, but they knew that Allah had promised them ultimate victory.

They continued to have hope in the mercy of Allah. And this is why, when they prayed to Allah to say, O Allah, when is this victory going to come? And Allah responded to the call of Musa and Harun, Moses and Aaron (peace be upon them):

"We have indeed answered your prayer. So now we want you to be steadfast. The mercy of Allah, the help of Allah comes to those who are steadfast."

Reference: Quran 10:89

The Lesson of Steadfastness

But their journey to developing the closeness with Allah at times has in it the challenges of this world. We should never lose hope, my brothers and sisters. Remain steadfast.

No matter what we're going through, it will never be worse than what Bilal ibn Rabah went through. Did victory not come to him? Did he not see days he didn't even imagine he would see?

We cannot have gone through worse than what the Prophet Musa went through. Did he not see victory? And Allah tells him, your dua has been answered. It has been answered. Yet the destruction of the Pharaoh only came years later. In the interim, Allah told him, do you know what? Be steadfast, you and your brother. Don't lose focus.

Trials Bring Us Closer to Allah

My brothers and sisters, the challenges you have on earth should bring you closer to Allah and not take you further away from Allah. Whatever hardship, be it a financial hardship, be it a difficulty in your workplace, or with your health, with your family, no matter what it may be, never lose hope in the mercy of Allah.

It must not take you away from Allah. It must bring you closer. Allah told those whom He loves, who have been through more than anything you will ever go through. Allah told them, don't worry, we know. You just be steadfast, we will take care of the rest. When the time is right, you will taste the sweetest of victory in a manner that you didn't even imagine.

Many times we look at things that happened to us that seem to be negative. We don't even realize those are sometimes the most positive things that have ever happened to our lives. Take a look at any crisis, any problem that has happened within the life of a believer.

If you see, you will find the pearls within that problem. You will find the goodness within that issue on a broader scale, within a period of time, you will see the light if you remain steadfast.

Don't Follow the Path of Those Who Don't Know

So Allah tells Musa (peace be upon him): Don't follow the path of those who don't know. Don't follow the path of those who don't know. You remain steadfast. As for those who don't know, they follow the path of transgression.

They become angry. They start questioning Allah. I know of people who've lost their children. I know of people who don't have children. May Allah make it easy for one and all. Remain steadfast.

You are not the first person with that problem. There are billions of others who have had the same problem in the past and even worse, but the difference is they were steadfast. They never lost hope.

They died with hope and ultimately the victory that they got with Jannatul Firdaus was far greater and sweeter than any difficulty and hardship they went through during this life.

Death - The Ultimate Perspective

What's the worst thing that can happen to me? In fact, it is the best thing that could happen. From a worldly perspective, we say it's the worst. But from a heavenly perspective, it's the best. What is it? Die.

If I were to die because of my sickness, my problem, my illness, and may Allah protect us all. If you were terminally ill with cancer or whatever it may be, may Allah grant you shifa through His miracle. Part of the mercy of Allah is that He will take you away and ultimately you will go to Jannah.

We always tell people, you want to go to Jannah? They say, yes. You want to die? They say, no. So how are you going to go to Jannah?

So Allah says, hang on. We know if you die with hope. I will treat everyone of my slaves according to how he perceives me. You remember the mercy of Allah. You have hope in the mercy of Allah. In the forgiveness of Allah. Allah will treat you with that hope, with that mercy, with that forgiveness.

But if you think, no way. Allah is not going to have mercy on me. That is an insult to Allah because He says He is Ra'oofun Raheemun Rahmanun Wadoodun Ghaffarun etc. Forgiving, most merciful, most compassionate, etc. And you are saying, no you are not. What type of an insult is that against Allah? May Allah grant us that beautiful hope in His mercy.

The Prophet's Response to Harm

Look at the Prophet Muhammad (صلى الله عليه وسلم). They told him bad things. They said evil things. They plotted against him. They tried to kill him. They tried to do whatever. They didn't succeed.

And Allah says:

Wa laqad na'lamu annaka yadeequ sadruka bima yaqooloon

"We know that the statements they are uttering, the bad words they are saying, are hurting you. We know that they are hurtful words. Your chest is being narrowed because of the hurtful words that they are saying."

Fa sabbih bihamdi rabbik

"What is the solution? Declare the praise and glory of your Lord."

Reference: Quran 15:97-98

Responding to Insults with Patience

Declare it. Someone swore you. You say, alhamdulillah. Is it possible? The problem with us when someone swears us, we don't know the guidance, we don't even have hope in the mercy of Allah. We swear them back with a double swear word.

We swear them back. They called us one animal, we call them ten animals. What was the difference? It just shows our vocabulary is a little bit wider and broader than theirs. That's not what a mu'min is.

Someone swears you and you can smile. And you can say, Oh Allah, guide him. He doesn't know. That is a true believer. You have hope. You are living with a smile on your face. You don't need to get angry.

Anger will destroy you. It will destroy your health. It will destroy your relationships.

The Broad Mercy of Allah

Wallahi, my brothers and sisters, there are so many examples of people who caused and committed blasphemy against Allah and His Rasul (صلى الله عليه وسلم). And Allah guided them to the deen and they came through, in such a manner that nobody would have imagined this victory.

Take a look at Khalid ibn al-Walid ibn al-Mughirah (may Allah be pleased with them). Take a look at this man. He says, there is no place on my body without the mark of a weapon. And yet he didn't die in the battlefield. And prior to Islam, he caused a lot of harm to the Muslims.

But there was hope in the mercy of Allah. The Prophet Muhammad (صلى الله عليه وسلم) said:

(Source Name)

Ma mithlu Khalid yajhalu al-Islam

"A man with the brain of Khalid ibn al-Walid so intelligent, so powerful. He cannot be ignorant of the fact that Islam is the true religion."

Reference: Sirah Ibn Hisham

The dua, what happened? This man came through, shocking. Everyone was shocked. Prior to that, there were other shocks. But they knew, the sahaba (may Allah be pleased with them) knew, don't underestimate the mercy of Allah.

Wa rahmatee wasi'at kulla shay'

"The mercy of Allah is absolutely broad. The mercy of Allah has encompassed everything."

Reference: Quran 7:156

That's the mercy of Allah. We ask Allah to have mercy on us.

Two Types of Difficulties

My brothers, my sisters, without lengthening much, I wish to remind you of something very interesting. The difficulties can be divided into many different categories. But two main categories, those in this world and those of the hereafter.

I promise you, the difficulties of this world, if you manage them correctly as a believer, you will never have difficulties in the hereafter. Some people who don't manage their difficulties and hardships in this world properly, Allah speaks about them by saying:

Khasira ad-dunya wa al-akhirah dhalika huwa al-khusranu al-mubeen

"They have lost this world, and they have also lost the afterlife. That is indeed a clear-cut loss."

Reference: Quran 22:11

Would you like to be from among those? No. So don't lose hope in the mercy of Allah.

Hadiths on Being a True Muslim

And this is why the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) on more than one occasion has spoken about how a true Muslim is he who doesn't use his tongue or his hands to harm anyone.

(Source Name)

Al-Muslim man salima al-Muslimuna min lisanihi wa yadihi

"A Muslim is one from whom other Muslims are safe from his tongue and his hand."

(Source Name)

Al-Muslim man salima an-nasu min lisanihi wa yadihi

"A Muslim is the one whom the other people are saved from the evil of his tongue and his hand."

Reference: Sahih al-Bukhari 10, Sahih Muslim 41

One narration actually says, a Muslim is the one whom the other people are saved from the evil of his tongue and his hand, which means no verbal abuse and no physical abuse.

There are other narrations that speak about mankind at large:

(Source Name)

La yarham Allah man la yarham an-nas

"Allah does not have mercy on the one who doesn't have mercy on the rest of the people."

Reference: Sahih al-Bukhari 7376, Sahih Muslim 2319

Practical Guidance for Parents and Children

A young boy came to me a few moments ago in this masjid and told me, I have a question to ask you. He said, you know, I want to choose a certain field and my father, my mother want me to choose a certain field and I really don't want the field they want. I'm so interested in something else. What do I do?

What can I say? Develop a relationship with your parents. Talk to them, talk to them again. Convince them, tell them, I'm not keen on this and that.

And my beloved parents, listen to your children. Every day we have hundreds of young girls telling us, my father is forcing me to marry my cousin. Every day. And we have hundreds of divorces every day telling us that I didn't want to marry the person I married. I was in love with someone else.

I am not condoning what they may have done. But I'm telling the parents, something is wrong with the way you brought up your children. Either you were too hard and you didn't understand how to communicate with your children.

Let the children communicate with you. If what they want is not haram, facilitate it for them, my brothers and sisters. If Allah allowed it, who are you to disallow it?

The children belong to Allah. Allah gave them to you temporarily just to see what you would do. Are you going to do what we asked you to do? Or you're going to do what your whims and fancies want?

Are you ready to follow the hadith of the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) when he tells you: