Ismail ibn Musa Menk Building Bridges - Blessings Of A Lawful Income
By Mufti Menk | 2026-01-12T06:30:43.511395+00:00 | Topic: Quran
Building Bridges - Blessings Of A Lawful Income
Mufti Menk
Opening Praise and Testimony
الْحَمْدُ لِلَّهِ، الْحَمْدُ لِلَّهِ الَّذِي هَدَانَا لِهَذَا وَمَا كُنَّا لِنَهْتَدِيَ لَوْلَا أَنْ هَدَانَا اللَّهُ ، وَأَعُوذُ بِاللَّهِ مِنْ شُرُورِ أَنْفُسِنَا وَمِنْ سَيِّئَاتِ أَعْمَالِنَا، مَنْ يَهْدِهِ اللَّهُ فَلَا مُضِلَّ لَهُ، وَمَنْ يُضْلِلْ فَلَا هَادِيَ لَهُ، وَأَشْهَدُ أَنْ لَا إِلَهَ إِلَّا اللَّهُ وَحْدَهُ لَا شَرِيكَ لَهُ، وَأَشْهَدُ أَنَّ مُحَمَّدًا عَبْدُهُ وَرَسُولُهُ وَصَفِيُّهُ وَخَلِيلُهُ وَخِيَرَتُهُ مِنْ خَلْقِهِ، صَلَوَاتُ رَبِّي وَسَلَامُهُ عَلَيْهِ وَعَلَى آلِهِ وَأَصْحَابِهِ الْكِرَام
All praise is due to Allah, all praise is due to Allah who guided us to this and we would not have been guided if Allah had not guided us. I seek refuge in Allah from the evils of our souls and from the bad consequences of our deeds. Whoever Allah guides, no one can misguide him, and whoever Allah misguides, no one can guide him. I bear witness that there is no deity worthy of worship except Allah alone with no partner, and I bear witness that Muhammad is His servant and messenger, His chosen one and beloved, the best of His creation. May the prayers and peace of my Lord be upon him and upon his family and noble companions.
After that, fear Allah, O servants of Allah, and fear a day when you will return to Allah. Then every soul will be compensated for what it earned, and they will not be treated unjustly.
The Importance of Consciousness of Allah
My beloved in Allah, fear Allah the Mighty and Majestic, for indeed whoever fears Allah, He will protect him.
My brothers and sisters, it is important to be conscious of Allah, for indeed it is only he or she who is conscious of Allah, who will be saved from all forms of calamity and disaster in this world as well as the next. We ask Allah to bless us.
The Impact of Food on Physical and Spiritual Health
My brothers and sisters, you know that if you were to put into your mouth any food, it would have an impact on your health. If you were to eat that which has a lot of fat in it, perhaps your cholesterol levels will be affected and your blood may become thicker or it may result in the clogging of your arteries. Also, if a person consumes that which is very sweet all the time, it is important for that person to realize that his health will be affected. Too much sugar will have an impact on you.
Similarly, when a person already has a sugar problem, the minute they eat a small sweet, they have an impact of that sugar. They can immediately feel the effect of the sugar in their bodies. Whenever we eat something that our body does not accept or react to, it happens almost instantly. You have people who put sometimes fish, if that fish is not fresh or if it is stale, as soon as you eat it, what happens? You know you might come out with a skin disease. You know you might need an antihistamine, for example, in order to protect yourself from what? From the physical sickness that was a result of what you put in your mouth.
The Spiritual Impact of Lawful and Unlawful Food
I want to inform you today from this beautiful pulpit that wallahi, if what you put in your mouth has an effect on your physical health, it definitely has an effect on your spiritual health as well. You need to know this. Don't think for a moment that "I will put something in my mouth, it might affect my health, but it will never affect my iman. It will not affect my relation with Allah. It will not affect my spirituality." Wallahi, it affects your spirituality before it affects your physical health, and we are taught this.
Allah has told it to us from the beginning, when He instructs us. He has instructed us to eat only that which is permissible, and not only permissible but pure.
"O you who believe, eat from the good things which We have provided for you and be grateful to Allah if it is [indeed] Him that you worship."
So as worshipers, and if we claim to be worshipers, we will make sure that we consume only that which is pure and we thank Allah. If you don't show gratitude, you are not considered a true worshiper, and if you don't consume that which is halal and you wander into that which is haram, how can you call yourself a true worshiper?
Building Relationship with Allah Through Halal Consumption
In fact, by consuming that which is halal, we develop a relationship with Allah because we've realized He made us. He has decided what is pure and what is not, and if we really take what He said, we will develop a relationship with Him that will be strong. And when we develop that relationship, we will protect ourselves from being harmed or punished by Allah.
He speaks about the eating of usury and interest, and He says:
"And if you do not, then be informed of a war [against you] from Allah and His Messenger."
If you are not going to quit the consumption of usury and interest, then you need to know that war has been declared against you by Allah and His Messenger. Which means if you are going to save yourself from the consumption of interest and usury, you will save yourself from Allah and His Rasul declaring war against you, so you will be at peace.
The Light and Darkness of Halal and Haram
When you consume halal, you will be at peace. Indeed, the consumption of that which is halal and pure, even if it is less, will have a nur and a light that will develop in your heart. Your heart becomes filled with the love of Allah as a result of consuming that which is halal, because if one consumes that which is haram, a darkness appears in the heart. The heart is affected. A person will find it difficult to worship Allah.
Someone says, "I feel lazy to get up for Salatul Fajr" - check your income. "I feel lazy to read the Quran" - check your income. "I feel lazy to worship Allah" - check your income. "I feel encouraged to commit haram" - check your income. "I find it very attractive to commit adultery" - check your income.
My brothers and sisters, that is a reality. Your income affects your mind because as soon as you put something in your mouth, it affects your tongue, it affects your eyes.
The Connection Between Halal Income and Pure Actions
A person who is worried about halal income will find it very easy to lower his or her gaze, because he knows: if I am struggling and striving to earn only that which is halal and to eat only that which is halal, how can I find it difficult to lower my gaze when having a relationship with your wife is considered part of rizq and part of your sustenance? Your wife, your children are part of your sustenance. So when you are bothered and concerned about halal sustenance, automatically you will be concerned about staying away from haram when it comes to relationship with the opposite sex.
When a person is blessed by Allah to earn that which is halal and to consume that which is halal, automatically his heart becomes clear, his heart becomes clean to the degree that he understands the rest of the commands of Allah. You have a beautiful understanding of the Quran. The Quran and the Sunnah have an impact on you, unlike if a person is eating haram all the time and they are not worried about halal.
The Effect of Haram Income on Spiritual Reception
They can hear one verse, another verse, one hadith, another hadith - it will not impact them. They will become angry, they will become upset, they will turn further and further away from Allah and His Rasul. My brother, my sister, because your income is haram, that's the reason why there is no impact upon you. You are not affected by that which Allah has said and that which His Rasul said. So if you are not
impacted by Allah and His Rasul and by the Quran and its words, perhaps you need to go back and check your income and you need to seek the forgiveness of Allah.
Peace and Tranquility Through Lawful Earnings
Similarly, halal income brings about a calmness, something known as calmness in your heart, which results in you walking on earth without a worry. When you have haram income, unlawful income, you are worried. You might get caught. Someone might see you. Someone might watch you. Perhaps the tax man might come and he might arrest you. He might investigate you. You are worried.
But if you have consumed that which is lawful, no matter who investigates you, you are not worried. "Sit here my brother, investigate all my files." You don't need to worry. Subhanallah. May Allah grant us the ability to be calm and may He protect us from worry and may He grant us halal income.
So if you have halal income, you can sleep at ease. When you have haram income, even your sleep goes away because Allah wants to show you that there are certain things that you cannot buy with money.
The Materialism Warning
Brothers and sisters, we have become so materialistic today that we would not mind doing anything to earn a dollar or two, a pound or two, a rupee or two. We would not mind doing something haram for as long as we have the income. Let's change that. Let's get closer to Allah. Money will not bring about any form of happiness if it comes with the anger of Allah, if it comes in transgression of the command of Allah.
But if you are earning halal, we are taught that it will save you. It will save your health as well. When you earn halal, your health is protected. Allah gives you good health, and if Allah gives you a sickness, it will be a sickness whereby you are content. You are a happy person. You are not upset and angry.
The Contrast in Dealing with Illness
Some people, they have a small cough or a little flu, or some form of temperature, something light, and they are so depressed as though they are going to die. Whereas there are others who have such a disease that it seems they will die because of that, but they are happy with Allah. They are calm. They die with a smile. Tell me, who has a better life there? May Allah grant cure to all those who are sick and ill.
The Body as a Vehicle Analogy
Similarly, when we earn halal, we begin to fear Allah in a beautiful way. We become closer to Allah. All the ibadah becomes easy for us because our whole body is now being fed the most beautiful fuel, and that is halal fuel.
When you have a motor vehicle, you know what type of fuel you need to use depending on what type of car it is. They will tell you this is diesel; you cannot put petrol in a diesel vehicle. The same applies: your body needs halal; you cannot put haram in that halal vehicle.
Similarly, if it needs a specific type of diesel, maybe specific purity of that diesel, if you use a better fuel, you get a better running of the motor and the engine. You get better service from that vehicle. The same applies to this vehicle known as the body. When you eat unleaded food - what I mean by unleaded here is when you're eating that which is halal and pure and the best - your body will run in the best way. Your engine will be flowing in such a smooth way. You will enjoy worshipping Allah. You will increase your worship of Allah. When you read the Quran, you are swimming in the beauty of that Quran, because you know my income is halal. May Allah make it that way. May Allah forgive our shortcomings.
The Effect on Mind and Thoughts
Similarly, we have something that is extremely powerful. When we consume halal, our organs encourage us to fulfill that which is halal, and they encourage us actually to go further into the obedience of Allah. So your hand automatically reaches out towards that which is good. Allah gives you acceptance to make the correct decisions, because your mind is being nurtured by nutrients that are halal. The fuel used to make you think is halal, so you do not have dirty thoughts.
Whereas when you have something haram in you, what would happen is only dirty thoughts quench your thirst. Pornography will quench your eyes. Touching haram will quench the need of your hand because everything is haram. But when it is halal, only touching halal will help you. It will quench your need. Similarly, looking at halal will quench that need of your eyes, for example. It will make you thankful to Allah. Your brain will have the best of thoughts. You think good about your brothers and sisters, and you actually enjoy the beautiful thoughts. You look at the creation of Allah and literally you get closer to Allah because you think with a pure mind. There is no contamination, no dirt in your filter. May Allah help us.
The Blessing of Barakah in Lawful Income
My brothers and sisters, another very powerful blessing of lawful income is something known as barakah. Barakah is blessing itself and the increase of that blessing. When Allah gives you that which is halal because you are bothered about looking for it and searching for it, when you have a small figure, a small amount, you actually have a lot of blessing in it, so much so that you did so many things and you still have some change.
But when your wealth has come to you through prohibited means, illegal, unlawful means, then even if you have had the millions and the billions, they will deplete or it will deplete very quickly and you won't know where did my money go. "I had a million last week and today I am bankrupt. What happened?" And there is a poor man out there who only had 1000 last week and today he still has 900 remaining. Allahu Akbar. What happened? It's barakah. Ask Allah for blessing.
Barakah in Marriage and Family
Allah is showing you that you don't need the figure; you actually need the blessing in whatever you have been given. That's what you need.
When Allah blesses you with a spouse, you don't need the prettiest woman, but you need the best mother of your children. When Allah blesses you with a husband, you don't need the most handsome or the wealthiest, but you need a man who will help you to earn your paradise and he will be a good guide to your children as a father. That is the blessing.
How does this come about? It comes about when you are concerned from a young age to consume only that which is halal. It will help you to make a decision as to who to marry, because your marriage is based on halal also. But when you are not worried about eating and you only want to eat no matter what it is, you are not bothered about what it is, you want to eat and continue eating. It results in your health deteriorating, your mind unable to make good decisions that will please Allah. Decisions of your whole life will not be able to be made correctly because of the contamination of that mind.
Blessed Offspring Through Halal Consumption
Similarly, when you have consumed halal, your reproductive system has barakah in it. Something strange you might be surprised: if you have consumed that which is halal and you are bothered about eating that which is halal, Allah blesses the offspring that He gives you with such great blessing that they become the coolness of your eyes and they are not a means of punishment for you. Allahu Akbar.
So if you want good children, check your income. Look at how you earned. Look at the food you fed yourself, and look at what you fed your spouse and look at what you fed your children.
This is why Muhammad ﷺ says:
(Bukhari 1006, Muslim 1006)
"An act of charity is to put a morsel of halal food into the mouth of your wife."
Subhanallah, to put a morsel, one handful of halal food into the mouth of your spouse or your children is an act of sadaqah and charity, an act of worship, because the effect is far-reaching. It will reach right up to your children and grandchildren and beyond by the will of Allah. You have sowed a seed of goodness. But when you have a seed that has in it something haram, something halal, what type of blessing do you want from the children that Allah has given you? May Allah forgive us.
Answered Prayers Through Pure Consumption
Another very powerful point and a blessing of lawful income is something mentioned in the hadith where
(Tirmidhi 2910)
Rasulullah ﷺ says to Sa'd ibn Abi Waqqas:
"O Sa'd ibn Abi Waqqas, make what you eat and consume pure and Allah will answer all your du'as one by one, all your supplications Allah will answer them."
You raise your hand to Allah, He will respond immediately how you want it. Why? Because your system is fully halal, fully halal. You are with Allah, Allah is with you. Remember that. So even if you have very little, you might be a poor man under a tree, but you only eat halal. The day you raise your hands, trust me, you will be mustajab al-da'wa. That call that you called out to Allah is far more important than one who is not even bothered about halal and haram. He eats anything and he does anything.
The Rejected Prayer Due to Haram Consumption
Look at the hadith. The Prophet ﷺ speaks of a man who after a long journey, having struggled and suffered - and we see that happening on the globe today where people are suffering and struggling they raise their hands to Allah. They are making du'a to Allah: "O Allah, alleviate my suffering. O Allah, cure me. O Allah, grant me. O Allah, bless me. O Allah, protect me. O Allah, give me."
(Muslim 1015)
The hadith says: "But that person's food is haram, his drink is haram, his clothing is haram, and his body has been nurtured by haram, so how can we respond to that man?"
Subhanallah. You want the response of Allah? Sort out your clothing. You want the response of Allah? Sort out your food, make sure it's halal. You want the response from Allah? Sort out your drink. You want the response from Allah? Make sure you are nurtured with that which is halal, and what will happen? Allah will come to your rescue. Subhanallah.
But we call out to Allah. Here is the hadith. We want a response, but we don't respond to Allah. When Allah told you to eat in a specific way, to be careful and bothered about halal and haram, we say no. We call interest profit. We call usury something else. We give it a beautiful name, and we try to justify ourselves, when the hadith clearly says that is war against Allah and his Rasul. May Allah safeguard us.
The Car Engine Analogy
So this is why we say, my beloved brothers and sisters in Islam, that when a person consumes, he needs to make sure that what he consumes is fit for his engine, for indeed if it is not, if there is dirt in it, wallahi my brothers and sisters, it will affect the smooth running of your engine and it will make your vehicle jerk and it might even make your vehicle stop on the road and you might have to change the filter by engaging in tawbah.
The beauty is: you put diesel into the petrol car. What happened? It stopped. The car was totally blocked and clogged. It's not working. So what do you do? You cannot throw away this car. It is a Mercedes. It is a new one, but it was a mistake you made. What you do? You need to go back. Mend your ways. Pay a little bit of money. Subhanallah. Perhaps remove the tank. The professionals will tell you: they will empty it, they will drain it, they will then put the correct fuel in it, give you a warning, and they will give you your vehicle. Drive it as it was once again with a smile on the roads of Colombo.
The Path of Repentance
The same applies. You made a mistake. Haram income happened. Everything happened wrong. Turn back to Allah. Empty your system. Go back to that which is halal. Repent to Allah. Seek His forgiveness. That will result in the changing of your tank, new filter, new tank. "I will never make that mistake again. I can enjoy living this beautiful life until I meet with Allah." These are words that we learn from.
The Balance of Hope and Fear
My brothers and sisters, in Islam, the beauty of the religion is whenever advice comes to you, whenever powerful words come to you, you need to know that those words are always kept with hope more than fear. We started off by making mention of the beautiful effects of lawful income and the blessings that come with lawful income, and we also touched on how unlawful income impacts on a person, and his life and his health, and his wealth and his children, and his surroundings, and everything else.
Call to Repentance
And we want to end by reminding you and myself to turn to Allah. It's never too late. You can still earn the blessings of Allah. Your children can still be the coolness of your eyes. You need to go back, and you need to ask Allah's forgiveness.
"O Allah, forgive our sins. O Allah, from this platform we are begging for forgiveness. O Allah, it's a Friday, it's a beautiful day, it is a blessed hour. Forgive our sins. Grant us halal income. O Allah, you know that it has become so difficult for us to preserve ourselves, to protect ourselves from that which is haram, but with your help and with our dedication, with your mercy, you will help us to stay away from that which is haram. O Allah, forgive the mistakes we have made. O Allah, help us, and help our offspring. O Allah, help us become charitable. Help us pay our zakah and our charities on time and in a beautiful way. And O Allah, the day we return to you, have mercy on us."
Creating Awareness of Halal
My brothers and sisters, it is absolutely important for us to create this beautiful awareness of that which is halal and pure, that which is lawful, for indeed it has a very big impact on ourselves and our lives.
Allah says:
"O you who have believed, eat of the good things which We have provided for you, and be thankful to Allah if it is He whom you worship."
And Allah says:
"O you who have believed, fear Allah and give up what remains [due to you] of interest, if you should be believers. And if you do not, then be informed of a war [against you] from Allah and His Messenger. But if you repent, you may have your principal."
Balance Between Business and Prayer
Similarly, when it comes to Friday, Allah says it is not prohibited to do business. You can do business and you should do business, but make sure that when the time of the message comes of Jumu'ah, you make sure you find yourself in the house of Allah.
"O you who have believed, when [the adhan] is called for the prayer on the day of Jumu'ah [Friday], then proceed to the remembrance of Allah and leave trade."
Allah says: "Then rush, make haste to the remembrance of Allah," and go and seek from the virtue of Allah.
The Simplicity of Life's Needs
Brothers and sisters, how much are you going to use in your life? A very small amount. When you amass a lot of wealth, my brothers and sisters, it becomes very dangerous. It is not bad to amass wealth, but it is bad to amass that which is impure, which is unclean.
Purification Through Charity
One of the ways of purifying your wealth is by being charitable. The Quran speaks about it:
"Take from their wealth a charity by which you purify them and cause them increase."
Speaking of zakah, that will be their purification. When you give money, charity, zakah, sadaqah, it purifies you and it purifies the rest of your income. So become charitable - not just 2.5% that is compulsory. Go
beyond that, well beyond that. Give and be a nation that gives a lot. Allah will purify you.
Warning Signs of the End Times
I end by making mention of a reminder where the Prophet ﷺ warns us of a sign of the hour and he says:
(Bukhari 2059)
"There will come a time when a man will not be bothered about what he is consuming, whether it is halal or haram."
When that happens, you need to know that the hour is very near. Qiyamah is very near. I hope and I pray that we are not from amongst those who are not bothered. We need to check our income. May Allah make it easy for us.
Closing Prayer
I seek forgiveness from Allah for myself and for you and for all Muslims. So seek His forgiveness, indeed He is the Forgiving, the Merciful.