Ismail ibn Musa Menk Divine Inspiration
By Mufti Menk | 2026-01-12T06:50:51.441694+00:00 | Topic: Quran
Divine Inspiration - Mufti Menk
Opening and Greetings
As-Salaamu Alaykum Bismillahir Rahmanir Raheem. Alhamdulillahi wa as-salatu wa as-salamu ala Rasulillahi wa ala alihi wa ashabihi ajma'een. All praise is indeed due to Allah. Blessings and salutations upon Muhammad, his household, his companions. May Allah bless them all and may Allah bless you all and your offspring, those to come up to the end. May Allah bless the ummah and humanity at large.
Ameen. My brothers and sisters, it is indeed an honor and a pleasure to be here in this beautiful city of Sydney, here in the lovely country of Australia, mashallah. Especially with the beautiful brothers and sisters, mashallah, here who have filled this venue, mashallah tabarakallah.
May Allah accept it from us. I will be speaking inshallah for approximately an hour. And I hope that it will be of benefit to myself and to everyone who is here by the will of Allah.
The Purpose of Divine Revelation
So, my brothers and sisters, have you ever asked yourself, why did Allah reveal the Quran? To answer that question, you need to go back to the Quran. It is divine inspiration. It is that which came from Allah.
Before the Quran, Allah has sent down other books. The Torah, the Injil, the Zubur, the books to Dawud AS, the Prophet David, may peace be upon him, known as the Psalms. And the Quran came down in a different way.
It came down over a period of 23 years. And Allah tells us why it was spaced out. Every time an incident occurred, a verse would be revealed in order to explain what was the ruling about that which had occurred.
And Allah says, we revealed this book for a reason. Many of us, we look at the Quran, we read it, we recite it, but we've never looked at its meaning. And some of us who have looked at its meaning, we don't ponder deeply over the verses that Allah has sent down.
"A book referring here to the Quran that we have sent down that is blessed in order that its verses be pondered over deeply and that it may be a reminder to those who have sound intellect."
So the reason of revelation of the Quran was that or is that we need to look into the verses of the Quran. We need to ponder deeply over these verses in order for us to be able to achieve the mercy of Allah.
"If you want to achieve the mercy of Allah, then when the Quran is being recited, not only keep quiet but listen attentively in order for you to achieve that mercy."
The Purpose of Human Creation
So my brothers and sisters, what I have for you this evening is part of the message that has been revealed by Allah to us through Muhammad. In it, Allah explains why He made us, why He created us.
"I have not created mankind or jinkind except so that they worship Me."
And I know sometimes when you speak to the children about this, they always say, does that mean I need to stand in salah all day? Does that mean I need to read my Quran all day? Because according to them, that is worship. But according to us, worship is actually your lifestyle.
Worship Through Proper Dress and Conduct
I was speaking a few days ago in the city of Cape Town in South Africa, and I said, brothers and sisters, did you know that clothing, this clothing that I'm wearing, the clothing that we all wear is actually considered an ibadah, an act of worship. So every time you dress, ask yourself, have I just engaged in an act of worship? If the answer is yes, and you feel like what you've done is an act of worship, you've dressed correctly. And if you feel otherwise, you need to correct yourself inshallah.
I hope that's a beautiful point of pondering. Because it is an act of worship. When Allah asks you to clothe yourself, and Allah provides for you, and you've bought the clothing, you need to make sure that when you wear it, you wear it in such a way that you feel this was indeed an act of worship.
If you do feel that, you're in the right direction. If you don't, inshallah, you can improve. And I think we all can, I can too.
May Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala make it easy for everyone of us and for our children. Ameen. Remember, as the generations are passing, the clothing is becoming... clothing is becoming... worse.
As I heard this side say, you know, just as well they turned off the lights. MashaAllah. So I can't say the brothers or sisters, mashaAllah.
So, yes, it is. It's becoming worse. Sometimes it becomes embarrassing.
So all we need to do as believers is remember it's an act of worship. That's all. No more than that.
The Importance of Good Company
Like I always tell the younger people that Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala teaches us in the Quran, in suratul Furqan. And Furqan, by the way, is the criterion. You know, the ability to distinguish between right and wrong is not easy.
But Allah says, we've revealed the Quran to help you do that. So those who want to be good, they need to have good friends, good company. Those who don't have good company, they may falter somewhere.
They may develop the bad habits because of those around them. You know, the way you speak is quite closely determined by those who you interact with on a daily basis. Even if your language is clear, and it's good, and it's pure, and you stay away from foul language, there will come a time when if all those around you happen to use certain language, you will start using the same language.
Right? Correct, subhanallah. So Allah says in suratul Furqan regarding company, and this is the most important thing I think for all of us today, especially living in the West. If you have good company, like- minded people, those who are concerned about their faith, those who are beautiful in their character and conduct, you become like them.
Allah speaks of the one who did wrong, the sinful person, known as a dhalim, the one who oppressed himself. And Allah says on the day of judgment, that person will be in so much of regret that he will be chewing his own hands, or he will be biting his hands. Biting his hands is a terminology in the Arabic language to express the height of regret.
When someone regrets in a big way, they say, he's biting his hands. And why would he be biting his hands? Allah says, he would say:
"oh I should have taken the path of the messenger. And I hope, I wish that I didn't have, I did not have such and such a person as a friend of mine because that person led me astray after Allah had guided me." (Quran 25:27-29)
And this shows the importance of good company. Allah tells us something very beautiful. Allah says, you know what? You maintain the company of those who are truthful, those who are good, those who are godly.
True Piety and Character
When I say godly, I mean, did you know that the sign of piety is not only that you read your five salah, or you've given your zakah, you're in charity, or that you've been for hajj. That's not only the sign of piety. That's a part of it.
But to be able to distinguish really between the truly pious and those who are not, you look at their character. If you prayed with the right intention and the right attitude, it will show up in your character. You become a person who is softer.
You become a person who's more loving, more caring. You become a person who speaks to others in a dignified way. You become a person who's concerned about the rest of the creatures of Allah because you realize that it is the same maker who made you, who made the rest of us.
The same one who made you, made the animals. So you become compassionate towards the dogs and the kittens. Well, kittens a little bit easier because the sound, you know, attracts us sometimes.
I'm sure you've heard that, right? So what happens? You're attracted. You feel, oh, wow, kitten. But when you hear the woof-woof, sometimes that's not as sweet, right? So, if you are kind towards a dog, it's a sign that you've understood the plan of your maker.
If he did not want there to be dogs, he wouldn't have made them. Do you agree? He's powerful. He chose that there would be dogs.
He chose that there would be cats, there would be animals, there would be people. From among the people, there would be Muslim, there would be non-Muslim, there would be good Muslims and bad. Bad meaning those who are far from perhaps obedience, but who knows upon which condition people will die.
This is why, don't judge. Keep on trying to spread good. Whether you see the result in your life or not is besides the point.
The Messenger's Duty
Look at what Allah says to the messenger. Again, divine inspiration:
"The duty of the messenger is only to convey the message in a clear way."
That's his duty. He cannot shove the guidance down the throats of the people.
Allah says to Muhammadsallallahu alayhi wasallam, "You don't guide whomsoever you wish, but Allah guides whomsoever He wishes."
You just fulfill your obligation of conveying the message. الرسول meaning a messenger, his job is to convey the message. What you do with that message, you are answerable to Allahsubhanahu wa ta'ala.
Look at another verse where Allahsubhanahu wa ta'ala says to Muhammadsallallahu alayhi wasallam regarding the message. And those who listen, those who don't listen, those who obey, those who don't, Allahsubhanahu wa ta'ala says:
"Indeed, your duty is to convey the message. Our duty is to judge, to take accounts."
Our duty is to do the hisab, to take account of their deeds. There were people who accepted Islam after Muhammadsallallahu alayhi wasallam, subhanallah. There are people who will accept Islam after your time, yet they were not Muslim during your time.
Understand, you need to reach out to them. With what? Primarily with your character, your conduct. Because no one wants to listen to a person whose character and conduct is not exemplary.
It's not good. Imagine someone comes to you and says, Hey, I want to tell you something. And their expression on their face is such that you run away.
We do it sometimes, don't we? May Allah forgive us. Speak to people with a smile. A smile is an act of worship, an act of charity.
The Power of a Smile
Why an act of charity? Charity is normally when you give someone something material. Well, that is because a smile is more than what money can offer.
You know, when you work for someone, they pay you a fat salary, a thick salary.
MashaAllah, beautiful, you know, big amount that they're giving you every month. But they maltreat you, they swear you, they abuse you. You don't want to work there anymore.
And you tell them, keep your money, I'm out of here. Because I don't like the attitude. Don't you agree? Yes.
Subhanallah. It's the attitude. So, develop a good attitude.
When you smile, those who might be sad, depressed, they see you, guess what? They smile back. And when they smile back, do you know what happens?
They feel good. That good feeling is priceless, priceless.
And therefore, the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam says:
(Tirmidhi hadith 1956)
"To smile at the face of your brother is actually an act of worship."
Subhanallah. So, you go around smiling and see how you change the world.
You change the world with a smile. I don't know if any of you have come across a video that someone had posted up on the internet of a little trial or an experiment that they did on a train. I think it was a train in the UK, where there was a little guy who was standing with his phone and he started laughing to show that it's contagious.
He looked at his phone and he kept laughing and he laughed loud and he laughed even louder. And he kept on laughing until the people around him began to laugh at the way he was laughing and the others laughed at the way those were laughing and everyone started laughing and the whole train, everyone's laughing. Subhanallah.
Why? It's contagious. Well, we're talking about a smile. You don't have to ha ha ha, but you have to ee ee ee, right? May Allahsubhanahu wa ta'ala make it easy.
And trust me, the best smile, the most genuine smile is that when you don't have teeth, subhanallah. Or you're showing your dentures, or you're showing your skewed teeth. Everyone has a problem with their teeth, including myself perhaps.
But no one really notices. That's your identity. That's what makes you, you.
Yes, if there's something wrong, the food is getting stuck. If it's really bad, you go and have yourself some railway tracks, subhanallah. And I remember the first time when I was young and I heard the term railway tracks.
I used to think, gosh, do they have trains in their mouth? You know, a train going down a railway track. But because of what it looks like, it's called that.
You can have it if you'd like.
But smile, subhanallah. You'll find it, it's a charity. And then what happens, people come closer to you.
Because of what? Not because you've read five salah a day, or because you were dressed appropriately. Because of your character. That's what brings them closer.
The Foundation of Prayer
And this is why the importance of the five salah is in its place. We cannot change it. It's a pillar of the deen.
Allah Almighty is going to ask you one of the first things as you leave the world, did you pray? Did you pray on time? The hadith says, if the answer for that is positive and good, then the rest of it will be easy. And if it's not positive and good, oh, you have none to blame but yourself. So inshallah, we do a bit better when it comes to our five daily prayers.
Will we? Inshallah, inshallah, we will. Wallahi, it's something that we should never compromise. It's a gift of Allah.
But that being in its place, its effect immediately shows in your character. If you had the right intention when you were fulfilling your salah, you begin to think and feel, you know what? I've got brothers and sisters. They all are worshipping Allahsubhanahu wa ta'ala in one way or another.
Some of them might actually be doing wrong. Some of them might be doing less wrong than I. But I need to make sure I understand they are all beloved creatures of Allahsubhanahu wa ta'ala. Everyone is, everyone is.
And so I must make sure that my attitude is correct. That's when you'll become a good Muslim, a good Muslim, when your attitude is correct. Sadly, unfortunately, I have to admit, many of us, the more we feel
we have outwardly obeyed the instruction of Allah, the more we forget about our character and conduct and the development of the heart.
It becomes filled with hatred. It becomes filled with so many words of hurt. I recall young people come to me and say, Why do you talk to those guys? I say, Why? You know, they are kuffar.
I say, What? He says, Yeah, they are kuffar. And you go to those guys and say, Well, these guys are kuffar. What's gonna happen? Oh, they're going to Jahannam.
Don't waste your time with them. I say, Oh, they're going to Jahannam. Well, you said they're going to Jahannam.
They said you're going to Jahannam. The third party said both of you are going to Jahannam. A fourth guy said all three of you are going to Jahannam.
So, hang on. Why was Jannah made in the first place? Who's going to be there? Is it going to be empty? I'm sure Jannah is going to bring every one of us in it, inshallah. Allah knows.
We're going to keep trying. We're going to keep speaking. We're going to keep reminding each other to be the best of people.
And the minute you become a better person and the minute you're fulfilling your obligations unto Allah Almighty, trust me, you're heading towards paradise, not towards hell.
Allah's Mercy and Justice
You are dealing with a man who says to us that the maker himself has said
- Describing the day of judgment, MuhammadSallallahu Alaihi Wasallam tells us that Allah has revealed to him, and this is a verse of the Quran, "all the sounds and all the voices will be silenced on that day. You won't even hear a whisper."
Silenced for whom? He didn't say for Allah. He didn't say for the most powerful. He didn't say for the one who's going to punish the people on that day.
He says (لِلرَّحْمٰنِ) - Have you thought of that? For the most merciful. So the day he's going to judge, he's saying, there will be dead silence because of the most merciful. Wow! A young boy asked a question, who is going to take account of my deeds on the day of judgment? He was answered, Allah.
When he heard that, he says, I'm not worried because Allah is Ghafoor, Rahim, Rahman, and I know that He'll be fair with me, and He'll give me more than I deserve. What type of hope is that? Beautiful. Absolutely what we all need.
But that should not lead you to do bad and then think, you know what? Allah will have mercy on me. Let me tell you, the companions of MuhammadSallallahu Alaihi Wasallam asked him, Oh messenger, tell us
more about paradise. Tell us more about paradise.
Inform us about who will be in paradise and why they will be in paradise and what the qualities they had that would have resulted in them entering paradise. So he answered by saying two things, (تَقْوَى اللَّهِ وَحُسْنُ الْخُلْقِ). He says, two things will take you to paradise.
Piety, god consciousness, number one. And number two is good character and conduct. Do you know that the Prophet Muhammad Peace Be Upon Him says that a person can reach very high levels and stages with their good character and conduct.
How many of us have developed our character and we are Muslims. We don't even greet each other. We don't bother with those who are not Muslim sometimes thinking, you know what? They're not Muslim.
Guiding Others Through Character
Wallahi, you need to showcase your deen. Wallahi
(Bukhari hadith 2942)
Wallahi, "if Allah uses you to guide a single person, it's better for you than the red camel," meaning the most expensive conveyance that you can think of. At that time, it was the red camel. Today, what is it? Subhanallah, the most expensive conveyance.
Can someone say something? Yes? Someone says Ferrari. Someone says whatever else. Maybe an S-class Mercedes.
Perhaps a Tesla. What else? Well, whatever it is, you know. It's valuable.
100, 200, 300, 500, 1000, a million. I think vehicles get to a million sometimes, right? Maybe even more. Well, the Almighty says that, you know what? If you're used to guide a single person, it's better for you than that.
How many of us are ready to do this? Just with our character. Imagine people look at you, and they say, Wow, what a lovely brother. What a lovely sister.
And you know what? I'd like to be like this. I'm learning so much from this person. They're so full of positive energy.
Every time I feel so good because they have a good attitude. What are we taught? Another word of inspiration. We're taught that when good happens, you thank Allah, it's good for you.
When something negative happens, you still thank Allah, you bear patience, and that's good for you. Because life is filled with ups and downs, and you need to know, the day you feel low is the day you need to make a greater effort to get closer to Allah. And sometimes that's why Allah makes you have that feeling.
Tests as Signs of Allah's Love
A lot of us, unfortunately, when it comes to prayer, when it comes to obligations unto Allahsubhanahu wa ta'ala, do you know what happens to us sometimes? We become lazy. We become people who say, Allah is forgiving. And then when Allah wants and He loves us, He starts testing us.
Why does Allah say that
(Tirmidhi hadith 2396)
- "When Allah loves His slave, He begins or He tests them. He tests them when He loves them."
You know one of the reasons? One of the reasons is, when you are tested as a believer, your heart is softened.
You become a person who turns to Allah. You start reading salah better. You start calling out to Allah when perhaps you may not have done that in the past.
In the way, you are doing it now. How many of us, when we have a big problem, we get up very early for salatul tahajjud, that which is before the first prayer of the day, before the fajr. We get up and we cry to Allah, O Allah, help me.
I've got a problem. I've just been diagnosed with this. And it's such... May Allah grant us cure.
Say, Ameen. May Allah grant cure to all those who are sick and ill. I have so many names that are coming up in my mind right now of people who are struggling with sickness and ailment.
Whoever they are, wherever they are, may Allah grant them cure. Say, Ameen. And the same applies those who passed away.
May Allah have mercy on them. Ameen. So my brothers and sisters, imagine, you call out to Allah, and you cry, and Allah says, Oh, I love you in this condition.
I love you. Look at how softened you are. Look at how kind you are.
You know, when you've done something bad to someone, the day you're sick and ill, you're supposed to be regretting to say, Oh, I harmed this person. I shouldn't have done it. You might want to phone them.
You might want to place your pride aside and phone them and say, You know what? I'm not feeling too well. I was just thinking about my deeds, and I harmed you with my tongue the other day. I'm very sorry.
Please forgive me. That is a strong Muslim. To say, I'm sorry, is actually strength.
It shows that you're a powerful person. It requires strength to say, I'm sorry, I apologize. Many people don't apologize.
That's a weakness. That's a sign of pride and arrogance. That's not a strength.
Strength is when you can say, I'm sorry, I apologize, whether it's to your own children or parents or brothers, sisters, or neighbors, or those who are wealthy or not. Subhanallah. That's when you feel, You know what? I've done something.
So, when you're not well, when something's gone bad, you call out to Allah, you start mending your relations with people, your heart is softened, and Allah says, I love you in this condition. I'm sure you can relate to what I'm saying when you've had a difficulty suddenly you become a person who prays five times a day. The minute the difficulty goes, what happens? Salatul Fajr.
You're snoring such that you disturb those who are nearby. May Allah forgive you. Some people have this perpetual alarm clock.
You've seen it? You used to have earplugs. They say, If you hear me snore, you can use these earplugs. Brother, I've developed a mouth plug.
You can plug your mouth inshaAllah. May Allahsubhanahu wa ta'ala forgive us. So, we sleep over salah because the problem is no longer.
So Allah says, you know what? I loved you in the condition that you were when you had a problem, I'm going to give you a bigger one than the previous one. Here comes another big bang, boom. And what happened? Bigger problem.
So now you call out to Allah again, again. And when the problem comes a third time, you start visiting the sheikh, Sheikh, I think I have a jinn. Yeah, why? I don't know, I think I'm cursed.
I think my neighbor or my granny-in-law or whoever else has actually done something to me. That's how we think. Look at how weak you are when Allah blessed you and gave you a favor.
And He's telling you, you know, when you were in this condition, you actually were a better person. You softened up, you came closer to us. So my brothers and sisters, when you have a difficulty, understand your life should change not just for the moment of the difficulty, but it's a time to change it completely.
Dying in a Good State
It's a sign of the love of Allah because if you died whilst you were fulfilling your duties unto Allah, it's a good death. Recently we've been seeing people because obviously now communication has been made easy and we can see what's going on across the globe while it's happening or immediately after it's happened. We've seen people who've passed away in the masjid.
Did you see one of the muaddins? I think he must have been a Syrian brother who was in Jeddah not too long ago. And just before he called out the adhan, he passed away reading the Qur'an and he had the mushaf open. He passed away.
Did you see the other one of the Indonesian qari? He was reading surah al-mulk and as he's reading it, he says
and as he recited this verse, he dropped, he fell. (Quran 67:2) In front of everyone, he dropped. What do we call it? We call it (حُسْنُ الْخَاتِمَةِ)
And the hadith says:
"Do you know that? You will die as you used to live, the condition. So if you were doing something constantly, perhaps you will die in that condition. And you resurrected the way you died." (Musnad Ahmad hadith 8415)
So do good, be kind. When they die in salah, I saw a brother in one of the clips, he passed away in sujood, in sujood. So some of the youngsters said, Oh Allah, give us death in sujood.
Is that a good dua? Say it, is it a good dua? For someone to say, Oh Allah, grant me death in sujood. Is it a good dua? Yes, it is. But we're so hypocritical, we say, Oh Allah, give me a death in sujood.
But we don't do those sujood. So if you want death in sujood, then start reading five salah. And instead of saying (سُبْحَانَ رَبِّيَ الْأَعْلَى) once and you quickly up like a peacock.
You know? Yeah. The saddest part was one day I was... Let me try and be as vague as possible so that you don't know exactly where I was. But I was in a certain place, okay? And there were people reading salah and they were about to miss their appointment that they had.
And I saw them fulfilling salah in such a way that I felt like I don't want to join these guys because you know what? They're like little chickens pecking the ground. And then I heard these kids who were not Muslim saying, I don't know why these guys are doing yoga here. Yoga? And I looked at them and I said, no, that's not yoga.
So I said, what are they doing? Are they like, you know, gymming or something? I don't know, there was a word they used. It slips my mind now. But that's what they thought.
They thought perhaps these people are exercising. It's not exercise. You're doing it so quick, so fast.
Don't do that with sujood.
"What an inspiration. The closest that a slave can be to his maker is in the condition of prostration." (Muslim hadith 482)
Take your time in prostration. (سُبْحَانَ رَبِّيَ الْأَعْلَى) - "You are in the lowest possible position that you can get to comfortably as a human being. Your head is in the lowest possible position that you can get to comfortably as a human being.
And guess what? You are saying, Oh my maker, you are the highest. Glory be to you. You are the highest. Subhanallah. Here I am the lowest. That's why it's such a blessed position.
And if you were to take your time, say, read it five times for example, and you've read your five salah a day, and you fulfilled your units in a proper way, the chances of you dying in sujood become greater.
Right? So when I told that to some youngsters, you know what they say, the youngsters are always one ahead. You know our generation, we're considered dinosaurs.
Dinosaurs. They look at you and say, Huh, you guys belong to the previous century. You know, when were you born? Nineteen something, right? Yeah, nineteen something.
I was born in 2001. 2001. So I always say, Well, I can tell you in 1999, people thought you were never going to come.
Subhanallah. Do you remember that? Y2K. I remember that.
The fact that you guys have laughed, you're also 1900s, okay? We're the same model. Mashallah, Tabarakallah. So, these youngsters, do you know what they said to me? Well, I make dua that Allah takes me away in sujood, but I don't fulfill salah because I don't want to die right now.
So when I'm ready, I'll start. Look at the answers you get today. Subhanallah.
Look at how, and to them it sounds logical. Oh Allah, take me away in sujood. So now there's no more sujood because I don't really want to go right now, you know.
Subhanallah. That's wrong. You need to continue to fulfill the obligations unto Allah because you really don't know when you're going.
Like we've seen people die in a good condition, we've also seen people die in a condition we would not like to be in when we're going, right? May Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala have mercy on them too. May Allah make it easy the day He takes us away. May He take us away in a condition that He is pleased with us.
Say, Ameen.
The Book of Deeds
I tell you my brothers and sisters, you have a book that you are authoring yourself. Yourself, it's your own book of deeds.
Every time you do something or you write something in that book that is wrong, go and erase it. And how many chances do you have? As many as you want to erase, to erase. You know, something bad, take it out by repenting, by turning to Allah.
You don't have to confess your sin to anyone besides your maker. Nobody needs to know what you've done. No one.
You just say, Oh Allah, forgive me. I've done wrong. I admit it.
I regret it. I seek your forgiveness and I won't do it again. And Allah says it's wiped out.
Never ever does the Quran or Sunnah tell us that if a person's met these conditions of tawbah, it will be rejected by Allah. It will be rejected by Allah. The conditions are met.
You know, the visa for Jannah is easy. It's very easy. When we're applying for a visa to go to another country, we fill all the conditions.
We fill everything. We make sure we've got all the paperwork. We put supporting documents in order to make sure that you get a little visa to go to a country for a few times perhaps in the year.
And you've worked so hard to make sure. Wow! And then when it's rejected sometimes, how low do you feel? You feel, Oh, what happened here? And I tell you the visa to Jannah is easier because Allah doesn't reject. If you're trying, He will never reject you.
He wants you there.
"Allah says, Allah wants to forgive you." (Quran 4:27) May Allah forgive us all.
Say, Ameen. So this book, we will write in it ourselves and you can correct it every now and again. At the end when you're dying, it's going to be given in.
And when it's given in, it's going to be looked into. If you've written a good book, you will be given your book back in your right hand
This is from the Quran. (Quran 69:19)
Allah says, "The person who's going to get their book in the right hand, he or she will say, Hey, read my book. Look, I passed. Look, I got it in my right hand."
It's the results. These are results of what? The examinations I had through my life. That goes back to what I was saying earlier.
Allah created you to test you. And someone says, Well, why? He knows why. He wants to give you a life better than this one.
So he says, Work hard, you will deserve it and I will give you. And he also says, He will give us even if we don't deserve it at times through His mercy. If we haven't associated partners with Him, He may decide to forgive everything else.
And He can give it to us through His mercy. In fact, with almost all of us, the deeds we do sometimes lack the height of sincerity. You know when you read salah, you say, Allahu Akbar.
What happens? Immediately the thoughts come to your mind. Hey, the brother next door has got some oud on, man. Oh, I wonder how much he's paid for it.
And the imam says, Zallin, when you hear zallin, you just say, Ameen. Right? So sometimes, and I've heard this in taraweeh, in the Quran, when verses are being recited besides surah al-fatiha, and you know, the
word zallin comes and the imam says, Innahu kana minal zallin. And the people who are thinking about the price of the oud, they say, Ameen.
Yeah. They don't even realize it's not surah al-fatiha. It's something else altogether.
That's not a salah we should be reading, my brothers and sisters, look at this. But this is what happens when you lack concentration. So when we start the salah, something happens here, there, we start thinking of things, and then we go down, we come back up, we don't even know how many units we've done.
Don't you agree it's happening more and more, right? Did you hear the yeses? Guys, you're a witness, right? MashaAllah. It's true, it's happening more.
We're losing concentration, you know why? We're being distracted by a lot of things.
Technology and Worship
The phone takes up so much of our time. Yes, use it, but don't abuse it. The phone can actually take you to jannah, to heaven, if you use it correctly.
It can be a means of guidance. You can listen to something good, you can use it in a good way, you can message people to inquire about their health, to reach out to them, to try and help them, to go out and assist a good cause, to spread a good message, to encourage people. All that is towards paradise.
There is a lot that can be done. It's all towards paradise. But if you use it to disunite people, to cause problems, to call people names, to develop hatred, to cause problems in society, to commit sin, to look at that which you're not supposed to be looking at, to waste your time in such a way that... 3 in the morning, Salatul Fajr is just coming now, and you say, oh, I better go to sleep.
3 in the morning, and you know there's an hour or two before Salatul Fajr, and you say, I will get up, I will get up, insha'Allah. Oh Allah, get me up. What happened to your clock? You didn't use it.
And then you said, no, I read the hadith it says
"You know, whoever has slept over a prayer, or whoever has forgotten it, then they can read it whenever they remember it." (Muslim hadith 684)
That is for those who genuinely forget, genuinely slept over when they wanted to get up, and they tried to, but some reason it happened. Not every day, every day, you don't get up for Salatul fajr, come on, come on.
So going back to the concentration, because our concentration levels are lower than 100%, sometimes lower than 50%, we depend solely and totally and wholly on the mercy of Allah to accept that prayer from us. We ask Allah to accept it from us. The good deeds we do, oh Allah, accept them from us.
And through your mercy, grant us Jannah, grant us paradise. Say, Ameen, Ameen, Ameen. So Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala has guided us in so many different ways.
Unity and Humility
My brothers and sisters, it's about time we developed ourselves. And it's about time we understood the plan of Allah. And I'm going to say this because we have a problem across the globe, where when people become pious, they think they are pious, they start belittling everyone else.
It's me, my group, my organization, my this, my that, and everyone else is by the way. Everyone else, no way, you cannot even go to the other masjid, you cannot even greet the people, you cannot, you know what? You should greet, you should be humbled, you should visit each other. That is a sign of piety.
If you think you're one little group and that's it, trust me, you're in the wrong group. The reason is you have an attitude. This attitude is not fit.
It's not a pure attitude. It's not an attitude from Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. It's not divinely inspired.
What is divinely inspired is when you gather the ummah together, when you bring the people together, when you make people feel, look, primarily we're part of humanity. Primarily we're part of humanity. Greater than that, we're part of one ummah.
That's here. We're part of one ummah. And we need to be as united as possible.
Really we do and we should. So people say, no, we have differences. My brother, you have differences even with those whom you love, your own spouse, your own family members, but you love each other.
You get along with each other. You might want to discuss your differences in a respectable, respectful way. And like I said, your duty is to convey the message.
The cowards are those who say, you need to kill the non-Muslims because you know what? They're non- Muslims. Relax. The people were all including us at some stage, somewhere up our generations, they were not Muslim.
If people had that attitude, we would not be seated here today. But someone was kind enough to care for us, to be able to reach out to us in such a beautiful way that today we're sitting here. MashaAllah, Muslimin.
We're sitting here. So remember your duty unto those who don't share your faith is to be good and kind to reach out to them. Don't be a coward and harm them because then what would have happened to their guidance? Subhanallah.
And people say, no, you know what? As it is, they're not Muslim and their children will also be non- Muslim. Subhanallah, we have reverts in the millions across the globe. Do you know that? How dare?
How dare you think of harming people just because they don't share your faith.
That's not divine. You're supposed to be concerned. You reach out to them.
The Value of Every Life
And this is why when Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala speaks about life and He says regarding the soul, the life,
"Whoever saves a single life is equivalent to he who has saved humanity."
Allah didn't say whoever saves a Muslim. If people are drowning, no matter who they are, you go and save them.
So much so that if there is an animal in distress and you try to save the animal, you get a reward.
(Bukhari hadith 2466)
"The Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam says, in all the animals that have a kabid, you know, all the animals with the liver, what is meant by that is all the animals, all living creatures, there is a reward for you in reaching out to these animals."
You know about the hadith of a dog, my favorite hadith.
Obviously, my favorite hadith. The reason is it's woken me up. It's woken me up.
You become softened. You start realizing the plan of Allah. You know, from amongst us, there are some who love cats.
MashaAllah. A lot of us, like I said, the sound of a cat is beautiful sometimes. It invites you.
Wow! You feel sorry for it. Remember you give the cat milk once, that's it. That's it.
You're gonna have to spend on the pints of milk, subhanAllah. Because that cat's gonna be back at the same door every day at the same time, watching you and ewing you the entire day until you give it. SubhanAllah.
So, amazing. But imagine a dog, many people would run away. Agree? Yes.
Now that came from this side here. Okay. Many people would run away if there was a dog.
But the hadith we all know, where there was a man who was thirsty in the desert. He went into the well. He went into the well to quench his own thirst.
He came up and he noticed a dog. And I spoke about this in one of the schools today. And I said, do you know why Allah chose for a dog to be there and not a pretty lady? Do you know why? Why did Allah choose for a dog to be there and not a peacock that might have taken out its feathers and started dancing? Do you know why? So that the sincerity levels of that man were never questioned.
Nobody can say he had an ulterior motive. He might have done it because of this, because of that. No chance.
He did it for the sake of Allah. He did it when his heart did not really, perhaps maybe, want to do it had it been under different circumstances. Possible.
But it was a dog. And there was something else that happened. He didn't have anything, any utensil to gather the water in.
There was no bucket with that well. So when he went down and he thought to himself, how can I take the water up? The hadith says
(Bukhari hadith 2466)
"Which means he filled his shoe, his leather sock with water."
And he brought it up and he brought the dog near.
And he made that dog drink from his shoe. Subhanallah. Can you picture filling your shoe with water and bringing it out for someone? It's difficult.
And he let the dog come and the dog was licking the water, you know, drank it all up from this leather sock of his. And after that, you know what happened? The Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam says, and this is divinely inspired from Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala, this man was forgiven, all his sins. As a result of what? Compassion towards the dog.
So why I say it's my favorite hadith? Where are those who harm other human beings? Where are they? Where are those who think that your religion teaches you to harm others?
"I swear by the owner of the house, of the Kaaba. It is wrong. It is wrong."
If Allah rewarded this man with Jannah for having shown compassion or reached out to a dog, what do you think would be the reward of the one who reaches out to another human being? Wouldn't it be a far greater reward? And we're not talking about someone who shares your faith, someone who doesn't. Reach out to them. They will nod their heads.
You know, yesterday I was flying up here. Next to me there was an Australian lady. The amount of respect she had.
I was just making dua for her. I was just praying for her. She says, Sir, I know you're going to need to pray.
If you'd like me to move away, you know, when you're praying, I can actually go and stand somewhere for a while. And I said, No, who said that? You don't need to go anywhere. Subhanallah.
Look at the respect. And I'm thinking to myself, you know, there are some people who call themselves pious, pious. They were just looking, pious.
Proper Greetings and Respect
Sometimes some of the people say, As-salamu alaykum. You know, there's a hadith, subhanallah. If you know that they've greeted you properly with as-salamu alaykum, you have to greet back.
Did you ever know that? But if you're doubting whether they said as-salamu alaykum or not, that's the only time you can say wa alayka, wa alayka mithil allathee qult, or whatever else. Because as-samu alayku means death upon you, and as-salamu alayku means peace be upon you. And Allah says in the Quran,
"When you are greeted with a greeting, respond to it with a better greeting."
That's what Allah says. Someone greets you, greet them back with something better. Or the minimum is at least reply it in an equivalent fashion.
Because Allah takes account of what you've done. So you greet them back. Imagine someone says, As-salamu alaykum, because they're not Muslim, and they just know how to greet you.
And you look at them and say, You know who does that? The ones who are outwardly more pious a lot of the times. I'm just honest with you. It's a red button.
I press something, you might not like what I said. It's a fact. I've seen it with these eyes.
Why? Is that taqwa? That's not taqwa. What you've done, you've chased away someone who was looking at you as a person and thought perhaps let me say something that can actually, you know, show a bit of respect to this person. And you just put them off completely.
What will they do to you? They'll look the other way, and they won't even talk to you. The next time they see you, will they greet you? No. But you respond, Oh, wa-alaykum-as-salam, how are you? Do you know what that means? It means peace be upon you.
I'm so happy that you know. And you just said something to make their day. They'll go back never forgetting what happened that day.
But what do we do? Attitude. The face is made. You know, we look like we just want to kill someone.
What else? Look at them. Astaghfirullah. I hope no one's taken a picture of that.
So bad. Subhanallah. You can't even see yourself in the mirror.
And we expect people to actually be attracted towards the deen. And we think that, you know what? These guys, they're all going to Jahannam. I tell you, if you're a true believer, you need to be concerned about how to bring them into Jannah.
If that's what you think. How do I bring them into Jannah? But I tell you something, if you're a true believer, you will never think that there is a guarantee that you're going to Jannah yourself. That's a true believer.
That's inspiration. A true believer is worried about his own condition. I can mention to you one of the most powerful companions of the Prophet, peace be upon him.
His name was Omar ibn al-Khattab, radhiallahu anhu. I'm sure you've heard his name. Well, you have to have.
He used to ask Hudayfa ibn al-Yaman, radhiallahu anhu, because he had the list of hypocrites. Please tell me the names on this. He says, I can't.
Cannot tell you. Okay, at least tell me, is my name on there? Imagine, he was a powerful person. The hadith says, if he walked down an alley or gully, shaitan would walk down another one.
He was frightened of him, but still he thought to himself, let me make sure that I'm not on this list. When he was told, no, you're not on the list, he said, oh, okay. Those were the companions.
We think we're more powerful than these companions going around labeling people, telling them this and that and so on, and declaring that, you know, these people, you do this to them, you can harm them. No, you cannot. Never.
I'm here to tell you that. Things are happening across the globe. Yes, we do know.
We are all frustrated. We all want to see things stop, inshallah, and they will by the will of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. We want to see the harm stop, whether it is perpetrated by Muslims or non-Muslims, whether the victims are Muslims or non-Muslims.
It's besides the point. We are human beings. Allah says, if you save one life, you've saved the whole of humanity.
He did not say, if you save the Muslim, you've saved humanity. One life. That life is important because when they come back, after they were in the clutches of death and they got back, and if they were guided thereafter, guess what? One more person in Jannah.
That should be your aim as a pious person, if you're really pious. That is inspiration. That is what Allah has asked from you.
That's what's supposed to be your attitude. Subhanallah. We all want to see solutions, but you never ever do that which creates a bigger problem.
Don't let someone... Don't let someone make you believe that being close to Allah means you should think you're the only one, and that's it. Everyone else is astray. Everyone else is going to hellfire.
Everyone else is going to be burning. I'm the only dude. That's it.
A Story of False Piety
I remember there was a story. I don't know if it was true or not, but I'm going to share it with you because I've read it somewhere and I even heard it from someone. They say there was a man who used to think he was the only one who's pious, sitting in the masjid.
And he used to sit a lot, abid, abid meaning he's worshiping Allah. What did I tell you moments ago? A sign of the acceptance of your salah is that your attitude becomes better. If your attitude stinks, something is wrong with your prayer, something is wrong with your intention.
A sign of the acceptance of your acts of worship is that you become a softer person. Look at Allah, what He says, subhanahu wa ta'ala, another piece of divine inspiration. Allah tells Muhammad sallallahu alayhi wa sallam,
"It is because of the mercy of Allah that you have been lenient towards them."
Had you been hard, harsh and hard-hearted, they wouldn't want to listen to you, they would disperse from around you. When anyone of us is hard, harsh or hard-hearted, no one would want to listen to us. They only want to listen to and be around those who are lenient, those who understand, those who have a style, a way of speaking, of communicating, of interacting.
That's whom we'd like to listen to. Subhanallah. So Allah tells us this regarding the Prophet Muhammad peace be upon him, that it is by the mercy of Allah that you are lenient.
You know what that means? Leniency is a sign of the mercy of Allah. Subhanallah. When you are softened, it's a sign of the mercy of Allah.
This is why we say, when you become close to Allah, it shows in your character. If it hasn't yet shown there is something wrong with your closeness to Allah, go back and look at it. Go back and check your intentions.
Go and learn again. Go and see what's happening. May Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala have mercy on us.
So my brothers and sisters, what we've learnt this evening, we need to do more to improve ourselves, much more. Don't ever sit back and think, that's enough, I'm a good guy. I was telling you the story of this person sitting in the front of the masjid making a lot of ibadah.
And he was so pious, he used to tell the people, you guys, you're doing nothing. I read one Quran a day, one Quran a day. So much so that he began to think himself as almost close to a prophet, you know, very high.
And some of us have this attitude, wallahi, it's dangerous. No matter how much knowledge you have, no matter how much salah you fulfill, no matter how much you're trying to obey Allah, you should remember, you should remember that in the eyes of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala, Allah is the only one who will judge you on the day of judgment. Remember that.
Before that, you have no guarantee what's going to happen. How many have come across the ahadith that speak of a person who was sinful for 70 years, right at the end they became close to Allah, Allah forgave them. And a person who was worshipping Allah for 70 years, and at the end they developed attitude, etc., they began to sin, they turned away, what did they receive? They had none to blame besides themselves.
So this man developed this attitude where he was the only one. The people were fed up. So the young guys, you know, young people always come up with these ideas.
They said, you know what? We'll talk to him. They spoke to him, they said, Uncle, he says, yes. He says, now you're a very pious person.
One of these days, I'm sure Allah will take you up to see the heavens. He said, yeah, that happened to the Prophet. It was mi'raj.
Have you heard of mi'raj? Mi'raj is the ascension where the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم - sallallahu alaihi wa sallam) was taken up by Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala in his body and soul. He was taken up by Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala miraculously with a buraq, with a certain type of an animal. He went up to the seven heavens and came back in the same night.
He described it. And that's when Abu Bakr as-Siddiq r.a was asked by the people of Quraysh that, you know, if someone went up and down in one night and that's what they're claiming, what would you say? And he was... Initially he said, no, no, no. When he was told, your friend says the same thing, meaning Muhammad (صلى الله عليه وسلم - sallallahu alaihi wa sallam) said this.
He said, if he said it, I believe it. It's done. He was known as as-Siddiq.
Abu Bakr as-Siddiq r.a. So what happened? They decided the following day, early in the morning when this uncle comes in for salah, they're going to let him sit down and then they're going to turn off the lights. And they're going to get to him and say, Hey! Blindfold him. Hey! Well, what's going to happen to him? Blindfold him and say, I'm Jibreel.
We've come to take you up to the seven heavens. You're going to be undertaking the mi'raj. And they did it.
And this man was excited. Oh, yes. Oh, yes.
And his hands were... Meaning his eyes were... Like he was blindfolded. And they took him. They had a donkey waiting outside, you know, the masjid.
As they took him out, they placed him on the donkey facing the other direction. Told him, hold, hold. Don't worry, we're going.
It's going to be a nice journey, you know. And they tied him onto the donkey so that he doesn't fall off. And then they released the donkey into the market.
And this man was blindfolded, going around. And the sun rose and he's still going around with the donkey, marketplace. And the people saw him on a donkey going around, marketplace.
Hey! What are you doing? He says, Hey! Keep quiet, guys. I'm going to the heavens. Mi'raj.
So the same boys came through. They gave him one slap and told him, Hey! That was just for the Prophet, not for you. You see? You think you're pious.
The taqwa levels have taken you to a level where you think you're higher than the Prophet, peace be upon him. Even he did not do some things that you are claiming. Subhanallah.
And why am I saying this? We might laugh at it. But in all honesty, sometimes we do things claiming it's part of the deen and it's part of Islam that are not from Islam. They were not taught by the Prophet.
We think we know better than the Prophet, peace be upon him. No, we don't. Don't let people convince you otherwise.
Not at all. Concentrate on yourself and spread the good message as best as you can to as many people as you can. Don't worry.
They will know that this was a brilliant message. They will know it.
Commitment to the Quran
So my brothers and sisters, I hope that we will do more to learn the Qur'an, to look into it, to read its verses, to ponder over it on a daily basis.
The bad news is I've spoken for one whole hour. That's the bad news. Because for me, it seems like I just started now.
MashaAllah. I think it's the blessings, the beauty of this beautiful country. MashaAllah.
I need to come back. It takes long to get here, by the way. By the way.
MashaAllah. MashaAllah. TabarakAllah.
So, I want you to promise Allah. You don't need to promise me anything. You promise Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala.
Promise Him that you'll do more to develop your relation with the Qur'an. The Qur'an is the word of Allah. Read a verse a day.
A lot of us have these applications on our phones with the Qur'an in it. But we don't read. We don't make use of it.
One verse. How long does it take you? One. One verse.
Read its meaning. You don't understand something, contact the mashayikh here. I see so many.
Shaykh Muhammad is sitting in the crowd. Shaykh Shadi. So many others.
The mufti is here. MashaAllah. TabarakAllah.
So many are here. Just ask the people. Say, you know what? I read this verse.
I didn't understand something. Please, can you explain it to me? Or better still, attend the lesson of tafsir in the masjid. Make an effort.
Small effort. And inshaAllah, you will gain so much. You'll feel so much better.
When you worship Allah, worship Him enthusiastically with a smile. And you'll see your children will follow. But if you were to worship Allah like in a lazy fashion, when your kids see you, they're going to think, this thing is not meant to really be done.
It's just for old people. So they won't read salah until they grow old. And that's if they're lucky, if you're lucky.
May Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala bless us all. I know someone might say, well, there's no luck in Islam. I don't mean it that way.
I mean, if you're fortunate, okay? It's just an English word. I've got to be careful because sometimes there are people in the crowd who start picking on words that are used. But you understand the context inshaAllah.
You understand what's being said.
Final Words and Humility
And before I end, I want to say one thing. One thing that I have to get off my chest, okay? You must be wondering what is it, okay? May Allah bless you all.
May Allah grant every one of us ease and goodness. My brothers and sisters, I am a human being just like you. You take a selfie with me, it's not going to help you in your grave.
You shake my hand, it's not going to take you to paradise. But if you're shaken by the message, that is what will take you to paradise by the will of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. Can I tell you a fact that you might not have realized? You know me solely because of what I term (قَالَ اللهُ وَقَالَ الرَّسُولُ - "That's all.")
You know me only because I relay the message of Islam. If I was a person who did not convey that message, and if I did not say what Allah has said, if I did not speak about Allah and His messenger, peace be upon him,