Ismail ibn Musa Menk Hardships
By Mufti Menk | 2026-01-12T07:15:55.562044+00:00 | Topic: Trials
Hardships in Life - Sheikh Mufti Menk
Opening and Greeting
As-salamu alaykum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuhu. Bismillahir Rahmanir Rahim. In the name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful.
Alhamdulillahi Rabbil Alameen. All praise is indeed due to Allah, the One who has created us all, the One who nourishes, cherishes, sustains, provides, protects and cures.
We send complete blessings and salutations upon Muhammad (peace be upon him), his entire household, all his companions. We ask Allah to bless them all and to bless every single one of us and to grant us goodness and ease in this world and the next. Ameen.
The Purpose of Creation and Early Tests
My dearest brothers and sisters, generally when we look at a baby, we think to ourselves that this baby is absolutely innocent, newborn. We get extremely happy, we get delighted, we are excited. And at the same time, we feel that the people who have the child are very fortunate.
Because there are so many who don't have children. May Allah bless those who don't have children with children. Ameen.
But we don't realize something, that that child has come into this world for two missions. The first mission is a test for the parents. The second is the test for the child itself, beyond a certain age.
The Lifting of the Pen
So right at the beginning there is no books, nothing is being written for that child. You and I know the hadith says:
(Abu Dawud 4403)
The pen has been lifted from three types of people. The three mentioned, number one, the one who is insane. Number two, the one who is young, and he has not yet grown up to the age of maturity. And number three, the one who is sleeping until he wakes up. So if you are sleeping, what you see in your dream, it's not going to be held against you.
The minute you wake up, whatever you do, now you are conscious. So from this narration, we understand that when the child is born, they are not, what they do is not written against them. They will mess, for
example, in terms of urination, or in terms of the toilet and so on.
It's not their fault. They are still young. They might say words that they don't realize are bad. When they are little babies, they don't even know what it means. So they are not sinful in that regard. But as they grow older, when they get to the age of maturity, then definitely they are responsible.
But between the age of birth, or between the time of birth and that age of maturity, the parents are responsible, the guardians are responsible, those who are around the child are responsible. To do what? To present the best possible way of living and religion and so on to that child.
Allah's Purpose for Creation
However, did you know that Allah says that He created us in order to test us. In order to test us.
It is He who created death and life in order to test you, who from amongst you has better deeds. That's what He says.
So He created you to test you لِيَبْلُوَكُمْ So at that age, when you are born, already there are certain things that humankind will hold against you from the point of birth. You might say, how? Where were you born? Did you choose? No, I didn't.
The Unfairness of the World vs Allah's Fairness
So I was born in a poor area where people were exploited. As soon as I was born, already they were saying, here's another one. And I was innocent. I knew nothing. That's the plan of Allah. I might have been born into a wealthy home, mashallah.
Beautiful royal people, subhanAllah. I've never seen anything but goodness in terms of ease of living. That was Allah. The soul in the body. Every one of us here, we are born into a unique situation. Unique.
Allah chose your village where you will be born. The hospital or if you were born at home. Some people are born in areas where there are no hospitals. They deal with midwives. And the birth is at home. Allah knows that.
But you are still born today, you are sitting in this masjid with the rest of the people, those who were born underwater. SubhanAllah. This is Allah's plan.
So, when you are born, already sometimes people hold certain things against you. Say for example, your father has a debt of so many million. May Allah protect us all. And may Allah make it easy for those in debt to be able to pay their debt. That was quite a loud ameen. MashaAllah.
So, what happens is, your father had a debt. You were born, okay? When you were born, sometimes as you grow older, you are still a young innocent child. The person who your father owes the money to, can be looking at you as a person who's already responsible for something he didn't even do.
And he might say, come and work for me. Or your father might say, go work for this man, I owe him money. Already, you are disadvantaged from the point of birth.
The world out there is not fair. But Allah is fair.
Allah's Gift of Adaptation
How fair is Allah? Allah makes a human being such that he or she can adapt. Can adapt to many many situations. I give you an example. If you are born in a very very hot country where there is no air condition, there is no system of electricity, nothing else.
When you born, you are young, you get used to it, you become a person who doesn't mind, you are out in the hot weather, and you are playing and you don't mind. Because from the time of birth, you are used to that, your body got accustomed to it. Even the tone of your skin changed according to that.
That's Allah's plan, Allah's gift. Person of the same nationality, born in a castle where they have air condition from day one. If they go out and the weather is only 39 degrees, which for you and I in Qatar is very cold.
If you go out to 39 degrees, and they will not be able to even live, subhanAllah. The other day it was 44, 45 degrees. Yesterday was very hot, subhanAllah.
And I was thinking to myself, amazing how people coming from Britain, sometimes they cannot cope, they cannot stand even a few minutes outside, sometimes. But you get used to it. Those who lived here for a while, they start saying, this is nothing, you still have to see the middle of summer.
That's what they will say. This is nothing, you still have to see the middle of summer. So Allah's gift, acknowledge it, that Allah has made you such that you can become accustomed.
Allah's Design in Family Relationships
You have people who are born into poor homes. They did not choose to be born into a poor home. But wallahi, the food they have, very different from the food that those who are wealthy have fed their children with.
You know, on one hand you have the various cereals and the baby meals that are very expensive that are found at top supermarkets and so on. The other hand, you know what, these people were brought up with breast milk and that's it, subhanAllah. That's it.
And sometimes they were brought up with something very light. They also had their system. The point is, when you got to a certain age, today we are sitting here, no one can tell when you were a baby, what were you fed.
You don't even know sometimes. What struggles your mother and father went through in order to make sure that you were a person who grew up with a decent upbringing. You don't even know.
And this is why it's important for us to go back to our parents, make dua for them, appreciate them in a good way. Where they are instructing you to do something bad, we will excuse ourselves because Allah comes first.
But where they are telling you to do something reasonable within their limits, then you should try your best to obey they did for you. Do you know it's Allah's gift to mankind that He has created love between parents and children? There is a love. Think about it.
It's Allah's plan. There is love. Why? They feel responsible.
The Divine Design of Marriage
If Allah wanted to make us, He could have created us separately. Each individual grows on his own from the ground. It was possible.
But what would be the link between people? There would be no fulfillment of rights. I grew up on my own. Who's your father? What father? I was born from the ground.
I just came up like a plant and I went up. Even plants, they have seeds, they have the parent tree where the seeds came from and so on. It's Allah's plan.
If He wanted, Wallahi, He could have kept us totally separate. But He created us. He says, the minute you get married:
And [He] made between you love and mercy. Between who? Spouse. The spouses. May Allah grant us love and mercy.
If your aim is to please Allah and her aim is to please Allah, there will be love and mercy. But if your aim is to buy the latest gadgets and to please your haram desires, and if her aim is, for example, to live off the luxuries of life, then you don't expect that (مَوَدَّةً وَرَحْمَةٌ - mawaddatan wa rahmah). That's where it goes wrong.
But if your aim is Allah and you want to please Allah, there will definitely be (مَوَدَّةً وَرَحْمَةٌ - mawaddatan wa rahmah). You are going to think that I am married to someone's daughter. She also has parents or she had parents.
She has siblings, a family. She also grew up. She is a human being. If you touch her, she feels. If you cut her, she will bleed. Just like me.
Let me look after her. Let me honor her. Let me try to say nice words to make her smile.
I don't need to comment about how fat she is or how short she is or anything else which is negative. I'd rather say good words. No, you know, you are my beloved wife.
No, alhamdulillah, I love you. I really appreciate you. And subhanallah, they go through their difficulties when they are expecting children themselves.
The Divine Balance Between Men and Women
And for us as men, it's quite simple. You did the easiest job. That's what you did.
They are the ones who held the child. They are the ones who looked after the child. It's Allah's plan.
He kept male and female physically different. He kept them emotionally different. It's His plan.
We cannot deny that even those who are trying to convince us that male and female are equal physically, externally. They are foolish. They know deep down that what they are saying is not correct.
We believe in a certain type of equality. That equality refers to three things. One is certain aspects where men and women are exactly the same. Certain aspects where men are slightly privileged than females. And certain aspects where females are slightly privileged than males. These are the three.
You cannot say they are exactly the same in everything. But you can say, yes, they have access to Allah in a similar way. They have so much in terms of their rights.
Their rights are for them just like they were against them. Meaning if they have rights they need to fulfill, then you also need to fulfill similar rights of an equal nature for them. Subhanallah.
It's a verse of the Quran. There are rights on either side. These rights may differ in nature, but they add up to become equal in the sense that you do something, she will have to do something in return.
She does something, you will have to do something in return. That's how it is. So Allah has created it in a beautiful way.
Parenting Wisdom and Divine Decrease of Control
This link that we have is a gift because the mother will not leave the child crying for longer than a certain period of time. And I want to give advice to those who have babies as children. I have a little child who is now a few weeks old, mashaAllah.
And I can tell you that being a parent of many children, I have quite a few children, alhamdulillah. The last time I counted, mashaAllah, I arrived at the figure eight. Walillah alhamdulillah.
But I tell you, something interesting is the men get angry sometimes when the child is crying and crying and crying more and crying more. You make like the wife wants the child to cry. That's not true.
She wants more desperately than you to stop the child crying. So please help. Don't make it difficult.
Don't start screaming, you can't keep the child quiet. Look, it's your child as well. What's wrong? No, no, no.
May Allah forgive us. Wherever we have faulted, wallahi, may Allah forgive us. Don't get upset.
The mother wants more desperately to keep the child quiet than you. Do you know this? The mother wants more desperately to keep the child quiet than you because she knows that look, the aim is not to make the child cry. I must deal with the child, whether it is hunger, whether it is for example a nappy change, whether it is frightening, the child is frightened, whatever it is, it is too hot, too cold, etc., etc.
You know what? You need to help as well. You need to make sure you contribute. There is a love towards the child, that was the point I was raising.
The Gradual Loss of Control
That's a gift of Allah. But as the child grows older, you send the child to school, Allah takes away from you, one by one, the control over that child. Do you know that? It's amazing.
When the child was born, you decided what to feed the child, what to name the child, you decided how to clothe the child, you decided how to carry the child, where to take the child, absolutely everything was decided by who? By you. Allah gave you almost full control. Many aspects.
You bought the toys, agreed? MashaAllah. Unless someone gave you a gift, subhanAllah. But you bought the toys, you decided, I will do this and I will not do this.
When the child grew a little bit older, Allah takes away slowly, slowly, one by one, things go. How does it go? So you buy a toy, the child says, I don't want this toy. Now I know how to talk.
Dad, how can you buy me a little, you know, one of those little beaters, when you know that I'm looking for an electronic toy. I don't want this. So now you have an issue.
The mother wants to dress the child in a specific way, it was okay up to now. Then the child says, no, I don't want to dress with this clothing. I want to wear something else.
I need my Superman. I'm sure you've heard this, isn't it? I want my Superman suit. Too much television.
May Allah grant us ease. So while you have full control of the child, be careful what you do. Because as the child grows older, it will start thinking on its own, doing its own thing.
That's the plan of Allah. So amazingly, at the beginning you decide which school you want the child to go. You choose the kindergarten and the child is gone.
The Test of Marriage Decisions
Let me move a little bit further. So as the child grows older, one day, when the child wants to study something, the subjects the child will choose. Then the child will say, Dad, I want to marry.
Can you say no? You have to go back to Allah. That's what you have to do. Look at what Allah told you.
What did Allah say? It is not your right to say yes and no from your own pocket. Did you know that? Why? That child belongs to Allah, not to you. Allah occupied you and tested you.
I told you at the beginning two aspects. Test for the parents, test for the child. Allah occupied you and tested you by giving you an amanah to make you happy, for you to be able to say, my child, yet it's not your child, it's Allah's child.
For you, it's temporary for a short period of time. For Allah, it was before the child came to you, and it will remain after the child goes away from you. You understand? For you, it's temporary.
How long? I don't even know. Allah says, I'm giving you something, when I want it, I will take it back without asking you. When Allah takes a child away, Allah doesn't ask you, look, I'm thinking of taking your child away.
Allah takes it, gone. Subhanallah, you are left with an issue, another problem. You start to cry.
It's normal, it's rahma, to see the tears, rahma. So, the child comes and says, I want to marry. You need to go back to the instruction.
The Islamic Approach to Marriage Proposals
Oh Allah, you gave me an amanah, I looked after this amanah, I grew up this amanah, and what happened is, now this amanah of yours, it belongs to you, is telling me I would like to marry. Many parents make a mistake. They say to the child, you are ungrateful, I looked after you, I brought you up, I sent you to school, I went to work and spent money on you, I did this, and today you want to marry someone I disagree with.
That statement is foolish. That is foolish. That, you are removing Allah from the equation.
Allah can tell you, hey, listen, I gave you the child, you cried for the child, you didn't have children, I gave you the child after so long, and I told you to look after the child, and I told you that I will take away
control, your control of that child, because the control is supremely mine. I gave it to you for a period of time, when you had it, you should have done whatever. Then I told you, when the child wants to marry, you need to follow a certain way, and a certain method.
What is the method? Go back to the Prophet (peace be upon him). He says:
(Tirmidhi 1084)
If someone comes to you with a proposal, you are pleased with their religion, and their akhlaq, their character and conduct. Let it happen, for as long as the child is happy, your daughter is happy, the son is happy for example. If they are not happy, it will not happen.
Did you know that? You can never force a child to marry, no matter who. We have a system in some countries, in many countries, where it is a culture, that the child will marry the cousin, whether you like it or you don't like it. It's over.
From the point of birth, you are already fixed. You don't even know. That is against Allah's instruction.
If they are happy, they can do it, no harm. You can marry your cousin in Islam. If you are happy, you can.
I am married to a cousin of mine, subhanAllah. If you are happy, you can. If you are not happy, it will not happen.
Don't force. You might talk about it, and explain the merit of it. Don't force.
The Problem of Racial Prejudice
My brothers and sisters, this is absolutely important. The ummah is suffering. I get thousands of complaints on a weekly basis.
Thousands of complaints on this matter, on this subject. My father is forcing me. My mother is forcing me.
I have a proposal from a person, his color is different. My parents have disagreed. Parents disagree? Look at the boy.
Talk to him. Bring him. You find fault in him, talk about the fault.
The color is not a fault. Bilal ibn Rabah was a man from Jannah. In the sense that, the Prophet (peace be upon him), when he came back from Mi'raj, he made it clear.
He said, I heard the footsteps of Bilal ibn Rabah in Jannah. ( رضي الله عنه ). Yet they got him married.
They married him, subhanAllah. They didn't look at his color, and say because he was dark skinned. Have you ever asked yourself, why did Allah keep some sahaba of different races? Did you ask yourself that
question? What was the point of having Bilal ibn Rabah in the middle of all the sahaba? Why? Why did Allah keep him? Why was Suhaib al-Rumi, the European man from Ar-Rum? Why was he a sahabi? Why did Allah have it?
Just to show you that Islam is not about race.
The race of Bilal ibn Rabah did not drop him down. And the race of Abu Lahab did not raise him in any status. You need to know this.
So that is a test for us. I might not like something. I don't like something.
I might say, you know what? Oh, I'm so upset. Why did you? Look, if Allah allows it and permits it, and if they want it, it is your duty to let it happen.
Whether you like it or you don't.
You might talk about it. You might express, look my daughter, inshaAllah we can do better. We can this, we can that.
Look my son, I think this and I think that. You can explain and talk. You cannot become violent.
You cannot threaten. You cannot be a person who just refuses without proper Islamic valid reason. That is an amanah.
And Allah will take that amanah away. That person was born, like I explained at the beginning of this talk, it was not their fault where they were born. It was not their fault.
They were born somewhere. Allah chose them to be born. How did they meet? I don't know.
You don't know. Perhaps you need to find out. And if they met, subhanAllah, it's one of those things.
Guidance in the Digital Age
Nowadays online, if you did not guide your child the time you had control over the child, don't blame the child for having done something that you didn't even talk to them about. Many parents don't discuss the issue of marriage with their children age of 10 and 11 and 12. And guess what? From 10, 11, 12, they already have boyfriends and girlfriends because we don't even talk to them about this matter.
Young age. They're already far ahead. Far ahead.
We think, oh mashaAllah, everything is okay, everything is fine. You got them the phone, you got them the mobile, you got them the iPad, you got them the internet, you got the fastest WiFi in your home, and you just said, I love my child. Wait, there's a war coming.
Allahu Akbar. There's a war coming. I'm not saying don't get them.
Get them, but teach them how to use it. Teach them. Restrict them in a certain way, in a beautiful way.
I have had cases of people who say, my children are banned. They're not allowed to have mobile phones. One day, the man caught his daughter with six telephones.
Where did you get them from? Someone gave me, that guy gave me, another guy gave me. They will give you. They'll give you the phone.
Father, what do you think? You did not teach the child how to use the mobile. You just said, bang. And you're happy? I never got the phone.
But you never ever looked. She has six telephones. Allahu Akbar.
May Allah forgive us. May it not happen to us. So what I'm saying is, communicate with your children and understand they are an amanah from Allah.
He has the right to take them away at any time from you. At any time. He can take them away.
They are His children before they were yours. He allowed you to say, my child, for a period of time. Bas.
The Nature of Life's Tests
Now let's continue. So as the child grows, mashallah, do you know what? Life is extremely difficult. Extremely difficult.
Extremely difficult. When you were born, you came to this world. This world is full of obstacles and tests.
It is a testing ground. It's like a school. Every week, you have an examination at the school.
Every week, you have a test. Every day, some people have tests. If you go to a top private school, they will test you every day what you did yesterday.
So this is the best. The dunya. Allah is going to test you.
One after the other. Every day, you will be tested what you learnt the previous day or earlier in that day or what you know. Allah will test you.
Allah says:
Surah Al-Baqarah. I'm sure you've heard this verse. I just said one word.
You know, Arabic language, a lot of you might understand a little bit. But when Allah says نَبْلُوكُمْ It means, we will test you. And when He says لَنَبْلُوَنَّكُمْ He is emphasizing it so strongly.
Individual Gifts and Abilities
What are you going to do? Some of us when we are tested, we get angry. Some of us when we are tested, we get depressed. Allah says, no.
There's no point in getting depressed, no point in getting angry. We could not all go to top schools. Agreed? We could not all get certain qualifications that we might have wanted.
We had to fit in somewhere sometimes. Either because we didn't do that well. Not everyone's brain is exactly the same in capacity.
Allah created you. You are good at something. What is it? It might be different from what I am good at.
But Allah did not leave you just like that. There is something that He gave you. Sometimes you don't realize what He has given you.
He has bestowed upon you some gift that others perhaps don't have to your level. Some people are very intelligent. Some people are good with their hands.
Some people are good at mathematics. Some people love biology, geography. Some people are very good at administration.
Some people are good as teachers. Some people are good as, for example, computer specialists. Some people are good at sitting and watching.
So they are guards. Subhanallah. Alhamdulillah.
I see you are smiling. I didn't say lazy. I said good at sitting and watching.
MashaAllah. May Allah help us. You still can have a job.
And you still can go. And how much will you earn? Let me inform you. At the beginning I said, man is such he can adapt.
That's Allah's gift to you. You can adapt. The man who earns 50,000 qatar riyals a month, and another who earns 500 qatar riyals a month, trust me they are eating.
Trust me they are surviving. They get used to it. When that man who is earning 50,000, one day suddenly loses his job, and he is not earning, he will struggle.
If he is a mu'min, he will make the most of what he has. He probably has saved a little bit in a beautiful way, because he knows that I'm a mu'min, I'm a Muslim, and perhaps this is a gift of Allah, I need to make the most of it. And if he is not a mu'min, or his iman is weak, he will start to cry.
He will become depressed. He will become upset. He will not be able to survive.
Not realizing that the one on the street, who is wearing a uniform, and sweeping, he is happy. As-salamu alaykum. He is looking at you.
Time for salah. He puts his broom on one side, and allahu akbar, and he is so happy, he is delighted, mashallah. You give him one riyal, oh jazakallah, thank you so much sir, thank you sir.
He will carry your bags, your plastic bags, from the supermarket, all the way to your hotel room, in the middle of the heat, and he won't expect more than one to ten riyals from you, subhanallah. And he is happy and delighted. But you are a human being just like him.
How come he is doing that? That's a gift of Allah. And he is happier than you are, yet you've got a thousand riyal in your pocket. That's Allah.
Adapt. This is the test. This is something that really we need to think about.
Perspective on Difficulties
Don't become depressed at your test, because your test is considered a gift for other people in their real life. Does it make sense? I have seen people without legs, wallahi. And they are so happy.
I met a man who cannot move for many many years. May Allah grant him shifa. He is paralyzed from top to bottom.
He communicates with his eyes. May Allah grant him cure. But if you see him, you talk to him, you will be motivated, because trust me, his contentment and happiness with Allah is far greater by the will of Allah than a lot of us who are seated here today.
We have small issues. So don't become depressed. The issues are there.
That's what the dunya is all about. I'm here to tell you today that hardships in your life would start from the point of birth. Even before anything is written against you, your hardships have started.
You know Allah says, your deeds are going to be written at the age of maturity. When you mature, then the pen is lifted and things are written for you or against you at that age. But your hardships, they start before that.
Innocent children, sometimes you ask yourself, why is it that Allah has tested this child, the kidney failure? May Allah grant shifa to those who have kidney failure. Why is it that Allah has tested this child? Innocent child cannot see. Innocent child cannot hear.
That all is a test. Allah knows why. It's a test for you who are around the child.
As for the child, Allah knows that it is Allah's child before it came to you on earth. And it will go back to Allah and perhaps Allah will grant that child a lofty rank in Jannah. It is something amazing.
And we definitely need to think about this unique system of Allah.
Dealing with Marriage Issues in the Community
So my brothers and sisters, as the child grows older and the child starts asking a question, and I got to the point of marriage, and the child is saying, I want to marry. Please consider what the child is saying.
Those who say, I am embarrassed about what people will say, they need to understand. There is a greater embarrassment concerning what Allah will have to say or do. Remember this.
People start saying back at home, what are they going to say? The people, wallahi, are you really bothered to fulfill the amanah of Allah for you? If that is the case, watch out. Fulfill it in a beautiful way. If you have proper reasons, give them.
MashaAllah, talk to your child. Don't use the fact, oh, you know, in our family, it doesn't work like this. Do you not belong to Islam as a family? Are we not family members here? Are you not part of my family? I'm part of your family.
We have the deen. We have Islam. SubhanAllah.
So, don't say, you know, in my family, my tribe, they don't allow it. You know, our culture, if your culture agrees with Islam, it's a beautiful culture. If there are two, three elements that are against Islam, you have to drop them, because Islam comes first.
Adjusting Dreams and Expectations
I am saying that yes, there is an ideal. Every parent has some dream. But can I tell you that reality, whether you like it or not, you have to adjust your dream as the years pass.
If you don't, you will be angry, you will be depressed. Many of us, when we were young, we had a dream. One day I will do this, one day I will do that, one day I will do this.
And you had to change your dream. I'm sure you heard the story about the man who was... I said it in this masjid sometime back, and I want to say it again. The man who was a porter, and he had a dream that one day I will carry the goods of someone who's wealthy, and I'll get some money and I'll do something.
The Story of the Porter and His Dreams
So what happened is, he was at the train station, and there was a man who came out of the train with some milk. Milk in a can, a big can. And he was a wealthy man.
That time there was a shortage of milk, so to have milk is something big. So he said, can you carry this? This man says, yes, I will carry this for you. And he says, I will give you a nice amount of money, good amount of money for this.
So that man puts, he took the can and he put it on top of his head. And he was walking. Very happy.
Today his dream is coming true. Why? Because I'm going to get a lot of money. And you know they have a skill.
The porters, if you have seen them, they put something on their head, they have a skill to put something on top without holding it. And they can even run, it won't fall. They can even run, it won't fall.
Because they know, they are experts in their field. Subhanallah. This young man, he has this thing and he's walking, walking.
And that man says, look, whatever you do, don't drop the milk. He said, no, I won't, don't worry, I won't. So he's walking.
And as he's walking, he's thinking to himself, I'm going to get, say for example, a hundred dollars from this man, or ten dollars, whatever it was. I will buy two chickens. From there, the chickens will lay eggs.
When they lay eggs, I will start selling eggs. Then I will buy more chickens. Before I know it, I'm going to have a fowl run.
And I will have many chickens, they will lay eggs, and I will also start selling the chickens themselves. So I will now be a person who sells chickens and eggs. And after some time, I will buy some sheep.
And then I will have, I will have a little farm. And I will be able to grow. On one hand, I have my chickens, my eggs.
The other hand, I will have sheep and perhaps goats. I might want to sell some of the milk of the goats. And I might end up selling the sheep.
And I will open a butcher. I will be a butcher. And after some time, I'll buy a big piece of land and I'm going to buy some cows.
When I buy the cows, we will sell milk, we will sell cows, we will sell so many things. Wow! I will employ two hundred, three hundred people and I will make sure that everything runs. And he is busy walking with this milk on his head.
And his plan. His plan. Beautiful plan.
It's workable, isn't it? It can work. If he works hard and Allah gives him acceptance. There are from amongst us, even maybe sitting here, people who started off with nothing.
And mashallah, today they have so much. You know that. So it's possible.
So he has this dream and then he says, then I will buy a building in the city center. I will buy because now, when I make money, I can't just leave all my eggs in one basket. I will buy a building in the city center.
And after that, I will buy another building and I will give it on rent and I will become one of the biggest, one of the biggest businessman in this whole land.
Then I will go to the king to ask him for his daughter. Did you hear that? I will go to the king because now they will know me.
I will be a businessman and I will be the biggest. They will ask me for, they will ask, when he asks, I will then go to them and say, look, I want to marry your daughter. And as he is thinking this, he hit a rock and this thing here fell down.
So when it fell down, the owner of the milk, he was so upset, he turned around and said, look, what did you do to my milk? I lost my milk. He says, wait, hang on, relax. You only lost your milk? I lost my chickens, I lost my goats, I lost my eggs, I lost everything.
I lost my, so many people lost their jobs. And at the same time, I even lost a wife. The point I'm raising is you have to adjust your dreams because you have a dream.
It's not wrong to dream. Dream, please dream. But remember, it's Allah's plan.
You will have to adjust. We have idea, oh, I have daughters. InshaAllah, I will get them grow, you know, they will grow up, mashaAllah, under me.
I will teach them, they will become hafidha of the Quran. Everyone has a dream. I want my child to become imam of the masjid, to learn Islam, to spread the deen.
Everyone has a good dream. I want my child to do this, to do that, you know what? And then you say, I want my child to marry someone, inshaAllah, who's a really good person and inshaAllah, they will have children, I will have grandchildren one day by the will of Allah and whatever, whatever. It's exactly like this man who had his dreams with his, you know, can of milk at the top.
If anything happens to that can, trust me, you have to adjust your dreams. But Allah will give you something not very far off. If you aim very high with your children, inshaAllah, at least you will get halfway there.
But if you have no aim, where are you going to go? You have no aim. So, I have met young people, I want to memorize the Quran. I want to memorize the Quran.
Give me some advice. Memorizing the Quran is not easy. Yes, it's good that you have the intention.
Start today. You might not finish everything and you might find it difficult. How many children started if and then after a little while, they gave up, they found it very difficult.
At least they have a link with the Quran. At least now, you can read the Quran looking inside properly. Some parents, they say, I want my child to be hafidh.
They push the child, they force the child, they have a problem with the child, they start fighting with the child. And the child goes in and the child starts learning Quran. And they memorize one juz, and then they give up after a big fight.
You don't realize that while I was trying to make my child a full hafidh, at least now, they can read the Quran very beautifully looking inside. That's a bonus. Have you thought of it? But if you didn't even plan that, they wouldn't even have achieved this much.
The Divine Promise of Tests
So, life is filled with hardship. One after the other. Tests.
You have to adjust your dreams. You have... One day, you will have a lot of wealth. The next day, you will struggle because you will suffer a loss.
You have to suffer a loss. It's Allah's promise. Because that verse that I was reading in Surah Al-Baqarah, where Allah says وَلَنَبْلُوَنَّكُمْ You know what? He speaks about im there.
I will definitely test you. Some days, you will be inflicted with fear.
Fear of what? All types of fear.
You are scared. Look at the people in some of the lands around us. May Allah protect our lands.
May Allah grant them ease and goodness. Innocent people. They were living.
They had nothing. Nothing was happening. They weren't interfering with anybody.
They had to run away. Their homes were destroyed. Everything happened.
They found to be refugees all across the globe. What happened to them? Take a lesson. We are concerned.
We want to see solution. We are Muslimin. We want a stop to all the fighting and killing.
That's how it's supposed to be. That's what we make dua for. Sometimes there is confusion.
We don't even understand what's going on. That's how much confusion there is. But the lesson to learn is those people, a lot of them had more comfortable lives than you have today.
Do you realize that? What happened? Allah says, we tested them. We tested them. They adapted.
They went. They came. Those people who were living in air condition.
Those people who had beautiful beddings. They were found later on to be in camps of refugees where they don't even have a blanket. But they got used to it.
Allah gifted them by allowing their bodies to adjust. By allowing their system to adjust. You have to adjust.
If you don't, you get depressed. You become sick. You suffer a sickness, a mental disease because you did not adjust.
You have to adjust. When you lost your job or your salary went down or they were retrenching people and you had to go for example. Don't be depressed.
Make the most of what you have. Some of the people who are the healthiest and wealthiest are from among those who one day they suffered a dip and then they came up. They suffered a dip and then they came up.
The Story of Success After Rejection
I can give you a true story of a man who went to look for a job as a cleaner at one company in the United States. It's a true story. And he went for the interview.
He had the interview and this person asked him that, you know, what's your email? At the end of the interview, what's your email? He said, I don't have an email. He says, if you don't have an email, you are a nobody. You are a nobody.
We cannot give you the job if you don't have the email. Anyway, he was disgruntled, upset. He walked out.
As he went out, he saw some people selling tomatoes, you know. They call them tomatoes in America. Anyway, selling tomatoes on the road and what happened is he realized, hey, this is also a good way of earning money.
So he went to the market, he brought some tomatoes, he bought some, he sold, and he bought a few more and he sold and he became a person who sells vegetables and in no time, mashallah, he started delivering one corner to the other with a little bit of a profit and before he bought a little stall and a little, you know, one of those, what do they call them? A simple stall, one of those little stalls and he started selling from that and he was going on and on and he got to a time when he bought a corner store and after that he became a big supplier. Huge! And he became one of the biggest, one of the biggest in vegetables. And one day, he was invited to some main, you know, some company.
Huge! For some function and he went there and he met that man. Which man? A man who told him, you are nobody. Isn't it? And today he was somebody.
And guess what? When they met and he was so thankful where he said, you know what? If I was given that job, I was just going to be still a cleaner in your office. Did you hear that? But because you did not give me the job and you told me I'm a nobody, I walked out and I started a business and today without an email, I'm somebody. Subhanallah! So, I want to show you, this is an example to tell you that you know what? My brothers and sisters, when you are rejected somewhere, perhaps Allah wants you to do something big but if you become depressed, you won't be able to see the opportunities Allah has placed in front of your nose.
This man had to look to see the tomatoes and he realized, hey, this is a good idea. If he was depressed, he wouldn't even notice those tomatoes. He wouldn't even notice.
So, many of us here, we can relate to what I'm saying because you have a job today, tomorrow you don't have the job. It can happen. Don't let it depress you.
I'm here to tell you Allah is in charge. Allah is in control. Did you not have beautiful days? Yes, you did.
So, thank Allah. And continue working. I'm not saying sit back and relax and become a person who's just sitting and watching.
No. You have to actually go and try and work and do something that will help you in a beautiful way. And inshallah, in that way you'll be able to grow.
The Specific Tests Mentioned in the Quran
So, life is filled with obstacles. One of those obstacles, you will find is, as Allah makes mention of it. In fact, let me move through that verse one by one.
He says:
Allah says, we will test you with hunger. Sometimes you don't realize you have a lot of food today. And tomorrow you might not have it.
And sometimes you have the food, but tomorrow you might not be able to eat it because of your health condition. Subhanallah. You know, I was speaking to some brothers a few days ago and I was saying, when you are 20, you smell of perfume.
When you are 30, you smell of itr. The difference is, it's a little bit muraqqaz, it has a little bit of a different taste. You are now maturing a little bit perhaps.
I'm not saying it's wrong to use perfume, but I'm giving an example. When you are 40, it becomes oud, mashallah. Now you know what oud is all about.
And now you can afford it perhaps. And once you turn 50, you are smelling of vicks. May Allah forgive us.
May Allah grant us ease. It's Allah's way. You had your days, you were young, mashallah, you did everything.
But subhanallah, the days moved, and you continued. So the point I was raising is al-ju'a. Sometimes when you are young, you can eat.
You have chocolates and ice creams and everything. When you grow a little bit older, when you are 20, you are eating everything. When you are 30, so perhaps one or two things you start slowing down.
When you get to 40, you see it, you want it, you still can't eat it. When you get to 50, you can't even touch it sometimes. You really, you have to think 20 times.
I'd say, thank you so much. No, mashallah, you guys carry on. And in your heart, you desperately want to have it, but khalas, you can't.
So what happened? Your health made you not eat certain things that you really liked. It shows you that in this dunya, Allah will tell you there are things you like, you cannot have all of them. When you get married, you have your wife.
You can't have all the women. From the rose bush, you picked one. If you are lucky, you might have to pick one more or maybe another two more.
You will stop at four. Let me not go further with that one, inshallah. But the bulk of us, subhanallah, you are lucky, you are fortunate, you picked one.
But you have the one in your hand and you keep on looking at the rest of them. You are like a person who has sugar diabetes. You know you cannot have these chocolates and sweets, but you just look at them all day.
Come on, at least eat that which is healthy for you here, man. Subhanallah. Man does it with everything.
Very upset, very... You know, man wants all, but Allah says, in this world, every time there will be certain things you cannot have them. One of the reasons is because Allah has kept Jannah, that's why. In Jannah, the beauty of it, the difference of Jannah, is that you will have what you want.
There is no even age. You will be eating what you want, you will have what you want. There is no restriction whatsoever.
Whatever comes to your mind is yours. So if Allah gave you everything you wanted in this world, what was the point of creating Jannah? But Allah says, No, we won't give you. You see the cars, you find the cars.
You can buy the latest car today. Wallahi, as you are driving it, you will see one later than that. It just shows you the dunya, when you run behind it, it has to run faster than you.
You have an iPhone 7, you have ordered the new Tesla. You know, the Tesla is the new, the car of the future. It's already there.
You can order it, $35,000 inshallah. They will deliver it next year. But you order the car, it's amazing.
But can I tell you something? When you get it, there will be so many others who have it and another model which is perhaps higher than that. And they will have a different brand which might even be better than that. Who knows? This is what it is.
That's the dunya. That's the nature of the world. You know, I want to give you one beautiful example that you will relate to.
The Example of Material Desires
Many years ago, when I was much younger, we used to have certain cars. From among those cars, there was a Mercedes. That was known, it was 1, 2, 3 series.
You can go and Google it and check it. 300D, wow. That was like the car of the time.
They used to advertise this vehicle. And I remember going into, I didn't afford it or anything, but going into the Mercedes showroom and just to get the book and to look at it and say, Hey, lovely. It's your dream car, the 300D.
People who are very, should I say, short-sighted, they make a dua to say, Oh Allah, this car here, Ya Allah. You know, at least if I don't get in the dunya, then at least in jannah, give me the car. Young people, you ask them, young people, you ask them, So, what would you like in jannah? I know, my own son, one day he told me, I need a Bugatti in jannah.
And then I had to correct him. I asked the question because I want to correct him. I said, Bugatti, by the time you grow old, you won't even want to see it.
So today, if someone offered the same people who are making a dua, that time for a 300D, a 300D in the dunya, forget about the akhirah. They will say, I don't need it, I don't want it. You understand the point? So, this is why we say, Allah has kept the dunya such that when you run behind it, it runs faster than you.
You will never be able to keep up with it. But you need to understand and realize that Allah puts hardships as a gift. Another gift regarding hardship is, it softens your heart.
It makes you get close to Allah. You have hunger, you have fear. What do you do? Oh Allah, save me.
You know, people talk about jinn. Subhanallah. And there are jinn around and people are worried because you start seeing this person.
Learn what Islam says. It's not my topic today, but I can tell you something interesting. After Salatul Fajr, after Salatul Maghrib, we read what is called mu'awwidat.
Why? To protect yourself. From what? From matters of the unseen, issues of al-'ayn, issues of jinn and so on. Why? Because there is an element of fear.
Allah has blessed you, read your mu'awwidat. Ask Allah's protection. Allah gave you something so that you are not affected.
Without that element, you wouldn't have read this du'a. Do you know that? Without that element, you wouldn't have read it perhaps. And speaking about jinn, there were these children that also they fear the jinn.
The Story About Fear of Jinn
You might have heard me say this. I said it last year sometime and I repeated it once or twice. But I want to say it again.
So, how people fear jinn is very very interesting. Yet the jinn in reality fear man. Do you know that? It's only when you fear them, then they can come for you.
But if you don't fear them, you fear Allah alone, they will not even harm you. So what happened is this jinn, two boys are trying to convince each other about something they learnt in the madrasa. And what happened is, the boy is telling the other boy, look, you have to say bismillah when you are drinking water.
You have to say bismillah when you are drinking water. So the boy says, look, it's just water. I know when I'm eating, I will say bismillah.
This is only water. So, why? Convince me, tell me, explain to me. Give me a good reason why I need to say bismillah before I drink this water.
So he's trying to explain, you know, you have to say bismillah because it's the hadith and because this. The boy says, no, I want to be convinced. He says, okay, I tell you.
You have to say bismillah because in water, there are three jinns. There are three jinns. Three jinns.
He is so worried. What do you mean three jinns? He says, yes. You better say bismillah.
Bismillah. So what are the jinns? Where are the jinns? He says, no, two hydrogen and one oxygen. H2O.
May Allah forgive us. But that's just a point to show you how people fear the jinn. So because of this khawf that you have, what happens, one of the points is it drives you closer to Allah.
You make dua. Your health, for example, we fear that sometimes when you are not feeling well and you are going for a test, you have a major blood test or some scan or something, what do you do? You cry to Allah. Oh Allah, help me.
My test results must be clear, ya Allah. Those who have been ill, may Allah grant them shifa. Those with cancer, may Allah grant them cure.
Those with any type of disease and sickness, may Allah grant you cure. And all of us. And those who are healthy, may Allah keep you healthy.
Ameen. So this is part of the plan of Allah. That there will be times when you are fearful.
And hunger. We spoke about hunger. Then Allah says:
Beautiful. We will test you with loss of wealth and life. Loss of wealth and life. So all of us who are seated here and everyone who's going to listen to this in the future also.
I can tell you something. There will never be a single person who has not seen a loss in their life.
Sometimes that loss doesn't mean it's going to take you underground and make you bankrupt.
No. But if you were earning easily at some stage, there will come a time when that earning is not going to be the same. For Allah to test you, what are you going to do? Do you realize before we made you, we already told you what we're going to do to you.
Before we made you, we told you we're going to test you. You have a beautiful job and suddenly it's no longer there. Or you have a beautiful job, beautiful salary and suddenly they're cutting down on salaries.
And you have to take a cut rather than an increase. All of us want increase, isn't it? Salaries you want increase and they tell you, look, you know what, either you take a cut or we can't afford you anymore. You have to make a big decision.
Don't become depressed. Turn to Allah. Read two raka'at of salah.
(Abu Dawud 1319)
When the Prophet (peace be upon him) was overcome by something, he used to quickly go to salah. Whenever there was something of concern, he used to read salah. And that salah used to help so much.
You're getting closer to Allah. You're praying to Allah. So Allah says, we will test all of you with loss.
You cannot make a profit every day. You cannot be on a good wicket every day. There will be loss.
The deals, when you buy certain things, some of those things, there will be baraka in and some of them no baraka in. Sometimes you buy a car and it lasts for 10 years and it's still like new. And sometimes you buy a car and the first year, it's already damaged and broken and it's like a waste.
That was from Allah. He tested you. So long as you're not reckless, so long as you try to look after the ni'mah of Allah, you need to now move on.
You need to thank Allah and carry, do something about it. The situation that you are in, don't dig a hole in the ground and start becoming depressed.
Thank Allah, no matter what it is.
The Reward for Praising Allah in Difficulty
That's why on the day of judgment, those going to Jannah, one of the categories, a caller will call:
And they will be granted Jannah. Who, who are those? Those who used to praise Allah at times of ease and at times of hardship. They used to say, Alhamdulillah, come, we want to give you Jannah.
Imagine, Allah is telling you, those who used to thank me when they were in hardship, I want to give them Jannah. Because they're thanking me, at least I gave them something. Compare yourself with someone worse than you, you still have a gift.
So my brothers and sisters, when something negative happens to you, you say:
I praise Allah on all conditions.
Only I seek Allah's protection from the condition of those who are in the fire, the people of the fire.
So learn to thank Allah (الْحَمْدُ لِلَّهِ عَلَى كُلِّ حَالٍ) And then Allah says, we will test you with loss of life.
What is the meaning of loss of life? Subhanallah. Your parents, your children, your siblings, your friends, and those who you know, those who are close to you, we will take them away. Either we will take you before them or them before you, or we take all of you together.
That's a test. You came in this world, what's the next step? Before I came here, I was somewhere. Then I came here, and after this, I need to go somewhere.
Isn't it? This is a short period of time. Everyone's time is different. Allah says, we will test you by taking life away.
So the life will go. It has to go. You have no option.
Your father has to die. You have to die. Your child has to die.
Someone has to die. We only don't know the timing, and we don't know how. So what do you do? Yes, you will cry.
The Prophet's Example in Dealing with Loss
The Prophet (peace be upon him) lost his son Ibrahim, and he was carrying him, and he was crying. And the sahabah (may Allah be pleased with them) looking at the tears of Rasulullah (peace be upon him). And you know what? He made the beautiful statement.
He says, when they asked about the tears, he says:
(Bukhari 1303)
He says, I'm not questioning the decree of Allah. These tears are the tears of rahmah. They are tears of mercy.
Allah has put in the hearts of those who have mercy. It's normal to cry. It's normal to be saddened at a loss.
But it's not the sign of a mu'min to become depressed at a loss. That's the difference. Don't become depressed.
Don't play the blame game. Blame game meaning, if I did this, maybe my child would have this, or my brother would have this, if I did this, that, all those ifs:
According to the hadith, (لّؤ), when you say (لَوْ) this, that maybe this, if that, if this, it opens the door of the devil. That's what the hadith says.
The devil will tamper with your mind, destroy your relations, everything gone. Don't do that. Thank Allah.
Oh Allah, help me:
(Muslim 918)
Oh Allah, you are asking Allah's help to grant you reward in that calamity and difficulty that you have, help you through it, save you from the calamity and at the same time give me something better in return, oh Allah. That's what you are saying.
So it's an amazing gift of Allah. Brothers and sisters, life will be full of hardship. Like I say, you will lose your children or your spouse if you are married and you really love your wife or your husband.
You have to tell yourself, one day they're going to go, or I'm going to go, or we're going to go together. You have to. There's no two ways.
Don't let that depress you, because that's life. That is life. You look at your children, it is normal to think that you know what, let me use this, let me thank Allah for this goodness as it is here, I may not have my children soon.
It's normal to think that. But it's not normal to become depressed at that because that is part of the test of Allah. When you go to school, it's normal to be tested.
You don't see the question and you just sit back with your pen down and you are depressed and you are crying, hard question. The question is so difficult.
And you are crying, while you are sitting in the exam room, try, attempt it, do something, say something, use whatever you've learned, check, write some form of an answer, anything, whatever you want to write, try and inshallah, perhaps you might have struck it, but if you didn't try, you put your pen down and you started crying, you definitely failed.
There was no question about it.
Conclusion: Dying with Hope in Allah
So, this is why we say, my brothers and sisters, look at the Quran, see that Allah says He will test you. From the point of birth you are tested and you will be tested all the way to the point of death.
Even the sickness right at the end when people are terminally ill, a powerful piece of advice, you die with hope in Allah:
Final Advice: Using Hardship to Get Closer to Allah
Wallahi, my brothers and sisters, when you go through difficulty, it's a gift of Allah. You become closer to Allah. You come to salah, you come to tahajjud, you come to dua, your heart is softened, you become a better person, you start dressing with hijab, you start doing things for the sake of Allah.
You realize that life is not all about partying, and it's not all about wasting of money. My brothers and sisters, learn to save a little bit. Learn to reach out to other people.
When you help other people, Allah will help you. So inshallah, in this way, we will be able to get closer and closer to Allah. I hope that the few words I have said will be of benefit to myself to begin with, and then to the rest of us.
Closing Dua
I conclude with these words, and may Allah send blessings and peace upon our Prophet Muhammad. Glory be to Allah and all praise is due to Him. Glory be to You, O Allah, and all praise is due to You. We bear witness that there is no god but You. We seek Your forgiveness and turn to You in repentance.