Ismail ibn Musa Menk The Productive Muslim
By Mufti Menk | 2026-01-11T21:14:18.647487+00:00 | Topic: Quran
The Productive Muslim
Speaker: Mufti Ismail Menk
Opening and Greetings
In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful. As-salamu alaykum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuh. In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.
All praise is due to Allah, the Lord of the worlds. And peace and blessings be upon the one who was sent as a mercy to the worlds. Our Prophet Muhammad and upon his family, his companions, his followers, and those who followed them with goodness until the Day of Recompense.
We always praise Allah. We send blessings and salutations upon Muhammad (peace be upon him), his entire household, all his companions. We ask Allah to bless every single one of them, and to grant every one of us the blessings.
We ask Allah to bless our offspring, those to come up to the end of time. May Allah keep us all steadfast.
The Foundation of Islamic Productivity
Brothers and sisters in Islam, a beautiful evening in this beautiful country, the United Arab Emirates, in the beautiful city of Dubai. Beautiful venue with beautiful brothers and sisters. Every one of us is productive. That's why we are here.
If we had no productivity in us, we would still have been sleeping back at home. And there might be other productive people listening to us online by the will of Allah. They too have some form of productivity which we need to acknowledge.
So we thank Allah for making us people who really can use our time wisely. This evening we are speaking of a productive Muslim. Firstly, the Muslim part of it is extremely important because that is what will guide the productivity.
If a person does not have in them that Islam, then perhaps their productivity might not be of benefit to the ummah of Muhammad (peace be upon him). And perhaps it might have a totally different impact on humankind at large. So we thank Allah for being Muslim, who are surrenders to the word of Allah.
The Essential Link with Allah
This is why it's important for me to start off by reminding myself and yourselves that the root of the productivity of a Muslim lies in his or her link with his maker or her maker. If you have no link with Allah, how do you expect that productivity of yours or the capacity, the ability that Allah has given you to be used in the right channel?
How do you expect your intention for doing something or using the capacity you have, the intention behind it to be correct when we don't even have the basics which is the link with our own maker or the ability or readiness to surrender to the teachings of Muhammad (peace be upon him). This is why when we call ourselves Muslim, we should be ashamed if we do not surrender because we would be lying.
We would be telling a lie. A man says, I'm a Muslim. Muslim means al-istislamu lillah - someone who surrenders to Allah and he's not productive enough to get up for salatul fajr. He's not productive enough to go to the masjid for salah, for example. So can he really say I have surrendered to Allah? Let's be honest.
Can someone who's not prepared to adopt the commands of Allah at all say that I am a surrenderer to the law of Allah and the reason why we start off with this is there is room for improvement in my life and in yours and by the will of Allah, we can all do better in this regard.
Divine Encouragement for Spiritual Progress
Every one of us, no matter how close we seem we are to Allah, we can become even closer and the beauty of Allah is he says to us in a hadith qudsi, whoever comes to me a hand span, I come to him an entire foot. Whoever comes to me walking, I come to him rushing and so on.
This is because whatever you have used your energies towards, normally you achieve a result and if you use it towards going to Allah, you will achieve such a great result that your maker will come closer to you than your attempt to get close to him. So what you need and I need is the attempt, the correct attempt by the will of Allah and we need to fulfill that.
The Role of Repentance in Productivity
A very important point also is the link we have with Allah is always polished up through tawbah, through repentance. We as human beings, we falter, we err, we make mistakes, we say things sometimes that we may not be proud of or we do things that we believe we could have done better. So a way to gain closeness to Allah is that each one of us needs to constantly repent or ask his forgiveness.
Not just thinking that I did not commit a major sin, so I don't need to repent, but repenting and asking Allah forgiveness for that which we know and that which we don't know. Believe me, it increases the link with Allah and therefore it makes us utilize the energies we have been given by Allah, the capacities, the different gifts that we have been granted by Allah. It makes us utilize them in a way that we become of benefit to all those around us in a beautiful way.
Prayer as the Foundation of Productivity
Prayer as Professional Training
The most productive thing you could ever do is to worship Allah. The most productive thing you could ever do is to fulfill your salah on time. It is an automatic way of making you a professional leader. You have the time management close at hand, done automatically by your maker. Before sunrise you are up.
So your laziness is out because laziness and productivity do not come together. Laziness and productivity will definitely never see eye to eye. So if a person cannot give up his laziness or hers, with the bare minimum of fulfilling salah or fulfilling the duty to Allah, then what does he or she expect?
A Story About Understanding Prayer
So let's get to the story of a man. And it's a true story. This man comes in for Salatul Fajr after he heard a powerful talk of someone and he felt, you know what? Let me get to salah at least. So he got up early in the morning. The imam is reading Surah Al-Baqarah. Now Surah Al-Baqarah, you know, what is the meaning of Baqarah? The cow.
And he's reading a long Surah, and this young man is standing behind him. He's waiting, and he's listening, and he doesn't understand much. This is why part of productivity is to make sure you understand the word of Allah. Part of productivity is to make sure you understand the will of Allah. Go and get it. You know, we need to be go-getters.
The Importance of Understanding the Quran
How many of us have read the meanings of the Quran in a language we understand from cover to cover? We can do better, can't we? We can do better. The word of your maker, the one who made you. He gave you such a beautiful life.
He gave you such brilliant weather in such a lovely country. So beautiful family members, and so much of wealth, and so much of food, and so on. And you have not yet read why He made you from His own kalam, from His own word.
Surely we can do better. And by the will of Allah, don't just nod your head. We need to say, Yes, tonight I'm going to get a Quran, whether it's the Sahih International, which is the simplest English translation you can ever read, or another book of tafsir and so on.
The Problem of Not Understanding Quranic Recitation
When the imam is reading some beautiful verses:
"Has the time not come for the believers, for their hearts to soften up towards the remembrance of Allah and what was revealed from the truth."
And yet we don't know what it means. So we're busy saying, when is this imam going to finish? It's a reality. When is this imam going to finish? But that's the word of Allah. What an insult. It is more beautiful than my word and yours. I can never ever think that of the word of Allah. The problem is I don't know the meaning. I've not made an effort to learn the meaning.
So the man arrives at salat al-Maghrib and the imam starts,
So he asks the brother, hey, what surah is this? He says, it is the elephant. He says, whoa, Baqarah was so big. I'm going away.
Baqarah was such a long surah. Elephant must be... So he says, brother, this is your negative thought. This is one of the shortest surahs in the Quran.
Balancing Worldly Life and the Hereafter
The Comprehensive Muslim Prayer
The point being raised here is, how can we be productive when, firstly, we treat this salat, which is the most important link between us and Allah, with so much of negativity. And secondly, we come to the wrong conclusions based on the wrong principle we have in life.
So if you have a wrong principle in life, and if you are living only for the sake of this life, you will never be able to be productive as a Muslim. You might be productive in the world, you've achieved so much, but you forgot to produce for your akhira.
The Best Dua in the Quran
This is why, if you look at one of the best duas in the Quran, Allah, through the dua, informs us of the importance of this worldly life, and how important it is to be a successful person who has happiness in the dunya. That can only come with the discipline of Islam, with the discipline of the laws of Allah.
So Allah tells us,
- From amongst the people, there are some who ask Allah saying, O Allah, grant us in this dunya, but they don't have a portion of the akhira, of the life after death.
They only make dua for this world. Ya Allah, I need the job. Ya Allah, I need the health. Ya Allah, I need the wealth. Ya Allah, I need a spouse. All these duas are good. But what dua did you make for the life after death?
- From amongst them are those who call out to Allah, saying, O Allah, grant us the goodness in the dunya and grant us the goodness of the life after death as well and save us from the punishment of the fire.
True Submission to Allah
This attitude needs to improve. The way we treat Allah should not be with laziness. It should not be as though I have a choice about it. In surah al-Ahzab Allah says,
- It is not befitting or it is not for a believing male or female that when Allah and His Messenger have declared something that he or she feels that I have a choice about it.
A true believer believes, I don't have a choice. It is Allah. He has decided this and I will do it. If my weakness makes me dilly-dally, I need to make sure I repent and as soon as I can, I need to get back on track.
Following the Example of Prophet Muhammad
The Link with the Prophet
We have productivity. Firstly, with our link with Allah. We will be productive by the will of Allah. Then the link with Muhammad (peace be upon him). We have a problem. What is the problem? A lot of us say, I love Rasulullah (peace be upon him). When someone says Muhammad, we are quick to say sallallahu alayhi wa sallam.
Yes, that is an instruction.
(Hadith)
- Whoever sends blessings upon me, once Allah sends blessings upon him, tenfold. So if I want blessings or you want blessings, male or female, you need to send blessings and salutations upon Muhammad (peace be upon him) and you receive this reward.
So part of productivity is to engage in this type of صَلَّى عَلَى النَّبِيِّ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمْ But that is not the sole link with Muhammad (peace be upon him).
Understanding the Shahada Properly
When we say la ilaha illa Allah, Muhammadur Rasulullah (peace be upon him), what we need to realize is we have declared that there is no deity, no one worthy of worship besides Allah. So I will not worship my wealth, my position, the people around me, the sticks, the stones, whatever else there is in terms of this material life and anything that is created.
I will never worship it. Worship Allah alone. That is the most productive way of looking at la ilaha illallah and it is the way of looking at it. Whatever Allah says, I surrender. That's me. That's why I call myself a surrenderer, Muslim.
The Perfect Example
But Allah says,
33:21) - Indeed, we have a shining example to emulate in Muhammad (peace be upon him). In the person of Muhammad (peace be upon him). A beautiful example.
The way he did business, the way he treated his spouse, his family members, the people, the Muslims, the non-Muslims, how forgiving he was, how kind he was, his beautiful words, how he spoke, how he walked, how he talked. Every single thing is at the peak of excellence if only we are productive enough to go through the seerah of Muhammad (peace be upon him).
The Most Successful Human Being
How many of us have read a detailed biography of the life of Muhammad (peace be upon him) from cover to cover? We can do better by the will of Allah.
The most successful human being to exist was Muhammad (peace be upon him) without a doubt. You know people say, Oh, this guy's got 1.5 million followers on Facebook. Oh, that guy's got 10 million followers. Big deal. Muhammad (peace be upon him) has got 2.5 billion likes.
How's that? Did he have internet? No. Did he have a loud hailer? No. So what happened? That was Allah gave him success. But our problem is we have not yet read through the pages of how that success was achieved. That's the problem.
Productivity in Family Life
Children as Investment
When we have children, children are an investment for our dunya and the akhira. Amazing, you know one day, I was sitting with a man. And he told me, we got chatting, non-Muslim. And we got chatting and we talking about all sorts of things and so on. And then he tells me, how many children do you have? I told him, I have seven.
He said, what? Seven? Seven kids? Are you crazy? How are you going to afford that? That's the question. Because it's looked at from a different angle altogether. Sometimes people who do not have iman look at children as an expense.
"(Hadith) - It's something of the Prophet's (peace be upon him) teachings. To want more children or as many as you can bring up properly. Obviously there are teachings of Islam in this regard which are detailed, which I'm not going to go into because it's not part of the topic.
Continuing Rewards After Death
But we need to bring up our children with a lot of discipline and with goodness, with character. By the will of Allah, if we know that every child that reads salah because of our encouragement, even after we die,
we will be receiving a reward for that particular child's productivity.
The hadith says (Bukhari hadith 1631) - If a person, a human being dies, all his deeds are cut off from him besides three things. What are these three things? One is, knowledge that he may have disseminated. Two is, a charitable deed that is a continued charity that he may have given, somehow benefiting others.
This is productivity. To learn is productivity, but more productive than learning is to put into practice and disseminate. That's why in Islam, it's not only ilm, but it's ilmun wa amal, wa da'wah. You need to learn, you need to put into practice, and you need to call others towards it. Convey the message.
Responsibility Towards Children
And one of the points I was raising, and that's why I raised the hadith, is a child who prays for you, after you've died. How will that child pray for you when you have not been of any positive impact upon your own children? Father, you were never at home. Where were you? I was at work all day every day. So my child was brought up by whom? I don't even know.
If I do not take part in the lives of my children, I'm not a productive Muslim. Because Allah says,
O you who believe, save yourselves and your family members from the fire.
That's a Muslim. So if I understand this, and I believe it, and I work towards it, I'm so productive that the day I die, not only will I be saved, but my children will have direction by the will of Allah.
Productivity in the Workplace
Being a Muslim Professional vs. Professional Muslim
Then we have the workplace. All of us, majority of us, we work. Some of us are self-employed. Some of us are employed by others. Some might be looking for jobs. May Allah make it easy for you to find a good job.
The reality is, at the workplace, are you a dedicated Muslim? You know, we have doctors, lawyers, accountants, and so many people. One is to have a doctor, who is a Muslim. And the other is to have a Muslim doctor. There is a difference between the two.
Why? One, he is conscious of his Islam. And he is conscious of leaving that Islam in the hearts of everyone he interacts with or she interacts with. Conscious of it. And the other is a professional who is trying to hide the fact that they are Muslim. But they are Muslim.
Big difference between the two. You want to be a productive Muslim, do not shy away from being Islamic. Your name is Abdul Aziz, say it is Abdul Aziz. Do not say it is Zizi. It's a reality. May Allah protect us.
Leadership Through Example
(Bukhari hadith 893) - Every one of you is a shepherd. And each one of you is responsible for his or her flock.
So we've all been given some form of leadership, some form of gift from Allah. We have energies, we have capacities. Why do we need to use those capacities without confirming our Islam and without confirming the fact that we believe in Allah and we are Muslim.
Character at Work
If you are honest and upright at your workplace, you don't flirt as the others flirt. And people know this man is so good. He's such a professional. He is brilliant in every way. And you know what? He's upright. No flirting, no bad habits and so on. Such a good person.
The non-Muslims will be making du'a to say, Allah, give us a husband like this. They'll be making du'a in their own way. They will be praying in their own way. To say, we want a brilliant husband. I know of people who will say that we want an upright Muslim as a husband. And they're not Muslim.
Professional Punctuality
Let's better our attitude. Let's become disciplined. You are on time. Why? As a Muslim, it should be so easy for you to come. If your work kicks off at 8, 5 to 8, the Muslims are there. Why? Because you read your salah.
I can be disciplined for Allah by never missing a single salah five times a day. Work, I only have to go there once a day. Why can't I arrive on time at least?
When you do something, do it properly. The reason I say this, that productivity reaches so far, and it really impacts the people's lives that we don't realize these small pieces of discipline that we achieve through spirituality should help us to become professional.
Community and Social Productivity
Contributing to the Mosque
What have you contributed towards the masjid in your area? The minimum contribution is to attend for salah. Did you know that? The minimum contribution which is actually not a contribution, but it is a gift for you, call it a contribution today, is for you to attend.
When you get into your grave, your link with the house of Allah is going to help you because the hadith says
(Bukhari hadith 660) - A person whose heart is always hanging in the masjid, he always wants to go back to the house of Allah, always concerned about his prayer, always
concerned about the timing of the prayer and so on, that person will have a special shade on the day of judgment.
Charitable Giving
When there is a charitable cause, how many of us can reach out meaningfully? Meaningfully. To be productive does not just mean to give a charity. Look where you are giving it. Who are you giving it to? Are they responsible people? Will they fulfill it? Will they get it to where it is supposed to get to?
That is part of productivity. If I've got wealth, it's easy for me to give. But it's not easy for me to give the right people. It's not easy for me to reach the right people sometimes. It will be a little bit more of an effort to find the right people and give it to them.
Choosing the Right Company
Your choice of friends and the people you mix with plays such a big role in how productive you are going to be. Some people get together, the only thing they like is to watch. What are you watching? Cricket. What else? Football. What else? The movies.
If that is the only thing you are doing, then believe me, your company needs a little bit of adjustment. Because life is not all about golf. You know, when the angel asks you questions, you can't say, Oh, I played 18 holes of par.
Utilizing Youth Energy
When we do not utilize the energies of the youth, we bore them into lack of productivity. We actually boot them out into oblivion. The youth have a lot of energy. Use them for something. Mobilize them. Get them used in something constructive.
Because if not, they will start partying. Because for them, that's the past time. They have nothing better to do. Why? Nobody allowed them to do something.
Using Time and Health Wisely
The Prophet (peace be upon him( says, Two gifts of Allah. Many people are deceived regarding them. What are these two gifts? Your health. Whilst you have it, be productive. Use it.
There will come a day when you won't have it. So, whilst you can fulfill your salah, whilst you can use that energy to reach out to as many people as you can in the most positive way. Same applies to your time, your free time. If you're not going to utilize it, believe me, I know of some people who are so productive that every minute they get, they are doing something to reach out to as many as they can.
Social Interactions and Communication
Visiting the Sick and Elderly
If you'd like to be productive, you need to reach out to the poor. You need to reach out to the orphans. You need to go visiting. You know, visiting the sickly is something very productive. They have a heart at the time that has a condition that is softer than the normal times when they were healthy.
Imagine if someone comes, short visit, power pack, telling you words that motivated you, shook you up, gave you a lot of hope and a lot of courage and they went away. You're smiling. You're smiling for half an hour. You're thinking of it in the evening. You have so much hope. You feel half better because you know there are people out there who care for you.
That's productivity. This is why the hadith of Muhammad (peace be upon him) gives so much importance to visiting the sickly. Go and visit the elderly. You'll get a page of wisdom from them.
Proper Etiquette in Visiting
When you visit people, have a time limit. You don't go and sit. Today we have technology. Message them. Make sure they are comfortable with your visit. Because when a person is not comfortable with your visit, It is the most destructive visit you would ever have. No productivity in it.
We've got technology. Phone them. I'd like to come. Is it convenient for me to visit you? You've agreed. And when we visit, you don't sit whole day that people want to sleep, and you're still sitting there. No.
Go away. I would prefer to have a short visit in a way that they tell you, We want you to come back. And they really mean it.
Consideration for Others
To think, to be courteous, to be polite, to be considerate, these are all qualities that will enhance the productivity of a person, more so if you're a Muslim. We are taught consideration when you're going to the masjid. Make sure you're looking okay. Make sure you're smelling good, so that you do not become a means of destruction for the man next to you reading salah.
The hadith speaks of a person who has eaten onions or garlic to wash their mouth thoroughly before they get to the masjid. Why? Because you don't want to become a person who results or who has resulted in the loss of productivity that a young man next to you had.
Excellence in Speech and Behavior
The Power of Good Words
Do you know, every word you utter is an investment, opportunity. You either allow that investment to succeed or to flop. So you can choose your words in order to better the returns. You can choose your
The Importance of Smiling
You're always smiling. A smile is so productive that it has been made an act of charity. You know, charitable deed means, you're reaching out to people who need it. That's the meaning of the term charity. You're being charitable.
So, I don't realize that I need people to smile at me. But when I smile, and I see others lighting up and smiling, and I feel good, then I realize the impact of it on my own emotion, and my own psychological condition at that particular time.
Proper Greetings
You greet them properly. You know, some people are half-hearted, they give you two fingers. It's like a gun. That's not how you're supposed to greet someone. You greet them whole hand, and you shake their hand properly.
As-salamu alaykum, how are you my brother? Good things. Don't ever go into details that make them feel like you're putting them in the corner, and it embarrasses them. No, don't do that.
Final Reminders and Conclusion
Supporting Productive Work
My brothers and sisters, we've spoken quite a bit. This topic we have, the productive Muslim, is such a vast topic that we've only touched on snippets of it. Everyone who talks of it, will be able to talk about different aspects of it.
So to support work that is productive is also part of being productive as a Muslim. May Allah bless every single one of us. May Allah grant us goodness.
"May Allah send blessings and peace upon our Prophet Muhammad. Glory be to Allah and praise be to Him. Glory be to You, O Allah, and praise be to You. I bear witness that there is no deity worthy of worship except You. I seek Your forgiveness and repent to You."
Jazakallah khair.