Ismail ibn Musa Menk When Calamity Strikes
By Mufti Menk | 2026-01-12T07:16:12.214007+00:00 | Topic: Trials
When Calamity Strikes
Opening Quranic Recitation
"[And if We give man a taste of mercy from Us and then withdraw it from him, indeed, he is despairing and ungrateful. But if We give him a taste of favor after hardship has touched him, he will surely say, "Bad times have left me." Indeed, he is exultant and boastful - Except for those who are patient and do righteous deeds; those will have forgiveness and great reward. Then perhaps you are going to give up part of what is revealed to you, and your breast will be tight because of it - that they say, "Why has there not been sent down to him a treasure or come with him an angel?" But you are only a warner. And Allah is Disposer of all things. Or do they say, "He has invented it?" Say, "Then bring ten surahs like it that have been invented and call upon [for assistance] whomever you can besides Allah, if you should be truthful." And if they do not respond to you - then know that it was revealed with the knowledge of Allah and that there is no deity except Him. Then will you be Muslims [in submission]?]"
Introduction and Praise
We praise Allah, we thank Him and we ask Him to accept us all in His obedience, and we ask Him to protect us from every form of evil, and at the same time we ask Him to send blessings and salutations upon Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him), his entire household, and we ask Allah to bless every single one of us, all the companions of Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him), may Allah protect us and our offspring.
Beloved brothers and sisters, you will have to excuse myself because the heat is absolutely immense and intense, and this fan is not even saying hello, may Allah protect us.
The Nature of Calamities
My brothers and sisters, that is a calamity on its own, and this evening we have a discussion regarding the calamities, the disasters, that which is negative and the way a Muslim should react. I tried to turn left or right, and I saw that there is still absolutely no benefit. My brothers and sisters, a calamity can either be individual or collective.
Sometimes it can encompass an entire nation, and sometimes it is only within one person or a group of people. A calamity generally is looked at as something negative, something that does not happen according to our liking, and in fact not only that, beyond that it is so difficult that it becomes tough for us. There is some form of negativity, something in front of us that we find quite difficult to cross, and sometimes to bear as well.
Impossibilities, that which we ask the Almighty to assist us and guide us through. Before I actually commence to speak about the way a believer should react, we need to clarify one major point.
The Purpose of Our Existence
Why are we in this world? I'm sure we have heard the answer many times, and I'm sure many people have
tackled it in many different ways, but primarily the verse of the Quran is the response, where Allah says, and we ask Allah to grant us every form of goodness and acceptance.
He says in the Quran:
"I have not created mankind or jinkind for any other reason, but that they worship Me. I do not want from them any sustenance, nor would I like to be fed by them. Allah is saying.
Imagine, this is a response or this is a declaration by My Maker and yours. Now to speak to the youth with this type of translation, they may find it a little bit too deep for their understanding. So you have scholars of Islam who have simplified the translation of the same verse.
If I were to say we are only created in order to worship Allah, one might think that that would mean I need to remain in constant salah and so on as we have spoken about in the past. But if you translate it or simplify the translation to say that we have been created in order to prepare for the day we meet our Maker, that puts perspective to it. That becomes more simpler for the young person of this era to understand.
Focus on the Afterlife
Because if my aim in life is to prepare for the day I'm going to meet the One who made me, and if I understand and realize that the reason I am in this world is to prepare for the day I will meet my Maker, and if I am focused upon that, automatically my whole life will be based on the pleasure of the Almighty, which is the meaning of worshiping the Almighty. And I hope we all can remain focused on this, because without it, believe me, we will definitely lose the dunya as well as the akhirah.
Why am I in this world? By Allah, if I earn the millions and the billions in the process of pleasing my Maker, then we say (نُورٌ عَلَى نُورٍ - nurun ala nur) light upon light.
Yesterday we spoke about Sam, and today I see he's not singing at all. Allah protect us. Allahu Akbar.
They say, if I hadn't spoken, I would probably never have achieved what I have just achieved. And you see the smile on my face is far broader than it was. While I was reading the Quran, I think I actually may have slipped up slightly because of my worry that how am I going to spend the next hour - one of the brothers was telling me speak for two hours today, and I'm thinking the heat is going to send me away in 30 minutes.
Allahu Akbar. Brothers and sisters, the point being raised is if I am focused, mashallah, alhamdulillah, la ilaha illallah. If I am focused on achieving the pleasure of Allah, by Allah, I have really understood why I am in this world.
The Importance of Preparation for the Afterlife
I said moments ago, that if I earn the millions and the billions as a result of trying to please Allah, then that is a gift from Allah. That is something great from Allah. But if I make my main aim in life to earn the millions and the billions, do you know what will happen? I probably will earn the millions and the billions, but I will have only gained the dunya if I have really gained, or just a part of it, but I will lose the entire akhirah.
This is the difference. So whilst trying to earn, we should never ever displease Allah, because then each one of us, and this is the focal point, we hear it very often regularly, each one of us needs to ask himself or herself, what have you prepared for the day you are going to meet your maker?
"O you who believe, be conscious of Allah. Mashallah, you see the smile on the face, Allahu Akbar. Be conscious of Allah, and each one of you should look into what you have prepared to present tomorrow, what you have put forward for tomorrow, what you have presented for tomorrow, what have you and I prepared to present tomorrow when we meet Allah.
What Will You Present to Allah?
Are you going to take a bunch of adultery and present it tomorrow to say, look Ya Allah, this is the highlight of my life. Are you going to take a bunch of music CDs or cassettes and so on, and the debate as to whether it is allowed or not allowed, and Satanism and not, and say, this was my highlight in my life.
Or are you prepared to take forth sacrifice and dedication, I did not miss one salah in 40 years, this is my highlight, Allahu Akbar. I gave up adultery for your sake O Allah, this is my focus, Allahu Akbar. You know the hadith of the seven types of VIPs on the day of judgment, one of them is a person who turns down adultery even though it is so easily facilitated, and with the most pretty or beautiful or handsome person involved, who has a high standing and privacy is guaranteed in terms of the dunya.
And when they turn it down saying, (إِنِّي أَخَافُ اللة - inni akhafullah) the hadith says, that presentation on the day of judgment is enough for them to receive the special shade of that day. May Allah grant it to us. That is a presentation.
So look at what you have to present for tomorrow. What is it that you have? What is the highlight of your life?
Give good news to the one whose page on that day a lot of repentance is found. That is what you present.
Ya Allah, I was weak. Ya Allah, these are my pages, here is the presentation. I have so much of istighfar on it. You won't even need to say that. Allahu akbar. It will be seen.
Understanding the Purpose of Tests
My brothers and sisters, it is about time we realized why we are in this world. If you think you are here to enjoy, and if you think you are here to enjoy within the displeasure of Allah, you are mistaken. There is only doom and doom waiting in the akhira.
For people who don't know why they are in this world. Allahu akbar. And this is why if this world was meant to be that of amusement and enjoyment beyond any limit, we would never age.
We would not become old. It would be something that would be everlasting. And this is why the almighty says, we have kept it such that you arrive at a peak, and after that you keep going downhill until you meet us.
If you are lucky, you will live to the age of 80. Allahu akbar. My brothers and sisters, Allah has created us in order to prepare for the day we meet him. Don't ever forget that. Don't ever forget that. So whatever you do in life, ask yourself, is this good enough for me when I meet Allah? May Allah grant us goodness. May he open our doors. Is this good enough a presentation for when I meet Allah?
Allah's Testing System
Then he says, once we've understood why we are created, now he says, in order to succeed in the life after death, I need to test you. I need to test you with tests so that when you pass those tests, you will now have a qualification, subhanallah, that will make you arrive in the akhirah with the certification, if I can word it that way, that will result in you being higher than the rest, and you get your place.
Today, mashaAllah, I heard from someone who visited me that in Sri Lanka, alhamdulillah, it's not difficult once you are into the system of education to actually be educated. A lot of you perhaps have degrees, and a lot of you have more than one degree, and a lot of you have top education in terms of the secular education of this world, and that is something very heartwarming.
Remember, when you apply for a job with three degrees or four degrees, you stand a better chance to get the job compared to a person who is applying for the job with no degree, or even just with one little degree. We know that. My brothers and sisters, the same applies in the Islamic life, the spiritual life, the real life, that will definitely result in the pleasure of Allah if we have understood it, and if we know how to focus. The reason I say this is, Allah tests you.
Tests Are Inevitable
He says in the Quran, and He has mentioned it in many places in Surah al-Ankabut, right at the
beginning. He says:
"Alif Lam Meem. Allah starts the surah with those words. None knows the meaning of it besides Allah.
He says, does man think that it is enough for him to say, I am a believer, and then we do not test him? Indeed, we have tested even those before him, to know who is truthful in their declaration of faith, and who is false. So Allah says, He will test you. And He is going to test you and me.
If you look at Surah al-Baqarah, verse number 155, Allah says:
"Allahu Akbar. That alone means, we will definitely test every one of you. We will test you. That's why you are in the world, to be tested.
Paradise is Attainable
Are you worth that paradise? And believe me, it's not very difficult to pass the test. People think, no, paradise is very far. You know, we are going to be punished. We are going to go into Jahannam and so on. No.
The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said, All of you shall enter paradise, besides he who refuses.
If you refuse, that is when you don't enter paradise. So the Sahabah asked him:
Who is going to actually refuse our Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him)? He says:
(Bukhari 7280)
Allahu Akbar. Whoever follows me, will enter paradise. And whoever refuses, has refused. Allahu Akbar. Whoever doesn't, has refused. And what has he come with? He comes with the teachings full of mercy. He was sent as a mercy, not only to mankind, but to entire creation.
"And what he has taught is, you can wipe your sin out through repentance. A declaration between you and your Maker. You don't need to confess to any Pope, or any priest, or any Rabbi, or any stick or stone,
The Mercy of Islam
May Allah protect us. It's your confession between you and your Maker. And you ask Allah's forgiveness, repentance, and He grants you paradise.
Where? Where has it been made easier than that? It is the easiest way of achieving paradise. May Allah grant us goodness. Let us not refuse.
Let us all say, we are focused on this paradise that we would like. Today when we are focused on a little iPhone 5, we will do whatever we want in order to make sure we earn the money to achieve it. Sometimes they say, beg, borrow or steal, and we even use the term hook or crook.
Allahu Akbar. Because we know we need that. May Allah make us more focused on paradise than we are on the next mobile phone. And may He make us more focused on the day we meet Him, than the day we actually are pleasing the devil by meeting someone we are not supposed to be meeting. Imagine, who is looking forward to the day they meet their own maker? Allahu Akbar. May we be from amongst those.
Such people would not be looking forward to the day they are meeting someone to commit a sin with. May Allah protect us. That is the biggest calamity and disaster that one could have.
The Necessity of Faith in Facing Calamities
And the reason why I have started with this introduction, there is no point in talking about calamities and the way a believer should respond to them if you don't have faith. Because it is only with faith that you will be able to go through what may be perceived as calamity. May Allah make it easy for us.
Allahu Akbar. My brothers and sisters, now that we have heard that each one of us should be preparing for the day we meet with Allah. And we have heard that Allah has said, I will definitely test all of you.
And we have heard that the more tests you have, the better you actually become. The hadith says:
And another hadith says:
(Tirmidhi 2396)
Indeed, when Allah loves someone, He places more tests in his or her life. More.
Tests as Signs of Allah's Love
So if you are having a test here, a test there, a calamity this way, a disaster that way, you need to know if you have faith and conviction, Allah loves you. And He loves you, that is why He is giving you the
opportunity to achieve the PhD. Really.
Because if you have a small test, it's like 1 plus 1. Brother, you go to the university and they ask you, what is 1 plus 1? Allahu Akbar. What will happen? You're gonna look at them and say, I think I'm at the wrong place. This sounds more like a kindergarten.
Doesn't it? But as soon as they ask you a complicated question, you're allowed to take it home, dwell over it, and believe me, come back with a response a year later in the form of a thesis. And that was the year that made you sweat the most. What would happen? You know, the degree I'm about to get is such, the degree that I'm about to get is such, that believe me, the work behind it is equivalent to it.
May Allah protect us. You want Jannah. You want a place very high and lofty, close to Allah. Well, look at what He did to the most loved of all of creation.
The Prophet's Tests
Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) went through test after test. I do not want to call it calamity or disaster. We'd rather call it test after test because he was very happy with every single test he went through. And if you think that you have lost a child, he lost all his children in his life besides one. His sons and his daughters were all lost in his own lifetime.
The sons in childhood and infancy, and the daughters in adulthood, after some of them had had children, they passed away in the life of Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) besides Fatima (may Allah be pleased with her). Do you know that? So all of us who have our children, we were not tested yet with similar tests to what Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) was tested. Yet, he endured them happily. And he went through them with conviction that this life is only temporary.
We are going to be united very soon with those whom we love. May Allah grant ease to all those who have lost children. And may He make us from amongst those who can bear patience, the day we lose loved ones.
The Types of Tests Allah Promises
One might ask, Well, what is it that Allah is going to test us in? So Allah answers this also in Surah Al- Baqarah. Just the verse I had read, number 155, where Allah says:
And We will surely test you with something of fear and hunger and a shortage of wealth and lives and fruits. And give good tidings to the patient who, when a calamity befalls them, they say, Verily we belong to Allah and to Him we shall return.
We will indeed test every single one of you with some elements of fear, with some of fear (مِنَ الْخَوْفِ - minal khawf). So you are scared, you are worried, sometimes this worry is because of something physical in front of you. Sometimes it is because of your age, sometimes because of your health, sometimes because of your wealth, sometimes because of your children, sometimes because of relatives here and there, sometimes because of a dangerous animal or a condition that you are in. There are so many different reasons why one can feel this condition of fear.
Test of Fear
Allah says, when you feel that condition, remember it's a test from us. We are testing you. We are giving you an opportunity, asking you a question. What is 3,558 multiplied by 4,590? Allahu Akbar. You need to scratch your head a little bit. I'm sure some of the older people already have the answer. Because they are not used to the calculators that we are used to. MashaAllah. Allahu Akbar.
May Allah grant us goodness. I've obviously given you a simple example, but if you think of it deeply, you will understand what I've said. It will take you a while to respond and to come up with the correct response. You might have to go back and try again. But when you come up with the correct response, the smile on your face and the happiness and contentment you will feel within is unmatched. Allahu Akbar.
So Allah says, you have fear. It's a test from me. See how you react. Go and learn from what Allah has said in the Quran. And look at the life of Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him). You will come to realize how a believer should be reacting when it comes to the test of fear.
How did Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) react when he was told that the whole army is heading for you? He says:
Allah is sufficient for us and what the best of disposers He is. Allahu Akbar. He will take care of all the affairs of ours. We will try our best and we leave the rest in the hands of the Almighty. This is the response of Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) to the calamity or should I say to the test. May Allah grant us goodness.
Allah tests you with fear. As I said, look at how Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) responded to the message when he was told that the whole army has come for you. He says:
He did not become suicidal and depressed. He was not from amongst those who said Allah does not love me. He was not from amongst those who lost hope and said, what is wrong? Why me? Why is this happening? No. He says, Allah is sufficient for me. Whatever Allah wants, this is what will happen. Allahu Akbar.
And that is the same response given by Ibrahim (peace be upon him) as a young man when he was thrown into the fire. Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) says:
(Bukhari 4563)
Ibrahim (peace be upon him) said the same statement:
Allah is sufficient for us and the best disposer, He will take care of it. So this is a means of responding to something that has come in our direction in terms of fear.
Test of Hunger
The next item we will be tested with that the Quran promises us at some stage in our lives. Hunger, Allahu Akbar. (الجُوع - al-joo') meaning hunger, either because of lack of food or availability of food but inability to purchase it, or sickness to the degree that you cannot eat.
May Allah protect us. And perhaps other conditions that I may not have mentioned where you simply cannot have the food for some reason. And Allah says, that is a test from us.
You are hungry. Sometimes my brothers and sisters, we have never actually been hungry to that degree. But the food has delayed being presented on the table by those who are the closest to us.
By the one whom the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) says:
(Tirmidhi 3895)
The best of you are best to their families. And when she delays in presenting the food or preparing it suddenly, we don't realize it's a test from Allah. And Allah is watching our response.
We explode to the degree that we fail dismally. The question was only 1 plus 1, and we were the ones who said 3,500. Allahu Akbar.
Imagine, what an answer to what a simple question. Food is delayed 5 minutes, 10 minutes. It might become slightly cooler or cold, or it might be slightly burnt. All this is part of the test of food. Your food was delayed. I'm hungry.
Don't you have sense? We come back from work and we make a big issue. We create a calamity in the home out of nothing. Believe me, you could have gone without food. But it did not give you a right to raise your voice, even to frown. May Allah protect us. What is it that you want to present to Allah tomorrow? Ya Allah, those who prepared the food at my home, burnt the food more than 35 times in my life, and I had a smile, ya Allah.
By Allah, good presentation. May Allah grant us goodness. This is a simple example. It's a day-to-day example. May Allah really grant goodness to our wives and those who cook for us. And may He make us from those who can try it out sometimes, and see what type of effort is required to actually prepare a meal in order to appreciate it.
Mashallah, at least I see some of the brothers nodding. It's a very good sign. I'm not inviting you to give up your role and so on, but there is no harm. In fact, there is goodness once in a while if you were to test out a few of these things just to appreciate what happens. May Allah grant us goodness.
Test of Loss of Wealth
Then Allah says (نَقْصٍ - naqs) (نَقْصٍ - naqs) means that which is either a loss or subtraction of what? (أموال - amwal) of your wealth. There's not only going to be addition. Every day we add. You know, you have a little business, and you're adding your rupees on a daily basis. Mashallah, the rands or the dollars, we're adding them up, and we're actually counting them. And the day will come when you're not counting them, but in fact, you're counting your loss. Allah says, that is from us.
That is from us. We want to show you we give, and we take back. And when we give you, how do you react? And when we take back, how do you react? Allahu Akbar.
There was a time when the people of Mecca, Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him), and the sahaba (may Allah be pleased with them), were placed into a place known as Shi'ab Abi Talib, for several years, and they suffered the sanctions of the kuffar of Quraish. How did they respond? Did they give up their religion, because a person of another religion was offering them the cut of their losses, or perhaps some financial gain? No. They took it, they endured it.
They said, we belong to Allah. Our return is to Allah. Whatever is happening here is temporary. It is a test from Allah.
Example of True Faith During Loss
You know, this issue of loss, of wealth, in South Africa there was a brother from Somalia, who had shifted to one of the cities, approximately 12-13 years ago, and he had walked, and perhaps caught a boat, and perhaps struggled and suffered, because of the calamity and disaster in Somalia. May Allah help the brothers and sisters there as well, and grant them peace.
And he came to South Africa with nothing. He started a business, Honest Upright Man, and mashallah, he developed a wholesale business, or a retail business, a major shop, that he had where it was very very big, and it became huge, and he was helping the rest of his community and society. Everyone comes, they go to him for help.
One day a fire gutted his entire business. The whole business. So, he lost everything.
And the journalists, non-Muslim journalists, came to him, they found him. You are the owner of the business, yes, it is burnt, lost. So, do you have any insurance? He says, no insurance.
Listen to the answer, no insurance. Why not? My religion forbids me to engage in that type of activity. This is his response, on television.
And then he says, they asked him a question, well, how do you feel? You've lost everything. He says, when I arrived in this country, 11 years ago, I did not have shoes on my feet. I did not have shoes on my feet.
Today, what I have lost, I can easily tell you, I have a house still. And I have a place that I'm living in. And I'm sure that tomorrow, I will start afresh and again.
And it won't, by the will of Allah, take me as many years to develop this business, if Allah wills, because wealth belongs to Him. He took it away, it was always His. Do you know a non-Muslim, who was interviewing him, began to cry, or should I say, had tears in her eyes.
This is amazing. Tears in her eyes. And today, he's back in business, perhaps bigger than what he was, just 2 years back.
Allahu Akbar. This is called faith. This is a response of a believer, to say, Allah gave me this.
The Problem of Modern Discontentment
I had no shoes. A lot of us seated here, perhaps our parents could not really afford shoes. And perhaps they may not have been able to afford a certain type of a life, that today we are leading.
And by Allah, we are sitting here, with much more wealth than our forefathers. Believe me. We have a condition that is far better, and still we are more depressed than ever before.
The amount of people on antidepressants on the globe today, only requires you to visit the sheikh we spoke about yesterday, Sheikh Google, and you will find out, that by Allah, it is far more than ever before in history. Yet, we have the iPhone, and we have everything else. You know, we have, subhanallah, the latest technology, we have much more than our forefathers.
And we are unhappy people. Why? What we are lacking is faith, and belief in Allah. We don't have the conviction, we don't have the contentment, because we don't realize why we are in the world.
We today sometimes are made to believe that we are in the world, to follow the latest trends, and to really buy the latest items, and to have that which is the latest. So much so, that if you have the latest phone today, if they were to advertise the iPhone 6 tomorrow morning, your heart will feel such a pinch, that it never felt when you missed Salatul Fajr. It's a fact.
Because why? I just bought the iPhone 5 yesterday. If only they would have told me, I would have waited a day. I don't mind paying another $100, $200 even, but at least I would have had the latest.
My brother, my sister, you run behind the world. Guess what? It runs faster than you all the time. All the time.
Believe me, it's like me telling, what is that man's name, who bolts from one end to the other? It's Hussain Bolt. Yes, it is. It's like me telling him, listen, I'll race you.
One day I'll win. Believe me, as heavy as we are, mashallah, compared to them, who have made it in less than 10 seconds. What chance do we stand? The world makes it in one second.
100 meters. You want to compete? You'll never catch up. Allahu Akbar.
Understand it is Allah. The point being raised was, the lack of wealth. Sometimes we have it, but we think we don't, because we want to live upon a level that we cannot afford, so we have created a calamity and a disaster, yet we had no calamity or disaster in our lives.
This is the problem. If you look at yourself or myself, we sometimes do not want to admit that I need to downgrade my life, a little bit, and I'm going to be happy. But because the woman next door, whom I'm trying to impress, would actually not look towards me if I didn't have the latest mobile phone, that's why I need it.
So everything is a vicious circle. And you know what? I said yesterday, you are not going to get her if Allah has not written it for you. So believe me, the best bet is to ask Allah.
May Allah grant us goodness. You know this is why it is said:
I'm surprised that the one who is asking for the dunya, from one who doesn't own it. We are trying to achieve wealth from one who does not own wealth.
The owner of wealth is Allah. You please Him, He opens your doors. And He will give you how much is correct for you, how much is right for you to remain in a spiritual level that you do not lose your paradise.
This is what it is. So when you seek good sustenance from Allah, He will only give you an amount that He knows is best for you. Subhanallah.
If it is more than that, He won't give it to you, if He knows that that is going to contaminate you.
Test of Loss of Life
So my brothers and sisters, let's look at the next point mentioned in the same verse. Number 155 of surah al-Baqarah, where Allah says:
The next thing He says isوَالْأَنفُ We will test you with it. And this is why it is common knowledge that you, oh man, myself and yourselves, we will suffer loss of life by losing those whom we love most. They will die before us or we will die before them or we will die together.
It is definitely coming. Your children, your wives, your husbands, your parents, your brothers, your sisters, your uncles, your aunts and anybody else you may love, they will die with you, before you or after you. There is no fourth probability.
Are you prepared for that day? Allah says, well, that is our plan. We promise we will test you. And we promise that this death will definitely be one of the calamities or should I say, as I said earlier, instead of using that word, we say, one of the tests that will definitely come in your direction.
We only want to see how you respond to it. When the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) lost his son Ibrahim, what did he say?
(Bukhari 1284)
What a beautiful response. Indeed, for Allah is that which He has taken away. It always belonged to Him. He took it away, it was always His. And His is what He has given in the first place.
Whatever He gave me, belongs to Him. Whatever He took away, always belonged to Him. And everything that Allah has created, He has created it for a specific time with a time frame, Allahu Akbar.
There is a time frame. This is the response of Muhammad, when he lost his own son. And this is why we say a true believer would respond in that way.
We may lose our children suddenly. It happened to the best of creation. And this is why we say we can lose our parents also.
The best of creation had lost his father before he was born and lost his mother when he was upon the tender age of six. Allahu Akbar. Lost his mother.
And this is a consolation to those who are orphans to say that sometimes Allah has chosen you for something grand. Like Allah chose Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) for leadership of the entire ummah. And yet he was an orphan.
So being an orphan is not something that will deprive you of your position that Allah has planned for you. Do not become depressed at that. We need to pick up whatever is there and we need to make the most of whatever Allah has given us.
Allahu Akbar. Make the most of it. Get up and work hard.
Whether it is loss in wealth and loss of life. Whatever it is in terms of loss. Pick up the pieces and inshallah get up. Thank Allah. Praise Allah. Relate everything to Allah.
Ask Him to help you and move forward. By Allah your doors will open in a far greater way than they ever were before. This is why I say a true believer would study the life of Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) in depth and in detail and look at the disaster after disaster.
We would call it disaster. He never ever looked at it even as a calamity. No. He took it as a test. And he thanked Allah. May Allah open our doors.
Test of Loss of Produce
The next point mentioned in the same verse:
The loss of produce. Your crop that you have. The fruit that you have. The vegetables you have. You may lose.
There may be a drought. There may be some form of disaster. And Allah says this is all part of our plan. We will test you with all of this.
And Allah gives you the answer. How to respond to this calamity or test? Allah says:
Give good news to those who bear sabr.
What is sabr? Forbearance. Patience. To surrender to the decree of the Almighty that is part and parcel of sabr.
Anyone who bears sabr, Allah says give them good news. Who are those who bear sabr?
Those who are afflicted with some form of difficulty, hardship or calamity.
They say, We belong to Allah and unto Allah is our ultimate return.
That is the response of a true believer. The Quran speaks about sabr, and the Quran also speaks about the return to Allah, bearing in mind you are going to return to Allah. So this in surah Baqarah is one place where Allah says that we need to bear patience, we need to understand Allah's plan and prepare for the day we are going to meet Him because we are going to return to Him.
We belong to Allah and unto Allah we shall be returning. Subhanallah. Remember to utter those words, to believe in them, to work towards them, because you will be tested and so will I. And nobody can say, I have never been tested by Allah.
Different Reactions to Tests
And in other places in the Quran, Allah has made a similar direction, meaning He has given us similar direction in other places in the Quran. Allah speaks about how man, sometimes when he is granted goodness, he doesn't realize it's a test from Allah and he will also be tested with some negativity. So when man gets wealth, he's happy, he's excited.
Sometimes he turns away from Allah. But Allah says, okay we tested you addition, now we need to test you subtraction. You know, I always say in a mathematics test, you cannot just ask people the addition question.
The teacher will ask you addition, subtraction, multiplication and division as well. And thereafter they will be able to say, this man knows what he's talking about. The example of Allah is far higher than that.
But Allah also tests us with multiplication and addition and then subtraction and division in our lives. Everything, you have a lot, you have goodness, you have good health, it's going to go. Believe me it will go.
Allah will test you with your health. This is why the hadith says:
(Hakim 7846)
Seize the opportunity of your health before it is taken away, your wealth before it goes, your free time before it goes, your youth before it goes, your life before it goes. Allahu Akbar.
This is the hadith of Rasulullah (peace and blessings be upon him). Seize the opportunities to do goodness.
Quranic Examples of Human Nature
So Allah says, when we test man, then he turns away. When we bless him, sometimes he forgets that he even called out to us.
Let me read a few of these verses insha'Allah from the Quran and we will see that Allah has explained to us in great depth the plan in this particular world. Firstly, in surah Hud which is surah number 11, Allah says, and these are verses number 9, 10 and 11:
(Quran 11:9)
This is verse number 9 of surah Hud. Allah says, and when we have let man taste from our mercy, so he has a lot of goodness, he has a lot of, you know, that which is positive that comes to him, then we snatch it away from him suddenly, he becomes hopeless, and he becomes ungrateful. Allahu Akbar. So a person who has a lot, Allah says, then we snatch it away, which means Allah is going to test us by taking things away from us.
Allahu Akbar. Have you thought of that? You have something, He will take it away from you in order to test you. Do not become (يَنُوسٌ كَفُورٌ). Do not become the person who is despondent and ungrateful.
The Example of Ayyub (Job)
You know, if you take a look at Ayyub (peace be upon him), it is reported that he had good health for so many years, then the health was taken away. And it is reported that his wife came to him and told him, why don't you make a dua? He says, I'm ashamed, because I had good health for so many years, and as for my sickness, it has still been just a few years.
So how can I, how can I start making dua to Allah when I have not endured difficulty for as long as I enjoyed the good years. Now this is a nabi of Allah. With us, don't worry, it is not a recommendation that you should not be making dua.
We are not prophets of Allah. You have a difficulty today, you make a dua today. Before you have a difficulty, you make a dua, that Allah protect you from the difficulty.
Allahu Akbar. This is what we are taught. Because sometimes, brothers, that is not my phone, mine is switched off completely.
Jazakumullah khair. Just to make a, you know, someone might be saying, look at him, he's got his phone there making a big noise here. Believe me, it's not mine. Brothers, it's turned off totally. Jazakumullah khair.
So, this as we say, we make dua, even before you have a difficulty, make dua to Allah, thank Allah for what you have. And remember the day it goes, take it in your stride. Allahu Akbar.
So Allah says, when we test man with goodness, and after that we snatch it away, he becomes (يَنُوسٌ كَفُورٌ). He becomes despondent, he loses hope, and at the same time, he becomes ungrateful.
Allah says:
"Except the one who is patient and does good deeds. Amazing.
The Importance of Understanding Prayer
Again the term patience has come in. And good deeds includes your salah, your prayer. You need to turn to Allah, relate to Allah.
Today we engage in salah, but a lot of us are guilty of just pecking the ground like a little bird, like a chicken. We just peck the ground a few times and we are out. What did you do brother? I don't know.
You ask people who have reverted to Islam, they'll tell you, I don't understand this prayer. Because nobody's ever tried to understand the words you are saying. My brothers and sisters, I challenge you, and I call upon you very strongly to understand, to make an effort to understand the words you are saying in salah.
Your life will change. Did you hear what I said? Come on, we are living for 30, 40, 50 years. How can I not yet know the words of salah? That is an embarrassment.
I don't know, I'm standing in front of my maker, I know the words in Arabic, but I haven't understood their meanings, and I've been reading salah for the last 40 years. That is an embarrassment. Can I still call myself a good Muslim? Allahu Akbar.
Close your business for one week, and go and learn the meanings of salah. It is far more profitable than whatever you would make for that week. Allahu Akbar.
And this is a challenge. This is why we are not happy. This is why we take a look at the smallest pinprick that we have on our toes, and we become depressed, because we haven't understood salah.
And Allah says in surah Baqarah:
O you who believe, seek assistance through bearing patience and through your prayer. Allah is with those who bear patience.
How will we be able to seek assistance through prayer, when we don't even know the words we are uttering. We don't know the meanings of what we are saying in salah. Believe me, I have asked the question to many Muslims. Brother, do you know the meanings of the words you are reading in salah? And the majority have said no.
Allahu Akbar. When are we going to change that? How can the condition of the ummah change when you are so many years old, you have studied your PhD, you have so many degrees, and you are not interested in trying to understand the words that Allah has made incumbent upon you to repeat so many times a day. And we just fulfill salah without knowing what we did.
We enter the masjid, we exit it in a spiritual condition lower than when we went in. Because to us, we had our cigarettes in our pockets, and we went to the masjid so we can smoke with our friends at the door of the house of Allah, and backbite about the rest of the community. May Allah protect us.
That is our visit to the house of Allah nowadays, in some instances. Yet you are visiting the house of someone in your locality, a rich person, a famous person. You would want to go to them and present something good to them.
To say, I've come to your house, and you know, I know about you, I know this, and I know that, and this is your work, and this is what you've done, and big achievement, and so on. In order for them to realize how close you are to them. You have understood and read so much.
But when it comes to Allah, we enter his house, by Allah, we may be doing that. We may even be doing it five times a day, alhamdulillah. But we have not yet understood why we are going in, or why we have come out.
Allahu Akbar. May Allah open our doors. The reason I'm passionate about this.
Prayer as the Solution to Calamities
The solution to the disasters we face today is connected to your prayer, your salah.
Verse number 153 of surah Baqarah. Allah says, seek assistance through sabr and through salah. And good news to those who bear sabr. Allah is definitely with them.
Allah's assistance is with them. And Allah will always be by their side. May Allah be with us at all times. And may He really bless us and shower us with His mercy. And may He make us at least motivated to go out to learn what our salah is all about.
When you know the meanings of the words of your salah, you will not want to stop. And you will not want to get your head off the ground. Because now you know, I'm plugged in with the one whom I'm going to return to. My ultimate aim of existence is to meet Him one day.
That's all. Allahu Akbar. I want to meet Allah, don't you? And imagine, today we look forward to meeting people.
And this is the sad condition of the ummah. Where people are looking forward to meeting actresses and actors. And those who have written books. And little Harry Potters and so on. And we would do anything to stand in a queue or to visit a stadium where there will be thousands of people there. Thousands of people.
And we will go 4-5 hours early to meet a person of this particular world. Allahu Akbar. And yet, we don't realize our focus in this world is not supposed to be that.
We should be spending much more time, effort, energy, and being much more dedicated to the day we meet with Allah. May Allah make it easy for us on that day. May Allah open our doors.
More Examples from the Quran
I'd like to read another verse, where Allah in surah Fussilat, which is the 41st surah of the Quran. Allah says in verse number 49:
Verses I read at the beginning of this talk. Allah says, a man, man does not stop, does not become tired of good things, of making dua, supplicating to Allah for good things.
Man does not become tired. But when ill affects the man, when evil or calamity comes in his direction again, Allah says, (فَيَـُٔوسٌ قَنُوطٌ) He becomes hopeless, helpless, and he loses hope in Allah. Why is that the case? Don't lose hope.
Your health, you don't have it anymore. Thank Allah you had it one day. At least you utilized it in the right direction. If not, then today Allah has given you an opportunity to turn to Him through istighfar and repentance. May Allah grant good health to all those who are being tested in any way. We make dua.
And may Allah grant profit to all those who have suffered loss. May Allah open our doors of sustenance.
Then Allah says:
Allahu Akbar. That very next verse Allah says, And when we have let man taste goodness after he had a calamity. So it's the opposite of what we mentioned moments ago. That was a calamity after goodness.
And this is goodness after a calamity. Then there are a few things that the Quran makes mention of. One is, Allah says, This man, he starts saying, This is from me, I did it, it's because of my action. He forgets Allah.
In another place in the Quran Allah says:
Beautiful verse. Where Allah speaks in surah Yunus, verse number 12.
When evil affects man, When man is inflicted by something evil or calamity, Then he calls out to Allah standing and on his side and so on, In every condition, Ya Allah help me, Ya Allah help me, Ya Allah I need your assistance, Protect me from this calamity and so on.
But Allah says, When we have alleviated that suffering, He continues moving on the earth, As though He never ever called out to us for a problem that He faced in the past. So now that the suffering is gone, He forgets us.
Allah's Tapping to Guide Us
Now I want to pause there for a moment. My brothers and sisters, Sometimes Allah taps us, So that we can turn to Him. Listen to this, it's a very powerful point.
In fact it is a solid point. Sometimes when we are going astray, Allah taps us, so that we can turn to Him. Sometimes we are so happy in life with so much ease, That we have forgotten Allah.
Some of us don't read salah, Some of us do not raise our hands in dua to Allah. So Allah taps you, My worshipper, turn to me. How does He tap you? Your knee begins to ache.
But then you still don't turn, So Allah says, Okay, we sent you one tapping, We love you, We want you to come to us. We want you to raise your hands to us. We want you to come to the masjid.
We want you to abandon the adultery, The gambling, the drinking, the clubbing, And all this haram that you are doing. So we gave you a little tap, But you still haven't come, oh man. But we will still tap you again.
So now what happens? You are diagnosed with a sickness. You still haven't come. Allah says, no, we tap you again, third time.
Had you turned with the first tapping, Who knows whether the second one would have come. And even if it did come, It would have been reacted to differently, Had you turned, Than had you not turned. Allahu Akbar.
So this is why we get a second tapping. And after that, And I'm wording it in my own way, We get one clout across the face. Straight.
Boom. Loss. Death of someone. Huge burning of the factory that we had. Gone. And then we say, Ya Allah.
Ya Allah. And Allah says, My worshipper, Did it require such a clout, Before you actually raised your hands to us? Is that what you waited for? Did it require that we had to Send you such strong reminders, Before you came?
My brothers and sisters, Even that is the mercy of Allah. Because you turned at least. What about those who died without turning? Allahu Akbar. At least you turned. And this is why Allah says, My worshipper, If what brought you to me was your sickness, It is my gift to you to keep you sick forever.
Allahu Akbar. May Allah grant us cure. But do you understand what we're saying? This is calamity. Sometimes calamity is a gift for you, Because that's the only thing that turned you to Allah.
The Call to Turn to Allah Before Calamity
My brothers and sisters, I plead with you to turn to Allah Before disaster strikes. And when disaster strikes, Never become despondent. And never become ungrateful. Show ingratitude. No.
Turn to Allah. It is a reminder. It is a tapping from Allah. To say, My worshipper, come closer to me. Come. Allahu Akbar.
As it is, This life is full of tests. Like I said, If you think you have had major tests in your life, Just study the seerah of Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him). And you will come to realize What is real tests. And how he responded to them.
May Allah bless our souls. And may Allah grant us goodness. And may He grant us a lesson From the lives of the prophets. May Allah open our doors.
Human Nature in Calamity and Ease
So, this is why Allah says, When man is granted goodness, He turns away. And then, When we inflict him, He makes lengthy, long, long duas.
I can give you an example of my own community. May Allah grant us goodness. You see, the disasters on the globe, They warrant us to engage in what is known as Qunoot Nazila.
Qunoot Nazila is a special dua That is read by Rasulullah (peace and blessings be upon him) In salah because of disasters That have affected and inflicted The Muslim Ummah. And this is a calamity. One of the ways a believer responds Is to make dua.
And one of the ways of dua Is to engage in Qunoot Nazila. It is a Qunoot that I'm sure a lot of us Know because we've engaged in it. It is a special dua that you would read in salah.
So, sometimes you have people, And we have faced this way, The imam is making his Qunoot. And he is making dua for those Who are suffering in Syria, Those who are suffering in Palestine, Iraq, Afghanistan, and across the globe. Anyone who is suffering.
Sometimes there are people suffering right Next to us, in our own suburb sometimes. And perhaps their suffering is so great That if we opened our eyes, We would be able to see. And the way to help them sometimes Is very easy.
But if only we lent an ear Or opened our eyes. So, making this dua, One man, who obviously perhaps Maybe did not have any tests, Or any difficulties or problems, Or nothing major, He comes up to the
imam, And he comes up to the people, And say, look, stop this, It's actually delaying, It's taking up a lot of time, And this thing here, you know, It needs to be cut down.
Cut down, it's too long, And we don't need this. So, for some reason, somehow, You know, some people responded positively, Some people negatively, And that dua after some time was shut.
Until a time came, When the same person was affected In another way, And his business or the economic situation Had come crashing To the degree that he was affected. He came to request That we engage in qunut nazila.
And on that day, I said to myself, This is man. Allah has spoken to us about man in the Quran. And Allah explained this.
When we have blessed man with a lot of blessings, He turns away on his side. He goes away, he forgets us. And when evil touches him, he makes lengthy, long, long duas.
Long duas. So, these are the different ways that people respond to calamity and test. One is when a test comes in their direction, they become despondent. That is a disbeliever. And one is when a test comes in their direction, they turn to Allah. At least that is a good sign.
The Importance of Turning to Allah in Good Times
We are taught that before the test comes, we should turn to Allah. When you have goodness, remember, my brothers and sisters, you will be tested in that goodness. If something is too good to be true, there will come a time when perhaps Allah might decide I want to test this man by taking this particular thing away.
May Allah help us appreciate one another. May He help us appreciate our spouses, our children, our parents, our brothers and sisters, our uncles and aunts, our in-laws and out-laws. May Allah help us appreciate one another.
There will come a day really, when perhaps we may lose these people, and yet it was so easy to resolve the matter whilst we were alive, and we were not prepared to do it. Allahu Akbar. Look at the beautiful verses of the Quran.
And in this way the Quran is full of examples of how people were tested and how they reacted. And I want to end off by making mention of some of the previous nations. Allahu Akbar.
Examples from Previous Nations
You see Musa (peace be upon him) the Prophet Moses was sent to Firaun, Pharaoh. And Allah tested
them with so many tests. Allah in fact sent them these afflictions.
And Allah sent to them reminders and tappings as I worded it, but they did not turn. In fact they went to Musa (peace be upon him) and they said:
You make dua to your Rabb to take away this plague that we are suffering at the moment. If this difficulty and calamity is diverted from us, if we are saved from it, we will follow you and we will grant you your wish of having Banu Israel.
And Allah says, as soon as we took away that affliction and that calamity, they returned to their old bad ways and they forgot what they said intentionally. Allahu Akbar. Do we do that?
The Problem of Temporary Devotion
My brothers and sisters, sometimes we make dua to Allah. Ya Allah, give me this. Ya Allah, I promise you, give me that. And we start reading tahajjud.
Listen to this, it's a fact. I'm sure it has happened to a lot of us. We make tahajjud on a daily basis because we want to marry someone. Or because, for example, we want our doors to open. Or because we want, for example, something. And tahajjud is there, salah is there, sunnah is there, nafil is there, long duas, as the Quran says, (دُعَاءِ عَرِيضٍ - du'a-i 'areedh) broad, long duas are being made.
And as soon as you get a positive response, your tahajjud stops, your nafil stops, your sunnah stops, your hijab goes, and everything else goes, and sometimes your beard is clean once again. Why did that happen? May Allah grant us goodness.
By Allah, we are supposed to be those whom we continue that act to say, Ya Allah, you gave it to me. And I'm really ever grateful. And this is the lesson from Rasulullah (peace and blessings be upon him).
The Example of the Prophet's Gratitude
He used to read salah at night until his feet were swollen. I always ask a question. How many of us have stood up in salah until our feet have been swollen? I don't think we would have many. And that is also putting it very positively.
And Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her) asks him, Ya Rasulullah, O messenger, he is the husband, you know your position, you know you have been, you know, granted the lofty rank in paradise and so on. You are reading salah until your feet are swollen at night. He says:
(Bukhari 4836)
Should I not be a slave of Allah who is thankful for that lofty position that he was given? Peace and blessings be upon him.
How many of us, when we have been given goodness, good health, good looks, good spouse, good children and so on, do we engage in more salah and say:
Should I not be a thankful person who thanks Allah every day I give a charity, every day I read two more raka'at, nafilah, voluntary, completely, that I have perhaps done on my own accord only to say, Ya Allah, I really appreciate what you have done for me. May Allah open our doors. May He grant us goodness.
Closing Remarks
The brothers who requested me to speak longer today, I think I have spoken longer today than yesterday. And at the same time, we thank some of the brothers who had sent us the little yellow note that diverted us so we lengthen the talk a little bit more, inshallah. And one of the reasons was, whoever went out perhaps might have missed a little bit, so when they came back, they wouldn't have been displeased, inshallah.
Brothers and sisters, inshallah, tomorrow we will be meeting again. Just a quick request, when we park our vehicles, let us park them in a way that we don't disturb anyone. Even if it means half a mile away, no problem.
Really we are Muslimin, and the way we present Islam to the others is sometimes only looked at by the errors we make of this nature. So this is why we need to make sure that we are the last people who make mistakes of this nature. And brother, we make du'a for you.
May Allah grant you good use of your vehicle as we promised that we will make du'a for you. So Allah grant you good use of your vehicle and grant you happiness in your home, and inshallah in your wealth, and your health, and your sustenance. I'm just thinking now that we're making du'a for the brother, tomorrow we might all park our cars wrong in order to receive a du'a.
So may Allah grant the same to all of us.