Ismail ibn Musa Menk Why Build Bridges
By Mufti Menk | 2026-01-12T06:12:17.696114+00:00 | Topic: Quran
Why Build Bridges? - Mufti Menk
Opening Greetings and Introduction
Assalamu alaikum warahmatullahi wabarakatuh.
Bismillahirrahmanirrahim. In the name of Allah, the most gracious, the most merciful. Alhamdulillah, all praise is indeed due to Allah.
Wassalatu wassalamu ala rasulillahi wa ala alihi wa ashabihi ajma'in. We send blessings and salutations upon Muhammad (صلى الله عليه وسلم), his household, his companions. We ask Allah to bless them, to bless every one of us, our children, our offspring to come up to Qiyamah.
May Allah bless us, grant us guidance, steadfastness and keep us on the straight path and give us all Jannatul Firdaus. Ameen.
My brothers and sisters, I'm excited to be in Davao. It's not my first time, it's not even my second time. Those of you who know how many times I've been here, you know. Those who don't, find out from those who know.
The Concept of Building Bridges
May Allah bless you, may Allah grant you goodness and ease. We're talking about building bridges. Why? Why do we have to build bridges? In order to know the answer of that, we need to know what is meant by building bridges.
You know when you have two islands to get to the other island, you can either go by boat, you can go by speed boat. If it was me, I would go by jet ski, mashallah. Or you can actually build a bridge so that people can go and the two can be connected so that we can benefit one another.
So that we can enjoy growth. When islands are connected, there is growth. I want to give you an example of the beautiful country of the Maldives, mashallah.
The Philippines is equally beautiful. There are so many islands that the world does not know about. How many islands do you have here in the Philippines? Seven thousand islands, subhanallah.
If you were to visit one island for every holiday, I think you would die before you got to the end. May Allah grant us our own islands in Jannatul Ferdows. So if you look at the Maldives, you land on an island.
The airport is just one island. That airport is now being connected to the city across. And the city is very very small, it's also a small island. 45 minutes you can walk around the whole city. It's now being connected with a bridge. They have built the bridge, it's about to be commissioned if I'm not mistaken.
And you know what? That will result in a lot of growth. It will facilitate much. Now remember, when we talk of building bridges as human beings, it is more about relationships, it is more about understanding one another, respecting one another, helping one another, spending your time on earth in such a meaningful way that you grow in your relationship with Allah to start with.
The First Bridge: Connection with Allah
The first bridge that I need to build is my bridge with my maker. There is no way that I have another more important bridge. Remember that.
So build your bridge, number one, with who? With Allah, your maker. How? By worshipping Him alone and by fulfilling the acts of worship for Him alone.
Why does He deserve to be worshipped? He deserves to be worshipped because He made you, He made me. My maker, I will put my head on the ground for my maker, but I will not put my head on the ground for anyone else. Amazing.
So you build your relationship with Allah. He is your maker. Not only your maker, He is not only Al-ilahu, but He is Rabbun.
At the same time, we say, Alhamdulillahi Rabbil Alameen (Quran 1:2). All praise is indeed due to Allah who is Rabbul Alameen. Rabb does not translate as Lord, but we use the word Lord because it's possibly a word that explains a small aspect of Rabb, better than other words.
But in the Arabic language, Rabb is the one who nourishes, cherishes, provides, protects, cures, etc. The one who is in absolute control of every aspect of existence. Remember that.
The one who is in absolute control of every aspect of existence is known as Rabbun. So when we say Rabbul Alameen, we are saying the one who is in total control. Not only did He make, but He nurtures, He takes care of absolutely every aspect of existence right up to the end.
Returning to Our Creator
He is known as Rabbun. What do I do? I praise Him. I build my bridge with Him.
I make sure that I have connected myself to Him because He who made me is exactly He whom I'm going to return to. When you die, where are you going? So some people say, I'm going to this person. I'm going to that thing. I'm going to this, etc. The correct answer is when you die, you are going back to the one who made you. No doubt with that answer.
There is nobody who can argue with that. Muslim, non-Muslim, no matter who. Where you are going is where you came from. Subhanallah. You are going back to He who made you in the first place. That's why Allah says,
"(36:79 Quran) When the people started questioning resurrection and they asked a question مَن يُحْيِى ٱلْعِظَٰمَ وَهِىَ رَمِيمٌ Who is going to give life back to these bones after they have been totally scattered and totally eroded and totally disintegrated into the soil once again. So Allah says, Well, the one who gave it life in the first place, will give it life again. If Allah gave you life from nothing, surely it's easier for Him to give you life from remains."
Amazing, amazing. If Allah could create you from nothing, do you really think He cannot create you from something? From the remains of you? May Allah grant us understanding.
The Temporary Nature of This Life
So that is the reason why I owe Him a connection, communication, because I'm at His mercy. He is the one I'm going to return to. There's no way I will survive or there is no way I will succeed if I don't have a relationship with He whom I'm going to return to. My eternal life after death is in His hands.
This life is only 60 to 70 years on average. No more than that. A few might go slightly beyond and a lot will be passing away earlier, but the average 60 to 70 without a doubt.
But how long have the people died for? Those who died 500 years ago are already dead for 500 years. They were only alive for 60-70 years. It goes to show you that people will be dead longer than they were alive.
This life is very short. You think about it carefully. You will be dead longer than you were ever on earth. It goes to show you this is a temporary life. It's a test. Keep on facing the test by building a connection between you and He who made you in the first place.
Pure Worship Without Partners
That's why as Muslims, we have the strongest link with our Maker because we don't tolerate within us association or partnership with our Maker because that would chop the relationship. You know what Allah says? Hadith Qudsi. Hadith Qudsi meaning Allah is telling you through Muhammad's words. Muhammad is telling you what Allah is saying, but it's not Quran. I explained this yesterday in Manila that Hadith Qudsi you cannot read in Salah because it's not Quran, but it's from Allah.
So, in the Hadith Qudsi Allah says, If someone has done a deed in which they have involved another person or something else as a partner with me, I'd rather leave the whole deal and give it to the partner. Do you know what this means? If amongst you there is a multi-millionaire, and I'm sure they are, may Allah bless you with more, ameen. Even if you are not a multi-millionaire, may Allah make you a millionaire, ameen.
(Sahih Muslim 2985)
MashaAllah, that ameen was a little bit louder than the previous one. Because money we understand very easy. May Allah make you a millionaire, ameen. Wow! May Allah bless us. May Allah make us millionaires in character, in conduct and even in connection with Him.
So, if there is a millionaire, and that millionaire is actually now doing a deal. If someone does a five dollar deal with another person, and they say to the millionaire, you are a 50% partner in here. The millionaire will say, keep the whole deal, I don't need it. You see, I don't need it.
Why are you insulting me by putting a five dollar deal here, and telling me 50% is yours. You can have all of it. So, Allah is even more independent than that.
If you want to do a five dollar deal, and say to Allah, you know what, I'm worshipping you, but I also have to worship this other shaykh, and this other grave, and this other stone, and this other stick. Allah says, give it to them, I don't need it, don't insult me. That's the true meaning of أَنَا أَغْنَى الشُّرَكَاءِ عَنِ الشِّرْكِ That's the true meaning of it.
Crossing the Bridge Over Hell
To say, I'm independent. They need it, if you think they need it, give it to them. Why are you insulting me? So, this is why we say, as Muslims, we don't do this.
We worship Allah alone, because we are building a bridge with our Maker, so that we are going to cross the most important bridge in our existence. Will be the bridge that goes over the fire of Jahannam. The bridge that goes over the fire of hell.
Hell fire. It is known as As-Sirat (Quran 19:71-72) Allah speaks about this bridge, and He says, every one of you is going to pass over it.
It is definitely something that Allah has already written. It's going to be done. And the hadith, the Prophet says, that bridge is as thin as a hair.
Those who were good, and they built the correct bridges on earth with Allah to start with, they will be able to cross the bridge in a flash of lightning. Those who were sinful, they will cross it slower and slower and slower, and some will struggle, and some will fall over into hellfire.
Seek Forgiveness to Build Your Bridge
Imagine you are doing tight roping. You know what's a tight roping? When you are walking, subhanallah, on a rope that happens to be between maybe two high places, and you are balancing. Some people are experts, they can run. Some people, subhanallah, they walk.
Some people they take their time, but they get to the other side. Those are all winners. You and I, what would we do? I think I would look at it and say, uh-uh, not my job.
Not me, you guys carry on. That is the dunya. It's normal for us to be frightened if we don't know how to do something.
But you know what? When it comes to the akhira, everyone has to cross. And you know what's at the bottom? No trampoline, no. Hellfire.
May Allah help us to cross. Seek the forgiveness of Allah and your bridges shall be built. Seek the forgiveness of Allah, your bridges shall be built.
Nothing can destroy your bridge, even if the bridge was damaged because of your distance from Allah. Repair it today. Repair it today.
By seeking the forgiveness of Allah, worshipping Allah alone, trying your best. Keep on trying. Allah loves those who try.
Don't Let Shaitan Destroy Your Hope
That's point number one. I spoke about building bridges with Allah, and why we build the bridge with Allah. We build it because we're going to go back to Him. He is in absolute control of everything. I want to go to Jannah. I'm going to be in Jannah forever and ever.
So how can I spend these 60-70 years away from Allah when I'm expecting goodness from Allah? If someone wants goodness from you, they need to develop a small relationship with you. They need to understand you, you need to understand them. Once in a while you will have to forgive each other.
I'm going to come to that inshallah, when I speak about building bridges of a different sort. But with Allah, there is a one-way forgiveness because Allah is perfect. You seek Allah's forgiveness.
But don't let shaitan damage the bridge by making you lose hope in the mercy of Allah. Because shaitan is one who blows up the bridge with his own little dynamite. You know what he does? He comes there and he plays with your mind and your heart.
And he makes you think that your sin will not be forgiven by Allah. So you become depressed because you begin to think that your bridge is irreparable.
But Allah says, O My slaves who have transgressed against themselves, let them know Allah will forgive all your sins, no matter what you've done. That bridge will be repaired. It will be repaired. Allah is most forgiving, most merciful.
Do you know what he says? Turn to Allah quickly, quickly, before the punishment suddenly overtakes you. And then who's going to help you? Nobody. Subhanallah.
The Nature of Human Sin and Divine Mercy
So be careful, my brothers and sisters. You and I are human beings. We commit sin. We do wrong. It's human nature. You know what is the bonus for a believer? When you and I commit sin, we are never committing sin out of defiance of Allah.
But we are committing sin out of the weakness of humankind. Any one of us. If you've committed a sin, have you committed a sin because you want to defy Allah? And you want to tell him, Oh Allah, you made alcohol haram. I'm going to show you that I'm going to drink it. What are you going to do? Does anyone do that? A believer doesn't do that. Never.
We are not committing sin to defy Allah. I've never committed a sin to challenge Allah. No. We are committing sin as believers because we are human beings. Our human nature has made us weak. We know it's wrong.
And we've done it. And we expect the forgiveness of Allah. That's what makes you a believer.
But if you defy Allah, you're not a believer. Because then you're challenging Allah. So have hope you have not challenged Allah.
No matter what you did, you didn't challenge Allah. Major sin, minor sin. You did not challenge Allah.
Allah will forgive you. Don't lose hope. The minute you lose hope and you start to think, My sin is too big. Your bridge is gone. It's gone for a long long time. You become depressed.
You become sad. You suffer OCD. And so many other sicknesses. Because for you, everything has become doom and gloom.
Allah's Mercy in Worship
Allah is more merciful than anything. Someone came to me and told me, I take two hours to make wudu. I said, you know what? Put a clock. After three minutes, you stop what you're doing. Try your best.
No, but I can't. Two hours for wudu. Allah is more merciful than that time. Allah knows that you're not well. Allah knows. Shaytan is playing with you to make you doubt.
Is this clean? Is this not clean? Allah will forgive you. He knows. You cannot have everything.
If I'm standing here right now, if I put my hand here, Shaytan can come and play with a weak mind and make you think whose hand was there before. Where were they touching? What was there? What type of bacteria is it? You will need an electronic gadget with you all the time to check and test. And you won't be able to walk on earth.
Don't worry, Allah knows. He will forgive you completely. Only when you see something loud and clear in front of you as najasa, as impurity, you know that this is clear impurity.
But stop having these doubts because why I'm talking about it, people destroy their relation with Allah when they start doubting the mercy of Allah. Allah's mercy is greater than your salah. Allah's mercy is greater than your zakah. Allah's mercy is greater than your wudu. Allah's mercy is greater than so many things.
When a person cannot make wudu with water because of the unavailability of water or because of them not being well, they're allowed to replace it with something that is not wudu, it's tayammum. That proves that Allah does not need your wudu. Do you understand the point? It proves Allah doesn't need it. But Allah tells you what to do for your own need, not for His.
So Allah says, look, you make the wudu. If you really cannot because of X, Y, Z, then you can do the tayammum. The same applies to salah, I'm standing and reading.
The hadith says, Read standing, if you cannot read sitting at least. If you cannot read sitting, then read on your side. Wow, look at Allah building bridges with us, understanding us, giving us what is easy for us, facilitating for us.
Where are our bridges with Allah? Where are our bridges with Allah? My brothers, my sisters have hope in the mercy of Allah. Rahmanun, Rahimun, Raoofun, Wadoodun, Ghaffarun. Subhanallah, those are the names of Allah.
Most Merciful, Most Beneficent, Most Forgiving. The Irresistible, The Everlasting, that is Allah. He loves you just like He loves me and He loves everyone else.
But we need to turn to Him to get that love, to feel it, to sense it and understand His mercy. May Allah open our doors.
The Second Bridge: Connection with Prophet Muhammad
The next bridge we need to build is the huge bridge. It is a bridge with the messenger Muhammad (صلى الله عليه وسلم). People don't talk about it sometimes. They don't believe that it's a bridge to be built.
It is a huge bridge to be built. Do you know what? There is a Hadith, the way the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) says, My Ummah will be recognized by me on the day of judgment by the shining of the places that they used to wash throughout the day for Wudu. Subhanallah.
It's called Atharul Wudu. You make Wudu, you wash yourself so many times a day, you clean yourself so many times a day to pray. You have a special shining on your face, even if your complexion is dark.
Many of us, when the complexion is light, we say, Oh, very pretty, very good looking, etc. But you are actually a person who recognizes beauty when you can see it in the darkest of the dark of the people. And you say, MashaAllah, Tabarakallah.
Breaking Racial and Tribal Barriers
Noor is not complexion. Noor is a light that is within, beyond complexion. Bilal Ibn Rabah was one of the darkest of the Sahaba.
But when the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) returned from Mi'raj, he says, Oh Bilal, I heard your footsteps in Jannah. I heard your footsteps in Jannah.
If it was you and I, we would look at the man, Astaghfirullah, I hope we wouldn't actually. And we would think this dark guy over here is already going to Jannah. Astaghfirullah. We have become racist.
We have become tribalist. We have broken barriers. Let's start to build the bridges.
Allah says, Oh people, We have created you from a single male and female. You are one family. I always knew I was related to you guys in the vow.
Why? We are connected. How are we connected? So many ways. And if you don't know those ways, one that you do is through Adam and Hawa. We are part of one family. Subhanallah. Some of us are related more.
Some of us, at least we go back there. In fact, we go back to the Prophet Nuh. Noah, all of us. Every one of us, we've passed through Nuh. He was one of our forefathers. Yours and mine.
But what does Allah say? Allah says, We created you different tribes and people in order that you recognize one another. So that you can know. Not in order to destroy your bridge. Not in order to say we are better.
The Disease of Tribal Superiority
Wallahi, there is a disease with nearly every tribe in the whole world. What is the disease? I want you to be honest. Speak to your heart.
I'm going to say something very very serious. I want you to think in your heart. Every tribe, think about which tribe you are from, right? Every tribe believes that they are better than the other.
Am I right? That is a sign of shaitan's trap. He is putting a dynamite on your bridge to destroy it. That exactly is the racism, the tribalism that we are talking about.
He said, I am better than you. That's why Allah said, you are cursed. You are not better. You are cursed. So if you want to be cursed, you got to think those people are not good. I have heard it from a lot of people.
And you need to work on yourself. They think they are better. Not just in this country. Everywhere in the whole world. Sometimes even nationality. They think, oh, be careful of those people.
Every tribe has good and they have bad. Every nationality has good and they have bad. It's not unique to you and I. They say, watch out, these people are crooks.
Crooks? What crooks? Before I went to Nigeria, they told me, be careful, when you go to Nigeria, they will pinch your shadow. They will steal your shadow.
Wallahi, when I went to Nigeria, the people I interacted with were some of the best people I've met in my life. Wallahi. Subhanallah. I've seen communities just like here, in Dabao, Cotabato, Zamboanga, wherever else we go.
We see beautiful people. Lovely human beings. May Allah bless you and bless all of us.
Would you like someone to think you are bad? Well then, don't think that others are bad. You want someone to think they are better than you? No. So stop thinking you are better than them.
(Hadith - Abu Dawud 5116)
People are equal like the teeth of a comb. Like the teeth of a comb.
How many of you have a comb with one tooth sticking out? That's not a comb.
The Universal Message of Brotherhood
So, this is why we say, be careful, my brothers, my sisters, I mentioned a true fact, that every tribe, we are trained since we were children, you are better than those guys. We are trained since we were children.
You need to break that.
That's why, Wallahi, sometimes I've traveled to the poorest of places and areas in the world, and I've seen people who have made me cry because of their dedication with Allah and His Rasool. Wallahi, in Nigeria, I saw a clip in one of the most remote parts of Nigeria, where they don't even have books, they don't even have classrooms, they were sitting outside, not even under a tree, and they were learning not the Qur'an, they had all memorized the Qur'an, but the kids were learning Ash-Shatibiya, which we don't even know. Wallahi.
And we are thinking we are better than them? They will be in the first Saf in Jannatul Firdaws, possible, it's possible. Why? They made an effort. They worked hard.
How hard have you worked to build your bridge with Allah and His Rasool? They spent their entire lives building that bridge. And with us, we didn't even know we had to build the bridge. How do you build it? Clean your heart.
Clean your heart. Who are you? I'm just a human being like you. Why am I standing here? Because I care for you, you care for me. Mashallah.
My brothers and sisters, we all have that internal pride. Let that pride not become arrogance. Let it just be a happiness. When I say I'm proud to be a Muslim, I mean I'm happy to be a Muslim. I don't mean I'm arrogant to be a Muslim.
I'm happy to be a Muslim. I'm a proud Muslim, which means I don't need to hide my identity. But guess what? I have to love you like I love myself, because that is the biggest bridge I need to build.
(Sahih Bukhari 13)
None of you are true believers until you love for the other, another what you love for yourself. Subhanallah.
The Diversity Among the Companions
So like I said, Allah has tested us with race. We need to build a relationship. Muhammad (صلى الله عليه وسلم), among his companions, they were not just Arabs. Allah chose for there to be the white and the black, and those in between.
Everyone was in his companionship. Suhaib ibn Sinan al-Rumi was a Caucasian. Salman al-Farisi was a Persian.
Even though they may have been one or two. Why did Allah choose them to be there? To show you that no matter what color, no matter where you're from, Wallahi, you have equal access to Allah. Who is the winner from amongst us? Who's the best from amongst us? Who's the best? Allah says it in the same verse.
The best from amongst you in the eyes of Allah, the most honorable in the eyes of Allah is he who has developed the consciousness of Allah known as taqwa. You have a solid relation with Allah, you are the best. Even if nobody knew you on earth, Allah knows you.
How many of us are famous in this world, but in the skies, they don't know us. And how many people, no one knows them on earth, but they are so famous in the heavens because every day the angels are taking their deeds up. And there are so many deeds from this person, but no one knows them.
Which one would you like to be? A person who the whole world knows what food you ate, what handbag you have, what perfume you used, how many times you went to the toilet. Astaghfirullah. People are putting that on Instagram.
Astaghfirullah. What do you want to put? The whole world knows all your detail, but the angels don't know you because you didn't even read salah once. May Allah help us to build this bridge.
The Importance of Faith Over Materialism
Very important. My brothers and sisters, don't give up the deen. Don't give up Islam. Just because of materialism. No. Build your relation with Allah.
Allah shows us that if you want contentment and happiness, it's not going to come with money. Money has never ever brought someone contentment. It only brought them temporary pleasure.
Remember this. Money only brings you temporary comfort. That's it, temporary comfort.
But if it comes hand in hand with Allah's relationship, your relationship with Allah, it lasts long. It will be everlasting. Allah will bless you.
O Allah, O our Rabb, grant us goodness in this world and in the next, and save us from the torment of hellfire, the punishment. So it's important for us to know the best from amongst us is the one whose bridge with Allah and his Rasul is the strongest, strongest, most powerful.
Building Bridges Like Infrastructure
MashaAllah. You have a skyway in Manila. You have a highway in other countries. You have motorways in other countries.
What happens? They try not to have a traffic light. They try to avoid the traffic, etc., etc. You pay a little bit in some countries, a little toll gate fee, and you are so happy to use a sweet way.
That's a bridge. MashaAllah. What did that bridge do for you? It was very difficult to make, but when they made it and it was ready, it facilitated transport. It made you go from A to B. Our bridges primarily need to make us go from this dunya straight into jannah, not into jahannam. That's your bridge. May Allah grant us goodness and power.
Proper Respect for the Prophet
As for Muhammad (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam), we respect him, we revere him, we do not render an act of worship to him, but rather we render our acts of worship to Allah.
(Sahih Bukhari 3445)
On his deathbed, Muhammad (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) sat up, and he says, Behold, don't go beyond the limits and begin to worship me, the way the Christians started doing with Jesus. May peace be upon him.
You should always say, servant of Allah and his messenger. He says, Don't worship me, worship he who made you. I am just a messenger from him. I've given you the message.
The Third Bridge: Character and Treatment of Others
What was the message? That message brings us to the third bridge. What is the third bridge? Your character, your conduct, your akhlaq, your treatment of others.
The Prophet Muhammad (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) was a shining example.
Whoever is hoping to get to Allah and looking forward to the meeting with Allah. And whoever remembers Allah often, for them there is a beautiful example in the life and the way of Muhammad (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) to follow. So follow him. In what? In everything.
As best as you can. Keep trying. How did he speak? How much love did he promote