Mufti Menk - Tough Times. Turn to Allah!

Tough times. Turn to Allah! - Mufti Menk

Opening

We always praise Allah. We always send blessings and salutations upon Muhammad (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam).

For indeed, we have been told that the one who sends blessings and salutations upon Muhammad (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) once, Allah blesses him or her tenfold. So, we always send blessings and salutations upon the messenger Muhammad (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam), and we never tire in that regard.

Similarly, we ask Allah to bless not only his household but his companions and all those who struggled through the generations to get the deen to us.

There is an effort definitely that so many have made in order for us to be seated here today, subhanallah, as muslimeen, with us developing and learning on a regular basis. May Allah grant us goodness and ease.

Current Global Challenges

My beloved brothers and sisters, we are going through many tough times, rough times, not only from an economic situation in this country but in many countries across the globe.

Not only turmoil, for example, that we witness in so many countries, but we see even the weather conditions. We have extreme heat, we have a lot of rain, too much rain sometimes in different parts of the world. There is flooding, there are wildfires in some places, there are tsunamis in others.

This year in Zimbabwe, I'm sure you would all bear witness that it has been the hottest year that we've known. Even the elderly, those in their 80s and beyond who are with us have always said, or have said this time, this is the hottest they could remember. It's true, it's factual.

Understanding Our Reality

What is going on? What should we be doing? Well, one of the first things that we should mention is that every day that passes, we're actually a day closer to Qiyamah. We're actually a day closer to the end of the world. And this is not a belief that is unique to the Muslims, but in fact the Christians and the Jews and a few other of the Semitic faiths believe the same, that there is an end, there will be an end.

We believe, subhanallah, that that end is not too far off. But when we say not too far off, how many years is that? Have you realized those who say we come onto this earth and we're supposed to be enjoying this life, they have not realized that it is only for a few years that they are actually at their peak. Before that and after that, they are no more at the peak, they were not at the peak and at the same time, they disappear in such a way that a few decades later, nobody remembers their name or the fact that they existed.

Presidents of nations, so many have passed. People don't even know their names. They don't even know that they even existed.

If I were to ask people of, say for example, a powerful nation that may be in existence for a few hundred years, that can you name me 15 of your presidents or 10 of them? They probably wouldn't be able to name except two or three. Yet at that time, they were very very important people. Where did they go? What happened to them? They actually went off where Allah wanted them to go.

Foolish are those who think that they just disappeared into thin air. Look at myself, yourselves, we are so complicated today. We have a feeling, we have eyes, we look at each other, we have a heart, we have life, subhanAllah.

Do you really think that everything just disappears into thin air? The moment we close our eyes? Wallahi. The fact that things are tough and difficult and challenge upon challenge, health goes wrong, wealth goes wrong, people die, the environment becomes tough, the weather becomes difficult, challenge upon challenge, that is proof and evidence enough that this life is not the life that Allah has made for us.

Secondly, it is proof and evidence enough that this life is actually just a test from Allah.

Life as a Test

It's just a challenge. It's a test. How do we believe that it's a test? I was asked by one of the youngsters that, you know, you say it's a test.

How is it a test? I said because we know we are tested. That's why everything goes wrong, one after the other. But Allah gives you in the middle things that will make you, number one, forget a lot of what you had gone through in the past.

If I were to ask you today, how many difficulties have you had 20 years ago? For those who are a little bit older, I think many of us would not be able to remember a lot of the difficulties in detail. Some might remember a little bit, but we won't. Allah gives us good days that wipe out the memory, the bad memory of the bad days.

But while we're in the tough days, it seems like, oh, you know what, we're going through a lot of difficulty and issues. I remember in the same masjid asking a question, take a look at where you're standing and sitting today, your clothing, your motor vehicle or vehicles, your house, your finances. And where were you 20 years ago, 15 years ago? Without exception, every one of us, where were you 30 years ago? Where are you now? Have we not become relatively far greater and higher than we were 30 years ago, 40, perhaps a little bit more, a little bit less, but we are complaining today much more than we did when we did not have anything.

Today we have more. It's just Allah's promise that has become manifest to us and Allah having made mention of our nature as human beings, being so truthful as meaning Allah being truthful in His words about us, that nothing will fill the stomach of man. You put in it one value of gold, he wants another.

You put in a second, he'll be complaining because he can't reach the third. That's Allah telling us that this is what man's nature is. Then Allah says the only time his mouth will be filled is with dust, with soil.

You know, when he's buried, everything is okay. But to that juncture, to that point, man thinks, no, you know, he can do better than what he is doing. Yes, we could do better, but don't compromise your relationship with Allah.

The Solution: Turn to Allah

This entire introduction is in order for us to know how we can manage these days. Nothing you do from yourself can bring about subhanallah, the mercy of Allah unless you turn to Allah. People are complaining, it's too hot, the economy.

You know, every day we complain about the economy. What's going to happen? What do you mean what's going to happen? Live day by day, thank Allah. You have food for today, alhamdulillah, thank Allah, tomorrow work again.

Maybe you have food for a few days, thank Allah, work hard. Subhanallah. People say if I die, what will happen to my children? I always say perhaps Allah will create people who will look after them better than you did.

It's possible, subhanallah. So this is Allah. Number one for a solution to any problem, turn to Allah, turn to Allah.

There is no chance that any problem of yours will be solved without turning to Allah. You know why? He is the maker, the owner of the money you're looking for. He is Allah to start with.

If you get it without Allah in the picture, it will come with a curse. If you get it with Allah in the picture, whether it is more or less, it comes with barakah. It comes with contentment.

Steps to Take

1. Seek Forgiveness (Istighfar)

So when you turn to Allah, the first thing you need to do is istighfar. Seek the forgiveness of Allah. You want rain.

You know, we are in dire need of rain. May Allah grant it to us. But my beloved brothers, my sisters, that rain is such that if we have no rain, there is a problem.

And if we have too much rain, there is a problem. We need a balance in the middle. So balance your life out and Allah will give it to you.

Subhanallah. We have to turn to Allah in istighfar. We have to seek the forgiveness of Allah.

2. Improve Character and Relations

We have to improve ourselves as human beings. We become extremely selfish in the process of earning money. It's all about me, myself, and I. That's what it's all about.

We have to learn to reach out to one another. The minimum is to be kind, to be polite, to be hospitable, to be a person with good nature, good character. That brings about the mercy of Allah.

You seek the forgiveness of Allah. Treat people with respect. Be honest with them.

Do good and upright business dealings. Then the mercy of Allah will come. What's the point of earning so much and inflation is eating all your wealth? There's something wrong with us as human beings.

We are not reaching out to each other and we have not even sorted out our relationship with Allah. Take your time in salah. Encourage your children in a beautiful way.

Be lenient. Go home and ask yourself, Am I the best person in this house? The prophet (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) says the best person is the one who's best to his spouse to begin with and the family members.

Where am I standing? What is going on? Why are things going wrong? When Allah says, you know what? When you get closer to Allah, when you engage in Istighfar, when you become a better person, what will happen is we will make it easy for you to go through these challenges in a way that you will not look at them as challenges, but rather as something Allah wanted you to go through with a smile.

Things happen, you're still smiling. They don't happen, you're still smiling. You made a bit of money, you're still smiling.

Your health is good, you're still smiling. You made a loss, you're still smiling. Your health went wrong, you're still smiling.

3. Practice Gratitude

There is a narration wherein the prophet (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) tells us that on the day of judgment, there will be a caller who calls out, where are those who used to thank Allah upon all conditions? It's something we've mentioned time and again because we are indeed going through challenges. I cannot remember sitting in this masjid or another masjid looking at the temperature and reading it to be 31 degrees at night at this time in this country.

I can't. For me, it's a first. I don't know about the rest.

But there is something happening. There are changes taking place globally. Do you really think that Allah wants to just penalize everyone? No.

He's reminding us. He is the one. You want the weather to improve, you call out to Allah.

You improve yourself. You want conditions to improve, you improve yourself and others as well. May Allah grant us ease.

4. Follow Religious Obligations

People engage in salatul isqa, which means the salah that is calling out to Allah, asking Him for rain. One of the conditions of that is to ask the forgiveness of Allah prior to even going into that salah. Seek the forgiveness of Allah.

Change your ways, your habits. Become upright. It doesn't mean that you're reading five salah a day and suddenly you're in good books with Allah.

You could be a crook in business. You could be a bad mouthed individual who really doesn't care about the feelings of people when he talks or she talks to them. Bad words.

May Allah protect us. May Allah grant us ease. The condition will never change unless we change ourselves.

It's amazing. So these are serious words. These are not, you know, shallow words.

Deep reflection is required, really deep. Who am I? Another thing, people are beginning to question the rules and regulations set down by Allah. People are challenging Allah.

They are defying Allah. Subhanallah. Where are those who believe? Where are those who can uphold what Allah has told them, has instructed them to? May Allah make us from among those.

So we take a part of the deen that is convenient to us and the rest of it is left. The rest of it is left. We must make sure that we turn to Allah.

As I said, seek the forgiveness of Allah, become regular with your obligations unto Allah, your salah, etc. Become a better person. Be upright in business, be upright in your relations, those who work for you, with you or those whom you work for.

We need to be honest. People cheat in time today, time. You're supposed to be at 8 o'clock somewhere and 9, 10 and we're still not there and we're taking money for it sometimes if we're working at a place.

That is not honesty. Do we really think the mercy of Allah is going to come? It won't. So if you notice the difficulties that we're facing, the solutions are simple, but they require dedication to fulfill.

5. Abstain from Sin

Simple solutions. Abstaining from sin. What do we gain from sin? A person who's addicted to this or to that, a person who perpetrates sin.

What do we gain from this? Nothing, nothing, not even pleasure. Temporary, perhaps driven by Satan, a feeling that we are perhaps within enjoyment and it's not. There is deep regret thereafter.

We shouldn't be committing sin. May Allah safeguard us and Allah will take care of us. Allah will definitely take care of us.

Trust in Allah

There is no point for a mu'min to worry about tomorrow because tomorrow is not in your hands, it's in the hands of Allah. But Allah has given you a capacity if you don't use it, you are to blame. Allah has given you a capacity to work, use your energy, use your effort.

You have to force yourself to get out of bed, to go out and to work and to earn. Then you say I've left the rest in the hands of Allah. I thank Allah for giving me this capacity and I want to end this short reminder and like I said, it's a serious reminder by encouraging myself and yourselves to be thankful to Allah.

The Power of Gratitude

Allah says this to us in a beautiful way and He has prescribed it upon those before us as well. If you are thankful, I will give you increase, abundance.

Look for the little things, look for the little things that you are thankful for. Think about it. If I were to say my brother, my sister, what are you thankful for today? Draw up a list of 300 things, subhanallah.

And I promise you, try it out. You don't have to write the list but make a mental note of it. My eyes, my nose, my ears, what else? My breathing, my system, my walking, my knees.

Just with your own body, you'll draw 500 already before you start with my food, subhanallah. What else? The ability, the clothes I have, everything else. I have the peace, the sanity, even though it's warm today but there is cool wind, subhanallah.

A cool breeze, look at it. It's a uniqueness of this part of the world that no matter how hot it is, the breeze is usually cool. If you notice some of the days, the breeze was warm through the day.

It's unlike this part of the world. But we need to do something. Thank Allah.

So please let us count the favors of Allah upon us and thank Him for each one. Oh Allah, I thank you for my eyes. I thank you for my ears.

I thank you for my children. I thank you for my spouse. I thank you for the condition and so on.

One by one, think of it, that will show you that your problems will be eclipsed by the gifts of Allah upon you. What difficulties do you have? May Allah grant us all ease.

Help Others and Allah Will Help You

Also, we reach out to others who are in difficulty and Allah will help us in our own difficulty.

(Sahih Muslim Hadith 2699)

The assistance of Allah is with a slave for as long as that slave is occupied in assisting another. You help others, Allah will help you. You give someone, Allah will give you.

Try it out. It will definitely work. It has to work.

It's the words of the prophet (salallahu alayhi wa sallam). You might not see the fruit in one day, five days, a week, two days or two weeks, but you will see it sooner or later. Sometimes Allah gives you same day.

Maintain Perspective

May Allah make us from among those who can smile through these challenges. The reason I chose this topic for today is because many people are complaining to me about the situation. What should we do? We are Muslims.

I said, we are Muslims. It's a very simple solution. You've got to soldier on, you've got to keep going, you've got to thank Allah and trust me, people say, no, I'm leaving the country, I'm going elsewhere.

It's not wrong to leave if, for example, you really have to or if you feel like etc. But you need to remember, no matter where you go, there are challenges, perhaps of a different sort, but you have to face them. It doesn't mean if I go from here to Honolulu, there's not going to be any tests there.

The same Allah will test you with some different things. You might have a currency that may operate with less fluctuation. To be honest, we started enjoying this, right? But we have a currency perhaps, but there will be other difficulties, other issues.

There might be things that you will not be able to face. Yeah, at least you can face certain things and I'm not making anyone's mind up. I don't know of people who want to go, you know, right now sitting here in front of me.

So, it's not a piece of advice for someone. I'm only trying to tell you that no matter where you go, you will still face challenges. There have to be challenges.

I was reading about California in the news where they were saying the upmarket areas, the people have had to evacuate, top people have had to evacuate because of wildfires caused by an electrical fault due to some mistakes made by their equivalent of our Zesa. Welcome, Mashallah. Allah grant us peace.

So it happens everywhere. We haven't yet had to run out of our houses, at least the Zesa, no matter how little they have done in the last few days or whatever in the last time. But you know, the excitement of the lights coming back is such that you realize only then how valuable electricity is.

Appreciate What You Have

You know, I want to say one more thing because we are in Zimbabwe and sitting here, Wallahi, when the lights and you know, you and I know, go for 18 hours a day. The day that they come back for 7, 8 hours,

it's like a day, wow, today the lights were here most of the day, like we were expecting them to go and they didn't go. Even the one extra hour when it comes a little bit earlier in the morning, you say, wow, subhanallah.

So look at how Allah has made us appreciate electricity. Allah has made us appreciate water, subhanallah. When the water trickling in, there is water in the tap.

For those who know or who don't have bowls and alternative ways. So this goes to show you that you can only realize the value of something when it's taken away from you and that value is somewhere else. That's why I said sit and think of what you have, it might go, you may not know.

Closing

May Allah bless us all. May Allah help everyone of us and all those suffering across the globe.

May Allah bless you all and reward you with goodness.