Solutions to your problems - Mufti Menk

Solutions to your problems - Mufti Menk

Opening

السَّلَامُ عَلَيْكُمْ وَرَحْمَةُ اللَّهِ وَبَرَكَاتُهُ

بِسْمِ اللهِ الرَّحْمَنِ الرَّحِيمِ الْحَمْدُ لِلَّهِ وَالصَّلَاةُ وَالسَّلَامُ عَلَى رَسُولِ اللَّهِ وَعَلَى آلِهِ وَأَصْحَابِهِ أَجْمَعِينَ

We praise Allah. We send blessings and salutations upon Prophet Muhammad (صلى الله عليه وسلم - sallallahu alayhi wa sallam), his household, his companions. We ask Allah to bless them, to bless everyone of us, to grant us goodness in this dunya as well as the next.

Ameen.

Solutions are in Revelation

My brothers and sisters, the solutions to all our problems are within revelation. Allah created us. He knows us better than we know ourselves. Many times we go through issues and problems and we're looking for solutions where we will never find them. People are looking for happiness and they look at the prohibitions of Allah and they want to find happiness in that which Allah has prohibited, it's not going to come.

It's very short-lived, a fake sense of perhaps ecstasy that a person might feel and thereafter there is regret for a long long time. No matter what it is, be it someone who wants quick money in the wrong way, they pinch or they are corrupt or they have bribed or they have stolen, they will live with that fear for a long long time, there will be no blessings in that money, there will never ever be a moment where the person is actually very happy without any worry or concern. But when you hand your affairs to Allah, even if you're struggling, even if you're going through challenges, your health, your wealth, your family, you will be such a happy person, you will be smiling within you, let alone just on your face.

May Allah grant us that happiness. If we look at the Quran, it has in it a lot of messages that are very very powerful. They are reminders.

When Allah blesses you, He knows what you deserve and He knows what perhaps is better for you right now. Sometimes you and I don't deserve luxury in this world because it may result in us turning away from Allah. So Allah says, I'm not going to give it to you.

And you're so upset and angry and praying and asking and saying, Oh Allah, I want this, I want this, I want this. Allah says, I know I'm not going to give it to you because I love you. If I'm going to give it to you, it's not going to be good for you.

You and I will not have a good relationship. You will forget me, you will go away from me. You're going to drop into sin and that which is deviant such that in the hereafter, the eternal life will be lost.

The best thing, let me let you not have what you want for a few years. And then when you come to me, I will give you everything you want. Subhanallah.

But man, especially those who don't believe:

"Nay, you love that which is right in front of you and you forget that which is to come which is eternal. You love this worldly life such that in it, you want what you want. But you are forgetting that the eternal life, sorry, you love this temporary life, and you are forgetting that the eternal life that is to come is the reality.

It is what you need to work for. What is your wealth going to do for you? Do you know that wealth, when it is given to you, is a very big test from Allah. Children, when they are given to you, they are a very big test from Allah.

Don't Betray Allah and His Messenger

Listen to what Allah says in Surah Al-Anfal. Verse number 27:

O you who believe, do not deceive Allah and His messenger. You won't be able to. You are deceiving yourself. What do you think you are doing? O you who believe, be loyal, be faithful unto Allah and His messenger.

You say, (لَا إِلهَ إِلَّا اللَّهُ - la ilaha illallah). You know it means there is none worthy of worship besides Allah, but you are worshipping everything besides Allah, and you are not worshipping Allah. That is the essence of Tawheed.

To worship Allah alone. I bear witness, there is none worthy of worship besides Allah. Then I'm worshipping everyone besides Allah and everything besides Allah.

That is unrealistic, unacceptable. Then I say, the Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, is the messenger of Allah, and his message means nothing to me. Subhanallah.

Imagine, when you believe someone is the messenger of Allah, you would know that that message he's coming with for you is an honor. It is a privilege, really we are privileged, that the man reached us. Imagine someone sends you a letter from somewhere, and the postman looks for you, finds you and delivers it in your hand, a very important message.

You're going to open it and be grateful, grateful to the one who sent the message, and grateful for the fact that he chose the best of the messengers, that he actually found you and gave it to you. Honor. So

the same applies, the Quran, the Sunnah of the Prophet, peace be upon him, it is an honor that it came to us through this blessed messenger.

We are saying, Muhammadun Rasulullah, peace be upon him. Muhammad is the messenger of Allah, peace be upon him. But, do we really consider him a messenger? Allah says, don't deceive.

Don't attempt to deceive Allah or his messenger. You are not going to get anywhere if you try that. And Allah says, do not betray.

You know the term, Khiyana, refers to betrayal. Do not betray Allah or his messenger. Do not betray what you have been entrusted with.

Amanah. Amanah meaning a trust. Whatever you've been entrusted with, primarily the shahada that you hold, the deen, the faith that you have, don't betray, don't be fake.

Be as genuine as possible, where you have gone wrong, quickly make amends, and understand that this life is definitely a test. I've said it again and again, that you know what? The fact that you didn't choose who you were born to, where you were born, where you came, what color you were, already proves that there is an examiner testing us here. We are not in control.

The questions are asked by the examiner, not by the one being tested. So, you choose very little. You actually choose how to respond to the situations you were put into by the examiner.

Why are you black? Why is someone else white? Why is another person red? Why yellow? Because Allah wants to test you, that's all. If it was for you, each one would have chosen his own color or nationality. But Allah says, No.

Will you respect each other? Will you reach out to each other? Will you understand that there is no value for a color, besides just that it is a test from Allah, for you, for I, for every one of us. And the same applies to everything else. Your financial level, when a deal comes to your business, Wallahi, it's a test.

Allah wants to watch, is it going to make you arrogant? I promise you, when money comes quick, it is a very, very big test. Those who have not worked hard for their money, I would like to think the majority of them, it messes around with their attitude. It makes them think that they are ruling the world and they don't understand.

Allah is the one in charge. They think they can do what they want because as the oldest used to say, the elderly used to say, they don't know how many twenties make a hundred. For them, it was just one twenty and it was a hundred for them.

Subhanallah. Those who worked hard, they know how many ones make one hundred. May Allah make it easy.

Because they earned it one by one by one. But if you got ten thousand one shot, you don't even know. It's a test from Allah.

I'm not saying they are bad in attitude, but I'm saying, it messes with their attitude. It's a challenge. When you are a multi-billionaire and you can come and polish the shoes of someone else, Wallahi, you are a man who is worth looking at.

You are a man who has achieved because your money humbled you. It brought you down. When you are a powerful figure and you can still greet and talk to the people in a proper way, you are someone who in the eyes of Allah is trying to pass that test.

If you don't have what you want and it turned you away from Allah, you are as big a loser as a person who has what he wants and it turned him away from Allah. The common factor is both of them turned away from Allah due to the condition they were put in. What's the difference? This man got so much, he forgot Allah.

That man doesn't have what he wants, he forgot Allah. He's angry with Allah. So what's the difference? May Allah keep us happy.

When Allah gives you, say, Alhamdulillah. That is why on the day of judgment, a caller will call, Where are those who used to praise Allah upon all conditions? Bring them forth. They deserve VIP treatment here.

الَّذِينَ كَانُوا يَحْمَدُونَ اللَّهَ فِي السَّرَّاءِ وَالضَّرَّاءِ

Those who used to praise Allah in good condition, in bad condition, it didn't change their relationship with Allah. It made them better ask me who is struggling? I tell you the richest of the lot are struggling more than the poorest.

Those who have seen more money in their lives find it more difficult to adjust than those who never saw that money. Their life was always the way it is. May Allah make it easy for us.

So be humble, be calm. When you have, Allah wants to see, do you look at those around you who don't have and quietly reach out to them, empower them, look at them, give them, treat them well. That is building your hereafter.

That is fulfilling the trust of Allah. Allah created people around you, not for nothing. He chose them as a test.

You will have problems with some of them. You will have friendship with some of them. You will have dealings with some of them.

You will have so much with some of them. Allah just wants to see, are you still going to make us the focus of your life or will you dwindle and drown in this worldly life? In Surah Al-A'la, again Allah reminds us of something similar, saying that, you know what? Man loves that which is now the worldly life and he's prepared to pay as a price the eternal life. You want comfort in this world and what's the payment you're paying? The comfort of eternity.

That's not worth it. A person who believes knows that that's not worth it at all. So let's look at the verse, the next verse.

Wealth and Children are Tests

Verse number 28 of the same Surah, Surah Al-Anfal, Surah number 8 of the Quran. Allah says:

Your wealth and your children, your offspring are just a test. They are a test. They are a trial for you. We have given them to you short term. Your children are not actually your children.

They belong to Allah. Biologically they are yours because Allah allowed you to enjoy the statement, they are mine. Yet, where were they prior to their birth? With Allah.

Where will they be after they die? With Allah. So, whose are they? They are Allah's, not mine. Temporary, for a few years.

I can say, my son, my daughter. Allah says, hang on, hang on. Actually, our children.

We have given this child to you. We're gonna take the child away one year old, five years old, ten years old. We want to watch.

When you have the child, will you help them dress modestly? Will you teach them about us? Will you help them grow in our obedience? Salah.

Teaching Children Prayer

(Sunan Abu Dawood Hadith 495)

The Prophet, peace be upon him, says, at the age of seven, you should start instructing your children regarding prayer. Prior to that, they should watch you and pray.

Without you saying a word. Because we've kept it automatic within their nature that when they watch at an early age, they want to mimic that from Allah. That's Allah's plan.

A child will mimic. Who created that? Allah. You keep fulfilling salah.

You dress properly. You enjoy growing your beard. For example, you enjoy doing things.

Allah has created the power of mimicking in a one year old child. They'll want to dress like you, talk like you. They'll go into sujood and you cannot yet talk to them in a language.

But they know what to do. Why? Allah says, we have given them as a test. As they grow older, you will have less and less authority over them.

When they become much older, they want you to have nothing to do with their lives. So much so that when they're getting married, the choice of marriage, you will be lucky if you've given them a good

When Allah Changes Conditions

Now let's talk about the issues we have, the problems we are facing. Do you know that Allah says, when He has blessed you, He won't take that blessing away unless you deserve for it to go away.

Did you know that? Allah says, Allah is informing us, telling us that Allah does not change the goodness that He bestowed upon a community, upon a nation, until they have changed inside. They have become people who deserve for it to be snatched from them. This is why when calamity strikes, yes, at that juncture, the scholars, the noble people, they will come to you and say, don't worry, it's a test from Allah, don't worry.

Because at that juncture, that's what we are taught, to tell people it's a test. But it might not be a test, it could be a punishment from Allah. How do I know? If I face my challenge with contentment, it is a trial from Allah, a test from Allah.

And it is actually not a punishment. I'm a happy man. I met a brother who told me, I grow my food, and I've been eating vegetables and so on for a long long time, and Alhamdulillah, I thank Allah, at least it grows.

And I'm saying, subhanAllah, some people if they don't get meat in the week, it's like qiyamah has come into the home. I promise you. Spoiled, for what? Look at the difference.

Who is in azab here? The one who has, not the one who doesn't. Because he doesn't know, that there are others who have nothing, nothing much, but they are so excited, they are happy, because they've adjusted their lives. They've adjusted their lives according to what Allah gave them.

Tomorrow it changed, I must cut. If I need to sell my car, it's sold, I catch public transport. I'm excited to interact with the people in the combi, what's wrong? SubhanAllah.

But no, how can I go in there? How can I go in there? Who are you? If Allah wants you, you'll go in, you'll walk also. You might not even afford that. May Allah bless us.

We still got the legs. Thank Allah. If you want to make a disaster out of something, you'll make a disaster out of the fact that the salt is less in your food.

When others, they don't even have the food you have. Allah grant us ease. So when something goes wrong, look at yourself.

Tell yourself, am I doing something wrong? Can I go back to Allah? As a whole community, as a nation, we need to go back and check, why is it that Allah took away the goodness that we have? Perhaps we're involved in sin. Perhaps we are corrupt. Perhaps we have turned away from Allah.

Perhaps our dress code is worse than anything we can imagine. Perhaps we have no morals left, no values left. We are cheating and stealing.

Perhaps something is happening wrong. We need to correct it wholesale, otherwise it's not coming back. Because there is another verse that shows you that the opposite is correct.

What's the opposite? Now when you have a problem, Allah is not going to remove you from the problem until you change your life.

Allah will not change the bad condition of a nation or of a people until and unless each one of them changes themselves. So we see problems, we know the problems.

They are becoming worse. We are passing the buck. It's because of that guy.

It's because of this person. No, it's because of me, man. It's because of me.

I'm not fulfilling my salah. I'm not interested in how to dress, how to talk, how to address. Why? Subhanallah.

If I'm far from Allah, I told you at the beginning of this talk, the solution to the problems we have lies in revelation. Didn't I say that? It lies in what Allah has. Allah taught it to us.

Allah gave us. Come on my brothers and sisters, we must change. We must cut out the sin.

May Allah help us. We must seek forgiveness of Allah. Because Allah says, when you're seeking forgiveness, He'll never punish you.

Allah will not punish them while they are seeking the forgiveness of Allah. A quick way of earning the mercy of Allah is to seek the forgiveness of Allah. Quickly, seek the forgiveness of Allah.

Oh Allah, forgive me, forgive me. The Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) used to repeat it 70 to 100 times a day. He didn't need to do that, but he did it to teach us.

Subhanallah. And where are we? So my brothers and sisters, these are the challenges we face. Like I said, your children are a test from Allah.

If Allah hasn't given you, He knows, He wants to give you Jannah. Just bear patience. Just bear patience.

And if Allah has blessed you with children and taken them away, your reward is with Allah. You need to bear patience. Just say, Alhamdulillah.

It's not easy to say Alhamdulillah when calamity strikes. Say it and see what happens. Move on.

Allah will unite you in the hereafter forever and ever. What's the point of losing a child here and in the hereafter? You don't get to see them because you lost your Iman. After you lost the child, by questioning Allah and becoming angry with Allah.

Look at what's happening to others across the globe. They've lost their homes, they've lost their loved ones, they've lost their properties, they've lost their wealth, they don't have food, they don't have anything. And they're still saying, Alhamdulillah.

We don't have the time. I would have given you so many examples. But my brothers and sisters, I pray that these few words I've said today on this blessed Friday can actually motivate myself and yourselves to do something to become a better person.

Let's reach out to others with kindness, with goodness. Let's try our best to be the most upright and you see what will happen in your life. Even if you don't have so much money, money is not everything.

Money is not everything. Even if you don't have so much contentment is what we're looking for. And that belongs to Allah.

He only distributes it to those who try to develop a relationship with Him.

Closing

I say these words and may Allah send blessings and peace upon our Prophet Muhammad.