The Youth And Realities Of The 21st Century - Mufti Ismail Menk

And it's amazing. You watch and you start saying, Subhanallah. Look at Allah telling us with Muhammad صلى الله عليه وسلم, what you have to do is follow his example.

Indeed, in Muhammad صلى الله عليه وسلم, in the messenger of Allah, there is an uswatun hasanah. There is a beautiful example. That's what it is to follow.

There is something to emulate. Let's ask ourselves truly, are we good enough for someone to follow? If the answer is no, you got to ask yourself another question. Are your children, if they were to follow you, would they be considered successful? Would they be considered children who are worth leading?

You know, leadership material as we would say.

If the answer is no, please do something about it. Please, do something about it. Everyone is trying.

I'm trying as well. It's a struggle. I went out to the West Indies a few weeks ago, and it happened to be school holidays for my children.

And I took my son, the one who's about 15 now, I took him with me and he learned a lot. Not because I told him things, he was just watching. He saw how I dealt with issues, how I dealt with matters.

You have people who will love you. For every 10,000 people who love you, you will have one hater who is so bad that he might make a bigger noise than all of those. And he witnesses, and he sees, and he has to see.

We shield them from a lot of things, but as they grow up, they need to know the reality, they need to know the challenges we face, and how we deal with them. So yes, at my own cost, at my own expense, I took him. And subhanallah, the people were kind enough to have accommodated him.

You know, they were good to him. They treated him well. And I told some of the brothers, don't give him preferential treatment.

Because if you do, he won't learn. I want him to mix with everyone, to see, to speak to people. He must learn about their lives.

He must learn about what they are doing, why they are doing what they are doing. And that's what happened, subhanallah. And I'm sure that if I have other opportunities, I will definitely take more and more of them with.

Setting the Right Example

In fact, there have been people from the general public who've joined me after becoming close and so on. And they say, look, can I join you if you're going, for example, here or there? Yes. The idea is for them to see what it's all about.

People think, oh, you know what, it must be, you know, the high life. No, it's not. It's actually very difficult.

You know, to prove that I'm not into this materialistic life for my own children, I don't have a watch. I don't have a pen. I don't use cufflinks.

I wear the same shoes for the last how many years. I've got similar clothing for how many years. And they watch and they see.

But when you see someone every day, they're worried about their phones and they're worried about their bags and they're worried about their watches and they're worried about their makeup. If that's their focus, then I think it's a challenge, something we need to address. I'm not saying look ugly and walk out in a way that you're tatty and your clothes are not ironed and you look like a person who lives in the 60s.

No. But what I am saying is, be presentable, be well-groomed, if that's the word. And be a person who has, mashallah, made use of what Allah has blessed him or her with.

And at the same time, it should send the correct signals to those whom we're trying to nurture. If I were to die today, would I be a person who can say comfortably that I've left my children with a decent example? If the answer is yes, alhamdulillah. If it's no, then I think, like I said earlier, we have to work on it.

We must work on it. Many of us, subhanallah, we have so much to improve. We're still running behind materialistic items.

And at the same time, we want to build a generation. We want people to take on, you know, to take the baton from us. But what have we done? I was, this morning I landed and I had gone somewhere.

And I was speaking to the driver. I told him I've got to talk. And I'm going to be speaking to a group of sisters and I'm going to be speaking about the challenges facing the youth here in the 21st century.

What do you think? What do you think are some of the challenges? Wow, he looked at me and he said, you know better. Anyway, we got talking. Now when we were coming here, he tells me, responsibility.

I said, yes, responsibility. I said, laziness. He said, laziness.

I agree. We've become lazy. We have become lazy.

The Problem of Laziness

What do you expect from our children? Our fathers used to work so hard. What do we do? Half of it. Half of it, not even half of it, sometimes a quarter of it.

Well, there might be exceptions to that, but generally that's it. And our children are becoming even lazier. We're giving them everything on a platter.

We are saying that I'm living in order to let my children have a comfortable life, not realizing we've made them so lazy that when they grow older, they will get used to such a comfortable living. They won't want to work hard because mom or dad gave it to them on a golden platter. That's what happened.

We gave it to them on a golden platter. So we didn't want them to get hurt. So we didn't allow them to play sport.

We didn't want them, for example, to be abused in any way. No one wants them to be abused. But what we're saying is the fear of them being told a bad word by someone made us perhaps put them into this shell where they couldn't even deal with matters if someone were to tell them a bad word, or if someone were to challenge them, or to say something to them they didn't like.

We have to protect our children, I agree. That's not denying, meaning we're not denying that, we cannot deny it. But it should not be done at the expense of growing them, helping them to grow in a beautiful way, nurturing these beautiful qualities that they're supposed to be having.

Developing Connection with Allah

So we ask Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala to grant us the guidance in this particular regard. I also feel that as followers of Muhammad صلى الله عليه وسلم, something absolutely important for us is to be able to develop our connection with Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. Because the children, a lot of the times we find that the parents are at salah, the parents are dressed appropriately, but the children are not.

The children sometimes are perhaps from the same parents getting mixed signals. What are the signals? Okay, I've got a scarf on, I'm dressed appropriately, I read my salah. Don't worry, you're still young.

You know what, from a young age, dress them appropriately. Help them, guide them, tell them that you know what, this is what it is. We have to nurture these children in such a beautiful way, they must be on our level or higher in every way.

They must be on our level or higher, not lower. So the fact that we say, oh, these are little girls, I've got six daughters mashallah of my own, and I'm always concerned. I say, you know what, let's not just dress them because we think they're young, and dress them in a little skirt and something.

From the beginning, they should know they're muslimin, they should know they have responsibilities, they should dress modestly, they should be able to have this idea of the fact that they are governed by Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala's rules and not just by society. It's difficult, it's a challenge. Because when you go to your friend's houses, mashallah, you have these little fairies walking about.

Mashallah, it's really good. You know, it's not haram to dress them in a sweet way, but don't let them get into the habit of wearing clothing that reveals even their legs from that little age. Because you'll be complaining later on.

May Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala help us, may Allah open our doors.

The Challenge of Technology

The issue of technology and how far it's got is actually a challenge. Two days ago, my daughter comes to me and says, we need to write about STDs, STIs, HIV, and so on, and I need my iPad.

Now, the rule is the iPad comes in the weekend and it comes for specific hours depending on the brownie points you have, depending on how many stars you have and so on. So subhanallah, she comes and she says, look, I need it. So I said, OK, here it is.

But you're going to have to sit with us, with me or with your mom. And you're going to have to just work in such a way that you're googling and you're searching everything you have while we are sitting nearby. So she said, OK.

And mashallah, responsible girl. Not to say we don't trust them, but at the same time, I don't trust what she might just see online. Do you know how dirty it is? I'm sure you know.

So it's a challenge. It's a real, it's a really big challenge. And at the same time, we have to make the most of what we have, trying our best to teach them, to guide them, to instruct them.

So mashallah, she looked for all this. It was easy for me to sit with her and tell her all about STDs and HIV and everything else. But I thought to myself, since she said I'm going to be researching this, let her look for it.

And she's reading and she's writing and so on, taking notes. And alhamdulillah, within about one and a half hours, she was done. She was done.

And I thought to myself, I said, you know what? This is technology. It is such a blessing. Such a blessing.

But at the same time, it is a source of destruction of a lot of relationships. Marriages included, friendships and so many other things. Because it's all at your fingertips.

The evil is at your fingertips, just like the good is at your fingertips. So many people are doing so much good, but there are so many out there who are ready to pounce at our own children to degrade them so that they can abuse them at some stage. And what have we provided these children with? I think a lot of us need to be reminded 20 times to say, you know what? Stop running behind materialism.

Get to the real life. Become a responsible person.

Acknowledgment to Mothers

And my beloved mothers, I owe you an acknowledgement.

I definitely do know that you are going through so much to try and look after your children. You are definitely going through so much to strike the balance between your own life and the lives of your children. But that becomes your life.

And I do know that we are facing so many challenges with a lot of husbands who are not supportive at all. Some of them have bad habits. For me, smoking is considered a terrible habit.

So bad that we need to talk about it. We need to remind people that if the non-Muslims are saying that smoking kills and they are campaigning to give up smoking, then we definitely need to give up smoking ourselves. And I know that there are so many other challenges.

We have challenges of mothers-in-law. I face crises upon crises trying to deal with so many people's matters. And trust me, why can we not make people's lives easy for the sake of Allah? Make it easy.

It's not like what it used to be a long time ago where you have a daughter-in-law so suddenly you have a slave in the home. Not at all. But then we have the other extreme where you have a problem of the in-laws, number one.

And number two is you have a problem of the daughter-in-law herself who just doesn't want to chip in at all. Not at all. We need to strike a balance.

Come on. We need to strike a balance. We have these challenges.

Marriage and Sacrifice

Yes, people are becoming educated even Islamically. They're saying, I don't need to cook. Well, nobody's going to cook then because if she says, I don't need to cook.

You say, you don't need to cook. He says, he doesn't need to cook. Then what? Then what? Even the cook will say, I don't need to cook because it's five o'clock.

I need to go home. Come on. So we need to compromise somewhere.

We need to make each other's lives easy. It will be a sacrifice. We will have to sacrifice.

When we bring our children up, we must make sure that we have told our children that you will need to sacrifice. A lot of the times our children just, you know, they find their boyfriends or their girlfriends and a little while later they come to us and they say, I want to get married. And subhanallah, some people might just say, okay, no problem.

That's it, you can get married. I don't see an issue with it. But we haven't yet told them that marriage is a very very big sacrifice.

It's a huge sacrifice. I know of a case where one of the newlyweds wants to go home every weekend. I must go to my folks.

And the husband says, look, you can go every second weekend. No, I must go when I want and I must go as I want and as I wish. Well, what was the point of getting married? Well, you know what? You can't control my life.

I know I can't control your life, but come on, I'm a husband. Yes, you're a wife. I'm saying go every second weekend, no problem.

But every single weekend you want to go. Well, you know what? Subhanallah, these are some of the challenges we are facing. We brought up our children, but we didn't tell them, we didn't teach them, they looked at us and we kept them in a comfort zone to the degree that the day they were thrown into the deep end, they didn't know how to swim.

And they thought, you know what? It's going to be easy. It's going to be a walk in the park. I can just say, you know, I'm going to tell my dad and I'm going to tell my folks and this marriage is over.

One of the challenges we are facing. So subhanallah, my mothers and sisters, it's become so difficult. It's become so difficult to deal with these things because we are guilty to start with.

I was going to say sometimes, but should I say a lot of the times, it's becoming more and more. How many of us have told our children that you know what? When you marry, it's going to be a big sacrifice. And how many of us are ready to sacrifice for our own marriages? How many?

I know here today, we are probably speaking to a lot of mothers and we're speaking to a lot of perhaps even unmarried sisters who don't have children.

May Allah bless you all with the best of marriages and with the best of children. But that having been said, it's a challenge. We need to tell them exactly what it is.

And we need to sacrifice ourselves. Do you know how beautiful it is to get to your mother-in-law, to greet her, to smile at her, to present her with a gift or two once in a while? Well, you must be sitting and thinking, well, I live with her. I live with her.

Okay, okay. Even if you live with her, mashallah, try and make peace. Sometimes you can ignore things that are bad.

Yes, if there's a terrible crisis, we will want to solve it and resolve it. But it doesn't mean that the marriage must be broken. I know for a fact that the gift of living with in-laws, I'm calling it a gift, but the gift of living with in-laws is only appreciated when you have children and when you see the good that's inculcated in those children from the qualities that these oldies happen to bring forth.

Not in all cases, not in all cases. Sometimes some of them are ridiculously unreasonable. In that particular case, you can exercise your rights.

You can make a little bit of a noise. I know of marriages that have broken sometimes because people wanted to take the wrong sides and whatever else.

You cannot side with oppression, never.

You can never side with oppression. But what I do know is that we can solve problems. We can try our best to resolve matters and issues.

So, my mothers and sisters, that's one of the challenges that we face. And like I said, if we develop ourselves, we will definitely be able to address these matters. We will definitely be able to help our own children and ourselves.

Distance from Allah

But my mothers and sisters, let's move beyond this. And let's go to something that I should have perhaps started with but I didn't intentionally because I wanted to bring up materialism before anything else. I feel it's one of the biggest crises, one of the challenges we are facing.

We are also facing, my mothers and sisters, a distance from Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. We think we can solve all our problems with money. That's what we think.

We think we can solve all our problems with power, with position, with who you know. These are worldly matters. The truth is, we solve our problems by our connection with Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala.

Even if I don't have a lot, the truth is, I will be able to achieve contentment if I'm close to Allah. Everyone has problems. You look at me and you think I don't have challenges.

I have huge challenges. I have people who perhaps don't even want to see me alive. MashaAllah.

And why? Not because I said anything nasty. Just because they don't want to see someone maybe who's successful in some way. The same will happen to you.

People don't want to see your success perhaps. Every single person that we have with us this morning has challenges, some really difficult problems, issues. That's why we always, when we make a dua, we say, O Allah, help everyone in their own way.

Whatever difficulties they are facing, help them. We all have sicknesses, illnesses, some are more serious than others. If I were to tell you I'm coming from a hospital right now because I wasn't well for the last two whole weeks, and I've got a trip this evening going to Qatar, and tomorrow morning as soon as I land, I've got two programs, one at a school and one a function for a group of sisters as well.

May Allah make it easy for us all. Challenges. And on top of that, you have people trying to make your life difficult.

You have issues. We may have, you know, so many different types of problems, but that's life. You got to be happy.

Smile. It's beautiful. That's what it's all about.

Life as a Challenge

It's a challenge. It's like an obstacle. You know, I know people who are into cycling.

I know people who are into, for example, golf. I know, okay, golf is the easy one. Let's not talk about it.

I know people who are into athletics, who are into rugby. And guess what? It's a challenge. It's something, it's a race against time.

And at the same time, you're trying to improve. A lot of you must be, subhanAllah, into health, right? Into your shape and your size. And at the same time, your food, what you're eating.

You want to go to the gym. I hope it's a halal gym inshaAllah. But you want to go to the gym.

Alhamdulillah, very good. Don't you think for a moment that whatever you're doing to keep fit is very difficult. It's a challenge.

Why didn't Allah just say, eat and drink. And when you say, subhanAllah, subhanAllah, you start shedding, you know. If that was the case, we would be reading tasbih every day, all day.

Because as you're saying, subhanAllah, you're losing weight. Alhamdulillah, you're losing weight. Ooh, we would say, subhanAllah, subhanAllah, subhanAllah, subhanAllah, subhanAllah.

And we would stand on the scale and say, subhanAllah. Yes, it's not that easy. It's Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala who's telling you even to shed a kilo, there is an effort required.

It's a challenge. It's depressing sometimes to look at the scale. It is depressing because on one hand, you have lovely food and you want to be a chef and you want to impress and you want to have nice food and you want to go out to eat.

But the other hand, subhanAllah, you know what? You are so worried about your weight and you have to do something about it. And you, in fact, if you are in shape, mashaAllah, you're worried about losing that. I shouldn't be losing this.

I've worked hard to achieve it. I want to ask you a question. So if you've worked hard so much to achieve this in terms of your figure or your health, mashaAllah, it was good.

Don't you feel so good? Yes, you do. Well, to get to Allah, you're going to have to work even harder. You're going to have to work even harder.

It's a challenge to get up for salah. It's a challenge to dress appropriately. The problem with us is sometimes when we're in shape, shaitan comes to us and wants us to show that now.

Now I'm in shape, so what? No one knows. Your husband knows. Well, that's not good enough, isn't it? That's what shaitan comes and tell us.

He comes and tell us, surely others should know about it. Come on, you need to show it. Wear something tight.

Wear something revealing. Come on, everyone needs to see and say, wow, because I worked so hard. I need acknowledgement and appreciation.

That's shaitan coming to you. And that's one of the challenges we face today where we want to do things against what Allah wants in order for us to be acknowledged by others. And that acknowledgement leads to something else because you get acknowledged, then you come back home and your husband forgets to acknowledge.

And then you start thinking to yourself, you know what? Somebody else is appreciating me and he doesn't. That's shaitan, shaitan coming again and again. So mashallah, you achieved one thing, but you're losing on the other front.

So my mothers and sisters, what's important for us to know is developing the link with Allah is a challenge. The reason why I gave this example is, people are ready to work so hard to be able to cycle, to be able to run, to be able to lose weight. They're ready to work so hard to do things, to follow a strict regime, to follow a strict diet.

But when it comes to Allah, we're not ready to work even half as hard. I'm happy because I feel healthy. You don't know you're going to die.

One second after you've closed your eyes, you're going to need help. Help that none of your exercise, none of your wealth, none of anything else would have actually or will be able to. It won't be able to come to your assistance at that point.

But I tell you what, if you used it in the right direction, and if you did not compromise your link with Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala, then indeed, you will be a person who's really happy. You will be a person who will be, have gained the world and the hereafter. That's what we all want.

Striking a Balance with Technology

I'm a person, I believe in a balance. If you take a careful look at the internet, there are people who say,

don't use it. That's ridiculous.

I have to use it. There are people who say, the social media, stay far away from it. Yes, it's easy for me to say, stay away from social media.

But it's ridiculous because the reality on the ground is something else. I can say it, but I need WhatsApp. WhatsApp is part of social media, do you know that? I can say it, but I need for example sometimes, you know, to keep in touch.

There's nothing wrong. I need to be in a group. You know, people become bored because they don't have things to do.

Today, you can join an online group and you're part of a group, you don't need to meet in person. But it's a support group, for example, for cancer and AIDS. That's what we have today.

Why am I here? Because I support the cause. And at the same time, subhanallah, it could be an online group where you talk to each other, you motivate each other, you have problems, you discuss things. I know when I'm going through something, a lot of the times I'll google it.

I had a pain in my back once, and I started googling why this pain would come. And I got such a beautiful response from so many different websites. And I actually managed to get to the diagnosis of it.

And the problem was solved after a period of time. I got stretches and exercises on YouTube. I started following them and I started making sure that I did it.

And honestly, I'm talking of myself. I helped myself. Through what? Through the same internet.

And you know what? Interacting with people. They put it up on their social media and their websites. And mashaAllah, a person like me benefited from it.

So, what I've tried to do is to strike a balance. To strike a balance. We are religious.

We do fulfill our five salah. We are people who've learnt a lot about the deen. We don't want to compromise it.

We do make mistakes once in a while. We are people who commit sin because we are human being. When I say sin, there are different levels of sin, obviously.

But at the same time, we want to, as Muslim as we are, we want to make sure that we don't present a picture to the youth of today, that in order to be a good Muslim, you must be divorced from the rest of the world. And all technology and everything to do with materialism and all accessories and every handbag. The minute you have one, you cannot be a good Muslim.

No! We want to teach them, you can be balanced. That's what we want to teach. And this is the reason why I've used social media the way I have.

People say, well, why are you on Instagram? And I tell them, you know what? It's in order to show the young children or the youth of today that you can be a Muslim. You can be a good Muslim. And you can have a little bit of fun.

I know there are problems and crises across the globe. I know of Syria. I know of Palestine.

I know of Afghanistan. I know of Somalia. I know of Philippines.

I know of everything that's happening. I know and I keep abreast. And at the same time, I make du'a for them.

I help wherever I can. I've supported causes in so many different ways. I've helped raise funds in order to reach out to refugees and those who are struggling.

I've helped in my own way. But I know people will never be satisfied. They always want you to do things the way they want.

No. Live your life the way you have to live it. You strike the balance.

You have a family. You have so many other things. And you need to be religious.

But at the same time, they need to have fun. I need to take my children sometimes out. It doesn't mean that because the world is suffering in Syria, my children must be blocked at home and they must sit in the room and locked.

That's it. It doesn't mean that. I will definitely reach out to them.

I will teach my children about it. I will take my children. I will make them give away some of their own things, some of their pocket money and so on.

But I will also let them have a little bit of fun. I don't get so much of time with my children, so I will take them. So, that's the reason why I will show on social media a few things.

I know a lot of people have picked on me because perhaps I've done things that others might not have. They say, "No, you're supposed to be a scholar." "Yes, yes, definitely." "You're supposed to teach." "You learn Qur'an from me." "You learn hadith from me." "You learn tafseer from me." And at the same time, you learn that you need to have a bit of fun sometimes. You need to really take your family, go out, have a meal, enjoy it.

Go and have, you know, go and do something daring if that's the type of person you are. Mashallah, there's nothing wrong with it. Absolutely nothing.

Preventing Bad Habits Through Balance

These are challenges. When we decide to tell the youth that you need to divorce yourself from what's going on on the globe, we've created a group of people who are not real people. They're either hypocrites or they are people who keep on looking at others and wishing and wanting.

And at the same time, they're not getting so, they develop bad habits. They get into pornography. They get into, you know, so many other bad things.

Pornography is a disaster. It's a disaster. But why do people go into it? I did a lot of studying.

I've mixed with people who are gurus when it comes to teaching people how to get out of these type of bad habits and, you know, counseling them and so on. And having workshops. I've met some people on a global level who are powerful in this regard.

And they tell me, idle mind. Do something physical. You know, my child, I bought for him a little small helicopter.

The size, you know, one of the smallest. They say it's the smallest in the world. Not so expensive, subhanAllah.

And a few days ago, he was playing with it and he was saying, this is awesome. And he's flying it inside and indoors. And I'm thinking to myself, Alhamdulillah, this is far better than sitting on your iPad.

You know, the games of today are a challenge. They're killing people. Computer game.

The more you kill, the more points you get. I fail to understand why they don't make a game where the more lives you save, the more points you earn. I haven't seen that.

It should be. But someone somewhere is serving an agenda and a purpose and we're getting caught. We just buy them the game.

I want this game. I want that game. Where did they learn about it? From school.

School, where did they get it? From the TV, from wherever else. All the pressure. But no, something physical.

When they do something and you acknowledge them and, you know, something beautiful. So take them out. But you're going to have to spend time with them.

I know you must be saying, tell our husbands. The reality is they will hear what I've said. They will hear it.

Definitely. The husbands, we need to spend time with our family members. Time is one of the most valuable things.

It's far more valuable than throwing a thousand rands or twenty thousand rands at someone. If you want to build them, spend time with them. That's what it is.

I'm here this morning spending time with you. I could have just sent it to you and told you, you know what, play this. No, it's important.

I'm here personally, myself. I'm here and I've decided, let's talk about it. This is a cause.

AIDS and Disease - Breaking the Stigma

One of the challenges we're facing is also the AIDS and diseases that people are perhaps affected with. Not to say that we shouldn't be doing something about helping those who are affected, but we should also be talking about how it is spread and how we can prevent. A lot of us are guilty of not talking about it.

Sometimes we are guilty of misbehaving sexually. It's a reality. It's a fact.

May Allah protect us all. We're living in a hyper-sexual age. There's no need to deny that.

It's a reality. A lot of us are hooked on to pornography and we want to help the world. So like I say, when you live a real life, you will face challenges.

People might look at you and think, you know what, why is this person doing this? We need to strike a balance, a balance between what's happening on the ground, understanding it, doing something about it, living your life, fulfilling your responsibilities to Allah and to your family. And at the same time, trying to make sure that when you die, you go to a good place and those whom you leave behind will be left behind in a good place as well. What a big challenge.

What a big challenge, subhanAllah. May Allah make it easy for us.

Any disease from Allahsubhanahu wa ta'ala. If a person has been affected by it, it is a means of them gaining closeness to Allah. They will get closer to Allahsubhanahu wa ta'ala.

Definitely. But what we do need to know is, as we're getting closer to Allahsubhanahu wa ta'ala and we're improving, we need to seek medication. We need to seek help.

I know of people who are sick and ill and they don't want to seek help. And I know of people who are sick and ill and the others look at them and they say, this person, they must have been so bad, they deserve it. You know, especially when we talk about AIDS.

Something I need to clarify. I've met some of the most pious people who've passed away with a smile and they've had AIDS. You might wonder how?

Because they became pious after they had the disease.

It was Allah's way of saying. And some of them got it, contracted it through innocent means. Blood transfusion and various other means.

Sometimes, you know, contamination of some sort. It doesn't mean they were ill and evil people. No, not at all.

And it could be that they made a mistake and they got it by one mistake. There are others who committing adultery day and night, but they don't have the disease. I hope you understand what I'm saying.

So it doesn't make you a bad person. Those who have AIDS are not bad people. Sometimes they are closer to Allah than you and I because they know they're going, for example.

Or they know that they're going to be struggling. So they're closer to Allah than you and I. And we look at them and we think, you know what? These people are bad, they're evil. I've heard people with my own ears and I've got so upset when they've said, they deserved it.

Why are you going to help them? They deserved it. Astagfirullah. If that was the attitude, none of us would go to paradise.

These people are reading salah, they're crying to Allah for forgiveness. They die knowing that they're going with us. We die with a bang sometimes.

Who knows, we could be affected by this. We could be. If Allah wants, He can affect us with an even worse disease.

There is zikr going on in South America at the moment. I was in South America now then the other day in Guyana. And I was thinking about it and I'm busy.

I'm looking at the mosquitoes and saying, I hope you're not a zikr. Subhanallah. Because that's how it works.

We don't know. It's Allah who knows. Don't for one moment think that the person who has AIDS is an evil person.

Perhaps they're closer to Allah than you are. It's up to you to reach out to them. When you reach out to someone with a disease, Allah will help you be saved from the same disease.

Did you know that? Why am I here? People might be saying, it's so hard to get this guy across. No way. I told the people who contacted me, look, if you can fit into my time, I don't mind, I'll be here.

It's not like I'm the only guy, but okay, bismillah, let's talk to each other. Let's help each other. If it's for a good cause, why not? Why not? Brilliant cause.

Careline, alhamdulillah, what a good job they're doing. May Allahsubhanahu wa ta'ala grant them strength. And anyone who's helping any good cause, may Allahsubhanahu wa ta'ala guide you, may Allah accept it from you in a way that you don't suffer.

The same thing that you are helping others come out of the suffering from.

Hadith on Helping Others

So let's reach out to people.

(Sahih Muslim)

Allah continues to help His slave as that person is occupied in helping someone else.

So that's why we are here. And I think it's about time we understood some of the most pious people. When I said pious, I mean, I've seen people with a lot of nur, with a smile on their face, but they're sick and they're ill.

And you can see that they're on their way out, so to speak. In the bed, in the hospital, few more days left. Perhaps sometimes we don't know, but the doctors say so.

And after that you see, they've passed away. They pass away with a smile. Every one of us is going to go anyway.

Some of the healthier people die even before those who are diagnosed with these terminal illnesses and sicknesses. So let's reach out to them. Let's donate generously.

Let's give even if it means a rand, or ten, or twenty, or a hundred. I always say when it comes to eating out, when it comes to nightclubs, when it comes to gambling, when it comes to haram, when it comes to adultery, when it comes to an illicit relationship, we are quick to blow a lot of money. We won't look at the note.

But when it comes to a charitable deed, we are looking at every cent. Oh, you know, are you allowed to give zakat? Can I give lillah? Can I... Brilliant. These questions are good.

They are there. They should be asked. But it shouldn't be out of stinginess that we are asking the question.

It should be out of generosity that we are asking the question. Be generous. Give out.

(Sahih Muslim)

The Prophetsallallahu alayhi wa sallam says, nobody's wealth has ever depleted because of a charity they've given. It's always increased. So let's learn to give.

May Allah bless you, both the sisters who are working dedicatedly. And I'm sure all of you are doing good work in one way or another. And the brothers also who are involved, those who are here, those who are not here, those who may listen to this later on.

My brothers and sisters, let's do something to reach out to those who are sick and ill in any way. We have children who are challenged. We have adults who are going through so many different types of difficulties.

Reach out to them. Allah will reach out to you. And Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala will bless you.

Closing Remarks

I know when I walked in here, they told me, you must speak for the whole hour, even though you started at a slightly different time. And I said, don't worry. I'll give you the whole hour.

Guess what? I've given you a bonus of 2 minutes and 30 seconds as well. May Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala bless you guys. And may Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala open your doors.

Please, can you enjoy the meal inshallah or the light lunch that's going to be served. And at the same time, make dua for me. I make dua for you.

May Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala bless you all. Jazakumullah khair. Shukran for your attentiveness.

There were a lot of things that I had planned to say. But alhamdulillah, normally what I do is I come in. And even what I've planned to say, I just let myself flow because sometimes Allah makes us say things that are relevant to people on the spur of the moment.

And we hadn't even planned to say those things. So I like to let it flow, to make it more, you know, appealing or to make it more riveting, so to speak. And I hope I was looking at the right camera here.

There are a few of them, so I wasn't so sure where to look. But at the same time, inshallah, I hope I've looked at the right cameras. And please, pray for us all.

Reach out to the rest of the ummah. There are so many people suffering, so many challenges we've only touched one or two. But may Allah bless our children and the youth and all of us.

I promise that I will become a better person as time passes. And I hope you can join me in that promise.

Final Dua

Glory be to You, O Allah, and praise be to You. We bear witness that there is no deity except You. We seek Your forgiveness and turn to You in repentance.