Who Is A Good Muslim

Who Is A Good Muslim - Mufti Menk

Opening Greetings and Shahada

السلام عليكم ورحمة الله وبركاته

بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم

لا إله إلا الله محمد رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم وعلى آله وأصحابه أجمعين

أعوذ بالله من الشيطان الرجيم

Opening Verses from Surah Al-Furqan

Quran 25:65-76

بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم

And those who say, "Our Lord, avert from us the punishment of Hell. Indeed, its punishment is ever adhering; Indeed, it is evil as a settlement and residence." And those who, when they spend, do not exceed the limits and do not restrict unduly; and ever, between that, [is] a just balance. And those who do not invoke with Allah another deity or kill the soul which Allah has forbidden [to be killed], except by right, and do not commit unlawful sexual intercourse. And whoever should do that will meet a penalty. Multiplied for him is the punishment on the Day of Resurrection, and he will abide therein humiliated - Except for those who repent, believe and do righteous work. For them Allah will replace their evil deeds with good. And ever is Allah Forgiving and Merciful. And whoever repents and does righteousness does indeed turn to Allah with [accepted] repentance. And those who do not testify to falsehood, and when they pass near ill speech, they pass by with dignity. And those who, when reminded of the verses of their Lord, do not fall upon them deaf and blind. And those who say, "Our Lord, grant us from among our wives and offspring comfort to our eyes and make us an example for the righteous." Those will be awarded the Chamber for what they patiently endured, and they will be received therein with greetings and [words of] peace, Abiding eternally therein. Good is the settlement and residence.

Main Khutbah

And peace and blessings be upon the messenger of Allah, our Prophet Muhammad and his family and companions.

We have a topic that is very broad. It can be discussed from more than a thousand angles. Who is a Muslim and who is a good Muslim? This will govern the entire life that we lead from point A right to Z. May Allah grant us goodness and may He make us more conscious of who we are.

The Three Fundamental Questions

The first question I need to ask myself is: Where was I before I was born? Then I need to ask myself: Where am I right now and how long will I be here? And then I need to ask myself: Where am I going to go after my heart stops beating and this body of mine is separated from the soul?

Every one of us should be bothered about the answers and we should not rest until we are satisfied with the answers. We will have to go to the creator and maker, because lost are those who believe that we all just came into existence coincidentally. That is definitely very foolish. May Allah protect us. It is the height or should I say the lowest level of intellect if we can even connect it to intellect.

However, a growing number of people feel that we are here in this world and we were just here coincidentally. We need to enjoy as much as we can and we need to reduce this beautiful life to a little period of entertainment. Once we have enjoyed ourselves with whatever makes us feel good, then when we die, we just disappear into thin air.

Sadly, this is growing to a certain extent, but I would like to give you good news that there is a revival of religion and faith. More so that of Islam. May Allah strengthen us.

The World's Pursuit of Entertainment

My brothers and sisters, today the globe promotes entertainment as being the reason that you were brought into this world. So people every Saturday night, they are gone for the dance, they are gone to the clubs. Every other evening they are on weed and perhaps they might be smoking all sorts of items, maybe marijuana and so on in this part of the world.

And they might think, you know what, it makes me feel good, man. It makes me really feel good, man. And there is nothing wrong with it. So what? That is what they say.

But Allah has indeed shown us the path that in this world we will enjoy. And we will only enjoy the most when we discipline ourselves to the laws of the maker. So when Allah has dedicated laws of marriage, for example, they are there in order for myself and yourselves to lead a much more blessed life, full of purity.

Death and Repentance

When a person suffers anxiety or sometimes when they have engaged in lots of sin, they begin to suffer anxiety because they don't know. And they have a bad relation with their own family members, with their spouse, with their children, perhaps with others. Because they have been engaging in sin and they have wasted their time in this life.

When a person is on his or her deathbed, what happens? The person begins to think, where am I going? And everyone else is saying, don't worry, you'll be okay, everything will be fine. And this person is sitting on the deathbed.

And this is people, may Allah grant cure to all those who are sick and ill, even those who are terminally ill. Believe me, there is a miracle of Allah that will cure you. May Allah grant you cure. But ultimately, we all have to go. It is pointless at the last moment, worrying about where am I going to go. Unless it is prior to the point of ghar gharah.

Allah accepts the repentance of a slave for as long as they have not got to the point of ghar gharah. And ghar gharah, for your information, is the final point as the soul is leaving the body. So Allah accepts the tawbah.

What is the meaning of tawbah? Repentance. Someone says, I admit my fault. I seek your forgiveness. I repent to you. I will not do it again. Forgive me. I am at your mercy, O Allah. This is known as tawbah. When you repent to Allah, turn back to Allah, change your ways and habits in order to become a better person.

So that you can lead a beautiful life in this world, full of discipline. And at the same time, when you are dying, you are dying in a way that you are looking forward to meeting the one who made you.

Allah's Creation vs Human Invention

Today, if I were to tell you that the one who made, for example, or the one who invented. Remember there is a difference between Allah when he creates and when other people invent. Allah creates from nothing. He just says كن

Surah Ya-Sin 36:82

His command is only when He intends a thing that He says to it, "Be," and it is.

The beautiful verses of Surah Yaseen. Where Allah explains that when Allah wants something, when he intends anything, when he wants to create anything as well. He just says, which is be. And it is by the

will of Allah. So that is creation from nothing.

But the invention of man is such that it is just the transformation of the creation of Allah from one form to another. So when a person says, I created a motor vehicle. It is not creation. It is invention in the sense that he took the different creatures of Allah and perhaps applied some heat. You know, temperature and pressure and so on. And converted what it looks like to some other shape. And then came up with something that would be able to benefit man in a specific way.

This doesn't mean they created, but it would mean they invented.

Meeting Our Maker

So if I were to tell you that the inventor of the motor vehicle is coming to visit us here. Or one of the gadgets we have in our hands, say the mobile phone and so on. People would be very very excited. Wow, I need to see this person. Moments ago I had a walk on the other side. And I see the excitement of the people. And I remind you my brothers and sisters, I am a mere mortal. Someone whose value is completely nil. Had it not been for the deen of Islam. Had it not been for trying to earn the pleasure of Allah. We would not even be knowing one another.

Have you realized that? And there will come a time when no one will know me and nobody will know you. Just a few hundred years down the line. May Allah safeguard us.

So whilst we become happy to meet one another. Let's clear our intentions that we are meeting each other. Solely for the sake of Allah. So that it can draw us closer to Allah. Not just so that I can say, I met this person and you know I went to Trinidad. And I met these people who did this and did that.

So, subhanallah. If I relate it to Allah, I am a good Muslim. I realize that the Islam I have is something broader than the mere meeting with a smile of someone. Although that too is part of Islam. So if I were to greet you with a smile. And meet you with a smile. And make you feel the warmth of my heart. And you make me feel the warmth of your heart as well. In the sense that we are Muslimin. We are part of one big family. In that particular case we are at the beginning.

The first few steps of being a good Muslim. But, if we put Allah out of that equation. We've lost everything.

And this is why always remember your maker. I was saying we would get so excited if someone important were to come here. But, imagine to meet your own maker. If someone says, come we've got to go and meet our maker. The one who made us. Allahu Akbar.

That can only happen in Jannah. That can only happen in Jannah. So how many of us are preparing to go into paradise.

The Importance of Seeking Forgiveness

And one of the quickest ways of preparing to go into paradise. Is to seek the forgiveness of Allah. Repent. We turn to Allah. We ask Allah to forgive our sins. The more we seek forgiveness. We will become people whose status is elevated as time passes.

Once I told a young man. He told me, give me some advice. I said, constantly ask Allah's forgiveness. He said, but what if I did nothing wrong? What if I did nothing wrong? Then I had to sit and explain. To say, do you know what? Istighfar and repentance is such. That whether you know what you've done wrong or not. You continue seeking the forgiveness of Allah. Sometimes for anything and everything. Even that you know, that which you don't know. And even if you feel that you are trying your best to be as strong as possible. When you constantly ask Allah's forgiveness. Your status is elevated. You become more conscious of Allah. Once all your sins are wiped out. Those statements will come to your rescue in your grave. And in your life after death. So you continue worshipping Allah. And seeking his forgiveness.

This is why Muhammad, peace be upon him. As perfect as he was. He still used to engage in repentance. 100 times a day approximately. Plus, minus. Some narrations make mention of a little bit less. And some go beyond that. So, who are we? We are not messengers, we are not perfect.

Why is it that we find ourselves. Calling ourselves good Muslims. But we haven't yet asked Allah's forgiveness. A week has passed. A month has passed. Sometimes more than that has passed. And we haven't even thought about it.

So my brothers and sisters. Extremely important for everyone of us. To constantly ask Allah's forgiveness. So that we can be considered good Muslims. We ask Allah's forgiveness. And we do not harm human beings. We do not harm the creatures of Allah. In fact so much so that the ecosystem should be. At peace from our harm. We should be the last people to even think about damaging the ecosystem and environment. Because we are Muslimin.

Taqwa - Consciousness of Allah

My brothers and sisters. The excitement that one would have to meet his own maker. Reminds me of the verse of Allah:

Quran 3:102

O you who believe! Fear Allah as He should be feared, and die not except in a state of Islam.

O you who believe. Be conscious of Allah. Or fear Allah as he should be feared. When we say the term Taqwa. I'm sure you would know that some translate it as the fear of Allah. Some have a broader meaning. It is a combination of two meanings. And it is more so the consciousness of Allah. If you are

And as a result, I want to share with you a statement that was uttered to me a month down the line. One of the brothers came to visit me. And he told me, I thought Islam was a very barbaric religion that never ever respected human life. And I've changed my mind forever. That's all. I've changed my mind forever. I didn't ask him, Brother, enter the fold of Islam and so on. I told him, My brother, here are three booklets and here are two DVDs. I only want you to know what I believe. Here you are. That's all.

That was enough. Subhanallah. By the will of Allah, at least the bare minimum is the world can become a better place. People can start studying. They can start seeing. They can ask questions. What a great opportunity Allah gave us. This is what's supposed to be the quality of a Muslim. May Allah make us good Muslims.

The Importance of Good Character

And I'm sure it's happened to a lot of us. But my brothers and sisters, the worst from amongst us is he or she who behaves in a way that those who already have a not so bad impression of Islam start having a worse impression of Islam. Then we have done a disservice not only to ourselves and to Allah, to Muhammad, peace be upon him, as well and the deen at large and every other Muslim on the globe.

So we call ourselves good Muslim. And then we complain about the image of Islam on the globe when we have contributed towards it. Imagine. So it's about time we revisited the rules of the game, subhanallah. How can someone want to play football when they don't even know the rules of the game?

And this brings me to a powerful point. If you want to be a good Muslim, you need to know revelation. You need to know what Allah wants from you. And you need to know it. It's not good enough to say, well, you know, I was born a Muslim and it's okay, I pray five times a day. Islam is not just about praying five times a day. There are so many people who pray five times a day but their lives are upside down. They lead their lives like the worst of people. But one thing that happens, they pray five times a day.

The Bankrupt Person

So, there is a hadith of a bankrupt person and the description of that person is:

Hadith Reference - Sahih Muslim Hadith 2581

(Sahih Muslim)

Do you know who is bankrupt? They said: The bankrupt among us are those who have neither dirham nor goods. He said: The bankrupt of my nation is he who comes on the Day of Resurrection with prayers, fasting and zakah (to his credit), but he comes having abused others, falsely accused others, devoured the wealth of others, shed the blood of others and beaten others. They will each be given from his good deeds; if his good

deeds fall short of clearing the account, then their evil deeds will be taken from their records and entered in his record, and he will be thrown into the Fire.

he who comes on the day of judgment with so much good deeds, but because of having usurped the rights of so many others, all these good deeds shall be distributed to other people. And this person is left with no good deeds. And still there are people who are saying, he's usurped my rights. Until their bad deeds are made to be shouldered by him, and then he is cast into hellfire. May Allah protect us.

Islam Beyond Ramadan

So this is why we say, let us not reduce Islam to just a faith that we should be proud about during Ramadan. Once Ramadan goes, it's over. Everything goes, our dress code goes, all the music CDs come back into our cars and we are bouncing with the vehicle. Yesterday we were driving on the road, I thought we had a bit of an earthquake and I noticed all the youngsters. May Allah protect us. You know the sound you are hearing right now in the stadium? Subhanallah. I think it was sound that was perhaps more than that. The ground was vibrating. And it was just a vehicle crossing.

And I looked at them and I said, Ya Allah, I hope these people, Allahu Akbar, I hope these people can replace those discs one day with that which is beneficial by the will of Allah. May Allah grant us goodness and ease. But we are guilty. We sometimes think that you got to be a Muslim when you enter the masjid. So when you enter the masjid, mashallah, people come in and they read their salah. When they go out, they are frowning.

They are frowning at the rest of their brothers and sisters. This is a serious crisis and I have noticed it. Some people who claim to be more religious, their attitude stinks, believe me. It smells so bad, you got to block your nose. Allahu Akbar. Some people who claim to be so religious, believe me, you'll find the man dressed so appropriately. And mashallah, he looks like he is such a religious person, but when he looks at you with the eyes and he's gritted his teeth, and you greet him, Salaam alaikum, and he just... You come to Africa, even the lions don't do that. They'll smile at you. Amazing.

Yes. Yes. May Allah forgive us. Really. Really. It's sad, it brings tears to the heart to see people who are supposedly good.

The Issue of Racism Among Muslims

Sometimes people have complained, sisters have complained of other sisters, and they say, you know, some of the sisters who are supposedly outwardly so religious, they have an attitude, they don't even want to greet, they don't even want to look at the other sisters, they don't even want to make them feel at home. And this is why there are people who've entered the fold of Islam and reverted after a long time, and sometimes they look at their sisters, and I'm talking here of the sisters in particular, and then nobody

turns to them, nobody lends them an ear, nobody gives them any importance, and they feel, wow, I was far better off at the church. It's happening.

Is that what a good Muslim is? We allow racism to overtake us? Impossible. Give more time to people of another race. Believe me, you will help yourself be a better Muslim. Did you hear what I just said? Give more time to people of another race. You will help yourself be a better Muslim. May Allah grant us strength.

Following the Example of Muhammad

My brothers and sisters, like I said, when we talk of being a good Muslim, there are so many things that come to mind. The verses of the Quran are full, but we haven't read that Quran. We haven't gone through the sunnah of Muhammad, peace be upon him. Look at his life. He was the best. He was a shining example. We are talking of him for the last few days, and we are speaking about him today as well, and we would like to emulate his entire lifestyle.

He gave so much importance to people. He helped those who were his enemies as well. And he made sure that he greeted people. In fact, Allah tells him to go out of his way to greet the poor. Allahu Akbar.

And when those come to you who believe in Our verses, say, "Peace be upon you."

He's telling Muhammad, peace be upon him. If you look at the reasons of revelation of that particular verse, amazing. How? Allahu Akbar. Allah is instructing Muhammad, peace be upon him, to give greater importance to those who are seemingly downtrodden, yet their hearts are full of iman. Never ever turn away from such people.

Today you see a person who's a little bit poor, they might have tatty clothing and so on, and people tend to give the wealthy a little bit more importance. A good Muslim will spend a moment even giving importance to those who have tatty clothing. A good Muslim is he who gives importance to little children knowing that the future lies in their hands.

Respecting Women

A good Muslim is he who understands the position of the sisters and has it in his mind that I will never abuse the respect of the sister of mine. Subhanallah. The world out there teaches you that a woman is just an object of sexual amusement. Believe me, they can say what they want, but that is how the women are being treated.

Like I said yesterday in one of the programs I had, people say Muslim women are being forced to wear what they are wearing. The reality is the rest of the world is being forced to wear what they are wearing. Why? It's a different way of forcing. It's just a more intellectual, smart way of forcing.

You see a sister or someone perhaps in a different part of the world wearing heels that are this high and they become higher. She cannot walk. Look at how high it's becoming. She cannot walk. She has calluses on her feet. She's struggling. But because the telly has brainwashed her, society has conned her, the movies have really knocked her brain out, the big brothers in reality shows have really taught her something and made her believe it's her freedom.

Yet it's knocked her out because she's suffering in those shoes. But she will not leave her home without those shoes. Who was forced? Who is being forced? She will wear a mini skirt, so mini that it becomes a maxi shirt rather than a mini skirt. Really. And she will do it. Why? Because of the same thing. She's out with the telly every day. The games she plays, everything on there is showing her how short the skirt should be. May Allah protect us.

And then when she goes out, she looks at everyone else and says, they are forced. Sister, you were forced and compelled to do what you are doing, but in a smart way. Remember that.

True Understanding of Islam

May Allah protect us. They are judging you based on the texture of your legs. This is what they are judging you by. They are judging you by how your hair flies in the wind. I've spoken about this in the past at length. And I've even told you about panty and head and shoulders and everything else, mashallah. Molten brown and what have you. May Allah protect us. We don't want to be molten red in the fire of Jahannam.

May Allah grant us goodness. So my sisters, it's just a matter of understanding. Islam teaches you to be a pure person. That's it. People are not forced. But at the same time, they accept a faith that governs them with certain rules and regulations. They are doing so happily by the will of Allah. They want happiness. They do not want to be controlled by the male-dominated environment around them because they are good Muslims.

If you take a look at a lot of what's happening on the globe, like I said, life is reduced to entertainment. The clothing, we are affected by the advertising, the aggressive media and the social networking and the norms of society have put so much pressure on us that we will not come out of the home with hijab. Why? Because society will frown upon us. Who is being forced? Who is being forced? And how are they being forced? Who is the good Muslim here? May Allah make us vehicles of promoting goodness.

World Hijab Day

My sisters. You know, one of the sisters in the United States introduced something known as World Hijab

Day. And to be honest with you, the success of it has been such that people who have not worn hijab, and even the non-Muslims, they have a day in February sometime when they don the hijab. Subhanallah, I'm not sure of the exact month, but I think it was February. And they put on something in solidarity with those who are in hijab.

They tell you that the comfort we feel, the goodness, the respect we get is amazing. We are not judged by the hair we have, perhaps, you know, the type of shape we have and so on. Because believe me, my mothers and sisters, you know, when a person is in love with your heart, and your character and conduct, and your closeness to the Almighty, their love will only increase as the days pass.

Because that, every one of us as we become older, we start scratching our heads and thinking about the meeting with Allah. So it makes us a little bit better in terms of people. But the shape that we have, the complexion we have, the wrinkle-less face that we have, every one of those things begins to disappear as time passes.

Have you noticed that? As smart as you looked when you were young, now that you are 75 years old, mashallah, people might say, in her days she must have been a looker. Have you heard that? In her days she must have been a looker. And sometimes you get 75 year old people coming about with all these photographs telling you, look what I look like when I was 20. And the smile is so broad. My sister, you are no longer 20. You cannot tell a man, marry my photo. No! May Allah grant us goodness.

The truth is, it's a reality. We are becoming old. And when we become old, we start losing one by one the glamour and the glitterous things that we've had. We start losing these things. Because Allah is trying to tell you, have you prepared for something bigger? We gave you your days. We really did. We gave you so much. Now, we want you to come to us.

A good Muslim is always conscious of this. Go back to what I said:

Do not find yourselves dying except in the condition of submission. May Allah grant us submission.

The Beautiful Way of Life in Islam

So my brothers and sisters, a beautiful way of life that we have in Islam. A beautiful way of life. If we are to adopt it, we will taste the fruits of it. Like I said, the non-Muslims are beginning to admit that you know what? We are finding the pressure of society a little bit too much.

I remember so many discussions that I've had with so many non-Muslims. And a lot of them will tell you, you know, we always felt that no, you guys were being a little bit too strict and so on. But now when we are watching our generations grow, they are embarrassing us. We really do not even know. We cannot even walk with our own children sometimes because of the way they are dressed.

I've heard this from non-Muslims. Why? They are not dressed. That's the reason. Not dressed. Not at all. Sometimes.

But, worse than all that is one who called himself a Muslim. And we say we are ambassadors of Muhammad, peace be upon him. They ask you, what's your name? You say Khadija. And Khadija is a name that was also that of Khuwailid. Bint Khuwailid, may Allah be pleased with her, the wife of Rasulullah, peace be upon him. But the way you operate in life is worse sometimes than all the others put together and we are supposed to be the ambassadors of this deen. Is that fair? I think we can do better. My brothers and sisters, I can do better and so can you by the will of Allah.

Daily Progress Towards Allah

And this is why, a winner is the one whom every day they are inching closer to Allah. That's the winner. Some people might be able to leap a little bit more, quicker. But others, so long as you are inching closer, you are becoming better and better, you are learning more, putting it into practice, and trying to teach others, you are heading in the right direction. This is what Islam is all about.

The Best of Muslims

When the Prophet, peace be upon him, speaks in the hadith of Uthman ibn Affan, may Allah be pleased with him, in Sahih al-Bukhari, he speaks about, who is the best from amongst you? You want to know? The best from amongst us.

I can give you one or two narrations. Let's say three narrations. One says:

Hadith Reference - Sahih al-Bukhari Hadith 5027

(Sahih al-Bukhari)

The best of you are those who learn the Quran and teach it.

This is the hadith of Uthman, may Allah be pleased with him. The best from amongst all of you is the one who learns the Quran and teaches it. And this is not confined only to one who teaches Alif and Ba, and who teaches all the, you know, the Fatha and Kasra. That is a part of it. But more so, it is the teachings of revelation.

Whoever has dedicated some time, or a lot of time, or most of their time, to learning what their creator has revealed, and learning it thoroughly and properly, the instructions, the do's and the don'ts, understanding it, putting it into practice, and conveying it to others, nobody can be better than that person. Nobody can be better than that person. Why? Because the whole purpose of this short life, short life is just a few minutes.

To be honest with you, you can calculate how many minutes is 60-70 years. The short life, the whole purpose of it is to prepare for the eternal life. That's what the Muslims believe. And for your information, the Jews and Christians believe something quite similar to that. They would tell you, you are preparing for the eternal life. May Allah grant us good preparation.

So, if we lose focus even for a moment, we would be at a loss. And the one who constantly reminds us, listen, very carefully. If someone tells us, listen, you are supposed to be preparing for the day you are going. Is this what you are doing? Is it going to benefit you? Is it going to help you in any way? Cut it out. If it's not, cut it out.

Life as a Journey

You know when I travel, every airline has different rules and regulations. So some of them tell you 23 kilos. Some tell you 23 kilos by 2. Some say not more than 30 kilos. Some say a bag should not have more than 32 kilos. Try to break that rule. See what happens. Try to come up with 26-27 kilos. Try. You know what will happen? They will fine you. They will charge you. Or you will have to remove things. And this is why a lot of us who travel a lot, we've only got necessities in our bags. That's it.

Brother, you came all the way from Africa, you've just got a bag in your hand? Yes. Why? I don't need anything else. I'm not going to carry my whole life with me. I'm traveling.

The hadith says:

Hadith Reference - Jami at-Tirmidhi Hadith 2333

(Jami at-Tirmidhi)

Be in this world as if you are a stranger or a traveler.

lead your life as though you are a traveler. You want to gather everything and you're forgetting the main focus.

The Foolish Example

Today, people tell you, my main aim in life is to be able to own the three big buildings in the center of Tobago. I hope Tobago has big buildings inshallah. My aim in life is to own those three buildings. So he starts working at the age of 10-15. Perhaps he is so focused and dedicated. Listen to this example. So focused and dedicated, that at the age of 50, he owns those three buildings. Wow! What was required to do that? Focus and dedication. Two things. He knew what he wanted. He was focused on it. And he was dedicated. He made sure he got it. And then at the age of 60, the uncle on his deathbed, may Allah protect us all. And then he says, wow, I really am excited. I've accomplished everything in my life. I wanted those three buildings and I got them. Now I'm dying. Goodbye. Would that be a foolish person? Yes. Very foolish.

Why? Nobody is going to shove those three buildings into your grave. And tell the angels, hey, I had the three buildings. No way. Not at all. No one can write you a certificate and stick it on your chest to say, hey, angel of death, or the angels who are going to come and ask questions. This man, he was dedicated and focused. Those three buildings, he owned them. So now give him easy passage into heaven. Doesn't happen that way. Not at all.

But when we are focused and dedicated to earn the building of the akhirah, to earn that which is in paradise, we will achieve it. And it will come into our grave with us. And later on we will see it and we will live in it and we will be smiling.

The Promise of Paradise

So Allah says, at the end of the verses that I read, and I invite you to open that surah, surah al-furqan towards the end, and to read the verses, known as the verses that explain who is the worshipper of the most merciful. And Allah says:

May Allah grant it to us. Allah says, Those are the people who will be recompensed with something known as al-ghurfa. A special place in paradise. A special abode in paradise is awaiting those who are dedicated and focused upon that particular place. That's what makes you a good Muslim. Subhanallah.

And Allah says, They will dwell therein forever. They will have whatever they want there. So you lead your life in a beautiful way and you die in a beautiful way. And you are hoping for the most merciful to grant you from his mercy a beautiful abode. Allahu Akbar. Allah is most merciful.

Never Lose Hope in Allah's Mercy

Remember one thing, my brothers and sisters, none of us should lose hope in the mercy of Allah. A good Muslim always knows that Allah is most merciful. A good Muslim always knows that no matter what I've done, I can turn my life right now. I seek forgiveness to Allah. I repent to Him directly. Do not need to confess my sins to anyone but my own maker. I seek forgiveness from none but my own maker. And Allah will forgive you.

Yes, if you have wronged a fellow human, you need to ask them for forgiveness. Don't be mistaken. If you have wronged a fellow human, you need to ask them for forgiveness. You need to sort the matter out in your life. It's not that you owe someone $70,000 and then you go at night crying to Allah, Ya Allah, forgive me, forgive me. The next day they meet you and they ask you, Where's my $70,000? You tell them, I engaged in tawbah last night. It's over.

That's not how it works. This is huququl ibad. This is the rights of human beings. They are far more dangerous and detrimental because people are not ghafoorur rahim. Allah is ghafoorur rahim. People might not find it so easy to forgive you. But Allah will always forgive you. So do not wrong fellow human beings. Make sure that you fulfill their rights.

Calling Others to Islam

And this is why my brothers and sisters, one of the best of the Muslims are those who call others towards Islam. And you know there are two main ways of calling people towards Islam. One is by inviting them verbally. And the other is just through our character and conduct.

If you take a look at the Jawa and the region of Far East Asia and how Islam spread there to the degree that today we have the most number of Muslims on the globe concentrated in that region. You will find that it's there through the business people and the others who came, their character, conduct and uprightness automatically invited people towards this beautiful faith of Islam.

If one person were to accept the deen through an effort of yours by the will of Allah automatically you would achieve a lot. Because every salah they read you have a reward. But the difficulty is some people believe you should not be kind to non-Muslims. You should not be good to non-Muslims. You should look at them with a dirty eye. Astaghfirullah.

That is not Islam. In fact Islam is the opposite. Where you need to treat every non-Muslim as a potential Muslim. Every non-Muslim is in fact a not yet Muslim. They would be keen on Islam if we had to lead our lives properly. But we lie, we cheat, we swear, we deceive. We are unfaithful. What else? We have so much in terms of negativity. We fight each other. We are disunited. What else? We oppress our women sometimes in the name of Islam. And we say this is religion.

And then what else do we do? We don't want to greet one another as Muslims. What are we showing? What are we showing to the non-Muslims? May Allah forgive us. May He grant us strength.

The Need for Islamic Education

My brothers and sisters, it's about time we educated ourselves regarding Islam. Feel the hope in the mercy of Allah. Allah is all merciful. Allah loves you. He wants to forgive you. He is looking for any excuse to forgive you. He wants to give you paradise. He is looking for any excuse to give you that paradise. Give Him that excuse. Turn to Allah. Turn to Allah. Really.

You know, we always say to ourselves that Allah sends us reminders. We know that reminders come to us. But do you know that there is a limit to the amount of reminders that will come to you before we will become expired or the wrath overtakes us. May Allah protect us.

So the question is, who do you want to remind you to turn to your maker? Who do you want to remind you that you need to be a good Muslim? Whoever it is, you can hear them reminding you. Nowadays, it's just a few buttons away. Say the person's name. Whoever, whichever sheikh, whichever person appeals to you, say their name. Google them. And listen. They will give you the same reminder. Exactly the same reminder. Amazing. And then, we're just going to listen and say, powerful speaker. Powerful speaker. But did your life change? No, it didn't. So that wasn't powerful enough. It wasn't good enough.

The Need for Action

Really. What's the point of us attending conferences and conventions? And lectures? And listening to so many lectures on YouTube and perhaps on the telly and perhaps on the radio and so many different places? But our hearts have not moved. Our lives have not changed.

I cry when I think of how much Quran we read. We call it a khatmah, which means we complete the entire Quran from cover to cover. Not once, but so many times. And our lives have not moved. Sometimes we have not even cried the warm tears. And yet, there were enemies of Islam in the past. One verse was enough to shake up their whole lives and they turned to Allah. Why? It's the sincerity. It's the search and the thirst and the acceptance of Allah.

My brothers and sisters, life is not all about entertainment and enjoying yourself beyond limits. No. It is limited. You should know how to enjoy yourself. You should know what it is that will help you in this world lead a peaceful life and in the life after death, help you inshallah earn paradise. May Allah unite us in paradise.

But it's amazing how we read the Quran again and again. We haven't even changed. And everyone says, oh that shaykh, this shaykh reads very well. Beautiful recitation in my car. I enjoy this recitation and that recitation. My brother and sister, Islam is not just about enjoying a recitation. Do something about it. Come on man. Allahu akbar. Change your life. It's not just about saying, yeah, we want you to talk about this and that because our men are doing this and our women are doing that. So talk about this this this.

It's not just about talking about things. Change your life first to start with. The rest of the world will change. May Allah grant us goodness. May He open our doors. Really.

Personal Commitment

I am passionate about what I am saying. And I have kept it quite simple because in life we have so many things that people are telling us, bombarding us with so many things, yet it's the simple things that would actually change us. May Allah make us better.

We cannot resolve disputes within our own families, our in-laws, within our own communities. And we expect to be known as the best of people. The ummah that others should be looking at and saying,

mashallah, we want to be muslimin. How do we expect that if we ourselves accusing one another of things that we have not done. Allahu akbar. So many crises.

People are today, I don't know about this part of the world, but where I come from, I know that it's happening. Businessmen will tell you, I don't want to deal with muslims. And you say, but why? Oh, they will not pay. You know, they scrounge for the biggest discount. And on top of that they will complain about the product. Allahu akbar.

If they were to buy the same product from someone who's not a muslim, they'll pay the full price and they'll never complain. What is this attitude? We are abusing brotherhood in Islam. Trying to just find a discount out of the word brotherhood. To say, brother, I'm your muslim brother, come on. Can't you see, mashallah, we go to the same masjid. You know, brother, if you're selling this thing at $50, you know, I read salah with you, my brother, you can give it to me for $20.

And the next day, it's not working. I told you it's not working. But brother, did you follow the instructions and this? So the best thing people tell you, I don't want to deal with them. We should cry if we hear those statements. I've heard a statement saying, if a check bounces, it's a muslim. I hope that's not the case in this part of the world.

But I've heard that happening. People will tell you that, you know what? When you find those who maltreat their women they're muslims. Is that true? I hope it's not. We are trying so hard. We are trying so hard, really, with our families so that we can lead a life of happiness and goodness.

Focus on Your Family

Remember, I always tell people, you know, you got married, mashallah, and you have a life, mashallah, you have your children. Now, concentrate on this family that you have. Don't try and get everything else. It's like a person, for example, he's got a business that is barely making a profit. And he wants to open another two or three branches. What's the point? Brother, concentrate on that one business, inshallah, and what will happen? You let it grow, and inshallah, it will grow, it will become successful and people might be able to take it over and so on. And alhamdulillah, this would be more beneficial for you than if you were without operating properly with one, you'd like to just get to another and a third and a fourth, it won't stop.

May Allah protect us. May Allah grant us goodness. The message is loud and clear. We are not against, we are not against anything that Allah has ordained. But we are saying, when you do things, do them properly. Do them thoroughly. Do not do them in a way that when the non-Muslims or other Muslims look at us, they will say, look at these people, they are making a mockery of Islam. That is what we are saying. So the laws of Islam are in place. It's the way we do it sometimes that really becomes such that we become a laughing stock. May Allah protect us.

So let us all resolve here and now to be better people than we are. Let us all promise Allah that we will become better than we are. I make a promise to Allah. Ya Allah, help me to become better today than I was yesterday. And help me to be better tomorrow than I am today. Do you share that promise with me, my brothers and sisters? Do you share it with me? So inshallah, we all promise to become better people. Work very hard. Do not forget it. Because as I say, you may never be able to attend such a convention again. Who knows? Your life might come to an end right now in a few minutes. Mine might come to an end. Who knows? No one knows. But for as long as we are dedicated towards this betterment by the will of Allah and earning the pleasure of Allah, getting closer to Him as days pass, I guarantee you by the will of Allah, you will never regret.

Closing Duas

May Allah bless us all. May He grant us ease and goodness. And may He really open our doors. May Allah bless the people of this region. And may Allah grant you all every form of goodness and us as well. And may Allah protect us from the devil.

All praises to Allah.