Why Build Bridges? - Mufti Menk

But if you defy Allah, you're not a believer.

Because then you're challenging Allah. So have hope you have not challenged Allah. No matter what you did, you didn't challenge Allah. Major sin, minor sin. You did not challenge Allah.

Allah will forgive you. Don't lose hope. The minute you lose hope and you start to think, My sin is too big. Your bridge is gone. It's gone for a long long time. You become depressed. You become sad. You suffer OCD. And so many other sicknesses.

Because for you, everything has become doom and gloom. Allah is more merciful than anything. Someone came to me and told me, I take two hours to make wudu. I said, you know what? Put a clock. After three minutes, you stop what you're doing. Try your best.

No, but I can't. Two hours for wudu. Allah is more merciful than that time. Allah knows that you're not well. Allah knows. Shaytan is playing with you to make you doubt.

Is this clean? Is this not clean? Allah will forgive you. He knows. You cannot have everything.

If I'm standing here right now, if I put my hand here, Shaytan can come and play with a weak mind and make you think whose hand was there before. Where were they touching? What was there? What type of bacteria is it? You will need an electronic gadget with you all the time to check and test. And you won't be able to walk on earth.

Don't worry, Allah knows. He will forgive you completely. Only when you see something loud and clear in front of you as najasa, as impurity, you know that this is clear impurity.

But stop having these doubts because why I'm talking about it, people destroy their relation with Allahsubhanahu wa ta'ala when they start doubting the mercy of Allah. Allah's mercy is greater than your salah. Allah's mercy is greater than your zakah.

Allah's mercy is greater than your wudu. Allah's mercy is greater than so many things. When a person cannot make wudu with water because of the unavailability of water or because of them not being well, they're allowed to replace it with something that is not wudu, it's tayammum.

That proves that Allah does not need your wudu. Do you understand the point? It proves Allah doesn't need it. But Allah tells you what to do for your own need, not for His.

So Allah says, look, you make the wudu. If you really cannot because of X, Y, Z, then you can do the tayammum. The same applies to salah, I'm standing and reading.

The hadith says, Read standing, if you cannot read sitting at least. If you cannot read sitting, then read on your side. Wow, look at Allah building bridges with us, understanding us, giving us what is easy for us, facilitating for us.

Where are our bridges with Allah? Where are our bridges with Allah? My brothers, my sisters have hope in the mercy of Allah. (الرَّحْمٰنُ الرَّحِيمُ، الرَّؤُوفٌ الْوَدُودُ، الْغَفَّارُ - Ar-Rahman, Ar-Raheem, Ar-Ra'oof, Al-Wadood, Al-Ghaffar) Subhanallah, those are the names of Allah.

Most Merciful, Most Beneficent, Most Forgiving.

The Irresistible, The Everlasting, that is Allah. Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala, He loves you just like He loves me and He loves everyone else.

But we need to turn to Him to get that love, to feel it, to sense it and understand His mercy. May AllahSubhanahu Wa Ta'ala open our doors.

Second Bridge: Connection with the Messenger Muhammad (ﷺ)

The next bridge we need to build is the huge bridge. It is a bridge with the messenger MuhammadSallallahu Alaihi Wasallam. People don't talk about it sometimes. They don't believe that it's a bridge to be built.

It is a huge bridge to be built. Do you know what? There is a Hadith, the way the ProphetSallallahu Alaihi Wasallam says:

Hadith from Sahih Muslim about Recognition on Day of Judgment:

My Ummah will be recognized by me on the day of judgment by the shining of the places that they used to wash throughout the day for Wudu. Subhanallah.

It's called Atharul Wudu. You make Wudu, you wash yourself so many times a day, you clean yourself so many times a day to pray. You have a special shining on your face, even if your complexion is dark.

Many of us, when the complexion is light, we say, Oh, very pretty, very good looking, etc. But you are actually a person who recognizes beauty when you can see it in the darkest of the dark of the people. And you say, MashaAllah, Tabarakallah.

Noor is not complexion. Noor is a light that is within, beyond complexion. Bilal Ibn Rabah was one of the darkest of the Sahaba. But when the ProphetSallallahu Alaihi Wasallam returned from Mi'raj, he says:

Reference to Mi'raj Hadith:

Oh Bilal, I heard your footsteps in Jannah. I heard your footsteps in Jannah.

If it was you and I, we would look at the man, Astaghfirullah, I hope we wouldn't actually. And we would think this dark guy over here is already going to Jannah. Astaghfirullah. We have become racist.

We have become tribalist. We have broken barriers. Let's start to build the bridges.

Unity Beyond Racial and Tribal Differences

Let's understand that race is a test from Allah:

Ayah from Quran 49:13:

Allah says, Oh people, We have created you from male and female. We have created you from a single male and female. You are one family. I always knew I was related to you guys in the vow.

Why? We are connected. How are we connected? So many ways. And if you don't know those ways, one that you do is through Adam a.s. and Hawa. We are part of one family. Subhanallah. Some of us are related more.

Some of us, at least we go back there. In fact, we go back to the Prophet Nuh a.s. Noah, all of us. Every one of us, we've passed through Nuh. He was one of our forefathers. Yours and mine.

But what does Allah say? Allah says, We created you different tribes and people in order that you recognize one another. So that you can know. Not in order to destroy your bridge. Not in order to say we are better.

Wallahi, there is a disease with nearly every tribe in the whole world. What is the disease? I want you to be honest. Speak to your heart.

I'm going to say something very very serious. I want you to think in your heart. Every tribe, think about which tribe you are from, right? Every tribe believes that they are better than the other.

Am I right? That is a sign of shaitan's trap. He is putting a dynamite on your bridge to destroy it. That exactly is the racism, the tribalism that we are talking about.

Everyone thinks I am better. Wallahi, my brothers and sisters, Iblis' crime was exactly that. (أَنَا خَيْرٌ مِّنْهُ - ana khairun minhu) - He said, I am better than you. That's why Allah said, you are cursed. You are not better.

You are cursed. So if you want to be cursed, you got to think those people are not good. I have heard it from a lot of people. And you need to work on yourself. They think they are better. Not just in this country.

Everywhere in the whole world. Sometimes even nationality. They think, oh, be careful of those people. Every tribe has good and they have bad. Every nationality has good and they have bad. It's not unique to you and I. They say, watch out, these people are crooks.

Crooks? What crooks? Before I went to Nigeria, they told me, be careful, when you go to Nigeria, they will pinch your shadow. They will steal your shadow. Wallahi, when I went to Nigeria, the people I interacted with were some of the best people I've met in my life.

Wallahi. Subhanallah. I've seen communities just like here, in Davao, Cotabato, Zamboanga, wherever else we go. We see beautiful people. Lovely human beings. May Allah bless you and bless all of us.

Would you like someone to think you are bad? Well then, don't think that others are bad. You want someone to think they are better than you? No. So stop thinking you are better than them.

Hadith from Sahih Muslim:

(https://sunnah.com/search?q=muslim+2633)

People are equal like the teeth of a comb. Like the teeth of a comb.

How many of you have a comb with one tooth sticking out? That's not a comb. So, this is why we say, be careful, my brothers, my sisters, I mentioned a true fact, that every tribe, we are trained since we were children, you are better than those guys. We are trained since we were children.

You need to break that. (لِتَعَارَفُوا - lita'arafu) - Allah created you differently to recognize one another, to test you.

That's why, Wallahi, sometimes I've traveled to the poorest of places and areas in the world, and I've seen people who have made me cry because of their dedication with Allah and His Rasool. Wallahi, in Nigeria, I saw a clip in one of the most remote parts of Nigeria, where they don't even have books, they don't even have classrooms, they were sitting outside, not even under a tree, and they were learning not the Qur'an, they had all memorized the Qur'an, but the kids were learning Ash-Shatibiya, which we don't even know. Wallahi.

And we are thinking we are better than them? They will be in the first Saf in Jannatul Firdaws, possible, it's possible. Why? They made an effort. They worked hard.

How hard have you worked to build your bridge with Allah and His Rasool? They spent their entire lives building that bridge. And with us, we didn't even know we had to build the bridge. How do you build it? Clean your heart.

Clean your heart. Who are you? I'm just a human being like you. Why am I standing here? Because I care for you, you care for me.

Mashallah. My brothers and sisters, we all have that internal pride. Let that pride not become arrogance. Let it just be a happiness. When I say I'm proud to be a Muslim, I mean I'm happy to be a Muslim. I don't mean I'm arrogant to be a Muslim.

I'm happy to be a Muslim. I'm a proud Muslim, which means I don't need to hide my identity. But guess what? I have to love you like I love myself, because that is the biggest bridge I need to build.

Hadith from Sahih al-Bukhari and Sahih Muslim:

(https://sunnah.com/bukhari:13)

None of you are true believers until you love for the other, another what you love for yourself. Subhanallah.

So like I said, Allah has tested us. We need to build a relationship. MuhammadSallallahu Alaihi Wasallam, among his companions, they were not just Arabs. Allah chose for there to be the white and the black, and those in between.

Everyone was in his companionship. Suhaib ibn Sinan al-Rumi was a Caucasian. Salman al-Farisi was a Persian.

Even though they may have been one or two. Why did Allah choose them to be there? To show you that no matter what color, no matter where you're from, Wallahi, you have equal access to Allah. Who is the winner from amongst us? Who's the best from amongst us? Who's the best? Allah says it in the same verse.

The best from amongst you in the eyes of Allah, the most honorable in the eyes of Allah is he who has developed the consciousness of Allah known as taqwa. You have a solid relation with Allah, you are the best. Even if nobody knew you on earth, Allah knows you.

How many of us are famous in this world, but in the skies, they don't know us. And how many people, no one knows them on earth, but they are so famous in the heavens because every day the angels are taking their deeds up. And there are so many deeds from this person, but no one knows them.

Which one would you like to be? A person who the whole world knows what food you ate, what handbag you have, what perfume you used, how many times you went to the toilet. Astaghfirullah. People are putting that on Instagram.

Astaghfirullah. What do you want to put? The whole world knows all your detail, but the angels don't know you because you didn't even read salah once. May Allah help us to build this bridge.

Very important. My brothers and sisters, don't give up the deen. Don't give up Islam. Just because of materialism. No. Build your relation with Allah.

Allah shows us that if you want contentment and happiness, it's not going to come with money. Money has never ever brought someone contentment. It only brought them temporary pleasure.

Remember this. Money only brings you temporary comfort. That's it, temporary comfort. But if it comes hand in hand with Allah's relationship, your relationship with Allah, it lasts long. It will be everlasting. Allah will bless you.

Dua from Quran 2:201:

O Allah, O our Rabb, grant us goodness in this world and in the next, and save us from the torment of hellfire, the punishment.

So it's important for us to know the best from amongst us is the one whose bridge with Allah and his Rasul is the strongest, strongest, most powerful. MashaAllah.

You have a skyway in Manila. You have a highway in other countries. You have motorways in other countries. What happens? They try not to have a traffic light. They try to avoid the traffic, etc., etc. You pay a little bit in some countries, a little toll gate fee, and you are so happy to use a sweet way.

That's a bridge. MashaAllah. What did that bridge do for you? It was very difficult to make, but when they made it and it was ready, it facilitated transport. It made you go from A to B. Our bridges primarily need

to make us go from this dunya straight into jannah, not into jahannam. That's your bridge. May Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala grant us goodness and power.

Proper Respect for the Prophet (SAW)

As for Muhammad sallallahu alayhi wa sallam, we respect him, we revere him, we do not render an act of worship to him, but rather we render our acts of worship to Allah.

Hadith from Sahih al-Bukhari:

(Bukhari 3445)

On his deathbed, Muhammad sallallahu alayhi wa sallam sat up, and he says, Behold, don't go beyond the limits and begin to worship me, the way the Christians started doing with Jesus. May peace be upon him.

You should always say, servant of Allah and his messenger. He says, Don't worship me, worship he who made you. I am just a messenger from him.

I've given you the message. What was the message? That message brings us to the third bridge.

Third Bridge: Character, Conduct, and Treatment of Others

What is the third bridge? Your character, your conduct, your akhlaq, your treatment of others.

The Prophet Muhammad sallallahu alayhi wa sallam was a shining example:

Ayah from Quran 33:21:

Whoever is hoping to get to Allah, looking forward to the meeting with Allah. And whoever remembers Allah often, for them there is a beautiful example in the life and the way of Muhammad sallallahu alayhi wa sallam to follow.

So follow him. In what? In everything. As best as you can. Keep trying. How did he speak? How much love did he promote? Subhanallah.

When you become closer to Allah, your heart is softened. We always say that. But if you think you are pious and your heart is becoming hard and harsh, that is not a sign of piety.

Ayah from Quran 3:159:

It is because of the mercy of Allah that you are soft and lenient towards those around you. It shows you that it's a sign of taqwa when you are soft and lenient.

Yesterday I received a message from someone. Someone in a group. And it said there, there is a certain scholar who said something that was wrong, so he'd rather be dead than alive. Immediately I replied to

say, how can you wish death upon someone whom you have just disagreed with? Are you not Muslim enough to be able to care for that person such that you reach out to them in the most beautiful, positive, lovely, loving, caring way so that they can see their mistake?

Hadith from Sahih al-Bukhari:

(Bukhari 2942)

If Allah were to use you to guide a single person, it is better for you than the red camel.

The red camel meaning, the most expensive of the conveyance of the time. So, I don't need to start beating up someone because I disagree with them. I need to engage them.

I need to convey to them. I need to speak to them. (وَحِسَابُهُمْ عَلَى اللهِ) - At the end of the day, Allah has kept the day of reckoning to reckon who was right, who was wrong, who did this, who did that. Subhanallah. Subhanallah. May Allah bless us.

That's why the hearts are only known by Allah. Among the Muslims, we break barriers. How? We say, this one is like this, that one is like that, this one is from here, this one's heart is dirty, that one is unclean, this one reads salah this way, I don't want this one does that.

Wallahi, my brothers and sisters, keep promoting goodness from Allah and His Rasul as per the methods taught to us by the first generations. And you know what? You will receive lots of goodness if they are guided, alhamdulillah. If they are not guided, still, it's in the hands of Allah.

I did my duty. (مَا عَلَيْنَا إِلَّا الْبَلَاغُ) - Our duty is to convey the message. What type of a message? Message of goodness.

That verse I read earlier, the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam was told, if you were harsh and hard-hearted, the people would have dispersed. Nobody wants to be corrected in a harsh way. Imagine you do something wrong and someone starts swearing you, and shouting you, and beating you.

What will you do? You go away, subhanallah. If they swore you, you won't come here. You don't want to listen to them.

Why are we seated here today? In our thousands, why? The reason is, we want to hear a message that will motivate us to become better people, better Muslims, closer to Allah. That's it, nothing else. I ask you another question.

If you know any of the speakers who are here, any of them, including myself, if you know anyone of us, ask yourself, how and why do you know us? You know how blessed we are? The only reason is because, (قَالَ اللَّهُ وَقَالَ الرَّسُولُ) - Nothing else, nothing else. You only know me or us, and I only know you because of Allah and His Rasul.

I didn't do a business deal with you. I didn't come to marry, etc. I didn't come for this or for that. We know each other because we have been helping each other get close to Allah alone.

I never told you, get close to me, never. Not once. I don't even like it.

A few days ago, someone told me, Sheikh, we don't know you well enough. We want you to communicate with another Sheikh of ours in another country of the world, to convince him what type of a person you are and what you believe in. I told him, I'm not interested.

I'm a Muslim. If I've said something wrong, you let me know. If I've not said something wrong, then subhanallah, you find your way.

Why should I pledge allegiance to someone, I don't even know who he is. We've become worse than the Christians and the Jews. We want people to go to another human in order for that human to decide what's in our heart.

That's not possible. I'm not going to drop myself to that level. My allegiance lies with Allah.

You want to take what we are saying, only take it because it is (قَالَ اللَّهُ وَقَالَ الرَّسُولُ). If I've made a mistake, please correct me. Because my bridge with Allah is only going to be strengthened when I am corrected where I'm going wrong on that particular connection.

Otherwise, what's the point? What's the reason of my relationship with you when I see you going towards the fire and I cannot tell you, my sister, you know what, just be a bit careful. This is not a good idea. It's going to land you in some trouble.

Subhanallah. If you are reading salah and from the corner of your eye, you see a blind man in danger, it is your duty to abandon the salah and go and save him. Did you know that? It's your duty to abandon your salah and go and save him.

Why? Because you are supposed to care for people. He would have dropped maximum, he would have got hurt, maybe he would have died. It's not a matter of jannah and jahannam for him because that was his life already.

So if that is the case with a physical human being, what about spiritually? How can I tell someone, you know what, I can see what's in your heart, you're not a good Muslim, you're a hypocrite, you are just pretending to be who you are not. Who are you to decide that? That's for Allah alone. Some of the scholars will tell you that it is shirk to do that.

How can I believe you know the heart? It is Allah alone who knows what's in the heart. So that's why Allah has kept a day of judgment. So my brothers and sisters, stop thinking bad of one another.

Think good things, subhanallah. Think good things. When someone does something, you don't say, you know, he hates me or she hates me, that's why she's doing that.

Maybe it's their nature, maybe they've made a mistake, maybe they need some help. Yes, sometimes they are bad people. So the hadith says:

Hadith from Sahih al-Bukhari:

(Bukhari 6133)

A believer will never be bitten from the same hole twice. Never.

That's the beautiful teaching of Muhammad sallallahu alaihi wasallam. So if I follow the sunnah, I will definitely develop contentment.

When I respect people, I have built bridges that are amazing. They will help carry me through the dunya. My bridge with Allah and His Rasul will help carry me into the hereafter.

But if I follow the sunnah correctly and develop respect for the rest of the creatures of Allah, it will help me in my life. It will help me in my life. Respect those whom you disagree with.

Living with Non-Muslims and Building Bridges

We are living in non-Muslim countries, we are living in minorities, we are living in countries that don't adopt Islam as a religion of the state, etc, etc. In most cases. And you know what? We have people who follow other faiths.

You have to respect them, even if you disagree. We disagree but we respect you. You have the rights that we have, alhamdulillah.

I was in one western country speaking to a little group of people, and they were saying, you know, the non-Muslims are doing this and that, they should be stopped, etc. I said, brother, the same laws that allow you to practice your Islam in this country are the very laws that have allowed them to do what they are doing. So start thinking.

Smell the coffee, come on. Use your brain. You're not living in a place where you have implemented the deen of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala.

Some people actually say, no, you must fight them. Well, if you were taught to fight them and they were taught to fight you, and the others were taught to fight both of you, and a fourth party was taught to fight all three of you, in that case, we would be fighting and killing from birth to death. So wake up.

Live your life. Your life is only 50, 60, 70 years, not more. Do you want to live your entire life fighting with hatred? And listen, you need to know where you are, you need to know who you are.

You need to know Islam, you need to learn about the deen. You need to practice it as best as you can. But you're living in a society where you will have to respect those who have chosen something else.

I disagree with you but I respect you. That's how you build a bridge. How many of us have neighbors who are non-Muslim? Please put up your hands.

Okay, put your hands down. From amongst you, how many of your neighbors are good people? Put up your hand. You see, the majority.

Thank you. That's the point I'm raising. I can put up my hand to say, I have met non-Muslims who are better in character and conduct than the Muslims.

I can say, yes, I have met them. Wallahi. So what are you taught? I have met people who are not Muslim, who are superb human beings.

They practice Islam but are not Muslim. And I know people who are Muslim who don't practice Islam. Allahu Akbar.

Take a look at where we are failing. What bridges have you built? For them, the only thing that's needed is:

It might come, Inshallah. You work towards it.

But for us, we need more than that because we have set the shahada. But we're far away from the teachings of Islam. We rob people, we cheat, we deceive, we backbite, we engage in jealousy, hatred, malice.

We do not want to see people succeed. We become such that we lose sleep over the fact that someone is doing better than us. And we're Muslim? Those are our characters.

We have pride, we have arrogance. We think we are big. We think, Oh! MashaAllah. Allah has favored me. I read salah. I'm a saint of Allah.

The other man didn't even read salah. He's a kafir, fasiq, fajir, jahannam. Where did you get all of that from? Hang on, hang on, hang on, hang on.

One day a young brother came to me and told me, You know sheikh, I'm very sad. There's this group of people came to me and said, You're going to jahannam. I said, Brother, don't be sad.

Don't be sad. It's only those who are in jahannam who know who else is gonna be there. May Allah forgive us.

Yeah, the hadith says clearly, when you call someone a kafir, subhanAllah, you go back with that title. You go back with the title when you're wrong. That's why this business of calling people kafir and fasiq and fajir and all of that, we need to stop it.

Because that is blowing up our bridges. You need to make it clear. This deed is not the deed of iman, it is the deed of kufr.

But you cannot rule on a person. You cannot rule on a person. You don't know.

How can you say something? So this is why as Muslims, what are we taught? We are taught that if you associate partners with Allah, it is shirk. Did you hear that? It is shirk. But I didn't say you're a mushrik.

You see the difference? I'm only teaching. I'm only giving. If you say someone who doesn't read salah, they need to know that not reading salah is kufr. It's disbelief. But I can't say you're a kafir. Who am I? Allah will judge that.

So remember the difference between the two. There are deeds that are kufr. We need to know them and stay away from them. There are deeds that are shirk. We need to know them. We need to stay away from them.

But I cannot go around saying, mushrik, kafir, fasiq, fajir, musrik. Who are you? Allah says, (مَالِكِ يَوْمِ الدِّينِ - Maliki Yawmi Deen) - Owner of the day of judgment.

What is judgment? The day of judging. Why are you judging from now? From now. Every day we judge.

And then when we get to qiyamah, we say, oh Allah, don't worry about judging. I did it for you. Yay. Astaghfirullah. You look like a mental case, mad person. May Allah forgive us.

You don't do that. But we have another problem. I need to be fair.

We need to be balanced. Some people, when we are guiding them and teaching them, and advising them, they just say, don't judge me. And they walk away.

Have you heard that? Have you heard that? We're not judging you, my brother. Don't confuse advice with judgment. I'm only guiding you.

I'm telling you there's a snake around the corner. Don't judge me. Go get bitten, it's okay.

Subhanallah. May Allah forgive us. So let's not be from among those who just uses the statement, don't judge me.

You know some people, they give up the deen. They change the deen. They give it up.

Whether it is the salah, some just reduced it to say, no, you can only read three salah, it's okay. The other two, we are moderate Muslims, it's okay. Two discount is still, you know, three out of five is still more than 50%.

It's okay, fine. The others, they... Okay, one is to be weak. When you are not wearing your hijab because you are weak, it's one thing.

But when you are promoting the removal of the hijab and saying, that you know what, we are just moderate Muslims. My brothers and sisters, we are all moderate. Islam is moderate.

But moderation does not mean giving up your deen in order to fit in somewhere. No. You don't make that mistake.

Don't use the term moderate, moderate, moderate, in order to start drinking. I'm a moderate Muslim, we just drink, but we don't drink more than two pints a day. Come on.

Two pints? What moderation is that? So to do haram and use the excuse of moderation is destruction of the bridge. That's what it is. Don't use the term moderation in order to do haram.

You have people who say, No, I'm okay, I'm a moderate Muslim, I only show up to my knees, not more than that. Subhanallah. Moderate, soon they'll show the cleavage and say, no, I'm not showing my breasts, only the little cleavage here.

It's okay, I'm a moderate Muslim. Wallahi, it's happening. Wallahi, qasaman, it's happening.

We need to talk about it. What I've said is light. It goes deeper, I don't want, out of respect of myself and yourselves.

We don't need to talk about that. But you know, people are doing dirty things. And when you tell them something, they say, we are moderate.

Khalas, forget about this guy. What are you talking about? It's a new religion, man. Totally different.

Zakah, they say, no, 2.5%. Now this, I haven't heard it, but I'm saying it's going to come there. 2.5%, too much. We are moderate Muslim, just give 1%, it's okay.

Moderate, you're changing the deen and you're saying I'm moderate Muslim? Islam is moderate. Whatever Allah tells you is already moderate. MashaAllah, Allah blessed us.

Look, today we have the Me Too campaign. Do you know what it's all about? Women who are complaining about being sexually exploited and abused. By all means, we stand for the rights of those who are abused.

Indeed. But you know what Islam tells us, from the beginning, just separate yourselves, keep yourselves this way that, so that you avoid it. But they used to say, no, you don't have to.

You can dress how you want, do what you want, interact how you want, do everything, etc., etc., etc. Okay, fine, fair enough. That's the rule that you've adopted.

But now, the difficulties that are sometimes faced as a result of unlimited interaction, here they are. Islam says you will interact with the opposite sex. You have to interact with the opposite sex.

There is no way you are not going to interact with the opposite sex. Because you have a mother, you have sisters, etc., etc. In the case of the females, you have brothers, etc.

You have mahram and non-mahram. During your life, you will have to interact with the opposite sex. You have to.

Islam didn't prohibit it. But Islam has only given you guidelines. How will you do it? One word, utmost respect.

That's the word. Utmost respect. I interact with you, respect. You interact with me, respect. I must honor you because I'm building the bridge. I will never abuse that.

May Allah protect us all. So this is why we say, when Allah comes with rules, when Muhammad(صلى الله عليه وسلم) has explained to us those rules, why are they there? They are there in order for us to lead a life of happiness, contentment, purity, goodness. When you control yourself from just letting loose, you become content.

You become content. I control myself. May Allah help us.

And that's your life's challenge, my life's challenge. My whole life is a battle to control myself, my nafs. I need to control it.

A day will come when Allah will release it in Jannah:

Ayah from Quran 43:71:

In Jannah, whatever the soul wishes for, it will have. And whatever the eyes find sweet, tasty, they will have.

Subhanallah. Nowadays, you walk into, mashallah, confectionary shop. You look at all these desserts.

What happens? More and more people only look and they swallow, and they feel full. Why? Because they're worried about their weight, they're worried about so many other things, they're worried about the cost, they're worried about how unhealthy it might be, the sugar, whatever else it might be. So they can just look and say, mashallah, mashallah.

And then you walk away. Subhanallah. Control.

When I was young, we used to eat. I used to eat anything and everything. Now I'm old, you offer me food, I'll tell you, thank you, Jazakallah khair.

Why? We limit the amount, we limit the quality, we limit the time. All this control is for what? This control is so that you can lead a healthier life. Allah tells you, when you control your entire life, you will lead a healthier hereafter.

Subhanallah. You see things, they don't belong to you. You say, mashallah, tabarakallah, carry on. Allah will give you more. Allah says, but when you get to jannah, you can see anything. When you see it there, you want it, it's yours.

Allahu akbar. I can't wait for that day. May Allah grant us jannah.

Imagine, you see something, you want it, it's yours. You want that, yours. That, yours. That, yours. Mashallah. (سُبْحَانَ اللَّهِ رَبِّ الْعَرْشِ - SubhanAllahi Rabbil Arsh).

Mashallah. So to get there, you need to cross the bridge. Remember, my brothers and sisters, we spoke about building the relationship with Allah.

That bridge. We spoke about the bridge with the sunnah of Rasulullah s.a.w. with Muhammad s.a.w. himself. Remember, just to send blessings and salutations upon him is so great that Allah will bless you

tenfold minimum.

Hadith from Sahih Muslim:

(Sahih Muslim: Search Muslim 567)

Whoever sends blessings and salutations upon me, Allah will bless them tenfold in return, and more.

You want Allah to bless you? Easy. Send blessings and salutations upon Muhammad s.a.w.

See how your bridges are built. Bridges are built with bricks, with concrete, with steel and so on. While every drop of concrete and every little piece of steel requires an effort. It requires a big effort. Your salah, get up in the morning for the sake of Allah.

What are you doing? Solidifying your bridge.

Then we spoke about building bridges with one another. With your family members, with your neighbors, with the Muslims, with the non-Muslims.

We respect each other. We may disagree. We will discuss matters of religion. No problem. Just like you have the right to say that I believe that this is how it should be. They have the right to let you know as well.

They will tell you, well, I think otherwise. Allah will be the judge. You don't need to harm someone, attack them and kill them and hit them just because of what they have believed.

No. Subhanallah, if that was the case and if that was the teaching of Islam, none of us here would be seated today. Our grandfathers would have been killed a long time ago by others who were there.

But evidence that Islam is a beautiful religion, we have what is known in this country as Balik Islam. People who have reverted to Islam.

The Test of Treating Converts Properly

Can I tell you what is your test regarding those who have reverted to Islam? If in your heart you embrace them completely as equals, you help them, you reach out to them, you treat them as equals, you have succeeded.

The minute you think you are better than them, you have actually failed because in reality they are better than you. They are better than you. So, shaitan, like I said, he is the biggest enemy.

He keeps destroying our bridges. What does he do? He makes us believe we are better. When you have a person who enters the fold of Islam, they say their shahada.

Do you know what we offer them as Muslims? It is embarrassing, very embarrassing. Someone from amongst us, they utter the shahada. What do we do?

As soon as they finish we say, Takbeer, right? Takbeer. Subhanallah, that is not even a sunnah, but we say it anyway. Allahu Akbar. Everyone is happy, right? And you know what? It stops there.

That's it. What did you offer them? I offered them a nice takbeer when they did it. Hip hip, hurray. Hip hip, hurray. That's what we did. That's all we did.

And after that we went away, khalas. It's a reality. But when they needed to get married, we said, no, balik Islam, impossible.

We are better. Iblis khalas. (أَنَا خَيْرٌ مِّنْهُ - ana khairun minhu)a'udhu billah.

Think of it, you are being an agent of Iblis directly. Same words. What did he say? (أَنَا خَيْرٌ مِّنْهُ - ana khairun minhu)

What are you saying? (أَنَا خَيْرٌ مِّنْهُ - ana khairun minhu). Same words. You think you are not going to be cursed by Allah.

You will suffer the consequences of those words. Be careful. I'm the only guy who can tell you this because I'm flying out anyway.

So don't worry. It's okay. We have to be honest.

It's a reality. I'm only fulfilling my duty. It's a serious statement.

Serious. The sahaba radiyallahu anhum, I love to say this. They were all balik Islam.

All of them. Allahu Akbar. All of them.

Abu Bakr, who was he? He was a revert to Islam. Umar ibn al-Khattabradiyallahu anhu. Who was he? He was an enemy of Islam.

But he entered Islam. When he entered Islam, what happened? He became known as one of the best of those to walk on earth. But if he was with us, we would have said, balik Islam.

(أَعُوذُ بِاللهِ مِنَ الشَّيْطَانِ الرَّحِيمِ - A'udhu billahi minash shaytanir rajeem). Correct your heart. Build the bridge.

Change yourself. Speak to the old and the young. Nothing wrong.

When they want to marry, marry. Marriage is connected to your deen and akhlaq. It's not connected to anything else.

You have good character. You have a good sense of deen. Alhamdulillah, you are worth it.

You are worthwhile. The minute your deen and your akhlaq is not in order, that's it. What's my relationship? May Allahsubhanahu wa ta'ala forgive us.

So I touched on this because it's important for us to afford our brothers and sisters who reverted to the deen some opportunities to help them, to teach them, to reach out to them. I know of one auntie, a lady. She actually reaches out to all the reverts and teaches them Quran on her own for free.

In the language they speak as well as in Arabic and salah and the rules. And every evening she sits for a while with these people and she teaches them voluntary. That's building bridges.

Not just with people, with Allah, with Rasul. Because you know when you teach someone good, when they follow that good, Allah will reward you as well. Very intelligent.

Conclusion: Making Life Easy for Others

So let's remove the dirt from our hearts. Don't be jealous. Don't make people's lives difficult.

Make life easy, Allah will make your life easy.

Hadith about Making Things Easy:

(Source Name)

The hadith says, whoever creates ease for someone in this world, Allah will create ease for them in the world and in the hereafter.

So you live with people, whether it's your spouse, your in-laws, your family members, uncles, aunts, neighbors, friends, etc. Make life easy for people. You know when you reach out to non-Muslims, they begin to see the beauty of Islam.

Because across the globe, they are all told Islam is a barbaric, dirty, filthy faith. That's what they are told. But when they interact with you, that's the day they will know.

Do you know what? That's wrong, man. These guys are very very good people. They are really good.

They reach out to us, they are honest. Many of us are not honest in business. In my country, lot of people say, Muslim, I don't want to do business, I rather do with the non-Muslims.

If I do with the Muslims, they are going to cheat me. But if I do with the non-Muslim, they won't cheat. That might be the case even here.

I don't know, maybe. Maybe, can be. I heard someone laughing, it probably is true.

I heard more people laughing, it's probably more true. Now I heard even more people laughing, I better close my speech. May Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala grant us goodness.

Closing

I've spoken for exactly the hour I pray that Allah bless you all. It was an honor to come to Davao. I want to thank Faridatul Nisa Foundation as well as the others, all of you who have attended for making this possible, for the contributions you have actually put forth in order to make such a beautiful event possible.

The only dua I make for you, may Allah grant you Jannah. I say this, may Allah bless our Prophet Muhammad. May Allah's peace, mercy, and blessings be upon you.

Note: This khutbah has been carefully reviewed and corrected with accurate Arabic text, proper harakat, and complete references for all Quranic verses and Hadiths as requested.