A Loan to Allah

A Loan to Allah - Khutbah by Nouman Ali Khan

Opening and Greetings

As-salāmu alaykum wa-rahmatullāhi wa-barakātuhu.

Al-hamdu lillāhi rabbi I-ʻālamīn. Wa-ṣ-ṣalātu wa-s-salāmu ῾alá ashrafi l-anbiyā'i wa-l-mursalīn, wa-'alá ālihi wa-șahbihi wa-man istanna bi-sunnatihi ilá yawmi d-dīn.

Allāhumma aj'alnā minhum wa-min alladhīna āmanū wa-'amilū ṣ-ṣāliḥāti wa-tawāṣaw bi-l-haqqi wa-tawāṣaw bi-s-sabr. Āmīn yā rabba l-ʻālamīn.

Introduction: Different Terms for Spending in Allah's Path

Allah uses different terms to describe or motivate believers to spend. For instance, He says:

"Spend in the path of Allah"

"Struggle with your wealth and yourselves"

Different terminologies are used, but one of the most unique phrases that Allah uses - and He uses this call twice, once in Surah Al-Baqarah and once in Surah Al-Hadeed - is almost impossible to understand at first. What Allah (عز وجل) says is:

"Who is out there that is going to give Allah a good loan?"

Understanding the Arabic Word "Qard" (قَرْضٌ)

What I wanted to speak with you about today is what this ayah means. But in order to start, I want to share something with you about the Arabic word (قَرْضٌ) which is the word used in this ayah. Allah says who will give Allah a, and I translated that as a loan.

The Arabic language has lots of different words for loaning, borrowing, and lending, and this is one of them. It actually comes from the word (قراضة) which is the leftover - originally what a mouse might take from bread. If a mouse gets into clothes and bites a little bit off, it can't take the entire outfit; it can only

take a little chip away from the clothes or a little bit of chip away from a piece of bread. That little piece that's missing is called (قراضة)

From it developed the term (قَرْضٌ) meaning you have something, and you're not being asked for most of what you have or all of what you have - you're being asked for a tiny little bit, a slice of what you possess. That's actually called a (قرض)

The Nature of This Divine Request

The idea being that when someone asks you for a (قرض) - let's say someone asks you for a sum of money for a month, and you have ten times that much in your bank - it's not that hard for you to give, but it might change their life entirely. They might be very desperate for it. It's actually maybe an entire day's sustenance for the mouse, but it's nothing for the one who owns the bread.

The one who asks for a (قَرْض) is actually desperate and they're not asking for a lot, and the one being asked has a lot. Even if they give it away, it's not going to hurt them - it's not much of a loss.

This is the term Allah uses when He asks believers: anybody out there willing to give Allah a قرض? Which is impossible to understand because Allah (عز وجل) - all of you know and I know - alone owns all kingdom and all ownership within the skies and the earth. There's nothing that Allah does not own.

As a matter of fact, the one being asked - you and me - are owned by Allah. Our bodies are not actually our own. The blood flowing in our veins is not flowing because we make it flow. The heart isn't beating because we control it. That is happening because Allah makes it do so, because He owns it.

Allah's Complete Ownership vs. Our Need

Even the guidance that you and I can enjoy in life is something Allah gives and Allah can take away. As the Prophet ﷺ used to say:

(Tirmidhi hadith 2140)

"O Turner of hearts, keep my heart firm upon Your religion"

Meaning I don't even turn my own heart. I'm not even in complete control over my own guidance. That's Allah, and He's the one asking me for a loan.

It becomes impossible to understand because in any other conventional sense, when somebody asks for a loan, they are the one that's in need. But Allah says:

"Allah is the one who doesn't need; you're the ones that are bankrupt"

And yet Allah is asking you and me for a loan, which is why I argue that this term that Allah has used twice in the Quran is one of the most unique phrases asking believers to spend or to give.

The Language of the Quran Speaks to Hearts

If we take a couple of steps back and understand something about the language of the Quran - some ulama would describe that the language of the Quran, like Allah Himself says:

In Surat Qaf He says: "In it there's a powerful reminder for anybody who has a heart."

Let me put it this way: if you're reading a science textbook or an accounting book or a mathematics book or a history book, it's not a book for your heart - it'll hurt your brain, but it's not gonna hurt your heart. You're not gonna read a science book about physics and start tearing. Those words are not written for your heart; they're written for your mind.

Allah says about the Quran that this is a reminder for hearts, and when someone speaks to your heart, it's very different from when someone speaks to your mind. Allah (عز وجل) does appeal to our intellect, but actually He does so in a way that appeals to our hearts first.

An Analogy: The Elderly Mother's Request

I'm gonna start with an analogy to help us grasp some of the benefits of this phrase that Allah says: "Give me a loan."

All of us have - many of us Alhamdulillah still have the blessing of parents, and may Allah (عز وجل) preserve our parents and guide our parents, overlook their mistakes and protect them. But imagine if one of you has a mother who's extremely sick, and the father has passed away, and she's the only one left. She's very, very old - she can barely get out of bed herself. She can't even speak properly.

That old woman - there was a time when you and I were helpless, now she's helpless. She's in a completely helpless state. Then she comes to you one day or somehow communicates to you: "Can I borrow a hundred from you? I promise I'll pay it back. I promise I'll pay it back soon. I'm not sure when I can do it, but I will, I promise."

When she says that to you, what would that make you feel? That would make you and me feel: "You're my mother. Why did you have to ask me for a loan? You could have just said you needed something, and why didn't I know that you needed something that it came to the point where you had to ask?"

Even the way in which you asked tells me what you think of me. You think of me as someone who would not just give you out of my heart, but after I give you, in my heart I'd be thinking: "When am I gonna get this back? Is she gonna pay me back?"

My mother is thinking I'm so greedy. My mother thinks I'm so obsessed with money that what she needs and what she wants is not even in the picture. My biggest concern will be: when am I gonna get paid? When am I gonna get return?

This is actually an insult to us - humiliating to a son or daughter to hear - because now they're getting an impression: "What does mom think of me? Mom thinks of me as someone greedy. Mom thinks of me as someone that wouldn't just give it to me. The best I can hope for is he'll let me borrow it and then he'll expect it back."

Allah's Acknowledgment of Human Nature

When Allah (عز وجل) tells a believer "give me a loan," the one who gave you and me everything says "give me a loan." He knows how human beings become.

I'll give you a small experiment that I've conducted many times with my children, especially when they're younger. I know which ones like which kind of ice cream, so I'll get their favorite kind of ice cream and start eating it myself. I'm eating it, eating it, eating it, and the three-year-old comes and says, "Abba, can I have that?"

I said, "No, you can't have that."

"Can I please have a little bit?"

"Okay, you can have two bites, but then give it back."

So I give him the ice cream, and guess what happens next? They run away! And if I do catch them and say, "Where's my ice cream?" you know what they say? "Mine!" Immediately they forgot that this wasn't theirs - this was mine. I just let you hold it for a couple of seconds, and all of a sudden now it's yours.

Before I can get to it, they take the biggest bites they can ever take in their life because they just want to get as much as they can.

Human beings, when they get possession of something, even temporarily, we tend to forget that it's not ours. Allah gives and Allah gives and Allah gives, and then sometimes He says "give me back, spend." What's the first thought that crosses in my mind and your mind? "It's mine. You want me to give from my money? You want me to give from my savings? I worked hard for these savings. You want me to give up this car? I can't do that. You're asking too much."

Allah's Solution: The Concept of a Loan

So Allah (عز وجل) acknowledges the inherent greed. Allah says:

"Whoever can be protected from the deep greed they have inside themselves are the ones that have reached success."

So Allah calls on that greed and says: you and I would love to hold on to our things. So Allah says, "You know what? Even if you give it, you're thinking when am I going to get it back. So Allah says, why don't you give it to me? Let me borrow it, and it's not going to hurt you much." That's Allah's guarantee, because it's just a (قرْض) - it's just a slice from what you have.

That's confirming the promise of Rasulullah ﷺ: when you give charity, your wealth doesn't go down.

When you give up something for Allah, your money does not go down. So it's just a slice, like that mouse ate that little bit - it's not going to hurt you.

You think it's going to hurt you. Why do you and I think it's going to hurt you? Because Shaitan comes to you and me and says - the Quran tells us - Shaitan comes to you and says: "If you give this, you're going to go bankrupt. You crazy? You have to be more responsible. You have to spend more carefully. What are you doing?"

That same money, if you went to a restaurant and you wanted to get some extra, you don't even look at the price on the menu. You just say, "Yeah, bring it, bring it." One tenth of that amount, somebody says "give, put five dollars in the donation box, put ten rand in here" - "I don't know, I don't know if I have enough for the bus or if I have enough for the electricity bill." You start becoming an accountant in your head.

But you're not an accountant when you're at a restaurant and when you're entertaining yourself. We forget, but immediately when it comes to spending when Allah wants us to, then immediately all of us become financially very responsible and we say, "I don't know if this is a good decision."

The Meaning of "Qard Hasan" (Good Loan)

This is one piece of the puzzle when Allah says "give me a loan," but the other part of this is (قَرْضًا حَسَنًا) The difference between a (قَرْض) and a (قَرْض حَسَن) conventionally is: a (قَرْض حَسن) means I'm going to borrow some money from you, but I don't know when I can pay you back. I'm not sure if it's going to be tomorrow. I'm not sure if it's going to be ten years from now.

And you are so generous to me, you say, "You know what? Pay me back whenever you can. Just whenever you can. You're not going to hound me every time you see me: 'Hey, where's my money?' You're not going to do that. You're just going to let it go. Whenever you can, it's okay. And if you can't, it's okay."

That's the kind of trust, that generosity. Allah says, "I want you to trust me. Give me what you have. Give me this loan that I'm asking for."

The Scope of This Divine Loan

I haven't even described what that loan is. I know as you're listening to me you're thinking Allah is asking for our money, or Allah is asking for our wealth, and Allah is asking for us to give sadaqah. That's one part of infaq. Inshallah, as we see today in this same surah - in Surah Al-Hadeed - it's actually much bigger than that, and I hope to describe that as we approach the month of Ramadan, because all of us need to really keep this loan to Allah in mind as we approach this month that is supposed to connect us back with Allah.

When Allah (عز وجل) tells us to give this loan for His sake:

"Who is it that would loan Allah a goodly loan so He may multiply it for him many times over?"

How am I going to get it back? When am I going to get it back? Your answer might be: "I'm only going to get it back after I die, in the akhira. I'm going to give sadaqah now, I'll give charity now, I'll spend now, and Allah will give me after judgment day."

But Allah did not say that. Allah did not limit the return to the akhira, to the next life. Allah simply says:

"Allah will multiply it for him."

Whoever will give Allah this loan, He won't pay you back in full - He'll pay you back multiple times what you gave.

Allah's Divine "Riba" of Charity

Now this is what basically is called riba, and riba between human beings is haram. If you borrowed from me a hundred and then I want two hundred back, that's riba - I'm not allowed to do that. But Allah says:

"Allah does riba of charity."

Human beings can't do riba. Allah does riba of what? Of charity. Meaning He multiplies it and He grows it. When you give for Allah's sake, Allah will multiply it. The best way to increase your wealth, the best way to increase whatever you have in this life and in the next life, is to give. That's the best way to do it.

Allah promises He will multiply. He did not say when. So you don't hear this khutbah and say, "You know, the speaker said give for the sake of Allah and give Him a loan, so I gave a loan and it's been a whole week - no returns yet. Allah said He will multiply. I waited all of Ramadan, I waited - no returns coming. It's been a couple of years now - no returns coming."

That's not our faith. Islam doesn't work that way. Allah says (قَرْضًا حَسَنًا) meaning it's up to Allah when He's going to give, and you have complete trust that He will give. And not only that He will give - He'll give

you way more than what you gave. So you never ever feel a sense of loss.

The Guaranteed Return on Investment

We understand business. Many people here are in business. In business, first you have to spend money before you make money. That's what you have to do. And when you spend money, there's always a risk. The risk is: maybe I'll get the same amount of money back, but I'm hoping I make a little bit extra. Or maybe I'll lose all of it, or I'll lose 50%. That happens too. People are sitting with entire warehouses full of merchandise they couldn't sell.

When Allah says "give me," He's guaranteeing there's a return on your investment. It's absolutely guaranteed. But the only challenge: He's not telling you when, and He's not telling you how. Because when you and I give, maybe we gave money, but maybe what Allah gives you back is health. Maybe you gave money, maybe what Allah gives you back is peace in the family. Maybe you gave one thing, and Allah gives you back something so much more valuable - something you could never buy, something you could never pay for, something you were always wishing for.

The Real Source of Our Problems

Sometimes people hold on to money, and because of holding on to money, they have all of these problems in their life that they can't get rid of. Problems with people, the closest people to them hurting them the most. No peace of mind, can't go to sleep, blood pressure increasing. All of these problems that we cannot - you go to a doctor, they'll try to give you medication, but medication wasn't the source of the problem. That was just the final symptom. You're just suppressing the symptoms.

Where did the source come from? Where did the stress come from? Where did the anxiety come from? What took your peace away?

Allah (عز وجل) says:

"He's the one who puts tranquility into the hearts of believers."

He's the one who sends it down. So when we give, what we get back in return may not be material - maybe something worth way more than material. Maybe protection, maybe guidance. May even be money. But what is money worth when you compare it to what Allah has to offer for you?

What Allah Has Left Us in Charge Of

Let's talk about what it is that we have to spend and tie that in with this coming incredible month. Allah (عز وجل) in the same surah says:

"Spend out of whatever Allah has left you behind with."

Let me explain that to you in simple terms. (مُّسْتَخْلَفِينَ) means: if I was leaving the house and I had to go get gas in my car, and I left my two sons in the house, and I said, "Boys, you take care of the house. Make sure you don't let anybody else in. Make sure you do this, that" - I give some instructions and I leave.

Now these boys have, basically, for those 20 minutes, complete control over this house. If they burn it down, or when I come back I don't recognize my address anymore, that's all up to them. I've trusted them. I don't have any security cameras or anything. I have left them behind to their devices. Whatever they do with it.

Sometimes it's not just leaving you to your own devices. Sometimes somebody gives you something. Somebody says, "Hey, I'm traveling. Can you keep my car? Just take care of my car for me," and they give you the car. Now look, the keys are with you. You can drive it, you can do whatever you want with it. You've been left behind with this car to do whatever you want.

Allah says, "I want you to spend out of anything that I have given you and left you in charge of."

The Full Scope of What We've Been Given

Now what has He given me and left me in charge of? He gave me a tongue. He gave me eyes. He gave me this body. He didn't just give me wealth. He gave me a mind. He gave me time. He gave me so much, and He's asking: out of all of that, I want you to give me back.

If He's given you energy, He wants your energy. If He's given you talent, He wants your talent. If He's given you intellect, He wants you to use your intellect - use your sharp mind. Spend out of it. Spend out of what Allah has given you. Give it to Him.

Some of you, mashallah, men and women, have very sharp tongues. For example, if somebody says something to you, you can say something nuclear in response and silence them for generations. You know how to do it. The words come rushing from your gut up your throat and out of your mouth. They're ready to come out, and you say to yourself, "You know what? My anger and my response, I'm gonna put it back in. I'm gonna swallow it. I'm gonna give this as a loan to Allah. I'm gonna give it to Allah, and Allah promises He'll give me much more back in return. I'm loaning my anger over. I don't want it now."

Ramadan: A Time for Delayed Gratification

When impulses come in this Ramadan, what does Allah do? Allah teaches us this entire concept: delayed gratification. When fasting begins, and by the time fasting ends, you and I are going to feel hunger, we're going to feel thirst.

As a matter of fact, our messenger ﷺ even told us that fasting extends beyond food and drink and intimacy - it goes beyond that. Our tongues are fasting, our eyes are fasting, our ears are fasting, our limbs are fasting. Why? In that time, in those hours, I've decided that I'm going to be extra cautious. I'm going to be more aware of what my eyes fall on. I'm going to be more aware of what comes out of my mouth.

The people that are annoying to you before Ramadan are still annoying to you during Ramadan. The people who make you angry before Ramadan started still make you angry when Ramadan has started. The things that agitate you, the things that you're drawn to - like you like to waste your time with entertainment - some people lose themselves in entertainment for hours and hours. Some people lose themselves in social media - the day goes on, sun goes up and down, they're scrolling screens. That's what they're doing.

Whatever that is, in Ramadan it's not going to go away. You start thinking, "Oh no, no, that's Shaitan, and Shaitan is chained, so as soon as Ramadan starts, I'm gonna be good. You're great."

No, it doesn't work that way. He's done pretty good training for 11 months, and now you're on your own, and you're still conditioned to do what he's been conditioning you to do.

Understanding the True Meaning of Giving Allah a Loan

This month is actually a time for us to understand what it means to give Allah a loan - what it means to give up before Allah. And by the way, the idea of a loan - in the case of Allah, Allah is promising, guaranteeing, that He's going to give you back, just like He says, "Okay, why don't you hold off on eating and drinking? Why don't you hold off on intimacy? Hold off on it for these hours for me."

And Allah promises you, guarantees you, rewards and benefits. And those rewards and benefits are not on the iftar table. There are much more rewards and benefits than what's sitting at the table. What you're getting out of this month is so valuable that it's actually going to be the only thing of value when we come in front of Allah.

The Only Thing of Real Value

That's the last thing I want to share with you about Allah's returns: what is actually valuable? In this life, money is valuable, house is valuable, clothes are valuable, jewelry is valuable. These things are valuable. Health is valuable. Your body is valuable. Good food is valuable. These are things that we value in life.

You wouldn't want to wear dirty clothes. You wouldn't want to live in a bad neighborhood or in an ugly house. You want to be in a place that has more value because you value yourself.

But one day comes - a day is coming - where none of this has any value. None of it. You know, when people used to work their entire life in the Arabian Desert, they work their entire life: "One day I can buy a

camel." These young men today have a poster of a Ferrari or a Mercedes in their room like "one day." They had, if they had posters back then, it would have been a camel poster. "Yeah, it's gonna be my... it's gonna be awesome." That's what was going on.

And then Allah says judgment day comes and it has no value. It's gone.

What's the only thing that matters on that day?

"The only exception is the one who comes before Allah with a sound heart."

The True Gift of Ramadan

What do you get out of Ramadan? What do you get out of giving Allah a loan? What does He give you? He gives you a sound heart. He gives you and me taqwa in our hearts. He gives us tranquility and peace in our hearts.

And when we can have that, there is nothing more valuable. You can lose everything else. This is overpowering every other loss. No loss is any more a loss than this - gaining our hearts back. That's what we're struggling to do this Ramadan. That's what we're trying to do.

May Allah (عز وجل) give us a cleansed heart this Ramadan and reconnect ourselves to Him. May Allah (عز وجل) really make us contemplate what it means to give Him a good loan that He can multiply for us and dignify us by means of it.

Closing Announcement: Quranic Arabic Program

Before I conclude, I wanted to make this announcement. I'd like to see how many people can read the Quran in Arabic, even though for the most part they don't understand what they're reading. You can read the Quran in Arabic, but for the most part you don't understand what you're reading.

I was like you. I'm not a scholar. I'm not a sheikh. I felt a disconnect between myself and what I was reading in the Arabic Quran, and when I tried to read the translation of the Quran, I found it even more confusing. I knew there's something in Allah's own words that I'm missing, and so I decided to study the Arabic language myself, and Allah opened that door for me.

I became a teacher of the Arabic language and I developed a method of teaching those who were in my place - meaning they were reading in Arabic, but they were not understanding what they were reading. How do you make for those people a program that they can easily start to understand the language of the Quran?

I don't teach as a teacher; I teach as someone who sat in your seat as a student. That's a program that I developed. I taught it many years in the United States. I've had thousands and thousands of students in this Quranic Arabic program called the Dream Program, because it was a dream of mine to learn this language, and I'm sure it's a dream of so many other countless Muslims.

That's actually a course that I'm starting here at this masjid inshallah this Wednesday, and it's going to be for 10 straight days. It's in the morning time. I know that's work for some of you, but for 10 straight days at 9 a.m., this Wednesday we're going to start, and it's going to be three hours every single day.

My hope is that many of you can come and attend. There is a tuition for the course, but actually if anybody cannot afford the course, it's completely free for them - no questions asked. The point is, Ramadan is already here. Let's show Allah some commitment that we want to journey towards this book, and if you can honor me with the opportunity to help you do that, I'd be honored by it.

It's open to men, women, and even children. The last course I taught was in St. Louis in the United States - I just came from there - and we had about 230 students there that were studying, and about 70 of them were kids that were between nine and twelve years old. So even children are attending along with retired teachers.

I would also invite Arabic teachers to come to see the method of teaching because I'd like you to take that and use it in your schools and in your classes and courses as well.

Final Du'a

Jazakum Allah khairan. Barakallahu li walakum fil quran al hakeem wa nafa'ani wa iyyakum bil ayati wa zikr al hakeem.

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