The Man of Two Gardens
By Nouman Ali Khan | 2026-01-09T15:00:03.86389+00:00 | Topic: Iman
The Man of Two Gardens - Khutba by Nouman Ali Khan
Opening Praise and Testimony
اللهُ أَكْبَر، اللهُ أَكْبَر، رَبِّي لَكَ الْحَمْدُ حَتَّى تَرْضَى، وَلَكَ الْحَمْدُ إِذَا رَضِيتَ، وَلَكَ الْحَمْدُ بَعْدَ الرّضا، وَلَكَ الْحَمْدُ أَبَداً أَبَداً أبداً
وَالْحَمْدُ لِلَّهِ الَّذِي هَدَانَا لِهَذَا وَمَا كُنَّا لِنَهْتَدِيَ لَوْلَا أَنْ هَدَانَا اللهُ
شَرِيكٌ فِي الْمُلْكِ وَلَمْ يَكُنْ لَهُ وَلِيٌّ مِنَ الذُّلِّ وَكَبِّرْهُ تَكْبِيراً
وَالْحَمْدُ لِلَّهِ الَّذِي نَحْمَدُهُ، وَنَسْتَعِينُهُ، وَنَسْتَغْفِرُهُ، وَنُؤْمِنُ بِهِ، وَنَتَوَكَّلْ عَلَيْهِ، وَنَعُوذُ بِاللهِ مِنْ شُرُورِ أَنْفُسِنَا، وَمِنْ سَيِّئَاتِ أَعْمَالِنَا. مَن يَهْدِهِ اللهُ فَلا مُضِلَّ لَهُ، وَمَن يُضْلِلْ فَلَا هَادِيَ لَهُ
وَأَشْهَدُ أَن لا إِلَهَ إِلَّا اللهُ وَحْدَهُ لا شَرِيكَ لَهُ، وَأَشْهَدُ أَنَّ مُحَمَّداً عَبْدُ اللهِ وَرَسُولُهُ أَرْسَلَهُ بِالْهُدَى وَدِينِ الْحَقِّ لِيُظْهِرَهُ عَلَى الدِّينِ كُلِّهِ وَكَفَى بالله شهيداً
أَمَّا بَعْدُ، فَإِنَّ أَصْدَقَ الْحَدِيثِ كِتَابُ اللهِ، وَخَيْرَ الْهُدَى هُدَى مُحَمَّدٍ صلى الله عليه وسلم
وَشَرَّ الأُمُورِ مُحْدَثَاتُهَا ، وَكُلَّ مُحْدَثَةٍ بِدْعَةٌ، وَكُلَّ بِدْعَةٍ ضَلَالَةٌ، وَكُلَّ صَلَالَةٍ فِي النَّارِ
Recitation from Surah Al-Kahf
قَالَ اللهُ تَعَالَى فِي كِتَابِهِ الْكَرِيمِ، بَعْدَ أَنْ أَعُوذُ بِاللهِ مِنَ الشَّيْطَانِ الرَّحِيمِ:
Introduction and Community Greetings
I was very conflicted about what to share in this khutbah with you today, but I decided that I would focus my attention on one particular passage from Surah Al-Kahf. And I'd like to start by expressing my appreciation and my just pleasant surprise at meeting this community for the first time.
I've been traveling across the country for some time now, (الحمد لله - alhamdulillah), but this is the first time I've been to Wisconsin, and obviously this city also. May Allah azza wa jal bless this community and the efforts that are being made in this community. So, what I wanted to share with you is some reminder for myself and for all of you from Surah Al-Kahf. The surah we're supposed to recite every Friday.
The Universal Drive for Success
Before I start talking a little bit about these ayat, I want to share with you an observation that I've been sort of on the side been making about our community and communities across the world in general. A sociological fact, that there are lots and lots of families in the world, it doesn't even matter if they're Muslim or not, but they push their children to be successful.
This idea of wanting your children to be successful is very common. It doesn't matter if you're a Hindu family, or a Buddhist family, or you know, you're a Western European family, or an American family, or you know, Arab family. It doesn't matter. We want our children to be successful. And we define that success in very specific or very similar ways.
So, for instance, in Chinese culture, they're considered successful at the point where your children are, you know, they've obtained a high degree in education, they've obtained a career, they own a property, they own some patch of real estate, you know, and they've made it. They've paid those things off, and now they're considered successful. And they work, and they work, and they work towards those things.
Competition Among Families
And actually, in some aspects of that culture, families compete with each other, and the parents, they get together, and they share notes on their kids. Well, my kid already finished law school. And my kid is in the middle of med school, but he'll finish soon. And he's already bought this, and he's already bought that.
But actually, they compare with each other, and when they find out one of the sons in the community has gone further, they all humiliate their own children, saying, why can't you be more like him? But you know, one thing I realized, that's not just Chinese culture. That's Muslim culture too now.
Across the border, and across ethnicities and cultures, we push our children to be successful, we look at other families, and their kids, and what they've obtained, and what schools they went to, and what degrees they got, and where they bought a house, and how lavish their wedding was, and we want ours to be the same way.
The Constant Comparison
We're in this competition all the time. We're almost in this competition. And actually, the more you don't really look at your child, or your success, even as a person, yourself, you don't even all the time look at your own success, looking at what's good for you or not, you're always comparing yourself to somebody else.
They're constantly comparing, well, they did this, and somebody else did that. And that was put into many of us, by our parents themselves, who used to put us and our siblings in competition. They used to tell you when you were little, why can't you be more like your brother? He did all of these things, and how come you can't do that?
The Limitation of Success Definitions
So if one of you, you know, if you have a brother who went to med school, well, your qadr has been written, right? Because if you went to med school, your parents are going to say, well, your brother did it, what's wrong with you? Why can't you go? You know, it doesn't matter what you were created for, now you've been created for med school.
One of my friends told me, one of the scholars I respect a lot told me, you know, the great minds of western society, people like, you know, even in film, for example, Steven Spielberg, if Steven Spielberg was a Muslim, he'd probably be a doctor, he wouldn't be a producer. Right? Because we have certain definitions of success when we push our generations in that direction.
Introduction to the Parable
I wanted to share this passage with you, because in this passage, Allah azza wa jal talks about two Muslims, two Muslims, that are neighbors to each other. One of them is pretty wealthy, and the indication that he's so wealthy is that Allah azza wa jal makes it a point to mention his assets. Now think about that, Allah dedicated ayat of the Quran to describe the assets, the things that this guy owns. That's a pretty big deal, that Allah azza wa jal would do that.
But I told you there's two people, right? So if you describe the assets of one, then you should expect that the assets, the ownership, the property of the other should be described also. But what you very interestingly find is, Allah azza wa jal dedicates two ayat describing this person's assets, the first farmer, gardener, his assets, but the other guy is so negligible in what he owns, Allah doesn't even mention it. What he owns isn't even brought up.
So he's, it goes without saying, he's not doing that well financially. He's, times have hit him tough. And this conversation happens between this very wealthy, I'm telling you again, Muslim, and another Muslim. These two Muslims are having a conversation. And this conversation is recorded.
The Living Conversation
So let's take a peek inside this dialogue that happens, and how I wanted to share with you this is a living conversation. This is not just a conversation that happened many thousands of years ago, and Allah azza wa jal gave us a glimpse of it. This conversation happens everyday, between people like you and me.
Description of the Wealthy Man's Assets
So Allah azza wa jal says
Give them the example of, strike the example for them, of the two men
For one of those two men, we gave him two gardens. So one of this guy doesn't even have one property, he has two properties, of grapevines.
I used to live in Long Island at some part of my life in New York. And some of the most expensive real estate on Long Island is the vineyards. All the way out east, by the water almost. And these are some of the most expensive real estate even in the country.
The Nature of Vineyard Investment
Vineyards are not cheap, they're expensive to maintain, they're not like any other crop, you have to take a lot of care of them. They're very delicate plants, they can't even stand on their own, you have to put sticks in the ground, and they wrap themselves around the sticks, the trellises, they wrap themselves around. So they're not, they don't manage themselves.
You know how some plants, they grow on their own, and they can stand on their own, and you don't have to take care of them? These are very delicate plants, they require constant care. And if they require constant care, you need a lot of employees, don't you? You can't just go around in a massive giant farm, taking care of every single plant yourself, you have to hire people to do that. So the guy that owns two farms, it kind of goes without saying, that he probably had a lot of employees. He had manpower behind him, and Allah عز و جل described him as such.
Complete Agricultural System
So he says
And Allah عز و جل says, so he has gardens of grapevines, and of palm, and goes further to say
وَحَفَفْنَاهُمَا بِنَخْلٍ
He fortified his gardens with palm trees.
Now this is very interesting, I want you to imagine this picture, there's grapevines, these really delicate plants in the middle, a huge field of them, and all around there are palm trees, like the fence, it's not a wooden fence, it's a fence of trees. And that's important, because if the wind blows, these plants can get damaged. So his idea of protecting these plants, is to put these gigantic palm trees all around, and that's his security system. So when the wind hits, it hits the trees first. It doesn't hit the plants first. So not only does he have a very good investment, he's got a very good security system too. And obviously the palm trees themselves are producers of wealth for him. So he's got money on top of money on top of money.
But you know, additionally what do you need? You need other kinds of crop too.
Allah Azza wa Jal says, Between the two of them, there were also additional farmland. So this is just two of the things he has that Allah highlights, the more exotic assets, he has even more.
The Challenges of Farming
You know, those of you, I mean many of us are not in farming, but those of you that come from backgrounds that you know about farmland and farming, it's a very stressful work. You have to work the entire year and it's, you know, now many of you have jobs, now you get a
paycheck every week. Or you get a paycheck every two weeks. In farming you get one paycheck a year. You have to work the entire year and at the end of it, when the crop comes out, that's when you get paid.
And even that paycheck is not guaranteed. It's not guaranteed because it could be there's a drought, or there are insects that came into your farm, something went wrong, there was overheating, right, there was a flood, all kinds of problems can happen and your entire years of work is gone. In the blink of an eye, it's gone. And you can't recover it. That's the life of a farmer. It's very, very stressful. It's very difficult.
Exceptional Success
But Allah عز و جل describes His farm as
كِلْنَا الْجَنَّتَيْنِ آتَتْ أُكْلَهَا
It used to give both of these gardens. They used to produce their food. In other words, they were doing, they were at 100% production. Year after year after year, things were going well, no weather problems, no insect problems, everything was taken care of. So, you know, in farming, if things go well, you make a lot of money. You know, you make a lot of money. So He was doing very, very well.
And so Allah is still describing the first neighbor. He hasn't even talked about the second neighbor yet, Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala. And He says,
You know how you say, our farm produced 80%, 50%, 70%, Not a thing was missing, not one plant didn't produce. He was getting 100% out of his farm.
Water Supply
And the only thing missing now in a farm, you know, if you travel in the Midwest, especially you'll see farms that are being irrigated, right? So they have these machines that spray the water. So what if, what in old times, you had to have animals that go and deliver the water every place. Allah Azza wa Jal says that between the two, we have caused the spring to come out. So He's got two gardens, two huge properties, and between them, there's a water supply by Allah Azza wa Jal. And He takes credit for it Himself.
don't think, Wow, this guy must have been a really good businessman. You're thinking, Wow, Allah really
blessed him. Allah doesn't take credit away from Himself as even describing His assets.
The Wealthy Man's Conversation
Now what happens one day?
And the one who used to own a lot of fruit, in other words, the guy that had a lot of wealth. The wealthy one. He's one day in a conversation with his buddy next door. The guy next door, you know he lives in one of those old homes that you think should be demolished and then should be rebuilt nicely. He lives in one of those properties. You know, and he's next door.
So one day they're just, you know, talking to each other and it just comes up.
He says to his companion, the guy he sees all the time, وَهُوَ يُحَاوِرُهُ هذا مهم جداً وَهُوَ يُحَاوِژه while he's in the middle of just kind of conversing with him. الحوار يعني الكلام المحادثة He's just talking to him. They're just chit-chatting.
Subtle Insults
And in the middle of the conversation he slipped in something.
You know, I am more than you when it comes to money. And I do have a lot more than you when it comes to manpower, children, sons, helpers, employees. I've got a lot more than you.
Now you have to understand this is not how you would imagine the guy, the rich guy came out of his house, went over to his neighbor, knocked on his door, the neighbor opened his door, he said, by the way, I wanted to tell you, I'm richer than you. (السلام عليكم) That's not how it happens. That's not what's being told to us. .وَهُوَ يُحَاوِرُهُ is important because they're talking about other things. And he kind of slips it in. He slips it in. He lets them feel like he's poor and the other guy's rich. He doesn't say it directly. He inserts it in the conversation.
Modern Examples of This Behavior
So you know, for example, you have some of you younger guys, you go to college. And alhamdulillah, you come from wealthy families. So you drive your BMW to school. And you have a friend who also goes to the same college but he's, you know, he's barely making tuition. He's living in an apartment with like 8 other guys because he can't afford it. And he takes the bus bill or walks to school. And you're like, yeah man, just got the Beamer. It's a good deal. It's just 25,000. It's a good deal though. How'd you get to school?
You know, you kind of just slip it in and poke him a little in it. You're not saying directly, I am wealthier than you are, sir. (السلام عليكم) You're not doing that. But you are making him feel insignificant.
Some of you elders do this. Yeah, our daughter's wedding, mashaAllah, we only held her at the Crown Plaza. It was only $50 a plate. You know, mashaAllah. It was very good. It could have been better though because we got a good deal because they were asking for $80. What about your daughter's nikahs at the masjid, right? Right? Just kind of slip it in. Poke people. Let people know that you've got more than them. You don't say it directly.
The Harm of Showing Off Wealth
You see, you know, you attack people and make them feel less by what Allah has given you. And this, this attitude, this attitude, even you're not saying it directly. You're not saying anything. And if you talk to her, why do you talk like that? I was like, I didn't say anything. I was just talking about my daughter's wedding. I was just talking about this car. It was a really good deal I got. I didn't say anything harmful. You can defend yourself very easily.
Even if this farmer was stopped and told, why do you talk like that? He goes, I was just talking, man. I was just saying. It's no big deal. I have more authority when it comes to employees. Yeah, just, you know, this year I'm downsizing. I only got like 15 employees this year. How many of you? You work by yourself, right? Yeah. Good luck with that. And just, this kind of condescending behavior.
The Problem of Wealth-Based Standards
And there's more before we go on. You know, in Muslim community, in all societies, in all societies, one of the great sources of corruption is wealthy people. Imposing their lifestyle as a standard on poorer people. So poorer people feel like they are living a miserable life until they live the life of rich people.
So you'll find in struggling communities across the world, and United States is no exception, in the Muslims, the easiest example to give is the wedding. Easiest example of all. Your family has a modest income. Maybe you make $50,000 a year. Maybe you make $70,000 a year. Whatever your situation is. You have rent to pay. You have the house to pay for. You have education bills to pay for.
Wedding Pressure and Financial Catastrophe
But you know what? Your cousin, who's very wealthy family, their wedding was $200,000. Their wedding was $80,000. The mahr was this much. The party was this much. The catering, they had 10 parties before they had the nikah. And now it's your turn and you're like, we can't do a simple wedding. We have to keep up. What are they gonna say? What is your uncle gonna say? What are people gonna say? What is this one gonna say? What is that one gonna say?
And as a result, what you do is you put yourself in extreme difficulty. So that you make it look to people, for those two days, you make it look to people like you're pretty wealthy too. Even if you have to pay off riba loans for the next 10 years for that one day of wedding. And start that new wedding couple off in
financial catastrophe. What a way to start a married life. Even if you have to do that just to make sure people see us as keeping up with everybody else.
Social Consequences
This pressure can destroy families. It can destroy families. It creates hatred in society too. You know, the place where I originate from in Pakistan, you'll have sometimes people that are very wealthy living right next to people that are extremely, extremely poor. And when they'll have weddings in their family, they'll set up tents in the entire block and they'll invite thousands of people to the wedding. And they'll have hundreds of employees, hundreds upon hundreds of employees just cooking food. Right?
And each one of these cooks, each one of these cooks, one of these cooks has four daughters. And he can't get one of them married. And he looks at this party for one wedding and he says, man, in this kind of money we could have gotten our entire village married. You know? And he looks at that wealthy person, he's working for him but he hates his guts. Because there's a hatred being developed by people who show off their wealth in this lavish way, especially in the face of the poor.
Living Lessons from the Quran
That's what we're being taught. These are not just ayahs we pass by like a cool story you teach at Sunday school. These are teachings for how to live as a community. How not to be lavish. How not to impose our wealth on others. To put standards on others.
We've convinced ourselves until you buy a house and until it looks like this and this and this. Until it's something that people come to and they park in the driveway and they go, wow, that's nice. Until they do that, we have failed. Our children have failed. They still live in an apartment? Astaghfirullahil Azeem. How can they live in an apartment? You know. Why haven't they bought a house yet? How can you still have that car? Why haven't you bought another car yet? You know. And we put those standards on them. We're just like this farmer sometimes.
The Poor Man's Silence
What does the other farmer say? The other farmer's response. And by the way, he talks insultingly to this farmer and we don't even hear the response from this farmer. The other guy, the neighbor, he didn't say anything. You know what that suggests? Sometimes you're so embarrassed you don't say anything. He's put in a bad situation so he doesn't say anything.
The Rich Man's Delusion
Now the rich guy goes back into his house. He was just visiting his neighbor. Now he goes back to his mansion, his great farm
And he enters his garden and he's wronging himself.
By the way, what's beautiful is in the previous ayah, he had wronged his neighbor. He was mean to his neighbor, wasn't he? But Allah (عز و جل) says وَهُوَ ظَالِمٌ لِنَفْسِهِ he was only harming himself by these kinds of words. He was blinding himself from reality. He forgot that the one who made him rich in the beginning of these ayahs as Allah described, wasn't him, it was Allah. Allah had made him rich. It wasn't him.
Confusion About Permanence
And he goes inside and he says this in something of very interesting confusion that many Muslims suffer from. And it's not just Muslims, many Christians suffer from it. But we too, it's surprising that Muslims suffer from it. And we're people of Quran. We're people of the teachings of Muhammad Rasulullah (صلى الله عليه وسلم)
He says,
I don't think this stuff is ever going away. I think my business plan is pretty solid. I've made some very smart investments. I've put the security system in place. The employees are just where they need to be. The financial projections I've made for the next 10 years, this isn't going anywhere. I've got a stable situation. I don't think this is going anywhere.
Denial of the Day of Judgment
And then he adds, this is from what he can see, he doesn't think it's going anywhere. But then he adds,
And I don't think the Day of Judgment... I don't know. I don't even know it's really going to happen. Allah probably just said those things to scare us. He doesn't really mean it.
You know how parents sometimes tell their children, if you eat dirt, I'm going to kill you. Well, you're not even going to kill us. I'm going to get a little, you know, a spanking here and there, but it's okay. It's not going to be that bad.
The Problem with Luxury
You know what happens when you get used to a life of luxury? You don't want to even think about the akhirah, because the akhirah is a difficult thing to think about. When homes are taken away, and the earth is flattened, and everybody's standing on equal footing, and you're being interrogated, and you have nothing of this dunya left, but you get so attached to dunya, it's hard to let go.
It's so hard to let go that this guy doesn't even want to think about the akhirah. And somebody even brings up hellfire, paradise, judgment day. Somebody even brings these things up, and he goes, no bro, don't talk to me about that stuff. I don't want to hear it. Can you just talk about that later? We all believe that, okay? Thank you.
So even if by his tongue he believes practically, he doesn't even want to enter that thought into his heart. He doesn't want to do it. And he has an interesting rationale that shaitan has taught him. A way of thinking that shaitan has taught him. This rationalization. Very interesting.
False Assurance About the Afterlife
He says,
Even if I was taken back to my master. Even if I did die. If Allah has given me so much here, that must mean that Allah loves me. Because Allah obviously loves me more than my neighbor. My neighbor, look at him. He's in debt. He barely has a farm. He has no helpers. He's getting old.
But look at me, Allah has given me this, this, this. Allah has hooked me up so much here. That must mean Allah likes me so much, that when I go, if He gave me this much in dunya, He's got way better for me in the akhirah. He's gonna give me, just jannah on top of jannah in akhirah. Just what I'm getting in dunya. In other words, he assumes that the life he enjoys here, must be some kind of a glimpse for the life he's going to enjoy in the next life.
Modern Protestant Parallel
By the way, this is interesting. A modern protestant idea. It's a modern Christian idea too. In many churches, you're taught, go get a promotion. Get a better job. Take out a second mortgage. You know. Work, work, work, and get the nice car, because Jesus wants you to get it. That's a sign that the Lord loves you. The more you have, the more you acquire.
Islamic Perspective on Wealth
In our being, we don't condemn the acquisition of wealth. We don't look down upon those who are wealthy. And we don't look down upon those who are poor. Because wealth and poverty are both tests from Allah. Neither of them are good or evil. There's no, some wealthy people are evil, or poor people are righteous. There's no such thing. Some of the greatest sahaba are extremely wealthy. And some of the greatest sahaba are extremely poor. We don't have that standard. We don't judge it by that.
But when you start thinking how Allah thinks of you is based on what you enjoy in this life, then you are in the depths of confusion.
The Neighbor's Response
Now finally when his religious ideas are getting confused, at this point his neighbor feels like he should say something. See this neighbor, his righteousness is shown in that when he was insulted he didn't say anything. But when the guy started having wrong ideas about Allah, then he felt compelled to speak. And he answered him. And he says
Reminder of Human Origins
And he says Are you completely in denial of the one who made you from dirt? Then he made you into a droplet, a filthy droplet, then shaped you into a man. In other words, you were nothing. You talk about your farm being everything. You yourself were nothing. You were dirt. Allah put you in this position Himself. Are you forgetting who put you in? Well, how could that happen to you?
"Are you completely in denial of the one who made you from dirt? Then He made you into a droplet, a filthy droplet, then shaped you into a man."
Humble Declaration of Faith
No, that, that's Allah, my master. Now, it's beautiful, right? So when he's giving nasihah, he's giving advice, he doesn't say He's your master. No, he says, I'm not even talking about you. We'll see. I'm advising myself. I'm just saying he's my master.
"But as for me, Allah is my Lord"
"and I will not associate anyone with my Lord."
And I've decided never to do shirk with Allah. He doesn't say to him, Don't do shirk. He doesn't talk to him that way. He still talks about himself, and that's part of his humility. You know, he's just showing by example. I, I can't do shirk. I can't say that whatever I have is because of this, or my akhirah is guaranteed. I think that's like shirk. I would never do shirk. I'm not saying you're doing it, but I just can't do it. He points it to himself.
Proper Etiquette Upon Entering Gardens
And then he says If, if, what was so wrong if you just entered your garden as you walked in around and said Whatever Allah will. And we usually say without even realizing what we're saying. We have no... Usually we see a nice house, . You know, new Acura NSX. , nice house. That's how we say
If only when you entered your garden, you had said, ‘This is what Allah has willed! There is no power except with Allah!’
The Deeper Meaning of "Ma Sha Allah"
But also means something else. Allah decided that He will give me this rizq. Allah decided my neighborhood will have less dunya. It will have less rizq in this world. That's all according to Allah's plan. I know that Allah makes His plans. That's not up to me, that's up to Allah عز و جل. I can't take credit for what's going on here. This is by the will of Allah. This is what Allah, whatever Allah wants.
Whatever Allah wills
And when you say whatever Allah wants, you recognize that nothing here is permanent if Allah doesn't want it to be. You cannot make guarantees.
"I do not think that this will ever perish"
This will never go away, because it's not up to you, it's up to the will of Allah. Why couldn't you talk like that? Why couldn't you humble yourself?
Recognition of Allah's Power
There's no force, there's no power at all except in Allah's hands, in the possession of Allah.
"though you see me as lesser than you in wealth and offspring"
If in fact you did see that I am less, and I am, I'm not saying I'm not. I have less than you, I agree. I have less manpower than you. I don't have sons like you do. I don't have any support. I don't deny that, but I'm saying if you saw that you should have said, that's what Allah wills.
Some people He gives sons, some people He doesn't give sons. Some people He gives wealth, other people He doesn't give wealth. How many people in our audience there, subhanAllah, they're unemployed, they're looking for work. And they have good resumes, they have experience, they have good qualifications, and they're applying, and they're maybe barely even getting a call for an interview, and they can't find a job.
Allah's Will in Success and Failure
And then there are people who are not even half the qualifications you have. But Allah decided they're going to find a job, and they're going to get paid three times the salary you're looking for. It's up to Allah Azza wa Jalla. We make the effort, but the power belongs in Allah's hands. He can't forget that. That's the very essence of materialism. Materialism means we put our trust in things. We put our trust in things like our resume, or the money in the bank, the property, each other. Our real trust has to be with AllahAzza wa Jalla. Our iman is not just something we say with our tongue, it's a state of mind. It's a way to think. That's what we're being taught here in these ayahs.
Warning and Possibility of Change
And so as I reach my conclusion, I want to share with you. He gave him advice and said, you better watch it. It might be just to teach you a lesson.
"Perhaps my Lord will give me [something] better than your garden"
It's very possible for my master to give me a garden better than yours. Allah could make me wealthy too.
"and send upon it a calamity from the sky, and it will become a barren ground"
Or He could send upon it a calamity from the sky and it will completely eliminate your garden. There will be nothing left.
"Or its water will sink [into the earth], so you would never be able to seek it."
Or the water of it is going to sink in. Remember he had a river going in between? It could be the river could sink in and you won't even be able to dig it and find it. You won't even be able to ask for it. You won't know where it went. That could happen too. Watch out. Don't mess with Allah as often. Be grateful for what you have.
Allah's Response to the Believer's Warning
And what happens in the very next ayah? When Allah hears the word of a believer especially the du'a of the mazloom It's not even du'a. It's عَسَى. It might happen. But Allahazza wa jal hears it and He says
"And his fruit was encompassed [by ruin]"
And his entire farm was surrounded. Meaning surrounded by the punishment of Allah. His fruit was surrounded.
"So he began to turn his hands about for what he had spent on it"
He was just left standing there turning his hands like this looking at his investment. Oh my God. What's happened here? He's just standing outside going crazy. He doesn't even know what to do. His hands are just... You ever seen people that are really stressed out? They don't know what to do with their hands? You know? They have their hands like this. They're putting
"So he began to turn his hands about for what he had spent on it"
them behind their back
The Complete Destruction
And then the most incredible thing The urush in the Arabic language Remember I told you those the delicate sticks you put in the ground to keep the plants up? Allah says that the garden was turned over on its sticks. In other words those palm trees that are supposed to protect those plants Allah made those palm trees fall on the very things that they're supposed to protect. His security system was his destruction system. That's what Allah's plan was.
"while it had collapsed upon its trellises"
The Beautiful Ending - Repentance
And all of this seems like a terrible thing that happened, right? But the ending of the story is beautiful. Because in this dunya if you make tawbah, it's a good thing. If you have to lose all your wealth but you gain Allah, that's a good gain. That's a good gain. You didn't lose.
At the end of it all he says Oh, if only I hadn't done shirk. If only I hadn't associated with Allah my confidence in this material wealth. If only I hadn't become a materialist. In other words, he regrets his shirk. In other words, he comes back to the right way. And that is a gift from Allah.
"He was saying, "Oh, I wish I had not associated anyone with my Lord.""
Lesson for the Muslim Ummah
What am I trying to say to you? The Muslim world today, and all of us. AllahAzza wa Jal has given us many blessings and he has taken many things from us too. The Muslims enjoyed in their history as a whole times of glory. Times of glory. And it seems like we've been robbed of them. Maybe so we can just turn around and say, Maybe we can make tawbah and go back to AllahAzza wa Jal too.
"Oh, I wish I had not associated anyone with my Lord."
And before AllahAzza wa Jal teaches you a lesson in a hard way, we had better read these warnings and know these are not just stories. This is a formula with which AllahAzza wa Jal teaches lessons. So we better make our tawbah and return back to Allah before it's too late.
Closing Du'as
May AllahAzza wa Jal make us people that don't put their reliance in material goods. May AllahAzza wa Jal make us people that don't become arrogant and show off their wealth and make other people feel bad on account of what they own. May AllahAzza wa Jal make us a people of giving, of sadaqah, of infaq, of brotherhood, of you know, of ta'leef, of making hearts come together not hearts being pulled apart.
May AllahAzza wa Jal help us become those that keep family ties together and not allow them to separate at any cost. May AllahAzza wa Jal make us of those who look at the past as the past and join hands with their brothers and their sisters in this deen and understand that their bond of la ilaha illallah is stronger than any quarrel, any disagreement, any problem they've had in the past. This kalima, these words are stronger than any of our disagreements.
May AllahAzza wa Jal make us one ummah once again
Salawat and Final Du'as
Coach, move up as much as you can, there are a lot of people standing in the back.
"Indeed, Allah and His angels send blessings upon the Prophet. O you who have believed, ask [ Allah to confer] blessings upon him and ask [ Allah to grant him] peace."
"and remembrance of Allah is greater. And Allah knows that which you do."
"Indeed, prayer has been decreed upon the believers a decree of specified times."