If You’re Planning for 2026, DONT FORGET TO…| Jumuah Khutbah | Imam Nadim Bashir | EPIC Masjid

Peace be upon you. A few requests for du'as. Number one, Brother Hafiz Hamza Ahmed, he's requesting du'a for his mother. Her name is Nafisa Jangil. She passed away in Pakistan. Also, there's a brother of our community, Brother Masood Patrawi. His mother also passed away in Bangladesh. Brother Siraj Malik is another member of our community. He's in the ICU. We ask Allah to give him shifa. And finally, Brother Fawzan, a member of our community who teaches even us in this school. He's requesting du'a for his father who's in critical condition. He lives in Canada and he has gone to see his father. So we ask Allah to grant him shifa.

We ask Allah that all those who passed away, may Allah have mercy upon them. May Allah give them a place in Jannah. May Allah make the questioning in the grave easy for them. And may Allah give their families sabr al-jameel, ameen rabbil alameen. And all those who are sick, may Allah cure them. May Allah grant them shifa. May Allah grant them aafiyah.

Ameen rabbil alameen.

Understanding Our Imperfections

Because he understands that no matter how much I have, first of all, it is not compared to how much Allah has. But whatever I have, it is from Allah. And without this, I am absolutely nothing. Without Allah, I am absolutely nothing. This is what he understands.

So part of tawakkul is to understand my own imperfections. Because we also find another story in the Qur'an. Of a man who had a lot of resources. A man about whom is mentioned that you needed so many camels to carry the keys only to his treasures. Imagine if you had so many camels just to carry the keys to your treasure. Imagine what the treasure is like.

But yet he was arrogant. Yet when Musa came to him and said that you have so much. Spend some of this to provide for those who are in need. Those who don't have as much as you have. What did he say? What did Qarun say? On one hand, you have Suleiman who understands his imperfections. On the other hand, you have a person like Qarun who was so arrogant, who said that no, I am perfect and everything I have is because of my own intellect. And as a result, we see what Allah did with Qarun.

So tawakkul begins where arrogance ends. Listen to this again. Tawakkul begins where your arrogance comes to an end. The moment a person says, I got this. I don't need anyone's help. Allah reminds these people that without me, you have nothing. So that is why we need to first understand our imperfections. Today we have connections because we know people. But tomorrow, in the blink of an eye, if Allah wants, He can take away all of our resources. And we have seen these kind of stories around the world. So the first aspect of tawakkul is to understand our own imperfections.

Effort First, Then Trust

The second aspect of tawakkul is that we first do our own effort and then we put our trust in Allah. You see, we live in a time where we say that I am going to put my trust in Allah 100%. And that is good. But Allah teaches us also that first do what you have to do. You see, even when we ask Allah for help, it does not come just in general. It comes after something.

Every single rak'ah we recite,

We say إِيَّاكَ نَسْتَعِينُ meaning Ya Allah, we are seeking your help. But is this the whole ayah? No. First comes ibadah. إِيَّاكَ نَعْبُدُ First we are going to worship you. First we do what we have to do on our end. And then Allah will open up the ways.

First comes our own effort. First comes our own hard work. You cannot sit there and say I'm not going to do anything, and I put my trust in Allah. It's good to have your trust once again, but Allah will not help because Allah wants to see our efforts. Just like today, when I go to work, I first work, then I get a paycheck. That's the way it works. Likewise when it comes to Allah, we have to do our own hard work, then Allah helps.

When a man came right next to the masjid, and he just left his animal, and he says I'll put my trust in Allah, then Allah will take care of my animal. The Prophet ﷺ corrected this belief. And he says no, first you tie your camel, then you put your trust in Allah. So that is why it is very important that we do everything, then we put our trust in Allah.

The Example of Ya'qub

Another example of this is Ya'qub. You know, for many families, if you only had sons, it was a time where people could have hasad against you. Because it was a long time ago, that is why people did not want to have girls, they only wanted to have boys. Because they saw boys as a source of protection, a source of care for the future. That when I become old, my sons will look after me, my sons will take care of me. On the other hand, my daughter is going to go and get married to someone else's family. And so, people always wanted to have boys.

And Ya'qub understands that if all my boys went back to Egypt, back to Yusuf, and they all entered into the same door, then people will look at them and understand that this is one family, and they will have hasad, and as a result we may become recipients of their hasad. We may be victims of their hasad. So what did he tell to his kids?

When you go back to Egypt, do not enter through one door, enter through multiple doors, so that no one gets this idea that this is all one family. And then, what did he say? At the end of the day, that's the best that he can do. But he understands that after this, it's all in the hands of Allah. And subhanAllah, in the same ayah, what's beautiful is, he says, "And I cannot avail you against Allah at all. The decision is only for Allah; upon Him I have relied. And upon Him let those who would rely [indeed] rely."

SubhanAllah, so beautiful by Ya'qub. He did what he had to do. He advised his kids, then he put his trust in Allah. So that is why, brothers and sisters, part of tawakkul is being content with Allah's decree afterwards. This is very important.

Tawakkul During Trials

The third aspect of tawakkul, which is very important, is tawakkul during loss in trial. This is something that we often have to also go through. This is another form where things do not go our way. The door closes when du'as seem to go unanswered. When something is taken away from us, true tawakkul, a person who puts their trust in Allah, says that Allah is the one who put me in this situation, and Allah is the one who will get me out of this situation. Allah will replace my loss with something that is better. Or Allah knows something that I am not aware of.

And that is why Ibn Qayyim says that when Allah tests a person, it's never to destroy a person. And when He removes something from your hearts, or from your hands, like He takes something away from you, it is only to empty them for something that is greater. So if Allah is testing you with something, it is not because you have been forgotten by Allah, or perhaps Allah dislikes you, it is because your hands were too full to receive something that is coming next insha'Allah. And sometimes Allah does not change a situation, He changes the heart.

So that is why we understand that when it comes to tawakkul, there are many aspects of tawakkul. But at the end of the day, tawakkul does not mean that your problems will go away. It simply means I did the best I can do, now there is no more panic, there is no more stress, because Allah is the disposer of my affairs. Tawakkul does not mean that your problems will go away. Do not misunderstand me. I am not saying tawakkul will just automatically your problems will vanish. No, I am not saying that. Your problems may persist, but even if your problem does persist, you put your trust in Allah, that Allah is the one who put me in this situation, and it is only Allah who can take me out of this situation.

So that is why even in times like these, like even Islamophobia, what Allah teach us in surah Ahzab, you do what you have to do. You can go out, do your protest, do this, do that. At the end of the day, you have to put your trust in Allah. Only Allah is the one who controls the outcome of any situation.

So as long as we can understand that, and once again, things will sometimes go our way. Our du'as may go our way. And sometimes our du'as will not go our way. And if our du'as don't go our way, it doesn't mean that we lose our trust in Allah. Because this is where shaitan comes to a person and says, you did your du'a, you did everything, you put your trust in Allah, and Allah did not make it happen as you wished.

Tawakkul does not mean that you will get exactly what you want. Tawakkul means you are putting your trust in Allah. Just like even if you had the best attorney in the world. Imagine if you are a criminal and you got even the best attorney in the world. And at the end of the day, if you still are convicted, you cannot blame the attorney. The attorney did what they could. Likewise, no matter what kind of person I am, I may be a good person, a bad person, whatever it is. I do my planning, I do what I have to do, I put my trust in Allah, and if Allah makes the outcome as we had desired, alhamdulillah. And if it is not, then we say that, insha'Allah Allah will give me something that is better. That is what we need to do.

When we are planning for 2026, this is what we need to keep in mind while we are planning for 2026, insha'Allah. I ask Allah to grant us tawfiq, insha'Allah.

Stories of Trust in Allah

I cannot tell you how many stories I've come across people who truly put their trust in Allah and I would sit there with these kind of people and I would listen to their stories and I would admire how much trust they put in Allah and they would tell me that they put their trust in Allah and they did have some moments where it did not go according to their plans but ultimately how everything went smooth for them and how Allah took care of all their affairs it just seems like a picture perfect situation that happens when you put your trust in Allah and there are people who I've met that things did not go according to their plan but they have found so much relief in their hearts because they said that perhaps Allah knows or not perhaps, Allah does know that what I wanted was not good for me and I'm completely happy with the qadr of Allah. This is part of tawakkul.

A Beautiful Du'a for Tawakkul

I'll finish on this, this is a very beautiful du'a that we have learned from the Quran. Rasulullah ﷺ says that anyone who recites this du'a seven times morning and evening Allah will suffice that person in all of their matters whether it is the dunya whether it is the akhira. What is that du'a?

Because in this du'a first of all we are saying حَسْبِيَ اللَّهُ. You remember the ayah I recited at the beginning of the khutbah وَمَن يَتَوَكَّلْ عَلَى اللَّهِ فَهُوَ حَسْبُهُ same word. حَسْبِيَ اللَّهُ لَا إِلَٰهَ إِلَّا هُوَ ۖ عَلَيْهِ تَوَكَّلْتُ I put my trust in Allah وَهُوَ رَبُّ الْعَرْشِ الْعَظِيمِ imagine the arsh of Allah how amazing is the arsh of Allah it is almost as if Allah is saying that if I can control if I can create this arsh which is so magnificent and I am in control of this arsh you think that I am not in control of your affairs just like I created that I can do anything for you also.

So that is why try to recite this du'a. This is by the way the last ayah if you cannot remember this du'a go back to the last ayah of surah Tawbah or surah Bara'ah which is in the 11th juz that is the beginning the entire ayah is:

You and I we all have things on our mind at all times recite this du'a seven times morning seven times evening and insha'Allah according to the promise of Rasulullah ﷺ Allah will take care of all your affairs.

May Allah relieve our hearts of stress may Allah remove our anxiety may Allah remove our depression may Allah make this year better than last year and subsequently may Allah make the upcoming years better than every single past year ameen.