Shaqīq al-Balkhī's Lesson: Trusting Allah Amidst Modern Anxieties

Jumuʿah Khutbah — Mawlānā Farhan Shariff

In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful. We praise Him and send blessings and salutations upon His noble Messenger. And we seek refuge in Allah from the evil of our souls and from the evil of our deeds.

Whomsoever Allah guides, none can misguide him, and whosoever He misguides, none can guide him. And we bear witness that there is no god but Allah, alone, with no partner. And we bear witness that our Master, our Beloved, and our Master Muhammad is His servant and Messenger.

The Story of Shaqīq al-Balkhī and the Lesson of Tawakkul

Beloved brothers and sisters, youngsters and elders, esteemed and honorable guests of the house of Allah. There was once a very righteous, pious saint, who was known as Shaqīq al-Balkhī رَحِمَهُ اللَّه. He was a very righteous, great individual who was amongst the leaders of his time. He was a contemporary of others like Ibrāhīm bin Adham. And he was a teacher of Ḥātim al-Asamm. And he was also the student of Imām Zufar رَحِمَهُ اللَّه.

Before he reached this level where he became recognized as a very righteous, saintly individual, earlier on in his life there was a very severe drought which afflicted the area of Balkh. And it threw everyone in the area into great worry and anxiety. Everyone began to worry about their sustenance, how they were going to make ends meet. They were going through a very rough, difficult time.

And as they were going through this rough and difficult time, Shaqīq al-Balkhī رَحِمَهُ اللَّه saw that there was this one individual who was very strangely unaffected. He always had a smile on his face. He was always moving about the town in a very happy, jovial, merry manner. And he didn't seem to be affected.

And perhaps you have experienced this like I myself — sometimes when we are angry and upset and when we're hurting, we don't like to see other people happy. In this town, everyone was affected. And now all of a sudden here is someone in such a positive attitude. So Shaqīq al-Balkhī approached him and said, "What's wrong with you? What's the matter with you? Can't you see everyone is suffering? Everyone is in such great difficulty, in such worry and anxiety. And here you are, skipping about the town. You're so happy."

So then this person looked at him and said, "This drought doesn't concern me. I don't have to worry about anything. Don't you know whose servant I am? I am the servant of so-and-so who owns this entire village. Whatever needs we have are completely taken care of by him. I have nothing to worry about."

This statement had such a profound effect on Shaqīq al-Balkhī's heart. It struck a chord in his heart. And he began to ponder and reflect. And he thought, subḥānAllāh, this individual is talking about his master — and compared to Allah, he is poor. Allah is Mālik al-Mulk, Dhul-Jalāli wal-Ikrām, the King of all kings. Allah is such that it is mentioned in the Quran:

"There is not a single thing in this world except that Allah is the master, the possessor. All of the treasures in this world reside with Him. And He is the one who gradually sends it down as He wishes."

Our Time of Worry and Anxiety

This was a huge lesson for you and I. We are definitely living in a time now where everyone is thrown into worry, anxiety, grief. We all have concern for what is going to happen. The economical landscape has drastically changed. So many individuals have lost their jobs. So many individuals are worried about maintaining the job that they have right now — are they going to be the next individual in the company to be laid off, to be let go? Those who may have some sort of security, at the end of the day when you look outside, those normal day-to-day items have now slowly increased. Inflation is affecting one and all. The gas prices are so expensive. We have to now choose whether we want to drive our cars or if we want to get a meal out to eat. Many are worried and concerned — how am I going to take care of my children's education? How am I going to get by?

But for a mu'min, a Muslim, he doesn't have to worry. Because a true mu'min understands that their master — our master — Allah, is the same one that was taking care of me since the time I was born. Since the time even before I was born, before I was even able to cry out and inform any other human being of my needs and my wants, Allah was still caring for us and ensuring that we were properly, thoroughly nourished in the wombs of our mothers.

And then even after we came out, there is a du'ā: Allāhumma waqinā ka wiqāyatil walīd — O Allah, grant us protection like the protection which is granted to a child. A child doesn't know what is happening in his life. He doesn't know what's harmful, what's beneficial. But yet, who takes care of him? Allah. We think maybe now it's the parents who do. But what about all the orphans throughout the world? Who teaches them how to get by in life? Allah is the one. Allah is the one that has been looking after them, and Allah is the one that will continue to look after them and will continue to look after us till the very time that we pass away. Even after then:

What a wonderful companion, what a wonderful agent, what a wonderful being to have on your side — such a great God, our Allah, who will take care of every single step even after we pass away. Allāhu Akbar. That is who our Allah is.

Two Reasons for Difficulty in This Life

When a believer is faced with difficulty, then it is our job and our responsibility to turn back to Allah. Allah has told us in the Quran that there will be two things — two reasons for which a person will face difficulty in this life.

First Reason: Our Own Sins

The first one Allah has mentioned:

There may be something wrong that we have done in this world. We may have sinned. We have done something to earn the anger and the wrath of Allah — whereby Allah mentions, out of His extreme mercy, that "We will inflict punishment upon them — a small, minor level of punishment. We will make them taste a very minor level of difficulty." دُونَ الْعَذَابِ الْأَكْبَرِ — not a very severe punishment. Why? لَعَلَّهُمْ يَرْجِعُونَ — so that they ponder, they reflect, and they turn back to us.

Imām Abū Ḥanīfa رَحِمَهُ اللَّه — others would mention about him that they would notice, sometimes if something wasn't making sense to him when he was studying and applying his mind, trying to understand something, trying to solve a problem for the Muslim Ummah — if he wasn't getting to a conclusion and he spent some time doing so, then immediately he would close his books, he would drop his pencil and pen, he would go onto the muṣallā, and he would turn back to Allah and perform two rakʿāt of Ṣalāt al-Tawbah. That — Ya Allah, perhaps there is something that I did which is causing this hiccup, which is stopping this knowledge from coming to me, which is stopping me from benefiting. Whatever it is, Ya Allah, please forgive me for that. No sooner would he finish his ṣalāh and go back to his books, then he would find a solution for the Ummah. Allāhu Akbar.

So the first thing that we need to think about, if we are facing difficulty now — if the whole world is facing difficulty — it is because of our wrongdoings. What have we done in our lives to cause Allah's anger to descend upon us?

Second Reason: A Test of Faith

Number two — sometimes it may not be because of that. Sometimes our book of deeds is perfectly clean. It does not have any record of sin. Many people, māshāAllāh, went for Ḥajj. They performed their Ḥajj — may Allah accept all of their Ḥajj. And they came back. Inshāallāh, Rasulullah ﷺ has promised that individual:

Whoever does Ḥajj properly, without getting into major arguments and without speaking about or doing anything obscene or inappropriate, then he will come back as though he has a complete slate — like the day he was born, the day his mother gave birth to him.

So what about those individuals who are also experiencing some sort of difficulty, some sort of challenge in their life? Allah tells us — it's not always because of a sin that you may have done. It may be just because "I want to test you." Allah tells us in Sūrah al-ʿAnkabūt:

"Do the people, do the masses think that they're going to be left alone to say that we have believed in Allah, and they're not going to be tested? Whereas We most certainly tested everyone before them — so that Allah may make evident those who are truthful, and make evident those who are liars."

This was with the Ṣaḥābah رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُم. If they just accepted Īmān and Islām and joined the Prophet ﷺ, and they didn't go through any difficulty, any test, any setback — then what test would exist for mankind? Who would not become a Muslim? But this world is a world of immense injustice. This is a world where so many sinners get away with their sin. It is Dār al-Imtiḥān — a world of tests, trials, tribulations, difficulties. But the true utopia, the everlasting world which we are all inshāallāh yearning for, looking towards — that is Dār al-Jazāʾ. That is truly a utopia. That is a world where injustice will most certainly be meted out. And we make du'ā that Allah allows us to be amongst those who enter paradise — a perpetual life of everlasting bliss.

Rasulullah ﷺ has mentioned in a hadith that the individual who never ever experienced difficulty even once will be placed and dipped in Jahannam — just for a moment — and he will be taken out. And Allah will ask him: "Have you ever experienced ease once in your life?" Because of that one second that he experienced in the fire of Jahannam — may Allah protect all of us — he will forget all of the blessings that he enjoyed before.

And on the other hand, Rasulullah ﷺ has mentioned that individual who only experienced difficulty — test after test after test. He did not experience any blessing. Literally, in reality, he never experienced much — difficulty as far as his health is concerned, family is concerned, wealth is concerned, you name it. And then he is placed for a brief moment into Jannah, and he is taken out. Allah will ask him: "Have you ever experienced difficulty even once in your life?" Because of that brief second in paradise, in Jannah — may Allah grant us all Jannah — that individual will say: "Ya Allah, I have never experienced difficulty even once in my life."

After the people of Jannah are placed in Jannah and the people of Jahannam are placed in Jahannam, Allah will bring forth death. Death will take the form of a goat, which will then be slaughtered. And that will be one of the most enjoyable moments for the people of paradise, and one of the most difficult moments for the people of Jahannam. Why? Because the people in Jannah will understand:

"We are here to live forever, and we are never going to die." And the people in Jahannam will think, what a terrible life — they will continuously wish and call out to Allah: "Ya Allah, destroy us. Ya Allah, let our torment come to an end." But it will never come to an end.

So Allah tells us in the Quran that as a believer, you will either be tested because of some problem, some issue, some sin that we may have committed — because of which we have to turn back to Allah — or it will be a test of our faith, the result of which, of course, we will still have to remain steadfast with Allah. This is our task. This is our responsibility.

Prescriptions for Increased and Blessed Sustenance

When it comes to sustenance — something that many of us have on our minds — there are many different prescriptions from the teachings of Rasulullah ﷺ which will result in a person having an increased sustenance, a peaceful, comfortable life without anxiety, without worry and concern. I will just share a few of them.

First Prescription: Maintaining Family Ties

One of them — Rasulullah ﷺ has mentioned:

Rasulullah ﷺ has mentioned that the individual who wishes and wants to have an abundance or expansion in his sustenance, and who wishes also to have a comfortable, blessed life, then فَلْيَصِلْ رَحِمَهُ — that individual should do his absolute best to maintain family ties. When a person maintains their family, their blood relations, and goes out of their way to ensure that they are on good terms with their family members, then this is a means of an increase in one's sustenance.

So let us, number one, look at our lives and our relationships and see where we stand. If we have any problem, let us go out of our way and inshāAllāh mend those relationships.

In another hadith, Rasulullah ﷺ mentions:

The one who truly maintains and mends family ties is not the one who treats their relationship as a tit-for-tat relationship — that if you are nice to me, then I will be nice to you; and if you are mean to me, then I'm going to be mean to you. No. But rather, the one who truly maintains family ties is that individual who, once their relationship goes through difficulty and the others may cut off the relationship, he ensures that he goes back and does his absolute best to mend and to maintain those family ties.

Second Prescription: Reciting Sūrah al-Wāqiʿah Every Night

Another one that we can inshāAllāh make a habit of doing — there is a narration in Musnad Abī Yaʿlā, which has been graded as Ḥasan (sound) according to ʿAllāmah Buṣīrī رَحِمَهُ اللَّه. Where he mentions that ʿAbdullāh ibn Masʿūd رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُ said that Rasulullah ﷺ said:

"That individual who recites Sūrah al-Wāqiʿah every single night" — Sūrah al-Wāqiʿah is in the 27th Juz — "he recites it every night, then never ever will he experience poverty." So this is the second thing that we can do.

Third Prescription: Taqwā — Living a Life Conscious of Allah

Allah also gives us a very beautiful prescription and a very beautiful rule to keep in mind. Allah has mentioned:

"That person who truly lives a life wherein he fears Allah — meaning he fears to do something which will cause the anger of Allah; he does his best to protect himself from engaging in sin; and at the same time, he does his best to attain the pleasure of Allah by doing what he is told to do by the teachings of Rasulullah ﷺ — whoever lives such a life, conscious of Allah, wanting to please Allah, then يَجْعَل لَّهُ مَخْرَجًا — Allah grants him a way out of all difficulties. وَيَرْزُقْهُ مِنْ حَيْثُ لَا يَحْتَسِبُ — and Allah mentions that He provides him sustenance from various avenues, the likes of which he would least expect."

Closing Du'ā

We ask Allah that He allows us to live such lives. That He takes us:

May Allah force us into His obedience with ʿāfiyah. May Allah protect all of our sustenance and protect our family members. May Allah forgive us for any sins that we have done. And may He allow us to live a life of His obedience, attaining His pleasure, and also passing away with His pleasure.

جَزَاكُمُ اللَّهُ خَيْرًا وَآخِرُ دَعْوَانَا أَنِ الْحَمْدُ لِلَّهِ رَبِّ الْعَالَمِينَ

Announcements

Kindly stand and fill all the gaps before starting the sunnah prayer. Please pass the donation boxes from left to right. Additionally, there are kiosks in the lobby. Ṣadaqah wards off calamities and draws the mercy of Allah.

Khatm al-Bukhārī & Takmilah ʿĀlimiyyah Graduation: Not this Sunday, but next Sunday, June 14th, after Dhuhr Ṣalāh, we will be having our Khatm al-Bukhārī — which is the graduation and commencement of the Takmilah ʿĀlimiyyah program for both brothers and sisters — with our esteemed guest of honor, Sheikh Hāshim Ahmed. This is also a graduation for the final year students who have been here for over seven years, and there will be a graduation where they will recite their last lesson inshāAllāh. So all of the brothers and sisters who have been donating to the masjid, donating to the cause, and investing their time and efforts — inshāAllāh you will see the product and get a taste of what they study every single day. This will be on Sunday, June 14th, after Dhuhr Ṣalāh.

Taḥfīẓ Graduation: For those — boys and girls — who have memorized the Quran, this will be on Saturday, June 13th at 11 a.m. Our keynote speaker will inshāAllāh be Muftī Zeeshan Ahmed, Ḥāfiẓahullāh, the resident scholar of Masjid ʿUthmān.

Tadrees 8th Grade & High School Graduation: This will take place on Saturday, June 13th, starting at 8:30 a.m.

Sisters' Open House: Tonight at 6 p.m. Women can learn about the different offerings for girls starting from age 13 onwards. It is a completely all-female Islamic environment. Those who are interested are welcome to join.

Summer Programs: We have various different summer programs for both boys and girls, young adults and older, kids and youth — programs for all. You can see the website, masjidds.org/summer, for the different programs that we offer.

Tanweer Program: We have open enrollment currently for the Tanweer program for both brothers and sisters. You can also visit the website for that.

Weekly Programs: We have our weekly programs on Mondays and Tuesdays, also on Thursdays. And we also have tomorrow inshāAllāh, after Fajr, our Team Fajr program, where we are currently covering the lives of the various companions.

Duʿāʾ Requests

We have many duʿāʾ requests. One of our students' father and grandmother both fell quite ill — we make duʿāʾ that Allah grants them shifāʾ. Ahmed Muḥyiddīn Nashwān, who is 13 years old, has a surgery today — please make duʿāʾ for his successful surgery and speedy recovery. Sister Shaynaz Asghar is sick — please make duʿāʾ of shifāʾ for her. And please do not forget the entire Ummah in your duʿāʾ.

Ṣalāt al-Janāzah

There will be a Ṣalāt al-Janāzah taking place immediately after the sunnah prayer for our dear brother Sayyid Khaḍir, who has passed away. May Allah have mercy on him.

All of the brothers can go out of the main doors inshāAllāh, and there will be volunteers leading you directly into the gymnasium. You can make your way there after the sunnah.

The women who would like to participate in the Janāzah will need to make their way down to the banquet hall — as praying in the current area would place them in front of the Imām, which would invalidate their prayer. Kindly make your way down to the banquet hall as soon as possible after the sunnah. جَزَاكُمُ اللَّهُ خَيْرًا