Team Fajr with Mufti Azeemuddin Ahmed | 5 Advices Part 3

Opening Du'a and Introduction

Dear beloved brothers and sisters and dear listeners,

May Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala accept your journey and your patience of coming and attending the dars. May Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala through your talab and your sincerity allow us to share such things that will be of greatest benefit to all of us in our lives. We ask Allah azza wa jal to make every step that all of you took to come to the house of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala to make it a step towards paradise, a step towards Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala's pleasure and many many steps away from the displeasure of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala.

Ameen. This is a continuous tawfiq from Allah — istiqamah — to be steadfast on something and to be inspired to do good things even if they are in small amounts to please Allah azza wa jal on a regular basis is a huge blessing of Allah. When Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala intends good with someone, when Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala is pleased with someone, He gives him continuous tawfiq to walk on the path towards Him.

To do something righteous and good once in a while is one thing, but to be blessed to be doing something on a consistent basis genuinely is a very big gift from Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. So those of us who have been blessed with istiqamah in this regard, anything that we do, that we do it consistently, alhamdulillah, this is a very good sign. And we ask Allah azza wa jal that He inspires all of us actually to remain consistent in whatever good deeds we do — and that He brings ikhlas in those actions. Ameen.

Recap: The Hadith of Abu Hurayra

The past two weeks we started a hadith of Abu Hurayra radiyallahu anhu and I've been continuing with that insha'Allah — related by Imam Tirmidhi — where Abu Hurayra radiyallahu anhu says that the Prophet ﷺ asked: "Who is here who will take some advice from me, practice on it, and teach others who will practice on it?" And when Abu Hurayra radiyallahu anhu heard this, he said, "I am willing to do that, ya Rasulallah." So then the Prophet ﷺ gave him these following pieces of advice.

The first piece of advice was:

(Jami' at-Tirmidhi, Hadith 2305)

"Stay away from haram, and you will be the greatest worshipper." That was the first one we completed two weeks ago.

And then last week, we focused on generally the first portion of this hadith — on just how Abu Hurayra radiyallahu anhu was spoken to by Rasulullah ﷺ and how we need to speak to people and give them advice. And then a good chunk of the time was spent on speaking with our children, and especially when we see our children — many times, especially nowadays, contrary to the past — in large numbers becoming difficult to deal with or disobedient. How are we supposed to address those issues? Alhamdulillah, we discussed that last week.

The Second Advice: Contentment with Allah's Decree

And now we move on to the next piece of advice:

(Jami' at-Tirmidhi, Hadith 2305)

"Be pleased with what Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala has distributed for you, and you'll be the wealthiest of people."

So, let's focus on this part right now. Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala wants us to be content — to have contentment with what Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala has given us — and this will lead to a person genuinely enjoying life. He will be rich at heart. Because as we learned from hadith, the true wealth is not to have abundance of money only. Because there are many people who have a lot of materialistic things, a lot of material wealth. However, they are not content with what Allah has given them, even though it is a lot. Instead, they're constantly comparing themselves to others. And when they see what others have, immediately they feel upset that they don't have as much as others do. And then they make a bigger, stronger, larger effort to gain more. And at that time, when they begin to race with one another to have more, they don't mind where that wealth is coming from — whether it is halal, whether it is haram, whether it is permissible, whether it is not permissible — due to the intensity of the greed to have more than the person next door.

So then, these individuals whom Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala has given so much — you cannot call them wealthy. Because the purpose of wealth is to give you peace of mind. The purpose of wealth is to keep you relaxed so that you can focus on the most important things. This is one big blessing of wealth — that a person does not have to worry every minute about where his next morsel of food will come from this evening or this afternoon. And he can use that time to worship Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala, take care of the rights of others, and so forth. But one whom Allah azza wa jal has blessed with so much, but who is still worried about what will happen, what will happen, what will happen — then the end result is the same. Because the idhtirab and the worry of the heart is found whether a person has a small amount or a large amount.

The Hadith: Akhirah as Your Focus vs. Dunya as Your Focus

And what's so interesting — the hadith of the Prophet ﷺ comes to mind. He says:

(Jami' at-Tirmidhi, Hadith 2465; also reported by Ibn Majah, Hadith 4105)

Whoever makes the akhirah his intention — focuses on the akhirah, wants to build his akhirah, every decision of his is about how will this have an effect on my hereafter — then Allah will reward him with three things:

Three Gifts for Those Who Focus on the Akhirah

Number one: جَعَلَ اللَّهُ الْغِنَى فِي قَلْبِهِ — Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala will make him rich and wealthy in his heart. Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala will put wealthiness in his heart — meaning a person will feel rich, he will feel that he doesn't need anything, he will feel that he doesn't need the people. His focus is akhirah, and he will be able to stand on his two feet and say, "I have Allah with me, He is sufficient."

Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala is the best helper. Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala is the best caretaker. I don't need anyone else. Whatever end result of internal happiness you would find in wealth, you'll find it with him — the one who keeps akhirah as his intention. That's the first gift Allah will give him.

Number two: جَمَعَ اللَّهُ لَهُ أَمْرَهُ — Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala will put all his affairs together. All his affairs will be organized. A person will not feel disorganized, disheartened, or confused. What's your purpose in life? Where are you headed? What is your mission? Why are you here? Everything makes sense. He already knows — just like that.

Like when someone was asking: "How do you keep focus in life? How are you supposed to keep the big goal in front of you? Because I'm studying in school, studying in college, but it's kind of hard to keep that focus. I don't know what the goal actually is." And if you don't know what the goal is, you don't know what the destination is — you're not going to be that motivated to continue on that path. That's a very important point. People should really definitely have this figured out before they head to college, for example. Why am I going to college? Why am I going into the workforce?

So جَمَعَ اللَّهُ لَهُ أَمْرَهُ — Allah will put all his affairs right. Everything will be organized. He will know exactly why he's doing what he's doing, and he'll be content. It's such an amazing feeling to know why you exist. Such an amazing feeling to know what your purpose is behind your existence.

For those, alhamdulillah, who have not made their career and career paths the purpose of their existence — their careers are never the destination. They're just a journey. So if they make it through, alhamdulillah, to their goal — and if their career path, they pass away, say, before they reach retirement age, they pass away so-called young — but since they have already made their stay on this earth as a khalifa of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala, they've made that their goal. Even if they end up leaving early from this world, they die, insha'Allah, as successful. Because reaching the end, climbing to the top of the mountain, that was never the purpose. That was just the trajectory of life. But that was not the maqsad. The maqsad and the purpose is: what shall happen once I leave from this world — that I enter the pleasure of Allah and the domain of the pleasure of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. That's the main thing.

So if a person has this type of goal, then even if they pass away at any time on their journey, alhamdulillah, they're successful. Like students of knowledge, alhamdulillah, are coming for the one-year program this weekend. And the students from the Arabic intensive are leaving today, yesterday, tomorrow. The hadith — one of the virtues you've heard and will continue to hear, and may Allah make you and I worthy of it — is that whoever goes out seeking ilm, whoever leaves his home seeking ilm, then he is in the path of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala till he comes back. And as long as he is in the path of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala, if he passes away:

(Referenced in various forms in hadith literature on the virtue of seeking knowledge; see Sunan Ibn Majah, Hadith 227)

Then between him and the Prophets in Jannah will be one level. One level. Between him and the Anbiya. Because this path of ilm itself is the destination. You studying the ilm, you making the sacrifice of leaving your home to come to study, your parents making the sacrifice and sending you out in Allah's path — that is already mission accomplished. You don't have to give a single khutbah yet, you don't have to give a single dars yet, you don't have to teach a single person yet. You're still just at the beginning of your decade-long journey — or middle, or halfway, or a quarter, or whatever it may be. But the virtue is such that if a person passes away in this state, then between him and the Prophets is one level in Jannah.

Imagine, subhanAllah, what will happen when this person completes his journey and then with sincerity serves Allah's deen for decades. Imagine, insha'Allah, what type of ajr Allah azza wa jal has kept for this individual. And how lucky are those students of knowledge whom Allah has accepted — not to walk here, or drive here, or fly here on the road — but rather they have come here walking on the wings of the angels:

(Sunan Abi Dawud, Hadith 3641; Jami' at-Tirmidhi, Hadith 2682)

The angels are spreading their wings to please and to honor a student of knowledge. So a person who knows where he is headed, and what his maqsad and purpose is, will always feel happy and will always feel content — based on this yaqeen and this conviction that I know where I'm going in my life and why I'm going there. This is a really big blessing. And where does this blessing come from? This blessing also comes from deen. You learn ilm for this intention — to learn your purpose in life.

(The questions of the angels in the grave — referenced in Sahih al-Bukhari, Hadith 1338; Sahih Muslim, Hadith 2870)

"Who is your Lord? What is your religion? And what do you say about the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ?" Knowing the answers to these questions is why you and I are here. Even in this dars, we should make the intention that we're here as a talib al-'ilm — not as a passing-by person who just happened to sit and said, "Let's just see what's going on over here." No, don't make that intention. Make yourself a talib al-'ilm. Make yourself a student of knowledge, a seeker of knowledge. Talib — seeker. "I've come here, and with my ilm, one of the greatest things I can hopefully achieve is to understand and realize my mission in life."

So Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala makes him rich at heart. Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala puts all his affairs together.

Number three: أَتَتْهُ الدُّنْيَا وَهِيَ رَاغِمَةٌ — Dunya will come to him, disgraced. Dunya will come to his feet, disgraced. This is the promise. This is what Rasulullah ﷺ is telling us shall happen for the one who makes akhirah his focus.

The Parable of the Shadow and the Sun

My brothers and sisters, people are worried about the dunya. They say, "I want to ensure that I live a comfortable, successful, materialistic life." Okay — this is what this hadith is telling you. You make akhirah your focus, and you'll get everything. Make akhirah your focus, and you'll get everything.

As the example is given of the sun — the sun being the apparent source of energy, light, heat, warmth, and so many other blessings. When a person runs towards the sun wanting more light, or rather — a person is enamored by the sun, and he's looking at the ground and he sees a shadow. And he says, "Okay, I am going to run after this shadow to catch up to it." And he will go around the entire earth seven times — he will never be able to catch up to the shadow. But on the flip side, if he turns his back to the shadow and begins to look at the source of this light — because I am blocking the rays of the sun from reaching the ground. So forget the shadow. "I am going to turn and go back to the source of this light, which is the sun." You turn around, and you start walking towards the sun. This shadow will literally come to your feet.

And now once again, you say, "Get out of here." You go around seven rounds around the world and the shadow won't let you go. It will keep on running after you, running after you, running after you. And you say, "I don't want it." You kick it — it won't go away. You do whatever you want, it will come at your feet.

The source of all khair and goodness in this dunya is Allah. The source of all khair and goodness in the akhirah is Allah. When a person's heart is connected with Allah, when a person is focused towards Allah azza wa jal — you and I have to have this conviction — Allah will bring the dunya to our feet.

Allah Wants Ease for You

My beloved brothers, students, and mothers — please understand this point. No one wants, the deen does not want you to suffer. Allah Himself says:

Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala wants ease for you. He does not want difficulty for you.

If Allah wanted, He could have put you into great difficulty. But He didn't. He doesn't want to put you through difficulty.

Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala wants to — chooses to, wishes to — make things easy for you. Takhfif — khafif — light. And there are many other verses similar to this in the Qur'an. And a hadith about deen being easy. And Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala says:

"Whoever leads a life of iman and good deeds — whether you are a male or a female — فَلَنُحْيِيَنَّهُ — Allah says, most definitely." Allah doesn't need to emphasize it, but He's doing it. He's emphasizing it. He's using the words of emphasis — the lam there and the nun mushaddad at the end. "Most definitely We will give him حَيَاةً طَيِّبَةً — an enjoyable life." We're not talking about the hereafter yet. Right here in this world, Allah is guaranteeing you will have a great life. You will have an enjoyable life if you do two things: if you have faith and you do good deeds. Then this is guaranteed from Allah that you will be happy, you will have a good life.

وَلَنَجْزِيَنَّهُمْ أَجْرَهُم بِأَحْسَنِ مَا كَانُوا يَعْمَلُونَ — And Allah azza wa jal will give the very best rewards in the hereafter. All the best things that we did, we will all be rewarded for that.

So this yaqeen and conviction must take place in our hearts. This is Islam and iman. Islam and iman is not just about praying Fajr salah right now here — which is huge, alhamdulillah. But it's beyond that. It's internal: where does Allah fit in your paradigm? Where does Allah and the deen fit in your whole structure, your schedule, and your life? This point has to come — that if we lose our faith, then we're done, no matter what we gain.

Protecting Our Children's Faith and Identity

When we speak about this — the past few weeks I've been speaking across the Chicago land area and different masajid about the schooling system and the syllabus for our elementary, junior high, and high schools. The latest new state-mandated curriculum that has been introduced into public schools here. And what is expected for every single child to know as they move from first to second to third to fourth grade. The metrics for that is not only arithmetic and science and history, but it has actually been unveiled how at every single grade, how much should a child know about LGBTQ — and how much should they be accepting and be aware of aspects of gender fluidity and dysphoria and everything else. This is now a checkpoint. By the end of first grade — you can go search what I'm telling you, you'll read it yourself — they actually have color charts. By the end of first grade this, by the end of second grade this, by the end of third grade this, fifth grade this. This is how much tahreef — this is how much distortion should happen of the mind. This is how a person's foundation should be destroyed every single year.

When you have that type of system, it's no hidden agenda. It's very clear-cut. These are the usool, these are the principles by which they abide. The syllabus is going to run on that. And all those concerned moms and dads — Muslim or non-Muslim — who are trying to protect their kids. Because my children love to go to the library. I'm sure many of your kids enjoy going to the library. When you go to the library, you don't want them to come back with their sense of Islamic identity destroyed, their sense of haya destroyed, confused about life. They're not advanced, mature young men and women in college — these are first, second, third graders.

So parents, naturally, were protesting some of this horrible material that was found in libraries across the state and beyond. And they pushed libraries to please — you can keep it in an adult store, we don't care. No one is coming and trying to close down those stores. We're not going protesting there. You do whatever you want. You keep your own regions. There are drug dispensaries, there are alcohol stores, there are bars, there are all sorts of clubs. Who is trying to go close them all down? We're simply seeing a public place where my little son or daughter — three, four, five years old — goes. Keep this filth out of there. You want to keep something for adults who are interested, do whatever you want. But please have mercy on my little kids.

And so when certain libraries began to remove these filthy books, certain individuals protested. And now the state has signed a law this year — from I think September it's going to go into effect — that any library that removes any book off of its shelves due to the pressure from patrons will lose all state funding. So now you can put as much protest as you want. Which library can afford to lose the state funds?

And so in Portland, when I was visiting two years ago, there was a conference that same weekend for all libraries across America — a huge three-day conference. The admins and head librarians had come there. One of the local brothers told me that the entire agenda for this weekend was how to properly place LGBTQ books in the library — where they should be placed for maximum exposure, and what books need to be chosen for that. So it's not something anyone is hiding. This is a very clear-cut, obvious agenda.

But when you speak about this to parents sometimes — about taking care of your young children, getting involved, knowing what they're studying, knowing what they're being exposed to — and if you cannot make a change and you cannot protect your kids, little ones especially, who may end up getting confused. Especially — it's not just discussions — there are actually picture books. Pictures. Diagrams. This is material that not even normal, sane, clean adults would be involved in discussing. It would make you sick. And now you're showing this to elementary school kids. SubhanAllah.

Alternative Education Solutions

So we have to come up with options. This is what I've been speaking about in the past six weeks in different masajid — that we have to come up with different solutions. If you cannot solve it, if you cannot address it properly, then at least start considering other options. Other options would be homeschooling. Other options would be Islamic schools. Other options would be co-ops of some sort. Or establishing Islamic learning centers where people come and spend three to four hours together and get their studies done — children. It could be run by volunteers, it could be run by parents, it could be run by one hired teacher. We have to look at options for making alternative education affordable. Not cheap — nothing is cheap — but affordable. Affordable to everyone. And along with that, it needs to be available for everyone. Not, "We have a waiting list for the next six years." That doesn't work. The ummah is suffering. The children are being made kuffar. And we cannot be sitting there saying that if you don't have thousands of dollars it's not going to work. This is not feasible.

We have to come together as a community and offer options that are readily available for any concerned parent who says, "I want to save my child from this." There should be an option. And if we work together, options can be created. Every masjid — I envision that just as you should have a Qur'an evening class, a maktab — similarly, every masjid should have an Islamic learning center. Every masjid should have a space where the local children of the community can come and take their classes. They go through their online schools, but in the masjid. Why in the masjid? Because children nowadays — many of them, not all, but many — do not have siblings. They don't have playgroups. They don't have friends next door, neighbors. They don't have a large number of relatives around them. So to study online for them, and if their parents do not have the bandwidth to keep them engaged — if you have all of these supports, mashaAllah, no problem. But if you don't have relatives, no friends, and your parents don't have the bandwidth, they might not be as motivated to do this.

That's why the masjid provides a beautiful solution — where you have similar-age children taking their classes together. They create their own friendships amongst themselves. They pray Salat al-Dhuhr together. They have lunch together. They do activities together. It's not a full-blown Islamic school. It's a learning center. But alhamdulillah, you have a good environment of similar-minded parents and similar-minded children. So this is something which I've been asking communities to look into.

But what I'm saying is that when we say this, many times the knee-jerk response is: "Brother, I want my son to become a doctor." And I say, who said he can't? "I want my son to become an engineer." Who said he can't? As soon as they hear "homeschooling," the immediate knee-jerk response is that my son or my daughter will suffer in this dunya and will lose their ability to join a professional school, graduate as a professional, and so forth.

There is a level of respect we have to have for the discourse. That is why there were certain ulama — when they were speaking about the sunnah of Rasulullah ﷺ — they would say that if you're speaking about the Prophet ﷺ and, for example, what he liked to eat, like squash or olives or dates, and you're sharing that — the level of respect we have to have for this discourse means that a person should not say, "Oh, I don't like dates. Oh, I don't like this." Because this is regarded as absolute disregard and disrespect to Rasulullah ﷺ. Maybe you don't like it — it's fine. But this is not the time to talk about it. Because you are pitting yourself immediately against what I just said about the Prophet ﷺ. You don't have to naturally like every single food item that he ate. Maybe you'll force yourself — like olives, it's an acquired taste. But if you're eating it because it's mentioned in the Qur'an, because it was found in his diet, alhamdulillah, you'll get extra reward for it. But if you don't, that's fine. What I'm trying to say is: when you're speaking about something, be careful, be aware of the discourse, and don't immediately respond in a manner that will be regarded as disrespect. Because some of the scholars would regard this as almost blasphemous — that if someone mentions that the Prophet ﷺ liked or did something, and you immediately respond by saying, "I don't like that" — this would almost seem as outright clear disrespect to the Prophet ﷺ, which is unacceptable.

Similarly, when we're speaking for an hour about what's happening in our schools to our kids — and the first immediate response is: "Are you seriously telling me I'm going to pull my children out of public school and make them materially fail in society and make them lose everything?" — what does that tell us? That question needs to be rephrased. It should not be said in this manner. Because when you say it in this manner, it sounds as though you're saying: Iman, haya — okay, it's alright. What I need to know is where's the money? The dollars and cents is what I care about. Iman and haya — secondary.

That's not the way a believer thinks. The believer says: if my children's iman is under attack, if my children's haya is under attack, I will fight tooth and nail to protect them at all cost. I'm sixty years old maybe — I'll work an extra two jobs. I'll do whatever, but I cannot allow my children to lose their faith or lose their haya. That's the response.

So you can start saying: how do we make these homeschooling systems successful? We have a massive history of homeschooling in this country, of alternative schooling. It's happening not for decades, but for centuries — all the way from the 1800s. Look into that.

Akhirah over Dunya: The Believer's Worldview

Why did I go on that tangent? It's simply about this idea — that a believer has to always be thinking about the akhirah. It's not just about coming for salah, sitting in a dars, sitting for dhikr, and so on. No, it's not like that. It's your whole worldview — it has to be akhirah over dunya.

(Musnad Ahmad, Hadith 17638; also narrated by Ibn Hibban)

"Whoever loves his dunya will harm his akhirah, and whoever loves his akhirah will harm his dunya — so give preference to what remains over what perishes."

But what about the dunya part — "we'll figure it out." No one said... Have the trust, my friend, have the trust. You are trying to provide an alternative system for your kids to save their iman, and you think Allah is going to make you suffer on purpose? Come on — have some good hopes about Allah. Have some good expectations from Allah.

Have some good hopes about Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. Look what the deen teaches us. You worry about your children's akhirah — Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala will definitely, along with that worry, take care of your dunya. No one is saying don't prepare them for the dunya. But keep that focus.

Three Consequences for Those Whose Focus is Dunya

(Jami' at-Tirmidhi, Hadith 2465)

The Prophet ﷺ says: the one whose fikr is dunya — three things will happen:

Number one: جَعَلَ اللَّهُ الْفَقْرَ بَيْنَ عَيْنَيْهِ — Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala will put poverty right between his eyes. It will be dangling all the time. He'll have all the money of the world maybe. But because internally his heart is so focused on dunya, he will always be worried about the next meal, the next decade, the next year. Always the fear: "What if I lose?" MashaAllah, Allah is giving you a big home — "What if I lose this?" Allah is giving you a car — "What if I fall behind in payments?" All the time just worried about losing. Allah will bring faqr in front of his eyes.

Number two: شَتَّتَ اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ أَمْرَهُ — Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala will make all the affairs of his life disorganized. Especially vision, purpose, and mission in life — he has none. It's all over the place. Sometimes he'll say this, sometimes he'll say that. No clear-cut, clean, developed chain of thought that makes sense. "I'm trying to do well in school." So what? "So I can get into a good college." So then? "So then I can line up a good internship." So then? "So then I can get a good job." So then? "So I can make a lot of money." So then? "I can purchase my first house." And then? "My second home. My summer one." And then what? "Get my kids through school." Where is this going? This is like a circular thought. Then what? Then you're gonna die? That's it?

That's not a very refined thought process. You're just telling me about the road. Like someone says, "Where are you headed? You're going from here to Florida." "Okay, by road." And every hour someone asks you, "Brother, where are you at?" You say, "I'm on I-80, or 57, or whatever it may be." Does that answer the question? You keep on explaining to him what mile marker you're going through — that doesn't answer where you're headed. You're supposed to say, "I'm going to Florida" or "I'm going to a specific city in Florida." That answers the question. But you're reading out the mile marker — how does that help?

This is the same thing. "What's your purpose?" "Success in school, then success in college, then success in an internship." This is not an answer. That is exactly your mile marker at the moment — where you are in life. That is not your maqsad. But that's how the world thinks. The ones who don't have akhirah as their goal — that's how they answer. So شَتَّتَ اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ أَمْرَهُ — Allah makes all his affairs disorganized. He doesn't even know where he is headed.

Number three: وَلَمْ يَأْتِهِ مِنَ الدُّنْيَا إِلَّا مَا كُتِبَ لَهُ — He will not get from the dunya except that which was already destined for him — after all of this running around.

The Parable of the Bucket of Water

A beautiful example of this is a bucket of water. You have a bucket of water and you make one hole in it at the bottom. What will happen? Whatever amount of water is in that bucket will come out. Now you take and drill another hole, and another one, another one. Soon you've got ten holes at the bottom of this bucket. Water is coming out from ten places now. At the end, once it's all said and done — the amount of water that came out of ten holes versus one hole — the same or more? The same. Whatever was in there is going to come out. You're not going to get more. Adding more holes and making such an effort of drilling more holes does not increase the amount of water that's in the bucket.

Similar to that is our rizq. What is written for us shall come with hook or crook. Not only do you have to go after it —

Your sustenance is going to chase after you. Just as death chases after a person, sustenance chases after a person.

(Sunan Ibn Majah, Hadith 2144; also Mustadrak al-Hakim)

No soul can ever die until it has completely taken all the rizq that has been written for it. So be easy and pleasant in your seeking of sustenance. Don't kill yourself over it. Don't overdo it such that you neglect your spouse and your children, your parents, your siblings. Don't overdo it such that you end up neglecting the orders of Allah and the sunnah of the Prophet ﷺ.

(Sunan Ibn Majah, Hadith 2144)

And then have tawakkul — reliance upon Allah. To my knowledge, this is the hadith of the Prophet ﷺ which is mentioned in many khutbahs by our khateebs. Have reliance upon Allah in your seeking of rizq.

Summary: Three and Three

Okay, so let's go over this hadith again. Three and three. The one who makes akhirah his niyyah:

1. Allah will make all his affairs organized.
2. Allah will make him rich at heart.
3. Allah will make dunya come to his feet — like that shadow — right to his feet.

And the one who is focused and his worry — هَمٌّ وَغَمٌّ — is dunya:

1. Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala will make him poor — with no reason. Even if he's not poor, he'll always be acting like he's poor, always worried. That's the sign of poverty.
2. Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala will make his affairs disorganized.
3. After all that running around, only as much dunya as is written for him will he receive.

And notice over there it says niyyah: مَنْ كَانَتِ الْآخِرَةُ نِيَّتَهُ — subhanAllah. Whatever you're doing, you're thinking about the akhirah. You don't have the means right now. You don't have the money to go for Hajj. You don't have the money to build a madrasa, or a masjid, or an orphanage, or whatever. But your niyyah is the akhirah. Don't worry. As long as your niyyah is the akhirah, and you do not have the means right now to fulfill your dreams of the akhirah, it's alright. As long as you are sincere in your intention, you'll get the reward.

The Story of Two Fathers

My experience — whenever I share this hadith, I remember, many many years ago, I was teaching some students — some hifz al-Qur'an over the summer. When the program ended, there was one boy who was very, very smart. He had memorized within those few weeks of summer more than anyone else. And he was definitely ready to go become a full-time hifz student. And then there was another boy who, unfortunately, was not that focused and also possibly not that capable of memorizing Qur'an. He just didn't have that level of intelligence or discipline to do that. After three months, you can figure things out.

So now I had to meet the parents of both — the summer program was ending. The first child, who was definitely full-time hifz material — his father was definitely the wealthiest of the whole group. He was a sub-specialist, mashaAllah, making hundreds and hundreds of thousands. So when I sat down with him and told him, "MashaAllah, your son is great, he's got great potential. I think he should definitely be put into a hifz program for two years — or however many years, one and a half, two, three. And as all of you already know, when you're doing hifz, you also study an hour or so of regular schooling. So mashaAllah, when a student graduates from the hifz program, they go right back into the school grade they're supposed to be in. This is what we've been running in this madrasa alhamdulillah — about 150 boys and girls have graduated from the hifz program here, alhamdulillah. People go right back to where they're supposed to be."

So I explained to him, and he said, "No, no, no way. Thank you, but no thank you. Absolutely not." I said, "Why? He's in 6th grade, and you can finish hifz by the time he's in 9th. Go to 9th grade." And immediately this person began to say, "He will fall behind in college. I don't want to ruin his future." I tried to reason with him, but he didn't understand. I said, "Forget college — he won't even fall behind in high school. He'll actually be ahead." Those of you who come from families of huffadh, and who are friends of huffadh, or you're huffadh yourself, alhamdulillah — عَيْنَ الْيَقِيْن — you've experienced it yourself. You know what I'm speaking about.

So he said no. And I was thinking in my heart — this person, Allah has blessed him so much money that right now today, if he already has investments, he could make a specific investment for his son. And if his son were to never go earn money, all he would do is study ilm his whole life — he would be able to easily raise his family without ever having to worry about how to pay the bills. You could dedicate him, make him waqf for the deen. But unfortunately, he deprived his son of memorizing the Qur'an because of the poverty he was afraid of.

The next person — when I spoke to his dad, I said, "Your son is not doing so well. Please, insha'Allah, go back to school — maybe just do the summers." This person worked minimum wage in a factory. I actually saw his house. I saw his car. The house was a tiny, tiny home. And a car that would sometimes just break down, come into the madrasa where I was teaching — not over here, this was another place.

So when I sat down, I spoke to him. He said, "No, Shaykh. He is going to do hifz. He is not going to do hifz only — he is going to become an alim also. And he is going to become a scholar and a mufti also. I have decided that my sons and kids are waqf for the deen."

And I'm thinking — this man has such a difficult life in terms of finances. He's working hourly pay in a factory. This son — at least he cannot memorize Qur'an, but insha'Allah he'll do well in school and he'll be able to earn money and support him. That's what I'm thinking. But he is saying the complete opposite.

And then you know what he told me? He said: "I have no education, no background, and I have such a low-paying job — and Allah has not kept me hungry once. Allah has provided for me a house, and a car, and food. You think if I put my son to study the deen, Allah is going to make him poor? Allahu Akbar. Allah is going to deprive him of food, when He has never deprived me of food and clothing and a house? I have no deen or dunya, but my Lord is so kind to me — He provides for me. If I make my son a dedicated student of knowledge, why would Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala make his life more difficult than mine?" MashaAllah.

Every time I share this hadith, I remember those two parents. Alhamdulillah, rahmatun wasi'ah. This person who used to work in the factory — he passed away, and may Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala fill his grave with nur. Actually, mashaAllah — alhamdulillah — Allah provided for him such that we performed Hajj together many, many years later. Alhamdulillah.

But I think it's a beautiful manifestation of this hadith. And it teaches us a lesson: my brothers and sisters, it's all in your heart. It's in your mind. When we say we love Allah, we truly are believers — then you've got to go all the way, brothers. You've got to go all the way. You have to have tawakkul. You have to have trust. You have to believe in the hadith of the Prophet ﷺ. You have to know — if you study the deen, that doesn't mean you're going to be, Allah forbid, eating out of the garbage dump tomorrow. If your children study the deen, that doesn't mean they're going to be begging on the streets. Who says this? These types of statements come from people whose trust in Allah azza wa jal is weak. Honestly speaking — you might not like what I'm saying. But I'm telling you, if you don't agree with me, fine. But this is what I, after studying the Qur'an and hadith, have arrived at as a conclusion, which is very simple: if you make the akhirah your focus, that doesn't mean you cannot go earn a living outside. No one said that. No one said don't get a professional career. No. But make sure on the journey, you do not lose your deen. Don't lose your haya. Don't lose your iman. Don't lose your scruples. Don't lose your values.

Conclusion: The Second of the Five Pieces of Advice

Let us go back to the hadith — the second portion of the five pieces of advice that we mentioned:

(Jami' at-Tirmidhi, Hadith 2305)

Simply be content with what Allah has distributed out to you, and you will be the wealthiest of people. When you realize that what my life is right now — what I have — is what Allah has destined for me. And guess what? The entire forces of the world put together cannot change the decree of Allah. All the humans and the jinns put together — my grandparents, great grandparents, seven generations above, and seven generations after me, put together — cannot change the decree. So then how dare I be displeased with what Allah has destined for me.

Rida bil-qada' — we will be happy and pleased with the decisions of Allah. Then you will be happy with your life. As one scholar was asked, "How does the world run?" He said, "The world runs the way I want it to run." They said, "Wow, that's a very arrogant statement. What is this supposed to mean?" He said, "No — I've decided that the world is of course running the way Allah runs it. And I have told myself: Ya Allah, whatever You do, I'm happy with. So the world runs based on what Allah wants, and I'm happy with whatever Allah decides. So the world runs the way I want it." And it's a kind of a riddle, but there's depth to it. They said, "This is what you call taslim, istislam, rida bil-qada'." Alhamdulillah — I'm going to make my full effort. And whatever Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala then decides for me, I'm not going to complain about it. I'm not going to complain to people. Yes, by all means, make lots of dua to Allah — "Ya Allah, please improve my condition. Ya Allah, please change this." That's what you and I are supposed to be doing. But we're not going to walk around — I seek refuge with Allah — doing a smear campaign against Allah, saying, "Why didn't Allah azza wa jal give me this? Why didn't Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala give me that?"

So this is the second of five pieces of advice:

(Jami' at-Tirmidhi, Hadith 2305)

Become pleased with what Allah has distributed for you, and you'll be the wealthiest of people. And Rasulullah ﷺ told Abu Hurayra radiyallahu anhu — who's going to take from me these five things, learn them, and teach those who will practice on them? So let us all insha'Allah make this intention that through the barakah of Abu Hurayra radiyallahu anhu, we're learning this hadith — and that we'll become from amongst those people who will practice on it.

The first one we did last week was:

(Jami' at-Tirmidhi, Hadith 2305)

Stay away from haram, and you'll be the greatest worshipper.

And now this one was: be content with what Allah has distributed for you, and you'll be the wealthiest of people. Insha'Allah.

Closing: Dhikr

Let's take some questions, brothers — we'll answer a few minutes of questions before we do some dhikr. And we'll do dhikr for a few minutes. You can do dhikr in your heart, silently, completely. Or you may do dhikr with an inaudible tone. There are many, many forms of dhikr. A person may do dhikr out loud or softly. A person may do dhikr collectively or individually. And the Qur'an says:

Remember Allah abundantly. That's the main thing. However you do dhikr — just constantly be doing dhikr through your tongue, your heart, and your mind. Always try your best to be in the state of dhikr. Dhikr includes recitation of the Qur'an. Dhikr includes saying:

Dhikr includes sending salawat upon the Prophet ﷺ. Dhikr includes du'a. Dhikr includes contemplating on the greatness of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. All this is part of dhikr. But Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala also specifically in the Qur'an speaks about بُكْرَةً وَأَصِيلًا — remembering Allah azza wa jal in the morning and the evening. That's why after Fajr and after Maghrib — or after Asr — is an ideal time for us to sit and do the dhikr of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala in this manner. May Allah allow us to do this at home also regularly.