Jumah Khutbah by Sh. Hafeezullah Khan

Seeking Barakah: Keys to Divine Blessings in Our Lives

Brothers and sisters, in this āyah, the Qur'ān states the word rizq, which as we know does not only relate to food, but everything that we need to live in this world comes under the word rizq, whether it is food, wealth, children, health, mind, and peace, etc. And as a Muslim, in relation to rizq, we should have our faith that only Allah can provide us with our rizq.

As Allah says:

Whatever bounties you receive, they are only from Allah.

And secondly, we should have faith that every living creature will receive the rizq before their death, that which has been written in their fate. As the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ says in a ṣaḥīḥ ḥadīth, that no living creature dies until they have received all their rizq. Therefore, he said, fear Allah and select the right path towards gaining your rizq. And if you feel that you are getting rizq late and not when you need it, then do not take adverse actions and wrong paths to obtain your rizq.

And thirdly, the wealth which we gain in this world, although it has its importance, it is still a possession which you will leave behind — or it will leave you before that. And we should believe that only Allah can give to whom He wishes and how much He wishes, whether little or more. There is no discrimination of race and color. Being rich or poor is not a sign of Allah's pleasure or anger.

So the issue is not about receiving less or more rizq in this world. What the main issue is the barakah and the blessing in it from Allah. If we get barakah, whatever we need in this world to live, it will increase the rizq, and likewise, if we get barakah in the already vast rizq, then it makes it more beneficial for us.

But it is sad that most of us in this day and age, individually or collectively, have become affected by an illness — that we have wealth, we have children, but this is without the blessing of Allah within it. Whereas Allah says that wealth and children are the beauty of this life. Why is it, brothers, that we have health, we have family and everything around us, but still we complain that we don't have enough and we are under so much debt? We have ongoing arguments and issues in the household — between husband and wife, between brothers and brothers, between fathers and sons. We have young children who, rather than being obedient to their parents, become burdens upon them.

The reason for this is that we don't have the barakah, which the Prophet ﷺ used to pray for:

He used to say: O Allah, whatever You give me — the wealth, the children, the health — give me barakah in it.

A brother of ours who recently passed away used to talk about his family before his death. And he used to say, "Although I have six well-built, healthy, strong boys, yet still I feel that I am alone in the whole world." Brothers, this is a simple example. But if we look around, we will find many households like this. Do we ever consider why we lack the blessing of Allah? And do we ever think in what ways we can achieve the barakah from Allah?

The Ways to Gain Barakah

Brothers and sisters, in the Qur'ān and ḥadīth, we have been taught many ways in which to gain the barakah from Allah.

1. A Strong Bond with the Qur'ān

One of them is having a strong bond with the Qur'ān, a strong bond with Allah's Book. As Allah says:

And in another place, Allah says:

This is a blessed book which We have revealed, so that you ponder over its verses and so that those of understanding may take heed.

So brothers and sisters, the Qur'ān is the book which is a main source of barakah for us. But what do we do? We place it in a cover on high shelves. Rather, we should strengthen our bond with it by reciting it and following its guidance.

We have just bid farewell to the month of Ramaḍān, during which we maintained a strong link with the Qur'ān. But maybe some of us have weakened this link after Ramaḍān. But we still have the chance to maintain and keep this link with the Qur'ān — through its recitation, through its understanding, through following its guidance.

As the Prophet ﷺ says, as mentioned in Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim:

(Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim, Book 6, Hadith 1757)

You should read the Qur'ān, because this Qur'ān will intercede for you on the Day of Judgment.

In another ḥadīth, the Prophet ﷺ says that the person who is expert in the recitation of the Qur'ān and recites it regularly will be among the highly ranked angels on the Day of Judgment. And the person who recites the Qur'ān with difficulty — he doesn't know how to read the Qur'ān properly, but still he wants to recite it and makes the effort — he will get double the reward from Allah.

In another ḥadīth mentioned in Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim, the Prophet ﷺ says that on the Day of Judgment, the Qur'ān and the people who apply the teachings of the Qur'ān in their lives will both be brought together, and in front of them will be Sūrat al-Baqarah and Sūrat Āl 'Imrān, just like two clouds giving them shade on the Day of Judgment. And these sūras will stand in support of such people.

Do you know, brothers, that by not having a link with the Qur'ān, by not reciting it, we make our homes into a graveyard? As the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ says:

(Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim, Book 6, Hadith 1821)

Don't make your homes into a graveyard. We have to think carefully about the wording of the Prophet ﷺ here. He did not say, "like a graveyard." He said, "don't make them into a graveyard." And in fact, many of our households are a graveyard — months pass by, and there is no recitation of the Qur'ān within them.

In the same ḥadīth, the Prophet ﷺ says:

(Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim, Book 6, Hadith 1821)

Those homes where Sūrat al-Baqarah is recited, the Shayṭān runs away from that home. The meaning is clear — a household in which Sūrat al-Baqarah or the Qur'ān is not recited, the Shayṭān dwells there and makes it a graveyard. And where Shayṭān is present, Allah's blessings are not there, Allah's angels do not come there — you will see fights among the family members, discord, and unrest.

2. Frequently Seeking Forgiveness (Istighfār)

Another way to gain the barakah from Allah is frequently seeking forgiveness of Allah, admitting our mistakes, saying أَسْتَغْفِرُ اللَّهَ. As Allah says about Nūḥ عليه السلام, who said to his nation:

He said to his nation: Ask forgiveness of your Lord — surely He is the Most Forgiving. He will send down abundant rain from the sky for you, increase your wealth and sons, and grant you gardens and waterways.

Which of us will not want to gain these benefits, brothers? But sadly, we don't make the effort. It is narrated that a person came complaining about famine — he was advised to do istighfār day and night, to say أَسْتَغْفِرُ اللَّهَ. Another person complained about his poverty — again he was advised to do istighfār. A third person complained about not having children — and he was advised the same. Someone asked, "You gave the same answer to three different people with three different problems." Then he recited this verse and said, "This is advice from Allah. This is not from me."

The Prophet ﷺ also says in a ḥadīth — it is slightly weak in its chain of narration, but its meanings are sound — that whoever frequently seeks forgiveness from Allah, then Allah makes his matters easy and provides him rizq from where he never expected.

3. Tawakkul — Complete Trust in Allah

The third thing is tawakkul and trust in Allah. As Allah says:

He who has trust in Allah, then Allah is enough for him. Having trust means having a complete, firm belief that only Allah can give us and provide us, through various sources. And the Prophet ﷺ said that if you have trust in Allah, then Allah will give you rizq in the same manner He gives to the birds — who leave home with an empty stomach in the morning but return fully fed in the evening.

But some people only have trust in the sources and forget the real Sustainer — they forget Allah. And some people only have trust in Allah but make no effort to use the means that Allah has given us. Brothers, we should use the means given by Allah, and then have such trust in Allah that the sources themselves are nothing to us. Then you will see the barakah from Allah within those very sources.

In this regard, history tells us the story of Khalīfah 'Umar bin 'Abd al-'Azīz. When the Khalīfah Manṣūr became Khalīfah, the famous scholar Muqātil bin Sulaymān was there. Khalīfah Manṣūr asked him for some advice. So Muqātil bin Sulaymān said, "What advice shall I give you — the one I heard, or what I have seen?" The Khalīfah said, "What you have seen."

Then he said: "O Amīr al-Mu'minīn, Khalīfah 'Umar bin 'Abd al-'Azīz had 11 sons, and he left behind only 18 dinars, from which 5 dinars were spent on his shroud and 4 dinars on his grave, and the rest was divided among his sons. And the other Khalīfah, Hishām bin 'Abd al-Malik, also had 11 sons, and each of his sons received 1 million dinars after his death."

And then Muqātil bin Sulaymān said: "But I swear by Allah that a day came when I saw that 'Umar bin 'Abd al-'Azīz's sons used to give hundreds of horses in the way of Allah in ṣadaqah. And Hishām's sons used to beg in the streets."

Brothers and sisters, we should know how 'Umar bin 'Abd al-'Azīz's sons got that much wealth. It is narrated that in the last days of 'Umar bin 'Abd al-'Azīz, when he was on his deathbed, people asked him, "What are you leaving behind for your sons?" He said, "I am leaving them with the taqwā and fear of Allah. If they are pious, then Allah will take care of them. And if they are not, then I don't want to leave behind something which helps them to be disobedient to Allah." This is the tawakkul which 'Umar bin 'Abd al-'Azīz had in Allah. And therefore, his sons were blessed.

4. Maintaining Kinship and Family Relations

Brothers and sisters, if you feel there is no peace in your life and in your homes — you are under debt, you are facing health issues in your family — then you need to consider whether you have broken any kinship, or supported someone in breaking ties with relatives. If so, then such things remove barakah from our lives. The Prophet ﷺ says:

(Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī, Hadith 5986; Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim, Hadith 2557)

He who wants Allah to increase his rizq and delay his death, then he should maintain kinship.

In another very beautiful ḥadīth, the Prophet ﷺ says:

(Musnad Aḥmad, Hadith 1836)

Whoever is pleased that Allah increase his life, increase his rizq, and save him from a bad death — then he should fear Allah and maintain kinship.

We can see the importance of maintaining kinship from this incident, where a Muslim lady asked advice from a prominent sheikh in an Arab country, saying she was going through a lot of problems in her life and asking how she could get rid of them. The sheikh advised her to start helping needy people, and especially helping relatives, and to benefit them from whatever wealth she had. She called him after a few months, crying with joy, and said: "I did as you advised, O sheikh. Allah has rid me of all my problems and opened many doors of rizq and opportunities for me." So the sheikh said to her: "I wish the world could hear what you are saying today, for it would help open these doors of mercy for them too."

5. Spending in the Way of Allah

Brothers and sisters, the last thing is spending in the way of Allah. This is the act through which Allah showers His blessings upon us and our families. If we want Allah's blessings to continue upon us and keep increasing, then remember the ḥadīth qudsī in which Allah says:

(Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī, Hadith 5352; Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim, Hadith 993)

O son of Adam, you spend in My way, and I will spend on you.

In another ḥadīth, the Prophet ﷺ said that every morning, when you get up, two angels come down from the sky: one prays to Allah, "O Allah, give more to those who spend in Your way," and the other prays, "O Allah, destroy the wealth of those who are stingy in spending in Your way."

In spending, you should be most considerate towards the poor and needy. As the Prophet ﷺ says, that Allah helps you, provides you your rizq, and gives you barakah because of your poor and needy people.

Conclusion

So brothers and sisters, these are the things which help us to gain an increase in our rizq — peace within our hearts, and pious children from Allah. May Allah guide us all.

I say this saying, and I seek Allah's forgiveness for me and all the believers from every sin. Seek His forgiveness — indeed, He is the Forgiving, the Merciful.

And there is no creature on earth but that its sustenance is from Allah. And He is the Knower of its abode and its storehouse. All are in a clear Book.

There is no doubt that He will grant us. And we should keep in mind that the amount of sustenance Allah has written for us, we will attain that sustenance in every situation — before our death. The Messenger of Allah ﷺ says that no soul, no human being, will leave this world without attaining the sustenance Allah has written for him. Therefore, if you have complete faith in Allah, then use the lawful means to attain your sustenance. Do not try to attain it through illegal means, because you will receive it in every situation.

Allah gives some people less sustenance and some people more. The issue is not about less or more — the issue is whether Allah has blessed us in what He has given us. Do we feel that whatever we have attained gives us satisfaction, peace of mind, peace in the house, and mutual love? If this is not the case — and this is the reality for most families who have wealth, who have everything, who have children, but still are not at peace — then we must look for those ways through which Allah's barakah enters our lives.

My friends, there are so many ways which Allah and the Messenger of Allah ﷺ have told us through the Qur'ān and Ḥadīth. The condition is that we follow them. May Allah grant us all tawfīq. Āmīn.