Balance in Deen & Dunya - Shaykh Aqeel Mahmood

Balance in Deen & Dunya

As for what follows: the best of speech is the Book of Allah, and the best of guidance is the guidance of Muhammad, peace and blessings be upon him. The worst of things are innovations, and every innovation is a misguidance, and every misguidance is in the Fire.

Brothers and sisters, a few days ago we witnessed the end of a blessed month. And we also witnessed the blessing of Allah in that we were able to pray the Eid prayer in a congregation which was almost 90,000 people. And for many of us, looking back at the blessed month of Ramadan which has gone by, we may be asking ourselves: could I have done more in that blessed month? And when we reflect and review what we did — the amount of time we spent worshipping Allah and the amount of time we spent doing other things — we know that we could have done more. And we always could have done more.

And now that we see this month of Ramadan passing us by once again, we don't know whether we're ever going to witness another month of Ramadan ever again. It may be that our lives will finish and end before we witness the next Ramadan. But what we know for sure is that right now, as of this moment, we are still alive. And so long as Allah has given us this life, we need to make sure — even though the month of Ramadan has passed us by — that whatever we have left of our lives, we make sure we don't regret and don't make whatever Allah has given us of this blessed life go to waste.

The Qur'an's Call to the Straight and Balanced Path

Allah in the Qur'an emphasizes the importance of being balanced with regards to our lifestyle. And I want to talk about this briefly today because sometimes after the month of Ramadan, we tend to think irrationally. We tend to jump to conclusions, or we make decisions without going through them properly or thinking about them. And whenever an individual goes to one extreme or the other, he's not going to be successful.

Allah says:

Guide us to the straight path — the middle path, a balanced way of life and a balanced way of worshipping Allah.

The Example of the Companions and the Prophet's Response

There is a famous hadith which mentions that there were four companions during the time of the Messenger of Allah. One of them stood up and made an oath, saying: from now on, I'm going to fast every single day — I'm never going to eat. Every single day I'm going to fast from morning till evening. Another one of them stood up and said: from now on, I'm going to perform qiyam every single night and I'm never going to sleep. A third from them said: I'm not going to get married for my whole life. I'm going to devote my life to the worship of Allah, because if I marry I'll have other responsibilities and be preoccupied with other things. A fourth one said: I'm going to stay away from eating meat. Because meat is a delicacy — something they came across very rarely in those days — and in order to avoid being attracted to the desires of this world, I'm going to stay away from those foods which sometimes distract a person from the worship of Allah.

(Sahih al-Bukhari, Hadith 5063; Sahih Muslim, Hadith 1401)

When the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, heard what these individuals had said, he stood up and said: by Allah, I fast and I also eat. I pray qiyam and I also sleep. I marry women and I also worship Allah even though I'm married. And I also eat meat.

When we look at the example of the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, we notice and realize that he was someone who was balanced. And now that the month of Ramadan has passed us by, maybe we make decisions out of regret for what we didn't do — we have certain goals and objectives. And there's nothing wrong with having goals and objectives in one's life, and looking to do certain things. But it shouldn't be at the expense of giving everything its due right, and making sure that everything which has a right, we fulfill those rights and obligations wherever they're from and whoever they're for.

Balance in Acts of Worship

When we look at having a balanced lifestyle, brothers and sisters, we need to first look at our acts of worship — our relationship with Allah. What we're going to do post-Ramadan with regards to prayer and reciting Qur'an. And the danger we sometimes fall into is that even though we never did much in the month of Ramadan, we somehow think we're going to do even more than we did in that blessed month. Whether it's acts of fasting, reading Qur'an, or anything else.

The danger in making these decisions irrationally — and maybe deep down we know we're not capable of doing specific acts of worship to the extent we want — is that an individual starts doing those acts of worship initially for a few days, a few weeks, or maybe a month or two. After that time goes by, he stops doing that act altogether, because he didn't think through what he was intending to do and what he was capable of doing. And so he loses out at the end of the day. Because the next month of Ramadan will come and that individual will be at the same stage he was before this Ramadan which has just passed us by. And it's like a never-ending vicious circle.

When we look at the acts of worship we do and the things we intend to do especially after the month of Ramadan, we need to look at what we're capable of — and what we know we're going to be able to do day after day on a consistent basis.

Balance in Mindset: Neither Impulsive Nor Paralyzed

What's also important with regards to having a balanced lifestyle is our mentality — the way we think and perceive things. Sometimes we intend to do an act of worship, and I mentioned how we sometimes make irrational decisions and end up wanting to do too much, with negative consequences. But the opposite is also the case. An individual wants to do something but feels he isn't fully prepared, isn't capable, or thinks he needs to plan to such an extent that he never actually ends up doing the thing he wanted to do in the first place.

So an individual intends to do something and says to himself: I'm going to sit down and think about this thoroughly and properly. And Shaitan comes to him and keeps saying: you haven't prepared this properly, you haven't planned this properly — if you can't do something properly, then don't do it at all. And so the individual, even though he wants to do acts of worship, doesn't go ahead and start, because he thinks he needs to do this perfectly. As a result, he doesn't end up doing the act of worship at all.

An example of this is like an individual who wants to learn Arabic. He starts to look at what's the best way to learn Arabic — from which individual, from which country, which organization, which masjid, which book. And he ends up taking so much time looking at and preparing all of these things that a year, two years, three years go by and he hasn't learnt any Arabic at all. This is from the traps of the Shaitan. Again, it's about having a balanced lifestyle — being balanced in the way one perceives things, the way one thinks, the mindset of an individual. Just as an individual shouldn't jump into things irrationally, likewise he shouldn't spend so much time planning and preparing that he doesn't end up doing those acts of worship in the first place.

Balance in Character and Akhlaq

Another thing, brothers and sisters, which shows us the importance of having a balanced lifestyle in Islam is the importance of our character, our akhlaq, and the way we behave. And again, sometimes an individual intends to improve his character but goes to one extreme or the other. Take the example of patience: an individual understands the importance of being patient. But when an individual is at risk of causing harm to his own self — whether physically or in any other facet of his life — then this individual is going overboard with regards to that specific quality.

An individual knows the importance of not being aggressive and of being soft and lenient with others. But there may be instances where he has to be firm. If someone attacks you, you are entitled to defend yourself. The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, said:

(Sunan Ibn Majah, Hadith 2341; also recorded in Muwatta Malik)

There is no harming of others, and no reciprocating of harm. You don't allow people to harm you, and you don't harm yourself. So there's always a balance between the two. There are many examples of how the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, would show softness in some instances and harshness and severity in others — when the matter called for it. So brothers and sisters, when it comes to our character and our personality, we need to make sure we are balanced and don't go to one extreme or the other.

And we see around the world the dangers of going overboard — like with Daesh and ISIS — being extreme in one's actions. How somehow they think and believe that attacking and bombing holy sites in Islam, just beside the Prophet's Masjid in Medina, is going to give them some type of reward and benefit Islam and the Muslims. And then you hear about individuals from that group claiming they're going to destroy the Ka'bah itself because people are now worshipping the Ka'bah as opposed to worshipping Allah. This type of thing boggles the mind — how an individual who claims to be a Muslim can act and behave in this type of way. But again, it shows us the importance of being balanced, not going to one extreme or the other. Because these are the dangers when an individual does so: he starts to think irrationally, there's no barakah in his life, and there's no barakah in the actions that he does or the time that Allah has blessed him with.

Balance in Rest, Enjoyment, and the Desires of This World

Likewise, brothers and sisters, we need to be balanced with regards to the things we do to rest our bodies and minds — things we do to enjoy ourselves, away from worship, away from work, away from other obligations. A person may enjoy spending time with his family, driving, playing certain types of sports, or eating and drinking at different places. With regards to these things, it's important not to go to one extreme or the other.

Some of us tend to criticize an individual because he has a certain type of car, because of the way he dresses, or because of the food he eats. And this is one type of extreme we shouldn't go down — it's going to make things worse and make life difficult upon ourselves. But at the same time, we all know the importance of being balanced and not going overboard with the things of this world. Allah says:

We've made beautiful for the human being things in this world — desires, like women and children, and gold and silver, and wealth and other things. When an individual goes overboard in these types of things and spends too much time on forms of entertainment, he's moving away from the purpose for which he was created.

The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, mentioned that too much laughter — excessive laughter — deadens the heart. When a person is involved in too much fun and too much entertainment, why does it deaden the heart? Because the heart, from the fitrah, knows why it was created. From the fitrah of an individual, he knows why he's on this earth. And so when he tries to find happiness in something else, the heart won't find tranquility and contentment in that thing. Excessive laughter may seem like it will give you peace of mind, happiness, and contentment — whereas in reality it is deadening your heart, which cannot find its whole purpose and the true contentment that comes from worshipping Allah.

Balance in Family Relationships and Obligations

Another thing which we need to show balance in is balancing our relationships with our family members and also with others. We know the importance of family, of having good friends, and of keeping relations with those who are close to us. But again, these types of things — having close relations, spending time with family — it's important to remain balanced.

An example: an individual is at home with his family and the time for salah comes. As a result of spending time with his family, he neglects the salah. This is a type of going overboard with regards to family, because you're neglecting an obligatory part of Islam which takes priority over another part of Islam — spending time with your family and giving them their rights. So an individual is careful and balanced: you spend time with your family, but not to the extent of delaying or altogether leaving the obligatory acts of Islam like the five daily prayers.

And we also see the opposite is true. An individual will go to the masjid or an Islamic event and leave his family, abandon his family. His family have rights over him — there are things the spouse needs, things the children need from him — but he ends up going to Islamic events which aren't even compulsory, spending time doing things which aren't obligatory, and neglecting what is their right upon him. So again, brothers and sisters, it's about having that balance with regards to how we spend our time — with our family, in acts of worship, at work, and so on.

And this balance is something which is difficult to achieve. But again, man jadda wajada — whoever strives prevails. The Muslim isn't someone who is lazy or negligent or doesn't make effort; rather the opposite. You're supposed to try, you're supposed to make an effort, you're supposed to work harder.

Balance in How We Perceive and Judge Others

Another aspect of having balance in our life is being balanced with regards to our view of other individuals — whether they are family members, relatives, friends, neighbors, people we see in the masjid, du'at, or whoever they may be. An individual has to be balanced with regards to what he thinks and perceives other individuals to be.

Sometimes a person sees another individual — maybe a neighbor, a far relative, someone he sees at the masjid or at work — and because of certain things he heard, or because of the way that individual looks, or because of some of the things he says, or simply because you don't get along with him, you start to think that individual is a bad person. Whereas the case may be that he is giving more for the sake of Allah than you do. He may be worshipping Allah more than you. He may be looking after his neighbors and giving them their rights more than you do, because you don't even know who your neighbors are or their situation.

So when an individual looks at his relationships with others, he needs to be balanced. Don't judge individuals based on how they look. It may be that they're doing certain types of actions which you can't see — which you don't see with your own two eyes — but Allah sees those actions and is accepting them. And maybe Allah is rejecting your actions because of how you perceive yourself and think you are better than others.

At the same time, we shouldn't put individuals on a pedestal and think certain individuals are free from error or don't make any mistakes. They are human beings. A da'i, for example, calling others to Allah — sometimes we have the perception that he is perfect and better than other individuals. But he may have the same weaknesses that you have. An individual commits a sin, does something wrong, and because of this mistake — and because he has a standing amongst the people — we end up talking to others about what he's done, wasting our time on him, as if we're surprised that he actually made a mistake and committed a sin. Of course, sins vary in their severity. But we need to understand that they are going to make sins, they are going to fall short, they are going to make mistakes. It's about how we perceive those individuals and how we behave when we see others falling into error.

And this is why the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, said:

(Sahih Muslim, Hadith 2699)

Whoever covers the faults of an individual in this dunya, Allah will cover his faults on the Day of Judgement. And so we should be careful with regards to how we judge other individuals, and always have husn al-dhann — good thoughts — of other individuals.

Second Khutbah: Continuing the Good Deeds of Ramadan

We were talking about the importance of having and keeping a balanced lifestyle in Islam. And we talked about how after the month of Ramadan, maybe some of us are happy that the month of Ramadan has gone by, and maybe some of us are sad and upset and disappointed — and we hope that those in the second category are more than the first. As a result, we may end up making certain decisions about what we're going to do after the month of Ramadan. Some of us may fall short with regards to our acts of worship after Ramadan. And some of us may do so much that we run out of steam after a few weeks or a few months. So it's important to have a steady and balanced lifestyle even with regards to our acts of worship.

And this is why Allah talks about the importance of being balanced when an individual does acts of worship. For example, giving sadaqah and giving charity. Allah says:

Those individuals — from the Ibad al-Rahman, from those who are the slaves of the Most Merciful — are those who, when they give, they're not stingy in their charity. But likewise, they don't give so much that it's going to harm themselves and harm those who they're responsible for. So an individual is balanced between the two.

The Wisdom of Imam Malik

One of the scholars during the time of Imam Malik, rahimahullah, wrote a letter to Imam Malik advising him — giving him sincere advice — to increase in his nawafil prayers. He noticed that Imam Malik wouldn't pray nawafil prayers as much because he was dedicating so much of his time to teaching others. Imam Malik — the famous scholar, one of the four Imams of the madhahib — replied to this great scholar, Abdullah al-Omari, and said: verily Allah has divided acts of worship just as He has divided wealth amongst the people of this dunya. Some of them Allah has blessed with being able to fast on a regular basis. Others Allah has blessed with jihad. And others Allah has blessed with teaching other individuals. And so he said: Allah has blessed me with teaching other individuals. And I hope that Allah will admit both me and you into Paradise because of whatever He has given us from acts of worship which come easy to us.

And this is something important for us to remember, brothers and sisters. Because now that the month of Ramadan has passed us by, many of us will have ideas about how we can continue those good deeds and acts of worship. But every single one of us needs to remember that we're all different with regards to our strengths and our weaknesses — what comes easy to us and what doesn't. For some of us, maybe it's easy to fast once or twice a week on a regular basis. For others, Allah has blessed with wealth so they can give charity every week or even every day. For some of us, maybe Allah has blessed with the ability to recite and memorize Qur'an, so we're able to recite a certain amount every single day.

Every single one of us has his own strengths and weaknesses. And we shouldn't compare ourselves with other individuals or expect others to do exactly what we're doing, because they may be doing things we can't do — and we may be doing things they can't do or that don't come easy to them. So it's important for us to recognize our strengths and weaknesses, and ask: what's easy for us to do? How are we going to attain the pleasure of Allah? The religion is something which is easy — it's not restricted to one type of worship or a specific type of individual. Many different people from many backgrounds are able to attain the pleasure of Allah by doing different things.

The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, said:

The most beloved acts to Allah are those which are consistent, even if they are small. And things which are done consistently can only be done consistently most of the time if they are easy for us — if they are second nature for us. So it's as if these two things are hand in hand: to be able to do something regularly and consistently, it has to come easy to us. Looking at our family, our work, and taking the time out in the day to be able to do that specific act in order to attain the closeness and pleasure of Allah.

So we need to reflect and review how we can continue the acts we did in the month of Ramadan. Think of this Ramadan that's just passed us by as a launch pad — something which is going to take us to the next Ramadan, which will make us continue in some aspect or another of good deeds and worship until the next Ramadan comes. And as I said initially, we don't know whether we're going to witness the next month of Ramadan. What's important for us is to make sure that whenever death comes to us, it comes to us while we're doing something good.

Ibn Taymiyyah, rahimahullah, says that what's important isn't how we start something — the inadequacy of how something began. What's important is how something is finished, how you conclude something. So now that the month of Ramadan has passed us by, it's as if we've been given a new lease of life, a new page — we're turning over a new leaf. Whatever we do, we need to make sure that we build on what we did or didn't do in the month of Ramadan, making sure that every single day that passes us by is better than the day before.

And we ask Allah that He gives us the ability to do deeds after the month of Ramadan — deeds that will, inshallah, take us into the gardens of everlasting pleasure. And that Allah gives us the ability to witness the next month of Ramadan.