Four Investments for Your After-Life | Jumuah Khutbah | Shaykh Dr. Yasir Qadhi | EPIC Masjid

Dear Muslims, if one were to ask you about the names of your parents, almost all of you would be able to answer. If you were to be quizzed about the names of your four grandparents, many of you would be able to answer partially or fully. But once we get to the great-grandparents, if I were to ask you, what are the names of your eight great-grandparents? I would venture that the vast majority of us would not know the names of their own ancestors that go back two generations.

I ask this as an illustration about how short-lived our lifespan and legacies potentially are. I want you to ponder over this reality. Here we are, assuming that life is going to be forever, not really contemplating the next life. And yet, we don't even know the names of our own ancestors two generations ago, barely a hundred years. And khalas, their names, their number, their legacies, everything has been wiped off from our own memory.

But you see, even if we don't know their names, what if Allah is registering on their good deeds, charity that is still happening long after they're gone? Whether we know their names or not is irrelevant. But what if they did things in their lifetimes? What if you yourself and your good deeds are being credited to them because of the lifestyle they established for your grandparents? Because of the tarbiyah and the akhlaq and the religion they passed down to your own grandfather who then passed it to your own mother or father, who then passed it down to you?

The Inheritance We Can Inherit in Our Graves

This leads us to the topic of today's khutbah. And that is, working actively to leave an ongoing inheritance, but not for other people. Inheritance that we will inherit in our graves. Because there's a type of inheritance that will come back to us.

The wealth that we leave, the money that we leave, the houses that we leave, I'm not talking about that inheritance. That inheritance, even though we are so greedy for it in this dunya, nobody takes it to the grave. Doesn't matter how large your house is, your qabr will be exactly the same. Doesn't matter how fancy your clothing is, how expensive your car is, doesn't matter, we will all be buried in the same two sheets. Doesn't matter.

But there is a type of inheritance which is beautiful. Because you get to partake of your own inheritance. Why do I say inheritance? Because you have to die to receive it. You have to die to receive it. And what is that inheritance? It is the inheritance of the effects of your life. What you've done, what you've built up, that will benefit others after you've gone, you will become the inheritor of your own good deeds.

Allah's Promise: We Record What They Send Forward and Their Legacy

And in fact, Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala and the Prophet ﷺ, they actively encouraged us to think about this reality. Allah says in the Qur'an:

We shall resurrect the dead. This is a certainty. Death is not the end. إِنَّا نَحْنُ نُحْيِي الْمَوْتَىٰ وَنَكْتُبُ مَا قَدَّمُوا We're going to write down everything good that they sent forward. Every single good deed that you've done, you don't see it in this world by and large. The sadaqah that you gave, the salah, the zakah, the siyam, the Qur'an that you recited. It's all waiting for us. And Allah says, don't worry. وَنَكْتُبُ مَا قَدَّمُوا Everything is written. And that's why this verse ends, وَكُلَّ شَيْءٍ أَحْصَيْنَاهُ فِي إِمَامٍ مُّبِينٍ Everything has been written in a clear book. Everything is written.

But then Allah says, وَنَكْتُبُ مَا قَدَّمُوا وَآثَارَهُمْ We will write down what they sent forward and the legacy they left behind them. The athar, in Arabic, one of the meanings of athar is footprints. Allah is saying, we will write down what they sent forward and their footprints? No. And the traces of the life that they lived that will be there when they are gone, forward in the akhirah. What did you leave behind that is still there for people to see? Allah calls it footprints. What is your footprint after you've gone? What is your legacy that people will remember you by or even if they don't know your name, but others will benefit?

Maximizing Your ROI for the Akhirah

So today is a gentle reminder to myself and all of you that as we actively strive to maximize our investments, our ROI, to maximize our mutual funds and to maximize our money that we have in this dunya, let us also actively engage to maximize our ROI for our good deeds in the akhirah.

Because good deeds are of two types, the one-off, the ones that you do them and those are necessary. Our salah and our siyam, it needs to be done. But another type of good deed is an investment that will come to fruition, maybe even after we're gone, and will continue to give us of its fruits when we are no longer here.

And that's why the Prophet Ibrahim, peace be upon him, also prayed, even when he's gone, that his legacy remains. When he made dua to Allah while building the Ka'bah:

O Allah, grant me wisdom and make me of the righteous and make my memory to be that which is good and positive in the later generations. I want my influence to be positive. When I'm long gone, people should still benefit from the legacy I left behind. Let them be inspired to nobility, even though I'm no longer here. This was a dua that Ibrahim, peace be upon him, made even as he's building the Ka'bah.

The Hadith of Three Continuing Deeds

And the Prophet ﷺ, he wanted us to think about these legacies. That's why there's so many ahadith about good deeds when you're gone. You all know the most famous one. The most famous one when a person dies, all of his deeds are cut off except for three. Number one, sadaqah jariah. Number two, knowledge that is benefited from. And number three, a child that remains and prays for you after you are gone. Why is he telling us that these three things remain? Because he wants us to invest in them.

There are other ahadith as well. In one hadith, the Prophet ﷺ said, whoever institutes a noble custom in this religion or in this community, مَن سَنَّ فِي الإِسْلامِ سُنَّةً حَسَنَةً - sunnah hasanah means here, a noble good deed. Something that people are benefiting from. Then he shall get its good deed. And the good deed of all of those who benefited from what he did, without diminishing the good of those who do it until the day of judgment. And whoever institutes an evil custom, whoever builds something that is evil, whoever constructs something that is harmful, then he shall get its sin. And everybody that is harmed by it shall get its sin until the day of judgment.

Why is he telling us this? Because he wants us to think about a deed that will remain. Something that we will build that others will benefit from. Something new, something that is charitable. Something that is opening the doors for good that nobody did before you. And when you do so, then everybody who follows that, the Prophet ﷺ said, you will get the same good as him, and the person that does it will not be diminished. There's no diminishing partnership here. Allah will give full to you and to the one that does.

Seven Deeds That Continue in the Grave

What are some of the categories of deeds that we need to think about? In one hadith, the Prophet ﷺ listed seven good deeds. These seven can be returned to four broad categories. He said to Anas ibn Malik, may Allah be pleased with him, seven are the deeds that when a person dies, he will continue to benefit from even in his qabr.

The servant will continue to get the ajr when they're in his qabr. Number one, مَن عَلَّمَ عِلْمًا Whoever taught some knowledge. Number two, أَوْ أَجْرَى نَهْرًا Or he dug a canal for water to another place. Number three, he حَفَرَ بِئْرًا He made a well for somebody or some community. Number four, he planted a seed. Number five, he built a masjid. Number six, he commissioned for a mushaf and he gave it to somebody. Number seven, he left a child that makes istighfar for him after he passes away.

In this long hadith, seven things are mentioned. And other hadith add even more. But we can summarize all of them into four broad categories. Memorize these four and then work to invest in all of these four. Memorize these four categories and then from now until you die, and nobody knows when they're gonna die. Invest a portion of your time and a portion of your money in these four categories.

First Category: Teaching Beneficial Knowledge

The first of these categories which is mentioned in every single hadith that talks about legacy building is teaching somebody beneficial knowledge. Teaching somebody that which will benefit them. مَن عَلَّمَ عِلْمًا Whoever teaches ilm.

And this is a reality that we all experience to this day. How much do we owe the giants of Islam who preserved our religion? How much do we owe the great scholars, Imam Abu Hanifa, Imam Shafi, Imam Malik, Imam Ahmad ibn Hanbal? How much do we owe to the giants of hadith? Hardly a khutbah is given in the whole world except that Imam Al-Bukhari will get an ajr for that khutbah because he spent a lifetime collecting hadith. One lifetime whose benefit is beyond our scope of comprehension.

Now you will say, but I'm not a scholar. And the response is, the Prophet ﷺ said, بَلِّغُوا عَنِّي وَلَوْ آيَةً Teach somebody anything from me even if it is one phrase, one ayah. Teach anything. So when you teach your children, you are their teacher, not just their father. When you teach your son or daughter Fatiha, when you teach a convert how to pray, you don't need to be a scholar to teach a convert how to pray. When you get involved in somebody's life and you influence them positively, that is teaching them.

And a chain reaction begins when you teach your son or daughter Fatiha, when you teach another person some knowledge, and then they teach, and then they teach, and then they teach. Every single one of them will continue to accrue the good deeds of the ones coming after. And the ones coming after will get their full reward as well, such is the mercy of Allah. So get involved in benefiting other people. Get involved in teaching other people. Get involved in influencing other people. This is one of the maximum ways to make sure your legacy is expanded.

Second Category: Making Life Easier for Others

Number two, look at the hadith here. Whoever digs a well, whoever carves a canal into a place that doesn't have water, whoever plants a seed, what is this referencing? Making life easier for other human beings. This is the second category. Doesn't matter, you don't have to have any ilm for this. This is just facilitating the comforts of life, helping other people live easily, rather than having to walk all the way to the river. The Prophet said, if you dig a canal from the river to the community, as long as that river is there, you will get the ajr. The people don't have water, you help construct a well. As long as people are drinking from that well, you help build a forest, cultivate some land.

This leads us to then thinking about, how can I contribute to the dunya to make it a better place? What can I do? And this applies if you construct an app that will help people live their lives. Computer program. If you facilitate any mechanism of livelihood such that people can live a more comfortable life, an easier life, an ethical life, everything that you do, you will get an ajr for that.

And that's why we know the ahadith about removing harm from the sidewalk. The ahadith about making sure that you don't harm people when you're walking, you don't say something bad, you look at something wrong. No, the point of benefiting others as the Prophet ﷺ said, the best of mankind are those who benefit the most of mankind.

So the second category, start thinking, what can I do to make life easier for other people? What can I do such that when I'm gone, people will benefit from something that I did, some type of well that I constructed, some type of institute that I did. Doesn't have to be religious. This is simply making life easier. This is the second category.

Third Category: The Religious Category

The third category is the religious category. Whoever builds a masjid, whoever commissions a mushaf.

Four Investments for Your Afterlife

You know back then you had to commission a mushaf. You had to spend money and a long time. Mushafs had to be handwritten. So the Prophet ﷺ said, whoever commissions the mushaf and then lets other people benefit from it. The point is here, category three, religious sadaqats that will continue after.

Categories of Lasting Good Deeds

So the second category, you build a hospital. The third category, you build a masjid. Do something for mankind and do something for the Muslim community. So whoever does something for the sake of the deen, in our times, think about da'wah projects, think about printing Qurans and mushafs and distributing. Think about pamphlets. Think about sponsoring websites. Think about any type of da'wah activity that when you give, it will benefit even after you are gone.

So look around you. See what projects are benefiting the ummah and then say, how can I get involved? I might not have the knowledge but I have the wherewithal. I have the IT skills. I have the money. I have something I can contribute. So when you contribute, maybe your grandchildren will not know your name, but Allah will remember and your good deeds will be written. That is the third category.

The Fourth Category: Righteous Children

And then the fourth category, and without a doubt, the most far-reaching and the most beneficial and the cause of which all of us are sitting here or many of us are sitting here today. And that is leaving behind righteous children that will remember you and pray for you. If you say, I don't have any money, I cannot give charity. If you say, I'm not a scholar. Okay, here is a sadaqah jariyah that is essential for the lifeline of the community. And that is preserving your family and protecting your children.

Invest in your children, oh parents. Spend time with them, not just money. Make sure that they are raised upon the akhlaq and the mahabbah of this religion. Such that when you are gone, they will make du'a for you and their children after you will be upon your akhlaq and your religion. As I explained, even our own great grandparents, it is possible if they did a good job, that what we are doing now will be credited to them because it is a silsilah, it is a chain. And every single person will continue to benefit in that chain.

The least we can do for sadaqah jariyah is to make sure our children, وَلَدٌ صَالِح (waladun salih), sons and daughters that are righteous. And when we are gone, they will raise their hands to Allah and they will thank Allah, make du'a to Allah, make istighfar for us. And when their children move on after them, continue onwards. This is the very least that we can do.

The Reality of Our Legacy

O Muslims, life is limited. Every one of us will be substituted with somebody else in a few years or a few decades. Our names in all likelihood will be forgotten in two generations. That's it, gone. But we need our legacies to remain.

Gifting Deeds to the Deceased

And one other aspect that needs to be also said in the first part of the khutbah. And that is, as we are thinking about investing in ourselves, having the return for ourselves, let us also remember the door that our religion has reminded us of, which is gifting our deeds to those that have already gone on. Gifting the reward of good deeds to our elders, our relatives, our teachers, our mentors, anybody who has benefited us. We are instructed to benefit them back when they are gone from this world.

So it is the right and the duty of our parents, our grandparents, any elder that has benefited us and is no longer amongst us. We need to revive this forgotten sunnah that too few people take advantage of. They are in need of our du'as and our good deeds. And here we are, able to acquire good deeds. So we should gift our deeds to the deceased, any deceased that has some haqq over us. Anybody that is no longer amongst us, but who benefited us. It is their wajib, their haqq, that you think about them, and you make du'a for them, and you make istighfar for them, and you do good deeds on their behalf, each one in accordance to how much he or she benefited you.

And without a doubt, our parents get the lion's share of this. And then our teachers and asatidah who helped us, and who shaped us, and who contributed to becoming what we are. We can never forget them as long as we live. And our Prophet ﷺ multiple times was asked about gifting good deeds to the dead. And every hadith, he gives different examples. In some hadith, he mentions three things. In other hadith, he mentions six. In one long hadith, almost 10 or 11 things are mentioned. And we've gone over these in other lectures as well. It is du'a, it is istighfar, it is sadaqah, it is udhiyah, it is hajj, it is umrah, all of these deeds.

Scholarly Opinion on Gifting Good Deeds

And from this, there has been a slight fiqh controversy, I'll just mention it, now is not the time to go into detail. From these ahadith, the majority of scholars said that these ahadith are illustrating the rule that any good deed can be gifted to the deceased. Because the Prophet ﷺ in every hadith, he's giving a different quantity. In one hadith, three, in one, five, in one, seven. So he's basically giving examples. He's not saying, this is the final end all and be all. So from this, many ulama said, these ahadith illustrate a general rule. You can gift any good deed to the deceased. And this is the position of the vast majority of the four madhhabs.

And it is also the position of Shaykh al-Islam ibn Taymiyyah. Even though many of those who follow him don't even know this. But ibn Taymiyyah was a strong advocate of this. And I quote you from Majmu' Fatawa, volume 27. He says, there is no disagreement amongst the scholars of Ahlus Sunnah wa Jama'ah that the reward of financial acts of worship, sadaqah, will go to the deceased. Also du'a, also istighfar, also the salatul janazah. There is ijma' over this. However, they then differed. Here he's talking about the ikhtilaf. They differed about the good deeds that are done by the body. Such as fasting, such as salah, such as reciting the Qur'an. Does this reach the deceased or not? So he tells you the factual statement. This is the ikhtilaf.

Then he says, the correct opinion is that all of these deeds reach the deceased when it is dedicated and given to him in charity. Just like he goes on. Just like he says that a person can only benefit from his own wealth. And he's not gonna benefit from somebody else's wealth. However, if somebody else wants to gift you his money, then you will benefit from it. So too Ibn Taymiyyah argues that if somebody does a good deed and from his own free will, he gifts it to you, he has the right to do so. So Ibn Taymiyyah argues that this is the general rule. You may gift any good deed to the deceased.

Understanding the Mechanism of Gifting Deeds

But one point we need to mention here and that is technically speaking, when you gift a good deed, what you are saying to Allah is that, oh Allah, I don't want. It's like when you have a $100, and you see a poor person. If you pull $20 and give it to the poor person, you do not have the $20 in your pocket anymore. What do you want? You want Allah to bless you with ajr more than the $20. That's why you give it.

So technically when you gift a good deed, you go for hajj, you go for umrah, you read Qur'an, you give sadaqah. Technically what you are saying, oh Allah, my bank balance of this sadaqah, of this hajj, my bank balance, I want you to transfer to my mother, to my grandmother, to my teacher. Technically it's no longer in your bank balance. You've given it over. Then you want Allah to reward you with even more from Him because you have gifted. But we believe that Allah is merciful. And if you gift a hajj or umrah, we hope and pray that you will also get the hajj and umrah and the other person will also get. But technically, if you wanna be very precise, then in reality what you are saying to Allah, oh Allah, I trust your generosity. When I give my good deed to this person, I trust you will give me more than what I gave.

And whichever position it is, the point is Allah is أَرْحَمُ الرَّاحِمِين (arham ar-rahimeen). And Allah is أَكْرَمُ الأَكْرَمِين (akram al-akrameen). But my point here is do not close this door. Even if you follow the stricter opinion in which only the money items can be given, and du'a and istighfar, still open this door and do what you can because the people need it.

The True Measure of Impact

And oh brothers and sisters, final point. Think about this. Why would you do good deeds for somebody that has moved on? You will only do it if that person impacted you positively. And this shows exactly what the Prophet ﷺ said of impacting people is the best legacy. So when you are gone, how many people are gonna make du'a for you? How many people are gonna sacrifice their money for you? How many people are gonna spend thousands to go for hajj and umrah and say, I want my umrah to go to that person?

That is the question you should be asking right now. How many people's lives am I impacting? How many people will make du'a and istighfar for me? And when you realize time is limited, and my goal is to maximize my ROI, my return on investment of my dunya, then your priority becomes these four categories, which is learn knowledge and teach it to others. And help people as much as you can so that they remember you. And build good deeds, projects that are gonna continue after you are long gone. And of course do the sadaqah jariyah and children that will remember you when you are no longer here. Invest in these four categories so that when you are no longer here, these investments will continue to benefit you.

May Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala bless me and you with the guidance of the Qur'an. And may He make us of those whose verses they understand and applies halal and haram throughout our lifespan. Ask Allah's forgiveness. You as well ask Him for His غَفُور and the رَحْمَن.

Preserving Marriages and Families

On an unrelated and yet related note as well, every one of our community leaders, including myself, we have to always get involved with the issues of the community. And subhanAllah, one of the major issues that every single teacher, da'i, shaykh, always is engaging with is the problem of marital dispute and the problem of divorce, and the problem of husbands and wives not getting along.

And again, brothers and sisters, much can be said, but this hadith mentions that children are one of the best sources of barakah and investment. And in order for your children to be the best, then marriages should be the best as well. So even when it comes to this hadith, investing in families and preserving families, and protecting families, every single shaykh and teacher and elder in the community will tell you horror stories about the divorce issues happening in our own community.

The Role of Communication in Marriage

And I just wanna remind myself and all of you that one of the biggest causes of divorce is actually something that is solvable, and that is miscommunication. One of the most easily solvable issues of a problem between husband and wife, they don't know and learn how to communicate effectively. Every single analyst and psychotherapist and marital expert will tell you that the problems of marriage, whether they are how to deal with the finances, how to deal with the chores, the issues of romance and intimacy, in-laws visiting, this is actually the secondary problem. Because all of them can be solved, inshaAllah, if the primary problem is solved, which is communication.

If both could learn how to communicate and how to express and how to reach a compromise before boiling point is reached. Because the problem comes that small issues are left unresolved, and those small issues just become resentment, become anger, until finally an outburst happens, which the other partner is completely taken aback by, surprised by. Why? Because the communication was not done effectively.

So, I remind myself and all of you, all marriages have their ups and downs. Don't ever think that a marriage is nothing but love and whatnot. There's love and there's also fighting. This is the reality. There's ups and there's downs.

Protecting Your Marriage Through Quranic Guidance

If you want your marriage to be successful, follow the Qur'an. And the Qur'an says, the first time a dispute happens, make sure, فَعِظُوهُنَّ you begin with a maw'idah. And a maw'idah means an advice that reaches the heart. This is the Qur'an. How do you begin to resolve a marital conflict? Step number one, فَعِظُوهُنَّ Give them an advice or speak to them in a way that will get to their heart.

Nobody can teach you how to do this because nobody knows your spouse better than you do. But the goal is not to win an argument. The goal is to effectively communicate what is causing the stress and tension, and then to resolve that stress and tension.

Islam's Goal: Protecting and Flourishing Marriages

So, I remind myself and all of you, one of the goals of our religion is to protect marriages. One of the goals of the religion of Islam is that marriages flourish. And one of the best sadaqah jariah is children that will remember you and that will only happen or effectively happen when you protect your marriage.

So, invest in your marriage, protect your marriage, make dua to Allah to bless your marriage, and work on active steps to communicate and overcome difficulties. And where there is a will, there is a way. And whoever wants their marriage to be successful, and if both parties want it to be successful, Allah Himself promises:

If the both parties want reconciliation, Allah will bring reconciliation between them. So may Allah protect all of us and our children after us.