Signs of Being Given Tawfeeq - Shaykh Muhammad Ali

Khutbah al-Hajah (Opening)

Praise be to Allah. We praise Him, we seek His help and we seek His forgiveness. We seek refuge in Allah from the evil of our souls and from the evil of our actions.

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

He conveyed the message, fulfilled the trust, and advised the Ummah. He left us on the white path — its night is like its day; none can deviate from it except one who is destroyed. May Allah send peace and blessings upon him and his family and companions, and whoever follows them with good till the Day of Recompense.

Indeed, the truest speech is the word of Allah, and the best guidance is the guidance of Muhammad, peace and blessings be upon him. The worst of things are newly-invented matters, and every innovation is a bid'ah, and every bid'ah is a misguidance. May Allah protect us from it.

O Allah, make us of the winners in this world and the Hereafter.

What is Tawfeeq?

May Allah give you tawfeeq. When was the last time that you've heard someone say that to you? Or when was the last time that you have used that statement yourself, and you made this particular du'a for this particular person, and you said to him, may Allah give you tawfeeq.

Insha'Allah ta'ala, the topic of our khutbah today — we will try and address what tawfeeq is. How are we going to know the signs of tawfeeq? How would you know that you have been given tawfeeq? And what are the things that can prevent you from having the tawfeeq of Allah?

My dear respected brothers and sisters in Islam, if we begin with the definition of what tawfeeq is — because always we hear this word: "May Allah give you tawfeeq," "Ask Allah to give me tawfeeq," and so forth. So the question now is, what is tawfeeq itself?

The ulema, rahimahumullah ta'ala, they have given the word tawfeeq different definitions. Among those definitions is the following: that Allah prepares for you all the causes and the ability — He gives you the ability to do what is pleasing to Him. That is what tawfeeq is.

And also, some of the ulema have said that tawfeeq is that your desire always matches and follows what Allah has commanded you to do.

My dear brothers and sisters in Islam, some of the ulema have also defined it as: that Allah does not abandon you and does not leave you to yourself alone. If you are in that state — where you try to make the right decisions and choices, but Allah does not give you any assistance — you are absolutely in trouble.

Tawfeeq Leads to Jannah

My dear brothers and sisters in Islam, know that if Allah gives you tawfeeq, that tawfeeq is going to lead you to Jannah. Anybody who has been blessed with tawfeeq will end up in Jannah. The Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, has mentioned in the following authentic hadith that the people of Jannah are of three kinds:

(Sahih Muslim, Book 52, Hadith 63)

Number one: Someone who has been given authority, but at the same time that person is fair and just. The authority we are talking about here is not just the authority at the top. Even being a father — you are the head, you are the authority of the family. Being a boss in your job, being a manager — if he is just, and he is guided by Allah and given tawfeeq, that person is going to be from among the people of Jannah.

Second: A man who is raheem — merciful and kind. He shows so much kindness to people, especially those who are close to him, and to every Muslim he shows so much kindness. But unfortunately today, subhanAllah, many of us find it hard to show mercy and kindness towards other people. Even members of our own family — some of us don't even talk to them. We are harsh against our own family members, and sometimes we are harsh against other Muslims more than we are against other people, subhanAllah.

Third: A man who has dependants — he has children and is very poor — but he does not ask people. He does not say, "Can you give me money?" He endures so much poverty and suffering, but he does not expose himself. He does not go and beg or ask people for help.

Signs That You Have Been Given Tawfeeq

Sign 1: Tawfeeq Towards Righteous Deeds (التوفيق للعمل الصالح)

If Allah has given you tawfeeq when it comes to doing righteous deeds. The Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, has said in the following hadith:

(Musnad Imam Ahmad, Hadith 17970; also narrated in Sahih Ibn Hibban)

"If Allah wants something good for His servant, He uses him before he dies." The companions said to the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, "Ya Rasulullah, how will He use him?" And the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, said:

"Allah will guide that person to do righteous deeds, and he will die upon that righteous deed." SubhanAllah. May Allah make us from those ones.

Also, the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, was asked this question:

(Jami' al-Tirmidhi, Book 36, Hadith 2330)

"Who is the best of people?" The Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, said: "The one whose life is long and whose deeds are good." He was then asked who is the most evil of people, and he said: "The one who has been given long life, but whose actions are not good."

Governments these days brag about the life expectancy of their citizens — they say our life expectancy has risen, and men can live as long as 80 or 90 years. People brag about these things. But the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, made it clear: if someone has been given long life but is doing a lot of evil, that is not going to benefit him or her.

Sign 2: Seeking Sacred Knowledge (طلب العلم الشرعي)

That you go and seek the knowledge of the Sharia. If you find that easy — if you are inclined towards learning and seeking the knowledge of Allah — that is also a great sign that you have been given the tawfeeq of Allah.

Sign 3: Spreading Good and Da'wah (التوفيق لنشر الخير والدعوة)

If you participate in spreading the message of Islam, that is another sign of goodness — that you have been given the tawfeeq of Allah.

Sign 4: Tawakkul — Putting Your Trust in Allah (التوكل على الله)

How much do you trust Allah? That is another sign of knowing whether you have been given tawfeeq or not.

Insha'Allah ta'ala, in the second part of our khutbah, we will remind ourselves of other signs, and also what are the signs that you have not been given tawfeeq.

Second Khutbah — Further Signs of Tawfeeq

Sign 5: Repentance from Sins (التوبة من المعاصي)

If you are someone who repents and goes back to Allah, know that you have been given the tawfeeq of Allah.

Sign 6: Benefiting People (نفع الناس)

If you are someone who benefits the people — like our masjid, Greenlane Masjid, with all the services it provides for the community, subhanAllah — this is very, very important. The Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, has said:

(al-Mu'jam al-Awsat of al-Tabarani, Hadith 6026; also narrated by al-Hakim in al-Mustadrak)

"The most beloved people to Allah are those who are most useful to people." Ask yourself: do you just think about yourself? Or do you also think about other people? How often do you help other people — the needy, your neighbours, your co-workers? Think about that. If you are inclined towards that, know that Allah has given you tawfeeq.

Sign 7: Loving Obedience and Hating Disobedience

If you love righteousness and the obedience of Allah, if it is beloved to you, and you dislike the disobedience of Allah — that is another great sign that Allah has given you tawfeeq.

Sign 8: Having Righteous Friends

Look at the list of friends that you have and see how righteous these friends are. If you have been blessed with righteous friends, know that Allah has given you tawfeeq.

Sign 9: Good Character and a Clean Heart

Having good akhlaaq and also having a heart which is clean — a heart free from grudges, a heart which is at peace with other people, subhanAllah.

I'll give you an example. A great companion was about to die, and the companions visited him. When they visited him, they saw light coming out of his face — just before he died. He was known for being a great warrior and fighter on the battlefield. When they asked him, "Why is your face full of light and you are about to die right now?" — look at what he said.

He said, "The only actions that I feel most comfortable with, and I feel very confident that Allah will reward me greatly for, are the following two." He said: "I was someone who never used to talk about things that do not concern me." Ask ourselves today — what do we talk about? We talk about everything apart from what concerns us. That is the reality.

And number two, he said: "My heart was always clean when it came to other Muslims. My heart was always peaceful. I had no grudges against other Muslims."

This was Abu Dujana, may Allah be pleased with him. As Muslims, we need to ask ourselves — are we like this or not?

What Prevents You from Receiving the Tawfeeq of Allah?

Dear brothers, finally, I want to conclude our khutbah today by pointing out what are the things that can prevent us from getting the tawfeeq of Allah. This is very important. Always we ask people, "Please make du'a for me and ask Allah to give me tawfeeq." But what can actually prevent you from receiving it?

Some of the ulema have mentioned six things that can stop us from getting the tawfeeq of Allah:

1. Preoccupation with Blessings Without Gratitude (انشغال العبد بالنعم دون شكرها)

When we become preoccupied with the blessings that Allah has given us, and we are not grateful to Allah for them. Are we not, subhanAllah, guilty of this? Look at how many blessings Allah has given us — the money, the children, the jobs, the education, the beautiful physique that Allah has blessed us with — yet we forget to thank Him.

2. Seeking Knowledge Without Acting Upon It (الرغبة في العلم مع الإحجام عن العمل)

How many of us are studying the deen of Allah but do not act upon it? There is no lack of knowledge these days — people go to aqeedah classes, seerah lessons, tafsir lessons — but there is no action. This is another thing that prevents one from receiving the tawfeeq of Allah.

3. Racing Towards Sins and Finding Tawbah Heavy (المبادرة إلى الذنوب والتثاقل عن التوبة)

When someone rushes towards sins, committing them, and finds tawbah very hard and heavy. That is another serious problem.

4. Associating with the Righteous Without Following Their Example (الرغبة بمجالسة الصالحين مع الزهد في الاقتداء بأخلاقهم)

We want to become friends with righteous people, with the ulama, with the mashayikh. Some of us are very proud that we know so many mashayikh, but in reality we do not follow their footsteps. We do not follow their good example — we just brag about being friends with them. "Look at this photo — me with this big sheikh. He's my friend. I can call him whenever I want." But you never act like him. This is another sign that one has been deprived of tawfeeq.

5. Heedlessness Towards the Hereafter (زهد العبد في الآخرة والإعراض عنها)

When a person, subhanAllah, pays no attention to the next life — the akhirah — that is a sign that he has not been given tawfeeq from Allah.

May Allah bless us with this tawfeeq. Allahumma ameen. And these are the things you should be taking away from this khutbah today, insha'Allah ta'ala.

Closing Du'as

Establish the prayer.