How to Put Barakah in Your Life - Shaykh Mustafa Abu Rayyan

Khutbah: How to Put Barakah in Your Life

Alhamdulillah, we praise Him, ask for His help, and ask for His forgiveness. And we seek refuge in Allah from the evil of our souls and from the evil of our deeds. Whomsoever Allah guides, none can misguide him, and whosoever He misguides, none can guide him.

And I bear witness that there is no god but Allah, alone, with no partner. And I bear witness that Muhammad is His servant, and His Messenger, and pure of heart, from His creation, and His friend. Allah has sent him to all people as a bearer of glad tidings and a warner.

He conveyed the message, fulfilled the trust, and advised the ummah. And He left us on the white path, its night is like its day, nothing escapes it except destruction. May the peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, and upon his family and his companions. And whosoever is guided by his guidance, and holds to his Sunnah, and calls by his call to the Day of Recompense.

O you who have believed, fear Allah as He should be feared, and you will not die except as Muslims.

O you people, fear your Lord, Who created you from one soul, and created from it a wife, and spread among them many men and women. And fear Allah, to whom you ask for help and mercy. Indeed, Allah is ever watching over you.

O you who have believed, fear Allah and say the right words. He will correct your deeds and forgive your sins. And whosoever obeys Allah and His Messenger has won a great victory.

My beloved ones in Allah and in Islam, I advise you and myself to fear Allah and do good. Indeed, Allah is with those who fear Him and are doers of good. I start by praising Allah Jalla Jalaluhu, for indeed Allah is worthy of our constant praise and gratitude. And I send blessings and salutations upon our beloved Messenger Muhammad, صلواتُ اللهِ وسلامُهُ عليه.

The Reality of Our Limited Time

My dear brothers and sisters, among the things that we ought to reflect over often is the life that Allah has given us. This life that we enjoy, that Allah has blessed us with — that is no doubt going to come to an end one day. Every single one of us has an appointed time where you will die and pass away. And often what happens, and this is human nature, is you assume that it will be very far away. You will assume that you will reach old age. You will assume that you have many, many years left. But you do not know that is the case whatsoever.

There are so many who die young. There are so many who we bury as children, as babies. Some who don't even survive in the womb. And then there are those that go into their early teens and pass away, and those that continue, and those that die in their youth, and some that reach old age. This, for everyone, is going to be different. If we could observe our clock right now, some of us it may be weeks, days, others it may be years, some of us it may be decades.

Now, no doubt, if you knew that you had little time left, what you do, what you prioritize, and how you behave would change. If you knew today was your last day on earth, I guarantee you, you would not leave this masjid. You would continue in ibadah. And if you did, it would be to settle your debts, to seek the forgiveness of those you may have harmed, and to prepare yourself for your meeting with your Lord.

But we distract ourselves. We forget. And it's human nature to forget. Hence why reminders are so important. Allah says:

And remind, for indeed reminders are beneficial to the believers.

And that which we ought to remind ourselves of the most is when the Prophet ﷺ said:

Mention the destroyer of pleasures often — meaning, mention death often.
(Sunan al-Tirmidhi, Hadith 2307; Sunan Ibn Majah, Hadith 4258)

Mention death often. Because you do not know when your end is going to be. It may very well be that when you walk out of this masjid, this will be your last Jumu'ah. And you might think, this is grim. We don't want to think about that. Let me enjoy my life. But this is the reality.

أسبابُ بَرَكَةِ العُمُر — How to Put Barakah in Your Life

So what I want to share with you today is how can we ensure that we are benefiting from our lifespan and our life. How we can have barakah in our Umr. How can we ensure the little time we have is as blessed and beneficial as possible.

1. Istiqamah — Steadfastness

The first thing you have to remind yourself is the importance of staying steadfast. And what does it mean to stay steadfast? It doesn't mean to never sin, because you will sin. That's how Allah has created us — not to be perfect but to be flawed. But once you sin, you are obligated to repent and to return to Allah. So live a steadfast life.

Have istiqamah, be steadfast. And if you do that especially in your younger years — especially those among you that are in their younger years — remember what the Prophet ﷺ said about the seven who will enjoy the shade when there is no shade:

The day when there is no shade except His shade.
(Sahih al-Bukhari, Hadith 660; Sahih Muslim, Hadith 1031)

And among them, the first was Imam al-Adil, a just leader. And the second one the Prophet ﷺ mentioned was:

A young man who grew up in the worship of Allah.
(Sahih al-Bukhari, Hadith 660; Sahih Muslim, Hadith 1031)

This means someone from a young age was always steadfast — not perfect, but steadfast. And why the young person? Why did the Prophet ﷺ specifically mention the شَابّ? Because that's when your desires and your wishes and the likelihood of falling off the Sirat al-Mustaqim is at its highest. Hence why it's very natural when you enter a mosque, the first front rows are occupied by the elderly. Because they understand they have little time left. But if you are a young man or a young woman who dedicates herself or himself to the worship of Allah from a young age, understand that you've been promised that you will enjoy the shade of Allah on the Day of Judgment when the sun is brought near.

And that's how you ensure that your life in this world is filled with barakah. Fill it with worship and ibadah. And when you sin, hasten to the repentance of Allah.

2. Remember You Will Be Asked About Your Life

Among the things that we have to keep in mind, my dear brothers and sisters, to ensure that we live a life that is worth living — a life to be proud of — is to understand that Allah will ask you about your life. As the Prophet ﷺ said, an individual will not move from in front of Allah until four things are questioned. And the first one was:

Regarding his life — in what did he exhaust it?
(Sunan al-Tirmidhi, Hadith 2417)

Regarding his life — what did you do with it? The life Allah has given you, the 40 years, the 50 years, the 25 years, whatever it may be, the 80 years — what have you done with it? Your Creator will ask you about it. So keep that at the front of your head always. Every single day, what you do and what you're up to, you will be asked about it. May Allah make the questioning easy for us.

3. Live a Life of Meaning, Not Distraction

Another thing to keep in mind, my brothers and sisters, and this is really, really important, is that you need to live a life that benefits you and others — not a life of distraction and meaninglessness. This is the way of those who are not connected to Allah and have no faith. What's constantly being promoted is to live a life that has no real meaning. "Enjoy yourself," you hear. "Delay marriage so that you can enjoy yourself," you hear. "Make sure you have a lot of money, that's the main thing," is what you hear.

And often what's happening to our brothers and sisters that are younger, they are being programmed to prioritize the dunya and the pleasures of the dunya. And this means — when you're chasing the dunya, what are you not focused on? Your akhirah. And what happens once you stop prioritizing the akhirah? Then haram will come to you easily. Because what's important is what you feel. What's important is to fulfill your desires. What's important is to chase the dunya. What's important is to compete.

I need to get the best job. I need to continue my career. I need to further it even more. I need to get the next promotion. I need to get the best car. I need to travel the world. I need to, I need to, I need to. Now, are all of these things bad? No, they're not necessarily bad. Am I trying to discourage you from trying to earn more? Absolutely not. But why? And what's your priority? And why are you doing it? If the best answer someone can give is, "I'm doing it because I want more. This house is too small, I want a bigger house. My account doesn't have enough money, I want more" — gather, gather, gather — this is not the way of a Muslim.

And what happens with the wealth that we accumulate? It gets inherited. You will leave most of it. There is a hadith that teaches us about true worth and value. The Prophet ﷺ mentioned that what truly belongs to you from your wealth is one of three things:

That which you consumed and it is gone, or that which you wore out, or that which you gave in charity and sent forth.
(Sahih Muslim, Hadith 2959)

That which you consume, and it's gone — you consumed it, you bought it, you filled the fridge with the shopping, you all ate it, you went out for food, it's gone. That money is gone, you used it, and may Allah bless you with it. Or that which you wore out — you had that car for four, five years, you were wearing that jacket for however many years, you wore it out and then it's gone. Or that which you sent forth — to the Akhirah. And that is what doesn't leave.

The Prophet ﷺ one day had a goat — or a sheep — slaughtered. And then the meat was being distributed among the neighbours and the needy and relatives. And the only portion that was left was the shoulder — the lamb shoulder, which was the portion our Messenger loved the most. So if you like your lamb shoulder, you have that in common with our beloved Messenger Muhammad ﷺ.

Our mother Aisha says to the Prophet ﷺ, "All that is left is the shoulder." And he says to her, "No. The shoulder is the only thing that is missing. Everything else is what's left." Everything else is what's left.

In other words, my dear brothers and sisters, you have an account — not the one that you get your money out from when you go to the bank or check on the app. No. You have another account. And in that account there may be a portion of money — the money that you have given in charity, or that you have supported your mother and father with, or that you have added to a sadaqah. You may not have a mental tally of how much that is. But maybe you can estimate. That is your real account. The wealth and the money that you give to the poor and the needy and that you send forth.

And if you do that in your life, that's what it means to truly invest. Ask yourself — what do you think roughly that is? How often do you think about it? How often do you mentally check it? Or are you so busy checking the bills, and that's it?

Ali ibn Abi Talib used to say:

Be from the children of the Hereafter, and do not be from the children of this world.

Be from the children of the Hereafter — meaning be immersed, worried, concerned, consumed by the Hereafter and what you are doing for it. This is extremely important, my dear brothers and sisters.

أَقُولُ قَوْلِي هَذَا وَأَسْتَغْفِرُ اللهَ لِي وَلَكُمْ وَلِلْمُسْلِمِينَ مِنْ كُلِّ ذَنْبٍ فَاسْتَغْفِرُوهُ، إِنَّهُ الغَفُورُ الرَّحِيمُ.

Second Khutbah: Practical Ways to Increase Barakah in Your Lifespan

الحَمْدُ للهِ رَبِّ العَالَمِينَ وَبِهِ نَسْتَعِينُ عَلَى أُمُورِ الدُّنْيَا وَالدِّينِ، وَالعَاقِبَةُ لِلْمُتَّقِينَ وَلَا عُدْوَانَ إِلَّا عَلَى الظَّالِمِينَ. وَصَلَّى اللهُ وَسَلَّمَ عَلَى نَبِيِّنَا مُحَمَّدٍ وَعَلَى آلِهِ وَصَحْبِهِ أَجْمَعِينَ.

My dear brothers and sisters, there are ways to increase the barakah in your life. And what does it mean to have increased barakah? It means that Allah — whatever time He has given you — you will utilize it to its maximum. If Allah blesses someone with 20 pounds but has barakah in it, it will serve you more than 200 that has no barakah. And it's important to appreciate the concept of barakah — it is that Allah will increase, Allah will multiply, Allah will give you more, and Allah will make it more beneficial for you.

Keep the Ties of Kinship

If you want your life to have barakah, then among the things that you are recommended to do is keep the ties of kinship. The Prophet ﷺ said:

Whoever wishes for his lifespan to be extended and for his provisions to be expanded, let him keep the ties of kinship.
(Sahih al-Bukhari, Hadith 5986; Sahih Muslim, Hadith 2557)

No doubt each one of us has uncles and aunties and cousins and people that are your relatives. Call them. Visit them. Invite them. Keep them in mind. Help them. There is more reward in giving charity to those that are related to you by blood than those that are not, with specific exceptions such as if the need is more elsewhere. But generally speaking, you get more reward and you are required to take care of those that are closest to you. And the closer they are to you, the more important.

So if you want more barakah in your Umr, pick up that phone. Stop just messaging. Revive that WhatsApp group chat of the family. Invite each other for meals. Keep the ties of kinship. And Allah promised the Rahim that whoever cuts you, I will cut, Allah said. So if you're wondering why is there no barakah in my life? Why is there no barakah in my home? Perhaps one thing that you can change today is to keep the ties of kinship. Make a list of people you haven't reached out to for a very long time. Mend the relationships that maybe require mending. Do this for the sake of Allah and for your own sake.

Leave Behind a Righteous Legacy

My dear brothers and sisters, another thing that we have to keep in mind is there are ways for you to live after you die in this dunya. What do I mean by that? I mean legacy. What is your legacy that you want to leave behind? And the worst among us are those that leave behind a legacy of evil and corruption, where after they are long gone, people when they remember them curse them, or where after they've been long gone, the sins that they have spread are still harming the Ummah.

But what about the opposite? My dear brothers and sisters, right now you are in this masjid attending Jumu'ah. There are people who have long passed away that contributed to the establishing of this very masjid that you are in. And your presence today and your worship today, Allah rewards them for it — and they are long gone. And long when we are gone, it will continue.

There are people that have invested in wells and in masajid. Others have invested in knowledge — published books that people benefit from. Every time we establish a lesson and we teach a kitab that was written by an author 600 years ago, 500 years ago, 1000 years ago, today their names are mentioned and we say رَحِمَهُ اللهُ — may Allah have mercy on him. Because they established legacies. They left behind knowledge. They left behind wells. They left behind mosques and organizations. They put their money in institutions that continue on.

So, do that for yourself. The next time you see an opportunity to dig a well, to add money to a masjid that's going to continue, understand that you're investing. And not only are you investing in your akhira, Allah increases it for you. Allah puts barakah in it for you. And long after you've passed away, you will be reaping the reward.

A Righteous Child Who Makes Du'a for You

The final one is a righteous child that makes du'a for you. We live in a world today where marriage is delayed. "Don't get married, you have time, don't worry." But our Messenger said the opposite — marry early. Every time, my dear brothers and sisters, that you hear a message that is against what the Prophet ﷺ said — it is the direct opposite — understand that it doesn't come from the deen. Whatever Allah and the Messenger want from you, if anyone is calling you away from it, you should reject those people.

Marry early, so that you can have children. And when you have children, raise them right. And when you raise them right, they will be a source of goodness for you in the Hereafter. Of course, the Prophet ﷺ emphasized that those that are going to marry early should be able to sustain and raise the family. But if you are, then don't delay for no reason.

The Quranic Warning: Don't Wait Until It's Too Late

There are many ways we can put barakah — or ask Allah to put barakah — in our lifespan. I'm going to conclude with an ayah. Those among us that have lived a long life, Allah mentions in Yawm al-Qiyamah that they will ask Allah to allow them to go back, to allow them another chance. There is no coming back to the dunya.

And they will say:

"My Lord, send me back, that I may do righteous actions that I used to neglect." Ya Allah, give us another chance — this is after they have died. What does Allah say?

Allah will say: "Have I not let you live long enough for one to take heed — for one who would take heed to have done so? And the warner came to you." Allah is saying: I let you live long for you to take heed, for you to change, for you to repent. And I sent you a warner. Of course, who is the warner? The warner is the Prophet ﷺ.

Some ulama said that this ayah is also referring to grey hair — that the moment you start seeing yourself go grey, this is a warning. Time is up. You don't have much left. Spend your time wisely.

May Allah allow us to be among those that spend their time wisely.