Invest in Your Akhirah (with British Sign Language) - Shaykh Mustafa Abu Rayyan

Opening — Khutbah al-Hajah

إِنَّ الْحَمْدَ لِلَّهِ نَحْمَدُهُ وَنَسْتَعِينُهُ وَنَسْتَغْفِرُهُ وَنَعُوذُ بِاللَّهِ مِنْ شُرُورِ أَنْفُسِنَا وَمِنْ سَيِّئَاتِ أَعْمَالِنَا مَنْ يَهْدِهِ اللَّهُ فَلَا مُضِلَّ لَهُ وَمَنْ يُضْلِلْهُ فَلَا هَادِيَ لَهُ وَأَشْهَدُ أَنْ لَا إِلَهَ إِلَّا اللَّهُ وَحْدَهُ لَا شَرِيكَ لَهُ وَأَشْهَدُ أَنَّ مُحَمَّدًا عَبْدُهُ وَرَسُولُهُ وَصَفِيُّهُ مِنْ خَلْقِهِ وَخَلِيلُهُ أَرْسَلَهُ اللَّهُ إِلَى النَّاسِ كَافَّةً بَشِيرًا وَنَذِيرًا فَبَلَّغَ الرِّسَالَةَ وَأَدَّى الْأَمَانَةَ وَنَصَحَ الْأُمَّةَ وَتَرَكَنَا عَلَى الْمَحَجَّةِ الْبَيْضَاءِ لَيْلُهَا كَنَهَارِهَا لَا يَزِيغُ عَنْهَا إِلَّا هَالِكٌ فَصَلَوَاتُ اللَّهِ وَسَلَامُهُ عَلَيْهِ وَعَلَى آلِهِ وَأَصْحَابِهِ وَمَنِ اهْتَدَى بِهَدْيِهِ وَاسْتَنَّ بِسُنَّتِهِ وَدَعَا بِدَعْوَتِهِ إِلَى يَوْمِ الدِّينِ

أَيُّهَا الإِخْوَةُ فِي الإِسْلَامِ، أُوصِيكُمْ وَنَفْسِي بِتَقْوَى اللَّهِ وَالإِحْسَانِ، فَإِنَّ اللَّهَ مَعَ الَّذِينَ اتَّقَوْا وَالَّذِينَ هُمْ مُحْسِنُونَ.

My beloved brothers and sisters, I start by praising Allah and sending blessings and salutations upon our beloved messenger Muhammad, salawatullahi wa salamuhu alayhi.

The Importance of Taqwa

My brothers and sisters, Allah often reminds us to have taqwa — to be fearful of Him and to be conscious of Allah — and it is through this piety and this taqwa that we gain in this world and gain in the next world. We will do good in this world and we will do even better in the next world.

Allah mentions that when you are pious and you have taqwa, that Allah will give you a way out of your difficulties:

That Allah will open doors for you and give you a way out of your problems:

That Allah will forgive your sins and expiate them:

And that Allah will allow you to know right from wrong and make it easy for you to distinguish falsehood from that which is right and upright:

May Allah make us among those that are pious and have taqwa in this world and those that benefit from it in the next world, ameen.

Our Days Are Numbered

My brothers and sisters, in this world, as we live day by day, our days are numbered. Not only are they numbered — we don't know how long we have. Each one of us, there is a day that we will perish and die. That could be today, that could be tomorrow, that could be in a week, in a month, in a year, in several years. We do not know when it is. And there is a question that we have to ask ourselves all the time: are we prepared for that eventuality when we pass away? And what have we done to ensure that our good deeds are more than our bad deeds? That that which is recorded for us is more khair than it is sharr — more good than it is evil? That we have fulfilled our obligations? That we have amassed enough reward to gain Jannah and the pleasure of Allah?

And we know, my brothers and sisters, that the day you die your actions and your deeds will stop. When the person dies, their deeds stop. There is no more SubhanAllah that you can say. There is no more salah that you can pray. There is no more charity that you can give. There is no more Qur'an that you can recite. There is no more umrah that you can go to. It is over.

And this is something that we have to live with. Now you have the chance — now you have the chance to pray tahajjud. Now you have the chance to repent from your sins. Now you have the chance to give sadaqah. Now you have the chance to make Hajj and umrah. While you are alive, benefit from it.

Especially charity, because Allah mentions in the Qur'an that those that die and their ajal comes:

When their ajal comes, some of them will wish they could come back — فَأَصَّدَّقَ — so that they can give more charity. However, Allah is Rahman and Rahim — the Most Merciful, the Giver of Mercy.

Three Deeds That Continue After Death

Allah has even opened up opportunities for those that have passed away. And there are ways that your deeds can continue after your death, as the Prophet ﷺ told us in the hadith narrated by the great companion Abu Hurairah, رضي الله عنه, recorded in Sahih Muslim:

(Sahih Muslim, Book 13, Hadith 1631)

Indeed, when the person dies, their deeds stop — except for three types. The Prophet ﷺ mentioned three things:

• The first: Sadaqah jariyah — صَدَقَةٌ جَارِيَةٌ — a charity that is ongoing.
• The second: Ilm yuntafa'u bihi — عِلْمٌ يُنْتَفَعُ بِهِ — knowledge that is benefiting others.
• The third: Walad salih yad'u lahu — وَلَدٌ صَالِحٌ يَدْعُو لَهُ — a righteous child that makes du'a for you.

I want us to focus on these three points, my brothers and sisters. This is a way for you to invest for your akhirah.

I want you to just think about this right now. Right now, if your life were to come to an end, how much sadaqah jariyah — صَدَقَةٌ جَارِيَةٌ — do you have at this very moment? How much knowledge have you propagated, or been the cause of its propagation? How much sadaqah jariyah have you invested in? Any wells? Any mosques? Any mushafs? Any waqf projects? Have you done that? Are your children raised in a manner where you are sure — or it is likely — that they will remember you in their du'as? This is what you need to think about.

The First: Sadaqah Jariyah — Ongoing Charity

How often do we come to this masjid? How often do we pray in this masjid and every Friday we are here? There are people that took part in the creation of this masjid — setting it up, its build work, the walls, the carpet, the rent, the purchasing. Some of them have passed away. If not, many of them have passed away. And every time you come here and you pray, there is some reward that is going to them. Every time you come in and pray, there is some reward.

These mushafs that you see — there are people that were the cause of it that we read in Jumu'ah. No doubt, many of you here were reading Surah Al-Kahf before the khutbah started. The Qur'an that you were reciting from the mushaf, someone brought it into the masjid and they are reaping those rewards, inshallah. They are reaping those rewards.

Every masjid you've ever prayed in, people were involved in setting it up. Every musalla, every masjid, every mushaf, all these ibadat that you see. There are wells of water being drunk from and the people that set them up have long perished, but the reward is going for them. Should we not be thinking the same way?

And similarly, my brothers and sisters, there are people that have died and there is nothing. All they have is the deeds they died with. No children making du'a for them. No knowledge that they have propagated or taught. No charity that they have been involved in that is ongoing. That's it for them.

Truly — انْقَطَعَ عَمَلُهُمْ — their deeds, just what they died with, and that's all they have. That should not be our fate. That should not be what happens to us, my brothers and sisters.

So start planning now, since you do not know and I do not know when our end is going to be. Repent from the many sins that you have accumulated. Prepare for the hereafter and act upon this hadith of the Prophet ﷺ, starting with the sadaqah jariyah. You don't have to invest a lot, but invest in your akhirah.

We plan for our lives as if we are going to live forever. Wallahi, you will not live forever. And we spend hours working, thinking of businesses, trading, waking up early, going to work, building our businesses — and we will die. Our banks will have those same accounts and the money will be there for your family to inherit, and you will die. Think about that. When you are in your grave, what do you want to go with you? Think about that. Think about the fact that there is a likelihood that you have more sin than good deeds and that you'll die upon that. And if it isn't for Allah's mercy, you will be held accountable for your sins.

But imagine you ensure that you invested in your akhirah, and over time — 10 years, 20 years, 100 years, 1,000 years — all of a sudden those good deeds are ongoing. Those wells that people pay money for and they are built all over the world — wallahi, it's not just the people that drink from them. The animals, the birds that drink from them — there is khair and reward coming to the person that took part in it. This is the rahmah of Allah. You can ensure that your reward continues. So invest in the sadaqah jariyah.

Umar ibn al-Khattab, رضي الله عنه, came to the Prophet ﷺ after Khaybar and said, "Ya Rasulullah, this land that I have is the most beloved to me." And the Prophet ﷺ said to him: make it waqf — احْبِسْهَا — make it waqf so that other people can benefit from it and the reward can come to you. Ongoing reward. Ongoing ajar.

And the best type of sadaqah, my brothers and sisters, is saqy al-ma' — it is to give water. So the next time you come across an opportunity to dig a well — and we know there are certain countries that are deprived, that are struggling, that raise their hands to Allah every single day — you could be the answer to their du'a, if Allah makes you the means. Not only can you then help them and do that which Allah loves the most — and Allah loves the most when we put happiness and joy in the hearts of believers — not only do you put joy and happiness in them, where maybe they had to walk so far for water and now it is closer, they can drink from it, the children can drink from it — but also, if you die, that reward continues and continues. Sadaqah jariyah, my brothers and sisters.

Do not let that opportunity go to waste. Do not let that opportunity go to waste. From today, start planning. Even if it is something small — it is not about the amount; it is about the intention, it is about the fact that it is ongoing and people are benefiting.

And it is important also that when we hear the word sadaqah jariyah, that we understand what it means. It is not just wells. It could be hospitals. It could be orphanages. Anything that is going to continue benefiting people generation after generation — take part in it. It does not have to be a lot of money, but get into that mindset. Invest in your akhirah. Invest in your akhirah.

The Second: Ilm Yuntafa'u Bihi — Beneficial Knowledge

The second thing the Prophet ﷺ said is عِلْمٌ يُنْتَفَعُ بِهِ — knowledge that is benefited from. In another expression: knowledge that is acted upon.

Each one of us here — and I want you to think about this — who taught you Surah Al-Fatihah? Who taught you Ayat al-Kursi? Who taught you how to pray? There is someone there that will come to your mind. Maybe it was a parent, maybe it was a teacher, maybe it was a mentor — whoever it was. If you are a convert, who called you to Islam? That person has done such a great service — not just to you for what you know, but every time you recite, every time you pray, that reward goes to them, even if they have passed away. And you want the same. You want the same.

So if you have knowledge, spread it. This does not just have to be something that you teach someone in person. Nowadays the ways to spread knowledge are many. How many of you get a WhatsApp message? You get a WhatsApp message that reminds you to do something khair. And then, because it is the last hour of Jumu'ah, you make some du'a. Someone sent that, someone wrote that. Thousands of people are seeing that and then they will make du'a. And not only will they make du'a, now they build that habit and they are doing that because someone decided to spread that knowledge.

I just talked about Abu Hurairah's hadith. How long ago did Abu Hurairah die? And yet here we are — after more than a thousand and four hundred years — saying Abu Hurairah said that the Prophet ﷺ said that when a person dies their deeds stop. We are mentioning the hadith. He chose to share it with his students. And today, after more than a thousand years of his passing, in a country far away from the one he was born in, thousands of people are listening to that same very hadith. And as we act upon it, that is a portion of the reward going to Abu Hurairah in his grave. This is what it means to spread beneficial knowledge.

Each one of us knows something. Spread the knowledge. It could be that you purchase books for those that learn. It could be that you support madrasas. It could be that you sponsor a student. It could be different ways. It could be that you teach your children. عِلْمٌ يُنْتَفَعُ بِهِ — think about that, my brothers and sisters. This is something that will continue ongoing for you even after your passing.

And generally speaking, the most beloved deed to Allah after the obligations is the seeking of ilm and the acting upon knowledge. So again, change your mindset. Keep thinking of ways you can invest in khair, in your akhirah, in your hereafter. عِلْمٌ يُنْتَفَعُ بِهِ.

The Third: Walad Salih — A Righteous Child Who Makes Du'a

And then finally, the Prophet ﷺ said: وَلَدٌ صَالِحٌ يَدْعُو لَهُ — a righteous child that makes du'a. The ulama say one of the signs of righteousness is how often you remember your parents in du'a. One of the signs of salah and righteousness is how often you remember your parents and your grandparents in du'a. How often do you remember them? Because if you are the one making du'a for them, then you are وَلَدٌ صَالِحٌ. And they benefit from that, because no doubt they raised you, no doubt they taught you, and you now remember them and ask Allah to show them rahmah and mercy.

And the Prophet ﷺ told us in a hadith that there will be an individual on the Day of Judgment who will see mountains of good deeds and reward and will say, "Where is this from?" And he is told: this is the du'a of your children.

Second Part of the Khutbah

الْحَمْدُ لِلَّهِ رَبِّ الْعَالَمِينَ وَبِهِ نَسْتَعِينُ عَلَى أُمُورِ الدُّنْيَا وَالدِّينِ وَالْعَاقِبَةُ لِلْمُتَّقِينَ وَلَا عُدْوَانَ إِلَّا عَلَى الظَّالِمِينَ وَصَلَّى اللَّهُ وَسَلَّمَ عَلَى نَبِيِّنَا مُحَمَّدٍ وَعَلَى آلِهِ وَصَحْبِهِ أَجْمَعِينَ.

My beloved brothers and sisters, we were going through the hadith of the Prophet ﷺ of the three types of deeds that are able to benefit us after our passing. The last one was a righteous child that makes du'a for you.

Immediately from this you learn the importance of — and the encouragement to strive to have — children if it is possible. To get married and to have children and raise them right, so that they can be a source of goodness for you. And that is where the importance of having children and then raising them right starts. This is why you will find in the Qur'an that the Prophets ﷺ would make du'a to Allah and the righteous people would ask for their children to be rectified and to be given righteous children — not just children, but righteous children — so that they can then be a source of goodness for others and for themselves as well.

It is also important that we raise our children in a manner and in a way where they understand that the priority for us is not the dunya but the akhirah. And they are the kind of children that, when their parents pass away, they do not only think of inheriting the wealth that their fathers and mothers have left, but rather: how can I benefit them in their akhirah? How can I exemplify what the Prophet ﷺ said of being a righteous child by remembering them in my du'as? By doing waqf projects for them? By giving charity on their behalf? By paying off their debts? By serving my parents as Allah ordered me to do:

And especially: be good to your parents. You can be good to your parents even after they have passed away. Something very small that each one of us can do is that those among us whose parents have passed away make du'a for them when making du'a for themselves — that every time after salah, or in the evening, or whenever you raise your hands, you remember them. You can do so much for those that have passed away.

And generally speaking, the du'a that we give — why did Allah mention the children particularly? Because it is the children that tend to remember their parents most often. But even if someone does not have children, there is a very powerful story by the great scholar Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah, رحمه الله — and this is actually an example of what I mentioned before about knowledge. Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah, رحمه الله, did not have any children because he never got married. And he did have many students. The day he died, one of his students stood over his body, looked, and cried, and said: "Verily, you did not have any children, but we are your children." And what did they do? They continued passing on his knowledge. They continued making du'a for him.

That is the power of knowledge — that even though Ibn Taymiyyah had no regular legacy of children, today, hundreds of years later, he is being remembered. People are making du'a for him and benefiting from his works. This is the power that knowledge has. It continues your legacy even if you do not have any children.

Conclusion — Prepare for the Akhirah

In any case, my beloved brothers and sisters, I want you to understand: it is our responsibility to plan for our akhirah. When a man came to the Prophet ﷺ and said, "When is the Hour?" the Prophet ﷺ replied to him: "What have you prepared for it?" So let us prepare for our akhirah by repenting from our sins, doing as many good deeds as possible, ensuring that our scales are filled with righteous actions and that there is little sin — because we are constantly repenting — and that we also plan so that we can continue to gain reward after our passing, with the advice of the Prophet ﷺ.

Pray for your Prophet as Allah commanded you when He said:

O Allah, be pleased with the descendants of the four: Abu Bakr, Umar, Uthman and Ali, and for the rest of the companions and followers and those who followed them with good till the Day of Judgment.

And the end of our supplication is: all praise be to Allah, Lord of the worlds.