Be a Productive Muslim - Shaykh Zakaullah Saleem

Be a Productive Muslim

My dear respected brothers and sisters in Islam, one of the most frequently mentioned stories of the Quran is the story of Prophet Musa (peace be upon him). Allah has mentioned various aspects of the life of Sayyiduna Musa (peace be upon him) and there are many, many lessons for us to take from the story of Musa (peace be upon him). In today's khutbah I would like to share with you a particular lesson that we learn from the story of Musa (peace be upon him) and from the passage of Surah Al-Qasas in which Allah has made the mention of an employment contract of Musa (peace be upon him) — the contract that was between Musa (peace be upon him) and an old man who had two daughters.

The Story of Musa in Madyan

Musa (peace be upon him), when he fled his country, Misr, and went to Madyan. He arrived in Madyan and came across a group of men who were watering their flocks of sheep and goats. Musa (peace be upon him) saw that there were two young women who were keeping behind, keeping back their flocks, and they did not have the courage to go ahead and water their sheep. Musa (peace be upon him) asked them about their situation, they replied back, and then eventually Musa (peace be upon him) helped them and assisted them.

These two women went back home and told their father about the incident that took place. Then the father sent one of the girls to go and call Musa (peace be upon him). She arrived and invited him, saying that my father is calling you — he wants to pay you for your help and your assistance. Musa (peace be upon him) arrived there and then there was a contract between this old man and Musa (peace be upon him), and Allah has made mention of this contract.

Allah says in the Quran — "I would like to marry one of my daughters to you on the condition that you work for me for eight years." This is the contract between Musa (peace be upon him) and this old man: that Musa (peace be upon him) had to work for eight years. The conditions of the contract were decided and agreed upon, and the job role was that of a shepherd. Musa (peace be upon him) had to take care of the goats and sheep of this old man for eight years.

He had to work for him as an employee for eight years — and the nature of the job was that he had to work every single day from morning to evening, all seven days, without taking a single day off. And he worked not only eight years but rather ten years, because the initial agreement was for eight years but the old man said: if you complete ten years and work two additional years, then that is from you. So Musa (peace be upon him) worked.

The Lesson: We Are a Nation of Work

The lesson that we learn from this particular incident of Musa (peace be upon him) is that we as Muslims are the nation of work — we are the nation who knows nothing but work. Allah has encouraged us in the Quran, and the Prophet (peace be upon him) has encouraged us in so many ahadith to work and work and work tirelessly, and to work hard every single day without showing any frustration.

This is what I would like to advise in today's khutbah — advise for myself and for every single individual present here — that you as a Muslim need to be a productive Muslim. Don't be lazy. Don't waste your time. You must take advantage of the blessings that Allah has showered upon you.

First: Be Thankful to Allah for His Blessings

In order for you to be productive, my dear brothers and sisters in Islam, first and foremost you need to thank Allah for all the blessings that He has showered on you. You must be thankful to Allah for the energy He has granted you. You must be thankful to Allah for the intellect He has given you. You must be thankful to Allah for the senses He has given you — for your vision, your hearing, and the ability to work and move around. You are not disabled. Allah has granted you health. Allah has blessed you with so many favours and blessings — don't waste your life, don't waste your time. Rather take advantage of all the blessings of Allah.

Work Is Not Stopped Even on Friday

My dear brothers and sisters in Islam, we know that the best day of the whole week is the day of Friday. Allah did not ask us to give up our work even on Friday. Rather Allah revealed a surah in the Quran with the name of Surah Al-Jumu'ah. In that surah, Allah says: when you hear the adhan of Jumu'ah, then give up your work, stop trading and dealing in your business, and hasten towards the remembrance of Allah — attend the khutbah. And only for that particular time it is not permissible for you to work.

And then Allah says in the following ayah: once the Jumu'ah prayer has ended, then you must disperse in the land and seek from the bounties of Allah — seek the provision that Allah has provided for you in this land.

If work is not asked to be stopped on the day of Friday, then what about the rest of the days of the week? What about those who do not work at all — rather they solely rely on public funds and rely on others? They either beg others, or they become a burden on their own family, on their own community, on their own country. And this does not befit a Muslim.

Rasulullah (peace be upon him), in his early days in Madinah Al-Munawwarah, instructed his companions that whenever they would come to the masjid for Salatul Jumu'ah they must perform ghusl. And what was the reason? At the beginning of Islam, taking a bath on the day of Friday was obligatory. And the reason was — as our mother Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her) said — that the companions used to work in their fields and their farms and then come for Salatul Jumu'ah. The masjid of Rasulullah (peace be upon him) was so small and the ceiling was so low, and these companions would be sweating. That is why Rasulullah (peace be upon him) encouraged them to have ghusl before attending the masjid. Rasulullah (peace be upon him) never ever asked them not to work on Fridays. Rather he instructed them to have ghusl before attending the masjid.

The point is, my dear brothers and sisters in Islam, that we as Muslims are encouraged by our own Shari'ah, by our own religion, by the Quran, by the Sunnah of Rasulullah (peace be upon him), to work tirelessly and to work every day — and to be productive for ourselves, for our family, for our relatives, for our community, for our country, for the whole Ummah. Be productive.

Second: Take Advantage of Five Before Five

In order for you to be productive, you must bear in mind the hadith of Rasulullah (peace be upon him) in which he said: "Take advantage of five before five."

(Shu'ab al-Iman of Imam al-Bayhaqi, Hadith 9575; also reported in Mustadrak al-Hakim, Vol. 4, Hadith 7846)

He (peace be upon him) said: First, take full advantage of your youth before your old age. Second, take advantage of your good health before sickness, before illness. Third, take advantage of your richness — the wealth that Allah has given you — take advantage of it before poverty. Fourth, take advantage of your free time before you become so preoccupied with things that you do not get any free time. And finally, take full advantage of your whole life before your death. Take advantage of your life — every single breath that you take is precious, is a ni'mah, a blessing from Allah. Don't waste your life. Take advantage of your life before death, before you see the angel of death and then regret.

Before the time comes when you see the angel of death and then say:

"O my Lord, let me go back — give me just a few moments so that I can do some good work." But Allah says: Kallā — this is just a statement that the person is going to utter, but it is not going to benefit him. Take advantage of your life.

You Will Be Asked on the Day of Judgment

Bear in mind, my dear brothers and sisters in Islam, that Rasulullah (peace be upon him) has warned us and informed us that on the Day of Judgment every single one of us will be standing before Allah. Allah is going to hold every single one of us to account. And Rasulullah (peace be upon him) said: no slave of Allah will be able to move his feet before Allah until he is asked five questions.

(Sunan al-Tirmidhi, Hadith 2417)

Amongst those questions, Allah is going to ask you about your youth — when you had good health, energy, time, and all the blessings of Allah — but you wasted them, you did not take advantage of them. Allah is going to ask you about your youth age, and then there will be another question about your whole life — about your age, about how you spent your life in this dunya. Prepare yourself for the answer to these questions.

No Excuse for Idleness

That is why we need to be active, we need to be productive, and we need to be beneficial — for ourselves, for our families, for our friends, for our community, for all the people around us, and for the whole Ummah.

And wallahi it is very sad when we hear particularly the youth wasting their time, having the excuse that they could not get the job they are after — a particular job they have in mind — and they say: "Unless I get that particular job, I am not going to work." Where did you learn this from? Who told you, who taught you this lesson, that you should never work until you find that particular job you have made up your mind for?

Rasulullah (peace be upon him) said:

(Sahih al-Bukhari, Hadith 1470)

That one of you goes to the jungle, to the forest, gathers some wood, carries the bundle of wood on his back, goes out and sells it — it is better for you than begging people, than asking around. Begging is something that Islam and the Shari'ah has disliked.

But unfortunately, how many of our youth are idle and waste their time? How many of the youth waste their mornings and evenings — their days in their sleep, in their bed — and at night waste their time in front of screens, the TV, the internet, the mobile phone? They have nothing to do other than wasting their time.

Do you think that Allah has created you without any purpose? Allah has created you for a purpose. Allah has granted you this life to test you. As Allah says:

Allah has created death and life so that He can test you — who amongst you is the best in their performance of good deeds as well as their worldly matters.

When we say you have to be productive, my dear brothers and sisters in Islam, you must be productive in the worldly matters as well as in your religion. Ask yourself: what have you achieved in the past one, two, three, five, ten years? How much knowledge from the religion of Allah have you gained? How many circles of Islamic studies have you attended? How much of the religion have you learnt? If you haven't learnt anything apart from attending the masjid for daily prayers, and your situation today is exactly the same as it was ten years ago, then it means you have no productivity in your life.

Be productive. Do something. If you cannot find the job you are looking for, then my dear brothers and sisters in Islam, act upon the hadith of Rasulullah (peace be upon him) in which he said:

(Al-Mu'jam al-Awsat of al-Tabarani, Hadith 5787; also reported in Silsilat al-Ahadith al-Sahihah of al-Albani, Hadith 906)

The best amongst the people is the one who is the most beneficial for others. If you cannot find a job, it does not mean that you waste your time and kill yourself with laziness. Rather, you should volunteer. If you cannot find any job, go ahead and approach a charity, approach a masjid, offer your services, take advantage of your time. If you have free time, take advantage of it rather than wasting your time in useless activities — activities that are not going to benefit you neither in this dunya nor in the hereafter.

A Message to Parents

My dear brothers and sisters in Islam, at the same time I would like to request the parents: you have a duty towards your children. Don't raise up your children as lazy, inactive, and unproductive — who do nothing, who know nothing other than the comfort of their own zone. Let them work hard. Teach them the lessons that they have to work hard. Give them stories of your predecessors, of your forefathers. Go through the biographies and the lives of the Salaf and look how hard they worked.

Look at the Seerah of Rasulullah (peace be upon him) — how much he achieved in a very short period of time. Go through the Seerah of the companions. Look at the Seerah of Abu Hurairah — within a short period of less than four years he memorised thousands of ahadith of Rasulullah (peace be upon him). Look at the Seerah of Abdullah ibn Umar, our mother Aisha, Abdullah ibn Abbas, Anas ibn Malik, Abu Sa'id al-Khudri, Mu'adh ibn Jabal — the shining stars of this Ummah, the companions of Rasulullah who took advantage of every single moment of their life and raised their ranks in this dunya and in the hereafter as well.

And then after them, look at the Seerah and the biographies of the Imams of this Ummah — how hard they worked for the Ummah: Imam Al-Bukhari, Imam Muslim, Abu Dawood, Al-Tirmidhi, Al-Nasa'i, Ibn Majah, Abu Hanifa, Imam Malik, Imam Al-Shafi'i, Ahmad ibn Hanbal, Ibn Taymiyyah, Ibn Kathir, Al-Dhahabi. Go through the stories of these Salaf so that you become motivated and have the courage to give up your laziness and start working.

May Allah give us the ability to take advantage of our life, to take advantage of our good health, and to take advantage of our youth age.

Strive for Excellence — Ihsan in Everything

My dear brothers and sisters in Islam, when it comes to the matter of being productive, our religion encourages us to strengthen ourselves and to develop ourselves — from good to better, and from better to best. Always achieve and aim higher and higher. This is how Allah has taught us in the Quran and Rasulullah (peace be upon him) has taught us in the hadith:

(Sahih Muslim, Hadith 1955)

Allah has made ihsan — excellence — obligatory in everything. Be excellent at your work. Be excellent in seeking knowledge. Be excellent, strive, and make efforts to achieve higher and higher goals. This is how Allah has taught us.

The Du'a of Abu Umama — Seeking Refuge from Laziness

Finally, my dear brothers and sisters in Islam, I would like to share with you a very important hadith of Rasulullah (peace be upon him) — in fact a du'a that Rasulullah (peace be upon him) has taught us. This du'a should be part of our morning and evening adhkar and should be read every single day — three times in the morning and three times in the evening.

This is the du'a that Rasulullah (peace be upon him) taught to Abu Umama. Abu Umama was a companion amongst the Ansar who was sitting in the masjid one day. The Prophet (peace be upon him) came across him and asked him:

"How come I see you sitting in the masjid and this is not the time of prayer — what are you doing in the masjid?"

Abu Umama replied:

"O Messenger of Allah, I have so many problems, so many worries, and I have so many debts that have broken my back — that is why I am here in the masjid."

Rasulullah (peace be upon him) said: "Shall I not teach you some beneficial words — a du'a that you recite every single day in the morning and evening?" Abu Umama said: "Why not, O Messenger of Allah." The Prophet (peace be upon him) taught him this particular du'a and said: say it three times in the morning and three times in the evening:

(Sahih al-Bukhari, Hadith 2893; Sahih Muslim, Hadith 2706)

"O Allah, I seek refuge with You from being unable to do anything, from inability. O Allah, protect me from being unable to do any work. O Allah, I seek refuge and I seek Your protection from laziness." And obviously the du'a is a bit longer — this du'a can be found in the book Fortress of the Muslim (Hisn al-Muslim) — and you should remember this du'a and memorise it.

But bear in mind: simply reading this du'a every single day morning and evening is not going to benefit you until and unless you make effort, you come out of your comfort zone, you leave your bed, you go out and find work, and you start working and making effort. And then along with this, ask Allah to give you strength, energy, and power to do some work.

May Allah enable you to be productive — for yourself, for your dunya and for your akhira, for your family and for your parents, for your siblings, for your relatives, for your community, and for the whole Ummah. May Allah give us tawfiq and ability to act upon whatever we hear and whatever we say.