Helping the Vulnerable - Shaykh Zakaullah Saleem
By Shaykh Zakaullah Saleem | 2026-07-06T18:54:31.813435+00:00 | Topic: Seerah
Khutbah Opening
Indeed, all praise is due to Allah. We praise Him, seek His aid, and seek His forgiveness. And we seek refuge in Allah from the evils of our souls and from the evils of our deeds.
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. And I bear witness that Muhammad is His servant and Messenger.
O you who have believed, fear Allah as He should be feared. And you will not die except as Muslims.
O you who have believed, fear your Lord, Who created you from a single soul. And He created from it its mate. And He spread among them many men and women. And fear Allah, in Whom you ask for mercy. Indeed, Allah is ever watching over you.
O you who have believed, fear Allah and say the right words. He will amend your deeds for you and forgive your sins. And whosoever obeys Allah and His Messenger has certainly attained a great triumph.
As for what follows — the best hadith is the Book of Allah. And the best guide is the guide of Muhammad, peace and blessings be upon him. And the worst of things are its innovations. And every innovation is a bid'ah. And every bid'ah is a misguidance. And every misguidance is in the Fire.
The Prophet as the Best Role Model
My dear respected brothers and sisters in Islam, Allah says in the Quran:
For you, O believers, there is the best example in Rasulullah, peace and blessings be upon him. The Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, is the best example and the best role model for every one of us — in every single aspect of our lives.
And the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, is a role model for us from the moment he was given messengership — when he became the Messenger and Prophet of Allah at the age of 40. And even before that, Rasulullah, peace and blessings be upon him, presented his best morals. The people of Mecca knew the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, as a person of kind heart — a person who was always caring and helping others. And this was one of those characteristics of Rasulullah, peace and blessings be upon him, by which our mother Khadijah, may Allah be pleased with her, comforted the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, when he received the very first revelation in the cave of Hira.
When he, peace and blessings be upon him, came back home, he was frightened. And she said, "By Allah, Allah will never disgrace you." And then she mentioned some of the best characteristics of Rasulullah, peace and blessings be upon him, saying: "Allah will never disgrace you because of these qualities and these characteristics." And all these qualities and characteristics are to do with akhlaq, with caring, and with showing assistance and help.
She said: You always keep your ties with your relatives. You take the burden of others upon your own shoulders and help them. You treat the guest with kindness and gentleness and the best hospitality. And you always help others when it comes to matters of haqq and truth.
Rasulullah, peace and blessings be upon him, expressed the best akhlaq for a period of 40 years. And then, when Allah granted him prophethood and messengership, he, peace and blessings be upon him, continued with this noble character as he delivered the message of the Tawheed of Allah.
The Importance of Helping One Another
That is why we find in the hadith of Rasulullah, peace and blessings be upon him, that he greatly encouraged us to help each other and to always look after the welfare of the people around us — regardless of ethnicity, regardless of the colour of their skin, regardless of their background, regardless of their age, and regardless of their faith. We, as Muslims, have this duty to look after each other and to offer our assistance and our help wherever and whenever possible.
And Rasulullah, peace and blessings be upon him, said to the believers, in order to strengthen the community and the relationship amongst the Muslims:
(Sahih al-Bukhari, Hadith 481; Sahih Muslim, Hadith 2585)
"A believer to another believer is like a building — each brick within a wall strengthens the wall, and all bricks together form a solid wall." And this is the example of the Muslim community.
And he, peace and blessings be upon him, also said:
"The likeness of the believers in their mutual love, caring, compassion, and sympathy is like one body. If one single limb of the body hurts and suffers, the whole body suffers from pain, wakefulness, and fever." And this is how the Muslim society and Muslim community should be.
And Rasulullah, peace and blessings be upon him, also encouraged us, saying:
(Sahih Muslim, Hadith 2699)
"Whoever removes only one single hardship, one problem, one difficulty from a believer in this dunya, Allah will remove his hardship and his difficulty on the Day of Judgment."
He, peace and blessings be upon him, also said:
(Sahih Muslim, Hadith 2699)
"As long as a believer is at the service of his fellow brother and sister, Allah continues to help them." As long as a Muslim is assisting and helping his fellow Muslims and believers, Allah's help and assistance is with them.
Rasulullah, peace and blessings be upon him, also said:
(Al-Mu'jam al-Awsat by al-Tabarani, Hadith 5787; authenticated by al-Albani in Silsilat al-Ahadith al-Sahihah, Hadith 906)
"The best amongst the people are those who are the most beneficial to others."
So there are countless ayat of the Quran as well as ahadith of Rasulullah, peace and blessings be upon him, that encourage us that we need to help each other. And we should remember, my dear brothers and sisters in Islam, that when it comes to offering our assistance and our help, it is not always to do with money and wealth. This is only one form — one way of helping others — through your money, through donation. But there are many other ways. If Allah has given you a skill, you could help others through your skill, through your time, by spending some time with others, listening to them, listening to their problems. So wherever and whenever you can offer any assistance, any kind of help to others, you should do so. Bear in mind that Allah's assistance and Allah's help will be with you as long as you continue helping others.
May Allah give us tawfiq and ability to look after each other, to offer care to each other, and to help and assist each other, so that we become that community as Rasulullah, peace and blessings be upon him, described.
Those Who Deserve Our Help the Most
My dear brothers and sisters in Islam, when it comes to offering our help and assistance to others, we need to follow the rules and the guidance of Allah and the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him. And when we study the Book of Allah, we come to know that those who deserve our help and our assistance the most are our own parents. And then, after the parents, your relatives and your children — your family. When you have someone who is in need of your assistance and your help within your relatives, you must help them. And this is something that Allah has repeatedly mentioned in the Quran.
Even when it comes to spending, Allah says in the Quran, in Surah Al-Baqarah:
These people ask you, O Muhammad, peace and blessings be upon him, what they should be spending. Reply to them that the question should not be what they should spend — rather the question should be who deserves their spending. And Allah says: whatever you spend from your wealth — your goodness, your care, your assistance, your help — first and foremost, those who deserve your assistance are your own parents. And then your relatives.
Caring for Orphans and the Vulnerable Among Your Relatives
If you have an orphan child amongst your relatives, he deserves most — he deserves your assistance, your help, and your financial support more than any other orphan child. If you have someone vulnerable amongst your relatives, they deserve most. And unfortunately, we see amongst Muslim families that many of them do spend in the way of Allah in charity — sponsoring orphans and helping others — but when it comes to their own relatives, they neglect them.
And people even ask: "Is it permissible for me to give my zakah to my relatives?" Yes — it is even doubly rewarded. Rasulullah, peace and blessings be upon him, said that giving sadaqah and charity to others is one of the good deeds and one of the best deeds. And then he, peace and blessings be upon him, said:
(Sunan al-Tirmidhi, Hadith 658; Sunan al-Nasa'i, Hadith 2582; authenticated by al-Albani)
When you spend on your relatives, you will be rewarded double — you will be rewarded twice: you will be rewarded for your spending as well as for strengthening your relationship with your relatives.
The Order of Priority in Giving
And after our relatives — al-yatama, the orphans — as Allah has kept this order in the Quran in many ayat: your parents, your relatives, and then orphans — orphans within your relatives and other than your relatives. And al-masakeen — the needy. And the needy does not have to be the needy from one of the poorest countries of the world. Rather, we have the needy within this society, within our community, and we should not neglect them. There are many people around us within our community who are in need and who deserve our assistance and our help — we should help them. And those who are around you deserve your assistance and help more than those who are far away.
We ask Allah that He gives us tawfiq and ability to help each other, and may Allah give us tawfiq and ability to better our akhlaq, our mannerism, our care, our compassion, and our sympathy towards others. Indeed, He is the All-Hearing, the Noble, the Responsive.