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بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم، الحمد لله رب العالمين، والصلاة والسلام على شرف الأنبياء والمرسلين، محمد رسول الله ﷺ، تسليماً كثيراً.
Yesterday somebody asked me about a couple of things, he asked about day trading, he asked about cryptocurrency and so on.
Now all of these are matters in which there is a difference of opinion, where there is an opinion for and an opinion against. So I want to talk with you about this. Two things I want you to understand: one is that Allah Subhanahu wa Ta’ala is our Provider (Razzaq). Allah said, “Allah is the Sustainer of the heavens and the earth.”
With His power. The second thing to understand is what Allahﷻ also said, where He said, “Say, ‘My Lord expands provision for whom He wills and constricts it.’ But most people do not know.”
So from these two verses, and from the hadith of Rasulullah where he said that your provision has been written for you, and the verse of Surah Al-Dhariyat where Allahﷻ said, “Your provision is in the heavens,” and whatever you desire, this is the truth, this is the truth. And Allah gave an example and said, “This is like the way you talk to one another; this is the truth we are talking to one another. You don’t doubt this, then why do you doubt that your provision is in the heavens?” In the heavens. So we understand that Allah Subhanahu wa Ta’ala is the One who provides. That Allah Subhanahu wa Ta’ala has the power to provide. That Allah Subhanahu wa Ta’ala knows how much to provide. And Allah Subhanahu wa Ta’ala gives in keeping with our ability to use that in the best way. Right? This is our Aqeedah. This is our creed. This is our belief as Muslims. So worrying about and thinking about, “How will I earn? What will happen? Where will it come from? What happens if this shop shuts down? What happens if that business closes down?” This is all a sign of a lack of Iman.
Imam al-Buti, one of the great shuyukh, he died recently from Algeria. He tells a wonderful story. He said that his father told him: “My father told me there was a man, a righteous man—InshaAllah from among the Salihin—who went to one town and lived in that house, and he used to pray in the mosque near his home. Because he used to go every day, he became friends with the Imam. So one day the Imam asked him, ‘What do you do?’ meaning, what is your livelihood?
Inshallah, what is your job?
Then he said, ‘Allah Subhanahu wa Ta’ala provides for me; Allah provides for me.’
Then a few days later, the Imam saw him again. And he thought of the same question. He asked, ‘What is your source? How do you think about it?’ He said, ‘Allah provides for me; Allah provides for me.’
Then a few days later, the Imam saw him at someone’s house. He had something to distribute. And he spoke. He read the same question. ‘Do you know what happens?’ He said, ‘Allah Ta’ala provides for me. It is only good for me.’ Then it happened in another way. So this person told the Imam: ‘My friend, my brother, my brother,’ “He gives me four gold dinars every month. He has pledged that he will give me four gold dinars every month.” So the Imam said, “Ah, okay, now I understand.”
Now I am content.
So this man said to him, “Ya Sheikh, I am going to repeat all the Salah I prayed behind you. I am going to make up all those Salats because my Salah is not valid.” He said, “When I told you that Allah provides for me…”
“A person provided for me. A person meant for me. Now you realize. When I told you that Allah was my Provider, you did not feel it. So your faith is incomplete. Therefore, everything behind you is wrong.”
Yes?
If Allah is giving, then He sustains. Where does it come from? Now He is sustaining and speaking. Then yes, it is very beautiful.
Allah provides for me. Sometimes Allah Subhanahu wa Ta’ala provides from one source; sometimes from another source; sometimes without a source. Allah is the One who gives. This is the meaning of Tawakkul. This is the meaning of having faith in Allah Subhanahu wa Ta’ala. When you are saying, “Allah is the One who expands my Rizq,” and “Allah is the One who constricts my Rizq,” then you look to people. You look to human beings. Whoever it is—maybe your own father, maybe your brother, maybe your sister, whoever your friend—and you say, well, you know, he will give me. If that person agrees, then my work will be done.
This is a lack of faith. It is a lack of Iman.
Now, you might say, well, you know, the reality is that unless this person signs, nothing will happen. That’s not the reality. That is not the reality.
The reality is that until Allah Subhanahu wa Ta’ala decrees that the person should sign, he cannot sign. That is the reality. The reality is not that until this person signs, my work will not be done. That’s not the reality.
The reality is that until Allah wants him to sign, he will never sign. What happens if he drops dead? Just think about this. You are waiting for somebody to do something for you and you say, okay, this person will sign. He dies. So what happens? Does it mean your work will still come? No. Someone else will take this opportunity. Another officer may be appointed, or if it is his special duty, it may go to his sister, or someone else will come. No, in the world, things do not happen like that; your work ends right there. Now, how can you proceed on your own? Nothing happens even if you speak. Only Allah does it Himself. So who is doing this? Allah Ta’ala. This is expectation; everyone speaks of it with their tongue, we all say it,
We should act upon it , but what is in the heart? Is this a reality?
This is the reason why the Companions (Radi Allahu Anhum) would pray Taraweeh when something necessary was happening or something went wrong or some debt was due so they would pray Taraweeh first
They did not say, ‘Do not work,’ as if there is no work behind them . If Allah Subhanahu wa Ta’ala has not decreed for you, if Allah does not give you, nothing will happen. He cannot give you. So stand up to Allah first and foremost. Then reach out through whatever means.
That is why some people whom Allah Subhanahu wa Ta’ala has granted and who understand the reality do not even make an effort to go to the human being. They said, “Why should I ask him?” There is a famous story about three young men in the time of, I think, Imam Ahmad bin Hanbal, early Abbasid period. These three people went to Baghdad to study Deen. So, the students didn’t have much money and so on, in any case. So they went to Baghdad; they were studying, so every day from morning till night they studied, and at night they had reading and memorization and all that. So obviously there is no time to work and earn anything. Whatever savings they took, they finished it off.
Then it came to the point where now there was no money for food.
So one day passed, two days passed, three days passed.
So then they said, well, now we are starving, literally starving. For three days we have had no food, nothing. So they said, we will draw lots. Because now three days have passed, today is the fourth day, there is still no sign of food. So now it is Halal for us to beg. We can ask people. Who will do it? Three of them. They don’t want, nobody wants to do it. So who will do it? They will draw lots. Okay. So they drew lots. Someone came for him. The other two said, “You go get some food, and we will go back to class.” And when they returned later, they would tell him what they learned. They said. So he left them behind. This person sat there. He sat down and made Dua. And he said, “Allah, this is Halal; I am making a request.” So he was begging you.
He said, “It is Halal for me to beg. I am begging you. Why should I ask anybody at the end of the day whether I beg on the street or I beg somewhere? You are the One to provide. You are the One who will give. So I am asking you: Give me.”
So he didn’t go anywhere. He sat the whole day. He made Zikr and he prayed. He is asking Allah. And he said, “I will not go. I will not extend my hand before a human being. I will ask my Rabb in the evening.” There was a knock on the door.
And they opened the door. There was… there was a soldier from the governor’s palace. And he had brought food—Toshizan, a whole container full of food—and he asked him. He asked for this guy by name. He says, “I am looking for so-and-so, Abdul Rahman,” or whatever his name is. He said, “This is from the governor’s palace for you.”
And he said, “Not only this; for the duration, as long as you are in Baghdad, this will come every day.”
So this man said, “Who are you? What are you?”
He said, “No, he said, ‘The governor saw you in a dream and he was commanded to support you and send food,’ so he said.”
Allah Ta’ala, the thing is that, you know, we have, may Allah have mercy, we have got so disconnected from Allah Subhanahu wa Ta’ala that we, for us, we are very surprised when these things happen. How difficult is it for Allahﷻ to do this?
The issue is we must have that Iman.
If we have that Iman, it will happen.
That having that Iman is the issue.
So I mentioned to you two verses of the Quran. Let me mention to you two hadiths and we’ll end with that.
One is the hadith, famous hadith in Bukhari which is sometimes called the hadith which is like the essence of Iman, narrated by Anas bin Bashir. He said, “I heard Rasulullah saying: ‘I am saying…'”
He said, “The Halal is clear and the Haram is clear. And between the two, there are doubtful matters.”
And he said, “Most people have no knowledge about them. People don’t know these doubtful matters. They don’t have answers to this. Like I mentioned to you, things like financial instruments and this and that.”
And then Nabi Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam said, “So whoever saves himself from these doubtful things, saves his religion and saves his honour. And whoever indulges in these doubtful things is like a shepherd who grazes his animals near the boundary, the Hima, which is a private boundary of someone else, near the Hima, the boundary of the king. And at any moment, some of his animals are likely to cross the boundary and go into the other place. And then, of course, this shepherd will be in trouble. So, Nabi said, beware; every king has a Himmah, has a boundary. And the Himmah, the boundary of Allahﷻ on the earth is what He has forbidden. Whatever Allahﷻ has forbidden, that is the boundary.” What Allah said in the Quran. Allah said: Do not even approach it closely. He said so. Do not even approach it closely. This is the heart. The core of the matter. Therefore Understanding Taqwa
For which there is no test. And for it there is another Hadith And I am coming with it And this hadith is from Hassan bin Ali Radi Allahu Anhum It is his hadith. Rasulullah ﷺ Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam said that whoever wears a shirt for which he does not have a shirt… wait, let me rephrase. Whoever wears a garment for which he cannot pay Zakat. A garment that goes to Zakat or does not go to Zakat. Barakah (blessing) is felt in it and error is committed. And this gold is in Tirmidhi. So, therefore, the thing to understand in this is first and foremost that Allah Subhanahu wa Ta’ala has written our Rizq, and Allah knows what we need, and Allah gives us what we need. So, there is no need to choose a source in which there is a doubt because we will not be questioned on the Day of Judgment about the quantum of Rizq. Allah will not say, “Why did you not have a million dollars?” Allah will say, “The ten dollars you had, did you earn it from Halal or Haram? Did you spend it in Halal or Haram? Allah will not ask you how much wealth you had. Allah will ask, where did you earn this wealth from? The source of earning. And where did you spend it? Did you spend this wealth in a Halal place or a Haram place? Did you earn it from a Halal place or a Haram place? This is the question.”
So when the question is not about the quantum of wealth, why are we worried about that? Why are we concerned? We should be concerned about something which we will be questioned about. No?
But Shaitan takes us in the opposite direction. Shaitan tells us, “Don’t worry; the question is okay, no problem. Just earn. If you don’t earn, you will starve. What will happen to your family? What will happen after you die?”
What will happen after you die? Worry about what will happen to you after you die. Your family, Allah will take care. Allah is the Creator of your family. Allah will take care of them. What’s your problem? You do your best, Alhamdulillah. I’m not saying don’t do anything. You do your best. After that, they are your wife, your children, whoever is there. They are the Makhluk of Allah Subhanahu wa Ta’ala. Did Allah Subhanahu wa Ta’ala say, “Commit Haram to look after them because I can’t take care of them”? Did Allah say this? No, it was not. Then…
You do whatever you can do Halal to the best of your ability. Beyond this, it is not your responsibility. Your family is the responsibility of the One who created it. Allah is responsible. You are the responsibility of Allah Subhanahu wa Ta’ala. He created you. What will happen after I die? The real question is to ask yourself this question: What will happen to me after I die? People ask, “What happens to my family after I die?” Think for yourselves. After I die, yes…
We had a famous person, Bishar al-Nahhas, who used to say, “You keep talking about what happens after death.” They would say, “You are talking about what happens after death. My wife is crying; leaving me behind, she will suffer. What will happen to her? To him? To her? This thought does not occur to them. What about you? Yes.” Not saying everybody is like that; they are not good people, there are some in the world, but generally speaking…
Worry about yourself. I should worry about myself. Allah will take care of whoever is there. We ask Allah to help us understand the fundamentals of life so that we follow the Deen which Rasulullah brought for us, which Allah sent for us, and we don’t get distracted by Shaitan into this way.