Why Wealth Isn't a Sign of Allah's Favor

Alhamdulillah.

[Silence]

Last week we had begun to discuss about the issue regarding superstition. It is a type of superstition and it is very prevalent in all times, in all places, in all cultures. And ancient Arabia was not exempt from it. And today in our society, it is just as prevalent, if not more so, than ever. We were speaking about and that is that a person take omens. Is when a person takes suggestions and makes decisions and has beliefs. Ha has beliefs which are all based on omens which largely are dictated by something popular in society. Whether that be a particular type of animal, whether that be a particular type of person, whether that be a particular time, whether that be a particular number, whether that be a particular place, etc. For instance, the number 13 is very often looked at as being a very ominous number. Contrary, contrast and conversely, the number seven is often looked at as being a very lucky number and many of these things find their roots in gambling. Likewise, particular animals often have a stigma attached to them that people believe that this particular animal or that particular animal if it were to cross his path or if the person were to see this animal or hear it at a particular place or time or event that this is ominous. meaning that something bad is going to happen, right? And it is even worse than if a person starts to make decisions based on these omens. If a person starts to make these decisions based on these omens, Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala speaks about very often and we will go into the way that was viewed and the beliefs of which were held in ancient Arabia to which the Messenger of Allah. Muhammad sallall.aii wasallam was sent in order to understand exactly what they believed and hence understand exactly what our prophet sallall.aii wasallam said or did in order to correct these misconceptions and these false beliefs and these superstitions. Then we will inshallah try to tie this into our common time and place and see how it applies to us in today's world. Is mentioned often in the Quran. Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala said And this is in regarding the story of Mam. When Misam was sent to in the first part of his message and and messengerhood, if you will, he was sent to Fyon and he was sent with two commands. number one to call Fon and all of the people under him to the worship of Allah alone without any partners and number two to demand the release of Benny is from the bondage which they were subject to at the time. Now this was not an easy process of course and at first attempted to challenge Mus directly and very publicly. He decided that MS and his miracles that he was provided with by Allah are but magic tricks and that they have magicians as well. And they're going to and he is going to gather the strongest the best of his magicians and they are going to outdo Musam. And so they chose a day which was a holiday. Fun gathered as many of us know the story all of his might with respect to magicians. the most skilled amongst them. The exact number is unknown. Some say 40, some say more, some say less. And when Musam threw down his stick, his staff, and it was turned to a live snake that was able to devour their contraptions that they had set down and defeat their magic. After this, many years went by between this incident and when Musam finally was to lead Bani out of Egypt and which resulted in the splitting of the Red Sea. Now during these years Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala sent various plagues referred to as plagues onto Fan in order to try to soften the hearts of Fan and his people to accept the truth. And so they endured a number of anomalies and a number of tragedies and Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala tells us about this that one of those was famine.

[Silence]

Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala tells us that he sent tribulation upon them for years of famine. And during these years of famine, they would have sporadic times of good and ease and plenty. And Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala tells us about how they understood these things because of their disbelief because of their insistence to disbelieve in Musam. Allah tells us that when something good would happen, they would say this means that we are doing the right thing. whenever something good would happen that this good thing is happening because we're on the right path which is one of the first indications that a person is upon misguidance is when they look at ease in this world or they look at money or they look at obtaining worldly things as being an indication that Allah is pleased with a person. The prophet sallall.aii Wasam said, he said, "Sallam, Allah gives wealth to those whom he loves and those whom he does not. But he only gives eman to those whom he loves." Subhanahu Wa'ta'ala. Worldly gain is not at all an indicator that a person is upon guidance, that a person is upon the right path, a person is given fame, a person is given money, a person is given comfort, luxury, ease. This does not mean that this person is favorable to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. It is what the person does with these money and his fame and this which determines a person's actions. Allah gives wealth to those whom he loves and those whom he does not. But he only gives eman to those whom he loves. Listen to the narration. This is the age-old trick of a shaitan. If you look back into history, you look at some of the worst human beings that ever existed. Fan being one of them, but many others. The people of Tammud, the people of Median, the people of Hud, the people of you look at the people of the people of L, the people of Ibraim and Babylon. You look at some of the great murderers in history. A good example is Genghis Khan. Many of these people looked at this seeming victory, this ease and they would believe that they are chosen by almighty God himself. Genghaskhan was one of the most terrible terrible human beings to ever exist. murdered and put to the sword millions to the point that it was said that he affected the world's population. And not only that, but as quickly as he was murdering people, specifically Muslims, he was simultaneously having as many children as he could with as many mistresses and wives as he could. It's said that a a phenomenal a staggering amount of people on earth today have in them of the lineage of Genghaskhan because of how many children he tried to have. Why? He was trying to eradicate the earth's population and replace them with himself. And Genghaskhan thought he was a prophet. He did thought he was a messenger sent by God himself. Kind of Fon, kind of the people of L. Kind of the people of Ibraim, etc. History continues to repeat itself time and time again. What causes this? What causes this is they see that Allah has given them plenty in the earth and so they take this as a sign that Allah is pleased with them. Well, if if Allah chose me to be the great king, if he chose me to give me all this wealth, if I'm the richest man and blah blah blah, if I have all of this and all of that, if all of these people depend on me, and what would the world do without me? This obviously means that I am favored by God himself. That's what leads to this belief system. And so Fan was no different. Living in plenty, living in luxury, yet his deeds were of the worst. The prophet sallallah.aii wasallam tells us in a narration collected by im Ahmed. Listen to this narration very carefully. How our prophet explains the world around us to us. He says.

[Silence]

Chilling. If you understood that narration, a little chill should go up your spine.

[Silence]

For.

[Silence]

Our prophet sallall.aii says, "If you see Allah giving a man in spite of his disobedience of Allah of the dunya, all that he desires, then know that this giving is merely a plot for this person to as they would say you know rope for a person to hang himself that this is of the of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala this is of the of Allah and so the prophet sallall.aii Wasam tells us that if you see Allah, if you observe Allah giving a man of the dunya all that he desires in spite of his disobedience, then know that this is for this person to dilute himself, for this person to reach the depths of darkness. ness and misguidance to where they can never come back because this is part of the justice of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala says to our prophet Sam.

[Silence]

For him. Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala says to the prophet Sam, "And do not think that Allah is unaware of what the wrongdoers are doing. Indeed, he is merely delaying their justice until they meet that justice on a day when their eyes will stare off into the distance in horror. Their heads will be lowered, trying to cover their heads and their hearts completely empty and hollow of any thought other than black terror. This is what Allah Subhanahu Waaala tells our prophet sallall.aii Wasam with respect to those who are given in spite.

[Arabic recitation]

[Silence]

Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala tells us of an incident that occurred over a span of many years. It is not really any particular occurrence that happened once or twice, but rather it is a kind of issue that had burrowed itself into the hearts of some of the companions. It's something that human beings are plagued with naturally. Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala tells us that the human being is so hasty that it could be said that he was created from haste itself. Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala tells us about an incident in which companions of his not all of them some of them in the days of Mecca in the days before hijra they were being abused by the mushri they were being antagonized they were being belittled at every turn and junction And so some of the younger ones amongst them came to the prophet sallall.aii wasallam begging him to allow them to fight to take up arms and go to battle and war with their antagonist. But the prophet sallall.aii wasallam would say to them He would say, "I have not been commanded with what you are asking." Rather, Allah Subhanahu Waaala revealed to them and gave them the gift of the five daily prayers. During this time, Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala commanded them to for them to keep their hands to themselves and be concerned with your prayers and with giving zak. Perfect this now. Keep your hands to yourselves. This is not a time for battle or war or fighting. Not only would it be incredibly inept in this situation and this dynamic for them to try to take up arms and have a civil war inside of Mecca, the holiest and safest of lands. But furthermore, they had lessons they needed to learn before that step was taken. See, people usually don't want to learn those lessons. They want to jump straight to the glory days. They don't want to have the days when they're down in the trenches with their heads down and they are an unknown. Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala says, "Do you not see to those who were told keep your hands to yourselves and establish prayer and give zakat?" But then later when jihad when fighting was prescribed for them to defend themselves in Medina years later, they were surprised and they said, "Oh Allah, if only you had NOT prescribed this upon us now, if you just given us a little bit more time, why? What changed? Those same people that were begging for conflict, violence in the days of Mecca. Now they got what they seemingly wanted, but now they don't want it. WHY DID THAT HAPPEN? WHY IS IT that they asked for something and then when they got it, they didn't want it? Because the place that that question and request came from is a wrong place. Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala tells us of beni is and a similar situation. Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala tells us the story of and jalut that after the passing of MS and his brother Haronat every time a prophet would pass away in benel another would be appointed in his place. That was that was the way things were for beni is their scholars could not be trusted with the books of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala unlike this this nation this mighty majestic nation of Muhammad Sam has one prophet one messenger and the scholars are of such caliber and of such esteem team that they fill that role to its extent and they fill that role that was only once held and filled by prophets themselves. After the passing of Mus Alam and his brother Haron Benel, their tribes leaders came to one of their newly appointed prophets and they SAID TO HIM, "APPOINT FOR US A KING so that we can go to battle and take up arms against our enemies." Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala says, forch.

[Silence]

He tells us subhanahu wa ta'ala THAT THEY REQUESTED OF THEIR PROPHET APPOINT FOR us ask Allah to appoint a king for us to be established so that we can go to war with our enemies and take up arms. And so their prophet warned them. This is not something that came from Allah first. Their prophet warned them and said, "I fear that you requesting this before Allah has seen it fit to prescribe upon you that you are not going to fulfill this command once it comes." They said, "How could we not fulfill this command? And we have been scattered and driven out of our homes and our buildings and places of residence." Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala says, "And so once fighting was prescribed upon them, they all turned and fled except for a few amongst them. Most of those who asked for it, they were not involved with it at all. This is not just fighting. This of course is one of the obligations of Islam. But there in lies a deep lesson for us all. How do we take this and implement it IN OUR LIVES? NOBODY WANTS TO play the part he's been given. Everyone wants to jump to the glory days first. A person cannot be a teacher until he has fulfilled his role as a student. A person cannot be a leader until he has fulfilled his role as a follower. A person CANNOT BE A FIGHTER until he has learned how to make peace. These are the lessons of Allah. We learn how to make peace before we learn how to wage war because those are two sides of the same coin. And ignorance in one necessitates ignorance in the other. A lack of enthusiasm in ONE NECESSITATES A LACK OF enthusiasm in the other. AND SO WE REQUEST things because we think that the situation we find ourselves in now is not our fault. It's not our problem. THAT IF ONLY THINGS WOULD change from the top, everything would be better. IF SOMEONE ELSE WOULD DO SOMETHING, everything will change. That's not how it works. And so this is we have this idiom in America where we say all Indians and no all all chiefs and no Indians or all roosters and no hens. We have to first start with playing the part that we have been given by Allah. We fulfill that to a tea and we wait for command from Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala beyond that. It's not just an issue of changing one thing quickly and suddenly from the top and everything will be okay. This is why when fighting was prescribed upon them they turned away. Why is that? He says, "Why did they turn away and not uphold the command that they themselves asked for? THEY REQUESTED IT. SO WHEN THEY WERE GIVEN WHAT THEY ASKED FOR, they didn't fulfill it." Why? Allah tells us, he says,.

[Silence]

Their prophet said to them, Allah has appointed for you as your king. You requested a king. You requested to fight. Here is your king. Allah Allah has appointed Taloot as your king. Talut did not come from a wealthy family. He was what we would call today very middle class. And not only that, but he was a tradesman as mentioned by some that he was a blacksmith or a carpenter. He didn't come from a wealthy family nor was he politically connected and of high ranking as far as chieftain goes in tribes. AND SO WHEN ALLAH APPOINTED FOR them their king as Palut, THEY SAID, "HOW can Palut be our king? He hasn't been given the money, the wealth of a king. He's not wealthy. And we are more deserving of being the king than he is." Now we understand why they rejected it. Why did they reject it? They asked for a king because they thought they were going to be the king when the king came. And other than what they fantasized and romanticized about in their minds now they don't want it. This is not what we wanted. We wanted the king to come and be wealthy and we were going to have parades and we were going to scorn our enemies and we were going to rub their faces in the dirt and it's going to be us and WHEN IT WASN'T THEM. WAIT, HOW CAN HE BE given to kingship over us? WE ARE MORE RANKFUL to kingship than him and he's not even wealthy. As if these are the attributes of a true king. These are not the attributes of a true king. Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala says that their prophet said first of all Allah has chose him. He has chosen him above you all. That's number one. Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala does not have to justify his decree. But second of all, they have proven immediately that they are not worthy of a king. Why? Can you imagine a general who has to explain himself to his troops every time he makes a decision? Could you imagine that? I want you to post up here. Well, why why should I post up here? Why are we doing this over here and not this? because all of the soldiers think that they are they should be the general. The general should be my soldier and I should be his general. And so they make very lousy soldiers. But here's the kicker. If a person makes FOR A LOUSY SOLDIER, OF COURSE THEY WILL MAKE A lousy leader because they didn't learn how to be followers and subordinates before they were given the entrustment of being leaders. They want to jump straight to the glory days. It's not good enough the way it is. And so when Allah appointed their king, they said, "We are more rightful to be the king than he is. Me, myself, my family, my tribe, my leader, my this, my that, me." And so immediately they are off on the wrong foot because a people deserve leaders and they are given leaders as they deserve. This is a principle Allah teaches us in the Quran. He said the scholars tell us as you are leaders will be chosen from amongst you. The leaders didn't come from outside. THEY'RE NOT OUTSIDERS. THE LEADERS amongst us who come from amongst us, they are the product of our society. It's not that they come from an alien planet. They come from here. It is our society that has produced them. And so this disease of a person not wanting to be a follower, everyone wants to be the king, everyone wants to be the the the everyone wants to be the Khalifa, everyone wants to be the leader, all the soldiers want to be the general. This will make for one of the greatest military blunders ever. How can there be an army coherent in any way when they have not learned subordination to their superiors? Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala teaches us this. And when they were not given exactly what they had in their mind, they abandoned it. They didn't go with Barlut. He went to war with Jalut, but they didn't follow him. And they abandoned him at the first sign of trouble immediately. The ones who asked for him are the first ones to abandon him on the battlefield. It is incredibly important for us to understand that positions of leadership, positions of knowledge, positions of authority, they are only best filled by individuals who have learned to achieve them. Our prophet sallall.aii Wasam tells us of the best of people and he saidd.

[Silence]

FOR.

[Silence]

He says sah. Wasam, the lowliest of people are the slaves of gold and silver, the slaves of comfortable and extravagant clothing. They are the lowliest. He says the best is for a man, a type of person, he tells us holding the reigns of his horse, prepared at the drop of a hat to answer and to apply himself to any position that Allah has deemed fit for him. He says his hair unkempt, his feet dusty. If he is placed as a guard, he gives being a guard his all. And if he is placed at the farthest back of the mil of the army, he gives that position his all. A KIND OF PERSON THAT IS SO unknown that when he asks for leave of absence, he is not granted. And when he intercedes on anyone's behalf, his intercession is not honored. What is the prophet telling us here? Sall.ai Wasam positions of guarding while everyone sleeps and you're awake at night. It's a very thankless job. Nobody wants that job. Everyone wants to be the one in the very front of the army where everybody sees you and he's the hero. NOBODY WANTS TO BE THE GUARD AT NIGHT where no one sees him and there's no action, BUT SOMEBODY HAS TO DO IT. But this person is not there for glory. This person is not there for mention. This person when he is appointed as a lowly guard. He is the best of guards. He gives it his all in his heart because he is worshiping Allah. Whether he is the general or he is the guard. When he is placed at the rear, he is at the rear fulfilling his position to a tea. The prophet sallall.aii alaihi wasallam said those people who are unmentioned unknown those are the closest of men to Allah. In another narration he tells us that those men whom no one knows those forgotten soldiers those men are the first men to enter paradise on the day of judgment. Subhan Allah. The prophet sallallah.aii wasallam tells us that they are the first to enter paradise. When we look at those who pass away, who is the only person in history that the prophet sallall.aii wasallam made janaza upon after the person had died and been buried. a person that was so unknown that to this day the scholars debate whether he was a a male or female. This is how unknown this person was THAT THEY ARE STILL debated as whether they were male or female and this was a person who used to clean the masid. No one know their name. People didn't even know till today if they were male or female. The prophet sallallah.aii wasallam observed that this person hadn't been around for a few days. He asked about them and he was TOLD THAT THAT PERSON DIED AND WE BURIED HIM. He said, "WHY DID YOU NOT TELL ME?" And he had them take him to the person's grave. And he made salat janaza upon them in the grave. The first and only person he ever prayed over their grave. Imagine that. Who was it? The nobody cleaning the masid doing something that no one wants to do.

[Silence]

[Arabic recitation]

[Silence]

How much you miss me?

[Arabic recitation]

Allayikum. Just a couple of quick announcements. The first one is there is going to be a campfire meeting this evening for the youth group is conducting that after Ishan. So about 7:30 inshallah they'll be gathering in the parking lot and having fun inshallah please join. also the reminder as you know the year end is is upon us and your Arizona tax liability can be directed towards the Rama Academy. It helps us tremendously and it fulfills your responsibility. So if you do that before the December 31st then it can apply towards this year's taxes and if it's you're going to be the we will be still continuing to ask for the next year but that will be accounted for the following year. So if you're really interested in taking a deduction this year, please make sure you are giving that signing up for that. Brother Jabar is back there with the flyer in his hand and see him all the way out. If you have any questions about that, please seek him, supply him, and he'll give you all the answers. It is something that anybody that owes tax liability to the state of Arizona, whatever you owe up to the limit that is allowed for the state of Arizona, for the couple is close to 2,000 and for the single is half of that. So that is something that we need to make sure everybody knows in our community so we could raise enough funds. Please donate generously for your mustard on the way out too.

[Silence]

I'm sorry.

[Silence]

She was.

[Silence]

Oh.

[Silence]

South all the way south of the nation. Thank you guys.