Khutba on the Guarantee of Rizq

الحمد لله، الحمد لله الذي يرزق جميع أهل الأرض والسماوات، حتى الذي يكفر به ويعبد العزى واللات، ويفعل السيئات، ونشكره تعالى ونستغفره ونستغيثه، نعوذ بالله من شرور أنفسنا ومن سيئات أعمالنا، من يهد الله فهو المهتد ومن يضلل فلن تجد له وليا مرشدا، ونشهد أن لا إله إلا الله وحده لا شريك له، له الملك و له الحمد، يحيي ويميت، بيده الخير، وهو على كل شيء قدير،  ونشهد أن سيدنا و مولانا محمداً عبده ورسوله، وحبيبه وصفيه، بلغ الرسالة وأدى الأمانة ونصح الأمة، النبي الأمي الذي أرسله الله بالهدى والدين الحق، بشيرا ونذيرا بين يدي الساعة، صلى الله عليه وسلم وعلى آله وأصحابه ومن تبعهم بإحسان إلى يوم الدين.

أما بعد! فيا عباد الله اتقوا الله حق تقاته ولا تموتن إلا وأنتم مسلمون. يأيها الذين ءامنوا اتقوا الله وقولوا قولا سديدا يصلح لكم أعمالكم ويغفر لكم ذنوبكم. ومن يطع الله ورسوله فقد فاز فوزا عظيما. اتقوا الله فيما أمر وانتهوا عما نها عنه وزجر.

We live in a very materialistic society, a society that considers the be all and end all of existence to lie in how much or what type of stuff you have. Even our identities are defined by our possessions, particularly our clothing and accessories, so if we have not got into a position to acquire those things, we feel somehow incomplete, unworthy and unfulfilled. But the trap of this way of viewing the world is that even when we get those things, we find that there are other things we must then get to fill the gap, because such things are never satisfying in themselves. There is always something better on the horizon. The perfect possession that will define us is always tantalisingly out of reach, just out of our reach, no matter how much we get or how much we earn.
The constant and ever-increasing desire for material things, fostered and encouraged by our governments and media, has created a society that worships at the altar of money. Money or lack of it is the dominant topic of conversation around every dinner table and in every coffee shop. The poor speak of it, bemoaning its lack, and the rich speak of it, trying to come up with new ways of getting more and more. It is the raison d’être of modern day society – our lives are geared towards its acquisition from the moment we are born. Education is no longer about learning, but about providing us with the necessary tools and qualifications to enter the job market. Schools and universities are the conveyor belts of future employees, equipping them to slot seamlessly into the capitalist ideal of a society geared towards optimising profit for the few at the very top of the food chain.
In many people’s lives, money has replaced God, becoming the primary goal of one’s life, and the banks and stock exchanges have become the new temples and places of reverence. That is clear. Go into any city and see which buildings today are the most large, lavish and opulent. And society is geared towards serving those institutions and offering them homage. To survive, every one must plug themselves in and dedicate their lives to maintaining them and propping them up, regardless of the hardship and inequality they have brought by syphoning all the real wealth and giving us tokens and coupons that allow us to subsist and barely keep our heads above the water. It is for these worthless representations of wealth whose value can be changed or totally removed with the tap of a button by some nameless third party that we struggle and strive, and about which we fret and worry.
The whole system is geared to creating a dependency, and we are nearly all in thrall to it – rich and poor, Muslim and non-Muslim. We all go through life in the belief that our livelihood and our ongoing existence is dependent in some way upon the system as it is set up, that the only we can defray the costs of living, and the neverending taxes and rental payments is to get a regular job, regardless of what that job entails. All that is important is the wage that we take home. And with prices ever on the increase, our daily concern, our constant worry is whether that wage will suffice to meet our needs. Indeed, for some, that is all they think about. Whether they will continue to be financially stable. Whether they will be able to pay the rent. Whether the petrol prices will rise or fall. Whether they will be able to afford the next meal. Whether they will be able to provide for themselves and their family.
These questions weigh down heavily upon many people, and yet there is nothing in life that is less worth worrying about. For provision is 100% guaranteed for everything on the earth. Allah says,

وَمَا مِن دَابَّةٍ فِي ٱلأرْضِ إِلاَّ عَلَى ٱللَّهِ رِزْقُهَا

the translation of which is, “There is no beast on the earth except that Allah undertakes to provide for it.” All provision comes from Him, and He has apportioned a certain part of it to every creature. It is coming to him, and there is no escaping it. The Prophet said,

لو أن أحدكم فرّ من رزقه لتبعه كما يتبعه الموت

“If you were to try to run away from your provision, your provision would come running after you just like death.” Your provision will come to you regardless of whether you run to it or run away from it, regardless of whether you fret about it or pay it no heed.  Your provision has been waiting for you since the moment you were born, and no part of it will ever remain out of reach. The Prophet said,

إن نفساً لن تموت حتى تستكمل رزقها

“No human being will die until he has received his provision in full.” This is a promise and a guarantee from Allah,

وفي السماء رزقكم وما توعدون فورب السماء والأرض إنه لحق مثل ما أنكم تنطقون

the translation of which is, “Your provision is in heaven – and what you are promised. By the Lord of heaven and earth, it is certainly the truth, just as you have speech.” There is nothing you have to do to get it, so do not let it define you. Do not let it dictate your choices in life. Do not make your life become solely about its acquisition. Let go of your worries and trust in Allah, for He will provide. There is a well-known story of Abu Musa al-Ash’ari. He and his people arrived in Madina, exhausted and starving and totally without provisions, so he sent a man to go to the Prophet and ask for some food. As he was about to knock, he heard the Prophet reciting the aya, “There is no beast on the earth except that Allah undertakes to provide for it.”, and so went away without speaking to the Prophet, saying to himself, “Surely our people are no lower in the eyes of Allah than the beasts.”
When he returned to his people, he told them, “Good news! Help has come!” and they immediately assumed that the Prophet had promised to send some food. And, as if to confirm that, two men appeared bringing a huge platter of bread and meat. And there was so much food that even after they had eaten their fill, there was still a lot left. So they said amongst themselves, “We must send this food back to the Messenger of Allah so that he can also eat his fill.” When they brought it to him, they said, “Messenger of Allah, we have never seen food more delicious nor more plentiful than that which you sent us.” The Messenger, however, told him that he had not sent it, and when he heard the full story of how they had got it, said,

ذلك شيء رزقكموه الله

‘This is something Allah provided you with.’ The same is true of all the rizq we get, even when it seems to result from our own efforts, or come from some other person. They are simply the means, the vehicle which carries it to you, not the source. And if it does not come to you through that vehicle it will come through another. 
It is not and never has been your strength, skill or knowledge that brings you your provision, just as it is not your incapacity or ignorance that prevents you getting it. And if you think it is, then you are guilty of minor shirk and are deluded, just like Qarun – to whom Allah had granted so much treasure that a company of men could scarcely lift the keys to the boxes in which it was stored – when he said,

إِنَّمَا أُوتِيتُهُ عَلَى عِلْمٍ عِنْدِي

the translation of which is, “I have only been given it because of knowledge I have.” To believe that is to profoundly misunderstand the realities of existence. And the proof of that is clear. Just look at the world around you. There are vast numbers of people of great knowledge and prodigious skill who are poor and many many ignorant people who are rich. Rizq comes from one source and one source alone and that is Allah, and it is He, in His infinite wisdom, who chooses where to apportion it and to whom to give it. Allah says,

وَاللَّهُ فَضَّلَ بَعْضَكُمْ عَلَى بَعْضٍ فِي الرِّزْقِ

the translation of which is, “Allah has favoured some of you over others in provision.” Wealth is not itself blameworthy or praiseworthy, it is simply the portion of this world that Allah has appointed to be your lot. It only becomes blameworthy when it enters the heart and rules over your ‘aql, making you its slave and servant. And that happens when you make it the focus of your life and your primary motivation for action. The more importance you attach to it, the more you strive for it, the more it takes you over and takes you away from your true purpose – to obey your Lord, and know and worship Him. So take great care and beware of making your career your life’s goal. And instead, view it as it should be viewed, as a means to an ends, and an act of gratitude to Allah, for by doing it you make use of the skills and talents with which He provided you. 

أقول قولي هذا وأستغفر الله لي ولكم ولسائر المسلمين من كل ذنب فاستغفروه إنه هو الغفور الرَّحيم.

الحمد لله الحمد لله رب العالمين، وأشهد أن لا إله إلا الله وحده لا شريك له وأشهد أن محمداً عبده ورسوله، صلى الله وسلم وبارك عليه وعلى آله وصحبه، والتابعين وتابعي التابعين ومن تبعهم بإحسان إلى يوم الدين.

أما بعد! فيأيها الذين ءامنوا اتقوا الله ما استطعتم واسمعوا وأطيعوا وأنفقوا خيرا لأنفسكم. يا عباد الله أوصيكم وإياي بتقوى الله وطاعته وأحذركم وإياي عن معصيته ومخالفته. قال الله عز وجل في كتابه الكريم: لَئِنْ شَكَرْتُمْ لَأَزِيدَنَّكُمْ

Allah says in His Noble Book, the translation of which is, “If you are grateful, I will certainly give you increase,”
Rizq is guaranteed and cannot be decreased, but in some ways it can be increased or at the very least acquired with greater ease. In other words, Allah has created existence in such a way that portions of it are inextricably tied to certain acts, and those acts are not just what we would normally consider work and striving for a living. As the aya above states, the first of those is openly acknowledging and thanking the One from whom it ultimately comes for whatever comes our way. Increase is sure to follow. The second is istighfar. The Prophet said, 

من لزم الاستغفار جعل الله له من كل ضيق مخرجا، ومن كل هم فرجا، ورزقه من حيث لا يحتسب

“If anyone holds fast to istighfar, Allah will give him a way out of every predicament, relief from every worry, and provision from where he least expects it.” Three men came to Hasan al-Basri, one complaining about drought and the lack of water, one complaining of poverty, and one asking for dua for his son. To each and every one of them he said, “Say astaghfiru Allah”, so one of those sitting with him asked, “These people all came with different complaints and requests, so why did you tell them all to say astaghfiru Allah?” Hasan replied, “Because Allah says,

فَقُلْتُ اسْتَغْفِرُواْ رَبَّكُمُ إِنَّهُ كَانَ غَفَّاراً يُرْسِلُ السَّمَاءَ عَلَيْكُم مِّدْرَاراً وَيُمْدِدْكُم بِأَمْوَالٍ وَبَنِينَ وَيَجْعَل لَّكُمْ جَنَّاتٍ وَيَجْعَل لَّكُمُ أَنْهَارا}ً

the translation of which is, “Ask forgiveness of your Lord. Truly He is Endlessly Forgiving. He will send heaven down on you in abundant rain and reinforce you with more wealth and sons, and grant you gardens and grant you waterways.”
The third is taqwa – having a fearful awareness of Allah that impacts the way you think, speak and act. Allah says,

ومن يتق الله يجعل له مخرجاً ويرزقه من حيث لا يحتسب

the translation of which is, “Whoever has taqwa of Allah – [Allah] will give him a way out and provide for him from where he does not expect.” Ibn Masud called this aya the most joyous aya in the Quran. Taqwa manifests itself on the limbs as obedience to Allah. So, obeying Allah and acting to please Him is the best path to a bounteous rizq. This is confirmed in a hadith qudsi. The Prophet said, 

إن الله تعالى يقول: يا ابن آدم: تفرغ لعبادتي أملأ صدرك غنى، وأسد فقرك، وإن لا تفعل ملأت يديك شغلاً، ولم أسد فقرك

“Allah says, ‘Son of Adam, if you devote yourself to My worship, I will fill your breast with wealth and remove your poverty. But if you do not, I will make your hands busy with work and leave you to remain in poverty.’ So the secret to a successful business, both in this world and the next, is to make sure that all its transactions are halal and within the boundaries established by the deen.
The fourth is spending out in the way of Allah. The Prophet said in another hadith qudsi,

يقول الله تعالى: أنفق، أنفق عليك

“Allah says, ‘Spend out and I will spend out on you.’” And the more you give and spend out, the greater your own provision will become, because every time you give something, Allah gives you at least ten times in return, although it can reach many multiples of that. Allah says,

مَثَلُ الَّذِينَ يُنْفِقُونَ أَمْوَالَهُمْ فِي سَبِيلِ اللَّهِ كَمَثَلِ حَبَّةٍ أَنْبَتَتْ سَبْعَ سَنَابِلَ فِي كُلِّ سُنْبُلَةٍ مِئَةُ حَبَّةٍ وَاللَّهُ يُضَاعِفُ لِمَنْ يَشَاءُ

the translation of which is, “The metaphor of those who spend their wealth in the Way of Allah is that of a grain which produces seven ears; in every ear there are a hundred grains. Allah gives such multiplied increase to whoever He wills.” The truth of this is readily apparent. The more we scrimp and save, the more we withhold, the tighter and more constrained our circumstances become and it seems like we only just ever have enough, while the more we give out, the more we spend on our families and our Muslim brothers, the more wealth we seem to have at our fingertips and we always seem to have excess. It is only when you are prepared to let the dunya go that it comes running after you.
So we ask Allah to expand our provision, give it to us from where we know not, and remove from our hearts all fear and anxiety of where it will come from. And give us a way out of the modern economic system that has us all trapped and ensnared.

إِنَّ اللهَ وَمَلَائِكَتَهُ يُصَلُّونَ عَلَى النَّبِيِّ، يَا أَيُهَا الذِينَ آمَنُواْ صَلُّواْ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلِّمُواْ تَسْلِيماً. اللَّهُمَّ صَلِّ وَسَلِّمْ وَبَارِكْ عَلَيْهِ وَعَلَى آلِهِ وَصَحْبِهِ  أَجْمَعِينَ. 

وَارْضَ اللَّهُمَّ عَنِ الْخُلَفَاءِ الرَّاشِدِينَ أَبِي بَكْرٍ وَعُمَرَ وَعُثْمَانَ وَعَلِيٍّ، وَعَنْ سَائِرِ الصَّحَابَةِ أَجْمَعِينَ، خُصُوصاً اِلأَنْصَارَ مِنْهُمْ وَالمُهَاجِرِينَ، وَعَنِ التَّابِعِينَ وَتَابِعِي التَّابِعِينَ وَمَنْ تَبِعَهُمْ بِإِحْسَانٍ إِلَى يَوْمِ الدِّينِ.

اللَّهُمَّ اهْدِ وُلَاةَ أُمُورِ المُسْلِمِينَ لِمَا يُرْضِيكَ وَلِاتِّبَاعِ سُنَّةِ نَبِيِّكَ صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ، وَثَبِّتْ أَقْدَامَهُمْ عَلَى الصِّرَاطِ المُسْتَقِيمِ، وَأَصْلِحْهُمْ يَا رَبَّ الْعَالَمِينَ.

اللَّهُمَّ بَارِكْ عَلَى شَيْخِنَا، وَعَلَى أَمِيرِنَا، وَعَلَى جَمِيعِ أُمَرَاءِ وَزُعَمَاءِ المُسْلِمِينَ.  

اللَّهُمَّ بَارِكْ عَلَى المُسْلِمِينَ فِي هَذِهِ المَدِينَةِ، وَوَفِّقْهُمْ لِمَا تُحِبُّهُ وَتَرْضَاهُ يَا أَكْرَمَ الأَكْرَمِينَ. 

اللَّهُمَّ أَعِزَّ الإِسْلَامَ وَالمُسِْلمِينَ (3) وَاخْذُلِ الْكُفْرَ وَالْكَافِرِينَ، وَانْصُرِ المُجَاهِدِينَ فِي سَبِيلِ اللهِ. وَاجْعَلْ كَلِمََتَكَ هِيَ العُلْيَا وَكَلِمَةَ الْكُفْرِ هِيَ السُّفْلَى.

رَبَّنَا ءَاتِنَا فِي الدُّنْيَا حَسَنَةً وَفِي الآخِرَةِ حَسَنَةً وَقَِنَا عَذَابَ النَّارِ. 

اللَّهُمَّ لاَ تَدَعْ فِي مَقَامِنَا هَذَا ذَنْباً إِلاَّ غَفَرْتَهُ، وَلاَ عَيْباً إِلاَّ سَتَرْتَهُ، وَلاَ مَرِيضاً إِلاَّ شَفَيْتَهُ وَعَافَيْتَهُ، وَلاَ مَسْجُوناً إِلاَّ طَلَقْتَ سَرَاحَهُ، وَلاَ مُسَافِراً فِي بَرِّكَ وَبَحْرِكَ إِلاَّ سَلِِمْتَهُ وَغَنِمْتَهُ.

إِنَّ اللهَ يَامُرُ بِالْعَدْلِ وَالإِحْسَانِ وَإِيتَاءِ ذِي الْقُرْبَى، وَيَنْهَى عَنِ الْفَحْشَاءِ وَالمُنكَرِ وَالْبَغْيِ، يَعِظُكُمْ لَعَلَّكُمْ تَذَّكَّرُونَ، وَلَذِكْرُ اللهِ أَكْبَرُ وَاللهُ يَعْلَمُ مَا تَصْنَعُونَ. وَقُومُواْ إِلَى صَلاتِكُمْ يَرْحَمُكُمُ اللهُ.