 I want to start off by mentioning something interesting that I thought about while Hafid Emran was speaking. I was on a flight that was coming in from Monrovia to Freetown a few weeks ago and we were flying from Freetown to Akra and they happened to be a brother seated next to me and we got chatted, Muslim brother from Liberia. Assalamu alaikum, Sheikh. How are you? So nice to see you, etc. And we were speaking and I told him, you know, people get excited when they see me, when they hear about me, they sometimes go beyond the limit and my father, may Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala grant him good health and a long life to keep on doing the good he is doing. He always reminds me, you know what? You are just a number. That's it. Don't ever think that you're better than the people you're speaking to and don't ever think that you're higher than anyone else because if that's the case, you will never be able to reach their hearts. Speak as though they are better than you and you just need to get a message to them. So I was telling this brother that I want to learn something from you. Tell me, tell me something that I can take to people and he looked at me and he said something amazing. He said, look, I'm a businessman. Mashallah, I'm here, seated on this flight. I fly every week. And he says, every time I think about how I started, how we were when we were young and I want you to pause for a moment and every one of you think about yourselves or your fathers or grandfathers, where they started. There must have been a time when they could not afford shoes. I'm sure you all know that, right? There was a time perhaps when they could not afford school fees. But they were much more content than us and we today are sitting here, such a beautiful function. Subhanallah. And still we have more complaints than all of them put together. We complain more than what we used to when we did not have because that's how materialism works. When you run behind the dunya, guess what? It always runs faster than you, Subhanallah. You can never catch up. You have the latest phone today, the saddest news tomorrow morning. There's one later than that. You're depressed again. May Allah forgive us. So this brother was telling me, I recall the day when we struggled, we suffered, then I entered into business and Subhanallah I did well and suddenly boom, everything went because of something that happened. Now, sometimes the brother didn't explain to me, but some people, they have their factories burned. That's the plan of Allah. I told him, how did you cope with this? He says, it took me not long, it did not take me long to figure out that I can never ever suffer a loss. Never. Why? Because when I came into this world, I was naked. I had zero. So whatever I have today is more than what I had the day I was born. That's it. That's my motivation. I tell myself, oh Allah, the clothes I have, I did not have when I was born, so ya Allah, I can never be below zero. Subhanallah. He says, I was clothed when I came onto earth. I was given things. Imagine handouts. Whether it was your folks or someone else is besides the point. Someone was kind to you and that's why you had clothing. But when you came onto the earth, you had zero. And when you are going to leave, you will still have zero with you besides your deeds, obviously. And I was very impressed by this. I looked at him and I digested what he said and I thought about it for a long time and here I am sharing it with you. My brothers and sisters, we have been blessed by Allah in a brilliant and one way. And indeed, if you were to try to count the gifts of Allah, you would never be able to count all of them. For indeed, man is not only oppressive, but he is ungrateful, he is filled with ingratitude. That's what Allah is saying. But we are believers, we are different. We should be filled with gratitude. Part of gratitude is to understand the plan of Allah. Many of us do not understand the plan of Allah. Allah, Subhanahu wa Ta'ala, speaks about it in the Quran. The Quran is revealed and the Sunnah of Muhammad, sallallahu alayhi wa sallam, is there in order to teach us why we are here and what is expected from us while we are here? So Subhan Allah says in the Quran, Indeed in sustenance Allah has raised some of you above others. There is a reason. The reason is to test you. What are you going to do? I have given you. And your neighbor? I haven't given him as much as I've given you. What are you going to do? That's all. When you die, there are two things. What you earn is one and what you spend is another. Subhan Allah. You're going to be asked about both. And you know what will happen in the case of a lot of us? We've earned way beyond what we were able to spend. Subhan Allah. So Allah says we gave it to you. You know in another verse Allah speaks of Banu Israel and then he says It was in order for him to see what do you do? What's your deeds? I've tested you to see what are you going to do? I've given you to see what are you going to do? So what happens? We've been given. We've been blessed. Every one of us is blessed in our own unique way. Have you identified that blessing? Some have been blessed in more than one way. The blessing I have, you may not have. But you have a blessing that I may not have. It does overlap at times. Mashallah. But what do I do with it? If I am the top educator in the country, what have I done with it? Have I only made it a means of income for me to live on Earth? If that's the case, I've forgotten about the hereafter. I've taken it out of the equation. I've really misfired. I haven't understood. Allah's blessed me with the intellect that intellect is from Allah. And I happen to be the best educator or teacher of a specific subject. Have I ever reached out to people without wanting monetary reward and said, I'm going to spend some time teaching those who can't really afford to get to me. And I'm going to spend a few moments volunteering. They don't always want your money. Perhaps they might be able to benefit from your expertise way beyond what your money would have done. And I always tell people that I learned from the verse that Allah says, O you who believe, do not nullify your charities through bragging about it and harming those whom you've been charitable to. You know what that means? That means I must be the most humble person when I'm giving considering myself fortunate to have been given the ability to give whatever I'm giving. Considering myself fortunate to have been witnessing a need and it was made clear to me that there is a need. Do you know it's my duty to give? And it's my duty to search and to look for who I should give it to. I don't need to sit in my business, my shop, my school, wherever else at home and wait for people to come and beg from me. No! Your duty as a Muslim is to go out and hunt and look where is the cause. Where can I give? Where can I help? Where can I volunteer? Where can I donate? Where can I assist? Where can I be? A help? A helping hand? Where can I fit in? Some might not have much but trust me you can make dua. You can pray. And when you pray you need to thank Allah that He's given you a heart because that's the beginning. You will never pray for people suffering if you don't have a heart. Whenever I've seen and I'm sure 100% of us, whenever we've seen what's going on across the globe, we bleed. Look at what's happening in Syria up to this day. We're not happy. It's not like we're excited about it. We are so upset, we are desperate, we are frustrated. So what do you do? The first step is to call out to Allah. That's the first step. It's the most powerful step. It's not the only step because then Allah's given each one of us a different capacity to do different things. And all those things that we choose to do should be constructive and not destructive. You need to remember that. The same applies what's going on in Rohingya right now. None of us could say that we're not bleeding. We're frustrated. We want to see a solution. Even the non-Muslims want to see a solution. They don't want to see the ethnic cleansing that is being perpetrated there. It is frustrating. It is sad. Not every one of us can go there, but guess what? Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala has given us a chance to get up for tahajjud. But Shaitan comes to us and makes us point fingers. What is he doing? He's a famous guy. He's doing nothing. By saying that, what have you done? He's this guy. He's done nothing. What have you done? You're passing the buck. Stop it. Don't pass the buck. You might want to encourage people. You might want to raise awareness. You might want to say something, but it starts with you. If you were really concerned, get up for Salat at tahajjud. Allah says that through your difficulty, He draws you closer to Him. You know when you have a massive problem, diagnosed cancer, may Allah grant cure to all those who are struggling and suffering with any form of disease, be it cancer, be it HIV, be it anything else, whether it is terminal or not, may Allah grant you cure. Say amen. When your diagnosed with a disease, people react differently. A mu'min becomes closer to Allah. It's a gift of Allah. And I can explain quickly why it's a gift, but before that I want to tell you, a person who doesn't have belief distances himself from Allah. A person whose iman is dillydaling starts questioning Allah, becomes angry with Allah. Why me? Why is this happening? What are you doing Allah? I'm calling out to you. I'm asking you. You're not doing anything for me. What are you doing? My child is struggling and suffering. Allah, I've called out to you for the last three years. What's the problem? Astaghfirullah. May Allah forgive us. Allah forbid. Never let that happen. Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala says Inna Allaha Idaa Ahabba Abdan Ibtala Allah. When Allah tests a worshiper, when Allah loves a worshiper, He tests him. So if you have a difficulty, guess what it will do to you? You did not use to read Salah. You did not use to do things according to what Allah wanted. But now when Allah is tapping you, hey, hey, come over. What do you do? You took a bit of time. Allah says, hang on, now you've got a cough. You're still taking a bit of time. The cough is nothing. I'll get the cough mixture. I don't need to read Salah for that. Astaghfirullah. But sometimes subconsciously that's our attitude. Then Allah says, okay, let me give you something bigger. If that's going to bring you, because I love you. I need you to come to me. So then you get something bigger. And what happens? You still go to the doctor and you're still not reading your Salah. You're still not fulfilling your duty unto Allah and unto the rest of the creatures of the same Allah. That's an important point. It's not just the duty unto Allah. Part of your duty unto Allah is your duty unto the creatures of the same maker. He made them be they Muslim, non-Muslim, white, black, tall, short in Africa or anywhere else in the world. They are the creatures of the same maker who made you, you are no better than them in creation. They are the creatures of the same Allah. You have a duty unto them because he made them for a purpose. That's what it is. So Subhanallah, when you are turning towards Allah because of your difficulty and your hardship and because of your sickness, it's a sign that you've really been gifted by Allah and Allah keeps you that way. So now you start praying because now you start thinking to yourself, you know what? I need to cry and you get people praying for you and now you become a softer person. You start becoming conscious of others with similar problems. You start joining little groups of people who have issues. You start calling out to Allah and you start reaching out to people and that makes you feel better. It makes you become a softer person and that's what a religious person is all about. You want to know who is the closest to Allah? He is the person who has the most beautiful character. Your closeness to Allah is very closely reflected in your character. Those who are harsh and hard-hearted, they cannot be close to Allah. It is by the mercy of Allah that you have become lenient towards those around you and you've been hard-hearted or harsh, they would have dispersed. They wouldn't even want to be in your company. But when someone is very polite, when someone is very concerned about the goodness reaching you, you want to be in their company. You are impressed. You feel so much at home. You feel like you know them. You feel so close because you're a human. You have feelings. You have a heart. You have a mind just like theirs and they are appealing to you because they are speaking the language of humanity as a believer. So Subhanallah, Allah draws you close through your difficulty. I mentioned the two points. The one is some people through their difficulty, they get closer to Allah. Those whose iman is weak, their belief is weak, they question Allah. But sometimes Allah keeps you in your hardship. You know why? He knows if I were to take this away, this person might just go back. But Allah knows for certain we don't know. So he says, I love the way you're worshipping me. You're crying to me. You're softened. You get up every morning. You're reaching out to others. You speak so politely. Finally with your daughter, sorry to give that example, but anyway. You speak so politely with those around you. Finally Subhanallah and you're such a lovely person because of your difficulty. Subhanallah says, can't we keep you like this for a little longer? And you want it today? No. Well I want to give you good news. The Prophet Muhammad peace be upon him says, Allah remains in the assistance of the worshipper. For as long as that worshipper remains in the assistance of an other. If you want help, the first thing to do start helping others. You'll get the help. That's what the Prophet Muhammad peace be upon him says. And like I said earlier, it's our duty to go out and hunt. You know I read the hadith of Mu'ad ibn Jabal, radiallahu anhu and Abu Musa al-ash'ari, radiallahu anhu ma, when the Prophet peace be upon him sent Mu'ad ibn Jabal to Yemen, one of the things he says about Zaka, he said you should teach people one, two, three, and then he said فأعلمهم أن الله افترض عليهم صدقة تؤخذوا من اغنيائهم فتردوا في فقرائهم Let them know. Let them know that Allah has made incumbent or compulsory upon them that they give a charity. It shall be taken from the rich and distributed into the poor. Subhanallah. That is why Allah gave you more. Allah did not give you more so that you can amass it to the degree that you have forgotten to build your hereafter. Allah gave it to you so that you can give others. وَاَتُوْهُمْ مِمْ مَالِلَّهِ اللَّهِ اَتَاْكُمْ Surat al-Nur Allah says give them from the wealth of Allah that he made you a custodian of. Do you know what that means? It's not yours. مَالِلَّهِ The wealth belongs to Allah, not to you. You're a custodian of it when you came onto the earth like I started off by saying you had zero. When you shall leave, you shall leave with zero. What you did in the center in the middle, your transactions and the way you transacted, that is what will help you in your grave and in your hereafter. So build, build your palace in the hereafter. It is everlasting. Way beyond your imagination. And this is why my brothers, my sisters today, we are seated here 30 years of African Muslims agency. Hafid Imran made mention of my father. I was going to say that anyway. That I recall your dad, may Allah give him Jannatul Firdaus and for your information that's the reason why the moment I received the call I have a soft spot for the African Muslims agency. I told him, brother, I will be there. He told me we will cover your costs. We will this. I said, listen brother, I'm not interested in covering any costs. I will be insulted if you gave me anything. I'm coming for the sake of Allah and I'm coming because I believe it's good work and I'm coming because I'm impressed by what has been achieved. A little seed that was so and don't you dare think that oh, this is money from the Gulf states. No way. If you think that it's the devil making you run away because of some bad deed you've done from giving. It is money from here that's distributed across the globe. I promise you the South African example shines across the globe. It's one country that Allah has blessed in a continent that really needs a lot of help. So thank Allah. Keep on giving when you give Allah will give you more. I promise you manaka samalun min sadaqa the prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam says nobody has ever become bankrupt because of giving charitable subhanallah. That's a guarantee from your messenger. If ever you fear poverty, give charity. It will come back to you. I promise you. It's in the Quran. If ever you fear poverty, give charity. It doesn't have to be all your money like Abu Bakr, those who are superheroes. We could not compete with them. But what it definitely is, small portion, one round, five rounds. And this is why when you read surah al-Duha if you were to read it with its meaning your life will change. The prophet Muhammad peace be upon him by the choice of Allah divine choice. He was an orphan. Why? Isn't that consolation to all the orphans across the globe that the best of creation, the most noble of all prophets, the top of the top was actually there's hope for you, more than there is for me who had both parents. Wow. Wow. Allah has chosen you my beloved orphan child. Allah has chosen you way above me. Your head start is a few kilometers in front of me because the most beloved already there was a quality from birth that you share that I don't have. That's why Allah says As for the orphan, don't be hard on him. Don't be harsh. Don't rebuke. Don't abuse an orphan. Be kind. Subhanallah. And the prophet Muhammad peace be upon him speaks about an orphan. He says Myself and the one who takes care of an orphan shall be in paradise like these two fingers and he joined the two fingers that I'm showing you right now, the first and the second. Why? Those are in need. People say, innocent children yes, but they're in that condition because it's a test for you who are around. What will you do solely for the sake of Allah? Will you help? There is a widow. The hadith says those who spend their day or those who assist widows and orphans for the sake of Allah are equivalent in reward to the one who stood in prayer all night every night and the one who fasts every day on condition that you do it for the sake of Allah today, she's a pretty lady. Let's help. Subhanallah. You know what I'm talking about, it's facts but she's old. She might not be that attractive. Subhanallah. What hypocrisy is this? Is that what we've become? Is that how low we've become? I'd like to hope it's not the case. You help for the sake of Allah and Allah alone. Allah alone. And remember if you don't help, it's quite simple. It's going to come from someone else and it's been proven. Read the verse of the Quran Subhanallah. If you turn away, Allah says we will replace you with those who won't be like you. They won't be like you. They'll be better. So don't think the work of Allah and don't think reaching out to the poor across the globe is connected to you alone. No. If you are on it, it's a favour of Allah that He convinced you. He put it in your heart to give. But if you are miserly trust me, the work will continue even beyond your imagination with others. It will continue. I remember there was a brother who told someone at one of the organizations that you know what? After pledging so much he says, I'm not giving because he had a little misunderstanding. As he walked out of the office there was a brother sitting outside. He walked in, he put down a figure, twice the pledge of the brother who just walked out. I witnessed this with my own eyes and I was just looking. And I said Ya Allah, Allah, you have indeed spoken the truth. Replace with someone else. This man walked out. Another thing, my brothers, my sisters this evening, I said it elsewhere and I'm repeating it. A pledge is as good as a bird in the sky. Remember that. A pledge is as good as a bird in the sky. When you catch the bird and put it on the table you have now fulfilled your pledge. Otherwise I know of many who pledge huge amounts. They never put their money where their mouth is. Never. I hope we're not like that. Are you hearing what I'm saying? We can pledge the organizations come and showcase for us while we're on our beds in Ramadan. And at other times and we're sitting flicking and we're hearing you know these people are dying in Niger and this is what's happening and so on. You know my brother, my sister, it's your duty to feel the pain of all of those. Where is the Hadith? If a single part of it is struggling suffering in pain, the whole body shall struggle with sleeplessness, insomnia, pain etc. and perhaps fever. What was happening and what is still happening across the globe, we all want to help. Well, I can tell you I started off by saying make do after that. Reach into your pockets and you know what you will not all be able to go there physically. I've been to some places, not only in the world but also in the world. I've been there. I've been to some places, not all. And what could I have done? Very little. Had it not been for a lot of people behind me having sent me with a reputable organization to say you know what we would like to assist. Can you take this and make sure it gets to the recipient and if they're honest, subhanallah you will feel the blessings in your own selves and your children and your loved ones and your community. So don't think for a moment that you know what what are they doing? No, what am I doing? What did I do? How much do I have? What can I give? Subhanallah I was saying your father may Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala give him Jannah al-Firdaus. I've met him many times I met Dr. Abdulrahman al-Sumayt many times and they've been with Sheikh Saad al-Palib to my house sitting so many times you know sometimes together and separately as well. What was the discussion all about? I was a kid. I was a child remember 30 years ago I must have been what 15 gave my age away but at the same time subhanallah I recall and the discussion was all about going I used to go out with them to rural areas I used to go out and we used to see what was happening we used to distribute and you know what that continued all along so when I see the children of the same man doing the same work with the same dedication if not now that it's three people perhaps a little bit more but the barakah of that generation was something else trust me I always say this is a sign of acceptance from Allah I know with us we've taken from my dad in my family subhanallah and I start thinking to myself when people continue the effort that was good of their fathers it's a sign that Allah has accepted it I see amongst us some seated here and I know their fathers some of them are late and their mothers in some instances and I promise you the brilliant work they were doing is continued I want to cry when I think of what's happening but there are others who keep pointing fingers and their job is only to look for faults rather than to help to assist I'm doing something wrong please come to me and guide me tell me correct me I'm a human I'm your child I'm your brother come and tell me listen son listen my brother I think this wasn't right how you said it what you said what you did I will improve myself I promise you you don't have to go out and attack in a way that subhanallah you're destroying the entire umma and this is what's going on today we don't do the good work and we don't want others to do the good work leave him alone my father has taught me that the best of people are those who don't harm you subhanallah I don't need your help anymore that's what I understood from what he said my father has a policy he says never ever go out for a collection I said but why not we're doing work with millions of dollars he says the work is open for everyone to see if Allah puts it in their hearts the money came from Allah if you scoundred it out of the people perhaps their dirty money might come and contaminate the work and we will be divided and split in no time that policy is not everybody's policy it's a very high level it's a very high level that's the reason why you might have known me for so many years you actually don't know what I do in real life maybe some might know you don't know what I do in real life you just know me for a man standing in front speaking and lecturing that's it and perhaps tweeting now and again may Allah bless you all and bless us but here we have a favor of Allah people are coming to you to show you how many masjids and it's a fact it's not it sounds so huge but you know what it's the barakah that Allah has bestowed upon some and I'm not saying it's the only organization but I am saying there's a lot of good work happening let's try and support it through Dua through reaching out into our pockets put in a little bit imagine there's a masjid being built or let's say right now people have gone to Rohingya in order to try and help the people and you gave a thousand grand Wallahi Wallahi when you see pictures of how the aid is being distributed won't it bring a coolness to your heart to think may my thousand is there Alhamdulillah you know there's a hadith which says whoever builds for Allah this place of worship Allah builds for them a house in paradise we might not be able to afford the large amounts that are required but trust me the mercy of Allah he donated a single brick by the will of Allah he's not just going to say right here's your brick now that's it in the Akhira he's going to give you the whole house even through that brick by his mercy so be charitable reach out make Dua for those who are charitable and guess what if you don't have much create an awareness by speaking to your friends your family members those who are wealthy your acquaintances in a nice way just create an awareness you know this is a really good cause strike them to say let me give something and if they do you get a full reward the one who showed others towards goodness gets the full reward of all of that goodness amazing amazing so I can't afford it but I'm talking to people who can in such a lovely way that I've convinced 20 guys to give they gave 2 million rand I'm sitting millionaire but please please don't get yourself become arrogant because of that when you give if you want to know I'm going to say a few things today that you will take home inshallah when you give you've got to remember the test is humility thereafter the best charity is that when you've given you don't want to score or clock mileage out of that giving no yes someone might respect you they might invite you they might call you you're a donor they happy they want to show you the activities and so on but when you start requesting your perks you're getting paid for what you've given in that way then the reward of it you're cutting it because you're getting something the best thing give and don't expect anything besides what Allah will shall bless you with listen to this verse of surah the true believers those who give genuinely for the sake of Allah do you know what they say we have fed you for the sake of Allah we don't even want from you a recompense nor do we want you to say thank you I don't even want you to say thank you shukr I don't want shukr from you thanks I want it's Allah my reward is with Allah it's okay what I've done for you is actually for Allah but because Allah made a need in front of my eyes it was my beauty to do something about it I did something that's why the end of surah Allah says as for the one who is asking don't rebuke him you know the beggars you see no matter where they are those who come to you in order to ask no matter who they are don't rebuke them don't insult them that's a verse of the Quran there's someone begging on crumbum here down the road every year I come I see the same guy if I can't give him at least alaykum as salam how are you my brother or maybe don't say anything some people say no you guys are giving you're going to support these guys you're going to create a huge syndicate whatever hang on either you give or you don't give the choice is definitely yours do it with respect that's all don't harm the man like I said earlier it is better to be a person who doesn't give and doesn't harm than to be someone who gives and harms I give and you've got to hear for the rest of your life you know I'm a person I'm going to let you in or something personal to accept a gift from people is very very difficult even if that gift is worth 10,000 rand yes I try my best to avoid it the reason is I know the payment of it shall be 50,000 rand I'd rather keep your gift we maintain that respect and I maintain my freedom subhanallah I'm giving you something about myself why did I learn that it might help me yes you wanted to give me a mobile phone thank you I appreciate your gesture but guess what I love you so much I don't want it to come between you and I I don't and I know I'm going to have to pay for it because tomorrow you phone me 12 at night hey I need this I need that I feel obliged I'm not a hypocrite I'm not doing it because I want to I'm doing it because hey the guy gave me a phone man it's tough not everyone thinks like that I'm one who prefers to say listen maintain your independence and you can make your decisions the point I'm raising is when you give someone something insure that it's respectful if I gave him it's for the sake of Allah if I didn't I maintained that respect and I walked away so this is Allah Allah's plan is that he will give you more than what you need in order to see what you do with the extra excess a lot of the times we have extra we forget about building the castle we're building our palace here and I always tell the brothers Masha Allah you know who work really hard and Masha Allah when you get to the age of 45 50, 60 you finally made a little bit of money but nowadays for our daughters we're looking for the wealthiest of the wealthy they must already have a house and a Porsche and a Ferrari as well as a Porsche because a Ferrari apparently is supposed to be better than a Porsche subhanallah but we don't realize when we married when our fathers married they didn't even have a house they didn't even own a car in a lot of cases and they worked for 30, 40 years and we were so happy we used to go to school and come back not knowing it's a rented property not knowing the guy is working so hard and he's sweating and he's making us but for our daughters we're looking for those who are already the kings wealthy otherwise so what happens we've compromised the quality of individual because we're looking only at wealth that's what it is why am I saying this because the average human around in fact do you know the majority of the people on earth can never own a home and they will not own a house if you have a house that belongs to you and you're sleeping in it you already top 30% of the global did you ever know that check the statistics tonight there's a sheikh that you can rely on for those type of statistics known as Google and to be honest you've worked so hard and now you're 50 years old 55, 60 you're building your house finally, finally masha Allah what's happening it's going to take you 2 years to build minimum 2 years to build if you're in Zimbabwe you can add a zero to that because we're famous to do that anyway but it's going to take you a while when you've built it how old are you 55 how many years do you have to live if you're lucky 75 right that's a brilliant age if you're beyond 75 you're beyond average beyond 70 is beyond average according to the hadith 65 is about average subhan Allah grant us good health I see people are looking at me so well it's okay don't worry relax may Allah give you long life may Allah give you health and happiness and contentment but you're going to live in this house for 20 years and after that where are you going to go for another already people have passed away for longer than they were alive have you ever thought of what that means people have passed away for longer than they were alive those who died a thousand years ago they lived for 60 70 years those who died 200 years ago they lived for 60 70 years if they were lucky so they've been dead for longer than they were alive but they prepared for those 20 years in a way that they forgot about preparation for the rest Allah says if you want to prepare for the rest reach out to others we'll do the rest for you link with Allah absolutely important prime it's number one don't compromise that but tonight we're talking about charity so I'm telling you you want to build your Akhira you want to build your hereafter you want to build your paradise learn to give and give so much that subhan Allah Allah keeps giving you I remember once I was sitting and discussing this matter and one of the ulama said when you pledge a monthly amount to a certain good cause say for example to orphans I pledge a thousand rand every month or 500 rand or 100 rand every month for this orphanage for example it's sustenance written for them not for you but Allah gave them through you so Allah has to give you before it gets to them so you will always have you're following what we're saying I pledged it and it's going to continue a day might come when you're struggling a little bit how am I going to give it Allah will give it to you but please understand you need to work for it and Allah gives you the barakah because you worked for it in the name of Allah you don't just sit back and say right guys did you hear what the mufti said the other day given you shall receive I gave 70,000 the ceiling hoping the tornado might come and wash your whole ceiling of me Allah not do that to us could happen you say hey that's the angel opening up there no way something grossly has gone wrong you're lazy you're sitting back go and work if you work Allah will give you blessing can I tell you this is by far probably the most powerful statement you're going to hear this evening zakat is 2.5% in most cases that you have to give of your savings and there is a way of calculating what you need to look at and after the year you need to give 2.5% for who for Allah it means that belongs to who to you or to Allah the wealth was Allah's and he gave you 97.5 and he told you hang on 2.5 is my change where is my change you need to give it to Allah it was never yours he's going to take it from you by hook or crook through sickness through illness through accident through disease through fires through anything the money is going to go from you it was never yours he's going to take it if you gave it with your heart Allah says it will cleanse you take from them that charity that zakat which will clean them it will cleanse them it's our wealth we want that back we gave you a hundred and you know we told you in advance hey we're waiting for the change someone comes to your store they buy worth 97.5 they give you a hundred dollar bill and you say thanks what I'm waiting but the amount is negligible negligible or not it's my change you're going to be in trouble if you don't give it to me same happens with Allah in fact all of Allah is far higher than that this is why they say when we're stuck with calamity and lots of money is spent or gone first question you ask yourself have I paid my zakat properly I'm sorry to say it is a question you have to ask yourself you may have if you have you've ticked that off it's now something else sometimes it's just a test from Allah a lot of the times if you're patient Allah will grant you much more it's just a test but it's a question you need to ask like when you're not well just to check all your markers not because you definitely have a certain disease but to tick it off to make sure it's not that so it's a question you need to ask yourself Subhanallah if you want to know the type of person you are if you want to know more about yourself your character because the hadith says the best from among you are those with the best character that's a hadith the best from among you are those with the best character if you would like to know where do I fit in there is a test you can test yourself ask yourself one question the answer of it will tell you who you actually are what's the question the person whom the world considers the lowest whom the world considers most insignificant whom the world considers almost irrelevant how do you treat that person will determine who you are there's no other one did you hear what I said you see a man cleaning you see a man guarding the cars you see someone coming to serve you on the table do you acknowledge they're human do you acknowledge they probably have families do you know what made them do this do you realize it could have been you do you greet them do you actually smile at them does it bring you inner peace when you see them smile back and acknowledge you for the sake of Allah just because I wanted them to feel important then you are definitely very high in character and conduct don't ever forget what I said tonight all those whom the world considers insignificant you should never consider them insignificant it's your test Allah put them in front of you for a reason to test what did you do so you can convert it into a huge act of worship by being kind by reading a lot of the people don't want your money they need you to just be kind be okay you know that's it may Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala make us from those who can reach out to one another subhanallah if you want to know how generous you are then there is a test what is the test what do you give over and above zakah that's when you will know how generous you are zakah does not determine generosity you're just fulfilling an obligation that's it above zakah what do you give then you're a generous person may Allah make it easy for us may Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala help us I have so much to say I've spoken for 45 minutes and I think that was way beyond my own time that I have set myself half an hour but subhanallah it's amazing it's a lovely evening it's so beautiful here and I really pray for everyone who's here to be able to carry this message throughout the globe those who are listening perhaps on the television those who may listen to this a little bit later may Allah make this a means of motivation a means of maghfirah for the late Muhammad Farid Chunara and all those who have set up this the late Dr. As-Sumad Abdu-Rahman As-Sumad also whose brain child it was and I'm sure there are so many of us doing so much of good work whatever you're doing may Allah accept it from you may Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala make you from those whose work can actually be increased and let's learn to cooperate with one another let's learn to cooperate with one another that's my last message we must cooperate with one another because at the moment the ummah is struggling due to us bickering and pointing fingers and becoming disunited over small matters I don't need to think like you or believe exactly what you believe et cetera et cetera but I need to respect you if I respect you I can be united with you with my difference and may Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala grant acceptance to this work and ultimately, may Allah grant us all gentlemen and for those in parallel to say Ameen I'll say this