- Seminars and Lectures abroad / ٠01 Masjid At-Taqwa- Morning lectures 1
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- Masjid At-Taqwa- part 1
O Allah, lead us out from the depths of darkness and illusion unto the lights of erudition and knowledge, and from the muddy shallows of lusts unto the heavens of Your Vicinity.
Questioning your earnings:
Money is one of the major matters people will be asked about on the Day of Resurrection. You will be asked where you got it from and how you spent it
(( "There is no flesh raised that sprouts from the unlawful except that the Fire is more appropriate for it" ))
The Prophet PBUH said:
(( "There is no flesh raised that sprouts from the unlawful except that the Fire is more appropriate for it." ))
How does the flesh of man sprout? When man is born he weighs about 3 Kilograms, and when he turns 50 years old, he weighs 70 Kilograms. Thus, food and water make his flesh sprout.
﴾ ﴾ And Allah has brought you forth from the (dust of) earth.﴿ ﴿
This mass of flesh, fat, skin and bones have sprouted from forbidden food as long as the money this food was brought by is unlawful. This Hadith is Marfu' (refers to a narration attributed specifically to the Prophet [Muhammad]), and it is narrated by Abdul Wahid Bin Zaid, on the authority of Aslamah al-Kufi, on the authority of at-Tayib, on the authority of Zaid bin Af'am, on the authority of Abu Bakr as-Siddique in Sihah books:
(( "There is no flesh raised that sprouts from the unlawful except that the Fire is more appropriate for it." ))
Man should count to million before he earns any money that he doubts of being gained unlawfully, or earned by deception or lying. You may sell people products that are manufactured locally as imported products, and this is totally forbidden in Islam, because by doing this, you are cheating the customer, lying to him and deceiving him. Scholars mentioned 100 sins involved in selling and buying, and they said, "Whoever earns anything in the market by deceit is actually earning Riba (usury) whether he likes it or not."
When someone intends to make his living from trading, he should first learn Shari'ah rulings on selling and buying, he should know when selling is Halal (lawful) and when it is Haram (unlawful) and he should know whether the source of the money he earns is suspicious or not. I would like to repeat the Sahih Marfu' Hadith whose narration is ascribed to Abu Bakr As-Siddique:
(( "There is no flesh raised that sprouts from the unlawful except that the Fire is more appropriate for it." ))
Bribery is always preceded with the word "crime" in all Fiqh books, and it is considered a crime just like homicide whether this bribe is taken, given or arranged. This fact is emphasized in the following Ayah:
﴾ ﴾ And eat up not one another's property unjustly﴿ ﴿
There is a nice hint in the Ayah: Allah does not say "eat up not your brother's money", but rather Allah considers it your money:
﴾ ﴾ And eat up not one another's property unjustly﴿ ﴿
This means that your brother's money is considered yours in the sense of being keen on it.
﴾ ﴾ And eat up not one another's property unjustly (in any illegal way e.g. stealing, robbing, deceiving, etc.), nor give bribery to the rulers (judges before presenting your cases) that you may knowingly eat up a part of the property of others sinfully.﴿ ﴿
A lawyer whom I know in Damascus told me an unbelievable story. In the sixties, the owner of a house that was worth tens of millions at that time when the dollar used to be only three Syrian liras died. A long time after his death, a man came and showed everyone a contract according to which the deceased sold the house to him.
The contract was genuine, however, the judge doubted it since the man did not show it before, and he kept it to himself for years without saying a word about it. Why did he present it at that particular time? The judge had doubts, so he asked that man to take an oath in the court. The man was standing before the judge with a table between the two, so he put his hand on the Quran and took the oath that the house was his, and he bought it by his money. The judge asked the man to take his hand off the Quran, because he was done, but his hand did not move. He died right on the spot. He died after he gave a forged oath which is considered in Islam a Major sin (Kabeerah) that leads man straight to Hell-Fire.
Dear brothers, bribery is considered a crime whether it is taken, given or arranged.
﴾ And eat up not one another's property unjustly (in any illegal way e.g. stealing, robbing, deceiving, etc.), nor give bribery to the rulers (judges before presenting your cases) that you may knowingly eat up a part of the property of others sinfully. ﴿
At-Tastturi (one of the most respectful scholars in Islam) said, "Leaving ill-gotten penny is better than eighty times of pilgrimage performed after the obligatory one." You should avoid ill-gotten money.
Ward off evil takes precedence over bringing benefits:
The first Ayah: "And eat up not one another's property unjustly…
Repelling mischief takes priority over procuring benefits. The first Ayah concerning this point:
﴾ ﴾ And eat up not one another's property unjustly (in any illegal way e.g. stealing, robbing, deceiving, etc.), nor give bribery to the rulers (judges before presenting your cases) that you may knowingly eat up a part of the property of others sinfully.﴿ ﴿
Nine tenth of social feuds are about earning money, partnership, and quarrels between business partners whom one of oppresses the other. Money is a very serious issue that involves most of social problems.
The second Ayah: "(They like to) listen to falsehood, to devour anything forbidden":
Allah the Almighty describes the Jews in the second Ayah:
﴾ (They like to) listen to falsehood, to devour anything forbidden. ﴿
"Suht" is bribery.
﴾ ﴾ So if they come to you (O Muhammad PBUH), either judge between them, or turn away from them. If you turn away from them, they cannot hurt you in the least. And if you judge, judge with justice between them. Verily, Allah loves those who act justly. ﴿ ﴿
The third Ayah: "And you see many of them (Jews) hurrying for sin and transgression":
The third Ayah:
﴾ And you see many of them (Jews) hurrying for sin and transgression, and eating illegal things [as bribes and Riba (usury), etc.]. Evil indeed is that which they have been doing﴿
Your earning is the most crucial thing you will be asked about after Salah:
The most crucial thing after offering Salah is how you earn your money and how you spend it. Some scholars said, " 'Suht' has two accesses: Riba (usury) and the money paid to a prostitute."
One might ask: What if this prostitute buys fabric by the money paid to her as a prostitute; will it be unlawful earning to the seller? No it will not, because this seller has no idea how this woman earned her money. Accordingly, it is not the money that is forbidden per se, but rather it is the unlawful way (by which money is earned). There is a very serious Hadith that goes as follows:
(( "The Messenger of Allah (PBUH) cursed the one who offers the bribe…" ))
Cursing is a very critical word and it means casting man away from Allah's Mercy.
(( The Messenger of Allah (PBUH) cursed the one who offers the bribe, the one who receives it and the one who arranges it))
The briber gives the bribe, while the bribee is the one who takes it.
(( "…And the one who arranges it" ))
The one who arranges for the bribery is also cursed.
A Hadith narrated by At-Tabarani with a sound authentication goes as follows:
(( The one who bribes and the one who takes bribe are both in the Hellfire.))
Making a living is the most crucial matter in man's life. Earning lawful money makes it blessed by Allah, whereas earning unlawful money brings about disasters. If someone earns unlawful money, his son might be diagnosed of meningitis, so he spends 50.000 Liras on lab and blood tests, but later on it turns out that his son was misdiagnosed. Allah is capable of making you spend your unlawful money on trivial matters.
The one who earns lawful money is protected by Allah from getting sick (so are his family members). Such protection saves his money from being spent right and left, and it makes it enough to meet his basic needs and the needs of his wife and children even if his income is law. However, when the money is earned unlawfully, it will be spent shortly on trivial matters.
(( "The one who bribes and the one who takes bribe are both in the Hellfire." ))
(( The Messenger of Allah (PBUH) cursed the one who offers the bribe, the one who receives it and the one who arranges it.))
According to scholars, bribery is a major sin due to which benediction will be removed from money, health, time, earning, family members and life in general. There is one exception though since Islam is a rational religion. If you import products for which you paid millions, and it is totally lawful and free from lying, deceit or monopolization. However, the procedures are very complicated, and the customs officer blackmails you and asks for 10.000Liras, otherwise he will arouse suspicions about your paperwork, or you will be taken to court during which your commodities might be stolen or damaged, you may pay the 10.000 Liras to prevent inevitable oppressive harm to you.
On the other hand, if you are caught red handed using powdered milk to make ice cream while you mention in the ingredients that you use natural milk, being punished is fair and square, and any money you pay to bail out is bribery, and it will lead you to Hell-Fire.
In the first case, the man is innocent and he is bullied by the customs officer, so we ask Allah to forgive him for paying the 10.000 Liras, and we say that the customs officer is the sinner.
Our master Umar, may Allah be pleased with him, said, "The best amongst you is not the one who knows good and evil, but rather it is the one who is able to distinguish between two evil matters and choose the less harmful one".
Be keen on your earning, because it is a crucial matter, and you will be brought to account on the Day of Judgment for it. Furthermore, keep in mind that Allah gives benediction to the little lawful money and makes it sufficient unimaginably.
A man was able to make yogurt from substances without using milk, and he made millions out of that cunning trade. Yet, he died after he suffered from insanity and cancer.
"Allah is the Greatest", and I will never have enough saying it over and over again. Hence, make your living lawful, and be aware that in lawful money, you will find benediction, spiritual relief, transcendence and thriving.
(( Whoever abandons something merely for the sake of Allah, will in return receive things from Allah serving him in his religion and in the Hereafter. ))
The One (i.e. Allah), for Whose Sake you leave something will not forget you. I have thousand of stories in this regard. Money is a key matter, so make sure that your earning is lawful and avoid taking any money that might belong to others.
Praise be to Allah, the Lord of the Worlds.
In the Name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.
Praise be to Allah, the Lord (The One and Only) of the Worlds, and blessings and peace be upon our Master Muhammad, his Folks, his Companions, his descendants and those who allied with him and followed him until the Day of Judgment.
O Allah, lead us out from the depths of darkness and illusion unto the lights of erudition and knowledge, and from the muddy shallows of lusts unto the heavens of Your Vicinity.
