As-Siddiq Institute & Mosque (ASIM)
O Muslims, believers! Alhamdulillah that Allah (swt) granted us and honored us to be Muslim, and that is a big honor that He made you from Ummat an-Nabi (s), the ummah that will not stay too long in the grave. Other nations, umaam, you can see from history that they have stayed in graves for a long time. Ummat an-Nabi (s) is not going to stay too much because most of the predictions that Prophet (s) mentioned have occurred already. That is why awliyaullah and `ulama are expecting a lot of changes as Prophet (s) mentioned and indicated.
We are in the Last Days, and when someone is in the last days of his life and about to die, then he will try to do his best. It might be all his life he was bad, but when dying, he will try to do the best he can and give the most charity for a masjid and hospitals and those in need. So Prophet (s) is encouraging people for sadaqah. Sadaqah is not only to give money, and that is an important aspect, but really what is that Prophet (s) asking us to do?
عن أبي هريرة رضي الله عنه أن النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم قال: " كل سلامى من الناس عليه صدقة، وكل يوم تطلع فيه الشمس تعدل بين اثنين صدقة، وتعين الرجل في دابته فتحمله عليها، أو ترفع له متاعه عليها صدقة، والكلمة الطيبة صدقة، وبكل خطوة تمشيها إلى الصلاة صدقة، وتميط الأذى عن الطريق صدقة رواه البخاري ومسلم
Abu Hurayrah (r) narrated that Prophet (s) said, kullu sulam min an-naasi `alayhi sadaqah, "Everyone that is healthy has to give sadaqah." That also means if you are healthy you have to give sadaqah on behalf of your body. The first sadaqah is to pray: you give for voluntary prayer out of your time to pray. Five prayers you are obliged to pray, but if you want your body to be healthy do more prayers, give more sadaqah. Are you doing this? It might be some days you are doing and some days you are not doing. "Sulama" means one who is healthy with no problem. So whoever has no problem has to pay a sadaqah, and kullu yawmin alladhee tatla` ash-shams, "Every day that the sun rises, a person has to give sadaqah."
What kind of sadaqah? To make islah, peace between people is sadaqah. if someone has problem between his brothers, making peace between them is sadaqah. When you give time to solve problems of brothers or sisters, that is sadaqah. Many people say, "We don't have money to give, so how to give sadaqah? You can smile, as to smile in face of your brother is sadaqah, and and to help people make peace is sadaqah, and to help someone ride on his camel, horse, donkey, mule, daabah, any kind of animal, is sadaqah. That means, today if you help someone that cannot walk, they have pain in their leg or they are disabled, coming with you is charity. If you help him to go inside his house, or help him into a car by holding his shoulder, that is sadaqah. Are we doing that? Yes, many people are doing that, and angels will write that in your book (of deeds).
مَا نَقَصَتْ صَدَقَةٌ مِنْ مَالٍ وَمَا زَادَ اللَّهُ عَبْداً بِعَفْوٍ إِلاَّ عِزًّا وَمَا تَوَاضَعَ أَحَدٌ لِلّهِ إِلاَّ رَفَعَهُ اللَّهُ صحيح مسلم
Prophet (s) said, maa naqasa maalan min sadaqah (wa maa zaad Allah `abdan ya`foo illa `izzan wa maa tawaada` aahadun lillahi illa rfa`ahullah, "Money never decreased from charity, and a servant who always forgives Allah never increased except in honor, and no one lowered himself for Allah's sake, except Allah raised him."
Sadaqah will take away affliction and stretch your life. Helping someone to sit on couch is sadaqah.
Wa 'l-kalimat at-tayyibah, to say a nice word to someone is sadaqah. When you see your son or daughter doing something wrong, try to give nice word, don't scream. Screaming at your children when they do something, and you scream very hard, they will never come next time to tell you their problems. Speak to them at their age level by making your age less than your real age. If you are 30 years old and your son is 10, drop your age to his age, be friendly with him, then he or she will listen. Don't shout in face of your father or mother, as many people do. Usually this is a habit we see everywhere today and, unfortunately, we see more than that. The Prophet (s) said the good word is sadaqah.
There are people who beat their wives! I was in London, I just came back from there. You cannot believe how many women came to me and said, "My husband is beating me," from all races and backgrounds. I hope you are not beating your wife!
Wa kull khutwatin tamshee ila as-salaat sadaqah, "Every step you make to go to pray is sadaqah." Not in the prayer itself, but going to the masjid; for example, if you take one-thousand steps, it is written one-thousand (acts of) sadaqah. And if you go a half-hour, that sadaqah is multiplied ten times as each hasanaat is rewarded by ten times.
See in one hadith how much Prophet (s) extended the understanding of sadaqah!
Wa tumeetu al adha `ani 't-tareeq sadaqah, "If you see something on the road such as a banana skin or any harmful thing (and you remove it), that is sadaqah. That hadith is very important. It teaches that every healthy Muslim must make sadaqah, and you can be not healthy and still do that, and to fix a problem between two people is sadaqah, to help a person to ride on a car or bus or whatever, even to carry his luggage is sadaqah, to give a nice word is sadaqah, and each step you go to prayers is sadaqah. (Narrated by Bukhari and Muslim)
So Muslims, be careful. Allah gave us a way out of sins, based on such hadith. So try your best, we have to try our best in order to follow the instructions that Prophet (s) mentioned.
(Mawlana sits.)
Inna-allah wa malaa'ikatahu yusalloona `ala an-nabi, ya ayyuhalladheena aamnoo salloo `alayhi wa sallimoo tasleema. Allahuma salli `ala mafkhar al-`arab wal-`ajam ya ayyuhal mushtaaqoon noora jamaalihi wa muhtaajoona shafa`atah, salloo `alayh. Allahuma salli `ala Sayyidina Muhammad wa `ala aali Sayyidina Muhammad (s).
Du`a.
(end of khutbah)