Friday Nasiha

Al-Talaq (Divorce)
Chapter 65: Verse 3

Relying on Allah
"...And whosoever puts his trust in Allah, then He will suffice him…"

When a person knows that Allah is able to do all things, that He alone makes choices for His slaves and runs their affairs, that the way He runs His slave’s affairs is better than the way the slave would do it for himself, that He knows better about the slave’s interests than the slave does, that He is more able to achieve them, that He is more sincere and more merciful towards His slave than the slave is to himself; and also knows that he cannot progress or regress any further than the limits that Allah has decreed for him, for nobody can change the will and decree of Allah – when a person knows all this, he submits himself to his Lord and hands over his affairs to Him. He gives the burden of his needs and interests to the One who is not concerned about how heavy or great the burden is. Allah will take care of it, instead of him, and will show him His kindness and mercy, without the slave getting tired or worried, because all his concern is now focused on Allah alone. He knows that Allah has guaranteed to take complete care of the one who puts his trust in Him, so he trusts Allah and has confidence in His promise. Thus his heart gains indescribable strength, his worries and anxiety disappear, hardship is replaced with ease, sadness turns to joy and fear turns into a feeling of security.

But as for the person who insists on running his own affairs and making his own choices, whose concern is only for his own share and not for his duties towards his Lord, Allah will leave him alone with the choices he has made, so he will be surrounded by concerns, worries, distress, grief, fear, exhaustion and depression. His thoughts will be confused, none of his deeds will be pure and none of his hopes will be fulfilled. He will gain no respite, and will enjoy no pleasure. He will never feel joy or contentment. He will be labouring like a working-animal, with no hope of gaining anything that could help him in the Hereafter.

Source:
“Dealing with worries and stress” - By Mohammed Salih Al-Munajjid

Working hard to earn a living

Zubair bin `Awwam (may Allah be pleased with him) reported: The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) said, "It is far better for you to take your rope, go to the mountain, (cut some firewood) carry it on your back, and sell it and thereby save your face than begging from people whether they give you or refuse.''
[Al-Bukhari].

Abu Hurairah (may Allah be pleased with him) reported: The Prophet (peace be upon him) said, "(Prophet) Dawud (peace be upon him) ate only out of that which he earned through his manual work.''
[Al-Bukhari].

Abu Hurairah (may Allah be pleased with him) reported: The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) said, "(Prophet) Zakariyya (peace be upon him) was a carpenter.''
[Al-Bukhari]

Manual labour or hard work is certainly far better than seeking charity servilely, because doing a job like this will certainly save a man's self-respect, whereas begging puts him in an awkward position. To put it in this way, Islam stands for a man's deliverance from indignity and teaches him to keep his sense of dignity.

Labour and manual work make the living of a man good, laudable and excellent. The Prophets also earned their living with their own work. Upon such earnings we get the Blessing of Allah. Some people wrongly think that earning a living is at variance with trust in Allah. Rather the right form of trust requires us to adopt ways and means according to our capacity and then to leave the matter to Allah. Also the Prophetic argument tells us that any manual skill or occupation, and the one who depends on it for his living should not be considered inferior. No trade is inferior, nor is the person who adopts it.

Source:
“Riyad-us-Saliheen” - by Abu Zakariya Yahya

1. any form of activity deriving money from pornography, prostitution and indecency (such as theatres, movie stores, clubs....etc.), as Allah reminds us, "And do not come near Zina (fornication); indeed it is an abomination and an evil way" [17:32];
2. making statues of living creatures or photography that is sexually provocative, as the Prophet (pbuh) once said, "Allah will punish anyone who makes figures (of living beings), until he breathes spirit into them, which he can never do" [Bukhari];
3. manufacturing, trading, or serving intoxicants and drugs;
4. working in a bar, off-licence, nightclub, dance hall, etc.;
5. being involved in armed forces fighting against other Muslims or killing innocent people;
6. working in banks, stock exchanges, futures markets, insurance companies, and other usurious or Riba-based institutions.