Sermon Title: Are Worldly Blessings an Indicator of Love from Allah?
Themes of the sermon:
Difference between mercy and love
The misconception that worldly blessings are a proof of Allah's love for His servant
Examples of disbelievers and wrongdoers upon whom Allah has bestowed blessings
The conditions of Allah's prophets in this world
All praise is due to Allah, and may Allah exalt and send peace to the Messenger of Allah, his family, his companions, and whoever follows him.
O servants of Allah! Be mindful of Allah, be conscious of Him, obey Him and do not be disobedient:
﴿يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا اتَّقُوا اللَّهَ حَقَّ تُقَاتِهِ وَلَا تَمُوتُنَّ إِلَّا وَأَنْتُمْ مُسْلِمُونَ﴾
“O you who believe! Fear Allah as He should be feared, and die not except as Muslims.” (Qur’an 3: 102)
O Muslims:
Allah, the Almighty, has created death and life, and made everything on earth as an adornment for it, to test His servants as to which of them is best in deeds. He (ﷻ) tests His servants through good and evil, and He gives abundant provision to whomever He wills and determines. The mercy of Allah for His servants in this world is not a proof of His love for them, and not everyone upon whom Allah bestows His mercy in this world and provides for is loved by Him. The mercy of Allah (ﷻ) is vast and encompasses everything. He is the Most Merciful, the Most Compassionate, and the Most Generous, and His mercy extends to all creatures. He provides for whom He wills without account, but His love is for specific persons; He loves the pious, the repentant, the purified, and the just, and He does not love the corrupt, the disbelievers, or the wrongdoers, as He has told us about Himself in His Book.
When Allah bestows a favor upon a servant from the blessings of this world, this is due to His mercy and wisdom, not His love, because Allah gives from this world to those whom He loves and those whom He does not love, but He does not give the reward of the Hereafter except to those He loves.
One of the great mistakes that many people fall into is that they measure their value in the sight of Allah by what they have in their hands from worldly pleasures. If they are afflicted with a calamity and lose something from this world, they think that Allah dislikes them and does not love them. If, however, they are blessed with wealth, children, health, or anything else, they understand that Allah, the Almighty, loves them, even though they may be severely negligent of Allah’s commands, committing many sins and transgression. Thus, how do they understand that Allah loves and honors them because of the blessing they have?
Allah, the Exalted, has condemned those who claim this, saying:
﴿فَأَمَّا الْإِنْسَانُ إِذَا مَا ابْتَلَاهُ رَبُّهُ فَأَكْرَمَهُ وَنَعَّمَهُ فَيَقُولُ رَبِّي أَكْرَمَنِ * وَأَمَّا إِذَا مَا ابْتَلَاهُ فَقَدَرَ عَلَيْهِ رِزْقَهُ فَيَقُولُ رَبِّي أَهَانَنِ * كَلَّا﴾
“As for man, when his Lord tests him by honoring him and bestowing favors upon him, he says: 'My Lord has honored me.' But when He tests him by limiting his provision, he says: 'My Lord has humiliated me.' No!” (Qur’an 89: 15-17)
Does man not know that Allah, the Exalted, gave the pleasures of this world to some disbelieving tyrants, testing them or sealing their hearts with blessings? Have you not seen the extravagant disbelievers who thought that the blessings bestowed upon them were a sign of Allah's love for them, so Allah said about them:
﴿وَمَا أَرْسَلْنَا فِي قَرْيَةٍ مِنْ نَذِيرٍ إِلَّا قَالَ مُتْرَفُوهَا إِنَّا بِمَا أُرْسِلْتُمْ بِهِ كَافِرُونَ * وَقَالُوا نَحْنُ أَكْثَرُ أَمْوَالًا وَأَوْلَادًا وَمَا نَحْنُ بِمُعَذَّبِينَ﴾
“And We sent no warner to any town without its affluent saying: 'We disbelieve in what you have been sent with. And they say: 'We have more wealth and children, and we will not be punished.’” (Qur’an 34: 34-35). Allah responded to them, saying:
﴿قُلْ إِنَّ رَبِّي يَبْسُطُ الرِّزْقَ لِمَنْ يَشَاءُ وَيَقْدِرُ وَلَكِنَّ أَكْثَرَ النَّاسِ لَا يَعْلَمُونَ﴾
“Say: 'Indeed, my Lord extends provision for whom He wills and restricts it, but most people do not know” (Quran 34:36), meaning that giving or withholding worldly things does not indicate His love or non-love, but He does this according to His will and wisdom, Glorified be He.
Qārun claimed that Allah had favored him with the treasures whose keys would burden a group of strong men, so he said arrogantly:
﴿إِنَّمَا أُوتِيتُهُ عَلَى عِلْمٍ عِنْدِي﴾
“I was only given this because of the knowledge I possess” (Quran 28:78), meaning that he believed he deserved this wealth due to the knowledge given to him by Allah. Allah refuted him, saying:
﴿أَوَلَمْ يَعْلَمْ أَنَّ اللَّهَ قَدْ أَهْلَكَ مِنْ قَبْلِهِ مِنَ الْقُرُونِ مَنْ هُوَ أَشَدُّ مِنْهُ قُوَّةً وَأَكْثَرُ جَمْعًا وَلَا يُسْأَلُ عَنْ ذُنُوبِهِمُ الْمُجْرِمُونَ﴾
“Did he not know that Allah had destroyed, before him, generations that were stronger than him in power and greater in accumulation of wealth? The criminals will not be asked about their sins.” (Quran 28:78)
Dear brothers:
If the (pleasures of this) world were a sign of Allah's love, why were most of the prophets having little possessions? Didn't it happen that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ has spent a month after a month after a third one without having food cocked in his house, and his food was only dates and water? He died ﷺ while his armor was pawned to a Jew, even though he was the best of all of Allah's creation. Allah, the Almighty, was capable of making him the richest of the kings of the earth, but He, the Exalted, said to him:
﴿وَلَقَدْ آتَيْنَاكَ سَبْعًا مِنَ الْمَثَانِي وَالْقُرْآنَ الْعَظِيمَ * لَا تَمُدَّنَّ عَيْنَيْكَ إِلَى مَا مَتَّعْنَا بِهِ أَزْوَاجًا مِنْهُمْ﴾
“And We have certainly given you seven of the often-repeated verses and the great Qur’an. Do not extend your eyes toward that with which We have provided enjoyment to [some] of them” (Qur’an 15: 87-88), and He, the Exalted, said to him:
﴿وَلَا تَمُدَّنَّ عَيْنَيْكَ إِلَى مَا مَتَّعْنَا بِهِ أَزْوَاجًا مِنْهُمْ زَهْرَةَ الْحَيَاةِ الدُّنْيَا لِنَفْتِنَهُمْ فِيهِ وَرِزْقُ رَبِّكَ خَيْرٌ وَأَبْقَى﴾
“And do not extend your eyes toward that with which We have provided enjoyment to [some] of them, [its being but] the splendor of worldly life by which We test them. And the provision of your Lord is better and more lasting.” (Quran 20: 131)
And this is the Prophet of Allah, Moses (peace be upon him), when he headed towards Midian, he was poor, lonely, and afraid. Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with him) said: “Moses (peace be upon him) traveled from Egypt to Median without any food except herbs and tree leaves, and he was barefoot as his sandal fell off before reaching Median. He sat in the shade, and he was the best of Allah's creation, but his stomach was sticking to his back out of hunger, and he was in dire need of a split of a date.” O Allah! We seek you help.
May Allah make His Book, the Glorious Qur'an, a blessing for you and me, and may He make us avail from its verses and reminders contained in it.. With that said, I ask Allah’s forgiveness for me, for you, and for all Muslims from all sins, so seek His forgiveness, for He is All Forgiver, the All Merciful.
The Second Sermon
Praise be to Allah, and may Allah exalt and send peace to the Messenger of Allah, his family, his companions, and whoever follows him.
O servants of Allah!
Indeed, whoever knows the reality of this world knows that it is worth nothing in the sight of Allah. The Prophet (ﷺ) said: “If this world were worth the wing of a mosquito to Allah, He would not have given a disbeliever a single drink of water from it.” [Reported by Ibn Mājah and at-Tirmidhī, who rated it as: Hasan Ṣaḥīḥ]
In fact, Allah has made it clear that if it were not for the fact that all people would become disbelievers due to being tempted by the world, He would have made for the disbelievers houses with roofs and doors of silver and gold, due to the insignificance of this world to Him, and to blur the hearts of the disbelievers and lead them astray, while reserving the Hereafter for the believers. Allah said:
﴿وَلَوْلَا أَنْ يَكُونَ النَّاسُ أُمَّةً وَاحِدَةً لَجَعَلْنَا لِمَنْ يَكْفُرُ بِالرَّحْمَنِ لِبُيُوتِهِمْ سُقُفًا مِنْ فِضَّةٍ وَمَعَارِجَ عَلَيْهَا يَظْهَرُونَ * ولِبُيُوتِهِمْ أَبْوَابًا وَسُرُرًا عَلَيْهَا يَتَّكِئُونَ * وَزُخْرُفًا وَإِنْ كُلُّ ذَلِكَ لَمَّا مَتَاعُ الْحَيَاةِ الدُّنْيَا وَالْآخِرَةُ عِنْدَ رَبِّكَ لِلْمُتَّقِينَ﴾
“And if it were not that all people would become one nation (of disbelief), We would have made for those who disbelieve in the Most Merciful houses with roofs of silver and stairways upon which they ascend, and for their houses, doors and couches upon which they recline, and adornments. And all of that is merely the enjoyment of this worldly life, and the Hereafter with your Lord is for the righteous.”
Dear Muslim brothers:
A believer is thankful to Allah. He praises Allah for His blessings, and does not praise himself. He shows patience in adversity without blaming his Lord.This is Prophet Solomon (peace be upon him) to whom Allah gave a kingdom that no one else should have after him. He subjected the wind, birds, and jinn to him, but still, he would say about this great blessing:
﴿هَذَا مِنْ فَضْلِ رَبِّي لِيَبْلُوَنِي أَأَشْكُرُ أَمْ أَكْفُرُ وَمَنْ شَكَرَ فَإِنَّمَا يَشْكُرُ لِنَفْسِهِ وَمَنْ كَفَرَ فَإِنَّ رَبِّي غَنِيٌّ كَرِيمٌ﴾
“This is from the grace of my Lord to test me whether I am grateful or ungrateful. And whoever is grateful, he is only grateful for the benefit of his own soul. And whoever is ungrateful, then indeed, my Lord is Self-Sufficient, Generous.”
And this is the Prophet Job (peace be upon him) who was afflicted with a severe trial. He was struck with illness, the people shunned him, and he remained in this state for eighteen years. He was, as Allah said:
﴿إِنَّا وَجَدْنَاهُ صَابِرًا نِعْمَ الْعَبْدُ إِنَّهُ أَوَّابٌ﴾
“Indeed, We found him patient. What an excellent servant! Indeed, he was one who repeatedly turned back (to Allah).” He continued as such until Allah relieved him and replaced his hardship with ease.
Thus, a servant must know that this world means nothing to Allah. If he is blessed with a favor from Allah, he realizes that it is a test for him: will he be grateful or ungrateful? And if he is afflicted with adversity, he knows that it is a test from Allah for him: will he be patient or distressed and resentful?
Allah says:
﴿وَلَئِنْ أَذَقْنَا الْإِنْسَانَ مِنَّا رَحْمَةً ثُمَّ نَزَعْنَاهَا مِنْهُ إِنَّهُ لَيَئُوسٌ كَفُورٌ * وَلَئِنْ أَذَقْنَاهُ نَعْمَاءَ بَعْدَ ضَرَّاءَ مَسَّتْهُ لَيَقُولَنَّ ذَهَبَ السَّيِّئَاتُ عَنِّي إِنَّهُ لَفَرِحٌ فَخُورٌ * إِلَّا الَّذِينَ صَبَرُوا﴾
“And if We give man a taste of Our mercy, then We remove it from him, indeed, he becomes despairing, ungrateful. And if We give him a taste of favor after adversity has touched him, he will surely say, 'The bad times have gone away from me.' Indeed, he is exultant, boastful, except for those who are patient” – that is, during adversity
﴿وَعَمِلُوا الصَّالِحَاتِ﴾
“and do good deeds” – that is, as grateful during blessings –
﴿أُولَئِكَ لَهُمْ مَغْفِرَةٌ وَأَجْرٌ كَبِيرٌ﴾
“for them is forgiveness and a great reward.”
O servants of Allah: ask Allah to exalt and send blessings upon the one whom you are commanded to pray for. O Allah, exalt and send peace to our Prophet Muhammad, his family and companions altogether. O Allah, with Your knowledge of the unseen and Your power over creation, give us life as long as You know that life is good for us, and cause us to die when You know that death is better for us. We ask You to grant us fear from You in private and in public, and grant us speaking the truth in anger and in contentment, and moderation in poverty and wealth. We ask You for never-ending bliss, for unceasing delight, and for contentment after Your decree. We ask You for a pleasant life after death, for the pleasure of looking at Your Face and the longing to meet You without any harmful distress or misleading temptation. O Allah, adorn us with the adornment of faith. Our Lord, give us good in this world and good in the Hereafter and protect us from the punishment of the Fire.O servants of Allah: Remember Allah abundantly and glorify Him morning and evening. And our last prayer is that all praise belongs to Allah, the Lord of all worlds.
