Establishing Trust and keeping Promises

Allah SWT has described those who are trustworthy and keep their promises in the Glorious Quran. In today’s reminder the imam referenced some of these ayats and one of those is the 27th ayat of Sura Al-Anfal which is translated to say:

Believers! Do not be unfaithful to Allah and the Messenger, nor be knowingly unfaithful to your trusts.

Dear brothers and sisters, the idea of being someone who trust can be placed in is actually something that first originated in the Heavens. As Allah SWT speaks of it in the 72nd ayat of Sura Al-Ahzab, it is translated to say:

We indeed offered the trust to the heavens and the earth and the mountains, but they refused it and were afraid of it – and man accepted it; indeed he is one who puts himself into hardship, is extremely unwise.

From this Allah SWT is telling us that we were the ones who accepted the trust of Allah SWT to begin with. It is mankind who is trusted to worship Allah SWT alone and carry out the test of this dunya.

And so, the concept of trust falls upon each and every one of us. And what does that mean exactly? The imam reminded us again from the Glorious Quran that Allah SWT has associated success of this life with the way in which we handle our trusts. This is conveyed in ayat 8 of Sura Al-Muminoon which is translated to say:

and (success is attained) by those who honestly look after their trusts and covenant,

Dear brothers and sisters, the concept of trust comes back to the integrity that we show as Muslims. From the way we deal with our neighbours, to the way we are with our families and friends. From the way in which we conduct business and to the way in which we keep our promises, the concept of trust is all about the integrity that we hold in the eyes of others.

We belong to an ummah that was known for it’s integrity. Our word is meant to be our honour and our honour and reputation is meant to be the defining principle of who we are. In a time and a place where deception and corruption is supposedly seen everywhere, the integrity of the Muslim should stand out amongst our own and especially amongst the wider community of the country we live in.

As mentioned in previous reminders, this is part of the manners that we uphold as Muslims and it is directly from the Sunnah of the Prophet SAWS that we are people who can be trusted.

We know from the life of the Prophet SAWS that he was a man that was both trusted by Muslims and non-Muslims alike and so this is something that we must make as the cornerstone of our personas and what we are known for amongst other people.

And so, this reminder concludes with 3 practical tips as to how we can achieve this, how we can avoid being untrustworthy and how to identify if we are achieving this.

  1. First is the acute understanding on both our purpose and of the presence of Allah SWT. By adhering to this point, we begin adopting the mannerisms that promote a trusting and honest behaviour. From making all prayers, to not purposely disobeying Allah SWT and his Messenger SAWS, there is a process to follow and it begins with following the Quran and the Sunnah.
  2. One of the signs that we are untrustworthy is our manners in relation to telling the truth. Lying breeds untrustworthiness and so we need to make sure that we stand out as people who speak the truth. This is especially important in the place we live. Living amongst the majority of non-Muslims, we are in a special position of being ambassadors to Islam. People don’t become Muslim just by learning about Islam but they do so when they see other Muslims. Therefore, how we conduct ourselves has a direct impact on their perception of the ultimate truth and that is our faith. If we claim to follow the truth but are practicing hypocrisy by being untrustworthy then what message are we sending to others?
  3. If we find ourselves lacking in integrity then once we have understood we need to work on this then the next step is to actively work on changing how we conduct ourselves. Our heart and mind governs our behaviours and so the heart needs to be repaired through the first point and through the remembrance of Allah SWT. The mind follows and we do this by actively making an effort to refrain from lying, even as a joke. It is never too late to change your character from being known as untrustworthy to someone who is known as transforming to a person of integrity and trust. It’s within us all to do and we begin by asking Allah SWT to help us make that change.

Dear brothers and sisters, integrity is a key characteristic of any good human but it is even more important as Muslims that we show integrity, not only for our own sakes in front of Allah SWT but also for the sake of the people around us so that our community is known by all as people of integrity and those who maintain trusts.

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Description of a Hypocrite

Hypocrisy is a serious sickness and a great crime. It means making an outward display of Islam whilst inwardly concealing kufr. Hypocrisy is more dangerous than kufr (disbelief) and the punishment for it is more severe, because it is kufr mixed with Islam and its harmful effects are greater.

The sin of hypocrisy is described in various hadith. The imam mentioned a couple in todays reminder. The first one is:

Allah’s Messenger (ﷺ) said, “The signs of a hypocrite are three: Whenever he speaks, he tells a lie; and whenever he promises, he breaks his promise; and whenever he is entrusted, he betrays (proves to be dishonest)”.

The second one mentioned said:

The Prophet (ﷺ) said, “Whoever has the following four (characteristics) will be a pure hypocrite and whoever has one of the following four characteristics will have one characteristic of hypocrisy unless and until he gives it up.

  1. Whenever he is entrusted, he betrays.
  2. Whenever he speaks, he tells a lie.
  3. Whenever he makes a covenant, he proves treacherous.
  4. Whenever he quarrels, he behaves in a very imprudent, evil and insulting manner.”

Dear brothers and sisters, these characteristics not only have the curse of weighing heavily against the believers good deeds but also they, in turn, cause the faith itself to become weaker.

Allah SWT mentions this in the Quran and the imam reminded us of this through the two ayats 142 and 143 of Sura Nisa.

These are translated to say:

Indeed, the hypocrites [think to] deceive Allah, but He is deceiving them. And when they stand for prayer, they stand lazily, showing [themselves to] the people and not remembering Allah except a little,

Wavering between them, [belonging] neither to the believers nor to the disbelievers. And whoever Allah leaves astray – never will you find for him a way.

Dear brothers and sisters, we conclude then with a breakdown of the 4 characteristics mentioned in the hadith with reminders on how each can be avoided.

The first was the mention of being entrusted with something and betraying that trust. The dictionary defines this as ‘to do something very bad and hurtful to someone that causes loss of respect.”

This can range from the obvious such as stealing from somebody but most of us here may think we are in the clear with this one. However, other dangers that fall into this category, as mentioned last week, are causing hurt from the tongue in what is said about one another. We live in a time and a place where gossip, backbiting and slander is seen as the norm in society.

We need to remind ourselves that if we are going behind someone’s back and speaking ill of them then this is a betrayal of that persons trust and thus we are in danger of falling into this category.

The second point is when someone speaks, he tells a lie. Dear brothers and sisters, we have had reminders in the past about this point as it is an important reminder. However, it is worth mentioning here that in the current time and place, we often convince ourselves to lie because the pressure of conforming to the norms of society means that we lie to fit in.

This is a difficult one, for example, if a friend approaches us and is wearing something new and asks our opinion. We may think that the item is inappropriate for a Muslim to be wearing but for fear of hurting their feeling or sounding uncool, we will say what they want to hear.

This is a test of our times. Our opinion may not be the popular ones in todays time and place. However, we cannot sell ourselves short in the pursuit of being popular or the same as the majority because we are at risk of hypocrisy if we do.

The third example, to prove treacherous when making a covenant is a reminder for those of us who deal in business. Unfortunately, it is a fact that when people speak of those in countries from where our heritage lies, it is normally synonymous with scams, fraud and deception.

This is a shame because Muslims ought to be the beacon of trust, honour and a promise being kept true at all times. Therefore, we need to be absolutely resolute in business here and ensure that we do not wrong anyone in business and that those who do business with Muslims do so in the confidence that they will never be short-changed in any way.

The final example was of quarrelling and the etiquettes of such an action. This is an interesting point because the hadith does not stop at quarrelling but expands on what is impermissible when doing so.

Therefore, we ought to recognize that having disagreements is part and parcel of life. However, if one is resorting to being rash, ugly or vile in their disagreement then not only have they lost the argument already but they are at risk of being labelled a hypocrite as mentioned here.

The point here is one of ego. When one engages in a quarrel, if the ego is out of control then there is no stopping the person and they will resort to whatever it takes to get the last word. However, remind yourself that in any disagreement there is an opportunity for someone, if not both, to learn, to grow and to show humbleness in accepting the opposite viewpoint as being the correct one – even if that is at a cost of a dent in their ego.

Dear brothers and sisters, hypocrisy is a damaging trait – both on it’s own and its impact on our level of faith. Let us be of the people who avoid being labelled a hypocrite by being mindful of the four definitions given towards this hazardous label.

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Unjust and Ignorant Nature of Man

Allah SWT has revealed to us the religion of Islam. And we have record of it through the Final Testament – Al Quran and through it’s practical application, i.e. the Sunnah of Prophet Muhammed SAWS.

Our success and failure is dependant upon how much of our religion we adhere to. We are commanded to act in accordance with it and Allah SWT informs of the dangers of being heedless in it.

Allah SWT says in Sura Al-Ahzab, ayat 72:

Truly, We did offer “Al Amanah” (which translates to the trust or moral responsibility or honesty and all the duties which Allah has ordained) to the heavens and the earth, and the mountains, but they declined to bear it and were afraid of it (i.e. afraid of Allah’s Torment).

But man bore it. Verily, he was unjust (to himself) and ignorant (of its results).

Dear brothers and sisters, there is so much to digest from this single ayat and this khutba could never do it justice but in order to give an idea of how important and heavy this “trust” (amanat) is, Allah says that the heavens and the earth, in spite of their glory and greatness, and the mountains, in spite of their size and firmness, could not have the power and courage to bear it. But man, the weak and frail man, has borne this heavy burden on his tiny self.

In order to give an idea of the extraordinary importance of the matter, try to imagine a scene as if the earth and the heavens and the mountains like the Himalayas were present before Allah SWT on one side and a 5 to 6 foot man, on the other.

Then Allah SWT is saying at this point to His creation that he wants to invest someone of His creation with the power that it may acknowledge His Supremacy and obey His commands of its own free will.

He wants it to also have the power to deny Him, even rebel against Him. After giving the creation this freedom Allah SWT will conceal Himself as if He did not exist at all.

And to exercise this freedom, Allah SWT shall give His creation vast powers, great capabilities, and shall give it dominion over countless of His other creations so that it may raise any storm that it may.

And then finally Allah SWT will call His creation to account. The one who will have misused the freedom granted by Him, will be made to suffer a most terrible punishment; and the one who will have adopted His obedience in spite of all chances and opportunities for disobedience, will be raised to such high ranks as no creation of His has ever been able to attain.

And Allah SWT offers this to the mightiest of his creation by asking which of them is ready to undergo this test?

Dear brothers and sisters, now imagine that for a second, a test such as this is resulting in one huge creation after the other submitting that it should be excused from the severe test.

And then, at last, this frail creation, in comparison to the mountains and the earth, declares that it is ready to undergo this test. That it will brave all the dangers inherent in the freedom and independence only in the hope that it will be blessed with the highest office in Allah SWT’s kingdom if it passes the test.

Dear brothers and sisters, by imagining this scene through one’s mind’s eye can we judge exactly what delicate position we hold in the universe.

Allah in this verse has called mankind unjust and ignorant, who lives a carefree life in the place of test, and has no feeling at all of how great a responsibility he is shouldering, and what consequences he will encounter of the right or wrong decisions that he makes in choosing and adopting an attitude for himself in the life of the world.

He is ignorant because the fool holds himself as responsible to no one; he is unjust because he is preparing for his doom and is also preparing the doom of many others along with him.

Be under no illusion, we have had a great trust placed upon each and every single one of us by Allah SWT.

To perform worship and to perform our duties as Muslims to the best of our ability is the trust placed on us by Allah SWT. But alongside that we are entrusted to be just to one another in business, family affairs and in all walks of life.

Dear brothers and sisters, one cannot over-emphasise the weight of expectation and responsibility placed on us via this trust. But Allah SWT’s wisdom prevails over all and we should remind ourselves that this is a trust we can honour with the right actions in this life.

May Allah SWT enable us to honour this Trust. May Allah SWT exclude us from the unjust and the ignorant and may Allah SWT reward us for honouring this Trust.

Ameen wa Alhamdullilahi Rabil-alameen.

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Trust placed in us by Allah (God)

Allah SWT says in Sura Al-Ahzab, ayat 72:

Truly, We did offer “Al Amanah” (which translates to the trust or moral responsibility or honesty and all the duties which Allah has ordained) to the heavens and the earth, and the mountains, but they declined to bear it and were afraid of it (i.e. afraid of Allah’s Torment).

But man bore it. Verily, he was unjust (to himself) and ignorant (of its results).

Dear brothers and sisters, there is so much to digest from this single ayat and this khutba could never do it justice but in order to give an idea of how important and heavy this “trust” (amanat) is, Allah says that the heavens and the earth, in spite of their glory and greatness, and the mountains, in spite of their size and firmness, could not have the power and courage to bear it. But man, the weak and frail man, has borne this heavy burden on his tiny self.

In order to give an idea of the extraordinary importance of the matter, try to imagine a scene as if the earth and the heavens and the mountains like the Himalayas were present before Allah SWT on one side and a 5 to 6 foot man, on the other.

Then Allah SWT is saying at this point to His creation that he wants to invest someone of His creation with the power that it may acknowledge His Supremacy and obey His commands of its own free will.

He wants it to also have the power to deny Him, even rebel against Him. After giving the creation this freedom Allah SWT will conceal Himself as if He did not exist at all.

And to exercise this freedom, Allah SWT shall give His creation vast powers, great capabilities, and shall give it dominion over countless of His other creations so that it may raise any storm that it may.

And then finally Allah SWT will call His creation to account. The one who will have misused the freedom granted by Him, will be made to suffer a most terrible punishment; and the one who will have adopted His obedience in spite of all chances and opportunities for disobedience, will be raised to such high ranks as no creation of His has ever been able to attain.

And Allah SWT offers this to the mightiest of his creation by asking which of them is ready to undergo this test?

Dear brothers and sisters, now imagine that for a second, a test such as this is resulting in one huge creation after the other submitting that it should be excused from the severe test.

And then, at last, this frail creation, in comparison to the mountains and the earth, declares that it is ready to undergo this test. That it will brave all the dangers inherent in the freedom and independence only in the hope that it will be blessed with the highest office in Allah SWT’s kingdom if it passes the test.

Dear brothers and sisters, by imagining this scene through one’s mind’s eye can we judge exactly what delicate position we hold in the universe.

Allah in this verse has called mankind unjust and ignorant, who lives a carefree life in the place of test, and has no feeling at all of how great a responsibility he is shouldering, and what consequences he will encounter of the right or wrong decisions that he makes in choosing and adopting an attitude for himself in the life of the world.

He is ignorant because the fool holds himself as responsible to no one; he is unjust because he is preparing for his doom and is also preparing the doom of many others along with him.

Dear brothers and sisters, be under no illusion, we have had a great trust placed upon each and every single one of us by Allah SWT.

To perform worship and to perform our duties as Muslims to the best of our ability is the trust placed on us by Allah SWT. But alongside that we are entrusted to be just to one another in business, family affairs and in all walks of life.

We are entrusted by Allah SWT to carry on the message delivered via the Prophet SAWS in our manners, our behaviour and our talk especially considering the ignorance being spread of Islam in current affairs and media.

Dear brothers and sisters, one cannot over-emphasise the weight of expectation and responsibility placed on us via this trust. But Allah SWT’s wisdom prevails over all and we should remind ourselves that this is a trust we can honour with the right actions in this life.

And what better way to honour this trust than by to imitate the words and actions of our beloved Prophet Muhammed SAWS – the best of all creation?

May Allah SWT enable us to honour this Trust. May Allah SWT exclude us from the unjust and the ignorant and may Allah SWT reward us for honouring this Trust.

Ameen wa Alhamdullilahi Rabil-alameen.

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