Money is a thing we all need but to what lengths we go to attain this, is questionable in Islaam. As believers we are

taught that this world is nothing but transitory and the Hereafter is eternal and everlasting.

Therefore our endeavors for the latter should be more and in all earnestness as compared to the efforts for the
former. It is a harsh and sad reality today, the world is money driven. Even sadder is that the Muslimfeatures in the
forefrounts of this quest of wealth, fame and glory.

The incident which occurred in the time of Nabi Isaa (jesus) (A.S) below shares light on our plight in life. It is an
incident that should jolt into reality and realization those afflicted by the course of the insatiable quest of wealth, fame
and glory.

A man accompanied Nabi Isaa (jesus) the son of Maryam (A.S.) and said that he would gom with him. They
continued along until they came to a river. They sat and started to eat.

They had three loaves of bread. they ate two of them and one remained. Nabi Isaa (jesus) went to the river, drank
some water and returned. Upon his return he did not find the third loaf, so he asked the man who had taken that loaf.
The man said that he did not know.

They continued until they came to a doe followed by two fawns. Nabi Isaa (jesus) beckoned one of the fawns,
killed it, roasted it and thy ate it. Then Nabi Isaa (jesus) addressed the fawn (that had been eaten) saying, “Live!” It
came to life and went.

Then he turned to the man and said, “By the God Who has shown you this miracle, who took that loaf of bread?”
The man said that he did not know.

They continued until reached a lake. Nabi Isaa (jesus) took the hand of the man and led him over the water. When
they reached the other side, Nabi Isaa (Jesus) gathered some sand or dust and said, “By the permission of Allah
(SWT), be Gold!” It became Gold. He divided it into three portions.

Then Nabi Isaa (jesus) said, “One third is for me, one third for you, and one third for whoever took that loaf of
bread.
The man said, “Alright, I took loaf of bread,” Nabi Isaa (Jesus) said, “Then all of this Gold is yours.” Then he left
him.

The man encountered two other man in the desert. They wanted to take his Gold and kill him. He said, “Let us into
three portions.” They sent one of them to them village to buy food.

The one who went said to himself, “Why should I let them have notions of this wealth? I still put some poison into
the food, and kill them.” So, he poisoned the food.

The other two said, “Why should we give a third of this wealth to him. When he comes back, let us kill him, and
divide the rest of the wealth between us.”

When he returned, they attacked him and killed him. Then they ate the poisoned food and died. The wealth
remained in the desert with the three dead men beside it.

Nabi Isaa (Jesus) passed them and saw the situation. He said to his disciples, “This is the world, so beware of
it!”

Ever wondered what made grandma and grandpa’s marriage last and last, till death? How come they celebrated
their silver and golden anniversaries together as a couple, but our cousin’s marriage only lasted for one year?

What is the real difference between the marriaes of yore and the marriages of today? Why is the divorce rate so
huge in comparison to 40,50 or even 20 years ago?

Our great grandparents often got married via an arranged marriage. Although they did not know each other well
wedding day for the first time, yet their marriages lasted for years and they grew old together.

Marriages back then took place as quick as 3 to 6 months after the proposal. Taday, boy meets girl. Thay fall
madly in love. Then the dating starts. This period lasts for three, sometimes ten years before the couple finally decide
to get married.

In the “boyfriend/girlfriend” period, the couple is mesmerised by the fecade that life is as fake as the Hollywood and
Bollywood movies, where everything is “perfect” with everlasting romance. Little do the youngsters of today realise
that that life is much to just romance, passion and lust.

All human beings, male and female have good and bad qualities of which we have to learn to accept and live with.
Marriages are not only about chocolates and roses, but sheer hard work. In the beginning and everybody is so
accommodating, loving and reasonable. For the first few months, a Muslim marriage of today runs smoothly. Then,
like norm, disputes, difficulties and calamities crop up.

It is the usual part of the life for every marriage to experience disagreements and pronlems. Some couple are storng.
Alhamdullilah, and can manage to resolve these problem. Others however, unfortunately cannot handle it. Thus, a small
problem is stressed upon so much so that in turns into an ugly and major battle. And, in some instances, sadly leads to
separation and finaly divorce.

Today, it is found that more and more Muslim marriages are breaking up within the first year of their marriage. The
first five to seven years are the most challenging years of any marriage. It is during this period that couples are learning
to adapt to each other’s habits, personalities and ways of understanding to deal with certain issues.

It is here that the fantasy of a “perfect relationship” is put to rest with the reality of life. Patience (a virtue is
unfortunately lacking in most of us today) with each other is greatly required. Many Muslim couples enter into marriage
carrying their own set of problems of the past or present.

Some lack spirituality with Allah azza wajal. Spirituality often enables one to cope with any problem, come what
may, with grace and courage. Therefore, lacking spirituality makes it rather difficult to deal with problems more
efficiently.

In most newly married couples, one or both of the spouses, insist on having their way all the tome. This is where the
problem begins. One tends to forget that you are not in the marriage alone. You have a spouse who also has feelings,
disires, need and own opinions. Both partners have to exercise patience and forbearance with each other.

They should live solely for the Peasure of Almighty Allah and not for their own selfish desires. Besides these
avsent qualities, is the growing lack of value and repect for elders and their advice. Unfortunately, many young non-
Muslim peers or to the western world for advice and validation rather then to their Muslim elders and learned scholars.
Part of the problem is also a lack of Islamic education and spitual development.

Muslim must find a way to stem the tide of marital discord and divorce in order to preserve a healthy future for the
Muslim community. We must go beyond our current state of denial to recognize, that while Muslims are not immune to
marital problems, many of the problems we face can be prevented by learning and implementiong the teachings of
Islaam.

No community can survive and fulfil the responsiblity of raising healthy children when marriages break down.
Although many Muslim marriage may be experiencing a failed marriage and are perhaps thinking to rush toward a
divorce, there are many ways to put their marriage back on the right track if the husband and wife are sincere in their
desire to reconcile.

May Allah azza wajal make it easy for all of us. Ameen!

I want to try to visualize things.when Umar radi allahu ‘anhu (may Allah be pleased with him) because Muslim, there
were only 41 other men and 11 women who were Muslim.

When the Prophet (S.A.W.) migrated to Medina, there were about 65 muslims. So being a Muslim in Mecca wasn’t like
shopping at the Gateway. It wasn’t popular, man!
It wasn’t popular and it was difficult for them, but Allah subhan wa taala (Exalted is He) strengthened them with the
Quran.

There were two important things that happened in Mecca. Number one is their creed, their tawheed (belief in the
Oneness of Allah (S.W.T.) was made pure and strong.

Number two was their behavior, the way Allah (S.W.T.) trained them. The people that came out of mecca were really
remarkable and excellent examples.

As Ibn Hazm al-Andalusi (R.A.) said, if the companions of the Prophet (S.A.W.) were his only miracle, the
transformation of his companions would be enough to prove that he was a prophet.

The people of the Quraysh sent two people to Medina to ask the jews of Medina about muhammad (S.A.W.). When the
people got there and met them, they described the Prophet (S.A.W.) and what he has caling to. The jews said, aks
Muhammad about three things—-they are only known to Allah (S.W.T.). If he can answer you regarding these three issues,
he is a prophet.

1.Ask him about the youth, ashab al-kahf (the people of the cave).

2. Ask him about this king who ruled a large portion of the world who was just and honest and so on.

3. Ask him about the ruh (spirit). They went back to the Quraysh and told them: “These are the question they told us to
ask him. If he can answer these question then he is a prophet.” The Quraysh and told us to asked the Prophet (S.A.W.)
and he said, “Come to me tommorrow and I will answer your question.”

The next day they came but the prophet (S.A.W.) didn’t have an answer. The following day they came, the Prophet
(S.A.W.) didn’t have an answer. For around fourteen days, there was no answer, and the Prophet (S.A.W.) started getting
upset and saddened because they started to say that the Prophet (S.A.W.) was breaking his promises.

Then Allah (S.W.T.) sent Jibril to reveal Surat al kahf (Qur’an, 18). That’s why in Surat al kahf Allah (S.W.T.) says:
“And never say of anything, ‘Indeed, I will do that tomorrow,’ except (when adding), ‘If Allah wills.” (Quran 18:23-24)
So we learn adab (manners), reliance on Allah (S.W.T.), an trust in Allah (S.W.T.).

Verse number one has 8 points. Allah (S.W.T.) says: “(All) prise is (due) to Allah, who has sent down upon His
Servant the Book and has not made there in any deviance.” (Quran 18:1) This hamed (Thankfulness) found in Surat al kahf
is not the same as the hamed in Surat al fatiha (Quran 1). One is called jumlah insha’iya, the other is called jumlah khabariya.
Jumlah khabariya is a declarative sentence, so the sentence in Surah al kahf is declarative in nature. Allah (S.W.T.) is
informing you of something! The meaning of al hamd in surah al kahf is different. Allah (S.W.T.) is telling you “Look! I’m
the one who deserves all praise, for a reason.” So it’s different now. He’s informing you, that’s called khabr.

Whereas in Surah al Fatiha, the hamd is insha’iya, or imperative. According to the scholars it means that (S.W.T.) is
ordering you to say alhamdullillah (all praise is to Allah).

“If you want to thank me, if you want to praise me, say alhamdulillah.” This is the meaning in Surah al Fatiha.

The first sentence in al fatiha is like an order : if you want to praise me, say alhamdulillah. In Surah al kahf, this verse is
not an order by Allah (S.W.T.) to say alhamdullillah.

It is a declarative sentence, this means he is informing you, that he is the one who has the sole right to be praised, and
for a reason!

All praise is due to Allah (S.W.T.) or what? Who sent the Quran? Can you imagine if you had no Quran?
Can you imagine if there was n0o subhanAllah (Glory be to Allah) in your life, can you imagine if there was no salah
(Prayer)?
I got throughthat; believe me, we are all the same, brother!

We arem all the same, brothers, there is no difference; we are all in the same boat. When I am studying sometimes, I
think man, I’ve got to pray but I really enjoy this book of tafsir (Translation and interpretation of the quran)! See how
Shaytan work? It’s the same game just a different means!

So all of us stuggle, we struggle and sometimes salah feels heavy. Worship Allah (S.W.T.), and we feel some heaviness.
That’s all part of our struggle.

One of the ways to cambat that is no imagine life without salah. Imagine life without any connection to Allah (S.W.T.).
Life without the feeling in your heart that you get when you pray fajr (The pre-dawn prayer) in the Mosque, or the feeling
that you get when you give sadaqah (Charity) ot the feeling that you get when you do well in school or at work for the sake
of Allah (S.W.T.)

Then we can value the worship and the wonderful relationship that Allah (S.W.T.) has blessed us with.
Ibn al Qayyim (R.A.) said the charity that Allah (S.W.T.) gave us Muslims, nobody can fathom this charity! Such
benevolence from Allah (S.W.T.)!

Allah (S.W.T.) said: “Has there (not) come upon man a pariod of time when he was not a thing (even) mantioned?”

“Indeed, We created man from a sperm-drop mixture that we may try him; and we made him hearing and seeing.”
(Quran, 76:1-2)
You weren’t even know and Allah brought you out of the wombs of your mothers, created you, formed you and gave
you sight and hearing!

We have to be very careful what we are putting into our minds. And Allah (S.W.T.) gave us this Quran and our worship
as our Norton Antivirus. We use it to clean us out; this is dialysis!

So Allah (S.W.T.) blessed us, and I can tell you, you don’t kno how lucky you are to be a Muslim, wallahi (By God)!

You don’t know how thankful you should really feel. Even though you might be young and you’re in high school and you
don’t mind being called a Muslim, having to fast for 30 days, and wearing baggy clothes.

clear all that up and think what it would be like not to have Islam. Then you can really taste how lucky you are!

In Egypt, I lived with people in poverty, but they don’t kill each other. They still invite you for tea and coffee!

That faith causes people to transcend the difficulties that they live in and still be decent people. Here, if one economic
crisis hits, it has a devastating impact on the people!

So the lesson we can take tonight is Allah (S.W.T.) says alhamd (praise) be to the one who sent the Quran!

How much of a blessing it to have the Quran and Islam.Alhamdullilahi rabb alameen (All praise be to Allah, the Lord of
the world)!