Charity - Make A Difference

Each and every one of us is a valuable creation of Allah. Why? Because Allah has created us. You have not been created by another human being, nor have you been created by a robot, nor by an angel. Rather, you have been created by Allah, and therefore, you are automatically someone of value. 

Allah says in the Quran:
 وَلَقَدْ كَرَّمْنَا بَنِي آدَمَ وَحَمَلْنَاهُمْ فِي الْبَرِّ وَالْبَحْرِ وَرَزَقْنَاهُم مِّنَ الطَّيِّبَاتِ وَفَضَّلْنَاهُمْ عَلَىٰ كَثِيرٍ مِّمَّنْ خَلَقْنَا تَفْضِيلًا 

“And We have certainly honoured the children of Adam and carried them on the land and sea and provided for them of the good things and preferred them over much of what We have created, with [definite] preference.” [17:70] 

You are so valuable that Allah has created your Paradise already, you just need to decorate it with your deeds. Allah gives you opportunities to do good deeds. The more good deeds you do, the more valuable you become in the sight of Allah. Moreover, the more valuable you are to people, the more valuable you become in the sight of Allah. 

One of the best ways one can increase their own value is by giving charity and being involved in supporting others. Allah said: 
الَّذِينَ يُنفِقُونَ أَمْوَالَهُم بِاللَّيْلِ وَالنَّهَارِ سِرًّا وَعَلَانِيَةً فَلَهُمْ أَجْرُهُمْ عِندَ رَبِّهِمْ وَلَا خَوْفٌ عَلَيْهِمْ وَلَا هُمْ يَحْزَنُونَ 
“Those who spend their wealth [in Allah 's way] by night and by day, secretly and publicly, they will have their reward with their Lord. And no fear will there be concerning them, nor will they grieve.” [2:274] 

The Prophet ﷺ had a sheep which was slaughtered and all the meat, apart from the shoulder, was given away to charity. The Prophet ﷺ asked, “What is left of it”? His wife Aisha replied, “Nothing is left except the shoulder.” He ﷺ said, “All of it will remain except the shoulder.” [Tirmidhi] 

This means that whatever a person uses up is gone and will no longer remain. But, whatever he gives to charity will remain with Allah, and the person will benefit from it on the Day of Judgement. 

Now, I know you are all young and not working, and so spending and giving in charity can be extremely difficult, and that is fine, as long as you make the intention, and maybe give a pound or two to start off with, and for those who are slightly more well off, give £5 or a bit more. However, there is something that you can do that will help you earn mountains of good deeds. What is that? 

In a hadith, the Prophet ﷺsaid, “The one who guides to something good has a reward similar to that of its doer.” [Muslim] 

Meaning, if you raise, let’s say £10 or £20, then, it is as if you gave £10 or £20 from your own pocket. But really, you didn’t pay from your own pocket, you just made a WhatsApp call or sent a few messages. 

Just a quick tip on raising money. I am sure we know a lot of people outside of this school; you may have lots of friends and relatives. All you have to do, is either call them, or message them, or put a post on your social media, “I am collecting money for our Muslim brothers and sisters in Rohingya. Please donate, even if it is only a pound.” After messaging a few times, you might need to go around to their house and pick up the money. 

Imagine if you collect £20-£30, Allah will reward you as if you paid £30 from your own pocket. It doesn’t stop there. Potentially, with the £20-£30, many lives will be saved. With that £20-£30, children, children your age, will have at least one or two meals a day for a few weeks. SubhanAllah, sometimes we think that the few pounds we give, and the money we raise, have no effect. Wallahi! Wallahi, brothers, the money you give will save lives. The money you give will put a smile on those children’s faces. The money you give will put a smile on all those mothers who will see their children live for another day, due to the food or medicine bought with the money you raise. And most importantly, Allah will be happy with you and your effort. And Allah has promised that he will reward you immensely. 

It was narrated in a Hadith al-Qudsi that Allah will converse with us. He will say,  “‘Son of Adam, I needed food but you did not feed Me.’ ‘My Lord, How could I feed You when You are the Lord of the Worlds?’ ‘Did you not know that one of My servants was hungry, but you did not feed him? If you had fed him, you would have found its reward with Me.’ ‘Son of Adam, I was thirsty, but you did not give Me something to drink.’ ‘My Lord, how could I give a drink when You are the Lord of the Worlds?’ ‘Did you not know that one of My servants was thirsty but you did not give him a drink? If you had given him a drink, you would have found its reward with Me.” [Bukhari] 

One of the main messages behind this hadith is that when we help others, Allah will be pleased with us. Helping the refugees and pleasing the victims of injustice will please Allah, inshaAllah. 

I will end this Khutbah with the words I started with, which is that we need to be people of value. We need to be people who make a difference. Do not be another number, or another figure in the crowd. Be someone who will make a difference. We need to put our faith into action, and it all starts off with taking small steps. Whether you are 11, 12, 13, 14, and all the way up to 18, or beyond, start by doing something as easy as collecting money from your friends and relatives. So, I want all of us in this room to at least make the intention to give at least £2 from our own pocket and to raise at least another £10. Let’s raise the bar and collect more money than the previous years. Remember, every penny you raise, you will get the reward for it. And, on the Day of Judgement, they will help you enter Paradise. 

I ask Allah to accept our intentions and good deeds, and to give us the tawfeeq to raise a huge sum of money in order to assist our Muslim brothers and sisters. I ask Allah to alleviate the suffering of the Muslims around the world. Ameen.