This probably happens to every single one of us,
whether you're a school teacher, whether you're working for someone.
Sometimes you work for a person and you find that you've done things right for 20 years
and one mistake you've made and suddenly your own senior or boss,
perhaps, might not even consider that you've served dedicatedly
and helped towards the growth of the business beyond measure.
And they would never look past that one thing that you did that was a blunder.
Or not even a blunder, perhaps. Human nature, a mistake.
May Allah Almighty grant us ease.
Sometimes you have a relationship and people think that, Okay,
I'm going to give it my best shot and I'm never going to do anything wrong.
And you develop over years, 10 years, perhaps five years, 20 years, etc.
Then one small blunder, some misunderstanding, a little bit of anger, temper, etc.
And you know what? Suddenly, your spouse
or your family member or a friend of yours doesn't want to give you another chance.
I am not an advocate of giving another chance
when what was done was so severe that it doesn't deserve another chance.
But I am an advocate of giving 20 chances
or more to those who have erred in a way that it's not that serious.
It's not a matter that you should break an entire relationship over.
A lot of the times we break relations with our brothers, with our fathers,
with our children, with our family members simply because of a little bit of money.
It happens.
There was a misunderstanding.
You got more than I did, and so on.
The relationship is gone forever. Wallahi,
The value of your relationship is beyond the 10 million that you're fighting about.
Subhanallah.
The value of the relationship, it depends who it is.
I'm not saying let it go. I didn't say that.
Some people say, Well, look at this guy preaching;
Just let it go. No.
You can stand up and fight for your rights, but do it respectfully.
You can stand up and ask and demand for what is yours, but do it respectfully.
However, to let go of an entire relationship or for you to become abusive
and vulgar would actually make or perhaps create a bigger problem.
Ask yourself, for the sake of Allah,
we have to be forced to gather in the masjid on a Friday like it or not.
You have to come. Why?
Otherwise, you're not a Muslim. Why?
What's the big deal about it?
Why does Allah force me to come to a masjid with people I'm not related to.
They don't even belong to my class or my category.
That's what some people think.
Wallahi, they are more than your class and category.
They are your brothers and sisters.
They are the part of the test of Allah for you.
That's the whole reason why you're sitting in this masjid here and now.
Sometimes you will always get people who misunderstand you.
Sometimes you can't do that
The person went away with the wrong perception of who you are.
The first interaction
that you had with someone and they really think you're a disaster.
Not realizing that my man,
10,000 times I've done this, the one time that I didn't, now I'm judged.
Allahu Akbar.
I started off by saying it happens to every one of us.
At some point in our lives, you're a lovely person.
You give so much way to so many people
and you've really been so polite on the road that you're late for work all the time.
But the ones that you did not give someone way
and you cut someone up, it happened to be your boss.
Allahu Akbar. Now what?
May Allah grant us ease.
I tell you, human beings are required to do their best
and remember it's between you and Allah.
People will hate you even though you're a much better person than they are.
People will hate you even though you may be closer to Allah than they are.
It's okay. It's one of those, did you try your best?
Did you give it your best shot?
Did you try to resolve matters? Did you try?
Allah wants you to mix with people who are not exactly like you.
He wants you to talk to them, to greet them, to interact with them.
He gives you an opportunity.
You see a man from a different place.
Are you going to at least greet, Assalamu alaikom, my brother, how are you?
If someone is, for example,
with a tire that might need changing, do you actually offer assistance?
Or, My clothes are going to get messed, man.
Relax. Assalamu alaikom, brother.
Good luck changing your tire.
I'm gone.
Does a Muslim do that? No.
No matter what you're dressed like,
the minute you see someone needing help, what are you taught?
What am I taught? Rush to help them.
And Allah will rush to help you at the time of your need.
That's the reason why the Jummah, is so important, jama'a, together.
I've spoken about this a few times,
and it's a reminder to me because you know what?
Even in my life, sometimes we feel I don't need to interact.
Why should I interact with people whom I don't even know?
Moments ago, my phone rang and I'm thinking, you know what?
I don't recognize the number.
It could be someone phoning and swearing.
Sometimes it does happen.
People just get your number and they want to demoralize you.
It happens. By the way, it does happen.
They phone you, they swear you from A to Z until you put the phone down.
What have they done?
They try to assassinate not just your character, but your personality.
They want to drop you your morale
if you don't know and if it hasn't happened to you, thank Allah.
I thought to myself, you know what?
I'll call this number back after Salah.
I'm in no position to change my mood and mood prior to the prayer.
Allah is the greatest.
But sometimes you feel, why should I even answer this phone?
Why do I even need to bother?
I tell you why you need to bother.
Because the Hadith says a person who interacts with the people
and bears their negativity is better than a person
who doesn't interact with them at all.
Subhanallah. But if you cannot bear someone's negativity,
you're not compelled to interact because
if it gets to a point where it's affecting your mental health and your wellbeing,
trust me to take a step back from whoever it may be is actually permissible.
Sometimes you have a person within the family,
a person within your circles, and it's become tough.
I've tried and I've tried.
Every time it's getting worse and it's getting even worse, and it's becoming more
and more toxic, I can stop at Salam alaikom, wa alaikom assalam, and I'm out.
I don't want to talk too much because you know what?
Every time I speak, it's heading in the wrong direction.
It gives me stress and anxiety to talk.
You're a human, so am I.
It happens to us.
Step back nicely.
You see them, give them a nice opportunity
to solve the matter by just greeting, Salam alaikom, peace be upon you.
You may not be at peace with me, but guess what?
I'm at peace with you. It's okay.
My brothers, my sisters, you cannot please everyone.
I want to take a moment to share with you something amazing.
You see, at the time of the Prophet (pbuh),
everyone knew that the Prophet is the most truthful, the most trustworthy.
Something amazing.
He never, ever was known as a liar.
People were asked, Does this man tell a lie?
They said, From the time he was born,
there was not a single lie that we know that came out of this man's mouth.
Why did that happen?
Allah was preparing him for something very high.
Imagine a guy in community comes here preaching to you, and he's a liar.
Everyone knows this guy lies left, right, and center.
Does he actually stand the chance of people believing him?
But when a man is known as truthful
and honest and really upright and great character and conduct.
If that man comes to you and warns you about a day of judgment,
you need to know if he didn't lie to you about money matters and earthly matters,
why would he lie to you about matters of the hereafter?
Subhanallah. Prophet Muhammad sallalahu alaihi wa salam,
when he came through, they knew he was honest,
they knew he was up right, they knew his wives were as chaste and as pure as ever.
Still, there was a man who created a rumor about Aisha (ra),
What happened? They saw her coming back from a journey.
But the Caravan she was riding in,
something had happened, and now she was coming on a Camel that belonged to a man.
What was his name?
His name was Safwan ibn Muattal (ra).
And so guys, And this happens a lot of the times
where guys see something and they believe their eyes.
And sometimes it's not a matter of believing eyes, it's mischief.
I got the chance to nail this guy.
That's exactly what happened.
It happens to you and I.
And now at the age or in the age of social media, it's going to happen more.
You hear something, you see something.
It's not as you think it is.
And so what did they do? A man called Mistah ibn Uthatha (ra),
was related to Abu Bakr Siddiq (R.A.), and he was a poor person.
He was being fed and looked after by Abu Bakr Siddiq (R.A.)
Quietly, behind the scenes, he started spreading rumor, she's having an affair.
Astaghfiroolillah. In fact, it was worse than that.
Speaking about who?
The most pure of the pure.
If they could talk about her, imagine how painful it must have been
for the messenger, Sallallahu alaihi salam, to hear something about his wife.
If you had to hear about your wife in public circles among the men, how would you feel?
I know we're in South Africa, I don't know to say what would you do?
But Subhanallah, you know how you would feel to say the least, right?
Talk about my wife.
Wait, let's see what happens.
Subhanallah, Lord of the universe.
Am I right or wrong, guys?
So if we can't bear that someone says something like that about
a woman who's not a wife of a messenger or a daughter of a companion,
may Allah's peace and blessings be on them,
What do you think was the condition there?
The Prophet (pbuh) says, Who will excuse me regarding this man here,
whose harm has reached my own household now?
Meaning enough is enough.
What's this guy trying?
There were a few people who kept spreading rumor and they kept saying things.
But the point is, there came a time
when Allah released revelation from the heavens.
When Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala sent revelation, what was the revelation?
Allah says,
Allah Almighty speaks about the amazing clarification that is mentioned in the Quran.
Allah says, Those who came with the false accusation,
the minute the term false accusation is mentioned,
you already know that it's all a lie.
They are a part of you.
Don't think it to be bad for you.
In fact, it is good for you.
That's the title today.
How can that be good for me?
How can it be good for me?
Now, Allah is telling you,
it's a different story, but I'm drawing the example, that it's not bad for you.
It's actually good for you.
Allah tells you it's not bad for you, it's good for you.
Allah told Aisha (ra) and Abu Bakr as Siddique (ra)
and the Prophet Muhammad (pbuh),
don't think this is bad for you.
This is good for you. Why?
Why? Why? When people spread rumor about you and I,
it's good for you. for us, Allah is saying, Good for you.
Don't worry, it's not bad for you. But how?
I'm a human, I'm struggling, I'm suffering as a result of all of this.
How can it be good for me?
The question is, what do you want?
What is ultimate success?
You're a believer, right?
What is ultimate success?
Is it not Jannah?
Is it not paradise, your ultimate success? Yes.
Well, if you're going to get paradise through negatives
that might happen to you on earth, at least you arrived at the prize
that you were looking for for the hereafter.
You got Jannah;
Maybe not because you were so regular with all the good deeds,
but because someone wronged you to the degree
that Allah says, Don't worry, it's good for you.
We'll give you Jannah. Then on that day, what will happen?
You can have the last laugh.
The Quran speaks about how the Quran said, Kuffar laughed at the Muslim.
And Allah. Says,
On That day, the Muslim will have the opportunity to laugh at the Kuffar
while reclining on their little sofas.
Mashallah. reclining on the sofa, ha, ha, ha.
To who?
To those who did the ha, ha in the dunya against you.
Allah, the greatest. And Allah says, Look at what's happened now.
Mashallah.
A lot of us might say, Well, you know what?
It's not a matter of me laughing or not.
I just want Jannah.
I tell people, I need one meter squared in paradise.
If I got that, forget the world, Allah, the greatest, there it goes.
So never mind what they are saying. They will continue saying.
They have to be.
If they speak about you, they spoke about better people than you,
worse things than they are saying about you.
So if you think you got the row end of the stick, trust me, they got it even worse.
But how did they manage it?
They managed it with faith.
The moral of what I'm saying today,
when people think negative of you as a decent person,
and you know you're trying, and you know you've tried to make amends,
and you know you've tried to reach out, and you've tried to bend this way
and that way to accommodate as much as you can, but you're a human, don't worry.
You tried your best. Don't worry.
Leave it to Allah. It's good for you.
It's good that they don't like you.
No, not everyone needs to like you.
If they didn't like the Prophet, peace be upon him,
where on earth do you think they're going to like you and I?
They look at you and they just judge you based on your clothing.
Hey, this guy looks a bit extreme. Just stay away.
It's okay. It's fine.
But when you get stuck down the road, the only guy is going to come to help you
is the same guy you thought of that, negative thought.
That's what happens.
It happens by default a lot of the times.
That's Allah's way of doing things. Don't worry.
We judge people today, wallahi, we judge.
May Allah forgive me.
Wallahi, we judge.
May Allah forgive me.
Remember I said that because I'm also a human.
You look at someone and you look at the way they look
and immediately you've already got so much happening.
Hey, close your windows. My man, relax.
But if you're looking at someone
and automatically giving them a judgmental look, you need help.
These people here that we have next to you
and those you interact with on a daily basis.
They are your brothers and sisters.
Allah is testing you.
That's why He made it compulsory for all of you to come to the masjid.
Friday, you have to come. You got no option.
And you're going to sit next to not who you choose.
You're going to sit next to whom Allah chooses.
Go easy on them.
Allah placed them right next to you.
Give people reason to love you, not to hate you.
Then if they want to hate you, it's okay. It's better for you.
It's not bad.
But if you were the reason, then come, let's address the matter.
Let's address them because sometimes we are the problem.
I'm the problem sometimes.
May Allah Almighty grant us ease and goodness.
May Allah Almighty help us so that whenever people judge us in whatever way
and whatever they say, the negatives, may Allah help us go through it.
Because it's a challenge.
Everyone goes through it on their level.
I'm sure, like I said, every single one of us,
I'm sure we've been judged wrongly by this one and that one.
So go easy on others as well.
Have a good perception of people.
Not everything that you see is actually the way you see it.
Before, we used to say seeing is believing.
Today, you've got to find out because when
you see things online, it can be totally artificially created, completely.
The voice and the video, it can be totally artificially created.
And then you're using that against an individual
or people are using it against you, it's going to be painful.
I want to end off by telling you,
the reason why Allah says it's better for you when people do this for you
is because the sabr and the patience is good.
It will refine you.
You get Jannah.
And at the same time, Allah Almighty softens your heart
and elevates your status to the degree
that you will already have such a beautiful, magnificent presence in this dunya.
And those who are willing
or those who are going to appreciate it will definitely feel that.
May Allah Subhanahu Wa'ala use us to do good in our homes.