First Khutbah
Blessed Friday Jemaah,
Let us recall all the nikmat that Allah has bestowed upon us all this while. And let us seek from Allah a heart full of humility or tawadhu’ so that we will be servants of Allah who are ever grateful to Him for all of His blessings. Amin!
I will share the story of one companion of Rasulullah s.a.w. This companion is one whose sense of takwa would increase whenever he was blessed with nikmat from Allah. His name was Talhah bin Ubaidillah r.a.
Blessed jemaah,
Talhah bin Ubaidillah r.a. was a companion who had a high standing in the sight of Allah and His Messenger. He was among the earliest companions who accepted Islam. Talhah was also one of the ten companions of the Prophet s.a.w. who have been promised Paraside because of their sacrifices for Islam.
Talhah bin Ubaidillah r.a. was born to a wealthy family. Despite that, the wealth owned by his family was never an excuse for him not to work hard and to earn his own living. In fact, he chose to start and manage his own business.
Talhah was well-known in the markets of Basrah and As-Syam as a businessman who was honest and open-minded. His honesty and the purity of his heart, coupled with his commitment and determination in running his business led to a very profitable business. There have been narrations reporting that during the rule of Khalifah Uthman bin ‘Affan r.a, the profits that Talhah earned daily would reach 1,000 dinars. Not only that, Talhah was also said to own many plots of land and farms in Madinah.
Jemaah,
How many people out there neglect their religion because they are obsessed by their wealth? However, that was not the case with Talhah bin Ubaidillah r.a. With his wealth, came a great sense of takwa. With every nikmat that Allah bestowed upon him, he did not forget to show his gratitude and to share his wealth. Rasulullah s.a.w. called him “Talhah Al-Jud” which means the Philantropist and “Talhah Al-Khair” which means Talhah the Good.
It was reported that once, his wife found him sitting down, looking sad. When he was asked what had upset him, Talhah replied: “I have so much money in my hands and that it is making me worried. What should I do? ” And his wife answered: “Distribute the money that you have to the poor and needy.” And so Talhah distributed every coin in his hands. The philantrophic nature of Talhah was witnessed by a companion named Jabir bin Abdullah r.a. who said: “I have never seen anyone who is more charitable than Talhah, even when he is not asked. Hence, it is no wonder that he is called “Talhah the philantrophist “, “Talhah who transfers wealth”, “Talhah the kind and charitable “.
Blessed Friday Jemaah,
There are many lessons that we can learn from this special companion of Rasulullah s.a.w. Among the lessons:
First – Wealth should not make a mukmin (believer) neglect his religion.
Islam does not forbid its followers to work hard and gain wealth. In fact, many other companions of Rasulullah s.a.w. were wealthy such as Abdur Rahman bin ‘Auf, Uthman bin ‘Affan and Zubair bin Al-‘Awwam radiyallah anhum. However, the wealth that they had was not used simply for themselves. Instead, it was used to help spread the message of Islam and to strengthen the Muslim community during their time.
This is the true teachings of Islam, that the wealth that we have gained is then used for the benefit of ourselves, our families, and the community. Allah s.w.t. says in Surah Al-Qasas, verse 77:
Which means: “But seek, through that which Allah has given you, the home of the Hereafter; and [yet], do not forget your share of the world. And do good as Allah has done good to you. And desire not corruption in the land. Indeed, Allah does not like corrupters.”
We are also reminded not to be preoccupied with gaining wealth that we forget about our obligations and responsibilities as a servant of Allah. Allah s.w.t. reminds us in surah Al-Munafiqun, verse 9:
Which means: “O you who have believed, let not your wealth and your children divert you from remembrance of Allah . And whoever does that – then those are the losers.”
Remember jemaah, the wealth that we have attained and continue to seek is just temporary. Our wealth cannot intercede for us when we meet Allah in the hereafter. Instead, it is ourgood deeds that will remain for eternity and will save us in the hereafter.
The second lesson – Being willing to offer help without being asked to do so.
The spirit of giving willingly and sincerely is an extremely noble trait. This charitable trait can bring about tranquility in our hearts and strengthen our ties with others. As an individual member of the society who is concerned and aware of the situation around us, we do not need to wait for specific campaigns to offer our assistance. Take notice of our neighbours and if they are in need of help, as well as our relatives and family members. If we know that there are those who need assistance, then we should try to emulate the character of Talhah ibn Ubaidillah. Help can be given in many forms: financial, energy, expertise, time, useful advice and so on.
The third lesson – We need to be diligent in doing our work, and fulfilling any task that we take on.
The story of Talhah ibn Ubaidillah r.a. reflects his diligent attitude – he would fulfill any deed and task to the best of his abilities. He was a committed businessman. This should serve as lesson to us – if we want to achieve success and attain wealth, we must work hard and not simply wait for the wealth or sustenance to simply drop into our laps.
Often we hear of members of the community who have been cheated by schemes that promise high monetary returns for investments that hardly require much effort, or the products invested in are not very clear. Jemaah, we should be wary and cautious of any investmentsthat promise high returns; make sure we do our due diligence and thorough investigation before we choose to invest our money. The story of Talhah ibn Ubaidillah is proof that to attain success, we need to continously work hard.
Hopefully, the story of Talhah bin Ubaidillah r.a. can be an inspiration to us and a source of motivation to drive us to continue to work hard to attain wealth that will benefit all of humankind. May the wealth that we have help spur our community to strengthen their iman, increase their knowledge and standard of living, and at the same time, shape the community to be one that contributes to the development of the country and the world. Amin Ya Rabbal ‘Alamin.
Khutbah Kedua / Doa / Second Khutbah
Reference:
[1] http://www.tokyocamii.org/category/library/khutbah
[2] http://www.muis.gov.sg/cms/uploadedFiles/MuisGovSG/Khutbah/E14Oct10%20-%20Talhah%20Bin%20Ubaidillah.doc
[3] http://www.muis.gov.sg/cms/downloads/khutbahs.aspx
[4] http://jambocinta.blogspot.jp/2012/02/doa-setelah-shalat-beserta-artinya.html
[5] http://werdiningsihendang.blogspot.jp/2012_12_01_archive.html
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