Best of Charity

Allah SWT has given us roles in this world. Whether it is as a child, a parent, a spouse or in our jobs, we all have responsibilities that we carry out as part of the society in which we live.

On the whole, the brothers here have a responsibility to be the breadwinners of the home, to be able to provide for their families and for themselves.

For those of us who are old enough to remember, the times in which we live are more challenging than of yesteryear. Jobs are more difficult to come by and the cost of living has gone up. Social care on the other hand is decreasing along with public spending by the government, which all contributes to increased pressure on the role of the breadwinner.

Often we are told the pursuit of wealth is not a good way of thinking. As Muslims it is true that we shouldn’t be materialistic and aim instead for the riches of the next life.

However, as breadwinners, we know that the pursuit of money is not to be greedy but in fact, a necessity to be able to provide for our loved ones.

However, as with all things in relation to our faith, we are blessed in that we have been told how to perform this role to the best of our ability.

For the disbeliever, the idea that is discussed in this khutba may appear to be counter-intuitive, but to the Muslims, this idea that is the topic of this week’s khutba is the key to being a breadwinner.

All fathers, husbands and brothers looking to run their home, this is the most important advice that you can receive in fulfilling that role. For sisters too, this is a key part of being able to run the home.

What is this key? To answer that question, let’s refer first to ayat 31 of Sura Ibrahim in the glorious Quran which says:

[O Muhammad], tell My servants who have believed to establish prayer and spend from what We have provided them, secretly and publicly, before a Day comes in which there will be no exchange, nor any friendships.

Dear brothers and sisters, the solution to fulfilling this role is spending the money you have in the way of Allah SWT.

In charity, Allah SWT is providing you with a means to be able to increase your wealth in this life and bank good deeds and thus increase your wealth in the next life. It is a win-win situation.

Everybody could do with some boost in wealth. Everybody is in dire need of acquiring good deeds for the hereafter. What charity does is to provide you with the ability to tick both those boxes with one gesture.

Charity is always something that one is tempted to put off to a later time due to circumstances. After all, the bills never reduce in size. However, the prophet SAWS was asked which was the best of charity and he replied:

That you give in charity while well and do not wish to be poor and wish to be wealthy that u do not wait until you say this person will have this and that person will have that.

Dear brother and sisters, the point here is that there is no time like the present and the best of deeds are the consistent ones so make it a habit, even if it is a small donation, to charity in order that you may benefit from this blessing.

With that being said, it brings the khutba well onto the notices for this week and there is only one which is the one regarding this masjid.

As you all know, the services provided here have only increased as time has gone on and we have benefitted greatly from the donations that were given over Ramadhan last year. However, we are now in a position where we need your help.

Every organisation has ongoing costs. Every organisation has the bills that need paying. This mosque is no different.

Dear brothers and sisters, this is your house of Allah. You are all here today and are praying the Jumma Salat here today. We need your help. At the back of the hall we have donation slips for donations but for those of us who prefer the modern alternative, we now have the ability to receive donations from our website.

The donation button is on the home page and donations can be from just £10 month. That’s less than £2.50 a week for which we will receive reward in our next life as well as an increase in our wealth in this one.

Over the past year, we have been blessed with a lot of newcomers to this masjid. Faces we have not seen before. Therefore, it is important to offer transparency on the management, costs and cash flow of this masjid so that everyone feels involved in this house of Allah.

This masjid was acquired around 3 years ago for a cost of £415k. £200k was paid through donations from people at the time and the rest was with an Islamic mortgage. We have from that original outstanding amount of £215k, around £125k left to pay. We are currently doing this in the form of monthly payments for which the £120 a month shortfall was originally mentioned but it is also worth mentioning that we can aim to pay off the remaining £125k early through donations. For that we have donation forms at the back of the masjid and you can get in touch through the website.

Dear brothers and sisters, this masjid is our collective responsibility. We have trustees of course, we have a management team too. However, they are all available to each and every one of you should you have any questions on the masjid, our services and our vision for this community centre.

Over the next few weeks, we will be placing the details of these people on the website so that the transparency is there and alongside that we will be posting details of our ongoing costs  and income through donations so that you can see how the masjid funds itself and where the money is spent.

With this transparency we aim to encourage involvement in its upkeep from each and every visitor to the masjid and right now it is through financial help, however small or significant it may be.

Dear brothers and sisters, charity is a blessing from Allah SWT. Whether it is spent on the house of Allah, the less fortunate or other causes, it is one of those deeds that we will benefit from now and when we gather in the next life.

May Allah SWT enable us to give charity for His pleasure. May Allah SWT increase our wealth through our acts of Charity and may Allah SWT reward us for our acts of charity.