For some in their youth, the idea of\nworking may not seem like a blessing at all. After all, the focus is so skewed\ntowards enjoyment and leisure that when the time comes to working, the individual\ndoes not want to give up the habit of no responsibilities and leisurely time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
On the flip side, there are some who\nare given the upbringing of focusing on the best jobs that pay the highest\nwages and nothing less than this standard is sufficient for them. They are then\ndismayed when they enter their first job with a sense of entitlement and ego\nand find out that working is actually difficult and requires real graft and\ncommitment. They then switch from jobs to jobs, quitting them in short periods\nof time whilst looking for that dream job which was promised them in their\nyouth by others and by the society and it\u2019s expectations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Dear brothers and sisters, the reminder\nwill delve into this further but before that the imam reminded us of the\nfollowing ayat from the Glorious Quran in relation to this point.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In Sura Al-Mulk, ayat 15 it is\ntranslated to say:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He is the One Who smoothed out the\nearth for you, so move about in its regions and eat from His provisions. And to\nHim is the resurrection \u02f9of all\u02fa.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
From the many lessons we have for this\nreference, one of them is that Allah SWT is instructing us seek provisions. And\nhow do we do that, we seek money in order to get provisions and for that we\nneed to get a job and work. This is part of our instructions from our Creator\nand so we must be mindful of this when we are moving into adulthood and not\nfall into the trap of relying on our parents or others for provisions if we are\ncapable of earning them with our own efforts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Dear brothers and sisters, this does\nnot mean we cannot be ambitious and aim to excel in our work life. Nor does it\nmean that any job will do and we are fulfilling our part. Allah SWT has gifted\nus all with different talents, skills and areas of interest and we should use\nthem to earn in a way that is lawful and pleasing to Him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
However, alongside this we must always\nbe mindful that the blessing of work comes from Allah SWT. How many of us are\nmindful of this and avoid the trap of believing its their talent or skill that\nhas got them their job?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Yes, it is true that our education and\nexperience plays a part but ultimately with anything in life, the final decision\ncomes from Allah SWT. The imam reminded us of this point in Sura Al-Araf, ayat\n10 which is translated to say:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
We have indeed established you on\nearth and provided you with a means of livelihood. \u02f9Yet\u02fa you seldom give any\nthanks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Dear brothers and sisters, we are warned here of becoming ungrateful in\nthis regard. And whether the job is the CEO of a multinational corporation or\none that pays minimum wage, we must be grateful to Allah SWT for this because\neverything comes from Allah SWT.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Alongside this reminder, we are also told in the Quran to be mindful of\nan act of worship that, in its very reminder, tells us that we are coming to\nSuccess. Salah is an act that no job should ever take the priority over. Even\nif we have to pray the minimum or find a quiet corner in the office, the prayer\nis like the foundation upon which our careers and jobs are built. The imam\nreminded us of this through Sura Al-Jumuah, ayat 10 which is translated to say:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Once the prayer is over, disperse\nthroughout the land and seek the bounty of Allah. And remember Allah often so\nyou may be successful.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Dear brothers and sisters, become mindful of the blessing of your work.\nAnd practically implement this mindfulness through zikr on the way in and out of\nwork, by adhering to all the prayers throughout the day and not sacrificing your\nfaith whilst in your job.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
And in the job itself, we must remember that it is a form of dawah as we\nare still representing ourselves as Muslims. Therefore our manners in work go a\nlong way in showing other people what it means to be a Muslim. We need to be\nthe ones who can be relied upon, the ones who can be trusted & the ones who\nare known for their honesty at all costs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The imam reminded us of the ayat in which Prophet Musa (peace and\nblessings of Allah be upon him) is being referred to. It is translated to say:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
One of the two daughters\nsuggested, \u201cO my dear father! Hire him. The best man for employment is definitely\nthe strong and trustworthy \u02f9one\u02fa.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Dear brothers and sisters, employment is pitched as a bother or a chore\nto the youth. On the opposite extreme, our youth is being taught that fame and\nimmense wealth is the standard to aim for. Social media and influencers only go\nto promote this agenda further.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
We need to educate ourselves and our youth especially that a job is only\na means to provide provisions for oneself and ones family. It is a means to\ngive to charity and its only a small part of the purpose of life. Don\u2019t make it\nan obsession but work diligently, firstly in getting an education that leads to\na career and then once in a job, to demonstrate to others what it means when a\nMuslim works.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
And alongside this, remind one another that there is no shame in the provision\nprovided by Allah SWT. Not everyone will be rich and famous and that there is\nno shame in having a job that brings halal provision to oneself and one\u2019s loved\nones. The best of us are those who remember this fact and work with dedication,\npatience, perseverance and grit. And all the while they are grateful to Allah\nSWT, they remember Allah SWT and they ask from Allah SWT.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
For some in their youth, the idea of working may not seem like a blessing at all. After all, the focus is so skewed towards enjoyment and leisure that when the time comes to working, the individual does not want to give up the habit of no responsibilities and leisurely time. On the flip side, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_regular_price":[],"currency_symbol":[],"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[16],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2925","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-sermon"],"blocksy_meta":[],"post_slider_layout_featured_media_urls":{"thumbnail":"","post_slider_layout_landscape_large":"","post_slider_layout_portrait_large":"","post_slider_layout_square_large":"","post_slider_layout_landscape":"","post_slider_layout_portrait":"","post_slider_layout_square":"","full":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/salahadeenmosque.org.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2925","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/salahadeenmosque.org.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/salahadeenmosque.org.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/salahadeenmosque.org.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/salahadeenmosque.org.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2925"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/salahadeenmosque.org.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2925\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/salahadeenmosque.org.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2925"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/salahadeenmosque.org.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2925"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/salahadeenmosque.org.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2925"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}