All Praise is due to Alláh, We praise Him and we seek help from Him. We ask forgiveness from Him. We repent to Him; and we seek refuge in Him from our own evils and our own bad deeds.
Anyone who is guided by Alláh, he is indeed guided; and anyone who has been left astray, will find no one to guide him.
I bear witness that there is no god but Alláh, the Only One without any partner; and I bear witness that Muhammad, sws, is His servant, and His messenger.
What is your goal in life ?
My respected Brothers and Sisters in Islam,
Soccer or Football fever is all around us these days. And those who know the game will tell you that it’s all about scoring goals. Our khutbah today is also about goals, but goals of a different kind. I want us to think about the goals we all strive for, throughout life: our lifetime goals.
we all have short term, medium or long-term goals, which we hope to achieve before our life is over. The difference from soccer is that in real life, no one knows when the final whistle of the referee will blow. No one knows just how, when and where our life will end. Muslims are reminded to live each day as if it is our last day, and to pray every prayer as if it is our last prayer. We must therefore be totally focussed and sincere in what we do.
Many people work hard, get rich, and look back with a sense of pride in what they’ve achieved. It’s human. That pride then drives them to more effort that brings more wealth that brings more pride, and so on. But worldly success is meaningless if one does not aspire to a higher and nobler objective.
Allah remind us about our purpose in life , our goals to worship Allah alone with no partners .
“Did you think that We had created you in play (without any purpose), and that you would not be brought back to Us?”
فإن هدف المسلم في هذه الحياة : هو عبادة الله وحده لا شريك له، وهو الهدف الذي من أجله خُلِق؛ كما بين الله عز وجل في محكم كتابه فقال الله تعالى:
(وَمَا خَلَقْتُ الْجِنَّ وَالْإِنْسَ إِلَّا لِيَعْبُدُونِ (56) مَا أُرِيدُ مِنْهُمْ مِنْ رِزْقٍ وَمَا أُرِيدُ أَنْ يُطْعِمُونِ (57)
And I did not create the jinn and mankind except to worship Me.
I do not want from them any provision, nor do I want them to feed Me.
إِنَّ اللَّهَ هُوَ الرَّزَّاقُ ذُو الْقُوَّةِ الْمَتِينُ) الذاريات (56) :(58)
Indeed, it is Allah who is the [continual] Provider, the firm possessor of strength.
( وَمَا خَلَقْتُ الجِنَّ وَالإِنْسَ إِلَّا لِيَعْبُدُونِ) {الذاريات:56} ،
The objective of a Muslim is to worship Allah alone and that is what we are created for
Quran 51;56
And I did not create the jinn and mankind except to worship Me.
al-Anbiya’ 21:16]
“And We created not the heavens and the earth, and all that is between them, for mere play.
We created them not except with truth (i.e. to examine and test those who are obedient and those who are disobedient and then reward the obedient ones and punish the disobedient ones), but most of them know not”
(وَمِنْهُمْ مَنْ يَقُولُ رَبَّنَا آتِنَا فِي الدُّنْيَا حَسَنَةً وَفِي الْآخِرَةِ حَسَنَةً وَقِنَا عَذَابَ النَّارِ) (201) البقرة
Quran 2:201
among them is he who says, "Our Lord, give us in this world [that which is] good and in the Hereafter [that which is] good and protect us from the punishment of the Fire."
Even if our parents’ migration or ours was mainly economic, we can extend that purpose to include good citizenship, and being good and inspiring role models of what Islam can offer the modern world. That should be our intention. One hadith, narrated by Sayyidina Omar ibn al Khattab, says:
“Actions are judged by their intention and everyone shall have only what he intended. Therefore he who migrated for Allah and His messenger, his migration was for Allah and His messenger; and he whose migration was to achieve some worldly benefit or to take some woman in marriage, his migration will be judged that for which he intended.”
Let us all try to make our Goals in life, well-balanced and pleasing to Allah swt. Allah told His angels that He created us so that we can be his Ambassadors on earth. Remember you are all Ambassadors of Islam. As young students, your immediate goal is to do well at school so that you can do well in life generally after you leave school. All the time, you are being observed by others, and your behaviour is how people will judge all Muslims and their religion. It’s a big responsibility, but it’s also an opportunity to show how beautiful Islam is.
- Islam teaches excellence. Don’t be satisfied with mediocrity, by just giving your minimum effort and getting average results. Prophet Muhammad sws and his noble Companions, the sahaaba, were not average people. They strived to be excellent human beings. They became role models for people throughout history. They were the best Ambassadors for Islam. We must study their lives for inspiration. We must work hard, and do well. We must try to be the best at what we do, in school subjects, hobbies, or sport.
- Choose your friends wisely, Avoid bad company and do not be shy or embarrassed about being ‘different’. Prophet Muhammad said that if you spend 40 days in someone’s company, you become like them. Make sure you spend time with people who are a good influence on you.
IMPORTANCE OF SETTING GOALS
A life without a plan is a plan for failure . People who do not set goals, drift aimlessly in life , from one day to the next , not really knowing where they are going and not knowing if they have arrived. Setting goals is important since it gives direction , meaning and purpose to our life. Goals can be long term, medium term and short term. Ultimately , the short term and medium term goals must link up to the long term goals so that there is harmony and direction in our daily activities. The majority of people do not set goals for their life. This is a real pity since it is only by setting goals that we can unlock the tremendous potential that lays lurking within each of us. We will never know what we are capable of achieving if we do not set high enough goals for ourselves.
A Muslim views money as a trust from Allah (SWT), for he knows that each and every person will be accountable to Allah (SWT) on the Day of Judgement on two crucial questions pertaining to money :
How did you earn it ? How did you spend it ?
often we only focus on financial success to the detriment of the other spheres in our life ; we must strive to achieve harmony and balance in our life
The Prophet (SAW) said, “O people ! The reward of deeds depends upon the intentions.”
However , the best plans and goals , the most noble intentions and dreams , come to nothing unless they are put into action. Then only will we see results as stated as follows :
S13V11 : Verily , never will Allah change the condition of a people until they change it themselves (with their own souls)
We have to make the effort. We have to take the first step towards our goals and we have to place our trust and hope in Allah (SWT).We have to strive and persevere if we ever hope to achieve any of our goals. Allah (SWT) gives us tremendous Courage and Hope when He says :
S3V30 :…And Allah is full of Kindness to those that serve Him
So lose not heart nor fall into despair
Allah is the Protector of those who believe
Our life in this world is only temporary . We are travelers , Pilgrims of Eternity , Souls in a temporary physical body . The earth is not our home as stated in the following :
Sahih Bukhari Hadith 8.425 Narrated by Mujahid (RA)
Abdullah bin Umar (RA) said ,” Allah’s Apostle took hold of my shoulder and said, ‘ Be in this world as if you were a stranger or a traveler.’
And if we persevere in our goals , and do not lose our focus , and do not allow the illusory temptations of this temporary earthly world to distract us from the Straight Path , then Insha-Allah , we will find success in our Final Home
Many of those who become famous, wealthy, powerful or achieve some worldly success, at times lose focus of their initial intentions.
This is a reminder to constantly revisit our intentions with the idea of correcting or improving ourselves.
Always focus on the Pleasure of Allah. The more He gives you, the more you should humble yourself and please Him.
O my Lord, do not let our hearts deviate from the Truth now that we have been guided; but grant us Mercy from Your very Presence, for You are the Giver of bounties without measure.”
Rabbana la tuzigh quloobanaa, ba’da ith haday tanaa, wa hablanaa milla dunka Rahma. Innaka antal Wah-haab.
اللهم فرج هم المهمومين، ونَفِّس كرب المكروبين، واقضِ الدين عن المدينين، واشف مرضانا ومرضى المسلمين ❥