"If a person becomes a beloved servant of Allah, if he avoids the wrong deeds and obeys the orders of Allah and fears His wrath and acts accordingly, would his sustenance come to him without much effort?"

"Yes, indeed!"

(Thumma qara'a) The prophet then reciteed a verse:

(Wa man yattaqillàha yaj'al lahû makhrajan) "If a person avoids the wrongdoings and obeys Allah's orders attentively, Allah will show him a way out of his troubles. His problems will be over. (Wa yarzuqhu min haysu lâ yahtasib) And Allah rewards him and sends sustenance from sources that he never expects."

It is true that Allah will send such a person sustenance in unimaginable ways. He will send it through the air, via the roads, straight or via other people. He knows how He will send it. It amazes everybody.

May Allah make all of us god-conscious, god-fearing, pure, good Muslims. Make he give us the strength to hold on to Islam real tight. May he save our ship of faith from the storms of the ocean of mischief.

Nowadays, everybody keeps saying something regardless of much thought, with or without the proper knowledge. I observe and question myself: "If I were an ordinary person without a running knowledge of Arabic, a doctoral degree, a knowledge of Qur'an and of the traditions of the Prophet, if I were one person in the crowd, how would I discern the truth from all of these lies?"

You may ask if there is a way out. Yes, there is. The solution is seeking knowledge and hence finding the truth. We must start with the Qur'anic studies and the ahadith of the Prophet. Actually it is better to start with the hadith so the verses of the Qur'an is understood better.

Now everybody tries to interpret the Qur'an. They point a verse as the source of a statement which is in contradiction to the statement. They state lies and attribute them to the Qur'an. They place themselves on wrong tracts and also misguide people. That is why we ask Allah, "Our Lord, Let us see the truth as truth and follow it." May Allah keep us on the straight path, save us from going astray. May He fill our hearts with faith, His love and taqwa. May He protect us from all kinds of dangers. May He keep us in this world as good servants and accepts us as beloved servants in the hereafter.

As-selâmu Alaikum wa rahmatullàhi wa barakâtuh!

August 11, 2000 -- AUSTRALIA