27 Jamadilakhir 1436H / 17 April 2015 WAQF IMAM DAN KHATIB DR, ABDUL RAHMAN BIN HAMZAH DEPUTY DIRECTOR ISLAMIC CENTRE, UTM FRIDAY SERMON

Which means: “O you who have believed, obey Allah and obey the Messenger and those in authority among you. And if you disagree over anything, refer it to Allah and the Messenger, if you should believe in Allah and the Last Day. That is the best [way] and best in result.”

Dear Brothers in Islam, I call upon myself and all of you, let us fear God, hopefully Allah will bestow upon us mercy and his Blessings. The title of today’s sermon is “Waqf (endowments) is a religious practice".

Truly the wealth that we have is a responsibility that God Almighty bestowed upon us.

Our property is the adornment in this world. Its existence make things easier for our life in this world, like the land we purchase, it allows us to build houses, farming, and creating space and so on.

The cars that we owned allow us to move to and fro, carrying out daily activities, and the same goes to other property.

Our home enable us to make transaction with people and so on. In other words, what is termed as wealth is a facility for us.

When we are busy every day accumulating wealth, Allah explained that we should give some of our wealth whether it is a mandatory donation like pay zakat or charity - donation which is voluntary such as endowments, grants, wills, charity, and so on.

The order for this charity is described in the Holy Quran in Surah Baqarah verse 195:

And spend in the way of Allah and do not throw [yourselves] with your [own] hands into destruction [by refraining]. And do good; indeed, Allah loves the doers of good.

Waqf is one of the means to infaq or give charity that is required and should be implemented by the Islamic community.

The command for this Waqf was declared by Allah the Almighty in Surah Ali Imran verse 92 which was read at the beginning of the sermon, meaning:

Never will you attain the good [reward] until you spend [in the way of Allah ] from that which you love. And whatever you spend - indeed, Allah is Knowing of it.

A companion of the Prophet, Abu Talhah, when he heard of this verse, quickly meet Rasulullah s.a.w and read this verse to him and gave his most valuable wealth, his garden that he named ‘Biruni’.

This garden was frequently visited by the Prophet whether to rest or to drink the water from the pool and also because it was nearby the mosque.

Once Abu Talhah had endowed his garden, Rasulullah s.a.w repeatedly congratulated him, for his wealth would certainly give him the advantage.

In fact, not only Abu Talhah but other companions were racing to give their property like Saidina Umar Al-Khattab, R.A endowed a piece of land "Khaibar", Saidina Uthman R.A endowed a well for the use of the Muslims and so on.

In this case, how can the property be beneficial to him again after he endowed it to Allah?

This question is answered by the Prophet through the following hadith:

Abu Huraira (Allah be pleased with him) reported Allah's Messenger ﷺ as saying: “When a man dies, his acts come to an end, but three, recurring charity, or knowledge (by which people) benefit, or a pious son, who prays for him (for the deceased).”

Waqf are alms deeds that give profit to the owners even after they died.

This means that the rewards will remain constant to the person donating the property as long as it continues to benefit the Muslim community and is allowed by the Islamic legislation (syara’).

This is exactly the business we're doing with Allah swt that He promised we will not be at loss forever. Allah said in Surah Fatir, verse 29:

Indeed, those who recite the Book of Allah and establish prayer and spend [in His cause] out of what We have provided them, secretly and publicly, [can] expect a profit that will never perish.

Dear blessed Muslim congregants, Therefore, in order to assist our work of charity, The Johor Islamic Center provides an opportunity for people to buy stocks with the endowment as low as rm10 only.

The money donated will be used for the benefit and welfare of the Muslim community to build a religious school, student hostels, buying Mushaf Al-Quran for the use of students of religious schools and others.

Overall this is purely to help upgrade the well-being of the Islamic community here in Johor.

Dear blessed Muslim congregants, Remember, even if the charity you give is little but it is still highly valued in the sight of Allah, even more valuable than other sunnah.

The rewards for waqf and shadaqah will be continuous to the giver even if he died as long as it and is used for the welfare of the Muslim community.

Therefore, let us reignite this charity practice again. Hopefully the endowments that we do, even if it is a little, would give benefits for us in this world and the Hereafter. Hopefully the endowments that we do will make us slaves who fear Allah.

Say, "In the bounty of Allah and in His mercy - in that let them rejoice; it is better than what they accumulate."

بَارَكَ اللهُ لِيْ وَلَكُمْ فِى الْقُرْآنِ الْعَظِيْمِ وَنَفَعَنِي وَإِيَّاكُمْ بِمَا فِيْهِ مِنَ الأيَاتِ وَالذِّكْرِ الْحَكِيْمِ وَتَقَبَّلَ مِنِّي وَمِنْكُمْ تِلاوَتَهُ إِنَّهُ هُوَ السَّمِيعُ الْعَلِيْمُ. أَقُوْلُ قَوْلِيْ هَذَا وَأَسْتَغْفِرُ اللهَ الْعَظِيْمَ لِيْ وَلَكُمْ وَلِسَائِرِ الْمُسْلِمِيْنَ وَالْمُسْلِمَاتِ وَالْمُؤْمِنِيْنَ وَالْمُؤْمِنَاتِ الأَحْيَاءِ مِنْهُمْ وَالأَمْوَات فَاسْتَغْفِرُوْه إِنَّهُ هُوَ الْغَفُوْرُ الرَّحِيْمُ

O servant of Allah, remember that this world is a place for temporary lodging. Truly, hereafter is the everlasting and permanent abode. So let us devote to Allah for obtaining happiness and escape from the punishment of hellfire.

Allah says in Surah Al Ahzab verse 56:

Which means: “Indeed Allah confers blessing upon the prophet and His angels (ask Him to do so). O! You who have believed, ask Allah to confer blessing upon him and ask Allah to grant him peace.”

Let us pray that may Allah SWT be please with the khalifahs of Rasulullah s.a.w i.e Sayyidina Abu Bakr al-Siddiq r.a., Sayyidina Umar al-Khattab r.a., Sayyinda Uthman ibn Affan r.a., Sayyidina Ali ibn Abi Thalib r.a.

And to his companions who struggle to uphold the religion of Allah, also to his uncles Sayyidina Hamzah and Sayyidina Abbas r.a. and to his granchildren Sayyidina Hassan and Sayyidina Hussain r.a., his daughters Sayyidatina Fatimah al- Zahraa’, his wives Sayyidatina Khadijah and Sayyidatina Aisyah r.a. and the other wives. Followed by his family, companions, followers of the companions and those who come after them from time to time until the end of the world.

O Allah, forgive all Muslims and believers, whether surviving or deceased. O Allah, grant us glory and prosperity to those who fight and spend their wealth in your way such as those who pay zakat, waqaf etc.

Ya Allah, bestow your guidance and help to the leaders and kings of the Muslim countries especially to Abdaka Al-Harith Lishariatika Al- Sultan Ibrahim Ibni Almarhum Al- Sultan Iskandar, the Sultan and ruler for the State of Johor Darul Takzim.

And to Raja Zarith Sofea Binti Al-Marhum Sultan Idris Shah, Tengku Ismail Ibn Sultan Ibrahim, Pemangku Raja Johor and, the Prince and Princess, the royal kinship, and all Muslims.

KEPADA PARA JEMAAH SEKALIAN, SILA PENUHKAN SAF YANG KOSONG DIHADAPAN ANDA KEPADA PARA JEMAAH SEKALIAN, SILA PENUHKAN SAF YANG KOSONG DIHADAPAN ANDA /pusatislam.utm