Majlis Ugama Islam Singapura
Friday Sermon
10 October 2014 / 15 Zulhijjah 1435
The Wealthy Man Who Was God-Conscious:
Lessons From The Story Of Talhah Bin Ubaidillah r.a.
Blessed Friday Jemaah,
Let us recall all the nikmat that Allah has bestowed upon us all
this while. And let us seek from Allah a heart full of humility or
tawadhu’ so that we will be servants of Allah who are ever
grateful to Him for all of His blessings. Amin!
Last week, through the story of the noble companion of Prophet
s.a.w., Imran Ibn Husayn r.a., we were reminded of the
importance of having patience, or sabar, in facing this life that is
full of trials. We were also reminded that for every test that we
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face, in whatever form it may be, it is actually a sign of Allah’s
love for us and is an opportunity for us to gain generous
rewards from Him. Today, I will share the story of another
companion of Rasulullah s.a.w. This companion is one whose
sense of takwa would increase whenever he was blessed with
nikmat from Allah. His name was Talhah bin Ubaidillah r.a.
Blessed jemaah,
Talhah bin Ubaidillah r.a. was a companion who had a high
standing in the sight of Allah and His Messenger.
He was
among the earliest companions who accepted Islam. Talhah
was also one of the ten companions of the Prophet s.a.w. who
have been promised Paraside because of their sacrifices for
Islam.
Talhah bin Ubaidillah r.a. was born to a wealthy family. Despite
that, the wealth owned by his family was never an excuse for
him not to work hard and to earn his own living. In fact, he
chose to start and manage his own business.
Talhah was well-known in the markets of Basrah and As-Syam
as a businessman who was honest and open-minded. His
honesty and the purity of his heart, coupled with his
commitment and determination in running his business led to a
very profitable business. There have been narrations reporting
that during the rule of Khalifah Uthman bin ‘Affan r.a, the profits
that Talhah earned daily would reach 1,000 dinars. Not only
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that, Talhah was also said to own many plots of land and farms
in Madinah.
Jemaah,
How many people out there neglect their religion because they
are obsessed by their wealth? However, that was not the case
with Talhah bin Ubaidillah r.a. With his wealth, came a great
sense of takwa. With every nikmat that Allah bestowed upon
him, he did not forget to show his gratitude and to share his
wealth. Rasulullah s.a.w. called him “Talhah Al-Jud” which
means the Philantropist and “Talhah Al-Khair” which means
Talhah the Good.
It was reported that once, his wife found him sitting down,
looking sad. When he was asked what had upset him, Talhah
replied: "I have so much money in my hands and that it is
making me worried. What should I do? " And his wife answered:
"Distribute the money that you have to the poor and needy."
And so Talhah distributed every coin in his hands. The
philantrophic nature of Talhah was witnessed by a companion
named Jabir bin Abdullah r.a. who said: "I have never seen
anyone who is more charitable than Talhah, even when he is
not asked. Hence, it is no wonder that he is called "Talhah the
philantrophist ", "Talhah who transfers wealth”, "Talhah the kind
and charitable ".
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Blessed Friday Jemaah,
There are many lessons that we can learn from this special
companion of Rasulullah s.a.w. Among the lessons:
First – Wealth should not make a mukmin (believer) neglect
his religion.
Islam does not forbid its followers to work hard and gain wealth.
In fact, many other companions of Rasulullah s.a.w. were
wealthy such as Abdur Rahman bin ‘Auf, Uthman bin ‘Affan and
Zubair bin Al-‘Awwam radiyallah anhum. However, the wealth
that they had was not used simply for themselves. Instead, it
was used to help spread the message of Islam and to
strengthen the Muslim community during their time.
This is the true teachings of Islam, that the wealth that we have
gained is then used for the benefit of ourselves, our families,
and the community. Allah s.w.t. says in Surah Al-Qasas, verse
77:
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Which means: “But seek, through that which Allah has given
you, the home of the Hereafter; and [yet], do not forget your
share of the world. And do good as Allah has done good to you.
And desire not corruption in the land. Indeed, Allah does not
like corrupters.”
We are also reminded not to be preoccupied with gaining
wealth that we forget about our obligations and responsibilities
as a servant of Allah. Allah s.w.t. reminds us in surah AlMunafiqun, verse 9:
Which means: “O you who have believed, let not your wealth
and your children divert you from remembrance of Allah . And
whoever does that - then those are the losers.”
Remember jemaah, the wealth that we have attained and
continue to seek is just temporary. Our wealth cannot intercede
for us when we meet Allah in the hereafter. Instead, it is
ourgood deeds that will remain for eternity and will save us in
the hereafter.
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The second lesson – Being willing to offer help without
being asked to do so.
The spirit of giving willingly and sincerely is an extremely noble
trait. This charitable trait can bring about tranquility in our hearts
and strengthen our ties with others. As an individual member of
the society who is concerned and aware of the situation around
us, we do not need to wait for specific campaigns to offer our
assistance. Take notice of our neighbours and if they are in
need of help, as well as our relatives and family members. If we
know that there are those who need assistance, then we should
try to emulate the character of Talhah ibn Ubaidillah. Help can
be given in many forms: financial, energy, expertise, time,
useful advice and so on.
The third lesson – We need to be diligent in doing our
work, and fulfilling any task that we take on.
The story of Talhah ibn Ubaidillah r.a. reflects his diligent
attitude – he would fulfill any deed and task to the best of his
abilities. He was a committed businessman. This should serve
as lesson to us – if we want to achieve success and attain
wealth, we must work hard and not simply wait for the wealth or
sustenance to simply drop into our laps.
Often we hear of members of the community who have been
cheated by schemes that promise high monetary returns for
investments that hardly require much effort, or the products
invested in are not very clear. Jemaah, we should be wary and
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cautious of any investmentsthat promise high returns; make
sure we do our due diligence and thorough investigation before
we choose to invest our money. The story of Talhah ibn
Ubaidillah is proof that to attain success, we need to
continously work hard.
Hopefully, the story of Talhah bin Ubaidillah r.a. can be an
inspiration to us and a source of motivation to drive us to
continue to work hard to attain wealth that will benefit all of
humankind. May the wealth that we have help spur our
community to strengthen their iman, increase their knowledge
and standard of living, and at the same time, shape the
community to be one that contributes to the development of the
country and the world. Amin Ya Rabbal ‘Alamin.
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