Ismail ibn Musa Menk – What Do I Gain With All This Pain?

About this lecture

In this engaging and motivational lecture, Mufti Ismail Menk challenges his university audience to reflect on a powerful question: why are we willing to endure years of hardship for a worldly degree, yet struggle to fulfil the far simpler demands that Allah has placed upon us? Drawing on vivid analogies — from childbirth to World Cup tickets to iPhone releases — Mufti Menk demonstrates that the effort required to prepare for the eternal life is far less than what we already invest in this temporary one. The lecture concludes with an illuminating Q&A session covering topics such as repentance, salah, depression, marriage, and how to strengthen one's iman.