Khutbah: Guard Your Tongue

All praises and thanks be to Allāh, the One who has prepared Paradise for those who fear Him and has prepared Hellfire for those who disobey Him. And whoever places his reliance upon Him, He will suffice him. And whoever entrusts his affair to Him, He will guide Him. And I testify that there is no god except Allāh alone, the one without a partner, the one who is transcendent beyond everything that is besides Him. And I testify that Muḥammad is His slave, His Messenger and His Chosen One. O Allāh, send blessings and peace upon Muḥammad and upon his family and companions.

To proceed:

O Attendees of the Friday Prayer! I advise you first and foremost to fear Allāh, The One Who hears and sees all things, and to be conscious of Him at all times. Indeed, none of you utter a letter except that Allāh witnesses it, and indeed, Allāh will hold you accountable for it on "the Day they come forth nothing concerning them will be concealed from Allāh. To whom belongs [all] sovereignty this Day? To Allāh, the One, the Prevailing."

O Believers! It was narrated that Rasūl Allāh ﷺ said:

أَكْثَرُ خَطَايَا ابنِ آدَمَ فِي لِسَانِهِ

“Most of the sins of the children of Adam are on their tongues.” (Narrated by al-Ṭabarānī)

Hence, I urge you to guard your tongues. Control your tongues and guard what comes out of your mouths the way you would guard yourselves from falling into a pit of Fire.

It was narrated that Muʿādh ibn Jabal was speaking with Rasūl Allāh ﷺ, and he was mentioning several acts of worship, after which he ﷺ said: “Shall I not tell you of the foundation of all of that?” I said, “Yes, O Messenger of Allāh.” So he took hold of his tongue and said, “Restrain this.” I said, “O Prophet of Allāh, will we be taken to account for what we say with it?” He ﷺ said, “Watch out, O Muʿādh! Is there anything that throws people into the Hellfire upon their faces — or: on their noses — except the harvests of their tongues?” (Narrated by al-Tirmidhī)

O Slaves of Allāh! Beware of lying, for indeed lying causes destruction and despair, both in this world and the next. Beware of using foul language, for indeed the use of foul language is a matter hated by Allāh; it also demonstrates how low your intelligence is. Beware of mocking and making fun of others, for indeed it may happen that Allāh may inflict you with something worse than that which you are mocking. Beware of backbiting and gossip, for this is equivalent to eating the dead flesh of your brother; beware of this act of of speaking about others behind their backs before the day when the people of this act will hold copper nails with which they will gouge their faces and chests.

You may think that that swear word you uttered was just a word. Just a word. You may think that that lie you told was only a small lie. You may chuck a giggle, wear a smile and feel good about mocking another person right when they've just turned their back, when they're not looking. You may think of these things as small and insignificant, and even feel good about them. But in the Hereafter it'll be a different story. And what is worse is that you utter a blasphemous word, which you might consider harmless, but in reality is so severe that it causes you to plunge 70 years into the depths of Hellfire.

I once again urge you, O slaves of Allāh, to be wary, be careful of that which is between you two jaws, i.e. your tongue. Guide it towards the Reward of Allāh, before it guides you towards the Punishment of Allāh.

I will conclude with the statement of Rasūl Allāh ﷺ: "Whoever believes in Allāh and the last Day, let him speak good or keep silent." (Narrated by al-Bukhārī and Muslim)

Khutbah: Envy and Treating Others How We Want To Be Treated

Indeed, all praises and thanks are due to Allāh. We praise Him, we seek His Help and and we seek His Forgiveness. And we take refuge in Allāh from the evils of ourselves and from the bad of our actions. Whomever Allāh guides, none can misguide. And whomever Allāh misguides, none can guide. And I testify that there is no god except Allāh. And I testify that Muḥammad is His slave and messenger, may blessings and peace be upon him and upon his family and companions.

To proceed:

Anas ibn Mālik (radiya -Llāhu ʿanhu) reported that the Prophet ﷺ said: "None of you truly believe until he loves for his brother that which he loves for himself." (Narrated by al-Bukhārī and Muslim)

This ḥadīth is the basis of how we should interact with our fellow Muslims. We should want good for others the same way we want good for ourselves. We treat them the way we want them to treat us. We talk to them the way we would like them to talk to us.We honour and respect them the way we would like to be honoured and respected. Think about it: if you were to be rude and impolite to a peer of yours, can you expect them to respond to that with kindness and courtesy? For the average person, the answer would be no. Hence, the way we deal with others should be the way we want to be dealt with, in order that others may deal with us in the same way.

Part of good treatment of others are excusing them and giving them fair chances. For example, if a person commits a mistake, then we should find excuses for them and not jump to conclusions. E.g. you see a person sneakily take something lying on the table. Before you jump to the conclusion that he stole, think of excuses for him. Think of reasons for as to why what he did may have not been stealing. Give him the benefit of the doubt. After all, if you were the one who sneakily took that object of the table though you were in fact not stealing – you weren't in the wrong –, would you like it if someone accused you of stealing – doing something you didn't do? There are many possibilities or ways for us to excuse others who have committed mistakes. And this is from the good treatment of others.

Now, the concept of loving for your brother what you love for yourself may seem simple, but many diseases of the heart can get in the way, the most common one being ḥasad (envy). Ḥasad is when you see something good in someone, and not only do you want it, but you want the other person to lose it. And this goes opposite to what the ḥadīth we have mentioned teaches. So if we feel like we want someone else to lose the good that they have, that’s actually the sign of a serious problem with our īmān, and in the way that we look at our brother or our sister.

We should remember that an important concept in Islam is the fact that everything we have of worldly possessions comes from Allāh. Allāh gives to whomever He wills and withholds from whomever He wills. Whatever another person may have that you really like was given to him by Allāh. So it is not your right to seek that he loses what Allāh has granted him; rather you should be happy for him and want for him that which is good, the same way you would want good for yourself.

Ḥasad is a very serious matter we should be wary of, to the point where we are encouraged to take refuge in Allāh from it after every prayer and before sleep when we recite Sūrat al-Falaq.

وَمِن شَرِّ حَاسِدٍ إِذَا حَسَدَ

"...and [I take refuge] from the evil of an envier when he acts out his envy." (Qur’ān 113:5)

Now, it's one thing to feel ḥasad inside you, and and it's another thing to act that ḥasad out. Now, notice that the ayah doesn't say in ḥasada (if he acts out his envy) but rather idhā ḥasada (when he acts out his envy). Thus, it is inevitable that the one with ḥasad in his heart will eventually manifest that envy; it's inevitable that he will act that out one way or another. So we should take care not to carry feelings of ḥasad in our hearts in the first place before the disastrous effects of it manifest themselves. As the proverb goes, prevention is better than cure.

Khutbah: Seeking Knowledge

Indeed, all praises and thanks are due to Allāh. We praise Him, we seek His Help and and we seek His Forgiveness. And we take refuge in Allāh from the evils of ourselves and from the bad of our actions. Whomever Allāh guides, none can misguide. And whomever Allāh misguides, none can guide. And I testify that there is no god except Allāh. And I testify that Muḥammad is His slave and messenger, may blessings and peace be upon him and upon his family and companions.

To proceed:

Among the matters that Islam takes seriously is seeking knowledge. For the first word Allāh revealed to Rasūl Allāh ﷺ was "Read!" There are many āyāt and aḥādīth that point to the importance of seeking knowledge in Islam.

From the Qur’ān:

 قُلْ هَلْ يَسْتَوِي الَّذِينَ يَعْلَمُونَ وَالَّذِينَ لَا يَعْلَمُونَ

"Say, Are those who know and those who do not know equal?'" (Qur’ān 39:9)

إِنَّمَا يَخْشَى اللَّهَ مِنْ عِبَادِهِ الْعُلَمَاءُ

"Only the knowledgeable of His slaves fear Allāh." (Qur’ān 35:28)

يَرْفَعِ اللَّهُ الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا مِنكُمْ وَالَّذِينَ أُوتُوا الْعِلْمَ دَرَجَاتٍ 

"Allāh raises those of you who believe and those who have been given knowledge whole degrees." (Qur’ān 58:11)

From the aḥādīth:

إن الله وملٰٓئكته وأهل السمٰوات والأرض حتى النملة في جحرها وحتى حوت ليصلون على معلمي الناس الخير

"Allāh and His angels, the inhabitants of the heavens and the earth, the very ant in its anthill, and the fish bless those who teach people what is good." ((Narrated by al-Tirmidhī)

إذا مات الأنسان انقطع عمله إلا من ثلاث‏:‏ صدقة جارية، أو علم ينتفع به، أو ولد صالح يدعو له

"When a human being dies his work comes to an end except for three things: ongoing charity, knowledge benefited from, or a pious son who prays for him." (Narrated by Muslim and Abu Dāwūd)

وَمَنْ سَلَكَ طَرِيقًا يَلْتَمِسُ فِيهِ عِلْمًا سَهَّلَ اللَّهُ لَهُ بِهِ طَرِيقًا إلَى الْجَنَّةِ

"Whoever travels a path seeking knowledge Allāh makes easy for him a path to paradise." (Narrated by Muslim)

Know that of the most important categories of knowledge is the personally obligatory knowledge. This is the knowledge you need to fulfil your obligations. Examples are wuḍū’, prayer, fasting, etc., and their method, conditions for validity of the act of worship, integrals, nullifiers, and so on. This knowledge is obligatory upon every single Muslim to know. So before you start studying more advanced aspects of the dīn, make sure you've got your basics right. Don't jump. You wouldn't do that with worldly knowledge, would you? It's like learning algebra before even knowing how to solve 2+2.

It is also obligatory for one to know what is permissible and what is unlawful of food, drink, clothing, and so forth, of things one is unlikely to be able to do without.

Now, there is a mentality amongst some Muslims that one shouldn't bother about worldly studies and focus on studying Islam alone. But this is not the correct attitude; Islam's encouragement to seek knowledge is applied in the broad sense. Islam encourages the seeking of beneficial worldly knowledge, and in many cases it can even become obligatory. We can see if we look back at history, during the European Dark Ages, where Muslims were making significant advances the the fields of science, technology, mathematics and the arts.

When seeking knowledge, one must ensure that one have proper adab with one's teachers. This is especially true for those with knowledge of the dīn, the mashāyikh and the ʿulamāʾ. They must be especially respected as they are the inheritors of the prophets (`alayhim as-salāh wa al-salām), as stated by the Prophet ﷺ himself. I remind you – and this reminder is first and foremost for myself – that when seeking knowledge, you must do so with humility. Have arrogance and you'll find no barakah in your knowledge. We must keep in mind the fact that our knowledge is only a speck of dust compared to the Knowledge of Allāh. Just like how Allāh Himself is beyond limits, similarly His Knowledge is beyond limits, and this is something we should keep in perspective when seeking knowledge. After all, Allāh says:

وَلَا يُحِيطُونَ بِشَيْءٍ مِّنْ عِلْمِهِ إِلَّا بِمَا شَاءَ

"...and they encompass not a thing of His knowledge except for what He wills." (Qur'an 2:255)

Khutbah: Time and Accounting Oneself

Indeed, all praises and thanks are due to Allāh. We praise Him, we seek His Help and and we seek His Forgiveness. And we take refuge in Allāh from the evils of ourselves and from the bad of our actions. Whomever Allāh guides, none can misguide. And whomever Allāh misguides, none can guide. And I testify that there is no god except Allāh. And I testify that Muḥammad is His slave and messenger, may blessings and peace be upon him and upon his family and companions.

To proceed:

Among the greatest and most precious of favours that Allāh has endowed upon His slaves after the favours of īmān and life is the favour of time. So precious is this favour that al-Haṣan al-Baṣrī (raḥimahu -Llāh) commented about this and said, "O son of Adam! You are nothing but a number of days, whenever each day passes, then a part of you has gone." And the Prophet ﷺ said:

نعمتان مغبون فيهما كثير من الناس الصحة والفراغ

"There are two blessings which many people lose: health and free time." (Narrated by al-Bukhārī)

Our dīn encourages us to regularly take some time out to evaluate how we've been spending this irretrievable asset. Every now and then, we should take ourselves to account and seriously consider how we have been spending our lives. Allāh did not create us without a purpose. He created us for the sole purpose of worshipping Him, dedicating our lives to Him, spending our existence in His Service, obeying His Commands and avoiding His Prohibitions. So we should regularly question ourselves: have we really been doing our best to fulfil this?

Think about it: In this world, you have about 70 years to prepare for the next world, which lasts forever; the Day of Judgement alone is 50,000 years long. So from these 70 years, you spend about 30 of them sleeping, about 15 of them in childhood. That's 45 years gone. 25 years left. And then a huge portion, if not the majority, of that is spent chasing after desires, food and money. So think: from the amount of time I have that can be used in Allāh's service, how much of it am I actually using to fulfil that?

Indeed, this world is only a moment, so make it a moment of obedience.

Remember the statement of ʿUmar (radiya -Llāhu ʿanhu): "Bring yourselves to account before you are taken to account, and weigh your deeds before your deeds are weighed on the Day of Judgement."

And owing to the fact that not too long ago we entered a new year, we can use this opportunity, firstly by thanking Allāh for providing us extra time we can use in His service, and secondly by proving our thankfulness to Him through our actions. Use this opportunity to take yourself to account, reflect on the shortcomings [and achievements] of the past year and think, "What can I do to make this year better than last year?"

Set goals for yourself that you seek to achieve. Ensure each of your goals are SMART, i.e.  Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic & Timely. Every now and then, take yourself to account to ensure you're on track to achieving those goals. Make a strong resolve to make this year a better year, both with regards to worldly and religious aspirations. After all, this may your last year on the face of this earth, before your body is made to rest beneath its soil and your soul is made to enter a whole new world.

I will end with a ḥadīth where the Prophet ﷺ said:

اغتنم خمسًا قبل خمس: شبابك قبل هَرَمك، وغناك قبل فقرك، وفراغك قبل شغلك، وصحتك قبل سقمك، وحياتك قبل موتك

"Take advantage of five before five: 1) your youth before your old age, 2) your health before your sickness, 3) your wealth before your poverty, 4) your free-time before your preoccupation, and 5) your life before your death." (Narrated by al-Ḥākim)

Khutbah: Verily, Din is Ease

Praise be to Allāh, the One Infinite in Wisdom and Knowledge, the Most Merciful and Ever Merciful, the One who created us and moulded us and thus He knows every single one of us better than we know ourselves. And May Peace and Blessings be upon His Messenger and upon his family and companions. To proceed: O you who have believed! Fear Allāh the way He deserves to be feared, and do not die except in a state of submission to Allāh.

Allāh did not create us aimlessly. He created us with a purpose, and that is to worship Him. However, He did not want that worshipping him become a burdensome task. So from His Infinite Wisdom and Knowledge, He set out for us a way of life by which we could worship Him, a way of life best suited to the nature of the human being, a way of life neither too difficult nor too lax, a way of life of moderation. Allāh says:

يُرِيدُ اللَّهُ بِكُمُ الْيُسْرَ وَلَا يُرِيدُ بِكُمُ الْعُسْرَ

"Allāh intends for you ease, and does not want to make things difficult for you" (Qur’ān 2:185)

مَا يُرِيدُ اللَّهُ لِيَجْعَلَ عَلَيْكُم مِّنْ حَرَجٍ 

"Allāh does not want to place you in difficulty" (Qur’ān 5:6).

To demonstrate the easiness and practicality of this way of life, He sent to us a human messenger, not an angel, a messenger biologically identical to us, a role model whose example we can relate to and emulate. This was none other than the Messenger ﷺ. And it wasn't just the Prophet ﷺ who demonstrated this. Think about it: if this dīn really was a difficult one, would've it survived to this day? Would the billions of people who have practised this dīn over 1400 years have been able to pass down such a difficult way of life to their children? Hence, we see that dīn truly is easy.

But some of you might ask: why do I find it so difficult at times? Why are there so many rules and restrictions I must follow? Why is it such an overwhelming way of life? The five daily prayers. The food. The ḥijāb. The interaction with opposite gender. The fact that there's rules for everything, even for going to the toilet and cutting your nails. “Why”, you may ask yourself?

There are several possible reasons for this, but only three shall be mentioned. The first one is a lack of taqwā and love of Allāh, combined with laziness. Yes, Islam is an easy religion in its rituals and requirements. But remember, Islam is a religion, a way of life, which by definition entails a commitment to a Supreme Being, i.e. Allāh. Islam is something we have to commit ourselves to. We see that many people who say Islam is "difficult" want an Islam where one has to do nothing; they define "easy" as "doing nothing". However, know that Allāh wants something from you, and that is obedience and commitment. Know that His obedience is easy, though some may find it difficult, however this doesn't mean that obedience in itself is difficult; the problem usually lies within the person himself, within their hearts, hearts which are lacking in taqwā and love of Allāh, hearts lazy and uninclined to the worship of their Creator.

The second reason is a lack of knowledge. People who find difficulty with Islam may have an incorrect understanding of Islam. Or they may not realise how easy the rules of Islam are to follow. E.g., the general principle with regards to worldly things is that everything is permissible unless proven otherwise, not the other way round as some people may have it. Or they may be unaware of wisdom behind certain acts. An example is charity, which apparently decreases wealth. However, Allāh says:

إِن تُقْرِضُوا اللَّهَ قَرْضًا حَسَنًا يُضَاعِفْهُ لَكُمْ وَيَغْفِرْ لَكُمْ

"If you loan Allāh a goodly loan, He will multiply it for you and forgive you." (Qur’ān 64:17)

And there's the ḥadīth: "Verily, wealth does not decrease because of charity." (Narrated by Muslim). You won’t find anyone who’s gone poor from giving charity. So realise that behind every command and prohibition there is a wisdom behind it. Without understanding this, practising Islam becomes a heavy burden. However, for some commands or prohibitions, these wisdoms may not be too apparent, like the prohibition for men to wear gold and silk for example. In cases like these, the attitude of the true Mu'min should be one of following the orders of Allāh without question, seeking His pleasure, even though the justification for such orders may not be clear, remembering that Allāh is the One who created us and thus knows us better than we know ourselves and that He knows what is better for us more than we do. If pleasing Allāh is always our aim, then undoubtedly the practice of religion becomes easy, no matter what apparent hardships we may encounter.

The third reason, is the bad environment you’re in. In a society where we are bombarded with ḥarām – foul language, obscene images and videos, interest, alcohol, gambling, ḥarām music –, it does make some sort of sense that practising the dīn becomes hard, even for those who strive to commit to it. But remember that in times like this where practising the dīn becomes difficult, those that do manage to cling on to the Qur’ān and Sunnah await for themselves an immense reward. Remember the ḥadīth of the Prophet ﷺ where he said: “...After you there will come days during which being patient will be like holding on to a live coal. The one who strives during those days will have a reward like that of fifty men who strive as you do.” (Narrated by Abū Dāwūd, al-Tirmidhī and Ibn Mājah) And also remember the ḥadīth of the Prophet ﷺ where he said: “Islam began as something strange, and it will return to being strange as it began. So, glad tidings for the strangers.” He was asked: “Messenger of Allāh, who are the strangers?” He replied: “Those who are righteous when the people are corrupt.” (Narrated by Aḥmad). And in another narration, “A tiny group of righteous people in the midst of a large number of corrupted people. Those who go against them are more than those who go along with them.” (Narrated by al-Tirmidhī). May Allāh make us from these strangers!
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Praise be to Allāh, Lord of the Worlds, and may Peace and Blessings be upon the Messenger and upon his family and companions. To proceed: O mankind! Fear Allāh, obey Him and do good. Indeed, Allāh is with those who fear Him and those who are doers of good.

Know that whatever life throws at you, you are able to overcome it. Allāh says:

لَا يُكَلِّفُ اللَّهُ نَفْسًا إِلَّا وُسْعَهَا

“Allāh does not burden a soul beyond what it can bear.” (Qur’ān 2:286)

This is especially true with regards to the dīn; whatever Allāh has prescribed for you, you are able to do it. However, remember that just because this dīn is simple and not burdensome doesn't mean that life will be a breeze for the Muslim. Remember that Allāh will test each and every one of us in one way or another. So even though Islam is easy to practise if you commit to it, your level of commitment will be tested by Allāh.

Remember that Islam is a religion that conforms with human nature; Allāh does not ask us to do what we are incapable of doing. Know that Shayṭān beautifies evil deeds and the following of vain desires, things that are of no benefit to us, whilst presenting good deeds, things that will actually benefit us, as boring and difficult, thus making us lazy. Yet, if one is able to take the first step in overcoming this, he will find out for himself the inner peace that good deeds bring out and how easy they are to perform, and he will be able to see the evils involved in committing sins.