Friday 28 February 2014

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)

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