Khutbah: Having Balance in Having Hope in Allah's Forgiveness and Mercy

All praise and thanks indeed be to Allah. We praise Him, we seek His help and we seek His forgiveness. We take refuge in Allah from the evils of ourselves and from the sins of our actions. Whomever Allah guides, none can misguide. And whomever Allah misguides, none can guide. I testify that there is no one worthy of worship except Allah. And I testify that Muḥammad is His slave and messenger. May Allah's prayers and peace be upon him, and upon his family and companions.

O Slaves of Allah! I first and foremost advise you to fear Allah, remain conscious of Him and keep your duty to Him at all times. Obey Allah, for indeed he who obeys Him has attained success. And beware of disobedience, for indeed he who disobeys Him has attained ruin. But remember that we are human beings, and by nature we will make mistakes; we will slip up every now and then. The Prophet ﷺ said in this regard:

كُلُّ بَنِي آدَمَ خَطَّاءٌ‏ وَخَيْرُ اَلْخَطَّائِينَ اَلتَّوَّابُونَ

“Every son of Adam is a sinner, and the best of sinners are those who repent.” (Narrated by al-Tirmidhī and Ibn Mājah)

So whenever you commit a mistake, be assured that the door of Allah's Forgiveness is wide open.

Now then: Allah says:

وَمَن يَعْمَلْ سُوٓءًا أَوْ يَظْلِمْ نَفْسَهُۥ ثُمَّ يَسْتَغْفِرِ ٱللَّهَ يَجِدِ ٱللَّهَ غَفُورًا رَّحِيمًا

“Whoever commits an evil or wrongs himself, then seeks Allah's Forgiveness, will find Allah as Forgiving, Merciful.” (Qur’ān 4:103)

So whenever you commit a sin, immediately ask Allah for Forgiveness, as Allah has promised not only Forgiveness for people who do so, but also Paradise, wherein they will live forever. Always keep in mind that the door of Allah's Forgiveness is open for every single sin, except for the person who dies upon shirk, the greatest of all sins. Allah says:

إِنَّ ٱللَّهَ لَا يَغْفِرُ أَن يُشْرَكَ بِهِۦ وَيَغْفِرُ مَا دُونَ ذَٰلِكَ لِمَن يَشَآءُ

“Indeed, Allah does not forgive that partners be associated with Him (i.e. shirk), but He forgives everything else less than that, to whomever He wills.” (Qur’ān 4:116)

Take note of that last part of that āyah. Because there are people who commit sins and then justify their sinning by saying, “Look, Allah is al-Ghafūr (The All-Forgiving) and al-Raḥīm (The Most Merciful) – He'll forgive what we're doing.” However, these people have misunderstood the concept of the Forgiveness of Allah. Yes, Allah is Most Merciful – more merciful than a mother is to her child. But don't forget also that Allah is also most severe in punishment. Remember that Allah's Forgiveness is only for whomever He wills, as stated in the āyah we just heard. Wouldn't it be a disaster if for all your life you disobeyed Allah, whilst saying to yourself, “Allah is Most Forgiving; He'll forgive me,” then when the Day of Judgement comes you discover that you were not one of those whom Allah had willed to forgive, and so as a result you were made to enter Hellfire? How devastating would that be?

So ensure that you have a balance between hope in Allah's Mercy and Forgiveness, and fear of His punishment. Yes, the doors of Allah's Mercy and Forgiveness are wide open. The Prophet ﷺ said that Allah ta‘ālā said – and pay attention to this:

يَا ابْنَ آدَمَ! إِنَّكَ مَا دَعَوْتنِي وَرَجَوْتنِي غَفَرْتُ لَك عَلَى مَا كَانَ مِنْك وَلَا أُبَالِي، يَا ابْنَ آدَمَ! لَوْ بَلَغَتْ ذُنُوبُك عَنَانَ السَّمَاءِ ثُمَّ اسْتَغْفَرْتنِي غَفَرْتُ لَك، يَا ابْنَ آدَمَ! إنَّك لَوْ أتَيْتنِي بِقُرَابِ الْأَرْضِ خَطَايَا ثُمَّ لَقِيتنِي لَا تُشْرِكُ بِي شَيْئًا لَأَتَيْتُك بِقُرَابِهَا مَغْفِرَةً

“O Son of Adam! For as long as you call upon Me and place your hope in Me, I shall forgive you for what you have done, and I shall not mind. O Son of Adam! Were your sins to reach the clouds of the sky and then you were to ask forgiveness from Me, I would forgive you. O Son of Adam! Were you to come to Me with enough sins to fill the Earth, then you were to meet Me not associating a partner with Me, I would give you in return forgiveness likewise enough to fill the Earth.’” (Narrated by al-Tirmidhī)

Subḥān Allāh. How beautiful.

However, at the same time, don't use the excuse of "Allah is al-Ghafūr and al-Raḥīm" to justify your wrongdoing.

But nevertheless, as Allah says in the Qur’ān:

لَا تَقْنَطُوا۟ مِن رَّحْمَةِ ٱللَّهِ

“Don't despair of the Mercy of Allah.” (Qur’ān 39:53)

Keep in mind that He is saying that while having full knowledge of all the sins you have committed and will commit. Allah knows them all and He's still telling you to never lose hope. So why would you ever think that your sins are too great for Allah to forgive?

I end with the following two statements of Allah. One is a ḥadīth qudsī, where Allah says:

 يَا عِبَادِي! إنَّكُمْ تُخْطِئُونَ بِاللَّيْلِ وَالنَّهَارِ، وَأَنَا أَغْفِرُ الذُّنُوبَ جَمِيعًا؛ فَاسْتَغْفِرُونِي أَغْفِرْ لَكُمْ

“O my slaves! Indeed, you commit mistakes night and day, and I forgive all sins, so ask me for forgiveness – I will forgive you.” (Narrated by Muslim)

And the other is an āyah from the Qur’ān where Allah says:

قُلْ يَٰعِبَادِىَ ٱلَّذِينَ أَسْرَفُوا۟ عَلَىٰٓ أَنفُسِهِمْ لَا تَقْنَطُوا۟ مِن رَّحْمَةِ ٱللَّهِ ۚ إِنَّ ٱللَّهَ يَغْفِرُ ٱلذُّنُوبَ جَمِيعًا ۚ إِنَّهُۥ هُوَ ٱلْغَفُورُ ٱلرَّحِيمُ

“Say, ‘O My servants who have transgressed against themselves [by sinning], do not despair of the Mercy of Allah. Indeed, Allah forgives sins – all of them. Indeed, it is He who is the Forgiving, the Merciful.’” (Qur’ān 39:53)

Khutbah: The Hour is Nigh

Indeed, all praises and thanks are to Allah. We praise Him, we seek His help and we seek His forgiveness. We take refuge in Allah from the evils of ourselves and from the sins of our actions. Whomever Allah guides, none can misguide. And whomever Allah misguides, none can guide. I testify that there is no one worthy of worship except Allah. 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:

Imam al-Bazzār narrated from Sayyidinā Anas ibn Mālik (radiy Llāhu ‘anhu) that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ gave a speech to his companions one day, while the sun was about to set, saying:

وَالَّذِي نَفْسِي بِيَدِهِ مَا بَقِيَ مِنَ الدُّنْيَا فِيمَا مَضَى مِنْهَا إِلَّا كَمَا بَقِيَ مِنْ يَوْمِكُمْ هذَا فِيمَا مَضَى مِنْه

"By He is whose Hand my soul is! Not much of this world is left compared to what has already passed of it, except as much as what is left in this day of yours compared to what has already passed of it."

O Slaves of Allah! This ḥadīth highlights to us a significant reality about the times we live in today: we are living very, very, very close to the Hour, i.e. to the day when the world will come to an end. Allah says:

فَهَلْ يَنْظُرُونَ إِلَّا السَّاعَةَ أَنْ تَأْتِيَهُمْ بَغْتَةً ۖ فَقَدْ جَاءَ أَشْرَاطُهَا ۚ فَأَنَّىٰ لَهُمْ إِذَا جَاءَتْهُمْ ذِكْرَاهُمْ

"Are they waiting for the Hour to come upon them suddenly? For no doubt, its signs have already come. But when it actually comes upon them, of what benefit to them will their remembrance be?" (Qur’ān 47:18)

In other words, the Hour will not just come about all of a sudden. The Prophet ﷺ has informed us of signs that will indicate for us that the Hour is indeed near. And in reality, many of these signs have either already taken place or are taking place right before our eyes. I'll give you some examples.

Among the signs of the Hour is that zinā (adultery and fornication) will be widespread. Among the signs of the Hour is that ribā (interest) will be widespread. Among the signs of the Hour is that the masājid (mosques) will be decorated. Among the signs of the Hour is that people will compete in the construction of tall buildings. Among the signs of the Hour is that the worst of the people will be their leaders. Among the signs of the Hour is that a time will come where a person will pass by a grave and wish that they were in the place of that grave's inhabitant. Now compare that all to today's world.

Among the signs of the Hour is that bloodshed and killing will spread. The ḥadīth mentions that this killing will be Muslims killing each other. Among the signs of the Hour is that time will pass quickly; time will just fly. Among the signs of the Hour is that people will say about a man, "How smart is he!" and, "How cool is he!" whilst that man they're praising won't even have an atom-weight's worth of īmān in his heart. Don't we see this today?

Those are just some of the signs of the Day of Judgement. Just a few. But reflect on these few signs, and then reflect on the world you live in, and then allow yourself to let the reality sink in.

Dear brothers and sisters! These were just some of the minor signs of the Day of Judgement. The major signs are yet to appear, but know that when they do, it'll be a huge trial and tribulation (fitnah) for everyone. Your īmān during these times will be severely tested. It will be during these times that the greatest fitnah in the history of humanity will take place: the fitnah of al-Dajjāl (The False Messiah). A man who will call upon the desert to bring forth its treasures, upon which the treasures will come out and gather before him like a swarm of bees. A man who will call upon the skies to rain, upon which it shall rain, a rain that causes the earth to grow its crops. He will claim to be god and bring about extraordinary and supernatural events to occur, to which many of the people will believe his claim, although those firm in faith will recognise that he only brings about these occurrences through the Will of Allah, and that he is nothing but the one-eyed liar prophesied by the Prophet ﷺ, for Allah is not one-eyed – indeed, Allah is not composed of any organs or parts. Those who follow al-Dajjāl will enjoy lives of luxury and great comfort, whereas those who do not will suffer with barely a comfort to enjoy. Things are not gonna be easy for the believer. This will perhaps be the most difficult time in history for the people of Lā ilāha illā Allāh.

Dear Muslims, wake up! We are currently witnessing many of the signs of the Hour right before our eyes, as we've just heard earlier. And at a soon point in time, the greatest fitnah ever from the time of Prophet Adam until the Hour will take place. A fitnah so great that every Prophet warned about it. A fitnah so great that Prophet Muhammad ﷺ taught us to seek refuge in Allah from it in our ṣalāh. So wake up and arm yourselves with the īmān and taqwā that will in shā’ Allāh get you through these trials and tribulations.

Khutbah: Good Character is Good Da‘wah

Indeed, all praises and thanks are to Allah. We praise Him, we seek His help and and we seek His forgiveness. We take refuge in Allah from the evils of ourselves and from the sins of our actions. Whomever Allah guides, none can misguide. And whomever Allah misguides, none can guide. I testify that there is no one worthy of worship except Allah. And I testify that Muḥammad is His slave and messenger. May blessings and peace be upon him, and upon his family and companions.

First and foremost, I advise you to fear Allah and remain conscious of Him. For know that a day is coming where you will be held accountable for all the actions you do during this worldly life.

Now then: the Prophet ﷺ said:

 مَا شَيْءٌ أَثْقَلُ فِي مِيزَانِ الْمُؤْمِنِ يَوْمَ الْقِيَامَةِ مِنْ خُلُقٍ حَسَنٍ

"Nothing is heavier on the believer's scale on the Day of Resurrection than good character." (Narrated by al-Tirmidhī)

And he, our Beloved, ﷺ also said:

 إِنَّ مِنْ أَحَبِّكُمْ إِلَىَّ وَأَقْرَبِكُمْ مِنِّي مَجْلِسًا يَوْمَ الْقِيَامَةِ أَحَاسِنَكُمْ أَخْلاَقًا

"Indeed, the person most beloved and closest to me on the Day of Resurrection will be the one who had the best of character amongst you." (Narrated by al-Tirmidhī)

O slaves of Allah! Ponder upon these statements of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ. Akhlāq (good character) is a central part of Islam. One of the aspects about akhlāq is it's value as a da‘wah tool. The character of a Muslim can serve as a powerful form of da‘wah (inviting people to Islam).

Good character makes good da‘wah, especially today. With a non-Muslim, if you're rude, foul-mouthed, disrespectful, harsh and showing attitude with them, what do you think the impression of this non-Muslim will be on Islam? Chances are you'll be confirming what they see and hear from the media everyday about "Izlam and "Mozlems". There's nothing more embarrassing than seeing a Muslim being rude, harsh and foul-mouthed towards a non-Muslim. Whereas if you interact with them in a nice fashion, speaking gently, being respectful and polite, they will see our dīn in a more positive light. They will become attracted to our religion. The Messenger ﷺ won over many people due to his lofty character. Even his enemies who rejected his message still recognised him as a man of the greatest character, a man of truthfulness, honesty and trustworthiness, to the point where they would entrust him with their precious belongings for safekeeping, even though they were fiercely opposed to his message. All this due to his character. So realise that good character is good da‘wah.

This can apply to Muslims too. If you go to a Muslim who's not so religious and speak to him in a harsh way (e.g. You hopeless person, Allah is going to punish you, you're going to hell), do you think he'll accept what you're saying? What do you think he'll think about "the religious Muslims" who go to the masjid and attend religious gatherings? He'll wanna keep his distance from them because they're all rude, harsh people. You'll scare him from the masjid, from religious gatherings, and perhaps from the religion itself. Whereas if you deal with him in a nice manner, with a smiling face and a warm heart, what effect do you think this will have on his heart? He will be touched by your character. And so as a result, he will incline towards the religion. So when dealing with your fellow Muslims, do so with the utmost character. If you're supposed to deal with non-Muslims, who do not believe in Allah's message, with exemplary character, then how about your fellow brothers and sisters in faith? Especially with Muslims who aren't as in touch with the religion. Don't be like the growling thunder that goes on scaring away the people. Be like the gentle rain, for it's the rain that grows flowers, not the thunder. It was not by harsh words and a growling voice, but rather by kind dealings and gentle words that the Prophet ﷺ made the harshest of people into the softest- and purest-hearted of them.

So remember dear brothers and sisters: your character can serve as a powerful presentation of the religion. You, by the fact that you're a Muslim, are an ambassador of Islam, so ensure that you portray your religion via your conduct in a positive manner, especially in our times. Be a kind, polite, respectful, nice person. Don't be harsh, rude, foul-mouthed and having attitude. The last thing we want is people being turned away from the religion of Allah because of the horrible way we behave. I end with a narration where the Messenger of Allah ﷺ was asked about that for which people are admitted into Paradise the most, to which he said: "Taqwā and good character." (Narrated by al-Tirmidhī)