Joe Bradford - 11-21-25

Allah is whom we praise, we praise Him and we thank Him. And we seek refuge in Him from the evil of our own souls and the evil of our actions. Whomsoever He guides, none can misguide Him.

And whomsoever He leads astray, none can guide to the truth. And I bear witness that there is no one worthy of worship but God Almighty alone. And that Muhammad, peace and blessings be upon him, is His slave and messenger.

O you who believe, be mindful of Allah as He should be minded and do not die except as Muslims. O mankind, be mindful of your Lord who created you from one soul, and from that soul created its mate, and from those two spread many men and many women. And be mindful of those you ask your rights from and the wombs that bore you.

For indeed, Allah is ever watchful over you. O you who believe, be mindful of Allah and speak the truth. He will guide you to righteous deeds and forgive you of your sins.

And whomsoever obeys Allah and His messenger has achieved the greatest achievement. The best of speech is Allah's speech. And the best of guidance is Muhammad's guidance, صلى الله عليه وسلم.

And the worst of affairs are those newly introduced into faith. And everything newly introduced into faith is an innovation and every innovation goes astray. And everything which goes astray leads to the hellfire.

The Clear Path: Halal, Haram, and the Heart

It is reported in the sahih from the hadith of Ibn Umar Ibn Bashir رضي الله عنهما. That the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم said:

(Sahih al-Bukhari, Hadith 52; Sahih Muslim, Hadith 1599)

The lawful is clear and the unlawful is clear. And between them are matters of suspicion that many people do not know about. So whoever fears suspicions, he has been justified in his religion and in his display. And whosoever falls into suspicions falls into the unlawful. Like the shepherd who watches over the sheep, he is afraid that he may fall into it. And indeed, for every king is a sanctuary. And indeed, the sanctuary of Allah are his prohibitions. Indeed, in the body is a morsel. If it is good the whole body is good, and if it is corrupted the whole body is corrupted. Indeed, it is the heart.

Haram is clear and halal is clear. And between the two, the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم said, are ambiguous matters that many people don't know of. So whoever protects himself from those ambiguous matters, then he has protected his faith and his honor. And whoever falls into those doubtful and ambiguous matters, falls into the haram. Like a shepherd who takes his sheep next to the sanctuary of a king, almost trespassing over the property line.

Indeed, every king has a sanctuary. And the sanctuary of Allah are those things that he has forbidden. Is there not a morsel of flesh in the body? When it is whole, the entire body is wholesome. And when it is corrupt, then the entire body is corrupt. Is it not the heart?

The Changing Heart

The heart is the king of our organs. But the heart also, as the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم informed us, changes with time and circumstance and context that it finds itself in.

He صلى الله عليه وسلم used to make dua and say:

O turner of the hearts, make my heart firm upon your deen. O turner of the hearts, make my heart firm upon your obedience.

It is narrated in Kitab al-Zuhd from Abu Darda. That Abdullah ibn Rawaha رضي الله عنه, used to come to him sometimes and take him by the hand. And he used to say:

Abdullah ibn Rawaha used to come and take Abu Darda by the hand. And he used to say, Abu Darda, come, let us sit, let us believe, let us have faith for just a moment. Let us have faith for just a moment because our hearts change quicker and harder than a pot when it's boiling at its highest point.

Let us believe for a moment that the promise of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala is true. Let us have faith that what Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala tells us and what He has promised us will come to pass.

It is He who sends down tranquility upon the hearts of the believers so they may increase in faith on top of their faith.

So each and every one of us has a baseline of iman. With it we enter Islam. But our iman goes up and down depending upon our righteousness and our sinfulness, our closeness to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala and our farthness from Him.

Finding Peace in Difficulty

And you might be saying to yourself, but things are difficult. I don't find myself at peace with myself in order for me to increase in iman. Let us believe for a moment that the words of the Prophet ﷺ are true. He ﷺ said:

There's not a heart from the hearts of man or a heart from the hearts of the believers except that it has clouds like the clouds around the full moon.

So just as you feel emotionally overwhelmed, just as you feel far from Allah, just as you feel that you can't go on, just as you feel lonely and depressed and sad and despondent and angry and any other emotion, all of those emotions are simply clouds. Clouds that are surrounding your heart. And as you look into the night sky and you see the clouds around the moon, and then you see the clouds dissipate and disappear, the clouds around your heart will also disappear.

Let us believe for a moment the words of the Prophet ﷺ are true. The Prophet ﷺ said:

Indeed, your iman will wear out, like your thobe wears out. Ask Allah to renew your iman.

Every year, sales at department stores, where am I going to get the best buys? Why? We're trying to buy new clothes. We're trying to dress our children for the school year. We're trying to buy something for the fall, for the winter, for the spring, for the summer. We have that much importance to our outward appearance, let's give the same importance to your inner appearance.

The Prophet ﷺ said:

(Sahih Muslim, Hadith 2564)

Allah does not look at your shapes and your appearances, but instead He looks at your hearts, and He looks at your actions.

You will not be judged because you were from a certain country, or from a certain background, or spoke a certain language, or had a certain dialect. You won't be judged by that, you'll be judged by what? The iman in your heart, and the iman in action that grew from the iman in your heart.

Renewing Your Faith

How do you then protect the iman in your heart, and allow it to continue to grow? فَاسْأَلُوا اللَّهَ أَنْ يُجَدِّدَ إِيمَانَكُمْ Ask Allah to renew your faith for you.

Only those with knowledge will fear Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala. Only those, those who truly fear Allah, are those who possess knowledge.

Your fear of Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala is directly proportionate to your knowledge of Him. And your heedlessness is directly proportionate to your ignorance of Him.

The Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم was the most fearful of Allah, the most knowledgeable of Allah, and the most dedicated in righteousness to Allah, and yet, he used to seek forgiveness and repent in a day more than a hundred times. He used to stand at night in prayer until his feet would be swollen. He used to fast the days even when they were difficult. He used to give charity even when he had very little.

When Aisha رضي الله عنها asked him about his swelling feet and his standing in long prayer, he صلى الله عليه وسلم said to her:

Should I not be a grateful servant?

Let us have faith in a moment that the example of the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم is the one that we should follow.

True Knowledge Brings Modesty Before Allah

If you leave and you commit sins behind closed doors, thinking that Allah does not see you, that Allah does not hear you, know with certainty that you truly don't know Allah. Because your knowledge of Him determines your shyness, modesty, and shame in front of Him.

The Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم was once sitting with his companions, and they were asking him questions, random questions as one does. Ya Rasulullah, can I stay at home and walk around my house with no clothes on? The Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم said:

Allah has more right that you be shy from Him.

When you realize that Allah is seeing you and hears you and knows everything about you, then you develop a sense of subjugation, a sense of servitude, a sense of عبودية, of being a slave to Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala.

In that are signs for those who fear the punishment of the next life.

Ask yourself, believe with me for just a moment, that the promise of Allah is true. Believe with me for just a moment, that Allah is all-powerful, all-knowing, all-wise and all-loving. He gives you what you need in order to have the best in this life and the next, and yet you decide to go the opposite way. Allah asks you, فَأَيْنَ تَذْهَبُونَ So where are you going?

Second Khutbah

All praise is due to Allah alone and may he send his peace and blessings upon our beloved Prophet, his family and his companions and all those who follow them in righteousness until the day of judgment. Ameen.

The Reality of Death

Death comes to us suddenly. Let us believe for a moment. Let's have faith for a moment that Allah's promise is true.

Every soul shall taste death. And then you will return to him.

Don't delay. Take every opportunity that you have to show gratitude to Allah. To hasten and repent to Allah. To do the best with the time that you have.

And the only time that you have is right now. We should not worry about what passed. We should learn the lessons of it. We should not fret about the future because we can't control it. The only thing that we can do is do the best in the moment that we have. Do the best with the here and now.

Allah's Infinite Mercy

Say to them, O my servants who have transgressed against themselves in sin, do not despair from the mercy of Allah. Indeed, Allah forgives all sins. Indeed, it is He who is all-forgiving, all-merciful.

As long as you believe in Allah's oneness and you come to Him on the Day of Judgment with that, not sullying yourself with turning your heart to anyone other than Him, Allah will forgive your sins.

Allah does not forgive that you admit any partners in worship with Him, but He forgives anything less than that for whomever He wills.

In the Hadith Qudsi, Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala told the Prophet ﷺ that Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala says:

(Jami` at-Tirmidhi, Hadith 3540)

O child of Adam, as long as you call upon Me and hope in Me, I will forgive you of your sins for whatever you have done, and I don't care. O son of Adam, if your sins were to reach as high as the sky, and then you were to seek My forgiveness, I would forgive you, and I would not care. O son of Adam, if you would come to Me with the world full of mistakes, the entire earth of mistakes, but you did so not admitting any partners in your worship of Me, then I would bring you the like thereof, of forgiveness.

Let us have faith for a moment, before it's too late.

Final Du'a

O Allah, forgive us of our sins, and our transgressions and our affairs, and make our feet firm, يا رب العالمين. O Allah, make us people of forgiveness, make us people of repentance, O Allah, make us people who seek You and seek You alone, O Allah, allow our hearts to be purified, O Allah, allow our hearts to be solely for You, يا رب العالمين. O Allah, allow us to be from the people of Tawheed, O Allah, allow us from the people that declare Your oneness and Your oneness alone, O Allah, allow us to be from those who when they make mistakes, they turn back to You. O Allah, allow us to be from amongst those that when they sin, they return to You. O Allah, allow us to be from amongst those who are constantly repenting and constantly doing the best that they can.

Oh Allah, allow us to be from amongst those that do the best with what we've given in the moment that we have left. Oh Allah, allow us to be from amongst those who when they hear the good word, they follow the best of it. Oh Allah, give victory and help to our brothers and sisters and our families in Sudan. Oh Allah, they are hurting and they have been wronged. Oh Allah, quell the fires of war amongst them and give them safety and security.

Oh Allah, Allah commands justice and kindness and to give to those who are close to Him. And He forbids immorality and evil and transgression. He warns you so that you may remember. Remember Allah, the Exalted in Might, He remembers you. And be grateful to Him for His blessings that increase you. And remember Allah more. And Allah knows best what you do.

And remain in prayer.