2015 27 11 First Friday Khutbah
By Unknown Speaker | 2026-07-20T16:52:57.248522+00:00 | Topic: Trials
Opening — Khutbah al-Hajah
إِنَّ الْحَمْدَ لِلَّهِ — We praise Him and ask for His help and guidance, and ask for His forgiveness. We seek refuge in Him from the evil of our souls and from the evil of our deeds. He whom Allah guides is the one who is guided, and whoever is misguided will not find a guide for him.
I bear witness that there is no god but Allah and no partner for Him. He sent the messengers as bearers of glad tidings and warners, so that there would not be for the people an argument against Allah after the messengers. And I bear witness that Muhammad is the servant of Allah and His messenger — the purest of His creation and His friend. He conveyed the message of his Lord, fulfilled the trust, and advised the nation. He left us upon a clear white path, its night like its day — only those who are of the misguided would depart from it.
As for what follows, O brothers and sisters in Allah: the best speech is the Book of Allah the Almighty, and the best guidance is the guidance of the Prophet Muhammad, may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him. Indeed, the worst of things are their innovations, and every innovation is an invention, and every invention is a misguidance, and every misguidance is in the Fire.
We ask Allah to make us of those who listen to the word of wisdom — the word of the Qur'an, the word of the Prophet — and follow it, practice it, elaborate on it, comprehend it, and teach it to others. That is what the companions of the Prophet did. That is what our beloved teachers, our mashaykh, did.
We ask Allah to forgive our parents, to forgive our teachers, our mashaykh, our family. We ask Allah to give victory to our brothers and sisters all over the world, to protect them, to protect their families, and to raise their families the way they would raise them as Muslims. We ask Allah to make us of those who enter Al-Jannah Al-Firdaws Al-A'la with the Prophet and his companions. We ask Allah to make us of those who follow the Sunnah and follow the Qur'an. Ameen.
The World Today — Disasters, Trials, and Tribulations
My dear brothers and sisters, if you look around you — locally or globally — subhanAllah, you see nothing except disasters: floods, earthquakes, tornadoes, storms killing people — innocent people. And if you look behind the killing, the reasons given for why they kill — you will find nothing. People go to prison for nothing. The only crime they commit is saying لَا إِلَهَ إِلَّا اللهُ مُحَمَّدٌ رَسُولُ اللهِ and trying to apply it according to the Sunnah of the Prophet and according to the Qur'an.
You see nothing but war in each and every corner of the world. In Palestine — and you will know the story behind it; those people have been suffering, tortured, getting killed, for a long time. The recent crisis — Syria — five years of struggling, getting killed, being dragged out of their houses, out of bought homes. Most of them right now are refugees. Look at Iraq, Pakistan, Bangladesh — subhanAllah, they kill people simply because they are Muslim. Basically, nothing else.
The scholars of Egypt — the best of the Egyptian people — where are they? In prisons, waiting for their end. You are in this country, and you see disasters. "Disasters" is actually the recent terminology for it. But in Islam, in Shari'ah, we have a different terminology. We have it as tests, as trials — fitna, bala'. That is what the Shari'ah tells us about these matters.
The Prophecies of the Prophet — Fourteen Hundred Years Ago
SubhanAllah, the Prophet, sallallahu alayhi wa sallam, fourteen hundred years ago explained to us that we would reach such an era, such a time. And I will elaborate through many ahadith. Yes, those ahadith have to do with the Day of Judgment. But what did the Prophet, sallallahu alayhi wa sallam, say?
The Prophet, sallallahu alayhi wa sallam, was sent to us as a messenger — and at the same time, Allah knows best when is the Day of Eruption, the Day of Judgment. It is coming — that is the saying of the Prophet, sallallahu alayhi wa sallam. One of his beautiful hadiths — it is a warning from the Prophet, sallallahu alayhi wa sallam — he said it clearly, fourteen hundred years ago: the remaining part of this dunya is nothing but shuruwr and dhikr — turmoil, disasters, tests, trials. That is all that is left from this dunya. Fourteen hundred years ago — and now we see it with our own eyes.
What does that tell you? It tells you that you are closer to the Day of Judgment. For two hundred years — that Day could be tomorrow, could be the next day, could be the next minute. Only Allah knows when it will be. Your job is just to prepare for it.
What Have You Prepared?
A companion came to the Prophet, sallallahu alayhi wa sallam, very curious — like all of us. The Sahabah were like us — human. We have the same thinking; we think like them. When they heard about the Day of Judgment, they wanted to prepare fast, and they wanted to prepare more. So he asked the Prophet, sallallahu alayhi wa sallam, "When? When will it be, O Prophet of Allah?" The Prophet's, sallallahu alayhi wa sallam, answer was: "What did you prepare for it?"
You are asking about it — let's say it is going to happen tomorrow. Ask yourself: are you ready? Are you able? Are you sure that you are going to stand before your Lord tomorrow? The next day? What did you do to make sure that you are that person?
We heard the Prophet, sallallahu alayhi wa sallam — he told us, he gave us a scene: the Prophets themselves, the closest ones to Allah, every one of them will say, "O Allah, please save me." The Prophet — including our Prophet Muhammad, sallallahu alayhi wa sallam — and we do not know. But we still have that fear.
SubhanAllah, we are different — we think that we are at a level higher than the level of the Prophets. We think that what we are doing is enough: just coming to the mosque, we don't care; just giving two pennies, we think we are ready. No, we are not.
SubhanAllah, the minute you will realize that is the minute that your life will change — if you are still alive. It is also the minute that you cannot come back if you have already passed from this life. But brothers and sisters, I am not saying this to scare you — you already know that. It is just a reminder, for you and I, to stay on track, to continue doing goodness.
Wishing for Death in the Time of Fitna
Another hadith of the Prophet, sallallahu alayhi wa sallam — he said: everyone hates death. Everyone — whether believer or unbeliever, whether scholar or prophet, everyone hates death. But the Prophet, sallallahu alayhi wa sallam, in one of his hadiths, speaking about this time of fitna, this time of trial, he said: at that time, you will love to die — it will be better than staying and struggling through a life in which you cannot make a decision for yourself, it is too difficult. The Prophet, sallallahu alayhi wa sallam, said: the mu'min, who dislikes death under normal circumstances, at the time of fitna will wish for it.
The Mercy Upon This Ummah and Its Punishment in the Dunya
The Prophet, sallallahu alayhi wa sallam, also further said — and all of these ahadith are correct ahadith, insha'Allah — that Allah has guaranteed rahmah for this ummah. We will not be punished on the Day of Judgment except those who deserve to be punished. Those people may enter the Hellfire — and Allah will choose from them, Allah will save them — but that is something else. In general, mercy will shower this ummah. Rahmah will accompany this ummah.
And the Prophet, sallallahu alayhi wa sallam, said: their punishment — three things — will occur in their dunya. Who likes earthquakes? None of us. The Prophet, sallallahu alayhi wa sallam, said: turmoil, pests, famine — and then killing. There was another hadith in which the Prophet, sallallahu alayhi wa sallam, spoke about this killing, and a companion said, "O Prophet of Allah, we once killed 70,000 mushrikeen." The Prophet said: "No, it is not about killing mushrikeen — it is you killing each other." That is the killing he is talking about.
Dear brothers and sisters, what you see around the world now — Muslims killing Muslims — subhanAllah, that is the nubuwwah, the prophecy, of the Prophet, sallallahu alayhi wa sallam.
Do Goodness Before the Time of Chaos
The Prophet, sallallahu alayhi wa sallam, asked us — and it is a very beautiful hadith that explains everything. He said: my advice to you is, if you can do goodness, give as much as you can. Pray as much as you can. Give as much as you can. Take care of others as much as you can. Follow the Sunnah like Abu Bakr al-Siddiq, like 'Umar — be upright, facing one another in doing goodness — before a time comes that cuts off the path. At that time, no one could hear you, no one could take heed, no one could understand.
And he gave us an example — and wallahi, we see that example happening before our very eyes. The brother you see in the masjid, he is praying, he is reading Qur'an. At the end of the day, at that time, you see him have a change of heart. He is completely deafened, he is not listening anymore. He believes in other things. You saw him at 'Isha' time praying with you — at Fajr time he is not here. He has changed his heart, changed his character, changed his belief.
All of us, we must see that. That is the time the Prophet, sallallahu alayhi wa sallam, was talking about — the time of Al-Qiyamah. And as I said in the beginning: Al-Qiyamah is very near, even nearer than what is below your feet. May Allah save us.
The Great Trials — Al-Masih al-Dajjal
The trials and tests — none of them are small. They are not huge or strong or difficult for you to understand and take care of if you pray, if you believe in Allah, if you believe in the Qur'an. You can solve and avoid the small trials. But there are big trials — ones that you would only wish you did not encounter.
And the Prophet, sallallahu alayhi wa sallam, gave us some advice. Imagine Al-Masih al-Dajjal — he will have Jannah in his right hand, half the earth under his control. He will say: "I could kill you and bring you back to life." Who can withstand that trial? Do not think you are strong enough to face it. That is why the Prophet, sallallahu alayhi wa sallam, always made du'a — asking Allah to protect him from the trials. And we should be doing the same.
Dear brothers and sisters, as I said, I am not discouraging anybody. This is part of our religion that we neglect, overlook, and bypass in every minute of our days. And the only time we remember is when we see someone pass away, when we pray janazah over someone we know. At that moment — but we are not listening now. "Now I can see, now I know" — no. Your time is up. You had many chances, many reminders, many warnings. May Allah accept from all of us and guide us to the straight path.
Make us of those who listen to the word of wisdom and apply it, elaborate on it, practice it, and teach it.
Aqoolu qawli hadha, astaghfirullah.
Second Part of the Khutbah — The Paris Incident and the Call for Fairness
Alhamdulillah. Peace and blessings upon the Prophet Muhammad, sallallahu alayhi wa sallam.
As I mentioned in the beginning — you look everywhere, and there is something that will grab your attention. And that something is the killing of Muslims in general, putting them in prison. Recently, we have the Paris incident. I am not a politician; I do not want to be one. This is just a reflection, just an advice. Take it — may Allah forgive all of us and accept it from us. If you do not take it, that is fine. Alhamdulillah, we live in a free country with free speech.
A Call for Fairness and Consistency
Dear brothers and sisters, when this incident happened, everyone followed the trend. Everyone on Facebook — especially my dear young brothers and sisters — changed their Facebook icon to the French flag. I have no problem with that; everyone is free to do what they think is right. But I just want you to be fair — that is all I am asking.
Dear brothers and sisters, when millions and thousands of people were killed in Syria, I did not see anybody changing their icon to the flag of Syria. I did not see it — and I am on Facebook. When the Israelis killed that innocent Palestinian girl because she was wearing hijab — we are living in a cold world — I did not see anyone changing their icon to the Palestinian flag.
And you know why I said that? It is unfortunate for us that non-believers recognized this imbalance in a way that we did not. When that incident happened, the highest towers were covered with French flags. But the Israelis — and yes, there are non-believers, Christians, Jews, yes, Arabs even — they put the Palestinian flag on the highest towers, just to oppose the wrong and the oppression that was happening.
Dear brothers and sisters, we are all good when we condemn the killing of people of other faiths. But when it comes to our own brothers and our own sisters, we zip up and say nothing, change nothing. As I said — I just want you to be fair. You can do whatever you want; that is your freedom. But if you exercise your freedom according to fairness and justice — that is the Muslim brotherhood.
Killing Innocent Souls — The Qur'an and the Prophet Are Clear
Dear brothers and sisters, we are all for love. Killing innocent souls — the Qur'an and the Prophet, sallallahu alayhi wa sallam, advised us and warned us against doing that. It does not matter what religion they bear, what they believe in.
He said: whoever kills one soul — and He did not mention in the Qur'an "a Christian soul" or "a Muslim soul" or "a Jewish soul" — one nafs, one soul, it is as if he destroyed the whole earth.
Dear brothers and sisters, the Prophet, sallallahu alayhi wa sallam, even further said: that if you kill someone who is under a covenant of protection, the Prophet himself will stand against you before Allah. Imagine — Habibullah, the Prophet, Prophet Muhammad, sallallahu alayhi wa sallam, will be on the side of that soul, against you, a Muslim.
Do Not Be a Follower Without Principle
Dear brothers and sisters, as I said in the beginning, I would just like you to be fair and not follow any trend. Just think about it. The Prophet, sallallahu alayhi wa sallam, said: do not be of those who say, "I am with the people — when they do good, I do good; when they do bad, I do bad." No. Alhamdulillah, the Muslim has his own foundation to make him firm — firm in his opinion, in his saying, in his acting.
We ask Allah to forgive all of us and grant all of us Al-Jannah with the Prophet, sallallahu alayhi wa sallam. We ask Allah to forgive our parents and our teachers. We ask Allah to give us the power and strength to educate and raise our family the way the Prophet, sallallahu alayhi wa sallam, raised his family. We ask Allah to make us of those who enter Al-Jannah with salam.