How to Listen to the Jumu'ah Khutbah for Spiritual Growth

How to Listen to the Jumu'ah Khutbah for Spiritual Growth

Before I can start today's khutbah, I just want to make a few du'as. First of all, please remember our brothers and sisters and our kids in Gaza, in Palestine, in Lebanon. May Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala give them the status of shuhada and help them all. Ameen Ya Rabb. And also, please make du'a for our brothers and sisters in the Muslim community here in America. May Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala protect us all from the external evils and internal evils. Ameen Ya Rabb.

Introduction: Learning How to Listen

Almost 12 years back, when I was a PhD student, someone gave me a book and a few resources about how to read a book. That really helped me because as a PhD student, as a researcher, you have to navigate so many books. That really helped me to understand how to analyze different books and the methodology of different books. So I realize, actually, that in today's khutbah, let us understand how to listen to a khutbah.

Because we listen to so many khutbahs, so many talks. On average, almost 52 khutbahs we listen to every year — 52 khutbahs. Times 10, almost 520 khutbahs in 10 years we are supposed to listen to. It means if we pay attention to every khutbah, we can learn so many things. And when a khateeb is good — mashAllah, this masjid has great speakers and imam, mashAllah — it's easy to pay attention. But when a khateeb is like me, an ill-prepared khateeb, then it's nap time for the audience.

How do we make sure that we are making our listening productive? So whether a khutbah is of good quality, or an ill-prepared khateeb comes, you are still taking benefit and getting something for your spirituality. So that once you are leaving the masjid, you still get something.

And it is so important, subhanAllah. You might see in your interactions with different people — the person sitting right next to you, he or she might be crying, in the same khutbah, while you don't even know what the topic is. Why is there a different attitude among listeners? Because we listen — same speaker, same speech — but we listen from a different perspective. So let us understand how to listen to the Jumu'ah khutbah attentively and effectively, so that inshAllah we can have productive listening habits. We live in an information overload time where we have so much information but we comprehend less.

In almost all the masajid, especially for the last few years I have been in Dallas, I see every masjid, inshAllah, has public speaking workshops — and they should have those khateeb workshops. But now we have many speakers in our community but few listeners. So now we need a listening workshop also. Whatever advice I am going to give you, drawn from Ibn al-Qayyim, Imam al-Ghazali, and other scholars — it is just five or six points depending on the time. I am going to restrict myself to the Jumu'ah khutbah and to the halaqat in the masjid. But please do not restrict this to the Jumu'ah khutbah once you leave the masjid. In your work, in your family, in your school — try to apply these listening skills even at your work, even in your family. Because most of our conflicts actually come from not listening properly. We need our parents and our kids and our spouse and our community members to listen. No one is asking you to compromise on your values — but just listen to the other person. See the perspective of where he or she is coming from. No one is asking you to compromise on principles. But that will lead to a better community development.

The Quranic Foundation: The Importance of Listening

There are dozens of ayahs about this, but I am just sharing one about the importance of listening. Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala says in Surah al-Anfal, Ayah 24:

Listen to this — how important is listening. Allah says: Had Allah known any good in them, He would have made them good listeners. SubhanAllah.

There is a simple explanation of this ayah. If we are not listening, if we are not good listeners, if we are not getting the straightforward message coming from the minbar — Quran, Hadith — there is a sign, there is a symptom, that there might not be any khair, any goodness, in our heart. May Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala protect us all. Ameen.

The Connection Between the Ears and the Heart

In Islam, we believe our ears and our spiritual heart are connected — just like our eyes and our spiritual heart are connected. What do you think? If I were going to see inappropriate things on a cell phone, would that impact my spirituality? Absolutely. Similarly, if you were going to listen to inappropriate things — trash, filth, garbage — that is going to impact your spiritual heart also. And it works the other way around as well. If my heart is filled with trash and garbage, then eventually, even a good speaker, a good speech, a good recitation won't make an immediate impact, because your heart is filled with trash. And that is why, with no surprises, in multiple places in the Quran, when Allah talks about the misguided person, Allah connects the sealing of the heart and the sealing of the ears. SubhanAllah. Allah says in multiple places in the Quran that these were misguided people — Allah has sealed their hearts and Allah has sealed their ears. May Allah protect us all. Ameen, Ya Rabb.

Whenever we are listening to anything, the words go from our ear, and before they reach our heart, we have many filters based on our environment. The biggest filter we have is our ego filter. You will hear something, and before you process that information in your spiritual heart, it will be filtered through your ego filter. So if you are listening to everything from an egocentric perspective, most likely you won't be able to get any spiritual benefit. May Allah make us all humble. Ameen, Ya Rabb.

Point One: Be a Humble Listener

Point number one: become humble when you are listening to the Jumu'ah khutbah. When you are listening to any Friday night halaqah, any conferences, anything — become a humble listener. If the Imam comes and says, "Today I am going to give you Tafsir of Surah al-Fatihah," and you think, "I already know the Tafsir of Surah al-Fatihah — ten years ago I attended a Sunday school class, I read the English translation, so I know it." That is not humbleness. I am sorry to say — that is arrogance. There is so much to learn in just Surah al-Fatihah alone. Imam al-Razi wrote 150 pages of Tafsir only on Surah al-Fatihah. So much to learn.

That entire idea — "How can this jahil, ignorant person teach me?" — relax, habibi. Become humble. This is too arrogant.

There are so many examples. I will just tell you my own example. Three or four years ago, after ten years of imamate, I took a sabbatical and went to Medina, and I finished Sahih al-Bukhari with my Sheikh, Sheikh Ahmad ibn Hafiz al-Shanqiti, hafizahullah. When we were finishing Sahih al-Bukhari and we reached the hadith of Bawl al-A'rabi — the hadith where a Bedouin man came and urinated in the masjid, and the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam corrected him in the most polite and beautiful way — we all know this hadith. I had given at least four khutbahs on it in New Jersey when I was imam there. I had memorized this hadith.

When we reached this hadith, my heart was telling me that I should tell the Sheikh, "Don't waste time giving the explanation — I already know the hadith. I gave so many khutbahs on it in America." But out of respect for the Sheikh, I said nothing. Yet my heart was saying, "We should move on. The Sheikh should not take that much time." After we finished reading the hadith, the Sheikh said, "This hadith has more than one hundred benefits." And I thought the Sheikh was speaking metaphorically. Uqsimu billah — for the next three hours, we were writing and writing and writing the benefits of that hadith, until we reached 110 benefits of the same hadith. And I have those notes on my WhatsApp, in Arabic, if you want them after the khutbah.

You know what I realized? That voice coming from inside me — that was my arrogance. That was my small Iblis, telling me "I know this." And alhamdulillah, I had someone who could correct me and crush my ego. Many times, when we listen to the Friday khutbah, we have this ego filter — we think we already know something. There are so many new shades of meaning yet to come out. Just listen. Be humble. Don't evaluate prematurely what the other person is trying to say. Be a humble listener. And I ask Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala to make us all humble. Ameen, Ya Rabb.

Point Two: Worship Allah, Not the Speaker

The second point for being an effective listener at the Friday khutbah: we worship Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala — agreed? We do not worship a speaker or a scholar. This is a very important point. I agree that when a good speaker comes, when a good sheikh comes, it is easy to feel connected to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. And when an ill-prepared khateeb like me comes, it is easy to have nap time. But that is a test from Allah — you now have an ill-prepared khateeb. Will you worship Allah, or are you here for some other reason?

We are in the masjid to worship Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. These speakers, these mashayikh, these volunteers — they are only a means to connect to that goal: to worship Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. Our problem is that our means have become our goal, and we have no goal. Even when the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam passed away, the Jumu'ah institution continued. And think — where are we, and where is the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam? Imam al-Ghazali and Imam al-Harawi mentioned that usually the masses pay attention only when a good speaker comes. But if you want to speed up your spiritual growth, if you want to join the elite ranks of spirituality, then you should not be concerned about who is delivering the message of Allah. Rather, you should connect yourself directly to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala.

One of the other harms of "worshipping" a sheikh or a speaker is that — God forbid — that khateeb, speaker, or Imam leaves. Because no one is here forever. Then your entire deen will collapse. Scholars will come and go. Imams will enter and leave. Male or female speakers will rise, and they may fall. Our dedication, our sincerity, our loyalty should be towards Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala alone.

Point Three: Judge Yourself, Not the Khutbah

The third point: we should not judge the khutbah — we should judge ourselves. Yes, if there is a mistake, give the feedback to the khateeb. If he makes a blunder, give the feedback to the shura, so that harm does not spread. It is your responsibility to do that. But that is an exceptional situation. By default, when you come to the masjid and listen to the speaker — whoever the khateeb is — listen. We are living in such an egocentric culture, my brothers and sisters. We are judging everything, everyone, every speech, except ourselves. How are you going to become a better person if you are wearing these skeptical lenses every 24 hours? May Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala give us all the ability to understand this and to take benefit from it. Ameen, Ya Rabb.

Point Four: Avoid Preconceived Notions and Partisanship

Whenever you are listening to a khutbah or to a halaqah — how to listen in an effective way — avoid preconceived notions. It is like some of us listen to speeches the way a Republican would watch CNN, or a liberal would watch Fox News. They will always have a critical mindset. Groupism and partisanship is an intellectual disability. I am repeating: groupism and partisanship is an intellectual disability — whether that groupism is because of different religious schools of thought, because of gender antagonism, or because of different political flavors. Groupism is an intellectual disability. And so is partisanship.

We are part of one ummah. Whenever we are here, we should not put people into different compartments, because eventually it will create antagonism in the community. It will not bring solidarity. You will not be able to take benefit.

Closing Example: Abu Bakr and Abu Jahl

I will finish with this example. Prophet Muhammad sallallahu alayhi wa sallam is the best speaker — yes or no? He is delivering the Quran — the best book — yes or no? So you have the best speaker, the best presenter, the best book, the best speech. But Abu Bakr al-Siddiq radiallahu anhu had a response:

His iman increases every time. And Abu Jahl and Abu Lahab — listening to the same speaker, the same speech — but their response is radically different. The question is: why the same speaker, the same speech, but two different responses? Because of the listener's attitude. I want you to become Abu Bakr radiallahu anhu when you are listening.

May Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala give us all the ability. But if your heart is filled with prejudice, even a good khateeb will not be able to penetrate your heart. I ask Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala to give us all humbleness. Ameen, Ya Rabb.

Special Du'a Requests

Please make a special du'a for the entire ummah. One of the sisters in our community — her grandfather requested a du'a on her behalf. She recently had a car accident, and after multiple surgeries, she lost her legs. The grandfather and the family made a special request for du'a. Please make a special du'a that may Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala grant her ease and grant ease to the entire family. Ameen, Ya Rabb.

Closing Du'a

Aqoolu qawli haza, wa astaghfirullaha li walakum.