Guard your speech and thank Allah
“When you speak, you make sure you say the right thing.”
Guarding one’s speech, avoiding blame-filled counterfactuals, and attributing blessings and outcomes to Allah with gratitude are essential to righteous living and ultimate success.
The khutbah in 6 steps
- Explains the Quranic command to practice taqwa and speak rightly so deeds are reformed and sins forgiven.
- Connects righteous speech and parental piety to children’s future through orphan-related passages and Surah Al-Kahf.
- Uses hadith about guarding the tongue and private parts to emphasize speech’s consequences.
- Warns against speaking about Allah without knowledge and against Qarun-like claims of self-made success.
- Applies the principle to wealth, death, grief, and saying “if,” which the speaker says opens the door for Shaytan.
- Concludes by urging gratitude, contentment, and attribution of all goodness and destiny to Allah.
In the khateeb's words
“When you speak, you make sure you say the right thing, the proper thing, the equitable thing, the thing that is acceptable to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala.”
“So that tells you that your piety will reflect on your children in this life, let alone the Akhira.”
“But the bottom line is that we be careful of what we say and we attribute goodness to Allah Subh'ana wa ta'ala.”
For the dinner table
The khutbah teaches that our words are part of our worship and can shape our deeds, relationships, and future. We should speak truthfully and carefully, especially when discussing Allah, blessings, loss, or other people. The stories of the orphans and Qarun remind us that righteousness benefits children, while arrogance can make us forget the true source of our provision. When something painful happens, we should avoid endless “if” statements and trust Allah’s wisdom. The practical lesson is to guard our tongues, say Alhamdulillah, and live with gratitude and contentment.
- What is one sentence you could change this week to make it more truthful or kind?
- How can we practice saying Alhamdulillah during both easy and difficult moments?
- What does it mean to trust Allah without blaming someone with “if”?
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