Make the masjid your first priority
“As a Muslim, as a believer, when I come to the masjid, I need to put in my mind the adab, the manners and the etiquette of the masjid.”
Because the masjid is the house of Allah and the first priority of Muslim life, as the Prophet showed by building Quba and the Prophet's Mosque before anything else, believers must attend it constantly and observe its full etiquette (cleanliness, quiet, no commerce, supervised children) to earn its complete reward in this world and the next.
The khutbah in 8 steps
- The Prophet built Masjid Quba first and bought land for a masjid in Medina before building his own house, the masjid must be a Muslim's top priority
- Rewards of attending the masjid: testimony of iman, Allah's mercy in the dunya, and complete light on the Day of Judgment for those who walk to it in darkness
- Rebuke of the sad reality that we spend hours in malls and markets but cannot sit half an hour in the masjid
- Masajid must be built on taqwa and necessity, not rivalry and boardroom disputes, the warning of Masjid al-Dirar built by the hypocrites
- Adab 1: keeping the masjid clean is everyone's responsibility, do not bring car garbage or leave diapers; take garbage out instead
- Adab 2: no buying, selling, or announcing lost items in the masjid, with the prescribed duas against violators
- Adab 3: do not raise voices, even in Quran recitation, the hadith of Abu Sa'id al-Khudri during the Prophet's i'tikaf
- Adab 4: discipline and supervise young children in the masjid; closing dua for the ummah, Palestine, and Gaza
In the khateeb's words
“If you saw a man coming to the masjid oftenly. We witness that that person is a believer. A mu'min.”
“As a Muslim, as a believer, when I come to the masjid, I need to put in my mind the adab, the manners and the etiquette of the masjid.”
“You are coming to the masjid, you need to go out from the masjid with the complete reward that Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala and the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam mentions.”
“Keeping the masjid clean and good smelling is the responsibility of all of us.”
For the dinner table
This khutbah was all about the masjid, the house of Allah, and how we should treat it. The sheikh reminded us that when the Prophet migrated, the very first thing he built was a masjid, before even his own house, so the masjid must come first in our lives too. He described the beautiful rewards of going to the masjid, like walking with complete light on the Day of Judgment. Then he taught the manners of the masjid: keep it clean, keep your voice low even when reading Quran, don't buy, sell, or make announcements there, and watch your children. He ended by praying for the ummah and for the people of Palestine and Gaza.
- If the masjid is Allah's house, what are some ways we treat it like the most special place in town?
- The sheikh said we can sit five hours at the mall but not thirty minutes in the masjid, why do you think that is?
- What is one thing you could personally do this week to help keep our masjid clean and welcoming?
The masjid
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