Choose friends who strengthen your faith
“By being in this person's company we'd want to come to the masjid more, we'd want to pray more, we'd find our iman going up.”
The people we keep close can either strengthen our remembrance of Allah or pull us toward heedlessness, so we should choose righteous companions and strive to be good, uplifting company ourselves.
The khutbah in 7 steps
- Introduces the prophetic comparison between righteous and harmful companions.
- Explains how friends can influence prayer, fasting, and religious commitment.
- Uses Surah al-Furqan to portray regret for choosing a friend who led someone away from remembrance.
- Shares a wealthy coworker’s loneliness to challenge worldly definitions of success.
- Connects spiritual emptiness with Surah Ta-Ha’s warning about turning away from Allah’s remembrance.
- Calls listeners to examine their friendships and become positive examples for others and their children.
- Reinforces the warning through Surah al-Saffat before closing with supplication and prayer.
In the khateeb's words
“just by being in this person's company we'd want to come to the masjid more we'd want to pray more we'd find our iman going up”
“what good is me having nice things having money having wealth there's no one around me it's just me I'm almost 50 years old and it's just me”
“ask ourselves do I want my children to grow up to be like me? do people like me? do people want to be around me?”
For the dinner table
The khateeb taught that our friends strongly shape our habits, faith, and direction in life. Good companions encourage prayer, Quran, fasting, and other good actions, while harmful companions can slowly pull us away from Allah. He also shared the story of a wealthy man who felt deeply lonely, reminding us that money and possessions cannot replace meaningful relationships or spiritual peace. We should choose our close companions carefully and ask whether we are also a positive influence on others. The goal is to help one another become righteous and reach Jannah.
- Which friend or family member helps you become a better person, and how?
- What makes someone feel successful beyond money or possessions?
- What is one way you can be better company for someone this week?
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