GratitudeFrom the masjid's own video, Oct 3, 2026.

A good life grows from humble gratitude

“The first thing that you do is that you express gratitude for what you have.”

The khateeb, at 30:10

In one sentence

A truly good life comes from humble surrender to Allah, righteous conduct, gratitude for present blessings, contentment, and responsible care for health and relationships, not status, wealth, or competition.

The khutbah in 5 steps

  1. Frames surrender to Allah as freedom from human domination and warns against arrogance about human knowledge.
  2. Explains righteousness as refusing harm, recognizing one's provision and abilities, and improving family and community life.
  3. Contrasts the Quranic good life with consumerism, social-media comparison, envy, and status-seeking.
  4. Teaches gratitude and contentment through a deliberate inventory of blessings and the Prophet's example.
  5. Calls listeners to invest in health, pray for ill community members, and repair strained relationships through forgiveness and prayer.
Try this week
Check in with fellow community members and remind one another about life's purpose.
Give children consistent love and avoid harming others through words or actions.
Sit down and inventory every blessing in your life, including relationships, abilities, health, time, and experiences.
When asking Allah for more, increase gratitude rather than immediately chasing the next desire.
Invest in health while healthy by paying attention to food, water, and the environment.
Pray for sick community members and work toward repairing damaged family relationships through forgiveness and prayer.
Sources the khateeb cited
Surah 16Used to support Allah's promise of a good life for believing people who do righteous deeds.
Quotes

In the khateeb's words

“the righteousness is that we learn to harm no one starting with ourselves”
Quba Institute · Philadelphia, PA
Play from 21:47
“the first thing that you do is that you express gratitude for what you have”
Quba Institute · Philadelphia, PA
Play from 30:10
“you invest in your health because your health is the most important thing that you have”
Quba Institute · Philadelphia, PA
Play from 43:59
Talk about it at home

For the dinner table

The khutbah says that a good life is not measured by money, status, or showing off, but by surrendering to Allah and living righteously. Righteousness means avoiding harm, including harm we do to ourselves, and using our gifts to help our families and others. We are encouraged to practice gratitude by noticing every blessing, then to ask Allah for more with even more gratitude. The speaker also urges us to care for our health while we have it, pray for sick community members, and seek healing in damaged relationships through forgiveness and prayer.

  1. What is one blessing you might overlook during a normal day?
  2. How can you use one ability or resource to make life better for someone else this week?
  3. What does taking care of your health look like in our family?