Wake up before time runs out
“A spiritually awake person realizes how little time they have.”
Spiritual heedlessness makes us overlook Allah’s blessings, life’s purpose, and our limited time, so we must slow down, reflect, and live intentionally for Allah.
The khutbah in 6 steps
- Introduces ghafla as hidden heedlessness: feeling life is fine while losing sight of purpose and the ending.
- Uses spiritual sleep and death or near-death experiences to show how awareness can awaken.
- Defines al-yaqadah, spiritual wakefulness, as getting up and acting rather than merely realizing.
- Presents three signs of wakefulness: recognizing blessings, feeling remorse for shortcomings, and urgency about limited time.
- Prescribes slowing down to reflect on blessings, readiness to meet Allah, and remaining life.
- Applies the lesson to lifespan and smartphone screen-time calculations, urging intentional use of time.
In the khateeb's words
“That's ghafla. Is everything feels right. You're not thinking about the ending. You're just going through it. Until the passing of time reveals to you that you're not where you're meant to be.”
“The objective, however, is to get up. To get up, to focus, and to get something done. That is what al-yaqadah is all about.”
“A spiritually awake person realizes how little time they have.”
“I'm saying we have to face the numbers. Are you ready to take, out of 7 days in a week, 2 whole days? And give it to your screen time?”
For the dinner table
The khateeb spoke about ghafla, or heedlessness: going through life feeling aware while missing what matters most. He compared it to spiritual sleep and reminded us that waking up means taking action, not just noticing something is wrong. He described three qualities of someone spiritually awake: noticing Allah's blessings, recognizing where we have fallen short in our duties to Him, and understanding that our time is limited. His story about traffic showed how an inconvenience can also remind us of a blessing, such as being safe from an accident. He encouraged us to slow down, reflect on our relationship with Allah, and look honestly at our phone use so we can make better use of the time we have.
- What is one blessing you usually forget to thank Allah for?
- When could we put our phones away together and make time for reflection?
- What is one good action you want to make time for this week?
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