Wealth can turn pride into disbelief
“If somebody is ridiculing, you have to stand up and make your point in a very polite way, but in a very firm way as well.”
Using the believing companion's response in the story of the owner of two gardens (Surah al-Kahf), the khutbah teaches that Muslims must recognize and counter the heart-diseases wealth breeds, culminating in kufr, by prioritizing tawheed over ego, declaring faith with pride, and relying on Allah rather than on worldly means.
The khutbah in 8 steps
- Recap: the five heart diseases of the garden owner, arrogance, boasting, delusion of permanence, entitlement, and finally kufr
- Why the story omits names, places, and times: the characters are archetypes, and wealth is broader than money
- The believer friend addresses the gravest issue (denial of resurrection) first, ignoring personal insults, ego aside, tawheed first
- Parallel from Bukhari: Abu Sufyan at Uhud, the Prophet's silence about himself but response when Hubal was exalted; defense of the Sahaba's honor
- Application: respond politely but firmly when religion is mocked; intervene first on a child's prayer before grades
- The believer's reminder of humble origins (dust, nutfah) to cure arrogance, and his humble self-reduction in declaring faith
- Take pride in your faith and Muslim name; avoid minor shirk (shirk al-asbab), relying on means, 401ks, lucky bracelets instead of Allah
- Close: dua for Gaza, Sudan, and Muslims; series continues in future khutbas
In the khateeb's words
“Basically started believing that the blessing will never perish, started feeling a sense of entitlement and eventually he got to the kufr, the disbelief, when he doubted that there will ever be a day of resurrection.”
“And if somebody is ridiculing, you have to stand up and make your point in a very polite way, but in a very firm way as well.”
“If Allah has made your parents give you the name of the best human being who ever walked on this earth,”
“Basically relying on the dunya al-asbab, relying on the dunya al-asbab, relying on the means and forgetting al-musabib, forgetting Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala.”
For the dinner table
This Jumu'ah we continued the story of the owner of the two gardens from Surah Al-Kahf, focusing on his believing friend's wise response. The rich man fell into five diseases of the heart, arrogance, boasting, thinking his blessings would never end, feeling entitled, and finally denying the Day of Judgment. His friend didn't react to the personal insults at all; he went straight to the most dangerous problem, the denial of Allah, teaching us to put deen before ego whenever we advise someone. The khateeb reminded us, like the Prophet and the Sahaba at Uhud, to stay calm about personal slights but to speak up politely and firmly when Allah and His religion are mocked. He also urged us to remember our humble beginnings, to advise others starting with ourselves, and to carry our faith, even our Muslim names, with pride. Everything we have, from our sleep to our savings, only works because Allah allows it, so our trust belongs in Him, not in the means.
- If a friend at school made fun of Islam, what do you think you'd say, and what would you say if they made fun of you instead?
- The rich man thought his gardens would last forever, what's a blessing in your life right now that you might be taking for granted?
- Would you ever shorten or change your name to fit in? Why or why not?
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