Reject bad omens and trust Allah
“Do you think your life depends on dreams?”
Sound beliefs (aqaid) matter more than the quantity of deeds, so Muslims must reject superstition and bad omens, each person creates their own 'luck' through their mindset and actions, and should instead adopt the Prophet's optimism (fa'l) and trust in Allah.
The khutbah in 8 steps
- Opening premise: entry to Jannah depends on sound aqaid (beliefs), not merely deeds
- Debunking bad luck/good luck and omens (ta'ir) via Surah Al-Isra 17:13, your fortune is tied to your own neck
- Critique of misused istikhara and dream-dependence, including a TV 'istikhara' program anecdote
- The hadith 'la adwa wa la tiyara', no superstitious contagion, no bad omens; plague exception in Bukhari
- Gratitude: if Allah treated us as we deserve (Surah An-Nahl / Surah Fatir), nothing would remain alive
- Fa'l, prophetic optimism; the Prophet never took omens and buried six of seven children yet stayed positive, weeping at Ibrahim's death without negativity
- Current context: hatred and the Utah stabbing; respond with best character as ambassadors of Islam
- Closing duas against bad omens and for reliance on Allah, followed by standard khutbah dua and salah
In the khateeb's words
“the criteria to pass, the criteria to succeed is not your deeds. Why? Because your deeds”
“Your aqaid fine and you do less. You do minimum. You are much safer than a person whose aqaid,”
“Hundred percent depends on me, on myself. As we say, my life at stake,”
“do you think your life depends on dreams?”
For the dinner table
The khateeb taught that what gets us into Jannah is not just the number of our deeds but the soundness of our beliefs, because wrong concepts spoil even lots of worship. He said Islam does not believe in good luck or bad luck, not in black cats, room 13, or spilled milk, because Allah tells us in Surah Al-Isra that each person carries their own record, so we are the ones who create our own outcomes through our mindset and deeds. He reminded us that istikhara is not about waiting for dreams but about handing the matter to Allah and then moving forward with confidence. He showed us the Prophet (peace be upon him), who buried six of his seven children and wept at his son Ibrahim's death, yet stayed the most optimistic person, never speaking badly even in hardship. And he said that even when Muslims face hatred, like a brother recently stabbed in Utah, we must answer with the best character, because that is how we represent the Prophet and draw people to Islam.
- The khateeb said humans are the leaders of all creation, so why would the leader be scared of a black cat? What 'bad luck' ideas have you heard, and what should we say instead?
- If istikhara means trusting Allah and then going ahead, what's one decision in your life you could make with confidence instead of waiting for a 'sign'?
- The Prophet stayed positive even when sad things happened. What's one positive thing you could say the next time something goes wrong for you?
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