Character & conductFrom the masjid's own video, Jul 16, 2026.

Soft hearts receive the Quran's guidance

“Hasn't the time come for the people of Iman that their hearts become soft and tranquil with the Quran?”

The khateeb, at 8:03

In one sentence

At the start of the new Hijri year, the time has come for believers to soften and submit their hearts to the Quran, the Sunnah, and the remembrance of Allah instead of following the outward form of religion while their hearts remain hard.

The khutbah in 7 steps

  1. Opening on the new Hijri year and the virtue of fasting in Muharram
  2. Scene from Surah al-Hadeed: believers cross the Sirat with divine light while hypocrites are barred behind a wall
  3. The call of Surah al-Hadeed 57:16, time for believers' hearts to soften to Allah's remembrance and the truth
  4. Critique of treating Islam as mere rules; the Sahabah's reverence for the Prophet as the fruit of soft hearts
  5. Seerah of Taif: Addas the Christian's heart softens when the Prophet says Bismillah and reveals knowledge of Yunus
  6. Hadith of the three hearts/earths from Sahih al-Bukhari and Sahih Muslim: only soft earth absorbs the rain of guidance
  7. Close: make dua for suffering Muslims in Gaza, Sudan, and elsewhere, and for the sick and deceased
Try this week
Make a concrete resolution for the new Islamic year to soften your heart
Let the Quran and remembrance of Allah soften and tranquilize your heart rather than letting it pass in one ear and out the other
Accept Allah's commands and the Sunnah with a soft heart instead of dismissing them as merely optional
Reflect deeply on even a single verse of Quran, as the Prophet did with the verse from Surah al-Ma'idah
Make dua for suffering Muslims in Gaza, Sudan, and elsewhere, and for the sick and deceased
Sources the khateeb cited
Surah 57used to paint the Day of Judgment scene of believers with light crossing the Sirat and hypocrites being denied, then to launch the central call that hearts must soften to Allah's remembrance and the truth
Sahih al-Bukharihadith comparing guidance and knowledge to abundant rain falling on three types of earth, used to illustrate receptive, partly receptive, and hardened hearts
Quotes

In the khateeb's words

“what kind of resolutions are you making for this new Islamic year what's going to change in your life”
SNMC · Nepean, ON
Play from 1:22
“hasn't the time come for the people of Iman that their hearts become soft and tranquil with the Quran with the remembrance of Allah Ta'ala Azzawajal”
SNMC · Nepean, ON
Play from 8:03
“there's nothing better than this man and what he is saying he has told me something that nobody could know except a messenger of Allah”
SNMC · Nepean, ON
Play from 21:56
“the first type absorbs everything you hear from Quran and Hadith don't let it come into one ear and out the other”
SNMC · Nepean, ON
Play from 24:52
Talk about it at home

For the dinner table

The khutbah encouraged us to begin the Islamic year by making sincere resolutions, especially the resolution to soften our hearts through the remembrance of Allah, the Qur'an, and the Sunnah. We were reminded to visualize the Hereafter and to avoid becoming like people whose hearts hardened because too much time passed without reflection. The story of the Prophet's visit to Ta'if and the conversion of Addas showed how a heart can respond immediately to truth and respect. The Prophet also compared guidance and knowledge to abundant rain, reminding us to absorb what we learn and share its benefit. We should end by making dua for Muslims who are suffering, sick, or grieving.

  1. What is one small Islamic resolution you would like to try this year?
  2. What helps your heart feel soft and peaceful?
  3. How can our family put one lesson from the Qur'an or Sunnah into practice this week?