Remember death to reject arrogance
“Arrogance has no benefits and humility can give you everything.”
Because human beings are weak, temporary, and dependent on Allah, they should resist arrogance by remembering their origin, mortality, and the Day of Resurrection, and by practicing humility.
The khutbah in 5 steps
- Introduces a hadith about three people denied Allah's attention, including a lying ruler and an arrogant poor person.
- Explains arrogance through a mountain-climbing analogy and begins the main admonition with taqwa.
- Reminds listeners of human weakness, humble origin, death, burial, and decomposition.
- Presents ways to avoid arrogance: recognize blessings from Allah, remember bodily reality, and reflect on funeral rites.
- Contrasts the destinies of arrogant and humble people in the Hereafter and urges humility.
In the khateeb's words
“Whatever might be your position, you should know that it is from Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. It is His blessing. You don't have to show arrogance for that.”
“Last but not the least, you have to remember all the time, the day of resurrection, because those who are arrogant and those who are humble, their future and their homes are different on the day of resurrections.”
“Arrogance has no benefits and humility can give you everything.”
For the dinner table
Today's khutbah was about the danger of arrogance and the beauty of being humble. The khateeb shared a hadith saying that on the Day of Judgement, Allah will not speak to some people, and one of them is a person who is poor but still acts arrogant. He reminded us that every human being starts out weak, is born with nothing, and will one day be wrapped in a simple shroud and laid in the grave. So no matter how good-looking, famous or rich we become, all of it is a gift from Allah, and we should never use it to show off. To stay humble, he advised us to remember where we came from, to attend funerals and think about our own end, and to remember the Day of Judgement, when the arrogant and the humble will end up in very different places. As he said at the end, arrogance brings no benefit, but humility can give us everything.
- Can you think of a time someone acted like they were better than others? How did it make people feel?
- What is one blessing Allah gave you that you could thank Him for this week instead of showing it off?
- The khateeb said an arrogant person is like someone climbing a mountain who thinks everyone below looks tiny. What do you think the people at the bottom see when they look up at him?
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