Invest your gifts in justice and service
Muslims should invest their time, abilities, wealth, and influence in serving Allah and advancing justice, compassion, and communal welfare rather than pursuing harmful worldly norms.
The khutbah in 6 steps
- Questions society’s standards of purpose, value, and success.
- Defines human purpose as freely aligning with Allah’s will and benefiting others.
- Explains Sharia as grounded in wisdom, truth, justice, compassion, and welfare.
- Critiques profit-driven capitalism for normalizing social and environmental harm.
- Uses examples of diet and danger to show why apparent preferences can conflict with true benefit.
- Calls believers to invest in the Hereafter through patience, knowledge, service, truth, and justice.
In the khateeb's words
“And the neoliberal capitalist society, its defining purpose is to make money.”
“And so it's about investing ourselves. To learn what is in our best interest. To learn what is in the best interest of our neighbors.”
“Alleviate suffering and pain. Speak truth. Stand for justice. Commit yourselves fully.”
For the dinner table
Imam John reminds us that our purpose is to serve Allah by choice and use what we have to care for others. He encourages us to look beyond what everyone considers normal and think about whether our actions bring benefit or harm. Through his own experience of changing his eating habits, he explains that something difficult at first can become something we appreciate. He describes faith and good deeds as a long-term investment with Allah, whose reward reaches beyond this life. As Ramadan ends, we can keep growing through prayer, generosity, patience, speaking truth, and easing someone else's suffering.
- What is one way you could use something you are good at to help someone this week?
- What good habit felt hard when you started but became easier with practice?
- Which Ramadan habit would you like our family to keep, and how could we help each other?
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