Character & conductFrom the masjid's own video, Sep 14, 2013.
Guard your tongue from lies and gossip
“A careful believer should make certain of the news and their sources before conveying them to others.”
In one sentence
Believers must guard their tongues from lying, backbiting, and tale-bearing because speech affects both salvation and communal harmony.
The khutbah in 7 steps
- Calls believers to fear Allah and control their tongues.
- Explains how lies, curses, vulgarity, mockery, and rumors spiritually and socially harm people.
- Urges verifying reports, avoiding irrelevant matters, and speaking good or remaining silent.
- Defines backbiting and commands listeners to defend Muslims’ honor.
- Distinguishes truthful backbiting from false accusation and recommends sincere advice instead.
- Explains tale-bearing as spreading statements to create hatred and warns of punishment.
- Concludes with prayers for Muslims worldwide and the congregational prayer.
Try this week
Speak only what is good, and remain silent when there is nothing beneficial to say.
Verify news and its sources before passing it on.
Avoid spreading information that does not concern you.
Stop backbiting and tale-bearing, and defend the honor of absent Muslims.
Advise people about their faults rather than slandering them.
Sources the khateeb cited
Surah 50Supports accountability for every spoken word, which is recorded.
Sahih al-BukhariThe punishment of the habitual liar illustrates the consequences of spreading falsehood.
Surah 49Condemns suspicion, spying, and backbiting through the image of eating a dead brother’s flesh.
Surah 33Commands believers to fear Allah and speak words that are upright.
Quotes
In the khateeb's words
“falsehood leads to al-fujur al-fujur leads to the hellfire and a man may keep on telling lies until he is written before Allah a liar and that is a great loss.”
“a careful believer should make certain of the news and their sources before conveying them to others”
“Your duty when you hear other backbite someone Is to forbid that backbiter and to defend the honors of the Muslims”
“Once a person finds a fault in someone he should advise him and guide him to eliminate such fault rather than slandering him”
Talk about it at home
For the dinner table
This khutbah reminds us that our words are a trust from Allah. Lies, rumors, backbiting, and tale-bearing can hurt people, damage relationships, and harm our standing with Allah. We should check information before sharing it, avoid conversations that do not concern us, and speak good words or remain silent. When someone has a real fault, we should advise them kindly instead of criticizing them behind their back. Protecting one another’s honor helps build a stronger Muslim community.
- What can you say when friends start talking about someone who is not there?
- How can we check whether a story is true before sharing it?
- What kind sentence could replace an insult or curse?
Keep listening
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