Character & conductFrom the masjid's own video, Aug 8, 2026.
Control your tongue to protect others
In one sentence
Backbiting and careless speech harm relationships, erase spiritual rewards, and can lead to punishment, so Muslims must control their tongues and protect others’ honor.
The khutbah in 6 steps
- Defines backbiting and explains its damage to faith, relationships, and the afterlife.
- Traces how negative assumptions can lead to spying, gossip, and compounded sins.
- Explains how Shaitan makes ordinary speech sins feel harmless and easy.
- Uses the muflis and tongue-accountability teachings to illustrate the consequences of speech.
- Connects verbal harm with hurtful nicknames, parking misconduct, severed family ties, and lasting wounds.
- Urges listeners to think before speaking, use their tongues for good, and protect their chastity.
Try this week
Avoid negative assumptions about others.
Do not spy through other people’s text messages, while maintaining appropriate responsibility for children.
Think twice before speaking and ask whether your words benefit or harm others.
Avoid backbiting, insults, slander, lies, false testimony, and hurtful nicknames.
Use the tongue for khair and avoid small harms such as double-parking.
Sources the khateeb cited
Sahih MuslimIt defines true belief partly through protecting others from verbal and physical harm.
Quotes
In the khateeb's words
“It takes a toll and a hit upon our relationship. It destroys relationships.”
“But wallahi it is such a deed. That it completely makes us bankrupt on the day of judgment.”
“The only thing that will enter them to hellfire is nothing except what their tongues have harvested.”
Talk about it at home
For the dinner table
The khutbah reminds us that backbiting means speaking about someone behind their back in a way they would dislike. It can hurt our faith, empty our good deeds, and damage relationships among families and communities. Negative assumptions can lead to spying and spreading rumors, so we should be careful and respect appropriate boundaries. Our words can either bring us closer to Jannah or lead us toward harm, so we should pause and think before speaking. Allah can help us control our tongues and use them for kindness and good.
- What is one kind thing you can say about someone when friends begin speaking negatively about them?
- How can you pause before repeating something you heard about another person?
- What words make people feel respected and safe in our family?
Keep listening
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