Keep striving and seek forgiveness
“My past is something I need forgiveness for, my present is something I need to focus and work hard in, and my future is up to Allah.”
After Ramadan, believers should stop judging themselves by praise, titles, or past failures and instead keep acting faithfully in whatever circumstances Allah gives them, repeatedly seeking forgiveness and trying to leave sin.
The khutbah in 6 steps
- Fatima recounts Khalid ibn al-Walid's victory at Damascus and the leadership transition from Abu Bakr to Umar.
- Khalid accepts removal as general and serves obediently under Abu Ubaidah, showing that status does not define devotion.
- The speaker applies this lesson to continuing effort after Ramadan instead of relying on praise or self-labels.
- Abu Mihjan's repeated struggle with alcohol culminates in his temporary release to fight and his return to imprisonment.
- Abu Mihjan's eventual renunciation of alcohol illustrates persistence, repentance, and hope for divine assistance.
- The khutbah closes by urging forgiveness for the past, effort in the present, and trust in Allah for the future.
In the khateeb's words
“the accolades and the titles and the praise that people put around him didn't mean a thing to him”
“good, bad, ugly we don't need to give it a term it was my Ramadan now i am who i am”
“he knew it was a sin and he couldn't give it up but he kept trying and then one day Allah just gave him a way out”
“my past is something I need forgiveness for my present is something I need to focus and work hard in and my future is up to Allah”
For the dinner table
After Ramadan, we should not measure ourselves only by how spiritual we felt or how others praised us. The story of Khalid ibn al-Walid teaches that a believer serves Allah faithfully whether leading or following. The story of Abu Mihjan teaches that falling into a sin does not mean we should stop trying; Allah can open a path when we keep returning to Him. We should seek forgiveness for the past, work sincerely in the present, and leave the future to Allah.
- What responsibility can you keep doing faithfully even when nobody praises you?
- What is one good habit you want to keep trying after Ramadan?
- What can we ask Allah to help us change?
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