Let faith guide your emotions
“Ask yourself, does the benefit outweigh the harm or is it the other way around?”
Believers should discipline rather than suppress their emotions, bringing their feelings and intellect under Allah’s and His Messenger’s guidance through patience, reflection, remembrance, and dua.
The khutbah in 5 steps
- Explains that emotions are natural, but losing control of them causes anger, envy, immorality, despair, and broken relationships.
- Uses examples from Nuh, Ibrahim, Musa’s mother, the Prophet at Ta’if, and the death of Ibrahim to show faith governing emotion.
- Argues that both intellect and emotion must submit to revelation rather than personal preference.
- Applies this principle to family obedience, legal boundaries, and impartial justice.
- Offers three practices: trust Allah’s guidance, pause to assess pleasure and consequences, and make dua for steadfastness.
In the khateeb's words
“The believer is not the one who is controlled by his emotions But rather he is the one who is in command Who is in control of his feelings and his emotions”
“The eyes shed tears The heart It grieves But we will not say With our tongues Except that which is Pleasing to Allah”
“ask yourself does the benefit outweigh the harm or is it the other way around”
For the dinner table
We all experience anger, sadness, love, fear, and hope, and having these feelings is not itself sinful. The khutbah teaches that faith helps us guide emotions instead of letting them control our words and actions. The Prophet’s patience at Ta’if and his honest grief over his son show that self-control does not mean becoming emotionless. When feelings conflict with Allah’s guidance, we should pause, consider consequences, and choose obedience. We can also ask Allah to make our hearts firm and help our emotions follow what pleases Him.
- What can you do before speaking when anger starts to control you?
- How can someone show sadness without losing hope in Allah?
- Which of the khutbah’s three steps would help you with a difficult feeling this week?
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