1:36 the main character of…5:19 without having the…
Character & conductFrom the masjid's own video, Aug 8, 2025.

Haya shapes every part of Muslim life

Al-Masjid Islamic Center · Mansour Mahmoud

“The main character of al-Islam is this quality of al-hayaa or peacefulness, modesty, shyness.”

The khateeb, at 1:36

Watch the khutbahFamily kit
In one sentence

Haya, understood as modesty and God-conscious self-restraint, is Islam’s foundational character expressed through clothing, conduct, speech, desires, and worship.

The khutbah in 6 steps

  1. Defines haya as Islam’s foundational character and connects it to social etiquette in Surah al-Nur.
  2. Uses Musa’s marriage story to present modesty as a mutual quality for men and women.
  3. Warns that immodesty and nudity serve Shaytan’s strategy of reducing people to bodily desire.
  4. Applies haya to private undress, bathing, public bathrooms, and covering the awrah.
  5. Expands true modesty to guarding sight, thoughts, speech, appetite, sexuality, knowledge, and lawful income.
  6. Concludes with outward clothing and the better inner garment of taqwa, followed by prayers for Muslims and oppressed communities.
Try this week
Lower your gaze and seek permission before entering other people’s homes or private spaces.
Maintain modest dress and cover the awrah during bathing, in public bathrooms, and when alone; say Bismillah before removing clothes.
Guard what you see, hear, think, and say, and avoid speaking about religious matters without knowledge or certainty.
Control eating and sexual desire, seek halal income and food, and remember death and the Hereafter.
Cultivate taqwa by remaining conscious and mindful of Allah in private and public.
Sources the khateeb cited
Surah 24Used to connect haya with lowering the gaze, seeking permission, privacy, and communal etiquette.
Quotes

In the khateeb's words

“the main character of al-islam is this quality of al-hayaa or peacefulness, modesty, shyness this is the main character of al-islam”
Al-Masjid Islamic Center · Greenville, NC
Play from 1:36
“without having the Haya in our life we are dead people we are dead”
Al-Masjid Islamic Center · Greenville, NC
Play from 5:19
Talk about it at home

For the dinner table

The khutbah teaches that haya, often translated as modesty, is a foundational character of Islam. It includes how we dress, but also how we look, speak, think, eat, earn, and remember Allah and the Hereafter. The speaker urges both men and women to protect their dignity, cover themselves appropriately, and avoid speaking about religion without knowledge. He presents outward clothing and inner taqwa as two garments that honor us as human beings. We can practice this by lowering our gaze, choosing halal nourishment, speaking carefully, and keeping Allah in mind.

  1. When is it hard to lower your gaze or speak carefully, and what could help?
  2. What does taqwa look like in one choice you make this week?
  3. How can our family show haya in the way we treat other people’s privacy?
Where it was given

The masjid

Al-Masjid Islamic Center Greenville1303 South Evans Street, Greenville, NC 27834KhateebMansour MahmoudMore khutbahsArchiveAll khutbahs at Al-Masjid Islamic Center40 khutbahs
Keep listening

More on Character & conduct

All on this topic
The strong is the one who controls himself while in anger.10:16Masjid Al-Noor · Waterloo, IA · Oct 31, 2026Control anger before it causes harmPeer pressure is an issue that is just as applicable to adults as it is to children.5:08The Rayyan Center · Plymouth, MI · Oct 31, 2026Adults must choose their influencesLowering your gaze is cleaner to your heart and fulfilling the amanah that Allah gave you.1:03:23Rahma Center · Lake Forest, CA · Oct 30, 2026Every trust from Allah must be honored