Rely on Allah, not worldly power
“Never rely blindly on material wealth or worldly power.”
All of creation, birds, stones, shadows, insects, already worships Allah and serves as His unseen soldiers, so Muslims, who alone worship by free choice, must rely on Allah's power rather than material strength and must not neglect the prescribed acts of worship they know are required.
The khutbah in 7 steps
- Opening: every created thing exalts and worships Allah, though we do not understand their praise; humans join this worship by free will
- Even shadows prostrate to Allah as they lengthen and shorten; the stone in Mecca that greeted the Prophet before prophethood shows creation is not inanimate
- Everything is a soldier of Allah; none knows His armies except Him, and He deploys the weakest things to crush tyrants
- Examples: frogs, locusts, lice and flood against Pharaoh; birds with stones of hard clay against Abraha's elephant army; sound against Thamud; flood against Noah's people; a spider protecting the Prophet in the cave
- Allah sustains all creation without rest, Ayat al-Kursi and the hadith that Allah does not sleep and His veil is light
- Conclusion: never rely on wealth, medicine, or worldly power, rely on Allah; do not be a Muslim who skips the five prayers and fasts; seek forgiveness for imperfect worship
- Closing dua for oppressed brothers and sisters across the globe, asking Allah to send His unseen soldiers to aid them
In the khateeb's words
“and there is not a thing except that exalts Allah and praises but you do not understand meaning us that we don't understand”
“Allah does not need massive machinery to bring tyrants to their knees He'll turn the smallest the weakest the most fragile of His creation into a lethal unstoppable military force”
“never rely blindly on material wealth or worldly power never rely strictly on whatever medication the doctor gave never rely strictly on the strength of yourself”
For the dinner table
Today's khutbah reminded us that everything Allah created is already worshiping Him, the birds stretching their wings, the thunder, even our shadows moving across the ground, and that we are the ones with the free will to choose whether to join in. The khateeb told us the Prophet once knew a stone in Mecca that would greet him with salaams, showing that nothing in creation is truly lifeless. He explained that all of creation belongs to Allah's army: frogs and locusts humbled Pharaoh, tiny birds carrying stones defeated an army of elephants, and a little spider's web protected the Prophet in the cave. This teaches us never to put our trust in money, power, or our own strength, because Allah sustains every living thing without ever tiring or sleeping. And since we know how to worship while the birds and stones worship without that gift, we should never neglect our prayers, Allah forgives our imperfection, but He asks us to put our best imperfect foot forward.
- If even your shadow is worshiping Allah without you noticing, what's one way you could join in on purpose today?
- Allah used frogs against Pharaoh and little birds against an army of elephants, what 'small' thing in your life might be more powerful than it looks?
- The khateeb said we can't just be 'I'll come to Jumu'ah on Friday' Muslims, what's one habit that would make your week feel more Muslim?
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