8:30 A believer asks, will…11:54 He preferred hardship…13:44 The person who says no…19:57 Sometimes the delay is…
Repentance & taqwaFrom the masjid's own video, Aug 8, 2026.

Choose Allah over temptation and hardship

Community Mosque · Mahmoud

“The person who says no to sin is not losing.”

The khateeb, at 13:44

Watch the khutbahFamily kit
In one sentence

Believers should resist temptation and endure hardship with taqwa, patience, and trust that Allah can transform apparent loss into eventual good.

The khutbah in 5 steps

  1. Introduces taqwa and frames life as a test through Yusuf's temptation.
  2. Shows Yusuf choosing Allah and purity over secret desire and immediate pleasure.
  3. Warns believers to avoid the pathways that lead toward adultery.
  4. Explains how Yusuf's imprisonment and hardship became a path to leadership and honor.
  5. Calls for patience in hardship, gratitude in blessing, and trust in Allah's wisdom.
Try this week
Before acting on a temptation, ask whether Allah would be pleased with the choice.
Protect the eyes, ears, tongue, hands, feet, and heart from pathways toward sin.
Avoid forbidden looks, private meetings, secret messages, inappropriate conversations, and emotional relationships outside marriage.
Respond to financial difficulty, illness, loneliness, or injustice with patience rather than sacrificing the hereafter for temporary pleasure.
Practice gratitude when receiving blessings and patience when facing hardship.
Sources the khateeb cited
Quran 3:102Used to command taqwa and steadfast Muslim identity.
Quran 12:23Used to show Yusuf refusing seduction and seeking Allah's protection.
Quran 79:40-41Used to connect resisting desire with Paradise.
Quran 17:32Used to warn against approaching adultery and its pathways.
Sahih MuslimUsed to explain the eyes, ears, tongue, hands, feet, and heart having a share of zina.
Sahih MuslimUsed to teach that gratitude in blessing and patience in hardship are both good for the believer.
Quran 2:216Used to explain that disliked events may contain good and beloved things may be harmful.
Quran 65:2-3Used to promise a way out and unexpected provision for the mindful.
Quran 39:10Used to emphasize that the patient receive reward without measure.
Quotes

In the khateeb's words

“A believer asks, will Allah be pleased with me if I do this? A believer does not live alone for the moment.”
Community Mosque · Winston-Salem, NC
Play from 8:30
“He preferred hardship over sin. He preferred chain on his hand over chain on his soul. He preferred physical imprisonment over imprisonment by desire.”
Community Mosque · Winston-Salem, NC
Play from 11:54
“The person who says no to sin is not losing. He is winning the greatest victory.”
Community Mosque · Winston-Salem, NC
Play from 13:44
“Sometimes the delay is preparing you for something better. Sometimes the hardship is developing you.”
Community Mosque · Winston-Salem, NC
Play from 19:57
Talk about it at home

For the dinner table

Allah tests us, and the story of Prophet Yusuf shows how faith helps us choose obedience when temptation is strong. Yusuf did not treat secrecy or youth as permission to sin; he sought Allah's protection and accepted hardship rather than lose his honor. The khutbah warns us to avoid small steps toward adultery, including forbidden looks, private meetings, secret messages, and inappropriate relationships. When life brings financial stress, illness, loneliness, or injustice, we should be patient and trust Allah's wisdom. When blessings arrive, we should respond with gratitude, remembering that both gratitude and patience can be good for a believer.

  1. What is one boundary that can help protect us from temptation?
  2. How can we stay patient when something we want is delayed?
  3. What blessing can we thank Allah for today?
Where it was given

The masjid

Community Mosque of Winston Salem1419 Waughtown Street, Winston-Salem, NC 27107Jumu'ah Adhan 1:30 PM · Khutbah 1:45 PMArchiveAll khutbahs at Community Mosque37 khutbahs
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