Build community through faith and fair speech
“You don't scorn people; you don't backbite people; you don't spy on people; you don't call one another names; you don't insult one another.”
A healthy Muslim community is built by placing Allah and His Messenger above personal opinion, verifying reports, reconciling conflicts fairly, guarding speech, and uniting across human differences through taqwa and sincere iman.
The khutbah in 5 steps
- Place Allah, His Messenger, and the Sunnah above personal opinions.
- Verify reports and reconcile disputes among believers with justice.
- Avoid mockery, insults, suspicion, spying, and backbiting.
- Reject superiority based on color, race, origin, or language; honor taqwa.
- Recognize iman and Islam as gifts from Allah and remain sincere and grateful.
In the khateeb's words
“This is the introduction To how you build a community You start by Putting Allah and the messenger in front of everything else Putting Allah and the messenger in front of every other opinion”
“So realizing That your Iman That your Islam Is a ni'ma from Allah Azza wa Jal Is a bounty from Allah Azza wa Jal And you cherish that bounty”
“Whenever something comes to you You clarify You don't scorn people You don't backbite people You don't spy on people You don't call one another names You don't insult one another”
For the dinner table
Today’s khutbah taught us that strong Muslim communities begin by putting Allah and His Messenger ahead of our own opinions. We were reminded to verify news, make peace fairly, and avoid mockery, insults, suspicion, spying, and backbiting. Our differences in color, race, language, and background are meant to help us know one another, while real honor comes from taqwa. The speaker also reminded us that faith is a gift from Allah, so we should be humble, grateful, and sincere.
- What is one way we can check a story before passing it along?
- How can we make someone feel respected when they are different from us?
- What does it mean to treat our faith as a gift from Allah?
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