Pride destroys the heart and humility heals
“If a person is proud of the hard work, keep it to yourself.”
The khutbah teaches that self-admiration, pride, and judging others spiritually destroy a person, and urges humility through dependence on Allah, self-reflection, and sincere dua.
The khutbah in 5 steps
- Defines spiritual diseases, especially ujub, as more serious than physical illness.
- Explains taqwa as cautiously protecting oneself from disobedience and avoiding self-judgment of others.
- Identifies signs of self-conceit, including boasting, looking down on people, and refusing correction.
- Uses the hadith of three destructive qualities and the story of Qarun to show the consequences of pride.
- Offers remedies: remember dependence on Allah, reflect on personal faults, recognize others' strengths, and make sincere dua.
In the khateeb's words
“If it's not going to have any benefit for me in this world or in the hereafter, then I will not do that action.”
“The reason why I'm sharing it, it is so that we can first and foremost work on ourselves.”
“But there's no need to be arrogant regarding it. And if a person is proud of the hard work, keep it to yourself. There's no need to tell others.”
For the dinner table
This Friday, Imam Akmal Sakhi talked about a sickness of the heart called ujub. It means being amazed with yourself and thinking you are better than everyone else. He said that if we get sick in our bodies we hurry to get better, and sicknesses of the heart are even more serious, so we should treat them quickly too. Allah tells us in the Quran not to call ourselves pure, because only Allah knows who truly has taqwa. Taqwa is like walking carefully on a path full of thorns, thinking before we speak or act. The Imam reminded us that Qarun lost all his treasure because he said he earned it himself instead of thanking Allah. The cure is to remember that we need Allah for everything, to notice our own mistakes and the good in other people, and to ask Allah for help through dua.
- If taqwa is like walking carefully on a path full of thorns, what is one 'thorn' you tried to avoid this week?
- Can you think of something good about a friend or classmate that they're better at than you?
- What's the difference between sharing good news and showing off?
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