9:28 Extreme is very easy.…30:29 Balance Faith, my dear…34:24 Your Lord has a right…37:10 Tears without…
Character & conductFrom the masjid's own video, Mar 3, 2026.

A balanced life avoids indulgence and harshness

SALAM Arden, SALAM

“Being balanced, being moderate, being in the middle is very exhausting.”

The khateeb, at 9:28

Watch the khutbahFamily kit
In one sentence

Being an ummatan wasatan means living with disciplined balance in worship, worldly life, relationships, emotions, and ethics rather than falling into indulgence or harsh extremism.

The khutbah in 6 steps

  1. The khutbah introduces the Quranic idea of a balanced community that witnesses over humanity.
  2. It contrasts worshiping worldly desires with turning religion into cruelty and needless hardship.
  3. Prophetic examples show balance in comfort, worship, sleep, marriage, and following the Sunnah.
  4. Balance extends to commerce, debts, payroll, contracts, and fairness when angry or hurt.
  5. The khutbah applies balance to grief, love, hatred, bodily needs, and family responsibilities.
  6. It concludes with reminders about Jumu'ah attention and Ramadan volunteering, sponsorship, and cleanup.
Try this week
Use worldly blessings without allowing money, comfort, or desire to control the heart.
Balance worship with sleep, bodily needs, family responsibilities, and marriage.
Pay debts, employees, and contractors fully and honestly; do not take more than you give.
Practice fairness even when angry or hurt, and moderate both love and hatred.
Turn off or put away the phone during the Jumu'ah khutbah and avoid talking.
Consider volunteering for Ramadan, sponsoring an iftar, or helping clean the community center.
Sources the khateeb cited
Quran 2:143Used to define Muslims as a balanced community serving as witnesses over humanity.
Quran 45:23Used to warn against making personal desires one’s lord.
Quran 93:11Used to distinguish expressing gratitude for blessings from arrogant boasting.
Quran 83:1-3Used to apply the warning against giving less than one takes to all forms of dealing.
Quotes

In the khateeb's words

“Extreme is very easy. Going either extreme is very easy. But being balanced, being moderate, being in the middle is very exhausting.”
SALAM Arden · Sacramento, CA
Play from 9:28
“Balance Faith, my dear brothers and sisters. does not disappear if you're trading good for money and you end up taking more money for the amount of good you're giving the other person.”
SALAM Arden · Sacramento, CA
Play from 30:29
“Your Lord has a right over you. Your self has a right over you. And your family have rights over you.”
SALAM Arden · Sacramento, CA
Play from 34:24
“Tears without rebellion. Faith without denial. That is the Masatiyya that Allah intended for this community.”
SALAM Arden · Sacramento, CA
Play from 37:10
Talk about it at home

For the dinner table

The khutbah taught that Muslims are meant to be an ummatan wasatan, a community that lives between harmful extremes and can witness for justice. We should use the blessings of this world without letting money, comfort, or desire control our hearts, and we should not turn piety into needless harshness. Balance also means giving Allah, our bodies, our families, and other people their rights. It reaches our work and business: do not take fully while giving less, and be fair even when angry or hurt. At home and at Jumu'ah, we can practice this by caring for people, guarding our attention, and choosing gratitude, mercy, and honest action.

  1. Where can we practice balance instead of going to an extreme this week?
  2. How can we show gratitude for something Allah has given our family?
  3. What does it mean to give people their rights at home?
Where it was given

The masjids

SALAM Arden Center985 Enterprise Dr, Sacramento, CA 95825Jumu'ah English khutbah 12:00 PMSALAM Islamic Center4545 College Oak Dr, Sacramento, CA 95841Jumu'ah 12:00 PM Arabic · English khutbah 1:15 PM, prayer 1:35 PMArchiveAll khutbahs at SALAM Arden56 khutbahs
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