Unity begins with compassion, not jealousy
“When somebody else is getting hurt, it is as if you got hurt.”
Because life's trials are inevitable but some communal harms are self-inflicted, Muslims should turn to Allah and rebuild a united, jealousy-free, compassionate community that supports one another.
The khutbah in 6 steps
- Opens with the Quranic reminder that human life includes struggle and illustrates different tests across life stages.
- Uses Imam al-Shafi'i's poetry and contemporary suffering to explain why worldly justice is incomplete.
- Distinguishes inevitable hardships from self-inflicted problems and urges listeners to return to Allah.
- Presents unity, community support, and proper zakat as remedies for collective hardship.
- Calls believers to remove jealousy and practice compassion, sensitivity, mercy, and good character.
- Closes with supplications for unity and guidance.
In the khateeb's words
“Our life we will have struggles but we have the solution to that as well which is Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala and his messenger”
“when somebody else is getting hurt it is as if you got hurt when somebody else is not sleeping at night it is as if you have not slept at night”
“we have to acknowledge it we have to look at it and we have to work upon removing it from our heart”
For the dinner table
Imam Mohammed Bemat reminded us that everyone faces struggles, and even doing the right thing does not mean we can control every outcome. When suffering is hard to understand, we turn to Allah, who knows what we can see and what we cannot, and ask for guidance and help. We also reflect on our own actions and the ways we can help one another. He emphasized three things: building unity, removing jealousy from our hearts, and treating people with sensitivity and good character. As a family, we can practice these lessons by sharing each other’s happiness, caring about each other’s worries, and offering kind, dependable support.
- Who could we help feel included this week, and what could we do together?
- When someone gets something you wish you had, what could help you feel happy for them?
- What kind words could you use when you disagree with someone?
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