Real victory is salvation in the Hereafter
“Victory is to establish the truth.”
True victory and heroism are not worldly wins like World Cup celebrations but salvation in the Hereafter, being saved from the Fire, admitted to Paradise, and fulfilling the trade of one's life and wealth with Allah.
The khutbah in 8 steps
- Muslim and third-world teams celebrated extravagantly despite being eliminated from the World Cup
- Poor countries spend millions on games and celebrations while health, education, and infrastructure are broken
- Muslims must correct the popular concepts of victory, success, and heroism
- Quranic definition: believers who do righteous deeds attain jannah, that is al-fawz al-kabir (the great victory)
- Every soul tastes death; reward is paid fully on Judgment Day; whoever is saved from the Fire and enters Paradise is the real winner
- Allah has purchased the believers' lives and wealth in exchange for Paradise, a trade promised in the Torah, Gospel, and Quran
- The story of the 70 reciters sent to teach Quran who were betrayed and ambushed, and Haram ibn Milhan declaring 'fustu wa rabbil ka'bah' while being martyred
- Real victory is establishing truth and justice; real heroism is sacrificing one's life for the cause, not titles or positions
In the khateeb's words
“so we are covering our loss with those temporarily some type of the celebrations that we are the winners and even that is not the win”
“victory is to establish the truth victory is this to sacrifice yourself for the the right cause that is victory”
For the dinner table
The khateeb reminded us that during the World Cup, many Muslim countries celebrated their teams as winners even after they lost, and spent huge amounts of money on those celebrations while their own people lacked good hospitals, schools, and roads. He said Islam does not hate sports or joy, but it puts limits on them and asks us to keep our eyes on what truly matters. Real victory in the Qur'an is not a trophy or a score; it is faith and good deeds that lead a person to Jannah and save them from the Fire. He told the story of Haram ibn Milhan, a Companion who was murdered while teaching Qur'an, yet called out that he had won because he died for Allah's cause. True heroes, he said, are not made by newspapers or governments, but by people who sacrifice their lives for truth and justice over many years.
- What is one thing we celebrate that might not matter much in the long run?
- Can you think of a real-life hero who gave up something important for what was right?
- What is one small way we can 'sell' our time or energy to Allah this week?
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