Love Allah above worldly attachments
“When someone puts you in a court front of a judge and evidence is against you, you will feel guilty.”
True faith demands that love of Allah and His Messenger exceed every worldly attachment, and each person must examine their heart and actively pursue that love before the Day of Judgment.
The khutbah in 9 steps
- Opening salutations and Urdu reflection: people love celebrities more than they love Allah
- Call to self-accountability (muhasabah) before being judged, citing Umar ibn al-Khattab
- The heart as the focal organ of the body, physically and spiritually
- Surah al-Baqarah: those who believe are most intense in love for Allah, versus those who love rivals to Allah
- Surah al-Tawbah's eight beloved things and the filtration test of whether they outrank Allah and His Messenger
- Jihad reframed as struggle against desire and shaitan, with preparation as in worldly pursuits
- The Bukhari hadith of Anas: 'you will be with those you love' and the companions' joy at it
- Death of the ego before physical death; slaughtering one's desires
- Closing call to add the Prophet's dua asking Allah for His love to one's daily routine; equality of all Muslims regardless of nationality
In the khateeb's words
“as long as you can do accountability to yourself it's very easy but when someone puts you in a court front of a judge and evidence is against you you will feel guilty”
“there's a death before death actually if you die that death you will be successful the death of your desire you have to slaughter that”
For the dinner table
Today the khateeb asked a piercing question: we say we love Allah, but do we love Him more than our favorite celebrities, foods, money, and homes? He reminded us of Umar's advice to take account of ourselves before Allah takes account of us, because it is easy to examine your own heart now but frightening to face the evidence on Judgment Day. He shared a beautiful hadith from Bukhari about a man who had nothing prepared for the next life except love of Allah and His Messenger, and the Prophet promised him he would be with those he loves, which made the companions happier than almost anything else. He also said there is a death before death: killing your own desires now leads to true success. Finally, he urged every family member to do what the Prophet himself did, ask Allah every day for His love.
- If you could be resurrected with anyone you love, who would you want beside you?
- What is one thing you love so much it might compete with your love for Allah?
- What does it mean to 'take account of yourself' before someone else does?
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