Muslims must protect the oppressed
“If they are oppressed, help them, aid them.”
Muslims fulfill their responsibility to one another and to Allah by protecting the oppressed, restraining wrongdoing, and cultivating taqwa through dutiful action and emulation of the Ahlul Bayt.
The khutbah in 6 steps
- Introduces categories of rights believers owe one another, focusing on social rights of brotherhood.
- Explains the prophetic teaching to help both oppressed people and those committing oppression.
- Applies this principle to Muslim unity, political cooperation, protection of oppressed communities, and economic self-determination.
- Turns to taqwa through the example of Sharif al-Murtadha and Sharif al-Radi’s emulation of the Ahlul Bayt.
- Uses the brothers’ dispute over inherited books to show piety outweighing formal entitlement.
- Concludes that taqwa grows through fulfilling obligations and avoiding prohibitions, followed by supplications.
In the khateeb's words
“if they are oppressed, help them, aid them. If they are oppressors, then hold their hand from that oppression.”
“We ask Allah to grant us success in fulfilling our rights to one another, our moral duty and responsibility to one another.”
“We are responsible to adopt as many qualities as we can of the Ahlul Bayt.”
“Understand our duty, what our responsibility is in every situation, and we act upon that.”
For the dinner table
Today’s khutbah reminded us that Muslims owe one another real social responsibilities. We should protect people who are being oppressed, while also helping wrongdoers stop their wrongdoing. The speaker then explained that taqwa means living consciously before Allah by fulfilling our obligations and avoiding what He has prohibited. The example of Sharif al-Murtadha showed that true piety can matter more than personal entitlement or reputation for knowledge. We can grow in taqwa by learning our duties and practicing them in everyday situations.
- When might helping someone mean stopping them from doing something wrong?
- What responsibilities do we have toward people outside our immediate family or community?
- Which quality of the Ahlul Bayt would you most like to practice this week?
The masjid
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