Repentance & taqwaFrom the masjid's own video, Jul 25, 2026.
Purify your soul before it controls you
“We just adorn our library with them without opening them and reading them.”
In one sentence
Every person owes their own self its right, and fulfilling that right means purifying the nafs, progressing from the soul that commands evil, through the self-reproaching soul, to the tranquil soul that returns to Allah pleased and pleasing.
The khutbah in 7 steps
- Recap of the rights series from the hadith of Salman al-Farsi; today's topic is the right of the self over itself
- Defining the nafs as the whole person (body and soul) and its honor: created by Allah's hands, given the spirit, taught the names, and preferred over creation
- Allah guided mankind to the one path (al-sabil), sent messengers and the complete Quran, so ignorance, not Islam, is why some Muslims fall short or retreat
- Call to read the Quran deeply (tadabbur) and actually open the books of tafsir instead of decorating shelves with them
- The stages of the nafs: al-mulhama (inspired to know good from evil), al-zakiya (the pure child before accountability), al-ammara bi'l-su' (commands evil if uncontrolled)
- Al-nafs al-lawwama (the self-reproaching soul) and the goal of al-nafs al-mutma'inna (the tranquil soul) finding rest in dhikr
- Closing hadith qudsi: deeds are returned to their doers, who finds good praises Allah, who finds otherwise blames only himself
Try this week
Read the Quran with tadabbur, go deep into every word rather than reciting superficially
Open and read the books of tafsir already on your shelf instead of treating them as decoration
Take control of your nafs before it controls you; refuse haram even when 'everybody' does it
Repent and change course with Allah whenever you sin, since the best sinners are those who repent
Examine your intentions behind eating, drinking, and speech, to please Allah or to please yourself
Practice dhikr (remembrance of Allah) whenever distress or trouble strikes, to find rest and security
Sources the khateeb cited
Sahih al-BukhariFramework for the series: 'Your Lord has a right over you, your self has a right over you... so give each one its right'
Quran 38:71-76Allah honored Adam by creating him with His own hands, breathing His spirit into him, and commanding the angels to prostrate
Quran 17:70'We have honored the children of Adam', carried on land and sea and provided with al-tayyibat
Quran 2:31Allah taught Adam the names of everything, knowledge beyond the angels
Quran 76:2-3Man created hearing and seeing, then guided to the path, either grateful or ungrateful
Quran 23:115Man was not created in vain or left without purpose
Quran 75:36Man was not created in vain or left without purpose
Quran 47:24'Do they not contemplate the Quran, or are there locks on their hearts?', basis for the call to deep Quran study
Quran 91:7-10Allah inspired the nafs with its wickedness and righteousness; success belongs to whoever purifies it
Sahih MuslimThe Prophet defined sin as what troubles the chest and you would dislike people to see, proof the nafs innately knows good from evil
Jami` at-TirmidhiAll children of Adam are sinners, and the best of sinners are those who repent
Quran 18:74Al-Khidr killed a child described as a 'nafs zakiya', evidence children before the age of taklif are pure and unaccountable
Quran 89:27-28'O tranquil soul, return to your Lord, pleased and pleasing', the ultimate goal of working on the self
Sahih MuslimClosing: deeds are recorded and repaid; whoever finds good should praise Allah, whoever finds otherwise blames only himself
Quotes
In the khateeb's words
“we just adorn our library with them without opening them and reading them”
“everybody has a girlfriend everybody has a boyfriend everybody drink everybody gambling why not us”
Talk about it at home
For the dinner table
Today the Imam reminded us that our own self has a right over us, just like Allah, family, and guests have rights over us. He explained that our nafs, our whole self, body and soul, is honored by Allah, so we must not ruin it with sins or bad habits. He described how the nafs changes through stages: it begins pure and inspired, can become tempted by evil, then learns to blame itself for wrongs, and finally rests in Allah's pleasure. The goal is to reach a tranquil soul that is pleased with Allah and pleased with itself when we meet Him. We can protect our nafs by listening to the inner warning when something feels wrong and by checking our intentions in the small things we do each day.
- What is one thing your heart told you was wrong this week, even if other people were doing it?
- How can we help each other keep our nafs clean and calm?
- What small good deed can you do tonight to make your soul happy with Allah?
Keep listening
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