Wealth & charityFrom the masjid's own video, Oct 17, 2025.
Use your blessings to serve the oppressed
“You use what Allah gave you for His sake to uplift others and to help the oppressed.”
In one sentence
Muslims should distinguish blessings granted by Allah from privileges built through oppression, expressing gratitude by sacrificing comfort and using their resources to support the exploited.
The khutbah in 6 steps
- Introduces two types of privilege: blessings from Allah and privileges stolen through oppression.
- Explains that gratitude preserves Allah-given blessings, while ingratitude poisons them.
- Connects contemporary comfort to colonialism, slavery, forced labor, and resource extraction.
- Uses Quranic examples to warn against clinging to wealth and power.
- Urges listeners to keep an open hand and use wealth, freedom, education, and influence for justice.
- Closes with prayers for gratitude, protection from greed, and service to those in need.
Try this week
Identify personal privileges such as wealth, freedom, education, or a public platform.
Use those privileges to serve others and support people being exploited.
Practice an open-handed willingness to share resources and sacrifice small comforts.
Express gratitude through concrete action rather than words alone.
Resist greed and attachment to wealth, comfort, and power.
Sources the khateeb cited
Surah 14Gratitude brings increase, while ingratitude brings severe punishment.
Quotes
In the khateeb's words
“But today I want to speak about a warning. that comes with privilege. Because not every privilege that we enjoy comes from the same source.”
“those stolen resources then become the privilege of the oppressors. and even those who never personally committed that act benefit from that system.”
“You use what Allah gave you for His sake. to uplift others and to help the oppressed.”
“And that is true gratitude to Allah . not just in words but in sacrifice.”
Talk about it at home
For the dinner table
The khutbah teaches that not every privilege has the same origin. Some blessings come from Allah and should make us grateful, while other advantages may be connected to the oppression or exploitation of others. We should not cling selfishly to comfort, wealth, or power. Instead, we should keep an open hand, use what we have to help people in need, and accept meaningful sacrifices for justice. True gratitude is shown through action, not only words.
- What is one blessing or privilege you could share with someone else?
- When might giving something up be a way of showing gratitude?
- How can our family use what we have to help people facing unfairness?
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