9:57 If he hears somebody…20:14 And whenever he…22:58 The first is ta'allumu…
Repentance & taqwaFrom the masjid's own video, Aug 30, 2025.

A hardened heart can be softened

Al-Salam
Watch the khutbahFamily kit
In one sentence

A hardened heart harms a person's faith and character, but it can be softened through sound knowledge, reflective Quran recitation, remembrance, repentance, charity, and remembering death and the Hereafter.

The khutbah in 6 steps

  1. Contrasts bodily illness with spiritual illness and identifies the heart as the source of moral health.
  2. Lists symptoms of hardness, including indifference to Quran, laziness in worship, worldly attachment, forgetfulness of death, isolation, and lack of compassion.
  3. Explains causes such as excessive love of worldly life, repeated sin, bad company, and forgetting death and the Hereafter.
  4. Recommends learning sound Islamic knowledge and reflecting deeply on Quranic verses.
  5. Encourages remembrance, repentance, feeding the needy, caring for orphans, visiting cemeteries, and contemplating the Hereafter.
  6. Closes with supplications for taqwa, steadfastness, and softened hearts, followed by prayer.
Try this week
Learn sound Islamic knowledge from the Quran and Sunnah.
Recite the Quran while reflecting on its meanings, including verses about Paradise and Hellfire.
Frequently remember Allah, seek forgiveness, repent, and regret sins.
Feed needy people and care for orphans.
Visit cemeteries and remember death, the grave, judgment, and the Hereafter.
Sources the khateeb cited
Sahih al-BukhariThe heart is like a piece of flesh whose soundness or corruption affects the whole person.
Surah 39Hardness against Allah's remembrance is presented as a serious spiritual danger and manifest error.
Surah 7The heedless are described as having hearts, eyes, and ears that fail to benefit from guidance.
Surah 9Laziness in prayer and unwillingness to spend are used as signs of spiritual deficiency.
Surah 83Repeated sin is explained as leaving a rust-like covering over the heart.
Quotes

In the khateeb's words

“If he hears somebody preaching religious sermons, he is bored”
Al-Salam · Northeast Memphis, TN
Play from 9:57
“And whenever he commits a sin, there is a black spot”
Al-Salam · Northeast Memphis, TN
Play from 20:14
“The first is ta'allumu al-ilmi shara'i shahihi min al-Qur'ani wa sunnah”
Al-Salam · Northeast Memphis, TN
Play from 22:58
Talk about it at home

For the dinner table

The khutbah teaches that a person can be healthy outwardly but sick inwardly when the heart becomes hard. A hard heart may show itself through indifference to the Quran, laziness in worship, love of worldly life, forgetfulness of death, bad company, and lack of compassion. The khateeb says the heart can soften through sound learning, thoughtful Quran reading, remembrance and repentance, generosity to needy people and orphans, and remembering the grave and Hereafter. We can each choose one of these practices and make it part of this week. Allah is asked to give us taqwa, steadfastness, and hearts that remain soft.

  1. What helps you pay attention when you hear Quran or a religious reminder?
  2. Which action could our family take this week to show more mercy to someone in need?
  3. How can remembering the Hereafter change one choice we make today?
Where it was given

The masjid

Masjid Al-Salam (Muslim Society of Memphis)1065 Stratford Road, Memphis, TN 38122Jumu'ah 1:15 PMArchiveAll khutbahs at Al-Salam29 khutbahs
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