True happiness requires gratitude and helping others
“Always keep your eyes focused on those who have less than you.”
True happiness comes from gratitude for Allah’s blessings, humility about what we are owed, and actively supporting fellow believers in need.
The khutbah in 5 steps
- Defines a grateful heart as the foundation of happiness and attention to blessings.
- Uses the recent electricity and water disruption to reveal the value of everyday comforts.
- Urges Muslims to ask for help without shame and support one another as a connected community.
- Relates the Prophet’s encounter with Abu Bakr, Umar, and Abu Haytham to gratitude for food and water.
- Closes with a call to check on vulnerable community members, share necessities, and pray for the ill.
In the khateeb's words
“Always keep your eyes focused on those who have less than you. For four days, we were forced to be reminded of what it means to not know where electricity is coming from.”
“If there's anyone in this community that needs help, you have to open your mouths. You have to say something. There's no ayb in saying I need a hand.”
“And as we leave the masjid and we walk on that ice, remember walking on ice is a metaphor for walking a life of taqwa.”
“They didn't have a sense of entitlement. They had a sense of gratitude.”
For the dinner table
This khutbah reminds us that happiness grows from a grateful heart that notices blessings instead of constantly focusing on what is missing. The recent loss of electricity and water showed how precious ordinary comforts can be. The story of the Prophet, Abu Bakr, Umar, and Abu Haytham teaches that food, water, and shelter are gifts we should not take for granted. We should make it easy for people to ask for help and actively check on neighbors and fellow Muslims who may lack necessities. This week, our family can practice gratitude, share what we have, and make dua for people who are ill or struggling.
- What everyday blessing would you notice more if it suddenly disappeared?
- Who could our family check on or help this week?
- What might it mean to walk carefully in taqwa, like walking on ice?
More on Gratitude
ICI · Irving, TX · Oct 24, 2026Thank Allah in ease and hardship“Even in moments of difficulty, when it feels like there's nothing going your way, there is always something to be grateful for.”
Either we're receiving a blessing, which calls for shukr, or we're going through a hardship, which calls for sabr.13:29Al-Ittehad · Vista, CA · Sep 19, 2026Gratitude and patience carry believers through life
Real gratitude is not a feeling.16:14London Muslim Mosque · London, ON · Sep 11, 2026Gratitude means using blessings well