78:54 Which of my servants…84:11 We focus on the sin…140:59 If you take one…
Death & the hereafterFrom the masjid's own video, Sep 27, 2026.

Why Hell is eternal despite Allah's mercy

ICCC

“If you take one million steps away from Allah, all it takes is one step back to Him, and you will find Allah in front of you.”

The khateeb, at 140:59

Watch the khutbahFamily kit
In one sentence

The khutbah argues that Hell is eternal not because Allah lacks mercy, but because Allah owns and judges His creation justly, while those who die rejecting Him would persist in that rejection forever.

The khutbah in 8 steps

  1. The opening Arabic sermon studies the companions' migrations to Abyssinia, emphasizing sacrifice, exile, truthfulness, and trust in Allah.
  2. It recounts Ja'far's encounter with the Najashi, the king's response to Surah Maryam, his faith, and the Prophet's funeral prayer for him.
  3. It compares the four schools' positions on absentee funeral prayer and favors permitting it when no one prayed over the deceased.
  4. The English khutbah addresses social-media doubts about Hell's eternality and warns listeners to seek answers from qualified scholars.
  5. It emphasizes Allah's mercy, repentance, forgiveness, and the nightly invitation to seek forgiveness.
  6. It presents three arguments for eternal Hell: Allah's sovereignty, the seriousness of sin against Allah, and the sinner's enduring intention.
  7. It uses Isa's supplication, human authority analogies, and the hadith about intentions to support divine justice and wisdom.
  8. It closes with calls to sincere worship, repentance, firm faith, and prayers for Palestine, Sudan, Pakistan, and the wider ummah.
Try this week
Repent sincerely to Allah before death and never despair of His forgiveness.
Wake during the last third of the night to seek Allah's forgiveness.
Worship Allah alone, maintain sincere intentions, and strive in prayer, fasting, charity, Quran, and honoring parents.
Take difficult theological questions to knowledgeable scholars rather than relying on viral social-media content.
Sources the khateeb cited
Surah 19Ja'far's recitation moved the Najashi and illustrated continuity between Jesus' revelation and the Quran.
Sahih al-BukhariReports about the Abyssinian migrants and the Najashi's funeral prayer support their special status and the discussion of absentee funeral prayer.
Surah 5Isa's supplication presents the condemned as Allah's slaves and describes Allah as mighty and wise.
Sahih al-BukhariActions are judged by intentions, supporting the argument that enduring intention explains eternal outcomes.
Quotes

In the khateeb's words

“Which of my servants Is seeking my forgiveness? So that I may forgive them”
ICCC · Parsippany-Troy Hills, NJ
Play from 78:54
“We focus on the sin And we do not consider The one whom we are sinning against”
ICCC · Parsippany-Troy Hills, NJ
Play from 84:11
“If you take one million steps away from Allah All it takes is one step back to Him And you will find Allah in front of you”
ICCC · Parsippany-Troy Hills, NJ
Play from 140:59
Talk about it at home

For the dinner table

Today the khateeb answered a question many young people see online: if Allah is so merciful, why is Hell forever? First he reminded us that Allah's mercy is huge. Allah forgives every sin, even shirk, for anyone who sincerely turns back to Him before death, and every night He calls out to whoever wants to be forgiven. Then he gave three reasons. We belong to Allah, and He is the Mighty and the Wise. A sin is serious because of Who it is against, just as insulting a king is worse than insulting a classmate. And people are rewarded by their intention: a believer would worship Allah forever if they lived forever, and a person who rejects Allah would keep rejecting Him forever. His closing message was hopeful: if you take a million steps away from Allah, one step back is all it takes.

  1. If you saw a video online that made you doubt something about Allah, who would you go to with your question?
  2. The khateeb said our intention matters most. What is one good thing you would keep doing even if you lived for a thousand years?
  3. Why do you think the khateeb talked about Allah's mercy first, before he talked about Hell?
Where it was given

The masjid

Islamic Community Cultural Center (ICCC)879 S Beverwyck Rd, Parsippany, NJ 07054ArchiveAll khutbahs at ICCC75 khutbahs
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