Shahada requires lifelong obedience to Allah
“It is not just a membership to a club.”
Life is a brief test in which our shahada is a lifelong commitment to obey Allah, so we must repent, avoid interest (riba) in all its modern forms, and keep taking the next step toward Allah, whose forgiveness is greater than our sins.
The khutbah in 8 steps
- The brevity of life and the mercy of Allah toward sinners who repent
- The shahada as a lifelong commitment to willingly obey Allah, not a club membership
- The hadith of Allah drawing near to those who walk toward Him, and the joys of paradise as reward
- The hidden prevalence of interest through small financing plans like Amazon payment plans
- Evidence against riba from al-Kabair, Surah Ali Imran 130, and Surah al-Baqarah 275
- Hope in Allah's forgiveness and the call to pledge today to exit interest-based dealings
- Descriptions of the punishment of riba consumers in Barzakh and on the Day of Judgment
- Closing Arabic duas and salawat of the second half of the khutbah
In the khateeb's words
“it is not just a membership to a club you know where you pay 50 bucks a month 20 bucks a month whatever it is”
“we are not here to finish or to achieve the results you know our job is to simply take that next step”
For the dinner table
Today's khutbah reminded us that life is very short, and that saying the shahada is a promise to obey Allah for our whole lives, not a membership we use once in a while. The khateeb warned us about interest, which hides today in small things like monthly payment plans online, and he shared verses and hadith showing how serious it is. But he also gave us hope: Allah's forgiveness is bigger than any sin, and He comes close to anyone who takes even one step toward Him. He asked everyone to make a sincere intention right now to leave interest behind, because even if we don't finish the job, Allah sees the intention. The lesson for our family is to check our spending, save up instead of financing, and keep taking the next small step toward Allah.
- What is one thing you could save up for instead of buying it right away on a payment plan?
- The khateeb said Allah runs toward us when we walk toward Him, what is one small step you could take this week?
- Why do you think a sincere intention matters to Allah even before we finish what we started?
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