Taqwa opens a way through hardship
“Live your life in this world like you are surrounded with thorns.”
Taqwa, living with conscious, love-motivated fear of Allah, is the divinely promised solution to every problem, per the verse 'Whoever fears Allah, He will make a way out for him and provide for him from where he cannot imagine.'
The khutbah in 9 steps
- Opening: modern life is saturated with calamities and bad news; not hearing bad news is itself good news
- Hadith framing: a time will come when a man visits a grave wishing he were in the deceased's place
- Central verse introduced: the Prophet swore he knows a verse which, if people held to it, would suffice them
- The verse explained: 'Whoever fears Allah, He makes a way out and provides from unimagined avenues'
- Taqwa defined: abandoning all sins, walking through life as through a thorny jungle, guarding one's tongue
- Do not trivialize small sins, mountains are made of pebbles; a believer lives between hope and fear
- Three protections for the muttaqi: from worldly anxieties, pangs of death, and terrors of the Day of Judgment
- Khawf vs khashiyyah: fear of Allah should be motivated by love, and the story of Muawiyah and shaitan at Fajr illustrating the value of remorse
- Closing dua and salawat
In the khateeb's words
“Today, life has become so challenging that you and I have become immune to hearing calamities, tragedies, problems, difficulties.”
“Rasulullah sallallahu alayhi wa sallam said, a time will come that the challenges of this world, it will take a toll upon insan and human being.”
“So live your life in this world like you are surrounded with thorns.”
“It is the combination of pebbles that what makes a mountain.”
For the dinner table
The khateeb reminded us that life can feel overwhelming, but Allah gives believers a way through every difficulty. He explained that taqwa means being conscious of Allah, avoiding sins both large and small, and being careful with our words and actions. A believer should carry both hope in Allah’s mercy and fear of displeasing Him. The story of the companion showed how patience, taqwa, and reciting “La hawla wa la quwwata illa billah” can bring unexpected openings. We should remember that Allah is our help and that we are accountable for how we live and treat others.
- What is one small choice you could make this week to show taqwa?
- When have you felt helped by Allah in an unexpected way?
- How can our family remind one another to speak and act carefully?
More on Repentance & taqwa
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