Sincere worship is done for Allah alone
“You will not feel that you are doing a great job.”
Sincere devotion to Allah alone is the key to protecting the heart, resisting Shaytan, avoiding people-pleasing, and having one's deeds accepted and elevated.
The khutbah in 7 steps
- Introduces sincerity, or al-ikhlas, as a central issue behind Muslim weakness and communal crises.
- Defines sincerity as doing everything for Allah alone.
- Explains that sincerity protects people from Shaytan, using Umar and Yusuf as examples.
- Warns that deeds performed for public praise can lead to punishment, even for scholars.
- Urges listeners to stop living for people's approval and remember their individual accountability before Allah.
- Describes humility as a sign of sincerity: sincere people consider their good deeds small.
- Closes with stories about concealing good deeds and a recitation of al-Fatihah.
In the khateeb's words
“sincerity is so important because everything that you are going to do it is going to be for the sake of Allah”
“if you go in any way in any direction the shaytan is going to take the opposite direction”
“nobody will benefit you for anything the main issue is related to your heart to be close to Allah to be close to Allah and only Allah”
“you will not feel that you are doing a great job all of your good deeds you will feel that is very small”
For the dinner table
The khutbah teaches that ikhlas, or sincerity, means doing our deeds for Allah alone. The speaker says sincerity protects the heart from Shaytan and keeps us from living for other people's praise. He reminds us that our intentions matter, and that even a scholar's teaching can lose its value if it is done to be admired. We are encouraged to stay humble, keep some good deeds private, and remember that we will ultimately stand before Allah individually. Small sincere actions, such as fasting, helping, or sharing, can be greatly valued by Allah.
- What is one good thing you could do this week without telling anyone?
- How can you tell whether you are doing something for Allah or for people's praise?
- Why is humility important when we do good deeds?
The masjid
More on Prayer & worship
The remembrance of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala is something very powerful.9:18ISCN · Corona, CA · Oct 24, 2026Knowing Allah makes worship joyful
Ali Khan Center · Suitland, MD · Oct 10, 2026Give the weekly prayer your full attention“Don't just time it so you get maybe five-minute kutbah and a five-minute salat, and you're out in 10 minutes.”
Don't set your floor at your peak time, like in Ramadan.19:52Al-Noor · Santa Clara, CA · Oct 24, 2026Build a sustainable spiritual floor