Character & conductFrom the masjid's own video, Aug 7, 2025.
Guard your tongue before spreading rumors
“Before you say it, before you spread it, you gotta confirm it.”
In one sentence
Muslims must protect their communities by guarding their tongues, verifying reports, thinking well of others, and refusing to spread slander or backbiting.
The khutbah in 6 steps
- Introduces slander, lying, suspicion, and backbiting as grave sins that destroy families and communities.
- Uses the slander against Aisha to show how rumors spread and how the Qur'an condemns unverified accusations.
- Emphasizes thinking well of believers and requiring evidence rather than repeating allegations.
- Defines backbiting and distinguishes truthful backbiting from false slander through a hadith in Sahih Muslim.
- Calls listeners to guard the tongue, verify reports before sharing them, and make excuses for others.
- Urges concealing confirmed faults, focusing on one's own shortcomings, and closes with prayer and a brief giving appeal.
Try this week
Guard your tongue and speak only what is good; do not lie about people.
Verify news before believing or spreading it.
Assume good intentions and make excuses for a fellow Muslim when possible.
Conceal a person's confirmed faults instead of publicizing them.
Focus on correcting your own faults rather than monitoring others' mistakes.
Consider giving $10, or more if able, to help cover those who cannot.
Sources the khateeb cited
Sahih MuslimDefined backbiting as mentioning a person with what they dislike; false claims are slander.
Quotes
In the khateeb's words
“these are the sins that destroy families, that destroy communities, that destroy relationships.”
“before you say it, before you spread it, you gotta confirm it.”
Talk about it at home
For the dinner table
The khutbah reminds us that gossip, suspicion, lying, and backbiting can damage families and the whole community. The story of Aisha shows why we must not repeat a serious accusation without proof, and why we should think well of fellow believers. If someone brings us news, we should verify it before believing or sharing it, and we should guard our tongues. When another person's fault is real, we should avoid spreading it and spend more energy correcting our own faults.
- When is it difficult to give someone the benefit of the doubt?
- What should we do before sharing surprising news?
- How can we focus more on improving ourselves?
Keep listening
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