Your words can save or ruin you
“Let him say something good or let him be quiet, let him not speak.”
Because words can earn Paradise or ruin a person's hereafter, Muslims must cultivate taqwa and good character by controlling the tongue, speaking beneficially, and staying silent rather than harming others.
The khutbah in 7 steps
- Defines taqwa as living within Allah’s guidance and preparing for a faithful death.
- Introduces the tongue as a small limb capable of salvation or ruin.
- Uses hadith to show that casual good or harmful words can dramatically affect a person’s rank.
- Explains Mu'adh ibn Jabal’s hadith on Islam, prayer, fasting, charity, night prayer, and guarding the tongue.
- Warns that backbiting, cursing, lying, and harming others can make a deed-rich person spiritually bankrupt.
- Calls listeners to respectful speech, sincere private worship, repentance, and silence when speech is not beneficial.
- Concludes with prayers for Muslims facing oppression and community announcements.
In the khateeb's words
“You don't control how you pass away. You control how you live. And you will pass away as you lived your life.”
“So this tongue could be a source of your salvation or it could be a source of your ultimate demise.”
“What's hard is being a good person and not talking bad about people, being uplifting, controlling yourself.”
“The Prophet, he said, He who believes in Allah on the last day, let him say something good or let him be quiet, let him not speak.”
For the dinner table
The khutbah teaches that our tongues are small but powerful: a kind word can lift someone and earn reward, while a careless hurtful word can damage our faith and relationships. The khateeb says taqwa means keeping Allah in mind and checking whether what we do and say is pleasing to Him. He reminds us that prayer, fasting, charity, and private worship build sincerity, but good character and respectful speech are essential too. We should avoid backbiting, lying, cursing, gossip, and cruelty, and speak good or remain quiet. This week, we can choose one hidden good deed and make a habit of encouraging people with truthful, kind words.
- What is one kind word you could say this week to someone having a hard day?
- When might staying quiet protect someone from harm?
- What private good deed could you do without telling anyone?
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