Arrogance blinds us to Allah's guidance
“We are all the same in the eyes of Allah except for taqwa.”
Arrogance blinds people to Allah's signs, leads them to reject or disobey guidance, and ultimately leaves their deeds worthless, so believers must cultivate humility, sincerity, accountability, and taqwa.
The khutbah in 6 steps
- Defines kibr as a serious spiritual disease and explains that pride belongs exclusively to Allah.
- Explains how arrogance blinds people to Allah's signs in creation, events, and revelation.
- Uses Pharaoh and contemporary rejection of religious guidance to show how arrogance favors desires over obedience.
- Warns that believers can deny the Hereafter through their actions and must repent, make amends, and repay wrongs.
- Explains that deeds lose their value when they lack sincere intention or conformity to Quran and Sunnah.
- Uses Iblis and workplace, racial, national, and social comparisons to teach humility and taqwa.
In the khateeb's words
“People think here, oh, they escaped from one country to another, they're not going to be punished. Where are you going to escape from Allah to? There is no escape.”
“we have to recognize that nobody is better than anybody else. We are all the same in the eyes of Allah except for taqwa.”
For the dinner table
The khutbah warns that arrogance, or kibr, can keep a person from recognizing Allah's signs and following guidance. Belief in the Hereafter should change how we treat people and lead us to repair wrongs, repay what we owe, and repent. Good deeds matter when they are done for Allah and according to His guidance, not merely to earn praise. We should notice feelings of superiority about money, success, race, nationality, or appearance and replace them with humility. The only true measure of who is better is taqwa, or awareness and devotion to Allah.
- When have you felt tempted to think you are better than someone else, and what could humility look like?
- How can we remember Allah when we see something good or difficult happen?
- Why might a good action feel different when we do it for praise instead of Allah?
The masjid
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