Dhikr keeps the heart alive
“Always make zikr so much so that your tongue will be wet with it.”
As the Hajj season and the days of Tashriq close, Muslims should anchor their lives in constant, prescribed remembrance of Allah (dhikr), because it revives the heart, erases sins, outweighs even charity and jihad on the scale, and shields against heedlessness and hypocrisy.
The khutbah in 8 steps
- Opening: Hajj is ending; pilgrims complete the farewell tawaf while Muslims worldwide keep up takbir and dhikr
- The 'known days' (first ten of Dhul-Hijjah) and 'numbered days' (days of Tashriq) as special seasons of remembrance
- Why dhikr matters: it gives life to the heart, protects from devils, multiplies rewards, and removes sins
- Hadith proofs: 100x 'subhanallah wa bihamdihi' erases sins; dhikr is the best deed, better than gold, silver, and jihad
- Prayer itself is dhikr from adhan to taslim, by heart, tongue, and limbs
- Dhikr must follow Quran and Sunnah; warning against innovated forms and self-imposed restrictions (bid'ah)
- Second half: heedlessness in dhikr is a trait of hypocrites; the living vs. dead comparison
- Mentioning Allah when entering the home and eating expels Shaytan; closing du'a and prayer
In the khateeb's words
“Zikr makes the hearts alive. It is the comfort for the hearts. Their tranquility. Their delight and their joy.”
“keep your tongue wet by or from the zikr. Always make zikr so much so that your tongue will be wet with it.”
“the prescribed zikr means the zikr you are doing should be taken from the Qur'an and sunnah. It should not be something that was innovated or created”
“Two expressions, very easy for the tongue to recite, but they are very heavy on the scale on the day of resurrection, and they are very dear to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala.”
For the dinner table
This khutbah was given right as Hajj was ending, and the imam reminded everyone that these blessed days are filled with one special thing: remembering Allah. He explained that dhikr, saying things like subhanallah and alhamdulillah, is like food for the heart: it keeps the heart alive, calm, and protected from Shaytan. The Prophet taught that just saying 'subhanallah wa bihamdihi' a hundred times a day can wipe away sins even if they were as much as the foam of the sea, and that dhikr is more valuable than giving away gold and silver. The imam also warned that our remembrance must come from the Quran and Sunnah, not from practices people invent on their own. His simple advice for the whole family: keep your tongue busy with remembering Allah, when you pray, when you come home, when you eat, morning and evening, and a little book like Hisnul Muslim can help everyone learn the words.
- What's one short dhikr phrase you could say 100 times tomorrow, when would you fit it in?
- Why do you think the Prophet compared someone who remembers Allah to a living person and someone who doesn't to a dead person?
- What do we say when we walk into our house or before we eat, and who wants to help the family remember?
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