Cleanse your heart before Ramadan
Before Ramadan, believers should cleanse their hearts of envy, arrogance, grudges, and excessive worldly distraction while cultivating truthful speech, good character, righteous company, and love of the hereafter.
The khutbah in 5 steps
- Introduces Ramadan as a spiritually valuable month and urges increased good deeds.
- Presents Imam al-Qayyim’s stages of spiritual decline, focusing on how excess in halal pleasures hardens the heart.
- Argues that a pure heart must produce truthful speech, good character, and single-minded orientation toward the hereafter.
- Warns against excessive social media, laughter, joking, worldly talk, and company that distracts from Allah and the akhirah.
- Calls listeners to leave ego, desires, grudges, envy, and hatred before Ramadan, then closes with prayers and Qur’anic recitation.
In the khateeb's words
“he says the one who despises worldliness and loves the hereafter”
“we might have friends that we talk about dunya all day materialistic things but how rarely do we have friends that we talk about the greatness of Allah with”
“to cleanse our hearts from all the envy and grudges and hatred and and malices that we have with each other”
For the dinner table
The khutbah reminds us that Ramadan preparation is not only about food, schedules, or worship routines; it is also about preparing the heart. Envy, grudges, pride, hatred, and too much attachment to permissible distractions can make the heart hard. We should choose good company, speak carefully, and make room in our conversations for Allah and the hereafter. The Ansar were praised for welcoming the Muhajirin without jealousy, even when they themselves were poor. Before Ramadan, we can forgive, let go of ego, reduce distractions, and ask Allah to fill our hearts with light and goodness.
- What is one distraction you could reduce before Ramadan?
- How can our family make conversations about Allah feel natural?
- What does welcoming someone without jealousy look like at school, work, or in our community?
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