All praise is due to Allah, Whom we praise and seek help, guidance and forgiveness from. We seek refuge with Allah from the evils within ourselves and from the burden of our evil deeds. He, whom Allah guides, will never be misled; and he whom He allows to stray no one can guide him. I bear witness that there is no deity worthy of worship except Allah without partners and that Muhammad is His servant and Messenger.

Asalamu alaykum warahmatullah wabarakaatuh

O brethren I exhort you and I to worship Allah alone and not ascribe any partner to Him. Show gratitude for what Allah has bestowed upon you of His favours and be patient for what He is yet to give you. Among these favours is the power of speech. Beware that Allah created some people and gave them mouth yet they cannot speak; we call them dumb. Will you now take the power of speech Allah has given you as a right?

O! Servants of Allah; know that Islam is a total way of life and the rituals of salat, zakat, sawm and Hajj are meant to strengthen the totality of the deen as the pillars in our home strengthen the homes. The lesson for the Muslims is to look beyond the activities and learn the deeper meanings behind them. Ramadan is just few days from now; what preparations have you been making towards it? Are you busy buying all the food items in the market? Yes, there is nothing wrong with doing that. However, the preparation of the body and soul towards this great moment is even more critical.

I counsel you and myself to do what Allah has counseled us to do thus:
"And hold fast, all of you together, to the lifeline (Rope) of Allah and do not separate". (3:103)
"And if someone practices true devotion to Allah, He will make his business easy for him and He will grant him a mighty reward." (65:4-5)

Among the preparations that we all have to make include:
Avoiding all activities that can cause bodily harm or weaken the body or cause a disease situation that will make it impossible for you to engage in the fast;
Trying all parts of our body for the activities ahead. This includes learning to wake up at night for tahajjud (night prayer), restraining the eyes from engaging in unnecessary sights, proper use of time (no “killing of time”), management of our temperaments and most importantly, the management of our mouth.

The management of our mouths is our primary concern in this Khutbah. The mouth is an organ of the body for speech and food intake. Either of the use is critical to the Muslim at all times and more importantly, during the observance of fasting. Amongst us are people who are very abusive and quarrelsome; they are very free with the use of their mouth and are not careful in evaluating the words they utter before they are uttered.

A Muslim, especially the one that is in the state of fasting, is admonished to be disciplined in the way he talks and what he eats. Our Noble Prophet (SAW) has provided the following rules towards assisting us manage our mouth and the power of speech bestowed upon it:
Whoever believes in Allah and the Last Day should speak good words or keep quiet (i.e. maintain silence). Bukhari
Every morning, when the son of Adam (i.e. man) wakes up, all the limbs pleads with his tongue: “Fear Allah for our sake, for our fate is tied to yours. If you remain upright so shall we and if you go astray so shall we”. Tirmidhi
Sometime a person says something pleasing to Allah, the Great and Almighty, but he does not realize how far his words will go. Tet it earns him the Pleasure of Allah until the Day of Judgement. On the other hand sometimes a person says something displeasing to Allah, the Great and Almighty, although he does not realize how far his words will go. Yet it earns him the wrath of Allah until the Day of Judgement. Musnad Ahmad.
The signs of a munafiq are three: whenever he speaks he tells a lie; whenever he promises he breaks it; and whenever he is entrusted he betrays. Bukhari.

The ability to speak and express themselves distinguishes human beings from animals. The proper use of this great gift- or its absence- separate the good and successful people from the bad and unsuccessful. The types of friends and groups that we keep influence to a great extent our utterances and speeches. To this, Allah cautions:
“O believers! Fear Allah and keep the company of the truthful (servants)” Q9:119
In explanation this ayah, the Holy Prophet (SAW) said: “A person is with whom he loves”. In this wise, even if a close relative is not of good behaviour, it is advisable to refuse his company and look for the company of the pious; those who reminds you of Allah and help you keep your duty to Him.

Allah, SWT, issued stern warn to His Prophet and by extension to us all who believe in HIM thus:
“And when you (Muhammad, SAW) see those who engage in a false conversation about our Verses (of the Qur’an) by mocking at them, stay away from them till they turn to another topic. And if Shaitan causes you to forget, then after the remembrance sit not you in the company of those people who are the Zalimun (polytheists and evil-doers)”. Q6:68

“And it has already been revealed to you in the Book (this Qur’an) that when you hear the Verses of Allah being denied and mocked at, then sit not with them until they engage in a talk other than that; (but if you stayed with them) certainly in that case you would be like them. Surely, Allah will assemble all the Munafiq and Kaafir all together in Hell”. Q4:140

For the Muslim (at all times, and especially when fasting), you are advised thus:
-Avoid reckless and senseless talks. Maintaining silence is actually golden.
-Avoid lying and deceitful conversations.
-Avoid abuse or use of abusive language or cursing people. This has additional requirement of managing your temperament.
-Keep good company that will remind you about Allah and caution your deviation from expected behaviour.

We are all caught in the web of bad companies either deliberately or inadvertently. However, Allah the Most Merciful has given us a long rope of escape (i.e. leave the company as soon as the subject of discussion turns evil and do not be a contributor to evil discussions). May Allah help us keep our mouth properly and safeguard our iman. Aamin.
May Allah give us good health and keep us alive to observe the Ramadan fast, accept all our Ibadah therein and endow us with understanding to implement His laws.

Wa aakhiru da’awana anil hamdu lillahi rabbil aalameen.


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Masha Allah! What a beautiful piece 2 start a day with


May ALLAH guide us to d ryt path. Op, jazakallahu khairan!