Inna al-hamda lillah. We praise Allah, we seek His help, we seek His forgiveness, and we seek refuge in Allah from the evil within ourselves and from the consequences of our deeds. Whoever Allah guides, none can misguide; and whoever He leaves to stray, none can guide. I bear witness that there is no god worthy of worship except Allah alone, without partner. And I bear witness that Muhammad is His servant and His Messenger. O Allah, send Your peace, blessings, and honor upon our Prophet Muhammad, upon his family, his companions, and all who follow them with excellence until the Day of Judgment.
Servants of Allah, I advise myself and all of you with taqwa of Allah. Taqwa means to be conscious of Allah, to fear displeasing Him, to obey Him, and to place a shield between ourselves and His anger.
O you who believe, fear Allah as He should be feared and do not die except as Muslims.
Quran 3:102
O mankind, fear your Lord, who created you from one soul and created from it its mate and spread from both of them many men and women. And be mindful of Allah, through whom you ask one another, and be mindful of the ties of kinship. Indeed, Allah is ever watching over you.
Quran 4:1
O you who believe, fear Allah and speak words of appropriate justice. He will set right your deeds for you and forgive your sins. Whoever obeys Allah and His Messenger has certainly attained a great triumph.
Quran 33:70-71
First Khutbah
Brothers and sisters in Islam, one of the greatest trusts Allah has placed in our hands is something we cannot hold in our hands. We cannot lock it in a safe. We cannot buy more of it when it is finished. We cannot return to yesterday and correct one hour. That trust is time.
Time is quiet. It does not shout when it leaves us. It slips away while we are working, while we are resting, while we are scrolling, while we are angry, while we are delaying, while we are planning to become better later. A minute feels small until it is gone. A day feels ordinary until it becomes part of our record. A life feels long until a person looks back and says, Where did it go?
Allah, the Most High, swears by time in a short surah that many of us memorized as children, but that can shake an adult heart if we listen to it carefully.
By time. Indeed, mankind is in loss, except for those who believe and do righteous deeds and advise one another to truth and advise one another to patience.
Quran 103:1-3
Allah swears by al-asr, by time, by the passing age, by the day as it declines. And then He tells us the default condition of humanity: loss. Not because Allah is unjust. Never. But because time is always being spent. Whether we choose or not, it is being spent. The question is not: Will my time go? The question is: Where will it go? Will it go into faith, righteous action, truth, and patience? Or will it go into heedlessness, sin, resentment, empty distraction, and delay?
Allah did not say every person is in loss except the wealthy. He did not say except the famous. He did not say except the people who had easy lives. He said: except those who believe, do righteous deeds, advise one another to truth, and advise one another to patience. This means that success with time is not limited to a certain age, income, or personality. The student, the parent, the worker, the retiree, the one who is healthy, and the one who is ill can all become people whose time is blessed by Allah.
But first we must see time as an amanah. Amanah means a trust: something given to you that you are responsible to return in the way the Owner commanded. Our time belongs to Allah. Our bodies belong to Allah. Our eyesight, our hearing, our strength, our weekends, our evenings, our mornings, our youth, our old age, our private moments, our public moments: all of it is from Allah and all of it returns to Allah.
The Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, warned us that many people are deceived about this gift.
There are two blessings which many people lose: health and free time for doing good.
Sahih al-Bukhari 6412
Health and free time. When we have them, we often assume they will remain. When we lose them, we suddenly understand their value. A person says, When I am less busy, I will pray with focus. When work slows down, I will read Quran. When I am older, I will repent. When the children grow up, I will serve my parents. When my mood improves, I will stop that sin. But who guaranteed us the next season of life? Who promised us that the heart will be softer later? Who promised us that the habit we feed today will be easier to break tomorrow?
Dear believers, this khutbah is not a call to panic. Islam is not a religion of constant anxiety. We sleep, we work, we eat, we visit family, we laugh in a halal way, we rest when we need rest. Rest can be worship when it helps us obey Allah. Earning a halal living can be worship. Caring for children can be worship. Sitting with your spouse with kindness can be worship. Visiting a sick person can be worship. Even a small good deed done with sincerity is not small with Allah.
But heedlessness is different from rest. Rest renews you for obedience. Heedlessness pulls you away from Allah and makes you forget why you were created. Rest has a purpose. Heedlessness has no shore. One video becomes ten. One argument becomes a night. One grudge becomes years. One bad habit becomes part of a person's identity. Then the heart becomes numb, and the tongue says, I will change later.
Allah calls us to look ahead before it is too late.
O you who believe, fear Allah. Let every soul look to what it has sent forth for tomorrow, and fear Allah. Indeed, Allah is Aware of what you do.
Quran 59:18
Notice the words: what it has sent forth for tomorrow. Tomorrow means the Hereafter. Every day we are sending something forward. A prayer sent forward. A charity sent forward. A sincere tear sent forward. A page of Quran sent forward. A hidden sin sent forward. An insult sent forward. A wasted obligation sent forward. We are all sending. The only difference is what we are sending.
The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, made this accountability very clear.
The feet of a slave will not move on the Day of Judgment until he has been questioned about his life, how he spent it; his knowledge, what he did with it; his wealth, from where he earned it and on what he spent it; and his body, in what he wore it out.
Jami' at-Tirmidhi 2417
Our life: how we spent it. Not only how we spent our money, but how we spent ourselves. Our knowledge: did it make us humble or arrogant? Our wealth: was it halal, and did it serve what pleases Allah? Our body: what did we wear it out for? For prayer or only for appetite? For service or only for display? For helping people or only for chasing the next desire?
This question is serious, but it is also merciful. Because we are hearing it now, before the Day when feet will not move. We are hearing it while the masjid doors are open, while the tongue can say astaghfirullah, while the hands can give, while the phone can be put down, while the relationship can be repaired, while Fajr can still be prayed tomorrow, if Allah gives us tomorrow.
One of the traps of Shaytan is to make us disrespect small pieces of time. He says, It is only five minutes. It is only one night. It is only one missed sunnah. It is only one glance. It is only one message. But life is made of small pieces. A wall is made brick by brick. A road is crossed step by step. A book is read page by page. A heart is built or damaged moment by moment.
Many of us do not need more information. We need more honesty. We know where our time leaks. For some, it is the phone before sleep and the phone after waking. For some, it is endless entertainment that leaves the chest empty. For some, it is talking about people who are not present. For some, it is anger that consumes the evening. For some, it is work without boundaries until salah becomes squeezed into the corners. For some, it is not laziness, but being overwhelmed and never choosing what matters most.
So ask yourself gently but truthfully: What is taking my best time? What receives my freshest energy? Does Allah receive only the leftovers of my day? Does the Quran receive only the minutes when I am too tired to understand? Do my parents, spouse, children, and brothers and sisters receive attention only after every screen has been satisfied?
The Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, taught Ibn Umar a way to live with urgency without despair.
The Prophet took me by my shoulder and said: Be in this world as if you were a stranger or a traveler. Ibn Umar used to say: If you survive till the evening, do not expect to be alive in the morning, and if you survive till the morning, do not expect to be alive in the evening, and take from your health for your sickness, and from your life for your death.
Sahih al-Bukhari 6416
A traveler does not unpack as if the road will never end. A traveler carries what matters. A traveler asks: Will this help me reach my destination? That is how the believer looks at time. Will this hour help me meet Allah with a sounder heart? Will this conversation help me or harm me? Will this habit be something I am pleased to see in my record?
And if we look back and feel pain over wasted time, then let that pain become tawbah. Tawbah means returning to Allah: leaving the sin, regretting it, resolving not to return, and restoring people's rights when we have wronged them. Do not let Shaytan turn regret into despair. Regret is meant to push you through the door of mercy, not chain you outside it.
Allah says:
Say, O My servants who have transgressed against themselves, do not despair of the mercy of Allah. Indeed, Allah forgives all sins. Indeed, it is He who is the Forgiving, the Merciful.
Quran 39:53
And the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, taught us that the door of repentance is open.
Allah, the Exalted and Glorious, stretches out His Hand during the night so that the people may repent for the faults committed from dawn till dusk, and He stretches out His Hand during the day so that the people may repent for the faults committed from dusk to dawn. This will continue until the sun rises from the west.
Sahih Muslim 2759
SubhanAllah. Yesterday cannot return, but the Lord of yesterday is still calling you. The hour you wasted cannot come back, but it can be followed by an hour of repentance. The sin you committed cannot be erased by pretending it never happened, but it can be erased by sincere tawbah. The neglect of the past can be replaced by humility, consistency, and a new beginning.
So do not say, I have wasted too much time to become close to Allah. Say instead: Allah allowed me to reach this Jumuah so I can begin again. Do not say, My habits are too strong. Say: My Lord is stronger than my habits. Do not say, I will start one day. Say: By Allah's help, I will start with the next prayer, the next choice, the next minute.
Servants of Allah, time will never return, but we will return to Allah. The wise person is not the one who merely owns a calendar. The wise person is the one who prepares for the meeting with Allah. The wise person does not wait for death to make life meaningful. The wise person makes life meaningful before death arrives.
May Allah make us from the people of faith, righteous deeds, truth, and patience. May Allah forgive our wasted hours and bless our remaining days. I say these words of mine, and I seek Allah's forgiveness for myself and for you. Seek His forgiveness, for He is the Most Forgiving, the Most Merciful.
Alhamdulillahi Rabbil alamin. All praise belongs to Allah, Lord of the worlds. We praise Him for His countless blessings, open and hidden. We bear witness that there is no god worthy of worship except Allah alone, and we bear witness that Muhammad is His servant and Messenger. O Allah, send peace and blessings upon our Prophet Muhammad, upon his family, and upon his companions.
Servants of Allah, have taqwa of Allah in public and in private. Know that the breath in your chest is a gift, the hour in your hand is a trust, and the day ahead is not guaranteed. The believer lives between gratitude for what Allah has given, repentance for what has passed, and preparation for what is coming.
Second Khutbah
Dear brothers and sisters, the message today is simple: time is an amanah that will never return. It becomes either a witness for us or a witness against us. Allah swore by time and told us that mankind is in loss except those who fill their time with faith, righteous deeds, truth, and patience.
Do not leave this khutbah with a vague feeling only. Feelings fade. Make a decision. Choose something small enough to do and serious enough to matter. The Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, loved consistency in worship.
The most beloved deeds to Allah are those that are done regularly, even if they are few.
Sahih al-Bukhari 6464; Sahih Muslim 783
For the coming week, take these three actions, sincerely for Allah.
- Guard your five prayers on time. Build your day around salah, not salah around the leftovers of your day. When the adhan enters, let it interrupt the world. If you struggle, begin with one prayer that you refuse to delay, then strengthen the others. A day protected by prayer is not a wasted day.
- Rescue ten minutes every day for Allah. Ten minutes of Quran with reflection. Ten minutes of dhikr, remembering Allah. Ten minutes of dua, asking Allah with a present heart. Choose a time and attach it to something fixed: after Fajr, after Maghrib, during lunch, or before sleep. Small, regular deeds polish the heart.
- Close one door of wasted time and open one door of benefit. Put a limit on the app that steals your night. Stop one conversation that feeds backbiting. Apologize to one person you harmed. Call a parent or relative. Pay back a debt or make a plan to pay it. Remove one private sin and replace it with one hidden good deed.
And parents, teach your children the value of time without crushing them. Let them see you pray on time. Let them see you put the phone away. Let them see that Islam is not only lectures, but a home where Allah is remembered, people are respected, and minutes are not treated as worthless.
Youth of this ummah, your youth is not a waiting room before real life begins. Your choices now matter. Your salah now matters. Your modesty now matters. Your friends now matter. Your screen now matters. Allah sees you, Allah knows your struggle, and Allah can raise you through sincere choices that no one else notices.
And elders, your remaining time is precious. Do not think usefulness has ended because strength has decreased. A sincere dua, a wise word, a repaired relationship, a heart attached to Allah, and patience in illness can be greater than deeds that people applaud.
O Allah, make our best days the days that bring us closest to You. Make our remaining time better than our past. Do not let us be people who only wake up when the opportunity is gone.
Allahumma salli wa sallim wa barik ala nabiyyina Muhammad. O Allah, send Your peace, blessings, and honor upon our Prophet Muhammad, upon his family, his companions, and those who follow his guidance.
O Allah, forgive the believing men and believing women, the Muslim men and Muslim women, the living among them and the deceased. O Allah, forgive our parents, our teachers, our families, and those who have rights over us. O Allah, have mercy on those who have returned to You, widen their graves, fill them with light, and raise their ranks among the guided.
O Allah, guide us and keep us steadfast. Make faith beloved to us and beautify it in our hearts. Make disbelief, sin, and disobedience hateful to us. O Turner of the hearts, keep our hearts firm upon Your religion.
O Allah, bless our families. Rectify our spouses, our children, and our homes. Protect our youth from confusion, addiction, despair, arrogance, and bad company. Make them people of Quran, salah, good character, courage, modesty, and service to Your creation.
O Allah, heal the sick among us and all the sick Muslims. Relieve those in pain, those in grief, those facing anxiety, depression, loneliness, and fear. O Allah, give comfort to the distressed and provide a way out for those in hardship.
O Allah, settle the debts of those burdened by debt. Enrich the poor from Your bounty. Provide halal provision for those seeking work. Place barakah, blessed increase, in what You have given us, and protect us from greed, wastefulness, and unlawful earnings.
O Allah, aid the oppressed everywhere. Protect the weak, feed the hungry, shelter the displaced, heal the wounded, and replace fear with safety. O Allah, remove oppression and injustice, and grant relief with mercy and wisdom.
O Allah, guide those in authority to justice, wisdom, humility, and care for the people. Protect communities from corruption, cruelty, and chaos. Make our leaders and decision-makers helpers of truth and fairness, not helpers of wrongdoing.
O Allah, unite our hearts upon truth. Remove hatred, envy, racism, arrogance, and division from our communities. Make us people who advise one another with mercy, stand for truth with patience, and differ with manners when we differ.
O Allah, accept our prayers, our fasting, our charity, our repentance, our Quran, our dhikr, and our duas. Protect us from trials, those that are apparent and those that are hidden. Protect us from the trials of life and death and from the trial of the false messiah.
O Allah, do not make this dunya our greatest concern or the limit of our knowledge. Grant us good in this life and good in the Hereafter, and protect us from the punishment of the Fire.
Indeed, Allah commands justice, excellence, and giving to relatives, and forbids immorality, wrongdoing, and oppression. He admonishes you so that perhaps you will be reminded.
Quran 16:90
Remember Allah, the Most Great, and He will remember you. Thank Him for His blessings, and He will increase you. The remembrance of Allah is greater, and Allah knows what you do. Establish the prayer.