Friday Khutbah of Masjid Otsuka

September, Friday 08. 2023

All praise is due to Allah Who sent down the Qur’an with which He guided us to the straight path. I bear witness that there is none worthy of worship except Allah, having no partners, and Muhammad is His servant and Messenger.

O servants of Allah! Many people in our present time have become tools of cursing darkness and driving pessimism away. Few of those who worship Allah the almighty by creating hope in the hearts of people while saying in their movements and speeches. Allah says in the Qur’an in Surah Yusuf and as-Saf:

“O my sons! Go and search ˹diligently˺ for Joseph and his brother. And do not lose hope in the mercy of Allah, for no one loses hope in Allah’s mercy except those with no faith.”  (S. 12  V.87)

“He will also give you˺ another favor that you long for: help from Allah and an imminent victory. ˹So˺ give good news ˹O Prophet˺ to the believers.”  (S.61  V.13)

The duty of every muslim in this time is to spread hope not plant despair especially nowadays the world is facing many and very difficult incidents. So what hope do we want ? It is the hope of Allah’s mercy and forgiveness. It is the confidence in the demise of the calamity and problems that people suffer from. It is the expectation for the better and the confidence in achieving victory. If a person’s soul is filled with hope, his determination increases and his movements grow. In the period of the beginning of call to Islam (Dawah) in Makkah and worries that besetted, the prophet Muhammad SAW said: “By the One in Whose Hand is my soul, Allah will make this matter (i.e., Islam) prevail …”

Many examples of hope can be found through out history that Allah gave victory to. Do you remember the prophet Yunus (Jonah) who was swallowed by the whale. Allah saved and healed him. Do you remember the prophet Zakariya (Zechariah) who reached a very old age but od Allah blessed him with a baby boy after infertility.

Developing strong faith (Iman) as Allah says in the Qur’an in Surah Ali’Imran:

“Allah would not leave the believers in the condition you were in, until He distinguished the good from the evil ˹among you˺…”  (S.3  V.179)

So, fill your heart with Yaqeen (certainty). Allah says in the Qur’an in Surah Al-Baqarah:

“… Perhaps you dislike something which is good for you and like something which is bad for you. Allah knows and you do not know.”  (S.2  V.216)

Learn from the experiences of others in converting despair by planting hope.

Allah says in the Qur’an in Surah Yusuf:

 “In their stories there is truly a lesson for people of reason.…”  (S.12  V.111).

Let us remember the case of the prophet Musa. Allah says in the Qur’an in Surah Ash-Shu’ara:

“When the two groups came face to face, the companions of Moses cried out, ‘We are overtaken for sure’.” “Moses reassured them, ‘Absolutely not! My Lord is certainly with me—He will guide me.’”  (S.26  V.61–62)

The prophet Musa believed in the Load and got the way of getting out. Then the prophet Muhammad SAW says: “When you hear a man saying, ‘People are destroyed,’ then he has destroyed them.”   Be certain of a soon victory from Allah and do not allow the pains of life to defeat your hopes in Allah the creator of everything. Move energetically, the prophet Muhammad SAW said: “If the Final Hour comes while you have a shoot

of a plant in your hands and it is possible to plant it before the Hour comes, you should plant it.”   So let us have hope in Allah, be steadfast and keep working for our akhirah until our last moments. May Allah give us a good end and enter us unto Paradise with His mercy.

May the peace and the blessings of Allah be upon prophet Muhammad SAW, his family and all of his Companions. May Allah be pleased with the Rightly Guided Caliphs: Abu Bakr, Umar, Uthman and Ali, and all those who will follow them in righteousness until the Day of Judgment.

O Allah! Accept our prayers and all our ibada and also all our good deeds for the sake of Your pleasure.

O Allah! Guide us to the right path and accept all our worships

O Allah! Accept all our good deeds and forgive our sins.

O Allah! Accept all of us Dawah worker in Japan

O Allah! Give rizq in abundance to all Muslims in Japan

Oh Allah! Grant safety and security to everyone here in Japan as well as all over the world.

Aamin ya Rabbil Aalamin.