Friday Khutbah of Masjid Otsuka

January, Friday 20. 2023

In the name of Allah Most Gracious and Most Merciful 

All praises are due to Allah. We believe in Him and His Angels, His Books, His Messengers, the Last Day and in Destiny its good and apparent bad. We are content with Allah as our Lord, Islam as our religion. I testify that there is nothing worthy of worship except Allah the uniquely One, who has no partners in His one-ness. And I testify that the Prophet Muhammad is the slave of Allah and His Messenger.

O servants of Allah! Allah says in the Qur’an in Surah al-Talaq:

“…And whoever fears Allah – He will remove for him his misdeeds and make great for him his reward.”  (S.65  V.5)

The Prophet SAW said: “On the day of resurrection Allah the most high will say, “O son of Adam!  I was sick and you did not visit me.”  The man will reply, “My Lord! How could I visit You when You are the Lord of the universe?”  He will say, “Did you not know that My servant so and so was ill and yet you did not visit him?  Did you not know that if you had visited him you would have found Me with him?” [Sahih Muslim]

　In other words, it is as if Allah is saying to such a person that had you visited such a sick person you would have found My grace and reward and I would have gifted you My special favors and the blessings of closeness to Me. In this, there is encouragement upon us to visit the sick and a clarification of the immensity of this virtue and the great reward attached to it. In other words, visiting the sick Muslims is a way of us taking a path that will lead us to Paradise. The Prophet SAW used to visit the sick, he used to console and advise them, lightening their burdens and worries from them. He SAW used to remind them of the mercy of their Lord, and the reward for their bearing difficulties and having patience, with regards to an increase in ranks and spiritual stations and well as expiation of sins.

The Prophet SAW used to say: “No Muslim is afflicted with any harm, even if it were the prick of a thorn, but that Allah expiates his sins because of that, as a tree sheds its leaves.” [Bukhari and Muslim]   And the Prophet SAW used to supplicate for the healing of the sick when he visited them. When the Prophet SAW visited Sa’d bin Abi Waqqas RA he SAW supplicated for him saying: “O Allah, heal Sa’d [three times].” [Bukhari and Muslim]　Indeed, it is Allah who is the Healer. Allah tells us in the words of Prophet Ibrahim (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) in the Qur’an in Surah al-Shuara:

“And when I am sick, it is He who cures me.”  (S.26  V.80)

Indeed, T he Prophet SAW has commanded us to visit the sick, when he said: “Visit the sick”. [Ahmad]    Indeed, in the visiting of the sick there lies the guidance of the Prophet SAW, the exemplar of all nobility, demonstrating that such acts are an indication of the nobility of a person. In such a way a Muslim is someone who sacrifices his time, his efforts, for the sake of other people, someone who values all human beings. It is recommended in such visiting that the visits not be very long, that they not become arduous for the sick, that these visits follow all the precautions of good health, that the visits leave hope in the souls of the sick, that they raise their spirituality, that they ease their affairs. These are the noble acts, through which we can enhance affection and compassion between us, and compassionate communication and solidarity in our society.

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.  

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

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

O Allah! Accept us for Your service and for the service of Islam and Muslims.

O Allah! Accept all of us Dawah worker in Japan

O Allah! Grant safety and security in Japan and all over the world. Aamin ya Rabbil Aalamin