Friday Khutbah of Masjid Otsuka
May, Friday 05. 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-Imran:
“…For those who fear Allah will be gardens in the presence of their Lord beneath which rivers flow, wherein they abide eternally, and purified spouses and approval from Allah.…” (S.3 V.15)
Strive unto the approval of Allah. Strive unto a great recompense, and a great station, for there is nothing greater than the pleasure of Allah. Whoever attains unto that has attained unto everything, and whoever loses out on it has lost out on everything. Allah says in the Qur’an in Surah al-Taubah:
“… But approval from Allah is greater. It is that which is the great attainment.” (S.9 V.72)
Here Allah is telling us His pleasure is that which is greater than any other attainment, showing that whoever attains unto the pleasure of Allah has attained the highest of spiritual ranks. This makes our seeking of such approval or pleasure as being the loftiest of things we can aim for, and something we should hasten and strive for.
The Prophet SAW used to say: “O Allah! I ask You for Your pleasure after Your decree.” [Al- Nasa’i] So how do we attain unto the approval of Allah? We attain unto it through striving in our devotion, through the beauty in our worship, for Allah has praised those who attain unto it. Allah says in the Qur’an in Surah al-Fath:
“…You see them (the Prophet Muhammad and his Companions) bowing and prostrating [in prayer], seeking bounty from Allah and [His] pleasure. …” (S.48 V.29)
So, they attained unto the approval and pleasure of Allah when they committed themselves to worship, following His commands and abstaining from His prohibitions. Hence, they attained His pleasure by being pleased with Him and His decree. Allah enjoins on those He is pleased with, the state of their being pleased with Him, and as an expression of this is the state of Khashya (reverential awe of Allah). Another sign that one is on their way to attaining the pleasure or approval of Allah is when one adorns oneself with beautiful or righteous character, so such a person is truthful in their character and in their actions and dealings. Allah says in the Qur’an in Surah al-Maidah:
“Allah will say, ‘This is the Day when the truthful will benefit from their truthfulness. For them are gardens [in Paradise] beneath which rivers flow, wherein they will abide forever, Allah being pleased with them, and they with Him. That is the great attainment.’” (S.5 V.119)
So, whoever is content and grateful for whatever Allah has gifted them, then Allah is content with them and they are content with Him. It is this contentment that stirs a person on in their devotion, and in this manner all goodness lies in the seed of contentment with Allah. Hence, a believer should be someone who seeks the pleasure of Allah in every good deed they do. In this manner he will benefit himself in the best of ways and be able to benefit others. As the Prophet SAW said: “A servant seeks to please Allah [through righteous deeds]. The servant keeps on doing so, until Allah says to Gabriel: ‘My servant so and so seeks to please Me, therefore my mercy had descended on him.’　After which it comes down to him on the earth.” Allah says in the Qur’an in Surah al-Maryam:
“Indeed, those who have believed and done righteous deeds – the Most Merciful will appoint for them affection.” (S.19 V.96)

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