Friday Khutbah of Masjid Otsuka

January, Friday 27. 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-Hasyr:

“…Fear Allah. And let every soul look to what it has put forth for tomorrow – and fear Allah. …” (S.59  V.18)

As if the day says to us: “I am a new day, and I will be a witness to whatever you do in me, and indeed when the sun sets I will not return to you except until the Day of Judgment”  Indeed, brothers and sisters, if we reflect on the potential admonition such a day could make to us, then we should also think about how quickly time passes us by, days, months and years will have passed in our lifetimes already, times that will never come back except in the manner of how we invested ourselves in it. Indicating the importance of time, we should note that Allah Himself swears by time in many verses in the Qur’an. So, at different times Allah swears by the Morning (Subh), Daybreak (Fajr), the Day (Nahaar) and Time (Asr). So, for example Allah says in the Qur’an in Surah ad-Dhuha:

“By the morning brightness.”  “And [by] the night when it covers with darkness.”  (S.93  V.1—2)

Indeed, a realized human being is someone who makes the most of the time allotted to them in their day by distributing its time in an efficient manner. So, such a person sets aside designated time for the worship of his Lord in accordance with the time that Allah has designated for worship. Allah says in the Qur’an in Surah an-Nisaa:

“…Ieed, prayer has been decreed upon the believers a decree of specified times.”  (S.4  V.103)

Similarly, a person should set aside some time for their parents, sitting with them and spending time in their company, asking about their state, conversing with them and giving them contentment. This would be in accordance with the Verse in the Qur’an in Surah Luqman: ‌

“…Accompany them (parents) in this world with appropriate kindness. …”  (S.31  V.15)

The person should likewise make time for his immediate family, so he should be for his wife a means of intimacy and be available for her needs. He should be someone his spouse and children can turn to for comfort and aid. For his children he should be a role model and a teacher. As the Prophet SAW said: “The best of you are the best to their family.” [Tirmidhi]   So, a person should be avid to setting aside time to visit his relatives and those close to him. He should be in contact and goodly relations with his neighbors and friends. Indeed, the best of ways a person can spend their time is that they ensure that they adhere to doing their work in whatever professions they work in, in the best of ways. For their professions are premised on agreements whereby there is a trust that they perform certain duties of task in exchange for employment and income, and the believer is the one who fulfills their trusts and is loyal to whatever they have accepted to undertake. Allah says about the believers in the Qur’an in Surah al-Muminun: 

“And they [the believers are those] who are to their trusts and their promises attentive.”  (S.23  V.8)

Similarly, a person should invest some hours of in their day in expanding their understanding, increasing their knowledge, developing their skills and abilities. A person’s life will be full of achievements and righteousness, so he will be among the best of people. Somebody asked the Prophet SAW saying: “O Messenger of Allah SAW! Which of the people is the best?”  He SAW said: “He whose life is long and his deeds are good.”  And then he SAW also said: “The worst is the one who has a long life and his deeds are bad.” [Tirmidhi]    And this is the way of cultured and educated peoples for they value their time and instill in the hearts of their children and generations the value of preserving time, and investing it well, thus leading to an increase in what they produce in their time and increasing in the progress and development of their homelands. Allah says in the Qur’an in Surah ar-Rum:

“Do they not contemplate within themselves? Allah has not created the heavens and the earth and what is between them except in truth.”  (S.30  V.8)

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