Your youth will be followed by the winter of old age; your health will be visited by the night of sickness; and your time on earth will inevitably be closed by the dark sheet of the grave.

 الخطبة الأولى (The First Khutbah)

• By Ibrahim Aweda Abdulrahmon

As-salamu Alaikum Wa Rahmatullahi Wa Barakatuh.

الحمد لله رب العالمين، والصلاة والسلام على أشرف الأنبياء المرسلين، نبينا محمد وعلى آله وصحبه أجمعين. أما بعد:

My dear brothers and sisters, look closely at how we move through this world every single day. We live in an era of terrifying blindness. We walk through life with our eyes wide open, yet our hearts are completely asleep. We wake up, grab our phones, check the weather, look at the time, rush to our offices, navigate through traffic, and return home—completely running on mechanical autopilot. We treat the physical universe around us as a dead, silent backdrop to our busy careers and personal dramas.

When you look at the brilliant light of the morning sun hitting your face, you think of solar energy or the start of a workday. When you look up at the night sky and watch the moon transition smoothly through its crescent phases, you think of calendar dates or a beautiful scenery for a photo. We have become experts at measuring, calculating, and exploiting the natural laws of the earth, but we are completely blind to the divine whispers screaming at us through those very laws. We have allowed the routine nature of our daily lives to turn us into spiritual zombies. Because the sun rises every single day without fail, we take it for granted. Because the night falls predictably every evening, we think it is just a basic clock mechanism of nature. We have forgotten that everything moving around us is actively testifying to a Supreme Designer.

But Allah, the Maker of the heavens and the earth, the One who engineered the planetary dance keeping you alive right now, breaks through this human numbness. He issues a direct invitation to wake up our intellect, step out of our routine bubbles, and read the cosmic alphabet of reality.

Turn your hearts to the stunning revelation embedded in the landscape of time. Listen to this heavy, eye-opening call to consciousness found in Surah Yunus (10:6):

إِنَّ فِى ٱخْتِلَٰفِ ٱلَّيْلِ وَٱلنَّهَارِ وَمَا خَلَقَ ٱللَّهُ فِى ٱلسَّمَٰوَٰتِ وَٱلْأَرْضِ لَءَايَٰتٍ لِّقَوْمٍ يَتَّقُونَ

“Indeed, in the alternation of the night and the day and [in] what Allah has created in the heavens and the earth are signs for a people who are conscious of Allah.”

Let these words cut through your daily distractions today. Look at the cosmic canvas Allah points us to: Inna fikh-tilafil-layli wan-nahari—"Indeed, in the continuous, flawless alternation of the night and the day."

Think about the sheer scale of this reality. The planet you are sitting on right now is spinning through pitch-black space at a terrifying speed. Yet, you do not feel dizzy. You do not fly off into the void. Allah smoothly rolls the thick blanket of the night over the blinding heat of the day, allowing your body to rest, your mind to cool down, and the earth to breathe. Then, right when the darkness feels permanent, He peels back the night and floods the horizon with a brilliant, life-giving day, activating the economy, waking up the creation, and providing light for your stride.

This is not a mechanical accident. It is a dynamic, living mercy. Allah adds: wa-ma khalaqa Allahu fis-samawati wal-ard—"and in every single thing that Allah has manufactured throughout the vast expanses of the heavens and the earth." From the massive, burning galaxies light-years away, down to the microscopic root systems feeding a tiny blade of grass beneath your shoes—everything is an Ayah. Everything is a physical signpost pointing directly to the power, the wisdom, and the perfection of the Creator.

To help everyone sitting here truly comprehend the tragedy of ignoring these signs, let us look at an original analogy from our modern daily lives. Imagine a man who is invited to stay inside a hyper-luxurious, state-of-the-art smart mansion designed by the greatest architect on earth. The house is completely custom-built for his survival: the air filtration system constantly adjusts to keep his lungs healthy, the kitchen automatically dispenses fresh, hot food every morning, the lighting perfectly shifts from bright morning tones to soft evening colors to manage his sleep, and the security systems protect him from the harsh blizzards outside.

Now, imagine if this man walks into the mansion, sits on the couch, pulls out his phone, and spends the next ten years playing a cheap, pixilated mobile video game. He never looks out the massive glass windows at the beautiful gardens. He never pauses to think about how the clean water keeps flowing into his glass. He never asks who built the automated kitchen. When someone knocks on his door and says, "Did you look at the brilliant engineering of this house? Did you leave a thank-you note for the Master Architect who sustains you here?" The man yells angrily, "Leave me alone! Can't you see I'm busy trying to reach the next level on my video game? This house just exists by itself!"

What would you say about the mental capacity of that man? You would say his mind is completely ruined! He is a prisoner of a digital illusion while sitting inside a physical masterpiece of mercy.

My dear congregation, this entire universe is that smart mansion, and our modern digital distractions are that cheap mobile video game! We are so deeply infatuated with the pixels on our screens, our social media statistics, and our temporary career goals that we are living inside a literal miracle without ever looking up! You breathe oxygen you didn't manufacture, you stand on a ground you didn't stabilize, you eat food grown from dirt you didn't design, under a sky that is perfectly shielded by atmospheric layers you couldn't create for a single second. Yet, we walk through life complaining, stressing, and acting as if we are self-sufficient, completely ignoring the Master Architect who runs the entire system for our survival!

Allah reveals the key to breaking this spell at the very end of the verse. He says these cosmic signposts are exclusive: li-qawmin yattaqoon—"for a people who possess Taqwa—those who are deeply conscious of Him." If your heart is dead, the sunset is just a chemical reaction in the atmosphere. But if your heart is alive with Taqwa, the sunset is a divine signature that moves you to your knees in absolute humility!

Let us leave this first part of our sermon by opening our spiritual eyes. Stop looking at the world as a dead machine. When you step outside this masjid today, look at the sky, look at the trees, and watch the day transition into the night with a conscious, waking heart. Realize that you are surrounded by the direct evidence of your Master’s presence, and let that realization shatter your complacency before you return to the dust.

أقول قولي هذا وأستغفر الله لي ولكم.

الخطبة الثانية (The Second Khutbah)

بِسْمِ اللهِ الرَّحْمٰنِ الرَّحِيْمِ. الحَمْدُ للهِ حَمْداً كَثِيْراً طَيِّباً مُبَارَكاً فِيْهِ كَمَا يُحِبُّ رَبُّنَا وَيَرْضَى، وَأَشْهَدُ أَنْ لا إِلَهَ إِلا اللهُ وَحْدَهُ لا شَرِيكَ لَهُ، وَأَشْهَدُ أَنْ مُحَمَّداً عَبْدُهُ وَرَسُولُهُ. صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَعَلَى آلِهِ وَصَحْبِهِ وَسَلَّمَ تَسْلِيماً كَثِيْراً إِلَى يَوْمِ الدِّيْنِ. أَمَّا بَعْدُ:

My dear brothers and sisters, welcome back your hearts to this urgent calibration. We must understand that the alternation of the night and the day is not just a lesson in physical astronomy; it is a profound mirror for the temporary nature of your own life on earth. The day arrives with energy, but it is forced to submit to the night. The night covers the world in darkness, but it is forced to break when the morning arrives. This constant cycle is a loud, unceasing reminder from Allah that nothing in this Dunya stays permanent. Your youth will be followed by the winter of old age; your health will be visited by the night of sickness; and your time on earth will inevitably be closed by the dark sheet of the grave.

To help us connect this cosmic design to our personal accountability, turn your attention to a supporting verse where Allah details the profound intellectual reaction of the righteous when they look at the creation. Listen to how the elite minds of faith behave in Surah Ali 'Imran (3:190-191):

إِنَّ فِى خَلْقِ ٱلَّذِيَنَ يَذْكُرُونَ ٱللَّهَ قِيَٰمًا وَقُعُودًا وَعَلَىٰ جُنُوبِهِمْ وَيَتَفَكَّرُونَ فِى خَلْقِ ٱلسَّمَٰوَٰتِ وَٱلْأَرضِ رَبَّنَا مَا خَلَقْتَ هَٰذَا بَٰطِلًا سُبْحَٰنَكَ فَقِنَا عَذَابَ ٱلنَّارِ

"Indeed, in the creation of the heavens and the earth and the alternation of the night and the day are signs for those of understanding... Who remember Allah while standing or sitting or [lying] on their sides and give thought to the creation of the heavens and the earth, [saying], 'Our Lord, You did not create this aimlessly; exalted are You [above such a thing]; so protect us from the punishment of the Fire.'"

Look at the psychological flow! Their observation leads directly to transformation. They don't just admire the physics of the universe; they look at the grand design and declare: Rabbana ma khalaqta hadha batila—"Our Lord, You did not construct all of this for zero reason! This is not a purposeless playground. There is an exam happening here!" They realize that if the Creator built the universe with such flawless precision, He definitely did not create the human soul to be left abandoned without a final day of absolute justice. The perfection of the heavens anchors their fear of the Hereafter.

To show you how this awareness completely re-wires your day-to-day choices, listen to this beautiful, eye-opening authentic Hadith that details the heavy price of walking through life with a closed mind. In a moving narration recorded by Imam Ibn Hibban, Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her) was asked about the most wondrous thing she saw from the Prophet ﷺ.

She wept and said that one night, the Prophet ﷺ stood up in prayer and cried so intensely that his beard and the very ground beneath him became wet with tears. Bilal came to inform him of the Fajr prayer and asked, "O Messenger of Allah, why do you cry so much when Allah has already forgiven all your past and future sins?"

The Prophet ﷺ looked at him and gave a soul-shaking response. He said:

أَفَلاَ أَكُونُ عَبْدًا شَكُورًا؟ لَقَدْ نَزَلَتْ عَلَيَّ اللَّيْلَةَ آيَةٌ، وَيْلٌ لِمَنْ قَرَأَهَا وَلَمْ يَتَفَكَّرْ فِيهَا: إِنَّ فِي خَلْقِ السَّمَاوَاتِ وَالأَرْضِ وَاخْتِلاَفِ اللَّيْلِ وَالنَّهارِ...

"Should I not be a grateful servant? A verse was revealed to me tonight, and woe—absolute destruction—be to the one who reads it but completely fails to contemplate its meaning: 'Indeed, in the creation of the heavens and the earth and the alternation of the night and the day...'" (Sahih Ibn Hibban).

SubhanAllah! The Prophet ﷺ issues a severe warning: Waylun—destruction and misery to the person who passes by these signs like a blind tourist!

Let us fix our vision right now, before we step back out onto the chaotic streets of this city. We must rescue our minds from the choking fog of heedlessness. When you go back to your businesses, your market stalls, and your families after this Jumuah prayer, do not let your heart fall back into a mechanical sleep.

When you see the sun setting this evening, let it remind you that another day of your fixed lifetime has vanished forever. When you experience a moment of ease, remember the Maker of the mansion. When you face a dark trial, remind your soul that the night is always forced to give way to the dawn.

Live your life with an awake, conscious mind. Keep your actions pure, guard your character from the pride of the world, and face your daily realities with a deep, pulsating heart of Taqwa that looks at every corner of the universe and declares: "My Lord, You are the Master of this magnificent design, You are the Author of my transit, and I live entirely to meet You in the safety of Your eternal pleasure."

عِبَادَ اللهِ، إِنَّ اللهَ وَمَلَائِكَتَهُ يُصَلُّونَ عَلَى النَّبِيِّ، يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا صَلُّوا عَلَيْهِ وَسَلِّمُوا تَسْلِيمًا.

اللَّهُمَّ صَلِّ وَسَلِّمْ وَبَارِكْ عَلَى نَبِيِّنَا مُحَمَّدٍ، وَعَلَى آلِهِ وَصَحْبِهِ أَجْمَعِينَ.

اللَّهُمَّ أَعِزَّ الإِسْلَامَ وَالمُسْلِمِينَ، اللَّهُمَّ أَعِزَّ الإِسْلَامَ وَالمُسْلِمِينَ، وَأَذِلَّ الشِّرْكَ وَالمُشْرِكِينَ.

اللَّهُمَّ اجْعَلْنَا مِنْ أُولِي الأَلْبَابِ الَّذِينَ يَذْكُرُونَكَ قِيَاماً وَقُعُوداً وَعَلَى جُنُوبِهِمْ، اللَّهُمَّ لَا تَجْعَلْنَا مِنَ الغَافِلِينَ عَنْ آيَاتِكَ. اللَّهُمَّ اجْعَلِ القُرْآنَ العَظِيمَ رَبِيعَ قُلُوبِنَا، وَنُورَ صُدُورِنَا، وَجَلَاءَ أَحْزَانِنَا، وَذَهَابَ هُمُومِنَا وَغُمُومِنَا.

رَبَّنَا آتِنَا فِي الدُّنْيَا حَسَنَةً وَفِي الآخِرَةِ حَسَنَةً وَقِنَا عَذَابَ النَّارِ.

عِبَادَ اللهِ، اذْكُرُوا اللهَ العَظِيمَ يَذْكُرْكُمْ، وَاشْكُرُوهُ عَلَى نِعَمِهِ يَزِدْكُمْ، وَلَذِكْرُ اللهِ أَكْبَرُ، وَاللهُ يَعْلَمُ مَا تَصْنَعُونَ. أَقِمِ الصَّلَاةَ.