What would be useful in our community is a khutbah about how our prophet, peace be upon him, lived his life and treated others. Today our sermon ended with the story of a shirt, which companions of the prophet apparently fought over, indicative of their esteemed affection for him.
Lovely. But in all these weeks, months and years attending the Friday prayer in this mosque, I have never once heard practical lessons from his life, which might be instructive in our own. Could this community not benefit from prophetic guidance on the rights and responsibilities of our dependents? Will we learn nothing of our neighbours’ rights over us?
I know I am starting to sound like a broken record. But then so too are these speeches, which offer no instruction whatsoever. We just have stories which tell us nothing at all as to how we should conduct ourselves when we return to work after lunch or return home to our family in the evening.
We are neither taught to love God, nor instructed on how to live worthwhile lives which have a meaningful impact on ourselves and others. Perhaps these folk take the light of faith for granted, but they shouldn’t.
We charge those we appoint to stand before the congregation week after week with teaching us how the light of faith can transform our lives. Teach us to be charitable, restraining our anger, forgiving of others. Teach us to be kind to our spouses and children, and just in all of our dealings. Bring this faith of ours to life, farmaya.
Last modified: 4 November 2022
