https://www.khutbah.info/appreciating-the-ongoing-blessings/ Allah Almighty said: Al Anam (6) 1-3: (1) [All] praise is [due] to Allāh, who created the heavens and the earth and made the darkness and the light. Then those who disbelieve equate [others] with their Lord. (2) It is He who created you from clay and then decreed a term and a specified time [known] to Him; then [still] you are in dispute. (3) And He is Allāh, [the only deity] in the heavens and the earth. He knows your secret and what you make public, and He knows that which you earn. People do not truly know Allah and properly appreciate Him. So there are those who disbelieve in Him and those who disobey Him and those who fall short in obeying Him. And if they knew His greatness, their hearts would be filled with awe, reverence, love and glorification of Him. And if they knew His ability, their hearts would not be attached to other than Him. And if they were conscious of His reward, their limbs would be occupied with His obedience.
إِنَّ الْحَمْدَ لِلَّهِ ,نَحْمَدُهُ ,وَنَسْتَعِينُهُ وَنَسْتَغْفِرُهُ , وَنَعُوذُ بِاللهِ مِنْ شُرُورِ أَنْفُسِنَا وَمِنْ سَيِّئَاتِ أَعْمَالِنَا ,مَنْ يَهْدِهِ اللهُ فَلَا مُضِلَّ لَهُ , وَمَنْ يُضْلِلْ فَلَا هَادِيَ لَهُ , وَأَشْهَدُ أَنْ لَا إِلَهَ إِلَّا اللهُ وَحْدَهُ لَا شَرِيكَ لَهُ وَأَنَّ مُحَمَّدًا عَبْدُهُ وَرَسُولُهُ
Verily, all praise is for Allah. We praise Him, we seek His assistance and we ask for His forgiveness. And we seek refuge in Him from the evils of our selves. Whoever Allah guides, none can misguide. Whoever He misguides, none can guide. And I bear witness that there is no deity other than Allah and I bear witness that Mohammad is His slave and messenger.
يَا أَيُّهَا الّذِينَ آمَنُوا اتَّقُوا اللَّهَ حَقَّ تُقَاتِهِ وَلَا تَمُوتُنَّ إِلَّا وَأَنْتُمْ مُسْلِمُونَ – آل عمران:102
Al Imran 102 : O you who believe! Fear Allah as He should be feared, and die not except in a state of Islam.
Oh people:
Allah Almighty said:
الْحَمْدُ لِلَّهِ الَّذِي خَلَقَ السَّمَاوَاتِ وَالْأَرْضَ وَجَعَلَ الظُّلُمَاتِ وَالنُّورَ ثُمَّ الَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا بِرَبِّهِمْ يَعْدِلُونَ * هُوَ الَّذِي خَلَقَكُمْ مِنْ طِينٍ ثُمَّ قَضَى أَجَلًا وَأَجَلٌ مُسَمًّى عِنْدَهُ ثُمَّ أَنْتُمْ تَمْتَرُونَ * وَهُوَ اللَّهُ فِي السَّمَاوَاتِ وَفِي الْأَرْضِ يَعْلَمُ سِرَّكُمْ وَجَهْرَكُمْ وَيَعْلَمُ مَا تَكْسِبُونَ-الْأَنْعَامِ 1-3
Al Anam (6) 1-3: (1) [All] praise is [due] to Allāh, who created the heavens and the earth and made the darkness and the light. Then those who disbelieve equate [others] with their Lord. (2) It is He who created you from clay and then decreed a term and a specified time [known] to Him; then [still] you are in dispute. (3) And He is Allāh, [the only deity] in the heavens and the earth. He knows your secret and what you make public, and He knows that which you earn.
People do not truly know Allah and properly appreciate Him. So there are those who disbelieve in Him and those who disobey Him and those who fall short in obeying Him. And if they knew His greatness, their hearts would be filled with awe, reverence, love and glorification of Him. And if they knew His ability, their hearts would not be attached to other than Him. And if they were conscious of His reward, their limbs would be occupied with His obedience.
So be conscious of Allah Almighty and obey Him and be grateful to Him for His blessings. Gratitude for blessings increases them, just as ingratitude removes them. Allah Almighty said:
وَإِذْ تَأَذَّنَ رَبُّكُمْ لَئِنْ شَكَرْتُمْ لَأَزِيدَنَّكُمْ وَلَئِنْ كَفَرْتُمْ إِنَّ عَذَابِي لَشَدِيدٌ-إِبْرَاهِيمَ 7
Ibrahim (14) 7: And [remember] when your Lord proclaimed, ‘If you are grateful, I will surely increase you [in favor]; but if you deny, indeed, My punishment is severe.'”
It is a great loss when one forgets about Allah Almighty’s blessings either due to denying them or out of familiarity and getting used to them. And success now and later is in remembering Allah’s blessings in all situations and at all times. And to recount and remind others of these blessings, during hardships and during ease and in joy and in anguish and while free and while occupied and in youth and in maturity. For the blessings of Allah Almighty surround a person in all stages of their lives. And if one remembers them, this will lead them to being grateful. For the blessings increase with gratitude, just as remembering them eases a painful loss. And recounting blessings eases the calamities, afflictions and hardships of this world. For those looking at what Allah has given them of goodness while looking at those denied these blessings, are certain that their Lord has given them more than they deserved; a grace and mercy from Allah Almighty. Just as looking at an affliction greater than theirs, eases people’s afflictions. And in this manner one lives contently and alternates between gratitude and patience as they alternate between prosperity and adversity. And one’s heart is filled with being pleased with their Lord Most Glorified in all of their situations.
And in this context, there is no affliction worse than forgetting the blessings. When a person forgets the past and current blessings of Allah Almighty upon them, their sight and mind become constrained, so they only see the few things that they did not get, or the affliction that bothers them. Rather a person may forget to such an extent that they think that they are entitled to the past and current blessings, for no reason than that these blessings were poured upon them.
And the reality is that every blessing that one attains is purely Allah’s grace upon them. And a person would not deserve these blessings had it not been for Allah Almighty’s mercy upon them and Allah overlooking their wrongdoing and disobedience. And the verses in this regard are clear. Allah Almighty said:
وَرَبُّكَ الْغَفُورُ ذُو الرَّحْمَةِ لَوْ يُؤَاخِذُهُمْ بِمَا كَسَبُوا لَعَجَّلَ لَهُمُ الْعَذَابَ-الْكَهْفِ 58
Al Kahf (18) 58: And your Lord is the Forgiving, the possessor of mercy. If He were to impose blame upon them for what they earned, He would have hastened for them the punishment. Rather, for them is an appointment from which they will never find an escape.
And Allah Almighty said:
وَلَوْ يُؤَاخِذُ اللَّهُ النَّاسَ بِظُلْمِهِمْ مَا تَرَكَ عَلَيْهَا مِنْ دَابَّةٍ-النَّحْلِ
An Nahl (16) 61: And if Allāh were to seize people for their wrongdoing, He would not have left upon it [i.e., the earth] any creature.
And when the disbelievers of Quraish became accustomed to the blessings of their Lord, they did not pay attention at them and were not grateful to Him for them. Rather they believed that they deserved these blessings. And their thinking lead them to being ungrateful for these blessings. And Allah Almighty reminded them of their familiarity with these blessings. Allah Almighty said:
لِإِيلَافِ قُرَيْشٍ * إِيلَافِهِمْ رِحْلَةَ الشِّتَاءِ وَالصَّيْفِ * فَلْيَعْبُدُوا رَبَّ هَذَا الْبَيْتِ * الَّذِي أَطْعَمَهُمْ مِنْ جُوعٍ وَآمَنَهُمْ مِنْ خَوْفٍ-قُرَيْشٍ 1-4
Quraish (106) 1-4: (1) For the accustomed security of the Quraysh (2) Their accustomed security [in] the caravan of winter and summer (3) Let them worship the Lord of this House (4) Who has fed them, [saving them] from hunger and made them safe, [saving them] from fear.
So Quraish became accustomed to the winter journey to Yemen to bring goods to Makkah, just as they became accustomed with the summer journey to the Levant for the same purpose. And they forgot that their being guided to these two trips and their facilitation was a grace purely from Allah Almighty upon them. Especially since their caravans were spared from robbery and plundering. But their familiarity with these blessings made them forget Allah’s blessings upon them. Therefore, when Allah reminded them of these two journeys, He commanded them to worship Him alone without any partners. Just as Allah reminded them after this that He secured from hunger and made them safe instilling their inviolability within the Arabs due to them residing in Makkah and their maintaining the Kaba. And Allah inspired people from the neighboring countries to bring supplies to them. And the tribes were repelled so no one invaded them. Allah Almighty said:
أَوَلَمْ يَرَوْا أَنَّا جَعَلْنَا حَرَمًا آمِنًا وَيُتَخَطَّفُ النَّاسُ مِنْ حَوْلِهِمْ أَفَبِالْبَاطِلِ يُؤْمِنُونَ وَبِنِعْمَةِ اللَّهِ يَكْفُرُونَ-الْعَنْكَبُوتِ 67
Ankabut (29) 67: Have they not seen that We made [Makkah] a safe sanctuary, while people are being taken away all around them? Then in falsehood do they believe, and in the favor of Allāh they disbelieve?
This placed fear of them in people’s hearts. And this Lordly reminder to the disbelievers of Quraish of the blessings that they became accustomed to requires us, as we recite the Quran, and we recite surah Quraish often, to reflect upon what we have become accustomed to of blessings. So that our familiarity with blessings does not make us feel entitled to them and so that we remember these blessings and offer gratitude for them.
And the blessings that people have become accustomed cannot be enumerated. There are some that are permanent while others are recurring. And there are blessings common to all people. And people, in most cases, only remember the new blessings and not the reoccurring and permanent. And from the continuous and common blessings are the blessings of creation and the blessing of availing the sun and the moon, and the blessing of availing what is in the heavens and what is on the earth, and the blessing of subordinating the earth and what is on it to humankind, and the blessings of what is on the earth from sustenance, bounties, and resources for which only Allah Almighty can account, and the blessing of the day and night, and the blessing of sleep, and many other ongoing and common blessings upon humankind. However, people have become accustomed to them and few are grateful for these blessings although Allah Almighty reminded us of them in many verses. Just as He informed us that He is able to take way these blessings. So it is incumbent upon us believers to always remember these blessings and be grateful for them and to not let our familiarity with them lead to forgetting about them or to feel that we are entitled to them or to believe that these blessings will not be taken away from us. For gratitude is a worship for which the believer is rewarded in addition to maintaining and increasing blessings.
And from the common recurring blessings are rainfall, stability and establishment of security and so on. And people are accustomed to these blessings and fall short in being grateful for them, even though they see them being taken away from those around them. And none perpetuates and preserves these blessings except Allah Almighty. So people are required to be grateful to Him Almighty.
And there are individual blessings, which people forget about because they are familiar with them. So they fall short in being grateful for them. From among them is guidance to the truth and steadfastness upon it. And the blessing of success in performing the obligatory and voluntary acts of worship. And the blessing of the Quran and reciting, reflecting and acting upon it. As well as the blessing of health and wellbeing and not being hungry and other blessings. People fall short in being grateful for them due to their familiarity with them. And if one looks at those not having these blessings, they would have known the grace of Allah Almighty upon them and strived hard in being grateful for them.
أَقُولُ مَا تَسْمَعُونَ وَأَسْتَغْفِرُ اللهَ لِي وَلَكُمْ مِنْ كُلِّ ذَنْبٍ فَاسْتَغْفِرُوهُ إِنَّهُ هُوَ الغَفُورُ الرَّحِيمُ
I say what you have heard and I seek forgiveness from Allah for me and you from every sin. So seek forgives from Him, Verily He is Oft-Forgiving, the Most Merciful.
Second Khutbah
الحَمْدُ لِلَّهِ, وَالصَّلَاةُ وَالسَّلَامُ عَلَى رَسُولِ اللهِ , وَ أَشْهَدُ أَنْ لَاْ إِلَهَ إِلَّاْ اَللهُ وَحْدَهُ لَاْشَرِيْكَ لَهُ وَأَشْهَدُ أَنَّ مُحَمَّدَاً عَبْدُهُ وَرَسُوْلُهُ
All praise is to Allah, and peace and blessings upon the Messenger of Allah, and I bear witness that there is no deity other than Allah and I bear witness that Mohammad is His slave and messenger.
Oh Muslims:
From Allah Almighty’s mercy upon the believers is that He reminds them of His ongoing and recurring blessings. And He commands them to be grateful to Him so that they are among the grateful and so that they are rewarded for their gratitude and so that the blessings remain and increase. Allah Almighty said regarding the ongoing blessings:
وَهُوَ الَّذِي جَعَلَ اللَّيْلَ وَالنَّهَارَ خِلْفَةً لِمَنْ أَرَادَ أَنْ يَذَّكَّرَ أَوْ أَرَادَ شُكُورًا-الْفُرْقَانِ 62
Al Furqan (25) 62: And it is He who has made the night and the day in succession for whoever desires to remember or desires gratitude.
And Allah Almighty said:
وَمِنْ رَحْمَتِهِ جَعَلَ لَكُمُ اللَّيْلَ وَالنَّهَارَ لِتَسْكُنُوا فِيهِ وَلِتَبْتَغُوا مِنْ فَضْلِهِ وَلَعَلَّكُمْ تَشْكُرُونَ-الْقَصَصِ 73
Al Qasas (28) 73: And out of His mercy He made for you the night and the day that you may rest therein and [by day] seek from His bounty and [that] perhaps you will be grateful.
And Allah Almighty said:
اللَّهُ الَّذِي جَعَلَ لَكُمُ اللَّيْلَ لِتَسْكُنُوا فِيهِ وَالنَّهَارَ مُبْصِرًا إِنَّ اللَّهَ لَذُو فَضْلٍ عَلَى النَّاسِ وَلَكِنَّ أَكْثَرَ النَّاسِ لَا يَشْكُرُونَ-غَافِرٍ 61
Ghafer (40) 61: It is Allāh who made for you the night that you may rest therein and the day giving sight. Indeed, Allāh is the possessor of bounty for the people, but most of them are not grateful.
And Allah Almighty said regarding recurring blessings:
وَهُوَ الَّذِي يُرْسِلُ الرِّيَاحَ بُشْرًا بَيْنَ يَدَيْ رَحْمَتِهِ حَتَّى إِذَا أَقَلَّتْ سَحَابًا ثِقَالًا سُقْنَاهُ لِبَلَدٍ مَيِّتٍ فَأَنْزَلْنَا بِهِ الْمَاءَ فَأَخْرَجْنَا بِهِ مِنْ كُلِّ الثَّمَرَاتِ كَذَلِكَ نُخْرِجُ الْمَوْتَى لَعَلَّكُمْ تَذَكَّرُونَ * وَالْبَلَدُ الطَّيِّبُ يَخْرُجُ نَبَاتُهُ بِإِذْنِ رَبِّهِ وَالَّذِي خَبُثَ لَا يَخْرُجُ إِلَّا نَكِدًا كَذَلِكَ نُصَرِّفُ الْآيَاتِ لِقَوْمٍ يَشْكُرُونَ-الْأَعْرَافِ 57-58
Al Araf (7) 57-58: (57) And it is He who sends the winds as good tidings before His mercy [i.e., rainfall] until, when they have carried heavy rainclouds, We drive them to a dead land and We send down rain therein and bring forth thereby [some] of all the fruits. Thus will We bring forth the dead; perhaps you may be reminded. (58) And the good land – its vegetation emerges by permission of its Lord; but that which is bad – nothing emerges except sparsely, with difficulty. Thus do We diversify the signs for a people who are grateful.
And Allah Almighty said:
أَوَلَمْ يَرَوْا أَنَّا خَلَقْنَا لَهُمْ مِمَّا عَمِلَتْ أَيْدِينَا أَنْعَامًا فَهُمْ لَهَا مَالِكُونَ * وَذَلَّلْنَاهَا لَهُمْ فَمِنْهَا رَكُوبُهُمْ وَمِنْهَا يَأْكُلُّونَ * وَلَهُمْ فِيهَا مَنَافِعُ وَمَشَارِبُ أَفَلَا يَشْكُرُونَ-يس 71 – 73
Ya-sin (36) 71-73: (71) Do they not see that We have created for them from what Our hands have made, grazing livestock, and [then] they are their owners? (72) And We have tamed them for them, so some of them they ride, and some of them they eat. (73) And for them therein are [other] benefits and drinks, so will they not be grateful?
And these are only a few examples from many verses that indicate the importance of remembering the ongoing and recurring blessings. And that one should be grateful for them and should not forget to be grateful for them due to their familiarity with them. For most of them are of greater benefit than the occasional and one-off blessings; if people only reflected upon them and knew their value.
We ask Allah the Almighty to perpetuate His favors upon us, increase them and bless them. And we ask the Almighty to grant us success in being grateful and we seek refuge in the Almighty from being ungrateful. Indeed Allah is All Hearing, Answering.
هَذَا وَصَلُّوا وَسَلِّمُوا عَلَى نَبِيِّكُم كَمَا أَمَرَكُمْ بِذلِكَ رَبُّكُمْ , فَقَالَ
I conclude with this and send prayers of blessings and peace upon your Prophet as your Lord commanded:
إِنَّ اللَّهَ وَمَلَائِكَتَهُ يُصَلُّونَ عَلَى النَّبِيِّ ۚ يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا صَلُّوا عَلَيْهِ وَسَلِّمُوا تَسْلِيمًا
Al Ahzaab (33) 56: Indeed, Allah confers blessing upon the Prophet, and His angels [ask Him to do so]. O you who have believed, ask [ Allah to confer] blessing upon him and ask [ Allah to grant him] peace.
اللَّهُمَّ اهْدِنا فِيمَنْ هَدَيْتَ وَعَافِنا فِيمَنْ عَافَيْتَ وَتَوَلَّنا فِيمَنْ تَوَلَّيْتَ وَبَارِكْ لنا فِيمَا أَعْطَيْتَ وَقِنا شَرَّ مَا قَضَيْتَ إِنَّكَ تَقْضِي وَلاَ يُقْضَى عَلَيْكَ وَإِنَّهُ لاَ يَذِلُّ مَنْ وَالَيْتَ تَبَارَكْتَ رَبَّنَا وَتَعَالَيْتَ
O Allah, guide us with those whom You have guided, grant us well-being among those You have granted well-being, be an ally to us along with those whom You are an ally to, and bless what You have bestowed upon us, and save us from the evil of what You have decreed. For verily You decree and none can decree over You. He whom You support can never be humiliated. Glory is to You, our Lord, You are Blessed and Exalted.
اللَّهُمَّ إِنَّا نَسْأَلُكَ مِنَ الْخَيْرِ كُلِّهِ عَاجِلِهِ وَآجِلِهِ مَا عَلِمْنا مِنْهُ وَمَا لَمْ نَعْلَمْ وَنَعُوذُ بِكَ مِنَ الشَّرِّ كُلِّهِ عَاجِلِهِ وَآجِلِهِ مَا عَلِمْنا مِنْهُ وَمَا لَمْ نَعْلَمْ اللَّهُمَّ إِنَّا نَسْأَلُكَ مِنْ خَيْرِ مَا سَأَلَكَ عَبْدُكَ وَنَبِيُّكَ وَنَعُوذُ بِكَ مِنْ شَرِّ مَا عَاذَ بِهِ عَبْدُكَ وَنَبِيُّكَ اللَّهُمَّ إِنَّا نَسْأَلُكَ الْجَنَّةَ وَمَا قَرَّبَ إِلَيْهَا مِنْ قَوْلٍ أَوْ عَمَلٍ وَنَعُوذُ بِكَ مِنَ النَّارِ وَمَا قَرَّبَ إِلَيْهَا مِنْ قَوْلٍ أَوْ عَمَلٍ وَنَسْأَلُكَ أَنْ تَجْعَلَ كُلَّ قَضَاءٍ قَضَيْتَهُ لَنا خَيْرًا
O Allah, We ask You for all that is good, in this world and in the Hereafter, what we know and what we do not know. O Allah, we seek refuge with You from all evil, in this world and in the Hereafter, what we know and what we do not know. O Allah, we ask You for the good that Your servant and Prophet has asked You for, and we seek refuge with You from the evil from which Your servant and Prophet sought refuge. O Allah, we ask You for Paradise and for that which brings one closer to it, in word and deed, and we seek refuge in You from Hell and from that which brings one closer to it, in word and deed. And we ask You to make every decree that You decree concerning us good
عِبَادَ اللّهِ إِنَّ اللَّهَ يَأْمُرُ بِالْعَدْلِ وَالْإِحْسَانِ وَإِيتَاءِ ذِي الْقُرْبَىٰ وَيَنْهَىٰ عَنِ الْفَحْشَاءِ وَالْمُنكَرِ وَالْبَغْيِ يَعِظُكُمْ لَعَلَّكُمْ تَذَكَّرُونَ
Servants of Allah. Indeed, Allah orders justice and good conduct and giving to relatives and forbids immorality and bad conduct and oppression. He admonishes you that perhaps you will be reminded.
اُذْكُرُوا اللَّهَ الْعَظِيمَ يَذْكُرْكُمْ واشْكُرُوهُ يَزِدْكُمْ واسْتَغْفِرُوهُ يَغْفِرْ لكُمْ واتّقُوهُ يَجْعَلْ لَكُمْ مِنْ أَمْرِكُمْ مَخْرَجًا وَأَقِمِ الصّلَاة
Remember Allah, the Great – He will remember you. Thank Him for His favors – He will increase you therein. And seek forgiveness from Him – He will forgive you. And be conscious of Him – He will provide you a way out of difficult matters. And, establish the prayer.
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