https://www.khutbah.info/four-quranic-commands The Qur’ān is a Book of guidance and light, and happiness in the worldly life and triumph in the hereafter, for whoever reflects upon its verses and acts upon what it contains. Allāh Almighty said: Saad (38) 29: [This is] a blessed Book which We have revealed to you, [O Muḥammad], that they might reflect upon its verses and that those of understanding would be reminded. And in the Qur’ān there are four acts of worships commanded by Allāh Almighty, each one having corresponding rewards. These are thikr (remembrance), istighfar (seeking forgiveness), shukr (gratitude) and dua (supplication). As far as thikr (remembrance) Allah Almighty said:
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:
The Qur’ān is a Book of guidance and light, and happiness in the worldly life and triumph in the hereafter, for whoever reflects upon its verses and acts upon what it contains. Allāh Almighty said:
كِتَابٌ أَنْزَلْنَاهُ إِلَيْكَ مُبَارَكٌ لِيَدَّبَّرُوا آيَاتِهِ وَلِيَتَذَكَّرَ أُولُو الْأَلْبَابِ-ص: 29
Saad (38) 29: [This is] a blessed Book which We have revealed to you, [O Muḥammad], that they might reflect upon its verses and that those of understanding would be reminded.
And in the Qur’ān there are four acts of worships commanded by Allāh Almighty, each one having corresponding rewards. These are thikr (remembrance), istighfar (seeking forgiveness), shukr (gratitude) and dua (supplication). As far as thikr (remembrance) Allah Almighty said:
فَاذْكُرُونِي أَذْكُرْكُمْ-الْبَقَرَةِ 152
Al Baqarah (2) 152: So remember Me, I will remember you.
Regarding istighfar (seeking forgiveness) Allah said:
وَمَا كَانَ اللَّهُ مُعَذِّبَهُمْ وَهُمْ يَسْتَغْفِرُونَ-[الْأَنْفَالِ 33
Al Anfal (8) 33: And Allāh would not punish them while they seek forgiveness.
As far as shukr (gratitude) Allah said:
وَإِذْ تَأَذَّنَ رَبُّكُمْ لَئِنْ شَكَرْتُمْ لَأَزِيدَنَّكُمْ-إِبْرَاهِيمَ 7
Ibrahim (14) 7: And [remember] when your Lord proclaimed, If you are grateful, I will surely increase you [in favor]
Regarding dua (supplication) Allah said:
وَقَالَ رَبُّكُمُ ادْعُونِي أَسْتَجِبْ لَكُمْ-غَافِرٍ 60
Ghafir (40) 60: And your Lord says, Call upon Me, I will respond to you.
In the first of these four verses, Allah Almighty said regarding thikr (remembrance):
فَاذْكُرُونِي أَذْكُرْكُمْ-الْبَقَرَةِ 152
Al Baqarah (2) 152: So remember Me; I will remember you.
And what a great condition and outcome the greatest reward. For it is an honor for a person to remember their Lord Most Glorified, even if there was no condition, no response and no reward. Because the Lord Most Glorified is the person’s Creator, the Disposer of their affairs and the Provider of blessings upon them. And because Allāh Almighty deserves remembrance, magnification, love and servitude because of His greatness, ability, mercy and His encompassing of everything; and because of His names, attributes and actions; and because of His beneficence to His servants. So how about when Allāh gives a person a reward greater than the person’s remembrance of Him; and that is that Allāh Almighty remembers him. And if a believer reflects upon this verse, their tongue would not become weary from the remembrance of Allāh Almighty. For the Creator remembers Him. For who is this person, this creation, such that the Creator remembers them? For this person, this creation, is but an atom or much less compared to the many creations of Allāh Almighty, that none can enumerate but Him, Glory be to Him !! And more details came in the authentic Sunnah of how the Creator, Glory be to Him, honors His created servant when they remember Him. And that is in the Hadith narrated by Abu Hurairah, may Allāh be pleased with him, who said that the Prophet ﷺ said:
يَقُولُ اللَّهُ -تَعَالَى-: أَنَا عِنْدَ ظَنِّ عَبْدِي بِي، وَأَنَا مَعَهُ إِذَا ذَكَرَنِي، فَإِنْ ذَكَرَنِي فِي نَفْسِهِ ذَكَرْتُهُ فِي نَفْسِي، وَإِنْ ذَكَرَنِي فِي مَلَإٍ ذَكَرْتُهُ فِي مَلَإٍ خَيْرٍ مِنْهُمْ…
Allāh, the Most High said: ‘I am as My servant thinks of Me, and I am with him when he remembers Me. If he remembers Me to himself, I remember him to Myself, and if he remembers Me in a gathering, I remember him in a gathering better than that… [Bukhari 7405, Muslim 2675a]
And it is no wonder that Aisha, may Allāh be pleased with her, said:
كَانَ النَّبِيُّ -صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ- يَذْكُرُ اللَّهَ عَلَى كُلِّ أَحْيَانِهِ.
The Messenger of Allāh used to remember Allāh in all circumstances. [Sunan Ibn Majah 302, Grade: Sahih]
And the remembrance of Allāh Almighty can be general or specific. So the general remembrance is in the heart, tongue and limbs. And every righteous deed is remembrance of Allāh Almighty, just as refraining from the forbidden is remembrance of Allāh Almighty, because the driver for that is servitude to Allāh Almighty and magnifying Him, loving Him, hoping in Him, fearing Him and venerating Him. And the proof for that is the account of the man who was called to immorality by a woman of high status and beauty and he responded:
إِنِّي أَخَافُ اللَّهَ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ
I fear Allāh Almighty [Bukhari 1423, Muslim 1031]
And the true believer’s entire life is remembrance of Allāh Almighty. And as for the specific remembrance of Allāh, it is what is uttered by the tongue with affirmation of it by the heart such as tahleel (saying La Illaha illa Lah), takbir (saying Allāhu Akbar), taḥmīd (saying AlhamduliLah), seeking forgiveness, supplicating and reciting Qur’ān.
And in the second of the four verses Allāh Almighty said regarding istighfar (seeking forgiveness):
وَمَا كَانَ اللَّهُ مُعَذِّبَهُمْ وَهُمْ يَسْتَغْفِرُونَ-[الْأَنْفَالِ 33
Al Anfal (8) 33: And Allāh would not punish them while they seek forgiveness.
Ibn Abbas, may Allāh be pleased with him, said, “they had two guarantees of safety, the Prophet of Allāh and seeking forgiveness”. He said, “So the Prophet left and seeking forgiveness remained.”
And the son of Adam makes mistakes. And sins are reason for punishment. So it is from the mercy of Allāh Almighty that punishment is pushed away from individuals and groups through seeking forgiveness. And for that reason, the messengers commanded their communities to seek forgiveness, as found in Surah Hud. And in a day, the Prophet ﷺ used to seek forgiveness from Allāh Almighty one hundred times. And it was observed that in one sitting, he would seek forgiveness one hundred times before getting up. Al Hasan Al Basri, may Allāh forgive him, said, “increase seeking forgiveness in your homes and on your tables and on your roads and in your markets and in your gatherings and wherever you are, for you do not know when the forgiveness will descend.”
And in the third of the four verses Allāh Almighty said regarding shukr (gratitude):
وَإِذْ تَأَذَّنَ رَبُّكُمْ لَئِنْ شَكَرْتُمْ لَأَزِيدَنَّكُمْ-إِبْرَاهِيمَ 7
Ibrahim (14) 7: And [remember] when your Lord proclaimed, If you are grateful, I will surely increase you [in favor]
So the bounties are preserved, grow and increase by having gratitude for them and are removed by being ungrateful for them. For gratitude is mandatory, and it is the expression of the impacts of the blessings of Allāh Almighty on the person’s tongue through praising and admitting, and upon one’s heart by attesting and love, and upon the limbs by submission and obedience. And gratitude is built upon five principles. Submission of the grateful to the One being thanked, and love for Him, and admitting His favor and not using it for what He hates. And the only thing that many people know about gratitude is gratitude of the tongue. Rather they only know a part of it and that is praising Allāh Almighty in only a few instances of blessing. And Allāh Almighty said:
وَأَمَّا بِنِعْمَةِ رَبِّكَ فَحَدِّثْ-الضُّحَى 11
Ad Duhaa (93) 11: And proclaim the favors of Your Lord
And in work is gratitude to Allāh Almighty. Allāh said:
اعْمَلُوا آلَ دَاوُدَ شُكْرًا وَقَلِيلٌ مِنْ عِبَادِيَ الشَّكُورُ-سَبَأٍ 13
Saba (34) 13: Work, O family of David, in gratitude. And few of My servants are grateful.
And the Prophet ﷺ said:
إِنَّ اللَّهَ يُحِبُّ أَنْ يَرَى أَثَرَ نِعْمَتِهِ عَلَى عَبْدِهِ
Indeed Allāh loves to see the results of his favors upon His servants. [Jami` at-Tirmidhi 2819, Grade: Hasan]
And from the consequences of a favor that a person expresses is gratitude to Allāh Almighty, praising Him for what He deserves, and spending in the avenues of good. And this type of expression of the favor is gratitude by speech and action. And the Prophet ﷺ was commanded with gratitude. Allāh Almighty said:
بَلِ اللَّهَ فَاعْبُدْ وَكُنْ مِنَ الشَّاكِرِينَ-الزُّمَرِ 66
Az Zumar (39) 66: Rather, worship [only] Allāh and be among the grateful.
And the believers were commanded to be grateful. Allāh Almighty said:
يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا كُلُوا مِنْ طَيِّبَاتِ مَا رَزَقْنَاكُمْ وَاشْكُرُوا لِلَّهِ إِنْ كُنْتُمْ إِيَّاهُ تَعْبُدُونَ-الْبَقَرَةِ 172
Al Baqarah (2) 172: O you who have believed, eat from the good [i.e., lawful] things which We have provided for you and be grateful to Allāh if it is [indeed] Him that you worship.
And this verse indicates that from the highest displays of servitude is gratitude to Allāh Almighty. For there is no servitude without gratitude and no gratitude without servitude.
And in the fourth of the four verses, Allāh Almighty said regarding dua (supplication):
وَقَالَ رَبُّكُمُ ادْعُونِي أَسْتَجِبْ لَكُمْ-غَافِرٍ 60
Ghafir (40) 60: And your Lord says, Call upon Me, I will respond to you.
For the basis is that the response is realized for every one supplicating, because Allāh based the response upon the supplication. And Allāh promised with responding. And His promise is not broken. But the one supplicating may unknowingly supplicate for something that may result in harm for them. So Allāh Almighty turns it away from them as a mercy to them. And gives them better than what they asked for. And a person thinks badly of their Lord and assumes that He did not respond to them. And this meaning is confirmed by the Hadith narrated by Ubadah bin Aṣāmet, may Allāh be pleased with him, that the Messenger of Allāh ﷺ said:
مَا عَلَى الْأَرْضِ مُسْلِمٌ يَدْعُو اللَّهَ بِدَعْوَةٍ إِلَّا آتَاهُ اللَّهُ إِيَّاهَا أَوْ صَرَفَ عَنْهُ مِنَ السُّوءِ مِثْلَهَا مَا لَمْ يَدْعُ بِإِثْمٍ أَوْ قَطِيعَةِ رَحِمٍ، فَقَالَ رَجُلٌ مِنَ الْقَوْمِ: إِذًا نُكْثِرُ، قَالَ: اللَّهُ أَكْثَرُ
There is not a Muslim upon the earth who calls upon Allāh with any supplication, except that Allāh grants it to him, or he turns away from him the like of it in evil; as long as he does not supplicate for something sinful, or the severing of the ties of kinship.” So a man from the people said: “What if we should increase (in it)” He (ﷺ) said: “(With) Allāh is more.” [Jami` at-Tirmidhi 3573, Grade: Hasan]
And for this reason, Omar bin Al Khattab, may Allāh be pleased with him, said, I do not bear the worry of the response, rather I bear the worry of supplicating, for if I was inspired to supplicate, the response comes with it.
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:
A Muslim should take care to reflect upon the verses of the Noble Qur’ān, and especially the verses that have deeds with specified rewards so that one acts upon them and earns the rewards due upon them. For Allāh Almighty did not create the creation except to worship Him alone without any partners. And remembrance, gratitude, seeking repentance and supplication are among the greatest acts of worship that bring one closer to Allāh. And for that reason commanding them was repeated in the Qur’ān. And the messengers commanded them to their followers. And the Prophet ﷺ urged them.
And remembrance in its general meaning, includes the entire religion. And applies to the acts of worship of the heart, the tongue, and the limbs, just as it includes the worships of doing and desisting. And its specific meaning is the remembrance of the tongue and the heart. And from among them is the remembrances of the morning, evening, sleeping and waking up. And the remembrances after the prayers and other types of remembrances whether they are restricted to a particular situation or unrestricted.
And gratitude preserves the favors and repels the retribution. And it is through the heart, tongue and limbs. And it is inevitable that a person will make a mistake. They may commit a sin or fall short in an act of obedience. So Allāh ordained seeking forgiveness, to erase the effects of the sins and replace the sins with good deeds. One follows the example of their father Adam, peace be upon him, when he hastened to repent and seek forgiveness after he fell into sin and ate from the forbidden tree:
فَتَلَقَّى آدَمُ مِنْ رَبِّهِ كَلِمَاتٍ فَتَابَ عَلَيْهِ إِنَّهُ هُوَ التَّوَّابُ الرَّحِيمُ-الْبَقَرَةِ 37
Al Baqarah (2) 37: Then Adam received from his Lord [some] words, and He accepted his repentance. Indeed, it is He who is the Accepting of Repentance, the Merciful.
And a person has religious needs that he wishes Allāh Almighty will grant, so they supplicates to their Lord requesting them. And a person has worldly needs that they request from their Lord. And a person has needs of the hereafter that a person requests Allāh to grant. And a person who makes plentiful supplication is not let down. For supplication is an act of worship for which a person is rewarded, in addition to what one is given of answering their supplication. And if a person supplicates plentifully in times of ease, then it is fitting that Allāh Almighty responds to him during adversity. Allāh Almighty said:
وَإِذَا سَأَلَكَ عِبَادِي عَنِّي فَإِنِّي قَرِيبٌ أُجِيبُ دَعْوَةَ الدَّاعِ إِذَا دَعَانِ فَلْيَسْتَجِيبُوا لِي وَلْيُؤْمِنُوا بِي لَعَلَّهُمْ يَرْشُدُونَ-الْبَقَرَةِ 186
Al Baqarah (2) 186: And when My servants ask you, [O Muḥammad], concerning Me – indeed I am near. I respond to the invocation of the supplicant when he calls upon Me. So let them respond to Me [by obedience] and believe in Me that they may be [rightly] guided.
We ask Allāh Almighty to teach us what benefits us and to bless us to act upon what He taught us and to make us among His righteous servants. Indeed Allāh 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.
Click here to download a ready to deliver Khutbah transcript in pdf format