Central Khutbah: “O Man — Know Yourself”

“And man will be a witness against himself, even though he may put up excuses.” (Al-Qiyāmah, 75:14)

All praise is due to Allah, Lord of the worlds. We worship Him, seek His help and His forgiveness. I bear witness that there is no deity worthy of worship except Allah, alone without partner, and I bear witness that Muhammad is His servant and Messenger. May the peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, his noble family, and his companions. I enjoin upon myself and upon you the fear of Allah.

The praises of those who flatter you will be of no benefit if they praise you for what is not truly in you; and the blame of those who reproach you will not harm you if they blame you for what is not in you. No matter how upright a man may be, he will always have opponents — even the Prophets were not loved by everyone. And no matter how corrupt a man may be, he will find supporters — Pharaoh and the rebels had people who admired them. Al-Mutarrif ibn ʿAbd Allah said: “Imam Mālik asked me: ‘What do people say about you?’ I replied: ‘A friend praises me and an enemy attacks me.’ He said: ‘People have always been like this; but we seek refuge in Allah from the onslaught of all tongues.’” Sometimes one becomes accustomed to being praised by all and is deceived; or one is blamed by all and ends up believing that within oneself is truly what they claim.

Anas ibn Mālik reported that the Messenger of Allah said to Fātimah: “What prevents you from listening to what I advise you? When you enter the morning and when you enter the evening, say: ‘O Ever-Living, O Sustainer, by Your mercy I seek help; rectify all of my affairs and do not leave me to myself, not even for the blink of an eye.’”
(Sources: an-Nasā’ī and al-Bazzār with authentic chain; al-Hākim: authentic according to the conditions of al-Bukhārī and Muslim; al-Albānī: sound/authentic in Ṣaḥīḥ at-Targhīb wa-t-Tarhīb.)

ʿAlī reported that a contracted slave came to him and said: “I am unable to fulfill my contract; help me.” He replied: “Shall I not teach you words that the Messenger of Allah taught me? If you had a debt as large as Mount Ṣayr, Allah would discharge it for you. Say: ‘O Allah, suffice me with what is lawful against what is unlawful, and enrich me by Your bounty apart from all others besides You.’”
(Source: at-Tirmidhī, who said: ḥasan gharīb; al-Mundhirī: chain is authentic or good.)

In a ḥadīth qudsī reported by Abū Dharr:
“O My servants, I have forbidden oppression for Myself and I have made it forbidden among you, so do not wrong one another. O My servants, all of you go astray except those whom I guide, so seek My guidance and I shall guide you. O My servants, all of you are hungry except those whom I feed, so seek food from Me and I shall feed you. O My servants, all of you are unclothed except those whom I clothe, so seek clothing from Me and I shall clothe you. O My servants, you sin by night and by day, and I forgive all sins, so seek forgiveness from Me and I shall forgive you. O My servants, you will never be able to harm Me in any way, nor will you ever be able to benefit Me in any way. O My servants, if the first and the last of you, human and jinn, had the heart of the most righteous among you, that would not increase My dominion in the least. O My servants, if the first and the last of you, human and jinn, had the heart of the most wicked among you, that would not diminish My dominion in the least. O My servants, if the first and the last of you, human and jinn, were to stand on a single plain and ask of Me, and I were to give everyone what he requested, that would not diminish what I possess any more than a needle dipped into the sea diminishes it. O My servants, it is but your deeds that I record for you, then I will recompense you fully for them. So let whoever finds good praise Allah, and let whoever finds other than that blame no one but himself.”
(Source: Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim, no. 2577; see also Ibn Taymiyyah, Majmūʿ al-Fatāwā, 8/71.)

(Central khutbah by the religious leader Hafiz Hilmija Redžić on September 26, 2025, at the Islamic Association “Quds” in Belvaux)