Dear Brothers and Sisters!

Everything that Allah (swt) has given us in this world is a trust [Amanah]. Our lives, property, health and children are a trust for us. Muslims, on the other hand, are entrusted to each other. Our most important trust is our life and health. Therefore, in order to properly fulfill our servitude duty, we must nourish both our body and soul with the right tools and in the right way. As a matter of fact, it is important for us to protect our health by using the beautiful opportunities that Allah (swt) offers to each of us as He wishes.

Dear Brothers and Sisters!

Many tools such as the TV, social media, internet, computers and mobile phones, which are widely used in the world today, are never missing from our daily lives. We have placed these tools at the centre of our lives in a way that almost matches to our basic needs such as air and water. With all these, we can easily meet many of our needs, such as communicating quickly, getting things done easily, and being aware of world developments. However, when all these possibilities used incorrectly, they begin to harm us and especially affect the health of our souls very deeply. As a matter of fact, if we do not comply with the limits of danger, all these possibilities return to us as harmful habits. It can even turn into an addictive disease. As we know, it is not easy to break the habits and addictions that become normal after a while.

Dear Jama’ah!

So, when can all these opportunities turn into bad habits? If all the possibilities of our time at our disposal begin to control and manage us, then we are moving towards harmful habits or becoming dependent on them.
Since all of these tools do not have a will, their ability to control and manage us is due to our weakness and weakening of our own will. Therefore, if we are starting to lose control, then we should look for the problem not in the tools but in the gaps that occur in ourselves. The biggest reason why we put the means for the purpose is that we have the disease of aimlessness. When this happens, we start to use all these tools for useless work to play games, browse websites, watch funny videos, watch videos with immoral messages, keyboard fights on social media and gossiping. Allah (swt) reminds us in the Quran: “Do not throw [yourselves] with your [own] hands into destruction.”[1]

Then, as servants who live in submission to Allah (swt) and trust Him, we should never neglect the food of our souls. We should always fill in the gaps with good deeds, beneficial works for people, kindness to family, relatives and friends, prayers, good reading, and being together with our believers and Muslim brothers. We must use and manage all there opportunities correctly.

Dear Brothers and Sisters!

Just as pouring sand between the gears of a sensitive machine damages that machine, the harmful habits also damage our existence, which is like a sensitive and precious machine entrusted to us by Allah (swt). In that case, we should not destroy this trust Allah (swt) by misusing the tools He has given us under our command. While this is the case, we must keep in mind to keep the thought of our purpose in life fresh and active, in order not to become a weak. Rasulullah (saw) said, “A strong believer is better than a weak believer and more beloved to Allah.”[2].

Let’s take care of our trust and become strong believers.

May Allah (swt) help us to protect our Fitrah, which he has entrusted to us and protect our generation from all kinds of bad habits. Ameen.

[1] Surah Al-Baqarah, 2:195

[2] Müslim, Kader, 8

Khutba-Harmful Habits