Dear Brothers and Sisters!

The human being, Allah (swt), the Lord of the worlds, is the only being with a conscious sense of belonging among other beings. Any ordinary person cannot avoid feeling a sense of belonging to a person, family or society. A Muslim individual, on the other hand, sees himself as an important part of the Islamic Ummah. At the center of his sense of belonging is his belonging to Islam and Muslims. This valuable feeling makes one feel like they are not alone.

A Muslim surrenders to the statement of the Qur’an, “The believers are but brothers..”[1] and sees himself as one and whole with all the believers in the world.

Dear Brothers and Sisters!

It is our sense of identity that determines our sense of belonging and always supports it. When asked who we are, the answer is; that we are the ummah of Prophet Muhammad (saw). It is Allah (swt) who determines and names our identity.

Allah (swt) mentions in the Quran; “And who is better in speech than one who invites to Allah and does righteousness and says, ‘Indeed, I am of the Muslims.’”[2]

Dear Jama’ah!

Allah (swt), who has named us Muslims, expects us to give him his due. Accordingly, our fulfilment of the orders and prohibitions revealed in the Qur’an and the Sunnah is the most distinctive feature that builds our sense of belonging. Allah (swt), who created us from nothing, wishes us to protect our beliefs and fulfill his requirements even in the most difficult situations. Rasulullah (saw) has said; “Do Jihad with your hands, tongues and possessions.”[3].

It is a duty that cannot be neglected to make an effort on every Muslim for the goodness of humanity to the extent of his strength.

Dear Brothers and Sisters!

Our Prophet (saw), who was sent as the best example to all humanity commands by saying; “Wherever and however you are, fear Allah. If you do evil, do good right after it so that it wipes out the evil. Get along well with people!”. We, who have Muslim identity, must implement these orders of the Messenger of Allah and make these principles our way of life. We must protect our mosques, which are the shelters of our religion, of which we belong, both as members and as congregations. We should support the schools, education centers, and hifz schools, which are the service institutions for Muslims, and if we can, contribute to their construction. We must encourage eachother to become members of our mosques. We should participate in our humanitarian and social activities and should not hold back our support for our educational institutions. As a requirement of the sense of belonging we feel towards the Ummah, we must fulfill our social responsibilities.

May Allah (swt) make us Muslims among those who fulfill the responsibility of belonging to the religion of Islam and belonging to the Ummah of Muhammad (saw). Ameen!

[1] Surah Al-Hujurat; 49:10

[2] Surah Fussilat; 41:33

[3] Nesâî, Cihad, 48

Khutba-Our Sense of Belonging