Dear Brothers and Sisters!

We have left the month of Ramadan behind however we are experiencing two joys at once. The first of these is to be able to fulfill our prayers in Ramadan in health and well-being, and the other is to be able to attain the reward that our Allah (swt) will give as a result. Alhamdulillah we have attained these two blessings together with the help Allah (swt). As Allah (swt) promised to his servants, every human being has only the reward for what he works for, and Allah (swt) does not waste the effort of any servant. We, too, made an effort to fulfill our prayers in order to attain the pleasure of Allah (swt) during the month of Ramadan.

Dear Brothers and Sisters!

The month of Ramadan continues to add spiritual values ​​to us. Many good traits such as the awareness of praying, the sensitivity to avoid harams, being merciful, not doing injustice to anyone, taking care of the needy and the poor, controlling anger, and observing justice continues after Ramadan. However, Islam is not a religion exclusive to the month of Ramadan. Although we said goodbye to the month of Ramadan, we did not say goodbye to worship and servitude. We will continue to live in life, but with the truth.

Dear Jama’ah!

Man was not sent to this world only to meet his needs such as eating and drinking. Due to his nature, man is in search of happiness and peace in his life. The only way to do this is revealed to us by Allah (swt) in the Quran, he says: “Those who have believed and whose hearts are assured by the remembrance of Allāh.”[1] Remembering Allah (swt) properly will be possible with an effort to live a life guided by the Qur’an and Sunnah. Peace in this world and eternal happiness in the hereafter are promised to those who are on this path. In this context, Allah (swt) says; “And worship your Lord until there comes to you the certainty (death).”^[2] What is meant by “certain” here is death. And again, as Allah (swt) has informed us, “Every soul will taste death. Then to Us will you be returned.”[3]

Dear Brothers and Sisters!

As we stated at the beginning of our khutbah, we must maintain our spirituality, which we have captured through the prayers we have done in the month of Ramadan. We should never abandon prayer, neglect charity, remember the oppressed both in prayer and in practice, and continue to recommend good and forbid evil. In accordance with the Sunnah, let’s continue our fasting outside of Ramadan. Rasulullah (saw) said: “Whoever fasts the month of Ramadan and then follows it with six days of fasting in the month of Shawwal, it will be as if he had fasted the year through.”[4] Let’s take these days as an opportunity to be as if we have fasted all year as fasting prevents us from all evil from lying to adultery.

May Allah (swt) make us one of his servants who keep their spirituality alive and strong in order to win the hereafter, which is our eternal home. Ameen!

[1] Surah Ar-Ra’d, 13:28

[2] Surah Al-Hijr, 15:99

[3] Surah Al-Ankabut, 29:57

[4] Müslim, Sıyâm, 204

Khutba: Sustaining Our Spirituality