FRIDAY KHUTBA of TOKYO CAMII “SINCERITY: THE ESSENCE OF FAITH”

“SINCERITY: THE ESSENCE OF FAITH”

Honorable Muslims!
In verse I have just recited, the Almighty Allah (swt) states, “Indeed, We have sent down to you the Book in truth. So worship Allah, offering Him sincere devotion.”¹
In this respect, the Prophet Muhammad (saw) says, “Allah does not accept any deed except that which is purely for Him and His sake.”²

Dear Believers!
The essence of the sublime religion of Islam is sincerity. Whether or not our words and actions have any value before Allah (swt) depends on our sincerity. Sincerity is to have heartfelt faith in Allah (swt) and to live a life seeking His approval only, without expecting any worldly benefit in return, as required by such faith.

Dear Muslims!
Muslims worship Allah (swt) sincerely. They worship Him alone, pray to Him alone, and ask for His help alone. They adhere to the Holy Qur’an, the best of words, sincerely. They strive to engrave the letter of the Qur’an in their memory and implement its rules in their lives. They devote themselves to the Prophet Muhammad (saw) steadfastly. With deep love and sincerity, they take him as a role model and try to live the way he did. They observe the rights of people for the establishment and prevalence of peace and security in the society in which they live. Under any circumstances, they uphold the truth, rule of law, and justice in all areas, from education to commerce and from family to broader circles of society.

Dear Muslims!
On one occasion, the Prophet Muhammad (saw) warned us, “Allah does not look at your outward appearance and your wealth, but He looks only at your hearts and your deeds.”³ Then, let us ensure that our hearts are clean and our deeds are sincere if we want to be decent Muslims and good servants of Allah (swt). Let us set getting the approval of Allah (swt) as the purpose of our lives. Let us never forget that He is All-Seeing and All-Knowing of what we do openly and secretly and that He does and will reward our deeds if done sincerely only. Let us turn away from pomposity and hypocrisy.

[1] Zumar, 39/2.
[2] Nasa’i, Jihad, 24.
[3] Muslim, Birr, 34.

FRIDAY KHUTBA of TOKYO CAMII “SINCERITY: THE ESSENCE OF FAITH”(PDF)