FRIDAY KHUTBA of TOKYO CAMII “RELIGION IS SINCERITY, EXPLOITATION IS TREASON”

“RELIGION IS SINCERITY, EXPLOITATION IS TREASON”

Honorable Muslims!
The essence of our religion, Islam, is sincerity. Sincerity is the alignment of our inside and outside, our essence and our words. Sincerity is to seek the pleasure of Allah (swt) in all that we say and all that we do. Sincerity is to protect our faith and worship from all kinds of hypocrisy and vanity.

What perfects faith is sincerity. What transforms what we do into capital for the Hereafter is sincerity. What makes benevolence meaningful is sincerity. What makes knowledge valuable is sincerity. Those who embrace the hadith of the Messenger of Allah (saw), “The religion is sincerity.”¹ , endeavor to live a life on the right path. They honor their covenant. They are truthful and honest; they do not deceive anyone. They never stray from justice, right, and truth. They respect the rights of people and the public.

Dear Believers!
One of the evils that leads us away from the pleasure of our Lord (swt) is exploitation. Exploitation is the act of manipulating people’s beliefs, feelings, and vulnerabilities for personal gain. Exploitation is to deceive people by using the sublime values of our religion. Exploitation is the use of material and immaterial means to gain power. In short, exploitation is to betray Allah (swt), the Qur’an, the Prophet (saw), the people, and the society.

People who are exploitative never seek the pleasure of Allah. They base Islam on individuals. They claim to be the sole representatives of right and truth. As stated in the Qur’an, “When they are told, “Do not spread corruption in the land,” they reply, “We are only peace-makers!” Indeed, it is they who are the corruptors, but they fail to perceive it.”²

Dear Muslims!
Let us understand our divine book, the Holy Qur’an, and the sunnah of our beloved Prophet (saw) correctly and reflect them in our lives. Let us embrace trust and honesty in our family, in our relations with other people, in our business, in short, in every aspect of our lives. Let us not neglect our children, who are the assurance of our future. Let us raise them to be people who are beneficial to their family, environment, homeland, nation, and humanity.

[1] Muslim, Iman, 95.
[2] Baqarah, 2/11-12.

FRIDAY KHUTBA of TOKYO CAMII “RELIGION IS SINCERITY, EXPLOITATION IS TREASON”(PDF)