“Mosques and Religious Officials: The Key to Good, The Lock To Evil”
Honorable Muslims!
In the verse I have just recited at the beginning of the khutbah, the Almighty Allah (swt) states, “The mosques of Allah should only be maintained by those who believe in Allah and the Last Day, establish prayer, pay zakat, and fear none but Allah. It is right to hope that they will be among the truly guided.”1 In the hadith I have read, our beloved Prophet (saw) says, “The most beloved places on Earth to Allah are mosques.”2
Dear Believers!
Mosques and masjids are the houses of Allah (swt). They are the symbols of Islamic civilization. They are the heart of cities. They are the sign of our unity and solidarity. They are the places of worship where we stand in prayer five times a day and find peace in the presence of our Lord (swt). They are the places of prostration that bear witness to our words of “Amin” that flow from our tongues and our tears that we shed inwardly.
Our religious officials, who serve in our mosques as servants of benevolence, are the heirs of the prophets who teach us the truths of our sublime religion, Islam. They are our orators who communicate the unique principles of the Qur’an and the good morals of the Messenger of Allah (saw). They are our religious officials who embroider the Qur’an in the hearts of the believers and who are the subjects of the prophetic praise, “The best among you are those who learn the Qur’an and teach it.”3
Dear Believers!
In one of the verses, our Lord Almighty (swt) states, “Let there be a group among you who call others to goodness, encourage what is good, and forbid what is evil.”4 As the Presidency of Religious Affairs of Türkiye, we have adopted this verse as our guiding principle. Our primary goal is the revival of all humanity with a mosque-centered life. Our muadhdhins invite all people to salvation with the invitation, “hurry to the prayer, hurry to the salvation!”, rising to the skies from the minarets.
Just as our Lord (swt) embraces all creation with His mercy and compassion with His name al-Jami’, our mosques embrace Muslims by turning all their differences into richness regardless of their race, language, color, and gender.
Dear Believers!
I wish mercy to the deceased religious officials who have served for the spiritual reconstruction of humanity and been an example and leader in the path of goodness, to the deceased benefactors who have helped in the construction and reconstruction of our mosques, and to the deceased members of our congregation, from past to present, and I wish health, peace and prosperity to those who are alive.
[1] Tawbah, 9/18.
[2] Muslim, Masajid, 288.
[3] Tirmidhi, Fadhail al-Qur’an, 15.
[4] Al-i ‘Imran, 3/104.