Friday Khutba of Tokyo Camii “Salah The Gift from the Mi’raj and the Pillar of the Religion”
Dear Muslims!
In this Friday’s khutbah, let us once again reflect on the significance of salah, a miraculous gift from the Mi‘raj that brings meaning to our lives and peace to our hearts.
Dear Muslims!
The five daily prayers should not be rushed, delayed, squeezed into a busy schedule, hastily completed, or left until the last moment. For salah is inseparable from being a Muslim. Muslims perform salah, and salah makes people truly human. The most valuable moments in a person’s life are those spent performing salah. A life lived without salah is a life wasted. Therefore, unless Muslims have a valid religious excuse, they cannot neglect their salah, thinking they can perform them later. It is the Muslims’ duty to organize their affairs in accordance with the salah times. In fact, our Prophet (saw) emphasizes the importance of this matter by saying, اَلصَّلاَةُ عِمَادُ الدّ۪ينِ “Salah is the pillar of religion.”1
Dear Believers!
In the verse I have recited at the beginning of the khutbah, our Lord Almighty states, “Recite what has been revealed to you of the Book and establish prayer. Indeed, ˹genuine˺ prayer should deter ˹one˺ from indecency and wickedness…”2
Once, our Prophet (saw) said, “Get up, o Bilal! Call us to prayer! Refresh us with prayer!” , and reminded his ummah that the burdens of life can only be eased through salah. Therefore, let us view our prayers not as a burden, but as a blessing that brings calm to our souls, weary from the demands of daily life. Let us perform salah with reverence, without delay or omission, while adhering to the sunnahs and observing proper fulfillment of their pillars. Let us be exemplary believers, refined and matured through salah. Let us gently warn our brothers and sisters who, despite performing salah, continue to make mistakes and errors. Let us strive to perform our five daily prayers in the mosques. If we are unable to perform salah in the mosque, let us gather with our family and perform in congregation at home. Let us encourage our children and young people to pray with kind words, a smiling face, and patience, following the command of our Almighty Lord, وَأْمُرْ اَهْلَكَ بِالصَّلٰوةِ وَاصْطَبِرْ عَلَيْهَاۜ “Bid your people to pray, and be diligent in ˹observing˺ it.”4 Let us not deprive ourselves or our families of the blessings of such a noble act of worship as salah.
Today, I would like to appeal to all my brothers and sisters who neglect their prayers: Let us make the most of these blessed days and resolve to perform our five daily prayers, which purify us from mistakes and sins, and elevate our worth in the sight of Allah. I would like to conclude this Friday’s khutbah with our Prophet’s (saw) following hadith: “Five times of prayer have been prescribed by Allah. If anyone performs the ablution for them well, observes them at their proper time, and perfectly performs the bowing and showing of submissiveness during them, he has a covenant from Allah to forgive him.”5
[1] Bayhaqi, Shu’ab al-Iman, 3, 39.
[2] Ankabut, 29/45.
[3] Abu Dawud, Adab, 78.
[4] Ta-Ha, 20/132.
[5] Ibn Hanbal, IV, 266.
Friday Khutba of Tokyo Camii “Salah The Gift from the Mi’raj and the Pillar of the Religion” PDF
