Friday Khutba of Tokyo Camii “Foundation: Reverence To The Creator, Compassion To The Created”

Honorable Muslims!
Some time after the Prophet Muhammad (saw) and his esteemed companions migrated to Madinah, the city faced a water shortage. The Well of Rumah, which could alleviate this hardship, was owned by a Jewish man who sold even a single drop of water for money. Upon this, the Messenger of Allah (saw) said, “Who will purchase the well of Rumah and place his bucket alongside the buckets of the Muslims, in exchange for something better in Paradise?”¹ Hearing this glad tiding, Uthman (ra) purchased the well and endowed it for the benefit of all in need.

Dear Believers!
A foundation (waqf) is the institutionalized form of mutual assistance and solidarity. It means dedicating the resources we possess for the benefit of all creation, embodying the prophetic principle, خَيْرُ النَّاسِ أَنْفَعُهُمْ لِلنَّاسِ “The best of people are those who are most beneficial to others.”² It is to devote, in the path of Allah, what our eyes admire, what our hearts cherish, and what our hands are reluctant to part with, expecting nothing in return. A foundation makes perpetual the wealth entrusted to us by Allah the Almighty, transforming it into provisions for the Hereafter. It is to respond to the divine command:
لَنْ تَنَالُوا الْبِرَّ حَتّٰى تُنْفِقُوا مِمَّا تُحِبُّونَۜ “You will never achieve righteousness until you donate some of what you cherish…”³ by giving not from our surplus, but from what is truly valuable to us. It is to bring joy to orphans, shelter to the needy, hope to the oppressed, and comfort to the sick.

Esteemed Muslims!
Islamic civilization is also a civilization of foundations, and a Muslim is the one who gives life to this civilization. In a hadith, the Prophet Muhammad (saw) said: “A person’s wealth is whatever he spends (in Allah’s Cause) during his life (on good deeds) while the wealth of his heirs is whatever he leaves after his death.”³ Embracing this hadith as a guiding principle, our ancestors became pioneers of goodness, establishing mosques, madrasahs, hospitals, soup kitchens, libraries, caravanserais, bridges, and fountains. They left behind countless works to be remembered with gratitude.

Dear Muslims!
Foundations are the eternal seals of Islamic civilization. They are the keys to goodness and the locks against evil. Our duty is to heed the command: وَمَا تُقَدِّمُوا لِاَنْفُسِكُمْ مِنْ خَيْرٍ تَجِدُوهُ عِنْدَ اللّٰهِ “…Whatever good you send forth for yourselves, you will ˹certainly˺ find ˹its reward˺ with Allah…”⁴ by giving greater care to the establishment, preservation, and transmission of charitable institutions to future generations. Let us not forget that in the eternal life, is not for what we accumulate and hoard, but for what we spend in the path of goodness for the sake of Allah.
On this occasion, I pray for mercy upon those benefactors who have passed away after spending their wealth in the cause of Allah, and for health and well-being for those who are still with us. I would like to conclude this week’s khutbah with the following admonition of the Prophet Muhammad (saw): “The son of Adam claims: My wealth, my wealth. O son of Adam. Is there anything as your belonging except that which you consumed, which you utilised, or which you wore and then it was worn out or you gave as charity and sent it forward?”⁵

[1] Tirmidhi, Manaqib, 18; Nasa’i, Ahbas, 4.
[2] Quda’i, Musnad al-Shihab, I, 365.
[3] Ali ‘Imran, 3/92.
[4] Bukhari, Riqaq, 12.
[5] Muzzammil, 73/20.
[6] Muslim, Zuhd, 3.

Friday Khutba of Tokyo Camii “Foundation: Reverence To The Creator, Compassion To The Created” PDF