Friday Khutba of Tokyo Camii “Being an Ummah is Being United”

Honorable Muslims!
As our Prophet (saw) said, sadly today we Muslims, despite our great numbers, are scattered like rubbish carried away by a torrent of water. Our enemies descend upon the lands of Islam like wild beasts upon their prey. Excessive love of this world and fear of death are stripping away our dignity and grandeur in their eyes.¹ Despite the command of our Almighty Lord, وَاعْتَصِمُوا بِحَبْلِ اللّٰهِ جَم۪يعاً وَلَا تَفَرَّقُواۖ “Hold firmly together to the rope of Allah and do not be divided…”², we find ourselves drifting further apart each day, driven by worldly interests and personal ambitions. This situation only emboldens the oppressors, leading them to intensify their cruelty.

Dear Believers!
True peace can prevail on earth only when the Ummah of Muhammad unites on the foundation of brotherhood, acting in unity and solidarity. It is through coming to each other’s aid, as required by the verse,وَالَّذ۪ينَ اِذَٓا اَصَابَهُمُ الْبَغْيُ هُمْ يَنْتَصِرُونَ “… who enforce justice when wronged.”³ This unity can only be achieved by binding together as closely as the bricks of a building and by sharing each other’s pain as members of one body, as required by the hadith: “…Do not envy one another. Do not bear grudges against one another. Do not turn your backs on one another. O servants of Allah, be brothers!”⁴ It is possible only by acting with the spirit of brotherhood as believers, transcending differences in language, color, race, sect, and profession, as required by the verse,اِنَّمَا الْمُؤْمِنُونَ اِخْوَةٌ “The believers are but one brotherhood.”⁵ It is possible only by recognizing everyone who accepts Allah as their Lord, Islam as their religion, and Prophet Muhammad (saw) as their Prophet as part of the Islamic family, as required by the verse, اِنَّ هٰذِه۪ٓ اُمَّتُكُمْ اُمَّةً وَاحِدَةًۘ وَاَنَا۬ رَبُّكُمْ فَاعْبُدُونِ “Indeed, this religion of yours is ˹only˺ one, and I am your Lord, so worship Me ˹alone˺.”⁶ It is possible only by enjoining good and forbidding evil, as required by the verse, “You are the best community ever raised for humanity— you encourage good, forbid evil, and believe in Allah…”⁷

Let us, then, join hands and hearts as Muslims—united by belief in the same Allah, following the same Prophet, guided by the same divine Book, and facing the same qiblah.

O humanity!
Oppression will ultimately come to an end. The oppressed will surely be delivered to salvation, while the oppressors will never succeed in their aims. Therefore, I call upon people of conscience and humanity to stand against a handful of murderous gangs and their accomplices, and to give their dignified response. Let us not forget that consenting to oppression is, in itself, a form of oppression.

[1] Abu Dawud, Malahim, 5; Ibn Hanbal, V, 278.
[2] Ali ‘Imran, 3/103.
[3] Shura, 42/39.
[4] Muslim, Birr, 28.
[5] Hujurat, 49/10.
[6] Anbiya, 21/92.
[7] Ali ‘Imran, 3/110.

Friday Khutba of Tokyo Camii “Being an Ummah is Being United” PDF