Dear Muslims!
The Ka’bah in Mecca is the first place of worship and a source of abundance of divine blessings and guidance. Every masjid and mosque on the face of the earth is a branch of the Ka’bah.
Our mosques and masjids are indicators of our devoutness to the Ka’bah, the Masjid al-Nabawi, and the Masjid al-Aqsa. We learn about the word of Allah (swt) in these places. In these places, we meet with the heirs of the Prophet (saw). We go through Divine and Prophetic education in these places. In these places, we are taught the rules and conventions of good manners. We embrace unity and solidarity, as well as brotherhood and loyalty, again in these places.
Dear Believers!
It is stated in the Holy Qur’an as follows, “The mosques of Allah are only to be maintained by those who believe in Allah and the Last Day and establish prayer and give zakah and do not fear except Allah…”[i] Right, building a mosque is important. But what is even more important is to render our mosques prosperous with our presence. More important is to bring our hearts and minds together in the peaceful climate of our mosques. More important is to make our mosques lively by the presence of our women, men, children, youth, and elderly.
I would like to conclude this Friday’s khutbah with the following hadith of Prophet (saw) that demonstrates the importance of devoutness to mosques and congregations: “If you see a man who regularly comes to the masjid/mosque, then bear witness to his faith.”[ii]
[i] Tawbah, 9/18.
[ii] Tirmidhi, Iman, 8; Ibn Majah, Masajid, 19.