First Khutbah
Indeed, all praise belongs to Allah. We praise Him, we seek His help and we ask His forgiveness. We seek refuge in Allah from the evils of our souls and from our bad deeds. Whomever Allah guides, none can lead astray; and whomever He leaves astray, none can guide. I bear witness that there is no god but Allah, alone, without partner, and I bear witness that Muhammad is His servant and Messenger, may Allah send blessings and peace upon him, his family and his companions.
﴿يَٰٓأَيُّهَا ٱلَّذِينَ ءَامَنُوا۟ ٱتَّقُوا۟ ٱللَّهَ وَقُولُوا۟ قَوْلًۭا سَدِيدًۭا * يُصْلِحْ لَكُمْ أَعْمَٰلَكُمْ وَيَغْفِرْ لَكُمْ ذُنُوبَكُمْ ۗ وَمَن يُطِعِ ٱللَّهَ وَرَسُولَهُۥ فَقَدْ فَازَ فَوْزًا عَظِيمًا﴾
“O you who have believed, fear Allah and speak words of appropriate justice. He will [then] amend for you your deeds and forgive you your sins. And whoever obeys Allah and His Messenger has certainly attained a great attainment.”
Dear brothers and sisters, notice what Allah ties together in these verses: taqwa, and speaking rightly — and for it He promises to set right our deeds and forgive our sins. Our words are not a side matter in our religion; they are at its heart.
Every word is written
Think how many words leave us in a single day — at home, at work, in messages and comments. We forget most of them within minutes, but Allah tells us that none of them is lost:
﴿مَّا يَلْفِظُ مِن قَوْلٍ إِلَّا لَدَيْهِ رَقِيبٌ عَتِيدٌۭ﴾
“Man does not utter any word except that with him is an observer prepared [to record].”
A single word can change a person's destiny. The Prophet ﷺ said: “A slave (of Allah) may utter a word which pleases Allah without giving it much importance, and because of that Allah will raise him to degrees (of reward): a slave (of Allah) may utter a word (carelessly) which displeases Allah without thinking of its gravity and because of that he will be thrown into the Hell-Fire” [Sahih al-Bukhari 6478].
The danger is in the words we throw away without thinking — the joke at someone's expense, the sarcastic remark, the rumour passed on because it was interesting.
Speak good, or stay silent
So the Prophet ﷺ gave us a simple rule for every conversation: “anybody who believes in Allah and the Last Day should talk what is good or keep quiet” [Sahih al-Bukhari 6018].
Before you speak, ask: is it true, useful and kind? If it is, say it. If not, silence is not weakness — it is worship. And the Prophet ﷺ made a remarkable promise for those who master this: “Whoever can guarantee (the chastity of) what is between his two jaw-bones and what is between his two legs (i.e. his tongue and his private parts), I guarantee Paradise for him” [Sahih al-Bukhari 6474].
When Mu'adh ibn Jabal asked about the deeds that lead to Paradise, the Prophet ﷺ taught him the pillars of Islam and many doors of good, then took hold of his own tongue and said: “Restrain this.” Mu'adh asked whether we will really be taken to account for what we say. The Prophet ﷺ replied: “May your mother grieve your loss O Mu'adh! Are the people tossed into the Fire upon their faces, or upon their noses, except because of what their tongues have wrought” [Jami` at-Tirmidhi 2616, graded sahih by al-Albani].
Backbiting and slander
Among the most common sins of the tongue is backbiting, ghibah. Allah describes it in one of the most powerful images in the Qur'an:
﴿وَلَا تَجَسَّسُوا۟ وَلَا يَغْتَب بَّعْضُكُم بَعْضًا ۚ أَيُحِبُّ أَحَدُكُمْ أَن يَأْكُلَ لَحْمَ أَخِيهِ مَيْتًۭا فَكَرِهْتُمُوهُ﴾
“And do not spy or backbite each other. Would one of you like to eat the flesh of his brother when dead? You would detest it.”
Some people say: but I am only telling the truth about him. The Prophet ﷺ answered exactly this. He defined backbiting as: “your talking about your brother in a manner which he does not like.” Asked what if the fault is really there, he said: “If (that failing) is actually found (in him) what you assert, you in fact backbited him, and if that is not in him it is a slander” [Sahih Muslim 2589]. So if it is true, it is backbiting; and if it is false, it is worse — it is a lie against your brother.
The tongue in the age of screens
Today our tongues also have fingers. A message we forward, a post we share, a comment we type — all of these are words, and all of them are written. Allah warned the believers about how a false accusation spread in Madinah:
﴿إِذْ تَلَقَّوْنَهُۥ بِأَلْسِنَتِكُمْ وَتَقُولُونَ بِأَفْوَاهِكُم مَّا لَيْسَ لَكُم بِهِۦ عِلْمٌۭ وَتَحْسَبُونَهُۥ هَيِّنًۭا وَهُوَ عِندَ ٱللَّهِ عَظِيمٌۭ﴾
“When you received it with your tongues and said with your mouths that of which you had no knowledge and thought it was insignificant while it was, in the sight of Allah, tremendous.”
You thought it was insignificant. How often do we pass on news without checking it? The Prophet ﷺ said: “It is enough falsehood for a man to relate everything he hears” [Sunan Abi Dawud 4992, graded sahih by al-Albani]. Verify before you speak, and verify before you share.
I say these words and I ask Allah's forgiveness for myself and for you, so seek His forgiveness; indeed He is the Most Forgiving, the Most Merciful.
Second Khutbah
All praise is due to Allah, and may blessings and peace be upon His Messenger, his family and his companions.
Dear brothers and sisters, the tongue can be trained like any other muscle. Here are a few practical steps:
- Pause before you speak or post.
- Leave arguments that go nowhere. The Prophet ﷺ said: “I guarantee a house in the surroundings of Paradise for a man who avoids quarrelling even if he were in the right, a house in the middle of Paradise for a man who avoids lying even if he were joking” [Sunan Abi Dawud 4800, graded hasan by al-Albani].
- When backbiting starts, change the subject or defend your absent brother. Be the person in the gathering who protects people's honour.
- Replace bad speech with good speech. ﴿وَقُل لِّعِبَادِى يَقُولُوا۟ ٱلَّتِى هِىَ أَحْسَنُ﴾ [Al-Isra 17:53] — “And tell My servants to say that which is best.” And remember: “A Muslim is the one who avoids harming Muslims with his tongue and hands” [Sahih al-Bukhari 10].
- Repair the damage. If you have spoken wrongly about someone, seek Allah's forgiveness and speak well of them where you spoke badly.
Allah has commanded us to send blessings upon His Prophet:
﴿إِنَّ ٱللَّهَ وَمَلَٰٓئِكَتَهُۥ يُصَلُّونَ عَلَى ٱلنَّبِىِّ ۚ يَٰٓأَيُّهَا ٱلَّذِينَ ءَامَنُوا۟ صَلُّوا۟ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلِّمُوا۟ تَسْلِيمًا﴾
“Indeed, Allah confers blessing upon the Prophet, and His angels [ask Him to do so]. O you who have believed, ask [Allah to confer] blessing upon him and ask [Allah to grant him] peace.”
As the Prophet ﷺ taught us to say: “O Allah! Send Your Mercy on Muhammad and on the family of Muhammad, as You sent Your Mercy on Abraham and on the family of Abraham, for You are the Most Praise-worthy, the Most Glorious. O Allah! Send Your Blessings on Muhammad and the family of Muhammad, as You sent your Blessings on Abraham and on the family of Abraham, for You are the Most Praise-worthy, the Most Glorious” [Sahih al-Bukhari 3370].
We ask Allah with the words the Prophet ﷺ taught: “O Allah, I seek refuge in Thee from the evil of what I hear, from the evil of what I see, from the evil of what I speak, from the evil of what I think” [Sunan Abi Dawud 1551, graded sahih by al-Albani]. O Allah, make our tongues truthful and gentle, and protect us from backbiting, lying and slander. Forgive the believing men and women, the living and the dead.
﴿رَبَّنَآ ءَاتِنَا فِى ٱلدُّنْيَا حَسَنَةًۭ وَفِى ٱلْءَاخِرَةِ حَسَنَةًۭ وَقِنَا عَذَابَ ٱلنَّارِ﴾
“Our Lord, give us in this world [that which is] good and in the Hereafter [that which is] good and protect us from the punishment of the Fire.”
Servants of Allah, remember Allah and He will remember you; be grateful to Him and He will increase you. And establish the prayer.