Friday khutba – 6 March 2026 (16 Ramadan 1447 AH)
Qur’an Recitation
All praise is due to Allah. We praise Him, seek His help, and ask for His forgiveness. We bear witness that there is no deity worthy of worship except Allah, and that Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) is His servant and Messenger.
“O you who believe, fear Allah and speak words of truth. He will set right your deeds and forgive your sins; and whoever obeys Allah and His Messenger has indeed attained a great success.”
Praise be to Allah, the Most Merciful, the Most Compassionate, who revealed the Qur’an as guidance for mankind, with clear proofs of guidance and the criterion between truth and falsehood. He made it a light for the hearts, a healing for what lies within the chests, and a mercy for the believers. It is a great Book whose miracles never cease and whose freshness never fades with the passage of time. Its meanings are renewed whenever it is recited, and its light shines whenever believers reflect upon it.
May Allah preserve this Book for His servants and protect it—praise be to Him—from distortion and alteration. Allah the Almighty says: “Indeed, We have sent down the Reminder, and surely We will guard it.” (15:9)
We praise Him, Glorified and Exalted is He, for the blessing of the Qur’an and for the blessing of Islam and faith.
Servants of Allah, one of the greatest matters that a believer should care for in his life is the Book of Allah the Almighty: to recite it, to reflect upon it, and to live according to it. Allah the Almighty says: “Indeed, those who recite the Book of Allah, establish prayer, and spend from what We have provided them, secretly and openly, hope for a trade that will never perish, so that He may reward them fully and increase them from His bounty. Indeed, He is Forgiving and Appreciative.” (35:29–30)
This is a profitable trade with Allah, based on reciting the Qur’an and acting in accordance with it.
The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) explained the virtue of the people of the Qur’an and said: “The best among you are those who learn the Qur’an and teach it.”
He also said: “The one who recites the Qur’an fluently will be with the noble and righteous angels, and the one who recites it with difficulty and stumbles while reading it will receive a double reward.”
And he said: “Recite the Qur’an, for it will come on the Day of Resurrection as an intercessor for its companion.”
Gatherings devoted to the Qur’an are gatherings filled with mercy and tranquility. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: “Whenever people gather in one of the houses of Allah to recite the Book of Allah and study it together, tranquility descends upon them, mercy covers them, the angels surround them, and Allah mentions them among those who are with Him.”
Servants of Allah, the Qur’an is not merely a book to be recited; it is a complete way of life. It contains the stories of those who came before you, the news of those who will come after you, and the judgments concerning your affairs. Whoever turns away from it, Allah will bring him to ruin, and whoever seeks guidance elsewhere will be led astray by Allah.
It is the strong rope that connects us to Allah, a wise reminder, and the straight path. It is not influenced by desires; scholars never grow weary of it, and its wonders never come to an end.
Servants of Allah, turn to the Book of your Lord: recite it, learn it, teach it, and reflect upon it. Raise your children to love and honor it, for hearts that grow up with the Qur’an are rightly guided. Teaching children the Qur’an is among the best ways to plant faith in their hearts. Memorizing it at a young age is stronger and more lasting, for learning in youth is like engraving in stone.
One of the greatest calamities of our time is the abandonment of the Qur’an. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) complained of this to his Lord, saying: “My Lord, indeed my people have taken this Qur’an as something abandoned.” (25:30)
Abandoning the Qur’an takes many forms: neglecting its recitation, neglecting to act upon it, or turning away from reflecting upon its meanings. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) warned about a time when people would turn away from the Qur’an and said: “A time will come when nothing will remain of Islam except its name, and nothing will remain of the Qur’an except its written form.”
Servants of Allah, the proper study of the Qur’an can only be achieved under the guidance of those who have mastered it—such as skilled reciters and teachers—because correct recitation is learned through listening. Therefore, if a Muslim wishes to learn the Qur’an or teach it to his children, he should choose a qualified reciter so that they may learn to read the Book of Allah correctly.
Caring for the Book of Allah is among the greatest acts of worship and obedience. Servants of Allah, whoever learns the Qur’an should preserve it and make it a daily habit to recite it with reflection and reverence. The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: “Whoever recites a single letter from the Book of Allah will receive a good deed, and that good deed will be multiplied ten times.”
What a profitable trade this is! A single letter brings ten good deeds—so how great must the reward be for those who recite verses and entire surahs!
Revive your hearts with the Qur’an. Recite it often during the night and at the beginning and end of the day, for the Qur’an is the life of the hearts, the light of the chests, and a source of happiness in this world and in the Hereafter.
