Khutbah by Mufti Menk
By Mufti Menk | 2026-01-10T14:05:13.625442+00:00 | Topic: Iman
Bringing the Masjid Home - Khutbah by Mufti Menk
Opening Greeting
السَّلَامُ عَلَيْكُمْ وَرَحْمَةُ اللهِ وَبَرَكَاتُهُ
Opening Khutbah
بِسْمِ اللهِ الرَّحْمَٰنِ الرَّحِيمِ الْحَمْدُ لِلَّهِ، وَالصَّلَاةُ وَالسَّلَامُ عَلَىٰ رَسُولِ اللهِ وَعَلَىٰ آلِهِ وَأَصْحَابِهِ أَجْمَعِينَ
We praise Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. We send blessings and salutations upon Muhammad salallahu alayhi wa sallam, his household, his companions. We ask Allah to bless them all and to bless everyone of us, to grant us protection, to give us ease, to make us from among the righteous, and to make us from those who can take heed, learn lesson, and change our lives for the better as the days pass.
My beloved brothers and sisters, it is indeed an honor to be a part of this light upon light online conference entitled A Unique Ramadan. Unique month of Ramadan indeed. You and I know that Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala has given the greatest of importance to worship.
The Purpose of Creation
Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala says:
"I've not created mankind or jinn kind except in order that they worship me."
So this would mean that we need to worship Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala and worship means we do that which pleases Allah and abstain from that which displeases Allah through our 24 hours every single day. That is an amazing statement because the Prophet salallahu alayhi wa sallam himself has taught us that we must make sure that we worship Allah and Allah alone.
And he has spoken about the issue of association of partnership with Allah and that it really upsets Allah the most. In fact, it is the gravest sin that one could commit. So we should always be from among those who worship Allah alone.
May Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala make that easy for us. We came from Allah, we are at a place where Allah wants and we will be returning back to Allah and we are hoping that we get something known as the eternal bliss, Jannatul Firdaus. The paradise that is eternal and the highest ranks of it.
May Allah grant that to us. My brothers and sisters from the time we are young, we are taught to pray. And that prayer is five times a day.
The Nature of Salah
The term used in the Arabic language is As-Salah. Salah itself is unique and amazing. It's amazing because it does not translate actually as prayer fully because it has actions as well as some words and specific types of words in specific postures and positions.
All of that based on the instruction of the one who wants us to worship him. When you want a job from someone and you're the boss, you actually decide how that person is going to do the job. So you will say, can you drive from this point to that point at this speed using this road and do this delivery or that or whatever it may be.
But the boss is always the one who decides how the employee would actually behave or what they would do. So my beloved brothers and sisters, Allah being the creator is far beyond any boss of this world. He decides and dictates how he wants to be worshipped.
So he said to us, you will do this and you will do that. And if you take a look at that, the Prophet صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ has taught us the intention, the way we should face, what we should do prior to getting to Salah in terms of washing ourselves, in terms of cleanliness and then the clothing and then the intention standing in prayer and how we should face and where we should face, where we should stand, how we should stand and then how we should raise our hands, what we should say and how we drop the hands, whether we tie them or not and how we tie them. All of the details are mentioned by Rasulullah صَلَّى الله عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ . .Amazing.
So this is a favor of Allah. This is a blessing that Allah has bestowed upon us.
The Houses of Allah
My brothers, my sisters, something we need to know is Allah says the places of worship belong to Allah. The places of worship belong to Allah. In the Arabic language, we use the term sujood referring to prostration, specific type of worship where seven bones are on the ground in a specific way saying some words of praise of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala and that's called sujood from sajada, to prostrate, to be in prostration or the prostration itself. So the place of prostration is known as masjidun.
Masjidun means a place of prostration. Generally in the Arabic language, based on the context wherein we're using the language, the term masjid also refers to the building known as the house of Allah where people go to put their heads in sujood. So where everyone goes to put their head into sujood, it is actually called a masjid which means a place where people would go to put their heads in sujood, house of Allah.
In a nutshell, it is a place of worship and it belongs to Allah and in that place of worship, only good acts of worship are allowed. That which concerns the ummah is allowed, that which is clean and beneficial is allowed but that which is not clean, that which is immoral, impure, etc. is not allowed in the houses of worship, in the houses that belong to Allah.
So Allah says in the Quran, in surah al-jinn:
Indeed, the houses of prayer, meaning the masajid, belong to Allah. The places of prostration belong to Allah alone.
وَأَنَّ الْمَسَاجِدَ لِلَّهِ
We could say the masajid or the masjids as we call them in English. You know, we've transliterated it but we know what it means. The masjids belong to Allah alone, one meaning. Another is the places of prostration belong to Allah alone.
Cannot prostrate for anyone besides Allah. That prostration is simply, only, wholly, solely for Allah. That's it.
So, وَأَنَّ الْمَسَاجِدَ لِلَّهِ The masjids belong to Allah. And then Allah says:
فَلَا تَدْعُوا مَعَ اللَّهِ أَحَدًا
So, don't call out, don't supplicate to, don't call out in worship to anyone besides Allah. Amazing how Allah words this.
So, on one hand, he says the masjids belong to me, so don't worship anyone besides me. Subhanallah. Another translation he would be saying, the places of prostration belong to me, so don't worship anyone besides me.
The Prophet's Priority: Building Masjids
You and I know that from a young age, we're taught about the importance of the houses of Allah. So much so that at the beginning of the advent of the Prophet صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ when he went, and I'm not going to go back to Adam عَلَيْهِ السَّلامُ Ibrahim عَلَيْهِ السَّلامُ those who initially built the Kaaba, and the Baytullah al-Haram in Mecca.
But rather we're just going to the Prophet صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ when he had the first opportunity as he arrived in the outskirts of Mecca, in a suburb known as Quba. The first thing he did was, he built the masjid. Because the life of a Muslim rotates around the masjid. Right? The life of a Muslim rotates around the masjid.
So much so that the Prophet صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ told us that one of the seven categories of people who will be attaining a special rank in paradise or prior to paradise, on the Day of Judgment, under the shade of Allah جَلَّ جَلَالُهُ in a way that is befitting to him. He says:
A person whose heart is connected or hanging in the masajid, the masjids, the places of worship, prostration, the houses of Allah جَلَّ جَلَالُهُ [Sahih al-Bukhari, Hadith 1423; Sahih Muslim, Hadith 1031]
So you fulfill one prayer, you're worried about the next one. You fulfill the next one, you're worried about the following one, and so on.
So anyone who has that quality, Allah is offering you a very great elevated status on the Day of Judgment when there will be so much of heat, when people will be dying, well, when people will be suffering because they would have already been resurrected but, you know, we use the word, I'm dying of hunger, which means I'm very hungry. So when we say, when people will actually be suffering on that day because of their sweat and because of how hot it will be, Allah says that those whose hearts were stuck to the places of prostration, they are the ones who deserve a dhil or a shade on this particular day. That's the importance of these places of worship or places of prostration.
Masjid Quba and the Masjid of the Prophet
Similarly, He built Masjid Quba and Allah describes that place in the Quran. Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala says:
A mosque which was founded on righteousness from the first day is more worthy for you to stand [in prayer] in it. Within it are men who love to purify themselves.
The first, the first house, the one that was built upon Taqwa from the first day, speaking about Masjid Quba, is better. Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala is saying:
It is better for you to stand in it because there are people there who are very very keen and they cleanse themselves in a very good way.
And the verses are basically praising the people who pray in Masjid Quba. And subhanAllah, that's the first Masjid. Now if we take a look at what the Prophet صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّم did when he left that suburb and went into Madina Munawwara, amazing.
He actually then decided one of the first things to do again was to build a Masjid. This time it was to be called Masjid al-Nabawi or Masjid Rasulullah صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ the Masjid of the Prophet Muhammad صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ al-Masjid al-Nabawi. And we all know that that Masjid holds a very very high value in the eyes of Allah جَلٌ جَلالة where the Prophet صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ has told us:
A prayer that is rendered in my Masjid, this one here, meaning referring to al-Madina al-Munawwara, is higher in value than a thousand prayers that are prayed elsewhere besides al-Masjid al-Haram, which means in Makkah al-Mukarramah, which has a value of 100,000. [Sahih al-Bukhari, Hadith 1190; Sahih Muslim, Hadith 1394]
But in another narration, it even pushes it up to 10,000. All that I'm trying to show you is that the value of the Masjid, very very high. However, my brothers and sisters, sometimes Allah جَلَّ جَلَالُهُ dictates upon us something that we have no choice about.
The Reward of Congregational Prayer
We have to rise to the occasion. You see, if you look at the issue of صَلَاةُ الْجَمَاعَةِ Salah in congregation, it is absolutely important to the degree that some of the scholars have taken it to compulsory for the males who are able and capable to fulfill their Salah in congregation in the Masjid. And then you look at the reward of it, it goes to a beautiful hadith worded in a very very interesting way, especially for those of us who are looking into it right now.
He says:
Salah in congregation is better 25 times than that which is not done in congregation. [Sahih al-Bukhari, Hadith 645; Sahih Muslim, Hadith 650]
And in one narration : بِخَمْسٍ وَعِشْرِينَ
Did he mention the Masjid here? No, he didn't. So, if I am going to fulfill my Salah in congregation, I'm getting a 25-27 times greater reward than if I were to fulfill the prayer alone, right? What if I were to do that in the Masjid? Well, that is much more in terms of multiplication of the reward.
SubhanAllah. I hope you get that. So, 25 times is only for Salah al-Jama'ah or 27. Beyond that, if you're in the Masjid, there is a greater reward that goes way beyond 25-27 because not only are you doing the Jama'ah, but on top of that you're in the Masjid, the house of Allah. Subhanahu wa ta'ala. Amazing.
Divine Mercy for Those Unable to Attend
And if you're used to going to the houses of Allah and one day you're not well or for some reason you cannot go, guess what? You get the reward of it. You get the reward of having gone to the Masjid because you're sick or ill or incapable or unable to go or for some reason something happened and you could not go. But you're used to doing the deed, the angels write that deed for you by the instruction of Allah, Rabbul Izzati wal Jalal.
So, it's amazing how if you look at that narration, it doesn't talk about the Masjid. Although there is definitely very, very great reward and it's even an injunction to go to the Masjid. However, it is in order for us not to despair the times that we cannot go to the Masjid.
Sometimes you're on a journey. You cannot make it. You're unwell. You cannot make it. You're taking care of something very important. You cannot make it.
Sometimes you may have overslept or just forgotten. The Prophet s.a.w. says:
Whoever oversleeps a prayer or whoever is simply forgotten due to human forgetfulness should actually fulfill that prayer as soon as they remember. [Sahih Muslim, Hadith 684]
As soon as you remember, fulfill it as قضاءً meaning that which you've missed and you're now fulfilling as a missed prayer. It's called (الْفَوَائِتُ، قَضَاءُ الصَّلاةِ - al-fawa'it, qada' as-salah) to fulfill that which you have missed from its rightful time.
Okay, so it's very difficult for us to sometimes be at the masjid because of some of the reasons I've given you. When a person is sick, if you have a contagious sickness, don't go to the masjid because diseases can be contagious.
Understanding "La Adwa"
The hadith that says (لا عَدْوَى - la adwa) does not mean that Allah or His Messenger ﷺ are negating the fact that contagious diseases exist. But what they're saying is when a disease has spread, don't blame a person for spreading it, rather say it got to me by the decree of Allah. That doesn't mean you don't take precautions nor does it mean that you can be relaxed and you can say I'm going to do whatever I want.
What it does mean is don't blame people. What got to you got to you because Allah wanted you to get it even though you took every precaution. So it's strengthening our iman actually in Allah s.w.t. My brothers and sisters so (لا عَدْوَى - la adwa) we've just heard what it means at the same time when you do fear that you may give others a disease you have or a sickness because it's contagious you don't go.
Will you get a reward of having gone? Under two circumstances you will. Number one is you used to often go then you couldn't go. You get a full reward. Or you didn't used to often go but in your heart you desperately would like to go. Allah will give you that reward. So I desperately want to go but I can't go. Allah says don't worry you have the reward of it because Allah knows what's in your heart. And the niyyah is more important than anything.
The Importance of Intention
You know many of the muhaddithin have commenced their books including As-Sahihul Jami' of Imam Bukhari rahmatullahi alayhi Muhammad ibn Ismail. He says he started the book, the compilation of the sahih with the hadith of Umar bin Khattabi he says he heard the messenger ﷺ clearly say on the minbar:
(Sahih al-Bukhari)
"Indeed all actions are judged by their underlying intentions and every person shall have a reward connected to what the intention was."
Amazing. So I really desperately wanted to go to the masjid. I couldn't because of some valid reason. Guess what? I got the reward. Or I used to go often then I couldn't. Guess what? I got the reward. Mashallah tabarakallah.
Current Circumstances and Hope
So under these circumstances that we're facing right now, you and I know coronavirus covid-19. Not all the masjid across the globe are closed. No. But many of them have restrictions. Some of them in some
countries are totally closed depending on where you are and the time of the coronavirus in your particular area or country. For example, in some countries it is still open but they're using disinfectant as the musallis are walking in and some of them are actually distancing and whatever. That's a topic on its own.
However, let's talk about the broader term restrictions. We have restrictions. Let's face it. There may be nothing that we can do about it during the month of Ramadan this year 2020. So what do we do? Well, it's not the end of the world subhanAllah. Ibadah continues Salah with congregation continues.
In fact, perhaps if there was one congregation in your area in the masjid, Allah wants you to have a thousand congregations in your homes. Do you get what I mean? That is also a blessing of Allah. When have the men led their households in prayer? When have people ever learned about how to fulfill Salah with jama'ah within the home? Sometimes the women don't even know. Sometimes the young children, we've never let them in Salah. So perhaps Allah wants us to give that greater importance and subhanAllah, it is an act of worship, a great act of worship.
Bringing Life to Our Homes
You know the hadith of the Prophet صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّم speaks about doing some form of acts of worship in your house and he says it very interestingly.
He says:
(Sahih Muslim)
"Don't make your houses into graves."
Amazing narration. He says, Don't make your houses into graves. What does that mean? A grave is a place where no acts of worship are happening.
So don't convert your houses into graves by never worshipping Allah in your own house. There must be tilawah of the Quran, there must be dhikr, there must be reminders to your children or your family members on a daily basis, collectively or singularly or whatever way possible. There must be Salah, Salah with jama'ah, there must be Salah, Nafilah, whatever else, you must talk about it, you must help your children and your family members, you must encourage them and you must be enthusiastic about all of this and your house will not be a qabr or a grave.
You see? Some of us didn't know this and that's why a house wherein Surah Al-Baqarah is read, shayateen will never come into that house. SubhanAllahi Rabbil Alameen. You got to read all these surahs, you got to worship Allah in a house when it's alive, the shayateen stay away.
But when the house is dead, then everything wrong happens in that home. So my brothers and sisters the second part of that hadith, just because I mentioned it, it says:
Which means, don't come to my grave on a fixed timetable. You know, we visit the graves and the grave of Rasulullah صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ whenever we can, once in a while in order to remember the fact that we're going to be going there as the Prophet صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ says in another hadith, he says:
(Sahih Muslim)
"I used to prohibit you from visiting the graves, but now you visit them in order for them to remind you about the akhirah."
So we would visit the grave of the Prophet صلّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ say salam to him and so on. However, he says immediately after that:
(Sunan Abi Dawud)
"Your blessings and salutations that you send upon me, do them wherever you are, they will reach me."
In what way? Allah knows best. Allah knows how. He has a mechanism in place where the Prophet Muhammad صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ receives the people's blessings and salutations upon him whenever and where they do it and wherever they are. That is by the qudrah, the power, the mercy of Allah, the miracle.
Something granted to Muhammad صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ and it was not granted to others. Subhanallahi rabbil alameen. So that was the hadith.
Creating Sacred Spaces at Home
But going back to the issue of the house. So we need to make the most of our houses. I know I'm speaking to an international audience in the low-density areas where people have larger homes.
You may have a specialized room, which is called salah room or salah facility or a masjid or a musalla within the house. You're fortunate. It's designated. You use that place, you frequent it, you do your jama'a in it and inshallah, you're set for this month of Ramadan. Make sure the ibadah increases. You're gonna be home more than you have been in a long, long time in most cases.
But in the medium to high-density areas where people don't have a specialized room, you may have a specialized area. So what you do, it's a demarcated area in the house sometimes within the lounge in one corner where the sajjadah is, where the places of sujood. Now I want to take you back to the beginning of this talk where I said that you know what? The places of sujood belong to Allah and the same verse translates as the houses of sujood, which means the masjids belong to Allah.
Look at how it applies even here. That sajjadah, that place of prostration belongs to Allah. Your forehead and the bones that are put down on the ground when you're prostrating. You don't do it except for Allah. Subhana rabbiyal a'la. Look at this.
So you designate a place and make sure that you worship Allah there and worship him a lot. Do you know why?
(Sahih Muslim)
"The closest that a slave can be to his Lord is when he or she is in prostration, in sujood."
So my brothers and sisters, make sure that you use this and during the month of Ramadan more so. It is a beautiful month. A month where these acts of worship are loved by Allah. Subhanahu wa ta'ala.
Practical Arrangements for Smaller Spaces
Imagine being in sujood, that act of worship wherein you are the closest to Allahsubhanahu wa ta'ala. And on top of that, there is a designated area in your living room or somewhere in the house where you usually would sit. Brothers and sisters, some of us are not as fortunate and some of the homes are even smaller.
Some people are living in one room, one bedroom little apartment. Some of them have even less space than that. What to do? Subhanallah.
So here's what to do. When it comes to the time of salah, you can move some of your furniture and you can then lay that beautiful carpet or the designated area. Put some cloth or something that would actually get you into that mode.
And then what you do is you dedicate yourself. You dedicate yourself for Allahsubhanahu wa ta'ala. You know, it's like a small mihrabul bayt. It's a small little place of worship where the pulpit of the house subhanallah, the mimbar in your own home. Learn to talk to your children, those whom you are living with in the case of those who are living with people. If you're all on your own, don't speak to yourself, but engage in dhikr.
Speak to Allahsubhanahu wa ta'ala by worshipping him through adhkar. Subhanallah alhamdulillah, Allahu Akbar. These are acts of worship that are loved by Allah.
The Beauty of Dhikr
Statements. Amazing. Listen to what he says. Through the lips of Rasulullah sallallahu alaihi wa sallam we've been told:
(Sahih al-Bukhari)
"Two words very light on the tongue, very heavy on the scales, very loved by Allah. What are they? سُبْحَانَ اللهِ وَبِحَمْدِهِ سُبْحَانَ اللَّهِ الْعَظِيمِ"
Praising Allah and glorifying Allah. Imagine, if you were just to glorify, I glorify you O Allah. I praise you O Allah. You are the only one worthy of praise O Allah. You are the greatest. You are the owner. You are the cherisher. You are the nourisher. You are the sustainer. You are the protector. You are the provider.
You are the one in whose hands lies absolute control of every aspect of existence. You are my lord. I will return to you. You made me in the first place. I owe my life to you. I'm going to return to you. Have mercy on me the day I return to you. You are praising Allah. All those words in the Arabic language, and if you don't know them in the Arabic language, say it in whatever language you would like.
(سُبْحَانَ اللهِ - SubhanAllah). Praise Allah. Glorify Him. Thank Him. Seek from Him. Ask Allah.
Bringing the Masjid Home
So my brothers and sisters, we are bringing the masjid into our homes. And as much as we are definitely in pain, in pain because of the masajid being restricted, the most wise, the wisest or the most honorable thing to do at this moment is to ensure that we don't risk other's lives and we don't risk our own life. So for as long as we have to, we will.
As soon as we do not have to anymore, we would love to return back to normal. My brothers and sisters, may Allahsubhanahu wa ta'ala grant us a beautiful month of Ramadan. If you are sitting in that corner of yours, in that position of yours, in that place, and you did not get up, as the hadith speaks about those who fulfill salatul fajr and stay up to the morning prayer, you know, the post sunrise prayer, the ishraq, shuruq and so on, they will have a specific reward.
If you were to use your designated place, you would definitely be achieving a similar reward in the case where you are unable to go to the house of Allah because Allah knows and Allah will reward us. Let's weep to Allah. Let's turn back to Allah.
Let's seek His forgiveness. Let's ask Him to alleviate the suffering of all those suffering and struggling to grant cure to all those who are sick and ill, to have mercy upon those who have passed away, to give patience to those and sabr, jameel, to those who have lost loved ones and to eradicate this virus completely and wholly from across the globe and make us better people, not only through the month of Ramadan, but from now my brothers and sisters and throughout the month and even beyond the month of Ramadan.
Conclusion
These are a few words that I thought of sharing on this particular beautiful occasion of this unique Ramadan conference held by light upon light.
So you designate a place and make sure that you worship Allah there and worship him a lot. Do you know why?
أَقْرَبُ مَا يَكُونُ الْعَبْدُ إِلَى رَبِّهِ وَهُوَ سَاجِدٌ
The closest that a slave can be to his Lord is when he or she is in prostration, in sujood. So my brothers and sisters, make sure that you use this and during the month of Ramadan more so.
It is a beautiful month. A month where these acts of worship are loved by Allah. Subhanahu wa ta'ala.
Closing Khutbah
May Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala bless everyone of you.
"I say these words of mine, and may Allah send blessings, peace, and grace upon our Prophet Muhammad, and peace, mercy of Allah and His blessings be upon you."