Jummah Khutbah The Loss of Innocent Lives - A Sign of Judgement Day
By Yaser Birjas | 2026-01-13T07:49:38.599934+00:00 | Topic: Trials
Jummah Khutbah: The Loss of Innocent Lives - A Sign of Judgement Day
Introduction: The Normalization of Violence in Our Time
The loss of innocent lives these days as we watch in the news on a regular basis has become so common that people no longer make a big deal out of it. Whether it's an individual such as in the case of Jamal Khashoggi or case of state terrorism sometimes and attacking other countries or civil war or killing individual people, subhanallah, indiscriminate killing is becoming so common that people these days don't pay attention to or maybe because it's just becoming so common again is no longer news. We expect that.
Today, when a country invades another land or when another group attacks another group because of racial reasons or religious reasons, we don't make a big deal out of it because it's expected these days to happen. When someone goes into a school and starts shooting and killing or a workplace and do so, the same thing, we don't just make a big deal out of it anymore other than just counting the numbers. It just becomes another headline and that's it.
The Prophetic Warning About These Times
The indiscriminate killing and the loss of innocent lives, subhanallah, has become one of the signs of our time. And indeed it is because the Prophet, صلى الله عليه وسلم, warned us against these times, that they will come and they're going to happen. But what is our responsibility in time like this when these things happen? I want to share with you a hadith of the Prophet, صلى الله عليه وسلم, that was mentioned by Imam Bukhari in regards to the signs of the Day of Judgment.
The Hadith About the Signs of the Day of Judgment
In the hadith, which is a long hadith, Imam Bukhari mentioned in Kitab al-Fitan, rahimahullahu ta'ala, the messenger of Allah, صلى الله عليه وسلم, says: "The Day of Judgment will not be established until two major groups from the Muslim ummah will fight against each other. And it will be like a great battle and there will be a lot of loss of lives in that battle."
The ulama of tafsir and the ahadith, they say it happened probably maybe the time of Muawiyah, radiallahu anhu, and Ali ibn Abi Talib. Some others, they say, you know what, you can't indicate which one because Allah knows how great that battle is going to be and what kind of how much people will lose their lives in such a battle like this. Then he said, صلى الله عليه وسلم :
(Bukhari)
"Their call is one."
These two groups, they call for the same thing. Like they both call for the same thing. But eventually a fitna like this will happen between them.
The Rise of False Prophets
And he said:
"And there will be impostors" - those who claim to be prophets and come out, you know, preach that they are prophets from Allah, subhanahu wa ta'ala. He says:
"Close to thirty of them." Ulama, they say, a lot of them, they came right after the time of the Prophet, صلى الله عليه وسلم
(Bukhari)
"Each one claiming to be the messenger of Allah."
The Removal of Knowledge
He said:
"And the knowledge will be removed." What does that mean? The Prophet, صلى الله عليه وسلم, he explained that meaning of knowledge will be removed. In another hadith, he says:
- Allah, subhanahu wa ta'ala, is not going to take that knowledge from the hearts of the scholars and the knowledgeable people. No. He says:
(Bukhari)
"But knowledge will disappear by the disappearance of these scholars."
What does that mean? Knowledgeable people will die. And then, subhanallah, they will not be replaced with people with equal level of knowledge.
The Paradox of Modern Knowledge
And ironically, in our time, the access to knowledge that we have is way unprecedented. Never in the history of mankind, an average human being, have access to information and knowledge like ulama had back in those days. Unbelievable. Unprecedented level of knowledge. But still, we don't have knowledgeable people. Because everyone is depending on what? Depending on the internet. On technology. So therefore, there is no need for us to retain or memorize or... It's available. So why bother? And that's what we see today, the decline of the quality of knowledge and the ilm and the ulama.
Increase in Natural Disasters
He said:
(Bukhari)
"And earthquakes will become very common." Just heard the news that came, subhanallah, from Indonesia the other day. The tsunami that happened and killed hundreds of people there. And others that happened all over the world. And it's becoming very common as well.
The Shrinking of Time
And he said:
(Bukhari)
"And the time will shrink." You could say it shrinks. Ulama, they try to argue what's the meaning of taqarub al-zaman? How can you use the word taqarub al-zaman, which means time itself becomes very close to each other. What does it mean? They say the barakah of the time disappears.
Similarly, alhamdulillah, we live in time. Technology is making things so easy for us. You can achieve things while you're at home. If you need to go somewhere, you have your car. You drive and you come back, alhamdulillah. Back in the days, people, they used to spend the whole day going back and forth for that distance you spend in 20 minutes. But still, there is no barakah in our time.
The Loss of Barakah in Time
No barakah in our time. There is no accomplishment. And also, the same thing, people, they just start the week and a few days later, just like subhanallah, what happened? We all get started the week again and again and again. And life goes so fast like this. Taqarub al-zaman. People just don't have the barakah and the accomplishment of time.
When we read about some ulama from the past, like Imam al-Nawawi, who died when he was about 44 years old. Imam al-Nawawi, 44 years old. He died relatively young comparing to the age of other ulama. But if you look into his achievements and the number of books he left behind, you would wonder how many pages was he writing a day? And we're talking about time. We didn't have technology to type it up. It's actually handwritten. The effort and the energy that's put there, it's unbelievable, the barakah of their time that we're missing today.
The Increase of Fitan and Harj
And the fitan, the trials, ordeals, will become very common and very popular, which means they happen in different places, different times. As a result of that, and the harj becomes so common. The Sahaba, even themselves, they didn't know what's the meaning of the word harj. What is it exactly? He said:
(Bukhari)
"Killing, killing."
Now, the word harj in itself in the Arabic language means when things are mixed up, that's what you call harj, when things are becoming very mixed up. And when there are a lot of trials and ordeals and fitan in our time, and any time, as a matter of fact, things become very loud. And as a result, you can't even scrutinize what you're hearing and what you're listening, it becomes so mixed up, people lose direction, they lose focus, they don't know what's the truth, they don't know what's right and what's wrong, and they get really, really confused.
The Consequence of Confusion
And when people get confused, they cannot make decisions, and even when you see with your own eyes in the news, you see the killing of innocent people, a lot of people just justify that, instantly, right away. And it's so sad, subhanallah. We watch it, we observe it, we listen to it, some people, they put comments on the internet and so on, but still, no one really makes the real action to prevent that from happening. And that's what the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم is warning us against.
"That killing will increase" - that al-harj, which means that indiscriminate killing, it's becoming very common. (Bukhari) The Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم mentioned even more and more of these signs of the Day of Judgment, but this is the point I wanted to talk about, which is the subject of al-harj.
The Divine Warning in the Quran
You see, Allah جل جلاله says in Surah al-An'am:
The translation: Allah جل جلاله says, "Say: It is He who has the power to send forth chastisement and punishment upon you from above you or from beneath your feet or split you into hostile groups and make some of you taste each other's violence. And then He says: Behold, subhanahu wa ta'ala, how we set forth our signs in diverse forms for them to reflect on but they may understand the truth."
The Prophet's Reaction to This Revelation
Rasulullah صلى الله عليه وسلم in the hadith of Jabir reported by Imam Bukhari, when this ayah was revealed, he was appalled and shocked by that statement صلى الله عليه وسلم . So when he heard Allah جل جلاله saying:
when he heard the revelation starts by saying, "It is He جل جلاله who has the power to send forth that punishment from above you," he immediately says:
"I seek refuge with You, O Allah."
And then
- when he heard the words "from underneath your feet," he says:
"I seek refuge with You, O Allah." Like, it is so dangerous. Like, the punishment comes from in front of you, from behind you, from underneath your feet, subhanallah. It's so scary.
And then he says, and when he heard the word also:
- that He جل جلاله splits you into groups that fight among themselves, the Prophet says: "That would be the least to worry about." (Bukhari)
Like, it is indeed something dangerous. But the punishment that will take everybody from Allah جل جلاله, it is the worst.
The Sanctity of Human Life in Islam
My dear brothers and sisters, when it comes to the subject of indiscriminate killing and the loss of human life, subhanallah, our deen is based on one of these principles to preserve the human life. Those who study Islamic law and understand that the umbrella that covers all the principles of law in Islam, they have five major objectives, مقاصد الشريعة.
These مقاصد الشريعة,the objectives, the higher objective of Islamic principles and law, one of them is about the guarding and the protection of human life. It's a huge principle in Islam. If you look at law, many of the principles of the deen, they trickle down to one of these five major principles. And one of them, again, is the protection of human life.
Allah جل جلاله in the Quran and the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم in the Sunnah and the etiquette that Muslims should interact with each other with, all of it is in order for us to protect these five objectives and one of them is to guard the human life, to protect the human life.
Our Responsibility as Muslims
It's not simple. It is a dangerous thing, jama'ah, to be a cause of a loss of an innocent life. Some of us might say, but hold on a second, why are you telling me this? Why don't you talk to the politicians? Well, that's the problem. If us, Muslims, if us, the members of the society, we just keep quiet about what's going on in our name, whether it's because of a national security issue or because it's not my color or it's not my this and that and so on, we're all then complicit in this crime. We're all responsible for the loss of this human life.
If just because this happened to somebody who is not like us or not a citizen of this society or this and that, we don't care about it, then what's going to happen when the turn, when subhanallah, everything goes around? It's our duty as humankind to stand for justice and making sure to prevent these things from happening, that we stand for justice. It's our principle as Muslims, as human beings as well.
The First Judgment on the Day of Resurrection
You see, Rasulullah, peace be upon him, warned us against some of the greatest crimes committed in the dunya that people will be punished first in the akhirah. Rasulullah, peace be upon him, said:
"The first thing that Allah will judge between people on the Day of Judgment will be in regard to the blood," which means the human life and the sanctity of life. (Bukhari)
Some ulama, they say, what about our salah? Because the Prophet, peace be upon him, said, the first question you'll ever be asked about on Judgment Day will be about your salah. So to reconcile
between these principles, in regards to your relationship with Allah Azza wa Jal, the first question will be asked about your five daily prayers. Are they perfect? Are they complete? Are they done well? Allah will ask you about this.
But in regards to the human interaction, in regards to what you owe other people or people owe you, the first question will be about the human life. Have you hurt anyone physically in your life? Did you cause the spill of blood of anybody? Have you done that? Have you been the cause of maybe somebody else being hurt because of your silence maybe? Allah knows. We're probably going to be responsible as a society if we just keep quiet about these things happening.
Our Call to Action
So make sure that you be aware of this, that it's my duty that this nonsense of the killing and the spilling of blood of innocent people just needs to stop, O jama'ah. And we have to do something about it. When it comes to the subject of human life, it is no doubt, it's a sacred thing.
The Story of the First Murder
And Allah mentioned that in Surah Al-Ma'idah, in the story of the children of Adam. The first killing unfortunately happened way back then. Way back then. Why so? Because one of the two brothers, the two children of Adam, was jealous because Allah accepted from one and rejected the other one's offering. He said: "You know what? I'm going to kill you." And the other one says: "You know what? You can't do that." Or, "I don't think you will dare doing it." Or you would say: "You know what? No, if you do it, Allah will hold you accountable for it."
No matter what the answer from the other brother came to him, depending on the interpretation of it, eventually that other brother unfortunately dared to do it and he killed his own brother.
The Universal Principle
And Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala made it a statement in the Quran:
"For this reason, We have written on the Children of Israel, that whoever kills a soul without a soul or corruption in the earth, it is as if he had killed all the people." (Quran 5:32)
It is because of this, that first sin that was committed among human beings of the spilling of the blood of an innocent person, that we are responsible. The first person was responsible for the blood of everybody who is going to be killed afterwards. The first human being would be responsible for all the bloodshed because of that.
Our Present Responsibility
Now if we live in a time that we have the power, the energy, we have the resources, we have the ability, we have the lobby, we have the power, the human power, that we can go and stop this from happening and we don't do anything about it. I'm worried, wallahi. I don't say it's for sure, but I'm worried that we're going to be held accountable on the Day of Judgment that Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala will say: "Hey, you lived in this society, you lived in this community, you lived in this country, and you knew that with the power that you had, subhanallah, the resources you had access to, you could do something about it. You could have stopped this from happening. You could have brought these criminals to justice. You could do whatever you could do, you know, in a legal way, but you could still have, you could do something about it."
And if you haven't done anything, then, subhanallah, I'm, wallahi, worried that we will all be held accountable for that.
Islamic Legal Principles on Murder
My dear brothers and sisters, when it comes to the subject of human life and the sanctity of human life, Rasulullah sallallahu alayhi wa sallam, he even made sure that the law is protected in the society. And even he, in some of the Islamic principles of law, is that if a group of people, a group of people, they all ganged against one individual, they all be taken actually accountable for it, all of them. And even Islamic law, the capital punishment is actually part of the law. And if they all came up to be responsible for it, they will be actually all taken as a result of that, which means the capital punishment.
Umar al-Khattab, radiallahu anhu, he says: "لَوْ تَمَالَأَ عَلَيْهِ أَهْلُ صَنْعَاءَ لَقَتَلْتُهُمْ جَمِيعاً" - "If the entire village conspired to kill one individual, I'll take them all accountable for it." So it's not an easy thing. It's not a joke. The human sanctity, the human life is very, very important.
The Protection of the Believer
(Muslim 2564)
Rasulullah sallallahu alayhi wa sallam, he said: "Everything of the Muslim is sacred to another Muslim: his blood, his wealth, and his honor." (Muslim 2564)
That the believer, to the other believer, we're all sanctified, it's a sanctuary. It's protective right. You protect his life, you protect their wealth, and you protect their honor. That is the responsibility, it's an obligation upon me to make sure that they're also, they're all protected.
The Reality of Our Times
But the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam mentioned as some of the signs of the Day of Judgment as we live them today, unfortunately, is that we see this indiscriminate killing happening everywhere. Like
I said, subhanallah, you'll be just sitting down there and just watch the news and then there's another shooting in a school. Why? We don't know. Whether they're going through their mind and their lives to go and do something like this. Or you have, subhanallah, another nation just goes and start destroying other people or even political assassinations and subhanallah, just bombing villages and towns and places just to kill one individual, one radical individual that also leads to the indiscriminate killing of civilians. All of this.
The Prophecy of Senseless Violence
(Muslim 2908)
Rasulullah sallallahu alayhi wa sallam says: "وَالَّذِي نَفْسِي بِيَدِهِ" - "I swear by the one whose my nafs is in his hands," he says, sallallahu alayhi wa sallam, subhanallah ta'ala. "There will come a time when the killer will not know why he killed and the one who is killed will not know why he was killed." (Muslim 2908)
He said, sallallahu alayhi wa sallam, the time will come the criminal, the murderer will kill not knowing why. And the victim will die not knowing why they were killed for.
Subhanallah, we've seen some of that in recent years in some Muslim countries when there were some revolutions and people trying to improve their lives and so forth. And people, they were killing and shooting, you know, just because they got orders from their superiors. You ask them, why did you shoot someone? Subhanallah, he says: "لَا إِلَٰهَ إِلَّا اللَّهُ." He says, "I got orders." No specific reasons.
The Divine Commandments
And the loss of civilian lives is continuing because we're not taking the right measures really to protect people and stop that from happening. Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala made it haram upon us just to witness this or even be part of this. Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala mentioned the commandments and principles in Surah Al-An'am:
"Say, ya Muhammad, to the believers: Come, let me recite to you what Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala has made sanctuary for you, has prohibited for you." And the first thing is to worship other than Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. Ash-shirku billah.
And then part of these commandments, Allah azza wa jal says: "And you do not slay the soul sanctified by Allah except in that which is just." (Quran 6:151)
So you can't, Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala made this as one of the top principles of your faith and your deen and your identity as Muslim.
Our Duty as Muslims
My dear brothers and sisters, once again the subject of indiscriminate killing is something becoming part of our daily thing that we watch and we read about. And it seems you're getting desensitized and no one is really doing much about it. It just becomes a regular news right now, even second and third page. Not even on the beginning. And if it's so, it's just a little thing that just goes by and just move on. It's becoming so repetitive that we're no longer paying attention to this kind of crimes.
It is our duty as Muslims to stand for justice. It is in whichever capacity that we can do. And my dear brothers and sisters, please, when you read something about this, don't just stop there. Just do something. The least you could do is just, if you couldn't do anything by maybe talking to somebody or trying to participate in a campaign to help other people alleviate the sufferings of others and so on, the least you could do is make a dua that Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala help these people until another opportunity, insha'Allah, that would make their lives easier, ya Rabbil Alameen. This is our duty, the least we could do.
May Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala make us among those who listen to the speech and follow the best of it. I say this, and I ask Allah's forgiveness for me and for you. And to the Muslims, I ask His forgiveness. Indeed, He is the Forgiving, the Merciful.
Second Khutbah
All praise is due to Allah, Lord of the worlds. Peace and blessings be upon our Prophet Muhammad and upon his family and companions. And peace and blessings be upon many, then after them.
The Gravity of Taking Innocent Life
O servants of Allah, being the cause of the loss of an innocent life is a big crime. In our religion, the
(Bukhari 2475)
Messenger of Allah says: "The one who fornicates is not in a state of Iman when he does so. And the one who steals is not in a state of Iman when he does so. And when they kill, they are not in a state of faith when they do so." (Bukhari 2475)
So basically, it actually strips Iman away from the person when they commit these crimes. It's not an easy thing.
The Divine Warning Against Murder
And Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala warns against those who commit or participate or be probably cause of the loss of innocent life:
"And whoever kills, whoever slays a believer willingly means to premeditate that. Their place is in Jahannam. They'll abide in Jahannam, which means the fire of hell. That means in eternity. And they've earned the wrath of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. And the curse of Allah Azza wa Jal. And prepare for them a painful punishment." (Quran 4:93)
The Seven Destructive Sins
(Bukhari 2766)
Allah, the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa salam, he even counted the seven major sins. He says: "Avoid these seven major sins." (Bukhari 2766)
Al-Mubiqat means because they basically, they turn the person on their heads into the fire of hell. That's what it means. And one of them, Rasulullah sallallahu alayhi wa salam, mentioned:
(Bukhari 2766)
"And to destroy the life and the sanctity of life of someone unless there is right and justice in there." (Bukhari 2766)
Guidance During Times of Fitna
Rasulullah sallallahu alayhi wa salam is teaching us a lesson during time of fitna. Because I know people, they ask, what can I do? Now, here's one thing we could do at least. Like I said, the dua is ibadah. And the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa salam says:
(Muslim 2948)
"Worship during times of trials is like migrating to me". (Muslim 2948)
He says, in time of trials and ordeals, when the truth is lost and you cannot tell right from wrong and it becomes completely blurry in front of your eyes, the Rasulullah sallallahu alayhi wa salam says, you make sure that you stay on the path of worship. Means al-ibadah, that you worship Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala in time of trials and ordeals. This is just like migrating to Medina when the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa salam was once living there.
Returning to Allah in Times of Crisis
Like you want safety in times like this? This is not the time to run away from Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. Because I know in times of pressure, people, they start running away from Allah azza wa jal. Instead, this is the time to come back to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. This is the time when we truly need faith and need our iman. Not running away from it. Although this is what's happening, unfortunately, a lot of people, specifically young ones, under so much pressure, they just give in and they just kind of leave. But that is the time we need to turn back to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala.
Standing for Justice
And the other thing we could do as Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala commanded us to do:
"Standing for human rights. For justice, for human rights. And that's the command that Allah has given us in Surah an-Nisa. How is it that you do not fight in the way of Allah and in support of the helpless men, women and children? Like how can you? Why don't you just stand for them?"
This ayah is the base of the subject standing up for the justice and for human rights. As a believer, it's my duty. I need to see this opportunity. What can I do to alleviate the suffering of the people all around the world and even locally over here to make sure to avoid the loss of human lives?
Final Dua
May Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala make us among those who bring justice to our world, ya Rabbil Alameen. Those who bring peace to the community, ya Rabbil Alameen. May Allah teach us what benefits us and benefit us with what You have taught us. You are the All-Knowing, the All-Wise.
"O Allah, grant our souls their righteousness. You are the Best of those who purify them. You are their Protector and Master." (Muslim 2722)
O servants of Allah, Allah commands justice and good conduct and giving to relatives and forbids immorality and bad conduct and oppression. He admonishes you that perhaps you will be reminded.
"Indeed, Allah and His angels send blessings upon the Prophet. O you who believe, send blessings upon him and greet him with greetings of peace."
(Bukhari 3370)
"O Allah, send blessings upon our Prophet Muhammad and upon his family and all his companions."
"May Allah be pleased with the rightful Caliphs Abu Bakr, Umar, Uthman and Ali and all the Companions and the Followers and those who follow them in goodness until the Day of Judgment."