Khutbah A Message for the Muslims of Canada Shaykh
By Yasir Qadhi | 2026-01-08T05:59:36.589361+00:00 | Topic: Iman
A Message for the Muslims of Canada
Shaykh Dr. Yasir Qadhi
Opening and Praise
Alhamdulillah, all praises due to Allah. We praise Him and we seek His help and we seek refuge in Allah from the evil of our souls and the consequences of our actions. Whomever Allah guides, none can misguide and whoever is misguided cannot be guided except with Him.
I bear witness and I testify that there is no God except Allah Jalla Jalaluhu and I bear witness and I testify that the Prophet Muhammad (صلى الله عليه وسلم) is His final Prophet and His most perfect worshipper.
As to what follows, know that Allah has commanded you to be conscious of Him in the Qur'an when He says:
"O you who have believed, fear Allah as He should be feared and do not die except as Muslims [in submission to Him]."
Historical Lessons from the Seerah
The Battle of Khandaq
Dear Muslims, in the Battle of Khandaq, the Battle of the Trench, one of the most challenging moments in the Sira, when the Muslims could not see any hope, when they were surrounded by 10,000 people and they barely numbered 1,000, when there was literally in the logistical scheme of things, no hope whatsoever, and they're digging that trench, they came across a massive rock, a massive stone that prevented them to dig that trench.
They went to the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم), said, (يا رسول الله), we can't build because of the stone. He said, hand me the axe. He himself took his thawb and put it around himself. He jumped into the pit.
He took that axe and he said,
He said,
Then he raised the axe again and he hammered it again on the rock. And once again, it cracked even more. He says
And he said
And with that third crack, the entire rock collapsed. When the Sahaba were at the lowest of the low, the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) is speaking at the highest of the high. When the Sahaba, they're almost losing hope.
Allah says in the Qur'an :
Allah says in the Qur'an :
Allah says, you began thinking weird thoughts. Your hearts were in your chests. The Prophet gave them hope.
Vision and Hope in Adversity
And he told them the vision of the future. You're worried about these people? I am telling you, you're going to conquer Rome and Persia. You're worried about the Ghatafan tribe? You're worried about these mishmash of people outside? Yemen will be ours.
SubhanAllah, the vision he's thinking of, the inspiration he's giving the Sahaba in Mecca. A group of Sahaba came complaining to the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم). Said (يا رسول الله), for how long this persecution? For how long this humiliation? And he was leaning against the Ka'bah, in the shade of the Ka'bah. When he's surrounded and they're saying, this is not fair, this is happening, whatnot.
The Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) went up, he went forward. And his face visibly changed. And he said, are you in doubt as to this religion? Do you doubt this iman and religion? Are you worried that we're going to be vanquished? Fawallahi, a time will come in your own lifetimes, you will see.
That a lady from one corner of Yemen to the other, from Sana'a to Hadramaut, she will be traveling alone in Darul Islam with her sheep and her goats. And she will not be worried about any robber, any highway problem, nothing except the wolf against her sheep. You're worried about safety in Mecca? I'm telling you, the time will come.
When in the peripheries of the world, as you know them, there will be full safety. Once again, that vision. Once again, that confidence, inspiration.
The Global Vision
Don't just worry about today's problems. The religion is guaranteed. Allah has protected this deen. It's going to be successful. What will your role be in it? And yet another incident. I can go on and on.
This is the seerah for us, full of optimism. And yet another incident. They came complaining. They came because it's human nature. Wallahi, it's overwhelming. We can't help but feel a sense of tragedy of awe.
We can't help but feel a sense of sadness, of exasperation. For how long the bombs are gonna fall on Gaza? For how long people are gonna get killed? For how long this is gonna happen? 75 years of tragedy in just that region.
And the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) once again hearing all of this, he told them in Madinah when they were being persecuted, he said, Allah unfolded the world for me. And I saw the easternmost region. And I saw the westernmost region. And I swear by Allah, this religion shall reach the easternmost as it shall reach the westernmost. Wherever there's night and day, this religion is going to reach that place. And he said this when the Muslims couldn't even imagine beyond Makkah, beyond Madinah. And he said, every single city in the world is gonna have Muslims.
The Current Reality
Where are you sitting right now, O Muslims? In one of the furthest regions of the world from Makkah. Where are you sitting right now? In a land, in a dar, in an abode. No one could have imagined in a thousand years that a masjid would be packed to capacity with 3,000 people, parking lot problems. Alhamdulillah, good problem. Who could have imagined this? And this is the reality across the western world.
O Muslims, my message to you today will be in light of this prophetic message. Our Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) inspired us with confidence. He told us to think to the future, to be visionaries, to not take the setbacks of today so that we become overwhelmed, we become pessimistic. No, that is not what our iman teaches us.
Current Challenges and Context
My message to you today is a strong and clear message. Yes, wallahi, the world is depressing. Yes, wallahi, we're facing so many threats and challenges from within and from without.
Islamophobia is on the rise. Our own western politicians are using a hatred of Islam to increase their own popularity points. Public policy, national policy in America, in Canada and England, we the Muslims have become an important issue in politics.
No politician will run except that they have to take a stand on Islam and the Muslims. And one of our previous presidents was elected when he said, we're going to ban all Muslims. That made him even more popular.
We have become a national talking point. Internationally, look around you and see what is happening. Never in human history has a genocide been documented as vividly in color, uploading images as they occur.
Live footage, never in human history has this occurred. When World War II happened and Hitler did what he did, the world said afterwards, we didn't know. We had no idea there were concentration camps. We had no idea 10 million people were being exterminated. By the way, that is not fully true. They had inclines, but that's what they said.
What excuse do you have now? When World War II happened, they said never again will we allow a genocide. Now we see every single excuse given. It is as if humanity has lost its humanity. It is as if the world has lost its spiritual. And live assassinations occur on British television. The video is rolling and they shoot a civilian with a white flag.
And you can't even our own presidents and prime ministers cannot even call that unethical and immoral. Assassination squads dressed up as nurses and doctors killing somebody in coma. Unbelievable live footage and our presidents and prime ministers can't even say that is wrong. Just words we want to hear from you. Just words. They can't even say that.
Call for Self-Reflection
Yes, wallahi, there's much to be angry about. But you know, I'm going to tell you frankly and honestly, enough of pointing fingers outwards. Enough of blaming other people.
Let's look in the mirror. And I'm sorry if some of the things are going to rattle you. But let's look in the mirror and let's see what have I not done that I should be doing? Or what have I done that is actually not helping the cause? And before we point fingers elsewhere, we have a lot to self-assess in our own roles, in our own complicitness in this regard.
Guidance and Recommendations
So much can be said. As usual, time is limited. But I'm going to leave you with some advice and wisdoms based on all of this.
First: Be Visionary
First and foremost, all Muslims, follow the spirit of the seerah and be visionary. Think to the future. Stop going to the past. Stop regurgitating past problems. Most of our Muslim movements, most of our intellectual scholarship is gung-ho on going to the past, bringing past controversies to modern light, teaching our children about issues and masai that go back 500,000 years. And that has a role and a place. I'm not dismissing it in totality. But the emphasis has to be on today and the future. The emphasis has to be on what's going to happen tomorrow.
Start being visionary and stop being people who are historical relics of the past. When was the last time you as an individual or us as a community literally sat down and charted out a course for our children and grandchildren in this land? Have you ever wondered how will Islam look 50, 100 years from now here in Canada and Mississauga? Have you ever planned it out?
We have to be visionaries thinking of the future singly, communally, family-wise, individually, and as an entire masjid, an entire ummah. Start thinking what is going to be our community in 50, 100 years and then start planning for that. This is one of the ways we're going to start becoming proactive rather than reactive.
Second: Embrace Your Canadian Identity
The second point, and this is an awkward reality, all Muslims, we are living in a different world, a different time, a different place than anything imagined by 1,200 years of Islam. These modern countries and nation states, the liberal democracies we live in, they come with their challenges and they come with their positives, pros and cons.
There's no question about it. We have to be brave enough, bold enough to think outside of the box, to be proactive. What does it mean to be a Canadian Muslim, an American Muslim in my case? What does it mean to be a member of a nation state in which you are guaranteed the freedom of faith, the freedom of religion, and you are a part of the political process? What does it mean? What are the implications? And again, this is just one khutbah. I am but one person. I can't solve all or I can't give you opinions about every single thing, but we need to start having this conversation more boldly.
Wallahi, O Muslims of this region, let me be a little bit harsh with you. I traveled the world. I have been to over 60, 65 countries. Your country and your city in particular occupies a unique status in the whole Western world.
In Toronto, 10% of Toronto is of a Muslim background. Astounding. There is nothing like this in the US of A. In your own subdivision of Mississauga, around 15% are Muslim. Unbelievable statistics. And yet, where is the political clout of 10%? One out of 10 people are saying the kalima in this entire city. In this Mississauga, even more than that, one out of eight, one out of 10, one out of eight supposedly believes in Allah and his messenger.
Gaza is being bombed. This is your country on the top of the list after mine, America, then Canada. What is going on? That 10% is tacitly not even getting involved, not even being proactive.
All Muslims of Canada, it's time you claim your identity. There is nothing wrong as a Muslim to be a member of a nation state. You are whether you like it or not. Some of you are still hesitant to say the word Canadian Muslim. Subhanallah. Some people still believe it is haram to live in Darul Kufr, whatever these views might be.
There is no Darul Islam anymore. It's gone. Those are the different days. There is no Baghdad Abbasid empire. There is no khilafa. We need to rethink through and living where we live in America, Canada,
England, Australia, the Western liberal democracies that speak English.
There are so many positives, but there are also some negatives. Agreed, yes. And yet I say, as somebody who's lived in many countries, the positives outweigh the negatives. That's why I have chosen to live where I live. The positives outweigh the negatives. The positives to be who you are, to be able to express your religious identity, to gather freely in this mosque without any government surveillance, without any issues here, to raise funds for causes around the world, to petition, to be a part of the process.
These are positives you do not have in the majority of Muslim lands. And only those who have come from other lands know. By the way, the only people that talk of hijrah, hijrah, hijrah are the kids born and raised here that have never lived overseas. They have naive understandings of what it is back home. Only those that have never lived in those lands daydream about utopias in other lands. The people that have actually lived there and come here, they're not talking about going back because they know the tyrannical regimes. They know the realities of those governments. They know the filth and the corruption and the negatives over there.
So, oh, youth of Canada, embrace this identity. There's nothing wrong. Yes, I'm not saying it's all good. Wallahi, there's negatives. But I'm telling you the positives outweigh the negatives. And it is our job as Muslims to embrace those positives. It is our job as Muslims to hold on to those positives and try to minimize that negatives.
Third: Political Engagement
And yes, we're not going to minimize everything. In the end of the day, it is a live and let live society. But given the perks that we have, given the privileges that we have, I am urging you to embrace the potential that you can possibly achieve in this country.
Not just urging. I wish I could say it is wajib, maybe I could say it is wajib. Because whether you like it or not, your taxes are being used overseas. Whether you like it or not, your country has a national reputation, international reputation. And you as 10% of this country, you can and you should and you must influence.
Now, somebody from outside comes along and says, oh, look, these guys are preaching radical Islam, radical jihad. These guys are preaching. No, I am telling you to be Canadian. I am telling you to be quintessentially a part of the civic engagement, to be a part of the democracy you live in.
Why should other groups influence the government? And we as a Muslim community are debating amongst ourselves it's haram to get involved in politics. How foolish. You're saying it's haram is not only harming people overseas. You're living here, paying the taxes and you're doing nothing to influence those taxes. I say it is wajib fard kifaya to get involved in the process. If all Muslim countries, if all Muslims across the Western countries started getting involved, started changing the narrative.
This is our right. There's nothing sinister. There is no hidden agenda. Why should other groups get their agenda passed in Congress, passed in our government? And we are doing nothing in this part of the country. No, you have just as much right as anybody else in this country to publicize your views, to push for them, to influence politicians.
And with utmost respect to those shuyukh and scholars that are still living in a different understanding. They say haram, bid'ah, kufr. Utmost respect. I am telling you just bypass them. Overlook them in this regard and go to other scholars and activists who know the reality. I understand the controversies back in the day, but they're disconnected from reality. I'm going to call it bluntly.
We don't have time to split hairs. People are dying. There is a genocide going on. We don't have time to become theoretical and abstract. When the house is burning, you don't discuss the color of the furniture. We have a massive crisis taking place.
And if the Muslims of the Western world all united and understood out of 1.8 billion Muslims, only 1%, us less than 10 million, only us in America, Canada, Australia, England, only us. We have the potential to change from within. And this is not hidden agenda. I say this publicly and boldly. Why shouldn't I have the right as an American to influence my government and country? Why? What is sinister about this?
You guys want to influence them to bomb. I want to influence them to stop that bombing. Simple as that. There is no hidden agenda. We want our countries to be more ethical, to be more moral, to be more humane. We want our countries to stop funding bombs overseas. We want our countries to take care of our problems. What is wrong with this?
And if anybody challenges you, anybody comes and says, oh, you're not preaching Canadian values. You need to stand your ground. What makes you Canadian and not me? Simple as that. I'm also Canadian, you should say. I also have citizenship. I also pay taxes. You must fight back from within the system.
This is your system as well. And unless and until you claim it, and unless and until you take advantage of it, you're always going to be second class citizens. You have to start thinking as visionaries for your children and grandchildren ahead of you.
Fourth: Recognize Your Unique Position
The third point, again, much can be said, time is limited. Oh, Muslims, understand Allah has chosen you to be at a unique time and place. I speak to an audience, the majority of you yourselves have come from another land and settled in Canada. Or else the other generation, your parents have come and you know exactly where you're coming from. You still speak the language half and half, right? You know what your roots are, but you are a one-off generation. Your grandchildren will not speak your language.
This is just a historical fact, anthropological fact. Your grandchildren will barely know, oh, my grandfather came from this village in Syria. I don't know where it was. So you don't want to, you know, you don't
believe this. Go look at the children of the Muslims who came to South America, to South Africa, to other places. They barely know us.
Somewhere from India, my great great grandfather came. That's all they know. Gone is the language, gone is the Gujarati and the Hindi, gone is all of that. Ethnically, they know they are from that land, but the culture is very different. Nothing wrong with that. I'm kind of sad my grandchildren are not going to speak Urdu, Hindi, whatever it might be, but I cannot afford that they lose their religion.
Sure, they're going to lose much of the culture, so be it. I can live with that, but I cannot afford that they lose their religion. And so one of the biggest tasks that we have, listen to me carefully, all Muslims, what we do in this generation. What we do in the next 30 years is going to dictate the future of Islam for the next 300 years. We are laying the foundations. We are charting the course. We are setting up the infrastructure. We have to be bold. We have to be visionary.
We have to be brave enough to ask difficult questions, bring the community together, have awkward conversations. What will Islam look like 100 years from now? What will our masajid look like? What type of Islam are we going to practice? What will be our role in this country? Our answers, our interactions, our laying the foundation. We are the first domino.
You all know this domino motif. Wherever the domino goes, the rest follow after that. We are the first domino. Which direction we choose, which vision we have, which foundation we lay, based upon that, the rest is going to come. To change 100 years from now is going to be very, very, very difficult. But right now, we are organic and new.
We're on a clean slate. It's a clean piece of paper handed to us. There's nothing on there. We are the ones building this masjid. Some of you are still alive who built this masjid. We are the ones building the Islamic schools. We're the ones setting the curriculum. We're the ones hiring the imams. We're the ones discussing all of these issues.
Our children are going to inherit and they're going to find the structure already built. And a structure that's already built, ossified, a corporation that's been around for 50 years, is very different to change than a corporation that is brand new, one man show. Right now, it's a brand new. We are one, the first generation. So I'm asking you to come together as an ummah and to think for your great grandchildren ahead of you. I'm asking you to unite as one ummah.
Fifth: Unity Over Division
Overcome your political and ethnic divisions. Overcome your petty sectarian issues. I've said this for the last 10 years, but especially during Gaza, I have become much more blunt and bold.
Any shaykh, any madhab, any firqah, any maslak, any aqeedah that is obsessed with the past and is worried about categorizing other Muslims. Wallahi, they've lost the plot. That's all I can say. They've lost
the plot. Right now, it is between religious Muslims versus the rest of the world. If you are praying, believing in Allah, worshipping, loving the Qur'an and sunnah, you're on one side.
And on this one side, you're gonna fight with each other based upon issues of a thousand years ago, then you have lost the plot. And you need to be marginalized and pushed aside and moved on. Say this bluntly now.
Now is not the time to bicker and become petty over classical issues of a thousand years ago. We are one ummah. Imagine if the Muslims of Canada united. Imagine if the Muslims of England united. London is 10% Muslim. Not London, Ontario, London, UK. I think London, Ontario is maybe 20%. More than you guys, I think, right? One of the most. But London, UK, 10% Muslim.
I was shocked to discover I'm going to Oslo next week. 10% Muslim in Oslo. Who would have imagined? Norway, 10% Muslim. But apathy, inactivism, bickering amongst themselves. This masjid is that maslak. This masjid is that firqah.
"[Each party rejoicing in that which they have.]"
Ethnically divided. Politically divided. Sectarian divided. How foolish. We are one group, one community. Our interests are the same.
So this generation needs to stand up, rise up and be brave enough to overthrow the shackles of fundamentalism. The shackles of looking towards the past. It is our survival and the survival of the rest of the world at stake here.
We can and we must influence our countries in a positive manner. There's nothing unethical. There's no hidden agenda. This is what it means to be a part of a democracy. Embrace that power and potential. And I'm not saying it's not going to come with some negatives. There will be. But that's where we have a conversation. That's where we come together.
Don't demonize a person who disagrees. Don't just dismiss them. The potential for positive change far outweighs the negative that comes with it. And this is what the seerah teaches us.
Conclusion
Brothers and sisters, as much can be said, time is always limited. But I conclude with what I began. The seerah teaches us to be visionaries. The seerah teaches us to look to the future. The seerah teaches us to be optimistic, to have hope. That's what the seerah teaches us. So let's learn from the seerah and let us take that spirit and let us apply it to our times and places to think of the future of Islam in this region.
May Allah bless me and you with him through the Qur'an and may he make us of those who his verses they understand and applies halal and haram throughout our lifespan. Ask Allah's forgiveness. He was well asking for ease the Ghafoor and the Rahman. أستغفر الله، أستغفر الله أستغفر الله أستغفر الله.
Second Khutbah
الحمد لله، الحمد لله. All praise is due to Allah, the One and the Unique. He it is whom we praise and it is his blessings that we seek. He hears the prayer of the oppressed and he answers the dua of the weak.
As to what follows, oh Muslims, there's no doubt that Gaza has been a very painful tragedy for all of us to witness but we believe as Muslims that in every tragedy and pain there's also positives that come out and it doesn't justify the pain it doesn't it doesn't exonerate the volume of those that have killed all of these people but we should always look at the positive and if you look at the positive so many positives have come from this negative of them:
Positive Outcomes from the Gaza Crisis
Number one: for the first time in 75 years the entire globe is now discussing the reality of the Palestinian situation never before have people come out and said well okay what are we gonna do after the war what's gonna happen to five million Palestinians what's gonna happen to Gaza as a whole where half of it has been destroyed for the first time politicians and leaders around the world are making this into a actual issue and crises that needs to be solved not just a band-aid that needs to be put on and that is a massive positive.
Number two: one of the biggest positives that have come out is Alhamdulillah the Iman of the people of Gaza the dignity the the beauty of their faith it has become a role model exemplary reality for the rest of the world to see I don't know about Canada but in America across America people are embracing Islam I myself have done more than 15 shahadahs in the last few months because of Gaza every community I go to and people are coming and saying oh we saw the people of Gaza we saw this and that we really researched we're embracing Islam in my own masjid a dozen people I was in Chicago the other day three people were there just because of Gaza and they're seeing it they've done research on Islam wallahi it is mind-boggling the people that are being persecuted have become the best dua in the world the people that are being bombed the people that are in shackles and and chained up it is as if they are free and they are liberating those of us that are in shackles and chains over here subhanallah Allah has blessed them and given them that is so yes indeed that is a positive.
And then another positive and again much can be said but time is limited so we'll stop here another positive Alhamdulillah thumma Alhamdulillah one of the biggest positives of Gaza that I am seeing the Muslim community around the world has now become galvanized our youth college level and even younger than them they're feeling a sense of activism I need to do something I can't just sit by and let this genocide occur especially when they understand our countries and especially my own country of America is the number one culprit in this regard how can you be a US citizen and not get involved it's my taxes and you and Canada are not innocent as well and England and Australia so it's our country our youth understand this so they're getting a sense of activism a sense of nobility I need to do something
and that is inspiring them to be better Muslims inspiring them to study to be more ethical and moral to live a life that is more than just nafsi nafsi so the people of Gaza and Palestine subhanallah Allah has indeed tested them but he's also blessed them with so much ajar they're getting the ajar of an entire revolution taking place across the Muslim world a revolution of activism a real sahwa a real activism coming forth because of what we're seeing here and there are so many other positives as well.
Call to Action
So brothers and sisters indeed it is depressing indeed there are negatives but we say the positives at the individual level are going to outweigh and every one of us needs to be inspired by what is happening to be better to be more noble to become activists every one of us needs to in our own personal lives come closer to Allah make dua for our brothers and sisters there raise public awareness about the situation become activists on social media become activists in the political landscape of the world that we live in and in the process even if we don't see the liberation of Gaza we will be a part of that tidal wave we will be a part of that change and on the day of judgment Allah will bless us for our efforts not on the result we don't need to see the result Allah will bless it based upon our effort so you do you and you do as much as you can and you do the best that you can and if you do that then you have won and you shall be victorious.
No oh brothers and sisters Allah has promised victory to the righteous:
This is the rule of Allah I have decreed that me and my prophets are going to win. Allah has told us in the Quran:
The light of Allah shall never be extinguished. It will never go dull you might go dull I might go dull Islam will never become extinguished so our job is to carry that torch our job is to protect the religion of Islam Allah will take care of it if we will do our job Allah has promised to do his job so all Muslims do what you can be inspired live courageous lives be visionary take your impetus from the seerah of the Prophet صلی الله عليه وسلم and I say to you inshallah the future is indeed bright and the future is indeed optimistic and we are a game-changing generation we shall bring about a positive change inshallah with that I make dua to Allah:
Closing Du'a
Say Ameen to these du'as. Allah says:
اللهم صل وسلم وبارك وأنعم على عبدك وصفيك محمد وعلى آله وصحبه أجمعين
عباد الله، إن الله يأمر بالعدل والإحسان وإيتاء ذي القربى وينهى عن الفحشاء والمنكر والبغي يعظكم لعلكم تذكرون
اذكروا الله العظيم يذكركم واشكروه على نعمه يزدكم، ولذكر الله أكبر، والله يعلم ما تصنعون
أقم الصلاة