khutbah ideas and topicsKhutbah are sermons that are delivered on Fridays, it is not exclusive to just Fridays although that is the day it is delivered on a regular basis, this is why it is also known as Friday sermons.

They are also delivered on the Eid Prayers and Nikah (weddings). We’ll briefly take a look at the importance of the Khutbahs and then the purpose of it followed by a look at ten Friday sermons that you can use to inspire your congregation.

Purpose of the Friday Sermons

Words can have a huge impact on our lives. The Qur’an is a masterpiece, revealed by Allah (swt). It uses rhetoric of inextinguishable meaning to influence the hearts and minds of the listeners.

It is Allah (swt) who chose khutbah (sermon) to be the means by which the believers are mass informed and educated about the deen al-Islam and all the important aspects of it.

The purpose of khutbah is to rouse the audiences through addressing live and pertinent issues of the time. And needless to say we live in a time where the problems of the Muslims need addressing urgently.

The khatib (sermon deliverer) should vary his topics week to week and use emotive language to arouse the feelings in order to plant the seed of change in the hearts.

Ten Khutbah Topics for your Congregation

1. Islamic History

Islamic history begins from the 1st Hijra, the year Muhammad (pbuh) immigrated from Makkah to Medina to form an Islamic State. After the death of the Prophet (pbuh) Muslims were governed by Caliphs one after another until the Khilafah was dismantled in 1924 in Turkey.

In the early period of Islam, the frontiers of the Islamic State expanded faster than any other civilisation in History. Muslims and non-Muslims lived peacefully and were governed by Sharia under the Umayyad, Abbasid and the Ottoman Caliphs. Let us learn our history so that we can make sense of the present.

2. Ramadan

It was in the month of Ramadan that the Qur’an was revealed. It’s a month of fasting, but also the month of sacrifice. Great battles were fought in the way of Allah in this month such as Badr and Uhud. Muslims in the past would delay a jihad campaign until Ramadan to get the most reward. The reward for a single good deed is multiplied by up to 700 times! Let us make the most of it and don’t forget to pay the zakat!

3. Halal & Haram

Who knows more than Allah (swt) about human beings and what’s good for them and what’s bad for them?

A Muslim is not free to choose for himself what’s right and what’s wrong. Abu Huraira reported Allah’s Messenger (may peace be upon him) as saying:

“The world is a prison-house for a believer and Paradise for a non-believer. (Hadith Bukhari)” The reward for those who sacrifice their desires for the sake of Allah (swt) is far better in the dunya and for the akhira, if only we reflect.

4. The Miracle of the Qur’an

The Qur’an is like no other book, a book that has no contractions and has no linguistic, historical or scientific errors. Within it contains something which has baffled Orientalists for over 1400 years. They were presented with a challenge to produce just three lines like the Qur’an and they’ve failed miserably.

Unfortunately, Muslims have also failed to see how special this book is, because how else do you explain our disregard for its rules and prohibitions. How else do you explain the mentality of those who recite but they fail to study its meaning and its implication on our daily lives. Are any of us guilty of treating the greatest gift Allah (swt) has given to mankind with insignificance?

5. How To Bring About Change

“Truly, Allah does not change the condition of a people until they change what is in themselves.” Qur’an (13:11)

No one can claim that they are perfect! There are things that we are doing that we should stop doing, and there are some things we should be doing that we are not doing.

So, in the light of this how can we change ourselves and make ourselves better Muslims?

Change starts from first realising that you’re in error. It starts with you making a sincere repentance to Allah (swt). You must then think deep and hard about those things that make you do things that you shouldn’t be doing, and as a sincere person you will address them. And you watch how Allah (swt) makes it easy for you to change. However, to see change in our children and in the society around us takes more than a personal reform.

We must not look at society as a sum of individuals. We must look at what things influence people in society, i.e. the rules and laws, the public opinion and so on. Without addressing all these individual elements that influence us we will never be able to change ourselves or the society. (Repeat ayah)

6. Sermon Idea about the Mission of the Last Prophet

Throughout history Allah (swt) has chosen the best among the people as Prophets and Messengers to inform civilization of their true Lord and the way to worship him. This was also the mission of Muhammad (pbuh), the last and last prophet.

However, since there would be no other prophet after Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) he was commanded to do something no other prophet did. His duty was to establish Islam as a state and he, by the will of Allah (swt) institutionalised the Caliphate.

Muslims and non-Muslims would witness the justice of Islam and get collective dawah as they lived under the Sharia. Study sharia and look in to the details of what it means to live in an Islamic State.

7. Enjoining Good & Forbidding Evil

How can one believe in Islam and not practice its rules? How can one witness the beauty of Islam and not convey it to others?

We live in a world where we are always pushed to think about ourselves and what we want. As a result, Muslims have become lazy about certain things. We fear how others may react when we talk about Islam. For the sake of friendship and to avoid arguments we fail to address the evil that takes place around us. We completely miss the opportunity to engage in discussion with our friends and family, and wonder why Allah (swt) does not answer our dua.

By the One in Whose hand is my soul, you must certainly command the good and forbid evil, or else a punishment from Him would soon be sent upon you, after which you would call upon Him yet your supplication (dua) would not be answered.” [Hadith Tirmidhi]

8. Islam, A Complete Way of Life

Is Islam a mere religion, that is, a set of do’s and don’ts? If so, then what makes Islam different from other religions like Christianity and Hinduism etc?

The truth is Islam is more than just a religion. The ritual aspects of Islam, namely, the five pillars, are just one aspect of Islam. Islam tells us how to organise society, how to govern peoples’ lives, how to run the economy and how to deal with other nations. In other words, Islam covers all and every aspect of human life. Indeed, Allah (swt) did not leave man to come up with his own ideals based on his whims and desires. Anyone who realises how special Islam is will rush to gain knowledge about it!

9. Khutbah about the Obligation of Seeking Knowledge

Islam commands every Muslim, male or female, to seek knowledge especially the basics of the deen and anything else that is necessary for life. However, we must be weary of seeking knowledge for knowledge’s sake.

Allah (swt) called the Jews ‘books on donkeys’ as they used to study their religious scriptures but not act on them. We find in the Qur’an, whenever Allah (swt) mentions Iman (faith) he also talks about action.

Indeed, faith alone will not be enough in the Day of Judgement when Allah (swt) will ask every human being to give account of what they did or didn’t do.

10. Revival & Unity

Look around us, we can see so many types of problems that the Muslims are facing all over the world. From war to hunger, it seems like we are a people whose Lord has abandoned us!

How have we come to this state of affairs even though Muslims were the leaders of the world just few centuries back? How can Muslims regain their status as the most prosperous, technologically advanced, and just society? How can Muslims become one Ummah (nation) once again?

The answer lies in Islam. The Prophet (pbuh) said:

“I have left among you two things; you will never go astray as long as you hold fast to them: the Book of Allah and my Sunnah.” (Al-Hakim)

With Ramadan coming up very fast, I hope you are able to address the vital issues that the Ummah is facing.

The listed khutbahs serve merely as ideas for you to expand on or even use as they are. But the main purpose of the Friday address is to get your congregation thinking and then eventually convert those thoughts into concepts.