1. The Inner Circle Friday Khutbah
Alhamdulillah, nahmaduhu wa nasta’eenuhu was nastaghfir
Wa nauthu billahi min shururi anfusinaa wa min sayyiaati a’maalina
May yahdillahu fa laa mudhilla lah
Was may yudhlil fa laa haadiya lah
Wa nashhadu allah ilaha illallah wahdahu laa shareeka lah
wa nashhadu anna muhammadan abduhu wa rasulullah
All praise and thanks is due to Allah. We praise Allah, we seek assistance and forgiveness from Allah. And we seek refuge in Allah from our lower selves and from the wrongs we commit. Whoever Allah guides no one can misguide, and whoever Allah leaves astray, no one can guide. And we bear witness that there is none worthy of worship but God, the One who is unique and has no partners. And we bear witness that Muhammad is Allah’s servant and messenger.

2. قُلْ هُوَ اللَّهُ أَحَدٌ (112:1) اللَّهُ الصَّمَدُ (112:2)
The Inner Circle
Friday Khutbah
Quala allahu ta’ala fil Quranil kareem
قُلْ هُوَ اللَّهُ أَحَدٌ (112:1)
· 112:1 SAY: "He is the Allah, The Oner:
اللَّهُ الصَّمَدُ (112:2)
· 112:2 Allah, The Ultimate, Independent
لَمْ يَلِدْ وَلَمْ يُولَدْ (112:3)
· 112:3 "He begets not, nor is He begotten;
وَلَمْ يَكُن لَّهُ كُفُوًا أَحَدٌ (112:4)
· 112:4 "and there is nothing that could be compared with Him.

3. The Inner Circle
Friday Khutbah
This surah is called Surah Ikhlaas (The Surah of Sincerity, Purity)
Why is it called the Surah of Sincerity?
During the time of the Prophet Muhammad (s) he was asked by those who did not have purity in belief: “Tell us about your Allah”. And He was commanded to recite to them Surah Ikhlaas.
And Surah Ikhlaas has many messages, but the message we want to extract today is the message of sincerity.
Now what does sincerity look like?

4. The Inner Circle Friday Khutbah
This surah is an example of sincerity in belief:
It was conveyed to Muhammad (s) to state his belief in Allah in a way that is most sincere and without ambiguity.
So say Allah is One Don’t confuse this.
Say he is Independent So there’s no intermediaries, no higher and lower gods, no tribunal structure that Allah depends on, no mother figure, no father figure..... Say this to them and don’t be ambiguous about it.
Say to them he wasn’t born or gives birth..... Make no bones about this.
And say to them to dispel the least amount of doubt or any further questions that might come up..... Say in conclusion, There’s nothing that compare to Him.

5. A sincere statement leaves no room for ambiguity.
The Inner Circle
Friday Khutbah
When we state something with clarity and unambiguity , we have IKHLAAS (sincerity) in our speech.
A sincere statement leaves no room for ambiguity.

6. The Inner Circle
Friday Khutbah
وَمَا أُمِرُوا إِلَّا لِيَعْبُدُوا اللَّهَ مُخْلِصِينَ لَهُ الدِّينَ حُنَفَاء وَيُقِيمُوا الصَّلَاةَ وَيُؤْتُوا الزَّكَاةَ وَذَلِكَ دِينُ الْقَيِّمَةِ
98:5 And they have not been commanded, except to be subjected to spiritual growth through serving Allah, to be sincere in their way of life, to be true; to establish prayer; and to give regularly; and that is the correct way of life.
Sincerity is an ingredient to a successful, stress free life, because when you are sincere, you have nothing to defend.

7. The Inner Circle
Friday Khutbah
In the west we are taught indirectly not to be sincere: We are taught the politics of communication. The art of deception:
A little sincerity is a dangerous thing, and a great deal of it is absolutely fatal.
Oscar Wilde ( ), The Critic as Artist, part 2, 1891
It is dangerous to be sincere unless you are also stupid.
George Bernard Shaw ( ), Man and Superman (1903) "Maxims for Revolutionists"

8. BUT WHAT GUIDANCE DOES THE QURAN OFFER US REGARDING SINCERITY?
The Inner Circle
Friday Khutbah
"Always be sincere, even if you don't mean it." - Harry S. Truman rd President of the United States
BUT WHAT GUIDANCE DOES THE QURAN OFFER US REGARDING SINCERITY?

9. The Inner Circle
Friday Khutbah
يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُواْ كُونُواْ قَوَّامِينَ بِالْقِسْطِ شُهَدَاء لِلّهِ وَلَوْ عَلَى أَنفُسِكُمْ أَوِ الْوَالِدَيْنِ وَالأَقْرَبِينَ إِن يَكُنْ غَنِيًّا أَوْ فَقَيرًا فَاللّهُ أَوْلَى بِهِمَا فَلاَ تَتَّبِعُواْ الْهَوَى أَن تَعْدِلُواْ وَإِن تَلْوُواْ أَوْ تُعْرِضُواْ فَإِنَّ اللّهَ كَانَ بِمَا تَعْمَلُونَ خَبِيرًا
4:135 O you who have attained to faith! Establish yourself with justice, as witnesses to Allah, even if be against yourselves, or your parents, or your loved ones, and even if they be rich or poor: for Allah can best protect both.
Do not follow your own desires in regards to justice, and if you distort it, or incline to do it, Allah is well- acquainted with all that you do.

10. The Inner Circle
Friday Khutbah
How can we rectify our word and deed so that they become sincere:
Act the same way alone as you would in front of others
Who is the real you, when you are alone, or when you are in public? Ask yourself why am I different?
Are you trying in Public to be someone so that others may like you? Is the persona you are trying to project in public sincere? What would it take for you to be sincere? What stops you from being sincere?

11. The Inner Circle Do you do things from your heart?
Friday Khutbah
Do you do things from your heart?
Are you acting out of need, such as a need to be liked, appreciated?
Is your giving genuine or does it come with an agenda? When you give from your heart, your giving is sincere.
A heart that is worn on the sleeve is evident to others, and people who do this will engender a sense of rapport with others.

12. Is what you are saying congruent with what you believe?
The Inner Circle
Friday Khutbah
Is what you are saying congruent with what you believe?
How often do we compliment someone but in our hearts we hold contempt for them?
How often do we apologize without sincerity and responsibility for our actions and still keep resentment in our hearts?
يَعْلَمُ خَائِنَةَ الْأَعْيُنِ وَمَا تُخْفِي الصُّدُورُ
40:19 He (Allah) knows of your deceptions and all that is hidden in the hearts.

13. The Inner Circle
Friday Khutbah
We avoid being sincere because we fear that our true selves might be exposed?
Are we willing to risk our selves for the sake of sincerity?
The result of Sincerity is - Inner peace, stress-free life, builds character, builds Allah-consciousness,
We avoid sincerity out of fear that we may be harmed:
A coward dies a million deaths, while a sincere person only dies once.

14. The Inner Circle
Friday Khutbah
How often do we sugar-coat our statements and responses:
يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا اتَّقُوا اللَّهَ وَقُولُوا قَوْلًا سَدِيدًا (33:70) O you who have attained to faith! Be Allah-conscious, and speak direct and without ambiguity   
يُصْلِحْ لَكُمْ أَعْمَالَكُمْ وَيَغْفِرْ لَكُمْ ذُنُوبَكُمْ وَمَن يُطِعْ اللَّهَ وَرَسُولَهُ فَقَدْ فَازَ فَوْزًا عَظِيمًا (33:71) through this your deeds will be validated, and your inequities will be forgiven . And those who comply with Allah and His messenger, has indeed attained tremendous success.

15. The Inner Circle Barakallahu lee wa lakum fil quranil kareem
Friday Khutbah
Barakallahu lee wa lakum fil quranil kareem
Wa nafa’nee wa iyyakum bil aayaati wa dhikril hakeem
Innahu jawaadun malikun barrun rabbur ra’oofur raheem
May Allah bless me and you through the guidance of this noble Quran
And may it teachings and remembrances benefit me and you
Truly Allah is the possessor of wealth, the sovereign, the all good, the one who has authority over us, the all-loving and all-merciful.

16. The Inner Circle
Friday Khutbah
Sit between Khutbahs

17. The Inner Circle Misunderstandings happen all the time, but we can
Friday Khutbah
Misunderstandings happen all the time, but we can
avoid some of them by checking our assumptions:
When someone is saying something that you might not agree with, first check if that what you have heard is what the person was trying to convey. Get clarity before you react.

18. The Inner Circle
Friday Khutbah
When somebody ask you to do something, don’t assume that you understood. Ask for clarity so that you are clear what is being asked of you to do.

19. The Inner Circle
Friday Khutbah
If you have judged someone based on what you think they said or did, it might just be worth your while to test out those assumptions.  You wouldn’t want to destroy a relationship or someone’s reputation over a misunderstanding or misinterpretation.

20. The Inner Circle
Friday Khutbah
يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا اجْتَنِبُوا كَثِيرًا مِّنَ الظَّنِّ إِنَّ بَعْضَ الظَّنِّ إِثْمٌ وَلَا تَجَسَّسُوا وَلَا يَغْتَب بَّعْضُكُم بَعْضًا أَيُحِبُّ أَحَدُكُمْ أَن يَأْكُلَ لَحْمَ أَخِيهِ مَيْتًا فَكَرِهْتُمُوهُ وَاتَّقُوا اللَّهَ إِنَّ اللَّهَ تَوَّابٌ رَّحِيمٌ (49:12)
49:12 O you who have attained to faith! Avoid assumptions some assumptions is sin; and do not spy on one another, and neither allow your­selves to speak ill of one another behind your backs. Would any of you like to eat the flesh of his dead brother? No, you would loathe it! So then be conscious of Allah. Allah is the Acceptor of Repentance, the Merciful!

21. The Inner Circle Friday Khutbah
Allahummansur man nasra deena Muhammad; Allahummansuril mujahideena fee qulli makaan; Allahumma Yassir wa laa tu’assir
Allahumma tammim bil ghayr wa antal kareemu muyassir
O Allah, assist those who assist the cause of Muhammad
O Allah, assist all those who strive towards good in every place
O Allah, make things easy for us and remove difficulty
O Allah, complete us in Goodness, Truly You are the most noble of all those who provides assistance.
Innallaha wa malaa’ikatahu yusolloona alan nabi… yaa ayyuhallatheena aamanu sollu alayhi wa sallimoo tasleema.
Wa aakhiri da’waanaa anil hamdu lillahi rabbil aalameen
Truly Allah and the Angels sends blessings and salutations on the Prophet Muhammad, O you who believe, send greetings and salutations upon him.
And the final word is that all praise and thanks is due to Allah, the Authority over all creation.
اتْلُ مَا أُوحِيَ إِلَيْكَ مِنَ الْكِتَابِ وَأَقِمِ الصَّلَاةَ إِنَّ الصَّلَاةَ تَنْهَى عَنِ الْفَحْشَاء وَالْمُنكَرِ وَلَذِكْرُ اللَّهِ أَكْبَرُ وَاللَّهُ يَعْلَمُ مَا تَصْنَعُونَ 29:45 Recite what is sent of the Book by inspiration to thee, and establish regular Prayer: for Prayer restrains from shameful and unjust deeds; and remembrance of Allah is the greatest (thing in life) without doubt. And Allah knows the (deeds) that ye do. Let us stand for prayer!