By Shaikh Ahmad Kutty

All praise is for Allah, who alternates night and day and makes the passing of time a wake-up call for hearts that still reflect. He knows every secret, every hidden thought, and every intention buried within the soul.

We testify that there is no god but Allah, the One, the All-Powerful, and that Muhammad ﷺ is His servant and Messenger—the best guide to every noble purpose. Peace and blessings be upon him, his family, and his Companions, the Emigrants and the Helpers, as long as night follows day.

My advice to myself and to you: Fear Allah, for Allah says: “So be mindful of Allah, and Allah will teach you.” (2:282)

My dear brothers and sisters,

Today is the 26th of Dhul-Hijjah, we stand in the final days of another Hijri year. In just a few days, we will welcome Muharram and the beginning of a new year. One year of our lives has passed and will never return, while another year is about to begin.

As time moves forward, it quietly reminds us that we are all journeying toward Allah. This is a moment to look back with gratitude for His countless blessings, with repentance for our mistakes, and with hope for His mercy. It is a moment to turn to Allah with sincere hearts and ask Him to make the coming year better than the one that has passed.

A year of our lives has now passed and become part of our record. In it were days of happiness and days of hardship, moments when we remembered Allah and moments when we forgot, nights when we turned to Him in prayer and times when we fell short. The year behind us has been sealed with its deeds, while the year ahead remains unwritten. This is a moment to look back with gratitude and repentance, and to look forward with hope, determination, and trust in Allah.

Not a single one of those moments has been lost. The year may have passed from our sight, but its record remains with Allah, who forgets nothing and overlooks nothing.

Allah says:

“And the Book will be placed, and you will see the criminals fearful of what is in it, and they will say, ‘Woe to us! What sort of Book is this that leaves nothing small nor great except that it has enumerated it.'”

Every word you spoke is there.

Every prayer you performed is there.

Every charity you gave is there.

Every secret sin is there.

Every hidden tear you shed for Allah is there.

All of it has been preserved by the One who never forgets.

The great imam al‑Ḥasan al‑Baṣrī said:
“O son of Adam, you are nothing but a collection of days; whenever a day passes, a part of you passes away.”

Every sunrise is not only the birth of a new day; it is the funeral of another slice of our lives.

Last Muḥarram, there were people standing beside us in prayer who are not here today. Some were our parents, some were our brothers, some were our friends, some were elders, and some were younger than us. Their homes remain. Their belongings remain. Their names are still stored in our phones. But they themselves have gone on to meet their Lord.

One day, we too will be the ones missing from the row.

The Prophet ﷺ said: »
“Increase your remembrance of the destroyer of pleasures.”
They asked, “O Messenger of Allah, what is the destroyer of pleasures?” He said, “Death.”

But in Islam, remembering death is not meant to plunge us into despair; it is meant to awaken us, to reorder our priorities, to remind us that this world is a corridor, not a home.

Why Our Calendar Begins with Hijrah

Have you ever reflected, dear brothers and sisters, why our Islamic calendar begins with the Hijrah?

During the caliphate of ʿUmar ibn al‑Khaṭṭāb the companions discussed how to date official documents. Some suggested the birth of the Prophet ﷺ. Others suggested the beginning of revelation, when the word:

“Read”

descended in the cave of Ḥirā’. Others proposed the year of his passing ﷺ.

Yet they chose the Hijrah.

Because the Hijrah was the turning point. It was the day when faith stepped out of secrecy into the public square, when trust in Allah moved from words on tongues to steps in the desert. It was the triumph of faith over fear, trust over uncertainty, sacrifice over comfort, commitment over convenience.

Our calendar begins with a journey.

Not just a journey from Makkah to Madinah, but a journey from darkness to light, from weakness to strength, from attachment to creation to reliance upon the Creator.

The Prophet ﷺ redefined Hijrah for every generation when he said:

“And the true emigrant is the one who abandons what Allah has forbidden.”

That means every believer needs a Hijrah.

A Hijrah from delaying prayer to guarding it.
A Hijrah from resentment to forgiveness.
A Hijrah from obsession with dunya to concern for the Hereafter.
A Hijrah from heedlessness to remembrance.

So the question is not: “Did the Prophet ﷺ migrate?” We know he did. The real question is: “What will I leave behind this year for the sake of Allah?”

The Cave of Thawr: When Allah is With You

Let us revisit one of the most moving scenes of the Hijrah: the Cave of Thawr.

The Prophet ﷺ and his loyal companion Abū Bakr are hiding in a small cave south of Makkah. The pursuers searching for them climb the mountain and reach the mouth of the cave. Abū Bakr can see their feet just above him. Fear grips his heart—not for himself, but for the Messenger of Allah ﷺ.

He whispers:
“O Messenger of Allah, if one of them were to look down at his feet, he would see us.”

The Prophet ﷺ replies with words that still echo in the hearts of believers:

“O Abū Bakr, what do you think of two when Allah is the third with them?”

And Allah immortalizes that moment in His Book:

“When he said to his companion, ‘Do not grieve; indeed, Allah is with us.’”

Dear brothers and sisters,

Many of us walk into this new year carrying invisible burdens: a medical report that keeps you awake at night, a debt that weighs on your chest, a family conflict that has drained your energy, a loneliness that no one around you suspects.

Remember the cave.
Remember those footsteps at the entrance.
Remember the web of the spider and the nest of the dove.
And above all, remember the words:

“Do not grieve; indeed, Allah is with us.”

Take this verse with you into hospital corridors, into courtrooms, into exam halls, into immigration offices, into the quiet corners where you cry alone. Say to your heart: “Do not grieve; Allah is with you.”

The Sacred Month of Muḥarram

Allah says:
“Indeed, the number of months with Allah is twelve months in the register of Allah from the day He created the heavens and the earth… of them, four are sacred.”

Muḥarram is one of these sacred months. The Prophet ﷺ said:

“The best fast after Ramadan is fasting in the month of Allah, al‑Muḥarram.”

What a beautiful way to open a year: with fasting, with repentance, with gratitude, with worship, with a renewed promise to Allah.

Let this not be just another year added to our age; let it be another year added to our faith.

Our pious predecessors understood that a new year is not only a time to plan; it is a time to take account.

ʿUmar ibn al‑Khaṭṭāb said:
“Take account of yourselves before you are taken to account, and weigh yourselves before you are weighed.”

Every merchant reviews his accounts before he continues trading. Every student looks at their results before moving to the next level. How can a believer move from year to year without ever reviewing his relationship with Allah?

Ask yourself sincerely:
How was my ṣalāh this past year?
How often did I sit with the Qur’an, not for information, but for transformation?
How did I treat my parents, those whose dua can open doors that no key can open?
What did my spouse experience from me—mercy or harshness?
What memories did I plant in my children’s hearts?
What did my neighbors see of Islam from me?

Remember that many of the great saints started their lives in darkness before Allah led them to light.

Among them was Fuḍayl ibn ʿIyāḍ . In his early life, he was a highway robber. One night, as he climbed a wall intending a sin, he heard a man reciting:
“Has the time not come for those who have believed that their hearts should become humbly submissive at the remembrance of Allah and what has come down of the truth?”

The words shook him. It was as if the verse was addressed to him by name. He stopped on that wall and said:
“Yes, my Lord, the time has come. Yes, my Lord, the time has come.”

That night drew a line between two lives: a life of disobedience, and a life of obedience and scholarship.

Perhaps, for someone listening today, this khutbah is your “Alam Ya’n” moment. Perhaps Allah is asking you too: Has the time not come?

Remember Bilāl, stretched under the blazing sun of Makkah, a heavy stone on his chest, the heat burning his skin, yet his tongue repeating only:
“One, One.”

Years later, he stood atop the Kaʿbah calling the adhān. The same man who once lay chained on the hot sand now raises the call to prayer over the House of Allah. What changed? Not wealth. Not status. Not color. It was faith, patience, and perseverance.

The pious Caliph ʿAlī  said:
“The world is turning away, and the Hereafter is coming forward. Each of them has children, so be children of the Hereafter, and do not be children of this world.”

Allah says:

“Every soul shall taste death.”

And He says:

“So whoever is removed from the Fire and admitted into Paradise has indeed succeeded.”

Maybe you look back and see only failures: prayers missed, sins repeated, promises broken. Listen to your Lord’s call:

“Say, ‘O My servants who have transgressed against themselves, do not despair of the mercy of Allah. Indeed, Allah forgives all sins.’”

Do not despair. As long as your soul is still in your body, the door of repentance remains open.

Last year, some people stood with us in this masjid and said “Āmīn” to similar duas. Today they rest beneath the earth. Next year, some of us may not be here. Perhaps this is our final Muḥarram.

So let us welcome this new year with a sincere Hijrah:

A migration from disobedience to obedience,
from heedlessness to remembrance,
from despair to hope,
from distance to closeness with Allah.

Let us raise our hands in humble supplication:

O Allah, bless us in this new year and fill it with faith, sincerity, repentance, mercy, and abundant blessings.

O Allah, make today better for us than yesterday, and make tomorrow better than today.

O Allah, set right for us our faith, which is the foundation of all our affairs. Set right for us our worldly life, wherein lies our livelihood, and set right for us our Hereafter, which is our final destination and eternal abode.

O Allah, forgive our past sins, bless us in the remainder of our lives, and make the best of our deeds our final deeds, and the best of our days the day we meet You and behold Your Noble Countenance.

O Allah, we beseech You for a good ending and for death upon the testimony of Your Oneness and the truth of Your Messenger.

O Allah, forgive those who have passed away, and grant healing, relief, and complete recovery to those who are ill, suffering, or in distress.

Our Lord, do not let our hearts deviate after You have guided us, and grant us mercy from Yourself. Indeed, You are the Bestower of all grace and bounty.

Our Lord, guide those who have gone astray among us—our men and women, our young and our old—and gently lead them to the Straight Path.

O Allah, bless those who are seeking marriage with righteous and compatible spouses, and place love, tranquility, and blessings in their unions.

O Allah, aid the oppressed, the persecuted, and the victims of war, aggression, and occupation. Grant them strength, patience, protection, and victory over their oppressors. Turn the schemes of the wrongdoers against themselves and bring their plots to ruin.

O Allah, shower Your mercy upon us, our families, our communities, and the entire Ummah. Grant us goodness in this world and goodness in the Hereafter, and protect us from the punishment of the Fire.

Indeed, You are the Most Merciful of those who show mercy, and You are capable of all things.

Āmīn.