the sermons with elaborate rhyme, flowery phrasing, and the niceties of rhetorical ornamentation. As a result, the hearts received little—indeed nothing—from them, and the very purpose of the sermon was lost.

Such is how Imam Ibn al-Qayyim described the sermons of his age, and the situation has only grown worse since then: most sermons today are little more than a mass of words that yield scant benefit.

Some preachers—many, in fact—treat the sermon like a school composition: they improvise whatever phrases happen to occur to them, relevant or not, and prolong the discourse to a wearisome length. In doing so, some neglect one or more of the sermon’s essential conditions and pay no heed to its legal specifications, dragging the khutbah down to a level where it no longer produces the intended impact, inspiration, or instruction.

Others cram into the sermon topics that do not belong there and whose mention at that moment is unwise. Most of the audience cannot grasp such material because it is above their level. Thus they introduce journalistic issues, political situations, and a catalogue of current events from which the listeners derive no benefit.

O preachers! Bring the khutbah back to the Prophetic model: “Indeed, in the Messenger of Allah you have an excellent example” (Quran 33:21). Center your material on passages from the Quran and authentic Sunnah that fit the occasion; weave into it the counsel to fear Allah and wholesome admonition. Address the ailments of your communities with clear, concise language, and recite abundantly from the Magnificent Quran, for in it lie the life of hearts and the illumination of insight.