The Quiet Reason You've Lost Your Peace of Mind

Description: Are we rushing through life day and night without knowing where we’re actually heading? This week’s Jummah khutbah in Rainham opens with that question, and uses it to call us back to something we hardly make time for: sitting down, reflecting, and reconnecting with our Lord. The khutbah draws a simple but striking comparison — the energy we put into fixing a weak phone network versus the energy we put into our connection with Allah. It reminds us of the Prophet’s ﷺ “cave time,” when he would isolate himself to talk to his Lord, and asks whether we ever carve out even five or ten minutes to do the same — to hold ourselves accountable before we are held accountable (حاسبوا أنفسكم قبل أن تحاسبوا). The heart of the khutbah is the story of Hatim al-Assam, a man known for his remarkable peace of mind and tawakkul (reliance on Allah). When asked how he reached that state, he explained it came from internalising four truths: that his provision (rizq) was already written and guaranteed, so there was no need to chase it through the wrong means; that his own deeds were his responsibility alone, and nobody else would carry them for him; that death is imminent and chasing every one of us, which is why he lived each day asking “if this were my last, would I be happy to meet my Lord?”; and that Allah is always watching — a truth that filled him with haya (shyness) before ever doing wrong, regardless of whether a camera or another person was watching. The khutbah closes by tying these four pillars together: identify your true priorities, work on those, and leave the rest aside — because tomorrow is not guaranteed for any of us, and death can come at any point in time. It ends with the call to seek Allah’s forgiveness, drawing on the Qur’anic reminder that He is Al-Ghafur, Ar-Rahim — the Oft-Forgiving, the Most Merciful.