Khutbah (Sermon)

Khutbah is the Islamic sermon primarily delivered before the Friday prayer (Jumu'ah) and at the two Eid prayers. The Friday khutbah is an obligatory part of the Jumu'ah prayer and replaces two of the four Dhuhr rak'ah. It typically consists of two parts with a short pause in between.

The Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) regularly delivered khutbah from his minbar in Masjid al-Nabawi in Medina. He always began by praising Allah, sending salawat upon the prophets, and then exhorted the believers. In Sahih Muslim, it is narrated that the Prophet's eyes would turn red, his voice would rise, and his intensity would increase when he delivered a khutbah, "as if he were warning an army."

The rules for khutbah vary between the schools of law. All agree that it must be delivered on Fridays before the prayer, that the imam should stand, and that there should be at least two parts. The Hanafi school permits khutbah in languages other than Arabic, while the Shafi'i school requires it to be delivered in Arabic. The audience must listen silently — the Prophet said: "If you tell your companion 'be quiet' during the Friday khutbah, you have committed an offense" (Sahih al-Bukhari).