TDC06 - Khutbah Workshop I - Mamdouh Muhammad

The Khutbah workshop is something I was looking forward to, but unfortunately I missed the second session and the third one was cancelled. Still though, the first one was very nice, and it was a pleasant surprise to see Dr. Mamdouh teaching it, even though he was not on the program (I think he left the conf early though).

Here are some brief notes and highlights of what was said:

Speech takes 3 elements,

1. Sender
2. Message
3. Receiver

The oral word is stronger than the written because it has a voice, emotion, and is complemented by body language and facial expressions.

The content of a khutbah is important. Sometimes a khateeb can render himself obsolete by always repeating the same things over and over. You must always be open to getting new input - this is a meaning of “Iqra” - and you should read the Quran every day to get content. There is nothing better for content than the Quran (a point which was emphasized a few times). You should also be aware of what is going around you, and present authentic data (i.e. research it and make sure what you are saying is correct).

You should realize everyone has a unique style, and while you can listen and learn from everyone, you are still unique and remember to “be you.” The more you listen to others, the more you pick up.

Stories are an effective method of conveying a point in a khutbah.

Khutbah must increase the imaan of the audience. Stories and interpreting current events Islamically are a good way of doing this. The Khutbah must be connected to reality.

Prepare early so that you can enrich your khutbah throughout the week, don’t wait til the last minute like a “professional khateeb” and come up with something.

There are many speakers, but not all speakers are knowledgeable.

A Khutbah without Quran is dead. The Quran is the most powerful tool you can use to affect people, and the more Quran in your khutbah, the better.

You should study asbaab un-nuzool (reasons of revelation) and be studying the Quran so you know precisely which verses to use for what situations.

Repetition is an effective tool. Think of MLK’s “I have a dream…” speech. You still remember it right?

Make sure to change your tone and tempo. Slowing down helps to get your point across, and the Prophet(saw) did not speak very quickly.

Use good transitions and creativity in your speeches. Do not forget to practice and rehearse as well.

Watch for your own personal mannerisms and try to avoid them (every speaker has one). This point goes back to getting good feedback on your speeches.

Strike when the iron is hot. Build people up and then strike. The shaykh mentioned that Muhammad AlShareef does a good job of this.

Be positive. The khutbah should be at least 60% positive.

Then Dr. Mamdouh gave an acronym for the khateeb - RAFIQ.

• Reading - read much more than the average person
• Authentic
• Faith - stories to increase your faith
• Intelligence - creativity, be smart in how you present.
• Quran - the best content is the Qur’an.

In the Q/A the shaykh addressed the issue of whether the Quran should be in Arabic, and he said that people who say it can only be in Arabic have an ijtihaadi position, but that it should be in the language of the people. He also mentioned that even some of the shuyookh of the haram were asked about this and they said that for us the khutbah should be all in English.

The longest khutbah of the Prophet(saw) he said was roughly 15 minutes. He (saw) said make the khutbah short and the prayer long. He then broke it down and said even if you were to try to read something out loud, after 15 minutes you might get ~4 pages. This is more than enough to accurately convey a point, but some khateebs want to discuss the whole world in their Khutbah.

On a technical note, he said the members of the congregation are allowed to correct the khateeb during the khutbah if a mistake is made in reciting one of the ayaat.

Lastly he gave 2 advices:

1. Be high quality
2. The minbar you are speaking from is the minbar of the Prophet(saw) so do not ever underestimate that.