In the Name of Allaah, Ar-Rahmaan, Ar-Raheem...
It has been reported that Shaykh Ibn 'Uthaymeen (may Allaah have Mercy on him) was asked:
السؤال:
بالنسبة لبعض الخطباء إذا خطبوا ، يجعلون للخطب مناسبات، فمثلاً إذا جاء موسم الإسراء والمعراج يخطبون فيه ويبينون بعض الفوائد ويعرجون على بيان بعض البدع والأخطاء التي تقع في هذا اليوم، فما حكمه؟
Regarding what some khateebs do when they deliver their khutbahs, they give their khutbahs topics relevant to current events, if the time of Israa' and Mi'raajcomes around they speak about it, drawing benefits from it, warning from innovations and mistakes done that day, what is the ruling on this?
It was reported that he answered:
( هذا طيب يعني: كون الإنسان يجعل الخطبة مناسبة لما حدث، هذا طيب، وهذا هو الغالب على خطب النبي -صلى الله عليه وسلم- ، ولهذا إذا وقعت حادثة تحتاج إلى خطبة ، قام وخطب حتى بغير جمعة. كون الإنسان يراعي الأحوال ويخطب في المناسبات هذا طيب؛
مثلاً في رمضان يتحدث عن الصيام، وفي الحج يتحدث عن الحج، وفي ربيع الأول عن الهجرة، يعني: ينظر المناسبات، هذا لا بأس به، وهو دليل على أن الخطيب فقيه وحكيم.
لكن هنا مسألة بعض الأئمة يفعلونها إذا خطب خطبة قرأ في الصلاة الآيات المناسبة لها هذا هو الذي يقال: إنه بدعة؛ لأن الرسول -صلى الله عليه وسلم- كان ملازماً لقراءة سبح والغاشية أو الجمعة والمنافقون، ولم يكن يراعي موضوع الخطبة)
This is good, meaning that a person makes his khutbah relative to certain occasions. This is good, and it is how most of the khutbahs of the Prophet (sallallaahu 'alayhe wa sallam) were, when something happened that needed to be addressed he stood up and gave a khutbah (about it), even if it wasn'tJumu'ah. So for a person to give consideration to current situations and focus his khutbahs on them is good. For example, in Ramadhaan, he speaks about Ramadhaan, at Hajj time he speaks about Hajj, and in Rabee' al-Awwal he speaks about hijrah, meaning: he considers occasions, and there is no problem with that. It is even a proof that the khateeb has understanding and wisdom.
However, there is an issue here that some Imaams do, they deliver a khutbahabout a topic and then read relative verses of the Qur'aan about that topic (inSalaat al-Jumu'ah). This is what is considered an innovation (bid'ah), since the Messenger (sallallaahu 'alayhe wa sallam) used to keep to the reading of Sab-bih(Soorah al-A'laa) and al-Ghaashiyah, or al-Jumu'ah and al-Munaafiqoon, and he did not used to consider the subject of the khutbah (when choosing verses to read in the prayer).
Source: A transcript of a tape entitled "al-Liqaa' al-Maftooh" (#155, side B)
Note: Although my (Moosaa Richardson's) consistent practice has been al-A'laaand al-Ghaashiyah, al-Jumu'ah and al-Munaafiqoon, or al-Jumu'ah and al-Ghaashiyah, I did what Shaykh Ibn 'Uthaymeen spoke of once in Toronto, in Sha'baan 1431 (Summer 2010), near the end of my stay there. I gave a khutbahabout Ramadhaan and read the verses from Soorah al-Baqarah about it in the prayer. At that time, I did not know anything against it. I would like to request that anyone who was there or has the recording should please take note of what is correct about this issue, and do not follow my mistaken practice. And we ask Allaah for steadfastness upon His Path. And Allaah knows best.
Translated by: Moosaa Richardson