Today's Jumu'ah khutbah was a powerful reminder of something we can easily overlook: The life, property, and honor of a Muslim are sacred. Islam does not only teach us how to worship Allah. It also teaches us how we are required to treat the people around us. It is not enough to be concerned about whether we are praying, fasting, giving charity, or performing other acts of worship. We must also ask ourselves: - Am I causing harm to another Muslim? Sometimes we think of harm only in terms of physical actions. But harm can take many forms. - It can be a careless word that humiliates someone. - It can be spreading something about a person that we have no right to spread. - It can be backbiting, slander, gossip, or exposing someone's private matters. - It can be taking someone's rights, cheating them, deceiving them, or taking advantage of their trust. - It can even be treating another Muslim's reputation as though it has no value. The Prophet ﷺ warned us about the seriousness of violating the rights of others. This is why the relationship between Muslims cannot simply be reduced to "I don't owe anyone anything." We do owe one another something. - We owe one another respect. - We owe one another justice. - We owe one another protection from our tongues and our hands. - And we owe one another the effort to avoid causing harm. Sometimes we become so focused on proving that we are right that we forget to ask whether the way we are dealing with someone is pleasing to Allah. The question isn't only: - "Was I right?" We should also ask: - "Was I just?" - "Did I harm someone unnecessarily?" - "Did I violate someone's honor?" - "Would I be comfortable standing before Allah and answering for how I treated this person?" The honor of a Muslim is not something we are free to attack simply because we are angry, disappointed, or convinced that we are justified. May Allah protect us from harming one another, forgive us for the times we have wronged others, and make us people who are a source of safety rather than harm to those around us.