Book Review - SPEAKING FOR CHANGE by Wael Alkhairo

Chapter 4
Communication requires at least two participants and it is undeniably true that the
greatest burden rests on the speakers shoulder to keep his audience interested and attentive.
The audience, however, also has the responsibility toward the speaker in order to produce an
effective communication between the former and the latter. First of all, the audience should
listen and be attentive. Apart from that, the audience also has the responsibility to be quiet
during the khutbah. This is based on a Hadith where Abu Hurairah reported that the Prophet
saying:
If you tell the person sitting next to you to be quiet while the imam is giving the
khutbah you will have inappropriately spoken.
The Prophet discouraged Muslims from talking during the khutbah to the extent that he
considered it a reason for nullifying the Jumuah prayer. According to the jumhur, those who
speak during the Friday khutbah will have to pray four rakaat for zuhr as they have nullified
their Friday prayer. Last but not least, the audience also should not distract the others while
the speaker was delivering khutbah such as loudly reciting Quran or making dua out loud. To
conclude, the audience has the responsibility to be quiet, attentive and not to distract others in
order to create an effective communication with the speaker so that the khutbah could be
delivered smoothly.

Chapter 5
The mosque management also has an immense responsibility in contributing to the
factors that led to the effective delivery of the Friday sermon. The manager of the mosque is
the ultimate decision maker for selecting the speaker, their topic as well as maintaining the
facility. There are four criteria to be considered by the management when selecting the khatib
or speaker. First, the khatib must possess the shariah requirements, that is, he is sane and
known for fulfilling his religious duties. Next, the credibility of the khatib. Many will
consider the khatib to be an authority on the shariah and the din, i.e religion in general. While
this might not necessarily be the case, the selected khatib must at least have knowledge of the
fundamentals of islam. So, the management should choose the khatib with due care as their
role is not only to give an effective khutbah but also to be a model for the community,
especially the youth. At the same time, the khatib should be able to speaks the language of the
audience fluently and clearly. Next, the management also has to observe the attitude and the
style of the speaker. It is vital to avoid the speakers who tend to be negative or harsh in their
approach as they may cause division in the community. Therefore, it is important for the
management to ensure the speaker to have the language proficiency, credibility, good attitude
and shariah requirements for the benefit of the audience and for positive change.
Regarding the selection of topic, the mosque management should know their
community and its needs better than anyone else and as such the khutbah can be very
effective if its objective is to change, revive, and empower the community. Effectiveness is
correlated with relevance. Thus, applying the following points, the topic selected must be
relevance to the Muslim community and the topic shall be the one that have an objective. As
a result of the khutbah, the audience should leave the mosque with new insight or at least a
question that will inspire them to research and learn more. In addition, the topic chosen
should be something that could teach and provide lessons to the audience. It is also important
to not choosing the topics that are controversial as it may cause disagreement in the
community. In the rush life, the audience needs relaxation and peace of mind. Occasionally,
selecting a topic that is spiritually uplifting and heart-soothing is recommended. On top of
everything else, mosque management and the speaker must communicate. This is crucial
especially when the speaker chooses his own topic, the management must tell him their
policy, objective and approach so that it could create an effective khutbah.

Apart from the selection of speaker and the topic, the facility and ambience of the
mosque is another paramount responsibility of the management. Distractions caused by
temperature, noise, crying of the children, smells, or untidiness can cause the listeners
attention to drift away from the words of the speaker. A clean and comfort environments
creates a positive perception in the minds of the audience. Ambiance is the direct reflection of
the care and attitude of the management towards the worshipper. First, the mosque
management must always attend the audio system as malfunctioning microphone or
unadjusted volume can affect the audiences attention to the khutbah. Next, the general
appearance of the mosque such as lighting and the cleanliness also play important factors in
creating an atmosphere that can keep people attentive and foster learning. In particular, the
management should provide a well-ventilated space because when the air in the prayer room
is too warm or stuffy, people become distracted and wait irritably to leave. In addition, a
clean mosque instils in the congregation confidence in the managements ability to provide
quality service to the community. In brief, the management are responsible to create an
environment conducive to attention and learning by giving due consideration to cleanliness,
the audio system, lighting, and minimizing any causes of distractions.