This contribution focuses on the pioneering Malay-language khuṭba manuals of the Bangkok-born scholar Maḥmūd Zuhdīal-Faṭānī (d. 1376/1956). In his works, al-Faṭānī combined expositions of the conventions of different types of liturgical sermons with model khuṭbas intended for practical use by other preachers. In addition, he included various supplications and ritual formulas related to mortuary practices in his manuals. I argue that a closer analysis of his writings indicates that they were not only intended to educate aspiring scholars and preachers about the conventions of the khuṭba and other ritual practices, but also to defend a larger edifice of scholarly and ritual traditions against the growing challenge of Islamic reformism. However, the analysis also shows that the tradition defended was not stagnant. Rather, al-Faṭānī’s manuals are important testimonies to the gradual shifts in the contents of local khuṭbas towards a more practical orientation as well as to the major seachange represented by the shift from Arabic to Malay as the preferred language of the liturgical khuṭba.