Greetings of Peace (al salamu ‘alaykum) dear Friends!
I pray you are well! I can’t believe we are already upon the last ten days of Ramadan! May God fill your home and soul with light and peace in this most blessed time. I am looking forward to another night of halaqa with The Book of Illuminations tonight at 6 pm ET! I am in California this weekend and will be joining online, so I am especially looking forward to the always surprising and uplifting (?) introduction from Rami Koujah, who selflessly steps in when I am away.
And, do not miss yet another excellent khutbah entitled, “Sulaiman and The Esteemed Camel,” delivered this past Friday by our own Cherif Abou El Fadl, who again demonstrates the power of the education from our three-year journey with the Project Illumine Qur’anic Commentaries (Tafsir) by Dr. Abou El Fadl. His unique insights and reflections unmistakably arise from a nuanced understanding of God’s Words especially for our times.
Also, I am also pleased to present the edited transcript (below) for Dr. Abou El Fadl’s powerful khutbah last Friday entitled, “Turning Faith Into Superstition: God is Not Responsible for Gaza - We are.” Dr. Abou El Fadl illuminated how Muslims have no transparency or knowledge when it comes to the most significant events in our history, for example, the fall of Jerusalem in 1917 and the shift of control over the Hijaz to the al-Saud family, and how our own prevailing Muslim narrative often blames God for our own ignorance and inaction.
In these last ten days of Ramadan, I hope you will take advantage of the $50,000 Matching Gift Campaign that we have been blessed to receive from our dear beloved Usuli donor! We are now preparing the first volume of the entire multi-volume tafsir collection, our legacy project which will take a decade to finish. This is a huge undertaking, yet a priceless contribution to our understanding of God’s Book for ourselves and for future generations. Please help us complete this monumental project!
As always, our most heartfelt gratitude to you for your most generous support. Please help us continue our work with a tax-deductible donation. A monthly donation helps us the most! I pray that God will exponentially multiply your blessings!
From everyone at Usuli, our warmest salaams and profound gratitude. See you online soon insha’Allah (God willing)!
In Peace and Hope,
Grace