Friday Khutbahs (Sermons) · 20. May 2022
There is an image that is hard to ignore, that really puts Muslims to the ultimate test. The image is quite simply this: An excavator, a big monstrous truck beginning to tear down the Al-Aqsa Mosque. It is accompanied with a caption stating the destruction of the Al-Aqsa Mosque will begin on May 29th, inviting all Israelis to come to Al-Aqsa Mosque so that the tearing down, the dismantling, and the destroying of Al-Aqsa Mosque can begin. This call for the destruction of Al-Aqsa Mosque to begin...
Friday Khutbahs (Sermons) · 19. November 2021
One of the very basic, and perhaps even theoretically undeniable moral precepts, is the equal value ascribed to human life. That at least at an abstract level, human beings are obliged to agree with what constitutes in religious traditions generally, often an article of faith, that God is the maker of human beings and that God made human life equal in sanctity to one another; that the sanctity of human life is undifferentiated and invariable. Often, especially in the modern age, this preset has...
Friday Khutbahs (Sermons) · 15. October 2021
God reminds us in Surah Hijr, in the miracle words of the Qur'an, that this earth was spread before us, unfolded like a meticulously organized plan created by God, in order to create for us a habitat and a living space. God created on this earth everything in a meticulously balanced fashion. The way that the earth has been calibrated for our lives, as well as the lives of all living things on this earth, is an absolute miracle because, given to its natural processes, it is an earth that...
Friday Khutbahs (Sermons) · 01. October 2021
A people have an energy. However one defines a unit of people, every unit of people has a prevailing energy. The energy is characteristic of a people, however defined, like a magnetic field generated in a locality and, like magnetic fields, are formed by numerous small particles within certain characteristics of the land. The energy that characterizes a people is the sum-total of the numerous individuals that define the collectivity. We Muslims have a number of cross-cutting identities. We are...
Friday Khutbahs (Sermons) · 24. September 2021
This khutbah will deal with a difficult and touchy subject. It is a subject that not only must be addressed but addressed frankly and honestly. Part of this khutbah will be technical, but it is not technical for the sake of technicality. When moral and ethical perspectives are obstructed because of the technicalities, it is the job of the moral scholar and the moral jurist to address these technicalities in order to make space for morality and decency. Recently, a well-known Muslim figure...
Friday Khutbahs (Sermons) · 25. June 2021
The original khutbah that I had prepared for today included a heart-warming story from the sirah, but I saw a news item that changed the entire khutbah in an instant. The point of the khutbah is not to educate a lazy audience, nor is it to replace the mandate to pursue knowledge and an education in the affairs of faith. The point of the khutbah every jumu’a is to bring to the forefront what should be a primary issue of concern for Muslims within a certain place at a certain time. The jumu’a...
Friday Khutbahs (Sermons) · 31. January 2020
"HUMILITY, CERTITUDE AND 'THE DEAL OF THE CENTURY'" 31 January 2020 In Surah al Furqan, God reminds us of the quintessential character of a Muslim. A Muslim treads on this earth lightly with humility and with the blessing of certitude—that there will be accountability and justice, and that God is the anchor that stabilizes us in our existence, giving us a sense of direction and a commitment to what is truthful, good and beautiful. This certitude does not make us arrogant, self-entitled or...
Friday Khutbahs (Sermons) · 29. November 2019
"ON KNOWING THE STRENGTH OF YOUR INNER LIGHT" 29 November 2019 Dr. Abou El Fadl shares a prayer (dua) that the Prophet (pbuh) would often repeat: “God, The Lord of the Heavens and the earth, the Lord of all there is and that will be, I seek refuge in You in everything, from everything that You ultimately are empowered against. You are the First and the Last. There is nothing after You, as there was nothing before You. You are apparent. You are the Lord of all that appears, and You are the...
Friday Khutbahs (Sermons) · 18. October 2019
Dr. Abou El Fadl begins with a reminder that we remain committed to the truth that everything is from Allah, and everything will return to Allah. One of the central narratives of the Quran, that many Muslims learn and often repeat, is Ayat Al Kursi (Chapter 2, Verse 255). It is a monumental reminder of the truth of our existence and our relationship to our Maker. The wisest of Muslims are the ones who reflect even just on this verse, for the amazing amount of insight it yields into our Maker...
Friday Khutbahs (Sermons) · 11. October 2019
Dr. Abou El Fadl reminds that Allah has given us the Shari’ah, a path, a guidance, like a map. So, follow it and do not follow the whims of those who do not know. If you enter into a relationship with the Divine, you will feel the Divine and the Divine will guide you. The unjust are supported by the unjust. The nature of injustice is like an infection. It starts small but grows and extends, and when supported, results in further injustice. It is not just a theological principle; it is a...