Al-wa‘ith, the Arabic word for someone who conveys ‘itha. ‘Itha is advice, wisdom, a lesson. So many challenges, if you assume the position of this most of challenging words, al-wa‘ith. Al-wai’th is not a teacher, because there is another word for a teacher: mudarris or mu‘allim. But this particular word of al-wa‘ith is someone who imparts to others what are supposed to be lessons of wisdom. How do you even assume that role when in your heart of hearts, you know that there are...
The message of your Lord has been completed in truth and justice - anchored in the easily recognizable human qualities of truth and justice. The challenge is to live as truthful people; live in truth with ourselves and against ourselves; truth with others and against others; and justice for ourselves and for others. This is the essence of the message of the Lord; the essence of the monotheism of Islam. God warned us that it is no easy task to live in truth and in justice; and, in fact, raised...
"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...
Tawhid, in the sense of monotheism, is the realization that this existence has a Maker, an Owner; someone responsible for it that is not the product of chance. The one God, which is the core of Tawhid, can have no partners precisely because it is a God who is not subject to the laws of human beings, nor the laws of physics, nor the laws of time and space, nor the logic of human beings, physics or mathematics. Islam is the only religion on this earth that is firmly anchored in the theology of...
"TAWHEED AND TRINITY: WHY IS MONOTHEISM SO HARD?" 27 December 2019 Dr. Abou El Fadl begins with the reminder that there is no simpler, straight-forward and unadulterated creed than the creed of Islam. Islam is the creed of intuition (fitra) because intuition tells us that there is a God and God is singular and immutable and not subject to the same laws of creation; God is the first cause of the created world. We dwell in a world limited by laws of existence. Islam came to existence before...
"LIBERATION FROM MYTHOLOGY AND THE POWER OF A WHITE JESUS" 13 December 2019 Dr. Abou El Fadl reminds us that the message of God and His prophets has always been the same in its central themes, its basic precept, and in the normative, ethical, moral message and trajectory brought to humanity time and again, which can be summed up in the phrase, “There is no god, but God”. We worship no One but God and submit to no One but God. It is a simple and straightforward message. There is only One God...