Virtual Khutbahs

Dr. Khaled Abou El Fadl reminds that the Qur’an, as the final revelation and the final message given to the final Prophet came as humanity had sufficiently matured to the point that they could preserve the testament of faith in a book rather than rely on miracles. Once humanity reached that point, the prophecy ended, and the responsibility was fully borne by human beings to become God’s representatives on earth. God’s will only materializes through human beings, as fully accountable and responsible agents. Individually and collectively, we will be held accountable and responsible before God. Human beings must develop certain virtues within themselves and hold one another accountable for these virtues, among them honesty, truth and testimony, equity, fairness towards the oppressed and weak, holding power responsible and accountable and many others. Human beings must be anchored in virtues and ethics in order to discharge their duties as God’s representative; a human being without ethics who engages the final revelation and tries to represent the word of God will produce ugliness, trauma, and the opposite of what is Godly.

Dr. Abou El Fadl develops the example of the importance of morality and ethics in reading texts through discussing the topic of slavery, particularly in light of some scholars who have recently argued that slavery is not an issue of morality or ethics in Islam, but rather historical circumstances and pragmatics. Dr. Abou El Fadl discusses the historical variations and complexities of slavery in the ancient and medieval world, and points out how ISIS and Daesh, in rebelling against modernity and Western hegemony, effectively ignored and dumped all of the ethical teachings of the past 1500 years to return to their idea of a pristine Islam. They even ignored the foundational premise that Muslims as servants of God can only exist in a slave-like status before God and no other. He recalls the beautiful example that in a time when it was the norm to customarily prostrate in the presence of kings, that it was well known that in Europe or Asia, if someone would refuse to prostrate before a king, it was because that person was a Muslim.

Dr. Abou El Fadl goes on to address those who posit that the Quran recognizes and accommodates slavery and does not conclude slavery is morally reprehensible. Dr. Abou El Fadl puts forth the Quranic verses that are cited as evidence, and demonstrates that an ethical reading of these verses would in fact conclude the exact opposite. He discusses in detail the two Quranic parables that exemplify the difference between a free human being and a disempowered slave, and explains why they are in fact a resounding moral condemnation of the institution of slavery; slavery is likened to paganism and freedom is Islam. He underscores the reasons why the Quran teaches that slavery is an evil and has always been an evil, and how unless these verses are engaged with the proper ethical anchoring, other morally problematic readings are possible.

Finally, he presents the story of the Prophet Abraham (Ibrahim) and his student Ilyazar of Damascus to emphasize the point of how easy it is for human beings to twist their thinking when they do not have a strong foundation of the virtue of ethics anchored in their conscious and conscience. If an ethical human being accepts God and partners their ethics with Allah’s teachings, the result can be beauty. But if a human being wishes to partner with Allah but leaves ethics at the door, the result will be ugliness and corruption. Delivered 30 August 2019.

Dr. Abou El Fadl presents the examples of ethics and reading texts through discussing the topic of slavery, especially in light of a group of new scholars who have recently argued that slavery is not an issue of morality or ethics in Islam, but rather historical circumstances and pragmatics. Dr. Abou El Fadl discusses the historical variations and complexities of slavery in the ancient and medieval world, and points out how ISIS and Daesh, in rebelling against modernity and Western hegemony, effectively ignored and dumped all of the ethical teachings of the past 500 years to return to their idea of a pristine Islam. They even ignored the foundational premise that Muslims as servants of God can only exist in a slave-like status before God and no other. He recalls the beautiful example that in a time when it was the norm to customarily prostrate in the presence of kings, that it was well known that in Europe or Asia, if someone would refuse to prostrate before a king, it was because that person was a Muslim.

Dr. Abou El Fadl goes on to address those who posit that the Quran recognizes and accommodates slavery and does not conclude slavery is morally reprehensible. Dr. Abou El Fadl puts forth the Quranic verses that these new scholars cite as evidence of their arguments, and demonstrates that an ethical reading of these verses would in fact conclude the exact opposite of what these scholars assert. He discusses in detail the two Quranic parables that these scholars highlight that exemplify the difference between a free human being and a disempowered slave, and explains why they are in fact a resounding moral condemnation of the institution of slavery; slavery is likened to paganism and freedom is Islam. He underscores the reasons why the Quran teaches that slavery is an evil and has always been an evil.

Finally, he presents the story of the Prophet Abraham (Ibrahim) and his student Ilyazar of Damascus to emphasize the point of how easy it is for human beings to twist their thinking when they do not have a strong foundation of the virtue of ethics anchored in their conscious and conscience. If an ethical human being accepts God and partners their ethics with Allah’s teachings, the result can be beauty. But if a human being wishes to partner with Allah but leaves ethics at the door, the result will be ugliness and corruption. Delivered 30 August 2019.

Dr. Khaled Abou El Fadl begins by reminding of the anchor of every day and age, the Qur’an, and that those who make it part of their soul will thrive; those who do not will remain in confusion at a minimum. He reminds that the Quran calls upon us to “Strive in the way of your Lord,” and that struggle and striving require time, energy, investment and effort. He cites verses from the Quran that tell us that God has selected Muslims--not based on racial, ethnic, tribal, or linguistic factors, but based on a relationship. It is a commitment based on the understanding that: you are among those who struggle in the path of God; you are committed to the struggle; if you find God, you will find the true source of happiness, tranquility and meaning; you are among those who understand that existentially, without Allah, nothing makes sense; with Allah your life has a purpose, and it has consequences, which is a foundational principle for morality itself. If you are among those, then you are among those God has chosen. He cites another Quranic verse that tells us that our relationship with God should lead to peace and tranquillity, not rancor, anger, envy or other human emotions that harm the soul and cause hardship.

He points out that one of the critical tasks that we are called to perform as Muslims is to bear witness upon people. Bearing witness was a sacred job and a moral task that predated Islam, Christianity and Judaism. God knows that bearing witness is a difficult task because it can bring profound consequences as people do not like to be confronted with the truth, especially those in power. However, if you want to create a society that is ethically consistent with Islam, you must create a society in which bearing witness does not lead to hardship. When bearing witness and telling the truth create hardship, human nature is to avoid pain, and will naturally tend to justify behavior that avoids pain. This leads to hypocrisy in the heart. It takes real struggle to go against this natural instinct, especially when it means bearing witness on the side of God and the Prophet in truth in opposition to those in power. 

He explains that today, Wahhabism is no longer the problem, rather the theology of obedience to the state that is being propagated as an Islamic imperative all over the world. Under this theology, a Muslim learns that Islam is not intended to create autonomous, active, dynamic, thoughtful, and moral human beings, but rather, creates subservient and obedient human beings, whose relationship to politics is simple obedience. He points out that a society built on such despotism and obedience will breed hypocrisy and cowardliness. This type of Islam will ultimately lead to Islam’s death. This type of hypocrisy is what turns Muslim youth away from the faith.

He gives important examples of how this theology of obedience has resulted in devastation all across the Muslim world, and how it has made Muslims, particularly many Muslim “leaders” begin justifying and supporting the obscene acts of those in power, even to the point of suggesting that Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem is not holy in Islam. He gives examples of how ultimately, this quietist, pacifist, obedience theology leads to moral relativism, patriarchy and even the justification of slavery. It teaches people that the most important parts of their religion are prayer, fasting and charity, and that all else is unimportant. He draws the analogy to Karl Marx’s assertion that religion is the opiate of the masses, and demonstrates how this version of Islam--an Islam without ethics, without a vision, without a commitment to justice--would be exactly that. Delivered 23 August 2019.