Friday Khutbahs (Sermons) · 05. June 2020
We cannot ignore what surrounds us all over the U.S.; what has become a plight of the nation – protests focusing on racism and its many different forms, but particularly police brutality and the unjust killings of many minorities, especially African Americans. There are several things to say from an Islamic point of view. What is the most remarkable is how everything is interlinked. With social laws, like physical laws, there are equations and rules for causation that make the current...
Friday Khutbahs (Sermons) · 20. March 2020
SUMMARY DESCRIPTION: We exist in an unusual circumstance and this khutbah is being given in an unusual circumstance. Dr. Abou El Fadl begins by explaining a few points about virtual khutbahs that are important to understand. Scholars disagree on the sufficient number of people for a jumu’a to be valid; some said 70, 150 or 20, and some said a minimum of four other than the imam. For a variety of reasons, in the United States – meaning a non-Muslim country where Muslims are a very small...
Friday Khutbahs (Sermons) · 13. March 2020
SUMMARY DESCRIPTION: Dr. Abou El Fadl begins with the reminder that if God truly allowed humans to suffer the consequences of their own actions, nothing would remain on earth. Divine grace intervenes in our lives constantly, saving us from our own follies and giving humanity infinite opportunities in the hope that we will do good. God has also blessed humanity with a beautiful, true moral example: The Prophet Muhammad. Yet, no prophet has been vilified throughout history as much as the Final...
Friday Khutbahs (Sermons) · 06. March 2020
SUMMARY DESCRIPTION: Dr. Abou El Fadl begins with the reminder that because humans are often oblivious and forgetful, we take much for granted. The Prophet Muhammad was a moral example of how we should live our lives, and those who fail to understand this guidance lose so much because they cannot truly be guided to the path of Islam. Last week, Dr. Abou El Fadl shared the news that he had become functionally deaf and reflected upon his thoughts as he coped with this life change. Like most...
Friday Khutbahs (Sermons) · 28. February 2020
SUMMARY DESCRIPTION: Dr. Abou El Fadl begins with the reason for the previous jumu'a’s cancellation - the loss of his hearing. He sees it as both a challenge and a blessing, as we should view everything we are dealt in life. If we reflect upon ourselves, we will see that everything that we enjoy, even the most minor coordination, the simplest thought, the way that we interpret every desire is a clear indication of God’s existence. However, the nature of human beings often is to not reflect...
Circles of Learning (Halaqas) · 15. February 2020
Part 1: In the introduction to the halaqa (circle of learning) on the continuation of original Quranic commentary (tafsir) on Surah 90, Al Balad (The City), Director Grace Song reflects on her recent birthday, the remembrance of death, and life lessons from her journey as a Muslim convert. In the segment after her talk, Dr. Khaled Abou El Fadl adds some commentary on death and the remembrance of death as a Muslim, and more. Part 2 is the tafsir. Part 3 is the Q&A.
Friday Khutbahs (Sermons) · 17. January 2020
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...
Circles of Learning (Halaqas) · 11. January 2020
Part 1: Introduction to halaqa on Surah 90 Al Balad (The City). In the introduction, Director Grace Song shares stories and talks about the wealth of content that the Usuli Institute has created in the past year to provide education, strength and empowerment to survive the dark times confronting Muslims today. After the introduction, Dr. Abou El Fadl gives a powerful commentary on Islamophobia as a colonial project.
Friday Khutbahs (Sermons) · 10. January 2020
Dr. Abou El Fadl begins with the troubling fact that despite consisting of over one billion people and collectively controlling over half of the world’s sources of energy, material and natural resources – everything that would enable them to empower themselves – Muslims worldwide are plagued by powerlessness. Many Muslim countries are led by corrupt puppets that effectively rule for someone else’s interests. Since colonialism, it is common that a Muslim ruler would rule over Muslim...
Friday Khutbahs (Sermons) · 20. December 2019
"THE SYMBOLIC CALIPHATE" 20 December 2019 Dr. Abou El Fadl reminds that we are but guests in the existence, that accountability is the first principle of justice and that God will hold each individual accountable for what each has committed, intended or achieved in their lifetime. Recently, there was a notable Islamic conference that took place in Malaysia. This conference – attended by Turkey, Iran and a few other Muslim countries; with the UAE excluded and Saudi Arabia and Egypt vigorously...