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.
Circles of Learning (Halaqas) · 14. December 2019
In the introduction to the halaqa completing the Quranic commentary (tafsir) on Surah 91, Al Shams (The Sun), Director Grace Song commemorates the two-year anniversary of the launch of The Usuli Institute by highlighting the development, dreams and achievements of the Institute's first two years. She continues her discussion from the previous halaqa intro on the state of Muslims' offerings to attract and engage Muslim youth about the faith. In response, she introduces a new Usuli offering...
Friday Khutbahs (Sermons) · 15. November 2019
"WHAT GOD EXPECTS FROM US" 15 November 2019 Dr. Abou El Fadl reminds that Allah gave humans the blessing and charge of caring for this earth until the Final Day, when we will be held accountable for how we discharged this obligation. Allah directed us to create divinity on this earth. Allah tells us it is impossible for the Divine to be unjust because God will never allow Godself to be unjust. Injustice, oppression, and tyranny (zulm) is forbidden for God and by God, and thus, apriori, justice...
Circles of Learning (Halaqas) · 09. November 2019
Part 1: In the introduction to the halaqa to conclude Surah 92 Al Layl (The Night) and begin Surah 91 Al Shams (The Sun), Director Grace Song reacts to a recent Facebook post about the state of communicating with Muslim teens, and shared some personal stories, insights and ideas about how she approached parenthood and the challenge of teaching her kids to love God, Islam and being Muslim.
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...
Circles of Learning (Halaqas) · 12. October 2019
Part 1 of 3: In the introduction to the halaqa on Surah 92, Al Layl (The Night), Director Grace Song talks about her early experiences and expectations as a new convert entering the Muslim community for the first time, in light of the increase in attention on stories of trauma and healing among new Muslim women converts. She shares stories of her own journey of healing along with important lessons learned along the way. Dr. Abou El Fadl elaborates further on the topic of his khutbah from Friday...
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...
Friday Khutbahs (Sermons) · 04. October 2019
Dr. Abou El Fadl reminds us that Allah in the Qur’an gave us Shariah, a path that we are instructed to follow. There are many people who think that Shariah is something as simple as a group of positivistic laws. However, laws that lead to practices are only half the process, because any practice decreed by law must have a purpose. If one is not following these laws with an understanding of why, how it fits in within the Shariah of Allah, then there is a fundamental breakdown. If it was simply...
Friday Khutbahs (Sermons) · 27. September 2019
Dr. Abou El Fadl reminds that the Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) in his persona sums up the entire legacy of the entire line of prophets. He has embodied all of them in his single being as the last and final prophet. All of the prophets came with a singular message to humanity, and it was perfected over a long, protracted educational process about the implications of creation and being God’s creatures. Muslims are told that the Prophet Muhammad perfected the message, and that after the death of the...
Friday Khutbahs (Sermons) · 20. September 2019
Dr. Abou El Fadl reminds that the very idea of a responsibility is a very serious matter. None of us exist simply within the boundaries of the time and space that we occupy. Rather, all of us come to this world and immediately impact everything around us in perceptible and predictable ways, but also in imperceptible and unpredictable ways, although we don't reflect upon all the ways that the reality of responsibility is created. If one is a reflective and moral human being, one will consider...