Part 1: Dr. Khaled Abou El Fadl continues his original Quranic commentaries (tafsir) covering Surah 99: Al Zalzalah, a surah which confirms that people will see the consequences of their actions, both large and small, and the implications of this. Includes important discussions on hadith methodology and abuses of taking hadith without proper technical training, as is common among modern day Muslims. He also discusses Islamophobia and its use of recurring themes and tropes to instill doubt among Muslims and fear among non-Muslims.
In the introduction, Director Grace Song discusses the New Zealand massacres as the evil fruit of a long and well orchestrated, well funded campaign of Islamophobia. She talks about how to immunize oneself from the powerful effects of Islamophobia through education and spiritual and mental liberation. She addresses questions she receives about crises in faith and what Muslims need to do to make a difference. She shares stories and examples of how as a convert, she navigated questions of faith using the tools discussed at the Usuli Institute.
Part 2: In the Q&A, Dr. Abou El Fadl addresses questions related to the implications of being made aware of all of the consequences of one's actions, good and bad, big and little, and the difference between being aware versus accountable for those actions. He discusses the idea of predestination; what it means to think only of this world without the ability to think beyond the material world; the impact of Sufism in Islamic history, particularly given the fact that 90% of Muslims were Sufi's prior to the age of colonialization and that most conversions around the world took place because of Sufi music, dancing and art; the question of whether or not the Prophet owned slaves, and more. Delivered 16 March 2019.