Dr. Khaled Abou El Fadl establishes the critical distinction between the remembrance of God (dhikr Allah) as an individual, one-on-one with God, versus as a community or congregation of worshippers, ie. as a society, vis a vis God. The difference in a moral accounting of an individual versus a community before God becomes especially important when evaluating the role of jumu'a, when the community is intended to come together to take a moral inventory of how they are performing as a collective, in relation to God's imperatives of justice, beauty and mercy. In this light, Dr. Abou El Fadl discusses the Quranic commands to care for orphans in our world, and how the reality of our current day with regard to orphans truly is. We must address the issue of orphans according to the best approaches of our times. From all indications, we have failed to do so, and God will not bless a people that have not cared for their orphans. He discusses our collective accountability vis a vis God. Further, in light of Isra wa al Miraj this week, he discusses the current discourse around the truth of Jerusalem and Al Aqsa mosque as part of our Islamic heritage, and the efforts to undermine this heritage for political reasons. A powerful calling to account for the truths and untruths of our day. Delivered 5 April 2019.
