Dr. Khaled Abou El Fadl begins by summarizing the discrete lessons of the past few khutbahs, and continues to build upon the foundation of prescient ethical teachings of the Qur'an for our day and age. He adds an additional layer to the foundation by speaking of the role and import of acting as a moral agent for God on this earth. He recalls passages from the Quran that point to the state and condition of one's chest as a measure of spiritual well-being or health, ie. if one feels tranquility and peace with the divine, there is a corresponding lightness and openness to one's senses in the chest area; conversely, if one feels a tightness or anxiety in the chest area, it is an indication of a lack of trust in God or a spiritual illness. He elaborates on these examples. He recounts the lessons of standing for the disempowered against the empowered as a mark of our faith, and the warnings in the Quran against standing on the wrong side of justice. He demonstrates how despotic rulers in the past and present all demand that they wield the power of the prophets to the point that people can curse God and the Prophet Muhammad, but cannot curse the ruler himself without horrific consequences. He shares examples. He closes with a story of true faith and beauty amidst the devastation and destruction taking place in Idlib, Syria. Delivered 26 July 2019.
