Circles of Learning (Halaqas) · 18. March 2023
Dr. Khaled Abou El Fadl presents his Quranic commentary on Surah 91: Al Shams and Surah 104: Al Humazah as part of the ongoing Project Illumine: Light of the Quran series at The Usuli Institute (www.usuli.org). Recorded at The Usuli Institute on 18 March 2023. Project Illumine is a year-long intensive immersion into the unique moral messages in each of the 114 surahs (chapters) of the Quran, the fruit of this scholar's lifetime relationship with the Quran. Surah Al 'Adiyat is the 102nd surah in...
Friday Khutbahs (Sermons) · 17. April 2020
SUMMARY DESCRIPTION: An unusual Ramadan is days away. Taraweeh prayers will not be possible in mosques; no bond of camaraderie with fellow Muslims nor air of blessings and light that come from the prayers and breaking of fasts in Ramadan. Instead, we are challenged this Ramadan to do everything from home. There is the momentous cancellation of umrah and likely Hajj, as Mecca and Medina are under lockdown; this has not occurred in centuries. When Mecca, Medina and the mosques are empty, there is...
Friday Khutbahs (Sermons) · 10. April 2020
SUMMARY DESCRIPTION: We are in the month of Sha'ban, preparing for the coming month of Ramadan, the marker by which we count our lives. Ramadan is the month in which you review what you have done and think about the trajectory of your life and where you are going. A Muslim must undergo an internal review about their own beliefs, convictions and actions. They must also conduct an external review, looking at the state of the Islamic world, the ummah, starting with the community closest to them...
Friday Khutbahs (Sermons) · 03. April 2020
SUMMARY DESCRIPTION: Dr. Abou El Fadl begins with a reminder that this pandemic, like every hardship, is a challenge and an opportunity to return to God, reflect upon oneself, and to find the place of God within ourselves. God is ever present, whether or not we choose to acknowledge that presence. Every living thing is created with its own form of supplication, its own recognition of the Divine. Human beings possess the distinct ability to choose whether to listen to the Divine or to distract...
Friday Khutbahs (Sermons) · 27. March 2020
SUMMARY DESCRIPTION: Dr. Abou El Fadl returns again to the practice of virtual jumu’as. Recently, a representative of the Association of Muslim Scholars from the Middle East appeared on Al Jazeera channel and issued what amounted to a fatwa (non-binding legal opinion), effectively stating that virtual jumu'as are haram; that it is inconsistent with the laws of Sharia to conduct a virtual jumu’a during the time of the plague in any form. This was right after Stay-At-Home orders from the...
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...
Circles of Learning (Halaqas) · 13. July 2019
FULL VERSION (CORRECTED): Dr. Khaled Abou El Fadl continues his Original Quranic Commentary (Tafsir) on Surah 94 Al Sharh, another one of the short chapters (surahs) that sets the moral foundation of the Islamic message. Although at the time of revelation, the message was directed to the Prophet as the intended recipient, Islamic theologians and jurists have delved into the deeper meanings of the revelation, and if and how its meaning could be understood and directed to Muslims in general. Dr....