Friday Khutbahs (Sermons) · 12. August 2022
In essence, the sum total of our journey on this earth, of this miraculous event that gives us consciousness - and we enjoy this consciousness for a period of time until it slips away - the truth of the matter is, with all the speculation and all the attempts at insight and perception, what awaits us after this consciousness slips away is only truly known to God and God alone. After this consciousness slips away, is it a state of sleep until resurrection? Do we acquire some level of...
Friday Khutbahs (Sermons) · 05. August 2022
A reflective, Qur’anic human being is a human being that handles life on earth as God repeatedly reminds us to. When God asks us to engage in ta’aqqul (to reason), tafakkur (to ponder/reflect), and tadhakkur (to remember, literally: to do dhikr), it is, in essence, a constant reminder of the reflective life. That you are not simply like so much that is led by instinct and engineered by habit; you are not simply a phenomenon, something that manifests on this earth to enjoy a momentary burst...
Friday Khutbahs (Sermons) · 15. July 2022
This jumu’a, there are a considerable number of events and issues that are transpiring, all of direct concern for Muslims that we could speak about. But as with all affairs, we reflect upon the challenges that the world presents us with in light of the foundations that the divine revelation has left us with. There is, or at least there should be, a constant conversation in the mind of a believing, faithful Muslim between the lived experiences in the world and the wisdom imparted through...
Friday Khutbahs (Sermons) · 08. July 2022
We are approaching the days of Eid. The Eid known as the Eid-al Akbar, the bigger Eid. Of course, it is the Eid at the end of the pilgrimage period where Muslims are supposed to think and act in a way that goes beyond themselves and to take care of others. The whole point of Eid al-Adha, the Eid of sacrifice, is that we do not simply celebrate by taking care of our family or worrying about the happiness of our family, but we go beyond ourselves and make it a point to take care of those who are...
Friday Khutbahs (Sermons) · 01. July 2022
I start the khutbah by just noting that today is the beginning of the month of Dhul Hijjah. Dhul Hijjah is the 12th month of the year in the Islamic calendar, and so after Dhul Hijjah, we begin a new year in the Islamic calendar. And at the end of the first 10 days of Dhul Hijjah, begins Al Eid al Akbar or Al Eid al Adha. These are the first 10 days of Dhul Hijjah, in which hajj is wrapping up; because on the ninth day of Dhul Hijjah is the Wuquf al-Arafah, and then the 10th day is the...
Friday Khutbahs (Sermons) · 24. June 2022
How easy it is for people to exist in moral confusion. Moral confusion often exists not so much because of incorrect thinking, but because we do not see what is right in front of us, presenting itself before our eyes; the human ability to distract itself so that it does not see the most obvious of points, the most clear of signs, and the most apparent of messages. Our entire age of consumption and commercialization, which is structured upon some trenchant, immoral truth that stares us in the...
Friday Khutbahs (Sermons) · 17. June 2022
Today, I want to reflect upon the calculus of a moral decision. This calculus includes some basic existential questions that would lead any human being who is even moderately reflective to ponder consciousness itself. The consciousness that you and I are gifted with, for the time period that we are gifted and entrusted with it - that consciousness that starts at one point and ends at another point in this world - is placed within a time span. It is a time span that, I submit to you, is...
Friday Khutbahs (Sermons) · 10. June 2022
Of the many narratives and discourses of the Qur'an that one repeatedly revisits – pondering, reflecting, analyzing in light of what we experience as human beings in life, is of course, the parable of light in Surah An-Nur, the chapter titled, “Light” in the Qur'an. If you will recall, we are told in Surah An-Nur that Allah is the light of the heavens and Earth. “God is the light of the heavens and Earth. The parable of God's light is that of a niche containing a lamp.” The niche is...
Friday Khutbahs (Sermons) · 03. June 2022
At what point can this Ummah sufficiently get its act together to warrant God's aid and support so that we can turn a page in history? So that the conscientious Muslim, the Muslim with a living, active, energetic conscience does not feel the alienation and the isolation that such a Muslim would necessarily feel these days. At what point do we wake from our slumber so that we are not at the pit of humanity? Muslims, whether we like it or not, collectively represent the demonstrative proof of...
Friday Khutbahs (Sermons) · 27. May 2022
Al-wa‘ith, the Arabic word for someone who conveys ‘itha. ‘Itha is advice, wisdom, a lesson. So many challenges, if you assume the position of this most of challenging words, al-wa‘ith. Al-wai’th is not a teacher, because there is another word for a teacher: mudarris or mu‘allim. But this particular word of al-wa‘ith is someone who imparts to others what are supposed to be lessons of wisdom. How do you even assume that role when in your heart of hearts, you know that there are...