Friday Khutbahs (Sermons) · 14. January 2022
Every week, I ask people to send me writings with a view towards what would be appropriate to talk about at jumu’a. The articles that I end up reading in preparation for khutbahs are somewhat like getting a pulse on the ummah and what exists in our day and age. These days, getting to that pulse is often, if not always, a traumatizing endeavor. It is when we feel that sense of trauma that we are reminded of how much the ummah is connected. Imagine Muslims as a single unit, as parts of a single...
Friday Khutbahs (Sermons) · 07. January 2022
There is an interesting story receiving a modest amount of attention in the regular sources of media in the world; but if things were as they should be, this story would receive a great deal of attention. In the European Union, there is a system by which European countries have a revolving system of presidency over the European Union (EU). So, in six month periods, different countries have the opportunity to assume the official role of being the president of the European Union. Currently,...
Friday Khutbahs (Sermons) · 08. May 2020
Dr. Khaled Abou El Fadl tells another fascinating story of the time of the Prophet Muhammad, which demonstrates the strength and social justice orientation of the early Muslims despite horrific persecution. It is a yardstick by which to measure our own spirit and personality. He answers the question of why Islam was revealed to the Arabs as opposed to another group of people. Detailed summary description forthcoming.
Friday Khutbahs (Sermons) · 01. May 2020
God is the source of light and true love. All other forms are but derivative, incidental and temporal, but the love of God and love that comes from God is unbounded, unrestricted and universal. We turn to God who is the source of all goodness. God gave us the month of Ramadan as a way to discipline and teach ourselves to have sovereignty over our willpower. From the minute human beings are born on this earth, they are tempted by dependency – first, dependent on parents; then soon enough, on...
Friday Khutbahs (Sermons) · 24. April 2020
Dr. Abou El Fadl begins by supplicating God, who is like no other: God, the Creator of everything who is outside the logic of the created; the Creator of the physical laws who is not bounded by the physical laws. Our rational senses are premised on the ideas of causation and laws that shape and determine physical reality. The only exception to these laws is God’s self, which is why we say “SubhanAllah,” meaning there is no comparable to Allah. Especially at the beginning of the month of...
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...