Friday Khutbahs (Sermons) · 11. October 2019
Dr. Abou El Fadl reminds that Allah has given us the Shari’ah, a path, a guidance, like a map. So, follow it and do not follow the whims of those who do not know. If you enter into a relationship with the Divine, you will feel the Divine and the Divine will guide you. The unjust are supported by the unjust. The nature of injustice is like an infection. It starts small but grows and extends, and when supported, results in further injustice. It is not just a theological principle; it is a...
Friday Khutbahs (Sermons) · 04. October 2019
Dr. Abou El Fadl reminds us that Allah in the Qur’an gave us Shariah, a path that we are instructed to follow. There are many people who think that Shariah is something as simple as a group of positivistic laws. However, laws that lead to practices are only half the process, because any practice decreed by law must have a purpose. If one is not following these laws with an understanding of why, how it fits in within the Shariah of Allah, then there is a fundamental breakdown. If it was simply...
Friday Khutbahs (Sermons) · 19. July 2019
Dr. Khaled Abou El Fadl begins by reminding us of the meaning, import and implications of the "straight path," al-siratal mustaqim, the phrase that Muslims recite more than any other as they recite the first chapter of the Quran, al-Fatiha, in every prayer and with a multitude of occasions. Despite reciting it frequently, Muslims infrequently reflect upon the depths of meaning the phrase contains. In seeking the divine path of justice, beauty, compassion and mercy, human beings have been given...
Friday Khutbahs (Sermons) · 12. July 2019
Dr. Khaled Abou El Fadl reminds of the tradition of the Prophet Muhammad in which human beings are told not to surrender, rely upon, become pacified, embrace or turn oneself over to the unjust. He reminds us of the weight and seriousness of "the Word" and the moral and ethical obligation upon human beings through their relationship with the Word. He recalls to the tradition that the word is light, the pen is light, the intellect is light and the ink is light--a symbolic construct of the...
Friday Khutbahs (Sermons) · 05. July 2019
Dr. Khaled Abou El Fadl begins by reminding that Islam is a theology of logic and common sense, and describes what it means when God tells us that God is with us, but that there are rules--like the laws of nature, the laws of gravity or the laws of causation--as to what God will and will not bless or partake in when it comes to human actions. He reminds of what actions would cause a severance from the divine. Returning to the foundations of the faith from the time of the Prophet, he reminds...
Friday Khutbahs (Sermons) · 28. June 2019
Dr. Khaled Abou El Fadl begins by reminding us what it means to be called by God to be a witness--to be one who tells the truth--on behalf of God, and the heavy burden of the duty of testifying to the truth, both in terms of being a bearer of good news and also of bringing warning. He speaks of the latest news of Jared Kushner's Deal of the Century to bribe Palestinians with money that comes from Saudi, and the direct analogies to colonialism and the White Man's Burden. He calls upon Muslims in...