From Dr. Abou El Fadl's commentaries on the Qur'an

In this month of Shaban, preceding Ramadan, Dr. Abou El Fadl reminds us of the preparations of the Prophet Muhammad for the month of Ramadan. He discusses the deeper meaning of the word "ibadat," often translated as "worship" but which is much more than just ritual worship. He explains what it means to be in a state of ibadat, which goes much farther and deeper than simply the physical acts, but which encompasses love, knowing the other, knowing the Creator, knowing the truth of oneself: pure unadulterated Truth. It is possible to engage in the physical acts of ibadat but still not achieve the fuller meaning of the word, which is to love God. He elaborates on what it means to be in a state of loving God and the power of existing in the state of reciprocal love with God. He calls on Muslims to fulfill their role as the manifestation of Divine love on this earth--to manifest beauty and justice--in the face of the many abominations of God facing Muslims and humanity in our times. Delivered 19 April 2019 at the Islamic Center of Southern California, Los Angeles. For more, see www.usuli.org and www.searchforbeauty.org.

Dr. Abou El Fadl's Commentaries on the Qur'an.

Dr. Abou El Fadl's Commentaries on the Qur'an halaqas.

Dr. Khaled Abou El Fadl powerfully addresses the evil acts of murder committed against Muslims in New Zealand. He addresses how this history of massacres committed against Muslims have been ongoing since the Bosnian Genocide through today and is grounded in the well-funded Islamophobia industry campaigns of our day. He talks about the impact of racism in acts of terror against Muslims and how similar acts of terror by white extremists are addressed by comparison. He discusses the manifestos of both this New Zealand shooter and Anders Brevik, who wrote a 600+ page manifesto of hate, both drawing deeply from the American Islamophobes such as Daniel Pipes, Robert Spencer and Steven Emerson. Dr. Abou El Fadl read each of these manifestos in full. The insights from these hate tracts were not those of simply deranged human beings, but the dark fruit and lethal consequence of massive, steady investments in the Islamophobia hate industry. He calls on Muslims to step up and do the necessary work to match if not exceed their investment in actively countering the American Islamophobia hate industry. Delivered at the Islamic Center of Southern California, Los Angeles, 15 March 2019. For more learning, see www.usuli.org and www.searchforbeauty.org.

Dr. Khaled Abou El Fadl addresses questions arising from his previous khutbahs regarding how to receive and assess knowledge and develop and trust one's own intuition or native instinct (fitrah) in determining what is authentically Islamic. He elaborates on the example of pure water entering a clean vessel versus a dirty vessel in understanding the impact of a divine message on the soul (vessel) receiving that message. He discusses how to evaluate the moral character of religious authority, be it an imam, faqih, shaykh or other religious teacher. He reminds us that leadership and authority must be judged according to conduct and action rather than words and the willingness to judge others before oneself. He discusses the fundamental building blocks of morality and ethics that God has given every human being. To elaborate by example, he brings all of the above to bear upon the real-life current tragedy of Uighur Muslims being imprisoned and tortured in concentration camps in China and the lack of moral response from global Muslim leadership. Delivered 1 March 2019. For previous khutbahs, visit www.usuli.org and www.searchforbeauty.org.

Dr. Khaled Abou El Fadl reminds Muslims of the "obvious" and forgotten basics of ethics of our faith. He illuminates why Islamophobia has permeated every part of our existence in subtle and unseen ways. He shares why the new Crusades in our day and age are fought with weapons of information, data and knowledge, and how it is incumbent upon Muslims to recognize and appropriately address the challenges facing them in this age. He calls upon Muslims to "clean their own house" first. Delivered 8 March 2019.

In this transformative moment in human history, Dr. Abou El Fadl recounts the ways in the last three decades since the publication of his book, The Authoritative and Authoritarian in Islamic Discourses, that the methodology of justice, beauty and reason he advocated came under attack as a source of "fitnah" (creating discord and dissent). As Muslims, we learned from well known shuyukh that many things like music, art, pictures, relations with non-Muslims and other things identified as "from the West" were haram (forbidden). Suddenly, overnight, the same shaykhs who claimed such "incontrovertible truths" have reversed their positions without any evidentiary basis, nor any reference to Islamic law or jurisprudence. He reminds us that God gave us a religion of fitrah (intuition, innateness and natural instinct), and that messages of Islam from the lands of despotism and hypocrisy in the Middle East have become intolerable. It is time for Muslims in the West to liberate themselves from the Islam coming from the colonized, dominated and subjugated Middle East, and rethink anew what the Islam of justice and beauty should entail as pioneers in our current times. He encourages Muslims to become pious and trust in the intuitive attraction to goodness, justice and beauty that God gave all human beings. Delivered 15 February 2019.

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Islam is the religion of intuition and instinct (fitra) and should appeal to morally sound hearts, and should seem unappealing to evil ones.

5:20 - Remembering the social dynamics 30 years ago when "The Authoritative and Authoritarian in Islam" was released and received negative criticism, because music was called totally haraam, and art, and friendship with non-Muslims, and Muslims were encouraged to resist adopting any of the cultural practices of the west.

11:33 - Remarking on the ways in which the same scholars from 30 years ago who called Dr. El Fadl "westernized" and "liberal" are now totally ok with worse things than he himself would ever be ok with, they changed their opinions overnight without explanation.

17:06 - Remarking on the ways Mecca is being destroyed to appeal to rich westerners, and the ways Islamic laws are being modified to appeal to Islamophobes.

22:31 - Thank God, the hypocrisy and the despotism of these foreign Islams (from places like Egypt and Saudi) is crumbling.

27:43 - Remarking on the hypocrisy of the Pope coming to meet with despotic, evil Muslim leaders who are authorizing and justifying the murder and torturing of innocents.

35:33 - Final dua.

From Dr. Abou El Fadl's halaqas on the Qur'an. This is chapter 1 of surah al-falaq.

From Dr. Abou El Fadl's halaqas on the hijab. Chapter 4 of 4.