The Prophetic Gift of Meaning

Jum'ah khutba - Sheikh Abdal Hakim Murad - Cambridge - 2013 -  21mins 55secs

Say: by the grace of Allah and His mercy, let them rejoice in that, it is better than all that they gather.

Surah Yunus Verse 58

The Sheikh begins this khutba with the verse from Surah Yunus, alluding to the fact that for much of our lives we busy and torment ourselves with the collection of material wealth. This is the source of our agitations and aspirations, but no matter how much we accumulate the heart is left hungry for more of the same, but also for the Divine Other, the only thing that brings nourishment and satisfaction. 

Believer possibly has little in his hand but sees everything that Allah gives him. These are all irreplaceable treasures and jewels. The believer is thus farhan, joyful, because his joy is in Allah's grace and mercy and thus sees everything as a manifestation of His grace. Amongst these joys are are the numberless blessings of this world, those that even if you tried to count them you could not do so. A blessing deeper than these and underpinning them is the ability to connect outward forms to meanings, the ability to make sense of the existence and put ones self in tune with it. Thus the greatest mercy is that of explanation, which brings life to the desert of the heart and satisfies it to the point beyond which music and poetry and all other things can reach.

Of course the perfect embodiment of this wisdom was the Prophet, may the peace and blessings of Allah be upon him. As the narrations say nobody smiled more than him, which is a sign of his understanding. When we follow him outwardly but also inwardly we can share of this ma'na, this meaning of creation. May Allah give us the grace to follow in the Prophet's footsteps, to receive some of his wisdom and understanding and thus heal our broken hearts. 

Photograph taken in the Mosque and resting place of Sidi Ahmad al-Tijani, Fez, by the CKETC team.

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Dua': Mukh al-'ibada

Jum'ah khutba - Sheikh Abdal Hakim Murad - Cambridge - 21st June 2013 - 23 mins 59 secs

Do not work corruption in the earth after it has been made rightly. And pray to Him in fear and in hope. Truly Allah's mercy is close to those who show excellence.

Surah al-A'raf verse 56

The Sheikh begins his khutba with the above verse, linking three great phrases together. At the heart of them is this exhortation to supplicate to Him, to make dua', in order to follow the path of the Prophets and feel His closeness. The form of the verb in Arabic indicates that this is a command to make dua', raising the question 'can we operate in our religion without dua'?' As the Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him said 'Dua is the marrow of worship'. Thus acts of worship and prayer are mere shells without dua', this mukh that the Prophet speaks of.

The great ones of this community have said that we need to have knowledge of God when calling upon Him. When asked why our prayers are not answered, Imam Ja'far as-Sadiq (may God be pleased with him) said it was because 'you are praying to the One whom you do not know'. To the extent we know Him we can genuinely engage our hearts in prayer, and this knowledge comes from acknowledging and knowing His Oneness and His names.

The Sheikh ends by discussing the intriguing idea that making dua' is an integral part of our spiritual and mental wellbeing. By beseeching God day and night as the Prophet and his followers did entails acknowledging our helplessness, poverty and brokenness before Him. It has been said that 'the best prayer is the one that has been aroused by sadnesses', and thus in contrast to the secular world view sadnesses can be seen as a catalyst for spiritual growth. Indeed the inner dialogue between man and God when done properly can replace and surpass much of the work many people see counsellors for in this day and age when the connection to the Almighty has sadly been lost. May He restore this connection between us and Him, make our hearts present in what our tongues utter and give us satisfaction with His decree.

Photograph taken in an alley adjacent to the Qarawiyyin Mosque, Fez by the CKETC team.

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Beauty and the Sunna

Jum'ah khutba - Sheikh Abdal Hakim Murad - Cambridge - 30th November 2012 - 14 mins 56secs

'Shall the reward of doing what is beautiful be other than doing what is beautiful?' 

-Surah Ar-Rahman verse 60

In this khutba covering the topic of beauty, the Sheikh begins by noting that the connection linking us to Transcendent is the receptive affirmation of what is beautiful and indicates the Supernatural. To the extent that the sense of beauty, truth and order rules in our hearts, that is how in touch we are with reality. This apprehension is available to any person, no matter how young or unlettered they are. 

Indeed the Sheikh notes that the life of the Prophet was a life lived intensely, passionately and lyrically in response to what is beautiful. As human beings we have two ways to respond to beauty; to turn inwards towards individualism, or outwards from our selves, to engage with the Ultimate. We are between tendency upwards, and the tendency down. Ugliness is always due to the engagement with the nafs, the downward. The arrival of the Prophet on the other hand affirms the universal other, not just of Arabs but of human beings as brothers everywhere. Earlier prophets were sent only to their people, but he was sent to all mankind. This is why his way is a path of beauty, and why the deen was able to spread and flourish so magnificently in the following centuries. 

The Sheikh closes by telling us that the heart craves beauty. The Sharia makes outward judgements, and so inwardly does the soul. We are asked to live our lives making these soulful judgements, to follow those who act beautifully, and surround ourselves with those beautiful things that bring our hearts peace, for as the Qur'an says

'Verily in the remembrance of Allah do the hearts find rest!'

 -Surah Ar-Ra'd verse 28

Calligraphy reading 'He uncovered the darkness by his beauty' from the poem about the Prophet by Shaikh Sa'di, mosque, Istanbul. Taken by the CKETC team.

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Halal Monk

CKETC was recently passed on a link to a developing online resource named 'Halal Monk', which in its own words "has two aims: to be a concrete project of sincere interreligious dialogue and to seek for ways out of the cultural and religious impasse our world seems to be creating". Part of the website includes conversations with various Muslims figures from around the world. These include the transcripts of an interview with Sheikh Abdal Hakim, three of which can be found here:

More interviews will be added as the website develops. 

Hijra, Brotherhood and Nobility

Jum'ah khutba - Sheikh Abdal Hakim Murad - Cambridge - 23rd November 2012 - 15 mins 37secs

They prefer others to themselves, though theirs be the greater need. And whoever is protected from the avariciousness of his own self; it is they who are successful. 

- Surah Al Hashr verse 9

The Islamic hijri calendar starts with the event that it takes its name from. The Sheikh touches upon some of the reasons why the Hijra, or emigration of Muslims from Mecca to Medina during the time of the Prophet, may Allah's peaces and blessings be upon him, has left such an indelible mark upon the collective Muslim consciousness. 

Hijra is to do with human bonding, the ability of ideas, faith and love to ascend about tribal loyalties. The movement of the Muhajirun, Emigrants to Medina was the beginning of the one of the most remarkable social experiments in history. The Ansar, literally 'Helpers', who had only years before been embroiled in bitter internecine conflicts welcomed these strangers with love, generosity and nobility, giving them half of their houses, lands, fields and possessions. As the Sheikh mentioned this was only possible by the New Moon of Muhammad and the message that he brought. 

Imam al-Qushayri says of the verse above that the believers preferred others as they were detached from material things of this world. Their hostility had been replaced by a powerful belief through the process of tajrid, the stripping away of avarice leaving one free from ones self. True nobility is being free not to do just as we would please but rather being able to control one's lower impulses. This is why the Ansar were truly noble and free, for real nobility is more likely to come from giving than taking, from sacrifice; not from welcoming the sacrifices of others. 

Photo of Sultanahmet Mosque, Istanbul taken on Laylat-ul-Isra' wa Mi'raj by the CKETC team

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The most beautiful of stories

Jum'ah khutba - Sheikh Abdal Hakim Murad - Cambridge - 2nd November 2012 - 35mins 01secs

"We shall recite unto you the most beautiful of stories in that of which We have revealed in this Qur'an, something of which you were hitherto of those that who do not know"

 Surah Yusuf verse 3

The Sheikh begins the khutba with the above verse from Surah Yusuf. One of the reasons why the Qur'an refers to this as the 'greatest story' is that it is so fecund in terms of messages and meanings for us to reflect on. Not for the first time, the Sheikh focuses on the Surah, this time looking at its take on the states of consciousness and dreams.

Throughout the khutba the Sheikh looks at the various dreams within the Surah: the stars and moon bowing to Yusuf (upon him be peace), the dreams of the two men who share a prison cell with the prophet and Pharoah's dreams of seven fat and seven lean cows. Other episodes in the Surah such as the encounter of the brothers with Jacob (upon him be peace) and Yusuf with the Master's wife are also touched upon. Whilst looking at the individual lessons to be learned the Sheikh notes that the common element linking them all together is the idea that there is are alternative higher realities in existence beyond what is empirical.

The Sheikh in his inimitable style then goes on to explore the higher vistas of consciousness visited by the purified soul in an exposition covering amongst other things love, beauty, time and astrophysics.

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Photograph above taken in the Selimiye Mosque, Edirne, by the CKETC team