Honour Thy Neighbour

Jum'ah khutba - Sheikh Abdal Hakim Murad - Cambridge - 30 October 2015 - 22 mins 24 secs

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'Worship Allah, and do not associate with Him anything, and be good to parents and to kinsmen and orphans and the needy and the close neighbour and the distant neighbour… ' 

(Surah An-Nisa, Verse 36)

The Quran and the Hadith emphasise the importance of honouring our neighbours.  Who are our neighbours and what are their rights.  In this sermon the Shaykh explores this fundamental aspect of our Deen which instructs us on how we should conduct ourselves with those around us regardless of their faith. The right relationships with our neighbours is paramount to the building of cohesive communities and to ultimately earn the pleasure of Allah Almighly.

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Living with Our Selves

Talk by Sheikh Abdal Hakim Murad - 30th November 2010 - Cambridge - 1 hour 30 mins 46 secs

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How can one leave the self behind on the path to Allah when we are the self? This was the central paradox behind the sheikh's latest circle: living with our selves.

Approaching the question through the language left us by today's monoculture makes our task difficult; the word has been so desacralised that it is nigh on impossible. This is not to say that signs are not present. Ironically the depth of modern scientific study has only given us the opportunity to diversify our appreciation of God's signs, from the far reaches of the universe down to the enigmatic workings of the subatomic realm; these ayat all urge us to be what the sheikh calls 'New Cynics', the Rindan of Mevlana Rumi. Akin to the intoxicated joyful ones of old who would laugh at the absurdity of their own selves and the world around them, we need now more than ever to marry the exuberance of youth with a learned cynicism over what the modern world seeks to beguile us with.

This futuwwa has Hadhrat Ali - Shah e Merdan - as its champion, for his sword Zulfiqar with its two points indicated to the inward and outward rectification required of those who would tread the path of Islamic chivalry. That this dual jihad was and indeed is necessary was highlighted by the Sheikh in a chilling passage: al-Hasan al-Basri said that 'this world is a bridge, it is for passing over, not building on'; if you cannot realise this then your thoughts are not your own, and you are as good as dead.

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The Chivalry of Youth

Friday sermon (jum'ah khutba) by Sheikh Abdal Hakim Murad - Cambridge - 23 October 2009 - 23 mins 48 secs

It often seems that our society locates human perfection at a certain age - children and younger people are only becoming it, older people are considered past it. Here Sheikh Abdal Hakim discusses how people of every age have a divinely ordained station appropriate to them, and in particular the characteristics young people can aspire to.

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