Drawing Closer to Allah

Jum'ah khutba - Sheikh Abdal Hakim Murad - Cambridge - 20 November 2015 - 30 mins 28 secs

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In this sermon the Shaykh covers the true meaning of the of the great Hadith Qudsi of Islam named by the ulama as Hadith an-Nawafil. In the Hadith, Allah himself describes to us the divine love and the journey that we must take to draw near to Him. Furthermore, Allah Almighty describes how the journey should progress to result in earning his love. It is an extraordinary blessing that Allah Almighty has given us this opportunity to earn the divine love.  The nawafil (supererogatory) acts of worship, are what really progresses this journey for us, enabling us to make the most of the capacity that has been entrusted to us in this world. This sulook, or spiritual pathway, must be a constant effort to counter the lower desires and make the right choices in life at every moment of our lives. The Shaykh then goes onto describe what it means to be a Wali, the one who Allah truly loves. 

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The Fully Integrated Life

Jum'ah khutba - Sheikh Abdal Hakim Murad - Cambridge - 9 October 2015 - 25 mins 16 secs

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'Allah bears witness that there is no god except He, and the Angels and the ones endowed with knowledge, upright with equity (bear witness). There is no god except He, The Ever-Mighty, The Ever-Wise...' 

(Surah al-Imran, Verse 18)

As the new academic year begins the Shaykh talks about how one should approach the balance needed in life, to put everything where it deserves to be put. How should one manage the different influences and complexity of life as a student. How does one find the right balance between what may seem Deen and what may seem Dunya. The Shaykh explains how we must strive for the fully integrated life and shares some useful tips from the works of Hujjat ul-Islam Imam Al-Ghazali.

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The Singularity of Intention and Will

Jum'ah khutba - Sheikh Abdal Hakim Murad - Cambridge - October 2012 - 27mins 39secs

'Do not push aside those who call upon their Lord morning and night desiring His Face...'

Surah Al-'An`ām, verse 52

The Sheikh begins this khutba with this ayah, which touches on the key Qur'anic concept of irada and niyya, will and intention. A 'key counterbalance to excessive exteriority', these principles are the gateways the Almighty uses to judge our actions in this earthly realm. Famously Imam Bukhari begins his great corpus of Sahih Hadith with the foundational narration starting "actions are by intentions".

Quite often when discussing intentions, the idea of sincerity is mentioned, a translation of ikhlas. Whilst this translation is common, the Sheikh points out that ikhlas can be defined not simply as sincerity but rather as a purification of an entity to its most singular essence. Thus in this context the believer is asked to have a singularity of intention in all his or her affairs.

Judgement is not by ones goods and wealth but with, as the Qur'an says a sound heart, qalbin saleem. As Imam Ghazali notes one can't have singularity of intention without having a sound heart. The uproarious tumult of our desires doesn't settle just because we simply want to have a pure intention. This comes only with the purification of the heart, for as the Qur'an says "truly he succeeds that purifies it".

Photo of the grave of Umm Haram, known as Hala Sultan taken at the Hala Sultan Tekke in Larnaca, Cyprus by the CKETC team.

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'Two Ravenous Wolves'

Friday sermon (jum'ah khutba) - Sheikh Abdal Hakim Murad - Cambridge - 7th October 2011 - 27mins 37secs

"Whomsoever wants of this lower life, We shall give him his fill in this lower life, and in it he will not be disappointed. It is these whose affair in the akhira is the fire; empty is what they used to do, and futile their former acts"

This is the unflinching Qur'anic designation of those who set fire on the earth, who set alight their egos and aspirations. In this first khutba of Cambridge University's Michelmas term the Sheikh describes those who, rather than act as gardeners, stoke the fires of the lower potentialities of the soul. The fires of the love of wealth and status, worryingly enticing to many of us are described by Imam Ghazali as 'rukna ad-dunya', pillars of this corrupt world. The Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, himself put it in his own unique way:

Even two wolves let loose in a flock of sheep would do no more harm more quickly than the love of status and wealth do to the religion of the Muslim believer.

The Sheikh goes on to note that the real crisis of modern humanity is that of status and wealth. In Ghazalian terms these could be described as the acquisitive desires for ownership of 'things' ('Who's on Forbes' list? What kind of car does he have?'), and hearts; the desire for fame. Unfortunately in a reflexive manner we tend to venerate those who have wealth and status, regardless of their qualities. This why Tony Blair can be held as the leader of the Middle East Quartet and head of a Faith Foundation; a Pied Piper leading his entranced faithful to the melody of his own fame.

Fortunately the Sheikh tells us that there is a way to banish these wolves that are baying at our door. Religion snaps us out of the trance. Islam is the sharp tonic that we need but it must be added it does not lead to us to the opposite extreme; only to the middle way. We do have the right to wealth, and a certain status, honour, sharafa. The shari'a grants us the right to property and the right to dignity; the crux of the matter lies in the intention behind what we do, whether we are Princes or paupers. The Sheikh highlights this point by drawing from the example of the Sahaba Abu Dujana, the famous Red Turbaned Samurai-like Warrior of Islam.

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Sincerity & Intention

Friday sermon (jum'ah khutba) by Sheikh Abdal Hakim Murad - Cambridge - date unknown - 22 mins 08 secs

In this sermon, the sheikh discusses the importance of differentiating between appearances and real value, and how to do so. It is true that Muslims are supposed to take care of their appearance and deportment, but as a famous invocation (dua') of the Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) reminds us, our inner character is more important than our outer appearance. The danger is that we can become distracted not just by the apparent nature of others, but - more importantly - by the success of our own reputation and outward deeds. The sheikh reminds us of the fundamental importance of clarifying our own intentions and sincerity to avoid this, mentioning several sound hadith (prophetic sayings) as well as the story of the Bosnian bear.

Sincere apologies from us at cketc for the delay between posts, due in various cases to the upcoming exam season, a thesis deadline and work. We will try to do better, God willing. Your prayers for our success would be very welcome indeed.

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