The People of Harmony

Jum'ah khutba - Sheikh Abdal Hakim Murad - Cambridge - 11 March 2016 - 21 mins 26 secs

'And keep yourself patient [by being] with those who call upon their Lord in the morning and the evening, seeking His countenance. And let not your eyes pass beyond them, desiring adornments of the worldly life, and do not obey one whose heart We have made heedless of Our remembrance and who follows his desire and whose affair is ever [in] neglect.' 

(Surah Al-Kahf, Verse 28)

In this sermon the Shaykh talks about the qualities of the people who desire only to please the Almighty. The Shaykh mentions the ‘wool wearers’ amongst the sahaba (ra) who were the best examples of those who submitted fully to Allah. He goes on to mention how the modern material world gives us a delusional notion of status, pushing us to fantasise about being with those who have nothing to offer our spiritual soul, seeking for role models amongst celebrities and the elite of society; thus going directly against the prophetic tradition of seeking the company of the people who are in remembrance of their Lord.   

Listen to this talk

Download this talk (MP3, 19.6MB)

The Seven Dragons

Jum'ah khutba - Sheikh Abdal Hakim Murad - Cambridge - 12 Feb 2016 - 24 mins 15 secs

TRANSCRIPTION PENDING

'And those who strive for Us - We will surely guide them to Our ways. And indeed, Allah is with the doers of good. ' 

(Surah Al-'Ankabut, Verse 69)

The Shaykh describes the seven deadly vices that can destroy the inner soul and which inhibit happiness. He describes the the importance of the inward struggle that is paramount to overcome these vices. Taking lessons from the great story of Surah Yusuf which lays out the method that one must embrace to earn the help of the Almighty against all the vices.  

Listen to this talk

Download this talk (MP3, 22.2MB)

The Fully Integrated Life

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

TRANSCRIPTION PENDING

'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.

Listen to this talk

Download this talk (MP3, 23.1MB)

Consciousness Beyond Mindfulness

Jum'ah khutba - Sheikh Abdal Hakim Murad - Cambridge - 30 January 2015 - 22 mins 49 secs

TRANSCRIPTION PENDING

' O you who have believed, fear Allah. And let every soul look to what it has put forth for tomorrow...' 

(Surah al-Hashr, Verse 18)

The Shaykh talks about the importance of attentiveness and self-awareness. He describes the journey to full consciousness through a process of self accusation. How does the soul ascend beyond the mere mindfulness that has become popular in contemporary secular meditation; to achieve real awareness encompassing the moral dimension, the awareness which underpins sincere Tawbah.

Listen to this talk

Download this talk (MP3, 20.8MB)

Thankfulness to The Bestower

Jum'ah khutba - Sheikh Abdal Hakim Murad - Cambridge - 7 November 2014 - 20 mins 52 secs

TRANSCRIPTION PENDING

Allah has given the poor human blessings beyond his power to imagine, yet he finds comfort in ingratitude. Belief is thankfulness (shukr) to the Bestower. The Holy Prophet prayed at night not to atone for some sin, but simply out of a thankfulness so powerful that his tears flowed. Allah’s universe is fine-tuned to support matter and life; we live in the midst of extreme improbability. ‘But few of My servants give thanks.’

Listen to this talk

Download this talk (MP3, 19.1MB)

Download Partial Transcript (docx, 110kb)

Come Dine with Me

Talk - Sheikh Abdal Hakim Murad - London - 10th May 2011 -  50mins 45secs

You were a prized falcon, trapped by an old woman.

Then you heard the Drummer's call,

and flew beyond space and time...

Mevlana Jalaluddin Rumi (may God be pleased with him)

Earlier this year Sheikh Abdal Hakim gave an address at an event hosted by Ulfa Aid. He began by outlining the homogenous monoculture bequeathed to us by globalisation, with its lack of family values but perhaps more importantly lack of a belief in the unseen, the magical. This age that we find ourselves in is not modern or post-modern but rather "post-everything"; an age in which the sarcastic quip and the cynical put-down is king. 

Despite this the Sheikh reminds us that within all humans is a capacity for wide-eyed amazement that cannot be entirely blunted. As a respected astrophysicist would have it, 'the strangest thing in existence is that existence itself can be perceived', and answers to the inevitable questions that arise can be found within Islam's cosmological narrative. In this age the truth is posited precisely where the power structures of the day would say it is not; God is not to be found with the well-fed investment bankers but with the seemingly impoverished taxi drivers that drive them around. These are the inheritors to the Ishmaelite tradition, for God is with the outcast, the downtrodden, the despised.

As Mevlana Rumi notes our task in this life is to respond to the calling of the drum. Humanity is not inherently sinful; rather we have forgotten our origins and the incessant beating of the drum led by the Prophets urges us to waken from our slumber, for as Mevlana says 'an-nawmu 'ala-l-ashiqi haram': 'sleep for the lovers is forbidden'. At its start this path can seem exacting. However this is a small effort to be made for us to become falcons, spread our wings and fly to that Court that lies 'beyond space and time'.

Talk published with kind permission of Ulfa Aid. Please visit the Ulfa Aid website, we can't recommend highly enough the work that they have been doing for countless around the world, may Allah bless their efforts and accept it from them.  They will be holding a 'Night Walk' along Southbank, London on 29th October to raise money for victims of the recent Japan earthquake, some more details to be found here. Another exciting development is the opening of the Ulfa Aid shop in Willesden Green next week. Called 'Rumi's Cave' it will be a versatile space that will - insha-Allah - be used as a cafe, antique shop, exhibition area and community centre. Please check the website and mailing list for more details.

Listen to this talk

Download this talk (46.2MB, MP3)

Listen to the Q and A

Download the Q and A (25.1MB, MP3)

Photograph and videos taken from the Ulfa Aid website, 'Come Dine with Me' event.

 

Come Dine With Me - Abdul Hakim Murad ( Timothy Winter ) from Ulfa Aid on Vimeo.

Come Dine With Me - Abdul Hakim Murad ( Timothy Winter ) Q&A from Ulfa Aid on Vimeo.

Preparing for Ramadan

Talk by Sheikh Abdal Hakim Murad - Cambridge - 1 Aug 2010 - 36 mins 48 secs

TRANSCRIPTION PENDING

In this talk, Sheikh Abdal Hakim discusses how to prepare one's body, mind and soul to reap the most benefit from the holy month of Ramadan. He expands on the concept of taqwa and goes on to explain how this enables one to understand the wisdom behind the Divine Commandment of fasting.

Listen to this talk

Download this talk

Eid al-Fitr

Eid al-Fitr khutba by Sheikh Abdal Hakim Murad - Cambridge - Eid al-Fitr 1427 (23 October 2006) - 27 mins 05 secs

Eid Mubarak to one and all. May God accept the fast and good deeds of all the Muslims during the past blessed month. No prizes for guessing the topic of the sermon in this post . . .

The sheikh mentions the hoped-for fruit of fasting: increased taqwa (God-consciousness), an awareness of our own fragility, dependence on God and need for guidance. Forcing ourselves to abstain from many of His Blessings helps us to appreciate them; but by a merciful paradox, it increases us in the one blessing that truly matters, which is iman (faith). Eid is above all a day of gratitude. Many who saw the last were taken back to God before the next; so we enjoy God's blessings freely again but also reflect on how they remind us about the essence of our existence. The message of the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) was rooted in this essence; and his own understanding and embodiment of it brought the fundamental sakina (inner peace) that radiated in his face and smile. The sheikh therefore describes Eid as at once a serious day but also one that encourages the inner peace upon which true happiness and celebration are founded.

Listen to this sermon

Download this sermon (MP3, 24.7 KB)

Fasting

Jum'ah khutba (Friday sermon) by Sheikh Abdal Hakim Murad - Cambridge - 13th October 2005 - 18 mins 50 secs

TRANSCRIPTION PENDING

With Ramadan swiftly approaching, it seemed appropriate to post this sermon on fasting. The sheikh reflects on the antiquity and ubiquity of fasting, which - in one form or another - has been and remains common to very many cultures and religions. But he reminds us that it is useless without the ethical core that directs toward a genuine change of one's inward state. Hunger is not just a reminder of solidarity with the less fortunate, but a good in itself in that it promotes an ongoing awareness of our dependence on God and His knowledge of all our actions. This, the sheikh explains, is why fasting is explicitly described in the Qu'ran as a means to attain taqwa (God-consciousness or awareness of God).

Listen to this sermon

Download this sermon (MP3, 17.2 MB)