Unveiling the Qur'an

Friday sermon (jum'ah khutba) by Sheikh Abdal Hakim - Cambridge - date unknown - 26 mins 43 secs

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The Holy Qur'an is in every Muslim home and every mosque, a ubiquitous presence in our lives as a material object. But how many of us can say that it is so present in our hearts, where it serves its true purpose? In this sermon, the sheikh reminds us of the outward and formal courtesies (adab) necessary to approach the Qur'an, and how these relate to the unparalled inner purification and upliftment it can effect. When viewed clearly, it is the most dazzling of God's signs, taking us as directly as it is possible for us to come to knowledge of Him because its content is co-eternal with Him; yet, as the sheikh says, unless we approach it with the proper reverence and love, its meaning and significance may be veiled to us. May God soften all of our hearts to the message of His Divine Book, and protect us from arrogance or hard-heartedness before it.

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Gaza: Sakina Through a Long View of History

Friday sermon (jum'ah khutba) by Sheikh Abdal Hakim Murad - Cambridge - 16 January 2009 - 24 mins 24 secs

In this sermon the sheikh discusses some aspects of the noble history of Gaza, burial place of the great-grandfather of Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) and discusses its current despicable treatment by Israel. He mentions various historical and contemporary factors that may have contributed to events, from upcoming Israeli elections to the Arab Revolt incited by the British during First World War which led to the collapse of the Islamic Caliphate. The sheikh relates our search for meaning and understanding of events to one of Islam's earliest tragedies, the murder of Husayn b. 'Ali (may God be pleased with him) which of course also took place in Muharram as the crimes of Gaza have. During their most trying ordeals the Companions of the Prophet and their successors - by God's Mercy - maintained their faith in Him and their commitment to justice whilst resisting the human impulse for revenge and indiscriminate violence. May God Almighty, Lord of All the Worlds, grant the people of Gaza quick relief from their unspeakable suffering and show the ummah and the whole world the path to true justice for them.

The picture here is of the Great Mosque of Gaza, built as the sheikh mentions on the site of the Eudoxiana church when the people of the city rushed to embrace Islam.

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The Tongue

Friday sermon (jum'ah khutba) by Sheikh Abdal Hakim Murad - Cambridge - date unknown - 20 mins 08 secs

Ours is an age of constant chatter, gossip and debate, often uncomfortable with silence and deep reflection. Yet the Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) warned very strongly about the dangers of thoughtless use of the tongue, a warning emphasised by the Companions and great scholars. In this sermon, the sheikh relates some of the prophetic insights about the nature of the tongue and its relationship with other parts of the body. When we speak untruthfully, for example, we make it easier to commit other sins; we distract ourselves from the possibility of real reflection and remembrance, and raise a barrier to perception of the true situation. The tongue often expresses and reinforces the whims of the ego, with sadly damaging results for ourselves and those around us.

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Selections from Ibn Juzayy's Tasfiyat al-Qulub

Talk by Sheikh Abdal Hakim Murad - Cambridge - date unknown - 1 hr 15 mins 56 secs

Imam Ibn Juzayy al-Kalbi of Granada was one of the last great scholars of al-Andalus, well-known for his works of Quranic commentary and comparative jurisprudence. In this talk, Sheikh Abdal Hakim discusses some selections from Ibn Juzayy's Tasfiyat al-qulub fi 'l-wusul ila hadrat 'allam al-ghuyub ('Refinement of the hearts in the approach to the presence of the Knower of the hidden'). He focuses particularly on the nature of reliance on God (tawakkul), its cultivation by the believer, and its relationship to a deeper understanding of Divine Unity (tawhid).

Sheikh Hamza Yusuf has also recently published a DVD set of lectures on this work by Imam Ibn Juzayy.

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Love & Faith

Friday sermon (jum'ah khutba) by Sheikh Abdal Hakim Murad - Cambridge - date unknown - 25 mins 29 secs

This sermon considers the well-known saying of the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) that no one believes until he loves for his brother what he loves for himself. The sheikh first mentions the variations of this favoured saying of the prophet, and what is meant by 'brother' - a topic also discussed in this sermon. The main part of the sermon then relates to understanding the significance of this apparently stern definition of the requirements of belief, and the relationship between this love and faith. In particular, the sheikh describes how the transformative power of this love (mahabba) for what God has decreed to endow our worship with true significance, as it enters, enlivens and ennobles our hearts.

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Imam al-Ghazali's Revival of the Religious Sciences

A new DVD set of lessons by Sheikh Abdal Hakim Murad covering four books of Imam al-Ghazali's Ihya Ulum al-Din is now available. All profits from the sale of these DVDs will go towards the funds for the new mosque in Cambridge. Find out more and purchase the set here.

Forgetfulness & Remembrance

Friday sermon (jum'ah khutba) - Sheikh Abdal Hakim Murad - Cambridge - date unknown - 24 mins 04 secs

In this sermon, the sheikh discusses forgetfulness (nisyan), an inherent characteristic of mankind. Although forgetfulness is not itself sinful, it is a fundamental test for mankind becase it is the first barrier to the remembrance and worship of God that is our primary purpose as His creation. This remembrance (dhikr) is the direct opposite of forgetfulness or heedlessness (ghafla). All of us have the capacity for this remembrance because we all carry the echo within us of the great day before time when all creation bore witness to God's sovereignty. So although we are tested by Him through our tendency to forget, in His Mercy he constantly calls us and helps us to remember through the signs that surround us. Although the manifestations of our forgetfulness and the degradation that results from it are all around us, there have been and remain countless examples also of heroism, self-sacrifice and other beautiful deeds resulting from those men and women who have perceived the Reality of their condition and striven to return to it: in the words of a poet the sheikh mentions here, 'we were once friends of the angels, so let us return to that place'.

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Sacrifice & Submission

Eid al-Adha khutba by Sheikh Abdal Hakim Murad - Cambridge - Eid al-Adha 1429 (8 December 2008) - 15 minutes 56 seconds (6 minutes 40 seconds - Arabic sermon)

This sermon recollects the extraordinary occasion which the Eid commemorates, when Ibrahim (peace be upon him) obeyed the command of God to sacrifice his son Ismail (peace be upon him); when father and son, united in love and respect for each other, were bound even more deeply in obedience to their Lord. The sheikh relates this powerful symbol of sacrifice to the daily struggle that we all undergo to cut out of our lives what may seem most dear to us, but which actually blocks our path back to God. In His Mercy, God did not bring about Ismail's sacrifice because He has ordained that Mercy for Himself first and foremost. Similarly He has given us a defence against the distractions of the human ego, greed and ugly desires, the sword of the sharia by which we ward off the attacks of Shaytan and our hawa (baseless whims). Ultimately what we sacrifice for Him with that sword is no sacrifice at all, but a victory which brings us closer to Him.

[Apologies for the poor sound quality a short way into the English sermon, the microphone in the hall broke - it does come back after about 30 seconds.]

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Seeing by Allah's Light

Friday sermon (jum'ah khutba) by Sheikh Abdal Hakim Murad - Cambridge - 5 December 2008 - 22 minutes 18 seconds

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In this sermon, the Sheikh discusses the concept of firasat al-mu'min (intuition or insight of the believer), which was mentioned by the Prophet (peace be upon him). From His Mercy, God grants this quality to enable its recipient to perceive the true nature and character of others. Although it is present to certain extent among many people, it increases in relation to faith (iman) such that many scholars and awliya have possessed it to a remarkable degree, and the Prophet himself of course most of all. The Sheikh relates some inspiring examples of this quality, and although not many possess it to such a degree, it is important for all of us because it can help us to spend our time with others who have good intentions and high iman. Since, as the Prophet said, we will be resurrected with our companions, may God grant us all an increase in iman and firasa so that we can seek out good and shun the bad more surely.

The sheikh mentioned that many of the righteous have called those endowed with firasa the 'spies of the hearts' for their ability to perceive what lies within. The following eponymous book was noted by the Sheikh as being a personal account of one American convert's encounters with people of insight: http://www.spyoftheheart.com/

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The Purification of Hajj

Friday sermon (jum'ah khutbah) by Sheikh Abdal Hakim Murad - Cambridge - December 2007 - 17 mins 05 secs

As millions of Muslims from all over the world make their way toward Mecca for the great pilgrimage (hajj), we have the opportunity to reflect of the meanings and power of this ancient and beautiful ritual. In this sermon, the sheikh reminds us of some of these, in particular its fundamental link to the renewal and reaffirmation of Divine Unity (tawhid). By physically striving to reach God's House, we engage in a deep purification, reorienting ourselves and our societies toward Him and stripping them of the spiritual and physical encrustations of materialism and idolatry in all its forms. Many well-attested sayings of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) attest to the immense mercy and forgiveness granted through this process. The means by which they are effected through the outward and inward journey and practices of the pilgrim are mysterious but profoundly powerful. Thanks to the coincidence of calendars this year, we are also approaching another, sadly diminished festival, Christmas - a strange, materialistic way to celebrate a messenger who was among the very highest in his asceticism. The sheikh closes by asking God to preserve the spirit of tawhid and charity, and not to allow it to become similarly diluted by indulgence and materialism. May God also accept the pilgrimage of all our brothers and sisters who have gone on hajj this year, and make it a means to true rebirth and renewal.

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Humility & Serenity

Friday sermon (jum'a khutba) - Sheikh Abdal Hakim Murad - Cambridge - 21 November 2008 - 23 mins 58 secs

In this sermon, the sheikh discusses the importance of khushu', a term difficult to translate but that can be rendered as a humility combined with serenity of heart. It is not manifested byan obsequiousness or self-mortification that causes our shoulders to droop and our gazes to fall to the floor. On the contrary, its outward manifestation is a calmness and dignity with respect to the rest if creation that is granted by the true perception of our relationship of submission only to God. This khushu', God tells us in the Qur'an, is a foundation of prayer, itself the foundation of our relationship with Him. It is an inward state without which the outward acts are at best fragile and at worst meaningless. Although thanks to God the Muslim ummah still preserves most of its outward acts like prayer, can we say as confidently that it still preserves the inward state upon which their true significance rests? Everything else in creation is in natural submission to God. The sheikh reminds us that mankind too has this natural state of 'ubudiyya (submission/veneration) and khushu', and that we also have the capacity to deviate from it. Although many people think that religion demands the negation of human desires, it in fact asks quite the opposite - the fullest realisation of mankind's nature. As it is in the nature of the things of the earth to grow following the rain, so too is it within the nature of our hearts to grow when watered by the Divine Guidance of revelation.

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'And We have honoured Bani Adam'

Friday sermon (jum'ah khutba) - Sheikh Abdal Hakim Murad - Cambridge - 14th November 2008 - 25 mins 37 secs

Whilst humans share many of the strengths and weaknesses of any mortal organism in this world there is the palpable sense that Homo sapiens is set apart from all other creation. In this sermon the sheikh elaborates upon this theme, using striking Qur'anic imagery to illustrate God's special favouring (tafdil) towards humankind. This distinction granted us comes with certain qualifications and responsibilities, amongst them the guarding of the sanctity of life. Medical science is developing at breathtaking speed conjuring up ethical dilemmas unconceived by the great fuqaha of old. Using a topical example, the sheikh holds that we must ultimately give recourse to the fitri inclinations of the human conscience in this meeting of jurisprudence and technological possibility.

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The Neighbour, the Brother

Friday sermon (jum'ah khutba) - Sheikh Abdal Hakim Murad - Cambridge - date unknown - 25 mins 35 secs

Many, many words have been expended on the place of Muslims in Britain and the supposed problem of integration or lack of it. Far more edifying with respect to the subject than any number of Home Office reports or volume of columnists' pontificating is the attitude of the Prophet (peace be upon him) and his companions (may God be pleased with them) toward neighbourliness. In this sermon, the sheikh discusses the very high importance attached by them to being a good neighbour, and how the brotherhood of neighbourliness transcends religious or other categories. He relates this to the migrations of the early Muslims to Abyssinia and Medina, and the importance in both cases of a convivial attitude toward people of a different tribe, culture or religion. Where other social connections are becoming increasingly fractured and strained, the sheikh emphasises the increased importance of relations with the neighbour, something almost everyone will always be and have.

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Resisting Injustice

Jum'ah khutba (Friday sermon) - Sheikh Abdal Hakim Murad - Cambridge - date unknown - 32 mins 38 secs

Although this sermon was delivered some time ago, it makes a thought-provoking companion to the last one posted on the credit crunch. In it the sheikh recites the famous verse of the Qur'an about the necessity of bearing witness to justice, even if it be against oneself or one's family. He goes to to explain the place of this call to justice at the heart of the Divine Revelation. The journey to the next world for the Muslim goes through this one, not around it; the message and example of the Prophet (peace be upon him) was not intended to cause people to reject this world, but to change it for the better in accordance with God's guidance. To act with justice is in itself to bear witness to God's Unity (tawhid) because to internalise and live according to La ilaha illa Allah is the most potent weapon against injustice. The sheikh gives examples from the sira (life of the Prophet) that show this transformative power and how it overturned oppression in the Prophet's time, and encourages us to aspire to achieving some fraction of that transformation in ourselves and in the world around us.

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