Making the Most of Student Life

Talk by Sheikh Abdal Hakim Murad - Cambridge - 10 Oct 2010 - 10 mins

In this short talk, delivered on the occasion of a welcoming dinner hosted by the Cambridge University Islamic Society for new students, Sheikh Abdal Hakim offers some thoughts on how to make the most of student life. In particular, he highlights the importance of enjoying the extraordinary experience of the alleged clash of civilisations and of figuring out one's own way of establishing his or her identity as both 'Western' and 'Muslim'.

Apologies for the relatively barren run during the summer. InshaAllah, we hope to update the site regularly now with new talks and sermons to benefit us all. JazakAllah for all your patience.

LINK TEMPORARILY REMOVED

Love For Others

TRANSCRIPTION PENDING

All the videos from the Travelling Light webinar are now available online - just in time for Eid! There are beautiful reminders and uplifting lessons from Shaykh Hamza Yusuf, Imam Mohammed Magid, Shaykh Abdal Hakim Murad, Shaykh Muhammad Ninowy and Shaykh Faraz Rabbani.

You can watch all of them on the Cambridge Mosque Is Moving channel on Vimeo, but in the meantime Shaykh Abdal Hakim's video is embedded here. His talk on loving others provides a wonderful message to take away from Ramadan as the hustle and bustle of everyday life reclaims us again.

Sorry for the relative lack of posts over the summer, but we will try our best to bring you more excellent talks very soon. In the meantime, please keep praying for all of us in Cambridge, spread the word about the Cambridge New Mosque Project, and may you all have a blessed and enjoyable Eid.

Ramadan Travelogue

A series of reflections on Ramadan - updated daily!

This Ramadan Shaykh Abdal Hakim will be sharing with us an exclusive Ramadan Travelogue in order to mark the countdown to The Cambridge New Mosque Project Ramadan Appeal. A new installment will be posted everyday at http://www.cambridgemosqueismoving.org.uk/ramadantravelogue.html

As a taster we've included the first of Shaykh Abdal Hakim's offerings below:

Metabolically and internally, Ramadan knocks the stuffing out of us. Like all the basic practices of our religion, it is an idea as simple as it is shattering. The body and spirit respond at their deepest level. The ego squeals with pain. To the extent that we are still babies, we cry and cry.

There are some elemental human experiences where the body, detecting its limits, transforms the spirit. Making love, famously, is one example. But there are others. Once, walking in the Alps, I passed a lake as blue as cobalt, formed from the meltwater of a glacier which towered over it. No-one was in sight, so I stripped off and ran straight in. The shock of that freezing water around me was staggering, and I could feel my heart straining. Coming out, shivering uncontrollably, I felt like a king. All of life seemed to be shivering around me, and the world seemed to have become strangely sharp and bright.

The experience of being born must be similar. From a comfort zone we experience the pain of delivery, and the outrage of new existence in an external world of bright lights and strange sounds. The baby screams, but its pain is its first experience of true life. Spiritually, it has begun its career.

The fast blasts us, and exhausts us. We feel the laughable flab melting away, and start to remember the important fact that we are alive. Life is a symbiosis between our bodies and the world. We are alive when we feel that interaction and dependency at work.

On August 30, 2010 (21st night of Ramadan) join the Cambridge New Mosque Project at http://www.cambridgemosqueismoving.org.uk/fundraising/ramadanappeal.html and Channel S at www.chsuk.tv as they team up for a LIVE APPEAL in support of the first purpose built mosque in Cambridge and the first eco-friendly mosque in Europe (http://www.greenprophet.com/2010/07/eco-mosque-england/). Our goal this Ramadan is simple: One night. One million. In order to reach this we need you! If you have gained benefit from this post then please commit to support The Cambridge New Mosque Project (http://www.cambridgemosqueismoving.org.uk/fundraising/ramadanappeal.html), and please remember us in your prayers.

Ramadan & Charity

Friday sermon (Jum'ah khutba) - Shaykh Abdal Hakim Murad - Cambridge - date unknown - 19 mins 45 secs

TRANSCRIPTION PENDING

In this sermon, Shaykh Abdal Hakim explains the importance of charity during Ramadan. May Allah bless us in this month, and make us grateful for the food we have when millions of people around the world are suffering. May He, Almighty and Exalted, in particular relieve the suffering of the flood victims in Pakistan - please remember the importance of sadaqah and donate to help them.

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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.

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Healthy Hearts, Healthy Communities

Mishkat Media & SeekersGuidance present ‘Healthy Hearts, Healthy Communities: the life and teachings of Imam al-Ghazali in the modern world’, a webinar in aid of Cambridge New Mosque Project.

The exclusive broadcast will feature a special message from Shaykh Hamza Yusuf, a talk and LIVE Q & A with Shaykh Abdal Hakim Murad, and talks by Shaykh Yahya Rhodus and Shaykh Faraz Rabbani.

The webinar will be broadcast inshaAllah on Saturday August 7th at 2pm EST / 8pm BST (7pm GMT).

Places to view the webinar are strictly limited and are by registration only. Registration is FREE but donations for the mosque project are welcome!

Everyone who registers will also receive a discount code for 20% off all Mishkat Media products for a limited time. All profits from Mishkat Media go to the Cambridge New Mosque Project.

REGISTER HERE

Mountains in the Qur'an

Talk by Sheikh Abdal Hakim Murad - Cambridge - May 2010 - 1hr 16 mins 40 secs

TRANSCRIPTION PENDING

In this talk, Sheikh Abdal Hakim discusses the reality of nature as a series of signs or ayat that point toward the relationship of creation and Creator. In the later part of the talk, he focuses particularly on mountains, and their symbolism in the Qur'an and biography of the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him.

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The Ship of Salvation Pt. 3

Talk by Sheikh Abdal Hakim Murad - Hounslow - April 2003 - 50 mins 46 secs

TRANSCRIPTION PENDING

The last part of this talk on the work of Imam al-Ghazali (may Allah be pleased with him) and its relevance today. Apologies again for the delay posting it.

Listen to this talk

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The Science of Wayfaring

Talk by Sheikh Abdal Hakim Murad - Granada - June 2008 - 44 mins 59 secs

In the second of the Heart Surgeon series on Islamic spirituality, Shaykh Abdal Hakim reminds us that Islam is not just a fixed state of being, but a process of becoming. We are all returning to Allah - our aim must be that this is not just by the inevitable process of time, but that it becomes also a spiritual progress, by which Allah brings us ‘out of the shadows and into the light’.

You can download this talk here - all profits to the mosque as always.

The Pursuit of Happiness

Friday sermon (jum'ah khutba) by Sheikh Abdal Hakim Murad - Cambridge - 21st May 2010 - 25 mins 46 secs

TRANSCRIPTION PENDING

In this sermon, the Sheikh explores how the Glorious Names of Al-Qabid (The Constrictor) and Al-Basit (The Expander) reflect states that human beings naturally pass through and how these are spiritual extensions of the concepts of fear (khawf) and hope (rajaa') . The Believer is one in whom these 2 states are in constant balance. Happiness and joy, thus, can only be fully appreciated after one has known fear and sadness and it is Allah (swt) who bestows the sakinah into the hearts of whomsoever He wishes.

Listen to this sermon

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Reconnecting The Heart

Talk by Sheikh Abdal Hakim Murad - Granada - June 2008 - 36 mins 04 secs

Our hearts are often distracted by the artificial and superficial all around us in the modern world. In this talk, Sheikh Abdal Hakim discusses some of the fundamental ayat (signs) of Allah’s creation that He in His Mercy has laid out as a means to revive the heart and purify ourselves from distraction. This talk was given in Rajab two years ago, and among the several themes the sheikh addresses is the importance of the lunar Islamic calendar and the importance of preparing for Ramadan. As we approach Rajab again, his words are a particularly valuable reminder.

This talk is the first of the new Heart Surgeon series, a number of talks on Islamic spirituality given by Sheikh Abdal Hakim, Sheikh Ibrahim Osi-Efa and Sheikh Idris Watts. It is available from the new Mishkat Media site, where you can also download MP3s of the Travelling Light series. As always, all profits go to the Cambridge New Mosque Project.

PS Apologies for the delay on posting Pt. 3 of The Ship of Salvation - we've been a bit busy with the new Travelling Light/Mishkat Media site. InshaAllah it's coming soon, along with several other great talks we have to post.

Travelling Light MP3s & Website

Travelling Light has a new look website with new content too. As well as being able to get Travelling Light lectures in MP3 format for the first time, you can also hear and download more of the beautiful nasheeds from the three series so far.

As most of you may know, Travelling Light aims to spread the timeless wisdom of Imam al-Ghazali's Ihya Ulum al-Din, bringing it alive for today by the teaching of leading scholars. As always, all profits from the project go to help build the new Cambridge mosque.

The site will be regularly updated with more talks and nasheeds inshaAllah, including the exclusive new Heart Surgeon series featuring Shaykh Abdal Hakim Murad, Shaykh Ibrahim Osi-Efa and Shaykh Idris Watts. And of course, news of the next series will be here first.

So check out the site and please, please spread the word! You can join the Facebook group if you are so inclined.

May Allah reward you for each friend you tell who buys or donates for the mosque, or who simply benefits from the blessed work of Imam al-Ghazali or any aspect of the Travelling Light project. Please keep praying for the success of the mosque project!

The Ship of Salvation Pt. 2

Talk by Sheikh Abdal Hakim Murad - Hounslow - April 2003 - 1 hr 12 mins 45 secs

TRANSCRIPTION PENDING

The second of a three-part recording in which Sheikh Abdal Hakim discusses the work of Imam al-Ghazali (may Allah be pleased with him) and its relevance to our situation today.

Thanks to brother Rich this time, who is helping out improving the quality of some of our recordings including this one - jazahu Allah kheir.

Listen to this talk

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The Ship of Salvation Pt. 1

Talk by Sheikh Abdal Hakim Murad - Hounslow - April 2003 - 1 hr 06 mins 06 secs

TRANSCRIPTION PENDING

This is the first of a three-part recording in which Sheikh Abdal Hakim discusses the work of Imam al-Ghazali (may Allah be pleased with him) and its relevance to our situation today. He reflects on the significance of some of the 'deep structures' of Islam, and how it is designed, by Allah's Mercy, to carry humanity safely through the storms of history. The sheikh reminds us that despite the anger and fear that sometimes threatens to overwhelm the Muslim community, we can find reassurance in the divinely-endowed resilience and generosity of Allah's final religion.

This talk was originally given at Hounslow Jamia Masjid at an event called 'Reviving the Ihyaa', organised by the now (I believe) sadly defunct Light Study group. You can see the original video here. To the best of my knowledge, there is a new organisation doing similar work in the same area, called the West London School of Islamic Sciences, about which you may be interested in finding about or to which you might like to donate.

A big thank you to brother Junaid, who sent in this recording, may Allah reward him.

Listen to this talk

Download this talk (MP3, 60.5 MB)

UPDATE - the video for the 'Reviving the Ihyaa' event is actually up here on the WLSIS website and they have some other great resources on their Multimedia page.