Universality and Particularity

Talk - Sheikh Abdal Hakim Murad - Cambridge - 18th June 2012 - 45mins 38secs

Praise be to Allah, Lord of the Worlds!

Qur'an, Al-Fatiha, Verse 1 

Islam is not just a large religion, it is religion at large. "I am sent to all mankind" 

Sheikh Abdal Hakim Murad, Contentions 16:95 

  
As British society agonises over cases of prejudice against ethnic minorities in this supposedly post-racist age the universalising message of Islam is a much welcome one. The Sheikh discusses this message, why classical Islamic civilisations were able to be so diverse.

 One reason may be that the Qur'an, unlike the Bible, is not about the continuity of a people but rather principles. It is not about the drama of a people, not a Judaism of the Arabs. The Islamic story begins with Abraham and Hagar rather than one of his descendents, echoed in the central rites of Hajj. the Prophet Muhammad, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, and the Arabs are of Semitic lineage but also from the gentile Hagar, something that calls on Islam to be a message for the world, not one particular tribe. This is noted in the language of the Qur'an itself: when Arab is mentioned it usually denotes the language rather than the people. Classically in Maliki law an Arab is one who can speak the language well, rather than one who has a certain set of genes. If anything the Qur'an disparages 'it's people', the contemporary Arabs as they were they propagators of the jahiliyya that Islam came to destroy. Thus the Sheikh notes that Abraham is the forefather of a universalism that co-exists with particularism. Most Islamic cities were incredibly heterogenous, yet the set of core practices remained stable and familiar. The sacred law itself is race-blind, and so whilst we have a legitimate claim to belong to the culture of our ancestors, we also know that this matters not to the Heavenly Judge in terms of proximity to Him in this life and the next.

Picture of a courtyard in the Alcazar, Seville. Taken by the CKETC team

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The Hajj Collection

As we received so much positive feedback for our Ramadan Reader, please find below an assortment of resources that centre on the days of the Hajj and the festival of Eid-ul-Adha. 


Talks and Lectures

Hajj: The Inward Spiral - A sermon exploring the deep significance of the Hajj, with its rites echoing in distant pre-eternity when all souls past present and future stood in witnessing before God.

The Purification of Hajj -  A striking khutba discussing the transformative qualities of yearly festival and ritual, moving beyond mere pageantry to times when our selves can be cleansed and elevated.


Sacrifice and Submission - An Eid-ul-Adha khutba drawing the parallel between the sacrifice that Abraham was commanded to make and the ones we have to make when clearing our lives of those obstacles in our lives barring us from the Divine.

Fathers and Sons and Hud and her Sisters - A pair of sermons that both centre on the House of Abraham, which of course feature so strongly and prominently in the origins and the significance of the Hajj.


Articles
 
Ten Good Manners for Hajj - A translation by the Sheikh from Imam Ghazali's magisterial Ihya ulum ad-Din.

From Drury Lane to Makka - A moving account of the first recorded visit English Muslim to the Holy Sanctuary

Hajj: an inward journey - An article published in Emel magazine, exploring the idea that Hajj is a journey on different planes, the effects of which transcend space and even time.

Thought for the Day transcripts

21st January 2005 - Hajj in full swing

Fathers and Sons

Friday sermon (jum'ah khutba) - Sheikh Abdal Hakim Murad - Cambridge - 21st October 2011 - 25mins 54secs

Hagar, that ‘root out of a dry ground’, the most fertile woman in history.

Contentions 1:30, Sheikh Abdal Hakim Murad

In the run up to the pilgrimage of Hajj the Sheikh gave a captivating account of the prophetic destinies of the houses of the sons of Ibrahim, upon them all be peace. Highlighting the difference between the Testament and Qur'anic accounts of how Hajar (Hagar) came to find herself in the barren valley of Mecca, the Sheikh shows how then, as now, truth and righteousness is still to be found with the outcast, or in the Prophet's words, peace be upon him, "with the broken-hearted".

However despite the divergences within the great Abrahamic stream we learn that the Islamic message is one of inclusiveness. The Qur'an is replete with the accounts of the scions of Isaac; Ya'qub (Jacob), Yusuf (Joseph), Musa (Moses), Harun (Aron), Dawud (David) and Isa (Jesus). Later in the khutba, after regaling us with the thrilling account of the discovery of Zamzam, the Sheikh tells us of the fulfillment of this other Abrahamic line, with the arrival of Muhammad, the Chosen One, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him. The universal nature of his mission is resoundingly confirmed with his words "I was sent (as a Messenger) to mankind, in its totality".

Lest our blog-post title intimate to some that the Abrahamic and Muhammadan story is another androcentric saga, the Sheikh dwells during the sermon on the monumental matriarch of our tradition, Hajar. A perfect example of one who would put her reliance solely with God, the Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, would invoke her memory and those like her on the battlefield when he would exclaim:

"I am the son of heroines, and pure women"

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Belief & Conviction

Friday sermon (jum'ah khutba) - Shaykh Abdal Hakim Murad - Cambridge - 22 October 2010

TRANSCRIPTION PENDING

In this sermon, Shaykh Abdal Hakim discusses the nature of iman (belief) and yaqin (conviction, certainty), how they differ from ordinary knowledge and the role of Allah's guidance in producing them. He discusses in particular the story of Ibrahim's youth (may peace be upon him), his search for true knowledge and how Allah guided him to it. Especially nice to reflect on the story of Ibrahim at this time of year when pilgrims from all around the world are gathering at the house he built in honour of the Lord who guided him. May Allah accept all their efforts!

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'Hud and her sisters...'

Friday sermon (jum'ah khutba) by Sheikh Abdal Hakim Murad - Cambridge - 27th February 2009 - 32 mins 31 secs

The Sheikh began with the words of the Prophet (peace be upon him) 'Hud and her sisters have turned my hair grey (shayyabatni)'. This statement of his alludes to the immense gravity of the themes explored in these surahs. On previous occasions the Sheikh has used this hadith to illustrate the terrifying eschatological implications of Surah Hud. He bears these in mind when continuing with the last khutba's theme of 'upsetting the balance'. We are led through the Qur'anic event when the angels visited Ibrahim (upon him be peace) and his wife Sarah - both aged in extremis - with the good news of a child, an episode similar to the Annunciation of Isa b. Maryam (upon them be peace).

Various lessons are teased out from this; the Qur'anic address to Sarah in stark contrast to the androcentric Biblical telling of the episode and the humility and hospitality that Ibrahim showed to his heavenly guests. We are also reminded of his yearning for the same blessings to be bestowed upon the children of Lot as were to be bestowed upon his children Isaac and Ishmael, the great twin streams of prophecy. The Sheikh ends on a topical note - Abraham and his children represent the fertile possibilities of the life that is turned inwardly upwards to heaven. The fate visited on the people of Lot in contrast reminds us of the perils of turning an 'inverted' gaze to ourselves only, an attitude sadly all too prevalent in the present age. This leads to the upsetting of the balance that Hud tries to protect us from.

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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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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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