The Jazz of Islam and Gender Identity Debates, Usuli Institute Khutbah, 14 July 2023
The Usuli Institute
4,709 views
Dr. Khaled Abou El Fadl delivers the Friday khutbah and jumu'a prayer at The Usuli Institute (www.usuli.org). Recorded at The Usuli Institute, 14 July 2023.
Ahmad Jamal's YouTube Channel: @ahmadjamal-officialchannel3918
Check out: The Prophets Pulpit: Commentaries on the State of Islam - Volumes 1 and 2, available now through Amazon and Ingram booksellers worldwide. For more: https://www.usulipress.com/the-prophe... Edited by Dr. Josef Linnhoff, this is a collection of commentaries on the current state of the Muslim world from the symbolic pulpit of the Prophet of Islam.
For Quick Links to previous khutbahs: https://www.usuli.org/khutbahs-1/quic...
Prefer to read the contents of this lecture? The written summary of Khutbahs can be found on our website: https://www.usuli.org/archive-1/frida...
The full list of articles referenced in this Khutbah can be found at http://www.usulinews.org/
To learn more visit our website at www.usuli.org where you can also subscribe to our weekly newsletter and follow us on social media (@UsuliInstitute).
14 Comments
@verucasalt6519 3 years ago
Asalaamualaikum. This needed to be said. Muslims aligning with the Right Wing is such an irony to me. It can’t lead anywhere good despite whatever small battles are won.
@justinb8602 3 years ago
Wow what an amazing talent he was, subhanallah. It is a pity that many of us did not know such a legendary and influential Muslim and missed the opportunity to listen to him live and be inspired by his creative music.
@larabraver 1 year ago
Subhanallah! What a powerful, earnest speech! Jazakumullah khayran kathiran, Sheikh and Team.
@blackoutcity123 3 years ago
Seeing this khutbah was a real source of catharsis for me. The alignment of Muslims with the political right wing in America has been a real source of despair for me. Alhamdulillah never to the extent to shake my faith in Allah SWT, but enough to make me worry on a day to day basis about the ummah. My only point of contention is this one comment sheikh made about how when rights are cracked down on (or rather, when they are cracked down on even more) that it will be Muslims who are victimized first rather than other marginalized groups. I guess with this framing, I am not sure I even disagree with him but I just have this concern that saying Muslims will be vulnerable before say, the LGBTQ+ community creates this odd sense of conflict that I don't want to be there. Especially when sheikh is one of the few Imams I have seen to try and engage with gay identity in a compassionate manner. The reality on a legal and political level is that the same kinds of attacks on gay and trans people and Muslims are being done simultaneously because both groups are seen as threats to the Christian right. Whatever disagreements on the levels of sexual ethics and modesty there are to be had, I think that alignment on the level of shared humanity is important to maintain, given that the Christian right is trying to devalue so many people's humanity at the same time.
@raeshala 3 years ago
May Allah swt bless and sustain your work. This khutbah is thoughtful and pertinent, something this ummah DESPERATELY needs, alhamdulillah.
@bamu8328 3 years ago
Masha Allah.. so very sad and shameful that we forget the struggles of others in their life's journey. While some may disagree with the vocation, he was nonetheless Muslim. None of us are free from sin. And Allah knows best. May Allah ta 'ala forgive all our shortcomings.
@ptpcpf 2 months ago
Into our town the Hangman came,
Smelling of gold and blood and flame.
And he paced our bricks with a diffident air,
And built his frame on the courthouse square.
The scaffold stood by the courthouse side,
Only as wide as the door was wide;
A frame as tall, or little more,
Than the capping sill of the courthouse door.
And we wondered, whenever we had the time,
Who the criminal, what the crime,
That Hangman judged with the yellow twist
Of knotted hemp in his busy fist.
And innocent though we were, with dread,
We passed those eyes of buckshot lead;
Till one cried: "Hangman, who is he
For whom you raise the gallows-tree?"
Then a twinkle grew in the buckshot eye,
And he gave us a riddle instead of reply:
"He who serves me best," said he,
"Shall earn the rope on the gallows-tree."
And he stepped down, and laid his hand
On a man who came from another land.
And we breathed again, for another's grief
At the Hangman's hand was our relief.
And the gallows-frame on the courthouse lawn
By tomorrow's sun would be struck and gone.
So we gave him way, and no one spoke,
Out of respect for his hangman's cloak.
The next day's sun looked mildly down,
On roof and street in our quiet town
And, stark and black in the morning air,
The gallows-tree on the courthouse square.
And the Hangman stood at his usual stand
With the yellow hemp in his busy hand;
With his buckshot eye and his jaw like a pike,
And his air so knowing and businesslike.
And we cried: "Hangman, have you not done,
Yesterday, with the alien one?"
Then we fell silent, and stood amazed:
"Oh, not for him was the gallows raised."
He laughed a laugh as he looked at us:
"Did you think I'd gone to all this fuss
To hang one man? That's a thing I do
To stretch the rope when the rope is new."
Then one cried, "Murderer!" One cried, "Shame!"
And into our midst the Hangman came
To that man's place. "Do you hold," said he,
"With him that was meant for the gallows-tree?"
And he laid his hand on that one's arm,
And we shrank back in quick alarm,
And we gave him way, and no one spoke,
Out of fear of his hangman's cloak.
That night we saw with dread surprise,
The Hangman's scaffold had grown in size.
Fed by the blood beneath the chute
The gallows-tree had taken root;
Now as wide, or a little more,
Than the steps that led to the courthouse door,
As tall as the writing, or nearly as tall,
Halfway up on the courthouse wall.
The third he took — we had all heard tell —
Was a usurer and infidel,
And: "What," said the Hangman, "have you to do,
With the gallows-bound, and he a Jew?"
And we cried out: "Is this one he,
Who has served you well and faithfully?"
The Hangman smiled: "It's a clever scheme
To try the strength of the gallows-beam."
The fourth man's dark, accusing song
Had scratched out comfort hard and long;
And "What concern," he gave us back,
"Have you for the doomed - the doomed and black?"
The fifth. The sixth. And we cried again:
"Hangman, Hangman, is this the man?"
"It's a trick," he said, "that we hangmen know
For easing the trap when the trap springs slow."
And so we ceased, and asked no more,
As the Hangman tallied his bloody score;
And sun by sun, and night by night,
The gallows grew to monstrous height.
The wings of the scaffold opened wide,
Till they covered the square from side to side;
And the monster cross-beam, looking down,
Cast its shadow across the town.
Then through the town the Hangman came
And called in the empty streets my name -
And I looked at the gallows soaring tall
And thought: "There is no one left at all,
For hanging, and so he calls to me
to help pull down the gallows-tree."
And I went out with right good hope
to the Hangman's tree and the Hangman's rope.
He smiled at me as I came down,
To the courthouse square through the silent town,
and supple and stretched in his busy hand,
Was the yellow twist of the hempen strand.
And he whistled his tune as he tried the trap
And it sprang down with a ready snap—
And then with a smile of awful command,
He laid his hand upon my hand.
"You tricked me, Hangman!" I shouted then.
"That your scaffold was built for other men.
And I no henchman of yours," I cried,
"You lied to me, Hangman, foully lied!"
Then a twinkle grew in his buckshot eye:
"Lied to you? Tricked you?" he said,
"Not I. For I answered straight and I told you true:
The scaffold was raised for none but you.
"For who has served me more faithfully
Than you with your coward's hope?" said he,
"And where are the others that might have stood
Side by your side in the common good?"
"Dead," I whispered; and amiably
"Murdered," the Hangman corrected me;
"First the alien, then the Jew...
I did no more than you let me do."
Beneath the beam that blocked the sky,
None had stood so alone as I -
And the Hangman strapped me, and no voice there
Cried "Stay" for me in the empty square.
- Maurice Ogden, 1951
Smelling of gold and blood and flame.
And he paced our bricks with a diffident air,
And built his frame on the courthouse square.
The scaffold stood by the courthouse side,
Only as wide as the door was wide;
A frame as tall, or little more,
Than the capping sill of the courthouse door.
And we wondered, whenever we had the time,
Who the criminal, what the crime,
That Hangman judged with the yellow twist
Of knotted hemp in his busy fist.
And innocent though we were, with dread,
We passed those eyes of buckshot lead;
Till one cried: "Hangman, who is he
For whom you raise the gallows-tree?"
Then a twinkle grew in the buckshot eye,
And he gave us a riddle instead of reply:
"He who serves me best," said he,
"Shall earn the rope on the gallows-tree."
And he stepped down, and laid his hand
On a man who came from another land.
And we breathed again, for another's grief
At the Hangman's hand was our relief.
And the gallows-frame on the courthouse lawn
By tomorrow's sun would be struck and gone.
So we gave him way, and no one spoke,
Out of respect for his hangman's cloak.
The next day's sun looked mildly down,
On roof and street in our quiet town
And, stark and black in the morning air,
The gallows-tree on the courthouse square.
And the Hangman stood at his usual stand
With the yellow hemp in his busy hand;
With his buckshot eye and his jaw like a pike,
And his air so knowing and businesslike.
And we cried: "Hangman, have you not done,
Yesterday, with the alien one?"
Then we fell silent, and stood amazed:
"Oh, not for him was the gallows raised."
He laughed a laugh as he looked at us:
"Did you think I'd gone to all this fuss
To hang one man? That's a thing I do
To stretch the rope when the rope is new."
Then one cried, "Murderer!" One cried, "Shame!"
And into our midst the Hangman came
To that man's place. "Do you hold," said he,
"With him that was meant for the gallows-tree?"
And he laid his hand on that one's arm,
And we shrank back in quick alarm,
And we gave him way, and no one spoke,
Out of fear of his hangman's cloak.
That night we saw with dread surprise,
The Hangman's scaffold had grown in size.
Fed by the blood beneath the chute
The gallows-tree had taken root;
Now as wide, or a little more,
Than the steps that led to the courthouse door,
As tall as the writing, or nearly as tall,
Halfway up on the courthouse wall.
The third he took — we had all heard tell —
Was a usurer and infidel,
And: "What," said the Hangman, "have you to do,
With the gallows-bound, and he a Jew?"
And we cried out: "Is this one he,
Who has served you well and faithfully?"
The Hangman smiled: "It's a clever scheme
To try the strength of the gallows-beam."
The fourth man's dark, accusing song
Had scratched out comfort hard and long;
And "What concern," he gave us back,
"Have you for the doomed - the doomed and black?"
The fifth. The sixth. And we cried again:
"Hangman, Hangman, is this the man?"
"It's a trick," he said, "that we hangmen know
For easing the trap when the trap springs slow."
And so we ceased, and asked no more,
As the Hangman tallied his bloody score;
And sun by sun, and night by night,
The gallows grew to monstrous height.
The wings of the scaffold opened wide,
Till they covered the square from side to side;
And the monster cross-beam, looking down,
Cast its shadow across the town.
Then through the town the Hangman came
And called in the empty streets my name -
And I looked at the gallows soaring tall
And thought: "There is no one left at all,
For hanging, and so he calls to me
to help pull down the gallows-tree."
And I went out with right good hope
to the Hangman's tree and the Hangman's rope.
He smiled at me as I came down,
To the courthouse square through the silent town,
and supple and stretched in his busy hand,
Was the yellow twist of the hempen strand.
And he whistled his tune as he tried the trap
And it sprang down with a ready snap—
And then with a smile of awful command,
He laid his hand upon my hand.
"You tricked me, Hangman!" I shouted then.
"That your scaffold was built for other men.
And I no henchman of yours," I cried,
"You lied to me, Hangman, foully lied!"
Then a twinkle grew in his buckshot eye:
"Lied to you? Tricked you?" he said,
"Not I. For I answered straight and I told you true:
The scaffold was raised for none but you.
"For who has served me more faithfully
Than you with your coward's hope?" said he,
"And where are the others that might have stood
Side by your side in the common good?"
"Dead," I whispered; and amiably
"Murdered," the Hangman corrected me;
"First the alien, then the Jew...
I did no more than you let me do."
Beneath the beam that blocked the sky,
None had stood so alone as I -
And the Hangman strapped me, and no voice there
Cried "Stay" for me in the empty square.
- Maurice Ogden, 1951
@girlyscientific 3 years ago (edited)
A powerful, a just, an inspiring discours Dr. Thank you so much and May Allah help us all learn and evolve our own humanity. We are muslims in a dark dark place of self-hate and the hate of those who are even weaker than us. It so frightning ... But work is necessary ... We have to work.
@loidaj9045 3 years ago (edited)
Dear Sheykh,
Did you see the polemic in France about the abaya ? In France the situation is also very serious... in some highschools the directors begin to say that they will no longer accept women with long and large clothes... even if it is a colorful and beautiful dress... in fact if they see you removing your hijab before entering the school, and that you wear long dress (even H&M dress) you are already condemned because they saw you are muslim so they know that you wear large clothes because of your faith... the situation in France is very serious... imams don't have the right anymore to say that the government is islamophobic...
Did you see the polemic in France about the abaya ? In France the situation is also very serious... in some highschools the directors begin to say that they will no longer accept women with long and large clothes... even if it is a colorful and beautiful dress... in fact if they see you removing your hijab before entering the school, and that you wear long dress (even H&M dress) you are already condemned because they saw you are muslim so they know that you wear large clothes because of your faith... the situation in France is very serious... imams don't have the right anymore to say that the government is islamophobic...
@whyme002-c2v 3 years ago
Btw, dr.
I dont believe that god has any more reasons to choose the Arabs as the chosen race for islam any more than the jews. So olease, put down the arab-centric ideals of nadwa here.
I dont believe that god has any more reasons to choose the Arabs as the chosen race for islam any more than the jews. So olease, put down the arab-centric ideals of nadwa here.
The Jazz of Islam and Gender Identity Debates, Usuli Institute Khutbah, 14 July 2023
The Usuli Institute
4,709 views
Dr. Khaled Abou El Fadl delivers the Friday khutbah and jumu'a prayer at The Usuli Institute (www.usuli.org). Recorded at The Usuli Institute, 14 July 2023.
Ahmad Jamal's YouTube Channel: @ahmadjamal-officialchannel3918
Check out: The Prophets Pulpit: Commentaries on the State of Islam - Volumes 1 and 2, available now through Amazon and Ingram booksellers worldwide. For more: https://www.usulipress.com/the-prophe... Edited by Dr. Josef Linnhoff, this is a collection of commentaries on the current state of the Muslim world from the symbolic pulpit of the Prophet of Islam.
For Quick Links to previous khutbahs: https://www.usuli.org/khutbahs-1/quic...
Prefer to read the contents of this lecture? The written summary of Khutbahs can be found on our website: https://www.usuli.org/archive-1/frida...
The full list of articles referenced in this Khutbah can be found at http://www.usulinews.org/
To learn more visit our website at www.usuli.org where you can also subscribe to our weekly newsletter and follow us on social media (@UsuliInstitute).
Bismillah al-Rahman al-Raheem
[Sermon commences @9:16]
9:40 the recent passing of an influential jazz musician and convert ( https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ahmad_Jamal ) without notice by the Muslims, probably in large part because of...
18:35 ...the myopia of the "music is Haram" brigade.
19:40 the innateness of music in human society.
21:10 music's potential for empowering as well as corrupting...
21:40 ...high volume heavy metal continuously directed at US detainees...
22:32 ...conversely, music's healing effect.
22:55 the falsity of a religion against human nature.
24:55 the juristic debate and critique of particular musical cultural practices; condemnation of the activities of the promiscuous aristocratic elite...
26:20 ...the parallel today fulfilled by raves etc where sex, drugs and lawlessness prevail.
26:55 Ahmad Jamal's alternative - a jazz club serving non-alcoholic beverages.
28:05 the concerning focus on people like Cat Stevens/Yusuf Islam instead of Ahmad Jamal.
29:45 the soul searching required from the people occupying the podia and lecterns for overlooking Ahmad Jamal's contribution.
35:45 the story of Homod Ali Saeidi (87) shot and killed in NYC for being Muslim - the lack of consciousness displayed by Muslims and their institutions in the wake of the murder...
41:55 ...no sense of honour and pride \ نكوى \ Nakwa like the Arabs of the days of ignorance \ Jahiliyya and the early Muslim period...
44:30 ...completely effaced by centuries of despotism and oppression.
46:45 the racist bigotry of a teacher in Canada berating a refusenik Muslim child...
50:35 ...the teacher retaining their position for lack of a communal backlash.
51:58 [second sermon]
53:00 Trump's Islamophobic discourse - promises of a bigger Muslim ban than previously.
55:00 30% of Muslims supporting Trump/the Republican Party because of their aversion to the LGBTQ agenda - despite Trump's xenophobia and Muslim genocidal designs.
59:20 the role of the state - not to be involved in regulating morality.
1:03:30 the first victims of a narrower interpretation of the Equal Protection Clause - Muslims!
1:04:10 empowering racist and Islamophobic policies in the executive etc branch.
1:05:00 the sorry picture of Muslim degradation at the hands of their enemies in today's world.
1:05:54 the Trump administration's whitewashing of the Khashoggi murder - further entrenchment of MBS in power so he can facilitate Israel and continue defiling the Holy sites of Islam.
1:06:35 the ridiculous suggestion of an alliance between Muslims and the right-wing.
1:07:44 the dangers of Islamophobia far outweighing the LGBTQ agenda.
1:08:45 the Emirati funding of Islamophobia in the West to sow fear against Islam/Muslims.
1:10:15 a house divided against itself.
1:10:45 funding just causes whether Muslim or not - serving the rights of others before oneself = true Islam.
1:12:10 the history of the Equal Protection Clause in the US - narrow interpretations leading primarily to the disadvantage of racial, ethnic & religious groups.
1:15:52 [supplication \ Du'a]
Amen