Commentary on the Song of Abu Madyan, by SHAYKH DR ABDALQADIR AS-SUFI

The pleasure of life is only in the company of the fuqara. They are the sultans, the masters, the princes.

There is no higher company. As they are the least of men and make no claims, they are the elite and the two worlds are their property. With them is the Maqam al-Mahmud, for the Messenger, blessings and peace of Allah be upon him, has said, ‘Look for me among the poor, for I was only sent among you because of them,’ and ‘Poverty is all my glory,’ and “Allah loves the poor.”

Therefore keep their company and have adab in their assemblies. Leave your portion behind you whenever they send you forward.

Keep their company – in this is half the science of knowledge. Our knowledge is not informational, it is transmitted. The company of the fuqara is like a developing fluid in which the murid is soaked, until by its properties, the self emerges and is recognised. As we see later in the poem, the imprinting of the image is due to being exposed to the light of the Shaykh.

Spiritual courtesy has three levels:

Khutba for Eid al-Adha 2025

 PART 1

 

الله أكبر الله أكبر الله أكبر  لا إله إلا الله   الله أكبر الله أكبر  ولله الحمد الله اكبر كبيرا،  والحمد لله كثيرا، وسبحان الله بكرةً وأصيلا

إِنَّ الْحَمْدَ لِلَّهِ ,نَحْمَدُهُ وَنَسْتَعِينُهُ ونستغفره ونومنه ونتوكل عليه ,ونعوذ بالله من شرور أنفسنا ,ومن سيئات أعمالنا ,مَنْ يَهْدِهِ اللَّهُ فَلَا مُضِلَّ لَهُ ,وَمَنْ يُضْلِلْ فَلَا هَادِيَ لَهُ ,وَأَشْهَدُ أَنْ لَا إِلَهَ إِلَّا اللَّهُ وَحْدَهُ لَا شَرِيكَ لَهُ , وَأَشْهَدُ وَأَنَّ سيدنا وحبيبنا ومولانا مُحَمَّدًا عَبْدُهُ وَرَسُولُه ﷺ

عما بعد

فقال الله تعلى في كتابه العزيز

بعد أعوذ بالله من الشيطان الرجيم

یَـٰۤأَیُّهَا ٱلَّذِینَ ءَامَنُوا۟ ٱتَّقُوا۟ ٱللَّهَ حَقَّ تُقَاتِهِۦ وَلَا تَمُوتُنَّ إِلَّا وَأَنتُم مُّسۡلِمُونَ

Allah says in His Mighty Book:

You who believe, have taqwa of Allah with the taqwa due to Him and do not die except as Muslims.

We thank Allah for having caused us to reach the blessed day of Eid al-Adha. We gather here on this rare occasion that the Muslim community is unified in celebrating Eid on the same day. Contrary to popular belief, the fact that the local Muslim community, and indeed the worldwide Muslim Umma, are so often unable to be unified is not the result of having different views about the Deen, or even tribal or national affiliation. On the contrary, it is a matter of record that the earliest Muslims, the Companions, may Allah be pleased with them, would often have differing views and many of the tribal structures that existed before the revelation was sent down remained in place even after the Muslims had been bonded together in brotherhood. What unified them was something much deeper than that; it was their Iman in and their deep love for Allah and for His Messenger ﷺ. It was this powerful dynamic that enabled them to transcend tribal affiliations, affiliations which had caused some of the tribes of the Hijaz to be at war for hundreds of years. These deep divisions were swept aside by Allah, through this Iman and this love for the Allah and His Messenger, ﷺ. Allah says speaking to the Prophet ﷺ:

Khutba Eid al Fitr 2025 by Yusuf Rowland

Part 1

 

الله أكبر الله أكبر الله أكبر         لا إله إلا الله        الله أكبر الله أكبر    ولله الحمد

الله اكبر كبيرا،  والحمد لله كثيرا، وسبحان الله بكرةً وأصيلا

إِنَّ الْحَمْدَ لِلَّهِ ,نَحْمَدُهُ وَنَسْتَعِينُهُ ونستغفره ونومنه ونتوكل عليه ,ونعوذ بالله من شرور أنفسنا ,ومن سيئات أعمالنا ,مَنْ يَهْدِهِ اللَّهُ فَلَا مُضِلَّ لَهُ ,وَمَنْ يُضْلِلْ فَلَا هَادِيَ لَهُ ,وَأَشْهَدُ أَنْ لَا إِلَهَ إِلَّا اللَّهُ وَحْدَهُ لَا شَرِيكَ لَهُ , وَأَشْهَدُ وَأَنَّ سيدنا وحبيبنا ومولانا مُحَمَّدًا عَبْدُهُ وَرَسُولُه ﷺ

ٱلۡحَمۡدُ لِلَّهِ ٱلَّذِی هَدَىٰنَا لِهَـٰذَا وَمَا كُنَّا لِنَهۡتَدِیَ لَوۡلَاۤ أَنۡ هَدَىٰنَا ٱللَّهُۖ لَقَدۡ جَاۤءَتۡ رُسُلُ رَبِّنَا بِٱلۡحَقِّۖ

اللهم لك الحمد اللهم لك الحمد اللهم لك الحمد – ربنا تقبل منا الصلاة والصيام واحشرنا في زمرة خير الانام

عما بعد

فقال الله تعلى في كتابه العزيز

بعد أعوذ بالله من الشيطان الرجيم

 

یَـٰۤأَیُّهَا ٱلَّذِینَ ءَامَنُوا۟ ٱتَّقُوا۟ ٱللَّهَ حَقَّ تُقَاتِهِۦ وَلَا تَمُوتُنَّ إِلَّا وَأَنتُم مُّسۡلِمُونَ

Allah says in His Generous Book:

You who believe, have taqwa of Allah with the taqwa due to Him and do not die except as Muslims.

 

Alhamdulillah for the gift of Islam, which is the door to eternal bliss. Alhamdulillah that He sent us the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ the Final Messenger, who is the most blessed of all means. Without him, we would have remained in the darkness of ignorance and we would never have been guided. Alhamdulillah that Allah has chosen us to be among those to whom He gave a heart that has heard and answered the call of His Messengers.

DEMOCRATIC TYRANNY AND THE ISLAMIC PARADIGM: Preface to the French Edition by Hajja Aisha Bewley

[Democratic Tyranny and the Islamic Paradigm, along with many of Hajja Aisha's works are available at diwanpress.com]

    Having been requested to compose a short preface to this French translation of the text, I realised that it gave me an opportunity to address the current state of politics and the rather dire situation in which democracy now finds itself. We are living in a time of upheaval, a time of inflection, after which things could go in a number of directions, some extremely unpalatable. Democracy does now strikingly appear to be in retreat, a fact recognised even by those at the top of politics. The current American Vice-President, J.D. Vance, stated categorically in an interview that the current order will meet its ‘inevitable collapse’. Peter Thiel, the billionaire venture capitalist and political activist, has said that he does not believe that liberty and democracy are compatible. The list of critics of democracy today goes on and on. A large number of people have finally realised that democracy as practised leads to a tyranny controlled by an oligarchy. Its critics are growing. Its stalwart defendants tend to be part of what Curtis Yarvin has termed ‘the Cathedral’ – the interconnected bureaucratic network of academics, media elites and government bureaucrats who set the bounds of acceptable opinion and police it. The bureaucratic element of this situation is sometimes referred to as ‘the Deep State’, the Swamp, or the Blob. The natural response to this is expressed in the desire to dismantle this edifice or to ‘drain the swamp’. Then the question arises: what political structure should then replace ‘democracy’?

 

THE SEARCH FOR IDENTITY by Hajja Aisha Bewley

This is the transcript of a talk given in Leeds in 17th May 2016

Every day the topic of issues of identity are mentioned as being the root of many problems in society. And it is absolutely true and it is not a new problem. Every generation looks at changes in society and says the same thing. But in modern times, these problems are accelerated and intensified due to the pace of change and the constant feedback through media, and particularly social media. The focus is intensified. Political identity, cultural identity, and now even gender identity, which is most likely a symptom of the intensification of the general crisis in identity. 

The Essential Difference between Zionism and Judaism by Shaykh Abdalhaqq Bewley

I am writing this to elucidate something that I believe to be generally recognised but that I have not seen clearly articulated elsewhere. It concerns the use of the term “antisemitism”. The adjective “antisemitic” has long ceased to have anything to do with semitic ethnicity and has come exclusively, in its present usage, to mean anti-Jewish. By definition an antisemite is now a person who is against Jews. However, it is an accusation that has, for instance, recently been levelled at many people participating in demonstrations against the present Israeli bombardment of Gaza. Yet the truth is that the demonstrators are not anti-Jewish. They are pro-Palestinian and in many cases anti-Zionist, in as far as the present policies of the Israeli government can be seen as furthering the political goals of the Zionist movement, but they are not against Jewish people. 

 

What has happened is that for a considerable period of time there has been a concerted and deliberate effort to equate Zionism – the political movement to establish a permanent homeland for Jews in Israel – with Judaism itself. The two things are in reality, of course, in no way synonymous. The one is a venerated, ancient religion and the other a modern political movement. But this connection between the two has been brought about so that supporters of Israel can accuse anyone who opposes Israel and its policies of being antisemitic. As we know, the accusation of antisemitism has, since the unspeakable horrors of the Second World War and the necessary measures to protect the Jewish community that followed it, become a powerful and effective indictment against anyone accused of it. But the end result of what has been done is that it has made it possible to by extension label anyone who is actively pro-Palestinian as antisemitic. 

 

Its effectiveness as a weapon on this basis can be seen in the way that it was used to oust Jeremy Corbyn firstly from the leadership of the Labour Party and then from the party itself. Jeremy Corbyn was clearly pro-Palestinian and against political Zionism – in as far as it affected Israeli government policy and its implementation – but he was in no way anti-Jewish. No one could be less anti-Jewish. So he was not in fact antisemitic. Yet the fact that Zionism and Judaism have been conflated enabled his enemies to wield the weapon of antisemitism against him and ensure his removal. It is now being used in the same way to discredit those demonstrating against Israel’s actions in Gaza. The demonstrations are pro-Palestinian and anti-Zionist but they are certainly not anti-Jewish. 

 

The grave danger in what has happened is that that the conflation of Zionism and Judaism might actually come to be seen to be a reality and that people might indeed start to view Zionism and Judaism as the same thing. This would lead to the Jewish community being wrongly blamed for the actions of the Israeli government, something which must be avoided at all costs. It is, therefore, absolutely vital that the distinction between Zionism and Judaism is clearly delineated and the responsibility for the awful situation of the Palestinians in Gaza laid where it actually belongs, at the door of the Zionist policies of the Israeli government, aided and condoned by its international supporters, and nowhere else. 

Khutba for Eid al-Fitr 2024

Part 1

 

الله أكبر الله أكبر الله أكبر         لا إله إلا الله        الله أكبر الله أكبر    ولله الحمد

الله اكبر كبيرا،  والحمد لله كثيرا، وسبحان الله بكرةً وأصيلا

إِنَّ الْحَمْدَ لِلَّهِ ,نَحْمَدُهُ وَنَسْتَعِينُهُ ونستغفره ونومنه ونتوكل عليه ,ونعوذ بالله من شرور أنفسنا ,ومن سيئات أعمالنا ,مَنْ يَهْدِهِ اللَّهُ فَلَا مُضِلَّ لَهُ ,وَمَنْ يُضْلِلْ فَلَا هَادِيَ لَهُ ,وَأَشْهَدُ أَنْ لَا إِلَهَ إِلَّا اللَّهُ وَحْدَهُ لَا شَرِيكَ لَهُ , وَأَشْهَدُ وَأَنَّ سيدنا وحبيبنا ومولانا مُحَمَّدًا عَبْدُهُ وَرَسُولُه ﷺ

ٱلۡحَمۡدُ لِلَّهِ ٱلَّذِی هَدَىٰنَا لِهَـٰذَا وَمَا كُنَّا لِنَهۡتَدِیَ لَوۡلَاۤ أَنۡ هَدَىٰنَا ٱللَّهُۖ لَقَدۡ جَاۤءَتۡ رُسُلُ رَبِّنَا بِٱلۡحَقِّۖ

عما بعد

فقال الله تعلى في كتابه العزيز

بعد أعوذ بالله من الشيطان الرجيم

 

یَـٰۤأَیُّهَا ٱلَّذِینَ ءَامَنُوا۟ ٱتَّقُوا۟ ٱللَّهَ حَقَّ تُقَاتِهِۦ وَلَا تَمُوتُنَّ إِلَّا وَأَنتُم مُّسۡلِمُونَ

Allah says in His Generous Book:

You who believe, have taqwa of Allah with the taqwa due to Him and do not die except as Muslims.

 

This Eid has fallen at a time in which the worldwide Muslim community is in a state of shock, grief and anger due to the ongoing events in Palestine, not to mention other various injustices being committed against our fellow Muslims across the world. Thus, although we are entirely grateful to Allah for permitting us to live through, and take benefit from, yet another Ramadan, the joy we feel – which is usually a prominent feature of Eid al-Fitr – has been to some extent curtailed by sadness and outrage. 

 

Khutba for Eid al-Adha 2023

Part 1

 

الله أكبر الله أكبر الله أكبر         لا إله إلا الله        الله أكبر الله أكبر    ولله الحمد
الله اكبر كبيرا،  والحمد لله كثيرا، وسبحان الله بكرةً وأصيلا
إِنَّ الْحَمْدَ لِلَّهِ ,نَحْمَدُهُ وَنَسْتَعِينُهُ ونستغفره ونومن به ونتوكل عليه ,ونعوذ بالله من شرور أنفسنا ,ومن سيئات أعمالنا ,مَنْ يَهْدِهِ اللَّهُ فَلَا مُضِلَّ لَهُ ,وَمَنْ يُضْلِلْ فَلَا هَادِيَ لَهُ ,وَأَشْهَدُ أَنْ لَا إِلَهَ إِلَّا اللَّهُ وَحْدَهُ لَا شَرِيكَ لَهُ , وَأَشْهَدُ وَأَنَّ سيدنا وحبيبنا ومولانا مُحَمَّدًا عَبْدُهُ وَرَسُولُه ﷺ
عما بعد
فقال الله تعلى في كتابه العزيز بعد – أعوذ بالله من الشيطان الرجيم:

 

يَٰٓأَيُّهَا   ٱلَّذِينَ   آمَنُوا   ٱتَّقُوا۟   ٱللَّهَ   وَقُولُوا۟   قَوْلًا   سَدِيدًا 

يُصْلِحْ   لَكُمْ   أَعْمَٰلَكُمْ   وَيَغْفِرْ   لَكُمْ   ذُنُوبَكُمْ   ۗ   وَمَن   يُطِعِ   ٱللَّهَ   وَرَسُولَهُۥ   فَقَدْ   فَازَ   فَوْزًا   عَظِيمًا 

 

You who have iman! have taqwa of Allah and speak words which hit the mark. He will put your actions right for you and forgive you your wrong deeds. All who obey Allah and His Messenger have won a mighty victory.

 

Taqwa is to obey Allah in all of His commands and to refrain from those things He has prohibited, inwardly and outwardly, thus protecting oneself from Allah's displeasure. His commands include performing the ‘religious obligations’ such as the daily prayers, paying zakat, fasting in Ramadan and going on Hajj if you are able, but also include ordinary transactions such as the way Muslims make money, contract marriages, and lend and borrow money. Moreover, it includes the way you treat others. It could be said that Taqwa is to be aware of Allah in such a way that it changes your behaviour. He is the Punisher and the Rewarder and so, the more we begin to realise that He is always present and observing us, the more we change the ways we behave. Then, as we become aware that His observing us includes both what we do and our inner condition, we begin to turn from our inner faults and work on the improvement of our character. The pinnacle of taqwa is for self-awareness to dissipate in awareness of His Presence. So having taqwa leads to the putting right of our actions and being given forgiveness.

KHUTBA for Eid al-Fitr 2023

 

PART 1

 

الله أكبر الله أكبر الله أكبر         لا إله إلا الله        الله أكبر الله أكبر  ولله الحمد

الله اكبر كبيرا،  والحمد لله كثيرا، وسبحان الله بكرةً وأصيلا

إِنَّ الْحَمْدَ لِلَّهِ ,نَحْمَدُهُ وَنَسْتَعِينُهُ ونستغفره ونومنه ونتوكل عليه ,ونعوذ بالله من شرور أنفسنا ,ومن سيئات أعمالنا ,مَنْ يَهْدِهِ اللَّهُ فَلَا مُضِلَّ لَهُ ,وَمَنْ يُضْلِلْ فَلَا هَادِيَ لَهُ

 ,وَأَشْهَدُ أَنْ لَا إِلَهَ إِلَّا اللَّهُ وَحْدَهُ لَا شَرِيكَ لَهُ,  لَهُ المُلْكُ، ولَهُ الحمْدُ، وَهُو عَلَى كُلِّ شَيءٍ قَدِيرٌ, وَأَشْهَدُ وَأَنَّ سيدنا وحبيبنا ومولانا مُحَمَّدًا عَبْدُهُ وَرَسُولُه وَحَبيبحُهُ ﷺ

عما بعد

فقال الله تعلى في كتابه العزيز

بعد أعوذ بالله من الشيطان الرجيم

 

یَـٰۤأَیُّهَا ٱلَّذِینَ ءَامَنُوا۟ ٱتَّقُوا۟ ٱللَّهَ حَقَّ تُقَاتِهِۦ وَلَا تَمُوتُنَّ إِلَّا وَأَنتُم مُّسۡلِمُونَ

 

Allah says in His Generous Book:

You who believe, have taqwa of Allah with the taqwa due to Him and do not die except as Muslims.

We thank Allah for allowing us to have witnessed another Ramadan. There is no doubt that it is distinct from other months, and by His generosity and ever-present creative power, he removes other burdens through it so that we are more able to dedicate ourselves to His worship, making it easier for us to have awareness of His all-pervading presence. Alhamdulillah wash-shukru lillah!

 

This day of Eid is a celebration of this divine generosity. Allah says about Ramadan after a’oodhu bi’llahi min ash-shaytani-‘r-rajeem:

NATIONAL DHIKR DARS - MARCH 2023, by Shaykh Abdalhaqq Bewley

All of us are aware of the tremendous emphasis placed by our Shaykh on the restoration of zakat. He often referred to it as the fallen or missing pillar of the deen. He again and again stressed the need for the correct reimplementation of its collection and distribution. Indeed at times it seemed that he was more concerned about that than anything else. We have all accepted this aspect of his teaching and done our best in various ways to see it put into practice but why did he make it a matter of such paramount importance. It was because he understood the absolutely pivotal role played by zakat in the deen of Islam, not just in terms of taking care of those in need and ensuring the fair distribution of wealth in society, but in a far deeper way as that element in the deen that truly addresses the prevalent sickness of Islam in the present age.