header-photo

Travels, Tests & Intentions

Friday sermon (jum'ah khutba) by Sheikh Abdal Hakim - Cambridge - 5 June 2009 - 20 mins 37 secs

At a time of year when many of us are planning a summer trip, this sermon relates to the theme of travel in the Qur'an and hadith. The sheikh reminds us that, as with all actions, the most important aspect of travelling is forming a clear intention. The scholars have divided travel into that which takes us away from something disliked or toward something desirable and beneficial for us. The rich history in Muslim cultures connecting travel and the search for sacred knowledge is of course paradigmatic in this respect. The Qur'an also encourages to consider the example of the ancient civilisations that came before and how they declined - something we can easily do today to make what otherwise would be meaningless tourism an experience that can bring us closer to the reality of creation. Even the process of travelling, can be a means to refine the character and increase in remembrance of God. Just a simple train ride or a wait in an airport lounge takes us out of our comfortable daily routine and can therefore raise our consciousness of our surroundings. In these ways, the sheikh explains, what might otherwise be a simple summer holiday can become a form of guidance and upliftment inshaAllah.

(Hopefully you will notice an improvement in the sound quality of this recording compared to previous postings, since alhamdulilah we have started using a better recorder. There are still older recordings we will post over time, but inshaAllah anything new recorded will be of higher quality.)

Listen to this sermon

Download this sermon (MP3, 28.3MB)

9 comments:

hamid said...

selam a lekum
Thank you very much for all of the talks and sermons by Shaykh Abdal-Hakim Murad. They are precise, very uplifting and serve as an excellent reminder.

May the Lord (exalted is He) reward and protect Shaykh Abdal Hakim, his family and all the brothers and sisters involved in the Mosque Project.

selam a lekum
hamid

Anonymous said...

Jazak Allah Khairan, the recording is excellent; Allah reward you with the best best of rewards.

Honest T said...

Salama Alaikum

The sound quality on this is incredible the best yet. May Allah reward you greatly for spreading these lectures.

Thank you so much. I hope the rest are this audible, inshallah.

Salama Alaikum

Anonymous said...

After listening to this khutba, I got the idea to visit the local museium with the intention described in the khutba (http://www.jocomuseum.org/history.htm) First time, even though I had been living in the area for 8 years (on and off)

Ma sha allah a VERY useful experience

Anonymous said...

any audio geeks out there know how to fix the minor 'skipping' in the audio?

the recording is great overall!!!

Cambridge Khutbas said...

As-salaam 'alaykum all, thanks for the feedback.

@ Najeeb - glad the museum was interesting, give our salaams to all in Johnson County!


@ Anonymous - sorry about the slight skipping, not sure why that's happening. Audio advice from geeks and others welcome on that :)

Abdus Salam said...

These are fantastic lectures. Many thanks for improving the quality of the recordings. May your efforts be blessed.

Anonymous said...

Jazakallah khair to the people that recorded and uploaded this kutbah. I'm so grateful!

m abdullah said...

masha-Allah