Al hamdulillaah, the December and January stats for IOU are amazing. I want to personally thank all of you here, on facebook, and my youtube channel for contributing towards them, as you have made a great difference. December enrollment was 1,575!! and January was 2,040!!!! Allaahu Akbar. And the grand total of those registered at IOU is now a whopping 17,500!!!! Subhaanallaahil ‘Atheem!!!
Archive for the ‘Lectures’ Category
Islamic Online University (IOU) Has Reached New Heights!
Tuesday, February 2nd, 2010Videos of the First Jumu’ah at Aspire Mosque, Doha, Qatar
Monday, January 25th, 2010The videos of my first lecture at Aspire mosque, the second designated for English Khutbahs in Qatar, are now available on my youtube channel. Next week’s will be better recorded, in shaa Allah. Anyway, here’s this week’s offering:
The Jumu’ah Today
Friday, January 22nd, 2010
Back View
Al hamdulillaah the Jumu’ah far exceeded our wildest expectations. Depending solely (after Allah) on only word-of-mouth announcements, a few emails, a post on Qatar living, more than 900 people attended and the mosque was filled almost to capacity – Allahu Akbar. It looks as though we will have to make arrangement for rugs outside the mosque for next Jumu’ah in order to accommodate the next wave, once the word spreads!!
The khutbah topic was on Jumu’ah itself and I hope to have it up here soon. In the first half, I spoke about Allah’s choice of Friday for Muslims, after ordaining Saturday for the Jews and permitting by Qadar Sunday to be chosen by the Christians. Then I discussed the status of Friday as the Eed of the week, and why fasting on Friday was prohibited. Also I focused on the relationship between Jumu’ah and daily prayers and the benefits of purification from sin attributed to both Jumu’ah and daily prayers.
From the Last Row
In the second half I spoke about the etiquettes of Jumu’ah. Why we are doing it in English and why it is not considered Bid’ah to do so. I clarified that there was no “sunnah” prayers between the two athaans and the rules concerning talking and playing during the khutbah. The issue of bringing children to the mosque was also elaborated on and the responsibility of parents in keeping a close watch on their children was stressed. I also touched on the importance of the 2 rak’aat prior to sitting in the mosque, the importance of the first lines and sitting attentively, as well as preparations for Jumu’ah and Soorah al-Kahf.
Front View
Jumu’ah in English at Aspire Mosque
Thursday, January 21st, 2010
Beside the Khalifa Stadium and next to Villagio
Al hamdulillaah, the Qatar Awqaf’s approval for a second mosque in Doha in which the Friday khutbah will be given in English was finalized yesterday, and today the official formalities were completed with me as the designated Khateeb.
Some pictures of the mosque will be added later and the khutbah will be recorded – in shaa Allaah. Perhaps we will also try to arrange live streaming of the khutbah, as someone suggested recently.
Anyway, Allahu Akbar! We have been trying unsuccessfully to get this beautifully designed mosque for this purpose for the past 2-3 years. With every difficulty comes ease. It is in a truly beautiful location – very family oriented, with perhaps the largest public family park in Qatar nearby as well as two major shopping centers, Villagio and Giant Stores.
First Video Upload on My Youtube Channel
Monday, January 18th, 2010Today I am uploading my first lecture on my youtube channel (www.youtube.com/aabphilips) after my announcement of the channel a few weeks back. The URL is http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0XPwzlp2_Q4 It was a lecture on “Islam and Modernism” given in Maldives last August and was a major event on the island nation organized by Jamiyyat as-Salaf, broadcast on national tv and attended by a huge audience. It was a first for Maldives and personally a great experience. The greatness and beauty of Allah creation is so evident there.
Da’wah in Contemporary Times
Sunday, January 17th, 2010I will be delivering a two-week intensive course on Da’wah in Contemporary Times as a part of the Omdurman Islamic University curriculum for the College of Da’wah – Allah willing.
The course is aimed at developing an awareness about the need for Da’wah in these times, an understanding of its different schools and movements, and the ways to unite them. It will also look at the internal problems of math’hab differences.
Classes at the Dana Center in Doha, Qatar, will run from Tuesday 19th January until Saturday 30th January, with two exams and assignments.
500 Most Influential Muslims
Tuesday, January 12th, 2010A dear friend of mine, Riaz Ansary, sent me a link http://www.rissc.jo/muslim500v-1L.pdf where a book has been produced which claims to list the top 500 most influential Muslims. To my surprise I found on page 159 the following:
UNITED ARAB EMIRATES
philips, dr abu ameenah bilal
A notable convert and Islamic scholar, Philips is founder of the virtual educational institution
Islamic Online University and Discover Islam, an Islamic center based in Dubai. He reaches mass
Muslim audiences through his television appearances on India-based satellite channel, Peace TV.
Trip to Muscat
Thursday, January 7th, 2010I am currently in Muscat, Oman, meeting with the members of my team for the IOU in order to get the systems ready to launch the FREE BA in Islamic Studies by the end of this month. Tomorrow I’ll be giving a talk to those involved in Da’wah at the Grand Mosque of Sultan Qaboos on methods of Da’wah. We still have meetings tomorrow morning and evening to hammer out the remaining details and the new format for the IOU website. Please pray for our success in this matter.
While there, I was asked to give a lecture on “Methods of Da’wah” to those involved in Da’wah at the last minute. Many were surprised to hear that I was in Oman, as my trip was itself a last minute decision. My dear friend and brother, Abdur Raheem Green, is coming here for a lecture tour on the 13th January. Previously, another dear friend and brother Dr Abdullah Hakeem Quick was there.
Friday Khutbah at Green Village Mosque, Doha
Monday, December 28th, 2009
I just returned to Doha, Qatar, from Sudan, early Friday morning, which happened to be Christmas Day, so I decided to do the Friday Khutbah on Celebrating Christmas and the Mawlid. I addressed the fact that greeting Christians or others with the traditional Christmas greeting “merry Christmas” or “happy Christmas” was not permissible for a Muslim because it meant celebrating the day of “God’s” birth – a concept absolutely abhorrent to Muslims and in direct contradiction to the Qur’aanic verse, “He (Allah) did not give birth nor was He born.” I also pointed out that the date of birth of Prophet Jesus, like that of Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) was unknown and that it was chosen to match the Saturnalia, the festival of the harvest dedicated to the Roman god of the harvest, Saturn. Christians did not celebrate the birth of Christ for the first 3 centuries after Jesus’ departure because birthday celebration was a known pagan practice. Similarly, Muslims did not celebrate Prophet Muhammad’s birthday until 4 centuries after his death. The practice was started on a state scale by the Fatimid Shi’ite caliphate in Egypt and the date of the Prophet’s death was chosen for the celebration.
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The previous week I did a Khutbah for Jumu’ah on Celebrating New Year’s Day on the 1st of Muharram and January 1st in the Sudapet Mosque, in Khartoum, Sudan. In that khutbah I focused on the pagan origin of New Year’s Day which was chosen by the Roman Emperor, Julius Caesar, in 46BC in honor of the Roman god of gateways and doors, Janus, after whom January is named. Even the orgies on New Year’s Eve re-enact the chaotic world before the gods ordered the cosmos, according to Roman legend. Thus, for Muslims to participate in New Year’s Day Celebrations, or imitate it with 1st Muharram celebrations is completely unacceptable and actually haraam, as the Prophet (pbuh) said, “Whoever imitates a people becomes like one of them.”