Lectures for Free Download

Seeking Beauty: Travels in Islam is a weekly halaqa series in which Dr. Khaled Abou El Fadl shares his knowledge on and experience with the Qur’an as Islam’s “primary ethos”. Available weekly, insha’Allah, this series is widely accessible and impactful across the spiritual spectrum, and for all levels of learning.

Links to the video recording of Dr. Abou El Fadl's complete master course discussing his school of thought in Islamic law and its applications to the current state of Islam and Muslims.

Free Downloads on Dr. Abou El Fadl's Commentaries on Surahs Al-Fatiha; Al-Alaq; Al-'Asr; Al-Fil; Al-Quraish; Al-Ma'un; Al-Kauthar; Al-Kafirun; Al-Lahab; Al-Ikhlas; Al-Falaq; and An-Nas

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Dr. Abou El Fadl is often asked to address groups of Muslim youths (aged 18 to 30) about issues especially relevant for younger generations of Muslims and the specific challenges that confront them as they navigate their place and identity in the modern age, particularly in the West. While these discussions are addressed to a younger audience, they are also extremely relevant for Muslims of all ages.

Free Download in 2 Parts. Lecture on how Muslim minorities have succeeded in non-Muslim environments in the past, and lessons learned for Muslims living in America today. Delivered at the Islamic Center of Southern California on 3.28.2010. Second part is luncheon discussion after the lecture.

6 Free Downloads including Muslim Women Jurists in Islamic History; Philosophy and Theology; Shariah; American Muslims and Postmodernism; and Discourse: The Process of Knowledge

Free Download. Delivered at Harvard University Center for Middle Eastern Studies on March 5, 2008. The famous lecture that Daniel Pipes, Campus Watch, Andrew Bostom and other Islamophobes love to misrepresent. Hear it for yourself!

Free Download. Lecture delivered at American University in Cairo March 7, 2006.

Free Download. Lecture delivered at the American University in Cairo, March 13, 2006.

Free Download. Lecture delivered at the British University in Cairo March 15, 2006.

Free Download in 4 Parts. Dr. Abou El Fadl examines the legal evidence and history for and against the Islamic position on women wearing the hijab.

Free Download in 6 Parts. Four-part lecture series given at the Islamic Center of Southern California. An excellent overview of the current status of Islamic law, Muslims and the inherent challenges to be confronted in the contemporary age.

Free Download. On the dynamics of investing in a partnership with God, and what it means to build a partnership with God.

Free Download in 2 Parts. On the importance of knowing the self; on knowing your perception of your "book" versus God's view of your "book"; and the ability to self-deceive through being in a state of "fog" or hujub. The definition of "fog" and what one should do when engulfed in such a "fog".

Free Download. A powerful book reading by Dr. Abou El Fadl taped live in Chicago, which includes his own introduction and background into the origins of the Conference of the Books. Selections read include Attending Juma, Dial-A-Fatwa, Killing Flies, Migrating to the Shaykhs, My Friend and more. Hear it as the author intended--passionate and beautiful!

Free Download. One of Dr. Abou El Fadl's most touching lectures on Women in Islam. Delivered to the UCLA Women's Faculty Club on the eve of the US invasion of Iraq.

Free Download in 2 Parts. Delivered to the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), Washington, D.C. 9.24.04. Dr. Abou El Fadl answers the question, "Is there a distinctly Islamic view of human rights, and if so, is it compatible with the Universal Declaration of Human Rights?”

Free Download. Delivered to the International Conference on “The Future Of Islam, Democracy, And Authoritarianism In The Muslim World.” Sponsored by the International Centre for Islam and Pluralism, Jakarta, Indonesia, December 6, 2004.

Free Download. Delivered at the University of Chicago, April 23, 2003.

Free Download. Insightful lecture and Q&A on the dual complexities of Islam and terrorism and how to understand their relationship in light of the tragedies of September 11.

Free Download. The most concrete and transformative insights on what is at the core of Islam and how Muslims today can put ideas into practice in countering the rise of Islamophobia today. A must-listen for every Muslim.

Free Download. Khaled Abou El Fadl lectures at the Annual Meeting of Seicho-No-Ie on the topic of "What is Islam?" A lecture delivered to a non-Muslim audience, which discusses the beginnings of Islam, the Prophet Muhammed and the moral and ethical teachings of the religion. Excellent for every audience!

Free Download. Dr. Abou El Fadl sets out the Islamic values and principles that govern the Islamic State.

Free download. Dr. Abou El Fadl discusses Shariah in the modern context including its manifestations in Egypt and misrepresentations in the West. Dr. Abou El Fadl delivered this lecture, the 2011 Kenner Annual Lecture at Lehigh University on September 13, 2011.

Free download. Conference convened to honor the work of Dr. Khaled Abou El Fadl and Dr. Sherman Jackson. This is Dr. Abou El Fadl's keynote lecture on models of Shariah law.

Free download. UCLA Law School event honoring Khaled Abou El Fadl on March 21, 2012. Features speeches by Prof. Cheryl Harris, Prof. George Bisharet, Prof. Sherman Jackson, Prof. Susan Slyomovics and Dr. Amir Boozari.

Dr. Abou El Fadl's keynote lecture entitled, "Mystifying Shari‘a in the 21st Century" at the Muslim Law Students Association Annual Symposium on "The Changing Political Face of the Middle East and the Role for Islamic Law,” University of Pennsylvania Law School, Philadelphia, PA, March 17, 2012. Dr. Abou El Fadl discusses the very idea of Shari‘a briefly covering some of its history and main conceptual debates. He examines the notion of the rule of law in Shari‘a compared to this notion in other legal systems. He places the legal system of Shari‘a in context with other legal systems in the world and explores the possible future of the Shari‘a legal system in the twenty-first century.

In this three-part series, Dr. Abou El Fadl discusses the conception and role of women in Islamic jurisprudence and how the law addresses and treats women according to these conceptions. Halaqas are intimate circles of learning with students and teacher akin to the Socratic method of teaching.

Dr. Abou El Fadl delivers the keynote lecture at the University of Washington Symposium on Islam and Forgiveness: Reflections on Justice and Conflict Resolution in Muslim Contexts, February 6-7, 2014. Dr. Abou El Fadl discusses different conceptions and approaches to forgiveness in the Islamic juristic tradition.

Dr. Khaled Abou El Fadl responds to panelists at the Religion, Democracy and the Arab Awakening Conference on the panel on "The Democratic Ideal Among Islamist Groups", April 25, 2014. Panelists include Shadi Hamid, Brookings Institute; Steven Simon, International Institute for Strategic Studies; Moderator, Laurie Brand, USC.

Since the development of ISIS (Islamic State of Iraq and Syria) in 2014, there has been much debate within the media about whether ISIS is “Islamic” or not. Stories about ISIS policies towards women and slavery and statistics of women leaving their home countries to join ISIS as “jihadi brides” have proliferated in the news media. Dr. Khaled Abou El Fadl, who is one of the world’s leading authorities on Islamic law, will be analyzing the salient issues of ISIS’s enslavement of and trafficking in women in the context of the normative discourses of Islam and will demonstrate that ISIS ideology and practice is not only considered anathema in Islam, but directly contravenes the ethical pulse and purposes of Islamic law.

Dr. Khaled Abou El Fadl talks about the historical precedents of how immigrant/minority populations of Muslims have succeeded or failed in various environments in history, and what lessons we can draw for American Muslims seeking to establish a successful Islam here. Delivered at the Islamic Center of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA on March 28, 2010. Second audio recording is the luncheon discussion after the lecture.

Dr. Abou El Fadl discusses his views on what is and is not "Islamic," most notably that Islam was sent as a message for all of humanity, which demands that Islamic conceptions of mercy, compassion, justice, ethics and morality must be accessible, reasonable and compelling to all of humanity. Of note, this is the fundamental reason why ISIS, al-Qaeda and other extremist groups are not Islamic--their actions and conceptions do not reflect mercy, justice, compassion or any other Islamic virtues in a way that speaks to the hearts of all of humanity.

Dr. Abou El Fadl discusses his latest book, Reasoning with God: Reclaiming Shari'ah in the Modern Age," at The Pacifica Institute, Westwood, Los Angeles, CA, November 17, 2014.

Keynote Lecture: "Religious Authority in the 21st Century," at “Speaking in God’s Name: Gender and Islam,” a conference named in honor of Dr. Abou El Fadl’s book, “Speaking in God’s Name: Islamic Law, Authority and Women.” Hosted by Inspire, “an award winning consultancy helping Muslim women to reach their full potential in life.” London, June 4-5, 2011.

Dr. Abou El Fadl delivers a public lecture of Islam and the Rule of Law, Stanford University Law School. Includes lecture and Q&A.