Fajr Khatira

Occasion: Transcription of a Fajr khatira delivered on 15 March 2026 Source: A transcription of a video khatira by Dr. Ahmed Abouseif — Watch the original video on YouTube

Holding Fast to the Rope of Allah

From Sūrat Āl ʿImrān the Shaykh pauses at His saying, the Exalted: ﴿وَاعْتَصِمُوا بِحَبْلِ اللَّهِ جَمِيعًا﴾ (“And hold firmly to the rope of Allah all together”)^[1], and at His saying: ﴿وَلَا تَمُوتُنَّ إِلَّا وَأَنتُم مُّسْلِمُونَ﴾ (“and do not die except as Muslims”)^[2], and he links holding fast with Islam.

Then he recalls Allah's prohibition of division: ﴿وَلَا تَكُونُوا مِنَ الْمُشْرِكِينَ مِنَ الَّذِينَ فَرَّقُوا دِينَهُمْ وَكَانُوا شِيَعًا﴾ (“and do not be of the polytheists, of those who divided their religion and became sects”)^[3]. Then he returns to Āl ʿImrān: ﴿وَلْتَكُن مِّنكُمْ أُمَّةٌ يَدْعُونَ إِلَى الْخَيْرِ وَيَأْمُرُونَ بِالْمَعْرُوفِ وَيَنْهَوْنَ عَنِ الْمُنكَرِ﴾ (“And let there be among you a community inviting to good, enjoining what is right and forbidding what is wrong”), then: ﴿وَلَا تَكُونُوا كَالَّذِينَ تَفَرَّقُوا وَاخْتَلَفُوا مِن بَعْدِ مَا جَاءَهُمُ الْبَيِّنَاتُ وَأُولَٰئِكَ لَهُمْ عَذَابٌ عَظِيمٌ﴾ (“And do not be like those who divided and differed after the clear proofs had come to them; and those will have a great punishment.”)^[4]. A great punishment, and we seek refuge in Allah.

The Schools of Law and Bad Classification

He refers to the schools of law: the Ḥanafīs, Shāfiʿīs, Mālikīs and Ḥanbalīs, and that they are schools, then he recounts, in the tone of one who objects, how people are put out of the religion with one stroke: these are Ashʿarīs, unbelievers, and these are Wahhābīs, and these are Muʿtazilites, “get out”, and so the whole religion goes outside.

So Fear Me

Then he pauses at His saying, the Exalted: ﴿وَأَنَا رَبُّكُمْ فَاتَّقُونِ﴾ (“and I am your Lord, so fear Me”)^[5], and he explains that taqwā has its place in the heart, and that worship includes the heart and the body.

Then he says: It is as though the Lord of the worlds, glory be to Him, wanted to keep our unity for us, hearts and forms. Our Lord wanted us to be one Ummah, hearts and forms, and although none but its Lord looks into the heart, our Lord wanted us to be united inwardly and outwardly, so no disintegration, no scattering, and no fanatical sectarianism.

The Supplication

I ask Allah, Blessed and Exalted, to keep for us the harmony of hearts, to preserve for us the conscience of faith, and to keep us firm upon a unity with which we meet Him on the Day of Resurrection ﴿إِخْوَانًا عَلَىٰ سُرُرٍ مُّتَقَابِلِينَ﴾ (“as brothers, on couches facing one another”)^[6]. I ask Him not to scatter our gathering, not to divide our word, not to disperse our resolve, and not to fragment our determination. I ask Allah, the Most High, the Almighty, to keep for us understanding minds, united hearts and neighboring bodies, and to keep for us the intention of leaving this world safe so that we may be before Him with pure oneness devoted to Him, Mighty and Majestic, and with sincere deeds and sincere intentions. O Allah, amen, O Lord of the worlds.

--- ^[1]: Editor's documentation: Sūrat Āl ʿImrān, verse 103. ^[2]: Editor's documentation: Sūrat Āl ʿImrān, verse 102. The speaker recited it after verse 103 in the transcript. ^[3]: Editor's documentation: Sūrat al-Rūm, verses 31–32 (some of their wording). It appears garbled in the transcript, with a reference to “al-Rūm”. ^[4]: Editor's documentation: Sūrat Āl ʿImrān, verses 104–105. ^[5]: Editor's documentation: The verse in this wording is in Sūrat al-Muʾminūn, verse 52 (and in al-Anbiyāʾ 92 it has “fa-ʿbudūn”); the transcript is garbled in specifying its location. ^[6]: Editor's documentation: Sūrat al-Ḥijr, verse 47.