You Are a Vicegerent on Earth

Occasion: Transcription of an Isha khatira delivered on 12 June 2025 Source: A transcription of a video khatira by Dr. Ahmed Abouseif — Watch the original video on YouTube

O Allah, we ask You for the good of this night, the good of what is in it, and the good of what comes after it; and we seek refuge in You from the evil of this night, the evil of what is in it, and the evil of what comes after it. O Allah, set right for us our religion, which is the safeguard of our affair; set right for us our worldly life, in which is our livelihood; and set right for us our Hereafter, to which is our return. O Allah, make life an increase for us in every good, and make death a rest for us from every evil. O Allah, set right for us what our hands have corrupted, purify our hearts, cleanse our innermost selves, give weight to our minds, and preserve for us the well-being of our religion and our worldly life.

O Allah, the people of Palestine are in Your protection and Your safekeeping, O Lord of the worlds; so guard their honour, cover their nakedness, strengthen their might, and support them with aid from You; do not entrust them to Your enemy or to their enemy, and do not give anyone among Your creation power over them. Make the ground firm beneath their feet, and fill their hearts with certainty in what You have promised of the gardens of bliss, O Lord of the worlds.

A Distinctive Stance Worthy of Our Islam

We are thinking about a distinctive stance^[1] that suits our Islam and our identity, right? We are a religion that commands justice, excellence, mercy, solidarity, preserving the dignity of creation and safeguarding the rights of humankind, and we will not go beyond that. But this must be made clear, this must be made clear.

I ask Allah, Glorified is He, to guide us. O Allah, keep our hearts sound, preserve for us the well-being of our minds, give us insight into what is before us, and guide us to the straight path. O Allah, we ask You to take us by our forelocks to the truth.

You Are a Vicegerent

Servants of Allah, since Adam we have been entrusted with being vicegerents of Allah on earth: ﴿إِنِّي جَاعِلٌ فِي الْأَرْضِ خَلِيفَةً﴾^[2] (Indeed, I am going to place a vicegerent on the earth). So do not belittle your standing, do not disdain your own worth, and do not make light of your capacities. You are the leader of this humanity by virtue of the humanness you share with the rest of people, and by virtue of the Qur'an you have, which is the best that Allah, Blessed and Exalted, sent down to creation to lead people to guidance. So do not give up this position; upon our necks, we Muslims, rests the safety and life of creation.

O Allah, we ask You for Paradise, a good departure from this world, and a good passage to the Hereafter. O Allah, amen. Peace be upon you; we will see you at the Fajr prayer, God willing.

--- ^[1]: Editor's documentation: At this point the transcript, amid fragmentary English passages, contains a statement in the form of an oath about the role of the imams of America in the great issues of the Ummah, and it is not clear whether it is Dr. Ahmed's own speech or the narration of someone else's speech, so it has not been included in the body. ^[2]: Al-Baqarah: 30. Editor's documentation: The transcript at this point is garbled and contains unintelligible English passages, and nothing of them has been included.