Shaykh Hammad Mustafa al-Madani al-Qadri delivered a profound discourse on the second day of Al-Hidayah 2025, addressing the topic: “Al-Futuwwa: A Chivalrous Way of Life in the 21st Century.”
Shaykh Hammad Mustafa Qadri opened the lecture by situating the concept of Al-Futuwwa within both its historical and spiritual context, highlighting its relevance as a timeless moral and ethical framework. While traditionally rooted in Islamic history and Sufi traditions.
Shaykh Hammad Mustafa Qadri then turned his attention to the state of religious practice today, expressing concern that the majority of people have confined their understanding of faith to ritualistic and dogmatic practices. He admonished that while many may pray, fast, and attend the mosque, they neglect the orphans, the hungry, the poor, and the oppressed who are in desperate need of compassion and assistance. He cited the Prophetic nstruction that believers must spend the majority of their lives; Shaykh Hammad Mustafa Qadri described this as three quarters of one’s time, in the service of creation, fulfilling the rights of others, and embodying mercy and generosity. He emphasised that the strength of the ummah and the promise of salvation lie in this unbreakable chain of love, unity, and mutual support amongst believers.
Shaykh Hammad Mustafa Qadri then referenced the early exemplars of Al-Futuwwa and narrated an exchange involving the great Imam Ja‘far al-Sādiq (عليه السلام), the son of Imam Muḥammad al-Bāqir (عليه السلام), the son of Imām Zayn al-‘Ābidīn (عليه السلام), the son of Imām al-Ḥusayn (عليه السلام). A contemporary of his described the virtue of being grateful when blessed and patient when deprived. This profound teaching, Shaykh Hammad noted, encapsulates the ethos of Al-Futuwwa: selflessness, detachment from materialism, and unwavering service to others for the sake of Allah. He described the transformative journey of becoming “nothing” in this world: empty of ego and desire, so that one
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