Jaffari Community Centre

Jaffari Community Centre
  • 5.0 (3)
  • Islam
  • Updated Biweekly

Lectures, Majalis, Seminars, Q&As, and more, focused on the Shi'a faith. YouTube Page: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCjtEGNLvJ13iu0UlOHByQtQ

  1. 2d ago

    Pride or Shame? What Imam al-Askari Expects from His Shi'a - Maulana Syed Muhammad Rizvi

    Friday Juma KhutbaOctober 2nd, 2026- Rabi al-Thani is the month of Imam Hasan al-Askari (a), and his advice offers a guide to what it truly means to be a Shi'a of the Ahlul Bayt.- A follower of Islam is called a Muslim, while a Muslim who believes Imam Ali (a) is the immediate successor of the Prophet Muhammad (s) is called a Shi'a, meaning "a follower" or "a partisan."- The term Shi'a is a short form of Shi'atu Ali, "the followers of Ali."- Allah Himself named Prophet Ibrahim (a) a Muslim: "Ibrahim was neither a Jew nor a Christian; he was an upright Muslim, and he was not one of the polytheists" (Qur'an 3:67).- Allah also described Prophet Ibrahim (a) as a Shi'a, a follower of Prophet Nuh (a): "Verily from his followers was Ibrahim" (Qur'an 37:83).- Being called "Muslims" and "Shi'as" follows a tradition established by Allah of naming people as followers of pious believers, just as Ibrahim was named a follower of Nuh.- Pride in the name Shi'a carries a responsibility to live up to the meaning of the word "follower."- Imam al-Askari (a) advised taqwa of Allah, caution in religion beyond the basic level, and striving hard for the sake of Allah.- He also advised truthfulness in speech and returning a trust to whoever placed it with you, whether that person is righteous or sinful.- He further advised prolonging sajdah and being good to neighbours, declaring that this is what the Prophet Muhammad (s) came with.- Believers are urged to be part of the wider community: praying with people, attending their funerals, visiting their sick, and fulfilling their rights.- When a person is cautious in religion, truthful, trustworthy and good-mannered with people, and others say "this is a Shi'a," it brings joy to the Imam.- Shi'as are called to be a source of pride (zayn) for the Ahlul Bayt and not a source of shame (shayn), drawing love towards them and repelling evil from them through good conduct.- The Ahlul Bayt have a right in the Book of Allah, close kinship to the Prophet (s) and purification from Allah, which no one else can claim except a liar.- The Imam urged increasing the remembrance of Allah, remembrance of death, recitation of the Qur'an and salawat on the Prophet (s), each salawat being worth ten good deeds.Donate towards our programs today: https://jaffari.org/donate/Jaffari Community Centre (JCC Live)

  2. Sep 25

    From the Umayyad Pulpit to the UN Podium: The Politics of Jumu'ah - Maulana Syed Muhammad Rizvi

    Friday KhutbaSeptember 25th, 2026- Salatu 'l-Jumu'ah consists of two separate components: two sermons, in which the main part must be in the local language apart from the praise of Allah and salawat, and a two-rak'at prayer.- In the presence of the Imam (a), Jumu'ah is wajib 'ayni when led by the Imam or someone he has specially appointed; the Qur'anic phrase "when the call is made" is understood to mean a call made by the ma'sum Imam or his specially appointed na'ib.- This obligation applies to everyone within an 11 km radius of that masjid.- During the ghaybat of the Imam (a), the mujtahideen differ, and the majority hold that Jumu'ah is wajib takhyiri, meaning one may choose between Zuhr and Jumu'ah.- Jumu'ah led by an opponent of the Ahlul Bayt is not wajib. Its sermons have a socio-political dimension, and unjust rulers misused them to promote themselves, including to tarnish the image of Imam Ali (a) and his descendants in the early Umayyad era.- Zurarah asked Imam al-Baqir (a) about a report that Amir al-Mu'minin (a) prayed four rak'at after Jumu'ah without separating them with a salam. The Imam explained that he prayed behind a sinful imam, then stood after that imam's salam and continued, completing four rak'at. When asked about it, he replied only that "they are four rak'at that seem similar," and the questioner did not understand. A similar account is reported about Imam Zaynul Abidin (a).- Where there is no Shia Jumu'ah prayer and one joins another congregation, Zuhr must also be prayed.- Participating in a congregation one does not believe in is sometimes unavoidable, and this is based on taqiyyah.- At the UN General Assembly in New York, Trump, as the leader of the world's superpower, openly threatened to annihilate a Muslim country.- No political leader stood up to say he was wrong, even though the UN Secretary-General had earlier strongly emphasized respect for international law and spoken against unilateral, aggressive steps to resolve conflicts.- In such an environment, a Shia head of state has the right to take part in that gathering and defend his country and its people.- Trump declared at the General Assembly that no leftist influence would be tolerated in America's neighbourhood of Central and South America.- If there is any sense of fairness, the question follows: what is the US doing thousands of miles from its shores in the Middle East, creating constant conflict through the state of Israel?- Canada's Prime Minister suddenly changed tone and, in a way, echoed Trump's words against Iran, perhaps seeking favour with Trump in a trade deal.- This comes even though, according to reports, the same Prime Minister had considered plans to defend Canada in case of US military action against it.Donate towards our programs today: https://jaffari.org/donate/Jaffari Community Centre (JCC Live)

  3. Sep 18

    Who Controls the Narrative? From Karbala to Iran to the World Map - Maulana Syed Muhammad Rizvi

    Friday Juma KhutbaFriday September 18th, 2026- Today's vast and fast access to information is a blessing from Allah, because powerful and tyrannical forces can no longer control the narrative.- On the first day of the US–Israel war on Iran, a missile struck a girls' school in Minab, killing at least 156 people, including 120 children.- A strike on a sports complex and residential area in the town of Lamerd killed at least 21 civilians, including seven children.- The UN's Independent International Fact-Finding Mission on Iran found that the Minab school, though next to an IRGC naval complex, was clearly identifiable, with no information indicating any military use.- The experts found reasonable grounds to believe the US carried out the school strike, concluding the school was the intended point of impact and not an errant strike or collateral damage, citing survivors who said it was struck twice.- In both Minab and Lamerd, the mission found reasonable grounds to believe the US committed the war crime of launching an indiscriminate attack causing civilian deaths and damage to civilian objects.- The US tried to blame the Minab strike on an errant Iranian strike, an old tactic of oppressors who, when a blatant crime cannot be hidden, try to blame the victim.- After Karbala, Yazid first portrayed the massacre as his victory and a warning to anyone who rose against him; when public opinion shifted towards the victims, he blamed his governor Ibn Ziyad; later, writers promoting the Umayyad line blamed "the Shi'a of Kufa."- When a Wahhabi preacher in Africa claimed "the Shi'as killed Husayn," he was challenged to curse those who killed Imam Husayn, those who oppressed him, and those who heard of his murder and approved of it. He refused, knowing in his heart he would be cursing his own leaders.- When studying history, readers must know the writer and their socio-political environment, because a conscious or unconscious commitment to a political or religious tradition can bias judgement.- Historian Marshall Hodgson warned that bias hides especially in the questions a writer poses and the categories they use, because terms that seem innocently neutral are the hardest to suspect.- The world map used for four centuries carried a Western bias, making northern hemisphere nations look larger than they are and subtly reinforcing perceptions of where global strength lies.- The UN General Assembly adopted a resolution calling for wider use of equal-area maps, particularly the Equal Earth projection, by a vote of 164 in favour, 6 abstentions, and 1 against: the United States. The US is one of the countries that appears smaller on the new map.- Terms like "Middle East" and "Far East" carry a subtle bias: "middle" and "far" from where? European geographers and strategists divided the "Orient" by its distance from Europe: the Near East (the Balkans and Ottoman Empire), the Middle East (Mediterranean to India), and the Far East (lands facing the Pacific, such as China and Japan).- On a world map centred on Mecca, Afghanistan and the Indian subcontinent become the "near east," Thailand to China and Japan the "middle east," Australia the "far east," Europe the "near west," and the Americas the "far west." These terms can still be used, as long as their built-in bias is kept in mind.Donate towards our programs today: https://jaffari.org/donate/Jaffari Community Centre (JCC Live)

  4. Sep 11

    9/11 25 Years Later; Condemnation of Israeli Settler Terrorists - Maulana Syed Muhammad Rizvi

    Friday Juma KhutbaSeptember 11, 2026- Today marks twenty-five years since the 9/11 attacks, when hijacked planes were flown into the Twin Towers, killing innocent people of many different religions and races, and Muslims in general are still suffering because of the actions of people who did not represent them.- Of the nineteen hijackers, fifteen came from Saudi Arabia, one from the UAE, one from Egypt and one from Lebanon, and all were associated with al-Qaeda.- Every one of them belonged to the Wahhabi school of thought, the brand of Islam officially followed by the Saudi state, yet Saudi Arabia was never held responsible for the attacks and remains in the good books of the United States.- That same ideology added the element of violence to the Muslim world, licensing the killing of anyone who does not share its views, and gave birth to the Taliban in Afghanistan and ISIS in Syria and Iraq.- The United States used 9/11 to attack Afghanistan, and the war against Iraq was launched under a false pretext.- The Bush administration took pride in having liberated Afghan girls so they could attend school, yet twenty years later the Americans left Afghanistan in the hands of the Taliban, who closed all the girls' schools again.- The Wahhabis are the ideological descendants of the Khawarij, who went around labelling other Muslims as kafir and mushrik.- The Khawarij were deceived when Mu'awiyah's army lifted the Qur'an on their spearheads, pressed Imam Ali into accepting a truce, then turned against him and called him a mushrik for accepting the arbitration, disturbing his congregational prayers and sermons with slogans and recitation of Qur'anic ayat and accusing him of bringing zillat upon the Muslims.- Imam Ali answered their harassment publicly with three guarantees that would hold as long as they remained: they would not be prevented from the masajid to remember Allah's name in them, they would not be deprived of the public treasury as long as their hands were with the community's, and they would not be fought until they themselves began the hostilities.- Ideological opposition can be tolerated; violence cannot, and that is the standard set by Imam Ali bin Abi Talib (a) and his Ahlul Bayt.- The conscience of Western governments has been slow to awaken to settler terrorism, and twelve nations including the UK, France and Canada have announced sanctions on Israel because of the increasing settler violence in the West Bank.- The UK foreign minister stated that settler terrorists supported by Benjamin Netanyahu's government are committing ethnic cleansing in the West Bank.- He added that the Israeli government has all too often turned a blind eye to this, and worse, that members of it have made statements and taken actions to support the forced displacement of Palestinians.- The UK measures include a ban on goods from illegal settlements and a ban on arms licences and other exports that materially contribute to the occupation, and the minister announcing them is himself from a Jewish background.- The UK prime minister said he would not stand by as horrific suffering continued and that Britain had for too long been hesitant, fearful of being accused of being anti-Israel, and in a joint statement with the French president and the Canadian prime minister declared that the time has come to take further action to uphold the commitment to protect the two-state solution, to stand up for their interests and values, before it is too late.Donate towards our programs today: https://jaffari.org/donate/Jaffari Community Centre (JCC Live)

  5. Sep 4

    The Meaning of Tawakkul: Do Your Part, Then Trust in Allah - Maulana Syed Muhammad Rizvi

    Friday Juma KhutbaSeptember 4th, 2026- Tawakkul means doing your own part in whatever you plan or intend, then trusting in Allah's help to overcome the challenges you face, while accepting that the eventual result rests in Allah's will.- The days of Milad un-Nabi (s) call attention to the Prophet's own example of placing his trust in Allah.- During the Battle of Dhatu 'r-Riqa', the army stopped to rest in a valley, and the companions withdrew so the Prophet could rest in the shade of a tree, where he left his sword standing against the trunk.- An enemy found the Prophet alone and asleep, took his sword, and stood over him intending to kill him, but the Prophet woke and calmly sat up.- When asked "Who will protect you from me?" the Prophet answered only, "Allah! Allah! Allah!"- The attacker felt a push to his chest, the sword slipped from his hand, and the Prophet took it up and asked him in turn, "Who will protect you against me?"- Rather than force conversion, the Prophet released the man after he pledged never to fight him nor join any group that fought him.- The man returned to his people declaring he had come from the best of people, and in another narration he accepted Islam.- This episode demonstrates both the power of tawakkul in Allah and the mercy of the Prophet, who did not compel belief.- There can never be peace if justice is not implemented for all nations, and justice cannot prevail when powerful nations are never held accountable while international law is used only against those who oppose them.- Where justice is absent, the world is left with strife in one form or another.- On 1st September, an American missile struck a home in a small Iranian fishing town on the Strait of Hormuz where dozens had gathered for a fisherman's daughter's wedding, killing at least four and wounding 67.- A 2013 review by a UAE English-language newspaper documented at least eight US attacks on wedding parties or processions between 2001 and 2013, killing 300 people, with six strikes in Afghanistan, one in Iraq, and one in Yemen; one Yemeni survivor said what began as a wedding suddenly became a funeral.- The US refuses responsibility for such deaths: the US Vice President insisted America never targets civilians and never has, before conceding that sometimes things happen; after the Minab girls' school bombing, 46 Democratic senators demanded answers from Defense Secretary Hegseth by a March 18 deadline he never met, and the Pentagon completed an April investigation whose findings remain unreleased to Congress and the public.- In his epistle to Malik al-Ashtar, Imam Ali (a) relates hearing the Messenger of Allah (s) say on more than one occasion that no community can ever attain sanctity if the weak within it cannot secure their right from the strong without being treated roughly.Donate towards our programs today: https://jaffari.org/donate/Jaffari Community Centre (JCC Live)

  6. Aug 31

    Who Knew the Prophet Best? Insights of Imam Ali - Maulana Sayyid Muhammad Rizvi

    Wiladat of Prophet Muhammad (SAWW)Wiladat of Imam Jaffer As Sadiq (AS)17th Rabi Ul Awwal 1448 AH- Tonight's reflection describes Prophet Muhammad (s) through the words and perspective of Imam 'Ali (a), who knew him more intimately than anyone else.- The Prophet declared to 'Ali: none fully knows Allah except Allah and himself, none fully knows the Prophet except Allah and 'Ali, and none fully knows 'Ali except Allah and the Prophet.- 'Ali describes his closeness to the Prophet in Nahjul Balagha (sermon 192), recalling that as a child the Prophet took charge of him and would chew food and feed it to him; from the age of five 'Ali lived with the Prophet and Khadija.- The Prophet's soul, a non-material entity, was the first creation; Allah placed that nur in Adam, and it travelled through the loins of distinguished fathers and the wombs of chaste mothers.- 'Ali describes the Prophet's origin as the noblest of all origins, situated in the mines of honour and the cradles of safety (sermon 96).- In sermon 94, 'Ali explains that Allah moved the Prophets in succession from distinguished forefathers to chaste wombs until this distinction reached Muhammad (s), bringing him from the same lineal tree from which other Prophets and divine trustees were selected.- The same reality is echoed in Ziyarat Warith addressed to Imam Husayn (a): "you were a light in the noble loins and the purified wombs."- 'Ali describes the Prophet as a roaming physician who carries his medicine from place to place, preparing ointments and heating instruments to heal blind hearts, deaf ears, and dumb tongues (sermon 108).- Unlike physicians who wait in clinics for patients to come, the Prophet actively seeks out the spiritually ill to heal them.- This image clarifies the difference between a nabi and a rasul: a nabi receives knowledge from God and is like a resident physician, while a rasul is a nabi given the mission to convey God's message; of 124,000 prophets, only 313 were also messengers.- A nabi is a nabi by birth, but risalat begins when the command to start the mission is given; Muhammad was a nabi from birth, and his risalat began at the age of 40.- The Prophet carried two kinds of medicine — a mild treatment like applying ointment, and an aggressive treatment like a heated instrument for serious infection — matching the intensity of the cure to the severity of the spiritual illness.- "Blind hearts" refers to the 'aql, not the physical heart; the intellect becomes blind when overcome by sins and desires, as in Qur'an 22:46: "it is not the eyes that are blind, but the blind are the hearts within the chests."- "Deaf ears" describes hearing the message without listening to it, and "dumb tongues" describes the failure to speak truth; if the ears truly listen, the tongue will pronounce and promote the truth.- Qur'an 7:157 describes the unschooled Prophet who commands good, forbids evil, permits good things, prohibits impure things, and relieves people of their burdens of sin and the fetters of spiritual and social slavery.Donate towards our programs today: https://jaffari.org/donate/Jaffari Community Centre (JCC Live)

  7. Aug 28

    The Birth of Equality: Honoring the Prophet Who Lifted the Forgotten - Maulana Syed Muhammad Rizvi

    Friday Juma KhutbaAugust 28th, 2026- Milad un-Nabi marks the birth anniversary of Prophet Muhammad (s).- The Prophet's fundamental message was tawhid: there is no god but Allah, and only when false gods, idols, and tribal gods are banished from the mind and heart does the One True God find a place there.- Tawhid carries a profound social implication: if there is only One Universal God for all people, then every believer relates to Him in the same way, with the same link to Him.- This concept establishes the equality of believers in the eyes of God regardless of race, colour, or language — Arab or non-Arab, white or black, rich or poor.- People reacted to this equality differently: the oppressed of Mecca, the poor and the slaves, were drawn to Islam, while some of the Meccan elite were pushed away by it.- The Prophet came from Quraysh, the Meccan elite, from its Hashimi branch, yet Quraysh disliked his policy of treating all people as equals.- The elite of Quraysh offered to hear the Prophet's message on condition that he distance himself from the slaves and the weak of low status, having seen him sitting with companions like Suhayb, Bilal, Ammar, Salim mawla of Abu Hudhayfah, and Miqdad.- They feared that visiting Arab tribal chiefs would think less of them for associating with the poor and enslaved.- The Prophet refused their proposal, and the matter was significant enough that Allah revealed a verse addressing him directly.- Quran 6:52 commands the Prophet not to drive away those who call upon their Lord morning and evening seeking His face, warning that to turn them away would place him among the unjust.- This teaching had far-reaching impact, illustrated during the Muslim conquest of Egypt at the siege of Alexandria.- When a ten-member delegation led by Ubaydah bin as-Samit came to negotiate surrender terms, the governor of Egypt demanded that "this black person" be removed and someone else sent to negotiate.- The Muslims replied that Ubaydah was the best among them, their leader appointed by the commander-in-chief, superior in status, intelligence, and understanding, and that being black was no negativity among them.- Even in the twenty-first century, some still consider themselves superior to others merely because of tribal background.- Extremist Israeli settlers exemplify this, sometimes using the most despicable terms to describe Palestinians, using violence to displace Palestinians, destroy property, and advance the illegal settlement enterprise with the support of the Israeli government.- Canada, along with the European Union, the UK, Norway, and Australia, has introduced sanctions to hold extremist settlers accountable for settler violence against Palestinian civilians.- A Toronto activist group called "Israel Now" invited Jerusalem's Deputy Mayor Arieh King, a far-right politician and founder of the Israel Land Fund, which facilitates acquiring land and property for settlements, particularly in East Jerusalem.- Canadians for Justice & Peace in the Middle East (CJPME) campaigned to pressure the Canadian Government to deny King entry, and the pressure worked — Canada barred him by deactivating his Electronic Travel Authorization (eTA), a reminder that organizing and demanding accountability makes a difference.Donate towards our programs today: https://jaffari.org/donate/Jaffari Community Centre (JCC Live)

  8. Aug 24

    Why the Merits of Imam Ali (AS) Were Hidden From History - Maulana Syed Muhammad Rizvi

    Eid-e-Zehra 1448August 23, 2026- Eid-e-Zahra commemorates the movement of Mukhtar, who avenged the killers of Imam Husayn (AS) in Karbala, and stands as an expression of love for the Ahlul Bayt.- Efforts to diminish the merits of Imam Ali (AS) and his family began immediately after the Prophet (s) and have continued ever since.- Allamah Sayyid Abdul Aziz at-Tabatabai noted that opponents actively concealed, altered, or rejected the merits of Imam Ali (AS), to the point that later generations were surprised even to hear reports transmitted by the Prophet's own companions.- When asked whether Ali (AS) had participated in the Battle of Badr, al-Barra bin Azib affirmed it simply with "Indeed" — a question that itself reflects how obscured such basic facts had become.- Sa'd bin Abi Waqqas told al-Harith bin Malik in Mecca that he had witnessed four merits of Imam Ali (AS), any one of which he would have cherished for a lifetime as long as Prophet Nuh's (AS).- Those four merits included Ali (AS) being sent to convey Allah's ultimatum to the Mushrikin of Mecca after Jibra'il specified it must come from the Prophet (s) or his own family; the closing of all doors into the Prophet's Mosque except those of the Prophet (s) and Ali (AS); the Prophet's description of Ali (AS) at Khaybar as one who loves and is loved by Allah and His Messenger; and the hadith of Ghadir declaring "Whomsoever's master I am, Ali is also his master."- At Tabuk, the Prophet (s) told Imam Ali (AS) that his status was the same as that of Prophet Harun (AS) to Prophet Musa (AS).- Harith bin Uthman al-Himsi, who blamed Imam Ali (AS) for the deaths of his ancestors at Siffin, attempted to corrupt this hadith by changing "Harun" to "Qarun."- Abu Sa'id al-Khudari confirmed to Abdullah bin Alqamah, who habitually vilified Imam Ali (AS), that he had personally heard the hadith of Ghadir from the Prophet (s), affirming that his ears heard it and his heart understood it.- Sulayman bin Mihran al-A'mash, a narrator who lived through the transition from Banu Umayyah to Banu Abbas, transmitted hadith at-tayr from Anas bin Malik, in which the Prophet (s) prayed for the person most beloved to Allah and His Messenger to join him, and Imam Ali (AS) arrived.- Al-A'mash also narrated Imam Ali's (AS) statement identifying himself as "qasimu 'n-nar," the one who will divide people between Hellfire and Paradise, a report he affirmed on his deathbed by citing Abu Sa'id al-Khudari's linking of the Prophet (s) and Ali (AS) to Qur'an 50:23.- When Abu Hanifah's followers pressed Imam Ahmad bin Hanbal to reject the "qasimu 'n-nar" narration, he defended it by reasoning from the hadith that only a believer loves Ali (AS) and only a hypocrite hates him, concluding that Ali (AS) therefore does divide people between Paradise and Hellfire.- Historical accounts describe hostile reactions to these narrations, including a report that some who heard al-A'mash narrate the hadith of the roasted bird removed him from the mosque and washed the spot, and that Imam an-Nasa'i was violently attacked after he could find no merit to cite for Mu'awiyah.- This history of suppressed merits places a duty on believers to actively spread the merits of the Ahlul Bayt and to openly disavow their enemies through la'n.- Qays bin Musahhar as-Saydawi, Imam Husayn's (AS) last messenger to the Shi'a of Kufa, tore up and swallowed his letter when captured so Ibn Ziyad could not learn the names within it; given the choice between death or cursing Imam Husayn (AS) from the pulpit, he instead publicly praised Imam Husayn (AS) and cursed Ibn Ziyad, exemplifying the practice of la'n against the enemies of the Ahlul Bayt.Donate towards our programs today: https://jaffari.org/donate/Jaffari Community Centre (JCC Live)

See All (594)

Ratings & Reviews

5
out of 5
3 Ratings

About

Lectures, Majalis, Seminars, Q&As, and more, focused on the Shi'a faith. YouTube Page: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCjtEGNLvJ13iu0UlOHByQtQ

Information

  • Creator
    Jaffari Community Centre
  • Years Active
    2019 - 2026
  • Episodes
    594
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © Jaffari Community Centre
  • Show Website
    Jaffari Community Centre