Sufi Wisdom Series
RAMADAN SUHBA BY SHAYKH MUHAMMAD HISHAM KABBANI
Discourses delivered for private distribution only, by permission of his master Mawlana Shaykh Muhammad Nazim Adil Al-Haqqani World Leader of the Most Distinguished Naqshbandi Sufi Order
Ramadan 1427/ September-October 2006
YAYASAN HAQQANI INDONESIA
Š Shaykh Muhammad Hisham Kabbani, 2006
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form, or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, or otherwise, without the written permission of the author. All inquiries may be sent to the author, Shaykh Muhammad Hisham Kabbani, c/o the Yayasan Haqqani Indonesia.
Published and Distributed by: Yayasan Haqqani Indonesia Jl. Teuku Umar No.41, Jakarta 10310 INDONESIA Tel & Fax: (021) 315-3014 Email: alhaqqani@gmail.com Web: http://www.naqsybandi.web.id By permission of: Naqshbandi Haqqani Sufi Order of America
m Every time that you are eating from the spiritual food, the taste is going to be completely different. Because for Allah ď ‰, knowledge is always in ascension. As knowledge is ascending, every time you receive the spiritual table of food, the ingredients are going to be of a certain level, not of the level you had tasted before. If you have tasted it before you are not ascending or progressing. If at every association you don't find a different flavour it means we are still at the same level we were before. Shaykh Muhammad Hisham Kabbani Îş
Shaykh Muhammad Nazim Adil al-Haqqani κ with his sonin-law, Shaykh Muhammad Hisham Kabbani κ (right), and his brother, Shaykh Muhammad Adnan Kabbani κ (left).
CONTENTS Contents ................................................................................................. 5 Foreword................................................................................................ 7 Publisher’s Notes .................................................................................. 9 About The Author............................................................................... 11 Intercession of Sayyida Fatima ..................................................... 13 Every Day is a Different Manifestation ........................................... 22 Three Trees........................................................................................... 29 Allah ’s Guidance Always Runs After Everyone....................... 38 Everything Brings Wisdom ............................................................... 47 Dunya Like a Toy ................................................................................ 57 Physical and Spiritual Sustenance.................................................... 66 Al-Wakeel ........................................................................................ 75 The Second Character of Awliya ....................................................... 83 The Importance of Love in Everything We Do............................... 90 On Training.......................................................................................... 99 Our Way is Association.................................................................... 108 Humbleness ....................................................................................... 115 Build Your Own Foundation........................................................... 127 Specialty Thru The Presence of Awliya ......................................... 136 Any `Amal You Do is a Hajj ............................................................. 143 The Manifestations of The Beautiful Names and Attributes ...... 151 `Itikāf ................................................................................................... 159
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Family Manners ................................................................................ 164 Worse Than Kaafir............................................................................. 170 From His Mercy Sickness Comes ................................................... 176 For Every Sickness There Is a Cure ................................................ 184 Musaamaha,......................................................................................... 192 Listen And Take Heed ..................................................................... 200 Why Do We Take a Shaykh............................................................. 209 Try To Fix Yourself ........................................................................... 218 The Summary of All The Hadith and All The Verses of Holy Quran........ 226
Let Us Be Sheep Not The Shepherd ............................................... 229 A Huge Treasure............................................................................... 240 The Kind of Teaching and Wisdom We Need .............................. 246 Khutbat Al-`Eid................................................................................. 257
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FOREWORD
Praise be to God who has revealed to the purest of mankind, our master Muhammad the Messenger of God , the wonderful signs of His Wisdom, bestowed on him the goodness of His knowledge and love, and honored him with the stewardship of this life and the next. He is the source from whom all saints draw their secret. He is the ocean of plenitude in which the Gnostics sail forth in search of the knowledge of God, of His Attributes and of the manifestations of His Glory. Ramadan Suhba of Mawlana Shaykh Hisham Kabbani κ are a source of light and energy, an oasis in a worldly desert and the secret behind the motion of every living cell. The teaching of Grandshaykh are such that those who follow them with aatentiveness and diligence may reach perfected stations and attain the stations of the saints in previous times. What has been opened to followers of the Sufi path in this time has never been opened before, regardless of the efforts of the seekers, just as an average citizen today has capabilities at his hands that far surpass those available to even kings in previous centuries. A simple example will illustrate this reality: in the nineteenth century, to go from one end of England to the other would take at least two days by locomotive. Today, airline passengers travel at twice the speed of sound in Concorde jets, crossing all of England in a few short minutes. As the world around us darkens with negativity, many seek the beacon of light that will lead them to the Divine shelter of peace and protection. We therefore sought to present the spiritual discipline dating back to Prophet Muhammad in the early
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seventh century, preserved by the Naqshbandi Sufi Masters over the course of forty generations. These lessons are designed to overcome doubt and other negative attributes that bind one to the physical world, thereby opening the heart to spiritual elevation. This talk are alive with the tales of spiritual masters of the Sufi path and in the retelling of their spiritual exploits the level of the reader is elevated, increasing his or her desire to build a connection with the angelic heavenly realm to which these saints were and are connected. It is hoped through this humble work you, our dear reader, will come to better understand the inner teachings of the Sufi Way in Islam; namely, the practice of moderation, compassion, to follow the middle course, to hold patience, to uphold tolerance and respect for others and to avoid conflicts through peaceful means of approach. Terrorism, on the other hand, stands condemned by every ethical person as one of today’s most terrible evils. Above all, our Grandshaykh’s teaching are to love God, appreciate His Divine favors, and strive in His service. The greatest Sufi teaching is that there is no higher station than serving the Lord Almighty and serving God’s creation, human beings.
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PUBLISHER’S NOTES
References from the Quran and the hadith (holy traditions) are most commonly italicized and offset. References from the Quran are noted in parenthesis, i.e. [Ali Imran, 3:127], indicating Surah Ali Imran, the third chapter, verse 127. References from hadith are attributed to their transmitter, i.e. Bukhari, Muslim, Ahmed, etc. Quotes from other sources are offset without italics. Dates of events are characterized as “AH/CE,” which infers “after Hijrah (migration)” on which the Islamic calendar is based, and “Christian Era,” respectively. Muslims around the world typically offer praise upon speaking, hearing, or reading the name “Allah” and any of the Islamic names of God. Muslims also offer salutation and/or invoke blessing upon speaking, hearing or reading the names of Prophet Muhammad, other prophets, his family, his companions, and saints. We have applied the following international standards, using Arabic calligraphy and lettering: subhaanahu wa ta`ala (Glorified and Exalted), after the proper name of God, “Allah” in Arabic. sall-Allaahu `alayhi wa sallam (God’s blessings and greetings of peace be upon him) following the names of the Prophet. `alayhi ‘s-sallaam (peace be upon him) following the names of other prophets, angels, and Khidr. `alayha ‘s-sallaam (peace be upon her) following the name of Mary, Mother of Jesus. radi-Allahu `anh/anha (may God be pleased with him/her) following the name of a male or female companion of the Prophet.
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κ qaddas-Allahu sirrah (may God sanctify his secret) following the name of a saint. Transliteration Transliteration is provided in the glossaries and in the section on the spiritual practices to facilitate correct pronunciation and is based on the following system: Symbol Transl. Symbol Transl. Vowels ء ط Long a t ﺁ ىā ب ظ b z ت ع و t `a ū ث غ ي th gh ī ج ف Short j f ق ح q a h َ خ ك kh k u ُ د ل d l i ِ ذ م dh m ر ن r n ز ﻩ z h س و s w ش ي sh y ة ص ah; at s ال ض al-/’ld
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
haykh Muhammad Hisham Kabbani κ is a worldrenowned author and religious scholar. He has devoted his life to the promotion of the traditional Islamic principles of peace, tolerance, love, compassion and brotherhood, while opposing extremism in all its forms. The shaykh is a member of a respected family or traditional Islamic scholar, which includes the former head of the Association of Muslim Scholars of Lebanon and the present Grand Mufti (the highest Islamic religious authority in the country) of Lebanon.
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In the U.S., Shaykh Kabbani κ serves as Chairman, Islamic Supreme Council of America; Founder, Naqshbandi Sufi Order of America; Advisor, World Organization for Resource Development and Education; Chairman, As-Sunnah Foundation of America; Chairman, Kamilat Muslim Women’s Organization; and Founder and President, The Muslim Magazine. Shaykh Kabbani κ is highly trained, both as a Western scientist and as a classical Islamic scholar. He received a bachelor’s degree in chemistry and studied medicine. In addition, he also holds a degree in Islamic Divine Law, and under the tutelage of Shaykh `Abd Allah Daghestani ¬, license to teach, guide and counsel religious students in Islamic spirituality from Shaykh Muhammad Nazim `Adil al-Qubrusi al-Haqqani an-Naqshbandi ¬, the world leader of the Naqshbandi Haqqani Sufi Order.
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His books include: Keys to the Divine Kingdom (2005); Classical Islam and the Naqshbandi Sufi Order (2004), The Naqshbandi Sufi Tradition Guidebook (2004); The Approach of Armageddon? An Islamic Perspective (2003); Encyclopaedia of Muhammad’s Women Companions and the Traditions They Related (1998, with Dr. Laleh Bakhtiar); Encyclopaedia of Islamic Doctrine (7 vols. 1998); Angels Unveiled (1996); The Naqshbandi Sufi Way (1995); Remembrance of God Liturgy of the Sufi Naqshbandi Masters (1994). In his long-standing endeavour to promote better understanding of classical Islam, Shaykh Kabbani κ has hosted two international conferences in the United States, both of which drew scholars from throughout the Muslim world. As a resounding voice for traditional Islam, his counsel is sought by journalists, academics and government leaders.
INTERCESSION OF SAYYIDA FATIMA 2 Ramadan 1427/24 September 2006
A`udhu billahi min ash-shaytaan ir-rajeem Bismillahi 'r-Rahmani 'r-Raheem Nawaytu'l-arba`een, nawaytu'l-`itikaaf, nawaytu'l-khalwah, nawaytu'l-riyaada, nawaytu's-salook, nawaytu'l-`uzlah lillahi ta`ala fee hadha'l-masjid. Ati` Allah wa ati` ar-Rasula wa uli 'l-amri minkum
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n the previous session we were discussing the marriage of Sayyidina `Ali and Sayyida Fatima az-Zahra . And we were saying that Allah created the whole universe for the sake of Sayyidina Muhammad . .ﻟﻮﻻﻙ ﻟﻮﻻﻙ ﻣﺎ ﺧﻠﻘﺖ ﺍﻷﻓﻼﻙ
“Law laka, law laka ma khalaqta al-aflaak” “If not for you, [O Muhammad ], I would not have created the heavenly bodies.” Whatever the Prophet wants, will happen. Allah will never to Prophet no. He never spoke except it was revelation. ﻯﻬﻮ ﻋﻦِ ﺍْﻟ ﻖ ﻨﻄﺎ ﻳﻭﻣ Ma yantiqa `an il-hawa in huwa illa wahyun yuha.
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He does not speak from his own desires, that [which he conveys to you] is but [a divine] inspiration with which he is being inspired. [An-Najm, 53:3-4] With all that he asked, when he was asking his daughter if she will marry `Umar , if she will marry Sayyidina `Ali , he asked her if she will accept him, although he has the right to ask her, because his words are revelation, but still he asked her whether she likes or not. Grandshaykh said that today there are people who force their daughters who to marry for a handful of money and if they don’t marry the one they like they beat them. He is mukaarim al-akhlaq, he doesn’t have to ask, best of manners, although he could tell his daughter you have to marry, but he asked her, “Do you like to marry Sayyidina `Ali .” And she said, “No!” and we explained that in the previous session. But Grandshaykh put here between two brackets a small story. When she said, “No!” the Prophet got red, because she said, “No!” and that is because he thought, and this is a very important point, in order to teach us and make sure you understand that point. He got red [embarrassed]. He thought that there is a… that she doesn’t want to marry Sayyidina `Ali because Allah gave Sayyidina `Ali these eyebrows, long ones and they are connecting, like the forehead here is coming out like a visor, so when he is, as he is well known that he is very strong and when fighting his enemy he was sweating a lot and in order to keep seeing, the eyebrows would collect the sweat, like something that collects the rain, and carries it to the side, he was like that and the Prophet thought that because he is like that and therefore she likes Sayyidina `Umar as Sayyidina `Umar is more beautiful than Sayyidina `Ali . This is the point and it is not for Prophet , because the Prophet knows. We say the Prophet knows everything and some say
INTERCESSION OF SAYYIDA FATIMA • 15
awliyaullah know everything. Don’t say, “The shaykh knows everything.” He is giving an example that if Allah wants His Prophet to know everything then His Prophet knows everything and for sure Allah gave him the `uloom al-awwaleen wal-akhireen – knowledge of the first and the lasts. Still he is teaching us that the Prophet got red before the Sahaba because he thought she thought that Sayyidina `Umar was more beautiful than Sayyidina `Ali . If Allah wants a wali to know then he inherits from Prophet , but if he doesn’t want him to know then he blocks him. So awliyaullah may be under a test also. So many people today think they reached a high level of spirituality. Whatever high level of spirituality you reached if Allah doesn’t want you to know, that blockage will be there, Allah will block you. That is an important point. Because all of us, we think when we get inspiration, something in our ears, it might not be the truth. I was discussing that point with someone, that you know there are today, thousands of emails coming and thousands of phone calls coming, they go through a server to be filtered to see which one is correct and which one has a meaning and which one has not meaning. Which one is a problem and which one is not a problem. There are big servers that filter these emails. Also our ears are like this, thousands and thousands of signals come. We have to filter them. If we cannot filter them then we mix apples and oranges and it becomes like a soup. Sayyidina Adam was a prophet and what happened? ِﺇ ﱠﻻ ﺃَﻥ َﺗ ُﻜﻮ�َﺎﺮﺓ ﺠ ﻦﺎ ﻣﻬﻤﻨﻋ ﻱ ِﻭﺭﺎ ﻭﺎ ﻣﻤﻱ َﻟﻬ ﺒﺪﻴﻥ ﻟ ﻴﻄَﺎﺸ ﺎ ﺍﻟﻤﺱ َﻟﻬ ﻮ ﺳ ﻮ َﻓ ﺸ ﺍﻟﺬﻩ ـﻦ ﻫ ﻋ ﺎﺑ ُﻜﻤﺭ ﺎﺎ ُﻛﻤﺎ َ�ﻬﻭﻗَﺎ َﻝ ﻣ ﺎﻬِﻤﺍﺗﻮﺀ ﺳ ﻦ ﻳﺪﺨﺎﻟ َ ﻦ ﺍْﻟ ﻭ َﺗ ُﻜﻮ�َﺎ ﻣ ﻴﻦِ َﺃﻣَﻠ َﻜ
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Fawaswasa lahuma ash-shaytanu liyubdiya lahuma ma wooriya `anhuma min sawaatihima wa qaala maa nahakuma rabbukuma `an hadthihi ashshajarati illa an takoona malakayni aw takoona mina alkhalideena Then began Satan to whisper suggestions to them, bringing openly before their minds all their shame that was hidden from them (before) he said: “Your Lord only forbade you this tree, lest ye should become angels or such beings as live for ever.” [Al-A’raf, 7:20] Shaytaan came and whispered in their ears to show them they were wrong and to humiliate them. As soon as they listened what happened? All their private parts appeared. So what did they do? They began to take leaves and cover themselves. So don’t expose yourself… you think what is coming to you is correct, that Allah told them not to eat from the tree, because Allah doesn’t want you to become two angels who will live forever. So they mixed the apples and oranges; they mixed the real inspirations of heavens and the ones from Iblees and they didn’t filter it, and what happened? They fell down. So always when something comes don’t say, “That is the truth.” Try to filter it. Try to make it clear and in order that we will not do a mistake we try to check what we are getting. So Grandshaykh said that sometimes people don’t have enough knowledge and will be confused. So what do they have to do? They must put the issue in the mizan, the scale, Shariah-wise and ask “Is this acceptable Shariah-wise or not?” Grandshaykh said if you think it is not acceptable leave it; that is not an inspiration that is a whisper. So we have to be very careful in what comes to our ears. Look like one wali, he said, and I will jump forward [in the notes] in order to explain [this subtle point]: Grandshaykh, may Allah bless him, said that one wali said, “Ya Rabbee, I am not happy with your angels.”
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Awliyaullah are like that. They are in a haal, a trance. He said, “I am not happy with Your angels. I am not accepting them; all of them.” Allah said, “If you don’t accept them, they are My angels.” It means, “You will go to hellfire.” He said, “I will go to hellfire, but I don’t accept them.” The inspiration was coming to his heart how? “You will go to hellfire.” He said, “I prefer to go to hellfire than to accept them.” Then Allah said, “Why?” Awliyaullah they have haatif, we say heavenly telephone, heavenly direct line they can hear. Not they can hear directly but they hear the Divine Presence through angels. But he is not accepting that, even though he is hearing through them (angels). He said, “Send me to hellfire, I will be happier there than sitting with them.” Allah asked, “Why?” That wali said, “Because ya Rabbee when you asked them something they criticized and complained.” He asked, “What did they complain?” “Ya Rabbee you said: َﻙﻤﺪ ﺤ ِﺢ ﺑ ﺒﺴ �ُ ﻦ ﺤ �َﻭ ﺎﺀﺪﻣ ﻚ ﺍﻟ ﻔﺴ ﻳﺎ ﻭﻴﻬﺪ ﻓ ْﻔﺴﻦ ﻳﺎ ﻣﻴﻬﻌ ُﻞ ﻓ ﺠ ﻴ َﻔ ًﺔ َﻗﺎﻟُﻮْﺍ َﺃَﺗﺧﻠ ِﺽﻲ ﺍ َﻷﺭ ٌﻞ ﻓﺎﻋ ﺇِ�ﱢﻲ ﺟ َﻜﺔﻼﺋ ﻤ ْﻠﻚﻟ ﺑﺭ ﻭﺇِ ْﺫ ﻗَﺎ َﻝ ﺱ َﻟ ﺪ ﻭُ� َﻘ ﻥ ﻮﻌَﻠﻤ ﺎ َﻻ َﺗﻢ ﻣ ﻋَﻠ ﻚ ﻗَﺎ َﻝ ﺇِ�ﱢﻲ َﺃ Wa idh qaala Rabbuka lil-malaikati innee ja`ilun fee al-ardi khaleefatan qaloo ataj`alu feeha man yufsidu feeha wa yasfiku ad-dimaa wanahnu nusabbihu bihamdika wa nuqaddisu laka qala innee a`lamu ma la ta`lamoona. Behold, thy Lord said to the angels: “I will create a vicegerent on earth.” They said: “Wilt Thou place therein one who will make mischief therein and shed blood?- whilst we do celebrate Thy praises and glorify Thy holy (name)?” He said: “I know what ye know not.” [Al-Baqarah, 2:30]
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The wali is saying on the tongue of Grandshaykh. Look awliyaullah how far their knowledge goes. “You said ya Rabbee, ‘I am going to make a calipha on earth.’ They said, ‘O what is this? You are going to make a human race that is going to shed blood on earth. We are enough, we are praising you.’” It means they have objected on what Allah said. They have to say “yes, sami`na wa ata`na.” Allah said, “I know more than you.” Because they did that, what did Allah do? He taught Adam the whole Names. ﲔ ﻗﺎﺩﻢ ﺻ ﻻﺀ ﺇِﻥ ﻛُﻨ ُﺘـﺆﺎﺀ ﻫﺳﻤ ﻲ ِﺑ َﺄ� َﻓﻘَﺎ َﻝ َﺃ�ﺒُِﺌﻮ َﻜﺔﻼﺋ ﻤ ﻋﻠَﻰ ﺍْﻟ ﻢ ﻬﺿ َ ﺮ ﻋ ﻢ ﺎ ُﺛﺎﺀ ُﻛﱠﻠﻬﺳﻤ ﻡ ﺍ َﻷﺩ ﻢ ﺁ ﻋﱠﻠ ﻭ ﻢ ﻴﺤﻜ ﻢ ﺍْﻟ ﻴﻌﻠ ﺖ ﺍْﻟ �ﻚ َﺃ �ﺎ ﺇِﱠﻤَﺘﻨ ﻋﱠﻠ ﺎﺎ ِﺇ ﱠﻻ ﻣﻢ َﻟﻨ ْﻠﻚ َﻻ ﻋ �َﺤﺎ ﺒﺳ َﻗﺎﻟُﻮْﺍ Wa `allama adama al-asmaa kullaha thumma `aradahum `ala al-malaikati faqaala anbioonee biasmai haulai in kuntum saadiqeen Qaaloo subhanaka la `ilma lana illa ma `allamtana innaka anta al-`aleemu al-hakeem. And He imparted unto Adam the names of all things; then He brought them within the ken of the angels and said: “Declare unto Me the names of these [things], if what you say is true.” They replied: “Limitless art Thou in Thy glory! No knowledge have we save that which Thou hast imparted unto us. Verily, Thou alone art all-knowing, truly wise.” [Al-Baqarah, 2:31-32] Because they said that Allah wants to show them that Adam is honoured more than them. So He taught him the names. What names? Mine and your names? For the sake of the light of Sayyidina Muhammad Allah was teaching him the names. It means He is giving to Adam to reach
INTERCESSION OF SAYYIDA FATIMA • 19
the light of Sayyidina Muhammad in the forehead of Sayyidina Adam and He taught the names of every creation that Allah is creating in every moment. He told them, “Tell me their names?” And they said, “We don’t know.” And then Allah said to Adam to show them the Names. ﺎﻭﻣ ﻥ ﻭﺒﺪﺎ ُﺗﻢ ﻣ ﻋَﻠ ﻭَﺃ ِﺽﺍ َﻷﺭ ﻭﺍﺕﺎﻭﺴﻤ ﺐ ﺍﻟ ﻴﻢ َﻏ ﻋَﻠ ﻢ ﺇِ�ﱢﻲ َﺃ ﻢ َﺃﻗُﻞ ﱠﻟ ُﻜ ﻢ ﻗَﺎ َﻝ ﺃَﻟ ِﻬﻤﺂﺋ ﺳ ﻢ ِﺑ َﺄ ﻫ ﺒ َﺄ�ﺎ َﺃﻢ َﻓَﻠﻤ ِﻬﻤﺂﺋ ﺳ ﻢ ِﺑ َﺄﻡ َﺃ�ِﺒْﺌﻬﺩ ﺎ ﺁﻗَﺎ َﻝ ﻳ ﻥ ﻮﻢ َﺗ ْﻜُﺘﻤ ﻛُﻨُﺘ Qaala ya adamu anbihum biasmaihim falamma anbaahum biasmaihim qaala alam aqul lakum innee a`lamu ghayba as-samawati wal-ardi wa a`lamu ma tubdoona wa maa kuntum taktumoon. Said He: “O Adam , convey unto them the names of these [things].” And as soon as [Adam ] had conveyed unto them their names, [God] said: “Did I not say unto you, `Verily, I alone know the hidden reality of the heavens and the earth, and know all that you bring into the open and all. that you would conceal'?” [Al-Baqarah, 2:33] Then the wali said, “That is why I don’t like them, they didn’t listen and obey you.” So these awliya are so beloved to Allah . Awliyaee tahta qibaabee laa y`alamahum ghayree. “My saints are under My domes, no one knows them except Me.” I am saying to everyone, except to Nurjan, only to everyone else, but mainly to someone that he knows was speaking to everyone. So these inspirations have to be filtered. You cannot take everything and begin to say it.
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When we were young me and Shaykh Adnan ¬, whatever Grandshaykh says we completely accept blindly, which is correct. So out of love wherever inspiration or whispering come to our ears so it was like orange and apples, like a soup. So out of love we were saying things and praising Grandshaykh and saying things that you cannot say sometimes that goes beyond the limits. Or there was discussion of issues, and then we say out what the inspirations come to us. So when we did this, due to something we printed, the court called Grandshaykh. We printed something in Arabic and they didn’t understand it. We were young. Out of love, sometimes Grandshaykh says something in private to people and you cannot spread these things as people will not understand the spiritual dimension of what you say. So they wanted an explanation of what he said. They called him to the court. And we have to take Grandshaykh to court and stand before a judge. So you have to be very careful. Sometimes spiritual issues have been given to you and you have to weigh it. You cannot post it on the Internet and create a problem for nothing. So we go back to [the story of] Sayyida Fatima az-Zahra that on Judgment Day before everything, she will say, “Ya Rabbee give me my dowry.” That dowry is the whole Ummah. “Else my marriage with Sayyidina `Ali is not completed?” So Allah will give the whole Ummah for Sayyida Fatima . Look for one lady, how Allah honoured Ahlul-Bayt, and honoured women because they are women. Women are women and men are men. Look that woman, even before going on the Bridge, Sirat. Grandshaykh said that Allah will make His judgment. The
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people of Hell [will be sent] to Hell and the people of Paradise to Paradise. And she will ask to have her dowry. That is before the intercession of the Prophet . One lady will pull them out. Now what do you expect Prophet to intercede? His intercession is to dress the whole Ummah with the manifestations of mercy that are coming on Judgment Day. Thus by intercession of Sayyida Fatima they will be taken to Paradise and with the intercession of the Prophet they will be raised in level to the level of: ﻴﻘًﺎﺭﻓ ﻚ ﻦ ُﺃﻭﻟَـﺌ ﺴ ﺣ ﻭ ﲔ ﺤﺼﺎﻟ ﻭﺍﻟ ﺍﺀﻬﺪ ﺸ ﻭﺍﻟ ﲔ ﺪﻳﻘ ﺼ ﻭﺍﻟ ﲔ ﻴِﻨﺒﻦ ﺍﻟ ﻣ ﻴﻬِﻢﻋَﻠ ﻪ ﻢ ﺍﻟّﻠ ﻌ �ْﻦ َﺃ ﻳﺍﱠﻟﺬ Alladheena an`ama Allahu `alayhim mina an-nabiyyeena was-siddeeqeena wash-shuhadai was-saaliheena wa hasuna ula’ika rafeeqa. Those on whom is the Grace of Allah , of the prophets (who teach), the sincere (lovers of Truth), the witnesses (who testify), and the Righteous (who do good): Ah! what a beautiful fellowship! [An-Nisaa, 4:69] Wa min Allah at-tawfeeq bi hurmati ‘l-Fatiha.
EVERY DAY IS A DIFFERENT MANIFESTATION 3 Ramadan 1427/25 September 2006
A`udhu billahi min ash-shaytaan ir-rajeem Bismillahi 'r-Rahmani 'r-Raheem Nawaytu'l-arba`een, nawaytu'l-`itikaaf, nawaytu'l-khalwah, nawaytu'l-riyaadah, nawaytu's-salook, nawaytu'l-`uzlah lillahi ta`ala fee hadha'l-masjid Ati` Allah wa ati` ar-Rasula wa uli 'l-amri minkum
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very day there is a different tajalli, manifestation. Allah said, ٍﺷ ْﺄﻥ ﻲﻮ ﻓ ﻫ ٍﻡﻳﻮ ُﻛ ﱠﻞ kullu yawmin Huwa fee shaan.
Every day, His manifestations come more and more through His universes and through His creation and no one knows what will be the manifestation for the second or even for the third moment. “Every day” means “every moment.” Because every moment in heavenly time is a huge time. A moment might be the whole life of the world to Allah’s time. One time Sayyidina Bilal wanted to call for the prayer, Dhuhr or `Asr, I don’t remember, and this is a story from Grandshaykh. And the Prophet said, “Wait!” Then one moment later he said, “Call it now!” The Sahaaba were surprised. Between “wait” and then “call it”, was not even one second. And the Prophet said, “From
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the moment I said to him ‘wait’ and the time I said to him ‘call,’ the universe moved 500,000 heavenly years to come to the exact moment of the prayer.” Today we call the prayer according to the turning of the earth around its axle, and as it turns around its axle the time zone changes. But heavenly adhaan is based on how much the universe is moving and the time is changing and the call of the adhaan is stretching forward, like you are stretching a straight line from the beginning of creation when Allah ordered Sayyidina Adam to pray, that is from that time forward every prayer is according to the movement of this universe in this vacuum. How much is it moving in this vacuum? They say it is moving at the speed of light. To where? No one knows. That is the heavenly timing, not the turning of earth around the axle and the turning of the earth around the sun, which is one year. And all the timing of the prayers is according to that timing in heaven. Imagine how much we are moving in space and we don’t know it. That is why “kullu yawmin Huwa fee shaan - Every moment He tends to a different matter.” It means a different manifestation and what Allah creates no one understands except Sayyidina Muhammad . That is why awliyaullah are standing helpless. Allah made them awliya but if Allah doesn’t want nothing will happen. Sayyidina Muhammad was telling the Sahaaba about the Antimessiah, the Massihi ’d-Dajjal. The Sahaaba were looking behind the trees, they were feeling it so near; that he is behind the date palm trees, so near is his coming. The Prophet said there is going to be a big struggle in Umuq valley. Umuq valley is in Turkey, by Adana, these areas, and that bloodshed is going to be too much in the ends of the last days, and then Mahdi comes. Sahaaba were looking for that. Awliyaullah are saying day and night, “tomorrow, today, tomorrow, today.” Every moment they are expecting that is going to happen.
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Grandshaykh said, “Since I was seven years of age and the ulama, from the great fitna, ulama were saying it is going to happen this year.” My Grandshaykh’s teacher Shaykh Sharafuddin ¬ used to say, “Today or tomorrow.” Mawlana Shaykh Nazim ¬ is saying, “Today or tomorrow.” Most important is not to weigh what awliyaullah say. You cannot understand them. When they say something they are raising you up to that level. Waiting for Mahdi they are raising you to that level of worship. So don’t weigh what they say. Muhammad al-Busayri ¬ is the one who composed the poem alBurda and the poem al-Mudarriyya. He said, “Inna lana min alinaayat ruknun ghayra munhadimi - We have been given glad tidings of a pillar of something we can lean on.” It means when you lean on something you are standing and you don’t fall. Although there are a lot of cracks around you but by leaning on something that will save you from falling because you are holding it. That is good tidings for us, Ummat an-Nabi , Allah gave us not something to lean on, but a very strong power to lean. He gave us Sayyidina Muhammad , the perfect one to lean on. To lean on for what? We have a lot of cracks in our lives from our sins. But having that love of Sayyidina Muhammad in our heart will make you to be always successful. So he said, ”Don’t be afraid, Ya ummata Muhammad .” As Sayyidina Ali saw. That poetry is because Imam al-Busayri ¬ knew about Sayyidina Ali , when Prophet called him and told him, “Look at me from the belly and up” and he didn’t see the Prophet’s head, as it was going so high near the Throne and he was not able to see his head. Then he said, “Look at me from the belly and down” and he saw the Prophet so huge, that his knees
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were reaching down to seven earths and he was only able to see to his knees and no farther. Then he said, “Look at me all” and he saw the Prophet’s appearance filling this universe. Al-Busayri ¬ understood that there is no one to be asked on behalf of the Ummah except Sayyidina Muhammad . When the Prophet is asked and then he answers what is there to be asked after that? The Prophet is to be asked for all of us. Sayyida Fatima put us all in her dowry. And the Prophet’s shafa`a is going to rise to higher stations in Paradise. Don’t think that sins can prevent you from entering Paradise. The Prophet was given shafa`a to erase the sins. But we most not do the sins. We must repent. Whenever we do something we need to repent. Because imaan is different levels. You cannot say you don’t have imaan, for no, you believe in Allah and His Prophet . But one time the level of imaan drops and you act wrongly and do a sin. Immediately you have to repent to bring back the status of your level as it was before. Instead of letting imaan to go lower try to make it go higher. How many verse of Holy Qur’an are there about those who make their imaan more stronger, more stronger, saying: “Ya ayyuhalladheena aamanoo aaminoo - O ye who believe! Believe…” You already believe, so now go higher in belief. Go to `ayn al-yaqeen, ilm al-yaqeen, haqq al-yaqeen. Certainty of knowledge, haqq al-yaqeen, the reality of certainty. That imaan going up higher and higher. That is why we say that every day is a different manifestation. This Ramadan is different from last Ramadan. It is a different manifestation. This Ramadan coming and this year is carrying a lot of heavy load. There is too much going to happen in this year. I don’t understand—as soon as time comes like 4 pm in the
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afternoon I begin to have no power. Completely; my power goes completely away. What awliyaullah are working on we don’t look, they don’t let you to know. But by Maghrib time I cannot raise my head. I cannot stand. It is impossible. That happened Saturday, first. And it happened Sunday. Saturday I managed, Friday was difficult, but yesterday completely - no more power that you can stand. That is a sign of heavy load in this year. Awliyaullah… Grandshaykh, may Allah bless his soul, used to say when Shaykh Sharafuddin ¬ needs power he used to take power from him. So when Grandshaykh needed more power he said, “I take from Shaykh Nazim’s ¬ power.” We are not that level but we feel that something is going on. That this year from Ramadan to Ramadan is going to be full of events that might narrow the way for Sayyidina Mahdi to come that he doesn’t need weapons. Sayyidina Mahdi doesn’t need dunya power to appear. Allah gives him heavenly power. When people look at him they believe. He doesn’t come with swords or machine gun; he comes with love. He doesn’t fight. He stops the war, he makes peace. He prepares for Sayyidina Isa to come. If we want to be in that time or we want to be written from those who are going to be in that time our duty is to obey what the Prophet brought. Obedience to Prophet is obedience to Allah : ﻴﻈًﺎﺣﻔ ﻢ ﻴِﻬﻋَﻠ ﺎ َﻙﺳْﻠﻨ ﺭ ﺎ َﺃﻮﻟﱠﻰ َﻓﻤ ﻦ َﺗﻭﻣ ﻉ ﺍﻟّﻠﻪ ﺪ َﺃﻃَﺎ ﻮ َﻝ َﻓ َﻘﺮﺳ ﻊِ ﺍﻟﻄﻦ ﻳ ﻣ Man yuti`i ar-rasoola faqad ata`a Allaha waman tawalla fama arsalnaaka `alayhim hafeedha He who obeys the Messenger, obeys Allah. But if any turn away, We have not sent thee to watch over their (evil deeds). [An-Nisaa, 4:80] “Whoever is obeying Prophet is obeying Allah .”
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On the 15th of Sha`ban this year, Prophet ordered all awliya to be in his presence to give them responsibilities for the coming three years. These responsibilities that are like a plan, a three-year plan, what they are going to face and how they are going to solve [it]. Many awliyaullah were asking Prophet out of love to humanity, because Mahdi comes between difficulties, to delay these difficulties, in order that people will be happy in these three years. But when the order comes it comes. They cannot stop anything. Awliyaullah are already been informed that they have to be ready to take care of the human race in order that when times come they are going to be all of them knowing what they have to pray and to recite through the inspiration to their hearts. Awliyaullah like Sayyidina Mahdi inheriting from him, they don’t come with power or force. He comes with love. They inspire their followers what to recite and what to do. So when inspiration comes to you to pray two rakaats, do it quickly. When it comes to you to do istighfaar do it quickly; don’t delay. When it comes to pray on Prophet , do it. Making du`a always asking Allah protection from what difficulties that are coming. These are inspirations coming to the heart from awliya to prevent you from the traps of Shaytaan. So whatever comes do it immediately, don’t delay. If it comes to the heart to open the Qur’an and read, do it. Because (normally) ego will not let you do it. It will make all kinds of excuses not to say prayers or reading Qur’an and tahleel, takbeer, tahmeed. Especially in these three years that are coming. That is why I am feeling that losing this power means there is something. It did not happen last year. It happened this year. We ask Allah to give us power to fast His month [Ramadan] and to bring happiness to people on earth.
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Obeying Prophet is to do as much as we can; what we do is not like what awliyaullah do. They do by `ilm al-yaqeen, `ayn al-yaqeen, haqq al-yaqeen. We don’t. We do by not knowing anything or seeing anything, but by imitation. Tashabbuh, Imitation. Trying to make as they are making, like what they are making, in order that we will be accepted their presence and they will take us to presence of the Prophet . Allah gave us three trees. Three huge trees and on every tree there are a lot of leaves and a lot of branches. And Allah gave that in dunya, for people to be saved under these trees. If we keep these trees, keep watering them, the leaves will not fall and will be always green. They will be always like spring because you are watering them. Don’t change the climate on them. If you change the climate on them they become dry leaves and yellow and fall. Then no shadow on you. You need the shadow, the leaves and branches covering each other. And they have to be together they cannot be far apart, making shade under them. That shade will save you from burning sun. The first tree is Ati` Allah, the second is wa ati` ar-Rasula and the third tree is wa uli’l amri minkum. The first tree is “obey Allah ” and “obey the Prophet is the second tree” and “obey those in authority is the third tree.” We explain that next session Insha-Allah. Bi hurmati ‘l-Fatiha.
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THREE TREES 4 Ramadan 1427/26 September 2006
A`udhu billahi min ash-shaytaan ir-rajeem Bismillahi 'r-Rahmani 'r-Raheem Nawaytu'l-arba`een, nawaytu'l-`itikaaf, nawaytu'l-khalwah, nawaytu'l-riyaadah, nawaytu's-salook, nawaytu'l-`uzlah lillahi ta`ala fee hadha'l-masjid Ati` Allah wa ati` ar-Rasula wa uli 'l-amri minkum
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e said in previous session that Ati` Allah wa ati` ar-Rasula wa uli 'l-amri minkum is like three trees, and with many branches and with many leaves and they are connected to each other in order that you will get the shade.
Uli’l-amr, Allah ď ‰ ordered us to obey them and they are of two kinds as we know previously: one kind is those who are on authority for our dunya, of the country as a whole and those who are on authority for our properties; our country, by which I mean those who are responsible for all the citizens - they look after the country and the security and make it safe for everyone in the entire country. And the others are the ones who are looking after our country. Everyone has his country. His body and his soul are his or her country and awliyaullah are looking for the safety of every individual country from the enemy that comes from within and from without. There are two enemies, two kinds, two within and
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two without our selves. And both of them are characterized in four different levels: nafs, dunya, hawa and Shaytaan. Ego—bad ego, dunya—wealth, bad desires and the devil. So the awliyaullah are like the country at the border, they always have an army to protect the border to keep them from coming in and that does not mean that in the country there are not those within who are bad people who are trying to harm. So awliyaullah are always trying to protect from outside enemies and at the same time trying to protect from those who try to hit you inside. And they are monitoring the body and soul in order to reach you in every moment. Grandshaykh described that by a story about Sultan Abdul Hameed. Sultan Abdul Hameed was a very good and faithful king who used to imitate at night the way of Sayyidina Umar who goes at night looking for those who are in need of help or [to see] what the citizens are doing at night. So Sultan Abdul Hameed changed his clothes and disguised himself and went out. This shows that these authorities, either physical or the saints, always they don’t sleep. Always they sacrifice their rest for our sake. And that is why you have to listen and obey them and not reject them because they are looking after you. If you argue with them then they leave you and you find yourself falling apart. It is not your cleverness that makes things going well. If they pull their hand you fall down. Sayyidina Adam , Allah said [to him], “Don’t eat from that tree.” Shaytaan came and said “Eat from the tree,” and he went and ate. Allah let him eat to show him that if he is left unsupported he will fall and commit sin. So authorities are working for their citizens. Spiritual authorities are working of their students. They are not sleeping. If they pull
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their hand the student is in problem. If they see from the mureed too much arguing and too much doubt, then they pull their hands. Then the mureed will and fall and the mureed will learn. So Sultan Abdul Hameed went out and found three people playing kumar, gambling with each other and in between one of them said, “Oh! If [only] I was the son-in-law of the king! I wish to be the sonin-law of the king.” Immediately Sultan Abdul Hameed said to the ones accompanying him, “Write his address and his name.” And Mawlana said, “Don’t think there is no intelligence around you.” People are being observed what they are doing. That is why it is best to do according to the authority and to the law. Don’t think there is no police, not seeing. No! Police are observing you. So be good. And he put here between two brackets. Allah is al`Afuw . If you do something wrong He will forgive you. As Allah mentioned in the Holy Qur’an in many verses that “He is the one who forgives those who repent.” The Prophet also, Allah gave him that power to forgive. If anyone disobeys the Prophet ... That is why we are speaking on these three trees now—Ati`Allah. The Prophet said, “Shafa`atee li ahli'l-kabaa'ira min Umattee.” And Allah said: ﻢ ﻴﺮﺣ ﺭ ﺍﻟ ﻮ ﺍْﻟ َﻐﻔُﻮ ﻫ ﻪ �ﺎ ِﺇﱠﻴﻌﺟﻤ ﺏ ﺮ ﺍﻟ ﱡﺬ�ُﻮ ﻳ ْﻐﻔ ﻪ ﺍﻟﱠﻠ ِﺇﻥ ﺍﻟﱠﻠﻪﻤﺔ ﺣ ﺭ ﻦﻨﻄُﻮﺍ ﻣﻟَﺎ َﺗ ْﻘ Laa taqnatoo min rahmatillah, inna Allah yaghfir adh-dhunooba jami`yyan. Despair not of the Mercy of Allah. for Allah forgives all sins: for He is Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful. [Az-Zumar, 39:53]
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“Don’t lose hope of Allah’s repentance, repent.” But the uli’l-amr, those who are on authority, if you do something against the safety of the country the police immediately come and take you in. Awliyaullah also want to secure your safety. So they don’t want you to go into disobedience to them, and then they leave you. Then if they leave you, then you are going to know how much it is difficult. So he said, Grandshaykh is saying here, “Immediately they registered his name.” So be careful from uli’l-amr, those on authority. He said, “Hifdh allisaan min salaamat il-insan.” “To safeguard your tongue is to safeguard yourself.” To cut your tongue is better - not to cut it physically but try not to talk. Every problem is from the tongue. ﻣﻦ ﻳﻀﻤﻦ ﱄ ﻣﺎ ﺑﲔ ﳊﻴﻴﻪ ﻭﻣﺎ ﺑﲔ ﻓﺨﺬﻳﻪ ﺃﺿﻤﻦ ﻟﻪ ﺍﳉﻨﺔ :ﻭ ﻮﻝِ ﺍﻟﱠﻠﻪﺭﺳ ﻦ ﻋ ﻌﺪ ﺳ ِﻦﻞِ ﺑﺳﻬ ﻦ ﻋ ٍﺎﺯِﻡﺎ ﺣﻊ َﺍﺑ ﺳﻤ ﻲ ﺪﻣ ﻤ َﻘ ﺑ ْﻜﺮٍ ﺍْﻟ ﻦ َﺍﺑِﻲ ﺑ ﺪ ﻤ ﺤ ﻣ ﺎﺪَﺛﻨ ﺣ ﻪ ﺻﻠﱠﻰ ﺍﻟﱠﻠ ﱟﻋﻠ ﻦ ﺑ ﺮ ﻤ ﻋ ﺎﺪَﺛﻨ ﺣ ﻲ 1
ﻨ َﺔﺠ ﻪ ﺍْﻟ ﻦ َﻟ ﻤ ﺿ ْ َﺍﻴﻪﺟَﻠ ﻦ ِﺭ ﻴﺑ ﺎﻭﻣ ﻴﻪﻴﺤ ﻦ َﻟ ﻴﺑ ﺎﻲ ﻣﻦﻟ ﻤ ﻀ ْ ﻳ ﻦ ﻣ ﻢ ﻗَﺎ َﻝ ﺳﱠﻠ ﻭ ﻴﻪﻋَﻠ
The Prophet said, “Bima ma`na al hadith, “man damina ma bayna fakhayhi wa ma bayna fadkhadayhi admamtu lahu al-jannah” “Whoever guaranteed for me what is between his jaws and what is between his legs, I will guarantee for him paradise.” The worst is the tongue. The tongue is always barking, always arguing. All of us. That is why they say: “if talking is from silver, then silence is from gold.” It means it is always best not to talk. 1
Bukhari, Kitab ar-Riqaq, (Bab Hifz al-Lisan, 23), #6552.
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Why to talk? You make yourself into problems. Either you make the authorities to take you into problems or make awliya against you or make the Prophet to be unhappy with you. It is better to talk by saying Subhanallah, wa Alhamdulillah, Allahu Akbar, make salawat on Prophet and to recite Qur’an. Talk what is necessary or else keep quiet. The second one, because there were three, said, “I like to take the king to make me the Minister of Treasury to take as much as I like from his treasures. Whatever I want I take. I’d like that.” So he is giving here what the ego likes. It means, “I like wealth.” The first one didn’t like wealth, he said I like to get married to the daughter of the king, it means he wants to be around the king, around that happy moment. The other doesn’t care, he wants the money. So the third said, “I want to be Sultan Abdul Hameed.” The king said, “Take their names.” So he took their names and the next day, he said, “Bring them [to me].” Sultan Abdul Hameed was very pure person, he knows, because he was a spiritual emperor. Next morning he sent the police to get them. When the police came to them they were worried but they didn’t do anything. Even though they didn’t do anything but what they have been talking has been registered. They didn’t talk against the sultan. Today people speak against the government and against awliyaullah and if they don’t find anyone to speak against they speak against themselves. Even they speak against themselves. We are molded like that with anger. The Prophet told Abu Bakr as-Siddiq , “al-ghadabu kufr, Ya Aba Bakr -- anger is unbelief.” If we are not angry with our government we are angry with awliyaullah. We don’t like what they say and if we have a horse we beat the horse and if we have no horse we torture ourselves.
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So Sultan Abdul Hameed found the first one who said, “I want to be the sultan’s son in law.” That one’s heart is clean. Sayyidina `Umar married the Prophet’s [grand] daughter in order to be touching Ahl al-Bayt. Because the Prophet said “Whoever touches the body of Ahl al-Bayt will enter Paradise.” [He did that] in order to show his love to the Prophet . So that person didn’t want wealth or anything—only to be in that presence. So Sultan Abdul Hameed called the Shaykhul-Islam, and told him, “Make a marriage for that man for my daughter.” How much he has been honored, Allahu Akbar. The second one he told him, “Since you are happy with treasures of this dunya that is going to disappear. Never mind, don’t make your eye with hasad. Jealousy. Don’t look at others what they have. If Allah didn’t give you how you can be like them, of physical wealth or spiritual wealth?” And he told him, “Bring your bags” and sent him to the Treasury and said, “Fill what you want.” He took a bag and filled it, he was happy with that money. The third, he told him, “You want to be Sultan Abdul Hameed?” He said, “Put him on my throne and tie him, from right and from left and from his legs.” And then he said, “Look above you.” He looked and saw a very sharp sword, hanging at the middle of the head. It comes above that chair, there is a sword hanging on the ceiling which goes immediately to the middle of the head of the sultan’s chair. You see—this is Sultan Abdul Hameed. Look at this sword hanging. That is connected to the ceiling by a very fine thread. It means “anything I do wrong, Allah is seeing me and Prophet is seeing me and anything I do wrong that thread will break.” So that man was looking at the sword and he was trembling. And he said to him, “Now you are here from morning to evening, I am giving you the choice to go or run away. But today you stay
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and sit. If you like, you sit more and if you don’t, you leave tonight.” So that man saw the sword moving with any wind comes or any breeze comes, it is shaking and about to fall. Allah put in his heart ru`b, fear. Any moment it is going to hit his head. And he said, “O my son! This is how we are day and night working for the benefit of the country and working to make ourselves safe and make our citizens safe from countries that are aggressors or terrorists that want to come and attack us.” What Mawlana Grandshaykh wants to say is that authorities don’t sleep. You are sleeping—you move here and you move there and no problem. But authorities are not sleeping; they are moving around and looking for any terrorist attack. Awliyaullah here, the other authority, are day and night observing what you are doing. How many times we said that awliya are hearing when you are sleeping they hear your movement in your bed from right to left like thunder. You don’t need to tell them if they are looking at you or not. They look and send to you tests to check you. When they are in a conference or in a park, and they want to check the microphones what do they do. “Test, test test.” Awliyaullah they have the mic, “test, test, test, O not good.” They raise the volume in order that the body will shake. They don’t send “test” [weakly]. They want to send you and break you down. They want to break you down and make you to surrender, until you say, “I am running away.” Until that moment to break you down completely, they don’t leave you. They like to break you down. How much I saw Grandshaykh trying, not trying, istaghfirullah, but testing his followers, from Mawlana Shaykh Nazim ¬, to everyone. And Mawlana Shaykh Nazim ¬ is testing all his followers, testing you and me and this one and that one, and this calipha and this
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representative. He does not say, “This one is my representative.” He gives him more hardship. We failed; what can we do? In any case they are saving us and looking at us and protecting us. So he was making that sword, as a way to make him always aware. In order any devil or attack on us they immediately jump on them in order for us not to be under that difficulty. Allah said in Holy Qur’an: ﻢ ﻬﻤ ﻌَﻠ ﻳ ﻪ ﻢ ﺍﻟّﻠ ﻬ�َﻤﻮ ﻌَﻠ ﻢ َﻻ َﺗ ِﻬ�ﺩﻭ ﻦﻦ ﻣ ﺧ ِﺮﻳ ﺁﻢ ﻭ ﻭ ُﻛ ﺪ ﻋ ﻭ ﻭ ﺍﻟﻠّﻪ ﺪ ﻋ ﻥ ِﺑﻪ ﻮﺒﻫﻞِ ُﺗﺮﺨﻴ َ ﺍْﻟﺎﻁﺭﺑ ﻦﻭﻣ ﻮﺓ ﻦ ُﻗﻌﺘُﻢ ﻣ ﺳَﺘ َﻄ ﺎ ﺍﻢ ﻣﻭْﺍ َﻟﻬﺪﻭَﺃﻋ ﻥ ﻮﻢ َﻻ ُﺗ ْﻈَﻠﻤ ﻭَﺃ� ُﺘ ﻢ ﻴ ُﻜﻑ ِﺇَﻟ ﻮ ﻳ ﺳﺒِﻴﻞِ ﺍﻟﻠّﻪ ﻲ ﻓﻲﺀ ﺷ ﻦﻘُﻮْﺍ ﻣﺎ ﺗُﻨﻔﻭﻣ Wa a`iddoo lahum ma’stata`tum min quwwatin wa min ribati alkhayli turhiboona bihi `aduwwa Allahi wa `aduwwakum waakhareena min doonihim la ta`lamoonahumu Allahu ya`lamuhum wa maa tunfiqoo min shayin fee sabeelillahi yuwaffa ilaykum wa antum laa tudhlamoon Against them make ready your strength to the utmost of your power, including steeds of war, to strike fear into (the hearts of) the enemies, of Allah and your enemies, and others besides, whom ye may not know, but whom Allah doth know. Whatever ye shall spend in the cause of Allah, shall be repaid unto you, and ye shall not be treated unjustly. [Al-Anfaal, 8:60] Allah is saying, “You want to come against the authority, awliyaullah, ok, then be strong.” Wa a`idda lahum ma’stata`tum min quwwatin - Against them make ready your strength to the utmost of your power - prepare against your four enemies whatever you have of power and prepare all kinds of self-struggle against your desires and prepare and get horses. Horses are in front of the army, usually in order to put fear in the enemies. Get the horses of the body and soul to be ready to fight the four enemies nafs, dunya, hawa, Shaytaan, that you are going to put fear in the heart of these
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enemies, when they come to try to flip you against Allah and his Prophet . When you are like that then whatever you spend in that way, Allah knows it and Allah will reward you. So you don’t want to destroy yourself. You want to destroy the enemies. That is why prepare, “Prepare what you can of power.” Today we don’t prepare power against ourselves, we prepare power against others. It might be others are better than you. Prepare against your self first, then when your self is clean then you can clean others. That is why awliyaullah want you to destroy inwardly first, bad desires and ego, and then they give you authority to go after students to bring them to awliyaullah. That is why if anyone takes baya` [through an authorized person], he must renew his baya` when he meets the real Shaykh. That is why we tell them, “Go there to Mawlana Shaykh and take his hand.” If he says it is ok [the baya` given by the representative], then [it is] ok, but your duty is to send to the owner of the house. The doorman cannot be the owner. He cannot be the owner. He brings to the door and the owner will take care of what is needed. Bi hurmatil Fatiha.
ALLAH ’S GUIDANCE ALWAYS RUNS AFTER EVERYONE 5 Ramadan 1427/27 September 2006 Fajr time after Tahajjud
A`udhu billahi min ash-shaytaan ir-rajeem Bismillahi 'r-Rahmani 'r-Raheem Dastoor Ya sayyidi madad Nawaytu'l-arba`een, nawaytu'l-`itikaaf, nawaytu'l-khalwah, nawaytu'l-riyaadah, nawaytu's-salook, nawaytu'l-`uzlah lillahi ta`ala fee hadha'l-masjid Ati` Allah wa ati` ar-Rasula wa uli 'l-amri minkum
W
e mentioned in the previous session about these three trees, Ati` Allah wa ati` ar-Rasula wa uli 'l-amri minkum. And we mentioned the story of Sultan Abdul Hameed and the three people who were gambling.
Allah , for Him—He wants the benefit for His servants. Allah (said): ﻦ ﻳﻬَﺘﺪﻤ ﻢ ِﺑﺎْﻟ ﻋَﻠ ﻮ َﺃ ﻫ ﻭ ﺎﺀﻳﺸ ﻦﻱ ﻣﻬﺪﻳ ﻪ ﻦ ﺍﻟﱠﻠ ﻭَﻟﻜ ﺖ ﺒﺒﺣ ﻦ َﺃ ﻣ ﻱﻬﺪﻚ ﻟَﺎ َﺗ �ﺇِﱠ Innaka laa tahdee man ahbabta wa laakinna Allaha yahdee man yashau wa huwa a`lamu bil-muhtadeen. It is true thou wilt not be able to guide every one, whom thou lovest; but Allah guides those whom He will and He knows best those who receive guidance. [Al-Qasas, 28:56]
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Allah’s guidance always runs after everyone. Siffatahu arRahman, one of His Attributes is ar-Rahman , ar-Raheem . From His Mercy He wants everyone to believe and that is why He sent messengers and Allah doesn’t want to keep anyone outside that rahmat. That story is showing that Allah was inspiring Sultan Abdul Hameed to go places people don’t go and to find those three that were gambling and to pull them out. And by their intention he guided them out. One said, “I want to be son-in-law of Sultan Abdul Hameed,” the other wants the wealth from Sultan Abdul Hameed, and the third want to be Sultan Abdul Hameed. Through these traces in the heart that are left, because most of the light in the heart is gone, from the playing of Shaytaan, from what is left of these traces you can find guidance. Because this light in these rooms, many lights make it very bright. But sometimes you have no light, only a candle. With the traces of the light you can find your way. So these traces of light in the heart never go away. Through them Allah will pull them like magnets to hidaya, guidance. The one who is gambling, from his pure heart the sultan made him his son-in-law; the second he gave him wealth and the third he showed him the reality of how to safeguard your wealth and how to safeguard your country. That is why these three trees are important. When it comes to Allah’s guidance to you think Allah can take you out? No. When you already came inside and you are accepting Allah’s message and His Messenger no one can take it out. It might be Shaytaan will veil you but he cannot take that guidance from you. That is why you can see everywhere that Shaytaan comes through sagha'ir (small sins) and through kaba’ir
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(grave sins). He comes to deceive us through something small sins or through big sins and this how we have to open our mind very well and open our hearts. He comes through kaba’ir, he sees you angry with your life and not happy with your family or with your children or with whatever circumstance Allah put you in. Like he came to Sayyidina Adam . Just as Allah gave Sayyidina Adam everything and then [after listening to Shaytaan] pulled him out. ﻯﻫﺪ ﻭ ﻴﻪﻋَﻠ ﺏ ﻪ َﻓﺘَﺎ ﺑﺭ ﻩﺎﺟَﺘﺒ ﻢ ﺍ ﻯ ُﺛﻪ َﻓ َﻐﻮ ﺑﺭ ﻡﺩ ﻰ ﺁﻋﺼ ﻭ Fa` asa adama rabbahu fa ghawa. Thummi’ jtabaahu rabbuhu fataaba `alayhi wa hadaa Thus did Adam disobey his Lord, and allow himself to be seduced. [Taahaa, 20: 121-122] Adam because he listened to Iblees he made the sin and he disobeyed Allah and then he fall down. Through these traces of light Allah guided him back dunya. So you lost your life, you are angry with your life and with your children. You feel “How have I been put in these circumstances and it was a mistake to end up like that.” Shaytaan takes you to be upset and you go where? You go to the wilderness. Where does he attract you when you are angry about your life and your situation? Then he whispers to you go to the coffee shop. “There you will forget” and he doesn’t tell you to go to mosque or to spiritual gathering. “No! Go to the coffee store to think,” and there you are thinking and getting worse.
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Then one time [he says, “Try] beer, oh no problem” then you drink. Now Shaytaan says “You are on the right way to forget what happened.” That is why people take depressant tablets, to be depressed, instead of alcohol they give them tablets. So Shaytaan says, “You can drink some wine and you forget more.” So drinking wine is from al-kaba’ir. So you take one sip, then second, then the third. Then you see the whole dunya change. You become hallucinating, very happy with what is going on. “O Alhamdulillah I found what I have to do.” The next day more, the next day more. That is how he pulls your leg. That is one side which Shaytaan comes to make you enter. If you have more imaan and he cannot pull you to kaba’ir, he goes from small sins. “O you have problem with you family, with your wife. Better go have some fun somewhere. Go to the coffee shop.” You go and you see a nice pretty woman. No problem, she is just sitting. Now she is looking at you and you are looking at her. You are smiling at her; she is smiling at you. Then you give her a date, she comes for dinner, then Shaytaan comes and pulls you to kaba’ir. That does not mean Allah said “Don’t come to Me back.” No, He said, “My door is always open, come back.” That is why Grandshaykh said, “Any `amal you do, go and send immediately to deposit in your account.” Everyone has an account with the Prophet . Every one from Ummat an-Nabi has an account with the Prophet . That is why the hadith is telling to wrap your `amal with salawat. Saying, “Ya Sayyidee, Ya Rasulullah , I am putting that `amal in your trust.” Shaytaan cannot take it out. That is there, it is like a safety deposit box like bodyguard there. If you put your shahada and prayer and du`a and reciting Qur’an. “Wad`atahu `indak Ya sayyidee Ya Rasulullah , I have put these two shahada in your trust, in your account,” then Shaytaan
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cannot take it. That Mawlana said is very important in order that Shaytaan and the other four enemies cannot pull that `amal out. We are in need of Allah and his Prophet . They are not in need of us. “Prepare of power,” Allah said in Qur’an. If you want to overcome a situation that is bad, prepare whatever power you can. When you see the four enemies coming to take you away. How to prepare by raising level of imaan. When you do a sin know your level of imaan went down. When the level of imaan is not balanced and goes down to level of no imaan in the heart then you begin to listen to the whisper of Shaytaan. Whispers come. When whispers come then know that level of imaan is dropping. When no whisper comes, know that level of imaan is the dominating factor. Like you put a half spoon of salt in gallon of water, four liters or five. If you drink the water taste doesn’t change. If you increase the amount of salt then you taste the salt not the water. When the whispering of Shaytaan increases the nice pure water decreases. Faith is falling down. That is why awliyaullah wore woolen cloaks in previous times until today. They wore suf - wool. That is what [the term] tasawwuf came from—from wool. They wore wool clothes. Why wool? They can wear cotton, there was cotton at that time. Why they were wearing wool. Why insisting on wearing wool? Because at that time `ulama didn’t understand why they are wearing wool. They said it was an innovation to wear wool. You can wear two or three layers of cotton and it becomes like wool. But they want to tell their egos and their selves to remind themselves that “You are carrying wool, from skin of animals, to remind you of that wild animality character that is inside you. You are wearing that woolen cloak to remind you of your bad
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characteristics—that animal characteristics. It is in yourself. Still it is in you, have to get rid of it.” That is why they wear that woolen skin. We are like that, and if we give any chance to our ego it will go back to animality. There are no restrictions on animal behaviour: they kill each other and jump on each other and they do anything that is not restricted, because animals have no takleef - responsibility. On us there is takleef, Allah made us to know we have been asked to leave forbidden and do good `amal. Animals they cannot. So awliya want to remind themselves, “Don’t be like animals.” So they keep that always with them. Our job or what we need to do is to be always like children. Always you see children busy dong something. You cannot see a child busy not doing anything. Either they are running or writing or painting. But when you grow up you see many of us sitting and not doing anything. Wasting their time. Mawlana said “Be like children. Always have that energy, every time coming and going.” When children have that energy too much they say, “they are hyper.” It is better to be hyper in the way of Allah . Be hyper; don't be calm in the way of Allah . Then you will be able to succeed. “Till Judgment Day,” he is saying, when he was giving that association, that Suhbat, that “this majlis, this association that you are in and every association that you are in, don’t think that if you die it will stop from being rewarded. You will not be disconnected from such associations.” If you die and these associations are continuously carried on, one angel will be representing you at this meeting and the benefit… that angel will represent you and replace you and the rewards will be sent to you to the grave.
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And if an angel replaces you, you will be rewarded by the level of purity of that angel. Angels are ma`sum – free of sin. Not like us meeting here, or in the presence of Mawlana Shaykh Nazim ¬. We still have whispering in the ears and ma`siyya, sins, still comes. But if an angel is present on your behalf then it will be more pure. So such associations we are in under name of Grandshaykh and Mawlana Shaykh, you will be rewarded until Judgment Day. Anywhere in world, any association made in Grandshaykh’s name or Mawlana Shaykh Nazim’s ¬ name, you will be rewarded and it will be always, even they die, they will be represented there by an angel. If you appear here in this association here in America and there is another association taking place before two hours or in two hours or in China, there is an angel taking your place to represent you there. At the same time they are doing an association in Cape Town in South Africa, there is an angel representing you there. Think how many associations are being held daily. That is the baraka of awliyaullah that is spreading. The evidence of that is when the Prophet migrated from Makkah to Madina and Sayyidina Ali stayed in the Prophet's bed. For what to stay in the bed? They could have put a pillow and make it like someone is staying there. But we said it before that it is the bed of knowledge; that is the bed where Jibreel used to come to Prophet in his place; that is his niche; that is his bed. So he put Sayyidina `Ali there to receive that knowledge. ﻭﻋﻠﻲ ﺑﺎﲠﺎ،ﺍ�ﺎ ﻣﺪﻳﻨﺔ ﺍﻟﻌﻠﻢ “Ana Madinatul-`ilmi wa `Aliyyun baabuha - I am the city of knowledge and `Ali is its gate.”2
2
Al-Hakim in al-Mustadrak, at-Tabarani in al-Kabir, Abu Shaykh in asSunnah from Ibn `Abbas.
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So Sayyidina Ali received there and Sayyidina Abu Bakr received in the cave and the story you know, Prophet ordered that all prophets and awliyaullah there should bring, all of them, and bring Abdul Khaliq al-Ghujdawani ¬ the Khatm al-Khwajagan came after his name. He called them and Sayyidina Abdul Khaliq ¬ called all the dharraat, the atoms of all the ones in tariqah. Now it is called Naqshbandiyya, but before, in his time it was called Ghujdwaniyya and before that it was called Tayfuriyya, before that Siddiqiyya. Its name depends on the wali it was under at the time. We were there under talqeen (placing the dhikr on the tongue) of Sayyidina Muhammad and Sayyidina Abu Bakr . And it was put on the tongues of the people doing dhikr, Allahu Allahu Allahu haqq. That is evidence of the reward that you will be in every association taking place under the Naqshbandi Sufi order. It is called Naqshbandi, but after Grandshaykh it is called NaqshbandiHaqqaniyya, that lineage from Grandshaykh [going back] to Abu Bakr as-Siddiq , to Prophet . That lineage, all the Grandshaykhs were there and all their followers were there and Shaykh Abdul Khaliq al-Ghujdawani ¬ led the Khatm al-Khawajagan, under those tajallis and under that reward. From that time they were under that talqeen, to put on your tongue what they are saying. If they say Allahu, they put on your tongue, imitating the way they are doing, but they are putting not in imitation, but in true teachings that your tongue begins to make it and recite it. From that time, that reward is moving until Judgment Day, on every one of us. On every Naqshbandi. Because Allah doesn’t reject anyone who is asking. And the Prophet was asking Allah with all these awliya, and Allah has sent that teaching to the Prophet and Prophet to Sayyidina Abdul Khaliq al-Ghujdawani ¬ to teach the followers of that chain. That is the baraka of awliyaullah how they do that and though we cannot see it but the traces of the light that are in our heart are
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always pulling us to the best. So when the level of imaan is going less and the level of Shaytaan is increasing, that comes from our actions which are not acceptable. Then when the level of imaan is increasing then you realize you have to repent and ask repentance and then as long as you keep your imaan strong it will increase your `amal. As the Prophet said, “Between two prayers there is forgiveness of sins.” So I pray Dhuhr and make sins and then go pray `Asr, so Allah will take the sins away. But I am still on the same level. If I pray Dhuhr and don’t make sins, my level is increasing. If I reach to Maghrib, at that level I will get more reward. I will get rewarded according to the level of imaan I am in. We don’t want to bring the level of our imaan down, as between prayer to prayer is kaffaarat adh-dhunoob, forgiveness of sins. But if you are not making sins, then when you are praying you begin to have kashf, ilham, all kinds of good things come to the heart. We will stop here for this association Insha-allah we will continue later. Bi-hurmatil-Fatiha. How is it? [now we can rest, all these blessing coming from each association.] Ha, now Shaytaan caught you. No, we don’t want to rest, we want to be active. Otherwise the thief will come and steal the house.
EVERYTHING BRINGS WISDOM 6 Ramadan 1427/28 September 2006 Fajr after Tahajjud
A`udhu billahi min ash-shaytaan ir-rajeem A`udhu billahi min ash-shaytaan ir-rajeem A`udhu billahi min ash-shaytaan ir-rajeem Bismillahi 'r-Rahmani 'r-Raheem Nawaytu'l-arba`een, nawaytu'l-`itikaaf, nawaytu'l-khalwah, nawaytu'l-riyaadah, nawaytu's-salook, nawaytu'l-`uzlah lillahi ta`ala fee hadha'l-masjid Ati` Allah wa ati` ar-Rasula wa uli 'l-amri minkum llah , from everything brings wisdom. Everything has to be always fixed the best. Like just now when they were fixing these cameras, they want to get the best picture, the best shot. So everything has a point, a focal point that will be like, it will satisfy you, that now you are in the best position.
A
Also Allah wants His servant to know that in everything He created there is a focal point that has to be in a perfect position, or else everything will be unbalanced. You cannot take a picture with these video cameras pointing them towards the ceiling. You have to point to the one speaking or to whatever is the focus. Allah gave to human beings in their hearts in every `amal a focal point that makes things the best. And in dunya there is something called the center of gravity. That center of gravity, if it is not balanced everything will fall down. If it is balanced nothing will fall down,
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everything will be in order. Allah gave to this universe a focal point, a center of gravity if that if it is not balanced the universe will fall apart. Sometimes you see eruptions of volcanoes around the world because the earth within, in the earth you have the elements of fire. If you go down, drilling in the earth you see different layers and some layers are very hot and there are you can find oil there. Who put that oil? Who made that oil to stay under this high pressure under earth? And we know in dunya, on earth, in a laboratory, that if we take oil under high pressure it will explode. And not only oil there are all kinds of burning elements, which when the volcano erupts you see all this lava coming out. And spreading all their lava, these hilam, huge fire that comes from under destroying everything. Imagine that Allah when He wants, this is what we are seeing in volcanoes, so don’t think that it is too far from a huge eruption on earth. When Allah said that this world one day is coming to an end, it is going to blow up. It means that focal point where all power is concentrated in that point in the earth itself, one day if Allah opens that window to that focal point to erupt the whole earth will be on fire. ﺻﻔَﺎﺩ ﻲ ﺍ َﻷﲔ ﻓ �ﺮ ﻣ َﻘ ﺬﻣﺌ ﻮ ﻳ ﲔ ﺠ ِﺮﻣ ﻤ ﻯ ﺍْﻟﻭَﺗﺮ ِﺎﺭ ﺍْﻟ َﻘﻬﺪﺍﺣ ﺍْﻟﻮﺮﺯُﻭْﺍ ﻟّﻠﻪ ﺑﻭ ﺕ ﺍﺎﻭﺴﻤ ﻭﺍﻟ ِﺽﺮ ﺍ َﻷﺭ ﻴﺽ َﻏ ﺭ ﺪ ُﻝ ﺍ َﻷ ﺒﻡ ُﺗﻮ ﻳ Yawma tubaddalu al-ardu ghayra al-ardi was-samawaatu wa barazoo lillahi ’l-wahidi ’l-qahhari. Wa tara al-mujrimeena yawmaidhin muqarraneena fi’l-asfaad. One day the earth will be changed to a different earth, and so will be the heavens, and (men) will be marshalled forth, before Allah, the One, the Irresistible; For on that Day thou wilt see all who were lost in sin linked together in fetters. [Ibrahim, 14:48-49]
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“The day that comes when the earth will be changed for another earth.” O, is there another earth we are going to go? Because this earth is going to blow up, go into pieces. ﺎﺰﺍَﻟﻬ ﺽ ﺯِْﻟ ﺭ ﺍْﻟ َﺄِﺇﺫَﺍ ُﺯْﻟ ِﺰَﻟﺖ Idha zulzilat al-ardu zilzaalaha. When the earth quakes with her [last] mighty quaking [Az-Zalzalah, 99:1] When the earth shakes and the eruption of this huge fire that comes from under and destroys the earth completely. They are worried about nuclear war because it destroys everything. And today they say if they throw the nuclear weapons it will take pieces of the earth out or if an asteroid hits the earth it will take a big chunk of the earth out. So what do you think if Allah orders the earth to send its fire out? Then it will be unbalanced and the whole universe at that time will disappear. We have to be awake that this might happen anytime. If it doesn’t happen in our time it will happen at some time. When Allah gave an oath that it will happen it will happen. If you are believer then if not sit on the side with disbelievers. If you are believing in Allah’s Message then you have to believe that day is coming. ﺕ ﺮ ﺧ ﻭَﺃ ﺖ ﻣ ﺪ ﺎ َﻗﺲ ﻣ ﺖ َ� ْﻔ ﻤ ﻋﻠ ﺕ ﺮ ﻌﺜ ﺑ ﺭ ﻮﻭﺇِﺫَﺍ ﺍْﻟ ُﻘﺒ ﺮﺕ ﺠ ﺭ ُﻓ ﺎﻭِﺇﺫَﺍ ﺍْﻟِﺒﺤ ﺕ ﺮ ﺐ ﺍ�َﺘ َﺜ ﺍﻛﻭﺇِﺫَﺍ ﺍْﻟ َﻜﻮ ﺕ ﺮ ﺎﺀ ﺍ� َﻔ َﻄﺴﻤ ِﺇﺫَﺍ ﺍﻟ Idha as-sama’u anfatarat wa idha’l-kawaakibu ’ntatharat wa idha’lbihaaru fujjirat wa idha ’l-qubooru bu`thirat `alimat nafsun maa qaddamat wa akhkharat.
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When the Sky is cleft asunder; When the Stars are scattered; When the Oceans are suffered to burst forth; And when the Graves are turned upside down;- (Then) shall each soul know what it hath sent forward and (what it hath) kept back. [Al-Infitaar, 82:1-5] “When the skies blow up!” If the skies are going to blow up, what is going to happen to earth? And when the oceans are going to disappear and going to be vapor moving in all directions and when the mountains are going to pieces, dust, becoming powder into pieces. What is left of earth? Nothing. Be sure that day is coming. But before that day is coming your body is like earth, your system is like earth. Always burning from within. That is why people are not peaceful, relaxed. We have things within ourselves making us burning - we want to explode at any moment. When that explodes within you, you cannot control it any more. Look at that explosion of our selves, of our ego. The explosion of earth is going to happen one time but the explosion of our self is happening at every moment. That is why people are not happy with what Allah gave them. If they are happy then they are at peace, nafs al-mutma’inna. Like Sayyidina Ibrahim . Allah said. I am making a calipha in earth. The angels said, “O, Ya Rabbee! What? “Are you going to make a calipha they are going to do bloodshed and corrupt what you created? They are not good people.” He said, “Who said that to you? I will show you one of my servants.” Allah is teaching us through the Holy Qur’an, through his messengers, so he sent Jibreel and all angels were looking. Grandshaykh says, “Allah sent Jibreel in the picture of a human being and he appeared in front of Sayyidina Ibrahim , with his son Isma`eel looking after his flocks, sheep, goats,
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camels, cows, all kinds of domestic animals that Allah made them halal (permitted) for human beings to eat. Sayyidina Ibrahim sitting on the top of the hill and this valley is full of flocks. Allah ordered angels to look at the conversation between Sayyidina Ibrahim and Sayyidina Jibreel . So Jibreel covered himself in order not to be known. He came to Sayyidina Ibrahim and said, “O my brother I am seeing you so rich.” Look from that time there was richness. Some people rich and some not rich. So you have to accept what Allah gave you. If he gave you, Alhamdulillah. If he didn’t, Alhamdulillah. That is the character of a wali. We try to learn and try as much as we can to accept the fact. So, “Maa qussim ilayk haasil ilayk - What has been provided to you or given to you, you are going to get it.” No one will get it other than you. So no one can eat your food. What is written, how many bites you are going to eat from this dish, you will eat, no more, no less. If it is written you are going to have this amount of wealth you will get that; no more and no less. When we reach that qana`a, satisfaction, we will reach the peaceful self. So he said, “O my brother you are so rich, what is this?” Communism takes everything from you. Allah also sending Sayyidina Jibreel to take from Sayyidina Ibrahim . He said, “What is this, is this all for you?” He said, “Yes, Allah gave it to me.” “It is too much.” He said, “Do you want some?” He said, “Yes!” He said then say: ، ﺭﺏ ﺍﳌﻼﺋﻜﺔ ﻭﺍﻟﺮﻭﺡ،ﺳﺒﻮﺡ ﻗﺪﻭﺱ “Subuhun qudoos, rabb ul-mala'ikati war-ruh.” “How much will you give me for that?” “Don’t ask; say it and I will give.”
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He said, “Subuhun qudoos, rabb ul-mala'ikati war-ruh.” Look for that verse, or praise, how much he gave. Sayyidina Ibrahim said, “O my brother, for that I give you one third.” “How do you want to give me one third? You counted them?” He [Sayyidina Jibreel] began to also give a hard time [to Sayyidina Ibrahim] even though he had been given the sheep. “I need exactly one third.” He said, “Yes, I will count and give you one third or if you want more I will give more.” “Yes, I want more.” He said, “Then say subuhun qudoos, rabb ul-mala'ikati war-ruh.” And angels looking. And Allah was happy, because [before] they were complaining. He said, “Subuhun qudoos, rabb ul-mala'ikati war-ruh.” Praising Allah . “O my brother now I am giving you the second third.” “But still you have a lot.” “You want them all?” “Why not?” He said, “Say: subuhun qudoos, rabbuna wa rabb ulmala’ikati war-ruh.” This time plural [rabbuna]. He said, “look, all this for you.” He said, “This is all for you. Come my son!” and left. He was Jibreel , an angel. What will he do with it? He called Sayyidina Ibrahim , “O Sayyidina Ibrahim , come here. What will I do with this?” “What you do with it is up to you. Are you playing games? These three verses are enough for me. You think I don’t know you are Jibreel ? Before you came I know you are coming.” Why [did he know?] Because the eyes of the heart are open. They have balanced the system. There is no fire within, no eruption of the volcano of the self. The self is the peaceful self. When that is reached then you become peaceful. Allah said, “Ya Jibreel , leave them, my saints will take care of them.” Then Grandshaykh said that these flocks have all been sent to behind Qaaf Mountain for the time of Mahdi . They are reproducing and thus you cannot know the beginning of that flock of Sayyidina Ibrahim which is behind Mountain Qaaf .
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So Allah is showing us someone who doesn’t have any problem with what Allah gave him either of wealth or no wealth. He gave it fee sabeelillah, for Allah’s sake, only to hear three times praising of Allah . He said, “Whatever you are, I took my rights, the rights are these three verses.” Who gives his wealth today for [reciting] subuhun qudoos, rabbuna wa rabb ul-mala’ikati war-ruh? You see how much we are very far from reality. We cannot give except when our faith is strong. At that time you give everything. When your faith reached a high level, whatever you own, you don’t control your hand and it will not be shaking when you are giving out everything you get in the way of Allah . But when Shaytaan comes and begins to whisper in your ear, “You have this and you have that, why are you giving?” You begin to hold your hand back. When you begin to hold your hand back then know that your faith is going down. And this is everywhere. Don’t …most important that you have to keep like they put today earrings in their ears, men. You put earrings. The earring you have to put in your ear and in your nose and these they put in their mouth, these pierces that you put is the biggest problem. This happens when you begin to create a doubt in your heart about the actions of your shaykh. Shaykhhood is not that a title you give to yourself or someone gives to you. It has to be given by order of Prophet , that title. And only the authorized Grandshaykh or Shaykh can give that title. When that title has been given no one can take it. So you cannot, like you cannot give him a title of “my calipha, my shaykh.” Who are you? You need to have it coming from that line of Prophet to awliyaullah and then it has a meaning.
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So when that person is given that title, when he does things, don’t object. Because you cannot balance it in your balance. Your balance is already fire, erupted from within. Shaytaan is whispering. Say, “I don’t know. I must not put any doubt there.” When you begin to put doubt in your teacher, “If he is doing this, I have to do this,” then you are in problem. And always these titles are given in the wills. The Shaykh, when he is passing, he puts in his will these titles. Until the other comes and puts more then it is in his will, or else those who have been assigned, are assigned. So we have to be very careful, if we have not been given that title through the will of a shaykh then it is dangerous to observe what these people who have been assigned and doubt what they are doing and want to do the same. Then we are in problems. Sayyidina Ibrahim didn’t look. Allah sent Jibreel to make test to Sayyidina Ibrahim . Sayyidina Ibrahim is a prophet and Allah sent Jibreel to tell angels “Look this is the one I like.” No more fire in the system. Our system is full of these volcanoes and if they erupt—be careful. There is a volcano erupting at any moment and throwing lava into the heart and make us to fall down without being aware. May Allah protect us from the lava of Shaytaan and make us always following the footsteps of the Prophet . Sayyidina Ibrahim said, “Don’t worry about these flocks; I have put them in trust for Makkah, Madina and Sham.” Grandshaykh said that whenever there is a shortage of domestic animals on earth Allah orders ta'ifa min al-jinn to takes some of these from behind Jabal Qaaf to keep these animals reproducing. Look now, we have 6 billion, and everyone is eating meat, from where are these flocks coming?
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If there are 6 billion people, and 3 billion are eating meat and 2-3 billion are not eating it means that 3 billion are eating every week, say one sheep is eaten by 3 people. It means you have to have one billion sheep every month. Where are they? They should be more than human beings. From where they are coming? Is it not so? And rarely you see them, in this farm 100, in this farm 1000. Look on the way to Southern California you pass on highway 5 and you see these cows here—20,000 cows. “This is a huge farm,” they say, “What huge flocks!” 6 billion people will eat them in one day. So Grandshaykh is saying that Allah ordering from these flocks to come, jinn they send them and when they send them the baraka quickly comes up. So till today this earth is full of sheep, goats, cows and chicken, because of that secret coming from there. So when Allah want to make his servant calipha, from the baraka of that servant, look people are eating today, up to time of Mahdi . So what you think of baraka of Prophet , he is not just giving us meat, he is giving us spiritual meat that will give us health to keep our body and soul living forever. Wa min Allah at-tawfeeq, bihurmati ‘l-Fatiha. See—two lines. Mawlana Shaykh spoke two lines and from this the whole Suhbat coming. Mawlana Shaykh Nazim ¬ was able to write the whole Suhbat from memory. One time Grandshaykh made du`a for him that he not forget anything. So after Salaat al-`Isha, when Mawlana Shaykh Nazim ¬ went home, he would sit and write from memory, the whole day’s talks. He would not miss one word, from memory. Even the full stop he would put correctly.
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Guru Pak died. When he died he gave me his inheritance. He gave me this picture of you with him and he gave me his robe.
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DUNYA LIKE A TOY 7 Ramadan 1427/29 September 2006 After Fajr and Tahajjud
A`udhu billahi min ash-shaytaan ir-rajeem Bismillahi 'r-Rahmani 'r-Raheem Dastoor Ya sayyidi madad Nawaytu'l-arba`een, nawaytu'l-`itikaaf, nawaytu'l-khalwah, nawaytu'l-riyaadah, nawaytu'l-`uzlah, nawaytu's-salook, lillahi ta`ala fee hadha'l-masjid Ati` Allah wa ati` ar-Rasula wa uli 'l-amri minkum his suhbah was given on Friday, Safar 17, 1392 Hijri. May Allah bless his soul, Grandshaykh said, “This dunya that we are living in is a toy.” It is like a toy. It has no meaning. Like children how they like toys, so all of us this is our example. This is how to know yourself: as much as you love dunya, as much as it means you are so connected with that toy. You see girls they are so happy when they have a girl toy. And you see boys are so happy when they have a car toy.
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Mawlana is saying that this dunya is like a toy, you play, you play and you play and at the end what are you going to do. You throw it away, it becomes broken. He said this dunya is a maskhara, a joke. To awliya this dunya is a joke. What is important to them is the Divine Presence, to them the dunya does not mean anything. What means something is how
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much they are nearer to Sayyidina Muhammad and the Divine Presence. “Why then,” he says, a question, “Why Allah created dunya maa annahu la asla laha? - Although it has no background, like a toy, but Allah created it and gave it existence?” “Because,” he said “That aata`ullah, Allah’s Divine Grants, giving, cannot be compared with what you do in dunya, that if you do this or that you will be given that.” Aata`ullah has no limits. What Allah grants you or favors will never be related to what you achieve in dunya or do in dunya because the dunya like a toy, it is a joke. So for a joke you don’t give diamonds. You don’t take from the child a toy and give him diamonds. So Allah gives diamond regardless of this dunya, this toy. His endless favors that He gave to us to tell us that “Regardless of this toy, I am giving you the highest level that you can imagine; that I will give.” He said that with the munajaat, prayers and supplications, munajaat are usually done by awliyaullah in supplication or in tahajjud time. These du`a will not be rejected, especially in Salaat an-Najaat before Fajr. He said that because of their du`a, their supplications, awliyaullah in general and especially the nine walis, the big nine walis in the Naqshbandi Sufi order with their special du`a that Allah inspired through their hearts, they were able, and Grandshaykh is saying, “they were able to bring all of us,” meaning all the followers of the Prophet through the Golden Chain, from the Prophet to Grandshaykh to Shaykh Nazim ¬, “they were able to bring us directly in the line behind the prophets and behind Sahaaba all this way,” he said, “and we will be resurrected and brought into paradise in Jannat al-Firdaws, that one that is described as
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ﻴﻘًﺎﺭﻓ ﻚ ﻦ ُﺃﻭﻟَـﺌ ﺴ ﺣ ﻭ ﲔ ﺤﺼﺎﻟ ﻭﺍﻟ ﺍﺀﻬﺪ ﺸ ﻭﺍﻟ ﲔ ﺪﻳﻘ ﺼ ﻭﺍﻟ ﲔ ﻴِﻨﺒﻦ ﺍﻟ ﻣ ﻴﻬِﻢﻋَﻠ ﻪ ﻢ ﺍﻟّﻠ ﻌ �ْﻦ َﺃ ﻳﻊ ﺍﱠﻟﺬ ﻣ ﻚ ﻭﻟَـﺌ ﻮ َﻝ َﻓ ُﺄﺮﺳ ﻭﺍﻟ ﻊِ ﺍﻟّﻠﻪﻄﻦ ﻳﻭﻣ Wa man yuti`illaha wa ’r-rasoola fa-ulaa’ika ma`a alladheena an`amallaha `alayhim min an-nabiyyeen was-siddiqeena wash-shuhada’i was-saliheen. Wa hasuna ula’ika rafeeqa.. All who obey Allah and the apostle are in the company of those on whom is the Grace of Allah,- of the prophets (who teach), the sincere (lovers of Truth), the witnesses (who testify), and the Righteous (who do good): Ah! what a beautiful fellowship! [An-Nisaa, 4:69] Those followers of that Golden Chain will find themselves in that first line in the presence of Prophet , who will present them to the Divine Presence to Allah . “ He said “That has been given to us, because of their du`a, not because of our achievement because our achievement is to love the toy, that toy that is between our hands. And whenever you don’t get it you get upset.” That is true. You find some of awliyaullah that Allah sent them always favor and honor and wealth, because they have suffered a lot of pain in their lives and faced difficulties and always they kept their covenant with their Lord - they never changed. Allah knows the hearts. Allah doesn’t give according to what people see of your behaviour. He gives thing according what is in your heart. You might be hiding yourself. You might appear as a normal person. Grandshaykh often said, “I have to treat my family as a normal person because they cannot understand wilayah.” “I have to sit with them, play with them, eat with them, sleep with them, because this is the way [of a man with his wife and children].” The Prophet was always with his family. And more than that he was always with Fatima az-Zahra , always taking her to the Ka`bah, taking her there and going around or her taking him. Always showing that relationship with Fatima az-Zahra . Don’t say
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“Why is he following and listening to the girl with him, the daughter?” Prophet knows the hikmah, wisdom and teaching. When he used to pray Sayyidina Hasan and Sayyidina Husayn used to ride on his back and when they ride on his back he used to stay longer in sajda so they can ride on his back longer. He used to yuteel as-sajda - extend the prostration - to keep them on his back. And they jump and sit in his lap in front of the Sahaaba. And taking Fatima az-Zahra , going when she was young to pray and she takes him. To accompany them. Showing us to give them a good time. To show the family ties. That is why Islam is great, it doesn’t like family ties to be broken. Sahaaba didn’t say, “Why is the Prophet taking Fatima az-Zahra everywhere?” That is why Grandshaykh said, “Don’t look at the wali how he behaves with his family. Then you will be lost.” Don’t say, “Why does he give attention to the wife or daughter or son more than me?” You are the student. That closeness will burn you. That will make your faith go down and make you ask, “Why did he do that?” That is a test going through your heart. That is why it is said “Don’t approach the sultan too much as you are approaching fire.” That is why Prophet said the prayer in Makkah is like 100,000 prayers and the sin there will be written more as well. There even bad inspiration will be written. Outside Makkah and Madina bad inspirations are not written as sins, but there they are written as sin, showing the holiness of the place. Awliyaullah have that karamah, that Allah gave them that honor. Allah gave them that holy aura around them. So when you do something which is not good behavior, complaining through your heart or through your tongue, then your imaan is failing and you are falling down.
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And he said, “That honor and favor given to them was originally given from Allah to His servants, when He crated them in the day alastu bi-rabbikum. ﻣﺔ ﺎﻴﻡ ﺍْﻟﻘﻮ ﻳ ﺪ�َﺎ ﺃَﻥ َﺗ ُﻘﻮﻟُﻮْﺍ ﺷِﻬ ﺑﻠَﻰ َﻗﺎﻟُﻮْﺍﺑ ُﻜﻢﺮ ِﺖ ﺑ ﺴ ﻢ ﺃَﻟ ِﻬﻋﻠَﻰ َﺃ� ُﻔﺴ ﻢ ﻫ ﺪ ﻬ ﺷ ﻭَﺃ ﻬﻢﻳَﺘﺭ ﻢ ُﺫ ﻮﺭِﻫﻦ ُﻇﻬﻡ ﻣﺩ ﻲ ﺁﺑﻨ ﻦﻚ ﻣ ﺑﺭ ﺧ َﺬ ﻭﺇِ ْﺫ َﺃ ﲔ ﻠﻫﺬَﺍ ﻏَﺎﻓ ﻦ ﻋ ﺎﺇِ�ﱠﺎ ُﻛﻨ Wa idh akhadha rabbuka min bani adama min dhuhoorihim dhurriyyatahum waashhadahum `ala anfusihim alastu bi-rabbikum qaloo bala shahidna an taqooloo yawma al-qiyamati inna kunna `an hadhaa ghafileena. When thy Lord drew forth from the Children of Adam—from their loins— their descendants, and made them testify concerning themselves, (saying): “Am I not your Lord (who cherishes and sustains you)?”-- They said: “Yea! We do testify!” (This), lest ye should say on the Day of Judgment: “Of this we were never mindful” [Al-A’raaf, 7:172] “When We took from the Children of Adam and all their offspring We brought them in Our presence and We asked them, ‘Am I not your Lord?’ and they said, ‘Yes!’” At that moment they said “yes” Allah gave them, they acknowledged, although when they went to dunya they forgot. So there they were pure so Allah gave them, at that moment Allah’s mercy encompassed them: ﻥ ﻮﻨﺆﻣ ﻳ ﺎﻨﺎﺗﻢ ِﺑﺂﻳﻦ ﻫ ﻳﻭﺍﱠﻟﺬ ﺓﺰﻛَـﺎ ﻥ ﺍﻟ ﺆﺗُﻮ ﻳﻭ ﻥ ﻳﱠﺘﻘُﻮ ﻦ ﻳﱠﻠﺬﺎﻟﺒﻬﺴ َﺄ ْﻛُﺘ َﻓﻲﺀ ﺷ ﺖ ُﻛ ﱠﻞ ﻌ ﻭﺳ ﻲﻤﺘ ﺣ ﺭ ﻭ Wa rahmatee wasi`at kulla shayin fa-sa-aktubuhaa li’lladheena yattaqoona wayutoona az-zakaata w’alladheena hum bi-aayatina yu’minoona.
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But My mercy extendeth to all things. That (mercy) I shall ordain for those who do right, and practise regular charity, and those who believe in Our signs; [Al-A’raaf, 7:156] But when they come to dunya Allah said, “Don’t say, ‘I didn’t say “yes” there.’ Don’t say, ‘I was heedless.’” Although we are heedless. That is why we are running after the toy, the dunya. But regardless, Allah gave there. ﺍﺤﻈُﻮﺭ ﻣ ﻚ ﺑﺭ ﻋﻄَﺎﺀ ﻥ ﺎ ﻛَﺎﻭﻣ ﻚ ﺑﺭ ﻋﻄَﺎﺀ ﻦ ﻻﺀ ﻣـﺆﻭﻫ ﻻﺀـﺆﺪ ﻫ ﻼ ﱡ�ﻤ ُﻛ Kullan numiddu haa’ula’i wa haa’ula’i min `atai rabbika wa maa kaana `atau rabbika mahdhoora Of the bounties of thy Lord We bestow freely on all- These as well as those: The bounties of thy Lord are not closed (to anyone). [Al-Israa, 17:20] Never are Allah’s Grants going to be limited or forbidden. He is always giving. When He gave we are dressed. ﺎﻴﻤﻋﻈ ﺎﻯ ِﺇْﺛﻤ ﺍْﻓَﺘﺮ َﻓ َﻘﺪﺸﺮِ ْﻙ ﺑِﺎﻟﻠّﻪ ﻳ ﻦﻭﻣ ﺎﺀﻳﺸ ﻦﻤﻚﻟ ﻥ َﺫﻟ ﻭﺎ ﺩﺮ ﻣ ﻳ ْﻐﻔ ﻭﺑِﻪ Inna Allaha laa yaghfiru an yushraka bihi wa yaghfiru ma doona dhaalika liman yasha’u wa man yushrik billahi faqadi ’ftara ithman `adheema. Allah forgiveth not that partners should be set up with Him; but He forgiveth anything else, to whom He pleaseth; to set up partners with Allah is to devise a sin Most heinous indeed. [An-Nisaa, 4:48] Everything Allah forgives. The only one thing that Allah does not accept, anyone knows, that shirk, Allah does not like anyone to make shirk with Him. And shirk is many kinds, three different kinds.
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Other than that Allah grants you everything, He dressed us with that unlimited mercy. But shirk, He does not like and shirk is of three kinds: Akbar, awsat and khafi - the big, the middle and the hidden one. So if we look at the hidden one, the smallest one, an example of that is someone is praying his intention is to pray to Allah . And as he is praying he came to pray. And he was praying. And he saw someone coming. He begins to perfect his prayer. Why are you perfecting your prayer? Why were not perfecting your prayer before, praying slowly, praying like a rooster or a chicken? Always the chicken moving its head. So the Prophet said, “Don’t pray like chickens, pecking up and down, up and down.” When someone comes however, we begin to pray in a very pious slow manner. That is showing off. That is hidden shirk. Shaytaan comes quickly. Look Shaytaan is clever. Pray better so that people see your praying good. Allah is not seeing you. Is he better or Allah ? Now you are praying for that man. And that hidden shirk is forgivable. The second shirk, which is also forgivable. These are the three parts that Allah forgives, the Akbar, awsat and khafi. These [first two] are the ones that Allah forgives. The second is that you come to mosque in order to show people you are praying. When there is no one you don’t pray. That is intentional riya. Showing off. When you aren’t praying to Allah , form the beginning your niyyah is going there only to show your presence. That is the middle shirk. And the big one, is the third one, that is not forgivable, is of three kinds: One kind is that you believe, and you know there is a creator, you know that Allah created you but you don’t care. You say I am not going to pray for you. That is kufr. The 2nd kufr is to associate someone with Allah . The 3rd kufr is to make
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someone as a son to God, not only associating but making that person Allah . Other than that, the other two, awsat and khafi Allah forgives. This one you die with it, there is no forgiveness. The other riya' and intentional riya, someone came and you begin to pray better. The 2nd middle is you went to show you are praying. That is doing something to show people. These first two are easy [to clean], by the ayah. ﻢ ﻴﺮﺣ ﺭ ﺍﻟ ﻮ ﺍْﻟ َﻐﻔُﻮ ﻫ ﻪ �ﺎ ِﺇﱠﻴﻌﺟﻤ ﺏ ﺮ ﺍﻟ ﱡﺬ�ُﻮ ﻳ ْﻐﻔ ﻪ ﺍﻟﱠﻠ ِﺇﻥ ﺍﻟﱠﻠﻪﻤﺔ ﺣ ﺭ ﻦﻨﻄُﻮﺍ ﻣﻢ ﻟَﺎ َﺗ ْﻘ ِﻬﻋﻠَﻰ َﺃ� ُﻔﺴ ﺮﻓُﻮﺍ ﺳ ﻦ َﺃ ﻳﻱ ﺍﱠﻟﺬ ﺎﺩﺒﺎ ﻋُﻗ ْﻞ ﻳ Qul ya `ibadiya allatheena asrafoo `ala anfusihim la taqnatoo min rahmati Allahi inna Allaha yaghfiru alththunooba jamee`an innahu huwa alghafooru alrraheemu. Say: “O my Servants who have transgressed against their souls! Despair not of the Mercy of Allah. for Allah forgives all sins: for He is OftForgiving, Most Merciful. [Az-Zumar, 39:53] But the 3rd where you insist on doing kufr Allah will throw you away. Allah sent to dunya messengers and prophets and gave awliyaullah inheritance form them in knowledge so that from their prayers, Allah will grant us more and more regardless of the toys, as long as we are accepting Allah and believing in the creator and worshipping. Not leaving their prayers. Not like people who say we like “diet Islam.” Very light. Don’t ask me to pray, don’t ask me to fast. The light one. That is not Islam, Islam with a name but no body. Grandshaykh said that Allah grated that tajallis to those who said, “yes” on yawma alastu gave them and sent them to dunya and
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gave them that toy, and in akhira gave them and increased it by the du`a of the seal of messenger and by recommendation and prayers of awliya. Allah will grant the students of the awliya with endless mercy and tajallis. That is why it is important to have a guide how will cross you the desert not on a camel but on a rocket he knows its districts and already he knows how to move where there is no sandstorm. Because when Prophet migrated from Makkah to Madina with Sayyidina Abu Bakr , he took a guide. He doesn’t need a guide, he is messenger of Allah . But to teach us you need a guide in the desert. Because he knows where there is no sandstorm because if hit by sandstorm you will be finished. Awliyaullah know where there is a sandstorm or there is not and take you to reach the shore of safety. May Allah bless you. We will continue next time, bi-hurmatilFatiha.
PHYSICAL AND SPIRITUAL SUSTENANCE 9 Ramadan 1427/1 October 2006 After Fajr and Tahajjud
A`udhu billahi min ash-shayt`n ir-rajeem Nawaytu'l-arba`een, nawaytu'l-`itik`f, nawaytu'l-khalwah, nawaytu'l-riy`dah, nawaytu's-salook, nawaytu'l-`uzlah lillahi ta`ala fee hadha'l-masjid Ati` Allah wa ati` ar-Rasula wa uli 'l-amri minkum
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very day a different manifestation of different Attributes Allah is revealing and sending to his Prophet and Mawlana is asking a question: what is the rizq; what is the importance of rizq, which is sustenance?
The sustenance is important to keep the self always, or keep you always full of energy and give you power for moving to the next thing/stage. And the importance of rizq, which is the 2nd kind of rizq, where there are dhaahiri and ma`nawi, there is the physical sustenance and the ma`nawi, the spiritual which keeps you running in the spiritual realm which Allah is sending to his Prophet and from Prophet to everyone. That is most important rizq that will last forever the other one will end one day. That one has limited number of days or moments, or as we said before that Allah counts the life of human beings not by years but by breaths.
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ﺍﻋﺪ ﻢ ﻬﺪ َﻟ ﻌ �َ ﺎﻢ ﺇِﱠ�ﻤ ﻴِﻬﻋَﻠ ﺠ ْﻞ ﻌ َﻓﻠَﺎ َﺗ Fala ta`jal `alayhim innama na`uddu lahum `adda So make no haste against them, for We but count out to them a (limited) number. [Maryam, 19:84] We count everything by breaths. Coming in and going out. The last one is the one going out not coming in. But spiritual breath continues coming in and Allah doesn’t like you to get it out. When it goes out, means you are losing it, that is the time that Shaytaan playing with us. At that time our imaan will drop. If you have a barometer, checking or you make a graph. Always seeing, the wavelength how it moves on the chart, going up going down, if we are going to look at our chart we can see it goes up and quickly it comes down. Acute one. Because we are losing these reflections of these name and attributes. But awliyaullah you see always it is going up. That is why their chart is always increasing and increasing, so when they pass from dunya they pass form limit of Shaytaan and then he no longer has affection then the chart goes up. But for us our chart going up and going down and even just going down. We have five kinds of saints: Budala, Nujaba, Nuqaba, Awtad, Akhy`r. Budala that Allah created as substitutes, and the Prophet mentioned them in the hadith if you are in the jungle and afraid, call up on rijaalullah. These are Budala. He said that their need for food, because Allah wants to show them `ajz, inability. Because Allah wants to make them feel their weakness. He wants to show, no you are human beings you have weakness. Only prophets have no weakness they are ma`sum, but awliya are mahfoudh. They are in need of food only two times a year, they don’t need food every day.
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Allah sends them 2 times and it is enough for them. And what is their food? As Allah sends them heavenly food. Like when Sayyidina `Isa asked: ﲔ ﻨﺆﻣ ﻣ ﺇِﻥ ﻛُﻨُﺘﻢﺎﺀ ﻗَﺎ َﻝ ﺍﱠﺗﻘُﻮْﺍ ﺍﻟّﻠﻪﺴﻤ ﻦ ﺍﻟ ﻣ ﺓﺪ ﻣﺂﺋ ﺎﻴﻨﻋَﻠ ﺰ َﻝ ﻨﻳ ﻚ ﺃَﻥ ﺑﺭ ﻊ ﻴﺴَﺘﻄ ﻳ ﻫ ْﻞ ﻢ ﻳﺮ ﻣ ﻦ ﺑﻰ ﺍﻴﺴﺎ ﻋﻥ ﻳ ﻮﺍﺭِﻳﺤﻮ ﺇِ ْﺫ ﻗَﺎ َﻝ ﺍْﻟ ﻦ ﺎ ﻣﻴﻬﻋَﻠ ﻥ ﻭَ�ﻜُﻮ ﺎﺪْﻗَﺘﻨ ﺻ ﺪ ﻢ ﺃَﻥ َﻗ ﻌَﻠ �َﻭ ﺎﺑﻨﻦ ُﻗﻠُﻮ ﻤﺌ ﻭَﺗ ْﻄ ﺎﻨﻬﺪ ﺃَﻥ ﱠ� ْﺄ ُﻛ َﻞ ﻣ َﻗﺎﻟُﻮْﺍ ُ� ِﺮﻳ ﻦ ﺍﻟ ﻣ ﺓﺪ ﻣﺂﺋ ﺎﻴﻨﻋَﻠ ﺎ َﺃ�ﺰِ ْﻝﻨﺭﺑ ﻢ ﻬﻢ ﺍﻟﱠﻠ ﻳﺮ ﻣ ﻦ ﺑﻰ ﺍﻴﺴﻗَﺎ َﻝ ﻋ ﲔ ﺍﺯِﻗﺮ ﺍﻟﺮ ﻴﺧ ﺖ �ﻭَﺃ ﺎﺭ ُﺯْﻗﻨ ﺍﻚ ﻭ ﻨﻳ ًﺔ ﻣﻭﺁ ِﺮ�َﺎﺁﺧﺎ ﻭﻨﻭﻟ ﻴﺪًﺍ ﱢﻟ َﺄﺎ ﻋﻥ َﻟﻨ ﺎﺀ َﺗﻜُﻮﺴﻤ ﲔ ﻌﺎَﻟﻤ ﻦ ﺍْﻟ ﻣ ﺍﺣﺪ ﻪ َﺃ ﺑﻋ ﱢﺬ ﺎ ﱠﻻ ُﺃﻋﺬَﺍﺑ ﻪ ﺑﻋ ﱢﺬ ﻢ َﻓﺈِ�ﱢﻲ ُﺃ ﻨ ُﻜﺪ ﻣ ﻌ ﺑ ﺮ ﻳ ْﻜ ُﻔ ﻦﻢ َﻓﻤ ﻴ ُﻜﻋَﻠ ﺎﺰُﻟﻬ ﻨﻣ ﻪ ِﺇ�ﱢﻲ ﻗَﺎ َﻝ ﺍﻟّﻠ
Idh qaala al-hawariyyoona ya `Isa ibna maryama hal yastatee`u rabbuka an yunazzila `alayna maaidatan mina alssamai qaala ittaqoo Allaha in kuntum mumineena. Qaaloo nureedu an nakula minha wa tatmainna quloobuna wa na`lama an qad sadaqtana wa nakoona `alayha mina ashshaahideen. Qaala `Isa ibnu Maryama allahumma rabbana anzil `alayna maaidatan mina as-samai takoonu lana `eidan li-awwalina wa akhirina wa ayatan minka warzuqna wa anta khayru ar-raziqeena. Qaala Allahu innee munazziluha `alaykum faman yakfur b`adu minkum fa innee u`adhdhibuhu `adhaban laa u`adhdhibuhu ahadan mina al`alameen. Behold! The disciples, said: “O Jesus the son of Mary! Can thy Lord send down to us a table set (with viands) from heaven?” Said Jesus: ”Fear Allah, if ye have faith.” They said: “We only wish to eat thereof and satisfy our hearts, and to know that thou hast indeed told us the truth; and that we ourselves may be witnesses to the miracle.” Said Jesus the son of Mary: “O Allah our Lord! Send us from heaven a table set (with viands), that there may be for us - for the first and the last of us - a solemn festival and a sign from thee; and provide for our sustenance, for thou art the best Sustainer (of our needs).” Allah said: “I will send it down unto you: But if any of you after that resisteth faith, I will punish him with a penalty such as I have not inflicted on any one among all the peoples.” [AlMaa’idah, 5:112–115] The Hawariyyoon, his students, said to Sayyidina`Isa , can Allah send us a table of food. He said, “ittaqullah. Don’t ask that.
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Don’t you think that Allah can send that?” They said, “We want it to be an Eid for our first and our last.” He said, “Ya Rabbee, send down on us a table from heavens.” Allah said, “On one condition I will send that table but if anyone after that who will disobey he will have to be frightened, he will have to be finished.” Because when Allah send the proof you can no longer disobey. You have to follow. So awliyaullah, Allah sends them a heavenly table, they know. And what is that food? It is fish. He didn’t say meat. He said fish, because fish lives in oceans and it means, “I am sending to you the secret of the oceans of the Beautiful Names and Attributes.” Each Beautiful Name is an ocean, and I am sending to you from that ocean of that knowledge. If we want to interpret the meaning of what Mawlana is saying. Because fish doesn’t make the heart hard. Meat makes the heart hard. That is why the Prophet was not eating meat every day as they do today. That makes hardness of the heart. That is what causes hardness between people today. Even brothers and sisters, husband and wife. There is always a problem. So he sent them that fish, indication that Allah gives them a soft food. That is why fish is recommended because it doesn’t have any illness or harm like meat. So he sends them that two times a year and it is enough to keep them the entire year. And this is also the spiritual knowledge that Allah gives to awliyaullah. They received these spiritual manifestations from Prophet . How does it reach to them? What is the way that they receive that? Awliyaullah receive that through two factors in receiving knowledge. There is the `aqis and al-ma`qus. The Reflector and the one to whom it is reflected. The Reflector and the One that is reflected on.
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Must be. Because the reflector is the one who reflects. It has to go somewhere. It cannot be traveling in space. There must be a target else the reflector does not need to reflect. That must always be like that, sun and moon for example. The energy that comes and the one that reflects it. There is diya, the source of illumination. The sun because of its reactions that happen on it creates the light from these reactions. It means the Beautiful Names and Attributes when they are in this reaction with each other that light comes out and is reflected on the moon. So these Beautiful Names and Attributes are coming out and blended in harmony with each other and they are creating that light which reflects on Prophet and Prophet gets that light and all that reflections of Beautiful Names and Attributes goes in one shot and from the Prophet it is also reflected like those who are waiting for it, reaching different awliyaullah according to their levels. That is why he said in very important hadith: ﺍﳌﺆﻣﻦ ﻭﺍﳌﺆﻣﻦ ﺍﺧﻮ ﺍﳌﺆﻣﻦ ﻳﻜﻒ ﻋﻠﻴﻪ ﺿﻴﻌﺘﻪ ﻭﳛﻮﻃﻪ ﻣﻦ ﻭﺭﺍﺋﻪ ﻣﺮﺁﺓ ﺍﳌﺆﻣﻦ “Al-mu’min miraat al-mu’min - The mu’min is the mirror of the mu’min,” or “The mu’min is the mirror of his brother.” 3 The mu’min is always reflecting what is on him to his brother. And when it is reflected, that mu’min becomes a mirror to the other one. So awliyaullah use that system to reach their followers through reflections. That is why you see the power of the wali is that he can reach his followers everywhere even though they don’t meet physically. Many people see dreams or they see visions appear to them or they feel something is reaching them from someone that appears to them and guides them to the right way. 3
Bukhari, Adab al-Mufrad.
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So awliyaullah become the mirror that the Prophet reflects these lights to humanity wherever he wants to reach. That is why we say in tasawwuf, when Allah wants to see himself, he looks to the Prophet . Because Allah is reflecting his Beautiful Names and Attributes to the Prophet and from the Prophet it is coming out. So He looks to that mirror He created and that is seal of messenger and that will reflect out from the essence reflecting to creation. Allah is looking to what he is sending to Prophet because Prophet is mirror reflecting the manifestation of these lights of Beautiful Names and Attributes. Awliyaullah receive and reflect to their followers. This is how they spread the power of sainthood. The power of sainthood has no limits. If you put two mirrors in front of each other or four mirrors, then you look in it and you see yourselves hundreds of times. What do you see? You see yourself infinite number of your self in that mirror reflecting. So awliyaullah reflect that knowledge to humanity and everyone becomes an `aqis. `Aqis and ma`qus. Reflector and reflected on. So Allah reflects to the Prophet the source of these Beautiful Names and Attributes. And from the Prophet to people and from people to other people. That is what they call “cosmic energy” that is coming out. That is the light of Sayyidina Muhammad ; that is the energy that Allah gave to Sayyidina Muhammad and awliyaullah like mirrors reflect that to humanity. We are now in the status of heedlessness. What Allah has given us from days and hours and minutes and seconds, we have to use it not to lose it. We have to be mirrors in order that it will be reflected on us. These lights want mirrors. They don’t want to go in places they will not
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be reflected. Like a nuclear reaction. They have to go to place they will be reflected. And then go to another place. They don’t like to be hanging and wasted. So be like the person that these lights are reflected on them and then you reflect on someone else. Awliya are given mirrors on the number of followers. Each one is polished differently. It depends on how much the student is able to receive. So if the reflection is blurry, milky, opaque fuzzy or blurry or doesn’t show well it depends on your capacity of taking. Your presence in front of the shaykh is represented by a mirror. As much as you polish yourself, as much of Beautiful Names and Attributes coming from main source, to the Prophet and from the Prophet coming to the shaykh and from the shaykh to you. It is not you depending on yourself as to how it will be, greater or lesser. Polish the mirror in order to not lose these reflections. How to polish the mirror? Make wudu. Make more and more wudu. When you lose wudu immediately make new wudu. Nurun `ala nur – light upon light! Even if you have wudu, make a new wudu before praying. ﻲﺡ ﻓ ﺎﺼﺒ ﺡ ﺍْﻟﻤ ﺎﺼﺒ ﺎ ﻣﻴﻬ ﻓﺸﻜَﺎﺓ َﻛﻤﻣ َﺜ ُﻞ �ُﻮﺭِﻩ ِﺽﻭﺍْﻟ َﺄﺭ ﺮﺓ ﺠ ﺷ ﻦﺪ ﻣ ﻮَﻗﻱ ﻳ ﺭ ﺩ ﺐ ﻮ َﻛ ﺎ َﻛﺟ ُﺔ َﻛ َﺄﱠ�ﻬ ﺎﺰﺟ ﺍﻟﺟﺔ ﺎ ُﺯﺟﺭ َﻛﺔ ﺎﻣﺒ ﺎﻳُﺘﻬﺩ َﺯ ﻳﻜَﺎ ﻴﺔﺮِﺑ ﻭﻟَﺎ َﻏ ﻴﺔﺮﻗ ﺷ ﻟﱠﺎﺔ�ﻳُﺘﻮﻪ َﺯ ﻱ ﺍﻟﱠﻠﻬﺪﻳ ٍﻋﻠَﻰ �ُﻮﺭ ﺭ ﺭ �ﱡﻮ ﻪ َ�ﺎ ﺴ ﺴ ﻤ ﻢ َﺗ ﻮ َﻟ ﻭَﻟ ﺀ ﻲﻳﻀ ﻣﺜَﺎ َﻝﻪ ﺍْﻟ َﺄ ﺏ ﺍﻟﱠﻠ ِﻀﺮ ْ ﻳﺎﺀ ﻭﻳﺸ ﻦ ﻣﻮﺭِﻩﻨﻟ ﻪ ﺑِ ُﻜ ﱢﻞ ﻭﺍﻟﱠﻠ ِﺎﺱﻠﻨﻢﻟ ﻴﻋﻠ ﻲﺀ ﺷ Allahu nooru ’s-samawati w’al-ardi mathalu noorihi ka-mishkaatin feeha misbaahun al-misbahu fee zujaajatin az-zujaajatu ka-annaha kawkabun durriyyun yooqadu min shajaratin mubaarakatin zaytoonatin laa sharqiyyatin wa laa gharbiyyatin yakaadu zaytuha yudee’u wa law lam tamsas-hu naar. noorun `ala noorin yahdee Allahu li-noorihi man yashaa’u wa yadribu Allahu ’l-amthaala li ’n-nasi wa Allahu bi-kulli shayin `aaleem.
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Allah is the Light of the heavens and the earth. The Parable of His Light is as if there were a Niche and within it a Lamp: the Lamp enclosed in Glass: the glass as it were a brilliant star: Lit from a blessed Tree, an Olive, neither of the east nor of the west, whose oil is well-nigh luminous, though fire scarce touched it: Light upon Light! Allah doth guide whom He will to His Light: Allah doth set forth Parables for men: and Allah doth know all things. [An-Nuur, 24:35] Allah is describing that “Allah is light of heavens, samawati and earth, ard and we have explained we can explain another time. The example of His light is like a bundle” or “ like lamps.” Allah wants to say, when you reflect light, it becomes light up on light. That is why the Prophet described that on Judgment Day there will be people who are muraqateen. You know soldiers wear this special dress of two colors - called camouflage. You have grey and green or dark brown and green. In Judgment Day there will be a group of people who will be spotted with different colors. And people will say, “Who are these special ones?” and Allah will give them high respect. These are the ones who kept ablution, and even ablution over ablution. And wherever the water reached it will become like light, light from the hands, from the face, from the ears and from the feet, so he called them the muraqatoon, spotted ones. So ablution is “nurun `ala nur -Light upon light.” That is a very simple way to reach a level of being reflectors and to be reflected upon by awliyaullah. So polishing the mirror will be by ablution and then it will clear that mirror. Keep your ablution when you lose it run to make it fresh. You will be from that group that Allah will make your heart a mirror that can receive the light and reflect it very far. Because the light travels. Wherever it reaches and is reflected the person will benefit from it. So as much as your mirror is clean as much that light will be able to travel and go. May Allah make us to benefit from this
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kind of knowledge and make us to be following the footsteps of Prophet and awliyaullah.
al-Wakeel 10 Ramadan 1427/2 October 2006 after Salat al-Fajr and Tahajjud
A`udhu billahi min ash-shaytaan ir-rajeem Bismillahi 'r-Rahmani 'r-Raheem Nawaytu'l-arba`een, nawaytu'l-`itikaaf, nawaytu'l-khalwah, nawaytu'l-riyaadah, nawaytu's-salook, nawaytu'l-`uzlah lillahi ta`ala fee hadha'l-masjid Ati` Allah wa ati` ar-Rasula wa uli 'l-amri minkum
A
llah has favored us and honored us with the favor of Islam. Allah made us from last nation, from Ummat an-Nabi where Allah said in Holy Qur’an: ِﺘَﺎﺏﻫ ُﻞ ﺍْﻟﻜ ﻦ َﺃ ﻣ ﻮ ﺁ ﻭَﻟ ﻥ ﺑِﺎﻟﻠّﻪ ﻮﻨﺆﻣ ﻭُﺗ ِﻨ َﻜﺮﻋﻦِ ﺍْﻟﻤ ﻥ ﻮ ﻬ ﻨﻭَﺗ ﻭﻑﻌﺮ ﻤ ﻥ ﺑِﺎْﻟ ﻭﻣﺮ ﺎﺱِ َﺗ ْﺄﻠﻨﺖﻟ ﺟ ﺧ ِﺮ ُﺃﻣﺔﺮ ُﺃ ﻴﺧ ﻢ ﻛُﻨُﺘ ﻥ ﻘُﻮﻢ ﺍْﻟﻔَﺎﺳ ﻫ ﺮ ﻭَﺃ ْﻛ َﺜ ﻥ ﻮﻨﺆﻣ ﻤ ﻢ ﺍْﻟ ﻬﻨﻣ ﻢﺍ ﱠﻟﻬﻴﺮﺧ ﻥ َﻟﻜَﺎ
Kuntum khayra ummatin ukhrajit lin-naas taamuroona bi’l-ma`roofi wa tanhawna `ani ’l-munkari wa tu’minoona billahi wa law aamana ahlu ’lkitaabi la-kaana khayran lahum minhum al-mu'minoon aaktharuhumu ’lfaasiqoon. Ye are the best of peoples, evolved for mankind, enjoining what is right, forbidding what is wrong, and believing in Allah. If only the People of the Book had faith, it were best for them: among them are some who have faith, but most of them are perverted transgressors. [Ali Imran, 3:110]
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You are the best Ummah that has been sent to humanity, to the human race, calling for good and prohibiting what is bad. If Ahl alkitaab will believe what we believe it will be better for them. Because Allah has sent the Prophet Muhammad as a mercy for humanity. Since he is a mercy for humanity, it means every person has his or her share from that mercy. If we have something from that mercy it means we have to respect each other, because we have to understand that mercy, that drop of mercy that is within us is coming from the manifestation and reflection of the light of Sayyidina Muhammad on us. As we said in the previous session the Prophet is the reflection of the Beautiful Names and Attributes of Allah . Even sometimes we do mistakes, and no one is ma`sum, no one is safe from doing mistakes, no one is able to be like the Prophet . He is the one that is ma`sum, pure from falling into sins and mistakes, and as are all other prophets. Awliyaullah, they have that understanding, but since they aren’t ma`sum, sometimes they look into something that is not concern for them, and they are looking sometimes into something they have no right to look. Grandshaykh giving an example that even between awliya there are sometimes thing that you cannot understand from one wali to another or from one wali to a person who might not be a wali even. Awliyaullah have several descriptions and several levels. And sometimes one of Allah’s Names, that comes now for me to speak about, is al-Wakeel . Al-Wakeel is one of His Beautiful Names and Attributes. Al-Wakeel is the one who is al-Wali . That is like for example if you go to a lawyer or you go to someone that you trust. That one whom you trust you sometimes appoint
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him with a power of attorney to represent you. If you don’t trust him you don’t give him the power of attorney to represent you. And when you go to a notary to do that or to a law office, in this country, or you go in other countries to the court or to the government representative to appoint someone they ask you what kind of power of attorney you want: a restricted one, a private one or a general one. If you say “private” then that is specific for an issue you want to solve. If it is a general one they look at you and say, “Are you sure?” The private one they don’t say “are you sure?” They say, “you want to do it?” and they say it is ok. But the general one they look at you and say, “Are you sure?” and you must say, “I am sure.” They say “No, no, no you must think about it. If you give such a power of attorney it means you have given all your papers and all you own in the hand of that person.” Even in Muslim countries, Islamically, if you give general power of attorney, in Muslim or Arab countries, if you give the general power of attorney, even without your presence he can divorce your wife or he can make arrangement to marry you without you knowing it: to that extent. You go to someone, and you want your daughter to get married to this one, you say, “Yes!” He makes nikah representing you. And then she is married to you. Then you owe nafakha if she divorces you and she might take half your property. So they ask you again, “Do you really want general power of attorney?” And you say “yes.” Still that is a human being. That person might one day get angry and might sell you even. He doesn’t leave anything with you. Sell your home, sell your business, sell everything even. To trust him you have to have a lot of love to that person in order to give that person power of attorney. You see even between father and children the father doesn’t give power of attorney to them. Even sister to brother or father to sister or father to son. They don’t give that unless there is a huge trust
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between them. Then they give. What do you think when Allah says, “My Name is al-Wakeel?” What does that name mean? Guardian. No, guardian is protector. Wakeel means, “You represent Me. You put your trust in Me, I support you. Sign this contract with Me.” And we all signed that contract on the Day of Promises. We signed the contract that, “You, O Allah are our wakeel.” What do you think when He said, alastu bi-rabbikum, when He brought the descendants of Adam : Dhurriyyat, alastu bi-rabbikum, they said balaa, they signed that contract. He is best of wakeels. Why are you trying to run from that contract which you signed and appointed Allah as your wakeel? When you raise your hand and make du`a you say, “You are my wakeel, hasbee, and You are my guardian, hasbunAllah wa ni`am alWakeel—We are surrendering and rendering all our problems to Allah ; only Allah can solve it and we depend on Him and He is the best One to be representing us.” Represent us to whom? Represent us to Himself. When you appoint the head of the court as your wakeel, of course you will get the decision in your favor. The Supreme Court is your wakeel, so what you think of the Creator who created everything? So when you signed the contract, don’t look after what people are doing. Don’t put your iraada there. When you put your iraada thinking you are a wali, you will be falling down. Don’t think you are a wali. Wali will also fall down. Allah did not give everything to awliyaullah. He hid much from them. And awliya, according to their level might do things which are not accepted. Or the second wali might not accept what the first wali is doing. That one knows more than the other. That is why keep a low profile. In that Suhbat that happened forty years ago, when Grandshaykh said, [about] a wali. That is why we are speaking about when you
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sign a contract with Allah , leave the people, He is your wakeel and He is their wakeel also. If you think you are the highest and try to do according to that you might fall down. So Grandshaykh told the story that: A wali saw a Bedouin, and you know Bedouins [how they are], he is in the desert, so for sure his clothes are dirty. He looked at him and he is coming from the desert to the village, and that wali likes to see everything good. He looked at him and said, “O my brother!” And look according to his eyes he saw a Bedouin, a rayy, a shepherd. All the day he is with the sheep and goats, with dirty clothes, smelly. Don’t run from smelly things. You are smelly also. Sayyidina `Isa was with his students the Hawaariyyoon one day going into the jungle and they saw an animal, dead. But that animal from the heat of the sun is smelly, it might be one week dead; so what will happen? Decomposing and all these worms are eating that animal. And this smell, the smell is everywhere. So the Hawaariyyoon, the disciples of Sayyidina `Isa , put their hands over their noses. Sayyidina `Isa looked at them and said, “Follow me!” He approached that dead animal and with his stick, he put the stick on his mouth and pushed his lips to show his teeth. And he said to them, “Take your hands away. Look at the beauty of his teeth; how Allah , [as the teeth don’t decompose quickly, the flesh decomposes quickly.] Look how Allah has made them in a perfect way and enabled that animal to eat. Look at the bones how perfectly they are connected to each other. Look at the greatness of the Creator, don’t look at the smell.” You are going to smell worse. That animal has no ego, but you have an ego. You in the grave, [since] you don’t have respect to people and you speak about what people are doing, you are going to smell worse in the grave. Don’t look at the bad things people are doing. Don’t backbite and have doubts in what people are doing. Why I cannot work with this one, why I don’t be partner with that
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one. This one I like more than the other one. That is what makes us all hidden backbiters or [even] open backbiting. So we have to be careful. So that wali was looking at that shepherd and seeing him very dusty and his clothes very smelly form sheep and goats and said to him, “O my brother, Allah did not order us to pray with dirty clothes. We have to have clean clothes.” That shepherd he said, “O my brother. You are right. But Allah said in a holy hadith (qudsi), inna Allah laa yandhuru ila suwarikum wa laakin yandhuru ila quloobikum. Allah does not look at your outside but he looks at your heart. And the Prophet said, rubba aghbar ash`ath law aqsama `ala Allah la-abarrah. It might be that a curly-haired dusty person, [ash`ath is not curly haired only but greasy haired], if he will ask Allah something, Allah will answer him immediately.” The shepherd said, “Look at my heart, don’t look at my clothes.” And he looked at his heart with the light that he has in that presence and that light of the manifestation of the light of Sayyidina Muhammad that is the manifestation of the light of Allah coming on his heart. That made that wali who complained to be thrown away and begin to say istaghfirullah. A wali—even a wali begins to say istaghfirullah. He said, “O My Lord! I will never look anymore into something that looks to me not good and it might be to me good, who knows. I will not follow `uyyub shortcomings of people. I have to look at my own shortcomings.” Today people are busy looking at shortcomings of others. They are not looking at their own shortcomings. They are not keeping that in their hearts. They forget immediately. So when you are asking and requesting, “Ya Rabbee, You be my wakeel,” Allah will build you up, because Allah wants to give
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you the best. Because you said, you are my wakeel. That wakeel wants to do for you the best that can be done to represent you in the best way and to represent you where? In His presence He wants you to have … He doesn’t look at your clothes. Even the wakeel hides shortcoming of the person he represents. Always you try to hide it. What do you think of Allah ? He will try to keep you in the highest level of respect in his presence. That is why hadith of Prophet , whoever remembers me in an association I will remember him in a better association, which means “In My Presence.” If he remembers that I am his wakeel, I will send angels to guide him. When people sit in gathering of remembrance, Allah sends angels that assemble around them up to paradise. So we must not look at shortcomings of others. We don’t known what is in their heart. That shepherd looks like a shepherd but he was higher than that wali. Second description of awliyaullah is that whenever you travel, any kind of travel, awliya have to take permission for their travel from the Prophet . And that is why students of a wali must take permission when they want to travel from their shaykh as he will take permission on their behalf from the Prophet . If we don’t take permission form our shaykh to travel, anything that might happen to us they are not covering us. Today if you want to travel they tell you buy insurance. But we don’t guarantee. We only pay. If you die you die, but we will pay your inheritors. But when you take permission from Prophet they make sure you reach safe. And awliyaullah when you take permission for traveling, they take permission from their shaykh and their shaykh from the Prophet . If you take permission from the one representing the shaykh, that person has to take permission from the one he represents who is the living wali and that wali will take permission from the propend. Else they cannot save you if something happen. If a ship is sinking they make all possibilities that ship doesn’t sink. They ask Allah , as they can see, yamhullah maa yashaa'u wa yuthbit.
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So awliyaullah immediately jump in on your behalf to ask the Prophet for my student to be saved and Prophet is asking for his Ummah. If sinking ship or riding horse in desert or jungle or car or bus or train, all this technology today you have to take permission to ride it or to go. Else if we don’t take permission we will not fall in the category to be saved, they pull their hands. And that is second description that we will explain in next session and the story behind the two walis that were negotiating with each other on that matter. That is second character of awliyaullah. Bi hurmati ‘l-Fatiha. The first quality is not to judge people on the outside appearance.
THE SECOND CHARACTER OF AWLIYA 11 Ramadan 1427/3 October 2006
A`udhu billahi min ash-shaytaan ir-rajeem Bismillahi 'r-Rahmani 'r-Raheem Nawaytu'l-arba`een, nawaytu'l-`itikaaf, nawaytu'l-khalwah, nawaytu'l-riyaada, nawaytu's-salook, nawaytu'l-`uzlah lillahi ta`ala fee hadha'l-masjid Ati` Allah wa ati` ar-Rasula wa uli 'l-amri minkum n this meeting we continue with the describing the second character of awliya. That is some of the behavior or characters of awliya that Grandshaykh was speaking about. In this lecture he speaks about the second one. Because awliyaullah always they are trying their best to be in the Divine Presence and in the presence of the Prophet Muhammad , that is why they are awliyaullah.
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Allah described them in the Holy Qur’an: Alaa awliyaullah la khawfan alayhim wa laa hum yahzanoon… lahumulbushra fid-dunya… adheem. They have noting to fear or be sad about. They reached a level that they always have good tidings and they will be sent to paradise. They reached safety. And they are described in the holy hadith, “My saints under My domes.”
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That is the description of the wali they are responsible for every action they do. That is not like a child, who has no responsibility. Because not mature. As child not mature there are many people who are not mature. That is why they fall into mistakes, then they repent and Allah forgives them. Awliyaullah, if they fall they have to take the consequences. They have to be in istighfaar. That is why Rabi`a al-`Adawiyya ¬ all her life in istighfaar that is why she said, “My istighfaar needs istighfaar.” That is the wali that always needs to take permission from Prophet for whatever action he is doing. If he doesn’t take permission from the Prophet , he will face consequence. The disciple of the shaykh has to take permission of his shaykh or he will face the consequence. Allah is al-Badee` , the Innovator. He is ibda, does what no one can do. And awliyaullah are like that, taking from Allah’s ibda, from the name al-Badi` , the One who fashions, the one who fashions things in a way that is appealing to everyone and you have a garden of roses that are same color. Might be appealing one or two times, then not appealing, boring. It must be mixed of different colors in order to be appealing. So awliyaullah are fashioned and woven in a way that they are harmonious with each other so when you look at them you see that coordination between them and that gives you happiness when you see them together. There are 124,000 wali from different levels. If we say that we consider let us say or imagine, that there is only, look how much Allah's beauty from his name al-Badee’ , creates beauty. Let us consider that this world is black and white, no color. It is only completely black and white. You see that there is no ibda` in it. There is not that word magnificence, in Arabic. That Allah makes things harmonious. Black and white, after a while you say this movie is black and white after you don’t want to see it because
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no color. Imagine you are color-blind, you cannot see color, everything black and white, but there are people who are not color blind. Look here, everyone has different clothes, different dress and everything is harmonious. Like when you dress, you try to dress in matching clothes. O this one is not matching, throw it away. Matching or not, I will wear. No, don’t wear, it is not matching. If it isn’t matching they say about you, “You are a donkey.” If he doesn’t know what he is wearing how does he know the hearts of people. If Allah the Creator made everything matching that is his greatness. Look, when winter comes, the whole trees, become no leaves, only branches of one color, like black and white. Like all these branches what color do they have? Grey. Between white and black. You don’t see anymore beauty. When spring comes, yuhee wa yumeet. He gives life and gives death. Yakhrujul-hayy minalmayt. How they don’t believe in resurrection day when every year there is resurrection day, bringing life from death. The example is these trees and grass. Everything will be dead and when spring comes, everything comes alive, bring it from death. You look at a tree in winter and look at a dead tree standing, you see resemblance between both of them, you don’t know which is alive and which is dead. But in spring you know. That is sign that the one who gives life back to jungles. To trees, can give life to anything he wants. So Allah matches everything in this universe. Everything is in prefect matching. They say that the moon is every year is moving far away from the earth. Every year it is 3 seconds, moving further, and the earth is approaching the earth every year, some seconds. So let us say that we will be
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able to live all these years, there will be coming a time when the earth and the moon clash with the sun, according to the physics theory. Is it not? Don’t they say that? Yes. So it means that there is in statistics, there is a possibility and it is a fact, that one day the earth and the moon are going tot clash with the sun and when they clash life is finished. So this is an indication to us that this is going to happen. Physicists found that. It means yawma tubaddal al-ardu ghayrul-ard was-samawaati wa barazoo lillahi il Wahid al-Qahhaar. It means the earth and sun are going to clash; everything goes into annihilation into small particles in this universe. But Allah will bring new earth on resurrection day. And the evidence is in Holy Qur’an. Wa jumi`ash-shamsa wal-qamar. The sun and moon will gather together. And now they discovered that they will gather together. Allah gave a hint that they will gather and clash together. That means that Allah is giving evidence in Holy Qur’an, we know that 1400 years I told my beloved Prophet that the earth and moon going tot be together, means finished. It means at any moment Allah can make these 3 seconds to be 10 hours or 100 hours make it faster and with Kun fayakoon earth hit sun and Judgment Day will come finished. Wa jumi` ash-shams together and physicists found that. So Allah is making everything to match everything together. That is His ibda. He made the earth to move 3 seconds, look to show us how everything is precise to us. If it is going to be more than 3 seconds we feel the heart quickly. And if it is moving quickly it will be sucked quickly by the magnetic field of the sun. These physicists didn’t think about it yet.
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It might be it reaches a center of gravity so when it reached that point it will reach and be sucked in. He didn’t mention the earth because it is balagha, the moon circling the earth an both are moving around the sun. So awliyaullah have to ask permission for everything they do because everything has been planned very well. A-antum tazra`oonahu am nahnu az-zaari`oon. Are you the one who I planting these and perfecting these or are we the one doing it. Of course Allah is doing it. So it means that everything is planted in its place in perfection. It is not just planting the grass. Look from one see that is not living, if you plant it will be a whole life with many branches and fruit. Yukhrij al-hayy min al-mayt. The dead seed bringing that living tree with all its fruits. We are four different categories: jamadaat, solids, nabataat, plants and trees, everything related to nature of trees, haywanaat and human beings. Is there anything else on this life? Solids, plants, animals, human beings. So look how Allah made them solids no mind, don’t move even. Nabataat, there is a trunk and branches. They don’t move but they are submitting to Allah . Always standing there in Allah’s Divine Presence. Animals, they are roaming around. They have no mind. Their mind is so small that they only know a few things. But Allah favored human beings. Wa laqad karamna Bani Adam . Awliya understand that honor so they don’t do anything without permission. When a wali wants to move about he must take permission from his shaykh or if he is a shaykh he must take permission from Prophet . That is why students have to take permission to come and go and travel. And in anything major. There are 3 major things: when you marry, divorce and when you travel. These are main things in your life.
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Because traveling you don’t know if you come back. When you leave you don’t guarantee you come back. So you have to ask, especially when you go for hajj. They shaykh can look and see if there is a problem or not, see if manifestation of the beautiful name ar-Rahman there or Ghufraan will come or not. So must ask to get permission or not. The example is one wali one day, because it came to his heat in moment of heedlessness. So he didn’t take permission. Awliyaullah ask permission so if anything happened they can use tayy they can move in space and time, that is one of the 6 realities in heart, haqiqat al-jazbah, haqiqat at-tawajjuh, haqiqat al-irshad, haqiqat at-tawassul, haqiqat at-tayy. As the Prophet mentioned in hadith there will come time when distances are short. Awliya are more powerful than airplanes—they can cut distances short. Allah gave human beings mind to invent airplanes, Allah didn’t give wali power to invent or create in himself the power to move and cut distance? Of course. Why is a wali a wali if he cannot do these things. But they don’t show it, Naqshbandi shaykhs don’t show these things. And also they are very careful not to speak about themselves what they are seeing or what they are experiencing. Today I am seeing a lot of students if they see something they say to others. They are becoming like talk shows, or group therapy. Tell them anything you see. The one tells the other. If Allah wants, He will show everything to everyone. So don’t run after your desires of showing yourself then it will stop. If you want it to stop then say loudly. Then it will drop completely. If you want to keep improving whatever you see and what you feel is to you. And what is felt or heard is for you and not for anyone else. That other one cannot follow it. He or she has different heart and different constitution capacity. What is that constitution? Different ways. So don’t try to dress the others with your dress. It doesn’t fit. If you are very slim and the other is very big it doesn’t fit. If he is very big, and dresses like a slim person it looks disgusting it
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doesn’t t work. I was surprised people coming to me, seeing this and seeing that. That is ok to tell Mawlana Shaykh or his representative but don’t tell it in public. Hide. If you don’t hide, you expose it then they don’t give any more diamonds. Give him only candies. He is throwing it everywhere. People will not know its value. So that wali in a moment of heedlessness, he wanted to travel on a boat from one country to another going to hajj from north Africa going through the Mediterreanean Sea all the way to reach Egypt and from there go to hajj. There were 2 caravans in the previous cents in Ottoman times and before. One caravan comes from east and one comes from west for the hajj and they were accompanied by Ottoman army or the ones who were ruling, that dynasty. 2 caravans. So he was coming from the side of West Africa. He was on the boat. It didn’t come to him to take permission he found himself already on the boat and the boat was sailing. He was busy with his awraad and not looking to anyone else except those who know him waliullah his students and he was teaching them. Until they were in middle of the ocean and a huge storm came. And they knew this storm was so huge that it is going to break the ship into pieces. Everyone was now in submission because they know they are going to die, and they are asking Allah’s forgiveness. Before you decide on your trip you must ask permission from the living shaykh and then you have to recite 100 times, before you go in Bismillahi 'r-Rahmani 'r-Raheem dhaalika taqdeerul-azeezul-`aleem that is the planning or assessment of the Creator. You recite that and that will save you. That is because you know that everything is coming from Allah and in Allah’s hands. Everyone began to recite but it was supposed to be recited before. So it did not match the code of manifestation of safety. So what happened? We leave that to next time to hear what happened. Bi hurmatil habeeb, bi hurmati ‘l-Fatiha.
THE IMPORTANCE OF LOVE IN EVERYTHING WE DO 12 Ramadan 1427/4 October 2006 after Fajr and Tahajjud
A`udhu billahi min ash-shaytaan ir-rajeem Bismillahi 'r-Rahmani 'r-Raheem Nawaytu'l-arba`een, nawaytu'l-`itikaaf, nawaytu'l-khalwah, nawaytu'l-riyaadah, nawaytu's-salook, nawaytu'l-`uzlah lillahi ta`ala fee hadha'l-masjid Ati` Allah wa ati` ar-Rasula wa uli 'l-amri minkum Obey Allah ; obey Prophet and those in authority. very action we are going to do we have to know that Allah is seeing us and Prophet is seeing us. And we have to know that uli’l-amr, whether physical or spiritual are monitoring your actions. Physical ones monitor only for bad. They care only for what is bad and they come against you.
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Awliyaullah monitor you for what is good and if you are doing good they push you forward out of love for their disciples. They want us not to be heedless, but although that is so, sometimes Allah will send something to them in order to test them and check them. We were speaking about that wali that at that moment forgot, as he was traveling getting on the boat, [to ask permission from Prophet ]. And as we said before, when you travel, marry or divorce, you
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have to ask permission, from those who are on authority on you; for their guidance. It might be they will tell you not to travel, not seeing it good. So awliyaullah when they travel must have permission from the Prophet , or else there is no safety, as you go on the road. Out of love of Prophet he wants you to ask permission. Out of his love to you that shaykh wants you to ask permission. Awliyaullah understand the importance of love in everything we do. They see that in the life of the Prophet how much he was a loving person. And when you love someone you obey him, that is for sure. ﻢ ﻴﺭﺣ ﺭ ﻪ َﻏﻔُﻮ ﻭﺍﻟّﻠ ﻢ ﺑ ُﻜﻢ ُﺫ�ُﻮ ﺮ َﻟ ُﻜ ﻳ ْﻐﻔﻪ ﻭ ﻢ ﺍﻟّﻠ ﺒ ُﻜﺤِﺒ ﻳ ﻲ�ﻌﻮ ِ ﻓَﺎﱠﺗﺒﻥ ﺍﻟّﻠﻪ ﻮﺒﻢ ُﺗﺤ ُﻗ ْﻞ ﺇِﻥ ﻛُﻨ ُﺘ Qul in kuntum tuhibboona Allaha faittabi`oonee yuhbibkumu Allahu wa yaghfir lakum dhunoobakum waAllahu ghafoorun raheem. Say: “If ye do love Allah , Follow me: Allah will love you and forgive you your sins: For Allah is Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful.” [Ali Imran, 3:31] In kuntum tuhiboonAllah fatabi`oonee.... if you love Allah obey the Prophet , then Allah loves you. So love leads to obedience. And awliyaullah, Prophet wants from them, when they are a wali, to obey, to know that there is higher authority on them. If you are heedless in your love, even one second, if that love diminishes in that second you are losing a lot. And the example of that love, even animals, out of their love to Prophet they go and complain to Prophet . They went and said to Prophet and said, we are complaining of our owner. Animals go to door of Prophet to complain.
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And the example of that is the Prophet going to ziyarah of one of his Sahaaba and one camel was standing near the house of the gathering and the camel was looking at Prophet and the Prophet was looking at him. And the camel began to have tears in his eyes coming crying and they begin to see tears. And the Prophet asked, “Who owns that camel?” And they said, “This Sahabi owns this camel.” The Prophet said, “That camel is complaining against you.” Look at the Prophet ’s love to everything. He wants everything to be in order, to work in harmony. He even wants animals and humans to be in harmony. Then what you think of human to human. That is why the relationship of the human to human must be in harmony. He was complaining, “You are loading it more than it can carry.” Look how the Prophet cares for everyone. So that is why don’t be heedless, even the wali must ask, as Grandshaykh said to take permission to travel, else he will be lost. The other example is about solids [inanimate objects], they are not even living, and the Prophet cares for them. That is out of love. When someone makes a piece of art, he loves that piece of art. So the Prophet wants a relationship with everyone. Know that Muhammad is in you. He was sent as rahmatan lil-`alameen, mercy to all the worlds. Know that is very important. You feel mercy for someone that is from love. That shows that relationship of love to the Ummah. He wants you safety, he wants you to be careful in every step you move. Out of love, if you are wali or not, he wants you to follow the principles. Don’t jump from windows, but come to the house from the door. Don’t be like those who said, “Ya Rasulullah , do we leave the camel or tie it? Do we just leave it and trust in Allah ?” No he
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said, “`aqilha wa tawakkal. Tie it and then trust.” Of course if you leave it, it will go into the jungle not staying in its place. So the relationship requires whatever is necessary to be done. The Prophet when he does Friday khutba, there is a wood trunk that they dug in the earth and he puts his hand on it and leans upon it in order to give his speech, his advice. So some of the Sahaaba, after many times, saw it was difficult for Prophet to lean upon it because more and more Sahaaba coming, in order for the Sahaaba to see him. So they decide to build a minbar, a platform with several steps so Prophet can go up and everyone can see him. So that Friday they built the minbar and they brought it to mosque and put it in mosque next to the tree trunk that Prophet used to lean on. The Prophet went and stood on the minbar and then they hear haneenin from that trunk of wood. Every Sahaaba heard that. Out of love the wood, missing the Prophet ’s hand was crying. When you love someone you put your hand on him or her. When you love your children you put your hand on them, you hug them, you show that relationship, that energy goes from them to you. That flow of energy is important. So what do you think of the Prophet when he puts his hand, how much energy goes. So that wood was moaning and crying and all Sahaaba heard that. So the Prophet had to go down from the minbar. Look! If someone is on authority and they built for him a nice minbar he will be happy. He will say we have a “Grand opening” and throw the other one in the garbage. Look at the difference. Everything has that relationship of love that creates energy. Today they speak about energy, energy, energy. That is not energy but that is love that creates harmony, as we mentioned in the last talk about the Buraq and the heaven of buraqs in the series of Indonesia. How the Buraq was crying and showing its relationship of its love
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to the Prophet from that the tears coming from their eyes, different kinds of gems were coming from these buraqs and every tear from them is bigger than this world, and each of these tears is a pearl or sapphire or diamond and each one Allah was creating bigger than this world. And each of these huge jewels are made like palaces for believers on the Day of Judgment. So that love is immense that cannot be described. So the Prophet went down and looked at that stick or that trunk. He said, “Do you love me?” He said, “Na’m Ya Rasulullah . I love you and that is why I don’t want you to use the minbar and I want the blessings of your hand to be on me. I cannot stand without it.” That is a solid, a dry wood, a stick. And the Prophet said, do you like me to be with you in dunya, or you like to be with me in akhira. I give you a choice. “If you love to be with me in dunya I will keep putting my hand on you and if you love to be with me in akhira, I will guarantee you paradise.” He said, “Ya Rasulullah , I love to be with you in this life and in the next, but as you like.” Akhira is better. Look he made the wood alive from his hand and the wood finally said, “I prefer akhira.” So Prophet said, “Take that wood and bury it as a dead person.” So they buried the wood and he promised that he would be with the Prophet in Paradise. So the wood was not heedless—it wanted to be with the Prophet always and Allah granted that. He gave that non-living trunk to be living in akhira and be in Paradise. Even the animal, Allah gave one animal to be in paradise out of love to Ashaab al-Kahf. Though it is not accepted to be in Paradise, that dog was accepted into Paradise.
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So the Prophet went up on the minbar and he was giving that advice to the Sahaaba. Out of love he wants everything to be perfect. So when that wali went on that ship, usually the wali has to use tayy, the power of folding distances, time and space, when something happens. That is why it is recommended 100 times Bismillahi 'r-Rahmani 'r-Raheem dhaalika taqdeer al-`azeez ar-raheem before you travel, that is Allah created angles that under that name, dhaalika taqdeer al-azeez al-raheem, under that praising, Allah created angels that anyone who recite that of disaster or problem they carry that person in order not to be in that difficulty. They come and take that person and fly him. They take care of the safety of that person, whether on car or train or ship or boat or rocket. So that wali forgot to take permission of the living shaykh or if no living shaykh to take permission of the Prophet . During that travel on the sea a big storm came up and the boat was in difficulty. There was another wali on that boat who had taken permission. That boat was breaking into pieces and that first wali who does not know how to swim was drowning with all the people. The second wali who took permission from the Prophet was able to float on one of these pieces. As if nothing happening. As if that piece of wood became for him like a boat. Like what happened with nimrod and Sayyidina Ibrahim . When Nimrod built a huge fire and threw Sayyidina Ibrahim , with manjaniq, a catapult. It was a huge place they built the fire and because the fire was so huge they were unable to approach to throw Sayyidina Ibrahim . So they take something which stretches, like a slingshot, a catapult, and they throw Sayyidina Ibrahim inside the fire, coming within the fire and Jibreel immediately came. He said, “Ya Sayyidina Ibrahim , do you
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want any help?” He looked at him, “Why do I have to ask you for help? My help I ask from the One who sent you. Allah knows my situation. If He wants me not to be burned. If He wants me to be burned, I am submitting to His Will. I am not going to change anything.” He said, “Ya Ibrahim , I can stop the fire.” He said, “I don’t want it from you, I want it from Him. If He wants, He knows my situation better.” Jibreel said, “Ya Sayyidina Ibrahim , give me authority, I will help you.” He said, “Ya Jibreel , your words are like the words of children. When they threw me in the fire, did not Allah see me? If He wants to save me, He will save me. I don’t like to listen to children’s words.” And Allah made the fire cool and peaceful on Sayyidina Ibrahim . ﻢ ﻴﺍﻫﺑﺮِﻋﻠَﻰ ﺇ ﺎﺳﻠَﺎﻣ ﻭ ﺍﺮﺩ ﺑ ﻲ�ﺭ ُﻛﻮ ﺎ �َﺎﺎ ﻳُﻗْﻠﻨ “Qulna Ya naari koonee bardan wa salaaman `ala Ibrahim.” [But] We said: O fire! Be thou cool, and [a source of] inner peace for Abraham !” [Al-Anbiyaa, 21:69] Immediately it turned like paradise. So that wali, because he asked permission and he had taken permission from the Prophet , he rendered everything to Allah . So that is why taking permission is very important. So that wali took permission and he was on the piece of wood like it was a boat, the first one was drowning. The second wali, though lower in status, was enjoying happy the safety on his wood like a happy safe boat cruise that you can find everything on it. For him it was like Paradise and the other wali was suffering. And he said to him, “Let me help you my brother,” like Jibreel was saying to Sayyidina Ibrahim .
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The first one said, “O my brother, until now I never did something against Allah’s Will. I never committed something disobeying Allah . I am surrendering to Allah in that difficulty and I am patient on it. I don’t need your help.” So the second wali was laughing and saying, “Ok, we will see how long you will last until you beg me to save you.” So that wali began to drown more and began to shake, in panic and become like he is going to die, swallowing water. And the second wali said, “Now is it time to help you or are you still on arrogance?” He said, “No, I am not asking your help, I am surrendering to Allah’s Will.” So when someone is panicking in the ocean and drowning, all his limbs started flapping, with his hands and with his legs trying to save himself, but he cannot because it is a storm. So he was moving his body and falling more and more. The second one said, “Do you give me permission.” He said, “No!” Then the other said, “Ok, we are going to see how long until you need help and you give me permission.” So he continued panicking and floundering around and moving his body. The second wali said to him, “O my brother why are you floundering and splashing around, as if you don’t have patience [with the Divine Will]?” The first wali said, “O my brother that is the right of the body, to flounder and splash, but Allah doesn’t look at the body, he looks at the heart. Look at my heart. Is it panicking or not?” When that wali looked in the heart of that first wali and saw how much the submission of that wali and saw how much Divine Light was coming to the heart of that wali and the mercy of Prophet coming down onto that wali from his patience, from seeing that he
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was overcome and fell into the water and began to drown. And then that first wali looked at him and with the power of his vision took that wali and threw him to the shore seven months journeying from the storm and from drowning in the ocean. That was from the tajallis of ismullah, Allah’s Name as-Saboor , The Patient, that second wali was not able to control himself. So under the tajallis of that Name the first wali was obliged to save him and for that Allah saved the first wali, for his help to the second one. So the awliya are at different levels. Although you might see them physically struggling or according to your mind they are quarrelling and they are saying things that are not accepted you might not see the relationship that they have in their hearts. Some might object, “Why are they quarreling with each other? Why do they speak like that?” You are looking at the outside not the relationship inside. About the relationship between them and how much the shaykh cares for the disciple or the representative. And Allah does not judge by the outside. Be sure you don’t fall in the trap of what is going on outside. The relationship of the heart is like that—it is never affected. The higher one always comes over the lower one. But the lower one cannot understand the higher one. The higher wali is always more patent and merciful. Out of love and mercy they look; not from a different angle. So don’t judge what is going on between awliyaullah, else you will burn your fingers. Don’t say, “I am like that; I am this or I am that, or my name is this or my name is that. I must be respected.” Be yourself. Remember Allah said in Holy Qur’an “Wa laa tuzakoo anfusikum. Don’t praise your selves.” Don’t listen to a fuzzy signal and say, “I am this and I am that.” May Allah forgive us. We continue next time. Bi hurmatil-Fatiha.
ON TRAINING 13 Ramadan 1427/5 October 2006 after Fajr
A`udhu billahi min ash-shaytaan ir-rajeem Bismillahi 'r-Rahmani 'r-Raheem Nawaytu'l-arba`een, nawaytu'l-`itikaaf, nawaytu'l-khalwah, nawaytu'l-riyaada, nawaytu's-salook, nawaytu'l-`uzlah lillahi ta`ala fee hadha'l-masjid Ati` Allah wa ati` ar-Rasula wa uli 'l-amri minkum efore an athletic event you see people warm up. Warming up, they are preparing for the big event. Every big event needs a warm-up. If you don’t warm-up you might not be able to win the game. And before warming up you need to train. Training is important in order that you will be chosen, or you will be elected or selected to play in the final or to be on the team.
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You might be selected from thousands. Look when they have world cup soccer, they pick the best teams in every country. Then they begin to play each other until they come to the finals. But before coming to the finals they were trained. And they are then selected and then they warm up for finals and then they train even more for the finals. So Allah ď ‰ sent his messengers to train us and sent the seal of the messengers to show us how you can be in the best team. Awliyaullah are those who are training the Ummah, training in
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them every way possible in order to get them to be the selected ones in the finals. Look how much Prophet prepared and how much he trained his Sahaaba. One time in Egypt you know there is this Christian sect, alKuptiyyooon, the Coptic. One time Sayyidina Umar ibn al-`Aas son , one of the Sahaaba, was in Egypt and he has many crowd with him, so one Coptic person when he saw him, he begin to say to him, “We are the children, the son of Amr ibn al-`Aas , the best of Sahaaba, better than your parents and better than you. You are only a piece of dirt. You are a Coptic person.” Then he took the whip that is used to whip horses and slashed him, not hard, but in order to humiliate him. He was showing he is higher than him and slashed him, whipped him. That Coptic person got sad and he traveled all the way to Madina to Sayyidina Umar ibn al-Khattaab complaining about son of Amr ibn al-`Aas . So at that time, son of Amr ibn al-`Aas returned to Madina and that Coptic person complained to Sayyidina Umar who was the calipha at that time, and in the big association Sayyidina Umar called the son of Amr ibn al-`Aas and asked him, “Did you say this.” He said, “Yes!” Sayyidina Umar said to him, “Allah sent Sayyidina Muhammad as the messenger of love and messenger of peace. You whipped him in a delicate manner in order not to harm him but to humiliate him. I am calling on that Coptic person to whip you in same manner as you whipped him.” Sayyidina Umar wants to show Islam doesn’t accept injustice. There are no differences. There is differences between you and him in the relationship with Allah . But between Him and you there is no difference. So he returned the right of that Coptic in front of everyone. So that is example of how they have been trained in order to keep the right of everyone. Today we humiliate each other even. Even to try to destroy each other. And even an animal you cannot let that animal down.
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The example of that is the example of Sayyidina Ali . One day he was in a trip outside the Madina. Suddenly he jumped out from his horse and took a stick and begin to as if to search in the sand with his stick. The Sahaaba were surprised what is he doing in the sand with his stick. The Sahaaba asked him, “Ya Ali what are you doing, we are on the middle of the way to that tribe and we stopped that whole caravan and you are picking in the sand looking for what. He said, “I am looking for something I don’t want to be responsible on Judgment Day in front of Allah .” They said, “Let us help you in that.” He said, “That is my responsibility, not yours.” He said, “When I was on the horse, [you know the horse when it moves, it goes up and down], it gallops, and as it was galloping there was a flea, [the white bug] in the beard, [that comes in the beard and hair], there was one flea that I saw was from my beard falling into the sand. And it is my responsibility if that flea is hungry or not.” [It might be when it was in my beard it was eating something there]. “Now it is falling in the sand and I saw it falling in the sand and I want to find it to put it back in its place.” Although Prophet said, kullu muddarin yuqtal - everything harmful thing is [permitted to be] killed, so fleas have to be eliminated. So here he wants to teach Sahaaba and teach us. He is responsible if that flea will die from hunger. He wants to tell us that everything we do must be to the highest level of perfection and respect. Although he has to kill the flea but he stopped. In order that flea might be hungry. Let it first eat and then fall down. But not falling down from hunger. So this is an example of Grandshaykh saying in order to tell us we have to be very careful. It means to that extent Sayyidina Ali was looking to be sure he doesn’t harm a flea. How much we are harming. Look I see some people, if there is a worm or ant in the house, they go slowly and take a paper, “O my
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darling, O my love!” and put on a paper and have to put on tree or somewhere else. Not to kill it. That is good. They do that for an ant but they don’t do it for human begins. They fight with human beings. They fight with each other. Look the son of Amr ibn al-`Aas took back [received] the revenge of the Coptic. He whipped him as he was whipped. So that is Islam’s way of love. This is training to reach a situation that you will be selected from the “finals” to be of those whom Allah described. That is why the whole message of Islam came and tariqah from heart of Shari`ah, the Prophet explained in order to get the selected ones to be on the top, in order that they will be later, to train the Ummah. That is why awliyaullah are trainers to the Ummah. That is why you see them today in football games, soccer games, they put these trainers from one team to another. They are precious like diamonds. What do you think about awliyaullah that are more precious than soccer teams? That soccer team is wasting of time. There is also soccer team between us and Shaytaan. Awliya teaching us to compete with Shaytaan. Shaytaan has many tricks. Shaytaan when he comes has many tricks. The Prophet prohibited to trade with Qur’an. You cannot recite and take money for it. You cannot teach Qur’an and take money out of it. That is never accepted, never we heard that. Today Shaytaan is playing game with everyone. I don't teach Qur’an if you don’t pay $20.00 dollars or $500 dollars a session. The Prophet taught Sahaaba not for money. He never sold or traded Kalaamullah. You cannot sell or trade maqaam al-Ihsan or the Words of Allah . You can sell or trade with science but not with anything related to heavens. What are you selling—angels? They come today with all kind of different ways to sell angels. Not only that, they make angel statues and sell them. This is protection
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angel, guardian angel, safety angel; I don’t know what kind of angels they are selling. Or they sell you energy. Energy is for everyone, go and get it. You see all these groups today they are selling energy. Why are they selling energy? Why energy is only monopolized to some people so they can get it or it is for everyone? So whatever they can find to sell you, they sell you. Look go to the bookstores, Muslims and non-Muslim bookstores and see how they are using things to sell. All of us we have this problem, trying to sell something, us and others, something that is not our property. Qur’an is your property. Islam is your property. Allah sent for everyone. ﻡﻼ ﺳ ﺍ ِﻹﺪ ﺍﻟﻠّﻪ ﻨﻦ ﻋ ﺪﻳ ﺍﻟِﺇﻥ Inna ad-deen `indallahi al-Islam. Behold, the only [true] religion in the sight of God is [man's] selfsurrender unto Him; [Ali Imran, 3:19] Even fatwa for a Shaykh you cannot ask money for it. When you give a fatwa, and you are charging a person money, that will be thrown on you. Angels will throw on your face with this `amal -you are doing when you are asking something in return. If they like to give that is something else. But you cannot sell what is there, what Allah gave you. You know in Islam you cannot hold back knowledge. It is haraam. That is why the Prophet has to relate the message and told them, “Whatever you heard from me relate it.” Whatever you have, give it out. You cannot hold it. That is why you see Sahaaba never hold it, but passing that knowledge to everyone. Sayyidina Abu Hurayrah passed everything except one thing. What is that? What he said if he said it they would cut his neck. He shared that [only] with private people.
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So Sayyidina `Ali said, “I have to find that put it back in its place. Then if I kill it I follow the Sunnah of the Prophet in killing whatever is harmful.” But not to let it fall and die by itself in the dust. Everything harmful has to be eliminated. Shaytaan is harmful. So you have to kill that ego problem from your heart. Our egos are so big you cannot accept any complaint or criticism. You cannot accept criticism from anyone. Immediately we get upset. The Prophet said, “Kill anything that is harmful.” In every `amal we are doing there is something wrong we are doing. You have to fix it. Sayyidina Ali is not saying that because of himself, not because of something that he doesn’t want to be asked on Judgment Day, he is showing the Sahaaba that even the flea that is on your beard which you can take and kill, but when it falls down it is your responsibility to bring it back and put it in its place. Then you can—because it is harmful—take and kill it. That is why the Prophet was always warning the Sahaaba not to get angry and he was saying to Sayyidina Abu Bakr , “Anger is disbelief.” It makes people drunk. Then they don’t know what they are doing. You must not be angry. Try to be patient. Like the flow of the water, don’t struggle like salmon. If someone says to you something you don’t like, the ego goes against the flow of the water. When you make the salmon go with the follow of the water then there is no struggle. Then you will reach the peaceful self. The first important principle for awliyaullah is to leave anger. And to struggle against anger. Every affliction that comes on you is coming with anger. It is the affliction carry with it anger and jealousy. Every affliction comes because either someone is looking at you with a bad eye, saying, “I want to have what he has, I want to be like he is, I want to be respected like that one.” This is hasad.
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Anger comes because you dislike the way he is doing things because you wanted to do these things like him or like here. Whatever it is. If it is to you[r benefit], you don’t get angry with yourself but when the other is doing it you get angry. That is Hubb an-nafs. So the Prophet trained the Sahaaba to throw that from their hearts. That is very difficult, it is not so simple. That is through training. Like these Suhbat. These are not for a particular situation but, ﲔ ﻨﺆﻣ ﻤ ﻊ ﺍْﻟ ﻯ ﺗَﻨ َﻔ ﺍﻟ ﱢﺬ ْﻛﺮﺮ َﻓِﺈﻥ ﻭ َﺫﱢﻛ Wa dhakkir fa-inna adh-dhikra tanfa`u al-mumineen. Yet go on reminding [all who would listen]: for, verily, such a reminder will profit the believers. [Adh-Dhaariyat, 51:55] So suhbats are to remind us of our weaknesses and our problems in order to solve it. The Prophet’s association with Sahaaba is to remind them to leave what is needed to be left. And the most important is always not to drop the love of Prophet and awliyaullah from your heart. Grandshaykh said many times said that when I bombard you with criticism it is like someone bombarding you with a cannon, be happy. That bombardment is taking everything wrong in you with that association. When I am criticizing you that is a cleaning process for your behavior to clean you with what you have been afflicted with and affected with and contaminated with. We have lots of contaminations. When you go to hospital you may have complications in your body. They try to solve one problem, and then there is another problem. They solve diabetes there is kidney problem they solve
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coma you have heart problem they solve coma problem you have mental problem they solve mental problem you. We are contaminated completely they have an epidemic they have to put us in quarantine. All of us are in quarantine. None of us is out of quarantine. Even awliyaullah they have quarantine. Prophet has quarantine for them. So don’t say, “Why do I have quarantine.” That is to eliminate everything possible. So in transplant in order to prevent problem they have to be sure there is no rejection of the body of any sort so they give huge antibiotics in order to bring immune system down to prevent it from rejecting. That immune system is the ego system. It does not like anything that comes from Allah or Prophet or wali. It says they are attacking you. Why are they attacking me always? They are attacking in order to clean us in order to put their transplant. They want to put all the organs of the soul. That is why they give you high does of antibiotics, of criticism. They give you high dose, high dose, high dose. You fall from top to bottom. Shaykh is completely destroying me, my fame, my importance. Then when you reach that level of nothing, then you understand you are not worth more than an ant. Then they transplant in your knew organs. Then the light of Allah , allahu nurus-samawaati wal-ard, Allah is the Light of the Heavens and the Earth, the beauty of that light will find a place to sit. If the ego contamination is still there any complications that doesn’t let you to reach anywhere. Anyone who gets contaminated with anger the first three hours he is a prisoner of Shaytaan. Anyone, Grandshaykh is explaining, if a person fights with his wife or she with her husband or with the community or with each other, the first three hours Shaytaan in authority on you. So be careful the first three hours. Make ablution, pray two raka`ats. If anger doesn’t go, go out of the house
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and walk in the streets. Go sit by the ocean and say Allahu Akbar, Subhanallah. Never the ocean gets tired of reaching you through its waves. These waves, when they are coming to the shore, they are coming with praising and tasbih. They are reaching humanity and reaching the Ummah. The waves are always coming and they are cleaning. They are a cleaning process. Sit there and look. The ocean doesn’t get tired, masha-Allah. If within three hours our anger didn’t go, we will be prisoners to forty days and that anger didn’t go, then we are completely immersed in anger and when we die we die as miskeen. The “Poor” guy died from cancer of anger. There is no treatment for that illness. Only dirt can treat that person, underground. We stop here and Insha-Allah we continue next time. Bi hurmati ‘l-Fatiha. Grandshaykh said, “I have bombardment only for two people. I have two students. Nazim Effendi ¬ and Husayn Effendi ¬. When I bombard on them it is for others to listen.”
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OUR WAY IS ASSOCIATION 14 Ramadan 1427/6 October 2006
A`udhu billahi min ash-shaytaan ir-rajeem Bismillahi 'r-Rahmani 'r-Raheem Nawaytu'l-arba`een, nawaytu'l-`itikaaf, nawaytu'l-khalwah, nawaytu'l-riyaadah, nawaytu's-salook, nawaytu'l-`uzlah lillahi ta`ala fee hadha'l-masjid Ati` Allah wa ati` ar-Rasula wa uli 'l-amri minkum ur Imam, Sayyidina Shah Naqshband ¬, Imam at-tariqats was always saying our way is association, because through associations we learn. And when you have a gathering like this gathering, they are coming for advice. And that is why religion is marboot, tied to advice. Ad-deenu marbootan bin-naseeha. Religion is tied to advice and advice is tied to association and association is tied the way awliya follow. That is meaning of tariqah to sit and get an advice on issues we need it, of dunya and akhira.
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Awliyaullah don’t sit to waste their time and your time. They want to sit and speak in order that everyone benefit. And Allah looks at those who are sitting together in an association to advise each other of what they are necessary to follow. That is why the Prophet said, Yadullah ala al-jama`at – “Allah’s support is over those who come together,” sitting together, remembering whatever they have forgotten of their religion and remembering what they need to learn from their shaykh.
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Every association has its own taste and every association has its own understanding. There are people, as Allah said: ﺮ ﺨ ﺳﱠ ﻭ ﻲ ﻓﻪ ِﺇﻥ ﻨﻣ ﺎﻴﻌﺟﻤ ِﺽﻲ ﺍْﻟ َﺄﺭﺎ ﻓﻭﻣ ﺍﺕﺎﻭﺴﻤ ﻲ ﺍﻟﺎ ﻓﻥ َﻟﻜُﻢ ﻣ ﻭﻳَﺘ َﻔ ﱠﻜﺮ ٍﻡ ﱠﻟ َﻘﻮﺎﺕﻚ َﻟﺂﻳ َﺫﻟ wa sakhara lakum maa fi’s-samawaati wa ma fi’l-ardi jamee`an minhu inna fee dhaalika la-ayaatin li-qawmin yatafakkaroona. And He has subjected to you, as from Him, all that is in the heavens and on earth: Behold, in that are Signs indeed for those who reflect. [AlJaathiyah, 45:13] Allah subjugated whatever is in heavens and whatever is in earth to your control. There are people who have power and have subjugated earth, earth follows them and they are able to do anything on earth that others might not be able to do. Don’t be tricked. Even someone who can subjugate dunya, have control on dunya and can have control on you, on people through his or her speeches or presentations, but they are blind as long as they did not get their amanaat from the Prophet , they are considered blind. Anyone who did not reach to be able to get his trust from Prophet is blind. Even he can fly in air. Even he can make you to see things by the speech that that person gives, makes you to see all kinds of making you to see. All these are illusions and imagination. Grandshaykh told us that when you begin to feel pleasure in what you are doing of worship then be careful; stop doing it. Do something else. If you are doing dhikrullah, Allah and begin to feel some kind of pleasure from it, stop. Because that pleasure is not what we are seeking. If you are doing dhikr, then stop and read
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from Qur’an. That might come to you, that boredom. So then you continue, you don’t stop. Easy to be by hallucination to see anything. Adam was made to fall by the hallucination of Shaytaan, his whispering [giving him the idea that he and his wife could be given everlasting kingdom, living forever.] When the Prophet came the idolaters heard the idols speaking and they made fitna to the Sahaaba and [even though] the Prophet was there. Shaytaan might come at any moment to trick people ways through many ways. You don’t want to be tricked by these illusions that make you in a trance. Your goal is not to see this or that. Like following a blind man with a stick and you are blind. And you don’t have a stick. Too many people today have sticks. They don’t know the meaning of the stick Allah asked Sayyidina Musa , “What are you carrying in your hand?” He said, “That cane. That cane you are carrying, you have to know the importance of the cane.” ﻲ ﺎ ﻗَﺎ َﻝ ﻫﻴﻬﻲ ﻓ ﻭﻟ ﻲﻨﻤﻋﻠَﻰ َﻏ ﺎﺶ ِﺑﻬ ﻫ ﻭَﺃ ﺎﻴﻬﻋَﻠ ﻮ ﱠﻛ ُﺄ ﻱ َﺃَﺗ ﺎﻋﺼ ﻯﺧﺮ ﺏ ُﺃ ﺂ ِﺭﻣ Qaala hiya `asaya atawakkau `alayha wa ahushshu biha `ala ghanamee wa liya feeha ma’aribu ukhra. He said, “It is my rod: on it I lean; with it I beat down fodder for my flocks; and in it I find other uses.” [Taahaa, 20:18] He said, “I lean on the cane—it means I lean on you, Ya Rabbee, this cane is Sayyidina Muhammad .” Your cane is your shaykh, not the blind man. A blind man where is he going to take you, he cannot see, but because he has a cane not a cane like Sayyidina Musa’s . You think he is going to take you some where. He is blind; You are blind, both of you will fall down.
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The best of minerals are the rare ones. Anything that is rare is the best. Anything that is not rare, found in abundance then that one you don’t need it. That is going to be nothing; it is of no [special] importance, like iron, you can find iron everywhere and above iron there is copper. When people look, they say I want pipe from copper. Of course you don’t like iron but it oxidizes. But copper, while it lasts for some time, but better is silver. Better than silver is gold and better than gold is platinum. Iron you can find but gold and platinum you cannot find. Like diamonds they are rare. Other things are not rare. Kalaam al-awliya are like rare minerals. You don’t go to copper and leave the gold. Iron is everywhere on the internet. Everyone knows how to bring you iron. A blind person cannot bring you gold. He can bring you what is in reach of his hands, pebbles. Pebbles are everywhere on the mountain. A wali will bring you gems from the mountain. Be careful, don’t lead the jama`at and become like a blind association. Then we fall into a trap of blindness, all of us, so that we cannot come out of it. Abu Jahl was blind to the reality of Prophet . That is why he was always coming against him, against him, against him. Teachings of awliya take you from blindness of dunya to the highest level. And all this power of what we just explained comes through humility; through tawada`. And Grandshaykh, may Allah bless his soul, said that tawada` is to respect everyone. Not to respect people when you feel that they are important or when you feel they are more closer to you. Or you feel more content with them. That is not the real humility. Tawada` is to make sure that you can be with a child giving a high level of importance and respect as you are with a king giving high level of
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respect to give that same respect to the child and to listen to that child as if his words were so important. You have to learn from people. Everyone says one word to you, it is very important to you. You keep quiet, you listen you learn. We have to keep quiet, listen and learn. When we are able to respect everyone, then Allah will give us more and more and bring us nearer and nearer. You cannot abandon people and don’t talk to them because you don’t feel relaxed to speak with them. You cannot, if you want to be improving, you cannot abandon people because you feel you are not at ease or comfortable with them. When you don’t feel comfortable with someone, sit with him more. Then you are struggling with your ego to over come that sickness. That is a sickness. Anyone you don’t feel comfortable with, invite him for dinner. Give him respect. Then that person will feel so happy. Then you overcome your illness. These are the teachings of awliya. these teaching are more important to give a remedy to the shortcoming so people. To give them remedies is more important than to make them to see things that are imaginary and are unreal. Because what these people see of imaginary things, they will be happy to eat from the tree. People will be happy; they will stay in that level and don’t want to go more. You trick them, they trick you and Shaytaan tricked you all. What we need is to cure each other. To cure each other we need to observe the sickness and then to cure the ones around us with humility and love and respect. How many times I ask someone, “Is that one calling you and speaking with you?” “No, for many days.” The other one I asked, said, “That one doesn’t talk to me or speak to me.” What is going on? The character of a shaykh is to bring everyone together that everyone likes, not one group and the other group, there are no groups.
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Sayyidina Shah Naqshband ¬ said, “Our way is association and the goodness is in the group,” the whole jama`at. It means you have to build bridges with the whole jama`at, to be sure the whole jama`at is happy and the whole jama`at loves each other. Then you are fixing the problem, not putting fire over fire, making more flames. Grandshaykh said, my teacher, meaning Shaykh Sharafuddin ¬, with his greatness [such] that Sultan Abdul Hameed used to stand up for him when Sultan Abdul Hameed used to go to visit him and when he go to visit the Sultan, when a child go to meet him in the association he stand up and give respect to that child as if that child is a real mature man, and he will sit with him and give him a suhbat and ask about his after and his mother and how they are and then he gives him money or candy and sends salaams to his parents to them. Giving suhbat to a child, that is secret there, the child is pure. So when he gives to the child, all his connections are open to the ancestors and descenders. So through that child he can reach the whole ancestors and descendants. So he speaks to him respecting and through him that secret passes. So he said, zuhd doesn’t come except through humility, tawada`. when you reach that level of asceticism then Allah , he will open for you the secret of humbleness. The most humble is Sayyidina Muhammad and the most arrogant is Iblees. When you are humble Allah will open to you the door to Prophet . When you are arrogant and you don’t see except our way, and see everyone' else way as wrong then you end up in hole of Iblees. We have to be very careful which way we are looking if we are looking to the way of Prophet then we become humble. If we fall in the trap of Iblees we think what we are doing is the best and
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everyone else is doing is the worst. That is our experience. In our many years with Grandshaykh and Mawlana Shaykh. How many times we fell down and then they pulled us up. That is from 50 years of experience. That is not something coming easy. It is only after they grind you completely. We continue next time. You look worried; we have to be very careful, you have to be careful, they have to be careful, I have to be careful. This notebook is forty years ago. Years passes. Who said I would be here. No one—and meet all these beautiful faces. I don’t know if they are beautiful or not.
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HUMBLENESS 15 Ramadan 1427/7 October 2006
A`udhu billahi min ash-shaytaan ir-rajeem Nawaytu'l-arba`een, nawaytu'l-`itikaaf, nawaytu'l-khalwah, nawaytu'l-riyaadah, nawaytu's-salook, nawaytu'l-`uzlah lillahi ta`ala fee hadha'l-masjid Ati` Allah wa ati` ar-Rasula wa uli 'l-amri minkum n the previous session we said that Grandshaykh mentioned that sainthood, asceticism and those whose prayers are accepted (du`a) and different levels that Allah gives to his servants only comes through humbleness. There is nothing else anyone who has in his heart of pride or arrogance never will see haqiqat or never will Gnosticism (ma`rifah).
I
How much there is evilness, misunderstanding and negative energy and `ubudiyya, far distance from the Divine Presence, hypocrisy, disbelief all comes from arrogance. So make sure that arrogance you throw from your heart. Arrogance destroys everything you are building. And arrogance, under arrogance different categories come. One of them is that, and this is most important, is that you don’t accept any advice, and you are stubborn with your opinion and if anyone says to you anything you get angry. If he says, “This way is better” you say, “Why is he saying this?” And even if you accept still your heart inside is talking. If you accept what the guide is saying, physically but still you bring some words that show your
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heart is still complaining and not happy. Any word that comes out of your mouth after a session and the Shaykh is bombarding no your negative chars, you want to bring one word to show that you are excused and Allah said, wa laa tuzakoo anfusikum. I went one time to Mawlana Shaykh. As it is said in Qur’an: ﺎﻴﻤﻋﻠ ﺎﻴﻌﺳﻤ ﻪ ﻥ ﺍﻟّﻠ ﻭﻛَﺎ ﻢ ﻦ ُﻇﻠﻝِ ِﺇ ﱠﻻ ﻣﻦ ﺍْﻟ َﻘﻮ ﻣﻮﺀ ﺴ ﺮ ِﺑﺎﻟ ﻬﺠ ﻪ ﺍْﻟ ﺐ ﺍﻟّﻠ ﻳﺤ ﱠﻻ Laa yuhibb Allah al-jahra min al-qawli illa man dhulima wa kaan Allahu sam`iyyan `aleema. Allah loveth not that evil should be noised abroad in public speech, except where injustice hath been done; for Allah is He who heareth and knoweth all things. [An-Nisaa, 4:148] Allah doesn’t like anyone to speak loudly and complain on anything except that one that has been oppressed. If that one has been oppressed and really has a right then Allah does not like anyone to respond to any oppression or aggression if it is not really oppression. If it is from your Shaykh cleaning you with bombardment as it is mentioned in that Surah. La yuhibAllah… Allah doesn’t t love that, not only your tongue. Your tongue doesn’t move if the heart doesn’t move. Like the nerves of the body. The nerves get information to the mind and this comes to the mind like waves and the nerves give the order to the muscles to move. The command goes as an order from the brain and goes to any part of the body that needs to move because these veins give the signals to move, move the feet or the hand or the leg. So the tongue will not move unless the command comes from heart to the brain and the order will come from the main center to move the tongue. So as soon as you criticize you cannot hold it, you cannot give an answer. Very rare people that don’t answer back, they keep quiet. So that arrogance, Allah said, ihdina as-siraat al mustaqeem. Guide us to the straight path.
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This is straight path, straight forward, if this is straight path and we take stick and draw line and we take stick and draw another line but a little zigzag, it arrives to the same end but one is zigzag and one is straight. The one that goes this way and that way, you are on the right track, then it goes this way and this way and you come back. This is where Shaytaan plays with you. But Shaytaan has no power except to play with you. So if you stretch that zigzag line it is longer than the straight line. You will reach, but it takes longer. You are under baya`, so your Shaykh has the duty to bring you there, but it takes longer. You can see the distance is more. The size of the line is same but the distance is longer as you go right and left and back and forth, you are crossing the main straight line. These vibrations that take you right and left are detected by the awliya. Then don’t ask, “Why I am not receiving my amanaat?” That distance is becoming longer. Although you end up there because they take the responsibility to get you there, but you have to know that distance is longer than going on siraat al-mustaqeem. That is “Men who kept their covenant with Allah .” They are always straightforward. And that is what we said yesterday, when Sayyidina Shaykh Sharafuddin ¬, if even a child comes to him he would stand up and if a king comes he also stands up for him. So for him the king and child are equal in front of him because both are servants of Allah and both have angels with them. So don’t tuhaqqir ma`rufa - don’t disrespect anyone. Just because that one is not to the station, or not performing the `ibadah in same level don’t say this is not my group. The Prophet came kaafatan lin-naas[i] and wa maa arsalnaka illa rahmatan lil-`alameen[ii]. We have sent you for all human beings, for the whole race. You cannot say I am coming only for Sahaaba and not for others. The Prophet described the Sahaaba, “You are my companions, Sahaaba, but they are my beloved ones.” They said, “Ya Rasulullah
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who are they, are there move beloved than Sahaaba. You believe in me seeing me but at the end of the day there are those coming who believe in me without seeing me.” See how much importance he gave for us, though coming with all kinds of sins and corruption the importance is not the sins and corruption but that we believe without seeing. The importance we are in association of a guide, who I representing highest level of awliya in this time, Mawlana Shaykh Nazim ¬, may Allah give him long life. He said that in the time of Shaykh Sharafuddin ¬, out of his high status and level that Allah gave to him he was training Grandshaykh daughter her name was Rabi`a, who passed away before Madiha, two years before, he used to giver her food in his hand, raising her up under his supervision and he said she used to begin fasting when she was young and he was teaching her to pray by encouraging her by giving her money. He said, “She was always awake before him at sahoor time.” She used to come to her father Grandshaykh and because Shaykh Sharafuddin ¬ was uncle, she said, “When I wake up and go to Shaykh Sharafuddin ¬, I see something extraordinary from him. I see him at night get up to take ablution.” And then was not like today’s bathroom. They have to go outside the house and there is a wooden chamber that they go to do what they do and then come out for ablution. All that area is full of flies. Flies come on dirt. If you go to a desert or jungle if you see dirt of animal or human, you see flies coming. From where do they come? He said, “Don’t be like black flies like those who look after people faults and dirt.” Don’t be like the black fly, be like the butterfly that goes on a flower and is very beautiful. Be like a bee, don’t go to this low level. She said, “When at night I see him going for ablution, I put light for him, as soon as a fly approaches his body immediately it burns. Nothing can come on him from these flies.”
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He said, “That is the reality of `ishk, the fire of love that energy that he built in himself, love of Allah and love of Prophet that doesn’t allow any kind of badness to approach him. These flies represent the bad characters, when those bad characters approach him he defeats them with that light and Shaytaan cannot approach him. So these black flies symbolize the bad characters they are burned and killed. This is character of awliyaullah. We are supposed to look and follow their way. To be like them we must not look to bad behavior of people and criticize them. Allah knows best, leave them to Allah . Now Mawlana Shaykh here is saying, and this was written forty years ago, anyone who can read Arabic can come and check it. He is giving very high teaching and this is to where you direct your love and direct your self in order not to fall into a huge valley that you cannot be brought from it, except the hand of Shaykh can bring you out of it. It is surprising that it is coming within this talk and he said: “Mubarakayn, I have two blessed students, Shaykh Nazim ¬ and Shaykh Husayn ¬.” Always he says, “I have two apprentices Shaykh Nazim ¬ and Shaykh Husayn ¬, yajtami`u `alayhim kullu ’nnaas. All the people gathered around them.” It means when the Shaykh is not present the mureeds gather around these two pillars, Shaykh Nazim ¬ and Shaykh Husayn ¬. And this is forty years ago. People think yadhunoona annahum awliya - They think they are saints. They think that they are saints.” He is directing us, “Be careful, when I am present, living, your focus is on me. You cannot focus on someone else. Even Shaykh
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Nazim ¬ and Shaykh Husayn ¬ are there, in one second they are under my authority.” It means you cannot make people cannot gather around them; then you lose the reality of the Shaykh. If they gather around them they have to be very careful how they direct the people. They must not make the people to love them but make the people to love the Shaykh and this is forty years ago. And he said “That is a sickness that people are gathered around them. Then they lose love towards me and if they lose love towards me then there is no way to bring them back.” He gave the example of Shaykh Sharafuddin ¬ when he was explaining to him about Shah Naqshband ¬. Grandshaykh was in seclusion and every day Shaykh Sharafuddin ¬ comes and gives Grandshaykh a lecture. And one day he was explaining to him about Shah Naqshband ¬ and how Shah Naqshband ¬ was so great and how on Judgment Day with the intercession of Prophet Muhammad so many people will be sent to Paradise and from awliya’s intercession how Shah Naqshband ¬ will fill so many paradises with Naqshbandi mureeds. That is in The Naqshbandi Sufi Way book. He spoke about Sayyidina Shah Naqshband ¬ and the secrets he is receiving from Prophet . Then in heart of Grandshaykh there was immediately established a love for Shah Naqshband ¬ and the love begins to grow and love is love in the heart, like when you have a laser light, you can as long as you are more and more it is more power it gives. As you concentrate it more and more it has power to heal. But when that laser light is divided into two, each beam has less power. So now the love that is in his heart, but though increasing it has been divided into two lines and it begins to grow in him like that. So after a while Shaykh Sharafuddin ¬ came to him in seclusion and that was in a vision, and I mentioned that in the Naqshbandi Sufi Way book. He used to get food every day from his wife. He knocks and she brings the
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food. One day he didn’t knock, 2nd day he didn’t knock and after 3rd she went to Shaykh Sharafuddin ¬ and asked him, “I think he might have died.” Shaykh Sharafuddin ¬ said, “No, he is ok, don’t bother him. He was in a trance.” So when that love of Shah Naqshband ¬ grew in him, Shah Naqshband ¬ came to him and showed him some of the greatness of Shaykh Sharafuddin ¬. He told him, ‘Ya waladee, be careful. You cannot water two fields with one windmill. Your love must be focused to your Shaykh.’” That was a lesson to me. He said, “People are gathered around Shaykh Nazim ¬ and Shaykh Husayn ¬ and he said that although these shaykhs direct the people to me, but because of the way that they handle them they are attracted and there is a sickness created in the mureeds so that they cannot know which way to focus and direct their attention and that sickness is reflected on the mureeds and that sickness is reflected back on me when they come to me.” So that is marad, illness. These are private suhbat to us, only me and Shaykh Adnan ¬. You have to be very careful when you call the people. That is the major problem that people will face they begin to direct their focus in a way that takes them away from love of the Shaykh and if you don’t fix it, it will keep going far that you cannot control. This is forty years ago. He said: Haadha maradun haythu yajti`moona an-naas hawlihim wa la… “This is an illness that makes the people to come to the representatives and not to the Shaykh. Take the four enemies and put them in a can and abandon yourselves and make yourself absent. These words are the spirit of hadith, tariqah and Qur’an.” It means that when you begin to feel that a certain love is being created in the heart of the student, around you, not to the Shaykh
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destroy that. That is an illness that will take you to the jungle of the ego. Because then that ego will be thinking I am something, I am something, at the end it will grow. When later it is seen that you are at a high level it is very difficult to cut it. That is already rooted, and then you cannot cut it. Make sure you don’t fall into that sickness. It means: ﺧ َﻄ ْﺄﺗُﻢ ﺎ َﺃﻴﻤﺡ ﻓ ﺎﺟﻨ ﻢ ﻴ ُﻜﻋَﻠ ﺲ ﻴﻭَﻟ ﻢ ﻴ ُﻜﻮﺍﻟ ﻣ ﻭ ِﺪﻳﻦ ﻲ ﺍﻟﻢ ﻓ ﻮﺍُ� ُﻜ ﺧ ﻢ َﻓِﺈ ﻫ ﺎﺀﻮﺍ ﺁﺑﻌَﻠﻤ ﻢ َﺗ َﻓﺈِﻥ ﱠﻟﺪ ﺍﻟﱠﻠﻪ ﻨﻂ ﻋ ُ ﺴ ﻮ َﺃْﻗ ﻫ ﻢ ِﻬﺑﺎﺋﺂﻢ ﻟ ﻫ ﻮﺩﻋ ﺍ ﺎﻴﻤﺭﺣ ﺍﻪ َﻏﻔُﻮﺭ ﻥ ﺍﻟﱠﻠ ﻭﻛَﺎ ﻢ ﺑ ُﻜﺕ ُﻗﻠُﻮ ﺪ ﻤ ﻌ ﺎ َﺗﻦ ﻣﻭَﻟﻜ ﺑِﻪ Ud`uhum li-aaba’aihim huwa aqsatu `inda Allahi fa’in lam ta`lamoo aba’ahum fa ikhwanukum fi ’d-deeni wa mawaleekum wa laysa `alaykum junahun feema akhtaatum bihi wa laakin maa ta`ammadat quloobukum wa kaana Allahu ghafooran raheeman. Call them by (the names of) their fathers: that is more just in the sight of Allah . But if ye know not their father's (names, call them) your Brothers in faith, or your clients [maulas]. But there is no blame on you if ye make a mistake therein: [what really matters is] but what your hearts intend: and Allah is Oft-Returning, Most Merciful. [Al-Ahzab, 33:5] Call them to their parents. You have to know your spiritual father. Call them to that spiritual father. Don’t call them to yourself or to your spiritual father and later when they begin to fall and begin to create a confusion in themselves on where to focus then you will be blamed. If you correct them and still they are falling in that illness and still believing that door is that door, you have to tell them no it is not. Don’t keep quiet, if you keep quiet then maa ta`amadat quloobikum - [what really matters is] but what your hearts intend. Then you will be judged. If you correct them and say no this is the way. When you see there is a confusion going, stop it, don’t let it continue.
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Two years ago, that one came from Washington, Magdy. I was in presence of Mawlana Shaykh, may Allah bless him and he pulled a paper from under a table. How many papers come to Mawlana everyday? Thousands of paper. If someone goes upstairs to see where he sits you see thousands of envelopes. And a paper this one never goes there. Rarely, one time. That time you gave that paper [yes] Thousands of papers and Mawlana pulled that paper from thousands of papers and said read. I was reading. It was 4 lines. In Arabic, when you are addressing to someone it is known it is to him but you are addressing the issue. He was sending to Mawlana Shaykh Nazim ¬ thanking him for sending Shaykh Hisham ¬ to America. First he said, Alhamdulillah was-salaat was salaam `ala Rasulullah and praising Grandshaykh and then praising Mawlana Shaykh Nazim ¬ but not by name and praising me by name and a spiritual name that was given to me. Mawlana Shaykh Nazim ¬ said, “Look he made my name absent, as if I don’t exist.” That is an illness. People have to be called to spiritual father. Now I have to defend him and I defend myself and Mawlana didn’t want to listen. So I realized that this is a teaching in order to make sure we are following the right way. It is very important to understand that and it came through the suhbat and Grandshaykh mentioned forty years ago. Although he mentioned me and Shaykh Adnan ¬ in his will from him we were given that title but we have to know our limits. So we have to be very careful when we address an issue. You cannot leave that issue growing or it becomes like it did with many others and like a trunk—then you are losing. Although your intentions
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are highly appreciated. That must be killed. Kill that in yourself when you see himself growing. Like this one when he came at the beginning how much he was doing of difficulties but look at he came back to the right track. He was focusing on someone else, everything, and forgetting Mawlana Shaykh and forgetting everyone and that one was telling him, hijack this, hijack that. That is correct? [Shakes head] So that is important. I don’t,… Mawlana does not care who comes or doesn’t come. But he cares for the ones who are very near to his heart not to lose their love and lose their input in tariqah and not to lose their way and then the creation of that huge tree you cannot stop it its big trunk and branches. Then you have to kill it from the roots. Then when it is so huge you need a chainsaw. When it is still an `ud, a small stick you can crack it and break. Don’t let it become a huge trunk. May Allah forgive us and bless this meeting. Bi-hurmatil habeeb bi hurmati ‘l-Fatiha. I said to myself, “I am not going to go into this,” but it came in the suhbat, and it is very faded written by pencil. But this problem is everywhere. This problem is everywhere and that is why everywhere mureeds everywhere have to learn that their love is Mawlana Shaykh Nazim ¬ and their real love is to Mawlana Shaykh Nazim ¬. And we don’t want to fall into hands of Shaytaan. My duty is to tell people that our Shaykh, Mawlana Shaykh Nazim ¬ and: ﲔ ﻨﺆﻣ ﻤ ﻊ ﺍْﻟ ﻯ ﺗَﻨ َﻔ ﺍﻟ ﱢﺬ ْﻛﺮﺮ َﻓِﺈﻥ ﻭ َﺫﱢﻛ dhakkir fa inn adh-dhikr tanfa` al-mumineen
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Remind for by remind you achieve benefits. [Adh-Dhaariyat, 51:55] You will be on the right track. You don’t care if you love goes to the Shaykh. Let the Shaykh be everything and be nothing. Don’t say, “I want to be something,” then you will get nothing. This is how it works. We struggle, we want to be known and be respected it is our nature, that is correct. But we need to get rid of that nature. But when we insist that we are building the way to bring people toward the Shaykh and we see this sickness growing, then cut it. That will be the only way to prevent form putting us in fire. When I begin to go to Cyprus and see people coming to sit with me, I cut that. I am not speaking there at all, not to say one word, just go in to see the Shaykh. The followers are his followers, his tariqah, they belong to him. We are only as Grandshaykh said, “the hunter needs a dog with him,” so we are dogs of the hunter not more. The hunter loves his dogs and the dog is loyal to the hunter but the dog doesn’t eat the prey. Does he eat the prey? I have to be very careful. And falling, falling, falling. So we must not touch the pray. Our duty is to bring the prey but not to eat it. That is why the trained dogs carry the prey with their mouths, although it is delicious to them it is their dish, but they don’t take it they take to Shaykh. If the Shaykh wants to give a share to dog to eat he will give. If he wants to give him spiritual station and raise him up he will. That is tariqah. He wants to se how far you go. If he gives you something, Alhamdulillah. If he doesn’t, Alhamdulillah. If he doesn’t give physically he will give spiritually, for you heard work. You are doing hard work. It cannot be evaluated with money or with any physical contribution from the Shaykh to you. He will give you a spiritual one that you never imagined you can achieve with your `amal. Only when the Shaykh knows he is happy with you, he give, he gives. You will find on the road later, when suddenly you will find the jungle turn to paradise. At the beginning, you will find obstacles, obstacles… and then suddenly not more.
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ﺍﺤﻈُﻮﺭ ﻣ ﻚ ﺑﺭ ﻋﻄَﺎﺀ ﻥ ﺎ ﻛَﺎﻭﻣ ﻚ ﺑﺭ ﻋﻄَﺎﺀ ﻦ ﻻﺀ ﻣـﺆﻭﻫ ﻻﺀـﺆﺪ ﻫ ﻼ ﱡ�ﻤ ُﻛ Kullan numiddu haulaa’i wa haula’i min `atai rabbika wa maa kaana `ataa rabbika mahdhooran Of the bounties of thy Lord We bestow freely on all- These as well as those: The bounties of thy Lord are not closed (to anyone). [Al-Israa, 17:20] Wa maa kaana `ataa rabbaka mahdhoora. Your Lord’s favors are never limited when He gives He gives with plenty. But they don’t show you. You are running, running not getting anything. Now I am getting they don’t want you to get it. No, your duty to keep running you are on runway you cannot back up then. You are on the runway; they chase you until you reach there. That heavenly paradise. So don’t stop. Wa min Allah at-tawfeeq, bi-hurmati ‘l-Fatiha.
ﻥ ﻮﻌَﻠﻤ ﻳ ﺎﺱِ ﻟَﺎﺮ ﺍﻟﻨ ﻦ َﺃ ْﻛ َﺜ ﻭَﻟﻜ ﺍﻳﺮﻭَ�ﺬ ﺍﲑﺑﺸ ِﺎﺱﺎ َﻙ ِﺇﻟﱠﺎ ﻛَﺎﱠﻓ ًﺔ ﻟﱢﻠﻨﺳْﻠﻨ ﺭ ﺎ َﺃﻭﻣ [i] Wa maa arsalnaaka illa kaaffatan lin-naasi basheeran wa nadheeran wa laakinna akthara an-naasi la ya`lamoona We have not sent thee but as a universal (Messenger) to men, giving them glad tidings, and warning them (against sin), but most men understand not. [Saba, 34:28] ﲔ ﻌﺎَﻟﻤ ﻤ ًﺔ ﱢﻟْﻠ ﺣ ﺭ ﺎ َﻙ ِﺇﻟﱠﺎﺳْﻠﻨ ﺭ ﺎ َﺃﻭﻣ [ii] Wa maa arsalnzaka illa rahmatan lil-`alameena We sent thee not, but as a Mercy for all creatures. [Al-Anbiyaa, 21:107]
BUILD YOUR OWN FOUNDATION 16 October 1427/8 October 2006 after Fajr and Tahajjud
A`udhu billahi min ash-shaytaan ir-rajeem Bismillahi 'r-Rahmani 'r-Raheem Nawaytu'l-arba`een, nawaytu'l-`itikaaf, nawaytu'l-khalwah, nawaytu'l-riyaada, nawaytu's-salook, nawaytu'l-`uzlah lillahi ta`ala fee hadha'l-masjid Ati` Allah wa ati` ar-Rasula wa uli 'l-amri minkum
W
e were speaking about tawadu` in the previous session that everything is achieved by humility, humbleness. Nothing can be achieved by arrogance and pride. And Grandshaykh said, may Allah bless his soul, that, “My children or my students, that the Beiruti students, the Lebanese students Hisham ¬ and Adnan ¬, they had a lot of arrogance that they never even tried to lower themselves to meet even with a president. They were thinking themselves above presidents. Laa yatanaazaloona an yataqaabaloo ra’ees jamhooriyya.” But he said, ‘Through me and through my teaching, I taught them how to be humble, not to even consider to meet with a president but to consider to meet with the lowest people.” That is why he is addressing to us, be thankful to Allah and call on him and say every day, ya `Adheem 100 times. “That He is the `Adheem. That through my teaching I brought you to that humbleness that Allah brought you to His Nearness, because of the humbleness that I have raised in you.”
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So humbleness, he is insisting upon and showing that humbleness can create a different character in human beings, and it is the main infrastructure, the cornerstone that you can build upon it everything else. Without that stone you cannot build anything. People today are arrogant in their knowledges and arrogant in their teaching. First of all to learn tawadu` you have to build your understanding that you cannot interpret the words of your shaykh and this is a very important issue. Everything you can interpret, but when the shaykh says something you must not say, “The shaykh meant this.” Take it literally as it is, because Shaytaan comes this way and says, “The shaykh meant this way, but in front of other he said this but he meant that way.” That is first trick of Shaytaan is tricking us. Take the words of the shaykh literally. No interpretations. Interpretations will take you to a lot of misunderstandings and false signals. “I don’t want to hear any more interpretations,” Grandshaykh said. “You have to take my words as I say it.” When you reach that level you can interpret. No one has to interpret the words of the shaykh. Take it as it is said. Your signals might be false signals. Which is very important. So when we humble ourselves and that doesn’t mean to say “I humbled myself,” but rather when the shaykh mentioned “that one is really humble and he achieved that level,” then you can build what you want on that stone--that cornerstone. Before that everything you are building is going to fall. ﻦ ﻤ ﻦ َﺃَﻓ ﻣ ﺮ ﺃَﻡ ﻴﺧ ٍﺍﻥﺿﻮ ْ ِﻭﺭ ﻦ ﺍﻟﻠّﻪ ﻯ ﻣﻋﻠَﻰ َﺗ ْﻘﻮ ﻪ �َﻴﺎﻨﺑ ﺲ ﺳ ﻲ �َﺎﺭِ َﺃ ﻓﺭ ﺑِﻪ ﺎﺎﺭٍ َﻓﺎْ�ﻬ ﻫﺮﻑ ﺟ ﺷﻔَﺎ ﻰ ﻋَﻠ ﻪ �َﻴﺎﻨﺑ ﺲ ﺳ ﻢ َﺃ ﻨﻬ ﺟ ﲔ ﻤﻡ ﺍﻟ ﱠﻈﺎﻟﻮ ﻱ ﺍْﻟ َﻘﻬﺪﻳ ﻪ َﻻ ﻭﺍﻟّﻠ
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Afaman assasa bunyaanahu `ala taqwa mina Allahi wa ridwaanin khayrun am man assasa bunyaanahu `ala shafa jurufin haarin fa-anhara bihi fee naari jahannama w’Allahu la yahdi ’l-qawma ’dh-dhalimeena. Which then is best? - he that layeth his foundation on piety to Allah and His good pleasure? - or he that layeth his foundation on an undermined sand-cliff ready to crumble to pieces? and it doth crumble to pieces with him, into the fire of Hell. And Allah guideth not people that do wrong. [At-Tawbah, 9:109] The one who put the foundation of his building on taqwa, is different. That one is able to build more and more, but the one who built his building on a cliff that is falling down, with no foundations, is going to fall down into hellfire and destroy himself and those who are with him. So you have to build it on a very firm foundation. So you cannot build the foundation of others before you build your own foundation. You have to build your own foundation before you build the others’ foundations. The others’ foundations will be burning. If you want to build other people then any problem or any earthquake even if 3 degrees will take you down completely-you and the one who taught you. You have to be very careful in the way you build that. Building on interpretation is not a strong foundation. First you build a foundation on literality. The foundation must be founded on a very literal solid structure so that whatever later you build on it on top of good behavior will be solid and strong. The example of this is Sayyida Ayesha , may Allah reward her. She was teacher for Sahaaba and whatever they needed of learning she was giving them answers. But with all that she has to build her foundation very solid. Here we can see how the foundation was built and how it went.
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Grandshaykh said that Prophet one time was going to the mosque. Allah said: ﲔ ﺴ ِﺮﻓ ﻤ ﺐ ﺍْﻟ ﻳﺤ ﻪ َﻻ �ﺴﺮِﻓُﻮْﺍ ِﺇﱠ ﻭ َﻻ ُﺗ ﻮْﺍﺮﺑ ﺷ ﺍ ﻭ ُﻛﻠُﻮْﺍ ﻭﺠﺪ ِﺴ ﻣ ﺪ ُﻛ ﱢﻞ ﻨﻢ ﻋ ﻨَﺘ ُﻜﺧﺬُﻭْﺍ ِﺯﻳ ﻡﺩ ﻲ ﺁﺑﻨ ﺎﻳ Ya banee adama khudhoo zeenatakum `inda kulli masjidin wa kuloo w ’ashraboo wa laa tusrifoo innahu laa yuhibbu ’l-musrifeena O Children of Adam! wear your beautiful apparel at every time and place of prayer: eat and drink: But waste not by excess, for Allah loveth not the wasters. [Al-A’raf, 7:31] “O human beings, take all your medallions ornaments when you go the mosque, the masjid.” So the Prophet , this is not interpretation, the literal meaning. The interpreted meaning is “have good character.” So here we want to see that you have to have a solid foundation. So the Prophet dressed very nicely, put perfumes and was going out. Sayyida Ayesha stopped him saying, “Where are you going?” The Prophet said, “I am going to the mosque.” She said, “Why are you dressing nicely and combing your hair and putting perfumes?” She was the teacher of the Sahaaba. She was teaching them. But her knowledge of the Prophet cannot be compared. Whatever she is high, she is the wife of Sayyidina Muhammad , Umma’l-mumineen, but even though, there is no comparison. Yes, she is a wife of Sayyidina Muhammad , and she is a Sahaaba, and she is teaching the Sahaaba. But compared to other levels and compared to the Prophet’s level it cannot be compared. This is the problem in us. Whatever level you have high your foundation is not solid. You don’t want to give interpretation when your foundation is not solid. She said, where are you going?” and in adab the Prophet said, “I am going to the mosque,” she said,
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“Why are you dressing nicely and putting on perfume? Do you still love women, are you going to see a woman?” She is saying to the Prophet , may Allah bless her, “O Muhammad , O Rasulullah , you don’t get satisfied from women, you want more? Look how you are cleaning and doing yourself and so on.” “Qaala lahaa yaa Ayesha . O my beloved Ayesha , take the mirror and look who is in the mirror. She took the mirror and looked and she said, “I see myself, Ayesha in the mirror.” And he said, “Ya Ayesha , the mirror reflect what can be seen in the mirror. And we are mirrors. I am a mirror. So when you are looking at me, dressed nicely and fixing myself nicely and everything…” and that is where the hadith came, “al-mumin mirrata akhee—The believer is the mirror his brother.” He continued, “You are seeing yourself, your bad character. You are not seeing me, you are seeing yourself. You still have that sickness there.” So though she was teaching Sahaaba, she saw the sickness that is in here. She was not seeing it. She was thinking that she is correct, teaching the Sahaaba, all Sahaaba have to respect her. But from level of the Prophet , he was teaching, “You have sickness there still, you are seeing yourself, and not seeing me.” So Prophet left and he was not happy. And Sayyidina Abu Bakr , Ayesha’s father, found out what she had done, how she made the Prophet upset. He came to her house and said, “Why did you make Prophet upset?” She said, “Always he is dressing nicely and going out, and maybe he is going to see another woman.” He slapped her and slapped her until the blood came out. The Prophet did not do that but the father did that in order to bring her back to herself. So she came back to herself. That slap was to wake her to remember to build her foundation on a solid base.
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So everything has to have a solid foundation so it does not fall down completely. “Man tawada`a lillahi rafa`--Whoever humbles himself for his Lord, Allah will raise him up.” And we mentioned regarding tawada` about shaykh Sharafuddin ¬. So when we are not clean, we see ourselves. Your brother will reflect your bad character. You are seeing that wrong, he is reflecting you that bad character. You are the one with that sickness. You are the one who has to straighten up yourself. You have to correct yourself, whenever you see any misbehavior, that wrong coming, that means you are that kind of character. Not from that person. Always blame yourself, blame yourself, blame yourself. “It is true, I am wrong.” Don’t let Shaytaan to trick you saying, “I am a wali, I am a sincere person.” No. Leave it to your Shaykh. If he wants to say, he says. “I am nothing I am trying to learn to be nothing. I am not wali, not calipha, not nothing.” Then you will be able to reach a high level. So it is our duty to respect our brothers and sisters in order to be able to reach the high levels that Allah will inherit us, when the Prophet said, “adabanee rabbbee wa ahsana ta`deebee - My Lord taught me good manners and conduct and perfected my conduct.” From that secret you will be able to learn and inherit. Although the Allah gave him and created everything from the light of Sayyidina Muhammad and yet still Sayyidina Muhammad is humble to everyone. Allah created everyone from his light. He has to be given respect by everyone and see himself the highest. But he never saw himself the highest; he always made himself humble. Even with all that respect that Allah gave him, he is seeing himself like others, “Say to them: ‘I am only a human being like you, but it has been revealed to me.’” That is out of his humbleness. ﺑﻪﺭ ﺩﺓ ﺎﺒﺸﺮِ ْﻙ ﺑِﻌ ﻳ ﻭﻟَﺎ ﺎﺤﺻﺎﻟ ﻤﻠًﺎ ﻋ ﻤ ْﻞ ﻌ ﻴ َﻓْﻠﺑﻪﺭ ﻘَﺎﺀﻮﻟﺮﺟ ﻳ ﻥ ﻦ ﻛَﺎﺪ َﻓﻤ ﺍﺣﻪ ﻭ ﻢ ﺇَِﻟ ﻬ ُﻜﺎ ِﺇَﻟ َﺃﱠ�ﻤﻰ ِﺇَﻟﻲﻮﺣﻢ ﻳ ﻣْﺜُﻠ ُﻜ ﺮ ﺸ ﺑ ﺎ َﺃ�َﺎُﻗ ْﻞ ﺇِﱠ�ﻤ ﺍﺣﺪ َﺃ
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Qul innama ana basharun mithlukum yooha ilayya annama ilahukum ilaahun waahidun faman kaana yarjoo liqaa rabbihi fal-ya`mal `amalan saalihan w alaa yushrik bi `ibadati rabbihi aahadan Say: "I am but a man like yourselves, (but) the inspiration has come to me, that your god is one god [Allah]. Whoever expects to meet his Lord, let him work righteousness, and, in the worship of his Lord, admit no one as partner. [Al-Kahf, 18:110] So what Sayyida Ayesha said in front of the Prophet is like what? Her knowledge is nothing in front of the Prophet and she fell into that mistake. No one can reach and understand the highest level of Sayyidina Muhammad . No one knows since when was the beginning. From that time, which no one knows, the Prophet has been raised up, raised up, raised up. So when Sayyidatina Ayesha said that to him he kept quiet. Al-mumin mirrat al-mumin ya Ayesha . So here father came and gave her the lesson. How much we have to have lessons and learn. Whoever walks straight forward on the straight path has nothing to fear in dunya and akhira. He sent us to dunya in order to give us keys to our trust. That is why we have been sent here. Or else we would have stayed in Paradise. We would not have understood the key to our trust if we stayed in Paradise. He wants to send us to dunya in order to understand the importance of the key. No one can reach according to his `amal. Our `amal cannot take us anywhere. But obedience to Allah and to His Prophet and to our teachers will take us where people cannot go. He Grandshaykh, may Allah bless said that “if a human being spent all the wealth that Allah gave to him he must not be regretful that he spent his wealth in the way of Allah . Even if all the wealth of dunya, and you spent in the way of Allah , don’t
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think it is something to regret upon. That is written for you and the way for your trust to be opened.” But when you lose hope of finding the trust; when you are still asking, “I want my trust! I want my trust!” then you will not get it. When you lose hope of getting the trust then slowly the shaykh will give you. So you have to decide if you want something or you don’t. If you want something you never get it. This is the way of Allah . Normal people worship for reward. When you go higher in level you worship because He is your Lord and you love Him. You worship Him for His love. The higher level is worship for the love of the Ummah. “O Allah they are Your creation. I worship that you make me the scapegoat for all of them.” Like Bayazid alBistami ¬ [who said], “Let no one enter the fire and make me the one to be saved.” When you make ablution and you make prostration, who is the One to whom you make sajda? Look at that one who is in prostration. To whom are you making prostration when you make ablution and sajda? Are you making that prostration to Allah or you are making the prostration to wealth, to money, to dunya? You have to think. You have to know, “Am I really doing that for Allah ?” That prostration is the key for your key to open. If not then your trust will not open. And don’t tell me anyone has his trust open. We are on that way, trying. Insha-Allah one day Allah will open. He is generous. He will open for everyone in the grave. But ya Rabbee, we are not asking for you to open in dunya, like a reward, but You are generous, the Most Generous of the generous, if You open You are not losing anything—make people happy. Make Your servants happy. You don’t know with what `amal you do Allah will open for you everything. Like Sayyidina Imam alGhazali. Grandshaykh related: “In the time of Sayyidina Abdul Khaliq alGhujdawani ¬ there was an epidemic, waba, because of that plague
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hundreds of thousands were going to die in that area. He looked at all his students hearts’ to find someone that can be able because of that person to lift that affliction. He looked, he looked, he looked right and left and I am sharing this with you. He looked and he didn’t find except two brothers like Shaykh Adnan ¬ and Shaykh Hisham ¬.” He said, “He looked and looked and he didn’t find except two between all his students like Adnan ¬ and Hisham ¬. And they have two big oxes they own oxes.” “Everyone in that time owns only that ox that is for plowing that they use it for their daily work. He said, ‘O my children I didn’t find except you.’ He called them and said, ‘O my children there is a big plague coming and I am asking Allah to take away that plague and in order that I will be able to take away that plague, Allah showed me through a vision Sayyidina Muhammad saying to me, “Ya Abdul Khaliq ¬, let someone slaughter his ox and then bring that to me and I will write on the skin of the ox some verses of holy Quran,” and I didn’t find anyone except you two capable of doing that. So I am asking you to bring your oxes each one of you, and la aqdir an ukaliffu ghayrakum - I cannot ask anyone to carry that task except you both. So go get your oxes and come.’” These two were fana fi ’sh-shaykh. If the shaykh tells them, “Slaughter yourself,” they will slaughter themselves for the sake of the shaykh. And I will stop here and continue tomorrow. May Allah forgive us.
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SPECIALTY THRU THE PRESENCE OF AWLIYA 17 Ramadan 1427/9 October 2006
A`udhu billahi min ash-shaytaan ir-rajeem Bismillahi 'r-Rahmani 'r-Raheem Nawaytu'l-arba`een, nawaytu'l-`itikaaf, nawaytu'l-khalwah, nawaytu'l-riyaadah, nawaytu's-salook, nawaytu'l-`uzlah lillahi ta`ala fee hadha'l-masjid Ati` Allah wa ati` ar-Rasula wa uli 'l-amri minkum o in the previous session we said that Sayyidina Abdul Khaliq al-Ghujdawani ¬ and that plague coming to the city and because of that plague 100,000 people going to die. Awliyaullah Allah gave them specialty that through their du`as Allah life’s bala, afflictions, from whole cities because of the presence of these saints.
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There are 124,000 saints that Allah has put around the world and you don’t know them unless you search for them. You might find one, you might find two, you might find ten. But these saints know each other if they don’t know physically they know spiritually. There is an assembly, diwaan al-awliya, that meets at the time of shortly before the time of Salaat an-Najaat. They meet in the presence of the Prophet and in that meeting they look after the needs of the human race; and not only the human race, but after all things living and nonliving, oceans, plants, trees, animals.
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There are five big saints, five pillars, five qutbs that look after the needs of humanity and order the other saints to work it out. Sayyidina Abdul Khaliq al-Ghujdawani ¬ is one of the great saints of the Naqshbandi order and he was living in Merv and that is about one hour from Bukhara in Uzbekistan. He has a big school to teach Sufi students, free and he was rich. He looked and saw that a great plague coming and 100,000 going to die, the whole village is going to die. He was looking between his mureeds and he didn’t find except to that are going to do something that will accept his order. Because many mureeds when you tell them to do something, they feel something, there is still sickness, why me, why not the other one. The awliya know the hearts of their students who can take the order and who cannot. And Grandshaykh said I have two I can order them anything and they will do it even if they have to sacrifice themselves. And by Allah’s grace he mentioned the name of my brother and myself, it is not up to us but up to them. So he mentioned these two mureeds to bring their oxes and slaughter them and skin them and then write some verses of Holy Qur’an on them and then the plague will first come on them, as when thunder comes, there is a bar—a lightning bolt? Lightning rod. So that shows immediately and the lightning goes there and disappears, goes to the ground. If that is not there it might hit and then the whole village burn, burns one house and then burns whole village. Like when you are flying an airplane what do they tell you if there is a storm? [To go around the storm or the plane will be destroyed] so you go around the storm. So he needs something like that lightning rod, and that skin of the oxen will be like that to take the plague completely and then they will be saved. So they had to sacrifice these two oxen and to do what they were told.
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So this is Shaykh Adnan ¬, and he put that on his name, and on my name, so Grandshaykh said that “Shaykh Adnan ¬ said, ‘O my Shaykh, my ox is fatter and heavier so begin with it.’” And Grandshaykh said “That word was not respectful to awliyaullah. Because he said ‘my’ [ox].” There is no “my” in tariqah. There is nothing that is yours. You have to say “ours.” You cannot say “my” tape recorder. Even to that extent. Not my beads, not “my” tape. Nothing belongs to you. Everything belongs to Allah , Allah’s favor hHe gave to you. So you cannot say it is mine. He can take it anytime. Allah gave you that. That is not my restaurant. That is everyone’s restaurant. So give them free food. You cannot say it is “my” concert, “my” program. Allah gave him that ability to do that concert. So if people come and don’t have money let them in, don’t block them. They want to listen, they are poor, don’t tell them go away. Someone knock at your door, you have to offer them something not like what you did before. One day we went and I was with Hajjah and Umar and Nazim. He went and we were waiting like beggars. And he came and having coke and French fries, eating drinking. What is this Ahmed Fouad? He said, “These are my French fries and my coke.” No, there is nothing like that. If there is someone who comes and he is hungry, give him what you have even if you don’t have more. When someone came to the door of the Prophet asking for something to eat, they didn’t have anything. The wife of the Prophet looked and they didn’t have anything except these two or three dates. So what she has to do? She gave. Then Prophet came and there was nothing to eat. And the Prophet was happy with her. There was lady after time of Prophet . That lady bakes three breads every day. She eats one in morning and one in evening and
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a beggar comes to her door and knock and she gives as sadaqa. This was her life. One day, she became very old. She backed three breads. She was going to eat one in morning and one person came and knocked asking sadaqa. And she gave him one bread. And then waiting the usual on that comes every day asking sadaqa and left one for him. Then she said, there will be one for me, and cut in half and said one for morning and one for the evening. As soon that happened—she cut it in half—another person came and was asking sadaqa. So she gave him that third loaf and saved the two cut pieces for the usual one and that day she didn’t eat. Don’t say, “I don’t have cash money,” pull your credit card. Don’t say, “I don’t have,” then give the credit card. Give, somehow. Then that night the angel of death came to take her soul. There are three places where the angel of death comes to take soul. Either from the mouth, the belly or the toes. As soon as he came to the mouth to take her soul a bread came and covered her mouth. He went to belly to take her soul, and another loaf came and blocked him. Finally went to toe… a voice same, that servant of mine because she gave sadaqa, I am increasing her life, leave her alone. So the Prophet said, “Sadaqa relives affliction and gives long life.” Don’t say mine, mine, Grandshaykh said, “Say it is ours.” Sayyidina Abdul Khaliq ¬ said to that mureed, “Don’t say it is mine. Or else I will throw you out of tariqah.” Even today you drink coffee; you say, “That is my coffee.” What is your coffee? Still that “I” is there. It might not be your coffee. Someone comes you give to him. So you cannot say that is “my” coffee. Everything must be for Allah . You don’t know when someone comes knocking, and asking, you don’t know if that is a wali coming in the form of a beggar and wants to take difficulty in form of donation. That is why many people go into troubles and difficulties because that one came and asked sadaqa and you kicked him out. He is coming to take that difficulty away. Especially here
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in stoplights. They stand and write homeless. Don’t look they use in way of Allah or not, or they are drinking or not. Just give it for Allah . So keep small change. Keep giving morning to evening it never ends. In Indonesia, they come knocking at the window. Is it correct Holland? [Correct] So Sayyidina Abdul Khaliq al-Ghujdawani ¬ wrote verses of Qur’an and put them in places that can be seen from the village. Grandshaykh is saying that is mata` ad-dunya qaleel. The joys of this world are little. And when you carry something from mat`a ad-dunya heavens will not be open for you. That is why Grandshaykh is giving an example of this to teach us to give. He said that Sayyidina `Isa was raised to heaven. He was supposed to be raised to Sidrat al-muntaha, the highest level. But when he reached the first level, Allah ordered the angels to check him, security. Everyone has security in his territory. That is Sayyidina `Isa why are you checking him. He is teaching us, I cannot accept anyone in Paradise bringing wealth of dunya and it cannot accept any sin. So as soon as he reached the first heaven the security said “checkup.” They don’t need these machines; as soon as he came they sent the angelic detectors. They said, “Ya Rabbee, his dress made of seventy patches and he is clean.” Allah said, “Search him another time.” They used their power and searched another time. “O Ya Rabbee, we found something. We found a needle and thread.” Allah said, “Keep him then in the first Paradise,” because Paradise cannot accept dunya property. So imagine how we are going to be asked. How much we are carrying with us. We are carrying like 100 camel loads when we are going to akhira. When angels coming and checking what are
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you carrying. That is why Allah gave us istighfaar 300 times. That is why in the morning we say istaghfirullah al-`adheem wa atooboo ilayh. I am repenting of what I did, that is enough to clean you of sins of 24 hours. That is the way to clean yourself. So you come on Judgment Day clean. So Sayyidina Abdul Khaliq ¬ said to take the two oxes and write the verses of Holy Qur’an and that took that affliction and the whole city was saved. That suhbat was a sign to us to send to Rizal to slaughter two oxes on that site, the mud site and distribute the meat to the poor people there and let the write after they clean the skin, let them with ink, not normal ink, but zafraan ink, saffron ink, they mix with water and they write there, seven verses of Surah Yasin from beginning and seven verses from the end and ten verses from Surat al-Kahf and 10 verses from end of Surat al-Kahf. And an imam can write. And then the 4 Quls, Surat al-Kaafiroon, Surat al-Ikhlaas Surat alFalaq Surat an-Naas. And at the end al-Fatiha. Let them take Zamhori there to recite the Du`a al-Mathoor of Sultan al-Awliya, Grandshaykh du`a, all of it from the awraad book and Insha-Allah with baraka of Sayyidina Abdullah Khaliq ¬ and baraka of Grandshaykh and baraka of all awliya and baraka of Prophet that mud will stop. That is coming today on the 18th of Ramadan. Saffron when you dissolve in water it becomes yellow. Take that and write on the inside of the skin. Even if it doesn’t show, it doesn’t matter. But what is important is that the water stays there. Then leave it under the sun and the skin will absorb the ayahs. Leave that skin there on a high place on that site and the mud will become less and less. Zamhori can write it. So Grandshaykh said, that these 70,000 to 100,000 people who were going to die in the time of Sayyidina Abdul Khaliq ¬, Allah saved
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them by the way that Sayyidina Abdul Khaliq ¬ did. And he said that because he did that now he is responsible on them and to carry them and he will be asked on their behalf as he took the authority from Allah to take that bala so they are not dying and so he is now responsible for them and for these descendants up to Judgment Day. Who is coming from them, Sayyidina Abdul Khaliq al-Ghujdawani ¬ he is responsible for them. He will ask, “Ya Rasulullah , these are my students, I am asking you to intercede for them.” May Allah always keep us under the authority of our shaykh and Grandshaykh in order we will be protected in dunya and akhira. Bi hurmatil-habeeb bi hurmatil-Fatiha.
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ANY `AMAL YOU DO IS A HAJJ 18 Ramadan 1427/10 October 2006
A`udhu billahi min ash-shaytaan ir-rajeem Bismillahi 'r-Rahmani 'r-Raheem Nawaytu'l-arba`een, nawaytu'l-`itikaaf, nawaytu'l-khalwah, nawaytu'l-riyaada, nawaytu's-salook, nawaytu'l-`uzlah lillahi ta`ala fee hadha'l-masjid Ati` Allah wa ati` ar-Rasula wa uli 'l-amri minkum e continue that suhbat of Grandshaykh, those notes of forty years ago. He said, why do human beings go for hajj. He is asking a question, “Why do we go to hajj?” People go to hajj, in order to obey Allah's order. That is hajj. Those who are going there, their niyyah must be that when they are going this year for hajj, it is to fulfill what Allah ordered them to do.
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So some people go early, some go late, but all go to stand on Sahl Arafat, that is because hajj is Arafat, to stand on the Mount of Arafat. Since you are going on hajj you have accepted to obey Allah , if anyone shows even one mithqala dharattin from dunya material shows any anger, for anything from anger, he will lose his whole hajj. It means he is no longer going for Allah . Allah said “Don’t get angry,” [wa laa rafatha f’il-Hajj, Al-Baqarah, 2:197] because you are in that ocean. So if you lose the whole dunya there you are coming to Me, you are
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coming to the ocean. You are not guarding your money there, your money or your luggage or someone made you angry. If you became angry you lose your whole hajj and you will considered from the musrifoon, the ones who excessively waste their time and money. It is as if you have wasted what you went for. You had good intention to go there, but that intention you changed it by getting angry for dunya issue. That means any `amal you do is hajj. Why is it hajj? Because it is in obedience to Allah as if you are going on a pilgrimage to the Divine Presence. Any `amal you do, you fast it is a hajj, fasting is a hajj, zakaat is a hajj. It is a pilgrimage to do something in the Way of Allah . If in the middle you get upset then that `amal is canceled because you have put something in it besides Allah . You went only for Allah , when you put material thing in between as if you have made shirk. So your whole `amal is: ﺍﺍ َﻛِﺒﲑﻋُﺘﻮ ﻮ ﻋَﺘ ﻭ ﻢ ِﻬﻲ َﺃ� ُﻔﺴﻭﺍ ﻓﺒﺮﺳَﺘ ْﻜ ﺍﺎ َﻟ َﻘﺪﺑﻨﺭ ﻯﻭ َ�ﺮ َﻜ ُﺔ َﺃﻤَﻠﺎﺋ ﺎ ﺍْﻟﻨﻋَﻠﻴ ﻮﻟَﺎ ُﺃ�ﺰِ َﻝ ﻘَﺎﺀ�َﺎ َﻟﻥﻟ ﻮﺮﺟ ﻳ ﻦ ﻟَﺎ ﻳﻭﻗَﺎ َﻝ ﺍﱠﻟﺬ Wa qaala alladheena la yarjoona liqaana law laa unzila `alayna al-malaikatu aw naraa rabbana laqadi istakbaroo fee anfusihim wa `ataw`utuwwan kabeeran But those who do not believe that they are destined to meet Us are wont to say, “Why have no angels been sent down to us?” – or, “Why do we not see our Sustainer?” Indeed, they are far too proud of themselves, having rebelled [against God’s truth] with utter disdain! [Al-Furqaan, 25:21] ﺍﻨﺜُﻮﺭﺎﺀ ﻣﻫﺒ ﻩﺎﻌْﻠﻨ ﺠ ﻤﻞٍ َﻓ ﻋ ﻦ ﻠُﻮﺍ ﻣﻋﻤ ﺎﺎ ِﺇﻟَﻰ ﻣﻨﻣﻭَﻗﺪ ﺍﻮﺭﺤﺠ ﻣ ﺍﺠﺮ ﻥ ﺣ ﻳ ُﻘﻮﻟُﻮﲔ ﻭ ﺮِﻣﺠ ﱢﻟْﻠﻤﺬﻣﺌ ﻮ ﻳ ﻯﺸﺮ ﺑ َﻜ َﺔ ﻟَﺎﻤَﻠﺎﺋ ﻥ ﺍْﻟ ﻭ ﺮ ﻳ ﻡﻮ ﻳ
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Yawma yarawna al-malaikata laa bushra yawmaidhin li’l-mujrimeena wa yaqooloona hijran mahjoora. Wa qadimna ila ma `amiloo min `amalin faja`alnaahu habaa’an manthoora. The Day they see the angels,- no joy will there be to the sinners that Day: The (angels) will say: “There is a barrier forbidden (to you) altogether!” And We shall turn unto the work they did and make it scattered motes. [Al-Furqaan, 25:22-23] We know their intentions. We know that they mixed many things together with that journey. They mixed it up. so that is why we come to that `amal they did and it is not for us and it has been mixed with different issues, many different trades that they made in between. They trade with Shaytaan; they trade for this, that means they did not come for us. We throw their `amal in their faces. We don’t accept anything that is mixed. Allah does not like that. It has to be something when you do it; it is very pure for Allah , and that is your intention, and if something happened in between and you tried not to go after that thing that happened, you kept on the way of a good `amal, but if you went and followed the things that went in between and you get angry and begin to dispute and you get angry then you will be considered among those al-mubadhireen min ikhwaan ash-shayaateen. You will be responsible and mahkoom, and under the control of Shaytaan and under his power. Allah the expenses you put are gone. He went so fast to say that very high, he said that if you go for hajj and a poor man comes to you and extends his hand and you reject him, and didn’t give him anything your whole hajj is gone it is not accepted. It means if someone comes to you asking help and you throw him out, your hajj is gone. It means any `amal you do, that is a pilgrimage and someone comes asking an advice, that is like someone coming and raising his level. He is coming to give you more reward on the hajj.
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This tariqah is a pilgrimage, you are following the way of awliyaullah and zuhaad and ittiba` an-Nabi . If someone comes to give you advice and you throw him out it means you are lost. Who sent that person to you? Allah sent that person to you to give you and advice. Listen to that advice and check it. If that advice coincides with Shari`ah, go with it. People will begin to argue, especially on the internet. Don’t argue with anyone. If it is to Shari`ah ok, if not then don’t reply else it will create fitna. That is if we want akhira. Poor people in hajj it is their land, they are living there. The time of hajj is their crops, like when in spring you plant something and later in summer you harvest. So they wait to harvest in hajj time. So they wait until that time to harvest in hajj time. You will see 1000s of people there coming to harvest. Help them in harvest and Allah will help you in your harvest on Judgment Day. Allah checking in Judgment Day, whatever you planted in dunya you will reach in akhira. So Judgment Day is the harvest. And hajj is harvest. If you didn’t put fertilizer you will not find any harvest. So on the way of hajj give, give, give. Accept what people say of advice, if according to Shariah, but don’t create problems, then you will be able to reach what Allah wants you to reach. Then it is not written for you as waste but will be written for you are worshipness. He said if anything takes you for hajj, or any `amal which we consider to be a pilgrimage, don’t let anything disrupt it. Qul innama ana basharun… ahada. Anyone wants to go on pilgrimage to Allah , who wants to do any `amal, he must not associate anyone with Allah . Don’t associate your ego there by rejecting any poor person or rejecting
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anyone on the way. He is teaching us via adab, and we know his heart open since ten years of age. He said I went ten times for hajj. The real hajj the way you know it is accepted is that you give salaam to Ka`bah it will answer you back. He said I went 10 times for hajj and ten times gave salaam to Ka`bah and one time Ka`bah gave me back salaam. When you say as-salaam `alayk Ya baytullah. When the Ka`bah replies wa alayka as-salaam ya `abdallah at that time you know what tariqah means, you know what shaykhs mean, you know what guides mean, you know the meaning of Sahaba and you understand what is the meaning of the Prophet . So until that time we don’t hear that salaam the one who is blind in this life is blind in the next life, akhira. He doesn’t understand the meaning. When Ka`bah gives back the salaam that is Baytullah has given salaam. That means your name is written in that house, you are given salaam back now you are welcome into that house. You are at the rank to enter that house. Not like those who enter it today to clean it, they are only seeing four walls. When you receive that then you will not see four walls, it will be a paradise, like akhira. Everything that you cannot imagine in paradise, you will find there. It is described in Holy Qur'an but it cannot be described by words. Those who receive the salaam of Ka`bah will understand ma`rifatullah. He said, “I went 10 times and one time Ka`bah gave me salaam.” How many of us went for hajj, did we hear salaam. Allah of these people who go 2, 3 million did they hear salaam. And He said if you didn’t hear the salaam, your hajj is rejected. But rejected from the seeing of ma`rifatullah. Not rejected from the point of view of your obligation you will be written as one who completed the 5th pillar of Islam.
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He said, “How will you hear the Ka`bah sending salaam to you when you are deeply inside ghadabu—anger?” When you are engulfed in anger, when you are engulfed immaterial life and engulfed in bad whispering of Shaytaan, how are you going to hear the heavenly voice that Ka`bah brings to you? It is impossible; it is blocked. Faman ya`mal mithaqaala dharratin khayran yaraah. “Whoever does one atom of goodness will see it.” [Az-Zalzalah, 99:7] One atom of good work in the way of Allah is pilgrimage, it will open the salaam of Ka`bah. That means not even one atom of good we are doing kit is blended with hidden shirk. That is the thing Prophet feared most for his Ummah. That is disrupting our journey. Allah said Faman ya`mal mithaqaala dharratin khayran yaraah. Why are we not seeing good? Because we are not able to achieve even one atom. How you want to become wali then. People consider themselves wali or big shaykh. And yet one atom we cannot achieve. So he said, `ala mithqala dharratin.. for an atom of goodness Allah will reward you. He said that angels are under big responsibility to be sure that you will be rewarded for that atom. That means that when angels are responsible, angles cannot do mistakes. We are not seeing that not feeling that. When we do an atom it will open and we will feel and see. That is who awliya are reaching. So what is resolution when we are doing works with hidden shirk, then Allah yubadillah sayiatihim hasanaat – “Allah will change his or her evil deeds into rewards.” Every atom, every good `amal has its nearness to the Divine Presence. Every good action has encarved in it a Divine Presence according to that atom of goodness. According to that atom there is a light, might be a very small one, but there must be a Divine Presence that opens from that
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`amal. So slowly one after one, they increase and that will open to awliyaullah. The stingy one has no hajj. It is not considered. It is considered form the meaning of obligation but from the real meaning of hajj and ziyarah. Al-bakhil laa hajj wa laa ziyaarah maqbool wa la salaat, wa la sadaqa. We go back to the first verse we mentioned, we come to what they have done of deed adn throw in their faces as if it they did not do it. He said, “What is the best siffat that is accepted to Allah ? It is to be sakhee. To be generous. Even if you are poor to be generous. And what is the meaning of al-faqeer. We are all the poor to Allah , always in the classical way, in the manuscripts, they write not ad-daktowr, today when they sign they sign “professor”, “doctor”. What they used to write before? “The poor before Allah so-andso,” even if he [is someone who] has money. It is not considered. So everyone is poor. And even if you are poor you have to be generous. Generosity is what opens the door for everything. Some people with their generosity Allah opened for them but because of their ego they stopped there. You have to be very careful. If something opened because of your generosity and your love don’t let ego play a game there. Or else it will be wasted and you have been blocked in the Way to Allah . Even if you are a poor person now, and you gave everything, Allah opens to you and you opened to people. Don’t close it saying, “I wont teach if you don’t give me.” Knowledge cannot be stopped. We are not and we must not learn tricks of Shaytaan. Tricks of Shaytaan today are for knowledge of Islam or knowledge of spirituality Shaytaan is teaching the way of universities, how they do. They put a speaker’s bureau. When the university invites you to speak, they ask for their fees. That is how
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they handle it today, the PhD and speaker, they ask something in return. You must not take anything in return. You cannot sell Allah’s Knowledge. Sayyidina Muhammad didn’t take for the knowledge; he gave. If they give [from their own selves] that is ok. Look how Sayyidina Salman sold himself to become a slave in order to reach the Prophet . The last monk whom he served told him signs of the last Prophet , one being that he doesn’t take sadaqa; he only accepts gift. When he presented to him a sadaqa he didn’t take it, but rather he gave it to the Sahaba, but when he gave him something as a gift then he ate from it. That is why it is very unacceptable in Shari`ah even, to sell Allah’s word or on teaching or on adhaan. If they give you take but if not then don’t ask. Then we will be safe. So we continue next time… wa min Allah at-tawfeeq al-Fatiha.
THE MANIFESTATIONS OF THE BEAUTIFUL NAMES AND ATTRIBUTES 20 Ramadan 1427/12 October 2006 After Salaat al-Fajr and Tahajjud
A`udhu billahi min ash-shaytaan ir-rajeem Bismillahi 'r-Rahmani 'r-Raheem Nawaytu'l-arba`een, nawaytu'l-`itikaaf, nawaytu'l-khalwah, nawaytu'l-riyaadah, nawaytu's-salook, nawaytu'l-`uzlah lillahi ta`ala fee hadha'l-masjid Ati` Allah wa ati` ar-Rasula wa uli 'l-amri minkum n the previous session we said that awliyaullah in their du`a say: “O Allah give us in Paradise from hur al-`ayn.” And Grandshaykh said to them hur al-`ayn is the description of the two Beautiful Names Jalaal and Jamaal , Beauty and Majesty. If a wali’s intention is the physical hur al-`ayn, he will be thrown away from sainthood, because the physical hur al`ayn is maa siwallah - whatever is other than Allah . All their intention is Allah and His Prophet . They don’t look at anything else.
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He said, “I am not talking to you of something that was heard before but I am bringing to you from the realities that manifest from one moment to another, from hayaat, life, from something that has a life in it, from realities, and what He gives from favors, ni`am, and He gives from something that appears always. And the distributor for all of that is Sayyidina Muhammad and that is why he is called Abul Qaasim . And in every moment there are
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realities that are appearing and they don’t resemble each other, they are new.” “If Allah does not leave us, He is creating more and more, and the Prophet is distributing more and more. If that were to appear more then the wheel of the world will stop, then there will be no more generations to come, everything will stop. People will no longer be looking for dunya, as people will stop and only look to akhira.” So if that opens to other than awliya they will stop doing what they are doing and sit, or run to jungle or caves or homes and sit and do nothing. That is why there are people like that in Muslim countries and so they want nothing to do with dunya. These realities were open to them a little and due to that they are so attracted they are in a trance, they are majaazib and only Allah can bring them back. They are after these Beautiful Attributes, how can you bring them back to this dirty life? It has become to them something of no importance. All of us if we see wealth, we run after it. If we see business that brings income we run after it. And this is the whole world now, and if we see a beautiful lady or a handsome man they run after it. The focus is the desire of this world. So these attracted people, when they see these Attributes of Jalaal and Jamaal open a little bit to them they cannot care for what normal people care for in dunya. Aajilat ad-dunya takif. If that opens to the people in this dunya the movement of this world stops, and that is why it is closed, else there will be no more work and no more marrying and generations. Grandshaykh said, “These are realities that shaykh gives his student but in a way like surgeon who numbs his patient with anesthesia and then he doesn’t feel what is being put in their hearts. They don’t feel what is being put in their hearts but on Judgment Day that will appear and they will see these students like stars.”
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Allah created the Prophet to carry His light and that is why He created his light first. The Prophet said, “Awwala maa khalaqAllahu nura nabbiyika Ya Jaabir… the first thing that Allah created was the light of your Prophet , O Jaabir ,” and Allah is sending directly under Allah’s observance that light is constantly being focused through the manifestation of the Beautiful Names and Attributes from the Hidden Essence, the Hidden treasure that no one knows. From the Hidden Treasure that manifestation comes and falls on Prophet and the light of Prophet was molded with that. We explained that before in a series, that the light of the Prophet was in a lamp and was molded with Beautiful Names and Attributes, and from the sweat of the Prophet , from his shyness taking all these knowledges. His light begins to shine more and more, and from that a drop came and from that drop Allah created the 124,000 prophets and from the next drop Allah created Sayyidina Abu Bakr as-Siddiq . From the residue of the light of Sayyidina Muhammad , Allah molded the reality of Sayyidina Abu Bakr as-Siddiq and for the residue of the light of Sayyidina Abu Bakr as-Siddiq , Allah created the light of the students and apprentices of the Naqshbandi Sufi order. From that light of Sayyidina Abu Bakr or light was created and everyone takes his children with him, meaning his spiritual children. Sayyidina Adam is the father of the human race physically and Sayyidina Abu Bakr is the spiritual father of all the students of the Naqshbandiyya Sufi order and those people have been granted tawada` humbleness. Grandshaykh said, “Though we have arrogance, we have a struggle with arrogance but you can find with these students humbleness. That is why we don’t hate people of beards and we
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like them and we like shaykhs and we like old people. We don’t look at them in a bad way. Today there are people who look at people of beards in bad way. Some tariqats even have no respect to people of beards and in some tariqats they say you must be shaved and completely normal dress is their tariqah. Although dress into an issue of being in tariqah or not but it symbolizes love of what you believe in.” “The father of arwaah is Sayyidina Abu Bakr ; he will fill four paradises with intercession of the Prophet . Sayyidina Bayazid alBistami ¬ said in the association of awliya, that ‘Abu Bakr as-Siddiq is going to filled four paradises, It is a shame on the rest of us awliya that we cannot fill the rest.’” Grandshaykh said, “Sayyidina Shah Naqshband ¬ will also fill four Paradises and so how can Sayyidina Abu Bakr fill four and Shah Naqshband ¬ fill Naqshband four?” He answered, “It is light upon light. It means that Sayyidina Shah Naqshband ¬ will send more from the light that Sayyidina Abu Bakr has sent and that will be light upon light for intercession.” Grandshaykh said, “You have to be patient with this prison. This body is a prison for you and all people are in the prison of the world. Allah has the name as-Saboor , The Most Patient. After He put 99 Divine Names at the end he put as-Saboor . It means that whoever is patient with Islam and patient with faith, imaan, and patient with Ihsan, it means who accepts Islam must know the Prophet said ‘there is no rest in religion,’ so it is always a struggle, so who can be patient in the struggle, Allah will give him in Judgment Day, He will bring out on him the 99 Beautiful Names and Attributes that Allah mentioned to us in the Holy Qur’an, these 99 Names will be manifested on that person.” Because 1+1=2,+1=3+1=4. So it is accumulating. Huwa Allah , arRahman , ar-Raheem , al-Malik , al-Qudoos , as-Salaam
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,…they are accumulating. So all of them add to as-Saboor . If you take one out you cannot come to as-Saboor . You come to the one before as-Saboor . They have to be one after the other to reach as-Saboor . So when you are patient in dunya of what you have been given and patient in the prison you have been put in, then you will reach through patience to as-Saboor . Then you will reach with patience to the realities of all these Names and on Judgment Day the reality of these Beautiful Names and Attributes will be dressing you and you will appear like a star shining on Judgment Day. These shining stars they don’t need, as they are under the manifestations of the Beautiful Names and Attributes, why will be sent to paradise, clean. And they will take their children, saying, “These are mine.” Sayyidina Abu Bakr is the friend of the Prophet , so he is with the Prophet in the highest paradise Jannat al-Firdaws, so as-Siddiq is there. ﻴﻘًﺎﺭﻓ ﻚ ﻦ ُﺃﻭﻟَـﺌ ﺴ ﺣ ﻭ ﲔ ﺤﺼﺎﻟ ﻭﺍﻟ ﺍﺀﻬﺪ ﺸ ﻭﺍﻟ ﲔ ﺪﻳﻘ ﺼ ﻭﺍﻟ ﲔ ﻴِﻨﺒﻦ ﺍﻟ ﻣ ﻴﻬِﻢﻋَﻠ ﻪ ﻢ ﺍﻟّﻠ ﻌ �ْﻦ َﺃ ﻳﻊ ﺍﱠﻟﺬ ﻣ Ma`a alladheena an`ama Allahu `alayhim minan-nabiyyeena wassiddeeqeena wash-shuhada’i was-saaliheena wa hasuna ulaika rafeeqa. All who obey Allah and the apostle are in the company of those on whom is the Grace of Allah ,- of the prophets (who teach), the sincere (lovers of Truth), the witnesses (who testify), and the Righteous (who do good): Ah! what a beautiful fellowship! [An-Nisaa, 4:69] He will take all the spiritual children that this light has manifested on them. So what we need is to be patient: patient on your wife, on your children, on your friends, and similarly wives need to be patient on your husband and your children and... How much you are patient and try to cover what they did, similarly Sayyidina Abu Bakr will be granted from what he is given to try to cover whatever they have done. So we have to learn to cover in dunya, not to expose each other. We have to be very
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healthy by being patient on each other. Don’t argue. If you see someone arguing, stop the conversation and move forward. There is no way to convince a drunken person. You are drunk, he is drunk, and you kill each other. You cannot drive when you are drunk, you cannot fly a plane, they check you. So how are you going to drive your body and your ego when you are drunk? Of course you are going to take the body to places that are not accepted. And thus the soul is forced to go to places that it doesn’t like. Then Grandshaykh said, “Wayy, wayy, wayy, [an exclamatory word in Daghestani language]!” He was stunned when giving that suhbat. He said, “Don’t think there is no more of Realities and Beauty and Manifestations of Allah’s Beautiful Names and Attributes that Allah will prepare for His servants. I am saying only a drop from what awliya know, that is a very small drop of what is there. Imagine that drop is from ocean of awliyaullah and all that awliyaullah have is only a drop of what Sayyidina Muhammad knows and what Sayyidina Muhammad knows, whatever Allah is giving him in every moment from something new is only a drop of what Allah has prepared from His Knowledge.” So if we compare what we are saying to what Allah is going to give there is more and more according to Allah’s Greatness. So focus on it and see how much it is huge. “When we are speaking,” he said, “that this is a drop from ocean of awliyaullah. And all that awliyaullah have is but a drop from what Allah has given to Sayyidina Muhammad from one moment to another. And all the rest of these moments no one knows them except the Prophet . And all of these moments are from what Allah is preparing for Sayyidina Muhammad and awliyaullah and the whole Ummah. So imagine what is being stored up for the Ummah. It is impossible to think about it; it is beyond the mind.” “Whatever Allah has
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granted of levels and Allah has granted of realities and manifestations that are going to be given to human beings no one can take it away. What Allah gave is what He granted in the past, the future and the present. You cannot reduce it or eliminate it. The one controlling that is Allah so Shaytaan cannot take it and no one else can take it. What Allah is giving, He is giving and what He granted, He granted, and there is no change on that.” An example Grandshaykh is giving is that, “From the time of Sayyidina Adam , how many people have come and gone and how much they did of forbidden sins? If all these sins you add them together from the time of Sayyidina Adam to today, and if today one person will do all these sins, imagine that person did all these sins that you add the sins of all mankind altogether from the time of Adam until today, let one person make all these sins, yet there is a possibility and there is a way for his guidance and that Allah will forgive him. With Allah’s Mercy, it is but a drop in an ocean. From that ocean, if you put all the children of Adam to sin non-stopping, then there is rahmat non-stopping and there is guidance not stopping. Still we cannot express the meaning of ar-Rahman and ar-Raheem, The Beneficen, The Merciful. If the whole dunya is sinning then one drop of that mercy can cover those sins. Allah will guide and Allah will give mercy without limit. What limits everything is not the sins; what limits everything is the arrogance.” It means when you see yourself, it is as if you are making shirk. As if making Allah absent and only seeing yourself appearing. ﺎﻴﻤﻋﻈ ﺎﻯ ِﺇْﺛﻤ ﺍْﻓَﺘﺮ َﻓ َﻘﺪﺸﺮِ ْﻙ ِﺑﺎﻟّﻠﻪ ﻳ ﻦﻭﻣ ﺎﺀﻳﺸ ﻦﻤﻚﻟ ﻥ َﺫﻟ ﻭﺎ ﺩﺮ ﻣ ﻳ ْﻐﻔ ﻭﺮ َﻙ ﺑِﻪ ﺸ ﻳ ﺮ ﺃَﻥ ﻳ ْﻐﻔ َﻻ ﺍﻟّﻠﻪِﺇﻥ Inna Allaha laa yaghfiru an yushraka bihi wa yaghfiru maa doona dhaalika liman yasha’u wa man yushrik billahi faqad iftara ithman `azheeman.
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Allah forgiveth not that partners should be set up with Him; but He forgiveth anything else, to whom He pleaseth; to set up partners with Allah is to devise a sin Most heinous indeed. [An-Nisaa, 4:48] No way that Allah will accept and forgive anyone who makes shirk with Him. He said, “I am Ghafoor and Raheem—Forgiving and Merciful. I will forgive everything, but don’t make shirk, don’t worship anything with Me.” O Ummat an-Nabi , be happy! Allah has given us mercy forever. Because Ummat an-Nabi never makes shirk. You are ummatan marhooma—a community that has been granted full mercy. Before Allah created you in dunya, when you were souls and spirits, Allah forgave you because you didn’t make shirk. Allah will not forgive anyone who makes shirk. Anyone who makes sins, that is easy--repent and He forgives. But shirk, you cannot. So don’t be arrogant, don’t see yourself--that is a hidden shirk. Not like real shirk. You have to be careful. Hidden shirk is still “acceptable,” meaning it can be repented from. But real shirk is to accept someone besides Allah . That is not accepted. So don’t be arrogant and don’t have arrogance in yourself. Be like a fish in the water, submitting and surrendering. Be like a river going down to the ocean, entering the ocean. You are a small river entering the ocean in submission. It does not say, “I am sweet, I don’t go inside.” It submits. We stop and continue next time. Bi-hurmatil habeeb, bi hurmati ‘lFatiha.
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`ITIK F
21 Ramadan 1427/13 October 2006
[Mawlana, can you tell us about `itikaaf]. `itikāf is the last 10 days of Ramadan mainly. Today is the 21st. [can I gift the rewards of doing `itikāf to my mother {who is living}?] You can gift the `itikāf to Prophet , then to Sahaba then to all awliya and Naqshbandi Shaykhs and then to Grandshaykh and Mawlana Shaykh and then to your people… `itikāf, .. Bismillahi 'r-Rahmani 'r-Raheem Nawaytu'l-arba`een, nawaytu'l-`itikaaf, nawaytu'l-khalwah, nawaytu'lriyaada, nawaytu's-salook, nawaytu'l-`uzlah lillahi ta`ala fee hadha'lmasjid. Add to normal niyyah: nawatu as-siyaam... [add this to normal intention] tikāf in the time of the Prophet was the last ten days, the most important was to separate yourself from your husband or wife. That is the main thing from `itikāf--that you don’t have a relationship when you are in `itikāf. And that is why they used to go to the mosque as there is no other place to do that in the presence of the Prophet . People today who like to do `itikāf, usually, can do it in their home even, you can be in a separate room from your husband. That is `itikāf. You decide to
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enter into a heavy training that you want to be always in the Divine Presence, not to be in the dunya. This is `itikāf. It is a step before khalwah, seclusion, so it trains us to be able to be in khalwah for forty days so you want to be in the Divine Presence; that is your goal. It is to be with Allah and His Prophet . So your Shaykh will assign for you some awrād to do in order that you can achieve some kind of polishing yourself to enable you in the future, if you keep `itikāf it will enable you to reach a real understanding of khalwah, seclusion. `Itikāf is very important because it will put you on that journey. `Akafa in Arabic means `akafa `ala shay is to turn towards that thing and keep it without changing, constantly doing it. You say `aakiftu ākul ath-thamr--I turned to the decision of always eating dates. `Akafa is to do something constantly non-stop. So that ten days `itikāf is to decide to turn towards my Lord in these ten days and be away from any disturbance or any connection with other than this Divine Presence. So Sahaba used to stay in the mosque, but if there is something important that they have to go to their house and do something they do that, it is not full-time seclusion. If they need to go take shower, they go take shower and come back. Most important is husband not to have contact with his wife or the wife with her husband—the relationship with the spouse. They can eat anything in `itikāf, it is not restricted. In khalwah, seclusion, you have to eat only one thing, lentils, and they will have to be busy in these last ten days in excessive worship day and
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night. They have to be very knowing how to protect themselves from all negative whispering of Shaytaan in the ears. First as much as they can, they don’t need to talk to anyone. Although they can talk, anything Islamic is ok. In `itikāf it is ok, you can listen to talks, ask questions, listen to hadith, but it must be dedicated to non-worldly goals, no need to talk about going to WalMart store and talking about “what toy I will buy my son.” All the focus is Allah and His Prophet . So you begin the day before by Maghrib, the 24 hours begins at Maghrib for awliyaullah. So if you decide to go, one day has gone, and you go before Maghrib by two hours and make ablution on the niyyah of `itikāf, and then you go in and sit there and begin the awrad assigned to you the normal awrad assigned to everyone is to read one juz to three a day if they know how to read Quran. If they don’t know to read they can read in English the meaning. Then Dalail al-khayraat every day one juz. If they don’t know then what they can do is 100 salawat on Prophet in place of Dalail alkhayraat. And if they don’t know how to read Quran they can do 100 times qul huwa Allahu ahad and three juz will be 300 times qul huw Allahu ahad. And then as time passes you do adab of tariqat, which you know. And then you sit for dhikrullah from 10,000 to 48,000 to 74,000, it is up to you if you can finish. Then after dhikrullah is salawat on Prophet from 2,500 to 24,000 as much as you can. I know that will not finish quickly. For example salawat—to do 24,000 takes for experienced person 1 to 1.5 hours. To make 20,000 dhikrullah might take a half hour, or let us say without experience, 2 hours. So these are 4 hours, still you
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are having a lot of time. Or it might be with some people it takes 6 hours. So you pray Maghrib and then Isha, then taraweeh, if still not sleeping then do more awraad. If you finish and need to do extra, you might sleep by 12 or 11 and you must wake by 2 am. Then pray salat an-najaat, salat ash-shukr, salaat at-tasbih at the time we begin to pray in congregation. In that time before you pray 8 rakaats tahajjud and then wait for the others. In the meantime recite 1,000 la ilaha ill-Allah, 1,000 Ikhlas, and break them into hundreds, finish one set of 100, then do the next. For example: 100 tahlil, 100 qul huwa Allahu ahad, 100 subuhun qudoos rabbuna wa rabb ul-malaikati war-ruh, 100 hasbunAllah wa ni`amal wakeel. 100 SubhanAllah wa bihamdihi subhanalla il- `adheem istaghfirullah 100 bismillah ir-rahmanir-raheem 100 dhaalika taqdeer ul-`azeez il- `aleem 100 subhanAllah 100 alhamdulillah 100 Allahu akbar 100 la hawla wa la quwatta illa billah 100 la ilaha ill-Allah 100 then qul huwa Allahu ahad. Then recite the la ilaha ill-Allah and qul huwa Allahu ahad to 100 times. Then 500 ya samad Then 500 istaghfirullah on intention that from day Allah created to today Allah forgive you. Then another 500 for from this day until Judgment Day, for Allah to protect you.
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Then 500 alhamdulillah that Allah created you from Ummat anNabi and made you from students of Shaykh Nazim ¬. Then 500 alhamdullillah that Allah did not create you from other Ummahs. [Note that the Naqshbandi Guidebook is not correct on reasons for reciting Alhamdulillah] Then if you have time then do the awrad that I mentioned always connecting your heart with Mawlana Shaykh Nazim ¬. We call it rabita and muraqabah, to Mawlana Shaykh Nazim ¬. It has to be to Mawlana Shaykh Nazim ¬, rabita and muraqabah, day-after-day you will see a big struggle with yourself trying to make you to run away as it will be very difficult to sit. You can sit in the maqam and do it there. Who wants to do partial can do part of it. Who wants to do the 10 days they must do 24 hours, they can sleep 5-6 hrs. Who is doing partial will do from `Asr to Maghrib, Maghrib to `Isha and from early morning to Fajr. Most important is no relationship with husband and wife. You eat with us and where we go for dinner you go. Eat sahoor downstairs. Whoever likes can do that for the days they are here.
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FAMILY MANNERS 23 Ramadan 1427/15 October 2006 (morning)
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hildren like that, [mentally impaired] Allah created them like that, not just your son, but there are many [like that]. They are innocent and Allah makes them to carry difficulties of the peopel who are around them, especially their families, especially their ancestors. Any sins… Allah creates them to digest the sins of their family and they are mercy for the area they are living in. Allah knows what kind of manifestation He sends on him; that is why their tongues are frozen. They don’t speak all they feel because their tongue is frozen. But it is a blessing on the whole area they are in. And you must say shukran lillah. Look he is making tasbih.
Because of such [mentally underdeveloped or impaired] children Allah takes problem from people. That is a sign [you see his] shahada finger is always up, that he is in bahr at-tawheed. That is why he is not with you, he is not around, he is somewhere else. He is singing. What is he singing? The tongue is frozen. Many children I see like him are always in prayers. You don’t need to understand what they say. That is baraka for the mother and father to pull them to heaven. [How does a woman who was pregnant or lactating make up fasting?]
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Say she didn’t fast last year and this year she is able. For example last Ramadan she didn’t fast 5 days. She has the entire year to fast until the new Ramadan. If Ramadan comes and she didn’t fast she pays for the 5 days missed. Then until the next [third] Ramadan comes she must fast the five days. For example 5 days. You pay 5 days = $50. Next Ramadan, you didn’t fast, so you pay again. So you pay until you fast. That is problem many pregnant ladies cannot fast, then they are nursing cannot fast. Allah made rukhsah, [easing of rules, dispensation] that they pay the poor people.
FAMILY MANNERS 23 Ramadan 1427/15 October 2006 After Salaat adh-Dhuhr
A`udhu billahi min ash-shaytaan ir-rajeem Bismillahi 'r-Rahmani 'r-Raheem Nawaytu'l-arba`een, nawaytu'l-`itikaaf, nawaytu'l-khalwah, nawaytu'l-riyaadah, nawaytu's-salook, nawaytu'l-`uzlah lillahi ta`ala fee hadha'l-masjid Ati` Allah wa ati` ar-Rasula wa uli 'l-amri minkum
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e said in the morning, “Don’t give the control to your children. When you give control over you to your children, then they wish you will die, inherit you and then they put their feet on top of your head saying ‘may you go to grave.’”
Before that Mawlana speaking about the two students who were moving by tayy to Ka`bah when they pray. And one day they were discussing and saying, “What `amal did we do that we achieved the power to do that?” And their wives, who were two sisters, were listening, said, “You are not appreciating what we did for you. You think by the `amal you did was what gave you power to reach Ka`bah. But you didn’t know that it was us who gave you that.” So these two, like young awliya, they have been given that power, and they are practicing it, and they are very happy with it and they begin to speak with each other and say, “I did this,” and the other says, “I did that, and that is how we are able to pray by tayy to
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Ka`bah.” These two ladies, their wives were listening to them and said, “We will show you how you can pray in Ka`bah.” So the next day the wives cooked their food without ablution. When you cook with ablution that is positive energy and it reflects to the food. That one without ablution… Grandshaykh said, “Restaurant food is not good, you don’t know who is cooking that food.” That is why you find people today depressed every day— they are filled from every side. So the next day they didn’t take ablution and they molded the bread with the waste of chicken. And when it came Salaat alJumu`ah they said, “Allahu Akbar,” as usual and one of them raised one foot from the floor and the other was not able to even raise. And they began to discuss, “Why? What did we do, we were not able to move in tayy to Ka`bah?” And then the ladies came and explained what they did and the good side of how it was their purity and cleanliness was the cause for their tayy. And they were lady saints also. And Grandshaykh was bringing that show the good character of women. And we explained the story of Sayyidina Ali and how Jibreel came to inform the Prophet to advise his daughter… Look Rabia al-`Adawiyya ¬ didn’t reach her post of sainthood except by serving her husband. He was drunk. She comes with a cup of water for him to drink and she sees him sleeping and waits for him to wake up to drink. Did your wife do that for you? Never. So he is bringing that subject, Mawlana Shaykh in order to teach us. So he said, “You are the man, don’t be the woman.” Today the men are women and women are men. Always make sure you keep your wife under your obedience. If you let her to come on control of you it never ends and it will go far. That is bad character. That
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Allah put in ladies. There are good ladies that don’t have that character. But we are speaking in general. He said, “Don’t let the fleas to come on your toes because as soon as you let it to go on your toes it will spread all over your body.” So you have to stop it from the beginning. If you let it to come to your toes it will enter all over your beard and all over your hair. He said, “Don’t let your wife or the ladies to overcome or then she will hit you on your head and put you under her control. Who gave her that authority that she has to speak in front of men and she has to be controlling? They are qaleelat al-adab, those with bad manners. And there are women with good manners” and he praised a woman there and I will not mention her name. He said that, “Women! Don’t give the women a secret, they will expose it in the end.” That happened to you? After how many years. [hahaha] And Mawlana mentioned about his wife that always he tells her, “You have to listen to me. If you don’t like it, this is your dowry, take it and go.” He said, “This is your late payment dowry [mahr muakhkhar], go to your father’s home. I am ok with that.” He is giving an example, although his wife was not like that, giving an example even for himself. He said that “Women, if you give them a little opening, then they begin to teach their husband. And the husband becomes a woman.” He said, “This behaviour, I don’t tolerate.” That is speaking in order to take away that bad characteristic between men and women and everyone has to know his limits. He said, “You cannot say ‘no’ to the murshid. Never he must say ‘no.’” He must always say ‘yes.’” He said, similarly, tija ar-rajul la
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yajuz al-imra an taqul la - Similarly it is not allowed for the wife to say “no.” She can give an advice but she cannot give a decision. The decision is for the husband. Then affliction will come over the head of the men and the women. If they do this then affliction will come on them. He is speaking to the followers whose wives are good and it is to teach. And asma`oo wa aawaoo. Allah said: ِﻴﺐﺕ ﱢﻟْﻠ َﻐ ﻈَﺎﺎﻓﺕ ﺣ ﺘَﺎ�ﺕ َﻗﺎ ﺎﺤﺼﺎﻟ ﻢ َﻓﺎﻟ ِﻬﻮﺍﻟ ﻣﻦ َﺃ ﺎ َﺃ� َﻔﻘُﻮْﺍ ﻣﻭﺑِﻤ ٍﺾﺑﻌ ﻋﻠَﻰ ﻢ ﻬﻀ َ ﻌ ﺑ ﻪ ﻀ َﻞ ﺍﻟّﻠ ﺎ َﻓ ﱠﺎﺀ ﺑِﻤﻨﺴﻋﻠَﻰ ﺍﻟ ﻥ ﻮﺍﻣﺎ ُﻝ َﻗﻮﺮﺟ ﺍﻟ ﻪ ﻆ ﺍﻟّﻠ َ ﺣﻔ ﺎﺑِﻤ Ar-rijaalu qawwaamoona `ala annisaai bimaa faddala Allahu ba`dahum `ala ba`din wabima anfaqoo min amwalihim fas-saalihatu qaanitaatun hafithatun lil-ghaybi bima hafizha Allahu Men are the protectors and maintainers of women, because Allah has given the one more (strength) than the other, and because they support them from their means. Therefore the righteous women are devoutly obedient, and guard in (the husband's) absence what Allah would have them guard. [An-Nisaa, 4:34] “Men and the ones in charge of women because of what Allah has given of His bounty over them.” Everyone has what Allah has given to them. If they follow this then everyone knows his limits the wife knows and the husband knows. Still I skipped many [things Grandshaykh said, I was worried.]
WORSE THAN KAAFIR 24 Ramadan 1427/16 October 2006
A`udhu billahi min ash-shaytaan ir-rajeem Bismillahi 'r-Rahmani 'r-Raheem Nawaytu'l-arba`een, nawaytu'l-`itikaaf, nawaytu'l-khalwah, nawaytu'l-riyaadah, nawaytu's-salook, nawaytu'l-`uzlah lillahi ta`ala fee hadha'l-masjid Ati` Allah wa ati` ar-Rasula wa uli 'l-amri minkum
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n every story of Prophet with Sahaaba there are jewels and these jewels need to be extracted to know what is right and what is wrong.
And he [Grandshaykh] said, “Is there more to be done from the disbelief of the unbelievers?” There is nothing more great than the disbelief of unbelievers. As we read the verse of Qur’an before, ﺍﻟّﻠﻪﻦ ِﺇﻥﻭﻣ ﺎﺀﻳﺸ ﻦﻤﻚﻟ ﻥ َﺫﻟ ﻭﺎ ﺩﺮ ﻣ ﻳ ْﻐﻔ ﻭﺮ َﻙ ﺑِﻪ ﺸ ﻳ ﺮ ﺃَﻥ ﻳ ْﻐﻔ ﺎ َﻻﻴﻤﻋﻈ ﺎﻯ ِﺇْﺛﻤ ﺍْﻓَﺘﺮ َﻓ َﻘﺪﺸﺮِ ْﻙ ِﺑﺎﻟّﻠﻪ ﻳ Inna Allaha laa yaghfiru an yushraka bihi wa yaghfiru ma doona dhaalika liman yasha’u wa man yushrik billahi faqad iftara ithman `adheeman. Allah forgiveth not that partners should be set up with Him; but He forgiveth anything else, to whom He pleaseth; to set up partners with Allah is to devise a sin Most heinous indeed. [An-Nisaa, 4:48]
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Allah does not forgive anyone that associates anyone with Him and whoever associates with Allah has deviated very far from the main line, as-siraat al-mustaqeem. And he is asking, “Is there anyone more than shirk of the kaafir?” He said, “Yes there is. The one who sees himself as something.” This is teaching adab. It means be very careful, that Iblees said, “I am better than him.” Iblees still believes in Allah and never said that there is no creator, he was making sajda to Allah in every hand span of creation. But when he saw himself, he was ordered by Allah to make sajda and refused. So there is one worse than kaafir; that is the one who sees himself. For example, I am a qaari, reciting Qur’an in a very nice voice. You can be a reciter and memorize Qur’an and don’t see yourself as better than others. Those who see themselves as better than others in what they are doing never repent because they don’t see that as a mistake. So he said, “The kaafir may repent one day and change his mind and become Muslim and convert, but the one who sees himself never understands that he must repent. So he dies and he sees himself and he will not repent.” And I have that story of when I was driving Mawlana Shaykh Nazim ¬ from Damascus to Beirut and that was in September at the time they have the [Christian] Eid as-Saleeb, the Festival of the Cross and you see all these crosses hanging in the street. So we were passing from the Christian district to the Muslim district and I said, “Alhamdulillah. Alhamdulillah that Allah created us Muslim.” Mawlana said “Stop the car. I am getting out.” I asked, “What happened?” Mawlana said, “What you said, Allah did not like. You are seeing yourself better than them. You must not see yourself as better than them, you are Muslim and they are kaafir. What if Allah created you kaafir? You must see that Allah created everyone with something they are happy with. So keep
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that with you and say, ‘O Allah guide them.’ Not to see yourself as better than them. It might be the unbeliever one day will repent and Allah will forgive him, as the Prophet said, ‘al-Islam yajib ma qablaha.’ But the one who sees himself in every `amal he does he does not realize he must repent.” And he says this story, Grandshaykh, may Allah bless his soul: One day they entered, they were hearing a very nice voice of someone reading Qur’an inside the Ka`bah. Awliyaullah have a lot of stories, either they learn through spirituality heart to heart or they learn it through seerat an-Nabi, [the life story of the Prophet ]. There are many awliyaullah who receive confirmation of hadith of the Prophet through their meditation and visions, they ask the Prophet . One day there was a voice coming from Ka`bah of someone reciting Qur’an and he said, “min halaawat sawtihi, Sayyidina Ali qad yadoob--Sayyidina Ali was nearly about to melt from the sweetness of the voice of that person reciting Qur’an.” On the other hand we see in hadith of the Prophet when Abu Musa al-Ash`ari was reciting the Qur’an in a very beautiful voice and he didn’t know the Prophet is behind him and he turned his back and found the Prophet was happy with his reciting and he said, “W'Allahi Ya Rasulullah , if I knew you were listening I would have recited in a more beautiful voice.” That is not seeing himself but in order to make the Prophet happy. Taghani bil Qur’an-recite the Qur’an in a beautiful melodious voice; give it the best of its sweetness. Taghani here does not mean to sing, but to recite in beautiful voice. “From the sweetness of his voice, Sayyidina Ali was about to melt. The Prophet said to him, ‘Go and cut him in half.’” Sayyidina Ali hesitated, not due to hesitation to the order of Sayyidina Muhammad , not due to hesitation, but because the
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Qur’an was near that man and if he cuts him he would cause blood to flow on the Qur’an and make it unclean—so he hesitated. And the whole of the Ka`bah,… if he cut him by order of the Prophet , Sayyidina Ali is able to cut the stone even. Sayyidina Ali out of respect, when he sees an old man or old woman, out of respect he does not do like us. What do we do? We go around them. Out of respect he goes [stays] behind them and doesn’t pass them. One day Sayyidina Ali saw an old woman carrying a basket with something in it. And he didn’t pass her. He felt a pity for that old woman and said, “O lady, please let me carry that basket.” She put it on the floor and said, “Yes, please help me.” He picked it up and it was so heavy he could not raise it up to his knees. He was surprised at how that old lady was carrying that basket that is so heavy. He went to Prophet and asked him about that. He said, “Ya Ali , Allah ordered the whole dunya to be in that basket and sent that to earth to show that you are the Asadullah al-ghaalib.” That is weight of the whole dunya. That is what Allah has granted to you to carry whole dunya up to your knees, he has that power. So think what if Sayyidina Ali will cut that one, he will cut him from one side to the other. He was worried that the blood and intestines of that man will be thrown on the Ka`bah. He said, “Ya Ali , be careful! Iblees hesitated one moment to make sajda and Allah threw him out. Don’t hesitate! Cut him!” So Sayyidina Ali was trembling and he took his sword and cut him into two. Immediately. Not one drop of blood came out which Sayyidina Ali was thinking would dirty the Ka`bah from inside. The upper half of the person turned into a dog and ran out of the Ka`bah and from the other side the other half turned into a monkey and ran from the other side.
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Allah is showing the personality of that person was barking from one side and monkey from one side. Barking means always complaining and always backbiting people and the other side monkey means always running after bad desires and selfish desires, because monkey always run after sex, running after low desires. So the two characters of that person, he said that, “Anyone who sees himself is of that kind. Half of his personality is a dog and half is a monkey.” Then he said, “Ya Ali go to your home.” And then Grandshaykh wondering to himself, “ya`rifoon qira’at alQur’an, min ayn?” Their recitation if they see themselves, not like Sayyidina Abu Musa al-Ash`ari , they recite and they don’t see themselves. There are qaaris in Arab countries and before they recite Qur’an, I know that and you don’t know that, there is one country, not the one you think about, they go and drink because they want to be high so that when they recite they give the nicest and sweetest voice to Qur’an in order that they [the audience] give them more money. So every time they are invited to recite they go and drink in order to recite in the best voice. You want to recite Qur’an, that is ok but don’t see yourself. That is like the character which is one side dog and one side a monkey. He said that, “No one heard Allah’s recitation of Qur’an.” Even the Prophet he heard from Jibreel . He heard it in a different way, and the Sahaaba heard the Prophet and the Tabi`een heard the Sahaaba and the whole Ummah heard not the Tabi`een, they heard the reciters' recitation. So in reality no one knows has heard the reality of Qur’an except Sayyidina Muhammad . He said that, “On the Day of Resurrection when Allah is sending the believers to Paradise, He will be seen without any veil.” Allah will be seen in Paradise as the hadith of Prophet mentioned. And he said that, “Allah will manifest himself to the believers
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and He will manifest himself under ismAllah al-`Adham —Allah’s Greatest Name.” That Name, with it anyone can say to something “be” and it will be. Then in Paradise, Allah will manifest under that Greatest Name and under that manifestation He [Himself] will recite from Surat al-An`am. He said that whatever we are hearing in dunya it is under manifestation of ismAllah ar-Rahman , the Merciful. But in akhira, we will hear the recitation real under the manifestation of the Greatest Name, the recitation of Surat al-An`am. That is enough for all time. With 3-4 lines Grandshaykh is showing us that bad characteristics will take us to bad endings. And worst of all is to see the self. Self is the most destructive thing in world. That made Iblees to disobey. The Prophet said, “Don’t leave me Ya Allah , to myself for the blink of an eye.” If the Prophet is saying this for himself we have to be very careful.
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FROM HIS MERCY SICKNESS COMES 25 Ramadan 1427/17 October 2006
A`udhu billahi min ash-shaytaan ir-rajeem Bismillahi 'r-Rahmani 'r-Raheem Nawaytu'l-arba`een, nawaytu'l-`itikaaf, nawaytu'l-khalwah, nawaytu'l-riyaadah, nawaytu's-salook, nawaytu'l-`uzlah lillahi ta`ala fee hadha'l-masjid Ati` Allah wa ati` ar-Rasula wa uli 'l-amri minkum
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wliyaullah according to the tajallis that they are in, they speak. According to what at that moment Allah opened to them through his beloved Prophet Sayyidina Muhammad they are in that trance and they are in that manifestation of that vision, then they say things that might be about themselves, might be about their private things, might be about their lives, might be about their followers, might be about a situation that occurs in dunya. So to them it is according to what is written. Allah gave them that ability to see what is written for them and therefore Allah gave them a knowledge that He didn’t give to His common servants. He gave them permission to inherit from the knowledge of the Prophet and they take, whatever he gives them, and they will be very happy. He said, Grandshaykh, “When I was sick, it is now two or months that I am in that position, I am sick and I cannot do my awraad daily. But my heart always is in the presence of the Prophet and always my heart is connected to the presence of the Prophet and
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always my heart is connected to the Divine Presence but my body cannot do every daily awraad, daily dhikr, whatever it is we are ordered to do, physically I cannot do, I am sick.” Everyone gets sick. Sayyidina Muhammad was sick and he had high fever and sweating. So people normally according to their capacity Allah from His mercy sickness comes. Don’t think that sickness isn’t from Allah’s mercy. With that sickness you don’t know how many of difficulties Allah is taking away on behalf of that person or his descendants or ancestors. The Prophet’s sickness was on behalf of the entire Ummah. The awliya get sick to carry on behalf of their followers. Like the famous story of Sayyidina Khalid Baghdadi ¬ and the plague was coming to Damascus and he was living on Jabal Qasyun. When the plague came it was coming to take the whole city. So what did he do? He said, “Ya Rabbee, I will give myself to carry this whole plague.” So when he said that he was like a lightning rod, pulling the whole plague to his body and so after a few days he passed away. So those who were his students, Sayyidina Isma`il an-Naraani ¬ and many of them died from that plague, but the rest of the city was saved from that plague. So awliyaullah have that characteristic that they will save the Ummah and carry on behalf. He said, “Now I cannot do my daily awraad, but now I am better off, moving higher and higher quickly, because I am not doing it.” ﺝ ﺮ ﺣ ﺾ ِ ﻤ ِﺮﻳ ﻋﻠَﻰ ﺍْﻟ ﻭﻟَﺎ ﺝ ﺮ ﺣ ِﺮﺝ ﻋ ﻋﻠَﻰ ﺍْﻟ َﺄ ﻭﻟَﺎ ﺝ ﺮ ﺣ ﻰﻤﻋﻠَﻰ ﺍْﻟ َﺄﻋ ﺲ ﻴَﻟ Laysa `ala al-a`ma harajun wala `ala ala `araji harajun wala `ala almareedi harajun.
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It is no fault in the blind nor in one born lame, nor in one afflicted with illness,… [An-Nuur, 24:61] Laysa ala al-mareedi haraj – “there is no responsibility or problem on the sick person” for not doing his daily awraad. Even you are sick in hospital you cannot pray as you are sick. Allah said in Holy Qur’an, “No problem you pray them later.” He said, “I am better now despite my sickness because now angels are doing on my behalf and they are doing my daily awraad better than I was doing and more than I was doing by ten times.” Angels are ma`soomeen [sinless, pure] so when they do your behalf their prayers are more accepted. So with that taking the sickness and saving the Ummah of the Prophet , Allah was rewarding me by sending these angels to my awraad on my behalf. So he said, “When I was not sick (this suhbat was in 1973 in the last days that Mawlana passed away, he passed on 4th Ramadan that year). He said one month before his passing, “When I was relaxing and not sick, I used to do my awraad every 24 hours, and now because I am sick, angels are ordered, because I am sick, to do my awraad.” And he said that, “When someone gets sick, Allah doesn’t like anyone to oppress his body and He doesn’t like anyone to put his physical body in difficulties and angels will be doing [worship] on his behalf and He doesn’t like anyone to be an oppressor. He doesn’t like anyone to oppress others and he does not like anyone to oppress the physical creation He created.” He said, “Give importance to your body as you don’t want your body to fall apart. For every human being there are special angels created for that human being and all of them are sitting in the Jannat al-muntaha in the Farthest Paradise. They are there. They are
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always waiting. If someone gets sick and they were created for that human being they go and do what that person was supposed to do [of worship].” He said that, “Every day the Prophet in paradise prays with his Sahaaba all of them and with prophets and with awliya and with those who died on imaan, he prays Salaat asSubuh, every day in Paradise.” He said that, “There Sayyidina Bilaal will call adhaan and the Prophet will with all those I mentioned behind him, will stand and pray Salaat al-Fajr.” He said there is my soul, there I am standing with my soul, praying with them and I am so much atashawak yearning for my body to be there, but my body is still here. And my body here is struggling yata-`adhab, struggling and feeling deterioriating and my soul is happy and feeling stronger than before.” He said, angels are preparing me for that to be in that meeting as soon as possible. They call me and present me in the presence of the Prophet and the Presence of Allah . I am waiting for that moment when Allah calls me. It was nearly the end of Rajab the Laylat al-Isra and Mi`raj when he was saying this and he said that, “From this Sha`ban to next Sha`ban there are a lot of things going to happen major issues going to happen, spiritually and physically.” Awliyaullah, Allah gave them knowledge of what will happen from 15th of Sha`ban to 15 Sha`ban, according to their level. He said, “With prayers and with sadaqa Allah prevents affliction to come on human beings. My words are not something that are not true, what I am saying is the truth. When you give sadaqa fee sabeelillah, Allah will give you more life. When you give your awraad and do them daily Allah will reward you to give you higher and higher levels.”
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So when from that side you give sadaqa to poor people and from side of awraad your body will be given rewards and your ruh will be given rewards and you are given life, more or less according to your `amal, He makes it longer or less, or according to what you like if you want to follow the Prophet and want to be in presence of Allah , it depends on your ability and what you like. If you like dunya, Allah will give dunya. If you like akhira Allah will give akhira, it depends on what everyone wants. He said that, “Allah gives every human being an age of 137 years.” In that age, that time frame you will be resurrected on Judgment Day as if you lived 137 years. The Prophet asked that you have longer life then you have longer to worship, not to have longer life for dunya, but for akhira. The Prophet said, “The deeds of my Ummah are shown to me and if I see good I praise Allah and if I see bad I seek repentance and ask forgiveness for them.” If he sees good he prays for us and praises Allah . If he prays for us he asks Allah to give us longer life. That is [if] we are on siraat al-mustaqeem, we are not oppressing our soul, not oppressing our body, not oppressing our brothers and sisters. And if he sees bad, he prays that Allah take them as there is no way to treat them and cure them. [Just] As in medicine there are illnesses that there is no way to treat and cure them and so the person will die, there are in spirituality similar sicknesses that cannot be treated so the Prophet asks Allah to let them die. So Prophet is given authority to ask for their lives to be longer if they are good and if they are not, then he asks to shorten their life. So always keep to the good, as we are always under supervision of awliyaullah and under supervision of the angels. Ana ma`kum ayna ma kuntum. Anywhere you are there is Allah . Don’t say Allah is not there, but He is there and seeing what you are doing and no only seeing what you are doing but also seeing
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the heart and hearing what the heart is whispering to the mind. So when we have that whispering, that sickness what they call autism, what is autism? Like someone takes wudu and cannot stop, compulsively. [Compulsive disorder.] Compulsive disorder. That is a sickness that happens with people. Where was I recently? Montreal? No, in Indonesia, somewhere: Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore. O yes, Singapore and they brought one person that has that compulsive disorder. Allah said, in Holy Qur’an: Qul a`udhu birabbin naas… That is not compulsive disorder—that is the whispering of Shaytaan that is whispering in the mind and the doctors say it is “compulsive disorder” but they cannot treat him. They brought that child; they want to give him medicine to cool down. He goes to the bathroom to take wudu at least one hour shower, two hours he washes, then washes again. He repeats his head, then his head [again]. I spoke with him and told him, “Take ablution” and he was showing me how he was doing it. We brought him [down] from one hour to two minutes. Now he is doing it in two minutes. That is a problem when the heart will keep giving the compulsive disorder, from Shaytaan whispering in the mind of people, “Do this, do this, do this” and they do it, they cannot come out of it, it is impossible. Until they get an electric shock, then they wake up. So Mawlana is saying, “That problem is in the hands Allah , gave to people to fix themselves.” When the Prophet looking at people and observing them and awliya observing them and there is no way to fix, then y’Allah they may go. They give them electric shock. If they wake they wake up. He said, “There was a man in his village,” he said that “he looks like Sayyidina Abu Bakr as-Siddiq .” It means Mawlana Shaykh,
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Allah gave him a vision to see how Sayyidina Abu Bakr asSiddiq looks like. And also In Islamic history we have the features of how the Prophet was looking, how Sayyidina Abu Bakr as-Siddiq was looking. He said, “These descriptions, from physical side and from the spiritual side, looks like him.” And so Mawlana likes to go to that man who has grocery store and buy from him and people like to go and buy from that person. He said, Allah said in Surat ar-Rahman, ﻥ ﺍﻴﺰﻭﺍ ﺍْﻟﻤﺮﺨﺴ ْ ﻭﻟَﺎ ُﺗ ﺴﻂ ﻥ ﺑِﺎْﻟﻘ ﻮ ْﺯ ﻮﺍ ﺍْﻟﻴﻤﻭَﺃﻗ Wa aqeemoo ’l-wazna bi ’l-qisti wa laa tukhsiroo ‘l-meezana So establish weight with justice and fall not short in the balance. [ArRahmaan, 55:9] That means, “Give the according to the balance and don’t make the weight less.” Because you don’t cheat, physically we are speaking. And spiritually Allah gave you a balance for your soul. You have to be very careful how you balance the soul. So this man always put his hand on the balance—don’t take it on the bad side, take it on the good side. He puts the groceries on one side and the weight on the other side but this man put his hand under the weight and made the weight always lighter, by putting it in a way that makes it lighter which means you have to put more groceries. Then looking at the people, if they are poor or less poor. If they are poor he makes the weight not to go down. He said, “He was a generous person like Sayyidina Abu Bakr as-Siddiq , he used to give a lot, without count. He stopped the scale and he gives. What do you think then about the Prophet ? If that is one person doing that, what do you think about Sayyidina Muhammad
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? Of course he will stop the Scale, even one salawaat will be heavier than all the `amal of Bani Adam from creation until Judgment Day. What about Allah ? For one ma`ruf He will give without count, bi ghayri hisaab. And Mawlana said, “Grandshaykh used to come and say, ‘I am coming here for your sake, not for my sake, because you give more, I come with the power of my shaykh, Shaykh Sharafuddin ¬, I come to buy more, because awliya need a hook, by any small `amal, by any good action to hook to the Presence of the Prophet . That is how I hook you to the main wagon of awliyaullah so you become a wagon behind the engine, moving in fast speed in the train of the Prophet .”
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FOR EVERY SICKNESS THERE IS A CURE 26 Ramadan 1427/18 October 2006
A`udhu billahi min ash-shaytaan ir-rajeem Bismillahi 'r-Rahmani 'r-Raheem Nawaytu'l-arba`een, nawaytu'l-`itikaaf, nawaytu'l-khalwah, nawaytu'l-`uzlah, nawaytu'l-riyaada, nawaytu's-salook, lillahi ta`ala fee hadha'l-masjid Ati` Allah wa ati` ar-Rasula wa uli 'l-amri minkum
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randshaykh used to go to that man at his store to buy groceries and that man was giving people things by putting his hand under the scale to give the people more when they are buying, and that is due to his love of Prophet and his love of Allah . And because he knows that they are going to distribute it in Allah’s Way, so he wants to share in that reward and that benefit. Especially when poor people come to him, he used to give them without delay more than what they are buying because he is looking for akhira and not for dunya. He said, “I came to your store to buy from you for your sake and not for my sake. I am taking from you in order that you will be rewarded as we are not taking for ourself, but we are taking for the people in need.”
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They are not taking to make themselves fat, but they are taking to feed others. These days people take from others in order to make themselves fat and they don’t take to help the poor and homeless. Grandshaykh said, “My shaykh used to send me to places like that and many people, `ulama, were calling me and saying, ‘Where are you? We are not seeing you.’ He said, ‘I am in my job. I am fulfilling the orders of my shaykh.’ And they asked him, ‘We don’t see where you are sleeping, we don’t see you in the house.’ He said, ‘No one knows where I am sleeping except my teacher. Because no one knows the responsibility on my shoulder.’” That here he is describing that he is moving here in space, folding space and time, by tayy, folding time and space to reach areas where they are in need for his presence. And that is why Sayyidina Bayazid al-Bistami ¬ used to reflect himself and used to appear in at least 24,000 different places at the same time, depending on his duties and responsibilities. And he used to send his ashkaal, his images, to different places in order that people see him appear here, appear there, in order to help the people in what they need. One time, Grandshaykh said, “There came to me the head of `ulama and he was very weak and my teacher told me, ‘Treat him.’ I looked at him and felt he was very sick. And I looked at him and saw he has a sickness that is very difficult to treat at that time. In this time it is easy, but then it was not. Immediately I ordered an animal to be slaughtered and without telling him what he was eating I gave him the meat of that animal with bread. I used the meat to make a soup and gave him that with bread. I used to make that soup with my hand and I baked the bread. He used to be slim like the pool table stick. I am not seeing anyone here slim. Doctors said [to him], ‘There is no medicine for you, you are going to die.’” He said, “My shaykh used to send me to such people around the world and I go in different shapes appearing to them. And I was
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tabeeb al-quloob wal-ajsaam. I used to treat people’s illness and their energy. If they need energy I send them power. And if I see them physically ill I look on the Preserved Tablet to see what is hidden there to treat them.” So what kind of meat was he eating? Tiger, lion, donkey, cat? We will see. Grandshaykh said, “His name was Bahauddin and I was treating him for three months. After three months he became very strong and his sickness disappeared. So all these ulama and all these doctors who said he was going to die, and he was head of scholars so everyone knew him, they came to Shaykh Sharafuddin ¬ and asked him, ‘how did he recover and become strong?’” “He used to point to me and say, ‘Ask that doctor, he treated him.’ He said that, “Through ma`rifah, knowledge, Allah granted his Prophet two kinds of knowledge; the physical healing and spiritual healing and awliyaullah inherited that. So I saw what was written there, that, ‘This person has to eat this for three months and he will be cured.’” He said, “So it is not according to what you have described, but it is as Allah has described on the Day of Promises, what Allah has written on the Preserved Tablet that, ‘The person on this day will eat this and will be cured.’” Today they only guess. They have hundreds of machines and they use these to rule this out and then rule that out, until they come to a certain illness that they recommend a cure. Awliyaullah look on Preserved Tablets, and the Prophet said that, “For every sickness there is a cure.” Finished. You cannot have doubt in Allah’s Words. They think that this hadith means that these doctors can find the cure. No! It means that awliyaullah can find the cure. They look, as Grandshaykh looked on the Preserved
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Tablet, [and see] “That man needs to eat this meat for three months.” If you have a cancer awliyaullah look, they don’t need to take a biopsy and then say, “We have to take your hand, or your feet or your head, sometimes they take the head.” Now they amputate his hands and feet; later they are going to amputate the head. “Easy, send him to the grave.” Awliya can give the shifa. They say, “Recite 100 times salawat,” finished, with what they say, there is cure. There is cure for everything. Awliya from far away say, “Bismillahi 'r-Rahmani 'rRaheem” and there is cure. So he looked and saw that this man will be cured by eating the meat of this animal. What was that animal? Does anyone know? It was the meat of a horse that had been cured of tuberculosis. Why? Because you see horses, sometimes in Hollywood, Allah gives these people some kind of inspiration, although Allah knows where they will be on Judgment Day, they are not on siraat almustaqeem. You see now they have a white horse with flying wings. They don’t put a donkey with flying wings. They put a horse. Why? Because it is significant. He said that, “Allah created horses and left them in Paradise. That is why people love horses. That is why horses were used for many purposes. Horses were asked to leave Paradise like all animals were asked at one time. But he refused, he said ‘I am not going out, I am staying here.’ He said, ‘You want to go out, you go out, I am looking beautiful here.’ So donkeys went out, others went out.” “Then angels came and said, ‘You are a cure for sick people. Your meat is cure for people who are sick with tuberculosis.’ Then the horse said, ‘If I am going to be of benefit for the human beings then
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I will go, because Allah created everything for the sake of Sayyidina Muhammad and Sayyidina Muhammad is from the human race. I am sacrificing my jannah for the sake of the Prophet .’” Look how animals have respect to Sayyidina Muhammad - while these square-headed people, these Wahabis have no respect to Sayyidina Muhammad - to provide that cure for that sickness of tuberculosis. Grandshaykh said, “At that time seven big doctors began to write articles on that cure and they began to treat their patients from horse meat.” Today they no longer do that. But it may be that the treatment they are giving for tuberculosis is made from horse meat, and they are not showing that. You have to ask. He said, “At that time they wrote about it in newspapers and they wrote in the papers that people who have extra horses should provide them to cure this illness in tuberculosis hospitals.” He said, “That was my duty by my shaykh’s orders to go around the earth and to help sick people.” He said that, “They used to say that horse meat is makruh, disliked.” Donkey meat and horse meat is also disliked. Why is it disliked, although it is a treatment for sick people? He said that, “If they were going to slaughter horses—at that time there was no cars and no transportation—if they were to slaughter them then there is no transportation and nothing for fighting the aggressors. But when it is needed for sick people you can slaughter it.” He said that, “There was a woman that my shaykh has sent me to check her, and she was very sick and she was going to die—she had
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tuberculosis. I looked at her with the hidden knowledge that Allah gave me from the Prophet’s [knowledge] and I saw that if she eats dry raisins, zabeeb, she will be cured. After three months that tuberculosis was gone.” So it depends on what kind of sickness you have and what Allah has written for you to cure that. Now they treat everyone with the same sickness the same. But that is not correct. Awliya they look, as the Prophet said, “for every sickness there is a cure. Li kulli da’in dawaa.” And the belief is important. Always belief will cure you, your faith. `Itiqaad in what the shaykh is giving you or what that Prophet has mentioned of Prophetic Medicine as Allah will send that cure and your body will release hormones according to what you focus on and you will be rejuvenated. One time one of the students of my Shaykh’s shaykh, his foot became swollen and it got gangrene. They told him, “We have to cut your leg or you will die.” He said, “I won’t cut my leg. It is better to let me die.” He went to Shaykh Sharafuddin ¬ and his name was Ahmad and told him, “They want to cut my leg and I prefer to die than cut my leg.” Shaykh Sharafuddin ¬ said, “Go to my son Abdullah.” Mawlana looked at his leg and it was swollen. Allah said: ﻭﺭِ ْﺯ ٌﻕ ﺓﺮ ﻣ ْﻐﻔ ﻢﻥ َﻟﻬ ﻳ ُﻘﻮﻟُﻮ ﺎﻤﻥ ﻣ ﻭﺮﺅ ﺒﻣ ﻚ ﻭَﻟﺌ ُﺃﺎﺕﻴﺒﻠ ﱠﻄﻥ ﻟ ﻮﻴﺒﻭﺍﻟ ﱠﻄ ﲔ ِﻴﺒﻠ ﱠﻄﺕ ﻟ ﺎﻴﺒﻭﺍﻟ ﱠﻄ ﺨﺒِﻴﺜَﺎﺕ َ ْﻠﻥ ﻟ ﺨﺒِﻴﺜُﻮ َ ﻭﺍْﻟ ﲔ ﺨﺒِﻴﺜ َ ْﻠﺕ ﻟ ﺨﺒِﻴﺜَﺎ َ ﺍْﻟ ﻢ َﻛﺮِﻳ Al-khabeethatu lil-khabeetheena wal-khabeethoona lil-khabeethati wattayyibatu lit-tayyibeena wat-tayyiboona lit-tayyibati ula’ika mubarraoona mimma yaqooloona lahum maghfiratun wa rizqun kareem.
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Women impure are for men impure, and men impure for women impure and women of purity are for men of purity, and men of purity are for women of purity: these are not affected by what people say: for them there is forgiveness, and a provision honourable. [An-Nuur, 24:26] He said that, “Anything that is disgusting, bad or vile, goes with vile. And good and sweet goes with sweet. So if you have something that is bad you treat it with the same element. The jins [genus] is with jins. The substance is with the similar substance treated.” That is why penicillin, is a bacteria and they treat you with it, it becomes antibiotics. TBC is cured by penicillin. Something bad with something bad. That is why snake poison is used to cure people with it. So al-khabeethin li’l-khabeethat. Vile things for the vile and good for the good. That is why Allah said in Qur'an, “The bad ladies with bad men and good ladies with good men.” Grandshaykh said, “So I saw that is something vile so how to treat it. I saw that is something vile. How to treat it? With something vile. So I looked at the letters of light that come, like the news scrollers, from the Divine Presence, information comes to awliyaullah, ‘for that person to be treated it must be through pig.’” That is because pig is dirty. Today they will go crazy if you do that. But Prophet said, “That for every sickness there is a cure.” He said, “And I saw that treatment is by pig and so I sent the hunter and it has to be wild pig. So they got that pig and they skinned it and then I ordered that the feet of the lamb and the intestine of the pig, be wrapped with it and we left him fifteen days wrapped with that. After fifteen days we brought all these doctors and pharmaceutical companies and it is still today in the
FOR EVERY SICKNESS THERE IS A CURE • 191
newspapers. We began to open the leg. As we opened it we found that all this bad blood and gangrene that is black had disappeared and the leg had become white, very cured.” He said to the doctors, “Now it is your duty to wrap for him and our duty is finished.” His feet came back as it was before without any deficiency, perfect. The man said, “I will give my life for my shaykh, for my teacher, what he did for me.” He stood at the door of his shaykh until he died. And then he moved to Amman, Jordan and there he died. These are some of things that Grandshaykh used to do and he was describing how he was curing people through different ways, as before we said in 27th Rajab, 1394. Wa min Allah at-tawfeeq and we continue next suhbat next time, bihurmati ‘l-Fatiha. So cure is in the hands of awliyaullah and they can cure any sickness, because Allah gave the secret to the Prophet to cure any sickness. With salawat any sickness can be cured. By saying: Allahuma salli `ala Sayyidina Muhammad , tib al quloobi wal dawaa’ihaa wa `afiyyat al-abdaani wa shifa'iha. He is the source and core of medicine, the praising of the Prophet is cure. Write that and it is cure for any kind of illness. Don’t worry, with the love of Sayyidina Muhammad Allah will cure every sick person and with istaghfirullah Allah cures every sick person.
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MUSAAMAHA,
ASK FORGIVENESS IN PRESENCE OF YOUR SHAYKH 27 Ramadan 1427/19 October 2006
A`udhu billahi min ash-shaytaan ir-rajeem Bismillahi 'r-Rahmani 'r-Raheem Nawaytu'l-arba`een, nawaytu'l-`itikaaf, nawaytu'l-khalwah, nawaytu'l-riyaadah, nawaytu's-salook, nawaytu'l-`uzlah lillahi ta`ala fee hadha'l-masjid Ati` Allah wa ati` ar-Rasula wa uli 'l-amri minkum
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his suhbat was given on the 9 Sha`ban 1394, Grandshaykh was in Beirut before he left to Damascus, he did Laylat nisf Sha`ban, laylat al-bara`at, he did it in Beirut. After that we took him back to Damascus and on the 4th Ramadan he left this dunya. This was one of his last suhbats and he was giving suhbat everyday. You know at the end of long age, of living in this dunya, he was giving this suhbat. And it is very important to take the wisdom of what he is saying to understand that you cannot trust the self. It means all his years, he has been advising and at the end he is still saying the same issue. Because all the time we were running to him and saying, “Ya Sayyidee, musaamaha, and it is common for everyone to run to the wali and ask forgiveness in his presence, as the Sahaaba used to run to the Prophet and ask his forgiveness and for him to ask Allah’s forgiveness for them:
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ﻭْﺍﺟﺪ ﻮ ﻮ ُﻝ َﻟﺮﺳ ﻢ ﺍﻟ ﻬﺮ َﻟ ﺳَﺘ ْﻐ َﻔ ﺍ ﻭﻭْﺍ ﺍﻟّﻠﻪَﺘ ْﻐ َﻔﺮﻭ َﻙ ﻓَﺎﺳﺂﺅﻢ ﺟ ﻬﺴ ﻮْﺍ َﺃ� ُﻔﻢ ﺇِﺫ ﱠﻇَﻠﻤ ﻬ�ﻮ َﺃﱠ ﻭَﻟ ﻉ ﺑِﺈِ ْﺫﻥِ ﺍﻟﻠّﻪ ﻴﻄَﺎﻮﻝٍ ِﺇ ﱠﻻﻟﺭﺳ ﻦﺎ ﻣﺳْﻠﻨ ﺭ ﺎ َﺃﻭﻣ ﺎﻴﻤﺭﺣ ﺎﺍﺑ َﺗﻮﺍﻟّﻠﻪ Wa maa arsalnaa min rasoolin illa li-yuta`a bi-idhnillahi wa law annahum idh dhalamoo anfusahum ja’ooka fastaghfaroollaha wastaghfara lahumu ar-rasoolu la-wajadoollaha tawwaaban raheema We sent not an apostle, but to be obeyed, in accordance with the will of Allah . If they had only, when they were unjust to themselves, come unto thee and asked Allah's forgiveness, and the Messenger had asked forgiveness for them, they would have found Allah indeed Oftreturning, Most Merciful. [An-Nisaa, 4:64] If they found they were oppressors to themselves they come to you, Ya Muhammad and ask Allah’ forgiveness in his presence… So to whom the Sahaaba have to run? They have to run to the Prophet . And in our time the Prophet is present, but we cannot see him physically because we are veiled through our sins. So we run to someone who is not veiled to the Prophet’s appearance and is always in his spiritual presence, one of Allah’s saints. So that is why Allah has assigned saints, about which He said: ﻥ ﺰ�ُﻮ ﺤ ﻳ ﻢ ﻫ ﻭ َﻻ ﻢ ﻴِﻬﻋَﻠ ﻑ ﻮ ﺧ َﻻﺎﺀ ﺍﻟﻠّﻪﻴﻭﻟ َﺃﺃَﻻ ِﺇﻥ Alaa inna awliya’Allahi laa khawfun `alayhim wala hum yahzanoon. Behold! verily on the friends of Allah there is no fear, nor shall they grieve; [Jonah, 10:62]
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Allah sent saints and spread them, as in the hadith qudsi, “My saints are under My domes, no one knows them except Me.” That means they are everywhere. Allah has made them a way to take people to the Prophet . That is why we used to run to Grandshaykh and ask him musaamaha, “Ya sayyidee, present our istighfaar to Prophet and Prophet present it to Allah .” He said, “What are you asking forgiveness, for what are you asking forgiveness? To forgive you from your mistakes and sins. The real musaamaha is when you want to ask forgiveness, be sure to ask forgiveness after you have left all manhiyyaat and followed all things ordered ma'mooraat. Of course you have to ask musaamaha after you make a sin, repent. But you cannot advance; you stay in same place, because you make sin and repent, make sin and repent. I cannot take these veils until you are no longer following Shaytaan, then you will follow Rahman.” The meaning of musaamaha = ask forgiveness in presence of your Shaykh = ask forgiveness in the presence of Prophet . Musaamaha = make sin, ask forgiveness. The real musaamaha is to go higher and higher, leaving what Allah ordered to leave and practicing nawaafil. That is the way to slowly increase and increase, then you reach the top of the ladder there you are in level of association. There are many levels there, but at least you enter the first level. That is what I understand from musaamaha. For sure when you die and you have repented you find that level in the grave. Allah is Generous, He said, “Whoever asks My repentance will be in Paradise,” for sure, but if you want to be unveiled from darkness, you must keep growing, as a child keeps growing and they keep growing until they reach a certain age and then they reach maturity, they
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reach manhood or womanhood and then no more to grow. Growing as you are young and then as you grow up you will be with your level and play with them. Children play with children their age, not with children that are older, as they will beat them. They don’t play with children that are older than them as they will beat them, but they might play with [much] older ones as they are mature and they won’t beat them. So according to their level of maturity, children play with each other. But still young children can play with those who are mature because they are at the level that they are peaceful and know how to make them happy. So you are still like children and come to awliyaullah, you ask musaamaha, and you feel happy. They know how to play with you as they know how to make you happy. You cannot be with other mureeds as they will beat you. You feel safe in the presence of awliya but mureed to mureed that is where you will fall in disagreement. There he wants you to be in agreement. He wants you to be happy and be in agreement with everyone. There he wants you to love as you love the shaykh. Then the musaamaha is acceptable, else before that the musaamaha is not acceptable. Grandshaykh said, “What I am speaking to the mountain? My talks are always addressed to you to be mature. But as if I am speaking to the mountains.” It means, “All my life I am trying to raise you to maturity but still seeing a huge mountain in front of me.” That means a huge ego. Grandshaykh was strict to the point, he is straight forward. You are blind, you are blind. He doesn’t take the easy way, he bombards. No one is big to him, even the elephant. To him it is an ant. He said, “Why do I do that? There is a wisdom. I carry the
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responsibility and you come clean. I bombard not you, Allah only can bombard you, but I bombard the bad characters within you.” When we are angry, we are fighting because we are angry with your body, with your self. The awliya don’t look at your outside, they look and bombard to kill the bad behaviors. Don’t be upset and don’t ask why am I being bombarded. That is a cleansing process and there must be a wisdom and reason that bombardment is coming. Grandshaykh did not say, “This one is this and this one is that.” He throws on everyone. Sometime he throws on the high level ones in order that everyone can listen and understand. To say, “You may be like that one day.” Even the elephant is not big. Teeny weenie tiny winy itsy bitsy [spider] tiny to me, everything is tiny to me. If I let you to think yourself big, then you become like Iblees. That is the characteristic. Awliya are worried for the character of their followers as if they make them big then they fall down. That is not like Mawlana Shaykh Nazim ¬. He has different tajallis. Every wali has different tajallis. When Mawlana Shaykh was in his forties or fifties he was so strict. But when Grandshaykh passed he became very soft; that is why people run to Mawlana Shaykh. From east and west people run to meet him. That is because of the diplomacy he has. In time of Grandshaykh he was more majestic. That was Ottoman time, time of real men still. At that time Ottomans and then at the time of the army, everything was strong and disciplined. Today there is no discipline. So people are like that. Then awliya become like that running like rivers down the mountain. Grandshaykh said, “I am seeing your ego like a mountain, it cannot accept anything.”
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One mureed was in seclusion by order of Mawlana Shaykh Nazim ¬ 35 years ago. He was young and he was telling us when we were in that seclusion in Lebanon, that he saw after many days of seclusion—after 30 days—he saw coming out of him when he went to the bathroom a huge monster coming out of him and that was coming to kill him. And he was running to Mawlana’s room to get shelter. And he was shouting. And Mawlana said, “What happened?” He said, “A monster is coming to kill me!” Then Mawlana said, “That is your ego.” They open to see the reality of the ego. When you release a gas it spread and fills the whole space. Like an air freshener. Similarly the devil when it is released it expands and fills space. In your body it is compressed and it fills the entire system of the body. Million of miles of veins in the body it is overtaking all that, when it is released it is a huge monster. The awliyaullah are hitting on that monster in order to kill it, not hitting on you. That is the wisdom of seclusion. That is to kill that monster. That monster, if not killed completely from the roots it will grow another time. Grass when you cut it, if there is rain, it will grow again. Look at the wisdom. In these countries when the snow comes the grass freezes it does not die. So when the awliya speak the monster freezes. But when you water them back they grow up another time. Wherever you freeze them you can freeze them for a while, in their association they can freeze that Shaytaan inside you. As soon as that wali goes somewhere then you water it, watering that Shaytaan back. Because, “We are partners. I cannot leave my partner.” As today people say, “We have partners.” One time I was in conference and one man was introduced to me and there was a lady sitting with him and he said, “This is my partner.” I said, “O
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she is a good partner, how much are you paying her?” He didn’t understand what I am saying and I didn’t understand what he is saying. He said, “No, no, she is my girlfriend.” Shaytaan is like that—a partner. He is your boyfriend and you are his girlfriend. If you are a man, you are the girl and he is the man. And if you are a lady, he becomes the woman and you become the man. So he knows the personality. They know what, so choose what you want. They hit on these characters that are inside us. That is why Sayyidina Ubaydullah al-Ahrar ¬ said, “Asma`oo wa aawoo - listen and take heed, fa idha wa`aytum fantafi`u - then you get benefit.” So when you understand and you are aware of what is going on, and you believe this devil is taking you over then get benefit. So awliyaullah hit on us so we can get benefit. They want to wake us up. So what you do when sleepy, you run to take wudu. So when they hit on you, run and make ablution. When the Shaykh is not there and Shaytaan is hitting you go and make ablution and recite, “A`udhu billahi min ash-Shaytaan ir-rajeem Bismillahi 'rRahmani 'r-Raheem.” Then Shaytaan will run. So Sayyidina Ubaydullah ¬ was saying, “Listen and take heed then you get benefit.” If you take benefit you will be in presence of awliyaullah and the Presence of the Prophet . And Grandshaykh was saying this before he left dunya by twenty days. On the 4th of Ramadan he left and this was 14th of Sha`ban. So how many days? 9th Sha`ban. So around 25 days. He spent all his life in teaching and teaching and at the end he said that, “I am teaching to mountains.” Ego is a mountain. Ego is a mountain that you have to put dynamite and blow it up in order to go to other
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side. You cannot open a tunnel and you cannot climb it to get to other side. The ego must be destroyed complete. May Allah give us wisdom to follow their orders and to be able to reach the Presence of Sayyidina Muhammad . Wa min Allah at-tawfeeq, bihurmati ‘l-Fatiha.
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LISTEN AND TAKE HEED 27 Ramadan 1427/19 October 2006 (Second Suhba)
A`udhu billahi min ash-shaytaan ir-rajeem Bismillahi 'r-Rahmani 'r-Raheem Nawaytu'l-arba`een, nawaytu'l-`itikaaf, nawaytu'l-khalwah, nawaytu'l-riyaadah, nawaytu's-salook, nawaytu'l-`uzlah lillahi ta`ala fee hadha'l-masjid Ati` Allah wa ati` ar-Rasula wa uli 'l-amri minkum A`udhu billahi min ash-shaytaan ir-rajeem
S
o Sayyidina Ubaydullah al-Ahrar , what did he say as mentioned in the previous session? Listen and take heed, if you take heed you get benefit. Asma`oo wa awoo, fa idha awaytum fantafi`u – listen and take heed, if you take heed you benefit.
What is necessary for you, you take and what is not necessary for you leave. What concerns you take and what doesn't concern you leave. And don't try to analyze if 2 people for example are disputing, difference in opinion, even up to they go to argue and fight with each other, what is your duty to do? Your duty is to keep away. Because you might not be able to analyze correctly, so don't blame this one or that one when you hear something, as you don't know who is on truth and who it not.
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That is why the hadith of the Prophet , “al-qaatil wal maqtool finaari abadan - The one who kills and the one killed are in hellfire forever.” They said, “We don't understand why the one killed is in hellfire.” Prophet said that, “The one who was killed, if he had been faster he would have killed the first one.” So his intention was to kill. So you don't know what is going on. So adab is, as many people see things in the news and being to give their opinion. You don't know the situation on the ground there so when you give it, it might be false. So most of these talk shows are wrong in their analysis. You are building your structure on false information so everything will fall down. So you will be as in Qur’an: ﻪ ﻭﺍﻟّﻠ ﻢ ﻨﻬ ﺟ ِﻲ �َﺎﺭ ﻓﺭ ﺑِﻪ ﺎﺎﺭٍ َﻓﺎْ�ﻬ ﻫﺮﻑ ﺟ ﺷﻔَﺎ ﻰ ﻋَﻠ ﻪ �َﻴﺎﻨﺑ ﺲ ﺳ ﻦ َﺃ ﻣ ﺮ ﺃَﻡ ﻴﺧ ٍﺍﻥﺿﻮ ْ ِﻭﺭ ﻦ ﺍﻟﻠّﻪ ﻯ ﻣﻋﻠَﻰ َﺗ ْﻘﻮ ﻪ �َﻴﺎﻨﺑ ﺲ ﺳ ﻦ َﺃ ﻤ َﺃَﻓ ﲔ ﻤﻡ ﺍﻟ ﱠﻈﺎﻟﻮ ﻱ ﺍْﻟ َﻘﻬﺪﻳ َﻻ Afaman assasa bunyaanahu `ala taqwa mina Allahi wa ridwaanin khayrun am man assasa bunyaanahu `ala shafaa jurufin haarin fa-anhara bihi fee naari jahannama w’Allahu laa yahdi’l-qawma aldh-dhalimeena. Which then is best? - he that layeth his foundation on piety to Allah and His good pleasure? - or he that layeth his foundation on an undermined sand-cliff ready to crumble to pieces? And it doth crumble to pieces with him, into the fire of Hell. And Allah guideth not people that do wrong. [At-Tawbah, 9:109] He said that, “Who is better the one who has build his building on a good foundation of sincerity and piety or that one who build his foundation on a cliff that it has no good foundation, he built his building on that cliff and one time that building is going to fall and what he did is going to be continuously falling into hellfire?”
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So you cannot build your building on backbiting or on something that is not true. ﲔ ﺩﻣﻢ �َﺎ ﻌْﻠُﺘ ﺎ َﻓﻋﻠَﻰ ﻣ ﻮﺍﺼِﺒﺤ َﻓُﺘﻬﺎَﻟﺔ ﺠ ﺎ ِﺑﻮﻣ ﻮﺍ َﻗﻴﺒﻮﺍ ﺃَﻥ ُﺗﺼﻴﻨﺒ َﻓَﺘﺒﺄﻨِﻖ ﺑ ﻢ ﻓَﺎﺳ ﺎﺀ ُﻛﻮﺍ ﺇِﻥ ﺟﻣﻨ ﻦ ﺁ ﻳﺎ ﺍﱠﻟﺬﻳﻬﺎ َﺃﻳ Yaa ayyuha alladheena amanoo in jaakum fasiqun bi-naba’in fatabayyanoo an tuseeboo qawman bi-jahalatin fatusbihoo `ala ma fa`altum naadimeen. O ye who believe! If a wicked person comes to you with any news, ascertain the truth, lest ye harm people unwittingly, and afterwards become full of repentance for what ye have done. [Al-Hujuurat, 49:6] “O believers if someone comes to you with a false news, corrupted one, check it out before you make your decisions.” It is better not to listen, because when you make decision based on false information from someone who is corrupted you might bad decision but if you don't listen you will avoid the problem. But if you are so curious and nosy and you want to put your nose everywhere in every hole and smell the stinky smell then you are going to fall down. It is better what to do, I am not going to listen, go and say to someone else. That is adab, that is respect, that way you save yourself. But if you are nosy, you are curious, then you want to dig. Grandshaykh gave an example of digging. When you go to the desert and you want to make wudu, what do you do? You do it somewhere behind a bush and then cover it with sand. Safe, if someone comes who is nosy, he takes a stick and turns it upside down and what happens. It release the smell. Look at the adab, with cats. Cats cover what they do. Learn from animals what they do, adab. Dogs don't have adab. Dogs no adab, he confirmed it, like donkeys no adab. [everyone laughs]. What are you laughing for? This is teaching. This is not ok, looking at bad movies is ok? Which is better to look at bad movies
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or to learn? Which is better. [to learn] that is better. On TV they show you haraam things and everyone of us is looking very carefully. And this one is laughing. Why are you nosy. Yes, he put his nose everywhere. So cats they have adab and dogs have no adab. But dogs have loyalty. So to each animal, Allah gave different character. If you have cat with you on the street you don't have to carry a leash. But with dogs you see them carrying they are carrying the dogs and carrying on the other hand 100 lb. Leash, to clean after them, else you get a ticket, 100 dollars. So it means you have to clean after yourself, else there is heavenly ticket you don't know how much that heavenly ticket is. So you don't want to contaminate everyone with that smells so Allah in one verse, if anyone comes to you with a false story check it, else you fall into accusing someone wrongly, of something he didn't do. Because the picture was given to you wrong. Then you are going to regret. After what? After that person has been killed. How many people sitting in prisons for accuse of something they didn't do. So Grandshaykh is teaching us adab, listen and take heed and then when you heed you get benefit. When you are not listening but you are, on the advice of the shaykh when he is giving irshaad. This is for those who have right to give irshaad. Not for normal meeting. That is not for those speaking on Qur’an and hadith but they have not been in tariqah given the right to do irshaad. For them it is ok if there is slight lapse of attention. But when listening to irshad you must be very careful and you must not even move in their presence. You cannot move your left hand. You cannot scratch your head and you cannot scratch your beard or play with your beard. Sayyidina Shaykh Sharafuddin ¬, Grandshaykh said, used to say that, “In my association anyone who scratches his cheek or his
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hand or his forehead it will bring the level of my speech seven levels down.” It means you have to be sitting with full meditation, full rabitah with the shaykhs heart, no movement. Connecting there. Any movement will drop this association seven levels down. The secret is gone. As if you have disturbed the whole secret that the shaykh is giving. Even if someone is doing tasbeeh on his bead then quickly it cuts the level of the suhbat down. He said, “I must cut down level of the suhbat else there will be a short circuit, as when you plug something and there are sparks. My suhbat is going so strong, and that person is moving, not paying attention, that hurts my heart and as if that suhbat is not able to go through the different hearts and I am connection all the hearts through that circuit going from the right all around to the left, so if anyone has short outcome that circuit cannot go through very fine wires. The wire will burn. So I have immediately for this not to happen, to bring the association seven levels down else that person will be completely burned.” See how much the words of awliya are full, what kind of light they are carrying, what kind of light they are carrying. That speech is moving energy through the hearts of people like a circuit and moving back in the full circuit. That is why they don't like anyone in their association who is not interested. That is why they don't like children to be around because with their noise they bring heart of the shaykh down, there is a short circuit and the shaykh cannot carry. Anyone who is looking and seeing a dispute between two people. I might disagree with you and say it is like this and no it is not. You broke it and I have to put wires. No, you did it... the people are entering in a fight. You argue with your wife all the time. People argue with each other. And it ends up with dispute. He said, be
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careful don't interfere. The one who kills and the one being killed are both in hellfire. That bad energy that comes from 2 people who are killing each other will dress you and you become similar, no difference. You bring a magnet and a nail, all of you know that. You put the magnet over the nail and it attracts it. You put many nails and it attracts them, as much as it is powerful. It sucks them, as much as it is powerful. Now take that nail that was attracted to the magnet, it will now attract a small nail. It took some of that, physics, it is magnetized already. So the bad energy of two people who are arguing already, will cause you to get bad energy and they might repent but you will not repent as you don't realize you are doing something wrong. You become stinky with that energy. You never realize you did something wrong and you never repent and that is the meaning of tifl an-nafs al- madhmoumah. The bad ego, the self that is always madhmoum. Madhmoum is something that is always disgusted, that is vile, that self and the ego that I considered bad, very bad. This is madhmoum, very bad, don't talk about it. So human begins when they are children and they are exposed to the arguments of their parents and that bad energy is being dressed on your children with husband and wife or with brothers and sisters. So when this happens run away. That will come on you and dress you and you come out and you don't repent. You are bankrupted from moral excellence to be resurrected with pious people and prophets. You will be on the first level. That person is falling into killing also, he is part of that because he was looking at them and he never repented and so on Judgment Day he will be with them. That teaching here is not put your finer or your nose into something that is not your concern. Who cares [Allah ď ‰]. Confirmed. We have to keep him here to confirm all the time. That is what happened to us from being a child. That is why we are increasing bad manners in us without
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feeling. When you are increasing your bad manners leaving good manners allowing your self to take the bad manners, this way you never accept anyone's opinion. Where to listen to the shaykh. Try to eliminate this from you then you will be able to listen to the Shaykh. Because when you … you are doubting. You must know that this bad energy is coming from… that is why there are ascetics. These awliyaullah went far from everyone that is why it is recommended to be in a jungle to be very far, see nothing but goats and sheep and geese and birds and chickens. You don't want to see tigers and hyenas and lions. They all run after dead stinky flesh, the corpse. You go in the desert you see them running after this dead flesh, and it is very... but domestic animals are very… why because they eat grass, very nice. What is grass in Arabic. It is hasheesh, it has a different meaning. So grass in Arabic is hashish, so they eat this grass and they have no stress. Then they understand according to the verse of Qur’an: ﻳ ْﺄ ُﻛ َﻞ ﻢ ﺃَﻥ ﺪ ُﻛ ﺣ ﺐ َﺃ ﻳﺤﻌﻀًﺎ َﺃ ﺑ ﻀﻜُﻢ ُ ﻌ ﺑ ﻳ ْﻐﺘَﺐ ﻭﻟَﺎ ﻮﺍﺴﺴ ﺠ ﻭﻟَﺎ َﺗ ﻢ ﻦ ﺇِْﺛ ﺾ ﺍﻟ ﱠﻈ ﻌ ﺑ ﻦ ِﺇﻥ ﻦ ﺍﻟ ﱠﻈ ﻣ ﺍﲑﻮﺍ َﻛﺜﺒَﺘﻨﻮﺍ ﺍﺟﻣﻨ ﻦ ﺁ ﻳﺎ ﺍﱠﻟﺬﻳﻬﺎ َﺃﻳ َﻟ ﻢ ﻴﺭﺣ ﺏ ﻮﺍ ﻪ َﺗ ﺍﻟﱠﻠﻪ ِﺇﻥ ﺍﱠﺗﻘُﻮﺍ ﺍﻟﱠﻠﻩ ﻭﻮﻫُﺘﻤ ﻴﺘًﺎ َﻓ َﻜ ِﺮﻣ ﻴﻪﻢ َﺃﺧ ﺤ Ya ayyuha alladheena amanoo ijtaniboo katheeran mina aldhdhanni inna ba`ada aldh-dhanni ithmun wa laa tajassasoo wa laa yaghtab ba`dukum ba`dan ayuhibbu ahadukum an yaakula lahma akheehi maytan fakarihtumoohu wattaqoo Allaha inna Allaha tawwaabun raheemun. Ye who believe! Avoid suspicion as much (as possible): for suspicion in some cases is a sin: And spy not on each other behind their backs. Would any of you like to eat the flesh of his dead brother? Nay, ye would abhor it...But fear Allah . For Allah is Oft-Returning, Most Merciful. [AlHujuurat, 49:12]
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O ye who believe stay far from suspicion… It means everything has doubts in it. When he says katheeran min adh-dhan, we are contaminated with a lot of doubts. So try to avoid a lot of doubts. Some doubts let you fall into a sin and don't spy on each other, don't spy on what your brother is doing. Do you like to eat his stinky flesh. You want to kill him and eat him. When you doubt him you are killing him and eating him. You are reporting wrong information. So once two Sahaba came to the Prophet and said we have stomachache. Prophet said, “You ate meat.” They both said, “No, we did not eat meat in a long time.” He said, “No, you ate meat. Go and vomit it.” They went to vomit it out. So … of your brother, and act a wild animal. Act like domestic. … when you die…. Waiting for you. We are believes, either we believe or we don't. Do we believe in Islam? Yes! Do we believe in Prophet Muhammad as seal of messengers? Yes! Do we believe in last day, yes, do we believe in death? Yes! Do we believe in resurrection day? Yes! Do we believe in eternal life? Yes! So if this life is short compared to the external life why do we have to make this life filled with pleasure. Reserve the pleasure for akhira that is the most pleasure for a human being. For akhira you have eternal life. For dunya you have limited life. We are preferring limited life to eternal life. All of us, we are not saying any particular person. So we say ask for our shuyukh to give us more love to akhira than to this life. Even though in Qur’an Allah said, ﻬﻢﻨﻨ ًﺔ ﻭِﻣﺴ ﺣ ﺮﺓ ﻲ ﺍﻵﺧﻭﻓ ﻨ ًﺔﺴ ﺣ ﺎﺪْ�ﻴ ﻲ ﺍﻟﺎ ﻓﻨﺎ ﺁﺗﺑﻨﺭ ﻳﻘُﻮ ُﻝ ﻦﺎﺭِ ﻣﺏ ﺍﻟﻨ ﻋﺬَﺍ ﺎﻨﻭﻗ Wa minhum man yaqoolu rabbana atina fee alddunya hasanatan wa filaakhirati hasanatan wa qinaa `adhaaba an-naari.
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And there are men who say: “Our Lord! Give us good in this world and good in the Hereafter, and defend us from the torment of the Fire!” [AlBaqarah, 2:201] But Sayyidina `Ali how did he explain that. He said, “`amal lidunyaaka ka-annaka tamootu ghadan wa `amal li-akhirati ka annaka tamoot ghadan `ala qadr baqaa’ika feeh.” Not in the way of Shaytaan. Bihurmati ‘l-Fatiha. These association are of such kinds. Laylatal-Qadr was a powerful association that took place. Allah opened for Sayyidina Mahdi a big opening. A big opening came for Sayyidina Mahdi who is waiting for a sign. And through my shaykh and Grandshaykh from Mawlana shaykh Nazim ¬ information that before last night in a vision where Grandshaykh he mentioned something that Grandshaykh said to me something that made my heart happy and understanding from that the very soon there is going to be a big event happening and Sayyidina Mahdi has been dressed with a heavenly dress coming with black clothes, complete black turban and black clothes. This is what came to us with some detail which we cannot explain now, and insha-Allah it will have impact for humanity to live happily in justice, in full justice in earth. Wa min Allah at-tawfeeq, bihurmati ‘l-Fatiha.
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WHY DO WE TAKE A SHAYKH 28 Ramadan 1427/20 October 2006 After Salat Fajr and Tahajjud
A`udhu billahi min ash-shaytaan ir-rajeem Bismillahi 'r-Rahmani 'r-Raheem Nawaytu'l-arba`een, nawaytu'l-`itikaaf, nawaytu'l-khalwah, nawaytu'l-`uzlah, nawaytu'l-riyaada, nawaytu's-salook, lillahi ta`ala fee hadha'l-masjid Ati` Allah wa ati` ar-Rasula wa uli 'l-amri minkum
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n the previous session we were explaining from the notes of Grandshaykh that about an-nafs al-madhmoumah. And because of that tifl an-nafs al-madhmoumah, the shaykh is giving advice but you never listen to what he says because your self, the bad ego, or ananiyya, will prevent you from listening to what they want you to do and to obey. Why do we take a shaykh, for what reason. The simple reason is that he knows more than us. Since he knows more than us what is our duty? To listen. It is the similar example of the parents and the children, the father and mother. The children always resist to listen to their parents. What do they say? They say, “They are backwards, stupid, they know nothing, we know everything.� Even young ones. But when you are in problem, where do you go? To your parents. So if they are backwards why go to them when you are in a
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problem? Why run to them? Solve it by yourself. Since you are not backwards and you aren’t from the Stone Age, then why listen to your parents? If you consider your parents from the Stone Age, you are not from Stone Age, you are worse than Stone Age. That is why mashaykh, shuyukh they are not from the Stone Age. They are guides that have learned the way and have become mature, not mature according to the level of the people’s understanding or perception, but according to what Allah is granting to them that respect and granting that honor that they reached maturity of “manhood”. “Manhood” applies to men and women, we use a general term, generic that is used in Holy Qur’an. And that is where Allah said, Rijaalun sadaqoo ma `ahad-allaha alayh. Here men means saints that keep their covenant with Allah , they never changed, they reached that maturity and Allah is certifying that yes they reached maturity and Prophet is certifying, “Yes they reached maturity, and they are in my association in Diwan al-awliya in the Court of the Prophet , they are always there and there is not one minute or moment that they are not in that Presence of the Prophet , according to their levels. They are all in the Presence of the Prophet but not physically, some of them one hour in presence, some one minute, some 24 hours.” So those who reached that maturity, that is why we take them as our guides. You cannot take a father who is not your father to consider him your father as a guide. That is impossible. So awliyaullah know whom Allah has given to them from the Ummah. For them that is a big sin. They look to their own only, others they are not interested in. They don’t look at others’ students. Allah did not give them the others. They only look a
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their own. students.
It is a sin for awliya for one to look at the others’
So Grandshaykh is saying that our ego prevents us from listening to the shaykh as the children’s egos prevent them from listening to their parents. So that is why the shaykh will have a lot of mureeds. Some shaykhs from the Golden Chain are so famous, are known everywhere. Some of them their names are hidden, only a few know them. That depends on what Allah has given them. So Sayyidina Shah Naqshband ¬, his name was everywhere, Sayyidina Shaykh Khalid al-Baghdadi ¬--his name was known everywhere and Sayyidina Shaykh Nazim ¬ his name is known everywhere. But because his name is everywhere doesn’t mean they are his mureeds. They are at the level of lovers, not mureeds. And they are still running in circles they are not advancing anywhere. The example of that is Sayyidina `Abdul Qadir al-Jilani ¬ and Haroon al-Rashid. The whole country was the mureeds of `Abdul Qadir al-Jilani ¬. And mureeds were exempt from the army. So Haroon al-Rashid doesn’t have many men in his army. Then one day another country came to attack them. So Haroon al-Rashid went so Sayyidina `Abdul Qadir al-Jilani ¬ and told him, “They are attacking us and we have not enough army to fight them. What do we have to do?” Sayyidina `Abdul Qadir al-Jilani ¬ said, “I will prepare for you a large army. Prepare a large area with a hill and a tent on top of the hill.” So Haroon al-Rashid prepared that and then Sayyidina `Abdul Qadir al-Jilani ¬ announced that, “I want all my mureeds to come and this is the day to dress all of them with high level of ma’rifah.”
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So they all came in huge numbers to that area. So he ordered one butcher to bring two lambs and go inside the tent at the top of the hill. Then he declared, “I decided to sacrifice my students for Allah’s Sake. Who would like to be the first one to give his life for Allah and the Prophet and myself?” Between the whole crowd one skinny man was coming out running and climbing the hill to the tent and said, “I am ready my Sayyidee!” Then Sayyidina `Abdul Qadir al-Jilani ¬ said, “This is the first one I am going to sacrifice.” So he entered the tent and he ordered the butcher to slaughter the goat and show the blood running down the hill and he ordered the mureed to shake. So the mureed is shaking and the blood is running. They looked and said, “What is this? This is real,” and half of them ran away. They are not any more mureeds. They left. They are stubborn, they don’t listen. That is our situation. Then he said, “Who will be the second? I am waiting. Who will be second?” Then a lady came up and said, “I am ready.” She was wife of the first man. They took her inside and he slaughtered the second goat and he told her to shake. So she was shaking and shaking. They didn’t have at that time binoculars, you can cheat them too much. Even they didn’t have binoculars, but awliya can … it. So shaking and shaking and Haroon al-Rashid was looking —all of them ran away. In that huge open space, no one was left. Then he told Haroon al-Rashid, “Take them all, I have these mureeds only, not more than that.” That is an answer that Mawlana Shaykh recently said, in a suhbat that there is coming a time very soon that I will be left with very few sincere mureeds around me and the rest are going to run away. Because there is coming a sift that his going to sift everyone and
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shake everyone. The stones are going to stay on the top and the ones that have no more self, means they no longer have a form— what happens to them? They go down in that pot, which will contain them. Because there is no form they go through these holes. They have destroyed their egos; there is no more standing up. They are submitting in the ocean of the will of their Shaykh; they are submitting in the Ocean of the Will of the Prophet ; they are submitting in the Ocean of the Will of Allah . And they go down into the container, while those who are rocks, take them out and throw them away. We hope not to be rocks, and those who are hearing or listening around the globe not to be rocks, that they are not rocks, but that they are easy going, that they step over their ego. When you are sick they give you a medicine and they tell you to keep taking until you are clear. If you have cholesterol you have to keep taking it. You cannot stop. You have diabetes, you keep taking it. You cannot stop. Awliyaullah keep speaking about the ego, so they are seeing us still sick. If we don’t have ananiyya they take us to higher level of journey to reach the Presence of Prophet and Presence of Allah . But as long as they are speaking of ego, then there is no way to reach. You still need to be purified of your sickness. So there no sickness is permitted. You must be straightforward. So according to the verse:
ﻳﻠًﺎﺒﺪﺪﻟُﻮﺍ َﺗ ﺑ ﺎﻭﻣ ﺮ ﻨَﺘﻈﻦ ﻳﻢ ﻣﻨﻬﻭﻣ ﻪ ﺒﺤ �َ ﻦ َﻗﻀَﻰﻢ ﻣﻨﻬ َﻓﻤﻴﻪﻋَﻠ ﻪ ﻭﺍ ﺍﻟﱠﻠﻫﺪ ﺎﺎ ﻋﺪﻗُﻮﺍ ﻣ ﺻ ﺎ ٌﻝﲔ ﺭِﺟ ﻨﺆﻣ ﻤ ﻦ ﺍْﻟ ﻣ Mina al-mumineena rijalun sadaqoo ma `ahadoo Allaha `alayhi faminhum man qada nahbahu wa minhum man yantadhiru wa maa baddaloo tabdeela. Among the Believers are men who have been true to their covenant with Allah . of them some have completed their vow (to the extreme), and
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some (still) wait: but they have never changed (their determination) in the least: [Al-Ahzab, 33:23] They are “men” who kept their covenant with Allah . Some of them died and some of them are waiting. What is qada nahba in English, “Passed away.” Here there is another meaning: “They passed away from their own egos; they passed away from their own selfishness, they left it behind and entered the Divine Presence. The others want to do the same but they are still waiting and they are on the way and on the road, they never changed their way, whatever obstacles were coming they keep going and ma badaloo tabdeela. They didn’t reach yet but their beliefs never changed. They still have traces of their illness. The Prophet said, “If you want to see someone who died before he died look at Abu Bakr as-Siddiq .” He is the spiritual father of all Naqshbandi students. The chain of Mawlana Shaykh goes all the way back to Sayyidina Abu Bakr asSiddiq . So the Prophet said, “Who wants to see someone who died before he died look at Abu Bakr as-Siddiq .” It means he passed from connection to dunya and he passed from connection to bad desire and he went. But that doesn’t mean don’t do business. He was a businessman and he had people working for him. He spent all his wealth to help the Prophet . Don’t say, “I have to leave and sit in the corner.” That is not for you, that. That is only for some people; not for everyone. Your duty is to work, to raise your children and guide them to that way and to support the message of spirituality that is in Islam. In that way you fix the difficulties in the world the hegemony of tyranny in the earth will be saved by the teaching of our master. Show it to the human race. And that is coming here a big example from Mawlana Shaykh where he said that, “For example, if a monk comes to us here, in his
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presence he is speaking, he comes to the presence of the shaykh in his association, sitting.” Look that is very important that many students, many mureeds are falling into that sickness. And this is speaking in 1394. Today is 1427. How many years? 37? He said, “If a monk comes and sitting listening, immediately, out of no respect to me, many of those who are sitting there will begin to do da`wah on him. Try to convert him. Is that correct? Yes, they do that. He said “That is forbidden. You don’t need to do da`wah. He came to my presence. That is not your duty. Even I speak with him it is not your duty to give da`wah to him. Because your business is not him, it is me. Your concentration is on me, not him. You think my words are not enough for him? I put one word and I … You put yourself more knowledgeable than him, then you fall like Iblees in hellfire. You must leave him. Because in our understanding, in spirituality, is that you have to listen to everyone and see what he says. And you have to see who is speaking through him.” Don’t listen, that is what we make that mistake, don’t listen at that forum but listen who is behind that forum, that body, that monk. Who is making his tongue to move, who is making his heart to move? Take a lesson, take what you like and leave what you don’t like and make da`wah on yourself. You cannot make da`wah when you have not gotten rid of you ego. Most of our students are da`wah machines, they aren’t trying to clean themselves. Look at yourself. Your garden is invaded by wild animals, and your neighbor’s garden has bees in it. So the bees are going to suck the roses and make them die. Look at your own garden. That sickness is everywhere.
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Grandshaykh said, “Don’t listen to the one who is speaking, but listen to the One who makes him to speak.” Laa tasma` lil-mutakallim … “Let this monk be a teacher to your, listen to what he says and take what you want. The only difference between us and the monk is that the monk is associating with Allah . So don’t listen to that, but listen to his wisdom. Lot of things come on his tongue of wisdom—leave the shirk aside and take and run with what is good. It is not permitted on my mureeds to throw on him anything back.” The Prophet said in a hadith qudsee, “That if a servant comes to Me one hand I come to him one arm and if he comes to Me walking I come to him running.” Grandshaykh is telling you here that if anyone comes to you one hand, go to him one arm and if he comes walking go to him running. Go with him 99 steps and when he sees you with his wisdom going along, then with one foot he is already there. Then otherwise we are following our ego, “O we are doing him da`wah.” Allah said to the Prophet in the Holy Qur'an: ﻦ ﻳﻬَﺘﺪﻤ ﻢ ِﺑﺎْﻟ ﻋَﻠ ﻮ َﺃ ﻫ ﻭ ﺎﺀﻳﺸ ﻦﻱ ﻣﻬﺪﻳ ﻪ ﻦ ﺍﻟﱠﻠ ﻭَﻟﻜ ﺖ ﺒﺒﺣ ﻦ َﺃ ﻣ ﻱﻬﺪﻚ ﻟَﺎ َﺗ �ﺇِﱠ Innaka laa tahdee man ahbabta wa laakinna Allaha yahdee man yasha’u wa huwa a`lamu bil-muhtadeen. It is true thou wilt not be able to guide every one, whom thou lovest; but Allah guides those whom He will and He knows best those who receive guidance. [Al-Qasas, 28:56] When here he was trying to bring his uncle to Islam.
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“So don’t try to guide whom you like because there is an obstacle, but Allah will guide whom He likes to guide to you.” Those how have the luck to be in Ummat an-Nabi , He guides. So if he walks with you once, just as you walked with him 99 steps, then hold to him and he is ready to listen. Then take all his bad shirk, and take his wisdom he spent all his life in seclusion. So take the shirk he has and throw it in a valley and he becomes fully clean as if he was born today. May Allah forgive us and we continue in the second time. Wa min Allah at-tawfeeq bi-hurmati ‘l-Fatiha.
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TRY TO FIX YOURSELF 29 Ramadan 1427/21 October 2006 After Salaat al-Fajr and Tahajjud
A`udhu billahi min ash-shaytaan ir-rajeem Bismillahi 'r-Rahmani 'r-Raheem Nawaytu'l-arba`een, nawaytu'l-`itikaaf, nawaytu'l-khalwah, nawaytu'l-riyaada, nawaytu's-salook, nawaytu'l-`uzlah lillahi ta`ala fee hadha'l-masjid. Ati` Allah wa ati` ar-Rasula wa uli 'l-amri minkum
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randshaykh said, “If a priest or monk comes to you don’t try to make on him da`wah machine, as if you know more than he knows. Listen to what he says, there is a lot of wisdom in what he says.” He said, “Take his shirk and throw it away but it might be through his experience there is something you can learn and understand.” Mawlana is speaking forty years ago. He is making interfaith in his talk. That is what they are doing today. They are sitting together from different religions and they listen to each other. Some of them in these meetings they fight and debate and in others they don’t. So he is saying “Don’t fight, but listen and accept what they say as long as it is not shirk.”
Because Allah said, “Believe in the destiny, the good and what is not good.” So when you believe in destiny, with what is good and not good, you always have to tassaraf bi’l-adab, behave with respect with every human being, the young and the old one.
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When you believe in Destiny you believe in Allah’s Will that His Plan is what is going to work. Not what you plan. What you plan is no benefit. They say we have three-year plan, the five-year plan, the twenty-year plan. Look they planned fifty years ago with a strategy to poison this whole world with that radical ideology. That is what they are clever in. They are not clever in planning in what is good. Awliya for years and years they planned to bring people to respect others to treat others well. Those others with their strategy in fifty years with their radical ideology have come to change what saints and awliya have done and they have been able to change whole cities. They need nothing but the sweetness of their tongue. Their tongue is sweet, like a fountain. So whatever they say everyone accept. Like the bees, they go to flowers and give honey. But radical people don’t give you honey, they give you sour. As soon as you eat, you become sour like them. Radicals with radicals and good people with good people. He said, “How many times do all of us leave adab?” He said, “I am speaking `ala aqibat al-amr. I am speaking to you on what is going to be in the hereafter, what is going to happen to you in dunya and akhira, how you need to behave in order to win the akhira and how you need to behave in order to win dunya.” “When you sit with a priest or a monk and listen, you build friendship. If you want to argue you build enmity and if you listen you build friendship. When you sit with yourself and build a relationship, then you build friendship to Allah and His Prophet and when you listen to Shaytaan you build enmity to Allah and His Prophet .” “Whatever I open my mouth and speak to you, you have happiness and peacefulness will come to your heart.”
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He said, “Clean your brain before you come then you will benefit. I am telling things that you must not be upset and angry. I am going to speak regardless to bring out all that dirtiness in order that you see that monster inside you. So whatever you defend yourself and make excuses, I don’t care if you are angry or not, I only care for your akhira.” “I don’t like you to play with dirtiness, I don’t like you to be dirty and I don’t like you to be in a hall of dirtiness. I like you to be in a hall of a very beautiful smell. When you go to the attaar, the perfumist who sells perfume, at least you smell perfume when you go out. No way that you don’t smell perfume. Even you don’t put it on your hand or touch it, as soon as you enter that place that smell goes on you. So when you go out you smell nice.” “When you go to a sewer, even if you don’t touch the sewer, as soon as you go in that place and when you come out you smell like the sewer.” He said, “That his why I am going to shout at you. Any time, any moment. Don’t get upset. I will shout whether you get upset or not. Both ways I will shout. I want you to lose that selfishness, the tifl an-nafs al-madhmoumah - the bad manners of a child raised on bad behavior.” He said, “Always you are coming around my bed when I am laying down.” He is speaking to me and Shaykh Adnan ¬, “and you play around my bed. You don’t feel that you are, every time, that I am watching and feeling you and I know what you are doing, sitting there. But when you are sitting there I am throwing in your heart that beautiful smell in order that you will smell good when you come out of that presence.”
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He said that, “Allah destroys some people with stones and some with flies and some he destroyed with fire. He said that “Allah’s War, when He decides to punish people His Revenge is huge. He will send all His war against those people who are not obeying Him. Allah’s war is strong. When that war comes be careful. You will be taken with the rest.” He said that, “One time Sayyidina Musa came and said, ‘Ya Rabbee, you destroy the unbelievers. Why do you take the believers? If you are unhappy with unbelievers, why take the believers?’” “Allah said, ‘Ya Musa ! That is My justice, My justice when it comes it take the good and the bad. I mix them.’” “Sayyidina Musa said, ‘Ya Rabbee, the bad we understand but the good why?’ He said, ‘O Musa go to that forest and wait there until I tell you.’ So Sayyidina Musa obeyed that order of Allah and went to the forest and was sitting on a broken piece of a tree, connecting his heart with the Divine Presence and focusing on his Lord. Slowly, slowly a nest of ants began to move up his leg. When ants move thousands of them move. Allah ordered the ants not to bite him, until they filled his legs to his knees. Then He ordered one ant to bite him.” “He bit Sayyidina Musa . He didn’t say, ‘This is a Prophet.’ When Allah’s Order comes, prophet or no prophet, they obey. To Allah that is accepted, to us it is not. So when that ant bit him, he moved his hand quickly down. So when the ant bit him he put his hand down and crushed all the ants on his leg.” “Allah said, ‘Ya Musa ! What did you do? One ant bit you and you destroyed all of them. I didn’t destroy as much as you did. I removed all the unbelievers and a few of the believers. I take the believers with them to blend them with the unbelievers. When I
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take them and blend them I scent them with the believers. I clean them with the believers because I want them to come clean after. When I send war on them I am sending My cleaning machine on them.’” When Allah in the Holy Qur'an speaks in verses against Shaytaan and his `amal He is speaking against our bad manners in order to clean us, not speaking to us in order to kill us. He is named ar-Rahman ar-Raheem, not The Killer; He is The Merciful. So he said that, “When Allah’s war comes it comes to take everyone and to clean people, but those who are already trying to clean themselves they will be nice smelling and always be in the presence of my beloved servant Sayyidina Muhammad . And they will never see any difficulty in their lives. If you see difficulty then it means there is something wrong. Try to fix yourself in order to achieve easiness in your life.” He said that “Ummat an-Nabi is not an Ummah that is left behind. It is Ummatan marhooma, Allah forgave them before they were born.” For the sake of Sayyidina Muhammad , Allah gave him an Ummah that was forgiven before they were given life. No one can say “Why?” for Allah’s Decree. Ummatan marhooma, ummatan maghfoura. Allah has forgiven them and sent His Mercy on them. He said that, “There are angels that Allah created them ready to encompass those who are reciting a surah in the Holy Qur'an, especially at that time frame.” He said, “Before Maghrib by one hour if someone sits and take ablution, prays `Asr and sits before Maghrib by one hour and recites Surah Yasin, Allah will increase, yuwasi` `alayhi asbaab addunya - Allah will expand for him the means of the dunya. All these difficulties Allah will take away to the one who sits and
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recites Surah Yasin before Maghrib by one hour and He will send a special kind of mercy by means of special kind of angels and that mercy will be coming on us and that will be sent wahban, nothing done in order to receive that mercy, only to sit and recite Surah Yasin.” He said, “From the age of eight years I never cut reciting Surah Yasin at Fajr time and at Maghrib time. Even if I have a lot of things to do, I stop and recite it. Surah Yasin will stretch a person’s life and will not make his life short it will make it longer.” “And if he recites Surah Yasin, it will be as if he spent his whole life in worship, non-stop, not one moment of 24 hours being left, in full worship, as if praying, whoever recites in Fajr and at Maghrib time, beginning the day and beginning the night and he will be resurrected with that worship as if he worshipped all his life. He said, “From a young age I never left it, as Yasin is the Heart of the Qur'an.” When you have the heart you have everything. When you lose the heart you lose everything. Allah said, ﻳﺲ Yasin. Sall-allahu… ِﻴﻢﺤﻜ ﺁﻥِ ﺍْﻟﻭﺍْﻟ ُﻘﺮ Wal-Qur'anil-hakeem. By the wise Qur'an. Yasin [Yasin, 36:1-2] Allah is giving oath by Yasin, the Prophet and then an oath by the Holy Qur'an. Then He says: ٍﻴﻢﺴَﺘﻘ ﻣ ﺍﻁﺮﻋﻠَﻰ ﺻ ﲔ ﺳﻠ ﺮ ﻤ ﻦ ﺍْﻟ ﻚ َﻟﻤ �ﺇِﱠ
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Innaka la-minal-murasaleen - “Ya Muhammad verily you are the Messenger of Allah . Ala siratan mustaqeem. On the right track, the right path.” [Yasin, 36:3-4] That is why when you recite Surah Yasin, you are on the right track. Even though you shift during the day, but still you are on the right track. When you do something that is not on the right track, the angel on the left will not write it, “As he is reciting Yasin, don’t write anything.” When you recite in the evening, the same. How can Shaytaan come and play with you when you are reciting Yasin, when it is the heart of Qur'an, it is the Prophet ? He said, “If a group of people meet together before Maghrib and sit in a circle and recite Surah Yasin, Allah will protect them in this life and in the hereafter and Allah will guide them until they leave this dunya and take them and deliver them to the presence of the Prophet (angels) for those who are reciting Surah Yasin at Fajr and Maghrib time.” He said that, “A human being, if he will wake up before Fajr by half an hour or one hour or ten minutes or even five minutes, make ablution and pray two rak`ats then Allah will reward him more than He rewards him for all the prayers during the day.” “Why? Because he is waking and the people are niaam. He is praying for His Lord and not anyone seeing him. No one is seeing you. Allah loves that. Not worshipping Allah because some people are going. What can we do? We are sinners. Our bad character we pray when there are people, when no people, “y’Allah , who cares?” That is something that is between you and Allah . That is what Allah likes. He likes something you are doing and no one is knowing.
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He said, “I am not going to leave you from my bombardment until you straighten up. If you leave your bad manners or you do not. I keep bombarding you even if you are better to prevent Shaytaan to come after you.” May Allah keep us with our shaykh, Mawlana Shaykh Nazim ¬. There is no representative. Anyone who considers himself a representative is not a representative. No one can represent Mawlana Shaykh in this country except one. That one that Grandshaykh assigned in his will and that Mawlana Shaykh has given that authority and that authority is coming through that chain from Grandshaykh. Grandshaykh gave authority to two and Mawlana Shaykh Nazim ¬ gave to two. And Mawlana Shaykh through his wisdom has many people around the world that conduct dhikr and associations to a certain level and a certain extent. And with respect to everyone, we are [happy to be at] the threshold of everyone, we don’t mind, but in order for people to know, we say this sometimes. May Allah protect us from anaaniyya - selfishness, but this is only for understanding that Grandshaykh wanted this to happen and that is why he wrote it in his will. May Allah keep us safe and protect us. Bi-hurmatil habeeb bi hurmati ‘l-Fatiha.
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THE SUMMARY OF ALL THE HADITH AND ALL THE VERSES OF HOLY QURAN 29 Ramadan 1427/21 October 2006
A`udhu billahi min ash-shaytaan ir-rajeem Bismillahi 'r-Rahmani 'r-Raheem Nawaytu'l-arba`een, nawaytu'l-`itikaaf, nawaytu'l-khalwah, nawaytu'l-riyaada, nawaytu's-salook, nawaytu'l-`uzlah lillahi ta`ala fee hadha'l-masjid
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alimatan thaqeelataan fil meezan khafeefataan ala al-lisan subhanallah wa bi-hamdihi subhanallahil-`adheem istaghfirullah – two words that are very heavy in the Scale and very light on the tongue, subhanallah wa bi-hamdihi subhanallahil-`adheem istaghfirullah – Glory to Allah and His Praise and thanks, Glory be to God the Greatest, may Allah forgive us. Allah as we said in the previous session the head of every association is to understand why we are meeting, or why we are sitting together, for what reason? What is the benefit? What is the benefit that Allah has revealed the holy Qur'an to the Prophet and what is the benefit of sending the seal of the messenger Sayyidina Muhammad and what is the benefit of sending all the prophets and messengers? It all depends on one holy verse of the Qur'an. Like the head to the body, that verse is the head of all that Allah has revealed to the Prophet and all that the Prophet has revealed in hadith. And that verse is,
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ﻢ ﻮ ِﻝ ﺇِﻥ ﻛُﻨ ُﺘﺮﺳ ﻭﺍﻟ ﻩ ِﺇﻟَﻰ ﺍﻟﻠّﻪﻭﺮﺩ َﻓﻲﺀ ﺷ ﻲﻢ ﻓ ﻋ ُﺘ ﺎ َﺯﻢ َﻓﺈِﻥ َﺗﻨ ﻨ ُﻜﺮِ ﻣﻲ ﺍ َﻷﻣﻭﻟ ﻭُﺃ ﻮ َﻝﺮﺳ ﻮْﺍ ﺍﻟﻴﻌﻭَﺃﻃ ﻪ ﻮْﺍ ﺍﻟّﻠﻴﻌﻮْﺍ َﺃﻃﻣﻨ ﻦ ﺁ ﻳﺎ ﺍﱠﻟﺬﻳﻬﺎ َﺃﻳ ﻼ ﻦ َﺗ ْﺄ ِﻭﻳ ﺴ ﺣ ﻭَﺃ ﺮ ﻴﺧ ﻚ ﺮِ َﺫﻟﻮﻡِ ﺍﻵﺧ ﻴﻭﺍْﻟ ﻥ ِﺑﺎﻟّﻠﻪ ﻮﻨﺆﻣ ُﺗ Ya ayyuhalladheena aamanoo Ati` Allah wa ati` ar-Rasula wa uli 'l-amri minkum fa in tanaza`tum fee shayin faruddoohu ila Allahi war-rasooli in kuntum tuminoona billahi wa’l-yawm’il-akhiri dhaalika khayrun wa ahsanu taweela O believers obey the Prophet and obey those who are in authority. And if ye have a dispute concerning any matter, refer it to Allah and the messenger if ye are (in truth) believers in Allah and the Last Day. That is better and more seemly in the end. [An-Nisaa, 4:59] That is it, that is Islam and that is the religion and that is the message that Allah conveyed to humanity. Allah doesn’t want more than that from anyone except obedience. If we obey we are in safety and if we disobey then there is a question mark. And Allah said ati` Allah. Then he didn’t stop. He said, ati` arRasul, obey my Prophet that I am sending to you. If you don’t obey the Prophet then what happens. That means you disobeyed Allah . If you pray, Allah has mentioned obligatory, when we say ashadu an La ilaha ill-Allah can we say at the end assalaam alaykum ayyuhan-nabiyyu….ibadillah…ashadu an La ilaha illAllah. Can we stop at that point. No, your prayer is invalid if you stop at this point and say as-salaam alaykum wa rahmatullah. So if you don’t, “Sayyidina Muhammad is the messenger,” your prayer is thrown in your face because you read Fatiha nicely you did ruku` nicely you did sujood nicely. Then at that time they will throw the salaat in your face. As-salaamu alayka ayyuhan-nabi, sending salaam saluations to you, Ya Muhammad . If you don’t say that your prayer is not considered.
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It is not acceptable to stop at ashadu an La ilaha ill-Allah, you can stop at ashadu anna Muhammadan Rasulullah and stop, then that is accepted, you don’t need to continue and say allahuma salli Muhammadin… When we say as-salaam alayka ayyuhan nabiyyu was salaamu` alayna wa `ala ibadillah is-saliheen. We are sending salaams on ourselves, the angels accompanying us. And then we send salaam on `ibadullah assaliheen. These are the authorities. The awliyaullah. Everyone must know who is their authority or their `amal may go somewhere else. In every `amal you have to be careful and you have to know who is your authority. You might else go to a door that lead to a hallway that ends up in punishment or is full of obstacles or full of thorns and full of stinging that poke you. Authority must be known because when you know your authority you go directly there, you don’t need different ways or different doors. It is one door. If you want to reach your ear how do you reach your ear. Touch it like that it is so simple. Why you want to go all the way like that and you cannot reach. The door is there, one door. Not two doors or 3 or 4 or 100. You come to that door you are safe. Sayyidina Muhammad said, “I am the city of knowledge and Ali is its door.” Finished. Why are we looking here and there? Everyone enter a door. If you enter a wrong room then it is your mistake. Those who kept straight forward to that door reached and those who did not fell into obstacles. May Allah , I am not going to be long else at Fajr time need to continue with that suhbat. But now we are only a short one, may Allah keep us on the right way. Wa min Allah at-tawfeeq bi-hurmati ‘l-Fatiha.
LET US BE SHEEP NOT THE SHEPHERD 30 Ramadan 1427/22 October 2006
A`udhu billahi min ash-shaytaan ir-rajeem Bismillahi 'r-Rahmani 'r-Raheem Nawaytu'l-arba`een, nawaytu'l-`itikaaf, nawaytu'l-khalwah, nawaytu'l-riyaadah, nawaytu's-salook, nawaytu'l-`uzlah lillahi ta`ala fee hadha'l-masjid n the previous session we said that that verse Ati` Allah wa ati` ar-Rasula wa uli 'l-amri minkum, “Obey Allah , obey the Prophet and obey the authority” [An-Nisaa, 4:59] is the summary and it is woven everything together, all the hadith and all the verses of the Holy Qur'an and all the explanations. It is the head of the body of the message of Allah to His servants.
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And Grandshaykh said that, “Whoever obeys Allah must obey the Prophet . Without obeying the Prophet you are not completing the requirement of Islam.” He said, “The proof on that is that Allah alhaqa bi La ilaha ill-Allah muhammadun Rasulullah . He made muhammadun Rasulullah to follow La ilaha ill-Allah. You cannot say La ilaha ill-Allah without Muhammad Rasulullah . If you say like that it is not complete.” “And more proof for that is that He raised the name of the Prophet with His Name. That is why Sayyidina Adam was looking around Paradise and he saw the name of Prophet everywhere besides the Name of Allah . He knew that Sayyidina Muhammad
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was one of his sons, for which Allah created creation. So he knew that for that verse salloo alayhi wa sallimoo tasleema.” “Also the other proof is that if you pray without saying wa ashadu anna muhammadan Rasulullah on the shahada: ashadu an La ilaha illAllah in the at-tahiyyaat.” “That means our religion will not be complete if our prayer is not complete and our prayer will not be complete if we don’t say the second part of the shahada.” “And our prayer is not complete if we left the second part of the shahada. When you say shahada then you are witnessing the messengership of the Prophet of Allah with the belief in Allah by La ilaha ill-Allah. That is why ati` ar-Rasul followed ati` ullah.” And he said, “That uli’l amr are those whom Allah has put as leaders of countries and the others are awliyaullah, those who annihilated themselves for the sake of humanity, for the sake of Allah’s servants, as they tried their best to guide the servants of Allah to guide them to Paradise. They are the ones who try to take the people from hellfire, one after one, by trying to save them.” And he said that, “One of the principles of your presence here is your example and is a condition that you have to be in that association,” [in my association he means or Mawlana Shaykh Nazim’s ¬ association or those who have been given authority by Prophet directly to Grandshaykh and through Grandshaykh to Mawlana Shaykh who have been given authority to represent those are the real representatives.] “Appearing in their association is proof that you have been taken from hand of Shaytaan and saved from the burning hellfire and put in a peaceful relaxing cool place, bardan wa salaaman, although around you is burning but you are sitting cool and peaceful in that paradise that they have created for you in the condition of appearing in their association.
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And that is why the Prophet said that, “Yadullah ma` al-jama`at – the Hand of Allah is with the gathering,” It cannot be by individual. And the other proof that you are saved from hands of Shaytaan and taken to the Presence of Allah is that Prophet said man tashabbaha bi qawmin fa huwa minhum. That is the proof and condition that you are with that happy group.” He said, “Some people come with the intention of associating with that group and to listen and some people want to progress more come with love to sit and learn and to discipline themselves. Some people come with the intention of getting their trust. Some people come with the intention of being on right way and some people come to save themselves from hellfire. And each one comes for a certain purpose and everyone is on the intention that they come or on the intention that the develop later on their journey if they follow that journey for a certain reward then they are after that reward and using that journey to get something out of it.” Don’t forget that there are difficulties. For example, when they say to you sometime, there are boxes on the road, “Don’t approach, danger of death.” That is where there is high voltage electricity. “Don’t approach.” Only experts can approach, electricians. You approach there and you are not expert you burn there. You will be immediately gone. So awliyaullah they know that they cannot open that dangerous place to a child. Still he is or she is learning how to walk how you are going to open and open to that child the danger of death. They put two bones and a skull there; it means you are going to be like these two bones and that skull. So people don’t approach. Not only that; they are wrong to put two bones and skull. They have to put powder, you will be completely turned to dust, nothing left. When awliya take you on that way they have to shatter you completely and for people to step on you, accepting or not. Still ego cannot accept. Ego is so huge that it cannot accept
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humiliation. Don’t say, “Yeah, no I accept.” No way to accept. It is impossible. So they cannot give you that. Because it is hard. Like sometimes you come here and you can see because the light is not so strong, but if you have spotlights in your eyes you are blind, you cannot see it. You cannot see, because they want you to enter in spotlight. How can you see, that is 10,000 watts. How can you see 10,000 watts? It is impossible. So don’t ask those things. Come like a sheep, saying, “I want to follow the shepherd.” Let the shepherd take the responsibility. The shepherd has to know the ins and outs and he can stay the high voltage and high wattage. He knows and has been guided through that road. We cannot do that because we are not the shepherd. Let us leave that and relax and where the shepherd goes we go. The Prophet said that, “The people of Madina knows its districts.” When the camel came to Madina, bringing the Prophet from Makkah to Madina, he said, “Leave the camel,” because everyone wants to be the door of the Prophet , everyone wants to be the one who is the host. He wants to be proud that he hosted Prophet Muhammad and the Prophet did not want to make anyone unhappy because he is the perfect one, and he knows he cannot have but one host, because he is going to be with one in his house and he doesn’t want to make the Sahaaba to feel bad. Everyone loves the Prophet and everyone wants to be door for Prophet , but the Prophet said, as he is the perfect man that Allah has created. He wants to make them not to be in problem. And he wants to show, “There is only one door, don’t bother, don’t worry.” If he says, “This is my door,” everyone gets upset and it might be that one does something that is not appropriate for the Prophet’s reputation. So what did he do? He put the responsibility to the camel. “Qaala itrakuha fa innaha ma`mooraLeave the camel for she is commanded.”
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It means, “She has been ordered from heaven where to stop. Which door she will assign I will stay there.” So who is going now to object? It can stop at only one door. If they object they are objecting on the camel. And the camel stopped by the door of Sayyidina Abu Ayyub alAnsaari , he was the host of Sayyidina Muhammad . He is buried in Istanbul and that is where the Prophet predicted that, “You, Ya Abu Ayyub will die from cold weather.” The Sahaaba said, “The desert is all hot weather, how will he die from cold?” SubhanAllah he went to Istanbul to spread Islam there and he died there from cold weather. He died there when he went to conquer there trying to open the gates of Constantinople. So that way is full of obstacles. And awliyaullah went through that way and they don’t appoint their successor except in their will when they are leaving. They might say to someone you have permission to do this or do that and that doesn’t mean that one is the door or the window or the successor. There is no door to them. To them everyone is similar to each other, as the Prophet said in hadith, “An-naasu sawaaasiyyatun ka asnaan al-masht. Human beings are equal like the teeth of a comb.” And he said, “Laa farqa bayna `arabiyyan wa laa `ajamiyyan illa bit-taqwa - There is no difference between Arab and Persian, `ajam, except by righteousness.” Those called `ajam, means the Persian side, those who don’t speak Arabic, Turkish and persons, they are not Arabic-speaking but they are Muslim. He wants to show that, “Everyone I treat equal,” as Mawlana has mentioned many times, “Everyone of my followers are like gems on my turban. All of them have a place on my crown. If one gem is taken out of its place then the turban looks not nice.” So awliyaullah try their best to take people to paradise and save them from hellfire. In every century there is awliyaullah that Allah gave them the protection of the Ummah to guide Ummat an-
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Nabi . And every group, Allah gave them to a wali. No way that a group will increase or decrease but according to what Allah has given to be there. Even if through their physical body they are not present still that shaykh has been given that trust and even if they go and never meet that wali they are still guided by that wali. Many people are guided by dreams and many people are guided by the ambassadors of the shaykh. You know that the ambassador is not always an ambassador. They serve a term and then they may be changed. Anyone may serve as ambassador to the shaykh in order to bring those around him to the shaykh. You cannot be ambassador for life. Has anyone seen ambassador for life? No. Why don’t you speak? You are like dead people, you don’t answer. They answer but you cannot hear them. Did you ever see ambassador for life? No! They serve for a time and then sit on the side. Who can serve fulltime? The one who can serve fulltime is the one who has the power of attorney. If someone you want to sit in your place you give that one power of attorney. But anytime you can cancel that power of attorney because you own it. He only owns it as long as you authorize it. When you don’t authorize it, you pull it out; it is no longer effective; it is gone. Although that person might continue acting as if that power of attorney is existing but in reality that is no longer, he cannot sign, his signature is cancelled. Awliyaullah authorize people, then they cancel. They cancel for the benefit of the students. They want you to reach a certain level and then cancel it. Your duty is over. Then they look into what is best for you. It might be then that it is best for you to be normal to be like the others. They know what relationship for you is better and they put you in for the benefit of the people. The only one that cannot be canceled are the ones that have been authorized not for a term, but for life. That they don’t cancel, they keep that.
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And as I said, this has been given to two people who are serving Mawlana Shaykh Nazim ¬ not two more. One is Shaykh Adnan ¬ and one is the one sitting here. That is a grant from Allah and we must be thankful and we must be happy to be with Mawlana Shaykh Nazim ¬ and Allah has given us that living shaykh that connects us with that Golden Chain, to be happy when Grandshaykh ordered Mawlana for seclusion in Madinatu’lMunawwara for nine months and Grandshaykh was there one year. At the end of his seclusion, he said, and this is Grandshaykh saying, me and my brother were there, only two of us and he is saying that story. At the end of that seclusion the 9 months the order was to Shaykh Nazim ¬ to go from the place he was doing seclusion to Masjid an-Nabi , pray his five prayers and come back and as he is walking he looks at his feet. And he cannot look far; he has to look at his feet. Go do his prayers and come back and do his awraad in his seclusion. He said, “I was in a high place.” Mawlana was speaking in a vision, of kashf sitting with the Prophet . “I said, ‘Ya sayyidee! Ya Rasulullah , my student has finished his seclusion.’” He said, “We cannot give the trust to students without the stamp of the Prophet .” “I said, ‘My student has finished his seclusions. Can we give him his trust?’ Prophet said, ‘No, not yet.’” Although Mawlana Shaykh Nazim ¬ had given up everything in dunya—he sold everything that he owns which would be worth millions and millions today, and he gave it to Grandshaykh. He didn’t look back. When you look and say, “I gave,” what you gave? You gave dirtiness of dunya. Don’t you know how much they have carried you and how much they have pampered you? Don’t say, “I gave.” What you gave it is for Allah . It is gone. Don’t give from the beginning. Don’t show you did favors. la tumannin. Don’t say to
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Allah , “O, I did this,” Allah doesn’t like that. You didn’t do it; Allah did it, for your safety. You don’t know how much Allah saved you from what you gave. People give according to their love. Don’t come back and say, “I gave.” Some give everything. They want to train us as they know we are children. They want to walk us. If you see your son you see him falling you catch him in order to make him not to fall. If it is another person’s child you don’t care. But your child, awliyaullah they discipline the child. Else why to speak, they don’t have to speak. They leave that job to another person. They say, “I don’t care if he falls in hellfire or falls in the building.” Don’t look back at what you gave then you lose what you gave. Grandshaykh said, “So the Prophet said, ‘No, wait, don’t give the trust. Mawlana Shaykh Nazim ¬ isn’t yet complete. He is complete but there is the last key but the key has a price.’” As I said before about that seclusion and many other seclusions that Mawlana made, that was in 1967, there were many before it. But that was one of the main important ones. They want to give the key. They said, “Wait! Test him.” I am not saying something from my own but saying what Grandshaykh said. This is sharing of knowledge, it is to build us up, for everyone to reach that level has to go on that journey. Mawlana had to go on that journey, Grandshaykh had to go on that journey, Grand Grandshaykh had to go on that journey. That doesn’t diminish his position but it explains that for every wali what kind of test he went through. We know only of two, Grandshaykh’s test and Mawlana Shaykh’s test. We don’t know of what happened previously except what our shaykhs tell us. And we wrote many of those in The Naqshbandi Sufi Way book, on their lives. The Prophet said, “Don’t give it yet, there is one last test.” So Grandshaykh knew what that last one is. And Mawlana
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Shaykh Nazim ¬ was coming from the Mosque, from the Presence of the Prophet and he was looking at his feet; not looking farther and the three were looking at him: Prophet , Sayyidina Abu Bakr as-Siddiq and Grandshaykh. And Grandshaykh was there and he said to him, “Ya waladee, there is still one thing that is not clean with you.” He said, “Ya Sayyidee! I am your student. Teach me and then I will know what is wrong with me.” He said, “You see yourself too much. You see yourself that you are above everyone. That is a sickness.” And he is looking at him and Prophet is looking at his heart and awliyaullah are looking and Sayyidina Abu Bakr is looking. He said, “How can I not see myself when I have you behind me, you are like a lion behind me eating Shaytaan. I am seeing myself with that, and I am proud dunya and akhira with that.” All that was one word. The Prophet was happy with that and said, “Give him his trust.” That was all in the combination of one sentence. Awliya are of such caliber that we must be happy we are in their presence and this gathering is under their name. They look at everyone the same to pull them out of their difficulties and bring them back to life. Their ambassadors are everywhere. Sometimes they have an ambassador that doesn’t have a position; he doesn’t have an embassy. They call him a goodwill ambassador, or ambassador-at-large. That means all ambassadors are under him. When he comes to a country and those ambassadors of different countries are there, they have no right to speak. These ambassadors-at-large are only one or two. These ambassadors-atlarge are assigned the job of deputy and their job is to bring the followers to the main gate, as-Sadr al-`Adham—the biggest chair in the Ottoman court. So our main focus is Mawlana Shaykh Nazim ¬ and the ambassadors all bring their followers to the shaykh. These ambassadors can finish their terms and they put new ones. It doesn’t mean they have no respect. They have respect but their
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terms are over. They have to continue their love to the shaykh and their obedience to the shaykh. The time is near for big changes in the world; changes for the best. When these changes are coming there is big heavenly light coming. Not every ambassador can carry that light. That is very difficult capacity to carry. So everyone is in hands of those in authority. They pulled all out of the hands of representative to them. Like Mawlana Shaykh said and Grandshaykh said, may Allah give him long life and bless Grandshaykh. He said that, “All tariqats, as the shaykh is passing away, Sayyidina Mahdi is taking that place.” And the last tariqah that is alive is in the hand of Mawlana Shaykh Nazim ¬. But all other tariqats are taken from their hands. These representatives cannot sit on position of shaykh when the shaykh, who is a spotlight, has gone, no one can take the position of that spotlight. So now that time is so near, that power is coming very soon, and we don’t know how soon that is, and as Allah said to Sayyidina Musa , alaysa as-subhu bi qareeb and it took forty years. So as I said in a previous session, if you followed, this is a series, if you don’t follow you cannot understand what comes after, as this goes from grade one up to university, to heavenly university. We said that, “When Grandshaykh speaks about Sayyidina Mahdi and Sayyidina `Isa , it may be they are speaking to your descenders that are in your back. That waiting for Mahdi is that even if you don’t reach that time you will be rewarded as if you have been in their time.” So the time is so near that all the authority has been taken from representatives and it is all in hands of Mahdi . And Mawlana said in Cyprus in an association there, “I have two authorized
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persons only, Shaykh Adnan ¬ and Shaykh Hisham ¬. All others are doing dhikr only. Those authorization that have been given out, are taken back. There are no more representatives. Everyone does his own work and not more than that.” Everything has been turned back to its original and it is from our hands to Shaykh Nazim ¬. Those who have been representing they have no authorization and everyone of you has authority to speak to bring people to tariqah. But no longer a door or window. As the burden is very heavy, they might die and then you must die. Let us be sheep not the shepherd. Let us not fall in obstacles and then everyone fall with us. That is not diminishing anyone’s position. People are all around the world. Mawlana told them to conduct dhikr and people now know there is no door to Mawlana Shaykh and there is nothing in their hands, only the two who are authorized they can still function. And that is in his hands also, he can pull that also. There are no more doors and they are still with their love to Mawlana Shaykh and he is looking after them. Wa min Allah at-tawfeeq bi hurmati ‘l-Fatiha.
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A HUGE TREASURE 30 Ramadan 1427/22 October 2006 After Fajr and Tahajjud
A`udhu billahi min ash-shaytaan ir-rajeem Bismillahi 'r-Rahmani 'r-Raheem Nawaytu'l-arba`een, nawaytu'l-`itikaaf, nawaytu'l-khalwah, nawaytu'l-riyaada, nawaytu's-salook, nawaytu'l-`uzlah lillahi ta`ala fee hadha'l-masjid
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e mentioned in the previous session that Allah has invited his Prophet for Laylat al-Isra’ wal-Mi’raj and what was the purpose of inviting him, for sure we don’t know. Allah and His Prophet know best.
But what Grandshaykh said is that, “There is a huge treasure and that treasure has to be given to someone. And Allah does not need that treasure; He is the creator so He has to give it to someone. So these treasures that are continuously being created have to be given out for the benefit of human beings. And who is it that can keep these treasures in trust, not anyone? But it is one. That one is the seal of the messengers. That is why it is very important to understand that behind every movement and step of the Prophet there are wisdoms, not one, but infinite wisdoms. It is said from their sayings, Grandshaykh and Mawlana Shaykh sayings and awliyaullah sayings that if a wali scratched his face like that, the minimum there are at least 12,000 wisdoms. If that wali moves that finger like that there are at least 12,000 wisdoms behind it. They don’t move anything because if someone enters cold
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weather from hot weather what happens, he will be shaking. If that cold weather continues he will freeze he cannot move forward or move back ward he is frozen. Forget about snow or ice or cold weather. If someone sees in front of him suddenly something beyond imagination, what will happen? He will freeze. No movement. They are stunned with what they are seeing. Their tongue no way can say anything. When awliyaullah enter in that presence of the Prophet they are frozen of what they are seeing of secret. When the Prophet entered the Divine Presence and he brings with him awliyaullah they are like frozen. Awliyaullah are like frozen. That freezing is complete submission. They are stunned, It is something so immense changing everything that the learned before. When they enter the Divine Presence, everything they learned before they have to dump. There is no comparison between what they are learning there and what they learned before. So that is why we say the knowledge that is spread between people today is like kindergarten. But heavenly knowledge is what awliyaullah want to reach to reach that level to be able to be frozen there. What can they say? When the wali enter in that presence what is there to say. The living experience, that living example that living level is a livelihood level that is continuously in full not 99%, but full ecstasy and pleasure that you cannot see better than that pleasure except in the Divine Presence as that pleasure continues to increase in appearances as the manifestations of Paradises and angelic presence and on top of the appearances of the Beautiful Names and Attributes that begin to overtake you and you feel that raasha, that shivering of ecstasy. You will be feeling that you don’t want anything else from dunya, you only want that shivering of the heavenly pleasure that is opened in the Divine Presence that is what awliyaullah are after.
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When the Prophet as invited Allah wants to give him these treasure to give to the Ummah. Allah is not hiding it. He created it for the Ummah. He created for Sayyidina Muhammad and for the Ummah to follow it up. That is why Grandshaykh said, may Allah bless his soul, that, “When Sayyidina Muhammad was invited and reached a level more and more with Jibreel , Jibreel said, ‘I cannot go farther Ya Rasulullah . I cannot move.’” The hidden wisdom is that Allah wants so to give Sayyidina Muhammad the hidden treasure, whatever there are of the hidden treasure which are at the level of Sayyidina Jibreel and below, whatever Sayyidina Jibreel reached the highest and cannot move forward what ever there are levels of knowledge from first Paradise to the level of Jibreel . How much there are of realities and secrets of the soul and spirit, that his why at the level of Jibreel there, you can differentiate, not below, but there are three levels here. The level below Sayyidina Jibreel , the level he is in and the level above. In the level of Sayyidina Jibreel you can differentiate between soul and spirit. They are completely different. Below Sayyidina Jibreel , soul and spirit—people believe they are the same. Sometimes they say “soul,” sometimes “spirit”. We mix inna lillahi wa inna ilayhi raji`oon. We mix between soul and spirit. But in the level that Jibreel is standing the meaning between soul and spirit changes. Above that there is a level. So first Allah called the Prophet to give him the level of Jibreel and below and then to give him the level of Jibreel and then to give him the level of Jibreel and above. So he invited his beloved Prophet and said to him that, “I am giving to you in a trust. You hold it.”
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So whatever is from Jibreel and what is below, the Prophet has shared it to the Ummah. That is why we say that Sayyidina Jibreel is bringing the wahy, the revelation. All the way to the Prophet and Prophet shared that knowledge. But at the level of Sayyidina Jibreel and higher no, that is not opened. That needs the pavement of the road. That needs special containers that can contain that and understand that knowledge. What Sayyidina Muhyideen ibn `Arabi ¬, which astonished the `ulama, not astonished the normal people, what Sayyidina Jalaluddin ar-Rumi ¬ astonished scholars—not normal people, is but a drop of an ocean of what the awliyaullah who are in Golden Chain are keeping that knowledge in a turbine and that turbine is rotating in a very high speed. And that turbine is producing at that very high speed. As they are running very high speed turbines create energy. The wali is a turbine by himself. Don’t look at him as a normal person but look at him as a turbine non-stopping. As he is turning he is generating knowledge as the knowledge comes into his turbine. They go in the heart of that wali and his heart like a turbine moving and producing from his level these energies, not energy but realities which are suitable to the containers of his heart. Allah wants to give Sayyidina Muhammad . And the first he gave the Ummah at the level below Jibreel . Whatever there was existing of realities he gave to the Prophet in one shot. And he received it in one shot and he was able to differentiate it completely in one shot, understanding all and each separate knowledge in one moment in one shot. He was able to understand each knowledge and one knowledge does not affect the other each one is understood by itself. It is easy these digital boxes, these receivers you receive hundreds and thousands of channels in the same time. How can the receiver decode all these channels in the one moment you press the button. Doesn’t Sayyidina Muhammad have the capacity to receive all these knowledges and process these in one shot? The servers and
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satellites of dunya are nothing in the measure to the Prophet’s understanding and the turbine of his realties. If I am going to explain these realities, it might be some people will say that is not acceptable. That we cannot understand. Like they did to Abu Hurayrah , he said, “I memorized from the Prophet two types of knowledge, one I spread ot people and the other if I say it they will cut my neck.” He said the second level, which is in the level of station of Sayyidina Jibreel , there he was in that level that is why the Prophet used to in the hadith, Kuntu atadaras ul Qur’an fee Ramadan ma` Jibreel . “I used to study the Qur'an in Ramadan with Jibreel ” like the two of them discussing the Qur'an and memorizing. It was in that level that Jibreel heard that revelation. It was in that level that Prophet was hearing what Jibreel heard. That is the station that Jibreel was receiving revelation. When he ascended in station of Isra and Mi’raj, as Jibreel was receiving he was receiving. Same understanding; same voice. So it means that if Sayyidina Muhammad … If a general has an army he knows everyone of his army and what kind of weapons that soldier is carrying with him. What do you think of Jibreel who is head of every angel? He must know every angel and what every angel is doing. So when Prophet is in that level he must know everything. Today they take two remote controllers and program each other. This one takes what that one has. Subhanallah in whatever there is today you can give an example. So he took everything that Jibreel knew from him in one second—in one shot. No need more time than that. As soon as the Prophet was raising/rising up and Jibreel said, “I cannot accompany you,” that third station appeared to the
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Prophet that was the station as Grandshaykh called it as khaamis al-Qur’an. This is the fifth holy book. That is called khaamis alQur’an. We have the main books, Psalms, Injeel, Torah and Qur'an. Four books is it not? khaamis al-Qur’an is the fifth book. It is not different from the Qur'an but it is the Qur'an and it is the secrets of the Qur'an that Allah is giving to Sayyidina Muhammad . He didn’t give that to Jibreel . When revelation came and was delivered to Prophet , what we heard is what Prophet gave to Sahaaba. What Jibreel gave to Prophet is higher than what Prophet gave to Sahaaba. But what the Prophet heard above station of Jibreel , he heard something different. It is called khaamis al-kutub. That is not a fifth book but awliyaullah call it the fifth Qur'an as the secret of the Qur'an that will appear with Mahdi . That is why Prophet said that, “The best of my Ummah is the one that comes in the last days. The more perfect and more honored of my Ummah.” Because they are going to get the revelation with its secret in time of Mahdi . That didn’t come before except to heart of Sahaaba when he wants to give them. When his grandson, as Mahdi is grandson of Prophet , when he appears with heavenly support, then every other knowledge that I accumulated together in this universe is but a drop of the secret of the Qur'an. On every letter 24, 000 oceans of knowledge will be opened. There are over 300,000 letters in holy Qur'an. On every letter there will be at least 24,000 oceans of knowledge and that ocean has no end to its knowledge. Every letter will open 24,000 oceans of knowledge to those who live in time of Mahdi . We continue this next time, insha-Allah, bi-hurmati ‘l-Fatiha. [Sayyidina Abu Bakr gave all his wealth for the Prophet to use, dunya wa ukhra]
THE KIND OF TEACHING AND WISDOM WE NEED 30 Ramadan 1427/22 October 2006
A`udhu billahi min ash-shaytaan ir-rajeem Bismillahi 'r-Rahmani 'r-Raheem Nawaytu'l-arba`een, nawaytu'l-`itikaaf, nawaytu'l-khalwah, nawaytu'l-riyaadah, nawaytu's-salook, nawaytu'l-`uzlah lillahi ta`ala fee hadha'l-masjid s we said in the previous session that Allah has ordered us to obey Him and obey His Prophet and obey those who are on authority. And disobedience means you are rejecting what Allah has commanded us. You cannot reject shahada, only to make the first part and not the second part.
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That is why you have to say ashhadu anna Muhammadan Rasulullah else our prayers will not be accepted it will be thrown in our face. ﺍﻨﺜُﻮﺭﺎﺀ ﻣﻫﺒ ﻩﺎﻌْﻠﻨ ﺠ ﻤﻞٍ َﻓ ﻋ ﻦ ﻠُﻮﺍ ﻣﻋﻤ ﺎﺎ ِﺇﻟَﻰ ﻣﻨﻣﻭَﻗﺪ ﺍﻮﺭﺤﺠ ﻣ ﺍﺠﺮ ﻥ ﺣ ﻳ ُﻘﻮﻟُﻮﲔ ﻭ ﺮِﻣﺠ ﱢﻟْﻠﻤﺬﻣﺌ ﻮ ﻳ ﻯﺸﺮ ﺑ َﻜ َﺔ ﻟَﺎﻤَﻠﺎﺋ ﻥ ﺍْﻟ ﻭ ﺮ ﻳ ﻡﻮ ﻳ Yawma yarawna al-malaikata laa bushra yawmaidhin li’l-mujrimeena wa yaqooloona hijran mahjoora. Wa qadimna ila ma `amiloo min `amalin faja`alnaahu habaa’an manthoora. The Day they see the angels,- no joy will there be to the sinners that Day: The (angels) will say: “There is a barrier forbidden (to you) altogether!”
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And We shall turn unto the work they did and make it scattered motes. [Al-Furqaan, 25:22-23] That they rejected, if we see angels then we believe, or if we see hell then we believe. They rejected what Allah ordered them and they disobeyed so they rejected Sayyidina Muhammad with their disobedience so what did Allah do, for what they rejected of the Prophet even though they did many good things, I take away their good `amal and take them to Hellfire. It means take them to punishment. That is the importance of the Prophet , as you mention Allah’s Name, you must mention Prophet’s name or your prayer is not accepted. And uli’l amr minkum. The physical authority is the political authority you cannot reject, but more important you cannot reject the spiritual authority. Allah doesn’t want us to rejects any of His saints and you … and reciprocal, Allah ordered the Prophet to accept everyone and ordered the awliyaullah to accept everyone they cannot reject anyone. As we cannot reject the Prophet and awliya, not one, they must also accept everyone. ﲔ ﻌﺎَﻟﻤ ﻤ ًﺔ ﱢﻟْﻠ ﺣ ﺭ ﺎ َﻙ ِﺇﻟﱠﺎﺳْﻠﻨ ﺭ ﺎ َﺃﻭﻣ Wa maa arsalnaaka illa rahmatan lil-`alameen We sent thee not, but as a Mercy for all creatures. [Al-Anbiyaa, 21:107] They have to have a place to go to ask for forgiveness and mercy. ﺎﻭﻣ ﻢ ﺇِﺫ ﻬ�ﻮ َﺃﱠ ﻭَﻟ ﻉ ﺑِﺈِ ْﺫﻥِ ﺍﻟﻠّﻪ ﻴﻄَﺎﻮﻝٍ ِﺇ ﱠﻻﻟﺭﺳ ﻦﺎ ﻣﺳْﻠﻨ ﺭ ﻢ َﺃ ﻬﺮ َﻟ ﺳَﺘ ْﻐ َﻔ ﺍ ﻭﻭْﺍ ﺍﻟّﻠﻪَﺘ ْﻐ َﻔﺮﻭ َﻙ ﻓَﺎﺳﺂﺅﻢ ﺟ ﻬﺴ ﻮْﺍ َﺃ� ُﻔﻮ ُﻝ ﱠﻇَﻠﻤﺮﺳ ﺍﻟ ﺎﻴﻤﺭﺣ ﺎﺍﺑ َﺗﻮﻭْﺍ ﺍﻟّﻠﻪﺟﺪ ﻮ َﻟ
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Wa maa arsalnaa min rasoolin illa liyuta`a bi-idhnillahi wa law annahum idh dhalamoo anfusahum ja’ooka fastaghfaroo Allaha waistaghfara lahumu ar-rasoolu lawajadoo Allaha tawwaban raheema. We sent not an apostle, but to be obeyed, in accordance with the will of Allah . If they had only, when they were unjust to themselves, come unto thee and asked Allah's forgiveness, and the Messenger had asked forgiveness for them, they would have found Allah indeed Oftreturning, Most Merciful. [An-Nisaa, 4:64] So both sides, you cannot reject awliya and you cannot reject the Prophet and they cannot reject the Ummah, else they are responsible and we are responsible. And what is the evidence? It is that Allah is the Creator and everything else is His creation. And whatever He created He manifested His Beautiful Names and Attributes on that creation. That creation became a manifestation of Allah’s Beautiful Names and Attributes which means they become like a shadow of these Beautiful Names and Attributes. And that is what is said in spirituality that al-`ibaad dhilullah the human beings are the shadow of their Creator, like it is said as-sultan dhilullah `ala al-ard, the sultan—the king—is the shadow of Allah on earth. It doesn’t mean a real shadow, Allah has no form. Allah has no shadow; even the Prophet has no shadow. It is an understanding and we have to be very careful here, that it is the manifestation of the Beautiful Names and Attributes on us and so everyone has been manifested with a different Name. Al-wujood al-mutlaq lillahi, wal-makhlooqaat mazaahir min khalqillah. The absolute existence is for Allah and the servants of Allah are only appearances of His existence.
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No one exists but we are appearances of that existence. We are appearances of the manifestations of the Beautiful Names and Attributes so if someone rejected one of these appearances it is as if he rejected the One that gave that appearance; the One that created that appearance. If you reject anyone from Allah’s servants that are appearances from Beautiful Names and Attributes we are trying to nu`ayyib an-Naaqish, we are trying to find faults in the Engraver. The One carving us or engraving us. They do very nice sculpture, very fine art work. You cannot come and say, “I reject, this is bad.” If you cannot do this for an artist in dunya how can you reject these appearances that have appeared and reject them? Then you are coming against the One who produced them, molded, sculpted and designed them. That goes back to Allah . As if we are disobeying Allah , by rejecting His creation. So obedience has to be perfect from every side. You cannot comparing from something and praise something else. You have to be like water flowing in the river flowing to the ocean. The flow of the water goes acceding to the inclination of that course, the river bed. If in front of it comes a stone it doesn’t object. It moves around it and continue. It does not say, “This is a bad stone, who put it here? Throw it out!” We need to be like that water, like a flowing river. It is not everything through contemplation only. Religion is not exercises. Religion is wisdom. Today people do exercises, different kind of exercises, breathing in and breathing out. That is ok. But that is not all. Doing movement, hand up, hand down. Right. I used to be in French school in Lebanon, Beirut and we had gymnastics in physical education class. We go in a huge playground and standing there raise you right hand. Take down your right hand. Raise you left hand. Take down your left hand. Stretch your leg.
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Bring your leg up. Run in place. We run in place. This is something that it is not a religion. It is a physical education. Religion is bringing the person to his Lord to understand his wisdom to understand what Allah prepared for those who obey Allah and his Prophet and the guides. It is not only a body movement. We are not saying, “Don’t do body movements.” The Prophet did body movements when he told them to teach your children to shoot bows and arrows and swim and ride horses. So this is a Sunnah. Anyone who learns to shoot arrows you need to know that to go for hunting. This is physical education—it is ok. But creation is not created to know physical education. Creation is created to know your Creator. Your Creator is not doing physical education. Haasha. Is Allah going to be with us! Is Allah going to raise His Hand? Allah has no form, no physical hands. So Allah wants us to understand the wisdom behind everything and to understand the wisdom of the Prophet , which we are coming to. Allah wants us to learn education, not physical education but soul education, spiritual education. So this kind of teaching is only with awliyaullah. This kind of teaching is only for these whom Allah gave them a vision to be able to explain this hidden treasures. Those whom Allah did not give these hidden treasures, what do they go after? They go after energy and they go after physical experiences and they go after imagining this and focusing on it and imaging that and focus on that. This is ok but this is for kindergarten. This is ok to build a person up but you have to come out of that kindergarten. You cannot stay in that structure like children in kindergarten. You have to go beyond that when the Prophet said to Abu Hurayrah , “Ya Aba Hurayrah , did you contemplate on the verse:
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ﻰ ﻋَﻠ ﻭ ﺍﻮﺩﻭ ُﻗﻌ ﺎﺎﻣﻴ ﻗﻥ ﺍﻟّﻠﻪ ﻭﻳ ْﺬ ُﻛﺮ ﻦ ﻳﺎﺏِ ﺍﱠﻟﺬﻲ ﺍﻷْﻟﺒﻭﻟ ﱢﻟ ُﺄﺎﺕﺎﺭِ ﻵﻳﻬﻭﺍﻟﻨ ِﻞ ﺍﻟﱠﻠﻴﻼﻑ ﺧﺘ ﺍﺽِ ﻭﺍ َﻷﺭ ﻭﺍﺕﺎﻭﺴﻤ ﺧْﻠﻖِ ﺍﻟ ﻲ ﻓِﺇﻥ ِﺎﺭﺏ ﺍﻟﻨ ﻋﺬَﺍ ﺎﻨﻚ َﻓﻘ �َﺤﺎ ﺒﺳ ﻼ ﺎﻃﻫﺬﺍ ﺑ ﺖ ﺧَﻠ ْﻘ ﺎﺎ ﻣﺑﻨﺭ ِﺽﺍ َﻷﺭ ﻭﺍﺕﺎﻭﺴﻤ ﺧْﻠﻖِ ﺍﻟ ﻲﻥ ﻓ ﻭﻳَﺘ َﻔ ﱠﻜﺮ ﻭﻮﺑِﻬِﻢﻨﺟ Inna fee khalqis-samawati wal-ardi wakhtilafi al-layli wan-nahari laayatin li ulee al-albab. Alladheena yadhkuroona Allaha qiyaman waqu`oodan wa `ala junoobihim wa yatafakkaroona fee khalqis-samawati wal-ardi rabbana ma khalaqta haadha baatilan subhanaka faqina `adhaba an-naari. Behold! In the creation of the heavens and the earth, and the alternation of night and day,- there are indeed Signs for men of understanding,- men who celebrate the praises of Allah , standing, sitting, and lying down on their sides, and contemplate the (wonders of) creation in the heavens and the earth, (With the thought): “Our Lord! Not for naught Hast Thou created (all) this! Glory to Thee! Give us salvation from the penalty of the Fire. [Ali Imran, 3:190-191] Those who are remembering Allah day and night standing and sitting and laying down and they contemplate and meditate on the creation of heavens and earth. It means yatafakkaroona `ala ma siwa Allah. They think on what is other than Allah , they meditate on heavens and earth. They don’t meditate on the creator, they are still in kinder, they need authority to do that, they need uli’l amr, those awliyaullah who are on that authority to take them there. That is what Grandshaykh said when he was granted authorization, he said, “I accept only on condition that I am given authority to raise my students to the level of the saints I am speaking about.” That is awliyaullah. That is not kindergarten. That is for instructors. They cannot go above kindergarten. To go above kindergarten you need a wali. So he asked Abu Hurayrah and asked him if he was contemplating that verse. He said, “Yes, I am thinking about the stars and the moon and the sun and planet, how they are and how they are going about.” The Prophet said,
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“Your contemplation of hour is like the reward of one day of worship.” He was meditating on the atmosphere above us. Today many people meditate on that, they call it the cosmos, that energy. So he said, that is a kind of `ibadah, and this is teaching to us, Sayyidina Abu Hurayrah is trying to bring up an issue in order to explain to us. If he didn’t bring that up we never would have known about it. Then the Prophet passed by Sayyidina ibn Abbas , the one who explained the Qur'an, and asked him, “What do you think about that verse?” He said, “When I hear that I contemplate on Allah’s greatness.” The Prophet said, “To contemplate like that is rewarded like one year of worship. Khayran min `ibaadat sannah.” Then he passed by Sayyidina Abu Bakr as-Siddiq . He asked him, “What do you think about that verse?” He said, “Ya Rasulullah , whenever I think about that verse, I think that Allah’s greatness is so huge and it is bad for anyone to reject obedience to their Lord.” And human beings are rejecting obedience and so then they deserve to be punished. And I say 'O my Lord! Let me be the one to be punished and let all of them go to Paradise.” So Prophet said, “Your contemplation is like seventy years of worship.” They were feeling that; not like a story teller. When he says that he is feeling the intensity of that heat and flame to burn him and in order to save the Ummah. He had put himself in that fire in order to carry the burden of the whole Ummah. So it means that how much the Ummah was going to be burned in hellfire he carried and felt it and through that the whole Ummah was cleaned. That is the kind of teaching and wisdom we need. Not only raise my hand and feet, balance my feet with hand, Seni Silat also. Although that is from the Sunnah, but it is keeping you in the first levels.
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Awliyaullah are not going to waste their students time to keep them on first levels. They want to fly them up. That is why instructors on first levels are finished. It is no longer important to do what they do. The mureed needs to be raised. So as I said this morning as that is very close to heavenly support and those instructors that has been pulled from them and thy have no more work. That is their level and I am speaking about here in America—I don’t interfere with outside. Here there is no one representing me. And that authority Mawlana gave to me no one is authorized to represent except himself. And he can teach, it is ok but it is not going to be the same as this teaching. I am not speaking to a person or an individual. We have to keep bringing people, but everyone his teaching is blended with his thoughts; it might not coincide with the what is coming today. Everyone knows his limits and is free to go and come and they are free. Now we want to shift the gears from normal teaching to a higher level of teaching of wisdom. These doors of heavenly treasures that Allah said, “I was a hidden treasure I wanted to be known so I created creation, and through that creation they knew Me.” We are after these treasures if we can go there. To prepare people to receive Mahdi . Mahdi is present with everyone. If the eyes of the heart are open he can see Mahdi in his heart. It only needs purity and clarity. When you have clarity, today they are selling tablets for clarity. Antihistamine is to keep our noses clean and our lungs clean not to have mixed different pollution. So what we need today is clarity and shafaafiyya transparency in everything we are going. When we reach that transparency and clarity in what we are doing we will be raised, all of us together. We don’t want one to be higher and one to be lower. We are after these treasures. So Grandshaykh took a promise that whatever he speaks of levels we need to reach and be raised up to that authority and in
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authority to be ready at any time that heavenly support comes that we be ready; peaceful people standing up like stars in dark nights. On this kind of picture we like to be appearing in the Presence of the Prophet . Mawlana says that you cannot tu`ayyib to find defaults in Allah’s creation. No one is produced wrongly. There is wisdom in the way he or she is created. In the jungle how it is created, in the virus how it has been created, and there is wisdom in everything. Learn the wisdom. Scientists know there is a wisdom behind every creation. And they try to investigate through these pharmacy companies to find the benefit of these different creations. So these word are not addressed to any individual let us look for the wisdom behind everything and look at all equally and with no hatred and no sign of anger in our heart. Then our shaykh will be happy to introduce to the Presence of the Prophet and not ashamed of our bad manners and bad character. He said there is a group of people that reject the existence of Allah . They rejected one time in their life once and for all and they don’t speak about it anymore. But our problem is that in every moment in our `amal we are denying Allah , the way we are rejecting His servants; the way we are rejecting our brothers. You cannot reject anyone. You have to show humility and humbleness. You cannot reject. Allah honored human beings. Respect these angels that are with them. Don’t reject that nice picture that servant that Allah created that person. One day a funeral passed by the Prophet and he stood up. They said, “Why did you stand up?” He said, “Is anything wrong to stand up?” They said, “Yes, he is a Jew.” He knew they could not take more of an understanding there were a lot of problems in the community at that time.
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So he said, “I stood for the honor of the angels accompanying him.” But in reality that person is not a Jew. His body is not Jew. His beliefs are wrong. So the Prophet is standing for the angels and it might be, he didn’t say, but it might be that he is standing up for the honor of Bani Adam - wa laqad karamna Bani Adam . Inna lillahi wa inna ilayhi raaji`oon… That soul going back to its origin. Allah knows best. So our duty is to respect everyone equally. So that is why we said and Grandshaykh said and Mawlana Shaykh said, “We are appearances of Allah Beautiful Names and Attributes so how are we going to criticize?” Allah has these hidden treasures and He created them and wanted them to be known. So what did He do? He invited the Prophet on Laylat alIsra wal-Mi’raj. He wants to give him the secrets. He didn’t invite anyone of the other prophets to His Presence except Sayyidina Muhammad . He invited him body and soul to come and receive these treasures and Allah kept these treasures hidden and in every moment He is manifesting more and more, more and more, that He wants to give these treasures as compensation and trust that the Prophet will keep them with him. They are the creation. Allah is not in need of creation. Creation is in need of Allah . So He wants to give these treasures to the one responsible and called the Prophet to His Presence, on the night of Journey and Ascension. And we leave that until later to hear what Allah gave to the Prophet on that night. Bi hurmatil habeeb bi hurmati ‘l-Fatiha Those who have been cremated will be punished in the grave in the same manner until the Day of Judgment. Allah does not like you to say even, “oof” to your parents. To your parents. Even these 2 letters you cannot say to your father and mother. You have to bow down to them because both of them
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have brought you to life and say, “O Allah , have mercy on them because they have raised me from childhood.” How much they have suffered to raise you and on the other hand you are very rude to them and you even do something to make them unhappy. Even in Holy Qur’an if they are non-Muslim, they ask you to take them to church or synagogue or temple then you take them to the door of the temple and let them go in. Only if they ask you to worship other than Allah or anything that is against Shariah you cannot. If they ask you, “Don’t pray,” say, “No, I cannot.” If they ask you to drink wine say, “No!” If they ask you to go to church you can go but don’t say their prayers. That is against Shariah you cannot do it, but if it is not against Shariah you can do it. [What if a mureed falls into bad habits for many years until it becomes compulsion and the still consider themselves mureed and they don't pray?] You can still consider yourself and you are not praying and not fasting. You still believe in Allah and His Prophet . But what will be consequences of that it are in Allah’s Hands. You are Muslim, at the end you may end up under shafa`a of the Prophet . You cannot say to that person, “You are not Muslim.” But Allah will punish you, Allah will scold you, He will send you by his mercy to paradise, it is in His Hands. We are weak people. And they have to make intention to get rid by Allah’s Mercy, of their bad habits. Doors of repentance never close. Even at the last moment of life there can be repentance.
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KHUTBAT AL-`EID 1 Shawwal 1427/23 October 2006
Allahu akbar, Allahu akbar, Allahu akbar, La ilaha ill-Allah… Allahu akbar, Allahu akbar, Allahu akbar, La ilaha ill-Allah, Allahu akbar Allahu akbar wa lillahi l-hamd.… Ayyuhal muminoon al-haadiroon.
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hat saying Allahu akbar, Allah likes that. Because we are admitting and we are saying that there is no one other than Allah is the Creator and He is the greatest.
There is nothing that exists without his existence. We are unable to exist. They say in science that animals or dinosaurs extinct, disappeared, gone. They are gone from dunya, many species are gone. But creation is still going on. It means the Creator is creating. It means new cycles are always going and new cycles coming, until Allah with His heavenly and eternal wisdom makes it end, and He knows it best. That is why He is the Greatest. You say akbar, greatest, but it is not compared to what we are. If we compare to what we are that is nothing, of course Allah is greater than everything. Allah is above everything that we think, not that Allah is greater than us or greatest of all things in existence. He is above every imagination or science. He is above whatever inspiration comes to your heart, Allah’s hidden treasure is far more. There is endless treasures that Allah is granting to His servants. That is why the Prophet was looking to himself in the night of Mi’raj and he was saying, “I am nothing but a human being like you.” He only wants to show his humbleness. “Nothing
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exists in front of Your Existence.” These appearances have passed on and gone, but Allah remains. But we are so huge with our monstrous ego, with our selfishness. And Allah is always teaching us how to be humble. We are fasting this month. The Prophet said, according to Abu Hurayrah , and this is in a holy hadith and there are very few hadith in which the Prophet said, “Allah said, Qaala Allah inna li bani Adam , kulli ibadah ill assawm fa innahu lee wa ana ajzi bih.” Allah said that for the sons of Adam , “Fasting is for Me and I reward it.” It means: “No one can interfere in fasting. And I am the one that rewards for it.” Everything else you will be granted reward by angels. But fasting is different; there is no intermediary for the fasting. “I will take it directly and I will reward it.” Was-sawmu junnah - “And fasting is a Paradise.” When Ramadan comes and you begin fasting and you don’t do something against Shariah, such as adultery or entertaining yourself in bad places. And if anyone come against you or was fighting with you, you have to say to him, I am fasting, twice and by the One in Whose Hand is the soul of Muhammad the smell that comes from the mouth of the fasting person is better on Judgment Day than all perfumes in Paradise.” You know after they wake up they go and brush their teeth. They want to smell nicely. And when they go to meet someone I see many people spraying in their mouths. To smell nicely. The Prophet is saying that, “The smell of the one who is fasting, whatever smell it is, is better to Allah on the Day of Judgment than the best scents of Paradise, reeh al-misk. And for the fasting person there are two great joys. One is when you break the fast.”
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Like today or like the time when you break in the evening. Look how the ego is dangerous. It is constantly telling you, “You are tired, you are sick.” And then if you complete the fast you are very happy and satisfied. “And the second is happiness is when you meet your Lord on the Day of Judgment.” Ramadan will be on Day of Judgment coming with you like a bed flying; like a flying carpet. And you will be happy with your Ramadan. Qaala an-Nabi Al-Qur’an wa Ramadan yashfi`aan li-l `abd yawm alqiyaamat. The Qur’an and fasting will intercede for everyone on Judgment Day. That siyaam will come on Judgment Day and say, “That person you must not judge him.” The fast, siyaam will say, “I forbade him from eating and bad desires during the day, [because he is fasting], he cannot do it. Let me intercede for him.” And the Qur’an will say, “I forbade him from sleeping at night, [because he is reading Qur’an at night when he is fasting on the day]. And let me intercede for him and it will be accepted.” So there will be two intercessions. [Ahmad] And from Sahl bin Sa`d who said that, “Paradise will have a door called Rayyaan.” Rayyaan means something watered or something juicy and sweet. “At the door of that Paradise will stand angels that call out, ‘where are the people who fasted Ramadan, come and enter here.’ And when the last of them has entered that door will be closed.” That means that the fasting ones enter Paradise without any account. The Prophet said, “As-sawmu lee wa ana ajzi bih-- Fasting is for Me and I will reward it.” If one person broke fast during Ramadan without illness, intentionally and without any legitimate excuse, even if he fast all his years from that day to the day of his death it will never
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compensate for that one day of Ramadan. So be careful, there are people who say, “I have an excuse,” but it might not be a legitimate excuse. Allah mentioned the excuses in Qur’an. traveling then you may fast days later.”
“If you are sick or
Adh-Dhahabi said, “Whoever left the fast of Ramadan without being sick or an excuse, he breaks his fast intentionally or didn’t fast, ignored the fast, he is worse than the one who makes adultery and the one who is addicted to alcohol. He is worse than that drunk person and there will be a doubt in his Islam, is he Muslim or not and they will think about him he is a corrupted heretic.” That is what ulama al-Islam are worried. They are very worried for those who are intentionally not fasting or ignoring the month of Ramadan. Alhamdulillah the majority of the Ummah are fasting. I know many people who fast but don’t pray. And some fast and pray but only in Ramadan. They don’t remember praying outside Ramadan. Allah is merciful but we have to be careful. Abu Hurayrah said, that the Prophet said between the 5 prayers, from one day to another from a Friday to a Friday and from one Ramadan to the next, whatever is between, Allah will waive all the sins that are between. It means if you fast one Ramadan and then fast another, every sin that occurred between the two Allah will forgive them all. And the Prophet said, “Man saama Ramadan imaanan wahtisaaban ghufir lahu maa taqadamma min dhanbih—Whoever fasted Ramadan with belief and full attention, will be forgiven whatever he has done in the past.” Everything will be forgiven. Whatever were sins before. Rawahu Ahmad wa ashaab as-sunan.
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`An abi ayyub al-ansari `an an-nabi annahu qaala man saama Ramadan wa’ ttab`ahu bi sittatin min shawwaal ka annahu saam ad-dahr. “Whoever fasted Ramadan and followed it with six days [fast] from [the month of] Shawwaal, it will be as if he had fasted permantnely.” And the `ulama explained that because every fast is multiplied by 10 hasanaat, so 30 days of Ramadan is equal to 300 days of fasting, and whoever fasted 6 days from Shawwal multiply it by 10 hasanaat, then it is as if he fasted 60 days and that makes 360 days or the whole year. Zakaat al-fitr is very important. If anyone didn’t pay it let him pay before noon. Zakaat al-fitr was ordered in the 2nd year after the Prophet’s message and it was ordered in Sha`ban. That zakaat will search out the defect in your fasting in Ramadan and purify it. It is like a Google search engine, it searches for defects, and then it purifies them. We have to call it the Google Shaykh, that googles everything and then cleans it and you will saved. Ibn `Abbas related from the Prophet that Allah made zakaat al-fitr an obligation in order to purify the mistakes of Ramadan, and what is included is al-laghwi. Al-laghwi means people keep talking, whatever doesn’t concern them, they only like to keep talking. That is a sickness. You go on a plane or a ship or a train or a bus, and there is a person that sits by your side and he will tell you his whole life story: “My grandchildren got married and got divorced and this and that.” That is laghaw. That zakaat al-fitr will take any laghaw. Sometimes you throw some lies there, that zakaat al-fitr will take it.
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And rafath, it will take all of it. It is something that is against Islamic Shariah in behavior. As long as you are keeping your fast that will take and clean it. And tu`mat al-masakeen, that is a food that you give to poor people to satisfy their needs in Eid time. It is higher than sadaqa. You make those people who are poor happy by giving them some money or in time of Prophet giving in kind, if you sell barley you give barley if you sell whet you give wheat. Anyone who will give it before he prays, it will be like a Google Shaykh and will clean the fasting. If given after the prayer it will be like sadaqa and will not have that search engine to clean your actions. … Allahu akbar, Allahu akbar, Allahu akbar, La ilaha ill-Allah, Allahu akbar Allahu abkar wa lillahi al-hamd. Alhdulillah illadhee sharafana bi haadha ad-din, …