A`oodhu billahi min ash-Shaytani ‘r-rajeem. Bismillahi 'r-Rahmani 'r-Raheem . Alhamdulillahi Rabbi 'l-`Alameen, wa ’s-salaatu wa ’s-salaamu `alaa ashrafi 'l-mursaleena Sayyidina wa Nabiyyina Muhammadin wa `alaa aalihi wa sahbihi ajma`een.
Salaam `alaykum wa rahmatulaahi wa barakatuhu. We are all resting: we are all travelling and finally we come to a place where we are all resting. All of us have travelled from villages, cities, countries and we found a place to rest. Our teacher taught us that Mankind, we human beings are travellers, and our example is a traveller in the desert. We dwell on Earth as travellers move in the desert, but in the desert there are certain places where people rest and find food, water, fruit, shade, and there we sit, rest, water ourselves and then we start travelling again. We are travelling in this dunya, but during this travel we stop at these oases; otherwise, we will die.
These places are the centers of `ilm, knowledge, places where heavenly knowledge is given, so our shaykh says, “Try to travel to a place that gives heavenly knowledge, because we are on the path towards Allah’s Divine Presence.”
Mankind is to acquire divine knowledge, but it has to be sought from these centers that receive it. Our teachers are the `ulama, fuqaraa, awliyaullah and anbiyaullah. They are such oases of heavenly knowledges. They are the blessed people among Mankind and by being with them we quench our thirst, rest, eat and then we continue our journey, not to our shaykh, our journey is the all the way to the Divine Presence. So we accompany them and we are lucky. We always ask for their support as these are our guides, and our Holy Prophet’s name is Haadiyy, guide. Every nation, tribe and people has a guide, and we are blessed to have Prophet Muhammad (s) as our guide, and he is still an `abd, servant, as Allah (swt) says in the Holy Qur'an:
إِنَّكَ لَا تَهْدِي مَنْ أَحْبَبْتَ وَلَـٰكِنَّ اللَّـهَ يَهْدِي مَن يَشَاءُ ۚ
Truly you do not guide whom you like, rather Allah guides whom He wills. (Surat al-Qasas, 28:56)
“O My Beloved, you don’t guide whom you like.” In another verse, Allah (swt) says:
وَإِنَّكَ لَتَهْدِي إِلَىٰ صِرَاطٍ مُّسْتَقِيمٍ
Truly you guide to the Straight Path. (Surat al-Shura, 42:52).
“You are the one, the guide.” How is it that one verse says, “You don’t guide” and another verse says, “You are certainly the guide.” That means Allah (swt) is The Ultimate Guide! Allah (swt) will make the guidance enter or not enter a person’s heart. Prophet Muhammad (s) is a guide in the sense that he delivers the Message, he declares to you what was revealed in Holy Qur'an and that’s the guidance he gives. Only if Allah (swt) wills imaan enters the heart and the guidance flourishes..Allah (swt) says in the Qur’an:
ذَٰلِكَ الْكِتَابُ لَا رَيْبَ ۛ فِيهِ ۛ هُدًى لِّلْمُتَّقِينَ
This is the Book in which there is no doubt, a guide for those who take heed. (Surat al-Baqara, 2:2)
“This book that Allah (swt) has revealed upon our Prophet (s), guidance for those who believe in the Unseen, and they establish prayers.” So the guidance is upon the Prophet (s) to the teachers.
We come to their homes, their khaniqahs and zawiyas, to hear the wisdom given to them, to accept that knowledge and then continue our journey.
Our teacher was once asked, “What will happen to these people after you pass away?” and he said, “They are coming to take their rizq and they go.” So we go, but we take what Allah (swt) has kept for us, we take and go. That means when a teacher, saint or prophet passes away, Allah’s guidance does not stop, it continues, because Allah (swt) sent the Holy Qur'an and it, in itself, is the guidance for the people who want Allah’s Divine Presence. So when we read in Holy Qur'an, “There is guidance for those who seek protection from the bad end,” everything leads to an end, which is the most important issue because however your life ends you will be faced with that. If we end our life as an unbeliever or as a hypocrite, or as faithful Muslim, we will have the rewards of that. So we continue our journey and should not stop, we should seek places that give heavenly knowledge.
Allah (swt) can guide us through anything and will appear through anything if Allah (swt) puts that power in it. There is an old saying in Turkish, “Assume that everyone is Khidr (a).” It means you can learn from anyone; whoever you meet can teach you and maybe he is Khidr (a); there is hikmah, wisdom in every person coming into our lives. When you know Allah's power in each and every one, that means you become muttaqeen, protected, because you see the power of Allah (swt) in everything, the wisdom of Allah (swt) for His Creation, for a purpose He wanted.
Allah (swt) says in the Holy Qur'an:
إِنَّ فِي خَلْقِ السَّمَاوَاتِ وَالأَرْضِ وَاخْتِلاَفِ اللَّيْلِ وَالنَّهَارِ لآيَاتٍ لِّأُوْلِي الألْبَابِ الَّذِينَ يَذْكُرُونَ اللّهَ قِيَامًا وَقُعُودًا وَعَلَىَ جُنُوبِهِمْ وَيَتَفَكَّرُونَ فِي خَلْقِ السَّمَاوَاتِ وَالأَرْضِ رَبَّنَا مَا خَلَقْتَ هَذا اطِلاً سُبْحَانَكَ فَقِنَا عَذَابَ النَّارِ
Behold! In the creation of Heaven and Earth, and in the alternation of night and day, there are indeed signs for men of understanding, those who remember Allah (always, and in prayers) standing, sitting and lying down on their sides, and contemplating the creation of the Heavens and the Earth, (saying), "Our Lord! You have not created (all) this without purpose! Glory to You! Give us salvation from the torment of the Fire.” (Surat Aali `Imraan, 3:190-191)
“O my Lord! You have not created this batil.” So there is wisdom in the creation of everything and when you start to understand this you become muttaqeen, then imaan enters your heart and you start to see we are swimming in Allah’s Power. The beginning of our awareness of Allah (swt) is imaan bi ‘l-ghayb, faith in the Unseen. First is imaan in Allah:
ذَلِكَ الْكِتَابُ لاَ رَيْبَ فِيهِ هُدًى لِّلْمُتَّقِينَ
Guidance is to the ones who start to be aware (the muttaqeen), who are Believers. (Surat al-Baqara, 2:2)
We ask Allah (swt) to make us from muttaqeen and to keep us with them!
Iman is also that we have to believe whatever comes, good or bad, is from Destiny. We are travellers, we seek the knowledge of the Pious Ones who teach us how to be aware of Allah’s power and we pray we enter Jannah, all of us together!
Bi hurmati 'l-habeeb, bi hurmati 'l-Fatihah.
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