[Pointing to a tapestry] That’s Sayyidi `Abdal Qadir Jilani’s (q) mazaar. Alhamdulillah. Inshaa-Allah, we will put it up. May Allah (swt) allow us to be really in his presence physically and spiritually, inshaa-Allah.
A`oodhu billahi ‘s Sami` al-Aleem min ash-Shaytaani 'r-rajeem.
A`oodhu billahi ‘s Sami` al-Aleem min ash-Shaytaani 'r-rajeem
Bismillaahi 'r-Rahmaani 'r-Raheem.
Alhamdulillahi Rabbi 'l-`Alameen, wa ’s-salaatu wa ’s-salaamu `alaa Sayyidina Muhammadin wa `alaa aalihi wa sahbihi ajma`een. Wa man tabi`ahu bi ihsaan illa Yaum ‘d-Deen wa `ala saa’iri ‘l-Anbiya w ‘l-mursaleen wa ‘l-Awliya wa ibaadillahi ‘s-saliheen wa alayna ma ajma`een yaa Arhaam ar-Rahimeen.
Laa hawla wa laa quwatta illa billahi 'l-`Aliyyu 'l-`Azheem.
Dastoor, yaa Sayyidi, Qutb al-Mutasarrif, madad yaa Sultan al-Awliya. Nadharak himmatak, yaa Sayyidi ‘l-Kareem. Dastoor, yaa Sayyidi wa Mawlay, yaa Sayyidi Shaykh Nazim. Madad, yaa RijaalAllah.
As-salaamu `alaykum wa rahmatullaahi ta`aala wa barakaatuh.
Mashaa-Allah, we have more visitors. We have people from Georgia, we have people from Dallas, Texas. May Allah (swt) allow us always to be in the presence of Awliyaullah, always to take from their good akhlaaq, good manners, from their morality and from their honor so that we can apply some of that to ourselves, from ourselves to our children and our beloved ones, inshaa-Allah.
Today, as usual, I opened Mawlana Shaykh Nazim (q)’s suhbahs. Alhamdulillah, everything always comes as pearls even if it’s the same story that’s repeated. Mawlana Shaykh Nazim (q) said according to the people present, according to the night, according to the month, always a new meaning comes out. Inshaa-Allah, we will see what meanings come out of Mawlana Shaykh Nazim’s suhbahs.
He said, the story of one of our noble and highly esteemed masters, Sayyidina `Abdul-Khaliq al-Ghujdawani, is very important. We always heard this story but inshaa-Allah, we will repeat it again. Mawlana Shaykh Nazim (q) said that we have reached a time when people don’t know what they want anymore. Whatever they are given, they say, “It’s not what we wanted. It’s not enough. We deserve more. We want more.” They are not content with what they have. They are not content with what they were given. When they are given favors, when they are given ni`mah from Allah (swt), when they are given grants, they say, “This is nothing.” That is tahkiru ni`mah. That is the humiliation or demeaning of ni`mah.
Ni`mah is the favor of Allah (swt) that He has bestowed on His Creation. When you do not appreciate what Allah (swt) has given you, you are demeaning, you are belittling his ni`mah on you. He said, nowadays is the time when people are given so many things but they do not appreciate it, they are not thankful for it. They are ungrateful and they see it as if it’s not worth anything. It is too little. “I deserve more. I need more.”
It is said that Sayyidina `Isa (a) passed by a rich man. Sayyidina `Isa (a) took his hand and took him to a poor man. He said, “Look, this is your brother, O rich one! Allah (swt) has favored you and granted you so much. Look at that one who does not have that much. You have to thank Allah (swt) for that.”
It is said that a good mu’min looks up to the one that is better than him in religion. Can you reach Sayyidi Shaykh `Abdul Qadir al-Jilani (q)? Why not? He is like you. He is flesh and blood. Is he an angel? He was not created as an angel. He was created as a human being. How did he reach that level? Why don’t you look? Why don’t you research? Why don’t you Google, “How did Hazrat `Abdul Qadir al-Jilani reach his level”?
Google would not know. The only thing that Google might not know is spirituality. Google only knows material stuff. Ask it anything physical, it knows, but spiritual it does not know. No Google. No Oracle. No Alexa. No Siri. They don’t know.
A good mu’min, a good believer looks to the one who is better than him in religion, not in dunya. Don’t say, “I want to be like that big rich man or big king or big president or big prime minister,” whatever it is. Look under you to the one who is less fortunate than you in dunya. It’s the opposite. Don’t put the one who is higher than you in deen, in religion, down, as they do nowadays. They don’t accept Awliyaullah. They don't accept ways of purification. They don’t like that. They put the darwish people down. They say, “These are nothing, nonsense.” They look at the people on top, “Oh, he is the mufti of the whole kingdown. I need to be like him.” They want to go to that position.
Sayyidina `Isa (a) took that rich man and showed him the poor one. He said, “Look, Allah (swt) has favored you, so give your thanks.” Then he took the poor one to a sick one and said, “Look, what will be your condition if you are poor and sick at the same time?” How many poor people are healthy and how many people are sick in hospitals? He took that faqir, the poor one, to see the sick one and said, “Thank Allah (swt) that you are not like him. What would have happened to you if you were poor and sick?”
And then he took the sick one and went to a kafir, an unbeliever and said, “What would have happened if you were poor, sick and an unbeliever at the same time? Allah (swt) gave you iman. Thank Allah (swt) for the iman that He has given you.”
He has shown all three different people ways to thank Allah (swt). He has guided them to thank Allah (swt) by viewing the state of others. He woke them up from ghaflah, heedlessness. You have everything you need. You have everything you don’t need! You store them. You don’t know what to do with them anymore. You put them in corners of your house and still say, “I have nothing. I want more.” You have to wake up from ghaflah, heedlessness and awareness, O insaan! You have to thank Allah (swt) for what He has given you. You have to leave the ingratitude that we are all in.
Mawlana Shaykh Nazim (q) is saying, if they are given from the favors of Allah (swt), they say, “This is nothing.” This is leaving good manners with Allah (swt). You have to have manners with Allah (swt). You have to be on your best behavior with Him and say, “Yaa Rabbee! Alhamdulillah. You have not given me like that one but it’s Your Hikmah, wisdom. I thank you for the things I have. I thank you for everything You have given me.”
He said, when something difficult comes their way, if Allah (swt) sends on them from khayrihi wa sharrihi, the good and bad, if something happens that bothers a human being, if something comes upon them that bothers them then they start to complain as if it is the worst thing that ever happened to anyone. How many times have you tripped and you started cursing? “It’s the worst thing that happened! Nobody else could experience this horrible thing that happened to me.”
Mawlana Shaykh Nazim (q) is teaching that both of them are tark al-adab. When Allah (swt) gives favors and people demean and do not appreciate it, this is leaving manners with Allah. Also when Allah (swt) sends a difficulty and you start to complain, that is also tark al-adab because your difficulty is not as bad as others. Yes, you might have a problem but others might have bigger problems.
This story of Ghujdawani (q) is to show us how to appreciate the favor of Allah (swt). It also points you to the perfection of patience. That is what the murshid is about. The murshid is about teaching you what he knows, what he is about. Ghujdawani (q) is the perfect human being in appreciating the favor of Allah (swt) and is the perfect human being in the patience that he has. What was his story?
Mawlana Shaykh Nazim (q) said, always something will happen to you in this dunya. Allah (swt) will send a bala`, difficulty, on you, a hardship, a trial. Something is going to come your way sooner or later. Even Anbiya, prophets, had bala` come their way, Awliya had bala` come their way and the mu’mins will have bala` come their way.
What happened to Sayyidina Ghujdawani (q)? Sayyidina Ghujdawani (q) was going to Jum`uah as we know because our shuyookh have told us that. He was going with 700 mureeds all dressed in white, clean. They have taken their showers, put on their best clothes and are going to Jumu`ah prayer. While they are walking through the alleys of their town a lady is cleaning up for Jumu`ah. What did she do? She threw the bucket of dirty water, dirty laundry, out the window. Who did it come on? Ghujdawani (q)! Mawlana Shaykh Nazim (q) said, the white became yellow, brown, whatever it is.
What did the mureeds do? They all got angry and they went inside to reprimand the lady. Sayyidina `Abdul-Khaliq al-Ghujdawani (q) said, “Wait a moment. Don’t become drunk with anger. I don’t want you to get angry about this thing. I am thanking my Lord and I’m looking at myself. I look at myself that it deserves fire.” Do you think that you deserve fire? Awliyaullah have said you have to see your ego lower than the ego of Firaun. If you say, “I am better than Firaun,” then you have put yourself up like Shaytan has put himself up. Be careful how you carry yourself.
He said, “I see myself worthy of fire being thrown on myself or my ego, but Allah (swt) was kind to me and He made that lady throw the water on me. So, instead of fire, I got water and I’m thankful to my Lord, Allah (swt).” Look at how he looks at everything as coming from Allah (swt). He did not notice the woman or the cause. He saw the Mussabbib. How many times do you say, yaa Mussabbib ‘l-asbaab? Do you know what that means? Yaa Mussabbib, the One Who creates the reasons. He looked straight to the One Who made this happen. He said, “Yaa Rabbee! Thank you. Water came to me. Maybe it’s dirty but it’s water, not fire like my ego deserves.”
He said, “You go to Jumu`ah. I cannot anymore as I have an excuse now. You go. I have something to do.” It is said that he went to the river, washed his clothes, hung them, and waited until they dried, which was after `Isha. He was there the whole day. After they dried, he put his clothes on and went back home. He didn’t go back home after the lady did what she did because he was afraid that the people of the house would also get the same kind of bad manners.
What did he do from Jumu`ah time until `Isha time? Mawlana Shaykh Nazim is saying, when Sayyidina `Abdul-Khaliq al-Ghujdawani (q) went to the riverbank and was waiting for his clothes, he was praying for the lady and all of her ancestors to be cleansed also from dirtiness. That is ihsaan to the one who has done bad to you. The akhlaaq of Awliyaullah is that they do not shout, yell, curse or make bad du`a at them, no! Rather, they ask forgiveness from Allah (swt) for the mistakes they have made. Which `alim nowadays if you do something bad to him asks forgiveness for you or which human being or which shaykh? If you touch them, he says, “May Allah forgive you.” It doesn’t exist anymore.
True Awliyaullah, as Mawlana Shaykh Nazim (q) and other Awliyaullah have said, have husn ‘l-khuluq, the best morals, best characters. That is patience and not getting angry. Hilam, tolerance and forbearance that when they are among people they overlook their mistakes. Awliyaullah do their best for people. When people do something bad, they overlook their mistakes. They live among them with peace. They show them the good ways. Awliyaullah show people the good ways without getting angry and violent.
They wanted to show people the good ways in Iraq. All they did was violence. No, that is not the way. Your way was wrong. Learn from Awliyaullah, don’t learn from shaytans. Awliyaullah show people the good ways, ma`roof, what is morally accepted, what is accepted by the mind and what is accepted by the norm without violence. They forbid them from badness without exposing them. That means if they see somebody doing something wrong, they do not expose them in front of people. They talk to them privately. They tell them, “You have to stop this bad act you’re doing,” but without exposing them and they show them the good ways without forcing them. This is the way of Islam. This is the way of Awliyaullah. Nowadays it’s all lost.
It is said that four things are amongst the worst characteristics of a human being and they are even worse if they belong to four groups of people. Stinginess and miserliness is a very bad characteristic. It becomes even worse if the king is stingy. If a king or sultan is a stingy man afflicted with miserliness that is even more ugly. A king cannot be a stingy one. He has to be a generous one.
Second, lying is a bad characteristic, but lying is even worse and uglier if a judge lies. Read their opinions. You will be amused. Third, anger with shuyookh. Anger is a bad characteristic, but when a shaykh or an `alim is angry, it’s even uglier.
Sayyidina `Abdul-Khaliq al-Ghujdawani (q) controlled himself. He was not angry. He did not show any anger when he was confronted by that dirty water. If it was somebody else, you never know what they would have done.
The last thing that is a bad characteristic of a human being is indecency. It’s even worse when women are indecent. A man is not an attractive person to start with. I know I’m not interested in their chest hair or whatever it is. What do they do? They wax it. I’m sorry but there is laa haya fi ‘d-deen. There’s no shame when you are explaining religion. Indecency is a bad thing to do, men or women, but it’s even worse in women.
Try to be away from these four bad characteristics. Sayyidina `Abdul-Khaliq al-Ghujdawani (q) was away from anger because that’s a bad characteristic. He was thankful, as Sayyidina `Isa (a) was teaching the rich, the poor and the sick to be thankful for what Allah (swt) has given them. Sayyidina `Abdul-Khaliq al-Ghujdawani (q) received the bucket of water and he was happy. He went to the river and worked the whole day after Jumu`ah, asking forgiveness for that lady and all her ancestors. He was doing goodness to the one who did bad to them. That is the character of Awliyaullah. Try to be like them, O insaan! Try to learn from Awliyaullah. Don’t learn from shaytans how to be a Muslim and don’t invent ways of Islam that are not according to what Awliyaullah have done and said and acted. That is the way of Shaytan who tries to deceive Muslims and to deceive humanity at large. May Allah (swt) keep us away from his deceit and his badness.
Bi hurmati 'l-habeeb, wa bi sirri Surat 'l-Fatihah.
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