`Isha Suhbah & Dhikr at Haqqani Zawiya
As-salaamu `alaykum! I know that everyone wants dhikr, but I'd like to begin with a small talk because you can do dhikr at home and suhbah you cannot do at home. But now with Sufilive, you can hear a talk at home for free with the computer!
A`oodhu billahi min ash-Shaytaani 'r-rajeem. Bismillahi 'r-Rahmaani 'r-Raheem.
Nawaytu 'l-arba`een, nawaytu 'l-`itikaaf, nawaytu 'l-khalwah, nawaytu 'l-`uzlah, nawaytu 'r-riyaadah, nawaytu 's-sulook, lillaahi ta`ala fee haadha 'l-masjid.
Allah (swt) granted us something that we cannot make by ourselves. Everything that was given to us is from Allah (swt) and nothing is from human beings. So if nothing is from us, why do we have to be proud, why do we have to be arrogant? You cannot say, "I created," or, "I became Muslim." No, it is for Allah (swt) only, Who said about human beings, "We have given them something honorable that makes them over all Creation." So you have to be grateful to that One who gave you everything. You cannot be grateful to one who never gave you anything.
وَلَقَدْ كَرَّمْنَا بَنِي آدَمَ
Wa laqad karamnaa Bani Adam
We have honored the children of Adam. (al-Israa, 7:70)
Why do we have to be grateful to Allah (swt)? He said:
لَئِن شَكَرْتُمْ لأَزِيدَنَّكُمْ
la'in shakartum la'azeedannakum
If you thank Me, I will give you more (Ibrahim, 14:7)
In the last five or six years, it has been nice to speak from something that I cannot say, "I said that," because the ego and selfishness will come in. But if I can quote someone who said that, it is his quote, not our quote. So since then, when I was with Grandshaykh (q) and Mawlana Shaykh Nazim, may Allah give him long life, they have guided us in that way. May Allah inspire them to guide according to the sunnah of Prophet (s); anything that is not coming from the sunnah we have to drop it. Don’t give excuses to your self, saying it is okay. If it is not from the sunnah of the Prophet (s), then it has to be dropped. That is why we are grateful to them for guiding us from the sunnah. So that is why from those years ago, I began to read from notes of Grandshaykh (q) and Mawlana Shaykh Nazim (q). This is because if someone wants to speak with no notes in front of him, especially in Sufism, he might fall into too many traps. The scholar, this one here ( in the gathering) is doing a big project; I can't name it, it has to be kept secret until it comes out.
Especially in spirituality, people think they have a connection to somewhere, a connection with the heavenly dimension. But as they are not perfect, they might get the picture fuzzy, like a satellite, the picture is not good and it becomes fuzzy. It might be wrong, the description of what you are seeing. But if it is a good connection, the picture is very clear and you notice everything very clearly. Like the Four Imams of Islam, and one time Grandshaykh (q) gave an example of the teaching of the Four Imams, because they explained for us the religion in a way we can understand. What they explained of the religion is of a higher level, like the main source of the electricity, you cannot get it directly, you have to lower the voltage to what your house can accept. So these Four Imams are like transformers; they explain for us the high level of knowledge from Prophet (s) in a way we can understand, or else we cannot understand. How do we understand? Allahu akbar.
In reality you have to say the truth, we cannot say things from the sky. People like to feast on fantasy, imaginations, illusions. Some speaker comes and says, "O the Prophet is here and ruhaaniyyah is here and all these kinds of awliyas are standing here behind you, doing this and that." That description is a fantasy. If Prophet (s) appeared, it is not for everyone to witness. If awliya appear, is not for everyone. When you mention in their presence without permission, you might give a fantasy and it may not be true.
That is why Shari'ah is first. I am not going to say tariqah is first. Shari'ah is the way, tariqah is second. Shari`ah is the constitution. You need the constitution, to follow. If you don’t have the constitution, the rules and principles, how are you going to go on the way? So if anyone speaks of tariqah before Shari'ah, he is making a mistake. Anyone who speaks on Sufism before teaching Shari'ah is making a mistake. That is why Shari'ah is the most important for every Muslim, man or woman. That is why Prophet (s) said, "Seek knowledge even if you must go to China." But it is easy for you to go to China from here (Malaysia). (laughter) So Shari'ah comes first, tariqah comes second, and ma`rifatullah (gnosis) comes third, and so on.
So we go back to the Four Imams, as described by Grandshaykh in Jumu`ah of 1391 A.H., 40 years ago, and he is building his speech, because in every speech you have to build a case, like an advocate. He said, "Shariذah is a constitution that Allah wants to build Sayyidina Muhammad (s)." (Mawlana stands and sits.) He said, "What is the example of the Four Imams? What is the description of their teaching? It is that they have a mountain; we are on the surface, down, and the mountain is very high and you are looking at the mountain."...
They agreed on that creature, that it is a man or animal, but the basic, the trunk they have accepted. When it came to the details of that animal or man or creature or whatever, they differ. One said it has green eyes, one said blue eyes, one said yellow eyes, maybe in China, some said black eyes. But they agree that the creature has eyes, but they did not agree on the color of the eyes. They agreed on the hands, but not on if they are big or small. There are different descriptions. Similarly on the feet, similarly on the hair, what hair they were able to see, this is important. Don't look at the basics, it is important, but it is important to know. These are very touchy? These are descriptions that awliyaullah like to put in the beginning of their talks. So they disagree on their description, but agree on the trunk. This means they agree on the usool but disagree on fiqh. Grandshaykh (q) said, "When you study Shari`ah, you will see and you will notice."
(...transmission cut...) Become pious, have taqwa then you will get from heavenly knowledge:
وَعَلَّمْنَاهُ مِن لَّدُنَّا عِلْمًا
wa `allamnaahu min ladunna `ilman.
We taught him knowledge from Our own Presence. (al-Kahf, 18:65)
So the difference between the descriptions of the Four Imams and the description of a person, someone who has wa `allamnaahu min ladunna `ilman, "We have taught him from our heavenly knowledge," is that one who is not only satisfied to be at the bottom of the mountain, but he will take a daleel, a guide to go all the way up to check the person or the animal on top of the mountain. To check, "do you have black eyes, a black beard, I don’t know if it is tinted or not, a face, a happy face,a big nose, a small nose." They will describe it fully, in detail. That is tariqah.
So Shari`ah teaches you the usool. Tariqah will teach you the branches, correctly. Then those who are pious, mustaqeem, will guide you through those branches. When you get Shari'ah and tariqah, then you will get Haqiqah, the reality. And when you know the reality, then you will end up in `azheema, the highest level of worship. This is like the Prophet (s) praying until his feet were swollen. This is the highest level of `Uboodiyyah, Servanthood, which will take you there. You will find yourself doing all kinds of voluntary worship, besides your obligations. That is the highest level of Shari`ah and the highest level of tariqah. You know that Haqiqah is the truth so you will behave according to what Allah likes from His servant, doing the highest level of worship. From that time, all kinds of mistakes will be slowly, slowly eliminated from you. They will polish your heart. When they polish your heart through azeema ash-Shari`ah and azeema at-tariqah, you will enter in ma`rifatullah; not to know Allah (swt), no, but you may know His Attributes.
Even in Akhirah no one can understand the reality of Allah. It can be described through His Beautiful Names and Attributes, but you can never know or understand His Essence. Allah (swt) is al-Ismu 'l-Jamee`i li 'l-Asmaa'i wa 's-Siffaat. This is a very well-known fact, that "Allah" is the Name encompassing all the Beautiful Names and Attributes, but it is not the Name of the Essence. The Essence is within the secret of the Name 'Allah,' which no one knows. But ma`rifatullah, is where you will know about Him through His beautiful names and attributes. You will enter and dive in; you will zoom in to understand some of these realities. It is not easy to dive into those oceans. That ocean needs Man; not normal Man, but those who have reached the level of `Uboodiyyah (Station of Servanthood).
These gatherings are important because we learn. But unfortunately, we are not learning. Why? When you go to a university, anyone here went to university? Those who have, raise your hand. Anyone who did not go, raise your hand. So I am repeating that now: whoever went to school raise your hands (everyone raises their hands). All of you. What do you do in school? Learn. Listen and what? Listen, observe and write notes. Is anyone writing notes? How are you going to remember what we said? That's the problem. In school, we know we are going to have an exam at the end of the semester. What do we have to do? You have to study and take notes, to get an "A" (high mark). You are afraid to fail. You take notes, study, then you pass your tests. Okay, well this is more important notes, to keep this knowledge within you. If you don't write it, you don’t understand it. Writing makes you to learn and understand. With all my respect and apology to everyone, writing is important. When I was young, I had more than 300 to 400 notebooks, from Grandshaykh's suhbahs and the others were from suhbahs of Mawlana Shaykh.
Even if he would say, 'uh' I would write it. I was very fast. And Grandshaykh (q) used to wait for me to come and write, if he was speaking at a big association. If he was speaking even to one person, mashaa-Allah, he would speak for one hour and he would call me, "Come and write." So when you write, you memorize, and you can look at it whenever you like. If I didn't write it 40 years ago, it would have been lost. This is from 40 years back. You were in Damascus, staying in Mawlana Shaykh Nazim's house, correct? How many notebooks did you see of Mawlana Shaykh Nazim from Grandshaykh? You didn't see enough. All these notes; this is Mawlana Shaykh taking notes from Grandshaykh (q) because these jewels will disappear.
So awliyaaullah begin to understand these haqiqah, which takes them to azeematu 'sh-Shari`ah and azeematu 't-tariqah. It takes them back to make them solid and then give them ma`rifatullah. So that was the intruduction. I will quote one more thing and that's it. He said, "innallaha awd`ata 's-samawaati 's-saba`, wa 'l-araadeen as-saba`, wa malaaoohum bi amaaikimi 'l-muqaddasa"
Allah (swt) has created the heavens and this universe. He created the Seven Heavens and the Seven Earths. This means, in scientific words, the universe is comprised of all galaxies that Allah created. These are worldly planets with all the stars and constellations. He created the heavens with heavenly malakoot that cannot be described and He filled them with all of the holy places. That is why you don’t know what kind of holy places Allah has put in the heavens, correct? We don't know except that which is on the Earth. That which is mentioned, that the Holy Qur’an mentioned, Masjid al Aqsa, Medina Munawara and Makkah. These we know because Allah taught us through His Prophet, but we don't know about what is in the heavens and what is in the universe. We only know what is on Earth. He said: Allah created all of that and gave to you. Why did He give to you? Because Holy Qur'an says,
وَسَخَّرَ لَكُم مَّا فِي السَّمَاوَاتِ وَمَا فِي الْأَرْضِ جَمِيعًا
wa sakhara lakum maa fi 's-samawaati wa maa fi 'l-ardi jamee`an
And He has subjected to you, as from Him, all that is in the heavens and on earth. (45:13)
This means, He gave you the control and put under your command all the heavens and earths. But you have to be up to that level in order to control that.
Wa sakhara lakum maa fi 's-samawaati wa maa fi 'l-ardi jamee`an, "He put under your control the heavens and the earth." If Allah put this under our control, then why are we not able to reach the heavens? This is because we are not able to reach the level of Sayyidina Muhammad (Mawlana stands) (s) (Mawlana sits) Allahuma salli `ala `l-habeeb al-Mustafa `alayhi afdalu 's-salaatu wa 's-salaam.
Every time Mawlana says the name of Sayyidina Muhammad (Mawlana stands) he stands up. Even though he is 88 years old, he stands up. And we are lazy; we don't stand up. Although he has problems with his legs, he stands up. May Allah give us from the reality of standing up, although we are helpless and weak. May Allah forgive us. (Mawlana sits.) So the Prophet (s) went to Mi`raj, and awliya say a lot of things about that Mi`raj. About that spiritual presence, state, haal, when they are in trance, they say, do you think Allah (swt) gave His Prophet (s) one visit? Who is "al-Kareem," the Most Generous, do you think He cannot give two visits, or give more? They say, depending on `azhamatullah, Allah gave Mi`raj to Prophet (s), relatively speaking to His greatness, Allah knows how much He gave because every time Jibril (a) comes, it is a Mi`raj. He has a Mi`raj in these ayats that come. He goes in to them, in to their meanings and secrets, getting these constitutions that he gave to us. He said that Allah said, "Wa sakhara lakum maa fi 's-samaawaati wa maa fil `ardi jamee`an,"
Allah made it under your control; take it. Why can't we take? We are not following fully, the way of Shari`ah and the way of tariqah. So he said, that is the importance of these associations, because they take you to be with the teachings of `ulama and awliya and Allah opens for you the door of controlling and understanding. He said, because of coming to such associations, listening to what pious people are saying, he said, muqaabil hadhihi 'l-khidhmah, wa hadhihi 'l-khidhmah tashabahoona ila ridwaanunahu 'l-akbar.
He said, this kind of gathering is khidmah, worshiping, because this is worshiping. I am sitting here, although not praying, I am sitting in a circle of worship. We are talking about Islam; it is worship. It will pull you to Ridwaanullah al-Akbar (a), to Allah's greatest happiness for you. Grandsheikh (may Allah bless his soul) said that Ridwaan al-Akbar is a heaven above every heaven that only those whom Allah is satisfied with in dunya, they will be there with His Prophet (s). He said, when we say, "Yaa Rabbee! Irziqna al-Jannah," in our hearts we have to say, "Yaa Rabbee! We don’t want the lower level of Jannah. We want Ridwaanullah al-Akbar! We want the highest level that makes You happy with us!" This means that you give everything in dunya, that will benefit you to make Allah happy with you.
He said that in 1391 A.H, in the winter time, Grandshaykh (q) said, "Look at these windows," like this association and there were windows like this. He said, "Look at these windows. Inside, it is very hot, outside it is very cold. Condensation begins to appear." These condensations, he called them, "Dharrah," atoms, the smallest that you can see. He is giving an example to understand by calling them 'dharrah,' the smallest that you can imagine. Although they are not like atoms, but he is giving a description. He said, "These dharrah are coming from the condensation of the dhikr we are making." When we begin the dhikr, now even if you are sitting and you don't make dhikr, you dont see sometimes condensation. But when you make dhikr, the energy becomes stronger and the room becomes hotter and your breath is coming out hot. When it is comes out hot while the outside is cold, condensation occurs. It means that you are condensing the reality of your dhikr on the window where the outside is cold. This mean, outside is Shaytan and inside is Rahman. Shaytan is waiting outside. He said, "That vapor of dhikr, even if it's not too cold out, when you are inside that rahmaani association, these dharrah, breaths are so strong that immediately they make rocket bullets against Shaytan outside. If we take one atom of condensation and cut it into its smallest part, take that smallest particle, no wali, no nabi will know how much Allah will reward you for that breath." It is in Allah's hand, because dhikr is for Allah:
الَّذِينَ يَذْكُرُونَ اللّهَ قِيَامًا وَقُعُودًا وَعَلَىَ جُنُوبِهِمْ وَيَتَفَكَّرُونَ فِي خَلْقِ السَّمَاوَاتِ وَالأَرْضِ رَبَّنَا مَا خَلَقْتَ هَذا بَاطِلاً سُبْحَانَكَ فَقِنَا عَذَابَ النَّارِ
Alladheena yadhkuroon ’Allaha qiyaman wa qu`oodan wa `ala junoobihim wa yatafakkaroona fee khalqi 's-samaawaati wa 'l-ardi rabbanaa maa khalaqta haadhaa baatilan subhaanaka fa-qinaa `adhaaba an-naar
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. (3:191)
That dhikr, fadkuroonee adhkurkum, is for Allah (swt).
So he said that no one will know what Allah will reward. As much as you describe of rewards, you will get more and you will get the barakah of wa sakhara lakum maa fi 's-samaawaati wa ma fi 'l-ardi jamee`an. He will give you from that smallest breath of dhikrullah, control over heavens and earth, spirituality, that He will reward you as if you have reached that level. All this, from 20, 40, or 50 minutes or one hour of sitting together.
I will not give more than that, this is the good tidings of dhikr; no one knows the rewards of that. May Allah bless us and reward us. I am speaking from their notes, not from me. May Allah (swt) keep that in our hearts and and may Allah give us that reward that has just been mentioned here from Grandshaykh's notes, to you and your children, ameen.
Wa min Allahi 't-tawfeeq, bi hurmati 'l-habeeb, bi hurmati 'l-Fatihah.