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Ummah School Address

Mawlana Shaykh Hisham Kabbani

1 March 2010 Cape Coast, Ghana

2010 Africa Tour Series

As-salaamu `alaykum wa rahmatullahi wa barakaatuh. A`oodhu billahi min ash-Shaytaani 'r-rajeem. Bismillahi 'r-Rahmaani 'r-Raheem. Alhamdulillahi rabbi 'l-`alameen, wa 's-salaatu wa 's-salaamu `ala ashrafi 'l-mursaleen Sayyidina wa nabiyyina Muhammadin wa `ala aalihi wa sahbihi ajama`een. Alhamdulillahil-ladhee hadaana li 'l-Islami wa maa kunna li-nahtadeea law laa`an hadaanallah, alhamdulillahi`ala li ni`amihi zhaahiran wa baatinah. W 'alhamdulillahil-ladhee ja`alana min ummati habeebika Muhammada 'l-Mustafa. `amma ba`ad.

I am honored to be with the imaam, Shaykh Hussayn. His name is according to his character; he looks like he is inheriting from Sayyidina Husayn (r), the grandson of Prophet (s). This is a humble masjid and we must also be humble. The heart of a human being is the masjid; your heart is your masjid. As in the masjid, all of you are brothers and sisters, and coming for Allah (swt) , your heart also must be a masjid in that all your `amal have to be for Allah (swt). Allah (swt) said in a Holy Hadith (Qudsi) according to Prophet (s), “Neither My Heavens nor My Earth contain Me, but the heart of a believer contains Me.”

This universe is a huge universe; we cannot see anything except the moon and the sun. We cannot see the stars, they are very far. The universe is so far, so huge, and so big, still it cannot contain Allah (awt), but the heart of the mu'min can contain Allah’s light. Everything that Allah (swt) created can be contained in the heart of the mu'min if it is clean. For that reason O Muslims, keep dhikrullah in your heart.

`Ala bi dhikrullahi tatma`innal-quloob, by Allah’s dhikr, peacefulness and tranquility come to the hearts of people. Mashaykh al-kiram inherited that secret of dhikr from Prophet (s), to teach to their followers to do daily dhikr as you are doing. I am seeing, all of you are carrying beads making dhikrullah; that is what will save you in dunya and akhirah.

Allah (swt) said in Holy Qur’an:

الَّذِينَ يَذْكُرُونَ اللّهَ قِيَامًا وَقُعُودًا وَعَلَىَ جُنُوبِهِمْ وَيَتَفَكَّرُونَ فِي خَلْقِ السَّمَاوَاتِ

وَالأَرْضِ رَبَّنَا مَا خَلَقْتَ هَذا بَاطِلاً سُبْحَانَكَ فَقِنَا عَذَابَ النَّارِ

Alladheena yadhkuroonullaha qiyaamaan wa qu`oodaan wa `alaa junoobihim wa yattafakkaroona fee khalqi ’s-samawaati wa ’l-ard, rabbanaa maa khalaqta hadhaa baatilan subhaanaka fa qinaa `adhaba 'n-naar.

Those who remember Allah (always, and in prayers) standing, sitting, and lying down on their sides, and think deeply about the creation of the heavens and the Earth, (saying): "Our Lord! You have not created (all) this without purpose, glory to You! (Exalted be You above all that they associate with You as partners). Give us salvation from the torment of the Fire. (`Ali Imraan, 3:191)

That is what Allah (swt) wants from people. When they are working they are standing, when they wake up from sleep, they are standing, and as soon as they stand up they say, Ash-hadu an laa ilaaha illa-Llah, wa ash-hadu anna Muhammadan `abduhu wa habeebuhu wa rasooluh. When they are at home sitting with their families and children, or at school, or with people, or at their homes, their work is remembering Allah (swt) and teaching each others about how Prophet (s) lived his life, and how Sahaabah (r) lived their lives, and how awliyaullah lived their lives, or how the imaams of Muslims live their lives. So they remember all of these beautiful things, not sitting in front of the television only and turning from one station to another, like all of us do, and forgetting about Allah (swt) and about Prophet (s)! Those who are sitting and remembering and teaching their children are the dhakireen as Allah (swt) mentioned in Holy Qur’an.

Then Allah (swt) said in Holy Qur’an, “When they are lying down,” meaning when they want to go to bed, or when they take a short nap before `Asr, they have to remember that Allah (swt) is looking at them. They have to say, “Yaa Rabbee, forgive us.” They remember what they had done during the day of sins, and they are asking for forgiveness when they are lying down to go to bed. When they are always in remembrance of Allah (swt) and his Prophet (s) and Islam, they are always continuously thinking about the creation of heavens and Earth. Because today scientists who study stars still cannot understand, what kind of a huge system Allah (swt) has put in this universe? All these stars that have equal distances between them are making constellations. Then there are the sun and the moon; the moon goes around the Earth, the Earth goes around on its axis, and the moon and the Earth turn around the sun to make the year. The Earth turns around the sun to make day and night. The moon turns around the Earth to make the month.

Who is giving fuel to all of this? Who is putting gasoline inside the moon, the Earth, and the sun? What kind of heavenly fuel is inside these planets that are making them to move like this? A Muslim has to remember the greatness of Allah (swt), to meditate, contemplate, focus, by closing your eyes and looking into your heart and remembering the greatness of Allah (swt) and the greatness of this verse that just we have briefly explained.

Prophet (s) one time passed by Abu Hurayra (r) and asked him, “Yaa Abu Hurayra! When you read alladheena yadhkuroon 'Llaha qiyaaman wa qu`oodan (and the rest), what do you think of that verse?”

He said, “When I read that verse, I think about akhirah and that Allah (swt) created these things for the benefit of people.”

Prophet (s) answered, “Yaa Abu Hurayra! To think like that is worshipness. Allah (swt) will reward you more than your worshipness for a whole day.”

Then Prophet (s) left and as he was going he passed by Ibn Abbas (r). He asked him, “When you read, alladheena yadhkuroon 'Llaha qiyaaman wa qu`oodan (and the rest), what do you think about this verse, yaa Ibn `Abbas?”

And he said, “Yaa Rasoolullah (s), when I read that verse, I think about the greatness of Allah (swt)! I cannot understand how this universe is being put together? Creation of Heaven and Earth is bigger than the creation of human beings. And today people think the creation human beings is more difficult than Earth and Heaven. But Allah (swt) said in Holy Qur’an, 'Creation of Earth and Heavens is bigger than the creation of a human beings.' This is how I think.”

Prophet (s) said, “To remember Allah (swt) for one hour like that, khayran min `ibaadati sannah, better than the worship of a whole year."

Then Prophet (s) passed by Abu Bakr as-Siddiq (r), and said, “Yaa Abu Bakr (r)! When you recite that ayah (verse) what do you think?”

He said, “Yaa Rasoolullah! When I recite that ayah I say to myself, ‘May Allah (swt) save ummatu 'n- nabi. Ummatu 'n-nabi needs a lot of intercession, a lot of shafa`ah, because all of us are sinners, we make lots of sins. Yaa Rasoolullah! When I remember your ummah and I remember the punishment of Allah, I say ‘Yaa Rabbee, open Hellfire on me alone, and let everyone be safe.”

He said, “Yaa Abu Bakr! In the way that you are doing that taffakkur (remembrance), khayran min `ibadati saba`eena sannah, better than the worship of seventy years."

So this will give us a meaning that we need to do taffakkur (swt). We need to sit together and remember Him by dhikrullah and see the needs of the ummah, as Sayyidina Abu Bakr (r) was doing. He was looking at the ummah and was feeling their sufferings. He was trying to help by saying, “Yaa Rabbee, let me be the one who takes the heat of that fire and save the ummah.” So our duty today is first of the imams, second, the people, and third the ladies, because the men are not giving them a chance to speak. It is not Islamic. We have to give them a chance to say something. Sayyidah `Ayesha (r) was a big scholar, she was teaching Sahaabah (r) about Islam.

Therefore it is necessary to be together, listening to each others’ problems and trying as much as we can to help. This is taffakkur fi 'l-`ibaad because Prophet (s) said when he saw some Sahaabah (r) meditating, he said, “What are you doing?” They said, “We are thinking about Allah.” Prophet (s) said, “Think about His creation first,” to learn what their needs are. We are not looking at their needs; they are in need for teaching, for help, for medication, and for food. Those Muslims who have the capacity and capability have to look at those who do not.

May Allah (swt) forgive us and support us. Before I leave, I have a message for Shaykh Hussayn from my shaykh, Mawlana Shaykh Muhammad Nazim Adil al-Haqqani (q). He has millions of mureeds around the world. He gave me a picture and told me to look for that imaam in the picture. Shaykh Nazim (q) said, “He has something in his heart. I want him and I want to give him a message.” I gave that picture to someone two years ago, to a captain, and asked him to find this shaykh. He came to me after two months and said, “I cannot find this shaykh. He is not from Ghana; Allah (swt) knows who that person is.”

I went back to Mawlana Shaykh Nazim (q) and said, “Mawlana, I cannot find this person. They told me he doesn’t exist.”

He said to me, “No, you are going there now, I want you to find him because he has something in his heart that is coming from awliyaullah and from Prophet (s). I want to give him initiation of Tijaniyyah, Qadiriyyah, Naqshbandiyya, three tariqahs.”

I came here and said, “Where am I going to find that person? He does not exist.”

When I arrived at the airport, I was looking and thinking, “I know this person, from where do I know him?” It was the person in the picture, Shaykh Hussain. Mawlana Shaykh Nazim (q) said, “Tell him that he is my khalifah in Ghana.".

(Mawlana gives bayaa` to Shaykh Hussain.)

Wa min Allahi 't-tawfeeq, bi hurmati 'l-habeeb, bi hurmati 'l-Fatihah.

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