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What is the Meaning of ‘Sultan al-Awliya’?

Mawlana Shaykh Hisham Kabbani

6 May 2015 Lefke, Cyprus

`Asr Suhbah

Nawaytu 'l-arba`een, nawaytu 'l-`itikaaf, nawaytu 'l-khalwah, nawaytu 'l-`uzlah,

nawaytu 'r-riyaadah, nawaytu 's-sulook, lillahi ta`ala fee maqaam sayyidee shaykh Muhammad Nazim al-Haqqani

As-salaamu `alaykum wa rahmatullaahi wa barakaatuh.

Alhamdulillah alhamdulillah nasta`eenahu wa nastaghfiruhu wa nastadhee wa na`oodhu billahi min shuroori anfusinaa wa sayyiaati `amaalinaa man yahdillahu fa-laa muddilla lah, wa man yudlill fa laa haadiya lahu

Sayyidna `Ali (r) said the first principle in Islam is silence, sukoot, not to talk, because as soon as you open your mouth to talk you fall into problems. So he said it is better to be careful with four different levels or principles, the first of which is, “Talk is from silver, silence is from gold,” tamayyaza bayn al-ithnayn, he distinguished from the gold and the silver by saying that silver is to talk too much, gold is to be silent. Today, Shaytan can penetrate through all of us and we say later why, through all of us--adults, children and young ones even three years of age--through all kinds of electronics. It doesn’t keep anyone quiet. Even you see young children have iPads and tablets that they are talking to! It is not to talk to someone to get wisdom, they are talking to the machine. Children of three years of age know how to play with the computer more than me, more than adults and all this comes under the category of “no silence”. Even from their childhood they are talking and even adults, if they are silent they cannot take it anymore and they are talking to Whatsapp, or text messages or to game apps on phones and it’s becoming toxic, contaminating everyone with nonsense! No, to do `ibaadah is better, use that computer or that phone to remind you to say, “subhaanAllah” or “astaghfirullah”.

So Sayyidina `Ali was looking in the future, saying, “Make sure to be silent!” because there will come a time that children are not silent through these computers. Once I saw a child playing and speaking to the computer, and I came and was looking, he doesn’t look at me, he was still busy with his iPad or whatever he had in his hand, working and working and working, and talking.

I said to his father, “What is this?”

He said, “He is playing a game.”

“But he is talking to the computer?”

“Yes, he is talking to the computer, there might be partners from other countries playing the same game and they are connecting with each other.”

And if they connect non-Islamic pictures, what happens? Who is responsible, the father? Of course. The mother? Of course. Now the father and mother are buying the iPad for their children and tell them, “Go and play as much as you like, let us do our work.”

Sayyidina `Ali (r) was seeing in the future, that talking too much is going to create fitna, so what he said?

1) Keep quiet, silent, don't bother with what's going around, keep silent.

2) The second step he said, keep silent but keep opening your ears to listen to what they are saying, if they are in a group discussion.

In order to see what you have to do next, first you are silent, don't talk, covering your mouth, looking to see what that person is saying and keep quiet, but observe their way of moving their mouths and their tongues because the tongue is the area of problems, because if you don't have a tongue, you don't do anything wrong because you have no tongue; now they are using hands now of a way of hearing, but it's okay, hearing with hands now? What do you think, that Awliya don't hear with hands [gestures]? As soon as you put your hand in his hand, he knows from your ancestor from Sayyidina Adam until today from what you have done! Awliya are not simple people, Awliya like Mawlana Shaykh Nazim, Sultan al-Awliya, are Salaatin, the kings! It's not easy to get that title and throughout history nine of the Naqshbandi Golden Chain have carried the title Sultan al-Awliya. So it’s not easy for Mawlana to carry that power of Sultan al-Awliya and who he likes to give to, it's free. Him carrying that is not a simple matter, it is something very strong.

One time Grandshaykh, may Allah bless his soul, said before a mureed comes to a wali he knows, as he will be informed by angels or by jinn, because Sultan al-Jinn, Sayyidina Hazzz, will inform that wali, because that Sultan al-Awliya is above Sultan al-Jinn. So they inform in that moment, “That person is coming to you so, prepare yourself.” Immediately he would look at everyone, and a star will represent him in the universe. Every shining star you see represents one of Ummat an-Nabi (s)! There are stars which are dead and stars that are alive. Stars of Ummat an-Nabi are alive and others are dead, although you still see the light coming from light years away although it already died one or two billion years ago, or however long ago it was alive, because the light is still coming because it is moving at 300 thousand kilometers per second.

So the wali looks and he knows from you that information from Sultan al-Jinn; he looks at your star, he will find and know about you everything what you have done in your life. That's why Grandshaykh `AbdAllah (qs) always said to us, “In Salaat an-Najaat, I'm responsible to present my mureeds to Prophet (s) so don’t make me ashamed of you, because it's my duty to represent you! Don’t make me ashamed in front of Prophet (s), keep doing well because it is my duty to present you. If you make me ashamed I will be ashamed in front of Prophet (s).” This was his advice.

Sultan al-Awliya can see and as soon as he holds their hands, like an upload of everything Sultan al-Jinn sent that goes directly to and is saved in the hands of the shaykh! He doesn't show it, but when he makes tasbeeh, slowly, slowly he is erasing [sins and traumas] from his mureeds.

Sayyidina `Ali (r) knew that secret:

أنا مدينة العلم و علي بابه

I am the City of Knowledge and `Ali is its Door (or Gate). (al-Haakim, Tirmidhi)

So Sayyidina `Ali (r) knows what's going on, so he gave that signal to keep quiet, don't open your mouth, because the shaykh is watching. They are watching us, so what to say? Shukran lillah! SubhaanAllah, w’alhamdulillah wa laa ilaaha illa-Llah, Allahu Akbar!

Shah Naqshband (q) got his daughter married by order of Prophet (s) and I will say the story as Grandshaykh (q) said it: Shah Naqshband (q) always covered his head, he never uncovered his head; he even covered with a hat when he slept and always wore a turban when he was awake. One night he saw someone waking him up, saying, “Wake up, an order came for you.” He woke up suddenly from sleep to that voice saying to him, “Get your daughter to marry!” although his daughter was young. “Get her married! If by Fajr time you don't get her married, you are out of Tariqah!”

I'm summarizing the story. He woke up and the hat wasn't on his head; he didn't touch it to put it on his head because the order came first. So to that extent, they look at the smallest things we do. He said, “The order came to marry my daughter to someone, but not to put the hat on my head.” Can we do that? No. He went to the masjid and all his mureeds were sleeping, except one. He approached that one, saw a small lamp lit, and he had the Quran opened in front of him and he was reading.

Shah Naqshband (q) shook him, saying, “Yaa `Alaa ad-Deen!” He didn't move; he was deeply involved in tafseer of Surah al-Baqara. Again he said, “Yaa `Alaa ad-Deen!” and shook him another time, “Wake up, open your eyes!” That one was diving in the surah and was not with himself, he was in the Holy Presence of Prophet (s) and the Divine Presence of Allah (swt). For the third time, Shah Naqshband (q) pushed him and said,“Yaa `Alaa ad-Deen! What are you doing?”

He said, “Yaa Sayyidi, there's no hat...what’s going on? Did something happen?”

Shah Naqshband (q) said, “No. Who else is awake?”

He said, “Everyone is sleeping except me.”

Shah Naqshband (q) said, “Come with me.”

He took two witnesses and went home, called his daughter, took her permission and got them married that night! Because that one was totally immersed in tafseer of the Holy Qur’an, Allah (swt) gave him that chance to marry the daughter of the shaykh.

So he said to him “Go and this is your woman.” Fajr time came, the father Shah Naqshband is sitting there, reciting of what he is reciting. Fajr prayer came, they came from the room and went to pray directly. Shah Naqshband said, “How are they praying directly? Are they not junub? They need ghusl.” They spent all night discussing the meaning of zuhd. He says something, she says something, she is a women that is very intelligent, knowledgeable from her father, learning everything, answering him with every question he says, and he answers her on every question she says. They spent their wedding night, not honeymoon, honey heaven.. no discussion but they discussed. They were discussing about zuhd. So this is Tariqah, in Shari`ah it is okay, go do what you want. So we were saying that Awliya they know about their mureeds what is going on. That's why it is very important, as much as you can to keep quiet, unless as you've been asked by your shaykh to say something. Mawlana Shaykh had a small radio at that time, it was black, very old style, and when there was Qur’an they would they would open for his family. Everyday he would ask “what is the news? What is the news?”

He would ask me, “what is the news?”

We would say, “what is the news?”

One day we brought a newspaper, and we came and he said, “What is the news?”

I showed him the newspaper, and he said, “I didn't ask for the newspaper, I asked for the news.”

I said, “Ya Sayyidee, the news is in the newspaper.”

He said, “I didn't ask for that. I have that radio, open that radio and don't make a hassle.”

Today people stare too much at the news, especially cable TV. The best is to be quiet, silent, listen, don't interfere. Don't do actions, actions will hit you. So when you're silent, you are hearing, `ilm al-yaqeen, you hear the knowledge. When you are quiet Awliya pour for you, but when you are talking, too much talking of nonsense instead of tasbeeh they will not give you, they will hide from you. Dont say “why am I not seeing the shaykh or why am I not seeing this or why am I not seeing that, and others are seeing?” Look at what you are saying and what your nafs is playing with you.

من عادا لي وليا فقد آذنته بالحرب

(Allah [swt] said) Whoever comes against My wali, I declare war on him.

(Hadith Qudsi; Bukhari, from Abu Hurayrah)

Who is a wali? Not that Sultan al-Awliya, all Ummah of Prophet (s) is a wali. Prophet makes his Ummah Awliya. The hadith means anyone who comes against wali, means against one of mu’mins, I will destroy Shaytan from himself. If a person comes and attacks another person, it is not you attacking, it's your shaytan inside you, because you are pure, because Allah picked you from Ummati an-Nabi. Allah made you from that Ummah. That Ummah is maghfooran lahu, marhooman. So Allah will declare war against your shaytan as He declared war against Iblis and threw him out of heavens because he whispered in the ear of Adam. Any shaytan that whispers in the ear of anyone from Ummat an-Nabi, that shaytan will be taken away.

If you go higher Allah will tell His Awliya, like Mawlana Sultan al Awliya, Sayyidee Shaykh Nazim al- Haqqani, for him he will declare war on Shaytan not to approach that person anymore, if shaytan approaches that person the shaykh is responsible to do istighfar on behalf of that person.

وَلَوْ أَنَّهُمْ إِذ ظَّلَمُواْ أَنفُسَهُمْ جَآؤُوكَ فَاسْتَغْفَرُواْ اللّهَ وَاسْتَغْفَرَ لَهُمُ الرَّسُولُ لَوَجَدُواْ اللّهَ تَوَّابًا رَّحِيمًا

Wa law annahum idh zhalamoo anfusahum ja’ooka f ’astaghfaroollaaha w ’astaghfara lahumu ‘r-rasoolu la-wajadoo ’Llaaha tawwaaba ‘r-raheema.

If they had only, when they were unjust to themselves, come to you and asked Allah's forgiveness, and the Messenger had asked forgiveness for them, they would have found Allah indeed Oft-returning, Most Merciful. (Surat an-Nisa, 4:64)

“When they are oppressing themselves, listening to Shaytan, they come to you, Yaa Muhammad (s) to make istighfaar, and you have to make istighfaar on their behalf, then I will accept to erase their sins.” So we are still in `ilm al-yaqeen, hearing, hearing is through `ilm, but you cannot see, you can hear, like a TV you hear audio, or like these telephones, but now with videos, you don't see the reality, only sound, hearing. When you keep hearing the good things, not accepting to hear the bad things, they take to mushaahadah, witnessing and observing. When you say ashhadu an laa ilaaha illa ‘Llah, ashhadu is “I witness, I bear witness.” Don't look there [Mawlana points], it's not our business. Your business is here.

Maqaam al-Mushaahadah Is the level of seeing, `ilm al-yaqeen and then `ayn al-yaqeen, then Allah gives you light to your eyes, to observe and to see, like when he ordered Sayyidina Ibrahim to slaughter his son. Thats mushaahadah, kashf. You will be given that kashf because, of who? [Mawlana points to the Maqaam of Shaykh Nazim] Mawlana, may Allah bless his soul. When you get mukaashaafah, then you have `ilm al-yaqeen, `ayn al-yaqeen. Then now you are seeing, then now you can act. Now you can change hearts. Now you can interfere in the mureeds thinking. You can go through their ears, they will give you that power. Haqiqat al-jazbah, haqiqat al-fayd, haqiqat at-tawajjuh, haqiqat at-tawassul, haqiqat at-tayy, haqiqat al-irshaad, six powers you will be given from within you to be able to move in space. You'll be able to give irshad, you'll be able to witness everything, to have that jazbah towards you. All of that because you are silent, you are hearing and now you reached the level of kashf (observation).

Now what do you do, the fourth thing, al-harakah. Then you move your stone forward wherever you like. For example, when they play chess what do they do? Russian famous player, player of chess, to move one stone takes days, one stone takes days to move. How many stones do we have to move? In order to be able to see visions and knowledge, but you are not moving the stones, they are moving the stones when you reach that level. Those awliya, that brought everyone from different parts of the world, to come and remember his actions, his da`wah, you think when he is doing da`wah for him it's finished? He went east and west to do da`wah, but the da`wah that he does, it's not like the da`wah we do. The da`wah that he does, he will present you clean in front of Prophet (s), when someone accepts him. It’s his duty, if he doesn't do that, he is responsible. His strengths now is more in his death than in his life.

He brought everyone from different parts of the world, that is a sign enough for us to know that he is Sultan al-Awliya. For us, everyone of Mawlana’s mureeds believe that he is Sultan al-Awliya. We don't care for other tariqas. They have their own titles and their own ways, but our way is we accept and we believe and we confess that he is Sultan al-Awliya.

May Allah (swt) raise him higher and higher, and dress us from his dress that it is Sultan al-Awliya, because what is the meaning of Sultan al-Awliya? The title Sultan al-Awliya was mentioned first by Muhyiddin ibn `Arabi when he said in his books that he is the Sultan al-Awliya, he described it like that: tthere are two bricks to finish building the wall, which means when you build the knowledge of Tariqah and the knowledge of Islam you build a wall, but there's a hole in that wall. It needs two bricks, facing each other, the hole on that side and this side, north and south, or right or left. So Prophet (s) said, as Muhyiddin ibn `Arabi said, ‘He is the brick’, meaning, the brick of gold. He is the Last One of Prophets and in front of him the silver brick is Muhyiddin Ibn `Arabi (q). He said, “It is me, that brick there. From Prophet (s) to me, from me to my mureeds.” So that is the meaning of Sultan al-Awliya. So he is the brick, the brick facing Prophet (s), which means wherever he is sitting, he is sitting by the side of Prophet (s) facing him.

May Allah dress us from those bricks, these two bricks, bricks of Awliya, bricks of Anbiya, to dress us from their noor. May Allah forgive us, and may Allah accept your ziyara here and your visit here, and your happiness to show to Mawlana that you are one hand united, one people, one head, one person that's going forward. May Allah forgive everyone.

As-salaam `alaykum.

Fatihah.

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