`Isha Suhbah at Masjid Mbah Kholil
As-salam `alaykum wa rahmatullahi wa barakaatuh. Allahu Akbar, Allahu Akbar, Allahu Akbar. Laa ilaaha illa-Llah Muhammadun Rasoolullah. A`oodhu billahi min ash-Shaytani 'r-rajeem. Bismillahi 'r-Rahmani 'r-Raheem.
What comes to the heart, I want to recite al-Fatiha with the intention of healing Shaykh `Abdul Qadir as-Saqqaf completely, for the continuation of his lovely recitation, which makes our hearts happy!
Alhamdulillahi Rabbi 'l-`Alameen, was-salaatu was-salaamu `alaa ashrafa 'l-Mursaleen, to the Master of Mankind, and angels, and the one whom Allah (swt) mentioned from pre-Eternity in His Words, which the tongue is too weak to speak and the pen is too weak to write, and the heart is in difficulty to remember, when it comes to the vision of Sayyidina Muhammad (s)! He (Allah) is The One Who raised him, honored him and dignified him to the Station of qaaba qawsayni aw adnaa, “Two bow's lengths or nearer,” and He created his Light before creating anything among His Creation; before the stars and planets, the Light of Sayyidina Muhammad (s) was the first Creation of Allah (swt).
As written in the Musannaf of `Abdur Razzaq, when the Prophet (s) was asked, “What is the first thing Allah (swt) created?” he answered that the first thing that Allah created was the Light of your Prophet, and from that Light He created all of Creation and the cosmos. The evidence of that is in the Holy Verse:
إِنَّ الَلّهَ وَمَلَائِكَتَهُ يُصَلُّونَ عَلَى النَّبِيِّ يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا صَلُّوا عَلَيْهِ وَسَلِّمُوا تَسْلِيمًا
Inna-Llaha wa malaa'ikatahu yusalloona `alaa 'n-nabi, yaa ayyuhal-ladheena aamanoo salloo `alayhi was sallimoo tasleema.
Verily, Allah and His angels send praise on the Prophet. O Believers! Pray upon him and greet him. (al-Ahzaab, 33:56)
It has two fragments: that Allah (swt) and all His angels recite salaat on the Prophet (s). Therefore, it is explained that Allah didn't say, “Inna-Llaha wa malaa’ikatahu yusalloona `alaa nabiyyullah,” but instead He said, “an-Nabiyy,” preceding Nabi (s) with the “al,” that is, “of the known one.” So the `ulama deeply rooted in exegesis of Holy Qur’an, and the awliyaaullah who are described in the verse, “The Friends of Allah, neither are not sad, nor do they grieve,” have said, “Allah ordered the angels with making praise on the Prophet (s) since the very time that the Light of the Prophet (s) was created, and from then until now it is ongoing without stopping, as long as Allah wills.”
Allah (swt) said in the Holy Qur'an:
يَا أَيُّهَا الْمُدَّثِّرُ قُمْ فَأَنذِرْ وَرَبَّكَ فَكَبِّرْ
Yaa ayyuha ’l-muddaththir, qum fa andhir, wa rabbuka fakabbir.
O you, wrapped up (in the mantle)! Arise and deliver your warning, and your Lord magnify! (al-Mudaththir, 74:1-3)
“Dathir” means “covered with clothing,” due to fear or shock. How can the Prophet (s), who was raised to qaaba qawsayni aw adnaa and honored by Allah (swt) to be the Qiblah of the Two Worlds and imaam of the Heavens and Earth, be afraid? They say in the tafseer, “He was afraid due to the appearance of the angel Jibreel (a).”
[But the understanding our shaykhs teach is higher] Here “duthoor” does not mean “fearful,” but rather “bountiful,” or “the rich one,” who is being ordered to give out blessings he was granted, the Kawthar, “the utterly plentiful.”
Stand up and and warn with the Divine Muhammadan manifestations
that are coming down,
the people of richness have taken
the blessings and rewards!
(excerpt from a poem)
The Divine Manifestations that Allah (swt) described in the Holy Qur'an as “llah” is the Light of the Heavens and the Earth:
Allahu nooru’s-samawaati wa’l-ard. Mathalu noorihi ka-mishkaatin feehaa misbaahun al-misbaahu fee zujaajatin az-zujaajatu ka-annahaa kawkabun durriyy.
Allah is the Light of the Heavens and the Earth. The parable of His Light is as if there were a niche and within it a lamp: the lamp is in a glass, the glass like a Brilliant Star. (an-Noor, 24:35)
If the verb “daththara” had been addressed to someone other than the Prophet (s), Allah would have said, “Yaa ayyuha ’l-muddaththar,” not “muddaththir” (the difference of fatha and kasra). That means that no one is rich, other than Allah.
من توادع لله رفعه
man tawada` lillahi rafa`ahu
Whoever lowers himself before Allah, He raises.
He (swt) raises his levels and the lights of his heart, and here was indicated to my heart that whoever remembers Allah and recites praise of Allah, and specifically Shaykh `Abdul Qadir as-Saqqaf, will be with the Prophet (s), not only in the Next Life, but in this life before passing away! These are good tidings to all the attendees, me and all of you, for you were calling on the Prophet (s)! Does the Prophet not hear and does he not see? He hears and sees! By the order of Allah (swt), he sees us and hears us, and with his hearing us we are saved, and for sure, as the hadith indicates:
قال رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم حياتي خير لكم تحدثون ويحدث لكم ووفاتي خير لكم تعرض علي أعمالكم فما رأيت من خير حمدت الله عليه وما رأيت من شر استغفرت الله لكم
Hayyaatee khayrun lakum tuhaddithoona wa yuhaddithu lakum wa wafaatee khayrun lakum tu`radu `alayya a`amaalukum famaa ra'aytu min khayrin hamadtullaha `alayh, wa ma ra'aytu min sharrin istaghfartu Allaha lakum.
My life is a great good for you; you will relate about me and it will be related to you. And my death is a great good for you; your actions will be exhibited to me, and if I see goodness I will praise Allah, and if I see evil I will ask forgiveness of Him for you. (Majma` a-zawa’id, sahih)
He is looking at us and hearing us and speaking, and inspiring the hearts of awliyaaullah, as is the dhikr of the Shadhili, Qadiri and Maaliki shaykhs, with their remembrance of Allah and praise of Sayyidina Muhammad (s), who is known in the Holy Qur'an as al-fulki ‘l-mashhoon, “the loaded ship.”
وَآيَةٌ لَّهُمْ أَنَّا حَمَلْنَا ذُرِّيَّتَهُمْ فِي الْفُلْكِ الْمَشْحُونِ
Wa aayatun lahum annaa hamalnaa dhurriy-yatahum fi 'l-fulki 'l-mashhoon.
And a sign to them is that we carry them and their descendants in a loaded ship. (36:41)
The fulk al-mash-hoon is known in the tafseer as the Ark of Sayyidina Nuh (s). However, Sayyidina Ibn `Arabi (q) said, “My hand saved the ark of Sayyidina Nuh (a).” They asked, “How can that be; it was 4000 years ago?” And he said, “Because I am a descendant of the Prophet (s) and his hand is the one that saved the ark of Sayyidina Nuh (a) in his time, by the power of Allah!”
مَثَلُ نُورِهِ كَمِشْكَاةٍ فِيهَا مِصْبَاحٌ الْمِصْبَاحُ فِي زُجَاجَةٍ الزُّجَاجَةُ كَأَنَّهَا كَوْكَبٌ دُرِّيٌّ
mathalu noorihi ka-mishkaatin feehaa misbaahun al-misbaahu fee zujaajatin az-zujaajatu ka-annahaa kawkabun durriyy.
The parable of His Light is as if there were a niche and within it a lamp: the lamp is in a glass, the glass like a Brilliant Star. (an-Noor, 24:35)
Allah is the Light of the Heavens and Earth and the example of His Light is al-mishkaat, as described, “The bundle gathering all the fruits.” Also, Allah described the Prophet (s) as a bundle and putting it in the lamp, the Divine manifestations, i.e. Allah's Beautiful Names and Attributes, are the lamp, and the lamp is enclosed in a glass, the glass being like a shining, pearly planet. Scholars say kawkabun durriyy, “the Brilliant Star,” is the Prophet (s).
Therefore, Allah (swt) said:
أَلَمْ نَشْرَحْ لَكَ صَدْرَكَ وَوَضَعْنَا عَنكَ وِزْرَكَ الَّذِي أَنقَضَ ظَهْرَكَ وَرَفَعْنَا لَكَ ذِكْرَكَ
Alam nashrah laka sadrak wa wada`anaa `anka wizrak alladhee anqada zhahrak wa rafa`naa laka dhikrak.
“(Yaa Muhammad!) Did We not expand your chest and remove from you your burdens and raise up your remembrance?” (ash-Sharh, 94:1-4)
“We removed from you your sins,” is the literal translation. Does the Prophet (s) have any sins? When Sayyida `Ayesha (r) saw him always standing at night, prostrating and bowing until his legs were swollen, she said, “O Prophet! Why are you praying so much when Allah has forgiven you your former and latter sins and ordered the angels to pray on you? Yaa Muhammad! They pray on you in order for Allah to forgive your ummah!” The wizr, sins that burdened the back of the Prophet (s), are the sins of the ummah! The "former sins" that Sayyida `Ayesha mentioned are the sins of the ummah that came before and the "latter sins" are the sins of the ummah that will come after, up to Judgment Day. Sayyidah `Ayesha (r) understood the secret meaning of, "Allah has forgiven you your former and latter sins."
An-Nabi (s) is “al-`Abd,” the sole true servant who declared and testified to Allah's Unique Oneness with perfect worshipness. He knows His Lord, and the Sahaabah (r) and the scholars knew about the Lord through him. He always said with deep happiness that Allah spoke of him as “His servant.”
سُبْحَانَ الَّذِي أَسْرَى بِعَبْدِهِ لَيْلاً مِّنَ الْمَسْجِدِ الْحَرَامِ إِلَى الْمَسْجِدِ الأَقْصَى الَّذِي بَارَكْنَا حَوْلَهُ لِنُرِيَهُ مِنْ آيَاتِنَا إِنَّهُ هُوَ السَّمِيعُ البَصِيرُ
Subhaan-alladhee asraa bi `abdihi laylaan min al-masjid al-haraam il-masjid al-aqsaa alladhee baaraknaa hawlahu li-nuriyahu min ayaatina innahu huwa ‘s-samee`u ‘l- baseer.
Glory be to He Who transported His servant by night from the Inviolable House of Worship (at Mecca) to the Remote House of Worship (at Jerusalem), the environs of which We had blessed so that We might show him some of Our symbols, for verily, He Alone is All-Hearing, All-Seeing. (al-Israa’, 17:1)
I advise you to pray for Shaykh Habib. I am the least one of you in ability and the most sinful of you all. Ask Allah to forgive me and as we conclude this night, I say, as-salaamu `alaykum wa rahmatullahi wa barakaatuh.