Go to media page

Be Happy

Ramadan Series, Vol 24

Shaykh Hisham Kabbani

24 June 2017 Fenton Zawiya, Michigan

Zhuhr Suhbah

A`oodhu billahi min ash-Shaytani ‘r-rajeem. Bismillahi 'r-Rahmani 'r-Raheem. Nawaytu 'l-arba'een, nawaytu'l-'itikaaf, nawaytu'l-khalwah, nawaytu 'l-'uzlah, nawaytu 'r-riyaada, nawaytu 's-salook, lillahi ta'ala fee hadha 'l-masjid.

Today, as the Muslim Ummah is breaking fast,`Eid al-Fitr is tomorrow inshaa-Allah. May Allah (swt) forgive us as the Prophet (s) said:

شهر رمضان أوله رحمة وأوسطه مغفرة وآخـــره عـــتق من النــــار

The first (ten days) of the month of Ramadan is mercy, the second (ten days) is forgiveness and the last (ten days) is salvation from the Fire. (Bayhaqi)

May Allah (swt) also accept our Ramadan fast, as He told Prophet (s) in Hadith Qudsi:

الصوم لي وأنا اُجزي به

Fasting is for Me and I will reward it. (Bukhari, Muslim)

Unlike all other worship that is taken by angels to the Divine Presence, with His Hand of Power, Allah takes our fasts to Himself, particularly fasts of His Believers! Inshaa-Allah, may He put us and our fasts in Bahr al-Qudrah!

Recently, I thought about the verse:

وَإِنْ أَحَدٌ مِّنَ الْمُشْرِكِينَ اسْتَجَارَكَ فَأَجِرْهُ حَتَّى يَسْمَعَ كَلاَمَ اللّهِ ثُمَّ أَبْلِغْهُ مَأْمَنَهُ ذَلِكَ بِأَنَّهُمْ قَوْمٌ لاَّ يَعْلَمُونَ

(If someone) asks you for asylum, grant it to him so that he may hear the Word of Allah, then escort him to where he can be secure.

(Surat at-Tawbah, 9:6)

This ayah is so deep. Allah is saying if any mushrikeen (and there are various understandings of ‘mushrikeen’) ask for amnesty, you must give it as this is amru ilahee, Allah's Order. Also, the Prophet (s) said:

أخوف ما أخاف على أمتي الشرك الخفي

What I fear most for my Ummah is hidden shirk (associating partners with Allah).

We cannot put ourselves next to Allah: He is The Creator and we are His servants. We commit hidden shirk by thinking or saying, “I did that (gave food, money, a donation to build masjid), and Allah doesn’t like that as really you are doing that for your own benefit. Don't put yourself shareek, as a partner to Allah, as if you are equal! That is hidden shirk within us, because when we get upset we say, “I did this favor for you,” but in reality, you did not do that! If it is good, Allah made you do it and if it is not good, Shaytan made you do it: we all have that small spot in our heart where Shaytan goes in and out, as Prophet (s) mentioned:

الا وان في الجسد مضغة إذا صلحت صلح الجسد كله، وإذا فسدت فسد الجسد كله، ألا وهي القلب‏.

In the body there is a small piece of flesh; if that piece of flesh is rectified then the whole body will be rectified and if it becomes corrupt then the whole body will become corrupt, and truly that is the heart. (Bukhari and Muslim)

In animal’s hearts you see a small clot of blood, and it is the same in human beings. Shaytan enters and exits there and makes you commit shirk. He made Sayyidina Adam (a) sin by suggesting, “There is a tree that will give you Eternal Life.” Allah had forbidden Adam to eat from that tree, but Shaytan whispered to him, “Eat from it and you will be in Paradise forever!” and he believed Shaytan and by doing that made himself equal to Allah (swt)! He disobeyed Allah (swt) when he listened to Shaytan and committed shirk. Allah forgave him, it is done, but Iblees was cursed.

Our deeds are not always pure as all of us have hidden shirk, so to purify them, Allah (swt) said in the above ayah, “Yaa Muhammad! If any mushrik comes to you seeking amnesty, give it to them.” If that applies to mushrikeen, what about Believers? We are seeking amnesty from Prophet (s), which is why Allah gave him the power of Intercession, so he will intercede for everyone! So surely the Prophet (s) will respond when we ask him to grant us amnesty from Hellfire, but are we asking him for that? We are saying this with every fiber of our being, in order for Allah to be happy with us, and Allah is happy with us if Prophet (s) is happy with us!

Therefore, make salawaat on the Prophet (s) excessively! Once in the early 1990s, we debated people who object to making salawaat, they think it is haraam and shirk, because, they say, as then you are making salawaat more than you are remembering Allah. No, we are not only making salawaat, but we also say, “Laa ilaaha illa-Llah” and “Allah, Allah, Allah.” They also say don't do that, as that name is for Allah, not for us to say! May Allah forgive them and us. We are all Ummat an-Nabi (s), so every breath we inhale has to be taken up by specific angels created to take it all the way to the Divine Presence.

Mawlana Shaykh Nazim, may Allah bless his soul, said our every breath doesn't go right, left or down; rather, it goes all the way up until it reaches safety. It means when you say “Allah,” the Divine Name that encompasses all of Allah's Ninety-nine Beautiful Names and Attributes, it has such power, like a spaceship pulling you up until you reach a place where no gravity pulls you down. When we say “Allah,” that Lafzhat al-Jalalah is the fuel for us to be presented in the Divine Presence. Awliyaullah say no one can interfere between you and Allah (swt) when you mention His Name, which means no one can put you down, nor can Iblees come after you. As soon as you say, “A`oodhu billahi min ash-Shaytaani 'r-rajeem,” at that moment he cannot touch you! That moment is clean and your breath is free to go up to the level of Qaaba Qawsayni aw Adnaa to be with Prophet (s), not at his level, but he (s) will reward you with what Allah granted him in Ascension.

In every time there is an Ascension. There is Mi`raaj for common people and private Mi`raaj for Awliyaullah in which they accompany all their followers, not leaving anyone behind. They connect their followers to the Prophet (s), who connects them to Allah (swt). We hope in these last days of Ramadan that Allah will give us a certificate to Paradise without account! Be happy! There is nothing to be sad about in dunya. When the Prophet (s) went to the Divine Presence, he was worried about his Ummah, and Allah calmed him down, and said, “They are all safe.” May Allah makes us safe in dunya; in Akhirah, for sure we are all safe, and our concern is to be saved from Hellfire, and hopefully from the Hellfire of this dunya, as we are living in time when bloodshed is everywhere.

Abraha came with his elephants to destroy the Ka`bah and Allah destroyed him and his army by sending the birds with small pebbles that, as Imam Suyuti described in his tafseer, were ignited and rotated at a very high speed and ‘smart bombed’ Abraham’s army. Those birds carried the stones from Hellfire in their beaks and claws; they were like rasaasah, guided missiles from Heavens. Allah made the enemies coming to destroy the Ka`bah as if unseen: like a tumbling bush in a desert, they disappeared. Allah extinguished them and their elephant with that firepower and they completely disappeared, as narrated in Surat al-Feel. Allah sent his small birds and finished them. May Allah destroy these people also who are coming to destroy Ka`bah al-Musharrafah!

Allahu Akbar! You cannot understand it. When they martyred Sayyidina Husayn (r), they cut his neck and brought his blessed head to the ruler of Baghdad. They killed seventy-two members of Ahlu ’l-Bayt, including men, women and children. SubhaanAllah, if they had succeeded in that explosion at the Ka`bah today, what would have happened? For sure Allah would have sent them to Hellfire! But because their intention was bad, they will see bad.

May Allah save Mecca and Madinah. Inshaa-Allah, may He dress us with rahmah for these ten days. What Allah gives no one knows. Allah said, “Fasting is for Me and I alone reward for it.” So no one knows what reward He will give. Our fasting breath goes up all the way to the Divine Presence, as it has His Name “Allah” on it. With that engraved “Allah” on your heart and hands, when your breath reaches that level, for sure Allah will order your soul to join that breath and appear in His Presence! There, Allah will dress you with what He dressed the Prophet (s), everyone according to his level. There is no hierarchy, but there are levels and all under Rahmatullah.

Mawlana said the fuel that pulls us out of gravity, at that moment you are swimming in Rahmatullah with no limits or borders, everything is for you and you can move as you like. Now you have borders and you cannot come this way or that way, you must have a visa. But in Paradise there are no such limits, you go wherever you like and you will be happy with what Allah gives you, especially those fasting Ramadan. Allah will send angels that descend on them at suhoor time and dress them with imaan and Rahmatullah! So let us be happy, not always sad and serious, but open up and smile. Prophet (s) said, Idkhaal as-suroor fee qalb al-mu'min min al-imaan. “To give happiness to a Believer’s heart is from faith.” As the Prophet (s) said this, we want everyone including us to be happy, especially (online) viewers. We are Allah's tools, instruments, yaf`alu maa yashaa'.

إِنَّ اللَّهَ يَفْعَلُ مَا يَشَا

Allah carries out all that He wills. (Surat al-Hajj, 22:18)

May Allah forgive us, that is what is important. Allah (swt) says:

كُلُّ مَنْ عَلَيْهَا فَانٍ وَيَبْقَى وَجْهُ رَبِّكَ ذُو الْجَلَالِ وَالْإِكْرَامِ

All that is on Earth will perish, but will abide (forever) the Face of your Lord, full of Majesty, Bounty and Honor. (Surat ar-Rahman, 55:26-27)

Everyone and everything on Earth will disappear with no traces left, then Allah will create a new Earth similar to this one, but clean from sin, and He will bring everyone forth on the Day of Resurrection. At that time, no one on Earth can sin, and everyone will want to save themselves in order to enter Paradise. At that time, no one will be present but Allah.

يَوْمَ نَطْوِي السَّمَاء كَطَيِّ السِّجِلِّ لِلْكُتُبِ

The Day that We roll up the Heavens like a scroll rolled up for books (completed). (Surat al-Anbiya, 21:104)

Allah will fold the Heavens and Earth like we fold a book; He will fold this dunya and it will disappear, then He will create new Heavens and universes clean from all pollution, and there He will judge His servants.

فَمَن يَعْمَلْ مِثْقَالَ ذَرَّةٍ خَيْرًا يَرَهُ وَمَن يَعْمَلْ مِثْقَالَ ذَرَّةٍ شَرًّا يَرَهُ

There, whoever did an atom’s weight of good will see it and whoever did an atom's weight of evil will see it. (Surat az-Zalzalah, 99:7,8)

Then Allah will call Sayyidina Muhammad (s) and say, “I have judged between My servants, precisely who will go to Paradise and who will go to Hellfire. Now I'm giving you The Pen and you will judge them as you like.” Muhammad is The Qalam (Divine Pen), it is one of his heavenly names.

أِقْرَأْ بِاسْمِ رَبِّكَ الَّذِي خَلَقَ

Read! In the Name of your Lord, Who created. (Surat al-`Alaq, 96:1-2)

He was taught by Qalam, meaning the Secret of Creation. When Jibreel came and said, “Read that,” and the Prophet (s) said, “What am I going to read?” and Jibreel said, “Read that,” Allah was telling him (s), “I am giving you the Secret of all Creation. I am creating Creation from a clot, wa rabbuka al-akram alladhee `alama bil qalam.” And He taught Sayyidina Muhammad (s) by The Pen.

So there with The Pen, Prophet (s) will move whom he likes to Paradise or otherwise. What do you think He will do?

وَلَسَوْفَ يُعْطِيكَ رَبُّكَ فَتَرْضَى

And verily, your Lord will give you (all good) so that you will be well-pleased. (Surat al-Duha, 93:5)

At that moment, that treasure will open and as much as the Prophet (s) can take from Allah's treasures He will give to him until he (s) says, “I cannot take more,” and then Allah will give even more, and the Prophet (s) will stand and say, “I send these to Paradise!” and he will not mention the others, although in his heart he deeply wants for them to also go to Paradise. May Allah make us from them! Then he (s) will give back The Pen and surrender and say, “Do what you want with me. I am your believing, obedient servant.”

As Grandshaykh (q) said, Allah will dress the last person entering Paradise with all the dresses Prophet (s) dressed the Ummah with, and that might be as-Siddiq al-Akbar, who was his Companion in life and during hijrah.

إِذْ يَقُولُ لِصَاحِبِهِ لَا تَحْزَنْ إِنَّ اللَّـهَ مَعَنَا

When he said to his companion, “Don’t be sad, indeed Allah is with us. (Surat al-Tawbah, 9:40)

So don't be sad or Allah won’t look at you! He wants all of us to be happy. Don't put yourself in a corner by saying, “I am sad, I am sad,” until you believe it, because all miseries in life come on your head when you open places for Shaytan to enter. Instead say, “I am happy, I am happy, I am happy,” then Shaytan will run away as he does not like anyone to be happy. Be sad in Allah's Way: when you fear Allah it is acceptable, but don’t torture yourself. Allah gave you a good body, the best eyes and heart. He gave you everything, so be happy!

Sadness will not take you anywhere, it is a poison that convinces you that you really are sad until you are finished and can no longer think, you become hopeless. All of us are like that now, you don't see anyone happy in dunya anymore, not even the richest people on Earth. The Sahaabah (r) lived a rough life, as Prophet (s) said:

اخشوشنوا فإن النعم لا تدوم

“Live a rough life because favors do not last forever.” (Ibn Abi Shaybah; at-Tabarani with different wording.)

So live roughly like soldiers and that way you can adjust to every situation, or life can be very difficult. Ni`am will not be with you forever; some people might have it and others might not. We are all struggling. Don't look at yourself and say, “I am the only one struggling.” No, all of us are! We all go to the doctor with our complaints. What do psychiatrists do? They listen. In London, a group of psychiatrists told Mawlana Shaykh Nazim (q) they listened to people’s problems seven to eight hours a day, and give them medicine, but they were depressed and asked Mawlana, “What must we do (to leave this heavy burden)?” Although they were trained psychiatrists who to know the ins and outs of mental health, they took the same medicine and had the same problems as their patients! I saw many of them. Then Mawlana (q) said, “Drop it. Work less, work only three hours a day, or leave that profession.”

Aqaam al-`ibaad fee ma Arad. He raised people according to His Will.

If you truly believe what I just said, Allah will make your life easy. He establishes people according to His Will; you cannot establish anything by yourself, Allah will do it. Whatever He wrote for you, you will get. If you have been depressed in dunya, you will not be depressed in Akhirah. If you are depressed in dunya, fight it, say, “I am happy I have the Prophet (s) and Allah (swt) with me!” Inna 'Llaha ma`kum, Allah is with you! Prophet (s) said to Sayyidina Abu Bakr (r), Laa tahzan inna 'Llaha ma`na, “Don't be sad, verily Allah is with us.” So why are we sad? Be happy and open your heart, eyes and mind. Be happy and Allah will send happiness to you. He didn’t say, “Be sad,” He said, “Say, ‘I am happy!’” You either take sadness or happiness, which do you want? Happiness! Then Allah will bring you up with happiness:

قُلْ بِفَضْلِ اللّهِ وَبِرَحْمَتِهِ فَبِذَلِكَ فَلْيَفْرَحُواْ هُوَ خَيْرٌ مِّمَّا يَجْمَعُونَ

Say, "In the bounty of Allah and in His Mercy, in that let them rejoice.” That is better than the (wealth) they hoard. (Surat Yunus, 10:58)

With His bounty and rahmah, Allah has dressed us with the rahmah He dressed on Prophet (s)! Fa’l yafrahoo! “Let them be happy!” If we want the Reality, every person on Earth is sad according to his life structure, even the one on the street pushing his carriage and selling fruit. Go to a president, he is sad. Presidents come to power and after some years they have white hair from so much stress, depression, and too many things that come from Shaytan and attack all of us. Be Happy! Turn your camera, show them all. [We are happy!] Is this from Islam? Yes, of course! Fa bi-dhaalika fal-yafrahoo, with the mercy of Prophet (s), you are in an ocean of happiness. Be happy! Why are you hazeen? Idh yaqoolu li saahibihi laa tahzan inna 'Llaha ma`na, Prophet (s) said to Sayyidina Abu Bakr (s), when they ran to that cave, “Why are you sad? Be happy, Allah is with us, we are on Haqq!” When Allah is with, you show happiness. And Sayyidina Abu Bakr as-Siddiq (r) said, “Yaa Sayyidi, yaa Rasoolullah, I am happy!”

During their Hijrah from Mecca to Madinah, they entered the cave of Thawr to hide from the unbelievers. There the Prophet (s) rested his blessed head on Sayyidina Abu Bakr’s (r) lap, which made him extremely happy. Yaa Sayyidi, yaa Rasoolullah, we are coming to you, begging you to put our heads in your lap, as you did with Sayyidina Abu Bakr Siddiq (r)! Will he say no? He will say yes! Fa bi-dhaalika fal- yafrahoo, “Be happy then!”

So Sayyidina Abu Bakr (r) said, “Yaa Rasoolullah, I am happy.” Prophet (s) asked, “then why am I seeing tears in your eyes?” as one of his tears had fallen on Prophet (s). Abu Bakr said, “Yaa Rasoolullah, I am not sad, but there is a snake biting my leg and I am afraid it will finish with me and then come to harm you. That is why I am crying.”

Imagine the scene at that moment, with the angels looking at them, and Allah sent the khitaab, idh yaqoolu li saahibihi laa tahzan inna 'Llaha ma`na. What He opened for Sayyidina Abu Bakr (r) at that moment in that cave no one knows, not even in Akhirah. And no one will know what Allah gave to Prophet (s); they show us what they want and they conceal what they want. May Allah (swt) keep us with them. So, are you happy that Ramadan finished? Are you happy to fast in Shawwal? [Yes!] Are you happy with Shawwal? [Yes!]

Shawwal tara al-ahwaal, in Shawwal you will see a lot of disasters. If that explosion (attempted terror attack on the Ka`bah) had occurred, it might have killed thousands, but Allah is Ra'oof ar-Raheem. His `Inayah, Care of Ummat an-Nabi (s) is so great that He saved them, because if the Ka`bah was harmed by one bullet, in that moment Allah would have killed all those responsible. When GhadabAllah, Allah’s Anger comes, no one can raise their hand! One time Sayyidina Abu Bakr as-Siddiq (r) sat inside the Ka`bah crying, and the Prophet (s) came and asked him, “Why are you crying?” He said, “If Allah’s Anger comes and He wants to change me from as-Siddiq and throw me in Hellfire, who can stop Him? No one.”

If you are happy, Allah is happy. If you are sad, try to tell yourself, “No! I am not sad, I am happy.” If you keep saying, “I am sad, I am sad,” in the end you will believe it and everything in your face will become dark; you will not even be able to express yourself to yourself and will need someone to help you. Laa tahzan and fal-yafrahoo, Allah said to us to be happy. Who can be sad when Allah is with them? May Allah always be with us, and may we stand at His Threshold. May Allah accept our siyaam from beginning to end.

If you can fast any six days of Shawwal, do so, and if not, then fast at least one day. Inshaa-Allah, Allah will make it as if you fasted all six days. Allah can change whatever He likes for His `abd. If someone is sick they have an excuse. We are all sick, who is not? Can anyone stand and say, “I am not sick!” Every one of us is sick in some way, and anyone who thinks they are not sick is wrong.

We have to check ourselves every day and say, “Allahumma ardaa `annee. O my Lord! Be pleased with me.” If He is pleased with you, He fills your whole life with happiness, and He even turns obstacles to happiness in your eyes. If you have a problem in dunya that you cannot resolve, He will make you feel happy when you render it to Him (swt) by saying, “Laa hawla wa laa quwatta illa billahi 'l-`Aliyyu 'l-`Azheem.”

Let’s renew our bay`a, raise your hands. Laa hawla wa laa quwatta illa billahi 'l-`Aliyyu 'l-`Azheem.

Ash-hadu an laa ilaaha illa-Llah wa ash-hadu anna Muhammadu ‘r-Rasoolullah. (3 times)

[Recites du`a of Baya`.]

Allahu, Allahu, Allahu Haqq!

Allahu, Allahu, Allahu Haqq!

Allahu, Allahu, Allahu Haqq!

[Recites the Ihda.] Ila hadrati ‘n-nabiyy (s) wa aalihi wa sahbihi ‘l-kiraam wa arwaahi aabaa’ina wa ummahaatina wa hadrat ustaadhina wa ustaadhi ustaadhina wa ‘s-siddiqeen, al-Fatihah.

We are asking, “Yaa Rasoolullah (s), make it easy for us to follow in your footsteps,” as Allah said in Holy Qur’an:

قُلْ إِن كُنتُمْ تُحِبُّونَ اللّهَ فَاتَّبِعُونِي يُحْبِبْكُمُ اللّهُ وَيَغْفِرْ لَكُمْ ذُنُوبَكُمْ وَاللّهُ غَفُورٌ رَّحِيمٌ

Say (O Muhammad), "If you (really) love Allah, then follow me! Allah will love you and forgive your sins, and Allah is Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful.” (Surat Aali-'Imraan, 3:31)

Inshaa-Allah, we will be put on the right track to follow Prophet (s) in order to reach safety. For this we need guides and Allah gave us two guides: Grandshaykh `AbdAllah al-Fa'iz ad-Daghestani (q) and Mawlana Shaykh Muhammad Nazim Adil al-Haqqani (q), no one may object and no, it is not shirk as even Rasoolullah (s) took a guide to migrate from Mecca to Madinah, and all of us need a guide from dunya to Akhirah. May Allah guide us all to the best of our beliefs, and may Allah make us happy all the time and take our sadness away.

I don’t want to say that there is no sadness: there is, we are sad, but we have to take it away by saying to ourselves, “No, I am happy.” In this way we can eliminate it slowly, slowly. Sayyida Rabi`ah (q) took seven years to remove that sadness. She was unable to say “Allah” in its full power, except after seven years and then Allah opened Light to her heart like through a tiny hole the size of the eye of a needle. That small light rejuvenated her heart to make dhikrullah by reciting Allah's Beautiful Name “Allah.” Those seven years were so heavy on her, but at the end Allah opened that for her and she was so happy, she found herself in the Divine Presence!

So we must train ourselves to say, “I am happy,” and not, “I am angry.” When we are angry, Shaytan is happy. It is said al-ghadabu kufr, “Anger is kufr.” The one who is angry is intoxicated and does not know what he is doing. So don't allow yourself to be angry, because then you cannot understand the realities and you will become more and more angry until you fall and need someone to pull you up. We are all in that problem and we feel sad, that’s why they say, “Don't stress yourself out too much, don’t search for mistakes, be happy!” Say the tasbeeh, “Yaa Haleem, yaa Haleem,” as with that Allah saves us from anger.

Laa taghdab! One Sahaabi (r) came to the Prophet (s) and said, “Advise me, yaa Rasoolullah.” Three times Prophet (s) told him, “Laa taghdab, don’t get angry.”

عن أبي هريرة رضي الله عنه أن رجلا قال للنبي صلى الله عليه وسلم أوصني ، قال : لا تغضب فردد مرارا قال : لا تغضب

A man came to the Prophet (s) and asked for advice. He said, “Don’t get angry,” and then repeated it many times. (Bukhari)

I am positive everyone here has some anger and sadness. It does not leave us until we tell ourselves to be happy. Inshaa-Allah, write these ayahs: fa bi-dhaalika fal-yafrahoo, and, laa tahzan inna 'Llaha ma`na, and distribute them, and let everyone recite each ayah one-hundred times daily. You carry that and make it. Bi-fadli Allaahi wa bi-rahmatihi fa bi-dhaalika fal-yafrahoo, that’s for Prophet (s) to always be happy, “Be happy with Allah’s Favors and His Mercy on us.” We have to enjoy ourselves in that. And the other one, laa tahzan inna 'Llaha ma`na, “Don’t feel sad because Allah is with us!” Don’t come saying, “I am stressed, upset, depressed.” Be happy and don't get angry, especially you and me.

Ramadan Mubarak! Ramadan is gone and `Eid al-Fitr is tomorrow. Inshaa-Allah, all your life will be `Eid and happiness. `Eid is to be happy, to celebrate. So we are asking those who love us to celebrate and we ask ourselves to celebrate `Eid and for everyone with us to be happy and celebrate. Say! “I am happy!” [I am happy!] That’s nice. Fa bi-dhaalika fal-yafrahoo, be happy.

Wa min Allah at-tawfeeq bi hurmati 'l-Fatihah.

http://sufilive.com/-Be-Happy-6477.html

© Copyright 2017 by Sufilive. All rights reserved. This transcript is protected

by international copyright law. Please attribute Sufilive when sharing it. JazakAllahu khayr.

UA-984942-2