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Adab of the Naqshbandi Tariqah, Part 6

Ramadan Series 2015, Vol 13

Shaykh Hisham Kabbani

4 July 2015 Fenton Zawiya, Michigan

Zhuhr Suhbah

Salaam `alaykum wa rahmatullahi wa barakaatuh. Bismillahi 'r-Rahmani 'r-Raheem, alhamdulillahi Rabbi ‘l-`Alameen, wa ’s-salaatu wa ’s-salaamu 'alaa ashrafi 'l-mursaleena Sayyidina wa Nabiyyina Muhammadin wa 'alaa aalihi wa sahbihi ajma`een.

The Sahaabah (r) Who Fought in the Battle of Badr are Our Role Models

Today is a turning point in the Days of Islam, it is the anniversary of the first battle between those who are on Haqq following Sayyidina Muhammad (s), his Companions (r) and those who were on baatil, following the unbelievers led by Abu Jahl and Abu Lahab, they represent the whole of kufr. They knew Sayyidina Muhammad (s) is a messenger, but from their arrogance and pride, which destroy all good characteristics in human behavior, they represent that situation and on the other side the Prophet (s) and his Companions (r) represent the peaceful cake to humanity that is Islam:

إِنَّ الدِّينَ عِندَ اللّهِ الإِسْلاَمُُ

The religion in Allah’s view is Islam (submission to His Will). (Surat Aali-`Imraan, 3:19)

So, it was turning point between Haqq and Baatil, and Allah (swt) said:

وَقُلْ جَاء الْحَقُّ وَزَهَقَ الْبَاطِلُ إِنَّ الْبَاطِلَ كَانَ زَهُوقًا

Say (O Muhammad), "Haqq (Truth) has come and baatil (falsehood) has perished.” (Surat al-Israa’, 17:81)

“Say Haqq came and Baatil went,” inna al-baatila kaana zahooqa, falsehood will be destroyed completely as Allah does not like falsehood. The Sahaabah (r) at that time thought only in one way: to surrender their nafs, their self to the Prophet (s). They did not have any desires, all their desires were surrendered to the Prophet (s) and from Prophet (s) to Allah (swt). We spoke yesterday about surrendering to the murshid, the guide, as Allah (swt) said:

وَلِكُلِّ قَوْمٍ هَادٍ

And for every Nation there is a guide. (Surat ar-Raad, 13:7)

“For every people there is a guide,” so we cannot say we don’t accept this guidance because it’s Allah’s Order!

The Results of Complete and Incomplete Taslimiyya

The Prophet (s) the Sahaabah (r) surrendered to him completely after they migrated through full surrender; in Ghazwat Badr 313 Sahaabah (r) surrendered their complete issue to the Prophet (s), they did not have an opinion; in Ghazwat Uhud they lost, because there were a lot of spoils of war to gain, so they left the Prophet (s) although he had ordered them to stay at the mountain, “Don't come down even if you see us destroyed or winning, don't come down!” Yet hubb ad-dunya--I am not speaking against the Sahaabah (r) as we are nothing, we hope to be under their feet as we like to be under the feet of our shuyookh, at their threshold--the Sahaabah (r) left the mountain when they saw the others collecting swords and armor and everything precious because they were winning, but when they left that mountain, which in spirituality represents the nafs, the mountain of the ego, that big ego was pushing them to disobey the Prophet’s (s) order and that was a mistake. So what happened? At that time Khalid ibn Waleed (r), who became one of greatest Sahaabah (r), but who was not yet Muslim, came from behind the mountain and attacked them from the rear and that’s why the non-Muslims won the Battle of Uhud, as Allah (swt) said:

إِِذْ أَعْجَبَتْكُمْ كَثْرَتُكُمْ

When you were pleased with your large number. (Surat at-Tawbah, 9:25)

“You were very happy and impressed by your numbers.” No! If you were ten or a hundred, if Allah wants you to win you will win, but you prevented winning because you disobeyed the order of the Prophet (s). In Ghazwat Badr, 313 submitted to Prophet’s (s) will and they won. Allah sent angels to help them and 313 were able to defeat over 1,000. However, in Ghazwat Uhud they had an immense number of Companions (r), but they lost the battle because of their desire to gain dunya. So we have to decide if we want to win or we want to lose: in your daily matters it’s up to you, you do what you want. Sometimes you ask the shaykh or you don’t ask the shaykh, it’s a dunya matter and you know better, you lose or you don’t lose, although there is ego in it to gain for profit.

In spiritual issues you have to submit and if someone does not submit kabbir `alayh, make takbeer on him, that means he is dead already, so there is no benefit for him or her. So today Ma`rakatu Badr, the Battle of Badr and the Ghazwat Uhud also has to be in our hearts: one supported by complete taslimiyya, surrender to the Prophet (s) and in the other they disobeyed the Prophet (s) and they lost. Uhud they lost; Badr they won. In Badr there were fewer of them, a very small number, 300, and in Uhud there were more than ten thousand of them and they lost.

Mountains, like Uhud, always represent the ego, as in the story of Sayyidina Musa (a) when he was going up so high in the Holy Valley of Toowaa that he said, “O Allah, let me see You!” How can you dare ask to see Allah? Can you?! Allah is known through the Signs in dunya, by when you look at two people and you see they are different: Who made them different? Every one has his own mind, his own IT in his brain, Allah put technology there that electrical engineers understand; however, Allah (swt) doesn't need software as everyone has a small seed in his brain where all memory is located. Who made that? SubhaanAllah, His Signs are known!

So Sayyidina Musa (a) asked to see Him as Allah was veiling the Reality from Sayyidina Musa (a), because He wants to show him that the one who asks must come with no ego. The Prophet (s) was invited to come to the Divine Presence and many scholars, including Imam Nawawi and Imam Sha`rawi said in Sahih Muslim in Hadith of al-Mi`raj, the Prophet (s) saw Allah (swt) with the eyes of his head. So when you see your ego these doors are not open to you; when you blow away your ego and destroy it, like when Allah destroyed the ego of Sayyidina Musa (a) when He sent His Manifestation on the mountain and it was destroyed completely, then there is an opening. Your desires, everyone has a mountain in himself, and when you destroy that the characteristics of al-Haqaa'iq wa’l-Asraar will open to you. In every reality and secret that is opened to you there is another reality and another secret and another, and another higher than that, and you will be put in an Ascension by the power of your teacher through his du`a and his visions, when he presents you to Prophet (s) and they open for you to ascend from station one and go up further in every moment! The doors are opened and then they are never closed, because you will be able to see the Realities and you submit.

We will explain another story. One of the Awliyaullah had a lot of followers, not like here; 5,000 or 10,000 people attended their majlis. One of his mureeds reached to smell these realities and secrets, yet it was still not opened to him, like when the smell of delicious food comes with the breeze and you like to smell it: he smelled the fruits that were beginning to ripen, the realities and secrets that were not opened yet except their smell. He was able to read what was written on the Lawh al-Mahfouzh and he saw his shaykh will be going to Hellfire, and he thought, “Is it possible my shaykh is going to Hellfire when he is guiding hundreds of thousands to Islam?” Immediately he made ghusl, prayed two raka`ats and made sajda.

That is what Naqshbandiyoon, when they have a matter of dunya or Akhirah or repentance or something they want to achieve in dunya that is blocked or locked, they make ghusl, pray two raka`ats, make sajda and ask Allah (swt) for sake of the Prophet (s) to solve their problems. Because you cannot reach your teacher to ask from him to solve your problems. This is a fact, people mostly come to the shaykh to solve their problems, and they believe, “This is a pious person, let’s go and ask him.” But as Mawlana Shaykh Nazim (q) said many times, don't use a rocket to kill an ant! When you ask your shaykh if he wants to use a rocket he will not as Awliyaullah and Prophet (s) will stop him through visions, through Raabitah. So he saw his shaykh.

One time in the 1980s, there was a big stack of envelopes full of letters and I was sitting there and Grandshaykh, may Allah bless his soul, said to me, “Look at this big amount of letters and every letter is a newspaper! How am I going to read all that? At the end they are asking in the last sentence, ‘O Shaykh, pray for me.’ Let them say from the beginning ‘pray for me’ without telling me their stories, then I will pray for them!” So he gave them all to me and said, “Read on them Surat al-Fatihah.” SubhaanAllah, after a while many letters came from the people who sent the original letters saying their matters were opened. Awliyullah have that power to read with permission of the shaykh, or the shaykh will read by himself and the issue will be solved, without writing pages of problems and the last line is “Pray for me.” Why not just write on a paper in large letters, “PRAY FOR ME”.

So you are far away from the shaykh, what do you do? If the shaykh is in China, the East, and you are in the West what do you do? Take a shower (ghusl), wudu, if you shower the wudu is in it, pray two raka`ats, make sajda and ask Allah (swt) to solve your problem. Don't hesitate to do that, because that is the way problems will be solved, because through sajda Allah will accept your plea because you are showing humility and that you don't deserve it, but Allah is The One Who can solve your problems, but come through the door! Come with the ayah:

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

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)

“If they are oppressors to themselves, they come to you, O Muhammad and they are asking through you and if you ask on their behalf, I will accept.” That example is also in the Hadith of the blind man, who asked:

اللهمّ إنّي أسألك وأتوجّه إليك بنبيّك نبيّ الرحمة, يا محمد إنّي أتوجّه بك إلى ربّي في حاجتي لتقضى, اللهم شفّعه فيّ

O Allah! I am asking You and directing myself to you through your Prophet Muhammad, the Prophet of Mercy. O Muhammad! I have directed myself through you to my Lord regarding this need of mine so let it be fulfilled. (Ahmad, Tirmidhi, Ibn Majah, Tabarani)

It means come with the intention, “O Allah! For the sake of Your Beloved One, through Sayyidina Muhammad (s), I am coming to You through him,” and that is the Hadith of the blind man that even Ibn Taymiyya accepted in his Al-Walaa wal-Baraa. That is a “turnkey” Hadith for everything, mentioned by Ibn Taymiyya and Ibn Qayyim al-Jawziyya, seventh century scholars who accept that Hadith of the blind man who came to the Prophet (s) and said, “Yaa Rasoolullah! I am blind and I am old. I have no one to take me to pray behind you at Qiyaam al-Layl and Fajr, and I want to pray behind you like the other Companions (r), so pray for me.” This is very famous Hadith, but unfortunately some people reject it and say Ibn Taymiyya made a mistake to accept it!

The Prophet (s) said to the blind man, “Make fresh wudu, pray two raka`ats and recite: Allahumma innee asaluka atawajjahu ilayk bi nabiyyika Muhammad (s), Nabiyyi 'r-rahmat. Yaa Muhammad! Innee atawajjahu bika ilaa rabbee fee haajatee hadhihi li tuqdaa lee, allahumma shaffi`hu feeya bi jaahihi `indak.

O Allah! I am directing my face toward You, asking You for [whatever you like] for the sake of Sayyidina Muhammad (s), Nabiyyu 'r-Rahmat, the Prophet of Mercy, yaa Muhammad!” Prophet (s) was teaching him, “Call on me!” So now we say, “Yaa Muhammad!” [Yaa Muhammad!] Then Allah is happy. We are not making shirk, Prophet (s) is `AbdAllah, because khaasiyyat an-Nabi, the intimacy, as a special case Allah gave Prophet (s) that specialty for people to ask through him.

Yaa Muhammad! Allahumma innee atawajjahu bika ila Rabbee! Prophet (s) taught him, “I am directing my face towards Prophet (s), towards You, for my problem to be solved.” Then Prophet (s) said, “Go to the wudu area and come back and tell me what happened.” The blind man went, made wudu, prayed two rakaذats, made sajda (in some cases they say he didn’t make sajda, but in any case he repeated the du`a that Prophet (s) taught him), and immediately his eyes were rejuvenated and he was able to see and he ran to Prophet (s) and hugged him and kissed his hands and feet!

Prophet (s) taught him what to do. If someone says this only happened in the time of Prophet (s), a similar incident also happened in the time of Sayyidina `Uthman (r), after Prophet (s): a man named `Uthman Ibn al-Haneef (r) who had a big problem and wanted to go to Ameer al-Mu’mineen to solve his problem. That is how it worked before, not like today you cannot see anyone unless you give money under the table. He went to Sayyidina `Uthman’s (r) committee as he was sitting there with his advisers, and he came to the door and Sayyidina `Uthman (r) didn’t look at him, he didn’t respond with any signal for him to come in, so the man was upset. He came back the next day and the following day for one week, but he was unable to reach Sayyidina `Uthman (r) although he saw that man but did not signal him to come in, and without that he could not enter.

Then he saw a man, who said, “What is your problem? You look sad.” He told him the problem and said, “I cannot solve it without Sayyidina `Uthman’s order and he is not inviting me in.” So the other man said, “I will teach you a du`a that Prophet (s) taught the blind man. Recite it and you will see that Sayyidina `Uthman will fix your matter.” So that man took wudu, prayed two raka`at and went and recited that du`a and went to Sayyidina `Uthman (r), who called him in as soon as he arrived at the door, For many, many days he was not giving him any importance, but when he read that du`a immediately he responded. So when we have problem, from far away you may call on your teacher, thinking how Allah (swt) will solve your problems when you make wudu, pray two rak`ats and ask Allah to solve your problem for the sake of Sayyidina Muhammad (s)!

So that mureed saw in vision and in a dream in the Preserved Tablets that his shaykh is going to be in Hellfire. He immediately made wudu, prayed two raka`ats, as the Hadith mentions, he knew Shar`iah, and he went into sajda and asked, “Yaa Rabbee! This is my teacher! How can I go to Paradise and he goes to Hellfire?” and he began to make istighfaar for his teacher, asking forgiveness; it is good from anyone who asks forgiveness for his teacher and we have to ask forgiveness for our teachers. He was making du`a day after day, until he finally saw that his teacher was no longer in there.

When he saw that he was so happy, he rushed, traveling a long way, days and nights and went to his teacher. As he arrived at that door of his teacher his teacher looked at him and took his miswak and broke it and said to him, “If you don't go and pray for me to be returned to my previous status on the Preserved Tablet, I will break you like I broke this miswak!” So he went another time and he took a shower, prayed two raka`ats and made du`a, “Yaa Rabbee. take my teacher back to Hellfire!” until he finally saw that his teacher’s name had been taken away from Paradise and back to Hellfire.

He went another time to his teacher,very happy to see that he was back in Hellfire, may Allah prevent us from Hellfire, Allahu Akbar. He made the long journey back to his teacher and when he arrived his teacher was standing there at the door welcoming him, he hugged him and said, “Alhamdulillah I am back, as Allah willed: that’s what I want, to put me in Hellfire or to put me in Paradise, is His Will, I have no will, I surrender to Allah. I am from the Naqshbandi Sufi Order and I have taslimiyya muttlaqa aza wa jal, I am in the annihilation process, annihilated in the love of Allah and love of the Prophet (s). This nafis is gone, so if they throw me in Hellfire I will not feel it, and if they throw me in Paradise I will not feel it! I want Allah’s Love. What is there is written by Allah: He ordered the Pen to write it, it’s not my concern, my concern is that I love Him.”

It was left like that and Allah knows the hikmah. That wali reached the realities and the secrets, he was able to see them and he began to smell the realities and secrets and saw his shaykh and if he had gone deeper and deeper, not just to the smell, he would have found something else. That was for him a trap to see how he will react, but he passed his test and it was opened for him from Haqa'iq an-Nabi (s), the Realities of Prophet (s), and his teacher opened in his heart the Six Realities: Haqiqat al-Fayd, Haqiqat al-Tawajjuh, Haqiqat al-Irshad, Haqiqat at-Tayy, Haqiqat al-Jazbah, and he was able to progress in his Ascension and became a khalifah for his shaykh, sent to whatever countries they were reaching at that time.

So this is one principle of the Naqshbandi Sufi Order: to submit and not resist. Like a salmon fish it resists and resists and resists and finally reaches the top of the mountain and it dies up there, it doesn’t survive; it continually pushed against the flow of water and struggled, but let’s say it was a man struggling until he reached the top: at that time the secrets will be open to him. The salmon is a good example of struggling against the ego with its desire to go up and die there: that means complete submission as when someone dies it is finished, he is submitting. Allah (swt) will give Paradise to a mu’min in dunya and Akhirah, but an unbeliever? Allah knows best. They say in the Naqshbandi Order that if you want guidance, the first lesson is to be like the leaves of the autumn trees that drop: if the wind takes them left or right they don't object. We have to be like that: submit to taking you right and left, if they make you miserable or they make you happy, if they give you something and they pull from you something else, it is in their hands and your duty is submission. Close your ears to all else!.

That is why Sayyidina `Ali (r) taught these four guiding principles:

1. as-sukoot, keep silence, don’t talk.

2. as-sima` listen to what you don't like and to what you like and separate them.

3. an-Nazhr, to observe.

4. al-Harakah, to move (act).

In this case, it is to be silent. Whatever happens happens, but we are salmon: we resist the water flow by going up and up the stream, and when you reach there you succeed, you will be in complete submission. So they ask from you to submit to their orders, especially in istiqaamah, to be mustaqeem, to be on Sirat al-Mustaqeem and straightforward, as Allah likes us not to fall left or right, to submit to taqwallah, fear of Allah (swt) and to fear losing His love, and to submit to tawfeeq min Allah. that only Allah gives you success, and that you eat only halaal food, which means not just meat that is slaughtered halaal, but even vegetables have to be halaal, paid for with money you earned through your sweat, not from money you acquired by cheating.

These are five under the main principle: Taslimiyya, Taqwa, Tawfeeq, Akal al-Halaal, al-Istiqaama. We have to keep them and maqsoodi ‘l-mashaykh min al-mureedeen min ni`maa ‘d-darayn huwa al-matloob, what you achieve when you do that, you will get the favors of the two lives, the dunya life and the Akhirah life. If you like what they say to you or you don’t like it, you have to submit! I mentioned a story two days ago about my mother allowing us to go to Grandshaykh (q) or not go, and afterwards he said the shaykh is ordered by Prophet (s) to look at his mureed at least three times a day and when he looks at his mureed he doesn’t send him sweets, he sends him sourness, he doesn’t send him candies but sends him difficulties to see how they respond. You might say, “Oh! My teacher is watching me to see whether I submit or not,” so you submit, but if you don't you break their rules, which to them is a very unhappy situation for the mureed, because then more difficulties will be coming to them.

Grandshaykh (q) mentioned something...to Awliyaullah...we cannot figure an unbeliever will go to Paradise, because who is making shirk with Allah (swt) cannot go to Paradise without coming back to say Shahaadah. So when you break the rules, you are like that to them. That means you rejected what they ordered you to do, which is above everything else! Therefore, they will send you more problems and more difficulties to break you down in order that you will achieve Taslimiyya, complete submission. So when you see these things coming don't say, “Oh! What have I done?” Allah (swt) sends difficulties with rewards that if you surrender to Him and to the advice of your teacher, you will be granted na`eem ad-daarayn, the pleasure of Akhirah and dunya.

May Allah forgive us and we will continue this series of some principles of the Naqshbandi Sufi Order from Grandshaykh’s (q) advice. Inshaa-Allah it benefits us in dunya and Akhirah. Bi hurmati 'l-Fatihah.

I noticed something which is very important, and this is a small sample, that when there will be a conference, a two-day crash course on Shari`ah, which is very good, and people take notes, but when it comes to those who claim they are Sufis or spiritual, I don't see them taking notes, no notebook or pen. Count here, how many people are taking notes? There are 3, 5, 6 or 7? That is to show, “Let him talk...we will listen to the stories and that will be enough, it will make us feel happy.”

Now Naqshbandi Tariqah went down to this low level of knowledge, whereas before people ran to Naqshbandi or Shadhili, Chisti, Qadiri or other Tariqahs to be saved and find ways to learn more. I am wondering why it is like that, but no answer came except that Shaytan wants to capture people who are after the core of Islam, the inside, as Ibn `Ajeeba said: al-`Ilmu `ilmaan: `Ilm al-Awraaq wa `Ilm al-Adhwaaq, “Knowledge is of two kinds: Knowledge of Paper (Books) and Knowledge of Taste.”

Now everyone is only interested in Knowledge of Books and not interested in Knowledge of Taste; for example, if you want to dress in the nicest way you can, and the ladies want to wear make-up and jewelry to the shoulder, and men want to wear watches and rings for people to look at them and see they are nicely dressed, all of us, I am not excluding myself.

However, Allah wants our inside to look nice:

إِنَّ اللَّهَ لا يَنْظُرُ إِلَى صُوَرِكُمْ وَأَمْوَالِكُمْ وَإِنَّمَا يَنْظُرُ إِلَى قُلُوبِكُمْ وَأَعْمَالِكُمْ

Indeed Allah does not look at your appearance or your wealth, He only looks at your hearts and your deeds. (Muslim)

Allah does not look at outer appearances, our dress, but He looks at our hearts and wants us to dress ourselves beautifully in obedience! We know this from one ayah that refers to the whole Qur'an:

يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا أَطِيعُوا اللَّهَ وَأَطِيعُوا الرَّسُولَ وَأُولِي الْأَمْرِ مِنكُمْ

O those who believe! Obey Allah, obey the Messenger, and those in authority among you.

(Surat an-Nisa, 4:59)

When you obey Allah (swt) and you obey the Prophet (s) and you obey His Shari`ah through scholars and His sincere, pious servants, then you reach. May Allah, Who knows we are helpless and weak, forgive us and may Allah order some angels to do on our behalf, it will be easy and then we will be on the railway track toward Heavens!

Wa min Allahi ‘t-tawfeeq bi hurmati 'l-Fatihah. Taqabal Allah.

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