Suhbah Before Salaat azh-Zhuhr (1)
A`oodhu billahi min ash-Shaytaani ‘r-rajeem. Bismillahi 'r-Rahmaani 'r-Raheem.
Today is 27th Rajab and we are asking support from Allah (swt), the Prophet (s) and from our Shaykh, which is not shirk because as we know, everyone asks for support from those who have power. Those who have power have supporters and so they follow these supporters because they can give them support from both sides, just as Allah (swt) gives support to His Prophet, Sayyidina Muhammad (s). Whenever the Prophet (s) needs anything, his demand or request is never turned down and he will always be answered, as Allah (swt) said in Holy Qur'an:
ادْعُونِي أَسْتَجِبْ لَكُمْ
Id`oonee astajib lakum.
Supplicate to Me and I will give you! (Surat al-Mu’min, 40:60)
But you have to ask for support; you have to remember that you and everyone needs support. When the patient comes to the doctor in bad health, they put him on life support. All of us, human beings and all creation, are receiving life support from Allah. When He takes away His Support, not only does the patient or any creation die, but also it disappears and no one can see them anymore. Like they say that in the universe there are stars whose light disappeared, they call them “extinguished” or “extinct,” but even now you see their light which is still moving at 300,000 kilometers per second, which is nearly 200,000 miles per second, . That light is coming from a star two or three billion years ago, as physicists say, but the star is already gone.
Look at Allah's Greatness, subhaanAllah! Who is farthest, the Divine Presence or a star? The Divine Presence is farthest away, and compared to the distance of the Divine Presence, for Allah (swt) a star doesn't even exist; He doesn't need the star to His Divine Presence or to Paradises even, so you cannot compare them.
As for the support, we are on heavenly life support. Why? An example is in what Allah (swt) said :
أَلَسْتُ بِرَبِّكُمْ قَالُواْ بَلَى
alastu bi-rabbikkum qaaloo balaa,
"Am I not your Lord (who cherishes and sustains you)?"- They said: "Yea! We do testify!" (al-`Araaf, 7:172)
On the Day of Promises when Allah asked “Am I not your Lord?” we said, “yes,” which means we were beyond the point when we were created as souls, when Allah (swt) wants our first creation to appear and we were beyond this earthly universe. It was not like billions of light years as far as some stars, for we were so much further that it cannot be compared! That is a station, not in our universe, where Allah (swt) asked us, “Am I not your Lord?” That heavenly life support reaches everyone whose soul is present there, from which the reflection of a soul comes and enters the womb of the mother while its reality is still there.
That is why awliyaullah say that Allah (swt) created everything zawjayn, in pairs: the real and the reflection of the real. So when awliyaullah are able to connect their reflection with their reality, they can see everything. For example, you have a mirror reflecting light from a lamp where the reflection is not as strong as the original light, giving you only traces of it. However, if you are able to break the mirror, you can see the source of the light, the lamp. Another example is you can see the light of the sun penetrating into a cave through some holes, but if you break the cave you will be in the reality of the light, which is life itself.
Now each of us is in a box with holes, through which you can see the sun’s light entering and it is astonishing that for millions of years the light of the sun did not stop. Atomic reactions occur on the sun every moment; the heat in the core of the sun is 55 million degrees centigrade which causes continuous explosions, but despite this, the sun is still in its place, is it not? In our eyes the sun is constant, but in Allah's Knowledge it is something else, as Imam Ghazali (q) described, “Everything on earth is a mirage and the reality is seen when you die; now you cannot see the reality.”
Muhyideen ibn `Arabi (q) said, “Our minds create images in front of us, but the reality has not yet been reached.” So we are in a box with holes, seeing the light from inside the box. The box represents the ego that, when you break it, you will be in reality.
The One Who made the sun to always have light can also make you to always be in light, but you need piety and sincerity in order to reach the key to open that and enter. The souls of human beings are traveling in a place beyond this universe, farther away from stars of billions of years distance that travel at a speed of 300,000 kps. Souls, however, do not travel in time; there is no limit for them as they are heavenly beings that can move in a moment or perhaps in an unrestricted figure that you cannot understand, from where its reality is to the womb of the mother. Why did Allah (swt) make it in the womb of the mother; could He not create human beings as He created Sayyidina Adam (a)? But Allah (swt) wanted to show us, “I am bringing you from a place where you cannot raise your head, so don’t be arrogant!” Bayna dammin wa farthin, Allah brings you from this place where there is blood and all kinds of things that are in human beings.
يَا عِيسَى ابْنَ مَرْيَمَ أَأَنتَ قُلتَ لِلنَّاسِ اتَّخِذُونِي وَأُمِّيَ إِلَـهَيْنِ مِن دُونِ اللّهِ قَالَ سُبْحَانَكَ مَا يَكُونُ لِي أَنْ أَقُولَ مَا لَيْسَ لِي بِحَقٍّ إِن كُنتُ قُلْتُهُ فَقَدْ عَلِمْتَهُ تَعْلَمُ مَا فِي نَفْسِي وَلاَ أَعْلَمُ مَا فِي نَفْسِكَ إِنَّكَ أَنتَ عَلاَّمُ الْغُيُوبِ
Yaa `eesa 'bna maryama a'anta qulta li '-naasi attakhidhoonee wa ummiya ilahayni min doonillahi qaala subhaanaka maa yakoonu lee an aqoola maa laysa lee bihaqqin in kuntu qultuhu faqad `alimtahu ta`lamu maa fee nafsee wa laa a`lamu maa fee nafsika innaka anta `allaamu ‘l-ghuyoob.
“O `Isa, son of Maryam! Did you say to men, ‘Worship me and my mother as two gods besides Allah?’” He will say,"Glory be to You! It was not for me to say what I had no right. Had I said such a thing, You would surely have known it. You know what is in my inner self, though I do not know what is in Yours! Truly only You are the Knower of All that is Hidden and Unseen.”
(Surat al-Ma'idah 5:116)
And when Allah (swt) asked Sayyidina `Isa (a), “Did you ask your disciples to take you and your mother as gods other than Me?” Sayyidina `Isa (a) said, “Yaa Rabbee! You know better.” When people began to think that Sayyidina `Isa (a) is different than a human being, Allah (swt) gave them an answer, saying, “He and his mother ate food,” which means, “they needed to refresh their wudu (because they use the toilet),” and a god cannot be like that.
A reflection of your soul goes in the womb and immediately goes into seclusion for nine months and ten days, then the water breaks, which means the box broke. You come out with open eyes, because from that seclusion you are already a pious, sincere servant, which is why when you come out you cry, you don’t laugh, because every newborn sees and doesn't want the miseries of this dunya; rather, he wants to stay where he is in akhirah. As the mother carries the child, the child is affected by the mother's emotions: if she is upset the child is upset; if she is crying, he is crying; if she is happy, he is happy; if she is upset with her husband, that also affects the child. So at birth, the child will come out depending on how the mother was behaving during these nine months. That is why sometimes awliyaullah have to have a nasab, a chain that takes them through their pious ancestors, to take support from the womb of their mother, and they are cry, “Yaa Rabbee! We want your akhirah and Your Love and we are coming to this misery in dunya.”
So anyone is able to overcome this attachment and in his heart replace dunya with his akhirah by doing his obligations of the five prayers and his obligations according to Shari`ah, because mutasawwifoon are the ones who comply with the Shari`ah of Islam. You might find a lot of Sufis who don’t comply with Shari`ah, and that doesn’t mean they are the real Sufis; real Sufis uphold the Shari`ah with utmost respect and honor. Many awliyaullah are big scholars in both Shari`ah and tasawwuf. One cannot be a Sufi Shaykh without being an `alim. Most `ulama throughout history came from North Africa, Central Asia and the Middle East countries and India, which had big `ulama and now the Subcontinent is full of `ulama. With their piety, they were all able to “break the box” in their mother's womb, then after birth they used the training of religion to break the dunya box.
When that happens, Allah (swt) will grant to see the Real Light, not the reflection coming into the box through the holes. It depends on how strong that wali is; some walis cannot break the box, but they can make the walls thinner, and they keep polishing, eating it from inside so that it becomes very thin, and when they look out they can see. Some were able to polish and polish until the box completely disappeared. An example is a jeweler with a large precious stone, a diamond, which he has to cut until he gets to the real diamond.
Awliyaullah’s boxes are thin and as much they are polishing, they are able to see through them. There are awliyaullah who are dragons and when they break the box, they immediately connect with their reality, their image in the Divine Presence. When that connection happens nothing is closed; they inherit from the Prophet (s) and get his support. They also take support from Allah (swt), which gives them that Light in their hearts.
Such meetings are an example of polishing. We come here to polish ourselves for one, two, or three hours, then leave and come back again. Slowly, people come to such associations in order to polish their boxes, to make them thinner and thinner until they reach realities.
There was a sultan who loved artwork, designs and pictures. He held a competition between the two best artists to exhibit a painting in a huge room with a partition between them. To one he said, “You have this wall,” and to the other, “you have that wall, and we will see in three months who is better.” Let’s say the one on the left was Persian, and the other one on the right side was Pakistani, or vice versa. You know Pakistanis are not famous for art, but they are clever in other ways. Persians are very into the arts: poetry, calligraphy, pictures. So that Persian was painting very nicely and the other Pakistani was very clever, he was scrubbing the wall, and after the scrub he took a sponge and was polishing. This one is drawing, and that one is polishing.
So everyone noted the competition was nearly over and the king is coming, so what is he doing by only scrubbing? When the time was over that one had polished the wall, while the other painted a very high, fancy painting, like Picasso.
I was in Morocco in a conference and they introduced me to a lady, and everyone was going crazy that she was speaking with me about tasawwuf and spirituality. At the end they told me her name is Paloma, the daughter of Pablo Picasso, whose paintings are worth millions!
The king came and wanted to see who is the better artist. He looked there and didn't understand what it was and he said to the Pakistani, “What is this?”
He said, “Your Royalty, please wait and you will see what I did. I am Pakistani.”
The Persian came and unveiled his mural and the king said he had a very nice picture.
The Pakistani said “My picture is nicer.”
The king said, “Open the partition!”
Immediately the Persian painting was reflected on the opposing wall, which the Pakistani had polished and polished until it reflected the Persian painting. Anything that can be polished becomes a mirror.
He said, “O King! I am showing you how much is reality and how much is imagination, and that is my portrait to you.” He did not say, “I am opening your eyes to too many imaginary things, like a mirage in the desert that you think is water but it is not, so don’t be fooled...”
The king said to the Pakistani, “You win,” and the Persian was crying!
So awliyaullah were able to continuously polish their minds and drop imaginary things. That is why Imam Ghazali (q) said, “You will find the reality when you die.” Also, Sayyidina Muhiyudeen ibn `Arabi said, “You create images in your mind and think they are real, but until you connect with your reality (in the Divine Presence) you cannot see and understand what is going on.” That is why we say awliyaullah are like lasers that can penetrate anything with their glance. With lasers you can heal. X-ray and MRI machines send a light that you don’t see, but if you have eyes like that machine, you can see everything. Awliyaullah have heavenly eyes that are far more powerful, and they can see everything. Now they have CT scanners and every machine is using the same film and same light.
Each wali Depending on how deep they reached in their realities, every wali can see. And we go back to where we began. You need support; without support don’t think you can do anything, there is no way! You came here, you drove; if there was no car to come a distance of thirty, forty or sixty kilometers or miles, how many hours walking distance would that be? You will not come, so you need the means, the vehicle. Awliyaullah are your vehicles that without them you cannot go anywhere.
Today we are losing because we are rejecting awliyaullah, wrongly thinking they are trying to get benefit from their followers, and people have a lot of doubts. If there is a small test from a wali you run away! You cannot run away because this life is full of tests, and that is why a guide is important in your life in order that you get support. Your guide will connect you to the presence of the Prophet (s) through different means, what some may say is, “Kun fayakoon!” A wali might ask, “Yaa Rabbee! Give support to this person,” and Kun fayakoon, it is finished (support is immediately granted)!
That is why in the western life there are different ways of understanding and they ask, “What can he (the Shaykh) do for us?” You know a doorkeeper at the door of the king can do more than a minister in the cabinet. The barber of the king can put requests before him. In a country I will not mention, someone wanted to become a citizen and they told him the barber of the king is stronger than any minister, so he took the necessary paper to the barber, who went to the king with the paper and asked, “Can you sign this?” and he did!
Awliyaullah are doorkeepers at the threshold of the Prophet (s), who accepted them and gives them whatever they like according to their levels. So be at the door of a doorkeeper, because he can take you inside. The problem today is the people are trying to think from what they have already learned, and what have they learned? “This one said this, and this one said that.” Half a PhD thesis is filled with the bibliography or sources, and a list of original quotes, and all the rest is footnotes, or your professors will ask, “From where did you get this knowledge?” They don’t know that if Allah (swt) wants to give, He gives fresh. Do you understand here the meaning of “fresh?” The Prophet (s) is continuously ascending and he takes awliyaullah with him. Today what Allah gives to awliyaullah’s hearts is a fresh knowledge and fresh understanding, whereas in academic institutions they are required to quote pre-existing, established knowledge that someone brought previously or it is not accepted as correct. Actually, fresh knowledge is more correct as it is comes from a higher level.
Every child comes with open eyes (unveiled) and as the parents and environment around him become more negative, or if the child is fed by someone who has no wudu, or the husband and wife fight and have problems, it affects the child negatively and his eyes close (he is veiled to realities), and he will no longer see heavenly reflections. Grandshaykh `AbdAllah, may Allah bless him, who was known for his piety, said, “I was born open-eyed and remained so until I died.” In Daghestan, they used to come to him when he was seven years old and ask him to whom should they marry their son or daughter, and he looked at the Preserved Tablets and then told them, “Marry this boy with that girl.”
So awliyaullah have fresh knowledge that Allah gives them. An example is from Grandshaykh (q), who `ulama and scholars from Damascus visited him every week, going up the mountain to attend his associations that were not like today’s. As I just mentioned, there is Persian-level poetry with a high standard and then there is Pakistani cleverness that reflects the Persian’s masterpiece and they say, "We did it!" (laughter) So in Grandshaykh’s (q) association, none of the `ulama were lower than an `alim and he poured knowledge into their hearts. My uncle was the head of `ulama of the Middle East and after we took him to meet Grandshaykh (q), he said, “From the wisdom he gave in this three-hour suhbah, I can write a book on every word or sentence!” He was amazed.
The first Monday of every month, `ulama visited the grave of Sayyidina Khalid al-Baghdadi (q) of the Golden Chain, who brought the Naqshbandi Order from Habibullah Jani-Janan (q) in India to Damascus, and from him it went to Daghestani Shaykhs and then came back all the way to Damascus to Grandshaykh (q) and now to Mawlana Shaykh Nazim (q). Grandshaykh (q) said they came to visit him on Mondays before Fajr and go up to the top of the mountain to Arba`een, the maqaam of the Forty Abdaal, substitutes. The Prophet (s) mentioned in a hadith about Abdaalu ‘sh-Ahaam that if you are in a problem call on the Abdaal, “RijaalAllah!” so they (come to your rescue) in the forest, desert, or wherever you are in danger; call on them and they will reach you, but you must have faith. Today people have faith only when there is a problem.
I have mentioned this story of Grandshaykh (q) before, but it is very important as it shows how present-day knowledge has changed in comparison to the knowledge of previous times. He said, “There was a lady in England who came to me and she didn't know my address,” because Grandshaykh (q) lived on a mountain top, Jabal Qasyoun in Shaam, which you cannot reach without a donkey. This story took place in the 1940s or 1950s. That English lady came to Muhiydeen ibn `Arabi's (q) mosque which is at the bottom of the mountain, asking for Shaykh `AbdAllah ad-Daghestani (q) and a barber there knew him. We just spoke about the barber who can get the king to sign citizenship papers because he is the best means to approach the king as he is always with him. So if you want anything, go to the barber of the king because kings use barbers everyday, as they have to be presentable when they go out.
So that barber in Damascus said, “I know where he is,” because he was a mureed of the Shaykh, and he took her up the mountain and since it was the first Monday of the month, the `ulama filled his place. What do you think that lady did? She came in and she had Grandshaykh’s picture. What do you expect from an English or American lady when she is amazed about you, what do they do? They hug you, this is the easiest one; they hug and kiss you on your cheeks, is it not? And all these `ulama sat and she went to Grandshaykh and hugged and kissed him on his cheeks. Everyone was stunned and could not move as, of course, Islamically that is not accepted, but out of affection, for her it was nothing, perhaps like kissing hundreds of other people.
She said, "Teach me what you taught the Indian lady." Everyone looked at her and someone curious, who knew a little bit of English, said, “What Indian lady? There are no Indians here.”
She said, “No, when the Shaykh traveled to India he taught a lady there.”
That one said, “Shaykh never left Damascus!”
Grandshaykh (q) said, “Stop, don’t argue. Okay, I will teach you, but what is your story?” because then everyone wanted to know. She said:
I once received a letter informing me about tasawwuf, spirituality, and it had no return address and was stamped from an Indian post office. I received that letter from an Indian lady telling me about tasawwuf, and I read it and it was very nice. Then one month later another letter came, quoting a Shaykh about tasawwuf and that lady said, “I am an Indian Hindu and have read about Zenism and Buddhism, but what I saw from that Shaykh's teachings is completely different.” She continued sending me teachings from that Shaykh, who came to her home every week, taught her and went back, until I became Muslim.
After twelve letters over twelve months, on the last letter she sent me she included her return address and after that letter no more letters came. I took a plane to India and asked directions to her address. It was in a remote area, a village, and everyone there knew that lady and had seen the Shaykh coming to teach her, and many other ladies also attended his sessions. The local people told me, “There is no one here who can give you more information about that Shaykh than her daughter, who lives in that house.” So I went to the daughter and said, “I want to know more about this Shaykh.”
The daughter said, “The only thing my mother expressed to me about that Shaykh is this picture, and that his location is near Ibn Arabi's mosque.”
I was amazed at what that Shaykh expained and taught, so I took a flight from India to Damascus and came to Muhiydeen ibn `Arabi's maqaam. I didn’t know where that Shaykh was located, but I had his picture here (showing the photo to Grandshaykh `AbdAllah) and it’s you who taught that Indian lady!
The `ulama who were present were all amazed by her account and they could not speak because their `ilm ended there, although they were great `ulama of the Middle East! They were nothing like the PhDs of today; if you have a PhD, put it in toilet! Put all your doctorate certificates there, because for sure all your patients use the bathroom and they can see it there with your picture! (laughter) They were all amazed, those `ulama of the first calibre, from Morocco, Tunisia, Senegal, Egypt, all Middle East countries, Sudan, Syria, Lebanon; many `ulama came to his meetings and none of them had anything to say after that.
She said, “Whatever you gave her about Islam, give me that.” She wanted to check now, as she knew the Indian lady became Muslim and had also asked her to become Muslim, but she wanted to make sure that what he gave the Indian lady was the same as what he was going to inform her, as anything different twould create a question mark.
Grandshaykh (q) said, as we said just now, that when awliyaullah connect to their reality, everything in front of them is present. For example, they can bring India to Sham and bring Sham to India, they can move mountains and bring mountains, and they can bring rain and stop rain!
I was with Mawlana Shaykh Nazim, may Allah give him long life, doing tawaaf in Mecca. After the first tawaaf, the second tawaaf and the third tawaaf around Ka`bah, he stood at Baab al-Multazam, the Golden Door of Ka`bah and he stopped there.
We said, “Mawlana move, they will push us now,” but he was not there with us, as if he was in a trance. You know how hard it is to stop during Hajj time? The crowd pushes you, and we were standing beside him and he raised his hand making du`a, standing in the middle looking at Baab al-Multazam two meters away. It is dangerous there and my brother and I were standing with him in his (spiritual) circle and he was making du`a, but it was as if we were not seeing people. Awliyaullah have a circle surrounding them and whoever enters that circle will not be harmed, they will be supported, and it was as if we were in that circle and protection was there and people were passing behind us, no one passed in front, as if in front of us became empty.
Mawlana Shaykh Nazim said, “Yaa Rabbee! I am not moving from here to the forth tawaaf, and we are coming all the way here for You and for love of Your Prophet, and we are begging from You to shower us with Your Rain, and we will stand under Mizaab ar-Rahmat (the drain extending from Ka`bah’s roof).” There is a place behind hijr Isma`eel, a semi circle where Sayyidina Isma`eel (a) is buried, which is why they don’t let you pray there except occasionally you can. When rain fills the roof of Ka`bah it flows through that pipe and the Sahaabah (r) used to wash under it. Mawlana Shaykh said, “Yaa Rabbee! We came all the way here and we are requesting that You shower us,” and before he could complete the du`a, suddenly we heard thunder and lightening, and torrential pouring rain showered upon us! From our fourth to seventh tawaaf that rain water began to rise to chest level, filling the whole Haraam, and everyone had to run. We also ran up the stairs and everyone was watching, and some people went to sit while Mawlana Shaykh continued with the fifth, sixth and seventh tawaaf under the rain. We sat at the stairs and water came to our feet! How awliyaullah can do that is something people cannot understand; if Allah gives them that power they can do it. Allah (swt) said, “Call on Me, I will answer you.” That is why we come to a wali to ask for du`a as their du`a goes quicker than ours. And we are asking Mawlana Shaykh Nazim from here to make du`a for us and to keep us with him in his circle, in the presence of the Prophet (s)!
So Grandshaykh (q) said to the lady, “I will give to you what I gave to her to do,” and for every kullu muhtadin, guided person, he used to give the same because for that, inshaa-Allah, Allah will open his or her heart. He said, “Make Shahadah three times a day when you wake up, saying, ‘Ash-hadu an laa ilaaha illa-Llah wa ash-hadu anna Muhammadan Rasoolullah,’ and for every time of prayer make one sajda.” She didn’t know how to read Arabic or even to pray in English, because in previous times there weren’t as many resources and translations as there are today, but back then there was nothing.Grandshaykh (q) continued, “Make a sajda for every time of prayer and say, ‘O my Lord! You are my Creator, and I am Your servant.’ Also, when you go to bed recite the Shahadah another three times and make one salawaat on the Prophet (s).”
She said, “Is that it?”
He said, “That’s it.”
Then she said, “Yes, that’s exactly what you gave to the Indian lady!” authenticating that it is the same person; otherwise, how would he have known what was said to that Indian lady?
He said, “By order of the Prophet (s), awliyaullah have power to move wherever they want, so I am moving; it’s not only that Indian lady who corresponded with you, but there are Indian ladies and men in the Subcontinent, and others in Central Asia, Southeast Asia and all around the world whom we have been ordered by Prophet (s) to move and guide through different ways to bring them to Islam.”
Just like when Sariya (r) was away at war in Damascus and Sayyidina `Umar (r) addressed him from Madinah: Sariya (r) was only able to hear him while Sayyidina `Umar could see and hear him! We are asking for guidance.
Fresh knowledge is different from regular knowledge. For sure, we can obtain knowledge from well-known `ulama of the past and build more on their opinions as it is in fiqh, but tasawwuf is more about knowledge of the heart. Fiqh involves knowledge of prayer, fasting, eating and sleeping, Islamic banking, social welfare, etc., all based on different legal opinions in order to have stronger rulings, but unlike fiqh, the knowledge of tasawwuf comes to the heart of the Shaykh from the heart of the Prophet (s) at that moment, and not everyone has the ability to receive that kind of heart-to-heart knowledge. Allah (swt) gives to whom He likes, so don’t ask how!
These days in western countries students are given grants, scholarships or loans in order to study; grants are the best as they are free of charge. Also, Allah (swt) gives grants to whom He likes. There are awliya who have no knowledge and who didn’t study anything, but Allah (swt) granted them an open heart, open eyes and knowledge at every moment even though they might not know how to read and write! Grandshaykh (q) used to read the Holy Qur’an and Dala’il al-Khayrat in Arabic, but `ulama were astonished whenever he spoke of fresh, new knowledges streaming from his heart as it is amazing! He would open a three-hour suhbah in Daghestani, Turkish, and sometimes in Arabic with someone translating for anyone who came to visit, even a child; someone as young as 15 or 18 years of age would get a two to three-hour non-stop flow of fresh, heavenly knowledge! It is nothing, as dunya for them doesn't even weigh the wing of a mosquito.
My father used to work in the jewelry trade. He had a very rare, fancy ring with blue diamonds. We decided to take it to Grandshaykh (q) as a gift and were very happy because we were presenting a ring to him without caring for the diamonds. So we came to Grandshaykh, he opened a two-hour lecture, gave us food, and then we presented the ring to him.
We said, “Mawlana, please accept this ring from our family.”
He said, “Mashaa-Allah!” We took off his ring and placed the new ring on his finger and put his ring in my pocket! Later that evening a person came whom we didn't know. As Grandshaykh (q) began to open a big lecture, that man looked at Mawlana's hand at the ring, while we were looking at the man’s eyes, thinking, “What does he want from that?”
And he said, “O Shaykh! You have beautiful ring.”
Grandshaykh said, “O, do you want it? Here, take it,” and he gave that man the ring, and he took it and left. Then Grandshaykh said to us, “Where is my ring?” and we had to give it back.
He called him, “Come take the ring.” A gift cannot be rejected or given back so he didn’t say, “No, I will not take it;” rather, Grandshaykh (q) offered it and accepted, but it had to go somewhere else. Later he told us that that person was one of the seven ministers of Sayyidina Mahdi (a), who took the ring and left! The ways of awliyaullah are different from our ways. Allah (swt) brought you here to hear this today, but the main and important lecture was at the beginning.
May Allah forgive us and bless us.
Wa min Allahi 't-tawfeeq, bi hurmati 'l-habeeb, bi hurmati 'l-Fatihah.
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