Mawlana Shaykh Hisham Kabbani
30 July 2013 Fenton Zawiya, Michigan
Fajr Suhbah
A`oodhu billahi min ash-Shaytani ‘r-rajeem. Bismillahi 'r-Rahmani 'r-Raheem.
As-salaamu `alaykum wa rahmatullaahi wa barakaatuh.
Alhamdulillahi rabbi ’l-`alameen wa ‘s-salaat wa ‘s-salaam `ala ashrafi ‘l-anbiya wa ‘l-mursaleen Sayyidinaa Nabbiyinaa Muhammadin wa `ala aalihi wa sahbihi ajma`een.
Ayyuha ‘l-mushaahidoon wa‘l-mustami`oon. O Believers, from wherever you are, dhikrullah never ends, that’s why we can go on and on explaining that and it has no beginning and no end. Allah (swt) wants His angels to make dhikr. They are always in dhikrullah, they never stop, and every angel has a different dhikr and the dhikr he mentioned the first time is not same as the one he says the second time. Don’t think they are like us, always repeating the same dhikr. No, it is the Greatness of Allah (swt) that no angel repeats the same dhikr. Every moment in his dhikr, the second dhikr is different from the first and third is different from the second, etc.
When you say, “Allahu Akbar!” that means there is no limit to His Greatness, and since there is no limit, there is endless dhikrullah and you cannot compare their dhikr with our dhikr. Although He made the human beings to be honored, Allah honored them with that honor, our dhikr is different from angels’ dhikr, and He made us to say, if we say one dhikr once, angels will be with us saying it until the Day of Judgment! And for that reason, if the heart is ready and is not veiled it will shine, the hearts of Believers will shine with dhikrullah.
It is said in Bukhari and Muslim that Abu Hurayrah (r) related from the Prophet (s):
مَنْ قَالَ لاَ إِلَهَ إِلاَّ اللَّهُ، وَحْدَهُ لاَ شَرِيكَ لَهُ، لَهُ الْمُلْكُ وَلَهُ الْحَمْدُ، وَهْوَ عَلَى كُلِّ شَىْءٍ قَدِيرٌ. فِي يَوْمٍ مِائَةَ مَرَّةٍ، كَانَتْ لَهُ عَدْلَ عَشْرِ رِقَابٍ، وَكُتِبَ لَهُ مِائَةُ حَسَنَةٍ، وَمُحِيَتْ عَنْهُ مِائَةُ سَيِّئَةٍ، وَكَانَتْ لَهُ حِرْزًا مِنَ الشَّيْطَانِ يَوْمَهُ ذَلِكَ، حَتَّى يُمْسِيَ، وَلَمْ يَأْتِ أَحَدٌ بِأَفْضَلَ مِمَّا جَاءَ بِهِ إِلاَّ رَجُلٌ عَمِلَ أَكْثَرَ مِنْهُ
Whoever says, "Laa ilaaha illa-Llah wahdahu laa sharika lahu lahu ‘l-mulk wa lahu ‘l-hamd wa huwa `alaa kulli shayin qadeer,” one-hundred times will get the same reward given for freeing ten slaves and one-hundred good deeds will be written in his accounts and one-hundred sins will be deducted from his accounts and it will be a shield for him from Shaytan on that day until night, and nobody will be able to do a better deed except the one who does more than he.” (Abu Hurayrah in Sahih al-Bukhari)
So simple, so easy, we say it one time, “Laa ilaaha illa-Llah wahdahu laa shareek lahu lahu ‘l-mulku wa lahu ‘l-hamd yuhiyy wa yumeet wa huwa `alaa kulli shayin qadeer.” If you say it 100 times a day, it is as if you have freed persons from Hellfire. “Freed people from Hellfire,” means here from people who are going to be like slaves to someone and it is as if you freed them. Ya`anee, if we want to take the interpretational meaning of it, not the literal meaning, it is as if you freed ten people from the hand of Shaytan. And if you free one person, Allah will free you from Hellfire, if you free one person from Shaytan, or you free one person from a tyrant owner.
Wa kutiba lahu miyatu hasanatin wa muhiyat `anhu miyatu sayyiaat wa kaanat lahu hirzan min ash-shaytaan yawmahu dhaalika hatta yumsiyy. “And it will be written for him 100 good deeds and erased 100 sins from him and it will be like a protection from Shaytan,” and Shaytan cannot approach you that whole day. “From the morning when you say it,” like we said it just now in Fajr time until the evening, its effect will stay there. Even if you do a sin, that sin will be erased by the power of that tasbeeh that the Prophet (s) has mentioned, “Whoever says, “SubhaanAllahi wa bihamdihi” a hundred times during the day, his sins are wiped away, even if they are like the foam of the sea. (Sahih al-Bukhari)
Wa man qaal, “And whoever says, ‘subhaan-Allahi wa bihamdihi’ 100 times per day, all his sins will be erased even if they are as many as the foam of the ocean!” Like the foam of the ocean, how much foam is there on the waves? It never stops. It means your forgiveness will continue, it never stops, even if you say it one time a day or 100 times, all your sins will be erased.
وفي صحيح مسلم عن أبي هريرة قال : قال رسول الله صلى الله عليه و سلم: لأن أقول سبحان الله والحمد لله ولا إله إلا الله والله أكبر أحب إلي مما طلعت عليه الشمس
It is related from Abu Hurayrah (r) that the Prophet (s) said:
For me to say, “Glory be to Allah! All Praise is for Allah! There is no god but Allah! Allah is the Greatest!” is dearer to me than all that the sun rises upon. (Sahih al-Muslim)
“If I say that it will be better for me, that day will be the best in my life.” So say, “SubhaanAllah w’alhamdulillah wa laa ilaaha illa-Llah w’Allahu Akbar.”
اللَّهُمَّ إِنِّي أَصْبَحْتُ أُشْهِدُكَ وَأُشْهِدُ حَمَلَةَ عَرْشِكَ، وَمَلَائِكَتَكَ وَجَمِيعَ خَلْقِكَ، أَنَّكَ أَنْتَ اللهُ لَا إِلَهَ إِلَّا أَنْتَ وَحْدَكَ لَا شَرِيكَ لَكَ، وَأَنَّ مُحَمَّداً عَبْدُكَ وَرَسُولُكَ
In the hadith of Anas (r) from the Prophet (s):
Whoever says in the morning and in the evening, “O Allah! I have entered a new morning and call upon You and upon the bearers of Your Throne, upon Your angels, and all Creation, to bear witness that surely You are Allah, that there is none worthy of worship but You alone! You have no partners and Muhammad is Your slave and Your Messenger! (Abu Dawud, al-Bukhari in al-'Adab al-Mufrad, Tirmidhi)
Whoever says that dhikr, it is long, Allah will free one quarter of you from Hellfire. If you say it twice, half of you will be free from Hellfire, three times, three quarters, four times all of you, once in the morning and once in the evening. Is it easy or difficult? It is easy if we keep our tongue wet with dhikrullah, and it is difficult if we let Shaytan in!
وحكى عن رجل من العباد أنه نزل برجل ضيفا فقام العابد ليله يصلي وذلك الرجل مستلق على فراشه فلما أصبحا قال له العابد : سبقك الركب أو كما قال فقال : ليس الشأن فيمن بات مسافرا وأصبح مع الركب الشأن فيمن بات على فراشه وأصبح قد قطع الركب
(A narration.) Wa hukiyaa rajalun min al-`ubaad, There were two people, “one of the sincere, pious worshippers who does everything right” one day was coming to a village and he was the guest of someone who hosted him in his home, fa qaam al-`abidu laylahu yusalli, and that visiting worshipper kept worshipping Allah (swt) all night and the man, the host, was sleeping all night resting. When they woke up in morning, the worshipper said to the host, sabaqak ar-rakbu, “The caravan (of worshippers) already went ahead of you because you were sleeping and not worshipping.” The man was worshipping and the host was sleeping. faqala laysa ash-shaanu feeman baata musafiran wa asbaha ma` ar-rakib ash-shaan feeman baata `alaa firaashi wa asbaha qad qata` ar-rakab, “The one who worshipped all night and was with the caravan is not like the one who lay down and he overpassed the caravan.” The one who was on his bed sleeping, his heart was with Allah (swt) and alsaqa habbat qalbihi, he glued his heart around the `Arsh, so his heart was circumambulating `Arshullah with the angels.
It means here that even that one who is a pious worshipper is not better than the one laying down, because the one laying down, his heart was with Allah (swt). That is why awliyaullah, when they take rest their heart is immediately connected, so through sleeping his heart was always working and the Prophet’s heart was always with his Lord, his body was with people:
لي ساعة مع الرب وساعة مع الخلق
Lee sa`atun ma` al-khaaliq was lee sa`atun ma` al-khalq.
I have one image, one side (or one hour) with my Lord and one side (or one hour] with the people.
It means, “I have one hour with Allah,” meaning one face or image, “and one hour with the people,” which means two images of Prophet (s): one always standing at Allah's (swt) Door circumambulating the Throne and the other one is with people, teaching them.
Dhikrullah noorun li ’dh-dhaakir, “It is Light for the one making dhikr,” wa noorun lahu fi qabrihi, “and it is a light for him in the grave, and it is a light for him on Siraat al-Mustaqeem.” Graves will become enlightened with too much light in it, because that person in his life was doing dhikrullah, so Allah will shine Light his grave.
Allah (swt) said in Holy Qur’an:
أَوَ مَن كَانَ مَيْتًا فَأَحْيَيْنَاهُ وَجَعَلْنَا لَهُ نُورًا يَمْشِي بِهِ فِي النَّاسِ كَمَن مَّثَلُهُ فِي الظُّلُمَاتِ لَيْسَ بِخَارِجٍ مِّنْهَا كَذَلِكَ زُيِّنَ لِلْكَافِرِينَ مَا كَانُواْ يَعْمَلُونَ
Awaman kaana maytan fa ahyanaahu wa ja`alna lahu nooran yamshee bihi fi ’n-naasi kaman mathaluhu fee zhulumaati laysa bi khaarijin minhaa ka-dhaalika zuyyin li’l-kaafireen maa kaanoo ya`maloon.
Can he who was dead, to whom We gave life, and a light whereby he can walk amongst men, be like him who is in the depths of darkness, from which he can never come out? Thus to those without faith their own deeds seem pleasing. (Surat al-An`am, 6:122)
“To the one who is dead, We bring him back to life and we make for him a light,” noor, yamshibi, “that he moves in it, that shows him the way.” Noor is guidance, when there is light you can see and be guided and when there is no light you are not guided. So Allah is saying, “The one whose heart is already dead, we give him a light as he wants to do dhikrullah,” and as soon as the servant begins to do dhikrullah, Allah gives a light and people run to him due to that spotlight. It is the light of iman that Allah is sending to their hearts. kaman mathaluhu fee zhulumaati laysa bi khaarijin minhaa ka-dhaalika, “Like the one whose heart is always dead has no light and is never going to come out of darkness.” So the mu’min whose heart has been rejuvenated with the light of iman, Allah will put in his heart and He put His love and His knowledge and put ma`rifat in the heart of that person.
The second one is heedless; he doesn’t ever turn to Allah and he is `an mu`dboo `an dhikrihi, “He is turning away from dhikrullah,” and that is dangerous! I say to myself and to you that it is dangerous to turn away from dhikrullah, because Allah will turn away from you. That is why the Prophet (s) always used to ask:
Yaa Rabbee an yaja`alahu fee lahmee ... To put the Light, an-Noor, from His Beautiful Name an-Noor in his body, in his bones, in his nerves, in his head, in his face, in his ears, in his eyes, to make the Noor above him, under him, on the right, on the left, from the front and the back. Allahumma ij`al lee nooran min fawqee wa min tahtee wa `an yameenee wa `an yassaaree. So that noor is going dead. Look, the noor of the charger is finished so we have to put another battery inside, or if we don’t put a battery inside. It’s coming, although there is no light here (on the charger). If we don’t put a battery in our hearts, that’s the problem, in our hearts is the problem. So also in lectures, in suhbahs, in advice, there are some examples like that, keep it in your mind. Don’t say, “O the broadcasting was cut.” No, it is a sign! Everything is a sign, that we spoke about Light that Allah put in a heart that is dead and Allah rejuvenates the heart and puts Light in it, then also the technology in daily life gives us an example! That is finished, it needs a battery and that means it needs to be rejuvenated as the heart has to work another time.
So, the Prophet (s) was always asking Allah to make him Light: Allahumma ja`alnee nooran, “O Allah, make me Light, noor,” and the noor is dhikr. The Prophet’s heart, body or mind, all the cells in his body, which in human beings there are three trillion cells, are all making dhikr in different ways, not in the same way.
Ibn Mas`ood (r), one of the greatest Sahaabis, said:
Laysa inda rabbikum…“There is no day and night for the Lord, the Light of Heavens and the Universe, noorus `samaawaat min noori wajhihi, it is from Allah’s Beautiful Name an-Noor, shining, so it is always there, as Allah (swt) said:
وَأَشْرَقَتِ الْأَرْضُ بِنُورِ رَبِّهَا
Wa ashraqati ‘l-ardu bi noori rabbihaa.
And the Earth will shine with the Light of its Lord. (Surat az-Zumar, 39:69)
“And the Earth will shine one day with the Light of Allah (swt), an-Noor.” When that Light dresses the Earth, there will be no more day and night, at that time it will be one, it is Light.
Allah said in the Holy Qur'an when Sayyidina Musa (a) asked to see Him, “Look at the mountain and if it stays in its place, you can see me.” And Allah sent one ray of His Noor and the mountain shattered like powder from that Light, that Noor, from the power that Allah has put inside the Light of Allah! Iit made the mountain melt completely and there was no more mountain, it melted. The hearts of awliyaullah melt, and the hearts of prophets for sure will melt from the greatness that Allah showers them with from His Light!
اللَّهُ نُورُ السَّمَاوَاتِ وَالْأَرْضِ
Allaahu nooru 's-samaawaati wa 'l-ard.
Allah is the Light of the Heavens and Earth. (Surat an-Noor, 24:35)
There is nothing except Light and anything is not available, only the Light that is shining that you can see, but you cannot reach. The Prophet (s) mentioned in many ahadeeth and in many tafaseer of Holy Qur’an that Allah (swt) will be seen in Paradise:
لاَّ تُدْرِكُهُ الأَبْصَارُ وَهُوَ يُدْرِكُ الأَبْصَارَ وَهُوَ اللَّطِيفُ الْخَبِيرُ
Laa tudrikuhu ‘l-absaar wa huwa yudriku ‘l-absaar wa huwa ‘l-lateefu ‘l-khabeer.
No vision can grasp Him, but His grasp is over all vision. He is above all comprehension, yet is acquainted with all things. (Surat al-An`am, 6:103)
“You can see, but you cannot reach,” you cannot be there, you can see from far that Light that Allah will send to Paradise to appear and people can see their Creator; those who are 26:03ind..maqa`adi sidqin with Prophet (s). They can see, but laa tudrikuhu, they cannot reach to know Him and see Him from close distance; to be there, you cannot. The example of that is the Sun: you can see its light during the daytime, but can you be there? No, although you see it from far. So what you see is traces of the Reality, but if you reach to the Sun there might be too many important realities happening there. From far away they say the Sun burns, that the core of the Sun is 50 million degrees Centigrade. What is 50 million degrees Centigrade? At 2,000 degrees iron and gold melt from the heat! The Sun is 50 million and it doesn't melt! If the Earth were 50 million degrees it would melt. Why does the Sun not melt? Are there different planets that Allah created that don’t melt? The heart of the believers don’t melt like the light of the Sun. The heat that the Sun produces is like the heat that the heart produces, of ishq, of love to Allah (swt)! How will Allah make that heart to disappear? No, it’s alive: in his grave he is alive, in his dunya he is alive, in his Akhirah he is alive!
O Muslims, believers! Through dhikrullah, Allah (swt) granted us many things we cannot understand. Ubay ibn K`ab related that, mathala noorihi, where Allah said:
اللَّهُ نُورُ السَّمَاوَاتِ وَالْأَرْضِ مَثَلُ نُورِهِ كَمِشْكَاةٍ فِيهَا مِصْبَاحٌ الْمِصْبَاحُ فِي زُجَاجَةٍ الزُّجَاجَةُ كَأَنَّهَا كَوْكَبٌ دُرِّيٌّ يُوقَدُ مِن شَجَرَةٍ مُّبَارَكَةٍ زَيْتُونِةٍ لَّا شَرْقِيَّةٍ وَلَا غَرْبِيَّةٍ يَكَادُ زَيْتُهَا يُضِيءُ وَلَوْ لَمْ تَمْسَسْهُ نَارٌ نُّورٌ عَلَى نُورٍ يَهْدِي اللَّهُ لِنُورِهِ مَن يَشَاء وَيَضْرِبُ اللَّهُ الْأَمْثَالَ لِلنَّاسِ وَاللَّهُ بِكُلِّ شَيْءٍ عَلِيمٌ
Allahu nooru ‘s-samaawaati wa’l-ardhi mathalu noorihi kamishkaatin feeha misbaahun al-misbaahu fee zujaajatin az-zujajatu kaannaha kawkabun durriyyun yooqadu min shajaratin mubarakatin zaytoonatin laa sharqiyyatin wala gharbiyyatin yakadu zaytuha yudeeo walaw lam tamsashoo naarun noorun `ala noorin yahdee Allahu linoorihee mayyashaoo wayadribu ‘Llahu al-amthaala li ‘n-naasi wa’llahu bikulli shayyin `aleemun.
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 enclosed in Glass, the Glass as it were a Brilliant Star lit from a Blessed Tree, an olive, neither of the East nor of the West, whose oil is well luminous, though fire scarce touched it. Light upon Light! Allah guides whom He will to His Light. Allah sets forth parables for men and Allah knows all things. (Surat an-Noor, 24:35)
“Allah is the Light of Heavens and Earth and the example of His Light is the heart of a Muslim!” Allahu nooru samaawaati wa ’l-`ard kamishkaatin mathalu noorihi fee qalbi muslim. “Mishkat” in the literal meaning is an opening in the wall (niche) where you put the lamp in the old times, qoowwa, like a hole in the wall where you put the lamp there and it shines and gives you light. He is comparing the heart of the Muslim like a hole in the wall, a hole in the body where the heart is;, like the lamp is inside the hole, the body is like the hole and in it you hang the heart and the lamp is always shining.
mathalu noorihi fee qalbi muslim wa haadha fee qalbihi That noor is the light of Muslims that Allah has put the lamp in it, that heart, that clean heart, because he is a Muslim. You say, “Laa ilaaha illa-Llah Muhammadan rasoolullah,” so you are Muslim. Allah has put a heart that has light in it in your body. wa huwa noorahu anzalahu ilayhim...yamshoona bayn an-naas, Allah has made the heart of Muslims and particularly those whose light increases, increases, increases, those people become awliyaullah and their duty, their job is to go around the Earth meeting with people in order for that light to be reflecting it’s reality on to other people so that they can see them.
That is why seeyaaha, traveling, is the habit of prophets. They don’t stay in one place, they move, hijra, they move from one place to another. Never a wali is buried in the place he was born, always (he goes) somewhere else, because he is going to be a reflector of that light to the heart, like a spotlight to people in that area.
Fa minhum ka-noor ash-shams, “Some of them, the light in their hearts is like the Sun,” kal-qamr, “some like the moon” and some like the stars, some like a lamp, some have very little light, there is some sincerity on that person, but not too much. And Allah (swt), according to how much light is in you, He gives you light on Siraat al-Mustaqeem, He gives you light to cross that Bridge over Hellfire to Paradise as you have to cross the Bridge of Siraat ul-Mustaqeem. It depends on how much light you have to see the way and pass quickly, or with no light you might fall down. May Allah protect us from falling down as falling down is dangerous!
Innamaa majaalis adh-dhikri majaalis al-malaa’ikah, “Verily, the majlis of dhikr is the majlis of angels.” As we said at the beginning, Allah (swt) made His angels to make dhikr and their dhikr is different each time, they don’t repeat, and what He said to them?
إِنَّ اللَّهَ وَمَلَائِكَتَهُ يُصَلُّونَ عَلَى النَّبِيِّ يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا صَلُّوا عَلَيْهِ وَسَلِّمُوا تَسْلِيمًا
Inna-Llaaha wa malaa'ikatahu yusalloona `ala 'n-nabiyy, yaa ayyuha ’Lladheena aamanoo salloo `alayhi wa sallimoo tasleema.
Verily, Allah and His angels send praise on the Prophet. O Believers! Pray upon him and greet him him with a worthy salutation. (Surat al-'Ahzaab, 33:56)
“Allah ordered His angels to make salawaat on the Prophet (s),” so their dhikr is salawaat, so salawaat is `ibaadah, worshipness. Don’t say, “Oh! I cannot do salawaat on the Prophet (s) as that is shirk.” Allah made angels to do salawaat and He said: majaalis adh-dhikr majaalis al-malaa’ikah, “The association of dhikr is the association of angels.” Wherever there is dhikr, angels will come running to that place. Fa laysa min majaalisu ’dh-dhikr...Allahu ta`ala fee, “There is no place in dunya for angels except the place where there is an association of dhikr, where people sit and remember Allah (swt).”
Ibn Taymiyya said, and I am quoting Ibn Taymiyya especially, not because I believe in his `aqeedah, no, but to tell those who follow him today they are free (to believe this). He said, “Dhikrullah is for sure: Inna nahnu nazalnaa’dh-dhikr wa inna lahu la-haafizhoon. “First, dhikr is to read Holy Qur’an and second, to call on Him through Holy Qur'an and to call on Him through Asma al-Husna, His Beautiful Names, and on His Siffaat, Attributes.” So it means that Ibn Taymiyya said you can call on Allah through His Names, but when we call on Allah by His Names, they object. Is not Allah from His Names? The main Name that encompasses all the Beautiful Names and Attributes, is that His Name or not? The other Names, ar-Rahmaan, ar-Raheem, as-Salaam, ul-Qudoos, as-Saboor, with the Attributes, His Sifaat, Attributes are also Names, the Names and Attributes of Allah (swt). Ibn Taymiyya said, “You can ask Him through that,” and that is why we say, “Yaa Rahmaan,” “Yaa Raheem,” “Yaa Hafeez,” “Yaa Mujeeb,” “Yaa Mu’izz,” “Yaa Lateef,” “Yaa Ghafoor,” “Yaa Sattar,” “Yaa Fattah,” “Yaa Wadood,” “Yaa Rahman,” “Yaa Raheem,” as we are calling on Him through His Names!
So it is allowed to make dhikrullah in gatherings and no one can (legitimately) say to you. “No, don’t do it in gatherings!” That is what they say, “Do it by yourself.” They say to you, “Dhikr is Holy Qur'an.” Yes, we know that dhikrullah is Holy Qur'an, but dhikrullah is also as the teacher of the Salafi’s, Ibn Taymiyya, said, remembering Allah through Allah's Beautiful Names and Attributes.
قال رسول الله صلى الله عليه و سلم :
إن لله ملائكة فضلا عن كتاب الناس يطوفون في الطرق يلتمسون أهل الذكر فإذا وجدوا قوما يذكرون الله تعالى تنادوا : هلموا إلى حاجتكم قال : فيحفوﻧﻬم بأجنحتهم إلى السماء الدنيا : وهو أعلم ﺑﻬم فيسألهم رﺑﻬم تعالى : ما يقول
عبادي ؟ قال : يقولون : يسبحونك ويكبرونك ويحمدونك قال فيقول : هل رأوني ؟ قال : فيقولون : لا والله ما
رأوك قال : فيقول : كيف لو رأوني ؟ قال : فيقولون : لو رأوك كانوا أشد لك عبادة وأشد لك تحميدا وتمجيدا
وأكثر لك تسبيحا قال : فيقول : ما يسألوني ؟ قال : يسألونك الجنة قال : يقول : وهل رأوها ؟ قال : يقولن : لا
والله يا رب ما رأوها قال فيقول : فكيف لو أﻧﻬم رأوها ؟ قال يقولون : لو أﻧﻬم رأوها كانوا أشد عليها حرصا
وأشد لها طلبا وأعظم فيها رغبة فيقول : فمم يتعوذون ؟ قال : يقولون : من النار قال : يقول : وهل رأوها ؟ قال
: يقولون : لا والله يا رب ما رأوها قال : يقول : فكيف لو رأوها ؟ قال : يقولون : لو رأوها كانوا أشد منها فرارا
وأشد لها مخافة قال : يقول : فأشهدكم أني قد غفرت لهم فيقول ملك من الملائكة : فيهم فلان ليس منهم وإنما جاء
لحاجة قال : هم الجلساء لا يشقى ﺑﻬم جليسهم
So what does the hadith here say? From Abu Hurayrah (r), and this is a strong hadith in Bukhari and Muslim, so they cannot deny that, Inna lillaahi malaa’ikatan fadlan `an kutaab an-naas, “Allah has angels in dunya in addition to the scribes who write what you do of good and bad, other than that Allah has special angels,” yatoofoona fi ’t-turuqaat yaltamisoona ahl al-dhikr, “who roam about in the streets looking for people of dhikrullah.” Fa idha wajadoo qawmun yadhkuroon Allah qaaloo tanadaw halummoo ila haajatikum, “When they find a group of people making dhikrullah (through reading Holy Qur'an or through His Names and Attributes) and when they find them, do they not hear them?” How do they hear them? Through their voices! So it means there is loud dhikr and there is hidden, khafee dhikr that you do by yourself. In jama`at they do dhikr jahri, loud dhikr, not silent.
And this hadith is proof that angels hear and see them and join them. How do they know they are doing dhikr if they don't hear them? Like this gathering, and there are many like this around the world, they could be talking about anything, but he said, “They come because they know of Majaalis adh-Dhikr by hearing them,” so for sure they must hear them, and they will touch them with their wings. This shows angels have wings. Fa yahufoonahum bi ajnihatihim, “They will be with them through their wings, they touch them.” This shows that angels have wings. “They will be encompassing around and around them in circles and they will come with their wings all the way up to the First Paradise.” How far is it and how many of them? This is majlis adh-dhikr and there are many all over the world like that. The angels will come in every Majlis adh-Dhikr in circles over them, with layer upon layer, all the way to the First Heaven.
How many of them are there? This universe is so huge! Our galaxy is (comprised of) 80 billion stars according to physicists and our Solar System is not even the head of a pin compared to the other stars, the whole Solar System. There are stars bigger than the entire Solar System, and scientists say there are at least 6,000 galaxies bigger than our galaxy, and this is all in hadd ad-dunya, the limits of this world, meaning in this universe. Prophet (s) is saying in an authentic hadith that the angels are in circles up to samaa ad-dunya, meaning, they go all the way above this entire universe. How many of them are there? If there are 80 billion stars in one galaxy which we multiply by 6,000, it gives us a number we cannot pronounce or imagine. Angels go all they way up to samaa ad-dunya, that means there are more than 80 billion times 6,000 and there are stars that are more than two or three billion light years away, not in normal years.
O our viewers, as-salaamu `alaykum! Dhikrullah is not easy and it opens doors for everyone. Allah asked the angels who are encompassing the universe all the way to First Heaven, in order for us to learn, as Allah already knows, He asks, “What are My servants doing?”
They say, Yusabbihoonaka wa yukabbiroonaka wa yuhamidoonaka, “They are making tasbeeh, takbeer, tahleel. They praise You, they make tahleel and they glorify You!”
Three words and that is dhikrullah. How do you make tasbeeh, tahleel and tamjeed? Is it not through His Beautiful Names and Attributes? So why do they object? Also, the angels are telling Allah (swt), so that means they heard them say that, which means they are saying it in a loud voice. Salafis object to (making dhikr in) a loud voice, we know that. Ahlu ’s-Sunnah wa ’l-Jama`ah want to teach us, we are humble for them and at their threshold, but Salafis, keep your belief to yourself! Don’t teach us about silent dhikr or tell us to keep our voices down!
What about the hadith of the Prophet (s), where he said:
أَكْثِرُوا ذِكْرَ اللَّهِ حَتَّى يَقُولُوا مَجْنُونٌ
Akthiroo dhikrullahi hattaa yaqooloo majnoon.
Remember Allah (swt) so much that people start saying, “He has gone mad.” (Ahmad, Musnad)
How can they say that you are crazy if they don’t hear you? This means that you should do loud dhikr. We like to do it loud, we like to do it hidden, we like to do it in any way, so keep to your way and we will keep to ours!
Allah (swt) asks, “Did they see Me?” and they give an oath, “By Allah, with Your Greatness, they did not see You.” Prophet (s) said that Allah said, “Kayfa law ra'awnee, how will be their situation if they see Me?” And they say, “If they saw You they would be more stronger worshippers to You yaa Allah, and more strong with belief to Praise You ...lawa raa-awk kaanoo ashada laka `ibadatan wa ashadd laka tamheedan wa tamjeedan wa aktharu laka tasbeehan, they would be more eager to make Praise, and to Glorify You and to make tasbeeh for You.” They would be more eager to do all that. Allah asks, “What are they asking from Me? What do they want?” And they say, “They are asking for Your Paradise.” For sure, to enter Paradise is through rahmatullah, they want Paradise. There is nothing less in Paradise, (there is) everything more than what you have in dunya. Allah says, “Did they see My Paradise?” And they say, “Laa yaa Rabbee, by Your Honor and Greatness, they did not see it.” Allah says, “How will they be if I show them My Paradise?” The Prophet (s) said that they say, Law annahum raa-awhaa kaanoo ashadu `alayhaa harsan wa ashadu lahaa talaban wa `azham feehaa raghbatan, “If they saw Paradise they would be more eager to see it and to be in it and through their desires to be in it with everything.” Allah asks them, “From what are they seeking safety?” And the angels reply, “They are asking to seek refuge in You from Hellfire.” Allah says, “Did they see My Hellfire?” They say, “Verily by Allah, by Your `izzah, no!” Allah asks, “How will they be if they see it?” And they said, “They would be more eager to run away from it as much as they can, and to be afraid from it as much as they can be afraid.” Prophet (s) said that Allah says, “Fa ush-hidukum, I make you My witness, O My angels!” [and how many are they? Might be all the angels, and this is His Greatness.] “I make you witness, O My angels!” [Are there billions, millions or trillions? There are infinite number of angels!] “I make you witness that verily I have forgiven them. It is finished, no sins!”
There are many majalis such as this one around the world, especially in Mecca and Madinah where the gathering is bigger, and in different countries. Allah is forgiving everyone who is sitting and making dhikrullah through His Beautiful Names and Attributes!
Out of these billions and infinite number of angels, Allah makes one of the angels to speak in order to show His Mercy. That angel says, “O Allah! There is one between them who is not from the people of dhikrullah. He is an intruder to the dhikr and he came because he was asking for something from someone. He has something to do with someone and saw him sitting there, so he sits waiting for him.” Allah says, hum al-julasaa laa yashqaa bihim jaleesahum, “They are those whom if you sit with them in their gathering you will never find punishment. Forgive him!”
SubhaanAllah, that is Allah’s Mercy! That one came not asking what the people are asking: they are asking Allah (swt) for Paradise, love of Allah, Prophet (s), angels and Islam. He is not asking for that, but because he sat with them and that Mercy is covering them, Allah says, “Y'Allah, go with them to Paradise!” There is evidence of this in the Holy Qur’an:
من بركتهم على نفوسهم وعلى جليسهم فلهم نصيب من قوله { وجعلني مباركا أين ما كنت }
Fa hadha min barakatihim `ala nufusihim wa `ala jaleesihim falahum naseebun min qawlihi “wa ja`alanee mubaarakan ayna ma kuntu”.
This is the barakah of the one who sits with them, he gets that reward by sitting with them. Allah (swt) said on the tongue of Sayyidina `Isa (a) that:
وَجَعَلَنِي مُبَارَكًا أَيْنَ مَا كُنتُ
Wa ja`alanee mubaarakan ayna maa kuntu.
Allah had made me blessed wherever I be. (Surah Maryam, 19:31)
Meaning, any association where you are mentioning the name of the Prophet (s) will turn into a blessed association and everyone will go to Paradise. That is why mu’min is mubarak and faajir, the corrupted, is punished. The gathering of dhikr is the gathering of angels and the gathering of heedless people, ghaflah, is the gathering of shayateen. Everyone follows their group. May Allah keep us to be from the group of angels, the group of dhikrullah.
May Allah forgive us and bless us. Inshaa-Allah, we will see you tomorrow. New day, new page. We will see what will come.
Wa min Allahi 't-tawfeeq, bi hurmati 'l-habeeb, bi hurmati 'l-Fatihah.
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