If we want to look today what is the most important matter that concerns human being - it is what? There is a matter, an issue that human being are concerned about too much. They fear about it, they feel it, they want to have it as much as they can and some people are lucky and some are not. They think about that matter as much as they can? What is that matter? Puzzle? [salaam] salaam? peace? And what did you say? [ego] ego? [food] food!?
There is one thing that is the whole mind of a human being is after it. They sleep they think about it, they wake up they think about it, they make du`a they think about it. Every moment it is what they want. That is common. What is that? It is health.
Because all this world, with all the money it has and all the technology it has and with all the fancy homes and all the wealthy people, all they are trying to do with all their money and with whatever they have what are they trying to do? To stretch their lives until the moment it is going to end.
From Sayyidina Adam to Sayyidina Nuh , and according to Holy Qur'an 950 years. At the end Sayyidina Nuh got tired at the end. “Ya Rabbee take me,” He said, "What am I going to do now with all this group of foolish people around me.” Because he came at the end [of his life] with his message. They said to him, “You are crazy” and he didn’t know what he was doing. He was doing a boat on a mountain. Allah told him make that boat on a mountain, on that hill. Allah wants to show His miracle, His power. So Sayyidina Nuh was building a boat and they came to him, “what are you doing? We thought you are speaking about the universe … now you are building a boat on a mountain.”
No, they don’t, but awliyaullah will build a boat on the mountain. Because they don’t see the way we see. Their vision is different. That is why the Prophet (s) said,
"اتقوا فراسة المؤمن فإنه ينظر بور الله"
"ittaqoo firaasat al-mu’min fa innahu yandhuru bi nurillah - Beware of the vision of the believer for he can see with Allah’s light. With Allah’s light you can see everything. Can you see Ultraviolet light? No. why? Because these physical eyes cannot see it. But the bee can see. Who is better, you or the bee? But Allah made you better according to Allah you are better. You can see at night. No but a cat can see. That means these eyes are limited. But when you fear Allah then no limit to the vision.
اللَّهُ نُورُ السَّمَاوَاتِ وَالْأَرْضِ
Allahu nuru ’s-samawati wa ’l-ard - Allah is light of heavens and earth.[24:35]
That light can go in the hearts of believers. In the house of awliyaullah they can see what others cannot see. That is hadith of Prophet hadith qudsee, “when My servant approaches me with voluntary worship… ma zaala abdee yataqarab ilayya bin-nawafil… so the waliullah sees with the eyes of the heart. That light of heavens and earth is in them. That light that the whole universe is under His sight, what is that Beautiful Name and Attribute? It is an-Nur. It is enough to make everything beautiful. When you inherit from that light, drop by drop, then you will be, as the Allah said on the tongue of his Prophet (s), “I will be his eyes he can see with and the ears which he can hear with.” Then you can see what no one can see except the one with those eyes.
It is strange shaykh. Can you see your heart? Huh? A machine can see your heart, how you cannot see? It is amazing to figure out we are blind. We are blind we cannot see. The machine because it didn’t commit a sin, can see. The machine what kind of sin it has. The machine, it was invented by human being. What do you think about the thing created by Allah swt? Your heart; your eyes; your ears. A machine can see. Now a 3-d machine can see. The machine can see and understand. It can see the heart and hear the heart and it can take pictures of the heart and pictures of the waves of the heart electromagnetic . bring a machine here and it will register it. That means there is something moving here, can you see it ? no. why we cannot see it? We are blind. Bring a TV here and it shows a picture. Whey? That TV was able to see these electromagnetic waves and turn them into a picture. or hear sound of electromagnetic waves and through what, what TV is using? It is using energy. Can turn a wavelength to a picture or sound waves to a picture. with what? Energy. Allah didn’t give you energy? Allah gave you energy, the energy that Allah gave you through awliyaullah that inherited from the Prophet (s) . They can se and read and and hear everything. They know everything as they can detect these vibrations through the heart.
We are mixing a bit of science because people today like these things. So what are we running after? Our body. The main so concern of people today Is their body. You also? You want to look nice, to dress nice to feel nice to eat nice to live nice. For that reason look at scientists, how many millions and millions of books and discoveries in order to understand a human body. How much they spent time? They are busy with that. And til today they tell you what they have discovered from the body is 2 or 3 percent. 97% they didn’t examine yet. They focused on 3% of the DNA but 97% they didn’t examine it yet. All of that for what? It is for human being. To give you life. There is nothing else. They give you healthy body.
Today they are filling up the gymnasium, fitness centers, men and women like crazy. It is good that I didn’t see here in this country people running on the street, men and women. On other countries you see them running and running. And Allah said, "la yastaakhiroona … it means everyone Allah swt decided how long he is living. He runs o r he doesn’t run. He jobs or he doesn't jog. That is the job of Sayyidina Azraeel. So our only concern is the human body. More than galaxy and stars and heavenly bodies. The main concern of human being is how to live long.
How to die? They will learn it one day, they will find it.
So everyone is running after his safety Allah is not saying don’t run after your safety but Allah swt wants you to know that when the angel of death comes you will not be given one minute more or one minute less.
So all these scientists made this huge inventory of books and pictures about the human body.
Millions of books. You are doctor. How many books you studied? Every kind. And at the end what they told you? Put all of this aside you don’t know anything. Come for training. When you went for residency you found more stuff in residency than in books. All that is zero. Residency theory, training. If that is taking long time learning about the body, did we check about the soul.
الأرواح جنود مجندة فما تعارف منها ائتلف وما تناكر منها اختلف
al-arwahu junoodan mujanada, famaa ta`araf minha a’talaf wa man tanaakara minha’khftalaf.
Abu Huraira reported The Prophet (s) said, “souls are troops collected together and those who familiarised with each other would have affinity, with one another and those amongst them who opposed each other would also be divergent.”
souls are like battalions, whoever among them knows each …
Did we check our souls? Allah said in Holy Qur'an.
فَأَلْهَمَهَا فُجُورَهَا وَتَقْوَاهَا قَدْ أَفْلَحَ مَن زَكَّاهَا
Bismillahi 'r-Rahmani 'r-Raheem Fa alhamaha fujooraha wa taqwaaha qad aflaha man zakaha wa qad khaaba man dasaaha.” – “And He inspired the soul with what is good and what is bad. He succeeds who purifies it and truly lost is he who buries it [in darkness].” [Ash-Shams 91:9]
Inspired the self with what is good and what is bad, O My servant. The one who will do good and try to build his soul up will be successful.
Allah likes people who they try to build up their soul. At least if we look into science today, we see millions of books about the body, why we don’t see millions and millions of books about the soul and treatment of the soul? Muslims - where are the Muslims? These are the Muslims [points to the group]
This is what Islam came with, to pray the five prayers and run, finish. Where are these universities that used to sit with the shuyukh after Fajr or after Maghrib or after `Isha. And learn from them. What Imam Malik used to say, and he is one of the four imams of the four Sunni schools. Imam Abu Hanifah, and Imam Malik the oldest, Imam Shafi`i, Imam Ahmad ibn Hanbal.
So he said, "I have 900 teachers in Madina. 600 I learned from them Shariah and 300 I learned from them the science of the soul.” To show how meticulous he was on the problem of the soul. Because the ego immediately…
600 teachers. How many teachers do we have? We say we have a teacher. Alhamdulillah. We have a teacher. But are we doing what the teacher is saying? It is good we don’t have 600 teachers. That will be a big problem if we disobey them all. Here we have a teacher whose heart is so good, so wide, so soft, that we never obey and he is still pampering us. What is pampering us? Putting our diapers on us. So they have a diaper for you they keep in the pocket and put on you when you need it. This is our behavior.
They have huge books on the body but they have no books on the soul. And the Prophet (s) emphasized on the purification of the soul, And Allah said, "qad aflaha man zakaha whoever purifies his soul will be successful.”
Where are people today this is Islam that we take one part and leave the rest? Go to any mosques today. Sit at their meetings what they are speaking these scholars. Does any one bring up the Maqam al-Ihsan, the Station of Excellence, how to clean yourself up. Do they give you teachings or techniques that when you say “Allahu Akbar,” not to have all kinds of bad thoughts come to your mind. When you are praying and say “Allahu Akbar” what happens? Everything comes. Something that you never imagine thinking abut it comes. Maqam al-Ihsan is how to purify yourself from it. They don’t give today any importance to it. They give everything to the very basic and that is it. That is ok, that will take you to
Because they are here but they are hidden; because what they do, not everyone can do. It is not so simple. Allah chose whom He wants to be awliyaullah. He grants them - it is so simple.
But what is our duty? To find a teacher. Not only to find a teacher but to follow the teacher. The Prophet (s) gave so much importance to ittiba` to follow the footsteps of a teacher. Allah said in Holy Qur'an:
qul in kuntum tuhiboonAllah fatabi`ooenee yuhbibukumullah – Say: if you really love Allah then follow me, Allah will love you.
“If they really love you, Ya Muhammad (s) they have to follow you.”
Today can we say we are following? No one can say “I am following” I cannot say, you cannot say . No one can say. Even Rabi`a al-`Adawiyya, the famous saint lady in Islamic history. After the prayer is finished you say, " as-salaam alaykum wa rahmatullah, as-salaam alaykum wa rahmatullah.” What do you do? Say istaghfirullah. She used to say, "My istighfaar needs another istighfaar. And that istighfaar needs another istighfaar. And that one needs another.” So her prayer, day and night is only istighfaar. And she is not going out and coming in. She is in her niche, her mihraab. Are we in our niche? No.
I am speaking here spirituality. But in a way we are in our niche. Our shaykh is our niche. And he said, "don’t put me in a shamed position in front of the Prophet (s).” every 24 hours he presents us to the Prophet, and he presents us clean. He accepted, it is his problem. He accepted you as his student. Yes. Already he did. So who is liable? He is. That is good tidings for us but he said, "don’t put me in a shamey position. But you need to behave you need to improve. You cannot be forever, running like a wild animal, not thinking.
So immediately Allah swt, as Allah swt said in Holy Qur'an when you know yourself you did something [wrong], repent. Don’t lose hope from Allah’s forgiveness.
قُلْ يَا عِبَادِيَ الَّذِينَ أَسْرَفُوا عَلَى أَنفُسِهِمْ لَا تَقْنَطُوا مِن رَّحْمَةِ اللَّهِ إِنَّ اللَّهَ يَغْفِرُ الذُّنُوبَ جَمِيعًا إِنَّهُ هُوَ الْغَفُورُ الرَّحِيمُ
Qul yaa `ibadiya alladheena asrafoo `ala anfusihim la taqnatoo min rahmati Allahi inna Allaha yaghfiru adh-dhunooba jamee`an innahu huwa alghafooru ar-raheem
Say: "O my Servants who have transgressed against their souls! Despair not of the Mercy of Allah. for Allah forgives all sins: for He is Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful.
Az-Zumar [39:53]
Don’t lose hope from Allah’s mercy. Allah will forgive those asking forgiveness. Are you asking Allah’s forgiveness? To make it any time. Whey we do it in every prayer. Because sometimes we forget. We think we are alright. That is why awliyaullah are always asking repentance. We don’t know when he will forgive us.
Even Sayyidina Abu Bakr as-Siddiq , when he heard the hadith from the Prophet (s), he was crying. What is the hadith. The du`a that don’t leave me to myself for the blink of an eye. If the Prophet (s) said, "Don’t leave to the hands of my ego for the blink of an eye or even less.” Then what about Abu Bakr . He was crying. Are we crying? No.
So the problem is that as we want to see our body clean, perfect, we have at least on the other side to make our soul clean and perfect. We are jogging, are we not. Ok, jogging is ok. Have all kinds of machines and go to gym. But also at the same time you must do for the soul. O Allah give us in this dunya the world and raise us higher and in akhira. Whatever you do for dunya do for akhira. You cannot do for dunya and not for akhira. Allah gave to Prophet both dunya and akhira for his nation. But Sayyidina `Isa he gave only akhira to his students. That his why his disciples, he was only teaching them about akhira. That is why they have priests that have nothing to do with dunya. They sit in monasteries.
And Sayyidina Musa was giving akhira not giving akhira. That is why they were lost in the desert. And he was giving them with that a little bit of dunya life. And the Prophet (s) was saying, "O Allah give us in dunya and give us in akhira." He opened wide for his ummah. So no one is saying don’t do for dunya, but also don’t forget to do for akhira.
And we ask Allah for the love and for the sake of Sayyidina Muhammad (s) that He keep us always connected with our shuyukh.
Sometimes you don’t have light here. Then what happens. The light is dead but the electricity is there. You only need to put a new bulb, then the light comes. So shuyukh their light is always coming. But what you need? You need the lamp to being the light up. If you don’t have the lamp they don’t cut you. When Allah gives he gives. Awliyaullah the same. The Prophet (s), Allah sent him rahmatan lil-`alameen - Mercy to all creation.
You have to give everyone. So Prophet Muhammad (s) is always giving to his ummah. That is why his name is Abul-Qassim. Dividing everything among the people. Mercy. Everything. So his mercy is reaching everyone. So you have to get it. Either you have to fix your plug or you have to fix your bulb. If your bulb is burned already what do you do? If your heart is burned by dunya already what do you do? Replace the bulb.
There are two kinds of bulb. One is the snapper, pin type and you push and pin it. Or you have a screw type – twist and twist, it goes on. One is harder - the one with pins is hard. But the one that you screw it in, goes inside easily. The snapper you cannot do it. It is for awliyaullah there irada is strong. Then you have to use the screw type. That you turn and turn screw and until it touches the end. So we are of that type. We are not of the pin category. Awliyaullah are of that type. That is why they can do what others cannot do. So may Allah give us healthy body.
May Allah give us as you gave them, Ya Rabbee. There is no harm in asking. Idoo`nee astajeeb lakum. Ya Rabbee! Give us what you gave them to be in Prophet’s presence as the awliyaullah are in the Prophet’s presence. We ask to be among the friends of the Prophet (s) and Your friends. That is the best. O Allah resurrect us with the Prophet (s) and send us to his
And we continue next time. Bi-hurmati 'l-Fatiha.