A`oodhu billahi min ash-Shaytaani 'r-rajeem. Bismillaahi 'r-Rahmaani 'r-Raheem.
Alhamdulillahi Rabbi ‘l-`Alameen wa ‘s-salaatu wa ‘s-salaam `alaa Sayyidina Muhammadin wa `alaa alihi wa ashabihi ajma`een wa man tabi`ahu bi ihsanin illa Yawmi ‘d-deen wa `alaa sa’iri ‘l-Anbiya wa ‘l-mursaleen wa ‘l-Awliya wa ibaadillahi ‘s-saliheen wa alayna ma`ahum ajma`een, yaa Arhamu ‘r-Rahimeen.
Laa hawla wa laa quwatta illa billahi 'l-`Aliyyu 'l-`Azheem.
Dastoor, yaa Sayyidi, Qutbu ‘l-Mutasarrif. Madad yaa Sultan al-Awliya. Dastoor, yaa Sayyidi wa Mawlay. Madad, yaa RijaalAllah.
As-salaamu `alaykum wa rahmatullaahi wa barakaatuh.
We prayed `Asr. We are completing our breath towards Allah (swt). You have to see that your day is ending. Prayer after prayer, day after night, night after day, you are just completing your counted breath that Allah (swt) has given to us. Some people are happy that they are completing their breaths and finally they will meet their beloveds and others get depressed, “I’m getting old. I don’t like getting old. I’m going to die soon. Why is it happening to me?”
The people who are happy to meet Allah (swt), it is because they have acquired the love of Allah (swt) and the love of Rasoolullah (s) and they’re yearning to finally meet their beloveds. When you are away from your beloveds, you count the minutes, you count the hours, “When am I going to be on that plane? When am I going to be in that car to finally meet my beloveds?”
The Muslim, the mu’min starts his day and waits to pray Zhuhr. Zhuhr comes, he prays and then waits for `Asr. That’s the good Mu’min. There are very few like that. When `Asr comes, he waits for Maghrib. That is the ribaat, the muraabata, the connection between you and the Divine Presence. Who is doing that? Nobody is doing that and it is sad. That means iman has not entered the heart of that person. May Allah (swt) forgive all of us.
Awliyaullah have said people are of two kinds: one is afflicted and the other is spared. One is afflicted with the love, desire and greed for dunya and trampling over others to get what he or she wants from dunya. Everybody who is afflicted with the love of dunya forgets Allah (swt) and all they want is this world. “What can I get from this world? What pleasures can I get? How can I get more?”
And there is the one who is spared, man or woman, from the love of dunya. They are spared from following their desires to take more pleasures of this dunya. Allah (swt) has given them `afiya. How many people are after dunya? All of us! If you watch the news or don’t watch the news, it’s all around you. People are afflicted with the love of this dunya. Dunya is prestige and wealth, power and wealth. Every human is running after more power and more wealth. Everywhere you look: north, east, west, south, they have all the same character. Human beings carry this ego and it is the same in every human being.
The ego wants to be Fira`un. The perfection of the ego appeared in Fira`un. Allah (swt) gave him all the means of power, wealth and control. When he had all of that he declared, “I am your highest god. May you have one, two, three or a hundred gods but I am the highest one.” The ego of any human being is given the possibility, it will declare itself to be god, whether he or she says it by tongue or by heart. If they show it with their actions or not, every human being is seeking that absolute power and control. That Pharaoh drowned in the sea. The metaphor of drowning in the sea was that he drowned in the sea of dunya. He rejected the Heavenly message and drowned himself in the sea of dunya. He left the messenger, he left the message that came with the messenger, he left the Mu’mins who believed and he preferred to drown in dunya and he drowned! You have to feel sorry for the afflicted ones.
Alhamdulillah, you are spared. Whenever I come here, I see you by yourself in the garden making Tasbeeh with the flowers and vegetables. Did you know they make Tasbeeh? Make sure you make Dhikr with them when you are in the garden. You are not out in that Red Sea where Fira`un drowned.
That sea has the highest salt content. It is said that the ego is salty. You will run away from it. It is not pure and fresh. The fountain of the soul is the pure fountain. The fountain of the soul gives you life. If you drink sea water your entire life you will die. Those who drink from the fountain of Heavenly messages and spiritual beings, the qalb that is towards the ruh, the pure water is taking life and is functioning and living and beating and making dhikr.
The human being who has turned to the fountain of the ego is drinking from that salty water. The more he drinks, the thirstier he becomes. Did you ever try seawater? You should. When you are a kid and your dad throws you in the ocean, “Come on, learn how to swim.” You are going under and drinking and then they pull you out. That’s how we learned how to swim.
Those who are afflicted with the power and wealth of dunya and they are only trying to acquire more and more, they can never quench their thirst. The more they drink, the more they want. Do you know what salt does to you? It kills you. Too much salt dries you up. If the salt content in your body goes high, you will fall into a coma.
They will end up dead, meaning in Eternity. They will not receive that Eternal Life because they went to the sea of dunya and followed the fountain of the ego. That is the afflicted one. Everybody nowadays is afflicted with dunya.
Awliyaullah have said don’t look at the sins of people as if you are lords. Yes, he is afflicted with the love of dunya and the love of power. She is afflicted with the love of dunya, the prestige, fame, wealth and power but don’t look at their sins as if you are the one judging them as if you are God. Allah (swt) will judge and He leaves it until Yawmu ‘l-Qiyamah. It’s not up to us. Look at the manners of Muslim saints. The manner of prophets is that you don’t look at the sins of people and judge them as if you are God. Rather, look at your own sins as if you are servants. We are the servants of God. We are not the God to judge people. Don’t look at whatever the afflicted ones are doing. Leave them. Asta`eedhu billah:
وَإِذَا صُرِفَتْ أَبْصَـٰرُهُمْ تِلْقَآءَ أَصْحَـٰبِ ٱلنَّارِ قَالُوا۟ رَبَّنَا لَا تَجْعَلْنَا مَعَ ٱلْقَوْمِ ٱلظَّـٰلِمِينَ
Wa idhaa surifat absaaruhum tilqa as-haabi ‘n-Naar qaaloo Rabbana laa taj`alna ma` ‘l-qawmi ‘z-zhaalimeen.
When their eyes shall be turned towards the Companions of the Fire, they will say: "Our Lord! send us not to the company of the wrongdoers." (Surah Al-`Aaraf, 7:47)
When their eyes are turned towards the people of Jahannam, it doesn’t mean that they turned their eyes. Their eyes were turned to them. Allah (swt) turned their eyes. Look at the people of Jahannam, when their faces are turned against their will, they say, “O our Lord! Don’t make us with unjust people.” They are asking Allah (swt) to spare them because Ashaabu ‘n-Naar are the afflicted ones.
These Rijaalullah, the Men of Allah (swt), they know that it is not in their hands. They could have been with these unjust people. Allah (swt) would have made them with the cruel ones and with the unjust ones. So many Muslims are spared the friendship of such people but some Muslims like the friendship of such people. They are zhaalim.
In tariqah when you look at the people who are committing what they are committing because of their greed for dunya and power, say, “Yaa Rabbee. I don’t want to look but it’s in front of me. Don’t make me with them. Don’t make my family with them. Don’t make my children with them. Don’t make my brothers and sisters with them. Don’t make my beloveds with them.” That is your du`a. You are not criticizing, belittling, demeaning or insulting them, rather you are praying, “Yaa Rabbee. Don’t make me with them because they are afflicted.” Look at the adab of Islam.
Where is the adab of Islam? Nobody knows the adab of Islam. If I don’t read these kalaam of Awliyaullah and Anbiyaullah, where are we going to hear them? Who is saying them? Who is talking about such things? No one.
Look at your own sins as if you are the servant of Allah (swt). Try to make yourself as obedient as you can, as compliant with the Shari`ah as you can, as compatible with the Saaliheen as you can. You take care of that and say, “Yaa Rabbee. Don’t make me with them.”
They said, don’t speak too much without Dhikrullah otherwise your hearts will be like stones with no mercy in them. These hearts are away from Allah (swt). What do you do? At the end, you have mercy on the people who are afflicted, feel pity for them, feel mercy for them, have compassion towards them and thank Allah (swt) that He has spared you. He has given you `afiya. That’s why you say: Allahumma innee asaluka ‘l-afiya min kulli baliya. Yaa Rabbee. I am asking `afiya. I am asking that You spare me from every affliction. Not only that you have a sickness or you are poor or you have no job, no. If you are healthy, that is also an affliction. Why? Because you have the power to do so many things. When you’re healthy, you can stay up for 24 hours partying.
Health can be an affliction. Wealth can be an affliction. What do you do if you have money? “I want to see Rome. I want to see France. I want to see this and that. It’s the summer.” Affliction is anything that takes you away from Allah (swt). Dunya takes you away from Allah (swt). If you come across something that distracts you from the worship of your Lord, from the remembrance of your Lord, know that it is dunya.
Thank Allah (swt) that you have been spared from affliction. You are in dergah. What is dergah? Majlisu ‘d-dhikr. Alhamdulillah, we are lucky to have this masjid here. Others are lucky to have masaajid in their areas. Escape from the world. You are not going to be able to fix it. Mashaa-Allah, every Muslim thinks they can fix the world. Every Christian thinks they’re going to fix the world. Every Jew thinks they are going to fix the world. You cannot fix it. It’s unfixable. You need supernatural power in order to fix it. Nobody can fix what’s happening nowadays. That is why we are waiting for what Rasoolullah (s) gave glad tidings about. Until that comes, we are waiting from prayer to prayer.
May Allah (swt) forgive us. Alhamdulillah, we have been spared. May Allah (swt) keep us with Awliyaullah and Anbiyaullah. May Allah (swt) forgive us and allow us to be at His Service, in His worship. This is majlisu ‘d-dhikr. If you cannot come here, do it at home. If you cannot do it at home, do it in the masjid next to you. Always be in the company of Allah (swt). When you mention Him, He mentions you. You are with Him right away and that is the best of places to be.
Wa min Allahi 't-tawfeeq, bi hurmati 'l-habeeb, bi hurmati 'l-Fatihah.
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