Hosted by Data Hajjah Noora, Member of Parliament
with guest Chief Minister, Sarawak Province
A`oodhu billahi min ash-Shaytaani ‘r-rajeem. Bismillahi ‘r-Rahmaani ‘r-Raheem.
I speak on behalf of my shaykh, because hearts of awliyaullah are always with their followers. They always care for their students like a mother or a father whose love is with their children when they are away. So awliyaullah also care for their students as they are far away, and they want to reach them. I am saying that on behalf of my shaykh, Shaykh Muhammad Nazim Adil al-Haqqani, may Allah give him long life.
It’s an honor and privilege to be sitting with the speaker of the house of the state of Sarawak, which is a great state. May Allah give them happiness in that state, from the governor, to the chief minister, to the speaker of the house, to all those people who are working hard for the best of this nation, for the best of this country, for the best of their state. And especially, I have the privilege and the honor to say, I thank Data Hajjah Noora a lot for her hospitality, for inviting all of us tonight here to her home, and to her husband, who is hiding somewhere. (Laughter) I’ve known her for many, many years, since 1987 I think, when her father invited us in 1987 or 1988 when they were officially opening BINA (?) in Sarawak. In any case, we were invited for the inauguration of that building. She and her sisters and all her family honored us very well, and since at that time they were trying to do their best for the people, and especially now in the time of the honorable chief minister of Sarawak, where she is mashaa-Allah helping a lot in that state as an MP and she is doing her best to reach the poor, as she was reaching us. We were poor; because of her we became rich. May Allah (swt) look after the chief minister’s health and after his people in that state, and also after the speaker of the house,and his MP’s, and also after Hajjah Noora and the work she is doing in the community, helping the poor people there. I am very thankful today, Mr. Speaker of the House, to be here in your presence.
This is a small introduction. I would like to hear the Speaker of the House say something. If he accepts my request, I will pass him the microphone. He said, “Yes.” (laughter)
Speaker of the House:
As-salaamu `alaykum wa rahmatullah. Shaykh Hisham, we are indeed honored by your presence in this country and we are honored by the invitation of Data Noora to meet you in Kuala Lumpur. We believe the intention of your visit is to bless those whom you know and to bless the country and the state. You belong to the tariqat of Qadiriyya, Naqshbandiyya, Chistiyya and three others. In my reading, I have not met any awliya who belongs to six orders of tariqah. And in my brief meeting with you, I am honored to be able to have conversation with you, and the knowledge that you pass to me during this short meeting and this gathering that is gathered here, to hear your wisdom and your teachings that we all welcome. Thank you.
Mawlana Shaykh Hisham:
Thank you. As-salaamu `alaykum wa rahmatullahi ta’ala wa barakaatuh. Wa lillahi fee khalqihi shu`oon. Allah (swt) makes everyone a subject to Him, to disseminate a message, to send a message. There are people who send good messages, there are people who keep silent, and there are people, unfortunately, who give bad messages. In this gathering we hope that Allah (swt) will give us a good message to inspire our hearts, to explain something that people might need. Always there is a struggle, from the time of Adam (a) until our time and until the Day of Judgment, there is a struggle between good and evil. Good comes from Allah (swt) and evil comes either from ourselves or from Shaytan. Allah wants the good for His servant. Shaytan, out of jealousy, wants the worst for Allah’s servant. Because he knows he is cursed, he wants everyone to be cursed, and Allah will not let Shaytan win; he must not win and it is impossible for Shaytan to be able to win.
That’s why we are in a struggle, because one moment we listen to the order of Allah (swt).
Ati`oollaha wa ati`oo ‘r-Rasoola wa ooli ‘l-amri minkum
bey Allah, obey the Prophet, and obey those in authority among you. (4:59)
And some moments we listen to our desires. When we listen to our worldly desires, then we establish within ourselves pride. When we establish pride, it immediately goes to arrogance and then it creates anger within us. And when anger comes, stubbornness comes; we become stubborn. We cannot accept anyone except ourselves and our mind.
Although the Prophet is ma’soom (innocent), he never said anything without it being wahi (divine revelation). Without revelation, he never said one word. When the Prophet (s) speaks, it is wahi.
وَالنَّجْمِ إِذَا هَوَى مَا ضَلَّ صَاحِبُكُمْ وَمَا غَوَى وَمَا يَنطِقُ عَنِ الْهَوَى إِنْ هُوَ إِلَّا وَحْيٌ يُوحَى عَلَّمَهُ شَدِيدُ الْقُوَى
Wa ‘n-najmi idhaa hawaa ma dalla saahibukum wa maa ghawaa wa maa yantiqu`ani ‘l-hawaa in huwa illa wahyun yoohaa `allamahu shadeedu’ l-quwwa.
By the star when it goes down, Your companion does not err, nor does he go astray; Nor does he speak out of desire. It is naught but revelation that is revealed. He was taught by one Mighty in Power. (53:1-5)
Allah is giving an oath that Muhammad (s) never says anything without it being wahiy, because he is the Messenger of Allah, the Seal of Messengers, and he wants to deliver what is good for humanity and what is good for us.
Sayyidina `Ali (r), may Allah (swt) make him higher and higher in his levels, said, “Oh human beings! If you keep four principles in your life, you’ll be saved. The first principle is to be silent.” As-samt is to be silent, to listen. So when you keep quiet, what does it mean? That you are going to listen, for sure. It is said, “If talking is from silver, silence is from gold.” Prophet (s) is silent until wahi comes, then he speaks. If we are silent, we are able to control our tongue, as the Prophet (s) said:
Anyone who is able to control what is between his jaws and what is between his legs, I will guarantee for him Paradise. -Muslim
As soon as someone speaks you can understand what kind of person he or she is. Many people today don’t speak except to make fitna. So Sayyidina `Ali (r), from that time 1400 years ago, was saying, “O Muslims, O Believers! If you keep quiet at least you will not commit a sin.” Then he said, “When you keep quiet, don’t talk; be still, listen.” The second principle is to listen, as-simaa. Listen to what he is saying, what she is saying, and listen. Don’t jump and speak, answering them. No, no. You might make a bad decision, a bad move. You know when they play chess, they have to very carefully move the piece because they are silent, thinking, observing, then moving. So listen to what they say, then after listening, observe. Look at how they are looking at each other.
Prophet (s) said, “Be aware of the vision of a believer because he is seeing into your heart with the light Allah (swt) gave to him.” And he can see from your actions what you are doing when some people are talking, if you are listening and then observing their reactions. When you establish silence, please be patient. Don’t talk. Listen. Observe. Look at them, see how they are reacting. At that time, you move. The move will be a very solid because it will be the best decision. Some people, they cannot control their tongue; immediately they want to jump in. No, don’t do that. Sayyidina `Ali (r) said, “Don’t do that; try to take everything softly, quietly, patiently.”
That struggle between good and evil is from the beginning of time and that’s why Allah (swt) sent messengers and prophets, in order to teach humanity what they need to do. Or else, by ourselves, we will be like Qabeel and Habeel, Cain and Abel. Qabeel was the rigid one, Habeel was the soft one. Allah gave you an example in the children of Sayyidina Adam (a), the first two children, two boys. Why were they fighting? Do we know why the two brothers were fighting? Because when their mother, Sayyida Hawwaa, was pregnant, she was delivering a boy and a girl. The second pregnancy, another boy and another girl. So the first boy married the second girl, and the second boy married the first girl. So Habeel married the beautiful one and Qabeel married the other one. I cannot say ugly one, but they began to fight for that reason. Habeel was a soft, very generous person, like the hosts of this house, Data Noora and her husband.
Sayyidina Haabeel (a) and Qaabeel are fighting; they are angry. For what? Nothing, except Shaytan wants to make them fight. Allah ordered them to slaughter a lamb, so Habeel was very generous. He went to his own flock and picked the best ram to give to Allah (swt). Qaabeel looked. If you want to know if a lamb is good, you touch the backbone here. If that is big, it means it is full of meat. Qaabeel touches it, it’s big, and he leaves it. He goes to another one and this is also big. Oh, then he found a lamb like this stick (Mawlana Shaykh holds up his walking stick), no meat, all bones. He said, “Allah is not going to eat. Why do I have to give something big?” So he gave the worst he had. See the difference between generosity and stinginess. Allah accepted from Sayyidina Haabeel (a) because he was generous. He refused to take what Qaabeel gave, because he was stingy.
So it was a struggle from day one. Sayyidina Nuh (a) was struggling with his people for 900 years, and the last 50 years were easy for him. The first 900 years he was fighting with them, struggling between good and evil. Sayyidina Ibraheem (a) was struggling with Nimrood for many, many years until Nimrood threw him in the fire. Now we are in the fire. We need to follow the way of Sayyidina Ibraheem (a), to surrender to Allah (swt). By saying what? Sayyidina Muhammad (s) mentioned in a hadith of Sayyidina Abu Hurayra (r):
قال النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم لابي هريرة رضي الله عنه : ألا أدلك على كلمة من تحت العرش من كنز الجنة ؟ تقول لا حول ولا قوة الا بالله فيقول الله عز وجل : أسلم عبدي وأستسلم
“If you say laa hawla wa laa quwwata illa billah, “There is no power and there is no support except by Allah,” Allah will say to you, aslama `abdee, “My servant became Muslim.” It means you accepted Allah (swt). W 'astaslama `abdee, “And my servant surrendered to Me.”
So if you are a Muslim, it’s not enough: you have to surrender! There are many Muslims, but they don’t surrender. By name they are Muslim, but there is no submission. That means their Islam is not perfect. By name they are Muslim, yes:
من قال: لا إله إلا الله، دخل الجنة
man qaala laa ilaaha illa-Llah dakhal al-jannah.'
The Prophet (s) said, “Who says laa ilaaha illa-Llah enters Paradise.”
It means if you say laa ilaaha illa-Llah Muhammadur rasoolallah, you will be entitled to Paradise. Allah is the Judge. With punishment or without punishment, He can send you to Paradise. But your Islam is not perfect because you did not surrender. Submission is what is important. To say laa ilaaha illa-Llah by tongue is easy. His Excellency, Speaker of the House was telling me laa ilaaha illah-Llah, illa-Llah, illa Hu, Huw 'Allah, lillah, lahu, Hu, all of them are different words being put together from the same laa ilaaha illah-Llah. Submission means to go through all different understandings of Allah’s (swt) powers, and understanding His Beautiful Names and Attributes.
Sayyidina Ibraheem (a) was in a state of submission when Jibra’eel came to him and said, “Yaa IbraheemIbraheem, do you need any help? I will help you. Allah sent me. Nimrood put you in the fire.” Sayyidina `Ibraheem (a) said, “The One Who sent you knows what I want. I’m not in need of your help. He knows what I want. If He puts me in the fire or doesn’t put me in the fire, I am submitting. My heart and my love is for Him. I’m not feeling it, the fire isn’t fire. For me, fire or no fire is the same.”
At that moment, Allah (swt) said:
قُلْنَا يَا نَارُ كُونِي بَرْدًا وَسَلَامًا عَلَى إِبْرَاهِيمَ
Qulnaa yaa naaru koonee bardan wasalaaman `alaa Ibraaheem.
We said, "O Fire! Be thou cool, and (a means of) safety for Abraham!" (21:69)
Allah (swt) made the fire immediately to be safe for Sayyidina Ibraheem (a), and not only safe, but with a cool breeze. Look at technology today. Allah doesn’t have technology? Allah created technology! These air conditioners behind us are giving cool air. Allah can’t give cool air within the fire to Sayyidina Ibraheem (a)? Look at the weather, how hot it is. With this instrument, the weather becomes cooler. On what is this instrument working? Does anyone know? It is working on electricity. What is electricity? Can you see it? No. Electricity is something you cannot see, but you can see it through instruments, through vehicles. Like the light in the lamp, you can see the light but you cannot see the energy. You cannot see the thing that makes that light, the source of that energy.
That’s why awliyaullah are like transformers. They get electricity from the main station and it goes through a transformer; the electricity comes at a very high voltage and transformers bring it down to light the house. You cannot get it directly from the main energy source of electricity or the whole house will burn and all the wires will go off. We are wired; within ourselves there are wires. Allah (swt) made all these veins and capillaries, all wires for our system. Even this hair (Mawlana touches a hair in his beard) cannot grow without a vein that gives it life in order to become bigger and bigger, and bigger and bigger. There must be a cell here, even in our hair. We don’t know how many we have. How are we going to know about Allah (swt) when we don’t know about our beard or our hair? Do you count your beard, how many hairs it has? They count only how many teeth we have or how many eyes we have. How many capillaries do we have, doctor? Millions! Can you count them? No way! How do you want to know about ma`rifatullah (knowledge of Allah) when you don’t know ma`rifatu ‘n-nafs (knowledge of the self)? Sayyidina ‘Ibraheem (a) was submitting, knowing himself, man `arafa nafsahu, faqad `arafa Rabbahu. It is said that, “Who knows himself, knows his Lord, knows the Creator.”
So Sayyidina Musa (a), when it came to his turn, he was kaleemullah, he had no intermediary; Sayyidina Jibra’eel (a) was not his intermediary. At any moment that Sayyidina Musa (a) spoke, Allah revealed to him, to his heart, directly. When he was coming from Yemen, back to Egypt, they were cold in the mountain. He said to his family:
إِذْ رَأَى نَارًا فَقَالَ لِأَهْلِهِ امْكُثُوا إِنِّي آنَسْتُ نَارًا لَّعَلِّي آتِيكُم مِّنْهَا بِقَبَسٍ أَوْ أَجِدُ عَلَى النَّارِ هُدًى فَلَمَّا أَتَاهَا نُودِي يَا مُوسَى إِنِّي أَنَا رَبُّكَ فَاخْلَعْ نَعْلَيْكَ إِنَّكَ بِالْوَادِ الْمُقَدَّسِ طُوًى وَأَنَا اخْتَرْتُكَ فَاسْتَمِعْ لِمَا يُوحَى إِنَّنِي أَنَا اللَّهُ لَا إِلَهَ إِلَّا أَنَا فَاعْبُدْنِي وَأَقِمِ الصَّلَاةَ لِذِكْرِي
Behold, he saw a fire, so he said to his family, “You, stay. I perceive a fire; perhaps I can bring you some burning brand from there or find some guidance at the fire.” But when he came to the fire a voice was heard, “O Moses! Indeed I am your Lord! Therefore, (in My Presence) remove your shoes, (for) you are in the sacred valley, Tuwa. I have chosen you, so listen to the inspiration (sent to you). Verily, I am Al-Lah! There is no god but I, so serve Me (only), and establish regular prayer for celebrating My praise.’” (20:10-14)
He said to his family, “Wait, let me go and check. I saw a fire.” ‘Innee aanastu naaran. “I established a familiarity with that fire that I am seeing; it’s something that is strange. I feel as if there is a relationship. It’s calling me.” Falamma ‘ataha nudi Yaa Musa. When he reached that fire, that light that cannot be described. Allah (swt) said in Holy Qur’an, Nudiya yaa Musa. Innee anaa Rabbuka fakhla` na`layka innaka bi 'l-waadi 'l-muqaddasi Toowaa. “I am your Lord. You are in the sacred valley. Come, take off your shoes and approach.” He didn’t let him wear his shoes. Sayyidina Muhammad (s) was never asked to take off his shoes. In the entire Seerah (biography) and in the Holy Qur’an, it is never mentioned. It is mentioned about mir`aj, subhaana alladhee asraa bi `abdihi laylan mina 'l-masjidi 'l-haraami ila 'l-masjidi 'l-aqsaa. It was never mentioned, “Remove your shoes.”
سُبْحَانَ الَّذِي أَسْرَى بِعَبْدِهِ لَيْلاً مِّنَ الْمَسْجِدِ الْحَرَامِ إِلَى الْمَسْجِدِ الأَقْصَى الَّذِي بَارَكْنَا حَوْلَهُ لِنُرِيَهُ مِنْ آيَاتِنَا إِنَّهُ هُوَ السَّمِيعُ البَصِيرُ
subhaana alladhee asraa bi `abdihi laylan mina 'l-masjidi 'l-haraami ila 'l-masjidi 'l-aqsaa. alladhee baaraknaa hawlahu li-nooriyahu min ayaatinaa innahu huwa as-samee`u 'l-baseer.
Glory to Allah Who did take His servant for a Journey by night from the Sacred Mosque to the farthest Mosque, whose precincts We did bless, in order that We might show him some of Our Signs: for He is the One Who Hears and Sees (all things). (17:1)
So Allah (swt) said to him, “Take off your shoes; you are in the sacred valley.” Why did He say, “Take off your shoes.”? A big awliya, Muhyiddeen Ibn al-’Arabi, one of the greatest, said it is because we are not giving an example between us and Sayyidina Musa (a), no. Here it is between Sayyidina Musa (a) and the sacred valley that Allah is calling on him, so it is a description of that moment. Of course, no one reaches ma`rifatullah so easily. So when Sayyidina Musa (a) was approaching, Allah said, “Take off your shoes.” Shoes in that time were always made from the skin of donkeys, and the donkey is the symbol of ignorance. It means, “Yaa Musa, if you want to come to Me, throw (away) your own self and come to Me. If you come with your self, you cannot see Me, you cannot reach Me. Take your self away.”
When Sayyidina Musa (a) took off his shoes, he began to realize that he was more and more advanced in that secret of ism Allah il-`Azham (Allah’s Greatest Name). That’s why he was the first prophet to ask, “Yaa Rabbee, what is Your Greatest Name?” ism Allah il-`Azham and he never knew it. So the Greatest Name, ism Allah il-`Azham makes you to know really about ma`rifatullah. Sirr ism Allah il-`Azham (Secret of Allah’s Greatest Name) will make you to understand your relationship as a servant to your Creator. And on the Day of Judgment, in the Heavens you can see your Lord, not in dunya. So ism Allah il-`Azham, if you want to understand, is like a tunnel that as you go in, as you go more deeper and deeper you cannot understand because it becomes beyond you completely and you need a guide to take you inside that huge tunnel.
So Sayyidina Musa felt at that moment that that tunnel has become enlightened, illuminate and full of light and he said at that moment, Rabbi ‘arini ‘anzur ‘ilayka, “O my Lord! Show (Thyself) to me.”
وَلَمَّا جَاء مُوسَى لِمِيقَاتِنَا وَكَلَّمَهُ رَبُّهُ قَالَ رَبِّ أَرِنِي أَنظُرْ إِلَيْكَ قَالَ لَن تَرَانِي وَلَـكِنِ انظُرْ إِلَى الْجَبَلِ فَإِنِ اسْتَقَرَّ مَكَانَهُ فَسَوْفَ تَرَانِي فَلَمَّا تَجَلَّى رَبُّهُ لِلْجَبَلِ جَعَلَهُ دَكًّا وَخَرَّ موسَى صَعِقًا فَلَمَّا أَفَاقَ قَالَ سُبْحَانَكَ تُبْتُ إِلَيْكَ وَأَنَاْ أَوَّلُ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ
Wa lammaa ja’a Moosaa li-meeqaatinaa wa kallamahu Rabbuhu qaala Rabbee aarinee anzhur ilayka qaala lan taraanee wa laakini ’nzhur ila 'l-jabali fa ini 'staqarra makaanahu fa-sawfa taraanee fa-lammaa tajalla Rabbuhu li 'l-jabali ja`alahu dakkan wa kharra Moosaa sa`iqaan fa-lammaa afaaqa qaala subhaanaka tubtu ilayka wa aana aawwalu al-mu’umineen.
When Moses came to the place appointed by Us and his Lord addressed him, he said, “O my Lord! Show (Yourself) to me, so I may look upon You.” God said, “By no means can you see Me (directly), but look upon the mount; if it remains in its place, then you shall see Me.” When his Lord manifested His glory on the mount, He made it as dust and Moses fainted. When he came to his senses, he said, “Glory be to You! To You I turn in repentance, and I am the first to believe.” (7.143)
Look how much in a second, in moments he was advanced through that tunnel which begins with ism Allah il-`Azham, not reaching the end of the tunnel to reach the reality there. But when he took off his shoes and left his self, everything was opening. So he said, “O my Lord! Show (Thyself) to me” in that ecstasy, in that state, or in that trance. Allah (swt) said, lan taraanee, “you cannot see Me.” Sayyidina Musa was depressed after he was able to reach that enlightenment and Allah said, “No you cannot see Me. But you can look at the mountain. If the mountain stays in itself when I manifest My Beautiful Names and Attributes upon it then you can see Me and if not, you cannot see Me.” Falammaa tajalla Rabbuhu li 'l-jabali, when Allah manifested His Beautiful Names and Attributes on the mountain, the whole mountain shattered into pieces, powder. Wa kharra Musa sa`iqaan, immediately Musa (a) fainted.
That is the normal meaning. But in Sayyidina Ibn al-`Arabi’s interpretation, when Allah (swt) manifested His majestic power on the self of Sayyidina Musa (a), because everyone is carrying on his or her shoulders a manifestation of an egoistic self, the desires; although Sayyidina Musa (a) had no self since he is from the five biggest prophets. But Allah (swt) is teaching us. That is a manifestation. When Allah (swt) manifested to him, then what happened? It shattered his self. What happened then? Full submission. At that time, Ibn `Abbas, the biggest muhadith in the time of the Prophet (s), related why the ayah of Qur’an came and why they descended. Ibn `Abbas is the one from whom most of the explanations of Holy Qur’an came. When that tajalli (manifestation) came on him, he (Sayyidina Musa) fainted. And when he awoke, he saw the manifestation had become 124,000 minus 313 prophets and messengers in sajda. This is tafsir of that verse of Surat al-Araf: 313 messengers were standing with the Prophet (s) in front of them making du`a and the rest were in sajda.
And he said, “O Allah (swt), forgive me. I know my limits. O my Lord, teach me.” This was Sayyidina Musa, a high-level prophet and Allah (swt) sent him to Sayyidina Khidr (a). When he was with his helper looking for ma`rifatullah, he was saying. Fa lamma balaghaa majma` baynihima, they were looking for the merging of the two rivers.
وَإِذْ قَالَ مُوسَى لِفَتَاهُ لَا أَبْرَحُ حَتَّى أَبْلُغَ مَجْمَعَ الْبَحْرَيْنِ أَوْ أَمْضِيَ حُقُبًا
Wa idh qaala Moousaa li fataahu laa abrahu hatta ablugha majma` al-bahrayn aw amdiya huquba.
Behold, Moses said to his attendant, “ will not give up until I reach the junction of the two seas or (until) I spend years and years in travel.”(18:60)
“I will not turn back, until I reach the meeting of the two rivers, and I will not stop.” And an interpretation of the merging of two rivers is the merging of zhaahir and baatin, the inner and the outer. “Or else I am not stopping. I keep moving.” So what happened? “They found one from many of Our servants.” Where are the many? That means the ummah are there. Around the ummah. He found one. So our duty is to find others or to find one as Sayyidina Musa (a) found one. He found one of them, `abdan min `ibaadina. What did He give him? “We gave him mercy from Our mercy.” So that means that you cannot reach ‘ilm (knowledge), without first reaching rahmat (mercy).
So as Sayyidina Khidr (a) didn’t reach without mercy, you may not reach without mercy. And Allah (swt) describes Prophet (s) as:
وَمَا أَرْسَلْنَاكَ إِلَّا رَحْمَةً لِّلْعَالَمِينَ
wa maa arsalnaaka illa rahmatan li 'l-`alameen.
We sent thee not, but as a Mercy for all the worlds. (21:107)
That means Sayyidina Khidr (a) was not able to reach without going through the secrets of Sayyidina Muhammad (s). That secret was passing from one generation to another. From Sayyidina Adam (a), from one father to another and from one mother’s womb to another, until it reached the father and mother of Sayyidina Muhammad (s). When we got that mercy, that light of Muhammad (s), then we got heavenly knowledge. So that knowledge cannot be acquired without that light of Prophet (s).
أنا مدينة العلم وعلي بابها
Anaa madinatu 'l-`ilmi wa `Aliyyun baabuha.
The Prophet (s) said: "I am the City of Knowledge and `Ali is its door."
So Sayyidina ‘Ali (a) is the door to the city of knowledge, which is the Prophet (s).
They can reach as they are there, but we cannot. We must go through the door. Sayyidina `Uthman (r) and Sayyidina `Umar (r) are there.
قَالَ لَهُ مُوسَى هَلْ أَتَّبِعُكَ عَلَى أَن تُعَلِّمَنِ مِمَّا عُلِّمْتَ رُشْدًا
Qaala lahu moosaa hal attabi`uka `alaa an tu`allimanei mimma `ullimta rushda
Moses said unto him: "May I follow thee on the understanding that thou wilt impart to me something of that consciousness of what is right which has been imparted to thee?" (18:66)
So Sayyidina Musa (a) said, “I want you, O Khidr (a), to teach me.”
قَالَ إِنَّكَ لَن تَسْتَطِيعَ مَعِيَ صَبْرًا
Qaala innaka lan tastate`a ma`iya sabra
[The other] answered: "Behold, thou wilt never be able to have patience with me. (18:67)
Sayyidina Khidr (a) said, “You cannot go along with me. How can you be patient with me, with something that you never knew about it?”
And Sayyidina Musa (a) was not able to go continuously with what Sayyidina Khidr (a) was doing. So this is, Mr. Speaker, not only the story. Do you think that Sayydina Khidr (a) is higher than Sayyidina Musa (a)? No way. You cannot compare Sayyidina Musa’s (a) level with Sayyidina Khidr’s (a). It means that Sayyidina Musa (a) was humbling himself completely because he had submission. Allah (swt) says, “When you submit to Me, I will teach you.” When he [Sayyidina Musa (a)] came to Sayyidina Khidr (a), he [Sayyidina Musa (a)] submitted like a child, as if he knows nothing. As if he is giving a signal to Sayyidina Khidr (a), “I don’t know.” But in reality he knows. Or else why go to Sayyidina Khidr (a)? But he [Sayyidina Musa(a)] wants to make himself an example to people. So he took away all of himself when that divine manifestation came on him. He was heavenly, he was like Prophet (s) when he was saying, “I am only a human being like you.” Is he only a human being like us? No.
Here there was a professor talking about dancing and whirling, that the whole universe is twirling. And that is correct, even the atom, everything is turning around and everything is moving anti-clockwise, nothing is moving clockwise. Like tawaaf around the Ka`abah. Who is making the Earth to run anti-clockwise? When you want a car to run, you need fuel, diesel or gas. How is the Earth turning without fuel? There is an axle in the Earth, it is imaginary. But in reality it is real, as the Earth is turning and creating night and day. People are either in night or day or in gray, in between. Who made the Earth to turn? And what makes the Moon to turn around the Earth? And Who made the Earth and Moon to turn around the Sun, as they are all dancing around each other? That is an expression of happiness. That is why in prayers we are moving to express our feelings. Ruku` (bowing), sujood (prostration), qiyaam (standing), movements. That is not like other religions’ prayers. There is no movement in the Church; you see them sitting. You have to express yourself through movement. That is why when making du`a you move your hands. You don’t hold them still, but you move them. If you hold still, that is not a good du`a. When you are overwhelmed by the Divine Presence, you are moving.
Time, does it exist or not? In some understandings it exists, but it is not a real dimension. It cannot be seen. The three dimensions you can see, but the fourth you cannot see. But now they found 11 dimensions in this universe. So, Mr. Speaker, does time exist or not? They went to divide time in fractions to see how far time can be counted. When they reached ten to the power of 22, they found time disappeared. That means ten with 22 zeros after it. At that point, “time” disappears and everything becomes energy. That means that the whole universe is really energy. And energy can be folded. Yawma natwee as-samaa katayyi as-sijlli lilkutubi, when time comes we fold it, the universe, as we fold a book . We make it so small, when everything becomes energy. We can close it up in one second, contraction.
يَوْمَ نَطْوِي السَّمَاء كَطَيِّ السِّجِلِّ لِلْكُتُبِ كَمَا بَدَأْنَا أَوَّلَ خَلْقٍ نُّعِيدُهُ وَعْدًا عَلَيْنَا إِنَّا كُنَّا فَاعِلِينَ
Yawma natwee as-samaa ka-tayyi 's-sijlli li 'l-kutubi kamaa badaanaa aawwala khalqin nu`eeduhu wa`dan `alayna inna kunna fa`ileen.
That day We shall fold up heaven like folding up the pages of a book. Even as We produced the first Creation, so shall We produce a new one: a promise We have undertaken (and) truly shall We fulfill it. (21:104)
So Sayyidina Musa (a) knew the reality of Prophet (s), that you have to humble yourself in order to be nothing. Everything is Allah (swt), there is no real wujood, existence except for Allah (swt). If there is really a wujood, then can we keep ourselves in existence? No. So there is only Allah (swt). So when we humble ourselves and we keep silent, then listen, then observe, and then act; that is as-samt, al-istima`, al-nadhar, then we act, al-harakah, that is complete submission. Then you can reach to Maqam al-Fanaa, the Station of Annihilation, complete submission. Then Allah (swt) will give you a reality that goes with you in your grave up ‘till the Day of Judgment.
Mr. Speaker, May Allah forgive us and bless us and bless this meeting and bless everyone who came. We know you came two hours flying to honor all of us. And may Allah (swt) honor you, the host and their family, and all of those here and the Mawlid reciters too. And now Hajjah Nora said that the Speaker of the House is going to speak. Should I give him the microphone? Yes, you see, she said I have to give you the microphone.
Chief Minister
People see the Sufis dancing and consider it meaningless. But in reality we see all the heavenly bodies are spinning and whirling, so there is a correlation between the two, the correlation between exterior and interior meaning. So that is what the shaykh is saying. The shaykh is speaking about three dimensions: length, width and height. And all movements are anti-clockwise, all movements in the universe including the movement of blood in the heart. And that is because the tawaaf of Ka`aba is anti-clockwise. And I am trying to explain what the shaykh said. And regarding the tajalli (manifestion) of Allah’s (swt) Divine Power on the mountain, that manifestation shattered the mountain into pieces. What the shaykh mentioned, that what comes from broadcaster to receiver is that if there is no transformer, the receiver is destroyed. The shaykh is very subtle on that. But if there is no transformer between them, then the receiver is destroyed. And the meeting of the two rivers refers to the meeting of knowledge of Shari`ah and knowledge of tasawwuf.
The shaykh mentioned so many things that it may take me a few months or a few years to understand what he said. Awliya don’t speak directly; sometimes you have to read between the lines, sometimes above the line, sometimes below the line, sometimes in front, sometimes below and sometimes into the line, so it may take me a few years to understand.
I read one book where the author said that it is better to be a full non-believer than to be a half-believer. I was wondering what he meant. It took me six months to understand. Then I understood that if you have half belief in Qur’an and meet someone with full belief, in his belief you will have a difficult time. This is the language of Sufis. The eyes cannot take the brightness of the Sun, therefore look at the reflection in the pond. The eyes cannot take the full strength of the Sun. Shaykh said tajalli, which means manifestation of the source. If this bulb can take only 400 watts and you put 5000 watts, it will burst; that is what Shaykh meant. So, according to your level of perception, you will receive. I am a lawyer by profession and have to listen to Shaykh carefully to understand what he means figuratively, metaphorically, literally, and culturally. And the shaykh himself, if I may say “shaykh,” is of Arab origin and from the line of Sayyidina Ameer al-Mu’mineen `Ali ibn Abi Talib. The shaykh is al-Hasani wa Husayni and from the line of Sayyidina `Abdul Qadir al-Jilani, Sultan al-Awliya (q). Thank you, Shaykh.