4 August 2011 Fenton Zawiya, Michigan
A`oodhu billahi min ash-Shaytaani 'r-rajeem. Bismillahi 'r-Rahmaani 'r-Raheem.
Nawaytu 'l-arba`een, nawaytu 'l-`itikaaf, nawaytu 'l-khalwah, nawaytu 'l-`uzlah,
nawaytu 'r-riyaadah, nawaytu 's-sulook, lillahi ta`ala fee haadha 'l-masjid.
Ati`oollaha wa ati`oo 'r-Rasoola wa ooli 'l-amri minkum.
Obey Allah, obey the Prophet, and obey those in authority among you. (4:59)
We continue and we hope that we are not making mistakes. Allah (swt) said in Holy Qur'an:
أَلا إِنَّ أَوْلِيَاء اللّهِ لاَ خَوْفٌ عَلَيْهِمْ وَلاَ هُمْ يَحْزَنُونَ الَّذِينَ آمَنُواْ وَكَانُواْ يَتَّقُونَ
`Alaa inna awliyaullahi laa khawfun `alayhim wa laa hum yahzanoon. al-ladheena aamanoo wa kaanoo yataqoon.
Behold! Verily on the friends of Allah there is no fear, nor shall they grieve. Those who believe and are cautious. (al-Yunus,10:62,63)
Verily on the Friends of Allah, meaning those whom Allah brought near to his Divine Presence -- we cannot say Allah brought them to Him, there is no nearness there, but in nearness to His Divine Presence -- they do not have fear and they are not sad. Someone who must not have fear must be special, because every human being has fear except Sayyidina Muhammad (s), as he is “the Secret of al-Wujood, Existence,” and he knows. Anyone else has fear in accordance with his level. We might fear a small worm moving, or if we see a cockroach we may jump with fear. The one who is afraid of a cockroach must also be afraid from punishment, but we never think like that. Rather, we think a cockroach is more important than punishment, because Allah yamhil wa laa yuhmil, Allah delays until we forget something awaits us. May Allah (swt) protect us from punishment!
To be special is not something that comes easily. Some people are not afraid of cockroaches and some are. Some people are not afraid of tarantulas that can kill, and some are. Some people are not afraid from snakes and some people are. How many times did snakes come to awliyaullah in seclusion and wrap themselves around that wali, looking at his head, waiting for any movement to attack? But awliyaullah are never afraid, not from snakes and lions, nor from anyone except Allah!
So He is saying, "My Friends, the ones I dressed with My specialties, are never afraid,” because they are His private friends. He brought them to His Divine Presence where there is nothing except light that comes filling them with knowledge and unexpected manifestations of different secrets. That is why Allah (swt) says, hum umanaau asraarih, “They are the safeguards of His secrets.” What kind of secrets? They safeguard secrets of importance and the Reality of Creation. When Allah created Sayyidina Adam (a) and wanted to show his honor to all the angels, when the angels complained to Allah, “Are You creating human beings that will make bloodshed?”
وَإِذْ قَالَ رَبُّكَ لِلْمَلاَئِكَةِ إِنِّي جَاعِلٌ فِي الأَرْضِ خَلِيفَةً قَالُواْ أَتَجْعَلُ فِيهَا مَن يُفْسِدُ فِيهَا وَيَسْفِكُ الدِّمَاء وَنَحْنُ نُسَبِّحُ بِحَمْدِكَ وَنُقَدِّسُ لَكَ قَالَ إِنِّي أَعْلَمُ مَا لاَ تَعْلَمُونَ
Wa idh qaala innee ja`ilun fil-`ardi khalifah, qaaloo ataj`alu feeha man yufsidu feeha wa yasfiku ad-dimaa wa nahnu nusabbihu bi-hamdika wa nuqaddisu laka qaala innee a`lamu maa laa ta`lamoon.
Behold, when your Lord said to the angels, "I will create a vicegerent on Earth," they said, "Will You place one who will make mischief therein and shed blood, while we celebrate Your praises and glorify Your Holy (Name)?" He said, "I know what you know not." (al-Baqarah, 2:30)
They complained, “O our Lord! Why are You going to create who is going to make bloodshed?” He said, "I know what you don't know." He wanted to show the superiority of human beings, and thus He taught Sayyidina Adam (a) the Names from His secrets that He planted in the heart of His Prophet (s) and that is why the Prophet was before Sayyidina Adam (a) in his light; Allah first created the light of Sayyidina Muhammad. He put all these secrets in that light and put that light in the forehead of Sayyidina Adam (a), so he was carrying that light. At same time, Allah safeguarded all the realities of men and women, their essences/sperm, in the back of Sayyidina Adam (a).
Awliyaullah were in a state of worship in the back of Sayyidina Adam (a), not only when they came to dunya, but Allah also honored them to know the reality from that time. He said, laa khawfan `alayhim wal-lahum yahzanoon, as from when Allah transferred that light and secrets into the forehead of Sayyidina Adam (a) those awliyaullah received those secrets and were giving baya` to their followers there, in the back of Sayyidina Adam (a), who is an entire universe!
In the essence of their creation, awliyaullah were able to pull out that information. `alama Adam, “taught Adam the Names,” refers to those secrets that were transferred from the Prophet (s) to Sayyidina Adam (a), and from Sayyidina Adam (a) to awliyaullah. When that line was connected, from that time they were able to see they were in the holy presence of the Prophet (s). So that is why:
أَلا إِنَّ أَوْلِيَاء اللّهِ لاَ خَوْفٌ عَلَيْهِمْ وَلاَ هُمْ يَحْزَنُونَ
alaa awliyaullahi laa khawfan `alayhim wa laa hum yahzanoon.
Behold! Verily on the friends of Allah there is no fear, nor shall they grieve. (10:27)
From that time they were made not to have fear, because they were given what others are not given: they were chosen. So when the angels complained, Allah told them, “Don't complain in My Presence! Now I will give Adam more than you. I made him the safeguarder of My secrets." So Allah is saying “I made awliyaullah trustees of My treasures.” That means not even one smallest knowledge can be given without permission.
To be a wali is not so easy; anyone can be called a wali but few can actually be one. He must know what kind of secrets Allah (swt) gave to him from that time, and he has to know what treasures he has been appointed as trustee, giving a little bit of what Allah (swt) gave to his Prophet (s), and what Prophet (s) gave to his followers. If one of these secrets were opened to this dunya, it will be covered with that light!
They hide it what is in their eyes. Sayyidina Shah Naqshband (q) had so much light coming from his face that to avoid expending power outside his eyes, the black pupils turned over the whites of his eyes. On Judgment Day, Shah Naqshband (q) will be given permission to release that light. When everyone is standing on Judgment Day, the Prophet (s) will say, “Yaa Shah Naqshband! You have permission to fill Paradise as much as you want” Grandshaykh (q) said, “He will release that light from his right eye and it will go and go and go as far Allah likes, and then it will go straight and then perpendicular, and then back all the way back to his left eye. By himself, with that light he will surround the number of people that will fill four paradises!”
Grandshaykh (q) also said, “In the Diwan al-Awliyaullah, the Prophet (s) said, ‘If Shah Naqshband (q) can fill four paradises, can you not fill the rest?’”
If one wali asks, it is never rejected. Allah (swt) grants them what they request because He is happy with them and He wants them to be happy! May Allah be happy with us.
Translated from the book Talkhees al-Ma’aarif, “Summarizing the Knowledges,” pp.20-21:
They are the people of Allah Most High, His Special Ones, and they guard over His Secrets and the treasuries of His Lights. They are the Inheritors of His Messengers, the help and support of His Creation, and His deputies in His Earth. Glad tidings to them, to those who love them and sought their blessings, to those who were mentioned in their supplication, who answered their call, who exerted themselves in their service, who safeguarded their sanctity, who took from their lights and their overflowing heavenly breeze, who looked at their faces, kissed the Earth under their feet, who was granted their intimacy, who witnessed the lightning of their lights, who was near their abodes, who accepted their advice and loved their stories, who caused mercy to descend by the mention of their names, who sought forgiveness through their love, who called upon them in their heart, who safeguarded them secretly in their heart and openly, who submitted to their ruling, and surrendered all affairs to them.
Who comes to them they carry, because they are the carriers of burdens. If you have no burden or difficulty on you they are happy, because at least you made them easy with you and you didn't come with a heavy burden, you tried to safeguard them from it by making one less person come with heaviness, not to make them carry another burden. Always they are seeking whoever is in difficulty or under a big burden so they will carry that burden. Try not to make them upset and sad.
I always saw Grandshaykh (q) carrying so many burdens that he was not in a comfortable mood, then Mawlana Shaykh Nazim came and made jokes until Grandshaykh was laughing and happy. He said, “Adab is to make the shaykh happy.” Don't bring stories to the shaykh that make him sad, as to complain in his presence is unwise as it makes him feel bad. People explain all their difficulties. You don't need to tell your story, because doing so means you assume the shaykh is ignorant of your needs! Therefore, only ask him to pray for you, because if he is really a shaykh he already knows your story. Just say, “Yaa Sayyidee, pray for me,” as he knows better and that is what they like, not to come and complain, “My son/daughter doesn't listen, I am fighting with my wife....”
Allah (swt) doesn't like complaining, nagging, and whining! The angels complained, then Allah taught the Names to Sayyidina Adam (a) instead of the angels, so don't complain and you will get more.
May Allah keep us under their guidance and dress us with their beauty and their secrets that Allah dressed them with so we may be with them in dunya and Akhirah! Their secrets are opening more and more, because we are in times that changes are happening as awliyaullah have said, and as Mawlana Shaykh says, "Big changes are coming." You don’t need to ask for the proof as it is already there and you can see it. Yesterday, one that was on the throne of Earth, who previously spoke on behalf of all Muslims (i.e., deposed President Hosni Mubarak of Egypt) was between the two sides of a box lying on a mattress, and they judged him! They brought him from up to down!
Allah (swt) said:
تُعِزُّ مَن تَشَاء وَتُذِلُّ مَن تَشَاء
tu`izzu man tashau wa tudhillu man tashau
He raises up whom He likes and puts down whom He likes. (‘Ali Imraan, 3:26)
After thirty years of ruling a country, now he is in a box. We must not nu`ayyib, shame or speak badly, or we will be like those whom Allah (swt) brings down! We say we don't know, but this is a lesson, showing us where you were and what you are. May Allah (swt) not bring us down, not in dunya or in Akhirah! The Prophet (s) said, “O Allah! Don't leave me to my self for the blink of an eye!” In the blink of an eye, that one came down. So we must take a lesson: not to fight with our in-laws and prevent them from seeing their grandchildren, as you will be responsible in front of Allah (swt) on Judgment Day. Also, some men prevent their wives from seeing their parents; you will be responsible on Judgment Day! However much you love yourself and your children, you must love everyone. Allah (swt) doesn't need you to provide for anyone as He provides for them, but Allah wants you to share with everyone in their happiness and sadness; it means to feel with others. Why are awliyaullah different? Because Allah gave them that ability to feel with others.
May Allah (swt) bring us back to awareness! We have no awareness, and leaders don't have any awareness that one day they can come down and their reputation will be bad and they will be humiliated. You are also a ruler of your universe and yourself. Don't let yourself be humiliated from being ruled by your ego! Prophet (s) said, “Say a just word in front of your tyrant ego.” Try to teach yourself and polish yourself before they take you by force to be polished. May Allah grant us heavenly polish to our hearts, because we are saying from here, “Yaa Sayyidee! Yaa Rasoolullah! We are coming to your door, asking for Allah's forgiveness and you ask on our behalf, as Allah (swt) said in Holy Qur'an to ask forgiveness for our sake!
Wa min Allahi 't-tawfeeq, bi hurmati 'l-habeeb, bi hurmati 'l-Fatihah.