6 September 2010 Fenton Zawiya, Michigan
Fajr Ramadan Series 2010
Allahuma salli `ala Sayyidina Muhammad, salloo `alayh! Say, laa ilaaha ill-Llah Muhammadun Rasoolullah!
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.
Allahu Akbar! This small instrument (smart phone) has a picture of a microphone, and the phone is recording everything; taking pictures, recording sound, and storing it for whenever you need it. This is a dunya innovation. Allah's Creation is more and more advanced. Why is there competition? Allah's Creation is much more able to take this knowledge and store it, and whenever we need it we can access it. Allah (swt) cannot leave his servant in the hands of Shaytan, so He gave us ammunition and said, "Use it." How should we use it? By performing `ibadah. Allah said in Holy Qur'an:
وَمَا خَلَقْتُ الْجِنَّ وَالْإِنسَ إِلَّا لِيَعْبُدُونِمَا أُرِيدُ مِنْهُم مِّن رِّزْقٍ وَمَا أُرِيدُ أَن يُطْعِمُونِ
Ma khalaqta al-jinna wal ins illa li-yabudoon. maa 'ureedu minhum min rizqin wa maa 'ureedu 'an yut`imoon.
And I created not the jinns and ins (humans) except they should worship Me (Alone). I seek not any provision from them, nor do I ask that they should feed Me. (Adh-Dhariyaat, 51:56, 57)
There might be a lot of jinn sitting here; if we can see, we see them. "I didn't create jinn and ins except to worship Me." This means there are jinn among us, sitting and listening. I don't know if they are sitting now and listening, but for sure mu`min jinn will sit and listen wherever Allah's Name is mentioned. So what does Allah want from them? Worship. He didn't create them to work. "I don't want any rizq from them, to provide themselves. I will provide for them." But people today are greedy, they want too much. So Allah (swt) is saying, "Okay, if you want too much, struggle for it. I gave some people too much because it is My will and no one can object. To some people I gave a little bit; that is My will and no one can object."
It is said that Allah (swt) has given His Awliya their needs, without them running or struggling, as they struggled enough on Allah's Way, and now Allah gives to them for the benefit of His servants, to help them. One duty is ash-shukr, to thank Him. Awliya are thanking him, and we are forgetting. We thank Him when someone recovers from a sickness; then you say, "Yaa Rabbee, thank you!" Then you remember. (An attendee entering the assembly stumbles.) Just now Allah gave an immediate sign to confirm what we are saying: someone tripped. Allah doesn't want anything from us. He wants us to remember Him, bis-shukri tadoom an-ni`am, by thanking Him, His provisions continue to you.
His awliyas' provision is endless. They offer a tray for ten to fifteen people and they all eat with their hands. Before, all shared the same tray, not like today where everyone has a plate and we are wasting money. Like in Bangaldesh, not like here, there was one plate for ten to fifteen people and everyone takes his share. That plate has endless barakah given to awliyaullah's food. They never run out. They are thanking for the food in front of them and Allah keeps giving without you seeing. For some of them, Allah puts the barakah in the food, so that food increases more and more. That is a sign of the aqtaab awliyaa, (a qutb): Budala, Nujaba, Nuqaba, Awtad, and Akhyar. Some people come to them needing money; for some Allah sends angels, by His Wish, angels, that put like this under that wali's prayer rug whatever they need. When he doesn't have, he puts his hand under his prayer rug, takes from there and gives to others.
Did you see that in your life, someone taking money from under his carpet and give? No. That is rare; it is only for certain awliyaa. I saw it. Once in Damascus, in the eighties, there was someone who had to pay money to an official institution, a government loan had to be repaid and it was very crucial or he would go to jail. It was a big amount of money. I witnessed that. So he collected that money and put it in a bag, it was over one million, and they don't deal with checks there so he was carrying cash. He was on his way to pay, when there was a ghaara jawiyyah, airstrike, four airplanes came from Israel and dropped bombs on Damascus. That car was blown up, the money was gone, but that person was safe! All that money had burned and disappeared, but the government didn't care whether it disappeared or not, and told him, "You still have to pay!" Where could he go to get the money? He had heard that on the mountain there is someone who is a wali, so he went to him.
He drove up the mountain with three or four Mercedes Benz sedans, and his security detail, going up the mountain to that wali's house. People were running from all over the mountain to see that. They had never seen these black cars with tinted glass and security before. They all wondered, who are these people? That man got out of the car to see the wali. These are from karamaat al-awliyaa. He stepped down and went down directly to that tiny house that was standing just through barakah; it may be if you shake one of its wooden pillars the house will go into sajdah! He came in, and that wali welcomed him. He came and sat there and didn't talk.
Then he said, "O my shaykh! Pray for me."
That wali said, "I was praying for you before you came here, you don't recall that you were saved? I was there."
Immediately he kissed the shaykh's hand. That person was from Ahlu 'l-Bayt and was very well-known. There was war in the streets. I was sitting there.
He said, "Yaa Sayyidee! I am in a big problem; I have to deliver that money to that institution, and it's gone. I need your help." He looked at the shaykh and said, "At least I can postpone that payment until you can help me. I am ready to take this one down with me to speak with the officials to tell them the money is coming!" And he looked at me!
I said, "How we can go during all this bombardment?"
He answered, "Don't worry, I can bring a military tank here to take you down to speak with them."
That wali said, "No need. We have people to speak to. Come tomorrow."
I said to that wali, and that wali is Mawlana Shaykh, "You are promising him, but where will you get that money?"
He said, as usual, "Don't worry. La ureedu minkum min rizqin wa ma ureed an yuti`moon. "I am the One to provide; I only need your worship."
What! Not to worry? That was thirty years ago and it is like today, still people worry too much. I was at that time in my early thirties. These people to whom he had to give the money are not normal people, they are mafia types, very dangerous. So he came the next day and brought lots of food in cooking pots, maybe forty trays of rice and meat, brought on something like a truck. Mawlana called the whole district to come and eat. All lined up and came to eat that food that, with Mawlana's barakah, never finished. They ate and prayed Dhuhr, then `Asr, and then they wanted to go. Mawlana put his hand under his carpet and brought out a piece of paper. I looked. That man was shocked.
He said, "These people need cash!"
Mawlana said, "Take this piece of paper and don't talk, don't tell me anything, just take it and go!"
Sometimes Mawlana is very serious, so the man took the paper. I was very curious to see what was on the paper. Written on it, like a check, "Take this paper and deposit it." And usually they never accept paper to deposit. But the man took the paper and deposited it. The next day he came and kissed Mawlana's feet and said, "O Mawlana! They took the paper." Even though they never accept checks, and in three or four days that money was in that man's account! You cannot imagine that, but I saw it.
And Awliya provide for Ahlu 'l-Bayt. So many poor homes of Ahlu 'l-Bayt are living from that one's generosity. Awliya don't turn down Ahlu 'l-Bayt; they help them and that is a miracle and wa khalaqallahu `ala sajaadatihi aw khalwatihi darahim. "These people who are on Allah's Way, Allah will not put them down." He will create under their carpets money to help the needy ones.
So we have to learn that for dunya, if you want a lot of money, struggle. No problem; work hard and get it. But, if you want a normal life you don't need to struggle. Because Allah (swt) will make dunya a slave for you. Today anyone who goes to visit Mawlana Shaykh will never leave without something in his hand, and Mawlana is sitting on his couch and not working. He just goes and opens the drawer, and the drawer is always full. You didn't see the drawer where he is sitting? Where is the drawer? Near his feet, anyone could come, open it and take. And Allah (swt) provides for them as they provide for the ummah. Now those people want the fruit, they don't want only the shell. Shari`ah (law), haqiqat (reality), dhahir (remembrance), and batin (the hidden) are important for them. They have to go side by side, parallel to each other. You cannot take one and leave the other or the scale is not in balance.
Sayyidina `Abdul Qadir Jilani said, "Isma` kalaamee! - listen to my words!" They are strong and not playing with their mureeds. If you have sincerity in your heart, and what is on your tongue is also what you show in your actions--not that what you show on your tongue is not what you have in your heart, not if they are something else--that sincerity will yudfi` naaru tabik, put out the fire of your ego. The ego has been raised since childhood. The wali has been raised, Allah made his father and mother raise him in a straight way, and they have pure parents who raise their children well. It depends on how you raise your child, as you reflect on him good or bad characteristics.
That is why we say, an nafs at-tiflati 'l-madhmoomah, "the spoiled-child ego." That is called taba`, "imprinted character" from mother and father and the environment around you. So if the environment is shaytanic then what will come? It is the same for the child. So if your environment is sincere, it will put out the fire of your nafs and break the arrogance of your self, that you think you are so important that you don't want anyone to say anything to you. But you should know that if someone says bad things to you, if they curse you and you keep quiet, you get rewards. If you don't keep quiet and you lose your temper, then you are fighting back and you lose the reward. So don't show your anger, that will break your arrogance and your temper will come down. That anger comes with arrogance. And you don't go to a place if you know there will be a fight; if you go to involve yourself, you are losing. If you let your feet take you to a place where there is a problem, you are destroying the house of your religion.
Nafs, dunya, hawaa', Shaytan: these are the four things destroying your religion. Nafs, the self, and dunya, the world; the head of every sin is love of the world and Shaytan is pushing you to go there. They take your religion and your world. Don't listen to those munafiqeen, hypocrites, who are fake and decorate themselves with all kinds of importance. Because at-taba`, the self, has grown on the kind of characteristic that always like to listen to kalaam muzakhkhraf, ornamented, fancy words. That is why, and I am sorry to say, scholars have fancy words in their presentations. As you go in to their talks, you come out the same (without benefit), because there is no barakah. They are not Awliya and they cannot dress you in what they are speaking. Awliya have very simple language. Like Ibn Muqafa (r) used a language called as-safa al-muntani`, "the easy language," but no one else can do it. Mumtani means, "difficult." He was the only one famous for that. It is very simple language, but very hard to imitate. Awliya have that kind of language, that is so simple, but it goes to the heart.
Their language is so simple but so strong. Scholars cannot do that. They describe to you, but Allah didn't give them the authority to dress you with what they are saying. Some give you fancy words but cannot dress you with what they say, and others speak very simply but can dress you with the realities. The fancy words are like when you have a dough that has not been cooked well and has no salt (taste); it is still raw and when you eat it your stomach is upset. When you sit in the presence of these scholars, you feel okay as they are making the dough, but when you go out you have darkness coming on you, because their words have arrogance. You can be a scholar but know your limits, and when you stand at the door of a wali you must respect what the wali says.
Two days ago I was watching Sufilive and Mawlana was saying to someone, "Come and sit here." I was trying to see who that is, because Mawlana was saying, "Sayyid, come," and it is rare that Mawlana stops his suhbah. I know the place, it means, "come and sit near me," as that one was sitting on the floor. When Mawlana finished, I called and asked, "Who were you calling 'Sayyid'?" But he doesn't know him, it's the first time he's been there, so Mawlana told Iftikhar to move the camera, and there is Habib `Ali Jafri. At the end he said, "O my shaykh! Give me ijaazah on dhikr." That means give me a wird to use for barakah. That is how they use it and so they show that they know the level of awliyaa, and in what relationship they stand. So he knows this one, although Mawlana speaks a simple language, it is different, and they respect because they are real `ulama and he showed respect to Mawlana. And if you show respect to awliyaa, Allah gives you more. From that visit `Ali Jafri is going to be higher, as he humbled himself to come and visit Mawlana.
So the difference is that when Awliya make the dough it is cooked well and there are no upset stomachs. When they put the dough in the fire, know that the shaykh is cooking your dough, your ego. He has to cook it very well and sometimes he might burn it because it is too much, it is not a normal dough that will be fixed with heat. He has to burn your ego completely in order that you can receive. When your ego is finished then you can see all these manifestations. And awliyaaullah know.
Once we were coming to Grandshaykh's house, where you have to go through a small alley the width of two armspans, about two meters wide, and here is the house and here is the mosque, and you pass under the window. As we were passing under it we heard Grandshaykh shouting and shouting and shouting. That was 1969, forty-one years ago, time is passing. We were mesmerized and could not move; if you move and he feels you are moving, you will be into this problem also, into that fire! We didn't know who was in there. And shouting and shouting and screaming. All kinds of words, I will not repeat them now. And at the end he says, "Go! I don't want to see you here!"
From Mawlana's house you have to leave by going into the alley and so we saw oh! It is Mawlana Shaykh Nazim coming, and he was smiling.
We said, "Mawlana how can we go up, already you had a shower."
He said, "Go, go up."
So you go up the stairway and then in the hallway, and the door for his room is there, and we hear him shouting, and calling us by name, "Come, come, come." Oh, he saw us, not with normal sight, but he knew. We came in shaking, me and Shaykh Adnan, and Grandshaykh looked at us, smiling. "That Nazim Effendi (he calls him like that)! However much I shout at him, his love never changes. I was shouting at him by order of Prophet (s) and I never saw in him any change, in his eyes or in his face."
Awliya are happy with that. We knew that was not a test, but a sign that you are put in a situation that he shouts at you to know how much you are progressing. Then he offered us tea and begin a big suhbah. His suhbah is not forty minutes, it is hours, depending on how much tajalli is coming. Awliyaaullah know you, and know the ego, and attack it to take away the anger. Today Mawlana cannot speak to any mureed because they will not come back if he shouts at them. You must be careful, and be happy when he shouts at you as he is carrying your sicknesses from you! When a doctor says you have infection, Yaa Allah, they inject you with antibiotics at a dose more than the level of infection, to eat it. So Awliya are eating your ego when they shout at you, so be happy! Then they are taking responsibility and liability for you, and they will be asked in front of Prophet (s), then you are free.
They may take you to the Balance and ask you, "Did you do it?"
"No."
"Yes, you did it."
"No, I was patient in the shouting of shaykh." So when he shouts at you he takes your sayyiat.
At that time, Grandshaykh said to us, "Don't put me in a position of shame in front of Prophet, when I present you in sajda after Salaat an-Najaat."
That is their responsibility, that is the reason Allah gave them sainthood. May Allah keep us under their wings to be saved in dunya and akhirah. Ash-Shadhili (r), imaam of the Shadhili Order, said, "At-tawheed sirrullah, that Divine Oneness is the secret of Allah's knowledge, wa 's-sidqu sayfullah, and by saying the truth and being trustworthy you become Allah's sword. Wa madadu sayfee bismillah, and the support of this sword is by Bismillahi 'r-Rahmani 'r-Raheem." That sword will be moving and we will discuss this tomorrow.
Wa min Allahi 't-tawfeeq, bi hurmati 'l-habeeb, bi hurmati 'l-Fatihah.
You see, look there (outside) and take hikmah, wisdom. It is seven o'clock and still dark, but yesterday it was seven o'clock and sunny. What happened? Today the clouds hide the sun, but the sun is there. So the heart is a sun on which Allah manifests His Beauty, on the hearts of human beings, but if there is cloud you cannot see, it is dark. So Shaytan tries to put veils. Awliya say there are 70,000 veils between us and Prophet (s). You need a shaykh to burn them. So sometimes they let you do something in order to shout at you, and that works out nicely (as when they shout, they lift the bad character that veils you). So that cloud is covering the sun of your heart. If we do not make sure Shaytan is not taking over our hearts then the veils becomes very thick, like in Antarctica, it is snowing and snowing, and for thousands of years ice has been building up into an iceburg or "ice shelf" that doesn't melt.
They sell today an ice that is a different kind of formula than normal ice (dry ice). That ice doesn't melt easily, it is very strong it lasts longer. Regarding the ice of the heart, the shaytanic veils on the heart are so thick, it becomes so difficult to dissolve them. As doctors today use lasers to take a stone from the bladder, your shaykh is your laser and he can shoot those thick veils and, Allahu Akbar, what happens? It dissolves them completely. That is what we need, a "laser shaykh," not a "flashlight shaykh." (laughter) He shoots his laser and destroys the veils completely and immediately. Bifaffil, it disseminates, takes the knots away completely and shows you your reality.
These meetings under Mawlana Shaykh's name are taking away the veils like a laser treatment, but leaving the common veil, hijab al-awaam. It is very thick, and they keep it until you are ready for them to take it away. May Allah take away our veils, so that we see the reality of our shaykh and the reality of Prophet (s)!
Wa min Allahi 't-tawfeeq, bi hurmati 'l-habeeb, bi hurmati 'l-Fatihah.