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Backbiting Is Like Nuclear Waste and Earth Cannot Contain It

Mawlana Shaykh Hisham Kabbani

27 July 2012 Fenton Zawiya, Michigan

Suhbah after Fajr

Allahumma salli `alaa Sayyidina Muhammad wa `alaa ali Sayyidina Muhammad (s).

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`alaa fee haadha 'l-masjid.

أَطِيعُواْ اللّهَ وَأَطِيعُواْ الرَّسُولَ وَأُوْلِي الأَمْرِ مِنكُمْ

Ati`oollaha wa ati`oo 'r-Rasoola wa ooli 'l-amri minkum.

Obey Allah, obey the Prophet, and obey those in authority among you. (Surat an-Nisa, 4:59)

Obey Allah, obey the Prophet and obey those who are on authority, and make sure that your obedience is to listen to what Allah (swt) has said and to what the Prophet (s) said.

Allah (swt) said:

يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا اجْتَنِبُوا كَثِيرًا مِّنَ الظَّنِّ إِنَّ بَعْضَ الظَّنِّ إِثْمٌ وَلَا تَجَسَّسُوا وَلَا تَجَسَّسُوا وَلَا يَغْتَب بَّعْضُكُم بَعْضًا أَيُحِبُّ أَحَدُكُمْ أَن يَأْكُلَ لَحْمَ أَخِيهِ مَيْتًا فَكَرِهْتُمُوهُ

Yaa ayyuhaa ‘Lladheena aamanoo ’jtaniboo katheeran mina ‘l-dhdhanni inna ba`da ‘dh-dhanni ithmun wa laa tajasassoo wa laa yaghtab b`adakum b`adan ayyuhibbu ahadukum an yaakulu lahma aakheehi maytan fa-karihtumooh.

O you who believe! Avoid suspicion as much (as possible), for suspicion in some cases is a sin. And spy not on each other behind their backs. Would any of you like to eat the flesh of his dead brother? No, you would abhor it. (Surat al-Hujurat, 49:12)

Don’t have bad thoughts and doubts; it might be the one you have bad thoughts about is hundreds of times better than you, and Allah (swt) knows best. Don’t try to spy on people to know what they are saying and don't backbite each other. Don’t say, “Nevermind if I backbite or spy on my brothers, or make a conspiracy,” with a goal or benefit to look good and to make others look bad! Unfortunately, in this time people are throwing their dirtiness on people who are clean.

المؤمن مرآة أخيه

Al-mu'minu mirraat akheehi.

The believer is a mirror of his brother. (Abu Dawood)

Prophet (s) is as-Saadiq al-Masdooq, so who can define ‘mu'min’? Since he says “laa ilaaha illa-Llah” he is mu'min, but because of your animalistic character you want to be the good one in front of people, and you begin to attack others and then all your bad character ishows and is reflected, as the audience is all mu'min. You are a mirror reflecting your bad character and seeing the bad character on the other, but in reality it is your bad character! And then you begin to attack others, and if you are not right you might be punished, and if you are right, you are right. In any case, Allah (swt) is as-Sattar, the Veiler, and so even your opponent tries to hide his faults.

لاَّ يُحِبُّ اللّهُ الْجَهْرَ بِالسُّوَءِ مِنَ الْقَوْلِ إِلاَّ مَن ظُلِمَ وَكَانَ اللّهُ سَمِيعًا عَلِيمًا

Laa yuhibbu ’Llaahu ’l-jahra bi ’s-sooi mina ’l-qawli illa man zhulima wa kaana Allaahu samee`an `aleema.

Allah loves not that evil should be voiced in public except where injustice has been done, for Allah is All-Hearing and All-Knowing. (Surat an-Nisa, 4:148)

Allah doesn't like someone to begin to speak up and criticize and attack, except when you are oppressed. Are you oppressed? No. So why are you attacking and the person you attack cannot defend himself? When you attack, attack face-to-face, not from the back, when the person is not there to defend himself. If you are, mashaa-Allah, clever enough make an attack, make it face-to-face! But we are not doing that and those who are attacking, we say may Allah (swt) forgive them. Anyone who comes in disobedience to this verse of Holy Qur’an will be punished, so be careful as you don’t want that.

يَوْمَ تُبَدَّلُ الأَرْضُ غَيْرَ الأَرْضِ وَالسَّمَاوَاتُ وَبَرَزُواْ للّهِ الْوَاحِدِ الْقَهَّارِ

Yawm tubaddalu ’l-ardu ghayra ’l-ardi wa ‘s-samaawaatu wa barazoo lillaahi ’l-waahidi ‘l-qahhaar.

On the Day when the earth will be changed to another earth and so will be the heavens, and

they (all creatures) will appear before Allah, the One, the Irresistible. (Surah Ibraheem, 14:48)

This is “al-ard” now, and Allah (swt) says when the earth has been changed to another one, which means it is not the same, because on the Day of Resurrection Allah (swt) calls people to come out descends to His `Arsh. Where is that? He (swt) descends on earth. Does Allah (swt) descend on a filthy, dirty earth? That earth will be a heavenly earth, not the earth we know, but a clean one with not one sin. Allah (swt) does not like to see badness from people, He likes to see goodness and He doesn't look at someone or something that is dirty as it does not go with Allah’s Siffat to look at something dirty. So when Qaabil (Cain) killed Haabil (Abel), he didn't know what to do. Allah (swt) showed him a raven burying another dead one. Why was he burying it? Dog’s saliva is impure, so if you touch that, what do you do? Wash it seven times and last time with turaaab, with soil, which means soil cleans every dirtiness. Allah (swt) cleans every dirtiness with dirt, soil. Today the most dirty thing on earth cannot be cleaned even by soil, but they bury it there. What is that? Nuclear waste.

Backbiting is like nuclear waste, and even earth cannot clean it. Grandshaykh (q) said, may Allah bless his soul, “If Allah (swt) will unveil the dirtiness of the backbiting of people who are buried, one person’s backbiting it is enough to make all people faint from that dirty smell that would cover all the earth immediately!” Earth cannot clean that, earth can clean normal sins. You look here, you look there, you did this thing, you steal, you rob, and you lie, but to backbite, Allah (swt) doesn't like. In Tripoli, Lebanon, there is a cemetery where some awliyaullah are buried, Babl al-Raml, and they don't bury people there anymore. One time we were with Mawlana Shaykh Nazim (q) and the gravedigger said, “I don't know where to begin, but sometimes I see snakes in graves of people and I see snakebites on their body, and sometimes I see people completely black from burning.” That is from punishment in the grave. In a similar way, Allah (swt) will punish the one who backbites and send all kind of wild animals to reach that grave, even if it is closed, because for Allah (swt) nothing is closed, and for Prophet (s) nothing is closed as he is al-faatih lima ughliq!

Oppression comes from those spreading bad rumors. You might wonder why this suhbah came today when we were going to speak on fadaail Bismillah, “Virtues of the Basmala,”and fadaail Fatihah, “Virtues of Surat al-Fatihah,” but Mawlana Shaykh is sending this to insert today, a message to Naqshbandi zawiyas around the world, to those who are mureeds of Mawlana Shaykh Nazim al-Haqqani: Allah (swt) does not like those who spread false rumors (and after a while it becomes a reality to people)!

Grandshaykh (q) said, “Allah does not like anyone to break the heart of another, which is the worst character and sin.” To demonstrate how hard the one spreading bad rumors and backbiting is on awliya’s hearts, Grandshaykh (q) said, “If you go to Mecca and sit at the Ka`bah where no sin is allowed:

سُبْحَانَ الَّذِي أَسْرَى بِعَبْدِهِ لَيْلاً مِّنَ الْمَسْجِدِ الْحَرَامِ إِلَى الْمَسْجِدِ الأَقْصَى الَّذِي بَارَكْنَا حَوْلَهُ

subhanalladhee asraa bi `abdihi laylan mina ’l-masjidi ’l-haraami ila ’l-masjidi ’l-aqsa ’Lladhee baaraknaa hawlahu.

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. (Surat al-Israa, 17:1)

Masjid al-Haraam is the place where no haraam can be done, and they commit a sin, that is like that and even worse if you break the heart of a mu`min!”

Leave people alone! If you like to live in happiness, why do you throw random accusations that are not correct for different people in order to show you are above everyone? That is a character that Allah (swt) doesn't like and His Prophet doesn't like! So try to avoid that and try not to backbite, and the only way to get rid of that is with dhikrullah.

Dhikrullah matradan li ’sh-shaytan.

Dhikrullah is punishment to Shaytan!

Dhikrullah will chase Shaytan away, so as much as you do dhikrullah, that much you chase Shaytan away. If you are still falling into spreading rumors and conspiracies and backbiting, that means your dhikr is not up to the level (of acceptance); it is still blended with shaytanic color and it is not good. Go and try to repeat dhikr and ask for Allah's forgiveness. And if you aren’t connecting to the heart of the Prophet when saying, “Allah, Allah,” that is how you have to do your dhikr, or recite “laa ilaaha illa-Llah” and then you will feel the connection with the Prophet (s). That is the way to clean your heart; otherwise, your dhikr is worthless!

Dhikr is the cause of happiness in dunya and Akhirah. Everyone wants to be happy. What is the biggest happiness? To be with the Prophet (s)! So since they say that dhikrullah is the happiness in dunya and akhirah, it means dhikrullah equals being in the presence of Prophet (s), who then takes you to the Presence of Allah (swt), which then takes you to achieve happiness in dunya and happiness in akhirah. We wear the symbol of Prophet’s sandal on our heads, but that is only a symbol that you are under the na`l of the Prophet (s), but in reality you have to make your heart under the sandal of the Prophet (s) to attain the happiness of dunya and akhirah.

Prophet (s) said:

الفتنة نائمة لعن الله من أيقظها

Al-fitnatu naa'imatan la`anallaha man ayqadahaa.

Fitna is dormant; Allah (swt) will curse who opens it.[1]

So why do you open false fitna, and not a right fitna? That symbol you wear is not your reality! You are showing off and you must be the first one to carry the sandals of the Prophet (s) in your heart, in order that you will be approaching. Forget about other people! You are only responsible for yourself.

يَوْمَ يَفِرُّ الْمَرْءُ مِنْ أَخِيه وَأُمِّهِ وَأَبِيه وَصَاحِبَتِهِ وَبَنِيهِ ِِ

Yawma yafirru ’l-mar’u min akheehi wa ummihi wa abeehi wa saahibatihi wa baneehi.

That Day shall a man flee from his own brother, and from his mother and his father, and from his wife and his children. (Surat `Abasa, 80:34-36)

So why not try to fix yourself? Abu Yazid al-Bistami (q) used to say, “I respect the younger one because he has less sins than me and I respect the elder because he has performed more worship than me.” So keep that respect. Allah (swt) is beautiful and loves beauty! Beauty is to show the goodness of someone, not to expose his badness! What is the benefit of speaking badly of someone? He might take all your `amal on Judgment Day!

Also Grandshaykh (q) used to say, "Don't repeat a story that happened one hour ago," as Allah (swt) cursed the person who repeats a story from one hour ago. What about a story that happened five years ago? They say if a human being could, he will even backbite Sayyidina Adam (a), saying, “Why did you eat from the tree?” Why do you care if he ate from tree? That gave you dunya!

Allah (swt) wants to be known and that is why He created creation, and that is why Adam ate from the tree, which caused you to be sent to earth, a planet that was like other planets, with no life on it! But as soon as Adam stepped on earth his feet were on heavenly steps, and earth the earth turned green. Where he stepped down in Sri Lanka at Adam's Peak, you find all gems on the earth and the government blocks mining there. So if people had the advantage, they would complain against Adam (a)!

Keep your dhikr and then you will inherit love of Allah (swt). If you have dhikrullah with people, then you inherit from people, giving them to love Allah (swt). Someone who is rich and generous beqeaths his wealth to other people, not just to his children. When you show mahabatallah, then Allah (swt) will dress you with that love and you can pass it to other people through dhikrullah. If someone has an atom of mahabbat to Allah (swt), he will faint! Allah (swt) gives that love with a dropper.

One of the believers in Sayyidina Musa’s time said to him, “When you go to Tur Sina, ask Allah (swt) to send me love of Allah (swt).”

Musa said, “You believe in me and that is enough.”

He said, “No, please ask.”

And so Sayyidina Musa (a) asked that for him and when he came back he went to see him and knocked at the door, but there was no answer. He opened the door and found that man with his eyes open, looking up and gone, as if unconscious. He tried to shake him to wake him and Allah (swt) revealed to him, “Leave him alone. I have dressed him with one drop of My Love and he is gone.”

So dhikrullah will give you love and fear of Allah (swt), so run to Allah (swt), don’t run away! Run to Allah (swt) and run away from Shaytan! Are we running to Allah (swt)? We have to run to Him, all of us here and there and also those watching on the Internet. He will grant that servant majestic power and anyone who looks at that servant--who will become like a spotlight to whom everyone is attracted-- if that servant is doing dhikr, Allah (swt) will beqeath to those around him to make dhikr, even without the people knowing it! That is why it is said to sit with a wali, because you will inherit from him whatever level he has. That is why Grandshaykh (q) was written in the will to inherit from his Grandshaykh (q). Now many are writing the title "sultan" with their names. When he received wilayah to receive the secret of the Golden Chain, Grandshaykh didn't want it, while today young ones run to Mawlana Shaykh for wilayah and he is giving!

One time Mawlana Shaykh Nazim (q) said to me, "You are going to be sitting on this chair on this position."

I said, “I never heard that from Grandshaykh (q).”

He said, “At that time you see someone on that chair, go to another one.”

So they don't like titles. If you call yourself “sultan,” that is from your self, from Shaytan. Awliya don't like to be mentioned. Grandshaykh (q) said, “I don't want it,” although that order came from Prophet (s)! Then that night in heavenly life, he visited with Prophet (s), who asked him what is the reason for his decision? Grandshaykh (q) said, “Don't be upset. You are a wali all your life and before you your Shaykh was a wali, but what is benefit is having wilayah if your followers take no benefit? Wherever Allah (swt) puts me I surrender, be it a high level of Paradise or in Hellfire, but I am refusing because what will happen to all these mureeds? If I am going to accept, I need a promise that whoever sits in my association must be raised to my level.” Prophet (s) was happy with that and said, “I am accepting!” For that reason, whoever sits in Grandshaykh’s association will be raised to his level.

Also, Great-Grandshaykh Sharafuddin (q) was sitting with scholars and said to them, “Do you want me to tell you about `AbdAllah Effendi (who at the time was young)? Wherever he puts his feet, no one else is putting. That is why I give him special inayah, attention.”

We will continue tomorrow. May Allah (swt) keep us in the arms of our shuyookh. We are weak and full of sins. And may Allah (swt) forgive those who are backbiting. It might be those you are accusing are better than you, because (piety) is not who has bigger turban, but rather, who is under the turban! When you take a shower, do you take it with turban or without? So why take it off? The purpose of a shower is to take the sin away. Do you keep your turban and go in shower? No, as to wear a turban is to follow sunnah and to show crowns for Muslims. When you can take a shower with your turban, then we will accept your backbiting! No, you have to have water go on your head and it has to be on the head first, as sins have to be washed from top to down, so you clean from the beginning (top), not from bottom.

May Allah (swt) take all the diritiness away and keep us under protection of Mawlana Shaykh and Grandshaykh.

Wa min Allahi 't-tawfeeq, bi hurmati 'l-habeeb, bi hurmati 'l-Fatihah. Taqabal-Allah.

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[1] (The hadith that reads, “Dissension is asleep (dormant). May Allah curse the one who awakens (activates) it,” is mentioned by Al-`Ajloonee, author of Kashf Al-Khafaa, who mentioned that Al-Najm said, "Al-Rafi`y related it from Anas (r) in his book Al-`Amaliy." It was also related by Al-Suyuti in al-Jami` as-Sagheer, who hinted to its weakness. See: http://www.alifta.com/Fatawa/FatawaSubjects.aspx?View=Page&NodeID=4578&PageID=11368&SectionID=

7&SubjectPageTitlesID=118872&MarkIndex=4&0 )

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