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Be Thankful to Your Lord

Ramadan Series 2017, Vol 10

Shaykh Hisham Kabbani

7 June 2017 Fenton Zawiya, Michigan

Zhuhr Suhbah

A`oodhu billahi min ash-Shaytani ‘r-rajeem. Bismillahi 'r-Rahmani 'r-Raheem. Salam 'alaykum wa rahmatullahi wa barakaatuh. Alhamdulillahi Rabbi 'l-'Alameen, wa ’s-salaatu wa ’s-salaamu 'alaa ashrafi 'l-mursaleena Sayyidina wa Nabiyyina Muhammadin wa 'alaa aalihi wa sahbihi ajma'een. Hadha sharafun `azheemun lana wa li Ummati 'n-Nabi (s).

It is a great honor that Allah created us. He is always honoring Ummat an-Nabi (s), as He is honoring His Prophet (s). Sometimes there are hidden cameras that record everything, but they don’t run if they are not charged and we don't know if it charged today or not. Of course, this teaches us patience, it is no problem. When a difficulty comes, be patient as it will soon be over. Look at `Asmaullah al-Husnaa: Huwa Allahulladhee la ilaaha illa Huwa al-Malik al-Qudoos as-Salaam... which Name comes at the end? As-Saboor, the Absolute Patient. So Allah (swt) is patient on His servants in order for them to improve. We are only students here, no one is better than the other. Awliya are Awliya and we want to learn something correct, not something wrong. It is better to get one small, correct knowledge than thousands of incorrect knowledges. Prophet (s) said:

‎اطلبوا العلم ولو في الصين

Seek knowledge even if you must go to China. (Bayhaqi)

We are like children learning to walk. May Allah (swt) accept from you and from us. We say, Alhamdulillahil-ladhee hadaana li ’l-Islami wa maa kunna li-nahtadeea law laa an hadaana ’Llah, praise and thanks to Allah that he guided us to Islam. We could not have been guided by our choice, and those who convert are also guided by Allah, not by themselves. Also, those who are raised Muslim, it was Allah who chose their parents to guide them.

Dunya has too much headaches and problems. That is why Awliya run to mountains. I will mention a nice story here. Prophets always liked to go on journeys in deserts or villages. Wherever they were, they were always moving or walking, and never remained still in one place. However, some Awliya remained in one place because they were ordered to do so, and there they made dhikrullah and sent those rewards to Ummat an-Nabi (s). One time Sayyidina Musa (a) was on such a journey and he approached a mountain; prophets liked to climb mountains. As he got nearer, he began to hear recitation and was surprised as no one liked to go in that area except him; people of the nearby village knew that area was full of jinn. He came closer, as the recitation was attracting him, and as he stood at the entrance of the cave, he saw a man like us but taller, making dhikrullah. People were very tall in the time of Sayyidina Musa (a) and other prophets. That man was reciting, Subhaan alladhee faddalanee `alaa katheerin min man khalaqa tafdeelan. Praise be to Allah that He favored me over many whom He favored.

“Glory be to Allah, Who honored and preferred me with endless favors.” A man sat there reciting that non-stop. Like a magnet, Sayyidina Musa (s) was mesmerized by the beautiful, heavenly voice saying, “Praise be to Allah Who has favored me over many of His servants. He honored me with something that if I thank Him day and night, it will not be enough.”

From that, Sayyidina Musa (a) understood he must listen to that man's dhikr, so he sat. He noticed that the man had no limbs, as if his arms had been cut at the shoulders. We have arms and legs, Allah created us in the best way that He likes, yet still we are not thanking Him! We are all like that. What can we do? Everyone in this dunya is the same, they don't remember until you remind them.

وَذَكِّرْ فَإِنَّ الذِّكْرَى تَنفَعُ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ

So remind, for reminding benefits the Believers. (Surat adh-Dhariyat, 51:55)

“Remind them, yaa Muhammad, because by reminding your Nation benefits.” Seeing that man was a reminder for Musa (s). I will pause here to give an example. It is said that dead people are gone, they no longer have a connection to dunya. However, after Ghazwat al-Badr, Prophet (s) spoke to the dead unbelievers.

The Sahaabah (r) said, “Who are you speaking to? They don't hear, nor see.”

Prophet (s) said, “No, they hear better than us.”

My sister was a medical student. She passed away, may Allah have mercy on her. Her professor gave her a complete human skeleton to take home and study. Unafraid, she placed the box near her bed and for three nights, she fell asleep while studying; however, the fourth night she dreamt she saw a man saying, “Save me from this punishment!” If you don't bury the skeleton of the deceased person they will be punished; burying it in the grave is a mercy for them.

“What must I do to relieve you?” she asked.

He said, “I am the skeleton of a human being and you are torturing me by moving me left and right.”

We are not allowed to touch the bones of a dead person, especially of women as there is a wisdom behind it. So the next day, she returned the skeleton and said, “I cannot take it home, I will study it here.” Upon checking, we found it was the skeleton of a very pious Muslim from three-hundred years ago, a Wali who had the Knowledge of Reality!

The man in the cave said, “Allah did not give me hands, arms or legs.” Allah gave us everything and we still say that we cannot do it! What was that person saying? “Praise be to The One Who favored me over many.” Then Sayyidina Musa (a) saw a deer enter the cave, raise its leg and let the man drink her milk, which was his food every 24 hours. Daily the deer came, give him milk and left. SubhaanAllah! Sayyidina Musa (a) was surprised the deer knew that person and came every day to give him milk, which was a delivery service for Awliyaullah in that area. That deer was responsible for that Wali.

Sayyidina Musa (a) asked, “Yaa akhee, what did Allah favor you with? You have no arms or legs, you have nothing, not even food except for that milk.”

The man looked at him and said, “Yaa Musa (a), Allah favored me because he made me Muslim!”

Every prophet was ordered to tell their Nation about Sayyidina Muhammad (s). Allah can dress His servant with any tajalli and no one can question Him: if Allah (swt) wants something to happen, it will. That is why that man with no limbs praised Allah for that favor.

Ever since I read that story, it stayed in my head. SubhaanAllah, how can someone in that condition praise Allah that He favored them? He could have said, “Yaa Rabb, take this disability away from me,” but to say, “Thank you,” although it might be a great punishment it is also an honor, because it means, “Yaa Allah, You know about me and are aware of me, which is why I say ‘alhamdulillah.’”

So that story stayed with me until I went to India, where I visited many maqaams of Awliyaullah, including Qutbuddin Bakhtiar Kaki’s (q) maqaam in New Delhi. Afterwards, we stepped out and saw many poor people waiting for someone to give them money or food. People with me said we should leave quickly or so many beggars will ask for money and food, and as we passed by all those people, I saw one person with no limbs lying on the ground, just like the man from the story. Right then he looked at me and smiled, which indicated he knew I was remembering that story! So although I was advised not to, I gave him money and he extended what remained of his shoulder and smiled. I thought, “SubhaanAllah, that is the man in the story of Sayyidina Musa (a).” Allah wanted to show me the reality, that there really are people like that who continuously thank Him and consider they received a great ni`mah.

Sayyidina Musa (a) saw asked him, “What favor did Allah grant you?”

He said, “Yaa Musa (a), Allah favored me to be Muslim.”

So it is an honor for us that one person from the time of Sayyidina Musa (a) believes in the Prophet (s), whose Ummah would come later. This is enough for us to thank Allah day and night, that He created us from Ummat an-Nabi (s). How many times today did you say shukran lillah, not even once, and all of us are like that. Prophet (s) came to tell us that Allah will be happy with you if you thank Him. the favors Allah has given us laa tu`ad wa laa tuhsaa. Every cell in your body is a ni`mah from Allah. If even one cell in the body gets sick, the whole body gets sick. There are trillions of cells in the body and every six months they undergo a cycle in which they are completely replaced, so they are continuously coming into existence while older cells die, as nothing can live forever.

So that person gave Sayyidina Musa (a) the wisdom to think, “That man is better than me.” It is better not to be proud of ourselves. Dakheelak yaa Rasoolullah, bi ummiy wa abee! When Allah judges, whoever has done an atom's weight of good will see it.

فَمَن يَعْمَلْ مِثْقَالَ ذَرَّةٍ خَيْرًا يَرَهُ وَمَن يَعْمَلْ مِثْقَالَ ذَرَّةٍ شَرًّا يَرَهُ

There, whoever did an atom’s weight of good will see it and whoever did an atom's weight of evil will see it. (Surat az-Zalzalah, Ninety-nine:7,8)

Allah judges His servants according to this ayah and the who one did an atom's weight of goodness will find goodness and the one did one atom's weight of badness will find badness. Then Allah will say, “Yaa Muhammad, I am finished with My Hukum, Judgement, and now you sit to decide who goes to Paradise and who goes to Hell.” That is a special chair not like ours, exclusively for Prophet (s). Then Allah will give him the Pen and say, “You may send whomever you like to Paradise and to Hell. I am giving you that power to judge, and if you want to send all of them it is in your hands now.” He will judge them according to their `amal. That is why Prophet (s) said, “Who is judged will be punished for sure. Ask Allah not to judge you and ask to be sent to Paradise with no account.”

من حوسب عذب

(Yaa `Ayesha!) Who will be judged will be punished for sure. (Bukhari)

We have to follow that advice and ask Allah not to judge us! Where are we? We are in a well diving in the filth of dunya. If He judges us, we will go to soow al-khaatima, the worst of endings! May Allah not judge us. Everything will follow the judgement of Prophet (s), as Allah gave him that authority. Allah will say, “I finished the Judgement and I give them to you now.” That is the shafa`ah, Intercession: what will Prophet (s) do when he looks at his Ummah? He is Rahmatan li ’l-`Alameen, the Mercy for All Humanity and `aalameen, everything Allah created!

When Sayyidina Muhammad (s) went to Qaaba Qawsayni aw Adnaa, Allah (swt) said to him, “These are My servants whom I created and I am giving them to you to judge on the Day of Judgement. Give them back to Me as pure as I gave them to you.”

Prophet (s) saw that mashaa-Allah everyone had Noor an-Nabi (s), they were all pure, and Allah does not look at dirtiness. So upon seeing that, Prophet (s) hugged them and said to Allah, “I will give them back to You as You gave them to me.” At that moment, Allah dressed them with their dunya `amal, worldly deeds, and ordered they all would be punished according to that.

Prophet (s) said, “Yaa Rabbee what is this? I saw them in the best condition, but now I see them in the worst condition!”

Allah said, “I gave them to you clean and you must return them clean by your shafa`ah.”

Grandshaykh (q) said this happened in the Mi`raaj. Awliyaullah have been carrying this story from generation to generation. When Prophet (s) was invited to Divine Presence, he sat in Maqaam al-Mahmoud, the Paradise Station, the best station in Heaven that erases and confirms. Allah gave Prophet (s) that opportunity to erase their sins and send them to Paradise and he would not be able to do that without Maqaam al-Mahmoud.

So when Prophet (s) will take the Pen on the Day of Judgement to see who is going to Hellfire and to Paradise, at that moment Allah will dress everyone completely with His Ninety-nine Beautiful Names and Attributes, and Prophet (s) will then see all of them Qaaba Qawsayni min al-jinaan, are so close to Paradise that they just need one push to go inside! He will see that Light on them, because Allah raised their station and dressed them with His Ninety-nine Beautiful Names and Attributes. He will look at each one, and all will be dressed with the Ninety-nine Beautiful Names and, according to Muslim scholars, there are limitless Names, not only those we know. Allah knows them and gave them to Prophet (s).

وَعَلَّمَ آدَمَ الأَسْمَاء كُلَّهَا

And He taught Adam the names of all things. (Surat al-Baqara, 2:31)

He taught Sayyidina Adam (a) all the Names, which means He also taught them to Prophet (s).

‏‏دم فمن سواه إلا تحت لوائي يوم القيامة ولا فخر

Therefore, Prophet (s) said, “Adam and whoever is other than him will be under my flag on the Day of Judgment, and I say this without pride.” (Ahmad, Musnad)

Prophet (s) will say, “Bismillahi 'r-Rahmani 'r-Raheem” and Maqaam al-Mahmoud will open and give honor to Ahlu ‘l-Mawqif, everyone present there. They will be resurrected and that place will turn into Heaven. Everyone, with shafa`ah an-Nabi (s), will enter Paradise with their wives and children without account. Everyone is considered from Ummat an-Nabi (s) and from Ahlu ‘l-Bayt. Even now I am seeing many people are saying, “SubhaanAllah, alhamdulillah wa laa ilaaha illa-Llah, Allahu Akbar.” May Allah bless them and us! Wa min Allahi ‘t-tawfeeq bi hurmati 'l-Fatihah.

These suhbahs are not even a drop in an ocean! May Allah (swt) give us the blessings of this Ramadan, which is full of changes, as you heard on the news today, an event no one expected. May Allah bless us and bring peace. With the barakah of Prophet (s) and Ramadan, may Allah accept from everyone and grant them what they want in their life. Everyone wants something. O Allah, grant them the jobs and homes they want, and bless them all.

Wa min Allah at-tawfeeq bi hurmati 'l-Fatihah.

Always thank Allah (swt) for His ni`am, Favors. He will not lose your thanks, He will save it for you for the Day of Judgement. May Allah accept from us, shukran lillah.

لَئِن شَكَرْتُمْ لأَزِيدَنَّكُمْ

If you thank Me, I will give you more. (Surah Ibraaheem, 14:7)

Yaa Allah, yaa Rabbi ‘l-`izzati wa ‘l-`azhaamati wa ‘l-jabaroot nashkuruk `ala ‘l-kull ni`am zhaahiratan wa baatinantan!

Salaam `alaykum wa rahmatullahi wa barakaatuh. Fatihah.

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