كن بَشاشاً ولا تكن عبوساً غضوباً
He says, kun bashaashan. “Be a smiley one.” Wa laa takun `aboosan ghadooban. “And don’t be a frowny, angry one.” That is the advice of Nabiyullah, Sayyidina Khidr (a). Some people say he is Waliyullah. Whatever he is, he is a holy servant of Allah (swt). The advice to everybody is always be smiley, don’t be frowning, whiny, angry, and complaining. That does not help you and does not help the people in front of you. May Allah (swt) forgive us.
A`oodhu billahi min ash-Shaytaani 'r-rajeem.
Bismillaahi 'r-Rahmaani 'r-Raheem.
Laa hawla wa laa quwatta illa billahi 'l-`Aliyyu 'l-`Azheem. Dastoor, yaa Sayyidi, yaa Sultan al-Awliya. Dastoor, yaa Sayyidi wa Mawlay. Madad, yaa RijaalAllah.
What do we do here? The main thing our masters always told us to do is kun shaakiran, be a thankful person: instead of being a whining, angry complainer, always be thankful.
It is said that Sayyidina Ibrahim ibn Adham (q) wanted to enter the hammam. In the past, they didn’t have private baths in their houses, they had public baths. Most of the time they went to a private room, and some went to a public room.
He wanted to enter to take a bath. The one who managed the public bath said, “You cannot enter until you pay.”
Sayyidina Ibrahim ibn Adham (q) moaned, “Ah, ah. SubhaanAllah. You cannot enter the house of Shaytan unless you pay. But how can you enter the house of Allah (swt) without any `amal?”
They expect payment for the house of Shaytan. “Do you want to enter the house of Shaytan? Sure, $80, $100, $200.” You get the best seat if you give $1,000. They start with $5 and go up. If you can give a million, great, you can enter the house of Shaytan with all of us. They pay to enter the house of Shaytan, but expect to enter the House of Allah (swt) without any good deeds. Sayyidina Ibrahim ibn Adham is teaching us.
What is the `amal that you have to do? The easiest thing to do is, what Allah (swt) ordered Rasoolullah (s) in Surah az-Zumar:
بَلِ ٱللَّهَ فَٱعْبُدْ وَكُن مِّنَ ٱلشَّـٰكِرِينَ
Bali ’Llaha fa`bud wa kun min ash-shaakireen.
No, but worship Allah, and be of those who give thanks. (Surat az-Zumar, 39:66)
Allah (swt) ordered Rasoolullah (s), “Worship Me. Do the good deeds. Be from the thankful ones.” Giving thanks is the easiest, quickest good deeds and Allah (swt) loves us to thank Him! In our Way, we mostly thank Allah (swt), we don’t complain, whine, become angry or get pushy. In Tariqah, are lovey-dovey, thankful ones!
How do you thank Allah (swt)? There are four ways. If you fulfill all four parts of thanking Allah (swt), you enter Jannah.
* One, the tongue has to be busy with praising Allah (swt).
* Second, the heart has to be busy with remembering Allah (swt).
* Third, your body has to be busy in the obedience of Allah (swt).
* Fourth: spend your wealth for Allah, not in ways that Allah (swt) doesn’t like.
The first is to thank Allah (swt) with the tongue, as Allah (swt) taught us in the Holy Qur’an: wa kulli ‘l-hamdulillah.
وَقُلِ ٱلْحَمْدُ لِلَّهِ ٱلَّذِى لَمْ يَتَّخِذْ وَلَدًا وَلَمْ يَكُن لَّهُۥ شَرِيكٌ فِى ٱلْمُلْكِ وَلَمْ يَكُن لَّهُۥ وَلِىٌّ مِّنَ ٱلذُّلِّ وَكَبِّرْهُ تَكْبِيرًۢا
Say: "Praise be to Allah, who gets no son and has no partner in (His) dominion, nor (needs) any to protect Him from humiliation, and magnify Him for His greatness and glory!" (Surah al-Isra, 17:111)
Say, “Alhamdulillah.” Yaa Rabbee, all praise and all thanks to You. The second part is the heart. How do you thank Allah (swt) with your heart? By not making it busy with remembering other than Him: in your heart there’s no remembrance of anything else but Allah (swt). When you make your heart busy with Dhikrullah, the remembrance of Allah (swt), you thank Allah (swt) by heart.
The third part is not to use your body in the obedience of other than Allah (swt), not Shaytan. Don’t enter the house or follow the path of Shaytan. Your limbs, senses, body are only busy in ta`atu ’Llah, the obedience of Allah (swt). If you can do that, you have fulfilled the third part.
If you fulfill these four parts, you will enter Jannah. If you can make your tongue, heart, body and money thankful then that means you use it in the way that Allah (swt) has shown. Use your body in the way that Allah (swt) has shown and Rasoolullah (s) has detailed for us. Use your heart in the way Allah (swt) has shown us. Use your tongue in the way that Allah (swt) has told you to do so. You have guaranteed Jannah for yourself. That is shukr.
What is Tariqah? Tariqah is to be busy with Dhikrullah by tongue, heart, body and by money. If you can do that, good for you. If you are not able to do that then mend your deficiencies. Which part of you is not thankful? All four parts, one hundred percent. We use our tongue, heart, body, money here and there. That is making shareek, partners to Allah (swt).
You obey Allah (swt) and Shaytan. Awliyaullah obey Allah hundred percent in these four parts, in thankfulness and gratitude to Allah (swt), and that’s why we accompany them, to know how to do the four parts of thanking. If you do that, Allah (swt) will honor you with Jannah.
But as He said, and He says the Truth, wa qaleelun min `ibaadee ash-shakoor. Very few, not everyone can be thankful, qaleel.
يَعْمَلُونَ لَهُۥ مَا يَشَآءُ مِن مَّحَـٰرِيبَ وَتَمَـٰثِيلَ وَجِفَانٍ كَٱلْجَوَابِ وَقُدُورٍ رَّاسِيَـٰتٍ ٱعْمَلُوٓا۟ ءَالَ دَاوُۥدَ شُكْرًا وَقَلِيلٌ مِّنْ عِبَادِىَ ٱلشَّكُورُ
`Amalu aalaa dawooda shukra wa qaleelun min `ibaadee ash-shakoor.
They worked for him as he desired, (making) arches, images, basons as large as reservoirs, and (cooking) cauldrons fixed (in their places): "Work O sons of David, with thanks! but few of My servants are grateful! (Surah Saba, 34:13)
What do the followers of Anbiyaullah need to do? Shukr. Sayyidina Dawud (a) was a Messenger, a Prophet, a khalifah of Allah (swt) on earth. He is the second one. He mentioned him by name as khalifah. He did not mention Sayyidina Adam (a) as khalifah. He said, “I am making a khalifah on earth,” but He didn’t say, “I am making Adam khalifah on earth.” He said, “I taught Adam the names.”
يَـٰدَاوُۥدُ إِنَّا جَعَلْنَـٰكَ خَلِيفَةً فِى ٱلْأَرْضِ فَٱحْكُم بَيْنَ ٱلنَّاسِ بِٱلْحَقِّ وَلَا تَتَّبِعِ ٱلْهَوَىٰ فَيُضِلَّكَ عَن سَبِيلِ ٱللَّهِ إِنَّ ٱلَّذِينَ يَضِلُّونَ عَن سَبِيلِ ٱللَّهِ لَهُمْ عَذَابٌ شَدِيدٌۢ بِمَا نَسُوا۟ يَوْمَ ٱلْحِسَابِ
O David! We did indeed make you a vicegerent on earth: so judge you between men in truth (and justice): Nor follow the lusts (of your heart), for they will mislead you from the Path of Allah. for those who wander astray from the Path of Allah, is a Penalty Grievous, for that they forget the Day of Account. (Surah Sa`d, 38:26)
We have made you a deputy on earth. You have to find the Dawud, a, representative of the time, a khalifah. It can be Ahlu ‘l-Bayt. Of course, the physical and also the spiritual family of that representative, which means the lineage and the spiritual followers, are ordered to do shukr. Their `amal is shukr. You have to follow them. We, can't find the representative of the time, but we can find those who followed him.
Their work is all thankfulness. That’s why we accompany the masters, Awliyaullah, who are all under the Qutb of the Time. They are all busy with shukr. They are giving their zakat non-stop, the zakat of wealth and of `ilm. They give part of the knowledge they have to the people who are coming to their presence and whatever wealth they get, they give part of it to the people who are coming. They are continuously in shukr and spending in the way of Allah (swt). That is the money that we talked about. If you spend your money in the way that Allah (swt) likes, the fourth part, you have completed that part too. `Amalu aalaa dawooda shukra wa qaleelun min `ibaadee ash-shakoor.
The followers of the Qutb of the Time need to do shukr. Be busy with shukr. Train your tongue for shukr, thankfulness. Train your heart for Dhikrullah. Train your body for ta`atullah, and train your money for spending in the way of Allah (swt). If you do that, you are following the ways of Anbiya and Awliya.
If you are not able to do that, work on it. May Allah (swt) allow us to be from those who are giving as much as they can. Of course, Allah (swt) has given us a license. Fattaqullaha ma ‘s-ta`tatum.
فَٱتَّقُوا۟ ٱللَّهَ مَا ٱسْتَطَعْتُمْ وَٱسْمَعُوا۟ وَأَطِيعُوا۟ وَأَنفِقُوا۟ خَيْرًا لِّأَنفُسِكُمْ وَمَن يُوقَ شُحَّ نَفْسِهِۦ فَأُو۟لَـٰٓئِكَ هُمُ ٱلْمُفْلِحُونَ
So fear Allah as much as you can: listen and obey and spend in charity for the benefit of your own soul and those saved from the covetousness of their own souls, for they are the ones that achieve prosperity. (Surat at-Taghabun, 64:16)
يَـٰٓأَيُّهَا ٱلَّذِينَ ءَامَنُوا۟ ٱتَّقُوا۟ ٱللَّهَ حَقَّ تُقَاتِهِۦ وَلَا تَمُوتُنَّ إِلَّا وَأَنتُم مُّسْلِمُونَ
Yaa ayyuha ‘l-ladheena amanu ‘t-taqqullaha haqqa tuqatihi wa laa tamootunna illa wa antum muslimoon.
O you who believe! Fear Allah as He should be feared, and die not except in a state of Islam. (Surat Ali-`Imran, 3:102)
For Awliyaullah and Anbiyaullah, haqqa tuqaatihi, perfectly. You have to know all of this and work on it. It is a hundred percent for Awliyaullah and Anbiyaullah, but for regular people like us, Allah (swt) gave rukhsa, license, ease. He eased it for us. He said, fattaqullaha ma ‘s-ta`tatum. Obey Allah (swt) and be busy with following the ways of Anbiya as much as you can. Look at how Allah (swt) is very Haleem, easy on Ummatu ‘l-Habeeb (s). For that you have to say shukr.
Sayyidina Dawud (a) said, “Yaa Rabbee. How can I thank You when my thanking You is a Favor from You?”
He said, “Now you have given the right of thankfulness. You have done it correctly.”
You saying “alhamdulillah” is also a favor of Allah (swt) for you to say it! If Allah (swt) ties up your tongue, like someone born unable to speak (mute), they can't say “alhamdulillah.” Also, Sayyidina Musa (a) was not able to move his tongue freely. He said, “Yaa Rabbee. Dissolve this knot in my tongue.” If Allah (swt) does not untie your tongue, you cannot say, “Alhamdulillah.”
Being here and saying, “Alhamdulillah. Shukru lillah. Laa ilaaha illa-Llah” is also a favor of Allah (swt) that you have to thank Him for. They think it’s a given, so easy to mention the Name of Allah (swt). Not everybody can do it. Who’s doing it? Who are they remembering? Allah (swt)? Do they mention Allah’s Name in any of their meetings, or parties? They can’t because Allah (swt) is not happy with them, so he has not given them that favor. When you mention Allah (swt), He mentions you. When He mentions you, you have gained sharaf, honor. When Allah (swt) mentions you, He has dressed you with honor to be mentioned in His Presence. It is not something easy, it is the hardest thing in this world, to be a servant of Allah (swt).
The most difficult thing in this world is to remember Allah (swt) and come to His Door. That’s why He is the One nobody can reach, nobody can enter into His Presence. You cannot reach Him. You’re lucky. We are lucky.
May Allah (swt) keep us on the way of Dawud (a) and Anbiya, and keep us on the way of the Dawud of the time and the representative of the time, keep us on the way of AwliyaAllah and make us thankful by tongue, heart, body and money. Inshaa-Allah (swt), Allah (swt) will make us from them.
Wa min Allahi 't-tawfeeq, bi hurmati 'l-habeeb, bi hurmati 'l-Fatihah.
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