Sufism and Tasawwuf - Naqshbandi Sufi Way

Correcting Misunderstandings of Meditation in Islam

Mawlana Shaykh Hisham Kabbani

12 November 2012 Lefke, Cyprus

Zhuhr Suhbah

As-salaamu `alaykum wa rahmatullaahi wa barakaatuh. A`oodhu billahi min ash-Shaytani 'r-rajeem. Bismillahi 'r-Rahmani 'r-Raheem. Dastoor, yaa Sayyidee.

?????????? ?????? ???????????? ?????????? ????????? ???????? ???????

Atee`oollaha wa atee`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)

Yesterday we mentioned the story of the student of the shaykh who objected to the shaykh reciting poetry about praying on a carpet soaked with wine; go back (on Sufilive.com) to see that. But what we did not mention is that you don’t have to listen and follow everyone, saying, “He is a representative and I have to fulfill the order,” because only a complete shaykh, Shaykh-i-Kamil, who is perfect in both wings, Shari`ah and Haqiqat, can take his mureed and fly. Therefore, the order does not have to be accepted from representatives that have not reached that level. So always get an answer from the complete shaykh whose heart is with the Prophet (s); you cannot get an answer from someone who is still too much involved in dunya.

The one involved in dunya who is at the same time representing, we cannot say “representing,” but who is given permission to lead dhikrullah, there is a big difference between that one and the one given permission to give guidance (irshad), which is according to Allah’s Way, Prophet’s (s) Way, and Shari`ah. It is according to what Prophet (s) has poured in the heart of awliyaullah, which is not something everyone can get, nor can person claim he is like that! I would like to stress the point that today people don't have knowledge except what they read on the Internet, and they blend things together from different beliefs. They are not blending things from the Muslim belief and what Muslim scholars say, and instead of giving a real way to go through they are putting us just like sitting in a car that runs but then there is no more gasoline in it so it stops, leaving you in your place and it cannot continue. Only Islam has gasoline, and Sunnah and Shara`ullah and the only gasoline is what awliyaullah say and no one else, so make sure from whom you get your advice and your guidance!

We know many people have blended in different styles of Buddhist and Hindu beliefs, which is not accepted and that is where the problem is. Today people cannot speak to Muslims, and I feel shy to say it, but we have to speak everything, we are speaking on Naqshbandi Tariqat and we are speaking on Mawlana's Tariqah! Many followers are not deeply dipped in knowledge of Shari`ah and they might misunderstand what Mawlana Shaykh means in many of his suhbah. And those who are taking the lead in different countries around the world, the most important issue is that they not plant the wrong teachings from other religions outside of Islam or other than from what Mawlana Shaykh Nazim (q) is teaching. And we see them from around the world bringing things that are unbelievable and they make it as if it is something from what Mawlana Shaykh has taught or from those whom Mawlana really appointed, but it is not true! The problem is, they are speaking to New Age people who say, “We only want spirituality, not to pray and fast.” They don't want the form, but they want spirituality. They like to come to associations where they speak of “consciousness” and psychology of the mind and the sociology of different cultures, and they blend that because people like it, so they trick and trap people like that! If the guide’s intention is to stop there, that is haraam, but if their intention is to take people to the second shore, which is Islam, then that (kind of introduction at the beginning) is permitted.

The mashaykh of Ahl Islam say you can teach people muraqabah, according to the verse we mentioned yesterday when we gave the tafseer and discussed muraqabah:

????? ??? ?????? ????????????? ?????????? ???????????? ????????? ???????????? ??????? ?????????? ?????????? ????????? ??????????? ?????? ???????? ?????????? ???????? ??????????? ???????????????? ??? ?????? ????????????? ?????????? ???????? ??? ???????? ???? ???????? ??????????? ??????? ??????? ????????

Inna fee khalqi ’s-samawaati wa ’l-ard wa’khtilaafi ’l-layli wa ’n-nahaar la-ayaatin li-ooli ’l-albaab. Alladheena yadhkuroonallaaha qiyaaman wa qu`oodan wa `alaa junoobihim wa yatafakkaroona fee khalqi ’s-samawaati wa ’l-ardi rabbanaa maa khalaqta hadhaa baatilan subhaanaka faqinaa `adhaab an-naar.

Behold! In the creation of Heaven and Earth, and in the alternation of night and day, there are indeed signs for men of understanding, those who remember Allah (always, and in prayers) standing, sitting and lying down on their sides, and contemplating the creation of the Heavens and the Earth, (saying), "Our Lord! You have not created (all) this without purpose! Glory to You! Give us salvation from the torment of the Fire.” (Surat Aali `Imraan, 3:191-192)

“Those who are mentioning Allah day and night” means following the Shari`ah of Islam, of Prophet (s), and then they meditate on the greatness and creation of Heavens and Earth, which is greater that the creation of human beings, which today scientists say is so complicated that no one can understand! But Allah (swt) is saying, “O, you did not see anything yet! The creation of Heavens is greater than the creation of human beings such that you cannot compare. It is akbar/great!” Here “greater” means without limits, that it cannot compare with the creation of Mankind.

Today people want to meditate, connecting their heart with the shaykh, with the Prophet (s), and then with Allah (swt), but Allah says no, don't do that, first begin meditation on the greatness of the creation of the universe and leave meditation on human beings. First meditate on Heavens’s and Earth's creation, as that will take you to Maqaam at-Tawheed, towards `Aqeedat al-Islam where you say, “Laa ilaaha illa-Llah Muhammadun Rasoolullah.” And we have said many times before that Grandshaykh `AbdAllah (q) never gave baya` except to two, but now with the full barakah that is opening, Mawlana Shaykh Nazim (q) is giving baya` to everyone. However, now there are too many people deviating from the Right Path, who are getting the spiritual benefits of baya`--the mercy, vision and blessings of the shaykh--but in their physical appearance they deviate too much and make giving da`wah a profession! Because the later ones came, not only in the Naqshbandi Tariqah but others also, not focusing correctly on the Shari`ah and Haqiqah, deviating and making only meditation, and they brought too many things into it that were never in it before, and with these additions they became dalloo wa adalloo, “deviated people” so far from Siraat al-Mustaqeem!

I will mention something that people today do. It is said in many different ways that to visualize the shaykh when you connect your self is not something wrong, but don't add additions to the meditation on your shaykh and your teacher, be careful and beware of this: some people imagine the shaykh in the prayer to be the Ka`bah and they face him, and turn towards him the way you direct your face in prayer! You make your shaykh as if he is Ka`bah. That is not accepted by Ahl ash-Shari`ah and Ahl at-Tariqat. They do this today without knowing their mistake. They describe their teacher so highly (beyond limits) that even the shaykh does not accept what they are saying! They are trying to make him as if he is the Ka`bah, facing him in the prayer, and behaving as if he is giving them instructions during the prayer, which is not absolutely unacceptable!

So that is what Shaykh `Abd al-`Aziz Dehlawi (q) said, “Don't make your shaykh your qiblah, but our qiblah is the Prophet (s),” as Imam Malik (r) told Caliph Abu Ja`far al-Mansur when he visited and made du`a, “Don't face Ka`bah, but face your Prophet!” The Prophet (s) is the one who informed you of Ka`bah, so that is correct adab, to face the Prophet (s) and make du`a; there it is accepted. In previous times they did not allow you to give your back to the Prophet (s) while making du`a; they blocked that area in the Ottoman time, and today they give their back to the Prophet (s) and make du`a, which is incorrect. Also, now in Haraam an-Nabiyy (s) they plan to enlarge towards the qiblah side of the masjid, and then everyone will be giving their back to the Prophet (s), which Imam Malik prohibited! We have to make sure our meditation is correct and what are its principles.

So in India, in front of the shaykh of Kankahuyyah Tariqah a big shaykh was asked about focusing during meditation on the shaykh, and he was a great teacher of meditation and tasawwuf. We learned from them what they are saying, and what did he say, about which many people are mistaken today? They insisted on him telling them about Tasawwur ash-Shaykh, to visualize the shaykh. He didn't respond to them the first or second day, and they asked until he got fed up with them and said, “Do you want me to respond?”

They said, “N`am yaa Sayyidee, we want to learn.”

He asked another time, “Do you want me to say it?”

They said, “Na`m.”

And this is a lesson for everyone: anyone who meditates has to know that this is our way of Shari`ah and what our shuyookh have taught us about meditation in Naqshbandi Tariqah! Don't make imaginary sounds or bring images like what they teach in art class; at first they teach abstract styles, then they bring a naked lady and say, “Draw this!” So we have to be very careful what we are focusing on, which must not be our desires or we will end up focusing on something wrong.

He asked a third time, “A'aqooloo, do you want me to say, are you sure? Because I am going to make everyone look bad.”

They said, “Yes.”

I am asking everyone that anyone who claims and has been given authority around the world, excluding Mawlana Shaykh Nazim who gives the authority, do we have this or not?

He, a very big shaykh, continued, “For three years (which means for three years he was in this state), the face of my shaykh was always in my heart. I saw him while I ate, drank, prayed, fasted, made wudu, slept and upon waking. For three years in every action I did, I saw my shaykh in front of me.”

?? ??? ?? ???? ? ??? ?? ?????

Prophet (s) said:

I have one face with Allah and one with Creation.

One face was with Allah praying and one was (always present) with the people. Awliyaullah want to reach that level!

The shaykh continued, “For three years, the face of my shaykh was in front of me in my heart supporting my every action, and I never did anything except through asking him while seeing him.” He was not seeing him physically, but anything he wanted to do he asked his shaykh, “Shall I do this?” Like how Imam Bukhari (r) registered and took permission for every hadith, asking Prophet (s) in the dream and seeing Prophet tell him, “This hadith is correct and put it in this chapter.”

So yes, that power is there for the shuyook inheriting from Prophet (s). So here is a simple question: is anyone (among us) seeing that? So how are they claiming (Western style) meditation is correct? Where do we go? They say, “Close your eyes and imagine waves on an ocean and the ocean is bringing reality to you with every drop.”

The shaykh said, “I never did anything without asking him. Do you want me to say more?”

They said, “Yes.”

He said, “For (twenty, thirty or more) years the Prophet (s) was in my heart.” He didn't say specifically how many years, so it means more than the three years. “I never did anything in that period except that I first asked the Prophet (s).”

So in the first section, when he was with the shaykh three years, he was asking them using three Alifs: 1) “A-aqoolu, do you want me to tell you?” 2) For the Prophet (s) he used two Alifs and he said, “I don't do anything except I asked the Prophet (s) what to do.”

Are we in that position? Then how can we claim to teach meditation? Yes, we are teaching meditation in a worldly style but not in the heavenly style, which is the Islamic way.

And then he said, “Do you want me to say more?”

They said, "Say!" but he kept quiet, and the people insisted, “Yaa Sayyidee! We want to know, you are teaching us!”

He said, “No, don't ask as I will humiliate you. It is not good for you to know as it will show you your true level.”

They insisted, “No, tell us!” and he did not. The second day they insisted and he didn't answer, and then the third day they asked, “Please tell us what happened after seeing your shaykh for three years and then after many years of seeing the Prophet (s).”

He said, “Then I reached the first step in Maqaam al-Ihsaan.”

Today many people think they have passed Maqaam al-Ihsaan! They are meditating with the shaykh, but it comes after (that connection). So first, he was able to be with his shaykh in every moment in his physical life and many years with Prophet (s), until Allah (swt) began to open to him to the first step in Maqaam al-Ihsaan.

So why did he mention to them about Maqaam al-Ihsaan? To tell them, “You have not yet completed your requirement in Shari`ah, which is to learn from a guide.” He said, “First I learned Shari`ah (the Five Pillars) correctly from my guide, and then I saw my him and connected to him in my heart for three years. When I completed my imaan (the Six Pillars), then I saw Prophet (s) in my heart for many years, and when I completed that they took me to Maqaam al-Ihsaan, and I was surprised it came afterwards.”

Did any one of you reach Maqaam al-Ihsaan yet or see the presence of the Prophet (s) in your heart, or see the presence of your shaykh in your heart and ask him what you need to do every day, and get the answer coming to you? So how can you claim that you can do meditation?

So he said, “Be ashamed of yourselves that you asked me this question! Get your shaykh in your heart first and get your answer; you must make sure that the answer is coming!”

And some people completely avoid Mawlana Shaykh Nazim (q) and say, “We are with Grandshaykh `AbdAllah (q), getting inspiration from him and he tells us, ‘do this and this.’” Shame on them! Who are they to say that? Who is Mawlana Shaykh Nazim (q)? For us he is Grandshaykh `AbdAllah al-Fa'iz ad-Daghestani (q)! And who is Grandshaykh `AbdAllah al-Fa'iz ad-Daghestani (q)? He is Shaykh Sharafuddin (q), and similarly, (each of our Forty Shuyookh) all the way back to Sayyidina Abu Bakr as-Siddiq (r) and Sayyidina `Ali (r)!

May Allah forgive us and bless us and guide us in the right direction and then we will be saved. If we are in the wrong direction, I won’t say that you are not saved, but you will keep struggling and nothing will benefit you, (and you will only get) plastic fruit and plastic explanations that have no background. You have beautiful trees in homes or offices that are made of plastic and they look genuine but are not.

For those who want to reach (high levels), don't be plastic trees or plastic fruit! Those who are given permission by Mawlana Shaykh Nazim (q), teach your people how to understand Islam, Shari`ah and the right way. I am speaking to all young men and women who come for dhikrullah in Western countries, or in the Far East to be careful of what knowledge you take from those who claim to teach. Don't be influenced by their charisma and those who are giving Halloween masks to wear and they make you feel great with a big mask that is only temporary and it will go. You need the real “musk” that will never disappear from you, the (beautiful) musk of Islam!

Bi hurmati 'l-habeeb, bi hurmati 'l-Fatihah.

http://www.sufilive.com/Correcting_Some_Misunderstandings_About_Meditation_in_Islam-4699.html