[Suhbah in progress.]
Sayyidina Abu Yazid al-Bistami (q) came out, opened the door and said, “O my son, where are your brothers?”
“Don't ask me, my concern is you, not them. I have to be at your orders, I cannot let you down, you said Prophet (s) sent to perfect our character.”
The mind mostly thinks ill of people. That is how we look at something, we think bad of anyone. We look at the one percent that are negative, not the ninety-nine percent that are good; however, Naqshbandi shaykhs begin to fix you, to have love and respect for others. That is the constitution of Tariqah: how much you love and respect the shaykh!
We say we love the shaykh, but really we love ourselves! Don't look at others’ faults, be like a playful, innocent child who does not judge: if something is bad or good, he is happy. Awliya like their followers to be like that mureed who doesn't care for anything, who doesn’t hear anything bad nor has anything negative in his mind.
Sayyidina Abu Yazid al-Bistami (q) looked at that mureed and said, “Where are your brothers?”
He said, “Don't ask me! I gave you my heart and my hand, and accepted baya` with you; my heart, myself and everything within me I sold you a long time ago. Don't ask me, ‘Where are your friends,’ I am not interested in anyone but you, not my friends, not my brothers and sisters, I only care for you.”
Sayyidina Abu Yazid (q) said, “If you care for me, what did you do for me?”
He said, “I know for sure what you need and I brought it.”
Sayyidina Abu Yazid (q) asked, “What did you bring?”
He said, “I brought a towel, water and soap.”
Sayyidina Abu Yazid al-Bistami (q) said, “You are the best among them. In both good and bad situations, you think well of your shaykh.”
الَّذِينَ يُنفِقُونَ فِي السَّرَّاء وَالضَّرَّاء وَالْكَاظِمِينَ الْغَيْظَ وَالْعَافِينَ عَنِ النَّاسِ وَاللّهُ يُحِبُّ الْمُحْسِنِينَ
…Those who spend (freely), whether in prosperity or adversity, those who restrain anger and pardon (all) men, for Allah loves those who do good. (Surat Aali-`Imraan, 3:134)
The mureed said, “I am looking at you with what you taught me, and I surrender, so don't ask me where they are. I am not interested in anything in dunya but you.”
Sayyidina Abu Yazid al-Bistami (q) told him, “Come inside the house.” In the house, a covered lady and two men were sitting, and he said, “I want to introduce you. These are my brothers and this lady is my sister. You are one of us now: what I get (of spiritual wisdom), you will get. Don't ask me about dunya, only ask me about Akhirah. This is my sister, my brothers are my two witnesses, and I am I am wedding my sister to you as a gift. You will both be happy.”
Immediately, a light came to the heart of that khalifah, Shaykh al-Islam, that wasn’t like the first night when they made sajda. What Sayyidina Abu Yazid al-Bistami (q) opened to him cannot be described. Because he consistently thought well of his shaykh, Sayyidina Abu Yazid al-Bistami (q) granted him the Five Levels of the Heart: Qalb, Sirr, Sirr as-Sirr, Khafaa, and Akhfa; as well as the Six Powers of the Heart: Haqiqat al-Jazba, Haqiqat al-Fayd, Haqiqat at-Tawajjuh, Haqiqat at-Tawassul, Haqiqat at-Tayy, Haqiqat al-Irshaad.
Although the mureed was Shaykh al-Islam (high in traditional knowledge), Sayyidina Abu Yazid al-Bistami (q) dressed him with those powers and he sent him to give dawah. Where did he have to go? Sayyidina Abu Yazid (q) had finished his turn, he had made himself a dump to people to test people and clean them, and said, “Now they are persecuting me because I told them to make sajda to me.” He was following in the footsteps of Sayyidina Adam (a), when Allah ordered angels to make sajda to him because he had the Light of Prophet (s). The shaykh was ordered to give the Five Levels and Six Powers to his heart.
For that, the mureed decided to go to the ocean and take responsibility, to love and completely dedicate his life to his shaykh, and his love of shaykh and Awliya grew stronger, and he became Dhu ‘l-Janahayn of Shari`ah and Tariqah.
He said, “I am leaving this village,” as they considered him to be a hypocrite, and he boarded a large boat with fifty to sixty passengers. A strong wind suddenly moved the boat left and right, and it was about to sink. People of that time were scared to sail as so many vessels sank.
Remember in Malaysia, when the airplane vanished in the ocean, then some time later another plane also went into ocean? Had one of the passengers recited, “Bismillah dhalika taqdeer al-Azeez,” Allah would have sent the two angels that carried Sayyidina Yunus (a), who was one of the musabiheen, and the whole ship would have gone up (when the ship crashed and he was, swallowed by the whale), but Awliyaullah did not hear that recitation from anyone or they would have rescued the boat.
That is why Grandshaykh (q), may Allah bless his soul, ordered us whenever we travel by train or boat, to recite, “Bismillahi 'r-Rahmani 'r-Raheem ’l-`Azeezu ’l-`Aleem,” and then if the airplane crashes you will not be harmed. He also said if there is a war in any country and the people recite this, the war will stop. But what to teach people today? They follow so many teachers in so many countries, but it is infinitely better to be with one who is connected!
So that boat moved right and left, and Sayyidina Abu Yazid (q) recited, “Bismillahi 'r-Rahmani 'r-Raheem dhalika taqdeeru ’l-`Azeezu ’l-`Aleem!” He knew the boat wouldn’t sink, but the people didn't know, and they said, “Let’s write the names of everyone onboard on pieces of paper, toss them in the air and choose one, then as a sacrifice we will throw in the ocean whoever’s name is written on it.” That was the prevailing superstition of the time, that problems at sea occurred because someone on the boat had bad character, so they threw him in the water.
Sayyidina Abu Yazid (q) thought, “They are going to kill an innocent person when really this storm is due to my actions in those two villages.” So he went to the captain and said, “I am the sinner, throw me in.”
They chained his legs and threw him in the ocean. When he sank he said, “Yaa Rabbee, I give an oath that I will not struggle, I will keep going lower and lower until You finish me. When I began to descend, I heard voices making tasbeeh, ‘Huuw, Huuw, Huuw,’ and I will not stop until I reach them, even if I must sink in all seven of the world's oceans!”
He sank very fast, and that voice grew stronger. He looked in his heart with the power Allah gave to him and found a group sitting with Shah Naqshband (q). Every time they said “Huuw” a new light and new knowledge came to their hearts and they were in hadrah in the presence of Sayyidina Shah Naqshband (q). That was through the power of the soul.
Awliya know Shah Naqshband (q) came after Bayazid, and for them there is no past, present and future. Sayyidina Bayazid (q) was worried Shah Naqshband will ask, “Why are you trespassing my territory?” All this he suffered in order to attack his ego, to clear the first, second, and third injections! Awliya look after their followers not by giving them relaxation: rather, they keep testing, giving them obstacles to pass. If you see someone constantly tested, that one is a Wali. When despite the tests they continue to attend the shaykh’s majlis, that is a reminder that Prophet (s) was tested all his life, as he (s) said, “Of all the prophets, I am the most abused and tortured.”
Prophet (s) was the one most tormented and harmed by his Family, to the extent that even today people still speak about it! Awliyaullah know when someone is tested one after one, one after one, that he is near to reaching his Trust. That does not happen by them giving you halwa, sweets. You eat sweets after the meal, not before, because you replace any sour taste by enjoying sweets, is it not?
May Allah make us enjoy sweetness. These tests raise us through our love for Prophet (s) to follow his footsteps. That is why such circles are like heavenly paradises, as Prophet (s) mentioned:
قال رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم: إذا مررتم برياض الجنة فارتعوا. قالو وما رياض الجنة؟ قال "حلق الذكر"
Ibn `Umar reported that the Prophet (s) said, "When you pass by the Gardens of Paradise, avail yourselves of them." The Companions asked, "What are the Gardens of Paradise, O Messenger of Allah?" He replied, "The circles of dhikr.” (Tirmidhi)
This circle of dhikr is a Garden of Paradise that is enough for us from beginning to end. This is the core of what all Awliya are doing to expel poisons you dwell in and give you the maximum you can carry of Allahu nooru ‘s-samaawaati wa ‘l-ard!
اللَّهُ نُورُ السَّمَاوَاتِ وَالْأَرْضِ مَثَلُ نُورِهِ كَمِشْكَاةٍ فِيهَا مِصْبَاحٌ
Allah is the Light of the Heavens and Earth. The parable of His Light is as if there were a niche and within it a lamp. (Surat an-Noor, 24:35)
Wa min Allahi ‘t-tawfeeq bi hurmati 'l-Fatihah.
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