[Mawlana distributes candies]

Audhu billah min ash-shaytan ir-rajeem

Bismillahi 'r-Rahmani 'r-Raheem

Nawaytu'l-arba`een, nawaytu'l-`itikaaf, nawaytu'l-khalwah, nawaytu'l-riyaada, nawaytu's-salook, nawaytu'l-`uzlah lillahi ta`ala fee hadha'l-masjid

Ati` Allah wa ati` ar-rasula wa uli 'l-amri minkum

Life is short. Compared to eternal life, life is zero.

Compared to eternal life, this life is zero.  In arithmetic we say the smallest that can be counted is epsilon, which means nothing, no value. It is less than one, millions of times, whatever figure you can put in your mind. And akhira is like something we can say in math, infinity. It has no end. And since this life is short, whatever you do, is a benefit and a gain that we can have and we can acquire to rescue us in the hereafter.

This house, the owner of this house, left. Shaykh Ghowth, may Allah bless his soul, left and went. But he left behind him a spirituality, a figure that cannot be forgotten. And because we are doing dhikr tonight in this place in his place under his name, something special happened, which occasionally happens rarely. Tonight was, as soon as we began, this whole room was empty – you cannot see any more people. It was full of awliyaullah. It was full of spiritual beings and between them one very tall, came and sat here in this place - it was empty. He came and was sitting.

Adab is not to ask who is that? But awliyaullah they know [who he is].

He sat and when he sat, there was immediately a huge table was been put which has no beginning and it has no end. And it was full of lamps but like eggs, so big. And put on a plate that cannot be described. And that egg and that lamp were glowing and giving purple and blue light. And as you are looking at this table that has no beginning and no end, there were lights filling these tables and these lights were glowing and glowing and glowing. And then there was coming from this side, people, awliyaullah with long beards and turbans, passing and looking and then going. This whole crowd was taken by Mawlana Shaykh and presented to the Prophet (s). So all those doing dhikr tonight and all those are Mawlana Shaykh Nazim's students were taken to the presence of the Prophet of Allah (s). That happened tonight.

It means there is, there was a starter for that. You know when you want to start a car, you need a starter. You need to plug the key or plug the wire to start the car. To give a spark then the engine will move. There was a starter for that, and that starter was the one who gave me a hard time today, Shaykh Izzat, who was asking some questions that were very high standard questions that made that engine to run. That is because when someone is asking, demanding, they give. If people are not interested why do they have to give? They leave them as they are and they give them spiritually but they don't open for them to see or to hear.

So that starter, or if we call it in chemistry, a catalyst, that stirs up the equation in order to give a product, his questions were like hydrogen on oxygen. Because as you know hydrogen is a gas and oxygen is a gas. And when hydrogen and oxygen combine together what happens? It forms water. And what does water mean?

وَجَعَلْنَا مِنَ الْمَاء كُلَّ شَيْءٍ حَيٍّ

Wa ja`alna min al-ma'I kulli shayin hayy – and We created from water every living thing. Al-Anbiya [21:30]

So without water nothing lives. So the combination of hydrogen with a combination of oxygen will quickly unite and hydrogen is a destructive gas, makes hydrogen bomb, it is hugely destructive if you know how to work with hydrogen then it become a very powerful combination with any other gas. So hydrogen with oxygen gives water.

So your question with the answer they sent, made that water that divinely holy water that made us to swim in the ocean of the manifestation of the undescribable rainbow of Names and Attributes.

Rainbow is made of how many colors? How many colors you can count, the main colors? They are seven. Rainbow of how many colors is made? When you look at a rainbow you see the red, you see the blue, you see the green, you see the yellow. You have seen the rainbow? But in reality when you look at it you see colors and you can count them. But not everything that your eyes are seeing is the reality. Human being eyes are limited. They cannot see, that is why when we ask about heavenly knowledge, Divine Knowledge, eyes are limited to understand. In the eyes cannot see except a rainbow and rarely that you can see a rainbow. It is not everything that we see a rainbow. If we can see and we cannot different these colors we see six, seven colors, we are mistaken. Because if you take a magnifier and take the red color, if you take red color now, and magnify it you see it consists of infinite number of red color. It is too many reds that you cannot describe. You cannot describe to people the red colors. When you say "red" everyone understands and when you say "pink" everyone understands. But the red is … you see the sun you think you see yellow. You know a prism, bring a prism. You know a prism. [like a triangle] they know. Made from different kind of glass, put it in sunray and what do you see? Different colors. That means: "O human beings. Allah is giving us time in this dunya. Not everything that you don't accept, you don't want to accept except through your eyes, you cannot see. Reality is we cannot see, we are blind. All of us. Everyone of us, it depends on our levels.

These huge indescribable oceans of Beautiful Names and Attributes that have no beginning and no end, that in every moment like a fountain, the Essence is continuously evolving more and more and creating more and more descriptions that awliyaullah are stunned. Muta`ajibeen, stunned, astonished at these knowledges that come and how these knowledges come? This is only information that is limited to awliyaullah from Beautiful Names and Attributes, that they are limitless they cannot count them. They are stunned because you cannot understand, as when you say "Allahu Akbar!" When you say "Akbar," it means what? Great. Great, greatest, greater. Whatever you think greater is, Allah is Greater. If you at this moment perceive that Allah is such and such, and at the next moment Allah shows He is more and the next moment he shows he is more, so there is no limit to His Greatness.

So if you want to describe His Greatness awliyaullah say that "In every moment Allah is creating a creation and judging another creation. And not only is He creating a new creation and judging another but He is creating and judging endless numbers of creations. And each creation He is creating is not one creation but it is infinite creations. And that judging and creating cannot stop."

That is why you stand the equation today and they said, "you speak. And what happened happened in this association tonight." Then the Essence, Allah swt… Allah is the Name that you can…You know about Him, He gave you that Name to know about Him. And the description about that Encompassing Name, the Name that encompasses all these Beautiful Names and Attributes, to describe Himself, He gave the Attributes ar-Rahman ar-Raheem al-Mumin al-Muhaymin, giving you descriptions of that Name that consists of all of them. When Allah swt, the Essence, that Name it describes that Essence.  But the Essence you cannot have a name for it. It is Huwa. Qul ya Muhammad: Huwa. Huwa, the Absolute Unknown, He is Unique, He is Allah and He is Ahada - Unique with no partner. That means here there is three Names, Huwa, the unknown so how do you want to know the Divine Presence. Allah, how do want to know Allah when Allah has an infinite number of Beautiful Names and Attributes. Ahad - He has no partner. How you want to know the one without partner. Allahu as-Samad -  "Say He is the one who does not depend on anyone." And everything depends on Him. So in that one verse it is don't waste your time to try to find out. Believer in the unseen. Al-imanu bil-ghayb.

The Prophet (s) one time, he saw the Sahaba and he said to them, "what are you meditating?" he said, "what are you doing?" they said," we are meditating on Allah swt" he said, "don't do that meditate on His creation, meditate on the universe, meditate on the skies and heavens. Meditate on something you can understand."

Don't meditate on the One who created meditation. Impossible. Because He is building them up to the level that they can meditate on Allah. When the permission comes. But now they can meditate on Sayyidina Muhammad (s). That is why He said:        

وَمَا أَرْسَلْنَا مِن رَّسُولٍ إِلاَّ لِيُطَاعَ بِإِذْنِ اللّهِ وَلَوْ أَنَّهُمْ إِذ ظَّلَمُواْ أَنفُسَهُمْ جَآؤُوكَ فَاسْتَغْفَرُواْ اللّهَ وَاسْتَغْفَرَ لَهُمُ الرَّسُولُ لَوَجَدُواْ اللّهَ تَوَّابًا رَّحِيمًا

Wa law annahum idh dhalamoo anfusahum ja’ooka fa ’staghfarullaha wa ’staghfara lahumu ar-rasoolu la-wajadullaha tawwaaban raheema

We sent not an apostle, but to be obeyed, in accordance with the will of Allah. If they had only, when they were unjust to themselves, come unto thee and asked Allah's forgiveness, and the Messenger had asked forgiveness for them, they would have found Allah indeed Oft-returning, Most Merciful. An-Nisa [4:64]

 "When they are oppressors to themselves they come to you, Ya Muhammad!"  Not they come to Allah. "And they ask forgiveness in your presence." It means the door to Him is Rasulullah.

So our duty is to connect to him. So since we cannot connect with him, then we need a plug, we need a connection. Allah has authorized the Prophet to have helpers. The awliyaullah to connect their followers to the Prophet (s).  The awliyaullah connect you to the Prophet (s). So you connect to them and they connect you to Prophet (s). That is how it works.

And you have to ask forgiveness on their behalf. That is because if you, Ya Muhammad, don't certify then it is not accepted. If your worship is not wrapped with salawaat to be certified, then your paper your worship, it will not go. Can you go to government and get your paper to go? No, it must be stamped and signed.

So awliyaullah have to go to the Prophet (s) to present their follower to get signature of the Prophet (s), then it is ok.

So in every moment, when the Essence, when the Essence wills something. You know will? It is correct English I am saying? When the Essence Wills something to come, the Beautiful Names and Attributes al-Khaliq and al-`Alim come together. Al-`Alim is the Name that puts the blueprint, the Knower puts the blueprint of the name that comes from the Essence. The essence is in Arabic Dhaat al-buht - the One that cannot be described by anything. The Beautiful Names and Attributes describe the Name "Allah" but they don't describe the Essence.

So when these two Names come out, the name al-`Alim gives the Plan and the name al-Khaliq creates it.

So that is constantly at work and … so how can we put our finger and speak about something that goes beyond. That is oceans that you will drown in it. Ibn `Arabi drowned in it. Abayazid al-Bistami drowned in it. Bayazid said what? He said, "My kingdom is bigger than Your kingdom." He went into that ocean. The people came against him, "Why are you saying this?" He said, "Ya Rabbee, my kingdom is greater than Your kingdom." He is not speaking to the Essence. He is speaking to the Name that encompasses all the Beautiful Names and Attributes.

They made a fatwa to kill him. The awliyaullah explained it later. So how many awliyaullah were killed because they revealed something. When you reveal secrets you crossed the limits. You go the red light. When you go red light what happens? They confiscate your license. It is very dangerous. It is very dangerous to cross the limits - this is adab, this is discipline. So come forward, all the way.

You stay wherever. Khaleek. You cannot cross the limit. It is dangerous. So we try to keep on the border. Why to make one false step, what happens? You go into that rimaal al-mutharrika - Moving sand, quicksand. Why to go into quicksand? No, keep inside. Keep your distance don't go too much. So that, these two Names, immediately act on what the Essence's Will is. And that creation comes. So you say then, "O, where are these creations?" man kayyaf al-kayf, la yus'al `anhu kayf.

Whoever asks how about the how, you cannot ask him "how?" Who made the how to be how, you cannot ask him how?

It is impossible. So one time Khidr wants to ask. He asked Jibreel , "Ya Jibreel, since when did Allah create Adam?" Look Khidr who made Sayyidina Musa  stunned with his knowledge - as Allah wanted it is like that. But Sayyidina Musa is from the five biggest prophets. And what Allah gave Sayyidina Khidr Allah didn't give Sayyidina Musa and what Allah gave Sayyidina Musa he didn't give to Sayyidina Khidr .

And Khidr  was stunned to ask this question to Sayyidina Jibreel. "Ya Jibreel, since when Allah created Adam?" He looked at him, Jibreel  and said to him, "Which Adam?" he said, "O is there an Adam other than our Adam?" He said, "Of course." He said, "Where is he?" He said, "You are with the last one, Allah created 124000 Adams with all the human races that came with them. They had a beginning and an end, and a judgment and they were all judged. You are the last one you know."

So you have Adam's Peak here in Sri Lanka. The footstep of which Adam is here? The last one. The last of 124,000 landed on earth. What was earth? Look all the stars other than earth, what are they? They are sending a spaceship there, what are they finding? The planets, can you live on these planets? No, it is empty. Rocks but no trees.  It is no nature. Why this one we have on earth has everything? We know. Not too much, a little bit.

No, no, we don't know. Really we don't know. I am joking, but a little bit we have to think through  our hearts, not through our minds. Allah how did He describe Paradises?  In Holy Qur'an. Rivers flowing, fruit trees, beautiful gardens, birds everywhere, fish everywhere, animals everywhere and very beautiful. And he increased on that there will be rivers of milk and rivers of wine. Is it not? Everything that you can take pleasure Allah described in Holy Qur'an.

Look here what do you see above mens' heads or women's heads? It is empty space. There are people sitting there but there is empty. In Paradise, it is not empty anywhere. Every smallest place that Allah gives to you any place you look it gives you pleasure. And not one pleasure will be repeated - every one is a different pleasure. All this Allah promised to give to human beings.

From here we take pleasure from looking at these glasses or these lamps or this man who is standing in his nice turban named Ishaq. But in Paradise everything will take you to see a pleasurely desires in the love of what Allah has given you in Paradise. And if you look at the same one, another time, the first glance gives you one pleasure and the second glance gives you a new pleasure. And from one object to another object is a new pleasure; it is completely beyond description. And Allah described Paradise like that and there is more that cannot be described. Who was living there? Adam . Allah gave him all these Paradises, He said, "All this is for you I am granting for you. But only this one don't come near it." Small tree. Might be smaller than this xx.

To compare. But no, he went to that tree to show us how much we are tyrant against ourselves. Iblees came to him and whispered in his ear. He went to that tree.

So where he was living with his wife? In Paradise. And where he was stepping? When he came down? Where was he putting his foot in Paradise when he was walking? In Paradise. So his feet were touching paradise. Anything touches paradise becomes paradise. So when Allah ordered him to come to this earth, what happened? The whole earth became "paradise" – waters, trees. So that is why Adam's Peak, in Ceylon, when his feet touched earth, then it became like Paradise. It is a reflection of what he was seeing in Paradise. This is an image, a copy. You were telling me when you make a copy of a picture of a photo in a book make it nice. So this is a copy of the life we have in Paradise, but it is not a very very accurate copy because you cannot compare earth to Paradise. But today everyone wants to make a Paradise for himself.

We were yesterday in a palace. You were part of the decoration or so on, but this one compared to some homes on earth might be a shack to someone else. That home we were in yesterday, might be a shack to someone who is living somewhere who built something bigger than that. That means there are no limits.

So when Adam came Allah reflected to him an image of the place he came from. Reflected to him through the touching of his feet [on earth], reflected to him to be a Paradise.

Why did the Prophet (s) say about rawdat ash-sharif:

ما رواه الشيخان، عن أبي هريرة (رضي الله عنه) أن رسول الله (صلى الله عليه وسلم) قال: "ما بين بيتي ومنبري روضة من رياض الجنة، ومنبري على حوضي".

"maa bayna baytee wa minbaree rawdatan min riyaadal-jannah… - what is between my house and pulpit is a garden from the gardens of Paradise…" [Bukhari and Muslim]

So the Prophet (s) being there turned it into a piece of Paradise. So people rush to pray there because they are praying really in Paradise.

So when Adam touched earth, the light of the Prophet (s) in Adam's forehead, turned everything beautiful, from the beauty of the Prophet (s).

So entering in these oceans and describing them is nice. But not every moment you throw these. You have to keep limits as much as you can. Until you see someone who really needs. Then you throw something.

So we will not be too long. What is the first letter of the Arabic alphabet? Alif. What is the last letter? Ya. So between alif and ya falls all knowledge. Every knowledge around the earth falls between these two letters: alif and ya. It means every letter in the alphabet is combined with other letter to form a language or from a …

So you cannot exceed the limit and we leave that to tomorrow.

Wa min Allah at-tawfeeq bi-hurmati 'l-Fatiha