Fajr Suhbah at Somali Masjid
Allahumma salli `ala Sayyidina Muhammadin wa `alaa aalihi wa sahbihi ajma`een. Dastoor yaa Sayyidee, yaa Sultan al-Awliya. Dastoor, yaa Sayyidee Shaykh Nazim.
Our teacher read a very important Hadith to us, and said if this Hadith is understood by human beings all over the world, all the difficulties will go away and the world will be Jannah, Paradise! Prophet (s) said that when darkness enters, when Maghrib comes, the Shayaateen, devils spread everywhere and at that time you have to keep your children and yourself indoors.
قَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم " إِذَا كَانَ جُنْحُ اللَّيْلِ ـ أَوْ أَمْسَيْتُمْ ـ فَكُفُّوا صِبْيَانَكُمْ، فَإِنَّ الشَّيَاطِينَ تَنْتَشِرُ حِينَئِذٍ، فَإِذَا ذَهَبَ سَاعَةٌ مِنَ اللَّيْلِ فَحُلُّوهُمْ، وَأَغْلِقُوا الأَبْوَابَ، وَاذْكُرُوا اسْمَ اللَّهِ، فَإِنَّ الشَّيْطَانَ لاَ يَفْتَحُ بَابًا مُغْلَقًا ". قَالَ وَأَخْبَرَنِي عَمْرُو بْنُ دِينَارٍ سَمِعَ جَابِرَ بْنَ عَبْدِ اللَّهِ نَحْوَ مَا أَخْبَرَنِي عَطَاءٌ وَلَمْ يَذْكُرْ " وَاذْكُرُوا اسْمَ اللَّهِ ".
When the night falls (evening), keep your children close to you for the devils spread out at that time, but when an hour of the night elapses, you can let them free. Close the doors and mention the Name of Allah, for Satan does not open a closed door.(Bukhari)
Prophet (s) has advised and recommended that you keep your children in your homes, especially at Maghrib, because when the darkness is settling the Shaytaans are coming out and whisper to young ones and to us what to do next and that’s when nightlife starts. I don’t have to mention too much about nightlife. In cities, people wait for night so they can start their nightlife activities, but Sayyidina Muhammad (s) said in his Hadith, “Keep yourselves and your children at home.” Go to the masjid, do your Maghrib prayer, do your `Isha prayer, and then come back home and sleep.
He also said animals sleep when darkness comes, but near sunrise, Fajr, when the light begins to appear, they wake up and shepherds take their sheep out or their pens to graze. Animals understand the darkness and heaviness of night will crush, so they sleep, then before Fajr they start to wake up and kick, and when Fajr comes you see them going out. At dawn they are awake, they don’t sleep; if you try to make them sleep at dawn they won’t, but at night they all sleep. Prophet (s) said this is the example of our nafs. Each one of us has an animal inside us, our ego, which Allah (swt) created so we can ride it. Prophet (s) said, “Your ego is your ride.”
Our Master said when darkness comes and Shaytaan comes to each of us with his assistants--our ego, desires, the nafs--he tells the nafs, “Now it’s time to go out for the nightlife, and, “You imprison that ego at home or in the House of Allah (swt) by praying Maghrib and `Isha prayers and put your ego to sleep, do not allow it to go out.” The ego falls asleep until Fajr time and that is why it is Sunnah to sleep after `Isha and wake up to pray after midnight or in the last quarter of the night when darkness is fading and daylight begins to appear.
Mawlana Shaykh Nazim (q) said instead of going out at night, go out at sunrise and when you look at that sun rising it is fresh and young, strong, and the higher it goes the stronger it gets, which he said is a new sun and a new day. You let that sunlight shine on your body and from it you feel energy and strength, but as the sun wanes you see its light weakening. You can stare at the sun when it is going down as slowly, slowly it loses it’s power, but when it rises up it’s strong. He said when you see the sun rising, ask Allah (swt) for thawb al-aafiya, the libaas of aafiya, cure from diseases.
The ego is our animal and when the night comes, like farm and wild animals, they go to sleep. You have to allow your ego to sleep and don’t let it loose outside. Then before Fajr when the farm animals start to wake up, wake your animal up with tahoor, tahara and wudu, then begin your tawajjuh (focus), direct yourself to your Lord and take it to that Light coming through. These are all signs that we are sometimes not aware of. Why is there a night and a day? Night is darkness and daytime is Light. Allah (swt) is saying, "I want to get you out of the darkness into the Light."
اللّهُ وَلِيُّ الَّذِينَ آمَنُواْ يُخْرِجُهُم مِّنَ الظُّلُمَاتِ إِلَى النُّوُرِ وَالَّذِينَ كَفَرُواْ أَوْلِيَآؤُهُمُ الطَّاغُوتُ يُخْرِجُونَهُم مِّنَ النُّورِ إِلَى الظُّلُمَاتِ أُوْلَـئِكَ أَصْحَابُ النَّارِ هُمْ فِيهَا خَالِدُونَ
Allah is The Protector of those who have faith: from the depths of darkness He will lead them forth into Light. Of those who reject faith are the evil ones: from light they will lead them forth into the depths of darkness. They will be companions of the Fire, to dwell therein (forever). (Surat al-Baqara, 2:257)
Allah is The Friend, The Protector and The Supporter of Believers. He tries to take them out from darkness into the Light. The friends of unbelievers or those that do not recognize Allah’s Favors are at-taaghoot, anything other than Allah (swt); they are evil and take them from Light into darkness.
Observe human beings: who is up when it’s dark waiting for the Light? Allah (swt) says, “I am The Friend of the Believers and I take them out from the darkness into the Light.” So, the mu'min is praying in the darkness and waiting for the Light to come at Fajr. Who are those waiting for the day to go away and the darkness to come, to begin their nightlife? Which ones are we with, those in darkness waiting for the Light to come or those in the Light waiting for darkness to come? Do you wait for Fajr or do you wait for evening?
When you are young, most often you are waiting for night to come to dress up, put on our fancy clothes and shoes, men and women; you hear some people’s shoes make a sound tak tak tak, you think a woman is coming, but you look back and see a man! [Laughter.] Especially in hospitals, doctors have big, fancy, pointy black shoes, not only the women but men also, which they wear out at night; that tak tak tak means, “I am coming, hear my footsteps, I am behind you!”
All of us have been through that, none of us are exempt, so we cannot claim we are pure, as we are not, we are just showing ourselves. Our teacher said, “I did not reach purity, I am not saying I am pure and you are not.” No, we are all in the same boat of those who waited for the evening to come and wanted the Light to go away. When people date, they wait for the sunlight to fade and darkness to settle in because they have something to do at night. Let us not be from those people, let us be from those who put themselves to rest at night, as Allah (swt) said:
وَجَعَلْنَا نَوْمَكُمْ سُبَاتًا
And We made your sleep to be rest (to you). (Surat an-Naba, 78:9)
“We have made the night, sleep, the be a rest removed from work.” That means don’t work anymore, leave that alone and go to bed, put your ego to sleep until Fajr.
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