Anna Catherina Islamic Complex (ACIC)
(Suhbah starts @ 1:10:50)
As-Salaam `alaykum wa rahmatullahi wa barakaatuh.
A`oodhu billahi min ash-Shaytani 'r-rajeem. Bismillahi 'r-Rahmani 'r-Raheem. Alhamdulillahi rabbi ‘l-`alameen wa ‘s-salaat wa ‘s-salam `ala ashrafi ‘l-anbiya wa ‘l-mursaleen.
I am not going to be too long because I think people want to eat, but what comes to my heart and sight I will speak. Excuse me for any mistake because I am a little bit shaky in front of the Minister of Legal Affairs, as any mistake he might put me in prison, so I have to be very careful! And his wife, she’s a lawyer, will defend me! (Laughter.)
We are here tonight for what? Who dragged us here, who dragged me here? I don't know. For ten years Mr. Shaykh Raffaic was bothering me every day, calling, “Come to Trinidad, come to Trinidad, come to Trinidad,” and I was postponing it, until one day he spoke to my wife. My wife answered the phone and said, “Yes, we are coming.” And since she is my shaykh’s daughter I cannot say “no”, so I said, “Okay, we’ll go,” but I didn't know that there are such sincere people like you, very educated and very influential people, and people from every race coming together in a peaceful country; there might be a few money problems, but that is everywhere.
Prophet (s) had taught us, because when you want to say something and you don’t know what to say you are not preparing and usually I do not prepare, except when Prince Charles invited me to speak at his academy on the topic of good and evil, then I prepared a paper of fifty pages, not ten pages, fifty. And when I went and as I was sitting with them, something changed my mind about what to speak on so I put aside the paper and spoke on the topic of modernity. I didn’t know that is the most preferred subject of Prince Charles. He was not there, but his representative was there and after the talk I left and went home. A month later, I received a phone call from Prince Charles’ representative saying, “Can you provide us a video of the event?” and we provided it as we had made one, then after Prince Charles heard the tape he invited me to meet him at Windsor Palace and he asked me to prepare a conference for him on Sufi music and to introduce him to different local masaajid representatives. You see how things move without you knowing about it, without realizing that there is something behind it!
That’s why Prophet (s) says you always have to think:
تفكر ساعة خير من عبادة سبعين سنة
Tafakkarru sa`atin khayrun min `ibaadati saba`eena sannah.
Tocontemplate or meditate for one hour is better than seventy years of worship.
In one narration “khayrun min `ibaadati sannah”, in another, “saba`eena sannah”. It means to reflect for one hour you will be rewarded more than you will be rewarded if you were doing good for 70 years, because when you think you understand.
It is said from one famous Muslim, a Sufi scholar, Isma`oo wa aa`oo faidhaa awaytum fantafi`u, “Listen and comprehend, because when you understand you will get benefit.” Such meetings are important to understand. It is not a medical conference and not a legal conference, but it is a simple meeting of people and we are all the same before our Lord, as the Prophet (s) said:
لافرق بين عربي ولا اعجمي الا بالتقوى
Laa farqa bayna `arabiyy wa laa `ajamiyy illa bi ’t-taqwa.
There is no difference between Arabs and non-Arabs (one race and another) except in piety.
“There is no difference between anyone except by righteousness,” so when we comprehend then we understand what Islam is. What is the reality of Islam? We speak about Islam and we sing about Islam, people write poetry about Islam, but what is the reality of Islam? What benefit do we get when we say we are Muslim? What is Islam, that beautiful Word that God said in the Qur`an:
إِنَّ الدِّينَ عِندَ اللّهِ الإِسْلاَمُُ
Inna ’d-deena `inda Allaahi al-islaam.
The religion in Allah’s view is Islam (submission to His Will). (Surat Aali-`Imraan, 3:19)
“Verily, the religion before Allah is Islam,” and what is the first thing you do to become Muslims? You say, “Ash-hadu an laa ilaaha illa-Llah wa ash-hadu anna Muhammadan rasoolullah,” the Shahadah. Very easy. Let’s say it: Ash-hadu alla ilaaha illa-Llah wa ash-hadu anna Muhammadan `abduhu wa rasooluh! That, as the Prophet (s) said:
الإسلام يجب ما قبله
Al-islamu yajib maa qablahu.
Islam waives what came before.
That Islam waives everything that went before, so now all our sins have been waived by saying Shahaadah, by saying: Ash-hadu an laa ilaaha illa-Llah wa ash-hadu anna Muhammadan rasoolullah, “I bear witness that Allah is the Creator and Muhammad (s) is His Messenger!” But here is the important issue: everyone is teaching students in their classes in universities about saying Shahadah and we say it in our prayers, “Ash-hadu an laa ilaaha illa-Llah wa ash-hadu anna Muhammadan rasoolullah,” but we are not getting the reality of it. When we say it in the way that we say the Shahadah, we are not giving it its right.
In Arabic, what does “ash-hadu” mean?
(“I testify, I bear witness.”)
“I bear witness,” tayyib. When I say “ash-hadu” what do I witness? I am not seeing anything!
(And it means you must be able to see before you can bear witness.) So I’m not seeing! When all of us say Shahadah we are not seeing. It means our Shahadah is not perfect.
I was giving a lecture in Indonesia and there were 20,000 people and scholars were there and they insisted that I speak, although I was not a (scheduled) speaker, and immediately I said, “Let us speak about Shahadah.” So when I say, “I bear witness,” it means I can testify in court--the District Attorney is here--it means that I saw something. He is here and and if he asks me, “What did you see?” and I say, “I didn’t see anything,” he’ll say, “Go! What are you doing here?” You have to see something!
When we say Shahadah we have to see something! When Prophet (s) says, “Ash-hadu an laa ilaaha illa-Llah,” he is seeing. When the Sahaabah (r) said, “Ash-hadu an laa ilaaha illa-Llah,” they were seeing, and the proof is Sayyidina Bilal (r), when they were torturing him he was saying, “Ahad! Ahad!” He was in Maqam Mushaahadah, he was in the State of Vision. They were torturing him and he was seeing Allah's (swt) Light, he was seeing what Allah will reward him with for his patience and that’s why he was not feeling the pain, he was already anesthetized. That word gives you peace, tranquility! When you say, “Ash-hadu an laa ilaaha illa-Llah,” you are bearing witness that Allah is the Creator and Muhammad is His Messenger (s).
And then iqaamu ‘s-salaat, why Allah (swt) ordered the prayer? Because all Maqaam at-Tawheed, all Islam is within the salaat. When Jibril (a) asked the Prophet (s) about the Pillars of Islam, (the sequence is) Shahadah and then salaat, and when we make salaat, we make Shahadah and we pray and we make siyaam and we pay Zakaat and we make Hajj. So when someone performs his prayer he is including the Five different Pillars of Islam. Do we do that? When we say “Allahu Akbar!” we don’t eat. Some imams, when they pray they recite Surat al-Baqara in Salaat al-Fajr for two hours. I was praying Salaat at-Taraweeh behind Shaykh `Abbas al-Qaari, a very pious, sincere person in Madinah and it was five hours, six juz every day five hours standing on your feet. Here we pray two rak`aat and we want to run away!
When you pray, there is no eating in salaat, you are fasting, no backbiting; your tongue is frozen in the salaat, no more fighting, no more hate, no wrong actions, no more jealousy, no more gossips, no more wrong ideas because you are praying. And wa itaau zakaat, you have to give charity, when you are praying you are giving charity, because you could have used that time to work and make money, so you are giving that sadaqah, saying, “Yaa Rabb! I am doing it for You, I am extending my prayers in voluntary prayers.”
And Hajj, when you say, “Allahu Akbar!” you see Ka`aba in front of you. Can you see it? (No.) No, you see it! Allah will not direct anyone somewhere that he does not see: you see it through your heart, but it is blocked, like they block the Internet, they block computers, they block telephones, they block this and that, Allah blocks you from seeing it, until you deserve to see it, then He will open it for you. But every time you say, “Allahu Akbar!” you have to direct your face toward Ka`aba, finished! Your heart can see.
O Muslims! And so, I will end now? (No!) I am under orders! In this life, Your Excellency, too many things to think about. When Sayyidina Musa (a)...look, he was coming from Yemen back to Egypt to Firawn and passing by a holy valley, and Allah called him:
فَاخْلَعْ نَعْلَيْكَ إِنَّكَ بِالْوَادِ الْمُقَدَّسِ طُوًى
Fakhla` na`layka innaka bi ’l-waadi 'l-muqaddasi toowaa.
Verily I am your Lord! Therefore (in My presence) put off your shoes: you art in the sacred valley Tuwa. (Surah TaHa, 20:12)
Yaa Musa! Ikhla` na`layk innaka bil-waadi al-muqaddasa toowaa. “O Musa! Take off your shoes, you are in the holy valley of Toowaa.” Don’t come with your shoes because you are in a holy place, you are in a holy place! That is adab and respect, when you speak about Prophet (s) and Holy Qur'an to take off your shoes. Take off your shoes when you come to the holy valley! “You are asking too much.”
قَالَ رَبِّ أَرِنِي أَنظُرْ إِلَيْكَ قَالَ لَن تَرَانِي وَلَـكِنِ انظُرْ إِلَى الْجَبَلِ فَإِنِ اسْتَقَرَّ مَكَانَهُ فَسَوْفَ تَرَانِي فَلَمَّا تَجَلَّى رَبُّهُ لِلْجَبَلِ جَعَلَهُ دَكًّا وَخَرَّ موسَى صَعِقًا
He said, "O my Lord! Show Yourself to me, that I may look upon You." Allah said, "By no means can you see Me (directly), but look upon the mountain; if it abides in its place, then you shall see Me." When his Lord manifested His glory on the mount, He made it as dust, and Moses fell down in a swoon. (Surat al-`Araaf, 7:143)
All his mind was focused on, Yaa Rabbee arinee anzhur ilayk, “O my Lord, let me see You!” and Allah ordered him first to remove his shoes, “Then come to Me.” When he took off his shoes and said again, Yaa Rabbee arinee anzhur ilayk! Qaala lan taraanee, “You cannot see Me, but look at the mountain,” wa laakin unzhur ila ’l-jabali, fa in istaqarrra makaanuhu fa-sawfa taraanee. “If the mountain stays where it is, you can see Me and without that you cannot see Me.” And Allah sent the Manifestation of His Beautiful Names and Attributes and the mountain shattered like powder wa khara Moosa saa'iqan, and Musa (a) fainted.
Why did Allah say to him, “Take off your shoes”? For the Prophet (s), He did not say, “Take off your shoes.” The Prophet (s) reached Qaaba Qawsayni aw Adna and he was never asked to take off his shoes, Sayyidina Musa (a) was asked, “Take off your shoes.” It means...in the past they used to make shoes from the skin of donkeys, not like today which are of a higher quality of leather; it was low quality from donkeys. And in the meaning of donkeys is someone who has no mind, ignorance; donkeys are ignorant they represent ignorance. Allah is saying, “Yaa Musa! If you want to come to Me, take your ignorance away, take away your arrogance and ignorance! You have to come to me with simplicity and humbleness! Not ‘because you speak with Me you are the highest’!” No, try to humble yourself.
The Prophet (s) was the Most Humble One, so do you see the difference between coming with arrogance, coming asking, “Let me see You!” how dare he? So Allah said, “Take off your shoes.” You see the difference? One of the saints, very famous, Sayyidina Bayazid al-Bistami (q)--and even Ibn Taymiyya accepted him--he used to pray, “O Allah! Open for me Your Door.” For many years that was his whole du`a, “Open for me Your door!” by saying, kayf al-wusoolu ilayk, “How can I come to You?”
And the answer that came to him was, utruk nafsak wa ta`aal, “Leave yourself and come. Don’t come to Me with your self (ego).” It is impossible to have two there! “Either Me or your child, your self, either Me or your ego, decide.” That’s why He said to Musa (a) “Take your shoes, take your ignorance, take your dunya arrogance from your heart and come to Me.” Don’t think that you can do everything:
وَفَوْقَ كُلِّ ذِي عِلْمٍ عَلِيمٌ
Wa fawqa kulli dhi `ilmin `aleem.
Above every knower is a (higher) knower. (Surah Yusuf, 12:76)
Above every knower there is a knower,” above every professor there is a professor. We are simple people. Yes, we travel here and there because we like to sit not with the academicians, we like to sit with the normal people, because whatever you tell them they do, but academics, whatever you tell them they want to ask questions, like Sayyidina Musa (a). It’s better, no questions!
May Allah forgive us, may Allah bless bless us. Of course the night of dhikr, Thursday night, the night of Friday, you see, one of the jinns is coming with her [points to a cat]. Dhikrullah is the strongest reward that you get in your life, when you do dhikrullah, to remember Him:
الَّذِينَ يَذْكُرُونَ اللّهَ قِيَامًا وَقُعُودًا وَعَلَىَ جُنُوبِهِمْ
Alladheena yadhkuroonullaaha qiyamaan wa qu`oodan wa `alaa junoobihim...
Those who remember Allah (always, and in prayers) standing, sitting, and lying down on their sides…” (Surat Aali `Imraan, 3:191)
Today you were sitting and standing making dhikr and none were lying down. That’s okay, doing dhikrullah and Allah (swt) has special angels that go around finding where there are dhikr circles, associations, and they sit with them and their du`a will be written for you until the Day of Judgment.
May Allah guide us all through our hearts. May Allah (swt) bless us and bless those who organized these four days, these events which without them we would not be able to do anything. And we thank everyone from the government and opposition. May Allah bring peace to their hearts, all of them, and may Allah bring peace to the citizens of Guyana.
Salaam `alaykum wa rahmatullahi wa barakaatuh.
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