A`oodhu billahi min ash-Shaytaani 'r-rajeem.
Bismillaahi 'r-Rahmaani 'r-Raheem.
The Qur’an al-Kareem starts with, “Bismillaahi 'r-Rahmaani 'r-Raheem.” It starts with that Holy Phrase. Make it your everyday practice. Say it one time in the morning, seven times in the morning, a hundred times in the morning, at Fajr time, at Dhuhr time--always say, “Bismillaahi 'r-Rahmaani 'r-Raheem,” and establish yourself as a servant of Allah (swt). May Allah (swt) forgive us.
We are all servants here. There is no difference between an Arab and a non-Arab. There is no difference between an Arab-speaking person and those who speak different languages. We are all `abdAllah. We are trying to be beloved to our Lord (swt) and to Rasoolullah (s).
Alhamdulilah, everybody has knowledge. I’m not teaching you anything. I’m just reminding myself and others what they already know. We have the imam here. He said beautiful words explaining the verses of the Holy Qur’an or what he understood of the verses of the Holy Qur’an. You cannot sum up the ayah. You cannot say, “The verse means this.” That is tarku ‘l-adab. That is bad adab with Allah (swt). You can say, “What I have understood from the Words of my Lord is such and such.” Because somebody else might understand it deeper and another one might understand even deeper still as Allah (swt) says:
فَبَدَأَ بِأَوْعِيَتِهِمْ قَبْلَ وِعَآءِ أَخِيهِ ثُمَّ ٱسْتَخْرَجَهَا مِن وِعَآءِ أَخِيهِ كَذَٰلِكَ كِدْنَا لِيُوسُفَ مَا كَانَ لِيَأْخُذَ أَخَاهُ فِى دِينِ ٱلْمَلِكِ إِلَّآ أَن يَشَآءَ ٱللَّهُ نَرْفَعُ دَرَجَـٰتٍ مَّن نَّشَآءُ وَفَوْقَ كُلِّ ذِى عِلْمٍ عَلِيمٌ
So he began (the search) with their baggage, before (he came to) the baggage of his brother: at length he brought it out of his brother's baggage. Thus did We plan for Joseph. He could not take his brother by the law of the king except that Allah willed it (so). We raise to degrees (of wisdom) whom We please: but over all endued with knowledge is one, the All-Knowing. (Surah Yusuf, 12:76)
Wa fawqa kulli dhi `ilmin `aleem. Above every knower is another one. If I know something, it doesn’t mean it ends there. All of us know. Allah (swt) has granted us to know Him. We know Him by what He called Himself. They asked Rasoolullah (s), “Describe for us your Lord.” He said, “Qul Huwa Allahu Ahad. Tell them, He is Allah (swt). Ahad.”
God has described Himself by the name of Allah (swt). We are all knowers of Allah (swt) but we need to be reminded. I don’t want to say, mashaa-Allah, I am the one to remind everybody, no. I am just like everybody else, trying to find the way that Rasoolullah (s) has taken. What way did he take? That is where the true guidance comes in. Everybody can read the Qur’an but nobody can understand what the Qur’an says. Everybody can understand the Arabic words but nobody can understand the wisdom behind it.
What was the path of Rasoolullah (s)? His name is Muhammad. You know Allah (swt), your Lord. What is the name of the Messenger that He sent to you, to all humanity that is living nowadays? He has sent to them the Last Messenger. His Messenger is never canceled because there is no other messenger that has come after him. All the messengers that preceded him concluded with his message or joined with his message to become one universal message, which is to seek God Almighty’s pleasure.
What does the name “Muhammad” mean? Jama`a al-mahaamid. He has gathered all the good characters in him. “Muhammad” means, “The one who is praised by his character.” He has characters, features, qualities that are praised. Every name of Muhammad (s) means or describes his character. Whatever name you pick, it describes a state of his, a station of his, that persona, that person of his. You don’t need to call him Muhammad. You can call him `AbdAllah, as Allah (swt) called him in the Holy Qur’an.
وَأَنَّهُۥ لَمَّا قَامَ عَبْدُ ٱللَّهِ يَدْعُوهُ كَادُوا۟ يَكُونُونَ عَلَيْهِ لِبَدًا
And that when the Servant of Allah stood up supplicating Him, they almost became about him a compacted mass." (Surat al-Jinn, 72:19)
When `AbdAllah [Rasoolullah (s)] was praying to Him. Allah (swt) has called Rasoolullah (s) by many names but each name describes one of his states. Why is he holy? Why is the Ka`bah holy? Why do you go and touch the Ka`bah? Why do people do everything to get a piece of the kiswah, the black cloth that covers the Ka`bah every year? Why do people take it home? Who built the Ka`bah? Who made it? Allah (swt) didn’t make it. Sayyidina Ibrahim (a) built it. He was a human being. A human being built a building. People run to take a part of it. They run to touch it. Why? “It’s blessed. It has special significance.” Who created human beings?
قَالَ يَـٰٓإِبْلِيسُ مَا مَنَعَكَ أَن تَسْجُدَ لِمَا خَلَقْتُ بِيَدَىَّ أَسْتَكْبَرْتَ أَمْ كُنتَ مِنَ ٱلْعَالِينَ
Qaala yaa Ibleesu maa man`aka an tasjuda lima khalaqtu bi-yadaya astakbarta am kunta mina ‘l-`aleena.
(Allah) said: "O Iblis! What prevents you from prostrating yourself to one whom I have created with my hands? Are you haughty? Or are you one of the high (and mighty) ones?" (Surah Saad, 38:75)
“O Iblees! What prevented you from bowing down to what I have created with My Hands?” Who created Rasoolullah (s)? Who created you, me, him? Who created us? Allah (swt) said, “I have created Adam (a) with My Hands.”
When you run to a structure that is built by a human being, trying to take a piece of it, kissing it and putting it in your home for barakah, why don’t you run to take a piece of a human being that God created with His Hands? The Holy Hair is part of a structure that God Almighty created with His Hands. Can you understand the comparison?
It’s a piece that Allah (swt) created with His own Hands. That is why we love it and respect it and take it above our heads and we keep it in our homes. You run to pay a million dollars for that kiswah of the Ka`bah every year. Don’t they sell it on eBay? They sell the hair and the shoe and the hat and the shirt. Too many things.
You run to buy something that a human being made. Who made the kiswah on the Ka`bah? The Saudis, Yemenis or the Iraqis, I don’t know. Somebody built it with their hands or with machines and covered the Ka`bah. It’s not part of Ka`bah even. You run to get it as barakah. How about the Holy Hair?
That tells you the honor of a human being, not only Sayyidina Muhammad (s). I’m not only talking about the Messenger or messengers or prophets or the holy ones, I’m talking about a regular human being. Our master, Mawlana Shaykh Nazim (q) said, if everybody knew the sanctity of a human being in front of their Lord, they would not even touch their hair. You were created by the Hands of Allah (swt). For example, if you see a stop sign but don’t like it and break it, what will happen? It’s the property of the state. It’s the property of the city. How can you do that? They will get you!
If you destroy the property of Allah (swt), what do you think? Is it okay? No, it’s not okay. If you break a window here, what will happen? The church will be after you. It’s their property. So, how can you touch a human being? You should not even harm a piece of hair.
That was a small introduction of Muhammad (s). Our imam talked a little bit about that so that’s why I wanted to mention the Holy Hair. Sayyida Umm Salamah (r) used to put the Holy Hair in a bowl and people who were sick would drink from it and find shifaa’ by the barakah of that touch of Allah (swt). It’s not the hair, it’s Who made that hair. Who made it? The Hands of Allah (swt). It’s not like our hands. Don’t go that route. It is said that the Hand of Allah (swt) is the Qudra, the Power of Allah (swt)’s Sifaatu ‘l-Jamal wa ‘l-Jalal. Allah (swt) created human beings with the Attributes of Beauty and Might.
That is a different subject. We are not going to go there but the creation of everything on earth, in earth, around earth and around us is by the Hand of Allah (swt). That is why you have to respect every human being. They are the property of the Lord of Heavens. If you touch that property, the Lord of Heavens is going to ask you, “Why did you do this to what I own?”
وَلِلَّهِ مُلْكُ ٱلسَّمَـٰوَٰتِ وَٱلْأَرْضِ وَإِلَى ٱللَّهِ ٱلْمَصِيرُ
Wa li ‘Llahi mulku ‘s-samawati wa ‘l-ardi wa ila ‘Llahi ‘l-maseer.
Yea, to Allah belongs the dominion of the heavens and the earth; and to Allah is the final goal (of all). (Surat al-Noor, 24:42)
We read the Qur’an but we don’t understand much of it. “To Allah (swt) belong the Dominions of Heavens and Earth.” What does that mean? Everything in between is for Allah (swt).
What was the way of Rasoolullah (s)? We will go back to our original subject. Muhammad. All good characters are combined in him. That is why one of his names is “The Praised One.” From every angle that you look at him, you have to praise him and he calls his Ummah to be like him. How? Awliyaullah have explained it.
We know the outer way: salah, zakat, siyam, Hajj, Umrah, Shahadah and all of the other things that we do. That is the external way. What is the internal way? I did not want to bring it up because I know some people here don’t know much about Tasawwuf, some people are against Tasawwuf and all of that. I did not want to bring it up but, mashaa-Allah, Luqman al-Hakeem, the wise Luqman, was talking about Tasawwuf.
Let me explain how Tasawwuf is following Rasoolullah (s) one hundred percent. Tasawwuf is following him internally. You only follow him externally. Look at the Muslims nowadays. They only follow him externally. What are they doing? Mashaa-Allah. They have become shayateen themselves. They say, “We are Muslims,” but what is their inner conduct? It’s like Shaytan.
No, Rasoolullah (s) has shown an internal way by the Order of Allah (swt). He said, as you have corrected yourself externally--, he was correct all the time but for teaching us, the followers of Muhammad (s), I want you to show them the internal way of correction. That is Tasawwuf: correct yourself internally. Don’t get angry. Don’t be impatient. Don’t be harmful. Don’t be arrogant. All of that has to be corrected internally.
Where is it in the Qur’an? Asta`eedhu billah. In Surah al-An`am, Allah (swt) says:
أُو۟لَـٰٓئِكَ ٱلَّذِينَ هَدَى ٱللَّهُ فَبِهُدَىٰهُمُ ٱقْتَدِهْ قُل لَّآ أَسْـَٔلُكُمْ عَلَيْهِ أَجْرًا إِنْ هُوَ إِلَّا ذِكْرَىٰ لِلْعَـٰلَمِينَ
Oolaa’ika ‘l-ladheena hada ‘l-Llahu fa bihudaahumu ’qtadih qul laa asa’lukum `alayhi ajran in huwa illa dhikraa li ’l-`alameen.
Those were the (prophets) who received Allah's guidance: Copy the guidance they received; Say: "No reward for this do I ask of you: This is no less than a message for the nations." (Surah Al-An’am, 6:90)
Right imam? Correct me if I’m saying it wrong. They are the ones whom Allah (swt) has shown the right way. Fa bi hudahumu ’qtadi. Ibtidaa` is to follow corrected one hundred percent. You take him as a role model. He said, follow their guidance. It does not mean, follow their guidance to correct you, no. It was not meant in that way. It was not meant as, “Follow the Bible. Follow the Torah. Follow what they have brought.” No. It was something different. Fa bi hudahumut tadih.
It is said that Sayyidina Nuh (a) was shakoor. Isn’t that true, imam? In Surah Isra:
ذُرِّيَّةَ مَنْ حَمَلْنَا مَعَ نُوحٍ إِنَّهُۥ كَانَ عَبْدًا شَكُورًا
Dhurriyata man hamalnaa ma` Nuhin innahu kaana `abdan shakoora.
O ye that are sprung from those whom We carried (in the Ark) with Noah! Verily he was a devotee most grateful. (Surah al-Isra, 17:3)
Sayyidina Nuh (a) had all the good characteristics. He is a Nabi so he has to be perfect because if somebody sees something wrong with the guide, they should leave him or her or whatever it is because they will show people wrong things. Why would you follow a guide who shows you how to be wrong?
Anbiyaullah were perfect in all aspects but Sayyidina Nuh (a) was perfect in shukr and Allah (swt) said in the second verse: Dhurriyata man hamalnaa ma` Nuhin innahu kaana `abdan shakoora.
He was a thankful servant. Sayyidina Nuh (a) was characterized as being thankful. How about Sayyidina Ibrahim (a)?
وَمَنْ أَحْسَنُ دِينًا مِّمَّنْ أَسْلَمَ وَجْهَهُۥ لِلَّهِ وَهُوَ مُحْسِنٌ وَٱتَّبَعَ مِلَّةَ إِبْرَٰهِيمَ حَنِيفًا وَٱتَّخَذَ ٱللَّهُ إِبْرَٰهِيمَ خَلِيلًا
Wa man ahsanu deenan miman aslama wajhahu li ‘Llahi wa huwa muhsinu wa ‘t-taba`a millata Ibrahima hanifan wa ‘t-takhadha ‘l-Llahu Ibrahima khaleela.
Who can be better in religion than one who submits his whole self to Allah, does good, and follows the way of Abraham the true in Faith? For Allah did take Abraham for a friend. (Surat an-Nisa, 4:125)
Allah (swt) took Sayyidina Ibrahim (a) as His intimate friend, close friend, beloved. Sayyidina Ibrahim (a) was perfect from every angle but the one that was more visible was Allah (swt) has taken him as His beloved. The love of Allah (swt) was most evident in Sayyidina Ibrahim (a).
Sayyidina Musa (a).
وَٱذْكُرْ فِى ٱلْكِتَـٰبِ مُوسَىٰٓ إِنَّهُۥ كَانَ مُخْلَصًا وَكَانَ رَسُولًا نَّبِيًّا
Wadhkuru fi ‘l-kitabi Musa innahu kaana mukhlasan wa kaana rasoolan nabiyya.
Also mention in the Book (the story of) Moses: for he was specially chosen, and he was an apostle (and) a prophet. (Surah Maryam, 19:51)
There’s ikhlas there. He was sincere.
Sayyidina Nuh (a) reached the top of shukr. Sayyidina Musa (a) reached the top of sincerity. Sayyidina Ibrahim (a) reached the top of love. How about the others? Sayyidina Ayub (a).
ذُرِّيَّةَ مَنْ حَمَلْنَا مَعَ نُوحٍ إِنَّهُۥ كَانَ عَبْدًا شَكُورًا
O descendants of those We carried [in the ship] with Noah. Indeed, he was a grateful servant. (Surat al-Isra, 17:3)
He was patient. Sayyidina Ayub (a) and Sayyidina Yakub (a) reached the top of patience. Are these external or internal attributes? What do you think? Can you show people that you’re sincere or is it through your conduct? Thankfulness is conduct. Patience is conduct. Who can assess the love you have for Rasoolullah (s). It’s within you.
What else? Sayyidina Dawud (a). Fastaghfara Rabbahu.
قَالَ لَقَدْ ظَلَمَكَ بِسُؤَالِ نَعْجَتِكَ إِلَىٰ نِعَاجِهِۦ وَإِنَّ كَثِيرًا مِّنَ ٱلْخُلَطَآءِ لَيَبْغِى بَعْضُهُمْ عَلَىٰ بَعْضٍ إِلَّا ٱلَّذِينَ ءَامَنُوا۟ وَعَمِلُوا۟ ٱلصَّـٰلِحَـٰتِ وَقَلِيلٌ مَّا هُمْ وَظَنَّ دَاوُۥدُ أَنَّمَا فَتَنَّـٰهُ فَٱسْتَغْفَرَ رَبَّهُۥ وَخَرَّ رَاكِعًا وَأَنَابَ
(David) said: "He has undoubtedly wronged thee in demanding thy (single) ewe to be added to his (flock of) ewes: truly many are the partners (in business) who wrong each other: Not so do those who believe and work deeds of righteousness, and how few are they?"...and David gathered that We had tried him: he asked forgiveness of his Lord, fell down, bowing (in prostration), and turned (to Allah in repentance). (Surah Saad, 38:24)
His most visible attribute was ihtidaar, asking for forgiveness, excuse, apology, because he committed a sin. Out of respect for Anbiya, you should not say they committed a sin. It was a mistake.
مَّا كَانَ عَلَى ٱلنَّبِىِّ مِنْ حَرَجٍ فِيمَا فَرَضَ ٱللَّهُ لَهُۥ سُنَّةَ ٱللَّهِ فِى ٱلَّذِينَ خَلَوْا۟ مِن قَبْلُ وَكَانَ أَمْرُ ٱللَّهِ قَدَرًا مَّقْدُورًا
Maa kaana `alaa ‘n-nabi’i min harajin feema farda ‘Llahu lahu sunnatallahi fi ‘l-Lladheena khaloo min qablu wa kaana amrullahi qadaran maqdoora.
There can be no difficulty to the Prophet in what Allah has indicated to him as a duty. It was the practice (approved) of Allah amongst those of old that have passed away. And the command of Allah is a decree determined. (Surat al-Ahzab, 33:38)
If you want something and it was destined, it will happen. Whether you’re a Nabi or a Wali, it doesn’t matter. It will happen because Allah (swt) wants to show hikmah. Sayyidina Dawud (a) made that mistake and he asked forgiveness. Where is forgiveness? Is it inside of you? Say, “Yaa Rabbee! I have done something wrong.” That is inside of you too.
How about Sayyidina `Isa (a)? Tawwad`u. What was evident in Jesus was his humility and humbleness and shying away from dunya. It is said the only thing he had was a needle, a cup to drink from and a comb. After he saw somebody drinking water with his hands and combing his hair with his fingers, he threw the comb and cup away. He had no pillow to sleep on. It is said that he used to sleep in the prairies. As I heard from my master, one time he took a stone and put it under his head. Shaytan came and said, “Oh finally I see you took something from dunya.” He took the stone and threw it on Shaytan. `Isa (a) had tawwad`u. He was humble.
Sayyidina Yakub (a), Sayyidina Ayub (a), and Sayyidina Nuh (a). Sayyidina Sulayman (a) was also humble. It is said that he used to eat from what his hands worked for. He never took anything from anybody. He had all of the dunya under his fingertips but he only ate from what he worked for. That was because of his humility and humbleness.
When Rasoolullah (a) was ordered, fa bi hudaahu muqtadih, “Take the way that they went,” it means to reach all the characters and good attributes that were distributed among all of them. Gather all of them within you. Take all of what they had and make them within you and teach your Ummah that way.
Tasawwuf is basically teaching the Ummah how to be saadiq, how to be safaa, how to reach wud, how to reach wurood, how to reach wafa, how to reach fakhr, how to reach barr and how to reach fana. That was soof as Sayyidina Junayd al-Baghdadi (q), Sayyidu ‘t-Taa’ifa, said. He said that Sayyidina Ali (r) wa karamAllahu wajha said, “If you don’t know anything, just look at the word ‘soof.’” The Sufis wear the soof, the wool.
I explained it before but this is the time to say it here. If you don’t know what Rasoolullah (s) has taught you, O human being, because you don’t follow what he said correctly. You understand it your way. If you understand it your way, it’s your problem. But what Rasoolullah (s) called people for is the internal purity.
Sayyidina Junayd al-Baghdadi (q) said, “Soof is saad, waw, faa.” The letter “s” is sidq, sabr, safaa. Sidq, truthfulness. A Sufi has to be truthful. That is the first letter and the first station, if you want to be on the way of Rasoolullah (s) internally. We are not talking about externally. Externally, you have to be. There is no way. You cannot be a Muslim and not practice what Rasoolullah (s) showed you from external practices. If you are deficient there, you can never enter the internal way. You cannot say, “I am entering internally,” and you leave the external practices. That is not accepted. You will never reach internal anything because Anbiyaullah and Awliyaullah first have Shari`ah. You have to be strong in the external knowledge, then you can go to the internal knowledge.
The internal knowledge starts with sidq, truthfulness. What do you want? What are you truthful in? “Yaa Rabbee. I’m truthful in seeking You.” Who did Rasoolullah (s) call people to? He called people to the Lord of Heavens. Did he call people to become a president? Did Rasoolullah (s) tell you how to become a mayor? Did he tell you how to run a government, an organization, a company or whatever. He said, you know your dunya better. Do whatever you want there. He didn’t even teach them how to do the palm trees. They asked Rasoolullah (s), “What do we do?” He said, “Do it this way. Do it that way.” The next season it was all ruined. He said, “You know more about your dunya.”
Rasoolullah (s) never taught things about dunya. He called for Allah (swt). What do you seek? “I seek Allah (swt).” Are you truthful in that? No. We only say it by tongue. “We want Allah (swt).” And your conduct? It’s all about hirs of dunya, “How will I get more of this world? How do I get higher in this world? How do I get stronger in this world?” Then you are not asking Allah (swt). You are not truthful. If you’re not truthful in seeking Allah (swt), that door does not open and you are not following Muhammad. Muhammad (s) has joined all the good characters of Anbiya. In Surah Maryam:
وَٱذْكُرْ فِى ٱلْكِتَـٰبِ إِسْمَـٰعِيلَ إِنَّهُۥ كَانَ صَادِقَ ٱلْوَعْدِ وَكَانَ رَسُولًا نَّبِيًّا
Wadhkuru fi ‘l-kitabi Isma`eela innahu kaana saadiqa ‘l-wa`di wa kaana rasoolan nabiyya.
Also mention in the Book (the story of) Isma'il: He was (strictly) true to what he promised, and he was an apostle (and) a prophet. (Surah Maryam, 19:54)
وَكَانَ يَأْمُرُ أَهْلَهُۥ بِٱلصَّلَوٰةِ وَٱلزَّكَوٰةِ وَكَانَ عِندَ رَبِّهِۦ مَرْضِيًّا
Wa kaana ya’muru ahlahu bi ‘s-salaati wa’z-zakati wa kaana `inda rabbihi mardiya.
He used to enjoin on his people Prayer and Charity, and he was most acceptable in the sight of his Lord. (Surah Maryam, 19:55)
Isma’eel (a) was sadiqu ‘l-wad. Allah (swt) mentioned his character. That means he was truthful in what he wanted, in what he said. He was not changing. Sidq is part of Sayyidina Isma`eel’s (a) way or Ishma’eel as they call him. It is said Isma’eel comes from “isma-eel.” In Hebrew or the Assyrian language “eel” means “Allah (swt)” and “isma” means “hear.” So he said, “Yaa Rabbee. Hear my du`a.” That’s why when Allah (swt) gave him that boy, he called him Isma’eel as he had made du`a to his Lord.
Isma’eel was sadiq, sidq. Rasoolullah (s) was Sadiq, truthful. If you want to follow him internally, you have to be truthful. “I’m seeking you, O my Lord.” What is the second one? “If you’re seeking Me then you have to be patient.” Sabr. What is sabr? When something you don’t like comes your way, you are patient. Isn’t that sabr? When something you don’t like hits you, what do you need to do? Complain. That is shaqwa. There is no “sheen” in “soof.” There is sabr. Sayyidina Abu Yazid al-Bistami (q) said, “Our way is to bear the opposites, to be able to carry the opposite of what you desire.”
Whatever is opposite to your desire is going to come your way. If you’re asking for Allah (swt), He is going to take dunya away from you. You have to understand that. If you’re truthfully asking for the Lord of Heavens, He will take other than Him from you. He will make you have nothing.
If you are sabir, what happens next? Safah. Your heart is purified from dunya and the love of dunya. When Allah (swt) sees that you are truthful and He sends ways to take dunya away from you--what is dunya? Dunya is wealth and family, friends or whatever it is.
وَلَنَبْلُوَنَّكُم بِشَىْءٍ مِّنَ ٱلْخَوْفِ وَٱلْجُوعِ وَنَقْصٍ مِّنَ ٱلْأَمْوَٰلِ وَٱلْأَنفُسِ وَٱلثَّمَرَٰتِ وَبَشِّرِ ٱلصَّـٰبِرِينَ
Wa la-nabluwannakum bi shay’in min ‘l-khawfi wa ‘l-ju`i wa naqsin min ‘l-amwaali wa ‘l anfusi wa ‘th-thamaraati wa bashiri ’s-saabireen.
Be sure we shall test you with something of fear and hunger, some loss in goods or lives or the fruits (of your toil), but give glad tidings to those who patiently persevere. (Surat Al-Baqarah, 2:155)
We will test you with fear, with hunger, with the decreasing of your children, of your friends. Allah (swt) mentions all of that. When Allah (swt) takes dunya away from you and you are sabir, patient, he promises safah. Your heart will be clean from dunya, then you will have qalbu ‘n-saleem. You will reach that heart that is pure. Pure from what? Pure from the love of other than Allah (swt). On the Day of Judgement you will be among the safe ones.
إِلَّا مَنْ أَتَى ٱللَّهَ بِقَلْبٍ سَلِيمٍ
Illa man attallaha bi qalbin saleem
"But only he (will prosper) that brings to Allah a sound heart. (Surat ash-Shu`ara, 26:89)
Everybody reads it. On the Day of Judgement, nothing will benefit you except if you come with a pure heart. “How do I get a pure heart?” Nobody asks. That is safah. They come against “Sufis.” Yes, “sufi” was a name invented after the Prophet (s) because their conduct was that way. But because there were so many other ways that were happening at the time of Sahaabah and Tabi`een, they had to categorize things. Even `ilmu ‘l-Hadith and all of that stuff happened after Sahaabah al-kiram (r) because it was being lost. So, they had to categorize these different ways, so they called it `ilmu ‘t-Tasawwuf. That’s another way but actually it was the conduct of Sahaabah al-kiram (r), following Rasoolullah (s). It was the way of life. They did not have to call it any name. It was Islam, the true Islam. What is “salaf”? They talk about the salaf. Salaf is not only 200 years ago. It’s from way back.
That is the first step, the first letter. The other letters? These are all stations. I don’t think we have time. It’s already 8:30. The attributes of all of the messengers, whatever you want to find in any messenger, you will find it in the inner conduct. As-soora wa ’s-seerah. In the inner conduct of Rasoolullah (s) you will find the ways of any messenger you’re looking for. If it’s Noah (a) or Adam (a), all the way to Sayyidina `Isa (a). All of their conduct can be summarized in the inner conduct of Rasoolullah (s). That’s what you are ordered to do. If Allah (swt) ordered Rasoolullah (s) to follow their way, to get that command, to get that perfection in what they have perfected themselves in, it is a must upon you to reach that light of Rasoolullah (s).
That is our way. Our way is to apply whatever he brought externally, fully and then internally to rid the heart from any love other than Allah (swt). That is the only way that your heart will reach that qalbun saleem. When the heart is correct, the whole body is correct. When the heart is corrupt, the whole body is corrupt. It doesn’t matter if you’re a Muslim. It doesn’t matter if you’re a Christian. Whatever you are, if your heart is corrupt, your actions are corrupt, your conduct is corrupt and everything you do is corrupt.
You have to correct that heart. That heart is only corrected by reaching purity. Purity means to take away everything other than Allah (swt), the Lord of Heavens. You become `abdAllah then, otherwise you are `abdu ‘d-dunya, `abdu ‘sh-Shaytan, `abdu ‘n-nafs, `abdu ‘l-hawaa. You are an `abd of something else. What does “`abd” mean? Obedience. You obey something else.
May Allah (swt) raise Rasoolullah (s) higher and higher. The order to him was the inner conduct. We follow inner conduct. This is the order of Allah (swt) to him.
What did he tell you about outer conduct? I’ll summarize it here. There are so many things to talk about, so many things to remember. Mashaa-Allah, our `ulama are doing their best but they have to turn to more spiritual, inner knowledge and the books of inner knowledge are plenty.
After Rasoolullah (s) perfected himself internally and gathered all the ways of prophets and messengers, he turned to his Ummah and said, sil man qataak, “Connect with the one that disconnected with you.” When he reached perfection, he started to do good to the ones who were doing bad, not tit for tat like they do nowadays. You hurt me, I hurt you. You say something, I say two things. You hit me with one punch, I hit you with three punches. That’s how the Muslims and the non-Muslims are. That’s not the way.
The way of Rasoolullah (s) is sil man qataak w`afu `aman dhalamak wa ahsin ila man assaa ilayk. Rasoolullah (s) was the perfect one. Whatever he taught he has done.
قال عُقْبةُ بن عامر : ثمَّ لَقيتُ رسولَ اللهِ صلَّى اللهُ عليه وسلَّمَ، فابتَدأْتُه فأخَذْتُ بيَدِه، فقلْتُ: يا رسولَ اللهِ، أَخبِرْني بفَواضِلِ الأعمالِ. فقال: يا عُقْبةُ، صِلْ مَن قَطَعَك، وأَعْطِ مَن حَرَمَك، وأَعرِضْ عمَّن ظَلَمَك.
He said, “Connect with the one that has disconnected with you. Pardon the one that has oppressed you. Do good to the one that has done bad to you.” (Ahmad)
Look at the character of Muhammad (s) and yet they keep saying bad things about him. Why? What is he teaching humanity? Look at what he is saying.
He is saying, forgive the one that oppressed you or was cruel to you. Which leader nowadays is saying, forgive the ones who were harmful or cruel to you? Nobody. Who is connecting with the one that disconnected with him? Nobody. “He is on one way and I’m on the other.” No. That perfect human named Muhammad (s), the one that was created by Allah (swt)’s own Hands and you are also created by Allah (swt)’s own Hands, you have to follow his way. O Muslim! Connect with the one that disconnected with you. Pardon the one that was oppressive to you. Do good to the one that did bad to you. That is the correct way of Rasoolullah (s).
When we are celebrating his birth, we are celebrating how to heal the wounds of this world. If you can just understand one Hadith, if the world can understand one saying of the Prophet (s), all the problems of earth would disappear if everybody started to forgive each other and pardon each other. “We will never forget.” Okay, if you never forget then you will never have peace.
The heavenly messages are the opposite of that. Forgive and forget. Pardon and move along. Mend, build bridges, connected with the one that disconnected with you. Look at the sayings of that blessed one, Muhammad (s).
There are so many things to say about him but I’ll just mention one more thing and then we’ll end. It’s so people can understand who Muhammad (s) is. It is mentioned in Majma’ al-Zawa’id by Imam al-Haythami that one night Rasoolullah (s) had visitors. These visitors said, “Let your eye sleep and let your ear hear and let your heart understand.” And then it was said to him that a master has built a mansion and he has prepared a feast. He has sent somebody to call you to the feast. Whoever responds to the messenger and comes to the mansion and eats from the feast, the master will be happy with him. Whoever does not respond, does not RSVP with the messenger, does not come to the mansion and does not come to the feast, the master will be upset with him.
They explained that the Master is Allah (swt), the mansion is Islam, the caller to the feast is Muhammad (s) and the feast is Jannah.
Allah (swt), the Creator has called human beings to come eat from the delights and bounties of Paradise. Isn’t that a great invitation? Mashaa-Allah, all of the Pakistanis love weddings in the summer. Every other visitor that comes to visit us in Michigan, “Mashaa-Allah you’re coming here very often.” They say, “Oh yeah, we have a wedding. Last week there was a wedding, this week there’s a wedding and next week a wedding.” All summer long weddings. Alhamdulillah. “The summer of ‘69”?
Your Creator Who created you with His Own Hands, human being, it does not matter what faith or what religion or what race and color you are. He has called upon you to come to His mansion and eat from the feast He has prepared for you. The ones who respond and RSVP, the Master is happy with them. Allah (swt) is pleased with them. The ones that reject the feast, reject Paradise, “No, we’re happy in Jahannam.” You turned the world into Jahannam and you’re going to find Jahannam on the other side too. What happiness do you have?
That is one of the descriptions of Rasoolullah (s).
وَدَاعِيًا إِلَى ٱللَّهِ بِإِذْنِهِۦ وَسِرَاجًا مُّنِيرًا
Wa da’eeyan il ‘Llahi bi idhnihi wa sirajan muneera.
And as one who invites to Allah's (grace) by His leave, and as a lamp spreading light. (Surat al-Ahzab, 33:46)
Allah (swt) has given him permission, “Go call people to Me.” “Why, yaa Rabbee?” “Because I have prepared Jannah, Paradise for them. If they don’t respond to you, use the whip. What is the whip? Jahannam is the whip.” That’s why it is said that Naar was created. Why did the Lord of Heavens create fire? Because it’s a whip to whip you onto the way of Jannah. Do you understand? He didn’t create fire to burn you. He created fire to make you afraid of it. “I don’t want to go to the fire.” That’s the whip. If you go the wrong way, there’s a whip for the donkey or the horse. But if the donkey is going on the right way to the village you are going to, why do you whip the donkey? It’s going. There’s no whip.
When you go astray, the whip is Jahannam. “Remind them of the fire.” That is the whip. That’s why the fire was created. It’s a reminder that if you do something wrong, if you miss the way of Jannah, the whip will whip you.
Rasoolullah (s) was called, da`eean ilAllah, “You are the caller to Allah (swt), bi idhni, by His permission.” Not everybody can be a da`ee. Mashaa-Allah, they go for jawla. Did Allah (swt) give you permission? Who gave you permission? Did Rasoolullah (s) give you permission? Rasoolullah (s) says, Qul id`u ilAllah `alaa baseeratin anaa wa man itab`anee. Rasoolullah (s) gives permission to the ones that followed him. Baseera is the inner eye. Not basr, baseera.
قُلْ هَـٰذِهِۦ سَبِيلِىٓ أَدْعُوٓا۟ إِلَى ٱللَّهِ عَلَىٰ بَصِيرَةٍ أَنَا۠ وَمَنِ ٱتَّبَعَنِى وَسُبْحَـٰنَ ٱللَّهِ وَمَآ أَنَا۠ مِنَ ٱلْمُشْرِكِينَ
Qul hadihi sabeeli ad’u il-Llahi `alaa baseeratin ana wa mani’tabanee wa subhaanallahi wa ma ana min ‘l-mushrikeen.
Say thou: "This is my way: I do invite unto Allah, on evidence clear as the seeing with one's eyes, I and whoever follows me. Glory to Allah. and never will I join gods with Allah." (Surah Yusuf, 12:108)
Surah Yusuf at the end. Qul id`u ilAllah `alaa baseeratin anaa wa man itab`anee. “I call to Allah (swt) because I have inner sight. I can see the inner way.” Baseera is different. “I am seeing my way and the ones that followed me.” That means Awliyaullah see Rasoolullah (s) in front of them. If you go deep into that verse. “I am in full view of the way that goes to Allah (swt) and the ones that are following me.” By the eyes of the heart. That means the ones who followed Rasoolullah (s) correctly through baseera are seeing Rasoolullah (s). They see the imam they are going behind.
No Waliyullah is not seeing Rasoolullah (s) in front of them. If they are veiled from Rasoolullah (s), they have lost their iman. If you have lost your iman, you’re lost. How can you find your way if you don’t know your guide and if he’s not in front of you? These are the deeper meanings.
I’m sorry for the people that don’t believe in that but these are the inner meanings of some of the verses that I have learned from my master. If Waliyullah has permission to guide people, he has to take permission from Rasoolullah (s) because whatever Rasoolullah (s) has guided them through, they are following that exact way. They’re not cheating people to the way of Jahannam. They are keeping people straight on the way to Jannah, to that mansion that Allah (swt) has built for you and the feast that has been prepared for you. Follow that. Be from them.
No da`ee, nobody can claim, “I am calling to Allah (swt).” No, you’re not calling to Allah (swt). You’re calling to dunya. You’re calling to destruction. So many people get up and say, “I am the khalifa. I am the imam. I am the guide.” Where is he taking them? To death here and Hereafter.
Allah (swt) has to give permission. Wa da`eean ila’Llahi bi idhnihi. There’s permission there. How do you get permission? We don’t get permission from Allah (swt). Astaghfirullah. That is for prophets but Awliyaullah or Sahaabah al-kiraam (r) or whoever took permission from Rasoolullah (s) to guide the Ummah are the rightful ones. Be wary of the others who pretend to be guides. Look at their inner conduct.
Inshaa-Allah, Allah (swt) will purify us, will perfect us as Rasoolullah (s). They concentrate on his Shama’il, that his eyes were this, his skin was this, his hair was this. How about the inner conduct, the sabr, the shukr, the `afuw, the hidden, the sidq, all the good characteristics? Where are they in Muslims? Even if it’s there, it’s so negligent. You have to strengthen that. inshaa-Allah, Allah (swt) will allow us to follow him correctly.
Muhammad, your guide, is the one that has collected all the good characters in him. He wants you to be like him. That’s why he says: Fattiabi`oonee. Follow me. Why should we follow you? So you can reach the Love Oceans of your Lord. Why should you follow anyone? If you want to reach your Lord, you can only reach Him by following Rasoolullah (s) in this age. Before him, there were the other messengers. You had to follow them to the Love Oceans of the Lord of Heavens. After Rasoolullah (s) came and he combined all the good traits and characters that they exhibited in himself. By following him, you’re following all. What reflects in them, reflects in Rasoolullah (s). They’re all reflections of the Divine Presence and Beauty, and Noor. They’re not different. They’re all on the same path, all nabiyeen, all prophets and messengers.
May Allah (swt) forgive us. I think it’s enough. I hope I didn’t exceed my limit of time and my limit of tolerance by you guys. I’ll talk a little bit about Tasawwuf. The second letter is “wud.” What is wud? Soof: saad, waw, faa. The waw is “wud.” Wud is love. After you are truthful and patient and you reach purity of the heart, you reach the level of wud which is khaleelullah, the love of Ibrahim (a). Sidq was the character of Isma’eel (a). Sabr was the character of Ayub (a). Safah was the character of all of them. Wud was the character of Ibrahim (a). Wurood. When you love, you will reach the shore and you will reach that water, that fountain. Wurood when you are reaching a body of water: lake, river, stream, whatever. You reach and you drink.
One Waliyullah sent a letter to Sayyidina Abu Yazid al-Bistami. “There is somebody here drinking from the Love Oceans of the Creator and he’s drunk. He has reached love, wurood. He reached where he could drink from that fountain or ocean of love.” Sayyidina Abu Yazid al-Bistami replied, “There is somebody here that is drinking and never quenched his thirst.” Wud, wurood, wafaa.
If you love Allah (swt), Allah (swt) will fulfill His promise to you.
وَإِبْرَٰهِيمَ ٱلَّذِى وَفَّىٰٓ
Wa Ibrahima alladhee wafaa.
And of Abraham who fulfilled his obligations. (Surat an-Najm, 53:37)
Fulfilled his promise. Waffah. He has fulfilled all that he was told to do. That is his way. When you reach that body of water, whatever you are drinking from that fountain, Allah (swt) will give you from him. He will also keep his part of the deal or part of the bargain. What happened to Sayyidina Ibrahim (a) when he completed everything?
وَإِذِ ٱبْتَلَىٰٓ إِبْرَٰهِـۧمَ رَبُّهُۥ بِكَلِمَـٰتٍ فَأَتَمَّهُنَّ قَالَ إِنِّى جَاعِلُكَ لِلنَّاسِ إِمَامًا قَالَ وَمِن ذُرِّيَّتِى قَالَ لَا يَنَالُ عَهْدِى ٱلظَّـٰلِمِينَ
Wa idh ibtalaa ibrahima rabbuhu bi lalimaatin fa atamahuna
And remember that Abraham was tried by his Lord with certain commands, which he fulfilled: He said: "I will make thee an Imam to the Nations." He pleaded: "And also (Imams) from my offspring!" He answered: "But My Promise is not within the reach of evil-doers." (Surat al-Baqarah, 2:124)
Allah (swt) has given Ibrahim (a) so many trials and tribulations and orders. Ibrahim (a) has completed them.
قَالَ إِنِّى جَاعِلُكَ لِلنَّاسِ إِمَامًا
Then you can be imam. Allah (swt) said, “I am making you an imam for the people, a guide.” Then you can be an imam, when you fulfill, when you perfect all the promises, when you perfect all the characters then you can be a guide that can truly guide the people to where you went. Have you gone to the Love Ocean yet? No. We went to the love ocean of others.
May Allah (swt) forgive us. The way of Awliya that we follow is actually the way of Anbiya. The way of Anbiya is the way of Rasoolullah (s). Imamu ‘l-Mursaleen. The way of Rasoolullah (s) is to the Divine Love. That’s what they have called for. Inshaa-Allah, we can reach that.
We can talk more later. For the benefit of time, I'll just stop here. I think we can start the Mawlid. May Allah (swt) forgive us. If you want more, the books are there. What I have spoken is what I have learned from my masters. Their books are there, open and read. Inshaa-Allah, you can find the ways of Anbiya through their teachings. Ameen.
Wa min Allahi 't-tawfeeq, bi hurmati 'l-habeeb, bi hurmati 'l-Fatihah.
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