Singapore Expo Max Atria
As-salaamu `alaykum wa rahmatullaahi wa barakaatuh. Bismillahi 'r-Rahmani 'r-Raheem.
Alhamdulillahi Rabbi 'l-`Alameen, wa ’s-salaatu wa ’s-salaamu `alaa ashrafi 'l-mursaleena Sayyidina wa Nabiyyina Muhammadin wa `alaa aalihi wa sahbihi ajma`een. Alhamdulillah nahmadahu hamdan katheeran tayyiban mubarakan feeh, wa nusalli wa nusallim `ala ‘l-habeeb al-Mustafa Sayyidina wa Nabiyyina Muhammadin `alayhi afdalu ‘s-salaatu wa ‘t-tasleem. Wa nash-hadu an laa-ilaaha ill ‘Llah wahdahu laa shareeka lahu wa laa matheela lahu fee `uloowi shaa’nihee wa `azheemi sultaanih wa nash-hadu anna Sayyidina wa Mawlana Muhammadan `Abduhu wa Habeebuhu wa Rasooluh, arsalahu min `arjahi ’l-`arabi meezaanan wa afsahahaa bayaanan fa awdaha ‘t-tareeqata wa nasaha ‘l-khaleeqata, sallAllahu `alayhi wa `alaa aalihi wa ashaabihi wa azwaajihi wa awlaadihi wa dhurriyatihi wa ummatihi ajma`een.
`Amma ba`d, ayyuha ’l-muslimoon ayyuha ’l-hafli ’l-kareem, it’s an honor for me to be here today in front of you which I don’t deserve that but I think our brother, Nasir, has pushed me in that corner to speak about a subject which, hayyar al-`ulama, which “makes the scholar stunned”, because it is not a subject that you can read, “Alif, baa, taa, thaa,” but a subject that you have to go in deep, in the depth of it…
a GPS, do you know what it is, the GPS? I don’t know, I only hear ladies in the cars saying “Go left, go right, go left, go right...” I never heard a man saying, “Right, left, right, left,” and I am so honored today seeing more ladies than men. It is always the same case here, I don’t know why the men are less and the ladies are more. So this GPS also brought our ex-State Minister to be here tonight, it is rare to find him around as he is always travelling, finding a GPS on the plane. I am looking and when he told me today “you are going to speak on GPS for future life” the first thing that came to my mind was an ayah in the Holy Qur’an which says:
وَلِكُلٍّ وِجْهَةٌ هُوَ مُوَلِّيهَا فَاسْتَبِقُواْ الْخَيْرَاتِ
Wa li-kullin wijhatun huwa muwalleehaa fastabiqoo 'l-khayraat.
For everyone there is a direction to their goal; then strive together (as in a race) towards all that is good. (Surat al-Baqarah, 2:148)
For everyone Allah’s Will, Allah’s Greatness, for everyone, Allah said in Holy Qur’an, there is a wijha, a direction; He is the One guiding you through that direction, wa li-kullin wijhatun. For everyone, there is a wijhatun, a direction, which He, Allah (swt), is opening and guiding to, for everyone. fastabiqoo 'l-khayraat, “Compete and try to get Allah’s Favors on you,” by following the Way that He prescribed for you. No one else can prescribe for you a way because there are no two people on the same mind; everyone has his own soul and his own mind. So all have their own direction, and that direction comes from Bahru ‘l-Arwaah. You might say, “What is Bahru ‘l-Arwaah?”, the Ocean of Spirits. Where are the spirits, where are the souls? Is Allah speaking to the body which will one day die or is Allah speaking to the source of enlightenment that He placed within the soul entering every womb of every mother. That’s what is there from when Allah said to us, “Alastu bi-rabbikum,” when we were in the Ocean of Souls, Allah said to us, “Am I not your Lord?” and what did we say, O Muslims? Qaaloo balaa! Everyone said, “Yes! Yaa Allah, You are our Lord, we are Your servants.” No one of us is excluded, Muslim and non-Muslim, when Allah asked, everyone answered, qaaloo balaa, “Yes, You are the One!” Since the time of saying “You are the One,” Allah said in Holy Qur’an that:
وَنَفْسٍ وَمَا سَوَّاهَا فَأَلْهَمَهَا فُجُورَهَا وَتَقْوَاهَا
Wa nafsin wa maa sawwaahaa fa alhamahaa fujoorahaa wa taqwaahaa.
And (by) the soul and He who proportioned it and inspired it of its good and its bad.
(Surat ash-Shams, 91:7-8)
Here He balanced the self, which is the soul, and He built it and He offered it to us as a favor. Allah gave us the soul, brought us to dunya, living as a human being as a favor from Him, or else we would be in `adam, we would be unknown. Awliyaullah follow the teachings of the Sahaabah (r) and Sahaabah (r) follow the teachings of Prophet (s), that we have to thank Allah (swt) that He created us or else we would have not been anywhere, nothing, we are nothing. He gave us the soul as a Trust:
إِنَّا عَرَضْنَا الْأَمَانَةَ عَلَى السَّمَاوَاتِ وَالْأَرْضِ وَالْجِبَالِ فَأَبَيْنَ أَن يَحْمِلْنَهَا وَأَشْفَقْنَ مِنْهَا وَحَمَلَهَا الْإِنسَانُ
إِنَّهُ كَانَ ظَلُومًا جَهُولًا
Innaa `aradnaa ‘l-amaanata `ala ‘s-samaawati wa ‘l-ardi wa ‘l-jibaali fa-abayna an yahmilnahaa wa ashfaqna minhaa wa hamalaha ‘l-insaanu innahu kaana zhalooman jahoola.
We did indeed offer the Trust to the Heavens and the Earth and the Mountains, but they refused to undertake it, being afraid, but Man undertook it. Lo! He has proved a tyrant and a fool.
(Surat al-Ahzaab, 33:72)
“We have given our Trust to Heavens and Earth, and they said, ‘Yaa Rabbee, We cannot carry it,’” Innaa `aradnaa ‘l-amaanata `ala ‘s-samaawati wa ‘l-ardi. Al-amaanah is the Trust, “We have offered it to Heavens and Earth,” they said, “No yaa Rabbee, we cannot carry it, it’s too much!” it is too much to carry a trust that includes Heavens and Earth, and human beings as soon as he saw Allah offering a trust he took it without thinking, Allah is describing us, innahu kaana zhalooman jahoola, “mankind when he rushed quickly without thinking took it,” then he has to return it as he took it. Amaanah is a trust. You cannot spend it nor can you can do something wrong with it; you you have to give it back. So Allah says, “You give it back to Me, or you are an oppressor and ignorant.” Are we going to give what Allah (swt) has given us, are going to give it back? Is our GPS working or not working?
They call it “Global Positioning System”, is there no “Heavenly Positioning System”? Which is more important: the global one, the earthly one, where Earth said, “I cannot carry it” and all these Global Positioning Systems are only 100 or 200 km high above Earth and everyone is enjoying its benefit today from only 200 km. If we go higher can we enjoy more than what we currently enjoy? I am seeing people, look he is on the telephone, he is on the GPS, everyone is on the GPS. You go to masjid and do khutbah and you see people are on the GPS (using their phones). Okay, no problem! But is there no Heavenly GPS? There is a Space Shuttle that sends information, and satellite systems, what about Heavens? We were all souls there, and still we are there!
إنَّا لله و إنَّا إليه راجعون
Inna lillaahi wa inna ilayhi raaji`oon.
To Allah we belong and unto Him do we return. (Surat al-Baqarah, 2:156)
We are to Allah (swt), He owns us and He said we are going back, how are we going back? There must be a GPS taking us in moments reaching to where we are, where we have to be. When someone is going into death, in moments his soul is gone, reaches the place that he came from, Inna lillaahi wa inna ilayhi raaji`oon. We are coming from same place, we are going to same place. So what is our GPS to take us to Qaaba Qawsayni aw Adnaa? Prophet (s) went to Qaaba Qawsayni aw Adnaa, we are his ummah, Allah called him and invited him to that in order to raise the power of the ummah up, to raise the ummah up, to give us from higher revelations, prayers, when Allah (swt) ordered Prophet (s) with prayers reaching highest level, getting from there what we need to know. That’s why Allah said in Holy Qur’an:
قُلْ إِن كُنتُمْ تُحِبُّونَ اللّهَ فَاتَّبِعُونِي يُحْبِبْكُمُ اللّهُ وَيَغْفِرْ لَكُمْ ذُنُوبَكُمْ وَاللّهُ غَفُورٌ رَّحِيمٌ
Qul in kuntum tuhibboona 'Llaaha fattabi`oonee yuhbibkumullaah.
Say (O Muhammad), "If you (really) love Allah, then follow me! Allah will love you.
(Surat Aali-`Imraan, 3:31)
“If you really love Allah,” follow Muhammad (s), “follow me,” he said. Allah is saying in Holy Qu’ran, “Say! Yaa Muhammad to them!” Qul! Say! Qul in kuntum tuhibboona 'Llaaha fattabi`oonee, when we follow, with what are we following? In dunya we are following with GPS that is directing us where to go and where to come. In your life in your spirtual life you have to follow Muhammad (s) in order that he will guide you left and right, you need someone to keep reminding you where to go, where you have to go. Allah said, “If you love Me, you want to come to Me, follow Muhammad!” fattabi`oonee yuhbibkumullaah, Allah will love you. That’s why Prophet (s) said in a hadith:
إذا أراد الله بعبد خيرا جعل له واعظا من قلبه
Idha araada-Llaha bi-`abdan khayran ja`ala lahu wa`izhan min qalbih.
If Allah wants goodness for a servant of His, He will make for him an advisor in his heart. (Imam Ahmad)
Idh Allaha ahabba `abdan, “If Allah loves a servant,” ja`ala lahu wa`izhan min qalbih, “Allah will make for him a guide from within his heart,” a GPS from within your heart. He makes your heart a GPS, because Allah said in Holy Qur’an, fa alhamahaa fujoorahaa wa taqwaahaa, wa nafsin wa maa sawwaahaa.
He say, “The self and He fixed it and He balanced it and He empowered it and He inspire it what is good or bad. So we follow what is good; you want to follow what is bad, follow--you are free to follow what you want to follow, that’s why Prophet (s) said, “You have to be guided by real teachers where they guide you into the way of Allah (swt),” and I will mention some of them (reading from hadith) for Tazkiyyatu ‘n-nafs first of all Prophet (s) divided religion into three parts, and all of you you know these three parts. first Islam, five pillars; second Imaan which is six pillars, and then Maqaam al-Ihsaan, The Level of Moral Excellence, moral excellence to have the highest level of purity and highest level of behavior and manners. When we reach that level of manners...so what we have to do is to purify our souls, our self. So what does it say about Tazkiyyatu ‘n-nafs, al-Junayd what did he say about Tazkiyyatu ‘n-nafs: isti`maaloo kulli khuluqin sanee wa ’truk kulli khuluqin danee, “To use in our lives everything that is good and drop from our lives everything that is bad,” and Allah gave us mind that can distinguish between what is good and what is bad. If you do bad, you know yourself; if you do good, you know yourself.
Ahmad Zarooq, one of the biggest scholars in Islam, what did he say? To purify the self, to clean the self, to make it follow the right direction that Allah (swt) wants from every Muslim and from every human being, he said: Tazkiyyatu ‘n-nafs `ilmun qusida bihi islaah al-quloob, “It is a knowledge that Allah (swt) gave to clean your heart, to fix back your heart,”Tazkiyyatu ‘n-nafs, purifying of the self, wa ifraaduha lillaahi ta`alaa, “and to only worship Allah and no one else,” wa ‘l-fiqhu li-islaahi ‘l-nizaam. So he is giving a difference between...and this is one of the scholars of Islam, the scholars of Islam are our GPS, they are taking from Prophet (s) and they are teaching us so that we can implement what is needed. So, I’ll repeat this: Tazkiyyatu ‘n-nafs, to purify yourself, is to clean your heart and cleaning your heart is spirituality, through spirituality, through (chosing) the way of good desires or the bad desires. Wa ‘l-fiqhu li-islaahi ‘l-nizaam and Shari`ah is to be between people in order (to facilitate) a better community and better society. That’s why Prophet (s) said:
الا وان في الجسد مضغة اذا صلحت صلح الجسد كله، واذا فسدت فسد الجسد كله، الا وهي القلب.
Alaa inna fi’l-jasadi mudghata idhaa saluhat saluh al-jasad kullihi wa idhaa fasudat fasad al-jasad kullahu. alaa wa hiya al-qalb.
In the body there is a small piece of flesh; if that piece of flesh is rectified then the whole body will be rectified and if it becomes corrupt then the whole body will become corrupt, and truly that is the heart. (Bukhari and Muslim)
The heart is mentioned 142 times in Holy Qu'ran and Prophet (s) said, “There is a in the body a small organ, flesh, mudghah, very small; if that flesh is good, that organ is good, the whole body will be good, if that organ is not good the whole body is not good, and this is the heart.” If the heart is good everything is good, if our heart is bad everything is bad, that’s why Prophet (s) said, “The most I fear for my ummah, the most I fear for my ummah...” what does Prophet (s) fear most for his ummah? One thing. He said:
وأما الآثار فقد قال عمر رضي الله عنه: إن أخوف ما أخاف على هذه الأمة المنافق العليم.
قالوا: وكيف يكون منافقاً عليماً قال: عليم اللسان جاهل القلب والعمل.
Akhwafa maa akhaafu `alaa ummatee munaafiqun `aleemu 'l-lisaan jahoolun bi ’l-qalb.
The thing I fear most for my Nation is a hypocrite eloquent of tongue and ignorant in his heart.
“I fear for my ummah a scholar that is hypocrite and knows how to speak but his actions are different,” he speaks well but in his heart he doesn’t want good for others. Prophet (s) said the same hadith in a different narration: akhwafa maa akhaafu `alaa ummatee `aalimun faseehun bi ‘l-lisaan jahoolun bi ‘l-qalb. He said, “I fear most for my ummah an `alim, a religious man, a scholar that knows how to speak but his heart is ignorant,” means his heart is bankrupted, there is no light in his heart, Allah is not sending light to the heart of that person.
إذا أراد الله تعالى بعبد خيرا جعل له واعظا من نفسه يأمره وينهاه
Idha araada-Llaha ta`alaa bi-`abdan khayran ja`ala lahu wa`izhan min nafsihi yaa’muruhu wa yanhaa.
If Allah had intended any good for His servant, He would make for him an advisor from within himself who will command him and prohibit him. (Ahmad, Musnad)
“If Allah wants from someone to be a good person...,” when he shows Allah that he is trying, progressing through worshipping and good action, “Allah will make through him someone from within his heart to guide him on what is good and what is bad,” and that is mentioned by Prophet (s) in Al-Musnad. Prophet (s) said, “If we don’t follow a guide,” this is our GPS.
وَمَا آتَاكُمُ الرَّسُولُ فَخُذُوهُ
Wa maa aataakumu ’r-rasoolu fakhudhooh.
And whatever the Messenger has given you, take. (Surat al-Hashr, 59:7)
our GPS in Islam is whatever Prophet (s) gaves u; we have to take it and we have to follow it, not making religion as we like. Religion cannot be as we like, religion is what Prophet (s) has brought to us and that’s why he said:
عَنْ أَبِي هُرَيْرَةَ أَنَّ رَسُولَ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ قَالَ أَتَدْرُونَ مَا الْمُفْلِسُ قَالُوا الْمُفْلِسُ فِينَا يَا رَسُولَ اللَّهِ مَنْ لَا دِرْهَمَ لَهُ وَلَا مَتَاعَ قَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ الْمُفْلِسُ مِنْ أُمَّتِي مَنْ يَأْتِي يَوْمَ الْقِيَامَةِ بِصَلَاتِهِ وَصِيَامِهِ وَزَكَاتِهِ وَيَأْتِي قَدْ شَتَمَ هَذَا وَقَذَفَ هَذَا وَأَكَلَ مَالَ هَذَا وَسَفَكَ دَمَ هَذَا وَضَرَبَ هَذَا فَيَقْعُدُ فَيَقْتَصُّ هَذَا مِنْ حَسَنَاتِهِ وَهَذَا مِنْ حَسَنَاتِهِ فَإِنْ فَنِيَتْ حَسَنَاتُهُ قَبْلَ أَنْ يُقْتَصَّ مَا عَلَيْهِ مِنْ الْخَطَايَا أُخِذَ مِنْ خَطَايَاهُمْ فَطُرِحَ عَلَيْهِ ثُمَّ طُرِحَ فِي النَّارِ . رواه مسلم والترمذي
`An Abi Hurayrah (r) anna rasoolullahi (s) qaala atadroona maa al-muflis? Qaaloo al-muflis feenaa man laa dirham lahu wa laa mataa`. Faqaala inna’l-muflis min ummatee man yaatee yawm al-qiyamati bi-salaatin wa siyaamin wa zakaatin wa yaatee wa qad shatama hadhaa wa qadhafa hadhaa wa akala maala hadhaa wa safaka dam hadhaa wa daraba hadhaa fa-yu`tee hadhaa min hasanaatihi fa in fanayta hasanaatahu qabl an yuqdaa maa `alayhi aakhadha min khataayaahum faturihat `alayhi thumma turiha fi ’n-naar.
Do you know who the muflis (bankrupt one) is? The muflis from my Ummah is one who comes on the Day of Judgment having performed prayer, fasting, and giving zakaat. However, along with all of this, he abused this person and slandered that person, ate the wealth of this person and unlawfully spilled the blood of that person. These people will take from his good deeds. If, however, his good deeds become exhausted, then their sins will be put upon him and he will be thrown into the Fire. (Muslim and Tirmidhi)
The Prophet (s) asked his Sahaabah, qaala atadroona man muflis, “Do you know who is the bankrupted?” Means his GPS is not working for his charts, his maps, he cannot read his maps, he is a muflis a bankrupted one, his GPS is not working, malfunctioning because the GPS is the heart and the mind together. Qaala atadroona man muflis, “Do you know whose GPS is not working?” They said, qaaloo al-muflis feenaa man laa dirham lahu wa laa mataa`, “The bankrupted one is the one who has nothing, no direction in his life, no way in his life, he is lost.” Faqaala inna’l-muflis min ummatee man yaatee yawm al-qiyamati bi-salaatin wa siyaamin wa zakaatin wa yaatee wa qad shatama hadhaa wa qadhafa hadhaa wa akala maala hadhaa. Prophet (s) said, “Do you know who is really the bankrupted one, who lost his GPS? He is the one who comes on the Day of Judgment in front of Allah (swt) bi-salaatin wa siyaamin wa zakaatin. He comes with his prayers, with his fasting, with his charity.” Look, that’s dangerous: we are coming with fasting, we are coming with our prayers, we are coming with our siyaam and our salaat. Wa yaatee wa qad shatama hadhaa, “And he comes and he already cursed this one,” wa qadhafa hadhaa, “and he accused this one,” wa akala maala hadhaa, “and he ate the money of that one,”wa daraba hadhaa, “and he beated that one,” fa-yu`tee hadhaa min hasanaatihi, “and Allah, at that time will take from him all his hasanaat, his prayers and fasting and charity and give it to the oppressed person, the one that has been beaten, the one whose money is gone, the one who was cursed one, the one who has been accused falsely, Allah will give the hasanaat of the oppressed one to that person.” So what is the benefit of his prayers, of his salaat, of his zakaat when his GPS is not directing him to not curse, to not backbite, and not to spread rumors?
Allah said in Holy Qur’an:
يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا اجْتَنِبُوا كَثِيرًا مِّنَ الظَّنِّ إِنَّ بَعْضَ الظَّنِّ إِثْمٌ وَلَا تَجَسَّسُوا وَلَا يَغْتَب بَّعْضُكُم بَعْضًا أَيُحِبُّ أَحَدُكُمْ أَن يَأْكُلَ لَحْمَ أَخِيهِ مَيْتًا فَكَرِهْتُمُوهُ وَاتَّقُوا اللَّهَ إِنَّ اللَّهَ تَوَّابٌ رَّحِيمٌ
Yaa ayyuha ’Lladheena aamanoo ’jtaniboo katheeran min azh-zhanna inna ba`da ‘zh-zhanni ithmun wa laa tajassasoo wa laa yaghtab ba`dukum ba`dan ayuhibbu ahadukum an yaa’kula lahma akheehi maytan fakarihtumoohu wattaqu ’Llaaha inna ’Llaaha tawwaabun raheemun.
O you who have believed! Avoid much (negative) assumption. Indeed, some assumption is sin. And do not spy or backbite each other. Would one of you like to eat the flesh of his brother when dead? You would detest it. And fear Allah; indeed, Allah is Accepting of Repentance and Merciful.
(Surat al-Hujuraat, 49:12)
“O mu’min, don’t accuse each other, don’t backbite each other, don’t spread false rumors, do you like to eat the flesh of your brother?” This is where you are being guided to, and, unfortunately, today we are all falling in this problem of backbiting or bad rumors, or speaking about this one or speaking about that one. It is not accepted in Islam, our `amal will go because of that. So then we have to know that our GPS is not working: when we enter into backbiting, we have to remember immediately that there is something wrong in our navigation system that is taking us to backbite, taking us to accuse others, taking us to speak bad about each other! We have to be careful.
Allah (swt) said:
ما وسعني أرضي ولا سمائي ولكن وسعني قلب عبدي المؤمن
Maa wasi`anee ardee wa laa samaa'ee wa laakin wasi`anee qalbi `abdee al-mu'min.
Neither My Heavens nor My Earth contain Me, but the heart of My believing servant contains Me.
(Hadith Qudsi, Al-Ihya of Imam al-Ghazali)
“Neither My Heavens nor My Earth contain Me but the heart of a believer,” if we are really believers Allah’s Light, He manifests His Light into our hearts and when Allah manifests His Lights into our heart we will be guided in the right direction. It is mentioned by Imam Ghazali (q)...Imam al-Ghazali (q) had a brother who was older than him, look at how the GPS works, older than him, and always they went to the masjid to pray and so who has to stand as imam, the eldest or the youngest? The eldest. so Imam Ahmad was standing in the prayer and praying and Imam Abu Hamid al-Ghazali (q) was behind him, standing and praying. And one day Imam Ahmad came to pray, “Allahu Akbar...” and he did not find his brother behind him. He said (to himself) “Oh! Maybe he is doing something, I will check later.” Finished the prayer, came another prayer, prayed Salaat al-`Asr, Salaat al-Maghrib, Salaat al-`Isha and his brother was not praying behind him. Finally he went to his mother and said, “O my mother! I cannot speak to my brother to ask him why he is not praying behind me, can you ask him why he is not praying behind me?”
She went to him and asked him, “Yaa Abu Hamid, O Hamid! Why are you not praying behind your brother?”
He said, “I cannot, I don’t want to, I cannot pray behind him. Don’t ask me, I don’t want to put him in a bad position.”
She said, “No,” and she kept insisting that she had to know why he was not praying behind his brother, and this story is mentioned in Ihya `Uloom ad-Deen, the manuscript copies, she kept asking and then the brother came, Imam Ahmad, and insisted to know.
Imam Ghazali (q) said, “O my brother! I prayed behind you but now I have begun to realise that as soon as you say, ‘Allahu Akbar!’ you are not praying, your mind goes everywhere, your mind is not anymore with Allah and the prayer, you begin to see things, you think about things and you have to find solutions for it, the prayer is not any more to Allah (swt), it is as if it gives you a way out to think about dunya; I cannot pray behind you.”
And Imam Ahmad said, “Sadaqt, you said the truth! As soon as I say, ‘Allahu Akbar!’ everything comes to my mind!” Abu Hamid’s (q) GPS was working, he was able to detect what was going on in the heart of his brother, but the brother was not able to detect although he was older, although he was more `alim than his brother but the difference is purification of the heart, if the heart is clean Allah will be with you. Allah said in a Holy Hadith to Prophet (s):
أَنَا جَلِيْسُ مَنْ ذَكَرَنِي
Anaa jaleesu man dhakaranee.
I sit with him who remembers me. (Ahmad, Bayhaqi)
“I am with the one who remember Me, I am sitting with the one who remember Me! I will guide him” and in another hadith, “I have My Angels that they are roaming in the streets, in the districts, finding people who are sitting in dhikrullah,” like these people here, “finding them and sit with them, when they sit with them I ask My Angels, ‘What are My servants doing?’ (and they reply) ‘They are remembering You, Allah!’” Allah says, “I am with the one who remembers Me.” O mu’mins and Muslims, we are in such a gathering, a gathering of Imaan, a gathering of love to Allah and His Prophet (s), Sayyidina Muhammad, `alayhi afdalu ‘s-salaatu wa ‘s-salaam. Salloo `alaa an-Nabi! [Allahumma salli `alaa Sayyidina Muhammad!] Salloo `alaa an-Nabi! Allahumma salli `alaa Nabiyyinaa Muhammadin wa `alaa aalihi wa sahbihi ajma`een. So in order to make our GPS work, we have problems...sometimes you have your GPS machine is not working so you go and change it but here how are we going to change our organs because they are malfunctioning? We have to change our characters and change the bad manners.
First of all, is anger. If we are angry, our hearts will never work, our mind will never work it is as if we were drunk people if we are angry. If you are angry people can brainwash you immediately! that is why extreme people today can easily be brainwashed because they are angry people: they hate, they hate each other, they have been raised on hate and anger. So in order to fix ourselves we have to get rid of anger.
Second, we have to get rid of al-hiqd, malice, we must not have malice in our hearts.
Third we have to get rid of jealousy, hasad. Jealousy, when you get jealous it kill you and kills that person whom you are jealous of. Don’ t look up but look down because then you are always happy with what Allah gave you. Don’t look up because always you complain, because you see the ones who are sitting up and enjoying, “Try to be like them! Work hard...” You don’t want to look up for those who are in dunya going to disco and night club...we are not speaking about those who go for masaajid, look to those who go to masaajid in order to build your Akhirah, in order that your GPS guides you to Akhirah, to guide you to what Allah said in Holy Qur’an:
سَخَّرَ لَكُم مَّا فِي السَّمَاوَاتِ وَمَا فِي الْأَرْضِ جَمِيعًا
Sakhkhara lakum maa fi ’s-samaawaati wa maa fi 'l-ardi jamee`an.
We subject to you whatever is in Heavens and in the Earth. (Surat al-Jaathiya, 45:13)
When Allah says, “We subject to you whatever is in Heavens and in the Earth” it means He is not retracting that; He is confirming it by saying, wa sakhkhara lakum, “For sure He has made under your hand, under your power, whatever is in Heavens, whatever is in universe, whatever is on Earth.” Wa sakhkhara lakum maa fi ’s-samaawaati wa maa fi 'l-ardi jamee`an, if you are able to use your GPS in the right way, you will have Heavens and Earth under your control. Allah said it in Holy Qur’an, so finished, we believe that. But still we are on Earth because we have these bad characteristics: jealousy, stinginess, avarice, at-tam`a, greediness, cowardice, al-batala, indolence, al-kibr, arrogance, attachment to dunya, laziness, heedlessness, anxiety, depression. All these make our GPS not working, it doesn’t give a way for the GPS to work. The GPS is ready but you need to use it in the right way. And that’s why you have to, I will mention this from Imam Bukhari (q), he said that Prophet (s) mentioned:
اتقوا النار ولو بشق تمرة
Itaqoo naara wa law bi-shaqqi tamr.
Save yourself from Hellfire even by donation of half of a date.
“Save yourself with a date,” with a date, with a piece of date, “save yourself from Hellfire, from punishment,” means be generous to even give someone who needs a date. To be generous with people makes Allah happy with you. And He said:
لَئِن شَكَرْتُمْ لأَزِيدَنَّكُمْ
La-in shakartum la-azeedanakum.
If you thank Me, I will give you more. (Surah Ibraheem, 14:7)
What He will give us more? He will guide you more, He will guide us, He will show us the way. We are blind now, we cannot see because of our misconduct, if we can say, to Allah (swt). That’s why, Allah knows so:
وَمَا أَرْسَلْنَاكَ إِلَّا رَحْمَةً لِّلْعَالَمِينَ
Wa maa arsalnaaka illa rahmatan li 'l-`alameen.
(O Muhammad!) We have sent you not except as a Mercy for all the Worlds.
(Surat al-Anbiya, 21:107)
“We have not sent you except as a Mercy for humanity, because you are Muhammad, you are going to intercede for all of them.” Allah knows that we are ignorant, He mentioned it in Holy Qur’an by saying, when He showed us the Trust, “Take the Trust,” He said:
وَحَمَلَهَا الْإِنسَانُ إِنَّهُ كَانَ ظَلُومًا جَهُولًا
wa hamalaha’l-insaanu innahu kaana zhalooman jahoola,
but man undertook it;- He was indeed unjust and foolish; (Surat al-Ahzaab, 33:72)
“He was oppressor, the human being oppressed himself, the human being had no mind and was ignorant!” O Muslims, O mu’min! Why did Allah (swt) raise His Beloved One to Qaaba Qawsayni aw Adnaa? Because Prophet’s (s) GPS is working, and that GPS is the heart, it has no malfunction and in the seerah it is mentioned that Jibreel (a) came and removed the place where Shaytan can enter the heart and he washed the heart of Prophet (s). He opened the heart of Prophet (s) and took the place of Shaytan, today they do open-heart surgery for the heart, but Islam did it 1400 years ago with Jibreel (a) to Prophet (s). All these technologies that we are seeing, many of them have been mentioned in Holy Qur’an and Holy Hadith because they know; Prophet (s) mentioned many things, he predicted many things.
We are in time that there is too much fitna, we are in a time where we cannot see the truth, we cannot see what is good; what is wrong. In every area, every place there is fitna, the father is not happy with mother, the mother is not happy with the father, the children not happy with each other, so all this Global Positioning System is not in its place. Prophet (s) said:
إنما الأعمال بالنيات
Innama ‘l-`amaalu bi ’n-niyyaat.
Every action is according to (its) intention. (Bukhari)
“Everything is according to intention,” if our intention is good means our system is good, means our future will be good, if our intention is for Allah and Prophet (s). But if our intention is for dunya it depends on what kind of dunya: is it dunya greediness, or to thank Allah for what He gave to you and to help others?--that’s what dunya needs. Need someone to make money? no problem. Make wealth? No problem but help, help your brothers, help your sisters, help your neighbors, help your community, help your country, help schools, help hospitals; show guidance. Without guidance, the ummah cannot be guided. Allah (swt), ja`ala lahu wa`izhan min qalbih. As we said in the hadith before, “Allah will make for you a guide from within your heart,” where He said in Holy Qur`an:
إِنَّكَ لَا تَهْدِي مَنْ أَحْبَبْتَ وَلَكِنَّ اللَّهَ يَهْدِي مَن يَشَاء وَهُوَ أَعْلَمُ بِالْمُهْتَدِينَ
Innaka laa tahdee man ahbabta wa laakin Allaha yahdee man yashaau wa Huwa a`alamu bi ’l-muhtadeen.
It is true you (O Muhammad) will not be able to guide every one whom you love, but Allah guides those whom He will and He knows best those who receive guidance. (Surat al-Qasas, 28:56)
“Don’t guide whom you like, Allah will guide whom He likes,” means there is guidance, there is a light:
قَدْ جَاءكُم مِّنَ اللّهِ نُورٌ وَكِتَابٌ مُّبِينٌ
Qad jaakum min Allahi nooran wa kitaabun mubeen.
Indeed, there has come to you from Allah a Light (Prophet Muhammad) and a plain Book (this Qur'an). (Surat al-Maa’idah, 5:15)
Allah has sent to us Noor and that Noor is Muhammad (s) to guide the ummah, but He adds on it, wa kitaabun mubeen, the Holy Qur`an, so means you cannot get the Noor without getting the Noor of the Holy Qur`an, they go together, Sunnat an-Nabi (s) goes together with the Holy Qur`an. We ask Allah (swt) to fill our hearts with the teachings of the Holy Qur`an. Jibreel (a) came, now we are in Israa’ wa 'l-Mi`raaj, it’s finished but in these few days Allah called, invited Prophet (s), and Allah made him to navigate between where he was going. Do you think that Prophet (s) navigate like we navigate? On GPS? We navigate on the computer, the internet, we navigate on navigation systems. With what power, with what speed, was Prophet (s) going? He went to heavens and still his mattress was warm! Yes, Your Excellency. How? Qaaba Qawsayni aw Adnaa, came back and his mattress still warm. With what speed? I will say, I will leave you with this but you might be wondering “What kind of speed was that Global Positioning System able to detect?” How can this Global Positioning System detect 300,000 km/second, the speed of light? It’s like from here to the moon. When they went to Mars it took them four years, with the speed of the Space Shuttle. Prophet (s)...they say there are stars that are two billion light years away, their light is coming to Earth with a speed of 300,000km/sec, they are two billion years old and we are just seeing them now; that means that Prophet (s) didn’t go with a speed of 300,000 km/sec he went with a higher speed. What kind of speed?
If we say, to understand, that when the mother of the child becomes four months, the soul enters that womb, enters the child. Do you think it takes that child billions of years to reach the mother’s womb? In seconds that soul will be in the mother’s womb, from its place, from Bahru ’l-Qudrah, from the Ocean of Power, from the Ocean of Creation. Immediately the soul enters the womb of the mother, it doesn’t need a speed, as it enter the womb of the mother in a second it will be there. Prophet (s) in a second, not even we can say second, in no time, because there is no time, time is imaginary in physics, time is nothing. It took Prophet (s) a moment, as soon as he went on the buraaq, he was able in the same time to move in a speed of no-way-to-understand-it and was able to see everything on Earth that gives the unbelievers evidence that he saw their caravan coming to Mecca, and he was able to detect everything. Going to First Paradise, Second Paradise; seeing everything in every Paradise. Allah stretched the Time because the Time is in Allah’s Hands, kun fayakoon, “Be! and it will be” he was able to see everything and he was able to go and come in that two hours or one hour of our earthly time, but in heavenly time. Allah knows how much He stretched it until he reached Qaaba Qawsayni aw Adnaa. That is a GPS that is working, that is one that we depend on; we depend on Allah (swt) and His Prophet (s).
O Muslims, Believers! The month of Ramadan is coming soon. Let us fix our hearts, let us fix our love to Allah (swt)...one person came to Prophet (s), one bedouin came to Prophet (s) and said, yaa Rasoolullah! Mataa as-sa`ah, “When is the Day of Judgment?”
And Prophet (s) said, “What have you prepared for it?”
He said, laa min kathrati siyaam wa laa salaatin wa laakin hubbuka yaa Rasoolullah, “Not too much of prayers and not too much of fasting, but your love yaa Muhammad! (s)”
Love took him to the highest level that Prophet (s)said to him:
يحشر المرء مع من أحب
Yuhshar al-maruw ma` man ahab.
Each person will be resurrected with the one he loves.
“It’s enough for you yaa Badawi, O Bedouin, people will be resurrected with whom they love,” means, “You will be resurrected with me because of that love to me.”
O Muslims! Keep your love to Allah (swt) and to Sayyidina Muhammad (s). Not to anyone else, not to dunya, dunya is going but Allah and His Prophet (s) are not going, Allah is the Creator and Sayyidina Muhammad (s) is the Servant of Allah (swt).
Before I will end I would like to say that we are all here Muslims; many of you might be Shafi`i and I am Shafi`i and we are all Ahlu ’s-Sunnah wa ’l-Jama`ah and we believe in Allah and we say, Ash-hadu an laa ilaaha illa-Llah, and we believe in Sayyidina Muhammad and we say, wa ash-hadu anna Sayyidina Muhammadu ‘r-Rasoolullah.
The Prophet (s) said:
من كفر مسلمًا فقد كفر
Man kaffara musliman faqad kafar.
Whoever declares a Muslim to be a non-believer, he himself is a non-believer.
Whoever says about a Muslim that they are kaafir or deviant, he is the deviant, he is the kaafir. We don't like fitna, Allah said to unite and we like to be united, Muslims to be united together, their voice to be together. That’s why we see in these days too many differences in the `aqeedah--Allah is the Judge and as long as we are praying, as long as we are fasting, as long as we are giving zakaat, as long as we are making hajj, as long as we are making Shahaada its okay if you don’t agree with the way we believe because Allah gave everyone a mind. They say there are four madhhab in Islam...it is not, it is more! But the consensus of `ulama accepted four madhhab, not “accepted” but they said “Okay, we will take from four because we don’t want to make hundreds of madhhab as people later won’t know what to do.” Muhammad Abu Zahra in Egypt, one of the big scholars of Islam, he counted in Islam there are 472 madhhab! In the history of Islam, from the time of Prophet (s) until before he died, Muhammad Abu Zahra, he has a book, Tareeq ul-Madhaahib fil Islam, The History of Madhaahib in Islam. 472 madhhab! Everyone is free to, we are free to choose whatever they want. Some people choose the Hanafi madhhab. Why do they choose it? And then if you are going to say, “Why are you choosing Shafi`i, or Hanafi?” we will tell you, “Why are you choosing the Hanbali madhhab?” it’s so easy, but we are people we don’t like to make fitna. We are people who want to be united, as Allah said in Holy Qur’an:
وَاعْتَصِمُواْ بِحَبْلِ اللّهِ جَمِيعًا وَلاَ تَفَرَّقُواْ
W `atasimoo bi hablillaahi jamiyy`an wa laa tafaraqoo.
Hold fast to Allah's rope and don't separate. (Surat Aali-`Imraan, 3:103)
“Hold tight to the rope of Allah and don’t separate,” unfortunately, there are some people, they are Muslim, we cannot judge them, they are very good Muslims, but they have differences in the approach in some areas in Islam. You think different, everyone in this hall today has some understanding of Islam that is different from the other one and behaves accordingly. So we behave like that, but we do not accuse anyone of kufr, and we cannot accuse anyone of deviancy and we don’t like anyone to accuse us of kufr and deviance. Unfortunately, every time we come to speak there are some people that try to hijack the voice of lovers of Prophet (s), I don’t say that they don’t love Prophet (s), they love Prophet (s), we love Prophet (s), we do qaseedah, the don’t accept qaseedah, okay they don’t accept qaseedah. We do Mawlid, they don’t accept Mawlid, okay no problem. We have no problem: you have your way to Allah (swt) and we have our way to Allah (swt). But they flood the Internet with some things that are unacceptable for one Muslim to accuse another Muslim of doing…
Here in this picture my daughter is kissing my hand and they accused that a lady is kissing my hand. In the second picture [both pictures are shown on the screen] the title says, “Shaykh Hisham Kabbani embracing and kissing the head of a young woman,” but that is not Hisham Kabbani, that is Nurjan Mirahmadi, another person, they put (instead of) his name, my name, and they said, “He is kissing the head of his daughter,” because my daughter and his daughter are friends. So, what do we have to answer? I said, “We don’t have to answer anything,” because we don’t want fitna, but open your eyes, don’t listen to people who try to make fitna.
الفتنة نائمة لعن الله من أيقظها
Al-fitnatu naa'imatan la`anallaha man ayqazhahaa .
Fitna is dormant and Allah cursed the one who awoke it. (al-Rafi`ee)
“Fitna is dormant,” Allah will curse who will bring it up. We are people, simple people, we stand by the shoes, we stand at the threshold of Prophet (s), we don’t want more than that,we are happy with that. May Allah (swt) keep all of us with Prophet (s) dunya and Akhirah (Amin!) and to be with Prophet (s) in Akhirah:
فِي مَقْعَدِ صِدْقٍ عِندَ مَلِيكٍ مُّقْتَدِرٍ
fee maq`adi sidqin `inda maleekin muqtadir.
In an Assembly of Truth, in the Presence of a Sovereign Omnipotent. (Surat al-Qamar, 54:55)
مَعَ الَّذِينَ أَنْعَمَ اللّهُ عَلَيْهِم مِّنَ النَّبِيِّينَ وَالصِّدِّيقِينَ وَالشُّهَدَاء وَالصَّالِحِينَ وَحَسُنَ أُولَـئِكَ رَفِيقًا
ma` an-nabiyyeena wa’s-siddiqeena wa ’sh-shuhadaa’i wa ’s-saaliheena wa hasuna oolaa’ika rafeeqa
In an Assembly of Truth, in the Presence of a Sovereign Omnipotent, with the Prophets, from the Trustworthy, from the Martyrs and Righteous Ones. O, what a beautiful fellowship! (Surat an-Nisaa, 4:69)
May Allah (swt) clean the hearts of our brother Muslims who are flooding the Internet. We forgive them and ask them to forgive us, no problem, and may Allah forgive everyone, and we say we are happy to come to Singapore because we feel we are free, you can smell the cleanliness of this country, you can smell the goodness of the people, their love to Islam and love to Imaan and love to each other and love build bridges with everyone. May Allah bless you all, may Allah forgive us all, may Allah dress us with His Beautiful Names and Attributes.
Before I leave I will say something to--because GPS sometimes is not working, and sometimes it’s working--in Holy Qur’an there is 6,666 verses because we study numerology, numbers because every ayah has a number in Holy Qur’an. Fatihah has seven verses: one, two, three, four, five, six...you cannot say there is no numerology, no numbers, we cannot, we have to acknowledge it; there are secrets in it. So holy verses in Holy Qur’an is 6,666 verses--add them together: Six plus six? (Audience: 12!) Plus six? (Audience: 18!) Plus six...(Audience: 24!) Two plus four? (Audience: 6!) Oh! There is six: some secret here. How? Six, six, six, six, ends up with six! Allah said in Holy Qur’an:
قُلْ أَئِنَّكُمْ لَتَكْفُرُونَ بِالَّذِي خَلَقَ الْأَرْضَ فِي يَوْمَيْنِ
Qul a’innakum la-takfuroona bi’Lladhee khalaqa’l-arda fee yawmayni
Say: Is it that ye deny Him Who created the earth in two Days? (Surat al-Fussilat, 41:9)
وَقَدَّرَ فِيهَا أَقْوَاتَهَا فِي أَرْبَعَةِ أَيَّامٍ سَوَاء لِّلسَّائِلِينَ
wa qaddara feehaa aqwaatahaa fee arba`ati ayyamin sawaaan li ’s-saaileena
He set on the (earth), mountains standing firm, high above it, and bestowed blessings on the earth, and measure therein all things to give them nourishment in due proportion, in four Days, in accordance with (the needs of) those who seek (Sustenance). (Surat al-Fussilat, 41:10)
He created Earth in two days and Heavens in four days.
What is Two plus four? (Audience: Six.) How many surahs in Qu'ran? 114. Add them! One plus one, two. Two plus four? (Audience: Six.) There are secrets, if our GPS works these secrets will open up, if our GPS works these secrets will pop up because when Allah (swt) revealed Surat Maryam to Prophet (s), Jibreel (a) said, “Kaaf!” and the Prophet (s) said, “`Alimtu--I know!” He said, “Haa!” and the Prophet (s) said, “`Alimtu--I know!” He said “Yaa...`Ayn... Saad, and the Prophet (s) said, “`Alimtu--I know!” He knew. Before he is telling him a letter he said “I know, whatever ocean of knowledge is behind it I know,” because amruhu bayna ‘l-kaaf wa ‘n-noon, “His Order is between the letters ‘kaaf’ and ‘noon’” which means Prophet (s) knew the meaning of the “kaaf”, that Allah creates creation by saying, “Kun fayakoon!” Allah gave to Prophet (s) an understanding of knowledges, `Uloom al-Awwaleen wa ’l-Akhireen, to say to Jibreel (a), “I know what Allah has taught me.”
الرَّحْمَنُ عَلَّمَ الْقُرْآنَ خَلَقَ الْإِنسَانَ
Ar-Rahmaan. `Allama 'l-qur'an. Khalaqa 'l-insaan.
(God) Most Gracious! It is He Who has taught the Qur'an. He has created Man.
(Surat ar-Rahmaan, 55:1-3)
“Allah taught Qu'ran and created a human being,” He taught Qur’an to whom? `Ulama they say, “To Prophet (s).” May Allah open our hearts to understand, to understand the secrets in Holy Qu'ran. Bismillahi 'r-Rahmaani 'r-Raheem, how many letters? How many? (Audience is silent.) Say a mistake, no problem, any number, but say something! (Laughter.) How many letters, can you count it? (Someone in audience: 19) 19. How many angels on Hellfire? The angels of Hellfire are how many? It is mentioned in Holy Qur’an as “Zabaaniya jahannam.” 19! Every letter you say from Bismillahi 'r-Rahmaani 'r-Raheem, will make the angels stop punishment for a Muslim that says Bismillahi 'r-Rahmaani 'r-Raheem. The second continues bi...s... ...mi...llah...ar-Rahmaan...ar-Raheem, these 19 angels Allah will stop them from punishing Ummat an-Nabi (s). They are 19, Bismillahi 'r-Rahmaani 'r-Raheem is 19 letters. What is written here? [He holds up his left hand] (Audience member: 18) 18 in Arabic numbers. And this one? [Holds up right hand] 81! 18 plus 81 equals what? 99. 99 Beautiful Names and Attributes of Allah swt.
O Muslims, let your GPS work a little bit go and read Holy Qur’an, Allah will open for you. Go and read Holy Hadith, Allah will open for you.
May Allah forgive us. Wa `alaykum wa rahmatullaahi wa barakaatuh.
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