Masjid al-Iman
A`oodhu billahi ‘s Sami` al-`Aleem min ash-Shaytaani 'r-rajeem. Bismillaahi 'r-Rahmaani 'r-Raheem.
Laa hawla wa laa quwatta illa billahi 'l-`Aliyyu 'l-`Azheem.
Dastoor, yaa Sayyidee, yaa Sultan al-Awliya. Dastoor, yaa Sayyidee wa Mawlay. Madad, yaa RijaalAllah.
Nawaytu 'l-arba`een, nawaytu 'l-`itikaaf, nawaytu 'l-khalwah, nawaytu 'l-`uzlah,
nawaytu 'r-riyaada, nawaytu 's-salook, lillahi ta`ala al-`Azheem fee hadha 'l-masjid.
Allah, Allah. Allah, Allah. Allah, Allah. Azeez Allah.
Allah, Allah. Allah, Allah. Allah, Allah. Kareem Allah.
Allah, Allah. Allah, Allah. Allah, Allah. SubhaanAllah.
Allah, Allah. Allah, Allah. Allah, Allah. Sultan Allah.
Astaghfirullahi ‘l-`Azheem wa atoobu `ilayh.
I’m sorry Shaykh Abdul-Salam, I’m sitting up here but I’m getting older. You’re still young, shaykh. Please forgive me if I’m sitting up here, but it’s easier for my knees and my back. May Allah (swt) always keep us strong in His ibaadah, worship.
Alhamdulillah, you have kept this place alive. All the jama`ah, the ones who have worked hard. I’m trying to do a little bit to keep this place going. Astaghfirullah. Allah (swt) keeps His masaajid going with mu’mins but we try to keep the masjid active.
Inshaa-Allah, if I can be of any service to this masjid, even being here a few times to make the hearts more in love with Allah (swt), may Allah (swt) accept my service. May Allah (swt) accept your service, the ones who have invited us here, Shaykh Bahauddin. You are `abdAllah too. Everybody is `abdAllah. Inshaa-Allah, we can be `abdAllah. Shaykh Abdus Salam also invited us.
May Allah (swt) be pleased with whoever invited Mawlana’s noor. It is nothing but his noor coming through the hearts. We have young ones today, so I wanted to speak a little bit about easy stuff, not too deep. Yesterday was a little bit deep. Maybe people understood or didn’t understand. It doesn’t matter. They were happy with the music. Shuayb was kicking, alhamdulillah. May Allah (swt) also be happy with the ones who organized the Mawlid yesterday, who opened their space for us. May Allah (swt) guide them to truth: they got the truth, but the human being has desires.
وَلَا تَلْبِسُوا۟ ٱلْحَقَّ بِٱلْبَـٰطِلِ وَتَكْتُمُوا۟ ٱلْحَقَّ وَأَنتُمْ تَعْلَمُونَ
And cover not Truth with falsehood, nor conceal the Truth when you know (what it is). (Surat al-Baqarah, 2:42)
They shift the truth however they want to. The people who change the truth to however suits their desires are plenty, Muslims or non-Muslims, big ones and small ones. People try to play with the truth so they can always get what they want. May Allah (swt) not make us from them.
Always ask for the truth. That is why it is called Mustaqeem. What is Mustaqeem? “Straight.” Does Mustaqeem mean “crooked,” where sometimes you go this way and sometimes you go that way? Sometimes I go to the right, sometimes I go to the left. I get some advantage here sometimes and when it doesn’t work anymore, I go to this side and get advantage here. Don’t be a snake. That is the characteristic of a snake. How does the snake move, straight? The snake wants to bite. It’s poisonous,venomous. Don’t be a snake, O human being. Be a straight one. If you are on truth, you are always straight.
Allah (swt) guided them to the truth. May Allah (swt) always guide us to the truth. Some of them have shifted the truth to suit their needs, to suit their agenda. May Allah (swt) guide them back to the truth. The ones who opened their place yesterday, may Allah (swt) guide them to the truth. May Allah (swt) keep us on the truth.
When we enter into salah, what do we do? One time our master, Mawlana Shaykh Nazim, qaddasAllahu sirruh. May Allah (swt) bless his soul and sanctify his secret (...) Sirr is a maqam. A secret is not a secret that I’m keeping hidden from you. The Station of Secret is the Station of Secret where angels don’t know what goes on between Allah (swt) and His servant. Angels don’t write that. They don’t know. When they are telling you that you have to do Dhikru ‘l-Khafi, basically your Dhikr has to be so hidden (...) khafi means “hidden.” In the Naqshbandi Dhikr, you reach a state that no angel is between you and Allah (swt), it is secret. That is sirr. Dhikru ‘l-Khafi is when you are making Dhikrullah and even angels don’t hear it or know it. It's a secret. That’s the secret, not the secret that I’m hiding a million dollars from you and I’m not telling you. That’s not the secret. When we say, qaddas Allahu sirrah, may Allah (swt) sanctify, purify, and elevate his secret, that means his station of munajaat, his station of speaking with Allah (swt). May Allah (swt) make it even purer and purer and purer. That is Waliyullah. You say, qaddasAllahu sirrah.
Where did Sayyidina Musa (a) speak to Allah (swt)? Do you know the name of the waadi? Innaka bi ‘l-waadi ‘l-muqqadas toowaa.
إِنِّىٓ أَنَا۠ رَبُّكَ فَٱخْلَعْ نَعْلَيْكَ إِنَّكَ بِٱلْوَادِ ٱلْمُقَدَّسِ طُوًى
Verily I am your Lord! therefore (in My presence) put off your shoes: you are in the sacred valley Tuwa. (Surah Ta-Ha, 20:12)
You are in the waadi that has been made muqqaddas. From qudsiyyat. I think qudsiyyat is Urdu. It means extreme purity, taharah. Musa (a) talked to Allah (swt) in that valley that is muqqaddas. It’s from muqqaddasa. That is the secret, not the secret that nobody knows about. No. The secret means that no angel knew what was going on between Allah (swt) and Musa (a). Allah (swt) was speaking to Musa. We say “subhaana.” That means He (swt) is munnazah. He (swt) is not like me and you, two people speaking together.
When you say “SubhaanAllah,” as He knows but Allah (swt) did not send any angel to Musa (a) to tell him his kalaam. Musa (a) directly, wa kallama ’Llahu Musa takleema.
وَرُسُلًا قَدْ قَصَصْنَـٰهُمْ عَلَيْكَ مِن قَبْلُ وَرُسُلًا لَّمْ نَقْصُصْهُمْ عَلَيْكَ وَكَلَّمَ ٱللَّهُ مُوسَىٰ تَكْلِيمًا
Of some apostles We have already told you the story of others We have not, and to Moses Allah spoke directly. (Surat an-Nisa, 4:164)
Allah (swt) has talked, has spoken, made with Musa (as) kalaam. That maqam, station, is where the `abd speaks with Allah (swt) without any intermediary, bi laa waasita, it is said. Allah (swt) will reveal, if you reach that station, but we don’t reach there. That’s why for Awliyaullah we say, qaddasAllahu sirrah, may the station of that saint be purified more and more so he can receive more and more of Allah (swt)’s Divine Inspiration, ilham. We don’t say wahiyy. Wahiyy is for Anbiya, but we say ilham, inspiration. May Allah (swt) sanctify Mawlana Shaykh Nazim’s secret, that station.
He said, every day in every hour there are 24,000 manifestations, tajjali. Allah (swt) manifests on every human being every hour 24,000 times different manifestations. How many breaths do you take every minute? Sixteen. Anywhere from 12 to 18 is the norm. You know that. Okay, 16. What is 16 times 60? Mashaa-Allah, you’re all IT. Come on. 960, close to 1,000. Mashaa-Allah, where’s the IT brain? I’m sorry, it only works when they are being paid. When they open the laptop, at headquarters they say, “Oh, he’s online. Start paying him.” I’ve heard the tricks that the IT people do. They open the laptop and sleep but they’re working, the laptop is on. I’ll go into IT too. It’s an easy job.
960 breaths every hour which is close to 1,000 every day. Kulla yawmin huwa fee shaan.
يَسْـَٔلُهُۥ مَن فِى ٱلسَّمَـٰوَٰتِ وَٱلْأَرْضِ كُلَّ يَوْمٍ هُوَ فِى شَأْنٍ
Of Him seeks (its need) every creature in the heavens and on earth: every day in (new) Splendour doth He (shine)! (Surat ar-Rahman, 55:29)
Everyday Allah (swt) is manifesting different manifestations. Awliyaullah have said “yawm” or “day” means time but it also means the smallest unit of time, which is “moment.” Mawlana Shaykh Nazim (q) explained that every moment Allah (swt) is giving a different manifestation on a human being. Every breath you take, do you think you can take it on your own? You cannot. Mawlana Shaykh Nazim (q) has said that this is the `Azhamah of Allah (swt), the Greatness of Allah (swt). We don’t know our Lord but for every breath you take in, Allah (swt) has to give permission. Do you believe that or not? Do you think that you can do something without the permission of Allah (swt)? As a believer, we don’t believe that. Mawlana Shaykh Nazim (q) even said that a leaf that moves from right to left, Allah (swt) is moving it. When you see these trees moving, don’t be heedless. Know who is moving these leaves. He (swt) is watching you.
In every breath that you take in and every breath you take out, Allah (swt) has to look at you and manifest His Ismu ‘l-Hayyu ‘l-Qayyum, His Holy Names, The Alive, The Standing. Al-Qayyum. You are standing by Him. Every time you take a breath in or out, Allah (swt) is manifesting from His Holy Names on you. Only for the breath, how many times does He manifest from His manifestations on you? 960 or 1,000 times an hour. If you’re running, it might become 2,000 times an hour.
Yesterday we went to Stanford. Everybody was running. I don’t know where they were running to. Where were they running, shaykh? Astaghfirullah, not running for me. Running to look good. One is running right. One is running left. One is running north. They run. If you run, it is 2,000 times. One thousand manifestations an hour. How many hours in a day? Twenty-four, so 24,000 times Allah (swt) sends from His Divine Presence, permission, mashiyat, iraada. He sends onto you that, “My servant can breathe. He can stay alive with My Name, Al-Hayy. He can stay standing with My Name, Al-Qayyum. I am the One to make him stand.” Everybody that is moving on earth is standing by Allah (swt) permitting him to stand up.
If He says “no,” what happens? Have you ever seen people collapse? I don’t want to say because we are on camera and might get flagged right away by YouTube. I’ll leave that. Maybe when we’re off. I’ve seen it. Somebody is walking normally. There is nothing wrong with them and they collapse. Allah (swt) has not permitted that heart to beat. Allah (swt) has not permitted that breath to be taken in or given out. Allah (swt) did not permit that nerve that comes from the mind or the brain to the heart that sends that electric signal for the heart to beat. He said, “Stop.” What happened when it stopped? What happened to that one who existed? He became non-existent. He was in wujood, existence and then moved to `adam, non-existence. He was zhaahir, visible and he was moved to baatin, invisible.
Zhaahir and batin. Allah (swt) makes you appear and Allah (swt) makes you disappear. Allah (swt) starts you, awwal, and Allah (swt) ends you, akhir. He is Al-Awwal. It does not mean that somebody started Him. No, He was before. There is nothing like that. You cannot even imagine in His situation that He has started somewhere. You are the one to start.
Al-Awwal, Al-Aakhir, Azh-Zhaahir, Al-Baatin means all creation from the start and end. It’s all by Allah (swt)’s Order. Its visible part, its invisible part is all by Allah (swt)’s Order. Don’t forget that. Don’t be heedless of Allah (swt), O mu’min. Non-mu’mins are doing whatever they are doing. They’re running. Let them run until they catch what they want. Now they don’t know what they want anymore. As mu’mins we know what we want. What do you want? You want Allah (swt).
These manifestations that Allah (swt) is sending upon humanity, Rasoolullah (s) has said that (...) now I don’t remember the Hadith. Sometimes I misquote the words, so it’s not a good thing. Fee dahrikum nafahaat. I remember that part. Allah (swt) is sending nafahaat to you every moment. That means a breeze from His Divine Presence.
Alaa fata aradu laha. Be sure that you encounter it every moment. Every moment Allah (swt) is sending manifestations. People are heedless of Allah (swt). They cannot be aware of Him every moment. What do we do? We come to prayer. When you take your form away from running east and west or north and south, you are taking your body away from dunya and you are saying, “Yaa Rabbee. I’m coming to You now.” A human being has to turn his body from doing senseless movements to doing correct movements so he can receive from Allah (swt) what He is sending through. That is why when you are in namaaz, know that Allah (swt) is looking at you.
“My servant has come to Me.” He is looking.
What does the servant do? He checks the right, he checks the left and it is said that Allah (swt) says, “O My servant. Where are you looking? Pay attention here.” He has come with his face, wajh. Innee wajahtu wajhiya li ‘Lladhee. I have turned my face to the one that created Heavens and Earth.
إِنِّى وَجَّهْتُ وَجْهِىَ لِلَّذِى فَطَرَ ٱلسَّمَـٰوَٰتِ وَٱلْأَرْضَ حَنِيفًا وَمَآ أَنَا۠ مِنَ ٱلْمُشْرِكِينَ
"For me, I have set my face, firmly and truly, towards Him Who created the heavens and the earth, and never shall I give partners to Allah." (Surat al-An`am, 6:79)
So, stay put. That’s why when you are in namaz and you are praying, looking at your place of sajdah, Allah (swt) is shining onto you from His Noor. Where does the moon get its light from? From turning its face to the sun. The more correctly it turns to the sun, the more complete it becomes. If you are crooked, you might get that little bit of light. But when you turn completely to the sun, when the moon turns completely to the sun, what do you get? Full moon. Bright. Pay attention.
Namaz is a means for human beings that have forgotten. Not everybody is a saint. Not everybody is a prophet. We are all weak ones but Allah (swt) said, “I will allow you to come and receive from My Manifestation upon you.” When you come to prayer, what do you have to do? First, you have to take tahara. You have to enter that waadi ‘l-muqqadas. You have to enter that valley or area that is purified and pure and sanctified. First you have to clean your body. That’s wudu. Mawlana Shaykh Nazim (q) also said when Allah (swt) said, wa thiyabaqa fa taahir, clean up your clothes, He didn’t mean only the external clothes. He also meant your inner clothing which is the heart. Your heart has to be clean and your outside has to be clean.
When you wash your hands, when you start with wudu, you are saying, “Yaa Rabbee. I’m washing my hands from all of the sins that I have committed. I’m asking tahara.” You have that intention. “Yaa Rabbee. Nawatu ‘l-wudu. Nawatu ‘t-tahara li salah wa li ‘l-`ibaadah, for salah and for worship I am intending wudu, I am intending purification.”
When you wash your hands, Awliyaullah have said that one of the meanings of washing the hands is that you are washing your hands from all the sins that you have committed. Rasoolullah (s) said, when you start washing the parts of your body, the sins will fall off. Isn’t that true? Have you heard of the Hadith? When you make wudu, your sins will fall off of any part: the hands, the face, the feet. By touching that water, your sins that you have done with your body are falling off as well as the bad characteristics of the ego that have taken over your heart. By doing tahara, Allah (swt) is also cleansing your inside. The noor of that wudu permeates or penetrates from the external being to the internal being. You have ruh inside of you. You have another being inside of you that also needs that tahara.
By just washing your hands, you are cleaning yourself from disobedience and you are trying to purify your heart from all the bad characteristics that the ego has thrown on it while you were running around with the others at Stanford. Did you ever join them, Shaykh Bahauddin? Alhamdulillah. They will beat you. They’re much faster than you.
It is also said that when you wash your face, you say, “Yaa Rabbee. I’m washing my face.” One of the meanings is you are also cleaning your face from turning to dunya, from all the darknesses you have received from looking at dunya, cleaning your face from the himmah, the zeal and the drive that you have for dunya, cleaning your face from hubbu ‘d-dunya because your face is the one that turns to Allah (swt). How can you turn to Him with the zhulmat of dunya on your face? Allah (swt)’s Name is Al-Quddoos. Your face is all stained by all the looks you had in your eyes, by all the bad stuff you heard with your ears, by all the bad words you said with your tongue. How are you going to face Allah (swt)? These are all hidden meanings of wudu. We take wudu for namaz but we don’t understand why we’re taking wudu. That is one of the meanings, by just washing the hands, you get rid of the sins and the barakah of wudu can take away what’s lurking in your heart with nooru ‘l-wudu.
Rasoolullah (s) said, on the Day of Judgment, I will know my Ummah by their foreheads. Al-ghurru ‘l-muhajjaleen. They will have shining foreheads from wudu. They washed themselves externally with the water but Allah (swt) is also washing you internally because you are now encountering him. You say, “Yaa Rabbee. I am coming to You.” Where do you turn after wudu? Qiblah. What is Qiblah? Turning to Allah (swt). Are you turning to dunya when you pray?
One of the meanings of turning to Qiblah is, al-`iraadu `an ad-dunya wa ‘l-iqbalu `ala ‘Llah. You are turning your back to dunya and turning your face to Allah (swt). When you are directing your face towards Qiblah, you are saying, “Yaa Rabbee. I am turning my back to everything other than You. I am only coming to You.” Look at how beautiful that is.
When you lift your hands, you say, “I’m lifting my hands away or up from dunya.” Why do you do this? It’s not the meaning but one of the meanings is, “Yaa Rabbee. I’m lifting my hands off from dunya.” Everything is behind me. I’m just pointing and directing my face to You. What do you say next? Why do you say, “Allahu Akbar”? What does it mean? When you say, “Allahu Akbar,” you have to say, “You are in my heart. You are bigger than dunya. Not only that, You are also bigger than Akhirah. If you give me the best in dunya and Akhirah, I take. It’s from You.” Don’t reject anything from Allah (swt). “But my intention is Your Holy Face, it’s You.”
Sayyidina Ibrahim (a) said,
إِنِّى وَجَّهْتُ وَجْهِىَ لِلَّذِى فَطَرَ ٱلسَّمَـٰوَٰتِ وَٱلْأَرْضَ حَنِيفًا وَمَآ أَنَا۠ مِنَ ٱلْمُشْرِكِينَ
innee wajahtu wajhiya li ‘Lladhee fatara ‘s-samawati wa ‘l-ard,
“I have turned my face to Him, the One Who created Heavens and Earth” (Surat al-An`am, 6:79)
I have turned to the One Who created dunya and Akhirah.” When you say, “Allahu Akbar,” that means, “Yaa Rabbee. I lifted my hands off of my keyboard.” Right, Kareem? Your work is all keyboard, isn’t it? Do you dream about keyboards? If you have to. “I have taken my hands off dunya, yaa Rabbee and in my heart You are Greater than anything.” You make an intention. What is the intention? Sidqu ‘t-talab. “Intending” means, “I am requesting truthfully.” Who are you requesting truthfully? Allahu Akbar.
When you make the intention and the takbeer that, “Yaa Rabbee. I am intending only to seek and find You.” You haven’t even started the prayer yet. That’s how important salah is. People like myself pray two raka`ats very quickly, don’t even say proper salam and then stand up and run. The more Allah (swt) is great in your heart, the more your intention towards Him becomes truthful. The niyyah and the takbeer have to be together. That means you have to make sure you want Allah (swt) alone. Don’t think of anything else. You have to struggle internally to keep yourself focused on Allah (swt). That is salah.
Awliyaullah have said that the wisdom of salah is to correct the ego. Your ego claims to be a big one, doesn’t it? If it’s not a big one, aren’t you aspiring to be a big one? If you’re big already, you want to be bigger. If you’re a mini Twix, you want to be a regular Twix. If you’re a regular Twix, you want to be a max Twix or a mega or a monster Twix. That is your ego. The ego wants bigness and greatness.
What do you do in namaz? You do this [sadja]. Who does this? How do you think people stand in front of the mayor when he enters? Maybe the mayor is not that great. How about the president? When the president enters the room, how are the people? Or the king or emperor, especially in my country. When a politician comes through, everybody is like this.
When you do this, you are humbling yourself. Your ego learns to humble itself down. When you start your prayer and do the takbeer, you put your right hand over your left hand. Awliyaullah have said that one of the meanings of putting one hand on top of the other is that you are securing your heart only for Allah (swt) but at the same time it’s humbleness. Your ego learns humbleness. That’s why namaz teaches humbleness.
There are three levels: tadhallul, khudu` and kush`oo, humbleness, submissiveness and humility. Your ego will learn humbleness, submissiveness and humility through prayer. That’s why Mawlana Shaykh Nazim (q) used to say you have to put your head in sajda. Sajda brings the humanistic pride all the way down to the lowest level. That’s how Allah (swt) wants His servant to be in front of Him. You cannot be a big one. What do two rams do in front of each other? Have you ever seen two rams lock horns? In Michigan we have sheep so sometimes I look and see two lambs locking horns. One of them was bleeding.
Two big ones will want to destroy each other. In the Holy Qur’an, Allah (swt) said:
قُل لَّوْ كَانَ مَعَهُۥٓ ءَالِهَةٌ كَمَا يَقُولُونَ إِذًا لَّٱبْتَغَوْا۟ إِلَىٰ ذِى ٱلْعَرْشِ سَبِيلًا
qul law kaana ma`hu aalihatun kamaa yaqooluna idhan lal-abtaghaw ila dhi ‘l-`Arshi sabeela.
Say: If there had been (other) gods with Him, as they say,- behold, they would certainly have sought out a way to the Lord of the Throne! (Surat al-Isra, 17:42)
The meaning of that holy verse is, if there are other gods, they will seek a way to the one who has the throne. Two kings fight because one king wants to rule the other. Did you see the European conquest in the medieval times? The Scandanavians go down to England and pillage England. The English go down to Europe and I don’t know what they do down there. The French do this. If there are two kings, three kings, four kings, they want to subdue the others, so there’s only one king.
Your ego cannot be great in front of Allah (swt). Your ego has to humble itself down. That’s why you prepare yourself for namaz and come in front of Allah (swt) and humble yourself down in front of the King of kings, Al-Malik, not the one who claims to be malik for four, six, eight years or let’s say fifty years. Some of them claim to be big ones for fifty years and then something happens to them and they become batin, invisible. They were zhaahir and tomorrow they are gone. Your ego learns these three steps in prayer.
I will finish with this story. One Waliyullah by the name of Hatim came to visit his friend. His friend asked him, “How do you pray?” Because Hatim was a derwish. He was not an `alim. The `alim is the one with the big turban, with the feathers everywhere, the roses, glamorous jubbah, the entourage with him. These are the `ulama, not the darwish. Unfortunately, that’s how it is nowadays. If you don’t have a big entourage behind you, you’re not an `alim. You have to have a big vehicle of cars, a motocave. The shaykh is coming. The shaykh is the one who learns to be a darwish and he tries to teach you how to be a darwish. Yes, we respect our shuyookh because they are our teachers. You have to respect the `alim. Don’t get me wrong. I’m pointing to the kibr, the pride and arrogance.
Hatim was Waliyullah but he was a humble one. This friend of his asked, “How do you pray?” He said, “When the time of prayer is approaching, I take wudu correctly and I make it extra good. Then I sit in my spot until every single organ of mine has settled.” You see some people running to the masjid, trying to catch the last sajda. I want to say the last raka`at but some of them try to catch the last sajda. Before the salam, they sit and the imam says, “Salam,” and they stand up.
These are the people that will come on the Day of Judgment and their noor is like the sun. They heard the adhan in the masjid while waiting for the salah, not at home. The ones who are at home and come will still have a light. The ones who are late will also have a light. Allah (swt) will give them from noor. He said, “I sit before the time comes in until everything in my body settles. I’m not running. When the adhan is called and I have to pray, I stand up and I see Ka`bah in front of me before my two eyebrows.” If he sees or doesn’t see but you imagine. Where are you directing yourself to? San Francisco? To your wife? You have to know that you are directing yourself to Ka`bah. Where is Ka`bah in your head? It doesn’t even cross our minds.
He said, “I see Ka`bah.” That means, “I imagine.” For us we imagine that we are looking at Ka`bah. Have you ever looked at the Ka`bah? If not, may Allah (swt) give you the chance to go. If you did, you know what Ka`bah looks like. Imagine that in front of your two eyebrows. “And I see my chest facing Maqam Ibrahim, not only Ka`bah. I see Ka`bah between my eyes and I see my chest facing Maqam Ibrahim. Allah (swt) is on top of me looking at my heart and knows what’s going on inside of my heart, what business am I running, what car am I driving, what suit am I wearing, what dinner I’m having, what is my wife cooking at home, what groceries am I getting. Allah (swt) is looking from the top what’s crossing my heart.”
What should cross your heart? You said, “Allahu Akbar.” What does that mean? Nothing but Him in my heart. Look at that Waliyaullah teaching the rest of us through his friend. “Allah (swt) is looking from the top and my feet are on the Siraat.” He is standing, he is seeing Ka`bah in front of him, he is seeing Maqam Ibrahim before his chest and he knows that Allah (swt) is looking at him from the top to his heart and his feet are on the Sirat, the Bridge of Jahannam. “Not only that, I’m seeing Jannah on my right. If I make good salah, و الجنة عن يميني I can see Jannah on my right, opening its doors for me.و النار عن يساري And I see Jahannam on my left. If I do bad, I see Jahannam waiting for the ones who do bad. And the Angel of Death is behind me, waiting for that order to catch me.” When Allah (swt) says, “Seize My servant’s soul,” he comes and takes your soul. He doesn’t give you one moment. You cannot prolong and you cannot delay, it’s taken.
“He’s behind me waiting for that order. Azraeel is always listening. Who’s next?” Don’t think that when people die, Allah (swt) doesn’t know what they are doing. Pass beyond creation and look into the Creator. For the one who is dying, Allah (swt) says, “Azraeel, go down and seize the soul of that servant.” That’s how they die and that is hukmullah, the judgment of Allah (swt). as a mu’min you cannot oppose.
لَا يُسْـَٔلُ عَمَّا يَفْعَلُ وَهُمْ يُسْـَٔلُونَ
Laa yusa’lu `ammaa yaf`alu wa hum yusa’loon.
He cannot be questioned for His acts, but they will be questioned (for theirs). (Surat al-Anbiya, 21:23)
Keep adab with Allah (swt). Muslims have lost adab with Allah (swt) also. A non-Muslim has no adab to start with. They were all running yesterday. The Muslim also follows suit and has no adab with Allah (swt).
He continues, “The Angel of Death is behind me and I consider this my last prayer. When I make the takbeera, I make it with grace, with extreme goodness. When I’m reading, I read with contemplation, understanding what I’m reading, what I’m saying. When I make ruku`, I make ruku` with humbleness and humility. When I make my sajdah, I make my sajdah with tadarru`, with du`a and beginning my Lord in my sajdah. When I sit, I sit with complete tranquility.” Why? Because you are saying at-tahiyyaatu. You are addressing Allah (swt). Are you saying at-tahiyyaat to your father or mother or my Google boss? Who are you greeting? Lillah. That means you have to be in complete tranquility and you have to be present.
He said, “I sit in complete humbleness and tranquility because I’m addressing my Lord. Not only my Lord, I’m addressing an-Nabi.” In your namaz you are talking to Allah (swt). You are sending Him the best of greetings by tongue and you are sending at-tahiyyaat. At-tahiyyaatu lillahi wa ‘s-salawaatu wa ‘t-tayyibaat. You are sending Him the best by tongue, the best by body and the best by money. Tayyibaat, at-tayyib.
Spend from the tayyib that We have given you as rizq.
كُلُوا۟ مِن طَيِّبَـٰتِ مَا رَزَقْنَـٰكُمْ وَلَا تَطْغَوْا۟ فِيهِ فَيَحِلَّ عَلَيْكُمْ غَضَبِى وَمَن يَحْلِلْ عَلَيْهِ غَضَبِى فَقَدْ هَوَىٰ
Kuloo min tayyibaati maa razaqnaakum.
(Saying): "Eat of the good things We have provided for your sustenance, but commit no excess therein, lest My Wrath should justly descend on you: and those on whom descends My Wrath do perish indeed! (Surah Ta-Ha, 20:81)
That means you are presenting to Him all the `ibaadah that you can make, all the worship you can make by tongue, by body and by money, all three of them. When you say, at-tahiyyaatu lillahi, “The best of greetings to You, yaa Rabbee, yaa Allah. Wa ‘s-salawaat, and all the prayers and worship is for You.
And all the goodness, at-tayyibaatu min al-rizq.
قُلْ مَنْ حَرَّمَ زِينَةَ ٱللَّهِ ٱلَّتِىٓ أَخْرَجَ لِعِبَادِهِۦ وَٱلطَّيِّبَـٰتِ مِنَ ٱلرِّزْقِ
qul man harrama zeenati’Llahi’llatee akhraja li `ibaadih.
Say, "Who has forbidden the adornment of Allah which He has produced for His servants and the good [lawful] things of provision?” (Surat al-A`raf, 7:32)
“Who made the goodness of rizq that We have given to human beings haraam? Some people say, “I don’t eat meat.” Some people say, “I don’t eat eggs.” Why do you make haraam what Allah (swt) made halaal. You have to be careful. As a mu’min you have to know that each action of yours has to be weighed by Shari`ah. If you’re not a mu’min or Muslim, okay, but you are a mu’min. Is what I’m doing accepted by Allah (swt) or is it coming against what He has ordered?
When you say, at-tahiyyaatu lillahi wa 's-salawaatu wa ‘t-tayyibaat, you are presenting all the worship that you can do by money, by body and by tongue. And then you are saying, as-salaamu `alayka, to whom? He is looking at you because you’re sending salam to him. Do you think he returns your salam or he does not? Allah (swt) ordered, if somebody gives salam to you, return it and even give better.
وَإِذَا حُيِّيتُم بِتَحِيَّةٍ فَحَيُّوا۟ بِأَحْسَنَ مِنْهَآ أَوْ رُدُّوهَآ إِنَّ ٱللَّهَ كَانَ عَلَىٰ كُلِّ شَىْءٍ حَسِيبًا
Wa idhaa huyeetum bi-tahiyatin fa hayyoo bi ahsana minhaa aw ruddooha.
When a (courteous) greeting is offered you, meet it with a greeting still more courteous, or (at least) of equal courtesy. Allah takes careful account of all things. (Surat an-Nisa, 4:86)
Send the greeting back better than the one you received or at least send it back. When you say, “As-salamu `alayka ayyuha ‘n-Nabi,” who are you addressing? Why aren’t you present? That’s why I said we would start with someone simple. They want to go deep into Bukhari and deep into the `Arsh and deep into the Kursiy and deep into the samawaat. Leave that and perform your fard correctly first, perform your salah correctly first.
That Waliyullah, Hatim, was telling his friend, “And I give my Shahadah with hope that I can give it on the last breath” because you don’t know. Allah (swt) might send a disease onto you and you might not be able to move your tongue anymore. How are you going