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How to Be Able to See Prophet (s)

Mawlid an-Nabi (s) with Habeeb `Alwi Ba‘Alawi

Shaykh Hisham Kabbani

19 December 2015 Kerawang, West Java, Indonesia

Masjid Raya Perumnas Teluk Jambe, Karawang

Bismillahi 'r-Rahmaani '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. Alhamdulillahi 'lladhee hadaana li 'l-islaami wa 'l-imaani wa maa kunnaa li-nahtadiya law laa an hadaana 'Llah. Alhamdulillahi `alaa ni`amihi katheera wa nashkuruhu shukran jazeelan an khalaqana min ummati 'l-habeebi 'l-Mustafa (s). Ammaa ba`d fa-yaa `ibaad Allah ittaqullah fee maa amar wa 'ntahaw `an maa nahaa `anhu wa zajar.

We are in a time in which everything is upside down and Awliyaaullah are frozen as they don't want to use their will over Allah's Will, and that's why they are leaving things, not interfering. May Allah (swt) bring us to a peaceful time with Mahdi (a) inshaa-Allah.

" إِذَا أَرَادَ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى بِعَبْدٍ خَيْرًا ، جَعَلَ لَهُ وَاعِظًا مِنْ قَلْبِهِ يَأْمُرُهُ وَيَنْهَاهُ "

If Allah ta `ala wants goodness for His servant, He will make for him a guide in his heart.

(Abu Na`eem al-Ispahani in Hilyat al-Awliya from Ahmad bin Hanbal)

Today people are scattered all over the globe looking and searching for someone to guide them. There are guides, very good guides and very bad guides. Allah (swt) said:

فَأَلْهَمَهَا فُجُورَهَا وَتَقْوَاهَا

He inspired the self of its good and its bad. (Surat ash-Shams, 91:8)

Allah (swt) inspired the self with what is good and what is bad, and there are good guides and bad guides: the good ones take you to Allah (swt) through as-Siraat al-Mustaqeem, they guide you to the way to Prophet (s); the bad guides guide you to Shaytan. Allah gave us a mind and a heart to differentiate between the good and bad guides: if we find a guide that will take us to Shaytan we leave him, and if we find a guide that takes us to Allah (swt) we follow him.

We have to search and dig for a guide, and when you see someone whose description is that of a true guide, run to him, like Habeeb `Alwi, run to him as Allah will guide you! Every Hadith of Prophet (s) and every verse of Holy Qur'an has a meaning, not one meaning, but many meanings, that’s why you have to learn how to read Hadith and Qur'an and understand what is behind the verses. We are not going to speak on a high level, let us speak on a normal level because you are unable to understand a high level, but we can understand a lower level.

I will ask you a question. What is the meaning of jihad? Can someone give an answer? [Someone from audience responds.] She gave a good answer, she surprised me. The knowledge of the women is better than the knowledge of men. She said it is to struggle in the way of Allah (swt), and the Prophet (s) said:

أفضل الجهاد كلمة عدل عند سلطان جائر

The best jihad is a word of justice (or a word of truth) before a tyrannical king.

(Related by Abi Sa`eed al-Khudree, Tirmidhi)

The best of jihad is what? He said, “afdalu 'l-jihad,” which means there are many kinds of jihad and the best among them is one type of jihad. People think jihad is to go to war. Why do I have to fight to kill innocent people and slaughter them with a knife? That is not jihad, that is slaughter. Prophet (s) and scholars were able to understand there are fourteen different categories of jihad and Prophet (s) described the best of them as kalimatu haqq or kalimatu `adl, “To speak the word of truth (justice).” Kalimatu haqq `inda sultaanin jaa'ir, “To say a word of truth, a word of reality, directly in the face of the sultan who is always bad.” It means to say to his face, "You are wrong!" And who is the sultan that always tells you to do something bad? It is your ego! So the best jihad is to say to your ego, "You are wrong! I have to struggle in the way of Allah (swt) and Prophet (s)!”

Ibn Qayyim al-Jawziyya, one of the past `ulama--although he differed from Ahl as-Sunnah wa 'l-Jama`ah in his beliefs, he was an `aalim, but some parts of his beliefs were wrong--he also categorized jihad into fourteen different kinds and said thirteen of them were to fight against your ego and other categories other than military struggle.

Why am I bringing up the issue of jihad? It is the main thing that can take you to Allah (swt), to His Prophet (s) and to Paradise. This is the way of Awliya who have struggled against their egos, their nafs, desires and that's why Allah (swt) gave them power He didn't give to anyone else. What differentiates us and Awliya? They are struggling and we are relaxed. They live their lives by fighting their desires, we live our lives by listening to our desires. Their struggle against their desires takes them to see what cannot be seen and hear what cannot be heard, while we say we love Prophet (s), we say we love Allah (swt), but when desire comes on us we forget about Allah (swt) and Prophet (s) and follow our desires!

When we do salawaat on Prophet (s) it is like a switch: when you do salawaat the switch is on, the connection between you and Prophet (s) is open, but your desires will veil it, you cannot see where the tunnel is to reach Prophet (s). Between us and Prophet (s) there is a bridge or a tunnel we have to cross and if your desires close it for you then you cannot see. Awliya enable us to see and to reach the other side to see Prophet (s). Can anyone say to me that when they make salawaat they are able to see Prophet (s)? Prophet (s) is waiting to be seen!

Just now they were making salawaat, did anyone see Prophet (s)? No. Is Prophet (s) present? Why can’t you see him? Because we are not struggling, we are listening to our desires. `Young ones are trying to show their love to Prophet (s), which is very good, but `ulama whose ages are 70, 60, 50, can they see Prophet (s) when they do salawaat? We never heard one of them say they saw Prophet (s), but can Awliya say they saw Prophet (s)? Yes, they can see him!

Sayyidina `Umar (r) was in Madinah and his army general Sariya (r) was fighting in Shaam and Sayyidina `Umar (r) was able to see him and give him information how to fight the enemy from Madinah; with no computer he was able to reach him because his eyes and ears were open, he is a wali, he is not a prophet. Sayyidina Muhammad (s) is the Last Messenger, but there are Awliya who can see. Isma`il al-Bukhari was able to see Prophet (s) to ask him in a dream if the Hadiths are correct and which chapter to put them in; he didn't publish a Hadith without asking Prophet (s). They were able to see and to hear because they struggled.

These young flowers, if they insist to destroy their egos, for sure they will see Prophet (s). Look at the power of Awliya. I was in Madinah a long time ago, in the early 70’s, and I was in Jeddah and went to Madinah and called my shaykh, Sayyidee Shaykh Muhammad Nazim Adil al-Haqqani (q), and said, "Sayyidee, I am in Madinah, do you need anything?"

He said, "Kiss the threshold, the floor of the soil between you and Prophet (s) when you are standing in the muwaajaha facing Prophet (s) and making salawaat. There is the threshold, kiss there."

I said, "This is my order?"

He said, "Go along, inshaa-Allah you will be successful."

I began to ask in my mind, but as a mureed you cannot ask when your shaykh says something, we listen and obey, don't argue, don't question, don't say this or that, but as a mureed you are still growing up, and I said, “Subhaan-Allah! What kind of a test Mawlana has given me? How can I kiss the threshold when all these people say, ‘move, move, move’?” But since my shaykh said, "Go!" I went.

Do you like to kiss the threshold of Prophet (s)? Inshaa-Allah! Listen to the story. I went because many times I went there, I was living there for more than 5, 10 years and I know where you can stand and not be seen behind the pillars in front of the Holy Grave of Prophet (s). I said to myself, “I will stand behind the pillar and approach when not too many people are coming,” but always there were too many. I was unable and was making du`a and the head of the staff of al-amr bi 'l-ma`roof wa 'n-nahi `an al-munkar left his position standing by the door and I saw him coming to me, and said to myself, “This is finished, he is going to shout at me.” I can see that person's face now: he was very white with a reddish beard, wearing white, coming to me, reaching me and then making du`a.

He looked at me and smiled, and he said, "Come with me."

I said to myself, "Where is he taking me?"

He said, "I am taking you to where you want. Come." He held my hand and brought me to the grille, to the fence behind which is the Holy Grave, then he said, "Kiss the threshold of Prophet (s). Don't rush, take your time."

I went down, put my hand on the threshold and the whole dunya disappeared as if I was in a beautiful garden and there was no time, time disappeared, there were no limits, no forward or backward time, everything stood still. I did not hear any voices, everyone disappeared. I spent half-an-hour at the threshold of Prophet (s). When I raised my head he (the official) was there and said to me, "Send my salaam to Shaykh Nazim." I fell down at that time. How he reached him? Awliya can move, they can see, they can hear because they struggle against their egos, as mentioned in the Hadith:

عن ‏ ‏أبي هريرة ‏ ‏قال ‏‏قال رسول الله ‏ ‏صلى الله عليه وسلم ‏ ‏إن الله قال ‏ ‏من عادى لي وليا فقد ‏ ‏آذنته ‏ ‏بالحرب وما تقرب إلي عبدي بشيء أحب إلي مما افترضت عليه وما يزال عبدي يتقرب إلي بالنوافل حتى أحبه فإذا أحببته كنت سمعه الذي يسمع به وبصره الذي يبصر به ويده التي يبطش بها ورجله التي يمشي بها وإن سألني لأعطينه ولئن استعاذني لأعيذنه وما ترددت عن شيء أنا فاعله ترددي عن نفس المؤمن يكره الموت وأنا أكره مساءته ‏

ولا يزال عبدي يتقرب إلي بالنوافل حتى أحبه، فإذا أحببته كنت سمعه الذي يسمع به وبصره

الذي يبصر به، ويده التي يبطش بها ورجله التي يمشي بها،

My servant does not cease to approach Me through voluntary worship until I will love him. When I love him, I will become the ears with which he hears, the eyes with which he sees, the hand with which he acts, and the legs with which he walks (and other versions include, “and the tongue with which he speaks.”). (Hadith Qudsi, Bukhari)

Allah will give, Allah is not hiding or holding the treasures, He has all treasures, He gives and it never ends! So that man said to me, "Send my salaam to Shaykh Nazim!" Anyone who keeps doing salawaat for sure will see Prophet (s) in a dream. Allahumma salli `ala Sayyidina Muhammad wa `ala aali Sayyidina Muhammad. I continued on my way and went out of the Haram far away and began to hear someone calling me, "Hisham, Hisham!" and I saw a nicely dressed young person running to me. I stopped and looked at him, he was smiling with a Qur'an in his hand. He said, “My father told me to give you this gift to take to Shaykh Nazim.” His father was the man who took me to kiss the threshold, and he sent a gift to Mawlana Shaykh Nazim (q) with his son. How were they able to communicate? He not only led me to kiss the threshold, but sent a gift also to make sure that Mawlana knows what he did, which means he had a direct connection.

I experienced many stories like this in my life. My advice is to keep sending salawaat on Prophet (s), struggle against your ego, struggle against your desires, then you will reach your destiny that takes you to be a wali.

I will end with another story based on the Hadith:

" إِذَا أَرَادَ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى بِعَبْدٍ خَيْرًا ، جَعَلَ لَهُ وَاعِظًا مِنْ قَلْبِهِ يَأْمُرُهُ وَيَنْهَاهُ "

If Allah (swt) wants goodness for His servant, He will make for him a guide in his heart.

(Abu Na`eem al-Ispahani in Hilyat al-Awliya fom Ahmad bin Hanbal)

If Allah (swt) wants khayr for His servant He will make a guide from within his heart. I was in Malaysia five years ago going downtown to an invitation, I parked the car and was getting out when I saw a lady with her father, she stopped the car quickly, came to me and said, "Shaykh Hisham!"

I said, "Yes." She knew, and her father was ignorant. Ishaq was there. I said, "Yes."

She said, "I have followed you on the Internet on Sufilive for four years, but I could not find you. Last night I saw a dream in which a man came to me and said, 'Do you want to see Shaykh Hisham? At 4:pm he will park his car at this place.’ (She cried.) I was waiting to come to this street in order to see you and take Shahaadah." She took Shahaadah and became Muslim, but her father didn't, then she left and I left.

When Allah wants to guide you, if you are on the Right Way Allah will guide you. If He wants to guide His servant, He will put light in his heart with no blockage. As soon as she said Shahaadah all her sins went away, because Prophet (s) said, “Islam removes everything before it,” so let us renew our Shahaadah and bay`a. [Bay`a. Go to Sufilive.com/baya.]

Before we end, I would like to announce that Mawlana (q) is happy with Habeeb `Alwi and I have been ordered to tell him he is authorized to give bay`a to Mawlana Shaykh Nazim from now on, and he can guide and direct many newcomers, that has been granted to him, and to lead dhikr every Thursday. Inshaa-Allah he is authorized to give bay`a all the way up the Golden Chain to Prophet (s) and to Allah (swt).

May Allah accept from all of us.

InshaaAllah, his `ahd is to be a wali. The first time I saw him five years ago I saw that light in his heart. If that light opens it will attract a lot of people to love of Prophet (s) and Allah (swt). He has that power.

Bi-hurmati 'l-habeeb, bi-hurmati 'l-Fatihah.

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