After Maghrib
A`oodhu billahi min ash-Shaytaani 'r-rajeem. Bismillahi 'r-Rahmaani 'r-Raheem.
Nawaytu 'l-arba`een, nawaytu 'l-`itikaaf, nawaytu 'l-khalwah, nawaytu 'l-`uzlah,
nawaytu 'r-riyaadah, nawaytu 's-sulook, lillahi ta`ala fee haadha 'l-masjid.
Ati`ullaha wa ati`u 'r-Rasoola wa ooli 'l-amri minkum.
Obey Allah, obey the Prophet, and obey those in authority among you. (4:59)
As I was saying before, there is discipline in all ways of life. Even in the universe, in the stars, constellations, and galaxies. And there is discipline in our lives. Take any way of life for example, you will find discipline in any tariqah, profession, or madhhab (school of thought). Hence, there is discipline in anything that comes to dunya. But when it comes to Allah, we have no discipline. For example, every day the alarm clock rings and we wake up at 7:30 in the morning, we shower and get ready, drive to work, and then at work we follow a discipline. But the problem is that when it comes to Allah, we have no discipline.
When you want to see a doctor, you make an appointment. If the doctor knows you, you might get an appointment sometime in the next two months, and if not, they say to come in six months! That is because they follow a discipline. If you know the doctor, you will be treated in a special and a different way; the doctor can even come to your house. If the patient is feeling extreme pain and needs to be seen, the hospitals say, "No, there is no open space, we cannot fit you here." The patient might say, "I am feeling pain, I might be dying!" They say, "Take a pain killer, Vicodin or Codeine."
If you know someone who can take you to the president, you knock on their door, and because that person is near you and supports you, they say, "Okay, come." And after that, those two months drop to one hour, and suddenly there is an opening and the doctor will see you! How does that happen? Because someone called the doctor and said you are special; someone will come and take you. So what then do you think of someone who is near the presence of the Prophet (s)? They will immediately take you in. They will intercede for you. But still, there is a discipline.
وَلَوْ أَنَّهُمْ إِذ ظَّلَمُواْ أَنفُسَهُمْ جَآؤُوكَ فَاسْتَغْفَرُواْ اللّهَ وَاسْتَغْفَرَ لَهُمُ الرَّسُولُ لَوَجَدُواْ اللّهَ تَوَّابًا رَّحِيمًا
Bismillahi 'r-Rahmaani 'r-Raheem, wa law annahum idh dhalamoo anfusahum jaaooka w 'astaghfarullaha w 'astaghfara lahum ur-rasool law jadooAllah tawaaban raheemah.
If they had only, when they were unjust to themselves, come to you (O Muhammad) and asked for Allah's forgiveness, and the Messenger had asked forgiveness for them, they would have found Allah indeed Oft-Returning, Most Merciful. (an-Nisa, 4:64)
They make it easy for you when you know someone. But you must keep the discipline. If you know someone and then they take you to the Prophet (s), that is the way to get access to forgiveness. Come to Prophet (s), yaa Sayyidee, yaa Rasoolullah! We are asking you to seek our forgiveness! So discipline is needed. But unfortunately, when it comes to Allah there is no discipline. We listen to our selves and to our Shaytan. Some people have discipline and some are struggling, like us. Some already have discipline, but it varies. We ask Allah (swt) to write us from among those who have discipline, and to forgive us our shortcomings!
It is said in the Holy Qur'an:
يَا أَيُّهَا الْمُدَّثِّرُ قُمْ فَأَنذِرْ وَرَبَّكَ فَكَبِّرْ وَالرُّجْزَ فَاهْجُرْ وَلَا تَمْنُن تَسْتَكْثِرُ وَلِرَبِّكَ فَاصْبِرْ فَإِذَا نُقِرَ فِي النَّاقُورِ فَذَلِكَ يَوْمَئِذٍ يَوْمٌ عَسِيرٌ عَلَى الْكَافِرِينَ غَيْرُ يَسِيرٍ
Ya ayyuha 'l-muddaththir, qum fa-andhir, wa rabbuka fa-kabbir, wa thiyaabaka fa-tahhir, wa 'r-rujza fahjur, wa laa tamnun tastakhtiru wa li-rabbika fa 'sbir, fa idhaa nuqira fi 'n-naaqoor, fa dhalika yawmaydhin yawmun `aseer, `ala 'l-kaafireena ghayru yaseer.
O you wrapped up (in the mantle)! Arise and warn! And your Sustainer's Greatness glorify! And your inner self purify! And all defilement shun! And do not gain for yourself through giving seek, but turn to your Sustainer in patience. And (warn all men that) when the trumpet-call (of resurrection) is sounded, that very Day shall be a day of anguish, not of ease, for all who (now) deny the truth! (74:1-10)
Allah (swt) said, ya ayyhual muddaththir, "You, yaa Muhammad, are the one who covered yourself by yourself." Covered with what? They say with a blanket. Is Allah (swt) going to give an example of His Prophet with a blanket? "O Muhammad (s), the one whom Allah has covered you with His Beautiful Names and Attributes, and opened for you `Uloom al-Awwaleen wal `Akhireen, (Knowledges of Before and After) and didn't leave anything unexplained. He covered you with His Beautiful Rising Sun of Names and Attributes. Qum, and show them these Beauties and warn them they will not get them if they don't have discipline. Stand and warn!" Warn what? "That you will be mahroomeen, prevented ones!"
And Allah (swt) is saying, "O Muhammad! I am giving you authority to dress my servants. Warn them that if they don't follow the discipline, they will not be dressed with these Beauties!"
Prophet (s) is saying to us, "O Human Beings! Allah is telling me not to let you be prevented from these manifestations of His Beautiful Names and Attributes that He is waiting to dress you with!"
So Prophet (s) is waiting for those who follow discipline. Allah is manifesting these knowledges on him, telling him to stand and warn them; tell them what they have to do. "When they say, 'yaa Muhammad!' I am dressing them because of you!" And that is something unexpected, beyond the human mind. That is when you make takbir, Allahu Akbar! Allahu Akbar! Then say, "yaa Muhammad! O Allah! You are the Greatest! There is no end for Your Greatness!" As much as you are saying Allahu Akbar, His generosity is increasing, it never ends. He is covering you with these Beauties!
O Muslims! We know nothing. I was leaving (to prepare for travel) and it was Mawlana Shaykh Nazim's (q) order to say something we have never heard before; awliyaullah are opening it now.
Wa rabbuka fa-kabbir, "Praise your Lord for His Greatness." As much as the Prophet (s) is giving to his ummah, Allah is filling it up. Don't keep your container full, keep it empty. It is empty for those who have discipline. Everything must have discipline. You are not permitted to move a stone in middle of the road with your foot; it is sunnah to pick it up with your hands, to bend down with compassion and humility and move it aside, because Allah created it with respect. So if you are not allowed to kick a rock, how then can you use a suicide bomb? Ya Rabb tubtu wa rajaatu ilayk (O Lord I turn in repentance to You and ask Your forgiveness)!s To remove harm is sunnah and you are making harm. And that is for minimal harm, but you are harming many people by blowing yourself up! You and those whom you sent to do that will all be questioned on the Day of Judgment!
Therefore, if we follow the right path, these Beauties are waiting for us. Mention Your Lord's Greatness and then He will fill us and all humanity with His Generosity! May Allah open our minds and hearts to understand more.
Wa min Allahi 't-tawfeeq, bi hurmati 'l-habeeb, bi hurmati 'l-Fatihah.