International Cultural Center (ICC)
[On video, suhbah starts at 35:00.)
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.
Like the beginning of every suhbah, the advice is first for you and for me, and then for everyone. Are you accepting? Kullu insaanin yahtaaju ila ‘n-naseehah.
الدين نصيحة
Religion is advice. (Muslim)
When a man asked Prophet (s), “Ansahnee yaa Rasoolullah, give me advice,” the Prophet (s) said three times, laa taghdab, don't be angry:
عن أبي هريرة رضي الله عنه أن رجلا قال للنبي صلى الله عليه وسلم أوصني ، قال : لا تغضب فردد مرارا قال : لا تغضب
A man came to the Prophet (s) and asked for advice. He said, “Don’t get angry,” and then repeated it many times. (Bukhari)
Naseehah, advice, is to not get angry. The Prophet (s) said it three times to that man. You must write it and hang it over your bed, especially when you fight with your wife or when you do something wrong. Remind yourself not to get angry with your wife or husband or with anyone. Every time you do something wrong Shaytan is there. Everyone knows that. It means you are an oppressor to yourself because you listened to him and he advised you to do something wrong, to fight, to be drunk, to be on drugs. All this is Shaytanic work and it comes from anger. Who is the angriest one? Iblees, Shaytan is the most angry one because Allah (swt) gave to Prophet (s) Ummatan maghfoorah, the Ummah that will be forgiven, by saying to him (s), alam nashrah laka sadrak, “We expanded your chest.” (Surat ash- Sharh, 94:1)
Prophet (s) is always asking for his Ummah, and Allah took him to Mi`raaj. People might wonder, why He took him to Mi`raaj and not directly to Qaaba Qawsayni aw Adnaa? People might ask that. Because He (swt) wants to show him what He built for his Ummah, what He prepared for his Ummah, that is why He took him from one Heaven to another, from first to second, third and fourth, and every time he goes to another Heaven he sees things he never knew Allah prepared for the Ummah.
That is why He said, alam nashrah laka sadrak, “Did I not expand your breast?” and asked him each time, “Are you not happy? I am giving this to your Ummah.”
The Prophet (s) said, “Yes, I am happy but give me more.”
And second (time Allah) asked, “Are you happy?
Prophet (s) said, “Yes, but give me more…” up to the Sixth, Seventh and then Eighth Heavens and then Jannat al-Firdaws. We don't know of more Heavens, this is what is mentioned in Holy Qur'an, but what Allah prepared for the Prophet (s) and hid we don't know, Allah and His Prophet (s) know.
Prophet (s) was not happy yet and then Allah took him to Hellfire to see what He prepared of punishment, and when the Prophet (s) entered Hellfire, Allah reduced the heat intensity for the Prophet (s) to be able to bear it. Up to now it is still up to that level like a sauna. Will we have a sauna on Judgment Day? Yes we will, but not an ordinary sauna like in dunya: we will sweat in shyness before Allah (swt) because He forgave us and we are still following our desires.
So ghadab, when you get angry, is the worst characteristic. Yesterday scholars from Egypt spoke on the importance of good manners and behavior in Islam, which is not only to fulfill the Five Pillars--to say Shahaadah, pray the five daily prayers, pay zakaat, fast and make Hajj, it is also to have good manners. You must improve yourself. The Prophet (s) spent twenty-three years building up the Sahaabah (r). Even before the Message was revealed to him they knew him as al-Amin, the Most Trustworthy person. Allah made him the trustee and khalifah of everything He wants to prepare for Bani Adam on Judgment Day; all of it is in the hands of Prophet (s). In Arabic we say amin as-sirr, the one trusted with codes and secrets, the head of the Board of Trustees, a secretary general. Allah (swt) dressed the Prophet (s) to be al-Amin, the Only Trustworthy One who holds all everything that Allah entrusted human beings.
وَلَقَدْ كَرَّمْنَا بَنِي آدَمَ
We have honored the Children of Adam. (Surat al-Israa’, 17:70)
نَّا عَرَضْنَا الْأَمَانَةَ عَلَى السَّمَاوَاتِ وَالْأَرْضِ وَالْجِبَالِ فَأَبَيْنَ أَن يَحْمِلْنَهَا وَأَشْفَقْنَ مِنْهَا وَحَمَلَهَا الْإِنسَانُ
إِنَّهُ كَانَ ظَلُومًا جَهُولًا
Indeed, We offered the Trust to the Heavens and the Earth and the Mountains, but they refused to undertake it, being afraid, but Man undertook it! He proved to be a tyrant and a fool.
(Surat al-Ahzaab, 33:72)
Everyone was given a Trust by Allah (swt), are we keeping it? Don’t be shy to say no, all of us have to admit it. Sayyidina `Umar (r) cried when he became caliph as he then carried the amaanah of the Ummah. Today people celebrate with alcohol when they become president by drinking. Is this civilization, how to celebrate responsibility for the the trust Allah placed on you? Sayyidina `Umar’s (r) civilization was different from today’s. Your body--limbs, organs--is a trust; do you return it to Allah by drinking alcohol? No.
Allah offered the amaanah to everyone, which means you have to give it back. It means, “I trusted you with something that belongs to Me and you must return it as pure as when I gave it to you.” when we die, are we returning the amaanah Allah entrusted to us when we were born as clean as possible? No! Even if you pray day and night, if you have bad character, you backbite and do something wrong, that prayer is one thing and the bad character is something else that you will be asked about. Sayyida `Ayesha (r) said the Prophet (s) told her:
من حوسب عذب
(Yaa `Ayesha!) Who will be judged will be punished for sure. (Bukhari)
This is because Allah (swt) will ask us to give the amaanah back clean. Who can do that? Only one can give it back clean. Love of the Prophet (s) and Ahl al-Bayt is something planted in the heart of every mu’min and if not for that love there would be no Creation! Allah (swt) gave them the Ummah as a Trust; in return, they gave their lives for the Ummah. Sayyidina al-Husayn (a) promised that to those who stood up in Karbala against Yazid. When many advised him not to go to Iraq and intervene in issues there that threatened the Ummah, he said, “I promised and, therefore, I will go.” He did not promise to fight, but rather to confront Yazid. He went with 72 companions, and they fought and he was killed. They are as the Prophet (s) said:
الحسن والحسين سيدا شباب أهل الجن
Hasan and Husayn are the masters of the youth of Paradise. (Tirmidhi)
Yazid and his forces were still bloodthirsty and even after killing Sayyidina al-Husayn (a), they went further and cut his head off. Imagine they cut the head of Sayyidina Husayn (a). Who can do that to the grandson of Prophet (s)? Where is the amaanah that Allah entrusted us with; is it to kill each other? Today they are still killing each other.
إِنَّ اللَّهَ يَأْمُرُكُمْ أَن تُؤَدُّوا الْأَمَانَاتِ إِلَىٰ أَهْلِهَا وَإِذَا حَكَمْتُم بَيْنَ النَّاسِ أَن تَحْكُمُوا بِالْعَدْلِ
Truly Allah commands you to return trusts to their owners and if you judge between people to judge with justice. (Surat an-Nisa, 4:58)
You have to give the amaanah back to Allah, The One Who gave it to you. What are we going to give back, something dirty? So you have to clean al-amaanah. How? It is simple, but do it. Today many items have an owner's manual; similarly, we are have a built-in owner's manual in us. We have to give it back clean, so you follow the footsteps--one, two, three, four, five--and they are very complicated. With some manuals you don't even understand what you are reading, you have to reread them. Allah made it very easy for us when He said, “When you oppressor yourselves come to Me, and before you knock on My door, knock on the Prophet’s door.” That is so simple!
وَلَوْ أَنَّهُمْ إِذ ظَّلَمُواْ أَنفُسَهُمْ جَآؤُوكَ فَاسْتَغْفَرُواْ اللّهَ وَاسْتَغْفَرَ لَهُمُ الرَّسُولُ لَوَجَدُواْ اللّهَ تَوَّابًا رَّحِيمًا
If they had only, when they were unjust (oppressor) to themselves, come to you and asked Allah's forgiveness, and the Messenger had asked forgiveness for them, they would have found Allah indeed Oft-Returning, Most Merciful. (Surat an-Nisaa, 4:64)
As soon as you establish the Reality by acknowledging you oppress yourself, Sayyidina Muhammad (s) will come to you. This is what the ayah says and is the message to everyone up to Judgment Day. It does not apply only to the Sahaabah (r), it applies to everyone. When Allah tells the Sahaabah in Holy Qur’an what they have to do, it is telling us what to do: come to Prophet (s)!, “When they oppress themselves (sin) they come to you, yaa Muhammad, and in your presence they make istighfaar, repent.” It means the Prophet (s) is present at that moment, so if you are standing making istighfaar facing Qibla, you are always in his presence. Awliyaullah enter through that door, which becomes a big opening: you have to go through that opening: “They come to you, yaa Muhammad, and make istighfaar in your presence!” There you clean your amaanah by making istighfaar. That is why after every prayer when you say, “As-salaamu `alaykum wa rahmatullah,” the imam says three times, “Astaghfirullah,” then, “min kulli dhanbin wa kulli maa yukhaalifu deen al-Islam,” you ask for forgiveness.
قُلْ يَا عِبَادِيَ الَّذِينَ أَسْرَفُوا عَلَى أَنفُسِهِمْ لَا تَقْنَطُوا مِن رَّحْمَةِ اللَّهِ إِنَّ اللَّهَ يَغْفِرُ الذُّنُوبَ جَمِيعًا إِنَّهُ هُوَ الْغَفُورُ الرَّحِيمُ
Say, "O my Servants who have transgressed against their souls! Despair not of the Mercy of Allah, for Allah forgives all sins for He is Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful.” (Surat az-Zumar, 39:53)
Allah is saying He will forgive all the sins, but come to Prophet (s). Grandshaykh `AbdAllah (q) said in the morning when you look in the mirror, say, Allahumma hassin khuluqee kamaa hassanta khalqee, “O Allah! Make my manners good as you have made my appearance good.” You are not missing anything, you have all the parts of your face; Allah gave us everything, but in dunya we are not happy, we want more of it. Why are we not feeling unhappy about our Akhirah? What are we going to do? Do you have the amaanah that Allah gave? No, we don't have it, we lost it.
When I came to the West in 1990, Mawlana Shaykh Nazim (q) showed us how to solve the problem of extremism by always showing good manners. What is the benefit of your prayer if you kill? So we have to emphasise moral excellence, good character. Everyday we hear people speaking at conferences around the world about, “ISIS, ISIS, ISIS,” becoming like dhikr, astaghfirullah al-`Azheem. If you have to stop them, raise your hands in prayer, purify yourselves and say, “O Allah! They are Your servants and we are Your servants. Guide them.” Allah will guide them.
إِنَّكَ لَا تَهْدِي مَنْ أَحْبَبْتَ وَلَٰكِنَّ اللَّهَ يَهْدِي مَن يَشَاءُ وَهُوَ أَعْلَمُ بِالْمُهْتَدِينَ
Indeed you do not guide whom you like, rather Allah guides whom He wills, and He is More-Knowing of the guided ones. (Surat al-Qasas, 28:56)
اذا احب الله عبدا جعل له واعظا من قلبه
If Allah loves a servant He will make for him a guide from his heart. (Daylami)
Guidance will come, but you have to acknowledge you are oppress yourself and ask His forgiveness. The Prophet (s) said to Sayyida `Ayesha, man hoosib `udhdhib, “Whoever is judged is punished.” If Allah judges you for sins you have committed, He will show you many mistakes and you will be punished. So we don't want to sweat on Judgment Day, although everyone will sweat; in Hadith am-Nabi (s), Prophet mentioned under Allah’s Judgement, the sweat of Bani Adam will cover people up to their necks! They might not see Allah (swt), as only in Heavens He can be seen, but in that environment the sweat will cover up to our necks, some to our mouth, some to our nose. May Allah not put us in that position, or we will be losers. That is why we must make istighfaar. Why do we make istighfaar after prayers? The prayer alone is istighfaar, but you do it to make the prayers accepted; you don't know if it or any of our `amal is accepted or not.
At the end of prayer as soon as we say, “As-salaamu `alaykum wa rahmatullaahi,” we want to run, especially in Jumu`ah as soon as the khateeb comes down. Some people think, “The khateeb is taking too long so next week we should go to another mosque.” Never mind, go, but have good manners. Allah is Ghafoorun Raheem. To show how bad our nafs is, as soon as the imam says, “As-salaamu `alaykum wa rahmatullaahi,” they take their shoes and run away; you should continue a little bit more to improve yourself with good manners. That’s what makes you trustworthy, al-amin: when you realize you must improve your manners. That’s what you need. Good manners is does not include arguing. Allah knows we are not going to be on the right track, so He made it easy and said, “Go to the Prophet (s) by making salawaat on him.”
إِنَّ اللَّهَ وَمَلَائِكَتَهُ يُصَلُّونَ عَلَى النَّبِيِّ يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا صَلُّوا عَلَيْهِ وَسَلِّمُوا تَسْلِيمًا
Verily, Allah and His angels send praise on the Prophet. O Believers! Pray upon him and greet him with a worthy salutation. (Surat al-'Ahzaab, 33:56)
Allah ordered angels to make non-stop salawaat on the Prophet (s), and then He ordered Believers, “You also make salawaat on the Prophet (s)!” That will take us out of Hellfire!
May Allah (swt) forgive us. We are now in a situation where people are jealous from each other, and no one wants to be bad like Muslims. If you tell them you are Muslim, it is as if you brought cancer, all the garbage and put it on yourself. Never mind, say you are Muslim, Allah will be happy, but be a good Muslim.
إِنَّ اللَّهَ لَا يُغَيِّرُ مَا بِقَوْمٍ حَتَّىٰ يُغَيِّرُوا مَا بِأَنفُسِهِمْ
Truly Allah will not change the state of a people until they change their state themselves.
(Surat ar-Ra’d, 13:11)
“Allah will not change your situation until you change yourself,” until you do good `amal. Why are we coming here? Everyone can stay at home and make du`a and pray by himself, but going to the masjid or for ziyara is recommended, because people will make connections and social ties, silat ar-rahim, not only between blood relations, but between spiritual families, as well. You have families, introduce yourself to each other and don't be strangers. Come every week to a circle of dhikrullah. The Prophet (s) encouraged the Sahaabah (r):
قال رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم: إذا مررتم برياض الجنة فارتعوا. قالو وما رياض الجنة؟ قال "حلق الذكر"
Ibn `Umar reported that the Prophet (s) said, "When you pass by the Gardens of Paradise, avail yourselves of them." The Companions asked, "What are the Gardens of Paradise, O Messenger of Allah?" He replied, "The circles of dhikr.” (Tirmidhi)
You can see this in masajid, but immediately the politics enter. Here there are no politics. Allah loves those who come together for His Love: tahaabbu fi ‘Llah, they love each other for Allah’s Love. Allah loves for us to be together. May He keep us together in this life and in Akhirah. We don't know which person did something good that day and it reflects on all of us. Tonight I was shocked when I saw a lady, it was as if she was not from this Earth; she had radiant white skin, although she is African. She needed money for medicine and was not expressing herself well. Some here brought her. We don't know whom Allah has sent; it might be she carries the load of everyone. She asked for medicine and was crying; she had a post-surgery tube for colon cancer. Allah gave us health and a normal life and children, and still we are not happy. What do you say about this lady? She was so thin and asked for $42. Allah sends His servants and if you help them, Allah will help you.
So some people gave me money that I gave to her so that heaviness will be taken away. Don't let down anyone needy. Some people say, “Don't give them money,” especially those who stand at traffic lights washing car windows like in Lebanon, Pakistan and other Muslim countries. Don't say they are not Muslim; don’t look at them that way, always keep some money to give to them. Sayyidina `Umar (r) gave. One man brought money that was not halaal, and Sayyidina `Umar (r) gave it to poor people. You don't know, you might do something small for Allah’s sake and it is big. Especially such kind of people who appear and you are not expecting them, and they are sick. It might be Allah sent her here to carry our burdens and mistakes, we don’t know. May Allah forgive us. We need good manners; teach your children good manners. Western civilization is good for dunya, but it is not okay for Akhirah because they drop their focus from Akhirah to dunya. We Muslims must focus on Akhirah!
رَبَّنَا آتِنَا فِي الدُّنْيَا حَسَنَةً وَفِي الآخِرَةِ حَسَنَةً وَقِنَا عَذَابَ النَّارِ
Our Lord! Give us good in this world and good in the Hereafter, and defend us from the torment of the Fire! (Surat al-Baqara, 2:201)
So prepare to give the amaanah, if it takes one or two years, or takes all your life until you die, make sure to begin. You don’t know when you are going to die. If Sayyidina `Azra’eel (a) comes to take your soul, finished, so prepare yourself now.If you have a rendezvous with someone important, you prepare yourself, going to shaykhs, other peoples and to that one to fix you well, and you present your business card so they will not look at your bad behavior. If Malak al-Mawt comes now, you cannot fix it! Do it now, not only your prayers and fasting, also your Shari`ah. Even if you do the basic of Shari`ah, the Five Prayers, even with no Sunnah, don’t lose them, but including Sunnah it is the best. I see the people, not only here but even in Mecca and Madinah, as soon as the imam finishes they take their shoes and run. No, sit for a little bit and ask Allah's forgiveness.
May Allah forgive us and bless us with His mercy and the love of Sayyidina Muhammad (s). May Allah bless everyone.
Wa min Allahi 't-tawfeeq, bi hurmati 'l-Fatihah.
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