Prophetic Poetics Event hosted by Ikhlaas Foundation
[Shaykh Hisham’s remarks start on video @ 12:00.]
As-salaamu `alaykum wa rahmatullahi wa barakaatuh .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 ni`matahu ta`ala `ala mahabatihi lana wa in maa ahabanaa maa khalaqanaa. Wa ash-hadu laa ilaaha illa-Llah wa ash-hadu anna Muhammadan rasoolullah, Mawlana Muhammadan `abduhu wa habeebuhu wa rasooluh. Arsalahu min arjahihee meezanan aw bayanan fa awda`a at-tareeqati wa nasaha al-khaliqati salla ’Llahu `alayhi wa `aala aalihi wa as-haabihi wa azwajihi wa awlaadihi wa khulafaaihi al-mahdiyeena al-murshideena mim ba`dihi wa wuzaraa’ihi ‘l-`amileena fee `ahdih khoosusan minhum `alaa aimaati khulafaee rasoolillahi `alaa ’t-tahqeeq umaraai ‘l-mu’mineen hadaraati abi bakrin wa `umara wa `uthmaana wa `ali dhawi ’l-qadri ’l-jalee wa `aala baqiyati ’s-sahaabati wa’t-tabi`een ridwanullahI ta`ala `alayhim `ajmaeen.
It is my...to say from beginning, let us say the truth:
وَمَا أُوتِيتُم مِّن الْعِلْمِ إِلاَّ قَلِيلاً
(O Mankind!) Of knowledge, only a little is communicated to you. (Surat al-Israa’, 17:85)
Allah (swt) said in Holy Qur'an, “Whatever the whole world may try to write, predict or explain is limited: no one knows the extent of knowledge except Sayyidina Muhammad (s), as he said, “Allah gave me `Uloom al-Awwaleen wa ‘l-Akhireen, Knowledge of Before and Knowledge of After.” He (s) is the one who can give knowledge to his Ummah in dunya and in Akhirah. As you move around, everything in this world gives you a signal. Something in this hall struck me, the U of M insignia on this podium: ‘M’ is the first letter of ‘Muhammad’, ‘Muslim’, ‘mu’min’, and ‘muhsin’. It is a sign from Prophet (s), “I am here, I am not far away. My name has been written ‘Muhammad Rasoolullah’.”
We see an insignia, the letter ‘M”, but behind that is knowledge given to humanity through many years of education. People see the letter Meem written there, which is actually not one letter, but two: one ‘M’ that we can see and one we cannot see. The ‘M’ we cannot see is “Muhammad”, the one who reached Qaaba Qawsayni aw `Adnaa. Some Awliyaullah say when you reach Paradise--and today people buy islands in the ocean to retire there, saying it is a paradise where want to rest all their lives--but what do you think about the one who reached Qaaba Qawsayni aw `Adnaa? Do you think he will return to dunya from there or that he will remain there in the Presence of Allah (swt)? Those who tasted the Reality of Sayyidina Muhammad (s) are stunned, `ulama are stunned; it is beyond our understanding. We are speaking but we cannot see; we can say something but we cannot describe the Reality, it is as if Allah gave us the power to do that when He said in a 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)
When He says, “I will love him,” it means He loves you because you are approaching Him through voluntary worship, then you will hear what others cannot hear, you will see what others cannot see. You are hearing me, but are there other voices going across this room, yes or no? What are these voices?
إِنَّ لله ملائكة يطوفون في الطرقات يلتمسون مجلاس الذكر
There belong to Allah angels who circle the streets looking for gatherings of dhikr. (Bukhari)
A group of people sit remembering Allah and the angels will encompass them in layers and layers up to Paradise. Where are those angels? We cannot see them, I cannot see them also, but a small device can see where our hearts cannot. If you bring a TV here and turn it on, it shows a thousand channels and will pick up what is going on in this room and also show everything going on around the world, and that is something we cannot hear or see except through the TV. What do you think about the Creation of Allah (swt)? Allah gave us an ear to hear with shaped like a satellite dish, and magnetic waves come in and then the ear hears something. Allah says, “I will be his ears,” like Shaykh `Ali Husayn divided us in an ocean of sophiticated linguistic words from which we did not understand anything; it is above our level as Imam Fode said about him, “We cannot compete with him, we are simple people,” but what he said reached people’s hearts, not their minds, which cannot see or accept as the mind is stubborn. That is the problem: it only sees straight-ahead and not everything else around it, but the heart can see everywhere as it acts like a receiver, a dish that allows us a unique vision to both see and to hear. May Allah (swt) give us something to see and hear and we are asking to see the Prophet (s)!
Allah (swt) said in Holy Qur'an:
رَبَّنَا آتِنَا فِي الدُّنْيَا حَسَنَةً وَفِي الْآخِرَةِ حَسَنَةً وَقِنَا عَذَابَ النَّارِ
Our Lord, give us hasanah in this life and hasanah in the Next Life and protect us from the punishment of the Fire. (Surat al-Baqara, 2:201)
The best hasanah to be given to humanity is Sayyidina Muhammad (s), so the hasanah mentioned in Holy Qur’an is Sayyidina Muhammad (s): O Allah! Give us Muhammad (s) in this world and in the Hereafter! Huwa’l-habeebu ‘ladhee turja shafa`atuhu, “He is the Beloved whose intercession is sought,” as without his shafa`ah we are lost!
Sayyidina Muhammad al-Busayri (q) wrote Qasidat al-Burdah, which is all praise and a remembrance of the life of Prophet (s), his Shamaa'il, characteristics, his gladness and sadness, and `Ishq al-Ilaahi, love for Allah. It is said that a shaykh of the Naqshbandi Order was traveling with 700 mureeds on the Nile River,as it is a custom of the shaykhs to take their mureeds on physical journeys to live rough and survive difficulties in their lives. The Prophet (s) said, “Live rough as you don't know when the favors will end,” like what is happening in the Middle East today, so it’s advisable to live rough and Awliyaullah teach their followers that. That night they camped by the Nile and in the morning they wanted to pray Fajr and went to the river make wudu and they found it was boiling! Don't be amazed! When the pot is boiling the lid moves and gives a sound; also, when the heart is so moved by love of the Prophet (s) it produces energy and that person may even have a fever. When you have a high-level fever you feel your body completely hot, but when you have a heavenly fever, such as when you want to attain something and cannot reach it, you will boil everything around you! That is why hearts are attached to the heavenly love, for whom they love, Allah (swt) and His Prophet (s).
The shaykh said, “Llet us go up the river to find the cause of it boiling,” and they went up and saw a man on the river bank dipping his feet in the river, which is one of the largest rivers in the world. He had his feet in the water, which was boiling, and he was repeating over and over, fa mabligh al-`ilmi feehi annahu basharun, and he could not continue and cried and cried, and the water boiled! The 700 followers were stunned, wondering who was he praising? He was praising Prophet (s), saying, the knowledge of the Prophet (s) ends up that he is a human being!” However, Imam Busayri (q) knew that Prophet is not just a human being, he is a subtle human being, he is Muhammadun Rasoolullah. From his noble name, one Meem is with the people and one Meem is with the Divine Presence and coordinating with each other. For him, Sayyidina Muhammad (s) is not a human being, so he was overwhelmed with his love of Muhammad (s) and everywhere he turned his face he saw the Prophet (s).
Can the Prophet (s) be seen? Yes. Sayyidina `Umar (r) saw Saariya and warned him, “Look behind the mountain!” although he was in Madina to Sayyidina Saariya was 2,000 km away in Shaam. Therefore, can the Prophet (s) not be seen? Sayyidina `Umar was not the Prophet (s) and he saw Saariya and sent a message to him, which means there is a possibility to see the Prophet (s). Awliyaullah see him (s) in visions and dreams. The Prophet (s) dicated the entire Burdah to Imam Busayri, but at that time he was not able to continue that verse, fa mablagh al-`ilm feehi annahu basharun, and was so frustrated that every part of his body started boiling and that energy went from his body into the water and made it boil! Then Prophet (s) appeared to him in a vision and said, “Yaa Imam Muhammad al-Busayri, add, wa annahu khayra khalqillahi kullihimi, “He is the Best of All Creation,” not only among human beings, but khayra khalqillah, all Creation! Allah (swt) said:
كنت كنزا مخفياً فأحببت أن أعرف فخلقت الخل
I was a Hidden Treasure (and) I wanted to be known, so I created Creation. (Hadith Qudsi)
“I loved to be known, so I created Creation.” Because Allah loved, the product of His love is He created Creation, it came out, so the womb of Creation is His Love! Also, Sayyidina Muhammad’s name is with His Name, so the product of His love is Sayyidina Muhammad (s)! Poetry is a tool in the hands of Sufi poets: they use it to drink from the spring of divine knowledge, each one according to their knowledge and spiritual level, and each one has an Ascension, because we are following the Prophet (s), as he said:
قُلْ إِن كُنتُمْ تُحِبُّونَ اللّهَ فَاتَّبِعُونِي يُحْبِبْكُمُ اللّهُ وَيَغْفِرْ لَكُمْ ذُنُوبَكُمْ وَاللّهُ غَفُورٌ رَّحِيمٌ
Say (O Muhammad), "If you (really) love Allah, then follow me! Allah will love you and forgive your sins, and Allah is Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful.” (Surat Aali-`Imraan, 3:31)
قَالَتِ الْأَعْرَابُ آمَنَّا قُل لَّمْ تُؤْمِنُوا وَلَكِن قُولُوا أَسْلَمْنَا وَلَمَّا يَدْخُلِ الْإِيمَانُ فِي قُلُوبِكُمْ
The Arabs declare, “We believe (amanna).” Say (to them, O Muhammad), “You do not; rather say, ‘We submit (aslamna),’ because belief has not yet found its way into your hearts.” (Surat al-Hujuraat, 49:14)
Prophet (s) reminded the Sahaabah (r) they are Muslims, not mu’mineen, until they accomplish all they can in Shari`ah to reach level of Iman. The poets expressed the highest levels of Nearness to Allah using subtle language and that is why Sayyidina Muhiyyidin ibn `Arabi (q) said, “Who limits love does not know love,” because there are people who say, “We must quench our thirst with a cup of love.” However, not that it is wrong, but Sayyidina Bayazid al-Bistami (q) said you have to keep quenching and quenching your thirst, but it never ends. Yes, you might quench it once as that is your level, but there are others who can quench their thirst twice and up to 124,000 different levels of Awliyaullah, as the Prophet (s) said:
أصحابي كالنجوم بأيهم اقتديتم اهتديتم
As-haabee ka 'n-nujoom bi ayyihim aqtadaytum ahtadaytum.
My Companions are like stars (on a dark night); whichever of them you follow, you will be guided.
(`Abd ibn Humayd, ad-Daraqutnee, ibn `Adiyy, ibn `Abd al-Barr,
with unsound chains but the meaning is sound.)
There are 124,000 Companions (r) on footsteps of the Prophets (a) and I am learning al-Futuhaat al-Makkiyya from him idha dakhal as-seen ila ash-sheen zhahar al-mahdi, “When Sultan Sulayman Selim enters Sham, the Last Days are approaching.” Sultan Sulayman Selim entered Sham 500 years ago, so what are we expecting? When love enters, and example is when energy enters the mass it moves. Poetry is the banner of all Sufi shaykhs and the beginning of the beginning for them: the cup of love contains all secrets and lights. Therefore, you cannot humiliate any Wali, even if his level is the lowest still he is a Wali!
بَلْ أَحْيَاء عِندَ رَبِّهِمْ يُرْزَقُونَ
No, they live, finding their sustenance provided in the Presence of their Lord. (Surat Aali-`Imraan, 3:169)
And that means they are provided for, not just in their grave, for them dunya is worse than the grave; dunya is a prison for the Wali and he wants to take his followers out of it, but not by being lazy! Some say the Wali is lazy because he is served by people; no, the Wali must work, like Sayyidina Muhammad (s) worked daily, and also Sayyidina Abu Bakr as-Siddiq (r) has a business. Sayyidina Bayazid al-Bistami (q) said, “Real men (rijaal Allah) are those who drink from the ocean and yet their tongues hang to their chests from thirst (for knowledge, which they cannot quench).”
Imam Fode, we are poor people in front of Shaykh `Ali, we need hearts like TVs that allow us to see; wwe need to audit ourselves, because Allah said, “As long as My servant approaches me through voluntary worship, I will be his eyes he can hear with and ears he can see with and hands he can act with and feet he can walk with,” and some Awliyaullah add to that, yakoonu rabbaaniyoon yaqool li shay’in kun fa-yakoon. So you see people busy in dhikrullah, asking Allah to open His door, like Sayyidina Bayazid al-Bistami (q) and Ahmad al-Badawi (q). Open your door, yaa Allah! You said:
فَاذْكُرُونِي أَذْكُرْكُمْ وَاشْكُرُواْ لِي وَلاَ تَكْفُرُونِ
Remember Me, I will remember you. Give thanks to Me and do not be ungrateful towards Me.
(Surat al-Baqarah, 2:152)
“Ask Me and I will respond to you!” so we are asking, yaa Rabbee! You are The Generous and we are the weak, open Your door for us, then at least we will be attracted and do more!
Sayyidina Baywazid al-Bistami (q) was asking and asking and asking, and said, Yaa Rabb! Kayfa al-wusoolu ilayk, “Tell me how to come to You,” and Allah said, “How can you reach Me when you are associateing a partner with Me, how can I do that? Leave your ego and come!”
Take a lesson from Sayyidina Ya`qoob (q) who was so attached to his son and Sayyidina Yusuf (q). Allah laa shareek lahu, Allah has no partner! He looked for his son for 35 years, he knew he was alive, then they brought his shirt. For 35 years he was in troubles, crying and crying. until finally he left the love of his son, which was diverted, then Allah brought his son back! That is what we have to struggle for, that is what the Prophet (s) did: he left everything so Allah called him to His Divine Presence.
Sayyidina Ahmad al-Badawi (q) said day and night, “Yaa Rabbee! Give me the key to Paradise, yaa Fattah, yaa Fattah, give me the key!”
Suddenly he heard a man shout, “Yaa Ahmad! Do you want the key?”
Sayyidina Ahmad al-Badawi (q) said, “I will not take the key except from al-Fattah!”
That man said, “Okay, congratulations, go find the key, good luck!”
Ahmad al-Badawi (q) continued asking, “Yaa Fattah, yaa Fattah…” and then he heard a Voice saying, “We sent you the one with the key, go and find him.” So he left for six months, not knowing how to find him, but struggling to reach Allah (swt) and finally that Wali appeared to him. Ahmad al-Badawi (q) said, “I need the key.”
He said, “Oh! Now you need the key? Then I need to be paid.”
Sayyidina Ahmad al-Badawi (q) said, “I have no money.”
The man said, “We don't need that, we have everything in our hands. The dunya is disliked by Allah as it does not weigh more than wing of mosquito in Allah's Presence!”
Sayyidina Ahmad al-Badawi (q) said, “Then what do you want?”
He said, “I want to destroy your knowledge, because the fundamental pillar of your knowledge is ego and anything built on ego is built on hidden shirk, to think, ‘I did this and I did that.’” He wanted all his `ilm and he was one of the biggest scholars in his time!
Sayyidina Ahmad al-Badawi (q) said, “Okay, I agree.” Then the Wali looked into his eyes and extracted all the knowledge from his heart, until he did not even know how to recite al-Fatihah! Then he left him another six months, not knowing and waiting. Take advantage of the one who comes to you, it might be a Wali; sometimes someone comes to your car to clean your windshield; don’t say no, give them from what Allah gave to you, especially now in the Middle East where there are so many refugees.
So he left him for six months, then appeared and said, “Now you are ready,” and from the eyes he passed knowledge to him, which is why Ahmad al-Badawi (q) was so full of knowledge that anyone who looked at his face fainted and for that reason he wore a burqa (covering his eyes, also). If anyone asked him to give a fatwa, he covered his face. That is for a Wali, then what about the Prophet (s)?
دخلت المدينة فأتيت قبر النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم فزرته وجلست بحذائه، فجاء أعرابي فزاره، ثم قال: يا خير الرسل! إن الله عز وجل أنزل عليك كتاباً صادقاً قال فيه: {ولو أنهم ظلموا أنفسهم جاءوك فاستغفروا الله واستغفر لهم الرسول لوجدوا الله تواباً رحيماً}.
وإني جئتك مستغفراً من ذنوبي، مستشفعاً بك فيها، ثم بكى وأنشأ يقول:
يا خير من دفنت بالقاع أعظمه ... فطاب من طيبهن القاع والأكم
نفسي الفداء لقبر أنت ساكنه ... فيه العفاف وفيه الجود والكرم
ثم استغفر وانصرف، فرقدت فرأيت النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم في نومي وهو يقول: الحق الرجل فبشره أن الله قد غفر له بشفاعتي، فاستيقظت فخرجت أطلبه فلم أجده
Abu Harb al-Hilali (r) narrates: I entered Madinah and went to the grave of the Prophet (s); I visited him and sat at his feet, then a Bedouin came and visited and said, “O Best of Messengers! Indeed Allah has revealed to you a truthful book, in which He said:
وَلَوْ أَنَّهُمْ إِذ ظَّلَمُواْ أَنفُسَهُمْ جَآؤُوكَ فَاسْتَغْفَرُواْ اللّهَ وَاسْتَغْفَرَ لَهُمُ الرَّسُولُ لَوَجَدُواْ اللّهَ تَوَّابًا رَّحِيمًا
If they had only, when they were unjust 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)
So indeed I have come to you seeking forgiveness for my sins, seeking your Intercession on my behalf for them.” Then he cried, and recited:
يَا خَيْرَ مَنْ دُفِنَتْ بِالْقَاعِ أَعْظُمُهُ *** فَطَابَ مِنْ طِيبِهِنَّ الْقَاعُ وَالأَكَمُ
نَفْسِي الْفِدَاءُ لِقَبْرٍ أَنْتَ سَاكِنُهُ *** فِيهِ الْعَفَافُ وَفِيهِ الْجُودُ وَالْكَرَمُ
Ya khayra man dufinat bi’l-qaa` a`azhamahu
*** fa-taaba man teebihinna alqaa`u wa ’l-akamu
O Best of those whose bones are buried in the deep Earth,
*** and from whose fragrance the depth and the height have become sweet!
nafsee’l-fidaa li-qabrin anta saakinuhu
*** feehi’l-`afaafu wa feehi’l-joodu wa’l-karamu
May I be the ransom for a grave that you inhabit,
*** and in which is found purity, bounty and munificence!
Then he asked for forgiveness and left. After that I fell asleep and saw the Prophet (s) in a dream and he said to me, “Find the man and give him glad tidings that Allah has forgiven him with my Intercession.” Then I awoke and left searching for him, but I could not find him. (Bayhaqi)
What a lovely meaning in that Hadith of `Utbi one of the Tabi`een, mentioned by Imam Nawawi and Ibn Kathir in his tafseer. He was sitting by the Prophet’s grave and a Bedouin came, and according to the adab of Jahiliyya (pre-Islam) they had a lot of poetry. He learned the Prophet (s) had passed away and he said in the famous story of ’Utbi (r), “As I was sitting by the grave of the Prophet (s), a Bedouin came and said, ‘I have heard wa idh zhalamoo anfusahum jaaooka f ‘astaghfirallah wastaghfara lahum ar-rasool la wajadoollah tawaaban raheema, they asked forgiveness of Allah in the presence of the Prophet (s).’”
So we are asking you, yaa Rasoolullah, “Present our istighfaar to Allah (swt)!” Why not? We need the Prophet (s) to make istighfaar on our behalf, then Allah will accept.
“So he read the Holy Verse and then said:
Ya khayra man dufinat bi’l-qaa` a`azhamahu
*** fa-taaba man teebihinna alqaa`u wa ’l-akamu
O Best of those whose bones are buried in the deep Earth,
*** and from whose fragrance the depth and the height have become sweet!
nafsee’l-fidaa li-qabrin anta saakinuhu
*** feehi’l-`afaafu wa feehi’l-joodu wa’l-karamu
May I be the ransom for a grave that you inhabit,
*** and in which is found purity, bounty and munificence!
Then he left and I fell asleep and saw the Prophet (s) in my sleep. He (s) said to me, “Ya `Utbi! Run after the Bedouin and give him glad tidings that Allah has forgiven him.”
Such love the poets had in their hearts, which they expressed in poetry in order for us to understand them and replicate them and to know that your heart can open secrets to you! You have three-trillion cells in your body, all of them in need of that spirit, that love. Every six months they rejuvenate, just as you have to rejuvenate yourself in order to see the Prophet (s) in dunya before your Akhirah! That is why ladies must try to be like Rabi`a al-`Adawiyya, one of the greatest saints, a lady.
Her husband died, but do you know why he died? He abused her a lot, we won’t go into those details, but for example, he came home drunk late at night and demanded a cup of water, which she brought, and although he fell asleep she stood there waiting to give him the water until he awoke. She was patient saabir, killing her desires; her love of Allah brought her to that level. The Prophet (s) appeared to her in a vision and the whole room was shining from his Light. That night she was sitting and her husband saw that Light coming from the room and he asked to come in, and she refused, saying, “You cannot, you will die,” but he insisted to enter. Finally, she opened the door and he saw Light of the Prophet (s) and he died!
The `Ulama came to her and said, “You must marry, yaa Rabi`a.”
She said, “I cannot, I am busy making istighfaar.”
They said, “Marriage is half of religion (a Hadith).”
She said, “Half or one-third, I don't care, I am busy, but I have three questions, if you answer them I will get married.”
They said, “What are your questions, yaa Rabi`a?”
She said, “When the Angel of Death comes for my soul, will he come with punishment or with rewards?” They did not answer. Then she said, “When I am put in my grave and the two angels come to question me, will I get punishment or mercy?” They could not answer. So she said, “When Allah calls me on Judgment Day, will He send me to Heaven or to Hell?” They could not answer. She said, “I am not worshipping Allah to enter Paradise or to avoid Hellfire, I am worshipping Him from my love to Him. If He wants to put me in Hell or in Paradise, it is up to Him.”
May Allah (swt) forgive us.
[End of Shaykh Hisham’s remarks.]
Dr. Ware: Shaykh Hisham, there are no words I could put on my tongue that would reflect the gratitude in my heart for what you have expressed, but know we are at your service. I call on the whole community to serve you, as well. If you want to have a place to gather for Allah, then we are asking for help. If this kind of space is dear to you, then give charity and inshaa-Allah Allah will create space for Mawlana Shaykh Muhammad Hisham Kabbani to come many, many years and enlighten us to bring people of knowledge and light together.
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