A`udhu billahi min ash-Shaytan i`r-rajim. Bismi-lLahi `r-Rahmani `r-Rahim.
Nawaytu ’l-arba`in, nawaytu ‘l-`itikaf, nawaytu ’l-khalwa, nawaytu ’l-`uzla, nawaytu ‘r-riyada, nawaytu ‘s-suluk, lillahi ta`ala fi hadha ‘l-masjid.
Ati` Allah wa at`i ar-Rasula wa uli ‘l-amri minkum.
Obey Allah, obey the Prophet, and obey those in authority among you. (4:59)

 As-salamu `alaykum wa rahmatallahi wa barakatuh.

Awliyaullah have spiritual knowledge; they don’t need to read books. Allah made shaykhs through Prophet (s) to put in their hearts knowledge so they can give advice to people. Irshad (guidance) is not easy. Already we have been explaining about the four levels of irshad and who are the Guides. And it’s a very important message from Grandshaykh قدس سرّه and Mawlana Shaykh Nazim in order for everyone to know where he is standing and what he is doing.

With Allah’s grace, I have notes of Great Grandshaykh Sharafuddin قدس سرّه, Grandshaykh `Abd Allah قدس سرّه, and Mawlana Shaykh Nazim (may Allah give him long life – ameen). Without a father, people are orphans and don’t know the value of their father until he leaves dunya; then they recognize what orphans they are. May Allah give our shaykh long life (ameen), Sultan al-Awliya Sayyidi Muhammad Nazim Adil al-Haqqani, because if I don’t mention his name, some people might say in their hearts, “Oh, he is mentioning another shaykh." We say, “Oh Allah, give our shaykhs long life." Some naughty people might say, “Oh, he didn’t say Shaykh Nazim, meaning he is speaking about someone else." No, I am saying Sultan al-Awliya Sayyidi Muhammad Nazim Adil al-Haqqani, may Allah give him long life. (ameen)

Without a father we are orphans, and we are orphans if we don’t have a spiritual father and when we are away from our spiritual fathers. Whatever we do, if there is no connection in 24 hours with our spiritual father, we are orphans. Allah shows us how not to be orphans. Don’t think that those who call Mawlana by phone are not orphans: they are. Don’t think that those who visit Mawlana Sultan al-Awliya in his dargah in Cyprus are not orphans: they are. Wherever you are, you are an orphan if you are not every moment in the presence of your shaykh. Allah gave us a way to not be orphans, because our father, or grandfather, or great-grandfather, or great-great-great-grandfather is Sayyidina Muhammad, `alayhi adsal as-salaatu was-salaam.

Allah is saying in Holy Qur'an, “You don’t want to be an orphan? Then make salawat on Prophet (s).” It means keep your tongue wet with salawat on Prophet (s), then you are not an orphan for you will be given spiritual knowledge. The moments in your life when you remember Prophet (s) are real life and when you don't remember him, when you are preoccupied with dunya, in those moments you are an orphan. An orphan has no protection and without protection, at any moment Shaytan can play with you. Allah honored Sayyidina Adam (a) with the light in his forehead, the light of Prophet Muhammad alayhi afsal as-salaatu was-salaam. So he was not an orphan; he had protection. As soon as he was, I don’t want to use this word "heedless" because he is not, but for one moment in his life Sayyidina Adam (a) was a little bit away from the Presence of Prophet (s) and that light, then Iblis was able to come and attack him. If Sayyidina Adam (a) was attacked, what about us? It means, "Oh human beings, oh seekers of realities, look forward to where you have to stand, and what you have to call your home, and what you have to say to not be an orphan?"

On the Day of Judgment Allah will count for you all the moments you were not in His presence or in the presence of Prophet(s), or in the presence of awliyaullah. That’s where He will judge you. The other moments are the rewards that Allah put you in; the moments that you are praising Sayyidina Muhammad (s), or praising and glorifying Allah , and remembering your shaykh. In our case, our shaykh is Mawlana Shaykh Nazim Adil al-Haqqani, and we respect all other shaykhs that Allah has made them awliyaullah, for there are a lot of awliya and they are everywhere. We are orphans if we are not going to remember our shaykh in every moment because he is the wasila (means) for you to reach the presence of Prophet (s). Why we are here, for dunya? No. For akhirah? I don’t think so. You are not coming here for akhirah. Might be someone will say, “Oh, the shaykh is saying that for akhirah." When we pray, we don’t think that. We are coming here because we have that connection and love for our shaykh. That is our main concept. You don’t say, “I’m going to visit my shaykh in Cyprus to be rewarded in akhirah,” you say, “I’m going to visit him because I love him!” So that magnet of love is what really attracts you to that presence. It’s not because we think we will be saved in akhirah by visiting the shaykh. No one says that.

When I visited Grandshaykh قدس سرّه for the first time, I was not thinking I was going to visit him because I will be saved in akhirah; I didn’t understand anything from akhirah. I went with my brothers and my father out of love to see that great shaykh قدس سرّه that people are talking about. And because of that rabitah (spiritual connection), we have been connected. Before we visited Grandshaykh in Damascus, already that bond, that “naqhsh” was established between us and the shaykh, Allah and Prophet(s). That naqsh became engraved in our hearts, the love of shaykh, Prophet (s), and Allah . So the first step is love, not for any dunya reason. If you come to them for a dunya reason, it’s not going to be important, but only come for the love itself.

Mawlana Shaykh Nazim (may Allah give him long life) came first in the big mosque in Beirut in 1958, so I was 12 years old. And when we me him for the first time that connection had been made, and he attracted us to Grandshaykh قدس سرّه. So that bond was established before we went to see Grandshaykh قدس سرّه. When I saw him, I was young and with my elder brothers; we were three brothers to see him first time. It’s like a magnet; from the first look we have been hooked. And he was young, like that picture you see that goes around. I had some quarrel with my wife (Hajjah Naziha Adil قدس سرّه) to take all of her old pictures of her father and mother (Mawlana Shaykh Nazim q and Hajjah Anne Amina q, rahmatullah alayha), and Grandshaykh قدس سرّه and all these old pictures that no one was able to get them. She had all of them in the album. We published them in a Naqshbandi calendar, and now alhamdulillah everyone can have them. Mawlana Shaykh Nazim was so young! That hook, that bond was there and with that love he hooked us to Grandshaykh قدس سرّه, may Allah bless his soul, and bless Mawlana Shaykh Nazim! (ameen)

So that love is what’s important. If you don’t develop a love, you will not attain the first level of wilayah, of sainthood. The first level of sainthood, of tariqah, is not the beginner’s level, musta`id, which is to be ready to become a mureed. It’s not the mureed level, love is before beginners. And if you establish that love, that will put your feet on the first bridge that can take you to reach real sainthood.

Understanding wilayah is like a professor of chemistry, physics, astrology or astronomy telling you, “You see that big star there, the North Star? You see it? Can you describe it?”

You don’t know anything about it; you saw only the light. So, sainthood is so far to reach, farther than a North Star that can guide you wherever you are moving. Awliyaullah are stars like North Pole stars: they are guides and you can navigate through them. But you need to know how to navigate through their heart. Their hearts are a mir`aj for you. Students don’t know the importance of the heart of the shaykh, which is the real mir`aj for you to reach and to navigate in the heart of Prophet (s). So that takes you to navigate through Qalb-e-Muhammadi (s),the Muhammadan Heart. After you have navigated in the heart of the shaykh, you will then inshaAllah navigate in the heart of the Prophet (s), who takes you to navigate in the Divine Presence. That’s why first is to establish love of the shaykh; Muhabbat tush-Shaykh, then Muhabbat tur-Rasul (s), and then Muhabbatullah .

محبة الشيخ , محبة الرسول , محبة الله

So first for seekers of that journey, they must have love of the shaykh. Like a child first establishes love of the mother and father. they have that intense attarction and they don’t know anything else. Your child wants your attention and wants you to carry him. If you give him to your friend to carry, your child will cry, because he wants you. That’s why shaykhs cannot take students of each other. That is kidnapping, and there is another word that Grandshaykh قدس سرّه used, I don’t want to use it here, but it’s more than kidnapping. It’s considered forbidden between the shuyukh; it’s a very big sin to take mureeds of another shaykh. When some students from other shuyukh come, don’t try your dawah machine around them! We have to learn discipline. If there is no discipline, there is no tariqah and no adab.

It’s haraam for awliyaullah to say, “This shaykh is better than that shaykh.” Leave it to Allah . You have your father and you’re happy with him. You have your shaykh; say whatever, praise your shaykh as much as you like, call him “Sultan al-Awliya”; it’s between you and your shaykh. But you cannot say to another person, “My shaykh is Sultan al-Awliya and your shaykh is not” as then you are making an enemy, and for what reason? Allah wants unity, and Ahl as-Sunnah wal Jama`ah has to learn to make unity as they are so fragmented. I’m sorry to say this, but we had 25 Ahl as-Sunnah wal Jama`ah scholars in the meeting yesterday, and we tried to unite. Everyone has his own capacity, everyone with his own share, but they are under the banner of Sayyidina Muhammad (s). And that banner is love to Prophet (s)! That is what’s important. So that relationship, that bond you build with your shaykh out of your love takes you to the love of Prophet (s), then takes you to the love of Allah . When you love, you don’t forget. In dunya you love, and after a while you decide, “I feel bored with my wife. I’m going to find another wife”. I’m speaking to the Muslim community, not to a non-Muslim community! This is what they do! The non-Muslims cheat. They say, “Oh, we have a girlfriend, two girlfriends, or three girlfriends.” Muslims don’t do that; they say, "Okay, I'll bring a second one!" (laughter) Some of the wives are innocent, but some of them have problems also. We have to say both sides have problems. (more laughter)

But real love is when you love and stand on it, and it never changes, the love is firm. Grandshaykh قدس سرّه often told us this story about Sayyidina Abdul Qadir Jilani قدس سرّه. Some people say radhiAllahu `anhu after his name, but for awliyaullah  we say qaddasAllahu seera, me