29 December 2012 Fenton Zawiya, Michigan
Khatm and Suhbah
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`alaa fee haadha 'l-masjid.
أَطِيعُواْ اللّهَ وَأَطِيعُواْ الرَّسُولَ وَأُوْلِي الأَمْرِ مِنكُمْ
Atee`oollaha wa atee`oo 'r-Rasoola wa ooli 'l-amri minkum.
Obey Allah, obey the Prophet, and obey those in authority among you. (Surat an-Nisa, 4:59)
Allahumma salli `alaa Sayyidina Muhammad.
Now since I came back we began this series, “Shifaa’ through Holy Qur'an.” We sat eight times already to talk about the importance of the Holy Qur'an in our life and we explained the effect of du`a through the Holy Qur'an, that it will have more effect on human beings than normal medicine if they believe in what they are reading.
Many people, all of us, not necessarily all but many, many people buy a lot of books, all kinds of books, and for all the books people read they pay money to get it and when you read it, what do you do with it? You put it aside as it is finished. And authors, what did they do? They cheated you by taking your money and giving you a book of their invention which is not real! The only book you get wealth and benefit from is not authored by human beings, but it is the Holy Qur'an that Allah (swt) has sent to human beings as a mercy:
وَنُنَزِّلُ مِنَ الْقُرْآنِ مَا هُوَ شِفَاء وَرَحْمَةٌ لِّلْمُؤْمِنِينَ وَلاَ يَزِيدُ الظَّالِمِينَ إَلاَّ خَسَارًا
Wa nunazzilu mina al-qur’ani ma huwa shifaa’un wa rahmatun li ’l-mu’mineen wa laa yazeedu ’zh-zhaalimeen illa khasaara.
And We sent down in the Qur’an such things that have healing and mercy for the believers and those who are oppressors to themselves. (Surat al-’Israa, 17:82)
“Wa laa yazeedu ’zh-zhaalimeen illa khasaara,” and those who are oppressors to themselves by not reading the Holy Qur'an are the losers! So it means what Allah (swt) has put of His Secrets in the Holy Qur'an, because it is the Words of Allah (swt), every word in the Holy Qur'an is divine, not created; it belongs to the Creator. The holy qur’an is not created, it is Allah’s Words and when you say, “Yaa Rahman, yaa Wadood, yaa Allah,” it is divine. All His Beautiful Names and Attributes and all the words in the Holy Qur’an--any word, even qul, “say!”--is it not from Holy Qur'an? If you mean to say “qul,” that is from Holy Qur'an then it is divine. Outside the Holy Qur'an, nothing is divine. If we say “Alif,” is it divine? Yes, it is “Alif. Laam. Meem.” and, therefore, it is divine.
Any divine word carries with it cure. As we said this morning, there are two kinds of diseases, physical and spiritual. Which is more difficult (to treat) than the other? The spiritual is more difficult because you don’t pay attention to it and it is molded with your self, your ego with your soul, and you cannot throw it away. It is very difficult. Physical illnesses sometimes come and doctors try their best to cure you by some prescription, but what they prescribe always has side effects and is not going to be 100% clean. But if they prescribed a verse of Holy Qur'an to you as your cure that is 100% clean.
If you have real belief in Allah and His Prophet (s), for sure when you read that verse you will be cured, but you need the guide, the one who knows which verse cures your sickness. Like we said today, you go to the pharmacy and you see hundreds and hundreds of medicines and if the doctor doesn’t give you the right medicine, either you get nothing out of it or you get side effects. But the Holy Qur'an has no side effects; it is cured completely!
This morning we discussed why people get different sicknesses, because there are different doors in the body that Shaytan can come in. Every cell of the human beings is a door through which Shaytan comes in and you get affected by the sickness that Shaytan is carrying with it. You come to Y door, A door, B door, C door, and every door has a Shaytan that can enter through it and spray you with its dirtiness and the body will get different sickness.
So how should you get rid of sickness? What do you do? You go to the doctor to take medicine, but that doesn’t close the door; Shaytan can still come, perhaps a smaller Shaytan. You feel you are getting cured, that the sickness is less and less, but that is temporary. You might get another sickness, Allah knows the hearts, but if you get a verse of Holy Qur'an that door will be closed completely. The awliyaullah have closed all the doors in themselves through which Shaytan can come, which is how they know verses to use to cure you completely and close those doors.
There was a Companion of the Prophet (s) who was a businessman who bought and sold and people invested money with him as he was a pious, sincere servant of Allah (swt).
One day on a trip, a thief saw him, followed him and said, “Give me everything you have and I am going to kill you!” That poor Sahaabi (r) looked at him and said, “La hawla wa laa quwwata illa billah! How I came on this problem? Okay, I’ll give you the money, but let me free, why do you need my blood?”
The thief said, “No, this money is mine and whether you like it or not, I will take your money and then kill you!” Like today they take your money and then kill you so you cannot be witness against them, but where are you going to hide from Allah? May Allah forgive us!
The Sahaabi (r) said, “If you are going to kill me, let my last moments be in Allah’s Hands, let me make wudu and pray four rak`ats.”
The thief said, “Who cares? Pray as much as you like. I am here and going to take your money and then kill you!”
So the man prayed four raka`ats and in his sajda, he said:
یَا وَدُودُ ، يَا ذَا الْعَرْشِ الْمَجِيدِ ، يَا فَعَّالُ لِمَا تُرِيدُ ، أَسْأَلُكَ بِعِزِّكَ الَّذِي لَا يُرَامُ ، وَمُلْكِكَ الَّذِي لَا يُضَامُ ، وَبِنُورِكَ الَّذِي مَلَأَ أَرْكَانَ عَرْشِكَ ، أَنْ تُكْفِيَنِي شَرَّ هَذَا اللِّصِّ ، يَا مُغِيثُ أَغِثْنِي ، يَا مُغِيثُ أَغِثْنِي ، يَا مُغِيثُ أَغِثْنِي
Yaa Wadood, yaa Wadood! Yaa Dhal-`Arshi ‘l-Majeed! Yaa fa`aalan limaa tureed! As’aluka bi `izzika ‘Lladhee laa yuraam wa bi-mulkika ‘Lladhee laa yudaam wa bi-noorika ‘Lladhee mala’a arkaana `arshika an takfiyanee sharra haadha ‘Llis. Yaa Mugheethu, aghithnee! Yaa Mugheethu, aghithnee! Yaa Mugheethu, aghithnee!
O Loving One! O Lord of the Glorified Throne! O You Who does what He wants! I ask You through Your Might which can not be harmed, and Your Dominion which can not be defeated, and Your Light which filled the pillars of Your Thrown, that You protect me from the evil of this thief! O Savior of Calamity, save me! O Savior of Calamity, save me! O Savior of Calamity, save me!
As soon as he finished, a faris approached, a knight on a horse with a big spear that rested across its ears, and the burglar saw him coming. That faris came to him and killed him without asking any question, then he said to the Companion (r) of the Prophet (s), “Stand up.”
The Companion (r) said, “For Allah’s sake, who are you?”
He said:
أَنَا مَلَكٌ مِنَ السَّمَاءِ الرَّابِعَةِ ، دَعَوْتَ اللَّهَ بِدُعَائِكَ الْأَوَّلِ ، فَسَمِعْتُ لِأَبْوَابِ السَّمَاءِ قَعْقَعَةً ، ثُمَّ دَعَوْتَ بِدُعَائِكَ الثَّانِي ، فَسَمِعْتُ لِأَهْلِ السَّمَاءِ ضَجَّةً ، ثُمَّ دَعَوْتَ بِدُعَائِكَ الثَّالِثِ ، فَقِيلَ لِي : دُعَاءُ مَكْرُوبٍ ، فَسَأَلْتُ اللَّهَ تَعَالَى أَنْ يُولِيَنِي قَتْلَهُ
Ana malakun min ahli ‘s-samaai ‘r-raabi`a fa da`awtallaha bi-du`aaika ‘l-awwal fa-sami`tu li-abwaabi ‘s-samaai qa`qa`at, thumma da`awta bi-du`aaika ‘th-thaanee, fa-sami`tu li ahli ‘s-samaai dajjah thumma da`awta bi-du`aaika ‘th-thalaath, fa qeela lee du`aau makroobin, fa-sa’altullaaha ta`ala an yooliyanee qatlahu.
I am an angel from Heaven, from the Fourth Paradise. When you prayed and supplicated the first du`a, the Doors of Heaven began to hear cracking, then you made du`a with the second part and the People of Heavens began to hear commotion, then you made the third du`a and a voice came to me, saying, “This person making du`a is in need of someone,” and so I came to you asking Allah (swt) to send me to kill that burglar.
That is why al-Hasan (r), the grandson of the Prophet (s), mentioned that hadith and also said:
مَنْ تَوَضَّأَ ، وَصَلَّى أَرْبَعَ رَكَعَاتٍ ، وَدَعَا بِهَذَا الدُّعَاءِ ، اسْتُجِيبَ لَهُ ، مَكْرُوبٌ كَانَ ، أَوْ غَيْرُ مَكْرُوبٍ
Man tawadda’a wa sallaa arba`a raka`atin wa da`aa bi haadha ‘d-du`aai ’stujeeba lahu makroobun kaana aw ghayra makroob.
Whoever makes wudu and prays four raka`ats and makes this du`a, Allah will answer him if he has a problem or not and he will get what he wants.
Who do we believe? Allah! Look, he called on Allah in Allah's Beautiful Names and Attributes and Allah answered! So why aren’t we answered when we make du`a, someone might ask this question. Because it has rules and principles. If you don’t follow the rules and principles, we cannot say that your du`a will not be accepted as all du`as are accepted, but the answer will be delayed.
Once in Ramadan, when the Sahaabah (r) prayed taraweeh behind the Prophet (s) and Jibreel (a) came down with Divine Revelation and he could not come down all the way, the Prophet (s) said, “Yaa Jibreel, come down,” and Jibreel (a) said, “I cannot and the other angels cannot come down further.” Prophet (s) said, “Why?” Jibreel (s) said, “Because there is a smell and we are subtle beings and we cannot carry that smell, we are coming from Heavens.” Prophet said, “What is that smell?” and Jibreel said, “Onions and garlic.”
Grandshaykh (q) said, “There are seventy illnesses that doctors cannot cure which can be cured by onions and garlic.” So some of the Sahaabah had eaten onions and garlic that night and the angels could not descend with the revelation, so the Prophet (s) ordered those Sahaabah who had eaten onions and garlic to leave so that the manifestation could down. The smell of garlic and onions on your breath prevents angels from reaching you, and angels are the ones that take the du`a, that take the prayer, that take your good `amal, if they cannot approach you and reach you, what will happen? That du`a is delayed.
So the Prophet (s) said, “Let the Sahaabah who ate onions and garlic move back and pray separately and whatever rewards we receive from Allah we will share with you.” A Sahaabah (r) will never leave Prophet (s); they didn’t move and Prophet (s) knew why they didn’t move, so he sent Sayyidina `Umar (r), saying, “Yaa `Umar, pass by every Sahaabi and smell their breath to see which ones ate onions and garlic, then move them out,” because he was waiting for the tajalli of that revelation to come. Immediately they knew they could not play with Sayyidina `Umar (r) so they moved and Sayyidina Jibreel (a) came down. So for du`as you must have a clean mouth, is it not? That’s why Allah (swt) said:
فَإِذَا قَرَأْتَ الْقُرْآنَ فَاسْتَعِذْ بِاللّهِ مِنَ الشَّيْطَانِ الرَّجِيم ِإِنَّهُ لَيْسَ لَهُ سُلْطَانٌ عَلَى الَّذِينَ آمَنُواْ وَعَلَى رَبِّهِمْ يَتَوَكَّلُونَ
Fa idhaa qaraat al-Qur’an fasta`idh billahi min ash-Shaytani 'r-rajeem. Innahu laysa lahu sultaanun `alaa alladheena amanoo wa `alaa rabbihim yatawakaloon.
Now whenever you read this Qur’an, seek refuge with Allah from Shaytan, the Accursed. Behold, he has no power over those who have attained faith and who in their Sustainer place their trust.
(Surat an-Nahl, 16:98-9)
It is very clear that Ayatu sh-Shifaa` are from the Qur’an and Allah is saying if you want to read Qur’an you have to seek refuge in Allah (swt) from Shaytani 'r-rajeem, then he cannot approach you and since you sought refuge from Shaytan your du`a is clean, coming with cleanliness, and it will be taken up and accepted. Do we say, “A'oodhu billahi min ash-Shaytani 'r-rajeem. Bismillahi 'r-Rahmani 'r-Raheem alhamdulillahi rabbi ‘l-`alameen was-salaatu was-salaam `alaa ashrafi ‘l-mursaleen.” So look, first recite “I seek refuge in Allah from Shaytani 'r-rajeem,” that is first. Then begin with “Bismillahi 'r-Rahmani 'r-Raheem,” as the Prophet (s) said:
كل عمل لم يبدأ باسم الله فهو أبتر
Kullu `amalin lam yabdau Bismillahi fa huwa abtar.
Any `amal which doesn't begin with Allah’s Name is cut off, it has no continuity.”
So first we get rid of Shaytani ‘r-rajeem, second we enter our new `amal, our du`a, with Bismillahi 'r-Rahmani 'r-Raheem. As soon as we say, “Bismillahi 'r-Rahmani 'r-Raheem” we say “alhamdulillahi rabbi ‘l-`alameen,” praising Allah and thanking Him. Then we wrap it, in order to be accepted with salawaat on the Prophet (s), by reciting, “Alhamdulillahi rabbi ‘l-`alameen was-salaatu was-salaamu `alaa ashrafi ‘l-mursaleen Sayyidina Muhammadin wa `alaa aalihi wa sahbihi ajma`een,” and then begin with du`a.
Every wali from whom you ask du`a, in every moment there is a new manifestation to that area or place. The du`a here is different from du`a there. Every area has its own manifestation and effectiveness that changes from one place to another. It has different effects on different du`a that sometimes comes quickly and sometimes it does not, it depends on the area. If you pass by a movie theatre and make du`a there, maybe they make more money! Or if you pass by a restaurant that has all kinds of alcohol and you make du`a there, what will happen? But if you are in a masjid making du`a, is there a difference or not? There are holy places which are far better for making du`a:
كُلَّمَا دَخَلَ عَلَيْهَا زَكَرِيَّا الْمِحْرَابَ وَجَدَ عِندَهَا رِزْقاً قَالَ يَا مَرْيَمُ أَنَّى لَكِ هَـذَا قَالَتْ هُوَ مِنْ عِندِ اللّهِ إنَّ اللّهَ يَرْزُقُ مَن يَشَاء بِغَيْرِ حِسَابٍ
Kullamaa dakhala `alayha zakariyya al-mihraaba wajada `indaha rizqa. qaala yaa maryamu anna laki haadha qaalat huwa min `indillaahi inna Allaha yarzuqu man yashaa'u bi-ghayri hisaab.
Whenever he (Zakariyya) entered her prayer niche, he found with her provision. He said, "O Mary! From where does this come to you?" She said, "From Allah, for Allah provides sustenance to whom He pleases without measure." (Surat Aali-`Imraan, 3:37)
It is clear that every time Zakariyya (a) entered the niche of Maryam (a) he found sustenance there. Why? Because of her du`a and purity, Allah was sending physical and spiritual sustenance from Heavens to her and her place became holy. So Sayyidina Zakarriya (a) was ninety-nine years old and had no children. How many du`as he made, always asking to have a child! Ninety-nine years and not given a child, until he entered the niche of Sayyida Maryam (a), where his du`a was accepted! He knew it had become a holy place. That is why `ulama say that awliyaullah’s places, as Sayyida Maryam (a) is not a prophet, but she is a waliya, so her place became a holy place from too much tajalli, manifestation of Allah’s Light and Allah’s Beautiful Names and Attributes on that place and on her. So Sayyidina Zakariyya (a) noticed that wisdom and went back to her private room and made du`a there, asking Allah for a child, although he said:
قَالَ رَبِّ إِنِّي وَهَنَ الْعَظْمُ مِنِّي وَاشْتَعَلَ الرَّأْسُ شَيْبًا وَلَمْ أَكُن بِدُعَائِكَ رَبِّ شَقِيًّا
Qaala rabbi innee wahana al-`azhmu minnee wa ashta`ala ar-raa’su shayban wa lam akun bi du`aa’ika rabbi shaqeeya.
He prayed, “O my Sustainer! Feeble have become my bones and my head glistens with grey hair, but never yet, O my Lord, has my prayer to You remained unanswered. (Sura Maryam, 19:4)
“My bones are becoming weak, yaa Rabbee, and my hair became white, but still I am asking for a child,”
at ninety-nine years old how do you get a child? Allah gave him Sayyidina Yahya (a) because Jibreel (a) came to him and showed him a miracle. So it depends where you make du`a.
In Madinat al-Munawarra, in front of the Prophet (s) we are making du`a! Tayyib. Then why is it not accepted? It is the best place, or in front of Ka`bah we make du`a. Many get accepted and in reality all of them are accepted, as Allah’s Last Name is as-Saboor: we do all kinds of sins and He is patient on us, as He said:
ادْعُونِي أَسْتَجِبْ لَكُمْ
Id`oonee astajib lakum.
Supplicate to Me and I will give you! (Surat al-Mu’min, 40:60)
But because of too many sins, Allah is keeping those du`a for us in the grave so that our grave does not become hufrun min hufurun in-niraan, a ditch from Hellfire! With these du`as Allah changes it to a piece of Paradise. So what do you want, dunya or Akhirah? We make du`a and we ask for acceptance. Sometimes it’s like a perfect moon and you see the acceptance coming immediately, but other times it is delayed; nevertheless, keep asking, don’t stop as we said before, that is the principle of al-ilhaa, to be persistent. You can go back on Sufilive.com to review this principle that we discussed earlier in this series. Allah wants us to be persistent in asking and asking and asking, non-stop! Allah will accept, Allah will cure you and Allah will forgive you!
I will give one example that I don’t like to mention it many times, but for people to know. One time I was in New Jersey. Sometimes it happens and sometimes it does not. A mureed brought to me a lady from Ivory Coast who has two kids. Her husband was divorcing her and she began to have headaches. She went to a doctor and he said, “Do an MRI immediately” (for money) and he did it and said, “There is a tumor, cancer.” They said it was a big tumor and that she would not live more than 3-4 months. She didn’t say where in the head the tumor was. May Allah protect us from these kinds of sicknesses, so that we only go to see doctors for friendship and to drink coffee with them, not to examine us! Ameen! And she came carrying her two very young children and (the mureed) said, “Can you pray for her?” What to do?
I said, “Inshaa-Allah,” and we prayed for her and read Surat al-Fatihah, as the Prophet (s) said:
الْفَاتِحَةُ لِمَا قُرِئَتْ لَهُ
Al-Fatihatu limaa quriyat lah.
The Fatihah is for whatever it is read.
So you read it for anything and Allah will accept. So I read the Fatihah, that’s it; I didn't go through this or that du`a. Allah's Fatihat al-Qur’an is ... the Holy Qur'an carries the secrets of az-Zaboor, Tawraat and Injeel; secrets of the three other holy books are in the Holy Qur'an, and the heart of the Holy Qur'an is Surat al-Yaseen and the heart of Yaseen is Surat al-Fatihah, so from everything the secret is in these seven verses! I read that and then read on a bottle of water and gave it her. She said, “They want to do another MRI in a week.” She took the bottle of water and after a week or sometime more, that mureed brought her to me again and she said to me, “They did the second MRI and no more tumor!” So she was cured. She is still living in New York. What happened? She had been cured by Fatihah. She was crying, that means she has very strong belief in her and when you have belief in Allah’s Words you will be cured, but when you don’t have belief in Allah’s Words you will not be cured. You must have belief in Allah, in Holy Qur`an, in Holy Hadith of Prophet (s) and in the good `amal of awliyaullah, then you will be cured.
One day I was in my office and two or three people came to me from Texas and I saw them and said to myself, “I know this man and his wife.” He didn’t have children for 17 years. They came to me three years ago and said, “We’ve had no children for 17 years. Can you make du`a?” With our Mawlana Shaykh’s barakah, I read Surat al-Fatihah on the lady with my stick and they went. Then after one year, I saw the man in the corridor and I called him. He said, “One second,” and brought his wife carrying a baby, and they said, “This is the Fatihah baby.”
And I give you another example. There is one man in London married for ten years, and I know him very well. He said, “We have no children.”
I said, “Inshaa-Allah Allah will give you a child next year when we see you.”
So in my pocket I had a KitKat chocolate bar and I read Surat al-Fatihah on it and said, “You eat half, let your wife eat half and inshaa-Allah you will have a child.” I came the next year but there was no child and I didn’t say anything, I kept quiet, then the year after I went and his wife had a child! He said, “Yaa Shaykh! When you left and one year had passed, I didn’t remember you gave me the chocolate; it was in the drawer! So when we were cleaning I found the KitKat and broke it in half. We each ate half and then we had a child.” So without mentioning his name, they call him the “KitKat Child” and they are in North England.
So you don’t know. And what Allah wants from you is to be clean! So this business man who was about to be killed asked to pray four raka`ats, and he made wudu and prayed, so you see du`a cannot be without wudu and it cannot be without prayer, and also it cannot be done without giving sadaqa.
خُذْ مِنْ أَمْوَالِهِمْ صَدَقَةً تُطَهِّرُهُمْ وَتُزَكِّيهِم بِهَا وَصَلِّ عَلَيْهِمْ إِنَّ صَلاَتَكَ سَكَنٌ لَّهُمْ وَاللّهُ سَمِيعٌ عَلِيمٌ
Khudh min amwaalihim sadaqatan tutahhiruhum wa tuzakkeehim bihaa wa salli `alayhim inna salaataka sakanun lahum w’Allahu samee`un `aleem.
Take alms of their wealth from which you may purify them and make them grow, and pray for them. Verily, your prayer is an assuagement for them. Allah is The Hearer, The Knower. (Surat at-Tawbah, 9:103)
Ibn Qayim (r) said that many make du`a and it is accepted because either he did something that Allah is happy with or he gave a sadaqa, hasanaat, he helped someone for Allah to accept his du`a. So don’t make du`a without spending or first doing a good deed. He gave something as a sadaqa (charity) before he came to pray the du`a and Allah granted him acceptance as a thank you for that charity.
Now too many people pray du`a and don’t give charity. They are stingy and Allah is The Generous!You have to show Him generosity, not stinginess. Today we ask du`a but don’t give anything. No, give charity to a school, a masjid, a hospital, to someone who is teaching you and then present it to someone to make du`a for you or you make du`a as Allah ordered Prophet (s) in Holy Qur'an, “Take from them their wealth, clean them with it and purify them and then pray for them.” So how many steps?
1) Take from them;
2) clean them with the charity;
3) purify them; and
4) then when they are purified, pray for them because your prayer for them gives them sakinah, tranquility. It means they will be cured.
May Allah give us cure by Holy Qur'an! Don’t keep Holy Qur'an on the shelf, keep it in your heart and read even one page or a half page daily. If you don’t know how to read, then open it and look because there is Light coming out of the verses of Holy Qur'an. It is not dead, it is divine, which means it is living forever! Allah’s Words live forever and the Holy Qur’an is the only book living forever in Paradise! The language of angels and the People of Paradise is the Holy Qur'an, not just Arabic. Allah will open for you secrets how to read. You think Arabic cannot be expanded?
O Muslims and everywhere around the world! Every book you read is a waste of time, energy and money! The only book that rewards and gives you back in dunya and Akhirah is the Holy Qur'an. No other book can give you what Holy Qur'an gives you! So our duty is to keep respecting the Holy Qur'an (Mawlana raises the Holy Qur’an above his head).
May Allah forgive us and may Allah bless us.
Wa min Allahi 't-tawfeeq, bi hurmati 'l-habeeb, bi hurmati 'l-Fatihah. Taqabal-Allah.
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