Humility towards Awliyaullah Will Take Us to Prophet (s)

Mawlana Shaykh Hisham Kabbani

2 December 2012   Singapore

`Isha Suhbah at Simply Islam (2)

(Suhbah begins at 1:37:30 on video.)

In Qasidat Badr at-Teem, there is one letter non-Arabs mispronounce, man hadha, “Who is that one?” when it is actually pronounced “h-adha,” as it is said in “haqq.” man hadha kulli kamaalin means “The One Who Came with Complete Perfection,” and also “man h-adha ad-deen.” The letter ‘Ha’ is always very difficult (for non-Arabs to pronounce correctly), as in “alhamdulillah,” but everything is according to one’s intentions.

A`oodhu billahi min ash-Shaytaani 'r-rajeem. Bismillahi 'r-Rahmaani 'r-Raheem.

Dastoor yaa Sayyidee madad.

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, fee hadha'l-makaan aw fee hadha'l-majlis.

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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)

Dastoor, madad yaa Sultan al-Awliya, Mawlana Shaykh Muhammad Nazim al-Haqqani (q).

Dastoor, madad yaa Sultan al-Awliya, Mawlana Shaykh `AbdAllah al-Fa’iz ad-Daghestani (q).

We are living in a world of competition, everyone is trying to compete with one another. Competition in `ibaadah is needed and accepted, but for people to compete in dunya is not as it leads to many problems. Our mistake is that we are always trying to compete for the love of dunya. There are three different groups: one who competes for Akhirah, and the second group (which is where we belong) is in-between as one day we struggle to do something for Akhirah and one day we struggle for dunya; and the third group competes for dunya. The difference between us and the first group is that their concern is only for Allah (swt) and His Prophet (s), and that group consists of awliyaullah. The second group is struggling between “thumma aamanoo thumma kafaroo,” one day on the right way and one day on the wrong way. The third group does not care either way, they are free and they don’t need anything.

The first two groups apply the Muslim ummah. Every Muslim is trying; those who are doing something for Allah and His Prophet (s) are striving to be good, but dunya pulls their feet, like Sayyidina Adam (a) was living in Paradise where Allah gave him everything and those who are striving for dunya or for Akhirah both want to live a life of Paradise. People who struggle for dunya make a paradise for themselves and live in it, whereas those struggling for Akhirah want to achieve a life of  Paradise in Akhirah, but both want to live a happy life. Those striving for dunya live 70-80 years and those striving for Akhirah will attain Everlasting Life in Paradise.

Sayyidina Adam (a) was living in Paradise and Allah (swt) gave him everything there, including Eternal Life, and told him to avoid just one very small thing: that one tree. Allah (swt) said, “All the rest of Paradise is for you and your children, but don't touch this tree.” But he went and touched it, which made Allah unhappy, but this is another subject that we will not discuss here. Allah (swt) wanted him to suffer to teach him discipline and adab. “I told you not to touch it and, therefore, you should not have! Why did you disobey My Order?” This means that we are under an order: if we obey then Allah will happy with us, and if we disobey He will be unhappy. So do we have to obey or disobey?

Obedience is what Allah (swt) likes from us. Atee`oollaha wa atee`oo 'r-Rasoola wa ooli 'l-amri minkum, “Obey Allah, obey the Prophet (s), and obey those in authority among you.” He said, “atee`oollah” and “atee`oo’r-Rasool,” using the word “itaa`at.” And for “ooli’l-amr” He left it open, He didn't say “atee`oo.” That is to tell us that you have a free will in dunya, but if you disobey the government and its rules, you will run into many problems. So what is Allah ordering us? “To obey Allah and the Prophet (s)” is an order that you must follow as there is no “illa.” Regarding those on authority, your safety is in your obedience to them: your leaders, scholars, and government. If not, you may not be safe.

As Naqshbandi followers of Mawlana Shaykh Nazim, may Allah (swt) give him and all shuyookh long life, our goal and our teaching is to obey the authority and not even to come against the police. Our ticket to a happy life is in the obedience of Allah (swt), Prophet (s), and those who are in authority over us. If we were in authority they would have to obey us, but Allah has not made it so. 

Prophet (s) taught the Sahaabah (r) to obey. That is why all of them used to say:

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Wa qaalloo sam`inaa wa at`anaa ghufraanaka rabbana wa `ilayka 'l-maseer.

And they say, 'We hear, and we obey. (We seek) Your Forgiveness our Lord and to You is the end of all journeys. (Surat al-Baqara, 2:285)

This was their daily awraad. If you obey the good self you are safe, and if you obey the bad desires you are lost and you will immediately have to ask for forgiveness. Allah (swt) sent the Prophet (s) saying:

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Innamaa bu`ithtu li utammimu makaarim al-akhlaaq.

I have been sent to perfect the best of conduct (your behavior and character). (Bazzaar)

He didn't say, “I have been sent to complete your prayers,” as no one can complete your prayers but yourself. And the same goes for your fasting, zakaat, Hajj, and your tawheed (Shahadah); these are your obligations and you are responsible to complete them as there is no way out of it. But, for Makaarim al-Akhlaaq, you might be a person who hates other people but still you pray and it is okay to you. You might be a person who fulfills all your obligations but at the same time you may be an angry person. So the Prophet (s) is confirming, “I was sent to complete your good manners.” That means not to get angry or jealous or to hate each other. Prophet (s) is saying, “I want to take away the bad characteristics of everyone in the ummah.” That is why he said, “Allah has sent me to perfect and complete you. It is a duty and responsibility on me to bring Ummat an-Nabi perfected (s) in front of Allah (swt) on the Day of Judgment Day.”

What is the element that brings us near to Prophet (s)? I attended a VIP wedding yesterday in Malaysia and someone there gave a speech, as this is the custom in Malaysia. They spoke about how the bride and groom met and how their love grew for each other over the course of three years and then they got married. So it means when you show your love to any matter or person, the relationship blooms and creates a very strong bond between you and your lover, which is Maqaam al-Fanaa, “The Station of Annihilation.”

This is in Sufism: Fana'un fil-Masha’ikh, Fana'un fil-Habeeb and Fana'un Fillah. Even Ibn Taymiyya speaks about Maqaam al-Fanaa in Majmu`a al-Fatawa in either Volume 2 or Volume 4. And other stations are: Hudoor fi ‘l-Mashaykh, Hudoor fi ‘l-Habeeb, Hudoor fi ‘Llah; Mahabba fi ‘l-Mashayikh, Mahabbah fi ‘l-Habeeb, Mahabbah fi ‘Llah.

I would like to mention what Grandshaykh (q) said. Adrikna yaa Sayyidee, yaa Rasoolullah! Dastoor, madad yaa Sultan al-Awliya, Mawlana Shaykh `AbdAllah al-Fa’iz ad-Daghestani, yaa Sultan al-Awliya, Mawlana Shaykh Muhammad Nazim al-Haqqani! He said, “Annihilation includes two sides: annihilating yourself in someone and the other who receives it, whether they accept it or not. But if they are in dunya and if one gets wounded or cuts his hand, the other will also have blood coming from his hand at the same place.”

Ibn Taymiyya mentioned this story in Majmu`a al-Fatawa, and as you all know, he was a scholar with certain `aqa'eed that did not accord with Ahlu ’s-Sunnah wa ’l-Jama`ah, but in this issue he was accepting the awliya. In his book he mentions:

There were two people making wudu at the bank of a very deep river. One of them fell in the river and was near drowning, and his friend who was annihilated in him began to feel something was pulling him to jump, even though he didn’t know how to swim. So he jumped and the first one asked, “You don’t know how to swim, why did you jump in?” He replied, “You know that I am you, so I am unable to control myself.” Allah (swt) saved them both.

“Annihilation” means to have love so immense and so powerful that you will do anything for that love to continue. The love of Ahlu ’l-Bayt can be seen in these beautiful qasa'id. If you recite them day and night, you will not need anything more than that, not to acquire any `ilm as yanabi` al-hikaam, the fountains of wisdom, will begin to flow from your hearts and you will speak what no one speaks! From where did Sayyidina Muhiyudeen ibn `Arabi (q) get his knowledge, from books? That is impossible; this knowledge he came with cannot be from books. And did Sayyidina Abu Hamid al-Ghazali (q) get his knowledge from books? He may have in the beginning, which is why he was always doubtful. Once on 12 Rabi`al-Awwal, the day of Mawlid of Prophet (s), he was writing a very important letter to help get someone out of jail and a fly came and sat on the pen. The pen was not like those of today, it was an ink pen. He said, “Allah (swt) created me and all of Creation for the love of Prophet (s). So this creature that Allah created for love of the Prophet (s) is thirsty. I will give her to drink.” That is when Allah opened to his heart.

He used to pray behind his elder brother, Ahmad al-Ghazali, who was a big `alim. These two brothers always prayed together in that manner, then one day Imam Ghazali stopped praying behind his brother. Look at the difference between awliyaullah and `ulama: because of what he gave the fly Allah opened to him ma`rifah, `Uloom at-Tasawwuf, Knowledge of Gnosticism. It is a very simple matter that shows you the difference, and this is what we must learn. It is possible that someone might be a big `alim but possesses no wisdom! These days many `ulama make conferences, alhamdulillah that is good, but I don't believe there is much benefit. Look at those who are reciting qasaa`id here today, were they not musicians before they were reciting qasidah? They were a performing band that Allah (swt) drew to the love of Prophet (s), and pulled them from dunya to Akhirah! Perhaps they wrote something that they were not noticing and Allah gave it to them in their hearts. In such cases you have to be very careful, as that moment comes just once, not twice. You were not a band (Singapore Mawlid Group.)

[We were a bandage, Mawlana!]

The difference is the bandage makes qasidah behind the band! (laughter)

So Abu Hamid al-Ghazali (q) was praying behind the bigger scholar, his elder brother, although he was younger with better knowledge, but one day he stopped and began praying at home. The second day he did not come to the masjid to pray with his brother, which made his brother unhappy. This continued, but the elder brother did not complain as he was maintaining adab. He thought, “Perhaps my younger brother is trying to do something to instigate me or make me look bad, but nevermind.”

After eight or nine days he had to get an answer, so he went to his mother and said, “My mother, you are in the masjid. Everyone is asking where is my brother as he is no longer praying behind me and I wonder why.”

She said, “Wa-Allahi my son I don't know.”

She went to her younger son and asked, “Yaa Abu Hamid, why are you not praying in the masjid?

He said, “W ‘Allahi, I would love to pray behind my brother, but I cannot.”

“You have been praying behind your brother all these years, an `alim and your elder, and now you are not. You must tell me the reason.”

In Islamic Shari`ah, if your mother asks you for something, you must obey, not like today, where children say, “You are old-fashioned and don’t know anything! We are new-fashioned and modern; we like cars, night clubs and drinking,” and all other things like that.

So his mother ordered him to answer. He said, “Okay, since you ordered me to tell, my brother is falling into a ditch of blood. How can I pray behind him when he is fully immersed in blood?”

This indeed was a big statement because in prayer you cannot bleed or have blood on your body; you first have to wash it to be ritually clean for prayer, not because blood is dirty (it is not), but because Allah (swt) doesn't want men or women to pray when bleeding. If men cut themselves, they cannot pray without cleaning, although they do not necessarily have to take a shower, but they must make wudu and then pray. Women are instructed to take ghusl when their period is finished.

He said, “I cannot pray behind him, as he is immersed in blood.” Look at the difference between a wali and an `alim. Then the mother went to his elder brother and told him what his brother said, that he is falling into a ditch of blood and cannot get out of it. She said to go ask him and get an explanation.

He said, “How am I falling in a ditch of blood? Did I kill or stab someone? Did I backbite someone?” He didn’t go to ask, but thought about if he had killed or stabbed or backbited someone and he knew he had not done any of those acts. Then he remembered that there was an issue that came to him to make fatwa on a certain ayat of the Holy Qur’an, wherein Allah (swt) said:

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Wa yasaloonaka `ani ’l-maheedi qul huwa adhan fa`atazilu’n-nisaa fi ’l-maheed.

They ask you concerning women's courses. Say, “They are a hurt and a pollution so keep away from women in their courses. “  (Surat al-Baqarah, 2:222)

Whenever he would start his prayer and say “Allahu Akbar,” that ayat and that fatwa would come to his mind, to give the explanation to the question that during the period how must she behave? He had not yet found a reasonable answer to come with a fatwa, so every time he said “Allahu Akbar” and began his prayers, he imagined blood before him. Abu Hamid al-Ghazali (q) was able to catch that message from the heart of his brother just like this Internet signal. As the elder brother was always thinking about that, Abu Hamid saw that blood in his brother’s face, so how was his prayer going to be accepted and how could he pray behind his brother? He must take a shower every time until he completes that fatwa.

Ahmad al-Ghazali said, Sadaqa akhee, “My younger brother spoke the truth.” He was younger but he was a wali, while he himself was one of the best `ulama. Do you see the difference? If anything comes to the mind of an `alim during prayer he still continues the prayer, but if anything comes to the mind of a wali he must repeat the prayer. So we are now in two wings and we must choose: follow an `alim or a wali, and which is more preferable? If the an `alim is also a wali,  then we have hit two birds with one stone. However, this does not mean that an `alim is wrong, but his way will take longer to reach Ma`rifah, whereas the way of the wali is much faster.

Prophet (s) said, “I have been sent to build in you this this knowledge, the etiquette of Islam, the etiquette of discipline in you.” Makaarim al-Akhlaaq is the characteristics that take you away from falling in a pool of blood when you are praying and diverts your focus to your presence between Allah's Hands, which is what the Prophet (s) was sent to complete in us! How to achieve that? As much as we praise the Prophet (s), Allah (swt) will be happy with us, as He said:

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Inna-Llaaha wa malaa'ikatahu yusalloona `ala 'n-nabiyy, yaa ayyuha ’Lladheena aamanoo salloo `alayhi wa sallimoo tasleema.

Verily, Allah and His angels send praise on the Prophet. O Believers! Pray upon him and greet him.

(Surat al-Ahzaab, 33:56)

So Allah orders His angels to make salawaat on His Prophet (s) and it is an order to us also. All these qasa’id being recited and published are not coming without inspiration to the hearts of awliyaullah! While they may be easy to read and recite, they are not easy to compose (they are written by awliya