4 December 2014 Fenton Zawiya, Michigan
Suhbah From Grandshaykh `AbdAllah’s Notes
Allahumma salli `alaa Sayyidina Muhammadan nabi al-ummi wa `alaa aalihi wa sahbihi wa sallim.
A`oodhu billahi min ash-Shaytani ‘r-rajeem. Bismillahi 'r-Rahmani 'r-Raheem. As-Salaamu `alaykum wa rahmatullaahi wa barakaatuh. Alhamdulillah alladhee hadhana li ‘l-islam wa maa kunna li-nahtadee law laa an hadanaa-Allah.
Praise be to Allah that He guided us to Islam or else we would not have been guided. So we have to praise and glorify The Creator that He directed our face towards Qibla. The difference between a Believer and a non-Believer is where he directs his face. If you direct your face towards Allah and His obligations you are a Believer and if you direct your face wherever you like, to the other side, then you are a non-Believer. So when we direct our faces Allah (swt) will guide us, because that is what He wants from us: to look for His Orders and execute them; not only directing our face towards Qibla, it is directing our face towards Allah. The Qibla is where Allah ordered us as Believers to direct our face. Can you pray a prayer without facing Qibla? No it is impossible. If you don't direct your face towards Qibla your obligations are not accepted. So what is “there”? There is what makes Qibla important, there must
be a secret there. Because if you take the walls what is inside?
Inside there is the real Ka`bah, Bayt al-Maamoor, which is in the Fourth Heaven in Paradise. The Reality of the tajalli Allah manifests in every moment on Bayt al-Maamoor in Heavens, which is similarly reflecting on Earth on the same place in Mecca, which is the Ka`batullah on Earth. From the Fourth Heaven, Bayt al-Maamoor, the Prophet (s) prayed there with all prophets in the Fourth Heaven, and he was directing his face towards Bayt al-Maamoor. Allah is sending the same Light from the Ka`bah in Heavens over the Ka`bah that Allah ordered Sayyidina Adam (a) to first build and then Sayyidina Ibrahim (a) renovated it and which Allah granted Sayyidina Ibrahim (a) to build it with a stone from Paradise, Al-Hajar al-Aswad, the Black Stone.
Why is it called the Black Stone? Some narrations say that Hajar al-Aswad was white, but because of the sins of the people making pilgrimage there and touching Hajar al-Aswad or saying “Bismillah! Allahu Akbar!” the sins that were on them completely go, that Hajar al-Aswad sucks the sins and keeps you clean. That’s why when you pray in Mecca and you are in the Haram they tell you to look at the Ka`bah even when you are praying, don’t look where your sajda is, look at the Ka`bah, because the importance is the Ka`bah there, it is Baytullah, Allah’s House, and then when you go to sajda.
So that Hajar al-Aswad is also called al-Hajar al-As`ad, the Most Happy Stone, because it reflects the happiness that Allah bestows on that stone immediately to you! As soon as you see it, or as soon as you direct your face towards it from anywhere in the world, when you say, “Allahu Akbar!” you are directing your face towards Hajar al-As`ad, then every happiness in it, at that moment when you are directing your face towards it, even from here or from China, they will dress you in that happiness and take your sins away from you!
Allah (swt) Arhamur-Raahimeen, the Most Merciful. The Most Merciful means, Huwa Rahamu ‘r-Raahimeen, “of those who show mercy”. The Most Merciful means that when you say, “Laa ilaaha illa-Llah Muhammadun Rasoolullah,” it is enough in that moment to clean you from what ever you are carrying of sins, because He is Arhama ar-Rahmeen, the Most Merciful, all your sins will be completely erased. As if you are newly born, like Prophet (s) said of anyone who goes for Hajj:
مَنْ حَجَّ لِلَّهِ فَلَمْ يَرْفُثْ وَلَمْ يَفْسُقْ رَجَعَ كَيَوْمِ وَلَدَتْهُ أُمُّهُ
Whoever performs Hajj for Allah's pleasure and does not have sexual relations with his wife, and does not do evil or sins, then he will return (after Hajj free from all sins) as if he were born anew.
(Narrated Abu Hurayrah, Bukhari)
“And if he didn’t do any kind of sins he will return back home as he if he is newly born.” Sins are everywhere, but Ka`bah is everywhere. Allah gave you five times to look at Ka`bah: Fajr, Zhuhr, `Asr, Maghrib, Isha. That means He is telling us, “You begin your day with sins, I am beginning for you that day with maghfirah. By facing Qibla, My House, Meccat al-Mukarramah, you are facing it; I am sending Rahmah on you, forgiving you. I begin your day for you with maghfirah, on the contrary you begin your day with sins.” Correct? All of us. And don't think by praying you are doing a favor to Allah (swt). People think they are making a favor to Allah. Are you doing a favor to Allah?
One of the greatest awliyaullah and when his name is mentioned the whole silsilah of the Naqshbandi Order shakes...one of them, and there are too many on the Golden Chain, when you mention his name or their names the whole silsilah will be ringing! What is silsilah? It is a chain, and if you have a chain and hit it at the top it will vibrate and the sound will travel all the way up and as it vibrates it gives a nice sound. When you mention a wali of the Naqshbandi Golden Chain all of it vibrates up to Prophet (s), receiving from Prophet (s) that Noor, that manifestation that he put on his Ummah. Ummat un-Nabi, the Nation of Muhammad (s) is lucky because you have been chosen to be a Believer, you have been chosen to be a Muslim, and a good Muslim.
Now, will you face sin? Yes, you face sin. Do you face disagreement? You face disagreement. You face corruption? Yes, you face corruption. You face cheating? Yes, you face cheating. All this will be forgiven, but one thing cannot be forgiven. The Sahaabah asked the Prophet (s):
قال أبو الدرداء وذكر بعضهم قال عبدالله بن جراد يا رسول الله هل يزني المؤمن قال قد يكون ذلك قال هل يسرق المؤمن قال قد يكون ذلك قال هل يكذب المؤمن قال لا ثم أتبعها نبي الله صلى الله عليه وسلم : { إنما يفتري الكذب الذين لا يؤمنون بآيات الله } النحل
Once the Sahaabah (r) asked the Prophet (s), “Yaa Rasoolallah! Does the mu’min make zinaa (adultery)?" The Prophet (s) replied, "Perhaps." They asked, "Does the mu’min steal?" The Prophet (s) replied, "Perhaps." Then they asked him, "Does the mu’min lie?" To this the Prophet (s) replied, "This, no!" Then the Prophet (s) followed it by (reciting), “Only they invent falsehood who believe not Allah's revelations, and (only) they are the liars.”[Surat al-Nahl, 16:105] (Abu Darda, Kanzu ’l-`Ummal, 8994)
“Will a Believer steal?” And he said, “It might be.” And they asked will he fall into adultery? And he said, “Might be.” Look, these are from the higher ma`siyya, the great sins that need shafa`at an-Nabi (s),
inshaa-Allah all are under the shafa`at an-Nabi (s). He is saying that yes, a Believer might steal and might make adultery. And then they asked: “Hal al-mumin yakdhib?” Qaala “Fa amma hadhihi falaa.” “Does a mu’min lie?” And the other two he said, “Might be.” But for lying, he said, “No way. A mu’min cannot lie.” And today mu’min to mu’min they fabricate stories! Is it not? We hear something that is not correct, we carry it on as if it were correct and we make more problems. And Allah (swt) said:
يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا اجْتَنِبُوا كَثِيرًا مِّنَ الظَّنِّ إِنَّ بَعْضَ الظَّنِّ إِثْمٌ
O you who have believed! Avoid much (negative) assumption. Indeed, some assumption is sin.
(Surat al-Hujuraat, 49:12)
“O Believers! Try to avoid doubts,” someone tells you a story, you believe it and you tell to another one who tells it to another and he tells to another and another and becomes a Reality as no one knows where it began. But, Allah (swt) will forgive. And we are asking, “Yaa Rabbee! Forgive us!” So the one who is oppressed, Allah raises him and the oppressor, Allah will put him down. And we ask that, “O Allah don't make us oppressors and take oppressors away from us.”
Yaqool `Abdul-Qadir Ibn `Umar as-Safadi (q), one of the great awliyaullah as Grandshaykh (q) mentioned in his story, if anyone says anything and gave you hard time, what do you need to do? He said, tahammal muraarat al-mukhaalif, “Carry the load of the bitterness of conflict and don't answer back.” If someone says anything about your reputation, spreading rumors, slander, etc., Sayyidina `Abdul Qadir Ibn `Umar as-Safadi (q) said, “Don't argue, carry the load, don't fight.” If you argue you are taking your right by your hand and if you don't argue, at that time Allah will defend you and take your right with His Hands! If you fight back and try to stop that rumor, then you’re taking the right by your hand, but if you leave it and carry the bitterness of it and don't give an excuse to yourself to react, then Allah will defend you, and if He defends you He might give you:
عن أبي هريرة أن النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم قال قال الله عز وجل أعددت لعبادي الصالحين ما لا عين رأت ولا أذن سمعت ولا خطر على قلب بشر
Allah said, “I have prepared for My righteous servants what no eye has seen, no ear has heard, and what never came to the heart of a human being.” (Narrated Abu Hurayrah, Bukhari)
Allah will give you what no eye has seen no ear has heard and never came to the heart of a person and what no mind can think of. So which is better? That `abd cannot give you anything except false rumors, so leave him or her. Allah will defend you, don’t try to defend yourself! Allah will give you. When Allah defends you He is not going to make your ‘reputation’ better, He is going to make your reputation better by raising you to reach `Ilm al-Yaqeen, `Ayn al-Yaqeen, Haqq al-Yaqeen. To reach the level `Ilm al-Yaqeen, Knowledge of Certainty; yaqeen means “no doubt about it.” When you reach `Ilm al-Yaqeen, Knowledge of Certainty, it is the Truth, no sideways, not even one millimeter. It will give you real direction, real knowledge.
Not like people say, “It came to my heart to do this, to do that,” no. Like today someone said to me, “You inspired me to do that,” and I said, “No, I didn't want you to do that!” These (brothers in the audience) witnessed it. If you ask me then it is another story, of course I say yes, but you don’t ask me and then tell me, “I got an inspiration.”
There is no more doubt in `Ilm al-Yaqeen, it is direct information to your heart, like a laser beam moving that light to change your heart from a sick heart to a healthy heart of knowledge. This can be acquired. Also on a parallel to `Ilm al-Yaqeen is Mahabbah: Mahabbat al-Mashaykh, Mahabbat al-Habeeb, Mahabbatullah. When you love Allah (swt), you love Prophet (s), you love your shuyukh, then Allah opens for you the Reality, the Knowledge of Certainty, and they go together because with love that knowledge will open up. They are parallel to each other, as that Mahabbatullah moves forward, Mahabbat al-Habeeb moves forward and Mahabbat al-Mashaykh moves forward, and `Ilm al-Yaqeen moves forward: one step, two steps, three steps until you reach the Divinely Knowledge, like what Allah gave Sayyidina Khidr (a):
وَعَلَّمْنَاهُ مِن لَّدُنَّا عِلْمًا
And whom We had taught knowledge from Our Own Presence. (Surat al-Kahf, 18:65)
“We taught him from Our Heavenly Knowledge,” because he went through that stage. If you keep quiet and carry the load of bitterness they will open for you `Ayn al-Yaqeen, the Certainty of Seeing and you will see what people cannot see. It goes parallel with the Presence (Hudoor): when you have the presence of your shaykh always with you, after Mahabbah--Love to the Shaykh, Love to Prophet (s), Love to Allah (swt)--you will have Presence of the Shaykh, Presence of the Prophet (s), Presence of the Divine Presence.
Then these go parallel to the Reality of the Certainty of Vision. When you reach the level of Annihilation in the Shaykh, Annihilation in the Prophet (s), and Annihilation in Allah's Divine Presence, you will be parallel to Haqq al-Yaqeen, the Certainty of Reality, of Haqq, of Truth, with no doubt. By this way you acquire on one side Mahabbat al-Mashaykh, Mahabbat al-Habeeb, Mahabbatullah; Hudoorullah, Hudooru ’l-Habeeb, Hudooru ’l-Mashaykh; Fanaa’un fillah, Fanaa’un fi’l-Habeeb, Fanaa’un fi ’l-Mashaykh. This is a huge knowledge that you cannot explain; it needs not only theory, but you must have training and experience.
Then on the other side you get `Ilm al-Yaqeen, `Ayn al-Yaqeen, Haqq al-Yaqeen. They go together, by what? By not arguing and not fighting back. Carry the load of bitterness from them, then that sweetness will open for you. If you want sweetness, you must carry the bitterness. If you have no bitterness then your self is not asking for sweetness!
Why do people eat sweets after food? Because there is salt in the food so they eat the sweet to end their food with sweetness and to end their life with sweetness. Why do you have to read Shahadah in front of the dying person, to read: Ash-hadu an laa ilaaha illa-Llah wa ash-hadu anna Muhammadu ‘r-Rasoolullah. Because it’s the sweetest words Allah mentioned! Laa ilaaha illa-Llah Muhammadun Rasoolullah: afdali dhikri fa`alam annahu laa ilaaha illa-Llah Muhammadun Rasoolullah! So Allah’s Words are the sweetness. That’s why they make du`a at the end of food, to end with sweetness. So end your day with sweetness by forgiving everyone!
Sayyidina `Umar (r) was sitting, and Prophet (s) mentioned one of the Sahaabi (r) was going to Paradise with no account and Sayyidina `Umar (r) wanted to know why, so he followed him to his house. He invited `Umar (r) in and in the Arabic custom of generosity, they host the guest three days without asking him anything, and so he said, “Welcome,” and hosted him, fed him food, entertained him. Then they slept and Sayyidina `Umar (r) woke up one hour before Fajr to pray Tahajjud and that host slept until Fajr, until they heard Sayyidina Bilal (r) calling adhaan.
Then the host woke up and said, “Yaa `Umar, to the masjid.”
They prayed with the Prophet (s). The next day the same thing: he slept until Fajr while Sayyidina `Umar woke up and prayed Tahajjud. That Sahaabi (r) did not get up before Fajr, prayed no extra prayers, no voluntary worship and on the third day the same thing.
After three days the host said, “Yaa `Umar, I hosted you three days. Is there anything I can help you with?”
He said, “What you can help me with? I saw something strange that I cannot understand. Prophet (s) said you are going to Paradise with no account, but I prayed more than you, you did not pray these prayers that I prayed, you didn’t do the nawaafil, you only prayed the obligations. So what will make you to enter Paradise as Prophet (s) said?”
The host said, “Yaa `Umar, before I put my head on pillow,” but their pillows were not like ours, they had straw pillows in that time; the Prophet (s) slept on a straw pillow, but show me anyone who sleeps on a straw pillow now. He said, “When I put my head on the pillow, the first thing I do is to declare my Shahadah, Ash-hadu an laa ilaaha illa-Llah wa ash-hadu anna Muhammadu ‘r-Rasoolullah three times. Second, I forgive everyone who harmed me that day, against my ego,” as we just mentioned, tahammal muraarat al-mukhaalif, leave what your self wants, don’t argue. “I forgive everyone before I sleep, however they harmed me, even by looking at me bad and I didn’t see it; whatever has happened I forgive everyone.” He said it in Reality, because Prophet (s) said that he is going to Paradise. “And the third thing is, if I get all the wealth in the morning and lose it by the evening, I will never be glad of having big money nor sad if I lose it all at night as they are both the same to me: if I own the wealth of the whole world or I have nothing, it doesn’t make any difference to me.”
Sayyidina `Umar (r) said, “Sadaqta Rasoolullah, Prophet (s) said the Truth.” Of course Prophet (s) told the truth. So:
إِنَّ اللَّهَ يُدَافِعُ عَنِ الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا
Verily Allah will defend (from ill) those who believe. (Surat al-Hajj, 22:38)
Yudaafi`un al-ladheena amanoo, “Allah defends the Believers,” but defends them in what? Allah defended Sayyida `Ayesha and sent Jibreel (a) to support Sayyida `Ayesha (r), but how many days did she have to wait for that? When they accused her of something wrong and Prophet (s) was not happy and he wanted to know what went on, although he knew spiritually, but he wants to know physically for the Sahaabah (r) and the whole world, because spiritually he knew she was innocent, but he waited and Allah delayed Sayyidina Jibreel (a) for thirty days and more, to give the innocence of Sayyida `Ayesha (r), 30 to 35 days Jibreel (a) didn’t come to give Revelation, and Prophet (s) was so in need, ya`anee, he wanted Jibreel (a) to come and clarify the issue, then came the ayah:
انَّ الَّذِينَ جَاؤُوا بِالْإِفْكِ عُصْبَةٌ مِّنكُمْ لَا تَحْسَبُوهُ شَرًّا لَّكُم بَلْ هُوَ خَيْرٌ لَّكُمْ لِكُلِّ امْرِئٍ مِّنْهُم مَّا اكْتَسَبَ مِنَ الْإِثْمِ وَالَّذِي تَوَلَّى كِبْرَهُ مِنْهُمْ لَهُ عَذَابٌ عَظِيمٌ
Verily, numerous among you are those who would falsely accuse others of unchastity, but deem it not a bad thing for you: no, it is good for you! (As for the slanderers), every one of them (will be accounted) all that he has earned by (thus) sinning and awesome suffering awaits any of them who takes it upon himself to enhance this (sin). (Surat an-Noor, 24:11)
بَرَاءةٌ مِّنَ اللّهِ وَرَسُولِهِ
A (declaration) of immunity from Allah and His Messenger. (Surat at-Tawbah, 9:1)
Allah gave the testimony that `Ayesha (r) is clean. So, if that happened to `Ayesha (r), what are we? Where is our value in comparison to `Ayesha (r), who is Sayyidaat al-Jinaan (r), and Sayyida Fatima (r), Sayyida Khadijat al-Kubra (r), Azwaaj un-Nabi (s), all of them Sayyidaat al-Jinaan (r) aw awlaad an-Nabi (s)! We are not even dust at the threshold of Sayyida `Ayesha (r)! Allah (swt) wanted to defend her in the Holy Qur’an and He made everyone wait for that Revelation to come. Allah will defend! May Allah defend you all and defend me and defend all of you!
So we will continue next time. What I explained is only two lines of Grandshaykh’s notes (q); I added whatever comes of explanation as his words are loaded with knowledge. You go deeper then you cannot come up, you become majzhoob, attracted, and when you are attracted you are not in dunya anymore, you are living in dunya but your heart is in Akhirah. May Allah forgive us.
Grandshaykh (q) is speaking about a very high maqaam of the Prophet (s), the station that continuously moves the human being according to goodness and evil that are from Allah. This maqaam, spiritual level or Reality, is the engine that is always keeping human beings alive, according to:
وَبِالْقَدْرِخَيْرِهِ وَشَرِّهِ مِنْ اللهِ تَعَالَى.
And in Destiny, both its good and evil being from Allah the Exalted. (Part of Imaan al-Mufassal)
Come now and explain what is that engine and what is goodness and what is badness, not in the meaning that you and I know about khayrihi, the goodness and sharrihi, badness; it is something much deeper. Grandshaykh (q) says that engine is Rasoolullah (s):
Ya`rif min haqiqat ar-rooh wa haqiqat adh-dharrah wa haqiqat dharrat adh-dharrah.
He knows the Reality of the soul and the Reality of every atom that has been created, and he knows the Reality of the atom of the atom, the smallest imaginable particle, and still he stands and says, `anaa `abdun `ajiz, “I am a weak servant!”
We cannot go into that, we leave it inshaa-Allah. Bi hurmati 'l-habeeb, bi hurmati 'l-Fatihah.
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