Go to the Door of the One Responsible
Mawlana Shaykh Hisham Kabbani
28 June 2012 Fenton Zawiya, Michigan
Suhbah Before Salaat al-Maghrib
Allahumma salli wa sallim `alaa sayyidina Muhammadin hatta yarda Sayyidina Muhammad.
Salloo `alaa an-Nabi (s)!
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.
I heard many times, as we have been advised by Mawlana Shaykh Nazim, may Allah grant him long life, and Grandshaykh, may Allah bless his soul, that if you want everything to be fulfilled, you must consult with your teacher, because the teacher, the Shaykh, will direct you to a certain way according to the problem you are facing. If you are facing a sickness and you consult a doctor, first you go to a general practitioner, the primary-care doctor, and you cannot jump ahead and go to a specialist. In the Middle East and in the Subcontinent, many patients say, “I don’t want to see the primary-care doctor, I want to take the key from the keymaker!” That is the story of Sayyidina Ahmad al-Badawi (r) in which he cannot find the key. You cannot jump to a specialist, which is more expensive, so you have to go to the primary-care doctor; also, if the primary-care doctor can solve it, why go to a specialist?
Awliyaullah have levels and you cannot go directly to the king, the sultan. The Sultan is going to give you from his level and then if you cannot do it, you will be punished. In Grandshaykh's time, we used to go directly to him many times, and finally after many years, Mawlana Shaykh, may Allah give him shifaa’, said to me, “The adab when you come, is to go to the door; don't go directly to the Sultan.”
You don't need a buraaq or a rocket to solve your problem; there are ones who can solve your problem. That is why Grandshaykh, may Allah bless his soul, said, “If someone has a problem, don't call on the Prophet (s) and on Sayyidina Abu Bakr as-Siddiq (r) and on Sayyidina `Umar (r) and on Sahaabah (r) and on awliyaaullah of high levels, but instead call on Sayyidina Muhyideen ibn `Arabi (r) as he is the one responsible. I am guiding you to the one responsible for any problems for your travel in your journey. And ask the Ghawth, `Abdul Qadir Jilani (q) as he is responsible for everyone traveling. So if you go to the wrong one, you will not get an answer. You have to know what door to approach.”
So Mawlana Shaykh Nazim (q) said to me, “Don't go to Grandshaykh with all your heaviness, but go first to the door.”
The Prophet (s) said:
أنا مدينة العلم و علي بابه
Anaa madinatu 'l-`ilmi wa `Aliyyun baabuha.
I am the City of Knowledge and `Ali is its door. (al-Haakim, Tirmidhi)
He said, “I am the door to Shaykh `AbdAllah al-Fa’iz ad-Daghestani (q). So you don't go to the minister, go to the one who is directly under the Sultan, the king. Don't bother the one who is 24 hours in the presence of the Prophet (s) because you don't know where they are; instead seek a lesser level of approach.. And what also will help you is your belief in what they say; your belief will cure you. Your belief that by the power of Allah (swt) the du`a of that Shaykh will reach the Divine Presence, and Allah (swt) will give you what you seek!
In his time and until today through his manuscripts, people go to Imam Sha`raani (q), one of biggest of the scholars and awliya of Egypt, because they believe he can help them. He said in Lataa`if al-Minan:
If someone comes to me and has a health, work or physical problem, if I take a piece of straw from the ground and give to anyone of them, and they asked me for du`a for illness or their problem, I give it to them and tell them to burn it and inshaa-Allah if they go and do that, they will be okay.
That is because everything depends on the belief in the Shaykh and that Allah (swt) will cure you, then you will be cured. Giving them one straw, saying, “Your problem inshaa-Allah will be solved,” and they burn it, and their problem will be resolved. Another way is if I write something, such as a taweez, and you burn it and pass it over the sick person, he will be cured.
fa`arifu annahu law laa shidati `itiqaad ahadihim maa shafaa Allahu ta`ala maradahu bi dhukhanati ’l-qalb tilka al-kashha, I immediately know that the belief in Allah (swt) and the Prophet (s) and awliyaullah is what caused them to be cured, but the straw is only a cause to follow the order of the Shaykh and listen to him (and the cure is the effect).
That is why it is very important for anyone who wants to put his feet in tariqah that he has to ask forgiveness and be regretful of what he has done and follow a Shaykh to guide him to the Right Way! People visit Mawlana Shaykh Nazim (q) and take baya` with him in order to be guided even from far away.
إِنَّكَ لَا تَهْدِي مَنْ أَحْبَبْتَ وَلَكِنَّ اللَّهَ يَهْدِي مَن يَشَاء وَهُوَ أَعْلَمُ بِالْمُهْتَدِينَ
Laa tahdee man ahbabta inn'Allaha yahdee man yashaa'u wa huwa a`lamu bi 'l-muhtadeena.
Surely you cannot guide whom you love, but Allah guides whom He pleases, and He knows best the followers of the right way. (Surat al-Qasas, 28:56)
If someone asks you to show them the way, guide him, and that is Allah’s guidance, not yours. That is why baya` is guidance! Allah (swt) took a pledge from the Sahaabah (r) to guide them:
إِنَّ الَّذِينَ يُبَايِعُونَكَ إِنَّمَا يُبَايِعُونَ اللَّهَ يَدُ اللَّهِ فَوْقَ أَيْدِيهِمْ فَمَن نَّكَثَ فَإِنَّمَا يَنكُثُ عَلَى نَفْسِهِ وَمَنْ أَوْفَى بِمَا عَاهَدَ عَلَيْهُ اللَّهَ فَسَيُؤْتِيهِ أَجْرًا عَظِيمًا
Inna alladheena yuba`yoonaka innamaa yuba`yoon Allah, yadullaahi fawqa aydeehim, faman nakatha fa-innama yankuthu `alaa nafsihi wa man awfaa bimaa `ahad `alayhullaaha fa-sayu’teehi ajran `azheema.
Verily, those who swear allegiance to you (Muhammad) swear allegiance only to Allah. The Hand of Allah is above their hands, so whoever breaks his oath does so only to his soul's injury, while whoever keeps his covenant with Allah, on him will He bestow immense reward. (Surat al-Fath, 48:10)
That is, “They are announcing and declaring their real Shahadah in front of you, yaa Rasoolullah!”
That is why the beginning of baya` is, “Ash-hadu laa ilaaha illa-Llah wa ash-hadu anna Muhammadan rasoolullah,” and then, “inna ‘Lladheena yuba`yoonaka inna maa yuba`yoonallah,” then Allah's Hand is above your hand! The Shaykh cannot even take baya` to himself. Also, he must know that if he is giving baya` to someone that baya` goes to the Prophet (s). Those whom the Shaykh appointed as representatives must know the baya` is not to them, but it is going to the Shaykh and from him to the Prophet (s)!
In the presence of the Shaykh you must not show any will. Don't say, “I like this and I don't like that,” or don't say, “O my Shaykh! You have to eat this and don't eat that.” Don't give orders to the Shaykh. When Mawlana was sick, may Allah bless him and give him shifaa, he used to say, “I am fed up with all those around me as they give orders to me and think they are above me.” Even if the Shaykh is sick, you cannot declare any opinion or even associate with him, or give him orders on what to do; leave him! Many times we felt that Grandshaykh (q) was going (to pass away) and then he came back and regained his health. The lives of awliyaaullah are in the Hands of Allah and in hands of the Prophet (s). Don't put your will above their will; you must believe your Shaykh is your guide to Allah (swt). If not for his guidance you would not be sitting in one of his associations or in his presence!
In the association we have to be very careful in showing our utmost respect to the orders of the teacher. Don't try to manipulate in front of your teacher in order to take the answer you like. What do they do? They try to say things in order to get the Shaykh to answer them with what they say, to take an excuse. If you see them doing that, they will take the harm and suffer, not us. Those who think they are above everyone and think of themselves (as Pharoah claimed), anaa rabbukumu 'l-`aalaa, “I am the Highest Lord for you,” yes you are the highest Shaytan for your (self)! There are too many people like that; even in the time of the Prophet (s), Shaytan and his army entered the idols and made them speak in order to confuse the Companions (r). When you are in front of Allah’s (friends), whom He blessed with His Mercy, don't think you can dictate to them what you want. They surrendered to Allah (swt) and on Judgment Day you will suffer.
Imam Sha`raani (q) says, wa annahu laa yaamuruhu qadtun bi tarki shayin illa yu`tihi anfasa minh. “The Shaykh sometimes give him an order to prevent him from doing something because he wants to give him something more valuable. If he listens and drops it (that behavior or intention), something more valuable is given than what he is asking. If he doesn't believe the Shaykh will give him more than what he is asking, he is a munaafiq, hypocrite, and he will never benefit from the manners of the Shaykh, because he thinks he already has the manners the Shaykh has to follow.”
You find too many followers of shuyookh around the world trying to dictate to the Shaykh what to do. Sayyidina Bayazid al-Bistami (r) said, “One who doesn't have a teacher, his teacher is Shaytan.” So we have to be careful of someone who doesn't have a teacher. We have to ask Allah (swt) to always guide us to what is good for us. People of spirituality are Ahlu ‘l-Khaasatih, His Own Special People. They are special people and trustees on His Secrets and they are the treasure houses for His Lights. And those are the people, Ahlu ‘t-Tasawwuf, who are seeking to become the People of His Treasures and dressed from His Treasures.
And whatever you reach of high level you must know that at any moment they pull it from you, and so the best (advice) is to do your job and don't bother with the rest because you will not benefit as people always want to dig in order to get the bad smell. They don't ever want to spray the nice smell, but they want to dig up something in order to get the bad smell to you. And subhaanAllah, we are reaching a time that as the Prophet (s) said:
قال رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم : « يأتي على الناس زمان القابض على دينه كالقابض على الجمررواه الترمذي.
Qaala rasoolullah yaatee `ala an-naasi zamaanun al-qaabidu `alaa deenihi ka’l-qaabidu `alaa ’l-jamr.
The one holding his religion firmly in his hand is like someone holding a burning coal.
Wherever you go there is fire and you fall into sins. Even if you are in any Sufi Order there is competition between the followers and groups inside the biggest group of the Shaykh; also there are smaller groups within and all of them are fighting with each other. The struggle between good and evil is always there and never stops; it is there among the ummah, among the imaams in Islam, it was among the Sahaabah. Is it not? How many fought after the time of the Prophet (s) among the Sahaabah?
لا راحة في الدين
Laa raahata fi ’d-deen.
There is no rest in religion.
There is no rest in religion; there is a struggle. Every one of us here or watching on the Internet is struggling with his ego, running after his or her own desires, not caring for the desires of others. Everyone wants to feel happy, entertained, and to make the most of this dunya. In dunya, the Sahaabah (r) dropped their desires and were giving their lives for the Prophet (s). As Allah (swt) mentioned in Holy Qur'an, they didn’t stay back from fighting in battles which the Prophet (s) ordered. Those who stayed back and didn't want to fight, it was because they were rich (as the ayah mentions):
اسْتَغْفِرْ لَهُمْ أَوْ لاَ تَسْتَغْفِرْ لَهُمْ إِن تَسْتَغْفِرْ لَهُمْ سَبْعِينَ مَرَّةً فَلَن يَغْفِرَ اللّهُ لَهُمْ ذَلِكَ بِأَنَّهُمْ كَفَرُواْ بِاللّهِ وَرَسُولِهِ وَاللّهُ لاَ يَهْدِي الْقَوْمَ الْفَاسِقِي
Istaghfir lahum aw laa tastaghfir lahum in tastaghfir lahum sab`eena marratan falan yaghfira ’Lllahu lahum dhaalika bi annahum kafaroo bi’Llahi wa rasoolihi wa’Llahu la yahdee ‘l-qawma ‘l-faasiqeen.
Whether you pray [to Allah] that they be forgiven or you do not pray for them [it will all be the same: for even] if you were to pray seventy times that they be forgiven, Allah will not forgive them, seeing that they are bent on denying Allah and His Apostle, and Allah does not bestow His guidance upon such iniquitous folk. (Surat at-Tawbah, 9:80)
And of those to whom Prophet (s) said:
سَيَقُولُ لَكَ الْمُخَلَّفُونَ مِنَ الْأَعْرَابِ شَغَلَتْنَا أَمْوَالُنَا وَأَهْلُونَا فَاسْتَغْفِرْ لَنَا يَقُولُونَ بِأَلْسِنَتِهِم مَّا لَيْسَ فِي قُلُوبِهِمْ قُلْ فَمَن يَمْلِكُ لَكُم مِّنَ اللَّهِ شَيْئًا إِنْ أَرَادَ بِكُمْ ضَرًّا أَوْ أَرَادَ بِكُمْ نَفْعًا بَلْ كَانَ اللَّهُ بِمَا تَعْمَلُونَ خَبِيرًا
Sayaqoolu laka ‘l-mukhallafoona mina ‘l-`arabi shaghalatnaa amwaalunaa wa ahloonaa fa ’staghfir lanaa yaqooloona bi alsinatihim maa laysa fee quloobihim qul faman yamliku lakum mina Allahi shayan in araada bikum darran aw araada bikum naf`an bal kaana Allahu bimaa ta`maloona khabeera.
Those of the Bedouin who stayed behind will say to you, “[The need to take care of] our chattels and our families kept us busy; do then, [O Prophet,] ask Allah to forgive us!” [Thus] they will utter with their tongues something that is not in their hearts. Say, “Who then has it in his power to avert from you anything that Allah may have willed, whether it be His Will to harm you or to confer a benefit on you? No, but Allah is fully aware of what you do! (Surat al-Fath, 48:11)
Those to whom the Prophet (s) said, “Come! We have to face the enemy,” said, “No, we are busy with our money and our children and not able to go with you, so ask forgiveness for us.” And Allah said, “Yaa Muhammad! Even if you make seventy istighfaar for every one of them, Allah will never forgive them!” because they intentionally did not listen to Allah’s and His Prophet’s order!
And today we have orders from our shuyookh that are disobeyed, and even if they (awliya) make istighfaar and ask forgiveness on their behalf, Allah will not forgive them! This is a very strong command, even though Allah (swt) is Most Forgiving and Most Merciful. So some say they are falling into this with their human nature; what is everyone falling into? Instinct? What is his “instinct” telling him to do? Will he ever change his mind? And this is against adab/principle: if you say you are taking the hand of the Shaykh, this is against the hand of the Shaykh, as you have to follow what the Shaykh is saying! So when Mawlana Shaykh, may Allah give him long life and shifaa’, said to us, “Don't go directly to Grandshaykh, but come to me first,” Mawlana was then 40 years old and Grandshaykh was 80 years of age, so do you follow the one who is forty or the 80-year-old? No, you follow the one “your instinct” tells you to follow, “the one on the top.” Your ego whispers to you, “But why do you have to pass by the door?” Your instinct says to go high, but your reality says, “Go to the door!”
وَأْتُواْ الْبُيُوتَ مِنْ أَبْوَابِهَا
Waatoo ’l-buyoota min abwaabihaa.
Enter houses through their doors. (Surat al-Baqara, 2:189)
“Don't enter the house from the window, but go from the door.” It might be if you enter from the window, people are not covered (as they are not expecting you); you jump from the window, but you knock at the door. So why did Mawlana Shaykh tell me and Shaykh Adnan, “First you have to come to me.” Because if you disobey an order of the Sultan your neck will be gone, but if you disobey the order from the one at the door in the time of the Sultan, the lower one in that time, you will still have your neck because you only make a mistake in front of the doorkeeper, not in front of the Sultan. Making a mistake with a mufti is not like making a mistake with the Sultan. That is the wisdom for which they put the representatives. So if you make a mistake there it’s okay as it is in the lower level, not the highest level. If you make a mistake with a president or a king they will cut your neck!
They might ask why am I holding the phone; because of this one email that I received, saying, “Many mureeds call themselves ‘Shaykh’ and call Shaykh Hisham as ‘our Grandshaykh,’ Shaykh Nazim is his Grand-Grandshaykh, and Shaykh `AbdAllah is his Grand-Grand-Grandshaykh.” They are attacking us. Whoever said (referred to me as), “Grandshaykh Hisham”? I am happy to be at the door of Mawlana Shaykh for fifty years! This says the first baya` I took is with Shaykh `AbdAllah, who is (according to this accusation) “Grand-Grand-Grandshaykh.” I see this is very confusing, so please give me understanding. The questioner doesn’t even know English and how to ask a question! (I say to) that one, you are asking because you are trying to make fitna, nothing more than that. You have to know that there is not just “Grandshaykh” and “Grand-Grandshaykh” and “Grand-Grand-Grandshaykh,” but in every century you have the Ghawth and the Sultan. The one who has (knowledge of the rank of) Sultan does not ask such a stupid question! This is stupidity and not as you say, “confusing.” You are confusing people and trying to make fitna, and you are not only one person but there are many like you. We will be very happy if the Shaykh accepts us at his door, polishing the threshold!
This is a message to you and every person: any representative of the Shaykh is not in that position because of familial relationship or not; rather, they have to be convinced that they are not more worthy than to clean the threshold of the Shaykh! Thia applies to me, and many others! So don't send such stupid questions, especially when you don't even know hadith or Holy Qur'an and yet you make yourself ask such questions.
The Prophet (s) said:
Man `arifa hadda waqafa inda
Who knows his limits stands by his limits.
Who knows his limits stops there, and all of us are limited because we are not yet Shaykhs, not even representatives, but we are doing nothing more than polishing the threshold of the Prophet (s) and our shuyook.
My best advice to all of us is as the Prophet (s), the