Suhbah at Redbridge Town Hall
As-salaamu `alaykum wa rahmatullahi wa barakaatuh.
A`oodhu billahi min ash-Shaytani 'r-rajeem. Bismillahi 'r-Rahmani 'r-Raheem.
Nawaytu 'l-arba`een, nawaytu 'l-`itikaaf, nawaytu 'l-khalwah, nawaytu 'l-`uzlah,
nawaytu 'r-riyaadah, nawaytu 's-sulook, lillahi ta`ala fee haadha 'l-masjid.
أَطِيعُواْ اللّهَ وَأَطِيعُواْ الرَّسُولَ وَأُوْلِي الأَمْرِ مِنكُمْ
Ati`oollaha wa ati`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)
Allahu Akbar, Allahu Akbar kabeera, w’alhamdulillahi katheera, wa subhaanAllahi bukratan wa aseela. Yaa Sayyidee, yaa Rasoolullah, yaa Rahmatal’-l`Alameen, anzhurna bi nazharik yaa Habeebullah, yaa Jadd al-Hasani wa'l-Husayn!
Alhamdulillah, Allah (swt) made us from the lovers and members of the nation of Sayyidina Muhammad (s) and forgave us our sins from first to last, due to the shafa`ah of Sayyidina Muhammad (s)!
O Brothers and Sisters! We have to know we are only helpless human beings. The one who is energizing us, giving us power, showering our hearts, and whom Allah (swt) has sent as Rahmatali ‘l-`Alameen, is Sayyidina Muhammad (s). Allah, the Lord of Dignity, addressed Sayyidina Muhammad (s):
إِنَّا فَتَحْنَا لَكَ فَتْحًا مُّبِينًالِيَغْفِرَ لَكَ اللَّهُ مَا تَقَدَّمَ مِن ذَنبِكَ وَمَا تَأَخَّرَ وَيُتِمَّ نِعْمَتَهُ عَلَيْكَ
Inna fatahnaa laka fathan mubeena li-yaghfira laka Allahu maa taqaddama min dhanbika wa maa ta'akhkhar.
Verily (O Muhammad), We have laid open before you a manifest victory, that Allah may forgive you your faults of the past and those to follow. (Surat al-Fath, 48:1,2)
Allah (swt) is saying, “We have opened to you a grand opening,” which means there is no limitation to what Allah has shown His Prophet (s) and what He showed him by such openings is not shown to anyone, not even His angels! When did that opening begin? One of the major beliefs of Ahlu’l-Sunnah wa ‘l-Jama`ah is that the Holy Qur'an is not created, it consists of Allah's Ancient Words, kalaamullahi ’l-qadeemi. Much like His Beautiful Names and Attributes describe Him, the Holy Qur'an is also a part of His Holy Names that Allah (swt) describes Himself by Himself.
So when Allah says, subhaanAllah alladhee asraa bi abdihi, “Glory to Allah, Who took His servant,” (17:1) He is saying, “I am the King of Kings, the Great One Whom no one else is before!” and He (swt) is glorifying Himself!
And He (swt) said, “I have opened to you a great opening.” Did this begin when the Prophet (s) was on Earth? No, it was when Allah (swt) took one handful of His Own Light and said to it, “Be, Muhammad!” He created the Light of Muhammad (s) before anything else was created, even before the Pen or the Preserved Tablets, but unlike these, the Holy Qur'an is not created.
In the Holy Qur'an, Allah (swt) is talking to Sayyidina Muhammad (s):
الرَّحْمَنُ عَلَّمَ الْقُرْآنَ خَلَقَ الْإِنسَانََ
Ar-Rahmaan. `Allama 'l-qur'an. Khalaqa 'l-insaan.
(God) Most Gracious! It is He Who has taught the Qur'an. He has created Man.
(Surat ar-Rahman, 55:1-3)
He taught Prophet (s) when he was Light, and we must be happy as we are his ummah. Allah (swt) said, “Yaa Muhammad, I opened to you a big opening.” And further, He (swt) says in the Holy Qur’an:
إِنَّا أَعْطَيْنَاكَ الْكَوْثَرَ
inna `ataynaka al-Kawthar.
To you We have granted the Fount (of Abundance). (Surat al-Kawthar, 108:1)
No one can describe what He has given to Sayyidina Muhammad (s), and we cannot go too deep as people will say, “What are you talking about, it is too much!” Allah (swt) said, “We have opened to you a great opening,” so can anyone decrease or close that opening? There is no way; haqq cannot be closed by baatil. You are Prophet’s (s) ummah and are on haqq; no one can close Islam, as Islam is haqq.
And Allah (swt) said, “We have forgiven your future and formers sins.” Prophet (s) does not have any sins, so why is Allah (swt) saying this? Because Sayyidina Muhammad (s) is from Allah's Light, which cannot be questioned.
اللَّهُ نُورُ السَّمَاوَاتِ وَالْأَرْضِ مَثَلُ نُورِهِ كَمِشْكَاةٍ فِيهَا مِصْبَاحٌ
Allahu nooru ’s-samaawaati wa ’l-ardi mathala noorihi ka-mishkaatin feehaa misbaah.
Allah is the Light of the Heavens and Earth. The parable of His Light is as if there were a niche and within it a lamp. (Surat an-Noor, 24:35)
The example of His Noor is all the Beautiful Names and Attributes that consist of infinite numbers of colors that Allah (swt) put inside that misbaah. And that lamp is inside a glass and the glass is like a shining planet. “Durriyy” means from pearls, so that planet is the universe. It is not in Madinah only, but his star is everywhere! Allah (swt) said, “To forgive you from your sins before and your sins after,” but what sins? The Prophet (s) is worried for his Ummah and asks, “Yaa Rabbee, forgive them!” Allah (swt) wants to tell him, “O Prophet! You are carrying the sins of your ummah on your back. Don’t worry, as I am forgiving your Ummah from their sins. Ever since I created your light, you were saying, ‘My Ummah,’ thus, I am sending them to Paradise. For your sake, yaa Muhammad, I am forgiving their sins from before and after!” And then Allah (swt) said:
أَلَمْ نَشْرَحْ لَكَ صَدْرَكَ
Alam nashrah laka sadrak.
Have We not expanded your chest? (Surat ash-Sharh, 94:1)
When someone is happy, their chest is expanded and they smile from their eyes. Allah (swt) is saying, “We expanded your chest and took away the burden that was on you.” What burden does the Prophet (s) have? He doesn’t have any burden from himself as he has no sins, but it is the burden of the ummah. “Didn’t We take all this burden by forgiving you what was before you and after, and We raised your remembrance.”
Today in some mosques we see the Name “Allah,” but we don't see the name of Muhammad (s). Why not, does he not exist? Their answer is that “it is shirk.” How is it shirk when Allah (swt) said, “Have We not raised you high in dignity?” All of Creation--human beings, jinn and angels--must remember his name or they will not go to Paradise! You cannot enter Paradise without saying, “Laa ilaaha illa-Llah Muhammadun Rasoolullah.” Allah (swt) made Prophet’s (s) name to be mentioned by angels and all other Creations. He (sat) said, “I ordered all angels--those I created, those I am creating, and those I will create--to make salawaat on you every moment, yaa Habeebi, yaa Muhammad!”
Our salawaat compared to theirs is nothing! We beg Allah (swt) to accept our salawaat, as it is so much mixed with our bad `amal, and to cleanse it and make it like the salawaat of angels, without arrogance and impurities. Some na`at reciters feel they are making the best salawaat. People put big chairs for them to sit in, like they put a chair here for me. Of course, there is nothing wrong with putting a chair for someone, as it shows respect to the one respecting Prophet (s), but that person must also be humble. Someone giving a talk or advice must not see themselves as great or else the talk will not reach anyone's hearts. They must humble themselves to say, “Yaa Rabbee! I am helpless so please help me!”
There is no need to be arrogant. Prophet (s) said:
انما بعثت لاتمم مكارم الاخلاق
Innamaa bu`ithtu li utammimu makaarim al-akhlaaq.
I have been sent to perfect the best of conduct (your behavior and character). (Bazzar)
Islam teaches us good characters and behaviors. Allah (swt) says in the Holy Qur’an:
إِنَّ اللَّهَ وَمَلَائِكَتَهُ يُصَلُّونَ عَلَى النَّبِيِّ يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا صَلُّوا عَلَيْهِ وَسَلِّمُوا تَسْلِيمًا
Inna-Llaaha wa malaa'ikatahu yusalloona `ala 'n-nabiyy, yaa ayyuha ’Lladheena aamanoo salloo `alayhi was 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)
That means Islam is the religion in which Allah (swt) and the Prophet (s) came to perfect our discipline and behavior. Take a look at us today; we are not perfect in our discipline? Families are facing divorce because wives and husbands no longer have discipline and love toward each other. Prophet (s) said:
أدبني ربي فأحسن تأديبي
Adabanee rabbee fa ahsana taa'deebee.
My Lord perfected my good manners and conduct.
Prophet (s) is reminding us, “I have been sent to perfect the ummah.” Perfection is to accept everyone else. Don’t think too much about what are good manners and behaviors, they can be summarized in just a few words. Don’t be angry, because when you are humble you don’t spy or make conspiracies; instead, you sit with one another. Today everyone is fighting: brother against sister, husband against wife, even entire communities. Prophet (s) was sent to perfect our characters. Allah (swt) created him perfect and praised him:
وَإِنَّكَ لَعَلى خُلُقٍ عَظِي
Wa innaka la-`alaa khuluqin `azheem.
You are of the most exalted character. (Surat al-Qalam, 68:4)
Allah is addressing Prophet (s), “Yaa Muhammad! You are so humble, you are not trying to say anything in My Presence, and you must know you are of the best character, the best one to Me!” That is why many Islamic scholars, including Imam an-Nawawi (q), say that on the night of Mi`raaj, Sayyidina Muhammad (s) saw his Lord with the eyes of his head. Allah saying, “O Prophet, I perfected your character,” means there is no character above it!
O Muslim brothers and sisters! Allah (swt) will reward you for this suhbah and those that came before. He will give what no eye has seen, no ear has heard, and what has never come to the heart of any human being! This meeting today is for the love of the Prophet (s)! We must take it in our hearts and to our homes. Today we must note something we learned, adabanee Rabbee, “Allah has perfected me (and I am the most humble in Creation).”
Prophet (s) is the one for whom Allah created all of Creation and yet he is most humble. But if anyone here is made a minister, they think they are in Paradise, so the point to take today is that humbleness is the key to Paradise and it is the character of our Prophet (s). When we say salawaat on the Prophet (s), the Prophet (s) is ordered to say salawaat on us. Say, “Allahuma salli `alaa Sayyidina Muhammad wa `alaa aalihi wa sahbihi wa sallim. Allahuma ighfir lanaa ma ta`alam innaka ta`lam maa laa na`lam.”
May Allah (swt) forgive us and bless us, and make everyone be at the threshold of the Prophet (s)! Do you think that if Allah (swt) gave you permission to be in the presence of the Prophet (s), would you be in rows or in lines, or none at all? Not everyone will be standing in front of the Prophet (s) and him in front of them, because when everyone is sending salawaat on the Prophet (s) he is replying to them with salawaat. That is why when you go to Madinat al-Munawwara, don’t think the Prophet (s) is not with you: he is present with everyone!
So open your eyes and your hearts. Make yourself humble, as the Prophet (s) was so humble. May Allah (swt) make us leave all kinds of narcotics and marijuana. If you can take that away in dunya, Allah will reward you. Every day parents are coming to me and saying their children are drinking and using marijuana and narcotics. The Prophet (s) came to perfect good character. It is not good character for youth to use drugs. Stand up and say to Allah, “We don’t want to take it anymore, we don’t want to be on drugs anymore!” May Allah (swt) accept your efforts.
O Allah! Guide us to the Straight Path. Guide us to the path of Your pure and sincere servants. O Lord of Dignity, Greatness and Power! No one has praised You as You praised and described Yourself! Praise be to Allah and peace on His Messengers, and all praise is for the Lord of the Worlds.
Bi hurmati 'l-habeeb, bi hurmati 'l-Fatihah.
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