14 August 2011 London, UK
Fajr Suhbah at CSCA, Feltham
A`oodhu billahi min ash-Shaytaani ‘r-rajim. 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`ala fee haadha 'l-masjid.
Ati`oollaha wa ati`oo ’r-Rasoola wa ooli 'l-amri minkum.
Obey Allah, obey the Prophet, and obey those in authority among you. (4:59)
As-salaamu `alaykum wa rahmatullahi wa barakaatuh.
When you go to school you begin with kindergarten, then you go intermediary, and then you go to high school and college or university, then you do a Masters degree or PhD, and then they hire you, in the lower level. When you spend ten years with the university conducting research, then you become an associate professor and later, a full professor. So everything has to go gradually.
Also we give the example, we need these moments of manifestation of Allah’s Beautiful Names and Attributes--what they were, to accumulate them, not to lose them--then you reach the peak and find yourself in the presence of Prophet (s). So if we don't find ourselves in the presence of Prophet (s), blame yourself and not your teacher. Your guide said, “Come, our doors are open from east to west.” When you come in they close the doors, there is no exit, but come anyway. They close the door in order that Shaytan will not steal from you any of these moments which are important in our spiritual journey. So when we are not in that presence we know we are helpless and weak, and we cannot achieve what they want us to achieve. That is why awliyaullah guide us through their experiences and their generosity.
It is said, “Spend whatever is in your pocket and Allah will repay it from His Own treasures.” So awliyaullah are so generous that they spend whatever they acquired on their followers, not only money, but whatever Allah (swt) gave them. They do not allow their followers to remain dirty; rather, they carry them, give to them, they wait and Allah sends more, because Allah (swt) said that hasanaat will be multiplied by ten. For any good you do good in accordance with Shari`ah and tariqah, Allah (swt) will give you reward from one to ten. Allahu Akbar! For you, one hasanah becomes ten, but for struggling in the way of Allah (swt) and Prophet (s), Allah gives you the ajar, reward, of seventy martyrs! You get more when you struggle to revive the sunnah of His beloved Prophet (s), as Allah loves His servants to follow in the footsteps of the Prophet (s)! That is why He gave the reward of seventy martyrs. Allahu Akbar! If you struggle to achieve something for yourself, you get ten rewards, but if you do it for Allah and the Prophet (s), you get the reward of seventy martyrs.
Allah (swt) knows what kind of rewards you get. Martyrs are alive in Barzakh, where they are provided with all heavenly manifestations, and you will get what they get simply by reviving one sunnah! That is why it is recommended to wear a ring, a turban, or to carry a stick, sunnat that are easy to fulfill, but there are sunnat that are difficult to fulfill and no one can do them.
.يَا أَيُّهَا الْمُزَّمِّلُ .قُمِ اللَّيْلَ إِلَّا قَلِيلًا .نِصْفَهُ أَوِ انقُصْ مِنْهُ قَلِيلًا .أَوْ زِدْ عَلَيْهِ وَرَتِّلِ الْقُرْآنَ تَرْتِيلًا
Yaa ayyuha ’l-muzzammil, qumi ’l-layl illa qaleela, nisfahu awi ’nqus minhu qaleela, aw zid `alayhie wa rattili ’l-qur'ana tarteela.
O thou, wrapped in garments! Stand (in prayer) by night, but not all night, of one-half thereof or less, or add to it (at will), and recite the Qur'an calmly and distinctly, with your mind attuned to its meaning. (Surat al-Muzzammil, 73:1-4)
Allah (swt) is saying to Prophet (s) for us to learn. The literal meaning is, “O Muhammad, you are covered! Wake up. Stand up for Allah (swt) for most of the night, but never mind, We know you get tired, but stand up for half of it or less than half.” Who can do that? In Ramadan you are forced to do that, but if not for Ramadan you would never do that! Instead of praying they play chess but in Ramadan everything changes. SubhaanAllah, the tajjali of Ramadan is different, everything is changed, and you are a little tired but you can keep up (with all the obligations and fasting). What do you think when Allah (swt) is asking Prophet (s) to wake up night after night, no holidays, day after day, too much in prayers, because he is in the Presence of Allah (swt)? That is why Prophet (s) is happy to be in prayers!
We are blind, we don’t see anything, but if we were to follow this way we would see it. Awliyaullah did not stop, they said, “We will keep going,” and although they might be tested a lot, they kept struggling and they reached the door. We have to struggle and keep going. As we are lazy we cannot reach that door, so we ask Allah (swt) for the sake of Prophet (s), “Bless us with that tajjali, to be in the presence of Prophet (s)! We are weak servants, we are not awliyaullah and we can’t do what they do, but help us! You can support us because our intention is good.”
So we have to get that barakah, for every hasanah you get ten rewards. If a wali gives one, he gets ten more; he knows that he is not losing. He gives physically and spiritually, his pockets are never empty. One time, someone came to the door of a wali. His servant opened the door, “Please give from what Allah gave to you,” said the man. The wali said to the servant, “Give him of whatever eggs we have.” She opened the closet and gave him some eggs, they did not have more than ten. The wali said, “Give everything,” as they don’t like to keep anything.
One lady came to the door of Sayyidah `Aisha (r) and asked, “Yaa `Aisha, please give to us from what Allah gave to you.” She had only three dates, which she was saving for the Prophet (s). Prophet (s) is the Seal of Messengers and yet, he was tying a stone on his stomach. And we if we don't see kabobs we are not happy. So Sayyidah `Aisha (r) gave those three dates to that lady. The lady gave one each to her two daughters and they ate them quickly. The situation was the same as in Somalia, everyday 12,000 people are dying, it is a disaster. Then the lady took the third date from her mouth and gave it half and half to her daughters. Prophet (s) said to `Aisha, “This lady will enter Paradise,” this is from one date!
One person was walking in the desert. He was extremely thirsty and had nothing to eat. Finally, he reached a well, they used to keep wells for travellers. So he went down into the well and quenched his thirst. When he finished, he went back up. As he came up, he saw a dog who was very thirsty but could not go down the well. So the man took off his khuff (leather shoe), filled it with water, and gave it to the dog to drink. When the dog finished, he went on his way, he was happy. Prophet (s) said, “This man will go to Paradise for that act.”
So when you give, Allah (swt) gives you back. Don't think whatever you give, even one million pounds, you will get ten million back. No, that is not the case, because each hasanah is rewarded ten times.. Therefore, you might find that Allah saved you from falling into cancer or prevented you from being involved in a car accident. Which is more worthy, ten million pounds or your life? So don't think you didn’t get it back.
So as we go back to that story, that wali told his servant to give him all ten eggs. She gave him nine and saved one thinking, “My master is going to break fast at Maghrib, so I will save it for him,” Look at how much love she had for her master. She was not saving for herself, but thinking of the master, where can you find that now? Husband doesn’t save anything for his wife and wife doesn’t save anything for her husband, and then they quarrel.
In the evening, there was a knock at the door. What do you think happened? Who was knocking? She opened the door and saw an unfamiliar person carrying a bucket saying, “Give this to your master, this is our gift to him.” She looked in the bucket and saw eggs. She was very happy and came running to the master, “One person came, I don't know him, and gave this bucket for you.”
He said, “Count them,” she counted ninety eggs.
He said, “I don"t understand, how is this possible? Why are there ninety eggs? What did you do with the one egg?”
“I saved one for you,” she replied.
He said, “You saved one egg and made us lose ten.”
Allah will give you ten rewards for one hasanah. This is how they were in relationship to their Lord. They believed Allah will give and He gives, as Allah does not hold His generosity from anyone. But it is your `amal that delays you to get that. There is a hole in your bucket; glue it and fix it. We have to fix that leak.
He said, (Mawlana is quoting from the book) “At that time they believed in everything that came from the Holy Qur’an, thus, they were rewarded.” Today we believe in Facebook, Twitter, Google, or Yahoo. Do you check on the Internet for anything else? Before, they used to check with their heavenly computer of what Allah gave to their heart. We all have six Realities, and they are: Haqiqatu ’l-Jazbah, Haqiqatu ’l-Fayd, Haqiqatu ’t-Tawajah, Haqiqatu ’t-Tawassul, Haqiqatu ’l-Irshad, and Haqiqatu ’t-Ta`ee. We cannot go into the explanations now, but they are present within you. Allah created you with these Realities.
For example, in the state of Haqiqat al-Jazbah, you can attract anything: heavenly manifestations, salaat `ala ’n-Nabee (s), m`arifatullah, people, and various other attractions. It is not like when you go to a country and they ask, “Did you see the attractions?”
In Haqiqat al-Fayd, manifestations of the Reality of the Beautiful Names and Attributes is present in your heart; it is closed, but you can retrieve it.
Haqiqat at-Tawajjuh means “telepathy” in English. Sayyidina `Umar (r) was speaking to Sariah in Syria in a color picture, with 3-D and Skype, not as an image on TV. He was seeing and hearing, but Sariah was only hearing as he was not at the level of Sayyidina `Umar. So they did not do anything wrong against Holy Qur’an and sunnah. Their relationship with their Lord was that of love, respect, and obedience.
When you know the discipline and are obedient they let you in, the doors are open. There are bodyguards who check you first to see if you are up to their standard, and if not, they do not let you in, much like security guards today. If they are not satisfied, they say, “We’re sorry,” and don’t let you pass.
There are heavenly security guards (angels) at the door of Paradise who check if you have any sins. If you do, then they ask you to take a shower and come back, they don’t say “no.” The door is always open, but there is a doorkeeper. If you are not in good condition, go clean yourself and return. It is not like dunya where they say, “Okay, go to prison.” Allah (swt) does not send you to prison, rather, He says, “Fix yourself and come.”
We now quote from the book Talkīs al-Ma’ārif, “O my brothers, leave that craziness you have in your mind and follow the sincere ones in what they say and how they act. It is not only what they say, they must also act accordingly; otherwise, they will become charlatans.” Charlatans are those who use religion and spirituality for their own benefit. What is the benefit if they are not practicing? “Don’t ask to reach what they have reached by false claims,” saying that you are teacher or a PhD. Don’t make false claims, but say what you are: a weak servant full of sins! So don’t claim that you are like them or you will receive from them when your actions are not according to their teaching.
If you wish to reach where they reached, you have to be patient on bala, affliction. That is the door to Paradise, because when Allah (swt) sends afflictions and you continue on your path without looking here and there, you reach that door.
Do not fight with people for certain issues. If someone wants to fight say, “I don’t want to fight.” Do not raise your sleeves like a boxer and say, “Do you want to fight? Let’s fight!” It is better to say, “I am sorry, my brother. You are right,” and Allah will be more happy with you. Be patient and wait on the afflictions as awliyaullah have waited, and keep going until you reach where they reached.
It is not that easy or cheap to reach that door! Even if you have a turban the size of a large tray of sweets, still you are not going to reach, so it is better to make your tray smaller and show humility. (laughter)
لو لا بلاء لكان الناس كل عباد زهاد
Law laa ’l-bala la-kana ’n-naasoo kullun `ubbaadan zuhaadan,
“If there was no balaa, afflictions on Earth, the Earth would be Paradise and all human beings would be in a state of asceticism”
There they would not care for dunya and would always want to be in the Divine Presence.
Afflictions make you go backward if you lose your patience and get angry. In that case, more and more veils will cover your heart. So don’t come and say, “I have been in tariqah for thirty or forty years and yet I haven’t seen anything.” Are you patient on your afflictions? Allah sent that to check you!
Prophet (s) said, “I was the most abused and tortured by my relatives.” So where do we stand? If we are tortured just a little bit we go crazy! “Whoever is not patient, will not receive `ataa-Allah.” Allah (swt) wants you to have patience. Sayyidina Adam (a) was patient; he went into sajdah for forty years and never raised his head until Allah (swt) said to him, “You are forgiven.” On the other hand, Iblis was impatient and immediately complained, saying, “You made me commit a sin!” Adam (a) didn’t say anything and immediately went into sajdah asking Allah for forgiveness.
If we face a problem, do we immediately go into sajdah? No! Instead, if we have a gun we will use it. “If you discard patience, then you were not patient on patience and you did not accept, and you closed the door of ridaa-Allah. Then you will be under a big question mark of abandoning your servanthood.” At that time you will not be a servant to Allah (swt), but a servant to Shaytan!
Prophet (s) said:
من لم يرض بقضائى، ولم يصبر على بلائي، فلْيتَّخذ ربًّا سِوَاىَ
man laa yardaa bi qadaaee wa lam yasbir `ala balaaee fa ’l-yattikhadh rabban siwaa’ee.
Whoever does not accept My Will on him and is not patient on the affliction I send on him, let him find another God. (Ibn Asakir)
So you have a choice: either accept and be blessed by Allah (swt), or reject and leave this way to go to Shaytan! Awliyaullah are showing us the way to accept struggles and have patience for the sake of Prophet (s), to cure our mistakes. May Allah (swt) give us patience and bless us and this meeting for the sake of His Prophet (s).
Bi hurmati 'l-habeeb, bi hurmati 'l-Fatihah.