Zhuhr Suhbah
A`oodhu billahi min ash-Shaytani ‘r-rajeem. Bismillahi 'r-Rahmani 'r-Raheem. As-salaamu `alaykum wa rahmatullaahi wa barakaatuh.
Nawaytu 'l-arba`een, nawaytu 'l-`itikaaf, nawaytu 'l-khalwah, nawaytu 'l-`uzlah,
nawaytu 'r-riyaada, nawaytu 's-salook, lillahi ta'ala al-`Azheem fee hadha 'l-masjid.
أَطِيعُواْ اللّهَ وَأَطِيعُواْ الرَّسُولَ وَأُوْلِي الأَمْرِ مِنكُمْ
Obey Allah, obey the Prophet, and obey those in authority among you. (Surat an-Nisa, 4:59)
Alhamdulillahi Rabbi 'l-`Alameen, wa ’s-salaatu wa ’s-salaamu `alaa ashrafi 'l-mursaleena. Sayyidina wa Nabiyyina Muhammadin wa `alaa aalihi wa sahbihi ajma`een.
We are very lucky, why? Because it is the Holy Night of Ascension of the Prophet (s), where he was invited to the Divine Presence and reached Qaaba Qawsayni aw Adnaa. We are lucky because Allah gave us life to see this day which for us comes once a year, but for Prophet (s) every moment is Qaaba Qawsayni aw Adnaa, an ascension, every breath he breathes is an ascension, when he inhales and exhales is an ascension, even in his grave he is in ascension, as it is not a grave but rather it is Rawdah min Riyaadh al-Jannah. Every movement in his dunya life and in his heavenly life is an ascension!
What does Prophet (s) do with it? He spreads that rahmah, because Ascension is rahmah! When Allah (swt) raises His `Abd, that is from rahmatullah, His Mercy, it is an ascension! We are observing the Ascension of the Prophet (s), Laylat al-Israa’ wa 'l-Mi`raaj.
سُبْحَانَ الَّذِي أَسْرَى بِعَبْدِهِ لَيْلاً مِّنَ الْمَسْجِدِ الْحَرَامِ إِلَى الْمَسْجِدِ الأَقْصَى الَّذِي بَارَكْنَا حَوْلَهُ لِنُرِيَهُ
مِنْ آيَاتِنَا إِنَّهُ هُوَ السَّمِيعُ البَصِيرُ
Glory be to He Who transported His servant by night from the Inviolable House of Worship (at Mecca) to the Remote House of Worship (at Jerusalem), the environs of which We had blessed so that We might show him some of Our symbols, for verily He Alone is All-Hearing, All-Seeing. (Surat al-Israa’, 17:1)
SubhaanAllah, Allah is praising Himself, amrun `azheem, showing His living and non-living servants around dunya that this amr Allah gave to the Prophet (s) is `azheem, the greatest! Allah is saying to Himself, “Praise be to Me!” He praises Himself to Himself, because no one is up to that level of truly praising Allah, when we praise it is not like when He praises Himself as in Surat al-Fatihah, “Alhamdulillahi Rabbi ‘l-`Alameen.” Here, Allah praises Himself, “SubhaanAllah alladhee asra bi `abdihi, Glory be to Him who brought His servant.”
It means how difficult it is to rise up! Can you stand and then rise? No, gravity will pull you down, you cannot. When you go to the outer limit of dunya you can rise. The example is when astronauts travel up 100 km where there is no gravity to push them down. That is why the followers of Jalaluddin ar-Rumi (q) who are whirling are not raising up, as there is no secret there anymore. They are whirling anti-clockwise. In reality everything is anti-clockwise, which means, as Sayyidina Muhiyyidin ibn `Arabi (q) said, everything is a mirage, it is not true. You think there is water in the mirage, but there is no water, there is nothing when you run there. Your eyes show you that, but it’s an illusion.
So when they whirl and are not rising up, it is an illusion, it is not true. This continuous whirling has to lift you up like an airplane, like a turbine with a propeller. How fast do turbines turn? Allah knows the turbine in us moves! We know we are a duplicate of our original self in the Divine Presence, what we have here is an imaginary picture or surah.
Imam Ghazali (q) said, “At the moment of death your eyes are opened, then you know the Reality. As long as you are in dunya, you cannot reach Reality because you are focused on your dunya life, not on Akhirah. Awliyaullah focus on Akhirah, then on dunya; that is why it is open for them, they can reach. As long as you are able to connect yourself with your Reality in Heavens, that tube connects you to heavenly power and that is how Awliyaullah have heavenly power.
وَمِن كُلِّ شَيْءٍ خَلَقْنَا زَوْجَيْنِ لَعَلَّكُمْ تَذَكَّرُونَ
And of all things We have created pairs; perhaps you will remember. (Surat adh-Dhaariyat, 51:49)
From everything Allah created pairs; not just male and female, but our Reality and its reflection. When you look in the mirror, you see what is on the left and on the right, your reflection. The reality for you is imaginary, because if you stand in front of a mirror you see your reflection, which does not speak, talk, eat or smile, it only reflects what you do. That is dunya: a reflection of the origin. Just like plastic fruit looks nice, but it is plastic.
When Awliyaullah looked at the mirror and saw their reflection they did not like it, so they broke the mirror. Then you don't see anything, as Imam Ghazali (q) said, Mootoo qabla an tamootoo, “Die before you die,” which means to throw away that reflection, then your Reality will appear.
According to the Seerah of Prophet (s) and all other prophets, Bayt al-Mamoor is the Ka`bah in the Fourth Heaven and it's reflection on Earth is in Meccatu 'l-Mukarrama. On Hajj, you see the Ka`bah there and it is not mute, it can hear and speak. Grandshaykh AbdAllah (q) said, “If you give salaam to the Ka`bah, it answers you, ‘Wa `alaykum as-salaam, yaa `abdAllah.’ If you don't hear that, you need to progress in your `ibaadah in order to reach that.”
Everytime you say “Allahu Akbar” and enter prayer, you are looking at the Ka`bah and the Ka`bah is looking at you. The fadheelah (benefit) of looking at Ka`bah is like the fadheelah of Hajj, so whenever you make the takbir to enter prayer, you get the fadheelah of Hajj.
When Awliyaullah destroy their mirror, that is the level of Fanaa (annihilation). Then Allah will open for you ma laa aynun ra'at wa laa udhunun sami`at wa laa khatar `ala qalbi bashar, something no eyes have seen, no ears have heard and it never came to your heart, what no one has heard or seen or imagined!
From everything Allah has created a pair, the real one and the imaginary one that dies. Awliyaullah are able to connect to their Realities in Heavens. Grandshaykh (q) said, “Every star and planet Allah created in dunya has the tendency to connect with you and awaits you connecting with your Reality in the Divine Presence.” Every star represents one person. Grandshaykh AbdAllah (q) said each star in the galaxies represents one person and when Awliyaullah want to know you they look at your star and get all your information. Allah (swt) gave them that ability to guide their followers. They do not need to ask you anything, they know about you without saying, which is adab. That is why the Prophet (s) said, as-haabee kan-nujoom, “My Companions are like stars.” Every mu’min and Muslim can be a companion to the Prophet (s):
قُلْ إِن كُنتُمْ تُحِبُّونَ اللّهَ فَاتَّبِعُونِي يُحْبِبْكُمُ اللّهُ وَيَغْفِرْ لَكُمْ ذُنُوبَكُمْ وَاللّهُ غَفُورٌ رَّحِيمٌ
Say (O Muhammad), "If you (really) love Allah, then follow me! Allah will love you and forgive your sins, and Allah is Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful.” (Surat Aali-'Imraan, 3:31)
Do you want to be a star? Of course, be a star in the Presence of Sayyidina Muhammad (s)! When you are able to connect yourself in dunya to your Reality in the Divine Presence, the heart will be like a lamp always giving light and burning.
اللَّهُ نُورُ السَّمَاوَاتِ وَالْأَرْضِ مَثَلُ نُورِهِ كَمِشْكَاةٍ فِيهَا مِصْبَاحٌ
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)
That lamp shines like the Sun, which doesn't need fire to shine, it shines continuously day and night. That is why Earth orbits the Sun: by this act, Allah (swt) established the days, months, and years. If you speak about the Sun and Earth until Akhirah, you will not exhaust what Allah put in them of secrets. Allahu Akbar!
When Awliyaullah look at you, they look at your star directly and know who you are and what you are doing, but they do not show superiority as they are always stepping on their desires. They don't show what people will not understand, they show themselves to be like us, but they are not.
Muhammadun basharun wa laysa kal-bashari, “He is a human being, but not like human beings. He is a gem and mankind are like rocks.” How is he not like human beings? What is the meaning of huwa yaaqootatun, “He is a gem,” as explained by Imam Busayri (q)? “Muhammadun basharun wa laysa kal-bashari,” it is better to say “Muhammad laysa ka ‘l-bashri,” but he wants to show that he is so humble that he is saying “ana bashar.” Do you think when Allah (swt) invited the Prophet (s) to Qaaba Qawsayni aw Adnaa with Jibreel (a) that he just got up from his bed and went? No, Allah dressed him with dresses that no one can understand, the secrets of Creation, the secret of Iqra’! And the whole secret of this world is in “Iqra’” That is why the Prophet (s) said to Jibreel (a), Ma ana bi qaaree, what scholars explain as, “I am unable to read.” But it actually means, “What do you want me to say? Do you want me to open the Secrets of `Uloom al-Awwaleen wa ’l-Akhireen? Which `ilm do you want me to speak of?”
Today people go to universities and study only one subject and it takes them seven years to finish their thesis. He [pointing to a mureed] is studying about Sayyidina Muhiyuddin ibn `Arabi (q) and is still not finished. Allah dressed him, but did He take Prophet (s) in his own clothes? Yes! To show the greatness of the Prophet (s) that, “I can carry him in any way.”
If we go to the Himalayas, blood will come out from our nose and mouth due to the intense pressure and we will die. How did the Prophet (s) ascend to the Seven Paradises?
Angels stopped Sayyidina `Isa (a) in the First Paradise and said, “What do you have from material wealth of dunya.”
He said, “Nothing.”
They said, “We have to search you.” They searched him and found a needle and thread in his jubbah. “You have something of dunya, you cannot go further. Wait until you are called in the time of Mahdi (a) to declare that Islam is the religion of Allah.”
As he did not have spare clothes, he carried a needle and thread if they needed mending, until they became completely torn up and he threw them away. However, no one is able to search Prophet (s) as he is dressed with Heavenly Dresses. When Allah invited Prophet (s), He dressed him with Heavenly Dresses,`Ilm al-Haqaa’iq, Oceans of Realities.
It takes days and days for a shuttle to go up hundreds of kilometers, not to mentions days of preparation. Sometimes it even fails, but Allah called Prophet (s) by Kun fayakoon and he was there. He took him through a journey in the Heavens: First Heaven, Second Heaven, Third Heaven, Fourth Heaven, Fifth Heavens Sixth Heaven, Seventh Heaven, and Jannat al-Firdaws. Allah made him go through all these Paradises to raise his power until he reached the Eighth Paradise or Ninth Paradise, or an unlimited number of Paradises. They dressed him in each Paradise, which enabled him to reach the Divine Presence. Jibreel (a) was unable to reach there although he is a messenger to all prophets, and he said, “If I go one step further, I will be shattered.”
Prophet (s) had to go by himself. There is no duality, ithnayniyya, between Allah and His `Abd, Allahu Akbar! Allah and His `Abd: Maqaam al-`Abdiyya, Maqaam al-`Uboodiyya, Maqaam al`Ibaadah: Prophet (s) appeared with these stations in the Divine Presence.
No one can call themselves “`abd.” He called him “`Abdihi.” There is no other who is called that. “Subhaan-alladhee asraa bi `abdihi laylan,” you can see in nahar, daytime, but you cannot see anything in layl, the night. He mentioned “laylan,” meaning, “Praise be to Allah who took His `Abd from Masjid al-Haram at night,” out of darkness of this dunya to the appearance, the Light of Akhirah. He took him from that darkness in Masjid al-Haraam, meaning, “the masjid where no sin can be committed”. So He took him from a clean spot to His Presence completely clean from darkness.
Allah pulled him to Mi`raaj from dunya, asra’ is israa’, “to move in space” and Mi`raaj is different. Allah is praising Himself to Himself by Israa’, moving Prophet (s) in dunya. He did not mention Mir`aaj, as we cannot understand it, that is for Akhirah. “Glory be to He Who transported His Servant by night from the Inviolable House of Worship (at Mecca) to the Remote House of Worship (at Jerusalem),” from the place where no sin can be committed, to the Farthest One where no one can reach. The Mir`aaj took place from there, li-nooriyahu min ayaatinaa, “So that We might show him some of Our Signs.” Innahu Huwa ‘s-Samee` al-Baseer, Allah (swt) dressed His Prophet (s) to see and hear everything, nothing would be hidden from him, He gave everything to him, He created Creation for him! He did not create Creation for anyone except him. He made every angel in Paradise make salawaat on him.
What kind of ta`zheem, respect, is that? It is ta`zheem laa yusaf. He made all His angels make salawaat on the Prophet (s) and He Himself makes salawaat on the Prophet (s), and He ordered us to make salawaat on the Prophet (s) in order to receive the barakah of His and the angels’ salawaat, and all this is because of His love for the Prophet (s)!
Yaa Sayyidee, Yaa Rasoolullah! Qaddim na ila hudoorullah taahireen mutaahirreen. The tongues of Awliyaullah are frozen! Allah brought him from one Paradise to another, higher and higher. Like today there are classified security levels: at the first level you are authorized to see some information, at the second level you see more and the top level see everything. There is no classified information for Prophet (s), as nothing is hidden from him. He has been given `Uloom al-Awwaleen wa ’l-Akhireen. Yaa Hayyu, yaa Qayyum!
We did not come here by our will, they brought all of us. One can speak and the other can listen; if another wants to speak, we may listen. There is no takabbur, arrogance. Whoever wishes to speak, may speak.
إِنَّ اللَّهَ وَمَلَائِكَتَهُ يُصَلُّونَ عَلَى النَّبِيِّ يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا صَلُّوا عَلَيْهِ وَسَلِّمُوا تَسْلِيمًا
Verily, Allah and His angels send praise on the Prophet. O Believers! Pray upon him and greet him with a worthy salutation.
(Surat al-'Ahzaab, 33:56)
Ta`keed, human beings must follow and imitate the angels in making salawaat, follow and obey. Allah says to make salawaat, so make salawaat.
وَمَا آتَاكُمُ الرَّسُولُ فَخُذُوهُ وَمَا نَهَاكُمْ عَنْهُ فَانتَهُوا
Leave what Prophet forbade and take what he ordered. (Surat al-Hashr, 59:7)
Take all what Prophet (s) is giving you! Awliyaullah try to open all Haqaa’iq in the hearts of their followers, all of these Realities are open, but veiled, like with Khwaja `Abdul-Khaliq al-Ghujdawani (q) and his mureed who was his helper. Grandshaykh (q) mentioned him as being the leader of Khatm al-Khwajagan. He had a mureed and helper who was very close to him, who assisted the Sayyidina `Abdul-Khaliq (q) in all matters and was completely trusted by him. He wanted to offer something to this mureed, to give him the best thing, which is to give him a Trust about some Haqaa’iq. So he tested him by sending him to ra’a al-ghanam to be a shepherd. His task was to take the sheep and goats to the forest in the morning. The first and second week went well, then Ramadan came and he began to slaughter the sheep and goats. By the next Ramadan, they were finished.
Sayyidina `Abdul-Khaliq al-Ghujdawani (q) said to him, “What did you do?”
He said, “I did my best: I took them, fed them and after raising them, I slaughtered them, Bismillah, Allahu Akbar. With the meat I fed the poor.”
His shaykh cursed and shouted at him, and kicked him out of his presence, but his love for his shaykh never changed. The time on the clock is always the same, it does not move backward or forward. His love might be more for his shaykh, so then the shaykh wants to test him more. He sent him to the forest to cut wood for winter and instructed him to come back through the village, not through the forest. His mureed did not like it. He liked to slaughter the meat because he could eat it, but he did not like to go through the village. The mureed was Shaykh al-Islam at that time, and his shaykh wanted him to go through the village in order to humiliate him and have everyone taunt him and throw stones at him. Still, there was no doubt in his heart, but he kept thinking, “Why is my shaykh sending me this way? All the kids will throw stones at me and tell their parents that, ‘Shaykh al-Islam has now became a woodcutter.’”
He returned at the end of the day and Sayyidina `Abdul-Khaliq (q) asked him, “Did you cut the wood?”
He said, “All this time I thought to myself, ‘Why is my shaykh is sending me to be humiliated in the village?’”
The shaykh said, “Alright, since you did not do that, go to the public restroom and collect the stones they clean themselves with.” There was no toilet paper in those days, so people would use stones to clean with.
He said, “O my shaykh, is there a better task?”
The shaykh replied, “Alright, go to the cemetery and take lessons there.”
So he went to the cemetery and found a man there. As they began walking, the man pointed to a grave and said, “This person died at the age of two, this other person died at the age of three, this one died at the age of fifteen,” and so on. “Not one of them reached maturity.”
The mureed began cursing the companion, saying, “How can you say this? This person was 70 years old and this one was 80. They are all well-known `ulama.”
How can we laugh and joke? Imagine the prison cell; what about the grave, in which everything around you is soil, they throw soil on top of you and bury you. He came back at the end of the day and found that same man at the cemetery sitting besides Khwaja `Abdul-Khaliq al-Ghujdawani (q), telling him everything that had happened with his mureed.
Sayyidina `Abdul-Khaliq al-Ghujdawani (q) said, “You are right. That is why I sent him to the jungles to be a shepherd, I wanted him to be away from the other mureeds.” That was not completely true, but he said it to see if the mureed’s heart was true and kept the love of his shaykh. At that time, Rawhaaniyyat an-Nabi (s) appeared to Khwaja `Abdul-Khaliq al-Ghujdawani (q) and said, “Yaa `Abdul-Khaliq, give him his Trust.” That is what they want you to reach, your Trust. The whole world’s books go into that Trust and it is but a drop in an ocean, just one Reality! What then about the Six Realities: Haqiqat al-Jazbah, Reality of Attraction; Haqiqat al-Fayd, Reality of Downpouring; Haqiqat at-Tawajjuh, Reality of Focusing; Haqiqat at-Tawassul, Reality of Intercession; Haqiqat al-Irshad, Reality of Guidance; Haqiqat at-Tayy, the Reality of Scrolling.
Sayyidina Bayazid al-Bistami (q) was holding the door of the Ka`bah one time; it had a ring through which they put the lock. He held the ring, saying, “Yaa Rabbee, I only need Your Permission to stop Iblees from running after Your servants. Through the Power of Attraction You gave me, I can drag the whole world into Mecca and turn it to the real religion. Allow me to use that power and I will stop Iblees from running after Your servants!” One Wali can do that and bring everyone, but if there is no permission, no Wali and no prophet can do that. Awliyaullah want to give you your Trust, take it.
Then when the mureed admitted all these things, his love to his shaykh did not change. That night, they sat down on the floor with their knees touching and like a turbine, with his Shahaadah finger the shaykh began to pour Realities into the mureed’s heart, releasing the Knowledge Allah (swt) and the Prophet (s) gave him. Have you seen how a heart patient jumps when getting electric shock therapy? Similarly, that mureed jumped from the shocks. He ascended to the ceiling of the masjid and came back down, repeatedly. When that session ended, the shaykh passed the other Five Realities to him.
That is what every Wali wants their mureed to reach, and that is only what is within you that Allah gave to every mu’min. Then when they give you that, they dump you in the Bahr al-Qudrah, enabling you to reach any place you want in your heart. The First Level is Qalb, Heart; Second Level is Sirr, Secret, Third Level is Sirr as-Sirr, Secret of Secrets; Fourth Level is Akhfa, Hidden; and the Fifth Level is Khafa, Most Hidden. They let you go inside these Five Levels of the Heart. We are enjoying our visit here, but there is something behind it. You have been chosen by our shuyookh and presented to the Prophet (s), who is presenting us to Allah (swt), because he observes the `amal of his Ummah.
قال رسول الله ص حياتي خير لكم تحدثون ويحدث لكم ومماتي خير لكم تعرض علي أعمال لكم فإن وجدت خيراً حمدت الله وما وجدت غير ذلك استغفرت لكم.
My life is a great good for you: you relate from and narrations are related to you and my death contains good for you as well, for I observe the `amal of my Ummah. If I find good I thank Allah, and if I see other than that, bad, I ask forgiveness for you. (al-Bazzaar in his Musnad)
That attracts the attention of the Prophet (s) by us making salawaat. Make salawaat even when you are eating, speaking, do it anytime. When you train your heart to say “Allah,” your heart will move, but you will not see it; that is for Akhirah as without permission dunya cannot see what Akhirah is doing, When the key for Akhirah opens, then you will see your secrets in the box Allah gave everyone, and no one can take someone else’s box. Strive in Allah’s Love in order for your box to open! Wa min Allahi 't-tawfeeq, bi hurmati 'l-habeeb, bi hurmati 'l-Fatihah.
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