1 September 2010 Fenton Zawiya, Michigan
Fajr Ramadan Series 2010
Allahuma salli ‘alaa Sayyidina Muhammad.
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`ala fee haadha 'l-masjid, nawayna as-siyaam, inshaa-Allah.
Ati`ullaha wa ati`u 'r-Rasoola wa ooli 'l-amri minkum.
Obey Allah, obey the Prophet, and obey those in authority among you. (4:59)
SuhbaanAllah, subhaanAllah! Allahu Akbar wa lillahi 'l-hamd. Mashaa-Allah. As-salaamu `alaykum wa rahmatullahi wa barakaatuh. I think all of us must take examples from what is around us, of which there are many evidences that can give us signs of Allah's Greatness. If you look at today's technology, you see just now on the Internet they say these programmers have programmed. Allah gave them ability and logic, and the ability to put programs for people to express themselves. And these programs are based on a specific knowledge they studied, after which they made it possible for people to speak with each other and express themselves. This is what we see on the Internet; programmers put on the Internet a chat for people to say what is in their hearts.
Now, they might say on the Internet all kinds of good things, if they are on the way of Allah (swt),which means they express themselves through sharing with others their love and inner beliefs. What do you think they do with what awliyaa did? And it moves with time, one after one. For example, it starts at 6:00 and then you see 6:01 and then it might be 12:01, 12:02, and so on, many come on quickly, 10 or 20.????? If that is the case with a normal suhbat on the Internet, a humble association, what do you think about the one who is in Sultan al-Awliya's associations? Their chat will be from east to west, not only the chat of mureeds, but chats of jinn and ins. And what do you think about chatting on a heavenly Internet about the message of Prophet (s)? There will be an infinite number of angels and human beings, century after century, speaking of the greatness of the Prophet (s)!
O human beings! Allah gave us a way to speak to the Prophet (s), a program, to make munajaat, to seek his forgiveness through a heavenly chat, but on one condition: to follow that program. The program is set and every wali has his own program, and Sultan al-Awliya has combined all these programs reaching to Prophet (s), who has his own program. That is why it is said, ad-dunya jeefatun wa tulaabuhaa kilaabuhaa, "The dunya is a carcass and those who seek it are wild animals." So that means, follow the program and don't follow dunya. Dunya will throw us in the Hellfire, and Allah wants us to be saved through His program. As much as you are strong, as much more programs will open for you. As much as programs are opened, as much as strongly classified spiritual information is given to your heart. Fa `alaykum bi ittib`a an-nabi, "Our duty is to follow the Prophet,
كان خلقه القرآن
kaana khuluqahu al-Qur'an
"his character, his manners, were the Holy Qur'an."
It means not one verse, not one surah, but the whole Qur'an! He is al-Qur'an al-naatiq, "the talking Qur'an."
Allah gave the Prophet (s) the secret of the Holy Qur'an and from him these secrets, as mentioned in the previous session:
وَمَا يَعْلَمُ تَأْوِيلَهُ إِلاَّ اللّهُ وَالرَّاسِخُونَ فِي الْعِلْمِ يَقُولُونَ آمَنَّا بِهِ كُلٌّ مِّنْ عِندِ رَبِّنَا
maa ya`lamu taa'weelahu illa-Allah wa 'r-raasikhoona fi 'l-`ilm yaqoolooona kullun min `inda rabbinaa,
but no one knows its hidden meanings except Allah. And those who are firmly grounded in knowledge say: "We believe in the Book; the whole of it is from our Lord:" (3:7)
No one knows its interpretation except Allah and those well established in knowledge; they know and say, amaana, "We believe." So our duty is to believe and not to question those awliya that Allah gave the ability to interpret knowledge; our duty to listen and follow.
سَمِعْنَا وَأَطَعْنَا غُفْرَانَكَ رَبَّنَا وَإِلَيْكَ الْمَصِيرُ
Sami`naa wa ata`na ghufraanaka rabbanaa wa ilayk al-maseer.
We hear and we obey. (We seek) Your forgiveness, our Lord, and to You is the return (of all, so forgive us.) (2:285)
If we disobey our shuyookh, that will throw us away. So our duty is to learn to be of the best of character and Prophet (s) is the best of characters, and his awliya whom Allah granted to carry the flag of Prophet until Judgment Day, until when Sayyidina Mahdi (a) appears and awliya deliver their flags to Sayyidina Mahdi (a). Then there are no more flags at that time except his flag, which is the secret of the Holy Qur'an! I heard Grandshaykh (q) say, in the time of Mahdi (a), if you open a printed Qur'an of today you will not see any writings as it is printed with dunya ink, and a heavenly Qur'an will come revealed in heavenly printing, and lights will come from every letter. When you look at the Holy Qur'an that was delivered to Sahaabah (r), it is full with light, and the Sahaabah were able to take from the lights of every letter, and it was opened for awliyaaullah. Sayyidina Mahdi (a) is waiting to come with those secrets! So our duty is to find our relationship and get the best characteristics, and to do that is to follow your teacher, as they are our spiritual fathers. Allah (swt) said:
ادْعُوهُمْ لِآبَائِهِمْ هُوَ أَقْسَطُ عِندَ اللَّهِ
Ad`oohum li-abaa'ihim huwa aqsaţu `inda-Allah.
Call them to their fathers, that is more just with Allah. (al-Ahzaab, 33:5)
Ad`oohum li'abaa'ihim, from the father to the mother, and then a child comes. So, "Call them to their fathers, to be known who is the father." It can be any father, you don't know. So a child has be named his father's name and even in western countries they put the wife's name following the husband's, and then her family name becomes like the husband's. You have to know your fathers all the way to Prophet (s). If you don't know, you make a mistake. Allah will forgive you, but try.
Sayyidina Abdul Wahhab ash-Shara`ani (q), one of the big scholars and big saints of Islam, said, man la ya`lamu abaa'oohu wa ajdaaduhu fa-huw `amaa, "Who doesn't know his father and grandfather in tariqah is blind, like someone who doesn't see at all." And it might be by mistake he will go to another father, as he is blind and doesn't know, so he doesn't connect to his true father. You cannot connect to another one, as the Prophet said:
لعن الله من ادعى الى غير ابيه
la`nallahu man ada` ila ghayra abeehi.
Who connects to whom is not his real father will be cursed.
If you connect to another shaykh, it means you are not trying to research the real connection; then you will be cursed as one who connects to whom is not his real father. So in our creation, the soul is more connected to your reality, and Allah (swt) created the soul first. Al-arwaahu junoodan mujanada, "Souls are like battalion in groups." Allah called all these souls on the Day of Promises saying, "Am I not your Lord?" and they said, "Yes."
وَإِذْ أَخَذَ رَبُّكَ مِن بَنِي آدَمَ مِن ظُهُورِهِمْ ذُرِّيَّتَهُمْ وَأَشْهَدَهُمْ عَلَى أَنفُسِهِمْ أَلَسْتُ بِرَبِّكُمْ قَالُواْ بَلَى شَهِدْنَا أَن تَقُولُواْ يَوْمَ الْقِيَامَةِ إِنَّا كُنَّا عَنْ هَذَا غَافِلِينَ
Wa idh aakhatha rabbuka min banee adama min dhuhoorihim dhurriyyatahum wa ashhadahum `ala anfusihim alastu birabbikum qaloo bala shahidna an taqooloo yawma al-qiyamati inna kunna `an haadha ghafileen.
When your Lord drew forth from the loins Children of Adam their descendants, and made them testify concerning themselves, (saying), "Am I not your Lord (Who cherishes and sustains you)?" They said, "Yes! We do testify!" (This), unless you will say on the Day of Judgment, "Of this we were never mindful." (al-A’raaf, 7:172)
"Am I not your Lord?" They said, "Yes." Who was there? Our realities, connected with the soul there and we knew we were Allah's servants there, we accepted. Can you say no when you are seeing the Truth? Those are good tidings that everyone was in the Divine Presence. So the soul was created first then the body.
كنت نبيا وآدم بين الروح والجسد
That is why Prophet (s) said, "I was a prophet when Adam was between roohi wa 'l-jasad, soul and body. :
I was a Prophet already in rooh and Adam was still between rooh and body."
And in `Abd ar-Razzaq's Musannaf we take the hadith of Prophet (s), "The first thing that Allah created is my light."
So we take the soul first and then jasad, body, then you take the spiritual father first, and then the biological father. Good tidings to the one whose biological father is the same as his spiritual father! In the previous times, for a long time they taught the students and followers, adaabu abaa'ihim, the best manners of their parents and to know ansaabihim, their lineage. That is for the physical connection, so what do you think about the spiritual connection with the father of your soul? It is said that Sayyyidina Abu Bakr as-Siddiq (q) is the spiritual father of all Naqshbandi followers. The one who doesn't know or who didn't find his spiritual father has no right to sit and teach! His teaching is disconnected unless he will humble himself and find his spiritual father, going back to Prophet (s). Alhamdulillah, we are connected with as-Silsilat adh-Dhabiyya, the Golden Chain!
Many authors of spirituality have mentioned that is a golden chain, as it connects through Sayyidina Abu Bakr (q) on one side and through Sayyidina `Ali (q) on the other side, through Sayyidina Jafar as-Saadiq (q). Those who have been authorized to give lectures, who have guidance from their fathers all the way to Prophet (s), there is light in their speeches. We are so lucky! Grandshaykh, may Allah bless his soul, I quote him and people might say, "Why do you quote him so much and not Mawlana Shaykh Nazim?" It is not out of any reason, but people are hearing from many sources about Mawlana Shaykh Nazim, but few are hearing from the sources of Grandshaykh. So we quote from that, in order to have a taste of what our grandfather was saying, and from him we learn a lot about his spiritual father, Shaykh Sharafuddin (q) and his lineage to Prophet (s).
Grandshaykh (q) said, "What is the wisdom of going to the Cave Thawr when going from Mecca to Madinah? Was not Prophet (s) able to go to Madinah without passing through that cave? He was able to do so." We have mentioned it before, but in technology when it "buffers" you press "F5". Why F5, and not F4? I don't know. Why not F6? What does F5 mean and what does F6 mean? I don't know, but they press F5 and it restarts everything. To refresh our memory we press F5, and all the pictures come back. That means in every heart there is an F5 button, and if we press it, brings everything back. As for Allah (swt), there is no past and no future! Always there is that moment you are in, here, and in the grave, and in Paradise. Don't look at the moment that is coming; the adab is to always reflect, "Am I good now, or not?" Fix yourself.
So press F5 and then in a moment everything comes. That is why when awliya mention a story from the past, they are living it as if they are in it, hearing and seeing and being there; to them that is F5. So he was relating that story and it was as if he was living that story, and for you it becomes like a living scene and you are in it, because awliyaaullah don't tell you a story with no wisdom. No, you must enter it and you feel you are there.
One time I was bayd suhafu, transcribing from raw notes of suhbat and rewriting in a notebook. I share this with you, nevermind, and suddenly I came across baya` and as I came across that I felt myself not writing anymore but the whole scenery changed, and I saw Grandshaykh, may Allah bless his soul, and Mawlana Shaykh standing there. Grandshaykh said, "Extend your hand." At that moment, I went to extend my hand and I saw Prophet's hand come in and then 124,000 prophets' hands came and Prophet's hand was on top, then Grandshaykh's hand and then 124,000 saints' hands. Grandshaykh said, "Put your hand," and then I felt Allah (swt) Hands come on top and then I heard recitation of "Ayat al-Baya`". I was in that kind of vision or whatever you want to call it, a living scene. So these things happen. Awliyaaullah can push a button and bring everything, and it is not difficult for them. So when he was mentioning about the migration of Prophet to Madinatu 'l-Munawwara, he said the wisdom of passing through Ghaari Thawr is to transfer the secrets from Prophet's heart to Sayyidina Abu Bakr as-Siddiq's heart, and to put Kalimat at-Tawheed, which is dhikr of la ilaaha illa-Llah, and also to put the recitation of ismu adh-Dhaat, "Allah," on the tongues of the spiritual children of Abu Bakr as-Siddiq (q)!
قُلِ اللّهُ ثُمَّ ذَرْهُمْ فِي خَوْضِهِمْ يَلْعَبُونَ
Qul Allah wa dharhum fee khawdihim yal`aboon.
Say "Allah," then leave them to plunge in vain discourse and trifling. ( Surat al-An`am, 6:91)
So he ordered Sayyidina Abdul Khaliq al-Ghujdwawani (q) and it was put on the tongue of Sayyidina Abdul Khaliq, Allahu, Allahu, Allahu Haqq. Allahu, Allahu, Allahu Haqq. Allahu, Allahu, Allahu Haqq. And Sayyidina Abdul Khaliq was ordered to call all Naqshbandi mureeds coming in the future to be spiritual children of Abu Bakr as-Siddiq. They were called to the presence of Prophet (s) to Ghaari Thawr, where they all appeared. Not only that, but anyone who comes to ask you a question during the dhikr will be among them, as they are those who, la yashqa jaleesahum, "Will never see a bad end in his life." All of us! He said, "All of them," and that means us, migrated with Sayyidina Muhammad (s) from Mecca to Madinah! We were migrating in the spiritual dimension to Madinatu 'l-Munawwara and they will be given the reward of immigrants from dunya to Akhirah. And when he was speaking about that scene, it was as if they were living that scene; for them it was not a story. If our hearts were strong we would feel every moment of that story, we would feel goosebumps. So it is a live scene, not like watching a movie. The actors in the movie are living the story, and you are watching, but in the Naqshbandi Order we press our F5 button to live the story, so that past becomes present.
We will continue tomorrow, inshaa-Allah.
Wa min Allahi 't-tawfeeq, bi hurmati 'l-habeeb, bi hurmati 'l-Fatihah.
Yesterday it was one hour. We have to balance.
وَوَضَعَ الْمِيزَانَ أَلَّا تَطْغَوْا فِي الْمِيزَانِ وَأَقِيمُوا الْوَزْنَ بِالْقِسْطِ وَلَا تُخْسِرُوا الْمِيزَانَ
Wa wada` al-meezan allaa tatghaw fi 'l-meezaan. Wa aqeemu 'l-waznu bi 'l-qisti wa laa tukhsiru al-meezan
And He has set up the Balance, that you may not transgress (due) balance, but observe the measure with equity and do not fall short of it. (ar-Rahmaan, 55:7-9)
So establish the weight justly, don't transgress in the balance. Don't make one side heavier than the another, except for hasanaat. Are you going to refresh your F5? Inshaa-Allah.
Bi hurmati 'l-Fatihah.