Audhu billahi min as-shaytan ir-rajeem
Bismillahi 'r-rahmani 'r-raheem
Nawaytu’l-arbay`een, nawaytu’l-`itikaf, nawaytu’l-khalwah, nawaytu’l-riyada, nawaytu’s-saluk, nawaytu’l-`uzlah lillahi ta`ala fi hadha’l-masjid
We are meeting tonight for remembrance of Allah . And to remember our Creator by tongue is so easy but by heart is so difficult. People are of many different kinds; some people live their life dedicated to what they believe in. If they believe in a creator, they dedicate their life to their creator. If they believe in dunya, the pleasures of the world, they dedicate their life for that. These are two different ways of beliefs. But there is a middle way; those who believe in Allah , and they work hard in their life to live a happy life, raising up their nice behavior, showing it and working hard in the community in order to be living in a peaceful society.
So it means we have three different groups.
One group dedicates their life for Allah and his Prophet , the awliya; another dedicates their life for the worldly life and those who are in the middle. Those who dedicate their life for Allah and Prophet and his awliya are like rare diamonds. You know there are diamonds that are very rare. One time one person was showing me a diamond. He was from
So awliyaullah, or those people who dedicate their lives to serving Allah, serving the Prophet (s), and serving awliyaullah – (what I mean by serving is worshiping Allah , praising the Prophet (s) and helping awliyaullah in their lives) - these people are like diamonds; very rare. To see people dedicate their lives to that kind of belief is very rare. Not everyone can dedicate his life in such a way. And although there will be an inner struggle in the self of that person or persons who dedicate their life in such a way, they are still struggling within themselves, because it is not so easy.
When you see these signs: people enjoying themselves on the far extreme side, on the far left side, enjoying their dunya, they are happy, they have everything, and they are enjoying, you might say that maybe these people will not be saved on judgment day, as they know nothing about the creator and they are not following the Prophet (s) ...
But when you look at the middle ones, those who are worshipping on one side and on the other side they are working in dunya, you look and say these people are good; why don’t I be like them? I can be like these people and in akhira, if I worship, making my five prayers, I will be ok. That is correct, but it will be like making a diamond a stone; or like making a diamond like a zircon. That means the middle group, as the zircon is better than pebbles or rocks. Zircon is better than pebbles. But a diamond is better than zircon and far better than rocks.
So diamonds are very difficult to find and to get, but if you get it, you polish it, because it looks to you at the beginning like a stone. That person or persons whose heart is like a diamond, (his heart or her heart, because there are many), that person sees himself as a stone, because it is not yet polished and cut down, that rockness. We are of the understanding that ‘rockness’ resembles animals. Who is the lowest of animals? When you want to look at the lowest of animals, to which do you look? - The donkey.
وَاقْصِدْ فِي مَشْيِكَ وَاغْضُضْ مِن صَوْتِكَ إِنَّ أَنكَرَ الْأَصْوَاتِ لَصَوْتُ الْحَمِيرِ
Waqsid fee mashyika wa’ghdud min sawtika inna ankar al-aswaati la sawt al-hameer.
"And be moderate in thy pace, and lower thy voice; for the harshest of sounds without doubt is the braying of the ass." Luqman [31:19]
Allah is saying in the Holy Qur’an, “Look down when you walk.” It means don’t look up. What is He saying in the Holy Qur’an? Look down. And bring your sawt, it means your voice: what people can hear, and tone down your voice. Don’t use a louder voice, barking like dogs. He said, waghdud, keep your side down. It means to look at yourself. It doesn’t mean only look down there as you walk. Sunnah is to look down at your feet; don’t look forward. That is wasting the energy of the eyes, because you see a lot of what Allah prohibited. Look down. Don’t look at yourself high. You are struggling with your rock. Look down and lower the tone of your voice; because the worst of voices is the voice of donkeys. Throw your donkeyness away. Can we use that term? Yes.
So now we have rockness and donkeyness. So that will give us the understanding that when you are in donkeyness, (because the donkey doesn’t know what is valuable or not valuable) your mind is for dunya only; your whole focus of your life is for worldly pleasure, and you lose the understanding of how you are going to find your Lord.
But those who are diamonds have a shell around them. That shell is that rock. So don’t let the rock keep covering you; keep veiling you. Like when you have a pearl… where do you find a pearl? - Inside the shell? If you open the shell, there is an oyster that you can eat, but that is not the same. But the pearl, what do you call it? And the shell that covers the pearl, the oyster shell, doesn’t it cover it? People when they find the oyster shell what do they do? They open it and find what? [oyster]. What is that? You eat it or what? He confused me. The pearl is inside the mussel. He wants to eat the pearl. You see how much knowledge he has. Donkeyness, he wants to show he knows. He knows, he is our philosopher - correction our programmer.
So they say not to try to find the original oyster shell that is not planted, or cultured. Cultured pearls are not so valuable. But natural pearls are what? Very expensive, you cannot get them. They are rare. Sometimes one necklace might be worth millions of dollars if it has a different color – black, or a different color; they are organic, natural. That means don’t be a cultured pearl, or a zircon. Because cultured pearls are like zircons; you are planting them. You are trying to say, “I enjoy my dunya” and at the same time you are doing your prayers. But there are some amongst the ummah who looked at themselves and try to be natural pearls. That will be an expensive rare kind of pearl. Like a rare kind of diamond. Don’t let that rock shut you down. So take that rock out, cut it and polish it. There are amongst us those who dedicated their lives; they dedicated the benefit that they would have gotten in their lives to Allah . Like the Virgin Mary… what did she say? Her mother said, “O Allah I have given what is in my womb (as someone dedicating before she knew it was a girl) to you for worship. So when she gave birth, she said, “O, my Lord, I gave birth to a female.” (Allah knows best what she gave birth to. The male is not like the female.) She said, "O Allah, I gave you that, whatever that child is I dedicate to you.”
So she gave birth to what? - To a female. She said, “O Allah, I gave birth to a female and I called that female Maryam. The female is not like a male, and the male is not like a female. I’ve got a female.” Here is emphasis that females are alike; the same in their dedication to Allah. “So I am giving her to You,”and she was the Virgin Mary.”
| إِذْ قَالَتِ امْرَأَةُ عِمْرَانَ رَبِّ إِنِّي نَذَرْتُ لَكَ مَا فِي بَطْنِي مُحَرَّرًا فَتَقَبَّلْ مِنِّي إِنَّكَ أَنتَ السَّمِيعُ الْعَلِيمُ
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| فَلَمَّا وَضَعَتْهَا قَالَتْ رَبِّ إِنِّي وَضَعْتُهَا أُنثَى وَاللّهُ أَعْلَمُ بِمَا وَضَعَتْ وَلَيْسَ الذَّكَرُ كَالأُنثَى وَإِنِّي سَمَّيْتُهَا مَرْيَمَ وِإِنِّي أُعِيذُهَا بِكَ وَذُرِّيَّتَهَا مِنَ الشَّيْطَانِ الرَّجِيمِ فَتَقَبَّلَهَا رَبُّهَا بِقَبُولٍ حَسَنٍ وَأَنبَتَهَا نَبَاتًا حَسَنًا وَكَفَّلَهَا زَكَرِيَّا كُلَّمَا دَخَلَ عَلَيْهَا زَكَرِيَّا الْمِحْرَابَ وَجَدَ عِندَهَا رِزْقاً قَالَ يَا مَرْيَمُ أَنَّى لَكِ هَـذَا قَالَتْ هُوَ مِنْ عِندِ اللّهِ إنَّ اللّهَ يَرْزُقُ مَن يَشَاء بِغَيْرِ حِسَابٍ
Idh qaalati imraatu `imrana rabbi innee nadhartu laka ma fee batnee muharraran fataqabbal minnee innaka anta alssamee`u al-`aleem.
Falamma wada`atha qaalat rabbi innee wada`tuha untha w’Allahu a`lamu bimaa wada`at wa laysa adhdhakaru ka’l-untha wa innee sammaytuha maryama wa innee oAAeethuha bika wa dhurriyyataha mina’sh-shaytani ’r-rajeem.
Fataqabbalaha rabbuha bi-qaboolin hasanin wa anbataha nabaatan hasanan wa kaffalaha Zakariyya. kullama dakhala `alayha zakariyya al-mihraba wajada `indaha rizqan. qaala ya maryamu anna laki haadha qaalat huwa min `indillahi inna Allaha yarzuqu man yasha’u bi-ghayri hisaab.
Behold! a woman of 'Imran said: "O my Lord! I do dedicate unto Thee what is in my womb for Thy special service: So accept this of me: For Thou hearest and knowest all things." When she was delivered, she said: "O my Lord! Behold! I am delivered of a female child!"- and Allah knew best what she brought forth- "And no wise is the male Like the female. I have named her Mary, and I commend her and her offspring to Thy protection from the Evil One, the Rejected."
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Right graciously did her Lord accept her: He made her grow in purity and beauty: To the care of Zakariya was she assigned. Every time that he entered (Her) chamber to see her, He found her supplied with sustenance. He said: "O Mary! Whence (comes) this to you?" She said: "From Allah. for Allah Provides sustenance to whom He pleases without measure."[Surah Maryam, 35-37]
Allah accepted her from the mother of Maryam. He accepted from her. And Allah said, “I accepted that girl from you.” Wa anbataha nabaatan hasana - Allah raised her, and gave her a nice spiritual uplift in her life.” There are people who, male or female, when they give their lives to Allah and to the Prophet (s) and to awliyaullah, Allah will raise them in His way. Allah will guide them and direct them the way He likes, not the way they like. Because then they might be they like the zircon, and Allah likes them to be like the diamond. They have that purity in their hearts, so Allah guides them, wherever they go; this way, to the way the self likes, and brings them back. Hit them; bring them to the normal way. When they go far, bring them back. Allah raised the Virgin Mary. Allah raised Rabi`a al-`Adawiyya. Allah raised Sayyida Asiya; Allah raised Sayyida Khadija, Sayyida Fatima, and Sayyida A`yesha.
Allah raised them and guided important people; from men and from women, awliya. He gave Zakariyya to take care of her. Allah guided someone to take care of Virgin Mary; because she is young, she has to be guided, not to be left alone. So Zakariyya was guiding Virgin Mary and she has been raised in that environment of prophecy. Zakariyya was a prophet. Like awliyaullah, they will raise those who come to them. That environment is not easy. A lot of obstacles will come to them as they face it, but they keep moving, moving; like you are facing a hurricane, that strong wind, outside the eye of the hurricane -- that huge wind, going 140 miles per hour. You cannot resist. You try to stand, it pushes you back. So you have to hold something, in order to keep facing that wind. That one that you have to hold onto is your Shaykh. And he takes you to the Prophet (s) to hold onto and the Prophet (s) takes you to presence of Allah where there is complete peace, no hurricane and no tornado.
And so I brought her up in the right way. You know anbata in Arabic means like when you plant a seed and it becomes a tree. I am planting her in a nice garden and bringing her up flowering. Now take care of her. That is why awliyaullah take care of their followers. And it depends, in different ranks. Those who are for dunya, ah, go for dunya. Give them what they like. Give them once and test them, and you will see them how much they are lying and cursing and shouting. They say, O that is for my Shaykh! Then there are others who are really doing for their Shaykh, through their hearts. Whatever is for the benefit of the Shaykh they are running for it. Don’t leave that rock; try to cut it and bring that diamond out. How to cut it? That is simple. You bring a knife, a special knife. There is a knife to cut wood, what do you call it? Saw.
For meat there is a special knife, what you call it? Knife.
You, Professor, for a diamond what do you need? There is special diamond saw to cut the diamond. Only diamonds can cut diamonds. Nothing cuts diamond except diamonds. That is why awliyaullah are diamonds that are able to cut these rocks, to bring these beautiful cuts. How many cuts in a diamond? There are normal diamonds, I don’t know them. There are round diamonds. There are oval diamonds, there are square diamonds. There are pointed diamonds like a pear. There are different cuts. And they tell you the price of the diamond depends on the cut of the diamond. That means if your Shaykh is from a low-quality diamond, then his cut is from a low-quality cut. And if your Shaykh is from a high quality diamond, then his cut is a high quality cut.
So that depends on how much power your Shaykh has from the cutter of diamonds. As much as he inherits from the Prophet (s) , he is going higher and higher, in order to make the perfect cut. The Prophet (s) is dressing him, the diamond cutter. The Prophet (s) does not have only one dress. He has an infinite number of dresses to dress human beings.
How much that wali is reaching the Prophetic heart; that heart is in the
Some people say, “we were with the Shaykh thirty or forty years. We didn’t see anything.”
Of course not, you are still rocking in rockness. Like a donkey in donkeyness. You will never come out of it. You are always in it. Wherever you are taking beads, or praying, you are in the middle. You are not a diamond. The diamond is for those who gave everything in their lives. There are many mureeds who are working. They love the Shaykh, they come and go, they attend the suhbat and dhikr, they do their work. They give donations, maybe 100, 200, 300 dollars. What more do we want? These are the middle gems; the zircons, the sapphires, they are rubies. They are not diamonds. Diamonds is when you give up everything, you come with nothing.
Sayyidina Ibrahim gave up everything, so what did they do to him? - They threw him in the fire. And Sayyidina Musa gave up everything, and what they did with him? – They made him go across the sea, and to be lost in the desert for forty years. That is the reward. Why be lost in the desert? They were lost to lose their identity. “Lost in the desert” means losing your identity. In the desert there is no more identity except the sand. When you become sand, everyone steps on you, and what do you do with sand? You step on it. Did you ever hear the sand objecting? Earth never objects to whatever you throw on it. You dump all kinds of garbage on it. You put every kind of holes in it. You drill and take the oil. You dig and you get diamonds.
Awliyaullah are like earth: whatever you dump on them they give and never complain. So He made him lost in the desert for forty years. And he never objected.
As for Sayyidina Yusuf, what they did with him? His brothers threw him in the well; they were oppressors. What is madhlum? - Oppressed. Since he said nothing, no complaining, what did Allah make him? - The king of
Sayyidina Isa , his own student betrayed him. Did he not? Those whom he wanted to cut into diamonds… to make them diamonds… he was even working on them to make them diamonds, and as he is a prophet, he knows the disciple will betray him. But what did he do? He covered it up, he hid it. He waited for that person to betray him. So that person betrayed him. What…Sayyidina `Isa did not know? How he is a prophet and he doesn’t know? His own student betrayed him, even after he gave him everything – health, wealth and everything. But behind his back what did he do? He backstabbed him.
Don’t think there are people near the Shaykh and say, “O, the Shaykh is always taking care.” Because he knows their evil is so huge, so to keep the peace, keep them close. They are beasts. But there are others who dedicated their lives for their shaykhs. And Allah will raise them and Allah will make the Shaykh guide them in their lives. That is our hope -- that there are many in between that gave up everything in their lives for their shaykhs, doing their best in a critical time of their lives. They find things to do; they drop them down and are doing what the Shaykh needs. It means they are putting as a priority the work of the Shaykh instead of their work. If we can do that, we will be diamonds.
May Allah make us all diamonds, and perfect our hearts for the love of our Shaykh and keep us and bless in the way of Prophet and keep us in his footsteps, in order to reach the door of Allah , here and hereafter. Bi-hurmatil fatiha.