`Ashura / Arrival in Jakarta
Suhbah after`Asr at Private Residence
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.
A`oodhu billahi min ash-Shaytaani 'r-rajeem.Alhamdulillahi Rabbi 'l-`Alameen, was-salaatu was-salaam `ala Sayyid al-Mursaleen hadi ... Huwa ar-rasool arsalahu kaafatanli 'l-`alameen. We ask Allah to make our affairs easy and to make us one on the word of truth: laa ilaaha illa-Llah Muhammadan Rasoolullah! He is the Prophet (s)! What does the word "an-Nabi" mean? He is the one who gives news about what no one can give news and what no one knows, as his knowledge is from Allah (swt)! That is why his title is an-Nabi, "the Prophet," and there are 124,000 prophets that have been given knowledge that no other human beings received.
يَا أَيُّهَا النَّبِيُّ إِنَّا أَرْسَلْنَاكَ شَاهِدًا وَمُبَشِّرًا وَنَذِيرًاوَدَاعِيًا إِلَى اللَّهِ بِإِذْنِهِ وَسِرَاجًا مُّنِيرًا
Yaa ayyuha an-nabiyyu inna arsalnaaka shaahidan wa mubashshiran wa nadheeran wa da`eean ila Allahi bi-idhnihi wa siraajan muneera.
O Prophet! Truly We have sent thee as a witness, a bearer of glad tidings,and warner, and as one who invites to Allah by His leave, and as a lamp spreading light. (Al-Ahzab 33:45-46)
"We have sent you, yaa Muhammad, as a witness." A witness on what? When you want to confirm an issue in a court, you need a witness. Allah (swt) is calling Sayyidina Muhammad (s) "witness." Inna arsalnaka shaahidan, a witness, on what? A witness on what the ummah does, or a witness on something else? Allah called Prophet "shaahid" after He ordered him to read, after the first revelation:
اقْرَأْ بِاسْمِ رَبِّكَ الَّذِي خَلَقَ
Iqra bismi Rabbika alladhee khalaq.
Read in the Name of the One Who created. (Al-`Alaq, 96:1)
That means, "O Muhammad! I have made you witness on whatever secrets I gave you of My Creation." Shaahidan `alaa maa khalaqtu, "You are witness on whatever I have created, yaa Muhammad!" because Allah (swt) gave the Creation, the knowledge and the Creation to Muhammad Rasoolullah (s). Iqra bismi Rabbik alladhee khalaq, "Read in the name of Your Lord." Ma ma`na Al-Khaliq, what is the meaning of "The Creator"? The meaning of "Creator" is that He is not in need of any other in creating Creation, but He is able to choose whomever He wishes as the witness on what He creates. Allah (swt) does not need anyone to help Him in creating, but Allah (swt) put Sayyidina Muhammad (s) to be witness on what He created.
The meaning of al-Khaliq, "The Creator", is beyond description. No one can describe Allah, but Allah (swt) can describe Himself. No one is able to explain the meaning of the Beautiful Name and Attribute, "al-Khaliq." Al-Asma wa 's-Siffat, the Beautiful Names and Attributes are only descriptions of "Allah."
اللّهُ لاَ إِلَـهَ إِلاَّ هُوَ الْحَيُّ الْقَيُّومُ
Allahu laa ilaaha illa Huwa 'l-Hayyu 'l-Qayyoom.
Allah! There is no god except Him, the Ever-Living, the Sustainer of all that exists. (Al-Baqarah 2:255)
هُوَ اللَّهُ الَّذِي لَا إِلَهَ إِلَّا هُوَ الْمَلِكُ الْقُدُّوسُ السَّلَامُ
Huw 'Llahu 'Lladhee laa ilaaha illaa Huwa 'l-Maaliku 'l-Quddusu 's-Salaam.
He is Allah, the One Whom (there is) no god but He, the Sovereign, the Holy One, the Giver of Peace. (Al-Hashr 59:23)
He is describing Himself to Himself! So we have the meaning of "Al-Khaliq" that we can understand as human beings, and awliyaaullah's understanding is beyond our understanding, and prophets' understanding is beyond awliyaaullah's understanding, and the Prophet's (s) understanding is above all anbiya's understanding! So what we normal people can say is that there is no way to describe the meaning of "Al-Khaliq" except what we allow ourselves, but it is only an example in order to understand.
Look at how an atomic reaction increases, from two to four, from four to sicteen. Grandshaykh (q) said it is always doubling, so Creation is doubling in every moment; it doubles the first time, then four times, then sixteen; it is exponential, like an atomic reaction. So how can one understand the Name, "The Creator," when the Creation is increasing in every moment, mithlayn, mithlayn, double of double? And Grandshaykh (q) said that between these two mithlayn it is 500,000 of Allah's heavenly years! So between one Creation and another is 500,000 heavenly years proceeding non-stop. Who can understand it? Allahu Abkar! This is one Name; all Creation is coming from one Name, "al-Khaliq," so that Creation never ends. In every moment it doubles exponentially, and between every doubling is 500,000 heavenly years. To Allah (swt), Creation is but a moment. Kun! "Be!" and before the kaf reaches the noon (before the command is completed), 500,000 heavenly years of Creation is there, and the next time, from kaf to noon comes forth another Creation, and so on.
That is our understanding of the meaning of "al-Khaliq." What do awliyaaullah understand? What do Sahaabah (r) understand? What do prophets understand? What does Prophet Muhammad (s) understand? That is showing us that all our knowledge and our science is zero; it did not hatch from the egg (of conception) yet. And Allah (swt) gave the understanding of all of that knowledge to Sahaabah (r), to awliyaaullah, and the highest understanding to prophets, and the highest of the highest to Sayyidina Muhammad (s)!
What did Allah (swt) say in the Holy Qur'an? We are now only discussing one Beautiful Name, and, "Yaa Muhammad! I am sending you as witness on all these Creations I am creating, because there is no one whose name can be raised to My Name except yours." La ilaaha illa-Llah Muhammadun Rasoolullah. That means, "No one can reach Qaaba Qawsayni aw Adna, "Two bow's-lengths or even nearer" except you, yaa Muhammad (s), and as much as you are moving in the station of Qaaba Qawsayni aw Adna, there is no end." And as soon as he was invited by Sayyidina Jibreel (a) to that station, then still as he visits and moves past all these `awwaalim, creations and universes, he is still at Qaaba Qawsayni aw Adna, not closer.
We are citizens of this country, are we not? And every country has their intelligence, their police, their army, which report to their ministers, and they report to the president. The president cannot see everything, so he appoints people to do the work. He has police and an army and so on, in order to see, and still it is difficult to see everyone. In England they have cameras on every street corner but still they cannot see everyone; it is difficult. But nevertheless, Allah (swt) said, "We have sent you, yaa Muhammad, as one who can see everything. You don't need anyone to inform you; your heart can see the smallest Creation I am creating, because I am creating everything for your sake."
If someone gives you a book, what do you do? Do you close it and put it in the drawer, or open it and look inside? Allah (swt) gave Prophet (s) the gift to see. That means he is ma`kum feekum, "he is in you."
وَاعْلَمُوا أَنَّ فِيكُمْ رَسُولَ اللَّهِ
W `alamoo anna feekum Rasoolullah.
Know that Prophet is within you. (49:7)
"You must know that Prophet (s) is in you;" it does not say, "among you." So he is able to see without cameras, without police, and without angels, as Allah said, "You are My witness!" Leave mubashshiran; that is something else. But shaahidan is not just for `amal, as Prophet (s) said:
تعرض علي أعمالكم فإن رأيت خيرا حمدت الله وإن رأيت غير ذلك استغفرت الله لك
Tu`aradoo `alayya `amalukum fa in ra'itu khayran hamadt 'Llah, wa in ra'itu ghayra dhaalika astaghfarta lahum.
I observe your `amal and whatever I see of good, I praise Allah, and whatever I found other than that, I sought forgiveness for them.
"The deeds of my nation are shown to me." This means that when he knows about `Ismullah al-Khaliq, whatever comes out from that Sacred Name, Prophet (s) is witness. Allahuma salli `alaa Sayyidina Muhammad hatta yarda Sayyidina Muhammad (s)! And Allah said:
يَا أَيُّهَا النَّبِيُّ إِنَّا أَرْسَلْنَاكَ شَاهِدًا وَمُبَشِّرًا وَنَذِيرًا
Yaa ayyuha 'n-nabiyyu inna arsalnaaka shaahidan wa mubashshiran wa nadheeran.
O Prophet! Truly We have sent you as a witness, a bearer of glad tidings, and warner. (Al-Ahzab 33:45)
Finished! We are in a galaxy of 80 billion stars, so shaahidan means, "Wherever there is Creation among 80 billion stars, you are witness to them and you are their Prophet." He is as-Saadiq al-Masduq, "the Trustworthy Witness," and he doesn't see anything wrong, only that everything is wahiy (divine revelation) from the Name, "al-Khaliq." All this wahiy comes and he sees it and understands it.
`Uloom al-Awwaleen wa 'l-Akhireen is the "Knowledge of Befores and Afters." There is no knowledge from before or after of which Prophet (s) is not shaahid! And still he is shaahid on whatever knowledge is appearing now and in the future, on whatever will come, until Allah says, "Enough!" And Allah (swt) will never say, "Enough," as He gives non-stop!
So we will continue after Maghrib and iftar, the meaning of Ashura, and then do dhikr, inshaa-Allah. For everyone who came here, it is not easy and Allah is dressing them with Maqam al-Wilayah, the Station of Sainthood. We will see you after Maghrib, inshaa-Allah.
Wa min Allahi 't-tawfeeq, bi hurmati 'l-habeeb, bi hurmati 'l-Fatihah.