15 August 2012 Fenton Zawiya, Michigan
Ramadan Series/Suhbah after Fajr
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`alaa fee haadha 'l-masjid.
First, good tidings for anyone who observed this night and who tried to observe this night, it is written that he observed Laylat al-Qadr. Mawlana Shaykh sent this message just now, and inshaa-Allah, Allah will write (count) us amongst those who observed Laylat al-Qadr. He will share their `ibaadah with us, since we are weak servants. And may Allah (swt) unite our prayers with the worship of Sayyidina Muhammad (s): his prayer, fasting, his zakaat, Hajj and his Laylat al-Qadr. Bi hurmati 'l-habeeb, bi hurmati 'l-Fatihah. Now anyone who wants to sleep can snore (no worry about this)!
So where did we arrive? We must always seek refuge in Allah (swt) from Shaytan ar-rajeem, the one whom Allah cursed to be the lowest in Hellfire. Ar-rajeem is the one who is stoned by Allah (swt) and by every person who goes to Hajj or who says, “astaghfirullah,” that istighfaar is like a stone falling on the head of Shaytan!
Now in technology we have what they call “smart bombs,” which they fire from here and can reach Yemen or China, to hit a high-precision target. To anyone who says “astaghfirullah,” the secret of istighfaar is that Allah creates a stone from that and shoots it like a smart bomb on Iblees’s head! So imagine how many people within 24 hours are saying “astaghfirullah.” Every prayer is endless in how many times we make istighfaar. For example, if the prayer takes ten minutes and we breathe as awliyaullah say, 24,000 breaths, times 1.5 billion Muslims praying five times a day, that is six-billion times 24,000! You cannot count the number of stones going on Shaytan and his followers.
To say, Astaghfirullah al-`azheem wa atoobu ilayh, “I repent to Allah the Greatest and I turn to Him,” three times is the proper way to read after every prayer. Tawbatan `abdan zhaaliman li nafsihi, laa yamliku li nafsihi hayaatan wa laa mawtan wa laa nushoora, “repentance of a servant who is an oppressor to himself, who doesn’t hold the power of life for himself, nor death, nor of resurrection,” we are expressing our weakness and helplessness in front of Allah! The biggest weakness of human beings that we must use every day is our need to sleep; Allah (swt) made us need sleep to show us that we are weak and helpless. If you don’t sleep you have no power. Awliyaullah say that if you resist sleep for forty days, then whenever you get sleepy take fresh wudu, pray two raka`ats, freshen up, then for the rest of your life you will be able to overcome the need to sleep. May Allah (swt) give us from their barakah!
Sleeping is what shows our weakness most; it shows that if you don’t raise your head, you cannot survive. So don’t say, “I don’t need to sleep.” Allah made nu`aas, drowsiness, come on everyone. There is barakah in sleeping, because when you sleep your inner tyrant stops and we are all tyrants against ourselves. That is why if you make wudu, pray two raka`ats and then sleep it is `ibaadah until you wake up, but if you sleep for eight hours without wudu, not one second of that eight hours will be written for you as `ibaadah!
May Allah (swt) make it easy for us to make wudu and sleep. People sleep twelve hours, sometimes sixteen hours or two shifts of sleep. So when you say, “A`oodhu billahi min ash-Shaytaani 'r-rajeem,” it means you are seeking absolute refuge in Allah, and then everything after you say that word is forgiven and you are clean to enter the Ocean of Bismillahi 'r-Rahmani 'r-Raheem.
In the alphabet, “Alif” comes first and “Ba” comes second, is it not? Alif is always standing, like a pine tree that survives in summer and winter weather. Alif is always the first letter of “Allah,” always shamikha, standing tall, straight, aloft. Al-jibaal ash-shamikhaat “the mountains are proud of their height,” and Alif is proud of its station standing, and kibriya, pride, is only for Allah (swt). Alif is proud as it is the first letter in the Arabic language and without the first letter you cannot speak or your language might be wrong. Standing represents pride and arrogance. Allah has kibriya, pride, that says, "I am the King of Kings! In front of Me, no one can say he is a king!”
يَوْمَ هُم بَارِزُونَ لَا يَخْفَى عَلَى اللَّهِ مِنْهُمْ شَيْءٌ لِّمَنِ الْمُلْكُ الْيَوْمَ لِلَّهِ الْوَاحِدِ الْقَهَّارِ
Yawma hum baarizoona laa yakhfa `ala ’Llahi minhum shayun limani ’l-mulku ’l-yawma lillahi ’l-Waahidi ’l-Qahhaar.
The Day whereon they will (all) come forth; not a single thing concerning them is hidden from Allah. Whose will be the dominion that Day? That of Allah, the One, the Irresistible! (Ghaafir, 40:16)
He calls Himself by Himself. When He orders Sayyidina Israfeel (a) to blow the trumpet, everyone will die, including him, Sayyidina Azra`eel (a), and Sayyidina Jibreel (a). Sayyidina Azra`eel said, “If I knew the pain that a mu’min goes through when he is dying, I would be soft with him.” Alhamdulillah, the Prophet (s) said, “The soul of a mu’min comes out like a hair from ghee,” which means without resistance and it comes out easily. Allah (swt) is showed Sayyidina Azra`eel that there is pain, but in reality there is also noor there.
Grandshaykh (q) related that when a mu’min leaves dunya, Allah orders Sayyidina Azra`eel to bring a heavenly paper with “Allah” written on it. When the `abd sees that paper, he will run after it and then his soul will come out of the body and enter the Ocean of Qudrah back to its origin, from where you were created.
إنَّا لله و إنَّا إليه راجعون
Inna lillahi wa inna ilayhi raji`oon.
To Allah we belong and unto Him we return. (Surat al-Baqara, 2:156)
So “alif” is always showing greatness and “Ba” is always showing humbleness by laying in sajda in front of Alif. That is why in European languages, Alif, represented by the letter “a,” is first in the alphabet. Keep in mind that their Alif, the “a,” shows shirk compared to the Arabic Alif. “A” is symbolized by three parts: one leg, a second leg and one in the middle. Allah (swt) is telling them, “Don’t let there be three, as Allah is One! Go back to the language of Ahlu’ l-Jannah,” because Alif is one!
So the Ba is in sajda in front of Alif, but in “Bismillahi 'r-Rahmani 'r-Raheem” the Ba comes first. When you say, “In the Name of Allah,” bi Ismillah, that preceeds your actions. It is spelled Ba, Alif, Seen, Meem, “bi ism,” so the Alif cannot be after Ba, which is why huzifati ‘l-alif, it is removed, and the Ba is then connected directly with the letter Seen, to become “bismillah.” Out of respect, the Ba should not be before the Alif, so the language removed it from the sequence in the word “b’ism,” so the Alif” is gone.
Bismillahi 'r-Rahmani 'r-Raheem. This is how everything came out, through the Ba:
كنت كنزا مخفياً فأحببت أن أعرف فخلقت الخلق فبه عرفوني
Kuntu kanzan makhfiyyan fa ahbabtuhu an u`rafa fa khalaqtu ‘l-khalq fa-bihi `arifoonee.
I was a Hidden Treasure (and) I wanted to be known, so I created Creation, and by it they knew Me.
(Hadith Qudsi)
Fa “bi-hi” `arifoonee, “By Ba they knew Me.” Who is the Ba? It is al-Insaan al-Kaamil, the Perfect Human Being, Sayyidina Muhammad (s)!
Awliyaullah say Sayyidina Muhammad (s) is the Mirror through which al-Khalq, The Creator, can be seen. When Allah (swt) wants to see Himself by Himself, with His Power, He looks in the Mirror, which is Sayyidina Muhammad (s), and He sees the khalq there. The reality of “Alastu bi-rabbikum” on the Day of Promises is still there and has never changed, and what we see here is the reflection of what comes out of the Mirror that is Sayyidina Muhammad (s). That is why Imam Ghazali (q) said, Mootoo qabla an tamootoo, “Die (in ego) before you (physically) die.” When your ego dies, you wake up and can then see the Reality! When your self is dead, Allah (swt) opens your vision and you can see, because you will no longer show-off or be proud when you are in complete submission, and you will not run after dunya; rather, you will still be running after Allah (swt).
So the wujood il-`aalim bi ’l-ba, the reality of knowledge is in the Ba, because it is fa bi-hi `arifoonee, “through Me they knew Me.” And looking at the “bi”we see the Ba is still the first letter. What is the proof that the Ba is the letter that describes our recognition and tawheed? What is the first letter that human beings mentioned on their tongues? “Ba,” when Allah (swt) said to the souls, “Alastu bi-rabbikum?” and we said, “Yes, balaa.” (Surat al-A`raaf, 7:172)
So the first letter mentioned is the Ba and the Prophet (s) mentioned it in response to Allah (swt), everyone else followed him. So say, “Ba,” and say “Alif.” When you mention Alif, what happens at the end? You close your lips. When you say “Ba” you open your lips. Alif is hidden, just as treasures are hidden. When you say “Alif,” you want to open the treasures but they remain closed, but when you say “Ba,” the knowledge is opened and all the ma`arif enter. No one can know Allah’s (swt) Greatness, so you cannot get it by saying “Alif.” When He said, “Alastu bi-rabbikum,” they could not say “Allah,” they said, “Balaa,” referring to Prophet (s). When Sayyidina Muhammad (s) said, “Ba,” everyone said, “Ba,” and `Uloomi 'l-Awwaleen wa ’l-Akhireen, the Knowledge of the Firsts and Knowledge of the Lasts entered the body because you opened the place where provisions come in. Can you take in provision other than through your mouth? So when you open your mouth you receive and when you close your mouth you don’t receive.
So, on the Day of Promises the Prophet (s) said, “Balaa.” And when you say, “Laa,” you open your mouth. Now say, “Yaa,” because that is a yaa without dots; it is Alif maqsoora, half Alif, and again you are opening your mouth. So “Balaa” is written with three open letters, which means, “Yaa Rabbee, we are ready to receive!” May Allah (swt) give us understanding. What is happening is the opening of our selves that were in the `Alam adh-Dharr, the World of Atoms, where we were the smallest in the smallest possible world that can be imagined, in the Presence of Allah (swt). How small? What size, no one knows. Allah will open the knowledge but only to His Prophet (s), not to anyone else.
“Ba” is the first letter to be pronounced in creation, because Prophet (s) was the first to say, “Yes.” The first time was when Allah created Prophet’s Light before creating the creation and asked him, “Am I not your Lord?” other than when Allah asked everyone else. Prophet (s) said, “Yes.” That is when Allah (swt) raised Prophet’s name up with His, as he is al-Muwahhid wa ’l-Musaddiq bi Rabbihi `azza wa jal, the one whose tawheed is perfect, who believes one-hundred percent with no doubt in his Creator!
Sayyidina Abu Bakr as-Siddiq (r) got his title, “as-Siddiq” because he accepted whatever Prophet (s) said. Also, Prophet (s) was given his title because whatever Allah (swt) showed him when he was Light, he accepted. You are not a Muslim only by saying, “Laa ilaaha illa-Llah;” you have to also say, “Muhammadun Rasoolullah.”
Al-Ba showed a broken heart. When you are in front of a lover whom you love so much, and you know his greatness, you are always broken-hearted because you continuously seek more openings. Prophet (s), the Ba, always wants more to open, which is why Allah (swt) said:
أنا عند المنكسرة قلوبهم
Anaa `inda al-munkasirati quloobihim.
I am with those whose hearts are broken for My sake. (Hadith Qudsi, At Haf 6/290)
“I am with the broken-hearted ones as they are always calling on Me.” Also, Ba is always in sajda to Alif, to Allah (swt), which means the Prophet (s) is always in the position of inkisaar, brokenness, and showing humbleness. Allah is with the broken-hearted. Who has the most broken heart for the Love of his Lord? Prophet (s)! All his life and in Akhirah, it is Sayyidina Muhammad (s) who is always in the Presence of Allah (swt).
From its specialties, the Ba shows tawaad`a, humility, and a broken heart to Allah (swt). When they tried to put the dots (nukta) on Ba, every letter wanted the dot to be on top except Ba, who wanted the dot on the bottom, as if to say, “Yaa Rabbee, I don’t want to be proud that the dot is on top of me because the center of the dot is the center of the heart, so I want it to be below,” not above like in the letters Taa, Thaa, Khaa, Jeem in which the dot is in the middle. The Ba did not accept more than one dot, to show, “I submit completely, yaa Allah!”
The dot is the center of power, so it is carrying the Ba; were it on top it would push it down, but on the bottom it supports the Ba. Also, Ba has only one dot, which indicates, “I don’t accept to love anyone else, yaa Rabbee! I have one mahboob, one love, not two, not three.”
In order to understand the Beautiful Name “Allah,” which encompasses all of Allah’s Beautiful Names and Attributes, we must understand it can only be known through prayers and du`a:
دَعَوُا اللَّهَ مُخْلِصِينَ لَهُ الدِّينَ
Da`awoo Allaaha mukhliseena lahu 'd-deen.
They call to Allah, offering Him sincere devotion. (Surat Luqman, 31:32)
Fadullah, “ask Allah,” but on the condition that you must be mukhlis, sincere, for your du`a to be accepted. If you say fadullah wa lahu ‘d-deen, removing the word “mukhlis,” it has no more meaning. So if you are not sincere and you need a du`a, go to someone who is sincere and ask them to pray on your behalf for Allah (swt) to accept what you want. This is why people go to awliyaullah, to get a du`a that will be accepted. I see many people, especially Pakistanis, say, “Sawee du`a,” as even in Arab countries they know du`a has to be through a pious person. “Sawee du`a for me.” They believe your du`a is accepted. So if you want your du`a to be accepted, be mukhlis, then “fadullah,” call upon Allah, use that Name “Allah” in your du`a, as His Greatest Name is embedded in it.
Wa min Allahi 't-tawfeeq, bi hurmati 'l-Fatihah.
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