Mawlana Shaykh Hisham
Fenton MI
Ramadan 1419
No one knows when he is going to die. Allah hides the knowledge of the time of death. When the time of Sayyidina Ibrahim ibn Adham’s death approached he moved to a very cold snowy place. He knew that his death was near. One of the `arifeen, big saints, said that depending on his level Allah will send to every human being an invitation for his death. Some saints know but they fear to say, while some others know and they say when their death is approaching. Grandshaykh Mawlana Abdullah al-Faiz ad-Daghestani said that Allah sends to everyone when his death is approaching according to his level to prepare himself. To prepare himself, Sayyidina Ibrahim ibn al-Adham took a shower with snow, prayed two rakaats and was waiting, making dhikr. He entered under a deck or cave half of his body inside not under snow and half of his body outside under the snow. When his ajal, appointed time, came Sayyidna Azrail came to take his soul. When he comes to take the ajal of the `abd always he hides himself according to the level of the `abd. From the tajalli he is carrying the `abd might go into pieces from fear so he hides himself. He knew that Sayyidina Ibrahim ibn al-Adham was the Sultan al-Awliya at that time, Sultan az-Zahideen. He covered himself seven times more than he had for anyone else. He came to Ibrahim ibn al-Adham, standing asking, ‘Ya Ibrahim I am coming to visit you.’ He began a dialogue with Sayyidina Ibrahim ibn Adham. Ibrahim ibn al-Adham said to Sayyidina Azra’il, “Sayyidina Azra’il is trying to hide himself. Ya Azra’il I am waiting for you. Why are you hiding? I am waiting patiently for that time to move from this dunya to akhira to be in the presence of my Lord - take it! Don’t hide.’ Look how Allah taught and inspired the hearts of awliya. They are waiting, not busy with their stomach and what they are going to eat. They are not busy with when they are going to get pleasure, not busy with their desires. They are busy with dhikrullah. He was Sultan az-Zahideen.
He became Sultan az-Zahideen - la tahdee man ahbabt inna Allaha yahdee man yasha, - you [O Muhammad] can’t guide whom you love, Allah guides whomever He wills.”
Hidaya, guidance, comes in the blink of an eye. He was a king and one time he was resting in his palace when he heard movement on his roof, and his palace roof was very high. He looked and saw a man. He said ‘What are you doing here?’ He said, ‘I have lost my camel. I am searching for my camel.’ He said, ‘Are you crazy? Do you think your camel is going to be high up on the roof of my palace?’ ‘Ya Ibrahim’ - he called him Ibrahim - ‘there might be a possibility to find my camel on your roof, but there is no possibility to find Allah the way you are living.' Immediately Sayyidina Ibrahim ibn Adham was afraid. Allah had sent someone to guide him. He immediately called his ministers and gave them authority to run his kingdom. He gave his ring to his wife who was pregnant and told her, ‘When you deliver give that ring to my son.’ He went fi sabeelillah - in the way of Allah. It is a long story. Such people are waiting for Allah to call them. Everyone is waiting, and no one is going to run away. Today or tomorrow we are waiting.
When your call comes it will not be one second early or late. When it comes it comes, so why fight, why run? Why build skyscrapers? If human beings know what Allah is preparing for them they would live as our ancestors lived in the Stone Age. What is different from the Stone Age and today? They ate, they drank, they worshipped, they slept and they were happy. In the Stone Age they were happy. We now are eating, drinking, sleeping, worshipping and are going to die. The Stone Age and the 20th century are the same. What differs? Nothing differs except Shaytan. Life is the same, the body is the same, the air is the same, everything is the same. They were happy in their life in the Stone Age and we are not happy in our life in the easy age. SubhanAllah look how much we are arrogant and not content. No contentment no thanking Allah. You see people coming to masjids sitting in circles ‘Oh we are explaining Qur’an, reading hadith.’ You are lying munafiqeen. It is not enough reading Qur’an and hadith. To be a real servant of Allah means that if someone throws the burden of dunya on you, you don’t say ‘No.’ You carry.
A neighbor of the Prophet (s) was throwing garbage on his door for seven years and the Prophet never said anything about it to anyone. We have ten cats here. Cats might fight, and if they fight the cats’ owners will fight…….
Awliya are like shadows - no physicality which means submission. As tajalli moves they move, they do not resist. The Prophet (s) had no shadow - why? Because he had no physicality, he became subtle. He was the only one and no one else. Big sahaba or youngest sahaba, big wali or small wali only the Prophet (s) had this characteristic because Allah created him from light. ‘The first thing Allah created was the light of your Prophet, O Jabir.’ When Allah wanted the light of the Prophet (s) to appear, it appeared with Amina . The Prophet (s) was able to differentiate between spirituality and physicality. He was the only one. May Allah teach us the adab with each other, with awliya and to make us to be in the presence of the Prophet (s) in dunya and akhira.
Because the Prophet (s) said, ‘Man ra’anee fi’l-manaam fa qad ra’anee haqqa- whoever saw me, he saw me truly.’ There is another hadith ‘Man ra’anee fa sa yarani- whoever saw me is going to see me.’ Whoever sees the Prophet in a dream is going to see him in akhira because Allah gave that tajalli to the Prophet. But some scholars went further than that. Imam Suyuti said, ‘What is the benefit of the Prophet saying whoever sees me will see me in akhira? Because everyone is going to see the Prophet in akhira even non-Muslims. So that hadith means that whoever sees me in a dream will see me before he dies, in reality.’ That is Imam Suyuti’s explanation in Manaqib al-Nabi (s). He is going to see before akhira, in dunya. Might be in any day and if that `abd was not ready to see in any day means that `abd was not ready to prepare himself; that means at the moment of death. At that moment everything is opened and the veil will be taken away.
So those who try to progress to see the Prophet (s) in dunya through dreams they will see the Prophet (s) in dunya before akhira. There are many different ways of awraad that you can recite to see the Prophet (s) in dreams. Insha Allah one day I will give you these awraad that you can recite before you sleep. There are more than 70 or 80 ways of recitation of different verses of Qur’an, du`a and awraad that make it possible as much as you give interest to see the Prophet (s) in a dream and whoever sees him in a dream is going to see him in reality. Seeing the Prophet (s) is the highest level of shafa`ah. The Prophet (s) will not leave those he loves or those who love him. He will take them to
May Allah make us victorious over the kuffar - first the kuffar in yourself. The hidden shirk in yourself that the Prophet described, “akhwaf ma akhafu ala ummatee al-shirk al-khafee – the greatest thing I fear for my Ummah is the hidden idolatry.” The hidden shirk comes from the four enemies of humans: nafs, dunya, hawa, Shaytan - what we call in tariqa al-‘adaa al-arba` - the four enemies. The strength of these four enemies can be eliminated by reciting ‘Ya Samad’ 500 times every day. From what was inherited or what was reflected on you in childhood when you were being raised, the four enemies will become bigger and bigger. 500 ‘Ya Samad’ will bring their power down. Don’t leave off reciting 500 ‘Ya Samad’ every day. You are calling upon Allah to help you and support you with His Strength and Power, with the baraka of Sayyidina Muhammad (s). He is Nabi ar-Rahmah and Allah is ar-Rahman ar-Rahim. The Nabi (s) is ar-Rahma, so he is called Rahim and Rahmatan lil-`alameen.
NO SHAREEK
It is Allah wahdahu - He is alone. He doesn’t need anything. La shareeka lahu no partner. Muhammadun Rasulullah. Allah is alone. And Allah ’s Word Kalamuhu al-qadeem His Ancient Word is uncreated. The Qur’an is not created because it is Allah’s word which is qadeem, ancient/pre-eternal. This is how `ulama describe it. They have no words to describe further than that. Allah’s words are qadeem - ancient. We don’t know beyond that and the scholars’ knowledge cannot go farther. They said it is ancient. So Allah’s words are ancient and Allah said in the Holy Qur’an: “ar-rahman allama al-Qur’an / khalaqa al-insan--Allah taught the Qur’an, created human beings.” So who did He teach the Qur’an to? Allah is alone la shareeka lahu. His hikmah wisdom is to teach the Qur’an. But he didn’t say yu`allim (teaches) the Qur’an, instead he said `allama (taught) in the past tense. He taught the Qur’an - to whom? ``ulama wonder who this is. Awliya say that Allah taught the Qur’an to the one that Allah created first. Allah taught the Qur’an, then created human beings.
One saint said ‘He taught the Qur’an to angels,’ but before angels there was the Prophet (s). Allah said to the Pen, ‘Write’ and the Pen said, ‘What am I going to write?’ He said, ‘Write la ilaha illa Allah’ for seventy thousand years. Then He told the Pen to stop and write ‘Muhammadun Rasulullah’ for another seventy thousand years. The Prophet (s) said, "Allah first created my light.”
So the Prophet was under Tarbiyya ar-Rahman (being raised up by Allah) for a period which no one knows. La shareeka lahu also applies to the Prophet. Allah has no shareek, He is the Creator; no shareek.
The Prophet (s) in his level also has no shareek. Allah has taught Sayyidina Muhammad (s) from his heavenly `ilm - `allama al-Qur’an - and no one knows for how long.
Only the Prophet (s) knows how long he was under that tarbiyya, so he knows this ghayb. That is not the ghayb al-mutlaq - the Absolute Unseen of Allah. Pseudo-`ulama don’t know the difference between Absolute Unseen and ordinary unseen. For example, I don’t know what is behind that wall but he [a brother] knows because he goes there every day. For me it is ghayb, for him it is not ghayb. But this is not the Absolute ghayb. The essence of the Essence - the reality of Allah’s Essence, al-ghayb al-mutlaq - the absolute Unseen, no one knows except Allah. Whatever is created is known to the Prophet (s). It is ghayb for us the Ummah, but it is not ghayb for the Prophet (s). Because the Prophet said, “Allah has shown me `uloom al-awwaleen wal-akhireen - He showed me everything, every person and their place either in Paradise or in Hell.”
Sayyidina Adam - is Paradise not known to him? For us it is ghayb, for the Ummah it is ghayb. It is ghayb for other prophets but for Adam and for Sayyidina Muhammad (s) it is not ghayb. Because the Prophet (s) went on Isra and Mi`raj he knew what was in
But other than ghayb al-mutlaq, Allah gave to Sayyidina Muhammad (s). Why did Allah say ‘Allah Muhammad: la ilaha illa Allah Muhammadun Rasulullah.’ Muhammad comes immediately after Allah. When you say ‘ash-shadu an la ilaha illa Allah’ it is not necessary to say ‘wa ash-shhadu” anna muhammadan rasulullah?’ You can say ‘ash-shhadu an la ilaha illa Allah wa anna muhammadan rasulullah.’
Allah is reflecting His `ilm to the Prophet (s). If you take away Muhammad (s) that light will not reach us. Satellites from outside the atmosphere send to small dishes the small dishes send TV to you. If you take away that small dish you won’t receive anything. Look at electricity outside in such a high voltage 660V. Can that electricity come to the house directly? No the whole house will explode. So what do they put? Transformers. Transformers will reduce it to a usable level that you can carry. Allah sends 70,000 tajalli to the Prophet (s) in every instant. And the Prophet (s) sends rays from these tajalli to the Ummah as much as they can carry, not the whole thing otherwise they will all burn up. So la ilaha illa Allah muhammadun rasulullah. Allah is sending to Muhammad (s) and that is why there is no way to take away Muhammad (s) because then everything would fall down. That is why Muhammad (s) is called Hayyun Baqi - Alive, Everlasting. If you look in the book of The Signs of the Last Day [you read there] the Prophet (s) sent Miqdad ibn Aswad to meet al-Massih ad-Dajjal (false messiah, Anti-Christ). The Prophet told Miqdad ibn Aswad ‘When you meet him and he asks you about me, tell him that I am alive until Judgment Day; then his power will go down.’
He told Miqdad to deliver a message to Massih ad-Dajjal. [it is also a message to us] because we are all a false Ummah. We are not on the right way. One day like this, one day like that – “thumma amanu thumma kafaru thumma amanu thumma kafaru - they believed, then disbelieved, then believed, then disbelieved.” This is to tell us, ‘Ya ummatee be careful wa `allamoo anna feekum Rasulullah - know that the Prophet is among you. Be careful I am with you until Judgment Day. My power - quwwatee not my physical body - my power goes up to Judgement Day.
That is why muhammadun rasulullah (s) is always the focus. That is why awliya know the importance of the Prophet (s). When Imam Malik was asked by the Khalifa al-Mansur, ‘When I make du`a in Madina at the Prophet’s burial place should I face him or face away from him [towards the qiblah]?’ Imam Malik said not to face away from the Prophet (s) . The Prophet (s) is your wasila and the wasila of Adam to Paradise. If not for the Prophet (s) no one would enter Paradise. If not for the Prophet (s) you would not know where the qiblah is or the Kaaba. Before the Prophet (s) they were praying toward Masjid al-Aqsa in Jerusalem.
La shareeka lahu is for Allah in His Knowledge, Reality, tajalli, Oneness, Uniqueness.
La shareeka lahu for the Prophet is for what Allah gave him in his station, in his prophethood, as the seal of messengers, how his light was created, how he was created, in his ascension and what Allah `azz wa jall gave him in that night.
Allah has no shareek in His knowledge - in His creation no one knows His realities - haqa’iq. Allah alone knows the Absolute Unseen. It is only for Him with no partners.
The Prophet (s) has no shareek and no partners in his level in his knowledge which Allah gave to him. In his seal of prophecy, in his `ilm the Prophet has no shareek. If the Prophet’s presence and his nearness is removed from us, [according] to us, if we drop it from our hearts, we are dropped completely from receiving Allah’s tajalli and blessings. That is why prayers, any `amal you do, you have to begin and end it with salawaat on the Prophet (s). You are wrapping it with the real wrap - that is a rope connected to the heavenly message. Without that rope your `amal can never reach its place. Allah sent to the Prophet (s) and the Prophet sent to the Ummah until Judgment Day.
Judgement Day. Maliki yawn id-deen. The Owner of the Day of Judgment. Which day of judgment? Is there only one judgment day? If there is one Judgment Day where is the meaning of creation? Maliki yawn id-deen - He owns the Day of Judgment. When Khidr asked Jibril when Allah created Adam. ‘Which Adam are you asking me about?’ ‘Is there any other Adam?’ ‘Yes there are 124,000 Adams which Allah created before the last Adam.’ Allah in every second, every moment Allah is saying al-hamdu lillahi rabb il-alamin ar-rahman ar-raheem malik yawn id-deen. He opened the Qur’an with praising, hamd, which means to reach your Judgment Day you must follow you must begin your life by praising Allah . You cannot reach maliki yawm id-deen without coming through praising, worship. Alhamdulillahi rabbil-`alameen means al-hamdu ya rabbee ya Allah - I am thankful for the favors You gave us; for that reason I have to be in continuous worship, as the Prophet (s) was asked by Aisha, “Why are you worshipping so much that your feet are swollen and Allah has already forgiven you?” He said, “I have to be a thankful servant.” Hamd means to show thanks to Allah, your every action has to be hamd.
All your worship day and night must be thanking Allah for His favor. That is the beginning of the Qur’an, by saying “al-hamdulillah rabbil-`alameen – all praise is to Allah the Lord of all the worlds,” means you have to admit that he is the Creator of everything. When you do your worship by hamd, when you pray that is hamd, when we fast that is hamd, when we give zakat it is hamd, we make hajj this is hamd for Allah. This will build us up to the second level worship to be a believer in the five pillars of Islam which comes in hamd, the first word of Holy Qur’an alhamdulillah. The whole Shariah comes from hamd when that builds you up leads you to the second state - iman which the Prophet (s) described to Jibril . Islam is the five pillars. Iman is to believe in Allah, His angels, His books, His messengers, the last day, destiny. Rabbil-`alameen means believing in Allah in His angels, His books, His messengers, the last day. Destiny means He is the Creator la shareeka lahu. `Ibadah, hamd, is the whole Shariah and leads us to real Oneness, real Tawheed which comes in the second verse of Fatiha, rabbil-`alameen. So now you completed your Shariah through hamd, you perfected your Oneness through rabbil-`alameen. Then you come to your Judgement Day. Maliki yawm id-deen. “Oh Allah we are coming through Shariah with the hamd to la shareeka lahu” admitting Allah’s Oneness and believing in it. Judgement Day comes and clears you and raises you to the level of sincere pure worship of Allah - iyyaka na`budu wa iyyaka nasta`een. That is the `uboodiyya that Allah gave to the Prophet (s). Alaa lillahi ad-deen al-khaalis. Only the Prophet (s) was able to worship when he said, “Allahu Akbar!”
He was the only one able to really say “iyyaka na`budu iyyaka nasta`een” because it is in the present tense. He was directing himself to the presence of Allah , “Oh Allah iyyaka na`budu iyyaka nasta`een” in mushaahada [the Station of Witnessing]. You cannot see Allah except when you pass Judgement Day. Allah can be seen, but not in dunya but in akhira for those who are in maq`adi sidq. That comes after Judgment Day so that iyyaka addressing in the present tense, [means] the Prophet (s) was saying it in the Divine Presence. [As it will be] when we have been cleared on the Judgement Day.
So [in] this verse alhamdulillah means all worship, the whole Shariah, the five pillars are under al-hamd. It means you have to thank Allah for everything, for your creation, all your life, your worship, everything is hamdan lillah - praising Allah. Then [comes] rabbil-`alameen: you are admitting His Oneness which leads you to the highest level clearance to go to Paradise on the Judgment Day, which leads you to the presence of Allah [where you will] be able to say [with full mushaahada] iyyaka na`budu iyyaka nasta`een.
Now you can say it clearly, “Oh Allah! iyyaka na`budu iyyaka nasta`een.” Allah has taught His Prophet (s) `uloom al-awwaleen wa’l-akhireen. When the Prophet (s) was nur in that misbah under that tarbiyya He raised him up with that tajalli of Qur’an teaching him, teaching him, teaching him because Allah created him first teaching him. Then He, Allah, “khalaqa al-insan - then Allah created human beings.” [55:3] So He taught His Prophet everything that he has to know, then He created human beings.
May Allah bless us with the tajalli of Sayyidina Muhammad (s) and the love of our shuyukh to bring us in the presence of His Prophet and in His presence and the presence of our shaykhs. Bi hurmat al-Habib wa bi hurmat al-Fatiha.