Suhbah at University of Reading
Salaam `alaykum wa rahmatullahi wa barakaatuh. As you said, everyone is free of what he says, so I consider what he says to be his opinion, but not a reality. Are we not ashamed to hold a title in front of Sayyid al-Bashar, Allahu Akbar. But from love comes everything. That is why we say, Bismillahi ‘r-Rahmani ‘r-Raheem. Alhamdulillah wa ’s-salaat was-salaam `alaa ashrafi ’l-mursaleen wa `alaa aalihi wa sahbihi ajma`een.
It is very difficult to speak in a university, because a university is a collection of different buildings in different languages and different professors and different knowledges, but still the knowledges of awliyaullah are above every knowledge, because no one can understand really the meanings of the verses or the words of Holy Qur'an cannot be understood. Even when we were in university, studying in English language or Arabic language, we were also told to criticize everyone. You can not swear at these authors of literature, but in the university you can criticize with respect. How many times I remember I criticized Shakespeare, and how many times I could not understand what he is writing. If you cannot understand Shakespeare how you can understand Qur'an and holy hadiths. How I can understand the realities of these verses of Holy Qur'an that are Allah’s Word? There is no way.
Only Allah Gives True Understanding and Knowledge
That’s why the only one who understood the verses of Holy Qur'an, was the Prophet (s):
الرَّحْمَنُ عَلَّمَ الْقُرْآنَ خَلَقَ الْإِنسَانَ عَلَّمَهُ الْبَيَان
(God) Most Gracious! It is He Who has taught the Qur'an. He has created Man. (Surat ar-Rahman, 55:1-3)
Allah taught him these verses with their secrets and still these verses have more secrets never ending, that’s why you go to Azhar ash-Shareef or to any big Muslim university and there are millions of books on tafseer of Holy Qur’an and every author has a different opinion. So how then can we understand the Holy Qur’an? That why Allah said in the Holy Qur’an:
وَفَوْقَ كُلِّ ذِي عِلْمٍ عَلِيمٌ
Above every knower there is another knower. (Surah Yusuf, 12:76)
You cannot know verses by yourself and that’s why Allah has to dress you with that knowledge. If Allah does not dress you with understanding then it is impossible to understand.
Allah (swt) says:
أَنَا جَلِيْسُ مَنْ ذَكَرَنِي
I sit with him who remembers Me. (Ahmad, Bayhaqi)
“I am sitting with the one who remembers Me,” so you have to remember Him, you have to be sincere; sincerity is the key, without sincerity there is no way to understand Holy Qur’an or to undersand Holy Hadith:
وَمَا أُمِرُوا إِلَّا لِيَعْبُدُوا اللَّهَ مُخْلِصِينَ لَهُ الدِّينَ
And they have been commanded no more than this: to worship Allah, offering Him sincere devotion.
(Surat al-Bayyinah, 98:5)
You have to show `Uboodiyyah: when you are sincere you are loyal, when you are loyal you are sincere. Don’t be shareek to him. Are you associating yourself with Rasoolullah (s)? Are you associating anyone with Allah (swt)? Allah does not like anyone to be like Rasoolullah (s), in his `Uboodiyyah no one can be like Prophet (s)! The Prophet (s) laa shareek lahu in his `Uboodiyyah. Are you making shirk? Tawbah, astaghfirullah. Yes, tawbah in every moment!
أخوف ما أخاف على أمتي الشرك الخفي, أما إني لست أقول إنكم تعبدون صنماً ولا حجراً؛ ولكن شهوة خفية, وأعمال لغير الله
Akhwafa maa akhaafu `alaa ummatee ash-shirki’l-khafiyy amma inniy lastu aqoolu antum t`abudoona sanaman wa laa hajaran wa laakin shawatan khafiyyatin wa aa`maalin li-ghayrillah.
Prophet (s) says, “The most I fear for my ummah is hidden shirk.” Like someone who brings me a gift and says, “I brought this for you,” but at the same time is thinking, “I’m doing you a favor,” that is shirk, when you help a poor person and you say, “I helped a poor person,” because you did not help a poor person, you have to say, “Allah made me help that person.” Look! This is big, I think many scholars when they read this hadith they tremble with fear as it is not something we can understand, we all make this mistake.
عَنْ أَبِي هُرَيْرَةَ ، قَالَ : قَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ : " مَنْ تَعَلَّمَ عِلْمًا مِمَّا يُبْتَغَى بِهِ وَجْهُ اللَّهِ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ لَا يَتَعَلَّمُهُ إِلَّا لِيُصِيبَ بِهِ عَرَضًا مِنَ الدُّنْيَا لَمْ يَجِدْ عَرْفَ الْجَنَّةِ يَوْمَ الْقِيَامَةِ "
Whoever learned and studied knowledge to want that Allah will be happy for him, if he thinks he is learning this knowledge to get benefits for dunya in order that he makes money from it, he will not smell the fragrance of Paradise on the Day of Judgment.
(Mustadrak of al-Haakim, Ibn Majah, Imam Ahmad in his Musnad,
Abu Dawud’s Sunan, related by Abu Hurayrah)
Where is sincerity in our scholars today when they read that? You have to teach only for Allah, you cannot charge money or wealth; if people give they give, if they don’t give, you don’t ask. Anyone asking is falling into the category of that hadith of the Prophet (s).
عن أبي هريرة - رضي الله عنه - قال : قال رسول الله - صلى الله عليه وسلم - : قال الله تبارك وتعالى : ( أنا أغنى الشركاء عن الشرك ، من عمل عملا أشرك فيه معي غيري تركته وشركه)
The Prophet (s) said that Allah says, “I am the One Who has no partner with Me, anyone who makes himself with his action and knowledge partner with Me, I leave him to his action and his knowledge to be ignorant.” (Sahih Muslim)
That is why when the Prophet (s) knew the secret of these verses and ahadith, what did he say? What Prophet (s) says? “I am only a human like you!” He is teaching us, “Say Allah (swt) did that.” Like many of us today, we bring a gift I give, but you did not give it, Allah granted that you to give it! I will mention the hadiths that will shake us!
Allah’s Punishment on the Frauds of this World
"إن أول الناس يقضي يوم القيامة عليه رجل استشهد، فأتي به فعرفه نعمه فعرفها . قال: فما عملت فيها؟ قال قاتلت فيك حتى استشهدت، قال: كذبت، ولكنك قاتلت لأن يقال: جريء، فقد قيل. ثم أمر به فسحب على وجهه حتى ألقي فى النار ورجل تعلم العلم وعلمه وقرأ القرآن، فعرفه نعمه فعرفها. قال: فما عملت فيها؟ قال: تعلمت العلم وعلمته، وقرأت فيك القرآن قال: كذبت، ولكنك تعلمت العلم ليقال: عالم، وقرأت القرآن ليقال هو قارىء، فقد قيل، ثم أمر به، فسحب على وجهه، حتى ألقي فى النار، ورجل وسع الله عليه وأعطاه من أصناف المال كله، فاتي به فعرفه نعمه فعرفها، قال: فما عملت فيها؟ قال: ماتركت من سبيل تحب أن ينفق فيها إلا أنفقت فيها لك قال كذبت ولكنك فعلت ليقال هو جواد فقد قيل ثم أمر به فسحب على وجهه ثم ألقي فى النار"
The first of people against whom Judgment will be pronounced on the Day of Resurrection will be a man who died a martyr. He will be brought and Allah will make known to him His favors and he will recognize them. (The Almighty) will say, “And what did you do about them?” He will say, “I fought for you until I died a martyr.” He will say, “You have lied! You did but fight that it might be said (of you), ‘He is courageous,’ and so it was said.” Then he will be ordered to be dragged along on his face until he is cast into Hellfire!
(Another) will be a man who has studied (religious) knowledge and has taught it and who used to recite the Qur’an. He will be brought and Allah will make known his His favors and he will recognize them. (The Almighty) will say, “And what did you do about them?” He will say. “I studied (religious) knowledge and I taught it and I recited the Qur’an for Your sake.” He will say, “You have lied! You did but study (religious) knowledge that it might be said (of you), ‘He is learned,’ and you recited the Qur’an that it might be said (of you), ‘He is a reciter,’ and so it was said.” Then he will be ordered to be dragged along on his face until he is cast into Hellfire!
(Another) will be a man whom Allah had made rich and to whom He had given all kinds of wealth. He will be brought and Allah will make known his His favors and he will recognize them. (The Almighty) will say, “And what did you do about them?” He will say, “I left no path (untrodden) in which You like money to be spent without spending in it for Your sake!” He will say, “You have lied! You did so that it might be said (of you), ‘He is open-handed,’ and so it was said.” Then he will be ordered to be dragged along on his face until he is cast into Hellfire!" (Muslim, Tirmidhi, Nasa'i)
Prophet (s) says first in the Day of Judgement, Allah will bring a person who died as a shaheed, someone who gets Heaven. Allah will call one of the shuhada and show them his ni`mah, and He will ask, “What did you do to get that?” Not like those who are slaughtering people, those who get killed and they say “laa ilaaha illa-Llah” are shaheed.
So Allah calls him and asks him, and he says, “I fought for you, yaa Allah, until I was killed for Your Sake, for You I did that!”
Qaala khadibta, Allah will say,“You are a liar! You did not do that for Me, you did that for fame.”
Like today they take videos before they go for a suicide operation, and they put a video showing they they are shaheed and say about him, “the shaheed”, they promote him for Hour al-`ayn to come and collect him for Paradise. ISIS is giving bad name to Islam, making videos. Stand up for your master, but you stand for his `ilm, not for his body, for his `ilm that he learned.
So he said, “Yaa Rabb, I learned `ilm, Holy Qur'an and taught it.”
Allah will say, “No you are a liar!”
Fa suhiba `alaa wajhihi hattaa ulqiya fi ’n-naar, Allah ordered angels to pull him on his face and take him to Hellfire, but with His Rahmat, inshaa-Allah Allah puts him in Paradise. Islam is just. The person who said he is shaheed was doing it not for Allah, but to be famous.
The second one that Allah is calling, who is the best one in his knowledge `ilm, the best scholar, the mufti. Allah will call the best one, a man that has learned knowledge, an `alim, and he taught what he learned to people. O youth! You have to be careful from whom you are taking your knowledge, to know is that one on the right side or not on the right side. That `alim earned all `ilm that was available and learned the Holy Qur’an and learned how to pronounce and recite.
Allah calls him and says, “These are the favors I have prepared for the one who learned knowledge and learned Holy Qur’an and taught it. What did you do to deserve that?”
And the `alim will say. “I learned `ilm and learned Holy Qur’an and taught the people.”
Allah says kadhibta, “You lie! You did it for people to say you are `alim.”
That is why don’t stand up for anyone. That is a message to every Muslim and Muslimah: for what to stand up? Standing for respect is okay, if you are standing up as the Prophet (s) said:
قوموا إلى سيدكم
Stand up for your master. (Sahih Bukhari)
But you stand up for his `ilm, not for his body.
Allah says, “No! You learned knowledge in order that people say you are a scholar and you taught Holy Qur’an in order to for people to say you are a reciter and it was said about you,” and Allah orders angels to pull him on his face and throw him in Hellfire.
You asked for the topic of this talk to be sincerity, not love of the Prophet (s). So I have to speak on loyalty to Allah (swt). If they had changed the topic we would have gone into other oceans.
Then Allah will call the third group, the group of the rich ones, the people who have the fancy homes and fancy cars, who they think they own the world. Fa ootiya bihi fa `arafa ni`amihu fa`arafahaa, he helped people, the homeless, and built hospitals, and gave shelter to the homeless.
Allah will call him on Judgment Day and say, “For what do you deserve these favors?”
He will say, “I did this and that, I helped the poor and homeless.”
And Allah will say, “No, you lied! You did that so it will be said of you that you are a generous one!”
So look how Allah will judge even the smallest things, but they will say, “Yaa Allah! We ask you to not to send us to Hellfire,” and Allah orders angels to drag him on his face to hellfire.
So three of them--the shaheed, the `alim and the rich person--they used words of Holy Qur’an to get benefit. May Allah (swt) save us from such things! That is why He said:
وَمَا أُمِرُوا إِلَّا لِيَعْبُدُوا اللَّهَ مُخْلِصِينَ لَهُ الدِّينَ حُنَفَاء وَيُقِيمُوا الصَّلَاةَ وَيُؤْتُوا الزَّكَاةَ وَذَلِكَ دِينُ الْقَيِّمَةِ
And they have been commanded no more than this: to worship Allah, offering Him sincere devotion, being true (in faith), to establish regular prayer and to practise regular charity, and that is the religion right and straight.(Surat al-Bayyinah, 98:5)
If you are sincere to Allah (swt) then you have to follow that: to be sincere to him and to worship him and to give your zakaat, and this is the deen that Allah accepts.
The Miracle of a Sincere, Loyal Person
I don’t know how much time we have. I will give you an example of a sincere person. I was living in Jeddah for 20 years, going and coming. One day I called someone and said, “I am going to Madinah. Do you need anything?”
He said, “No.”
I said, “Do you need anything at all?” and note, I was calling him in another country, to see what his response as a ‘man’ would be; he is from rijaal, the people of manhood. Not every man reached manhood, which in Islam means to reach the level of responsibility. Ladies can also reach the level of manhood, the level of responsibility before Allah (swt). That one was Mawlana Shaykh Nazim.
So he said, “Yes, okay. I request one thing from you: when you arrive there go directly to al-Muwjaha ash-Shareefa there facing the Prophet,” when you go from Bab as-Salaam to Bab ar-Rahmat, “Kiss his (s) threshold for me.”
What kind of test is that, you will be in jail in two minutes, in half a minute! Who can kiss his threshold and all these soldiers are there blocking everything and there is that big bench they put there in front of the grille of the House of the Prophet (s), who can go down in front of all of them and kiss the threshold? I did not say anything, not yes and not no. I thought if I am able to do it I will do it, but if I was not able to do it I also saved myself.
So I went there and arrived in the evening. You know facing the Prophet (s), behind there are marble pillars in the Muwajaha, and since we know how to approach the Prophet (s), the area there, because we went there extensively, every other day or every other Jumu`ah. So I stood behind one of those big marble pillars making du`a, because if you stand in front and make du`a they kick you out. I stood there making du`a and I saw someone coming towards me. He was the head of the army, the people of amr bi ’l-ma`roof wa nahiy `ani’l-munkar; he was coming and I kept making du`a, not looking toward him and he came, I knew where he was standing, and he had a red beard and his head was shaved.
He said, “Yaa shaykh, what are you doing?” I kept quiet not looking at him. He said, “Not from here.” Then he said, “Come here.” He took me to the door of the Prophet (s) and the other army people are there the people of amr bi ’l-ma`roof wa nahiy `ani’l-munkar are standing in line. He said, “Come!” and he took me to the door. I saw everything disappear, nothing was there, no army, no people, no one, and he said, “Kiss the threshold and send my salaams to Shaykh Nazim.”
Allah is my witness, this is what happened! That is a sincere person, a loyal one, that if he says something it will happen. It is impossible with the limits of the mind to understand such a story, but it happened with me!
Then I left from Bab ar-Rahmah and I saw someone running. I said to myself, “Oh, it might be now we have the police.”
And I saw a young man who might be 18 years old, who came to me and said, “My father sent me to give you this gift. He is the one who took you to kiss the threshold of the Prophet (s) and the gift is for Mawlana Shaykh Nazim.”
It was a Qur'an, and why he gave Holy Qur’an and not another gift, why this and nothing else? Because that person was a wali and he wanted to give a heavenly gift! How impossible!
And I spoke to Mawlana Shaykh Nazim (q) on the phone from Jeddah and said, “You told me to kiss the threshold of the Prophet (s) and I then flew to Madinah and this person met me there,” so how did they communicate? How did they speak with each other? There was no Internet, there was no telephone there. It was like Sayyidina `Umar (r) and Saariya (r):
ولابن مردويه عن ابن عمر عن أبيه أنه كان يخطب يوم الجمعة فعرض في خطبته أن قال ¿يا سارية الجبل! من استرعى الذئب ظلم¿. فالتفت الناس بعضهم لبعض، فقال لهم علي: ليخرجن مما قال. فلما فرغ سألوه فقال: وقع في خلدي أن المشركين هزموا إخواننا، وأنهم يمرون بجبل فإن عدلوا إليه قاتلوا من وجه واحد، وإن جاوزوا هلكوا، فخرج مني ما تزعمون أنكم سمعتموه. فجاء البشير بعد شهر وذكر أنهم سمعوا صوت عمر في ذلك اليوم. قال: فعدلنا إلى الجبل ففتح الله علينا. قال في اللآلئ: وقد أفرد الحافظ القطب الحلبي لطرقه جزءا، ووثق رجال هذه الطريق. وقال: ذكره ابن عساكر وابن ماكولا وغيرهم، وسارية له صحبة
That is the hadith of the Prophet (s). I will not translate it, but will summarize. Sariya bin Zaneem (r), a commander of the Muslim forces, was in Sham fighting the Byzantines. Khalif `Umar was delivering the khutbah just before the Friday prayers in al-Madinah al-Munawwarah. Suddenly he cried (thrice), “O Sariya the mountain!” The people looked at one another (in wonderment). After the prayer, `Umar was asked the reason for his shouting. He said that he had seen the battlefield and found that Sariya and his army were about to be defeated and that they were near a mountain which, if they kept to the mountainside they would be able to face the enemy one-on-one, and therefore, he had shouted. After one month passed, a messenger came from Sariya (r) and told that they had heard `Sayyidina ‘Umar’s voice calling, “O Sariya, the mountain!” so Sariya diverted his forces towards the mountainside, thus getting into a better position and he was able to defeat the enemy.
And Allah (swt) said:
عن أبي هريرة قال قال رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم إن الله قال من عادى لي وليا فقد آذنته بالحرب وما تقرب إلي عبدي بشيء أحب إلي مما افترضت عليه وما يزال عبدي يتقرب إلي بالنوافل حتى أحبه فإذا أحببته كنت سمعه الذي يسمع به وبصره الذي يبصر به ويده التي يبطش بها ورجله التي يمشي بها وإن سألني لأعطينه ولئن استعاذني لأعيذنه وما ترددت عن شيء أنا فاعله ترددي عن نفس المؤمن يكره الموت وأنا أكره مساءته
ولا يزال عبدي يتقرب إلي بالنوافل حتى أحبه، فإذا أحببته كنت سمعه الذي يسمع به وبصره
الذي يبصر به، ويده التي يبطش بها ورجله التي يمشي بها،
Whoever opposed a Friend of Mine, verily I declare war on him and My servant does not cease to approach Me with anything more beloved to Me than what I have obliged him, and My servant does not cease to approach Me through voluntary worship until I will love him. When I love him, I will become the ears with which he hears, the eyes with which he sees, the hand with which he acts, and the legs with which he walks (and other versions include, “and the tongue with which he speaks”).
(Hadith Qudsi, Bukhari)
That is what is important: it is important to learn Fiqh, but don’t drop the state of Ihsaan! This is a Holy Hadith (Qudsi) revealed to Prophet (s); it is different from a normal hadith.
O People! We call for sincerity and loyalty! If you are sincere and loyal, Allah will forgive all sins.
لَا تَقْنَطُوا مِن رَّحْمَةِ اللَّهِ إِنَّ اللَّهَ يَغْفِرُ الذُّنُوبَ جَمِيعًا إِنَّهُ هُوَ الْغَفُورُ الرَّحِيمُ
Say, "O my Servants who have transgressed against their souls! Despair not of the Mercy of Allah for Allah forgives all sins, for He is Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful. (Surat az-Zumar, 39:53 )
May Allah forgive our sins. May Allah bless you and bless us and bless this one, and give everyone, especially those studying here, may Allah give them all happiness and good grades. If I was their professor I would have given them all an A+! [Laughter.] In Mawlana’s tribute in Manchester we will have lots of these stories, inshaa-Allah!
[Baya`.]
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