21 June 2017 Fenton Zawiya, Michigan
Zhuhr Suhbah
As-salaamu `alaykum wa rahmatullaahi wa barakaatuh. Alhamdulillahi Rabbi 'l-`Alameen, wa ’s-salaatu wa ’s-salaamu `alaa ashrafi 'l-mursaleena Sayyidina wa Nabiyyina Muhammadin wa `alaa aalihi wa sahbihi ajma`een. Ama ba`ad:
To begin each talk or advice, first must say, “Alhamdulillahi Rabbi 'l-`Alameen,” to thank Allah `ala ni`ama al-islam wa’l imaan wa `ala mahabbatak habeeb il-Mustafa. `ibaadan yaa rabbee yaa Allah aajizun. laa lamlikun anfusinaa… bara nafa`a ..nushoora. We have no power over anything: in one second, if Allah wants, He can take everything…by a tsunami like in Aceh, Indonesia. A huge tsunami, which was Allah’s punishment, took everything. So we are between these two Hands: Inaayatullah, His Care from one side and Ghadabullah, His Punishment from the other. We have to make sure Ghadaballah is always far away, we don’t want to open that door, but we try to keep the door of Inaayatullah open forever. Yaa Rabbee, yaa Allah riziqnaa, yaa Rabbee inaayatullah wa mahabbatuka lanaa wa habbat al-habeeb lanaa.
What to say? Sayyidina `Ali (r) conducted suhbah with the Sahaabah (r) because he is as Prophet (s) mentioned:
أنا مدينة العلم و علي بابها
I am the City of Knowledge and `Ali is its Door (or Gate). (al-Haakim, Tirmidhi)
Anaa madinatu 'l-`ilmi, Allahu Akbar! Prophet (s) described him as the door of the City of Knowledge that Allah gave to Prophet (s). He used to say to the Sahaabah (r), “The entire Qur’an from beginning to end, all Ahadeeth an-Nabi, and whatever the `ulama of the Ummah do, one key principle covers them all and if you honor that, you will benefit.” They said, “What is that? Teach us!” He said, “Makhaafatullah: to fear you will lose Allah's Love and receive His Punishment.”
Fear both. May Allah take that away from us and keep us on the right track, to do whatever we can and Allah will take care of the rest.
The foundation of Tariqah is based on three principles about which Grandshaykh (q) said we have to nail to our foreheads (remember/pay) and not let them drop.” First is taslimiyya, to surrender to Allah and His Prophet (s), and it is the duty of mashayikh to make sure the followers achieves that. They are responsible in front of Prophet (s) to direct you the right way. We put our hands with them so they must take care of us as we cannot take care of ourselves. Thus, the meaning of baya` is to secure Allah's protection.
إِنَّ الَّذِينَ يُبَايِعُونَكَ إِنَّمَا يُبَايِعُونَ اللَّهَ يَدُ اللَّهِ فَوْقَ أَيْدِيهِمْ فَمَن نَّكَثَ فَإِنَّمَا يَنكُثُ عَلَى نَفْسِهِ وَمَنْ أَوْفَى بِمَا عَاهَدَ عَلَيْهُ اللَّهَ فَسَيُؤْتِيهِ أَجْرًا عَظِيمًا
Lo! Those who swear allegiance to you (O Muhammad) swear allegiance only to Allah. The Hand of Allah is above their hands, so whosoever breaks his oath breaks it only to his own soul's harm, while whoever keeps his covenant with Allah, on him will He bestow immense reward. (Surat al-Fath, 48:10)
“Those who are giving you bay`a, yaa Muhammad, in reality their bay`a is to Allah (swt).” This means Allah will protect us and also we need His protection. Awliyaullah guide you on the Way, they tell you, “This is the right way, navigate this way, go this way.” They bring you through heavenly navigation with angels and Awliya’s instructions concerning your awraad, what you need to read and do, and even if you don’t know how to read Arabic, making salawaat on Prophet (s) is enough to guide you to Akhirah, to have a good ending.
Yesterday we discussed Sayyidatina Rabi`ah al-Adawiyya (q) saying when she sits for dhikrullah, she feels heavy. Yes, of course, when you want to go directly to Allah’s love and care it is not easy, you are going to have a lot of problems. That road is a minefield, not because Allah (swt) put one--He provides you bridges--but Shaytan is after us, so he places minefields. Therefore, we have to be careful of Shaytan within us, because he can easily enter; he goes in and out with ease, Allah granted him access to check on the `abd, “Is he straightforward or not?”
The way is filled with so many obstacles and one is in seclusion, when you are asked to make dhikrullah it is so heavy! If they open it, it is not heavy, it will run like water on your tongue. There are people who enter seclusion and by order of their shuyookh, they don’t do merely 10,000 times dhikr, they do at least 124,000 times daily! There are Awliya who can do millions by Tayy al-Lisaan, Folding the Tongue, qatayyi sijil al-kutub, “Allah will fold dunya like folding books.” A time is coming when dunya will be folded and become so much smaller (Mawlana holds his thumb and forefinger together, indicating size).
So when you enter seclusion and do Lafzat ul-Jalaala, it is very heavy. Sayyida Rabi`ah Al-Adawaiyyah (q) said, “I was sitting for seven years constantly making dhikr, saying, ‘Allah, Allah,’ in order to get what Allah describes in the Holy Qur’an:
الَّذِينَ آمَنُواْ وَتَطْمَئِنُّ قُلُوبُهُم بِذِكْرِ اللّهِ أَلاَ بِذِكْرِ اللّهِ تَطْمَئِنُّ الْقُلُوبُ
Those who believe and whose hearts find tranquility in the remembrance of God! Verily, in the remembrance of God do hearts find tranquility. (Surat ar-Ra`ad, 13:28)
“By saying Lafzat ul-Jalaala, ‘Allah,’ peace comes to the heart.” She said, “It took me seven years in order to feel that itminaan in my heart.” Now today, what do we do?
There was a mureed of Great-Grandshaykh Sharafuddin (q) who sat with his beads when the shaykh spoke, and sometimes it interrupted the suhbah.
So the shaykh said, “Go make 10,000 dhikrullah.” He went and returned quickly from another door, and Shaykh Sharafuddin asked, “Did you complete them?”
He replied, “Yes, I finished.”
The Shaykh Sharafuddin said, “Okay, go do 74,000 ‘Allah, Allah’” and he would go and come back after ten or fifteen minutes and say, “I finished it.”
The shaykh asked, “How are you reciting (so quickly)?”
He said, “Allah, Allah…”
[Mawlana holds the beads up and runs his other hand quickly down in one smooth sweep, not counting each individual bead.] Do you think he was wrong? No. If he has that open-hearted love to Allah (swt), it will be written for him that he recited it 74,000 times. This is what Awliya look for, and why he never chased him from his majlis. Reciting one million, two million this way. I know someone in Lebanon who is majdhoob, attracted to Allah and Prophet (s), who goes to the beach around 4 a.m. every morning and makes dhikrullah. In winter, he covers himself with an umbrella; in summer he doesn't need it.
You pass by and ask him, “What are you doing?”
“I am doing dhikr and salawaat.”
“How much did you do today?”
“One-million salawaat and one-million dhikrullah.”
Can you argue with him? He will tell you, “Come, sit and count!” He has the power of Tayy al-Lisaan, “Folding the Tongue”, with which you can recite millions and millions of times. What is the highest dhikr after Lafz al-Jalaala? You see in the Holy Qur’an, now they decorate the Name “Allah” in red or green.
Zayanoo quloobukum min Qur’an aw zayyina masajidakum bi ‘l-Qur’an, “Decorate your heart or your masjid with Holy Qur’an,” it will stay there, Allah will give it a color by His angels. He will order the angels to go to the reciters of Qur’an and give them a color for that. So there are Awliya who make dhikrullah with Sultan adh-Dhikr. What is Sultan adh-Dhikr? Like tonight is Laylat al-Qadr, which Allah made better than a thousand months!
إِنَّا أَنزَلْنَاهُ فِي لَيْلَةِ الْقَدْرِ وَمَا أَدْرَاكَ مَا لَيْلَةُ الْقَدْرِ لَيْلَةُ الْقَدْرِ خَيْرٌ مِّنْ أَلْفِ شَهْرٍ تَنَزَّلُ الْمَلَائِكَةُ وَالرُّوحُ فِيهَا بِإِذْنِ رَبِّهِم مِّن كُلِّ أَمْرٍ سَلَامٌ هِيَ حَتَّى مَطْلَعِ الْفَجْرِ
Behold, from on high have We bestowed this [divine writ] on the Night of Destiny. And what could make you conceive what the Night of Destiny is? The Night of Destiny is better than a thousand months: its hosts send down the angels in it bearing divine inspiration by their Sustainer's leave from all [evil] that may happen secures it until the rise of dawn. (Surat al-Qadr, 97:1-5)
It is more than one-thousand: He didn't say, “It is a thousand,” He said, “It is khayran,” which means there are no limits, it is more than a thousand. You might recite it one time and Allah can reward for that one-million times! He is The Creator Who gives from His Endless Rahmah that never goes away. That is what we like to have. So what is Sultan adh-Dhikr that some Awliya use, what is that ayah?
إِنَّا نَحْنُ نَزَّلْنَا الذِّكْرَ وَإِنَّا لَهُ لَحَافِظُونَ
Behold! It is We Ourselves Who have bestowed from on high, step by step, this reminder and behold, it is We Who shall truly guard it (from all corruption). (Surat al-Hijr, 15:9)
“We are The One Who sent the dhikr”: dhikr means Qur’an al-Kareem. `Ulama say Qur’an is dhikr and Allah is protecting the Holy Qur’an, that’s why there is no better book. Holy Qur’an is Allah’s Words which are alive: when you read Holy Qur’an, Allah’s Words rejuvenate you from everything negative. So some Awliya get that power to read Sultan adh-Dhikr through the Holy Qur’an. There are Awliya who complete Holy Qur’an in one month, they read one juz every day, while others read it in one week or one day. Sayyidina `Ali (r) recited it in one day, which is why Prophet (s) said, Anaa madinatu 'l-`ilmi wa `Aliyyun baabuha. To recite it in one day means you are occupied every moment day and night, and that is one type of Sultan adh-Dhikr, but there are many different levels of Sultan adh-Dhikr. There are Awliya who read the Holy Qur’an including the interpretation, not only the literal meaning, but ta`weel:
وَمَا يَعْلَمُ تَأْوِيلَهُ إِلاَّ اللّهُ وَالرَّاسِخُونَ فِي الْعِلْمِ يَقُولُونَ آمَنَّا بِهِ كُلٌّ مِّنْ عِندِ رَبِّنَا
No one knows the interpretation of the Holy Qur’an except Allah, and those who are firmly grounded in knowledge say, “We believe in the Book; the whole of it is from our Lord.” (Surat Aali `Imraan, 3:7)
That is the knowledge that Allah embedded in every Surah, that is why it is recommended to recite the first three verses of every Surah from Surat al-Fatihah all the way to Surat an-Naas. Ismullah al-`Azham is embedded there, that means the secrets that all the Prophets wanted Allah to give them to use are embedded there, but Allah only gave them to Sayyidina Muhammad (s) and he will keep it until Mahdi (a) comes, when he comes then the interpretation of the Qur’an will be opened. All these knowledges, `Uloom al-Awwaleen wa’l-Akhireen will come completely and be distributed to the Ummah according to their levels. And it will not be given in books, these books are going to disappear because the ink is not clean, there is urea in it so all this is going to go, only the Holy Qur’an will be kept, nothing else. People will follow Khaamis al-Qur’an, which we can say is the knowledge of extracting all secrets embedded in every Surah, in every Ayah, in every Letter. Grandshaykh, may Allah bless his soul, used to say there are 24,000 Oceans of Knowledge on every letter of the Holy Qur’an, Allah will open that to Awliyaullah, that is what we need. Prophet (s) already gave that to Sayyidina `Ali (r): Anaa madinatu 'l-`ilmi wa `Aliyyun baabuha.He gave him the door and he is responsible for who can go in and who cannot enter, but everyone will go in: Rahmatullahi wasi`a (Allah’s Mercy is wide-hh) because we are all children of Sayyidina Muhammad (s): some through blood, some through spirituality, ummatu. Allahumma salli `alayka yaa Rasoolullah, yaa Rahmatan li ’l-`Alameen.
So Sultan adh-Dhikr is to recite the Holy Qur’an and extract the meaning, it might take you one year, ten years, some Awliya were not able to achieve it in all their life they so they get in the grave. How long does it takes you? Awliya compare among themselves how many times they accomplished the Sultan adh-Dhikr, the khatm of Holy Qur’an with interpretation. Some did twice in their lives, some 10 times, some did 100 times, some did every moment in their lives. Grandshaykh (q) said that Shaykh Sharafuddin, Allah bless his soul, Allah gave him the power, through Prophet (s), to recite Holy Qur’an as Sultan adh-Dhikr in every breath, in that short moment of inhalation, how long is that? A fraction of a second, as the breath enters it enters with Sultan adh-Dhikr.
That is what we have been mentioning about an-nafas at-tahir, when you mention Allah’s Name Allah creates an angel from that breath that will make tasbih on your behalf and it will ask Allah to have mercy on you because you mentioned Allah’s Name, Lafzat al-Jalaala, qul Allah! [Allah!] Allah will create an angel to mention Him and it will be written for you. So there are Awliya who ,when they read the Holy Qur’an, they are not like us, they read with interpretation according to the power that Allah gave to them. For Shaykh Sharafuddin (q) he was making Khatm ul-Qur’an on the breath in and on the breath out, that is Tayy ul-Lisaan to fold knowledge, and that is how Allah gave `Uloom al-Awwaleen wa’l-Akhireen to Prophet (s) in kun fayakun, in less than a second, before The Pen had even started to write, The Pen started writing after.
So Allah (swt) is not like we are. What do we understand? Allahu Akbar! He described by Himself Allahu Akbar. The beginning of Adhan is what? It is “Allahu Akbar”, you have to say in every action of prayer “Allahu Akbar.” Reciting “Allahu Akbar!” is the key to the secret of Holy Qur’an. Allah will be happy that you are confessing that Allah is The Creator. This is what He wants from His servant, he doesn’t want anything else. If you pray it is for you, worship is for you and Allah will reward you, but He likes His servant to respect Him by glorifying Him every moment. That is why in Surat al-Fatihah you say, “Alhamdulillahi Rabbi 'l-`Alameen,” Allah is praising Himself, He is describing Himself as The Lord of Heavens and Earth, Al-hamdu li-Llahi, all Praise is to Allah, He is praising Himself.
That is why we say:
بِسْمِ اللّهِ الرَّحْمـَنِ الرَّحِيمِ الْحَمْدُ للّهِ رَبِّ الْعَالَمِينَ الرَّحْمـنِ الرَّحِيمِ مَـالِكِ يَوْمِ الدِّينِ
In the Name of God, The Most Gracious, The dispenser of Grace. All praise is due to God alone, The Sustainer of all The Worlds. The Most Gracious, The dispenser of Grace. Lord of the Day of Judgement.
(Surat al-Fatihah 1:1-4)
Maaliki Yawmi ‘d-Deen, is it one day? He is the Owner of the Day of Judgment...but that is another topic, we leave it for next time.
So, Allah loves His servant when he says, “Allahu Akbar, Allahu Akbar, Allahu Akbar.” When you go to Ka`bah what do you do? You begin with “Bismillah, Allahu Akbar, Allahu Akbar, Allahu Akbar,” without that your Tawwaf is not complete, to be perfected you must say, “Bismillah. Allahu Akbar, Allahu Akbar, Allahu Akbar, `ala kulli man taar wa tajabbar.”
So Rabi`ah al-Adawiyya said, “When I begin dhikrullah, too many obstacles come to me. I begin to drop all the stones I am reading on, or there is no counter. With a very heavy load on my shoulders, I continue until I have finished my daily awraad and reach the last of it, and I see as if my sins emerge and hasanaat enters. I am happy in those fleeting moments, and they are enough for me to be in love with Allah (swt) until the Day of Judgement! They are best moments in my life, when I get rid of my obstacles of the day to come and meditate on Ism al-Jalaalah or “Laa ilaaha illa-Llah” and Allah removes my sins and gives me goodness! It took me seven years to clean myself, to be able to make dhikrullah with itminaan al-qalb, tranquility of the heart, to be content.”
It took not one day or one month, but seven years and we cannot sit five minutes! In seclusion, those seven years pass like a moment. It is Allah's Rahmah, because in seclusion they send compressed material, so much that they want you to get through many ways. The one ordered into seclusion can feel it, depending on their level. May Allah grant us that Sultan adh-Dhikr: with every breath in and every breath out to be Khatm al-Qur’an, wa maa dhaalika `alaa Allahi bi `Azeez!
وَمَا ذَٰلِكَ عَلَى اللَّهِ بِعَزِيزٍ
And that is not difficult for Allah. (Surat Ibrahim, 14:20)
If you think, “Allah will give me that,” you will get it! If you doubt it, then Allah says to His angels, “Leave him alone until he has no doubt in his heart.” Amanna wa sadaqna, sami`na wa ata`ana:
وَقَالُواْ سَمِعْنَا وَأَطَعْنَا غُفْرَانَكَ رَبَّنَا وَإِلَيْكَ الْمَصِيرُ
And they say, 'We hear, and we obey. (We seek) Your forgiveness, our Lord, and to You is the end of all journeys. (Surat al-Baqara, 2:285)
Yaa Rabbee, yaa Allah! You are The Creator we are Your servants under the feet of Your Prophet (s). Allah (swt) said:
الجنة تحت اقدام الامهات
Paradise is beneath the feet of mothers. (Nisaa’i, Tabarani, Ahmad)
What about Paradise under the feet of Prophet (s), is it the same? Allah gave Jannah under the feet of mothers, but you cannot compare it to what Allah gave under the Prophet’s feet (s)! When Sayyidina Adam (a) came to Earth it was dry, there were no trees. When he landed in Sri Lanka, formerly Ceylon, as soon as he put his feet which had sparkles remaining from Jannah, that grew trees and rivers sprang forth both salty and sweet water. Say, “Allahu Akbar!”
وَلِلَّـهِ الْعِزَّةُ وَلِرَسُولِهِ وَلِلْمُؤْمِنِينَ
To Allah belongs all Glory and to His Messenger and to the Believers. (Surat al-Munafiqun, 63:8)
May Allah give us honor in dunya and Akhirah. Wa min Allahi 't-tawfeeq bi hurmati 'l-Fatihah.
Excuse our weaknesses, O viewers, those following on Sufilive.com. We and every `abd is helpless. Allah is Narjullah, The One Who Can Give Power. We ask Him to dress us with His mercy, beauty and love, and that of Prophet (s). This dunya is ending and let us be together as one, calling for good and forbidding bad.
May Allah keep us under the flag of Ahlu 'l-Bayt that covers Earth from East to West. May Allah make us from Ahlu 'l-Bayt! Prophet (s) made Sayyidina Salman al-Farsi (r) from Ahlu 'l-Bayt and he was Zoroastrian, so is there any doubt he can do that? Allah can make anyone from Ahlu 'l-Bayt and we ask Him to honor us to be with and within Ahlu 'l-Bayt and with ba`adi ma ’l-ba`ad. Don't think this is too much! When you ask, ask high as Allah said:
ادْعُونِي أَسْتَجِبْ لَكُمْ
Call on Me, I will answer you. (Surah Ghafir, 40:60)
So ask high, don't ask low. Yaa Rabbee, adkhilnaa fee Bahri `Uboodiyyatik, enter us in the Ocean of Your service, to dive into that Ocean of Knowledge, that Ocean of Happiness, that Ocean of Power and Beautiful Names and Attributes. We are under Your Jannah, yaa Allah! Dress us with Jannat an-Nabi (s), Rawdatan min Riyaadu’l-Jannah wa ja`alanaa la dunya la Jannah, yaa Rabbee, yaa Allah, wa adh al-Akhirata la Jannah!
Always ask high and whatever we get, alhamdulillah it is something. But if you go low? Be strong. If you are powerful, that du`a will go straight and take obstacles away. They give some people morphine because their pain is too much and they scream; when you begin to scream in love of Prophet (s) and Allah, Awliya will give you a boost to ask for more and go further. Ask more! Ask more, during the day whatever you are doing, ask that Allah dresses you more in the Prophet's love, wa maa dhaalika `alaa Allahi bi `Azeez, and that is not difficult for Allah!
Wa min Allahi 't-tawfeeq, bi hurmati 'l-habeeb, bi hurmati 'l-Fatihah.
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