Suhbah at International Cultural Center (ICC)
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.
أَطِيعُواْ اللّهَ وَأَطِيعُواْ الرَّسُولَ وَأُوْلِي الأَمْرِ مِنكُمْ
Ati`ullaha wa ati`u 'r-Rasoola wa ooli 'l-amri minkum.
Obey Allah, obey the Prophet, and obey those in authority among you. (4:59)
Madad, yaa Sayyidi. Prophet (s) said two words: ad-deenu naseeha, “Religion is advice.” To advise is to teach what is good and to leave what is bad; there is nothing else and the whole religion of Islam is based on these two words. (...) Religion is to accept the advice of someone whom you trust, who is telling you the truth. Unfortunately, we cannot trust everyone. An example of that is Sayyidina Adam’s (a) trust of Iblees, and as a consequence he and his descendants lost everything, otherwise today they would be happy in Paradise with no responsibility, enjoying a life which cannot be described! People think Paradise is nice because we are going to have too many hoor al-`ayn, beautiful handmaidens, or as described in Surat al-Insaan, women will have wildaanun mukhaladeen, young men that live forever.
وَيَطُوفُ عَلَيْهِمْ وِلْدَانٌ مُّخَلَّدُونَ إِذَا رَأَيْتَهُمْ حَسِبْتَهُمْ لُؤْلُؤًا مَّنثُورًا
Wa yatoofu `alayhim wildaanun mukhalladoona idhaa ra'aytahum hasibtahum loo'looan ‘m-manthoora.
And round about them will (serve) boys of everlasting youth. If you see them, you would think them scattered pearls. (Surat al-Insaan, 76:19)
If that is Paradise, then, yaa haaif, “Woe to them!” That is not something great. “Hur al `ayoon” is interpreted to mean, “Allah's satisfaction upon you.” It is Maqaam al-Akbar, the greatest satisfaction Allah grants to His servants. So that is where we have to look. It means we must understand, are we going to get this because of our actions or because of following the advice of Prophet (s)?
I am not pretending to be a teacher as I have been thinking in the past ten years that I need to learn more myself and not be called a teacher because that is not my position: my position is to be at the shoes of the Prophet (s) and at the feet of awliyaaullah! We deserve nothing else and with Allah’s Rahmah, He (swt) may do everything. The proof is what Allah (swt) said in Holy Qur’an:
قُلْ إِن كُنتُمْ تُحِبُّونَ اللّهَ فَاتَّبِعُونِي يُحْبِبْكُمُ اللّهُ وَيَغْفِرْ لَكُمْ ذُنُوبَكُمْ وَاللّهُ غَفُورٌ رَّحِيمٌ
qul in kuntum tuhibboon ’Llaha fa `attabi`oonee yuhbibkumullahu wa yaghfir lakum dhunoobakum wa Allahu Ghafooru 'r-Raheem.
Say (O Muhammad), "If you (really) love Allah, then follow me! Allah will love you and forgive your sins, and Allah is Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful. (Aali `Imraan, 3:31)
If you claim that you really love Allah, then follow Muhammad. Allah is saying to the Prophet to say to the human beings “If you really love me, fa `attabi `oonee, ‘follow me,’ yuhbibkumu ’Llahu, ‘then Allah will love you.’” The whole of Islam is based on that! Allah will open doors that you never expected and you will not need anything as Allah will make this dunya a slave to you--if we follow the Holy Qur’an. Now we are slaves to dunya.
Sayyidina Adam (a) for a wisdom Allah knows Why earth why not mars or venus which bigger than earth and there is more space for everyone to fight for territories, who is greater the universe or earth ? The Universe. Why we were not given the universe instead of the earth? means when you humble yourself to this very tiny piece of universe the earth and you agree to live peacefully,
Allah will give you more. Allah said that he has given us the whole universe and the proof is:
َسَخَّرَ لَكُم مَّا فِي السَّمَاوَاتِ وَمَا فِي الْأَرْضِ جَمِيعًا
Wa sakhkhara lakum maa fi ’s-samawaati wa maa fi 'l-ardi jamee`an.
We subject to you whatever is in Heavens and in the Earth. (Surat al-Jaathiya, 45:13)
If we compare ourselves to angels, our servanthood to Allah is like an ant compare an elephant. Angel’s worshipness is non-stop: every moment they are in Allah’s worshipness in different styles, in different positions, in different environments, in different ways!
Do you think Allah (swt) does not have enough words to make angels worship Him in different ways? You cannot say every angel is making tasbeeh, tahleel, tahmeed in the same way or you limit Allah’s powers! Allah gave every angel a unique way to worship Him that does not resemble the others’ and which is different each time! If you compare that to our tasbeeh, it is nothing, and in 24 hours. sometimes we remember at the end of the day and sit in front of the TV and take the misbaha and make tasbeeh quickly and say, “We finished our wazeefa.”Correct? Sometimes we watch important news and we didn't pray Maghrib yet: we keep one ear on the news and one ear with salaat!
The Sahaabah (r) asked Prophet (s), Can a believer steal?” He answered, “Maybe.” They then asked, “Can a believer commit adultery?” He said, “Maybe.” then they asked, “Can a believer lie?” Prophet (s) said, amaa hadihi fala, “This, no way!” A believer cannot lie.
Speaking in general, today we don't steal or commit adultery because Islam said not to do that, but we do what Prophet (s) said we must not do: we lie! Sayyidina Adam did not realize that Iblees could lie or have a bad intention; not like us, when we lie we have a bad intention. Therefore, he ate from the Shajaratu ’l-Khuld, the Tree of Eternity. Who pushed him to eat? Eve, Sayyida Hawa (a), our honorable mother, said, “Eat it, no problem.” So they ate together and what did he do then? Sayyidina Adam (a) went into sajda for 40 years, not raising his head as he was afraid, ashamed and shy because he did not want to feel that liability as Allah (swt) said, “Obey Allah, obey the Prophet, and obey those in authority among you.” (4:59) Obey Me! Why did you eat from that tree?” So Allah left him for forty years.
Allah created angels that remain in sajda, never raising their heads. Whoever prays his five prayers, on the Day of Judgement Allah will give him the benefit of those angels by putting it on his scale and supporting him to send him to Paradise! However, don't lose any of your prayers. Today how many prayers are we making? Sometimes we even pray at the dance club! You don't need to go out; everything comes into your homes, on the Internet and DVDs and even with YouTube and Facebook, Google or Yahoo.
He went into sajda for forty years and did not raise his head until Allah said, “Yaa Adam! Raise your head!” It is said in various prophetic biographies that when Adam (a) cried in sajda, millions of tears ran from his eyes like rivers until, after forty years, Allah (swt) said, “Raise your head!” and every tear drop represented one human being! He asked forgiveness for every human being among his descendants, to make sure we are all under Allah’s Mercy. Allah caused Sayyidina Adam to eat from the tree so He could forgive us before we came to Earth!
Look at the wisdom! The Holy Qur’an is not just arranged words, but behind every word there are meanings hidden from us. That is why Allah (swt) said in the Holy Qur’an:
وَفَوْقَ كُلِّ ذِي عِلْمٍ عَلِيمٌ
fawqa kulli dhil `ilmin `aleem.
Above every knower is a (higher) knower. (Yusuf, 12:76)
Above every knower (Gnostic), whether he is a teacher, scholar or lawyer, whether his knowledge is secular, Islamic or spiritual, and even if someone thinks he is at the top point, there is still someone higher. This means don't pretend to be something, because you are nothing; you only want to be a servant to Allah (swt)! We are not coming here to be included in a book, but we are coming for the benefit of Akhirah, not for dunya. What is there to say? We don't know what they may put on our tongue, but they want us to know that Allah’s Words carry a deep meaning.
Wa maa ya’laamu itakullah, no one knows the interpretation of Qur’an except Allah (swt). There is a stop between these two words, “wa maa ya`lamuna” and “rasikhoona.”
وَمَا يَعْلَمُ تَأْوِيلَهُ إِلاَّ اللّهُ وَالرَّاسِخُونَ فِي الْعِلْمِ يَقُولُونَ آمَنَّا بِهِ كُلٌّ مِّنْ عِندِ رَبِّنَا وَمَا يَذَّكَّرُ إِلاَّ أُوْلُواْ الألْبَابِ
wa maa ya`lamu taaweelahu illa-Llahu, wa ‘r-rasikhoona fi ‘l-`ilmi yaqooloona aamanna bihi kullun min `indi rabbinaa wa maa yadhdhakkaru illa `oloo ’l-baab.
But none except God knows its final meaning. Therefore, those who are deeply rooted in knowledge say, "We believe in it; the whole [of the divine book] is from our Sustainer.” And none will grasp the Message except men of understanding. (Aali `Imraan, 3:7)
There is one part, maa ya`lamu taaweelahu illa-Llah, “None except God knows its final meaning,” and in the continuation of the first part, wa ‘r-rasikhoona min ‘l-`ilm, “those who are like mountains in knowledge,” say, “We believe these interpretational meanings which don't open to normal scholars,” and they say, yaqooloona aamanna, “We believe that we are nothing, O Allah, if you don't teach us.”
If you go to one of the famous books of Imam Abu Hamid Al-Ghazali (r), it has meanings of the ayaat of the Holy Qur’an that other Islamic scholars could not give. What about Muhyiddin Ibn al-`Arabi (r), who made people drunk from his writings, and Abu Yazid Al- Bastami (q)? Even Ibn Tayymiyah was astonished by Abu Yazid and said he was the best Sufi, although today the followers of Ibn Tayymiyah don't accept Sufis. However, he put together a complete volume on Sufism and he accepted a lot of awliyaa like Rabi`a al-`Adawiyya (r), Sirri Saqati (r), Abu Junayd (r) and `Abdul Qadir al-Jilani (r) because of their interpretation of Shari`ah and tasawwuf.
There is no tasawwuf without Shari`ah, but too many people have given a bad name to tasawwuf because they do not follow Shari`ah, they do not pray and they are not Sufis.
If Sayyidina Adam (a), who only disobeyed once, remained 40 years in sajda, what about us; how much do we disobey? We need to make istighfaar and ask for forgiveness. That is why it was said to the Sahaabah in Holy Qur’an:
وَمَا أَرْسَلْنَا مِن رَّسُولٍ إِلاَّ لِيُطَاعَ بِإِذْنِ اللّهِ وَلَوْ أَنَّهُمْ إِذ ظَّلَمُواْ أَنفُسَهُمْ جَآؤُوكَ فَاسْتَغْفَرُواْ اللّهَ وَاسْتَغْفَرَ لَهُمُ الرَّسُولُ لَوَجَدُواْ اللّهَ تَوَّابًا رَّحِيمًا
Wa maa arsalnaa min rasoolin illa liyuta`a bi-idhnillaahi wa law annahum idh zhalamoo anfusahum ja’ooka fastaghfarullaha w’astaghfara lahumu ’r-rasoolu la-wajadoo ’Llaha tawwaaban raheeman.
We sent not an apostle but to be obeyed in accordance with the will of Allah. If they had only, when they were unjust to themselves, come to you and asked for Allah's forgiveness, and the Messenger had asked forgiveness for them, they would have found Allah indeed Oft-returning, Most Merciful. (Surat an-Nisa, 4:64)
They were told that whoever disobeyed Prophet (s) committed a sin. If they made a mistake, were they to be left in Hellfire? No, Allah did not create humans to throw them in Hellfire, but He gives them an opportunity. “If they come to you, O Muhammad, jaaooka, and ask for forgiveness.” There is a condition for forgiveness: “It is to go to you, yaa Muhammad.” So the first step is to come to the Prophet (s). The Sahaabah (r) came to the Prophet (s)and said, “We did this and we ask your forgiveness.” So now in our time, what do we do? We speak to him in our heart, saying, “Yaa Rasulullah! We are coming to you.”
Do you think the Prophet (s) will not know you are coming to his presence? And it is the perfect presence! When you come to the masjid, first you look for a clean place to pray, and if we know someone has walked there with shoes, we lay down a white sheet to indicate it is clean for prayer. With our dirtiness we are carrying inside, we need to come to a pure place, like the Virgin Mary, Sayyida Maryem (r) did. Whenever Sayyidina Zakariyya (a) came to her niche, she was sitting in a pure place, and he found provisions, rizq. If your heart is pure from all kinds of mistakes or sins, spiritual knowledge and light will fill your heart. He asked her, “Where did you get this?” He was a prophet and she was not. Ladies say Islam did not honor them, but Allah (swt) gave you Chapter Maryam from beginning to end! It narrates how Allah is providing for her what He did not give to Zakariyya, who was a prophet and she was not.
So Zakariyya (a) went back to her niche and raised his hands; he asked Allah (swt) to give him a child. “And remember the story of Zakariyya, where he called upon his Lord in a hidden voice from his heart,” but where did he do that? He came back to her room because her niche was blessed. I don't want to say you are all not blessed, because every Muslim is blessed, but we are not yet perfect in our imaan and our Islam.
So what did Allah (swt) say to the Sahaabah? “Go to the Prophet because Allah is the Creator, and in His Divine Presence Sayyidina Muhammad (s) is in Maqaam al-`Ubudiyya, Maqaam al-`Abd, he is in these different levels and his presence is pure!” That is why Allah (swt) said, “They come to you, yaa Muhammad.”
Sayyidina Zakariyya (a), “Called upon his Lord in a hidden voice, ‘I came to an old age,’ and Allah said, “It is not a problem as I am the Creator, you are the servant, you call on Me.” When he was 99 years old and his wife was 90 years old, Allah (swt) gave them Sayyidina Ya`qoob (a), because he went to a pure place and asked!
So Allah (swt) said to the Sahaabah (r), “Go to the Prophet and ask!” as He has said in many verses, qul id`oonee astajib lakum, “Call upon Me, I will respond,” but He gave them more: He put His Prophet as a condition and said, “There I will forgive you, for sure!” If you ask Allah (swt) He will give, He will not say, “No.” He might give now or in the future, He might give in the grave or in Akhirah, but if you go to the presence of the Prophet (s), Allah (swt) will give to you immediately!
So what did the Prophet (s) do when they came to him, saying, “Yaa Rasulullah! We want to make istighfaar in your presence.” He said, “Okay,” and he was obliged to ask forgiveness on their behalf, and when he asked forgiveness for them, wa wajadoo ’Llaaha Ghafooran Raheema, Allah forgave them!
Sayyidina Adam (a) carried the light of Muhammad in his forehead and when he went into sajda he also wanted that light to be in sajda. Iblees was upset with Sayyidina Adam (a) because when he saw that light, he knew that it was the best position, the Maqaam al-Mahmoud, and it was for the Last Messenger, not for him! That is why Iblees did not want to make sajda to Sayyidina Adam (a), because he was jealous that light in his forehead was the Light of Muhammad, who will be in the best position, and he thought that was for him, as he was the head of angels!
Allah (swt) said, “If it were not for Muhammad, I would not have created the universe.” The creation of this universe is bigger than the creation of the human being; however, Allah gave humans the power of the universe and honored them, and He honored the universe by sending Prophet (s) on Mi`raaj, from which all of Creation was honored!
O Muslims! Allah (swt) gave you something that He did not give anyone else: Islam! Obey Him! If you miss a prayer, pray it in the evening, since the situation in western countries is not easy like in Muslim countries. May Allah support us.
Fatihah.
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