3 September 2010 Fenton Zawiya, Michigan
Fajr Ramadan Series 2010
There is no salvation except with the kings and sultans of this life and the Next. Allahuma salli `ala Sayyidina Muhammad wa `ala aalihi Sayyidina Muhammad. In a little while they will be broadcasting Salaat al-Jumu`ah from Cyprus, then hadrah, then Mawlana's suhbat is expected at 7:30 (EDT), so we will take a little time from the Jumu`ah prayer and then turn over the broadcast to Lefke.
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.
With hi-tech you can see everywhere from where you are. Also you have to notice that Allah (swt) has created angels especially to observe through, if we can say this, their continuous heavenly cameras. They are observing the `amal of Bani Adam. We are always under observation in whatever we do and try to progress. Those who are on the right path and the right track will find at the end what Allah (swt) promised them. Those who are one day on the right track, and one day on the wrong track, like us, they are struggling, but with Allah's (swt) mercy, one day with His inayat, Divine Care, they will arrive there. And there are those who are never interested in the right track or wrong track, they go on their own way. We cannot judge them because we are not judges, so we leave them and Allah (swt) will judge them.
This is a beginning, and I would like to mention that tonight our Sultan al-Awliya, Shaykh Nazim al-Haqqani (q), opened something of hidden knowledge about what is going to be seen in these coming days or weeks or months, or more. This is to give a taste to his students, his followers, and to prepare them through their hearts for major events that might and will take place. We mentioned why we are explaining the importance of preparing a power in ourselves, in order to face these coming, major events, and he reminded us with the verse:
وَأَعِدُّواْ لَهُم مَّا اسْتَطَعْتُم مِّن قُوَّةٍ وَمِن رِّبَاطِ الْخَيْلِ تُرْهِبُونَ بِهِ عَدْوَّ اللّهِ وَعَدُوَّكُمْ وَآخَرِينَ مِن دُونِهِمْ لاَ تَعْلَمُونَهُمُ اللّهُ يَعْلَمُهُمْ وَمَا تُنفِقُواْ مِن شَيْءٍ فِي سَبِيلِ اللّهِ يُوَفَّ إِلَيْكُمْ وَأَنتُمْ لاَ تُظْلَمُونَ
wa a'idda lahum mastataa`tum min quwattin wa min ribaati 'l-khayl turhiboon bihi `adoowullah wa `adoowakum, wa `akhireen la t`alamoonahum, Allahu ya`lamahum wa maa tunfiqoo min shayin fee sabeelillah yuwaffa ilaykum wa antum laa tuzhlamoon.
Against them make ready your strength to the utmost of your power, including steeds of war, to strike terror into (the hearts of) the enemies of Allah, and your enemies, and others besides whom you may not know, but whom Allah knows. Whatever you shall spend in the cause of Allah shall be repaid to you, and you shall not be treated unjustly. (al-Anfaal, 8:60)
wa a'idda lahum mastataatum min quwattin, To prepare whatever possibility of power is necessary, turhiboon bihi `adoowuallah, through which you frighten Allah's and your enemy. That preparation means you need a weapon, not what we think of in the physical or dunya meaning, as Allah doesn't need that. Allah doesn't need us to carry an M-16 or dunya weapons. But He wants us to prepare a very sharp weapon that destroys the kingdom of Shaytan, Allah's enemy, the biggest enemy. Allah is not an enemy to anyone, Allah is merciful to everyone, but Iblees and Shaytan and his army and followers, shayateen, are enemies to everyone, as Shaytan disobeyed his Lord. So the enemy is within ourselves. So awliyaullah are preparing those on the track, who are one day this way and one day the other way, "thumma amanu, thumma kafaroo, "Those who believe, then disbelieve." (4:137), to give them a sharp spiritual sword against Shaytan, and that door of the right track is open for all awliya, and that has never changed.
مِنَ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ رِجَالٌ صَدَقُوا مَا عَاهَدُوا اللَّهَ عَلَيْهِ فَمِنْهُم مَّن قَضَى نَحْبَهُ وَمِنْهُم مَّن يَنتَظِرُ وَمَا بَدَّلُوا تَبْدِيلًا
mina al-mu'uminīna rijālun şadaqū mā `āhadū allāha `alayhi faminhum man qađá naĥbahu wa minhum man yantažiru wa mā baddalū tabdīlā.
Among the believers are men who have been true to their covenant with Allāh; of them some have fulfilled their obligations and some of them are still waiting, but they have never changed in the least (al-Ahzaab, 33:23)
Rijaalun, Men who have reached the level of manhood, who always kept on the right track with their covenant to Allah (swt) and who never changed; they are preparing ummat an-nabi. They reached a different level of manhood and are preparing their followers. That door opened in the beginning of Ramadan, and Mawlana said to mention today that we are talking of knowledge about the importance of dhikrullah through two levels, la ilaha illa-Llah and Allah. La ilaha illa-Llah is the sword Allah (swt) gave ummat an-nabi that is sharp enough to cut Shaytan completely and prepare us for the appearance of Sayyidina Mahdi (a)!
Many people are sleeping, they do not know anything about Mahdi (a), some people know and are not following, and some people know and are waiting. You are of the group that knows and is waiting! The time is coming shortly. If you want to believe, you believe. If you don't want to believe, it is up to you. Things don't come suddenly without plans. We plan for ten to twenty years, and Allah, from pre-Eternal when there was no Creation, His Will was already declared to the one that was a prophet when Adam (a) was still between soul and body! It was declared to him what is Allah's will, and when Mahdi will appear in the Last Days. They know, and we don't know as we are veiled; it is going to be surprise! Do we know when a tsunami will come? No, and when it comes it takes everyone in. Do we know when an earthquake will come? With all their technology and machines, they never anticipate accurately when there will be an earthquake. Does anyone know when a tornado or hurricane will come? Did they know when the eruption of a volcano in Scotland would be? They don't tell you when you will die in order to keep you on the right track. To keep us on the right track they hide, to see if we remain straight-forward or not. It's no problem if you go here and there, to either side of the track, as long as you are on the right track and as long as you are struggling.
There are some, however, who are not interested; they are thumma amanoo, thumma kafaroo. I am sorry to say, some don't know where is qiblah (direction Muslims face in prayer, towards Mecca), and they call themselves "activists" for Muslims and for Islam. How are you an activist for Islam and you don't know where is qiblah even in your own home? We say, may Allah save them and us, and guide them and us!
That power that we were speaking of from the beginning of Ramadan to today, they dressed us not only with the explanation, but as if you entered it, and they dressed you as if you have done it! Like that, we appear in their presence and from there to the presence of Prophet (s), and he is taking us to the Divine Presence of Allah (swt)! And we only heard about Kalimat at-Tawheed, dhikr of la ilaha illa-Llah, but we never manifested anything of that. But our spirit can see and it is dipped in that ocean of Kalimat at-Tawheed, denying and confirming, as if we passed that level to the higher level of the dhikr by `Ism adh-Dhaat, Allah.
Mawlana said to mention that everyone of us has a spiritual sword, "And if their hand is not moving, our hand is moving that, and we are the ones holding and moving their hand against Shaytan and their ego." And he said, "Say to them they have been dressed with not only that spiritual power, but they have been dressed in any meeting they attend, and anywhere they attended they, and all mureeds (of Mawlana Shaykh), have been under every session with 70,000 different lights appearing on them, in the presence of the Prophet (s)."
In every session there are 70,000 lights, shawariq al-anwaar, "the rising lights." And to everyone Allah gave different lights; all 70,000 lights are unique to each person! And that is a good tiding that Mawlana Shaykh gave on Laylat al-Jumu`ah, that he said to mention, as a reward, because that Laylat al-Qadr is coming and Ramadan is ending. We will see later what he says for Laylat al-Qadr, insha'Allah.
What we said before, we have to know that the best example of Kalimat at-Tawheed, la ilaha illa-Llah, is Mi`raaj. The first part of Mi`raaj was moving in dunya; the 'Isra was Prophet (s) moved from Mecca to Jerusalem, Masjid al-Haraam to Masjid al-Aqsa.
سُبْحَانَ الَّذِي أَسْرَى بِعَبْدِهِ لَيْلاً مِّنَ الْمَسْجِدِ الْحَرَامِ إِلَى الْمَسْجِدِ الأَقْصَى الَّذِي بَارَكْنَا حَوْلَهُ لِنُرِيَهُ مِنْ آيَاتِنَا إِنَّهُ هُوَ السَّمِيعُ البَصِيرُ
subhaana al-ladhee 'asrá bi `abdihi laylaan mina al-masjidi al-haraami 'ilá al-masjidi al-'aqsá al-ladhee baaraknaa hawlahu linuriyahu min 'ayaatina 'innahu huwa as-samee`u al-baseer.
Glory be to Him Who took His servant for a journey by night from Al-Masjid-al-Haraam (at Mecca) to the farthest mosque (in Jerusalem), the neighbourhood We have blessed, in order that We might show him Our ayaat (signs), for verily, He is the All-Hearer, the All-Seer. (Al-Isra, 17:1)
It means, praise be to Allah (swt) that He moved His perfect human being, Sayyidina Muhammad (s), from the masjid in which no sin can be committed, Masjid al-Haram--haraam means "forbidden;" there is no sin there, and if anyone commits a sin there it will be immediately burned by the Divine Light descending there. So whoever enters there is going to be peaceful, in safety and peace. As Grandshaykh said, La yumkin an yatadanas, "there, there is no possibility of becoming dirty from people's sin. Sin immediately disappears there, it is burned completely, it disintegrates. Whoever enters in it, finished! He is there, it is what we explained at the beginning, that the heart is also a place in which these lights appear. "Neither My Heaven nor My Earth contain Me, but the heart of the believer contains Me." So in Maqaam al-Qalbi, the Level of the Heart, you will be clean as there is no dirtiness there, when you enter, but until you enter there is still a grey area. So Kalimat at-Tawheed takes you from these grey areas to the area of safety, peacefulness and lights.
The best example of this is in 'Isra, when Prophet was moved from Masjid al-Haraam where there is no sin, to the Masjid al-Aqsa, Masjid of the Dome in Jeruselem, where he began his Mi`raaj. 'Isra is a movement within Creation through recitation of la ilaha illa-Llah, followed by ascension. Ascension is upward through the universe, going beyond the limits of this dunya with all its universes, which has been created with all its galaxies. Prophet (s) moved and was able to reach the heavenly Creation, which is still under la ilaha illa-Llah.
In that Holy Ascension, Sayyidina Jibreel knocked at the door of every Heaven.
They asked, "Who is with you?"
He replied, "With me is the Seal of Messengers."
"Has he been invited?"
"Yes."
Only after this exchange and answering correctly, the door opens, and it continued like that until after the Seventh Paradise, and Sayyidina Jibreel said to Prophet (s), "Yaa Rasoolullah! I cannot go forward, you go!" The Station of Tawheed ends there. There was no one moving in that reality except Prophet. There is the manifestion of `Ism udh-Dhaat, under which comes all the Beautiful Names and Attributes. He entered that station alone, where those are the lights given to the heart of Prophet (s).
ما وسعني ارضي و ل سمايئ ولاكن وسعني قلب عبدي الموءمن
maa wasi`anee ardee wa laa ardee wa laakin wasi`anee qalbi `abdee al-mu'min.
Neither Earth nor Heavens contained Me, but the heart of the believer contained Me.
وَأَنَّهُ لَمَّا قَامَ عَبْدُ اللَّهِ يَدْعُوهُ كَادُوا يَكُونُونَ عَلَيْهِ لِبَدًا
Wa annahu lamaa qaama `Abdullah yadoo`hu kaadoo yakoona `alayhi libada
"Yet when the Servant of Allah stands forth to invoke Him, they just make round him a dense crowd." (al-Jinn, 72:19)
Who is "`AbdAllah"? The only one mentioned in Qur'an as "`AbdAllah" is Sayyidina Muhammad (s). When he stood up for His Lord, the people were not happy with that. He is the only one and the right one to carry that name, and no one can carry that name in Akhirah except Sayyidina Muhammad (s)! You can be "`Abdur-Rahmaan," "`Abdul-Hafeedh," but "`AbdAllah" is only for Sayyidina Muhammad (s)! That is why Turkish people have such real belief in Prophet (s) that they don't name their children "Muhammad," as they believe that name is exclusive for Prophet (s); instead they use the name, "Mehmet". Because Muhammad is only one. You can go through all of Turkey, from the Ottoman time until today, and you cannot find anyone with the name "Muhammad," only "Mehmet." Out of respect they only use that name for Sayyidina Muhammad (s).
So he entered into that reality, the understanding and knowledge of ma`rifatullah. Laa ilaaha illa-Llah takes you from awhaal ad-dunya, from the mud and dirt of this world, all the way from the haraam, forbidden, to the halaal, Masjid al-Aqsa, where no sin can exist, as it is immediately burned. And that is why Hajj al-Bayt is important, because as soon as you go there you are cleaned. And it not only cleans you of past sins, but Allah (swt), in His Mercy, will clean your future sins also. That is why He ordered one Hajj, as that tajalli with which He dresses you is not going to disappear; it is there and it takes you forward through all your life. That Kalimat at-Tawheed, laa ilaaha illa-Llah, will take you, as Mawlana said, "All students who are making dhikr with laa ilaaha illa-Llah from one-hundred to a thousand times daily, even if they are not, will be dressed with that tajalli from the beginning of Ramadan, to be ready when Mahdi (a) comes." So laa ilaaha illa-Llah takes us from the dirtiness of dunya to begin our ascension into Heavens!
And when Prophet went into Mi`raaj, where was his ummah? Did he leave it behind or they were with him? That is why in every level of Paradise he was asked, "Is he invited?" Of course when Paradise has been decorated, Allah is inviting a guest! When they invite a president they fill the place with flags, ceremonies, and decorations. So when Allah decorated Paradise, it means He invited a guest. Then did the angels ask, "Has he been invited?" Because they saw the tail behind him! He brought behind him the ummah, those whom Allah knows are of what kind; we are what we are! Like children pleading with their father, "Don't leave us behind!" Prophet (s) brought the ummah behind him. Are they accepted? Yes, as whatever Prophet brings is accepted. In the first row are 124,000 awliyaaullah, all of them with their sultan, may Allah give him long life, and behind every wali are his mureeds. So if you are president and take your son with you to meetings, can anyone say "no"? Today one Arab president brought his son with him to a peace talk in Washington; can anyone say to him, "Don't bring your son!" What about the Seal of Messengers (s)? Is he bringing one, or all of them? In dunya, in his passing, and in his holy grave, he (s) said, "My ummah, My ummah!" On the Day of Judgment, he will say, "My ummah, My ummah!" And so Allah is saying to him, "Don't go without taking them."
So Kalimat at-Tawheed is an appearance of the Name that contains all possible existence. He didn't say what exists, but anything that you can imagine in your mind to exist in dunya, all of it is under that Name. So when you say, la ilaha, you are denying dunya, to get away from it. Essentially, you are saying, "Yaa Rabbee! We are not interested in these appearances of dunya, as we used to run to it, and are wiping off the dust of human existence, al-wujood al-imkaani, "the possible existence," as it is covering the Uniqueness of His Beautiful Name, "Allah."
So la ilaha denies everything of this dirty life and its dust, and affirms the existence of Allah. So that is why it is two parts: "la ilaha" and "illa-Llah". So awliyaa like us to enter the reality of that Name and reveal the lights Allah is revealing to the heart of the believer. The "House of Allah" is the heart of the believer. "Heaven and Earth cannot contain Me, but the heart of the believer can contain Me." So if we clean the walls of the heart, take away the dust of dunya by saying, la ilaha, and confirm Allah's Manifestion by saying, illa-Llah, that is what awliyaaullah are trying to achieve. Mawlana Shaykh says, "That achievement has already been accepted by awliyaa, and they trust us with la ilaha illa-Llah."
Sayyidina `Abdul-Qadir al-Jilani (q), the ghawth of his time, said, "My feet are on the neck of every wali." It has a meaning that we will not go into now. And we have to be careful, as Prophet (s) said, "Shaytan never comes in my image." We have to believe fully what Prophet said, "Shaytan can never cheat my servant by (disguising himself) using my image." Prophet is the only one who defeated his shaytan, as he said in that hadeeth, ghalabtu shaytaanee, when Jibreel (a) opened his heart and took out the small black flesh that is the house of Shaytan in everyone's heart. If you slaughter a cow, sheep or goat and look in the heart, you will see a small black clot; that is the entrance and home for Shaytan in the heart. So the only one who defeated his shaytan is Prophet (s), who said, "Whoever saw me in a dream is going to see me in reality."
And `Abdul-Qadir al-Jilani (q) said, "O qawm! Exhaust your shaytan by ikhlaas, sincerity, and by reading Surat al-Ikhlaas." Say, la ilaha illa-Llah, and also recite:
قُلْ هُوَ اللَّهُ أَحَداللَّهُ الصَّمَدُلَمْ يَلِدْ وَلَمْ يُولَدوَلَمْ يَكُنْ لَه ُُ كُفُواً أَحَد
Qul Huwa Allahu Ahad. Allāhu aş-şamad. lam yalid wa lam yūlad walam yakun Lahu kufuwan 'aĥad.
Say, "He is Allah, the Unique One! The Self-Sufficient Master, Whom all creatures need. He neither eats nor drinks. He begets not, nor was He begotten, and there is no one comparable or equal to Him!" (Ikhlaas, 112:1-5)
Sayyidina `Abdul-Qadir al-Jilani (q) said, Laa ilaaha illa-Llah la bi mujarrad al-lafdh bal ma`na al-haqiqi, "It is not only by saying, laa ilaaha illa-Llah on the tongue, but by the reality in the heart. That is why we have to recite one-hundred to a thousand times, and that will burn Shaytan from among the jinn and ins who are doing everything without limits. annahu naaran, it is fire to shayaateen and a light for believers."
Fire can burn fire; a huge fire takes over the smaller fire, which will disappear. So laa ilaaha illa-Llah is a big fire that takes shaytans' fire away and also your sins, and it is a light for muwaahidoon. The sun is an example of that; the fire on the sun gives us life. Naar becomes diyaa, shining light, and it is fire but it gives you life. Without the sun you cannot live. So that la ilaha illa-Llah will burn Shaytan and become a light for believers.
Sayyidina `Abdul-Qadir al-Jilani (q) continues, "O my ghulaam, my child! How dare you say, la ilaha illa-Llah, and in your heart there are too many ilah (gods)!" How do you say, "There is no god except Allah," when your heart is full of gods and goddesses, and every sin is a god? Recite la ilaha illa-Llah, as that cleans the heart so well that you don't need any other cleaner. Anything that you depend on and trust other than Allah is sanamak, your idol. Run away from the idols, and run to Allah!"
Allahuma salli `ala Sayyidina Muhammad (s)!
Wa min Allahi 't-tawfeeq, bi hurmati 'l-habeeb, bi hurmati 'l-Fatihah.