A`oodhu billahi min ash-Shaytaani 'r-rajeem.
Bismillaahi 'r-Rahmaani 'r-Raheem.
Alhamdulillahi Rabbi ‘l-`Alameen wa ‘s-salaatu wa ‘s-salaam `alaa Sayyidina Muhammadin wa `alaa alihi wa ashabihi ajma`een wa man tabi`ahu bi ihsanin illa Yaumi ‘d-deen wa `alaa sa’iri ‘l-Anbiya wa ‘l-mursaleen wa ‘l-Awliya wa 1ibaadillahi ‘s-saliheen wa `alayna ma`ahum ajma`een, yaa Arhamu ‘r-Rahimeen.
Laa hawla wa laa quwatta illa billahi 'l-`Aliyyu 'l-`Azheem.
Dastoor, yaa Sayyidi, yaa Sultan al-Awliya. Madad, yaa RijaalAllah.
As-salaamu `alaykum wa rahmatullaahi wa barakaatuh.
Welcome again to the dergah of Mawlana Shaykh Hisham (q). I think it has been one week now since his departure. May Allah (swt) raise him higher and higher. May Allah (swt) allow us to follow them to the Hudoor of Rasoolullah (s), to Sahaabah Ikraam (r).
Alhamdulillah, so many messages of condolences have been coming in, kind words, kind prayers from everyone. It’s all over Whatsapp and social media. We are thanking all of them. The ones I know in particular are Hadhat Pir Naqibu ‘r-Rahman and his respected son and also Shaykh Ninowy. I met him a few times. Also, Shaykh Tahir al-Qadri personally called my home and offered his words of condolences. We thank all of them for their kind words and prayers. May Allah (swt) accept their prayers. May Allah (swt) always keep us with `ulama, keep us with Awliyaullah.
I’m not going to say much. My family is my family. I don’t say anything bad or good about them. It is private. What happens within the family is supposed to be private. It’s not supposed to be said all over the world. Look, the world is looking at all of that. May Allah (swt) forgive us.
What I can say is when people are looking at who is going to take the mureeds, I am looking at who is going to continue the legacy of Mawlana (q). Who is of that caliber? Who is at that scholarly caliber with his scholarly knowledge? People are looking at who is going to take the people, who is going to take the mureeds? As I said before, when somebody dies, mala’ikah, spiritual beings saying, “What did he send forth?” The `amal goes through the skies, through Heavens. Your good `amal goes up! Wa ‘l-`amalu s-salihu yarfa`oo.
مَن كَانَ يُرِيدُ ٱلْعِزَّةَ فَلِلَّهِ ٱلْعِزَّةُ جَمِيعًا إِلَيْهِ يَصْعَدُ ٱلْكَلِمُ ٱلطَّيِّبُ وَٱلْعَمَلُ ٱلصَّـٰلِحُ يَرْفَعُهُۥ وَٱلَّذِينَ يَمْكُرُونَ ٱلسَّيِّـَٔاتِ لَهُمْ عَذَابٌ شَدِيدٌ وَمَكْرُ أُو۟لَـٰٓئِكَ هُوَ يَبُورُ
If any do seek for glory and power, to Allah belong all glory and power. To Him mount up (all) Words of Purity: It is He Who exalts each Deed of Righteousness. Those that lay Plots of Evil,- for them is a Penalty terrible; and the plotting of such will be void (of result). (Surah Fatir, 35:10)
The `amal that is salih goes through Heavens, to the spiritual realms. You `ilm, your hikmah, the books, the Dhikr, all of that goes through Heavens. The angels say, “What did he send forth?” and the people say, “What did he leave behind?” The people of earth say, “What did he leave behind?” The heavenly beings say, “What did he send to the Heavens?” When people ask, “Who is going to take the mureeds and what did he leave behind,” others are asking, “What did he send forward? Where is he?”
Who is of that caliber that can continue his legacy? We are not asking about who is going to take care of the mureeds. Allah (swt) takes care of everybody. Allah (swt) is the Rabb. If He is your Rabb, why are you afraid? He guides you. He gives you. He sustains you. He provides for you. You have to ask, “Who is going to continue that legacy?” Who has that scholarly knowledge? Certainly not me! Don’t look at me. Mashaa-Allah, everybody wants me to go into the ring for a fight. Fight for what? It’s not my fight. I’m not fighting anybody. It’s none of my business.
One, who has that scholarly knowledge? Who has the stage presence? When Mawlana (q) went on stage, did you ever see what happened to the other scholars up there? Who has that presence? Who is fluent in French, English and Arabic and can speak to the Africans in their native tongue. Let’s say native tongue, the French language. Who can speak to the Europeans in English? Who can speak to the Arabs with Arabic? Who has that? Who is of that caliber? When people are looking down on earth, “What did he leave?” others are asking, “Who can continue his legacy?” Why don’t you look into that?
I heard this from a great shaykh. He said, have you ever seen a goat, a cow, a sheep or a bull looking up to the Heavens and watching the stars at night saying, “Ohh.” Did you ever see a sheep looking up into the depth of the skies and the brilliant stars? No. What do the sheep, the cow, the goat and the bull do? They look down! “Can I get more? I need more space. Can I rush to get it?” When we throw the bread here or whatever to the sheep, they rush to get it. The sheep, the cow, the goat, the animals look down to take more and eat more and have more but they don’t look into the depth of the skies.
Who looks up to the sky? Insaan. Human beings. Human beings look up to the stars. Why? Because his soul is from that realm. His soul is from the spiritual realm. A human being craves his spiritual realm. That’s why when you look at the stars and you look into the depth of the skies, you feel so happy. You feel relaxed. You want to reach there. What do the stars signify? The stars signify Sahaabah Ikram (r). The stars signify Awliyaullah. When you look at Awliyaullah, that’s what you want to be.
A human being looks up because of his soul. Who looks down? The ego. If you follow your ego, you’re going to look down. If you follow your ruhaniyah, your soul, you will look up. I don’t want to say anymore but some of them are looking down, following their egos and some of them are looking up and following their soul, their ruh. We are following our ruh. We are not looking down at who is going to take more, who is going to eat more, who is going to grab more. That is nonsense!
إِنَّا نَحْنُ نَرِثُ ٱلْأَرْضَ وَمَنْ عَلَيْهَا وَإِلَيْنَا يُرْجَعُونَ
Inna nahnu narithu ‘l-ardha wa man `alayha wa ilayna yurja’oon.
It is We Who will inherit the earth, and all beings thereon: to Us will they all be returned. (Surah Maryam, 19:40)
Shaykh Sahib, repeat it so people know what Allah (swt) is saying. Look at what Allah (swt) is saying. We inherit the earth and whomever is on it and all of them return to Us. You don’t belong to anybody, you are Allah (swt)’s! When are you going to understand that, O human being? Allah (swt) created you for Him. Allah (swt) is the Owner of everything.
Whenever I hear this nonsense that is going on here, taking advantage of a grieving woman over her dead husband, I look at that and I say, “What are you doing?” What should I say? I remember what Mawlana Shaykh Hisham (q) always recited. There is an ayah in the Holy Qur’an, asta`eedhubillah.
قُلِ اللهّهُ ثُمَّ ذَرْهُمْ فِي خَوْضِهِمْ يَلْعَبُونَ
Quli 'Llaah thumma dharhum fee khawdihim yal`aboon.
Say "Allah," then leave them to plunge in vain discourse and trifling. (Surat al-An`am, 6:91)
Let them play! You say “Allah” and let them play with whatever they want to play with. It has become like ping-pong. We are playing ping-pong. One serve to you, one serve to me. That is play. Awliyaullah have said, لا تشتغل بما لك عمّن أنت له، فتبقى بلا هو. Laa tashtaghil bima laka `amman anta lahu fatabqa bi laa hu. “Don’t be busy with what is yours from the One that you are for Him, for then you will remain without Him.”
Be busy with Allah (swt), O human being, O insaan. May Allah (swt) forgive us. Don’t look down to earth and who is going to grab more. Rather, look into the Heavens and say, “How am I going to reach them?” That’s what you need to do. May Allah (swt) forgive us. Again, I’m not going to say more than that. May Allah (swt) forgive all of us.
Wa min Allahi 't-tawfeeq, bi hurmati 'l-habeeb, bi hurmati 'l-Fatihah.
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