`Isha Suhbah at Masjid al-Mubarokah
(with Ustadh Wafiuddin)
As-salaamu `alaykum wa rahmatullahi wa barakaatuh. A`oodhu billahi min ash-Shaytani 'r-rajeem. Bismillahi 'r-Rahmani 'r-Raheem.
Alhamdulillah that Allah (swt) has honored us to be from the ummat of the Beloved and we thank Him for His great bounty on us to make us of his ummah. in His Godship to us, Allah (swt) is in the Station of Pride and Greatness, and we say, “Ash-hadu an laa ilaaha illa-Llah, wa ash-hadu anna Muhammadan rasoolullah.” Allahu Akbar, Allahu Akbar, Allahu Akbar!
وَلِلَّهِ الْعِزَّةُ وَلِرَسُولِهِ وَلِلْمُؤْمِنِينَ وَلَكِنَّ الْمُنَافِقِينَ لَا يَعْلَمُونَ
Wa lillahi ‘l-`izzatu wa li rasoolihi wa li ‘l-mu’mineena wa laakinna al-munaafiqeena laa ya`alamoon.
And honor is for Allah and to His Prophet and to the believers. (Al-Munafiqun, 63:8)
(...)
O Muslim brothers and sisters! Allah (swt) has brought us together from far places. First of all, I want to say may Allah have mercy on our great shaykh, Mawlana Abah Anom and we are proud that Shaykh Wafiullah has taken the oath from his shaykh, Mawlana Abah Anom, and has his intention to take this tariqah as far as he can. May Allah (swt) give him more power to do that. I knew him fifteen years ago when there was tawsiyya, advice, given on a TV broadcast talk show with Shaykh Wafiuddin and it was, alhamdulillah, successful. Allah (swt) wanted us to coordinate more and more and to come to each other. He is like my son; I respect him and I respect his knowledge .
Allah (swt) revealed to the Prophet (s) to say:
اإنما بعثت لأتمم مكارم الأخلاق
Innamaa bu`ithtu li utimmu makaarim al-akhlaaq.
I was sent not except to perfect the best of conduct. (Bukhari in Adab al-Mufrad)
No one in this universe knows the reality of Sayyidina Muhammad (s), his greatness and his nearness to the Divine Presence, not even the angels! Allah (swt) raised him:
وَرَفَعْنَا لَكَ ذِكْرَكََ
Wa rafa`na laka dhikrak.
And We have elevated remembrance of you! (Ash-Sharh, 94:4)
Allah (swt) raised him and raised his remembrance. When He says “dhikrak,” it means, “It is not just your name, yaa Muhammad, but it is a name to be praised!” When Allah ordered the angels to make salawaat on the Prophet (s) they saw him with their divine powers as they did it:
إِنَّ اللَّهَ وَمَلَائِكَتَهُ يُصَلُّونَ عَلَى النَّبِيِّ يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا صَلُّوا عَلَيْهِ وَسَلِّمُوا تَسْلِيمًا
Wa malaa'ikatah inna-Llahu yusalloona `ala 'n-nabi, yaa ayyuhal-ladheena aamanoo salloo `alayhi was sallimoo tasleemaa.
Verily, Allah and His angels send praise on the Prophet. O Believers! Pray upon him and greet him. (al-Ahzaab, 33:56)
The angels saw the Prophet (s) as they made salawaat to him, and since Allah (swt) ordered them to make salawaat to an-Nabi (s) they are always singing it. Their salawaat is not like ours because they are maa`moomeen and their praise is without sin! They send theirs directly to the Prophet (s), but our salawaat is incomplete. Through the light that Allah (swt) sent to the Prophet (s), He raised his character:
وَإِنَّكَ لَعَلى خُلُقٍ عَظِي
wa innaka la `alaa khuluqin `azheem.
Verily you (O Muhammad) are of the most exalted character. (al-Qalam, 68:4)
Allah (swt) was telling Prophet (s), “I have perfected your character to be the most perfect character in this universe.” We say the Prophet (s) was sent to bring Islam. Allah (swt) said:
نَّ الدِّينَ عِندَ اللّهِ الإِسْلاَمُ
Inna ad-deena `inda Allaahi al-islaam.
The religion in Allah’s view is Islam (submission to His Will). (Aali-`Imraan, 3:19)
Arsalahu bi ’r-risaalat, risaalat al-Islam. Prophet (s) said, “I have been sent with my risalah, message, to complete the best of character.” Therefore, Islam is akhlaaq (virtuous character). This statement, Inna ad-deena `indallahi ‘l-Islam, “The religion in Allah’s view is Islam ,” is equivalent to, Innamaa bu`ithtu li utimu makaarim al-akhlaaq, “I have been sent to perfect the best of conduct,” because Islam is akhlaaq and akhlaaq is Islam. `Azham al-akhlaaq, the best of characters, is when a person throws away his bad character. For example, if this is a dirty picture but I don't want to look at it and I throw it away, that is the best character; if I look at it, that is the worst character. Islam wants you to throw the bad character from your heart.
In such majaalis, associations like this one, people are coming together neither for business or for dunya, but they are coming for Akhirah. This throws away from their hearts the love of dunya and brings into their hearts the love of Allah (swt) and Sayyidina Muhammad (s), as Allah likes!
We go back to “innama bu’ithtu li utammima makaarim al-akhlaaq,” which means “I have surely been sent and I came with my ba`tha, the power and message.” Prophet (s) is confirming that it is not to teach, “makaarim al-akhlaaq,” but he said, “utammima,” to complete something. That means the Prophet (s) will not let one of his ummah leave this dunya without perfecting him. Even at the moment of someone’s last breath, the Prophet (s) will be there to perfect and complete makaarim al-akhlaaq on the person who is dying as he says, “Ash-hadu an laa ilaaha illa-Llah, wa ash-hadu anna Muhammadan rasoolullah.”
It is very important to note here that there is a critical difference between “li-utammima” and “li-u`allima.” “Li-utammima” means the Prophet (s) is responsible for the ummah to be perfect when they leave this dunya and, therefore, he was always carrying this burden on his shoulders, saying, “My ummah! My ummah!” Allah (swt) said, “Why are you worried, O Prophet? Don’t be worried.”
وَوَضَعْنَا عَنكَ وِزْرَكَ
Wa wada`naa `anka wizrak.
And We removed from you your burden. (Ash-Sharh, 94:2)
“We removed the burdens from your back and We are giving you the ability to perfect your ummah; We are giving you shafa`ah.” This means, “We have removed the heavy burden of this ummah’s sins that were burdening your back, yaa Muhammad.” Yaa Muhammad! Allahuma salli `alaa Muhammad. Salloo `ala an-Nabi (s)! “Why are you worried? Did We not open your chest?” Allah (swt) said, “alam nashrah,” meaning, “accepting; making you comfortable and feeling better.”
أَلَمْ نَشْرَحْ لَكَ صَدْرَكَ
Alam nashrah laka sadrak.
Have We not expanded for you your breast? (Ash-Sharh, 94:1)
He didn’t say, “Alam nashrah laka sadrak,” and limit it. That means it is not possible for inshirah an-Nabi (s) to have a limit because Allah (swt) expanded the chest of Sayyidina Muhammad (s) at the level of His greatness! Allah (swt) said:
Qalb al-`abd baytu ’r-rabb.
The House of the Lord is the heart of the slave.
Qalb al-mu'min `Arshullah.
The heart of the believer is the Throne of Allah. (Hadeeth Qudsee)
Here “al-`abd” means Sayyidina Muhammad (s). Al-`abd al-haqeeqi, “the real `abd who is responsible in front of Allah,” is Sayyidina Muhammad (s) and on Judgment Day he will be in Maqaam as-Sujood in the Presence of Allah. He will be in sajda and Allah will open to him du`as that were never opened to him before in his life. He said, “I will make that du`a and then Allah (swt) will say, ‘Yaa Muhammad! raise your head. I will give this to you. If you are a real `abd, make sajda.’”
Maqaam al-`Uboodiyya, the Station of Worshipping, is in sajda, which is the perfect symbol of worship. It is also symbolic of `abd, and the level of servanthood is to be always in sajda. “If you are a real `abd you make sajda.” The angels are the proof of the sujood that is the level of `uboodiyya, servanthood.
وَإِذْ قُلْنَا لِلْمَلاَئِكَةِ اسْجُدُواْ لآدَمَ فَسَجَدُواْ إِلاَّ إِبْلِيسَ
Wa idh qulnaa li ’l-malaa’ikatu ’sjudoo li aadama fa sajadoo illa iblees.
And when We told the angels, "Prostrate yourselves before Adam!" they all prostrated themselves, save Iblees. (Surat al-Baqara, 2:34)
Allah (swt) ordered the angels to make sajda to the light of Sayyidina Muhammad (s), which was present in the form of Sayyidina Adam (a), as a sajda ihtiram, a sajda of respect but not of worship. When you prostrate to Allah's servant, the angels make sajda with you, since Allah ordered them to do that. This is true with the ummah; when the ummah makes sajda the angels also make sajda. The proof is that the two angels who are on your right and your left when you make sajda also make sajda with you. Some who know divine knowledge about the angels say that when they make sajda with you, Allah (swt) replaces these two angels with two other angels, and with every sajda you make, Allah gives you two more angels! When you come out of the grave on the Day of Judgment, you will see all these angels with you as your reward from Allah for making these sujood in your prayers. Those angels will prostrate to Allah (swt) until the Day of Judgment and they will never raise up their heads!
The evidence is that Holy Qur'an said, Wa idh qulnaa li ’l-malaa’ikatu ’sjudoo li aadama fa sajadoo illa iblees, When Allah (swt) said to the angels, “Make sajda to Sayyidina Adam (a),” it was a sajda of respect; this sajda was not to Sayyidina Adam (a) but was, in fact, in respect to Sayyidina Muhammad (s). You don’t see any verse in Holy Qur'an that says, “Raise up your heads, O angels.” No, there is not one such verse, so they are in prostration up to Judgment Day.
Allah `azz wa jall addressed His Beloved Prophet with the title “`abd,” servant:
سُبْحَانَ الَّذِي أَسْرَى بِعَبْدِهِ لَيْلاً مِّنَ الْمَسْجِدِ الْحَرَامِ إِلَى الْمَسْجِدِ الأَقْصَى الَّذِي بَارَكْنَا حَوْلَهُ لِنُرِيَهُ
مِنْ آيَاتِنَا إِنَّهُ هُوَ السَّمِيعُ البَصِيرُ
Subhaan-alladhee asraa bi `abdihi laylan min al-masjid al-haraam ila ’l-masjid al-aqsaa alladhee baaraknaa hawlahu li-nuriyahu min ayaatina innahu huwa ‘s-samee`u 'l- baseer.
Glory be to He Who transported His servant by night from the Inviolable House of Worship (at Mecca) to the Remote House of Worship (at Jerusalem), the environs of which We had blessed so that We might show him some of Our symbols, for verily, He Alone is All-Hearing, All-Seeing. (al-Israa’, 17:1)
He is the only true servant to Allah (swt) with all his characteristics. The Prophet (s) spent his entire life in sajda; similarly, he is in his grave in sajda and he will be in sajda on Judgment Day until Allah orders him, irfa` raasak, “Raise your head.” After he makes his du`a there, Allah (swt) will open to him. That is important, where he said, “Allah will open to me from the du`a that was never opened to me before.” I wonder what is the meaning of, “a du`a that never opened before.” If you take any book of du`a, for example Dala`il al-Khayrat and others, you see thousands and thousands of different du`as. When Prophet (s) said, “Allah will open to me something He never opened before,” in what language is that? Is it Arabic, and is it the normal language or something else? Will it contain some secret letter like in Holy Qur'an, such as alif, lam, meem, that contains new words that were not known?
Allah (swt) says to the Prophet (s), “Raise your head and ask, I will give to you.” What does the Prophet (s) want? The Prophet (s) knows the ummah that Allah gave him as it belongs to him, so he says, “Yaa Rabbee! I want what You gave me. I want this ummah, give them to me.” Then Allah (swt) says, “Yaa Muhammad! Take one-third of them, one out of three; take them and send them to Paradise with no account, bi ghayri hisaab.” This hadith is in al-Adab al-Mufrad of al-Bukhari. Then the Prophet (s) goes into sajda another time and says, “Allah opened to my heart a du`a that He didn't open the first time and what was never opened to me before. I will use these du`as, asking and asking, and Allah will say, ‘Raise your head, yaa Muhammad! Ask and I will give you what you want.’”
Allah is saying, “Oh, what are you asking? Of course! Take one-third more of who remain.” What is left after that? One-third. Do you think the Prophet (s) will leave them? The Prophet (s) goes into sajda a third time, saying, “Yaa Rabbee!” and Allah (swt) opens to him a du`a that He didn’t open the first or second time. Then He says to him, “Raise your head! Ask and I will give.” The Prophet (s) says, “I need the rest of my ummah.” Allah says, “Take them all except one; for that one there is no way because he is the worst of human beings.” Think about how many sins we commit now. Do we do this or not? Imagine how many sins we commit!
So Allah (swt) says to the Prophet (s), “Take all the rest except one, who I will not give to you.” That means he is the worst one, who commits a lot of sins. What does he do that we don’t? You see the Muslims committing all kinds of sins, yet they are under the shafa`ah,intercession of the Prophet (s). So what does that one do? It means he does something we can’t imagine and Allah (swt) knows, but He wants to show His rahmah, so He says:
وَمَا أَرْسَلْنَاكَ إِلَّا رَحْمَةً لِّلْعَالَمِينَ
wa maa arsalnaaka ila rahmatan li ’l-`alameen.
(O Muhammad!) We have sent you not except as a Mercy for all the Worlds. (al-Anbiyaa, 21:107)
“The mercy that I gave to you, yaa Muhammad, is not at the level of My Indescribable Mercy. Even with all your shafa`a,” meaning rahmat, “that one still cannot go to Paradise.” The Prophet (s) wants that one also, because he doesn't want anyone to be left out. Allah (swt) looks at the Prophet (s) and says, “I gave them all to you except this one, who is Mine. But with My Rahmah I am sending that one with you.” Through Allah's Rahmat, he goes to Paradise! That hadeeth has a lot of other meanings, also.
This majlis, a gathering place for praise of the Prophet (s), is a majlis rahmat wa maghfira and it is a majlis of good-hearted people. Allah (swt) said in Holy Qur'an:
وَفَوْقَ كُلِّ ذِي عِلْمٍ عَلِيمٌ
Wa fawqa kulli dhi `ilmin `aleem.
Above every knower is a (higher) knower. (Yusuf, 12:76)
Above every angel there is an angel and above every professor there is a professor. That means be humble, because when you make yourself humble you are everything. The Prophet (s) said:
من توضع لله رفعه
man tawada` lillah rafa`ah.
Whoever has shown humbleness, Allah (swt) will raise up.
Shaykh Wafiuddin is showing humbleness to us by inviting us all here. We are not worth anything and we only hope to be on the threshold of ataab an-Nabi (s). May Alla (swt) grant him more and more knowledge, grant you more and more knowledge and forgive us all.
Wa min Allah at-tawfeeq, wa salaam `alaykum wa rahmatullahi wa baraakutuh.