`Isha Suhbah at International Cultural Center (ICC)
A`oodhu billahi min ash-Shaytani ‘r-rajeem. Bismillahi 'r-Rahmani 'r-Raheem.
كلمتان خفيفتان على اللسان ثقيلتان فى الميزان حبيبتان إلى الرحمن سبحان الله و بحمده سبحان الله العظيم
There are two words that are very easy to say, yet very heavy on the Scale, most beloved to The Merciful, “SubhaanAllah wa bihamdihi subhaanAllahi ’l-`Azheem.” (Bukhari and Muslim)
What do we need more than that? It is enough for dunya and Akhirah. Why are you going too much pulling things? Two words are very light on the tongue, but very heavy on the scale, SubhaanAllah wa bihamdihi subhaanAllahi ’l-`Azheem.
As soon as it comes to your heart to say it and the intention is to do it, in that moment Allah is bestowing His Mercy because you said those two words, "SubhaanAllah wa bihamdihi subhaanAllahi ’l-`Azheem." Allah praises Himself, “Glory be to Him for His favors,” of which there is no limit! You cannot define the greatness of Allah (swt), there is no description. Scientists have not discovered more than four percent of the human body, which means ninety-six percent they don't know. SubhaanAllah, Allah created human beings so complicated in everything: He gave you eyes to see with like a video camera. The human lens is so small, yet it takes pictures of everything. Awliyaullah can see what you cannot see. Can they see only this group of people and that is it, there is no other? There is!
عن أبي هريرة قال قال رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم إن الله قال من عادى لي وليا فقد آذنته بالحرب وما تقرب إلي عبدي بشيء أحب إلي مما افترضت عليه وما يزال عبدي يتقرب إلي بالنوافل حتى أحبه فإذا أحببته كنت سمعه الذي يسمع به وبصره الذي يبصر به ويده التي يبطش بها ورجله التي يمشي بها وإن سألني لأعطينه ولئن استعاذني لأعيذنه وما ترددت عن شيء أنا فاعله ترددي عن نفس المؤمن يكره الموت وأنا أكره مساءته
ولا يزال عبدي يتقرب إلي بالنوافل حتى أحبه، فإذا أحببته كنت سمعه الذي يسمع به وبصره
الذي يبصر به، ويده التي يبطش بها ورجله التي يمشي بها،
My servant does not cease to approach Me through voluntary worship until I will love him. When I love him, I will become the ears with which he hears, the eyes with which he sees, the hand with which he acts, and the legs with which he walks (and other versions include, “and the tongue with which he speaks.”). (Hadith Qudsi, Bukhari)
How many angels are present here? You cannot count them, is it not? Either we believe or we don't, there is no in-between, either you say, “Ash-hadu an laa ilaaha illa-Llah wa ash-hadu anna Muhammadu ‘r-Rasoolullah,” or there is no Tawheed, which is to accept, yes or no!. In `Aqeedah there is no in-between, it is straightforward. Allah (swt), with His Greatness that has no limits and cannot be described, Who created Creation, and we as human beings say this is the Highest Creation. We cannot describe the creation of human beings, but Allah (swt) said:
لَخَلْقُ السَّمَاوَاتِ وَالْأَرْضِ أَكْبَرُ مِنْ خَلْقِ النَّاس
Truly the creation of the Heavens and the Earth is greater than the creation of Man.
(Surat Ghafir, 40:57)
It means you have to think about what is there, because we are not Awliya, nor angels, we are the worst of Creation! But Allah gave us a small memory chip in our mind that can express something, the dhaakirah, with which you can understand everything according to your level of understanding. You cannot understand what is in the universe. Allah (swt) said the creation of the universes is greater and more complex than the creation of a human being, even with all that Allah (swt) gave Prophet (s) of `Uloom al-Awwaleen wa ’l-Akhireen. There is no one that can compete with Prophet (s) as what Allah dressed him with, all that He gave him (s), finished, it is unquestionable, amanna wa sadaqna! Only those who have small minds question. Why do you want to question? Make it easy for yourself and surrender, amanna wa sadaqna!
Sayyidina `Umar (r) said, "Yaa Abu Bakr, your companion, Prophet (s), said he went to the Heavens tonight, to Qaaba Qawsayni aw Adnaa!"
Sayyidina Abu Bakr (r) said, “Sadaqa Rasoolullah (s)!”
He had no doubt! Either you believe or you don't, but our problem is thumma aamanoo thumma kafaroo, one moment we are on the right track and the next moment our engine goes off track. Then you have to bring it back, but how? By saying “SubhaanAllah wa bihamdihi subhaanAllahi ’l-`Azheem.” Pray your prayer and recite that du`a, it is enough.
So Allah (swt) created Creation and when they go to the Moon, the Earth looks very small. When you reach the Sun, you only see giant galaxies. Prophet (s) saw all of them one by one and understood the secrets of every Creation in this universe!
فَوَجَدَا عَبْدًا مِّنْ عِبَادِنَا آتَيْنَاهُ رَحْمَةً مِنْ عِندِنَا وَعَلَّمْنَاهُ مِن لَّدُنَّا عِلْمًا
So they found one of Our Servants on whom We had bestowed Mercy from Ourselves and whom We had taught knowledge from Our Own Presence. (Surat al-Kahf, 18:65)
Up to his (s) level. He reached the Divine Presence: was it with ignorance or with full understanding? When you meet with twenty CEOs, do you go unprepared? For one year you prepare what to say with all your advisors! Prophet (s) does not need advisors: Allah said, “Come!” and he came with knowledge of everything he passed through and he knew why it was created, as Allah (swt) said in the Holy Qur’an:
إِنَّ فِي خَلْقِ السَّمَاوَاتِ وَالأَرْضِ وَاخْتِلاَفِ اللَّيْلِ وَالنَّهَارِ لآيَاتٍ لِّأُوْلِي الألْبَابِ الَّذِينَ يَذْكُرُونَ اللّهَ قِيَامًا وَقُعُودًا وَعَلَىَ جُنُوبِهِمْ وَيَتَفَكَّرُونَ فِي خَلْقِ السَّمَاوَاتِ وَالأَرْضِ رَبَّنَا مَا خَلَقْتَ هَذا اطِلاً سُبْحَانَكَ فَقِنَا عَذَابَ النَّارِ
Behold! In the creation of Heaven and Earth, and in the alternation of night and day, there are indeed signs for men of understanding, those who remember Allah (always, and in prayers) standing, sitting and lying down on their sides, and contemplate the Creation of the Heavens and the Earth, (saying), "Our Lord! You have not created (all) this without purpose! Glory to You! Grant us salvation from the torment of the Fire.” (Surat Aali `Imraan, 3:190-191)
The ayah is for everyone to contemplate, and if we are asked to contemplate, what about Prophet (s)? In every moment he is contemplating and ascending! We either believe or we don't believe. Do we believe that Prophet (s) attracts millions of people to visit him in Madinatu 'l-Munawwara or not? [Yes!] Can anyone attract the way Prophet (s) attracts? Around the world, people are making salawaat 24 hours (continuously), so are they not answered? How can they say he is dead? Yes, we say that because Allah mentioned it in Holy Qur’an, we believe that, but we also believe Allah (swt) granted him as Imam Suyuti mentioned in his tafseer:
ما من أحد يسلم عليَّ إلا رد الله عليَّ روحي حتى أسلم عليه
No one prays on me, except that Allah will send back my soul to me to return his greeting. (Abu Dawud)
So he (s) knew everything and said, "Come along with me," as he wants his Ummah with him. Did he say it or not?
لْ إِن كُنتُمْ تُحِبُّونَ اللّهَ فَاتَّبِعُونِي يُحْبِبْكُمُ اللّهُ وَيَغْفِرْ لَكُمْ ذُنُوبَكُمْ وَاللّهُ غَفُورٌ رَّحِيمٌ
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.” (Surat Aali-'Imraan, 3:31)
You cannot say you are going directly to Allah (swt). For example, this room has three doors and if there was a guard here, could you open the door without permission? No, you could not; to enter you need the key, which is ‘Laa ilaaha illa-Llah Muhammadun Rasoolullah’. Allah (swt) glorified Himself and told us to learn Maqaam at-Tawheed, to say ‘Laa ilaaha illa-Llah,’ He put Prophet (s) with Him, not sitting with him, it is not ‘union’ as some say, but Allah gave Prophet (s) wa rafa’ana laka dhikrak, "We raised your name for people to remember you all the time (as the servant of Allah.”
وَرَفَعْنَا لَكَ ذِكْرَكَ
And We raised up your remembrance. (Surat al-Sharh, 94:2)
Allah is The Creator and Prophet (s) is His servant. Allah said in the Holy Qur‘an, “After dhikr make tafakkur,” He gave you that permission (3:190-191). Alladheena yadhkuroonallaaha qiyaaman wa qu`oodan wa `ala junoobihim, it is okay to make dhikr by yourself and also in a crowd. You cannot say this is not accepted because Allah says, alladheena yadhkuroonallaaha qiyaaman wa qu`oodan, “those who remember Allah standing, sitting or lying down,” wa yatafakkaroo fee khalqi ’s-samaawaati wa ’l-ard, “and contemplate the creation of Heavens and Earth (by doing muraaqaba and raabita).”
That is a big knowledge! At that time, the Sahaabah did tafakkur directly to Allah (swt), but then He said to begin with contemplation of the Heavens and Earth, and after reaching the higher level the door to contemplate Allah will slowly open; however, for Prophet (s) the door was opened directly when he was invited to Allah's Presence. There are many tafseers and ikhtilaaf on this, but in any case, Allah (swt) granted Prophet (s).
وَالنَّجْمِ إِذَا هَوَى مَا ضَلَّ صَاحِبُكُمْ وَمَا غَوَى وَمَا يَنطِقُ عَنِ الْهَوَى إِنْ هُوَ إِلَّا وَحْيٌ يُوحَى
By the star when it goes down, your Companion is neither astray nor being misled, nor does he say (aught) of (his own) desire. It is no less than inspiration sent down to him. (Surat an-Najm, 53:1-4)
About this ayah, Imam an-Nawawi (q) said in his tafseer of Sahih Muslim that Prophet (s) saw Allah with the eyes of his head. SubhaanAllah! Allah gave us something easy to keep us on track: tafakkur. Sit by yourself every night before you sleep or at Fajr and contemplate! Examine how you spent your 24 hours, audit yourself before you will be audited later. Allahumma salli `alaa Sayyidina Muhammad. Everyone is advancing in age, especially the youth, who have a big opportunity to be good, is it not? We older ones have less opportunity, less time.
Allah (swt) gave that du`a to Prophet (s) to benefit the Ummah. La khalqu 's-samaawaati wa ‘l-ardi akbar min khalqi ‘n-naas, “The creation of the Heavens and Earth is bigger than the creation of human beings.” It means there is something there! What did NASA find? They released information about discovering seven Earths. How big and how far away are they, how can you reach them?
وَسَخَّرَ لَكُم مَّا فِي السَّمَاوَاتِ وَمَا فِي الْأَرْضِ جَمِيعًا مِّنْهُ
He made subservient to you everything that is in the Heavens and everything that is in the Earth.
(Surat al-Jaathiyah, 45:13)
No one can say there is no possibility to reach, there is! Allah (swt) said in the Qur’an, “He made under your power everything in Heavens and Earth,” which means, “It is for you, go get it!” If you are not able to control and command it, to have power on Earth and Heavens, it doesn't mean someone else can’t. Allah gave and what He gives, He doesn't take it back! When He gives you something, out of His generosity He doesn't take it back. When He gives He gives, it will be for you, even Shaytan cannot approach it or touch it; it will be saved for you on Day of Judgement. Don't believe that Allah takes back what He gave. No! He might replace it with something better. Keep that `aqeeda, belief: Allah always gives the best!
He said, “I give you the Earth and the universe: take it, don’t deny it!” If someone tells you about the Heavens and Earth, don't say that is impossible: Allah said He gave it to human beings. That's why according to their levels, Awliyaullah have the ability to command Heavens and Earth, the universe. Heavens are not part of dunya, they are outside; something forever cannot be in dunya. Allah's (swt) paradises are not part of dunya. Everything you see of this universe, what they discovered and what they will discover in the future, is only a small part of knowledge. Now when they saw the seven Earths they were amazed and they forgot about the six-thousand galaxies! Now they say there are ‘infinite galaxies’ and in every galaxy there are billions of stars.
This is Allah’s Greatness, Azhaamah, you cannot describe it, there is no definition! Can you define al-Khaaliq? The lowest you can mention, that we have the ability to say, is that al-Khaaliq means in every moment Allah is creating other than our Creation, other than Bani Adam, there are other Creations. Now they are saying there might be life on three of these planets, something living there, but you cannot see it. Can you see angels here? Some people can, Allah gave them the power as according to the Hadith we mentioned earlier, so don’t deny it. If you cannot see it, that doesn't mean no one can; some Awliyaullah can. We hope to be at their thresholds and if we find someone, we must hold onto him!
When Allah says He made the universes under our control, NASA doesn't accept you and me, they only accept facts they see. They saw seven Earths, and it is mentioned in many Ahadith, sabaat aradeen. If you tell them hundreds of times there are seven Heavens, they say no, but now they say yes because they saw it. So, if they saw it, can’t Awliya see it? Of course! Then why deny the power of Awliya? The aqeedah they put in the mind of people is not complete. Taʿzeem al-haqq waajib, it is our duty and obligation to glorify Allah (swt) because this is how we can express Azhaamah, His Greatness! We cannot say more than that. According to one’s level, everyone has a definition in his heart. What about Awliya, prophets, and what about Sayyidina Muhammad (s)?
Do all of us agree on Mi`raaj? Yes. If we all agree, that is enough to show Prophet's (s) greatness as a servant of Allah. Is he boxed in that grave? Astaghfirullahu ’l-`Azheem wa atoobu ilayh. We are boxed in the grave of dunya, but nothing can constrain Prophet (s). The One Who invited him knows what He gave him, no one else knows. What we say are mere assumptions that might be correct or not, but Awliyaullah inherit knowledge from Prophet (s) and they define it in the best way.
My uncle Shaykh Mukhtar studied at al-Azhar a long time ago. He passed away at the age of 85 and was very highly respected. I was young, read a lot, and came across the practice of kissing one’s thumbs twice and saying, Qurrat al-`aynee bika, yaa Rasoolullah, “May Allah make my eyes dear to you, yaa Muhammad (s).” He said Shafi`is believe it is best to make salawaat and kiss the thumbs whenever you hear the name of Prophet (s), and mentioned some Ahadith. This stayed in my mind. My uncle, one of the greatest `ulama who after Fajr taught the four schools of thought to `ulama, whom when he said something you accepted it, you didn’t argue[1], said the identity is in our thumb, and he explained scientifically why we kiss it, because your unique ID is in your thumbprint, so kiss your thumbs then place them on your eyes, and the iris is another unique ID. When you go through immigration, to identify you they scan your fingerprints and iris; however this was not knownback then. Sayyidina Abu Bakr as-Siddiq (r) knew it from the time of Prophet (s), when there was no scientific knowledge as Prophet (s) delayed it for later.
سَنُرِيهِمْ آيَاتِنَا فِي الْآفَاقِ وَفِي أَنفُسِهِمْ
Soon will We show them our Signs in the (furthest) regions (of the Earth). (Surat al-Fussilat, 41:53)
Scientifically, it makes sense now. Why do we kiss the thumbs and place them on the eyes and not on the chest? No, the eye is more complex. Mashaa-Allah in Egypt, scientists are producing a lot of knowledge from Holy Qur’an and Hadith and have even explained how a mosquito has 124 eyes and 40, 50 or 60 stomachs. They have found scientifically that if the mosquito bites you and doesn't bite your brother, it's because the taste and liquid from you suits it, but the same from your brother doesn't. To contemplate Allah’s Greatness opens our minds!
إِنَّ اللَّهَ لاَ يَسْتَحْيِي أَن يَضْرِبَ مَثَلاً مَّا بَعُوضَةً فَمَا فَوْقَها
Allah disdains not to use the similitude of things, lowest as well as highest. (Surat al-Baqarah, 2:26)
Allah doesn't feel shy to give the example of a mosquito, but we feel shy to give evidence of something small. Allah gave us a way to come to Him, which is why He said, "If you really love Me, in kuntum tuhibboona 'Llaah, follow Muhammad (s)." We are weak. Yaa Rabbee, show us how to follow and we will follow! Yaa Rasoolullah, show us how the Sahaabah followed you and we will follow! But putting all this dunya on our heads and then at the end saying, “Follow,” we have to struggle and follow with no objection.
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)
SubhaanAllah, you see people fighting for no reason; they kill and fight for nothing, for a chair that doesn't belong to anyone.
وَفَوْقَ كُلِّ ذِي عِلْمٍ عَلِيمٌ
Above every knower is a (higher) knower. (Surah Yusuf, 12:76)
Don't think you are something! May Allah (swt) forgive and bless us. I look to myself and to everyone, all of us look, but one look is different from the other: some look for Akhirah, some look for dunya. The people who go to masjids and such meetings are written for Akhirah. That one came here from New York, attraction pulled him here. There is no dunya here, everyone is coming for Akhirah. This is what Allah (swt) likes, ana jaleesu man dhakaranee, “I am with the one who remembers Me.”
أَنَا جَلِيْسُ مَنْ ذَكَرَنِي
[Allah said to the Prophet], I sit with him who remembers Me. (Hadith Qudsi. Ahmad, Bayhaqi)
But don't expect Allah will give it to you in your hand because you will lose it, so He will keep it for you for Akhirah. We went to India, where you find big `ulama who were like bulldozers with their knowledge; regardless if they are deceased or alive,they have high reputations. It reminded me of when we went to various maqaams, especially that of Sayyidina Ahmad al-Faruqi as-Sirhindi, Mujaddid al-Alfu Thaani, who wrote The Maktubat. When we stood there reading the Qur’an, I remembered the story of Sayyidina Ghujdawani’s student buried in Merv, near Bukhara, one of the high-level students who studied Tafsir, Fiqh, and other knowledges. He was Shaykh al-Islam, one of the greatest `ulama in his time, an `Allama, a walking encyclopedia of Islamic knowledge. Now people apply that title so lightly! He did dhikr in the well: he took a full breath and went under water, because Shaytan cannot approach water.
That student had one problem that made him not progress: he was proud of his `ilm and looked down on people with less knowledge. So the shaykh wanted to teach him in an indirect way and said, “My son, today I want you to visit the cemetery and the `ulama buried there.”
The student went there, but the door was locked and he was not able to enter, but he found Bahlool, a majzoob person, a man of God with no mind (fully conscious in the spiritual world), who said, “Why are you coming here?”
He said, “I want to visit these `ulama, but I don't have the key for the door.”
The man said, “I have the key, come with me.” He put something in the lock, opened the door and went inside.
The `alim stood by the first grave making tafakkur, then the man said, "Why are you thinking so much? This man passed away when he was two years old, so young, leave him, he has nothing." The `alim went to another grave and the man said, “That one passed away at the age of three.”
Upset, the `alim said, “How is it possible they are all so young? No one even reached maturity.”
Whatever grave he visited, the man revealed the deceased young age until the `alim got upset and went back to his shaykh. Bahlool also went.
The shaykh said, "Yaa waladee, what did you see today?"
He said, “This man told me they all died young. No one even reached fifteen years of age.”
The shaykh said, “Sadaaq al-Bahlool, he said the truth. If you add up the `ilm and rewards those `ulama got, it is below maturity, because of their pride! I wanted you to go there to see that pride will not let you reach what you want.”
From that moment, he told his shaykh, “I will sit at your threshold, I will not leave.”
Today we don't find such scholars, everyone is happy with his `ilm, which is okay, but the consequence is that you might lose it at any moment, Shaytan might come after you and pull the knowledge from your heart! However, he cannot take the rewards. Don’t build on a cliff as it can fall with you; you must have a strong base. Alhamdulillah, the Message Prophet (s) brought is the base of everything. May Allah keep us with a strong base so that Shaytan cannot play with us. Bi hurmati 'l-habeeb, bi hurmati 'l-Fatihah.
They discovered something now used by Google and Apple: mirroring. They reflect from one screen or device and show it on another. You see everything happening on the other device, but it is mirrored (reflected) somewhere else. What then do you think about:
تعرض علي أعمال لكم
I observe the `amal of my Ummah. (al-Bazzaar in his Musnad)
If in dunya they press a button and “mirror” to millions of people at the same time, can’t Prophet (s) reach millions and billions of people? Does he need science? He is the science! They are so happy with mirroring, but are unable to understand that what Allah gave him (s) in Laylat al-Mi`raaj, by permission he mirrored it to the Ummah! What Allah gives him is for the Ummah. [Allahu Akbar!] Prophet (s) is not keeping it; he is not stingy like us! If we have something we keep it, but Prophet (s) gives everything he has!
Prophet (s) said:
المؤمن مرآة أخيه
The believer is the mirror of his brother (or sister).
Here “mirror” is mentioned as they use it today. And the Prophet (s) gave that secret to the hearts of Awliyaullah, whom we can say are mirrors for everyone. What they take they give to their followers; even if the follower is in China and the shaykh is in Europe, Alaska or on the Moon, he can reach them, is it not? That is mi’raat akhee, the mirror of his brother. What do you think of Prophet (s), the mirror of the whole dunya? That is why Allah gave him shafa`ah, because he is the Servant of Allah (swt).
from His generosity, may Allah (swt) give us the secret of mirroring, as He has endless generosity towards His servants for the sake of His Prophet (s), to open some of those secrets for us. For Akhirah it will be open, but we need also need it for dunya.
Bi hurmati 'l-habeeb, bi hurmati 'l-Fatihah.
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[1] Today when an ´alim says something, young ones with no knowledge dispute it and call him kaafir!