Zhuhr Suhbah
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`alaa fee haadha 'l-masjid.
أَطِيعُواْ اللّهَ وَأَطِيعُواْ الرَّسُولَ وَأُوْلِي الأَمْرِ مِنكُمْ
Atee`oollaha wa atee`oo 'r-Rasoola wa ooli 'l-amri minkum.
Obey Allah, obey the Prophet, and obey those in authority among you. (Surat an-Nisa, 4:59)
It is said in a Holy Hadith:
ما وسعني أرضي ولا سمائي ولكن وسعني قلب عبدي المؤمن
Maa wasi`anee ardee wa laa samaa'ee wa laakin wasi`anee qalbi `abdee al-mu'min.
Neither My Heavens nor My Earth contain Me, but the heart of My believing servant contains Me.
(Hadith Qudsi, Al-Ihya of Imam al-Ghazali)
So just as the Ka`bah contains everyone and the Light of the Manifestations of Allah’s Beautiful Names and Attributes, and attracts so many worshippers who circumambulate the Ka`bah, Allah (swt) placed certain people in different countries who are visited by many to receive guidance and blessings, as He said, “Neither My Heavens nor My Earth contains Me, but the heart of My believing Servant contains Me.” And who are the believers, al-mu’minoon?
قَالَتِ الْأَعْرَابُ آمَنَّا قُل لَّمْ تُؤْمِنُوا وَلَكِن قُولُوا أَسْلَمْنَا وَلَمَّا يَدْخُلِ الْإِيمَانُ فِي قُلُوبِكُمْ
Qaalati 'l-`arabu aamannaa Qul lam tu'uminoo wa laakin qooloo aslamnaa wa lammaa yadkhuli 'l-eemaanu fee quloobikum.
The desert Arabs say, "We believe." Say, "You have no faith; but you (only) say, 'We have submitted our wills to Allah,' for not yet has faith entered your hearts." Don't say, "We are mu`min," but say, "We are Muslim," because imaan did not yet enter the heart. (Surat al-Hujuraat, 49:14)
Therefore, Allah is saying, “Do not say that you are mu’min, as faith has not entered your heart.” Imaan enters hearts of sincere servants, which is why the number of awliyaullah are limited.
Prophet (s) said:
قلب الموءمن بيت الرب
Qalb al-mu'min bayt ar-rabb.
The heart of the believer is the House of the Lord.
As Ka`bah is the House of Allah on Earth, awliyaullah are the qibla for everyone, as we cannot be guided without their guidance and no matter what you do, there is no way to reach your goal without guidance! Sahaabah (r) needed the guidance of Prophet (s), which was not only prayers, fasting and donations, as all of these are obligations: Shahaadah, praying, fasting, reading Qur’an, etc. are fard. However, there is something that is not an obligation but which is more important together with the Five Pillars of Islam, according to what Prophet (s) said:
انما بعثت لاتمم مكارم الاخلاق
Innamaa bu`ithtu li utammimu makaarim al-akhlaaq.
I have been sent to perfect the best of conduct (your behavior and character). (Bazzaar)
Prophet (s) insisted, “I have been sent to perfect and complete your character.” The character of a person is more important than anything else. Besides your obligations, you must have a good character. In guiding their followers to have good character, awliyaullah are inheritors of Prophet (s). What do you think tasawwuf is? I have been with Mawlana Shaykh Nazim (q) for fifty years and for some years with Grandshaykh `AbdAllah al-Fa’iz ad-Daghestani (q), and their teaching is how to conduct oneself, which is what universities reach today, diplomacy, and we call it the “Etiquette of Islam.” Many people are not familiar with the term tasawwuf, so we say to them, “We will call it as you do, the “Etiquette of Islam,” which is Moral Excellence, the good behavior, without which we will not be looked upon well. People don’t look at whether you pray and fast, they look at how you behave. Mawlana Shaykh Nazim (q) is always showing us humility and I have never seen him feel that he is higher than anyone!
So Prophet (s) said, “Allah (swt) sent me and ordered me to perfect your characters.” Many scholars translate it as “perfect” (your character), but in fact it means to “complete.” SubhaanAllah, look at the Greatness of Prophet (s)! He can perfect anyone and, more importantly, complete our characters, which is different from perfection because completion must come first. Prophet (s) took it upon himself to complete everyone, meaning that you will not leave dunya without being completed. Allah gave him that power, and according to this hadith, you will become complete and a perfect Muslim by Prophet’s (s) completion of your `ibaadah, your prayers and your fasting!
حياتي خير لكم تحدثون ويحدث لكم ، فإذا أنا مت كانت وفاتي خيرا لكم ، تعرض علي أعمالكم فان رأيت خيرا حمدت الله تعالى وإن رأيت شرا استغفرت لكم
Hayaatee khayrun lakum tuhadithoona wa yuhdatha lakum fa idhaa anaa mittu wafaatee khayran lakum. Tu`radu `alayya `amalukum fa in ra’aytu khayran hamadt 'allah ta`ala wa in ra’aytu sharran astaghfarta lakum.
I observe your deeds (of the ummah). If I find good I thank Allah, and if I see other than that, bad, I ask forgiveness for you. (Bukhari, Muslim)
How does he observe? How many Muslims are there on Earth and how can he watch all of them at the same time? What kind of power did Allah (swt) give him? If I want to speak with Shaykh Bahauddin, we speak one-to-one. Prophet (s) is speaking one to one-and-a-half-billion that daily. So do not think they are not looking at us and observing us, as Prophet (s) said, “I observe the `amal of my ummah, if I see good I thank Allah.” That's what Mawlana Shaykh Nazim (q) always says, “Thank Allah, yaa Rabbee, shukr!” It is also crucial to remember the hadith:
غني شاكر خير من فقير صابر
Ghaniyyun shaakir khayrun min faqeer saabir.
The rich thankful one is better than the poor, patient worshipper.
or
غني شاكر خير من فقيرعابد
Ghaniyyun shaakir khayrun min faqeerin `abid
The rich thankful one is better than a worshipful poor.
A rich man whose hand is open is a hundred-thousand times better to Allah (swt) than the poor worshipper who sits in the corner, because the rich one is always working to help others, and when he helps, in reality he is thanking Allah (swt) for providing him the means to do so. The lives of awliyaullah are spent thanking people.
I don’t like to mention this story, but I will as it is a good teaching. In 1969, I went for Hajj with Mawlana Shaykh Nazim (q), who took a group of elderly people that took all kinds of supplies with them: an old-style stove they had to pump, lemons, burghul and all kinds of food except meat. Mawlana Shaykh Nazim (q) had to carry all that to the bus and plane as, mashaa-Allah, he was very strong. I asked him, “Why are you tiring yourself, taking 40 to 60 elderly hajjis from Cyprus?” The Cypriots who accompanied him needed Saudi currency, so he took their money and we went to the market, where the currency exchanger quoted him an exchange rate. Mawlana Shaykh said, “Let’s try another one,” and the next one gave him a higher rate than the other. Mawlana was teaching me something important. He said, “The one we met before gave us a better rate.” In response, that man collected mucous in his mouth and spat in Mawlana Shaykh Nazim's face! Mawlana held my hand because I was going to kill that man! As he wiped and cleaned his face, he said, “We are being shown to be patient, as Prophet (s) is looking at us to perfect our characters. If I behave badly, what then is the purpose of this whole tariqah?”
So we must carry peoples’ burdens and difficulties and show them whatever we can of sweetness. If we show good manners people will follow, but if we show bad manners who will come? That lesson changed many things in our lives and brought us closer. Grandshaykh `AbdAllah al-Fa’iz ad-Daghestani (q) was still alive then. We learned that first of all, anger has to be stopped! He said, “Anger makes you an unbeliever because it makes you drunk,” as when you are angry you don't know anyone, you curse everyone, kill your home, and make people run away from you! So that is why we have to get rid of the bad characters: anger, hate, greed, stinginess, etc. We struggle with all of these bad characters, and we can improve if we keep cutting and polishing until the diamond comes out, but only awliya can bring it out.
Before Grandshaykh (q) left dunya, he made his will and said, “After putting him in many seclusions that lasted anywhere from six, nine or even twelve months, I have perfected and completed Shaykh Nazim Effendi.” So to polish yourself is to get rid of these bad characteristics. Not everyone can bring that diamond out, but Allah (swt) likes to see you try and continuously struggle, and then the perfection and completion comes from Prophet (s), who took responsibility that, “On the Day of Judgment, I will complete them and send them to Paradise.” From this hadith many people think this is only for Muslims, when this is for everyone, not just Muslims! On the Day of Judgment, Prophet (s) will be the first to be called; he will make sajda and Allah will open du`a for him what He never opened before of du`as that we do not know.
It is related in Bukhari’s Adab al-Mufrad that on the Day of Judgment, Prophet (s) will make a du`a and Allah (swt) will say, “Raise your head, ask and you will be given!” Prophet will say, “Allah! Ummatee, ummatee!” Allah will say, “Take one-third with no account!” Then Prophet (s) will go into sajda another time and Allah will open to him what he didn’t open before and He will give another one-third to Prophet (s) to take to Paradise. Then Prophet (s) will make sajda a third time and Allah will give the last third, except for the worst one. All will enter Paradise pure and clean. And all of us believe we are the worst, so what was that worst one doing? Allah will say, “I forgive you too, as I am better than My Habeeb!”
These are the good tidings of Prophet (s), as he said, “I take responsibility to complete and perfect you,” and awliya inherit that power.
Why did the former president of Pakistan come here? He knew to come here because he was told in a dream, and this I am revealing to you for the first time. He was ordered, “You want My Door? Go there and see that wali!” Awliya have the power to reach anyone through dreams, from China to America! How many people came through dreams to this door? Alhamdulillah, we have to be grateful that Allah (swt) sent us here without difficulty and today we have to be grateful that His Excellency, the Minister came. We also thank Shaykh Bahauddin, Shaykh Mehmet, Mawlana’s two daughters, and the rest of the mureeds for giving their best. May Allah bless us all. I feel shy to be sitting in front of Shaykh Bahauddin.
Shaytan is in everyone and is the worst one. Prophet (s) said, “I am the only one who made my Shaytan to be Muslim. I turned him, rode on him, and made him Muslim.” Prophet (s) continuously faced tests, difficulties and abuse. Awliyaullah are the same way, as they inherit difficulties from Prophet (s), and therefore, they have sacrificed an easy, private life for the benefit of the ummah!
May Allah (swt) forgive us.
Wa min Allahi 't-tawfeeq, bi hurmati 'l-habeeb, bi hurmati 'l-Fatihah.
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