Suhbah after Khatm
Are you so thirsty for the lecture? When you go to the store to buy organic or non-organic food, you try to find the fresh vegetables, but they say to you, “Today there is nothing fresh.” So when there is no fresh produce, you don't buy. Maghrib is in half-an-hour so we will be brief.
Allahumma salli `alaa Sayyidina Muhammad (s) hatta yarda Sayyidina Muhammad (s).
The most important thing, if you really want a lecture, is one word. If you think you have that one word, then you don't need any teacher or anyone to remind you of anything. If you don't have that, then what is the benefit of constantly reminding you these many years and you are still not coming up to that level, so it's a waste of time?
In every meeting there must be something fresh coming, and since you asked, that freshness today is to be humble: to yourself, your family, your community, your neighbors, to the animals, humble to everything that God has created. If you are not humble, there is no benefit. Let someone ask himself, “Am I humble?” Humility is not to ask yourself are you humble and you answer “yes;” rather, if you are humble you are very good and you don't do wrong. Real humility is when someone tries to irritate you or make you anxious or angry, are you going to be humble and not rude in your answers, or is your face going to immediately change and become a rainbow of different colors, black or red? That is what counts.
So if we spoke an advice today and tomorrow you do the opposite, what is the benefit? Look at these cakes; you see how they are very nice! To reach the level of sainthood, we have to be like these cakes, that everyone likes to look at them and taste them. Everyone likes to taste and watch awliyaullah in order to learn something. So be a beautiful cake like that and it will be enough for you forever! It isn’t that you have beautiful eyes and a beautiful face and a beautiful voice.
Who has a beautiful voice? (`Ali Elsayed.) But he doesn't have beautiful voice. One time I took him with me and an opera singer heard him and she said to him, “Come to me for one month and I will teach you how to make your voice more beautiful.” And he thinks his voice is such a high level, and he said, “I don’t need to! My voice is good.” See the difference between humility and arrogance.
She said, “Your voice is blocked, like the exhaust of a car coming from the muffler, and you need to open it.”
He thinks he is like the morning song bird! So that is what we need, humility. Inshaa-Allah on Saturday we will give a lecture and now we do dhikr, because some people like to run away and they say if I do it we don’t want to hear your talk every time, every time, like a priest in a church, that poor priest, talking, talking, talking; or like an imaam in a mosque who is talking and no one is listening. They speak to the walls. May He open our minds and our hearts. Allah (swt) said:
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)
That means, “contains His Light,” and His Light is endless knowledge:
اللَّهُ نُورُ السَّمَاوَاتِ وَالْأَرْضِ
Allaahu nooru 's-samaawaati wa 'l-’ard.
Allah is the Light of the Heavens and Earth. (Surat an-Noor, 24:35)
Light is what makes you see. The whole earth is dark from the negative energy of what people are doing, but with this heavenly light you can see. Don’t ask how; it is very simple. Turn off the lights. (Lights are turned off.) What is the difference now? With light you see and without light you don't see.
Put the light back on. That is enough for a lecture. You must be a light. Your light must contain that light, then you can see. Don’t say, “How can they see, how do they know?” No, there are people who can see what you cannot see and they hear what you cannot hear, they can speak what you cannot speak and with simple means they can change things.
Nawaytu 'l-arba`een, nawaytu 'l-`itikaaf, nawaytu 'l-khalwah, nawaytu 'l-`uzlah,
nawaytu 'r-riyaadah, nawaytu 's-sulook, nawaytu ‘s-siyaam lillahi ta`ala fee haadha 'l-masjid.
Look and you see. Look at this. (Mawlana holds up a miswak.) Do you always have miswak? Show me. Anyone? You see everyone has it. No problem if it is a big or small siwak , as long as it makes service and does the job. And when we use the miswak we recite, Allahumma tahhir qalbee min ash-shirki wa ’n-nifaaq, O Allah! Purify my heart of shirk and hypocrisy.”
[Khatm]
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.
Kullu man yada`ee fi'l-`ilmi falsafatan, `arafta shay’an wa ghaabat `anka ashyaau.
Say to those who claim to have philosophical knowledge, ‘You only know a few things and there are many things that you don't know.’” (Unnamed poet)
So this is a message for everyone: don't think you know something!
A`oodhu billahi min ash-Shaytaani ‘r-rajim. Bismillahi 'r-Rahmaani 'r-Raheem. Dastoor yaa Sayyidee, madad.
أَطِيعُواْ اللّهَ وَأَطِيعُواْ الرَّسُولَ وَأُوْلِي الأَمْرِ مِنكُمْ
Ati`oollaha wa ati`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)
The poet expressed something, but at the same time he showed respect. Kullu man yada`ee fi'l-`ilmi falsafatan, “Say to those who claim to know something of philosophy.” He used the word yada`ee, “those who claim,” which means they are not humble. When you claim to have something you don't have it means you think you are something. That is why everyone’s ego makes them feel as though they know something, but compared to reality that “something” is nothing! Reality is not an easy knowledge.
Many people today are often on the Internet or at their computer all the time, is it not? They are trying to get knowledge from the computer, a machine, a non-living guide that you cannot see or hear that is only finding information for you. You cannot argue with it and it doesn't listen to you, it only gives you the information because it is programed to do this or that. If you torture the computer it will shutdown and inform you, “It is not in my chip, not in my memory. Go find something else!”
So that poet is saying, “Say to the one who claims,” and how many people are claiming to know something? Some so-called philosophers claim to know something about an-nafs al-khabeetha, the dirty ego.
فَأَلْهَمَهَا فُجُورَهَا وَتَقْوَاهَا
Fa alhamahaa fujoorahaa wa taqwaahaa.
He inspired the self of its good and its bad. (Surat ash-Shams, 91:8)
Allah (swt) inspired the self with what is good and what is bad so, “say to those who claim to know something!” The poet was respectful, as he said, `arafta shay’an, “You knew a little.” Perhaps you knew your name or that your IQ level is not so high, at around 60 or 80, which means you have a disability. You didn't get an IQ of 180 or 170. So the level of intelligence, IQ, makes you happy that you knew something, but ghaabat `anka ashyaa’u, an infinite number of things have been hidden from you, so you look at others, you don't look at yourself, and you want to teach others but you have to teach yourself first and then you will become a teacher.
Today I was not supposed to speak on this series, we were continuing on the Prophet's (s) Greatness, but this was important because of the hadith of the Prophet (s):
اية المنافق ثلاث اذا حدث كذب واذا وعد اخلف واذا اتمن خان
Ayatal-munaafiq thalaath idhaa hadatha kadhdhab, wa idhaa wa`da akhlafa,wa idhaa atumina khaan.
The Prophet (s) said, “The signs of the munaafiq, hypocrite, are three: if he speaks he lies; if he promises he breaks it; and, if you entrust him with something he betrays you.”
You know them from these three signs. “The sign of the one who is a munaafiq” means he tells the others only what is on his tongue, but thinks he is above and superior, which is thinking of a hypocrite and that will not work! You must see yourself lower than all who are listening to you, who are higher because they are listening; otherwise, they would leave and then who will you speak to? So who is more humble, the speaker or the listener? The listeners are more humble, whether they accept you or not, because they are still listening. You think you are a teacher? Teach yourself first!
So the Prophet (s) said, “The signs of a hypocrite are three: idhaa hadatha kadhab, if he speaks he lies.” Why does he lie? He thinks he is speaking from knowledge, that he knows the illnesses of the listeners. Whenever he speaks he lies to them and to himself, because how does he know what is in their hearts? When you have to give advice to a patient, you must know all his illnesses and weaknesses so that when you prescribe for him the right medicine or advice, it will be beneficial and heal them. People ask doctors to write prescriptions to make sure the patient will not overdose on the medicine, which will not benefit him, and also to have a record from the doctor of what he gave the patient so someone can check if he was a charlatan or a real doctor. So to give advice, you must know the illnesses of those sitting and listening to you, and the advice must not only be directed to them but to yourself; you must know you are lower than your listeners, which is when you will truly be able to benefit them (barakah comes through you).
A khalifah of Sayyidina Abdul Qadir al-Jilani (q) had a son whom he sent to learn the highest level of Shari`ah. His son became a scholar of Islam after eight years of study, during which he saw his father sit on the chair and teach many students. Sitting on the chair doesn’t necessarily mean you are higher than everyone, but people can see you better and you can see them. So he was sitting and teaching many students who paid close attention to him to the point that you could hear a pin drop. One day the son said to himself, “If this is with my father who didn't reach the level of my knowledge, how would they be if I were to give a lecture? They would be flying and everyone would be amazed with what I have to say!”
Now see the difference: the father who was a representative of the Ghawth, Sayyidina Abdul Qadir al-Jilani (q), who was given spiritual knowledge, and his son was given academic knowledge. The person with scholarly knowledge can give you an eloquent lecture filled with knowledge, but the spiritual scholar can give more spiritual knowledge..
So the son said, “O! What do these spiritual people know? I will speak of something that people have never heard of before!” although his father knew the secrets of hearts, as the Prophet (s) mentioned:
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،
Wa laa yazaala `abdee yataqarabu ilayya bi’ n-nawaafil hatta uhibbah. Fa idhaa ahbaabtahu kuntu sama`uhulladhee yasma`u bihi wa basarahulladhee yubsiru bihi, wa yadahulladhee yabtishu bihaa wa rijlahullatee yamshee bihaa.
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)
The father saw in his son's heart that he really wanted to give advice, and said, “O my son! I am tired so go speak today." Nowadays everyone has become a professor, a Shaykh, or a “Google Shaykh” and you don't know if they know anything or if they are just copying and pasting! So the son was very happy to sit on the chair and give the lecture. However, after the first ten minutes half of the people were asleep, and after another five or ten minutes the other half lost focus and were also asleep! Like in any conference, perhaps 90% of the people are sleeping and some who are interested take notes.
Then he saw that whatever he was telling them from his high-level scholarship they were not listening to him, so he became angry and went to his father, who asked him, “O my son, how was it?”
He said, “O my father! You know that my knowledge is more than your knowledge.”
And his father said, “Yes, for sure in ‘theory’ knowledge you know more, but you don’t have the spiritual knowledge to detect illnesses and you don't know how to give prescriptions. When you sit on the chair to speak, you must first address yourself, saying, ‘This lecture is for myself first, then if they want to listen they can,’ not to be arrogant thinking that you came out of the egg quickly and that no one can speak to you!”
Islamically speaking or in general, anyone who considers himself an advisor, teacher or a professor that gives spiritual advice, it must be to yourself first. You must be the first one to benefit from it and you must see the advice coming from the heart of your teacher to your heart, and that it is first addressed to you, then you will find people listen to you. Arrogance is like a veil preventing you from seeing the truth and if you want to break that veil, you must be humble! Humbleness is the most difficult state to attain because it requires that you never show anger.
Grandshaykh (q), may Allah be pleased with him and bless his soul, said, in the Naqshbandi Sufi Order it is haraam for the mureed (and “haraam” is more than forbidden, which is “mamnu`,” with greater restriction) you cannot say to your teacher lima, “why,” or laa, “no,” but rather say sami`na wa ata`na, “We listen and we obey,” if you want to improve.
Grandshaykh (q) said the secrets of Holy Qur'an are in this verse:
أَطِيعُواْ اللّهَ وَأَطِيعُواْ الرَّسُولَ وَأُوْلِي الأَمْرِ مِنكُمْ
Ati`oollaha wa ati`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)
So it is obedience! When you obey you don't say "no" and you don't say "why?” If you say "why?" you will end up like this scholar, who thinks he is better than his father, although he put his entire audience to sleep! So if you want to say "no" or "why" you are welcome, but it is better to struggle to build up your beliefs. Allah might send a test to you to see if you say "no." The Prophet (s) and Sahaabah always said,, sami`na wa ata`ana ghufranak rabbana wa ilayk al-maseer, “We heard and obeyed and we ask Your forgiveness and to You is the Way.” So don't say “why?” and whatever order comes to you, fufill it!
Can anyone in the army say no? When they give you an order you must say, “Yes sir!” Can a soldier say to a general, the highest ranking officer in the army, “no.” Never! Can a lieutenant say “no” to the general? No way! So it means there is never “no,” but only “yes.” The soldier says “yes sir” and listens and obeys; he doesn't say “no” because he chose to be in the army, finished. Similarly, you chose to enter in the Way of Knowledge and Gnosticism, so you must say “no” to your self and not let it ride on you. You have to ride on your self or it will ride on you like a horse.
They say, "Why are we getting angry?" You might face a lot of difficult tests in your life, but Sayyidina `Isa said, “Whoever hits you on the right cheek, turn the other cheek and let them hit.” However, the Prophet (s) said, “Submit! Don't move either right or left.” They hit this way and that way because you are not with them, but you are with your Lord and your heart is connected!
Everything comes in stages. Sayyidina Musa (a) came with the constitution and said, wal-ayn bil-ayn al-anf bil-anf wal-udhuna bil-udhn was-sin bis-sin, “An eye for an eye, a nose for a nose, an ear for an ear, a tooth for a tooth.” Then Sayyidina `Isa (a) came with spirituality, the law of Gnosticism, and said, “If they beat you from one side, turn the other side (for them to beat).” Prophet Muhammad (s) combined them: the Holy Qur’an is the constitution and Maqaam al-Ihsaan is the level of spirituality, as seen in the hadith of Sayyidina `Umar (r), where Jibreel (a) asks the Prophet (s) about Islam, Imaan and Ihsaan.
So you might face many tests and some might even come from your neighbor. The Prophet (s) had a neighbor that threw garbage at his door for seven years, and every day he (s) removed that garbage without saying anything. What then about the spiritual garbage coming from your tongue and heart? How difficult is it on the Prophet (s), who said:
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 mitt kahan wafaatee khayran lakum. Tu`radu `alayya `amal ummatee, wa in wajadtu khayran hamadt 'allah wa in wajadtu ghayrah astaghfarta lahum.
I observe the `amal of my ummah. If I find good I thank Allah, and if I see other than that, bad, I ask forgiveness for them. (Narrated from Ibn Mas`ood. Bazzar)
The Prophet (s) said, “I am shown your deeds and whatever good I see I praise Allah, and whatever is bad I ask forgiveness for them.” Most problems arise between husbands and wives. Look this poor man ( mureed); he bowed at the end of his test. Can you bend iron with your hand? No, but if you put it in nitrogen oxide below 70 degrees Fahrenheit it will become powder and you can break it. Similarly, if you don't put yourself under nitrogen gas you will never submit, which means don't object. Don't break your family because of arrogance. Today, why are people divorcing? Because one says, “I am right!” and the other says, “I am right!” One says, “My opinion has to go,” and the other says, “No! My opinion has to go!”
So then, why are we coming here? To learn, and we have to learn from a guide. `alam an yushtarat an yakoon `aliman bima ?? `ala al-mureedoon, “The condition to be a murshid, guide, to those who are listening is that you must be sure the one speaking to you face-to-face or Skype-to-Skype or Google-to-Google knows the illnesses of the disciples and what they need. If he is not up to that level, his teaching adds more darkness both to his heart and to hearts of his followers.
an yakoona `aliman, “He has to be a knowledgeable scholar, a knower,” who knows what the mureed needs of knowledge of fiqh, Islamic jurisprudence, and `Aqaid at-Tawheed, Belief in the Oneness of Allah wahdahu laa shareeka lah, in order to affect them and affect their hearts. Today people don't have any knowledge of fiqh or `Aqaid at-Tawheed because at the beginning, if the disciple is not put on the right track, he might exit or deviate and go the wrong way and become ignorant of the reality of Gnosticism and begin to invent a new Gnosticism.
O Students and Representatives and Shuyookh! In all these categories--a shaykh, mureeds, musta`id, mubtadi`--all must know the Belief of Oneness of Allah (swt) and Islamic jurisprudence to keep the boundaries of moving forward and not falling into traps of Shaytan. I wish I can learn from this advice that Mawlana Shaykh and our shuyookh are giving us, and you and anyone around the world can learn before entering deep discussions of Gnosticism, ma`rifah. Everyone is telling you, “I like to know about ma`rifatullah, Gnosticism,” but they don't know how to stand up yet; they are still babies! They don't know how to walk first, so what they want to know about Gnosticism. First walk on the right track of Islam, as Allah (swt) said:
اِنَّ 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)
Islam is the religion that makes you a humble person that extends your hand to everyone, to attract all of them to the way of Allah (swt) and his Prophet (s). So if we don't have that, what is the benefit of millions of lectures? We thank those cable channels that are posting these lectures, especially Ummah TV in the UK, as it is a message not for just 200 or 300 people, but for the speaker and those listening take benefit. So both parties must take lesson and learn that as much as you show humbleness you are on right track, and as long as you are on right track you will end up with the Prophet (s)!
هِ وَلَوْ أَنَّهُمْ إِذ ظَّلَمُواْ أَنفُسَهُمْ جَآؤُوكَ فَاسْتَغْفَرُواْ اللّهَ وَاسْتَغْفَرَ لَهُمُ الرَّسُولُ لَوَجَدُواْ اللّهَ تَوَّابًا رَّحِيمًا
Wa law annahum idh zhalamoo anfusahum ja’ooka f ’astaghfaroollaaha w ’astaghfara lahumu ‘r-rasoolu la-wajadoo ’Llaaha tawwaaba ‘r-raheema.
If they had only, when they were unjust to themselves, come to you and asked Allah's forgiveness, and the Messenger had asked forgiveness for them, they would have found Allah indeed Oft-returning, Most Merciful. (Surat an-Nisa, 4:64)
Then they will be on the right track.
Wa min Allahi 't-tawfeeq, bi hurmati 'l-Fatihah.
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