Dhuhr Suhbah
Dastoor yaa Sayyidee, madad.
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)
Mawlana Shaykh Nazim (q) is always ordering us to begin the suhbah with this because Sayyidina Shah Naqshband (q) said:
Tariqatunaa as-suhbat wa 'l-khayru fi 'l-jami`yya.
Our way is companionship (to be together in association) and the best is in the gathering (the association).
It means, “Our way, which we chose and which Allah (swt) guided us to, is the way of the Gnostics who left dunya and looked for Akhirah.” So every time we get to meet, it has to be for the best: for our self, our brothers, our sisters and the best for our religion. That is why he said, “Every suhbah’s title is ‘Obey Allah, obey Prophet, and obey those who are on top of you and who are guiding you.’”
I am not a preacher or a teacher and I am not claiming that only I can speak and you cannot, but in the eyes of our shuyook, Mawlana Shaykh Nazim and Grandshaykh (q), and I do not want to go all the way up through the Chain of Saints, we are all as Prophet (s) said,
وَالنَّجْمِ إِذَا هَوَى مَا ضَلَّ صَاحِبُكُمْ وَمَا غَوَى وَمَا يَنطِقُ عَنِ الْهَوَى إِنْ هُوَ إِلَّا وَحْيٌ يُوحَى
Wa ’n-najmi idhaa hawaa maa dalla saahibukum wa maa ghawaa. Wa maa yantiqu `ani 'l-hawaa in huwa illa wahyun yoohaa.
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)
When Prophet (s) says something it is wahiyy, Divine Revelation. If you look carefully in the ayah it says, “wa maa yantiq;” “an-nutuq” is how the sound comes from the mouth. That is why when they teach you Qur’an they teach you how to pronounce the letters correctly; for example, in recitation of “Ihdina ‘s-siraat al-mustaqeem,” (1:6), many people recite “siraat” with the letter Seen and it should be read with the letter Saad; they have to exaggerate the sound in order to give the right nutuq, the correct expression of that letter. In reciting “mustaqeem,” we don’t exaggerate the letter Qaaf, even though it has to be, but we drop it. So nutuq is the expression of sound. Allah (swt) said to Prophet (s) in Holy Qur’an, “Wa maa yantiqu `ani 'l-hawaa, He does not say (i.e., no sounds come from his mouth) except that it is a revelation.” (Surat an-Najm, 53:3) It means any sound from Prophet (s), even coughing, is a revelation; the sound of the cough is from the vocal cords, not from the flu as flu has no sound. So here Allah (swt) wants to say that Sayyidina Muhammad (s) does not open his mouth to give an ayah, a letter or any word or sound except it has to be a revelation from Allah!
Therefore, all ahadeeth of the Prophet (s) are considered by Ahlu ’s-Sunnah wa ’l-Jama`ah as holy. There are some Hadith Qudsi, holy ahadeeth, that Allah revealed to Prophet (s) and he mentioned some of these. But for Ahlu ’s-Sunnah wa ’l-Jama`ah, all of them are holy as there is nothing coming from Prophet (s) without it being revelation.
The Prophet (s) said:
االناس سواسيه كااسنان المشط
An-naasu sawaasiyatan ka-asnaani' l-masht.
People are equal like the teeth of a comb.
And he also said:
لافرق بين عربي ولا اعجمي الا بالتقوى
Laa farqa bayna `arabiyywa laa `ajamiyy illa bi’t-taqwa.
There is no difference between Arabs and non-Arabs (one race and another) except in piety.
Prophet didn’t say “mu’mineen” or “Muslims” are equal, he said, “human beings are equal.” He was able to say “mu’min” and “Muslim,” but he made people happy that Islam includes everyone. “Sawasiyatan” means human beings are equal, at the same level, just as all the teeth of a comb are equal, or it doesn’t work. So human beings in the eyes of Allah (swt) and Prophet (s) are equal; there is no difference between an Arab or non-Arab except in piety.
Today, there is too much racism even within the Muslim community and also within mu’mins; one says, “Our race is better than yours!” and the other says they are better. Prophet (s) didn’t say that, nor did Allah (swt). Prophet (s) said “Illa,” there is difference in one thing (between people) and it is taqwa. And taqwa is the indicator, the gauge. For example, if you take gems, diamonds and normal stones, and you bring the gauge and place the stone on it, it doesn’t move. Then you put an emerald on it, it moves a little and if you put a sapphire, it moves more, and then you put the diamond and it moves all the way. So today, people are all under a heavenly gauge to show how pious they are. And piety is difficult to describe; some people say, “I have my Shaykh and I am pious.” No, it’s not enough! You may have the highest level of Shaykh in the Naqshbandi Order, but others have theirs, as well. Like I said two days ago, you look at your Shaykh as your symbol, your way to the Prophet (s), but it doesn’t mean others are blocked.
Allah (swt) said in Holy Qur’an, “All My Saints,” which means there are other groups and we have to respect them. Sometimes we sit with them to learn more and tariqah is to enlighten, it is not like a horse with blinkers to see only one way. No, the Shaykh will open many directions! Many times I am invited to events with Shaykhs from the Chisti and Qadiri Sufi Orders, and you cannot say to them, “My Shaykhs are higher,” because their followers respect them (as the highest), although all of them are not diamonds, but still they are jewels. Where do you put your diamonds? You hide them, so don't show (as higher) in front of people, but make yourself low and do not show you are superior.
Grandshaykh `AbdAllah (q) used to say, “I have two students, Nazim Effendi and Hussayn Effendi.” (Shaykh Memo, you were young then. We were twelve years old when we started to go to Grandshaykh.) We respected both, and I must say there was one characteristic of Shaykh Hussayn (q) that was very nice. He used to pray `Isha and sleep, not like us, and then he would wake up after midnight for Tahhajud, which is now at one o’clock, and stay awake until Ishraaq. He read all his awraad up to Ishraaq, finishing everything, and then during the day he was not seen using beads at all. He said, “I am like everyone else.” So don’t look at anyone (differently). In Mawlana Shaykh's eyes all are the same, he looks at them all as equal: one is a khalifah, one is a representative, one is a Shaykh, but all of them are the same as different people in different levels, in order to have continuation and bring more people to Tariqah, in order to carry out your job. You cannot take away one job and throw it out and you cannot say there is one higher than him. No, even if there is one higher, the lower one is still needed or else it is like a chair with a missing leg.
So there are 124,000 wali, and each one, I don't like to say they are legs, but they are support for each other. For a building structure in every pole you are pouring cement, which becomes a post to support the whole building, and you cannot have a ceiling without having posts in every area. So everyone is important to the Shaykh. As much as you bring in more posts, you can build higher. They say the biggest building today is the Burj in Dubai, and if you take one post out it will collapse. So those posts make the pyramid strong, if you take the base of the pyramid it will collapse.
And as the Prophet (s) said, “People are equal like the teeth of the comb,” you cannot take anyone out, and when you take Mawlana Shaykh’s hand, he is responsible in front of the Prophet (s). When we took his hand, it means he accepted us and is responsible for us. That doesn't mean you don’t pray or fast, or withhold zakaat, and not go for Hajj to make tawheed. No, (you do your obligations), but Mawlana Shaykh Nazim is the one guiding you.
It is said the Shaykh always looks not at your outside, which you have to fix; he is not going to fix your shirt or moustaches or beard, but he will fix your inner side, your self, your ego. And that is what you cannot see, but he can see. Don't say, “The Shaykh knows everything,” as that is an excuse for your ego. Yes, of course he knows everything but he doesn't work on your outside, he works on your ego every day.
Now they say Mawlana Shaykh is always crying, always emotional, is he not? If we go back in history and look at Sayyidina Shah Naqshband (q), because we have to give an example so we can learn, when Sayyidina Shah Naqshband (q) was sick, he fell from the bed to the floor crying. Do you know that? He fell involuntarily from the bed to the floor, and then he cried and crawled on his chest, saying, “Yaa `Afoow, Yaa `Afoow!” with tears falling. His mureeds felt bad and carried him back to the bed, and they were confused about why was their Shaykh crying and saying, “Yaa `Afoow?” To them and us, as well, Sayyidina Shah Naqshband (q) never committed a sin as he is protected; he is a wali from the Naqshbandi Golden Chain. Why was he crying and falling from bed, saying, “Yaa `Afoow?” Yes, crying in bed is normal, but to cry and fall means there was something that we don't see. Today you see Mawlana Shaykh Nazim (q) crying and you feel bad, so you put your hand on his leg, on his hand, or on his head (to comfort him), but there remains this phenomena, that Mawlana Shaykh is crying.
Why was Sayyidina Shah Naqshband (q) crying? Not every (wali) cries for the same reason. He cried because one time he interfered in Allah's Will, when there was a drought in Bukhara and no food, crops or bread. He asked if there was any wheat left anywhere in anyone's house, and they said there was no wheat left in any house, but one rich person came and said, “I have a small amount of wheat in my house.” Sayyidina Shah Naqshband said, “Bring it.” That one brought wheat and put it in the millstone, then he tied the oxen to pull the mill and he put his head there with them to pull and began to grind the wheat, and flour flowed from everywhere.
Shah Naqshband (q) announced to the people, “Come and take whatever you want!” and for twenty-four hours the village people filled what they needed, enough to last them three years. Then Sayyidina Shah Naqshband (q) went home, prayed `Isha and went to rest, as he was tired. He slept and saw His Lord in a dream saying to him, “Yaa `Abdee! Why did you interfere in My Will? You did something without asking permission; ask forgiveness!” From that time he was asking forgiveness, and so he fell off the bed in his last days, crying, “Yaa `Afoow!”
So why is Mawlana Shaykh Nazim (q) crying now? He is crying for the current situation of the ummah, to make sure his followers will be presented clean to the Prophet (s) every day. These are the tears we are supposed to have on Judgment Day in front of Allah (swt), pleading, “O Allah! Don't put us in Hellfire!” That is what he is carrying now, and every tear represents every mureed around the world! With that reality he is crying daily, because he looks at everyone as equal. As I said, they leave the outer side for us to fix and they look to the inner side. If you have a watch and the needles are not working, you change the needles. If the battery is not working you need someone to charge the battery. They are the charger; they charge you, but you fix the outside.
So Allah (swt) gave awliyaullah power that we cannot understand. I was going to speak on something else today but it went this way.
Imam Abu Hamid al-Ghazali (q) had an elder brother, a big scholar in his time, even more (scholarly) than him, but Abu Hamid was more to the Tasawwuf side. So in this situation, who will become the imaam? The elder brother was the bigger scholar, so Abu Hamid prayed behind him. So one day after many years of praying behind him, he stopped and prayed by himself. The first day went by and then the second day, and then the brother got worried as he knew Abu Hamid was spiritual. It was strange, and he told his mother that his younger brother was not praying behind him any more, then she went to Abu Hamid al-Ghazali (q) and asked, “Why are you not praying behind your brother?”
He said, “When my brother enters into prayer, he is completely immersed in blood, which annuls the prayer, so I cannot pray behind him as I see him standing in blood.”
Look at the wisdom of awliyaullah! Both of them were awliyaullah, but this gives an idea how awliyaullah work.
The elder brother said to her, “I can pray behind him.”
She said, “No, it is not like that. He sees that you are praying in blood.”
He looked at her and said, “Sadaqa akhee, my brother spoke the truth.”
She said, “What is the truth? How are you immersing yourself in blood?”
He said, “I have been asked for a fatwa about the ayah:
فَاعْتَزِلُواْ النِّسَاء فِي الْمَحِيضِ
Fa`ataziloo ‘n-nisaa’a fee ‘l-maheedh,
So keep away from women in their courses and do not approach them. (Surat al-Baqarah, 2:222)
(Which means “Don’t approach them sexually” as Allah (swt) gave them rukhsa during their period not to pray.) And I am stuck with that fatwa, and immediately when I begin to pray that verse comes to my mind and during my whole prayer I am focused that verse and my brother's gauge detected that.”
So that one was a wali and the other one was also a wali.... We are all followers of Mawlana Shaykh, who guides us, and we have to thank Allah that He gave us a Shaykh that helps us in waiving (our sins) and presents us to the Prophet (s) clean! And one of the names of the Prophet (s) is “al-Mahiyy,” which means “He erases sins by his shafa`ah.” May Prophet (s) keep erasing for us, where our shuyookh are always signing petitions for us to be forgiven with shafa`ah of the Prophet (s)!
Taqabal-Allah.
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