Suhbah at Zawiya Cinere (3)
A`oodhu billahi min ash-Shaytani 'r-rajeem, Bismillahi ‘r-Rahmaani ‘r-Raheem
Ash-hadu an laa ilaaha illa-Llah wa ash-hadu annan Muhammadan `abduhu wa rasooluh. Zidhu ya Rabbee sharafan wa karaman. Alhamdulillah `alaa kulli haal siwa ’l-kufri wa ’d-dalaal.
Praise be to Allah (swt) for everything He has given us. Nahmaduhu Ta'ala wa karamihi wa `ala fadlihi wa’Lladee ja`alana min ummati ’l-habeebi 'l-mustafa `alayhi afdala ’s-salaat wa ’s-salaam wa nusalli wa nusallim `ala Nabiyyina ’l-Mustafa `alayhi afdala ’s-salaat wa ’s-salaam wa `alaa khulafaihi ’r-raashideen wa sahaabati ajma`een, amma b`ad.
O Believers! Those who are loving Allah (swt) and Sayyidina Muhammad (s) are expressing that love by coming here in a jungle where there is nothing except monkeys around us. One time they invited me to Malaysia and it was in a university and a professor there invited me to his residence in the dormitory and from the window you could see monkeys in the trees, and sometimes they came in the homes to steal food, which is from a good character, to come in and steal the food and run away! Similarly, we are human beings whom Allah (swt) honored, and we come into such associations where there is dhikrullah; we jump in and steal the blessing of dhikr, we leave and Allah (swt) rewards us!
By sitting in a small gathering like this, remembering Allah (swt) and praising His Prophet (s), and "stealing" ourselves from the hands of Shaytan by jumping into Allah's Ma'idah, His bounteous table spread, which is praising His Prophet (s). That Ma'idah is full of different kinds of provisions from dhikrullah. We come and take, and Allah (swt) gives us more rewards, saying, "Take as much as you like! I (swt) am not hiding anything from you. Take what you want." Keep remembering Allah (swt) until morning as He says, "I am going to reward every moment of your remembrance of Me!"
قَالَ عِيسَى ابْنُ مَرْيَمَ اللَّهُمَّ رَبَّنَا أَنزِلْ عَلَيْنَا مَآئِدَةً مِّنَ السَّمَاء تَكُونُ لَنَا عِيداً لِّأَوَّلِنَا وَآخِرِنَا وَآيَةً مِّنكَ وَارْزُقْنَا وَأَنتَ خَيْرُ الرَّازِقِينَ
Qaala `Isa ‘bnu Maryama ‘Llahumma Rabbanaa anzil `alaynaa ma'idatan mina 's-samaa'i
takoonu lanaa `eidan li-awwalinaa wa aakhirinaa wa aayatan minka wa arzuqnaa wa anta khayru 'r-raaziqeena.
Jesus son of Mary, said, "O Allah, our Lord! Send us from heaven a table spread (with food) that there may be for us, for the first and the last of us, a festival and a sign from You, and provide us sustenance, for You are the Best of Sustainers." (Surat al-Ma'idah, 5:114)
Sayyidina `Isa (a) said, "Yaa Rabbee, send us ‘ma'idatan min as-samaa’ (heavenly foods), not from ‘ma'idatan min al-ard’ (earthly foods); a table of provisions to make a holy feast for us on this holy day.” It means (he is asking) for those from the beginning of his message until the Day of Resurrection, that Sayyidina Muhammad (s) would come. "Send us that kind of provisions."
Now scholars say, and they are also correct, that this was only for the disciples of Sayyidina `Isa, the Hawariyoon, but it is a general message that Sayyidina `Isa (a) asked Allah (swt) to send such a table, which He sent. If Allah (swt) sent it for Sayyidina `Isa (a), what do you think about what He will send for Sayyidina Muhammad (s): a table that has no beginning nor end, full of provisions to those who remember and love Sayyidina Muhammad (s)! Not only a table, but also sending angels with these tables making dhikr until the Day of Judgment, and all of that written on your books as a reward for you, that you praised Sayyidina Muhammad (s)! Allah (swt) said to Sayyidina `Isa:
قَالَ اللّهُ إِنِّي مُنَزِّلُهَا عَلَيْكُمْ فَمَن يَكْفُرْ بَعْدُ مِنكُمْ فَإِنِّي أُعَذِّبُهُ عَذَابًا لاَّ أُعَذِّبُهُ أَحَدًا مِّنَ الْعَالَمِينَ
Qaala Allaahu innee munazziluhaa `alaykum faman yakfur ba`du minkum fainnee u`adhdhibuhu `adha`ban laa u`adhdhibuhu ahadan mina ’l-`aalameen.
Allah said, "I will send it down unto you, but if any of you after that resists faith, I will punish him with a penalty such as I have not inflicted on anyone among all people!” (Surat al-Ma'idah 5:115)
“I will send that table to you, yaa `Isa (a), but anyone who is going to eat from it and know the truth from this, if he makes kufr or rejects Allah's and your love, I will send on him a punishment that I have never sent before!" However, Allah (swt) did not reveal the same way to Sayyidina Muhammad (s), but He said, “If you make a sin no problem, come back to Me, I will forgive you,” meaning, “Repent and don’t insist on holding on to your sin. If you commit a sin, I am giving a table of heavenly provisions from which you may choose whatever you like, yaa Muhammad, but they must remember Me! If someone falls into the trap of Shaytan, let him repent by saying, ‘Astaghfirullah.”
Then it is finished and all sins are gone because of the way you have said it, loving Allah (swt) and the Prophet (s), and accepting that you have made a mistake. You are confirming, ‘Yaa Rabbee! I made a mistake, forgive me!”
Say, “Astaghfirullahi ‘l-`Adheem min kulli dhambin `adheem!”
Allahu Akbar! He said, “I am sending this table to you as you asked for your disciples, the Hawariyoon, but if they make a sin after it (and Allah did not allow them to make a sin after this) if they disobey, I am going to send a punishment that I have never sent on anyone before!” And for Sayyidina Muhammad (s) He is saying, “Yaa Muhammad anta Rahmatan li ’l-`Aalameen.” For Sayyidina `Isa (a) the message was very strong that, “I am not going to forgive anyone who disobeys after eating from this table,” but for Sayyidina Muhammad (s), Allah (swt) is sending a table from dhikrullah every moment for those who remember Him standing, sitting, and lying on their saides, thinking about Creation!
الَّذِينَ يَذْكُرُونَ اللّهَ قِيَامًا وَقُعُودًا وَعَلَىَ جُنُوبِهِمْ وَيَتَفَكَّرُونَ فِي خَلْقِ السَّمَاوَاتِ وَالأَرْضِ رَبَّنَا مَا خَلَقْتَ هَذا بَاطِلاً سُبْحَانَكَ فَقِنَا عَذَابَ النَّارِ
alladheena yadhkuroonallah qiyamaan wa qu`oodan wa `alaa junoobihim wa yattafakkaroona fee khalqi 's-samawaati wa 'l-ard, rabbanaa maa khalaqta hadhaa baatilan subhaanaka fa qinaa `adhaaba 'n-naar.
Those who remember Allah (always, and in prayers) standing, sitting, and lying down on their sides, and think deeply about the Creation of the Heavens and the Earth, (saying),"Our Lord! You have not created (all) this without purpose, glory to You! Give us salvation from the torment of the Fire." (Aali `Imraan, 3:191)
So every moment is dhikrullah and, therefore, Allah will not send you to punishment, but Allah said:
فَمَنْ عَفَا وَأَصْلَحَ فَأَجْرُهُ عَلَى اللَّهِ
faman `afaa wa aslaha fa ajruhu `alaa ’Llah
“Who forgives and makes up between people, his reward is with Allah.” (ash-Shura, 42:40)
So what about Himself? If anyone asks Him, Allah (swt) will forgive, but some grants are only for the Prophet (s). The people of Sayyidina Nuh (a) disobeyed and Allah took them away; the people of Sayyidina Musa (a) disobeyed and He took them away; but He gave the ummah of Prophet (s) time to ask for forgiveness. And Allah (swt) said:
فَاذْكُرُونِي أَذْكُرْكُمْ وَاشْكُرُواْ لِي وَلاَ تَكْفُرُونِ
Fadhkuroonee adhkurkum, washkuroo lee wa laa takfuroon.
Remember Me, I will remember you. Give thanks to Me and do not be ungrateful towards Me. (al-Baqarah, 2:152)
“Remember Me, and I will remember you.” Allah is so patient with Ummat an-Nabi (s), with all that we are doing of bloodshed, what the angels complained about what human beings will do. Ummat an-Nabi (s) is doing lot of bloodshed and committing a lot of sins, and Allah is saying, “Remember Me, I will remember you and mention you in a better place than your place.” That grant is for the Prophet (s)! See the difference between Sayyidina Muhammad (s) and other prophets?
While Allah (swt) did not leave any prophet without tests, although they are ma`soom, infallible, He tested them to teach them to be patient on His servants.
Sayyidina Ibraheem (a) wanted to teach his people the message of Allah (swt) and they were not listening. Finally, he got fed up with them and said, “Yaa Rabbee, take them!” So Allah took Nimrod and his people because they disobeyed Sayyidina Ibraheem (a). Nimrod was an evil king who tortured him because he was accused of cutting the heads of all their idols, and they built a big fire to burn him. Then Jibril (a) came to Ibraheem (a) when he was in the fire (to ask if he needs help), and Ibraheem knew the situation was in Allah’s Hands, so why ask for Allah’s help through Jibril (a)? Directly he said, “Yaa Rabbee! You know what condition I am in. If You want to help me, help me, and if not, I am Your servant.” At that moment they put the fire on the wood and it became like Hellfire, and Allah (swt) said:
قُلْنَا يَا نَارُ كُونِي بَرْدًا وَسَلَامًا عَلَى إِبْرَاهِيمَ
Qulnaa yaa naaru koonee bardan wa salaaman `alaa Ibraaheem.
O fire! Be cool and peaceful on Ibrahim. (Surat al-Anbiyaa, 21:69)
But not normal cool; it was bone-chilling cold, like from dry ice! As soon as Allah (swt) said, “koonee bardan,” the fire became extremely cold, Allah knows how much, perhaps -50 degrees! At minus seventy iron will crack and fall apart like powder. So if Allah did not follow it with Gibril (a) to say “salamaan,” that is “Don't hurt him; peacefully,” then the fire became a paradise! Allah saved Ibraheem (a) because he submitted to Allah (swt). Then after that, Sayyidina Ibraheem (a) said, “Yaa Rabbee! These people are unbelievers, kuffar, so take them!” So Allah took them all. But Allah doesn't like someone to say, “O Allah! Take this man away,” because He created all human beings and honored them.
In the Battle of Uhud, when the Quraysh broke Prophet’s (s) teeth, he prayed, “O Allah! Guide my people, for they do not know.” He didn't pray for Allah to take them away, he was patient with them. But Sayyidina Ibrahim (a) prayed to take them all and Allah accepted his prayer. And later, Ibraheem (a) saw in a dream, “O Ibrahim! Go and sacrifice your son to Me. I want the best sacrifice, not a goat, cow or lamb; no, I want your son. Sacrifice him for Me.” Sayyidina Ibrahim (a) woke up and said, “Oh! It might be incorrect.” He slept again and saw the same vision, although for reasons of humility the prophets say, “We saw a dream.”
Then he saw the same vision a third time and said, “Finished; I must do it.” He took his son to the mountains, saying, “We are going to play hide and seek.” And he played with his son, and covered his eyes. His son said, “Why are you covering my eyes?” He said, “We have to play.” “Play what?” “Play hide and seek.” His son said, “You are a prophet, so why are you trying to hide the reality?” Ibrahim (a) said, “O my son! I saw in the dream Allah ordered me to slaughter you!” His son said, “O my father! Do as you are ordered, as I am ready and patient. Do it.”
Can any of us sacrifice our son or daughter? Some people don't eat meat because they can’t stand the thought of slaughtering an animal! What about slaughtering your son? Today they are slaughtering people in the streets of the Middle East and they are worse than Nimrod and Pharoah, killing their people without mercy!
So Sayyidina Isma`eel (a) knew before his father told him. “Yaa Ibrahim! You love your son. Who put that love in your heart? That is not a drop of an ocean. That ocean is with Me. You asked Me to get rid of all My servants whom I created with My Hands and I love them! You challenged My love to them, and you asked Me to kill my lovers. And I did that for you, but you cannot do it another time! Go and sacrifice your son to feel how much the pain of love is, and to feel how much you love your son and how much I love My servants!”
He put his son on the stone, and as you slaughter a lamb, you raise the head a little bit, and he took the knife and tried to cut his son’s neck, but the knife would not cut. So he a tried second time and the knife would not cut, and his heart was burning inside and his son smelled something like barbecue and said, “O my father, what is this?” and his father said, “Don’t ask! That is the flesh of my heart burning from my love for you!” And Sayyidina Ibrahim (a) tried a third time and the knife would not cut, and he threw it down. The knife said, “Why are you angry, O Ibrahim?” He said, “Allah ordered me to slaughter my son and you are not cutting.” The knife said, “O Ibrahim! you were ordered three times to slaughter and you did not do it. You have to know that Allah ordered me through Jibril not to cut the neck of Isma`eel. I didn’t disobey, but you disobeyed.”
And then Ibrahim (a) said, “Yaa Isma`eel, I am better, I have fulfilled Allah's order. I sacrificed you. I feel I am better than you because I sacrificed you to Allah (swt) and you are my son.” And Isma`eel said, “O my father! I think you are wrong. I am better than you, because you were sacrificing me, but you were not sacrificing yourself and I was giving my life, and I told you, ‘Do as you are ordered.’”
Allah (swt) didn't put us under such tests, so we must always be thanking Him and praising Him in order that He will be happy with us and put us with the Prophet (s) in the highest Paradise!
Wa min Allahi 't-tawfeeq, bi hurmati 'l-habeeb, bi hurmati 'l-Fatihah.
http://sufilive.com/The_Tests_of_Love_and_its_Pain-4045.html
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