Suhbah at Pellon Community Centre
….You get the barakah of the Paradise. When Allah (swt) when he gives, He gives! And I heard, and I know and I learned from Sayyid Grandshaykh `AbdAllah al-Fa'iz ad-Daghestani, may Allah bless his soul, the Naqeeb al-Ummah, one of his holy names, and, Wa`izh al-Ummah. His name is “`AbdAllah” and Prophet (s) added the titles Naqeeb al-Ummah, Wa`izh al-Ummah. `AbdAllah is his name and Fa`iz ad-Daghestani is not part of the name, but an attribution of the area from which he came.
Grandshaykh (q) said, “Allah is jealous: al-Kareem Huwa Allah, no one can be kareem except Allah (swt)!” What people are giving (as knowledge) is pennies and if you want to compare them with heavenly givings they are nothing! When Allah gives He gives and He gives generously!
Grandshaykh (q) said in one of his seclusions while making the du`a, “Yaa Rabbee, in that Rawdah where we are honored to make salaat and sajda, people are very fiercely pushing each other to pray there. Give them an opportunity so that someone only passing by will get the same reward as someone who prayed there, as he did not get the chance to make sajda there, but because his intention is to visit Prophet (s) and pray there but he didn’t have the chance!” He said, “The Prophet (s) was very happy with that request.”
For the sake of the Beloved One, for sake of the Perfect One, who is Habeebullah, Allah will not only make the one passing by but who cannot pray there because there is no place, not only will Allah accept their visit but Allah made the whole masjid to be the Rawdah, and not only the masjid, but any street where Prophet (s) went walking in Madinatu 'l-Munawwarah is being dressed from heavenly dresses! Anyone who reaches there, it is as if he reached Heaven!
So what we know is very little compared to what awliyaullah know. If you add all their knowledges, it might be one drop of the Ocean of Knowledge of the Prophet (s), `Uloom al-Awwaleen wa ‘l-Akhireen. It will be like nothing, but with that Allah (swt) is giving awliyaullah knowledge and ordering the Prophet (s) to give good tidings to the Ummah. That is why I mentioned just now that the whole of Madinah became heavenly dressed, from Heavens, because we have, like in scientific theory you study in school Physics or Chemistry or Math, and at the end you reach a formula to prove what you have done is correct. For worldly knowledge we need all these university labs around the world stocked with microscopes and telescopes, in order to prove something, and we spend all our lives in labs to prove something [develop research and helpful discoveries] in the fields of Chemistry, Physics, Genetics, or whatever it is.
Do We Study Qur’an and Hadith as Much as the Worldly Sciences?
What then do you think about Islam, heavenly knowledge? What do you think about Qur’an? What do you think about Hadith of the Prophet (s)? Is it so simple to easily understand Holy Qur'an and Hadith of the Prophet (s) or does science take more time to understand? Our understanding of Hadith and Holy Qur'an are minimal compared to what it should be! Look Prophet’s understanding. Sayyidina Jibreel (a) came revealing Surat Maryam, and we will return to discuss Riyaad al-Jannah after we go this way a little bit. Sayyidina Jibreel came to the Prophet (s) revealing Surat Maryam, and what is the beginning? Kaaf. He said, “Kaaf,” and the Prophet (s) stopped him by answering, not giving him a chance to continue the ayah, because “Kaaf,” [Kaaf.Haa.Yaa.`Ayn.Saad.] is an ayah. He (s) stopped him and said, “`Alimtu, I knew (I already knew that before you brought it).”
Jibreel (a) said, “Kaaf,” and the Prophet (s) said, “`Alimtu.”
“What is that?” Jibreel began to think, and he is one of the highest angels! He became mutahayyar, astonished, surprised, stunned. “I said ‘Kaaf’ and he (s) said, ‘I knew, `alimtu!”
Jibreel (a) said, “Haa,” and Prophet (s) said, “`Alimtu,” means, what is behind it of knowledge!
Not only what is behind the Kaaf of previous knowledge that they knew about Kaaf oceans, but the new ones, what are coming every moment. And Grandshaykh (q) said there are 24,000 oceans of knowledge coming on every letter of the Holy Qur'an. From one person to another person these oceans will change, from one wali to another, their understanding from every letter! Even if the letter is repeated many times in the Holy Qur’an, he will get 24,000 different oceans of knowledge. Our mind is limited, don’t take things with your mind, you cannot understand, it will not make sense. You think that you understand but you will be deviating as it is not on the track. The track must be solid, your mind must stop and your heart must recognize what direction you are in.
So Prophet (s) said, “`Alimtu,” Jibreel said, “Yaa,” “`Alimtu.” He said, “`Ayn,” and the Prophet (s) said “`Alimtu,” and Jibreel said, “Saad,” the Prophet (s) said, “`Alimtu.” And so it means all these letters, whatever they are in a word, in any word, Prophet (s) knew about it! Whatever letter begins with Kaf the Prophet (s) knew about it, or Haa or Yaa or `Ayn or Saad, whatever secrets are behind them.
That is why the Prophet (s) said, “Allah gave me `Uloom al-Awwaleen wa ‘l-Akhireen, Knowledges of Before and After.”
The Gardens of Paradise are Gatherings of Dhikrullah: Sit in Them
That is Sayyidina Muhammad (s) who said:
"إِذَا مَرَرْتُمْ بِرِيَاضِ الْجَنَّةِ فَارْتَعُوا "قَالَ وَمَا رِيَاضُ الْجَنَّةِ قَالَ " حِلَقُ الذِّكْرِ
Ibn `Umar reported that the Prophet (s) said: "When you pass by the gardens of Paradise, avail yourselves of them." The Companions asked: "What are the gardens of Paradise, O Messenger of Allah?" He replied: "The circles of dhikr. There are roaming angels of Allah who go about looking for the circles of dhikr, and when they find them they surround them closely." (Tirmidhi)
When you pass by the Gardens of Paradise sit, because Allah's Beautiful Names and Attributes will be endlessly manifested on people sitting in Heavens; you cannot count them, endless! Allah's Beautiful Names and Attributes are not only the Ninety-nine mentioned in Hadith and Holy Qur'an, but in reality, there are no limits to Allah's Beautiful Names and Attribute, no beginning and no end as they are Allah's Words! Allah asked us to make du`a through the Beautiful Names and Attributes.
So because Prophet (s) was in that area of the Rawdah, Allah turned it into a Heaven and due to the care for his Ummah, Prophet (s) turned anywhere that you are sitting in a circle of dhikr is a Heaven! So he said, “When you pass by the Gardens of Paradise sit (in dunya).” If you are walking and pass by places where they are doing dhikr then sit with them, because you will be sitting in Heavens. Don't say, “This is not my shaykh, why should I sit with him?” You are sitting for Allah and you are sitting for the Prophet (s), and you are sitting for love of your shaykh; you like to hear the dhikr because all their lives they taught us dhikrullah!
I used to go with Mawlana Shaykh Nazim, may Allah bless his soul, and until today I cannot accept that he died. I had the privilege to wash him (for his burial), to put kaffan on him, to pray Janazah on him, and to bury him, but more important, when we were carrying him to the grave he was so heavy, but when I was passing him to my two sons in the grave to bury him, he became so light; he was not heavy anymore, he was light as a feather, he became angelic, a subtle human being from light! I jumped into the grave because I saw they were unable to fit him inside, even though the grave was four meters long!
I looked and asked my son, “Are you seeing what I am seeing?”
He said, “Yes!” Mawlana’s length stretched, he became taller, he was not the same size anymore, he contains the grave, not the grave contains him.”
Mawlana’s head was on one wall and his feet were on the other wall and that is over four meters. That is what happened to him in the grave and that is why, when I see something wrong I speak up, because what I saw is still deep in my heart, what happened when we buried Mawlana Shaykh!
Mawlana Shaykh Nazim Sat in Dhikrullah with Shaykhs of Other Tariqahs
I used to go with him in Damascus in the late 1960’s to attend other shaykh’s dhikr, mostly Shadhili dhikr. He did not say, “This is not my shaykh's dhikr.” He used to go and sit and enjoy the dhikr, because he was observing the order of Prophet (s, “Whenever you pass by the Gardens of Paradise, a dhikr circle, sit because these are Heavens on Earth.” They will rejuvenate everything: dhikrullah will rejuvenate your brain and your body as you are calling on Allah by His Name, and in jama`at also, where the Prophet (s) said:
يد الله مع الجماعة
Yadullahi ma`al-jama`ah.
The Hand of Allah is with the congregation.
And in another narration:
يد الله على الجماعة
Yadul-Llaahi `ala ‘l-jama`ah.
Allah's Hand is over the group. (at-Tabarani)
These are two narrations, and Allah’s Hands, ‘hands’ is not physical, for sure the Ahlu ’s-Sunnah wa ’l-Jama`ah know that, but in either case “Hand” here means blessings, power, mercy, majesty, beauty, generosity; it means Allah's Beautiful Names and Attributes are descending on all the people sitting in such associations of dhikrullah. And after that dhikr we used to go back. That is why it is adab that when a shaykh whom you don't know comes, still sit and take barakah, what is the problem? The problem, let us be frank, let us be open, not hiding, is that a shaykh comes and speaks about Shari`ah or about Tariqah and he is very well-known person in his country, he is a respected person, so what then is your duty? To say, “I have a shaykh, I don't sit with him as he is not my shaykh?” Why are you humiliating him? Allah (swt) does not humiliate but He sends a message and it is up to us to respect everyone. Look in Holy Qur'an at what Allah (swt) said...Allah made Sayyidina Sulayman (s) listen to an ant:
قَالَتْ نَمْلَةٌ يَا أَيُّهَا النَّمْلُ ادْخُلُوا مَسَاكِنَكُمْ لَا يَحْطِمَنَّكُمْ سُلَيْمَانُ وَجُنُودُهُ وَهُمْ لَا يَشْعُرُونَ
One of the ants said, "O Ants! Enter your homes unless Sulayman and his armies unknowingly trample you." (Surat an-Naml, 27:18)
Allah made Sayyidina Sulayman (a) listen to an ant. Qaalat namlatun, “one ant spoke” and that is in Holy Qur'an so no one can reject it, nor any science or physics! One ant, without using microphone, spoke to millions of ants! Yaa ayyuha ‘n-namlu. “The ant said,” because Sayyidina Sulayman (a) was coming with his army, with his group of jinn and birds and animals, with weapons, with everything, he was moving. Allah gave him because he asked:
قَالَ رَبِّ اغْفِرْ لِي وَهَبْ لِي مُلْكًا لَّا يَنبَغِي لِأَحَدٍ مِّنْ بَعْدِي إِنَّكَ أَنتَ الْوَهَّابُ
He prayed, “O my Sustainer! Forgive me my sins, and bestow upon me the gift of a kingdom which may not suit anyone after me: verily, You alone are a giver of gifts!” (Surat Saad, 38:35)
“O Allah! Give me, I want dunya, give me power.” Allah gave Mulki wa ‘l-Malakoot,” Allah gives some Prophets dunya. You cannot say no. So Allah gave him. “You asked Me, you are My Prophet, I give. Take as much as you want!” Allah put the whole world and the skies and what was under the Earth and the oceans in his hands!
One ant addressed the ants, qaalat namlatun yaa ayyuha ‘n-namlu! “Look! He is coming, he is going to destroy all of you, run! Run away from him.” That ant, scientifically speaking, does not have any sound, you cannot hear it. The small ant, not a big ant. In Arabic namla is the smallest particle of an atom,what is called today dharrah, the smallest particles that they could describe at that time and that smallest ant was able to speak and say, “Run away, run away!” From whom? From Sulayman. Allah (swt) is saying to us run away!
فَفِرُّوا إِلَى اللَّهِ
Flee to Allah (from all that is false and evil)! (Surat adh-Dhaariyaat, 51:50)
Fa-firroo ila-Allah, “Run away towards Allah!” If we don't run away to Allah, what will happen to us? We will be destroyed.
How was that ant able to speak to millions at the same time? What kind of way or energy or power, whatever you want to call it; it was speaking in a way and addressing them that they were able to hear and run inside their homes? It is said, although in science they do not understand that this might be a heavenly wavelength, because wavelengths move, both acute or short wavelengths, magnetic or vibration wavelengths, so that ant passed that sound to all ants at same time. If an ant can do that, can a wali not do that? Can he not see his followers everyday wherever they are? If a wali can do that, what can the Prophet (s) do? No limits! Even Awliyaullah are in limits, compared to Sahaabah (r) and Prophets, but they reach everyone. Imagine it, but it is real; think of the greatness of the Prophet (s). He said:
تعرض علي أعمالكم فان رأيت خيرا حمدت الله تعالى وإن رأيت شرا استغفرت لكم
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. (al-Bazzaar in his Musnad)
“The deeds of my Nation are shown to me.” How many are now living in the Ummah of the Prophet (s)? Now living on Earth there are 1.5 billion and we are not speaking those before and those after, but let us say today. They count 1.5 billion or more, say 2 billion. He (s) said, “I observe everyone’s `amal,” what he is doing. How can he see them all at the same time with their names and addresses and their emails, their telephones and social media? Prophet (s) said, “I observe,” which means, “I am watching, I am looking.” How much has Allah given him in order to do that? You cannot even! And still we say, “O, not everything.” No, we say everything that Allah gave him power on, everything as `AbdAllah, the Only ‘Abd to whom Allah gave power over everything! From him Creation was created, from his Light!
Sit in the Circles of Dhikrullah to Take Baraka, Don’t Say “This is not My Shaykh”
So when the Prophet (s) says, “When you are passing through a garden of Paradise, sit.” Then sit, don't say, “This is my shaykh,” or, “This is not my shaykh.” Never mind, your shaykh would sit! Give respect to other people, don't humiliate anyone as that is banned in Tariqah and it is haraam to humiliate other people. Give respect, what are you going to lose? Nothing, but between respect and humiliation is a big difference! The Prophet (s) gave.
مَا لاَ عَيْنٌ رَأَتْ، وَلاَ أُذُنٌ سَمِعَتْ، وَلاَ خَطَرَ عَلَى قَلْبِ بَشَرٍ
No eye has seen and no ear heard and never imagined (by mind), nor has it occurred to the human heart. (Sahih Muslim)
No eye has seen what Allah gave to the Prophet (s) and no ear has heard it, wa laa khatar `ala qalbi bashar, and never can a human heart understand. Ummat an-Nabi, Prophet (s) is observing us. And now if you ask what are the names of these people, do you know them all? No, none of us know, but if you ask the Prophet (s), will he say no? Allah (swt) gave Knowledges of Before and After, so he knows everyone by name and by address, by email and by Facebook; without limits he knows!
So when you come and see such dhikrullah being conducted, even with three people, you sit with them, don't say, “I am a shaykh.” If they respect you, they respect you for the sake of Allah (swt) and if they don't respect you that is their problem, not your problem. Still you are respected by Allah (swt)! What did Allah say in Holy Qur'an? Allah ordered angels to do something to someone, not to everyone.
Muhammad al-Busayri, one of the great poets and `Ashiq an-Nabi (s), who wrote Qasidatu ‘l-Burdah, wrote:
Huwa ‘l-habeebu ’Lladhee turjaa shafa`atahu, li kulli hawlin min al-ahwali muqtahimi.
He is the Beloved of the One, from whom we have hopes of intercession (from) all the woes that have descended upon the humans. (Shaykh Muhammad al-Busayri, Burdat ash-Shareef)
Huwa ‘l-Habeeb, He said, “al-Habeeb,” one, huwa ‘l-Habeeb, he said, “He is the one Habeeb to Me,” no one else.Sayyidina Ibrahim (a) is Khaleelu ‘r-Rahman. He is Khaleelu ‘r-Rahman but not Habeebu ‘r-Rahman. There is only one Habeebu ‘r-Rahman. That is why many awliyaullah don't like to take the name Habeeb ‘r-Rahman, because Habeeb ‘r-Rahman is Prophet (s). Although you hear so many people called ‘Habeebu ‘r-Rahman’. To whom did He give the title “Habeebu ‘r-Rahman”? He (swt) gave it to Prophet (s). You can say in Arabic, ‘Muhammad Habeebullah’ and you can say ‘Allahu Habeebu Muhammad’, but you cannot say, “Ibrahim Habeebullah,” as only the Prophet (s) is Habeebullah.
That is why Muhammad al-Busayri said, “Huwa ‘l-Habeeb, he is the Habeeb.” All prophets run to him for shafa`ah. Look how much Allah (swt) has raised The Loved One. That is why he said after, "He is the one, turjaa shafa`atahu, whose shafa`ah is requested." He means here that every Creation Allah created needs the shafa`ah of Prophet (s). Li kulli hawlin min al-ahwaali muqtahimi, for any great affliction, even the ants they saw affliction and said, “Run away from Sulayman, run to Allah, run to Muhammad (s)!” Even the ants need his shafa`ah. If everyone needs his shafa`ah that means all the Ummat an-Nabi (s) goes to Paradise: they are not going to be asked, because the one who will be asked is Sayyidina Muhammad (s). Do you ask the sheep or you ask the shepherd?
If something happens here and some people are coming and checking to see what happened, do they ask everyone or ask Shaykh Selim? They ask Shaykh Selim. Be happy you are not going to be judged a lot as hey ask the one who is representing everyone.
So they ask Prophet (s) and the evidence...you cannot in these times now, when you give a speech it must be based on Ahaadith an-Nabi (s), on Shari`ah. If someone does not give you Shari`ah, reject what he says. We don't want advice lacking Shari`ah wisdom.
Our infrastructure, this room has an infrastructure to hold it open, and Shari`ah is the infrastructure of Islam and the decoration of the heart and the mind, but what kind of decoration? Allah will decorate you with the dresses he decorated the Prophet (s), He will make you noorani. So what do we need? We need his shafa`ah. So his shafa`ah will cover everyone.
Islamic Laws of Inheritance
عَنْ عَامِرٍ، قَالَ أُخْبِرْتُ أَنَّ بَشِيرَ بْنَ سَعْدٍ أَتَى رَسُولَ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم فَقَالَ يَا رَسُولَ اللَّهِ إِنَّ امْرَأَتِي عَمْرَةَ بِنْتَ رَوَاحَةَ أَمَرَتْنِي أَنْ أَتَصَدَّقَ عَلَى ابْنِهَا نُعْمَانَ بِصَدَقَةٍ وَأَمَرَتْنِي أَنْ أُشْهِدَكَ عَلَى ذَلِكَ . فَقَالَ لَهُ النَّبِيُّ صلى الله عليه وسلم " هَلْ لَكَ بَنُونَ سِوَاهُ " . قَالَ نَعَمْ . قَالَ " فَأَعْطَيْتَهُمْ مِثْلَ مَا أَعْطَيْتَ لِهَذَا " . قَالَ لاَ . قَالَ " فَلاَ تُشْهِدْنِي عَلَى جَوْرٍ "
It was narrated that `Amir said:
I was told that Bashir bin Sa`d came to the Messenger of Allah and said, “O Messenger of Allah! My wife `Amrata binta Rawaahah told me to give a gift to her son Nu`man, and she told me to ask you to bear witness to that.” The Prophet said, “Do you have any other children?” He said, “Yes.” He (Prophet) said, “Have you given them something like that you have given to this one?” He said, “No.” He (Prophet) said, “Then do not ask me to bear witness to unfairness." (An-Nasaee)
One person came to the Prophet (s) and said, “I did something and my wife said I have to come to you and seek your permission.” When we translate the hadith of the Prophet (s) we must use nice words, so we say “requested of the Prophet (s)”. And the Prophet (s) never said to anyone laa, ’no’.
Prophet (s) said, “What is your matter?”
The man said “Yaa Rasoolullah, I bought a servant.”
In that time they bought servants, like the Prophet (s) bought Sayyidina Salman al-Farsi with 300 coins to free him from a Jewish man.
He said “I bought that servant and gave him to my son and my wife asked me to ask you, is it okay?”
Prophet (s) said, “Do you have other sons and daughters? Did you give them the same? [No.] Go and take back what you gave. If you give them all the same then I accept, but to give one and not give the other I don't accept.”
And today too much of that happens in families and Islam prohibited it. Inheritance is too important, it must be done according to shar`.
The Whole Ummah Will Go to Paradise
And in Adab al-Mufrad of Imam Bukhari, there is the hadith that the whole Ummah will go to Paradise.
The Prophet (s) will go into sajda on the Day of Judgment, and Allah (swt) will open du`as to him that were never opened to him before. Allah (swt) will then tell him to raise his head and ask, and Prophet (s) will raise his head and hands and ask for his Ummah. Allah (swt) will say, “Go and take one-third of them.” The Prophet (s) will not be satisfied; he will go into sajda once more and make prayers that were never opened before. Then again Allah (swt) will say, “Ask and you will be given.” Prophet (s) will ask for his Ummah and Allah (swt) will give him another third of the Ummah. Then the Prophet (s) will go into sajda and new prayers will be opened to him that were never opened before. Allah (swt) will tell him to raise his head and ask. Prophet (s) will raise his head and hands and ask for his Ummah. Allah (swt) will then say, “Take all of them, except for that one!” That person will be the worst of the entire Ummah, and everyone must think it may be them, as we are all sinners from the Prophet’s (s) nation. Then Allah will ask, “Who gave My Mercy to Muhammad (s)? I did, as I am Arhama ‘r-Rahimeen! I am The Best, Rahmah on Rahmah! Go with Prophet (s) to Paradise without hisaab, giving any account!”
(Narrated Annas Ibn Malik, related in the book Adab al-Mufrad of Imam Bukhari)
On Judgment Day the Prophet (s) will make sajda with the intention to ask Allah to send the whole Ummah to Paradise. And he (s) said, “Allah opened to my heart du`as that never in my life came to my mind, that I had never recited before, never I asked for them, new du`as that you cannot describe.” What kind of du`a did Allah open? Look how much Islam is full of incidents to save the Muslim Ummah to Paradise!
So he said, “Allah is opening to my heart and I am asking until Allah says to me, irfa` raasak sa'l tu`ta, “Raise your head and ask you will be given.” And the Prophet (s) says, “I don't want anything for my Family (r), but I only want you to send this Ummah to Paradise.” And Allah answers, “Take one third to Paradise.” May Allah make us from the people of that one third! [Naray Takbeer.] He said “naray takbeer” and that is from unconscious things on his heart that make him say something beautiful. How many things are like that?
And the Prophet (s) went into sajda again, and again Allah opened to his heart du`as never opened to his heart before, and Allah says, “Raise your head and ask and you will be given,” and the Prophet (s) says, “My Ummah,” and then Allah said, “Take one-third more.” And then the Prophet (s) went into sajda again and again Allah opened to his heart du`as never opened to his heart before, and Allah says, “Raise your head and ask and you will be given.” And the Prophet (s) says, “My Ummah,” and then Allah said, “Take them all but one. That one I will send to Paradise by My Mercy, as My Mercy cannot be compared to the mercy of My Prophet (s).”
So He sent all of those people to Paradise with no account! Tariqah is the way that will teach you how to increase your love and increase your good manners on the basis of Islam! Tariqah is not something that anyone can own. It is said, at-turuq, “the ways”:
الطرق الى الله تعالى على عدد انفاس الخلائق
The ways to Allah are as numerous as the breaths of human beings.
The pathways to Allah (swt) are infinite; there are as many on the number of the breaths of human beings.” Each person has inside himself many ways to Allah, and the shaykh is responsible for that one, so the pathway takes you to a noble ending, not to an unnoble ending. So we have to be very careful. The Holy Qur'an is learned from the mouths of the reciters. When you want to learn to recite Holy Qur'an, you learn from the reciter by observing how he pronounces, then your qira’at becomes correct. By yourself you cannot learn the rules of reciting Holy Qur'an except by a teacher observing your mouth to see how you recite and pronounce.
At-tariqatu kullahaa adaabun, “All of Tariqah is good conduct,” to teach discipline and good manners, and that is why the Prophet (s) said:
انما بعثت لاتمم مكارم الاخلاق
I have been sent to perfect the best of conduct (your behavior and character). (Bazzaar)
So Allah (swt) sent the Prophet (s) to perfect our manners, not to hate, not to be jealous. Accept what Allah has given you! If Allah gave something to this one, that is Allah's Iraada (Will), and when Allah gives He gives and does not take it back! When the Prophet (s) gives, he does not take back. When the shaykh gives, he does not take back. We have to be careful where we put our feet or else we fall in to black ice, thin ice, black holes.
Allah (swt) said in Holy Qur'an:
وَالسَّمَاء ذَاتِ الْحُبُكِ
By the Sky with (its) numerous Paths. (Surat az-Zari`at, 51:7)
The Most Distinguished Naqshbandi Order
So everyone has his dimensions. I might be an officer and he is an officer in the same position; I can reach Manchester and he can reach London. Perhaps three or four of you have a title, but all rivers take you to the ocean. If you want to know where is the ocean, follow the river and see where it ends. So we ask Allah to bless us with our shuyookh, to keep us always with them in dunya and Akhirah, and to keep what they inspire in us and follow it, because there is much confusion and many people don't know how our Tariqah, the Most Distinguished Naqshbandi Order functions or why is it called Most Distinguished “al-`Aliyyah.” That distinction is because it comes from two big rivers, two big cities: one city is tremendously big and the other city is also tremendously built up and big. Both are huge and it is coming from both of them. One is Tariqat an- Naqshbandiyyati ‘l-`Aliyya coming from Sayyidina Abu Bakr as-Siddiq (r) from the Prophet (s), where the Prophet (s) said:
Ma sabb-Allahu fee sadree sababatahu fee sadra abi bakr as-siddiq.
Whatever Allah has poured in my heart, I poured in the heart of Abu Bakr as-Siddiq.
When you pour something into the heart it is silent, not loud. So that is why the silent side of Tariqah is from Sayyidina Abu Bakr as-Siddiq (r), and the loud side is from Sayyidina `Ali (r) and that is why it is called the ‘Golden Chain’, because it comes from both sides. And it is coming from Sayyidina Ali (r) based on that what some scholars consider a hadith which comes from Sayyidina `Ali (r), this hadith:
Sayyidina `Ali (r) asked the Prophet (s), “Ya` Rasoolullah, O Prophet! Guide me to the nearest way to Allah (swt) and the easiest, so that I can follow the easiest way, and show me the easiest for His servants and the best that Allah likes.” And the Prophet (s) said, `alayka bi dawaamat adh-dhikr sirran wa `alaniyya. “O `Ali you have to continuously make dhikr aloud and silent.” And `Ali said, “All the people make dhikr, but give me something special for me, give me something that I will do.” And the Prophet (s) said, afdal maa qultu wa kull an-nabiyyeen min qablee laa ilaaha illa-Llah, “The best of what I and the prophets before me said is ‘Laa ilaaha illa-Llah.’ Law kaan as-samaawaati wa ‘`l-ard fee kaffin wa laa ilaaha illa-Llah fee kaffin la rajaahat bihim. If Heavens and Earth (Heavens with its heaviness and Earth, all seven of them) were put in one side of the Scale and Laa ilaaha illa-Llah was put in the other side of the Scale, Laa ilaaha illa-Llah would be heavier.”
And the Prophet (s) taught the key to Paradise is to say, “Bismillahi 'r-Rahmani 'r-Raheem” and, “Afdalu 'dh-dhikri laa ilaaha illa-Llaah.”
افضل الذكر لا اله الّا الله
Afdalu 'dh-dhikri laa ilaaha illa-Llaah.
The best remembrance of Allah is to say,“There is no god but Allah.”
He asked the Prophet (s) to teach him something. and the Prophet (s) said say “Laa ilaaha illa-Llaah.”
And Sayyidina `Ali (r) said, “How do I say ‘Laa ilaaha illa-Llaah’?”
And the Prophet (s) sat on his knees and Sayyidina `Ali (r) sat on his knees with their knees touching, and the Prophet (s) said, “Put your hand on my heart and I will put my hand on your heart.”
This is the real origin of baya`. The other baya` we recite that the ten Sahaabah (r) recited under the tree at Hudaybiyya is the jahree, silent baya`. So as Prophet (s) was pouring into his heart, he was saying “Laa ilaaha illa-Llaah”.
Sayyidina `Ali (r) asked, “How do I say it?” and the Prophet (s) said, “Say, ‘Laa ilaaha illa-Llaah’ and I will say it.” Sayyidina `Ali (r) said, “Laa ilaaha illa-Llaah, laa ilaaha illa-Llaah, laa ilaaha illa-Llaah,” loudly, what in Arabic we call ‘talqeen’, which means, “to put on the tongue (say it). And Prophet (s) then said, “Laa ilaaha illa-Llaah, laa ilaaha illa-Llaah, laa ilaaha illa-Llaah.”
Protocols of Passing the Secret of the Most Distinguished Naqshbandi Order
And we can see in the history of the Tariqah at different times that several different khalifs had the secret of the Tariqah in the same time, as in the time of Sayyidina Isma`eel an-Naraani, Khas Muhammad Shirwani and Shaykh Muhammad Effendi al-Yaraghi. The secret was passed to them all at the same time.
For example, you are Maliki, but there are others who are Shafi`ee. Some are clever in madhaahib, and they take what is easy from each madhhab. Scholars say not to do that, not to take from each one what is easy. For example, in Shafi`ee madhhab you pray qasr Zhuhr and `Asr while traveling and Hanafis don't combine raka`ats; they pray four raka`ats each if they are not combining. In any event, all of the madhaahib take you to the Prophet (s). Now you have three rivers, you cannot close the door to any them as that is bad adab. If you close what Grandshaykh opened, that is not adab, and Mawlana Shaykk is part of that. You must observe what Grandshaykh said and Grandshaykh is higher than Mawlana Shaykh. That order came from the Prophet (s): the one in front of you, follow.
For example, Shaykh Selim is here, I follow him. Who am I going to follow, him or him? Did I make a mistake? Follow the easiest one, so follow anyone, but don't go from one place to another creating fitna for nothing. We have to be very careful of that! Sayyidina Nuh (as) had a child; what did Allah say about him?
قَالَ يَا نُوحُ إِنَّهُ لَيْسَ مِنْ أَهْلِكَ إِنَّهُ عَمَلٌ غَيْرُ صَالِحٍ
He said, "O Noah! He is not of your family for his conduct is unrighteous.” (Surah Hud, 11:46)
We have to be careful. I am addressing those who understand what I am saying and I don't want to say everything. Tariqah is very difficult to understand, but Shari`ah is easy to understand: you recite Shahadah, pray salaat, fast Ramadan, perform Hajj, then you are protected.
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