Dr. Nour Mohammad Kabbani
15 May 2019 Fenton Zawiya, Michigan
Fajr Suhbah
[On video, suhbah starts at 49:30.]
A`oodhu billahi min ash-Shaytani ‘r-rajeem. Bismillahi 'r-Rahmani 'r-Raheem. Alhamdulillahi Rabbi 'l-`Alameen, wa ’s-salaatu wa ’s-salaamu `alaa ashrafi 'l-mursaleena Sayyidina wa Nabiyyina Muhammadin wa `alaa aalihi wa sahbihi ajma`een, wa man taba`ahum bi ihsan ila yawmid-deen wa nahnu ma`ahum ya arhamur-rahimeen.
Dastoor yaa Sayyidi, madad. Himmatik yaa Sayyidi, yaa Qutb al-Mutasarrif.
Bismillahi 'r-Rahmani 'r-Raheem. As-salaamu `alaykum wa rahmatullaahi wa barakaatuh. May Allah (swt) make us from those who follow His Orders. We are trying our best to explain what our Mawlana Shaykhs of the Naqshbandi Sufi Order have said, and of course, everyone can convey according to their capacity. Allah says He will not burden any soul above its capacity, which means there is a unique capacity for each person and that’s how Shari`ah came. Mawlana Shaykh (q) is saying the way of Sayyidina Muhammad (s), Shari`ah al-Ahmadiyya, came according to people’s capacity. Not everyone can become a saint, an `alim, a worshipper; everyone works and moves according to their capacity.
Everyone needs a role model to follow to reach Allah’s Divine Presence, and these are prophets. That is why Allah sent prophets to humanity, to take people there, and we are trying our best to explain what they have said, and to show the way Rasool (s) showed his Companions and his Ahlu ’l-Bayt, who showed our shuyookh. We apologize if we have offended anyone; we are just trying to state facts and give the information that our shuyookh gave, and to purify ourselves. So everything we are saying is about purification of the mind and heart, because they became contaminated.
Sayyidina Adam (a) was pure, so how did he eat the Forbidden Fruit?
All prophets came with the original Message about what they call Original Sin. What happened to our father Sayyidina Adam (a), whom we were with? Mawlana Shaykh Nazim (q) said that Sayyidina Adam (a) was chosen by Allah (swt), and he is not the one that ate (the forbidden fruit); rather, it was the disobedient ones from his generation. We were in his body, Allah (swt) put us in him as nutfa, water in him. In reality, the disobedient human beings pushed our father to eat, because they wanted to come out to enjoy dunya. They pushed him, “Let us get out of this Jannah, we need to go down and enjoy our senses and desires! Come on Dad, move! Aren’t we there yet? Come on, let's walk to the tree!” The disobedient ones wanted to come out to enjoy dunya, the obedient ones wanted to come out in order to go to Akhirah to enjoy themselves, and the beloved ones wanted to come out to dunya to gain access to Allah’s Love and become in His Divine Presence. So there were three groups, wa kuntum azwaajan thalaatha:
وَكُنتُمْ أَزْوَاجًا ثَلَاثَةً
And you shall be sorted into three classes. (Surat al-Waqi`ah, 56:7)
Allah (swt) says three groups in Surat al-Waqi`ah: As-haab ash-shimaal, the People of the Left Hand who disobeyed Him and wanted to come to dunya to enjoy themselves. Then the People of Right Hand who obeyed him wanted to come to dunya to win Akhirah. And then there are wa ‘s-sabiqoona ‘s-sabiqoon oolaika muqarraboon, those who are brought near: they wanted to come to dunya in order to gain nearness to Allah (swt).
وَالسَّابِقُونَ السَّابِقُونَ أُوْلَئِكَ الْمُقَرَّبُونَ
And those foremost (in faith) will be foremost (in the Hereafter). These will be Nearest to Allah.
(Surat al-Waqi`ah, 56:10-11)
The People of Haqiqa say it was not Sayyidina Adam (a) who wanted to eat the forbidden fruit; rather, it was the generations within him that pushed him to eat it. So what happened? He moved towards the tree with his feet, and moved his hand towards the fruit, and after he ate he moved his hand to his head. That is why we are ordered to make tahara: to purify our feet that walked to that tree, to purify our arms and hands that reached for that fruit, and to purify our faces and head that turned to that fruit: these are the four faraa’id of wudu.
يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُواْ إِذَا قُمْتُمْ إِلَى الصَّلاةِ فاغْسِلُواْ وُجُوهَكُمْ وَأَيْدِيَكُمْ إِلَى الْمَرَافِقِ وَامْسَحُواْ بِرُؤُوسِكُمْ وَأَرْجُلَكُمْ إِلَى الْكَعْبَينِ
O you who believe! When you prepare for prayer, wash your faces, and your hands (and arms) to the elbows; rub your heads (with water); and (wash) your feet to the ankles. (Surat al-Ma’idah, 5:6)
Allah orders, “If you want to come to Me in salaat, wash your face from directing it to other than Me, wash your hands that are immersed in sins, and wash your head that has traces of impurities, wash your feet that moved towards that tree.” Rasoolullah (s) has sent us the way to purify ourselves. He was sent as a prophet and messenger to guide us to Allah (swt). Yaa Rabbee, make us from those who find the way to Your Divine Presence and fulfill the obligations of purification!
The Two Levels of Shari`ah
So Mawlana Shaykh Nazim (q) says that Allah made Shari`ah of two levels, according to Imam ash-Sha`rani (q): some people have `uloow al-himmah, a strong drive, power, and determination to reach Allah (swt), Who gave them the higher level of Shari`ah to practice; and some people are weak and Allah (swt) gave them a lower level of Shari`ah to practice.
Yaa ayyuhalladzeena amanoo idhaa qumtum ila ‘s-salaati faghsiloo wujoohakum. Allah is saying that when you stand up to pray wash your faces, your hands, your feet, etc., what is normally to take wudu for prayer. But the way of the People of Determination is to take wudu for every prayer, and they know ablution over ablution is light upon light. So grandshaykhs take wudu for every prayer, and what do we do? We try to stretch as much as we can we try to pray with our old wudu, praying before going to the bathroom, holding the wudu. That is ahl al-rukhas, the people of ease; this is our lesser level. Mawlana Shaykh (q) says every time you pray, wash, take new wudu. The powerful ones make wudu for every salaat. The weak ones, like us, might take one wudu for five prayers, if we didn't eat and drink as we usually do. That is one example, and the other example is:
وَارْكَعُواْ مَعَ الرَّاكِعِين
And bow down your heads with those who bow down (in worship). (Surat al-Baqarah, 2:43)
Make ruku` with those who are making ruku`. Try to pray with people in congregation, jama`ah; Ahlu ‘l-Azhaaim, the People of Determination try to pray every salaah in jama`ah. I remember Mawlana Shaykh and my father always came down to pray with people, while others stay at home and pray alone even though they don’t live far from the mosque. This is allowed in our madhhab, although other madhaaib are strict with that, but for the higher level of practice we try to make salaah in jama`ah.
The Best Practices of Wudu and Salaat
Subhaan-Allah, this is interesting. According to Imam `Azham (Abu Hanifa), there must be three to pray in jama`ah, and there are 27 levels of prayer above a singular prayer, because with a minimum of three people and the hasanaat are multiplied by 10, that makes 30, but the original one is subtracted so that makes 27 levels of rewards above your individual prayer. The people of `azhaaim are going for that every time and they make wudu for each prayer and some of them even come before adhaan, ready for prayer. Some people will come on Judgment Day with their light shining like the sun: they are the ones who are ready to pray before the adhaan. Some will come with light like the full moon: they are the ones who make wudu before the adhaan. And then some will come with light like the little stars: they arrive for prayer after adhaan. The ones who are ready before adhaan have the brightest light.
Mawlana Shaykh said to pray the prayer at the beginning, because this is the time that Allah’s Pleasure is coming down and He himself is looking at His servants opening veils for them without the interference of the angels. If you delay your prayer, then the angels lift the prayer and open the veils. So in our religion there are two ways you hold: the Way of Determination, or like us, we are licensed, we don’t take it too strongly, but if you do then you are from the People of Power.
Qiyaam al-Layl for Ahlu ‘l-Rukhas, the weak ones, is to pray after `Isha, but before you sleep. But if you pray after you fall asleep when you start snoring and dreaming, and then wake up, that is Tahajjud. This is for the People of Determination, which is stronger and not everyone can do it. So Ahlu ‘t-Turooq assume the way of the People of Determination, so if you apply these examples you are from them and can honestly say, “I am from the people of Mawlana Shaykh’s way.” But if you don’t follow that way, then you are from the regular Muslims, like all of us who try our best to follow the ways of Rasoolullah (s).
May Allah (swt) forgive us and give us power to do what Ahlu ‘l-`Azhaim do. Rasool (s) has recommended to stay up from Fajr to Ishraaq, sunrise, but how many people do that? Only a few, but try to be from the brave and few, brave against your ego and desires. That is harder to conquer. It is said you can go to war and kill your enemy one time, but in the war against your ego you kill it 1,000 times and it comes to life again every time. That is the struggle that we go through to be from those who have found the way to Allah’s Divine Presence, who have purified themselves.
Wa min Allah at-tawfeeq bi hurmati 'l-Fatihah.
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