A`oodhu billahi min ash-Shaytaani 'r-rajeem. Bismillaahi 'r-Rahmaani 'r-Raheem.
Laa hawla wa laa quwatta illa billahi 'l-`Aliyyu 'l-`Azheem.
Dastoor, yaa Sayyidi. Madad, yaa Sayyidi, yaa Sultan al-Awliya. Yaa Sayyidi Qutbu ‘l-Mutasarrif. Nadharak himmatak Sayyidi ‘l-Kareem. Madad, yaa RijaalAllah.
Allah, Allah. Allah, Allah. Allah, Allah. `Azeez Allah.
Allah, Allah. Allah, Allah. Allah, Allah. Kareem Allah.
Allah, Allah. Allah, Allah. Allah, Allah. Subhaan Allah.
Allah, Allah. Allah, Allah. Allah, Allah. Sultan Allah.
Madad, yaa RijaalAllah.
As-salaamu `alaykum wa rahmatullaahi wa barakaatuh.
Nice to be back in DC. May Allah (swt) bless this place. May Allah (swt) bless the inhabitants of this place. May Allah (swt) make the goodness in this place increase. There is a du`a of Rasoolullah (s). Who do we follow? We follow those who teach us adab. Rasoolullah (s) is teaching adab to humanity. Follow the one who teaches adab and leave the one who teaches no adab. May Allah (swt) forgive us.
When you enter a land, a city, a town, Rasoolullah (s) used to make the following du`a. Alhamdulillah, I was on the plane looking and coming to DC where everything happens. I learned this du`a of Rasoolullah (s) recently. Why don’t you learn the du`a of Rasoolullah (s), O Muslim. Who is aware of that du`a? I wasn’t aware. I said, subhaanAllah, when Rasoolullah (s) was coming from Ghazwatu ‘t-Tabook, the Battle of Tabuk, returning to Madinah. I remembered he used to say something. When Rasoolullah (s) travelled outside of Madinah and came back to Madinah, Sahaabah Kiram (r) narrated what he said.
Ayyiboon, returning, tayyiboon, repenting, `abidoon, worshipping, li Rabbina hamidoon, to our Lord we are thankful. We have returned. If we have done something wrong, we are repenting. If we have done something that is not up to par, we are repenting. We are worshippers and to our Lord we are thankful.
When we come back home from traveling, why don’t we recite that du`a? Allah (swt) will love it. You are following the Sunnah of Rasoolullah (s). He will love you as well. When you enter a village, a town, a city, a land or a country, what do you say? It’s a big du`a but the conclusion of that du`a, the cream of that du`a.
اَللّٰهُمَّ رَبَّ السَّمَاوَاتِ السَّبْعِ وَرَبَّ الْأَرْضِ، وَرَبَّ الْعَرْشِ الْعَظِيْمِ، رَبَّنَا وَرَبَّ كُلِّ شَيْءٍ، فَالِقَ الْحَبِّ وَالنَّوَى، وَمُنْزِلَ التَّوْرَاةِ وَالْإِنْجِيْلِ، وَالْفُرْقَانِ، أَعُوْذُ بِكَ مِنْ شَرِّ كُلِّ شَيْءٍ أَنْتَ آخِذٌ بِنَاصِيَتِهِ،
Allaahumma Rabbas-samaawaatis-sab'i wa Rabbal-`Arshil-`Azheem, Rabbanaa wa Rabba kulli shay 'in, faaliqal-habbi wa’n-nawaa , wa munzilat-Tawraati wal-'Injeeli, wal-Furqaani, 'a`oodhu bika min sharri kulli shay'in 'Anta 'aakhidhun binaasiyatihi.
O Allaah, Lord of the seven heavens and the exalted throne, our Lord and Lord of all things, Splitter of the seed and the date stone, Revealer of the Towraat, the Injeel and the Furqaan, I take refuge in You from the evil of all things You shall seize by the forelock.
That is difficult to remember but he starts here: Allahumma innī as’aluka min khayri hādhihi al-baldah. Yaa Rabbee. I am asking You from the goodness of this town. You’re entering a town, a land or a city and you don’t know who is in it or who is not in it. You don’t know the goodness or the badness that’s in it. Whenever you travel somewhere, ask Allah (swt) from the goodness of this village, the goodness of this town, the goodness of this city.
Allahumma innī as’aluka min khayri hādhihi al-qaryah wa khayri ahlihā, the goodness of this town and the goodness of its people. Wa min khayri mā fīhā, and the goodness that’s in it. Wa naʿūdhu bika min sharri hādhihi al-qaryah, and we are asking shelter in You from the badness of this town and from the badness of its inhabitants and the badness that’s in it.
What better place to make that du`a than when you’re entering DC? We are asking from the goodness of the people who live here. May Allah (swt) grant us from their goodness. We are asking from the goodness of this town and the goodness that’s in it and we are asking shelter in Allah (swt) from the badness that’s in town and the badness of the inhabitants in it.
Rasoolullah (s) taught people adab, the way to attract the khayr of Allah (swt) and to repel the sharr, to attract goodness and repel evil. The Ummah of Rasoolullah (s) are trying to clean their insides. We are not too much into the outside. Why did you come here? Because inside of you there’s an inclination for Haqq. Do you like Haqq? Do you love Allah (swt)? Do you have Muhabbatu ‘Llah and Rasool (s)? In yourself there is a liking for Rasoolullah (s), for Allah (swt) and for Truth. There is an inclination to Haqq so you came here. Those who want to reach Allah (swt), Reality and to be in the Ocean of Love come here. Is there anything else here?
These people are busy decorating the inside. They are decorating their hearts. If you came for biryani, you have come for shahwa, desires. You have not come for Muhabbatu ‘Llah, you came for muhabbah of biryani. When people go to restaurants, do they go to make Dhikrullah? I heard there are a zillion high end restaurants in DC. Alhamdulillah, our host doesn’t take us there. He makes his own food in the kitchen. If you’re going to a restaurant in this town, you’re not going for Dhikrullah, you’re going for the desires of the stomach. Gastronomy. How nice. "Let's try an Ethiopian restaurant tonight. Let’s try an Eritrean restaurant tonight. Let’s try a Turkish restaurant. No, Turkish is very common now. It’s like McDonald’s. It’s not fancy anymore. We need something more fancy.”
Why? Are you going there for Muhabbatu ‘Llah and Muhabbatu ‘r-Rasool (s)? “No, we are going for muhabbatu ‘sh-shahwatu ‘l-batan and if we’re lucky shahwatu ‘l-farj.” I won’t translate that into English.
You came here because inside of you there is an inclination for Haqq, Haqiqah and Muhabbatu ‘Llah and Muhabbatu ‘r-Rasool (s). You try to decorate the inside. You try to take everything dirty from your inside and throw it away.
If you were from the other side, from those who are after shahwa, soorah and khalq, these are the people who decorate their outsides. Why? Because they love people and they like desires? Why? Because when there are people, there are desires. If you are alone, there’s not much to desire. Third, they love soorah, illusion, not reality. It’s called majaaz in Arabic. Mawlana Shaykh Nazim (q) always talked about that. If I say to Nazim, “Would you marry this girl in the picture? Marry the picture.” You will say, “I want the real one, not the picture.” Look how Mawlana Shaykh Nazim (q) brings these examples.
You don’t want the illusion, the image or the picture, you want the real one. Haqqiqah is Allah (swt)’s Divine Presence, everything else is illusion. Why do you run after the illusion? We are all going to disappear after a while. You’re not a real one. If you were reality, why do you disappear? Those who are after the image, after their desire and after people, they decorate their outside. Why? Because that’s how they are accepted with people. How do you people accept you? When you walk in with fancy shoes, fancy clothes, fancy perfume, you drive a fancy car and people run to you. “Sir, can I be your friend? Can I go wherever you go? I’ll have a good time.”
Those people decorate their outsides with whatever is considered high in front of people. With `ulama it’s the same thing, if they are after people. That’s what catches people’s eyes. That’s how they become popular with people. Those who are after Haqq, Haqqiqah Muhabbatu ‘Llah and Muhabbatu ‘r-Rasool (s), they are not too much into their dress. They are more into cleaning the inside. What’s on the inside? To admire oneself. Have you ever seen someone admiring himself or herself? Astaghfirullahi ‘l-`Azheem. “I am this,” and all you do is look at that, “I am this,” coat of yours. “How am I today?” If you think, “I am this one. I am that one. I am this big. I am this great.” You are an admirer of yourself. That is not accepted. Rasoolullah (s) said, three things will make you perish. I’ll leave the first two. The third one is to admire yourself. That is what is inside of us.
You are away from Haqq and very close to khalq. Basically you’re very close to yourself which is an illusion. What happened to the kings of old times? Mashaa-Allah, every time we go to Montreal they take us to the Oratoire [of Montréal - Saint Joseph’s Oratory of Mount Royal]. What is in there? Bones of some kings. What happened to these kings? They were an illusion. They’re not kings, they’re an illusion. Where are they now? Nothing remains except some bones. How come it’s a king?
If you are after khalq, if you are after yourself which is an illusion, which is just a reflection in the mirror...whose mirror? We cannot say it online. People will say we are crazy ones. That mirror is the heart of whom? I’ll leave it there.
You are just an illusion. If you are admiring that person in the picture, you are out of your mind. You say, “I want the real one. I don’t want just a picture.” When somebody gets rid of their own image then Haqq starts to appear. When you disappear from your own heart, Haqq appears. As long as you are there and you’re keeping yourself high in your heart and among people, you are very far away from Haqq (swt).
They ask, “What is our Way?” Our Way is to clear that heart from every illusion. Is dunya an illusion? It is an illusion. Dunya a hundred years ago is not the same as dunya now. Dunya now will not be the same as dunya in the future if Allah (swt) gives it life. Dunya is an illusion. Actually, dunya changes every moment. Every moment there is something different in dunya. It’s not the same. They say, “Find similar images.” In dunya you can never find an image that is similar to the previous image and that’s the Power of Allah (swt). Every moment there is a different creation.
Dunya is an illusion. You are an illusion. If you think you're going to be building towers in this world and then you’re gonna live here forever, you’re in an illusion. What is reality? The reality is you’re going to return to Allah (swt). The reality is you’re going to see it on the Day of Judgement. Allah (swt) will ask, “To Whom belongs everything today?”
لِمَنِ الْمُلْكُ الْيَوْمَ
Limanil-mulku al-yawm
“To whom belongs the dominion today?” (Surah Ghafir, 40:16)
There is nobody to tell Him. He will answer Himself by Himself.
لِلَّهِ الْوَاحِدِ الْقَهَّارِ
Lillāhi al-Wāḥidi al-Qahhār
“[It belongs] to Allah, the One, the All-Compelling.” (Surah Ghafir, 40:16)
To Allah (swt), The One. There’s no two, three, four or no other one. The One is Allah (swt). Be careful. If you call yourself the one, you are stepping into a place that you’re not supposed to be in. Allah (swt) is Al-Wahid, Al-Qahhar. That means He has crushed everybody or subdued or controlled or made everybody else disappear. He by Himself answers Himself, “To Me belongs everything.”
Why are you upset? “I have nothing. He has everything. He is on top. I’m on the bottom. He is on the right. I am on the left.” All of that is an illusion. The reality is Muhabbatu ‘l-Llah and Muhabbatu ‘r-Rasool (s), to the inclination to Haqq and to Rasoolullah (s) and to reach that reality is our way. They ask, “What do you teach?” We don’t teach anything. We teach you how to not like yourself. Always see yourself as deficient in what you do. When you are deficient in what you do, what do you say? Astaghfirullah.
In Surah Muhammad, Allah (swt) says:
Fa`lam annahu Laa ilaaha illa-Llah wa’staghfir li dhanbik.
فَٱعْلَمْ أَنَّهُۥ لَآ إِلَـٰهَ إِلَّا ٱللَّهُ وَٱسْتَغْفِرْ لِذَنۢبِكَ وَلِلْمُؤْمِنِينَ وَٱلْمُؤْمِنَـٰتِ وَٱللَّهُ يَعْلَمُ مُتَقَلَّبَكُمْ وَمَثْوَىٰكُمْ
Know, therefore, that there is no god but Allah, and ask forgiveness for thy fault, and for the men and women who believe: for Allah knows how ye move about and how ye dwell in your homes. (Surah Muhammad, 47:19)
There is nothing in this existence except Allah (swt). Ask forgiveness for your sins. Rasoolullah (s) does not have sins. Awliyaullah have taught us that the levels to approach Allah (swt) do not end. When Rasoolullah (s) ascends from one level to a higher level, when he goes to the higher level he says, “Yaa Rabbee. I was deficient in this lower level. Now I’m praising You in a better way. Now I’m worshipping You in a better way. Now I’m glorifying You in a better way.” When he goes up higher, he says, “Yaa Rabbee. There was a better level. There was a higher praise of You. There was a higher glorification of You. Astaghfirullah.” It’s not because he committed a sin but because he saw that what he had done at the lower level was not like the higher level. That level is not like the higher level and so forth.
You always have to find that you are deficient in what you do. When Allah (swt) grants you a higher level, you have to be thankful. When you realize that you are deficient in what you do, do you like yourself anymore? You don’t. Who follows that path? Very few. That is for somebody to love himself. Isn’t that called narcissism? “I am in love with myself. I’m in love with the image that I see on social media, that I see in my community, that I see in my boardroom, that I see at work. I’m in love with my image when I drive in my nice car.” That has to go.
They come against tariqah. Why do they come against tariqah? Tariqah is taking the way of Shari`ah, of course. We follow that but the inner, the mukhliqaat as Rasoolullah (s) said in that Hadith: three will make you perish. One is extreme stinginess. Not only that but you want everything else that others have. You are not content with what you have and don’t give in the way. You don’t give the zakat, the sadaqah or help the poor, nothing. You are holding it so tight but at the same time you want everything. The second is a desire that is followed. Whenever you desire something, you follow it. You see through that you do it. The last one is to be in love with the image of oneself.
May Allah (swt) forgive us. Ameen, yaa Rabbee. Don’t be in love with yourself. Rather go towards Haqqiqah which is Allah (swt) and Rasoolullah (s), the representative of Allah (swt), the ultimate khalifah, the ultimate deputy. When He said, inni ja’ilun fil ardi khalifah, “I am making a khalifah on earth,” it means that, “My khalifah will appear on earth.” Adam (a) was the khalifah but through him came Rasoolullah (s) through the generations and he is the ultimate, the real khalifah. Everything else is following Rasoolullah (s).
Rasoolullah (s) came to teach us the way. When you are moving towards Allah (swt) and Haqqiqah, you are leaving yourself and your image. Can you do that? Who can do that? Astaghfirullahi ‘l-Adheem. Nobody is doing that. People who are not in religion, who have careers not associated with religion, all they do is polish their image. How many of them go on LinkedIn? If you want to know somebody, go to LinkedIn and he will have written paragraphs about himself. Alhamdulillah, I’m not on LinkedIn because nobody opened an account for me, so I leave it. I’m not on Twitter either. Quotes of the day, I will give suhbah to people everyday. The suhbah is in the Sunnah and the Hadith of Rasoolullah (s).
What does every non-religious person do in their worldly careers? They polish their image. How about the religious people? Are they polishing their image too? Yes. “Mashaa-Allah, I graduated from the University of Chicago in Arabic language. Then I went to Yemen or Egypt or Saudi and I got this or that diploma,” and then they keep polishing their image. That is not the way. It is not you. You are your enemy. Move away from you to Haqq (swt). That means from myself to Allah (swt). That is how Rasoolullah (s) moved. He said, “Read.” Did he say, “I am a big reader”? He has `Uloom. Before it was revealed that he was the Prophet, he knew but this is the way of life that when the age comes, it is said that you have become a prophet or a Wali or whatever. But they knew. Rasoolullah (s) was not an ignorant one to be taught. Hasha! Muhammadur Rasoolullah (s) was from the beginning. When was that? Whenever, laa ilaaha illa-Llah was there, Muhammadun Rasoolullah was next to it.
He is the Messenger from Allah (swt)’s creation. Before us, before we were born, he was Nabi. That is Hadith. He said, “When Adam (a) was between ruh and jasad, I was Nabi.” Non-religious people polish their image, religious people polish their image and that’s now how it’s supposed to be in our way. In our way you have to be towards Haqqiqah, toward Muhabbatu ‘l-Llah and Muhabbatu ‘r-Rasool (s), not towards promoting this one and that one and yourself. Astaghfirullahi ‘l-`Azheem. We are trying to reach the door of Jannah which is reached by following Rasoolullah (s).
I was planning to speak here and there but mashaa-Allah, this came, when somebody admires himself. May Allah (swt) take us away from that admiration of oneself. That is the character of the peacock when it spreads its colors and its beauty. That was one of the birds that Ibrahim (a) was told to slaughter. He said, “Yaa Rabbee, show me how You revive the dead.” Surah Baqarah. He said, “You do not believe I can revive the dead?” That means you have a dead heart. Allah (swt) is the One to revive it.
He calls you to Himself. You cannot reach Allah (swt) if He is not accepting you. He said, “Yaa Rabbee. Show me how to revive the dead.” In soorah, in physicality, Allah (swt) told him to take four birds. That is the outward knowledge but Awliyaullah have said that one of these birds, the peacock, represents self-admiration. If you want your heart to live or to have life and be revived, you have to get rid of that self-admiration. He is in love with himself, narcissism. That has to go. Inshaa-Allah, Allah (swt) will allow us to make that disappear.
How does it disappear? Laa ilaaha illa-Llah. Whenever you say, “Laa ilaaha illa-Llah,” your nafs will come against you, “What are you saying? You used to say, laa ilaaha illa-ana, laa ilaaha illa-nafsi.” Mawlana Shaykh Nazim (q) used to teach us that your ego tells you there is no great one, there is no god who orders and forbids except my ego. Your ego says, “Where are you going? Are you leaving me and going to Allah (swt)?” Allah (swt) orders and forbids. The nafs says, “No, no, I don’t like these orders and forbiddens. I like what I order myself and what I forbid myself.”
Mawlana Shaykh Nazim (q) said the minute you say, Laa ilaaha illa-Llah, the minute you turn to Allah (swt), your ego will come right away. It will say to Shaytan, “Ay Shaytan, come help me. Our partner is now moving somewhere else. We have to keep him with us.” Shaytan comes. Nafs is on you to make you not say, Laa ilaaha illa-Llah. That is nafi and isbat. You deny the lordship of your ego because it claims to be a lord and you affirm the Lordship of Allah (swt), Laa ilaaha illa-Llah.
By repeating, Laa ilaaha illa-Llah, that’s how you get your ego to calm down, especially at night. During the night and during the day be busy with, Laa ilaaha illa-Llah. Be busy with effacing your image from your heart. Rather, allow that Lafdu ‘d-Jalala to enter your heart. Allah (swt) Allah (swt)’s Noor to enter into your heart. Allow Rasoolullah’s (s) Noor to enter into your heart. Say, yaa Hannan, yaa Mannan, yaa Rabbee. Mannan, the One Who grants. Hannan, the One who is Raheem, turns to the ones who have turned away from Him. Yaa Dayyan, the One Who rewards. Hannan, Mannan, Dayyan.
Why do you turn to Ka`bah? What’s in there? Have you ever been inside the Ka`bah? Were you from the lucky ones? No, only if you’re a Saudi prince or a Turkish king or whatever. If you are high, if you have polished your image enough, you can enter Ka`bah. Did you ever look at the pictures or videos from inside the Ka`bah? How many pillars are inside? There are three pillars inside Ka`bah. What do they signify? Awliyaullah speak from the knowledge of the Qur’an. They’re not from outside the knowledge of Qur’an. But it is knowledge that we did not reach and other `ulama did not reach. This is ghayb, this is `ilm ‘l-ladunni.
From that Ocean of Ha Mim. Ha Meem wa ‘l-Kitabi ‘l-Mubeen. How many Ha Mim are there? Six or seven. What is Ha? Awliyaullah have said sometimes these letters are the beginnings of Allah (swt)’s Holy Names, Asmaullahi ‘l-Husna. Ha is the first letter of Hannan.
ٱلَّذِي يَقْبَلُ مِمَّنْ عَرَضَ عَنْهُ
al‑ladhī yaqbalu mimman ʿaraḍa ʿanhu
The One Who turns to the one who has turned away from Him.
Even if you have turned away from Allah (swt), He is there, looking at you. Hannan. Raheem, Merciful. One pillar represents Hannan, the One Who has turned to you with Rahmah. That’s why you’re existing. You’re existing by His Rahmah. You’re existing because He wants to give you something. Mannan is the One Who gives, Al-M`uti.
Ha is the first letter of Hannan. Meem is the first letter of Mannan. He is the One Who granted you existence with His Rahmah. He is giving you even if you are running away from Him. For what were you created? For Allah (swt). I was at the gate today, looking at people. Nobody is mentioning Allah (swt). Maybe inside, I don’t know, but visibly what I’m seeing is they’re talking about their parties that they will have in DC. Two people were behind me talking about Brad, Jim and Jill. I put on my Airpods and listened to Dhikrullah.
Who is worshipping Allah (swt)? Everybody is running away from Allah (swt). What has He given you this existence? To remember Him. Those who remember Him are very few. Alhamdulillah, He made us from them. Alhamdulillah that I am dhakir, you are dhakir, she is dhakir. We are dhakireen. Alhamdulillah.
Allah (swt) is Hannan. Still He gives everything to these people who are running away whatever they need. There are three columns inside the Ka`bah. Hannan. The One Who granted existence to all with His Rahmah. He supplied everything needed to all. Mannan, the One Who has given. Rahman and ataa, giving. The third pillar is Dayyan, the One Who will reward you or recompensate.
Creation, life on earth and the third one is to reward. He will reward you. Whether it is good or bad, we don’t know. That’s up to Him. Allah (swt) has promised and His Promises are true. We always run to the Rahmah of Allah (swt).
Awliyaullah have said that the three columns in Ka`bah represent this whole creation. You were created and Allah (swt) has given you whatever you needed in this life and then you will be rewarded. For creation you say, alhamdulillahi Rabbi ‘l-`Alameen. Yaa Rabbee, You created me. Thank You. The Lord of the words. Ar-Rahmani ‘r-Rahim. Mannan, the One Who’s giving. And the third column is Dayyan, Maliki Yaumi ‘d-Deen. Yaa Rabbee, thank You for creating me. With Your Mercy, allow me to do good service. On the Day of Judgement when You will recompensate, recompensate me with Your Mercy rather than my `amal, it’s with Your Mercy and shafa`ah of Rasoolullah (s).
Turn to Ka`bah and away from yourself, to the three columns inside of Ka`bah that represent Al-Hannaan, Al-Mannaan, Ad-Dayyaan, The Merciful, The Giver and The Rewarder. Those are the tree columns in Ka`bah as Awliyaullah have explained and Allah (swt) knows best.
Turn away from yourself. No matter how much people push you up front, turn away from yourself. Yeah, stay up front, no problem. They pushed you as an imam. You pray but don't say, "I'm gonna sing so long today and recite such big, high melodies. They will be so impressed with my image.” Don’t be like that.
We went to the masjid the last time we were in DC. Mashaa-Allah, the imam was up front. From his singing I could not understand the words anymore. He was trying to make such melodious melodies that the Word of Qur’an got lost. It is not about that. Qur’an is supposed to make you have khushu`, to humble yourself within, not to become a peacock. Mashaa-Allah, the imams, the `ulama, the professors, the ministers--everybody is running after polishing their image. Yeah, they pushed you up front, no problem, but within yourself know that you’re running away from yourself to Haqq, away from narcissism and loving yourself to loving Haqq and Rasoolullah (s) and running to that Reality. Reality is Allah (swt). Nothing else is real. Everything else is just a reflection in the heart of Rasoolullah (s) and that is the worlds. Everything is reflecting there from the Divine Presence and that’s how you appeared.
May Allah (swt) forgive us. May Allah (swt) allow us to be on the way of Rasoolullah (s), away from everything other than Allah (swt), to reach the Divine Presence of Allah (swt). Ameen, yaa Rabbee, ameen. [Du`a]
Wa min Allahi 't-tawfeeq, bi hurmati 'l-habeeb (s), bi hurmati 'l-Fatihah.
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