Suhbah at Private Residence
A`oodhu billahi min ash-Shaytaani 'r-rajeem. Bismillahi 'r-Rahmaani 'r-Raheem.
Nawaytu 'l-arba`een, nawaytu 'l-`itikaaf, nawaytu 'l-khalwah, nawaytu 'l-`uzlah,
nawaytu 'r-riyaadah, nawaytu 's-sulook, lillahi ta`ala fee haadha 'l-masjid.
أَطِيعُواْ اللّهَ وَأَطِيعُواْ الرَّسُولَ وَأُوْلِي الأَمْرِ مِنكُمْ
Ati`oollaha wa ati`u 'r-Rasoola wa ooli 'l-amri minkum.
Obey Allah, obey the Prophet, and obey those in authority among you. (4:59)
From His Endless Mercy, Allah (swt) gave every person 137 years to live, as a normal or general age, when He sent Sayyidina Adam (a) to Earth. Many people lived longer or sometimes less. Before the time of the Prophet (s), people used to live more than 137 years because of the du`a of the anbiya. Sayyidina Musa (a) was over 300 years old. And for Prophet (s), from Allah’s Generosity, Sayyidina Musa (a) said, “Yaa Muhammad, I am not going to...,” as we know from spiritual teachings. However, Prophet (s) knew his ummah will struggle between good and evil, and they might go between “thumma amanoo and thumma kafaroo,” one day they are good and one day they are not. Here “kafaroo” means to make mistakes or do something wrong. So Prophet (s) asked for the age to be reduced. Although we would like to live a long life of 137 years, but you don’t know in these 137 years you might commit many sins that Allah (swt) does not like. So that is why people die before 137 years of age, in order to save them from the darkness they will throw themselves into.
Because we are doubtful people, you might say, “Okay, why did the Prophet (s) only live 63 years, why not more as he is ma`soom, infallible? Why did he leave dunya before 137 years?” Because he is the only human being, the only person to whom Allah gave a choice of staying in dunya or leaving, and he preferred to leave it. Also, many scholars say that he (s) preferred leaving to be with the Highest Company, to be more in the Divine Presence.
Allah (swt) said about the Prophet (s) in the Holy Qur’an:
وَمَا أَرْسَلْنَاكَ إِلَّا رَحْمَةً لِّلْعَالَمِينَ
wa maa arsalnaaka ila rahmatan li ’l-`alameen.
(O Muhammad!) We have sent you not except as a Mercy for all the Worlds. (al-Anbiya, 21:107)
So from his mercy, Prophet (s) preferred to leave dunya early in order to have this difference between 63 years and 137 years, 74 years, to be distributed between his ummah! Prophet’s worship is not like ours and he wanted to share his life so the ummah would be part of his life, and on the Day of Judgment they would rise up as if they have done this worship, but in reality it is from the choice of the Prophet (s) to divide the rest of his life among his ummah, not necessarily equally; one might get one second, another might get one moment, another may get one hour or another may get one day, spreading it all over dunya as if you are sprinkling decorations over a cake with different colors to make it look nice. And so the ummah, on the Day of Judgment will appear like a big cake sprinkled with light, as part of the rahmah from Prophet (s)!
No other prophet had that khusoosiyah, “privilege;” it was only given to Prophet (s). That privilege was also his choice, as he was able to say, “No, I want to live the full 137 years,” because Allah (swt) gave him that choice, but he said, “No, I shall go.” As the `ulama have understood, it was not only to be with the Highest Company or in Divine Presence, which is correct, but also that Allah (swt) gave him the choice because He made him Rahmatan lil-`Alameen, to share his life with the ummah. That is why Allah (swt) said in the Holy Qur’an:
أَلا إِنَّ أَوْلِيَاء اللّهِ لاَ خَوْفٌ عَلَيْهِمْ وَلاَ هُمْ يَحْزَنُونَ
`alaa inna awliyaullahi laa khawfun `alayhim wa laa hum yahzanoon.
Behold! Verily on the friends of Allah there is no fear, nor shall they grieve. (al-Yunus,10:62)
If awliyaullah are not sad for themselves but they are sad for their mureeds, what do you think about the Prophet (s), Khatam an-Nabiyyeen, about whom Allah (swt) said:
سُبْحَانَ الَّذِي أَسْرَى بِعَبْدِهِ لَيْلاً مِّنَ الْمَسْجِدِ الْحَرَامِ إِلَى الْمَسْجِدِ الأَقْصَى
Subhaan al-ladhee asraa bi `abdihi laylan min ‘l-Masjidi ‘l-Haraami ‘lla ‘l-Masjidi ‘l-Aqsaa.
Glorified be He, Who took His servant for a journey by night from al-Masjid al-Haraam (in Mecca) to the farthest mosque (in Jerusalem). (Al-Israa, 17:1)
Allah (swt) called him “`abd,” His servant, so He gave him more than anyone else. The meaning here is what we said yesterday:
أَلَمْ نَشْرَحْ لَكَ صَدْرَكَ
Alam nashrah laka sadrak.
Have we not expanded for you your breast? (Surat ash-Sharh, 94:1)
When Allah (swt) asked Sayyidina Muhammad (s), “Why are you sad? Didn’t We expand your chest with happiness, with no limits, to contain this whole universe within it?”Allah opened the chest of the Prophet (s) to carry all that is ma siwa Allah, “All that exists in the Heavens and on Earth,” and whatever we are explaining is only a drop from the ocean of what was given to the Prophet (s)!
This advice is coming not because of a lady who is present; she is carrying a hundred times stronger than (her husband), because I see through her heart that she is an obedient wife although he is tough sometimes. That is why that suhbat opened, to say that she must not be sad nor unhappy, for she is dressed in the ayah, “Behold! Verily on the friends of Allah there is no fear, nor shall they grieve.” That doesn't mean she must not accept what he says or that she has to protest, no; this is only to explain to her husband and to her that Allah gave her that specialty by a grant, as Allah gives by wahban or kasban, a gift or earned, and she has been given that as wahban, a gift, because of her patience with him. So it means his duty is to respect her and to be more reasonable.
From dressing the Prophet (s) as the Mercy for All Humanity, Allah (swt) also gave him the choice to distribute the remainder of 137 years of life to the whole ummah. That is why He (swt) said:
وإعلموا أن فيكم رسول الله
wi' `alamoo anna feekum Rasoolullah.
And know Allah's Messenger is in you. (al-Hujurat, 49:7)
Prophet (s) `ibaadah is “in you” for a moment according to the level of your `ibaadah, and he is in the other person two minutes from his `ibadah, the other one three hours from his `ibaadah. So Prophet (s) is within you performing `ibaadah on your behalf, that no one can reach even if he prays day and night from Sayyidina Adam (a) up to Judgment Day, that cannot match one fraction of a moment of the Prophet's prayer, which is given to the ummah from that secret in order that they will come on Judgment Day as Grandshaykh (q) said, “They look Muhammadiyoon, all like the Prophet (s); they are dressed by that ayah.”
That is why ummat an-Nabi (s) is dressed by Sayyidina Muhammad (s) on Judgment Day, as they are Muhammadiyoon: “And know Allah's Messenger is in you.” because you are performing. So “w`alamoo anna feekum Rasoolullah” is like “safeenah,” the boat of Sayyidina Nuh (a), to whom Allah (swt) said, “Put inside it one couple of every Creation.” And so you say, “Every couple is inside the ship,” not outside the ship.
Allah (swt) said in the Holy Qur'an, fa-aw ila al-kahf, “Run to the cave!”and that cave is Sayyidina Muhammad (s)! Run to him because when you enter the cave, the Prophet (s) is in you; you are within the life of the Prophet (s). Like Surat al-YaSeen, about the fulk al-mash-hoon, that Allah (swt) ordered Sayyidina Nuh (a) to bring everyone in that fulk, the boat; it is like “Safeenat al-Muhammadiyya.” So the life of the Prophet (s) is the boat! Inside the boat, you can move right and left, but the reality of the boat is him, the Prophet (s), and he is taking you where he is going. That is why it is stated, “He is in you.”
وَآيَةٌ لَّهُمْ أَنَّا حَمَلْنَا ذُرِّيَّتَهُمْ فِي الْفُلْكِ الْمَشْحُونِ
Wa aayatun lahum anna hamalna dhurriy-yatahum fi 'l-fulki 'l-mashhoon.
And a sign to them is that we carry them and their descendants in a loaded ship. (YaSeen, 36:41)
A cell phone is “charged.” Fulk al mash-hoon... they are “on the charged ship,” as-safeenat al-mash-hoon, but people forgot what they are charged with because when they came to Earth their memory ... of the Day of Promises was blocked! Allah (swt) said, “Alastu bi-rabbikum?” To whom did He say that? To angels? No, to human beings. “Am I not your Lord?” What did we say? We said, bala, ‘Yes, our Lord.” You don't remember, so it means your memory is blocked! Awliyaullah, either through wahban or kasban, as a gift or through effort, at a certain time in their life that memory comes to them as a grant from Allah, like people who fall and lose their memory of it, but after a while the memory comes back.
Also for awliyaullah who receive wilayah by grant, after a while, for part of their life that memory is lost, but as a grant Allah will give them at a certain time and that memory will come back. For those who have to earn it, it is different... So for those who (are seeking) by effort to get it, they have to keep writing petitions, knocking on the doors, pray more, be more patient, and they have to put all kinds of effort in order that one day it will be accepted and Allah takes that heedlessness and they see what He said in the Day of Alastu bi-rabbikum, when Allah (swt) said, “Am I not your Lord?” They see it and it will open up.
For those who are by effort, it means they have to do more `ibadah, they have to do more work, they have to have more patience, and more effort of all kinds; not when you torture someone and tell them they have to make more effort, no. When someone has been tortured and been abused you have to make up with that (issue) and take care (of it) in order that Allah will open for you, because if you do something wrong to someone, and the Prophet (s) mentioned that in a hadeeth, “Who is the bankrupted?” They said, “The one with no money,” and he said, “No, the one who lost his `amal by wrong dealings with people.” So he has no `amal even if he prays and fasts, because of dealing with people in a wrong way. So Allah made such awliyaullah, but they don't open until they make more effort, at which time Allah opens for them what they were promised on the Day of Promises.
Two of Allah's Beautiful Names and Attributes are “al-Mughnee,” The One Who Gave, and “al-Maani`,” The One Who Prevents. No one can change Allah's Beautiful Names. “al-Mughnee” means in every moment He is giving, so you cannot say Allah gave and afterwards stopped as it is not from munafee adab and would deny Allah's Attribute of Giving. Allah keeps giving and giving and giving: He is al-Mughnee! The two Names came one after the other, al-Mughnee, al-Maani`: “prevents” comes after “giving.” Next is “ad-Daar,” The One Who Harms, and “an-Nafi`,” The One Who Benefits, so benefit comes after harm; after blocking you from remembering the Day of Promises, He lets you remember it by taking away veils. (Allah is saying) “I gave you everything on the Day of Promises and I prevented you from remembering it because you didn’t appreciate it when you came to dunya, so live in difficulties! I gave to you in front of all anbiyaa, awliyaullah, `ibaadullah and angels, that you would say, ‘Yes, yaa Rabbee! You are our Lord!’ Am I not Your Lord?” We said, “Yes!” This is a gift to us. And so in Allah's Beautiful Names and Attributes, what comes after al-Mughnee is al-Maani`, because we didn't fulfill our duties in dunya, so He blocks us.
When you prevent what Allah gave you are doing harm, but Allah's Beautiful Names are “al-Maani`,” The Preventer, and “ad-Daar,” the One Who Harms. So since you were not good in dunya, Allah (swt) says, “I prevent you from remembering and knowing what transpired in the Day of Promises, but if you improve yourselves I will benefit you, as I am ‘al-Nafi`,’ The One Who Benefits.” With what will He (swt) benefit you? With “an-Nur,” The Light! When He benefits you with an-Nur which you have worked hard to receive, then comes “al-Hadi,” The Guide, by which you will be guided, and when He guides you to “al-Badi`,” The Originator, you will be astonished!
To Conceive Children
So we end up by saying that there are obstacles preventing some from having children. In order to fulfill Allah’s (swt) wishes, both husband and wife must recite daily 700 times “astaghfirullah” so those obstacles will be removed, because Allah (swt) is “ad-Daar, an-Nafi`.” So inshaa-Allah, at the end you will get a child. It is best to recite this at Fajr time. During the time of menses, women must not hold the Qur’an; however, dhikr and recitation from memory is permitted, and some `ulama say that the cover of the Qur’an is not part of the Holy Qur'an, as it is external to it, so if someone holds it from the outside it is permitted. And whenever she becomes pregnant, he has to slaughter three sheep or a cow and distribute its meat to the needy. Inshaa-Allah with the barakah of Prophet (s) you will get a child, bi hurmati 'l-Fatihah.
Advice on Marriage
Tell him to be patient on her. One other obstacle is that he gets angry very quickly. She is a convert and he is not, so just because he married her for being a convert he is going to enter Paradise, but he must treat her nicely. He has to be soft on her as she is the victim. Mashaa-Allah they opened this lecture! I didn't think I was going to say anything, but this curtain came down.
(Mawlana Shaykh Hisham interprets a dream.) Grandshaykh (q) invited eight of them and two more to do dhikr, which means they are accepted as his family and they are his inner circle. Who are these eight? In her dream, she saw Mahdi (a) and his seven ministers; that is the meaning. In Mawlana’a inner circle are: Shahamatu ‘l-Fardaani, Yusuf as-Siddiq , Abdul Ra’uf al-Yamani , Imam al-`Arifin Amaan al-Haqq, Lisaan al-Mutakallimeen `Awnullahi ‘s-Sakhawi, `Arifu ‘t-Tayyar al-Ma`ruf bi ’l-Mulhan, and Burhaanu ‘l-Kuramaa Ghawth al-Anaam, seven of them, and Sayyidina al-Mahdi (a) is the eighth. She saw these eight and he was with her. That explains what I just said, that the barakah is with her. So I will repeat it again: she is humble, but that does not mean she must not listen to her husband. She can listen to him and he can listen to her, but he should not get angry or be so rude.
Islam Will Come to Japan
(Once when Shaykh Hardjanto visited Tokyo and they were doing dhikr, the spirituality of one shaykh came [through the pictures] and entered her.)
That means Japan will to be the first to enter Islam. She is carrying the secret of that shaykh who “jumped” into her. So by Mawlana Shaykh Nazim, permission is granted for her to hold dhikr for Japanese ladies, not Indonesian ladies. If Indonesian ladies come it is okay, and she will be a diplomat for the tariqah. As Mawlana Shaykh has authorized me to do this, I am authorizing her to do dhikr and to even give suhbat and to give snacks in her home. She can read from our books and do dhikr and Khatm Khawajagan with Mawlana's permission and my permission. (Japanese Muslims send their salaams to you). Don't always say Muslims only; we want the non-Muslims as well. (Baya`) Grandshaykh `AbdAllah al-Fa'iz ad-Daghestani (q) and Mawlana Shaykh Nazim (q) authorized me to authorize others, and I am authorizing her. Her husband is doing khatm there for everyone, but she can pick a day for ladies and they can discuss their own problems. I am also giving her authority to advise them on their questions. If anyone asks her a question, she may connect her heart with Mawlana Shaykh Nazim and she will get the answer.
Mawlana Shaykh Nazim and the Bull
(Some guests slaugtered fifteen goats to honor Mawlana Shaykh Hisham.) How did you manage to slaughter fifteen? Once in Damascus, a butcher named “Abu Salim” had two lambs for us for `Eid ul-Adha. It was early morning and we were in Mawlana Shaykh’s house in a small hallway downstairs waiting for Abu Salim. While waiting, eleven more sheep arrived for slaughter. Mawlana Shaykh Nazim came and Abu Salim said, “Don’t worry, I will only take one hour.” How can you complete that in one hour when you need to hold them down, slaughter them, then hold them until they stop moving? So he slaughtered one and kept it aside, then he slaughtered another one and continued slaughtering one after the other, all eleven of them piled on each other. In one hour he had skinned them, cut and packed them, all by one person who did not need any help!
Once we brought Mawlana Shaykh Nazim two lambs. The next year we went to the market and said to the head person there, “We need something for Mawlana Shaykh Nazim.” He said, “The best I can give you is an ox.” We were young and didn't know the massive size of an ox or bull. It weighed a thousands kgs., one ton! We gave him our order. He fetched a huge ox. We said, “How do we handle it?” He said, “No problem.” He put a piece of wood and some bread inside a truck and the ox went up by itself. We sat in the truck and it took us until we reached Mawlana Shaykh Nazim’s house. We went the shortest way, where there are steps going up the mountain to Grandshaykh `AbdAllah’s house. We didn't think the bull would climb the steps, so we went up and said, “Mawlana, we brought an ox to slaughter but we cannot bring it up.” He said, “`Abdu 's-Salam! Go and get it.”
`Abdu 's-Salam opened the truck behind the stairs, took some grass in his hand, took the bull out and went up through the entrance door, up the stairs all the way up to Grandshaykh’s door. MAwlana Shaykh Nazim said, "Are you crazy? How are you going to slaughter this bull? `Abdu 's-Salam, go get the knife! Okay, now you hold the legs and tie them, then `Abdu 's-Salam will push it over and cut.” All three of us pushed, but how can you move one ton? It is good he didn't kick us! Mawlana Shaykh said, “You are stupid! Don't you know today is `Eid? `Abdu 's-Salam, give me the rope!” He tied one leg and held the rope, then he tied the right hind leg because he had to put his body towards Qiblah so it will fall on its right side. He pulled the rope on the leg and placed his hand on the bull and said, “Bismillahi 'r-Rahmani 'r-Raheem!” He pulled the rope and pushed his hand and the bull went down, then he said, “Sit on it!” and `Abdu 's-Salam, Shaykh Adnan and myself sat on it, then three more people came and sat with us, and the bull was moved and squirmed until it finally stopped. This is the power of awliyaullah: with one hand he pushed the bull on the floor and with the other hand he pulled the rope, after three of us tried to push it down and we could not!
The Fearlessness of Grandshaykh `AbdAllah
Once Grandshaykh Sharafuddin ad-Daghestani (q) praised Grandshaykh `AbdAllah (q) in front of `ulama, about how he inherited secrets of awliyaullah. The `ulama said, “Why do you always praise him?” just like they ask Mawlana Shaykh today. So he was eating and had all kinds of bones in front of him. In Arab culture, to show generosity they cook the whole lamb or the leg, but this was a bull! So they were eating with Shaykh Sharafuddin (q) with a whole leg in front of them. At that time the oven was made of clay, so they cooked the leg for four or five hours in ashes and the meat became very delicious. Grandshaykh Sharafuddin (q) said to them, “Why are you surprised that I praise him? If I were to give him this bone right now, either from the hip, thigh or leg, and say, ‘`AbdAllah Effendi, break this in half!’ he will immediately break it without rejecting my order or saying, ‘Who can break this?’”And just then the young Grandshaykh (q) passed by; he was in his twenties. Grandshaykh Sharafuddin (q) called him, “`AbdAllah Effendi, take this bone and break it.”
Regarding this Grandshaykh (q) said, “When you get not only doubts, but whisperings in your heart that ‘this cannot be,’ then it cannot be, finished!” You can make things be done through your personality; when your ego is not riding on you, then you can do miracles. So he said, “When he told me to break it, without hesitation I put my hand and broke it. It was not me who broke it but it was he who broke it , because I didn't hesitate.” This is Grandshaykh (q), without hesitation or doubt in his actions and in his teachings!
That is why things were working and Allah (swt) opened from His Beautiful Names an-Naafi`, ad-Daar, an-Noor, and al-Haadi. We explained a little about the Name “al-Maani`,” The One Who Prevents: al-Maani` is preventing us from knowing what we said to Allah (swt) on the Day of Promises, because of our interest in dunya interest, and so that we are still straight forward. He is “ad-Daar,” The One Who Tests you through harm to see how much you can take, then He is “al-Naafi`,” The One Who Benefits you, then “an-Noor,” The Light!
So Allah (swt) willed that, everyone is going (along in this life), but from our side we have to do our best so that Allah will take away the veil that prevent us from distinguishing what is real from what is not real. That is why Imam Ghazali (q) said, “When someone dies, at that time his eyes are open.” Before that, his eyes are closed because we don’t see except this dunya; when you look from the outside, you wouldn’t know there are a hundred people inside this house, but if that wall is taken away, you will see the hundred people eating and you will enter because food is being served. If anyone saw people here are eating for free, they will enter, because the Prophet (s) said:
أنا جليس من ذكرني
Anaa jaleesu man dhakaranee.
I am with The One Who remembers Me. (Hadeeth Qudsee)
And in another hadeeth, Prophet (s) said:
There are angels of Allah (swt) who roam about looking for circles of dhikr, and when they find them they surround them closely.” (Then, at the end of the hadith, the angels say to Allah), “O our Lord! There was one person who came inside and sat with them merely because he needed to get something from someone,” and Allah (swt) says, “Never mind. My Mercy is reaching him also. He who sits with such people shall not suffer!” (Tirmidhi)
So anyone who has vision, that veil has been taken away from him or her. That is how awliyaullah go in and see the Prophet (s), because when you are inside there are no more veils and it is open. So why can’t we see? We have to ask this very simple question before any other. In last week’s conference, they asked about the transitional period between war and peace, but the first thing you have to ask is, “Why am I blocked, why can’t I see?” Allah (swt) said, “Do you remember I am your Lord?”
Why can’t we see? We are blind, deaf and dumb. That is what tariqah teaches us to ask ourselves. Let us take this veil away. You may live all your life and the veil still remains, which doesn’t mean it is not lifted, but at the time of your greatest need, the time of death, by shafa`at an-Nabi, that curtain will be taken away. They don’t want to give it to you when have not reached a level of responsibility because you might lose it, but you will need it on the day of your death, and the intercession of Prophet (s) will reach you. May Allah forgive us.
Fatihah.