A`oodhu billahi min ash-Shaytaani 'r-rajeem. Bismillahi 'r-Rahmani 'r-Raheem.
Nawaytu 'l-arba'een, nawaytu'l-'itikaaf, nawaytu'l-khalwah, nawaytu'l-'uzlah, nawaytu'l-riyaada, nawaytu's-salook, lillahi ta'ala fee hadha'l-masjid.
As-salaamu `alaykum wa rahmatullaahi wa barakaatuh. Allah (swt) is arham ar-Rahimeen, The Most Merciful of the Merciful; it means as awliyaullah say, nothing can harm Him as He is The Creator, Who owns everything, no one can harm Him! With His Rahmah He dresses His servant, as with Kalimat at-Tawheed, those saying, "Ash-hadu laa ilaaha illa-Llah wa ash-hadu anna Muhammadan Rasoolullah"; accepting it physically and spiritually Shaytan cannot approach them, because as soon as he approaches Allah forgives, because: InnaAllaha yuhibbu an yushkarahu, Allah loves to be thanked!
Allah does not like one thing, of course Allah does not like any sin, but the biggest sin that cannot be forgiven is ash-shirku billah, Allah doesn’t like anyone to make shirk to say that Allah is dependent on someone. All human beings are dependent on each other, so what do you think about all of us? We are all dependent on Allah to forgive us and to bless us.
Ma kaan al-qasdu ‘l-haqqi min al-`uboodiyya, what is the purpose of our worship? Why did He order His servant to worship? Allah doesn’t need anyone, whether we worship or don’t worship, but we need to worship. In His Wisdom, He ordered us to worship Him and in a situation where, as awliyaullah say according to a principle of Islam, ajall al-karamaat dawaam at-tawfeeq, "The best of miracles is to be consistent on the Siraat Al-Mustaqeem,” on what Allah has shown you that He likes you to follow, not to be consistent on something Allah does not like, especially shirk! So what did Grandshaykh (q) say? Allah wants from His servant a worshipness--prayers, fasting, fulfilling Islamic principles and pillars according to the way that He showed and ordered us--and this is the miracle we can come with and He ordered you to do that worship consistently.
At that moment, Allah leaves His servant in the way of yajtahid fi ‘l-`uboodiyya, to excel in worship, and says, “This is what you need, I gave you what you need to excel, to go higher and higher. I am looking at you, now do it!” So what do we do? Thumma aamanoo, thumma kafaroo, we do it one day and leave it the next day; thumma 'zdaadu kufran, we increase in kufr, and here it doesn't mean unbelief, but rather it means that you are a believer and then you make ma`asiyya (sin) then you are a believer and then you make ma`asiyya, and in this situation Shaytan will pull our leg into making ma`asiyya always.
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اتق الله حيثما كنت ، وأتبع السيئة الحسنة تمحها ، وخالق الناس بخلق حسن
Fear Allah wherever you are. Do good deeds after doing bad ones [and] the former will wipe out the latter, and behave decently towards people. (Tirmidhi)
Immediately when you find you are not on the way of `uboodiyya, servanthood, that you are falling into the sins, quickly repent and do something good--pray two raka`ats and ask forgiveness--and Allah (swt) will forgive you!
The Prophet (s) and Sahaabah (r) asked, they wanted to learn and he wanted to teach us:
One time the Sahaabah (r) asked the Prophet (s), “Yaa Rasoolullah! Does the mu’min steal or rob?" The Prophet (s) replied, "Perhaps." They asked, "Does the mu’min make zina (adultery)?" The Prophet (s) replied, "Perhaps." Then they asked him, "Does the mu’min lie?" To this the Prophet (s) replied, "This, no!" Then the Prophet (s) followed it by (reciting), “Only they invent falsehood who believe not Allah's revelations, and (only) they are the liars. (16:105)” (Kanzu ’l-`Ummal, 8994)
They asked, “Does a mu'min steal?” The Prophet (s) said, “Might be.” Then they asked, “Does a mu’min commit adultery?” and the Prophet (s) said, “He might.” They asked, “Does a believer lie?” As for that one, no, fa amma hadhihi fa laa. Here the meaning is that you cannot lie on the promise we made to Allah on the Day of Promises to be His servants, you cannot breach that contract or you lied to Allah and He doesn’t like anyone to lie to Him; you might fall into ma`asiyya, but immediately follow it by hasanaat. So Allah leaves people to struggle in order to show them His Rahmah, so they struggle, but the best one is he who struggles and then repents. Then Allah will take his sayyi`a, erase it and give him ten hasanaat when he is making istighfaar.
Allah (swt) put a limit for everyone, when he reaches that limit of worship that Allah gave, that He decided...in Allah’s Will, because Allah decided everything that people will do in dunya: He gave you a place and when you reach that limit you pass. Like in a marathon, when you cross the finish line you are the winner, and there is a line that Allah put for every `abd, servant, and when he reaches that line of worship Allah looks at him. When Allah looks, what happens? He raises His `abd; He makes him a wali:
أَلا إِنَّ أَوْلِيَاء اللّهِ لاَ خَوْفٌ عَلَيْهِمْ وَلاَ هُمْ يَحْزَنُونَ
Behold! Verily on the Friends of Allah there is no fear, nor shall they grieve. (Surah Yunus, 10:62)
Allah said, when you reach that limit He will dress you in the status of wilaya, because you are in His Presence at that moment:
بَلْ أَحْيَاء عِندَ رَبِّهِمْ يُرْزَقُونَ
No, they live, finding their sustenance provided in the Presence of their Lord. (Surat Aali-`Imraan, 3:169)
Now we are dead, but when we die we open our eyes. Sayyidina Abu Hamid al-Ghazali (q) said when you reach your limit and Reality comes you die, and at that moment Reality opens for you and then you know the Truth. Now we are sleeping, we are dead, not alive. That’s why when everyone reaches his limit, Allah turns him bal ahyaaun `inda rabbihim yurzaqoon. The example is when Allah opens His Rahmah. Ramadan is coming and the first ten days is rahmah. What does that mean? Look at these Ahadith:
شهر رمضان أوله رحمة ، وأوسطه مغفرة ، وآخره عتق من النار
The first (ten days) of the month of Ramadan is mercy, the second (ten days) is forgiveness and the last (ten days) is salvation from the Fire. (Bayhaqi)
رجب شهر الله وشعبان شهري ورمضان شهر أمتي
Rajab is the month of Allah, Sha`baan is my month, and Ramadan is the month of the Ummah.
(Isfahani in Kitaab al-Targheeb wa ‘l-Tarheeb)
He begins with Rajab, rajabun shahrullah it is the month of rahmah. Allah (swt) will dress you from His Rahmah and He opens it for you in the first ten days of Ramadan, because the first ten days is rahmah, which is what? We say Rahmatullah, Allah’s Mercy on us, but what kind of mercy? It depends, from one to another it changes according to the capacity of what your heart can take from `Uloom al-Awwaleen wa 'l-Akhireen, Knowledges of Firsts and Lasts, inheriting from Prophet (s) from makaarim al-akhlaaq, the best manners.
Allah opens oceans of knowledge for you, like when Allah dressed Sayyidina Musa (a) and Sayyidina Khidr (a) with His rahmah:
فَوَجَدَا عَبْدًا مِّنْ عِبَادِنَا آتَيْنَاهُ رَحْمَةً مِنْ عِندِنَا وَعَلَّمْنَاهُ مِن لَّدُنَّا عِلْمًا
So they found one of Our Servants on whom We had bestowed Mercy from Ourselves and whom We had taught knowledge from Our Own Presence. (Surat al-Kahf, 18:65)
“We will teach him from Our Heavenly Knowledge,” means we don’t need knowledge of books, as Ibn `Ajeeba said: al-`ilmu `ilmaan, Knowledge is of two kinds: `Ilm al-Awraaq, not `Ilm al-Adhwaaq, that comes later. So if you put these two Hadiths together about Rajab and the first ten days of Ramadan, you will be dressed with that rahmah. When you are dressed with these knowledges as Allah dressed Sayyidina al-Khidr (a), drops of that knowledge is enough to drown you in the knowledge of awliyaullah, which never ends!
The second ten days is maghfirah. What is the month of Sha`baan? It is the month of Prophet (s), so what does he do in his month? It is one of the meanings of these knowledges:
وَلَوْ أَنَّهُمْ إِذ ظَّلَمُواْ أَنفُسَهُمْ جَآؤُوكَ فَاسْتَغْفَرُواْ اللّهَ وَاسْتَغْفَرَ لَهُمُ الرَّسُولُ لَوَجَدُواْ اللّهَ تَوَّابًا رَّحِيمًا
If they had only, when they were unjust to themselves, come to you and asked Allah's forgiveness, and the Messenger had asked forgiveness for them, they would have found Allah indeed Oft-returning, Most Merciful. (Surat an-Nisa, 4:64)
Sha`baan is the month that is opened for istighfaar, and that will happen in Sha`baan and Prophet (s) prepares us spiritually for it without us even feeling it, because if they open for you that Noor, Light, you will faint on seeing their generosity, you cannot carry it so they hide it! They prepare you in Sha`baan and the middle ten days of Ramadan will be maghfirah. So when you get the rahmah and the forgiveness, what will you get? `Itqun min an-naar, innocence from the Hellfire, because it’s Ramadan, the month of the Ummah (s). So Rajab attracts the rahmah, opens it to you and dresses you with it. Sha`baan opens the istighfaar in the presence of Prophet (s) that he will make istighfaar on your behalf, because it’s the month of Prophet (s). Ramadan is the month of the Ummah, so all this will come and in the last ten days will make you innocent and safe from Hellfire.
Awliyaullah’s knowledge is not like what we understand, they are only giving a taste for us to know and understand. When these three months of rahmat, maghfirah and `itqun min an-naar finish, you reach your limit. For some people, their limit is here and for some it is higher depending on your ijtihad, ascending in different levels in Allah's worship, starting at the lowest level and coming up without end in ascending levels, Ascension in Allah’s worshipness, then at that time Allah looks at you. When Allah looks at His servant, what will He make His servant? He makes that one a wali.
يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُواْ اتَّقُواْ اللّهَ وَكُونُواْ مَعَ الصَّادِقِينَ
O you who believe! Fear Allah and be with those who are pious (in word and deed). (Surat at-Tawbah, 9:119)
O Believers! He didn’t say yaa ayyuha’l ladheen aslamoo, because Islam is the first level and Imaan is the higher level, so Allah is saying that when you are a mu’min, you reached the level of Imaan, you are going to be with the Saadiqeen; without being with Saadiqeen you cannot reach Imaan:
يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُواْ اتَّقُواْ اللّهَ وَكُونُواْ مَعَ الصَّادِقِينَ
O you who believe! Fear Allah and be with those who are pious (in word and deed). (Surat at-Tawbah, 9:119)
Even if you just sit there in their presence it is enough, you don't need anything else as the nafahaat al-rabbaaniyya, nafaahaat ilaahiyya and nafahaat al-muhammadiyya will dress you. When it comes on the wali, “Yaa Rabbee, they are with me!” La yashqaa jaleesahum, “Those who sit with them will never be losers.”
لا يشقى جليسهم
The one who sits with them will not be in loss. (Bukhari, Muslim)
They will be with the group of people that are under Allah’s Rahmah even if they did nothing but sit with a pious man it will be enough, so find a pious sincere man and sit with him! All their piety and knowledge that will be given to those who are going in the Way of Allah, and the best of them is of course the Sahaabah of Prophet (s) because they gave their life to the Prophet (s). And the most among them is:
إِذْ يَقُولُ لِصَاحِبِهِ لَا تَحْزَنْ إِنَّ اللَّـهَ مَعَنَا
When he said to his companion, “Don’t be sad, indeed Allah is with us. (Surat al-Tawbah, 9:40)
Who is the Prophet's Saahib, Companion, the one whom he loves most? We know it is Sayyidina Abu Bakr as-Siddiq (r)! Yes he was a soft man who showed softness to people, but even with all his knowledge he always consulted other Sahaabah (r) on issues, because they have experience. He consulted Sayyidina `Umar (r), Sayyidina `Uthman (r) and Sayyidina `Ali (r) and he did not take a decision without consultation.
When Sayyidina Abu Bakr as-Siddiq (r) left dunya, Sayyidina `Umar (r) came and often he said, “If it had not been for Sayyidina `Ali, I would have been lost.” Khilafah is something and experience is something else. Did Sayyidina Abu Bakr as-Siddiq (r) plan the war against unbelievers or did Sayyidina `Umar (r) plan the wars? No, Sayyidina `Umar (r) was in Madinat ul-Munawwarah and the army had generals in the battlefield to make plans, so those who have experience can plan. If someone wants to go with his `aql or is asking less experienced people, he will lose. You cannot put the head on the place of the feet, the head is the head. There are people who turn on their heads, break-dance people. That is the most disrespect to Allah (swt) because He gave you feet to walk on, not to walk on your head, so even dancing that way is disrespectful. That is why on Judgment Day Sayyidina Muhammad (s) said to Sayyida `Ayesha (r), “There will be people resurrected on their heads, walking on their heads”, and she said, “Yaa Rasoolullah, how will they walk on their heads?”
عن أنس بن مالك رضي الله عنه قال : سئل رسول الله صلى الله عليه و سلم كيف يحشر أهل النار على وجوههم؟
قال : إن الذي أمشاهم على أقدامهم قادر أن يمشيهم على وجوههم
It was asked of the Prophet (s),“O Messenger of Allah! Allah (swt) has said in Holy Qur'an that on the Day of Judgment, some people will be resurrected on their faces. How are they going to walk on their faces?” Prophet (s) said, “The One Who made them walk on their feet will be able to make them walk on their faces!”
Those who are arrogant, those who are spreading bad rumors, Allah doesn’t like that. People today don’t have understanding. Sayyidina `Umar (r) kissed the Black Stone and said, “If I had not seen the Prophet (s) kissing you, I would not do it because you have no power to harm or to help.” He did not know that when the Prophet (s) put his holy mouth on the Hajar al-Aswad that he opened all kinds of ma`rifah for people kissing the Black Stone, and not only that, anyone who is kissing the Hajar al-Aswad is kissing the Prophet (s), because he put his holy mouth on the Stone and it will never be erased! And even if you cannot reach it and you wave your hand from afar and say, “Allahu Akbar!” you are reaching the mouth of the Prophet (s)!
So Sayyidina `Ali (r) said, “Don't say that, yaa `Umar, that stone is alive and that stone will witness for you on the Day of Judgment that you said Shahaadah there!” and `Umar (r) said, “If not for `Ali I would have lost,” and Sayyidina `Ali (r) was the fourth Khalifah, and he was young. Now they don't consult, they consult araazil al-qawm--the lowest of people and they lose because they have no experience and they lose. Why are governments losing? It is because the amr is taken from good people and there are no more good decisions and people are not listening. If you cook food, a stew and don't put water, it will burn:
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وَجَعَلْنَا مِنَ الْمَاء كُلَّ شَيْءٍ حَيٍّ
We made every living thing from water. (Surat al-Anbiyaa, 21:30)
We brought from water everything alive and awliyaullah are the water of the Ummah, they reach their hearts. The Sahaabah (r) consulted with each other, wa amrukum shooraa baynakum, “your decisions your amr is through consultation between each other.” You are not losing anything, but from their arrogance they cannot show they don’t know, and they consult the lowest of people and then put their decisions and ask the Ummah to follow their decisions. Allah (swt) hadad al-hudood, He puts limits, fee ahl al-`azaa’im wa ahl al-rukhas, there is a big difference between the people of high level of worship and the people of the lowest level worship! Ahl al-`azheema are worshipping day and night. Ahl al-rukhas finish their worship quickly, they do the basics and that is enough, but Ahl al-`azheema does more and doesn't stop.
مَا أُرِيدُ مِنْهُم مِّن رِّزْقٍ وَمَا أُرِيدُ أَن يُطْعِمُونِ إِنَّ اللَّـهَ هُوَ الرَّزَّاقُ ذُو الْقُوَّةِ الْمَتِينُ
No sustenance do I require of them, nor do I require that they should feed Me. Truly Allah is the Sustainer, possessor of firm power. (Surat al-Dhariyat, 51:57-58)
“It is finished, I don't want anything from them. I will give them food, I am their Lord, I don't want them to try to feed anyone, I will feed everyone, but let them worship Me, let them be right people.” As He sent sustenance to the Virgin Mary, he can send to the whole Ummah!
وَمَا خَلَقْتُ الْجِنَّ وَالْإِنسَ إِلَّا لِيَعْبُدُونِ ِ
I have only created jinn and men so that they may worship Me. (Surat adh-Dhariyat, 51:56)
“I did not create jinn and Mankind except to worship Me. I don't need from them anything.” Awliyaullah believe in that but the rest are struggling: one time they are believing and another time they are not. What is the wisdom of al-hikmat al-ijaada, the wisdom and reality of existing? Why did Allah create us, why did He bring us up? To worship Him!
كنت كنزا مخفياً فأحببت أن أعرف فخلقت الخلق
I was a Hidden Treasure (and) I wanted to be known, so I created Creation. (Hadith Qudsi)
One day we worship and one day we don’t worship. Think about it. Advice is necessary. Tariqatuna ‘s-suhbah wa ‘l-khayru fi ‘l-jama`iyyah, “Our Way is companionship” which means ad-deenu naseeha, it’s naseeha to the speaker and to the audience and anyone from the audience when he sits on this chair, we have to look at him as if he is at the same level as the teacher or higher, not to look down at him. Anyone who sits giving an Islamic presentation, we have to look with respect.
There are 124,000 Nabi (a) and there are 124,000 Wali. They are on the footsteps of these Anbiya and there are 124,000 Sahaabah on footsteps of these Nabi (a); you cannot deny all of them and say, “Oh, there is only one.” Allah is The Only One!They cannot say, “I am the one!” because that is shirk. Qul huw Allahu Ahad, Allah is The One, no one else, everyone else is shoora, a servant to Allah. How do people dare say they are the only one? Who gave you authority to say that? Open your mind! Muslims think they are the ones. Even a wali cannot say, “I am the one!” Only Allah is The One. When Mansur al-Hallaj (q) said, “I am the One,” they hanged him. You cannot say, “I am the one.” What kind of arrogance is it to say that? We have to be careful on what we have to say and what we have to provide from whatever they taught us, we have to keep our head lower and lower because the Prophet (s), the Best of the Creation, said:
قُلْ إِنَّمَا أَنَا بَشَرٌ مِّثْلُكُمْ يُوحَى إِلَيَّ أَنَّمَا إِلَهُكُمْ إِلَهٌ وَاحِدٌ فَمَن كَانَ يَرْجُو لِقَاء رَبِّهِ فَلْيَعْمَلْ عَمَلًا صَالِحًا
وَلَا يُشْرِكْ بِعِبَادَةِ رَبِّهِ أَحَدًا
Say, "I am but a man like yourselves, (but) the inspiration has come to me that your Allah is one Allah. Whoever expects to meet his Lord, let him work righteousness and in the worship of his Lord admit no one as partner. (Surat al-Kahf, 18:110)
May Allah forgive us, may Allah bless us. Bi hurmati ‘l-Habeeb bi hurmati ‘l-Fatihah.
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