4 August Nelson, UK
Zhuhr Suhbah at Jamia Ghausia Masjid
A`oodhu billahi min ash-Shaytani 'r-rajeem. Bismillahi 'r-Rahmani 'r-Raheem.
Nawaytu 'l-arba`een, nawaytu 'l-`itikaaf, nawaytu 'l-khalwah, nawaytu 'l-`uzlah,
nawaytu 'r-riyaadah, nawaytu 's-sulook, lillahi ta`alaa fee haadha 'l-masjid.
أَطِيعُواْ اللّهَ وَأَطِيعُواْ الرَّسُولَ وَأُوْلِي الأَمْرِ مِنكُمْ
Ati`oollaha wa ati`oo 'r-Rasoola wa ooli 'l-amri minkum.
Obey Allah, obey the Prophet, and obey those in authority among you. (Surat an-Nisa, 4:59)
As-salaamu `alaykum wa rahmatullaahi wa barakaatuh.
We are very grateful to the imam and the organizers of this masjid who allowed us to use this place. Let us begin by saying “Alhamdulillah wa shukran lillah,” as Allah (swt) said:
لَئِن شَكَرْتُمْ لأَزِيدَنَّكُمْ
La-in shakartum la-azeedanakum.
If you thank Me, I will give you more. (Surah Ibraheem, 14:7)
So we are saying, “Thank you, yaa Allah, for the favors you have bestowed on us.” And one of His Favors that people often may not consider is coming to Allah's House, doing dhikr, and remembering Him. This big ni`mah alone is enough for our dunya and akhirah, as it has nothing to do with dunya. And mashaa-Allah we have to be very happy here in this city where you can see so many young individuals; most of the people here are young, which is difficult to find anywhere else although other places may have it, but alhamdulillah the individuals here are always calling people to Allah (swt), to Prophet (s), to Islam, and to the love of shuyookh and awliyaullah, and we are very happy to be among them! Even if we are not with them, if we just sit at the door, we will be considered to be from them.
Prophet (s) said in a Holy Hadith, “If anyone who comes to an association of dhikr who is not from them and only comes to see someone for just five minutes, Allah (swt) will make him to be from that group of people.” So what then do you think about all of these people here today who are coming together from various places in order to sit together in remembrance of Allah? In these blessed days of Ramadan, we ask Allah (swt) to always keep us with Sayyidina Muhammad (s) and with our teachers. May Allah bless our Shaykh, Mawlana Shaykh Nazim Adil al-Haqqani (q) and give him long life, that he guided and directed us, and may Allah bless all other shuyookh, as well.
Many people ask about dhikrullah. Dhikr is an order from Allah to all creation. If Allah made non-living things do dhikr, what about the living, such as human beings, jinn, and malaa’ika, angels? Someone might ask, “What are the non-living things? It is simply anything that has no life, such as a rock or a pebble, which in our eyes it is non-living, but in Allah’s Eyes it is alive. That is why Prophet (s) prohibited to move a rock with your foot. If you find one in the middle of road, move it with your right hand and do not push it with your feet, as it is bad adab: move obstacles from the road with your right hand, as Allah (swt) said:
وَإِن مِّن شَيْءٍ إِلاَّ يُسَبِّحُ بِحَمْدَهِ
Wa in min shay'in illa yusabihu bihamdih.
And there is not a thing but celebrates His praise! (Surat al-'Israa, 17:44)
Every single thing that Allah (swt) created, no matter how small, living or non-living, is making dhikrullah. Like we make dhikrullah after every prayer when we recite thirty-three times, “Subhaan- Allah, subhaan-Allah, subhaan-Allah.” Mashaa-Allah after each prayer, the imaam here recites “subhaan-Allah” three times loudly, then everyone recites the rest quietly and it makes a good balance between dhikr khafee and dhikr jahree. Alhamdulillah, it is good as it is sunnah to remind people:
وَذَكِّرْ فَإِنَّ الذِّكْرَى تَنفَعُ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ
Fa dhakkir inna adh-dhikra tanfa` al-mu’mineen.
Remind people that dhikrullah is piety of the believers. (Surat adh-Dhaariyaat, 51:55)
By reminding them of dhikr, you are giving them good advice that benefits people.The example is when the imaam said “subhaan-Allah” three times out loud, it was a reminder for everyone to say it, and to ensure that everyone was reciting, Imam Shafi`i (r) used to recite the entire tasbeeh of “Subhaan-Allah, alhamdulillah, Allahu Akbar” out loud after every prayer. Also, sometimes in your daily life when you are making dhikr quietly, you often fall asleep, but when making loud dhikr you are awake and reminding yourself to remember Allah, as dhikr is tardu ’l-ghaflah, throws away heedlessness, which is the main idea of dhikr. Heedlessness comes from Shaytan; throw away Shaytan from your heart and it will be awake! So the main point behind dhikrullah is to chase away Shaytan from ourselves and to begin to be obedient servants to Allah (swt), remembering Him in every moment.
So are pebbles, leaves, or trees living or non-living, and are they making tasbeeh or not? Yes, they are living and every leaf of every tree is making tasbeeh. Can anyone count them? Look at Allah’s Greatness! He has created them one-by-one! There are thousands and thousands of leaves on every tree. We drove to this masjid for about five miles and passed thousands of trees and leaves. If Allah gave you the power, you would have heard their tasbeeh. How can we express Allah’s Greatness? Awliyaullah are standing stunned in front of His Door! And who is Allah’s Door? It is Sayyidina Muhammad (s)! Allah gave him the responsibility, shafa`a, to send to Paradise whoever he wants. Prophet (s) and angels are stunned at the Greatness of Allah (swt)!
Mashaa-Allah, yesterday the imam was reciting Surat al-Muzammil during Fajr prayer in a very innocent tone and it was as if that ayah never previously came to my mind.
وَاذْكُرِ اسْمَ رَبِّكَ وَتَبَتَّلْ إِلَيْهِ تَبْتِيلًا
Wadhkur isma rabbika wa tabattal ilayhi tabteelaa.
But keep in remembrance the Name of your Lord and devote yourself to Him whole-heartedly.
(Surat al-Muzammil, 73:8)
Allah (swt) is saying, “Mention your Lord’s Name,” isma rabbik, “Name of Allah.” It means mention “Allah.” “Yaa Muhammad, say My Name!” As saying “laa ilaaha illa-Llah” is important in dhikr, Allah is giving a direct order, “Mention My Name!”
قُلِ اللهّهُ ثُمَّ ذَرْهُمْ فِي خَوْضِهِمْ يَلْعَبُونَ
Quli 'Llaah thumma dharhum fee khawdihim yal`aboon.
Say "Allah," then leave them to plunge in vain discourse and trifling. (Surat al-An`am, 6:91)
So Allah (swt) is saying, “Leave them and let them play with Allah’s Words, as they are heedless and ignorant; but you say ‘Allah!’” Allah is saying to Prophet (s), qul Allah, “Say ‘Allah.’” In the Holy Qur’an you will also find qul huwa Allahu Ahad, “Say, He is Allah, The One and Only,” in Surat al-Ikhlaas; but this ayah gives a direct order to mention the Name of Allah. When the imam recited this verse, the inspiration immediately entered my heart that you must mention Allah's Name! Allah (swt) said in Holy Qur’an:
.يَا أَيُّهَا الْمُزَّمِّلُ .قُمِ اللَّيْلَ إِلَّا قَلِيلًا .نِصْفَهُ أَوِ انقُصْ مِنْهُ قَلِيلًا .أَوْ زِدْ عَلَيْهِ وَرَتِّلِ الْقُرْآنَ تَرْتِيلًا
Yaa ayyuha ’l-muzzammil, qumi ’l-layl illa qaleela,nisfahoo aw unqus minhu qaleela, aw zid `alayhi wa rattili ’l-qur'ana tarteela.
O thou wrapped in garments! Stand (in prayer) by night, but not all night, of one-half thereof or less, or add to it (at will), and recite the Qur'an calmly and distinctly, with your mind attuned to its meaning. (Surat al-Muzzammil, 73:1-4)
يَا أَيُّهَا الْمُدَّثِّرُ.قُمْ فَأَنذِروَرَبَّكَ فَكَبِّرْوَثِيَابَكَ فَطَهِّرْ
Yaa ayyuha ’l-muddaththir. Qum fa andhir, wa Rabbaka fa-kabbir, wa thiyaabaka fatahhir.
O thou enfolded (in your solitude)! Arise and warn! And your Sustainer’s Greatness Glorify! And your garments do purify! (rat al-Muddaththir, 74:1-4)
Is this all we know from this ayah, that Prophet (s) was covering himself because he was afraid? When Jibreel (a) appeared to him, what was Prophet (s) covering himself with? Dhahabu ahlu ’d-duthuri bi ’l-ghanaa’im, “duthuri” means “the one who is rich.” Allah is saying, “O the one who is rich with what Allah gave you from His Beautiful Names and Attributes! Stand up and warn people!” This is the interpretation of the word “muddaththir.” If he was covered, as some scholars say, Allah would have said “al-muddaththar” not “al-muddaththir.” Yes, someone covered him when he was shaking, but “Yaa ayyuha ’l-muddaththir” means yaa ayyuha ’l-ghani, “The rich one with Allah's Knowledge, stand up and warn people that if they are not going to follow your sunnah, they will be deprived from getting dressed by Allah’s Rahmah.”
It is not that they will be sent to Hellfire, but they will be excluded from Allah's Beautiful Names and Attributes. Wa Rabbaka fa-kabbir, “Say ‘Allahu Akbar’ for My Greatness!” And why is Allah saying wa thiyaabaka fatahhir, “Purify your garments.” Is Prophet’s (s) dress not clean? It means thiyaabu ’l-ummah, “the clothes of the entire ummah.” “Yaa Muhammad! Clean them with the shafa`ah I have given you!”
Dhikrullah is an order. Say “Allah!” thumma dharhum fee khawdihim yal`aboon, “Then leave them to plunge in vain discourse and trifling,” and “look after those who love you.” Those who say, “To love is alright, but don't exaggerate,” we leave them to Allah (swt), we are with Ahlu ’s-Sunnah wa ’l-Jama`ah.
So dhikr takes away heedlessness. When the sun began to set over the horizon, Sahaabah (r) used to sit in association such as this one with Prophet (s) before Maghrib and make loud dhikr in remembrance of Allah (swt), as the best time is before Fajr and before Maghrib. And it has been mentioned that, “People used to remember Allah (swt) at sunset and raise their voices with dhikr, and after the sun would set, Sayyidina `Umar (r) could hear them and send them the message.” How did he know that they were finished making dhikr? He knew because they were making loud dhikr, and by this we can see that dhikr jahree is from the time of the Prophet (s). The Sahaabah (r) knew the prayer had finished when they heard the dhikr start. There were no microphones or speakers, so when the imam said, “As-salaamu `alaykum wa rahmatullaah, as-salaamu `alaykum wa rahmatullaah,” the Sahaabah (r) knew the prayer had finished when they heard other Sahaabah (r) repeat row-after-row of loud recitation of “Subhaan-Allah, alhamdulillah, Allahu Akbar.” Therefore, no one can justly say there is no loud dhikr in Islam!
So to the ones who were sitting there making dhikrullah, Sayyidina `Umar (r) said, “Raise your voice, make your dhikr strong and loud in order for people to hear you.” So if Sayyidina `Umar (r) is ordering to make loud dhikr, that does not mean there is no khafee, silent dhikr, but there is a balance between both as there is hidden and loud. Hidden dhikr is mentioned in Holy Qur’an:
وَاذْكُر رَّبَّكَ فِي نَفْسِكَ تَضَرُّعاً وَخِيفَة وَدُونَ الْجَهْرِ مِنَ الْقَوْلًِ
Wadhkur rabbaka fee nafsika tadarru`an wa kheefata wa doon al-jahri mina ’l-qawl...
And do you (O reader!) Bring your Lord to remembrance in your (very) soul, with humility and in reverence... (Surat al-A`raf, 7:205)
This means you are making calm, quiet dhikr within yourself, asking for Allah’s Forgiveness without being loud. So everything in this universe is making dhikrullah. What is the smallest creation, an ant, bacteria? Is there anything smaller than bacteria, perhaps a virus? When doctors or scientists draw blood and examine it under the microscope, they see the virus moving; it is making dhikrullah, as their movement is dhikr! That is why to kill something harmful or dangerous is sunnah, but to not kill anything else is better, as its life is tasbeeh. When you kill it you stop that tasbeeh, and the tasbeeh of anything other than humans is going to be written for Ummat an-Nabi (s).
What is their tasbeeh? Do angels make tasbeeh? Yes, and different angels have been created for a different tasbeeh, but the major tasbeeh is salawaat on Prophet (s). It is not shirk because Allah ordered it when He ordered angels to make sajda to Adam (a). Many scholars try to explain what kind of sajda it was, but the angels made sajda because they were ordered to do so by Allah (swt), and it is for Him to decide. But in order to make sure that no one will criticize, we say it was a sajda of ihtiraam, respect. They did not make the sajda of worship, but something that was between respect and worship. Allah (swt) ordered the angels to make salawaat on Prophet, “Praise Muhammad!”
إِنَّ اللَّهَ وَمَلَائِكَتَهُ يُصَلُّونَ عَلَى النَّبِيِّ يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا صَلُّوا عَلَيْهِ وَسَلِّمُوا تَسْلِيمًا
Inna-Llaaha wa malaa'ikatahu yusalloona `ala 'n-nabiyy, yaa ayyuha ’Lladheena aamanoo salloo `alayhi was sallimoo tasleema.
Verily, Allah and His angels send praise on the Prophet. O Believers! Pray upon him and greet him. (Surat al-'Ahzaab, 33:56)
And this order is for all of the angels, not only for those who were ordered at that time: it is for those who were, who are, and who will be created! Prophet (s) said:
نا عند ظن عبدي بي وأنا معه إذا ذكرني فإن ذكرني في نفسه ذكرته في نفسي وإن ذكرني في ملإ ذكرته في ملإ خير منهم وإن تقرب إلي بشبر تقربت إليه ذراعا وإن تقرب إلي ذراعا تقربت إليه باعا وإن أتاني يمشي أتيته هرولة
Yaqoolo Allaha `Azza wa jall anaa `inda zanna `abdee bee, wa anaa ma`ahoo idhaa dhakaranee. Fa in dhakaranee fee nafsihi dhakartahu fee nafsee, wa in dhakaranee fee malaa’in, dhakartahu fee malaa’in khayrin minhu....
I am with My servant as long as he thinks the best of Me, I am according to what he thinks about Me, and I will be with him if he mentions Me... (Bukhari, Muslim, Tirmidhi)
What do you want better than for Allah (swt) to say, “I am with him if he mentions Me.” That is why it is a must for everyone to mention Allah (swt). There are no limits to the different ways of dhikrullah that Prophet (s) taught the Sahaabah (r). What kind of salawaat the angels ordered to make depends on Allah's Greatness. Don't think Allah give an angel a certain way to praise Prophet (s) and it is being repeated; each angel makes a different durood without imitating the other! And don't think that the second salawaat of an angel will be the same as the first; each angel recites a different salawaat each time! So one angel is making billions and trillions of salawaat, all different from each other!
From the Secret of al-`Alim, Allah opens the heart of angels to make countless salawaat on Prophet (s). Subhaan-Allah! It is impossible to describe how Allah (swt) is raising Prophet (s), as there are no words and no one can imagine what Allah gave to Prophet (s) or to the angels to praise Prophet (s) wherever Allah put Prophet’s (s) Name with His! No one knows, as there are no eyes and no place for that; it is impossible. Allah (swt) has given His Prophet (s) what He did not give anyone, and this is only t`azheem an-Nabi (s) to make him happy. So Allah is saying, wa ana ma`ahu idhaa dhakaranee, “I am with him if he mentions Me.”
Fa in dhakaranee fee nafsihi dhakartahu fee nafsee, wa in dhakaranee fee malaa’in, dhakartahu fee malaa’in khayrin minhu...
If he remembers Me in his heart (covertly), I remember him in private (covertly). If he remembers Me in an assembly (overtly), I remember him in an assembly better than his (overtly).
(Bukhari, Muslim)
Prophet (s) said, “The best time for me is when Allah calls me ‘`abdee.’” Allah (swt) says to angels, `abdee dhakaranee, “When My servant remembers Me, I am with him, and I will mention him within Myself.” So you should be very happy because for Prophet (s), the best time is when Allah calls him “`abdee,” and when you say “Yaa Rabb!” Allah answers, “Yaa `abdee!” So what could be better than that? If Allah mentions you, do you think you will go to Hellfire? There is no way! So mention Allah (swt) and praise His Prophet (s) as much as you like and angels cannot take you to Hellfire, they are only allowed to touch you with the permission of high level authorities because Allah is with you! How? To mention Allah’s Name just once is enough to make Him happy with you!
الَّذِينَ يَذْكُرُونَ اللّهَ قِيَامًا وَقُعُودًا وَعَلَىَ جُنُوبِهِمْ وَيَتَفَكَّرُونَ فِي خَلْقِ السَّمَاوَاتِ
وَالأَرْضِ رَبَّنَا مَا خَلَقْتَ هَذا بَاطِلاً سُبْحَانَكَ فَقِنَا عَذَابَ النَّارِ
Alladheena yadhkuroonullaaha qiyamaan wa qu`oodan wa `alaa junoobihim wa yattafakkaroona fee khalqi 's-samawaati wa 'l-ardi rabbanaa maa khalaqta hadhaa baatilan subhaanaka fa qinaa `adhaaba 'n-naar.
Those who remember Allah (always, and in prayers) standing, sitting, and lying down on their sides, and think deeply about the Creation of the Heavens and the Earth, (saying) "Our Lord! You have not created (all) this without purpose! Glory to You! Give us salvation from the torment of the Fire."
(Surat Aali `Imraan, 3:191)
He didn’t say “yadhkuroon al-Khaliq,” or “Rahman,” or any of His other Asmaa’ullah al-Husnaa, He said “Allah,” and, “Those who remember Me standing, sitting, and lying down.” That means it is acceptable to make dhikr in any position: standing, sitting, or lying down. So whether you are working, walking, eating or drinking, remember Allah (swt). He will save the ones who make dhikrullah lying down before they go to sleep. When they create that happiness in their heart by remembering Allah, He will then enter them into a state of tafakkur, to contemplate and meditate.
Don’t say there is no meditation in Islam. Allah ordered in the Holy Qur’an to contemplate and meditate on Allah's Greatness, yattafakkaroona fee khalqi 's-samawaati wa 'l-ard, “Think deeply about the creation of the heavens and the earth.” Why did He say, “Think about the creation of heavens, earth, and universe,” and not also “human beings”? Because the creation of the universe and heavens is greater than the creation of human beings. So Allah wants you to think about the Greatness of His creation of heavens and earth because earth contains human beings and jinn, and heavens contain angels. This is the eloquence of the Holy Qur’an, that Allah (swt) mentioned heavens and earth, symbolizing everything inside of them: human beings, jinn and angels. Earth represents human beings and Paradise represents angels.
Is earth heavy or not? Subhaan-Allah, look at the discipline, adab of Sayyidina `Ali (r). I am sorry to say that we are without adab with our parents, our children, our brothers and our sisters. We smoke marijuana and everything else and consider it to be acceptable because there is no adab! But everything comes with discipline, adab.
When walking, Sayyidina `Ali (r) kept his eyes down, looking only where he needed to put his foot without looking too far ahead. One day as he was walking, he saw a very old lady walking in front of him carrying a basket. He wanted to help, so he said, “O my mother, may I please help you?”
She replied, “Yes my son, these baskets are so heavy for me and as you can see, I am leaning to one side, can you please help me?”
Sayyidina `Ali (r) was “Asadullah al-Ghaalib” and no one could vanquish him or put him down, as he was the strongest and so no one could approach him. He had the strength to carry mountains! So she put the basket down and when he picked it up he was not able to lift it beyond his knees! And it was the same basket, so he was very surprised. Nevertheless, he carried it to where the lady stood. When he later mentioned this incident to Prophet (s), and Prophet said, “Yaa `Ali, the whole earth was contained in that basket. That lady represents earth, and you carried that basket up to your knees.” That is Sayyidina `Ali (r), Asadullah al-Ghaalib, who always sacrificed himself for Prophet (s). That night when the enemy was going to strike, he knew they were coming to kill Prophet (s), but he still put himself in Prophet’s (s) bed.
Prophet (s) is saying to us, “You don’t need to do what Sahaabah (r) were doing, as you cannot.” If you do one-tenth of what you are obliged to do, you will be saved! That is why it is best to avoid fitna, as it is the toy of Shaytan. They don’t even come inside, they just stand by the door poisoning people and creating confusion. Allah (swt) will curse them, as He curses those who create division between Muslims, Ahlu ’s-Sunnah wa ’l-Jama`ah and scholars. There are thousands of scholars in Pakistan, but none are united. Why? Allah (swt) said in the Holy Qur’an:
وَاعْتَصِمُواْ بِحَبْلِ اللّهِ جَمِيعًا وَلاَ تَفَرَّقُواْ
W `atasimoo bi hablillaahi jamiyy`an wa laa tafaraqoo.
Hold fast to Allah's rope and don't separate. (Surat Aali-`Imraan, 3:103)
So why must we split? Alhamdulillah, you have your Shaykh and your followers, and so does the other group, but try to be brothers with each other and do not criticize other Shaykhs because that is haraam. All of them are working and struggling for Allah (swt). There are 124,000 Prophets who came for the whole creation. They didn’t curse each other. Prophet (s) urged us to believe in Sayyidina Musa (a) and Sayyidina `Isa (a); we must believe, otherwise we are not accepted as Muslim. Sayyidina `Isa (a) foretold the coming of Sayydina Muhammad (s), as did all the Prophets before him. And Allah ordered all Prophets to follow Prophet Muhammad (s).
There are 124,000 awliyaullah, each one inheriting from Prophet (s). Are you throwing others in the garage by saying, “There are no other awliya and only my Shaykh is a wali.” To you that is correct, but others also have their Shaykh and their Sultan so you cannot discriminate. Keep your love to your Shaykh and respect others; go to them for barakah and to learn. You will be happy that your Shaykh is guiding you and their Shaykh is guiding them; that is it, there is nothing else. Don't listen to those who try to create fitna for no reason, especially among the mureeds of the same Shaykh, trying to cut them down and split the students! For what, for this dunya? Whatever Allah (swt) wrote for you to have in dunya you will get. You cannot take what is written for someone else; what is written for you is different from what is written for others. Unless they are oppressed, Allah does not like people to stand up and speak badly of others.
لاَّ يُحِبُّ اللّهُ الْجَهْرَ بِالسُّوَءِ مِنَ الْقَوْلِ إِلاَّ مَن ظُلِمَ وَكَانَ اللّهُ سَمِيعًا عَلِيمًا
Laa yuhibbu ’Llaahu ’l-jahra bi ’s-sooi mina ’l-qawli illa man zulima wa kaana Allaahu samee`an `aleema.
Allah loves not that evil should be voiced in public except where injustice has been done, for Allah is All-Hearing and All-Knowing. (Surat an-Nisa, 4:148)
Allah does not like anyone to bring out badness in the community unless you were oppressed. Stand up and declare if someone oppressed you by saying, “I don’t want you to oppress me because you are spreading a bad fitna.” Be strong and don’t be afraid of a man or a woman, as they are not worth even the wing of a mosquito to Allah (swt)! Prophet (s) said:
On the Day of Judgment, a man who everyone thought was great will come to Allah and will not even weigh a wing of a mosquito. (Bukhari, Muslim)
Those who are sitting at the door of awliyaullah thinking they are “big shots” are, in fact, under the feet of Shaytan! They are giving a bad image of their shuyookh, of `ulama and of Muslims in general, and are doing things Allah doesn’t like. There are many different kinds: some are against awliya, `ulama, Islam, or the mureeds.
May Allah (swt) forgive us and everyone like that, as Allah might test us. Alhamdulillah we are away, because being near the Sultan is like being near fire. Give thanks to Allah that we are not like those who have no adab and come against awliya, `ulama, and Muslims!
Wa min Allahi 't-tawfeeq, bi hurmati 'l-habeeb, bi hurmati 'l-Fatihah.
http://www.sufilive.com/What_is_Dhikrullah-4486.html
© Copyright 2012 Sufilive. All rights reserved. This transcript is protected
by international copyright law. Please attribute Sufilive when sharing it. JazakAllahu khayr.