A`oodhu billahi min ash-Shaytani 'r-rajeem. Bismillahi 'r-Rahmani 'r-Raheem. Dastoor yaa Sayyidee, madad.
People, subhaanAllah. Allah creates His servants as He likes, and since we know that is His will, then why do we object? We say we pray the five prayers, and mashaa-Allah, we do the awrad after the salaat: for Salat al-Fajr we recite Surat al-YaSin, after Salaat al-Ishraq, Salaat ad-Duha, Salaat adh-Dhuhr, and then Surat Tabarak, then Salaat al-Layl, etc. We do all this, so then why are we still complaining about what Allah created? Why are you (a mureed) complaining about him (another mureed)? Allah created him lazy, so why complain?
Allah creates the way He likes; no one can change you and no one can change him and no one can change the one who has a turban like a thousand years ago, this one (a mureed)! Do you wear a turban at work? (No, just a hat.) Why? (To be normal.) Why you are not normal here? (laughter) Fix your turban like (this mureed, that mureed, and that one, and that one). I was shouting at them in Argentina and Chile because they wear that kind of turban, like clowns! I am taking them mashaa-Allah to very nice, very educated, very respectful people, but when they went to the Ministry of Religious Affairs they put a turban like that (skewed, old). Did you see Mawlana with a turban like that? No, he always wears a very nice turban, so next time make it nice.
Now we are not objecting, but rather we are teaching. If we believe Allah is the Creator and we try our best, but we are complaining, why are you complaining? [I am a chronic complainer.] Allah created him complaining always! (laughter) Don’t argue with him as you will not win. He has a brain that no one can change; what I have here is what I have and no one can change it. Look at that one: he is quiet, but he makes what he likes. (laughter) If a hundred people tell him, “Do this,” he will not do it until he decides to do it. That is to teach us that Allah (swt) is the Creator and He will do as He likes, so don’t have any objection.
You are struggling, and there is no problem with that, but don’t object, because you are not able to change anything. If Allah (swt) will not change it, you cannot change it. That is why He said in Holy Qur'an and hadith:
إن الله لا ينظر إلى أجسامكم ولا إلى صوركم، ولكن ينظر إلى قلوبكم
inna Allah laa yanzhuru ila ajsaamikum wa laa ila soowarikum wa laakin yanzhuru ila quloobikum.
Verily Allah does not look at your bodies nor at your images but He looks at your hearts.
Allah doesn’t look at the outside (because you are already destroying it) can you touch your heart?
No, put some nail or claws in it and punch your heart and then see if you live or die! No, you won't die if you use a plastic one; if you hit it, still you will be okay. We are killing our ego with plastic. If we kill our ego with real claws then we will succeed, as then we will be able to achieve something! As long as our ego is riding on us, there is no way to succeed. How to get rid of your ego is very simple. They asked a very disciplined one, like (that one) who speaks English and French.
They asked the disciplined one, “From where you learned discipline?”
He said, “From the one who has no discipline. I watch him and avoid what he is doing wrong.”
So we are all together and that is to learn. So if we are all together, and you, what? The mail is not to be picked up from the office and put at his door even, His Highness, (a mureed); “`uqdah” is a knot, that means “never going to be opened up,” so they cheated you (when they gave that name)! So no way (that approach will be successful). That is why they put this one from Czech Republic here, to create fitna. He cannot (obey you). The food of some people is fitna; they cannot live without making fitna and backbiting. This one is like that! (laughter)
Everyone has a different character with different behavior. It is very difficult to please anyone, so accept everyone!
Today millions of people are telling the president of Egypt to step down, and he said, “Okay, I will step down.” And everyone was waiting for him to step down and he come after two hours, saying, “I am not stepping down!” So why is he not stepping down? There must be wisdom there.
Yudhillu man yashaau wa yu`izzu man yasha. “Allah puts up and puts down.”
There must be wisdom in it. Allah (swt) is looking and we cannot say President Mubarak is this or that. Allah is looking and He knows best; it might be sometimes he makes people tyrants to reward the ummah, as they are patient on tyrants. And it might be he makes tyrants because without them the people will be oppressors!
We don't interfere; we accept who is up and who is down. What we can do? Three million citizens are telling him to step down, and if Allah doesn't put him down, then who can? No one!
The army sent a statement, “Bulletin #1,” that all the demonstrators are on haqq and the military will support them. Everyone thought the crisis is finished, but no, he came and said, “I am here (as president of Egypt) until September.” Finished. So no one knows who is behind him; it might be awliyaullah. Our duty is that who comes (to power) we respect and who goes (out of power) we respect. Our duty is not to judge. But respect is to not complain!
Are you complaining? One of the principles of spirituality is not to complain, but to avoid: avoid being with people who are complaining. There is no need to listen to what they are saying. Allah (swt) is The One:
تُؤْتِي الْمُلْكَ مَن تَشَاء وَتَنزِعُ الْمُلْكَ مِمَّن تَشَاء وَتُعِزُّ مَن تَشَاء وَتُذِلُّ مَن تَشَاء بِيَدِكَ الْخَيْرُ إِنَّكَ عَلَىَ كُلِّ شَيْءٍ قَدِيرٌ
tutee al-mulka man tashau wa tanzi`au ’l-mulka mimman tashau wa tu`izzu man tashau wa tudhillu man tashau bi-yadika ’l-khayru innaka `ala kulli shayin qadeer
He raises up whom He likes and puts down whom He likes, and He is Powerful Over All Things.
Allah made us go to South America and visit people who know nothing about Islam, but subhaanAllah, between these millions a small group of Naqshbandis is coming up! It is a miracle how these people are accepting Islam. They are covered very well, more than any Muslim covers. They cover nicely and they are not shy, and they are praying their prayers, married as Muslims, raising their children as Muslims. It is amazing.
They invited me to Jumu`ah and an Egyptian imam invited me to give the khutbah. Usually there are 12-15 people who pray Jumu`ah, very few Muslims there. We saw two mosques and one is Wahabi. When we went, that masjid was full and people were so surprised. More than 400 people attended. They thought, “Who are all these people, and how they were able to come together and become Muslim?” We spent one week with them from morning to midnight, with different programs.
We went to Chile, where the same thing happened (the camera battery died). So this one also died, no complaints! (laughter) Don’t complain! Just now we were saying “no complaints.” (Mawlana says to a mureed,) if it happened between your hands, you would have beaten everyone up!
So we went to Chile and subhaanAllah, people came from everywhere, even from Brazil. They came to Argentina and followed me to Chile. They didn’t want to leave, all 25 of them. They have no Muslim friends, so how did they come to Islam? They came to Islam through one mureed of Mawlana who conducts workshops about Gurdjieff. He told them I am coming, so they came and then they prepared public meetings in auditoriums. Many people who came, I had never met them before, ladies and men, ladies not covered, hundreds of people. And the auditorium was full and most of them took shahadah at the end and they didn't want to leave, even at 12:00 midnight! They stayed until 2:00 a.m. and this one called for tahajjud. They slept after Ishraq and up to 1:00 p.m. they were free.
No complaints! Whom Allah sends, he sends! Whom He wants to bring down, He brings down! Whom He wants to bring up, He brings up! Now there are too many changes in the Middle East, not for the better but for worse. Many opposition parties will come and they will not be good. We are not supporting anyone.
This is a lesson tonight not to complain, so tomorrow we will check who is complaining and who is not!
Wa min Allahi 't-tawfeeq, bi hurmati 'l-habeeb, bi hurmati 'l-Fatihah.