21 July 2012 Fenton Zawiya, Michigan
Suhbah after Fajr
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`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!
Everyday people look for fresh food and try to add to what they have. Today Allah (swt) made it easy for us to meet in Ramadan in order that we all benefit. I am not saying I’m better than you, but I am saying you are better than me, because if you were not here to whom would I speak?
I’m not like Grandshaykh (q), may Allah bless his soul, when he was in seclusion and he didn’t have anyone to speak to, so he put his turban in front of him and spoke to it to empty the knowledge coming to his heart. As you empty the heart they fill you up, but if you are happy with what you have they will leave you like that. If someone keeps emptying his heart, Allah (swt) will keep sending as He is generous, not like us:
Min karam al-ilaaha laa hudooda lahu. Fa huwa al-mu`tiyy wa huwa an-nafi`.
Allah's Generosity has no limits. He is the Supreme Giver and the Giver of Good.
Allah is not like us, who wait until we get more in order to give. Two of Allah's Attributes are al-Kareem, The Most Generous, and al-Mu`tiyy, The One Who Is Generous. You cannot compare His Generosity with someone who is generous in dunya. When Allah (swt) gives, He continues giving non-stop until the Day of Judgment.
For example, you see an ant moving towards its food, but how does it find its food? Do you not see ants passing, finding their food, then going? To ponder that, you see Allah's Greatness, making a very small ant, dharr, the smallest thing you can understand, to move, and you don't know where is its head and where is its stomach; it might be moving backwards or forward, but the hikmat is that the ant reaches crumbs or traces of food, takes it and goes. By pondering Allah's Greatness in making that ant move, you will be dressed with rewards that will not disappear, but rather they continue to the Day of Judgment! Just by doing that and nothing else, Allah's Generosity will dress you. Look at Allah's Hikmat! To the Day of Judgment, you will continuously be rewarded for that `amal that is completely separate from any other `amals.
The following hadith is from the prophecy of an-Nabi (s), which is “al-Mutanabbi,” the one who speaks about the future. The Prophet (s) foretells what is happening today, describing this meeting in detail! He receives it as revelation. One hadith is enough to contemplate and for sure, you can only understand that hadith through Allah's Greatness!
Abu Dardaa (r) said that the Holy Prophet (s) said:
عَنْ أَبِي الدَّرْدَاءِ رضي الله عنه قَالَ: قَالَ رَسُولُ اللهِ صلي الله عليه وآله وسلم: لَيَبْعَثَنَّ اللهُ أَقْوَامًا يَوْمَ الْقِيَامَةِ فِي وُجُوهِهِمُ النُّورُ عَلَى مَنَابِرِ اللُّؤْلُؤِ. يَغْبِطُهُمُ النَّاسُ لَيْسُوا بِأَنْبِيَاءَ وَلاَ شُهَدَاءَ. قَالَ: فَجَثِىَ أَعْرَابِيٌّ عَلَى رُكْبَتَيْهِ فَقَالَ: يَا رَسُولَ اللهِ، حِلْهُمْ لَنَا نَعْرِفُهُمْ. قَالَ: هُمُ الْمُتَحَابُّونَ فِي اللهِ مِنْ قَبَائِلَ شَتىَّ وَبِلاَدٍ شَتىَّ. يَجْتَمِعُونَ عَلَى ذِكْرِ اللهِ يَذْكُرُونَهُ
wa `an Abi Darda radiallahu `anhu qaal: qaala Rasoolullahi la-yaba`thanna-Llaahu aqwaaman yawma ’l-qiyaamati fee wujoohihim an-noor `alaa manaabiri 'l-lu'loo. Yaghbituhum an-naasu laysu bi anbiyaa wa laa shuhadaa. Qaal: fajathiya `araabiyyun `alaa rukbatayhi, faqaal: yaa Rasoolullah, hilhum lanaa na`rifuhum. Qaal: humu 'l-mutahaabboona fi’llaahi min qabaaila shataa wa bilaadin shataa. Yajtami`oona `alaa dhikrullahi yadhkuroonahu.
Abi Darda (r) said that Prophet (s) said, “On the Day of Judgment, Allah Almighty will resurrect some people with shining light on their faces. They will be sitting on pulpits made of pearls and the other people will envy them. They will neither be Prophets nor martyrs.” (Hearing this) a Bedouin bent down to his knees saying, “O, Holy Prophet of Allah Almighty! Please describe these people so that we may recognize them.” The Holy Prophet said, “They are the people who, regardless of their connection to different tribes and countries, love each other for the Sake of Allah Almighty and gather together to remember Him.” (Tabarani)
Look what Allah (swt) is giving for this meeting! The Prophet (s) said that certainly on the Day of Judgment, Allah (swt) will raise people with faces full of Light, fee wujoohihim an-noor. He said, “al-Noor,” in which “al” is the definite article used to describe “The Light.” Allah (swt) will raise them on the Day of Judgment so that in their faces, meaning in every cell of their faces there is an-Noor, The Light, not simply “noor.” “Huwa al-Noor,” as Allah (swt) said:
اللَّهُ نُورُ السَّمَاوَاتِ وَالْأَرْضِ
Allaahu nooru 's-samaawaati wa 'l-ard.
Allah is the Light of the Heavens and Earth. (Surat an-Noor, 24:35)
So one of Allah's Beautiful Names and Attributes is “an-Noor,” with “al” as a definite article. That means from His Beautiful Names and Attributes, Allah (swt) will send an-Noor, “The Light” on their faces, from which they will be shining. Those whose faces will shine from Allah's Beautiful Light will become beacons on the Day of Judgment for all creation!
Allah (swt) said, “Allah is the Light of the Heavens and Earth,” so when He gives you His Light your face glows with whatever knowledge is in it, because He created the Light of the Prophet (s) from His Light! That means you are carrying the Light of the Prophet (s) and the Light of Allah's Beautiful Name and Attribute, an-Noor. On the Day of Judgment, when someone becomes dressed with that Light of an-Noor, he becomes Divine, mukhaladan fi ‘l-Jannah, living forever in Paradise! We are speaking of akhirah, not dunya. That hadith describes this meeting and describes something that no one can understand.
How are you going to present someone who is carrying that Light? When you are glowing from that Light, it means Allah (swt) is dressing you with that from His Generosity and He is not going to make you walk, but rather He will give you a vehicle. They will be sitting on manaabiri 'l-lu'loo, “pulpits of pearls” like a carriage. To go on a minbar, pulpit, means people are sitting and you are the leader; you will be leaders for people on the Day of Judgment, when people are in the greatest need to enter into Paradise and not to be punished. So as you are moving and coming with pulpits of pearls, as the Prophet (s) described, that Light is reaching people. They are not just pulpits of pearls, but the Prophet (s) mentioned it in this way for us to understand, because the Light of Allah’s Beautiful Name an-Noor cannot be described.
Now if there was nothing here and that Light was moving, you could see it from far away. To see a light from far away in a dark night means it guides you. So these people on the Day of Judgment will be beacons for people who will long to be in their position and among them. In Judgment Day, everything is different than what we see today. The mu’min is the mirror of his brother, so you become a mirror reflecting that Light to them. When they long to be in your position, wanting what you have, that Light will reflect on them, like when you put a mirror under the sun, and you will shine that reflection of your Light from your face to people’s faces. The Prophet (s) said, laysu bi anbiyaa wa laa shuhadaa, “They are neither Prophets nor Martyrs.” Then who are they? Who can carry that Ligh, if not a Prophet or Martyr? Because if Allah (swt) were to open that Light on one person in dunya for people to see, the whole universe would faint from the beauty of that Light! People run to see the rainbow as it has a very beautiful colored light. Some people go to see garden flowers or a beautiful scenery and take pictures to show the beauty of that Light, which can make all people faint! So if they are not Prophets and Martyrs, who are they?
Upon hearing from the Prophet (s) that on the Day of Judgment there will come people with faces shining with Light and that people will long to be in their position, a Bedouin came rushing on his knees facing the Prophet (s). A humble Bedouin who doesn’t have anything to eat, perhaps only one cup of milk to drink every day, and he wanted to know more. The Prophet (s) said:
رب اشعث اغبر لو اقسم على الله لأبره
Rubba ash`ath aghbara law aqsama `ala ’Llaahi la-abbarah.
There may be a disheveled, dusty person who, if he swears an oath by Allah, Allah will fulfill it.
(Muslim)
There may be someone with greasy hair whom you don’t like because you think he is disgusting, and if he asks anything from Allah (swt), Allah will give him! Allah (swt) doesn’t look at outer appearances, but rather He looks at hearts. If we know some songs, translation of books, or memorized some hadith, we think we are something. That is good, but Allah (swt) wants His Servant to be sincere and pious, to remember Him in every moment, to remember His Mercy and His Prophet (s), and to say, “Laa ilaaha illa-Llah Muhammadun Rasoolullah `alayhaa nahyaa wa `alayhaa namoot wa `alayhaa nalq-Allah.”
Unable to digest what he just heard, that Bedouin came to the Prophet (s) because out of sincerity he longed to be in their places and with them. That is why he jumped in front of the Prophet (s), to know who they are and to build a relationship with them. Do we build relationships? We are struggling. That is why in the hadith about Islam, Imaan and Ihsaan, the Prophet (s) didn’t only say “Islam,” but that you have to also go to the belief, `aqeedah, which is why he mentioned it second. First you have to learn the Five Pillars of Islam, then you have to build your `aqeedah. First you teach the Five Pillars of Islam, then you teach Imaan, which is to believe in Allah and His Angels and His Prophets and the Holy Books and the Last Day and Destiny.
You have to make sure that your belief is correct. What is your belief? If you have websites where you mix Islam with Hinduism, Buddhism, Christianity and Judaism, making a basket out of it, presenting that to people who don’t know anything, they see it as multi-religion, so they are happy with it and you destroyed them through deviation! A Muslim must be a Muslim (and follow Islam)! You can give examples from Hinduism, Judaism or Christianity to show that Islam is the religion, as Allah (swt) said:
إِنَّ الدِّينَ عِندَ اللّهِ الإِسْلاَمُ
Inna ad-deena `inda Allaahi al-islaam.
The religion in Allah’s view is Islam (submission to His Will). (Surat Aali-`Imraan, 3:19)
Don’t blend it with other beliefs as there might be poison in it. If you give pure milk it is okay, but if you mix something in it, if you put vinegar or lemon in milk it is spoiled. Is that what you want? That is what people do today and say, “This is Islam.”
So that Bedouin asked the Prophet (s) to describe them, yaa Rasoolullah, hilhum lanaa na`rifuhu, “Yaa Rasoolullah! Please describe these people so we know them.” Do you want to know them? According to the Prophet's hadith, all of you are of them!
Don’t blend anything; if you want your faith to be full of noor from Allah's Beautiful Names and Attributes “an-Noor,” keep pure and don’t mix your faith. That is why you have to study `aqeedah, which is when you will reach Maqaam al-Ihsaan, the Station of Moral Excellence, learning from the behavior of the Prophet (s) that he taught his Sahaabah (r). Tasawwuf came to teach behavior, what today they call “psychology.”
O Muslims! You are going to universities and leaving tasawwuf, not studying it. In al-Azhar University, the Grand Mufti of Egypt, `Ali Gomaa, told me there were at least one-thousand students every semester studying tasawwuf and now there are only fifty, with the rest studying psychology! Tasawwuf will teach you the behavior of people, how to be good and crystal purity, and not to associate anyone with Allah (swt), which is real Oneness, and that Allah (swt) is the Creator and Sayyidina Muhammad (s) is His Prophet. O you, who are watching on the Internet, this is also for you! The Prophet (s) said:
هم المتحابون في الله
Hum al-mutahaaboona fillaah.
Those who love each other for the sake of Allah (swt) (whom He created as good servants and worshippers, making sajda to Allah), they love each other for that.
Look at the greatness of the hadith that is coming. Many people in different countries might love each other: in Egypt there are groups who love each other, and similarly in Pakistan, America, Indonesia, Turkey, Malaysia, and in Mecca and Madinah. Look at the greatness of the Prophet’s (s) description: those who love each other are qabaail, “from different tribes,” what today you describe as different races or ethnicities. Look at our group here, comprised of Pakistanis, Lebanese, Syrians, French, one came from Brunei, this one from Mayotte, this one from Africa. etc. Does it describe that hadith or not? Min bilaadin shatta wa min qabaailin shatta. Are we from different countries? Yes, and fourteen-hundred years ago the Prophet (s) mentioned, “There will come a time when people from different races and backgrounds will come together and love each other and they will carry the Light of an-Noor.” This is a small group compared to bigger groups.
In Mecca around the Ka`bah, do you see the same group? In time of Sahaabah (r) they were all Arabs, but the Prophet (s) said in the future all people circumambulating Ka`bah will be from different backgrounds and countries, and they are all there, and they are there for love! In Madinah, they are all in front of the Prophet (s) and even those of different beliefs than ours are standing in front of the Prophet (s) making salawaat! Do you see anyone in Haram al-Madinah not going in front of the Rawdah and not making salawaat?
So the Prophet (s) described what will happen in the future and provided us different descriptions of that group and its conditions: “And they meet in order to make dhikrullah, to remember Allah (swt) and they will remember Him.” Remember Him in any way you like: sitting, reading hadith and Holy Qur'an, doing dhikrullah as the Sufis do. Those people meet for Allah's Remembrance, which is what we were doing when we said, “Laa ilaaha illa-Llah Muhammadun Rasoolullah.”
May Allah forgive us and we will continue tomorrow on the importance of dhikrullah and Fadaa’il al-Fatihah. Wa min Allahi 't-tawfeeq, bi hurmati 'l-habeeb, bi hurmati 'l-Fatihah.
http://www.sufilive.com/rnd.cfm?m=4454
© Copyright 2012 Sufilive. All rights reserved. This transcript is protected
by international copyright law. Please attribute Sufilive when sharing it. JazakAllahu khayr.