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A`udhu billah min ash-shaytan ir-rajeem. Bismillahi 'r-Rahmani 'r-Raheem

Nawaytu'l-arba`een, nawaytu'l-`itikaaf, nawaytu'l-khalwah, nawaytu'l-riyaada, nawaytu's-salook, nawaytu'l-`uzlah lillahi ta`ala fee hadha'l-masjid  Dastur ya Sayiddi ya Sultan al-Awliya Shaykh Muhammad Nazim Haqqani, Ya madad. Ati’ ullaha wa ati’ ur Rasul wa uwlil amrin minkum.

Allah said in Holy Qur`an, “Obey Allah; obey Prophet (s) and obey those who are on authority.” And Allah said in Holy Qur`an:

وَمَا آتَاكُمُ الرَّسُولُ فَخُذُوهُ وَمَا نَهَاكُمْ عَنْهُ فَانتَهُوا وَاتَّقُوا اللَّهَ إِنَّ اللَّهَ شَدِيدُ الْعِقَابِ

 Wa ma `atakumu ’r-rasulu fa khudoohu wa maa nahaakum `anhu fantahoo w’attaqullaha inn-Allaha shadeedul-`iqaab. “Whatever Prophet (s) gives you, take it.”

Means whatever he said halal you take it, whatever he said haraam you leave it. Prophet (s) said, Wa’ al haraamu bayya’ nun, wal halalul bayya’ an. “Halal is very clear like sunshine, and haraam is very clear like sunshine.” You can not mix the two: either you are on the side of halal or you are on the side of haraam. We can not say, “Oh, I can take a little bit from halal or a little bit of haraam. We can not, but if by mistake or by a sin you did something haraam, you have to repent. We are not saying that people will be perfect and will not do any sin or something with sin means haraam. No, people are weak, we are weak servants to Allah . We are helpless, we are heedless.

We have to know that whatever we do something wrong, immediately we ask repentance, because at that moment the power of the murshid comes. Don’t think that the murshid is heedless. Murshid has to give you and to show you that you are heedless. Murshid has power. There are people who consider themselves murshid but by name only. As we can define tasawwuf, Sufism, that it was in the time of Prophet (s) a reality but it had no name. Today, it is a name with no reality.

Only people, we are saying, we are Sufi, or we are in the state of tazkiyyat an-nafs  as it is mentioned it’s name in Holy Qur`an, “purification of the soul.”

خُذْ مِنْ أَمْوَالِهِمْ صَدَقَةً تُطَهِّرُهُمْ وَتُزَكِّيهِم بِهَا وَصَلِّ عَلَيْهِمْ إِنَّ صَلاَتَكَ سَكَنٌ لَّهُمْ وَاللّهُ سَمِيعٌ عَلِيمٌ

Khudh min amwaalihim sadaqatan tutahhiruhum wa tuzakkeehim biha wa salli `alayhim inna salaataka sakanun lahum w’Allahu same`un `aleem

Of their goods, take alms, that so thou mightest purify and sanctify them; and pray on their behalf. Verily thy prayers are a source of security for them: And Allah is One Who heareth and knoweth. 9:103

That’s one of the verses that is to purify you.  It’s a purification system.  People today, you can not order them, but this is an order. You can not tell people today “give,” as they feel you are interfering in their lives. But, Allah said to Prophet Muhammad (s) in Holy Qur`an:

“Ya Muhammad (s), khudh min amwaalihim sadaqa, take from their money in donation.”

Allah is saying, don’t leave it up to them! If you leave it to them they don’t give anything, it’s a human character. If you ask, it’s not asking. You have to order them: khudh min amwaalihim, it is an order, it is a fair `amal, it is an action that is with an order, “take from them donation.”

خُذْ مِنْ أَمْوَالِهِمْ صَدَقَةً تُطَهِّرُهُمْ وَتُزَكِّيهِم بِهَا وَصَلِّ عَلَيْهِمْ إِنَّ صَلاَتَكَ سَكَنٌ لَّهُمْ وَاللّهُ سَمِيعٌ عَلِيمٌ

Khudh min amwaalihim sadaqatan tutahhiruhum wa tuzakkeehim biha wa salli `alayhim inna salaataka sakanun lahum w’Allahu samee`un `aleem

Of their goods, take alms, that so thou mightest purify and sanctify them; and pray on their behalf. Verily thy prayers are a source of security for them: And Allah is One Who heareth and knoweth. 9:103

You will clean them and you will purify them with it.”

After Prophet (s) will clean you, that is “purification,” like after they distilled the water, you see this big plant of cleaning the water of sea water or sewage water. What they do at the beginning, they clean it. Then they purify it to come up to the standard of PH, and they add minerals in it. So, Allah is saying to Sayyidina Muhammad (s), “Don’t wait for them, order them to give you from their money,” then you cause Prophet will say, “Ya Rabbee, they help me, help them.” But today people are worried to give, but Allah is saying to Sayyidina Muhammad (s), “When you take from them, now you are under the obligation to give them what they need. They give you donation but now you are going to give them bigger, more than what they gave you. What you are going to give them, cleaning and purification.”

And Allah also said, Wa salli `alayhim, which means “After you clean them and purify them, they become like angels.” That’s why Prophet said, tu`rada `alayya  `amaal Ummatee, “I observe the `amaal of my Ummah.” Constantly he is watching everyone, not one is overcome by another one, no overlap. All of them at the same time, Prophet is seeing their `amal. And he is saying, “If I see good, I thank Allah , and if I see bad, I ask forgiveness on their behalf.” So, Prophet (s) is a constant purification for his Ummah. But if you give a booster, you do something they will oblige. That’s why when you present awliyaullah with a gift, they are obliged to give you a bigger gift. Don’t say I am giving the shaykh, he is not in need for you. You are giving for yourself. Giving is not for the shaykh. When you give to him, he is now under obligation, as he will be asked on the Day of Judgment. “That person was generous and gave to you. What you did for him?”

The ayat is clear, tutahhiruhum wa tuzakkeehim biha - With their donation you have to clean them and purify them, then Allah will be happy with you.” Then Allah said even more to Prophet (s) on top of that: “After you become a clean person, wa salli alayhim.” It means, “send your salaat on them, ya Muhammad.”  When they give for a masjid, for a poor person, a charity, a guide, or a sincere person, then what do you think about  someone giving to Prophet (s)? What you give to Prophet? We are his Ummah. Sahaba were giving directly. But we are far now, so what do we give? We give a charity, we give a mosque, we give to someone who is inheriting from prophet (s). There are many inheritors. Allah is saying in the Holy Hadith, Awliyaee tahta qibaabee laa y`alamahum ghayree, “My Saints are under My domes; no one knows them except Me.”

So that is a cleaning, a purification system that makes Prophet (s) send salawat on those who gave. Inna salaataka sakan lahum, “Your salaat on them, goes to your Ummah and is peacefulness on them. Give them tranquility in their heart, give them peace in their heart, give them happiness in their heart.”

Don’t expect that you will be helped if you are not showing  generosity. So, awliyaullah, a murshid, is not an easy way to go through. A murshid has a power to clean you and he has to show you that he is cleaning you. Once, I was studying in the university and we had year-end exams. It was a big day and came to my heart to visit Grandshaykh, may Allah bless his soul. Me and my brother, it was like 4 o’ clock in the afternoon and a three-hour drive. We said we will pray maghrib with him, and we prayed Isha with him, we returned and next day was the exam. I already studied, but you know mothers, how they are? My mother was not happy. She loves Grandshaykh and Mawlana Shaykh. But she was not happy because you have exams, you have to study. We were young, and began to argue. ‘No’, ‘yes’, ‘no’, ‘yes’, we like to go, she said, “no, don’t go.” Finally, I said, “I am going,” took the car and drove from Beirut to Damascus.  

Look the power of the murshid! We arrived at his door. His house was in a new section that you come to the door and then you go up in the stairs to the old section, where he stays in the old section. The new section is like a zawiya, but you have to go through there. And we came to knock at the door, and never Grandshaykh goes down. Always, he is up in his quarter. And we came to knock at the door, he opened the door, saying, “Why you are coming here?” (Shaykh Hisham blushes.) We can not say anything. We were keeping quiet. Do you know what he said? He said, “Go back from where you came! Don’t ever come to me and your mother is angry! Go, kiss her hand, ask forgiveness. If she gives permission, you come. If not, you don’t come here.”

How he was able to see? Three hours distance. How he knew?  No telephone, nothing, and it was a private discussion with my mother in the house. Grandshaykh said some words which, I am not going to repeat, and he send us back. He was so filled with jalal (greatness) you tremble in front of him. He did not let us step inside even one step. So, we came back alhamdulillah. Next day was the exam and I passed very well. My mother was happy. We said, “We want to go to Grandshaykh.” She said, “Okay, no problem.” So, we went there and knocked at the door. Grandshaykh sent his helper to open the door. He said, “Mawlana wants to see you.” Usually when you enter inside you must wait to see him. He said, “Awlaad (children), come inside, I want to tell you something.”

Out of mercy that they are sending on this gathering, I am saying, awliyaullah have permission from Prophet Muhammad (s) to look at their followers at least three times in every 24 hours, to see how they are behaving. If there is a problem, they have to fix it. Don’t think the shaykh is sitting dumb, that he doesn’t know anything. He does not necessarily tell you, and he appears as a normal person. But, when you encounter things in your daily life, they know, and they show you in ways that convince you that this is not just a lecture about tasawwuf. Doctors study, and without training there is no permission to practice medicine. We must have a theory and practice, not just hearing the teachings but we must apply them through training, that’s what is important.

Since last year, Mawlana Shaykh is under the tajalli (manifestation) of the Divine Name as-Saboor. He likes to see his mureeds, and his mureeds like to see him. But, since he came under that Name, he is teaching his students patience. Are they going to be patient or not? Like today, some mureeds are leaving as they have no chance to see Mawlana Shaykh. They were here for twelve days, and for sure in their heart their patience is exploding, because they never spoke with Mawlana Shaykh, sat with him a little bit, and they came all the way here to Lefke, Cyprus. So it was a test for them, and today I arrived here at one o’clock, because it’s a fasting day, I came at Dhuhr time. I saw them standing and no one was taking them up. I went up. I saw some people speaking with Mawlana, so I got them in. Mawlana was so happy to see them and he was so hospitable. From his side he likes to see everyone but he is also in a seclusion.

About seclusion we say, khalwati, jalwati, “Complete seclusion, sometimes with people, sometimes without people.” Mawlana Shaykh is in that kind of situation today, of seeing or not seeing people, being or not being with people. He is under `ismAllah as-Saboor, Allah’s Beautiful Name, “The Patient”. It is the test for a mureed to see how much patience they have or don’t have. Tasawwuf is a training. How many people came, criticized, and left because they did not see the shaykh! Oh, it is a training here. You have to be patient, once the permission comes I know, I am going to see. But, what is the benefit of tariqah if you are going to have always candies and no tests?

When Grandshaykh called me and my brother into his room, he told us, “I observe you by order of Prophet (s) at least three times every day. I see what you are doing, and by permission of Prophet (s) I send a test on you, I send you problems. Don’t expect I am going to give you candies, sweet. Sweet you can have it at any time; you can go buy from the grocery store. Am I going to tell you, ‘Oh! You are the best, you are this, or you are that.’ No, I am going to send you something to make you angry and test you. Are you angry or not? Are you patient or not? Because anger is the first bad characteristic that you must take away from yourself.” He said, “I send on you three tests a day and you have to know when these come that I am watching, so behave well. Don’t misbehave! If you misbehave, you are loosing your test at that time. Because, every time I send a test, you go higher. So, when you were arguing with your mother, I was the one talking through your mother. If you would have seen that, you would have immediately raised higher in your levels.”

I am saying this to you out of mercy, so next time you will know. When you get angry, it means you are missing your opportunity to be raised up. Some people might ask, “Someone took our money and we got angry. Do we have a right to get our money back or do we leave it?” No, I am not saying that, that is your dunya right. You can do whatever you want. I am saying, to get angry between brothers, sisters, parents, children, it is much better to be patient and calm; there is benefit in that.

For example, someone in this association criticizes you for brushing your teeth with toothpaste and toothbrush, saying it is haraam. They condemn you in such a way, you say, “I did something wrong?” they answer, “Of course you did something wrong! You are following kufr now! Use the miswak.” Such people find many ways to upset their mureed brothers, saying things like, “You can not clean your ears; you can not blow your nose, it’s haraam because that is from inside the body, so keep it inside; or, don’t go to doctor, Allah will cure you.”

These people are not awliya, they are normal people. If a wali says something like that, he knows what he is saying. I don’t want argue on that issue. I saw Grandshaykh many times, wash his dentures with soap and other products before using them. The real issue is, first, those people are arguing, second, the shaykh might be testing if you will be patient with this brother who is bothering everyone. Those who say, “Never mind, astaghfirullah,” and they don’t become angry, the shaykh is happy with them.

These are problems that confront you every day. You go to the market, you see an item is priced at ten dollars, you offer the seller five dollars and he curses you! Stay quiet; don’t say anything, especially in Makkah and Madinah. Anything they might tell you is fifty riyals, and you throw to them twenty riyals and they sell it to you! How it’s fifty riyals and now it is twenty riyals? This is a business strategy. The trader has to put a profit margin. But you can not cheat the people who are coming there to take baraka. So, I was with Mawlana Shaykh, may Allah give him long life, on Hajj. It was 1969, in Makkah, and Mawlana had with him fifty or sixty Hajjis from Cyprus. I asked Mawlana why he brings these old people? Bringing them young at least is easy. Like fifty, sixty mureeds, men and women, very old, they can not move, they walk with a stick, Mawlana carried all their luggage and takes them on and off busses, and it’s not so easy to go through the desert. Take them: not like today, you go by the bus from Damascus to Madinah, it’s thirty-six hours. In those days the trip was so long, and busses break down on the road, the tire is gone, no air-conditioning, and you needed five or six days to reach. At every stop Mawlana has to help them off the bus. They sleep in the desert or in the bus, and it was very difficult.

So, on this Hajj in 1969, he was giving the passports to the mutawwaf and there was someone who exchanges currency notes on the side. Mawlana went there and I was standing besides him. The exchange rate we saw somewhere else was different than that person was giving us. Mawlana was wearing his turban and jubbah. I was wearing my turban and jubbah, and my brother was next to me. Mawlana said, “The other one quoted me this price, and your price is so high.” He looked at Mawlana and said, “You stupid shaykh, you (cursing) .....!” He exploded on Mawlana Shaykh, and Mawlana never opened his mouth. Then that person became even more angry because Mawlana didn’t say anything. Such people want someone to say anything, they want to fight. Then that man spit on us. I was going to finish the situation, from my mind, my craziness came! Mawlana Shaykh said, “No, keep patient.” He did not let us do anything.

Mawlana cleaned the spit off him. He went back to the building of the Mutawwaf and inside someone was sitting, observing him. He asked Mawlana, “Shaykh, what do you need?” Mawlana replied, “I am exchanging the money.” The person asked him, “How much you are exchanging?” At that time he was changing one-thousand pounds, for the Hajjis to have a little bit. But one-thousand pounds was too much money at that time. He said to Mawlana, “Okay, give me the one-thousand.” He exchanged the pounds for riyals at a very nice exchange rate. Then at the end, he put the one-thousand pounds in the envelope and said, “This is from me to you, pray for me.” Mawlana Shaykh Nazim looked at us and said, “This is Grandshaykh. Allah sent him to test us.”

So, you don’t know, this is the power I am speaking about, the power of the murshid. The murshid has huge power, that he can observe what you are doing. This is similar to things about Murshid at-Tazkiyy

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