Suhbah at Private Residence
We begin with a small suhbat if Mawlana Shaykh Nazim sends something, and if not, then our group is here for qasidah, inshaa-Allah.
ash-hadu an laa ilaha illa-Llah wa ash-hadu anna Muhammadan `abduhu wa rasooluh.
alf alfu salaat was-salaam `alayk, yaa Habeebullah!
alf alfu salaat was-salaam `alayk, yaa Nabeeullah!
alf alfu salaat was-salaam `alayk, yaa Aba Batool!
alf alfu salaat was-salaam `alayk, yaa Taahir!
alf alfu salaat was-salaam `alayk, yaa Maahi!
alf alfu salaat was-salaam `alayk, yaa Qassim!
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`ala fee hadha ‘l-manzil (this house).
Allah (swt) said in Holy Qur'an:
يَا أَيُّهَا النَّبِيُّ إِنَّا أَرْسَلْنَاكَ شَاهِدًا وَمُبَشِّرًا وَنَذِيرًاوَدَاعِيًا إِلَى اللَّهِ بِإِذْنِهِ وَسِرَاجًا مُّنِيرًا
Yaa ayyuha an-nabiyyu inna arsalnaaka shaahidan wa mubashshiran wa nadheeran wa da`eean ila Allahi bi-idhnihi wa siraajan muneera.
O Prophet! Truly We have sent thee as a witness, a bearer of glad tidings,and warner, and as one who invites to Allah by His leave, and as a lamp spreading light. (Al-Ahzaab 33:45-46)
I am not trying to impose myself on anyone, and I am not trying to say this is right and this is wrong. Rather, I am humbly speaking to you after taking permission from my shaykh, who is your shaykh. He blesses our trip here and inshaa-Allah he will send something that you and I will benefit from.
The Prophet (s) said, ad-deenu naseeha, "Religion is advice." If you go to a doctor when you are sick, you get his advice. We go to this doctor here when we feel sick and we take advice; if you take his advice or not, it is up to you. If you are not satisfied with his advice, you go to another doctor, it might be a lady or a male doctor. You ask them and they give you advice. What do you do with the advice? You follow it.
Also, under the advice of what the Prophet (s) said, ad-deenu naseeha, that also includes medicine as any advice comes under “ad-deen,” because religion wants you to build a fully well-maintained house to live a normal life; that is “religion.” Also, normal life includes the message of Islam, and the Prophet (s) taught us a lot of ahadeeth that contain how to behave, study, and advise other people, and also he advised us how to medically treat and cure ourselves. So the reference ad-deenu naseeha, “Religion is advice,” does not only include `ibaadat, worship, but also everything you need in your life. So just as we need a medical doctor to look after us, we also need a doctor of Shari`ah to look after us.
What do you think, did Shari`ah come to prepare us for heavenly levels? Shari`ah is the constitution, advice of how to secure in this dunya the level of Paradise when we leave this dunya. So just as we need a doctor in Shari`ah, we also need a doctor in the spiritual dimension of life to implement what the Prophet (s) mentioned:
أدبني ربي فأحسن تأديبي
adabanee rabbee fa ahsana taa'deebee.
My Lord raised my character and perfected my adab, high character.
So if Allah (swt) perfected Prophet’s discipline, adabanee, that is, “raised me,” “educated me,” “gave me discipline,” all these meanings come under “daba.” Did Allah perfect anyone else in this life? No. Allah described him and praised him as:
وَإِنَّكَ لَعَلى خُلُقٍ عَظِيمٍ
wa innaka la `ala khuluqin `azheem.
You are of the most exalted character. (al-Qalam, 68:4)
And He said at the end, “`azheem,” which is “limitless.” `Azheemin fi ’d-dunya wa `azheemin fi ‘l-akhirah, dhi mulkin `azheem. One of Allah’s Beautiful Names is “al-`Azheem.”
wa innaka `ala khuluqin `azheem. Allah (swt) is saying to Prophet (s), “You are under that Beautiful Name as I put you in that ocean of My `Azhamah, in which everything is magnificent. Yaa Muhammad! Wherever you look in that ocean, you see My `Azhamah, Greatness!” So what do you think about us? If Allah (swt) taught Prophet (s), don’t we need to be taught? But we are not prophets (a), we are not Sahaabah (r), we are normal human beings, so we are the most in need to be taught. Allah wants to teach us through His Prophet (s), and Prophet wants to teach us through his Sahaabah and awliyaaullah.
Prophet (s) said:
علماء أمتي كأنبياء بني اسرائيل
`Ulama ummatee ka anbiyaa Bani Isra’eel.
The scholars of my ummah are like the prophets of Bani Israel.
He wants to tell us, “You can reach that level!” but you need to come, you need to accept that. Nowadays, who accepts? Sayyidina Musa (a), Sayyidina `Isa (a), Sayyidina Ibrahim (a), who taught them? they are all prophets, so who taught them? Allah (swt) taught them and ordered them to deliver His message. But no one has been chosen except one to carry the reality of laa ilaaha illa-Llah Muhammadan Rasoolullah. What did Allah name him other than “Muhammad”? What Allah named him, the name everyone uses, “al-Mustafa, the Chosen One,” does not mean chosen in dunya; he (s) was chosen even before Adam (a) was born.
كنت نبيا وآدم بين الروح والجسد
kuntu nabiyyan wa adam bayna ar-roohi wa ’l-jasad.
I was a prophet while Adam was between soul and body.
He (s) was a prophet on whom? On us. He was a prophet before Allah created the physicality of Adam, on yawm alastu bi-rabbikum qaaloo balaa, “the Day when Allah asked, ‘Am I not your Lord?’ and they said, "Truly You are!" He was prophet on all these souls before Allah swt created the physical body. That is why he said, wa man doonahu tahta liwaaee yawm al-qiyaamati, “Adam and whoever is under him is under my flag on Day of Judgment.”
Prophet (s) also said, Anaa Sayyid walad Adam wa laa fakhar, “I am the master, Sayyid, (of the Children of Adam), and I say this with no pride.
“Sayyid” means he is the head, at the top. That is a title given from Allah to him. We say in dunya, for example, “Jamaluddin is Sayyid of his people in Germany.” What did Prophet (s) say in hadith? You are muhaddith? He said, “qoomoo li sayyidikum!” Is it not correct? “Stand up for your master!” When the leaders of the tribe came and the Prophet was sitting, and he was told that Sa’ad bin Na’as was coming, he ordered the Sahaabah (r) who had accepted Islam to stand up for the master of their tribe. If we are ordered to do that, then should we not stand for Sayyidina Muhammad, who is saying, “I am Sayyid walad Adam, the Master of the Children of Adam?” (Mawlana stands)
That is why it is not easy to mention the name of the Prophet without standing, and it is not the adab. The Ottomans knew that reality from their Sufi teachers. Like we are learning from Mawlana Shaykh, he orders us to stand up (everyone standing) then he sits, then when we say, “Muhammad” we stand up (everyone stands again). We say, Muhammad! (Everyone stands and sits)
So we call, “Yaa Sayyidee! Yaa Rasoolullah!” From here we are `ajizoon, powerless, without energy, so forgive us for every time “Sayyid” or the name “Muhammad” was spoken and we did not stand, but make our soul stand! If we ask that, do you think he (s) will reject it? Allah (swt) will not disappoint Muhammad (s)! He never rejects for what the Prophet asks, so we ask Prophet (s)! If we try to go high it is not adab, not respect, so we ask Prophet to accept. To stand is difficult, but we ask our heart to stand; our mind will never accept that but the heart is standing, which is most important.
So Prophet (s) was not chosen by Allah (swt) looking, sifting, and eliminating others (to find the Chosen One); no, “al-Mustafa” is not like that. Mustafa was Mustafa from the Day of Promises, alastu bi rabbikum qaaloo balaa, from azal ila ’l-abad, because this name from azal ila `l-abad was being raised as laa ilaaha illa-Llah Muhammadan Rasoolullah, from pre-Eternal to Eternal. From the very beginning, even from where there was no beginning, laa ilaaha illa-Llah Muhammadan Rasoolullah was raised! Allah raised it to Himself. Allah raised it to Whom? To al-haqeeqat adh-dhaatiyata bi dhaati ’l-buhut fa aslan min hadha al-mazsdar. Rafa`a laa ilaaha illa-Llah Muhammadan Rasoolullah bi ’l-asmaa wa ’s-siffaat, hatta al-asmaa was siffat tata`araf `ala mahiyata laa ilaaha illa-Llah Muhammadan Rasoolullah. Allah did not raise laa ilaaha illa-Llah for the Essence; rather, the Essence raised laa ilaaha illa-Llah Muhammadan Rasoolullah to the Beautiful Names and Attributes, for the Beautiful Names and Attributes to understand the realities of laa ilaaha illa-Llah Muhammadan Rasoolullah through the oceans that never end, and that knowledge that never ends!
Laa ilaaha illa-Llah Muhammadun Rasoolullah bahrul-baharat fi ’l-`asma wa ’s-siffaat. Nabi min dhaak al-waqt, he is from abadiyya time, in perfect servanthood.
That is why Grandshaykh, may Allah bless his soul, said when Allah (swt) created that reality, before raising it to laa ilaaha illa-Llah Muhammadan Rasoolullah, He put it in kawkabun durriyy, which cannot be accurately translated, but we might say it is “a glowing lamp.” He was looking, and Allah (swt) was sending light from the Reality of the Essence upon the reality of Prophet that He created. For seventy thousand years until that reality, Prophet was sweating from shyness of the greatness that Allah (swt) opened to the reality of Prophet from the secrets of His Beautiful Names and Attributes, not from His Essence! laa shareek lahu, “no partners,” not Prophet, not anyone is partner, for He is the Creator and all else is the servant for the Lord.
So that reality was sweating, sweating, sweating, and we will explain that in another suhbah. It was sweating from shyness, from Maqam of `Uboodiyya, as Prophet (s) knew the reality of servanthood; his reality was able to understand the vast difference between the Greatness of the Creator and the humbleness of the servant. He (s) felt shy from that humbleness, and Allah ordered His Beautiful Names and Attributes to observe the greatness of Prophet (s) in his capacity as servant and the humbleness he was showing.
Then these Beautiful Names and Attributes descended on Prophet (s) and their reality opened slowly to Prophet (s) like a flower, slowly, slowly, and then the fragrance comes. We may say in English that they were like a flower, and as Allah ordered the reality from every Beautiful Name and Attribute to open up, Prophet (s) was able to smell and it filled Muhammadun Rasoolullah!
That is why Muhammad cannot be compared to any Creation, just as laa ilaaha illa-Llah cannot be compared to anything, to any knowledge, as it is by itself an ocean of what Allah gave. In every moment, laa ilaaha illa-Llah appears; it is of the Essence. Dhaati ’l-Buht, “the Will of the Reality of the Essence,” came to create Muhammadan Rasoolullah. (Shaykh Hisham stands) That is when laa ilaaha illa-Llah Muhammadan Rasoolullah appeared. (Shaykh Hisham sits) When it appeared, everything that Allah created at that moment was nothing but (realities of the) Beautiful Names and Attributes, no angels, not anything else. Everything was known through the Beautiful Names and Attributes. They are not the Essence, they are descriptions carrying never-ending meanings.
Even if Prophet (s) was pulling secrets from these Beautiful Names and Attributes endlessly since his creation, never would these oceans end, and it is as if nothing has been taken out of them.
قُلْ إِنَّمَا أَنَا بَشَرٌ مِّثْلُكُمْ يُوحَى إِلَيَّ أَنَّمَا إِلَهُكُمْ إِلَهٌ وَاحِدٌ فَمَن كَانَ يَرْجُو لِقَاء رَبِّهِ فَلْيَعْمَلْ عَمَلًا صَالِحًا وَلَا يُشْرِكْ بِعِبَادَةِ رَبِّهِ أَحَدًا
Qul innamaa anaa basharun mithlukum yooha ilayya.
Say (O Prophet), 'I am but a mortal man like all of you.' (18:110)
When Prophet (s) said, “I am nothing compared to`Azhamatullah, Allah’s Greatness!” actually Allah is saying, “If oceans were ink and trees were pens, Allah's Word never ends.”
قُل لَّوْ كَانَ الْبَحْرُ مِدَادًا لِّكَلِمَاتِ رَبِّي لَنَفِدَ الْبَحْرُ قَبْلَ أَن تَنفَدَ كَلِمَاتُ رَبِّي وَلَوْ جِئْنَا بِمِثْلِهِ مَدَدًا
qul law kaana al-bahru midaadan li-kalimaati rabbee la-nafida al-bahru qabla an tanfada kalimaatu rabbee wa law ji’naa bi-mithlihi madada.
Say, "If all the oceans were ink for my Sustainer's Words, the ocean would indeed be exhausted before my Sustainer's Words are exhausted! And [thus it would be] if we were to add to it ocean upon ocean." (al-Kahf, 18:109)
Which bahr, ocean, is the Holy Qur'an mentioning here? Is it the bahr that is ink for Allah's Words? If so, the ocean will end and His Words will not end. Which ocean, the Pacific, Indian, Atlantic? It means whatever Allah has created, everything, not just the trees, if you use them as pens, even those that are in Heavens, if you add them all together, the ink will end but His Words will never end! And this is being given to whom? To the Prophet (s)!
O People! The greatness of Prophet (s) cannot be compared, so whatever you want to speak, if they don't send inspiration it is impossible. Yes, we can speak all day on politics, we can read, we can speak, but we need their support. Even if you open a book, before Grandshaykh `AbdAllah (q) left dunya, he said to my brother and me, “When you want to speak in public open my lectures and look at one, two, or three lines and I will support you.” This means, “Show that you are in need of my suhbahs; don't make yourself a shaykh. Show `ajz, helplessness, that you need what I said to you. If I want to close, I can close to everyone.”
That secret is being carried by Mawlana Shaykh Nazim (q), may Allah give him long life, so anyone who wants to speak, first show `ajiz, show helplessness: open the book, read one or two lines. You know the (prayer) beads are tied together, but when you show complete ajiz it opens, to break the beads. Holding your tongue, show `ajz, by opening Mawlana’s or Grandshaykh’s book and it will open! It means for all Naqshbandis, to open the books and show ajiz in front of the teachers, then you will see your tongue moving.
May Allah (swt) teach us the love of Sayyidina Muhammad (s)! We began with:
إِنَّا أَرْسَلْنَاكَ شَاهِدًا وَمُبَشِّرًا وَنَذِيرًا
inna arsalnaaka shaahidan wa mubashshiran wa nadheera
O Prophet! Truly We have sent thee as a Witness, a Bearer of Glad Tidings, and Warner, (Al-Ahzaab, 33:45)
And we didn’t explain that but they changed the subject. I was going to speak on that verse, “We sent you not but as a witness and to give good tidings to people and as a warner, and, wa siraajan muneeraa, as a shining lamp.” Kawkabun durriyyu; we entered there.
May Allah send us more and more to enlighten us through our shuyukh. May Allah forgive us and grant long life to our teacher, Mawlana Shaykh Nazim, and to those present and not present. We are running for dunya and in the end you are locked into a six-foot box. We have to look at the Middle East, where they are fighting over chairs, where this group supports this group or that group, which is like Qaabeel and Haabeel, who from the beginning fought over good and evil.
May Allah forgive us and keep us always on Siraat al-Mustaqeem. Fatihah.