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 haadha 'l-masjid.
Ati`ullaha wa ati`u 'r-Rasoola wa ooli 'l-amri minkum.
Obey Allah, obey the Prophet, and obey those in authority among you. (4:59)
Just we saw the moon of Rabi` ul-Awwal. Inshaa-Allah, Allah (swt) makes us to have more and more love for Sayyidina Muhammad (s). (Mawlana stands, recites salawaat.) This Saturday we will go to the other masjid and pray, and recite Mawlid, and do qaseeda recited by the Al-Zahra Ensemble. (Mawlana looks at `Ali el-Sayyid.) You are finished; they fired you! (laughter)
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 haadha 'l-masjid.
That is what I am going to say, that is, there is a big difference between awliyaullah's words and scholar's words. Scholars teach you principles that you have to follow in your obligations. Awliyaullah train you in performing these obligations, and teaching is different and training is different. Like a doctor, for the first four years he is studying (theory) from books. It is a teacher teaching, but in the residency he is under training (practicum). It means he can see that if he makes a mistake it is dangerous, he might kill a person with a mistake, but in teaching, learning, reading from the professor, making a mistake will not kill anyone. So teaching is like you are giving them a general idea, but you are not allowing them really to take a knife and cut. Training with awliyaullah, they make you a surgeon, in order to make surgery on yourself, to cut all these tumors from your ego and get rid of that poison, and bring you up clean through their training that you are practicing.
If I give you this book and say, “Memorize it,” you might memorize it, but what is the benefit of memorizing it if you don't apply what is in it? So there is responsibility of those claiming to be `ulama. If you are not claiming, you are safe; if you are claiming (to be an `alim), you are responsible. You are not claiming you are president of a country, so no one will come and knock at your door; that one who does the work will be responsible.
And the Prophet (s) said, “On the Day of Judgment, Allah (swt) will say to prophets and to scholars...” and everyone at that time (listening to Prophet), if Allah (swt) is going to say something to them or ask them (prophets), what happens? (Of course) they are shaking! These are prophets and `ulama! So now if a court sends you a subpoena to come to court, you will not sleep (from worry)! What if a wali calls you and says, “I am subpoenaing you,” you cannot hide. What do you think about Prophet (s)? What do you think about Allah (swt)?
So He says, “I gave you control to be shepherds on people, so what have you done with those people, with those sheep? O my son!” that is not from the hadith what I was speaking first, but this is from the hadith. We have to be careful. “O my son! You have lost your life in memorizing books. Yaa Ghulam! O my son,” or, “O my student! You have lost your life in kutub ul-`ilmi wa hifzhih, studying books, and never tried to practice what you learned.” It means your life is wasted. In Islamic schools, what do they teach you today? They teach you principles of performing your obligations, like fasting and praying, but they never teach you discipline. Sufi Orders teach you adab; how to respect elderly ones and young ones, how to not sleep and not be lazy, to be always awake. What are books are going to benefit you? Nothing! But if you have love and discipline, and love to people, and respect, Allah (swt) loves that. If you memorized whole Qur'an--which is very good--but you didn't do what the Qur'an says. What you did? You did nothing! You memorized it, yes, but you didn't clean yourself. You will be dressed with lights of these holy words, but not trained.
That is why awliyaullah send students into seclusion, to train them, so on Day of Judgment when they are asked, can anyone speak? No one can speak, except Sayyidina Muhammad (s)! That is why they come to Rasoolullah (s), to ask him to intercede for their nations. Sayyidina Adam (a) will say, “Yaa Rasoolullah! I cannot intercede; I ate from the Forbidden Tree. Therefore, I cannot speak in that Divine Presence! I committed a forbidden.” Look how one forbidden makes them unable to stand in the Divine Presence! How many forbiddens we are doing? Khan? He is sleeping like him. (laughter) We have to make a school of sleepy people on one side and regular people on the other side.
وَهِيَ تَجْرِي بِهِمْ فِي مَوْجٍ كَالْجِبَالِ وَنَادَى نُوحٌ ابْنَهُ وَكَانَ فِي مَعْزِلٍ يَا بُنَيَّ ارْكَب مَّعَنَا وَلاَ تَكُن مَّعَ الْكَافِرِينَ قَالَ سَآوِي إِلَى جَبَلٍ يَعْصِمُنِي مِنَ الْمَاء قَالَ لاَ عَاصِمَ الْيَوْمَ مِنْ أَمْرِ اللّهِ إِلاَّ مَن رَّحِمَ وَحَالَ بَيْنَهُمَا الْمَوْجُ فَكَانَ مِنَ الْمُغْرَقِينَ وَقِيلَ يَا أَرْضُ ابْلَعِي مَاءكِ وَيَا سَمَاء أَقْلِعِي وَغِيضَ الْمَاء وَقُضِيَ الأَمْرُ وَاسْتَوَتْ عَلَى الْجُودِيِّ وَقِيلَ بُعْداً لِّلْقَوْمِ الظَّالِمِينَ .وَنَادَى نُوحٌ رَّبَّهُ فَقَالَ رَبِّ إِنَّ ابُنِي مِنْ أَهْلِي وَإِنَّ وَعْدَكَ الْحَقُّ وَأَنتَ أَحْكَمُ الْحَاكِمِينَ قَالَ يَا نُوحُ إِنَّهُ لَيْسَ مِنْ أَهْلِكَ إِنَّهُ عَمَلٌ غَيْرُ صَالِحٍ فَلاَ تَسْأَلْنِ مَا لَيْسَ لَكَ بِهِ عِلْمٌ إِنِّي أَعِظُكَ أَن تَكُونَ مِنَ الْجَاهِلِينَ
Wa hiya tajree bihim fee mawjin ka 'l-jibaali wa naadaa noohunu ibnahu wa kaana fee ma`zilin ya bunayya irkab ma`na wala takun ma` alkafireena qaala sa awee ila jabalin y`asimunee min al-mai qaala la `asima al-yawma min amrillahi illa man rahima wa haala baynahuma 'lmawju fa kaana mina 'l-mughraqeen. Wa qeela ya ardu 'bl`aee mauki wa ya samaau aqli`ee wa gheeda almau wa qudiya 'l-amru w 'astawat `ala al-joodiyyi wa qeela bu`dan lil-qawmi 'zh-zhalimeen. Wa naada noohun rabbahu fa-qaala rabbee inna ibnee min ahlee wa inna w`adaka al-haqqu wa anta ahkamu 'l-haakimeen. qaala yaa noohu innahu laysa min ahlika innahu `amalun ghayru saalihin fa laa tasalnee maa laysa laka bihi `ilmun innee `aizhuka an takoona mina 'l-jaahileen
And it sailed with them amid waves like mountains, and Noah cried unto his son and he was standing aloof: O my son! Come ride with us, and be not with the disbelievers. He said: I shall betake me to some mountain that will save me from the water. (Noah) said: This day there is none that saveth from the commandment of Allah save him on whom He hath had mercy. And the wave came in between them, so he was among the drowned. And it was said: O earth! Swallow thy water and, O sky! be cleared of clouds! And the water was made to subside. And the commandment was fulfilled. And it (the ship) came to rest upon (the mount) Al-Judi and it was said: A far removal for wrongdoing folk! And Noah cried unto his Lord and said: My Lord! Lo! my son is of my household! Surely Thy promise is the Truth and Thou art the Most Just of Judges. He said: O Noah! Lo! he is not of thy household; lo! he is of evil conduct, so ask not of Me that whereof thou hast no knowledge. I admonish thee lest thou be among the ignorant. (11:42-46)
And Sayyidina Nuh (a) said, “O my Lord! Save my child!” and Allah (swt) saying, “He is not your son.” Why? Sayyidina Nuh (a) said, “O Allah, save my son!” Because he was calling his son, “Come with us on the ship,” that Sayyidina Nuh was building. Where he was building it? In the jungle. The people came to him and asked, “What are you building?” He said, “I am building a boat.” They said, “There is no water here; the sea is far. You are crazy! (Astaghfirullah.) You are building a boat in the forest!” Do you build a boat in the jungle?
Because Allah (swt) inspired him (with knowledge that) the flood is coming, and when Sayyidina Nuh was looking, he saw his son running from the flood to the mountain and the boat is floating up and up. He said, “Come with me, my son!” His son said, “No, it's OK. I am running up to the top of the mountain to protect me from the water.” And Allah (swt) didn't like what the boy said, he was from the kaafireen. So Sayyidina Nuh (a) considered that he made a mistake when he asked Allah to save his son, and he feel shy before his Lord, (as if Allah [swt] is saying), “You only asked for your son, but not for the ummah. That is selfish, and there is no selfishness in My Presence!” Son or no son, equal.
يَوْمَ يَفِرُّ الْمَرْءُ مِنْ أَخِيهِ وَأُمِّهِ وَأَبِيهِ وَصَاحِبَتِهِ وَبَنِيهِ لِكُلِّ امْرِئٍ مِّنْهُمْ يَوْمَئِذٍ شَأْنٌ يُغْنِيهِ
yawm yafirru 'l-marru min akheeh wa ummihi wa abeehi. likull imrin yawmaydhin shaanun yughneeh,
On the day when a man flees from his brother And his mother and his father and his wife and his children, every man that day will have concern enough to make him heedless (of others). (80:34-37)
“The Day that everyone is running...” from his brother, his father, his mother, his wife, his children. Today they say, “I want to get married to a wife," or (a woman saying, "I want to get married) to a husband,” but they forget on that Day we run from our wife and father and mother and brother! Astaghfirullah, astaghfirullah min kulli dhanbin wa min khull ma yukhaalif ush-Shari`ah wa min kulli ma yukhaalif at-tareeqah....
So Sayyidina Nuh (a) feels he did something wrong by asking for the safety of his son but not for everyone else.
And Sayyidina `Ibraheem (a) said, “How am I going to speak before Allah (swt) and I knocked all the statues down except the big one, and when they asked, I said, 'Ask this big one, he might know.'“ He feels, “I did something that is not accepted.”
When Sayyidina Musa (a) saw two people fighting, one of his tribe, and when the one asked his help he pushed the other, and he was strong and that one died. So he feels he committed something wrong. Allah (swt) forgives him.
And as for Sayyidina `Isa (a), Allah said:
وَإِذْ قَالَ اللّهُ يَا عِيسَى ابْنَ مَرْيَمَ أَأَنتَ قُلتَ لِلنَّاسِ اتَّخِذُونِي وَأُمِّيَ إِلَـهَيْنِ مِن دُونِ اللّهِ قَالَ سُبْحَانَكَ مَا يَكُونُ لِي أَنْ أَقُولَ مَا لَيْسَ لِي بِحَقٍّ إِن كُنتُ قُلْتُهُ فَقَدْ عَلِمْتَهُ تَعْلَمُ مَا فِي نَفْسِي وَلاَ أَعْلَمُ مَا فِي نَفْسِكَ إِنَّكَ أَنتَ عَلاَّمُ الْغُيُوبِ
Wa idh qaala Allahu ya `eesa ibna maryama aanta qulta li 'n-naasi 'ttakhidhoonee wa ummiya ilaahayni min dooni Allahi qaala subhaanaka maa yakoonu lee an aqoola maa laysa lee bi-haqqin in kuntu qultuhu faqad `alimtahu ta`lamu ma fee nafsee wa laa a`lamu maa fee nafsika innaka anta `allaamu 'l-ghuyoob
And behold! Allah will say: "O Jesus the son of Mary! Didst thou say unto men, worship me and my mother as gods in derogation of Allah.?" He will say: "Glory to Thee! never could I say what I had no right (to say). Had I said such a thing, thou wouldst indeed have known it. Thou knowest what is in my heart, Thou I know not what is in Thine. For Thou knowest in full all that is hidden. (5:116)
Allah (swt) said, “Yaa `Isa! What is this, everyone is saying you are 'Son of God.' Did you say to people to take you and your mother as 'Son of God'?” Allah (swt) was not happy. And Sayyidina `Isa (a) said, “Yaa Rabbee! If I said that, You would know it!” He didn't say, “You know better, Yaa Rabbee.” So he feels that he disappointed Allah (swt) by people saying that he is 'Son of God'.
And they come to Sayyidina Muhammad (s) and say, “Yaa Rasoolullah! We are coming to you.” Allah (swt) is asking to anbiya and scholars, “You were the shepherds. Show me what you did!” Anbiya can't speak. Can scholars do anything? One person is telling me they are making Mawlid, but afraid to call it “Mawlid an-Nabi," so instead they are calling it, “Love of Prophet.” Prophet (s) is bareeun minkum. Prophet (s) doesn't need such people, who are claiming love of Prophet and stabbing him from the back! Say, “Mawlid an-Nabi, the Birth of Prophet (s)!” What are you afraid of? Are you afraid of Allah (swt) and his Prophet (s), or afraid of Salafi `ulama? Like Mawlana Shaykh Nazim calling you (everyday on Sufilive.com). Are you afraid of Salafi `ulama and not of Allah (swt)?? When the Sahabah (r) asked the Prophet about fasting, he said, “Monday is the day of my birth,” and he recommended fasting on Mondays. Where is that hadith; what did they do with it? It is in Sahih Muslim, they cannot deny it. Prophet (s) emphasized the day of his birth, and you love Prophet (s)?! You don't love except your stomachs! Look how fat you are! Look at most of these `ulama, all of them are big, at least 250 pounds. They have tongues only; what they care for is what is between their jaws and what is between their legs, these Salafi `ulama and those who are saying, “We came to celebrate 'love of Prophet'.” They come today saying, “Love of Prophet,” not “Birth of Prophet.”
And Allah (swt) will say to kings and to the wealthy, “You were the owners and guardians of My treasures. You own nothing.” No one owns anything, no king, no president. Allah (swt) owns everything. So if you own nothing, show me one king or one rich person who took his money with him. What he took with him? Even he has golden teeth and the haffaar al-quboor, grave digger will come at night and take them out. That is famous in the Middle East. Everyone used to have gold teeth; not any more, but in Central Asia they still have. It was normal, to put gold on each tooth and when they die they can't take it. But in the grave the gravedigger comes, breaks the head and takes the teeth.
So, Allah (swt) will say, “You rich ones and kings, did you make a connection, did you help the poor? You were guardians of My treasures!” There are two meanings where; we have to be very careful. There are two kings, dunya kings and akhira kings. There are awliyaullah who are kings, and there are helpers for awliyaullah, the treasurers. And Allah (swt) will ask awliyaullah, “Did you keep all My treasures for yourself, or pass it to My servants? You cannot be selfish, you must pass it. Did you pass it?” Of course, some say “yes,” some say “no,” as they kept it to themselves. In Shari`ah you must pass anything you know, you must teach it to others; you can't keep it to yourself, you must share it. On Day of Judgment, you must share what you know. And what you know of tariqah also; you must find everyone who is ready for tariqah (and teach them). Shari`ah is for all, but tariqah is for selected ones.
And we are all students of Mawlana Shaykh, may Allah (swt) give him long life. I was speaking with him after suhbah today and he said, “You opened all this.” (I didn't.) And he said, “I am giving out all these knowledges and if I am sitting one-thousand years, I will be giving these knowledges and dressing them, and I am dressing them more than they can ever imagine!” That is the meaning of that hadith, in which they are asked, “Did you reach the fuqaraa (poor)?” That means “dervish” in tariqah; did he reach them? Yes, he (Mawlana Shaykh) reached them from east and to west! And it is asked, “Did you raise up the orphans?” We are all orphans! You have no mother and no father in spirituality; that means you have no king, and that is why in tariqah it is essential to have Sultan
al-Awliya who gives out to all the others. So he is asked, “Did you pay sadaqah on what you have?” Awliyaullah have to pay sadaqah on knowledge, not money sadaqah, but to give knowledge out and share it.
O People! Take an example from this hadith of Prophet (s). Don't let Prophet down! You can continue on one hadith for hours and hours. We will continue on this next time.
Wa min Allahi 't-tawfeeq, bi hurmati 'l-habeeb, bi hurmati 'l-Fatihah.