MSH.30 SEP 2010.PREPOST.ENG

Sweets Are Traditional After the Khatm
Mawlana Shaykh Hisham Kabbani

30 September 2010   Fenton Zawiya, Michigan

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)

 

Allah (swt) said:

لَئِنْ شَكَرْتُمْ لَأَزِيدَنَّكُمْ

la'in shakartum la-azeedanakum.

If you give thanks (to Allah for His favors), I give you more. (Ibrahim 14:7)

This is the required sunnah after the khatm.The sunnah of the Naqshbandi tradition from Sayyidina Abu Bakr as-Siddiq (r) to Mawlana Shaykh is that after every dhikrullah, since at that time there was no such candy or cookie or cakes, they gave honey, because it is a muqaya, a trade between the ego and heavenly orders. If you are not giving something the ego, it will jump on you; it doesn't let you do what you want. The best example is in Holy Qur'an and in the hadith of Prophet (s). Allah (swt) has described this because He knows we are weak, that human beings are helpless, heedless and weak. Allah (swt) describes to His Prophet (s) that He is going to give to whoever follows His way, the way of Prophet (s), and the way of religion, "I am going to reward him and I am giving him paradises." 

There are so many descriptions of Paradise in Surat al-Dhahr al-Insaan:

A`oodhu Billahi min ash-Shaytaani 'r-rajeem. Bismillahi 'r-Rahmaani 'r-Raheem.

wa yatoofu `alayhim wildaanun mukhalladoona 'idhaa ra'aytahum hasibtahum lu'ulu'uaan manthooraan wa 'idhaa ra'ayta thamma ra'ayta na`eemaan wa mulkaan kabeeraa.

And round about them will (serve) boys of everlasting youth. If you see them, you would think them scattered pearls. And when you look there (in Paradise), you will see a delight (that cannot be imagined), and a great dominion. (Al-Insaan, 76:19,20)

It is one verse, but there are so many in that surah, saying that there will be too many young ones in the heavenly life doing everything for Allah's believers. Allah (swt) is granting them paradises full of wine, honey, and milk. He is giving a similitude of what people understand; they don't understand other than that. He is giving so that the big ego of the human is happy. When the ego knows it will be granted all this, the person will give his life for Allah (swt), for Prophet (s), and for religion. He will do his best for ummat an-Nabi in keeping the middle, moderate way.

Traditionally, honey and sweets were rare at that time, so they were passing it to people, especially in cold countries and also in hot countries. Today you can go to countries south of jazeeratu'l-`arab, like Yemen, and one kilo of honey is $5,000. It is a special kind, very rare. They used to give one spoon to everyone coming to the association of dhikrullah. So sweets were because you were in a sweet situation, you were sweet. We were describing sweetness recently in Washington and New York, saying not to be sour. If you are sour, people run away from you. People like sweetness, so be sweet and smile in the face of your brother. Some people don't even smile. You see the one who has no money and they invite him to dinner; when there is rice and fish and chicken, then you see his smile all the way to his ears as usually he is not eating this, because he is poor. With our rudeness, we don't smile about anything! But we are hungry for Allah's forgiveness, so let us be sweet. The smile in the face of your brother believer is from faith, and that is a hadeeth. (Mawlana points to a bottle of water.) That water is sweet, so be like the water.

وَجَعَلْنَا مِنَ الْمَاء كُلَّ شَيْءٍ حَيٍّ

Wa ja`lana min al-maai kulli shay'in hay. 

We made everything alive from water.  (al-Anbiya, 21:30)

Don't be dead, dark, always filled with darkness, always complaining and filling your life with complaints. Shaytan is from darkness, so if you often complain then you know you are following Shaytan. You saw Mawlana Shaykh today when he stood up! 

إن رحمتي سبقت غضبي

Sabaqat rahmatee `ala ghadabee.  

My mercy overcame My wrath.

And then he prayed for forgiveness and began to cry. The Sultan, why is he crying? All his life, his whole life, he and his family never had any privacy. He never knew he was alone, because always one was going and one was coming. They were not coming all at one time to meet Mawlana, but they would come one after the other. That is a test for awliya. They were coming to Prophet (s) like that and Allah (swt) prohibited it, saying, "Enough, that is enough!" Prophet (s) could not have any privacy with his family, so awliyaullah also cannot have. And Mawlana Shaykh is crying. All these years he is giving advice, lectures and talks, and still we are not up to the standard or level he likes; we are still following Shaytan most of the time!

The biggest time that Shaytan plays with you is when he makes you sleep too much. Don't sleep too much! Some people sleep 16 hours. They just get up to eat and then y'Allah, go to sleep. Mawlana Shaykh had tears for us! That tajalli of rahmat overcame him, sabaqat rahmatee `ala ghadabee. He is pulling the tajalli of Allah's Rahmah, and he dressed everyone who was watching, and also who was not watching him this morning (our time, in their time it was afternoon). Anyone who watched now or later, or was not watching but only took initiation, will be under that khitab, "My mercy overtook My anger." When the mercy comes then everyone goes to Paradise! He was not happy with something happening that made his lecture to be cut. He was not happy, as he wants his message to reach everyone.

Alhamdulillah, we hope Allah (swt) will give Mawlana Shaykh long life to give his message at every moment in our lives! He is our way of safety; he takes us to the presence of Prophet (s) and to divine safety and to the presence of awliya. May Allah bless our shaykh and keep us always in his presence!

Wa min Allahi 't-tawfeeq, bi hurmati 'l-habeeb, bi hurmati 'l-Fatihah.