About the Claim, "Who Has Divine Knowledge Does Not Need Books"
Mawlana Shaykh Hisham Kabbani
8 December 2010 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Private Residence / `Isha
A`oodhu billahi min ash-Shaytani 'r-rajeem. Bismillahi 'r-Rahmani 'r-Raheem. Dastoor yaa Sayyidee, madad. As-salaamu 'alaykum wa rahmatullahi wa barakutuh. Ati’oollah wa ati` ar-Rasoola wa uli 'l-amri minkum.
I ask a scholar here, what is the meaning of this ayah? "Obey Allah, obey the Prophet," as he said, "and obey those who are in authority." "Obey Allah," means obey His Shari`ah, and, "Obey the Prophet," means obey his message. Wa ma ataakum ar-Rasool fakhudhoo, "Whatever the Prophet gave to you, take." And "those in authority" are governments, and we obey the law. Those who are in authority are those who give you an order and you follow it and listen to what they say. Those are the ones to whom Allah granted sainthood, and not everyone has this power. My uncles were all scholars, and you can obey them or not; it is up to you. But if you don't obey a shaykh with the full capacity of a wali you will be in a problem, because obedience is important.
Ati`oollah, "Obey Allah." It is an order, so obey your guides. We are obeying our guides, and it depends on the level of obedience. We ask Allah (swt) to keep us obeying Mawlana Shaykh Nazim, may Allah give him long life. As for me, I am under that obedience for 50 years. I am not interested in what people are saying, because I don't care what they say. What I care is that they are happy and guided to love of the shaykh. That is our duty, and other than that there is no duty. And my duty is to listen to my shaykh's orders; I am not listening to anyone else's orders. My eyes and my focus are always at the threshold of my shaykh and your shaykh, the same. Whatever he says, I do. You do or don't do, it is up to you. Don't think I am in need from you. I am in need from my shaykh, not from you!
I am speaking in general to our viewers and audience, as this is a very important message. The time is approaching and we are still losing our time in qaal wa qeel, "This one said and that one said." Do you think I am in need for you to invite me to come for a dinner? I can eat at any home, a normal dinner. In our country we eat bread and tomatoes, rice and tomatoes. And I am sorry Doctor (the host), I am speaking in general; it's not for you. I am asking all of you, show me one person who is sending the message of Mawlana Shaykh worldwide. Tell me one name! (crowd: Shaykh Hisham!) (Mawlana Shaykh laughs.) No, no. Because my shaykh ordered me, so I am doing.
I am asking Ishaq now, how many countries are watching us (on Sufilive.com)? You can check, there are 93 countries. How many people are there? 2532 people from 93 countries are watching. If you want to put on a conference, you cannot sponsor it and bring 2500 people. We are carrying this equipment and spending money for the tickets. Are any one of you paying for the tickets? Raise your hands, and say I am paying for the tickets. Check, if you bring a scholar from overseas you pay $4,000 to $5,000 with accommodations. Whatever he is speaking, he doesn't show you the way of a saint of Ahl as-Sunnah wa'l-Jama, and he might teach you something which you don't like. He give his lecture and he goes. That someone is saying that he paid for our tickets. We went to Australia, Singapore, Malaysia and Indonesia, $25,000 in tickets. Did anyone pay for our tickets? No, because we like to broadcast Mawlana Shaykh, And we have many people translating on their computers for instant translation, like the UN. Is anyone doing that?
And what do they say? Not, "Thank you." They say, "Oh, don't invite Shaykh Hisham because Mawlana Shaykh Nazim is not happy with him." I have ears, don't think I am deaf! I can hear you even if you are climbing a mountain, and I can hear your footsteps if Mawlana wants and if the Prophet (s) wants. You know the worm that is moving on a rock, do you hear the sound of it? No! But awliyaullah can hear the sound of that one moving like thunder. They don't need ear sets to hear; they have wireless heavenly headsets.
They say, "Oh, the shaykh is not happy, as he is following the shaykh around and trying to broadcast him live. Shaykh is not happy to broadcast live." THEY ARE LIARS! They want to cut everyone from Mawlana; they want to control. I could control, but then I would have to be there all the time, and I could not travel for daw'ah.
People have to know the truth. One month ago I was traveling from Cyprus and everyone wanted to see the shaykh. But they were not allowing us to show the shaykh, saying, "We need to tape it and show it later." No, people want to see it live. And they say, "Don't tape when Shaykh is eating," but they are taping when he is eating. People want to see (the broadcast) live. If it's live, they watch, but if not, they throw it away. And that one, I know you are stabbing me in my back, I know you personally. But, Allah Kareem, we continue our work. Mawlana was sick and they said not to show that, but we kept the camera open and then they came and threw down the camera. Many people saw that, as it was live. When they want to tape, they tape anything. And people believe them. You Malaysian people are naive; they don't show you the truth. They keep you four or five days without seeing Mawlana or until they like, and then they bring you up. I think many Malaysians have experienced that.
Don't think I am after you to get something from you; even what you give is not coming to one ticket price. Our budget is $2 million to run our offices around the world. It is not coming from you or from you or from him. Don't think you are doing a favor when you give 50 ringgits. You are on the budget, you are majnoon, Ishaq! Day and night he is online working. We have 15 employees, but that is not your money making us move. We bought a center in Washington, DC recently in order for our voice to be heard for Ahl as-Sunnah wa'l-Jama`ah. We brought a delegation from Pakistan at a very high level to visit in Washington and go to the White House. Don't think it is so easy or that we are sitting like here. No, it is hectic.
We bought a building recently to turn into a mosque and teaching center. It cost $US 2.5 million. Do you think it was your money that bought it? No, if you give $5,000 it doesn't mean anything. I am under the support of my shaykh and my shaykh from the Prophet (s). And if I take your money it is to your benefit. It is like they say, "Your tax dollars at work." That means they are using your tax money for fixing the roads. Don't think you are, mashaa-Allah, making a big favor. But we thank you; we cannot say anything except, "Thank you, doctor." And thank you to everyone.
And we are telling that one who is saying, "Mawlana Shaykh is not happy because Shaykh Hisham is always running to tape him." When I am not there, it is your group that is taping him in the bedroom eating, in the kitchen and so on, and then putting it on two or three days later. Speak to them. The big scholar, Habib Jafri, came to see Mawlana and was brought by the Prince of Jordan, the son of King Hussein. They have a custom in Hijaz to ask for `ijazah for barakah to make dhikr, and we saw that on the Internet. I know him. Then we received a message from Cyprus after a few days, saying, "Why are you putting Habib Jafri as taking baya` with Mawlana Shaykh Nazim?" It is not us, it is Saltanat, and they put it up on their website. So I said, "It is not my right to take it down. You have to ask them to take it down since it is your group."
In Mawlana Shaykh's group, there are a lot of conspiracies going on around the world, everyone wants to fight everyone. And Allah (swt) said:
وَاعْتَصِمُواْ بِحَبْلِ اللّهِ جَمِيعًا وَلاَ تَفَرَّقُواْ
wa`tasimoo bihabli l-lahi jamee`an wa laa tafarraqoo.
Hold fast to Allah's rope and do not separate. (3:103)
I am surprised that Mawlana put me on the front line. What did one of them do? They are sleeping. Since 1990, we have been fighting Rabita (in Saudi Arabia) and we debated them for six months. Our debate is still on the Internet, and we won. Is that true, Taher? (Yes.) And we invited Mawlana Shaykh Nazim seven times to the United States. I took him to speak on the highest podium in the UN, and we took him to the highest podium on Capitol Hill. We put out the best quality magazine, the quality of which you don't see today. We sponsored two conferences, and you attended. There were 150 speakers and we brought Mawlana Shaykh Nazim to speak to all the speakers. Where were they? What did they do? Nothing. We have had more than 40,000 converts through our organization in America. 40,000 converts. Show me if you made even one convert!
Why are you coming and complaining instead of helping? Why are you spreading a rumor here, "Mawlana Shaykh Nazim does not want him here," when Mawlana Shaykh Nazim spoke with His Highness and told him to invite me to Malaysia? Where is His Highness? He was playing football yesterday. His representative is here, Magog. Where is His Highness and Raja Eleena? Ask him where he is. We love them so we are saying this, or else we wouldn't care. Let us open the subject. Before I come here, everyone knows for two months ahead, and the day I am coming, they disappear. Don't disappear, don't come say what you don't want to do? Open up. You said, "Welcome to Malaysia." I cannot understand this, if someone invites you to his home and you are happy to be coming, as he is an important person like His Highness, and then he disappears. Unless someone came to your ear, saying, "Don't listen to him. I know him personally, don't listen to him, listen to his shaykh Mawlana Shaykh Nazim."
Yesterday I heard another story, that I am not supported by Mawlana Shaykh Nazim, and that no information is coming to my heart so I am using a book. I don't want to mention his name, as he is here. What is this? Mawlana used books. If you are so stupid and don't understand the importance of books, why do you use the Holy Qur'an? Did you see one person who didn't open Holy Qur'an and read? Even non-Muslims are reading from Holy Qur'an. These books are given for you because you are all "class 101" (beginner) students. You don't need high knowledge, as you are not valuing it; it is like throwing diamonds to children, so give them what they understand: basic knowledge.
Do you want to be killed? When saying shatahaat, shatahaat! The one who is saying it doesn’t understand it, and you are not understanding it. No, which one is better? You build up a community with the basics. As I said before, be careful; you must not be so near awliyaullah. If you will be near them, then you will be in tark al-adab, leaving good manners. Don't say, "I want to eat at the table of the shaykh." No, run away! It is better for you. Don't say, "I want to be near the shaykh for every prayer." No, run away! Because when you are near the sultan you cannot even scratch your head! If you are in front of the Agong (the highest mountain in Bali, Indonesia) and it speaks, how do you sit? You must sit properly; you cannot even scratch your face. What do you think about being in the presence of the Agong awliya, Sultan al-Awliya Mawlana Shaykh Nazim? Will you scratch? In the time of Grandshaykh (q), you never even scratched your face or he would shout at you. Always my eyes were down in the presence of Grandshaykh (q). Adaban, respect is to always look down.
For that one saying, "Oh, he is reading from the book," if there are listeners who can understand what I am saying, then I don't need to read from a book. I will give you an example. And there is a scholar here and even he cannot answer. Allah (swt) said in Holy Qur'an:
إِنَّ اللَّهَ وَمَلَائِكَتَهُ يُصَلُّونَ عَلَى النَّبِيِّ يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا صَلُّوا عَلَيْهِ وَسَلِّمُوا تَسْلِيمًا
yaa ayyuhalladheena aamanoo salloo`alayhi wa sallimoo tasleeman.
O you who believe! Send blessings on him and greet him with greetings. (33:56)
O Believers, salloo `alayh! What is that verb? It is an order, in the present tense. Can Allah (swt) give orders? (Yes.) Why do we say, allahuma salli `ala an-nabi? Did you understand my question? How can we tell Allah (swt) to do it? We say, allahuma salli `ala an-nabi. That is an imperative order to Allah (swt). This is from up high; give an answer. Let him find any notebook or any hadith that can explain this. Say! But we are doing it. Did you ever read this in any books? How many books are on your CD's? How many have you collected? (46,000 books) Did you see in any of these books this tafsir? Say! (No) Okay, I have an answer, I don't need a book. But what is the benefit if I am saying it, and here we are beginners, in a "101" (starter) class? You cannot order Allah (swt)! But in salawaat , we are saying, "Pray, O Allah, on the Prophet (s)." You are ordering Him.
I don't want to give the answer, because I don’t want them to give my answer, and then the next day that one in Singapore, Abdul Sattar Khan, will write it as if he said it. Who said, "he is using books," is here. If he is courageous, let him stand up and say, "I said it, because that one said it to me." I am not going to mention his name, or else he will stand on Judgment Day, and I will be the first one on Judgment Day in front of him to complain to the Prophet (s) if he doesn't repent! Astaghfirullah `adheem wa atoobu 'ilayh!
O Muslims! Allah (swt) said:
يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا اجْتَنِبُوا كَثِيرًا مِّنَ الظَّنِّ إِنَّ بَعْضَ الظَّنِّ إِثْمٌ
yaa ayyuhaalladheena aamanoo 'jtaniboo katheeran min adh-dhanni inna ba`da adh-dhanni ithmun.
O Believers! Try to avoid too many doubts, because doubts are a sin. There is someone who comes here every time to throw fitnah in the ears of His Highness, and there are others who are repeating what they hear, and they are afraid to stand up and mention themselves because then they will look bad. I am not going to pressure them. There is one lady who comes here a lot from Singapore, her name is Faridah, and I am mentioning her because she was courageous enough and stood up. They say in Singapore that His Highness appointed Abdul Sattar Khan to divide the community in Singapore. And the community in Singapore was comprised of 10-15 people all these years, and alhamdulillah, now we are around 200 people. Abdul Sattar Khan came complaining to Raja Ashman, and some other person was here and Bahauddin was here. Bahauddin told him, “You have permission from my father to do dhikr.”
Bahauddin, how did you say this to this man like that, without asking me? You don’t know Singapore, you don’t know anything from Singapore. You told me many times not to interfere, that you are running the business of your father (Mawlana Shaykh), that I am running the spiritual aspect. You said this to me, remember. Try to remember two years ago in May about the Priory. Why are you appointing someone without your father’s knowledge? Don’t tell me that your father knows: he doesn’t know! For what, because he (Abdul Sattar) misinformed you, you took a quick decision? Don’t take such a quick decision. I called you and asked you why you appointed him. The courtesy is that you call to ask me if I will appoint him. For me, it doesn’t matter, and I will tell you "appoint him" because I told him when he complained about those who are running the dhikr there, "If you don’t like them, go make your own dhikr and get new people." Abdul Sattar, you have been in tariqah for one year, and they are 25 years in tariqah. Should I put the one who is in for 25 years, or one who is one year in tariqah? Don't separate! We are still not coming from the egg, we are not yet a chick.
I want to say something from the book! (laughter) Oh, that one who said we are using a book, yes, I am using a book. I can come with answers, but Jakim will not accept the answer, they will ask, "Where is your reference?" I am giving the reference and it is in the book, Talkhis al-Ma`arif fi Targheeb, by Muhammad `Arif. He says, "And the people of tasawwuf said that if you avoid doing dhikr it will lower the rizq and slow down the spiritual rizq, the provisions that Allah (swt) is sending to you." It will squeeze (constrict) the spiritual power, and that is why people get depressed. How to solve the problem? With dhikrullah. And then he explains, "If they ask you about the ism al-mufrad, the ism al-khass, the Private Name, the Unique Name, that Name is 'Allah.' qul Huw Allah." This means that Name is the one you have to mention in order to raise you from one level to another level. "And the first level is al-maqam al-awwal an-nafs al-amaarah, the ego that orders you to all kinds of bad desires, al-Maqam adh-Dhuloomaati wal-Kudooraat, the level of darkness and impurities. To clean that you have to make dhikr of laa ilaaha illa-Llah."
So the first answer for the Salafi and Wahhabi is, if we want to get rid of all the problems of the bad ego, we must do dhikr of laa ilaaha illa-Llah, and that is why all tariqahs practice that. Mawlana Shaykh Nazim, may Allah bless him and give him long life, has changed the way of the dhikr of Grandshaykh (q), and maybe people don't know that. Every sultan has the right to change. Grandshaykh (q) never began with laa ilaaha illa-Llah, he always began with the dhikr of Allah and at the end he reads laa ilaaha illa-Llah. But Mawlana Shaykh Nazim knows that this maqam, the Nafs al-Amaarah, that bad self, has to be eliminated first by saying, laa ilaaha illa-Llah. Why was Grandshaykh (q) not beginning with laa ilaaha illa-Llah? That is not written in that book, and that is a secret. It is because anyone sitting in the presence of Grandshaykh (q), his Nafs al-Amaarah will disappear completely!
For the one who mentioned the book, I am telling you something that is not in the book. When we need to speak from Mawlana's heart, of course we speak, but what is the benefit? For some of you it is like someone in kindergarten wanting a professor from a university to speak to you. What is he going to say to you? He will say, "Oh baby, I have a toy for you, here is a candy for you." Is this what you need, a professor to give you that? For what, when a common nanny can give you that!
And the second level is Nafs al-Lawwaamah, the self that blames itself and asks why it did that thing that is wrong. That is the level when you begin to regret; it is the level of receiving the lights, manifestations of the Beautiful Names and Attributes of Allah (swt) in your heart. So what dhikr do you have to do at that time? Allahu Noor as samawati wal-`ardh, "Allah is the Light of the Heavens and the Earth." (24:35) So you begin the dhikr with "Allah," because you have to go under the manifestations of the Beautiful Names and Attributes. Understand? That is starter class "101" and you cannot advance yet to class 102. People think it is so easy because they make dhikr every week. What is the benefit if you don't even know the meaning of doing dhikrullah, and you will have someone question you? And this situation is all around the world.
As I said hundreds of times, Mawlana has three real khalifas. He can put hundreds or even thousands, but until now he has three whom he mentioned many times: my name he mentioned many times, Hajji Muhammad's name, Shaykh Mohammad, his son in Istanbul, and Shaykh Adnan’s name. You can go back to the lectures that were put up yesterday and the day before, and get all the details. I will not go into that detail here.
Al-Maqam as–Saalis an-Nafs al-Mulhama, the third level is "the inspired ego," fa al-hamaha fujooraha wa taqwaha. There inspiration comes to the soul. From where that inspiration comes no one knows. It is from beyond knowing; that is from the word that Allah mentioned in Surah al-Ikhlaas, qul Huw Allah. This means coming from ‘Huu.’ That is why you begin dhikr with "Allah, Allah," and say "Huu" after "Allah" to the nafs, to come to the inspired nafs. If they come and question you, say, "It is written here; ask that scholar not me, and don't hang me up." And that is one book from millions of books!
And then the next is al-Maqam al-Raabiya an-Nafs ul-Mutma'ina, which means "the Content Self;" the self that is happy. It has reached perfection and knows it, and is satisfied by what Allah gave and it wants to assert that by saying haqq, haqq, haqq, haqq. Do you know why you are saying "haqq" now? Did any one of Mawlana Shaykh Nazim's khalifahs or representatives explain that, other than the three I mentioned that claim, "I am khalifah or representative." You are a cardiologist, so we ask you about hearts and you answer. This is all about hearts, so how are you not answering?
The fifth level is Nafs al-Raadiyya, "the self that is pleased in submission." It understands there is no way to be by itself, due to wa ja alna minal maa’i kulla shay’in ha, "We have made from water everything alive." It knows that you cannot be alive without the manifestation of the name "al-Hayy." That is why we do dhikr of Hayy. So we begin with Allah and then Hu and then Haqq and then Hayy.
I will not disclose details of the seventh maqam. I am closing the book; that is enough for (tasawwuf) 101. You have to be very careful (with accusations). I am not speaking against anyone, I am only saying what is in the book. Allah (swt) said in the Holy Qur'an, when Sayyidina Nuh (a) was in the flood, what did he say to his son? Ya bunnaya ta`al irkab ma`ana, "Come, my son, and join us on the boat."
What did his son say? Qala sa awi minal jabalin ya asimu ni minal ma’a, "I will take shelter on a mountain that will protect me from the water."
Sayyidina Nuh said, Qala yaa asima yawma bi amrillah, "There is no protection from Allah's order today! Come my son, come and stay with us!"
"No! I am on the mountain, so what am I going to come to you for? I am there."
He wants to save his son. What did Allah say? Inni a’eedhuka anta kunna minal jaahileen, "I am warning you, you are going to be of the ignorant people, yaa Nuh. Innahu laysa min ahlik inna hu amalan ghayrun saalih, “He is not from your family! He is doing `amal which are not accepted."
That is huge! Allah (swt) is threatening Sayyidina Nuh (a) because he said, “This is my son," and Allah reminded him that the son's deeds are not acceptable.” So we have to be very careful. I am speaking in general. Grandshaykh used to say openly, "If you see any mistake from my grandchildren, tell me, no problem."
I am saying what is in the book here. Wa fi tabaqatil awliya, you understand, li Sha`rani. Who is Sha`rani? (Imam of Egypt) the imam of Egypt, one of the biggest scholars in Shari`ah and in tariqat. Fi tarjamatish-Shaykh Muhammad bin Jamal radhi Allahu anh, wa kaana radhiAllahu `anhu yaqool, “He used to say thalaathatun laa yuflihuna fil ghaalib, "Three types of people are generally unsuccessful." Who are they? He is a scholar in tasawwuf and Shari`ah, speaking relative to tasawwuf now. He is not speaking of the mercy of Allah, that will cover everyone, that we know. That is not the question here. The question is how much we have to keep respect and keep limits, if we say that we are in tariqah.
This lady, my wife Hajjah Naziha, since she was 16 years of age she raised her two brothers and sent them out of the house married, both of them. Her sister Hajjah Ruqqaiya was still young. Hajjah Naziha served her father for 30 years, not like today with hundreds of servants there. Mawlana used to have hundreds of people, and she was the only lady cooking, cleaning, looking after her children and her brothers, and looking after Mawlana Shaykh and her mother (Hajjah Amina, [r]). And people say today,"O Sultan! Hajjah Ruqqaiya does so much work!" Yes, but this one did 30 years of work. Are you hearing and understanding this, ladies? I am sorry to say, until today she is doing work for me and every day we have a hundred or two-hundred people eating in the zawiya, and she has to arrange everything. And you came to the zawiya, and now we have four zawiyas in America, big ones.
Reading from this book, he said, “Three are successful," which means generally they are not successful, not that they are bad, but there is behavior they must change. Those three are, ibnu 'sh-shaykh wa zawjatahu wa khaadimuhu, the son of the shaykh, the wife of the shaykh, the servant of the shaykh. Should I explain? Is it clear or do I need to explain? Ibnu Shaykh amaa abnuhu fal-yaftah `aynayhu at-taqbeel mureedeena yadahu, "The son of the shaykh, when he opens his eyes, he sees people coming and kissing his father’s hand," al-taqbeel mureedeena yadahu huwa aydan, "and kissing his own hand. He is young!" Wa habluhu `ala a`naaqihim, "They carry him on their necks." I am reading the Arabic because I don’t want people to say that I am translating differently. He (Shaykh Gibril) is translating. Wa tabarrukun bihi, "And getting blessings through the son of the shaykh," wa yooti`oonahu fi kulli maa yatlubuhu, "and they obey the son of shaykh in everything he asks for." Wa yarda’u min hubbi r-riyasa min sagharihi, "And he is nursed with the milk of leadership from his childhood."
So this is speaking in general, from 500 years ago. The book is recent, but the quotation is from Imam ash-Sha'rani from 500 years ago, speaking of the children of the shaykh. That is why I said, don't approach the shaykh too much, don't say, “I want to sit on his table. I want to go and be near.” No, it is fire! Because regarding his family, the shaykh is in the capacity of their father, so don’t look at what they are doing, because then you will burn yourself if you want to do like them.
Fa ta tawwala `alayha siffaatal-muzhlima, "Then he acquires the attributes of darkness," Fa laa yuaththiru feehi wa law dhu wa`izh, "And then he becomes immune to any advice from anyone." That means he will not get and will never accept advice, except he will only listen to his own mind. People will believe him because he is the son of the shaykh. Wa yatajaraa `ala 'l-akaabir, "And he loses respect and becomes aggressive against his elders." He begins to make jokes on and humiliate everyone. I’m not saying it, it is the book from 500 years ago, for the one who is here and has no courage to stand up and say (he accused me of not having knowledge). Wa yanfi mashiykhatahum `alayh, "And he denies they have any authority as shaykhs over him." They have authority from the father, but he will deny it because he is the son, and people believe him as he is the son.
There is something important here and we have to clear it. Fa inja’a saalihan faaqa waaliduh, "But if he comes and grows as a righteous one, then he will surpass his father." He will surpass his father by his father passing him a secret. He is discussing the two different types: the one that likes the leadership because people respected him and he thinks he can do everything because he is the son of the shaykh; and, the one that, if he is okay and good, then his father will pass him a secret. Wan ta fa aabi wa bi waalidi, "And he benefits from his father." Akthar min kulli ahad, "More so than anyone else." Is that understood? Be careful, and this is a warning for everyone around the world. Mawlana gave me full permission to speak, and I am majnoon and speaking from the book! If anyone has a problem with that, go to the book, speak to Imam Sha'rani in his grave and ask him, “Why did you say that in your book?”
Wa amaz-zawja, "As for the wife," fa innaha tara 'sh-shaykh bi `ayna 'l-azwaaj, "She sees the shaykh as a spouse, a human being," la bi `ayna 'l-wilayyah, "not through the eye of sainthood." Not through the eye that her husband is a saint, but a normal person. When he wants to sleep with her in bed, he does, and when he doesn’t, he doesn’t. It’s a normal life; this is what she sees from her husband. She cooks for him, she cleans his house, a normal person. Fa ta’ta kid nahu muhtaajan ilayha fee shahwa, "She believes that he needs her for pleasure." That is the type of wives of shaykhs, awliya. And Grandshaykh (q) mentioned that many times. He said that among 1000 walis only two know that their husband is a wali. Only two among 1000! Fa in nawwarAllahu ta`ala bassaraha wa ra’athu wa bi aynil wilayya an tafa’at bihi qabla kulli ahad, "And if Allah enlightens her eyes, then she will see her husband as a wali before anyone else." Li mulaahaqatiha iyyahun layla wa nahara, "because she is following him day and night." Like Hajjah Anne, may Allah bless her soul, gave her husband her life, Hajjah Naziha gave her life for me and for Mawlana Shaykh and for Grandshaykh! None of her brothers and sisters have done the work she did for Grandshaykh! And he used to ask her to peel the potatoes at six years of age (Hajjah adds, "because he liked to cook."). Imam Sha`rani says that if Allah (swt) opened the light of her heart and she saw him with the eye of sainthood, she will be the first one, more than anyone, to get the benefit of the sainthood of her husband. You understood? It is clear?
Wa am-ma 'l-khaadim, "As for the servant of the shaykh," fa li-tiqraari ru’yati 'sh-shaykhi wa tilaa’hi `ala ahwaalihi mina 'l-ma’kili wal-mashribi wa 'l-manaam, wa li dhaalika qaaloo laa yambighi li-shaykh an ya’koola ma`ahum aw ma` al murideen fa laa wa laa yujaalisahum ila `indal aroora, "the servant keeps seeing the shaykh sleeping, eating, and receiving people, and that is why it is said, 'they should not be around the shaykh.'" They cannot be around the shaykh except in an emergency situation because they will lose the respect and begin to feel familiarity with him; they begin to feel they are family, and by that way they lost. Then they have to impose their opinion; imposing as it is happening today. Imposing their opinion and the shaykh is not present, he is in the Divine Presence of Allah (swt) and the presence of the Prophet (s) and presence of awliya, so they impose everything on him. Wa la yujaalisahum ila indal daroora, "And they must not be sitting around him except when it is necessary," khawfan `alayhim min sukooti hurmatihi min qalbi, "for fear that they will lose respect for him in their hearts and in this way," fa yuhram fee barakati 's-suhbah, "they will be deprived of the shaykh's company, and even if they are there they do not get the barakah of that presence." They are less than a mureed because they lost that. wa laakin fa in nazharal khaadimu ila shaykh bit-t`azheem fa antafa bihi, "But if the servant looks at his shaykh with the eye of high respect and giving him great importance, then he benefits from him," wa-afraha akthar min ghayrihi, "and he will be more successful than others."
I will give you an example, not of today, because I don’t want to interfere in today’s issues. I am not interested in that, and I don't want to bring up after what happened of throwing the camera and so on. But in the time of Grandshaykh (q), he had a helper named Shaykh Abdus-Salam, I don't know if anyone saw him there, he is in Jordan now. He is a very pious person and we love him so much! And Grandshaykh, before he left dunya, made his will and he mentioned three people as khalifah: Mawlana Shaykh Nazim, and as helpers, Hisham and Adnan. And before that, he said, "If Abdus-Salam had not listened to his wife's orders, I would have given him Maqam al-Qutbaniyya. Because he was listening to his wife, I am depriving him from getting that in dunya, but he will get it in the grave." Because he is a qutb, it is for him but it is not open. What did he listen to from his wife? Nothing; just normal, like husband and wife. But whenever Grandshaykh wanted something from Abdus-Salam, if he wanted to go to Grandshaykh she didn’t let him go and he stayed home. Instead of going and saying, “I don’t care what she said,” and going to Grandshaykh regardless of what his wife said, he stayed home because he didn’t want to fight. But it is not a fight when it comes for Allah (swt) and Prophet (s), and the shaykh and the religion. You cannot listen to your wife at that time, which is indicated by the fact that we are forbidden to prevent someone from praying (worship). If you see someone,
أَرَأَيْتَ الَّذِي يَنْهَى عَبْدًا إِذَا صَلَّى
araita idha yanha `abdan idha salla,
"have you not seen the one who prevents the servant from praying?" (96:9,10)
Going to listen to the shaykh, or translating, or going to pray in jama`at with the shaykh is worshipping. So Grandshaykh said, "Because of that I am stopping him from getting Maqam al-Qutbaniyya."
Don’t think that those who are around the shaykh have it easy; it’s not an easy test. They will lose the respect of the shaykh, and they will begin to impose their opinion and then they become losers. Except, if they were not doing that, and they kept the order and respect of the shaykh, they will be benefitting. And the son of shaykh, if he is keeping the respect of the murideen, speaks highly of the khulafaa of the shaykh, helps with what his father says, then he is a wali, or else he will not get benefit. And the wife, if she keeps doesn’t understand him as a wali she will lose, she will not become a waliyya, and the khaadim, servant.
And I will tell the story of Sayyidina Jamaluddin Ghumuqi al-Husayni (q). His wife, when he was prepared to go to Jumu`ah in very nice jubba, like this one which I wore because Hajjah told me to, and his wife perhaps thinking that he is going to be attractive to another woman, she took the wash water from diapers and threw it on him. And he kept walking to the mosque without saying anything. He went to the mosque, took a shower and washed, and gave Jumu`ah. He returned home and didn't say anything to his wife and she didn't say anything to him, but she was burning up.
Viewers on Sufilive and those present, Mawlana said to me, "Shaykh Hisham is not in need of anyone. I am enough for him and the Prophet (s) is enough for me and Allah is enough for him!" And so I am not in need of anyone. Your money, might be if you collect, it is not enough to pay my ticket even. And if you love the shaykh, execute the order of the shaykh. In Cyprus, Mawlana Shaykh told you to do something, and you said you would. And if you can't come to me, I will come to you. This is his daughter (Hajjah Naziha); if there is a problem with me then what is the problem with his daughter, that you are avoiding?
And "you" in Singapore: know that I am not easy, I am tough! Mawlana Shaykh Nazim said, "Don't make Shaykh Hisham angry, because if he is I cannot control him." And I am so soft that Grandshaykh and Mawlana Shaykh Nazim used to call me "Halim," but when it comes to haqq, I am like Sayyidina Umar!
Wa min Allahi 't-tawfeeq, bi hurmati 'l-habeeb, bi hurmati 'l-Fatihah.
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