Stories of Awliyaullah and Their Mureeds (Vol 5)
Mawlana Shaykh Hisham Kabbani
1st September 2009 Fenton Zawiya, Michigan
Suhbah after Fajr
A`udhu billahi min ash-Shaytani`r-rajim. Bismillahi `r-Rahmani `r-Rahim.
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. Nawayna 's-siyaam.
We spoke in the previous session about Sayyidina `Abdul-Khaliq al-Ghujdawani (q) opening spiritual knowledge for a big scholar, Ubaydullah al-Amawi (q). From the secret of the ayah 13:17, he took him all the way to maqaam at-Tawheed, the maqaam where la ilaaha illa-Llah is said with its reality, not in the way we say it. Everyday, we say la ilaha illa-Llah, la ilaha illa-Llah many times, but we still have a problem with maqaam at-Tawheed, no one of can deny that. Anyone who says he has no problem does not understand the truth. Prophet (s) mentioned the hidden shirk (polytheism). Even if you say la ilaaha illa-Llah with your tongue, you have committed hidden shirk by seeing yourself doing everything. Ruyat un-nafs is to see yourself high, that you know everything. That is the problem with people, nowadays and before.
Even the presidents have the highest level of arrogance. You can see their debates when running for the presidency. Everyone wants to be above the other. That is why it is better to find someone to lead you in submitting to Allah (swt). Then, no problem would arise here and in the Hereafter. They speak about foreign policy. When everyone is submitting, then what happens? Foreign policy would no longer be needed; everyone would know their limits, their borders, and live in peace. There would be no more aggression as problems come from arrogance, from seeing the self.
When we say la ilaha illa-Llah, we are not saying it truthfully. Look at the Middle East (sorry to bring up an example from politics). Palestinians are asking to re-claim their occupied land, but they cannot live together. One group is fighting the other group and for one year they were unable to come to an agreement. They are arresting one another and throwing each other in prison. Who is going to give them back their lands when they are fighting one another? You don’t know who is responsible. However, if they submit, everyone will have trust. Therefore, to really say la ilaaha illa-Llah is to submit and trust in Allah (swt), rendering your problem to Him. Then Allah (swt) will send that peace and tranquility into your heart.
Everyone wants to be the boss and that is a problem. Why are people not reaching their aim, which is Allah’s (swt) Divine Presence? Because no one is submitting to Allah (swt) and each one wants to be higher than the other. Awliyaullah know what kind of shortcoming you have and they complete it for you.
So he said, “Now I brought you to maqaam at-Tawheed and when you say la ilaaha illa-Llah, it means your worship, the five pillars of Islam, are going to be perfect. You are going to do them in the best way, because now these realities are being opened for you.” From that, Allah took him to maqaam al-Imaan, which as everyone knows is the first Pillar of Faith, amantu Billah, “I have faith in Allah.” When you say that, how then can you commit sins? When you feel you have belief in Allah (swt), it means you believe you are in that Sacred Presence. How can you then excuse yourself from that Presence? There is no absence at that point; you are always there, but in different levels. So when you say amantu Billah, the first Pillar of Faith, you should see yourself there. Wa mala`ikatih, “and (I believe) in (His) angels…” Allah (swt) will give power for angels to help you, and He will give you power on angels (not all of them, but those dedicated to you), to work with them for your benefit and those who are near you.
Now you tend to open the Holy Qur’an without even knowing the meaning of what you are reading.
Wa kutubih, “and (I believe) in the (His) Books…” when you declare that you believe in Allah’s (swt) Books, He will open for you the secret of His books. At that time, Allah (swt) will open in every letter, 12,000 to 24,000 oceans of knowledge. More than that, when you recite the Holy Qur’an you will be able to see and understand the other holy books Allah (swt) sent to the different messengers.
Hence, by believing in Allah’s (swt) prophets, wa rusulih, “and (I believe) in (His) messengers…” you will feel their presence in your life. How are you sitting now and feeling his presence? (Mawlana points to a mureed.) Look at him. You see him, you feel he is here even if he is not here, you always feel him here in front of your eyes. So if he loves you, how much do you think you would feel his presence? What do you think of one that Allah (swt) and the Prophet (s) love best? You would be in the presence of those whom you love, or who love you, and then you move to maqaam al-Ihsaan, which we will explain quickly; where you will feel their presence.
The prophets will open from books given to them and show you some of the secrets they came with. It’s not simple. Tariqah is not a journey to a resort. When people go to a resort, they say, “O heavens!” Why do they compare it to heavens, because it is very beautiful and nice. What heaven is it, where men and women are naked? For them it is Heaven, but for you Heaven is the presence of the prophets in your life. They say qisas al-anbiya, “Stories of the Prophets.” You have to read their history. They will show you what they have done. You will feel it and live it from the secret of imaan, from the faith they open for you at that level. Then Prophet (s) will open for you from his presence so that you always feel him in your life, because you are in love with him!
bi ‘l qadr khayrihi wa sharrihi, “and (I believe) in the predestination of good and evil…” You have to believe in qadr, what is written for you. At that point, there would be no more struggle over believing or not believing. It becomes open for you as you will see on what qadr is written. Why did Allah (swt) hide the Preserved Tablets from you? If you saw what is destined on the Tablets, you would not be able to live anymore! You would see when and how you are going to die and all the problems that will happen in your life,and it would become difficult for you to bear. That is why the Preserved Tablet is open a little bit to awliyaullah to see, but only to the highest level of awliya.
When you establish these six Pillars of Faith together with the Five Pillars, it takes you to Maqaam al-`Uloom, which is Maqaam al-Ihsaan, which is the Ocean of Knowledge, of good manners and behavior. When you enter there, you’ll be...
(Mawlana digresses)
So, Sayyidina `Abdul-Khaliq al-Ghujdawani (q) said to Ubaydullah al-Amawi (q), “O my son, I brought you all the way for all these promises that you made to Prophet (s) and Allah (swt) on the Day of Promises. I brought you at that moment to the reality that every wali dreams of: tahaqqaq feehi jamee` al-uhood allatee akhadhaha min-Llahi wa rasoolih. All the covenants that Allah (swt) took from him and His Prophet (s), `Abdul Khaliq brought there for him to see, learn and follow. They cannot reveal it because it is different and only for him. What is for you is different for others.
`Abdul-Khaliq said, “Not even one drop I am leaving. I am opening everything for you, so when I leave you that drop will become an ocean. If it is left unopened, it will become a problem for you. So I am opening every kind of covenant and promise that you gave to Allah (swt) and His Prophet (s). O My son, you have to know these are for you. You must not share with anyone. Yabuh bis-sirr, “If you reveal the secret, they will take it away from you. That secret is for you. You cannot divulge secrets.”
That is why Sayyidina Abu Hurayrah (r) said, “If I share with them what Prophet (s) has taught me, they will cut my neck. I can share one kind of knowledge, but the other kind I cannot. It is only for me.”
Why would they cut his neck? It is because they cannot understand even from one wali to another. Each has his own guidance and knowledge that he perceives differently. That is why mureeds of awliyaullah are different. Some people might come to Mawlana Shaykh Nazim (q), who is Sultan al-Awliya for us, but he might not like it and go, because he is not one of Mawlana’s spiritual “children”. He cannot stay; he has to go to someone else. Awliyaullah do not look at mureeds of others; it is haraam for them. That is why you find two or three awliya or khalifahs from the same shaykh, but each one giving a different knowledge from the other. You cannot ask why each one is giving a different type of knowledge, or else the mureed would go against that one. Everyone has different knowledge. `Abdul-Khaliq said, “This is for you, but for other people sitting here, there are different verses in the Holy Qur’an. There is guidance for each one of them.”
No wali is thinking what his verse is. You probably never thought about it before. So their guidance is going to be from their own, special verse. Allah (swt) specified it for them on the Day of Promises. The Holy Qur’an was revealed to Prophet (s) in ‘Alam al-Arwah (the World of Spirits) and then Prophet (s) revealed it to humanity. He said if all awliya put all their powers together to bring someone to his reality, they cannot, unless all awliya agree they will do that. There are 124,000 walis, from the first level up to Sultan al-Awliya. If all their powers were brought together to bring one person to his own reality, they would not be able to do so except on that one condition. Even if they showed him how to pray and fast and have good character and behavior, that mureed cannot reach his reality except on one condition, which we will leave for tomorrow! (laughter)
So what is that condition? Sayyidina `Abdul Khaliq al-Ghujdawani (q), Sultan al-Awliya in his time, said, “They cannot reach their reality except through the verse Allah (swt) dedicated to that servant on the Day of Promises. They must know in what verse their reality is embedded, then they can open for him to go there and decode it and to bring out his reality through the door of that verse.” That is why everyone has a reality somewhere in the Holy Qur’an. That is one of the meanings of:
وَعِندَهُ
مَفَاتِحُ الْغَيْبِ لاَ يَعْلَمُهَا إِلاَّ هُوَ وَيَعْلَمُ مَا فِي
الْبَرِّ وَالْبَحْرِ وَمَا تَسْقُطُ مِن وَرَقَةٍ إِلاَّ يَعْلَمُهَا
وَلاَ حَبَّةٍ فِي ظُلُمَاتِ الأَرْضِ وَلاَ رَطْبٍ وَلاَ يَابِسٍ إِلاَّ
فِي كِتَابٍ مُّبِينٍ
wa `indahu mafaatihu ‘l ghaybi laa ya` lamuha ill-Llahu, wa ya` lamu ma fee ‘l barri wa 'l-bahri wa ma tasqutu min waraqatin illa ya`lamuha wa laa habbatin fee dhulumati 'l-ard wa laa ratbin wa laa yaabisin illa fee kitaabin mubeen.
With
Him are the keys of the unseen, the treasures that none knoweth but He.
He knoweth whatever there is on the earth and in the sea. Not a leaf
doth fall but with His knowledge: there is not a grain in the darkness
(or depths) of the earth, nor anything fresh or dry (green or
withered), but is (inscribed) in a record clear (to those who can
read). (Suratu 'l-An`am, 6:59)
Everything, living and non-living. A wali is a living human being and we are like non-living beings, going to resorts, going to dunya, which for Allah (swt) doesn’t weigh more than a wing of a mosquito. You want to be living like Sayyidina al-Khidr (a), who found the Fountain of Youth, the Water of Life, mai ul-hayyaat. So “the living” want you to live, so they have to give. Living and non-living beings are mentioned in the Holy Qur’an. Another meaning of fi kitaabin mubeen is that everyone is going to have his own book on the Day of Judgement; his own secrets are there, so awliyaullah go to these secrets that are found in the Holy Qur’an.
So, be careful with what you say to others, especially in the presence of a wali, in the presence of the Prophet (s), or in the presence of Allah (swt). Wa huwa ma` kum ayna ma kuntum, “ He is with us wherever we are.” Luqman al-Hakeem (r) said in one of his sayings:
إن من الكلام ماهو أشد من الحجر
وأنفذ من وخز الإبر
وأمر من
الصبر
وأحر من الجمر
والقلوب مزارع
فازرع بها دوما
الكلمة الطيبة
فإن لم تنبت كلها
نبت بعضا منها
wa inna min al-kalaam maa huwa ashaddu min al-hajr. “Be careful with what you speak; better to zip your mouth shut.” Don’t talk, as Sayyidina Ali (q) said, "Some words are harder than stone (rude), Wa anfath min wakhar al-ibar, “and more piercing than needles.” One word is enough to make a war. Wa amarru min as-sabr, “and more bitter than the most sour.” Sour is already bitter and some rude words are more bitter than sour. Wa aharru min al-jamr, “hotter than burning coal.” Wa inna min al-quloobi maza`riun, “On the other hand, there are hearts like farmlands.” f 'azra`a feehaa 'l-kalimaat at-tayyibah fa in lam tanbut kulluha yanbut b`aduhaa minhaa, “Plant in it the tree of good words.” Fa in lam yanbut kulluha, yanbut ba`duhaa minhaa, “If all of it does not grow, some of it will grow.” So make your heart a farmland where all trees are good ones. If not all of it will grow, some would and give you fruits.
“O my son, this is my advice to you now, that Allah (swt) has opened to you from your own private verse of guidance. But you have to know that all the other verses of the Holy Qur’an are surely going to save you from Hellfire, from punishment.” Anyone who reads them will be saved from punishment. However, your door to reach reality is through that one verse. Don’t forget that the Holy Qur’an is the Holy Word of Allah (swt) that will save you and humanity from any difficulty and problem. Therefore, those who want to reach their destinies and the secret of the Holy Qur’an must go through the verse that is written for them; ammal wusulu ila maa wasalta ilayh fa kallaa thumma kallaa illa min manba’ikal mukhassas lak mukhassasa laka. "There is no way that you can reach it except from the spring or source that is dedicated to you." Kallaa thumma kallaa, "no and no!" You will never reach from anywhere except through your own door, written for you from that verse. Even if you spent the life span of Sayyidina Nuh (a) in prayer, seclusions and with 1,000 years of worship, you cannot reach guidance or gain other than exhaustion and hardship. This is because your guidance is marbutan, wrapped from the nur of that ayah.
So it means that what is given to one is not given to another. If we understood that, then we wouldn’t fight, because everyone has his own ‘way’. La tukthir li hammik, ma quddir yakoon, “Don’t worry too much, for that which is written has been written (will occur).” It is not you who decides: it has been decided for you. Ask yourself a question. Can your child decide for himself or herself, or do you decide for them? You decide. Why don’t you leave young children to decide? They cannot. You decide for them or they might kill themselves. So Allah (swt) has decided for His servants because no one can reach maturity except through awliyaullah, by the baraka of Sayyidina Muhammad (s). So until you reach maturity, you cannot decide.
After exhausting yourself for 1000 years, you will find you need a teacher to give you your verse, the code for your door, to reach your destiny. So, that’s what we are looking for. Don’t worry too much. What’s written is going to happen. (Mawlana refers to a carpool of brothers coming to the morning suhbahs.) If he comes or he doesn’t come, it is written. So when an inspiration comes to “pick him up”, another inspiration comes in five minutes to “leave him”, and you can guess what was written. You cannot object, “Oh, he didn’t wait for me.” If inspiration comes, go and break his door to bring him here. He cannot say, “Why you are breaking my door?” because it is written. What we are saying is on the spiritual and not the physical level, because he cannot actually break your door. That is an example, and we will continue tomorrow. That means submit: submission will take you everywhere. See you tomorrow, insha’Allah.
Wa min Allahi ‘t-tawfeeq, bi hurmati ‘l-habeeb, bi hurmati ‘l-Fatihah.
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