27 May 2010 Fenton Zawiya, Michigan
As-salaamu `alaykum wa rahmatullah wa barakaatuhu. As-salaamu `alaykum to all viewers, wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuhu. We just came back from South East Asia. Insha-Allah we will begin with dhikrullah, then suhbah. We are all from Ummat an-Nabee (s) and every word we say has to be balanced, because with technology today, people 'cut and paste', and thus what is true becomes false and what is false becomes true. This is the way of technology. They always want you to be lost in this vast community into which Iblees is trying to pull people by their feet. So the best way is to begin with dhikrullah and after that we will see what Mawlana Shaykh will give as a sign or inspire me to say, and what I will say. Inshaa-Allah we will see you all this weekend in many occasions.
A`oodhu billahi min ash-Shaytaani 'r-rajeem. Bismillahi 'r-Rahmaani 'r-Raheem.
Obey Allah, obey the Prophet, and obey those in authority among you. (4:59)
This is the suhbah of Grandshaykh, may Allah bless his soul, on the 31st of May, 1393 (Hijri), about 40 years ago. Because it's better, as I said many times, to speak from what we have learned from our shuyookh. Because there is taste and meaning in their teachings, you get blessings; they are the ones that put food for you to taste its sweetness and they presented it to you as a sweet food, ready to be eaten.
I was just in three countries for nearly 25 days and alhamdulillah, with our shuyookhs' barakah, I am proud and very happy to say that I was in the time of Grandshaykh, Sultanu `l-Awliyaa, Sayyidi Shaykh `AbdAllah al-Fa`iz ad-Daghestani. I met him, I served him, I took barakah from him, and I learned from his teachings. I've known him since I was 13 years of age; the first time I met him I was 12 or 13. This is only for people to know a little bit of our background. With Allah's grace, also we had Mawlana Shaykh Nazim, may Allah give him long life. We served him and we did our best for him and his family for more than 40 years, about 52 years. And we did our best for many issues that people do not know, but I can say some of it.
In the late 1970's, we are coming from alhamdulillah a rich family and a very religious family. All my uncles graduated from al-Azhar University of Egypt (the oldest Islamic university in the world). One of them was the head of all Muslim scholars in the Middle East. One of them was running the religious affairs in Lebanon and today my cousin is the Grand Mufti of Lebanon. In 1974, after Grandshaykh passed away, I took Mawlana Shaykh for a trip to Turkey where he began to establish his teachings among the Turkish community. Before, in the time of Grandshaykh, Mawlana Shaykh Nazim said many times, "I am not leaving Sham for anywhere else." But after Grandshaykh left dunya he went to Turkey, then he went to England, then alhamdulillah, he spread the tariqah from east to west.
In the late 1970's, he had a wholesale textile business in Lebanon, and in Jedda, Saudi Arabia, we built a hospital and we invited Mawlana to the hospital. He said he wanted to buy a masjid in England and it was a synagogue. We raised the money for him and he bought that synagogue for nearly £150,000 pounds at that time, and that money was raised by us. I am not saying this for pride or ego, but in order for people to understand the background. Then after he bought it, another time he went to buy a church in Peckham, in 1978. Also we raised for him nearly £200,000 pounds from our businesses and from our relationships in Jedda from very pious, sincere Muslims there, and he bought Peckham Mosque. When there was no one at that time helping, alhamdulillah we were helping with their barakah. But jealousy is jealousy, hate is hate. You cannot change jealousy. They were jealous from Prophet (s), they were jealous from his four khalifahs (r), they were jealous from his Sahaabah (r), but they still continued in their work.
A brief, in-between quotation: once, Grandshaykh (q) said, "Who is considered a darweesh (dervish) in the eyes of Allah?" This was one of his first suhbahs that I wrote. He said:
"Darweesh is the one who never sat on the streets, on the side walks.
Darweesh is the one who never went to a movie theater.
Darweesh is the one who never went into discos. (He didn't call it "discos," but rather "entertainment places.")
Darweesh is the one who did not smoke in his life.
Darweesh is the one who tried not to get jealous.
Darweesh is the one who never claimed things that are not for himself."
So from many of these explanations, I'd like to mention two things besides all of that: in all my life, I never went to a movie theater. In all my life, I never went to a restaurant to eat, except rarely here in America. In all my life, I did not smoke a cigarette, or marijuana or drugs. So this is it. And there are many others. But these were three things that I liked to mention because we were raised in a community and in a family that is very straightforward. And my father's home was the home for awliyaaullah. They would come from every corner of the world to be hosted at my father's home, because his home was a huge estate. When you enter the courtyard of the house, as you know in every house there is a courtyard that directs you to the various rooms, the courtyard was more than 500 square meters. So it was a huge, three-story building. Most of the `ulamas and awliyaa of Sham used to come. Most of the Moroccan awliyaa from North Africa used to come. Both of you (addressing two mureeds) were with me in Ghana and in Ivory Coast, where you heard me telling the Tijani people that even Shaykh Ahmad Bamba, the head of the North African Tijaniyya Tariqah, had stayed at our home. So we were raised in such a family that we met lots of awliyaaullah and scholars, because my uncles were scholars. Hundreds of people came every day for food and lodging, and many stayed for weeks and weeks. Alhamdulillah, Allah (swt) saved us with Grandshaykh's and Mawlana Shaykh Nazim's barakah. You cannot do that without their support; it is impossible. There are many other things, but I don't like to mention them.
We learned from tasawwuf and from these learned, pious servants of Allah (swt) that you must not raise a sword. You cannot come to people with a sword; that means, machine guns. It's equivalent of a machine gun today. You cannot say, "I am Saahibu `s-Sa`if, Owner of the Sword." Even if they gave you that title, it is for you to use against your ego. If you understand tasawwuf, you have to know that title means, "Be careful of your ego. Cut your ego down with that sword." That is the sword of your self, your nafs, the sword of ananiyyah, selfishness.
Awliyaa don't come with swords. Did you ever see Mawlana Shaykh Nazim giving other than flowers? Sayyidina Mahdi (a) doesn't need a sword. If you think that he needs a sword, then to bring peace on this Earth, he needs six-billion swords. How many there is on Earth? Six-billion. So this means that everyone needs a sword? So Mahdi (a) comes with flowers. He is Saahibu `l-Ward, "Owner of the Flowers." He presents flowers and people follow; he doesn't present swords! If your understanding is that narrow, then may Allah (s) give you more understanding of tariqah. We have to learn that whoever hurts us, give them a flower. Sayyidina Mahdi (a) is coming with flowers and these flowers are takbeer, Allahu akbar. When he says, Allahu akbar, he will be giving you different colors of flowers that you never dreamed in your life, because at that time heavenly power will be coming down. He will come with heavenly flowers that you never saw in your life, in different colors like a rainbow. People are so happy to look at a rainbow, right? It is like a shack compared to those heavenly flowers!
What Sayyidina Mahdi (a) will bring of `ilm, knowledge, is like flowers of different colors that he will pour in the hearts of people, quickly bringing them on the right way. He doesn't need a sword. When we say "sword," does this mean that Mahdi (a) is going to fight with a sword? O, we have to understand the secrets of kalaamu`l-awliyaa (words of the saints). Grandshaykh, may Allah bless his soul, said, Ittaqoo sharra man ahsanta `ilayh, "Be careful from the evil of the one for whom you did your best." Prophet (s) treated Abu Jahl and Abu Lahab kindly for many years, but finally what happened? What is enough is enough! When the limits came, Abu Jahl died in the battle of Badr, and Abu Lahab, Allah spoke about him in the Holy Qur'an. So when they reach the limits of arrogance, hatred and jealousy, there will come a time that you want to correct them.
We want to correct ourselves and them; tariqah is to correct, and the shaykh is the one who corrects. And I explained this in Singapore, which is very important for people to hear about the examples of awliyaaullah. I was saying to myself for the last four months, "Why Mawlana Shaykh Nazim is not responding openly, or why is he letting this controversy to continue?" It's a simple question, but everyone is asking this. It is also coming to my heart. And suddenly I opened a suhbah of Grandshaykh (q), as I had one of his notebooks, and I said, "O, this is the answer!" I mentioned in Singapore that Grandshaykh, may Allah bless his soul, said, "The example of awliyaaullah is like a mountain. They are mountains on Earth. When Allah created the Earth, the Earth was shaking. It was imbalanced, so Allah (swt) put mountains on top of it, everywhere, to hold it together. Awliyaaullah are these mountains; they represent these mountains in the spiritual realm.
And he said in my notes that I wrote, that a wali is like a mountain upon which lives wild animals and domestic animals. What lives on a mountain? All kinds of animals, wild or domestic. Birds, wild and not wild. Snakes, wild and there are tame snakes; for example, these black ones that are especially for agriculture. Scorpions, there are scorpions that don't sting and there are some that do sting. Worms that bite and some worms that don't bite. So on these mountains lives all kinds of animals. And the wali is like a mountain that carries all the bad and good behaviors, bad and good characters of his followers. And that's why the answer came and I said, "OK, that's the answer!" That's why Mawlana keeps those with wild characters, to polish them, and he keeps those domestic characters to build them up! But he never objects. The mountain doesn't say, "Why is this wild animal living on me?" or, "Why is this domestic animal living on me?" Similarly, awliyaaullah will not say that. They will say, "Why do I have to throw out this person with a bad personality? Let him stay with his wild manners; I will polish him. And this domestic one, let him stay; I will increase his level."
I am not going to justify who is wild or who is domestic; people can distinguish by themselves. We might all be wild or all domestic; we might also be mixed. That is why Grandshaykh (q) said, "You never hear the mountain answering back." Then he said, "Awliyaaullah are like the ocean." In the ocean, you have wild fish and domestic fish. The ocean never says, "Why I have the wild ones?" Both of them live there, the wild and the domestic, but that ocean carries more than the mountain, because whatever garbage this Earth throws inside the ocean, its water is still pure. You can go take ablution in it, but you cannot take ablution in a pond. In a pond, through its little bit of water if there's garbage going in, you cannot take ablution or a shower in it. But in the ocean, at any moment, if you jump in the water and come out, ablution is already there. Even if all the sewers of the world are pouring in it, no problem. All the sewers of the whole world, if all the dirty water that comes from every human being and animals is thrown in the ocean, it is still pure! And yet it does not say, "why" or "why not;" it keeps quiet.
And when I saw that, which I wrote 40 years ago, I said, "No need to respond to anything about any issue." We speak. Those who like to take will take. Those who don't like to take, it's up to them; we don't interfere. Iblees has devils with him and they are happy with him. Awliyaaullah have mureeds with them and they are happy with them. Choose whatever you like; they don't care. But remember:
Above every knower is a (higher) knower. (12:76)
Don't try to make yourself a knower, because above you there is a another one and above that one, there is another one. It never ends! So what is our duty? To present flowers and to be careful, because fitna comes when you help someone and he betrays you, then they twist everything and you become the one being accused of stabbing them. Because technology today is 'cut and paste.' That's what they know and they call themselves engineers, but they are cutting and pasting. So be careful! Ittaqoo sharra man ahsanta `ilayh, "Be careful from the evil of the one for whom you did your best." They say they helped us. On the contrary, we pulled them out of these places into which they were sinking, I am not going to say what. I'm keeping quiet, but history will tell, history will not keep quiet!
And what did Prophet (s) say, O brothers in Islam, Imaan and Ihsaan? He said in a hadeeth that in the Last Days, yukhawwin al-ameen wa yu'ammin ul-khaain. If you don't know, check it, and this is what we are seeing today, everywhere around the world. Yukhawwanul ameen, "The trustworthy one will be treacherous." The one who is trustworthy becomes treacherous and the treacherous one becomes trustworthy. Allahu akbar! Go back and see everyone's background in order not to fall into these traps. Now what do they do? Yukhawwanul ameen, the one who is trustworthy becomes a khaain, traitor. Of him, they say he is a traitor because they 'cut and paste.' And wa yu'ammin ul-khaain, and the traitor becomes trustworthy. We are happy to see this with our eyes because then we know the Signs are coming. The fact that we are now seeing this happening between Muslim communities falling into the trap, as the Prophet (s) said to be careful, it means the Signs are already there.
You cannot speak anymore. You say one word, they cut and paste (out of context). So it is better to follow what Sayyidina `Ali (r) said, "Keep silent." Let all the world accuse you! Keep silent. One person went to Mawlana Shaykh Nazim, may Allah give him long life, and I won't say that one's name. He was complaining and complaining about someone with all kinds of lies and Mawlana didn't stop him. So the man continued and continued. He knows himself. Mawlana was listening and he didn't make a remark or respond. He went on complaining for half-an-hour and then stopped. Mawlana said, "Are you finished?
Do you see how awliyaaullah are? So say whatever you like. Mawlana mentioned these two examples of the mountains and the ocean in Grandshaykh's notes, and I mentioned something to him of how people are cursing and saying bad things. He said, "Keep walking! Let the caravan move and the dogs bark." He said it in Turkish and in Arabic. Allah (swt) said in Holy Quran:
`Ibaadallah, those servants of Allah that are walking humbly on the Earth, opening their hands, did their best for Mawlana Shaykh Nazim around the world and brought him to this land, where he was not accepting to go with anyone else. We brought him five or six times to the U.S. between 1991 and 2000. We did our best for him in everything, not only here but around the world! I just came from a meeting, which was a Mawlid with over 200,000 people attending. I was the main speaker with Habeeb Shaykh of Indonesia and with Ahbaab al-Mustafa, who are the descendants of Prophet (s) from Yemen living in Indonesia. Many of them gave lectures in Arabic. There, people are thirsty, and here, people are in fitna, confusing themselves and those around them.
We don't have a sword, and this is our declaration around the world for Mawlana's mureeds and for those who love us and those who don't. They have their own representatives and they are free; I'm not interested. But we say to them: don't carry a knife bigger than the finger. Don't train people and make an army! Sufis are not like that. Sufis don't even have matching clothes. They come like your colors, different people from all walks of life, with turban or no turban, with jubbah or no jubbah. We are not warriors! We are not people who want to carry swords. We are not Saahibu `s-Sayf. No! Whatever you were told by Mawlana, there is a correct interpretation for everything. Saahibu `s-Sayf is a sword on your selfishness, on your ego. Yes, of course we are all Saahibu 's-Sayf for our egos. How many times have Mawlana and Grandshaykh said to kill your ego? How many times has Mawlana related that hadeeth that if you want to know of someone who "died before he died," look at Sayyidina Abu Bakr as-Siddiq (q) because he has no more ego?
Extend your hands to everyone. We extended our hands but they refused. We extend and continue to extend. As Prophet (s) used to pray towards Masjid Al-Aqsa for 18 months and the Sahaabah (r) were saying, "Yaa Rasoolullah, why don't you pray towards the Ka`aba?"
He said, "No, I am praying there, extending my hands toward the Jewish and Christian communities, showing them that I am praying where they are praying, because we are praying to Allah (swt)."
Finally, at the end when they didn't accept, the order came for him to turn to the Ka`aba, and that is the famous Masjid al-Qiblatayn. So Prophet (s) tried his best and we have to learn from his example. We try our best so whatever comes, comes. We are not going to respond to anything. We cannot guarantee that they will all keep quiet because we don't just have forty or fifty followers, we have millions around the world who took baya`! These 200,000 people took baya` in one sitting! We could not reach them all, so they raised their hands and all took baya`. The same happened in the Ivory Coast and Ghana and Kenya. We are also very happy that we showed Prince Charles the flower of Islam, Sufism. Alhamdulillah, it was a very successful event that Mawlana Shaykh was very happy with. We did our best to present Mawlana in the highest podium in Manchester, in front of Prince Charles, with pictures, with his address via satellite, and his message at the beginning of the event. We did our best. Go and try. We support anyone who tries and works hard. We can help.
May Allah (swt) forgive us, may Allah bless us, and may Allah support us. As-salaamu `alaykum wa rahmatullahi wa barakaatuh. Thank you.
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