Protecting the Treasures of the Heart

We must praise our Creator that every Friday Jummah He is taking away
so many sins from us, showing his endless mercy and love for His
creation. And we praise Him for granting us long life so that we may
live from one Jummah to another Jummah, because out of His love for us
he is giving us more and more opportunities to be forgiven. That is
why we say that each Jummah is like an Eid, a celebration, and all of
Paradise is celebrating. We are coming together every Friday to
celebrate our Lord`s mercy and to ask that all of our bad actions from
the previous weak be forgiven and that we begin this week anew,
praying that with every Jummah we may reach higher levels of
perfection.


But this Jummah is an imitation Jummah. The real Jummah is in the
presence of our Master, Sayyidina Muhammad (s); real Jummah is in the
S. Mahdi (as) and in the presence of the Saints of God, and we are
imitating out of love for Prophet (s) and love the Saints. We pray
that one day our imitation be accepted and raised to the station of
reality, but until then we are all gulam (servants); saying `Oh my
Lord! You are my King and I am your humble servant. 'In no way are we
claiming to be a Shaykh, we are saying that we are merely servants who
are imitating the way of the real Shaykhs of Reality, Sultan ul-Awliya
Muhammad Nazim al-Haqqani, Mawlana Shaykh Hisham Kabbani, Shaykh Adnan
Kabbani. They are the true Saints of the Divine, for they have
attained God`s satisfaction, and we are asking nothing other than to
be present in their hearts so that per chance we might also gain God`s
satisfaction.
Our Lord, we are gathering here to remember you and to praise you, but
we are falling short. Mawlana Shaykh Hisham is always asking us to
look at our deeds and our actions and realize that they hold no weight
in Divine Presence. We are so happy with ourselves that we are going
to Jummah to remember our Lord, but in reality it is less than one
atom in an ocean of remembrance. In fact, if we were to look at the
rest of God's creation, we would be very shy to find that everything
is nature is constantly in a state of remembering the Divine, what
Sufi`s call Zikr.

It is described in the Holy Quran...
64:1 Whatever is in the heavens and whatever is on the earth is
exalting Allah. To Him belongs dominion, and to Him belongs [all]
praise, and He is over all things competent.
64:1 Yusabbihu lillahi ma fee alssamawati wama fee alardi lahu almulku
walahu alhamdu wahuwa AAala kulli shayin qadeerun


How do we know this is the case? Scientists, when they began to study
matter at an atomic and sub-atomic level, began to find that matter is
made up of atoms. And each atom is comprised of a nucleus, and of
electrons which circulate the nucleus at an incredibly high rate of
speed. It means that everything in creation has a movement, even a
rock, at its atomic level, is making a vibration, a sound, because its
atoms are moving. That vibration is a form of zikr, of remembrance. It
is because of that remembrance that everything is in existence. The
whole secret of creation is based upon that concept. Nothing is in
existence which isn't making vibration. Therefore creation, by its
very nature, is in constant praise of the Creator.
Mawlana says even the animals are submitting more than us. If we study
the animal kingdom, we see that most animals eat with their heads
down, symbolizing that submission and thankfulness to God. And as the
sun sets, the birds and other animals that are of a subtle nature,
they all gather to face the sun and sing praises on that Light.

That sun symbolizes the Light of the Creator. Birds and other animals
gather at the end of the day, at Maghrib time, to praise the light
because that light brings comfort and safety to creation. The night
and its darkness brings danger for many animals, as there are
predators and hunters which act under the cover of darkness. It means
that evilness is when there is no light, because mischief and evilness
takes place in the darkness and in the shadows. If it takes place in
the light of day it will be exposed. That is the importance of Surah
Al-Falaq. God says, "seek refuge with the Lord of the Daybreak from
the evil of darkness." It means seek refuge in the Light of God, in
the Light that is reflected in Prophet (s) and has been given to the
Saints. It is another example of the 3 levels of obedience we spoke
about before

`Obey God, obey the Prophet and obey those in authority.`
So Mawlana is saying that all of nature is praising the Divine, but we
do not praise the Divine like them because we are under the command of
our ego, and our ego only wants to indulge in endless physical
desires. That is why at sunset, instead of praising the Divine like
the birds do, most people today go to restaurants and bars. God gave
us free will, and that is our test. Are we going to praise the one who
gave us this life, or spend it as slaves of the Satanic Kingdom? Some
people don't like to hear that phrase, "Satanic Kingdom", but all they
have to do is look around them and they will find evidence of that
kingdom around them. There is a phrase from a famous movie, `The
greatest trick the Devil ever pulled was convincing the world he
didn't exist.`
And the number one goal of the Satanic Kingdom is to destroy the
children of Adam and Eve. How? By preventing their hearts from opening
to the light because that light brings with it tremendous power. When
the heart begins to open, Divine Presence begins to manifest in that
believer. Mawlana is teaching that the center of all power is the
heart. That is why God says, "I cannot be found on Heavens or on
earth, but I can be found in the heart of my believer." God's throne
is on the heart, but He will not sit on His throne while the ego has
control because the ego will try to poison the King. Therefore, our
mission must be the return the King to His throne, like the last Lord
of the Rings movie "The Return of the King". When the Kingdom has been
prepared, and the body is in submission to the soul, then the King is
able to sit on the throne. Those who have accomplished this process
are the Saints of God, because God has given them authority to carry
that Light, and when light comes, darkness must go. That is why, in
Surah al-Falaq, God is telling us to seek refuge in the Lord of the
Dawn. The Saints who have purified themselves, who prepared their
hearts for the King`s return, and who now carry that light with them.

Therefore, we must pray more than the animals are praying because we
have been given that ability to establish the Divine Presence within
our hearts. As we build our light we become a threat to the Satanic
Kingdom because just one enlightened person has the power to take down
the entire Kingdom of Satan. Mawlana is teaching that our heart is
like a run-down shack with an enormous treasure inside. Satan sees the
treasure and sees that there are no defenses. Therefore, all of the
spiritual training that Sufism is teaching is so that we can begin to
protect the treasure.

All of these spiritual practices are designed to prepare us for battle
– it is not a dance class! But the Saints are using a secret: the
hardrah, the whirling, the food - all of it is candy for the eye.
There was no permission in previous times to do these things, but
Mawlana is opening that permission in the Last Days to bring people to
the associations because if it was only prayers and zikr people would
run away. Already it is so difficult to leave our busy material lives
to come and remember our Creator. But Mawlana wants to bring us to
these associations so that he can dress us with his light, and it is a
very powerful light! We must not underestimate the spiritual power and
blessings that these Saints have been given directly from Divine
Presence, blessings that they want to share with people out of their
endless love for humanity.
Once we begin to come, we are now being dressed with the spirituality
of these Saints, and the abandoned shack which was housing the
treasure is now being upgraded with a Heavenly defense. Now the
Shaykhs are going to test you to see if you will use your spiritual
training to protect that treasure. They are going to watch when you
come under Satan`s attack to see how you respond.


Do you get angry? If you get angry you must wash and pray 2 cycles of
prayer and recite the testimony of faith. Why? Everything we are
learning has an importance. We have said before that anger is like a
fire, and Satan is described in all Holy Books as being of a fiery
nature. That anger when it hits, it has the ability to engulf the
soul, and in one moment of heedlessness we may find ourselves saying
or doing something that we might regret for the rest of our lives. The
Shaykhs are teaching us to put that fire out with water because it is
angelic.
We must pray because it keeps our heart connected. Without prayer, we
will have no connection with the Divine Presence. We must pray and
ask, `Oh my Lord, guide me and inspire me. Teach me about each Prophet
and about the Saints.` All of the Prophets have a wisdom for the soul
to learn about, and there is no difference between them because they
are all reflections of Sayiddina Muhammad (s). Then we must renew our
testimony of faith because the root of anger is having a lack of
faith. If we had faith in God, we would accept what He has written for
us.


Sufism and spiritual training then is showing us how to protect the
treasure, and we must never underestimate the attack. Naqshbandia is a
university that you never leave. The Shaykhs are watching us 24 hours
a day through their spiritual vision, and everything we do is being
carefully noted. You must know that every person who comes to you is
being sent by your Shaykh to test you. That is why, on this path, you
have no right to even honk your horn at someone. Maybe that person is
keeping you from getting into an accident. Carry the burdens of the
people the Shaykh is sending to you.

Don't make any distinction between a believer and an unbeliever – all
are God's children, and we are asking to be nothing more than a
servant, to be gulam. So when the boss yells at you, say `All Praise
is due to God` or `Thank you, my Lord.` Don't get angry at your boss
or your coworkers because they are just the vehicle through which to
test you. We are asking to reach God's satisfaction, and that is only
accomplished through obedience and submission. We must become like a
garbage dump for everyone around us, taking their burdens and
processing them, not blowing up and cursing at people! You can`t put
off acting with love until you reach a certain level of spirituality!
You must put the teaching into practice, otherwise what is the purpose
of the teaching? We are not here to learn philosophy, and we are not
here as `part-time Sufis`.

Sufism is a way of life. It teaches us that we must have more love for
other people than for ourselves.
When that love begins to open in our hearts, then we realize that
there should actually be no time for ourselves, but that all of our
time should be devoted to serving others and serving the path. Don`t
make a distinction between `your time' and `Sufi time`, it must become
one so that our material life and our afterlife become one-in-the-
same. That is why, when you look at Mawlana Shaykh Hisham, he has made
this life his afterlife. Everything he does is in preparation for the
next life. That is the true understanding of Servanthood, and it can
only blossom through vigilance. We must be vigilant in protecting our
heart`s treasures from Satan. There is a 50 carrot diamond growing in
your heart, and its light is seen by all shayateen. We don`t see but
they can see. So don`t think that Satan is going to let you march into
Divine Presence with your precious jewel. No! He is coming to prevent
you from reaching Divine Presence by exposing your bad character.

Therefore, mount your horse, sharpen your sword and prepare for jihad
against yourself. Prophet (s) was teaching his companions that the
greatest jihad, the greatest struggle, is the struggle against the
self. Prepare for the battle against your own ego and use the
spiritual training to assist you. We are hoping to reach a station of
`Death before Death` – to kill our ego and allow our soul full reign
over the body. Don`t think it is something easy! Reflect on how the
Japanese warriors used to kill themselves in battle and it will
provide some insight into the difficulties we face in confronting our
bad character. The Samurai would drive a sword into their stomach, but
it wouldn`t go through the skin easily. They had to hit it into their
stomach so that it would pierce their flesh.

When the Shaykh addresses your bad character in public, when he yells
at you or humiliates you, he is cutting you with that knife
[metaphorically]. But it's not just a simple stabbing procedure. The
Japanese used to move the knife across, and then up their chest! The
Shaykh will do the same thing to your ego, sticking a spiritual sword
and moving it all around – moving it to the most hidden and most
painful places that you didn't know existed because that bad character
has to die. It can`t remain hidden if we are hoping to enter the
Divine Presence because there are no secrets in Divine Presence.
Therefore, when the Shaykh cuts you, never give your ego one second to
say `Why did he say that?` Say `Thank you Sayiddi` because when he
cuts you he is actually taking those burdens from you so be thankful.
Be happy that you are having your bad character removed by a very
skilled surgeon! Don`t be ungrateful! If not for the Shaykh, we would
have to face our badness in the grave, and at that time it will be far
more difficult.

Fatiha.

From the Teachings of Mawlana Shaykh Qabbani
Naqshbandi Sufi Way
Sufi Meditation Center