The Center of the Circle

Mawlana Shaykh Hisham Kabbani |

A`udhu billahi min ash-shaytan ir-rajeem
Bismillah ir-rahman ir-raheem


The discipline of association is that someone speaks and the others
listen. Anyone can speak and the others can listen. But it is not the
discipline that everyone speak - then no one will listen. So in every
meeting, in every association, anyone who likes to say something, we
are happy to listen and that is why I am asking – I am not here to
speak. Anyone who likes to speak can take the lead and we will listen.
So if Shaykh Yassir likes to speak then go ahead. Just say, “I’d like
to speak.”

Would you like to speak? [no.]

Shaykh Hilal, I feel that I should ask you to speak; I request you to
speak. He is a Sufi shaykh that spent a great deal of time in his line
and he is close to me like a brother and I like him a lot.

If anyone likes to say something, they are welcome. Omar is hiding in
the corner there. Pakistanis always like to speak so would you like to
speak? [Omar: No. Because I am not Pakistani].

Allah swt said in the holy Qur’an “Ati`ullaha wa ati`ur-rasul wa uwlil-
amri minkum.” – “Obey Allah; obey the Prophet (s) and those in
authority among you.” [4:59]

Those who are on authority are taking care of us, and obedience is
necessary. Obedience to the Prophet is not just necessary, it is an
obligation. Whoever obeys the prophet obeys Allah, as Allah said in
the Qur'an:

Man yuti` ar-rasul faqad at`a-ullah. – “He who obeys the Messenger,
obeys Allah” [4:80].

This Islamic religion it is the religion that Allah swt wanted to
humanity. Sayyidina  Musa Alayhissalam came with the Torah and then
advised his people. Then after came Jesus and advised his people. And
then Muhammad (s) came and advised his people. After that we did not
see anyone. These are the three main religions. And we as Muslims
believed in Jesus and are believing in Jesus and as Muslims we believe
in Moses. And believing in Jesus and believing in Moses means we are
believing I the bible and in the Taurat. That means that Islam did not
reject any religion, but it wrapped up all the religions together.
That is why we see the full moon came with Islam. Because before the
full moon, it is still growing. Thus with the religion that came with
David, and Noah and Abrahim, and Jesus it was growing. Until it
reached Sayyidina Muhammad and it became the full moon. After the full
moon it became perfect and there is nothing beyond that. It is a
circle. And the religion is described as a full moon.

In geometry the perfection of lines are not linear, they are circles,
because the end is with the beginning and the beginning is with the
end. Linear lines have a beginning and an end at one point. But with a
circle the beginning is the end and end is the beginning. Any point
you take as the circumference of the circle, can be described as the
beginning and the end. Annihilated together. That point became one
point. If it is on a linear line, it is two points. But on a circle
every point on the circumference has developed an understanding
between the beginning and the end. So Allah is guiding us and telling
us, “O humanity. What comes first with Adam, and what comes last, are
all equal, the same and together.” The Prophet (s) said, “La farqa
bayna arabeeya wa `ajameeyan illa bi-taqwa” – “There is no difference
between a believer and an unbeliever except in degree of
righteousness.” That shows we are all one. From Adam we came. That
circle has one center. It does not have two centers. You cannot
imaging two centers to a circle. That means that Allah is telling us
that this dunya, this circumference has a main important focus that
you must focus on. And that focus is the most important part of the
circle – the middle of the circle. From the middle of the circle the
radii are equal to any point on the circumference. That focus of that
center of that circle can reach anyone at any time.

And that is why we have to direct our eyes there. This is the only
place that we can reach from any point on the circumference to the
center and from the center to the circumference. And they relate to
each other – they are in the same environment. Or the same universe.
That is why everything we see, is mainly even in the physical eyes,
everything we see in the universe, with your eyes, and that might be
the main issue now, are mainly circles. The sun is a circle, or it
might not be a circle, we have a scientist, moon is a circle, Venus,
Mars and other planets are circles and they go on their orbits. As we
said, linear lines, you can imagine they have a beginning and an end.
But circles, the beginning and the end are merging with each as if
annihilating with each other that is why the Prophet (s) said, “Human
beings are equal like the teeth of the comb.” “An-naasu sawaaseeyatun
ka-asnaan al-masht. Kullukum min Adam wa Adam min turaab.”

You are the same, all of you and your focus has to be on the center,
and that is the most important point.

Everything has a center of gravity. If a patient goes to a doctor, the
doctor examines him and checks what kind of illness the patient has in
order to give him the right prescription. The doctor prescribes for
him after many tests, to give him the right medicine in order to hit
the sickness in that person and cure him. So any instrument or
anything in this life has a center of gravity. If that center of
gravity is not balanced what happens? It falls down. A car has a
center of gravity. If it exceeds that center of gravity, it will flip.
If a plane overshoots its center of gravity while turning, it will
fall down.

So a circle has a center of gravity – a focus. The circle has a center
of gravity and awliyaullah, Allah’s friends, which are living in every
century – there are awliyaullah. The Prophet (s) said in a holy
hadith, “awliya’ee tahta qibaabee. La ya`lamahum ghayree.” How do they
say, these so-called scholars of today that every mu’min is a wali. If
every mu’min is a wali, why does He have to hide him under a dome?
That contradicts that hadith of the Prophet. That hadith says that no
one knows them. If the hadith says that people don’t know them then
how do they say that every mu’min is a wali. Yes every mu’min is a
wali because not every Muslims is a mu’min. They don’t understand
that, but every Muslim is not a believer. Rijaalun sadaqu ma
`ahadAllaha alayh - "men who kept the covenant they made with Allah."

They kept that promise that they promised on the Day of Promises and
they did not change. They did not come to dunya and change. Fa-minhum
man qada nahba, wa minhum man yantadhir wa ma badalu tabdeleela -among
them are those who passed away and among them are those who wait and
they did not change in the least."



So these awliya look at their followers and they know what is their
weak point and they know that center of gravity of their selves. As
they balance for them those points, then these mureeds surrender and
become perfect. So that is why their vision of awliya , are not at
their images, inn Allah la yandhura… and that is the hear and the
heart is the point in the human which keeps them balanced. The Prophet
said, “inna fil jasadi…” if it is sound or pure, the whole body will
be sound or pure or if is corrupted or deteriorated or went bad the
whole body goes bad and that is the heart.

Mudgha is very small compared to the whole. That he said, “is the
heart.” He said, “mudgha.” It means a very small particle in Arabic.
The heart is not small. What we see is large. So it means in the heart
there is the heart of the heart. That heart of the heart. That is the
center where awliya look. That is where they are able to reach: five
levels: qalb, sirr, sirr as-sirr, khafa,akhfa. Qalb here does not mean
the meat – it is m`anawi - a spiritual realti. That is the spiritual
aspect. Like time is the fourth dimension on earth that we cannot see.

That consists of what we cannot see. Heart, secret, secret of the
secret…

First is wherever al gossips go and come, dunya-related issues. The
2nd is related to secrets, only awliya can see that. What goes beyond
the mind and understanding. Then secret of secret is a higher level.
Then hidden which only Prophet can see it  and then akhfa which Allah
can reach. That is in you, but you have not reached.

Awliya look at that and know about you your destiny, your future your…
what is written for you. Allah gave them that power. They don’t need
to ask for your ID or your social security number. They know what you
are going to be. This is like blueprints of yourself. And we don’t
want to go deeper in that. Once we went into that what they are
finding in DNA and what is in every DNA.

So let us go back to where we began. That circle, every point on it
represents the beginning and represents the end. The most important
part of the circle is the center. That center draws the circle.
Without the center, you cannot draw the circumference. Without the
center how do you know the circumference. And even if you knew the
circumference you need a center. So if you don’t focus on that, you
are part of the circumference, if you don’t focus on the center of the
circle you lose everything. And that center is Muhammadu Rasulullah.

La ilaha ill-Allah has no center, no beginning and no end. Muhammadu
Rasulullah, has its beginning in its end and represents the creation.
So that focal point must be Muhammadu Rasulullah. He represents
everything that ma siw’Allah. Everything that is beyond the Creator is
the creation. Ma siwa hu is everything other than Him. Everything
other than Him is created. What represents creation? It is Muhammadun
rasulullah.

Awliyaullah from that circumference knew that reality. They were able
through their radii to establish that line form the circumference to
the center and they connect. Others are not. They have … although they
are on the circumference. They are not part of that. Everything on the
circumference. They know that they are human and they are created. But
what is between the center and the circumference –something is there.
What is there? It is space. It is empty. What is that? You see from
the center to the circumference, it is space. What is there?

All that Allah gave from the maqam al-ihsan and `ulum alawaaleen wal-
akhireen has been put in that space. So people on the circumference
cannot understand that until they establish a relationship/radius from
the center to the circumference. Until then they are on the
circumference. Understanding only what they can see. Inside represents
secrets. That is only for the Prophet (s) and the Prophet (s) is
giving for awliyaullah to know about that. Whatever is bestowed on the
Prophet (s) is in that empty space between center and circle.

For that reason people of today from different walks of life are, all
of us, everyone, we are wasting our time. We are not taking care of
that time that has been given to us which is limited to us. To reach
the highest way to understand what is in that space and to build a
relationship to the Prophet (s). People are as if looking at a big
huge mountain, and they see something on the top of the mountain -
they see something. They describe it as something. But they are at the
bottom. If they climb then they know what it is. They are only running
after shells. You know the shells--empty. They think everything they
see with their eyes is reality. It is completely illusions. An example
is the mirage you see on the desert or the highway. You arrive and
there is nothing. They build that up in their minds but in reality it
does not exist. What exists is only real issues. This dunya is not
real. If it was real, you would have been living and not dying. Before
us, centuries ago, the focus of people was only the `ulum ash-
shara`iyya and `ulum al-haqiqat. The disciplinary knowledge that shows
you where are your limits and the spiritual reality. And they were
happy and they were reaching a high level of learning and knowledge.
Today everyone is leaving that study and running towards dunya,
secular knowledge that we see today. This is a new invention/
phenomenom. This is a new invention and this is an old one. But what
it this new one going to benefit you? You are living 50-60 years, then
going. So our goal is not these. Our goal is what is real and what we
can take with us. And what can we take with us? Nothing except to be
realistic. To be realistic is to understand, as Sayyidina  Ali, when
unbelievers came and questioned him, “show us that there is a creator
and then we believe.” He said, “show me your mind.” They said, we
cannot. Then he said, come to the shore. They went to the shore and he
said, “that boat is coming without a captain.” They said, “Ya `Ali how
can a boat come without a captain.” He said “wait until it arrives.”
When it arrived, the captain came down. They said, “O `Ali, you said
there is no captain, but look there is.”

…

The most important thing Mawlana taught us is belief. Everything is on
the side. If you believe you succeed. People who believe in akhira
left dunya. People who don’t believe in akhira run after dunya. And
those who are in between, one day on side of dunya and one day on the
side of akhira. La ilaha ula wa la ilaha ula, thumma amanu thumma
kafaru… muzazabeena…

one day one way the other day the other way.

Awliya understood that their focus is Muhammad. That he is `Abdullah.
The one who never questioned anything. Complete submission never
raised his head, never used his mind.  Today when you say something,
they bring up hundreds of questions. Sayyidina  Abu Bakr did not
question. He had not doubt. He said, “sadaqata ya Rasulullah.” At that
time you cannot see any problems. We here do you see problems.
Everything that comes from Allah is accepted. You say, “Ya Rabbi. I am
happy with what you gave me.” Look at homeless people ask them, “are
you happy?” they say, “Yes.” If they find a bit of food in garbage or
a little bit of water in a bottle, they are happy. Everyone has a
contentment if they can reach their level of contentment they are
happy. If these homeless people are happy how can we not be happy?

I know some people like, me, they complain about everything.
Everything they come from work they complained, they do this the
complaint. The wife complains. Everything today built on complaint.

50 years I accompanied Mawlana and I never heard him complain. He
never said, “he said this or that one said that.” Any difficulty
happened to him, he never said to anyone. He is in complete
submission. We are struggling we are not Mawlana shaykh. We have to
put in front of our eyes that this is what we are living for. To focus
on Muhammadun rasulullah. He is our way to Allah swt. He is our door
to Allah. It is not enough to say by tongue, but to believe in our
heart. Else everything is still closed.

One time, this is out of teaching. This is also teaching. One time I
was young with Grandshaykh and he said, “don’t read books.” One time.
Because nothing will be brought from these books except difficulties
or darkness on the heart. I did not understand what he meant until
later. Because reading too much will raise in you too many questions
and whatever people or scholars tell you, you begin to ask and
question them and you want to show them they are wrong and you are
right. It builds up your ego. So when you are not reading, whatever
someone tells you, you accept. That means if ilm is gong to build up
in you and make you more egoistic it is better for you not to learn
and be simple. Then they can send knowledge to your heart. As what
happened to Sayyidina  Ahmad al-Badawi. That story I told many times.
When he was looking to reach the diving presence and he was seeking
the key to enter the Divine Presenceone person came out of the blue
and said, “I have the key for what you are asking to reach, the Divine
Presence. “

He said, “I am seeking the key for Allah swt.” he was one of the
biggest scholars of his time. I don’t take `ilm from you, who is worth
nothing. Like Hajji Iqbal. How am I going to take `ilm from you - you
don’t know Fatiha even – broken Fatiha. Like me I don’t know how to
reach anything, learning from Dr. Munir. So how am I going to accept
to learn from you. He is a physicist. He has 5 PhDs, and I have 10
PhDs. Dr. Nazeer Ahmad. I will never accept from him.

So he said, “I am not going to take from you.” Like Shaykh Salah with
long beard, beads in his hand. “How am I going to take from you?”

So he left him. So Sayyidina Ahmad al-Badawi was progressing in his
worship, progressing. Then he heard a voice, “Ya Ahmad! You want the
key to your treasures?” he was so happy, “Yes” then he heard, “that
man whom you rejected has it” that man was gone (6 moths later) he
went searching for that one, who was worth two cents in dunya but
infinitely value in the akhira. He could not find him – he had
disappeared.

Then in 6 months he saw him. Why 6 months, not six days?… now he said,
“I am ready, whatever you say.” Now he said, “no way. You need to do
something.”

When shaykhs come and offer you something don’t reject. He is offering
it free, later it will not be free. He said, “no I don’t want what you
offer me physically. That is of no concern to me. “

It does not mean anything to me. What matters to me is what you have
accomplished of knowledge in you life from your ego. It means what you
have studied. Whatever you have studied from your childhood to today
is all based on ego. How do I give it to you? he said, “do you agree
to give it to me?” he said, “Yes.” He said, “How can I don that”

Then he said, look in my eyes.  He looked in his eyes and he took all
from his mind leaving him empty. Even he could not read Fatiha. He
took out all this from his heart all this knowledge he had achieved in
his life. Now if you say today this is Islam they say what is that?
They reject it, these "Internet scholars".

He was imam of his time in Egypt. Now he does not know how to read
Fatiha. Children ran after him stoning him calling him crazy. He was
teaching him patience. What is Allah’s final name of 99 names. Are we
patient? No one is patient? Who is patient? Him with his wife? Is he
patient? No one is patient. French are not patient, always fighting.
One French one came in now.

So he left him and after 6 months came to him, after children were
chasing him and calling him crazy. He came and said, “Now we will put
spiritual knowledge in your heart.” And he looked at him and began to
pour knowledge into his heart. At that time his heart became a
fountain of knowledge. Like the hadith of the Prophet (s) ma wasi`anee
sama’ee wa laa ardee wa laakin wasi`anee qalbi `abdee al-mumin—nether
My Heavens nor my earth contained Me but the heart of My believing
servant contained Me.”

He filled his heart up. His vision was filled up. That means that one
who came to him, that wali who built him up, was looking at that focal
point, that center of gravity. And filling it up. Filling it with what
it should contain. Most important was that he empty it and then he
could fill it. Then he could see what was between the circumference
and the center of the circle. Anyone looking at his eyes at that time
would faint. Then he put a burqah over his face or the people would
fall from that heavenly light.

Our duty is not to forget that Allah is calling us one day. If we are
all losing that kind of knowledge, the knowledge of Maqaam al-Ihsaan,
then how are we going to go to Allah and present ourselves are we
going to say, “I was a doctor, a businessman …” will that save us? No,
what will save us? I tried to be a faithful servant of Prophet
Muhammad. What will save us also is his mercy.

We are oppressors to ourselves. Allah said, “don’t praise yourself.”
Don’t give excuse to yourself. Admit you are not reaching to be a
perfect servant. You are progressing day by day but you have to do
more. What you are doing is not working. Your bank accounts are not
going to benefit. Your wives are not going to benefit you. Your
husbands are not going to benefit you. Everyone is responsible for
himself. You are a father, or son, or mother, or sister or daughter,
you are responsible for yourself. If you think you are achieving in
dunya, because people are focusing on how to live happy lives. But
they forget that they are spending 8-10 hours in office to achieve
their lives in dunya. They forget that they must put the same or
double for akhira. What are we doing for akhira. We pray and finish
quickly. We are commuting one hour, or 45 min. to reach our work and
going back and if rush one hour, going back. And then working 9 or 10
hours. It means 13 hours a day for work and you sleep 6 hours. And
then 4 hours on video and tv. And what are you spending on `ibadah? 5
minutes. That is if you pray 5 prayers.  Multiply them 5 x 5 or 10 –
it is one hour. Then you say you are dong for Allah

Work for dunya as if you are living forever, and work for Allah as if
you are dying tomorrow. If someone comes and tells you he is dying of
cancer what happens. He is afraid and he will worship day and night.
So that concern has to be in our daily life. If we are not keeping in
our daily life we are losing.

Finally I must say, “We are not in a good time.” We are in a time that
the Prophet Muhammad (s) predicted. Coming very different days. When
these days come, and difficult as the Prophet (s) said, “the one who
is sitting is better than the one who is standing and the one standing
is better than the one who is running.” That means done involve
yourself in any kind of darkness that is running over this dunya now.
A lot of problems are now going to face the whole world, and if that
comes, it means a lot of things behind it. Awliyaullah are expecting
as in authentic hadith, la taqum as-sa`ati hatta taqtulu fiataan
adheemataan… there is expected a big war. We hope that does not
happen. But when the Prophet (s) said, something, we expect it to
happen.

But we are peaceful people and we back up from such issues. But make
sure you have enough preparation for such difficulties that if you
need to focus more, when these things come, focus more on your
spirituality from today. Those who are on haqq, truth, are going to be
in a good situation, and they may be Muslim or not. And who is on
baatil are going to be in the bad situation. And those who are on
baatil can be Muslim or non-Muslim--those whose intentions are bad. So
those whose intentions are good, Muslim and non-Muslim and they are on
haqq they are going to continue, and they are going to see Mahdi and
`Isa Alayhissalam. Those who are on baatil are going to leave. And
Allah said, “qad jaa al-haqq wa zahaq al-baatila inna al-baatila kaana
zahooqa”

Falsehood is going this is coming in front of us. Keep yourself
protected. Obey Allah, obey the Prophet and obey your leaders.

Wa min Allah at-tawfiq.

Bi-hurmatil fatiha.

[Khatm (Dhikr)]



Ramadan is coming soon, might be Wednesday, might be Tuesday. Mawlana
is sending something to touch upon. Whatever we learn, still there is
more. Wherever we go deeper in knowledge, we find ourselves shrinking
in front of Allah’s Greatness. As much as we are in the ego side we
are feeling that egoistic self in ourselves, we feel ourselves great.
But as awliya go deep in knowledge, throwing the skin of the ego and
dumping it and sinking the ocean of Allah’s knowledge they will see
themselves nothing.

Everything has a meaning. Even every small letter that we don’t notice
has a significance. If we don’t open that tap of knowledge then we
might not be able to drink – water does not come. Awliya sometimes
send drops. You have to be ready to get that drop. That drop is like
an ocean for us. It is drop for them. And what they get from the
Prophet is a drop from him but for them it is an ocean.

To show the greatness of the heavy knowledge that they send, from a
drop we are drowning. Allah said in the holy Qur’an Allah said, nun
wal-qalami wa maa yasturoon – Nun, by the Pen and that which they
write.”

He said “Nun! And the Pen and what they write.” Yusatir in Arabic
means what the pen, in a very eloquent way to describe in English,
when we write something we say we are compiling or like an author
writing. But wal-qalami wa maa yasturun means “the Pen and what it
writes by itself” --something with no end.

Why is Allah giving an oath with the letter Nun? What is the
significance of that oath. That `ilm, Dr. Nazeer, there is no one who
can teach that `ilm except Mawlana Shaykh. Wherever you go from east
to west from Sufi teachers or from spiritual teacher or from Shari`ah
teacher, no one can open from that tap and open from the fresh
knowledge except now very few awliya. Now Mawlana Shaykh, may Allah
bless him, is gifting us these pieces of knowledge. Know Allah’s
Greatness and how small you are. Nun. I am giving an oath in Nun. Nun,
If you look at the alphabet. It comes nun hah waw yah. What come
before kaf qaf lam mim. The nun describes the creation.  Because
Allah, when he created, his will came to create creation, amruhu bayn
al-kafi wal-nun. His order is between the kaf and the nun. So as soon
His will to the kaf comes, nun follows. Creation follows. And when he
described nun wal-qalam wa ma yasturun. What expresses creation – it
is the pen and history.

So in your books, when you wrote the history of Islam, what did you
do? You used a pen to represent the history. What is that history –
what does it represent. It represents creation--what came to be.

Kaf is heavenly. When He wanted it to happen, without saying nun, and
it happened. It happened with his utterance of kaf. What I between
kaf? Lam and mim. Kaf represents the Will of Allah for something to
happen. And his order is between kaf and nun. And that describes the
appearance that happened.

That oath is the Big Bang that caused all to appear. That knowledge
came into existence. Where is that knowledge. So lam and mim came
between kaf and nun. What is kaf and mim.

Lam goes back to Allah. Lam is part of his name Allah. Ilah – alif
describes the Creator and hah describes the creator. And lam came in
the middle. So between kaf and nun, lam goes to malakut – the heavenly
kingdom and worldly kingdom.  And mim represents Muhammad. that is why
you see alif, lam mim… in the Qur’an too much. Lam refers to Allah. La
ilaha ill-Allah. Mim goes to Muhammad. The creation is lam and mim.
That is between the kaf and nun. Before the kaf is what? Qaf. Because
qaf represents Qur’an. Qaf, wal Qur’an il-majeed. He gave an oath by
Qur’an.

Qaf relates to akhira. Nun relates to dunya. Qaf/Qur’an came before
creation. It is not created it is Allah’s Ancient Word—kalaamullah al-
qadeemi. It is His Ancient Speech. Al-rahman `alam al-Qur’an, khalaqal-
insaan. That is why qaf before kaf. That is `ilm that awliya throw out
to open the minds of people. What is hah waw yah? We leave to next
time.

Bi-hurmati 'l-Fatiha.