The Sickness of Self Importance

Mawlana Shaykh Hisham Kabbani 
Thursday, Jun 25, 2009 | Lefke CY
www.sufilive. com

A`udhu billah min ash-Shaytan ir-rajeem. Bismillahi 'r-Rahmani 'r-Raheem
Nawaytu ‘l-arba`een nawaytu ‘l-`itikhaaf nawaytu ‘l-khalwah nawaytu ‘l-`uzla nawaytu ’r-riyaada nawaytu ’s-sulook lillahi ta’ala al-`adheem fee hadha ’l-masjid.

We ask support from our shaykh and from all shaykhs up to Prophet (s). 

It is very important to notice that it is wise, when you give an advice or a presentation, to make sure it reaches everyone's heart and that people are not fed up or bored with it. Sometimes at seminars or conferences you see people in the audience become sleepy, because the presenter speaks in a way that lacks humbleness. He is trying to present himself as a big scholar and his ego is playing with him. The most dangerous factor in life is our ego, because it always wants to be happy and will always pull you toward the traps of Shaytan and toward bad desires. One of the bad desires is arrogance, al-`ujb bin-nafs - to think that we are so important or famous. It means we have to be proud, arrogant. 

Although you might be trying and struggling, that is another case, but mainly our ego likes always to pull us to be arrogant and when someone becomes arrogant, they become stubborn. When someone is stubborn it is very difficult to break through and cut that down; it’s like a huge cement block that can only be moved with a crane. That's why you need the support of Prophet (s); you need the waseela, the means, which is Sayyidina Muhammad (s) and his inheritors.

To move that big obstacle, which, if it were only a curtain it is very easy to pull the curtain away and go through, but the ego’s obstacles created from arrogance and stubbornness become very huge, so you cannot accept advice from anyone. Listening to advice from a Guide is only to take that obstacle away. Their job, their duty, is to take that obstacle that comes between you and Prophet (s) so you will be able to reach the presence of Sayyidina Muhammad (s) through spiritual ways. And to reach the presence of Sayyidina Muhammad (s) we must not be stubborn or arrogant, because he is the most humble. He is teaching us humbleness, tawaaduh.

So, alhamdulillah, Islam came with the divine message of Sayyidina Muhammad (s), to take all of us to the Divine Presence, to Allah’s Subhanahu wa Ta`ala Holy Presence. Islam came to move us through these obstacles, but there are many elements in Islam that we are not doing. Anyone that is a Muslim is doing not everything, but he is doing something. But that something is not enough to take away these huge obstacles. That's why you need, if you are in a tunnel and you know in that tunnel there are a lot of obstacles, you cannot see them and they tell you to cross that tunnel, might be obstacles, bushes or woods, or anything, and you need a flashlight, without the flashlight you cannot see how you are going to pass through the tunnel. 

So, Islam has the flashlight and has all the elements that can take you away from these difficulties and that flashlight is a Guide that can guide you, or a shaykh that can show you the way in order to move forward.

So, a scholar who did not achieve the level of Guide that we were describing in this series (Murshid at-Tabarruk, the Guide of Barakah, Blessings), now we are speaking about the Guide of Purification (Murshid at-Tazkiyya) . Purification means to give you hints, to give you a jump-start; that is his work. He is not more than that. He is a means to reach and to move, to make your vehicle to move.

So, one time Sayyidina Abdul Qadir al-Jilani Qaddasallahu Sirrahu, a very famous saint, a wali in Baghdad, founder of the Qadiri Tariqah, his techniques and methods that he gave to his followers are like a flashlight. He had a very advanced khalifa, and when that khalifa gave guidance everyone was listening very attentively, they want to understand everything, to the extent that you could hear a pin drop. 

No one was talking, everyone’s eyes were focused on him. That khalifa had a son, who looked at his father and the mureeds, and how much they are captivated by the advice his father was giving. He thought, "I studied more than my father. I spent fifteen, twenty years in Islamic studies and Shari'ah. I know more than what he knows. So if those people are listening to him in such a way, it means when I speak to them, they will be more attached than when my father is speaking. And I'll give them knowledge that my father is not able to give."

He was looking for an opportunity to speak to them. Like many people today, they look for opportunities to speak, so they might claim that they are this, they are knowledgeable, or a khalifa, a representative, a scholar, a president, a minister—whatever he is in his life. His father looked into the son’s heart and saw that sickness, that he likes to be something.

The next week he said, "Oh my son, today I am sick; you go and give the advice to people. I cannot." The son was so happy. He is a highly educated scholar, an ‘alim, not like today’s representatives of different shuyukh. His father sent him. He began to speak knowledge above the knowledge of his father. And he was looking at the people; one after one they began to sleep. He was surprised, "I am giving them something very deep knowledge that my father never gave." Might be he knows it, might be he doesn't, but for sure his father knows he never gave. He is giving something highly spiritual, mystic knowledge. There are many awliya who spoke about it. But when he is speaking, one after one is sleeping.

He finished his talk. He went to his father directly afterwards and said, "Oh my father, I experienced something strange today. When I began to speak, they slept. When you speak, they open their eyes."

Sayyidina Abdul Qadir al-Jilani said, "Oh my son, your ego was speaking and I have raised these people against their egos. They will not accept anything coming from ego. They can sense it.”

Like today, if one car sensor is out of order the car does not work. Those people had sensors in their hearts. If you are speaking to them something that builds up their ego, they are not going to listen. Their sensors will pick it up. He answered, "Oh my father, I did not say anything to build their ego. I was giving them some very deep knowledge."

Sayyidina Abdul Qadir al-Jilani said, "Oh my son, you did not speak to build their ego, yes I know, but whenever you opened your mouth that bad smell of the ego made such spots on their hearts that their sensors understood it’s full of arrogance, selfishness, egoism, and also, you sat in my place full of ego—for sure, everyone is going to sleep! Oh my son, when I speak, I see myself lower than everyone attending. I am their shaykh but I look at myself lower than everyone, that I am trying to tell my ego I am in need for that advice I am giving, so the first that has to apply this advice is me, not others. 

But you did not do that. You were full of arrogance, giving them something that made them feel that arrogance and that's why they got sleepy. When you speak through your ego, people will not pay attention. When you speak through humbleness, and you consider and declare that you are nothing, people will listen."

We might have sicknesses and illnesses, and each of us is trying to progress. We come here (to Mawlana shaykh Nazim) to be uplifted, because to cut down our egos is a continuous struggle. It is not going to end by doing your awrad, reading Holy Qur`an, or by praying your prayers; it is a process. You are going to go through your life facing temptation. Every day, Shaytan will come and whisper in your ears and in your heart. Every day, there is another problem going to facing you, and it is going to continue. So, you are in a continuous struggle against your ego.

So we have to declare that first we are in need of what we are saying; we cannot say something to the people and don't apply it on ourselves, then what's the benefit of saying it to the people? You are only cheating them.

One of my relatives was a big shaykh in the Middle East, and everyone listened to what he says. They liked his presentation, but he had a problem: his daughter never covered. So people will look at that personal example and think, “why is his daughter not covered and he is speaking about hijab? First let him apply it on his family, then he can speak about covering, or else he has to declare his daughter is not doing that and he is unhappy with her.”

You have to apply on yourself first what you like people to hear, then it will be like hitting the target, like a bow and arrow going all the way to the center of gravity in your heart. But if you are not first adopting it yourself and you want others to listen, it’s not going to work.

The Guides we are speaking about have already applied everything on themselves first. They went through this long struggle to achieve benefit for their students. This is a very, very basic introduction that people must understand. Pride and arrogance are from the seventeen bad characteristics that destroy your advancement. Don't think, “I am an engineer, a professor, an expert… I am better than this one,” or “I am this,” or “I am that.” No. Islam makes everyone equal. [The Prophet said:] “La farqa bayna `ajamiyya wa la `arabiya illa bi-taqwa - There is no difference between the Arab or non-Arab except in piety.”

This means a Muslim or non-Muslim, a Muslim Arab or non-Muslim Arab, A Muslim Arab believer and a Muslim who is not Arab. There is no difference, except through righteousness and sincerity. It means all of us, in the eyes of Allah Subhanahu wa Ta`ala and eyes of Prophet (s), are equal. Islam gives equality, unity, but the sincerity will change. That one is more sincere, that one is more pious, that one is more generous, that one is the most educated, that one is the most patient, that one has less anger—that is a balance. So Allah looks at sincerity and piety, looks at these different levels of conduct, but in His eyes we are all the same, because we are Ummati Nabi (s), of the Nation of Prophet (s).

So, these four different categories of Guides we are speaking about, they already went through these big struggles and when they speak, they give light to the heart. Like an ignition of the car engine, it is a starter. These murshids are starters for your heart, and they open that spark in your heart. That is what is important, because they know how we are.

Grandshaykh said when he was given the choice to accept irshad, he answered, "No, I don't want it, unless you grant that anyone who sits in my presence (in my suhbah) is raised to my level, because I know they are not going to do anything (they are weak servants!). When they do, when they don't do, Shaytan is after everyone. This life is full of temptations. I do not guarantee that they are going to be doing their awraad or whatever has been asked of them (of religious obligations) . I want for those who love me, for that to be enough, just as Prophet (s) said, ‘People will be resurrected with whom they love.’ These people coming to me, they love me, and I want them in my level. I am not asking them to do anything because I know they will do it one day and the next day they won’t."

All these guides are taking from the tap, and this is from Grandshaykh' s notes. We will continue the speech about the characteristic of Murshid at Tazkiyyah, the Guide of Purification. He purifies you, purifies your heart, purifies your soul. And as we said before, he has to follow, and do, and learn the knowledge of all four Islamic Schools of Thought. He has to maintain his faith and practices according to teachings of Imam Abu Hanifa, Imam Malik, Imam Shafi`i, and Imam Ahmad ibn Hanbal. He has to know all that and apply that knowledge first to himself, then to people around him.

In order to be a murshid (Guide), he has to have these characteristics. If someone does not have these characteristic, how he is going to be Guide? That's why we say guidance it is not so simple, is not so easy.

Then, he has to have the right permission, as we said previously regarding Murshid at-Tabbarruk. He has to do at least 24,000 dhikrullah and 24,000 salawaat. Murshid at Tazkiyyah, the Guide of Purification, not only he has to do all this, but in addition, on behalf of his mureeds, he has to take the responsibility of putting their tongue on dhikrullah and salawaat as if they have recited 24,000 salawaet and 24,000 dhikr, he will do it on their behalf daily. If he has a thousands mureeds he has to do a thousand times, multiplied by 24,000 dhikrullah, count!!

Allah gives awliyullah like a digital tongue, not an analog tongue. A digital one, very acute, sharp wavelength that can do things quickly. That's what we call in Arabic ta’I (folding).

يَوْمَ نَطْوِي السَّمَاء كَطَيِّ السِّجِلِّ لِلْكُتُبِ كَمَا بَدَأْنَا أَوَّلَ خَلْقٍ نُّعِيدُهُ وَعْدًا عَلَيْنَا إِنَّا كُنَّا فَاعِلِينَ

Yawma natwee as-samaa ka-tayyi as-sijili lil-kutubi kamaa badaana awwala khalqin nu`eeduhu wa`dan AAalayna inna kunna fa`ileen The Day that We roll up the heavens like a scroll rolled up for books (completed), - even as We produced the first creation, so shall We produce a new one: a promise We have undertaken: truly shall We fulfil it. [21:104]

Regarding this folding Allah said, “…the day when it comes when we fold skies and universes.”

Allah said, "I am going to fold it, to close it, like We close a book.” It means this whole space will shrink to (something) small like a book. Allah is giving the example of a book, to fold a book, the tongue can have this power, it will be folded. Like airplanes today, (when) you move in space you are folding space, you are shrinking the time, but still you are moving fast enough to reach the place you want to reach. Let’s say you are in America and you want to go to Cyprus; (previously) it took 80 or 90 days by boat. Today you reach it in 15 or 20 hours. You are shrinking the time, but not shrinking the space; still you are able to go in space.

You are shrinking the time to do dhikr and can do the dhikr in very small, short time, and it is a huge number of dhikr. Awliyaullah can do that. We cannot do that, but awliyaullah can do that.

And he has to put this awrad as if his mureed did it. When the shaykh does it on the behalf of the mureed it has no ego, has no arrogance, has no pride in it. It’s pure, so with this purity, with this dhikr he presents us, enables us when we say Allahu Akbar. You are clean as if he cleaned your heart. When you are clean, you are in Allah's Presence. But when you are dirty, you cannot be in that Presence. That’s why when you go to prayer you have to be clean, you cannot be dirty. Your carpet has to be clean if you are praying on a carpet. Even if you are not praying on a carpet, you are praying on sand in the desert, it has to be clean, or in a forest, has to be clean, or on cement, it has to be clean, or even in grass, it has to be clean. You cannot pray on grass where they have litters or things that are not clean.

So, when you become clean, take ablution, means you can pray. They give us a spiritual ablution with dhikrullah and salawat on Prophet (s). And then I will end with this and continue tomorrow.

He is authorized in that level, that Guide in level of purification. He is been authorized to call upon any Naqshbandi Shaykh, because we are speaking about the Naqshbandi Sufi Order. He has been authorized, that murshid, to call upon any saint, any wali in the Naqshbandi Order, living or non-living. If he wants to call on Mawlana Shaykh Nazim, who is Sultan al-Awliya, who is Murshid at-Tarbiyyah, the highest level of irshad, he can call upon and get the answer. If he wants to call on someone who left dunya, he can call on someone who left dunya and reach him in the grave.

That characteristic has been given to that kind of level of irshad (guidance). Murshid at-Tazkiyyah can call upon any wali because, there might be in Murshid at-Tabarruk, 100 walis the same, they have that level; might be Murshid at-Tazkiyyah 1000 walis, we don't know, might be 10,000 walis, we don' t know. He can reach them all.

In the Naqshbandi Sufi Order out of 124,000 walis on Earth—always there is 7007 saints, has to be living—he can reach anyone of them any moment to get answers from them, to get energy from them. And he can reach those who pass away at any moment he wants through his spiritual means. May Allah Subhanahu wa Ta`ala keep us in this line and take away our arrogance and pride from our heart. bi hurmatu ‘l-habeeb bi hurmati `l-Fatiha.

Wa min Allah at Tawfiq

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Who is the Guide? ( Volume 5 )

Mawlana Shaykh Hisham Kabbani 
Saturday, Jun 27, 2009 | Lefke CY

A`udhu billahi min ash-shaytaani ’r-rajeem bismillahi ’r-rahmani ’r-raheem
Nawaytu ‘l-arba`een nawaytu ‘l-`itikhaaf nawaytu ‘l-khalwah nawaytu ‘l-`uzla nawaytu ’r-riyaada nawaytu ’s-sulook lillahi ta’ala al-`adheem fee hadha ’l-masjid

Sorry for the delay because Mawlana didn’t finish early today. So we were speaking about Murshid at-Tazkiyyah and the importance of what he can do. The Guide of Purification, we explained yesterday he has the power to reach any saints, any one of the 7007 Naqshbandi Sufi line, he can reach them, if they are alive or if they are in their graves. Because in the graves, Allah Subhanahu wa Ta`ala for mumins Allah will release the spirit, the soul of a mumin that he can move around and his grave will be (something in Arabic)…a small paradise for him until the Day of Judgment. So awliyaullah whom Allah Subhanahu wa Ta`ala described them in a holy hadith to Prophet (s) Hadithun Qudsi where He said, “My saints are under My domes no one knows them except Me.”

Those saints who have reached that level of sainthood for sure in their graves and with all mumins, they have power to know and to listen and to hear and to contact those who are able to speak with them in their grave, but not for everyone. So that’s why we say Murshid at-Tazkiyyah, the Guide of Purification, has this power to reach and to speak with them, because they are able also to speak and connect with that wali because their souls are free. So we hope that Allah Subhanahu wa Ta`ala in the grave releases our souls also to make us free and to make our graves (Arabic). So that characteristic, they carry that and that’s why they are able to reach every wali, and if they need any support they can take that support all the way to Prophet (s).

Also, the Guide of Purification he has to have the power over the four enemies, these enemies who are very aggressive against human beings. (something in Arabic) The four enemies, which are Nafs, dunya, hawa and Shaytan. Nafs is the self, dunya is the materialistic world, hawa is the bad desires, and Shaytan. Those four enemies are always after us in this life, after everyone, they don’t leave anyone without running after them and trying to destroy their relationship with Prophet (s) and their relationship with Allah Subhanahu wa Ta`ala.

So as I said before, I am concentrating on these four important levels of guides, because today too many misunderstand the meaning of murshid. Everyone is calling himself “murshid,” from the far West to far East. So we are trying to focus on what Mawlana said, in Grandshaykh’s notes, Shaykh Sharafuddin’s notes, and Mawlana Shaykh Nazim’s notes, what they have said about this issue.

So Murshid at-Tazkiyyah, the purification guide; the one that he has that power means Murshid at-Tazkiyyah is the level of purification. It means he has the power to purify every mureed that is connected with him. He can be able to reach all his mureeds and purify them and stop the aggression of these four enemies, to stop them and whatever they have done during the day and the night, these four enemies against his mureeds, he is able to change that from saiy’iat to hassanaat by going to Prophet’s (s) door through his chain of guides, which above him is the guide of Tasfiyyah - the guide of sift, to take the most best of the saints, that he is above the level of purification and go all the way to Murshid at-Tarbiyyah, the highest level, and from that they go to Prophet (s).

So Murshid at-Tazkiyyah will take all his mureeds to the presence of Prophet (s) through the other two guides who are above him, to make sure that there will be nothing left on them. This is one of the meanings of the ayah that Allah revealed to Sayyidina Muhammad (s).

وَمَا أَرْسَلْنَا مِن رَّسُولٍ إِلاَّ لِيُطَاعَ بِإِذْنِ اللّهِ وَلَوْ أَنَّهُمْ إِذ ظَّلَمُواْ أَنفُسَهُمْ جَآؤُوكَ فَاسْتَغْفَرُواْ اللّهَ وَاسْتَغْفَرَ لَهُمُ الرَّسُولُ لَوَجَدُواْ اللّهَ تَوَّابًا رَّحِيمًا

Wa ma arsalna min rasoolin illa liyuta`a bi idhni Allahi wa law annahum idh dhalamoo anfusahum ja’ooka fastaghfarullaha w’astaghfara lahumu ar-rasoolu la-wajadoo Allaha tawwaaban raheeman

We sent not an apostle, but to be obeyed, in accordance with the will of Allah. If they had only, when they were unjust to themselves, come unto thee and asked Allah's forgiveness, and the Messenger had asked forgiveness for them, they would have found Allah indeed Oft-returning, Most Merciful. Surat an-Nisa [4:64] They come to those Murshid at-Tazkiyyah he goes through the two murshids about him and goes to the presence of the Prophet (s) presenting his case, that is the meaning of the verse.

When someone has a problem and has done something wrong they take him to court so the lawyer is going to present his case to defend him, and the judge has to listen to what the lawyer is defending. So the Murshid at-Tazkiyyah will take his mureeds and defend them in the presence of Prophet (s) by asking Prophet to make istighfaar on their behalf. Because as Allah said,

wa law annahum idh dhalamoo anfusahum ja’ooka

When they are oppressors to themselves they come to you, ya Muhammad.

They ask Allah’s forgiveness and you have to ask on their behalf forgiveness. So when that murshid brings his mureeds there, he makes them to say istighfaar through their hearts in the presence of Prophet (s) and then Prophet will do istighfaar on their behalf:

la-wajadoo Allaha tawwaaban raheeman

They will find Allah Subhanahu wa Ta`ala forgiving them from their sins.

All sins, Mawlana said (may Allah give him long life) and Grandshaykh (may Allah bless his soul) I heard it, I learned it, I know it, I saw it many times that Grandshaykh said all sins, even kaba’ir, can be forgiven because Prophet (s) said:

Shafa`atee li-ahli’l-kabaa’ir min ummatee

My intercession is for those who commit the biggest sins.

It means anyone who has that problem of making sin, by repentance Allah will forgive, except one sin Allah will never forgive, and that sin is very important for us to know and very difficult on awliya to carry. That’s why Grandshaykh (may Allah bless his soul) said if someone comes to me, to our door, our door is open from East to West for anyone to come and repent, we will find a way for him. So if they do istighfar in a certain way for Allah and repent, Allah will forgive and they will find our door so big from East to West, and if they want to go out they cannot, our door will be closed because we want to keep them inside. But only one sin that we are not allowed, although they will petition you for that, they will try, but it is very difficult, is the description of the two Sahaba that they came to Prophet (s) in the morning and said, “Ya Rasulallah, we have a stomach ache.”

Doctors today they check you when you have a stomach ache, they send through your stomach a camera. What do you call it in the medical field? Endoscope. So they send the camera and check what is inside to see what is going wrong and then they prescribe medication. So they came to Prophet (s) and said, “Ya Sayyidee, ya Rasulallah we have a stomach ache and it is tearing our stomach apart.” And he said, “Oh, today you have eaten raw meat.” They said, “Ya Rasulallah, we did not see meat for a long time.” And he said, “No, this morning you ate raw meat, go and put your hand into your throat and vomit.” They said, “Ya Rasulallah we didn’t eat meat.” He said, “No, you ate meat.” And they put their fingers and they vomit and there was raw meat with blood coming out. Prophet (s) is the doctor of the Ummah, he can see. They said, “Ya Rasulallah”…they were astonished…they said, “Wallahi, we didn’t eat meat.” He said, “No,
you ate meat, you backbited your brother, you spread confusion, fitna against your brother.”

Backbiting is the biggest sin that cannot have any remedy. Why? Because when you do a sin and you say, “Ya Rabbi, forgive me” it’s between you and Allah, and Allah will forgive. But when you backbite someone, it becomes between you and that person, so you have to go and apologize from him, you have to go and ask that person to forgive you. If that person does not forgive you then you will never be able to get that sin away until Day of Judgment and Allah will take it from the oppressor to give to the oppressed one. How many people are backbited and they are asking their rights from their oppressors on the Day of Judgment in Allah’s Presence?

That is why Prophet (s) said one time to Sahaba…(in Arabic)…”Who is the bankrupted, who is the poor?” They said, “Ya Rasulallah the poor is the one that doesn’t have money.” He said, “No the poor is the one that does not have amal. The poor is the one that he prays and fasts and has no amal.” They said, “Ya Rasulullah, even if he prays and fasts he has no amal? What happened to his prayers and fasting?” He said, “They are gone…even if he prays and fasts, he has no amal, because he backbited his brother.”

Those who have been backbited, who people threw confusion around them, are going to ask their rights in the Presence of Allah Subhanahu wa Ta`ala. So on the Day of Judgment, Allah will bring the oppressor and bring the oppressed and Allah will say, “You are the oppressor, he is the oppressed. Oh My `abd, My servant (the oppressed), do you forgive him?” He will say, “No, ya Rabbi, I will not forgive him. He did so much against me in dunya. He spoke very badly about me in dunya. He created a lot of fitna around me in dunya. I will not forgive him; I want my rights from him!” And Allah Subhanahu wa Ta`ala will say, ”This is your brother in Islam.” He will reply, “Ya Rabbi, I’m not accepting, I want my rights.”

If it was directly a sin Allah will forgive, but because of the “right of servants” (huqooq al-`ibaad), people will have rights on each other, and Allah has to bring back justice. So He will look at the oppressor, He will take from his hasanaat and give to the one who is oppressed. He will then ask, “Are you satisfied?” The oppressed will answer, “No ya Rabbi, not yet, he did a lot to me!” Allah will keep taking and give the one who is oppressed. Taking from the oppressor his prayers and his fasting and give the benefit to the oppressed one, until that oppressor doesn’t have anything anymore. And that oppressed one will say, “Ya Rabbi, I’m not finished yet, he did a lot against me!”

And Allah knows these persons did against each other a lot. And at the end He will begin to take from the sayiaat of the oppressed and give to the oppressor, until the oppressed is satisfied and says, “Ya Rabbi! I am satisfied.” Allah says, “Okay, you go to Paradise.” So what did the oppressor end up with? No hasanaat and more sayiaat.

People are going to take their rights on the Day of Judgment. I (Shaykh Hisham) have rights against many people because they spread confusion. I am going to take my rights, not in dunya, I don’t want it in dunya, in dunya it’s okay, in dunya it doesn’t mean anything. I am going to ask Allah to give it to me in akhirah. I am holding these people responsible and liable. I am not forgiving them, anyone who said against me one word I am asking Allah Subhanahu wa Ta`ala on the Day of Judgment to give my rights from these people and I am holding them responsible. They know themselves; they know what they have done.

So Murshid at-Tazkiyyah is the one trying to take all the four enemies away from the mureeds, but he will be stuck with one thing: when someone has been backbited, he cannot stop that. There will be rights for that person to ask Allah on the Day of Judgment that he wants his rights back. That’s why Grandshaykh (may Allah bless his soul), I’m quoting him and go and ask anyone in time of Grandshaykh and he will tell you, he said, “There is forgiveness for any sin, Allah will forgive. Even if anyone becomes a munafiq (hypocrite) I will find a way for him to repent. But I cannot carry anyone that he broke the heart of someone on Earth. Any human being, any background, breaking hearts of people is not accepted in Islam. I will not and can not, and I don’t like to see from my mureeds anyone who breaks the heart of the other.”

Breaking hearts how? When you backbite people, when you said gheeba, nameema, fitna, for what? For dunya issues? Trying to separate brothers from each other? Sisters from each other? Husband and wife from each other? What’s your benefit? You think you get nearer to that one? You don’t know that blood cannot be separated?

Those who are carrying the blood of Prophet (s), inheritors of Prophet, or the grandchildren of Prophet, don’t try to put your fingers there. You cannot split them. I will tell you, you cannot split them, you cannot separate them. They will still be brothers, they will still be sisters, and they will still be parents. You cannot split and separate. I am speaking to these cameras here. Those people know themselves, who they are trying to separate people from each other, spreading confusion!

Breaking the heart of a mu’min is not accepted; Grandshaykh said breaking the heart of any human being is not accepted. All doors are open except to the one that he is breaking the heart of someone else. This Ummah today is falling into this problem, everyone trying to break the heart of the other. So as Mawlana Shaykh Nazim’s mureeds we have to be united. We have to be one person. There has to be unity. There are a lot of people who want to see this Sufi Order going down and the problem is not coming from outside, it’s coming from inside. I don’t like to speak on these issues but today it is opened up. In every Sufi Order there are people from within, they try to split the whole tariqah, and for what? What is your benefit? They claim, “This is inner circle, this is outer circle, this is inner mureed, this is the best, this is not the best,” for what? What you are benefiting? Leave that to them.

So they plant within the tariqah, they begin to recruit people around to make circles in order to destroy the tariqah from within. I pity them, because Shaytan is playing with them! We are speaking about Murshid at-Tazkiyyah, we are trying to teach from Mawlana Shaykh and Grandshaykh’s teachings for us to benefit. Grandshaykh (may Allah bless his soul) or Mawlana Shaykh Nazim he said, whenever someone sits in our association whatever wali we speak about, they will reach that level. This is not our association, this is Mawlana’s association and everyone here is being respected by Mawlana Shaykh. So we have to be one unity, we must not try to split each other. I am not only speaking here about this place, Mawlana Shaykh’s place in Lefke, Cyprus. I am speaking about around the world!

We are trying to run from one place to another place in order to bring more people and to address more people and to get more people to tariqah, to raise the name of Mawlana Shaykh higher. Show me what they have done and I am speaking to these cameras. Show me around the world what they have done for Mawlana Shaykh. They are in small circles; you cannot count them 10, 15, 20, 30, 50, 100, and 200. They think themselves they become murshid and they become guides and they become VIP, they are clubs, discos they are, they have nothing except backbiting. Instead of bringing everyone together on one heart and support them for those who are trying their best, running from one place to another.

Look in Indonesia. I went to Indonesia in 1997, first trip; by myself I went there. Masha’Allah tens of thousands are mureeds, millions, all of them taking baya` with Mawlana Shaykh Nazim, not with me. Even the president, you go on YouTube and see it. He announced that he is a student of this tariqah. In a big meeting 250,000 people in Masjid al-Istiqlal. We are trying our best and some people coming stabbing from the back, for what? This is tariqah? This is Islam? No. I can name them by names but it is not necessary. We leave them for Allah Subhanahu wa Ta`ala and His Prophet (s). And they come to Mawlana Shaykh Nazim they are very soft people saying, “Oh, Ya Sayyidee! Oh please we love you” and they show they are so close to Mawlana Shaykh. Alhamdulillah, I am happy that you show that you are very close to Mawlana Shaykh, but don’t stab the others in their back, for what?

We are happy to see more people, we are not happy to see less people. I not only have permission from Mawlana Shaykh Nazim and Grandshaykh, I am also Mawlana Shaykh Nazim’s son-in-law. If you don’t want to respect that my permission, ijaza from Mawlana Shaykh and Grandshaykh, respect that I am his son-in-law. I am sorry to say this because this is going on all over the world. It’s broadcast live. I don’t want to say who are these people, you can count them! In Europe a little bit here and there, in America a little bit, in Malaysia a little bit, in Indonesia, I didn’t see in Indonesia, in Middle East, in UK, in Europe there are. May Allah Subhanahu wa Ta`ala forgive them and forgive us.

Why did I say I am going to take my rights on Day of Judgment? I am forgiving them, no problem. (Laughter) They are Mawlana’s mureeds his followers and they love Mawlana, so what do we want better? If we forgive, Allah will forgive us, because we also have a lot of sins. May Allah forgive us and forgive them. It’s okay, we are still brothers and sisters; we cannot run away from them. We have one father; our father is our shaykh, Shaykh Muhammad Nazim Adil al-Haqqani Qaddasallahu Sirrahu, our grandfather is Grandshaykh Abdullah al-Faiz ad-Daghestani Qaddasallahu Sirrahu. My great-great grandfather from both sides are from Sayyidina al-Hassan Alayhissalam and Sayyidina al-Husayn Alayhissalam, from Prophet (s). I am not coming from garbage, me and my brother Shaykh Adnan.

Grandshaykh one time called us in a private room in his house and I am saying it in public now and no translator. Mawlana Shaykh Nazim was not there, he was in Cyprus. So this is 1970, 39 years ago, many of you were not yet born. He said to me and my brother…it is a long suhbah, one-hour suhbah...I will not say everything. He said, “Allah Subhanahu wa Ta`ala gave me you and your brother like a bean.” He used to like a lot red beans and he cooked them by himself. Grandshaykh (may Allah bless his soul), he said, “You and your brother Shaykh Adnan, Allah gave me you two, both of you like a bean split into two halves, identical. Bean without the other part cannot be, has to have the two parts together. You complete each other.”

So this is what I want to tell you, after he said many different issues, I cannot say it, he said you are to me and in presence of Prophet (s) whenever you are there you have to… And there are people today they try to cut th …

I will tell them, me and my brother will never be separated! I am happy to be under his feet! We were two from the family. We will never forget these days that we spent, since 1958, the first time we visited Grandshaykh! And now people are coming, they don’t know the background… asking, “What is your business? Who appointed you?”

May Allah Subhanahu wa Ta`ala forgive us and forgive them. Look what they did to Sayyidina al-Husyan Alayhissalam.

Wa min Allah at Tawfeeq

Who is the Guide? ( Volume 3 )

Mawlana Shaykh Hisham Kabbani 
Wednesday, Jun 24, 2009 | Lefke CY

A`udhu billahi min ash-Shaytani ’r-rajee. Bismillahi ’r-rahmani ’r-raheem.
Nawaytu ‘l-arba`een nawaytu ‘l-`itikaaf nawaytu ‘l-khalwah nawaytu‘l-`uzlah, nawaytul riyaada nawaytu ’s-sulook lillahi ta`ala al-`adheem fee haadha ’l-masjid

We are in the masjid of Mawlana Shaykh Muhammad Nazim Adil al-Haqqani, may Allah bless him and raise him higher and higher. Amin! And we are continuing the series “Who Is the Guide?”, with the definition and characteristics of Murshid at-Tabarruk.

We mentioned in the previous suhbah that Murshid at-Tabarruk must have the knowledge and understanding about the three shifts that angels will be coming on followers of Murshid at-Tabarruk. There are three times angels visit human beings: the time of imsaak, Dhuhr, and Maghrib. And these three shifts angels are being changed. One of his characteristics is he has to know all these angels that come on his followers and the followers of his other murshids, because he is has above him three levels of murshids: Murshid at-Tazkiyyah, Murshid at-Tasfiyyah, and Murshid at-Tarbiyyah. So, he has to know every angel by name, and what he is praising Allah Subhanahu wa Ta`ala with, what kind of tasbeeh he is making, and what kind of favors it is written for the followers of that murshid, and what kind of honor Allah Subhanahu wa Ta`ala is bestowing on those students and those mureeds.

We are coming now to another characteristic. Murshid at-Tabarruk has to have a connection directly; his heart has to be wrapped up and connected with a wire or a pipeline or whatever you want to call it, all the way to his murshid, to his shaykh. The first level of murshid has a shaykh, who is Murshid at-Tazkiyyah, whose shaykh is Murshid at-Tasfiyyah, whose shaykh is Murshid at-Tarbiyyah, the highest level.

These four murshids are connected to each other. So, Murshid at-Tabarruk has to be connected to his shaykh, and from his shaykh to his shaykh, from his shaykh to his shaykh, from that shaykh, the final one, to Prophet (s). That connection must always be there; it means any moment he needs anything, it will come, the answer, if he has a question. The answer comes to his heart without asking the question; only inspiration to bring out a question. The answer will come from Prophet (s) through his shaykh to his heart.

He has to have a power from the other three murshids. They have been constantly supporting him through his travels, through his lectures, through his presentations, through his advices, through his dhikr. They have to keep connecting him, sending to his heart a spiritual chain, so he will be able to disperse this to the mureeds and those who are coming for the first time to listen to him, to enable him to connect them to his shaykh and from his shaykh to Prophet (s). 

Then he has to continuously make his awraads daily. And how much are his awraads? His daily minimum is 24,000 dhikrullah. We are doing 1500, 2500, 5000 and sometimes 10,000. In khalwah sometimes we can go up to 24000 or 22,000 ,but him, he has to keep 24,000 throughout the whole day. I remember Grandshaykh, may Allah bless his soul, said he never saw Mawlana Shaykh Nazim, he says “Nazim Effendi,” without tasbeeh in his hand. Means he is observing him physically and spiritually. 

I never saw the tasbeeh dropped from his hand. In the time of the Prophet (s) there were no beads, there were only pebbles. They used to count on pebbles, and why they used to count on pebbles, as we said yesterday, about the stone in your ring? What is the hikma (wisdom) of the stone? Because the stone is making dhikrullah, so that dhikr will be written to you, as long as you are carrying that stone that gets energy and touches your finger. With that hikma they order us to wear a ring.

In the time of the Prophet (s), the Sahaba counted dhikrullah on pebbles, and there is a hadith of Prophet (s) that the pebbles, once they were in the hands of Prophet (s) and everyone was hearing their tasbeeh. And then Prophet (s) put them in Sayyidina Abu Bakr as-Siddiq’s Radiallahu anhu d hand and they were hearing tasbeeh. Then they moved them from one Sahabi to another to the four Sahabah, they were hearing tasbeeh. Once it left they left Sayyidina Ali’s hand to the general ashaabu Nabi (s), no one was hearing dhikr. Only to certain people you can hear the tasbeeh. 

So, Grandshaykh said, “I never saw Shaykh Nazim Effendi dropping the tasbeeh from his hand.” Why, because this is the finger of shahaada. When you are holding tasbeeh, how you are holding it? Is there any other way? So this finger with this finger, and the base is this finger. Put your tasbeeh, check where it is touching, which two fingers are touching more with these others? Shahaada (index) finger and the thumb. They are touching more; this is not touching. This is a sitting on it, and these are moving mostly. Why here (this finger) and not here? Why here? Because our identity is in the thumb, the fingerprint! No two people have the same fingerprints. It means your ID is encrypted in your thumb.

When awliyaullah want to know you, they know through your thumb what is all about you. When they shake your hand or give initiation, you put your hand in their hand and immediately they take all your information from your thumb. Everything is here, encrypted. Awliyaullah can take it out and decode it. So, your actual Id is the reality of your personality that Allah Subhanahu wa Ta`ala created in His Presence is encrypted here. 

Your name, heavenly name, because it is not the same as your name in dunya; heavenly name is a different name. So when you say, “Ya Rabbi this is my ID, and this is my shahaada finger, I am saying ash-hadu an la ilaha ill-Llah wa ash-hadu anna Muhammadan Rasulullah, I am with my real ID, You are witnessing that I am bringing shahaada, that’s why they put these two fingers together. That’s why it comes together. You’re moving this and you’re catching this. Both of them. Means wherever you are praising, your witness finger is witnessing, your ID is presenting it in the presence of Allah Subhanahu wa Ta`ala.

So that is one of the wisdoms of carrying beads. Awliyaullah encourage us to recite on beads, so our recitation is presented through our reality, not our physicality. Because here is your reality (the thumb). Your reality is taking it to be a witness with your witness (shahaadah) finger that you are saying, “Allah Subhanahu wa Ta`ala is the Creator and Sayyidina Muhammad (s) is His messenger.”

Any dhikr you recite becomes ash-hadu an la ilaha illAllah wa ash-hadu anna Muhammadan Rasulullah. You say la ilaha illAllah, meaning ash-hadu an la ilaha illAllah, you are accepting Allah Subhanahu wa Ta`ala as your Creator and Sayyidina Muhammad as His messenger. You say subhanAllah, it means the same. If you say shukran lillah, astaghfirullah, whatever you say, they are all working together.

When you praise Allah, your praise has a different manifestation at that moment when you are in the Divinely Presence. Many people sit beside the TV, hearing the news or hearing whatever they are hearing, and they are doing dhikrullah. I don’t want to say don’t do that, because many people are doing it. But it’s not a perfect way. The perfect way is to keep your heart connected with your shaykh, Murshid at-Tarbiyyah, the highest of murshid, because alhamdulillah, with Allah's grace and Prophet's blessings, we are connected to the highest level of irshad, not Murshid at-Tabarruk, Murshid at-Tazkiyyah or Murshid at-Tasfiyyah. We are in al-kahf al- Muhammadi, the Muhammadan Cave. We are connected there. So, it is more advisable to connect your heart with Mawlana Shaykh and you do your awraad. (Shaykh Hisham closes his eyes in a contemplative way, and counts on his tasbeeh beads.)

I remember when my brother Shaykh Adnan and I were young, Grandshaykh told us to do our awraad between `Asr and Maghrib, Maghrib and Isha' and early morning until ishraaq, from half-an-hour or one-hour before Fajr until ishraaq, and he said “make a seclusion.” He told us to cover ourselves with a bed sheet. When you cover yourself you know you are in limitation; this is your dunya grave. You cannot come out before you finish your awraad. We cover as if secluding, disconnecting ourselves from normal life, within that square or rectangle. You cannot move right or left while you are doing your awraad. So the connection to your shaykh when you are doing your awraad, he will take you to the presence of Prophet (s), and from the presence of Prophet he takes you to the presence of Allah Subhanahu wa Ta`ala.

Murshid at-Tabarruk, in the first level, must have that power, or he is not yet reaching Maqaam al-Irshaad (the Station of Guidance). That's why I'm saying in the past three sessions, Maqaam al-Irshaad is not easily acquired, that everyone claims to be a murshid of tem twenty, thirty, one-hundred or two-hundred people. Yes, you can be advising people, giving a lecture that can be accepted or not accepted by people, but irshad is connecting your mureeds to the shaykh and to Prophet (s), and you have to carry their burdens, their responsibilities, and the liabilities of these people connecting through you to Mawlana Shaykh. As soon as you give them baya` they are already there immediately with Mawlana Shaykh, may Allah give him long life.

Murshid at-Tabarruk has to do at least 24,000 dhikrullah and he can go up to 700, 000 dhikrullah. He has to do 24,000 salawat on Prophet (s). This will take at least 3-4 hours. That is the basic awraad, to connect, to get his plug, his engine working in order to look after his followers. So Grandshaykh used to say, “I never saw Shaykh Nazim without the beads in his hands, they were all the time in his hands, and I see his lips moving.” It’s not he had only his beads in his hands but his lips were moving. More than that, when Grandshaykh gave the suhbah in Turkish, and Mawlana Shaykh Nazim was translating it in Arabic. 

So when Grandshaykh was speaking, Mawlana Shaykh Nazim moved his hands on the beads, moved his lips reciting something, making his awraad. As soon as Grandshaykh stopped, it was as if the dhikr did not interfere with what he understood of the suhbah, and then he was also translating! Then he stops, Grandshaykh speaks, Mawlana Shaykh Nazim begins another time. I saw that, and his lips were moving. And then Grandshaykh talks, Mawlana Shaykh Nazim takes his beads and he's translating.

Whatever he understood did not interfere with what he was doing and then he was translating every single word, not missing one word. He even said “comma” whenever there was one, for example. To that extent, he doesn’t eat too much of the talk. Sometimes translators cannot follow quickly, so they eat many of what is being translated. He never did. The only time he was not holding the tasbeh was when he went to the bathroom to make wudu, then he dropped it. Other than that, his beads were in his hands when he went to bed, when he was sleeping. You can go to his room and see him sleeping with the beads in his hands till today.

So, Murshid at-Tabarruk is not an easy one. He has to do the awraad in order to charge his batteries, his engines. He has to have a spiritual connection so that he will be able to pull, attract his followers, those who are connected to him, and take them up all the way to the other murshids, Murshid at-Tazkiyyah, Murshid at-Tasfiyyah and Murshid at-Tarbiyyah.

Then Grandshaykh, may Allah bless his soul, says that Allah gave Murshid at-Tabarruk signs that you can see in his face, and these are 17 different signs. He says, “I left it and didn’t explain it because if I would have to explain it, I would have to put books on it. I left it. It would take lots of explanation. I didn’t mention it because I was worried about the weak people, because it's such a high level of sainthood that people might deny it, because their hearts are weak and cannot contain the greatness of that murshid of the first level.” 

He said people will come against it and say what are you speaking about? They cannot understand it; its too high above their level. He said, “I was worried they will fall into wartatul inkar, “the circle of denial,” because they're not able to understand it. Their minds cannot comprehend what I'm going to say about these 17 signs. Murshid at-Tarbiyah has no permission to show anyone and explain to anyone these 17 signs. He said with Shaykh Sharafuddin and Grandshaykh, who were at the highest level of Murshid at- Tarbiyyah, they said there is no permission from the lower level of irshad that a Murshid at-Tabarruk, the first level, is not permitted for him at any moment, to show up these 17 signs and knowledges. He has to keep them in his heart unless he can show some of them when he will be infatam, when that murshid will be weaned, no longer breastfed, when he reaches to put his feet in the level of Maqam al-Tazkiyyah. Only at that time he has the
right to explain the 17 signs, otherwise he cannot.

That will be enough for the first level, Maqam al-Tabarruk of irshad. Now we come to Murshid at-Tazkiyyah, the second level of irshaad. Murshid at-Tazkiyyah is one level above Murshid at-Tabarruk. He has accomplished all the levels of Murshid at-Tabarruk and has put his feet on Maqam al-Tazkiyyah. What are the characteristics of Murshid at-Tazkiyyah?

The structure of Murshid at-Tazkiyyah, and this is where we see in too many tariqahs, they have to insist on these issues because they are important. Grandshaykh says, Murshid at-Tazkiyah has to keep the Shari`ah at every moment, according to the Four Schools of Thought. He must know the Hanafi, Maliki, Shafi`i and Hanbali schools of thought. He has to understand them totally and to give fatwa on them totally in order to be on the level of Maqam al-Tazkiyyah, the level of purification that he attained to bring him to be up front, because of his purity. 

So he said, he must not leave even one of what Prophet was ordered by Allah of the 500 obligations and 800 forbiddens. He has to keep them all in line, never leaving one of them, and he must not have any kind of bad inspirations, bad gossips in his heart, and his heart must always get inspirations for the goodness of his mureeds, and for the benefit of himself and his mureeds, and Ummat al-Nabi (s).

We leave it here and inshaAllah we'll continue tomorrow on Murshid at-Tazkiyyah.

Wa min Allah at-tawfeeq, bi hurmatil ’l-habeeb bi-hurmati ’l-fatiha.

This will give us an understanding that Maqaam al-Irshaad is not so easy, to say, “I am a murshid.” People have to know that we are sheep and the shaykh is the shepherd. Anyone who has been given authority to do dhikr or bring people to tariqah or to Islam did not reach these levels, because they do not possess the characteristics of these levels. So it is very important to know our limits and not to cross them, or else instead of doing good you begin to do bad, and you begin to reflect your sickness and say “I am a shaykh” to the followers and they might be lost. They will not be responsible on the Day of Judgment in front of Allah Subhanahu wa Ta`ala—you, who considered himself a murshid, will be held responsible on the Day of Judgment in front of Allah Subhanahu wa Ta`ala!

For example, if you come and say, “I'm giving you this money; distribute it,” it becomes your responsibility now to distribute it and I'm freed from it. It's now your responsibility to do it and if you don’t do it you'll be asked. May Allah Subhanahu wa Ta`ala forgive us, bless us, keep us with our shuyukh, with Mawlana Shaykh Nazim, and give him long life and give us long life to see Mahdi (s). bi hurmatil ’l-habeeb bi-hurmati ’l-fatiha.

Wa min Allah at Tawfiq

Who is the Guide? ( Vol 7 )

Mawlana Shaykh Hisham Kabbani 
Monday, Jun 29, 2009 | Lefke CY
www.sufilive. com

A`udhu billah min ash-shaytan ir-rajeem. Bismillahi 'r-Rahmani 'r-Raheem

Nawaytu'l-arba` een, nawaytu'l-`itikaaf, nawaytu'l-khalwah, nawaytu'l-riyaada, nawaytu's-salook, nawaytu'l-`uzlah lillahi ta`ala fee hadha'l-masjid Dastur ya Sayiddi ya Sultan al-Awliya Shaykh Muhammad Nazim Haqqani, Ya madad. Ati’ ullaha wa ati’ ur Rasul wa uwlil amrin minkum.

Allah Subhanahu wa Ta`ala said in Holy Qur`an, “Obey Allah; obey Prophet (s) and obey those who are on authority.” And Allah Subhanahu wa Ta`ala said in Holy Qur`an:

وَمَا آتَاكُمُ الرَّسُولُ فَخُذُوهُ وَمَا نَهَاكُمْ عَنْهُ فَانتَهُوا وَاتَّقُوا اللَّهَ إِنَّ اللَّهَ شَدِيدُ الْعِقَابِ

Wa ma `atakumu ’r-rasulu fa khudoohu wa maa nahaakum `anhu fantahoo w’attaqullaha inn-Allaha shadeedul-`iqaab. “Whatever Prophet (s) gives you, take it.”

Means whatever he said halal you take it, whatever he said haraam you leave it. Prophet (s) said, Wa’ al haraamu bayya’ nun, wal halalul bayya’ an. “Halal is very clear like sunshine, and haraam is very clear like sunshine.” You can not mix the two: either you are on the side of halal or you are on the side of haraam. We can not say, “Oh, I can take a little bit from halal or a little bit of haraam. We can not, but if by mistake or by a sin you did something haraam, you have to repent. We are not saying that people will be perfect and will not do any sin or something with sin means haraam. No, people are weak, we are weak servants to Allah Subhanahu wa Ta`ala. We are helpless, we are heedless.

We have to know that whatever we do something wrong, immediately we ask repentance, because at that moment the power of the murshid comes. Don’t think that the murshid is heedless. Murshid has to give you and to show you that you are heedless. Murshid has power. There are people who consider themselves murshid but by name only. As we can define tasawwuf, Sufism, that it was in the time of Prophet (s) a reality but it had no name. Today, it is a name with no reality.

Only people, we are saying, we are Sufi, or we are in the state of tazkiyyat an-nafs as it is mentioned it’s name in Holy Qur`an, “purification of the soul.”

خُذْ مِنْ أَمْوَالِهِمْ صَدَقَةً تُطَهِّرُهُمْ وَتُزَكِّيهِم بِهَا وَصَلِّ عَلَيْهِمْ إِنَّ صَلاَتَكَ سَكَنٌ لَّهُمْ وَاللّهُ سَمِيعٌ عَلِيمٌ

Khudh min amwaalihim sadaqatan tutahhiruhum wa tuzakkeehim biha wa salli `alayhim inna salaataka sakanun lahum w’Allahu same`un `aleem

Of their goods, take alms, that so thou mightest purify and sanctify them; and pray on their behalf. Verily thy prayers are a source of security for them: And Allah is One Who heareth and knoweth. 9:103

That’s one of the verses that is to purify you. It’s a purification system. People today, you can not order them, but this is an order. You can not tell people today “give,” as they feel you are interfering in their lives. But, Allah said to Prophet Muhammad (s) in Holy Qur`an:

“Ya Muhammad (s), khudh min amwaalihim sadaqa, take from their money in donation.”

Allah Subhanahu wa Ta`ala is saying, don’t leave it up to them! If you leave it to them they don’t give anything, it’s a human character. If you ask, it’s not asking. You have to order them: khudh min amwaalihim, it is an order, it is a fair `amal, it is an action that is with an order, “take from them donation.”

خُذْ مِنْ أَمْوَالِهِمْ صَدَقَةً تُطَهِّرُهُمْ وَتُزَكِّيهِم بِهَا وَصَلِّ عَلَيْهِمْ إِنَّ صَلاَتَكَ سَكَنٌ لَّهُمْ وَاللّهُ سَمِيعٌ عَلِيمٌ

Khudh min amwaalihim sadaqatan tutahhiruhum wa tuzakkeehim biha wa salli `alayhim inna salaataka sakanun lahum w’Allahu samee`un `aleem

Of their goods, take alms, that so thou mightest purify and sanctify them; and pray on their behalf. Verily thy prayers are a source of security for them: And Allah is One Who heareth and knoweth. 9:103

You will clean them and you will purify them with it.”

After Prophet (s) will clean you, that is “purification,” like after they distilled the water, you see this big plant of cleaning the water of sea water or sewage water. What they do at the beginning, they clean it. Then they purify it to come up to the standard of PH, and they add minerals in it. So, Allah is saying to Sayyidina Muhammad (s), “Don’t wait for them, order them to give you from their money,” then you cause Prophet will say, “Ya Rabbee, they help me, help them.” But today people are worried to give, but Allah is saying to Sayyidina Muhammad (s), “When you take from them, now you are under the obligation to give them what they need. They give you donation but now you are going to give them bigger, more than what they gave you. What you are going to give them, cleaning and purification.”

And Allah also said, Wa salli `alayhim, which means “After you clean them and purify them, they become like angels.” That’s why Prophet said, tu`rada `alayya `amaal Ummatee, “I observe the `amaal of my Ummah.” Constantly he is watching everyone, not one is overcome by another one, no overlap. All of them at the same time, Prophet is seeing their `amal. And he is saying, “If I see good, I thank Allah Subhanahu wa Ta`ala, and if I see bad, I ask forgiveness on their behalf.” So, Prophet (s) is a constant purification for his Ummah. But if you give a booster, you do something they will oblige. That’s why when you present awliyaullah with a gift, they are obliged to give you a bigger gift. Don’t say I am giving the shaykh, he is not in need for you. You are giving for yourself. Giving is not for the shaykh. When you give to him, he is now under obligation, as he will be asked on the Day of Judgment. “That person was generous and gave to
you. What you did for him?”

The ayat is clear, tutahhiruhum wa tuzakkeehim biha - With their donation you have to clean them and purify them, then Allah Subhanahu wa Ta`ala will be happy with you.” Then Allah said even more to Prophet (s) on top of that: “After you become a clean person, wa salli alayhim.” It means, “send your salaat on them, ya Muhammad.” When they give for a masjid, for a poor person, a charity, a guide, or a sincere person, then what do you think about someone giving to Prophet (s)? What you give to Prophet? We are his Ummah. Sahaba were giving directly. But we are far now, so what do we give? We give a charity, we give a mosque, we give to someone who is inheriting from prophet (s). There are many inheritors. Allah is saying in the Holy Hadith, Awliyaee tahta qibaabee laa y`alamahum ghayree, “My Saints are under My domes; no one knows them except Me.”

So that is a cleaning, a purification system that makes Prophet (s) send salawat on those who gave. Inna salaataka sakan lahum, “Your salaat on them, goes to your Ummah and is peacefulness on them. Give them tranquility in their heart, give them peace in their heart, give them happiness in their heart.”

Don’t expect that you will be helped if you are not showing generosity. So, awliyaullah, a murshid, is not an easy way to go through. A murshid has a power to clean you and he has to show you that he is cleaning you. Once, I was studying in the university and we had year-end exams. It was a big day and came to my heart to visit Grandshaykh, may Allah bless his soul. Me and my brother, it was like 4 o’ clock in the afternoon and a three-hour drive. We said we will pray maghrib with him, and we prayed Isha with him, we returned and next day was the exam. I already studied, but you know mothers, how they are? My mother was not happy. She loves Grandshaykh and Mawlana Shaykh. But she was not happy because you have exams, you have to study. We were young, and began to argue. ‘No’, ‘yes’, ‘no’, ‘yes’, we like to go, she said, “no, don’t go.” Finally, I said, “I am going,” took the car and drove from Beirut to Damascus. 

Look the power of the murshid! We arrived at his door. His house was in a new section that you come to the door and then you go up in the stairs to the old section, where he stays in the old section. The new section is like a zawiya, but you have to go through there. And we came to knock at the door, and never Grandshaykh goes down. Always, he is up in his quarter. And we came to knock at the door, he opened the door, saying, “Why you are coming here?” (Shaykh Hisham blushes.) We can not say anything. We were keeping quiet. Do you know what he said? He said, “Go back from where you came! Don’t ever come to me and your mother is angry! Go, kiss her hand, ask forgiveness. If she gives permission, you come. If not, you don’t come here.”

How he was able to see? Three hours distance. How he knew? No telephone, nothing, and it was a private discussion with my mother in the house. Grandshaykh said some words which, I am not going to repeat, and he send us back. He was so filled with jalal (greatness) you tremble in front of him. He did not let us step inside even one step. So, we came back alhamdulillah. Next day was the exam and I passed very well. My mother was happy. We said, “We want to go to Grandshaykh.” She said, “Okay, no problem.” So, we went there and knocked at the door. Grandshaykh sent his helper to open the door. He said, “Mawlana wants to see you.” Usually when you enter inside you must wait to see him. He said, “Awlaad (children), come inside, I want to tell you something.”

Out of mercy that they are sending on this gathering, I am saying, awliyaullah have permission from Prophet Muhammad (s) to look at their followers at least three times in every 24 hours, to see how they are behaving. If there is a problem, they have to fix it. Don’t think the shaykh is sitting dumb, that he doesn’t know anything. He does not necessarily tell you, and he appears as a normal person. But, when you encounter things in your daily life, they know, and they show you in ways that convince you that this is not just a lecture about tasawwuf. Doctors study, and without training there is no permission to practice medicine. We must have a theory and practice, not just hearing the teachings but we must apply them through training, that’s what is important.

Since last year, Mawlana Shaykh is under the tajalli (manifestation) of the Divine Name as-Saboor. He likes to see his mureeds, and his mureeds like to see him. But, since he came under that Name, he is teaching his students patience. Are they going to be patient or not? Like today, some mureeds are leaving as they have no chance to see Mawlana Shaykh. They were here for twelve days, and for sure in their heart their patience is exploding, because they never spoke with Mawlana Shaykh, sat with him a little bit, and they came all the way here to Lefke, Cyprus. So it was a test for them, and today I arrived here at one o’clock, because it’s a fasting day, I came at Dhuhr time. I saw them standing and no one was taking them up. I went up. I saw some people speaking with Mawlana, so I got them in. Mawlana was so happy to see them and he was so hospitable. From his side he likes to see everyone but he is also in a seclusion.

About seclusion we say, khalwati, jalwati, “Complete seclusion, sometimes with people, sometimes without people.” Mawlana Shaykh is in that kind of situation today, of seeing or not seeing people, being or not being with people. He is under `ismAllah as-Saboor, Allah’s Beautiful Name, “The Patient”. It is the test for a mureed to see how much patience they have or don’t have. Tasawwuf is a training. How many people came, criticized, and left because they did not see the shaykh! Oh, it is a training here. You have to be patient, once the permission comes I know, I am going to see. But, what is the benefit of tariqah if you are going to have always candies and no tests?

When Grandshaykh called me and my brother into his room, he told us, “I observe you by order of Prophet (s) at least three times every day. I see what you are doing, and by permission of Prophet (s) I send a test on you, I send you problems. Don’t expect I am going to give you candies, sweet. Sweet you can have it at any time; you can go buy from the grocery store. Am I going to tell you, ‘Oh! You are the best, you are this, or you are that.’ No, I am going to send you something to make you angry and test you. Are you angry or not? Are you patient or not? Because anger is the first bad characteristic that you must take away from yourself.” He said, “I send on you three tests a day and you have to know when these come that I am watching, so behave well. Don’t misbehave! If you misbehave, you are loosing your test at that time. Because, every time I send a test, you go higher. So, when you were arguing with your mother, I was the one talking
through your mother. If you would have seen that, you would have immediately raised higher in your levels.”

I am saying this to you out of mercy, so next time you will know. When you get angry, it means you are missing your opportunity to be raised up. Some people might ask, “Someone took our money and we got angry. Do we have a right to get our money back or do we leave it?” No, I am not saying that, that is your dunya right. You can do whatever you want. I am saying, to get angry between brothers, sisters, parents, children, it is much better to be patient and calm; there is benefit in that.

For example, someone in this association criticizes you for brushing your teeth with toothpaste and toothbrush, saying it is haraam. They condemn you in such a way, you say, “I did something wrong?” they answer, “Of course you did something wrong! You are following kufr now! Use the miswak.” Such people find many ways to upset their mureed brothers, saying things like, “You can not clean your ears; you can not blow your nose, it’s haraam because that is from inside the body, so keep it inside; or, don’t go to doctor, Allah will cure you.”

These people are not awliya, they are normal people. If a wali says something like that, he knows what he is saying. I don’t want argue on that issue. I saw Grandshaykh many times, wash his dentures with soap and other products before using them. The real issue is, first, those people are arguing, second, the shaykh might be testing if you will be patient with this brother who is bothering everyone. Those who say, “Never mind, astaghfirullah,” and they don’t become angry, the shaykh is happy with them.

These are problems that confront you every day. You go to the market, you see an item is priced at ten dollars, you offer the seller five dollars and he curses you! Stay quiet; don’t say anything, especially in Makkah and Madinah. Anything they might tell you is fifty riyals, and you throw to them twenty riyals and they sell it to you! How it’s fifty riyals and now it is twenty riyals? This is a business strategy. The trader has to put a profit margin. But you can not cheat the people who are coming there to take baraka. So, I was with Mawlana Shaykh, may Allah give him long life, on Hajj. It was 1969, in Makkah, and Mawlana had with him fifty or sixty Hajjis from Cyprus. I asked Mawlana why he brings these old people? Bringing them young at least is easy. Like fifty, sixty mureeds, men and women, very old, they can not move, they walk with a stick, Mawlana carried all their luggage and takes them on and off busses, and it’s not so easy to go
through the desert. Take them: not like today, you go by the bus from Damascus to Madinah, it’s thirty-six hours. In those days the trip was so long, and busses break down on the road, the tire is gone, no air-conditioning, and you needed five or six days to reach. At every stop Mawlana has to help them off the bus. They sleep in the desert or in the bus, and it was very difficult.

So, on this Hajj in 1969, he was giving the passports to the mutawwaf and there was someone who exchanges currency notes on the side. Mawlana went there and I was standing besides him. The exchange rate we saw somewhere else was different than that person was giving us. Mawlana was wearing his turban and jubbah. I was wearing my turban and jubbah, and my brother was next to me. Mawlana said, “The other one quoted me this price, and your price is so high.” He looked at Mawlana and said, “You stupid shaykh, you (cursing) .....!” He exploded on Mawlana Shaykh, and Mawlana never opened his mouth. Then that person became even more angry because Mawlana didn’t say anything. Such people want someone to say anything, they want to fight. Then that man spit on us. I was going to finish the situation, from my mind, my craziness came! Mawlana Shaykh said, “No, keep patient.” He did not let us do anything.

Mawlana cleaned the spit off him. He went back to the building of the Mutawwaf and inside someone was sitting, observing him. He asked Mawlana, “Shaykh, what do you need?” Mawlana replied, “I am exchanging the money.” The person asked him, “How much you are exchanging?” At that time he was changing one-thousand pounds, for the Hajjis to have a little bit. But one-thousand pounds was too much money at that time. He said to Mawlana, “Okay, give me the one-thousand.” He exchanged the pounds for riyals at a very nice exchange rate. Then at the end, he put the one-thousand pounds in the envelope and said, “This is from me to you, pray for me.” Mawlana Shaykh Nazim looked at us and said, “This is Grandshaykh. Allah sent him to test us.”

So, you don’t know, this is the power I am speaking about, the power of the murshid. The murshid has huge power, that he can observe what you are doing. This is similar to things about Murshid at-Tazkiyyah. We did not go above that. He has to be able to not be heedless for even one second from his mureed, his follower. He is all the time with them. Wherever they move, he is with them at least three times a day. Students of higher murshids will be 24 hours a day under his observation. So, may Allah Subhanahu wa Ta`ala give us from their teachings, not only learning, but training, also practicing. Like today, we take with us, we have to train ourselves to be less angry, to hold our anger down. And to be nice with people, so they don’t feel they did something wrong. But, they are angry, you are angry, you can not control the situation. Both of them are drunk. But, when he is drunk and you are patient, he will notice later that he harmed you, and he will
apologize. Some people don’t apologize; never mind, don’t care, because you are doing for Allah Subhanahu wa Ta`ala.

He has to take away all your problems and purify you according the verse of Holy Qur`an that we just mentioned, “Take from them donation by order.” Because there are many mureeds who love the shaykh and he can say to them, “Give this.” 

When Mawlana gets support, he gives to people. Once someone came to Grandshaykh from the family of Prophet (s). He had a very big problem, saying, “Ya Sayyidee, I need two-thousand Syrian lira (equivalent of $500).” My brother and I were ready to give it, but we had to wait to see what Grandshaykh wants. He said, “I don’t like to ask anyone to give when he has doubt in his heart, or it becomes a problem on him. There are only two people I can ask to give and no doubts in their heart. I don’t want my mureed to be in problem. So, those who have strong belief, I ask them.” He brought two and asked, “You give one-thousand, and you give one-thousand!” That was Mawlana Shaykh Nazim and Mawlana Shaykh Hussain, his other khalifah. And immediately they gave. We did not like that; we wanted to give, and Grandshaykh said, “No, not yet. For you now if I ask you something to give me, to get for me, I pay for it. If you give out voluntarily, I take
it.”

So, it is normal now between awliya, there are two ways, either they ask you to give, or they leave it up to you to give voluntarily. If they tell you to give, don’t say “no”, because they are trying to save you from a problem. But, if I ask you get me a turban like yours because I like it, I have to give you the money for it. So what you give as a gift, I take. But, what they ask you something to get them, they give you the money. And then they have another thing that they ask you something and they know they are sure of you, they have no doubts, they order you to give. Like Allah ordered Prophet (s) to take from the Sahaba to purify them. Three Sahabas committed a big mistake, and Prophet took from them one-third of their wealth to save them from the consequences, and to purify them.

When that verse of Qur`an came to these three Sahaba that they did something not good, Allah ordered Prophet (s) to take from their wealth to purify them. He did not say “give me two percent, five percent, two and a half percent for zakat.” No, one-third of their overall wealth he took, to purify them. May Allah Subhanahu wa Ta`ala keep us under the Prophet (s) in His presence and His door and under awliyaullah’s door and under them to be always in their ways, if not in their way, let them take obstacles away with them where ever they.Bi hurmati ‘l-Habeeb bi hurmati ‘l-Fatiha.

Wa min Allah at Tawfiq

Who is the Guide? ( Vol 6 )

Mawlana Shaykh Hisham Kabbani
Sunday, Jun 28, 2009 | Lefke CY

A`udhu billahi min ash-shaytaani ‘r-rajeem bismillahi ‘r-rahmani ‘r-raheem. Nawaytu ‘l-arba`een nawaytu ‘l-`itiqaaf nawaytu ‘l-khalwah nawaytu’l-`uzlah nawaytul riyaada nawaytu ‘s-sulook lillahi ta’ala al-`adheem fee hadha ‘l-masjid. 

Dastoor Ya sayyidi madad 

Always in the train there is a track; you cannot go on the side, you have to follow the track of the train in order that you reach your destination. So the tracks keep continuing. Wherever the tracks are, the train goes. Sometimes they have diversions, but the end is a…it ends quickly, there is … it’s only for turning and coming on the right track. 

You have the main track, and then you have side tracks. The main destiny is the straight-forward track. Diversions always you go there, diverting from the trail and then it becomes closed, then you come back. So there is only one track. That track for us, is may Allah give him long life, Shaykh Nazim al-Haqqani. 

So anyone who is on the train, will be saved and go straight forward, but he has to be on the main track. If he wants to divert, he will see a dead end, and has to go back on the main track. The train has one engine, but many wagons. If you want to jump, jump on anyone just to reach. There are the wagons, there are first wagons. If you are in the last wagon, you don’t see anything, but you will be pulled wherever the train is going. 

If you are in the first or second wagons or the third one, you would be so near to the main engine that you can see what the engineer is doing. So if you have some luck, you’ll be in the first and second and third wagons. Those who have also luck but not as the first three, the train is still pulling them. They will reach their destiny.

Whenever people try to do, the murshid is aware in order to try to as much as he can clean a child. When a child makes… he’s a young one, and you have to change him every time. A murshid has to change us all the time by asking forgiveness from Allah Subhanahu wa Ta`ala to forgive us through Prophet (s) on our behalf. So Murshid at-Tazkiyyah, which we were discussing yesterday, is said from his characteristics, that he has to take away laziness from those who are connected to him. They are lazy. 

They ask you 10,000 dhikrullah, we do 5. They ask us do 5 we do 1000. They ask us do 1000, we don’t do anything. We are like that. That’s how we’re created.

Sayyidna Musa (a), when Prophet (s), went on Mi’raj, Allah ordered him to do 50 prayers. Coming back he saw Sayyidna Musa (a). He asked him, “Ya Muhammad (s), what did Allah give you as prayer obligations? O, be careful! Ask less, because I know with Bani Israel, whatever I asked them to do, they were lazy, so ask less!” And Prophet (s) asked less until they became 45 prayers, but Musa (a) kept telling him to ask for less, ask for less, until Allah lowered the amount of daily prayers to five. 

Then Musa told him: “Ya Muhammad (s)! Ask less, I know they are not even going to pray the 5 prayers.” Prophet answered, “I feel shy from my Lord,” and Allah said, “Ya Muhammad (s), it is 5, but on the Scale (of deeds) it is 50. Al-hasanatu bi `ashrati amthaaluha (one hasana is multiplied by ten). I’m giving them 10 rewards for every prayer.”

So, while they order us to do something, Shaytan is behind us. We are lazy, we don’t do, we run away. So Murshid at-Tazkiyyah has the power of taking laziness out of his followers. Shaytan tries his best to keep us lazy, but that murshid is trying his best to pull us from laziness. (Wal futoor ‘al jawarih ittibaih) and he takes away…to encourage us not to follow Shaytan, so always his talks and advice is always not to follow Shaytan. And you see Mawlana, may Allah give him long life, always talks against Shaytan today because he is treating us at the first level. 

He didn’t go to the highest level which we will come to it later, of Murshid at-Tarbiyyah, it’s the highest of the guides. He’s not treating us at the highest level and that’s why we see his advices today in these many, many years after Grandshaykh’s time, his lectures, his talks, his advice, are from the level of ego, against ego, against Shaytan, against the four enemies, because he wants to make sure that we are clear from them so that we can rise up to listen. Still we are not listening.

“Wa qaloo samina wa at`ana - They say, ‘Ya Rabbee! We heard and we obeyed!” When we reach that level, when we say we listened and obeyed, then at that time they can give us from the highest level of knowledge. Now still all talks are very basic in spirituality. You cannot, if I am going to go through this notebook of Grandshaykh, you’d be amazed about what they speak. It’s something beyond the limitation of the mind. 

That’s why the level of awliya is very high and we cannot understand them. That’s why they used to come against them, many, many, many times. But these days, Mawlana is going to the lower level to talk in order to keep it to our understanding.

He said that Murshid at-Tazkiyyah, the guide of purification, needs to purify his followers as we said from laziness and from feeling cold toward tariqah, and from feeling warm toward bad desires. It means feeling cold toward bad desires and feeling warm toward heavenly desires. “And then the most important thing,” he said, “is to take away from their minds al-awhaam wa ’l-khayalaat.” He has to take from their minds. 

He wants them to be reasonable. He doesn’t want them to go with hallucinations and illusions. There are many today who hallucinate. They have hallucinations and illusions in their minds. They cannot be basic.
They say tasawwuf is be in a journey of ma`rifatullah (to know Allah Subhanahu wa Ta`ala). How will you know Allah? With a diaper? No one knows Allah; they only know about His Beautiful Names and Attributes. 

Before you know ma`arifatullah, you have to know yourself, as it is said, “man `arafa nafsahu `arafa rabbahu - Who knows himself, knows his Lord.” What is the benefit of a guide sitting and talking to you from Unseen Knowledge that he has seen, but you have not? What are you going to understand? It will make you more lazy.

There are people who say, “Oh, that shaykh is speaking so high.” What is the benefit? If you are not praying the five prayers, if you are not doing the basics of Islam, if you don’t call for unity, if you don’t bring people together, if you don’t build your community and help them through your business, your work, your donation, your generosity—what’s the benefit of going up high and seeing the penthouse? You don’t have the money to buy the penthouse or rent it because it’s benefit to look at it. 

Look at those who are below you, then you will appreciate what you have.
So basic issues they asked Prophet (s) in a hadith. That’s why in all the………..(with the permission of Grandshaykh and Mawlana Shaykh, may Allah give them long life, I have direct permission from them to speak for that from spirituality) , but I went East and West and saw many people in Arab world. I saw what is the benefit to speak from a high level when they are still in the primary Kindergarten? Even if you put a turban on your head and have long beard, and they say, “We are wearing like sunnah of Prophet.” What is sunnah? It’s wearing something loose. 

In reality he used to wear a robe, a dress. In any case, I saw many people calling themselves Naqshbandi or Rifa`i or Qadiri or Burhani, Qaribi, Shadhili … they follow only what is being described as spirituality and they don’t pray. So what’s the benefit? So I saw it is better to talk to about Shari`ah teachings and leave teaching of tariqah as they are not going to understand it.

You need to apply the Shari`ah first before going to Haqiqah. Prophet came with Sharia`h, first with the five obligations, the five pillars of Islam, then with the six levels of Iman: your `aqidah. You have to learn your `aqidah first. Do you know what is your `aqidah? If I ask this question, I’m 100% sure no one can answer. `Aqidah is our belief, how we believe in Allah’s Oneness. It is a basic question in Islamic Shari`ah. 

So many Muslims don’t know Prophet (s) came with five obligatory pillars of Islam, six pillars of Iman, and then after that, the highest level of moral excellence (ihsan). It’s the highest level of spirituality of tazkiyyat an-nafs, “purification of the nafs.” Then you are able to understand.

That’s why Muhyiddeen Ibn al-`Arabi Qaddasallahu Sirrahu, they hanged him because they didn’t understand. Even scholars, they said Muhyiddeen Ibn al-`Arabi Qaddasallahu Sirrahu did something wrong, so we hanged him. What he did wrong? What he wrote in his books and finally he said, “What you worship is under my feet. Your god in under my feet.” So they got upset; like today there are scholars in some countries in the East who don’t understand what is tariqah, haqiqah, shari`ah. They say, “O, tariqah is bad, so (we must) question these people.” They send questions to be answered. It’s so funny. This is Kindergarten. You are asking questions you don’t even know their meaning. 

In Malaysia today, they are asking for someone to answer those questions about tariqah, because all their knowledge is basic. They cannot go beyond their minds. That’s why it is useless to speak to these people about tariqah.

In the book al-Futuhatul- Makiya, Muhyiddin Ibn al-`Arabi Qaddasallahu Sirrahu said, “The secret of Muhyiddin Ibn al-`Arabi Qaddasallahu Sirrahu cannot be known ‘until the seen enters the sheen (Arabic letters).’” So they hanged him. So they are not going to understand what he’s talking about, and you are going to confuse people if you speak to them from high levels, and say you’re kafir. So what is the benefit? Nothing. So speak normally, from basics.

Muhyiddin Ibn `Arabi Qaddasallahu Sirrahu, they hanged him and dumped him in the dump. They didn’t even bury him because they said he is a non-muslim, a kafir (unbeliever) , a murtad (apostate). This was what was said about Muhyiddin Ibn `Arabi Qaddasallahu Sirrahu, one of the biggest saints of Islam. And they hanged him. So when Sultan Selim came to Turkey, the Ottoman Emperor, and he invaded Damascus (Sham) (seen for his name “Selim”, entered Sham with a sheen) he took it out of the hands of the unbelievers, and it became the holy city of Damascus. 

Prophet Muhammad (s) gave more than forty hadiths on the “arrow of Sham” because according to the hadith of Prophet, Allah’s throne will descend in that area. That’s why Sayyidina Isa (a) will come to the white minaret of Masjid al-Umawiyyah; most of the wives of Prophet Muhammad (s), his grandchildren are buried there, and many of Sahaba.

So when Sultan Selim entered, he ordered his army to prepare for him the Turkish bath. You know at that time they had a huge area they used as a bathroom, bathtub like sauna, vapor comes out. He entered and sitting in the bath he noticed someone relaxing. He could see things as if they were there, like virtual spiritual telephone, its not real, its like seeing a vision of someone sitting in this bath. Something comes in his eyes to make him say ‘I saw’ but in reality it is a vision. I don’t want to say he saw in reality then these Wahhabis will say how could he see (a dead one) so, I leave it as a vision although it was a reality. So we say it is a vision in order to please everybody. Allah knows best.

He said, “Ya Selim!” (to Ottoman Emperor in his bath tub!) He was wondering, who is that person calling him “Selim”, not “Sultan Selim.” He got frightened. He said, “Ya Selim, come and rub my back!” If you want to say a vision, it’s a vision. The bathtub was trembling out of fear. No one could enter through security. Sultan Selim was rubbing his back. He said, “Ya Selim, tonight I want my secret to come out. I wrote in my books that my secrets will come out when the seen enters the sheen. It is written in the Preserved Tablet that today, my secret has to appear. I am Muhyiddin Ibn `Arabi Qaddasallahu Sirrahu. I’ve been killed wrongly. I was executed through wrong rumors. I’ve been backbited, backbited, backbited!”

If people are backbited for one year, some will believe it, then it becomes a legend and they build on it. They don’t know from the beginning that it was wrong. They build on what they’ve heard from one generation to another. They don’t know truth from falsehood; they think it is a reality. They build on it then they execute whatever they want. That’s why the Prophet prohibited backbiting to spread confusions and rumors. It’s haraam. They’re not real.

They did that with Muhyiddin Ibn `Arabi Qaddasallahu Sirrahu and the people killed him. Don’t kill your brothers with your backbitings. Repent, and Allah will forgive. Have the courage to repent and ask for forgiveness from the ones you backbited; I’m telling myself and everyone. Have the courage, say “I’m sorry,” then it’s going to be finished. To be cleared up here is better than to be cleared in the Hellfire.

So Sultan Selim answered, “Is your secret to be revealed tonight? How am I going to know where you are buried?” Muhyiddin Ibn `Arabi Qaddasallahu Sirrahu answered, “First you have to take me out of my place where they threw me.” This occurred 300 years later, not a few years later. He is saying, to take him from where he is still existing. It’s all remaining bones. So Sultan Selim wondered, how he will find him? Muhyiddin Ibn `Arabi Qaddasallahu Sirrahu said, “Go to Masjid al-Omawiyyah in Damascus.”
That mosque was once a church, and before that Jews prayed there. 

So when Sayyidna Omar used to pray there, he took the church he left the Jews and Christians to pray in their places, and he left the Muslims to pray on the other side so as not disturb anyone. Look how Sayyidna Omar was just; he did not stop the Christians and the Jews, no. Allah…everyone is happy for what he has كل حزب بما لديهم فرحون let them ….they were praying there all three faiths, so that place has lots of secrets. You go there up the white minaret and look up the mountain of prophets, Jabal Qasyun, many prophets are buried there and there are many secrets there; I will not go into it now.

Muhyiddin Ibn `Arabi Qaddasallahu Sirrahu said, “You will see light coming from Earth up to the sky. Follow that light where it begins.” Sultan Selim went there to the minaret, ordered his army to go there and he saw that light coming. He went to the origin of the light, which is now Masjid al-Muhyiddin Ibn `Arabi Qaddasallahu Sirrahu, a famous big mosque built by Sultan Selim of the Ottoman Empire. It’s like you are on top of the hill to the bottom of the hill. It’s a dump where people have been throwing their garbage for years and years and it melted, decomposed and gone.

Sultan Selim ordered the army to dig the dump and take the garbage away. He went like 70- 80 meters down. As soon as they reached the bottom, between this bad smell a huge nice smell came out. And a shroud came and Muhyiddin Ibn `Arabi Qaddasallahu Sirrahu was as if still alive, fresh, nothing happened to him, not his skin changed, his face was pink as if he died this morning, with this nice smell coming out of him. Sultan Selim immediately carried him with the help of the army and put him somewhere and immediately they buried him in a grave they dug, and ordered a masjid to be built which still exists today, the maqam of Sayyidina Muhyiddin Ibn `Arabi Qaddasallahu Sirrahu.

But he did not stop at that; he wanted to check. He said, “I want to kill all those ulama and I’m going after their children even. I want to see the reality of what happened.” So they found someone; you know people didn’t eat like what we eat today, with too much oil and preservatives and chemicals in the food. It was natural, and they used to live above 100 years. They found someone who was 137 years of age. Sultan Selim called him and said, “O my father, do you remember anything about Muhyiddin Ibn `Arabi Qaddasallahu Sirrahu, what he said and where he was killed?” 

He said, “Ya Sayyidi, I remember that my father who lived another 100 years told me that his grandfather told him before he died, that they killed him in this spot. And he showed me the spot, and because it is written and fact that he said, “What you worship is under my feet,” they hanged him in the same place.

Sultan Selim asked that the man take him to the place which happened to be near the place in which they buried him, and now it’s a masjid. Sultan Selim asked them to mark the spot and dig there, they dug a huge hole like a well going 3-4 meters down, and they found seven barrels of gold coins from olden times, buried there. It means Muhyiddin Ibn `Arabi Qaddasallahu Sirrahu was telling them, “What you worship is that dunya under my feet! I don’t worship what you worship! I worship Allah subhanahu wa ta`ala!”

They didn’t understand and they backbited him. You see where backbiting took them? It ended up in a killing. That’s why awliyaullah today they don’t speak from high level, but if they do, they have to be at a high level. Sometimes when we are upstairs with him, he speaks a very high suhbah in `Arabi Qaddasallahu Sirrahuc, which cannot be posted because others can’t understand it or else it would cause problems. The problem is not with Mawlana Shaykh; he doesn’t care. The problem is with us, that we cannot understand!

So backbiting is dangerous. Some people say, “Why don’t you speak about things on high level?” One time we spoke something and they printed a book, and we were never able to come out of it. Always this issue has been brought up. I tried to defend it but we couldn’t, so in the end I said I don’t know anything about it. You cannot. They cannot understand it, so they backbite you. Until today they are backbiting you on the Internet. Not me, but some of what has been published by some people. Backbiting is not good.

I’ll tell you a story that affects some converts. One person since 1995, he and his Buddhist mother (and he was a Buddhist) who converted to Islam, very dedicated person. He got married and was teaching, and asked for a place to attend prayer, dhikr. I saw him later not happy, saying he doesn’t want to attend dhikr. He said, “It came to my ear, spreading garbage in my ears, asking me not to have any relationship with you.” He may have been brainwashed. Allah will take revenge. Help people come together. All awliya have been criticized; Grandshaykh was taken to court because he said something that some people wrote it in a wrong way (out of context).

Curse comes on someone to stir in the mud something that happened one minute ago. The smell of badness accompanies backbiters in the grave. Be careful from stories; even if they are true, don’t contaminate others. Dirty flu, swine flu, Subhanallah. First thing is they will kill the pigs (and it is) a sign for the arrival of Sayyidina `Isa Alayhissalam. Some are saying (about the swine flu pandemic), “Don’t kill pigs but it’s okay to kill other infected animals.” You will be cursed if you backbite!

Wa min Allah at Tawfiq 

Who is the Guide? ( Vol 4

Mawlana Shaykh Hisham Kabbani 
Thursday, Jun 25, 2009 | Lefke CY
www.sufilive. com

A`udhu billah min ash-Shaytan ir-rajeem Bismillahi 'r-Rahmani 'r-Raheem
Nawaytu ‘l-arba`een nawaytu ‘l-`itikhaaf nawaytu ‘l-khalwah nawaytu ‘l-`uzla nawaytu ’r-riyaada nawaytu ’s-sulook lillahi ta’ala al-`adheem fee hadha ’l-masjid.

We ask support from our shaykh and from all shaykhs up to Prophet (s).
It is very important to notice that it is wise, when you give an advice or a presentation, to make sure it reaches everyone's heart and that people are not fed up or bored with it. Sometimes at seminars or conferences you see people in the audience become sleepy, because the presenter speaks in a way that lacks humbleness. He is trying to present himself as a big scholar and his ego is playing with him. The most dangerous factor in life is our ego, because it always wants to be happy and will always pull you toward the traps of Shaytan and toward bad desires. One of the bad desires is arrogance, al-`ujub bin-nafs.

To think that we are so important or famous, means we have to be proud, arrogant. Although you might be trying and struggling, that is another case, but mainly our ego likes always to pull us to be arrogant and when someone becomes arrogant, they become stubborn. When someone is stubborn it is very difficult to break through and cut that down; it’s like a huge cement block that can only be moved with a crane. That's why you need the support of Prophet (s); you need the waseela, the means, which is Sayyidina Muhammad (s) and his inheritors.

To move that big obstacle, which, if it were only a curtain it is very easy to pull the curtain away and go through, but the ego’s obstacles created from arrogance and stubbornness become very huge, so you cannot accept advice from anyone. Listening to advice from a Guide is only to take that obstacle away. Their job, their duty, is to take that obstacle that comes between you and Prophet (s) so you will be able to reach the presence of Sayyidina Muhammad (s) through spiritual ways. And to reach the presence of Sayyidina Muhammad (s) we must not be stubborn or arrogant, because he is the most humble. He is teaching us humbleness, tawaadah.

So, alhamdulillah, Islam came with the divine message of Sayyidina Muhammad (s), to take all of us to the Divine Presence, to Allah’s Subhanahu wa Ta`ala Holy Presence. Islam came to move us through these obstacles, but there are many elements in Islam that we are not doing. Anyone that is a Muslim is doing not everything, but he is doing something. But that something is not enough to take away these huge obstacles. 

That's why you need, if you are in a tunnel and you know in that tunnel there are a lot of obstacles, you cannot see them and they tell you to cross that tunnel, might be obstacles, bushes or woods, or anything, and you need a flash light, without the flash light you cannot see how you are going to pass through the tunnel. So, Islam has the flashlight and has all the elements that can take you away from these difficulties and that flashlight is a Guide that can guide you, or a shaykh that can show you the way in order to move forward.

So, a scholar who did not achieve the level of Guide that we were describing in this series (Murshid at-Tabarruk, the Guide of Barakah), now we are speaking about the Guide of Purification. Purification means to give you hint, to give you a jump-start; that is his work, he is not more than that. He is a means to reach and to move, to make your vehicle to move.

So, one time Sayyidina Abdul Qadir al-Jilani Qaddasallahu Sirrahu, a very famous saint, a wali in Baghdad, founder of the Qadiri Tariqah, his techniques and methods that he gave to his followers are like a flashlight. He had a very advanced khalifa, and when that khalifa gave guidance everyone was listening very attentively, they want to understand everything, to the extent that you could hear a pin drop. No one was talking, everyone’s eyes were focused on him. 

That khalifa had a son, who looked at his father and the mureeds, and how much they are captivated by the advice his father was giving. He thought, "I studied more than my father. I spent fifteen, twenty years in Islamic studiesand Shari'ah. I know more than what he knows. So if those people are listening to him in such a way, it means when I speak to them, they will be more attached than when my father is speaking. And I'll give them knowledge that my father is not able to give."

He was looking for an opportunity to speak to them. Like many people today, they look for opportunities to speak, so they might claim that they are this, they are knowledgeable, or a khalifa, a representative, a scholar, a president, a minister—whatever he is in his life. His father looked into the son’s heart and saw that sickness, that he likes to be something.

The next week he said, "Oh my son, today I am sick; you go and give the advice to people. I cannot." The son was so happy. He is a highly educated scholar, an ‘alim, not like today’s representatives of different shuyukh. His father sent him. He began to speak knowledge above the knowledge of his father. And he was looking at the people; one after one they began to sleep. He was surprised, "I am giving them something very deep knowledge that my father never gave." Might be he knows it, might be he doesn't, but for sure his father knows he never gave. He is giving something highly spiritual, mystic knowledge. There are many awliya who spoke about it. But when he is speaking, one after one is sleeping.

He finished his talk. He went to his father directly afterwards and said, "Oh my father, I experienced something strange today. When I began to speak, they slept. When you speak, they open their eyes."

Sayyidina Abdul Qadir al-Jilani Qaddasallahu Sirrahu said, "Oh my son, your ego was speaking and I have raised these people against their egos. They will not accept anything coming from ego. They can sense it.”
Like today, if one car sensor is out of order the car does not work. Those people had sensors in their hearts. If you are speaking to them something that builds up their ego, they are not going to listen. Their sensors will pick it up.

He answered, "Oh my father, I did not say anything to build their ego. I was giving them some very deep knowledge."

Sayyidina Abdul Qadir al-Jilani Qaddasallahu Sirrahu said, "Oh my son, you did not speak to build their ego, yes I know, but whenever you opened your mouth that bad smell of the ego made such spots on their hearts that their sensors understood it’s full of arrogance, selfishness, egoism, and also, you sat in my place full of ego—for sure, everyone is going to sleep! Oh my son, when I speak, I see myself lower than everyone attending. 

I am their shaykh but I look at myself lower than everyone, that I am trying to tell my ego I am in need for that advice I am giving, so the first that has to apply this advice is me, not others. But you did not do that. You were full of arrogance, giving them something that made them feel that arrogance and that's why they got sleepy. When you speak through your ego, people will not pay attention. When you speak through humbleness, and you consider and declare that you are nothing, people will listen."

We might have sicknesses and illnesses, and each of us is trying to progress. We come here (to Mawlana shaykh Nazim) to be uplifted, because to cut down our egos is a continuous struggle. It is not going to end by doing your awrad, reading Holy Qur`an, or by praying your prayers; it is a process. You are going to go through your life facing temptation. Every day, Shaytan will come and whisper in your ears and in your heart. Every day, there is another problem going to facing you, and it is going to continue. So, you are in a continuous struggle against your ego.

So we have to declare that first we are in need of what we are saying; we cannot say something to the people and don't apply it on ourselves, then what's the benefit of saying it to the people? You are only cheating them.

One of my relatives was a big shaykh in the Middle East, and everyone listened to what he says. They liked his presentation, but he had a problem: his daughter never covered. So people will look at that personal example and think, why his daughter is not covered and he is speaking about hijab? First let him apply it on his family, then he can speak about covering, or else he has to declare his daughter is not doing that and he is unhappy with her.

You have to apply on yourself first what you like people to hear, then it will be like hitting the target, like a bow and arrow going all the way to the center of gravity in your heart. But if you are not first adopting it yourself and you want others to listen, it’s not going to work.

The Guides we are speaking about have already applied everything on themselves first. They went through this long struggle to achieve benefit for their students. This is a very, very basic introduction that people must understand. Pride and arrogance are from the seventeen bad characteristics that destroy your advancement. Don't think, “I am an engineer, a professor, an expert… I am better than this one,” or “I am this,” or “I am that.” No. Islam makes everyone equal.

Laa farqa bayna `ajamiyya wa laa `arabiyyan illa bit-taqwa

There is no difference between the Arab or non-Arab.This means a Muslim or non-Muslim, a Muslim Arab or non-Muslim Arab, A Muslim Arab believer and a Muslim who is not Arab. There is no difference, except through righteousness and sincerity. It means all of us, in the eyes of Allah Subhanahu wa Ta`ala and eyes of Prophet (s), are equal. 

Islam gives equality, unity, but the sincerity will change. That one is more sincere, that one is more pious, that one is more generous, that one is the most educated, that one is the most patient, that one has less anger—that is a balance. So Allah looks at sincerity and piety, looks at these different levels of conduct, but in His eyes we are all the same, because we are Ummati Nabi (s), of the Nationof Prophet (s).

So, these four different categories of Guide's we are speaking about, they already went through these big struggles and when they speak, they give light to the heart. Like an ignition of the car engine, it is a starter. These murshids are starters for your heart, and they open that spark in your heart. That is what is important, because they know how we are.

Grandshaykh said when he was given the choice to accept irshad, he answered, "No, I don't want it, unless you grant that anyone who sits in my presence (in my suhbah) is raised to my level, because I know they are not going to do anything (they are weak servants!). When they do, when they don't do, Shaytan is after everyone. This life is full of temptations. I do not guarantee that they are going to be doing their awrad or whatever has been asked of them (of religious obligations) . 

I want for those who love me, for that to be enough, just as Prophet (s) said, ‘People will be resurrected with whom they love.’ These people coming to me, they love me, and I want them in my level. I am not asking them to do anything because I know they will do it one day and the next day they won’t."

All these guides are taking from the tap, and this is from Grandshaykh' s notes. We will continue the speech about the characteristic of Murshid at Tazkiyyah, the Guide of Purification. He purifies you, purifies your heart, purifies your soul. And as we said before, he has to follow, and do, and learn the knowledge of all four Islamic Schools of Thought. He has to maintain his faith and practices according to teachings of Imam Abu Hanifa, Imam Malik, Imam Shafi`i, and Imam Hambul. He has to know all that and apply that knowledge first to himself, then to people around him.
In order to be a murshid (Guide), he has to have these characteristics. If someone does not have these characteristic, how he is going to be Guide? That's why we say guidance it is not so simple, is not so easy.

Then, he has to have the right permission, as we said previously regarding Murshid at-Tabbarruk. He has to do at least 24,000 dhikrullah and 24,000 salawaat. Murshid at-Tazkiyyah, the Guide of Purification, not only he has to do all this, but in addition, on behalf of his mureeds, he has to take the responsibility of putting their tongue on dhikrullah and salawaat as if they have recited 24,000 salawat and 24,000 dhikr, he will do it on their behalf daily. If he has 1000 mureeds he has to do 1000 times, multiplied by 24,000 dhikrullah, count!!

Allah gives awliyullah like a digital tongue, not an analog tongue. A digital one, very acute, sharp wavelength that can do things quickly. That's what we call in Arabic ta’I (folding).

يَوْمَ نَطْوِي السَّمَاء كَطَيِّ السِّجِلِّ لِلْكُتُبِ كَمَا بَدَأْنَا أَوَّلَ خَلْقٍ نُّعِيدُهُ وَعْدًا عَلَيْنَا إِنَّا كُنَّا فَاعِلِينَ

Yawma natwee as-samaa ka tayyi as-sijlli li ’l-kutubi kama badanaa awwala khalqin nu`eeduhu wa`dan `alayna inna kunna fa`ileen

The Day that We roll up the heavens like a scroll rolled up for books (completed), - even as We produced the first creation, so shall We produce a new one: a promise We have undertaken: truly shall We fulfil it. Al-Anbiya [21:104] 

Regarding this folding Allah said, “Yawma natwee as-samaa ka tayyi as-sijlli li ’l-kutubi, “…the day when it comes when we fold skies and universe.”

Allah said, "I am going to fold it, to close it, like We close a book.” It means this whole space will shrink to (something) small like a book. Allah is giving the example of a book, to fold a book, the tongue can have this power, it will be folded. Like airplanes today, (when) you move in space you are folding space, you are shrinking the time, but still you are moving fast enough to reach the place you want to reach. Let’s say you are in America and you want to go to Cyprus; (previously) it took 80 or 90 days by boat. Today you reach it in 15 or 20 hours. You are shrinking the time, but not shrinking the space; still you are able to go in space.

You are shrinking the tongue to do dhikr and can do the dhikr in very small, short time, and it is a huge number of dhikr. Awliyaullah can do that. We cannot do that, but awliyaullah can do that.

And he has to put this awrad as if his mureed did it. When the shaykh does it on the behalf of the mureed it has no ego, has no arrogance, has no pride in it. It’s pure, so with this purity, with this dhikr he presents us, enables us when we say Allahu Akbar. You are clean as if he cleaned your heart. When you are clean, you are in Allah's Presence. But when you are dirty, you cannot be in that Presence. 

That’s why when you go to prayer you have to be clean, you cannot be dirty. Your carpet has to be clean if you are praying on a carpet. Even if you are not praying on a carpet, you are praying on sand in the desert, it has to be clean, or in a forest, has to be clean, or on cement, it has to be clean, or even in grass, it has to be clean. You cannot pray on grass where they have litters or things that are not clean.

So, when you become clean, take ablution, means you can pray. They give us a spiritual ablution with dhikrullah and salawat on Prophet (s). And then I will end with this and continue tomorrow.

He is authorized in that level, that Guide in level of purification. He is been authorized to call upon any Naqshbandi Shaykh, because we are speaking about the Naqshbandi Sufi Order. He has been authorized, that murshid, to call upon any saint, any wali in the Naqshbandi Order, living or non-living. If he wants to call on Mawlana Shaykh Nazim, who is Sultan al-Awliya, who is Murshid at-Tarbiyyah, the highest level of irshad, he can call upon and get the answer. If he wants to call on someone who left dunya, he can call on someone who left dunya and reach him in the grave.

That characteristic has been given to that kind of level of irshad (guidance). Murshid at-Tazkiyyah can call upon any wali because, there might be in Murshid at-Tabarruk, 100 walis the same, they have that level; might be Murshid at-Tazkiyyah 1000 walis, we don't know, might be 10,000 walis, we don' t know. He can reach them all.

In the Naqshbandi Sufi Order out of 124,000 walis on Earth—always there is 7007 saints, has to be living—he can reach anyone of them any moment to get answers from them, to get energy from them. And he can each those who pass away at any moment he wants through his spiritual means. May Allah Subhanahu wa Ta`ala keep us in this line and take away our arrogance and pride from our heart. Bi hurmatu ‘l-habib bi hurmatu `l-Fatiha.

Wa min Allah at Tawfiq