What Happened at the Moment of Death of Sayyidina Shah Bahaaudin Naqshband Mawlana Shaykh Hisham Kabbani | Saturday, Oct 25, 2008 | Chicago, IL US If someone has PhD and he goes to his horizon, what is there? Another horizon. And he goes to that horizon, what is there? Another horizon. So fawqa kulli dhi `ilmin `aleem  - above every knower there is a higher knower. So it is a waste of time, not a waste, but above every knower there is a higher knowledge. Knowledge never ends. So don't say one is above the other. Guidance is not cheap. Guidance is expensive. Might be all your life and you don't achieve the level of guidance. The level of guidance Is a grant from Allah swt. If you are not granted you cannot achieve it. Many people are being called murshid and I was going to a Mawlid in Los Angeles and there was a conference where they have 6 speakers. They asked, no even they didn't ask, they put my name there and they put the name of the other 6 speakers. When I looked at the flyer I said, "SubhanAllah look these people out of their love, how much… " because they praise someone out of their love. If you love the Prophet you praise the Prophet (s). Are there people who don't praise the Prophet (s) too much. You know them - you understand. They don't praise too much. They say, "then you make shirk." That is stupid. Can praising the Prophet (s) make shirk? To praise the Prophet (s), you show your obedience to Allah when Allah said, إِنَّ اللَّهَ وَمَلَائِكَتَهُ يُصَلُّونَ عَلَى النَّبِيِّ يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا صَلُّوا عَلَيْهِ وَسَلِّمُوا تَسْلِيمًا Inna Allaha wamalaikatahu yusalloona `ala an-nabiyyi ya ayyuha alladheena amanoo salloo `alayhi wa sallimoo tasleema Allah and His angels send blessings on the Prophet: O ye that believe! Send ye blessings on him, and salute him with all respect. Al-Ahzab [33:56]  "Allah and His angels are praising the Prophet (s)." When you praise the Prophet (s) you are obeying Allah and obeying His Prophet (s). So guidance is not cheap. So when I was looking at this flyer I saw in front of everyone's name is ash-shaykh, al-`allaama al-mufti pir saheb. Shaykh `allaama. `allaama means walking encyclopedia. That is Arabic, means he knows every kind of knowledge. How this Pakistani became a walking encyclopedia. There are Pakistanis that are `allaama but not everyone on the list is an `allaama mufti pir saheb. That `allaama might be a doctor. Out of their love they wrote it but in reality it is not correct. As they were just introducing me. What the Prophet (s) said, " and he went in Isra and Mi'raj and every day we are reading Holy Qur'an and passing through that verse. What he described himself. Allah can describe himself whatever he likes and raise him and the Prophet (s) can describe himself as he likes, but what did he Say? قُلْ إِنَّمَا أَنَا بَشَرٌ مِّثْلُكُمْ يُوحَى إِلَيَّ أَنَّمَا إِلَهُكُمْ إِلَهٌ وَاحِدٌ فَمَن كَانَ يَرْجُو لِقَاء رَبِّهِ فَلْيَعْمَلْ عَمَلًا صَالِحًا وَلَا يُشْرِكْ بِعِبَادَةِ رَبِّهِ أَحَدًا Qul innama ana basharun mithlukum yooha ilayya annama ilahukum ilahun wahidun faman kana yarjoo liqaa rabbihi falya`mal `amalan salihan wala yushrik bi-`ibadati rabbihi ahadan. Say [O Prophet]: "I am but a mortal man like all of you. It has been revealed unto me that your God is the One and Only God. Hence, whoever looks forward [with hope and awe] to meeting his Sustainer [on Judgment Day], let him do righteous deeds, and let him not ascribe unto anyone or anything a share in the worship due to his Sustainer!" Al-Kahf (The Cave) 18:110 Say: "I am only a human being." He is the Seal of messengers. He is the Messenger of Allah swt that Allah sent him as mercy for humanity. What did he say? He said: say O Muhammad, 'I am only a human being like you.'" So what then about us if Sayyidina Muhammad (s) is saying that out of humbleness? You go to these conferences and one stands up and says, "I am introducing the speaker." What you are introducing the speaker?  Introduce his name and that is enough. They will speak ten minutes about the speaker, more than the lecture itself. And as he is praising him he swells up. What happened, Idris is happy.  What happened? [ Mawlana touches Yusuf Bey's medals] As much as you praise as much as they are happy. As much as you praise Sayyidina Muhammad (s), as much  as the prophet says, "Don't say!" but Allah is saying, "say it too much!" Allah is happy. So say salawat more. So our problem today is that everyone is trying to say, "what is wrong with me?" Did you say that to yourself sometime or you never thought that. Ask your friend? [do you say what is wrong with you sometimes?] [sometimes.] Do you say is something wrong with you? [sometimes] That we will see, I don't believe. We will see when someone slaps you on the face. We will see if you get a hit from down. Do we say, "what is wrong with us?" Every moment we must say, "what is wrong with us?" The Prophet (s) he is Seal of the messengers. One phrase he said made Sayyidina Abu Bakr as-Siddiq to put a stone in his mouth for seven years. Do you want to put a pebble in your mouth for seven years? [Idris yes.] It is in your mouth not in your pocket. [He lost it already.] Might be you swallowed it. You stand up, Idris wants to see you.  [I have been trying to tell him all along to put the pebble in his mouth] one for you, one for Idris and one for me. Because of that phrase of the Prophet (s), that hadith the Prophet (s) mentioned, he put a stone, a large stone, in his mouth to guarantee what he says, as the Prophet (s) said, من يضمن لي ما بين لحييه وما بين رجليه أضمن له الجنة "who can control or guarantee what is between his jaws and what is between his legs I will guarantee for him Paradise." That means whoever has control over his desires for speaking and for something else, "if anyone can control and stop that I will guarantee you Paradise." Take the easiest one, to control the tongue. Can you control the tongue from talking? No, because we are not trying. He put a stone in his mouth. Until Jibreel  came to the Prophet (s) and told him, "give him Allah's salaams and tell him to take the stone out of his mouth." It means when you lie, you cheat, you steal, when you don't want to study; they are happy they have holidays, vacation, especially young ones. You say, "yes we are sick." You have school tomorrow? [no] oh. You must have school every day. Every moment. We must learn something new every moment. If we are not learning something new from what is around us then we are wasting time. So what do we have to learn today? It is so simple: don't think you are something. He said, "guide me." When he said that word it agitated me. Who guides who? Handicapped guides handicapped? Disabled can guide disabled? Both of them are disabled, how can they guide each other? Are we disabled or not? That doesn't mean we are not trying to decrease our pride or personality no, but this is teaching us a lesson that we are disabled. We are disabled in everything. Look I give you an example. But we have to not forget the hadith of the Prophet (s) where we mentioned that Sayyidina Abu Bakr put that stone in his mouth. Under whose name is this dergah? Under Shah Naqshband is it not. It is the most distinguished Naqshbandi tariqah. He spread it east and west, until Shaykh Nazim and he spread it all over the world. But still it is tariqah an-Naqshbandiyya. And this story will tell you how careful he was in his dealings with his students and with everyone around. He was so rich and people say, "how can you be so rich and you are Naqshbandi. You must be very poor." Who said? You can be a billionaire, not just a millionaire even. The ghaniyyun shaakir is better than faqeerin `abid. The thankful rich person is better than the poor worshipper. The poor one can only do for himself but the rich one can do help for many others O Mersad. Don't think you became a peacock, that you are someone big. Look Sayyidina Shah Naqshband what happened to him, when he was … So from your hand I will take this. Who brought it, Idris? Ahh! In his time, he was very rich. In his time, as Grandshaykh may Allah bless his soul, "Every night he used to feed 5000 people and they were studying in his school," and til today you can go and see his school. He said that "one time there was drought in the city, in Samarqand and there is no more wheat for people to eat. There is no rain, there is no more food. They came to Sayyidina Shah Naqshband and said, 'Ya Sayyidee this is situation and people are dying from hunger there is no rain.' What did he do? He said, 'Is there any house that has any grain?' They looked and looked and looked and found one house of one rich person, who is the richest person in area, he has a little bit of grains of wheat of flour. They brought it to Sayyidina Shah Naqshband and said, 'this is what we found.' He said, 'take it to windmill and I am coming.' So they went to the mill and you know they used to grind wheat in those days with two buffalos. The buffalo puts its head between the yoke and then he turns the wheel and it grinds the flour. At that time they choke on the stones that come in the bread. And today they have zero tolerance flour, milled very smooth. And still they are throwing the food more than they eat. Sunnah is to keep water next to you when  eating. Why? Because they used to choke on the stones that comes in the barley bread, so they have to drink water quickly. That is why one of his wives, he was telling her, "Ya Ayesha, in the Last Days," while he was sitting telling her, he said, "People are not going to eat from our bread." She said, "How are they going to eat?" He said, "they are eating bread that is very pure, ground to the end. You cannot find anything in it that is not fine and yet they are not thankful." Grandshaykh may Allah bless his soul, said in the time of the Prophet (s) no Sahaba used to have tooth decay, cavities in their teeth, because it was not in that time. There was no dentistry at that time. For every time Allah gives them ways. She raised her hands and said, "O Allah make cavities come in their teeth for their ungratefulness for their fine flour." The Prophet said, "stop!" and if she didn't stop Grandshaykh said that all the people of today would have lost their teeth. From that time cavities began. So today they don't show gratitude they don't say Bismillahi 'r-Rahmani 'r-Raheem at the beginning of eating and they don't say alhamdulillah at the end. When they finish, Idris what happens. [Mawlana demonstrates someone smoking.] At the end this is what they do. Is that thanking Allah swt? Or they drink. "What you want to drink?" SubhanAllah everyone has to drink when they are eating. Everyone, if they don't drink they feel they didn't eat. So at the end they take these cigars, big ones, and they … or cigarettes and they being to smoke, after what? After food. This is thanking Allah!? And others, they do something worse: they take marijuana and they think they are doing something nice. And that is why you see half the children in the west have no brains. Their brains are gone through drugs. So what do you say? This is our time. This is…which guide can guide you now. There is no way for a guide except Sayyidina Mahdi . Guides are rare. You cannot find like Mawlana Shaykh Nazim - they are rare. You might find one or two - for us he is the highest but you cannot find like anymore, they are hidden. "So Shah Naqshband said, 'bring that grain' and they took the grain of wheat and Sayyidina Shah Naqshband he put the grain on the millstone that is going to turn and they put, usually they put two buffaloes or two donkeys. So there were two buffalos or two donkeys and they tie one to one side of the stone and tie to the other side of the stone and then Shah Naqshband took one of the ropes away and with the other buffalo he began to turn the windmill. As he is turning wheat is coming from all directions. He ordered all the villages that are outside that village to come, as much as they can to take of flour. And from morning to evening except the prayers that wheat is coming out until the whole area Bukhara, Samarqand and Merv, was covered with wheat it might be enough for 10 years. Everyone was a student of his knew what he was doing. So everyone went back and they were happy. So Sayyidina Shah Bahauddin Naqshband when he was dying many years later with all he was doing of khayr to feed people to guide them to teach them. He was biggest guide of people, and the angel of death was coming to take his soul. What are we going to say when angel of death is coming? What are we going to say, "wait till I finish my Gameboy?" no. "Wait till if finish my DVD player." Now more than that: "wait til I finish my emails." Some people might have 2000 or 3000 emails, and if Sayyidina Azraeel will say "yes" then they might go through their junk email even in order to delay. What do doctors do? They think they are delaying the death of people. What did Allah say?         وَلِكُلِّ أُمَّةٍ أَجَلٌ فَإِذَا جَاء أَجَلُهُمْ لاَ يَسْتَأْخِرُونَ سَاعَةً وَلاَ يَسْتَقْدِمُونَ Wa likulli ummatin ajalun fa-idha jaa ajaluhum la yastakhiroona sa`atan wa laa yastaqdimoon. To every people is a term appointed: when their term is reached, not an hour can they cause delay, nor (an hour) can they advance (it in anticipation). Al-A'raf [7:34] Go put a sign on the lake. Jogging is not going to give you longer life. You see everyone going jogging. Even those who say they are guides and shaykhs. You are imam and you go to gym. How you go to gym and all kinds of types of people instead of hiding yourself in your home and reflecting. That reflection of one hour is better than one year of worship. Imam: I am going to swim. How you are imam going to swim and all these naked women are there. Are you going with black eyeglasses so no one can see you. So angel of death came to Sayyidina Shah Naqshband. He is protected Sayyidina Shah Naqshband. As soon as the angel of death came for Sayyidina Shah Naqshband to meet his lord, as soon as they begin to see him, when he is on the bed, flipping on the ground. How you say? Flipping, falling and falling on his face. Rubbing his beard on the ground and saying: "Ya `Afuw, Ya `Afuw…"  Rubbing his lahyatush-shareefa `ala al-ard. Seven times saying, "Ya `Afuw." Then they put him on the bed. Then he falls down. Then he says: "Ya `Afuw, Ya `Afuw…" seven times. Then they put him on bed and then he falls saying, "Ya `Afuw, Ya `Afuw,…." Each time they put him he falls. You know Ya `Afuw means The One Who Forgives. Everyone was surprised at Sayyidina Shah Naqshband, though of course everyone has to say "Ya `Afuw." Any student that is doubtful will say, "O look at what kind of death," as they cannot understand any hikmat out of it except his student and successor, Ala'uddin al-Attar. He understood why, for Shah Naqshband whispered to him. When he saved thousands and hundreds when he put himself in place of the buffalo to make that flour to come out, then why is he saying "Ya `Afuw"? Allah was saying to him: "O Shah Naqshband. Why are you interfering in My Will. It is not up to you to feed them - it is up to Me." He said, " Ya `Afuw" because without permission from the Prophet (s), as always when he wants to make a miracle he must get authorization from the Prophet (s) to make a miracle. If not, then he falls into the category of sin. So that is why Naqshbandi shaykhs don't like to make miracles. They don't want anyone to know about them, they are hidden. Today those who are representatives of shaykhs around the world they show they know everything. Look Sayyidina Shah Naqshband, was rubbing his head his beard on floor and saying, "I was not right to do that. It is as if I canceled Your Will." Only when we get permission from the Prophet (s), then is it  is according to the Will of Allah. So even last moment in his life he is asking forgiveness. So where is understanding of a guide today? The meaning of a guide is not simple it is not easy I t is not something you go to university and buy it and study for it, it is a grant from Allah. If Allah gives it. We go back, when Sayyidina Abu Bakr as-Siddiq heard that hadith said, "stop! i don't want to be problem to myself." What did the Prophet (s) say? Allahuma la takilnee ila nafsee tarfata `aynin wa la `aqal min dhalik - don't leave me to my ego for blink of an eye or less." Does the Prophet (s) have ego? No! But even so he is saying "Don't leave me to my ego for blink of an eye." So like children how much you have go, they say I have this much [stretch arms] So how much ego do you have? So don't say I know something. The Prophet (s) who passed through the horizon that is no end, horizon that is qaaba qawsayni aw adna, still he said, "don't leave me to my ego for the blink of any eye." So what did Abu Bakr as-Siddiq do? He took a stone and put it in his mouth, for seven years and did not take it out unless necessary. So what is lesson today? It is not to talk too much. People talk too much today. They talk in everything as if they know everything. Keep quiet. If they ask you answer the question but if they don't ask you keep quiet and don't burn your fingers. Wa min Allah at-tawfeeq bi-hurmati 'l-Fatiha     Grab this Headline Animator

Guidance is Through Guides Even if You Were The Only Person Living on Top of a Mountain

Guidance is Through Guides Even if You Were The Only Person Living on Top of a Mountain Mawlana Shaykh Hisham Kabbani | Saturday, Oct 25, 2008 | Chicago, IL US 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   Really when you want to say something to a group of people you will face difficulties because on what issue you want to speak? Because everyone thinks differently, everyone behaves differently, everyone has a tendency of understanding something and tendency not to understand. Not all of us are on the same level, so the level change and that is why it becomes very difficult for the one that is speaking – it becomes difficult on what subject he has to touch on. And awliyaullah are the spies of the hearts, so they know, I it's not like us normal people. We know we are unable to give what you need but awliyaullah know what their student need or why then are they awliya, for what reason? A wali is in need for his student. And a student is in nee fro the wali. Because if there is no student to whom is he going to speak to empty his heart. If there is no student what is the benefit of his saint hood. Allah gave him sainthood for the benefit of his students. And that is hwy I heard it, I felt it I knew it from Mawlana Shaykh and Grandshaykh who said that they are in need of their student and Grandshaykh went further than that, he said, "the Prophet (s) is in need of his Ummah. If there is no Ummah to whom he is going to deliver the message. He said that is good tidings for us. If there is Ummah or no Ummah, Allah will give him that rank, but because of our presence he was tortured and abused because he was caring fro the Ummah that Allah created. So according to every level there is a speech according to that level. And what we are going to touch on is what Allah swt opened, I opened that book and saw that hadith of the prophet that we are in need today. Allah said In Holy Qur'an ittaqullah wa yu`alamikumullah, be ware of Allah or fear Allah or love Allah, be a trustworthy person, show your ability of being straightforward, Allah will teach you. That means that Allah will send you a teacher. You are not a prophet that Allah will send you revelation but Allah will send you a teacher that will teach you. Many people say: وَاتَّقُواْ اللّهَ وَيُعَلِّمُكُمُ اللّهُ وَاللّهُ بِكُلِّ شَيْءٍ عَلِيمٌ ittaqullah wa yu`alimakullah- fear God and God will teach you [2:282] that you will be taghut when you have taqwa. Did you reach the level of sainthood that you can receive teaching through your heart. But Allah will send someone to teach you, even you are in China. But no taqwa, no teachings. No taqwa no teacher. No taqwa, no good tidings. The host of the house hosted us. He is generous. Generosity is shown at the table but we didn't yet fill our pockets. He is generous, it confessed itself by all kinds of food they are giving you. So Allah is saying that you have taqwa then I will guide you where you have to go, I will plug to the main source as `abdullah, as servant of Allah is increasing in his `ibadah, as much as more energy will be reaching him through  that plug that Allah plugged him. Everyone has a plug. Allah created everyone with a plug. Where is your plug. You have two plugs: one for heavenly messages and one for earthly messages. Mind for earthly messages and heart for heavenly messages. As we said yesterday "is the mind in the head or the mind in the heart?" Which is bigger the mind in the head or the mind in the heart. The mind is not in heart. The mind is only in brain. The small memory chip there. You doctors you never checked it? Where is the intelligence in the brain. Which is part of the brain that gives in formation and downloads and zoom in and zoom out. Four doctors here and no one answering. You made test yesterday for me. There are areas in the brain that acquire information. And the main one is in the back of the brain, the brainstem the cerebellum. Second opinion. Yes. Yesterday He took 100 over 100 I don't know however, maybe he cheated. So all of that, Allah gave you that small thing in the brain and you think you can understand. And Allah gave to the heart. What is in the heart is bigger. Why is it bigger you remember or you forgot. يقول الله : ما وسعني أرضي ولا سمائي ولكن وسعني قلب عبدي المؤمن That is why Allah, the Exalted, said, "Neither heavens nor earth contained Me, but the heart of My believing servant contained Me." Mind cannot contain the universe the heart is able to contain as heart can contain the manifestation of the Beautiful Names and Attributes. So even if you are in china and you are fearing Allah and you want to get knowledge Allah will send you. Ask Imam Senad. He is drawing on paper. But he is going to write that hadith of prophet down when we come to it. Advice of awliyaullah is like naqsh `ala hajr. They are engraved in stone. Man `allamanee harfan kuntu lahu `abdan that is Arabic poetry whoever taught me one letter I must be a servant for that person because he taught me. Man `allamaneee harfan kuntu lahu harfan who taught me one letter I must be a salve to him. Allah is sending us the Holy Qur'an and saying this is fro you. And what do we do? We keep it on the shelf. Anyone following what the Holy Qur'an is saying? Rarely. So what did prophet Sayyidina he said, "wa law anna al-mumin `ala kullati jabalin la-kayada lahu `alimun `alimahu" Tirmidhi and at-Tabarani and ibn Hajar in Fath al-Bari. It means that if Allah swt one of his servant that has taqwa found himself on a mountain and no one around him, Allah swt would have ascribed an `alim for him to be able to teach him even if he was on top of a mountain that there is no civilization and no life, he found himself there Allah will assign to him `alim to come and teach him. I heard that from Grandshaykh a long time, might be 35 years ago and he said, explaining that hadith, he said, "if someone completely lives out of this dunya, live by himself in a place that no human comes Allah will send a wali to that one to teach him and to take care of him." Because he said, "every `abd is in need of at least every 3 days to look into the eyes of a wali or that `abd cannot survive."  That is big what he is saying. It means reflection between people today they go today to s ay we need positive energy and negative energy. Where do they go to learn these things. They go to different centers to learn mediation and they teach them energy. Grandshaykh said, "May Allah bless his soul, if someone found on a mountain then Allah will send hi a wali that Is responsible to look into his eyes and reflect the energy that he has and to take away that negative energy that mans has. Regardless of who he is. And that is necessary to give him power to survive in dunya. And you say, "O that didn't happen to me." Might be someone on street looks at you and that is a wali that does that for you. So don't underestimate anything, everything comes with hikmah, he said, The prophet said, "O Allah I need helpers when Allah gave him the Ummah as trust to return clean, we said this many times. And he gave them awliyaullah and they can reach them from east to west. If not reaching from physical means they come to them in dreams the come in visions they come in different pictures. So don't underestimate the power of a wali. Sayyidina Muhammad said, "If a believer was on top of a mountain Allah would have assigned an `alim to reach him. Where are we now? Are we on top of a mountain or not? Everyone of us is on top of a mountain. What does that mean? South America? Every one of us is on top of a mountain. Every one of us has a mountain. Mountain of ego. Huge ego. That mountain has to completely annihilate in order that you will be able to be a guide or a wali. If you still have that ego in your, bad ego, you will never reach what you are asking to reach. Some people say, "O I am generous with people, I am good with people. That is all ok. But did you ask yourself a question that 'O my self. O `Ali (r), did you look in the mirror every day in the morning? Did you look in the mirror? [na`m] what did you see. Which `Ali (r) you saw there? You saw an `Ali (r). not the `Ali (r). how many Alis are inside you? How many Waseems are inside you? How many Sahibs are inside you? You have to unite them to become one. That is why Allah said, يَا أَيُّهَا النَّاسُ إِنَّا خَلَقْنَاكُم مِّن ذَكَرٍ وَأُنثَى وَجَعَلْنَاكُمْ شُعُوبًا وَقَبَائِلَ لِتَعَارَفُوا إِنَّ أَكْرَمَكُمْ عِندَ اللَّهِ أَتْقَاكُمْ إِنَّ اللَّهَ عَلِيمٌ خَبِيرٌ Ya ayyuha an-naasu inna khalaqnaakum min dhakarin wa untha wa ja`alnakum shu`ooban waqabaila lita`arafoo inna akramakum `inda Allahi atqaakum inna Allaha `aleemun khabeer. O mankind! We created you from a single (pair) of a male and a female, and made you into nations and tribes, that ye may know each other (not that ye may despise (each other). Verily the most honoured of you in the sight of Allah is (he who is) the most righteous of you. And Allah has full knowledge and is well acquainted (with all things).  Al-Hujurat [49:13]   Take the interpretational meaning. You are endocrinologist. Do you have char of woman inside you? [yes] do you have character of man inside you? [yes. Until six weeks of embryogenesis there is no difference between female and male they look exactly the same. At 6 weeks there are hormones that turn one to male and one to female] And still when you grow up you still have that mixture of both but which one is more you are towards that gender. That is why if ?? goes up the testosterone goes up and the milk comes out of breasts. So we have made you from male and female. Within you the characters of man and woman to know each other there in that personality. Inna atqaakum. That is why Rabi`a became a wali. That character of sainthood was more appearing in her. The character of manhood was more appearing in her that is why she was a wali. When Allah opens on the heart of awliyaullah they come with secrets that no one heard it before. Allah sends an `alim to teach you. Allah will not leave you without someone to teach you. Have taqwa and Allah will teach you. If you are on a mountain and you have no one Allah will send an `alim to teach you. So what is important is to destroy that mountain in order to get more from this wild nature we are living in, all these will characters that are in us we have to eliminate that hump. Do you have a hump? How many humps do you have. Everyone sees their brother's hump. Everyone sees the badness of the other. They never acknowledge the badness of themselves Lim is not how to read and write as we mentioned in yesterday's Suhbat. As Sayyidina `Abdul Qadir Jilani said to his students, what benefit you your `ilm. You wrote too many things but what did it benefit you. People today Allah sent them a lesson stock market, stock market and stock market. And they didn't reach to learn lessons from Holy Qur'an and hadith of the Prophet (s), and they lost in one second. We don't want to lose in the last second that means when we are dying. You need something to take with you. What are we taking with us? Five prayers. No this is obligation. Like eating. Can you say I will not eat. Don't eat if you can. If you don't eat don't pray. But prayers if food of the soul. Allah doesn't like unbalance وَلَا تُخْسِرُوا الْمِيزَانَ wa la tukhsir al-meezan - Don't make one side of the balance over the other side. [55:9.] We are leaving one side and leaving the other. We have to balance both sides, وِمِنْهُم مَّن يَقُولُ رَبَّنَا آتِنَا فِي الدُّنْيَا حَسَنَةً وَفِي الآخِرَةِ حَسَنَةً وَقِنَا عَذَابَ النَّارِ Wa minhum man yaqoolu rabbana atina fee'd-dunya hasanatan wa fi'l-akhirati hasanatan wa qina `adhaaba'n-naar. And there are men who say: "Our Lord! Give us good in this world and good in the Hereafter, and defend us from the torment of the Fire!" Al-Baqara [2:201]   Knowledge is not what you read and write but it is what you eliminate from badness in you. I was in a conference in Malaysia two years ago a conference on spirituality and psychology they asked me to give a presentation. And the dean and president of the university and professors and all these big scholars. And then they introduce the big muffakkir on psychology and he was doing his presentation and it was on slides, what the German professor said, what Japanese said, "and what... this one said and that one said. And he came with a formula at the end and said that you must come with all good characters that are in you. And though I have presentation of 50 pages, I addressed what Mawlana sent to my heart. You still see that presentation in the black folder. It is there two years. You remember that presentation, t? What am I going to speak? These are all professor, thinkers. That the biggest thinker of them went crying. I don't remember what I said, but I remember that after me, in second session in afternoon, he said, "I was sitting with some students there, and he said I never heard anyone coming with such an explanation." What did I say? It is so simple. I said, what is benefit of daily counting what good you did. That only makes the ego higher. What you need is to count how much badness you have in yourself. The most important is not how much goodness you have but it is how much badness you have and how to know that? All people say, "I don't have any badness. I am a good person, I am professor I am good citizen. I go and come and I don't do anything really bad. I explained that before and that is in the book Sufi Science of Self Realization. And I remember that when Grandshaykh in 1967 he ordered us to go for hajj. It was [our] first hajj. And he said you go to that, where I did seclusion me and Shaykh Nazim, and there were two rooms. He said, "You will go my room in Madinat 'l-munawwarah where he did seclusions for one year and you will stay there in my room and Mawlana Shaykh Nazim will be coming and giving you lectures as much as day and night has time." And we went very happy that Mawlana Shaykh Nazim will come after us, he brings the hajjis from Cyprus and Hajjah Nazihe used to take the pilgrims for ziyarah for the wives and children of the Prophet (s) she used to take them. And here is what we learned from Mawlana Shaykh Nazim Adil al-Haqqani, we came night time, and this is what I was explaining to that professor. And we came very excited me and my brother and Grandshaykh said sty in my room it is locked what you want better than that. We came at night and the one who runs that school is Shaykh Abbas Qaari, he died at age 107 and he .. his wife he married there at the age of 85 and she went inside her room and she went inside that room which is her marriage room and she never came out until she died. That was her seclusion, she was making dhikr day and night, prayers day and night. And she never came out. Allah provide her with food and water and what more she wants. We have everything and we are still complaining and struggling. If Allah asks here what she did she will say, "Ya Rabbee you know what I did. Go to Paradise." So if we are asked what we have to say we have to say, " we need protection of the Prophet (s) and his shafa`a." So we came and Qaari `Abbas said what do you want? We said, "Grandshaykh said to go and stay in his room. No you cannot because someone is already in it. There was no one in it but he was saying that because Grandshaykh didn't give us a letter. We insisted but he said no, but I will give you a place I have one place. Where is that? On roof of the bldg. we went up and we looked and we saw what? A herd of goats on the building we saw goats. Ok, no problem, we are goats also. That is better than something else. Goat is ok. He said, "No not here on roof. This is for the goats." He said, "come here." We went and there were two buildings, next to each other his building, and the school. Between them is two pieces of wood that has been nailed across between these two buildings, and if you look between you see down all the way to the ground, and if you stand on them they shake. He said, "This is only place I have, you stay or not?" It is the only place that is covered, so we didn't have any chance to say "no", as Grandshaykh was sending us and that is the baraka. So what we have to say? We say, "ok, but can you give us mattresses?" He said, "What mattresses? Put your turban and lie on it." He is teaching us to be dervishes. You think it is cheap. No, it is not cheap. And we were so tired, we had no choice, we were lying down. And if I move, the whole bridge begins to shake. Shaykh Adnan says "don't move we will fall." And we look around and we see something else. Hundreds of lizards are there on the wall. And if they touch you with their saliva it give you leprosy. We stayed there three days. You want tariqah, nice tariqah. Shaykh Nazim didn't come. Finally he came after three days. He asked us, "What are you doing there? Come, come, come down." Then he opened the room of Grandshaykh. There was no one there. Then we stayed there rest of the time. And there Mawlana Shaykh Nazim Adil began to teach us secrets of tariqah. I brought that story to mention something. He told us, "The first time I stayed there, by order of Grandshaykh, Allah gave us 500 ma'mooraat and 800 forbiddens, manhiyyaat, to eliminate forbiddens and to act on Allah's commands. And O Nazim Effendi, (that is how he used to call him like that), make sure you eliminate the bad characters within you and you do the commands that Allah is ordering. If you eliminate one bad characters in your whole life Allah will reward you more than if you do the 500 orders. To that extent the elimination of a bad character or a sin to take it completely away not to come to it back Allah will reward you as if you did the 500 commands or more than that from every one forbidden that you take out from yourself. I was thinking Mawlana Shaykh Nazim Adil al-Haqqani is saying, "How am I going to count, I don't have anything. But as soon as I entered seclusion I took a notebook and I was writing what ever comes to my heart from forbiddens, the wild character of the ego." Go and check yourself see how many you count. Ten, fifteen. How can I count 8000. That was six month seclusions. He said, "I spent all my effort and all my power to find all these bad characters and I found 167 of them." I was explaining that to the professor there in a more detailed way and academic way. I said why do you want to count the good thing in you character that will only increase you ego. But count the bad characters and eliminate them from your life then we can reach higher levels. In medicine what you do, and I gave him that example. You go and count all his good heart, his good cholesterol, his… or you go to see his bad characters. You don't say his eyes are good, his ears are good. No you go to the bad defected problem inflammation where there is a when you take antibiotics where there is an infection. You don't go where there is no infection. You take the wood and put on the tongue and say "ah" you look where is the disease. You don't go and say his ears are nice. His legs are ok. He looked at me and said, "Your theory is better than that German theory." And that is because they go and count the good characters. That is why the Prophet (s) said, "wa law anna mumin `ala kulli jabalin la kayada lahu Allah … "Allah will send him someone to teach him who to eliminate that hump, that bad characters that are in every person. And I will stop here and end with this hadith of the Prophet (s)." قال صلى الله عليه وسلم‏:‏ ‏[‏اخوف ما اخاف على امتي كل منافق عليم اللسان‏]‏ ‏(‏رواه  احمد) Akhrajahu ibn `adee in al-kamil. Akhwafa ma akhaafu `ala ummattee munafizqin aleem ul-lisan. That is a hypocrite acts opposite of what he speaks. He wants to give you something he wants you to see and hear, he covers his nifaaq. We in order to be saved we have to say we are helpless and hopeless, weak servants of Allah. There is not lecture and not student. There is above every knower another knower. You reach the horizon there is another horizon. It never ends because the earth is round you keep encircumambulating and find the horizon. May Allah bless you and your family and give us good tidings dunya and akhira.         Grab this Headline Animator

How many Adams were there?

How Many Adams were there? Mawlana Shaykh Hisham Kabbani | Thursday, Oct 23, 2008 | Chicago, IL US Home of Shaykh Senad   [Shaykh Senad mentioned that Sultan al-`Arifeen, Bayazid al-Bistami, asked Sayyidina Khidr about the two nations before Adam and Eve]   Grandshaykh said that awliyaullah take their knowledge from the Prophet (s)  and their knowledge is less than a drop of the ocean of the Prophet (s). One time Sayyidina Khidr asked Jibreel , "when was Adam created?" "Which Adam are you asking about?" Jibreel . And Sayyidina Khidr was stuck, he didn't know what to say. Then he said, "Is there more than one Adam?" He said, "Yes, that Adam you are with is the last Adam. The one with the Day of Resurrection. Before that came 124,000 Adams with the number of 124,000 prophets and for all of them Sayyidina Muhammad (s) is the Seal of Messengers.said And he said: "One time Allah ordered me to open all my 600 wings, whereas with only two I come to dunya, and he ordered me to move with all my power, (with a speed that cannot be understood). And with that huge speed I was flying 70,000 years until I got tired. And all while I was flying I saw a huge desert or ocean of white crystal sand and in the middle of that desert there is a tree and on top of the tree is a green bird and that bird, he goes down from the tree, takes one grain of sand in his beak, and eats it and then goes back up. "And I asked, 'Ya Rabbee! Who is that bird?' and Allah replied, 'That is my beloved Muhammad (s) and each grain of sand is a universe that I gave it to him. Each time he eats one grain of sand, and,' Allah said to Jibreel, 'all these grains of sand are universes that I gave it to him. And he is the seal of messengers for each of these universes.'" So which Adam are you speaking of? There are 124,000 and already their umam have been judged and sent to Paradise or Hell and this is last Adam. So depending on the level of the wali, Sayyidina Bayazid could mention two names but Grandshaykh could mention 124,000. That is because awliyaullah are moving up. They are in ascensions. And their knowledge is going up and up. So I asked Mawlana Shaykh one time, "Why in the 1970's the talks were at different levels than now?" He said, "You cannot throw pearls before swine." That is why when I make lectures from the notes of Grandshaykh, those who don't know awliyaullah will be confused completely they cannot understand it. So knowledge of awliyaullah is far above common knowledge. So what Bayazid said is correct there are two and more of Adams before Sayyidina Adam . Grab this Headline Animator

Latest news from Cyprus

Salam to all our brothers & sisters around the world.  I've received the following sms a few days ago:    "Salam.email from Cyprus...Maulana is currently hospitalized for feet treatment & we are told to recite yaasin & tunjina for his speedy recovery.pls pass this message to fellow Naqshbandis...."   Thanks & salam from Malaysia. Grab this Headline Animator