We must praise our Creator that every Friday Jummah He is taking away so many sins from us, showing his endless mercy and love for His creation. And we praise Him for granting us long life so that we may live from one Jummah to another Jummah, because out of His love for us he is giving us more and more opportunities to be forgiven. That is why we say that each Jummah is like an Eid, a celebration, and all of Paradise is celebrating. We are coming together every Friday to celebrate our Lord`s mercy and to ask that all of our bad actions from the previous weak be forgiven and that we begin this week anew, praying that with every Jummah we may reach higher levels of perfection.
But this Jummah is an imitation Jummah. The real Jummah is in the presence of our Master, Sayyidina Muhammad (s); real Jummah is in the S. Mahdi (as) and in the presence of the Saints of God, and we are imitating out of love for Prophet (s) and love the Saints. We pray that one day our imitation be accepted and raised to the station of reality, but until then we are all gulam (servants); saying `Oh my Lord! You are my King and I am your humble servant. 'In no way are we claiming to be a Shaykh, we are saying that we are merely servants who are imitating the way of the real Shaykhs of Reality, Sultan ul-Awliya Muhammad Nazim al-Haqqani, Mawlana Shaykh Hisham Kabbani, Shaykh Adnan Kabbani. They are the true Saints of the Divine, for they have attained God`s satisfaction, and we are asking nothing other than to be present in their hearts so that per chance we might also gain God`s satisfaction.
Our Lord, we are gathering here to remember you and to praise you, but we are falling short. Mawlana Shaykh Hisham is always asking us to look at our deeds and our actions and realize that they hold no weight in Divine Presence. We are so happy with ourselves that we are going to Jummah to remember our Lord, but in reality it is less than one atom in an ocean of remembrance. In fact, if we were to look at the rest of God's creation, we would be very shy to find that everything is nature is constantly in a state of remembering the Divine, what Sufi`s call Zikr.
It is described in the Holy Quran...
64:1 Whatever is in the heavens and whatever is on the earth is exalting Allah. To Him belongs dominion, and to Him belongs [all] praise, and He is over all things competent.
64:1 Yusabbihu lillahi ma fee alssamawati wama fee alardi lahu almulku walahu alhamdu wahuwa AAala kulli shayin qadeerun
64:1 Whatever is in the heavens and whatever is on the earth is exalting Allah. To Him belongs dominion, and to Him belongs [all] praise, and He is over all things competent.
64:1 Yusabbihu lillahi ma fee alssamawati wama fee alardi lahu almulku walahu alhamdu wahuwa AAala kulli shayin qadeerun
How do we know this is the case? Scientists, when they began to study matter at an atomic and sub-atomic level, began to find that matter is made up of atoms. And each atom is comprised of a nucleus, and of electrons which circulate the nucleus at an incredibly high rate of speed. It means that everything in creation has a movement, even a rock, at its atomic level, is making a vibration, a sound, because its atoms are moving. That vibration is a form of zikr, of remembrance. It is because of that remembrance that everything is in existence. The whole secret of creation is based upon that concept. Nothing is in existence which isn't making vibration. Therefore creation, by its very nature, is in constant praise of the Creator.
Mawlana says even the animals are submitting more than us. If we study the animal kingdom, we see that most animals eat with their heads down, symbolizing that submission and thankfulness to God. And as the sun sets, the birds and other animals that are of a subtle nature, they all gather to face the sun and sing praises on that Light.
That sun symbolizes the Light of the Creator. Birds and other animals gather at the end of the day, at Maghrib time, to praise the light because that light brings comfort and safety to creation. The night and its darkness brings danger for many animals, as there are predators and hunters which act under the cover of darkness. It means that evilness is when there is no light, because mischief and evilness takes place in the darkness and in the shadows. If it takes place in the light of day it will be exposed. That is the importance of Surah Al-Falaq. God says, "seek refuge with the Lord of the Daybreak from the evil of darkness." It means seek refuge in the Light of God, in the Light that is reflected in Prophet (s) and has been given to the Saints. It is another example of the 3 levels of obedience we spoke about before
`Obey God, obey the Prophet and obey those in authority.`So Mawlana is saying that all of nature is praising the Divine, but we do not praise the Divine like them because we are under the command of our ego, and our ego only wants to indulge in endless physical desires. That is why at sunset, instead of praising the Divine like the birds do, most people today go to restaurants and bars. God gave us free will, and that is our test. Are we going to praise the one who gave us this life, or spend it as slaves of the Satanic Kingdom? Some people don't like to hear that phrase, "Satanic Kingdom", but all they have to do is look around them and they will find evidence of that kingdom around them. There is a phrase from a famous movie, `The greatest trick the Devil ever pulled was convincing the world he didn't exist.`
And the number one goal of the Satanic Kingdom is to destroy the children of Adam and Eve. How? By preventing their hearts from opening to the light because that light brings with it tremendous power. When the heart begins to open, Divine Presence begins to manifest in that believer. Mawlana is teaching that the center of all power is the heart. That is why God says, "I cannot be found on Heavens or on earth, but I can be found in the heart of my believer." God's throne is on the heart, but He will not sit on His throne while the ego has control because the ego will try to poison the King. Therefore, our mission must be the return the King to His throne, like the last Lord of the Rings movie "The Return of the King". When the Kingdom has been prepared, and the body is in submission to the soul, then the King is able to sit on the throne. Those who have accomplished this process are the Saints of God, because God has given them authority to carry that Light, and when light comes, darkness must go. That is why, in Surah al-Falaq, God is telling us to seek refuge in the Lord of the Dawn. The Saints who have purified themselves, who prepared their hearts for the King`s return, and who now carry that light with them.
Therefore, we must pray more than the animals are praying because we have been given that ability to establish the Divine Presence within our hearts. As we build our light we become a threat to the Satanic Kingdom because just one enlightened person has the power to take down the entire Kingdom of Satan. Mawlana is teaching that our heart is like a run-down shack with an enormous treasure inside. Satan sees the treasure and sees that there are no defenses. Therefore, all of the spiritual training that Sufism is teaching is so that we can begin to protect the treasure.
All of these spiritual practices are designed to prepare us for battle – it is not a dance class! But the Saints are using a secret: the hardrah, the whirling, the food - all of it is candy for the eye. There was no permission in previous times to do these things, but Mawlana is opening that permission in the Last Days to bring people to the associations because if it was only prayers and zikr people would run away. Already it is so difficult to leave our busy material lives to come and remember our Creator. But Mawlana wants to bring us to these associations so that he can dress us with his light, and it is a very powerful light! We must not underestimate the spiritual power and blessings that these Saints have been given directly from Divine Presence, blessings that they want to share with people out of their endless love for humanity. Once we begin to come, we are now being dressed with the spirituality of these Saints, and the abandoned shack which was housing the treasure is now being upgraded with a Heavenly defense. Now the Shaykhs are going to test you to see if you will use your spiritual training to protect that treasure. They are going to watch when you come under Satan`s attack to see how you respond.
Do you get angry? If you get angry you must wash and pray 2 cycles of prayer and recite the testimony of faith. Why? Everything we are learning has an importance. We have said before that anger is like a fire, and Satan is described in all Holy Books as being of a fiery nature. That anger when it hits, it has the ability to engulf the soul, and in one moment of heedlessness we may find ourselves saying or doing something that we might regret for the rest of our lives. The Shaykhs are teaching us to put that fire out with water because it is angelic.
We must pray because it keeps our heart connected. Without prayer, we will have no connection with the Divine Presence. We must pray and ask, `Oh my Lord, guide me and inspire me. Teach me about each Prophet and about the Saints.` All of the Prophets have a wisdom for the soul to learn about, and there is no difference between them because they are all reflections of Sayiddina Muhammad (s). Then we must renew our testimony of faith because the root of anger is having a lack of faith. If we had faith in God, we would accept what He has written for us.
Sufism and spiritual training then is showing us how to protect the treasure, and we must never underestimate the attack. Naqshbandia is a university that you never leave. The Shaykhs are watching us 24 hours a day through their spiritual vision, and everything we do is being carefully noted. You must know that every person who comes to you is being sent by your Shaykh to test you. That is why, on this path, you have no right to even honk your horn at someone. Maybe that person is keeping you from getting into an accident. Carry the burdens of the people the Shaykh is sending to you.
Don't make any distinction between a believer and an unbeliever – all are God's children, and we are asking to be nothing more than a servant, to be gulam. So when the boss yells at you, say `All Praise is due to God` or `Thank you, my Lord.` Don't get angry at your boss or your coworkers because they are just the vehicle through which to test you. We are asking to reach God's satisfaction, and that is only accomplished through obedience and submission. We must become like a garbage dump for everyone around us, taking their burdens and processing them, not blowing up and cursing at people! You can`t put off acting with love until you reach a certain level of spirituality!
You must put the teaching into practice, otherwise what is the purpose of the teaching? We are not here to learn philosophy, and we are not here as `part-time Sufis`.
Sufism is a way of life. It teaches us that we must have more love for other people than for ourselves. When that love begins to open in our hearts, then we realize that there should actually be no time for ourselves, but that all of our time should be devoted to serving others and serving the path. Don`t make a distinction between `your time' and `Sufi time`, it must become one so that our material life and our afterlife become one-in-the- same. That is why, when you look at Mawlana Shaykh Hisham, he has made this life his afterlife. Everything he does is in preparation for the next life. That is the true understanding of Servanthood, and it can only blossom through vigilance. We must be vigilant in protecting our heart`s treasures from Satan. There is a 50 carrot diamond growing in your heart, and its light is seen by all shayateen. We don`t see but they can see. So don`t think that Satan is going to let you march into Divine Presence with your precious jewel. No! He is coming to prevent you from reaching Divine Presence by exposing your bad character.
Therefore, mount your horse, sharpen your sword and prepare for jihad against yourself. Prophet (s) was teaching his companions that the greatest jihad, the greatest struggle, is the struggle against the self. Prepare for the battle against your own ego and use the spiritual training to assist you. We are hoping to reach a station of `Death before Death` – to kill our ego and allow our soul full reign over the body. Don`t think it is something easy! Reflect on how the Japanese warriors used to kill themselves in battle and it will provide some insight into the difficulties we face in confronting our bad character. The Samurai would drive a sword into their stomach, but it wouldn`t go through the skin easily. They had to hit it into their stomach so that it would pierce their flesh.
When the Shaykh addresses your bad character in public, when he yells at you or humiliates you, he is cutting you with that knife [metaphorically]. But it's not just a simple stabbing procedure. The Japanese used to move the knife across, and then up their chest! The Shaykh will do the same thing to your ego, sticking a spiritual sword and moving it all around – moving it to the most hidden and most painful places that you didn't know existed because that bad character has to die. It can`t remain hidden if we are hoping to enter the Divine Presence because there are no secrets in Divine Presence. Therefore, when the Shaykh cuts you, never give your ego one second to say `Why did he say that?` Say `Thank you Sayiddi` because when he cuts you he is actually taking those burdens from you so be thankful.
Be happy that you are having your bad character removed by a very skilled surgeon! Don`t be ungrateful! If not for the Shaykh, we would have to face our badness in the grave, and at that time it will be far more difficult.
Fatiha.
From the Teachings of Mawlana Shaykh Qabbani
Naqshbandi Sufi Way
Sufi Meditation Center
Naqshbandi Sufi Way
Sufi Meditation Center
