JADHBU-L AHBAAB ILA HADRATI RABBIL ARBAAB [MAGNETIZING THE LOVERS (OF ALLAH) TO THE (CELESTIAL) OFFICE OF THE LORD OF THE LORDS (ALLAH)]
بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم
Khutbah (Sermon)
By
THE QUTB-AL-ANWAR AND GAWTH-AL-ASH’AR
SHEIKH ALHAJI IBRAHIM BIN ALHAJI ABDULLAH
(at-Tidjani)
On
12th of Dhul Qadah 1391AH (1970AD).
In
TRANSLATED BY:
SEYYIDAH HAJIYA BILQIS BOLAJOKO GRILLO
(08023155119, bola_grillo@yahoo.com)
"Excerpt"
"You
should uphold good conduct (behaviour) aong all creatures. The way to achieve
that is to ensure that people are put in their right positions.
Also a
servant must not, for Allah's sake, percieve another person except to have tge
belief that such other person is better than him.
Furthermore,
you should rather be engaged in criticising your own faults instead of those of
others.
Most of us
busy ourselves with the discussion of other people's faults, but not of their
own inadequacies.
A man knows himself
but not the other person. This is because Allah, The Source of blessing, The
Most High is a Coverer of faults and Protector of all."
TRANSLATOR’S
NOTE
In the name of Allah, the Most Compassionate,
The Most Merciful. All praise is due to The Almighty Allah, The Lord of the
worlds. The Most Beneficent, The Most Merciful. King of the Day of Judgement.
May the peace and Blessings of Allah be upon the Noble Prophet Muhammad (pbuh),
the Eye of Divine Mercy of God, his Household, his Companions and those who
follow his guidance until the Day of resurrection.
My
profound gratitude goes to Almighty Allah (swt) for making this humble attempt
at translation of this work possible. It could not have been if not for His
Grace.
The
motivating aim of this translation work is to create opportunity for the
adherents of the Tariqah of Sheikh Ahmad Tidjani under the tutelage of The Qutb
and Gawth, the Sohibul Faydah, Fadhilat Sheikh-el-lslam, Alhadji Ibrahim Niass in
particular and the entire Muslims in general, to get closer to the expositions
of our great Master and Teacher, Sheikh Ibrahim Niass, by reading through one
of his Many illustrious and motivating lectures delivered in the course of his
conveyance of the message of truth and the trust of Allah and His Apostle
(pbuh). May Allah Ta’ala accept this work as an act of Ibadah (Amin).
My
deepest appreciation goes to my spiritual fathers and mentors, in particular
Fadhilat Sheikh Ahmad Tidjani Ibrahim Niass al-kaolakhy (radiyallahu an’hu),
for his unflinching support and encouragement at all times.
I
also wish to place on record my gratitude to my beloved Sheikhs who never stopped
‘leading the way’ namely - Sheikh Muhammad Rabiu Olorire (late), Sheikh
Abdul-Salaam Akoshile, Sheikh Zubair Idris and Dr. Murtadha Busaeri. May Allah
bless them throughout the ages.
I will equally not fail to say a big
thanks to Alhaji Muhammad Shakirudeen Grillo (my husband), Sheikh Shittu Jimoh,
(Khadim to Sheikh Ahmad Tidjani in Lagos), Alhaji Abdul Fattah Sanni Jeje and
my brother in Allah, Abdul-Lateef Owolabi for all their moral and intellectual
support at all times. May Allah bless them immensely for their selfless
services (Amin).
May
Allah (swt) profit every reader who may come across this lecture by its gleam,
purify our hearts by its beautiful admonitions and grant us all His Rahmah
(Mercy), till the day of resurrection.
Glory
is to thy Lord, the Lord of Honour and Power, far above that which they assert.
May peace and blessings also reside upon the Messengers! And all praise belongs
to Allah, the Lord of the worlds.
Signed:
Hajiya
Sayyidah Bilqis B. Grillo
Muharram
1427AH (March 2006)
IN
THE NAME OF ALLAH, THE MOST COMPASSIONATE, THE MOST MERCIFUL.
May
Allah’s peace and blessing be upon our Leader Muhammad (pbuh) the Noble Prophet
and his household and companions, and those who follow them, and those who
emulate those that trek their path (of guidance) until the day of judgement.
This is
the Khutbah of Maolana (our Leader) and sheikh, our ladder to Almighty Allah,
the Qutb and the Gawth of our time: Ash-sheikh Alhaji lbrahim bin Alhaji
Abdullahi At-Tidjani – may Allah be pleased with them both (Amen).
It is titled:
JAZBUL AHBAAB ILA HADRATI RABBIL ARBAAB [Magnetizing
the Lovers (of Allah) to The (Celestial) Office of the Lord of The Lords
(Allah)]. It was delivered by Sheikh in the city of Kaduna , Nigeria
The
text of THE LECTURE now follows:
Ennobled Creation of
Man
Praise be
unto Allah, the Lord of the Worlds, may the peace and blessing of Allah be upon
the noblest of the messengers.
Allah
Almighty Says: “Verily We created Mankind from an extract of clay, then
We placed him as a drop of sperm in a safe depository; the We fashioned the
clot into a shapeless lump; then We fashioned bones out of this shapeless lump;
then We clothed the bones with flesh; then We developed it into another
creation. So blessed be Allah, the Best of creators” (An-Nur 23:12-14).
This is
the process (of creation of Man). No single son of Adam exists except through
this route. If Man examines his creation, he knows that Allah created him in
the most wonderful way, he gave him limbs; well-balanced, every affair of life
for which he will require the use of his limbs during his sojourn in life,
Allah has already perfected such limbs even before his entrance out of his
mother’s womb. He has the legs to walk with. He has two hands to hold with. He
has two eyes to see with. He has two ears to hear with. He has a tongue to talk
with and such other use among the various faculties. Allah created him as a
strong Being to prepare him adequately for the undertaking of the responsibilities
of his vicegerency, i.e Khalifah of God, The Blessed the Most High viz: “We have created
them and strengthen their make” (Ad-Dahr 76 :28). That is, Allah strengthened his various limbs; he makes his two
hands strong, you can never see a Man walking and suddenly one of his hands
fall off. Often times you see a car moving on the road and one of its wheels (tyres)
comes off abruptly; this is the difference between the creation of Allah and
those of Mankind. A Man has hearing and sight.
He also
has intellect with which he weighs things. His hearing is not like those of
animals. A Man’s hearing sense can differentiate various voices. He knows that
this is the utterance of a Hu-Man
being, this is the voice of a cattle, this is the language of animals, this is
the language of birds. This is a language understood and this is a language
that is not understood; this is a statement directed towards oneself; this is a
statement directed unto others. This is statement that requires a reply. This
is a statement that does not require a reply. This is a statement one loves to
hear, this is a statement one does not love to hear. It is only Man’s sense of
hearing that is equipped to do this. An animal perceives all voices as one and
the same. There is no power of differentiation.
Equally Man’s
sight is also so specially equipped. He recognizes and knows various colours.
He knows that this is white, and others. He knows that this is short, these are
group of people, this is good, this is bad, this l love, and this l do not
love. It is only Man’s sight that has these facilities.
Allah has
already ennobled Man right from his mother’s womb. He transformed the menstrual
blood of his mother to pure milk on which he survives on for the period that he
is in his mother’s womb. Allah watches over him, grows him little by little
until He takes him out into the world. When he emerges into the world, he comes
with nothing: no single means. He (Allah) knows that in the world, Man will be
in need of things though he does not come with anything. This is why when Man
is born into the world; he closes his fists. He knows that he has nothing, but
Allah meets him with His mercy (His sublimity) and honors him. He gives him
milk from his mother’s breast which he sucks throughout the period of teething, until he stops breast-feeding
and is able to consume other foods.
Before Man
is born, all his limbs have been perfected for him in the womb except his
teeth. When a Man is born he has no tooth. This is because Allah knows that his
subsistence from time of birth is from the breast milk of his mother. If he is
born with his teeth, he will harm his mother’s breast. When he grows from
strength to strength, the teeth come out one after the other until his teeth
are completed; and this is long before his need for such facility. All these
are part of the care of Allah over Man.
Allah, the Sovereign
King
Allah is the Sovereign King. When the kings
of this world have servants or service/pages boys, they usually divide the
world servants into three sections as follows:
ü A section
that will be working for them to ensure continued increase in their wealth and
properties;
ü A section
that will be busy cooking, serving drinks and foods for them; and
ü A section
that will be sitting with them, honouring them, amusing them.
Blessed
Almighty Allah said: “And l have not created the Jinn and the Men Except
that they should worship Me. I desire no sustenance from them nor do l desire
that they should feed me. Surely, it is Allah Himself who is The Great Sustainer,
The Powerful, The Strong” (Ad-Dhariyat 51:56-58). The first two groups
or sections mentioned above, Allah has no need of them. He does not require
anyone to feed Him nor to give Him drink. Now, this leaves us with the next
group; that is, the third group among them who are present with Him. May He be
blessed, the Almighty; this group extol
Him. These are the believers in Allah.
Allah
created all the children of Adam so that they may believe in Him and worship
Him. Worship of Allah is the sole message of all Prophets from God, the Blessed
and the Exalted.
All Messengers are agreed on two things;
every shari’ah (divine ordinance) lends credence to this guidance viz: the
first is the extolling of The Creator, The Glorified, Most High, and that is,
being kind to the creatures of Allah. That you worship Allah and do not
associate ought with Him: Verily Allah will never accept a partner with
Himself. Associating partners with Allah will never be forgiven to whoever is
affected for ever; “Verily Allah will not forgive associating partners
with Him, but He will forgive whatever is short of that” (An-Nisa 4:48).
Goodness to all
creatures
There is
no doubt about the need to have faith in Allah Alone, no doubt about the need
for worship to be solely directed to Allah, the Blessed, All High. After this,
goodness to the creatures of Allah is a must. The entire creation of Allah,
that is, children of Adam first; then the rest of the creatures of Allah in
such a descending order; up to showing goodness to the cat, etc. A woman
entered hell fire on account of being unkind to a cat and another entered
paradise on account of offering a drink to a dog, not to consider the greatest
of Allah’s creation – Man – being good to Mankind is a must.
Goodness to parents,
near of kin and neighbours
It is also
incumbent on the servant (of Allah) the duties of goodness to his parents and
this is the greatest duty after the obligations to God Almighty; being good to
the parents is a must. “And your Lord has decreed that you shall not
worship any but Him, and shall show goodness to the parents” (Bani lsraail
17:23). Among the duty of goodness to parents is the duty of goodness
to the near of kin, and after this is goodness to the neighbours. Neighbours
are divided into three classes; Neighbours with three rights, neighbours with
two rights and neighbours with only one right. These
are described as follows:
i.
A
neighbour who is a near of kin and also a Muslim has three rights: (the right
of being a neighbour, the right of being a Muslim, and the right of being a
near of kin).
ii.
A
neighbour that is not a kindred but is a Muslim has two rights viz the rights
of neighbourliness and the right of being a Muslim.
iii.
A neighbour who is not a near of kin and not
a muslim has only the right of neighbourliness.
There is
no doubt that each of those possessing any of these rights must be given their
due rights. Hence, goodness towards every creature in this way is what should
be conceived of as the real worship of Allah. Salat (prayer), sawm (fasting),
remembrance of Allah, the recitation of Qur’an and Hajj – these are between you
and Almighty Allah. Giving of alms to the poor and the spending on His way and
goodness generally – these are between you and the creatures. Just as being
good to the creature is incumbent, so also is keeping away from wrong doing
towards the creatures.
Uphold good conduct
and avoid wrong-doings
Allah, the
Blessed, the Almighty will never forgive the sin of partnership with Him. A
good deed done will fetch ten folds of reward to the doer and an evil deed will
attract a single recompense. But wrong doing to a servant will never be
forgiven by Allah except that such wrongs are compensated /returned lawfully to the owners of such rights.
Whoever arrives on the Day of resurrection with series of wrongdoings, there is
no doubt that every single one of such evils shall be returned on the Day of resurrection.
Over there, no Dirham, Dinar, Pounds sterling, Dollars or Naira shall be used
for repayment. So how will such wrongs be redressed? Allah will take out of
good deeds of the wrongdoer and return it as the good deeds to repay wrongs
done to the sufferer and if the good deeds are not sufficient for repayment the
wronged person’s evil deeds will be taken away from him and imposed upon the
one who has done him wrong, thus such person will enter hell fire.
On this
note therefore, beware of wrongdoing. To do wrong unto a Muslim is very abhorrent
and to do wrong unto a non-Muslim is even worst therefore beware of wrongdoing.
If you have the ability to be of benefit to the entire creation of Allah, then
be of benefit to them all.
If however,
you do not have the capability, then beware and guard against inflicting harm
on any creature among the creations of Allah. The creation is the family of
Allah, and the most loved before Allah is him that benefits His family. Make
good (beautify) the worship of Allah, the Blessed, the Most High with
purification and salat (prayer) and fasting and do righteous deed to every
creature as far as you are able. Whoever does this is a good-doer (that is, he
has attained the status of a salihiin).
Whoever busies himself with the worship of Allah but does not care about
inflicting wrongs on the creatures of Allah, that person will be a broker (impoverished,
deprived) on the day of resurrection. The Apostle said: “Do you know a bankrupt
person? They said: ‘the one whose Dinar and Dirham (Pounds or
Dollars) was taken away from him’. He (the Prophet) said: “No”. “A
bankrupt is someone among my ummah (community); a Man who will approach the day
of resurrection and you find him having the salat (prayers), the sadaqah (alms
giving), fasting, hajj; everyone (of those deeds) as rays of shining lights but
the Man (owner of those lights) have abused someone, spoken ill of another,
extort someone else’ wealth, stolen somebody’s money or engaged in back–biting
acts. Allah will therefore take all of his good deeds and divide it among those
people he wronged. If all his good deeds get exhausted in this way, that is it.
If this is not sufficient, Allah will take the evil deeds of those wronged and
add it to those of the Man who carried out the wrongdoing”.
The Noble
Messenger said: “Your Lord is one and your father is one”. Every one
of us has only One Lord and all of us have only one father. We are all from
Adam. Therefore, Muslims and non-Muslims altogether are brothers from one
father and mother. The Muslims are brothers stronger than blood brothers.
Therefore Allah Ta’ala says about their reality: “verily all believers are
brothers” (Al-Hujurah 49:10). “A Muslim is one whose fellow Muslim is safe from
his tongue and hands: a Muslim does not wrong his brother, he does not defame
or abandon him without helping him, and he does not vouchsafe him in the care
of someone who will wrong him”. This is the guideline of the religion
that the Apostle brought for you.
He came with this religion of lslam so that
you worship Allah and do not associate anything with Him. In addition, you
should uphold good conduct (behaviour) among all creatures. The way to
achieving that is to ensure that people are put in their right positions. Also
a servant must not, for Allah’s sake, perceive another person except to have
the belief that such other person is better than him.
Your faults and not of
others are harmful
Also be
engaged in criticizing your own faults instead of those of others. Most of us
busy ourselves with the discussion of other people’s faults but not of own
inadequacies. A Man knows himself but not the other person. This is because
Allah, the Blessed, the Most High is a Coverer of faults and Protector of all.
Whatever you mention about the faults of others are usually just heard about or
thought about; there is no certainty about it on your side, because of its
being protected with the beautiful shade of Allah.
You are
sure of what you do and you know of what is in your heart. The fault of others
cannot harm you, it is your own fault that will harm you, so why do you leave
your own faults and discuss other people’s faults instead?
Allah, the
Blessed, the Exalted said to Prophet Musa (on whom be peace) in a conversation,
“O Moses, be confident of My provisions which l have guaranteed you so
long as you know that My treasures are always overflowing – and My Treasures
will be forever full”. Verily Allah created Man and perfected his
creation just as He completed His sustenance, if any of us leaves his
sustenance behind, the sustenance will follow him. None of us will die until he
has fully utilized His provisions. “And in the Heavens are your
sustenance, and what you have been promised” (Qur’an) “Nay, I swear by the Lord
of the Heavens and the Earth, Verily it is The Truth” (Qur’an).
Allah
always informs Man, and swears to him, yet he does not believe Him! This is the
weakness in faith of Man. Sustenance have been guaranteed to each, and none
will die until he fully receives and utilizes his provisions. It will neither
increase nor decrease.
It is for the
above reason that God told Prophet Musa (on whom be peace) again: “Do not
fear any power from the powerful people as long as you know that My Own Power
is Ever-Existing, and My Power will for ever be present”. Do not fear
to appear before any powerful person as long as you do not commit any
wrongdoing. As for wrongdoing, it is not right for you to commit wrongdoings,
no power or such other phenomenon can overcome you as long as you do no wrongs.
Do not fear anyone. The power of Allah always persists.
Thirdly, Allah said;
“O Moses, do not busy yourself remembering the fault of others as long as
you yourself have faults”. A servant can never be free of faults forever.
Fourthly, Allah
said; “O Moses, never feel safe from the ploy of Allah as long as you
have not found yourself in the Garden (of paradise). Earlier on, your father
Adam was in the Garden, but he came out of it later. Therefore, never feel safe
anytime or ever”.
Fifthly,
“Do not leave the continuous waging of war with lblis (Satan) for as long
as he wages war against you. And he will forever be waging war against you”.
These are
the ordinances of Allah to His Prophet Musa, whom He talked to. The key issues
garnered from these are: - Do not remember or discuss the faults of others for
you too are equally prone to faults. Every one of us has faults except the Prophets.
The entire Mankind possesses faults. The Prophets are well–preserved. They do
not disobey Allah on whatever He commands of them. They do not have the
capacity to do so. Even if a Prophet wishes to disobey Allah, he cannot be
misguided by evil to do so; and they will never wish for such, ever. The most
honoured among them is the Apostle of Allah, may Allah’s peace and blessings
abide with him. “Verily, we have granted thee a clear victory. That Allah
may cover up for thee thy shortcomings, past and future” (Al-Fath 48:1-2).
We are now approaching the end of time. Allah has honoured us and made
everything easy for us, hence it is incumbent upon us to increase in faith but
alas!, the contrary is what is happening.
Allah has
subdued all powers for man
Allah
subdued the iron for Prophet Dawud (as), subdued the winds for Prophet Sulayman
(as) and subdued the oceans for Prophet Musa (as). But for us, Allah subdues
all these aforementioned powers; we travel in the skies and Allah softens the
iron for us to manipulate it to our designs and desires. In His mercy, He
subdues the sea for us. We travel with the ship of the seas and the ships of
the air (aeroplane). He further subdues for us electricity. These are some
realities the basis of which should increase us in faith and obedience to
Allah, the Blessed, the Most High.
Three
things surely are in existence: Allah,
the Glorified, the Most High, Mankind
and the Universe. The Universe to Man
is like a slate on which, on a daily basis a lesson on the (first part of the)
world was learnt. In the earlier times, whenever Man intends to travel, they
walk on legs, after that, he rides on animals. Whenever he needed fire, he
searches for it from town to town, he did not know about ammunition power at
that time. After that, he reverted to the use of ammunition from then on and he
started lighting his fires from everywhere. After this era, electricity
emerged. This does not require any effort of his to set it working.
Allah
subdues the ships on the sea and in the air, and these are parts of the
evidences that demands of us to return to Allah with gratitude and to increase
in iman (faith). All these we have
achieved by the blessings of the Apostle of Allah (may Allah’s peace and
blessings abide with him). He is the one to whom Allah bestowed all the
treasures of the earth, yet he disengaged himself from them but left it all for
our benefit. We employ the use of these things in the worship of Allah and
faith in Him and goodness to the creature. If Allah had not made subservient to
us the various means of transportation this type of gathering would not have
been made possible. I am in my country and to trek from there to this venue by
foot is a distance which, at the least of projection, is a month’s journey. I
was in my country in the morning and l am here spending my evening among you
(despite the long distance in-between). Then shall we not give thanks to Allah,
the Blessed, the Most High, do increase in faith and increase in humility for
we all know that the Day of Resurrection will surely come, no doubt about it.
Faith in
Allah and obedience to His laws: Currency of transaction in the hereafter
Positions
or status in the hereafter is greater than position or status in this world.
Imagine the situation we all are witnessing in the present, whoever has plenty
of money some things would be apparent in his life. It will be apparent in the
kind of house he lives in, the clothes he wears, the food he eats, his marital
lifestyle and the kind of vehicle he rides. Also, whoever does not have money,
that fact also will be apparent in his life. It will reflect on his household,
clothing, marital life and the kind of ride he has. Every land has its own
special wealth and money. The currency in Senegal
is not the same as the currency here in Nigeria
Kalimah “La ilaha illa
Allah” insures all-pervading success
Let us now
return to the subject of purification and
the observation of salat (prayer). This is after we have all said “La
ilaha illa Allah Muhammad Rosulullahi” (There is no deity worthy of
worship except Allah Alone and Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah). Let us say
it once again in order to renew our lman (faith). The Holy Prophet used to say:
“renew your faith with the statement “La ilaha illa Allahu Muhammad
Rosulullahi”. This statement if said only once, guarantees one’s entry
to paradise and safeguards one from hell fire. This places those
responsibilities on one to renew one’s faith every time. The Holy Prophet said:
“The best of what myself and my Prophet before me love to say is La ilaha
illa Allahu” Ensure recitation as many as possible of the kalimah
(statement) “La ilaha illa Allah”, so that you will be successful
in this world and in the hereafter for whoever says: “La ilaha illa Allah
Muhammadu Rosulullah”, it is incumbent upon him to watch over the five
daily prayers. The distinction between a Muslim and a non-Muslim is the
observance of Salat (prayer) by one, and the abandonment of it by the other.
Whoever observes salat (prayers) is a Muslim and whoever abandons salat
(prayer) is not a Muslim. Majority of the people of present modern times have
neglected salat (prayer). I enjoin you all to watch over the observance of
salat (prayer) and ensure that the salat (prayer) are observed in congregation.
You are admonished to bow with those who bow and observe salat at its right
time “Verily prayer has been prescribed for the believers to be observed at
fixed hours” (Al-Baqorah 2:103). The prayer observed for the sake of
Allah should be with humility and concentration of heart.
The chain
of relationship or link between the servant and Allah is maintained if he
observes salat (prayer) for the sake of Allah alone. It is only that kind of
intention from someone that surely translates to true worship; if he makes
physical movement but does not make any intention for it, this is not worship.
Therefore
worship Allah and do not associate anything with Him. The best mode of worship
of Allah is salat (prayer), after salat is sawm (fasting), after that is
spending in the way of Allah and after that is Hajj (pilgrimage to the House of
Allah) for whosoever is able to do so. These are then followed by goodness to
the parents.
Parents'
pleasure, a requisite for family of Islam
Whoever shows goodness to his parents shall
inherit paradise. The Noble Messenger (pbuh) had said: “Paradise lies at
feet of the mothers”. Whoever obtains his mother’s and father’s
pleasure and approval, that person is a member of the family of Islam. When he
dies he shall enter paradise. But whoever carries out a lot of obedience acts
(to Almighty Allah and His Apostle) but is unkind and disobeys his parents, he
will not enter paradise until they (his parents) are pleased with him. During
the time of the holy Prophet of Allah (pbuh) a Man was approaching his end
(about to die) he was encouraged to utter the kalima: “Lah ilaha illa
Allahu Muhamadu Rosulullahi” (There is no deity worthy of worship
except Allah and Muhammad (pbuh) is the messenger of Allah), but he could not say it. So the Holy Prophet (pbuh) then called on the
people and asked; “what do you all know about the practice of his
religion”? They said: “We do not know anything except goodness in
disposition”, He said again: ‘does he have parents? They
answered: “He has a mother”. He said: “call his mother for
me”. The mother came and the Prophet said: “Are you pleased with
this your son? She said: No! so, Allah cursed him and prepared him for
the hell-fire. The Holy Prophet (pbuh) said: “pardon him”, she
said: “I will never pardon him”.
The Holy Prophet
(pbuh) said: “lf you do not pardon him, he will be thrown into the hell
fire” she said: “I am not bothered” The Noble Prophet
then asked the companion “Get me firewood” and made a big fire.
The Holy Prophet (pbuh) said: “seize him and hurl him into the fire”.
As the people were about to throw the man into the fire his mother cried: “Oh
my poor son! I pardon him!! I pardon him!!!” and the man was then able
to say: “Lah ilaha illa Allahu Muhamadu Rosulullahi”. If he had
died and his mother did not pardon him, he would have entered the hell-fire.
Therefore
be careful of your obligations to your parents. The most fortunate person is he
who has power and capability while one or both of his parents are still alive
and he was able to show goodness to them. This is an honour that Allah Almighty
bestows on whomsoever He wishes among His servants. The rights of the mother
are ahead of the rights of the father because the mother carried him in her
womb with a lot of stress as Almighty Allah affirmed: “weakness upon
weakness” (Luqman 31:14). The mother is the one who carried you for
nine months and you were sleeping in her wombs being pillowed by her bowels. A
day among days appeared when child-birth pains (while on labour) overtook her
continuously till you the baby came out of the womb with a divine surgical
operation from Almighty Allah. After this, she weaned you for two complete
years abandoning sleep for your own sleep, abandoning food for your own food
and when you were taken ill her illness was tougher than yours – all because of
the great compassion she felt for you. So whoever does not show kindness to her
despite these facts, can never be kind to any creature.
The father
is he who spends his wealth till he marries your mother, prepares an
accommodation for her comfort, and spends on her out of his wealth until you
are born and you become a man. If you do not show kindness to him, there is no
hope that you can ever be kind to any creature. Therefore be mindful of the
obligations of Allah and also those of parents. After these, show kindness to
all creatures of Allah.
Friend
(Waliyy) of Allah
There is
no sign attributable to the state of one being a friend of Allah. Due to this
it is said: “Nobody knows the Friend (Waliyy) of Allah except Allah
Himself”. However, if there is any sign that can point to one being a
Waliyy, then it is the goodness attached to the worship of Allah, and also the
goodness of character exhibited towards every creature of Allah.
A Muslim
to another Muslim has a greater bond of kinship just as a Muslim to a non-Muslim.
They are brethrens from the same father, Adam. Hence, goodness towards them is
a must. Coupled with all these is the fact that one must ensure that people are
put in their right places (accorded their due degree of respects). Some of us
are commanders; some are kings and some of us are emperors. The Noble Prophet
enjoins us to put people in their right places. Also, we must obey constituted
authorities (government). Obedience to government is also an indication of
obedience to Almighty Allah. When Almighty Allah, the Blessed evolved the creation
process, He also created work/vocations so that human beings can earn their
living by these.
FARMING,
MOST IMPORTANT VOCATION
The most
important of these works are four in number viz: Farming, Textile Manufacturing
(Weaving), Construction and Government. These four vocations are compulsory.
The foremost is farming because Man must eat to survive and he has not been
given a physical body that would not require food.
For this
reason farming is essential for the sourcing of food. This is among the
fundamental necessities. The second vocation is weaving or textile-making, the
making of apparels. Allah, the Blessed created animals that walks around
nakedly without any care, this is not so with the children of Man. Man must
compulsorily cover his nakedness. Hence weaving for textile-making is a must.
Equally essential is construction. There is no doubt that Mankind cannot
subsist on air alone like animals. Every one of us undoubtedly has one form of
house which serves as our abode. For this reason construction is also
compulsory. But the fourth matter is governance. Human being is unable to live
life as a recluse. Man cannot live except among other men. No doubt that they
will continue to gather and live as groups until they become a
settlement/village and they will be assisting one another among themselves.
Then settlements will converge and grow to a town. Whenever human beings are in
a group there is no doubt that some sections of them will always want to wrong
or oppress the other section. For this reason, there is need for law and order
which is made possible through governance. Again the Emperor or Leader is
Allah’s heir on His earth. The wronged one will always approach him, and he is
the one to withdraw the rights of those wronged from the wrongdoer. Hence,
obedience to government is compulsory.
Government
and rulers may possibly be Muslims or non-Muslims. However, the key ingredient
is that they must be just in their dealings. A ruler may be a disbeliever but
he must not be a tyrant or an oppressor. Four great men have ruled the world in
the past; each one was a king of this world at his own time – there is no
contender for him: Sulayman the son of Prophet Dawud, Zhul Qarnayn, Namrudh and
Bukhta-Nasri. Namrudh remained in his rulership for four hundred years and he
was not destroyed until he wronged Prophet lbrahim (on whom be peace);
Bukhta-Nasri also suffered the same fate.
From this
we can appreciate the fact that kingship does not rest on the adoption of any
particular religion. The key thing is the issue of fairness and justice. Whether
a king is just or unfair; obedience to him is incumbent upon the subjects. The
Holy Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon Him) was asked; `if we have leaders
who extort their rights and obligations from us but do not give us our own
rights, what is the verdict?’ He replied: ‘You give them their
rights willingly and seek your own rights from Almighty Allah, the Blessed”.
This is the indication that even if a king is a wrongful person, it is still
incumbent to obey him.
Nowadays –
may Allah be praised – is a time of dialogue. Government is based on democracy.
Hence the entire government represents all of us together. We chose the Heads
and we select the Ministers. Hence we are the Ministers and we are the Head. If
any evil occurs, it is equally for our misfortune together. We are like one
body, if a part of it cries out in pains the rest of the body shares in that
pain and sleeplessness. Therefore, you should all co-operate and work for your
life just as you work for your hereafter aside from (the activities of your
Government). You should worship Allah, the Blessed, the Most High. The Holy Prophet
said, as was seen in the book of Tabarani, “It is not the best of you, he
who works only for this present life but not his hereafter nor he who works
only for his hereafter but not this present life, until he works for both
altogether”. Some learned scholar said: “work for your present
life as if you would remain in it forever, and work for your hereafter as if
you will die tomorrow”. This is the saying of the learned scholars not
the Hadith of Rosululahi (pbuh). However, there is a Qur’anic verse, which
supports this statement. Almighty Allah reveals in Qur’an: “And when you
have finished, engage in the work of the hereafter” (Qur’an).
When you
have finished the worldly tasks, then engage yourself in tasks of the
hereafter. The essence of living is to work, whoever does not work is like a
dead person, whether the work consists of devotion to Allah or for earning a
particular kind of living. Do not allow any day to pass by without ensuring
that you work in it for earning your living or for increasing in the work of
the hereafter. Whoever has finished, neither working for this world nor for the
hereafter is like a dead person. This life will hurriedly expire, nothing
except the hereafter will remain and when we meet Allah in the hereafter
nothing will profit us over there except obedience to His will (when in this
life). For as long as we are in this world we must be responsible for catering
for our worldly needs and those of our families. Hence, we have no option than
to work. Any work that is engaged in for earning lawful subsistence is counted
among Jihad (i.e. striving in His cause).
For this
reason, the entire work of a Muslim is good and pure. If he works in furthering
the cause of obedience to Allah, this is true Obedience. Also if he works to
earn Halal (lawful) means for his family, the poor and the needy, this is Jihad
(true striving in the cause of Allah).
QURAN, THE
GUIDE TO THE MOST STRAIGHT ROAD
Almighty
Allah sent down to us this Qur’an and this Qur’an does guide to that which is
most straight. In the Qur’an there are nine sections containing different
branches of knowledge. These branches are the mother of all the other remaining
branches. The first of the Qur’an is “Alhamdu Lillahi” (praise be
unto Allah). ‘Alhamdu Lillahi’ is an important praise unto Allah the Blessed,
The Most High. This is a branch among the branches of the Qur’an because
everything that is in the Qur’an has been compressed by Almighty Allah inside
surat-ul-Fatihah (The Opening of the Book, Chapter 1 of the Glorious Qur’an).
Everything that is in the Qur’an that is of praise if found in the
surat-al-Fatihah.
“Alhamdu Lillahi” is a special praise unto
Allah. “Robbil Aalamin” (The Lord of the world) is a declaration
of belief in oneness of God. “Ar-Rahman ar-Raheem” (The Most
Beneficent, The Most Merciful) is a declaration of mercy of ALLAH. “Maliki
yaomi d-din” (The king of the day of judgment) is a promise (of the
future) by God. “Iyyaka na ‘budu” (it is Thee that we worship) is
a divine law (shariah) “Wa lyyaka nastain” (And it is from Thee
that we seek help) is a reality of our existence and need. “lhdina
sirotal mustaqim” (Guide us unto the straight path) is a supplication
(dua). “sirotal-l-ladhina aniamta alayhim” (The path of those
Thou hast shown favour) is history/story of the past. “Ghaeril magdhubi
alaehim wala dallin” (Not the path of those with whom Thou art angry,
nor of those who go astray) is a prohibition (admonition to desist from evil).
Now if we return to the praise of Allah, if the servant
says: “Alhamdu Lillahi” it is as if he has praised Almighty Allah
in all facets of His praiseworthiness. Whenever he says: “Robbil Aalameen”.
This is a declaration of His oneness, which firmly establishes His singular
Existence as the Creator. Allah has been in existence and nothing co-existed
with Him. Then He brought into existence all these creatures with His power and
His wish and His wisdom and He will make all extinct as He wishes. Whoever
acknowledges that the whole universe has a sovereign Lord, professes Tawheed
(belief in oneness of God). “Ar-Rahmanir Raheem” is a promise
from The Almighty Allah that He brought us into existence. And for what
purpose? He brought us into existence for the singular aim of Islam – submission
to His will only. And why did He bring Islam into existence? This is in
order that He might bestow mercy on us.
Islam came with the mercy of Allah. The Prophet of Islam –
Allah said about Him: “And we have not sent you O Muhammad, but as a
mercy to the whole universe” (Al-Anbiya 21:107).
Therefore, mercy is the foundation, and “Bismillahi Rahmanir Raheem”
is the commencement of every Holy Book revealed.
Every Holy Book sent down from Allah, the Almighty is
started with the phrase “Bismillahi Rahmanir Raheem”, just as for
every country, there is an anthem of praise with which it is addressed. Then
what is Almighty Allah’s Anthem? Mercy.
For every important matter, there is no doubt that it must be started with “Bismillahi
Rahmanir Raheem”. It is the anthem for the community of Allah Taa’la.
The Almighty Allah said: “He has written for Himself mercy” and “My
mercy has preceded my anger” and for this reason, there is immense hope
for Mankind out of the mercy of Allah Ta’ala. The Prophet (pbuh) said: “If
Mankind knows the magnitude of the mercy that is with Allah even the
disbeliever will never despair about the chances of admittance into al-jannat
(paradise)”. Allah created mercy in one hundred parts, and released
only one part into this world. Everything that is in this world by way of
favours from the beginning of creation to its end has its root from this one
part. To understand this is to imagine the mercy of a mother to her baby and
the mercy of the animals unto their babies. These are out of the inexhaustible
one percent made available for Mankind. Allah retains the remaining ninety-nine
parts with Him.
When this
world ceases, the one percent mercy that services creation on earth will return
to the ninety-nine parts that exists in the hereafter and the one hundred parts
will become whole again. Allah Ta’ala said: “My mercy has preceded My
anger”.
Allah is
merciful towards His servants and showed mercy as could not be comprehended by
anyone, not to talk of the share attributable to the Ummah of Muhammad (who are
even of higher ranks than all other human groups). When Allah decided to bring
creation into existence and He created the Pen and the Ink: “Nun, By The
Pen” (Al-Qalam 68:1). Allah vowed with the two objects and He said to
the pen: ‘Write’! “I cannot write, I do not have the
capacity to write”. “Write (by My Command) what has passed, what
is, and what will be until the Day of Resurrection. Write that the first of the
Prophet (sent to the people) was Nuh (on whom be Allah’s peace and blessings).
I have raised him for the entire creation; whoever believes in him will enter
paradise. Whoever does not believe in him will enter hell-fire. Then Ibrahim,
then Musa, then lssa up to Muhammad (all on whom be peace and blessings of
Allah)”. The Prophets are one hundred and twenty-four thousand in
number. For all of them, The Pen writes: “Whoever believes in him will
enter paradise, whoever does not believe in him will enter hell-fire”.
This was the case with The pen until it got the Community (Ummah) of Muhammad
(pbuh). It wrote: “I (Allah) sent Muhammad (pbuh) to the entire creation,
whoever believes in him will enter paradise, whoever disbelieves in him will
enter hell-fire”. Allah, the Truth therefore shouted vehemently on it:
“Be
of good morals and conduct O Pen”: “These are the Ummah of My
Beloved” and The Pen became afraid and shivered until it broke into two
(at the tip). This was the tearful episode that The Pen encountered from the
roaring of Allah, the Blessed Almighty upon it. It said: “What should I
write”? Allah Ta’ala said: ‘write thus’: “These are a sinful
Ummah (Community) but I am the Forgiving Lord and Cherisher and My Mercy upon
them transcends My Anger”. ‘Alhamdu Lillahi’ (praise be
unto Allah!)
Whoever is
among the Ummah of Muhammad, and this Qur’an is in his hand (as companion) and
he remembers Allah, the Almighty, and showers prayers of peace on the Prophet
(pbuh), if Allah wills, he cannot see anything in the hereafter except
goodness, even with a load of sin, he is rest assured of being pardoned (by his
act of seeking Allah’s forgiveness), just as soap and water (cleanses dirt)
when present!. Whoever does a lot of Istigfar (in sincere act and deed and with
a sincere heart), no sin will remain for such a person. Whoever sends a single
prayer of peace and blessing upon the Prophet, Allah Ta’ala says: “This My
servant, nobody can punish him except he even punishes others”. If
Allah wants him not to be punished, he will not be punished. And the statement,
“Lah
ilaha illa Allahu”, whoever utters it once, with full belief in it, is
an inmate of Paradise. No doubt about it.
Wird (litany of the
tariqah Tijaniyyah)
To this
end, you have all been admonished by those who gave you ‘wird (litany of the
tariqah tijaniyyah)’ that it consists of only Istigfar, (the act
of seeking forgiveness for sins), the Salat (prayer of peace) on
the Prophet, and khalimah, “Lah ilaha illa Allahu”. All these
have their basis in the Qur’an itself: “And seek ye the forgiveness of
your Lord…” This is from the Qur’an. “…And shower peace on him
i.e. Muhammad (Al-Ahzab 33:56).
This is a Qur’anic injunction. “Lah ilaha illa Allahu: “And remember
Allah with much remembrance (Al-Ahazab 33:41). The ‘wird’ is recited in
the morning and evening: “And glorify Him morning and evening” (Al-Ahzab
33:42).
By the way,
there are some people with limited scope of knowledge and understanding that
wage war against wird; in essence they wage war on Islam. These people of
limited understanding say: the Tariqah Qadriyyah and Tijaniyyah and such groups
are not like they used to proclaim them. Their argument is hinged on: “Today I have perfected for you your
Religion” (Al-Maidah 5:3), so there cannot be another practice.
The Holy Prophet
came with the religion of Islam. He did not leave this world until he completed
his mission of Islam to perfection. He came with every aspect of the religion,
nothing else remained. But if a man comes with something drawn from the Qur’an
or from the words of the Prophet, can we allude by the action that he has added
into the religion? This is not acceptable. Or whoever comes with something that
draws references in the Qur’an, and also in the Hadith; such a person came and
said his name was Abdul Qadir or Ahmad Tidjani and people of limited knowledge
and understanding said that it is an innovation. This is a lie and it is not
acceptable.
Wird, litanies of the
Prophet of Allah (pbuh)
The
litanies are the litanies of the Prophet of Allah (pbuh). Every aspect (of
wird) is from the Qur’an. Everyone of the Prophets Allah gave the understanding
of wird. The companions (of the Prophet) benefited from it, and he (the Prophet)
held firmly unto it and also advised his companions to hold firmly unto it.
The
Istigfar (i.e. Astagfiru Iaha), the As-salat upon the Holy Prophet and the La
ilaha illa Allahu are commanded by Allah in the Qur’an. Whoever is not a
Tijaniyyah but seeks forgiveness (i.e engage in Istigfar) and send salutations
unto the Prophet and pronounces ‘la ilaha illa Allah’ will definitely earn his
reward, according to the measure of his sincerity. No matter how small, this
will definitely obliterate his sins. To this end therefore, it is enjoined upon
you to handle your wird with every sense of responsibility and to watch over
it. The litanies (awrads) of the sheikhs will protect whoever protects it and
will debase whoever debases it. Whoever has taken up the wird, there is a warning
from Allah Ta’ala. He says in this regard to whoever has taken up the wird: “And
Let them fulfil their vows” (Al-Hajj 22:29). Do not be lured by the
talk of anyone who advises you to abandon your wird, that is, that you abandon
the remembrance of Allah Ta’ala.
Allah
says: “Whoever is turned away from the remembrance of the Beneficent God,
Satan will switch him to his side and he will
become his companion” (Zukhruf 43:36); “whoever makes an
enemy of Me through My friend: “I am equally ready to wage war on such a person”.
This is what Allah Ta’ala said in the Hadith Qudsiyy; whoever Allah engages in
war will be destroyed.
There are
two paths: The first path is to abandon the remembrance of Allah and to engage
in the enmity of friends of Allah, and in speaking ill of them, and in working
against their goals. The second path is the remembrance of Allah and possessing
the love of friends of Allah. Allah says in Hadith Qudsiyy: “I am sitting
down with whoever remembers Me and I am with Him, if he remembers Me in his
mind, I will equally remember him in My Mind. If he remembers Me in an
assembly, I will remember him in an assembly that is better than his own
(small) assembly”. This is a promise from Allah.
Remember
Allah and Love His friends (Waliyy)
Remember
Allah, whoever remembers Allah, Allah will remember him. Secondly, the love of
the friends of Allah. Whoever loves a Waliyy (friend) of Allah merely because
that person is a waliyy of Allah, Allah will take such a person as a friend.
Therefore, we are all constant in the love of friends of Allah and in the
remembrance of Allah, the Blessed and the All-High. Whoever chooses to abandon
the remembrance of Allah and also engages in enmity with His friends, if He
calls us unto that, we will never follow him. Tomorrow (i.e. in the hereafter)
when we meet Allah Ta’ala, they will surely know to whom is honour due on that
day of resurrection. Allah will Manifest His Grandeur with His Glory, Majesty
and Might and will sit on the Chair of Decrees and says: “It has been for
a long time that I have kept quiet and you have been talking; today , keep ye
all quiet and I will talk”.
The entire
creation will therefore keep quiet and no single word will be heard. Allah will
say: “The people of gathering will soon know to whom is honour due today.
Where are those whose sides are far from their beds calling their Lord in fear
and in hope?” The affected group will stand up, and Allah will say: “Enter
ye the paradise’. The people of gathering will soon know to whom is
honour due today, “Where are those men, whom neither merchandise nor
trade dissuaded from the remembrance of Allah, and keep up prayer and pay the
poor due”? The affected group will stand up. Allah will say “Enter
ye the paradise without any reckoning “Where are those men who remembers Allah
much? Where are those who offer praises, those who praise Allah, if they drink,
they say ‘Alhamdu Lillahi’ if they wear dresses they say ‘Alhamdu Lillahi, when
they mount (their cars or camels), they say ‘Alhamdu Lillahi; when they enter
or leave a place they say ‘Alhamdu Lillahi?; The affected Group
(Jammat) will stand up and Allah will say: “Enter ye the Garden without
any reckoning”.
Copiously render salutations
on the Prophetm(pbuh)
“The
people of Gathering will soon know to whom honour is due today”. We
therefore must be constant in the remembrance of Allah and in our love of the
Holy Prophet of Allah and the Waliyy of Allah so that when the people of Honour
are called, the entire people of the gathering will know whom the honour
is due to; is it to us or to those proud people? That day (and moment) will
surely come; no doubt about it. Therefore, engage copiously in the rendering of
salutations on the Prophet (pbuh), especially in the night of Jumah (i.e.
Thursday-Friday). On Fridays, Allah and his angels used to move around the
earth, if anyone offers salutations on the Prophet (pbuh), it will be carried
to the Holy Prophet that a named person residing in a named location has
offered prayers of peace on him in specific number of times on Friday.
Also, on
the eve of Friday the Holy Prophet will come out and listen by himself to those
who offer salutations upon him on Friday or on Friday night amongst you, those
salutations will fall directly into the ears of Mustapha (pbuh). Thus, if we
meet Allah, we shall know that verily this is the honour.
Time is
near (to end lecture). I thank you for your rapt attention. I beseech Allah on
your behalf, not forgetting myself and my people, that Allah should make us
fortunate in the hereafter and also bless us with good health in this world and
protect us and protect our children too. May Allah bless you all, and bless
your work, your children and your wealth. May Allah bless your land (country)
and everything dear to you. May He also bless you in all that He has provided
for you. May Allah bless us all with plenty children, vast wealth, stamp His
barakah on everything that He has bestowed on you and place you among the
worshippers of Allah who love one another for Allah’s sake; those who have no
schism or envy in their hearts against anybody. The Noble Apostle on the
greatness of his worth used to say: “No one can convey to me anything
evil concerning the other person” I want to leave you behind with a
sound heart. Allah says in the Qur’an:“(And remember the) Day when
neither wealth nor children can be of benefit to someone, except him who comes
unto Allah with a sound heart” (Al-Shuarah 26:88-89). A sound heart, a
heart wherein is not found any schism or envy against another person. One day
the Apostle sat down in his mosque and said: “A Man from the people of
paradise will soon enter from his door!” Everybody started looking at
the door and thus entered Abdullah bin Salaam. The companions went to meet him and asked him
what kind of good, righteous work he was doing that made the Holy Prophet
remarked (in is absence): “You are definitely from the people of
Al-Jannah (paradise)”.
He told
them: “It is not that I engage in plentiful prayers, neither by observing
much fasting, but every morning when I
wake up, I make an intention not to harbour evil thoughts of any human being in
my heart, and when evening approaches, I make the same intention not to harbor
any ill-feelings against anyone in the like manner till morning again
approaches, and I never mention ill of anybody day or night, and this is how I manage
every single day of my whole life”. They said: “it is by this act
that the paradise became compulsory for you”. The Apostle used to say:
“Whoever comes upon a congregation (jamaat) and they were happy with him
altogether (saying) welcome! welcome! Such a person has a recommendation with
Allah in the like manner. And whoever enters upon a jama’at and all of them are
angry at him and are cursing him, such a person has that same discredit with
Allah in that like manner. You are all witnesses for Allah, you are the pens of
the Truth”. Whatever you witness among men is exactly what those person
have with Allah, therefore make good your relationships (among yourselves) and
your speeches with every human being, whether that person is good or bad. There
is no one who can be worse than Pharaoh that was ungrateful to Allah and
claimed divinity (to be God himself) and no one can be mightier in
determination than Prophet Musa (on whom be peace) and Harun. Allah said to them
both when he sent them to Pharaoh “And speak to him a gentle speech”
(Ta Ha 20:44).
If Musa
with his grandeur was ordered to courtesy (display high degree of
respectability) and to speak gently to this miscreant who alludes God-ship to
himself, then how can less chastity in behaviour be expected of us all?
Therefore, make good your worship and make good your behaviours. May Allah
grant you all the best in this world and in the hereafter.
As Salaam
alaykum wa Rahmatulah.
Acknowledgement
When I
extended my thanks to you all; I am in the same vein extending my appreciation
to the people of Kaduna on this reception and this incurring of expenditure and this excellent guest-honouring and show of
love. I thank you all the people, the government and the Head. I thank you all
and pray to Allah for all of them and I love them all as they love me, and in
particular the Muslims among them, despite that all of them are my beloved. And
I used to say often: I am one of the Nigerians. Every time I visit you this
always manifests and so is every land that l visit within Nigeria. I always
meet this warmth be it Kano, Jos, Zaria and Kaduna. Every time l am present in
any part of Nigeria, I see myself as being in my home and within my people - nay!
- In a home which is even better than my home and with a people better than my
own people. This has been written with Allah, the Almighty and I bear witness
to that fact. That witnessing will be fulfilled by Allah, the Blessed, the
Exalted, because He, the Almighty asked for companionship for just one hour,
hence whoever keeps companionship of the people of Allah for just one hour will
equally have that benefit.
I will end
my discourse with a story, in the usual Manner that the Auliyahs (friends of
Allah) used to train their subjects with relative stories. Abu Yazid Bastamiyu
was passing through a town during one of his journeys. When he was in the
center of the town, his rod which he normally employs to herd his animal
fell-off his hand, and a man took it and gave it back to him.
Thereafter the Man
died and was not engaged in performing further righteous deeds, and the angels
came upon him with due punishment and he told them: ‘I am one of the
students of Abu Yazid Bastamiyu’.
The entire people of
Barzakh (interspace-where people reside immediately after their deaths) are all
in one place. Then the Angels turned their gaze towards Abu Yazid Al-Bastamiyu:
“Is it true that he was one of your companions? He remarked:
‘l do not know him!’ The Man said: “O Abu Yazid! Have you
forgotten that when you were on your journey and passed by a named town, your
rod fell down, that rod you normally chastise your animals with, and it was picked
up for you by one man? Abu Yazid
said: “l remembered that incident” He said: “I was that man who picked it up
for you”, Abu Yazid said: “Leave him (so said he to the Angels – pardoning him)”.
Praise is due unto Allah, the Lord of the worlds.
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