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Approach Your Lord with Love

Mawlana Shaykh Hisham Kabbani

26 February 2010 Abidjan Ivory Coast

Mosque of Niangon

2010 Africa Tour Series

As-salaamu `alaykum wa rahmatullahi wa barakaatuh! Before we begin, Mawlana Imam ul-A'imma ash-Shaykh Kuddous said I should speak for ten minutes. Are you agreeing with ten minutes, or two hours? (Crowd says, "One hour.") Allahu akbar, Allahu akbar, Allahu akbar!

I am thinking I am nothing. I am like an ant, no power, nothing. Don't look at me as if I am something, as I am nothing. But I am thinking that I am nothing and when I go out and come in, hundreds of people are rushing. If we are doing that for no one or no reason because we are nothing, what do you think about how the Sahaaba (r) were doing in the presence of the Prophet (s)? It is incredible! We cannot understand how the Sahaaba were so close to the Prophet (s) and their love was so huge. Now we are 1400 years from the Prophet's time and still that love is in the hearts of people towards Islam and towards the Prophet (s)!

SubhaanAllah! Look at the imaan in your hearts today.

قال لا انتم اصحابي أما احبابي فأناس من أُمتي يأتون في اخر الزمان يحبونني ولم يروني

The Prophet (s) said to the Sahaabah (r), Qaala laa antum ashaabee, ammaa ahbaabee fa-unaasin min ummatee yaatoona fee aakhir az-zamaan yuhiboonanee wa lam yarawnee, "He said, 'No, you are my Companions, but my lovers are those who come in the Last Days; they loved me although they never saw me.'”

Without seeing him you are loving him, so what do you think if you are seeing him? Don't worry, you are going to see him before you leave this dunya! He will not leave you alone, he is Rahmatan lil-`Alameen, "Mercy to All the Worlds." He will be with you when your last seven breaths are going out. Do you think at that time, Allah (swt) and His Prophet (s) don't know what is happening with you?

Prophet (s) said to Sahaabah (r), "You believed me because you saw me; You saw haqq. I am the haqq. I am under that tajalli of the Name of Allah, 'al-Haqq'." Allah (swt) is al-Haqq, but He is dressing Sayyidina Muhammad, giving him from that Beautiful Name light in his heart. "You are seeing the truth, you are seeing me, I am taking you to the Right Way, but those people coming at the end love me without seeing me. They heard about me, and they loved me." You are these people! Don't worry!

I was in Saudi Arabia since 1973, I lived there for about 20 years in Jeddah. I have a lot of Saudi friends, princes that we know from the work we were doing there. And you know in the presence of the Prophet (s), when you make ziyaarah of his holy grave, you stand facing the Prophet, asking what you want to ask, praising what you want to praise. And you know there it is very difficult to stand up at the main door of the Prophet (s) because they tell you to move. All of us, me, my brothers, my friends, who were making ziyaarah, we didn't make ziyaarah to the Prophet (s) until the Africans would come. We were happy to see you, to see people like you from different countries of Africa. When you came, we said, "Alhamdulillah yaa Rabbee, You sent us support," because at that time you come in hundreds in front of the muwwaajaha of the Prophet (s) and you move all the soldiers and we have time to say, "Yaa Rasoolullah," and touch there.

Because of your love to Prophet (s), no one can stop you! That's why through love to Sayyidina Muhammad (s), no one will stop you on the Day of Judgment because he will be your intercessor, he will be your shafee. Allah (swt) will give him shafa'ah and there he will take all of you, the lovers of Prophet, to Paradise without hisaab (reckoning). Hubb is two words, with haa and baa. Haa is hayat and baa is baqah. From hubb you will get life, from hubb you will get baqah in akhirah for Eternal Life! And you have that hubb in your heart, that you will have hayaatun-abadiyya and you will have baqaa'un abaadi.

Allah (swt) said in Holy Qur'an:

قُلْ إِن كُنتُمْ تُحِبُّونَ اللّهَ فَاتَّبِعُونِي يُحْبِبْكُمُ اللّهُ

Qul in kuntum tuhiboon Allah fatabi`oonee yuhbibkum-ullah.

If you want to love Allah, follow me and He will love you. (3:31)

Allah (swt) is saying to Sayyidina Muhammad to say to people, "If you really love Allah, love Muhammad, follow his way." If you follow his way then Allah (swt) loves you. And if Allah (swt) loves someone, do you think anything can stop that one from seeing and hearing what others cannot see or hear, speak what people cannot speak, and move where people cannot move?

من عادى لي ولياً فقد آذنته بحرب مني، وما تقرب لي عبدي بشيء أحب إلي مما افترضته عليه، ومازال عبدي يتقرب إلي بالنوافل حتى أحبه فإذا أحببته كنت سمعه الذي يسمع به وبصره الذي يبصر به ويده التي يبطش بها وقدمه التي يمشي بها وإذا سألني لأعطينه وإذا استغفرني لأغفرن له وإذا استعاذني أعذته

Sayyidina Muhammad (s) said in a hadith qudsi, it was revealed to him, ...Maa zaala `abdee yataqaraba ilayya bi 'n-nawaafil hatta uhibah. Fa idhaa ahbabtahu kuntu sama`ulladhee yasma`u bihi wa basarahulladhee yubsiru bihi, wa yadahulladhee yubtishu bihaa wa lisanahulladhee yatakallama bih. "My servant does not cease to approach Me through voluntary worship until I will love him. When I love him, I will become the ears with which he hears, the eyes with which he sees, the hand with which he acts, and the tongue with which he speaks."

Nawaafil is hubb. If you approach Allah (swt) with that, loving His Prophet, loving His way, loving His message, loving Islam, Allah (swt) will love you. That is what He said. And if Allah (swt) loves you, He will give you ears that you can hear what people cannot hear. You might be able to hear what is behind this door, what is behind this building. He will hear what Allah (swt) wants him to hear. He can see what Allah (swt) wants him to see. That is what happened to Sayyidina `Umar (r), he had that power, he was able to see and hear.

أن عمر بعث سرية فاستعمل عليهم رجلا يقال له سارية , فبينما عمر يخطب يوم الجمعة فقال : فذكره . فوجدوا سارية قد أغار إلى الجبل في تلك الساعة يوم الجمعة و بينهما مسيرة شهر .

When Sayyidina `Umar (r) was giving Jumu`ah from the minbar in Madinatu 'l-munwarrah, saying to Saariya who was fighting the enemy in Sham, "Yaa Saariya, al jabal! O Saariya, the mountain!" He was seeing Sariya and sending him a message from Madinah to Sham, and Saariya was hearing him, but not able to see him.

So those who follow the love of Allah (swt) and love of Muhammad and continue on the way of Islam, Allah (swt) will give them a power that He did not give to anyone. How did Sayyidina `Umar see and hear Saariya? When you love Allah (swt) and His Prophet, Sayyidina Muhammad (s), He will give you what you want!

O Lovers of the Prophet (s)! Don't worry about anything, be happy! You have Sayyidina Muhammad (s) that you can lean your back on. He is the Seal of Messengers (s), he is the intercessor for everyone!

Wa salaamu `alaykum wa rahmatullahi wa barakaatuh.

(Crowd shouts, Allahu akbar, Allahu akbar, Allahu akbar!)

Thumma takbeer wa ba`du takbeer.

(Mawlana makes du`a.)

Fatihah.

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