17 April 2011 Lefke, Cyprus
(Mawlana Shaykh narrates an incident between the Prophet [s] and Salman al-Farsi [r].)
Prophet (s) said, “You will leave your religion and faith if you hate me.”
Salman al-Farsi said, “How can I hate you? I sacrifice my mother and father for you, O Rasoolullah! Through you Allah has guided me, so how can I not love you?”
The Prophet (s) replied, “If you don’t love the Arabs, you don’t love me.”
Therefore, to love Arabs is an obligation for us. The bad news is that if Arabs don’t love each other, that is up to them; we are not responsible, but we are ordered. These words are for everyone except Arabs, addressed to Salman al-Farsi (r).
Arabs don’t love each other; they fight and kill each other, but it does not matter us. We love Arabs as an order of the Prophet (s) because he loved Arabs to be respected and loved; he gave this teaching. No matter what Arabs do, let them do, as we don’t need to be concerned with what is happening among them. We don’t carry that responsibility, so leave them to each other.
We love Arabs because our Prophet (s) is Arab! Zidhu yaa Rabbee `izzan wa sharafan nooran wa surooran, sultaanan wa ridwaana. Grant him, O our Lord, more honor and sultanate. Allah, Allah. Salman al-Farsi (r) is from the Ahlu ‘l-Bayt, the household of Prophet (s).
Love is a precious thing for human beings: to love Allah, to love the Beloved (s), and to love the shaykhs, to love your shaykh. Ustadh, “teacher,” is a word, that the Muslims and shaykhs did not use until the Turkish tyrants came. They hated the people of tariqah and Islam, so Grandshaykh (q) stopped anyone from calling him “shaykh,” because they would be accused of heresy. That is why they called them ustadh, otherwise this word has no base in our Shari`ah. For the sake of their protection and security from the wrath of tyrants, they used the word ustadh.
Mawlana Shaykh Adnan: So the original (word) is “shaykh?”
Of course. It is “Shaykh Sharafuddin,” but they changed it and called him “Ustadh Sharafuddin.” It is neither a Turkish nor Arabic word. They destroyed everything, but for the safety of the ummah they used it in Turkey during the time of tyrants in Turkey because to use the word “shaykh” would have harmed them because they are shaytans. These tyrants didn’t like the ummah to gather around a shaykh, so many of whom were hanged and executed. Wa min Allahi 't-tawfeeq, from Allah comes success. Wa bi rahmati ‘l-Lahi fa ’l-yafrahoo, and for the mercy of Allah they should be happy. Allah Almighty likes His servant to be happy and joyful. For example, it is not suitable, but it gives meaning. Do any parents get upset when they see their children laugh, play and be joyful? Allah Almighty makes us happy, and we are happy for His mercy. Therefore, can a person then be upset? No.