19 June 2011 West Java, Indonesia
Suhbah / Masjid Agung Kerawang
(Translated from Arabic)
A`oodhu billahi min ash-Shaytaani 'r-rajeem. Bismillahi 'r-Rahmaani 'r-Raheem.
Nawaytu 'l-arba`een, nawaytu 'l-`itikaaf, nawaytu 'l-khalwah, nawaytu 'l-`uzlah,
nawaytu 'r-riyaadah, nawaytu 's-sulook, lillahi ta`ala fee haadha 'l-masjid.
Ati`oollaha wa ati`oo 'r-Rasoola wa ooli 'l-amri minkum.
Obey Allah, obey the Prophet, and obey those in authority among you. (4:59)
As-salaamu `alaykum wa rahmatullahi wa barakaatuh.
Associations are not accepted if we don’t begin with the perfume of the Prophet (s). Every association such as this one has to begin with the name of the Prophet (s); that is the perfume of the majlis, salaah an an-Nabi (s).
إن لله ملائكة يطوفون في الطرق يلتمسون أهل الذكر ، فإذا وجدوا قوما يذكرون الله تنادوا : هلموا إلى حاجتكم . قال : فيحفونهم بأجنحتهم إلى السماء الدنيا ،...
The Prophet (s) said:
Allah has angels that are roaming the streets searching for gatherings of dhikr. Wherever they find a majlis of dhikrullah, they encompass that majlis and make istighfaar for everyone. And this istighfaar is written for everyone present in that majlis.
Allah (swt) said:
إِنَّ الَّذِينَ قَالُوا رَبُّنَا اللَّهُ ثُمَّ اسْتَقَامُوا تَتَنَزَّلُ عَلَيْهِمُ الْمَلَائِكَةُ أَلَّا تَخَافُوا وَلَا تَحْزَنُوا وَأَبْشِرُوا بِالْجَنَّةِ الَّتِي كُنتُمْ تُوعَدُونَ
In the case of those who say, "Our Lord is Allah,” and who further stand straight and steadfast, the angels descend on them (from time to time): "Fear not!" (they suggest), "Nor grieve, but receive the Glad Tidings of the Garden (of Bliss) which you were promised! (al-Fussilat, 41:30)
I will mention something that Mawlana Shaykh asked me to say through inspiration to my heart. Before coming here tonight, my legs were hurting a little bit and I thought of not attending due to the pain. Mawlana Shaykh Nazim (q) said to me in my heart, “Go, don’t care! You go where you are invited and don’t reject as each one is special. They will cure you and give you power. Don’t listen to yourself, that Habeeb is part of my beloved one. I am reaching him through his heart every day.”
So we arrived, and as I came down from the car my shaykh appeared. He said, “This is the big one.” I went down and found on him a turban, and he said to me, “This gathering is for love of the Prophet (s).” I saw that everything disappeared behind him and there were millions of people all wearing the same dress. Mawlana Shaykh said, “These people are going to come to us through him.”
In his ziyarah, Sayyidina Ahmad al-Badawi (q) said to Prophet (s) in his poem, “O Muhammad! I am coming to you as a spirit, not as a body. Please extend your hand so I can kiss it.” In front of thousands of people, the Prophet (s) extended his hand from the grave for Sayyidina Ahmad al-Badawi (q) to kiss it. The moment when Sayyidina Ahmad al-Badawi reached to kiss Prophet’s (s) hand, Mawlana Shaykh Nazim pushed him and instead of Ahmad al-Badawi, Shaykh Nazim was standing there. So in reality Ahmad al-Badawi kissed the hand of Mawlana Shaykh Nazim, who presented him all the way to the Prophet (s) in Madinah, and he was blessed!
Allah (swt) said:
إِنَّ اللَّهَ وَمَلَائِكَتَهُ يُصَلُّونَ عَلَى النَّبِيِّ يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا صَلُّوا عَلَيْهِ وَسَلِّمُوا تَسْلِيمًا
inna-Llaha wa malaa'ikatahu yusalloona `ala 'n-nabi, yaa ayyuhal-ladheena aamanoo salloo `alayhi was sallimoo tasleemaa.
Verily, Allah and His angels send praise on the Prophet. O Believers! Pray upon him and greet him. (al-Ahzaab, 33:56)
Here, the verb “yusalloona” refers to the future, which means there is also a verb for present and past. So since when were Allah and His angels praying on the Prophet (s), after Creation or before? To whom is this praising and where is the action of the past and present? With what characteristic was that praise on the Prophet (s), and was that only one time? Are all the angels making salawaat in the same way, or is every angel making a different salawaat in a different way?
[unclear]
What is the divine provision that Allah (swt) honors Prophet (s) when He makes salawaat on His own unto Himself? When we make salawaat on Prophet Muhammad (s), Allah dresses us from the salawaat He makes Himself!
قال صلى الله عليه وسلم: 'ما من أحد يسلم علي إلا رد الله علي روحي حتى أرد عليه السلام
maa min ahadin yusalim `alayya illa radd-Allah `alayya roohee hatta arud `alayi’s-salaam.
The Prophet (s) said:
ما من أحد يسلم علي إلا رد الله علي روحي حتى أرد عليه
I am fresh alive in my grave. Whoever gives me salaam one time, Allah will send my soul back to my body to enable me to return their salaams and salawaat.
The salawaat Prophet (s) will grant us will be the total of all the angels' salawaat! (...) As much as you are sending salawaat to the Prophet (s), as much as Allah is giving to the ummah, so the more you make salawaat on Prophet, the more Allah sends a bounty of salaams onto the nation! Allah gives the Prophet mercy, that is why he is “the Prophet of Mercy,” and what Allah gives to Prophet (s), He will also give to his ummah.
عن أبي هريرة أن رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم قال من صلى علي واحدة صلى الله عليه عشرا
Prophet (s) said in another hadith: Whoever prays on me one time Allah will pray on him ten times.
(...) That is why you will gain from increasing your praises and blessings upon Prophet (s)! This mercy cannot be counted; all is written for those who recite salawaat on Prophet (s). For this reason, let us make as much salawaat on Prophet (s) as possible. The ummah of the Prophet (s) is bestowed with mercy and they will enter Paradise with no account. (...) That's why the nation of Prophet (s) is safeguarded, because Allah (swt) said, “He and His angels continuously send peace and blessings upon him and his nation.”
Prophet (s) is His Beloved! We love Prophet (s) and how can the one who is loved forget those who love him.
O Believers! Send peace and blessings upon him so as to receive the manifestation of Allah’s Mercy that angels bring: returned favors for these salawaat! With all His angels, Allah (swt) is saying, “ O Mu’min! (...) when you make salawaat, I am honoring you and bringing you to My Presence!” and that one will be in the Divine Presence.
Does Allah need our salawaat on His Prophet (s)? No, because He is making salawaat upon him, but He ordered us to do so. So what is the hikmah (wisdom) that Allah ordered us to make salawaat? We are the ones in need of their returned favors; to offer salawaat is an honor for us and hastens our heavenly honor. Allah (swt) told us to make salawaat to give us honor, as He recites salawaat to honor the Prophet (s)!
We ask Allah to give us honor, hoping He will collect us with Prophet (s)! Awliyaullah say it's not possible for the prayer of a believer who makes salawaat on the Prophet to be ignored. Whoever makes salawaat to Prophet, it is impossible not to meet with him (s)! Awliyaullah say a believer cannot make salawaat on the Prophet (s) except that they will surely see the Prophet (s) at the time of his death or before, and many of the ummah see the Prophet (s) clearly, openly, possibly every day, possibly in every salaat. Those who make salawaat will inevitably see Prophet (s) either in reality or in a dream.
We pray to Allah (swt) that, for the sake of His Prophet, unite us with Prophet (s)! We tahnk Allah (swt), for Whom everything is humbled by His Greatness. Forgive us and safeguard us from Hellfire and grant us Prophet’s intercession and unite us with him! Grant our shaykh long life and good health.
Wa min Allahi 't-tawfeeq, bi hurmati 'l-habeeb, bi hurmati 'l-Fatihah.