`Asr Suhbah at Manor House, Feltham (1)
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`alaa fee haadha 'l-masjid.
أَطِيعُواْ اللّهَ وَأَطِيعُواْ الرَّسُولَ وَأُوْلِي الأَمْرِ مِنكُمْ
Atee`oollaha wa atee`oo 'r-Rasoola wa ooli 'l-amri minkum.
Obey Allah, obey the Prophet, and obey those in authority among you. (Surat an-Nisa, 4:59)
(...) This is the first time I am mentioning that on the Day of Judgment, Allah (swt) will ask, “What did you do for Me?” This is a hadith from Sahih Muslim as I mentioned yesterday, many of you must have heard it. Allah (swt) is asking the `alim. The `alim will answer, “I taught knowledge and Qur’an in Your way.” But to whom, to Muslims? They are already Muslims; give and teach those who are not Muslim, reach outside for them. Where do you want to reach, in the masjid? Everyone here is already Muslim. You speak two or three words and they are happy, but spend your time in calling the ones who are outside. If you bring one it will be enough for all your life, as Prophet (s) said:
فوالله لأن يهدي الله بك رجلا واحدا خير من حمر النعم
Lain yahdillahu bika rajulan wahidan khayrun laka min humri ’n-na`m.
By Allah, for Allah to guide one man by you is better for you than red camels.
لأن يهدي الله بك رجلاً واحدا خير لك من الدنيا وما فيها
Lain yahdillahu bika rajulan wahidan khayrun laka min ad-dunyaa wa maa feehaa.
If Allah will guide through you one person to Islam, it is better than the wealth of this dunya.
(Nawawi, Riyaad as-Saliheen)
Ask this gentleman, he has been a Muslim for 25 years now and has come from Argentina to visit all of you. Ask him, how many brothers he brought to Islam by himself? Approximately how many do you think you brought: 20, 30, 50, or 100? (Around 100.) Subhaan-Allah! He brought 100 people to Islam in Argentina all by himself! Who is better, us or him? We did not even bring ourselves yet; we are still taking marijuana and all other things that are garbage. These people who were planted in marijuana came out of marijuana clean, and yet our children still are struggling. How many converts did you bring (another mureed)? (Around twenty). Imam, how many did you bring to Islam? (inaudible response.) He is imam. For me it is zero, as I brought no one. (Thousands!)
They (converts) are better than us. This is what Allah wants from us, not to pray and fast, as these are the obligations, but because of (when Allah will ask them) according to the hadith in Sahih Muslim by Abu Hurayrah (r), “What you did for Me?”
Allah will call the `alim on the Day of Judgment and ask him, “Come here, yaa `alim! What did you do for Me? These are the favors that I will give to the `ulama. What did you do to deserve this?”
The `alim will answer, “I did da`wah for Muslims, I taught them the Qur`an and knowledge.”
Allah will say, “No, you did that for yourself only to be called ‘`alim’! Take him to Hellfire!”
But if you do what Prophet (s) said, Lain yahdillahu bika rajulan wahidan, “If Allah will guide through you one person,” your money will not save you, but if you spend your money fee sabeelillah, that is what will save you. To bring money to converts and they are converting more. Mashaa-allah these people are like da`wah machines or like a drill. Musa, what was your name before Islam? (Craig) Do you have a drill? How big of a hole do you drill? (8 mm.) This one has a 100 millimeter drill and people like him need our help and others can learn and understand from him; they cannot understand from us. But we have to follow what Prophet (s) said, “If you bring one person to Islam, it is better than the wealth of this dunya.” It is better than anything you do and that will take you to Paradise! But we have to follow what we are ordered.
If Allah will make someone to enter into Islam by your hands, it is better than the wealth of this whole dunya. What does “wealth” mean here? It means rizq, money, but it also means `amal (good deeds). Therefore, it is better than all of your `amal that you are doing. Allah (swt) will grant you.
So I have made a great deal of interfaith dialogues and programs reaching east to west, alhamdulillah, bringing people to Islam. We went to churches and synagogues, Hindu temples and shrines. And alhamdulillah with the barakah of Mawlana Shaykh Nazim (q), we were able to bring those who had lost their track back to Islam. Then I began to realize that this is not an easy task, as it is difficult and requires too much work. I went to Guadeloupe, a small island with a population of 200,000. I stayed there for 2-3 weeks and converted 20-30 people. With the help of a convert, we opened a place for them to make Jumu`ah in a small room and took care of them. Then I left for Venezuela for one or two weeks and when I returned, I saw Muhammad Ibn `Abdul-Wahhab's book sitting on the shelf. Already their aqeeda was in danger of going on the wrong side! I asked the person where this book came from. He said that someone had brought it from a big mosque in France and put it on the shelf. I cannot stop people from reading it; they are reading it and becoming half-half, but your duty is to keep continuing and filling the gap.
Allah (swt) will ask and we say, “Yaa Rabbee! We are weak servants, we do what we can.” And that is why Allah has blessed us from nothing. We collected only a little bit of money to get the place, we were thinking to get a house to open a center. We have other places, but they are doing their own work there inshaa-Allah under our shaykh’s vision. So we said that we wanted a place to teach spirituality, as teaching is what’s important. I don't like to teach from behind a table and read, “Alif, Ba, Ta, Tha,” as it is not our way. Our way is like our shaykh, which is to sit with common and humble people, with the grassroots, because they can do the work. And subhaan-Allah, we came to have this place. We were looking for a small house, but acquired this huge building and I would like to thank everyone who helped in getting this done.
The funds for this renovation did not come from England, but from just one place and this building is not cheap, but very expensive and with the help of many others who all gave minimum and helped Musa pay the contractors. Now Allah (swt) has given him 3-4 projects bigger than this project, as he has helped with this one. That is why I am going to ask him to help furnish this place. (Inshaa-Allah, no problem Sayyidee!) I will also send Adil. Alhamdulillah we have nice people who helped and whose names I would like to mention: Hediah, Shawkat, Farzana, Adil, Deano and others who put their money and helped to renovate this place. Inshaa-Allah, Allah will make it a place of spirituality for those who want to come learn and study. Of course they may go anywhere they like, but if they wish to learn our way, they may come and hear.
I am still asking someone to be the imam, but he is jumping from one place to another and not giving a clear answer. He had previously agreed and said yes, but when we came here and asked him what he is doing, he said, “I am working.” Are you working for dunya or for Allah (swt)? He is looking at the ground as he cannot look at my eyes.
So going back to our subject, they like to talk about interfaith. What is it? It is something I am not going to explain here, as someone might take it and make it into their own speeches, but inshaa-Allah I am going to mention in the interfaith program we have, you can hear it there. Alhamdulillah, your da`wah, your way you want to present to people is to learn the moderation of Islam. I don't like to say “moderation” as if Islam isn't moderate.
إِنَّ الدِّينَ عِندَ اللّهِ الإِسْلاَم
Inna ad-deena `inda Allaahi ’l-islaam.
The religion in Allah’s view is Islam (submission to His Will). (Surat Aali-`Imraan, 3:19)
Allah is Just, how can you say “Islamic moderation.” Is not Allah Just, that He gave us a religion that is moderate with every other religion? It is said in the Holy Qur’an that Allah gave the Torah to Sayyidina Musa (a):
قَدْ جَاءكُم مِّنَ اللّهِ نُورٌ وَكِتَابٌ مُّبِينٌ
Qad ja’akum min Allahi Nurun wa kitabin mubeen.
There has come to you from Allah a (new) light and a perspicuous Book. (Surat Al-Ma'idah, 5:15)
Similarly, (a book came) to Sayyidina `Isa (a) and then to Sayyidina Muhammad (s). So when Allah gives, it is like when someone wears a suit: it is according to their measurements, perfect for that community and those people.
وَلَوْ شَاء رَبُّكَ لَجَعَلَ النَّاسَ أُمَّةً وَاحِدَةً وَلاَ يَزَالُونَ مُخْتَلِفِينَ
Wa law shaa rabbuka la-ja`ala ‘n-naasa ummatan waahidatan wa laa yazaaloona mukhtalifeen.
If your Lord had so willed, He could have made Mankind one people, but they will not cease to dispute. (Surah Hud, 11:118)
But He made them into different nations. Why, why did He not make one nation? In one nation you would get bored with each other, but with different nations you may come together, speak to each other, negotiate and understand each other and hence, keep yourself busy, not let Shaytan to keep you busy, but let Allah (swt) to keep you busy. If everyone is one nation then there must be one prophet, but Allah sent many prophets. Then from His `Adl, Justice, a certain group follows `Isa (a), another Musa (a), another Nuh (a), but at the end, He sent us Sayyidina Muhammad (s)!
Allah is saying, “Whoever believes in Muhammad (s), I will make him a believer as every other nation that came before.” Allah did not restrict the Muslims. It is like a tree with many branches, but He gave you the most important part: the trunk. If the trunk is not strong there will be nothing on the branches. Prophet (s) is the trunk of this Creation that Allah created him. You will have different branches, different beliefs and then one that accepts all of them, and that is the trunk.
So then you are in a situation that I don't like to say is higher, because we are weak servants, but in a situation that is better, because Allah is happy with you. You follow and stay attached to the trunk, and that means accepting everything on the tree. You may see that the trees have a chain of prophets and the Prophet (s) is in the middle and then the other prophets are all around. Many artists make this in beautiful calligraphy. So to follow Prophet (s) means that you are accepting all of them, which is better than to accept one and leave the others. There are many small ones and we accept all of them, so all of them will support us and Prophet (s) supports all of them!
May Allah forgive us. I would like to thank all who helped, and your help is recommended. If you want to help before you go, `Ali will collect. I wouldn’t give ten or five or twenty or fifty; no, it is not necessary. If you want to give, then give 500! Those who have can give and those who don’t have, no need; Allah will give you inshaa-Allah, then you may give.
Wa min Allahi 't-tawfeeq, bi hurmati 'l-habeeb, bi hurmati 'l-Fatihah.
http://sufilive.com/Manor_House_Dergah-4798.html
© Copyright 2013 Sufilive. All rights reserved. This transcript is protected
by international copyright law. Please attribute Sufilive when sharing it. JazakAllahu khayr.