The Knowing of Goodness

بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ 

The following is adapted from a swuhbah from Shaykh Muhammad Nazhim Adil al-Haqqani (q.s.) on the 14^th April 2010. 

Shaykh Nazhim (q.s.) asked everyone to ponder the real purpose of their creation.  One of Prophet Muhammad’s (s.a.w.) names defined his mission – Mu’allim an-Naas al-Khayr, the teacher of goodness to mankind.  His companions sat with him, to learn what their life’s mission was.  These men sat with their prophet.  Once they had learnt their life's mission, they went about to fulfill that mission.  Have we learnt ours?  Every prophet came to impart one journey to their followers – al-khayr – goodness.  A single word summarises the entire teachings brought by all 124,000 prophets that were Sent by Allah (s.w.t.) to mankind.  Every prophet’s call to mankind was about al-khayr, goodness. 

While on this Earth there are those who do their best to learn and follow the prophetic teachings, there are also those who do not learn – they live a life of filth, following warped whisperings, seeking to do their worst.  All good deeds are found within al-khayr, brought by Rasulullah (s.a.w.). We must learn as a child is born knowing nothing. 

It is the best adab to teach a young child to recite his Lord’s Name and make it the first word he utters.  To teach our children to say “Allah” is the peak of al-khayr.  Once a journey is begun this way, the child will continue on this way and he will carry that dzikrullah to the final moments of his life, and will die with “Allah” on his tongue.  A blessed human being begins and ends his life, with Allah’s (s.w.t.) Blessed Name.  That is why it is said: 

سُوۡرَةُ البَقَرَة

… إِنَّا لِلَّهِ وَإِنَّآ إِلَيۡهِ رَٲجِعُونَ (١٥٦) 

… “To Allah we Belong and to Him is our return.” (Surah al-Baqarah:156) 

Today, there are small thumb drives, tiny devices that can hold hundreds of hours of taped recordings.  Just imagine how much can be stored in a human heart, the width of which can contain Allah’s (s.w.t.) ‘Arsh.  On the Day of Promises, Allah (s.w.t.) Spoke to our real beings.  It was not to our physical bodies, it was not even to our souls.  It was to something even higher than that, our initial atom of creation.  Within that atom, is hidden the secrets of our reality, and only those with a Divine connection can penetrate these secrets. 

سُوۡرَةُ الاٴعرَاف

وَإِذۡ أَخَذَ رَبُّكَ مِنۢ بَنِىٓ ءَادَمَ مِن ظُهُورِهِمۡ ذُرِّيَّتَہُمۡ وَأَشۡہَدَهُمۡ عَلَىٰٓ أَنفُسِہِمۡ أَلَسۡتُ بِرَبِّكُمۡ‌ۖ قَالُواْ بَلَىٰ‌ۛ شَهِدۡنَآ‌ۛ أَن تَقُولُواْ يَوۡمَ ٱلۡقِيَـٰمَةِ إِنَّا ڪُنَّا عَنۡ هَـٰذَا غَـٰفِلِينَ (١٧٢) 

When thy Lord Drew forth from the Children of Adam ― from their loins ― their descendants, and made them testify concerning themselves, (Saying), “Am I not your Lord (Who Cherishes and Sustains you)?” ― They said, “Yea!  We do testify!”  (This), lest you should say on the Day of Judgement, “Of this we were never mindful.” (Surah al-A’araf:172) 

Allah (s.w.t.) Asked us if we accepted His as Our Lord and Creator.  And we had all answered yes.  It seems an easy enough verse to understand, but we must remember that each of these verses are Kalamullah al-Qadim, ancient Words of Allah (s.w.t.) and they are from pre-eternity to eternity, containing endless oceans of knowledge.  That Question Posed by Allah (s.w.t.) is in itself, an ocean so vast that it cannot be pictured.  It is from this ocean that anbiya’ take their knowledge of al-Khayr.  This is the verse in which we Pledge to accept Allah (s.w.t.) as our Lord and we acknowledge ourselves as His servants. 

This Question Posed by Allah (s.w.t.) did not mean the same to all of us.  To each human being, it contained a different meaning.  What it meant to the prophets, is not the same as what it meant to us.  Each human being received a special meaning in that question, and he will draw his own secret knowledge from his private ocean, hidden in that question. 

From that secret, Rasulullah (s.a.w.) knew the meaning of goodness and he taught his ummah every type of goodness that there is to know.  And what was the first thing on the list of goodness, the beginning of khayr?  The first goodness is to know our Lord Who Created us.  It is this knowledge that must be propagated during the Friday prayers from the pulpits during the khutbah.  Nowadays, so many ramble on politics and the concerns of dunya from the pulpits.  That is haram.  They are only authorised to teach al-khayr to the Ummah.  Once their advice leaves the path of al-khayr, they have left the straight road of Swirath al-Mustaqim.  Allah (s.w.t.) Commands us to ask in each Surah al-Fatihah that He Keep us on the Swirath al-Mustaqim: 

سُوۡرَةُ الفَاتِحَة

ٱهۡدِنَا ٱلصِّرَٲطَ ٱلۡمُسۡتَقِيمَ (٦) 

Show us the Straight Way. (Surah al-Fatihah:6) 

In the 40 rak’ah of fardh and sunnah swalah that we pray within each day, we ask for that 40 times from our Lord.  Once We fall off the narrow bridge of Swirath al-Mustaqim, we have fallen into the trap of Shaythan.  So we constantly remind those around us to learn what goodness is so that we will know the peak of righteousness in order that we can act on it and remain on the straight path.  Without this foundation, no one will be able to walk on the Swirath.  And if we are raised on Judgement Day without having understood and practised this, He will Turn us away from Him.  Repeating advice helps us remain in safety in dunya and akhirah. 

سُوۡرَةُ الاٴعلی

فَذَكِّرۡ إِن نَّفَعَتِ ٱلذِّكۡرَىٰ (٩) 

Therefore give admonition in case the admonition profits (the hearer). (Surah al-‘Ala:9) 

سُوۡرَةُ الذّاریَات

وَذَكِّرۡ فَإِنَّ ٱلذِّكۡرَىٰ تَنفَعُ ٱلۡمُؤۡمِنِينَ (٥٥) 

But teach (your Message): for teaching benefits the believers. (Surah adz-Dzariyat:55) 

Those who have lived in piety will meet Allah (s.w.t.) with glowing faces.  This lesson is especially important.  It is a foundation upon which the rest of our religion must be built upon.  Day by day, increase the goodness that we perform and reduce the evil that we do until evil is completely erased from our lives.  He who has left evil, has left Shaythan, and he who has increased in goodness has grown closer to Rasulullah (s.a.w.).