Beautiful Notes of the Flute

بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ 

The following is adapted from a swuhbah from Shaykh Muhammad Nazhim Adil al-Haqqani (q.s.) on the 26^th April 2010. 

There are 14 ayah in the Qur’an where it is recommended to sujud after reciting them.  It is also encouraged to start the reading of the Qur'an with a prostration, and to end the khatm of the Qur’an with a prostration as well.  We may even prostrate for every verse in the Qur’an. 

Allah (s.w.t.) Created each person as a unique entity.  Each creature has been Given its own special duties.  Every person has a responsibility towards His Lord Almighty.  Such is the Greatness and Magnificence of Allah (s.w.t.).  The Lord has Given each creature a unique existence.  He is the only One who Understands the real identity of every created being.  No two persons have identical personalities or responsibilities.  Each one of us is special.  Such knowledge belongs to the hearts, and not to the minds.  It is impossible to study it from a book.  It must be Bestowed by Allah (s.w.t.) into the hearts of believers.  That is why a hadits qudsi states that the Heavens and the Earth cannot contain Allah (s.w.t.) except the heart of a believer.  No one besides Allah (s.w.t.) Knows the real identity of a human heart. 

A portion of us hear advice but cannot understand as their hearts have been sealed to the truth.  They are urged to open their hearts to the oceans of understanding that lie just beyond their locked hearts.  Each heart is given the gift of being able to understand.  Some understand with the help of a reason, asbab, and others do not need one.  Allah (s.w.t.), Creator of All, bestows understanding on us by means of our prophets.  The umam of each prophet needed a means.  In each case, their means was their respective prophets.  The prophets themselves needed no means, despite being given one from the heavens. 

Prophets are special creations which can carry such “high voltages” without damage.  Shaykh Nazhim (q.s.) illustrated this by referring to a power station sending out electricity which is used to light our lamps, our hearts.  If we tried to tap electricity directly from the powers station, the high voltage would likely kill us, but the wires that run from the power station to our lamps, are designed to carry such high voltages safely, so we must acquire our electrical needs via these wires.  Similarly, Jibril (a.s.) brought Divine powers to this earth, and this was meant to be sent to our hearts via the hearts of the prophets.  So, we are in need of these Divine wires, the hearts of prophets, to bring the Divine Guidance to our own hearts, as we do not have the capacity to take directly. 

The Divine Commands that Descend upon us Command us to prostrate to Allah (s.w.t.).  When we read or listen to the Qur’an, we are in contact with these Declarations.  So we must obey the Commands and prostrate to Allah (s.w.t.).  Our prostration of worship and adoration must be solely for Allah (s.w.t.).  There are so many secrets contained within these Divine Commands so it is only fitting that a servant must prostrate to Allah (s.w.t.) when reading the Qur’an.  It is true that we prostrate to Allah (s.w.t.) in our daily prayers.  But we must understand why we prostrate, to Whom we are prostrating to, when to prostrate, and where our prostration should be directed to.  No doubt, Muslims are praying all over the world but, in reality, who are they really prostrating to?  To Allah (s.w.t.) only or to dunya?  We must cleanse ourselves of the filth of dunya.  Many have descended into creatures seeking the filth of this dunya all day.  In almost every moment of their lives, even while praying, they are with dunya and its corruption.  Prostration to Allah (s.w.t.) is not merely physical act during swalah.  It is an act of submission of our hearts every moment of each day. 

Our beloved Prophet Muhammad (s.a.w.) has delivered his responsibilities; he has taught us.  What have we done to fulfill our responsibilities?  Have we no fear of the Day of Resurrection?  Allah (s.w.t.) will Question every guide as to where they had directed their followers: towards Allah (s.w.t.) or towards dunya?  They will be Questioned as to what they had taught their followers.  Our Prophet (s.a.w.) said, “The qiblah of my ummah in the last days, will be their women.” 

Teachers must not be afraid to speak the truth even if it is bitter for their student.  They must teach their students that their lives will be devoid of Divine Blessing if they oppose the Shari’ah of Allah (s.w.t.).  People must be told this truth.  They will not have a good life if they are not good servants of Allah (s.w.t.).  We must never fear to preach the truth.  If Allah (s.w.t.) Protects us, nothing can harm us.  But if Allah (s.w.t.) were to Send Divine Chastisement upon us, who can save us?  When Allah (s.w.t.) Sent the mosquitoes to destroy Namrud and his armies, was anyone able to save them? 

Shaythan, dunya, our desires and our ego are our four mortal enemies, of which Shaythan is the cruelest.  They seek to drag us away from obedience to Allah (s.w.t.).  We do not prostrate to them.  We prostrate only to Allah (s.w.t.) and bow to the guidance of those who represent Allah (s.w.t.) on earth.  We seek His representatives, those who will guide us on that path.  They, the swidiqin, are those who have emptied themselves of these four enemies.  What they speak is not from themselves but from Divine Inspirations.  Just like a bamboo that is made into a flute must be hollowed out first before a musician can blow through it to produce a beautiful note.  The music that is produced, does not belong to the flute.  The flute is merely empty bamboo.  The notes belong to the musician who blows through the hollow pipes.