A Muslim Convert Once More

بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ   The following is adapted from a swuhbah from Shaykh Muhammad Nazhim Adil al-Haqqani ( q.s. ) on the 13 th April 2010.   We must beware of Iblis and his cunning tricks.  Once we let our guard down, he will make us forget Allah ( s.w.t. ).   سُوۡرَةُ یُوسُف ... فَأَنسَٮٰهُ ٱلشَّيۡطَـٰنُ ... (٤٢)   … but Satan made him forget ... (Surah Yusuf:42)   This verse of the Qur’an is made up of only two Arabic words but there is an Ocean of Knowledge contained within it.  It is a powerful warning for us to beware of Iblis and his followers.  It teaches us that their cursed mission is to make Man forget about their Lord Almighty.   This state of heedlessness is a worldwide phenomenon today.  Shaythan desires that believers are always preserved in this forgetful state.  It wants believers to forget that Allah ( s.w.t. ) is constantly Observing them.  He wants believers to forget that...

بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ   The following is adapted from a swuhbah by Shaykh Muhammad Nazhim Adil al-Haqqani ( q.s. ) on the 07 th December 2009.   Allah ( s.w.t. ) Sent 124 000 Prophets as warners to warn Mankind about Shaythan ’s tricks.   We must take this warning very seriously as millions of people have been duped by Shaythan , and are now in endless regret in their graves.   Once we have been snared in Shaythan ’s trap, it is very difficult to save ourselves.   That is why Allah ( s.w.t. ) Sent so many prophets and now, shuyukh to warn us again and again.   Shaythan ’s first step is to win our trust just like what he did with Adam ( a.s. ).   He portrays himself as our advisor and friend, inviting us to a life of endless enjoyment and freedom.   Shaythan whispers to us a whisper familiar to us all: Discard old things, and replace them with new ones.   Discard old clothes because they are out of fashion.   Dis...

بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ Shaykh Ja’far ibn Yahya ( q.s. ) of Lisbon was determined to find the Teacher of the Age, so he travelled to Makkah as a young man to seek him.  There he met a mysterious stranger, a man in a green robe, who said to him - before any word had been spoken, “You seek the Greatest Shaykh , the Teacher of the Age.  But you seek him in the east, when he is in the west.  And there is another thing which is incorrect in your seeking.”   He sent Shaykh Ja’far ( q.s. ) back to Andalusia, to find the man he named: Muhyi ad-Din, son of al-‘Arabi, of the tribe of Hatim ath-Tha’i: “He is the Greatest Shaykh .”   Telling nobody why he sought him, Shaykh Ja’far ( q.s. ) found the ath-Tha’i family in Murcia and inquired for their son.  He learnt that he had actually been in Lisbon when Shaykh Ja’far ( q.s. ) set off on his travels.  Finally he traced him in Seville.   “There,” said a cleric, “is Muhyi ad-Din.”  He ...

بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ The following was translated by Dr. Alan A. Godlas.   This is Shaykh Abu Muhammad Ruzbihan al-Baqli’s ( q.s. ) commentary on the Qur’anic verse:   سُوۡرَةُ البَقَرَة وَإِذۡ قَالَ رَبُّكَ لِلۡمَلَـٰٓٮِٕكَةِ إِنِّى جَاعِلٌ۬ فِى ٱلۡأَرۡضِ خَلِيفَةً۬‌ۖ قَالُوٓاْ أَتَجۡعَلُ فِيہَا مَن يُفۡسِدُ فِيہَا وَيَسۡفِكُ ٱلدِّمَآءَ وَنَحۡنُ نُسَبِّحُ بِحَمۡدِكَ وَنُقَدِّسُ لَكَ‌ۖ قَالَ إِنِّىٓ أَعۡلَمُ مَا لَا تَعۡلَمُونَ (٣٠)   Behold your Lord Said to the angels, “I will Create a vicegerent on earth.”  They said, “Will you place therein one who will make mischief therein and shed blood?  Whilst we do celebrate Your praises and glorify Your Holy (Name)?”  He Said, “I Know what you know not.” (Surah al-Baqarah:30) Since the angels did not know Allah ( s.w.t. ) bi haqq al-ma’rifah , with true gnosis, since they were unable to perceive the truth, and since they left the door of Sustainership due to the attack on them of ijla...

بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ   The following is adapted from a swuhbah from Shaykh Muhammad Nazhim Adil al-Haqqani ( q.s. ) on the 31 st January 2010.   We must be aware of what Allah ( s.w.t. ) Wants of us.   Allah ( s.w.t. ) Says, in the Qur’an:   سُوۡرَةُ المَائدة يَـٰٓأَيُّهَا ٱلَّذِينَ ءَامَنُواْ ٱتَّقُواْ ٱللَّهَ وَٱبۡتَغُوٓاْ إِلَيۡهِ ٱلۡوَسِيلَةَ وَجَـٰهِدُواْ فِى سَبِيلِهِۦ لَعَلَّڪُمۡ تُفۡلِحُونَ (٣٥)   O you who believe!   Do your duty to Allah, seek the means of approach unto Him, and strive (with might and main) in His Cause: that you may prosper. (Surah al-Ma’idah:35)   We have been Created to know our Creator.   We must seek a means of approach, a wasilah , to Him.   This is also known as asbab , a reason, for something to occur.   What is a wasilah ?   If a person wants to fly, he would be unable to do so because of his physical limitations.   So he has to use an aeroplane.   By means...

بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ   The following is a transcript of discourse given by Mawlana Wafi’ Muhammad.   Allah ( s.w.t. ) Says:   سُوۡرَةُ الاٴنفَال يَـٰٓأَيُّہَا ٱلَّذِينَ ءَامَنُواْ ٱسۡتَجِيبُواْ لِلَّهِ وَلِلرَّسُولِ إِذَا دَعَاكُمۡ لِمَا يُحۡيِيڪُمۡ‌ۖ وَٱعۡلَمُوٓاْ أَنَّ ٱللَّهَ يَحُولُ بَيۡنَ ٱلۡمَرۡءِ وَقَلۡبِهِۦ وَأَنَّهُ ۥۤ إِلَيۡهِ تُحۡشَرُونَ (٢٤)   O you who believe!  Give your response to Allah and His Messenger, when He Calls you to that which will give you life; and know that Allah Comes in between a man and his heart, and that it is He to whom you shall (all) be Gathered. (Surah al-Anfal:24)   The first part of the ayat has a lot of implications and importance.  When the Call comes from Allah ( s.w.t. ) and His Messenger ( s.a.w. ), we must respond.  Once Prophet ( s.a.w. ) called out to a companion who was at the time in swalah .  The companion did not respond but instead waited until he comp...

بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ   The following is adapted from the teachings of Shaykh Muhammad Nazhim Adil al-Haqqani ( q.s. ).   The scholars are the inheritors of the prophets.   This does not refer to those scholars who gained their knowledge from books, but rather those aqthab to whom Allah ( s.w.t. ) Opened these six powers in their hearts, and the knowledge of their seven personal names.   The five highest levels of aqthab are, Quthb , Quthb al-Bilad , Quthb al-Mutaswswarif , Quthb al-Irshad and Quthb al-Aqthab .   A quthb is the one whom Allah ( s.w.t. ) Granted the power to bring forth from the Nur of Muhammad ( s.a.w. ), to extract knowledge from non-existence of the Prophet ( s.a.w. ) into this dunya .   He extracts new knowledge from the heart of the Prophet Muhammad ( s.a.w. ).   This is the first level aqthab .   The Quthb al-Bilad is responsible for the order of this world and to hold it together.   He knows ...

بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ The following are some clarifications regarding the Tijani awrad and wazhifah as answered by Ustadz Fakhr ad-Din Uwaysi al-Madani for those new to the Path.   For those who have begun reciting the wazhifah but have not memorised the Jawharat al-Kamal , they may replace the twelve Jawharat al-Kamal with twenty Swalawat al-Fatih .  With regards the place of recitation, the condition of having room for six people when reciting the Jawharat al-Kamal is a recommendation, not an obligation, according to most of our shuyukh .  As long as the place is clean, it is suitable.  For those who do not have a suitable environment to recite the wazhifah , they may recite it at the mosque.   The awrad are the pillars for the wazhifah .  The wazhifah is considered the greater due to the presence of the Prophet ( s.a.w. ) in it.  For reciting the wazhifah and the awrad , wudhu is required.  The reciter must also fa...

بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ The following is taken from Perverted Priorities: Who is and Who is not Muslim by Dr. Suhayl Lahir.  The author is the Muslim Chaplain at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and a lecturer at Brandeis University.   “‘If you don't convert to my sect, you might as well not convert to Islam!’ exclaimed the ‘uncle’ to the young Christian lady.  The lady’s husband, a Muslim, had requested his elder friend to come and help explain to her why Islam is so important to him, and why he would like her, too, to share in its joy.  The husband was startled by this narrow-minded bombshell.  The shocking words of the ‘uncle’ highlight a lack of priorities plaguing some of those who profess themselves to be Muslim.  It is understandable for someone to feel passionately about a cause which, rightly or wrongly, they believe to be true.  I remember a rabbi relating how he went home after his first year at rabbinical seminary...