Laylat ar-Ragha’ib,

Malam Permintaan yang Keramat/ Sufisme yang Sejati/ Kebersihan dan Kesederhanaan

Maulana Syaikh Muhammad Hisyam Kabbani !

dalam Mercy Oceans Secrets of the Heart

 

 

Kita memohon dukungan dari guru kita Syaikh Muhammad Nazhim al-Haqqani ! dan kita memohon pula dukungan dari Allah  dan Rasulullah . Malam ini adalah malam yang sangat berharga. Laylat al-Ragha’ib, “Malam Permintaan yang Keramat,” yang merupakan salah satu malam yang paling penting dalam sejarah Islam dan bagi seluruh ummat manusia. Ini adalah malam di mana Rasulullah  di transfer dari ayahnya kepada rahim ibunya dan jatuh pada hari Jum’at pertama di bulan Rajab. Semua yang kalian minta di malam ini akan dikabulkan oleh Allah  demi kemuliaan Nabi Muhammad  . Bangsa Arab dan negri-negri Islam lainnya merayakan malam ini dengan memanjatkan segala do’a kepada Rasulullah , mengingat kembali riwayat hidup beliau dan mengingat Allah dalam hati, dengan mengunjungi masjid dan tinggal di sana sampai terbit fajar. Mereka tidak tidur. Sayangnya, di negara ini, tidak ada yang tahu—khususnya para Muslim—bahwa malam yang paling berharga ini telah tiba.

 

Bagaimana Allah  mendukungmu di negara ini, bagaimana Islam akan tersebar di negara ini, jika bahkan para Muslimnya saja tidak mengetahui kapan jatuhnya malam yang sangat berharga ini? Ini adalah malam di mana kalian harus mengisinya dengan membaca al-Qur’an, mengucapkan Nama-Nama Allah , membaca riwayat hidup Nabi Muhammad , bershalawat kepadanya, dan bermunajat kepada Allah . Tiada yang mengetahuinya. Lihatlah semua masjid, bahkan tidak ada yang berbicara mengenai malam ini. Bahkan tidak ada pula yang mengatakan bahwa ini adalah bulan Rajab dan kalian harus berpuasa pada hari Senin dan Kamis. Siapa yang berpuasa? Sangat sedikit orang yang berpuasa dan mengingatnya. Di antara mayoritas Muslim, tidak ada yang berpikir, tetapi tetap saja mereka ingin menyebarkan Islam di mana-mana. Bagaimana ini akan terjadi bila kita, ummat Muslim tidak memulainya dengan diri kita sendiri sebelum berpaling kepada orang lain.

 

Kita memohon kepada Allah  agar mengubah hati ummat Muslim yang mengabaikan puasa di bulan Rajab dan membuat mereka menghargai bulan ini sebagaimana layaknya. Di negara kami, dengan seizin Syaikh, kita tidak tidur di bulan ini. Tadi malam Maulana Syaikh Nazhim merayakan malam ini di Nikosia bersama 500 orang, dengan melakukan shalat, dzikir, memberi ceramah, lalu menyuruh orang-orang agar pulang ke rumahnya masing-masing untuk melakukan segala macam shalat dan berdo’a hingga fajar. Di sini, bahkan tidak ada orang yang berpikir bahwa malam ini berbeda dengan malam-malam lainnya. Sesungguhnya jika bukan karena malam ini, Islam tidak akan pernah ada. Cahaya yang telah diciptakan Allah  dalam diri Sayyidina Adam  terletak di dahi, dan Adam  bertanya kepada Tuhannya, ketika Dia menciptakannya dan menempatkan ruh ke dalam tubuhnya, “Wahai Tuhanku, lampu apa ini, cahayanya selalu bersinar di dahiku?” Dia berkata, “Wahai Adam , cahaya itu adalah cahaya Nabi dan Rasul-Ku yang tercinta, cahaya hamba-Ku Muhammad . Dari cahaya itu Aku telah menciptakan kamu. Aku telah menciptakan dia lebih dahulu sebelum Aku menciptakan kamu, dan Aku tempatkan cahaya itu di kepalamu. Cahaya itu diteruskan kepada Nuh , dari Nuh  kepada Ibrahim , dan dari Ibrahim  kepada Isma’il , dan seterusnya sampai pada Rasulullah .

 

Jika bukan untuk Rasulullah , Allah  tidak akan menciptakan seluruh alam semesta ini. Ketika Dia memerintahkan kalam untuk menulis, LA ILAHA ILLALLAH, tidak ada Tuhan selain Allah , kalam itu menulis selama 70.000 tahun dalam ukuran Allah . Wa ‘inna yawman ‘inda rabbika ka’alfi sanatin mimma ta’uddun,” “Sehari di sisi Tuhanmu adalah 1.000 tahun menurut perhitunganmu” (al-Hajj 47). Bayangkan rentang waktu selama 70.000 tahun surgawi, akan setara dengan 25.550.000.000 tahun menurut perhitungan manusia, jadi selama itu kalam menulis. Ketika kalam selesai menulis, dia berhenti. Allah berkata kepada kalam itu, “Wahai kalam, tulislah Muhammadun rasulullah.” Kemudian kalam itu menulis lagi selama 70.000 tahun. Lalu kalam itu bertanya, “Wahai Tuhanku, siapakah orang yang terhormat ini, Muhammad yang Engkau tempatkan Namamu bersama namanya?” Dan Allah  berfirman, “Ikhsa’ ya qalam, lawla Muhammadun ma khalaqtu ahadan min khalqi,” “Diam, wahai kalam! Jika bukan untuk Muhammad , Aku tidak akan menciptakan seorang pun.”

 

Tidak ada yang mengetahui kapan kalam itu mulai menulis kalimat LA ILAHA ILLALLAH, dan tidak ada yang mengetahui kapan kalam itu mulai menulis MUHAMMADUN RASULULLAH. Masa itu disebut “azal” dalam bahasa Arab, berarti pra-keabadian, suatu masa yang tidak diketahui oleh siapa pun kecuali Allah . Nama Rasulullah  sudah ada pada saat itu. Dan jika nama itu berada di sana, apakah kamu pikir dia tidak berada di sana? Bila kamu memberi nama kepada seseorang, maka orang itu harus ada, paling tidak secara spiritual. Oleh sebab itu, apa pun sanjungan yang kamu berikan kepada Rasulullah , apa pun pujian yang kamu berikan, kalian masih tetap menganggapnya remeh. Salah satu Wali besar berkata, “Berikan kemuliaan kepada Rasulullah  dan pujilah dia, tetapi jangan katakan kepadanya sebagaimana orang Kristen berkata tentang Rasul mereka.” Hal ini berarti jangan katakan bahwa beliau adalah Tuhan. Hanya Allah  Tuhan kita, yang lain adalah budak.

 

Ini adalah keyakinan para Sufi. Pengikut Sufi percaya bahwa Allah Maha Esa, dan segala sesuatu adalah hamba-Nya. Jangan berpikir bahwa para Sufi sejati mempunyai iman yang berbeda. Sufi sejati mengetahui bahwa hamba adalah hamba dan Allah adalah Tuhan. Para pembaharu memproklamasikan dirinya sebagai Sufi, namun mereka meninggalkan toilet tanpa mengetahui bagaimana cara membersihkan diri mereka! Ini tidak bisa dianggap sebagai Sufi sejati, mereka tidak bisa dianggap apapun! Para pengikut Sufi harus menjaga syari’at Rasulullah, mereka harus tetap menjaga seluruh kondisi dan hukum yang telah ditetapkan oleh Allah  kepada kita, mereka percaya bahwa Allah Maha Penyayang kepada setiap orang. Ini adalah Rahmat dari Allah. Tetapi walaupun Allah Maha Penyayang, kita harus menunjukkan rasa terima kasih kita, dengan menyembah-Nya dan bersyukur atas segala nikmat yang diberikan-Nya kepada kita. Itulah alasan mengapa Allah  menuntut penyembahan kita. Atau apakah kamu pikir bahwa alasan kita menyembah-Nya adalah untuk menambah Kebesaran-Nya? Ibadah kita murni merupakan ukuran rasa terima kasih karena Allah  telah menciptakan kita dan memberi kita kemuliaan semacam itu.

 

Jangan berpikir bahwa para Sufi dapat menerima pandangan yang mengatakan bahwa Sufisme bertentangan dengan syari’at? Ini tidak pernah menjadi masalah, dan tidak akan menjadi masalah. Dari Rasulullah , Sayyidina Abu Bakar ash-Shiddiq , Sayyidina ‘Ali  dan seluruh guru Sufi, semuanya menghormati dan menjaga syari’at sepenuhnya. Yang kami maksud adalah guru Sufi sejati, bukan anak-anak yang memproklamirkan dirinya sebagai guru Sufi dan membawa seluruh khuza’balat, ide-ide bodoh dan omong kosong diberikan kepada sufisme. Apakah Sufisme seperti ini? Sufisme berarti bahwa kalian tidak mengangkat kepalamu dari posisi sujud. Kalian lihat, mereka tidak memelihara janggut, tidak memakai turban, tidak memperhatikan sunnah Rasulullah , dan tetap mengaku sebagai guru Sufi dan berbicara mengenai Jalaluddin ar-Rumi  atau Muhyiddin ibnu al-‘Arabi , atau Abu Yazid al-Bistami . Abu Yazid al-Bistami , Muhyiddin ibnu al-‘Arabi  dan Jalaluddin ar-Rumi  menyangkal mereka! Para Awliya ini tidak menerima mereka karena mereka akan bertentangan dengan syari’at.

Guru Sufi yang palsu bahkan mengaku bahwa kita tidak perlu berwudhu. Bagaimana mungkin wudhu tidak diperlukan? Salah satu Nama Rasulullah  adalah Nabi dari “orang-orang yang bercahaya", al-ghurr al-mujjalin. “Orang pertama yang akan kupanggil menghadapku untuk masuk ke dalam surga dan bertemu dengan Allah  di surga dan tetap bersamaku adalah mereka yang anggota tubuhnya bercahaya seperti cahaya matahari karena dibasuh dengan wudhu” (Bukhari-Muslim). Setiap orang di antara kalian yang selalu menjaga wudhunya akan termasuk orang-orang yang beruntung itu. Ketika Abu Huraira y ditanya mengapa beliau membasuh anggota tubuhnya dengan air melebihi yang diperlukan, beliau menjawab bahwa beliau ingin seluruh anggota tubuhnya bersinar pada hari itu. Lalu bagaimana mungkin—orang yang mengaku Sufi—berkata bahwa wudhu tidak diperlukan? Mereka mengaku bahwa mereka melakukan wudhu dengan cara menghirup, lalu mengeluarkan semua kotoran mereka. Ini lebih baik dilakukan di kamar mandi, bukan di masjid. Kalian hanya bisa masuk ke masjid setelah melakukan wudhu! Tidak ada satu pun yang dapat membersihkan kalian kecuali dengan wudhu. Kami membantah apa yang mereka katakan. Mereka yang mengaku Sufi itu bukan Sufi sejati tetapi sesungguhnya menentang sufisme, dan merekalah yang memberi citra buruk kepada sufisme.

 

Rasulullah  bertanya kepada Sayyidina Bilal , “Wahai Bilal, Aku mendengar langkahmu di surga. Apa yang kamu lakukan (untuk mendapat penghargaan semacam ini)?” Bilal  menjawab, “Wahai Rasulku tercinta, setiap kali aku berwudhu baik di siang hari maupun ketika aku bangun di tengah malam untuk berwudhu (setelah pergi ke kamar kecil), aku melakukan shalat wudhu minimal dua rakaat “ (Bukhari-Muslim). Kita tidak meringankan tubuh kita seperti halnya binatang, tanpa membersihkan diri, kemudian kita melangkah ke dalam masjid dan berkata bahwa kita akan melakukan shalat. Kita tidak mengatakan hal ini kepada Muslim yang baru, tetapi kepada Muslim yang telah lama. Kita mendiskusikan hal ini dengan terbuka karena, “la haya’a fid din,” “tidak perlu malu dalam urusan agama” (hadits).

 

Rasulullah  bersabda, “Aku takut ummatku nanti akan melakukan shalat tanpa membersihkan diri setelah mereka membuang urin.” (hadits, Rasulullah  suatu ketika melewati dua kuburan, kedua orang yang dimakamkan di sana telah disiksa. Beliau bersabda…’Salah satu di antara mereka tidak pernah melakukan tindakan untuk mencegah dirinya dikubur dengan urinnya sendiri’ dan seterusnya.” Bukhari, Jana’iz ch.80). Banyak orang di sini yang pergi ke kamar kecil dan keluar tanpa membersihkan diri mereka, kemudian melakukan wudhu dan shalat, hal ini tidak dapat diterima. Dalam kasus ini shalatnya tidak diterima. Kalian harus menyiram dan membersihkan dirimu ketika kamu membuang urin. Jika kalian tidak membersihkan dirimu, kalian tidak bisa melakukan shalat. Saya ulangi bahwa ini adalah untuk orang yang sudah lama menjadi Muslim, bukan untuk yang baru menjadi Muslim. Kalian harus membersihkan diri sebelum kalian melakukan shalat. Bagaimana kalian akan berdiri (dalam shalat) menghadap Allah dan berharap agar shalatmu diterima? Shalatmu tidak akan diterima, meskipun itu lebih baik daripada tidak—di bandingkan dengan orang yang tidak shalat sama sekali.

 

Setiap orang harus membersihkan dirinya baik secara fisik maupun spiritual. Tidak cukup hanya dengan mengatakan, “Aku telah membersihkan diriku secara spiritual.” Untuk para pemula, lupakan, tetapi bagi kita, kita harus datang untuk shalat dalam keadaan bersih, baik di masjid maupun di rumah. Kalian harus sangat berhati-hati dalam masalah ini. Jangan membuang urin sembarangan sebagaimana yang dilakukan oleh anjing, keledai, atau monyet, tanpa merasa malu karena Syaikh tidak melihatmu. Jika Syaikh tidak melihatmu, kedua malaikat di pundakmu bisa melihatmu. Jika mereka pun tidak melihatmu, Allah melihatmu. Tidakkah kalian merasa malu terhadap hal ini? Pergilah ke kamar kecil di bandara atau di pom bensin di Amerika, di sana, tidak ada orang yang merasa malu berpakaian tidak selayaknya, berdiri dan membuang air seperti anjing… apakah ini yang dinamakan hormat dan adab? Kalian harus berada dalam ruangan tersendiri agar tidak ada orang yang bisa melihatmu. Itulah adab yang diajarkan oleh Islam. Islam mengajarkan kalian untuk selalu menghormati orang, termasuk dirimu sendiri.

 

Sayyidina ‘Ali , semoga Allah  mengangkat derajatnya, tidak pernah selama hidupnya melihat bagian-bagian tubuhnya yang sifatnya pribadi. Itulah sebabnya beliau menerima kehormatan yang begitu tinggi, penghargaan yang kita ucapkan setelah menyebutkan namanya, “karramallahu wajhahu”, yang secara harfiah berarti, “Semoga Allah memuliakan wajahnya.” Beliau tidak pernah membiarkan matanya melihat bagian tubuh pribadinya. Bagaimana dengan kita dewasa ini? Kita meninggalkan bagian tubuh pribadi kita, lalu mencari kepunyaan orang lain dan bahkan menggambarkannya! Di televisi, mereka mengajarkan setiap orang termasuk anak-anak bagaimana cara berkencan dan bagaimana cara melihat bagian tubuh pribadi masing-masing. Peradaban macam apa ini? Ini adalah suatu kebodohan. Kehidupan binatang lebih baik daripada seperti ini. Kita terlalu banyak melakukan dosa. Kita memerlukan jalan yang aman dan cepat untuk mencapai Tuhan kita. Kita harus mengetahui bahwa Malam Permintaan Yang Keramat ini adalah salah satu jalan untuk mendekati-Nya. Ke mana pun kita memandang, kita temukan diri kita dalam keadaan berdosa, itulah sebabnya kalian harus mencari tempat di mana orang-orang membuat suatu pertemuan demi Allah, mereka mengingat Allah dan mengingat Rasulullah, sehingga kalian dapat mendekati-Nya dengan cepat. Oleh sebab itu jangan melewatkan pertemuan semacam itu.

 

Wa min Allah at-tawfiq bi hurmat al-Faatiha

Source ; zulkarnainagung.multiply.com/journal/item/187

        

Many a Friends I met now fade away In Memory

Many Places I saw now fade away in Memory

Many Wishes I made now fade away in Memory

Like a garden full of roses is the life

It fades away with time and Season

But it is this I who refuses to fade away

It is this I who wants to hold on to the past

And wishes to welcome the future

Who is this I ?

Who wishes eternity?

Though born a Human

With a beginning and a end

Yet refuses to acknowledge its beginning and its end

Who am I ?

What is my Mystery?

 

Sufi786

 

           

Why go to Mosque?

If you leave your God in the Mosque every time

And come out with an heart empty of God

Why Play a Lost Game?

Why fool yourself?

For if it was God whom you sought to deceive?

Then your going to mosque was an futile exercise

For you are the one who is deceived

 

Sufi786

   

The Heart of the Believer is the House of God

July 1st coincided this year with the first of Muharram of the year 1413 AH. On that same date long ago the Prophet (s) was ordered by his Lord to emigrate from Makkah to Madinah. Why did the Prophet (s) emigrate? He is a prophet and God protects His prophets. God has said that He will protect His religion until the Last Day. So why did the Prophet (s) run away? Prophets never run away. What was the wisdom behind the Prophet's (s) emigration from Makkah to Madinah? There must be a hidden wisdom and that wisdom is hidden in the heart of the Prophet (s).

Did the Prophet (s) leave because the Quraysh were attempting to carry out their plan to assassinate him? He threw sand into their eyes and recited the verse, "We have made a barrier in front of them and a barrier behind them, and we have covered them up so they cannot see." [36: 9]. They were not able to see him as he walked pass them. In the same manner he could have thrown anything on them and have been done with them.

God protected His Ka`bah in the time of Abraha when Abraha tried to destroy it. At that time, Abdul Muttalib said, "There is an Owner for that House [Ka`bah] Who will protect it." God sent birds carrying small stones in their beaks and they finished off Abraha's army. Why, then, did the Prophet (s) go from Makkah to Madinah? He was able to ask his Lord to send some calamity on those people and be finished with them and their ignorance. There are many hidden secrets concerning the Prophet's (s) emigration, so much so that a need to reveal each one exists.

As we know, according to the Divine Law, the Prophet (s) went from Makkah to Madinah to build the first government of Islam, the first base of Islam, from which that Light for human beings would spread from East to West. This is the external explanation-that he went from an unsafe place to a safe place in order to establish the first base for God's Light. From that base, the Prophet (s) was to enlighten the hearts of his Companions and the hearts of his Community until the Judgment Day with the message, "O people, run from the torture of your ego and from its bad manners to the good manners of your spirit . Establish the House of your Lord in your heart on a good foundation." The Prophet (s) also said, "The heart of a believer is the house of God."1 God, Whom neither heaven nor earth can contain, has allowed Himself to be contained within the human heart. What is the foundation of that house? Good manners. When you are a good person, then God will send that Light into your heart. When you are not a good person, but you are trying to be one, God will support you. However, when you never try to be a good person, satan will support you. If you like Satan's support, take your support from him. But you will be the loser. If you want your Lord to support you, you are a winner. Establish that 'House' in your heart.

God said in Quran, "O believers, fear God and accompany true people" [9:119]. As one of our brothers here said, "Let us speak tonight about truthfulness (sidq)." What is truthfulness? It is a virtue which is very difficult, especially in this time. Very few people have this virtue. That is why the above verse from the Quran says, "Be with true people," not, "Be a true person," because it is very difficult to be a true person. But to be with true people is easy. You have to learn from true people. To establish the house of God in your heart requires requires a long journey and it is difficult to find the way by yourself. It is easier to find a true person and to follow him.

That is why the Prophet (s) emigrated from Makkah to Madinah-in order to establish a base of true people-his Companions-and that is why they have been called Companions (sahabah). They have been given that title by God. No one can be a Companion of the Prophet (s) except those that were with him (s). This is a rank no one can reach. After the Prophet (s), no one has reached the level of being a Companion.

So the Prophet's (s) migration from Makkah to Madinah was to pass by a cave. According to the life story of the Prophet (s), that cave was called the cave of Thawr. It is one day's distance from Makkah. The Prophet (s) stayed there three days. Why did the Prophet (s) stay in that cave? Why was he unable to continue? The unfolding of the secrets occurred in that cave.

The Prophet (s) was ordered to emigrate from Makkah to Madinah for the purpose of going inside the cave of Thawr where God taught him how to "remember God" (dhikr Allah). It was the first time that the Prophet (s) invoked God in a loud voice. This is a very great Sufi secret indeed.

To emigrate from Makkah to Madinah was very easy for the Prophet (s). He only had to say, "In the Name of God, the Merciful, the Compassionate," and he would have been in Madinah as easily as it had been for him to take sand and throw it at the ignorant people's eyes preventing them from seeing him as he was leaving his house. Or he could have ridden on his horse or camel and reached Madinah in ten to fifteen days. Why did he go to that cave? The 'Cave of Silence' as it has been called? Indeed, it is the 'Cave of Silent Secrets'. Why was the Prophet ordered by God to go to that cave, which is one day's travel from Makkah, when he had a distance of fifteen days journeying to go?

When the Prophet went into that cave, a spider and a dove came and made a house over the door in order that no one would know what was inside. This is common knowledge. As for the secret, look to love. When love for someone is pure, God will never forget that person. Before leaving Makkah for Madinah, the Prophet put someone in his bed because the ignorant people came to his door intent on killing him. He put Ali (as) in his bed. There is a secret to that, it means that he made Ali (as) his representative, in his place. He did not put Umar (r) there. He did not put Uthman (r)-none of the Companions, but someone of his own flesh and blood.

The Prophet (s) took with him as company his other mirror-image, Abu Bakr (r), to the cave. He said, "I am the city of knowledge and Ali is the door."2 The door is something physical, external. When you want to enter the house, how do you enter? Through the door. In order to enter to the Prophet and to come to the knowledge that the Prophet is giving, you have to enter through the door. That door is Ali (r). The Prophet (s) also said, "Whatever God has poured into my heart, I poured into the heart of Abu Bakr as-Siddiq."3 The Prophet (s) referred again to the secret of Abu Bakr (r) when he said, "Abu Bakr does not surpass you because of fasting or praying more, but because of a secret that took root in his heart."4

So inside the house, we find Abu Bakr (r) and outside the house, we find Ali (as). That is why, of the two sources of Sufi knowledge, one came from Abu Bakr (r) and the other from Ali (as). From the time of the different schools of Divine Law, Muslims have agreed that the knowledge of the heart came from these two paths. Justice and laws, on the other hand, came from Umar (r).

The Prophet's comment about Abu Bakr (r) is the secret of the cave. To represent his body, the Prophet put Ali (as) in his bed prior to his departure from Makkah to Madinah. This means that Ali (as) represented the external. But he took Abu Bakr (r) to the cave for the cave represents what is interior. In the Quran, God commands us, "Enter, resort to the cave! Your Lord will shower His Mercies on you and dispose of your affair towards comfort and ease." [18:16]. And who is the cave for this Community except the Prophet? It is an order for everyone on this earth to run to the cave. Everyone has a cave in his heart which directs him to the great cave, the general cave: that is the heart of the Prophet. It is that great cave that takes you to the mercy of his Lord.

Who did Muhammad (s) choose to accompany him to the cave? It was Abu Bakr as-Siddiq (r). When the Prophet (s) entered the cave, he was very tired. He reclined and placed his head on Abu Bakr as-Siddiq's (r) leg. Who, I ask, can put the head of a prophet on his leg? Abu Bakr as-Siddiq (r) bore on his the head of the most Beloved one of God. This is a great honor for Abu Bakr as-Siddiq (r) that the Prophet Muhammad (s) has put his honorable head on his leg. For us the Prophet (s) was sleeping, but for him, it was an ascension. He knows no sleep, "My eyes sleep, but my heart never sleeps."5 His heart never sleeps! His heart is always connected to his Lord. He is always in ascension.

No one can know the level attained in Ascension. Even Gabriel (as) was not able to know it, because he said, "I cannot move beyond my level" when the Prophet (s) told him to continue with him. "If I go further, I will be burnt."

The teachings of the Naqshbandi and other saints including Abdul Qadir Gilani and all the Sufis say that Gabriel (as) should have moved forward with the Prophet (s), even if he was going to be burnt. As the Prophet (s) said to Gabriel (as), " "I am going to move higher even if I am going to be burnt." He was ready to sacrifice himself to obtain that Light for his community, saying, "I have no concern for myself." Therefore he moved forward, constantly progressing, traveling to that level, closer and closer to his Lord.

At that time God asked him, "Who are you?" What do you think the Prophet (s) answered? Is there a 'Muhammad' (s), is there 'a prophet' there, in the Presence of his Lord? Who can be something in the Presence of God? So he said, "O my Lord, I do not see myself. I do not see anything except You. There is no one except You." That is the secret that the Prophet (s) wished to pass on to Abu Bakr as-Siddiq (r). Thus, he took him to the cave. He could have taken Ali (as) or Umar (r) or four people, two or one. But he took someone about whom he said, "Whatever my Lord has put in my heart I put in the heart of Abu Bakr as-Siddiq."

As the Prophet (s) was lying down with his head on the leg of Abu Bakr as-Siddiq (r), Abu Bakr (r) saw a hole in the wall of the cave. Abu Bakr (r) put his foot against the hole to close it. He felt something biting him, causing him intense pain. He felt as if he were losing his body. He was trying to control himself until the flesh of his foot was eaten half away. As his flesh was being eaten, a large snake reared its head. Abu Bakr as-Siddiq (r) began to cry. A tear fell on the Prophet's (s) face. The Prophet (s) said, "Oh Abu Bakr! Why are you crying? 'Do not be sad. God is with us!'" [9:40].

The Prophet's (s) question also contains a teaching, because he knew the answer without asking. "Are you afraid," he asked Abu Bakr (r), "that people are going to come and kill us?" Abu Bakr (r) said, "O Messenger of God, I am not crying for fear that they will kill me. I am not afraid of them. But I am crying because of a snake which is eating my foot. When he finishes with me, he will come to you. I am afraid for you. My heart bleeds for you. That is why I cried." The Prophet (s) spoke to the snake and said, "Do you not know that the flesh of prophets is forbidden for you to eat and the flesh of saints is also forbidden?"

The snake answered, "O Messenger of God, when my Lord created me I knew about you. That was before you came into this world from your mother's womb. I asked my Lord 40,000 years ago to keep me alive to see your face and then die. Now Abu Bakr as-Siddiq (r) is blocking my view with his feet. I have to see you and fulfill my Lord's promise, but he is blocking the hole with his feet. That is why I was obliged to bite his foot and come through the hole in order to be able to look at you."

Now the Prophet (s) has said, "The saliva of a believer is a cure." That is why you can drink from the same cup, and such is the practice in the Sufi retreat centers where Sufis gather together. One cup is enough, not the American fashion which is to have hundreds of cups and then bring another hundred, wasting money, water, soap and time, because, they say, "Microbes must not go from one person to another." Where is the belief in the Prophet's (s) Tradition? God is the One who cures and the one who makes you sick, not the cup. If God does not wish you to be sick, even if someone has tuberculosis and you drink after them-and this is quickly spread- through drinking-you will not get sick even if you drink hundreds of cups after that person. God is the Healer (al-Shafi), the Disabler (al-Muawiy), the One inflicting harm (al-Dharr). God is the one who alone holds cure and illness in His hands for people.

So the Prophet (s) said, "In the Name of God, the Merciful, the Compassionate," and applied his saliva to the foot of Abu Bakr. The foot immediately healed and became whole as before. Then the Prophet (s) ordered the snake to look at him. The snake said, "I believe that there is no god but God. I believe that you are Muhammad, His Prophet." As the snake said this, it wound around and around in circles. Grandshaykh said, according to inspirations to his heart from Ali (as) and Abu Bak (r) that the snake went around and around for two hours, looking at the Prophet's face (s). After it had looked, the Prophet (s) said, "Now what you have asked for from your Lord is fulfilled. Now, die." That snake died and immediately disappeared. That incident was a test for Abu Bakr as-Siddiq (r) to see if he was going to protect the Prophet (s) or not-was he going to be afraid for himself or for the Prophet (s)? But he sacrificed himself for the sake of the Prophet.

That was a snake, an animal; what about us? We do believe. To be sure, we deny. We are believing with our tongues but in our hearts we deny. We fight with one another. And when we fight with each other, that's it! It is as if we deny God. It is as if we deny the Prophet (s).

In that sacred, holy cave, God ordered the Prophet (s) to pass whatever secrets God had ordered him to give, up to a point known to him, to the heart of Abu Bakr as-Siddiq (r). The Prophet (s) passed to him the secret of his knowledge. That is the secret behind the Tradition which came from Abu Hurayra (r), "I have retained from the Prophet (s) two vessels of knowledge. I have disseminated one vessel of knowledge among people. But if I were to give the other vessel of knowledge, they would cut my throat."7 That is hidden knowledge. That knowledge is kept only in the heart. It can never be written down. No one can carry this knowledge. That is the kind of knowledge that the Prophet (s) put in the heart of Abu Bakr as-Siddiq (r).

If you look at the Traditions related on the authority of Abu Bakr as-Siddiq (r), you will only see between twenty and thirty. Where is that knowledge that the Prophet (s) put into his heart? Abu Bakr (r) did not say anything or so it appears. Do you think he withheld that knowledge from people? He had been ordered by the Prophet (s) to pass on the knowledge he had been given. Did he betray the trust of the Prophet (s)? The caliphs of the Prophet (s) cannot hide something in their hearts. They have to give it, to pass it on, but give what? They must pass on the knowledge that Abu Hurayra (r) described when he said, "If I revealed it, they would cut my throat."

If Abu Bakr as-Siddiq (r) had disseminated that knowledge publicly, God knows what they would have said about him-they might have even cut his throat. So he kept it secret, but he passed it on to his successor, Salman al-Farsi (r). Then Salman (r) passed it to Qasim (q), the son of Abu Bakr (r). Then Qasim (q) passed it to Jafar as-Sadiq (as), the sixth Imam. That secret was passed from one to another, from one to another, from heart to heart, until it reached Shaykh Khalid al-Baghdadi (q). That Golden Chain begins from the Prophet (s), goes to Abu Bakr as-Siddiq (r), and then down to Shaykh Khalid al-Baghdadi (q), who is buried in Damascus. Then Shaykh Khalid (q) spread it to the East and the West by means of his three hundred caliphs who spread that knowledge everywhere. That is the origin of the most distinguished Naqshbandi Order. It began in that cave.

There is not enough time now to mention them, but many, many secrets were bestowed upon Abu Bakr as-Siddiq (r). The Prophet (s) continued his migration from Makkah to Madinah the next day.

In Madinah, there were people watching from the tops of palm-trees to see if the Prophet (s) was coming. When those people saw the Prophet (s), they recited in praise,

"From the hill-tops of the south, the full moon arises. With what a lovely call unto God does he call. And we thank him for it all. O you sent by the Merciful, you have come, best of heralds, you have honored Madinah, we bow to your demand." They praised the Prophet (s).

As soon as he came to Madinah, he called all his Companions, and then there were revealed three other secrets. And, God willing we will relate them another time.

These secrets concerning the events in that cave were handed on and have come down to us today. This knowledge can never be contained between the two covers of a book. It cannot be written down because fresh knowledge keeps being added to it spontaneously. While it is never the same, it is always appropriate to time and place. That is why the order came from God in the Quran, "O believers, fear God, be righteous, and be with true people," [] because you do not know when they begin to speak and that secret will be revealed. When they speak, that Light will come from their speech and you will benefit.

Shaykh Abu Yazid al-Bistami (q), one of the masters of the Golden Chain in the lineage of this Way, was a famous saint. Here in America, they study his teachings wherever Sufism is taught. If I myself say were to say what he used to say, people would call me an unbeliever, because sometimes he spoke about something on the basis of hidden knowledge. So I shall not go into that. In any case, one day his Shaykh ordered him saying, "O Abu Yazid, there is a shoemaker downtown. Go. Sit with him. Listen to him." What did Abu Yazid have to do with a shoemaker? Listen to what? At that time Abu Yazid's knowledge was such that everyone knew of him as a deeply learned person, a gnostic, one who had experiential knowledge of spiritual realities.

But Abu Yazid (q) is not like us. If our Shaykh tells us, "Go. Listen to so-and-so," we would say, "Me, listen to him? Who is he? He does not know anything about Islam. He does not know anything about the Divine Law nor about jurisprudence. Why should I listen to him? No, no, send me to someone else." And if you tell someone else, "O so-and-so, go and listen to this one," he will say, "Am I going to go and listen to someone who only knows the Divine Law and jurisprudence? Who? That fundamentalist, fanatic person? No need! We are Sufis. We are free from all that!" So everyone will find an excuse not to listen. Confusion, dissension and chaos come precisely from that.

Someone present among you said, "God willing, Muslims will listen to each other." How are they going to listen to each other? They will never listen! If you say, "Muslims will fight with each other," I will agree, but to listen, no, because everyone thinks he has reached the highest level, that there is no level above his. All knowledge stops with him. They like to ask how God sits on the throne, referring to "The Most Gracious is firmly established on the throne (of authority)." [20:5]." God forgive us - this is all they know and all they will ever ask. No one wants to understand that "Above each possessor of knowledge there is one with more knowledge" [12:76] Above every knowledge there is more knowledge. There is no limit to knowledge. What you know, in comparison to the Prophet's (s) knowledge and in comparison to God's knowledge, is nothing.

So the order came to listen to a shoemaker. Abu Yazid, with all his elevated knowledge, knowledge of both the Divine Law or external knowledge and knowledge of the Truth or internal knowledge, accepted that order because he was humble. He did not say, "Why?" or "No!" He was just like the Prophet (s) waiting for Gabriel (as) to come to him and deliver the message. So he received the order and that was final, "I am going to follow that order."

The shoemaker had been veiling his spiritual station from Abu Yazid al-Bistami for many years! Abu Yazid had passed by him many times and still did not know who he was, in spite of Abu Yazid being one of the Golden Chain. For God did not want him to know that one. He was testing him to see if he was going to listen to Him or not. As soon as he came to the shop, the shoemaker said, "O Abu Yazid! I have been waiting for you for a long time. Come and sit with me."

That person was the spiritual pole of his time. There are five levels of spiritual poles: qutb, qutb al-bilad, qutb al-irshad, qutb al-aqtab, and qutb al-mutasarrif. Every spiritual pole takes secrets from one of the five great prophets. The highest spiritual pole takes secrets from the Prophet Muhammad (s). For three hours that shoemaker gave a lecture to Abu Yazid al-Bistami. When he finished, Abu Yazid al-Bistami went back to his zawiya and said to his followers, "What I have gained in these three hours and what level I have reached by sitting with this Friend of God, I would never have obtained if I had worshipped day and night from the time of Adam (as) until Judgment Day." This is what is referred to in the Tradition of the Prophet (s) where he says, "One hour's remembrance is better than seventy year's worship."9 Remembering in any way by invoking God, reading the Quran, thinking about what you have done during the day, of conduct-good or bad-towards others, this is also considered to be remembering. That is why sitting with true people is very important. Whenever you find a true person, go and sit with him. Even if he does not talk, sit with him. The Light in his heart will come to you. There is a saying, "Do not sit with a blacksmith, because one ember may fall on you and burn you, but go and sit with a perfume-maker, because one drop of perfume might fall on you." So when you find one of those people, go quickly and sit with him.

How do you know a true person? Your heart quickly connects to him. You will know immediately that this is a true person. If your heart says to you, "No, this is not a true person," leave. A true person must be a good example in the community.

Today is the second day of the Muslim month of Muharram al-Haram, 1413. It can be considered the Sufi year because it falls on the date of the emigration of Sufi people with the Prophet (s). Next week, on Thursday and Friday, is the tenth of Muharram, the day when the Prophet (s) fasted. The tenth of Muharram is when God sent Adam (as) to earth, saved Noah (as) from sinking in the ship, saved Abraham (as) from Nimrod's fire, saved David (as) and made him kill Goliath and called Moses (as) to come to Mount Sinai. On that day Jesus (as) was betrayed. On that day the Prophet (s) arrived in Madinah. On that day Husayn (as) was killed. It is a tremendous day. And so on that day the Prophet (s) fasted. Whoever fasts on that day will be purified from the sins of the past year and protected from falling into sin in the new year. Anyone who can fast on that day must know it is a very important day for the folk of our own Sufi path. God willing, anyone who hears me say this will fast.

You must be happy, O people of God's Remembrance. You are connected to a very powerful shaykh! It is not an easy thing. It is a reward from God. He did not ask you about it, he granted it to you. Praise belongs to God that we have such a connection with our Shaykhs.

We ask success from God through the Opening Chapter of the Quran, al-Fatihah.

Footnotes

1. Ghazzali, Suhrawardi.

2. Tirmidhi, Hakim, Ibn Asakir, Iraqi, Haythami, Suyuti.

3. Maybudi, Razi, Suyuti.

4. Ahmad, Ghazzali, Hakim.

5. Bukhari, Muslim.

6. Bukhari, Muslim, Darqutni, Jarrahi.

7. Bukhari.

8. Ibn Hanbal, Darimi, Ibn Maja.

  

Bismillah ir rahman ir rahim

Shaikh Salah, his servant, reported: "Shah Naqshband( a great Sufi saint ) said one time to his followers, 'Any connection of your heart with other than Allah is the greatest veil for the seeker,' after which he recited this verse of poetry:

"The connection with other than God Is the strongest veil, And to be done with it, Is the Opening of Attainment."

Immediately, after he recited this verse, it came to my heart that he was referring to the connection between iman and islam. He looked at me and laughed and said, 'Did you not hear what Hallaj said? "I rejected the religion of God, and rejection is obligatory on me even though that is hideous to Muslims." O Shaikh Salah, what came to your heart -- that the connection is with belief and islam -- is not the important point. What is important is Real Faith, and Real Faith for the People of the Truth is to make the heart deny anything and everything other than God. That is what made Hallaj say, "I denied your religion and denial is obligatory on me, although that is hideous to Muslims." His heart wanted nothing except Allah."

"Hallaj, of course, was not denying his faith in Islam, but was emphasizing the attachment of his heart to God Alone. If Hallaj was not accepting anything except Allah, how could one say that he was actually denying the religion of God? His testimony of the reality of his Witnessing encompassed and made as child's-play the ordinary witnessing of the common Muslim."

Shaikh Salah continued, saying, Shah Naqshband said, "The people of God do not admire what they are doing; they act only out of the love of God."

Shah Naqshband said,

"Rabi'a al-'Adawiyya said, 'O Allah I didn't worship seeking the reward of Your Paradise nor fearing your punishment, but I am worshipping You for Your Love alone.' If your worship is for saving yourself or for gaining some reward for yourself, it is a hidden shirk, because you have associated something with Allah, either the reward or the punishment. This is what Hallaj meant."

Shaikh Arslan ad-Dimashqi said,

"O Allah, Your religion is nothing but hidden shirk, and to disbelieve in it is obligatory on every true servant. The people of religion are not worshipping You, but are only worshipping to attain Paradise or to escape from Hell. They are worshipping these two as idols, and that is the worst Idolatry. You have said, man yakfur bi-t- taghuti wa yu'min billahi faqad istamsaka bi-l-^curwati-l-wuthqa ("Whoever disbelieves in idols and believes in Allah has grasped the Firm Handhold") [2:256]. To disbelieve in those idols and to believe in You is obligatory on the people of Truth."

Shaikh Abul-Hasan ash-Shadhili (q), one of the greatest Sufi Shaikhs, was asked by his shaikh, "O my son, with what are you going to meet your Lord?" He said, "I am coming to Him with my poverty." He said,

"O my son, do not ever repeat this again. This is the biggest idol, because you are still coming to Him with something. Free yourself of everything and then come to Him.

"The people of laws and external knowledge hold fast to their deeds and on that basis they establish the concept of reward and punishment. If they are good, they find good and if they are bad they find bad; what benefits the servant is his deeds and what harms him is his deeds. To the People of the Way, this is the hidden Shirk, because one is associating something with Allah. Although it is an obligation to do (good deeds), yet the heart must not be attached to those deeds. They should only be done for His sake and for His love, without expectation of anything in return."

       

           








 

From the desert Rabe’a( a woman Sufi saint)  proceeded to a hermitage

where she served God for a while. Then she

determined to perform the pilgrimage, and set her face

towards the desert. She bound her bundle on an donkey. In

the heart of the desert the donkey died.

“Let us carry your load,” the men in the party said.

“You go on,” she replied. “I have not come putting

my trust in you.”

So the men departed, and Rabe’a (r) remained alone.

“O God,” she cried, lifting her head, “do kings so

treat a woman who is a stranger and powerless? Thou

hast invited me unto Thy house(Kabah in Mecca), then in the midst of

the way Thou hast suffered my donkey to die, leaving me

alone in the desert.”

Hardly had she completed this orison when her donkey

stirred and rose up. Rabe’a(r) placed her load on its back,

and continued on her way. (The narrator of this story

reports that some while afterwards he saw that little

donkey being sold in the market.) She travelled on

through the desert for some days, then she halted.

“O God,” she cried, “my heart is weary. Whither am

I going? I a lump of clay, and Thy house a stone! I need

Thee here.”

God spoke unmediated in her heart.

“Rabe’a, thou art faring in the life-blood of eighteen

thousand worlds. Hast thou not seen how Moses(p)

prayed for the vision of Me? And I cast a few motes of

revelation upon the mountain, and the mountain shivered

into forty pieces. Be content here with My name!”

   

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