Shaykh could you please explain if everything is written, how do we have a will?
If… what was that again?
If everything is written, how do we have a will?
Well that’s a philosophy school class question.
These philosophers ask these things.
That’s why don’t take philosophy in school, it’s not good.
It tries to confuse faith.
So we have many descriptions of that reality.
So your life and death not in your control.
When Allah (AJ) put you on the plane and when Allah (AJ) takes you off the plane is not
in your control.
So as soon as you board the plane, everything else is in Allah’s (AJ) Will but your character
is important.
So as soon as you sit in the plane, you say: ‘Oh I want a seat closer in the front but
my seat is very bad seat.’
Some people who don’t understand Islam and taslim (submission) they get up and they want
to argue and fight over everything and fight their way to other seats and they become combative
and as a result the stewardess and the crew of the plane have to detain that person and
begin to be difficult upon them.
Taslim comes and teaches us that – sit in your seat and have good character.
Pray to Allah (AJ), do all that you’re supposed to be doing and with your faith, and these
are the shaykhs lives they live that, you’ll find somebody come up and say, ‘There’s
an empty seat up in the front, would you like to move?’
And Allah (AJ) will move the servant according to His Will.
You sit on the seat and you keep saying, ‘I’m hungry, I’m hungry,’ and you complain
to every stewardess on the plane, ‘I’m hungry.
I want food, I want food.’
They become angrier and they don’t give you anything and again you be taught - oh
why don’t you have good character, be patient, make your du’as (supplications), make your
salah (daily prayer), do everything that Allah (AJ) asked of you, He also controls that person’s
heart.
And they come to you and ask, ‘Would you like any snacks?’
Because the Lord who governs me, governs them and if I submit, He’ll show His governance
over everything.
So this becomes an ocean of faith.
Everything is written and if Allah (AJ) wants something to reach to you, it will reach to
you faster when you submit.
When you know that everything is in Allah’s (AJ) Hands and tie your camel, use your ‘aqel
(intellect), be sharp, be good, do the practices you have to do and everything reaches to you.
But if you think you can take something without Allah’s (AJ) Will - it’s impossible.
And the only thing that you can do is you can sell your soul for a small price because
that’s not in the Will.
When you go outside of the Will, you enter into the domain of shaitan (satan) and that’s
why Allah (AJ) describes to them, ‘You sold your soul for a small price.’
Because what he’s about to take from you is your eternity and for what?
So we gave examples before, you open a nice halal store and your sales are not good and
nobody’s coming.
Pray, meditate, contemplate, Allah (AJ) wants to test the servant with something.
But shaitan comes to the door and say, ‘Why you don’t sell hookah here?’
[Person replies] ‘Hookah?’
[Shaitan] Say, ‘Yeah.
Make this side a hookah lounge.’
And that’s when Allah (AJ) describes to the person, ‘Then you sold your soul for
a small price.’
Shaitan is all around us, always enticing us that, ‘Do these bad things and naughty
things and I’ll give you money.’
But that money is like the mafia, it comes with a price and you can never take it back
because you know you borrow from the mafia a thousand dollars, their interest is like
a hundred dollars a day.
You can never come back and say, ‘Here’s your thousand dollars.’
They say, ‘No, now you owe us two thousand because it doubled up every week.’
You’re never going to get out of that relationship with shaitan.
So once he grabs the person, he’s locked into them to destroy them.
And so everything with us is with Allah’s (AJ) way, sabr - patience and submitting to
what Allah (AJ) wants for us and that’s why we taught that we have to want what Allah
(AJ) has given to us.
Whatever Allah’s (AJ) given to us want it and love it and cherish it with all your heart.
Don’t ask for what you want but want what Allah (AJ) has given to us.
People are too busy asking, ‘I want, I want this, I want this, I want this,’ but did
you ever go and thank Allah (AJ) the fact that you have two eyes or if you have only
one eye then alhamdulillah you have at least one eye.
If you have no eyes then Allah (AJ) at least gave you two hands to find where the closet
is hidden so you don’t fall.
And if you have two hands maybe you only had one hand.
Means Allah (AJ) should be praised for everything He has given to us and to show our thankfulness
and that’s what we should be focusing.
And most of all that Allah (AJ) gave us the tariqah (spiritual path) and this love of
Prophet ﷺ – is supreme, worth more treasures than anything on earth and in heavens, is
the tariqah.
And when Allah (AJ) guides somebody to the love of Sayyidina Muhammad ﷺ at that point,
they should stop asking and realize Allah (AJ) has given them the gift of all gifts,
the treasure of all treasures.
And if they focus on that treasure they’ll find out how wealthy they really are, inshaAllah.
As salaamu alaykum Sayyidi Walaykum as salaam warahmatullah
Sayyidi if we have felt a light enter the heart early on but couldn’t contain, protect
and sustain or uphold the character needed to maintain it, how do we learn from this
and improve ourselves to feel it again?
Keep practicing.
That everything comes and goes like a carrot on a stick.
You know the… the example of the carrot on the stick.
That they put the treasure here [vertically attached to forehead] but it’s on a stick
[shaykh imitates person trying to reach the carrot] because you’re trying to continuously
eat it [Shaykh laughs].
You didn’t like that example?
[Shaykh asks family member and laughs] No yeah, she didn’t appreciate that example
but there’s something…
[Lights go out] The jinn (unseen beings) didn’t like it either.
Oh wow the lights are off Whole power of this area out.
Allahu Akbar (Allah is the Greatest) Yeah.
Entire power went out.
Yeah, you can put your camera light.
OK.
Means that they entice us with something of an interest and as a result that is our calling
in that direction.
So Allah (AJ) gives experiences to people, a khashf (spiritual state) and openings to
people but doesn’t mean it’s staying open and you just think that you arrived into paradise.
So continuous state of opening, closing, and you keep continuously running towards the
Divinely Presence so that not to become lazy, not to become somebody who feels self-sufficient.
That’s why the tariqah’s based on the shaykhs are continuously busy, everybody continuously
struggling and Surat Al-Inshirah, ‘After difficulty comes ease, after difficulty comes
ease.’
That was a sign already two difficulties.
Means that at every ocean there’s going to be a difficulty then Allah (AJ) says, ‘It’ll
be ok.’
A difficulty will come, ‘It’ll be ok.’
So means continuous struggle.
If we don’t have that system imagine everybody would be retired with the one event.
They get one experience, they’re never going to pray, they’re never going to fast, they’re
never going to do anything.
So it’s a system in which to bring us in, entice us, and then alhamdulillah we struggle
now to keep that way, to keep those experiences.
And those whom are consistent in their experiences then Allah (AJ) begin to send them khashf
and haal (spiritual state) means visions and experiences.
So they’ll meditate and may be long dry spells and all of a sudden a series of witnessings
begin to open again to inspire them, ‘Keep coming.’
Haal – they begin to feel, feel beatific energies, majestic energies, angelic energies
and then sometimes feel nothing and that’s the system that you keep struggling and doing
what Allah (AJ) wants and then Allah (AJ) will send what is necessary to entice and
to motivate the servant to keep moving towards Divinely Presence.
And like anything in life you know if we get it all in one shot, nobody would do anything
and the person will become corrupt from the way of Allah (AJ).
Subhana rabbika rabbal ‘izzati ‘amma yasifoon, wa salaamun ‘alal mursaleen, walhamdulillahi
rabbil ‘aalameen.
Bi hurmati Muhammad al-Mustafa wa bi siri Surat al-Fatiha.