“Atiullah atiur Rasul wa Ulil amre minkum.”
And always a reminder for myself ana abdukal 'ajeezu, dayeefu, miskinu, zhalim, wa jahl,
and by the grace of Allah (AJ) (AJ) that we are still in existence.
That we took this path of being nothing and that Allah (AJ) guide us.
And the tariqah (spiritual path) is based on good manners.
We talked last week that - this way is based on good manners, the school of good manners,
the school of good character.
Once the character and the manners are gone then everything from the benefit of the tariqah
is gone.
Means that there's... can take no more benefit when the student loses their good character
and good manners.
Alhamdulillah episode aired on Saturday that was so timely from these talks in Ramadan
about guidance and light and building one's faith.
And because of the light and the proximity to the love of Sayyidina Muhammad ﷺ, it's
based on manners, the good manners, the good character, keeping respect, keeping one’s
mannerisms towards the Divine.
Asking ourselves to lose the animal characteristic and move more towards the Divine and heavenly
realities.
And in a world where it becomes so much more difficult and so much more satanic that everything
around now from music, TV and every type of media influence is geared towards destroying
the characters of insan (mankind) because shaitan (satan) knows the same reality.
It's not their knowledges that will raise them because mashAllah everybody is knowledgeable
now from internet and studying every type of knowledge available through YouTube, so
it was the character that shaitan knew that if he destroyed the character, destroyed their
ears and what they hear and that the influence of the ears would affect their language, their
speech, their manners, their character, their level of respect - all of those would be destroyed
and would destroy the character and any type of barakah and blessings that Allah (AJ) would
dress upon the servant.
This whole way of reality is based on these manners and good character.
Based on the good manners and good character Allah (AJ) can dress the servant with anything
and any type of knowledge but the pursuit of knowledge or pursuit of anything with bad
character is complete corruption - it corrupts the soul, corrupts the physicality.
We pray that in this Ramadan and this Baab ul Maghfirah (the Gate of Forgiveness) - the
first 10 days was the light of rahmah and mercy that would allow us to enter and the
second ten days are the oceans of maghfirah and forgiveness in which we are busy asking
forgiveness, asking Allah’s (AJ) forgiveness, the forgiveness of Sayyidina Muhammad ﷺ
and that Allah (AJ) wash us and cleanse us with the perfection of Ramadan and the perfection
of Divine lights, the perfect... perfection of Holy Qur’an that the Holy Qur’an to
dress the soul of those whom Allah’s (AJ) rida and satisfaction and pleasure is upon
them.
And so alhamdullah the litmus test for tariqah is not what people think they know but the
goodness of their character, the softness of their character, the loving nature of their
character.
That to see something wrong and remain silent, to see something that is not pleasing to you
but to exhibit the best of character so that the… the kholoq (character) and that which
makes Allah (AJ) pleased is what will be nourished and blessed and dressed.
Means that's the secrets of tariqah.
This is where they shine and the identity of people can be raised, the reality of people
can be raised by taking the path of good character.
When they have good character it allows them to be humble to listen.
When they listen to the guidance and act upon what they've heard and what they've learned
becomes the ocean of their faith and that's what the episode was about faith and the immensity
and the immense importance of faith.
And that faith its secret is so individual, that as much as we have the good manners brings
humility.
When we have humility we sit and listen that, ‘Ya Rabbi I want my faith to grow.’
Well how will faith grow if He doesn't guide us to a teacher because who will test you
with your faith other than the general circumstances in life but then without a teacher you don't
know what type of test that was.
So as soon as Allah (AJ) wants to raise the servant, He must give them good character
so that they're humble, soft.
With that humility and humbleness they begin to understand the teachings and they try their
best to implement the teachings.
As soon as they implement the teachings, that's their individual ocean of faith.
Means that's when people understand that nobody... you don't cut a shaykh and you think you took
the shaykh out.
You don't cut people out and think you took them out but what happens is every individual
person's faith becomes destroyed at the hands of their own action.
So means that when we have good character and we're coming to the schools of faith and
good character, when we listen and then implement the teachings and, ‘I’m going to now do
this teachings, I’m going to listen to these types of teachings, I’m going to make it
to be real so that my faith is real in life.
I go out, I feed, I serve, I do these things what he taught of this, what he taught of
that.’
When I listened for myself, not looking left and not looking right and I implement what
I learned, then Allah (AJ) grants faith to the servant.
The shaykhs don't grant faith.
Allah (AJ) grants faith.
Allah (AJ) is the owner of the heart of the servant.
But must be put in a condition to be tested for Allah (AJ) to grant the reward of that
test.
And the turuqs (spiritual paths) and the tariqahs are these schools where Allah (AJ) guided
you to be there, to listen to that teacher, to have good manners and good character, to
be humble.
As a result of what you listened to and you acted upon it, Allah (AJ) opens then the faith
of the servant and that's why it's so individual because there could be hundreds sitting and
each at a completely different level of faith and understanding.
And with all the events that are happening in life based on the faith of people, Allah
(AJ) opens for them everything to be real.
What we said before and the video on the weekend was describing that, that when we talk of
Armageddon it's not a matter of, ‘It didn't come and you people always say that.’
But the one who has faith, it came and they witnessed through their heart what Allah (AJ)
wanted them to witness of an Armageddon.
What Allah (AJ) wanted for them in their own individual being, they saw and witnessed an
Armageddon, they witnessed the destruction and the bad character and dunya (material
world) and all its collapse and as a result Allah (AJ) opened for them realities and visions
of these beatific souls that don't require the physical earth to be destroyed but what
requires the nafs (ego) of people and the block upon their nafs and upon their mind.
So as much as you make your belief to be real always its foundation is good manners and
you live by it, you understand it, you don't try to think of it through your mind, it becomes
real for you.
As a result of becoming real then you are with Imam Mahdi (as), you are with Sayyidina
Isa (as), you witness what Allah (AJ) wants you to witness of realities and that's what's
important in our lives.
And people whom they don't work on themselves and they don't exhibit good manners and they
don't exhibit good character then there can be no claim to piety when the character is
not good because then all the praying it didn't change their character, all their fasting
didn't change their character.
When the mouth is foul, the actions are foul then love becomes hate.
Means all of these characteristics then show that it was not something firm and the difference
between these types of people and awliyaullah (saints) is that their faith is a deep root,
their root and the trunks of their tree go very deep into the reality of their soul.
Means that they're firm.
Means when Allah (AJ) describes that, ‘The mountains are like awtad (pegs)’ because
they're like pegs that their faith is so solid and strong it goes so deep in their characteristics
as a result they're like green evergreen trees that any time you with them your faith becomes
strong and secure by the level of their faith.
And what they're trying to avoid are people who live their lives like a flower on a rock.
Their claim is that they're pious, they're good but they're like a flower on a rock that's
not rooted into anything and the slightest bit of rain, any type of testing, any type
of agitation brings out the worst of them and that flower what happens when it's growing
on a rock is it washes away, the faith, the character all washed away.
What Allah (AJ) wants that to exhibit the character like awliya that their roots are
very deep in their faith, their characters is firmly been tested that no matter wind
and storm and toofan and every type of difficulty comes, they try their best with all their
practices to adhere to their faith, their character, to be truthful in love and truthful
in the way of the character of love - and that's what this 10 days, second ten days
of maghfirah (forgiveness) and asking Allah (AJ) forgiveness and say, ‘Ya Rabbi grant
us this true character, grant my roots of my iman (faith) to be deep, deep in an ocean
firm into Your grasp.’ “…is taqaamo fi tareeqat” – means ‘Hold firm to the
path,’ this path of ishq and love and not to be like a flower on a rock.
That as soon as something comes, you don't like it, as soon as something comes you talk
bad about it, as soon as something doesn't come your way you're angry at the heavens,
angry at Allah (AJ), angry at everything.
And that's just a flower that comes and goes but may fool itself because it thinks it's
beautiful and it's a flower but in reality there's no roots and the slightest difficulty
is making it to come off and flow away and wash away.
We pray that Allah (AJ) make our roots to be firm and that's why the purpose of testing
and the purpose of this way of ishq (love) that Allah (AJ) make the roots to go deeper
and deeper and deeper, that their good character always to be shining and exhibiting the good
characteristic that Allah (AJ) is pleased with and to be firm in the way of ishq and
muhabbat (love), and the love of Allah (AJ) and love of Sayyidina Muhammad ﷺ.
Subhana rabbika rabbal ‘izzati ‘amma yasifoon, wa salaamun ‘alal mursaleen, walhamdulillahi
rabbil ‘aalameen.
Bi hurmati Muhammad al-Mustafa wa bi siri Surat al-Fatiha.