StarGazer Posted March 20, 2003 as-Salaamu 'alaykum wa rahmatAllahi, The following was transcribed by Brother Mujib Tahir of California. It is excerpted from a lecture of Shaykh AbdulHakim Murad (TJ Winter) of the UK. The audio excerpt can be heard here: http://www.ihyaproductions.com/tape_catalogue/descriptions/ahm-111.htm "What is the title of Sayyidina Muhammad, sallal laahu `alayhi wa sallam [Allah bless him and grant him peace]? It's Habibullah, the Beloved of Allah – and this is an indication of his state, through this taraqqi, this process of growth, of inward education, to this great state of mahabba [love], which is the condition of the wali [saint]. Because the Qur'an itself says Inna awliya'Allahi la khawfun `alayhim wa la hum yahzanun `Allah's awliya' [friends], no fear shall come upon them, neither shall they grieve.' You've heard this definition before, that is what a wali [saint] is. And it's the opposite of our condition as modern Muslims; we're full of fear and we're full of grief; we're terrified of America and we're terrified of the Israelis and the Indian government, and the economic system and global debt and God knows what. It's not the way of the Sahaba [Companions], and it's not the way of the wali – he is not afraid, except of Allah subhana wa ta`Ala, because he knows Allah is the One with the Names, the One Who is the True Agent in the cosmos. But to the extent that we are uneducated, we forget that. We move away from Khilafa [vicegerency], we move away from wilaya [sainthood] and we get scared. Because we think that those things truly have the power to hurt us. [This is] not the case – no khawf [fear]. One of the early Sufis, al-Allama ash-Shibli, radiAllahu `anhu [Allah be well pleased with him], was once by an unjust ruler thrown to the lions – to the extent that a lion took his head in the lion's mouth. It was Allah's decree that the saint should be saved, and afterwards he was asked, "Ya Shaykh [O' Master], what were you thinking about when your head was in the lion's mouth?" And he said, "I was trying to remember the Shari`a ruling on the purity of lion saliva." That's what he was worried about! He was worried about continuing to follow the Shari`a to the end; and Allah would look after everything else. That was his fear! His fear was only for violating the Shari`a, not for any phenomenon in Allah's creation. If Allah wished to take his soul, that was Allah's decree, and he had rida – a state of serene trust and acceptance of Allah's decree, which used to be the watchword of the Muslim world. Remember the old idea of oriental repose, fatalism? – those not quiet accurate characterizations that 19th century travelers applied to our societies. We *were* the people of tawakkul [reliance on Allah] and the people of rida [contentment]; we were not afraid of anything except Allah subhana wa ta`Ala. Wa la hum yahzanun `and they don't grieve', in other words, in their lack of khawf they declare their knowledge that the future is in Allah's hands. Khawf is about what might happen, it's about the future. Wa la hum yahzanun and they declare, by not grieving, that the past is in Allah's hands as well. Because huzm is for what has happened in the past. So future and past, it's all in Allah's hands, because he is the Omnipotent – we believe in an Omnipotent God. And that's the state of the wali [saint]; he knows everything is in good hands. Nowadays, Allahu `alam [Allah knows], hardly any umma seems to have more khawf and more huzm that the umma of Islam. This kind of panic seems to have set in, and what is ganging up on us [it is hard to understand what he says here, it almost sounds like "everyone is ganging up on us", but I've used what is ganging..]. Paranoia! This has nothing to do with the spirit of Islam and it's an impugning of the very principle of tawhid [unity of Allah]. We should be the umma of tawakkul [reliance on Allah]. Of all peoples, we should know that history is in good hands and that we have nothing to worry about. =*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=* We have nothing to worry about – except Allah subhana wa ta`Ala and our relationship with Him. =*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=* We should look to our tahara [purity], we should look to our `ibada [worship], we should look to fulfilling all of those aspects of Shari`a which it is humanly possible for us to operationalize in our context. But we should not be worrying about global Masonic conspiracies and threats of this, that, and the other kind. Because that's… [i was not able to understand what he said here], that's part of the zulumat, the shadows. It has no reality, it has no energy, nor inertia of its own whatsoever. Dynamic principle of the cosmos is exclusively Divine Providence. Amazing, that we should have lost sight of this. That the umma is becoming an umma of jaza', of panic! Allah's Blessings and Peace are upon Prophet, his Family, and all of his Companions Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Thinkerman Posted March 20, 2003 Hey Tamina thx for posting thise, it is a well needed reminder. It is a sad reality but an accurate conclusion we have like Brother Mujib Tahir concluded become a umma of jaza, i include myself in that aswell. This is something that we should try as much as possible to rectify, and i think the example of One of the early Sufis that u gave shows how far away we ar from the standard that we should desire. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
StarGazer Posted March 22, 2003 You're welcome brotha Shujui. This excerpt made so much sense to me in light of the present situation with Iraq. Sometimes it can get overwhelming for a muslim (ie. moi) to see his/her Ummah suffer a great deal in every corner of the world. If we get all caught up with the moment and let those feelings of animosity run wild, we can easily lose sight of the real purpose we're here for. Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala is the All-powerful n' justice will be served by Him here or in the hearafter. With that in mind, you become more content as a muslim b'coz you have hope from Allah. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites