#grandsheikh

SIGNS OF REAL FAITH There are two kinds of Imân, faith. One is real and the other is imitative. 

The real brings light to the heart of a person; until then, he is only imitating faith.

The signs of real faith are three. 

The first is the ability for listening to the tasbih of all creatures, their paying praise and respects to their Lord. Qur’ân says that there is nothing in existence without tasbih, even inanimate objects. Once the Prophet, salla llâhu ‘alay- hi wa sallam, took a handful of stones and held them up so that the Sahâba, his companions, might listen to their giving high respects. This was a miracle to give them real faith. 

The second sign is Allah’s opening of his heart to the fountain of wisdom, to know the wisdom behind all things in existence, to know their purpose and position. Like the essence of the rose forms tiny drops on the surface of rose-water, he has Hikmat, wisdoms, or the essence of knowledge. 

Thirdly, there are no more veils between him and Barzakh, the heavenly worlds. He may meet anyone from Barzakh without hinderance, the spirit of any Prophet or Saint. Until these three signs appear, know that you are still veiled and not open to the light of Imân. Allah says, «Oh, you who believe, believe in Allah and His Prophet and His Book». (Surat un-Nisa: 136) This, addressing believers to believe, indicates that they must improve to real faith and not stop at imitation. Tariqats are preparing mureeds for real faith. The meaning of mureed is one who is asking. What is he asking for – for real faith.

Bismillah rahmani Rahim.

AQIL WA TAWAKKIL ,

TRUST IN GOD BUT TIE YOUR CAMEL FIRST

"Our Grandsheikh is telling us [what are] good manners in the Tariqat, in the Way of the Awliya', and for every religious person. He quotes 'Abdul-Qadir ibn 'Umar as-Safadi, a great saint, who said, "It is not correct to attribute to Allah Almighty whatever happens in your life." We must understand this to the fullest.

For example, if a man does not take care of himself and becomes ill and then says: "What can I do about it, it is the will of Allah" - he is wrong. You can protect yourself. If a man takes care of his body and [in spite of that] he still falls ill, in that case it is Allah who sends the disease. A man who leaves his cows on the mountain [exposing them to the risk of] being eaten by wolves, cannot say afterwards: "It was Allah's will that my cows should die." He must protect them and put them in an enclosure, and if they die, then that is the will of Allah. You have to do something with your will power. It is not a total will, but it is enough for you, like the headlights of a car that do not illuminate every place but only illuminate what is enough to drive. We have such a will to organise our lives. Even the wills of presidents and dictators are as limited as ours. They try to extend their will from the East to the West but it is impossible.

You can plough and plant seeds, but you cannot make it rain, you cannot make the grains sprout. Allah completes that plant. But how can one who does not plough or plant seeds say, 'Oh, Allah will not give grain this year!' Even with regard to marriage, it is not right to attribute it entirely to the will of Allah. You must go and take. It is a sin to say that you have no responsibility. To go to the Hejaz one has to put his passport in order, prepare, do what is necessary for his journey, and then entrust the responsibility to Allah. We have a choice, and when we have choice we have responsibility. One who says he is not responsible is 'out of order', he is a sinner. When you have completed all that you can do, then entrust it to your Lord. The source of this is in a hadith.

Once a man came to the Prophet, peace be upon him, and when he asked him what he had done with his camel he replied that he had left it trusting in Allah. The Prophet then said to him, "First tie it up, then trust in Allah: 'aqil wa tawakkil." This gives us perfect guidance for our lives. If you are not tying [your camel] then it is not legitimate for you to say, "I am trusting Allah." When you know what you can do, you must do it. If you are neglecting even a small thing that is in your responsibility, then Allah will not take responsibility [for what will happen]."

Our Grandsheikh said to me that there were two mureeds in his homeland who would sometimes meet and assault one another with words – saying to each other all manner of things. Then they would look to each other’s heart to see if there came any effect from the cursing, but no change. Next, with their hands they would slap each other until they got tired then they would sit down and blow on their hands. Still, not changing in love. Finally they would beat each other with sticks, until they fell down, then they would laugh together. Here Satan would become very angry and run away. To be like this is the highest degree of love, and for Awliya (saints) their love never changes, come what may from people. This is the love that Tariqat teaches us to endure. If one gets angry, it means, no real love in his heart. We must accept the faults of people, as we all have so many faults. We must be tolerant and compassionate.

"Our Grandsheikh is cautioning us on an important point. Shah Naqshband, the main pillar of the Naqshbandi Aaliya Order, was advising to his khalifa, ‘Ala’uddin al-Bukhari: “Don’t listen to a learned person who denies the way of Tariqats. If listening, then for three days Satan will be in command of you. If not repenting in three days, he will take the man for forty days. And if not repenting in 40 days, you must expect to come on you a curse for one year.” Now in our times, so many people are refusing Tariqats. Leave them, don’t argue with them. They are like Abû Jahl, the Prophet spoke to him, but he did not accept. We are not more powerful than the Prophet ﷺ"

he must do three things: 

1. he must not walk without wudhu, nor must he touch any book without wudhu.

2. he must use a miswak (tooth stick); and,

3. he must keep the midnight salat (Tahajjud).