Don’t Cut Your Only Rope to Heavens & Spiritual Success – Lessons Learned from The Month of Moon
From the Realities of Mawlana (Q) as taught by Shaykh Nurjan Mirahmadi.
A’uzu Billahi Minash Shaitanir Rajeem
Bismillahir Rahmanir Raheem
I seek refuge in Allah from Satan, the rejected one
In the Name of Allah, the Most Beneficent, the Most Merciful
Alhamdulillahi Rabbil ‘aalameen, was salaatu was salaamu ‘alaa Ashrafil Mursaleen, Sayyidina wa Mawlana Muhammadul Mustafa ﷺ. Madad ya Sayyidi ya Rasulul Kareem, Ya Habibul ‘Azeem, unzur halana wa ishfa’lana, ‘abidona bi madadikum wa nazarekum.
Atiullah wa atiur Rasul wa Ulil amre minkum. Always a reminder for myself, ana abdukal ‘ajeez, wa dayeef, wa miskin, wa zhalim, wa jahl, and but for the grace of Allah (AJ) that we’re still in existence.
أَطِيعُوا اللَّهَ وَأَطِيعُوا الرَّسُولَ وَأُولِي الْأَمْرِ مِنكُم… ﴿٥٩﴾ …
4:59 – “…Atiullaha wa atiur Rasula wa Ulil amre minkum…” (Surat an-Nisa)
“…Obey Allah, obey the Messenger, and those in authority among you…” (The Women, 4:59)
Follow that Which is Eternal – The Divinely Light
Always a reminder for myself ana abdukal ‘ajeezu, dayeefu, miskinu, zhalim, wa jahl, and but for the grace of Allah (AJ) that we are still in existence. Alhamdulillah for the holy month of qamar (moon) and the holy Surat Al-Qamar. Allah (AJ) inshaAllah bring from the realities of guidance and the reality of those who follow the oceans of guidance. Our life is to follow the Divinely light and that which is eternal. Allah (AJ) shows the signs within themselves and upon the horizon and the sign within oneself is harder to achieve because then they have to be true in their reflection and consistent.
(٥٣) …سَنُرِيهِمْ آيَاتِنَا فِي الْآفَاقِ وَفِي أَنفُسِهِمْ حَتَّىٰ يَتَبَيَّنَ لَهُمْ أَنَّهُ الْحَقُّ ۗ
41:53 – “Sanureehim ayatina fil afaqi wa fee anfusihim hatta yatabayyana lahum annahu alhaqqu…” (Surat Al-Fussilat)
“We will show them Our signs in the horizons and within themselves until it becomes clear to them that it is the truth…” (Explained in Detail, 41:53)
It is Easier to Ponder Upon the Signs Upon Horizon
The signs upon the horizon may be more obvious. That people can look to the outside and see the sign on how the moon follows the sun and as a result of its obedience in its path of following and taking its difficulties and its tests. As a result, it reaches a state of purification and the result of that purification is light. So with the purity of the moon and what it represents and the station that it represents – Maqamul Fardani is then as the spiritual poles are teaching that they follow the light and the eternal light and it’s a life filled with testing and emtehan. Testing from Allah’s (AJ) Divinely Presence. The path of difficulty and testing but the istiqam and the firmness upon the path and stay the course in which to follow the light.
The Path of Inheriting Muhammadan Light isn’t Easy
As a result when Allah (AJ) begins to purify insan (mankind) then they wish to inherit from the reality of the qamar (moon) in which to inherit the reality of reflecting the Muhammadan light. But that light that is being reflected and the path being presented is not an easy path and that’s the difficulty. That people whom they’re filled with bad character, bad desires, as they wish to approach the light, it’s not as simple as they just, ‘Okay, I’m going to go, I’m going to approach, I’m going to take that path,’ the reality is that the difficulty and the bad character within people not allowing them to move and gain access nearer to that light.
That with everything we describe when people come new they’re like a wet log and when heat is touching something wet, it doesn’t realize anything, it doesn’t feel the heat, it doesn’t feel that light. As a result there’s a euphoric stage at the beginning in which they feel, ‘Everything is fantastic, this is so great,’ all these emanations and the euphoric and ecstatic feeling of emanations. As one progresses, the wetness of that log begins to dry and as they dry, they feel more of the heat and as they dry, they feel more of the heat. As a result, everything inside will begin to come out.
Wisdom of Divine Heat is to Relieve Oneself of Impurities
So we describe that we have a dish called ‘kalle pache’ (Head and trotters of sheep) in which they take the lamb’s head as an entire meal and they make a soup. They put this into the pot but unfortunately as soon as you put it into the pot and begin to boil the water, what happens? It means that everything now with the heat and the hot water, everything comes out. So whatever type of dirtiness within that begins to come out with the bubbling of water, with the heat and the application of heat. With everything that comes out, Allah (AJ) will take that foam of dirtiness and take it off. So it means the hikmah (wisdom) of a Divine heat is to relieve oneself of impurities.
So, if the gold and you want to take a path of gold mean Allah (AJ) has to burn the copper out, has to burn the iron and charcoal out, burn out all the elements that make the gold to remain impure. That heat process is what we think of emtehan and testings in life. So means every type of situation that’s coming to us upon our path, the moon is giving to us that – this is not something easy.
During Tests Hold Tight to The Rope of Allah (AJ)
That as testing comes in one’s life the natural inclination is that a test comes and many will run because they say, ‘It’s just not for me.’ Difficulties in different directions and they lose their course and they lose their path. They begin to flee from that direction and that’s why then in the spiritual path ‘Hold tight to the rope of Allah (AJ)’ in which Allah (AJ) is giving the guidance from Holy Qur’an is that, ‘Hold tight to the Rope of Allah (AJ) and don’t separate from that rope.’
(١٠٣) وَاعْتَصِمُوا بِحَبْلِ اللَّـهِ جَمِيعًا وَلَا تَفَرَّقُوا ۚ
3:103 – “Wa’tasimo bihab lillahi jamee’an wa la tafarraqo…” (Surat Ali-Imran)
“And hold firmly to the rope of Allah all together and do not separate…” (Family of Imran, 3:103)
Why? Because the tariqahs (spiritual paths) whom they adhere to the principles of Islam and they are holding the reality of Islam, we described the path is that the bay’at (pledge of allegiance) is mandatory in Islam but no longer practiced. So the adherence to the true path and the true way of Islam is the bay’at. Why the bay’at – is because Allah (AJ) knows that, ‘You better be holding while we begin to throw,’ because as these testings come in life they begin to affect the character of people.
Paradise is Not Cheap, There’s a Price for It!
They thought they were just going to merely cruise right into paradise and Allah (AJ) described and give an example. That Nabi Musa (as) asked Allah (AJ) that in his dialogues of thinking that he had the most knowledge and the highest stations, he went on a course of discovering Allah’s (AJ) creation. One of the events was with Sayyidina Khidr (as) in which he thought he had the highest knowledge and Allah (AJ) said, ‘No, above every knower I have another knower.’
(٧٦) نَرْفَعُ دَرَجَاتٍ مَّن نَّشَاءُ ۗ وَفَوْقَ كُلِّ ذِي عِلْمٍ عَلِيمٌ
12:76 – “…Narfa’u darajatin man nashao, Wa fawqa kulli dhee ‘ilmin ‘aleem.” (Surat Yusuf)
“… We raise in degrees whom We will, and Above every knower there is a greater knower.” (Joseph, 12:76)
One – went to go meet with Sayyidina Khidr (as) but He had another knower and He said that, ‘This one I want you to meet is amazing in their worshipness.’ He went into a cave and he heard a man doing zikr (Divine remembrance) and that man in the cave he’s looking at him at a distance, he has no hands and he has no feet and he sits alone in this cave and making zikr and he was making his ‘Allah, Allah, Allah, Allah’ – his zikr, whatever that zikr was at that time in Aramaic, Arabic. He’s making his zikr and as Nabi Musa (as) is watching at a distance, a lion entered into the cave and began to devour the man, in a ravenous way began to devour the man. Nabi Musa (as) was shocked and retreated and went back and asked Allah (AJ), ‘What was that? This poor man had no feet, no hands and praising and praising and praising You. What did I just see?’ He said, ‘Did you think My paradise was so cheap? So means there’s a price for My paradise, it’s not something cheap.’
Mawlana Shaykh (Q) would tell us that and continuously repeat these different examples of these hidden awliya (saints) and these people of zikrullah (remembrance of Allah (AJ)), the people whom Allah (AJ) has an immense love upon them. As a reminder that the path has testing. You don’t just put it in cruise control and you sort of march into paradise and everything going to be great and everything opens for you. But it’s a path in which to struggle, to fight with oneself, to take the continuous bombardment. The rule because Allah (AJ) wants for these individuals because He’s inspiring them hidayat and guidance. Those whom Allah (AJ) guides are truly guided. Those whom are not guided by Allah (AJ) can find no guidance, “lawla an hadana Allah.”
(٤٣) …وَقَالُوا الْحَمْدُ لِلَّـهِ الَّذِي هَدَانَا لِهَـٰذَا وَمَا كُنَّا لِنَهْتَدِيَ لَوْلَا أَنْ هَدَانَا اللَّـهُ ۖ لَقَدْ جَاءَتْ رُسُلُ رَبِّنَا بِالْحَقِّ…
7:43 – “…wa qalo Alhamdulillahi al ladhee hadana lihadha wa ma kunna linahtadiya lawla an hadana Allahu, laqad jaa at Rusulu Rabbina bil Haqqi…” (Surat Al-A’raf)
“… And they will say, Praise be to Allah, who has guided us to this [joy and happiness]; and we would never have been guided if Allah had not guided us. Certainly the messengers of our Lord had come with the truth…” (The Heights, 7:43)
If You Leave the Hand of Your Shaykh Difficulty Surrounds You from Every Direction
We say every time in our Jum’ah (Friday prayer) but everybody thinks that’s for them but these are for tariqahs because if they’re not taking the bay’at and they’re not holding the hand of these awliya, this level of testing is not coming to them. Because Allah (AJ) as He’s bombarding, He’s then reminding you, ‘You better hold tight to that hand.’ So you have one hand holding and the rest of you receiving and you take your blows and you take your blows but at never you let go of that hand. For if you should leave that hand, every type of difficulty comes to the servant in life in ways that cannot be imagined because it’s not something that can be understood.
It means the station in which Allah (AJ) wants to dress is not that you just walk into paradise and it’s finished and everything going to be great. It’s a test and a continuous stages of difficulties and tests. Where Allah (AJ) describes Surat Al-Inshirah which is about the opening and the heart transplant that ‘After difficulty comes ease,’ and then again Allah (AJ) warns us, ‘After difficulty comes ease.’
﴾ فَإِنَّ مَعَ الْعُسْرِ يُسْرًا ﴿٥﴾ إِنَّ مَعَ الْعُسْرِ يُسْرًا ﴿٦
94:5-6 – “Fainna ma’al ‘usri yusran. (5) Inna ma’al ‘usri yusra. (6)” (Surat Ash-Sharh)
“For indeed, with hardship [will be] ease. (5) Indeed, with hardship [will be] ease. (6)” (The Relief, 94:5-6)
Not the reverse that, ‘I give you ease and then there’s difficulty, I give you ease and then there’s difficulty’ but ‘After difficulty comes ease.’
The One Who Breaks His Bay’at, Breaks It to the Detriment of His Own Soul
So means that every test that comes in life, don’t worry, inshaAllah there’ll be an ease. But be prepared for the next round that’s coming right behind it like waves. As a result of understanding guidance, means these are the beads that the shaykh keeps reminding himself and everyone else – is a tasbih (prayer beads), all of these have to be used together. When you train in tariqahs, you’re doing your muraqabah (spiritual connection) to make your connection, you’ve taken your bay’at and your allegiance and what Allah (AJ) describes for the bay’at, ‘The one who breaks it, breaks it to the detriment of his own soul.’
(١٠) إِنَّ الَّذِينَ يُبَايِعُونَكَ إِنَّمَا يُبَايِعُونَ اللَّـهَ يَدُ اللَّـهِ فَوْقَ أَيْدِيهِمْ ۚ فَمَن نَّكَثَ فَإِنَّمَا يَنكُثُ عَلَىٰ نَفْسِهِ ۖ وَمَنْ أَوْفَىٰ بِمَا عَاهَدَ عَلَيْهُ اللَّـهَ فَسَيُؤْتِيهِ أَجْرًا عَظِيمًا
48:10 – “Innal ladheena yubayi’oonaka innama yubayi’on Allaha yadullahi fawqa aydeehim, faman nakatha fa innama yankuthu ‘ala nafsihi, wa man awfa bima ‘ahada ‘alayhu Allaha fasayu teehi ajran ‘azheema.” (Surat Al-Fath)
“Indeed, those who give Bayah (pledge allegiance) to you, [O Muhammad] – they are actually giving Bayah (pledge allegiance) to Allah. The hand of Allah is over their hands. So, he whoever breaks his pledge/oath, only breaks it to the detriment/Harm/loss of himself. And whoever fulfills their covenant (Bayah) that which he has promised Allah (AJ) – He will grant him a great reward.” (The Victory, 48:10)
Now means his soul is in danger in the breaking of his bay’at. So means it’s not something you can pick and choose and say, ‘Hasta la vista,’ because now you have no hand to reach to you that gives an ease and gives a support. But that doesn’t mean Allah (AJ) is finished beating you. It means, didn’t mean just because you decide to walk away that Allah’s (AJ) decided not to give you a test and give you tests and raise you. It just means you distance yourself from the rahmah and the mercy that was holding you and sending a light to you, sending an ease to you and that’s all shaitan (satan) wanted.
Satan Bites Your Hand to Your Shaykh So that You Leave the Rope of Safety
He knows that he is not going to take somebody away from tariqah and put them in the lap of ease but what he wants for these tariqah people – to devastate and decimate them. That he’s biting the hand to the shaykh. It means that he’s biting your hand to release from that shaykh because he’s a rahmah (mercy) to you and it’s his prayers are holding back the extent of these testings that come to you like a umbrella of mercy from the presence of Prophet ﷺ.
That’s why you go back and read Surah Fath – 48th surah (chapter) of Qur’an (48:10) which describes the bay’at and the one whom they’ve taken their allegiance and the one whom they break their bay’at, they break it to the detriment of their own soul. The one who never took bay’at, this is not applicable because they didn’t achieve what Allah (AJ) wanted them to achieve for their souls and they’re not going to get that reward anyways. But those whom Allah (AJ) wanted to give this reward the hand of the shaykh was a mercy. So Mawlana Shaykh (Q) described, ‘Those whom distance themself from awliya, they distance themself from the rahmah of Allah (AJ).’ So the secret is the testing won’t stop on you so you understand that.
It means the testing is coming like a brimstone from heavens and now coming more severe upon the earth for everyone. So means these like asteroids of difficulty after difficulty after difficulties coming. It’s not going to stop it and shaitan knows that but what he does is has an immense dislike for these people whom Allah (AJ) loves and what he wants to do with them is take the hand of the shaykh off. So his whole process is biting that grip.
So in testing that comes and in every event that comes in life, it’s not your cleverness that you think you’re going to lift your hand from the shaykh. No, but it’s that shaitan is biting your fingers to put you into an immense state of difficulty because that doesn’t bring ease in your life, that doesn’t lessen the testing in life. Because that testing is from the love of Allah (AJ), He says, ‘I love the servant, I’m going to dress them.’ Allah’s (AJ) rahmah for them was then – hold to these shaykhs, hold to these guides and you can’t take your hand and put it on another hand and put on another hand, it’s not like a bus you can take the next one.
Allah’s (AJ) Power Flows to Prophet ﷺ and from Prophet ﷺ It Flows to Awliyaullah
Once your hand is on that hand, it is the mercy of Allah (AJ) that flows through the hand because Allah’s (AJ) power flows through the heart of Prophet ﷺ and from Prophet ﷺ through these guides. It’s that rahmah that gives the shifa (healing). So the sickness is coming but the healing was in the bay’at and that’s why Allah (AJ) is describing then that’s why you break it to your own detriment. It means what Allah (AJ) wanted the servant to achieve, it requires that hand. What the servant is going to be given of testing is going to require that hand.
It’s interesting that in the martial arts extreme Silat, the Silat in which they have very very extreme Islamic martial arts. We described before and these are also familiar with Rifai tariqahs that they enter into their state of tafakkur (contemplation) and certain conditions are put upon them and very intense testing is put upon the student in which they’re supposed to control themself from feeling an immense amount of pain based on the testing that’s coming from them. As soon as that event is finished, their shaykh comes and begin to recite upon them to bring an ease and to take that state of pain away, that state of testing away. They were very symbolic of this path and very sort of the external visual effect of that connection.
Where Naqshbandiya it’s much more subtle. It means the subtle is the knowledges, the reality that are flowing from the heart to the heart of the servants and as a result, brings a rahmah and mercy and a firmness in their path. So that they can take the testings in life, take the understandings and difficulties and when they hold tight to that then they can stay their course and continue towards their oceans of reality.
In Last Days Awliyaullah will be Hidden Because of Bad Character of People
But in the last days Mawlana Shaykh (Q) described that awliyaullah will be hidden. Many times we asked that, ‘How can awliya be hidden when there’s 124,000 at all times upon this Earth?’ He said, ‘Because in the last days the character of people become so bad that awliyaullah will be hidden and that they do their service to Allah (AJ) but retreat from the presence of people.’ That when the character of people become bad and the use of their hands, their tongue and their entire being become aggressive and bad character, they no longer can see the presence of a wali (saint). It means that their faculties have been overtaken by shaitan,
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- Their eyes now blocked by shaitan so they don’t see a pious person anymore.
- Their mouth has been overtaken by shaitan and they speak incorrectly towards pious people.
- Now more than ever are the fingers and hands.
That when you’re not in a good condition, never type anything to shaykhs. Your intention goes far faster than the speed of your fingers and with your fingers and your typing, you’re now putting your energy into your practices. You validate that reality in which the bad character of people will block them now from that presence and that’s all, all with what we’re trying to describe tonight.
When You Stop the Service to Your Shaykh a Tremendous Rahmah Stops
Its that this whole path is based on that hand grip – is that how firm is your hand to their hand with your faith, your practices, your khidmat (service). When you stop the khidmat a tremendous rahmah stops. If you’re not finding a way to be of service, that’s why the shaykhs are continuously repeating in all the talks and they give all these different ways. Look at all these charities, all these websites, all these articles, all these ways to take and share so that people can have some sort of khidmat. Go out and give food, do something in the way of Allah (AJ) and in the love of Sayyidina Muhammad ﷺ so that it brings a rahmah. When they do these practices, it brings a mercy for them and all the shaitan wants is that hand grip.
So in life if you ever think you’re being clever, ‘Oh I’m just gonna take sabbatical.’ No, you’re not being clever, it’s shaitan is bit your fingers and you’re now releasing. As a result of releasing, you don’t affect the shaykh at all. So many times they said before people in their bad nafs (ego) and bad desires they think, ‘Oh I’m gonna just sort of cut my presence from the Shaykh,’ thinking the shaykh will fall because they think maybe they’re very glorious and they add everything to the tariqah. But in reality the shaykh is so high up carrying people and all shaitan wants for a mountain climber because you’re not any more near the ground, you’re very high up because you don’t know the station of the shaykh.
When you decide to cut your rope, what happens? You cut yourself, you’re starting to cut a rope but that rope is connecting you to them. You don’t have another rope in the middle of the mountain climbing. You’re not going to be able to fix your line onto something else in the middle of the climbing. So that’s all that shaitan wants in life is to cut the connection and cut the process. When that happens and we understand that in life then we understand all these things that are happening. ‘Every time a test comes, every time a thought comes, every time an event comes I feel, why do I feel something is biting my grip to my Shaykh?’ Oh because that’s all that shaitan wants is to take that hand grip off so that the student feels like oh they’re going to just cut the connection and then they go free fall all the way down the mountain and the abode of difficulties and testing.
When You Go Into Grave Your True Character Comes Out
We pray that on this holy month of qamar in which these lights and immensity of these lights and as people try to climb into these lights and reach to these horizons, these inner beings and inner energies and inner negativity is not at all pleased. It means things that people didn’t know they have within them. You know that you find… you come… the 99 percent of humanity have all their horrific character they hid it and they come amongst people very nice, very good.
Say, ‘This is such a nice person, he gives tea and does all these nice things.’ But when he goes into the grave he’ll know that what he could not hide from Allah (AJ) will come out in the grave and he will deal with that character in the grave because everything has to go back pure. If there’s some iron and copper, Allah (AJ) is burning it out. So the difficulty of the grave – 70,000 times more difficult.
When Allah (AJ) Loves the Servants He (AJ) Cleans Them in Dunya (Material World)
But when Allah (AJ) loves the servant He says, ‘I want you to clean that in your living life.’ So as they approach these lights, approach this meditation, approach the presences of the shaykh, what happens? That which they have inside of them knowing or not knowing what they have, it must come out. So all these characteristics begin to come out, these angers, these bad desires, all of the impurities are coming out. If they don’t understand that and hold tight to the rope, they’re not going to escape it but they’re just going to be content with that bad character and shaitan will isolate them to be with that bad character and they think that they’re going to distance themselves from the purification process. But no there’s no distancing from the purification. Once we understand the process of what shaitan’s doing, the hope is that people become more aware.
That, ‘As of course I approach the light, all of imperfections are going to begin to burn out. Characteristics within me I didn’t know existed – they have to come out. I have to confront them and fight them, come against them. As a result, I have to always hold firm to the hand because that becomes like a lifeline into their presence.’ We pray that Allah (AJ) dress us and bless us with the immensity of this holy month and the immensity of these tajallis (manifestations) that this is the month of the full moonlights. This is the months of guidance and immense lights that are preparing us for the arrival of Rajab, Sha’ban and Ramadan. We pray that Allah (AJ) dress us from the immensities of these oceans of Divinely love that brings us into the heart of Sayyidina Muhammad’s ﷺ reality and Divinely lights, inshaAllah.
Subhana rabbika rabbal ‘izzati ‘amma yasifoon, wa salaamun ‘alal mursaleen, walhamdulillahi rabbil ‘aalameen. Bi hurmati Muhammad al-Mustafa ﷺ wa bi siri Surat al-Fatiha.
Special thanks to our transcribers for their help with transcribing this suhbah.
Original Date of Suhbah: January 6, 2023
Related Articles:
- Take the Heat of Testing and Melt Away
- Sun Source of Light; Be Like a Moon, Reflect the Light
- Be of Service & You’ll Be With Whom You Love
- Hold Tight to the Rope of Allah, Tie Yourself to That Which is Firm
- The Way of Testing is to Remain Silent and Have Good Character
- Sacrifice is based on Love – Ati Allah, Ati Rasol, wa Ulil Amr
- Fulfill Your Trust Amanat, Covenant Ahd , and Your Allegiance (Bayah)
- In The Last Days Pious People Will Be Hidden
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