Man meditating near water with img of shaykh in sky

How Can You Have Close Proximity to Your Shaykh When You’re Physically Far?

August 24, 2025 August 24, 2025

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From the Realities of Mawlana (Q) as taught by Shaykh Nurjan Mirahmadi

أَعُوذُ بِاللَّهِ مِنَ الشَّيْطَانِ ٱلْرَّجِيمِ
بِسْمِ ٱللَّهِ ٱلرَّحْمَٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ

A’uzu Billahi Minash Shaitanir Rajeem
Bismillahir Rahmanir Raheem

I seek refuge in Allah (AJ) from the accursed Satan
In the Name of Allah, the Most Compassionate, 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)

Your Shaykh’s Presence is Not Bound By Physical Space

InshaAllah, we’ll go to our SMC family. Again, always thankful for all the well-wishing, all the happy birthdays, all the emails coming in. That difficult to reply to everybody, but a general blanket of appreciation. That Allah (AJ) bless you, your families, and immense gifts and blessings to your souls and to your loved ones and to communities. That this life of ours and the proximity to a shaykh is not the physical. That, we train to be spiritual.

Shaitan plays with people because they’re not reaching to that complete understanding. Immediately, they can become heedless of a reality. But this way of ours is not based on physical proximity to a shaykh. It’s not about moving to Madinatul Munawwara (luminous city of Prophet ﷺ). This would be an immense blessing. It’s not about being there physically. That’s nice. The reality of the shaykh doesn’t operate with that reality.

Your Proximity to Your Shaykh is Through Your Soul, Not Your Body

It means what Allah (AJ) takes control and is in control, Prophet ﷺ is in control of the soul of the shaykh. They’ve surrendered themselves back to their reality. As a part of the reality of their soul is that when you try to gain nearness to the soul, it’s not the desire from the physicality that’s important. But it’s what Allah (AJ) is commanding upon the soul of that servant.

So, it means that if I keep a physical company thinking through his physical presence, he sees me and whatever happening. That I’m drawing near, but that’s not the reality. The reality is what they’re trying to teach people. That as soon as you serve the way, you’re owed something. As soon as you go out and give, you’re owed something. As soon as you give your time, you’re owed something. As soon as you give your money, you’re owed something.

The Shaykh’s Gaze is Commanded By Divine Authority

As soon as you gave from your rizq (sustenance) and you got food and water, you gave it and said, ‘My shaykh inspired me to do this.’ From soul to soul, you’re owed something. As a result, this is a soul contract. That the soul of the shaykh, by the command of Allah (AJ), is that, ‘Look at them’; not what your physical eyes want to look at and who you physically want to be around.

But we’re talking about the nazar (gaze) of the shaykh through the soul is under the command of Allah (AJ) and Sayyidina Muhammad ﷺ. That by the deeds of the servant, what they’re doing, Allah’s (AJ) commanding. Prophet ﷺ is commanding that, ‘Look at them. Look at what his soul, what he’s doing of his service or she’s doing of their service. Look how they’re serving. Pray for them. Look how they’re serving and keep asking for support for them.’

Be in Service to Establish a Spiritual Bond With Your Shaykh

So, it means this reality of tariqah (spiritual path) is not by the manipulation of the physicality. ‘Oh, I can’t be there physically. Oh, this is not going to open nothing.’ It has nothing, absolutely nothing, to do with physicality. The physicality is entertaining. Its reality is in the khidmat (service). Wherever they are on this Earth when they’re serving, the inspiration from the source is coming.

That pray for them. Pray for what they’re doing. Pray for how they’re serving. Pray for how they’re trying to uphold the way, keep the way, keep the ship, keep the keys, keep the presence, keep the program. All the people who keep this system running, the souls are watching them, praying for them, asking du’as (supplications) upon them, relieve difficulty from them, their lives and their families. This is the way of khidmat (service). So, this is not a personal dunya (material world) thing, ‘Oh, I physically I’ll…’ It’s not related to physical at all.

Be Among Those Who Serve to Gain Divine Nazar

The physical was just to get to know the shaykh and enjoy the physical presence of the shaykh, if possible for people. But the nazar (gaze) and the reality that’s under the command of Allah (AJ), the command of Prophet ﷺ, is what we described in the beginning of the year. When Allah (AJ), Allah (AJ) commanded the holy eyes of Prophet ﷺ what? That, ‘Don’t look for the pomp of dunya (material world), although they’re pleasing to you, friends with you, all the entertainments of life for you. Don’t let your nazar pass those people whom are serving on the bench’.

﴾وَاصْبِرْ نَفْسَكَ مَعَ الَّذِينَ يَدْعُونَ رَبَّهُم بِالْغَدَاةِ وَالْعَشِيِّ يُرِيدُونَ وَجْهَهُ ۖ وَلَا تَعْدُ عَيْنَاكَ عَنْهُمْ تُرِيدُ زِينَةَ الْحَيَاةِ الدُّنْيَا ۖ وَلَا تُطِعْ مَنْ أَغْفَلْنَا قَلْبَهُ عَن ذِكْرِنَا وَاتَّبَعَ هَوَاهُ وَكَانَ أَمْرُهُ فُرُطًا ﴿٢٨

18:28 – “Wasbir nafsaka ma’al ladheena yad’ona Rabbahum bilghadati wal’ashiyi yureedona Wajhahu, wa la ta’du ‘aynaka ‘anhum tureedu zeenatal hayatid dunya, wa laa tuti’ man aghfalnaa qalbahoo ‘an zikrinaa wattaba’a hawaahu wa kaana amruhoo furutaa.” (Surat Al-Kahf)

“And keep yourself patient [by being] with those who call upon their Lord in the morning and the evening, seeking His Holy Face;. And let not your eyes pass beyond them, desiring adornments/glitter of the worldly life and do not obey one whose heart We have made heedless of Our remembrance and who follows his desire and whose affair is ever [in] neglect. (The Cave, 18:28)

Our Service is Remembered, Not Our Face

Their service, their zikr, their khidmat is what’s holding everything together. Pray for them and the shaykh is continuously inspired. That’s why you don’t have to get his physical attention because it’s not working that way because physical people don’t understand how the system working. Say, ‘If I go in front of your face, I’ll remember you’. It’s not my face that you want is to remember you.

It’s not the physical face of a shaykh that you want him to remember you. It’s the khidmat (service) you provide. His soul will remember you and not under his ability. It’s by order of Allah (AJ) and order of Prophet ﷺ. They inspire the soul, ‘Pray for him. Pray for them. Pray for what they’re doing. Look how they’re trying to serve, how they’re trying to keep things together, how they’re inspired to do this, do that.’ All the things that are happening to keep it all afloat, to keep everything operating, everybody inspired, everybody to have their du’as (supplications).

Serve Even When No One is Watching

Every khidmat and service that they do of giving food all over this globe, of putting articles, websites – all the…all of what you see with all the hundreds of people involved. It’s that Allah’s (AJ) command through the soul that, ‘Pray for them’. Allah’s (AJ)…Allah (AJ) finds satisfaction in the service of people.

When that service is being done because they may be doing something, saying, ‘Nobody sees me. I’m just doing this and why am I doing this?’ Oh, Allah (AJ) sees you. Prophet ﷺ sees you and inspires upon the souls of awliya (saints); not only just the servant of awliya, but the souls of big awliya. That see people serving in the way of Prophet ﷺ, saying that, ‘This is my love for Sayyidina Muhammad ﷺ. That’s why I’m washing this dish. That’s why I’m cleaning that floor. That’s why I’m giving that hamburger or giving that water.’

The Shaykh’s Presence is Strong When Your Service is Strong

Everything we did in our lives, it was a nazar (gaze) of the souls that raised us. This is the proximity still in that reality. It’s not that we physically have to move somewhere to be in their presence, but the khidmat (service) and the inspiring of other people to serve keeps the soul in the presence of Sayyidina Muhammad ﷺ.

If the khidmat is strong, the presence is strong, not the physicality. Otherwise, we have to take a tour bus and make an ‘Umrah package, and take everybody to go now for ‘Umrah. But there’s a much faster buraq (noble mystical horse). You close your eyes with your service and in an instant, you’re at Madinatul Munawwara, at the feet of Sayyidina Muhammad ﷺ by khidmat because it’s ishq and love. So, this is a reminder for myself that this is the system in which keeps us surviving.

Remain Firm in Service Despite Every Obstacle and Distraction

It’s not the physical that I can’t be physically everywhere and go sit with them and do all these things physically. But our life was trained is that the khidmat (service) to be strong. If your khidmat is strong regardless of how people talk about you, how people plan against you, how people do every type of thing to bring obstruction – all the physicality, it doesn’t stop us because the connection is not physical. Right?

They can put a whole wave of barriers in front of us physically. They can spread rumors physically. They can do every type of horrific thing physically. But if your khidmat is strong, your soul is already with them. They just say, ‘Close your eyes. You see us.’ So, don’t worry about all those traffic jams and the things that people are doing. This, for us, is then wherever we are on this Earth, don’t worry if you’re physically not sitting there.

Serve the Nation of Sayyidina Muhammad ﷺ to Gain His Nearness

‘Oh, I’ll never get close to the shaykh,’ you’re very wrong. Otherwise, we would have all been ordered to move to Madinatul Munawwara. But what do we do in Madina? After three days, seven days, nine days, you’re going to be in trouble because you’re going to lose your manners with Prophet ﷺ.

People think, ‘I go sit there for six months.’ It’s against adab (manners) because after a few weeks, you lost your manners. You start not going. You start praying somewhere else. You’re going to run into difficulties. What Prophet ﷺ want for all of us? ‘Go back and serve my people. Serve my nation. Spread your da’wah (religious propagation). Do good deeds. Do character. Inspire people to feed. Inspire people to goodness and knowledges. You’ll be with me with a blink of an eye because I’m closer to you than your jugular vein.’

‎﴿١٦﴾‏ …وَنَحْنُ أَقْرَبُ إِلَيْهِ مِنْ حَبْلِ الْوَرِيدِ

50:16 – “…wa Nahnu aqrabu ilaihi min hablil wareed.” (Surat Qaf)

“…and We are closer to him than [his] jugular vein.” (The Letter Qaf, 50:16)

Serve With What You Have Despite Any Slander or Envy

So, we pray that Allah (AJ) inspires us within these good characteristics and that to make our khidmat (service) strong. Say, ‘Shaykh, I have nothing.’ If Allah (AJ) gave you two fingers, use them. Share. Just share articles. Share the post. Share the videos. Make comments, the algorithms go up. Another question that they say, ‘People talk bad about you, Shaykh. Other shaykhs talk very bad about you, Shaykh’.

I tell you something thing from our own teachings: there’s a tactic in warfare that when a bad or a bad-mannered army enters into a village. When they’re jealous of an approaching force, they have in their understanding to destroy everything in that village which is against Islamic shari’ah (Divine law) and what we call the poisoning of a well. So, this we show you as a military tactic. Then in our lives, you have to judge if you think people are using this type of tactic which is not allowed in Islam.

Don’t Poison the Divine Well of Teachings So No One Takes From It

In the physical world, they have a beautiful village. They say, ‘Oh, this approaching force is coming. Why don’t we just destroy everything that we built so as we run, they can’t take anything? They can’t enjoy any of what we have.’ So, they go into the well of this water for this city and they poison the water so that nobody can drink from the well.

As a result of poisoning the water, you poison the trees, the fruits and everything around it. Then they say, ‘Also, as a matter of fact, also let’s burn down the houses, so they can’t take any benefit from the homes’ which was completely disallowed by Qur’an and by Prophet ﷺ. When warfare and fighting, Allah (AJ) said, ‘Don’t destroy the trees. Don’t destroy the animals. Don’t destroy the women, the children and don’t burn the homes.’

Yahya related to me from Malik from Yahya ibn Said that Abu Bakr as-Siddiq (as) was sending armies to ash-Sham. He went for a walk with Yazid ibn Abi Sufyan who was the commander of one of the battalions. It is claimed that Yazid said to Abu Bakr, “Will you ride or shall I get down?” Abu Bakr (as) said, “I will not ride and you will not get down. I intend these steps of mine to be in the way of Allah.”

Then Abu Bakr (as) advised Yazid, “I advise you ten things: Do not kill women or children or an aged, infirm person. Do not cut down fruit-bearing trees. Do not destroy an inhabited place. Do not slaughter sheep or camels except for food. Do not burn bees and do not scatter them. Do not steal from the booty, and do not be cowardly.”

Beware of Ignorance That Poisons the Fruits the Shaykh Provides

So, imagine then in a spiritual realm of supposedly religious people going around and poisoning the well, say, ‘Oh, those knowledges are not acceptable. Those knowledges are magic.’ Praising upon Prophet ﷺ, it’s not…astaghfirullah. This is a word they try to use to scare Pakistani people. So, they use keywords to scare people. But this is poisoning the well because when you talk like that and you hear somebody who talks like that, maybe heard from some other source to talk like that, it’s against the shari’ah (Divine law).

Why would you say something like that? Because now you poisoned that knowledge. You poisoned that person from ever trying to seek a Muhammadan haqqaiq (realities). You don’t poison the shaykh. He’s not touchable from that reality, but you poisoned the fruits that he laid, his ni’mat (blessing) that he put. That Prophet ﷺ is giving these knowledges and they’re setting a table that, ‘Eat from it. We don’t ask anything from you. Take the knowledges’.

﴾إِنَّمَا نُطْعِمُكُمْ لِوَجْهِ اللَّـهِ لَا نُرِيدُ مِنكُمْ جَزَاءً وَلَا شُكُورًا ﴿٩

76:9 – “Innama nut’imukum liWajhillahi la nureedu minkum jazaa an wa la shukora.” (Surat Al-Insaan)

“(Saying), We feed you for the sake of the Holy/divine Face alone: We wish not from you reward or gratitude.” (The Human, 76:9)

Remain Silent Toward Knowledge Beyond Your Comprehension

If you’re later inspired to help, alhamdulillah. Otherwise, all the websites, everything is free. The app is free. You people curse us and use the app, so alhamdulillah, good for you. You ask Allah (AJ) what happened on Day of Judgment? You do your awrad (daily practice). You’re flying on a plane, you got everything and then say bad words about the people who gave you the app.

But it means that when you poison it, even the fruit they try to eat from it will be poisoned. They won’t touch it again. This is not acceptable process in Islam. When we hear that people do that, it’s a sign that this is not an acceptable tactic. If you don’t like the knowledges somebody teaches, don’t talk about it. If you’re in competition and you have fear of it, teach what you can teach of it.

Don’t Mislead Others By Speaking Against Prophetic Realities

But in the way of haqqaiq (reality), you don’t poison a Muhammadan haqqaiq. You don’t poison a reality so that people don’t ever touch from it again. Then they want to bury it. They want to do all sorts of bad thing. Then the gunah and the sin come to those innocent people who listen to that authority.

Say, ‘Oh well, this is what we heard from these people’. It’s not acceptable in warfare. It’s not acceptable in spirituality. So people, when they hear these things and email, ‘What am I…what am I going to do?’ I say nothing. It’s a sign that you knew that this is not a correct understanding in Islam, especially in spirituality. All Muhammadan realities, if you don’t know about it, walk away.

‎﴿٣٦﴾وَلَا تَقْفُ مَا لَيْسَ لَكَ بِهِ عِلْمٌ ۚ إِنَّ السَّمْعَ وَالْبَصَرَ وَالْفُؤَادَ كُلُّ أُولَٰئِكَ كَانَ عَنْهُ مَسْئُولًا

17:36 – “Wa laa taqfu maa laisa laka bihee ‘ilm; innas sam’a walbasara walfu’aada kullu ulaaa’ika kaana ‘anhu mas’oolaa” (Surah Al-‘Isra)

“And do not pursue that of which you have no knowledge. Indeed, the hearing, the sight and the heart – about all those [one] will be questioned.” (The Night Journey, 17:36)

Stay Silent If Your Heart is Not Ready to Receive Divine Knowledges

Say, ‘Oh, I don’t know these things. I have never heard of these things’ or ‘My heart is not interested in these things’ but you don’t poison it and say something bad because what you’re saying bad is against the Muhammadan haqqaiq. Later, you may find, ‘Oh my, oh this was real. I didn’t know about these things.’ But behind you, you laid waste to how many people you poisoned to then come back now and revive it.

So, inshaAllah, Allah (AJ) save people in a time in which people have very bad manners. They talk a lot about bad manners, but they seem to be spreading very bad manners. So, we pray that Allah (AJ) guide people and give good character to people, 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: March 22, 2024

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