
Everything is Celebrating Allah – Which of Your Lord’s Favours you Deny
Everything is Celebrating Allah
Which of Your Lord’s Favours, do you Deny?
Secrets of Surat Rahman
From the realities of Mawlana Shaykh Hisham Kabbani, as Taught by Shaykh Sayed Nurjan Mirahmadi
Audhu billahi minash Shaytanir rajeem
Bismillahir Rahmanir Raheem
Surah Rahman
55:1-7 – “Ar Rahman. (1) ‘Allamal Qur’an. Khalaqal Insaan. ‘Alama hul Bayan. (4) Ash Shamsu wal Qamaru bihusban (5) Wan Najmu wash shajaru yasjudan (6) Was samaa a rafa’aha wa wada’al meezan (7).” (Surat Ar Rahman)
“The Most Merciful. It is He Who has taught the Qur’an. (2) He has created Human. (3) He has taught him distinct (eloquence) speech.(4) The sun and the moon [move] by precise calculation (5) And the stars and trees prostrate. (6) And the heaven He raised high and has set up the balance (7) ” (Holy Quran, The Beneficent 55: 1-7)
[Allah (Azza wa Jal) says:] “I have inspired it [humans] of its speech and its bayan.” Means in Surat ur Rahman, Allah (Azza wa Jal) is directing everything to us, saying: are you people of Shukr or those who are naa-shukr. Are you not being thankful to Me? Don’t you see how I created you? That I taught you Holy Qur’an and I created you insaan; I gave you articulation of your holy speech. I gave you the sun and the moon and the orbits. And later we found its importance. Then Allah (Azza wa Jal) says: I gave you the Heavens and by it a means of your guidance. Directing to us that: I am giving you all this.
When You Deny Allah`s Favour, You are a Liar
Then, throughout the surah, Allah (Azza wa Jal) says: which of My Favours are you going to deny?
فَبِأَيِّ آلَاءِ رَبِّكُمَا تُكَذِّبَانِ ٣٠
55:13 ” Fabi ayyi alayi Rabbikuma tukadhdhiban.” (Surah ar Rahman)
“Then which of the favours of your Lord will you deny?” (The Beneficent)
Tukazzibaan is a very powerful word. If you begin to contemplate, kazzab means a liar, it means that you are a liar. Allah (Azza wa Jal) says: how many of My Favours are you denying? That you are naa-shukr (ungrateful) You are naa-shukr to Me. That, I gave you your life, I taught you Holy Qur’an, I gave you a tongue for your bayan (speech). I gave you the stars, I gave you the moon, I gave you grass; He even describes it to the pomegranate and the date. He is saying, “You are not being thankful to Me? How many of My Favours are you going to deny?”
If you become tukazziban, you become tukazzibon, you become a liar, and Allah begins to punish you. Because at the beginning of the Surah Rahmaan, Allah is asking: how many of My Bounties have I given to you? I have given you the trees, the grass, the sun, the moon. How many of them do you deny, how many do you deny, how many do you deny? If you deny enough the Arabic word becomes “you are a liar”, kazzaab and Allah (Azza wa Jal)’s ahzab (punishment) and difficulty will be upon that liar. So you begin to shake with that surah.
That everything is a celebration for Allah (Azza wa Jal). Then, think with a little bit of contemplation, if Allah (Azza wa Jal) is telling you, “You should be thankful everyday for a date,” because Allah is saying: you see the date I gave you? How many of My Favours do you deny? See the pomegranate I gave you?
55:11 – “ Feeha fakihatun wan nakhlu dhatul akmam.” (Surah ar Rahman)
“Therein is fruit and date-palms, producing spathes (enclosing dates). ” (The Beneficent)
Allah (Azza wa Jal) is talking about fruits! That for the fruits and vegetables you have to be thankful for. What about all that light that is in the light of Sayyidina Muhammad (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam)? Allah (Azza wa Jal) is saying: you have to be thankful for the trees, for the pomegranate, for the sun and the moon and the stars and by the stars you have been given guidance. It is all for us an isharat (indication) and understanding Allah wants us to celebrate everyday His Divinely Creation. That I gave you all of this creation, thank Me, praise Me, be thankful for Me, pray unto Me, submit unto Me for what I gave you of this Creation.
2:152 – “Fadhkuronee adhkurkum washkuroli wa la takfuroon.” (Surah al Baqarah)
“So remember Me; I will remember you. And be grateful/Thankful to Me and do not Deny Me.” (Holy Quran)
It means then the birthday and the wiladat, celebrating the birth of Sayyidina Muhammad (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam), celebrating the birth of Imam `Ali (alayhi ‘s-salaam) you look at it now in a different way. For Allah (Azza wa Jal) says: do you know what I gave to these souls? If I am talking about fruits and vegetables, imagine what I gave to the reality of these souls as a ni`mat and I chose them for your nation. And I chose your nation above all nations. And I gave these souls its reality and partitioned its blessings and its favours and you are not going to thank Me for that?
We Celebrate Mawlid unNabi to Thank Allah (aj) for Prophet (saws)
When we come together for Mawlid an-Nabi (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) we are thanking Allah (Azza wa Jal) for what Allah (Azza wa Jal) has bestowed upon these realities. We are celebrating Allah (Azza wa Jal). And Allah (aj) wants to be celebrated by His Creation, that you know what greatness I have put upon the soul of Sayyidina Muhammad? I want to hear you celebrate and thank Me for that reality. Allah (Azza wa Jal) describes that khuluqin azeem;
وَإِنَّكَ لَعَلَىٰ خُلُقٍ عَظِيمٍ ﴿٤
68:4 – “Wa innaka la’ala khuluqin ‘azheem.” (Surat al Qalam)
“Truly, You (O Muhammad!) are of a magnificent character.” (Holy Quran, The Pen 68:4)
He gives His azemat and greatness to the character of Sayyidina Muhammad (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam). Why? because Allah (Azza wa Jal) is praising Himself. Prophet (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) describes, “No one can praise You yaa Rabbi like You can praise Yourself. You are al-Khaliq, You are the Creator of all of this.”
When people are coming together and thanking you; yaa Rabbi, we are thanking You for grapes, we are thanking You for dates, we are thanking You for the stars, for the moon, we thank You for our breath, we thank you for our sight. Most of all we thank You for Sayyidina Muhammad (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam). We thank You for these great souls and these great Companions. Where Allah (Azza wa Jal) says: the stars and the moons within the Heavens I created them so that you find a guidance and your compass for where you are.
Family and Companions of Prophet (saws) & Awliya are Guides of the Creation
If those stars can help us and guide us then what did Prophet (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) describe of his Companions? “They are like stars on a dark night,”
أَصْحَابِيْ كَالنُّجُـــومْ بِأَيْهِمْ اَقْتَدَيْتِمْ اَهْتَدَيْتِمْ
“Ashabi kan Nujoom, bi ayyihim aqta daytum ahta daytum.”
“My companions are like stars. Follow any one of them and you will be guided.” Prophet Muhammad (saws)
Allah created their souls as a guidance for Mankind. Allah has no time, from beginning of time to the end of time, these souls are a guidance. When we come together, we are thanking Allah (Azza wa Jal) and Allah (Azza wa Jal) is praising upon Himself: yes these are My realities that I created, are you not catching them? Are you tukazziban, are you the kazzab and liars that I created, or are you the people who witnessed, saw and say, “Yaa Rabbi, we hear and we obey. We feel within our hearts, the greatness and the bounty that You have given to us. At every moment, our breath is a gift.”
The whole of Creation Praises and Thanks Allah (aj)
Imagine the soul of Prophet (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam)? Every moment should be in Milad an-Nabi (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam), every moment should be the wiladat of every created thing in Creation. That they are making alhamdulillah wa shukru lillah (All praises is to Allah and Thanks to Allah), that Allah (Azza wa Jal) made everything in Creation to be making a hamd (praise). Yusabbihu wa bi hamd,
تُسَبِّحُ لَهُ السَّمَاوَاتُ السَّبْعُ وَالْأَرْضُ وَمَن فِيهِنَّ ۚ وَإِن مِّن شَيْءٍ إِلَّا يُسَبِّحُ بِحَمْدِهِ وَلَـٰكِن لَّا تَفْقَهُونَ تَسْبِيحَهُمْ ۗ إِنَّهُ كَانَ حَلِيمًا غَفُورًا ٤٤
17:44 – “Tusabbihu lahus samawatus sab’u wal ardu wa man fee hinna wa in min shayin illa yusabbihu bihamdihi wa lakin la tafqahoona tasbeehahum innahu kana haleeman ghafoora.” (Surat Al Isra)
“The seven heavens and the earth and whatever is in them exalt [praises] Him. And there is not a thing except that it exalts [Allah] by His praise, but you do not understand their [way of] exalting. Indeed, He is ever Forbearing and Forgiving.” (Holy Quran, The Night Journey 17:44)
“Verily everything is praising Me.“ “So sit and praise Me all day and all night,” and you won’t be praising more than just a flower (in its praises). A flower has no ego and is consistently in praise. It finds its existence, its form, its beauty and its fragrance with the Zikr that Allah (Azza wa Jal) has given it. Shukr that you are a Creation with an `aql, a mind, be thankful for what I have given to you, the tongue, and with it the ability to communicate.
Means these Mawlid an-Nabi and all Mawlid an-Nabi (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam), every celebration where we get together is a celebration of Allah (Azza wa Jal). Subhaanaka allahumma (Glory be to You o Allah), yaa Rabbi what You created we thank you for it. At the end of Surat Rahmaan Allah (Azza wa Jal) says: Glory be to Me for what I created.
تَبَارَكَ اسْمُ رَبِّكَ ذِي الْجَلَالِ وَالْإِكْرَامِ
55:78 – “Tabaraka ismu rabbika dhel jalali wal ikram. ” (Surat Ar Rahman)
“Blessed is the name of your Lord, Owner of Majesty, Bounty and Honor.” (Holy Quran, The Beneficent 55:78)
Are you not seeing the greatness of these Heavens? No, maybe you are blind. Are you seeing the greatness of a fruit tree? How that date seed goes into the dirt and comes out as a tree with all its bounty. SubhaanAllah (Glory be to Allah)! How the ocean, Allah (Azza wa Jal) describes that the salty and the sweet don’t mix. Do you see that? Say, “SubhaanAllah yaa Rabbi, You are great.”
مَرَجَ الْبَحْرَيْنِ يَلْتَقِيَانِ ﴿١٩ بَيْنَهُمَا بَرْزَخٌ لَّا يَبْغِيَانِ ﴿٢٠ فَبِأَيِّ آلَاءِ رَبِّكُمَا تُكَذِّبَانِ ﴿٢١
55:19-21 – “Maraja al bahrayni yaltaqiyan. (19) Bayna huma barzakhun la yabghiyan.(20) Fabi ayyi alayi Rabbikuma tukadhdhiban“(21) (Surat ar Rahman)
“He has made the two seas to flow freely (so that) they meet together. (19)
Between them is a barrier which they cannot pass. (20)
So which of the favors of your Lord will you deny?(21) (Holy Quran)
He asks: which is harder to make, this Earth or My Heavens, and the firmament of the Heavens, and how to keep them from falling upon your head? Are they not great?
Means then every Mawlid an-Nabi, every association of Zikr (remembrance), is a celebration of Allah (Azza wa Jal) and praising and thanking Him.
Be Good to Allah`s Creation
Prophet (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) was teaching, “When you want to show thankfulness to Allah (Azza wa Jal), be good to His Creation, because by means of that Creation goodness comes to you.” Be thankful and from people of the shukr (grateful) that you see everything from Allah’s bounty. To be from `ibaadur Rahman that their eyes and their hearts are open; that yaa Rabbi everything is from Your Bounty.
And that this praising and these associations is to show Allah (Azza wa Jal) His own greatness. “Yes I love Sayyidina Muhammad (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) wa Khuluqin adheem (Magnificent character)”
وَإِنَّكَ لَعَلَىٰ خُلُقٍ عَظِيمٍ ﴿٤
68:4 – “Wa innaka la’ala khuluqin ‘azheem.” (Surat al Qalam)
“Truly, You (O Muhammad!) are of a magnificent character.” (Holy Quran, The Pen 68:4)
Allah (`Azza wa Jal) is praising Himself through Himself by Himself for the greatness of Sayyidina Muhammad (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam). Awliyaullah come into our lives and say, “Be shukur (thankful), because the opposite of your shukr is to be kazzab and to be a liar,” in which you deny Allah (Azza wa Jal)’s Favours, deny Allah (Azza wa Jal)’s Greatness and you deny all of this vast Creation and the complexity with which it was created.
40:57 – “La khalqus samawati wal Ardi akbaru min khalqin nasi wa lakinna akthara annasi la ya`lamoon.” (Surah Ghafir)
“The creation of the heavens and earth is greater (matter) than the creation of humans, but most of the people do not know.” (Holy Quran, The Forgiver)
We pray that Allah (Azza wa Jal) opens our heart always to be those who are constantly in Hamd, constantly in praise, constantly in shukr, for Allah (Azza wa Jal)’s infinite bounty and Creation. And He granted us the greatest of gifts, the soul of Sayyidina Muhammad (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam), the lights of Sayyidina Muhammad (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam), the guidance of Sayyidina Muhammad (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) and made us to be the lovers of Sayyidina Muhammad (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam), lovers of Ahl al-Bayt an-Nabi (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam), lovers of Ashaab an-Nabi (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam), lovers of Awliyaullah fis samaayi wa fil ard (Saints of the Heavens and the earth) inshallah.
Bi hurmatil Muhammad al-Mustafa wa bi sirri surat al-Fatiha.
[Special thanks to sister Saira and sister Hafsa for their help with transcribing this suhbat.]
Please Support us to spread these knowledge and the Divine’s love.