Keep a Path of Silence, Put a Rock in Your Mouth

February 12, 2021 July 6, 2024

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

A’udhu 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

We are asking for their madad (support) their nazar (gaze), and their support, abiduna bi madakum. Ya Rabbi, bless our association with endless blessings and take away difficulties, from our hearts.

Keep the Company of Those in Authority

Bismillahir Rahmanir Raheem. Atiullaha wa atiur Rasula wa Ulil amre minkum.

﴾أَطِيعُواللَّه وَأَطِيعُوٱلرَّسُولَ وَأُوْلِي الْأَمْرِ مِنْكُمْ … ﴿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)

Alhamdulillah, for Mawlana Shaykh’s (Q) teaching. Always a reminder, first to myself, for my own benefit and reminder. And if anybody takes of an interest, alhamdulillah. They can use it, use what you can. Whatever you don’t want, and you can throw. InshaAllah, Mawlana Shaykh (Q) describing the ways of perfection. Always a reminder, these are the ways of saintly character. It’s not for the common life, or if we are choosing to be just a common person. Their teachings are from saintly realities; from their path, from what they have achieved, and then come back to convey that reality for us to uplift ourselves. We’re asking to be from‘hasuna ola rafeeqan’. Those who are like them, loving these saintly people who are inheriting from the prophetic reality.

﴾وَمَن يُطِعِ اللّهَ وَالرَّسُولَ فَأُوْلَـئِكَ مَعَ الَّذِينَ أَنْعَمَ اللّهُ عَلَيْهِم مِّنَ النَّبِيِّينَ وَالصِّدِّيقِينَ وَالشُّهَدَاء وَالصَّالِحِينَ وَحَسُنَ أُولَـئِكَ رَفِيقًا ﴿٦٩

4:69 – “Wa man yuti’ Allaha war Rasola faolayeka ma’al ladheena an’ama Allahu ‘alayhim minan Nabiyeena, was Siddiqeena, wash Shuhadai, was Saliheena wa hasuna olayeka rafeeqan.” (Surat An-Nisa)

“And whoever obeys Allah and the Messenger (pbuh) are in the company of those on whom Allah has bestowed His Favours/Blessings – of the prophets, the sincere Truthful, the witnesses to the truth (who testify), and the Righteous, and excellent are those as companions.” (The Women, 4:69)

This means that the obedience to the Divine presence is only and perfectly completed by the prophets alayhis salatu salaam. And obedience to the prophets are in the hands of ulul amr, the people of authority. And husna ola rafiqan are those who love and try to keep the company of those in authority. They like authorized people. From dunya, from the material world and from the spiritual realm. That they’re trying their best to follow their example and from their teachings.

Take a Path of Silence Through the Tongue and the Heart

Mawlana Shaykh (Q) teaching that from these characteristics to open, and that reality to open, a very important reality of samt, silence. The path of silence and the reality of silence, so that it can begin to open its reality for us. There is a silence of the tongue and silence of the heart. And what they’re teaching for us is that the ultimate is the silence within the heart because the heart is always whispering.

Faith is Love, Anger is Disbelief

As these whispering is manifesting, its root of all sickness and the root of why we are here on this Earth is from a fire of Iblis, of satan, and bad characteristics. It means the fiery nature of that reality that’s on Earth, and we’re heavenly beings. As we’re sent to Earth, this is then the understanding of our role in life – is this fire, is ever chasing. It’s always chasing us to plant itself within us. So, then the fire and the root of all bad characteristic is the fire of ghadab (anger). It’s the fire of Iblis, which is the fire of disbelief. Where Prophet ﷺ taught that anger is the opposite of faith. Faith is love. Faith is obedience to the Divine presence.

And the one who fell from grace was a fall based on anger. Immediately, he thought he was the representative of God. An order came and he said no! No, from anger. Then that root of anger comes down to Earth and the Divine begins to teach that, ‘Now you’re going to be sent to Earth for your purification and for your testing.’

﴾وَإِذْ قُلْنَا لِلْمَلَائِكَةِ اسْجُدُوا لِآدَمَ فَسَجَدُوا إِلَّا إِبْلِيسَ أَبَىٰ وَاسْتَكْبَرَ وَكَانَ مِنَ الْكَافِرِينَ ﴿٣٤

2:34 – “Wa idh qulna lilmalayikati osjudo li Adama fasajado illa ibleesa aba wastakbara wa kana minal kafireen.” (Surat Al-Baqarah)

“And [mention] when We said to the angels, ‘Bow Down/make prostration to Adam’; so they prostrated, except for Iblis. He refused and was arrogant and became of the disbelievers/who reject faith.” (The Cow, 2:34)

When You Give In To the Fire, the Intensity Increases

So, then awliyaullah (saints) begin to open our hearts and our understanding, that the secret of bad characters because there is the secret of the good and the understanding of the bad. That the root of all bad characteristics is this fire of Iblis. And when we understand fires, that anytime you give in to fire, it increases its intensity.

So, fire of anger – why can’t I just sort of release it and get angry at people? I’ll be better afterwards. Why can’t I just be jealous, envious? Why can’t I be violent? Why can’t I have all the rude characteristics? It will find its root back into that fire. Why is somebody jealous? Because they get angry. That, ‘Why do you have what I don’t have?’ And, ‘I want it. Why should you have it?’ What causes the jealousy, the enmity, and all the defects? It’s that fire. It becomes an anger, so the fire manifests. It takes us out of belief. That fire immediately manifests and then begins the burning process.

Anger Harms the Body and Mind

So, then they teach us if you’ve ever made a fire, a camp fire or a old stove that had a fire. As much as you give oxygen to that fire, it begins to rage. It doesn’t go away. So, you think that if you allowed yourself to explode every now and then, that you’ll feel better. But actually what they’re teaching us is if this fire, you give into it, you’re fueling it. And you may be able to hide it after two minutes, but again, five minutes later, you’re angry again. And that fire means that it begins to rage and begins to make the body sick.

So, it affects the body. It begins to make the mind sick because in a state of rage and disbelief, you’re capable of doing anything crazy. Takes your mind to be sick, so body is harmed, mind is harmed, and then Prophet ﷺ already describes, that it is disbelief. It is kufr. So, the opposite of iman (faith), is ghadab (anger). If you’re filled with the heart of love, it’s a heart of faith. If we’re filled with anger, and anger keeps coming, then it’s a test for us, that the faith is lacking, or completely missing depending upon how much we give into that characteristic.

Suffocate and Extinguish the Fire of Anger

So, then their mission in life is to teach us: if you take that fire like a candle, put a top onto it. Suffocate that fire. Don’t let it to get oxygen. It means any bad character defect that you attempt to conquer and attack – that defect means you’re suffocating it. As much as you can suffocate it, it lacks its oxygen and lacks its ferocity, and the ability to keep burning and destroying and harming. So, then they begin to teach us then: the root of everything is that fire. And that fire must be extinguished. So, then all the practices are based on extinguishing and controlling myself.

Fight for Your Heart, the Throne of the Divine

And that fire is not going to be in anywhere in the body, but in the heart. Because the bad character, diablo, demons – whatever we want to call it – we call it bad character for people who are more scientific. Bad character is going to root itself upon the throne of mankind. And the throne, the Divine sits upon the heart of the believer.

“. عَنْ وَهَبِ بِنْ مُنَبِّهْ، قَال رَسُولَ اللَّه ﷺ، قَالْ اللَّه عَزَ وَجَلْ: “‏ مَا وَسِعَنِيْ لَا سَمَائِيْ وَلَا اَرْضِيْ وَلَكِنْ وَسِعَنِيْ قَلْبِ عَبْدِيْ اَلْمُؤْمِنْ
[حَدِيثْ اَلْقُدْسِي – اَلْغَزَالِي فِي اَلْإحْيَاء، وَ اِبنِ عَرَبِي فِي اَلْتَرَاجِمْ، صفحه ٢٢٤]

‘An Wahab ibn Munabbeh, Qala Rasulallahi ﷺ, Qala Allah (AJ): “Maa wasi’anee laa samayee, wa la ardee, laakin wasi’anee qalbi ‘Abdi al Mu’min.” [Hadith al Qudsi, Al Ghazali fi al Ihyaa, wa Ibn ‘Arabi fi al Tarajim, Safha 224]

Narrated by Wahab the son of Munabbeh that the Messenger of Allah (pbuh) said, that Allah (AJ) said: “Neither My Heavens nor My Earth can contain Me, but the heart of my Believing Servant.”
[Holy Hadith, by Imam al-Ghazali in Al Ihya, and by Ibn ‘Arabi in al Tarajib, Page 224]

So, then there is always a fight for the heart; not for the head, not for the feet, not for the hands. Who controls the heart, controls the entire being. If you want to control the kingdom, you go sit on the throne. From the throne, you control everything. Why you want to deal with the feet? And then constantly battling what orders are coming from the throne.

So, then the fire of bad character – immediately, as soon as we’re born, all sorts of conditionings are coming in our life. And these little flames begin to enter into the heart. That’s the only place it wants to find itself. Until we lose our purity at 9, 10, 12, 13 and start to do things that are not so nice. And that fire begins to take place. And begins to root itself within the heart of those that are seeking the Divine presence.

Control the Angry Fire of Your Mouth Coming From Your Heart

So, then they teach us that the root is the fire. And how to control that fire. Then Mawlana Shaykh (Q) is saying one important reality for controlling that fire is understanding the link between your mouth and your heart. My mouth and my heart. That, what comes from my mouth is only a sign of what’s existing within my heart (Holy Qur’an, 3:118).

So, then there could be no hypocrisy. So, I say this, but my heart is something different. Oh, my heart is something different, then I’m saying something different. They’re directly connected. This means the heart is the container for that fire and what is coming from your mouth is the result of what’s in the container. If the container is filled with love and like a nectar of sweetness, then how from the mouth comes out so much difficulty? So much fire, so much, so much of everything. So, then Mawlana Shaykh (Q) is reminding us always that the vessel is the heart. It’s containing that light or that fire. What’s spewing from the mouth is a result of the sickness within the heart.

Sayyidina Abu Bakr as Siddiq (as) Put a Stone in His Mouth for 7 Years

So, the stage of samt, the stage of the path of silence, that Sayyidina Abu Bakr as Siddiq (as) is teaching, that for 7 years, he put a stone into his mouth. One, there’s a reality within the stone. Why he put a stone? Because it has a tremendous zikr (Divine remembrance), has a tremendous reality. That zikr, that reality, he put into the mouth to control what’s happening within the heart.

This means that if it’s the matter of the fire and you don’t control the mouth, it means the fire within the heart is just raging so then this vessel, vehicle to contain it. They’re teaching us: control your mouth. Hold your tongue. Don’t speak too much. Because the words that are coming out are showing the condition of the heart.

Control the Mouth to Keep the Light Awliya Put in Your Heart

So, then they begin to say that take a path of silence. Silence your mouth from talking and all talking. There’s no guidance, there’s no teaching. Everything is a path of silence until you’ve muffled the mouth. And by muffling your mouth and controlling the mouth, and not speaking for years, where people say you speak very little.

And then the process of tafakkur (contemplation) is once you silence your mouth because it keeps spewing out information that is of no need. And even if it’s wisdoms and knowledges, unless it’s been authorized that you have achieved the level where your heart is purified and now your tongue is authorized to speak. Because the light that the shaykh is putting within the heart is a very powerful angelic light. It’s meant to go into the heart and stay there. As much as you keep speaking for no reason, you’re pushing that light out. And it’s increasing the intensity of the heart and the fire within the heart, the arrogance within the heart. And many different defects begin to grow within the heart.

Keep Silent to Change the Condition of Your Heart

So, then they’re teaching then keeping a path of silence means immediately that you keep silent. Then the madad and the support, they begin to send light into the heart. These lights qul jaa alhaqqu wa zahaqal baatil.

﴾وَ قُلْ جَآءَالْحَقُّ وَزَهَقَ الْبَطِلُ، إِنَّ الْبَطِلَ كَانَ زَهُوقًا ﴿٨١

17:81 – “Wa qul jaa alhaqqu wa zahaqal baatil, innal batila kana zahoqa.” (Surat Al-Isra)

“And say, Truth has come, and falsehood has perished. Indeed falsehood, [by its nature], is ever perishing/bound to perish.” (The Night Journey, 17:81)

This haq (truth) comes as a light, as an energy and many Divine realities. And as this begins to flow into the heart, if you don’t have control of the tongue, it flows and comes out. And just be…it’s being wasted, just being wasted. And the condition of the heart never changed.

Pay Attention to the Whispering Within the Heart

So, then Mawlana Shaykh (Q) is reminding that as soon as you take a path of silence and say, ‘Ya Rabbi, I want to control my tongue and stop my tongue. I want the energy and the light to hit my heart.’ As it hits my heart and I close my mouth, now they say that once your mouth is sealed and you stopped the process of talking, teaching, guiding – anything that that mouth is doing. Now, with your tafakkur and contemplation, pay attention to your heart. How is your heart whispering? Because that is what Allah (AJ) wants.

The control of your tongue – your tongue is going to perish and die on this Earth. Only, Divine doesn’t care for your tongue. But for us, the people of Gnosticism and realities, they’re teaching us that what comes from your tongue is a result of your heart. We were, we are interested in the heart. It means as soon as you’re able to control the mouth, put a rock in your mouth. Then meditate and contemplate. And every association, every teaching, every interaction, pay attention to the heart.

Speaking Too Much Brings Out the Sicknesses of the Heart

If the heart cannot be silenced and the mouth is speaking with a non-silenced heart, then all sorts of sicknesses are emanating from the mouth. This means the mouth is just now backbiting. It’s not giving wisdom, it’s backbiting. Accompanying the shaykh is most dangerous because the shaykh is going to engage you to see if you backbite; to see what type of things are going to come from your mouth. His job is to pull from you to show you your sickness.

It’s not that, ‘Oh, I can sit with the shaykh and backbite everybody.’ The shaykh is the doctor, encourages you that, ‘Let’s see what you’re going to do. Pull it out. Hey! Once again, start backbiting everybody, from left to right.’ Not because he needs any information from you. He doesn’t even need to know what type of suhbahs (discourse) you gave to people, especially you’re giving from his wisdoms to other people and back to him. For what? Mawlana (Q) taught us that as soon as somebody asked, that Mawlana (Q) asked, ‘What did you tell that person?’ Say, ‘You know best, Sayyidi. Nothing. What I can tell people?’ Not how this is the suhbah I gave him. This is the knowledge I gave him. These are all the things I conveyed to him. This is a condition of the sickness within the heart. That you’re trying to show off to who? You’re trying to convey to who? The condition of your heart is still not settled. Your heart is spewing and overboiling with information. It has to be contained. The volcano has to be stopped.

Take Accounting of Yourself to Silence the Heart

As soon as you take a path of silent, that, ‘Ya Rabbi, I’m going to take a vow of silence.’ Sayyidina Zakariya (as) took a vow of silence. Sitna Mariam (Mary) (as) took a vow of silence. Throughout Qur’an, there is a teaching, that keep silence. Sayyidina Abu Bakr as Siddiq (as), 7 years, put a stone into his mouth, ‘I won’t talk because I want to work on my heart.’

As soon as I take a path of silence and condition the mouth to stop, then every association, every teaching, every interaction is go back with muhasabah, an accounting. Meditate and contemplate. Why is my heart not feeling like this? Why am I thinking of this person? Thinking of this issue? Why is, why is, my heart now aggravated with what he just said? Because they want to teach us, how to silence the heart, that the heart is almost in a state of death and annihilation, that no condition agitates the heart.

When You Open Your Mouth, Your Heart is Being Emptied

So then, Mawlana Shaykh (Q) opening for us a deep reality. Reminder always for ourselves, that, meditate, contemplate, how much our mouths are opened. How much this mouth, keep, has something to say? And as much as it’s saying, as much as it’s been wasted. Think of it in a different way. Think of it, ‘Ya Rabbi, that I want Your reservoir of light like an ocean in my heart.’

But if this fountain is running all the time, it’s being emptied. It’s being wasted. And being thrown everywhere. And Divine is looking saying, ‘As much as you put into this person’s heart, it’s just flowing. Why are you wasting it like that? Why are they not getting it and understanding it?’ So, then reminder Mawlana Shaykh (Q) saying that if you want these lights and you want these realities and you want the uplifting, silence your mouth. There are enough people who can talk. If you are the one who wants the reality and the heart to open, take a path of silence.

You Can’t Give What You Don’t Have

As soon as you silence your mouth, take your path towards tafakkur and contemplation. Contemplation without a silent mouth is worthless. Because you’re contemplating what? You’re contemplating all the suhbahs you gave? And all the teachings that you’re spewing out for no reason. Your condition yet is not purified. If the condition is not purified, the words are wasted. You can’t give what you don’t have. So, Mawlana Shaykh (Q) teaching us, Allah (AJ) is asking from us, Divine presence asking from us, you cannot give what you don’t have although you think you are.

First, you have to achieve. You have to achieve that rank, that light has to shine within the heart. The light of iman (faith) has to shine within the heart. The light of ihsan (excellence) has to shine within the heart. And then they sign you off. When they sign you off, they say now your heart is silenced. And you took a path for many years of a silent mouth.

A Silenced Heart Speaks with Lisanul Haq (Tongue of Truth)

Once your heart is silent and your mouth was silent to achieve the silencing of your heart. Now, we give you permission to speak. And when you speak, you speaking onour tongue, not your tongue. Your tongue may cause many different problems, may say many things that affect people in different ways. But when you speak on our tongue, it means our heart dressing your heart. And your tongue submitting to our tongue; our tongue, Lisanul Haq (Tongue of Truth).

This means their tongue, awliyaullah’s tongue, is on the tongue of Sayyidina Muhammad ﷺ, is on the Prophetic tongue. Lisan as Siddiq is on the truthful tongue. At that time, when it speaks,`ilm e Laduni wa hikmati bis Saliheen (Divinely Knowledge and Wisdom of the Righteous). Given from Heavenly knowledge and wisdom and understandings.

When the Heart Boils, Meditate and Take an Accounting

But that cannot be achieved if the mouth is not silenced. And when the mouth is silenced, the boiling of the heart is going to begin. When the boiling of the heart begins, now becomes the time to meditate. Meditate and contemplate – why all these things are aggravating me? And then you take muhasabah, an accounting. Write down why you backbite this person? Why you talk about this? Why you’re angry about this? Why you have to say something about this? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why?

Then Mawlana (Q) gives a joke. Why, why, why, why, why. Where somebody came to the Shaykh, why, why, why, why, why, why. But it wasn’t that why, it was a different Turkish why. This means he was coming a futuhaat (openings of the heart) to him. But for us, you keep writing all these whys, muhasabah, an accounting. And then, we begin to point out our character defect. At that time, we’re able to understand that what is within me, that making all of these things to come and manifest. Only at that time, we can begin the purification and the cleansing process.

What the Heart Conceals is Worse Than What’s On the Tongue

So then, they want us to understand that the tongue and the heart, directly related. And they teach that like an iceberg. You see a tip of an iceberg, there’s an entire city below. It’s not the iceberg that’s frightening, it’s how much of the mass of ice that’s hidden. So, then Allah (AJ) was telling Prophet ﷺ in Holy Qur’an, throughout Qur’an, what they say is nothing compared to what’s in their heart.

﴾وَدُّوا مَا عَنِتُّمْ قَدْ بَدَتِ الْبَغْضَاءُ مِنْ أَفْوَاهِهِمْ وَمَا تُخْفِي صُدُورُهُمْ أَكْبَرُ ۚ قَدْ بَيَّنَّا لَكُمُ الْآيَاتِ ۖ إِن كُنتُمْ تَعْقِلُونَ ﴿١١٨…

3:118 – “…wad doo ma ‘anittum qad badatial baghdao min afwahihim wa ma tukhfee Sudooruhum Akbaru, qad bayyana lakumul Ayaati, in kunum ta’qiloon.” (Surat Ali-Imran)

“…Hatred has already appeared from their mouths, and what their hearts conceal is far worse. We have made plain to you the signs, if you have wisdom.” (Family of Imran, 3:118)

If you’re bothered by their words, imagine what’s in their heart. It’s only manifesting a little bit because they’re trying to control. They’re trying to control all these words they were saying to Prophet ﷺ. It means for us, it’s a daleel (proof) and an understanding that what’s in the heart is far more dangerous. And the only way to put that fire out is the direct link with the mouth. As soon as we’re silent and begin to meditate and take an accounting of everything that’s happening within the heart. At that time, that fire goes down, that fire goes down, that fire goes down.

Aim to Steady Your Heart

And the steadiness of the heart is that, “Dhikrillahi tatma’innul Qulob.”

﴾ ۗ أَلَا بِذِكْرِ اللَّـهِ تَطْمَئِنُّ الْقُلُوبُ ﴿٢٨…

13:28 – “…ala bi dhikrillahi tatma’innul Qulob.” (Surat Ar-Ra’d)

“…For without doubt in the remembrance of Allah do hearts find satisfaction.” (The Thunder, 13:28)

Tatma means a state of tranquility. There’s no up and there’s no down. There’s no more excitement. The heartbeat of a dead person because our way is like a state of death before death.

That if your heart gets easily excited or easily brought down, you’re bipolar. This means you’re in two of these polar opposites. Everything making you ecstatically happy, and next minute ecstatically sad, very sad. I’m going to jump out the window sad. These are two very different realities. And they’re trying to teach us that nothing should make you so excited and nothing should make you so sad. This dunya (earthly realm) is going.

Awliyaullah Reached Equilibrium; They Neither Fear Nor Grieve

And then “Dhikrillahi tatma’innul Qulob” (Holy Qur’an, 13:28) means then it brings us to an equilibrium. The equilibrium, the beat of the dead, is flat line. Things happen, we check the heart, no excitement. Sad things come, no excitement. The heart is a steady keel, is always connected. And Allah (AJ) says, ‘Awliyaullah, they neither fear nor grieve’. And their heart is always tranquil.

﴾أَلَا إِنَّ أَوْلِيَاءَ اللَّـهِ لَا خَوْفٌ عَلَيْهِمْ وَلَا هُمْ يَحْزَنُونَ ﴿٦٢

10:62 – “Ala inna Awliyaa Allahi la khawfun ‘alayhim wa la hum yahzanona.” (Surat Yunus)

“No Doubt, Verily on the friends of Allah there is no fear, nor do they grieve.” (Jonah, 10:62)

We’re praying to reach towards their understandings through their dress, through their realities that they’re teaching us, that to bring down the ecstatic happiness to more logical level. And the excessive sadness, bring that back up. And that way is going to be achieved by silencing of the tongue, by silencing the tongue and taking a path of silence. It means then taking an accounting of what activities are happening within the heart.

Subhana rabbika rabbal ‘izzati ‘amma yasifoon, wa salaamun ‘alal mursaleen, walhamdulillahi rabbil ‘aalameen. Bi hurmati Muhammad al-Mustafa wa bi siri Surat al-Fatiha.

Special thanks to our transcribers for their help with transcribing this suhbah.

Original Date of Suhbah: October 25, 2012

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