The Struggle is For Us, Victory Belongs to Allah (AJ)
From the Realities of Mawlana (Q) as taught by Shaykh Nurjan Mirahmadi.
أَعُوذُ بِاللَّهِ مِنَ الشَّيطَانِ الرَّجِيمِ
بِسْمِ اللهِ الرَّحْمٰنِ الرَّحِيْمِ
A’uzu Billahi Minash Shaitanir Rajeem
Bismillahir Rahmanir Raheem
I seek refuge in Allah 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)
Contrast Between Material and Heavenly Ways
Just a reminder for myself, that we were talking on the way coming here that the tariqah, the spiritual path, and spiritual teachers come to teach the ways of the heaven. Heavens are not the same as the way of the material world. The material world now is in a great deceit. That deceit is propagated by all the social media and everything available of technologies. It spreads that deceit in such a speed that now everybody becomes confused. The way of the material world and then what is the way of the heavens? A reminder for myself, “A’uzu Billahi Minash Shaitanir Rajeem Bismillahir Rahmanir Raheem. Atiullaha wa atiur Rasula wa Ulil amre minkum” (Holy Qur’an, 4:59). Bi madadukum wa nazarukum Ya Sayyidi Ya Rasulul Kareem (The Most Generous Messenger) Ya Habibul ‘Azim (The Magnificent Beloved). Ana abdukal ‘ajeezu, wa dayeefu, wa miskinu, wa zhalim, wa jahl and by the grace of Allah (AJ) that I’m still alive. I’m not claiming to be anything. We took a path in which to be nothing, Allah’s (AJ) greatness.
That our life is: the struggle is ours and victory is with God. We own the struggle, and victory is with God. The material world shows everything opposite. Everything now on social media is about how people are victorious. They conquered this, they got five cars in the driveway, and have piles of cash stacked up. They are going here, going there, eating this, eating that.
Illusion of Material Success
What shaitan (satan) wants, what we call shaitan, what we call evilness, bad character—whatever we want to label it. Everyone has their own version they feel comfortable with. The negativity wants to show that’s the norm for this world and that’s what God wants. As a matter of fact, he doesn’t even teach anything from what God wants. Everything is about the victory and that you must be victorious on this earth. You must have conquered this earth, that you must have achieved everything and he makes everyone to be confused.
Reality of Spiritual Success
Heavenly people come and teach, no, no! The struggle is what you own, and victory is only in God’s hands. It is just a simple quote that we should live by: ‘The struggle is mine, and the victory is Allah’s (AJ), is God’s, is The Creator’s.’ That’s it. I’m not here to become victorious. Victory is only when God determines it is going to be victorious. His version of victory may be something completely different than mine. That’s what is a reminder in my life, every day, and we only talk to ourselves. Anyone who likes to listen, alhamdulillah, if they don’t like to listen, alhamdulillah too. The struggle is mine. Awliya (saints) come into our lives and teach, you must be struggling for something. If God loves you and He has kissed you with His love, your struggle has begun.
Struggle as a Sign of Divine Love
You struggle, and your life is about struggling. Don’t think ever about the victory. The victory is not ours. So then all my life and all my difficulties, then I’m continuously in a state of struggling. If I think my life should be based on ease, this is not the way of the heavens. People like it, they don’t like it, at least they give an explanation and an understanding. Because you look to the right of you and say: That guy looks like he is in a happy condition. This one, they look like they’re really in happy condition. That one looks like they’re in very happy condition.’ But, no, that was the deceit of negativity and bad character.
When Allah (AJ) loves you, when God loves you, He puts you on a path of struggle. What they call in Arabic ‘jihad (struggle)’ which is a, dingggg all the alarms go off, ding-ding-ding-ding. All the secret microphones are going [shaykh talks in a lighter way of joke]. But the jihad that they’re talking about is the fight against yourself. The greatest fight is not beating other people but beating yourself. Conquering yourself, your own enemies, and all your bad characteristics. My understanding for myself was I had to conquer all my bad characteristics, and then my life was about the struggle. Allah (AJ), God, wanted to see the good character. He says, ‘I want to give you a degree in My paradises. My school is this abode. If you want the degree here, to achieve your paradise rank, begin your struggle.’
Testing and Spiritual Growth
So every time there is a difficulty at home, every time there is a difficulty at work, every time there is a difficulty in relationships. Every time there is a difficulty with my sustenance, with everything we can imagine. You think that I must be doing something wrong and I’m going to begin to complain about of all these difficulties. Awliyaullah (saints) come into our life and say, no, no, no, be careful. This is the struggle. This is the imtihan. These are the testing God is sending. If He makes a runway, straight into your grave, there is not a single difficulty.
Everything came with ease, you achieve nothing in this world and their was no rank in your paradise. Because you started, you got your football and you ran to the touchdown. There was no difficulty. That’s not a soul in which God has blessed. That’s a different understanding of what is going to happen. So we don’t look left, we don’t look right, at all these people who look like they’re achieving so much. They’re going all over the world, they seem to be at peace, and everything seems to be fantastic. No, as a matter of fact, it is not. There is a deal with the devil that hasn’t been described.
Endurance Through Tests
But for the paradise reality, the paradise reality is as soon as there is a stretch that looks like it is clear, Allah (AJ) will inspire the angels to begin to put obstacles. Because, ‘I want to see this servant of Mine, how they interact with each obstacle.’ Do they lose their faith as soon as their check is cut? Do they lose their character as soon as somebody argues and yells with them? Do they lose everything about what God wanted to grant to that soul of His heavenly kingdom – not the barn? It is not the heavenly barn, that’s a different class. This class about the heavenly kingdom. Kings and queens and majesty, ‘I want to give you all of these realities of paradise. I begin to test you in this world.’ Every difficulty that counts, God is watching to see the good character. Why do you lose faith? You struggle, struggle, victory is coming your way!
The Secret of True Victory
So what they’re teaching, they’re reminding us don’t focus on the, ringing doorbell [shaykh mentions a ringing in congregation]. That was a sign. ‘See! He is right, he is right – ding-ding-ding-ding.’ Don’t focus on the victory, don’t look at everything as hard, everything is wrong, everything is bad. It is meant to be that way if God loves you. It meant to be, everything to be testing, if God loves you. Everything to be an obstacle in your path if God loves you. We said on the way driving here, we have a character in our understanding and in our history, Asadullah al-Ghalib, the Victorious Lion of Allah (AJ), Imam Ali (as). Victorious Lion of Allah (AJ) but he never saw anything but difficulty. Victory wasn’t that all the world’s riches were dumped on his presence and at his feet. But he lived a life of continuous difficulty. His children lived a life of difficulty and Allah’s (AJ) title for Imam Ali (as) was the ‘Victorious Lion.’
Tariqah (Spiritual Path) is the School of Struggle and Patience
So they come to inspire within our lives, that this life is about the struggle. How are you going to act, what your character is going to be? What type of beatific fragrance will be released or sour and bitter flavor that comes from people? Because you really don’t know somebody until you squeeze them. One little test from the shaykh, he’ll squeeze you a little bit, oh, so much bad character comes out. That the smell that the seven heavens can’t take from what is coming from the heart. That’s why it is a school of manners. To remind if you wanted something from the heavens, especially if you came in contact with these shaykhs immediately you’re enrolled in a school. Whether you knew it or not, so you can’t even run out now. Because God already inspired you to be in that school. You’re just not here by any coincidence, you’ve been enrolled. You wanted it or not, whatever cleverness was inspired within your heart, ‘Go sit with them.’ Even, ‘I’m coming just to investigate the food. I’m a food critic tonight,’ you’re in it too.
The Path of Patience and Good Character
Then the teaching comes to teach on your life path because you may be just passing for one day on your caravan and going on your journey. The teaching for this one day, today, was: ‘This life was about the struggle.’ This life is not about your ease. If you found them and all the sudden you found everything in your life is a struggle, so you’re on “tawasaw bil haqqi wa tawasaw bis Sabr.” Allah (AJ) describes in Surah Al-Asr, “tawasaw bil haqqi” your way of haq (truth) is based on sabr (patience).
(٣) إِلَّا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا وَعَمِلُوا الصَّالِحَاتِ وَتَوَاصَوْا بِالْحَقِّ وَتَوَاصَوْا بِالصَّبْرِ
103:3 – “Illal ladheena aamano wa ‘amilos saalihaati, wa tawasaw bil haqqi wa tawasaw bis Sabr. (3)” (Surat Al-‘Asr)
“Except for those who have believed and done righteous deeds and advised each other to truth and advised each other to patience. (3)” (The Declining Day, 103:1-3)
Why Allah (AJ) would say that your way of truth is based on sabr? If you’re going to be on a path of truth, you better believe that path is up and rocks are flying in every direction. God says be patient, al-sabireen. Because if you’re patient, you exhibit all good characteristic.
Impatient, you become angry. Impatient, you become yelling. Impatient, you think I’m going to leave, or run and get on some other boat. I don’t need this boat. What Sayyidina Yunus (as) happened, when he jumped off his boat? Allah (AJ) sent a whale to eat him.
وَإِنَّ يُونُسَ لَمِنَ الْمُرْسَلِينَ ﴿١٣٩﴾ إِذْ أَبَقَ إِلَى الْفُلْكِ الْمَشْحُونِ ﴿١٤٠﴾ فَسَاهَمَ فَكَانَ مِنَ الْمُدْحَضِينَ ﴿١٤١﴾ فَالْتَقَمَهُ الْحُوتُ وَهُوَ مُلِيمٌ ﴿١٤٢﴾
37:139-142 – “Wa inna Yonusa laminal mursaleen (139) Iz abaqa ilal fulkil mashhoon (140) Fasaahama fakaana minal mudhadeen (141) Faltaqamahul hootu wa huwa muleem (142)” (Surat As-Saffat)
“And indeed Jonah was among the messengers. (139) When he ran away to the loaded ship (140), He (agreed to) cast lots, and he was condemned: (141) Then the big Fish swallowed him, and he had done acts worthy of blame. (142)” (Those Who Set the Ranks, 37:139-142)
So, ‘Not only are you not going to have a boat any more, I’m going to bring a fish to eat you.’ Now do your seclusion inside the fish, when you could’ve done it on the land amongst the people. So means, there is no escaping from God’s will. It is only understanding God’s will that gives us clarity in life. That this path is going to be based on patience.
Finding Faults in Anything Reflects the Badness of Character
Then they [awliyaullah] come and say, ‘Sit with them because they’re going to teach you how to have patience by good character.’ By good character, ‘Okay. I’m convinced the things are difficult and they’re all coming around me in my life. I’m accepting shaykh what you’re saying. I want to have good character on my testing. I want to be as patient and as tolerant as possible through all these difficulties.’ Then they begin to teach if you’re accepting this way of haq is based on, this way of truth is based on patience, then learn the good manners from them. So this first step in good manners is that my children could walk into this room and find everything wrong with it. It doesn’t require a brain to do that. Not that my children don’t have brains, very smart. They may be watching.
Coming into a room, coming into an event in life, coming into a situation in life, sitting with somebody, anything we’re doing to find the problem is a no brainer. It is not that you’re zering and that you’re smart, you find problems. It is actually you have very bad character and you always find a problem in everything. That’s what takes away your sabr and you have no patience. They’re teaching now, the trick, there is a manual in which Allah (AJ) wrote everything. Says, ‘You want to be and achieve sabr because if Allah (AJ) dress you from sabr, He dresses you from all His names.’ All His beatific names, they dress the soul of the sabireen, of the servant who achieves sabr. Then he becomes from the Muhammadan dress – Mustafa ﷺ (The Chosen One ). Beatific and fragrant from sabr.
Training in Sabr: Seeing Good in Everything
So then they’re teaching, ‘You want sabr? Then train with them in good character.’ That they train their whole life, ‘Don’t find something wrong, but find something good in everything.’ Anyone can point out the bad. Anyone can find everything wrong with their life, with their family, their condition, their situation, their job, their boss, everything! It wasn’t about that. It was about identifying what was good in it. What was good, what was the benefit? I came into the room, the food was late, they started late, the speaker was too loud. Okay, my kids can do that, that’s not a genius.
But to come in and you, because these shaykhs will intentionally agitate and aggravate you. They know all your buttons. They know exactly what is going to agitate you and they may even say it. Not aggressive and hostile, they may say a word that you didn’t want to hear. They hit it and they hit the button now to see ding-ding-ding-ding like the jack in the box. The toy we used to have [shaykh makes a loud noise and acts as if the jack in box pops out]. They come out and attack you. So they want to see what the characteristic is. They want to train in the level of, ‘Don’t identify problems,’ anyone can do that. Try to identify something good. That ‘I went and it was so beautiful. The faces were so diverse. Who cares the food wasn’t on time, I’m not starving.’ This is not a food shelter. Outside you can get something else. Yah, it means, find the beauty in everything.
Through Patience and Trials, the Servant is Elevated by The Divine
When you can begin to train yourself to overlook the bad and only see the beautiful, then you are being raised by Allah (AJ). Allah (AJ) find good character in that servant. Look at Allah (AJ), He says ‘I feed the mumineen wal kafireen (believers and unbelievers), I feed those who worship Me and those whom come against Me and I feed them all equally. I love My creation equally. I made them all.’ So have that characteristic in which we try to find the good in every situation. Find the beauty in every situation. Every condition in which my Lord put me in, there must be a wisdom and a hikmah of why I’m in that situation. To find it is patience and it is resolution through that difficulty.
Then awliyaullah come and teach if you’re patient, through your testing and you exhibit a good character, this dress of sabr begins to move toward the servant. Dress their light, bless their light and Allah (AJ) inshaAllah dress them to become from sabireen (those with patience). If dress of sabireen come upon their soul, all Asma ul Husna (Names of Allah (AJ)) begin to dress them. Because that’s the key name of Allah (AJ) that open every manifestation. That’s why all pious people are extremely tested. They don’t live a life of ease. The whole understanding was they’re continuously bombarded, continuously bombarded, continuously backbitten, continuous in difficulty. It wasn’t about you see them on Facebook, when you know 50,000 people sitting under them and they’re just waving to everybody, ‘O’ my people! O’ my peoples, I love you.’
Struggle of Awliyaullah in the Way of Divine Satisfaction
Awliyaullah, Tazkiratul Awliya (Biographies of the Saints) read their lives, they were tortured, they were abused. Abu Hassan al-Kharaqani (Q), was so horribly tortured, they had hurt his family and put it at the door of his khaneqah (house of a Sufi master). He went straight in and he did his zikr (Divine remembrance). Their lives were a symbol of a struggle for Allah (AJ). The shaykh’s students are to accompany him on his struggle. That’s why they are accompanying. Every type of difficulty; you go somewhere the door is locked, you go somewhere somebody is backbiting. You go somewhere somebody is cursing you. You go here, you go there, so that Allah (AJ) can give you a darajah (spiritual rank). You accompany them, you’re with them, the difficulties come. Then they begin to teach you all the good characteristics. So that the imtihan comes, we pass the test and get the grade. We pray that God give us that grade, a good grade. Inspire us with goodness and good character, inshaAllah and forgive all our badness and bad character.
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: February 24, 2019
Related Articles:
- Gaining A Blessed Destiny Through Good Character
- Islam’s Message is Manners. There is No Spiritual Opening Without Good Character Q&A
- To Draw Near to Allah (AJ) By Patience and Testing
- What It Means When Everyone Starts Bothering You
Please Donate and support us to spread these heavenly knowledges by clicking the heart button below.
Copyright © 2025 Naqshbandi Islamic Center of Vancouver, All Rights Reserved.
