Man ponders over shaitan, his soul and his ego

Who Sits on Your Chair Determines Your Direction on the Spiritual Elevator

September 22, 2024 September 23, 2024

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

أَعُوذُ بِاللَّهِ مِنَ الشَّيطَانِ الرَّجِيمِ
بِسْمِ اللهِ الرَّحْمَنِ الرَّحِيمْ

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.

“A’uzu Billahi Minash shaitanir Rajeem Bismillahir Rahmanir Raheem. 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)

Who is Sitting on Your Chair?

Alhamdulillah, that Allah (AJ) granted us to enter into the holy month of Ramadan and give us the gift of fasting, the strength to fast. That we pray that Allah (AJ) let us to see the next Ramadan and to have the strength to fast and to have the good character in which to please Allah (AJ) and draw near to the presence of Sayyidina Muhammad ﷺ. Alhamdulillah, for all those who joined us on these 30 days and joined the live zikrs (Divine remembrance) and the live events and Allah (AJ) dress everyone, their families and the communities, inshaAllah.

The reality of veils and the movement through energy and the analogy and the way of teaching through these analogies so that people can remember and take the teaching in a way that can be used in everyday life. The reality of the nafs (ego) and shaitan (satan) and the soul in the example of three chairs. That anytime we’re interacting for us to quickly look to ourselves and ask that, ‘Who’s sitting on the chair now?’ When I get angry, who’s sitting on the chair? When I’m boastful and talk too much, who’s sitting on the chair? When facing through difficulty and keeping good character, who’s sitting upon that chair?

We Start in the Basement and Ascend to the Spiritual Penthouse

Another understanding in this way of energy and the movement through energy was like a building. That if our life is…because sometimes talking about going forward through veils may not be something somebody is understanding, but the analogy of a building may be easier for people. That our life is on this dunya (material world). It seems like we start at the basement because of the Nafs Ammara (Evil Self). That as soon as we become through the age of puberty and dunya gets hold of us, our characteristics, we come from the basement activity and all the wickedness and the badness of what happens within the basement of the building.

Our life is to build our energy and to elevate. When people begin to progress or they enter into the tariqahs (spiritual paths) and the promise of the tariqahs is that if you accompany the shaykhs, they’ll dress you from their floor. They’ll dress you from their reality. For us to always remember that as soon as we enter into the tariqahs and we begin the practices, we begin this way of tafakkur and contemplation. It’s like being sent upon the penthouse because tariqah and dunya and akhirah (hereafter) are in a reverse.

Ascend to Lofty Abodes As the World Descends Into Dunya Desires

When you see people of dunya (material world) occupy their penthouse, we said that the height of their dunya is in the pit of jahannam (hellfire) because of the activities that happen – the parties, the lifestyle. The whole demeanour is not of heavenly but it’s from jahannami, from the lower desires and the lower levels of reality. They look upon spiritual and religious people as if they’re the lowest but in reality, their life is inverted. That their spiritual paths are like skyscrapers of paradise.

It means Allah (AJ) described them like a lofty abode. It means their stations are high in Divinely Presence, in the world of light. People who enter into their associations as if their lives are being taken to those floors. On those floors, there’s not many humans left. It means that the human race has taken to a descent and not an ascension. Allah (AJ) describes, ‘Have you taken the ascension?’

﴾فَلَا اقْتَحَمَ الْعَقَبَةَ ﴿١١

90:11 – “Falaq tahamal-‘aqabah.” (Surat al Balad)

“But he has not attempted the Ascent.” (The City, 90:11)

This Path is One of Solitude, Not Loneliness

It means the way in which to raise oneself is less and less viable for people. It’s not a choice that they’re interested in nor are they willing to make the sacrifices to reach that abode. So, as we’re progressing in our spiritual path, for us to understand, it’s being placed in a spiritual high-rise. On those higher level floors, less and less humans are occupying but they’re not empty. Those floors are filled with spiritual beings from Budal, Nujab, Nuqab, Awtad, Akhyar, Ghawthun, the malaika (angels) wa jinn (unseen beings). All these different races of spirituality and different types of malaika, jinn, ens (human beings) and other creations that we are not familiar with, they occupy the higher floors.

The reason that people find that in their tariqah (spiritual path), they keep saying, ‘It seems to be a lonely path.’ That they come, they start doing practices. ‘Where are all the people?’ Awliyaullah (saints) have come and clarified that loneliness and solitude are two different realities.

Feel the Solitude of the Higher Floor You Reach

It means for the seeker whom is meditating, contemplating, feeling the energy of their practices, they begin to enjoy this higher level and higher floors. They feel the energy. They connect with the energy and they connect with all the higher beings. Their loneliness becomes a solitude. They don’t feel lonely although people are not around them because many dunya (material world) people can be surrounded by people, but they feel very lonely. You can be in the midst of a street on New York with thousands of people walking; if you stop, they’ll trample you but yet you feel extremely lonely because you’re lost in the crowd.

But the tariqah (spiritual path) tools that when you come, the shaykhs are training, teaching: make your connection. Build that connection. Build the connection to the unseen because those will be your companions. So, as you start to go to these higher floors, you feel the solitude of that floor. You feel the connection. You feel the energies. You feel the tranquility of being away from people and not to desire being with people. Our whole life is this battle.

Battle Your Nafs to Remain in the Heights of Spiritual Solitude

So, we’ll see with our families that we came. We came to the tariqah (spiritual path) as if somebody like these comedy shows gave you a ticket and now you all went to the penthouse. We’re all wondering, ‘How we got up there?’ That’s why the na’at (prophetic praising) is saying, ‘How I go to these high stations?’ People wondering how you got up there.

The reality of finding solitude, that finding contentment is in my practices. If my practices are strong, I feel the energy of these penthouse. I feel the spiritual beings all around. It becomes my tranquility. It becomes the safety of my abode. In dunya (material world) and our families, their whole desire is to leave the floor. So, Allah (AJ) describes that, ‘We gave you from the manna and the quail. We gave you from our Heavenly realities but you insisted upon garlic and onions’.

﴾وَظَلَّلْنَا عَلَيْكُمُ الْغَمَامَ وَأَنزَلْنَا عَلَيْكُمُ الْمَنَّ وَالسَّلْوَىٰ ۖ كُلُوا مِن طَيِّبَاتِ مَا رَزَقْنَاكُمْ ۖ وَمَا ظَلَمُونَا وَلَٰكِن كَانُوا أَنفُسَهُمْ يَظْلِمُونَ ﴿٥٧

وَإِذْ قُلْتُمْ يَا مُوسَىٰ لَن نَّصْبِرَ عَلَىٰ طَعَامٍ وَاحِدٍ فَادْعُ لَنَا رَبَّكَ يُخْرِجْ لَنَا مِمَّا تُنبِتُ الْأَرْضُ مِن بَقْلِهَا وَقِثَّائِهَا وَفُومِهَا وَعَدَسِهَا وَبَصَلِهَا ۖ قَالَ أَتَسْتَبْدِلُونَ الَّذِي هُوَ أَدْنَىٰ بِالَّذِي هُوَ خَيْرٌ ۚ اهْبِطُوا مِصْرًا فَإِنَّ لَكُم مَّا سَأَلْتُمْ ۗ وَضُرِبَتْ عَلَيْهِمُ الذِّلَّةُ وَالْمَسْكَنَةُ وَبَاءُوا ﴿٦١﴾بِغَضَبٍ مِّنَ اللَّهِ ۗ ذَٰلِكَ بِأَنَّهُمْ كَانُوا يَكْفُرُونَ بِآيَاتِ اللَّهِ وَيَقْتُلُونَ النَّبِيِّينَ بِغَيْرِ الْحَقِّ ۗ ذَٰلِكَ بِمَا عَصَوا وَّكَانُوا يَعْتَدُونَ ‎‎

2:57, 61 – “Wa zallalnaa ‘alaikumul ghamaama wa anzalnaa ‘alaikumul Manna was Salwaa kuloo min taiyibaati maa razaqnaakum wa maa zalamoonaa wa laakin kaanooo anfusahum yazlimoon (57) Wa iz qultum yaa Moosaa lan nasbira ‘alaa ta’aaminw waahidin fad’u lanaa rabbaka yukhrij lanaa mimmaa tumbitul ardu mimbaqlihaa wa qis saaa’ihaa wa foomihaa wa ‘adasihaa wa basalihaa qaala atastabdiloonal lazee huwa adnaa billazee huwa khayr; ihbitoo misran fa inna lakum maa sa altum; wa duribat ‘alaihimuz zillatu walmaskanatu wa baaa’oo bighadabim minal laah; zaalika bi annahum kaano yakfuroona bi aayaatil laahi wa yaqtuloonan Nabiyyeena bighairil haqq; zaalika bimaa ‘asaw wa kaanoo ya’tadoon (61)” (Surah al-Baqarah)

“And We shaded you with clouds and sent down to you manna and quails, [saying], “Eat from the good things with which We have provided you.” And they wronged Us not – but they were [only] wronging themselves. (57) And [recall] when you said, “O Moses, we can never endure one [kind of] food. So call upon your Lord to bring forth for us from the earth its green herbs and its cucumbers and its garlic and its lentils and its onions.” [Moses] said, “Would you exchange what is better for what is less? Go into [any] settlement and indeed, you will have what you have asked.” And they were covered with humiliation and poverty and returned with anger from Allah [upon them]. That was because they [repeatedly] disbelieved in the signs of Allah and killed the prophets without right. That was because they disobeyed and were [habitually] transgressing. (61)” (The Cow, 2:57,61)

It means you wanted to leave your floor and the whole battle within the household and within ourselves because you may take your family to these high floors because you came to the tariqah. The battle will be to keep them on that floor because each one’s nafs (ego) begins to kick in and say, ‘No, you don’t know. This is very lonely.’ It’s not lonely. This floor is not occupied by too many humans. Their whole desire is to take the elevator and go down.

Fight to Resist Shaitan and Your Nafs to Remain On Higher Spiritual Floors

Shaitan‘s whole interest is to whisper to everybody in that house, ‘Get on the elevator and go down. There’s a party down there. There’s so many things happening down there. There’s so much excitement down there.’ Every day, people are having to move down, go down. When we understand that our practices and our allegiance and what we’ve accepted from what Allah (AJ) has guided to us on the path of realities, that we want to stay at these high levels, the nafs (ego) is continuously pushing to go down to the lower level. No one on the lower level can come up.

So the shaitans, they can’t come up. Bad people, they can’t come up. So, what shaitan then wants from us? ‘Go down. Get on the elevator, go down. I have people waiting for you.’ We said it before even in their songs, they say, ‘Oh, we’ve been waiting for you.’ Why? Because they can’t come up. So, everyone’s household is under battle to get in the elevator. They don’t want to come for zikr. Now you’ll see in daily life, this is the battle of the elevator. They don’t want to come to zikr and this say, ‘Oh,’ they excuse, ‘I don’t want to be there with them.’ But then watch at home if that’s the case. They don’t watch at home either because something whispering to them, ‘Go down. Get off this floor. You’re missing out on something’.

Maintain Your Spiritual Elevation Amid Life’s Temptations

Our whole life is about everybody battling to leave the floor, leave the penthouse and people saying, ‘I don’t want to go for zikr.’ That they use as an excuse, they don’t even want to listen to it live. Then the people whom are at home who always watching live, they find less and less or more and more struggle to watch, to do the practices, to do what’s needed to feel the energy of your floor and where Allah (AJ) has placed you. If we don’t do that, we don’t understand where Allah (AJ) has placed us. The whole path then is understood by shaitan (satan) convincing everyone, ‘Get in the elevator. Get in the elevator of life and go down. Go to the lower floors for so much excitement awaits you. People await you. All sorts of temptations await you’.

Anybody whom is progressing on their spiritual path, they have to go down for their work. They have to get on that elevator to visit relatives, peoples, communities. They understood that as soon as they go, they have become loaded with energies, with grief, with all the negativities of people. They do it as their khidmat (service), but as a result, they find solace when they go back up into their floor. That’s the system in which Allah (AJ) has designed of realities.

Find Solitude and Spiritual Energy in the Penthouse of Realities

Because the people of realities, they don’t belong in this abode. They merely exist for their service to Allah (AJ). They find solitude in being alone because they’re not alone. Allah (AJ) has surrounded them by spiritual energies and spiritual beings and spiritual realities and that becomes the immensity. So, when we have this analogy in our life because it summarizes many spiritual terms; just like the three chairs because when people want to argue, ‘Oh no…like this’. Say, ‘Who’s sitting on your chair?’

Very quick, the person can say, ‘Okay, I know I feel like shaitan is sitting on the chair right now’. The same for our life is that I got you to a penthouse. Now what are you going to do on this penthouse to appreciate it? You have to meditate. You have to do spiritual practice so then you feel, ‘Oh my God, there’s so much energy up here’ and then I feel good with this energy.

Recharge in the Heavenly Penthouse Amid Fewer Human Connections

Okay, well we have to go down to visit relatives now. So. you go down. You interact with people to the level that you have to but as a solace and a happiness, you feel happy to go back. That back into your energy, back into the comfort of the energy field in which you’ve developed. You recharge your reality because that residence and that reality is a heavenly reality, a heavenly abode which has fewer and fewer humans on it. It means that at that level, they find less human people whom have that same spirituality in which they want to gather and talk realities.

They can even be in the zikr. They’re sitting and they’re chatting and gossiping as I’m speaking. They’re choosing to – even in the middle of the penthouse – go down. So, it means that they become fewer and fewer humans that you’ll find at that level. That’s why they turn around and keep saying, ‘It’s so lonely. It’s like there’s nobody around this. I feel like all my connections have dropped.’ Say, ‘No, you’re on such a high level. There are fewer humans on this level.’

Few Seek the Heavenly Path As the World Descends Into Lower Desires

There are fewer people willing to purify themself, cleanse themself so that when they gather, they talk about Allah (AJ) and talk about Sayyidina Muhammad ﷺ, talk about haqqaiqs (real). Those become fewer. Allah (AJ) described in Bani Israel, ‘I’m giving you from the heavenly foods’. (Holy Qur’an, 2:57) They say, ‘No, can we have some onion and garlic? It means we want to dig from the Earth. We don’t want what You’re giving us from heaven’. (Holy Qur’an, 2:61) Instead of coming to an association and listening the talks of the shaykh, people will sit and want to gossip about people, talk rubbish and nonsense. They find happiness in that and they don’t find that to be heavy.

More and more children want to get in the elevator and go down. As they go down, their energy is dropping. Their characteristics are dropping and the characteristic is no longer from the lofty stations because as you go down the elevator, your demeanour, your character and everything about you will have to change because they don’t like heavenly people down there. They like people whom their orientation is confused. Their images are modified and changed and that becomes our whole struggle.

Find Solace in the Heavenly Penthouse Amid Shaitan’s Temptations

It’s how to keep yourself in the penthouse suite from paradise, how to find the solace and the happiness with your practices and all the spiritual beings that Allah (AJ) has surrounded you with and how to avoid shaitan‘s temptation, ‘Come down to us’. By means of his music, his movies, his talks, his every type of energy that he’s putting is to call people to the lower floor, ‘Come on down’. It means then you have to make a conscious effort to get on that elevator and to keep going down into places where you don’t belong and to be around people whom you don’t belong and to have discussions that you shouldn’t be partaking in.

Those whom do that for family ties and then they find a happiness to quickly go back home, wash and clean themselves. Others whom actually find the comfort of going down and gossiping and talking bad and all of the activities of the lower floors and the lower people of the lower desires. That becomes the understanding of this analogy tonight. It’s instead of people trying to you think you know how high they are and what type of station they reached by virtue of being somewhere or watching for years. It’s a matter of where Allah (AJ) placed you. Are you able to feel the energy and find your patience in your solace and your happiness in your solace? That I’m not alone. Although nobody’s around me, but I’m surrounded by energies and the dress of Divinely grace and with that, I find much comfort.

Resist Shaitan’s Pull and Conduct Oneself With the Highest Manners

I recognize how shaitan (satan) is trying to pull me out and down and that becomes my struggle. That can be anywhere because there are people whom can enter to a zawiyah (spiritual school of Sufism) but they do none of the activities of the zawiyah. They sit and they gossip. We talked about before that there are pickpocketers in the Haram. If you’re going to do a crime on the street, it’s one sin. If you come to Haramain and you want to sin, it’s one million sins. It means the zawiyah of the shaykh is a haramain. You’re coming with prophetic light. You’re coming with the tajalli (manifestation) of awliyaullah (saints) to learn. Once you make your living room the haramain because as soon as the zikr night starts, the angels circumambulate your living room all the way to the throne of Ar-Rahman (The Most Compassionate).

It means then what happens when that zikr starts? It means then Allah (AJ) writing goodness and blessings and all of these good realities from the paradise people and the people of the lofty abode. It’s hard to say penthouse because so many nasty people do nasty things. But from the paradise abodes that their homes are within the pinnacles of heaven. Then they conduct themselves from the highest levels of reality, highest manners. They came to be dressed by the lights. They came to abstain from nonsense conversation. They came to stop gossiping, stop backbiting.

Uphold the Best Conduct in the Zikr and At Home as a Sacred Space

It’s like being a crook on hajj (pilgrimage). You saw them when you go for hajj; see people pickpocketing people. What this guy came all the places he could steal, he came here to steal? Because shaitan (satan) is strong in the person. The same is the conduct when we’re at home listening to the zikr say, ‘This is the haramain now.’ This is the abode of no haram (forbidden) that Allah (AJ) dress me. I keep myself with the best of manners, best of conduct especially the zawiyahs of the shaykhs. They come with the best of conduct. Allah (AJ) is watching, Prophet ﷺ watching, awliyaullah (saints) watching.

They come to be of service, to clean, to do their part, to come, to listen, to learn knowledges and definitely not to backbite, not to talk, not to gossip; to keep the practices and the way that the tariqah (spiritual path) is teaching at least for those few hours.

Lead By Example to Keep Your Children On the Path

Then for the families that will have trouble because this is the immense force of life. Don’t think that when your children are small, everything is great. That’s just the foundation that you give to them but by now it’s almost by 10 to 11 years old, Mawlana Shaykh (Q) says 12. By 12, the bad character has set in. It means when you’re not around, they keep wanting to press the elevator to go down. So, if you understand this analogy, they don’t have to really go down. Anytime they press that button to go down, they’re clicking on something inappropriate, listening to something inappropriate, watching something inappropriate. They don’t do as you say, but they do as you do. When they see that the parent is not respecting the tariqah (spiritual path), not respecting the talks, then they think the whole process is nothing to be respected.

So when shaitan (satan) whispers to them, they quickly press the down button. They don’t find any holiness in it or they have no sanctity in the way of it. So, they don’t do as we say. They do as we do. When they see the righteousness of character by the example of the parent that they sit, they meditate, they do their practices, they believe in what they’re being taught. Then like we said before, with the children’s love, they also believe. They also keep quiet.

Guide Children By Example to Instill Good Character

You see the parent with the good adab (manners), the child next to that parent will tell other people, ‘Sssh, Shaykh’s talking’ because the child saw the manners of the parent and understood that. But when the parent is gossiping and talking, the kid is also talking because their concept is, ‘Who cares what this guy is saying? He’s nothing to us’. Say, ‘No, but my lips say no. He’s the shaykh. He’s something for us.’ But your actions say, ‘No, he’s absolutely nothing for us because as he talks, I love to talk to other people and gossip because what he has to say is of no importance.’ The children, they do exactly the same. Those are the same children talking, gossiping.

It means our way is a fight against that button. If we don’t do by our own example, that battle is already lost because even those with all their example, shaitan (satan) is fiercely attacking their families and each one now pressing button, pressing buttons. Each time they press the button, they’re entering into more and more difficulties, more and more bad characteristics. In one of those buttons that they press, they’ll no longer be allowed up and that becomes the difficulty of life. They begin to orient themself in different directions, different characters and different acquaintances because on one of those buttons, if they go down, they may meet the wrong agent of shaitan which changes their whole life’s directions.

Battle to Stay on Lofty Spiritual Floors

So, it’s a fierce battle. It’s a fierce battle to have good character, to find the energy that Allah (AJ) gave to us, to keep it, to manifest it so that I find my comfort in being alone because I’m not alone. I’m surrounded by the love that Allah (AJ) has given to me. My sustenance and food is the deliverance of these talks. I said this is the way that we were raised. When the shaykhs would talk, the vibration and energies that would come out – that was our sustenance for the day, for the week. We were lucky if it came out once a week. With that, we sustained ourself with all the knowledges and tajallis (manifestations) and throughout the week – building the connection, building the connection. But life has become much more harder.

We pray that Allah (AJ) give us a greater understanding and people to reflect not to quickly go next, next subject but to reflect how to keep ourself at these lofty stations, how to find the energy and where Allah (AJ) surrounded us and less and less humans are on these floors; how to avoid pushing our button to go down floors and the pushing of down on these floors is everything that’s available to us. Every social media, every electronic device, every gossip, every whisper, everything is geared to press and go down a floor, take your energy down a level. Because every time you go down, there’s a different shaitan (satan) waiting to greet you.

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: 20^th April, 2023

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