Your Success Depends on Your Good Character

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)

Safar Carries the 18th Ismullah: Al Fattah, 18th Ismur Rasul: Rasul ur Rahmah

Alhamdulillah, for the holy month of Safar, inshaAllah, Safar khayr. What we have then when we go to the month, the app is one…few days behind maybe, a day behind. Go for the month of Safar is the reality of 18 – the 9 and the second lunar month and the name of Prophet ﷺ: Rasul ur Rahmah, the prophet of mercy. The 18th name of Allah (AJ): Al-Fattah, The Opening. So, alhamdulillah, this is the opening of rahmah (mercy).

This Month Emphasizes the Importance of Running to the Cave of Safety

The 18th surah (chapter) is Surat Al Kahf. The Companions of the Cave and the immense importance of running to the cave of safety, the realities of “A’uzu billah” and the reality of the heart of Sayyidina Muhammad ﷺ.

So, alhamdulillah, that Allah (AJ) dress us by the immensity of this holy month and under Nurul Muhammadi ﷺ (light of Prophet Muhammad ﷺ), the light in which Prophet ﷺ is eternally being dressed by Allah (AJ). That zikr and that praise “Subhana man huwa ’Alimul Hakim, Subhana man ’Alimul Hakim” – ‘Glory be to the All-Knowing and the Wise.

سُبْحَانَ الْعَلِيْمُ الْحَكِيمْ

“Subhanal ’Alimul Hakim”

“Glory be to the All-Knowing, the Wise” 

Remember Sultanul Awliya Abu Ahmad as-Sughuri (Q) in Holy Month

So, ilm and hikmah, knowledge and wisdom, is a gift that Allah (AJ) to dress as a reality upon the soul of Sayyidina Muhammad ﷺ and the reality of this holy month. The pardeh (veil) is, I believe, the pardeh of haybah (majestic power). This have here on this handout ‘grandeur’ and because of the tajalli (manifestation) of the month and the realities of entering the cave, the realities of knowledge and wisdom that it has a heavy tajalli of haybah and majestic might.

InshaAllah, Allah (AJ) dress the souls from the immensity of that reality and from Naqshbandiya secrets, asking Sayyidina Abu Ahmad as-Sughuri (Q) from the Naqshbandi silsila (spiritual lineage) to help us in that haybah and in that majestic dress of Allah (AJ) and to reduce so that to the ability of our ability to carry that dress and not to be overwhelming and too much for people that it would cause difficulty. So, always remember Sayyidina Sultanul Awliya (king of saints) Abu Ahmad as-Sughuri (Q) like they just recited, Qaddas Allahu sirru. That we give water for their sake, we recite Surah Fatiha for their sake, give food in their name. That their nazar (gaze) and his holy nazar be upon us, our families, our loved ones, our community in this holy month to achieve what Allah (AJ) wants us to achieve so that the tajalli of haybah and majesty to be sufficiently dressed upon us and not overwhelm the person and insan (mankind).

Your Testings are Opportunities for Growth

This is the month of the cave. Alhamdulillah, that the reminder for myself is that it’s not a easy path. So, all of the teachings are real and it’s not a philosophy. That when they teach these testings, these adabs and manners, it’s real. That it’s going to occur in our life and these are opportunities for growth. These are opportunities for Allah (AJ) to dress us from His gifts. Without the testing, there’s no dressing.

So, this is Allah’s (AJ) blessing to give His servants emtehan and tests so that to dress them. Just a simple reminder because of this month, the Companions of the Cave, that when they followed their leadership and the king of that time decided that not only would he be the authority, but he would call himself divine. That a human would be divine and god and fitna (confusion) of all of this understanding which is now upon the Earth.

Allah (AJ) Begets Not, Nor Has He Begotten (Holy Qur’an, 18:4-5)

They’re awaiting a man who calls himself god. They say that he’s god coming and all the same fitna, same characteristics, same ideology. That anytime you call a man divine and godly as if he is Allah (AJ), astaghfirullah (I seek forgiveness from Allah (AJ)), making a shirk (polytheism) and Allah (AJ), in the beginning of Surat Al Kahf, describes that. That don’t attribute children to the Creator. That He begets not, nor has He begotten. He doesn’t have progeny and He doesn’t sire birth. He doesn’t give birth to children. This is not something small, but Allah (AJ) says, ‘This is enormous’. So, this is an enormous battle against the Divine. It’s not something small.

وَيُنذِرَ الَّذِينَ قَالُوا اتَّخَذَ اللَّهُ وَلَدًا ﴿٤﴾‏ مَّا لَهُم بِهِ مِنْ عِلْمٍ وَلَا لِآبَائِهِمْ ۚ كَبُرَتْ كَلِمَةً تَخْرُجُ مِنْ أَفْوَاهِهِمْ ۚ إِن يَقُولُونَ إِلَّا كَذِبًا ﴿٥﴾‏

18:4-5 – “Wa yunziral lazeena qaalut takhazal laahu waladaa (4) Maa lahum bihee min ‘ilminw wa laa li aabaaa’ihim; kaburat kalimatan takhruju min afwaahihim; iny yaqooloona illaa kazibaa (5)” (Surat Al Kahf)

“Further, that He may warn those (also) who say, “Allah hath begotten a son”: No knowledge have they of such a thing, nor had their fathers. It is a grievous thing that issues from their mouths as a saying what they say is nothing but falsehood!” (The Cave, 18:4-5)

Ashab ul Kahf Had Leadership That Attributed Themselves to God Much Like We Do Today

So, this type of mentality that has now resurfaced on this Earth, that people went from being prophets and described as prophets. That they described now as a creator and god himself inpersonating. So, this is the same situation that happened for Ashab ul Kahf (Companions of the Cave) is happening now upon the dunya (material world). Allah (AJ) describes that they took off, ran. They ran to seek a shelter, seeking Allah’s (AJ) rahmah and mercy.

But before we go into the whole situation of the cave, a reminder was for myself is that they were accompanied by a dog. Their loyal and faithful dog was following them. They thought that the dog would give them away. As a result, we’ve said many years and this is always an interesting reminder because we don’t really think that this will happen to ourselves in life. It’s that they threw rocks at the dog, that, ‘Shoo, go away, go away.’ Throw rocks, ‘Go away, go away. That you’ll give us away’.

Allah (AJ) Sent a Loyal Dog to Serve the Ashab ul Kahf

They threw for so many times until Allah (AJ) gave the dog an ability in which the dog was not leaving and persistent and following and accompanying these Sleepers of the Cave and Sleepers of this reality. Allah (AJ) gave the dog a tongue in which it, at that time, stood up and said that, ‘I will not stop following you and that I will be of service to you. That I will serve the Creator by serving you’.

This was a big reality for tariqahs (spiritual paths) because it’s not easy to listen to suhbahs (discourses) and think that you’re going to be Ashab ul Kahf because people, if they’re right-minded and logical, they would understand that that’s a very high station. That’s not something easy to achieve.

Through Your Struggle, This Way Builds You With Patience and Good Character

But what Allah (AJ) gave for us is that a dog that’s not necessarily the most exciting animal that one could wish for to be. Allah (AJ) gives and says, ‘No, this dog, by being loyal, achieved immense stations’ because later, when we go into Ashab ul Kahf, the dog was guarding the gateway. If anyone who came to approach, the mere side of the dog because this is the month of haybah (majestic power), so all of these are like beads in a tasbih (prayer beads) that come together. That the persistence of the dog and every rock that came to the dog gave a dress to the dog and what was the dress, was the haybah of this month.

What Prophet ﷺ received of haybah in this holy month, this is a tajalli (manifestation) that will be inherited to creation if they become patient and persevere through difficulty. So, this is the way of sabireen (patient people). This is the way of the people of kholoq and good character. That the dog had every right to attack them. So, he could have shown an identity. Imagine if you throw a dog at…a rock at a dog, at your neighbour’s dog, most likely he will jump the fence and come after you. So, that’s not the dog that you want to be in a cave with.

The Loyal Dog Had Immense Haybah With a Peaceful Tranquility

So, it shows also something that when you test somebody, you see that, ‘This is not the character I would want to be in a cave with because this person going to eat me. This dog, this creature is going to attack me’. That’s what Allah (AJ) wanted to show on every side. The Sleepers, that, ‘Don’t worry. Look how you’re throwing rocks. This creature has no intention of eating you in your sleep. It has an aramish. It has a peaceful tranquil reality towards you.

At the same time, Allah (AJ) described it later in his service to the cave, has haybah. That anyone just approach near the cave, it was like a lion. That they were immensely fearful and would run away.

﴾وَتَحْسَبُهُمْ أَيْقَاظًا وَهُمْ رُقُودٌ ۚ وَنُقَلِّبُهُمْ ذَاتَ الْيَمِينِ وَذَاتَ الشِّمَالِ ۖ وَكَلْبُهُم بَاسِطٌ ذِرَاعَيْهِ بِالْوَصِيدِ ۚ لَوِ اطَّلَعْتَ عَلَيْهِمْ لَوَلَّيْتَ مِنْهُمْ فِرَارًا وَلَمُلِئْتَ مِنْهُمْ رُعْبًا ﴿١٨

18:18 – “Wa tahsabuhum ayqaazanw wa hum ruqood; wa nuqallibuhum zaatal yameeni wa zaatash shimaali wa kalbuhum baasitun ziraa’ayhi bilwaseed; lawit tala’ta ‘alaihim la wallaita minhum firaaranw wa lamuli’ta minhum rubaa.” (Surat Al-Kahf)

“Thou wouldst have deemed them awake, whilst they were asleep, and We turned them on their right and on their left sides: their dog stretching forth his two fore-legs on the threshold: if thou hadst come up on to them, thou wouldst have certainly turned back from them in flight, and wouldst certainly have been filled with terror of them.” (The Cave, 18:18)

You Can Be Forgiven and Receive Blessings When You Sit Five Minutes in a Zikr Association

So, we can only imagine when Allah (AJ) is describing haybah and majesty, how terrifying it must have been for people. Just the thought of, ‘Oh, if we go there, that’s terrifying. No way are we going to go there.’ That was only from rocks. So, it means that Allah (AJ) gives to the servant that they don’t have to be very high station people, but anybody – anybody – has a way towards this reality.

It doesn’t matter where they come from, what background they come from, like the people who sat in the zikr (Divine remembrance) for just five minutes and received all the blessings of the holy Hadith.

عَنْ أَبِي هُرَيْرَةَ رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُ عَنْ النَّبِيِّ ﷺ قَالَ: إِنَّ لِلَّهِ تَبَارَكَ وَتَعَالَى مَلَائِكَةً سَيَّارَةً فُضُلًا يَتَبَّعُونَ مَجَالِسَ الذِّكْرِ. فَإِذَا وَجَدُوا مَجْلِسًا فِيهِ ذِكْرٌ، قَعَدُوا مَعَهُمْ، وَحَفَّ بَعْضُهُمْ بَعْضًا بِأَجْنِحَتِهِمْ، حَتَّى يَمْلَئُوا مَا بَيْنَهُمْ وَبَيْنَ السَّمَاءِ الدُّنْيَا. فَإِذَا تَفَرَّقُوا عَرَجُوا وَصَعِدُوا إِلَى السَّمَاءِ. 
قَالَ: فَيَسْأَلُهُمْ اللَّهُ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ وَهُوَ أَعْلَمُ بِهِمْ: مِنْ أَيْنَ جِئْتُمْ؟ فَيَقُولُونَ: جِئْنَا مِنْ عِنْدِ عِبَادٍ لَكَ فِي الْأَرْضِ، يُسَبِّحُونَكَ وَيُكَبِّرُونَكَ وَيُهَلِّلُونَكَ وَيَحْمَدُونَكَ وَيَسْأَلُونَكَ. قَالَ فَيَقُولُ: قَدْ غَفَرْتُ لَهُمْ فَأَعْطَيْتُهُمْ مَا سَأَلُوا وَأَجَرْتُهُمْ مِمَّا اسْتَجَارُوا.  
فَيَقُولُونَ: رَبِّ فِيهِمْ فُلَانٌ عَبْدٌ خَطَّاءٌ، إِنَّمَا مَرَّ فَجَلَسَ مَعَهُمْ. قَالَ: وَلَهُ غَفَرْتُ هُمْ الْقَوْمُ لَا يَشْقَى بِهِمْ جَلِيسُهُمْ]. 
[حدِيثْ اَلْقُدْسِي، صَحِيِحْ اَلْبُخَارِي ٦٤٠٨ صَحِيحْ مُسْلِم ٢٦٨٩] 

‘An Abi Hurayra (ra) ‘an an Nabiyi ﷺ qala: “Inna lillahi tabaraka wa ta’ala Malaayikatan sayyaratan fudulan, yatabba’una majaalisaz zikri. Fa iza wajadu majlisan fihi zikrun, qa’adu ma’ahum, wa haffa ba’dohum ba’dan bi ajnihatihim, hatta yamla’oo ma baynahum wa baynas samayid dunya. 
Fa iza tafarraqu ‘arajoo wa sa’idu ilas samaa.  
Qala: fayas aluhum Allah ‘azza wa jalla, wa huwa a’lamu bihim: “min ayna jeytum?” 
Fayaquluna “jeyna min ‘ind ‘ibadin laka fil ardi, yusabbihunaka, wa yukabbirunaka, wa yuhallilunaka, wa yahmadunaka wa yas alunaka”. 
Qala: fayaqulu: “qad ghafartu lahum fa a’ataytohum maa sa’aloo, wa ajartohum mimma astajaroo.” 
Fayaquluna: “Rabbi fihim fulanon ‘abdun khatta’un, innama marra fa jalasa ma’ahum.” Qala: “wa lahu ghafartu hum al qawmu la yashqa bihim jalisohum.” [Hadith Qudsi, Sahih al Bukhari 6408, Sahih Muslim 2689] 

Abu Huraira (ra) narrated: The Prophet (pbuh) said, “Verily, Allah, the Owner of blessings and Exalted, Has angels who roam the earth, seeking gatherings of Divinely remembrance. When they find such gatherings in which there is remembrance (of Allah (AJ), they join them and form a circle with their wings around the gathering that extends all the way to the first heaven… 
Allah Almighty and Sublime asks them, although He Knows everything: “From where have you come?” They respond: “We came from Your servants on earth, who glorify You, proclaim Your Greatness and Oneness, praise You, and ask from You”. Allah (AJ) says: “I have forgiven them and granted them what they have asked for, and I have given them protection from what they sought safety from.” 
They say: “Our Lord, there is one among them, a servant who made mistakes. He happened to pass by and sat with them.” Allah (AJ) says: “And for him, I have granted forgiveness as well. Those people (of zikr) are such that anyone who sits with them shall not be deprived of blessings. ” [Hadith Qudsi – Authentic by al Bukhari 6408, and Muslim 2689] 

Be Like the Humble Dog and Don’t Attack Your Master

This is the immensity of God’s rahmah and mercy, but all that He asks of us is this good character. So, that tariqah is built on this foundation. Why? Because you’re not trying to find students who are going to be Ashab ul Kahf. The shaykh’s not looking for fellow shaykhs. He’s not looking for competition in shaykhs, but he’s looking to gather people whom have good character. So, then Allah (AJ) throws rocks at them so that to show, ‘Look, if this one gets tested, they’re extremely dangerous’.

So, it means this is how we bring back every teaching. How do we use that now, right now, in our life? That’s the immensity of these stories. That this reality is based on manners. That anyone can achieve it. If the dog got in, everybody can get in. But we must have at least the character of the dog in which we are tame, that we are humble, that we don’t use our strength and our ability to attack our master and those whom we serve. That’s the reality of this path.

Allah (AJ) Raises You Higher When You Remain Quiet and Patient in Your Testing

As a result of every rock that comes in our direction – because everyone is a student on the path – whether you’re the teacher one day and next day to other people, you’re just a student because they’re attacking you. It never ends. There’s never a station you reach where nobody attacks you. Outside people will attack you, but you’re still required the same characteristic. That be patient, Allah (AJ) will raise you.

If they insult you, Allah (AJ) will raise you. If they took away your right, Allah (AJ) will raise you because you don’t want the rights from people. You don’t want to be right in the eyes of people. They can’t do anything for you. They can’t give you. They can’t enrich you and they can’t impoverish you. They can only say what they want to say, but in tawakkul (perfected trust in God) and complete reliance upon Allah (AJ) is only Allah (AJ).

Your Tests Hit You Hard, But are Filled With Divinely Essences

For if Allah’s (AJ) not happy with you, He can impoverish you in an instant; make you poor as poor can be. He can make you as sick as sick can be. He can take everything away. So, it means the only one to fear is Allah (AJ). That’s why they teach that to the student and for themselves. So, we have good character. We’ve been tested, inshaAllah, they test us. We try our best to always remember we’re being tested.

As a result, those tests, those difficulties that come, they’re like loaded flowers. They hit you hard, but they’re filled with beatific essences from Divinely Presence. It’s the only way to describe it. At that time, all you can think of is bitterness because severe testing has happened. All you can think of is bitterness, but as a result of these testings, Allah (AJ) raises darajat (stations), grants haybah, grants lights and blessings and everything that, that the students are interested in achieving.

The Shaykh is Caretaker of a Muhammadan Rose Garden

Allah’s (AJ) rida and satisfaction which all of that brings us to the nearness of Sayyidina Muhammad ﷺ. This is a real path. It means it happens at every single moment. Now imagine then, in our interaction, that the shaykh has a big garden of people. Those whom their life is a khidmat (service), it means there are people whom from outside they participate. There are people, who from outside, that the outside participate. They donate. That, in itself, is a huge khidmat because they provide the fuel for the entire engine to move.

Then there are people whom they actually do the services and the day-to-day. Either way, it’s like a garden. If anyone has traversed a rose garden because they are the Gul e Muhammadi ﷺ (Muhammadan flower). They’re the lovers of Sayyidina Muhammad ﷺ. Every garden has thorns. So, the manners is why they’re teaching.

Students of Shaykhs Have Many Thorns Because They’re Not Purified

So, people have to be clever. If we talk about rocks, they say, ‘Well, it wasn’t a rock’. Well, it doesn’t matter what it was because anytime you enter into these gardens and you deal with the students of the shaykhs, they’re like the roses. They have many thorns on them because they’re not purified. As a result of your interaction with each other, you’re going to get pricked. These thorns going to hit you. They’re going to cause difficulty and pain upon you like anyone going through.

It’s at that very moment that Prophet ﷺ is observing, that very moment because when Prophet ﷺ observes, now Allah (AJ) is observing because this is the holy Hadith, ‘I’ll be the seeing in which you see’.

عَنْ أَبِيِ هُرَيْرَةِ رَضِّيَّ اللهُ عَنْهُ قَالَ، قَالَ رَسُولُ اللهِ ﷺ : إِنَّ اللهَ تَعَالَىٰ قَالَ:”…وَلَا يَزَالُ عَبْدِي يَتَقَرَّبُ إلَيَّ بِالنَّوَافِلِ حَتَّى أُحِبَّهُ، فَإِذَا أَحْبَبْتُهُ كُنْت سَمْعَهُ الَّذِي يَسْمَعُ بِهِ، وَبَصَرَهُ الَّذِي يُبْصِرُ بِهِ،…” [حَدِيثْ اَلْقُدْسِي – صَحِيحْ الْبُخَارِي – رقم:٦٥٠٢]

‘An Abi Hurairah (ra) qala, Qala Rasulullahi ﷺ : InnAllaha ta’ala qala: “ …, wa la yazaalu ‘Abdi yataqarrabu ilayya bin nawafile hatta ahebahu, fa idha ahbabtuhu kunta Sam’ahul ladhi yasma’u behi, wa Basarahul ladhi yubsiru behi, …” [Hadith Qudsi, Sahih al Bukhari, Raqam: 6502)

Narrated by Abu Hurairah (ra) that: the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said that: Allah the Almighty said: “…My servant continues to draw near to Me with voluntary acts of worship so that I shall love him. When I love him, I am his hearing with which he hears, his seeing with which he sees…” [Holy Hadith, Authentic by al-Bukhari, # 6502]

What Will You Do When You’re Pricked By a Thorn?

Imagine if those eyes ﷺ got your attention, it means you went into the garden and now you drew blood. You hit a thorn and as a result of your hitting the thorn, your character comes out and all your actions start to come out. But they’re watching because you’re in their garden. That’s why the tariqah (spiritual path) is based on manners. This is the whole Ashab ul Kahf (Companions of the Cave). People say, ‘Oh, I wasn’t walking in the desert and somebody threw a rock at me’. It doesn’t have to be.

These are the analogies of being tested. The shaykh has a garden. Anybody who’s ever gone into a garden is going to be filled with thorns because the roses – beatific as they may be, fragrant as they may be – are filled with difficulties. It’s that very interaction that the shaykhs are teaching people, ‘Be careful, be careful. When you walk through this garden, remember the manners’. Then imagine you come into that garden and you start. Because you got a little bit of a prick on you, you start to tear down the flower, start to rip it apart and start to bang it around everywhere. Then you can see that’s probably not the best characteristic to have in a rose garden. Right?

Perfected Characters are Those Who Traverse the Garden

Our life was about the subtlety of our character and nature. If we go through this garden like a bulldozer, just plow everything down, we achieved nothing and we’re wasting our time. The adab (manners) of the tariqah is the very importance that they teach: be careful! In this garden, you may cut yourself. Your interaction with somebody may be very unpleasing to you. But these people serve and as a result, Allah (AJ) wanted that thing to be unpleasing to see what the characteristic would be.

It means that we have to know that we’re going to be tested. As a result of being tested, then the perfected characters are the ones whom traverse the garden. They get plucked. They get scraped. They get many different things and they remain quiet. Say, ‘Alhamdulillah! I got through a difficulty through these Muhammadan flowers. Alhamdulillah, by means of this difficulty, Allah (AJ) must have taken something away from me, taking difficulties away from me and raised me and granted me gifts and lights and blessings.’

Be Careful Not to Rip Up the Garden, But Remain Silent

Everything is under their observation. Any emtehan (test) that comes, we take to our hearts and ourselves and say, ‘Alhamdulillah, Allah (AJ) wanted to take away a difficulty.’ We remain silent about that. We don’t try to rip apart the garden. We don’t interact with other people about, ‘I got caught in that garden’. Because if I walk through the garden and I got cut and I want to now tell ten other people, ‘I just got cut on that flower,’ now you’re backbiting in that garden.

Again, now you brought very bad and bad characteristics into that garden. Because as you backbite, you’re now as if, again, you’re ripping apart the whole garden. The one who listens to it is as bad as the one whom is speaking it because the one listening loves gossip and wants to hear all bad things and that’s a bad characteristic. That if somebody talked about my shaykh, I probably would have beat them up.

Beware of Talking Bad or Complaining About Anything

So, I didn’t want to listen to anyone talking bad or complaining about anything. That was the teaching where we don’t want to be somebody who listens to bad because you won’t find a shortage of people who want to fill the ears with bad. It means the delicacy of the characters is so essential in this garden. We hear no bad, we see no bad and we speak no bad. Anybody who has a problem in that garden deals directly with [email protected]. That’s exactly why they created that.

Not so people backbite to each other because as soon as you talk about somebody saying, ‘I got hurt on that bush,’ you backbited them and you slandered them. Now you’re creating this immense fitna (confusion) within this garden. That’s not the adab (manners) of tariqah, especially this is the holy month of Safar and Allah (AJ) wants to give the dress of haybah (majestic power) and these beatific lights.

Remain Silent Instead of Complaining to the Ears and Eyes of Sayyidina Muhammad ﷺ

So, always a reminder for myself that this nothing, this nothing. In our training, we would actually go into association, somebody would call me a moron. Another person working in office would call me an idiot. Now I would go onto the internet, somebody would say this and somebody would say that. Your training was remain silent. We never, never in our life would dare to go and tell Mawlana (Q) anything and to give it and yell at him about this or verbally put out this about this.

It wasn’t a tariqah because this was a representative of the ears and the eyes of Sayyidina Muhammad ﷺ. So, it means we took it upon ourselves that, ‘Hey, what can we do?’ Be patient, be patient, be patient. As a result of at least attempting to have good manners, we got to where we had to get to. But in today’s world, everybody wants to immediately take their right and forget that they are in tariqah and say this and that.

You Can Listen to Teachings for 90 Years and Not Learn Anything

From every direction, this person say this and even the bearer of bad news before they would shoot. If you brought bad news to the king, most likely you would have gotten shot. Don’t be the one who brings any news or bad news to anyone. Everything has to always be pleasant. Everything has to be always filled with love and goodness and good character. It means these are the adabs (manners) of the reality of tariqah (spiritual path), especially in the month of Safar opening is the reminder.

This is a rose garden. Of course, you’re going to get all sorts of cuts because every beatific rose has many thorns. But how we traverse is going to be the importance of our tariqah life and the ability to achieve. Remember, it’s not a prison sentence where you serve 30 years or 40 years because what can be achieved in one year, it can be one year. But if you don’t learn, it can be 90 years you sit there and nothing happens.

Continuous Testing Takes You From a Charcoal State to a Diamond

It means this is the importance is that to achieve maturity, to achieve the understanding and the reality and the kholoq (character). That by the virtue of beatific character, beatific is…beatific only comes through difficulty; not through ease. Somebody who never gets agitated by anybody or never puts themselves in a position to be agitated is not a beatific character. It’s just a hiding character.

The one that achieves beatific is the one is continuously getting scraped and squeezed and crushed because it’s only through these crushings and squeezings that it becomes polished like a gemstone. So, Mawlana (Q) would describe, you know, you put charcoal under enormous amount of heat, what happens? Eventually with their technology now, they understood how to make charcoal into diamonds.

Correct Yourself and Repent When You Do Wrong

Then once you have this big bulky diamond after immense pressure and heat, pressure and heat – emtehan, then what Allah (AJ) does with those those stones? He start chopping at them because who wants a big stone like this with a whole bunch of imperfections? You start chopping away at it, chopping away at it. You take chunks of it out until you have two three four carat of a very precious pure stone.

We pray that Allah (AJ) make us to be precious and pure and to have an immense character. Anytime we do wrong, that we correct ourself, we make our tawbah (repentance), we ask Allah (AJ) for forgiveness and then we put a post-it note somewhere in our room, in our environment that we want to be from Ashab ul Kahf. That we understand our life is filled with difficulties and rocks and rocks are flying at us from every direction.

Everywhere is a garden filled with thorns. When we interact with our own tariqah family, it’s definitely going to be roses with lots of thorns. So much so, one time you may think you’re holding a rose and it just the pull from your hand, it’s all thorns. So, the tariqah’s testings are not easy, but always is a reminder for ourselves and myself so that Allah (AJ) to raise us, dress us and bless us.

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: August 17, 2023

Related Articles:

• Realities of Number 7 & Sleepers of the Cave – Tafsir Surah Kahf (Part 2)
• Embracing Difficulties: Being like Dog of Ashab al-Kahf as a Real Ticket to Jannah
• Take Testing Quietly Like the Moon While Keeping Focus on the Sun
• Take the Heat of Testing and Melt Away
• Mawlana Shaykh Abu Ahmad Sughuri (Q)

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