Be always aware of your approaching death: 9th October 2010

بِسْمِ اللَّهِ الرَّحْمَٰنِ الرَّحِيمِ

Summary of Maulana Shaykh Nazim’s Daily Suhbahs

9^th October 2010

Be always aware of your approaching death

A’uzubillah himinsh shaitan nirrajeem

Bismillahir Rahman-nir Raheem

Assalamu’alaikum wrh wbkt

• Maulana began by reciting this doa, “We hope for Your mercy, and we fear Your punishment, Oh Allah! Oh our Lord, forgive us and have mercy upon us, You are the Best Forgiver. Strengthen our weakness, Oh our Lord.” This doa is very appropriate, considering the chilling news Maulana revealed in yesterday’s Suhbah.

• Maulana then advised us to put aside some time daily, to attend this Suhbah, as it contained news of akherat. Just as we spend time daily watching the news on TV and readings newspapers to keep abreast with worldly news, we must also make time for the news of the hereafter.

• Maulana tackled the issue of narrow-minded Salafi scholars who were constantly on the lookout for, what they viewed as trangressions in religion. For example, at funerals, they would forbid crying, the reading of the Talqeen, and the placing of any sort of tombstone on the grave. They liked to control people and to force their literal and shallow interpretations of Qur’an and the hadees down people’s throats.

• These Salafi Scholars liked graves to remain unmarked, unnoticed and unvisited! Why? Rasulullah (saw) said in a hadees, that Death was the best reminder for the Ummah (see previous Suhbah on that topic), so why are they desecrating and demolishing graves, when they serve as a potent reminder of the hereafter? Rasulullah (saw) said, “Death is that thing that, when mentioned, removes the pleasure of this life.”

Do they consider what they are doing as:

وَأۡمُرۡ بِٱلۡمَعۡرُوفِ وَٱنۡهَ عَنِ ٱلۡمُنكَرِ

To enjoin what is good, and forbid what is wrong. (Quran 31:17)

• By destroying graves, Salafi Scholars are destroying that which reminds us of death. Whenever anyone of us goes to a cemetery, and we look at the name of our loved one on the tomb-stone, it is a reminder to us that, just yesterday, that deceased person was mingling amongst the living ones, but now, he is no more. Once he had walked on the face of the earth, but now he was beneath the face of the earth, and perhaps, even his bones are no more. The reality of death sinks into us. We are reminded of our mortality, of our impending death, of the fragility of this brief life.

• When the Holy Prophet (saw) was six years old, his holy mother, Aminah, was facing the throes of death. Crying, she called Rasulullah (saw) and told him, “Oh my most beloved one, most beloved son! I am going. Every living one must die. For everyone, there is a time that is written on the Preserved Tablets, and when his time is over, the Lord of Heavens commands the Angel of Death, Azra`eel (as), “Reach and bring Me the soul of My servant.” Everyone is going to die.” Everyone must taste the bitterness of Death.

كُلُّ نَفۡسٍ۬ ذَآٮِٕقَةُ ٱلۡمَوۡتِ‌ۗ

Every soul shall have a taste of death (Quran 21:35)

• Remember, oh people, that you are going to pass away, so prepare yourself for life after death! Death is not going to be the end for you, you are not going to disappear into nothingness, into oblivion, no! Death brings people to a new beginning, alaam ul barzakh, the life in the grave.

• For 1400 years, no one touched the Companions’ graves in Makkah and Medina. Then Wahhabis came along and destroyed all the graves there, they destroyed a legacy that has been intact for so long, one that would have served as a powerful reminder for future generations. Those ancient graves were like history books, they contained so much that would have helped Muslims remember their heritage, and to reflect about death.

• Never assume that you have many years ahead of you, just as you should never believe those who believe that the earth has another thousand years to exist. The Seal of Prophets (saw) said to his Companions, when he was asked about how long his Nation had on earth, “My Nation will be given one day by Allah, if they walk on the straight path (followed the Holy Shariat without deviating), and half a day, if they deviated from that path.” A day in the sight of Allah, is 1000 years in this world, and given that the early Muslims did walk the straight path, whilst the latter-day Muslims have largely deviated, the age of this Nation is said to be 1500 years. Now being the year 1431, Maulana says we have between 60 and 70 years, to the ajal (end) of this Nation’s tenure in dunia.

• Why are such hadees not highlighted and taught to the believers, so that they are aware how tantalisingly close they were to the inevitable end? Many religious teacher are afraid that such an announcement would be met with ridicule and opposition by materialistic people, and by those who rejected such a notion, but that should not be a reason to stop projecting the truth (Haq), since such a message is the truth. Why fear? The Prophet (saw) said, “Speak the truth, and fear not.”

• We are now in a time of tyrants – many countries are ruled by tyrants, and many humans are tyrants even to themselves, subjecting themselves to cruelty and wickedness, by leading themselves astray. All those who do not follow the Shariat of Allah are tyrants, and will be punished.

• So always remember the life of the hereafter, by remembering death. That will remove your heedlessness and tyranny. Make it a point that during each day, there must be advice dispensed within each family, advice that reminds all of their hereafter. The seal of Prophets (s) said, “If a day passes and within a family, no one is reminding them of Akherah, Hells and Paradises, and the Day of Resurrection, then bad tidings for the people in that family.” So why fear your spouses and children? Speak the truth. Unfortunately, people of these times are running away from such advice. Remind everyone that everyone comes here to leave, no one coming here to stay forever.

• What is most important, is not just to hear about Akherat, Hells and Paradises, but to really believe, to have certainty, yaqeen. It is important for Muslims to attain certainty in their beliefs/faith, for that is their strength which will take them on the way of Paradise! Also, certainty in beliefs is crucial, otherwise we will become donkeys (rides/mounts) for our egos and for Shaitan. Oh people, we haven’t been created for that purpose. We have been created for His Divine service.

وَمَا خَلَقۡتُ ٱلۡجِنَّ وَٱلۡإِنسَ إِلَّا لِيَعۡبُدُونِ

I created the jinn and humankind only that they might worship Me. (Quran 51:56)

An historic photo of how Ma’ala Graveyard in Makkah was, before the demolition of the tombs. The main central tomb was of Ummul Mu’mineen Khadijah RadhiAllahu anha. Others known to be resting here include Abd Manaf, the great, great-grandfather, Hashim the great-grandfather, Abdul Muttalib the grandfather and Qasim the son of the our Prophet SallAllahu alaihi wasallam.

Commentary

• As much as we are able to, we must remember death, as it removes the pleasureable taste of dunia. When we forget death, we start to indulge more and more in worldly pleasures, and that is called heedlessness (ghafeel). At the start of each Islamic day (at sunset), immediately after praying Maghrib, we pray the Janazah prayer for all Muslims who have died that day. It a reminder of our bond to every believer, as Allah says in the Qur’an, “Verily, this brotherhood of yours is one brotherhood,” (Quran 21:92), and the Prophet (saw) said, “The Muslims are like one body….” But the Janazah prayer is also a powerful daily reminder of death, that is why we are asked to do it at the start of every Muslim day.

• Once you are on this earth, death is certain. Remind your loved ones about akherat, and about the momentous event called death that will take us to that eternal existence. Maulana reminds us to advise our families, daily, without fail, even if it be for a few minutes after a congregational prayer performed as a family. Any household that is devoid of such advice, is devoid of good tidings!

يَـٰٓأَيُّہَا ٱلَّذِينَ ءَامَنُواْ قُوٓاْ أَنفُسَكُمۡ وَأَهۡلِيكُمۡ نَارً۬ا وَقُودُهَا ٱلنَّاسُ وَٱلۡحِجَارَةُ عَلَيۡہَا مَلَـٰٓٮِٕكَةٌ غِلَاظٌ۬ شِدَادٌ۬ لَّا يَعۡصُونَ ٱللَّهَ مَآ أَمَرَهُمۡ وَيَفۡعَلُونَ مَا يُؤۡمَرُونَ

O ye who believe! Save yourselves and your families from a Fire whose fuel is Men and Stones, over which are (appointed) angels stern (and) severe who flinch not (from executing) the Commands they receive from Allah, but do (precisely) what they are commanded. (Quran 66:6)

• True faith means having certainty in every Ayat that you read from the Holy Book, and in every hadees that you hear from Rasulullah (saw), without a shadow of a doubt! To become from the people of certainty, we must be with those who have that certainty, as only one who possesses certainty, can share that certainty. That is why we are instructed in the Holy Qur’an to be those who are truthful (Sadiqeen). And we must strive in worship until that certainty is established in our hearts.

وَٱعۡبُدۡ رَبَّكَ حَتَّىٰ يَأۡتِيَكَ ٱلۡيَقِينُ

And worship thy Lord until there cometh unto thee certainty. (Quran 15:99)

If you would like to listen to the actual Suhbah by Maulana Shaykh Nazim when it was recorded, please click here. Once at the site, please click on the Sohbat 09 Oct 2010.

Maulana Shaykh Nazim teaches daily, at 1800 hours GMT, please go to www.Saltanat.org to attend these illuminating lessons. There are no charges to attend these lessons, they are completely free-of-charge. These transcripts and Study materials are found at the Singapore Naqshbandi portal, recent.sufihub.com, these are also completely free-of-charge.