The river must finally reach the Ocean

Summary of Maulana Shaykh Nazim’s daily Suhbahs

18th April 2010, Sunday

The river must finally reach the Ocean

A’uzubillah himinash shaitan nirrajeem

Bismillah-hir Rahman-nir Raheem

Assalamu’alaikum wrh wbkt

• Mawlana welcomed the ‘happy’, ‘beautiful’ and ‘handsome’ attendees, and then he recited Bismillahi ‘r-Rahmani ‘r-Rahim. He remarked that it was a very sweet recitation. He thanked Allah for the gift of Bismillahi ‘r-Rahmani ‘r-Rahim and he continued to recite it slowly, in obvious pleasure. He advised us to read it, and to experience the sweetness of recital ourselves. He then prayed to be given Holy support that would allow him to convey a message that would awaken the slumbering Nation.

• Mawlana urged us to read the Qur’an, as each Āyah of the Qur’an is an ocean of knowledge, and whenever we read it we are granted some understanding by Allah. Each time we complete the recital of the entire Qur’an, we would have reduced the number of veils that lie between ourselves and our reality (ḥaqīqah), for the Qur’an contains knowledge that brings about this change in us.

• The Most Powerful Kitab (Book) in the Divine Presence is the Holy Qur’an. It contains knowledge of the past, from as far back as pre-eternity, and knowledge of the future, right till eternity. It is the Word of Allah, Lord of the Creation.

• What is the meaning of Rabb (ربّ)? It means the Lord, He who administers everything. It is a Holy Name of Allah Almighty, which humans can relate to at our level of understanding. Is there a greater name of Allah? Yes, but we are not given knowledge of it, for it is beyond the level of human understanding. Every Prophet was given knowledge of some Secret (Hidden) and Holy Names of Allah.

• Never assume that all the secrets of the heavens will be made known to Man. Why are there 7 heavens, and not 70, 700 or 7000? Such knowledge has not been revealed to us as yet. Such limitations, help to put Man in his place, so that he will know that there is much to learn, so instead of claiming to be a scholar, he will be happy to say that he is a student, a learner, a seeker of knowledge, who is asking more knowledge.

• How much will Mankind ask for? Allah has bestowed Man a very special being, a gift that only He knows what it really is and what it is meant for – the ego. The ego is a very unique being – no matter how much it is given, it always wants more! The ego of common people can never be satisfied. If you give it one palace, it wants another. If you give it one country, it wants another. If you give it one continent, it wants another. And if you give it the whole Earth, it wants another!

• Even though we have been given the grant of Khalῑfah, we all begin our journey at the lowest level, and at that level, our egos are saying, “I want more and more!” If Man cannot put a rein on his ride (ego) (see lesson dated 27/03/10, about how to ride our egos), Man asks and asks endlessly, and Allah bestows upon Man what he asks, as long as what he asks is not outside the borders of the permissible (Sharī’ah Allah). Allah gives Man slowly, and in stages, from His endless Dominions, as a grant from a Sultan to His Deputy.

• When Man is given the reins to his ride, he will be aware of his limits, he will no longer ask endlessly. What are those reins? Death. Only death can put a halt to this endless desire. Death is the being that can control and contain our egos. So those who have reined in their egos, do not ask for all of Allah’s Dominions – instead they seek to be with the Lord of Dominions!

• As Allah’s Khalῑfah, Man has been bestowed the highest level of all creation, and he should be asking for something of very great honor – not for something of little or no value! Man must ask to be with the Lord of Dominions (the Creator), and not with the dominions (creation) themselves! We are His Chosen servants, the rest of creation, even Angels, are servants to us, so why are we asking to be with the creation, when we were created for Him? Allah has no need for the worship of His servants, it is we who in need of worshipping Him and of being with Him.

• We must come to a level when the heart finally feels satisfied, and when we can finally say, “Enough, enough, enough, enough!” And at that point, we stop requesting for more and more from Allah, we have finally reached a point of contentment and satisfaction.

• Like a river that has spent its entire course running so fast to reach the Ocean, when it finally enters the Ocean, its running comes to a halt, it flows calmly – it is at peace when it is absorbed into the Ocean – it says “Enough, enough…”

• What is the reality (ḥaqīqah) of Man, as mentioned above? Man’s real being yearns to reach Allah’s Dominions, and to disappear into the Oceans of Unity of the Lord of Heavens. There, he will find satisfaction in being with his Lord, and it is at that point that he will say, “I have found what I am seeking…there is nothing else I need. It is enough…enough…”

• Before reaching that point, your life will be in turmoil. You will experience the ups and downs of existence, the alternating pain and pleasure – but when you finally arrive and sink into the Unity Ocean of the Lord of Heavens, you would have attained tranquility. Try to understand this and teach it to others, so that they can understand themselves. Mawlana said that once you start teaching this to others, the secret of ḥalāl and ḥarām would emerge to you. Halāl is all that leads you to that Ocean of Dominions, and Harām is all that prevents you from arriving at the Oceans of Dominions of the Lord of Heavens.

• You must be aware of one thing: that is, if, by the end of this life, you do not reach the Oceans of Unity, you will disappear – at the moment of Death, you will be removed from the river that is heading to the Ocean, and you shall never be allowed back into that river ever again. You will be thrown into the Fire, you will never attain honor and you will exist in eternal regret – regretting that you have wasted your only chance to reach the Oceans.

• Teach people that the real target of a human being is to seek and to reach the Unity Oceans. Those who are within these Dominions are witnesses to Divine manifestations of Allah’s Names and Attributes. Only within those Oceans will you experience real witnessing, and only within these Oceans will you experience real pleasure, real color and real waves of satisfaction – you will see real light, showing to you the real being of the Lord of Heavens.

• So strive to stop from being your ego’s slave, turn instead to being Allah’s servant. As His Khalῑfah, it is shameful that you have left being in the service of the Sultan, and instead chosen to be of service to your donkey, and being fully occupied with all the whims and fancies of your donkey whilst the Sultan watches you from afar, awaiting your return to obedience.

• Today, we have all become our donkey’s servants; we have all left our Sultan’s service! How is there to be pleasure and enlightenment for us like that? Leave your donkey, and submit to Allah! The Lord’s Dominions are filled with those servants who have reached the Oceans, they lived their worldly lives to be in their Lord’s Divine service, they have devoted their entire Souls, their entire lives, to the service of the Sultan.

• So if you truly wish to be in safety and pleasure and enlightenment in dunyā and in the hereafter, obey the teachings of the Qur’an, and it will unveil the Way to reach the Divine Oceans.

• Some of you claim that you do not understand these lessons. That is not true. Your egos pretend not to understand, but your real beings do understand. Only the ego would reject such a study, for this study teaches one to reject the ego! So leave the ego, come to your real being, come to Allah, and be with Him for eternity.

Fatihah.