What is a Suhbah?

Maulana Shaykh Nazim teaches daily, in short 45 minutes lessons known as Suhbahs. Loosely translated, a Suhbah means a Gathering or an Association.  A deeper analysis of the word Suhbah reveals that the term Sahabahs (Companions of the Prophet) was derived from this word. The Prophet (saw) used to mix freely and warmly with his Companions, and in that atmosphere of love and close comaraderie, our Beloved Prophet (saw) would impart life-shaping wisdom, sharing beautiful lessons that transformed the Sahabahs into the best humans in creation. Suhbah transformed the people Jahiliyyah into the highest Companions of the Seal of Prophets!

The Prophet (saw) is the example of beautiful akhlaq that we are to follow, or at least imitate. The founder of this Tariqat, Shah Naqshbandi Al-Uwais Al-Bukhari (qs) repeatedly said, “Our Way is by Association, for there is goodness in gathering.”

Teaching today is carried out in an atmosphere of harshness or pressure (due to exams), and many a time, teachers themselves do not practise what they are preaching. They have come to accept the teaching of Islam, as an academic exercise, for the acquisition of a Diploma or Degree.

What is the purpose of education?
To impart knowledge.

What sort of knowledge?
Knowledge of the Lord Almighty as your Creator, so that you are overwhelmed by His greatness, and so that you acknowledge His Mercy upon you. Knowledge of Rasulullah (saw) as the beloved of Allah, whom we have been commanded to follow his Ways (known as his Sunnah), for they are the ways that please Allah.

Where does that knowledge lead you?
To know who you really are (your true identity as His creation), to know where you are now, to know why you are here, and to know where you are headed.

The end-product of such true knowledge is?
The emergence of a humble one, a sincere one, one who tries to purify himself always, a pious one, one who seeks only to serve His Lord, one who seeks only His Lord’s Pleasure as his final destination. “Oh Allah, Your pleasure, is our Paradise.”

Have today’s schools produced such individuals?
Very rarely.

Why?
Because we have left the traditional method of teaching that the Prophet (saw) brought – mixing with one’s students in a humble and easy going way, dispensing lessons within their capacity to grasp, and correcting them gently, whilst tolerating their shortcomings.

How are we to find such Suhbahs then, such gatherings that contain so much blessings as they are the true ways of imparting knowledge?
Seek out Inheritors of The Prophet (saw), warisatul Anbiya’, for these are learned ones who have inherited the Ways of the Beloved, and the Ways of the Beloved, are the Ways that leads one to eternal success.

Maulana Shaykh Nazim, to which this website is dedicated to, has never made any claims about being such an Inheritor, but in his inimitable and humble style, he has kept alive this Sunnah of the Prophet (saw), and we are truly blessed to be able to attend the lessons from the comfort of our homes (on www.Saltanat.org).

This website seeks to capture the essence of each Suhbah in an easy-to-read and easy-to-remember style, to benefit the ever-busy Man of the 21st century.