A fish can never grow larger than the Ocean

Summary of Maulana Shaykh Nazim’s Daily Suhbah

23rd�February 2010, Tuesday

A fish can never grow larger than the Ocean

A’uzubillah himinsh shaitan nirrajeem

Bismillahir Rahman-nir Raheem

Assalamu’alaikum wrh wbkt

• Maulana says that Allah’s endless blessings descend upon those who attend these humble Associations (Suhbahs) seeking to gain an understanding, while those who do not do so, are at a loss. Attend with full concentration, so that you may return ‘full’, after arriving ‘hungry’.

• Concerning these nightly Suhbahs, Maulana says, “The Lord of the Heavens has commanded me to speak!”� For those who dispute that this is possible, Maulana says that when a man is being questioned on Judgement Day, his hands and feet (in fact, all his organs), will speak and bear witness to the acts of that man, who will be so bewildered that his own body is able to do so! When he questions his organs, they will say, “Allah Speaks, and we have been given the ability to speak, by Allah.”� Allah gives speech to whom He pleases.

• Maulana calls out to all scholars and learned ones! He says, why say that you have reached the pinnacle of your understanding? Why limit yourselves? Why not seek to acquire an even deeper understanding, to climb above the level of understanding that you have already acquired? Do you not know that there are INFINITE levels of understanding on each matter? Never limit yourselves to a narrow view or to a few explanations or interpretations of an Ayat of the Qur’an or a Hadees. It is the biggest folly to claim that you have reached the complete and final understanding on any matter, for in doing so, you develop pride, you reject alternative views, and you stop seeking to advance in knowledge.

• For example, Maulana quotes a famous Hadees, in which the Prophet (saw) said that one who does not respect an old person, is not of his Ummah. An old person here, can refer to one who is physically very old, or one who is spiritually very old (i.e. he may a young person, but he has attained a very deep understanding of religion, hence he is spiritually very old). These are just a few interpretations of that hadees, but the Seal of Prophets (saw) has an entire ocean of interpretations for each Hadees! So do not say there is a limited number of interpretations. In reality, there are endless interpretations of a hadees by Rasulullah (saw), so we must always seek to broaden our outlook and understanding. Never feel that your own interpretation of a hadees is the correct and only one, it is merely a drop compared to the real ocean of understanding, hidden behind those sacred words. Each time you reach a horizon, beyond it lies another horizon, and there are endless horizons beyond that too!

• So ask Allah for more knowledge and understanding! He is the Bountiful One who gives endlessly, so why limit your understanding to just a little bit, when you can ask Allah, to be shown a deeper understanding beyond the little that you know. Ask to be granted more and more, humble thyself and beg! Allah says in a Hadees Qudsi, “Ask, Oh my Habibi, ask for more and more, it shall be granted.”�

• Understanding is the greatest gift from Allah, it has no limits or boundaries. Maulana says that understanding is not just a tiny lake, it is an endless ocean which has no shore, no bottom. That is why the Prophet (saw) said, “If your level of understanding today, has not increased over yesterday’s, then there is no barokah in your life, you have made a loss, you have wasted your life.”� So you must ask for more and more understanding, you must learn more and more each day.

• Never for an instant think that understanding is just ONE ocean. No, it is a endless series of oceans, each bringing with it, its own pleasures, contentment, heavenly lights, satisfaction and peace – each of which is different from one ocean to another. So keep asking and seeking and striving, Man’s capacity to absorb and assimilate and understand is mind-boggling, as he is endowed with that capacity, being Allah’s representative on earth. Once you have tasted from these oceans, you will never say “enough, enough�” – instead, you will swim longingly in the ecstasy of its revelations, intoxicated and contented, never desiring to leave them again. It is, Maulana says, an endless pleasure, an endless understanding, endless lights….

• If we go to the beach, we always want more than just to play along the shore. Attracted by the inviting ocean, many of us swim out to the open sea, drawn by some irresistible pull, to venture away from the safety of the shallow waters. Once out at sea, amidst the towering waves and strong currents, we succumb to exhaustion and eventually drown. That is the ocean of dunia (of this worldly life), of which you are drawn inexplicably further and further away from the safety of the shore, seeking worldly pleasures, until you perish in it. Those of us on the shore, who see others perish in the sea, should take heed and take a lesson from it.

• The heavenly oceans are different. They too draw you away from the shallow shore (away from a shallow understanding), into the wide open seas (where you acquire a wider and deeper understanding than when you were at the shore). But unlike in the worldly ocean, you are in safety here, you are never in danger of drowning or perishing. Instead, at every moment, you increase in pleasure, satisfaction and enjoyment.

• When you enter these heavenly oceans, you are like a tiny fish, and day by day, you grow in size as you acquire more (heavenly) food from this ocean. No matter how huge you grow, you can never grow as huge as the ocean itself, and you will never be able to swallow the entire ocean, there is just so much to know, and you will be so very happy in that ocean, Maulana says.

• A’uzubillah….run from shaitanic knowledge, for that is not real knowledge, it is masked to appear like knowledge by a clever deception, just like the deep inviting waters of the worldly ocean. As long as Man seeks material treasures from this dunia, he will be attached to this worldly life, of which there will be a limit, a boundary – in death. But he who connects to heavenly beings, and dives into heavenly oceans, he acquires spiritual treasures, of which there are no limits or boundaries, these are endless gifts of endless pleasures. These heavenly beings whom you seek, never turns anyone away, and as much as you are filling your capacity in these heavenly oceans, Allah bestows upon you His blessings and increases your capacity, and as you seek more and more of it, Allah keeps expanding the oceans too, so that you never feel bored or satiated!

• Only those who are already in contact with heavenly beings, and have already tasted these pleasures, are able to explain them as Maulana has. You are on a journey of love. Even if your beloved is in the East, and you are in the West, there is a way to be near to that one, for the heart is always able to connect to another heart, when there is love.

• These are the Holy nights of Rabi’ul Awwal that we are honouring the Prophet (saw), Maulana says to us all, to make prayer (doa) to Allah, that He opens the entrance for us to the ocean of Bismillah hirrahman nirraheem. Hidden within this phrase are endless oceans, which begins with the four rivers of Paradise (Jannah) that have their source within it. (It was narrated that during the Night of Ascension, Rasulullah (saw) encountered four rivers emerging from Bismillah. He saw a river of water flowing from the mouth of the letter “Meem” of Bismillah, a river of milk flowing from the eye of the letter “Haa” of Allah, a river of wine flowing from the mouth of the letter “Meem” of Rahman and a river of honey flowing from the mouth of the letter “Meem” of Raheem. This is extracted from Hajjah Amina Adil’s book – Muhammad, The Messenger of Islam, His Life and Prophecy). Maulana says that he had heard from some Saints, that those who wish to hear the sounds of these four flowing rivers, have to simply cup their ears with their hands, and only hypocrites are unable to hear these sounds.

• Maulana says that, just as doctors resuscitate dead hearts by defibrillators and medication for the heart, Suhbahs such as this, revive spiritually dead and sickly hearts, so that one comes to ‘life’ again, one awakens from one’s worldly intoxication and heedless slumber.

Fatihah.