A thousand years in dunia passes in the blink of an eye

Summary of Maulana Shaykh Nazim’s daily Suhbahs

3rd April 2010, Saturday

A thousand years in dunia passes in the blink of an eye

A’uzubillah himinash shaitan nirrajeem

Bismillah-hir Rahman-nir Raheem

Assalamu’alaikum wrh wbkt

• Mawlana said that a hunter would focus his entire attention on capturing his prey when he is hunting. If the prey is a huge animal, then such attention is warranted, but if the prey is a tiny bird, it is really a waste of time and resources. Man has his sights trained on this dunyā, but in reality, it is just a tiny bird, in comparison to the vast rewards of Akhirah – it is a crying shame that Man is focusing his entire existence to capture such a worthless prize. If only Man realised how incredible a prize the hereafter is – what a vast, never-ending pasture of bliss it is – he would not give a second look to dunyā, he would focus his skills to ‘hunt’ for the hereafter.

• Unfortunately, that is not the case – most people never look beyond this life. Do you think you will live forever? For certain, death will halt you in your tracks one day, so have you ever thought where you will go after that?

• Mawlana said when he once saw an ant on his handkerchief, he asked the ant, “Who created you?” and the ant answered, “He who created you, also created me.” It is not surprising that Man has never thought about this, as he is so drunk with dunyā. Has it ever occurred to Man, that dunyā is so small compared to this Universe, and is even punier in comparison to the hereafter? What does he hope to achieve, in striving day and night, for dunyā? Can one person own all of dunyā? Even if he acquired all of it – and for sure he cannot – it is still a paltry catch, for do you know how small this dunyā is? The oceans of this world are mere droplets of water, if they were placed in Paradise! Does Man not think about all this?

• Sayyidina Nuh (as) lived for almost a thousand years, no Prophet lived longer than him on earth, he was also called the second father of Mankind (after Sayyidina Adam (as)), as after the Great Flood, Man descended from him and his small band of followers. He was asked, “You have lived such a long time on earth. Is there any message or lesson that you wish to impart to your descendents?” Sayyidina Nuh (as) said, “The thousand years passed very quickly. It is as if I saw a vision of a caravan arriving at an inn and then, ever so quickly, I saw it pulling out again. No sooner had I arrived, then it was time to leave already, to continue my journey to the hereafter!” Mawlana said that, it is as if there is a door through which billions of humans have arrived on Earth. They rest here for some time – some for a short time, others for a long time – and they then all finally leave by another door. That is the observation of the longest living Prophet on earth, observing his own Nation. What do you think would be said about those Nations that came after Sayyidina Nuh (as), who have had considerably shorter lives, the shortest of which are the people of the Nation of Muhammad (saw)?

• Mawlana also mentioned that whenever Sayyidina Nuh (as) mentioned the name of the Seal of Prophets (saw) during his time, he always stood up, as a sign of respect and reverence for Rasulullah (saw). We must learn to respect our Prophet (saw), it is unfortunate that some Scholars do not hold him in the highest esteem, even teaching their followers that respect to Rasulullah (saw) was tantamount to shrik, blasphemy to Allah! Oh Muslims, Rasulullah (saw) is the Most Honored servant, the Most Beloved one, the Most Respected in all of creation – you will never incur Divine Wrath by showing love and respect to him, or by honoring him. Allah has raised him as the One True Khalῑfah representing Him for all eternity; Rasulullah (saw) is the Sole Representative, reflecting His Lord’s light to us. If you stand to honor him, as Sayyidina Nuh (as) did, Allah will never be displeased, for He Himself honors, respects and loves Rasulullah (saw).

• Every honor in creation, has been bestowed on Rasulullah (saw), so we must give the highest respect to him. Islam is built on respect – respect for Allah and His Rasul (saw) and our fellow creatures. Only Shayṭān would disrespect someone who is respected by Allah. Shayṭān is never pleased to see Man receive any honor or respect from Allah. When Sayyidina Adam (as) was placed on a pedestal of honor, Shayṭān was angry, and he refused to prostrate before him. All along, Shayṭān had thought that Allah would raise him to be the Chosen Representative; he felt that he was the best and most suitable choice, but he never realized that he did not have the capacity to bear such a responsibility. He never thought that it would be given to Sayyidina Muhammad (saw).

• When Allah placed a small light in the forehead of Sayyidina Adam (as), the Nur of Muhammad (saw), and made him Khalῑfah, that tiny light, lit up the whole Universe! This was not the entire light of Rasulullah (saw), it was just a tiny pinhead-sized ray of light, for the Universe is unable to bear the entire light of the Prophet (saw). What was given to Sayyidina Adam (as), was a tiny opening from the Ocean of the Prophet’s (saw) light.

• Islam is illustrious, Iman (faith) is even nobler, yet even with faith, we can never fully fathom Allah’s Greatness. The Holy Qur’an is filled with knowledge, it has so many layers of understanding, and even at the most basic / rudimentary / fundamental level of interpretation (tafsir), already millions of Kitabs have been written. Many Scholars are so proud of the knowledge that they possess, or the books they have authored, but having written a few, of the millions of books, at such a basic level of understanding, is nothing to blow one’s trumpet about. What about knowledge at the next level of understanding, or the next? The levels are endless, there is so much to learn, and we will be overwhelmed by His Greatness when we dive into these Oceans! Every thing that is owned by Allah has no limits – these are Oceans without shores.

• For example, the first level may be likened to one who knows the location of the Prophet’s (saw) grave. The next level may be compared to one who has a photo of it. The next level may be one who has seen it with his own eyes. But can anyone take the student on a more detailed tour? Can anyone elucidate about the actual interior of the grave, its fragrant perfume, its blessings (tajalli), its light, the means of approach etc? Scholars who only know the location of the Maqam, or simply have a photo of it, can never guide anyone to understand deeper matters pertaining to the Maqam, as they have never been to those levels of knowledge before. So Scholars must be very careful, before they declare themselves as learned guides.

• Instead, they must declare that they are students, and they must seek knowledge (diligently and sincerely), and they must keep asking Allah for an increase in knowledge and understanding, for Allah likes that sort of hunger in His servants. Awaken from your slumber, thaw your frozen (narrow-minded) minds, and start learning and ascending! That is why Allah taught us, through the tongue of the Prophet (saw), “Seek knowledge from the cradle to the grave.” Scholars must not be deluded by titles like Doctor of Sharī’ah or Master of Islamic Studies. These are man-given labels of honor, that have no bearing whatsoever in the Divine realm. Unlike these Scholars with man-made titles, Allah has bestowed heavenly honor on chosen Guides of the Way, who have been given Divine authority to diagnose and treat spiritual diseases of His servants.

• We are in need of such Divinely-sent Guides, for we are heedless ones – we are only good at eating, drinking and fulfilling our carnal desires, sometimes with halal and at other times, even with haram! So let us train our sights on the hereafter, for our short time will determine our eternity.

Fatihah.