Summary of Maulana Shaykh Nazim’s Daily Suhbah

15th March 2010, Monday

A true believer is happiest at the moment of death

A’uzubillah himinsh shaitan nirrajeem

Bismillahir Rahman-nir Raheem

Assalamu’alaikum wrh wbkt

• Maulana said that our physical strength is dependent on our spiritual selves, and as we grow older, we depend less on our ebbing physical strength, and more on our spiritual energy, derived from heavenly nourishment that we must seek relentlessly. It is the spiritual ‘fuel’ that we seek from such Associations, that powers our physical bodies to be able to continue worshiping the Almighty. Our physical strength diminishes as we approach Death, but our spiritual energy and abilities become enhanced and sharpened.

• Maulana then gave Salams السلام عليكم to the attendees, saying that their devoted enthusiasm was the driving force behind these nightly lessons. Maulana reminded us to recite the Salam with care, not as ‘Sam ‘alaikum’, as was recited by the منافقون Hypocrites to mock Rasulullah (saw). This heavenly greeting brings safety and peace upon the reciter, those who make a habit of spreading this heavenly greeting, will always receive heavenly blessings – it is a spiritual ‘fuel’, it lengthens lives, it brings happiness, honour, calmness, light and pleasure! The Salam is a Divine Gift from Allah to Rasulullah (saw), and whatever is given to us by Rasulullah (saw), is always of benefit, do take this gift and spread it far and wide!

• Man believes pleasure lies in food, drink and in partying! That is a brief sort of enjoyment, it doesn’t last very long, yet Man has lost his mind, and has set his goal in life to be always seeking this temporary burst of physical gratification.

• In stark contrast, heavenly pleasure, is like a never-ending spring, it flows without rest, giving continuous pleasure to our souls. Allah gathers the heavenly pleasure that is due to a Mukmin, believer all his life, and at the moment of death, this pleasure is heaped upon him, after his last breath. That is why the Prophet (saw) said that a believer’s happiest moment is when he is going back to meet his Lord. Maulana says that, if the earthly pleasures of all humans were gathered in one instant, it cannot match the pleasure being experienced by that believer in the ecstasy of death. And if the bliss being experienced by that believer, is divided out to all humans on earth, all depression, adversity and miseries would be lifted from all their hearts, instantly! MasyaAllah, such an ocean of endless bliss awaits believers upon their death! More awaits them, as no pleasure can match being invited to the Divine presence for an audience with the Sultan himself!

• Maulana asks the Salafi scholars, why they still persisted in actions, that would deny them such a blissful and enviable end? They suppress their followers, disallowing the recitation of selawat upon Rasulullah (saw), the sight of a Muslim reciting selawat at the Maqam of Rasulullah (saw) sends them into a frenzy.

اِنَّ اللّٰهَ وَمَلٰٓٮِٕكَتَهٗ يُصَلُّوۡنَ عَلَى النَّبِىِّ ؕ يٰۤـاَيُّهَا الَّذِيۡنَ اٰمَنُوۡا صَلُّوۡا عَلَيۡهِ وَسَلِّمُوۡا تَسۡلِيۡمًا‏

Allah and His angels, send blessings on the Prophet: O ye that believe! Send ye blessings on him and salute him, with all respect. (Quran 33:56)

• Allah and His Angels are sending selawat upon Rasulullah (saw), believers have been commanded to do so, yet these Scholars, themselves from the Nation of Muhammad (saw), deny him that respect! Maulana says that the honour that is contained in this Ayat dwarfs all the honour that Man gives to one another on earth. All honour that we bestow on earth, if gathered, is equivalent to an atom in this Ocean of Honour that Allah has bestowed on Rasulullah (saw). Hence, it is a terrible deviation, to forbid the recitation of selawat!

• In the recitation of tahiyyat of these Scholars, instead of reading as-salamu ‘alaika aiyyuhan nabi yu (salam upon you, Oh Nabi), like the Ahlul Sunnah wal jama’ah do, they read as-salamu alaihi, which means ‘salam upon he (who is absent)’, so while we send Salams directly to our Prophet (saw) in our prayers, they send it to one who is absent/distant from themselves. Why? Allah says in the Holy Qur’an, Wa Aalamu Anna Fikum Rassool Allah, (which means – Prophet Muhammad (saw), is with you), so how do such Scholars deny this? We must always seek guidance from the Holy Qur’an, it unravels all that perplexes Man.

• Whom do the Wahhabis/Salafis claim to emulate? The Salafus soliheen – the pious people of the past, like the Companions and the followers of the Companions. Did any of the pious believers of the past, ever deride the recitation of the selawat or eliminate the selawat that is recited at the end of the azhan? No. The Prophet (saw) said in a hadees, that his Nation would break into many sects, and that believers are to follow the largest group if such a break-up happened during their lifetimes. While the number of Sunnis exceed a billion, there is much smaller group of Salafis, so it is obvious what they should do. Maulana calls out to these Wahhabis/Salafis, to discard their deviated ideology of belittling Rasulullah (saw), to stop preaching their extremist dogma, and to come to Allah with a heart full of love for Rasulullah (saw). If they persisted in their deviant beliefs, they would regret it deeply, and Allah would punish them with a lingering taste of bitterness in this life, before their deaths.

• Maulana reminded these Scholars not to disregard him, just because he was an old man advising them. It is important to look at whose words Maulana is bringing, and not to look at the old man before them. On Judgement Day, due to Man’s propensity to lie, Allah will command him to be silent, and will command the organs of Man to speak, and the organs will then bear witness to all the deeds of their ‘owner’. Bewildered that his organs are testifying against him, Man will ask his organs, how they are able to speak, to which they will reply, “He who Speaks, gave us the ability to speak, it is not our will, but His Will, that we are able to do so.” So the Scholars must not look at Maulana as the speaker, but they should ask themselves as to whose Will it is, that Maulana is advising them about their errant ways, incessantly.

• Finally, Maulana advised non-Arabs to study the Arabic language, give it priority over any other language that you may wish to study. As for the Arabs, he encouraged them to learn the languages of Muslim-friendly areas, like Turkey, Iran and Pakistan, so that cordial and loving ties can be built between Muslim nations.

Fatihah,