Bismi Llāhi r-Raḥmāni r-Raḥīm
Maulana Sheikh Nazimق’s (MSN) Suhbah
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By the Name of Allah, All-Mighty, All-Merciful, Most Beneficent and Most Munificent.
O my Lord ﷻ, we are asking from Your endless favors. Grant us from Your endless favors so that we may keep Your way, the path on which Your beloved servants are walking, to come to You and to be with You.
This is our aim: to find the way to our Lord ﷻ and to be with Him. All the Prophets, peace be upon them, came only to show the way to Allah Almighty for His servants.
They did not come to teach people how to gain the pleasures of this life. There was no need for that, as every person knows those pleasures by nature. Children are born knowing how to cry for food and comfort. The pleasures of the physical body are already known to everyone. Rather, all the Prophets (AS) came to teach the way to Allah Almighty and to show the way to be with Him ﷻ.
That is the highest desire and the most perfect aim a servant can have. No one can imagine what he will find, see, or feel when he is truly with his Lord, Almighty Allah. Those who have tasted something of this have left the pleasures of this life, and even the pleasures of the next life, seeking only their Lord ﷻ.
People are at different levels. Some are attached only to eating, drinking, playing, and enjoyment. They cannot control their egos and remain under its command. Others believe in the Hereafter and seek protection from Hell and the rewards of Paradise.
But the highest level among the sons of Adam (AS) is the level of those who ask only to be with their Lord ﷻ forever. They do not seek the pleasures of this world or the next. This is the level of the Prophets (AS), the saints, and the angels who are always in the Divine Presence. They ask only for their Lord, Almighty.
The holy books, especially the final one, the Holy Qur’an, show the way for all these levels. Those who seek this life, those who seek Paradise, and those who seek only Allah Almighty all find guidance within it. The Qur’an is a Divine feast for all mankind. But the most perfect aim is to be with one’s Lord ﷻ.
We are humble people, not running after perfection. We ask for simple things, for a simple life and simple pleasures, as common people do. But we must ask for more than this, and we must turn to worship. Worship opens in our hearts the door of the desire to be with our Lord Almighty.
Allah Almighty calls His servants to prayer by day and by night. You may pray once a day, or once a week, or on special occasions, and that is a way. But Allah Almighty honored this Ummah by calling them to be with Him five times every day.
During the Night of Ascension, when beloved Muhammad ﷺ was in the Divine Presence, Allah Almighty ordered fifty prayers a day. This was an honor for us, and beloved Muhammad ﷺ accepted those fifty prayers with pleasure and honor, because he was always asking for more honor and more pleasure for his Ummah. But when he met Sayyidina Musa (AS), and he asked, “What did your Lord offer to your nation?”
Beloved Muhammad ﷺ replied, “My Lord, Allah Almighty, honored my nation with fifty prayers during the twenty-four hours of day and night.”
Musa (AS) said, “That is the best thing, but your Ummah is too weak to carry it. We know that you have been given the highest honor, but we fear that they cannot carry such a responsibility. Ask Allah Almighty to make it lighter.”
Therefore, the Prophet ﷺ asked for it to be made lighter, again and again, until it became five prayers a day. Otherwise, it would have remained fifty.
The chance was given, among other nations, to the nation of Muhammad ﷺ to be with their Lord ﷻ fifty times a day. But we love dunya too much, more than Mawla, our Master, our Lord. We engage ourselves with dunya more than with our Lord. Therefore, it was reduced to five.
Islam is the perfect religion because it calls people to be with their Lord ﷻ more than any other way. Which religion today calls its followers to stand before their Lord five times a day? All Prophets (AS) came with one purpose: to bring people closer to Allah Almighty.
After the obligatory prayers, Allah Almighty granted permission for Sunnah prayers to be established. Ishraq, Dhuha, the prayer after wudu, Awwabin between Maghrib and Isha, and Tahajjud at night are all doors for those who wish to be with their Lord ﷻ more. Whoever wishes to be with his Lord more finds the door open.
Among those who reached this station was Rabi‘ah al-Adawiyyahر, may Allah ﷻ bless her. She sought neither this world nor the next, but only her Lord. She prayed by night until dawn, finding pleasure in standing before Allah Almighty. She tasted the sweetness of worship.
Every night from sunset to sunrise, she prayed one thousand rak‘ats. She found pleasure in always being with her Lord Almighty. We, however, pray quickly just to escape prayer, if we even come to pray at all. In our time, more women are praying than men. If you look, you will find that they are double in number.
Therefore, the Prophet ﷺ said that when the time approaches for Qiyamah, you will find more religious people among women and among villagers than among city people.
Rabi‘ahر prayed every night without becoming tired. The Prophet ﷺ said, “My Lord made me love prayer as I love my eyes.” He also said, “Prayer is the mi‘raj of the believers.”
Through prayer, Allah ﷻ gives His servants the honor of mi‘raj. Those who understand this know that true honor, peace, and pleasure are found only in being with Him.
Rabi‘ahر would sit in the desert, and deer would sit around her listening, just as a cat sits in front of you listening. They knew the good people from the bad. She sat reciting the Holy Qur’an, and they listened.
Allah Almighty says in the Holy Qur’an that when Dawud (AS) recited psalms, mountains and birds would listen to his recitation. In such people there are examples for the sons of Adam (AS). The path is correct, but we are not following it. Instead, we follow our egos.
At first, worship requires patience. Prayer feels heavy. Dhikr feels difficult. You must be patient to taste sweetness. Without patience, you cannot reach pleasure. At first everything is difficult and not tasteful, but afterward it becomes so sweet.
Rabi‘ahر said, “At first, when my Shaykh gave me the dhikr, it was so heavy. But I did not abandon it. When Allah Almighty saw that I carried the difficulty for the sake of love for my Lord, He ﷻ opened my heart to Divine love. When that pleasure came, I left everything else. No dhikr became sweeter to me than saying, ‘Allah, Allah, Allah.’ What does it mean? It means, ‘O my Lord, I like to be with You, to be with You!’”
The one who tastes knows. The one who does not taste cannot understand. Some mature spiritually in this life, and others depart before tasting. The first group will be with their Lord ﷻ forever because they say, “O my Lord, I want to be with You.”
What do we need? We need patience. Without patience there is no prayer, no worship, and no ascent. At first everything is difficult. Later it becomes sweet.
Prayer is mi‘raj for us. Worship is the way, and the door is always open. We ask Allah Almighty to grant us patience, sincerity, and the sweetness of standing before Him.
May Allah ﷻ make His remembrance beloved to our hearts, and grant us a share of ascent through prayer, worship, and nearness to Him.
Al-Fatiha.
• Mawlana Shaykh Muhammad Nazim Adil al-Haqqaniق
More by Mawlana Shaykh Nazimق can be found here.
This series was initiated by the SufiHub Team in honour of the 2nd Urs of our beloved Sheikh, the late Sheikh Muhammad Abdul Sattar Khan, who lovingly dedicated himself to transcribing and summarising the daily sohbahs of Mawlana Sheikh Nazimق.
It was through this blessed service that he began his journey on this beautiful Way in 2008, remaining steadfast upon it until his final breath in 2023. Today, his legacy continues at our Zawiyah at A’Posh Bizhub Singapore through his representatives Sidi Shalihin, Ismail, and Syed Muhammad, who humbly carry forward the path he sincerely paved.
We pray that our dear Sheikh Abdul Sattar has been reunited with his beloved Mawlana Sheikh Nazimق and all our Grandshaykhs, and that their light continues to guide us always on the way of Haqq.
The text was originally taken from Liberating the Soul – A Guide for Spiritual Growth by Shaykh Nazim Adil al-Haqqaniق. With love and sincere intention, parts of this sohbah have been gently revised by the SufiHub Team for clarity and contextual relevance.
If you wish to share it on your platforms, kindly post it in full and ensure that proper credit is given to all its sources. For this is adab, the very core of our beautiful religion and way.
Should you have any queries or concerns, you are always welcome to reach us at thesufihubteam@gmail.com.
Wassalam.
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