#MSNSohbah: Perfect Submission to the Divine Will (Birth of Sayyidina Aliر)

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.

Allah Almighty manifests everything in His servants. Nothing happens by chance. Everything that appears is prepared, arranged, and programmed. The programming is extremely fine.

“Al anfasul madudah”, the breaths of a person, are numbered and written. How many breaths you will breathe in your entire life has been written, and that number never changes. It is also written where you will breathe and at what time. For example, you are present here now and you are breathing. These breaths were written to be breathed in this place.

When these breaths are finished, you will move to another place to complete your remaining breaths. Each person finishes his breaths in one place, then reaches another place to complete them, because those breaths were written for that location. Everyone is “sakadu fee falakin yasbahoon”. Everyone is programmed as to where he will stop. No one can place even one step in a place for which he is not programmed.

For example, one airplane is programmed to fly at a certain height and along a certain route, and another flies at a different height on a different route. Everyone places his step exactly where it has been programmed, not elsewhere. You must place your foot exactly in that place. It cannot be slightly to the right or slightly to the left, not forward and not backward. Such is the perfection of Divine Arrangement.

Allah Almighty has programmed every life down to the finest point. You cannot even imagine how perfect it is. Absolute perfection belongs only to Allah Almighty and to His actions.

That is why we cannot have everything we desire, because our desires are outside the Divine programme. Sometimes we may be able to change something that has been programmed for us by asking Divine help, but even that asking has been written into the programme. If you are meant to ask, you will ask, and it may be changed. If you are not meant to ask, it will not be changed.

Absolute perfection belongs to Allah Almighty, and absolute wisdom belongs to Him ﷻ. The best way for the servants of Allah ﷻ is to accept and surrender to the Divine programme. When a servant places his will against this programme, he will not be happy. This is a test from the Divine Will, to see whether people accept it, reject it, or object to it.

Sayyidina Abdul Qadir Jilaniق said that objecting to Divine destiny is the death of faith. Real believers surrender themselves to that river of Divine Will which carries them to the highest levels of humanity. They simply say, “There is no need to ask.” This is true, and this is also the way of Sayyidina Ibrahim (AS).

When Nimrod threw Sayyidina Ibrahim (AS) into the fire, the angels said to Allah Almighty, “O our Lord, Your friend Ibrahim has been thrown into the fire by Your enemy Nimrod.” Allah Almighty then said to Jibril (AS), “Would you like to help him?”

The angels said to Jibril (AS), “He has always been a friend to you, so go and help him.”

Jibril (AS) descended from Sidratul Muntaha faster than the speed of light and stood before Sayyidina Ibrahim (AS), asking, “Do you need help? Without your permission we cannot help you.”

Sayyidina Ibrahim (AS) replied, “No, I am not asking for your help.” Jibril (AS) said, “Then ask help from your Lord.” Sayyidina Ibrahim (AS) replied, “There is no need to ask Him. He sees me and He knows where I am.” That is the highest level, not to ask.

But until you reach that station, you must ask for help. When you reach the maqam of Sayyidina Ibrahim (AS), you are unable to ask, out of adab.

What I mean is that Allah Almighty orders His servants to ask Him ﷻ until they reach that perfect station. When a servant reaches that level, he says, “There is nothing for me to ask. I now belong to Him. He knows my need better than I know myself.” His knowledge of me is perfect, and my knowledge of myself is nothing.

Therefore, as beginners, we must ask. But when you reach that perfect station, you must keep adab in the Divine Presence and not ask. If you are ordered to ask, then you must ask. If you are not ordered, then you must not ask.

Rasulullah ﷺ never asked until he was ordered to ask. When the Divine Address came saying, “Ask and I shall give,” then he asked. Those on that level never ask for themselves. They only ask for their nations. All the Prophets (AS) ask for their nations. They have nothing to ask for themselves because they are servants.

Allah Almighty knows the needs of all His servants, because He ﷻ has perfect knowledge and He is the Manifestor of all creation. Leave everything to Him.

That is why the Prophet ﷺ used to say, “Allahumma khir li wakhtar li.”
O my Lord, choose for me. Do not let me choose for myself. Choose a way for me and guide me as You will.

This is a level even higher than the station of Sayyidina Ibrahim (AS). It means accepting whatever Allah Almighty chooses and not quarrelling with the ego.

Sayyidina Aliر was entering the mosque for Fajr prayer when he saw a man lying face down. He tapped him with his foot and said, “O man, I know why you are here. You are sleeping like shaytan on your face. Do not sleep like this.”

The servants of shaytan sleep on their faces so people cannot see their faces or their intentions. Sayyidina Aliر looked at this man and knew that he was the one who would kill him. He said, “O Allah, You are showing me who will kill me, to test whether I accept Your Will or not.”

Sayyidina Aliر passed the test perfectly. He told the man, “You are going to kill me.” The man fell at his feet saying, “O my master, kill me so I may not kill you.”

Sayyidina Aliر replied, “How can I kill you? If I kill you now, it would be against Shariah. I cannot say that because I know you will kill me one day, I killed you today. Shariah does not accept that.”

Sayyidina Aliر knew what his Lord ﷻ had chosen for him. He did not try to change it. He said, “There is no need to change what Allah has chosen.”

Sayyidina Aliر was a man who could destroy armies alone. No one could face him in battle. But when he was praying and the assassin attacked him, he did not defend himself. The strike that killed him was only like a mosquito touching him, because it was the Divine Command and the Arrow of Ajal had arrived.

During the battles of Sayyidina Aliر, Sayyidina Muawiyaر reported that after Maghrib, a man came to their tent, greeted them with salam, and left. They realised it was Sayyidina Aliر.

They wondered how he walked alone at night without guards. When asked, Sayyidina Aliر replied that Allah Almighty had told him that angels protect the true servants of Allah from all sides, until the Arrow of Ajal arrives.

When that arrow touches a person, his life ends. Allah ﷻ’s true servants know when the protection will be lifted and when the arrow will pass. Nothing can stop it.

Sayyidina Aliر had reached a level of kashf where the veils of the heart were lifted and he could see the Preserved Tablet. The saints, the Awliya, continue on this path. If this were shown to ordinary people, they would try to escape their destiny. That is why Allah Almighty shows it only to the Awliya, and they always submit to His Will.

Ordinary people do not submit and try to protect themselves with guards and weapons. But the Awliya accept whatever Allah ﷻ sends and are content with the Divine Will.

Therefore, when Sayyidina Aliر was martyred, Allah Almighty Himself paid the compensation for his blood. Sayyidina Aliر accepted his fate completely because his teacher was Rasulullah ﷺ, the perfect teacher, who taught him everything.

On this blessed night of the birth of Sayyidina Aliر, may Allah ﷻ grant us hearts that submit fully to His Divine programme, as Sayyidina Aliر submitted without objection.

May we accept what has been written for us, walk the paths Allah ﷻ has chosen in obedience, and remain at peace with His decree.

May Allah ﷻ protect us in iman and adab, remove all resistance from our hearts, and allow us to live and die in complete surrender to Him.

Al-Fatiha.

• Mawlana Shaykh Muhammad Nazim Adil al-Haqqaniق

More by Mawlana Shaykh Nazimق can be found here.

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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 Mercy Oceans 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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