Bismi Llāhi r-Raḥmāni r-Raḥīm
Maulana Sheikh Nazimق’s Suhbah
Mankind, the sons of Adam (AS), are acting by divine wisdoms. Nothing is without wisdom. In every action there are so many wisdoms. You cannot find anything in the universe that is useless, not even a single particle.
Sometimes you see specks of dust floating in the sunlight. You may think, “What are these for? If they had not been created, what difference would it make?”
That is a foolish thought. In the universe, there is a balance. If that dust particle were absent, that balance would be upset. It must exist.
Even scientists are beginning to realise this. They say that if any insect becomes extinct, the balance of nature will be disturbed. And if one kind disappears, then in time others must follow. Though they say it may take billions of years, it is a sign that everything depends on everything else, and the extinction of one creation affects the rest.
Every atom was created for a purpose, for a divine wisdom. Who created even that speck of dust? There is a Creator. Our Lord ﷻ created even that tiny speck. Therefore it is important. If there were no wisdom in its existence, it would not have been created.
You must look at everything in existence as having divine wisdom for being. Grandsheikhق used to say that every indivisible particle of creation is mazharun li ismin min asma’ Allahi Azza wa Jall, a manifestation of one of the Holy Names of Allah Almighty.
We know that the Holy Names of Allah Almighty are ninety-nine, but there are still more. There are three thousand Holy Names: twelve hundred known to the angels, one thousand to the prophets, three hundred in the Taurat, three hundred in the Injil, three hundred in the Zabur, and ninety-nine in the Holy Qur’an.
Altogether they are two thousand nine hundred and ninety-nine, and there is one more, the Greatest Name, Ismu-Llahi-l-A‘dham.
Allah Almighty made these three thousand Names into three and presented them to the nation of Muhammad ﷺ as Bismillahi-r-Rahmani-r-Rahim. If a person says Bismillahi-r-Rahmani-r-Rahim, he is actually saying three thousand Holy Names of our Lord ﷻ, including the Greatest One.
The keys of miracles lie within Bismillahi-r-Rahmani-r-Rahim. Whoever keeps to it holds the key to miracles. You may ask, “Then why do we not have miracles?” It is because we are still too weak to carry them. They exist within us, but it is forbidden to use them at our level, for we are not yet strong enough.
All prophets received their miracles through Bismillahi-r-Rahmani-r-Rahim. Sayyidina Ibrahim (AS) was saved from the fire of Nimrod by it. Sayyidina Musa (AS) crossed the Red Sea by it. Sayyidina Sulayman (AS) ruled over mankind and jinn by it. Sayyidina Isa (AS) was raised to the Heavens by it.
Allah Almighty is eternal. His ﷻ existence has no end, His kingdom has no boundary. His sovereignty, His attributes, and His Names are endless. Every atom and every breath in the universe manifests one of His Holy Names.
Therefore, nothing is without purpose. To think otherwise is foolishness and unbelief. Everything has its station, its unique role, and no one else can occupy it.
This is the knowledge of the prophets (AS) and Awliya. They see the wisdom and purpose of every creature. But we, weak ones, do not even accept others among mankind. We call people useless, we say there are too many. We object to Allah ﷻ’s creation, saying, “For what are these people created?”
They say, “Too many useless ones.” But it may be that those who are yet to come are better, and those who speak are the useless ones. This way of thinking comes from shaytan. Pharaoh killed the children of Israel, and Nimrod killed the newborns of his time. Today new Pharaohs and Nimrods repeat the same crimes, though in modern forms.
He ﷻ knows best. If He creates, He also provides. No one is born without a share of provision, but mankind worries excessively over their portion.
Once Abu Yazid al-Bistamiق entered a city and prayed in a mosque. After prayer, the imam, seeing that he was a stranger, asked, “From where have you come?”
Abu Yazidق said, “I come from the earth.”
“All of us are from the earth,” replied the imam.
“Then why do you ask,” said Abu Yazidق, “if you already know? I come from the East.”
“What is your work?” the imam asked.
“Nothing.”
“If you do nothing, how do you live? You have no job, no trade, no farm?”
Abu Yazid looked at him and said, “How are you an imam? I prayed behind you thinking you were a believer, but you are not. Let me repeat my prayer. Do you not know Who provides sustenance?”
He continued, “Why do you not ask the cats how they live? Do they trade? Do they farm? Why not ask the dogs in London how they survive? One million dogs live comfortably and are even respected. Yet you ask me how I live!”
Yes, we are like such an imam. We are believers. We believe that even if the whole world is filled with the sons of Adam (AS), Allah Almighty can still give their portions. But we are sinners. We are wasting His ﷻ favors, and then we are seeing that the future is going to be dark and that people are suffering.
Allah ﷻ can give to all His creation. But mankind says, “Why so many people?” They do not believe in their Lord. They plan everything for themselves. Yet Allah ﷻ says, “I am planning for you.” Soon, He will bring His own plan, and when it comes, many will vanish, and few will remain. The world will be emptied until people walk for half an hour before meeting another soul.
Everything in the universe, everything in existence, has a private station and a special importance for itself. No one can substitute for it. You are keeping your station only for yourself, and you, and you, everyone.
This is related to adab, good manners towards our Lord Almighty, so that we may keep respect for everyone. And then we are going to take care of everyone, to help everyone to be in his station, to support him, and we must know that if he goes, the balance is going to change.
If you recognise that everything is created by divine wisdom, you will take lessons from everything. Fa fi kulli shay’in lahu ayatun, in everything there is a sign from your Lord ﷻ.
Then we come to actions. No one can act or move without there being a divine purpose and wisdom in it. Everything, every action, must carry a divine purpose. And among people on the earth, some of them are muslihun, good-builders, and some others are mufsidun, evil-builders.
Allah Almighty loves those who build goodness and bring pleasure to others. They are beloved people in the Divine Presence. The other group, the evil-builders, harm people, make them cry, and spread troubles. They are like wolves. Their teacher is shaytan, but the teachers of the good-builders are the prophets (AS).
All prophets (AS) came to teach people how they may build goodness, how they may order their lives by being good-builders, and to warn others not to become evil-builders, because every evil surrounds its maker.
Once Abu Jahl, the worst enemy of the Prophet ﷺ, used every means of evil to harm him. He knew that the Prophet ﷺ was a man of the highest character, one who would visit anyone who was sick, whether friend or foe.
When shaytan came to him, he whispered, “Pretend to be ill for a few days so that Muhammad will come to visit you. Tell your slaves to say, ‘Abu Jahl is sick.’ When he comes, you must dig a pit and cover it, so that when he steps on it, he will fall in and never return.”
Abu Jahl followed that whisper. He ordered his servants to dig a deep pit and cover it carefully with planks and earth. He then lay on his bed by the window, watching and waiting for the Prophet ﷺ.
When the Prophet ﷺ heard that Abu Jahl was ill, he said, “I must go to him. Perhaps his heart will soften, and he will believe in his Lord Almighty.”
Abu Jahl watched as the Prophet ﷺ approached. Just as the Prophet ﷺ was about to place his noble foot upon the covered pit, Jibreel (AS) descended and said, “O Messenger of Allah, your Lord sends you His greetings and orders you to turn back.” The Prophet ﷺ at once turned away.
When Abu Jahl saw him turn back, he became restless and cried out, “Why did he turn away?”
Forgetting everything, he jumped from his bed and ran forward, and the ground gave way beneath him. He fell into the very pit he had dug.
He began to shout, “O people, come to me, I am here!”
His servants ran about searching, saying, “Where is he? From where is the voice coming?”
Then they saw the hole.
He was inside it, calling, “Take my hand, pull me out!”
They stretched their hands toward him, but they could not reach. “Bring a rope,” he said.
They brought one and lowered it, but it still did not reach.
“This rope is too short, bring a longer one!”
They tied ropes together, calling for more from their neighbours, but even when the ropes reached the street, they still could not reach him.
At last, Abu Jahl realised that no rope on earth could save him.
Desperate, he said to his servants, “Go to Muhammad, tell him I will believe in him if he saves me.”
They ran to the Prophet ﷺ and said, “Abu Jahl has fallen into a pit and we cannot bring him out. Please come.”
The Prophet ﷺ came and said, “O Abu Jahl, if I take you out, will you believe?”
“Yes, yes,” he said, “take me out quickly.”
The Prophet ﷺ reached down his blessed hand, and by Allah’s permission lifted him out.
The moment Abu Jahl stood upon the ground, he said, “I have never seen a magician like you.”
Yet he still did not believe.
This is a lesson for all who build evil. Whoever digs a pit for his brother will fall into it himself. The one who does evil is surrounded by evil, as Allah ﷻ says, Wa la yahiqu-l-makru-s-saiy’u illa bi-ahlihi, meaning that the evil plan surrounds none but its maker.
A silk worm spins its thread around itself until it becomes trapped within. In the same way, every act of evil spins a thread around the one who commits it, until he can no longer escape.
Therefore, among people, from the beginning of time until the end, there will always be good-builders and evil-builders. Allah Almighty orders, “O people, use your minds and be good-builders, not evil-builders.” That is the summary of prophethood and the divine message to the sons of Adam (AS): build goodness, not harm.
At every step, you must ask yourself whether you are building goodness or building evil. You must think about that. The Prophet ﷺ said that one moment of reflection is more valuable than sixty years of worship.
O believers, for every action, be present with your intention. Do not be heedless! When you are heedless, you are building harm, working for devils, and supporting shaytan’s rule.
Keep this: in every breath and in every step, be good-builders.
May Allah ﷻ make us from those who build goodness and spread mercy.
May He ﷻ protect us from heedlessness and from actions that destroy the balance He has created.
Al-Fatiha.
• Mawlana Shaykh Muhammad Nazim Adil al-Haqqaniق
More sohbahs from the Liberating the Soul Series 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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