Bismi Llāhi r-Raḥmāni r-Raḥīm
Maulana Sheikh Nazimق’s Suhbah
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By the name of Allah, All-Mighty, All-Merciful, Most Beneficent and Most Munificent.
When will a person find peace within himself? That is the question.
Rivers run until they reach the ocean. They struggle until they arrive. Then there is no more running. Whoever is asking for peace within himself must also reach an ocean, or at least a sea, or even a lake, for a lake too is firm in its place.
Until then, everyone is struggling, every day, from morning until night and from night until morning.
There are two ways in which a person may attain rest. One is through natural death. Until death, a person struggles. When he dies, his arms and legs are stretched out, and there is no more movement.
According to his station, he may find peace. Yet that peace belongs only to the body, not to the soul. The other way is to find peace while still alive, before death comes to us.
Therefore, we must ask for peace on both sides, for our bodies and for our souls. The body reaches peace through death, but the soul must find its peace through surrender before death arrives.
The Prophet ﷺ said, “Mutu qabla an tamutu,” die before you die. This is what brings real peace and satisfaction.
Most people lose spiritual peace by running after the peace of the body. The body will rest at its natural death, but if the soul is restless, its suffering continues.
From the day of death until the Day of Resurrection, in Barzakh and beyond, the soul may continue to struggle until it reaches the Ocean that was assigned to it in pre-eternity.
Look at the creation of Sayyidina Adam (AS). Allah Almighty made him in Paradise, and before his soul was placed in him, his form lay without life. Then Allah Almighty ordered rain to fall upon him for forty years, the rain of sorrow. Only after that came one year of enjoyment.
This is the reality of dunya. Forty years of sorrow for one year of happiness. If a man lives forty years, only one year will be of ease. If he lives eighty years, only two. The rest is filled with difficulty and burden.
Why is this so? To remind us that dunya is not our resting place. This world is not Paradise. Here, happiness is rare and fleeting. Therefore, we must live with faith. If a person believes in Allah ﷻ, his Lord strengthens him and makes his burdens lighter.
With strong faith, even the heaviest trials can be endured with ease. Without faith, the weight of sorrow quickly crushes and destroys.
And still, death must come. No one escapes. When a person dies, people gather and cry. But you must think. That day will come for me also. Today they are crying for another, tomorrow they will cry for me.
We say happy birthday when a child is born, yet every baby mourns and cries. Why does the baby cry? Because he sees what we do not see, he hears what we do not hear. His tongue is locked by Allah Almighty, so he only weeps.
People laugh and celebrate, but the baby cries. And when death comes, the opposite happens! People cry, but the good servant laughs with joy, happy to return to his Lord ﷻ!
This is the meaning of die before you die. To break the ego before the grave. To prepare the soul before it is taken from the body. If you do not, then the journey will be very long and heavy.
If you do, then when others weep, you will be among those who laugh.
Our destination is peace. Like a traveller on a train, you must step off at the right station. If you get off too early or too late, you will suffer. If you stop at the wrong station, you must struggle again to find your way back. So it is with our lives.
Therefore, a true Guide is essential. Without a Guide, you will wander between stations and never reach home. How do you know a true Guide? By the peace he brings to your heart. If your heart is not at rest, leave him. If your heart finds peace with him, stay with him. That is the sign.
A true Guide teaches surrender. Without surrender, the ego remains, and the soul cannot find rest.
Grandsheikh Abdullahق gave an example. Once a man came and knocked at his door.
Grandsheikhق asked, “Who is there?”
The man answered, “It is I, Ibrahim.”
Grandsheikhق said, “Here there is no place for two. Go back.”
One year later the man returned and knocked again.
Grandsheikhق asked, “Who is there?”
This time he replied, “It is You.”
Grandsheikhق said, “Now you may enter.”
This is the meaning of dying before death. To leave the self, to melt into the guidance of the one who leads you, until only the Ocean remains.
Like a drop falling into the ocean, once it enters, you can no longer see it. Only the ocean remains. That is real peace.
But the ego resists. It is like a bottle holding water. The water longs to reach the ocean, but the bottle will not break. Only when it is shattered can the water join the sea. So too must the ego be broken.
Whoever defeats his ego and gives himself to his Guide reaches true peace, eternal peace, eternal happiness, eternal existence. Whoever clings to false existence delays his journey and suffers longer.
This day is coming for everyone. No one can escape. The command of the Lord ﷻ is written for every soul, for every nation and every people. Everyone has come to go. Nobody has come to stay.
We are all now in a queue. The Angel of Death (AS) takes one soul, and with each soul that is taken, the rest move one step forward. One by one, closer and closer.
With every funeral you see, remember, that step is nearer to you. Each time you look at a dead person, you must know, you must understand, you must say to yourself, “That step is for me. I am approaching my own end.”
This is the wisdom taught in the Holy Books. Yet people live like drunk ones, heedless, never thinking about it, never understanding it.
Therefore, during this short life, seek the right way. Do not wait until death. Do not cling to dunya. Ask your Lord ﷻ sincerely, “O my Lord, grant me a true Guide to carry me to You, the Ocean of Oceans. I am asking only for You!”
If you ask sincerely, Allah Almighty will send one of His beloved servants to lead you to your destination. Then you will find peace.
May Allah ﷻ grant us wakefulness, firm faith, and true sincerity, and count us among those who die before dying.
May He ﷻ make us among those who smile on the day when others weep.
Al-Fatiha.
• Mawlana Shaykh Muhammad Nazim Adil al-Haqqaniق
More sohbahs from the Liberating the Soul Series 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 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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