What determines a person’s true value

Summary of Maulana Shaykh Nazim’s Daily Suhbah

7th March 2010, Sunday

What determines a person’s true value

A’uzubillah himinsh shaitan nirrajeem

Bismillahir Rahman-nir Raheem

Assalamu’alaikum wrh wbkt

• Maulana began this Suhbah, by asking for the support of the pious ones, who are a rare breed today, for despite there being billions of humans alive, there is only a handful of pious ones. One who is with such pious ones, has good tidings awaiting him. He then recited A’uzubillah himinasy syaitan nirrajeem, reminding us that it is heavenly protocol that a servant always seeks Divine help against this accursed enemy.

• Maulana then recited Bismillah hirrahman nirraheem. Maulana says we must have faith in the Names of Allah contained within this Ayat, and if at any time we desired heavenly help and support, recite this Ayat, and you shall be granted what you seek. One who recites it, the treasures of dunia and akherat will be open to him, the treasures of the heavens and the earth will be placed before him.

• Each time you recite Bismillah, you are knocking on the Divine door, for none can draw near without that recitation. With that recitation, a connection is made, and a response from the guardian Angel is given to you, “Why are you here? What do you seek?”

• Some people ask for frivolous things, gifts of no value – they ask for dunia! The Guardian Angel then says, “Why do you ask for such worthless things? You should ask for something that has value in the eyes of Allah and his Rasul (saw)!” The Prophet (saw) then instructs the Angel, “Give him something of what he wants, he is one who is heedless.” Just like children who go to a shopkeeper seeking some sweets, and the shopkeeper tosses the child a sweet or two, these are people devoid of understanding, they come to the Divine Presence, seeking worthless trash, when before them lies the treasures of dunia and akherat, of the earth and the heavens.

• The value of a human being in the Divine presence is determined by what he desires, by what he asks from Allah. Each human being is measured on a Divine scale, and at the bottom of this scale, are those who desire and seek fervently of this worldly pleasures and comforts. Such a person, Maulana says, is either an ignorant one, or a heedless one, or one with a psychological problem, or simply a mindless one – they are not aware about what they are seeking from Allah.

• Higher up on that scale, are those who seek the gifts of akherat. And who is at the top of this Divine Scale? He who says “La Maqsud illallah, we seek only YOU, ya Allah.” These servants do not desire dunia, they do not even desire akherat, they only desire His Divine pleasure – these are humans with the greatest value in Divine Judgement, they are at the highest point on the Divine Scale.

• So many people seek the best of life in this dunia. They seek big houses, expensive cars and branded goods. Why? What is the point of asking Allah for a palace on earth? If such a palace was built to raise an Islamic Sultanate, that is acceptable, but if it is for your ego’s sake, it has no value in Allah’s eyes. Any action done to please the ego, displeases Allah, and is rejected. So strive against your ego, to please Allah. One who reaches the Divine door, and seeks dunia, the Angel says, “Take the dunia that you seek, and go. You have reached the Divine door, and you ask for such things? Do you not have a mind? Take and go, you are a slave to shaitan!”

• Maulana says this is an important lesson for us all, we must know our adab when we ask from Allah, the Most Generous, we must know what to ask for. Maulana says it is Grand Shaykh’s instruction that he explain to us the true worthlessness of dunia, because each human being is chasing dunia with all his might, clinging to it and so reluctant to part with it.

• For example, the zakat rate is 1 dinar out of 40 dinars, yet so many a reluctant to give. Maulana says we should give 1 dinar to cleanse our egos, and the remaining 39 dinars should be spent to seek Allah’s pleasure. Allah says, “What is with you, will disappear, but what is with Me, will remain for eternity.” In a hadees Qudsi, Allah said “When someone asks from you, give, never fear that the Lord of the Arash will leave you poor.” If Man gave freely of what Allah has bestowed on him, there would be no hunger, no poverty and no homelessness on earth. Do you not fear the Day when you will stand before Allah, and He will ask you, “How did you use the riches that I bestowed upon you?” What is the point of having 100 billion dollars in the bank? Do you not remember the story of Qarun in the Qur’an? He was given so much wealth and treasures, yet he was stingy and proud. In doing so, he incurred Allah’s wrath, and Allah caused him to be swallowed by the earth. Each day, an Angel descends upon his grave, and says to him, “Oh Qarun, you should be ashamed of yourself, you were given so much by Allah, but you never helped those in need. You never followed the path of Nabi Musa (as).”

• An infant is born into this world, with his hands clenched. Maulana says, this is because every human being wants to gather, harness and control as much of this dunia as he possibly can, in his short stint in dunia. But each human being dies, with his hands open, palms empty, bringing nothing from this dunia. That is why, Alexandra the Great, just before he died, instructed his generals, to carry his coffin, with his hands placed outside the coffin, so that all his citizens could see his open, empty palms, carrying nothing from this worldly life, into the afterlife.

• Remember, you bring nothing from this life to the next world, except what you spend for His pleasure. In today’s world, a person’s value is always measured by how much wealth he has. In the Divine Judgement, it is not so, your value is what you seek from Allah. So seek the journey that yields His pleasure, do your best to please Allah.

Fatihah.