When you are not with Allah, you are with shaitan

Summary of Maulana Shaykh Nazim’s Daily Suhbah

23rd January 2010, Saturday

When you are not with Allah, you are with shaitan

A’uzubillah himinsh shaitan nirrajeem

Bismillahir Rahman-nir Raheem

Assalamu’alaikum wrh wbkt

• Maulana says that the recital of A’uzubillah destroys the forts of shaitan, as shaitan is bombarded by Divine missiles. Shaitan has a dirty intention – to bring bad thoughts and bad feelings, grief and sorrow, into our lives. So whenever you feel afraid, recite A’uzubillah, and seek Allah’s protection.

• Bismillah is a Divine Sword, and if it is recited by a person who is true to himself, it can kill shaitan and his followers/helpers. One who recites Bismillah is raised by Angels to higher spiritual levels, in which his feelings of grief, sorrow and fear are transformed, and he is brought to safety, away from shaitan’s evil.

• Deep heavenly knowledge brings satisfaction, calmness and contentment to the heart. Rasulullah (saw) brought such knowledge, and this knowledge brings safety to the Ummah. Maulana says that today’s lesson is one such lesson, for it contains a Key to Safety for the Ummah, and he says that, if you listen, obey and practise what you learn in today’s Suhbah, you will be in safety in this world and in the hereafter. Open the ears of your heart, says Maulana, and accept the teachings of Holy ones, for such people are the ones with connection to the Divine.

• Rasulullah (saw) says in a hadees, that each human being has one shaitan with him, as stated in the Qur’an, Surah An-nas, (Quran 114:4-5) :

مِن شَرِّ ٱلۡوَسۡوَاسِ ٱلۡخَنَّاسِ . ٱلَّذِى يُوَسۡوِسُ فِى صُدُورِ ٱلنَّاسِ

From the evil of the sneaking whisperer, who whispereth into the hearts of mankind.

• When a person is doing nothing, when his mind has forgotten Allah or when he is occupied with worldly thoughts – shaitan approaches him, and says to himself, “This is a suitable time to bring this person in my way.” Shaitan then inserts his trunk, like the proboscis of a mosquito, into the heart of that person.

• When shaitan inserts his trunk into a person’s heart, a heedless person will start to receive input from shaitan, and suddenly, he remembers old songs that he starts to hum, and he remembers old memories, both good and bad, and becomes lost in that world of day-dreaming and fantasies.

• If you are one who is aware of such an attack on your heart and if you have a spiritual guide, reach out to him for help by saying, “Oh my Master, please reach out to me now, I am in a difficult position, my heart is disturbed. Oh my Master, reach me quickly and save me from shaitan’s attack. He has put his trunk into my heart, I don’t know what I am thinking about anymore, and I don’t know what I am doing anymore, for he is causing me to forget Allah, causing me to forget His most glorified and honored one, Sayyidina Muhammad (saw). I am in a bad condition, in such a bad condition. Oh Chosen Ones, Oh Awakened Ones, reach me with your spirituality to stop these attacks.”

• When shaitan inserts his trunk into a person’s heart, he uploads so much rubbish and dirt into that heart. Maulana says endless dirtiness and countless streams of garbage are uploaded into the heart, causing the person to lose his calmness, his peace and his tranquility – he becomes troubled, worried, suspicious and upset, he feels the burdens of life on his mind and on his shoulders. His soul becomes dark, depressed and lonely. Such a person then seeks solace and rest from such evil feelings and dirty thoughts within him, he runs from East to West in search of a cure for his condition, he seeks the contentment and tranquility that has since disappeared from his heart and soul!

• Such a person doesn’t realise that all his sufferings arise from shaitan and his inserted trunk, so he resorts to a myriad of social activities to fill his empty soul – he goes pubbing, clubbing, partying, he meets friends for outings, he travels, he talks with friends – he tries everything to remove his spiritual suffering, even to the extent of seeing psychiatrists and taking their medicine. How can such medicine help? The disease which afflicts him, is an illness of the heart and soul, not of the physical body, so medicine that treats the physical body cannot cure illnesses of the soul. Such medicine merely compounds the problem, and worsens the situation,

• The cure is simple. Close your eyes, don’t move, concentrate on your heart, and recite, ALLAH, ALLAH! For the Prophet (saw) said, when a person remembers Allah (performs zikrullah), shaitan withdraws his trunk and runs away! When you remember Allah, you are with your Lord, shaitan cannot be near your heart, he will wait at a safe distance until you let down your guard, until you forget Allah, and that is when he approaches with his accursed trunk again to inject you, and once that is so, you lose your tranquility and fall back into the pit of darkness. Shaitan cannot penetrate the heart of one who remembers Allah, and a person who does Zikrullah, shaitan cannot make him forget Allah and His Rasul.

• Recite ALLAH, ALLAH with your tongue and in your heart, that is your protection from shaitan, and from all the illnesses that he uploads into your heart. Maulana says, a heart that is not reciting ALLAH, ALLAH, is dead, and one who remembers Allah always, is alive. Allah says in a Hadees Qudsi, “Oh people, recite My Holy Names, and remember Me. I am your guarantee, not a single problem will afflict your physical being and you will be surrounded by peace and felicity, no trouble will descend upon you.”

• Salafi scholars are quick to label the performance of zikir in a group as bida’ah (innovation). Maulana asks if they know that there are two types of Innovation, for there are also Praiseworthy Innovations (Bida’ah Hasanah)? What is wrong when groups of believers gather to recite Allah’s beautiful names? Zikrullah is one of the 54 obligatory acts we must do, it builds our faith (Iman), and faith is a fortress of protection for us all.

• Maulana ends by exhorting us to do constant Zikrullah, as the remembrance of Allah will remove all the heaviness in us and melt away all shaitanic thoughts, returning us to our pure, original creation. Be with Allah all of this life, and you will be raised in honour on the Day of Resurrection. Hell-fire will never touch you, if are always with Allah. Oh Muslims, says Maulana, give time for Zikrullah, you will live a happy and honoured life in this world and in the hereafter. Don’t be heedless, awaken from your slumber, clean your hearts from the dirtiness of this worldly life (dunia). Your honour lies in remembering Allah, from being with Allah, not from being away from Him, and not from being with this dirty dunia. Practise what you have learnt today, it gives you what you need, for this worldly life and for your afterlife.

يَـٰٓأَيُّہَا ٱلَّذِينَ ءَامَنُواْ ٱذۡكُرُواْ ٱللَّهَ ذِكۡرً۬ا كَثِيرً۬ا

O ye who believe! Remember Allah with much remembrance. (Quran 33:41)

وَمَن يَعۡشُ عَن ذِكۡرِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ نُقَيِّضۡ لَهُ ۥ شَيۡطَـٰنً۬ا فَهُوَ لَهُ ۥ قَرِينٌ۬

If anyone withdraws himself from the remembrance of the Most Gracious, We appoint for him an evil one (shaitan) to be an intimate companion to him. (Quran 43:36)

ٱسۡتَحۡوَذَ عَلَيۡهِمُ ٱلشَّيۡطَـٰنُ فَأَنسَٮٰهُمۡ ذِكۡرَ ٱللَّهِ‌ۚ أُوْلَـٰٓٮِٕكَ حِزۡبُ ٱلشَّيۡطَـٰنِ‌ۚ أَلَآ إِنَّ حِزۡبَ ٱلشَّيۡطَـٰنِ هُمُ ٱلۡخَـٰسِرُونَ

The Evil One has got the better of them: So he has made them lose the remembrance of Allah. They are the Party of the Evil One. Truly, it is the Party of the Evil One that will perish! (Quran 58:19)

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