You can never reach Allah, without a Guide

Summary of Maulana Shaykh Nazim’s Suhbah

31st January 2010, Sunday

You can never reach Allah, without a Guide

A’uzubillah himinsh shaitan nirrajeem

Bismillahir Rahman-nir Raheem

Assalamu’alaikum wrh wbkt

• Maulana reminds us that shaitan never likes to see Man receive any sort of benefit, pleasure or happiness. Remember that he is your sworn and avowed enemy, with the sole intention of plunging your life into chaos, suffering, regret and eternal misery. You must regard him as your enemy and treat him as one, beware of his presence and advice, for these are merely his tricks and traps that are meant to plunge you into despair. Recite A’uzubillah always, so as to remain under Allah’s protection constantly.

• We must be aware of what Allah wants of us. Allah has said in the Holy Qur’an,

O ye who believe! Do your duty to Allah, seek the means of approach unto Him, and strive (with might and main) in His cause: that ye may prosper. (Quran 5:35)

• We have been created to know our Creator. We must seek a ‘means of approach’, a Waseelah, to Him, as taught in the Ayat above. This is also known as asbab, a reason for something to occur. Maulana explains what Waseelah means. If a person wants to fly up into the sky, he is unable to do so because of his physical limitations. So he has to use an aeroplane. By means of using an aeroplane, he is able to achieve his previously unattainable goal, of reaching the sky. The aeroplane – is his means of attaining his goal – it is the asbab – it is the Waseelah.

• We cannot attain our goals, except by means of Waseelah. This worldly life is one where everything is achieved through reason, asbab. We take medicine to get well, we go to school to learn, we go to work to earn money, we jog to get fit, we drink to quench thirst and we plant crops in order to reap the harvest. So, in order to reach any goal, there is a process, a way of getting there, and that is Waseelah.

• If to merely reach this worldly sky, we need a Waseelah, what do you think about trying to traverse the seven heavens, to reach Sidratul Muntaha, to reach the Divine Presence – surely, that would require a means, a Waseelah, too. Hence, Man is in need of a Waseelah to reach Allah, and anyone denying this fact, is actually denying the Holy Qur’an.

• Only Allah can fulfill the deep spiritual needs that are hidden in your soul, so seek a means to approach Allah, as taught in the Holy Qur’an, as Allah did not leave any matter out of the Holy Book. No matter what you seek, whatever problem you face, the answer lies within the Holy Qur’an. To attain any goal, whether physical or spiritual, one has to seek a means to it, and the means may be zhahir or bathin.

Nothing have We omitted from the Book, and they (all) shall be gathered to their Lord in the end. (Quran 6:38)

• There are some who claim that they have sought an answer from the Holy Qur’an, but found none. Maulana says, that such people are spiritually blind, and just as a physically blind man cannot see the Sun and the Moon, spiritually blind people cannot see the Light of Guidance from the Holy Qur’an. Whatever you seek that will bring you spiritual happiness and contentment, is to be found in that Holy Book.

• What will bring us satisfaction within our hearts and souls? When we understand that Allah is our goal, and His Pleasure is our destination. (Ilahi anta maqsoodi, wa ridha ka mathloubi)

• There was a time in which we did not exist, and Allah is He who created us from nothing, along with the rest of creation. Now ask yourselves this powerful question. Did Allah create us to seek Him, or to seek the creation? The creation is but a shadow, an illusion! You must seek the reality.

• Maulana explains that when we look into a mirror, we are merely seeing an image. It looks real enough, but is it really you? The image, though it resembles you, does not have flesh and bones, it does not have life, and you cannot touch it. So there is a distinct difference between the real you, and the image of you, in the mirror – one is reality and the other, is just an illusion.

• Just as Allah created the mirror for us to see ourselves, Allah created the whole of creation as a mirror, a mirror for us to see His Atrributes and His beautiful Names, since we cannot understand the being of Allah (Zat Allah). We can understand Him through his Names and Attributes. So that Mirror is a Waseelah. When all that you see in this Divine Mirror is Allah, you would have reached matlabu ‘l-`alaa, the endless fulfillment of the highest desire, that is a never-ending vision of satisfaction for Man! You will realise that you too, are part of that vision, that creation, that manifestation of Divine Attributes and Names, and you would then disappear, fana’, into that reality yourself.

• We need a Waseelah, a Divine Mirror to look at ourselves and to understand ourselves, as there are so many stations, so many stages, so many realities and levels to pass through, before our personality becomes naught, and there is none but He.

• It is shaitan’s aim to take you in the opposite direction, away from Allah. That is why we must seek a Guide, that is why we must ponder about His Names and Attributes, we must seek a Way to draw near to Allah, relentlessly.

• Sayyidina Zulkarnain, the Two-Horned One mentioned in Surah Al-Kahf, was one such servant, whom Allah opened the Way to.

Lo! We made him strong in the land and gave him unto every thing a Way. And he followed a Way (Quran 18:84-85)

• Maulana says that the verse above, fa atba’a sababa, is the secret that holds the key to ALL knowledge that Man is learning, the knowledge of the heavens and the earth. For everything on Earth is linked to a reason, a Waseelah. And Sayyidina Zulkarnain was walking on a journey, and he chose the right Way and relied on the right Way. He stepped on the Way of reasons/asbab/Waseelah, to attain success.

• When Imam Mahdi (as) comes, then this world is no longer one that is linked to Waseelah. It becomes a Zaman of Qudratullah, where, what you wish to attain, you simply say ‘Be’ and it shall become. That, says Maulana, is a very high station, and one must pass through this Zaman of asbab/Waseelah, to get there.

• This is just an Introduction to the personality of Imam Mahdi (as), to prepare for his coming.

Fatihah.