The Sign of Love for Allah
When a human being starts any action, whether it is a worldly action or an action regarding the Hereafter, then there is one thing, one passion, that will definitely follow, which is the desire to know what the result of that action was – feedback, in other words. ‘Am I getting some benefit from this, or is there a loss? Is there any data breakdown that I can look at?’ It is definitely in a person’s nature to analyse his actions. In the same way, according to the nature of the human being, when Allah subhana wa ta'ala gives His Grace and mercy and enables someone to follow His path of seeking Allah, finding Allah and looking for Allah’s love, while travelling on the path, that person also has the passion to know ‘Am I being successful or not? Am I getting near to my destination or not? Is the love of Allah ta’ala coming to me or not? Am I doing the right things or not? Does Allah ta’ala love me or not? Do I love Allah or not?’
So, alhamdulillah, we are all travelling on this path and are on this path, and a person who travels on this path is called a Salik in Tasawwuf. There are other paths – there may be various routes to a country or to a destination – but regarding this path specifically, the path of travelling to Allah’s love, the definition and name given to such a traveller is Salik. Alhamdulillah, you brothers are on this, and I am also with you, and we are working on this path and making effort to attain Allah’s love. So inevitably, the thought comes into such a person’s heart of ‘What is my position at the moment? Where do I stand? And how can I find out?’ Doesn’t this happen?
Now we often use a measuring tool, which maybe we have made ourselves or has become famous automatically, which is that we think that when Allah loves somebody, he has Kashf and Karamaat, and he does dreams and Ziyarah and so on and so forth - we apply these sorts of criteria. For example, a person might say, ‘Alhamdulillah - how do I know that Allah ta’ala loves me? I have seen a good dream and I have had inspiration – Kashf – about something.’ In reality, this is not the sign for success on this path, because when we talk about dreams and Kashf and these sorts of experiences, shaytan can also become mixed up with these things. These emotions and feelings are very dangerous for a human being, especially for a Salik – he gets attacked with thoughts such as these. You know that a Salik is a person who is travelling on the path to Allah, and because this Majlis is that type of gathering, that is why we are speaking on this subject - so pay special attention to this. This is Istidraj, deception, delusion, because shaytan can come in any form, saying ‘Oh, you are pious, you are an elder now and you have attained’ - and when you start listening to that, shaytan wins.
So our pious predecessors, the pious elders, would emphasise especially to their students that they should not pay attention to these factors; this is not the sign that you are on the path to success. Yes, they can come, but they are not the real sign. This is such a delicate and even dangerous path that we must not make these signs as confirmation. For example, if a pious elder looks into a matter and says to his Mureed ‘Yes, your dream is correct’ or ‘Yes, your words and experience is correct’, then automatically a person is apt to slip into this trap of thinking ‘Yes, I am a pious elder now and I have become a pious person, and whatever I think and desire, that occurs. Wherever my thoughts go, that is what happens in reality, so that means I am getting this result from my Dhikr and my Ibadah and I am successful. I have done it!’ This is wrong – and this is dangerous.
So what is the sign of success then? We have to think about this as well, and we have to ask this question. How will I know that Allah ta’ala loves me? The pious predecessors, alhamdulillah, via the light of the Qur’an and Hadith have explained these points and have highlighted a very great sign of success. We are following this path and are Saliks so we need to think about this and ask ourselves ‘Which direction is my effort going in?’ Allah ta’ala has given us the Tawfeeq to make a very great effort, and we see this subject mentioned many times in the Qur’an. Allah ta’ala explains this and tells us ‘Follow My path, travel on My path, make effort on My path.’ {ٱهۡدِنَا ٱلصِّرَٲطَ ٱلۡمُسۡتَقِيم} When a person seeks this, this is the path - and it is a great journey that Allah ta’ala takes us on, alhamdulillah. And on the way, a person encounters laziness, barriers, obstacles, and he has to make effort in order to overcome these hurdles. The person who falls into laziness and negligence has cut himself off from the right life and has wasted his time in life.
The pious predecessors have said that if you miss even one Sohbat or one Majlis of your Sheikh, this is a very big loss. I heard in the company of my Hadhrat Sahib rahmatullah alayh that there is Qadha for everything – if you miss a Fardh Salah, you can make it up by praying Qadha – but there is one thing for which there is no Qadha. Whatever you miss in terms of the Sohbat, the company, the Majlis, and time spent with the Sheikh cannot be made up for by Qadha. The Rahmah that is descending from Allah ta’ala at that time in the gathering of the Sheikh will not come again – those specific Barakaat will not come again. You may come next time, but that Majlis you missed in which Allah ta’ala wanted to give you something at that time, what you lost then cannot be regained. That is why the pious elders say that you should never miss the Sohbat, and the gathering of your Sheikh. If you reject it, you will be at a loss, cut off from those blessings – that is how careful one should be. A person says ‘Oh, it’s alright – I sat in the Dhikr yesterday evening and I will go again soon.’
Sometimes a person can end up with many regrets about his life, and when his Sheikh departs from the world, he thinks, ‘If only I had done more; if only I had done this or that service to Hadhrat Sahib’, and for the rest of his life, such a person keeps thinking about the time that he wasted. Alhamdulillah thumma alhamdulillah – this is one thing that I never regret. Alhamdulillah, you may be amazed to hear that I never wasted the Sohbat of Hadhrat Sahib – SubhanAllah. I am grateful millions of times over for this, and this was due to Hadhrat Sahib’s special Tawajjuh upon me. Whenever I was with Hadhrat Sahib in life – in Madinah, Makkah, in the streets and alleyways, sitting all night long – I stayed close. If he sat all night long, I would sit all night long – alhamdulillah, this is a great Karam from Allah subhana wa ta'ala. I am full of mistakes and errors and I am not capable – I see mistake after mistake - but when I think about this, I get encouragement. I didn’t know about these points at that time, about Tasawwuf and guidance and what does and doesn’t happen. All the guidance was coming from Allah.
What was the form of that guidance? I mention this so that you will understand my experience and what happened with me and what happens with other people who say they don’t feel like going when there is a Majlis taking place. How can this be? When a person feels that he wants to keep sitting near his Sheikh, when this feeling comes into the heart, then consider that individual is progressing fantastically well on this path of Sulook. This is the sign that I am telling you about – this is a very distinct path. The scale, the analysis, the weighing up is very distinct in Tasawwuf, and this is what you obtain from the Khanqahs. Debates and lectures and speeches – in the Naqshbandi Silsila, these are about this subject. Hadhrat Sheikh Naqshband Sahib rahmatullah alayh said that a person who cannot take benefit from the silence of his Sheikh, cannot take benefit from the words of his Sheikh. What you get in the silence of the Sheikh – remember this – what you obtain in the silence, in other words, in Muraqabah, you will not get that through his words and his discussion. If you can’t take the benefit from the silence of the Sheikh, then it doesn’t matter how much he speaks and gives Taqrir and Bayans – you will not derive benefit from them. Do you understand what I am saying? This is our syllabus, and that is why I am discussing it with you. Say alhamdulillah – say SubhanAllah.
That is why it is stated that the whole Tariqah is based on Adab – how to stand, how to sit, how to go, how close should you be, what Adab is correct, how should one carry oneself, what manners are appropriate – you have to learn these things. This is not some normal situation – you have to learn the Adaab. In no way or form should there be bad manners because this is a unique path, a different path. People are amazed when they see the Adab and say ‘What is this that the students are doing? Why are they acting like this?’ But for the person on the journey, the Salik, these are the signs that he is on his journey, they are signs that he is on the motorway and is travelling. This is how you sit, this is how you stand, only go this close – wherever a warning comes, a reminder has come, for Adab is a very big factor. That is why it is stated that you should not even step onto the prayer mat of the Sheikh – this is Adab - and don’t sit unnecessarily in the place where the Sheikh prays. All of these Adaab between Mureed and Sheikh were recorded by Hadhrat Mujaddid Alf Thani rahmatullah alayh. The more regard a person has for Adab all counts to his benefit. Our Mashaaikh of Silsila Naqshbandia have said that, in this Silsila, you can attain through Adab things that you cannot attain through Dhikr and Ibadaat. If a person has learned Adab, alhamdulillah.
But today, this is the generation where there is no respect for mother or father or Ustadh or Ulema-e-Kiram. Do we have respect for these people? We have no respect for them – no regard, no Ihtiram. Whenever you want to do something, ask somebody senior – ‘Can I sit here? Can I do Khidmah? Can I do service like this? Am I doing this Khidmah in the right way?’ Every Khidmah is not necessarily done correctly. Hadhrat Moulana Sheikh rahmatullah alayh said ‘It is not easy to pick up the shoes of the Sheikh.’ First learn the Adab - ‘How should I pick up the shoes of the Sheikh?’ If you are trying to pick them up and causing fights and quarrels as to who should pick them up, then you are giving pain to your Sheikh. There are Adaab of how to do this also – look at how important a point this is. This is not an issue for a normal person – who does this concern? The Salik, the traveller. Normal people laugh at you, saying ‘Oh, you are mad, crazy people! What are they doing here? They have taken the wrong direction – just read Qur’an and do other actions. What is this game these people have fallen into, these strange people? They are crazy, mad people!’ But ask the Salik, the true, honest Salik, how much satisfaction he is gaining. And when he starts to get taste and enjoyment in this, then understand that, MashaAllah, that person is travelling in a brilliant way, a first-class way. This is a sign that has been given. But time is short, so I have to be careful not to speak for too long about this.
So what is the sign of success on the path? Are you really loving Allah? Is Allah loving us? I am doing Mujahidah and Dhikr and struggling and striving, but Kashf is not the sign, nor Karamaat, nor dreams. None of these are signs. The sign is Ajeeb and unique. The sign of success is that whoever Allah loves, whoever He gives true love to, then that person starts to love the creation of Allah. Say SubhanAllah. So if someone really loves Allah, he starts to love the creation of Allah – this is a unique point. Put everything else to the side – Kashf, Karamaat and so on – and keep this sign in mind. This is the real sign of Allah’s love. If a person says he loves Allah and has got the love of Allah, then he also loves the Makhluq of Allah. Why? Because Allah ta’ala Himself says this. Allah says ‘Look, all of My Khalq are like My people!’ – they belong to Allah. So whoever loves Allah, then will he not love Allah’s Makhluq? Will he not love the people of Allah?
Take the example of someone who you love in the world – and everyone has love for someone in the world, don’t they, like the common love for children and so on. Well, there is no limit to the love of the Salik – if he loves his Sheikh, then he loves the Sheikh’s street, and he loves the routes that the Sheikh takes, he loves his door – Wallahi! – he loves his windows, he loves the places that he passes by. This love has no limits. What is real, true love? Think about it yourself. When he comes into contact with anything that has a connection with the Sheikh, he says ‘MashaAllah, I am enjoying myself!’ But other people say ‘What is he doing?’ The time and difficulty that he experiences when waiting for the Sheikh gives him enjoyment. He remembers when it was raining heavily, and he had to stand and wait for the Sheikh in order to serve him - and the student took pleasure in that. Or perhaps it was intensely hot, and he had to walk barefoot, and his feet were burning, but nevertheless he was enjoying himself as he was assisting and holding his Hadhrat Sahib - SubhanAllah! So this is natural that, whoever you love, you love all of the things attached to that person. It cannot be that, for example, you love somebody, but you dislike the things connected to that person. If you love things that the person you say you love dislikes, then can you claim that you love that person? This cannot be. Remember, this is the sign, the real sign, so that claim is false.
There are two types of love – one is real love, and one is fake love. Fake love is when a person makes false claims and empty declarations and big statements, but behind this there is nothing to back it up, and there is a secondary objective, such as ‘If I love this person, a consequence will follow; if I love him, then I will get this or that.’ Real love for a person, however, is true and intense love - there is no secondary objective behind it. He doesn’t even know why he loves that person, why he loves his house and his shoes, and the things connected to him. This is Ajeeb and unique, and this is true love, and this is real passion. There is nothing mixed with it, no contamination, no greed – when you love a person for their own sake, then that is real love. The lover says ‘I don’t know why I keep feeling like this!’ – you don’t know yourself why you are doing this or that action. For example, nobody can stay awake all night without a reason, but the lover thinks ‘My Mehboob might come past, so I will stand here waiting.’ But today, we are in that generation where we feel sleepy in the street of the lover – there is no Mujahidah today. This was not the case with Hadhrat Sahib in Makkah and Madinah. When I look back today, I wonder how I spent all night long sitting in the same place with Hadhrat Sahib without eating or drinking, and I realise that the answer to this is the same – love for Allah was there, and so the Rahmah of Allah then starts to make you love the Makhluq of Allah. Say SubhanAllah.
So do you understand the sign now? What should we look for as a sign? That we have love for the Makhluq of Allah, that love starts growing for Allah’s creation, that we have compassion and regard for Allah’s Makhluq, whoever it is. Whatever condition that person is in, your heart should shake, and you should never countenance causing loss to Allah’s creation or contemplate having enmity with the Makhluq of Allah. Even if you receive words of enmity, you should reply with love – and this is the basis of Allah’s love. Such a person knows that human beings are the Ahl of Allah, the people of Allah, and are thus connected to Him, so how can he hate those people – or any creation of Allah?
If you go to the Khanqahs, you will see how the Makhluq of Allah receives the Faidh from Allah’s Walis. No one goes hungry at a Khanqah because food is served there – and they provide this service to people with happiness. You see the system of Langar at the Khanqah – regular meals are served, and people who are hungry and thirsty come. There are no questions asked, such as ‘Are you Bai’ah with me?’ – no. The Sheikh feeds the students happily and tells them to eat to their fill and take some away with them as well. Go to any place where there is a Wali of Allah and you will see this sign in evidence, for a lot of love will be being distributed to the creation of Allah. Do you understand what I am saying? That is what you see from the Walis of Allah, wherever you find them.
I remember an event which I will share with you. Sheikh Sakhti rahmatullah alayh was a great elder who came in our history, a great Sheikh – Junaid al-Baghdadi rahmatullah alayh was one of his Mureeds. You can appreciate his greatness yourself when you know that Sayyid-ut-Taifa was the Mureed and Sheikkh Sakhti rahmatullah alayh was the teacher! Look at this – what a great Wali of Allah he must have been. I will relate an event of his and this example will enable you to understand this point. He was with his Mureeds walking towards a river, and in the manner of the pious elders, he was walking at the front and the Mureeds were following. They were walking along the bank of the river, and there were some youths in a boat on the river having a picnic – the weather was nice, and they had gone out for a picnic. So these young boys were sitting there enjoying themselves in the boat, eating and laughing and singing – everything was happening. So Hadhrat Sahib was walking past with his Mureeds, and when the youths saw that Wali of Allah passing, with his distinctive clothing and the Mureeds walking respectfully behind, they said ‘Oh look – who’s this?’ - and they started criticising and mocking and making jokes about the Sheikh and his Mureeds. They started making outrageous statements about the Sheikh and his Mureeds, and openly jesting, saying ‘Oh, look at them! Look at Pir Sahib with his students walking meekly behind him.’ You see this don’t you? This is a common response in the world – this has always happened across the generations.
So someone was giggling, someone was pointing their finger, someone was laughing so hard you could see his teeth, and Hadhrat Sahib just continued to walk. But the Mureeds, obviously, couldn’t bear seeing their Sheikh criticised, dishonoured and disrespected. Adab dictated that they couldn’t just carry on without responding in some way, so they went to Hadhrat Sahib and said ‘Please, Hadhrat, we are putting up with this and we cannot speak out of turn, but we request that you respond to this behaviour by making Dua against these people.’ They were requesting the Sheikh to ask Allah to curse them. They thought that the Sheikh would also be angry, for the youngsters were swearing at the Sheikh and shouting things like ‘Oh look at his beard! Look at his Imamah! Oh Pir Sahib, you are a thief with your Mureeds walking meekly behind you. This is a drama – it is a cult!’ They were shouting out statements such as these. So Hadhrat Sahib said ‘What can I do?’ and the students said ‘Curse them, Hadhrat Sahib!’ So he said, ‘Ok, if you think I can do that’ - and then he raised his hands.
Now when the Wali of Allah raises his hands - imagine – the hands of the angels in the heavens are raised as well! Allah Himself says ‘When My Wali raises his hands, then I accept every request that he makes – I do not leave him empty-handed.’ SubhanAllah. So the Mureeds started shaking and wondering ‘What is going to happen to them now? We will see!’ So Hadhrat Sahib raised his hands – look at the Dua and its consequences – and said ‘Ya Allah, these youths are enjoying themselves in this world – they are happy and laughing and joking – so my Dua is that You make them like this in the Hereafter as well.’ SubhanAllah! ‘May they smile and laugh and enjoy themselves in the Hereafter as well.’ He then concluded his Dua and wiped his hands on his face. The Mureeds thought ‘What? We asked for a curse and they have been given something more!’ So they said ‘Hadhrat, they are behaving very badly and mocking you so we asked that you would curse them’ – but Hadhrat said ‘You asked for a Dua against them – so see what happens now.’
Imagine the style of the Wali of Allah! See how much he loves and has regard for the creation of Allah. So Hadhrat said to his Mureeds ‘Look, I asked Allah to give them happiness in the Hereafter, so why should it cause you pain if they get happiness? Why does the thought of their happiness give you pain? And you know that the happiness of the Hereafter is not attained for nothing – happiness in the Hereafter is only possible for them if Allah subhana wa ta'ala does their Islah, and rectifies and guides them, and makes them Insan, human beings, and makes them do Tawbah.’ Hadhrat Sahib said this is a very light manner. Imagine this – despite their rudeness, and knowing that those people regarded him as an enemy and didn’t like him, and mocked him and oppressed him and committed excesses and bad actions against him, what is the response of the Wali? Even then, they have concern for such people – this is the Sha’n, the glory, and the status of the Wali of Allah. There is no malice or hatred in their heart. Their high stage is that they forgive – they know that this is the higher grade.
I will end this story with this point about forgiveness and will now tell you a personal event to offer another proof about this subject. This is something that happened to me just two days ago, and perhaps I am discussing this topic with you today due to this. If this event had not occurred, maybe I wouldn’t be discussing this with you. Shall I share it with you? It seems excessive, but I will explain it to you because this whole subject is based on this. Just two days ago, I was returning home after Maghrib, and sometimes I go on foot. Obviously, it is dark after Maghrib and when I go through the alleyways, it is dark and quiet. It was silent, so I heard that somebody was walking behind me on the road that I was walking down. I have told people not to walk behind me or follow me home – everyone knows this – so I said to myself ‘Who could this be?’ At first, I didn’t pay much attention, but the steps were approaching and obviously, it was dark and with things as they are nowadays, somebody weak like me, with face covered as we do, has to think about somebody coming up behind. He was just a few footsteps away, so I was a bit cautious – just a couple of days ago, this was – and so I moved to the side and looked back. I saw a man walking towards me with two bags, and his face was covered, and his body was covered, so I couldn’t recognise him.
He came closer and closer and then said ‘Assalamu alaykum’ – so I replied ‘Wa alaykum as-Salam.’ And then I said ‘Please introduce yourself – who are you? I don’t recognise you.’ Then he recited a verse of the Qur’an by way of introduction. I said to myself ‘Ok’, and asked him where he lived - and again he replied by reciting a verse of the Qur’an. So I am asking him questions, and he is answering by reading verses of the Qur’an – SubhanAllah. I was a bit surprised and said to myself ‘This is a strange person walking here in the dark.’ Then he said ‘Hadhrat, I met you forty years ago – for forty years I have had a connection with you.’ So I said ‘Then tell me your name’ – at which he again read a verse of the Qur’an! We were walking slowly but I slowed down even more, and then he said to me ‘I heard one Nasiha in your gathering, and for forty years I have been doing Amal on that Nasiha’ - and then he started to cry. We were still walking along together slowly, and he said ‘I met you forty years ago in a Majlis – shall I tell you where?’ And then he said it was in the oldest Khanqah, even describing the colour of the walls and the decoration that was there – see how the people who love remember everything! I had forgotten that place and what the door and the doormat were like – this was the first Khanqah that we had, the very first, which we were using forty or fifty years ago. Some people from Bolton would have come there – Moulana Elias came, I think. He is older now, but he was young at that time and used to come there from Bolton for Tarawih.
So he said ‘The door was this colour and there was this item and this decoration’ – I said ‘Ok, yes, you are correct.’ He said ‘I came to your Majlis at that time, and after that I became your Ashiq and have been doing Amal on that one Nasiha for forty years.’ Look at his Istiqamat – look at his steadfastness! He said ‘Shall I tell you what you said?’, so I said ‘Please do.’ He said ‘You explained in that Majlis and said “Remember – be careful of one thing: never take revenge on anyone in life; rather, forgive that person. Learn to forgive people!”’ Say SubhanAllah. He continued, saying ‘I have incurred big, big losses from people, and this is happening even now, but I have never left this Nasiha of yours until today. Until this second, I have been following that advice you gave.’ We had come close to my house by then, so he took two or three things out of his bag and put them into my hand, and then he turned back, and I turned towards home – and I still don’t know who he was.
I kept on thinking all night long ‘SubhanAllah – how Allah ta’ala shows the path to whoever He wants.’ He attained Allah’s love through that Nasiha, just through that one Nasiha. We can spend our whole lives explaining Tafseer of Qur’an and read translations of the Qur’an from morning to evening, but even then, we don’t change. So what we realise is that you don’t get success through these things. A person gets success when he is Sadiq and honest and truthful and wants to follow the path correctly. Allah is not far; Allah is not far away.
We know that Allah’s Makhluq is all around us, but do we have love for Allah’s creation in our hearts? If a person does not have this attribute and quality inside him, then how will a person save others from Jahannam? Allah says {قُوٓاْ أَنفُسَكُمۡ} – it is not just your own family, but rather the Makhluq, the whole creation of Allah, who we have to save from Jahannam. That is why the Awilya do Mujahidah all night long, and they stay with the Makhluq and are concerned about their Hereafter and saving them from Jahannam. They don’t care about their own selves and their bodies. The Wali of Allah does not care about himself, rather he hosts Dhikr of Allah. And their connection with people is Ajeeb; if a person is more down and out on the street, then they love that person more – they have more regard for such people. Sinful people are surprised and think ‘Why is he showing me so much love?’ And others think ‘Why is he spending time on that sinful, dirty, impure person?’ But without any condition, such a person loves the sinful one more and draws him nearer, because he has love for that person and is worried that he is going towards Jahannam – he wants to save him from Jahannam.
What did Sheikh Sakhti Sahib rahmatullah alayh say? SubhanAllah – what did he say? He didn’t ask that they should be destroyed, but rather said ‘Ya Allah, enable them to do Tawbah! Ya Allah, bring them to the Straight Path.’ So what was the true Dua? The Sheikh’s hands were raised – and this is the effect of the gaze of the Wali. He changes the destiny of thousands! When the Wali of Allah raised his hands, the destiny changed! As soon as his hands lowered after the Dua, the students looked around and saw that those same people who had been laughing and joking in the boat were now crying and coming over and asking ‘Please Hadhrat, forgive us – we do Tawbah!’ SubhanAllah – those same people in the boat all became Walis of Allah. SubhanAllah – {قُوٓاْ أَنفُسَكُمۡ}. The objective was fulfilled – the Makhluq of Allah had been going towards hellfire, but the Dua of the Wali of Allah did not want this to happen due to his immense love for the Makhluq, the creation of Allah. He doesn’t look at whether they have higher or lower status than himself, or judge whether they are better or worse than him or look at how rich they are; he just has this Fikr, this concern, that they should pray Salah or come to Dhikr - he tries to get them to come to Dhikr at least once. He gives invitations and Da’wah to Allah’s creation, and there is no objective behind that – rather, he just has love for Allah. Do you understand what I am saying?
So this is the biggest announcement about Allah’s love, which is that if you love Allah ta’ala really and genuinely, then you will have love for the Makhluq of Allah. If you see somebody hungry, you will feed him, if you see a needy person, you will fulfil his need. This is the same example I have given to you of Sheikh Sakhti rahmatullah alayh. He stated that when you give Salam to another person, then one hundred Rahmahs descend – this is a Hadith. One hundred Rahmahs descend when two people give Salam to each other. So he said – listen to this – ‘When somebody gives Salam to me, I remember that the Hadith says that ninety Rahmahs go to that person who smiles and responds to the Salam’ – say SubhanAllah! So he stated ‘What I do is that when somebody gives me Salam, I don’t just smile and respond, but rather I make a face and make Dua to Allah that He gives the Rahmah that I would have attained to the other person. I make a face when I give the response so that Allah ta’ala will give all one hundred Rahmahs to the other person who initiated the Salam rather than to me.’
So may Allah ta’ala give us this incredible feeling as well. We do not need Kashf or Karamaat, what we need to assess is how much we love the Makhluq of Allah. Our greatest opportunities for this are within our families, with our brothers, sisters, children, uncles, aunties, our husband, wife and relatives. What is our reaction if they slap us? Do we slap them back? No – instead, make Dua at Tahajjud time ‘Oh Allah, make him pious.’ If people say ‘Oh, divorce her’, say ‘No, I will never leave that woman’, or ‘I will never leave that man.’ Allah has given you this target to keep doing Dua for that person – even if he oppresses you, keep doing Dua that Allah ta’ala gives Hidayah to this person. That is the sign of the Wali of Allah, brothers. There is no hatred or negativity. I have given you an example from my own life that occurred just two days ago. He said ‘For forty years I have kept revising this one lesson. I have put all other lessons to the side and held fast to the instruction not to take revenge on anyone.’ SubhanAllah – say SubhanAllah. This is how a person should be – otherwise we make all sorts of empty claims.
Look, one thing is real Da’wah, and quite another thing is fake Da’wah – a fake claim. We shouldn’t say ‘Oh Sheikh, I am a lover’ or claim that we are this and that, and that we have achieved. None of these respectful titles, lengthy titles – this is not what makes you a Wali of Allah. Whether or not a person has a lengthy name makes no difference – why? Because Makhluq is Makhluq, and they are like His family - they are people who are connected to Allah - so we have to love that creation of Allah. And you should never feel or think that a Wali of Allah would give harm to a person or any creation of Allah – rather, he is a shelter. ‘Come, throw stones at me’ - where have we heard this from? From the Master of Madinah sallallahu alayhi wasallam we learn this. How did the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wasallam spread the Deen? What was the treatment that was meted out to the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wasallam in Taif and in Makkah? Who chewed on the flesh of the uncle of the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wasallam? Did he take revenge? No, because he had love for the Makhluq. ‘They have deviated, so why don’t I raise my hands and make Dua for this person?’
So, my brothers, doing various types of Dhikr and keeping company and all of this is the path to attain Allah’s nearness; and the way to attain Allah’s nearness is to love Allah’s creation. When you love Allah, then you love the creation of Allah just as you love your own child – say SubhanAllah! Do you understand what I am saying?
Make Dua that Allah ta’ala makes all of us true Ashiqs, true lovers; and may Allah ta’ala give us such love that we love everything that Allah ta’ala has created. Ameen
When a human being starts any action, whether it is a worldly action or an action regarding the Hereafter, then there is one thing, one passion, that will definitely follow, which is the desire to know what the result of that action was – feedback, in other words. ‘Am I getting some benefit from this, or is there a loss? Is there any data breakdown that I can look at?’ It is definitely in a person’s nature to analyse his actions. In the same way, according to the nature of the human being, when Allah subhana wa ta'ala gives His Grace and mercy and enables someone to follow His path of seeking Allah, finding Allah and looking for Allah’s love, while travelling on the path, that person also has the passion to know ‘Am I being successful or not? Am I getting near to my destination or not? Is the love of Allah ta’ala coming to me or not? Am I doing the right things or not? Does Allah ta’ala love me or not? Do I love Allah or not?’
So, alhamdulillah, we are all travelling on this path and are on this path, and a person who travels on this path is called a Salik in Tasawwuf. There are other paths – there may be various routes to a country or to a destination – but regarding this path specifically, the path of travelling to Allah’s love, the definition and name given to such a traveller is Salik. Alhamdulillah, you brothers are on this, and I am also with you, and we are working on this path and making effort to attain Allah’s love. So inevitably, the thought comes into such a person’s heart of ‘What is my position at the moment? Where do I stand? And how can I find out?’ Doesn’t this happen?
Now we often use a measuring tool, which maybe we have made ourselves or has become famous automatically, which is that we think that when Allah loves somebody, he has Kashf and Karamaat, and he does dreams and Ziyarah and so on and so forth - we apply these sorts of criteria. For example, a person might say, ‘Alhamdulillah - how do I know that Allah ta’ala loves me? I have seen a good dream and I have had inspiration – Kashf – about something.’ In reality, this is not the sign for success on this path, because when we talk about dreams and Kashf and these sorts of experiences, shaytan can also become mixed up with these things. These emotions and feelings are very dangerous for a human being, especially for a Salik – he gets attacked with thoughts such as these. You know that a Salik is a person who is travelling on the path to Allah, and because this Majlis is that type of gathering, that is why we are speaking on this subject - so pay special attention to this. This is Istidraj, deception, delusion, because shaytan can come in any form, saying ‘Oh, you are pious, you are an elder now and you have attained’ - and when you start listening to that, shaytan wins.
So our pious predecessors, the pious elders, would emphasise especially to their students that they should not pay attention to these factors; this is not the sign that you are on the path to success. Yes, they can come, but they are not the real sign. This is such a delicate and even dangerous path that we must not make these signs as confirmation. For example, if a pious elder looks into a matter and says to his Mureed ‘Yes, your dream is correct’ or ‘Yes, your words and experience is correct’, then automatically a person is apt to slip into this trap of thinking ‘Yes, I am a pious elder now and I have become a pious person, and whatever I think and desire, that occurs. Wherever my thoughts go, that is what happens in reality, so that means I am getting this result from my Dhikr and my Ibadah and I am successful. I have done it!’ This is wrong – and this is dangerous.
So what is the sign of success then? We have to think about this as well, and we have to ask this question. How will I know that Allah ta’ala loves me? The pious predecessors, alhamdulillah, via the light of the Qur’an and Hadith have explained these points and have highlighted a very great sign of success. We are following this path and are Saliks so we need to think about this and ask ourselves ‘Which direction is my effort going in?’ Allah ta’ala has given us the Tawfeeq to make a very great effort, and we see this subject mentioned many times in the Qur’an. Allah ta’ala explains this and tells us ‘Follow My path, travel on My path, make effort on My path.’ {ٱهۡدِنَا ٱلصِّرَٲطَ ٱلۡمُسۡتَقِيم} When a person seeks this, this is the path - and it is a great journey that Allah ta’ala takes us on, alhamdulillah. And on the way, a person encounters laziness, barriers, obstacles, and he has to make effort in order to overcome these hurdles. The person who falls into laziness and negligence has cut himself off from the right life and has wasted his time in life.
The pious predecessors have said that if you miss even one Sohbat or one Majlis of your Sheikh, this is a very big loss. I heard in the company of my Hadhrat Sahib rahmatullah alayh that there is Qadha for everything – if you miss a Fardh Salah, you can make it up by praying Qadha – but there is one thing for which there is no Qadha. Whatever you miss in terms of the Sohbat, the company, the Majlis, and time spent with the Sheikh cannot be made up for by Qadha. The Rahmah that is descending from Allah ta’ala at that time in the gathering of the Sheikh will not come again – those specific Barakaat will not come again. You may come next time, but that Majlis you missed in which Allah ta’ala wanted to give you something at that time, what you lost then cannot be regained. That is why the pious elders say that you should never miss the Sohbat, and the gathering of your Sheikh. If you reject it, you will be at a loss, cut off from those blessings – that is how careful one should be. A person says ‘Oh, it’s alright – I sat in the Dhikr yesterday evening and I will go again soon.’
Sometimes a person can end up with many regrets about his life, and when his Sheikh departs from the world, he thinks, ‘If only I had done more; if only I had done this or that service to Hadhrat Sahib’, and for the rest of his life, such a person keeps thinking about the time that he wasted. Alhamdulillah thumma alhamdulillah – this is one thing that I never regret. Alhamdulillah, you may be amazed to hear that I never wasted the Sohbat of Hadhrat Sahib – SubhanAllah. I am grateful millions of times over for this, and this was due to Hadhrat Sahib’s special Tawajjuh upon me. Whenever I was with Hadhrat Sahib in life – in Madinah, Makkah, in the streets and alleyways, sitting all night long – I stayed close. If he sat all night long, I would sit all night long – alhamdulillah, this is a great Karam from Allah subhana wa ta'ala. I am full of mistakes and errors and I am not capable – I see mistake after mistake - but when I think about this, I get encouragement. I didn’t know about these points at that time, about Tasawwuf and guidance and what does and doesn’t happen. All the guidance was coming from Allah.
What was the form of that guidance? I mention this so that you will understand my experience and what happened with me and what happens with other people who say they don’t feel like going when there is a Majlis taking place. How can this be? When a person feels that he wants to keep sitting near his Sheikh, when this feeling comes into the heart, then consider that individual is progressing fantastically well on this path of Sulook. This is the sign that I am telling you about – this is a very distinct path. The scale, the analysis, the weighing up is very distinct in Tasawwuf, and this is what you obtain from the Khanqahs. Debates and lectures and speeches – in the Naqshbandi Silsila, these are about this subject. Hadhrat Sheikh Naqshband Sahib rahmatullah alayh said that a person who cannot take benefit from the silence of his Sheikh, cannot take benefit from the words of his Sheikh. What you get in the silence of the Sheikh – remember this – what you obtain in the silence, in other words, in Muraqabah, you will not get that through his words and his discussion. If you can’t take the benefit from the silence of the Sheikh, then it doesn’t matter how much he speaks and gives Taqrir and Bayans – you will not derive benefit from them. Do you understand what I am saying? This is our syllabus, and that is why I am discussing it with you. Say alhamdulillah – say SubhanAllah.
That is why it is stated that the whole Tariqah is based on Adab – how to stand, how to sit, how to go, how close should you be, what Adab is correct, how should one carry oneself, what manners are appropriate – you have to learn these things. This is not some normal situation – you have to learn the Adaab. In no way or form should there be bad manners because this is a unique path, a different path. People are amazed when they see the Adab and say ‘What is this that the students are doing? Why are they acting like this?’ But for the person on the journey, the Salik, these are the signs that he is on his journey, they are signs that he is on the motorway and is travelling. This is how you sit, this is how you stand, only go this close – wherever a warning comes, a reminder has come, for Adab is a very big factor. That is why it is stated that you should not even step onto the prayer mat of the Sheikh – this is Adab - and don’t sit unnecessarily in the place where the Sheikh prays. All of these Adaab between Mureed and Sheikh were recorded by Hadhrat Mujaddid Alf Thani rahmatullah alayh. The more regard a person has for Adab all counts to his benefit. Our Mashaaikh of Silsila Naqshbandia have said that, in this Silsila, you can attain through Adab things that you cannot attain through Dhikr and Ibadaat. If a person has learned Adab, alhamdulillah.
But today, this is the generation where there is no respect for mother or father or Ustadh or Ulema-e-Kiram. Do we have respect for these people? We have no respect for them – no regard, no Ihtiram. Whenever you want to do something, ask somebody senior – ‘Can I sit here? Can I do Khidmah? Can I do service like this? Am I doing this Khidmah in the right way?’ Every Khidmah is not necessarily done correctly. Hadhrat Moulana Sheikh rahmatullah alayh said ‘It is not easy to pick up the shoes of the Sheikh.’ First learn the Adab - ‘How should I pick up the shoes of the Sheikh?’ If you are trying to pick them up and causing fights and quarrels as to who should pick them up, then you are giving pain to your Sheikh. There are Adaab of how to do this also – look at how important a point this is. This is not an issue for a normal person – who does this concern? The Salik, the traveller. Normal people laugh at you, saying ‘Oh, you are mad, crazy people! What are they doing here? They have taken the wrong direction – just read Qur’an and do other actions. What is this game these people have fallen into, these strange people? They are crazy, mad people!’ But ask the Salik, the true, honest Salik, how much satisfaction he is gaining. And when he starts to get taste and enjoyment in this, then understand that, MashaAllah, that person is travelling in a brilliant way, a first-class way. This is a sign that has been given. But time is short, so I have to be careful not to speak for too long about this.
So what is the sign of success on the path? Are you really loving Allah? Is Allah loving us? I am doing Mujahidah and Dhikr and struggling and striving, but Kashf is not the sign, nor Karamaat, nor dreams. None of these are signs. The sign is Ajeeb and unique. The sign of success is that whoever Allah loves, whoever He gives true love to, then that person starts to love the creation of Allah. Say SubhanAllah. So if someone really loves Allah, he starts to love the creation of Allah – this is a unique point. Put everything else to the side – Kashf, Karamaat and so on – and keep this sign in mind. This is the real sign of Allah’s love. If a person says he loves Allah and has got the love of Allah, then he also loves the Makhluq of Allah. Why? Because Allah ta’ala Himself says this. Allah says ‘Look, all of My Khalq are like My people!’ – they belong to Allah. So whoever loves Allah, then will he not love Allah’s Makhluq? Will he not love the people of Allah?
Take the example of someone who you love in the world – and everyone has love for someone in the world, don’t they, like the common love for children and so on. Well, there is no limit to the love of the Salik – if he loves his Sheikh, then he loves the Sheikh’s street, and he loves the routes that the Sheikh takes, he loves his door – Wallahi! – he loves his windows, he loves the places that he passes by. This love has no limits. What is real, true love? Think about it yourself. When he comes into contact with anything that has a connection with the Sheikh, he says ‘MashaAllah, I am enjoying myself!’ But other people say ‘What is he doing?’ The time and difficulty that he experiences when waiting for the Sheikh gives him enjoyment. He remembers when it was raining heavily, and he had to stand and wait for the Sheikh in order to serve him - and the student took pleasure in that. Or perhaps it was intensely hot, and he had to walk barefoot, and his feet were burning, but nevertheless he was enjoying himself as he was assisting and holding his Hadhrat Sahib - SubhanAllah! So this is natural that, whoever you love, you love all of the things attached to that person. It cannot be that, for example, you love somebody, but you dislike the things connected to that person. If you love things that the person you say you love dislikes, then can you claim that you love that person? This cannot be. Remember, this is the sign, the real sign, so that claim is false.
There are two types of love – one is real love, and one is fake love. Fake love is when a person makes false claims and empty declarations and big statements, but behind this there is nothing to back it up, and there is a secondary objective, such as ‘If I love this person, a consequence will follow; if I love him, then I will get this or that.’ Real love for a person, however, is true and intense love - there is no secondary objective behind it. He doesn’t even know why he loves that person, why he loves his house and his shoes, and the things connected to him. This is Ajeeb and unique, and this is true love, and this is real passion. There is nothing mixed with it, no contamination, no greed – when you love a person for their own sake, then that is real love. The lover says ‘I don’t know why I keep feeling like this!’ – you don’t know yourself why you are doing this or that action. For example, nobody can stay awake all night without a reason, but the lover thinks ‘My Mehboob might come past, so I will stand here waiting.’ But today, we are in that generation where we feel sleepy in the street of the lover – there is no Mujahidah today. This was not the case with Hadhrat Sahib in Makkah and Madinah. When I look back today, I wonder how I spent all night long sitting in the same place with Hadhrat Sahib without eating or drinking, and I realise that the answer to this is the same – love for Allah was there, and so the Rahmah of Allah then starts to make you love the Makhluq of Allah. Say SubhanAllah.
So do you understand the sign now? What should we look for as a sign? That we have love for the Makhluq of Allah, that love starts growing for Allah’s creation, that we have compassion and regard for Allah’s Makhluq, whoever it is. Whatever condition that person is in, your heart should shake, and you should never countenance causing loss to Allah’s creation or contemplate having enmity with the Makhluq of Allah. Even if you receive words of enmity, you should reply with love – and this is the basis of Allah’s love. Such a person knows that human beings are the Ahl of Allah, the people of Allah, and are thus connected to Him, so how can he hate those people – or any creation of Allah?
If you go to the Khanqahs, you will see how the Makhluq of Allah receives the Faidh from Allah’s Walis. No one goes hungry at a Khanqah because food is served there – and they provide this service to people with happiness. You see the system of Langar at the Khanqah – regular meals are served, and people who are hungry and thirsty come. There are no questions asked, such as ‘Are you Bai’ah with me?’ – no. The Sheikh feeds the students happily and tells them to eat to their fill and take some away with them as well. Go to any place where there is a Wali of Allah and you will see this sign in evidence, for a lot of love will be being distributed to the creation of Allah. Do you understand what I am saying? That is what you see from the Walis of Allah, wherever you find them.
I remember an event which I will share with you. Sheikh Sakhti rahmatullah alayh was a great elder who came in our history, a great Sheikh – Junaid al-Baghdadi rahmatullah alayh was one of his Mureeds. You can appreciate his greatness yourself when you know that Sayyid-ut-Taifa was the Mureed and Sheikkh Sakhti rahmatullah alayh was the teacher! Look at this – what a great Wali of Allah he must have been. I will relate an event of his and this example will enable you to understand this point. He was with his Mureeds walking towards a river, and in the manner of the pious elders, he was walking at the front and the Mureeds were following. They were walking along the bank of the river, and there were some youths in a boat on the river having a picnic – the weather was nice, and they had gone out for a picnic. So these young boys were sitting there enjoying themselves in the boat, eating and laughing and singing – everything was happening. So Hadhrat Sahib was walking past with his Mureeds, and when the youths saw that Wali of Allah passing, with his distinctive clothing and the Mureeds walking respectfully behind, they said ‘Oh look – who’s this?’ - and they started criticising and mocking and making jokes about the Sheikh and his Mureeds. They started making outrageous statements about the Sheikh and his Mureeds, and openly jesting, saying ‘Oh, look at them! Look at Pir Sahib with his students walking meekly behind him.’ You see this don’t you? This is a common response in the world – this has always happened across the generations.
So someone was giggling, someone was pointing their finger, someone was laughing so hard you could see his teeth, and Hadhrat Sahib just continued to walk. But the Mureeds, obviously, couldn’t bear seeing their Sheikh criticised, dishonoured and disrespected. Adab dictated that they couldn’t just carry on without responding in some way, so they went to Hadhrat Sahib and said ‘Please, Hadhrat, we are putting up with this and we cannot speak out of turn, but we request that you respond to this behaviour by making Dua against these people.’ They were requesting the Sheikh to ask Allah to curse them. They thought that the Sheikh would also be angry, for the youngsters were swearing at the Sheikh and shouting things like ‘Oh look at his beard! Look at his Imamah! Oh Pir Sahib, you are a thief with your Mureeds walking meekly behind you. This is a drama – it is a cult!’ They were shouting out statements such as these. So Hadhrat Sahib said ‘What can I do?’ and the students said ‘Curse them, Hadhrat Sahib!’ So he said, ‘Ok, if you think I can do that’ - and then he raised his hands.
Now when the Wali of Allah raises his hands - imagine – the hands of the angels in the heavens are raised as well! Allah Himself says ‘When My Wali raises his hands, then I accept every request that he makes – I do not leave him empty-handed.’ SubhanAllah. So the Mureeds started shaking and wondering ‘What is going to happen to them now? We will see!’ So Hadhrat Sahib raised his hands – look at the Dua and its consequences – and said ‘Ya Allah, these youths are enjoying themselves in this world – they are happy and laughing and joking – so my Dua is that You make them like this in the Hereafter as well.’ SubhanAllah! ‘May they smile and laugh and enjoy themselves in the Hereafter as well.’ He then concluded his Dua and wiped his hands on his face. The Mureeds thought ‘What? We asked for a curse and they have been given something more!’ So they said ‘Hadhrat, they are behaving very badly and mocking you so we asked that you would curse them’ – but Hadhrat said ‘You asked for a Dua against them – so see what happens now.’
Imagine the style of the Wali of Allah! See how much he loves and has regard for the creation of Allah. So Hadhrat said to his Mureeds ‘Look, I asked Allah to give them happiness in the Hereafter, so why should it cause you pain if they get happiness? Why does the thought of their happiness give you pain? And you know that the happiness of the Hereafter is not attained for nothing – happiness in the Hereafter is only possible for them if Allah subhana wa ta'ala does their Islah, and rectifies and guides them, and makes them Insan, human beings, and makes them do Tawbah.’ Hadhrat Sahib said this is a very light manner. Imagine this – despite their rudeness, and knowing that those people regarded him as an enemy and didn’t like him, and mocked him and oppressed him and committed excesses and bad actions against him, what is the response of the Wali? Even then, they have concern for such people – this is the Sha’n, the glory, and the status of the Wali of Allah. There is no malice or hatred in their heart. Their high stage is that they forgive – they know that this is the higher grade.
I will end this story with this point about forgiveness and will now tell you a personal event to offer another proof about this subject. This is something that happened to me just two days ago, and perhaps I am discussing this topic with you today due to this. If this event had not occurred, maybe I wouldn’t be discussing this with you. Shall I share it with you? It seems excessive, but I will explain it to you because this whole subject is based on this. Just two days ago, I was returning home after Maghrib, and sometimes I go on foot. Obviously, it is dark after Maghrib and when I go through the alleyways, it is dark and quiet. It was silent, so I heard that somebody was walking behind me on the road that I was walking down. I have told people not to walk behind me or follow me home – everyone knows this – so I said to myself ‘Who could this be?’ At first, I didn’t pay much attention, but the steps were approaching and obviously, it was dark and with things as they are nowadays, somebody weak like me, with face covered as we do, has to think about somebody coming up behind. He was just a few footsteps away, so I was a bit cautious – just a couple of days ago, this was – and so I moved to the side and looked back. I saw a man walking towards me with two bags, and his face was covered, and his body was covered, so I couldn’t recognise him.
He came closer and closer and then said ‘Assalamu alaykum’ – so I replied ‘Wa alaykum as-Salam.’ And then I said ‘Please introduce yourself – who are you? I don’t recognise you.’ Then he recited a verse of the Qur’an by way of introduction. I said to myself ‘Ok’, and asked him where he lived - and again he replied by reciting a verse of the Qur’an. So I am asking him questions, and he is answering by reading verses of the Qur’an – SubhanAllah. I was a bit surprised and said to myself ‘This is a strange person walking here in the dark.’ Then he said ‘Hadhrat, I met you forty years ago – for forty years I have had a connection with you.’ So I said ‘Then tell me your name’ – at which he again read a verse of the Qur’an! We were walking slowly but I slowed down even more, and then he said to me ‘I heard one Nasiha in your gathering, and for forty years I have been doing Amal on that Nasiha’ - and then he started to cry. We were still walking along together slowly, and he said ‘I met you forty years ago in a Majlis – shall I tell you where?’ And then he said it was in the oldest Khanqah, even describing the colour of the walls and the decoration that was there – see how the people who love remember everything! I had forgotten that place and what the door and the doormat were like – this was the first Khanqah that we had, the very first, which we were using forty or fifty years ago. Some people from Bolton would have come there – Moulana Elias came, I think. He is older now, but he was young at that time and used to come there from Bolton for Tarawih.
So he said ‘The door was this colour and there was this item and this decoration’ – I said ‘Ok, yes, you are correct.’ He said ‘I came to your Majlis at that time, and after that I became your Ashiq and have been doing Amal on that one Nasiha for forty years.’ Look at his Istiqamat – look at his steadfastness! He said ‘Shall I tell you what you said?’, so I said ‘Please do.’ He said ‘You explained in that Majlis and said “Remember – be careful of one thing: never take revenge on anyone in life; rather, forgive that person. Learn to forgive people!”’ Say SubhanAllah. He continued, saying ‘I have incurred big, big losses from people, and this is happening even now, but I have never left this Nasiha of yours until today. Until this second, I have been following that advice you gave.’ We had come close to my house by then, so he took two or three things out of his bag and put them into my hand, and then he turned back, and I turned towards home – and I still don’t know who he was.
I kept on thinking all night long ‘SubhanAllah – how Allah ta’ala shows the path to whoever He wants.’ He attained Allah’s love through that Nasiha, just through that one Nasiha. We can spend our whole lives explaining Tafseer of Qur’an and read translations of the Qur’an from morning to evening, but even then, we don’t change. So what we realise is that you don’t get success through these things. A person gets success when he is Sadiq and honest and truthful and wants to follow the path correctly. Allah is not far; Allah is not far away.
We know that Allah’s Makhluq is all around us, but do we have love for Allah’s creation in our hearts? If a person does not have this attribute and quality inside him, then how will a person save others from Jahannam? Allah says {قُوٓاْ أَنفُسَكُمۡ} – it is not just your own family, but rather the Makhluq, the whole creation of Allah, who we have to save from Jahannam. That is why the Awilya do Mujahidah all night long, and they stay with the Makhluq and are concerned about their Hereafter and saving them from Jahannam. They don’t care about their own selves and their bodies. The Wali of Allah does not care about himself, rather he hosts Dhikr of Allah. And their connection with people is Ajeeb; if a person is more down and out on the street, then they love that person more – they have more regard for such people. Sinful people are surprised and think ‘Why is he showing me so much love?’ And others think ‘Why is he spending time on that sinful, dirty, impure person?’ But without any condition, such a person loves the sinful one more and draws him nearer, because he has love for that person and is worried that he is going towards Jahannam – he wants to save him from Jahannam.
What did Sheikh Sakhti Sahib rahmatullah alayh say? SubhanAllah – what did he say? He didn’t ask that they should be destroyed, but rather said ‘Ya Allah, enable them to do Tawbah! Ya Allah, bring them to the Straight Path.’ So what was the true Dua? The Sheikh’s hands were raised – and this is the effect of the gaze of the Wali. He changes the destiny of thousands! When the Wali of Allah raised his hands, the destiny changed! As soon as his hands lowered after the Dua, the students looked around and saw that those same people who had been laughing and joking in the boat were now crying and coming over and asking ‘Please Hadhrat, forgive us – we do Tawbah!’ SubhanAllah – those same people in the boat all became Walis of Allah. SubhanAllah – {قُوٓاْ أَنفُسَكُمۡ}. The objective was fulfilled – the Makhluq of Allah had been going towards hellfire, but the Dua of the Wali of Allah did not want this to happen due to his immense love for the Makhluq, the creation of Allah. He doesn’t look at whether they have higher or lower status than himself, or judge whether they are better or worse than him or look at how rich they are; he just has this Fikr, this concern, that they should pray Salah or come to Dhikr - he tries to get them to come to Dhikr at least once. He gives invitations and Da’wah to Allah’s creation, and there is no objective behind that – rather, he just has love for Allah. Do you understand what I am saying?
So this is the biggest announcement about Allah’s love, which is that if you love Allah ta’ala really and genuinely, then you will have love for the Makhluq of Allah. If you see somebody hungry, you will feed him, if you see a needy person, you will fulfil his need. This is the same example I have given to you of Sheikh Sakhti rahmatullah alayh. He stated that when you give Salam to another person, then one hundred Rahmahs descend – this is a Hadith. One hundred Rahmahs descend when two people give Salam to each other. So he said – listen to this – ‘When somebody gives Salam to me, I remember that the Hadith says that ninety Rahmahs go to that person who smiles and responds to the Salam’ – say SubhanAllah! So he stated ‘What I do is that when somebody gives me Salam, I don’t just smile and respond, but rather I make a face and make Dua to Allah that He gives the Rahmah that I would have attained to the other person. I make a face when I give the response so that Allah ta’ala will give all one hundred Rahmahs to the other person who initiated the Salam rather than to me.’
So may Allah ta’ala give us this incredible feeling as well. We do not need Kashf or Karamaat, what we need to assess is how much we love the Makhluq of Allah. Our greatest opportunities for this are within our families, with our brothers, sisters, children, uncles, aunties, our husband, wife and relatives. What is our reaction if they slap us? Do we slap them back? No – instead, make Dua at Tahajjud time ‘Oh Allah, make him pious.’ If people say ‘Oh, divorce her’, say ‘No, I will never leave that woman’, or ‘I will never leave that man.’ Allah has given you this target to keep doing Dua for that person – even if he oppresses you, keep doing Dua that Allah ta’ala gives Hidayah to this person. That is the sign of the Wali of Allah, brothers. There is no hatred or negativity. I have given you an example from my own life that occurred just two days ago. He said ‘For forty years I have kept revising this one lesson. I have put all other lessons to the side and held fast to the instruction not to take revenge on anyone.’ SubhanAllah – say SubhanAllah. This is how a person should be – otherwise we make all sorts of empty claims.
Look, one thing is real Da’wah, and quite another thing is fake Da’wah – a fake claim. We shouldn’t say ‘Oh Sheikh, I am a lover’ or claim that we are this and that, and that we have achieved. None of these respectful titles, lengthy titles – this is not what makes you a Wali of Allah. Whether or not a person has a lengthy name makes no difference – why? Because Makhluq is Makhluq, and they are like His family - they are people who are connected to Allah - so we have to love that creation of Allah. And you should never feel or think that a Wali of Allah would give harm to a person or any creation of Allah – rather, he is a shelter. ‘Come, throw stones at me’ - where have we heard this from? From the Master of Madinah sallallahu alayhi wasallam we learn this. How did the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wasallam spread the Deen? What was the treatment that was meted out to the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wasallam in Taif and in Makkah? Who chewed on the flesh of the uncle of the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wasallam? Did he take revenge? No, because he had love for the Makhluq. ‘They have deviated, so why don’t I raise my hands and make Dua for this person?’
So, my brothers, doing various types of Dhikr and keeping company and all of this is the path to attain Allah’s nearness; and the way to attain Allah’s nearness is to love Allah’s creation. When you love Allah, then you love the creation of Allah just as you love your own child – say SubhanAllah! Do you understand what I am saying?
Make Dua that Allah ta’ala makes all of us true Ashiqs, true lovers; and may Allah ta’ala give us such love that we love everything that Allah ta’ala has created. Ameen