Ramadhan Bayan Wednesday 21st April
Allah subhana wa ta'ala has given me the opportunity to sit in the company of pious, righteous and good people, to sit together for a little while to do the Dhikr of Allah. It is from Allah’s grace and blessings that He has given us the Tawfeeq for this, because we are assembled here for a unique purpose, which is the Dhikr of Allah. In respect to this, Allah ta’ala has stated in the Qur’an: {وَلَذِكۡرُ ٱللَّهِ أَڪۡبَرُ } - how great must Dhikr be!
Look, Allah subhana wa ta'ala has given an upper limit to every act of worship but think about how great and beautiful and excellent this Ibadah of Dhikr is. If we look at Salah which contains prostrations, Fardh Salah is limited to five times a day. As for the requirement for Hajj, it is also limited; and Allah ta’ala gives us this beautiful month of Ramadhan for just thirty days. So every action is based on a limit, a number, a quantity. But wherever Allah ta’ala mentions His Dhikr, in so many places throughout the Qur’an, Allah mentions ‘Katheeran Katheera’ - do so much Dhikr, so much Dhikr that you should keep going even if you get tired, to the extent that you become Majnoon, crazy, in your desire to do Allah’s Dhikr.
Look at how Allah loves His remembrance – think about it. Regarding this thing which is beloved to Allah, the Master of the Universe, the Controller of the Universe, the Owner of the Universe, Allah is saying ‘When somebody does My Dhikr, then there is no need for him to ask Me – I will give to him automatically, without him even asking.’ Despite this, we are so needy – and the reason is that we do not do this action. We don’t do this action. If we do it, there is so much benefit for a human being – he can reach the heights.
I will share with you something that is beloved to the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wasallam – we believe in the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wasallam and we have a lot of love for him, extreme Ishq for him. Is there anyone who does not have love for the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wasallam? So in a Hadith, Allah’s Nabi sallallahu alayhi wasallam mentions something that he likes – and how much did he like it? Allah’s Nabi sallallahu alayhi wasallam stated ‘I like it so very much that it is more beloved to me than the whole world and whatever it contains – ma feeha – whatever is in it.’ So, tell me, if a person has true love of Rasoolullah sallallahu alayhi wasallam, then will he not love this thing as well? This is a measuring gauge, you could say, of whether we have love for Rasoolullah sallallahu alayhi wasallam. If we love Rasoolullah sallallahu alayhi wasallam, then we will love everything that is close to him. A mother cannot claim love and say to her child ‘I love you and you are my beloved’ unless her actions display this so that a third party would say ‘This mother does not love anything more than the love she has for her child.’ She won’t need to state this verbally, because she is Majnoon, immersed in love for the child. She doesn’t care whether somebody says this about her or not, or whether the child hears this statement or not, but a third party will say ‘This mother truly loves her child.’
So, my brothers, the sign of this Ishq that we have for Allah’s Nabi sallallahu alayhi wasallam is this - that we like what he liked. We can’t just give false and empty claims, and shout out false statements, if inside we are hollow and there is nothing there – no. It is normal today that if someone says he is your true friend, then you will say ‘Ok, what is the proof of your love? Let me test this claim.’ If someone says ‘I love you so much’, then that love is tested. SubhanAllah, if you claim to love the greatest Prophet in the Universe, Nabi al-Karim sallallahu alayhi wasallam, then will you not be able to prove that you love him? Allah’s Nabi sallallahu alayhi wasallam said “من احب سنتى فقد احبنى” – ‘Whoever loves me will love my Sunnah.’ So let us look into ourselves – how much love do we have for the Sunnah of Rasoolullah sallallahu alayhi wasallam? How can we claim that we love him? What claim can we make? This is a little, small point, but the whole Deen is summarised here. Allah’s Rasool sallallahu alayhi wasallam says “من احب سنتى” - ‘Whoever loves me, I love him’ and then he makes a great statement and goes further, saying ‘I won’t just leave him’ - “ومن أحبني كان معي في الجنة”. He is saying ‘I will take him with me into Paradise!’
Everybody says ‘Oh Allah, I want Paradise’ – well, here is a straightforward, direct route: become a lover of Rasoolullah sallallahu alayhi wasallam. And the path that will take us to Paradise – remember this - will definitely contain challenges and tests. The test of love is that you break down all the obstacles, such as ‘Oh, people will laugh at me if I keep the beard; people will laugh at me if I wear these clothes; people will laugh – what will they say?’ A person thinks that his wife will be upset and will not like him, or that some other person won’t like him and will break friendship with him. Or he says ‘I am ashamed to do this because we are living in this country now.’ Men are ashamed and women are also ashamed, SubhanAllah, but we are not ashamed when we commit sins. Committing sins, which is something shameful, doesn’t make us ashamed, but the actions that will take us to Paradise make us ashamed, although Allah’s Nabi sallallahu alayhi wasallam has stated that he loves that person! SubhanAllah.
Ask any Sahabi about this statement, SubhanAllah. Ask those who gave their lives, who were hanged and whose bodies were cut – they had no desire for anything of the Dunya, although they had not seen Paradise and not seen the Hoors. They had no first-hand knowledge, but one thing was in front of them – say SubhanAllah. They had one thing in front of them, and they would make one claim – ‘We love you, oh Rasoolullah sallallahu alayhi wasallam!’ That’s it. But us, we cannot even practice one Sunnah. We cannot allow even four hairs of the beard to emerge, and we don’t wear his Libaas on our heads or on our bodies. Whenever an example of something Rasoolullah sallallahu alayhi wasallam loves comes before us, that should be beloved to us in our lives. If we are Ashiqs, then Jannah and Hoors are promised, but we have to love whatever of his comes in front of us, even small things, little things.
Look, the Sunnah is such a great reality that behind one small Sunnah lie mounds and stacks and mountains of benefits. There are so many benefits behind every Sunnah – you cannot imagine how many cures for diseases lie behind just one Sunnah. Take the Sunnah of the Miswaak. The cure for thousands of sicknesses is contained in the Miswaak – but our belief and conviction in this has been crushed today because we have so little love. We have become so weak and have slammed shut all these doors ourselves. I will tell you the truth here – it is one thing to talk about something and another to do it. We do a lot of talking and we listen and listen until our ears are numb through listening, and yet we are living in this generation, in this day and age, when we don’t even know whether we will be alive.
Have you ever heard of anything like this disease of Corona before? ‘Oh don’t shake hands - cover your face and keep your distance. Don’t come near me - stay away!’ Allah ta’ala has given Adhab here. Allah has sent a punishment upon us because Allah ta’ala put so much Barakaat in the meeting of two brothers who shake each other’s hands to the extent that their sins are removed, but today, we run away – why? Because this is a punishment. Allah says ‘When you leave the Sunnah, then I give such a punishment that when you meet, you will back away from each other.’ Tell me! When we stand for Salah, what is the first and most valuable deed of Salah? The Saff – the rows. Ask Hadhrat Umar radhiAllahu anh, ask the Sahabah-e-Kiram – they were not happy until the Saff was complete, with the brothers stood shoulder to shoulder. They would say ‘Don’t leave any gap, otherwise shaytan will come and do Waswasah and then bad feeling will be instilled between you.’ Ask the respected scholars. Is that the case now? Can we do that now? Now people say ‘Stay two metres apart; stay apart and don’t go near to each other.’ If this is not Adhab, then what is it, tell me?
Eating Halal food and kebabs and pizzas is not a Ni’mah. A Ni’mah is this, that we order our lives according to the Sunnah of Rasoolullah sallallahu alayhi wasallam. If you drink one glass in the way that Rasoolullah sallallahu alayhi wasallam drank, with the Niyyah that you drink in the manner of his drinking, SubhanAllah, there is so much Barakah and so many blessings behind this; so much good news will come to you for doing this. You would need a whole book to detail all the benefits of sitting down while you drink. I do not say this from my research, but rather from scholars of the Western world who I could name and reference although time does not allow today; but the report they published in the present day on the benefits of drinking whilst sitting in the manner of Rasoolullah sallallahu alayhi wasallam would leave you dumbfounded. This is printed and published research. One big researcher from Australia, after conducting scientific research and publishing his paper, said ‘I am amazed and saddened when I hear that Muslims get sick. How can Muslims get sick? How can sickness come near to a Muslim?’ Similarly, he says that a Muslim who eats according to the blessed Tariqah of the gracious Prophet sallallahu alayhi wasallam in respect of how to eat – which we should do – would stay healthy. But, he says, ‘they have run after our method, and our tables and chairs, and our ways of giving a feast.’ Even when we give Da’wats amongst ourselves, nobody even sits on the floor then. One person says ‘Oh no, I have a pain in my leg and my knee hurts’, but worst of all, we are actually ashamed. Allah’s Nabi sallallahu alayhi wasallam is saying ‘If you are ashamed of my Sunnah today, then I will be ashamed of interceding for you when you come to me on the Day of Judgement.’ How will he give Shafa’a? How?
The biggest problem today is that we are ashamed. We worry about status, image and how others will see us – Astaghfirullah. This shame is destruction and loss, but despite this, we leave the Sunnah due to being ashamed. What is Allah’s preference? “من احب سنتى فقد احبنى” So should we not practice this? Make a promise today and make intention that we will implement the highest grade of Sunnah in our lives. We will look at this Sunnah and the Sunnah about everything, and we will look to what Rasoolullah sallallahu alayhi wasallam has said is the highest grade of Sunnah and we will present ourselves to Allah and prostrate ourselves to Him in that style – and then there will acceptance of our deeds. Will you do brothers? InshaAllah. This is the promise we need to make.
So, as I was saying at the beginning, Rasoolullah said ‘I hold an action so dear and beloved that it is more beloved to me than this world and all that it contains.’ SubhanAllah. So shouldn’t that thing that is so beloved to Rasoolullah also be beloved to us? Tell me? What is this thing that is most beloved to Rasoolullah sallallahu alayhi wasallam? Look at the passion and the taste of Rasoolullah sallallahu alayhi wasallam. He said ‘At Asr time’ – when? SubhanAllah, at Asr time, and this is that time, isn’t it brothers? He said ‘At Asr time, when the sun is setting,’ – say SubhanAllah – ‘and it is close to Maghrib, and there is a group of people’ – SubhanAllah. Look at the group of people that is sitting here, at Asr time while the sun is setting. He said ‘What is beloved to me is when evening is coming and there is an assembly of people and I sit in that group of people and do Dhikr of Allah!’ SubhanAllah.
Tell me, how beloved is this? More beloved than this Dunya and whatever is within it. So let’s have a look at what is in the Dunya? All the desires and attractions of the Dunya – the houses, the mansions, the properties – were all rejected by Allah’s Nabi sallallahu alayhi wasallam, for he knew that it would all go to waste and be finished. The gracious master of the two worlds saw this, and his words explained this. He told us that this is deception. If you were to ask a person who has died whether he wants to be given the deeds to a property, or to be gifted with a beautiful watch, he would have no interest or connection with them at all, for he has departed and gone to another world. This is happening everyday – old people, young people, everyone is dying and passing away. Nobody knows when – maybe we will pass away soon, so we should detach the love of Dunya from our hearts.
So Rasoolullah has mentioned such a Jamat who sit for Dhikr at the time of Asr, and we are getting another benefit on top of this, SubhanAllah, because we are in Ramadhan, in the greatest month! Tell me, oh people of Ashrafiyyah Masjid – your destiny has unfolded in front of you today! Your Kismet has brought you to this day when your lottery ticket has been won – have you ever seen such an environment? It is Ramadhan and a Jamat has come and gathered here, and you are sitting down doing Dhikr of Allah and the sun is setting. Has this ever happened before in this Masjid? Tell me? Have you seen this environment here before? This is called a Ni’mah – the greatest treasure. Allah ta’ala has assembled us and has sat us down for His Dhikr; what a beautiful, beautiful Ni’mah. Allah loves this. When Allah ta’ala holds something dear and beloved, he reserves an Ibadah for it. This a sign of something that is beloved to Allah.
Allah ta’ala loves Fajr at Fajr time; Allah has given us Dhuhr as it is a beloved time. Allah ta’ala says ‘Wherever I hold something beloved, then consider and understand that it is a moment which is most beloved to Allah when that phase of the day comes around. The time of day in which you are present is the most beloved to Allah. Do you understand what I am saying? So between Fajr to Dhuhr, several hours come between, but when the time for Dhuhr comes in, that becomes a beloved time to Allah, so be alert. The times which are beloved to Allah are those times in which Allah has placed the duty of prostration at those times; Allah ta’ala decrees an Ibadah at that time. If a person prays Fajr outside of its time, Allah says ‘Oh mad man – the time for Fajr has gone now.’ When you turn to Allah at the times Allah holds dear, then whatever you ask, Allah is very close to us at those times. You don’t know how beloved those times are – and we sleep through them! Take Fajr time; we are enjoying ourselves in bed and on the mattress, but Allah holds that time beloved and dear, so you are wasting that time by sleeping through it. You are afraid of praying Salah then, but Allah ta’ala is saying ‘The Salah that I have given you at this time is for Shukrana.’So we should be grateful and pray at that time, and get up to prostrate at that time, and say ‘Oh Allah, I have got up to prostrate to You so that I can be grateful to you for this time that You have given to me.’ This is given so that we can be aware and not waste this time. Is this not the case?
So Allah subhana wa ta'ala has given us a portion of time here, and when Allah likes a time, He bestows a beloved deed to be performed at that time. If you take the whole day, there are two times that are very beloved to Allah – the whole Qur’an has told us this. There two moments that are very beloved to Allah, and one is the morning and the other is the evening. How do we know this? Allah ta’ala says this in the Qur’an, time and time again, in several places in the Qur’an.
{يَـٰٓأَيُّہَا ٱلَّذِينَ ءَامَنُواْ ٱذۡكُرُواْ ٱللَّهَ ذِكۡرً۬ا كَثِيرً۬ا (٤١) وَسَبِّحُوهُ بُكۡرَةً۬ وَأَصِيلاً} Say SubhanAllah. Allah says that these times are most beloved to Him. Allah has said this, and you can research this scientifically. The morning is the most beneficial time for the human being – science proves this. The time that is most beneficial and which confers energy and alertness and is full of Noor is the morning time, and that is why you will see this Qawm get up in the morning and go to work early – this Qawm. They work early in the morning, but look at us people, we are sleeping in the morning while they are working. May Allah forgive – I don’t know what Hal we have gone into. May Allah forgive, may Allah forgive – we are asleep at that time. So Allah says that there are two beloved times:
{يَـٰٓأَيُّہَا ٱلَّذِينَ ءَامَنُواْ ٱذۡكُرُواْ ٱللَّهَ ذِكۡرً۬ا كَثِيرً۬ا (٤١) وَسَبِّحُوهُ بُكۡرَةً۬ وَأَصِيلاً} Allah ta’ala is saying ‘Two times are very beloved to Me – morning time and evening time.’ How do we know? Allah ta’ala says ‘I have placed a special Ibadah in that time – and what is that? Dhikrullah – My remembrance!’ SubhanAllah. That is what proves how beneficial these times are. Allah says that we should hold onto those two times regularly and do Dhikr at that time. {يَـٰٓأَيُّہَا ٱلَّذِينَ ءَامَنُواْ ٱذۡكُرُواْ ٱللَّهَ ذِكۡرً۬ا كَثِيرً۬ا (٤١) وَسَبِّحُوهُ بُكۡرَةً۬ وَأَصِيلاً} And what is that Dhikr? Allah explains in detail:
{يَـٰٓأَيُّہَا ٱلَّذِينَ ءَامَنُواْ ٱذۡكُرُواْ ٱللَّهَ ذِكۡرً۬ا كَثِيرً۬ا (٤١) وَسَبِّحُوهُ بُكۡرَةً۬ وَأَصِيلاً (٤٢) هُوَ ٱلَّذِى يُصَلِّى عَلَيۡكُمۡ وَمَلَـٰٓٮِٕكَتُهُ}
SubhanAllah. Allah is saying ‘Sit down at those two times that are beloved to Me and do the Ibadah that I like. What Ibadah is that? Dhikrullah. Allah says ‘When you sit, then remember: Me and My angels will send Rahmah upon you – { هُوَ ٱلَّذِى يُصَلِّى عَلَيۡكُمۡ وَمَلَـٰٓٮِٕكَتُهُ} – I will send My mercy upon you at that time.’ A person who does Dhikr will never lose out – never. How can he lose, when Allah says that even a person who sits with such a person will not lose out – SubhanAllah. Forget about the one who is doing Dhikr, the one who sits with him will not lose out. Allahu Akbar, such a person lives a nice, beautiful life – why? Because Allah ta’ala has said ‘The Dhakir is he who never misses these two moments.’ Someone may say ‘Oh no, I am busy, and I do a lot of Dhikr anyway. I do Dhikr after Dhuhr or after this time or that time.’ No – do Dhikr at the time when Allah ta’ala says ‘I prefer you to do My Dhikr at this time.’ That is called being a true Dhakir; he won’t feel sleepy at that time.
Look at our Akabireen and the environment around them. This was their Tariqah. In the Khanqah of Hadhrat Sheikh-ul-Hadith rahmatullah alayh, you could hear ‘Allahu’ every morning coming from the Khanqah. This is how Hadhrat Sheikh-ul-Hadith did Dhikr of Allah - these are our Akabireen; this was the Hal of our pious elders. So Allah ta’ala says that when it is the case that His servant does Dhikr of Allah in the morning, then {هُوَ ٱلَّذِى يُصَلِّى عَلَيۡكُمۡ وَمَلَـٰٓٮِٕكَتُهُ ۥ لِيُخۡرِجَكُم مِّنَ ٱلظُّلُمَـٰتِ إِلَى ٱلنُّورِۚ }. The angels send Rahmah, and Allah says ‘I take those people out from the darkness of their sins and from Bid’ah and Shirk and Haram actions, and I take them out of the darkness of all of those things and bring them into the light.’
So that person who does Dhikr automatically starts to leave sins, and his bad habits end. If we were to bring our young people towards Dhikr today, their bad habits would end. Invite our youth towards Dhikr, for then their life sketch will transform. Why? Because the Qur’an is saying this! I am not saying this - the Qur’an is saying this. There is no path that can do this other than that which Allah and His Nabi sallallahu alayhi wasallam have prescribed. Could there be another path to correct us? No way – impossible. Do Dhikr yourselves and tell your children to do Dhikr.
I swear by Allah that I have experienced this in my life. The worst of the worst of drug addicts and cannabis addicts and alcohol addicts came, and I didn’t say anything to them other than ‘Do Dhikr in the morning and evening’, because Allah has promised { لِيُخۡرِجَكُم مِّنَ ٱلظُّلُمَـٰتِ إِلَى ٱلنُّورِۚ}. And Allah says {وَڪَانَ بِٱلۡمُؤۡمِنِينَ رَحِيمً۬ا} that this is not for every person. Allah says ‘I have only given this treasure and this gift for the Mu’mineen. The disbeliever or the Yahudi cannot say My Name like this. He can speak of money and bank accounts, but only a true Mu’min and Ashiq can remember My Name. He is beloved to Me and he can recite My Name over and over again.’ This is the sign of the believer – {وَڪَانَ بِٱلۡمُؤۡمِنِينَ رَحِيمً۬ا}. And Allah then says {تَحِيَّتُهُمۡ} - the story doesn’t end there, for Allah says ‘They will see the enjoyment of this at the time when the Dhakir comes to Me – I will welcome him Myself, personally.’ {يَوۡمَ يَلۡقَوۡنَهُ} And at the time of that meeting, the world will be amazed - the very style of the Dhakireen will be different in the Hereafter. Say SubhanAllah!
This is Dhikr brothers. It is not done for piety, nor to become a Pir, nor for Kashf or inspiration or Karamaat. I am telling you what the pious elders said – as for the rest, I have no ‘Ilm or knowledge. The environment that I was in when receiving this teaching, and the Faqir whose Sohbat I had, and the one whose Sohbat he had, this is what was learned there in that company. So Dhikr isn’t done in order to sit down and become a Pir or a Sheikh or a Hadhrat Sahib or to have Mureeds and students and be given presents. Initiate this practice on this basis, that Dunya shouldn’t be present in your heart; that is where Dhikr starts. The love and desire for the Dunya shouldn’t stay in your heart – that is the basis upon which a person should start Dhikr of Allah. Think ‘I need to eliminate the desires within’, not ‘I want to become a Pir or a Sheikh and have a big gathering around me who will praise me.’ Dhikr does not give this. Dhikr is performed for one reason, so that we get that Maqam tomorrow when we rise on the Day of Judgement. Today, we want the Maqam and status of the world, and we want our Maqam to be high and that of our children to be high so that they have respect and status and recognition. But real recognition and respect is not what we get when we seek it from people of the world. Allah says ‘I will give it to you -{يَوۡمَ يَلۡقَوۡنَهُ ۥ سَلَـٰمٌ۬ۚ وَأَعَدَّ لَهُمۡ أَجۡرً۬ا كَرِيمً۬ا}.’ SubhanAllah!
Oh people who do Dhikr, think, think: what is Allah ta’ala saying to you here, SubhanAllah. What is Allah saying? { أَجۡرً۬ا كَرِيمً۬ا} ‘Such rewards I have kept aside for you!’ This is a verse praising Dhikr here. The Ulema-e-Kiram are sitting here - this is what is being praised here, isn’t it? Yes. The time has been prescribed, the Amal has been prescribed, the reward has been prescribed – but those who are being told say ‘Hmmm, no, I don’t really have time to this – what can we do? We have other actions to do at this time. I have to do this other thing at this time – I am forced to do this; I can’t help it.’ No – don’t do this. Allah subhana wa ta'ala has given us the Tawfeeq for Dhikr, and I have requested you to do the same through the few words that I have shared with you. I don’t know how to speak, and I am not a master of speech or a lecturer or a Khatib – I only know one thing: how to do Dhikr of Allah - that’s it. That’s all I know, because Hadhrat Sahib told me to give a few words and speak to the colleagues – so I have done that. May Allah ta’ala give us the Tawfeeq to do Dhikr.
There are two types of Dhikr; there are two forms. One is verbal Dhikr and one is Qalbi Dhikr. One is verbal Dhikr, which is oral Dhikr, Dhikr of the tongue, and the other is Qalbi Dhikr, Dhikr of the heart, and there is a big difference between the two. There is a difference as great as the difference between the external and internal, because the tongue is external while the Qalb is inside. You can hear the Dhikr of the tongue, but you cannot hear the internal Dhikr. What is the difference? That Dhikr of the heart is seventy times greater than the Dhikr done on the tongue – this is also called Muraqabah. Muraqabah is also explained in Fazail-e-A’maal, which we read, and this is high-class, high grade, first class Dhikr – this is remembering Allah with the heart. This Dhikr affects a person very quickly – very quickly. What does this mean? It doesn’t make him float and fly in the air; rather, in reality, he progresses very quickly towards Allah subhana wa ta'ala. That is the effect. The love of his Khaliq is developed, and he acquires a distaste and a dislike for sins – and this happens very quickly. That is the speciality of this Dhikr of the heart.
So we will do both now - first we will do Dhikr with the tongue, alhamdulillah, and this Dhikr of the tongue is not done on my behalf and it is not my selection, but many years ago, the Naqshbandi Mashaa’ikh collected the verses of the Qur’an that they understood well and which they would deliver, so we will sit down and recite these verses. It has been written in the Kitabs – my Sheikh and his Sheikh and his Shiekh have explained in detail about these verses. And this Silsila goes back to the blessed personality of Rasoolullah sallallahu alayhi wasallam, and this Dhikr of Silsila Naqshbandia that we will do goes back through Hadhrat Abu Bakr as-Siddique. It is like a Shajarah, a tree, and just like a Sanad of a Hadith is passed from this person to this person, the Sanad of Dhikr is like this. This is not the Dhikr of some Pir-Sahib who has come so that you also do it; this is a confirmed chain, a course which goes back to the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wasallam.
You have to learn this Dhikr, and it is an official course with an ‘Ilm that you have to learn. This Dhikr is not just reciting La ilaha illa-llah - this is a complete ‘Ilm. Allah ta’ala has put different Lata’if, lessons, inside parts of our bodies, and every part of our body comes alive due to the Dhikr of Allah. Dhikr is a great reality – it is a lesson, it is an ‘Ilm, it is a Sabaq, so learn it. Those with the ‘Ilm of this are the Mashaa’ikh, the confirmed, attested and proven teachers. Just as if you go to Dar-ul-Uloom to learn Hadith, you start with Alif Ba Ta and small Kitabs, and then go on from there and get to the heights, well in the same way, Dhikr of Allah is a comprehensive subject. It is the Ruh, the soul, of external ‘Ilm – this is the soul of that external knowledge. It is this which keeps the external ‘Ilm in existence, and the value of the external ‘Ilm depends on the value of the internal ‘Ilm. Remember this.
So you have to be careful and cautious, but if you have the desire, seek it and learn it from a Wali of Allah, especially a Naqshbandi teacher. Why? Because this chain goes back to Hadhrat Abu Bakr as-Siddique radhiAllahu anh, and you will attain nearness very quickly by this means. Just as he was very close to Rasoolullah sallallahu alayhi wasallam, in the same way, this Tariqah will bring you very close to Allah subhana wa ta'ala. So Dhikr-e-Qalbi, the silent Dhikr, has to be learned from a Sheikh, from a teacher, and then all the Lata’if, the parts of your body on which you are taught Dhikr, will then do Dhikr of Allah; and then when you pray Salah, through that Dhikr you will understand the reality of Salah, SubhanAllah.
Brothers, Dhikr is what can bring us all of this. Life is short and you have to make effort. Will you make effort brothers? Yes, inshaAllah. I am not speaking for the sake of it, but rather to develop the passion and desire for this, lest tomorrow we should die and then say ‘Oh, I regret not learning this, but I didn’t know what to do.’ Allah will say ‘What do you mean you didn’t know? I sent a Faqir to you and he invited you in Ashrafiyyah Masjid. He told these points and lessons and gave you this education.’ It is Allah ta’ala who brings this and delivers the lessons – Allah ta’ala creates the means, and thus the word comes to you. If a person listens to it and accepts it, then he progresses and passes. So learn this Dhikr and learn it now. Is this something to leave alone? Say ‘Please tell us how to do Dhikr – I didn’t know that my heart could do Dhikr.’ You how when there is heart failure then you need a certain tablet or medicine? Allah says ‘Leave all those medicines – I will give you a medicine Myself!’ SubhanAllah. Your body will die at the time of death, but the heart which does the Dhikr of Allah will not die at that time. When death comes, it will remain alive; if your heart has Allah ta’ala’s Name in it, it will stay alive. This is the Dhikr of the heart, and it is called Muraqabah or Dhikr of the heart. We will do Jahiri Dhikr, oral Dhikr, as well, and I have told you all the points about this - and these verses of the Qur’an have been recited over decades and centuries by the Naqshbandi Mashaa’ikh, who learned them, shared them and delivered them to us. So we will do oral Dhikr, and then do Qalbi Dhikr, and then inshaAllah we will do Dua.
Recite Durood Sharif.
Allah subhana wa ta'ala has given me the opportunity to sit in the company of pious, righteous and good people, to sit together for a little while to do the Dhikr of Allah. It is from Allah’s grace and blessings that He has given us the Tawfeeq for this, because we are assembled here for a unique purpose, which is the Dhikr of Allah. In respect to this, Allah ta’ala has stated in the Qur’an: {وَلَذِكۡرُ ٱللَّهِ أَڪۡبَرُ } - how great must Dhikr be!
Look, Allah subhana wa ta'ala has given an upper limit to every act of worship but think about how great and beautiful and excellent this Ibadah of Dhikr is. If we look at Salah which contains prostrations, Fardh Salah is limited to five times a day. As for the requirement for Hajj, it is also limited; and Allah ta’ala gives us this beautiful month of Ramadhan for just thirty days. So every action is based on a limit, a number, a quantity. But wherever Allah ta’ala mentions His Dhikr, in so many places throughout the Qur’an, Allah mentions ‘Katheeran Katheera’ - do so much Dhikr, so much Dhikr that you should keep going even if you get tired, to the extent that you become Majnoon, crazy, in your desire to do Allah’s Dhikr.
Look at how Allah loves His remembrance – think about it. Regarding this thing which is beloved to Allah, the Master of the Universe, the Controller of the Universe, the Owner of the Universe, Allah is saying ‘When somebody does My Dhikr, then there is no need for him to ask Me – I will give to him automatically, without him even asking.’ Despite this, we are so needy – and the reason is that we do not do this action. We don’t do this action. If we do it, there is so much benefit for a human being – he can reach the heights.
I will share with you something that is beloved to the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wasallam – we believe in the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wasallam and we have a lot of love for him, extreme Ishq for him. Is there anyone who does not have love for the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wasallam? So in a Hadith, Allah’s Nabi sallallahu alayhi wasallam mentions something that he likes – and how much did he like it? Allah’s Nabi sallallahu alayhi wasallam stated ‘I like it so very much that it is more beloved to me than the whole world and whatever it contains – ma feeha – whatever is in it.’ So, tell me, if a person has true love of Rasoolullah sallallahu alayhi wasallam, then will he not love this thing as well? This is a measuring gauge, you could say, of whether we have love for Rasoolullah sallallahu alayhi wasallam. If we love Rasoolullah sallallahu alayhi wasallam, then we will love everything that is close to him. A mother cannot claim love and say to her child ‘I love you and you are my beloved’ unless her actions display this so that a third party would say ‘This mother does not love anything more than the love she has for her child.’ She won’t need to state this verbally, because she is Majnoon, immersed in love for the child. She doesn’t care whether somebody says this about her or not, or whether the child hears this statement or not, but a third party will say ‘This mother truly loves her child.’
So, my brothers, the sign of this Ishq that we have for Allah’s Nabi sallallahu alayhi wasallam is this - that we like what he liked. We can’t just give false and empty claims, and shout out false statements, if inside we are hollow and there is nothing there – no. It is normal today that if someone says he is your true friend, then you will say ‘Ok, what is the proof of your love? Let me test this claim.’ If someone says ‘I love you so much’, then that love is tested. SubhanAllah, if you claim to love the greatest Prophet in the Universe, Nabi al-Karim sallallahu alayhi wasallam, then will you not be able to prove that you love him? Allah’s Nabi sallallahu alayhi wasallam said “من احب سنتى فقد احبنى” – ‘Whoever loves me will love my Sunnah.’ So let us look into ourselves – how much love do we have for the Sunnah of Rasoolullah sallallahu alayhi wasallam? How can we claim that we love him? What claim can we make? This is a little, small point, but the whole Deen is summarised here. Allah’s Rasool sallallahu alayhi wasallam says “من احب سنتى” - ‘Whoever loves me, I love him’ and then he makes a great statement and goes further, saying ‘I won’t just leave him’ - “ومن أحبني كان معي في الجنة”. He is saying ‘I will take him with me into Paradise!’
Everybody says ‘Oh Allah, I want Paradise’ – well, here is a straightforward, direct route: become a lover of Rasoolullah sallallahu alayhi wasallam. And the path that will take us to Paradise – remember this - will definitely contain challenges and tests. The test of love is that you break down all the obstacles, such as ‘Oh, people will laugh at me if I keep the beard; people will laugh at me if I wear these clothes; people will laugh – what will they say?’ A person thinks that his wife will be upset and will not like him, or that some other person won’t like him and will break friendship with him. Or he says ‘I am ashamed to do this because we are living in this country now.’ Men are ashamed and women are also ashamed, SubhanAllah, but we are not ashamed when we commit sins. Committing sins, which is something shameful, doesn’t make us ashamed, but the actions that will take us to Paradise make us ashamed, although Allah’s Nabi sallallahu alayhi wasallam has stated that he loves that person! SubhanAllah.
Ask any Sahabi about this statement, SubhanAllah. Ask those who gave their lives, who were hanged and whose bodies were cut – they had no desire for anything of the Dunya, although they had not seen Paradise and not seen the Hoors. They had no first-hand knowledge, but one thing was in front of them – say SubhanAllah. They had one thing in front of them, and they would make one claim – ‘We love you, oh Rasoolullah sallallahu alayhi wasallam!’ That’s it. But us, we cannot even practice one Sunnah. We cannot allow even four hairs of the beard to emerge, and we don’t wear his Libaas on our heads or on our bodies. Whenever an example of something Rasoolullah sallallahu alayhi wasallam loves comes before us, that should be beloved to us in our lives. If we are Ashiqs, then Jannah and Hoors are promised, but we have to love whatever of his comes in front of us, even small things, little things.
Look, the Sunnah is such a great reality that behind one small Sunnah lie mounds and stacks and mountains of benefits. There are so many benefits behind every Sunnah – you cannot imagine how many cures for diseases lie behind just one Sunnah. Take the Sunnah of the Miswaak. The cure for thousands of sicknesses is contained in the Miswaak – but our belief and conviction in this has been crushed today because we have so little love. We have become so weak and have slammed shut all these doors ourselves. I will tell you the truth here – it is one thing to talk about something and another to do it. We do a lot of talking and we listen and listen until our ears are numb through listening, and yet we are living in this generation, in this day and age, when we don’t even know whether we will be alive.
Have you ever heard of anything like this disease of Corona before? ‘Oh don’t shake hands - cover your face and keep your distance. Don’t come near me - stay away!’ Allah ta’ala has given Adhab here. Allah has sent a punishment upon us because Allah ta’ala put so much Barakaat in the meeting of two brothers who shake each other’s hands to the extent that their sins are removed, but today, we run away – why? Because this is a punishment. Allah says ‘When you leave the Sunnah, then I give such a punishment that when you meet, you will back away from each other.’ Tell me! When we stand for Salah, what is the first and most valuable deed of Salah? The Saff – the rows. Ask Hadhrat Umar radhiAllahu anh, ask the Sahabah-e-Kiram – they were not happy until the Saff was complete, with the brothers stood shoulder to shoulder. They would say ‘Don’t leave any gap, otherwise shaytan will come and do Waswasah and then bad feeling will be instilled between you.’ Ask the respected scholars. Is that the case now? Can we do that now? Now people say ‘Stay two metres apart; stay apart and don’t go near to each other.’ If this is not Adhab, then what is it, tell me?
Eating Halal food and kebabs and pizzas is not a Ni’mah. A Ni’mah is this, that we order our lives according to the Sunnah of Rasoolullah sallallahu alayhi wasallam. If you drink one glass in the way that Rasoolullah sallallahu alayhi wasallam drank, with the Niyyah that you drink in the manner of his drinking, SubhanAllah, there is so much Barakah and so many blessings behind this; so much good news will come to you for doing this. You would need a whole book to detail all the benefits of sitting down while you drink. I do not say this from my research, but rather from scholars of the Western world who I could name and reference although time does not allow today; but the report they published in the present day on the benefits of drinking whilst sitting in the manner of Rasoolullah sallallahu alayhi wasallam would leave you dumbfounded. This is printed and published research. One big researcher from Australia, after conducting scientific research and publishing his paper, said ‘I am amazed and saddened when I hear that Muslims get sick. How can Muslims get sick? How can sickness come near to a Muslim?’ Similarly, he says that a Muslim who eats according to the blessed Tariqah of the gracious Prophet sallallahu alayhi wasallam in respect of how to eat – which we should do – would stay healthy. But, he says, ‘they have run after our method, and our tables and chairs, and our ways of giving a feast.’ Even when we give Da’wats amongst ourselves, nobody even sits on the floor then. One person says ‘Oh no, I have a pain in my leg and my knee hurts’, but worst of all, we are actually ashamed. Allah’s Nabi sallallahu alayhi wasallam is saying ‘If you are ashamed of my Sunnah today, then I will be ashamed of interceding for you when you come to me on the Day of Judgement.’ How will he give Shafa’a? How?
The biggest problem today is that we are ashamed. We worry about status, image and how others will see us – Astaghfirullah. This shame is destruction and loss, but despite this, we leave the Sunnah due to being ashamed. What is Allah’s preference? “من احب سنتى فقد احبنى” So should we not practice this? Make a promise today and make intention that we will implement the highest grade of Sunnah in our lives. We will look at this Sunnah and the Sunnah about everything, and we will look to what Rasoolullah sallallahu alayhi wasallam has said is the highest grade of Sunnah and we will present ourselves to Allah and prostrate ourselves to Him in that style – and then there will acceptance of our deeds. Will you do brothers? InshaAllah. This is the promise we need to make.
So, as I was saying at the beginning, Rasoolullah said ‘I hold an action so dear and beloved that it is more beloved to me than this world and all that it contains.’ SubhanAllah. So shouldn’t that thing that is so beloved to Rasoolullah also be beloved to us? Tell me? What is this thing that is most beloved to Rasoolullah sallallahu alayhi wasallam? Look at the passion and the taste of Rasoolullah sallallahu alayhi wasallam. He said ‘At Asr time’ – when? SubhanAllah, at Asr time, and this is that time, isn’t it brothers? He said ‘At Asr time, when the sun is setting,’ – say SubhanAllah – ‘and it is close to Maghrib, and there is a group of people’ – SubhanAllah. Look at the group of people that is sitting here, at Asr time while the sun is setting. He said ‘What is beloved to me is when evening is coming and there is an assembly of people and I sit in that group of people and do Dhikr of Allah!’ SubhanAllah.
Tell me, how beloved is this? More beloved than this Dunya and whatever is within it. So let’s have a look at what is in the Dunya? All the desires and attractions of the Dunya – the houses, the mansions, the properties – were all rejected by Allah’s Nabi sallallahu alayhi wasallam, for he knew that it would all go to waste and be finished. The gracious master of the two worlds saw this, and his words explained this. He told us that this is deception. If you were to ask a person who has died whether he wants to be given the deeds to a property, or to be gifted with a beautiful watch, he would have no interest or connection with them at all, for he has departed and gone to another world. This is happening everyday – old people, young people, everyone is dying and passing away. Nobody knows when – maybe we will pass away soon, so we should detach the love of Dunya from our hearts.
So Rasoolullah has mentioned such a Jamat who sit for Dhikr at the time of Asr, and we are getting another benefit on top of this, SubhanAllah, because we are in Ramadhan, in the greatest month! Tell me, oh people of Ashrafiyyah Masjid – your destiny has unfolded in front of you today! Your Kismet has brought you to this day when your lottery ticket has been won – have you ever seen such an environment? It is Ramadhan and a Jamat has come and gathered here, and you are sitting down doing Dhikr of Allah and the sun is setting. Has this ever happened before in this Masjid? Tell me? Have you seen this environment here before? This is called a Ni’mah – the greatest treasure. Allah ta’ala has assembled us and has sat us down for His Dhikr; what a beautiful, beautiful Ni’mah. Allah loves this. When Allah ta’ala holds something dear and beloved, he reserves an Ibadah for it. This a sign of something that is beloved to Allah.
Allah ta’ala loves Fajr at Fajr time; Allah has given us Dhuhr as it is a beloved time. Allah ta’ala says ‘Wherever I hold something beloved, then consider and understand that it is a moment which is most beloved to Allah when that phase of the day comes around. The time of day in which you are present is the most beloved to Allah. Do you understand what I am saying? So between Fajr to Dhuhr, several hours come between, but when the time for Dhuhr comes in, that becomes a beloved time to Allah, so be alert. The times which are beloved to Allah are those times in which Allah has placed the duty of prostration at those times; Allah ta’ala decrees an Ibadah at that time. If a person prays Fajr outside of its time, Allah says ‘Oh mad man – the time for Fajr has gone now.’ When you turn to Allah at the times Allah holds dear, then whatever you ask, Allah is very close to us at those times. You don’t know how beloved those times are – and we sleep through them! Take Fajr time; we are enjoying ourselves in bed and on the mattress, but Allah holds that time beloved and dear, so you are wasting that time by sleeping through it. You are afraid of praying Salah then, but Allah ta’ala is saying ‘The Salah that I have given you at this time is for Shukrana.’So we should be grateful and pray at that time, and get up to prostrate at that time, and say ‘Oh Allah, I have got up to prostrate to You so that I can be grateful to you for this time that You have given to me.’ This is given so that we can be aware and not waste this time. Is this not the case?
So Allah subhana wa ta'ala has given us a portion of time here, and when Allah likes a time, He bestows a beloved deed to be performed at that time. If you take the whole day, there are two times that are very beloved to Allah – the whole Qur’an has told us this. There two moments that are very beloved to Allah, and one is the morning and the other is the evening. How do we know this? Allah ta’ala says this in the Qur’an, time and time again, in several places in the Qur’an.
{يَـٰٓأَيُّہَا ٱلَّذِينَ ءَامَنُواْ ٱذۡكُرُواْ ٱللَّهَ ذِكۡرً۬ا كَثِيرً۬ا (٤١) وَسَبِّحُوهُ بُكۡرَةً۬ وَأَصِيلاً} Say SubhanAllah. Allah says that these times are most beloved to Him. Allah has said this, and you can research this scientifically. The morning is the most beneficial time for the human being – science proves this. The time that is most beneficial and which confers energy and alertness and is full of Noor is the morning time, and that is why you will see this Qawm get up in the morning and go to work early – this Qawm. They work early in the morning, but look at us people, we are sleeping in the morning while they are working. May Allah forgive – I don’t know what Hal we have gone into. May Allah forgive, may Allah forgive – we are asleep at that time. So Allah says that there are two beloved times:
{يَـٰٓأَيُّہَا ٱلَّذِينَ ءَامَنُواْ ٱذۡكُرُواْ ٱللَّهَ ذِكۡرً۬ا كَثِيرً۬ا (٤١) وَسَبِّحُوهُ بُكۡرَةً۬ وَأَصِيلاً} Allah ta’ala is saying ‘Two times are very beloved to Me – morning time and evening time.’ How do we know? Allah ta’ala says ‘I have placed a special Ibadah in that time – and what is that? Dhikrullah – My remembrance!’ SubhanAllah. That is what proves how beneficial these times are. Allah says that we should hold onto those two times regularly and do Dhikr at that time. {يَـٰٓأَيُّہَا ٱلَّذِينَ ءَامَنُواْ ٱذۡكُرُواْ ٱللَّهَ ذِكۡرً۬ا كَثِيرً۬ا (٤١) وَسَبِّحُوهُ بُكۡرَةً۬ وَأَصِيلاً} And what is that Dhikr? Allah explains in detail:
{يَـٰٓأَيُّہَا ٱلَّذِينَ ءَامَنُواْ ٱذۡكُرُواْ ٱللَّهَ ذِكۡرً۬ا كَثِيرً۬ا (٤١) وَسَبِّحُوهُ بُكۡرَةً۬ وَأَصِيلاً (٤٢) هُوَ ٱلَّذِى يُصَلِّى عَلَيۡكُمۡ وَمَلَـٰٓٮِٕكَتُهُ}
SubhanAllah. Allah is saying ‘Sit down at those two times that are beloved to Me and do the Ibadah that I like. What Ibadah is that? Dhikrullah. Allah says ‘When you sit, then remember: Me and My angels will send Rahmah upon you – { هُوَ ٱلَّذِى يُصَلِّى عَلَيۡكُمۡ وَمَلَـٰٓٮِٕكَتُهُ} – I will send My mercy upon you at that time.’ A person who does Dhikr will never lose out – never. How can he lose, when Allah says that even a person who sits with such a person will not lose out – SubhanAllah. Forget about the one who is doing Dhikr, the one who sits with him will not lose out. Allahu Akbar, such a person lives a nice, beautiful life – why? Because Allah ta’ala has said ‘The Dhakir is he who never misses these two moments.’ Someone may say ‘Oh no, I am busy, and I do a lot of Dhikr anyway. I do Dhikr after Dhuhr or after this time or that time.’ No – do Dhikr at the time when Allah ta’ala says ‘I prefer you to do My Dhikr at this time.’ That is called being a true Dhakir; he won’t feel sleepy at that time.
Look at our Akabireen and the environment around them. This was their Tariqah. In the Khanqah of Hadhrat Sheikh-ul-Hadith rahmatullah alayh, you could hear ‘Allahu’ every morning coming from the Khanqah. This is how Hadhrat Sheikh-ul-Hadith did Dhikr of Allah - these are our Akabireen; this was the Hal of our pious elders. So Allah ta’ala says that when it is the case that His servant does Dhikr of Allah in the morning, then {هُوَ ٱلَّذِى يُصَلِّى عَلَيۡكُمۡ وَمَلَـٰٓٮِٕكَتُهُ ۥ لِيُخۡرِجَكُم مِّنَ ٱلظُّلُمَـٰتِ إِلَى ٱلنُّورِۚ }. The angels send Rahmah, and Allah says ‘I take those people out from the darkness of their sins and from Bid’ah and Shirk and Haram actions, and I take them out of the darkness of all of those things and bring them into the light.’
So that person who does Dhikr automatically starts to leave sins, and his bad habits end. If we were to bring our young people towards Dhikr today, their bad habits would end. Invite our youth towards Dhikr, for then their life sketch will transform. Why? Because the Qur’an is saying this! I am not saying this - the Qur’an is saying this. There is no path that can do this other than that which Allah and His Nabi sallallahu alayhi wasallam have prescribed. Could there be another path to correct us? No way – impossible. Do Dhikr yourselves and tell your children to do Dhikr.
I swear by Allah that I have experienced this in my life. The worst of the worst of drug addicts and cannabis addicts and alcohol addicts came, and I didn’t say anything to them other than ‘Do Dhikr in the morning and evening’, because Allah has promised { لِيُخۡرِجَكُم مِّنَ ٱلظُّلُمَـٰتِ إِلَى ٱلنُّورِۚ}. And Allah says {وَڪَانَ بِٱلۡمُؤۡمِنِينَ رَحِيمً۬ا} that this is not for every person. Allah says ‘I have only given this treasure and this gift for the Mu’mineen. The disbeliever or the Yahudi cannot say My Name like this. He can speak of money and bank accounts, but only a true Mu’min and Ashiq can remember My Name. He is beloved to Me and he can recite My Name over and over again.’ This is the sign of the believer – {وَڪَانَ بِٱلۡمُؤۡمِنِينَ رَحِيمً۬ا}. And Allah then says {تَحِيَّتُهُمۡ} - the story doesn’t end there, for Allah says ‘They will see the enjoyment of this at the time when the Dhakir comes to Me – I will welcome him Myself, personally.’ {يَوۡمَ يَلۡقَوۡنَهُ} And at the time of that meeting, the world will be amazed - the very style of the Dhakireen will be different in the Hereafter. Say SubhanAllah!
This is Dhikr brothers. It is not done for piety, nor to become a Pir, nor for Kashf or inspiration or Karamaat. I am telling you what the pious elders said – as for the rest, I have no ‘Ilm or knowledge. The environment that I was in when receiving this teaching, and the Faqir whose Sohbat I had, and the one whose Sohbat he had, this is what was learned there in that company. So Dhikr isn’t done in order to sit down and become a Pir or a Sheikh or a Hadhrat Sahib or to have Mureeds and students and be given presents. Initiate this practice on this basis, that Dunya shouldn’t be present in your heart; that is where Dhikr starts. The love and desire for the Dunya shouldn’t stay in your heart – that is the basis upon which a person should start Dhikr of Allah. Think ‘I need to eliminate the desires within’, not ‘I want to become a Pir or a Sheikh and have a big gathering around me who will praise me.’ Dhikr does not give this. Dhikr is performed for one reason, so that we get that Maqam tomorrow when we rise on the Day of Judgement. Today, we want the Maqam and status of the world, and we want our Maqam to be high and that of our children to be high so that they have respect and status and recognition. But real recognition and respect is not what we get when we seek it from people of the world. Allah says ‘I will give it to you -{يَوۡمَ يَلۡقَوۡنَهُ ۥ سَلَـٰمٌ۬ۚ وَأَعَدَّ لَهُمۡ أَجۡرً۬ا كَرِيمً۬ا}.’ SubhanAllah!
Oh people who do Dhikr, think, think: what is Allah ta’ala saying to you here, SubhanAllah. What is Allah saying? { أَجۡرً۬ا كَرِيمً۬ا} ‘Such rewards I have kept aside for you!’ This is a verse praising Dhikr here. The Ulema-e-Kiram are sitting here - this is what is being praised here, isn’t it? Yes. The time has been prescribed, the Amal has been prescribed, the reward has been prescribed – but those who are being told say ‘Hmmm, no, I don’t really have time to this – what can we do? We have other actions to do at this time. I have to do this other thing at this time – I am forced to do this; I can’t help it.’ No – don’t do this. Allah subhana wa ta'ala has given us the Tawfeeq for Dhikr, and I have requested you to do the same through the few words that I have shared with you. I don’t know how to speak, and I am not a master of speech or a lecturer or a Khatib – I only know one thing: how to do Dhikr of Allah - that’s it. That’s all I know, because Hadhrat Sahib told me to give a few words and speak to the colleagues – so I have done that. May Allah ta’ala give us the Tawfeeq to do Dhikr.
There are two types of Dhikr; there are two forms. One is verbal Dhikr and one is Qalbi Dhikr. One is verbal Dhikr, which is oral Dhikr, Dhikr of the tongue, and the other is Qalbi Dhikr, Dhikr of the heart, and there is a big difference between the two. There is a difference as great as the difference between the external and internal, because the tongue is external while the Qalb is inside. You can hear the Dhikr of the tongue, but you cannot hear the internal Dhikr. What is the difference? That Dhikr of the heart is seventy times greater than the Dhikr done on the tongue – this is also called Muraqabah. Muraqabah is also explained in Fazail-e-A’maal, which we read, and this is high-class, high grade, first class Dhikr – this is remembering Allah with the heart. This Dhikr affects a person very quickly – very quickly. What does this mean? It doesn’t make him float and fly in the air; rather, in reality, he progresses very quickly towards Allah subhana wa ta'ala. That is the effect. The love of his Khaliq is developed, and he acquires a distaste and a dislike for sins – and this happens very quickly. That is the speciality of this Dhikr of the heart.
So we will do both now - first we will do Dhikr with the tongue, alhamdulillah, and this Dhikr of the tongue is not done on my behalf and it is not my selection, but many years ago, the Naqshbandi Mashaa’ikh collected the verses of the Qur’an that they understood well and which they would deliver, so we will sit down and recite these verses. It has been written in the Kitabs – my Sheikh and his Sheikh and his Shiekh have explained in detail about these verses. And this Silsila goes back to the blessed personality of Rasoolullah sallallahu alayhi wasallam, and this Dhikr of Silsila Naqshbandia that we will do goes back through Hadhrat Abu Bakr as-Siddique. It is like a Shajarah, a tree, and just like a Sanad of a Hadith is passed from this person to this person, the Sanad of Dhikr is like this. This is not the Dhikr of some Pir-Sahib who has come so that you also do it; this is a confirmed chain, a course which goes back to the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wasallam.
You have to learn this Dhikr, and it is an official course with an ‘Ilm that you have to learn. This Dhikr is not just reciting La ilaha illa-llah - this is a complete ‘Ilm. Allah ta’ala has put different Lata’if, lessons, inside parts of our bodies, and every part of our body comes alive due to the Dhikr of Allah. Dhikr is a great reality – it is a lesson, it is an ‘Ilm, it is a Sabaq, so learn it. Those with the ‘Ilm of this are the Mashaa’ikh, the confirmed, attested and proven teachers. Just as if you go to Dar-ul-Uloom to learn Hadith, you start with Alif Ba Ta and small Kitabs, and then go on from there and get to the heights, well in the same way, Dhikr of Allah is a comprehensive subject. It is the Ruh, the soul, of external ‘Ilm – this is the soul of that external knowledge. It is this which keeps the external ‘Ilm in existence, and the value of the external ‘Ilm depends on the value of the internal ‘Ilm. Remember this.
So you have to be careful and cautious, but if you have the desire, seek it and learn it from a Wali of Allah, especially a Naqshbandi teacher. Why? Because this chain goes back to Hadhrat Abu Bakr as-Siddique radhiAllahu anh, and you will attain nearness very quickly by this means. Just as he was very close to Rasoolullah sallallahu alayhi wasallam, in the same way, this Tariqah will bring you very close to Allah subhana wa ta'ala. So Dhikr-e-Qalbi, the silent Dhikr, has to be learned from a Sheikh, from a teacher, and then all the Lata’if, the parts of your body on which you are taught Dhikr, will then do Dhikr of Allah; and then when you pray Salah, through that Dhikr you will understand the reality of Salah, SubhanAllah.
Brothers, Dhikr is what can bring us all of this. Life is short and you have to make effort. Will you make effort brothers? Yes, inshaAllah. I am not speaking for the sake of it, but rather to develop the passion and desire for this, lest tomorrow we should die and then say ‘Oh, I regret not learning this, but I didn’t know what to do.’ Allah will say ‘What do you mean you didn’t know? I sent a Faqir to you and he invited you in Ashrafiyyah Masjid. He told these points and lessons and gave you this education.’ It is Allah ta’ala who brings this and delivers the lessons – Allah ta’ala creates the means, and thus the word comes to you. If a person listens to it and accepts it, then he progresses and passes. So learn this Dhikr and learn it now. Is this something to leave alone? Say ‘Please tell us how to do Dhikr – I didn’t know that my heart could do Dhikr.’ You how when there is heart failure then you need a certain tablet or medicine? Allah says ‘Leave all those medicines – I will give you a medicine Myself!’ SubhanAllah. Your body will die at the time of death, but the heart which does the Dhikr of Allah will not die at that time. When death comes, it will remain alive; if your heart has Allah ta’ala’s Name in it, it will stay alive. This is the Dhikr of the heart, and it is called Muraqabah or Dhikr of the heart. We will do Jahiri Dhikr, oral Dhikr, as well, and I have told you all the points about this - and these verses of the Qur’an have been recited over decades and centuries by the Naqshbandi Mashaa’ikh, who learned them, shared them and delivered them to us. So we will do oral Dhikr, and then do Qalbi Dhikr, and then inshaAllah we will do Dua.
Recite Durood Sharif.