DARS 2
What we must realise is that the most important Dua is the Dua that Allah has taught us via Surah al-Fatiha - and the importance of that Dua. Allah has told us, through that verse, how important this is for us. Guidance, Hidaya, is the most important thing for a person after Iman, after having faith, and Allah has made Hidaya very easy for us to obtain, and that is to make Dua and ask Allah for guidance and the right path. It is common that whoever is seeking the Haq, whether it is someone who has no Iman, or someone who has deviated, if he’s a Mu’min or sinner, but the condition is that he is seeking the truth, he wants to be improved, reformed - he has that desire - then Allah subhana wa ta’ala opens the path of Hidaya for that person. Allah ta’ala has explained in regard to the paths, this is from such a place that Allah says, ‘I will give guidance from such directions that he cannot imagine!’
Now to obtain guidance, the first step is that person should be sincere and honest in seeking the truth. Just like I mentioned yesterday, in my life I have experienced this. I remember an event in my life: I was in the Khanqah - it was the evening time and it was approximately 50 years, probably 40 or 45 years ago - and there was an African man who came and he knocked and entered. I was on my own, and obviously he knew that I didn’t know him, so there was a little bit of discussion - there was a little bit of a barrier, and you have to break the ice - and he said ‘I have found out that you are a Sheikh.’ I said ‘Yes’, so he said ‘I would like to speak to you’, so I said ‘Fine’. Then he said, ‘Well in the night, when I sleep, then a word comes out from my mouth!’ He was a Jamaican, and he said ‘A word comes from my mouth, what is that? So then somebody told me that there is a person - somebody told me to come and ask you.’ He did not know what is a Sheikh or an Alim. So I said to him ‘What is that word?’ He said ‘All-aah, All-aah - like that!’ I understood, so I said ‘Okay, okay.’ He said “I don’t know and I don’t realise that this word comes from my tongue! My wife is very upset with me and we have arguments, and she says ‘What is this you’re saying? I dislike this word you keep saying all night long!’ I say ‘I don’t say this word’, and she says ‘You say this word all night long, at various times in the night!’ What is this? I don’t understand this - what is it that I am saying?” So then I said to him ‘Are you satisfied with the religion that you are practising, with the path that you are on? Are you satisfied with that, are you content?’ He said ‘No, I’m not at peace, I’m not satisfied.’ I said ‘Then do you want to be on the right path so that you get the right path?’ He said ‘Yes, that is my desire, I have this need, because I do not think what I’m doing is correct - there must be a correct path that I can get.’ So I said, ‘Well you have attained the path! If you wanted this, if you desire the truth, Allah has shown you the path. What else do you need?’ I said, ‘What you are seeking is that Name which you are reciting in the night!’ SubhanAllah! ‘This is Allah, your Lord, who is calling you!’
This happened because he he was seeking, and I didn’t read the Qur’an to him, and I didn’t mention Hadith. I said straightforwardly ‘You are looking, seeking, and you have obtained! So why are you delaying?’ So he said to me, ‘How does a person become a Muslim? What does he do?’ I said, ‘Nothing! You don’t have to go anywhere, you’re ready! Are you ready?’ He said, ‘Yes, I’m totally ready!’ His heart opened up, suddenly. I said, ‘Okay, fine I will tell you the meaning of the Kalima, the affirmation of faith, and you have to recite that.’ Then he said, ‘There is one condition’, so I said ‘What is that?’, and he said, ‘How will you address me? What will my name be?’ I said, ‘It will be a Muslim name.’ So he said, ‘Then I would like my name to be Allah!’ He said that he had so much love with Allah subhana wa ta’ala’s Name that he said he wanted to keep the name ‘Allah.’ And I mentioned this in the company of my Hadhrat Noor ‘ala Marqadah, Subhanallah, and he smiled and said ‘You could give him the Name ‘Abdullah’. So I said, ‘Okay, you can attach yourself to this Name - you can be Abdullah, you can be Abdus-Sami’, but you cannot be Allah on its own because Allah is Allah, that is His personal Name. He said ‘It should be just Allah!’ I said ‘Allah will be attached to your name’, so he said ‘Okay fine, so what should I do?’ I said ‘You don’t have to do anything, just recite the Kalima, and confirm the faith, then keep on coming and you will become stronger. The action that we do, you do, which is the Dhikr.’ He said ‘Can I come?’ so I said ‘Yes!’ He said ‘What do you do?’ I said ‘Nothing!’
So then he became a Muslim mashaAllah, and alhamdulillah, such a Muslim that he kept on coming to the Khanqah, he used to sit in Dhikr, and some of the people will remember - I can’t remember his full name - and we prayed his Janazah and all the brothers came and we buried him, alhamdulillah. For quite a few years before that he was with us, and on one occasion in the Arndale Centre, he came to my shop and I hadn’t seen him for quite some time - maybe he was busy - and when he saw me, he came running up to me and he embraced me, and he said ‘Sheikh, Sheikh, you know me’, so I said ‘Yes, I know you!’ and then, just like we recite Durood Sharif, he started to recite and mashaAllah, he had a good, melodious voice - which you find with many Jamaicans - and everyone gathered together, and he recited that Durood in the same way, with just the same style which we recite! And he said, ‘I am solid on Islam, I feel so strong you cannot imagine, and I’m doing Amal on everything that you have mentioned!’
Anyway, the meaning of what I’m saying is that the Qur’an is Haq, it is truth, and if a person seeks the truth, Allah says it can be anyone, it doesn’t matter who it is, anyone who says 'Guide us on the Straight Path.' Allah ta’ala has announced that anyone who has this desire, then supplicate to Me ask from Me, and I will give you the path! And there is a point here, a very good point for the Saalikeen, the travellers, the seekers on this path - a good point - which is that we sometimes want to improve ourselves, and we want to come on the right path; we want to work hard and make effort, but we don’t manage to do it, and we say it’s very difficult, I want to be corrected, I want to be improved and reform myself, I want to leave impure things and detach myself from wrong, and come onto the right path, the Straight Path. I want to do Dhikr, I want to do Salah - I want this! There are poeple like this. And there are others who are already alhamdulillah, travelling on the path and sometimes they are weak, they say we want to be improved and to be steadfast, we want our Dhikr to be complete - there are people like this. So for both, this is a fantastic path Allah ta'ala has opened up - just do one action, {Ihdinas-Siraaat-al-Mustaqeem, Ihdinas-Siraat-al-Mustaqeem}, keep on asking from Allah! It does not matter how weak a person is, if he has the desire that 'I want this, but I am not strong enough, determined enough, I am not courageous enough, it's hard for me to leave sins, it's hard for me to leave the environment that I am in', then don't worry at all, don't worry at all!
Yesterday, I mentioned this. Allah ta'ala has announced 'Just do that action - {Ihdinas-Siraat-al-Mustaqeem} - keep on doing this action, this recitation, 'Oh Allah, show us the right path, guide us, guide me. I want this, Allah!'. And Allah says, 'I will open up such paths for you that you cannot imagine' - just like the event of this brother that I have mentioned to you - from such an unknown place, places that you had not even planned - even me. Allah gives Hidaya at such times and from such places that you cannot even imagine. Allah ta'ala takes you somewhere, to the company of such a person that you dont even know! So this is a real, solid message that we need to understand - whenever you feel weak, and you try to do something but you can't do it, you want to do a very high level action but you can't do it, there's weakness and you have desires, and you want to leave unlawful things, and you want to leave wrong, and shaytan makes us give up - 'Oh, sit don't, cross your legs, and give up!' But Allah ta'ala says, 'No, not at all!' At least what we can do, when we have a desire, when we have a need, then ask from Allah. 'Allah, give me guidance - I want to be pious.' Not just ask after Salah should you make Dua, not just after some Wazeefah should you ask Allah, Allah is always with a person - Allah is closer to us than our jugular vein. Whenever you commit a sin, say, 'Allah, I want to leave this, what can I do? I am wrapped up in this sin, I am immersed in this sin, drowned! Allah, I want to leave this! Allah, save me from this action, from this wrong action!' SubhanAllah.
How did Allah subhana wa ta'ala save Yusuf alayhi salam? Zuleikha had set her trap - she had put the net out, the net of her Husn, her beauty, and then she locked and sealed the doors, and gave him the invitation, but Yusuf alayhi sallam did not lose determination. He called out - who did he call out to? His Lord, his Rabb, Allah. This is an event in the Qur'an that we have been given so that we can practise upon it, learn from it.
So after Hidaya, in the Qur'an al-Hakeem, Allah then explains more about Hidaya, because first Allah ta'ala, in Surah al-Fatiha, has said that Hidaya is most important for us - Hidaya. if a person gets Hidaya, then he has got all the treasures of this world, of the
Dunya, and the Deen. We make Dua, 'Oh Allah, give me Rizq, give me Barakah in my wealth, in my children' - we need all of these things. We want blessings, we want health - we ask Allah ta'ala for all of these things, don't we. We need these. But if we get guidance, then automatically, you get everything without asking! SubhanAllah - then there's no need to ask. If you get Hidaya, you have attained everything, all the doors have opened - Rizq, wealth, Barakaat, and blessings and Rahmah. And without Hidaya, everything is dust. If somebody doesn't have Hidaya, you see in the western hemisphere, you have food, drink, alcohol,money, cars, assets - this is just dust, raw dust, nothing else. But if we have wealth along with Hidaya...the great Mashaa'ikh, our pious predecessors, among them were many who were rich - Abdul Qadir Jilani rahmatullahi alayh, Imam Abu Hanifa rahmatullahi alayh, Abdullah bin Ahrar, a Naqshbandi Sheikh, was a great merchant; and there great Companions radhiAllahu anhum who were businessmen. So if with Hidaya you get wealth, then this is Allah's reward and a Ni'mah, and if Allah ta'ala gives you wealth via some mode, that's good, and there's no loss if you don't, but if you get Hidaya, then you get both things. If you don't get Dunya, even then you should live nicely, peacefully, because Allah has given you guidance; if you get Dunya, then that's a reward, and you get more responsibilities along with wealth, but the main thing is that you get Hidaya. Whoever gets guidance, the right path, then the first Dua we need to ask is for guidance, for the right path, and if a person gets that and nothing else, that's enough.
So the whole Qur'an explains what Hidaya is. In the next Surah, Allah ta'ala has clearly explained. {Alif Lam Meem Dhaalikal-Kitaabu la raiba feeh hudan lil Muttaqeen} - SubhanAllah, in the next Surah, Surah al Baqarah. So with regards to Hidaya, the whole Qur'an will be based on Hidaya, it explains Hidaya. So the commentary of Hidaya is explained in the Qur'an. Here Allah ta'ala has mentioned one thing: {Hudan lil Muttaqeen} SubhanAllah. How should guidance be, what is the definition of guidance? After obtaining guidance, what is the guidance that's beneficial for us. Not just obtaining Hidaya on its own, no, Hidaya is not beneficial on its own, no. Rather if you get Hidaya, it should be in which way, for which people? For those people who fear Allah, SubhanAllah. If we obtain such Hidaya, then there is benefit, complete benefit. {Hudan lil Muttaqeen} - if they get the Hidaya of those people who fear Allah, then it will be beneficial. To get Hidaya on its own is not enough; if you get Hidaya, but its not the guidance of the Muttaqeen, those who fear Allah, then there is no benefit to that guidance.
I'll give you an example of this. Say you want to travel to London, or if people from London want to go to Birmingham, or wherever you want to travel to; now, the first thing that you need is the path, the route, yes? And this is called Hidaya in the journey to the Akhirah. So now we have got the path. But after getting the path, if we do not follow the instructions, the route, then we will deviate and become lost. The sign is saying this is the path to London, but if I don't follow the instructions after that, then I will come off track and be deviated. So if you get the route, it is essential that you follow the instructions and maintain the journey. If I leave that, then I will be deviated. Alllah has explained in the same way about Hidaya {Hudan lil Muttaqeen} a guidance for those who ward off evil. If you get guidance from Allah, then beware, Allah says {Hudan lil Muttaqeen} it should be the guidance of the Muttaqis, such a guidance relating to those who fear Allah; it is guidance combined with those who fear Allah, the Muttaqis. Allah says that this guidance will be totally beneficial when what? When, from this Kitab that Allah has given - Allah says, 'I have given you Hidaya, I have given you education, knowledge - when you practise upon this after obtaining guidance, according to this Kitab, then you will take the full benefit of this Kitab that I have given to you'.
So the people who fear Allah, that's what they do. They attain Hidaya, and after attaining Hidaya, then, when fear of Allah comes, and they implement the orders of the Qur'an, then the Hidaya gives benefit, and then they reach to their destination. Just like when a person who is travelling to London goes onto the path, and he follows the signs, then he will reach his destination. In the same way, when you attain Hidaya, after that, whichever individual looks into the Qur'an, the Ahkam, the orders, instructions and education that Allah ta'ala has given in the Qur'an via the Holy Prophet sallallahu alayhi wasallam, if we practise this, then we will arrive to our destination; otherwise, without this, Hidaya is a waste - we have wasted it. Hidaya will not have been used beneficially. If you get guidance, the route, but you still come off the track, you can't reach London; if you get Hidaya and don't follow the commands, and don't implement the Ta'leem, the education that Allah ta'ala revealed in the Qur'an, and don't do Amal on those orders, then you go off track.
How sad it is if a person does that. Why does he go off track? Allah ta'ala has mentioned this in the first Surah, Surah al-Fatiha, why that's the case, and in this first verse of this Surah Allah ta'ala has mentioned {Alif Lam Meem Dhaalikal Kitabu la raiba feeh}. Allah says the reason that a person deviates, and doesn't accept Allah's orders is because he has doubts and misconceptions. Allah ta'ala says that in the beginning, for guidance, the most important thing is that you need to have no doubt in your heart, no questioning, no challenging; totally one hundred percent Yaqeen - this is the Word of Allah, whatever Allah ta'ala has revealed, that is it; that is it! If a person has doubt - and Allah ta'ala has said that this the scripture of which there is no doubt - then we won't accept the education of the Qur'an and the knowledge of the Qur'an. And if we don't accept them, then how will we get the full benefit of Hidaya? For this reason, Allah ta'ala says in the beginning, what we need is {La raiba feeh} SubhanAllah. Allah ta'ala says 'This is the Book of which there is no doubt whatsoever' {La raiba feeh} - no doubt at all, any form of doubt, no challenge, no questioning. Nobody who does this can obtain full Hidaya, nobody.
This is the reason why we, despite getting guidance, cannot arrive at our destination. We can't even get onto the route, onto the direction - why? Because of doubt. Doubt. This is Allah's Kalam, this is Allah's Book, His Words; this is not some insignificant book, some common book or literature. The reality of the Qur'an, the words of the Qur'an - nobody can understand the reality of the words in the Qur'an, except for Allah. Nobody can reach the reality of the Qur'an, the truth of it, except Allah subhana wa ta'ala, and what Allah ta'ala explained and told to His Nabi sallallahu alayhi wasallam. There's no third way, no third situation. This is not some science, chemistry or physics book that after you open it, you can undertand it with your brain power and intellect and wisdom.
That's why people go off track, that's why they deviate. They take a verse of the Qur'an, start quarelling and debating on Allah's Commands, on Halal, haram, lawful, unlawful - people try to apply their brain and wisdom and intellect. They start debating, 'Why is this Haram? Why is this Halal? Why should we do Purdah? In this country, it's not necessary' - so many words in this world in regards to this Qur'an, so much debate, because people want to understand the Qur'an with their own brains and understanding. You cannot understand the Qur'an with your intellect, or with some knowledge that you have, you cannot understand the Qur'an apart from one way. The praise of the Qur'an, the commentary of the Qur'an, the explanation of the Qur'an, you can only understand the amount that the Holy Prophet sallallahu alayhi wasallam explained to us.
Allah ta'ala gave the message to His Nabi to explain to us; what He gave to His Nabi and how He explained it to Rasool sallallahu alayhi wasallam is a secret which cannot reach us. But whatever Rasool sallallahu alayhi wasallam explained to us, that is enough for us. We cannot understand more than that. To try to justify the Qur'an, to try to understand why this is Halal, why alcohol is haram, why Purdah is necessary, why men are given permission for more marriages, why there is this order for this person, and this order for that person - in regards to this, Allah ta'ala has stated {Dhalikal Kitabu la raiba feeh}. So never can you be on the path of guidance if you have doubt; after attaing guidance, you will be deviated because you cannot understand the Qur'an on your own. You can try to understand the Qur'an with your brain and mind and intellect, you can try to understand it, this Qur'an, just as you can make planes and make chemical formulas - but don't consider this as a normal book, some minor book, Allah ta'ala says!
Look, intellectual man, he's got brains, they are giving speeches, picking up the Qur'an, a'oodhu bi'llah, a'oodhu bi'llah, no faces, no appearance, no 'Aql, they have nothing conforming to the Deen! Such wasteful talk! They take verses from the Qur'an, they discuss, they take meanings, they take out meanings, their own interpretations - and people follow them! Why? Because they speak satanic words, using their own interpretation and brain and intellect. Allah has said in advance that these are liars! No one can understand the Qur'an; you can only understand the commands and instructions that the Holy Prophet sallallahu alayhi wasallam has given to us; that's the Qur'an that we can understand; beyond that, we cannot understand. The Ma'arifa of the Qur'an doesn't go beyond that, that's all nonsense, that's all shaytani institutes that have been made. Allah ta'ala has given Daleel of this point. Yes, Allah ta'ala knew that people like this would come in the world. Allah ta'ala has given proof - 'Oh, you think you can understand the Qur'an of your own accord, using your own brain power? You will make my Haram Halal, and Halal Haram, and you will debate and quarrel, and say how come this is here, Jannah will become like this, and why are the fasts of Ramadhan like this etc.'
There are so many people out there who debate and challenge the Qur'an. Allah says 'This is the doubt that I have mentioned, and if you have this doubt, and you challenge the Qur'an and you question the Qur'an, I give Daleel!' First of all, Allah says, {Alif Lam Meem}. So tell me - what is the meaning of {Alif Lam Meem}! That's it - now everyone cools down, for no one can mention. Allah says 'Ok, pick up the Qur'an; tell me - what does {Alif Lam Meem} mean? Tell me the meaning of these three letters!' SubhanAllah, Allahu akbar! Can anyone give the interpretation, the commentary? Allah ta'ala says that these are the letters that are hidden letters; no-one knows the true meaning of these letters. Rather, this is a secret between Allah and His Rasool sallallahu alayhi wasallam. Allah says that He did not give us this learning out of His Wisdom. That's why Allah ta'ala kept this as a secret, these three letters. What great meaning there is in these three letters, which no one can think of or understand. This is a secret between Allah and His Rasool sallallahu alayhi wasallam, so that those people who think they are intellectual and have brain power, and who have the Qur'an in their hands, and they debate and go into commentaries - what is this and why is that. Allah says 'If you are that brainy, then tell Me, what does {Alif lam Meem} mean?' It is there - everything in the Qur'an does have a meaning; it is there - why? Such Akaabireen, pious predecessors, like Hadhrat Mujaddid Alf Thani rahmatullah alayh - Hadhrat Sheikh Ahmad Sarhindi Farooqui - such Akaabireen, such pious predecessors, they were given that understanding of the meanings of the Qur'an, it reached them, but even then, these are not those meanings, it is not the Daleel, it is just an angle on the understanding, just the form of the understanding. Allah ta'ala inspired their hearts to understand for their time. Allah ta'ala gave them that Uloom, that Ma'arifah, that knowledge, that understanding.
So to understand the Qur'an, Allah ta'ala says 'Don't use your brain, your intellect and wisdom and debates to understand the Qur'an.' To understand the Qur'an, Allah says that there is only one method - {la raiba feeh} - get rid of your doubts and your challenges and your questions; take them out of your minds! Listen, a very great proof is present here for this point - what is that? That the Qur'an, when it is understood, gives a Noor, a light, which Allah ta'ala creates in the heart of the believer. So the more your heart becomes pure and clean, then the knowledge of the Qur'an, the Ma'arifa, will come into your heart. The Qur'an is not understood by the brain, it is understood by the heart!
That's why the Sufis do Tazkiyya, they do purification - this is essential. Allah ta'ala says that the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wasallam will come {li yu'allimuhum-ul-Kitaba wal- Hikma wa yuzakeehim} - so there will be Kitab, the Hikma, and Daleels, but there will also be Tazkiyya, purification, so that via purification your Qalb can absorb the meanings and the Ma'arifa and the meanings and the knowledge of the Qur'an, absorb them. So the more a person does Tazkiyya, the more his purification becomes strong, his heart becomes clean, pure, the heart is then free of sins, and with the Dhikr of Allah it is enlightened, illuminated, SubhanAllah, and then with the company of the righteous, the Saaliheen, the light comes into the heart. So what's the effect of that, the end point? It is that the Ma'arifa of the Qur'an the knowledge of the Qur'an, the beauty and brilliance of the Qur'an comes into a person. This is the result. So to understand the Qur'an, it is important for us to do Tazkiyya, to clean the heart.
So this is the subject, this is the meaning, that Allah ta'la has given to guidance, Hidaya; and after having belief, the most important thing is to obtain guidance, and to obtain guidance, you have to do Dua, supplication, to Allah, you have to have that desire. So after obtaining Hidaya, after {Ihdinas-Siraat-al-Mustaqeem}, when Allah gives you that path and guidance, after obtaining, learning the guidance, then you need the guidance of the Muttaqis. To obtain full benefit of the Daleel, of the orders of the Qur'an, to obtain full benefit of the Hidaya, the education, and the Ahkaams of the Qur'an, to obtain full benefit of the Qur'an's guidance, you need to do Amal on the orders, and the guidance, and the instructions of the Qur'an. When a person implements the orders and the education of the Qur'an, then he will attain full benefit of the Hidaya that Allah ta'ala has given to us. And the most important thing that Allah ta'ala has mentioned - {Dhaalikal-Kitabu la raiba feeh} - Allah says Tazkiyya, Tazkiyya, Tasfiya, Dhikrullah. With the Dhikr of Allah, continue to purify your heart and clean it so that no dount remains, - no doubt, no challenging, no questions with regards to Allah's Kitab. As soon as the orders of the Qur'an come, if your heart is clean, it accepts. If your heart is clean and pure, then, after obtaining guidance, as soon as a Hukm of Allah comes to us, when we hear about Allah's orders, and when Allah's Ta'leem and education arrives to us, whatever Rasoolullah sallallahu alayhi wasalllam has stated, if our heart is clean and pure then immediately our heart will accept it, and then our guidance, our Hidaya, will rub off onto us.
This is the methodology of the Muttaqeen; this is the route, the path of the Muttaqeen - {hudan lil Muttaqeen} - this is the way of the Muttaqeen. So Allah ta'ala has given Hidaya to the Saalikeen, and this is essential, on the path of Sulook, for those who are on the journey of Tazkiyya, the straight path, the pure path. They have attained guidance, Allah ta'ala gave them guidance, and after attining guidance, alhamdulillah, then they did Tazkiyya, purification of their heart, they started to do the Dhikr of Allah, so the cleanliness and purification of thier heart continues. And when their hearts start to be purified, then alhamdulillah, their hearts start to accept the Ahkam that are coming in the Qur'an, to embrace them. And as soon as the hearts start to embrace and accept them, alhamdulillah, then we change our lives, just like when the order for Purdah came. The hearts is clean - first we took Hidaya, guidance, and with Hidaya we started to do the Dhikr of Allah, and when there is the order of Purdah for us, then immediately we should accept it. The person we has obtained guidance, but his heart is not clean and pure, and he is immersed in doubt - 'No, in this country we can't do this, it is too hard here, no, no, why is alcohol haram, where is it stated?' So, despite the fact that he has attained guidance, his heart is not clean, so he gets stuck in doubt about Allah ta'ala's orders.
So it is essential, if you obtain guidance, if Allah gives guidance, then after that the most important thing is the Dhikr of Allah and Tazkiyya. Tazkiyya, purification, is so that he doesn't just listen to Allah's orders. The person who hasn't done Tazkiyya of his heart, when Allah's orders come, he doesn't accept them - such people go and listen to speeches, and debates and Dars ul Hadith, and they listen and they leave. But the person who has done Tazkiyya, his style of listening is different, SubhanAllah; when he hears the Qur'an, when he hears those words, just like I am sitting in front of you and mentioning and speaking, the people of Tazkiyya will select these points, the orders, the instructions - 'Ok, Allah says do Amal on this point!' But those people who are just listeners, who don't do Tazkiyya or purify their heart, they don't absorb Allah ta'ala's Ahkams; they have got Hidaya, but they don't listen. It goes in one ear and out the other, and the next morning, there will be no Amal on the Deen. But those who do Tazkiyya, purification, the sign of those people is that their heart is clean and pure; when he then hears the Hukm of the Qur'an, 'Don't lie!', immediately, he will leave lying. The Qur'an orders 'Observe Purdah', the barrier, then the woman will then wear the Purdah, because her heart has accepted, it is clean, pure; it absorbs the message.
So the Qur'an has explained this. {Dhaalikal Kitabu la raiba feeh} - purify your heart and remove all the doubts, for this reason, so you can do the Amal on {hudan lil Muttaqeen}, on this Hidaya, just like those people who fear Allah and implement the Qur'an, the guidance. And what will you then become? {Alladhina yu'minoona bil-ghaibi wa yuqeemoonas-Salaatu wa min ma razqnahum yunfiqoon} - your Yaqeen will be strengthened, and how will it be strengthened? You won't see Jannah, but you will be striving towards Jannah. You cannot see Hell, but you will be afraid of Hell as if you are seeing it. You cannot see Paradise, but you will be preparing for it as if you can see it, SubhanAllah. You cannot see Paradise, but you have so much certainty that it is as if you are stood in Paradise, and when you are practising, doing a deed, SubhanAllah, the Muttaqeen, those who fear Allah and have attained guidance, when a person gets guidance, then he does such actions, his Yaqeen becomes so solid, so strong, robust, his Iman becomes so strong - {bil-Ghaib}, he cannot see - but more than seeing, he is seeing! This is the Yaqeen he has in Hell and Jannah, Paradise; and he is afraid of the punishment of a sin when he hears it - so he never implements a sin. This is {hudan lil Muttaqeen}, who believe in the unseen and establish worship. May Allah ta'ala give us such Hidaya, not some empty, hollow Hidaya, just going to pray Salah and after that, getting up, going home and listening to the speeches, Wa'adh etc - no, no, this is not Hidaya.
What guidance should we be implementing? After this, this should become our Iman, that {yu'minoona bil-ghaib}, they are not in front of us, but our Yaqeen is so strong that when we are doing a good deed, we are so happy in that Salah that it is just as if we are stood in Paradise and we are seeing Allah. When we do Tasbeeh, Dhikr, we know the reward for {SubhnAllah wa bihamdihi}, so SubhanAllah, the gap between the heavens and the earth is full of Noor, and he feels that 'SubhanAllah, I am reciting this Tasbeeh, and I am getting this reward, the Noor between the heavens and the earth!' SubhanAllah! 'After I say this, a tree in Jannah takes root for me, and I get so much enjoyment that Allah ta'ala has grown that tree for me in Jannah!'
That's it, this is the meaning of Hidaya, guidance. Which guidance? Those who fear Allah! And how does that person attain guidance? {Dhaalikal-Kitabu la raiba feeh} - when a person removes all doubts and challenges from his heart via doing Dhikr of Allah. When a human being cleans his heart via doing Dhikr of Allah, Tazkiyya, he attains Hidaya, such Hidaya that he implements Allah's Uloom and Ta'leem, and after that his Iman gets so strong on {bil-ghaib} that it as if he is seeing the Unseen. The proof is what? {Yuqeemoonas-Salaata wa min ma razaqnahum yunfiqoon} - this is the proof! The expression of their belief, the proof that their belief has become so strong as if they are seeing everything, is proven how? In the greatest Ibadah, which will be in his Salah - he establishes Salah, he establishes worship. His Salah will become unique. So Allah has mentioned two things, one is physical, with the body, and one is wealth; both are great Ibadaat. And a person starts to feel that! Those who fear Allah, they use their wealth and themselves for the Deen of Allah! Yes, you will see that once they get that Iman, {wa yuqeemoonas-Salaata} - all of their concentration is in Salah. Hadhrat Aisha Siddiqua radhiAllahu anha said that when the time for Salah came, the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wasallam's situation would be as if he didn't recognise us. That importance of Salah would overwhelm him, he would become immersed in Salah. Like the noble Companions, if you wanted to amputate somebody's leg, then that Companion would say 'Amputate this or take the arrow out of my leg when I am praying Salah.' And the Awliya'llah were also like this.
Who are those people? SubhanAllah, these are those people who attained guidance in the way Allah wants people to attain guidance - those people who fear Allah. And that guidance, the frist proof that they have attained this guidance is that a person goes toward Salah, their Salah improves, Allahu akbar! {Wa min ma razaqnahum yunfiqoon} - if Allah gives them wealth, they don't consider it their own, rather, totally they implement the instruction of the Qur'an as to how to distribute wealth. they don't argue, 'Oh, why is Zakah fardh, why is it 2.5%, why shouldn't we reduce it? I give tax, this is tax!' - these are those people of doubt, who challenge. Allah has said {Dhaalikal Kitaabu la raiba feeh}. When you see people like this, debating, when you see such people taking the points out from the Qur'an, Allah says straightforwardly, clearly, that these people are off track; they don't have Hidaya. Allah says,'Will these people understand Qur'an? How will they understand the Qur'an?'
The Qur'an is understood by the heart, orders are absorbed by the heart. The heart will understand the Qur'an, not the brain, not the mind, not your thoughts. Ma'arifa of the Qur'an, understanding of the Qur'an, comes into the heart. I could tell you about such Awliya'llah, poor souls who had never read a Hadith, nothing, but SubhanAllah, the Ma'arifah, the Anwaraat, the knowledge, the brilliance of the Qur'an came into their hearts, and such knowledge came from their mouths when they spoke! Where did this knowledge of the Qur'an come to them? How? Because {la raiba feeh}, they had purified their hearts, they had no doubt with regards to the Qur'an, they had cleaned their hearts, and they absorbed whatever orders and instructions of the Qur'an came, 'It is Haq, it is Truth!' That's how they purified their hearts. Allah gave them Ma'arifah, knowledge, closeness. So it is stated that {Wa yuqeemoonas-Salaata wa min ma razaqnahum yunfiqoon} - you will see in this in their Deen, in their worship, and they will spend of that which Allah has given to them, bestowed upon them.
So this, my brothers, is Hidaya, guidance. May Allah ta'ala give all of us such a guidance - the guidance of the Muttaqeen! In other words, after attaining guidance, we should practise and implement Allah's orders, Ahkams, and instructions that have been sent via the Qur'an, implement that which Allah has explained via Rasoolullah sallallahu alayhi wasallam, we should elevate our Yaqeen, our certainty such that {Wa yuqeemoonas-Salaata wa min ma razaqnahum yunfiqoon} you see your certainty rub off onto your deeds, praying Salah and spending the money that Allah ta'ala has given to you.
What we must realise is that the most important Dua is the Dua that Allah has taught us via Surah al-Fatiha - and the importance of that Dua. Allah has told us, through that verse, how important this is for us. Guidance, Hidaya, is the most important thing for a person after Iman, after having faith, and Allah has made Hidaya very easy for us to obtain, and that is to make Dua and ask Allah for guidance and the right path. It is common that whoever is seeking the Haq, whether it is someone who has no Iman, or someone who has deviated, if he’s a Mu’min or sinner, but the condition is that he is seeking the truth, he wants to be improved, reformed - he has that desire - then Allah subhana wa ta’ala opens the path of Hidaya for that person. Allah ta’ala has explained in regard to the paths, this is from such a place that Allah says, ‘I will give guidance from such directions that he cannot imagine!’
Now to obtain guidance, the first step is that person should be sincere and honest in seeking the truth. Just like I mentioned yesterday, in my life I have experienced this. I remember an event in my life: I was in the Khanqah - it was the evening time and it was approximately 50 years, probably 40 or 45 years ago - and there was an African man who came and he knocked and entered. I was on my own, and obviously he knew that I didn’t know him, so there was a little bit of discussion - there was a little bit of a barrier, and you have to break the ice - and he said ‘I have found out that you are a Sheikh.’ I said ‘Yes’, so he said ‘I would like to speak to you’, so I said ‘Fine’. Then he said, ‘Well in the night, when I sleep, then a word comes out from my mouth!’ He was a Jamaican, and he said ‘A word comes from my mouth, what is that? So then somebody told me that there is a person - somebody told me to come and ask you.’ He did not know what is a Sheikh or an Alim. So I said to him ‘What is that word?’ He said ‘All-aah, All-aah - like that!’ I understood, so I said ‘Okay, okay.’ He said “I don’t know and I don’t realise that this word comes from my tongue! My wife is very upset with me and we have arguments, and she says ‘What is this you’re saying? I dislike this word you keep saying all night long!’ I say ‘I don’t say this word’, and she says ‘You say this word all night long, at various times in the night!’ What is this? I don’t understand this - what is it that I am saying?” So then I said to him ‘Are you satisfied with the religion that you are practising, with the path that you are on? Are you satisfied with that, are you content?’ He said ‘No, I’m not at peace, I’m not satisfied.’ I said ‘Then do you want to be on the right path so that you get the right path?’ He said ‘Yes, that is my desire, I have this need, because I do not think what I’m doing is correct - there must be a correct path that I can get.’ So I said, ‘Well you have attained the path! If you wanted this, if you desire the truth, Allah has shown you the path. What else do you need?’ I said, ‘What you are seeking is that Name which you are reciting in the night!’ SubhanAllah! ‘This is Allah, your Lord, who is calling you!’
This happened because he he was seeking, and I didn’t read the Qur’an to him, and I didn’t mention Hadith. I said straightforwardly ‘You are looking, seeking, and you have obtained! So why are you delaying?’ So he said to me, ‘How does a person become a Muslim? What does he do?’ I said, ‘Nothing! You don’t have to go anywhere, you’re ready! Are you ready?’ He said, ‘Yes, I’m totally ready!’ His heart opened up, suddenly. I said, ‘Okay, fine I will tell you the meaning of the Kalima, the affirmation of faith, and you have to recite that.’ Then he said, ‘There is one condition’, so I said ‘What is that?’, and he said, ‘How will you address me? What will my name be?’ I said, ‘It will be a Muslim name.’ So he said, ‘Then I would like my name to be Allah!’ He said that he had so much love with Allah subhana wa ta’ala’s Name that he said he wanted to keep the name ‘Allah.’ And I mentioned this in the company of my Hadhrat Noor ‘ala Marqadah, Subhanallah, and he smiled and said ‘You could give him the Name ‘Abdullah’. So I said, ‘Okay, you can attach yourself to this Name - you can be Abdullah, you can be Abdus-Sami’, but you cannot be Allah on its own because Allah is Allah, that is His personal Name. He said ‘It should be just Allah!’ I said ‘Allah will be attached to your name’, so he said ‘Okay fine, so what should I do?’ I said ‘You don’t have to do anything, just recite the Kalima, and confirm the faith, then keep on coming and you will become stronger. The action that we do, you do, which is the Dhikr.’ He said ‘Can I come?’ so I said ‘Yes!’ He said ‘What do you do?’ I said ‘Nothing!’
So then he became a Muslim mashaAllah, and alhamdulillah, such a Muslim that he kept on coming to the Khanqah, he used to sit in Dhikr, and some of the people will remember - I can’t remember his full name - and we prayed his Janazah and all the brothers came and we buried him, alhamdulillah. For quite a few years before that he was with us, and on one occasion in the Arndale Centre, he came to my shop and I hadn’t seen him for quite some time - maybe he was busy - and when he saw me, he came running up to me and he embraced me, and he said ‘Sheikh, Sheikh, you know me’, so I said ‘Yes, I know you!’ and then, just like we recite Durood Sharif, he started to recite and mashaAllah, he had a good, melodious voice - which you find with many Jamaicans - and everyone gathered together, and he recited that Durood in the same way, with just the same style which we recite! And he said, ‘I am solid on Islam, I feel so strong you cannot imagine, and I’m doing Amal on everything that you have mentioned!’
Anyway, the meaning of what I’m saying is that the Qur’an is Haq, it is truth, and if a person seeks the truth, Allah says it can be anyone, it doesn’t matter who it is, anyone who says 'Guide us on the Straight Path.' Allah ta’ala has announced that anyone who has this desire, then supplicate to Me ask from Me, and I will give you the path! And there is a point here, a very good point for the Saalikeen, the travellers, the seekers on this path - a good point - which is that we sometimes want to improve ourselves, and we want to come on the right path; we want to work hard and make effort, but we don’t manage to do it, and we say it’s very difficult, I want to be corrected, I want to be improved and reform myself, I want to leave impure things and detach myself from wrong, and come onto the right path, the Straight Path. I want to do Dhikr, I want to do Salah - I want this! There are poeple like this. And there are others who are already alhamdulillah, travelling on the path and sometimes they are weak, they say we want to be improved and to be steadfast, we want our Dhikr to be complete - there are people like this. So for both, this is a fantastic path Allah ta'ala has opened up - just do one action, {Ihdinas-Siraaat-al-Mustaqeem, Ihdinas-Siraat-al-Mustaqeem}, keep on asking from Allah! It does not matter how weak a person is, if he has the desire that 'I want this, but I am not strong enough, determined enough, I am not courageous enough, it's hard for me to leave sins, it's hard for me to leave the environment that I am in', then don't worry at all, don't worry at all!
Yesterday, I mentioned this. Allah ta'ala has announced 'Just do that action - {Ihdinas-Siraat-al-Mustaqeem} - keep on doing this action, this recitation, 'Oh Allah, show us the right path, guide us, guide me. I want this, Allah!'. And Allah says, 'I will open up such paths for you that you cannot imagine' - just like the event of this brother that I have mentioned to you - from such an unknown place, places that you had not even planned - even me. Allah gives Hidaya at such times and from such places that you cannot even imagine. Allah ta'ala takes you somewhere, to the company of such a person that you dont even know! So this is a real, solid message that we need to understand - whenever you feel weak, and you try to do something but you can't do it, you want to do a very high level action but you can't do it, there's weakness and you have desires, and you want to leave unlawful things, and you want to leave wrong, and shaytan makes us give up - 'Oh, sit don't, cross your legs, and give up!' But Allah ta'ala says, 'No, not at all!' At least what we can do, when we have a desire, when we have a need, then ask from Allah. 'Allah, give me guidance - I want to be pious.' Not just ask after Salah should you make Dua, not just after some Wazeefah should you ask Allah, Allah is always with a person - Allah is closer to us than our jugular vein. Whenever you commit a sin, say, 'Allah, I want to leave this, what can I do? I am wrapped up in this sin, I am immersed in this sin, drowned! Allah, I want to leave this! Allah, save me from this action, from this wrong action!' SubhanAllah.
How did Allah subhana wa ta'ala save Yusuf alayhi salam? Zuleikha had set her trap - she had put the net out, the net of her Husn, her beauty, and then she locked and sealed the doors, and gave him the invitation, but Yusuf alayhi sallam did not lose determination. He called out - who did he call out to? His Lord, his Rabb, Allah. This is an event in the Qur'an that we have been given so that we can practise upon it, learn from it.
So after Hidaya, in the Qur'an al-Hakeem, Allah then explains more about Hidaya, because first Allah ta'ala, in Surah al-Fatiha, has said that Hidaya is most important for us - Hidaya. if a person gets Hidaya, then he has got all the treasures of this world, of the
Dunya, and the Deen. We make Dua, 'Oh Allah, give me Rizq, give me Barakah in my wealth, in my children' - we need all of these things. We want blessings, we want health - we ask Allah ta'ala for all of these things, don't we. We need these. But if we get guidance, then automatically, you get everything without asking! SubhanAllah - then there's no need to ask. If you get Hidaya, you have attained everything, all the doors have opened - Rizq, wealth, Barakaat, and blessings and Rahmah. And without Hidaya, everything is dust. If somebody doesn't have Hidaya, you see in the western hemisphere, you have food, drink, alcohol,money, cars, assets - this is just dust, raw dust, nothing else. But if we have wealth along with Hidaya...the great Mashaa'ikh, our pious predecessors, among them were many who were rich - Abdul Qadir Jilani rahmatullahi alayh, Imam Abu Hanifa rahmatullahi alayh, Abdullah bin Ahrar, a Naqshbandi Sheikh, was a great merchant; and there great Companions radhiAllahu anhum who were businessmen. So if with Hidaya you get wealth, then this is Allah's reward and a Ni'mah, and if Allah ta'ala gives you wealth via some mode, that's good, and there's no loss if you don't, but if you get Hidaya, then you get both things. If you don't get Dunya, even then you should live nicely, peacefully, because Allah has given you guidance; if you get Dunya, then that's a reward, and you get more responsibilities along with wealth, but the main thing is that you get Hidaya. Whoever gets guidance, the right path, then the first Dua we need to ask is for guidance, for the right path, and if a person gets that and nothing else, that's enough.
So the whole Qur'an explains what Hidaya is. In the next Surah, Allah ta'ala has clearly explained. {Alif Lam Meem Dhaalikal-Kitaabu la raiba feeh hudan lil Muttaqeen} - SubhanAllah, in the next Surah, Surah al Baqarah. So with regards to Hidaya, the whole Qur'an will be based on Hidaya, it explains Hidaya. So the commentary of Hidaya is explained in the Qur'an. Here Allah ta'ala has mentioned one thing: {Hudan lil Muttaqeen} SubhanAllah. How should guidance be, what is the definition of guidance? After obtaining guidance, what is the guidance that's beneficial for us. Not just obtaining Hidaya on its own, no, Hidaya is not beneficial on its own, no. Rather if you get Hidaya, it should be in which way, for which people? For those people who fear Allah, SubhanAllah. If we obtain such Hidaya, then there is benefit, complete benefit. {Hudan lil Muttaqeen} - if they get the Hidaya of those people who fear Allah, then it will be beneficial. To get Hidaya on its own is not enough; if you get Hidaya, but its not the guidance of the Muttaqeen, those who fear Allah, then there is no benefit to that guidance.
I'll give you an example of this. Say you want to travel to London, or if people from London want to go to Birmingham, or wherever you want to travel to; now, the first thing that you need is the path, the route, yes? And this is called Hidaya in the journey to the Akhirah. So now we have got the path. But after getting the path, if we do not follow the instructions, the route, then we will deviate and become lost. The sign is saying this is the path to London, but if I don't follow the instructions after that, then I will come off track and be deviated. So if you get the route, it is essential that you follow the instructions and maintain the journey. If I leave that, then I will be deviated. Alllah has explained in the same way about Hidaya {Hudan lil Muttaqeen} a guidance for those who ward off evil. If you get guidance from Allah, then beware, Allah says {Hudan lil Muttaqeen} it should be the guidance of the Muttaqis, such a guidance relating to those who fear Allah; it is guidance combined with those who fear Allah, the Muttaqis. Allah says that this guidance will be totally beneficial when what? When, from this Kitab that Allah has given - Allah says, 'I have given you Hidaya, I have given you education, knowledge - when you practise upon this after obtaining guidance, according to this Kitab, then you will take the full benefit of this Kitab that I have given to you'.
So the people who fear Allah, that's what they do. They attain Hidaya, and after attaining Hidaya, then, when fear of Allah comes, and they implement the orders of the Qur'an, then the Hidaya gives benefit, and then they reach to their destination. Just like when a person who is travelling to London goes onto the path, and he follows the signs, then he will reach his destination. In the same way, when you attain Hidaya, after that, whichever individual looks into the Qur'an, the Ahkam, the orders, instructions and education that Allah ta'ala has given in the Qur'an via the Holy Prophet sallallahu alayhi wasallam, if we practise this, then we will arrive to our destination; otherwise, without this, Hidaya is a waste - we have wasted it. Hidaya will not have been used beneficially. If you get guidance, the route, but you still come off the track, you can't reach London; if you get Hidaya and don't follow the commands, and don't implement the Ta'leem, the education that Allah ta'ala revealed in the Qur'an, and don't do Amal on those orders, then you go off track.
How sad it is if a person does that. Why does he go off track? Allah ta'ala has mentioned this in the first Surah, Surah al-Fatiha, why that's the case, and in this first verse of this Surah Allah ta'ala has mentioned {Alif Lam Meem Dhaalikal Kitabu la raiba feeh}. Allah says the reason that a person deviates, and doesn't accept Allah's orders is because he has doubts and misconceptions. Allah ta'ala says that in the beginning, for guidance, the most important thing is that you need to have no doubt in your heart, no questioning, no challenging; totally one hundred percent Yaqeen - this is the Word of Allah, whatever Allah ta'ala has revealed, that is it; that is it! If a person has doubt - and Allah ta'ala has said that this the scripture of which there is no doubt - then we won't accept the education of the Qur'an and the knowledge of the Qur'an. And if we don't accept them, then how will we get the full benefit of Hidaya? For this reason, Allah ta'ala says in the beginning, what we need is {La raiba feeh} SubhanAllah. Allah ta'ala says 'This is the Book of which there is no doubt whatsoever' {La raiba feeh} - no doubt at all, any form of doubt, no challenge, no questioning. Nobody who does this can obtain full Hidaya, nobody.
This is the reason why we, despite getting guidance, cannot arrive at our destination. We can't even get onto the route, onto the direction - why? Because of doubt. Doubt. This is Allah's Kalam, this is Allah's Book, His Words; this is not some insignificant book, some common book or literature. The reality of the Qur'an, the words of the Qur'an - nobody can understand the reality of the words in the Qur'an, except for Allah. Nobody can reach the reality of the Qur'an, the truth of it, except Allah subhana wa ta'ala, and what Allah ta'ala explained and told to His Nabi sallallahu alayhi wasallam. There's no third way, no third situation. This is not some science, chemistry or physics book that after you open it, you can undertand it with your brain power and intellect and wisdom.
That's why people go off track, that's why they deviate. They take a verse of the Qur'an, start quarelling and debating on Allah's Commands, on Halal, haram, lawful, unlawful - people try to apply their brain and wisdom and intellect. They start debating, 'Why is this Haram? Why is this Halal? Why should we do Purdah? In this country, it's not necessary' - so many words in this world in regards to this Qur'an, so much debate, because people want to understand the Qur'an with their own brains and understanding. You cannot understand the Qur'an with your intellect, or with some knowledge that you have, you cannot understand the Qur'an apart from one way. The praise of the Qur'an, the commentary of the Qur'an, the explanation of the Qur'an, you can only understand the amount that the Holy Prophet sallallahu alayhi wasallam explained to us.
Allah ta'ala gave the message to His Nabi to explain to us; what He gave to His Nabi and how He explained it to Rasool sallallahu alayhi wasallam is a secret which cannot reach us. But whatever Rasool sallallahu alayhi wasallam explained to us, that is enough for us. We cannot understand more than that. To try to justify the Qur'an, to try to understand why this is Halal, why alcohol is haram, why Purdah is necessary, why men are given permission for more marriages, why there is this order for this person, and this order for that person - in regards to this, Allah ta'ala has stated {Dhalikal Kitabu la raiba feeh}. So never can you be on the path of guidance if you have doubt; after attaing guidance, you will be deviated because you cannot understand the Qur'an on your own. You can try to understand the Qur'an with your brain and mind and intellect, you can try to understand it, this Qur'an, just as you can make planes and make chemical formulas - but don't consider this as a normal book, some minor book, Allah ta'ala says!
Look, intellectual man, he's got brains, they are giving speeches, picking up the Qur'an, a'oodhu bi'llah, a'oodhu bi'llah, no faces, no appearance, no 'Aql, they have nothing conforming to the Deen! Such wasteful talk! They take verses from the Qur'an, they discuss, they take meanings, they take out meanings, their own interpretations - and people follow them! Why? Because they speak satanic words, using their own interpretation and brain and intellect. Allah has said in advance that these are liars! No one can understand the Qur'an; you can only understand the commands and instructions that the Holy Prophet sallallahu alayhi wasallam has given to us; that's the Qur'an that we can understand; beyond that, we cannot understand. The Ma'arifa of the Qur'an doesn't go beyond that, that's all nonsense, that's all shaytani institutes that have been made. Allah ta'ala has given Daleel of this point. Yes, Allah ta'ala knew that people like this would come in the world. Allah ta'ala has given proof - 'Oh, you think you can understand the Qur'an of your own accord, using your own brain power? You will make my Haram Halal, and Halal Haram, and you will debate and quarrel, and say how come this is here, Jannah will become like this, and why are the fasts of Ramadhan like this etc.'
There are so many people out there who debate and challenge the Qur'an. Allah says 'This is the doubt that I have mentioned, and if you have this doubt, and you challenge the Qur'an and you question the Qur'an, I give Daleel!' First of all, Allah says, {Alif Lam Meem}. So tell me - what is the meaning of {Alif Lam Meem}! That's it - now everyone cools down, for no one can mention. Allah says 'Ok, pick up the Qur'an; tell me - what does {Alif Lam Meem} mean? Tell me the meaning of these three letters!' SubhanAllah, Allahu akbar! Can anyone give the interpretation, the commentary? Allah ta'ala says that these are the letters that are hidden letters; no-one knows the true meaning of these letters. Rather, this is a secret between Allah and His Rasool sallallahu alayhi wasallam. Allah says that He did not give us this learning out of His Wisdom. That's why Allah ta'ala kept this as a secret, these three letters. What great meaning there is in these three letters, which no one can think of or understand. This is a secret between Allah and His Rasool sallallahu alayhi wasallam, so that those people who think they are intellectual and have brain power, and who have the Qur'an in their hands, and they debate and go into commentaries - what is this and why is that. Allah says 'If you are that brainy, then tell Me, what does {Alif lam Meem} mean?' It is there - everything in the Qur'an does have a meaning; it is there - why? Such Akaabireen, pious predecessors, like Hadhrat Mujaddid Alf Thani rahmatullah alayh - Hadhrat Sheikh Ahmad Sarhindi Farooqui - such Akaabireen, such pious predecessors, they were given that understanding of the meanings of the Qur'an, it reached them, but even then, these are not those meanings, it is not the Daleel, it is just an angle on the understanding, just the form of the understanding. Allah ta'ala inspired their hearts to understand for their time. Allah ta'ala gave them that Uloom, that Ma'arifah, that knowledge, that understanding.
So to understand the Qur'an, Allah ta'ala says 'Don't use your brain, your intellect and wisdom and debates to understand the Qur'an.' To understand the Qur'an, Allah says that there is only one method - {la raiba feeh} - get rid of your doubts and your challenges and your questions; take them out of your minds! Listen, a very great proof is present here for this point - what is that? That the Qur'an, when it is understood, gives a Noor, a light, which Allah ta'ala creates in the heart of the believer. So the more your heart becomes pure and clean, then the knowledge of the Qur'an, the Ma'arifa, will come into your heart. The Qur'an is not understood by the brain, it is understood by the heart!
That's why the Sufis do Tazkiyya, they do purification - this is essential. Allah ta'ala says that the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wasallam will come {li yu'allimuhum-ul-Kitaba wal- Hikma wa yuzakeehim} - so there will be Kitab, the Hikma, and Daleels, but there will also be Tazkiyya, purification, so that via purification your Qalb can absorb the meanings and the Ma'arifa and the meanings and the knowledge of the Qur'an, absorb them. So the more a person does Tazkiyya, the more his purification becomes strong, his heart becomes clean, pure, the heart is then free of sins, and with the Dhikr of Allah it is enlightened, illuminated, SubhanAllah, and then with the company of the righteous, the Saaliheen, the light comes into the heart. So what's the effect of that, the end point? It is that the Ma'arifa of the Qur'an the knowledge of the Qur'an, the beauty and brilliance of the Qur'an comes into a person. This is the result. So to understand the Qur'an, it is important for us to do Tazkiyya, to clean the heart.
So this is the subject, this is the meaning, that Allah ta'la has given to guidance, Hidaya; and after having belief, the most important thing is to obtain guidance, and to obtain guidance, you have to do Dua, supplication, to Allah, you have to have that desire. So after obtaining Hidaya, after {Ihdinas-Siraat-al-Mustaqeem}, when Allah gives you that path and guidance, after obtaining, learning the guidance, then you need the guidance of the Muttaqis. To obtain full benefit of the Daleel, of the orders of the Qur'an, to obtain full benefit of the Hidaya, the education, and the Ahkaams of the Qur'an, to obtain full benefit of the Qur'an's guidance, you need to do Amal on the orders, and the guidance, and the instructions of the Qur'an. When a person implements the orders and the education of the Qur'an, then he will attain full benefit of the Hidaya that Allah ta'ala has given to us. And the most important thing that Allah ta'ala has mentioned - {Dhaalikal-Kitabu la raiba feeh} - Allah says Tazkiyya, Tazkiyya, Tasfiya, Dhikrullah. With the Dhikr of Allah, continue to purify your heart and clean it so that no dount remains, - no doubt, no challenging, no questions with regards to Allah's Kitab. As soon as the orders of the Qur'an come, if your heart is clean, it accepts. If your heart is clean and pure, then, after obtaining guidance, as soon as a Hukm of Allah comes to us, when we hear about Allah's orders, and when Allah's Ta'leem and education arrives to us, whatever Rasoolullah sallallahu alayhi wasalllam has stated, if our heart is clean and pure then immediately our heart will accept it, and then our guidance, our Hidaya, will rub off onto us.
This is the methodology of the Muttaqeen; this is the route, the path of the Muttaqeen - {hudan lil Muttaqeen} - this is the way of the Muttaqeen. So Allah ta'ala has given Hidaya to the Saalikeen, and this is essential, on the path of Sulook, for those who are on the journey of Tazkiyya, the straight path, the pure path. They have attained guidance, Allah ta'ala gave them guidance, and after attining guidance, alhamdulillah, then they did Tazkiyya, purification of their heart, they started to do the Dhikr of Allah, so the cleanliness and purification of thier heart continues. And when their hearts start to be purified, then alhamdulillah, their hearts start to accept the Ahkam that are coming in the Qur'an, to embrace them. And as soon as the hearts start to embrace and accept them, alhamdulillah, then we change our lives, just like when the order for Purdah came. The hearts is clean - first we took Hidaya, guidance, and with Hidaya we started to do the Dhikr of Allah, and when there is the order of Purdah for us, then immediately we should accept it. The person we has obtained guidance, but his heart is not clean and pure, and he is immersed in doubt - 'No, in this country we can't do this, it is too hard here, no, no, why is alcohol haram, where is it stated?' So, despite the fact that he has attained guidance, his heart is not clean, so he gets stuck in doubt about Allah ta'ala's orders.
So it is essential, if you obtain guidance, if Allah gives guidance, then after that the most important thing is the Dhikr of Allah and Tazkiyya. Tazkiyya, purification, is so that he doesn't just listen to Allah's orders. The person who hasn't done Tazkiyya of his heart, when Allah's orders come, he doesn't accept them - such people go and listen to speeches, and debates and Dars ul Hadith, and they listen and they leave. But the person who has done Tazkiyya, his style of listening is different, SubhanAllah; when he hears the Qur'an, when he hears those words, just like I am sitting in front of you and mentioning and speaking, the people of Tazkiyya will select these points, the orders, the instructions - 'Ok, Allah says do Amal on this point!' But those people who are just listeners, who don't do Tazkiyya or purify their heart, they don't absorb Allah ta'ala's Ahkams; they have got Hidaya, but they don't listen. It goes in one ear and out the other, and the next morning, there will be no Amal on the Deen. But those who do Tazkiyya, purification, the sign of those people is that their heart is clean and pure; when he then hears the Hukm of the Qur'an, 'Don't lie!', immediately, he will leave lying. The Qur'an orders 'Observe Purdah', the barrier, then the woman will then wear the Purdah, because her heart has accepted, it is clean, pure; it absorbs the message.
So the Qur'an has explained this. {Dhaalikal Kitabu la raiba feeh} - purify your heart and remove all the doubts, for this reason, so you can do the Amal on {hudan lil Muttaqeen}, on this Hidaya, just like those people who fear Allah and implement the Qur'an, the guidance. And what will you then become? {Alladhina yu'minoona bil-ghaibi wa yuqeemoonas-Salaatu wa min ma razqnahum yunfiqoon} - your Yaqeen will be strengthened, and how will it be strengthened? You won't see Jannah, but you will be striving towards Jannah. You cannot see Hell, but you will be afraid of Hell as if you are seeing it. You cannot see Paradise, but you will be preparing for it as if you can see it, SubhanAllah. You cannot see Paradise, but you have so much certainty that it is as if you are stood in Paradise, and when you are practising, doing a deed, SubhanAllah, the Muttaqeen, those who fear Allah and have attained guidance, when a person gets guidance, then he does such actions, his Yaqeen becomes so solid, so strong, robust, his Iman becomes so strong - {bil-Ghaib}, he cannot see - but more than seeing, he is seeing! This is the Yaqeen he has in Hell and Jannah, Paradise; and he is afraid of the punishment of a sin when he hears it - so he never implements a sin. This is {hudan lil Muttaqeen}, who believe in the unseen and establish worship. May Allah ta'ala give us such Hidaya, not some empty, hollow Hidaya, just going to pray Salah and after that, getting up, going home and listening to the speeches, Wa'adh etc - no, no, this is not Hidaya.
What guidance should we be implementing? After this, this should become our Iman, that {yu'minoona bil-ghaib}, they are not in front of us, but our Yaqeen is so strong that when we are doing a good deed, we are so happy in that Salah that it is just as if we are stood in Paradise and we are seeing Allah. When we do Tasbeeh, Dhikr, we know the reward for {SubhnAllah wa bihamdihi}, so SubhanAllah, the gap between the heavens and the earth is full of Noor, and he feels that 'SubhanAllah, I am reciting this Tasbeeh, and I am getting this reward, the Noor between the heavens and the earth!' SubhanAllah! 'After I say this, a tree in Jannah takes root for me, and I get so much enjoyment that Allah ta'ala has grown that tree for me in Jannah!'
That's it, this is the meaning of Hidaya, guidance. Which guidance? Those who fear Allah! And how does that person attain guidance? {Dhaalikal-Kitabu la raiba feeh} - when a person removes all doubts and challenges from his heart via doing Dhikr of Allah. When a human being cleans his heart via doing Dhikr of Allah, Tazkiyya, he attains Hidaya, such Hidaya that he implements Allah's Uloom and Ta'leem, and after that his Iman gets so strong on {bil-ghaib} that it as if he is seeing the Unseen. The proof is what? {Yuqeemoonas-Salaata wa min ma razaqnahum yunfiqoon} - this is the proof! The expression of their belief, the proof that their belief has become so strong as if they are seeing everything, is proven how? In the greatest Ibadah, which will be in his Salah - he establishes Salah, he establishes worship. His Salah will become unique. So Allah has mentioned two things, one is physical, with the body, and one is wealth; both are great Ibadaat. And a person starts to feel that! Those who fear Allah, they use their wealth and themselves for the Deen of Allah! Yes, you will see that once they get that Iman, {wa yuqeemoonas-Salaata} - all of their concentration is in Salah. Hadhrat Aisha Siddiqua radhiAllahu anha said that when the time for Salah came, the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wasallam's situation would be as if he didn't recognise us. That importance of Salah would overwhelm him, he would become immersed in Salah. Like the noble Companions, if you wanted to amputate somebody's leg, then that Companion would say 'Amputate this or take the arrow out of my leg when I am praying Salah.' And the Awliya'llah were also like this.
Who are those people? SubhanAllah, these are those people who attained guidance in the way Allah wants people to attain guidance - those people who fear Allah. And that guidance, the frist proof that they have attained this guidance is that a person goes toward Salah, their Salah improves, Allahu akbar! {Wa min ma razaqnahum yunfiqoon} - if Allah gives them wealth, they don't consider it their own, rather, totally they implement the instruction of the Qur'an as to how to distribute wealth. they don't argue, 'Oh, why is Zakah fardh, why is it 2.5%, why shouldn't we reduce it? I give tax, this is tax!' - these are those people of doubt, who challenge. Allah has said {Dhaalikal Kitaabu la raiba feeh}. When you see people like this, debating, when you see such people taking the points out from the Qur'an, Allah says straightforwardly, clearly, that these people are off track; they don't have Hidaya. Allah says,'Will these people understand Qur'an? How will they understand the Qur'an?'
The Qur'an is understood by the heart, orders are absorbed by the heart. The heart will understand the Qur'an, not the brain, not the mind, not your thoughts. Ma'arifa of the Qur'an, understanding of the Qur'an, comes into the heart. I could tell you about such Awliya'llah, poor souls who had never read a Hadith, nothing, but SubhanAllah, the Ma'arifah, the Anwaraat, the knowledge, the brilliance of the Qur'an came into their hearts, and such knowledge came from their mouths when they spoke! Where did this knowledge of the Qur'an come to them? How? Because {la raiba feeh}, they had purified their hearts, they had no doubt with regards to the Qur'an, they had cleaned their hearts, and they absorbed whatever orders and instructions of the Qur'an came, 'It is Haq, it is Truth!' That's how they purified their hearts. Allah gave them Ma'arifah, knowledge, closeness. So it is stated that {Wa yuqeemoonas-Salaata wa min ma razaqnahum yunfiqoon} - you will see in this in their Deen, in their worship, and they will spend of that which Allah has given to them, bestowed upon them.
So this, my brothers, is Hidaya, guidance. May Allah ta'ala give all of us such a guidance - the guidance of the Muttaqeen! In other words, after attaining guidance, we should practise and implement Allah's orders, Ahkams, and instructions that have been sent via the Qur'an, implement that which Allah has explained via Rasoolullah sallallahu alayhi wasallam, we should elevate our Yaqeen, our certainty such that {Wa yuqeemoonas-Salaata wa min ma razaqnahum yunfiqoon} you see your certainty rub off onto your deeds, praying Salah and spending the money that Allah ta'ala has given to you.
May Allah ta'ala give us all the Tawfeeq - Ameen.