وَعَلَّمَ ءَادَمَ ٱلۡأَسۡمَآءَ كُلَّهَا ثُمَّ عَرَضَہُمۡ عَلَى ٱلۡمَلَـٰٓٮِٕكَةِ فَقَالَ أَنۢبِـُٔونِى بِأَسۡمَآءِ هَـٰٓؤُلَآءِ إِن كُنتُمۡ صَـٰدِقِينَ (٣١) قَالُواْ سُبۡحَـٰنَكَ لَا عِلۡمَ لَنَآ إِلَّا مَا عَلَّمۡتَنَآۖ إِنَّكَ أَنتَ ٱلۡعَلِيمُ ٱلۡحَكِيمُ (٣٢) قَالَ يَـٰٓـَٔادَمُ أَنۢبِئۡهُم بِأَسۡمَآٮِٕہِمۡۖ فَلَمَّآ أَنۢبَأَهُم بِأَسۡمَآٮِٕہِمۡ قَالَ أَلَمۡ أَقُل لَّكُمۡ إِنِّىٓ أَعۡلَمُ غَيۡبَ ٱلسَّمَـٰوَٲتِ وَٱلۡأَرۡضِ وَأَعۡلَمُ مَا تُبۡدُونَ وَمَا كُنتُمۡ تَكۡتُمُونَ (٣٣)
Surah al-Baqarah v31-33
After the Malaaika put forward their query, they affirmed Allah ta’ala’s glory, magnificence and splendour by reciting and testifying and confirming this Adtheem Kalima. And they said ‘There is no other Kalima that can attest to this. This is Allah! And all decisions of Yours are free from any defects, and Your every decision is based on Your Hikmah, on Your Wisdom. In other words, we have understood that whatever decision comes from You, we do not need further explanation or reasons. It is You who gives the ultimate decision, the supreme decision.’
So this great example is in front of us: the angels made of Noor are contrasted with human beings made of soil and clay. However, being made of light or dust is not the factor by which to differentiate or assess their relative value. External factors cannot be used to determine whether someone is better or worse; whoever Allah says is great, he is great, and whoever Allah says is lofty, he is lofty; and whoever Allah lowers, he is lower. So what we need to look at is what Allah ta’ala defines as greatness. Who is great, who is Adtheem for Allah, the Malik-ul-Mulk, the Owner of the Universe? Who is important? We don’t judge by someone’s body, or their title, or their actions, or their face and appearance and external form; this is not how we judge. There is only one factor, one defining guideline, namely the decision of Allah. That is the best guidance and the best way to measure. This is the first point, the first lesson that we need to understand.
All the angels accepted and then informed the whole Universe about their confirmation. They accepted and they understood. There is a big lesson in this for us from the angels. In our lives, our success and our connection with our Rabb should be like this. We must not put our own opinion forward in any matter. Nothing can be understood by our own brains - we just need to adopt the decisions and the guidance of Allah. There is no need for ifs and buts, or criticisms and complaints. It doesn’t matter how things seem to our eyes, or what we think, and if we don’t understand the logic of something Allah ta’ala has given, we have to think ‘Where has this decision come from?’ Every decision that comes from Allah is the best! It is the greatest decision, and we need to attain that realization and to understand that. We need to accept and embrace every decision of Allah ta’ala and submit to Allah’s decision and guidance. Of course, we can ask Allah for help and for assistance to remain steadfast on His decision, and we should ask Allah for help and perseverance in whatever ups and downs and situations that may arise.
So the angels confirmed and they understood, and this learning came to us, so we accept it as well. Then Allah ta’ala says {قَالَ يَـٰٓـَٔادَمُ أَنۢبِئۡهُم بِأَسۡمَآٮِٕہِمۡۖ}. Now here is another status, another great mark of respect being given to Adam alayhi salam. Now the angels are a great creation made of light, who are close to Allah, who speak to Allah, who discourse with Allah. How different they are from human beings, who are made of clay, and who return back into clay - yet what great respect and honour Allah ta’ala has given to the human being, to Ibn Adam. For their part, the angels also received a great reward. When Allah ta’ala puts any part of his creation through a test or a challenge or an examination, after passing through that challenge or examination and enduring the difficulties in remaining steadfast, then Allah ta’ala definitely gives the reward for that difficulty. This is the Sunnah of Allah subhana wa ta'ala. Allah ta’ala gives massive rewards due to such a test, and never holds back from paying back what is done for His sake. In Allah’s Path there is no debt that is retained. If a person is steadfast despite difficulties and issues, and maintains steadfastness and doesn’t shake, then Allah ta’ala definitely repays that person and gives reward.
So a big reward was given to the angels. Regarding the ‘Ilm that was given to Hadhrat Adam ayahi salam by Allah, that knowledge that we discussed, Allah said to Hadhrat Adam alayhi salam {قَالَ يَـٰٓـَٔادَمُ أَنۢبِئۡهُم بِأَسۡمَآٮِٕہِمۡۖ} – ‘Tell this knowledge to the angels. Share it with them.’ Allah ta’ala had given the angels a test, a big test, and due to the Istaqamat that they showed when the question was put forward to them, Allah ta’ala gave them this big reward which was that Allah ta’ala allowed the angels to obtain the knowledge that Allah had given to Hadhrat Adam alayhi salam. What was that knowledge? Allah ta’ala said to Adam alayhi salam ‘Tell them about the knowledge, the ‘Ilm, that I have given to you.’ Another point arises here, for another honour is given here to Hadhrat Adam alayhi salam, another title and another thing for the angels to recognize in Hadhrat Adam alahyi salam. He is teaching them ‘Ilm, and they are learning. Hadhrat Adam alayhi salam was the Ustaadh of the angels, SubhanAllah. He was made of soil and clay, while they were made of light, but the human being was made the teacher of the angels. What a difference there is between a teacher and a student! How lofty Hadhrat Adam alayhi salam has been made compared to the angels, since he is their teacher.
Allah ta’ala said to Hadhrat Adam alayhi salam ‘Explain this ‘Ilm to them – tell them what they don’t know.’ What is this point now? Adam alayhi salam is a creation made of earth, and this is a creation made of light, but Hadhrat Adam alayhi salam was given ‘Ilm, the knowledge that we discussed in the previous Bayan. All that knowledge - how he was to live in the Dunya where he was to descend to, that place that his offspring were to live in for so long - that knowledge was given to Hadhrat Adam alayhi salam because he was being sent to the earth where that knowledge would be utilized. So why would the angels need to know that knowledge? That Shari’ah knowledge was to be implemented in the world, through which human beings were to learn the principles of life, the laws, the instructions, the guidance of Allah, what to do, what not to do. That knowledge was for us. Allah’s ‘Usool and principles were the Shari’ah knowledge that Allah ta’ala gave to Adam alayhi salam. Now Adam alayhi salam is being told to teach the angels, who are creatures made of light who live in the heavens. They don’t need to live in the world. Their lifestyle is different, their principles are different, and the objective of life that Allah ta’ala has made for them is different. They don’t require any Shari’ah in the heavens – think about it. And for them, there is no need to know about Halal and Haram, because they are far removed from Haram - far, far removed. They are not able to do wrong or disobey Allah; they cannot even think about disobeying Allah. This Shari’ah, this complete way of life, is based on how we are to live on planet Earth. So what ‘Ilm was Adam alayhi salam given that he had to explain and relay to the angels?
The ‘Ilm that he conveyed was from this very Shari’ah. There was knowledge from the Shari’ah that was beneficial to the angels, SubhanAllah. There was knowledge that they desired, there was knowledge that they required to live in the heavens. That ‘Ilm was given to them; Allah ta’ala caused them to acquire it, SubhanAllah. They had said to Allah ‘Oh Allah, we hymn Your praises; we do Your Tasbeeh. We remember You and we glorify You – {نَحۡنُ نُسَبِّحُ بِحَمۡدِكَ وَنُقَدِّسُ لَكَ}.’ This is what they said in the previous verse, isn’t it? ‘Oh Allah, we glorify Your name, we remember You, we praise You – we do Your Dhikr continuously. That is our life and our function and our objective.’ That is what the angels said, SubhanAllah. Adam alayhi salam was told {قَالَ يَـٰٓـَٔادَمُ أَنۢبِئۡهُم بِأَسۡمَآٮِٕہِمۡ}. So from this Shari’ah, which deals with the principles of life on earth, he had to teach them some knowledge.
When Hadhrat Adam alayhi salam was told to explain the knowledge that would be beneficial to them, he gave them some splashes from the ocean of Ma’arifah and ‘Irfan that he had been given. The angels had thought that it was only them who had the Ma’arifah of Allah and the full range of praise and Dhikr of Allah, but Hadhrat Adam alayhi salam explained a little portion of the ‘Ilm of Shari’ah to them, and taught them a small portion of his ‘Irfan and the Maqamaat and levels and heights that a person can attain. The angels were shocked and amazed at this, and said ‘How have they attained such levels of Ma’arifah of Allah? We thought that they had just been given the knowledge and instructions and rules of how to live on earth and how to interact with each other. How did they attain this?’ But in reality, the ‘Ilm that Allah ta’ala has given to the Holy Prophet sallallahu alayhi wasallam is the ‘Ilm of how to live in this world, and the real objective of living in the world, and the reason that we were sent here, was to obtain the Ma’arifah of Allah. Why were we sent to this world? So that we could attain Allah’s Ma’arifah and ‘Irfan. That is the number one priority of our lives in this world { إِلَّا لِيَعۡبُدُونِ}.
So what we learn is that the ‘Ilm that was given to Hadhrat Adam alayhi salam is based on Shari’ah knowledge, yes, but there are exterior aspects of knowledge and also interior aspects - Dhahir and Baatin knowledge. The exterior knowledge of Shari’ah is related to the world, obviously, but the ‘Ilm-e-Baatin, the internal, spiritual knowledge, is what was explained to the angels, because they also needed to understand these Maqamaat. They said ‘So this is Allah’s Ma’arifah! This is Allah’s ‘Irfan that the human being Adam alayhi salam has learned via the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wasallam!’ So the human beings who live on earth, have to fulfil their number one priority and objective of life which is to obtain Allah’s nearness in this world, and they have to do this where there are restrictions and obstacles and base desires and shaytan and luxuries of the world and attractions, all of which he has to sweep aside and pull on Allah’s Ma’arifah and ‘Irfan. What a great status the human beings must have because the angels didn’t have these restrictions. Allah gave the angels total, comprehensive, complete ‘Uloom, and they were amazed at what Adam alayhi salam taught them. They said ‘This Insan will go to the earth and live there and attain Allah ta’ala’s Qurb and nearness via these principles of ‘Uloom and spirituality! Truly, what a great human being he is!’
This is the ‘Ilm al-Ludni, the internal knowledge, the spiritual knowledge that was given to Hadhrat Adam alayhi salam, about which he then had to inform the angels because it was beneficial to them. In other words, there are two types of knowledge: ‘Ilm-e-Dhahiri and ‘Ilm-e-Baatini. The external knowledge, the Ilm-e-Dhahiri, is the knowledge that enables us to live physically on the Earth. Halal and Haram, what is allowed and what is not allowed – that is ‘Ilm-e-Dhahiri. With this ‘Ilm, we can practically act in the world, and we can remove the barriers and obstacles to Allah. If we understand Halal and Haram, we can differentiate between good and bad. And secondly, Ilm-e-Baatini, ‘Ilm-e-Ludni, which was given to Hadhrat Adam alayhi salam and which he explained to the angels, that is the ‘Ilm that draws on Allah’s Ma’arifah and ‘Irfan and His closeness and His nearness. And these are the Maqams that a human being can live in this world and attain. And this is also called ‘Ilm-e-Tasawwuf, the principles of Tasawwuf, of purification and of realization. All of those listening, MashaAllah, are attached to Tasawwuf, to spirituality, so in all of our discussions we learn these points.
Hadhrat Adam alayhi salam was given this ‘Uloom, this ‘Ilm of the Shari’ah, and it has two parts, ‘Ilm-e-Dhahir and ‘Ilm-e-Baatin; we have to understand this essential point. So ‘Ilm-e-Baatin, knowledge of the Baatin, of the soul, which is the essential aspect of life which endures forever, was given to Hadhrat Adam alayhi salam, along with ‘Ilm-e-Dhahir. He was given both parts. And all the Maqamaat that a student of the Naqshbandi order ascends, going from Maqam to Maqam that the teacher gives, lesson by lesson, when a student embarks on the path of Islah, of rectification, these are the Maqams and levels that he attains. A person goes through the Maqams and levels and attains Allah ta’ala’s Ma’arifah. And attaining the nearness and Ma’arifah of Allah is our number one priority of life in this world, nothing else. All the Maqamaat that the Bashr, the human being, learns - Maqam-e-Zalal, Sifaat, then from Sifaat, Asmaa’, and then Maqam-e-Dhaat – a person learns and progresses through all of these levels. And then as he analyzes and learns, he goes to levels about which the tongue cannot explain and does not have the capacity to articulate. The tongue stops and cannot elaborate that level. I have given you examples of the Kabaa’ir, great Awliya, human beings who attained through advancement and elevation levels that the angels cannot reach. The angels are on one Maqam, one level.
Now these levels of spirituality and nearness to Allah that I have explained to you – Zalal, Sifaat, Asmaa’, Shu’unaat – these are the levels that a person ascends and moves through. And if a person comes to a Naqshbandi teacher and doesn’t attain these Maqams, then he is not a student; he is not a Mureed. Now pay careful attention here to my words, for I am making very valuable and precious points here. When the Mureed, the student, the devotee, goes to his Sheikh, this is what he goes to attain. Nothing else – do you understand? So, alhamdulillah, you have a connection with a Sheikh, and so these are the levels, the Maqams, that you are trying to attain. You ascend, you rise up, from Zalal to Sifaat, then to Asmaa’ then to Maqam-e-Dhat, through the lessons that the teacher imparts to you. What does a person do? I will repeat this again for you. First there are seven lessons, seven Lata’if, that you go through. Those names – Zalal, Sifaat and so on – these are all the technical names of these levels, of these Maqamat, these ranks. When you go to the Sheikh, he gives you the Dhikr Ism-e-Dhat, the silent repetition of ‘Allah, Allah’, on these seven Latifahs, these seven points. When you start this Dhikr on these seven points, then you are the level of Zalal. Allahu Akbar. And if the Mureed is consistent, then he starts to ascend through the Maqamaat, through the levels of Allah’s Qurb, Allah’s nearness. At every Maqam, he gets closer to Allah, to a higher station, a greater level. Latifah Qalb to Ruh, Ruh to Sirr, Sirr to Khafi, Khafi to Akhfa. And from Akhfa he can ascend higher still, and the student continues. The Sheikh keeps teaching and giving these lessons that I am revising for you. Muraqabah Ahadiyyah comes as well – is this some low Maqam? SubhanAllah, the angels were shocked at hearing about these Maqams that the human being can attain in the world. ‘Is this what they will attain? The spiritual nearness to Allah and His Ma’arifah and ‘Irfan and supreme closeness?’
{قَالَ يَـٰٓـَٔادَمُ أَنۢبِئۡهُم بِأَسۡمَآٮِٕہِمۡ} SubhanAllah, this is the ‘Uloom that Hadhrat Adam alayhi salam is explaining to the angels. Zalal to Sifaat! Look at all the Muraqabaat that come after this: Tajalliyaat Af’aliyyah, and then further levels, if you continue, such as Sifaat-e-Salbiya, Tajalliyaat-e-Sha’n-e-Jaam’ah – so many Sifaat and qualities and levels that a person gains. These are such great levels, such great ranks, and they enable a person to attain such great status that you cannot imagine. This is the journey that you are travelling on. We should be so grateful to Allah, my brothers. You Hadhraat, you know these Asbaaq, these lessons that you have got; when the Sheikh gives you these lessons, then the Mureed reaches that Maqam. Remember this! You are not wasting your time with this in the world. This is the ‘Uloom of Ma’arifah about which Hadhrat Adam alayhi salam was ordered {أَنۢبِئۡهُم بِأَسۡمَآٮِٕہِمۡۖ} – ‘Tell them about the ‘Uloom that you have been given. Announce to them and teach them how we will ascend and go beyond their knowledge, and how we will attain Allah’s nearness. In this dirty, impure place, where people plunder, kill, loot and harm others, on this same planet Earth, Insan will attain these levels. You are sat in the heavens, mashaAllah, amongst the Noor and Anwaraat and light, and you are close to Allah and you hear and see everything.’ But those who are in the world, me and you – where are we seated at the moment, tell me? But alhamdulillah, as soon as the human being embarks on the journey of ‘Ilm-e-Ludni, he is on a different level. And this ‘Ilm-e-Ludni is Shari’ah, one essential half of the Shari’ah which has two parts – ‘Ilm-e-Dhahiri and ‘Ilm-e-Baatini; remember this point. Note it down, write it down. Both parts meet and are intertwined; you cannot separate them, for they are related and interdependent.
If you separate the two, Fitnah will arise. Fitnah will arise in the world. How? This is the biggest Fitnah in this day and age if we look around us. Some people have grabbed hold of ‘Ilm-e-Dhahir, the physical laws of the Shari’ah, and they think that this is the whole of the Deen. Shaytan and Nafs grabs them, and they enjoy ‘Ilm-e-Dhahir, the bayans, the conferences, giving praise for erudition, technical points, grammar, thinking that this is the be-all and end-all - Shari’ah knowledge, Arabic grammar and bayans. But this is like trying to ride a bike on one wheel. The ’Ilm-e-Dhahiri knowledge of Shari’ah on its own can never take you to Allah’s nearness. It is impossible to get Allah’s nearness this way because there is only one wheel on the bike. Rather, it will swell your Nafs and you will become proud and end up running after Dunya. You will have desires, and hopes that people will praise you, attend your talks, admire your knowledge and lessons and speeches and writings. No way can this approach obtain Allah ta’ala’s Ma’arifah and nearness in the way that our pious predecessors taught us. Some people have become so fixed upon this that they declare that this is the be-all and end-all and the only way. This is the Fitnah of this day and age, I am telling you; it is a Fitnah. The ‘Ilm that I am talking about is that ‘Ilm that Allah ta’ala ordered Hadhrat Adam alayhi salam to present to the angels; this is ‘Ilm al-Ludni. {قَالَ يَـٰٓـَٔادَمُ أَنۢبِئۡهُم بِأَسۡمَآٮِٕہِمۡ} – ‘Explain, Oh Adam, how you can ascend from the earth and reach Me in the heavens, how you can obtain My ‘Irfan and Ma’arifah, the nearness, the spirituality, the hidden knowledge, the inner knowledge, the ‘Ilm-e-Baatin, the ‘Ilm of the soul.’
So look, my brothers, we are reading the Qur’an, so we have to speak openly. The Qur’an has many lessons that we can derive, but today, the Qur’an is telling us about the biggest Fitnah of this day and age. It is identifying it to us and saying ‘Oh human being, come out of this trench that you are in. Get out of the mud that you are stuck in and see the truth of your situation.’ The biggest Fitnah of Islam today is this. The ‘Uloom of Shari’ah has two parts – ‘Ilm-e-Dhahir and ‘Ilm-e-Baatin. Insan has separated these two and he is now stuck. All Fitnahs arise from here, all the Firqas, cults, sects, groups. Wherever you look, these have arisen due to this reason, that we have forgotten an essential part of ‘Ilm-e-Shari’ah, which is ‘Ilm-e-Baatin. This is one of the two parts of the Shari’ah, which is proved from the Qur’an. When Allah ta’ala said to Hadhrat Adam alayhi salam ‘Explain this to the angels’, Hadhrat Adam alayhi salam didn’t present ‘Ilm-e-Dhahir because the angels didn’t need the practical form of the Shari’ah in the heavens. What ‘Ilm did he present to them, that was beneficial to them as Allah says in this verse? When he described the names, the ‘Uloom to them, they understood. The angels understood that this is what they needed. They were shocked and surprised and said ‘How can human beings have this knowledge? How can they attain such high stages and ranks?’
These were all the qualities and levels that I mentioned before. They are so high that you cannot explain or give adequate commentary. The tongue gets lost if it tries to detail the realities of these ranks and levels that a person passes through when ascending and becoming closer to Allah. Yes, human beings, thousands, tens of thousands of the Naqshbandi Mashaykh and the Awliya’llah have ascended these ranks and levels. You can also attain this if you are given lessons from a Sheikh. Say ‘SubhanAllah’ – we are so fortunate! Whichever student is given a lesson, that lesson can take you to its Maqam.
Let me give you a little bit of explanation about this Fitnah that I am trying to tell you about today from the Qur’an. Every verse proves the Shari’ah, the Sunnah, and Tasawwuf - Allah allows us to learn this. {قَالَ يَـٰٓـَٔادَمُ أَنۢبِئۡهُم بِأَسۡمَآٮِٕہِمۡ} Allah is explaining the ‘Ilm of Shari’ah and Tasawwuf from this verse. The angels were dumbstruck, you could say. Today, the Nafs and shaytan have overwhelmed us by saying ‘Take this ‘Ilm of Shari’ah and read, give speeches, listen, and praise the clever, technical points when you hear them.’ Is this not the case today, my brothers? But nowhere can you see people attaining the Ma’arifah of Allah through this one form of Shari’ah. Human beings cannot attain Ma’arifah this way. Show me a human being who has attained Ma’arifah just through bayans and technical knowledge of Shari’ah, the ‘Ilm-e-Dhahir, the external knowledge. It is impossible. The Qur’an has explained this, so you should never imagine that you can attain the closeness to Allah by this means. It is proven that the ‘Ilm that was given to the angels made them exclaim ‘What? Human beings have this ‘Uloom?’
The other side of the Fitnah that has occurred today is that some people have left that ‘Uloom, the ‘Ilm-e-Dhahiri, and rely solely on their inadequate understanding of spiritual knowledge, whilst shunning and disregarding the physical, external aspects of ‘Ilm-e-Shari’ah. This is the other extreme. The Darajaat I mentioned that can be acquired in the Silsila Naqshbandia are not exclusive to Silsila Naqshbandia. There are Darajaat in every Silsila. But people today have made a game and played tricks with ‘Ilm-e-Baatin. Many Pirs today have changed this ‘Ilm and say ‘We don’t need ‘Ilm-e-Dhahir. Halal and Haram don’t matter – everything we do is fine. We don’t need to pray Salah. I am sat here but I am praying in Madina – I can float there. My Ruh is in Makkah so I don’t need to go to the Masjid and pray in congregation.’ They control Jinn and show magic to people and trances and potions so that people run after them and think they are brilliant. They worship the Nafs and say ‘He is the greatest Wali of Allah.’ They have twisted and turned the Deen of Islam to the extent that they distort the ‘Ilm-e- Dhahir and say that singing and music are allowed. They jump up and down and have mixed gatherings of men and women where Qawalis with musical instruments perform. They try to spread their Deen with no knowledge – they have instituted a new ‘Ilm-e-Baatin. They have introduced innovations into ‘Ilm-e-Baatin.
So there is a double Fitnah now. The first group take only ‘Ilm-e-Dhahir and have left ‘Ilm-e-Baatin and earned Dunya, while those who say they practice ‘Ilm-e-Baatin have left Halal and Haram and the ‘Ilm-e-Dhahir and have made their own Deen and their own ‘Uloom. I won’t call their centres Khanqahs, those places where men and women attend their functions and such wrong actions take place that you would be shocked if you saw it. Your jaws would drop. They think that their gatherings of dancing will take them to Allah, and they deny the importance of ‘Ilm-e-Dhahir and claim that they have the true knowledge of ‘Ilm-e-Baatin. This is a big Fitnah in this day and age. Allah ta’ala sent His Deen so that we could obtain His Ma’arifah, and people are cashing in on it. They have totally disfigured, dishonoured and spoiled Tasawwuf. They have put a stain on its reputation with their controlling of Jinns and foretelling the future, claiming to have hidden knowledge and telling people they know all about them and can do this and that for them, including predicting their future. People have forgotten that the point of the inner knowledge is to attain Allah’s Ma’arifah and His nearness. Lives are spoiled, as people trust them to assist them and think that through their Duas, their problems will disappear in minutes. They seek to control their wives, servants or husbands – the complete reverse of the objective for which Allah gave that ‘Ilm, which was to obtain His nearness. Instead, we have created Fitnah out of it in today’s society.
The first group take ‘Ilm-e-Dhahir and leave ‘Ilm-e-Baatin, and the second group take ‘Ilm-e-Baatin and leave ‘Ilm-e-Dhahir. You will see big conferences and speeches from both, but no man or woman can reach the closeness to Allah in this way. There is just enjoyment in the sharing of knowledge. There is a magic in speech alone, in Taqrir. People can be entranced, enjoying the stories of events from Islamic history and past nations, and delving into meaning, but the impact upon the lives of the listeners is negligible. The speakers tailor their words towards the audience so that they enjoy what they hear, and it becomes like Jackanory, like story time. ‘Oh, let’s go to that scholar and listen to him today – we enjoy his talks.’ But they don’t derive anything beneficial from them. Or the speaker is billed as a big Ashiq-e-Rasool and a great lover. If you go to some Masjids or Khanqahs where conferences are held, women are dancing! They claim to be going to Madina, and someone puts a necklace of flowers around their neck and they dance in a trance. People say ‘Oh, she’s in a trance; she is showing her passion.’ And the dancer says ‘Put a garland of flowers around my neck, for I am departing for Madina.’ This is what they say. These people have spoiled and dishonoured ‘Ilm-e-Baatin, the knowledge of the soul, while the others have taken ‘Ilm-e-Shari’ah and disregarded ‘Ilm-e-Baatin.
The Qur’an is telling us: {قَالَ يَـٰٓـَٔادَمُ أَنۢبِئۡهُم بِأَسۡمَآٮِٕہِمۡ} – ‘Oh Adam, ‘Ilm-e-Dhahir is the knowledge that I have given to you to utilize in the world, and this knowledge of Halal and Haram is not useful for the angels. So explain to them that ‘Ilm-e-Baatin, the ‘Irfan, the Ma’arifah of Allah, and show how you humans who live on the earth will be higher than these angels.’ These Asbaaq, these lessons that we do Dhikr on, is what Allah ta’ala instructed Hadhrat Adam alayhi salam to teach and instruct the angels,
So these are the two Fitnahs that we need to save ourselves from my friends. We need both types of knowledge to attain the nearness of Allah. We need ‘Ilm-e-Dhahir, the physical implementation of Shari’ah on earth, and also ‘Ilm-e-Baatin so that we can attain Allah ta’ala’s ‘Irfan and Ma’arifah. If we leave either of these, we will be failures. As I explained to you – listen closely here - if you have some Asbaaq, lessons, that your teacher has taught you, the first lesson is on Latifah al-Qalb. Learning Allah’s Name on the heart is such a great Sabaq that your soul starts to float and fly to the heavens. I am telling you the reality of this here, and this is the Maqam of Latifah al-Qalb, the very first one, so imagine a person who does Dhikr of Allah on all seven Latifahs. But our Yaqeen is low, and Nafs tells us ‘Oh leave it; it is a waste of time.’ Shaytan and Nafs say to us ‘You should be able to see what you are attaining. What is the purpose of all of this that you are doing?’ The first doubt, or question rather, that the angels put to Allah was ‘Oh Allah, we are made of light while they are made of clay, so why are You putting the crown of Your nearness upon their head?’ This was their question.
We don’t have the Yaqeen today. Allah ta’ala is saying ‘I have given you My ‘Uloom in order to get to My nearness, so follow these principles and directions and attain My nearness.’ When your Sheikh gives you these Asbaaq, or your Ustaadh gives you these lessons and teachings and tells you to do Dhikr on these Asbaaq, then what do we need to do to attain that Maqam? Listen to this carefully. To attain these Maqamaat and levels, we need to do total Amal on ‘Ilm-e-Shari’ah. Those people who are practicing ‘Ilm-e-Baatin through the lessons of Dhikr and crushing the Nafs and the desires, the first condition is that they practice totally, one hundred percent, on ‘Ilm-e-Shari’ah. Then they will attain the Maqams. I swear by Allah, when your Sheikh teaches you a lesson, do it properly, but the essential condition is that the Shari’ah must also be implemented completely. SubhanAllah. Why do students not ascend through these Maqams and reach these heights? The reason is that we are weak in ‘Ilm-e-Dhahir. Our physical practice is weak, so the bicycle cannot function. The first requirement of ‘Ilm-e-Baatin, the inner knowledge, the knowledge of the soul, is that your Rizq should be Halal. If our Rizq is not Halal, and we have not fulfilled the most basic condition of ‘Ilm-e-Dhahir, and have not implemented the laws of Shari’ah on the earth, then how can we ascend the levels of ‘Ilm-e-Baatin? We can never do so because we have contaminated ‘Ilm-e-Dhahir. All the principles of ‘Ilm-e-Dhahir, of the physical Shari’ah on earth, must be implemented. Our Rizq must be Halal, and all of the sins of the Baatin, our lying, backbiting and so on, these are also regulated by ‘Ilm-e-Dhahir. We have to control them in the way we have been taught in Hadith. The more we control them and implement both ‘Ilm-e-Dhahir and the lessons that our teacher teaches us, the more we shall ascend to these great levels.
These are such great lessons that even if a stone is taught them, he will start to remember Allah! These are high Maqams that the teacher has given you. If you have been given fifteen Asbaaq, or ten or eleven, how can we still be committing sins? Such a person says ‘Oh, I am not feeling good and I am not close to Allah’, but how can it be that you are not close to Allah? These are Maqams of Haq, of truth – the Qur’an is testifying to this. {قَالَ يَـٰٓـَٔادَمُ أَنۢبِئۡهُم بِأَسۡمَآٮِٕہِمۡ} This is the knowledge that the angels learned from Hadhrat Adam alayhi salam. The human being became the teacher, the Ustaadh of the angels, and they were amazed and said ‘We accept and embrace your teaching. You have given such superb Maqams to us.’ These are the Maqams that are being taught to us today, oh students, so why don’t we learn and ascend and get promoted? The reason is that we are weak on ‘Ilm-e-Dhahir, the practical, physical implementation of Shari’ah. Our Rizq is Haram and our Baatin is dirty and impure. We lie, we backbite, we slander, we gossip-monger, we have hatred and do impure deeds, and at the same time we do ‘Allah, Allah.’ We do the Asbaaq that we have been given, but at the same time we do Haram actions which contaminate and mix with everything.
So the Sheikh explains the lessons to you and takes you to that level, but the door is slammed and you cannot open it unless you work hard yourself on the principles of ‘Ilm-e-Dhahir. Where Shari’ah says stop this, then refrain; this is wrong, so don’t do this action. Take hold of the path of the instructions of Shari’ah. This is why it is said that every decision of your life and all your actions should be based on the ‘Ilm-e-Dhahir of the Shari’ah. If you want to become a Sufi and attain Allah’s nearness, this is essential, for without it you cannot reach that Maqam. This is the Mujaahidah, this is the struggle. Both parts of the Shari’ah, when practiced together and in parallel, will take you to Allah. Then it is about the extent of the effort of the Mureed – how much he controls himself, how much he observes Shari’ah. My Hadhrat, Noor ‘ala Marqadah, gave me the Maqams when I went to him, alhamdulillah, and then he said to me ‘These are the principles of ‘Ilm-e-Dhahir, so avoid what is unlawful and Haram, and remain steadfast on this.’ That’s it. There was no negotiation, no weekly knocking on my door to ask ‘Are you doing this? Are you avoiding that?’
If you have passion and desire, you can attain such great Maqams, Maqams that when you attain them, the angels are shocked and dumbfounded, saying ‘Where has this human being gone to?’ That is what I said before - that the tongue cannot explain the nature of those Maqams. It is not capable of describing them. I am not speaking about myself and saying that I am on this Maqam. Pray for me that I can get there and ascend to those levels because I am incapable, but Hadhrat Sahib took me to that Maqam, and taught me that Maqam and explained that Maqam to me, and the impure tongue cannot form the words to describe the brilliance of the Maqam that my Sheikh took me to. He sent me there. Whether I have ascended to it or achieved it or attained those Maqams, that is based on my ‘Ilm-e-Shari’ah, on how much Amal I have done on the physical Shari’ah, on how much I have restrained myself and stopped the physical sins. If I want to attain that high level that Allah ta’ala has given us permission to strive for, then I will get there if I implement ‘Ilm-e-Shari’ah.
So what we learn from all of this is that the Maqamaat, the levels and the ranks that lead to Allah’s nearness are there before us. They are reality and are also a part of Shari’ah which is called ‘Ilm-e-Baatin. There are two parts to Shari’ah: ‘Ilm-e-Dhahir and ‘Ilm-e-Baatin. You know, when we talk about Sufism and Tasawwuf, it is not separate from Shari’ah. It is one and the same – Shari’ah is Tasawwuf, and Tasawwuf is Shari’ah. Without ‘Ilm-e-Dhahir, you cannot attain Allah, and without ‘Ilm-e-Baatin, Tasawwuf, you cannot get to Allah. You need ‘Ilm-e-Baatin and ‘Ilm-e-Dhahir. ‘Ilm-e-Dahir will tell you ‘This is right; you should do this in this manner; you can compromise here, and leave that under these circumstances; this is Mustahabb, to be preferred’ and so on. You have to learn that ‘Ilm, but not every person is an ‘Alim; not everyone goes to a Dar-ul-Uloom, so look at Allah’s Deen. When a person arrives into the company of a Kamil, complete, honest, Sadiq Sheikh, SubhanAllah, the brilliance of ‘Ilm-e-Ludni is such, the ‘Ilm-e-Baatin is such that automatically, due to the Barakah of your Sheikh, all of the principles of ‘Ilm-e-Dhahir will come into your heart – what is Halal, what is Haram.
We learn from Hadith that the greatest Mufti is your heart, your Qalb, for it will tell you what is right and wrong. You don’t need to go to a Darul-‘Uloom. It is not necessary or essential, because your heart will become a Mufti. Acquiring ‘Ilm-e-Dhahir does not necessitate going to a Darul-‘Uloom for years and learning the Fatwas. Obviously, that is the institute where such knowledge is learned, but not everyone in the Muslim world can go to a Darul-‘Uloom, can they? Does that mean that they lose out? A beautiful door is opened as soon as you go to the Sheikh. Obviously, you cannot get to these Maqams if you do not have ‘Ilm-e-Dhahir. You have to physically implement the Shari’ah. But Allah has prepared such a system that when a true, honest, sincere Mureed goes to the Kamil Sheikh and says ‘I want to get to Allah’, even if you do not formally learn the ‘Ilm-e-Dhahir, if you implement the ‘Ilm-e-Baatin that he gives you, that ‘Ilm gets absorbed by the heart and he starts to learn ‘Ilm-e-Dhahir. He doesn’t become a Sheikh-ul-Hadith or a Sheikh-ul-Fiqh, but he becomes respectful towards Halal and Haram. I can guarantee this absolutely. Rather, in the words of the Qur’an I tell you: all of my Mureeds, reverts, those who came from Hinduism to Islam or from Christianity to Islam, they didn’t open any books of Fiqh, but after learning the Asbaaq, they immediately learned what was Halal and Haram. They know everything about lawful and unlawful, and have no excuse that they don’t know what the physical implementation of the Shari’ah entails, because when the Qalb is purified, when the heart becomes a Muttaqi, then a person will never be in doubt as to what is Haram and what is Halal. He will never compromise and will not put forward any excuses. Allah has arranged things is such a way that when you learn ‘Ilm-e-Baatin in a Sheikh’s company, when he teaches you ‘Ilm-e-Baatin and Tasawwuf, if you do not have ‘Ilm-e-Dhahir, do not worry, because when you learn from him and start to purify the heart and it becomes necessary to know and implement ‘Ilm-e-Dhahir as well in order to benefit, then don’t worry because Allah ta’ala has put such Barakah, blessings and inspiration in ‘Ilm-e-Baatin that when you go to a Sheikh, a teacher of Tasawwuf, SubhanAllah, such Noor will develop in your heart and such passion, strength and intensity that you will recognize what is Halal and what is Haram. Adab, respect and comportment will be instilled, and you won’t make excuses and your conscience will tell you if something is right or wrong. Tell me - is this is the case or not? Will you testify to the truth of this? You didn’t go to Dar-ul-‘Uloom, but you don’t make excuses that you do not know. Where there are involved and technical questions that you cannot work out the answer to, of course you go to a Mufti and ask, but you will know what is right and wrong in the basic daily Masaa’il. You will know.
InshaAllah, we will conclude on this point, for time is short. We will go forward with the next points and will continue next time inshaAllah. The great brilliance of the Qur’an is coming out that Hadhrat Adam alayhi salam made all the angels Sufis, MashaAllah. He made them Sufis because they had no link with ‘Ilm-e-Dhahir, so he taught them ‘Ilm at-Tasawwuf and they became Sufis and students of Hadhrat Adam alayhi salam. Even today, alhamdulillah, they look at human beings in the light of this teaching. Those people who learn ‘Ilm-e-Baatin from a Sheikh today, the angels in the heavens do Du’a for those devotees. There is a Hadith about this. Angels are solid friends because Hadhrat Adam alayhi salam made them Sufis. They are happy and say ‘Look! They are learning that ‘Ilm-e-Baatin that Hadhrat Adam alayhi salam taught us. These devotees are learning this from their Sheikh.’ So every Sufi, every human being who is obtaining Allah’s Ma’arifah and nearness, the angels are their friends. Angels do Du’a for them, SubhanAllah, and Astaghfar for them. The Karameen-al-Arsh, a specific group of angels, do Du’a for them, and if they do commit sins, because they are human beings, then the angels say ‘Ya Allah, Astaghfar! Forgive that person because he is on the journey of Your Ma’arifah and Your ‘Irfan.’
So my brothers, you are learning this ‘Ilm so don’t waste it! If you waste it, then know that the biggest loser on the Day of Judgement – I tell you now, clearly – the biggest loser is he to whom Allah gave ‘Ilm-e-Baatin and then he wasted it; the person who was given the ‘Ilm of the Qur’an, but then he didn’t implement the Qur’an; the person who was given ‘Ilm-e-Hadith, and then he just used it for speeches and bayans and conferences and technicalities without acquiring ‘Ilm-e-Baatin. He remained devoid of Amal. He will say ‘Oh Allah, I am the biggest loser! How I regret that I wasted my life on planet Earth!’
The objective of life for which we are obtaining ‘Ilm is ‘Ilm-e-Ma’arifah, the nearness to Allah. So, my friends, don’t waste either of the two parts of ‘Ilm-e-Shari’ah. How do we waste it today? You are not utilizing and implementing ‘Ilm-e-Dhahir. You haven’t learned what is Halal and Haram and are not following the principles. Also your Baatin is dirty – lying, gossiping, consuming Haram Rizq, these are all barriers. You may be doing Dhikr and have received many lessons, but they all have padlocks on. These are the biggest losers. Just like a person who has Qur’an and Hadith, but he doesn’t read the Qur’an; he has Qur’an in his heart, but he sleeps on it. If you seal a fragrance inside a bag, it will not come out – this is explained in a Hadith – and in the same way, this ‘Ilm that you are learning, this ‘Ilm-e-Baatin with its Asbaaq and levels and Ruhaniyyat, its blessings are locked away because you are not implementing ‘Ilm-e-Dhahir. You are not following the Shari’ah, and you are not accepting Halal as Halal, and Haram as Haram. You say that immodesty is allowed and singing and dancing, while everything at home is Haram. You are doing Tasbeeh, and you say that you are the Mureed of such and a such a Sheikh and are thus forgiven. You say ‘I am Farooqui Sahib’s Mureed’ – yes, you are my Mureeds, but I tell you one thing clearly: I have taken you to that Maqam and have taught you the Asbaaq, and I have stood you at the bank of the river and given you permission, but you will only unlock the padlock when you implement ‘Ilm-e-Dhahir, when you accept Halal as Halal, and Haram as Haram. When both rivers flow together, then your Maqam will be so high that the angels will be envious. They will say ‘Adam alayhi salam, our Ustaadh, taught us this ‘Uloom.’ This is the ‘Ilm of which Allah speaks: {قَالَ يَـٰٓـَٔادَمُ أَنۢبِئۡهُم بِأَسۡمَآٮِٕہِمۡۖ} – ‘Oh Adam, explain to them what will benefit them’, so Hadhrat Adam alayhi salam became their Ustaadh, and he taught them ‘Ilm-e-Ma’arifah, the nearness of Allah. That is what we are learning today.
وأخر دعوانا أن الحمد لله رب العالمين
18th Aug, 2020
These are treasures upon treasures subhanAllah. Totally unique explanation, it is a privilege beyond privilege to listen to this and the soul rejoices at the haq being presented by no other than our beloved honourable teacher. Alhamdulillah.
What did Adam alayhi salam teach the Angels?
وَعَلَّمَ ءَادَمَ ٱلۡأَسۡمَآءَ كُلَّهَا ثُمَّ عَرَضَہُمۡ عَلَى ٱلۡمَلَـٰٓٮِٕكَةِ فَقَالَ أَنۢبِـُٔونِى بِأَسۡمَآءِ هَـٰٓؤُلَآءِ إِن كُنتُمۡ صَـٰدِقِينَ (٣١) قَالُواْ سُبۡحَـٰنَكَ لَا عِلۡمَ لَنَآ إِلَّا مَا عَلَّمۡتَنَآۖ إِنَّكَ أَنتَ ٱلۡعَلِيمُ ٱلۡحَكِيمُ (٣٢) قَالَ يَـٰٓـَٔادَمُ أَنۢبِئۡهُم بِأَسۡمَآٮِٕہِمۡۖ فَلَمَّآ أَنۢبَأَهُم بِأَسۡمَآٮِٕہِمۡ قَالَ أَلَمۡ أَقُل لَّكُمۡ إِنِّىٓ أَعۡلَمُ غَيۡبَ ٱلسَّمَـٰوَٲتِ وَٱلۡأَرۡضِ وَأَعۡلَمُ مَا تُبۡدُونَ وَمَا كُنتُمۡ تَكۡتُمُونَ (٣٣)
Surah al-Baqarah v31-33
After the Malaaika put forward their query, they affirmed Allah ta’ala’s glory, magnificence and splendour by reciting and testifying and confirming this Adtheem Kalima. And they said ‘There is no other Kalima that can attest to this. This is Allah! And all decisions of Yours are free from any defects, and Your every decision is based on Your Hikmah, on Your Wisdom. In other words, we have understood that whatever decision comes from You, we do not need further explanation or reasons. It is You who gives the ultimate decision, the supreme decision.’
So this great example is in front of us: the angels made of Noor are contrasted with human beings made of soil and clay. However, being made of light or dust is not the factor by which to differentiate or assess their relative value. External factors cannot be used to determine whether someone is better or worse; whoever Allah says is great, he is great, and whoever Allah says is lofty, he is lofty; and whoever Allah lowers, he is lower. So what we need to look at is what Allah ta’ala defines as greatness. Who is great, who is Adtheem for Allah, the Malik-ul-Mulk, the Owner of the Universe? Who is important? We don’t judge by someone’s body, or their title, or their actions, or their face and appearance and external form; this is not how we judge. There is only one factor, one defining guideline, namely the decision of Allah. That is the best guidance and the best way to measure. This is the first point, the first lesson that we need to understand.
All the angels accepted and then informed the whole Universe about their confirmation. They accepted and they understood. There is a big lesson in this for us from the angels. In our lives, our success and our connection with our Rabb should be like this. We must not put our own opinion forward in any matter. Nothing can be understood by our own brains - we just need to adopt the decisions and the guidance of Allah. There is no need for ifs and buts, or criticisms and complaints. It doesn’t matter how things seem to our eyes, or what we think, and if we don’t understand the logic of something Allah ta’ala has given, we have to think ‘Where has this decision come from?’ Every decision that comes from Allah is the best! It is the greatest decision, and we need to attain that realization and to understand that. We need to accept and embrace every decision of Allah ta’ala and submit to Allah’s decision and guidance. Of course, we can ask Allah for help and for assistance to remain steadfast on His decision, and we should ask Allah for help and perseverance in whatever ups and downs and situations that may arise.
So the angels confirmed and they understood, and this learning came to us, so we accept it as well. Then Allah ta’ala says {قَالَ يَـٰٓـَٔادَمُ أَنۢبِئۡهُم بِأَسۡمَآٮِٕہِمۡۖ}. Now here is another status, another great mark of respect being given to Adam alayhi salam. Now the angels are a great creation made of light, who are close to Allah, who speak to Allah, who discourse with Allah. How different they are from human beings, who are made of clay, and who return back into clay - yet what great respect and honour Allah ta’ala has given to the human being, to Ibn Adam. For their part, the angels also received a great reward. When Allah ta’ala puts any part of his creation through a test or a challenge or an examination, after passing through that challenge or examination and enduring the difficulties in remaining steadfast, then Allah ta’ala definitely gives the reward for that difficulty. This is the Sunnah of Allah subhana wa ta'ala. Allah ta’ala gives massive rewards due to such a test, and never holds back from paying back what is done for His sake. In Allah’s Path there is no debt that is retained. If a person is steadfast despite difficulties and issues, and maintains steadfastness and doesn’t shake, then Allah ta’ala definitely repays that person and gives reward.
So a big reward was given to the angels. Regarding the ‘Ilm that was given to Hadhrat Adam ayahi salam by Allah, that knowledge that we discussed, Allah said to Hadhrat Adam alayhi salam {قَالَ يَـٰٓـَٔادَمُ أَنۢبِئۡهُم بِأَسۡمَآٮِٕہِمۡۖ} – ‘Tell this knowledge to the angels. Share it with them.’ Allah ta’ala had given the angels a test, a big test, and due to the Istaqamat that they showed when the question was put forward to them, Allah ta’ala gave them this big reward which was that Allah ta’ala allowed the angels to obtain the knowledge that Allah had given to Hadhrat Adam alayhi salam. What was that knowledge? Allah ta’ala said to Adam alayhi salam ‘Tell them about the knowledge, the ‘Ilm, that I have given to you.’ Another point arises here, for another honour is given here to Hadhrat Adam alayhi salam, another title and another thing for the angels to recognize in Hadhrat Adam alahyi salam. He is teaching them ‘Ilm, and they are learning. Hadhrat Adam alayhi salam was the Ustaadh of the angels, SubhanAllah. He was made of soil and clay, while they were made of light, but the human being was made the teacher of the angels. What a difference there is between a teacher and a student! How lofty Hadhrat Adam alayhi salam has been made compared to the angels, since he is their teacher.
Allah ta’ala said to Hadhrat Adam alayhi salam ‘Explain this ‘Ilm to them – tell them what they don’t know.’ What is this point now? Adam alayhi salam is a creation made of earth, and this is a creation made of light, but Hadhrat Adam alayhi salam was given ‘Ilm, the knowledge that we discussed in the previous Bayan. All that knowledge - how he was to live in the Dunya where he was to descend to, that place that his offspring were to live in for so long - that knowledge was given to Hadhrat Adam alayhi salam because he was being sent to the earth where that knowledge would be utilized. So why would the angels need to know that knowledge? That Shari’ah knowledge was to be implemented in the world, through which human beings were to learn the principles of life, the laws, the instructions, the guidance of Allah, what to do, what not to do. That knowledge was for us. Allah’s ‘Usool and principles were the Shari’ah knowledge that Allah ta’ala gave to Adam alayhi salam. Now Adam alayhi salam is being told to teach the angels, who are creatures made of light who live in the heavens. They don’t need to live in the world. Their lifestyle is different, their principles are different, and the objective of life that Allah ta’ala has made for them is different. They don’t require any Shari’ah in the heavens – think about it. And for them, there is no need to know about Halal and Haram, because they are far removed from Haram - far, far removed. They are not able to do wrong or disobey Allah; they cannot even think about disobeying Allah. This Shari’ah, this complete way of life, is based on how we are to live on planet Earth. So what ‘Ilm was Adam alayhi salam given that he had to explain and relay to the angels?
The ‘Ilm that he conveyed was from this very Shari’ah. There was knowledge from the Shari’ah that was beneficial to the angels, SubhanAllah. There was knowledge that they desired, there was knowledge that they required to live in the heavens. That ‘Ilm was given to them; Allah ta’ala caused them to acquire it, SubhanAllah. They had said to Allah ‘Oh Allah, we hymn Your praises; we do Your Tasbeeh. We remember You and we glorify You – {نَحۡنُ نُسَبِّحُ بِحَمۡدِكَ وَنُقَدِّسُ لَكَ}.’ This is what they said in the previous verse, isn’t it? ‘Oh Allah, we glorify Your name, we remember You, we praise You – we do Your Dhikr continuously. That is our life and our function and our objective.’ That is what the angels said, SubhanAllah. Adam alayhi salam was told {قَالَ يَـٰٓـَٔادَمُ أَنۢبِئۡهُم بِأَسۡمَآٮِٕہِمۡ}. So from this Shari’ah, which deals with the principles of life on earth, he had to teach them some knowledge.
When Hadhrat Adam alayhi salam was told to explain the knowledge that would be beneficial to them, he gave them some splashes from the ocean of Ma’arifah and ‘Irfan that he had been given. The angels had thought that it was only them who had the Ma’arifah of Allah and the full range of praise and Dhikr of Allah, but Hadhrat Adam alayhi salam explained a little portion of the ‘Ilm of Shari’ah to them, and taught them a small portion of his ‘Irfan and the Maqamaat and levels and heights that a person can attain. The angels were shocked and amazed at this, and said ‘How have they attained such levels of Ma’arifah of Allah? We thought that they had just been given the knowledge and instructions and rules of how to live on earth and how to interact with each other. How did they attain this?’ But in reality, the ‘Ilm that Allah ta’ala has given to the Holy Prophet sallallahu alayhi wasallam is the ‘Ilm of how to live in this world, and the real objective of living in the world, and the reason that we were sent here, was to obtain the Ma’arifah of Allah. Why were we sent to this world? So that we could attain Allah’s Ma’arifah and ‘Irfan. That is the number one priority of our lives in this world { إِلَّا لِيَعۡبُدُونِ}.
So what we learn is that the ‘Ilm that was given to Hadhrat Adam alayhi salam is based on Shari’ah knowledge, yes, but there are exterior aspects of knowledge and also interior aspects - Dhahir and Baatin knowledge. The exterior knowledge of Shari’ah is related to the world, obviously, but the ‘Ilm-e-Baatin, the internal, spiritual knowledge, is what was explained to the angels, because they also needed to understand these Maqamaat. They said ‘So this is Allah’s Ma’arifah! This is Allah’s ‘Irfan that the human being Adam alayhi salam has learned via the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wasallam!’ So the human beings who live on earth, have to fulfil their number one priority and objective of life which is to obtain Allah’s nearness in this world, and they have to do this where there are restrictions and obstacles and base desires and shaytan and luxuries of the world and attractions, all of which he has to sweep aside and pull on Allah’s Ma’arifah and ‘Irfan. What a great status the human beings must have because the angels didn’t have these restrictions. Allah gave the angels total, comprehensive, complete ‘Uloom, and they were amazed at what Adam alayhi salam taught them. They said ‘This Insan will go to the earth and live there and attain Allah ta’ala’s Qurb and nearness via these principles of ‘Uloom and spirituality! Truly, what a great human being he is!’
This is the ‘Ilm al-Ludni, the internal knowledge, the spiritual knowledge that was given to Hadhrat Adam alayhi salam, about which he then had to inform the angels because it was beneficial to them. In other words, there are two types of knowledge: ‘Ilm-e-Dhahiri and ‘Ilm-e-Baatini. The external knowledge, the Ilm-e-Dhahiri, is the knowledge that enables us to live physically on the Earth. Halal and Haram, what is allowed and what is not allowed – that is ‘Ilm-e-Dhahiri. With this ‘Ilm, we can practically act in the world, and we can remove the barriers and obstacles to Allah. If we understand Halal and Haram, we can differentiate between good and bad. And secondly, Ilm-e-Baatini, ‘Ilm-e-Ludni, which was given to Hadhrat Adam alayhi salam and which he explained to the angels, that is the ‘Ilm that draws on Allah’s Ma’arifah and ‘Irfan and His closeness and His nearness. And these are the Maqams that a human being can live in this world and attain. And this is also called ‘Ilm-e-Tasawwuf, the principles of Tasawwuf, of purification and of realization. All of those listening, MashaAllah, are attached to Tasawwuf, to spirituality, so in all of our discussions we learn these points.
Hadhrat Adam alayhi salam was given this ‘Uloom, this ‘Ilm of the Shari’ah, and it has two parts, ‘Ilm-e-Dhahir and ‘Ilm-e-Baatin; we have to understand this essential point. So ‘Ilm-e-Baatin, knowledge of the Baatin, of the soul, which is the essential aspect of life which endures forever, was given to Hadhrat Adam alayhi salam, along with ‘Ilm-e-Dhahir. He was given both parts. And all the Maqamaat that a student of the Naqshbandi order ascends, going from Maqam to Maqam that the teacher gives, lesson by lesson, when a student embarks on the path of Islah, of rectification, these are the Maqams and levels that he attains. A person goes through the Maqams and levels and attains Allah ta’ala’s Ma’arifah. And attaining the nearness and Ma’arifah of Allah is our number one priority of life in this world, nothing else. All the Maqamaat that the Bashr, the human being, learns - Maqam-e-Zalal, Sifaat, then from Sifaat, Asmaa’, and then Maqam-e-Dhaat – a person learns and progresses through all of these levels. And then as he analyzes and learns, he goes to levels about which the tongue cannot explain and does not have the capacity to articulate. The tongue stops and cannot elaborate that level. I have given you examples of the Kabaa’ir, great Awliya, human beings who attained through advancement and elevation levels that the angels cannot reach. The angels are on one Maqam, one level.
Now these levels of spirituality and nearness to Allah that I have explained to you – Zalal, Sifaat, Asmaa’, Shu’unaat – these are the levels that a person ascends and moves through. And if a person comes to a Naqshbandi teacher and doesn’t attain these Maqams, then he is not a student; he is not a Mureed. Now pay careful attention here to my words, for I am making very valuable and precious points here. When the Mureed, the student, the devotee, goes to his Sheikh, this is what he goes to attain. Nothing else – do you understand? So, alhamdulillah, you have a connection with a Sheikh, and so these are the levels, the Maqams, that you are trying to attain. You ascend, you rise up, from Zalal to Sifaat, then to Asmaa’ then to Maqam-e-Dhat, through the lessons that the teacher imparts to you. What does a person do? I will repeat this again for you. First there are seven lessons, seven Lata’if, that you go through. Those names – Zalal, Sifaat and so on – these are all the technical names of these levels, of these Maqamat, these ranks. When you go to the Sheikh, he gives you the Dhikr Ism-e-Dhat, the silent repetition of ‘Allah, Allah’, on these seven Latifahs, these seven points. When you start this Dhikr on these seven points, then you are the level of Zalal. Allahu Akbar. And if the Mureed is consistent, then he starts to ascend through the Maqamaat, through the levels of Allah’s Qurb, Allah’s nearness. At every Maqam, he gets closer to Allah, to a higher station, a greater level. Latifah Qalb to Ruh, Ruh to Sirr, Sirr to Khafi, Khafi to Akhfa. And from Akhfa he can ascend higher still, and the student continues. The Sheikh keeps teaching and giving these lessons that I am revising for you. Muraqabah Ahadiyyah comes as well – is this some low Maqam? SubhanAllah, the angels were shocked at hearing about these Maqams that the human being can attain in the world. ‘Is this what they will attain? The spiritual nearness to Allah and His Ma’arifah and ‘Irfan and supreme closeness?’
{قَالَ يَـٰٓـَٔادَمُ أَنۢبِئۡهُم بِأَسۡمَآٮِٕہِمۡ} SubhanAllah, this is the ‘Uloom that Hadhrat Adam alayhi salam is explaining to the angels. Zalal to Sifaat! Look at all the Muraqabaat that come after this: Tajalliyaat Af’aliyyah, and then further levels, if you continue, such as Sifaat-e-Salbiya, Tajalliyaat-e-Sha’n-e-Jaam’ah – so many Sifaat and qualities and levels that a person gains. These are such great levels, such great ranks, and they enable a person to attain such great status that you cannot imagine. This is the journey that you are travelling on. We should be so grateful to Allah, my brothers. You Hadhraat, you know these Asbaaq, these lessons that you have got; when the Sheikh gives you these lessons, then the Mureed reaches that Maqam. Remember this! You are not wasting your time with this in the world. This is the ‘Uloom of Ma’arifah about which Hadhrat Adam alayhi salam was ordered {أَنۢبِئۡهُم بِأَسۡمَآٮِٕہِمۡۖ} – ‘Tell them about the ‘Uloom that you have been given. Announce to them and teach them how we will ascend and go beyond their knowledge, and how we will attain Allah’s nearness. In this dirty, impure place, where people plunder, kill, loot and harm others, on this same planet Earth, Insan will attain these levels. You are sat in the heavens, mashaAllah, amongst the Noor and Anwaraat and light, and you are close to Allah and you hear and see everything.’ But those who are in the world, me and you – where are we seated at the moment, tell me? But alhamdulillah, as soon as the human being embarks on the journey of ‘Ilm-e-Ludni, he is on a different level. And this ‘Ilm-e-Ludni is Shari’ah, one essential half of the Shari’ah which has two parts – ‘Ilm-e-Dhahiri and ‘Ilm-e-Baatini; remember this point. Note it down, write it down. Both parts meet and are intertwined; you cannot separate them, for they are related and interdependent.
If you separate the two, Fitnah will arise. Fitnah will arise in the world. How? This is the biggest Fitnah in this day and age if we look around us. Some people have grabbed hold of ‘Ilm-e-Dhahir, the physical laws of the Shari’ah, and they think that this is the whole of the Deen. Shaytan and Nafs grabs them, and they enjoy ‘Ilm-e-Dhahir, the bayans, the conferences, giving praise for erudition, technical points, grammar, thinking that this is the be-all and end-all - Shari’ah knowledge, Arabic grammar and bayans. But this is like trying to ride a bike on one wheel. The ’Ilm-e-Dhahiri knowledge of Shari’ah on its own can never take you to Allah’s nearness. It is impossible to get Allah’s nearness this way because there is only one wheel on the bike. Rather, it will swell your Nafs and you will become proud and end up running after Dunya. You will have desires, and hopes that people will praise you, attend your talks, admire your knowledge and lessons and speeches and writings. No way can this approach obtain Allah ta’ala’s Ma’arifah and nearness in the way that our pious predecessors taught us. Some people have become so fixed upon this that they declare that this is the be-all and end-all and the only way. This is the Fitnah of this day and age, I am telling you; it is a Fitnah. The ‘Ilm that I am talking about is that ‘Ilm that Allah ta’ala ordered Hadhrat Adam alayhi salam to present to the angels; this is ‘Ilm al-Ludni. {قَالَ يَـٰٓـَٔادَمُ أَنۢبِئۡهُم بِأَسۡمَآٮِٕہِمۡ} – ‘Explain, Oh Adam, how you can ascend from the earth and reach Me in the heavens, how you can obtain My ‘Irfan and Ma’arifah, the nearness, the spirituality, the hidden knowledge, the inner knowledge, the ‘Ilm-e-Baatin, the ‘Ilm of the soul.’
So look, my brothers, we are reading the Qur’an, so we have to speak openly. The Qur’an has many lessons that we can derive, but today, the Qur’an is telling us about the biggest Fitnah of this day and age. It is identifying it to us and saying ‘Oh human being, come out of this trench that you are in. Get out of the mud that you are stuck in and see the truth of your situation.’ The biggest Fitnah of Islam today is this. The ‘Uloom of Shari’ah has two parts – ‘Ilm-e-Dhahir and ‘Ilm-e-Baatin. Insan has separated these two and he is now stuck. All Fitnahs arise from here, all the Firqas, cults, sects, groups. Wherever you look, these have arisen due to this reason, that we have forgotten an essential part of ‘Ilm-e-Shari’ah, which is ‘Ilm-e-Baatin. This is one of the two parts of the Shari’ah, which is proved from the Qur’an. When Allah ta’ala said to Hadhrat Adam alayhi salam ‘Explain this to the angels’, Hadhrat Adam alayhi salam didn’t present ‘Ilm-e-Dhahir because the angels didn’t need the practical form of the Shari’ah in the heavens. What ‘Ilm did he present to them, that was beneficial to them as Allah says in this verse? When he described the names, the ‘Uloom to them, they understood. The angels understood that this is what they needed. They were shocked and surprised and said ‘How can human beings have this knowledge? How can they attain such high stages and ranks?’
These were all the qualities and levels that I mentioned before. They are so high that you cannot explain or give adequate commentary. The tongue gets lost if it tries to detail the realities of these ranks and levels that a person passes through when ascending and becoming closer to Allah. Yes, human beings, thousands, tens of thousands of the Naqshbandi Mashaykh and the Awliya’llah have ascended these ranks and levels. You can also attain this if you are given lessons from a Sheikh. Say ‘SubhanAllah’ – we are so fortunate! Whichever student is given a lesson, that lesson can take you to its Maqam.
Let me give you a little bit of explanation about this Fitnah that I am trying to tell you about today from the Qur’an. Every verse proves the Shari’ah, the Sunnah, and Tasawwuf - Allah allows us to learn this. {قَالَ يَـٰٓـَٔادَمُ أَنۢبِئۡهُم بِأَسۡمَآٮِٕہِمۡ} Allah is explaining the ‘Ilm of Shari’ah and Tasawwuf from this verse. The angels were dumbstruck, you could say. Today, the Nafs and shaytan have overwhelmed us by saying ‘Take this ‘Ilm of Shari’ah and read, give speeches, listen, and praise the clever, technical points when you hear them.’ Is this not the case today, my brothers? But nowhere can you see people attaining the Ma’arifah of Allah through this one form of Shari’ah. Human beings cannot attain Ma’arifah this way. Show me a human being who has attained Ma’arifah just through bayans and technical knowledge of Shari’ah, the ‘Ilm-e-Dhahir, the external knowledge. It is impossible. The Qur’an has explained this, so you should never imagine that you can attain the closeness to Allah by this means. It is proven that the ‘Ilm that was given to the angels made them exclaim ‘What? Human beings have this ‘Uloom?’
The other side of the Fitnah that has occurred today is that some people have left that ‘Uloom, the ‘Ilm-e-Dhahiri, and rely solely on their inadequate understanding of spiritual knowledge, whilst shunning and disregarding the physical, external aspects of ‘Ilm-e-Shari’ah. This is the other extreme. The Darajaat I mentioned that can be acquired in the Silsila Naqshbandia are not exclusive to Silsila Naqshbandia. There are Darajaat in every Silsila. But people today have made a game and played tricks with ‘Ilm-e-Baatin. Many Pirs today have changed this ‘Ilm and say ‘We don’t need ‘Ilm-e-Dhahir. Halal and Haram don’t matter – everything we do is fine. We don’t need to pray Salah. I am sat here but I am praying in Madina – I can float there. My Ruh is in Makkah so I don’t need to go to the Masjid and pray in congregation.’ They control Jinn and show magic to people and trances and potions so that people run after them and think they are brilliant. They worship the Nafs and say ‘He is the greatest Wali of Allah.’ They have twisted and turned the Deen of Islam to the extent that they distort the ‘Ilm-e- Dhahir and say that singing and music are allowed. They jump up and down and have mixed gatherings of men and women where Qawalis with musical instruments perform. They try to spread their Deen with no knowledge – they have instituted a new ‘Ilm-e-Baatin. They have introduced innovations into ‘Ilm-e-Baatin.
So there is a double Fitnah now. The first group take only ‘Ilm-e-Dhahir and have left ‘Ilm-e-Baatin and earned Dunya, while those who say they practice ‘Ilm-e-Baatin have left Halal and Haram and the ‘Ilm-e-Dhahir and have made their own Deen and their own ‘Uloom. I won’t call their centres Khanqahs, those places where men and women attend their functions and such wrong actions take place that you would be shocked if you saw it. Your jaws would drop. They think that their gatherings of dancing will take them to Allah, and they deny the importance of ‘Ilm-e-Dhahir and claim that they have the true knowledge of ‘Ilm-e-Baatin. This is a big Fitnah in this day and age. Allah ta’ala sent His Deen so that we could obtain His Ma’arifah, and people are cashing in on it. They have totally disfigured, dishonoured and spoiled Tasawwuf. They have put a stain on its reputation with their controlling of Jinns and foretelling the future, claiming to have hidden knowledge and telling people they know all about them and can do this and that for them, including predicting their future. People have forgotten that the point of the inner knowledge is to attain Allah’s Ma’arifah and His nearness. Lives are spoiled, as people trust them to assist them and think that through their Duas, their problems will disappear in minutes. They seek to control their wives, servants or husbands – the complete reverse of the objective for which Allah gave that ‘Ilm, which was to obtain His nearness. Instead, we have created Fitnah out of it in today’s society.
The first group take ‘Ilm-e-Dhahir and leave ‘Ilm-e-Baatin, and the second group take ‘Ilm-e-Baatin and leave ‘Ilm-e-Dhahir. You will see big conferences and speeches from both, but no man or woman can reach the closeness to Allah in this way. There is just enjoyment in the sharing of knowledge. There is a magic in speech alone, in Taqrir. People can be entranced, enjoying the stories of events from Islamic history and past nations, and delving into meaning, but the impact upon the lives of the listeners is negligible. The speakers tailor their words towards the audience so that they enjoy what they hear, and it becomes like Jackanory, like story time. ‘Oh, let’s go to that scholar and listen to him today – we enjoy his talks.’ But they don’t derive anything beneficial from them. Or the speaker is billed as a big Ashiq-e-Rasool and a great lover. If you go to some Masjids or Khanqahs where conferences are held, women are dancing! They claim to be going to Madina, and someone puts a necklace of flowers around their neck and they dance in a trance. People say ‘Oh, she’s in a trance; she is showing her passion.’ And the dancer says ‘Put a garland of flowers around my neck, for I am departing for Madina.’ This is what they say. These people have spoiled and dishonoured ‘Ilm-e-Baatin, the knowledge of the soul, while the others have taken ‘Ilm-e-Shari’ah and disregarded ‘Ilm-e-Baatin.
The Qur’an is telling us: {قَالَ يَـٰٓـَٔادَمُ أَنۢبِئۡهُم بِأَسۡمَآٮِٕہِمۡ} – ‘Oh Adam, ‘Ilm-e-Dhahir is the knowledge that I have given to you to utilize in the world, and this knowledge of Halal and Haram is not useful for the angels. So explain to them that ‘Ilm-e-Baatin, the ‘Irfan, the Ma’arifah of Allah, and show how you humans who live on the earth will be higher than these angels.’ These Asbaaq, these lessons that we do Dhikr on, is what Allah ta’ala instructed Hadhrat Adam alayhi salam to teach and instruct the angels,
So these are the two Fitnahs that we need to save ourselves from my friends. We need both types of knowledge to attain the nearness of Allah. We need ‘Ilm-e-Dhahir, the physical implementation of Shari’ah on earth, and also ‘Ilm-e-Baatin so that we can attain Allah ta’ala’s ‘Irfan and Ma’arifah. If we leave either of these, we will be failures. As I explained to you – listen closely here - if you have some Asbaaq, lessons, that your teacher has taught you, the first lesson is on Latifah al-Qalb. Learning Allah’s Name on the heart is such a great Sabaq that your soul starts to float and fly to the heavens. I am telling you the reality of this here, and this is the Maqam of Latifah al-Qalb, the very first one, so imagine a person who does Dhikr of Allah on all seven Latifahs. But our Yaqeen is low, and Nafs tells us ‘Oh leave it; it is a waste of time.’ Shaytan and Nafs say to us ‘You should be able to see what you are attaining. What is the purpose of all of this that you are doing?’ The first doubt, or question rather, that the angels put to Allah was ‘Oh Allah, we are made of light while they are made of clay, so why are You putting the crown of Your nearness upon their head?’ This was their question.
We don’t have the Yaqeen today. Allah ta’ala is saying ‘I have given you My ‘Uloom in order to get to My nearness, so follow these principles and directions and attain My nearness.’ When your Sheikh gives you these Asbaaq, or your Ustaadh gives you these lessons and teachings and tells you to do Dhikr on these Asbaaq, then what do we need to do to attain that Maqam? Listen to this carefully. To attain these Maqamaat and levels, we need to do total Amal on ‘Ilm-e-Shari’ah. Those people who are practicing ‘Ilm-e-Baatin through the lessons of Dhikr and crushing the Nafs and the desires, the first condition is that they practice totally, one hundred percent, on ‘Ilm-e-Shari’ah. Then they will attain the Maqams. I swear by Allah, when your Sheikh teaches you a lesson, do it properly, but the essential condition is that the Shari’ah must also be implemented completely. SubhanAllah. Why do students not ascend through these Maqams and reach these heights? The reason is that we are weak in ‘Ilm-e-Dhahir. Our physical practice is weak, so the bicycle cannot function. The first requirement of ‘Ilm-e-Baatin, the inner knowledge, the knowledge of the soul, is that your Rizq should be Halal. If our Rizq is not Halal, and we have not fulfilled the most basic condition of ‘Ilm-e-Dhahir, and have not implemented the laws of Shari’ah on the earth, then how can we ascend the levels of ‘Ilm-e-Baatin? We can never do so because we have contaminated ‘Ilm-e-Dhahir. All the principles of ‘Ilm-e-Dhahir, of the physical Shari’ah on earth, must be implemented. Our Rizq must be Halal, and all of the sins of the Baatin, our lying, backbiting and so on, these are also regulated by ‘Ilm-e-Dhahir. We have to control them in the way we have been taught in Hadith. The more we control them and implement both ‘Ilm-e-Dhahir and the lessons that our teacher teaches us, the more we shall ascend to these great levels.
These are such great lessons that even if a stone is taught them, he will start to remember Allah! These are high Maqams that the teacher has given you. If you have been given fifteen Asbaaq, or ten or eleven, how can we still be committing sins? Such a person says ‘Oh, I am not feeling good and I am not close to Allah’, but how can it be that you are not close to Allah? These are Maqams of Haq, of truth – the Qur’an is testifying to this. {قَالَ يَـٰٓـَٔادَمُ أَنۢبِئۡهُم بِأَسۡمَآٮِٕہِمۡ} This is the knowledge that the angels learned from Hadhrat Adam alayhi salam. The human being became the teacher, the Ustaadh of the angels, and they were amazed and said ‘We accept and embrace your teaching. You have given such superb Maqams to us.’ These are the Maqams that are being taught to us today, oh students, so why don’t we learn and ascend and get promoted? The reason is that we are weak on ‘Ilm-e-Dhahir, the practical, physical implementation of Shari’ah. Our Rizq is Haram and our Baatin is dirty and impure. We lie, we backbite, we slander, we gossip-monger, we have hatred and do impure deeds, and at the same time we do ‘Allah, Allah.’ We do the Asbaaq that we have been given, but at the same time we do Haram actions which contaminate and mix with everything.
So the Sheikh explains the lessons to you and takes you to that level, but the door is slammed and you cannot open it unless you work hard yourself on the principles of ‘Ilm-e-Dhahir. Where Shari’ah says stop this, then refrain; this is wrong, so don’t do this action. Take hold of the path of the instructions of Shari’ah. This is why it is said that every decision of your life and all your actions should be based on the ‘Ilm-e-Dhahir of the Shari’ah. If you want to become a Sufi and attain Allah’s nearness, this is essential, for without it you cannot reach that Maqam. This is the Mujaahidah, this is the struggle. Both parts of the Shari’ah, when practiced together and in parallel, will take you to Allah. Then it is about the extent of the effort of the Mureed – how much he controls himself, how much he observes Shari’ah. My Hadhrat, Noor ‘ala Marqadah, gave me the Maqams when I went to him, alhamdulillah, and then he said to me ‘These are the principles of ‘Ilm-e-Dhahir, so avoid what is unlawful and Haram, and remain steadfast on this.’ That’s it. There was no negotiation, no weekly knocking on my door to ask ‘Are you doing this? Are you avoiding that?’
If you have passion and desire, you can attain such great Maqams, Maqams that when you attain them, the angels are shocked and dumbfounded, saying ‘Where has this human being gone to?’ That is what I said before - that the tongue cannot explain the nature of those Maqams. It is not capable of describing them. I am not speaking about myself and saying that I am on this Maqam. Pray for me that I can get there and ascend to those levels because I am incapable, but Hadhrat Sahib took me to that Maqam, and taught me that Maqam and explained that Maqam to me, and the impure tongue cannot form the words to describe the brilliance of the Maqam that my Sheikh took me to. He sent me there. Whether I have ascended to it or achieved it or attained those Maqams, that is based on my ‘Ilm-e-Shari’ah, on how much Amal I have done on the physical Shari’ah, on how much I have restrained myself and stopped the physical sins. If I want to attain that high level that Allah ta’ala has given us permission to strive for, then I will get there if I implement ‘Ilm-e-Shari’ah.
So what we learn from all of this is that the Maqamaat, the levels and the ranks that lead to Allah’s nearness are there before us. They are reality and are also a part of Shari’ah which is called ‘Ilm-e-Baatin. There are two parts to Shari’ah: ‘Ilm-e-Dhahir and ‘Ilm-e-Baatin. You know, when we talk about Sufism and Tasawwuf, it is not separate from Shari’ah. It is one and the same – Shari’ah is Tasawwuf, and Tasawwuf is Shari’ah. Without ‘Ilm-e-Dhahir, you cannot attain Allah, and without ‘Ilm-e-Baatin, Tasawwuf, you cannot get to Allah. You need ‘Ilm-e-Baatin and ‘Ilm-e-Dhahir. ‘Ilm-e-Dahir will tell you ‘This is right; you should do this in this manner; you can compromise here, and leave that under these circumstances; this is Mustahabb, to be preferred’ and so on. You have to learn that ‘Ilm, but not every person is an ‘Alim; not everyone goes to a Dar-ul-Uloom, so look at Allah’s Deen. When a person arrives into the company of a Kamil, complete, honest, Sadiq Sheikh, SubhanAllah, the brilliance of ‘Ilm-e-Ludni is such, the ‘Ilm-e-Baatin is such that automatically, due to the Barakah of your Sheikh, all of the principles of ‘Ilm-e-Dhahir will come into your heart – what is Halal, what is Haram.
We learn from Hadith that the greatest Mufti is your heart, your Qalb, for it will tell you what is right and wrong. You don’t need to go to a Darul-‘Uloom. It is not necessary or essential, because your heart will become a Mufti. Acquiring ‘Ilm-e-Dhahir does not necessitate going to a Darul-‘Uloom for years and learning the Fatwas. Obviously, that is the institute where such knowledge is learned, but not everyone in the Muslim world can go to a Darul-‘Uloom, can they? Does that mean that they lose out? A beautiful door is opened as soon as you go to the Sheikh. Obviously, you cannot get to these Maqams if you do not have ‘Ilm-e-Dhahir. You have to physically implement the Shari’ah. But Allah has prepared such a system that when a true, honest, sincere Mureed goes to the Kamil Sheikh and says ‘I want to get to Allah’, even if you do not formally learn the ‘Ilm-e-Dhahir, if you implement the ‘Ilm-e-Baatin that he gives you, that ‘Ilm gets absorbed by the heart and he starts to learn ‘Ilm-e-Dhahir. He doesn’t become a Sheikh-ul-Hadith or a Sheikh-ul-Fiqh, but he becomes respectful towards Halal and Haram. I can guarantee this absolutely. Rather, in the words of the Qur’an I tell you: all of my Mureeds, reverts, those who came from Hinduism to Islam or from Christianity to Islam, they didn’t open any books of Fiqh, but after learning the Asbaaq, they immediately learned what was Halal and Haram. They know everything about lawful and unlawful, and have no excuse that they don’t know what the physical implementation of the Shari’ah entails, because when the Qalb is purified, when the heart becomes a Muttaqi, then a person will never be in doubt as to what is Haram and what is Halal. He will never compromise and will not put forward any excuses. Allah has arranged things is such a way that when you learn ‘Ilm-e-Baatin in a Sheikh’s company, when he teaches you ‘Ilm-e-Baatin and Tasawwuf, if you do not have ‘Ilm-e-Dhahir, do not worry, because when you learn from him and start to purify the heart and it becomes necessary to know and implement ‘Ilm-e-Dhahir as well in order to benefit, then don’t worry because Allah ta’ala has put such Barakah, blessings and inspiration in ‘Ilm-e-Baatin that when you go to a Sheikh, a teacher of Tasawwuf, SubhanAllah, such Noor will develop in your heart and such passion, strength and intensity that you will recognize what is Halal and what is Haram. Adab, respect and comportment will be instilled, and you won’t make excuses and your conscience will tell you if something is right or wrong. Tell me - is this is the case or not? Will you testify to the truth of this? You didn’t go to Dar-ul-‘Uloom, but you don’t make excuses that you do not know. Where there are involved and technical questions that you cannot work out the answer to, of course you go to a Mufti and ask, but you will know what is right and wrong in the basic daily Masaa’il. You will know.
InshaAllah, we will conclude on this point, for time is short. We will go forward with the next points and will continue next time inshaAllah. The great brilliance of the Qur’an is coming out that Hadhrat Adam alayhi salam made all the angels Sufis, MashaAllah. He made them Sufis because they had no link with ‘Ilm-e-Dhahir, so he taught them ‘Ilm at-Tasawwuf and they became Sufis and students of Hadhrat Adam alayhi salam. Even today, alhamdulillah, they look at human beings in the light of this teaching. Those people who learn ‘Ilm-e-Baatin from a Sheikh today, the angels in the heavens do Du’a for those devotees. There is a Hadith about this. Angels are solid friends because Hadhrat Adam alayhi salam made them Sufis. They are happy and say ‘Look! They are learning that ‘Ilm-e-Baatin that Hadhrat Adam alayhi salam taught us. These devotees are learning this from their Sheikh.’ So every Sufi, every human being who is obtaining Allah’s Ma’arifah and nearness, the angels are their friends. Angels do Du’a for them, SubhanAllah, and Astaghfar for them. The Karameen-al-Arsh, a specific group of angels, do Du’a for them, and if they do commit sins, because they are human beings, then the angels say ‘Ya Allah, Astaghfar! Forgive that person because he is on the journey of Your Ma’arifah and Your ‘Irfan.’
So my brothers, you are learning this ‘Ilm so don’t waste it! If you waste it, then know that the biggest loser on the Day of Judgement – I tell you now, clearly – the biggest loser is he to whom Allah gave ‘Ilm-e-Baatin and then he wasted it; the person who was given the ‘Ilm of the Qur’an, but then he didn’t implement the Qur’an; the person who was given ‘Ilm-e-Hadith, and then he just used it for speeches and bayans and conferences and technicalities without acquiring ‘Ilm-e-Baatin. He remained devoid of Amal. He will say ‘Oh Allah, I am the biggest loser! How I regret that I wasted my life on planet Earth!’
The objective of life for which we are obtaining ‘Ilm is ‘Ilm-e-Ma’arifah, the nearness to Allah. So, my friends, don’t waste either of the two parts of ‘Ilm-e-Shari’ah. How do we waste it today? You are not utilizing and implementing ‘Ilm-e-Dhahir. You haven’t learned what is Halal and Haram and are not following the principles. Also your Baatin is dirty – lying, gossiping, consuming Haram Rizq, these are all barriers. You may be doing Dhikr and have received many lessons, but they all have padlocks on. These are the biggest losers. Just like a person who has Qur’an and Hadith, but he doesn’t read the Qur’an; he has Qur’an in his heart, but he sleeps on it. If you seal a fragrance inside a bag, it will not come out – this is explained in a Hadith – and in the same way, this ‘Ilm that you are learning, this ‘Ilm-e-Baatin with its Asbaaq and levels and Ruhaniyyat, its blessings are locked away because you are not implementing ‘Ilm-e-Dhahir. You are not following the Shari’ah, and you are not accepting Halal as Halal, and Haram as Haram. You say that immodesty is allowed and singing and dancing, while everything at home is Haram. You are doing Tasbeeh, and you say that you are the Mureed of such and a such a Sheikh and are thus forgiven. You say ‘I am Farooqui Sahib’s Mureed’ – yes, you are my Mureeds, but I tell you one thing clearly: I have taken you to that Maqam and have taught you the Asbaaq, and I have stood you at the bank of the river and given you permission, but you will only unlock the padlock when you implement ‘Ilm-e-Dhahir, when you accept Halal as Halal, and Haram as Haram. When both rivers flow together, then your Maqam will be so high that the angels will be envious. They will say ‘Adam alayhi salam, our Ustaadh, taught us this ‘Uloom.’ This is the ‘Ilm of which Allah speaks: {قَالَ يَـٰٓـَٔادَمُ أَنۢبِئۡهُم بِأَسۡمَآٮِٕہِمۡۖ} – ‘Oh Adam, explain to them what will benefit them’, so Hadhrat Adam alayhi salam became their Ustaadh, and he taught them ‘Ilm-e-Ma’arifah, the nearness of Allah. That is what we are learning today.
وأخر دعوانا أن الحمد لله رب العالمين