Muhabbah
A believer must have
love (Muhabbah) for Allah and a connection with Him. The Muhabbah
(love) or an admiration for someone makes you do everything for the person you
admire. The Muhabbah does everything that seems difficult, easy. And as
a result, the unthinkable becomes feasible. As a person loves something, he
makes efforts to acquire it. If he really likes this thing, then he does not
care about time or money. He arrives at a point where he forgets everything. He
finds nothing around him (Nothing really matters for him except for the loved
one). Only one thing exists for him: it is the thing (or person) that he loves
and admires.
See a young man of
today who has just reached his 18th birthday. (When he loves), he
loves to such an extent that it becomes unbearable for him to live without the
person loved. Without hesitation he leaves the family roof to live with the
object of his love/ affection. He leaves his family, his mother, his dad, his
brother, his sister, his comfort and even his Deen (religion - Islam)
only for the cause of the loved one. He does all this with contentment and joy.
If we (Muslims) had this same (kind of) Muhabbah for Allah, then we
would never find the Deen (religion - Islam) difficult (to practice). We
would have suffered all with joy and contentment only for the love we have for
our Rab (Lord - Allah).
The practice of the Deen
would then become not only easy but also delicious. The example of the pious
personages is before us. They have not hesitated to give up whatever it is that
becomes an obstacle for them in their quest of Allah the Almighty. Hazrat
Ibrahim (as) has abandoned his kingdom in order to reach Allah the Almighty and
to acquire His love (literally: to acquire Allah). If someone can sacrifice his
honour, his dignity, his status for a corpse that will die and who is condemned
to become dust one day, then why can man (the human race) not give up everything for Allah Who is Al-Hayy,
Al-Qayyoum - Who has existed for all time and whose existence will never
stop (that is, His existence has neither beginning nor end). Allah is the One
who watches us all the time. He is a Being who is there for us all the time,
giving us everything we need.
That is why the Ulul-al-Ba'b (pious and
intelligent people) give all their energy, all their time, all their wealth,
and all that they have in their possession in (for) the pleasure of Allah the
Almighty. The pleasure of Allah The Almighty is in the Deen (Deen-i-Islam)
which means to live our lives according to the commandments of Allah The
Exalted and the holy ways and Sunnah (practices) of our beloved Nabi
(Prophet) Hazrat Muhammad (pbuh). There are many things that usually seem
difficult (to be achieved, to acquire) but which becomes not only easy but also
super delicious. If you really love someone, will it be difficult for you to
spend the night (i.e., a sleepless night) because of him/ her?
Young people (today)
are spending even nights in cries of joy and great pleasure only because of the
object of their contentment/ appreciation. He who loves Allah the Almighty will
not find it difficult to get up in the middle of the night for the cause of his
Rab. He really cannot explain what he really feels when he puts his
forehead on the ground in the Sajda (prostration) before his Rab.
What he receives in return is invaluable. But then, what does he really get? To
know this, the simplest way is that you do this experiment yourself. You will
then have an idea of what he really feels without the power and ability to
explain the reward you receive (from Allah).
So, we must recite this
duah (prayer): "O Allah, grant me
Your friendship and the friendship of him whose friendship will be beneficial
to me with You." Ameen. And to win this friendship,
you must have a strong connection with Allah the Almighty. To make you
understand this connection, let me explain it to you.
A connection with the
object of your affection is truly a source of extraordinary joy. Everyone wants
to make a similar connection. Without hesitation a person can make huge
spending in order to achieve this goal. Often you can read advertisements in
the newspapers that offer you to join and see your stars in front of you in
flesh and blood or to stand with them on the same platform or the same stag. This
offer is probably not a free offer. It is a paid offer that falls within the
range of Rs. 10,000 to Rs. 25,000 per person. It is a fairly high and
consistent sum. But that does not prevent people from going there! A person who
is passionate about these stars will pay (such exorbitant amount of money) without
hesitation to such an extent that even if the tickets are exhausted, but a
demand for those tickets and shows soars. This kind of person/ people at that
time does not look at his/ their spending. On the contrary, he takes this
spectacle/ show as a golden opportunity to meet his beloved (singular or
plural). All that attracts his admiration and which is found in his beloved
is something that Allah has created in them (in this case, desire, ability to
admire). We can become anyone (we want) through our performance, talent, and
personality, but we must never forget that amidst all this we remain, we are
truly a miserable beggar before Allah the Almighty. We live entirely at the
mercy and generosity of Allah Who is Rabbul-Aalameen (Master of all the
worlds).
Basweerah: Eyes of the Heart
If this beggar (in this
case, the star that is so dear to you) has the ability to attract and invade
the hearts and minds of thousands and thousands of people, then that gives us
an idea of what can happen to a person who receives a little glimpse of the
greatness of Allah the Almighty !!! Allah The Exalted Himself Who is the Source
of all can amaze us in the form of beauty, riches, talents, etc. Allah the
Exalted is Himself a so marvellous Being!!!
We distinguish the beauty of a
thing by looking at it with our physical eyes that is bound with our head. And
it's called baswaarah. This faculty, everyone has it and is what allows
it to admire a beautiful thing. It is because of this that everyone has a
tendency to be dazzled and amazed by a simple beauty. But most of us lack this
thing/ faculty/ capability that is called basweerah; That is to say, the
eyes of the heart (in other words, the faculty of seeing with the eyes of the
heart).
Appreciating the beauty,
value and benefit of the Deen practices depends on those eyes of the
heart that we call basweerah. It is this same basweerah that
allows us to feel/ see the greatness of Allah the Exalted. Given that we humans
are blind from this absence of the eyes of the heart, that is why we run behind
all attracting things without worrying about Allah the Almighty. As a result,
it becomes difficult for this kind of person to connect with Allah the Exalted.
So it becomes very essential or even indispensable for developing our basweerah
which is inside of us. And it (in other words, the ability to see with the eyes
of the heart) develops, in principle, by staying in company of the one who is
always in connection with Allah the Almighty.
What
does a person who receives a connection with Allah the Almighty really feel? The sense of well-being and the satisfaction that a
person feels when he is in the company of the one whom he loves with deep love
can finally give us an idea of what can really be felt in the establishment of a
(solid) connection with Allah the Almighty. This is only an idea, for
otherwise, in principle, this connection (with Allah) is incomparable and cannot
compete with other things, and we must live this connection with Allah to
better understand it. If all beauty and all talents are concentrated in one
object, even then this shall mean nothing before Allah the Exalted. And a
connection with Allah the Almighty will certainly surpass all that an object of
admiration (temporarily linked to this world) can contain.
So I pray that Allah
the Almighty give to each one of you the Tawfeeq to understand this
sermon today and together we must make much effort to stay with those who have
a connection with Allah The Almighty so that we receive this love to connect
with our Rab, Insha-Allah. Ameen.
---Friday Sermon of 03
March 2017---(03 Jamad'ul Aakhir 1438 AH) delivered by Khalifatullah Hadhrat Munir Ahmad Azim Saheb (atba) of Mauritius.