On witnessing

Bismillah.

This is a partial transcript of a lesson by one mu'aleem in Malaysia. I am not going to mention his name or else his 'ardent' students might question me for sharing this. I am doing this for the sake of friends who due to distance and circumstances could not attend the majlis ta'lim and for friends who did attend but needed a summary to aid their understanding. Bismillah.

He said:

You must have a guru whom you love. You must know him well and recite al-Fatihah for him. As far as 'ilm ruhaniah (knowledge of the spirit) is concerned, you need a guru, you cannot work at it on your own.

Tasawwuf haqiqat (the reality of Sufism) by description is to look at something with the physical eyes. By definition it means seeing and understanding Allah in your heart -  his name (asma), attributes (sifat) and essence (zat). 

Shuhud wahdatul af'al means that you understand that He is the only doer of all actions e.g. sickness, happiness etc. You must learn this first before you progress to shuhud wahdatul sifat and shuhud wahdatul zat. You must keep witnessing Allah with sir/asrar, with the eye of your heart (fu'ad). This is an honorable state of a Sufi. If your heart has not experienced this state of witnessing, it shows that you have not yet 'arrived'. Your heart should be in a constant state of witnessing. Then Allah will carry you on to a higher plane. If you attained shuhud you will achieve true freedom. You will not be a servant to any other than Allah. This brings you to fana (annihilation). Nothing remains in your heart save Allah. No makhluk (being) resides in your heart. Hence, you return to alam lahut where you made the pledge when asked Alas tu birabbikum?  (Am I not your Lord), when you promised to obey Him and not your brain or desires. You would then understand His right over you and your right over Him. When you understand His rights, you will truly appreciate His bounties on you, your food, etc. Every little nikmat (blessings) you get is from Him. You will be grateful and honor His blessings. When you eat, you would eat to the last bit and when you drink, you drink to the last drop. Honoring His bounties means honoring Him. Never glorify makhluk (people), but always recognize and acknowledge everything as His actions. But keep it in your heart, never profess it with your tongue. You should speak just like everybody else but in your heart, you know that all is His actions. Do not reveal the secret. For example: when you see people getting divorced, you should know in your heart that it is all His doings. Do not question why. Always say La hawla wala quwata illah billah or Inna lillahi wa inna ilai hi rajiun. 

One who has attained mushahadah will not dare act or presume things ahead of time, ahead of His takdir (decree). Until and unless Allah reveals His secrets or plans, one should not forecast or try to foretell His actions. That is why you are not allowed to be a fortune teller. Only then your tawhid becomes pure.  

If you truly have accomplished witnessing, you will not go after worldly attractions. You will only be obsessed with Allah because you fully understand that everything that you have is on account of Divine Intelligence. The sweetness of sugarcane comes not from itself but from Him. You see His attributes al-Bari', al-Musawwir - His Essence at play. He decides on your looks from azali. Your parents could not determine your appearance. And you cannot change your looks. All that you have will be returned to Him so prove yourself with obedience. Improve your obedience. Go back to worshipping Him. Return to Him. Repent! 

He decides our qadar - our provisions, our characters, our status. We did not achieve all these with our own effort, neither did we inherit it nor did we achieve it with our own intelligence. Never feel inferior to your appearance or poverty. Never feel small when you are with those who are more attractive or richer than you.

You must be a salik so that you would be freed of akwan and aghyar; so that you would truly glorify your Lord and be sincere towards Him. When you give sadaqah (gift) to your neighbor, you are actually giving Him. Any good deeds you do, you do it for Him. So you do things lillahi taala with utmost sincerity.

Witness His acts so you glorify Him and not people. When you perform ibadah (worship) you would do it for His sake and not show off to people. Surrender yourself to Him completely. That is what taslim is all about - surrender your affairs to Him. Let not your affairs be tainted by makhluk, nafs or even your intelligence (akal). As taught by Habib Muhammad, your actions must be based on:

1. Bismillah Rabbi Allah

2. Bismillah hasbi Allah

3. Bismillah tawakaltu allAllah

4. Bismillahi iqtasamtu billah

5. Bismillahi fawadtu amri illAllah       

6. Bismillah il tajatu illAllah

7. La hawla wala quwwata illah billah

Be an ahlillah (people of the Lord) who is 'crazy' (intoxicated) about his Lord, not one who is crazy about asbab such as gourmet food, yacht and all the things that the wordly people are crazy about.

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Wallahu a'lam.

May I be forgiven for any errors in transmission.