"Happy new hijrah year" - Shaykh Hisham Kabbani

Bismillah.

"Happy new hijrah year. Kullu 'amin wa antum bi khair. May Allah give you happiness and honor for you are ummat of Prophet Muhammad s.a.w."

Alhamdulillah, we have visited Australia, Singapore and now Malaysia. I...but I don't really like to say 'I'. The awliya, they don't like to say I. They use 'we' instead. 'I'  is egotistical. By saying 'we', it means all of us together. It also means you are not by yourself. You are not claiming that you are something without those who are with you. If you say 'I', it means you are on your own, as though you can decide yourself and do something without getting help from other people. 'I' by right, is only meant for Allah. It's better that we say 'we' as it is more afdhal, it shows that you have discipline, that you are nothing without those who are supporting you.

We are all supported differently by different people. Some of us are supported by our parents, our mother, our friends. Some are supported by awliya Allah, be they awliya of the lower level or the highest level. Some are supported by Sultan Awliya directly, those who are ghawth, there are five qutubs, they refer their matters to him. The ghawth are being consulted by 124,000 wali and ultimately all matters are being referred to Prophet Muhammad s.a.w.

I am speaking what Mawlana Shaykh Nazim is saying. We have been coming to Malaysia for 23 years already. People come and go, some disappear, some new ones come. Still, those who stay, those who left or those who are new, are all supported by awliya Allah through a chain. But you cannot jump the stairs in the way of sainthood or worshipping. We need to go one level at a time, step by step.

The 124,000 wali are responsible for the whole of humanity. Each one of them is assigned to look after a certain number of people. They are in turn managed by five qutub. The leader of qutub is the ghawth or sultan awliya. Some of them were known as the ghawth after their demise, while others such as Shaykh Abdul Qadir al-Jilani and Shaykh Bahauddin Naqshabandi were known as ghawth during their lifetime.

May Allah give a long life to Sultan Awliya Mawlana Shaykh Nazim who not only represents the two major tariqah Qadiriah and Naqshbandi but 41 tariqah. He is close to the Prophet s.a.w in sincerity and worship.

The awliya know each other. They know their limits. They don't transgress their limits unlike the pseudo-sufis (the mutamashikin). I want to tell you a story that has been narrated in different ways by Imam Ghazali, Ibn al-Arabi, Imam ar-Razi, and others. There is no tariqah without shari'ah. Shaykh Abdul Qadir al-Jilani said, if you see someone, a shaykh flying in the air, know that it is shaytan. That's because real awliya don't go against shari'a, they don't transgress their limits.

If a servant of Allah comes with a mountain of sins but his tongue is occupied with zikrullah from time to time, know that he will be forgiven due to his zikir and remembering Allah. Whether he says Allah...Allah or whether he repeats the Asma'ul Husna, he will find the mountain of sins collapsing, demolished. This shows that shari'at is important. Zikrullah is shari'at. You must know O son, that the customs of shaykh of naqshbandi and other tariqa is to teach you istighfar in order to make your sins vanish and to say salawat, sollu alan nabi.

I am speaking in the capacity of Mawlana Shaykh Nazim. I have received ijazah from many tariqah in addition to the Naqshbandi. We are taught to be enthusiastic in managing and administering the affairs of Naqshbandi Tariqah. Notice the two key words - manage and administer. When you have a secret and are given a title -  my title comes from the Prophet, Grand Shaykh and Mawlana Shaykh Nazim; you must manage and administer according to the Preserved Tablet. You must know each and everyone who is sitting in front of you. You must look at them day and night and inspire them to do right. Tariqah is not like playing golf, basketball, etc. We must be fully aware in every moment, aware of ourselves and those we are responsible for. We must be enthusiastic to manage and administer the affairs of tariqah correctly. Especially when there is no one among us who has ijazah tammah (complete authority). When Shaykh Bahauddin Naqshbandi said: Tariqatuna as-suhbah wa'l-khayru fi'l jam`iyyah, 'Our way is fellowship, and the goodness is in the gathering'. What he meant to say is that: 'Our way is to accompany you from the Day of Promise until you enter the Paradise.'

They are those who have full authority to put tariqah on your tongue, to give talqin. Talqin means to instill the teaching until your tongue becomes zakir. This is very rare in our tariqah, the rare of the rare. If one is not given the right ijazah to do this he is mutamashikin (a pseudo shaykh).  Be careful and know the difference.

By the way, Mawlana Shaykh Nazim sends his salam to you. He said, I want you to continue doing what you are doing. You are my ambassador. You are qutubul mutasharif. Qutubul mutasharif is one who is given authority and power. He works with the authority of the one who gave him the power. It's like a shared power with Sultan Awliya in order to fulfill his duties. Nothing moves without the knowledge of qutubul mutasharif, be it living or non-living objects. None receives water or food without his permission. Ijazah is through the heart of the giver to the intended recipient.

Mawlana Shaykh Nazim said, tell them, this year is a 'heavy' year. Change your turban to black turbans. The era of Imam Mahdi begins tomorrow. So make niyyat to be ready for it. When the black flags appear, that is good news!

O Muslim, O Mukmin, we are not claiming anything. Mawlana Shaykh Nazim always says I am nothing. But I have a button, if I push, I am something. This is a new era of full authority from Mawlana Shaykh Nazim. There will be plenty of conversions to Islam this year. We shall receive support spiritually and from the angelic power. Islam is the religion Allah wants for His servants. There is nothing to feel sad about because we are getting heavenly support. We do not have any weapons but we have got angelic power giving inspirations to the heart. Whoever says the shahadah even once will enter Paradise.

O people, step on your ego, open your heart...

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Wallahu a'lam.

May I be forgiven for errors in my choppy note-taking.

Please listen to the entire sohba recording at

http://islamicsupremecouncil.org/multimedia.html 

on 'The Age of Mahdi Has Begun'

Shaykh Hisham Kabbani speaking to daughter Sajedah
at tonight's majlis in Kuala Lumpur,
in conjunction with Maal Hijrah and Sajedah's birthday