"Follow the solehin" - Habib Umar bin Hamid Al-Jailani

Bismillah.

Habib Umar bin Hamid Al-Jailani was the guest of honor at the Annual Grand Mawlidur Rasul & Haul of Shaykh Abdul Qadir Al-Jailani organized by the Al Wariseen Trust.

Habib Umar spoke to a packed audience at Masjid Tuanku Mizan, Malaysia, while Habib Tahir Al-Kaf acted as his interpreter.

He said:

Endless praise is to Allah for His blessings at this blissful event. And greetings of peace be upon the Beloved of Allah, his family, and companions.

This is indeed a blessed gathering as we make zikr to Allah and listen to the history of Rasulullah and the solehin. Allah has ordered us to follow in their footsteps, those who came before us, whom Allah had granted hidayah. We ought to emulate their noble characters.

We have gathered at this royal mosque so we pray for Allah to shower His barakah. Allah says in the Qur'an, 'whoever frequents a masjid, verily he is among the believers' and a hadith of the Prophet promises a reward of a castle for anyone who constructs a masjid regardless of the size. Such is the favor for those who care about Allah's House.

We are also grateful that the organizer Al Wariseen Trust has done a great job at managing this event. May Allah bless Shaykh Afeefuddin Al-Jailani. May Allah grant him a long life. The purpose of this majlis is to remember Shaykh Abdul Qadir Al-Jailani, one whose profile and history get mentioned regularly, one who had spent his entire life, day and night, in the manner that wins Allah's mercy. Certainly, Allah will honor anyone who conforms to His Rules. Allah gave Shaykh Abdul Qadir Al-Jailani an extraordinary inayah (support) that his listeners would take heed to each word he uttered. His sayings though very brief, carried deep meanings that people could publish voluminous commentaries on them. One short but profound sayings of Shaykh Abdul Qadir Al Jailani was this: "You should always be with the Haq until there is no one else in front of you. You should live among people while you don't have the slightest nafs (desires) towards them."

The calamities that have befallen Muslims are due to our failure to follow the practices of solehin as exemplified by the Prophet s.a.w. Shaykh Abdul Qadir Al-Jailani was one who loved the ummah of Muhammad. He once swore that if he were to have a special position in the eyes of Allah, he would help the ummah from beginning to the end. His love for the ummah was evident. And know that there is only one ummah, not two, not three. There is no ummat Muhammad and ummat Arab, there is no such thing. It's ummatan wahidah, there is only one. Therefore, no matter where we are, we must stay united. All Muslims are brothers to one another. Allah called upon us to reconcile two disputing brothers. Notice the word two. Allah did not say three or more. What Tun Abdullah Badawi had said in his speech earlier was true. The division among us would not have happened if we acted as brothers - al Muslim akhul Muslim. We are indeed related, so we should not cause harm or belittle our fellow brothers. In fact, the blood of Muslims is haram. It is not permissible to kill another Muslim. Yet we have strayed far from the Prophet's teachings. There can be no solutions to the current predicament that we are facing unless we go back to following the ways of the solehin, to whom Allah granted His hidayah. By all means, do follow them for Allah had guided them aright.

May Allah protect the Muslims and resolve all squabbles in Libya, Bahrain, Yemen, and Iraq. May Allah protect Malaysia and the Malays. May Allah protect the Haramain. O people, have confidence that we shall not leave this majlis unless Allah opens up our hearts and instills in our hearts the conviction that we are all indeed brothers.

Wallahu a'lam. May I be forgiven for any errors in my notetaking.