Habib Husein began his
tausiyah by acknowledging the
tawfiq,
hidayah,
inayah and
rahmah of Allah for enabling us to attend the
majlis despite being occupied with all sorts of worldly matters. "Allah has inspired in our hearts and facilitate our steps to the
majlis. We have confidence that Allah shall shower His mercy, blessings, and forgiveness at this place. We hope none shall leave this
majlis without being pardoned for heedlessness, that illnesses will get cured and petitions are answered, be it favors of this world or the hereafter."
"By the blessings of our guru Shaykh Sayyid Muhammad Alawi Al Maliki the author of
Kitab Wa Huwa bi al'-Ufuq Al-a'la, may Allah strengthen our hearts in the days to come so that we are able to be present at such a
majlis."
"Fifteen centuries ago we learned from the Prophet about the virtues of this kind of gathering, that he had asked his companions to stop by
hilaqul zikri (gathering of remembrance)
and
hilaqul ilmi (gathering of knowledge), referring to them as heavenly gardens."
"It is highly commendable to gather for the purpose of making
zikir and studying the
deen. Tonight we have begun by praying and reciting
Ratib Al-Haddad. Imam al-Haddad was not only a Sufi, one who was learned in
Tasawwuf, he was also a pharmacist who mastered a concoction for both physical and spiritual illnesses. He had put together
Ratib al-Haddad when Yemen was faced with an '
Aqidah Revolution'. People from Tarim went to see him for a solution. He told them to come back after 3 days and that was when he first prescribed
Ratib al-Haddad. So Hadramaut and Tarim survived the 'revolution' and remained steadfast with
aqidah ahlul sunnah wal jamaah to this day. Hold fast to the
ratib, may it protect our
aqidah and that of our children and descendants."
Then Habib Husein went on to talk about
Israk wal mikraj, where Allah narrates the former in
Surah al-Isra' and the latter in
Surah an-Najm. Making reference to his guru's
kitab, he said the practice of 'celebrating'
Israk wal mikraj is common, it has got nothing to do with
shariat. Meaning to say it is not a
sunnah, wajib, makruh or
even bidaah. However, if one marks the occasion of
Israk wal mikraj in relation to or as a
wasilah to
Prophet Muhammad s.a.w then it becomes
wajib because it is compulsory for us to know the history of Rasulullah s.a.w as it is obligatory for us to know him.
"Anyone who says it is
bidaah is foolish because it has got nothing to do with
hukum. We celebrate
Israk wal mikraj so that it would heighten our appreciation and love towards the Prophet s.a.w. Some people argued about the accurate time to mark the event, whether it is in the evening or on the morning of the 27th of Rajab. Ulama too have different opinions on the exact timing of
Israk wal mikraj."
"Sayyid Al-Maliki, the author of the
kitab we are discussing tonight said this fact (not having an agreement on its timing) does not affect the event itself. On the contrary, anyone who says
Mawlidur Rasul is fixed on 12th Rabiul Awal or
Israk wal mikraj must be celebrated on 27th Rajab, which is in fact
bidaah. It is up to us when to commemorate the events because it has not been defined by religion. What is more important is that we take advantage of the gathering by instilling good values on people and fill the event with
zikir and reciting
ratib. Sayyid Al Maliki said (in the
kitab) that he has confidence that Allah would accept a gathering that is done for His sake even if the timing is not so accurate."
There are plenty of lessons we could learn from
Israk wal mikraj. Prophet Muhammad s.a.w has been granted special privileges and accorded many honors beyond the
Israk Mikraj episode. Allah has promised to pardon him should he ever commit a sin. He is the first and only person given the mandate to grant
shafaat and he will be the one and only who shall grant us
shafaat. When all other prophets will decline our plea for
shafaat, it is he Rasulullah who will say: "
Ana laha. Ana laha." His love for the
ummah is greater than a mother's love for her child. His concern for the
ummah is greater than his concern for his own family or that of himself. We all know what his last words were -
ummati ummati.
Another of his special privileges is
dakwatan mustajaba. His prayers are
mustajab as it is
ainiyah hinniyah, it will be granted there and then. He has reserved this one special privilege in the
akhirah so that he could use it for his
ummah.
Allah s.w.t has never addressed him by his name Muhammad. He is always called upon by his attributes -
Ya aiyuhan Nabi and never Ya Muhammad. The
mukjizah of the other prophets have all expired, but his
mukjizah is ever-living.
The Qur'an teaches us through parables of the past so that we can learn from the bygone civilizations in order to reflect on history and not repeat their mistakes. We learned about Ad and Thamud who were after worldly gains and who were not hesitant about displaying their wealth. Do not be like them or we shall perish as they did.
We learned from the Qur'an about tyrant rulers, so we should not be power crazy or we will end up like them. We also learned from the Qur'an about the success stories of
anbiya and
awliya. Prophet Musa had water gushed forth just by using his stick. Prophet Muhammad s.a.w had water flowed from his hands to feed 10,000 of his armies and their camels.
Half of the inhabitants in heaven will be the
ummah of Prophet Muhammad and the other half would be the
ummah of all the other prophets.
One lesson we learned from
Israk wal mikraj is that of
solat. We too could experience
mikraj five times a day through our
solat - mikraj of the spirit, heart, and soul towards Allah, leaving behind our
shahwat and
nafs to prove
that we are a servant of Allah and not a servant of our
nafs. Through
solat we witness the greatness of Allah. If you wish to be a world leader, walk the path of good and honor by observing
solat. But be cognizant, there is a difference between performing the obligatory duties of
solat and performing true
solat. It is the most important and sacred act of worship. Happy and prosperous is he who performs
solat for it will be the first and foremost thing that Allah will question.
_____________________________
Allahu a'lam.May I be forgiven for any errors and omissions.
The majlis was hosted by the ever-gracious Kak Ina & Ben of Ba'alawi KL.
