One occasion I was fortunate to attend, in a long time -- a talk by the venerable Habib Umar bin Hafiz in the early morning of 30th September 2019, at this beautiful blue mosque in Shah Alam, Malaysia.
Habib Umar's speech was translated into the Malay language by none other than Habib Ali Zaenal Abidin Al Hamid.
Below is my attempt to translate, verbatim, as much as possible. May I be forgiven for any errors or oversight.
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Praise be to Allah who makes us remember Him, with the hope that He would bestow upon us His bounties, while we humble ourselves to Him. We are cognizant of the fact that the honorable and lofty stature near Him, cannot be attained unless we humble ourselves to Him. As we pin our hopes on His great mercy; as we long for a great reward from Him. And that we plead for lights and guidance from His Prophet, the foremost of all guides. And that we bear witness, there is no god but Allah, the One and only God. From Allah, we come and unto Him is our return. That Allah is the Ever-living, who causes death and He holds power over each and everything. And we bear witness that Muhammad is a servant, a Prophet and Rasul of Allah. That Muhammad was His messenger, His beloved, one who brings forth light. While we are among the prophet's best people. That Allah lifts darkness by his grace. That Allah removes all calamities and hardships by the prophet's mercifulness. And that we plead to Allah that He sends salutations to an-Nabi Muhammad salallah alaihi wasalam, and unto his families and companions who were the source of wisdom. And those who followed the companions with a strong will. And may the salutations be upon his families and circles, and upon the muqarabbin those who are close to Allah, to the pious servants of Allah, and may the blessings reach us here, all who are present at this gathering. O Allah may you send the purest of salutations to the Prophet, may by the blessings that You grant to the Prophet, may you extend it to us. That, You bestow upon us tawfik (strength) so that we may worship You in the best possible manner. That You O Allah has granted us tawfik, the abilities to perform the Fajr prayers in congregation. That You O Allah has informed us about the angels close in rank with You, that they do indeed witness those who offer the Subuh prayers. And that one who makes way to the mosque for Subuh prayer will be accorded one reward for each step taken, and one sin removed thereby. And that each step is regarded as one who fights for Your sake. And that those who perform Subuh prayers shall remain in Your protection until the evening. And that You have ordered us to seek beneficial knowledge. And so we learned from Your honorable Prophet that one who makes a trip to the mosque looking for knowledge or to impart knowledge, he will be increased in ranks. That those fadhilah (benefits) that we are aware of and those which you kept hidden from us, that we are not aware of, and that everything we have done to be present here, is a manifestation of Your tawfik that You bestowed upon us. We are indeed grateful and we offer our praises to You O Allah.
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| Habib Umar bin Hafiz (right) with Habib Ali Zaenal Abidin (left) at Sultan Salahuddin Abdul Aziz mosque on 30th Sept 2019 |
We shall resume our reading of Kitab Al Hikam authored by Imam al-Haddad.
Allah grants wisdom to whomever He chooses. Those who are granted wisdom, verily have obtained plenty of blessings. Only those who have a good degree of intellect, the ahlul albab, would take heed. O Allah, make us, who are present here and those who are listening, among those who are intelligent. They the ahlul albab are keen on learning and with that knowledge, they are capable of motivating themselves to perform good deeds. And lights shall be upon them so that they become pure and thereby become close to You O Allah, by Your mercy O Allah Most compassionate.
In reference to Kitab al-Hikam, one who makes a habit of detaching himself from good deeds shall be deprived of plenty of goodness. "Azaim" is the plural for "azimah" - defined as one who has a strong determination in journeying towards Allah, with high spirits. A person who has azimah carries a heavy responsibility, that he/she shall ponder introspectively upon his/her actions.
In His summons to the Prophet, the Lord says: 'Once you make a determination, you should have tawakkal (place your trust) onto Allah'. There is no greater determination nor aspiration that could surpass that which was exemplified by Prophet Muhammad salallah alaihi wasalam.
Allah shall make a person's azimah (determination) and himmah (aspiration) a means (wasilah) for the person to attain a praiseworthy position. That all calamities would be eliminated from him/her. That the person will achieve an admirable goal. One who is determined should not depend on anything else, save his Lord. That is what we learned from the Quran, about the Prophet being asked to rely upon Allah though he might have a firm determination in doing something. Having reliance upon Allah is key, regardless of one's level of determination.
The Ulul Azmi is the elect few among all prophets and Rasul. The Lord, hence, asked the prophet to have patience as exhibited by the Ulul Azmi. There were five of them: Muhammad, Ibrahim, Musa, Isa, and Nuh. They were well known for their high degree of patience and the burdens they had to bear in carrying out their duties for Allah's sake.
Nuh faced tremendous challenges from his followers. They would beat him up until he passed out. Yet Nuh would immediately resume his dakwah as soon as he regained consciousness. His followers were rebellious, they would cover up their faces and ears. However, Nuh did not waver in fulfilling his responsibilities as a prophet. He had to face such severe retaliation, not for days, or months or one or two years, Nuh had to endure this for 950 years!
This is a good reminder for the obedient servants of Allah, that they could win greater rewards from Allah if they were to strengthen their determination for the sake of Allah. Thus, he/she should look for any good intentions or traits in the heart that he/she might have, and look for motivations to carry out the intentions wholeheartedly. Similarly, this should also be the attitude in getting rid of any bad deeds. The person should have a firm resolution in multiplying good deeds and in leaving bad deeds.
That he/she should not have any doubts nor be lazy about doing righteous deeds. Know that the devils are not in a position to derail a person who is intent on doing a good deed unless he/she is hesitant, lazy or lacking enthusiasm. As stated in the Quran, "the tricks of Syaitan (devils) are really weak."
You should come to Allah presenting your action, with all your might. And that you should not make it a habit to let your determination slack off. The Prophet reminded his companions to not be like the person (si fulan) who "used to perform the night prayers, but then he stopped."
Once you become accustomed to slacking on your determination, you will have the tendency to lose out on plenty of good deeds. The devils would take advantage of this person's weakness and influence him to forego his determination altogether.
Habib Umar related a story of the solehin who would immediately act upon any good inspirations that come to mind. Even when they were taking the ablution, they would just shout out to their family instructing them to put aside some money for charities. They did not wait, for fear that they might change their mind about the amount to be given away. It is also permissible to speak about carrying out a good intention (i.e. to free a slave) during solah.
The habib also narrated a story about Imam al-Bukhari making a trade offer amounting to 5000 [dirham] to a buyer who promised to come back the next day. Then came another buyer who offered to buy at triple the original price, but Imam Al Bukhari refused to revoke his initial determination to sell it off to the first buyer.
Habib Umar quoted a line from Imam Abdullah al Haddad's poetry:
"Take, O you who are determined, take with all your determination."
He/she who is intent on doing a good deed with resoluteness will find that Allah would open for him/her 70 doors of tawfiq.
May Allah grant us the capability to make a firm resolution and protect us from renouncing our intentions. One who has made a serious intention to do a good deed would be rewarded by Allah even if he/she becomes incapacitated, or somehow failed at carrying out the intention.
There is a hadith about one who makes an intention to perform the tahajjud (night) prayers but sleep had overcome the person. He would still be given the stipulated reward for his intention and that his sleep is considered a sadaqah from Allah. But, Habib Umar said, the intention must be strong in the first place and not just be a passing thought.
One should not procrastinate at carrying out his/her intentions and determinations, unless there is an unavoidable circumstance, and one should not be lazy either.
According to Habib Muhammad bin Abdullah al-Idrus, there are three criteria for a deed to be regarded as profitable and successful:
- ikhlas (sincere) for the sake of Allah
- to have a strong will and spirit towards the intended actions
- to depend solely on Allah for the eventual outcome of his determination/intention
He/she who finds these criteria present in his/her actions will be successful.
As said Imam al-Haddad, the person who continually gives up on his intention/determination, will lose out a great deal.
The following hikam (bezels of wisdom) is about conveniently fulfilling one's lower nafs. If one is lenient in accommodating one's nafs, then he/she should be prepared to fulfill even bigger demands from it.
We are therefore required to strive (mujahadah) in taming the lower nafs and direct it towards something that is more useful. Else, it would drag you to a worse inclination.
Sometimes we are faced with a situation that is "mubah" e.g. it is permissible to eat good food. So sometimes we develop a habit of eating in large quantities with an intention to gain and store energy for doing more ibadah. The devils would encourage us the same, without realizing that we have become used to overeating and eventually forget our intention to perform ibadah.
Nevertheless, one is discouraged to force one's heart, or it might be blinded in its actions. One should calm one's heart and soul on matters that are permissible (mubah or harus) yet one should be wary about controlling the lower nafs so that one would not end up being misguided.
As a seeker (salik) who journeys towards Allah, one must be skillful at managing one's lower nafs so that one's progress would not be hindered by evil influences of the lower nafs. The salik should also refer to his/her guru in order to get better guidance/direction on how he/she could better handle the lower nafs.
At the same time, one should be mindful of the tricks of shaytan who might convince one to undertake too ambitious an intention, something that is beyond one's capabilities. So that one is misled by the nafs, thinking that it is a noble intention whereas one might, in the end, become discouraged as one fails to achieve it. Therefore, one should be smart in phasing one's actions, breaking a big task into smaller manageable tasks.
But then again, one should be mindful that even as one gradually directs one's nafs towards a good action/ambition, the lower nafs might also mislead one to gradually succumb to its demands, slowly pushing the person towards an ugly deed.
Your presence at this masjid, on this day, at this time is a sign of your strong determination. May we leave this majlis with a good intention and resolve to do good.
May we leave this majlis with a firm intention to strategize for ourselves and our families on how we could make a solid resolution to elevate ourselves to an honorable position that is close to Allah, and that we remain in such state until the day we return to our Lord.
Imam Abdullah al-Haddad said:
"I am determined to cut all ties (wasilah) that prevent me from acquiring praiseworthy bounties from Allah
and that I forego my love for the dunya for it is a veil from reaping any good from Allah
and I shall fight shaytan and the nafs with the strength from Allah, and I shall disobey them both"
Take note of how Imam al Hadad relies upon the strength of Allah in battling with shaytan and nafs. He did not rely on his own strengths.
"And I shall leave this world behind me, until all that remains to be seen is Allah."
Imam al-Haddad ends his poetry with du'a which we will cite here:
"O Allah grant us a beautiful certitude,
O Allah grant us a beautiful certitude,
O Allah grant us a beautiful certitude,
and grant our hearts a strong will and a perfect certitude,
and grant us high spirits and beautiful patience,
may You grant us the lights of tawfiq that we may be steadfast,
may You grant us continued support
for, You are Everlasting, and that Your mercy encompasses all Your servants
O Allah grant us all that we wish from You
from Your generosities and not of our own debased efforts
O Allah grant us all that we wish from You
more than what we wish for
from Your bounties
and not on account of our own despicable deeds
O Allah we plead You to fulfill our wishes
more than we wish for
from Your generosities
from Your generosities
and not from our own efforts
not from our own efforts
O Most Generous
O Most Loving and Merciful
Accept all of us
Make this morning the best morning for us
and the best day for us
bless us this morning
grant our hearts a strong resolve and determination
and that You grant us from Your tawfiq
improve the state of our hearts
make better our deeds
straighten our words
protect our families and our children
and all our affairs
just as you improve the state of the solehin"
Habib Umar then went on to conclude his tausiyah with a heartfelt du'a:
Bless this masjid and its staff
all the imam and muazzin
and those who frequent it and make contributions
increase for them Your light and tawfik
from Your vast bounties
grant all of these
to us all, who are present, with Your glance O Allah
and the bounties from Your Compassion
of Your divine gifts
that we could attain high rank, near You
Protect us from calamities, both seen and unseen
grant to all Malaysians everything good
protect them from catastrophes
grant them good, now and in the future
grant them happiness in this dunya and akhirah
Look O Allah towards the Muslimin
no matter where they are
that Your glance may remove all our afflictions
so we may become close to You
and grant us everything good from You
grant us a strong resolve in getting near You
in all the actions that we intended
make us firm in our intentions
protect our hearts from the shackles of shayatin and nafs
from desires for this dunya
unfold to us Your bounties
that we may obtain felicity from Your gifts
that our ranks will be elevated
that it would be fruitful for us
Ya Ar Hamar Rahimin
Ya Akramal Akramin
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The full recording of Habib Umar's tausiyah, was published here:
https://www.facebook.com/masjidssaas/videos/2529219277358971/?fref=mentions&__xts__[0]=68.ARAIal7VcxsfqCr2-SmRxWPfZ9kQQXAU2g4PyzXyPT0jEv6qAf_nEaBUmlSLxMVvYDVwzvXOdo9HWidwr6G4YIhKFl7kpBG2LwwXzaH3W5oacl2ibXpoFbdUcUnAIR4fn-DA_NAvzDi12W_Nq2faajPoljsWC29Z_HiBnpzyO6SemONK_-XcEb8a2otm6pHhZYnj9wYaqrwY3zHLp3FqFCJZdMtBHzKhsuzt8Ouj_KGcIE1hL7WImt_azEtR353Nqf5PQpHPB1f_Htu1hFC9Iyl3QsPMpqTmpPXLpM13bNR-UJv7ET6cSD60NvhW9IE2sUJGL-q4VLS_OHjVBVZtPu74ylHuOQ&__tn__=K-R
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| Aaah...yes I said I would quit blogging. But sharing lessons by a special person like Habib Umar, matters to my heart : ) View from my hotel room. |
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