Dr. Nour Kabbani

14th Ramadan 1441 / May 7, 2020

Bismillaahi ‘r-rahmaani ‘r-rahim
Assalamu’alaikum warahmatullaahi ta`aala wabarakatuh,

WELCOME! Welcome everyone, may Allah ﷻ always make us happy. Mawlana Shaykh Nazim said that when Allah ﷻ created Adam, before Allah breathed the soul into his body, Allah ﷻ rained down on his body for 39 years, and it was mat-harul huzun, rain of suffering, rain of sorrow. Then in the last year, mat-harul farah was sent down, rain of happiness, joy.

Grandshaykh says it is a sign that the life of Bani Adam is humoum, full of worry, suffering, sorrow, hardship, but it will end in joy, happiness. The last rain, which is the fortieth rain, is the rain of happiness. So, most of our life will be filled with difficulties. Allah ﷻ will give tests and trials, and He will see.

There was an `abd, a Waliyullah who passed away, and he said, “I am not sorry, I am not sad that I left Daarul-ahzaan, [daar means house, place or land while ahzaan is the plural of huzun, misery or sorrow.] I do not regret that I left this home, this land, this place of suffering; what I regret is that one night I fell asleep, that one day I ate in it and I regret the time I spent without dhikrullah.

Awliyaullah, when they come to dunya they expect misfortunes and troubles so they call dunya as daarul ahzaan, so what we need to do here in this dunya is as much as we can pray, as much as we can do sunnah fasting, as much as we can spend time with dhikr, remembrance of Allah ﷻ and our beloved Prophet ﷺ. And this is what we are doing now, remembering Allah and Rasulullah ﷺ through the wisdom of our Grandshaykh, Shaykh Nazim al-Haqqani.

Allah ﷻ has sent Awliyaullah and Anbiyaullah to help His creation. Grandshaykh said that there were forty days which Anbiya and Awliyaullah used to save Allah’s servants from the ocean of lust and lust, both lawful and unlawful. Awliyaullah use these forty days to save their mureeds from the lusts and lusts they have in their hearts, both lawful and unlawful. Why? So that they only focus on Allah ﷻ.

And the forty days is khalwat arba`een. There are two khalwas in a year, during which the Sadaati ‘n-Naqshbandiyyeen, Awliyaullah and Anbiyaullah of the past all took lessons from the Anbiyaullah. Sayyidina Rasulullah ﷺ has ordered or advised to perform i`tikaf for ten days (in the month of Ramadan); Sayyidina Musa (as) left his people for 40 days and this is mentioned in the holy Quran.

So seclusion for forty days is recommended by Awliyaullah to save us from the ocean of desires and lusts both lawful and unlawful. Usually this khalwat is performed from the 1st of Rajab to the 10th of Sha`ban, for 40 days and this khalwat is specifically to control lust.

Grandshaykh said – this is a door of mercy for us, for people who follow Awliyaullah and for people who want to follow Awliyaullah, for all of us; that just by intending to do khalwat, when it enters the first day of Rajab and someone says, “Yaa Rabbee, I intend to do khalwat for forty days as khalwat was intended by Awliyaullah and Anbiyaullah, I intend to imitate and follow them.”

With this intention, even if we just sit for half an hour, turn our hearts towards Allah ﷻ. Grandshaykh said, “Just half an hour, you turn your hearts to Allah ﷻ, you will be classed among those who do khalwat. Because every year–Grandshaykh says there is someone who is responsible for doing khalwat from the first day of Rajab to the 10th of Sha`ban with full responsibility, with full worship during those forty days, and that Waliyullah will bear the responsibility for the Ummah.

So every year–and this is the secret of the Naqshbandiyya Order, every year there is a Waliyullah who performs khalwat on behalf of the entire Ummah from the first day of Rajab to the 10th of Sha`ban, forty days. And he bears all their problems, sins, bad behavior, he will carry it for the Ummah.

Grandshaykh said whoever did khalwat for half an hour every day said, “Yaa Rabbee, I intend to follow Waliyullah’s intention to sit for half an hour, turning my heart completely towards You.” Even with 10 minutes or 20 minutes every day you do it with that intention, you will be classified as a person who really does khalwat arba`een with the Waliyullah. And the Waliyullah will look at you, and he is responsible for completing you towards your perfection.

You put part of that solitude as a seed–half an hour of solitude that you do, and that seed will grow. So, you put the seed in and Waliyullah will grow it into a big tree, and what is in that tree? Fruit. The fruit is the perfection of the tree. The tree is the origin, but what is the function of the tree? To bear fruit. Without fruit, the tree is almost useless.

So when you put in the seed, you do half an hour of solitude and intend, “Ya Rabbee, I intend to do 40 days of solitude and direct my heart to You.” The Waliyullah will bring the seed and a tree will grow from it and will bear fruit. You will travel with the Holy Prophet through the parts of the tree, through the branches of the tree until you reach your perfection. It will perfect you. What we need to do is to say, “Ya Rabbee, for this desire and this lust that I have, I intend to do khalwat as my Grandshaykh has recommended.

So if you make that intention for half an hour, Allah ﷻ will consider it as if you have committed khalwat, and that Waliyullah will perfect you into a perfect human being, who will not waver or be affected by whatever passions and desires come like waves into your hearts. You will be protected. The seed you plant will grow into a tree, and you will reach your perfection in the branches of the tree.

Sayyidina Adam (as) is like that. There are people where they are the Adams of their time, the Adams of their time. There are people who became Ibrahim waqtih, the Ibrahim of their time. There are people who become Isa waqtih, the Isa of their time. There is a group of people among the Ummah of Muhammad (peace be upon him) – namely the Awliyaullah who represent a certain perfection in their time. And what is the perfection of Sayyidina Adam (as)? His perfection is Knowledge about Asma, about names. What’s your name? The name of all creatures.

Allah ﷻ has taught him the name,wa `allama Adam al-asma’a kullaha, kullaha means everything. He has taught Adam the names of all his grandchildren, one by one. He had taught him the names of all the angels, one by one. He has taught Adam the names of all things, one by one. He has taught him the names of all the trees, one by one, all the flowers, all the rivers, all the elements, all the atoms, all of God’s creation, God has taught Adam all their names one by one complete with their meaning. You have the pronunciation wal-ma`ani, the name and the meaning. Allah ﷻ has taught him the names of all things, not only creation, He also taught him Asmaul-Haqq, He has taught him about the Names of Allah ﷻ.

The perfection of Adam (as) lies in the knowledge of names. We are the children and grandchildren, and Allah ﷻ has also given us this ability, to know the names, kullaha, everything. It is said that the spirit of Sayyidina Adam (as) is the seed for the tree of this entire universe. And his personality, his body are the fruits of the cosmic tree. He travels starting from his soul, passing through that cosmic tree until he reaches his bodily personality. As we said yesterday, you are composed of physical and spiritual beings and you have to travel from your physical side to your spiritual side in order to see your physical side.

So Sayyidina Adam (as) in his journey from his soul to his body he had to pass through the cosmic tree, and in his way he learned the names. What is harmful, what is beneficial, what is good and what is bad, he knows all of existence, all creatures until he reaches his body. And we are ordered to travel back. That’s why we do it, from qiyam to prostration. We are commanded to travel back past that tree to learn the names, to return to our origins, to our spiritual origins. So Adam (as) has done it and that Waliyullah will help you to your tree of perfection. If you only do it for half an hour a day, with the intention, “Yaa Rabbee, I intend to do khalwat from 1 Rajab to 10 Sha`ban,” and Waliyullah will perfect you.

The second khalwat took place from the 1st of Dhul Qa`idah to the 10th of Dhul Hijjah, for 40 days. So there are 2 khalwat in a year for 40 days. Try to get this one, because we have missed khalwat in the month of Rajab. I have also missed it, because I am also just learning it now with you guys. But when Dhul Qa`idah arrives, when the shahrul haram arrives, say, “Yaa Rabbee, for half an hour I intend, nawaytul arba`een,” and for half an hour sitting, doing dhikrullah, your heart will enter the Malakuti realm, into The beauty of Asmaullah wal Sifat through his journey Sayyidina Adam (as) through the Names of Allah ﷻ.

So when is it time for us to sit down for that half hour? Grandshaykh says there are three times that Shaykh, Grandshaykh looks at his mureeds every day and during these also Rasulullah ﷺ looks at his people, and at these three times also Allah looks at all His creation.

When this time is between Asr and Maghrib, Waliyullah, Grandshaykh looks at you, Allah and Rasulullah ﷺ looks at you. Then between Maghrib and Isha and half an hour before Fajr to 10-15 minutes after Ishraq. Try to be in these three times by turning your heart towards Allah ﷻ, seeking support from that Waliyullah, from Qutbul-Mutasarrif.

There is what is called the Qutub of today, Qutub Abdul Ahad, and there is also a Qutub called Abdu ‘sh-Samad, then there are four Awtaad, four Aqtaab, Sayyidina Muhyiddin Ibn `Arabi (q) has said, that there is North Qutub, South Qutub, Qutub of the East and Qutub of the West, there are four Awtaad, which are the Pillars of this world. And there are many more, in Turkish tradition, we say there are groups: Birlar, Üçlar, Yedilar, Kirklar, which translates: Ones, Threes, Sevens, Forties. It is also said that there is a group of seventy, also a group of seven hundred, three hundred and thirteen. So the beautiful servants of God never end. Try to be with one of them so you can be with all of them.

So try to turn your heart towards Allah ﷻ in these three times, even for half an hour, and that Waliyullah will perfect you from your knowledge, and your deeds. Spirit is knowledge. The knowledge of monotheism is already in your soul, but it has to reach charity. It is the fruit. Al-`ilm is the tree, its origin, and charity is its fruit. Where are the benefits? The benefit lies in the fruit of the tree. The benefit lies not in the tree, but in the fruit of the tree. So knowledge without deeds is useless, you have to find benefits from this knowledge by doing the deeds.

So do the intention to do half an hour of khalwat, and Allah will allow Waliyullah to perfect us.

What happens when we have been perfected? Grandshaykh said, “And hadhaa `amal, this charity will be the entrance of the light of true faith into our hearts.” With that light, nurul iimaan haqiqi will be a reason for futuhaat, for opening our hearts. Allah ﷻ said, waatu’l-buyụta min abwābihā “Enter your houses through the door.” (Surah Al-Baqarah, 2: 189), so when that nourul-imaan enters from the door, namely Awliyaullah, into our great-grandparents, into our homes, into our hearts, it will be an opening, a futuhaat for our hearts. And this opening will take away all worries and all sorrows. Thirty-nine years of rain of sorrow will end and one year of rain of happiness will begin. And that will be the reason for the arrival of makrifat with that authentic light.

By doing khalwat for half an hour at these recommended times Allah ﷻ will open our hearts nourul imaan haqiqi, and that light of real faith will wash away all dirt, all worries, all worries, all sorrows it will all be cleansed.

Have you ever heard the  holy verse,

وَٱلذَّٰرِيَـٰتِ ذَرْوًا

wa ‘dh-dhāriyāti dharwā
By (the wind) that blows the dust with force. (Surat adh-Dhariyat, 51:1)

He will come and clean everything. Ma`rifat, the knowledge of Allah ﷻ will enter the heart, and yaqeen will enter the heart. That will be the cause for health of body and happiness of soul, that is of that half hour. Insha Allah, Allah ﷻ will make us do both of these khalwats, even if it is for half an hour a day, you say, “Yaa Rabbee, with the intention of Waliyullah who is doing khalwat, I intend to match the intention,” Allah ﷻ will assign the Waliyullah to perfect you.

In that way, we are kept away from the ocean of lust and lust from this world. There is no other way, Awliyaullah will take us from there. It is from the first khalwat in the months of Rajab and Sha`ban, while the second khalwat is to get rid of ghadab, anger. So lust and ghadab, these are the two main enemies for humans, and these two khalwas will purify us. God willing, we intend to implement it.

Keep company with Awliyaullah, they will perfect you. They will take you to the Divine Presence in clothes full of light, full of beauty and splendor of Asmaul-Husna wal Siffat. Allah ﷻ taught Adam (as) names for us to learn. God willing, we can learn the names Asmaul Haqq wa Asmaul Khalq; Asma of Khaliq, the Names of the Creator and the Names of Creation, and then you will become the Khalifah of Allah ﷻ among His creatures. Inshallah ya Rabbee, make us among these lucky ones to follow in the footsteps of Awliyaullah, to be lifted up and saved from the worries of this world, from the evils of this world and enter into Your Ocean ya Rabbee, Ocean of Faith, Islam and Ihsan, yaa Rabbee amen, ameen, ameen, ameen…

bi hurmatil-habeeb wa bi sirri suratil-Fatihah.