Bismillah Ar Rehman ir Rahim
A speech delivered in Razvia Mosque, Southampton on 27th May 2012. (Part 1)
Auzoo Billah Hi Minach Shaitwan nir Rajim
Hamari Niyat aisi Hai. To praise Allah, our Creator and the Maintainer of the worlds, and
to offer our humble thanks to Him for the blessings of His Prophets and saints, and
especially for the greatest of blessing he bestowed on mankind - I mean beloved Prophet
Muhammed (saw).
Also for those Saints He inspired to keep alive the true spirit of Islam through the ages.
In particular, today, we remember and give thanks for Khawaja Muinuddin Hasan Chishti
(ra) who was approved of Allah and deputed by Rasulallah to bring the message of the
Truth to a whole subcontinent. To make our reverential Salaams to him on the occasion
of his 'Urs. This is our intention today.
Brothers and Sisters. Let me ask you – do we live in a society that is in harmony with
itself or do we see, despite wealth and comfort and conveniences of all kinds, discord
and enmity?
You will tell me we see conflict between friends, between husband and wife, between
family members, between generations, between races, between colours, creeds and
cultures. Why is that when our creator is known also as Ar-Rehman. Let us seek an
answer from the Prophet’s and saints, the friends of Allah.
The Wise ones to Whom Allah has revealed such things tell us this:- before Allah
unfolded Time and Space: and Existence became existent, Allah, the Uncreated,
displayed His immeasurable, unfathomable, and unimaginable Light, unbounded by any
dimension.
That Light manifested, by its own Power, the Light of Muhammed – the Noor–i-
Muhammed which some also call the Logos. Thus just as the Sun and the Moon both
give light but are really only one Light, so the two lights are really one.
From that second light, the Nur-i-Muhammed, Allah created all the souls of men. First
he created Adam The perfect man, and then the souls of the perfect men. Thus Adam
like the souls was constituted of that Divine Light as His very spiritual substance. Adam
was then given a material form known as clay.
Hazrat Mevlana Jalaluddin Rumi (ra) and Hazrat Shah Wali Ullah of Delhi (ra) have
explained that this clay was made up of layers. Initially it was in a chemical and mineral
form. The best of this was enhanced to take on the quality of growth and became the
vegetal forms; some of this was further enhanced and took on the quality of independent
movement and became the animal form; then this animal form was enhanced to become
the human form. Into this Allah breathed the soul of Adam - who became your father and
my father: and from him Allah brought into existence our mother Huwa (Eve).
Therefore the clay of our physical existence has all these qualities in itself – mineral,
vegetal, and animal. Each of these received laws from Allah and each acts in
accordance with that law. Each of these is also within us, as is the law for mankind. But
Allah also gave man another power – so that even the mountains were afraid of it; the
ability to exercise a degree of free will.
Shaitan, the rebellious one, caused our parents to forget the Command of Allah, so all
men and women thus found themselves separated from that light by their forgetfulness of
the Divinity Himself.
The laws of Allah are written in to our every cell, into our very genes. Thus when we
forget Allah we no longer act in accord with those laws, so naturally conflict and
disharmony arise within us individually and therefore in society.
Hazrat Abu Said Abil Khair tells us that worldliness (duniya) is that forgetfulness.
Worldliness is not wealth and goods in themselves – the harm from them comes only in
that, like Shaitan, they may make man forgetful of Allah.
Prophet Solomon had fabulous wealth but remembered Allah, Pharaoh and Karun had
great wealth and power but forgot Allah. Rasulallah led a life of material simplicity but the
remembrance of Allah was alive in every cell of his being.
The holy Qur’an itself says there is no better thing before Allah than the remembrance
of Allah.
As a mercy ar-Rehman sent pure souls into the world; to remind man of what he kept
forgetting – that man’s origin is Allah, that his soul is in Allah, and that he will return to
Allah.
We know those persons as Prophets or Messengers (may Allah bless them each and
every one); they were brought into this world of clay through the wombs of blessed
mothers, which are a passage from the dimension in which the pure souls have their
being.
Their message is exactly the same in respect of its essence, but it was expressed
differently according to the culture and time into which that messenger was born. Some
messengers we know of, many we do not know – they came and did their work and
departed. They all taught Islam – that is to say submission to the Will of the One Almighty
God, submission to Allah. The particularities of the things they taught differed but
whether it was Prophet Ibrahim or Prophet Musa or Prophet Dawood, or Prophet Issa the
essential Truth they taught was one.
Thus to our Beloved Prophet Muhammed (saw) religion was given its final, perfect form
– though its essence was as it had always been.
For that religion to remain alive in the hearts of people and not to be merely form, Allah
inspired followers of the holy Prophet (pbuh) to remind people that the purpose of that
religion was to remember whence they came, and to where they are destined to return,
and to act according to that remembrance to be in harmony with the Laws Allah has
written into our hearts, minds and bodies – yes even into each and every cell.
Walking in the footstep of the Holy Prophets are his saints – the Awliya Allah. As a
matter of fact mankind has never been left without the guidance of such souls: not in the
past, nor in the present, and (please God) not in the future. They are the ones who Allah
purified so as to serve His purpose.
They were given by Allah inspired wisdom, not from study or through books, but by
direct intuition or inspiration. They were given not only the superficial understanding of
the Holy Book but insight into its depths and heights and wonders, which ordinary folk
cannot easily understand. They came to know the Umm ul Kitab – the Mother of the
Book.
They were shown the Way to Allah and the way of Allah: and given the inspiration to
show that way to the people. As with the Prophets their message was one, but the forms
of their teaching were varied according to the needs of the people they served.
The scholars of Islam performed a great service in preserving in detail the Word of
God, and further in teaching that the divine Law had a purpose, to make one pure and fit
for paradise.
The Saints served in a different way, touching the hearts of people and reminding them
that it is the spirit of the divine law as well as its letter that is important. But the
Khawajas went beyond this and showed some favoured souls the way to make the
Reality of Allah and the Remembrance of Allah present at all times in their life. May Allah
give us the good sense to learn from their example.
The message of all was the same; they declared the absolute unity of the One God,
Allah, ar Rehman. If Khawaja Saheb, whose guests we are today, will indulge me – here
are a few verses that came to my pen whilst I was preparing this speech. It refers to the
words of the holy Qur’an, the word by which Allah creates. - Kun Fayakun. Be and it
Becomes – it is called:
Allah is One
It comes to this when all is said and done,
He is One, He is One, He is the Only One.
From His unity all came when He said ‘Kun’,
‘Become’ He said and all life had begun.
He is One, He is One, He is the Only One.
But ‘become’ is a word with two parts, I see,
Though the first part of course is clearly, ‘Be’,
To it is attached the part that says ‘Come’.
That is to say, ‘Be! Then back to Me come’.
He is One, He is One, He is the Only One.
We cannot refuse either part; it is not a demand!
Written, into every cell and atom, is this command.
So between these two fingers of The Divinity,
That is between Be and Come, Khawaja did see
Shown him by the great Pir Usman Harooni
18,000 worlds spinning, by Allah held effortlessly.
Between these two fingers is everyone.
He is One, He is One, He is the Only One
It is our human destiny, to return to the One,
Who is One, who is One, Who is the Only One.
But between becoming and returning, this see;
A responsibility we have to our own humanity.
With every act of kindness, love or charity,
Made to the best of our human ability,
We become more truly human and alive,
And for this purity we must ever strive.
Thus when the command ‘Be’ becomes ‘Come’,
Our humanity can say, ‘gladly, I come, I come’.
And though from The One we may not hope to hear,
As the Prophets and Saints did, ‘I am pleased, draw near’.
We may hope for this, ‘If a friend of My friend
You really are, My forgiveness to you I send’.
It is not the prayer, or pilgrimage, or money given,
Nor fasting, it is that to be fully human we have striven.
It is our humanity that we bring back to the One,
And it comes down to this when all is said and done.
He is One, He is One, He is the Only One.
LINK to part 2
LINK to review
A speech delivered in Razvia Mosque, Southampton on 27th May 2012. (Part 1)
Auzoo Billah Hi Minach Shaitwan nir Rajim
Hamari Niyat aisi Hai. To praise Allah, our Creator and the Maintainer of the worlds, and
to offer our humble thanks to Him for the blessings of His Prophets and saints, and
especially for the greatest of blessing he bestowed on mankind - I mean beloved Prophet
Muhammed (saw).
Also for those Saints He inspired to keep alive the true spirit of Islam through the ages.
In particular, today, we remember and give thanks for Khawaja Muinuddin Hasan Chishti
(ra) who was approved of Allah and deputed by Rasulallah to bring the message of the
Truth to a whole subcontinent. To make our reverential Salaams to him on the occasion
of his 'Urs. This is our intention today.
Brothers and Sisters. Let me ask you – do we live in a society that is in harmony with
itself or do we see, despite wealth and comfort and conveniences of all kinds, discord
and enmity?
You will tell me we see conflict between friends, between husband and wife, between
family members, between generations, between races, between colours, creeds and
cultures. Why is that when our creator is known also as Ar-Rehman. Let us seek an
answer from the Prophet’s and saints, the friends of Allah.
The Wise ones to Whom Allah has revealed such things tell us this:- before Allah
unfolded Time and Space: and Existence became existent, Allah, the Uncreated,
displayed His immeasurable, unfathomable, and unimaginable Light, unbounded by any
dimension.
That Light manifested, by its own Power, the Light of Muhammed – the Noor–i-
Muhammed which some also call the Logos. Thus just as the Sun and the Moon both
give light but are really only one Light, so the two lights are really one.
From that second light, the Nur-i-Muhammed, Allah created all the souls of men. First
he created Adam The perfect man, and then the souls of the perfect men. Thus Adam
like the souls was constituted of that Divine Light as His very spiritual substance. Adam
was then given a material form known as clay.
Hazrat Mevlana Jalaluddin Rumi (ra) and Hazrat Shah Wali Ullah of Delhi (ra) have
explained that this clay was made up of layers. Initially it was in a chemical and mineral
form. The best of this was enhanced to take on the quality of growth and became the
vegetal forms; some of this was further enhanced and took on the quality of independent
movement and became the animal form; then this animal form was enhanced to become
the human form. Into this Allah breathed the soul of Adam - who became your father and
my father: and from him Allah brought into existence our mother Huwa (Eve).
Therefore the clay of our physical existence has all these qualities in itself – mineral,
vegetal, and animal. Each of these received laws from Allah and each acts in
accordance with that law. Each of these is also within us, as is the law for mankind. But
Allah also gave man another power – so that even the mountains were afraid of it; the
ability to exercise a degree of free will.
Shaitan, the rebellious one, caused our parents to forget the Command of Allah, so all
men and women thus found themselves separated from that light by their forgetfulness of
the Divinity Himself.
The laws of Allah are written in to our every cell, into our very genes. Thus when we
forget Allah we no longer act in accord with those laws, so naturally conflict and
disharmony arise within us individually and therefore in society.
Hazrat Abu Said Abil Khair tells us that worldliness (duniya) is that forgetfulness.
Worldliness is not wealth and goods in themselves – the harm from them comes only in
that, like Shaitan, they may make man forgetful of Allah.
Prophet Solomon had fabulous wealth but remembered Allah, Pharaoh and Karun had
great wealth and power but forgot Allah. Rasulallah led a life of material simplicity but the
remembrance of Allah was alive in every cell of his being.
The holy Qur’an itself says there is no better thing before Allah than the remembrance
of Allah.
As a mercy ar-Rehman sent pure souls into the world; to remind man of what he kept
forgetting – that man’s origin is Allah, that his soul is in Allah, and that he will return to
Allah.
We know those persons as Prophets or Messengers (may Allah bless them each and
every one); they were brought into this world of clay through the wombs of blessed
mothers, which are a passage from the dimension in which the pure souls have their
being.
Their message is exactly the same in respect of its essence, but it was expressed
differently according to the culture and time into which that messenger was born. Some
messengers we know of, many we do not know – they came and did their work and
departed. They all taught Islam – that is to say submission to the Will of the One Almighty
God, submission to Allah. The particularities of the things they taught differed but
whether it was Prophet Ibrahim or Prophet Musa or Prophet Dawood, or Prophet Issa the
essential Truth they taught was one.
Thus to our Beloved Prophet Muhammed (saw) religion was given its final, perfect form
– though its essence was as it had always been.
For that religion to remain alive in the hearts of people and not to be merely form, Allah
inspired followers of the holy Prophet (pbuh) to remind people that the purpose of that
religion was to remember whence they came, and to where they are destined to return,
and to act according to that remembrance to be in harmony with the Laws Allah has
written into our hearts, minds and bodies – yes even into each and every cell.
Walking in the footstep of the Holy Prophets are his saints – the Awliya Allah. As a
matter of fact mankind has never been left without the guidance of such souls: not in the
past, nor in the present, and (please God) not in the future. They are the ones who Allah
purified so as to serve His purpose.
They were given by Allah inspired wisdom, not from study or through books, but by
direct intuition or inspiration. They were given not only the superficial understanding of
the Holy Book but insight into its depths and heights and wonders, which ordinary folk
cannot easily understand. They came to know the Umm ul Kitab – the Mother of the
Book.
They were shown the Way to Allah and the way of Allah: and given the inspiration to
show that way to the people. As with the Prophets their message was one, but the forms
of their teaching were varied according to the needs of the people they served.
The scholars of Islam performed a great service in preserving in detail the Word of
God, and further in teaching that the divine Law had a purpose, to make one pure and fit
for paradise.
The Saints served in a different way, touching the hearts of people and reminding them
that it is the spirit of the divine law as well as its letter that is important. But the
Khawajas went beyond this and showed some favoured souls the way to make the
Reality of Allah and the Remembrance of Allah present at all times in their life. May Allah
give us the good sense to learn from their example.
The message of all was the same; they declared the absolute unity of the One God,
Allah, ar Rehman. If Khawaja Saheb, whose guests we are today, will indulge me – here
are a few verses that came to my pen whilst I was preparing this speech. It refers to the
words of the holy Qur’an, the word by which Allah creates. - Kun Fayakun. Be and it
Becomes – it is called:
Allah is One
It comes to this when all is said and done,
He is One, He is One, He is the Only One.
From His unity all came when He said ‘Kun’,
‘Become’ He said and all life had begun.
He is One, He is One, He is the Only One.
But ‘become’ is a word with two parts, I see,
Though the first part of course is clearly, ‘Be’,
To it is attached the part that says ‘Come’.
That is to say, ‘Be! Then back to Me come’.
He is One, He is One, He is the Only One.
We cannot refuse either part; it is not a demand!
Written, into every cell and atom, is this command.
So between these two fingers of The Divinity,
That is between Be and Come, Khawaja did see
Shown him by the great Pir Usman Harooni
18,000 worlds spinning, by Allah held effortlessly.
Between these two fingers is everyone.
He is One, He is One, He is the Only One
It is our human destiny, to return to the One,
Who is One, who is One, Who is the Only One.
But between becoming and returning, this see;
A responsibility we have to our own humanity.
With every act of kindness, love or charity,
Made to the best of our human ability,
We become more truly human and alive,
And for this purity we must ever strive.
Thus when the command ‘Be’ becomes ‘Come’,
Our humanity can say, ‘gladly, I come, I come’.
And though from The One we may not hope to hear,
As the Prophets and Saints did, ‘I am pleased, draw near’.
We may hope for this, ‘If a friend of My friend
You really are, My forgiveness to you I send’.
It is not the prayer, or pilgrimage, or money given,
Nor fasting, it is that to be fully human we have striven.
It is our humanity that we bring back to the One,
And it comes down to this when all is said and done.
He is One, He is One, He is the Only One.
LINK to part 2
LINK to review