Follow the Prophet Sallallahu Alayhi Wasallam until the Light within You Shines

Mawlana Shaykh Hisham Kabbani | Monday, Sep 29, 2008 | Burton, MI US

Shaykh Omar Kone:



Audhu billah min ash-shaytan ir-rajeem

Bismillahi 'r-Rahmani 'r-Raheem

Dastoor madad ya sayyidee



Alhamdulillah wa’sh-shukrulillah w’Allahu Akbar wa la hawla wa la quwatta illa billah il-`aliyy il-`adheem

We are giving endless thanks for the favor of being here tonight. If we are giving shukr until the end of time, it is not enough.

Sultan al-`Arifeen, Bayazid al-Bistami, was once addressing his students and saying that on Judgment Day Allah `azza wa jall is going to be calling all his servants and questioning them and on that day everyone is going to be so fearful that people don’t know their parents and from the heat of that tajallis their brain is going to be boiling.

On the day, when Allah is going to call me, whatever is the issue on that day it is ok. If He wants to send us to heaven it is ok and if He wants to send us to hellfire, it is ok.

Because on that day, Allah `azza wa jall, with all His mightiness, with all His greatness, with all His majesty, it will be such a favor that He calls us, that is enough for us. The issue of judgment or hell or heaven at that time, is not important.

So the favor of even being to say “Allah” one time is a great favor.

And we are heedless ones and I can speak only for myself. And that favor to say Allah’s name it is coming and coming and coming. We are favored to be from the last generation and favored to even know about Mawlana Shaykh, Sultan al-Awliya, if we are going to be thanking Allah, because the Prophet (s) blesses his Ummah from his presence but only Sahaba were witness to him. We were sitting all those nights and speaking about all these big awliya, and from our chain, Bayazid al-Bistami, Shah Bahauddin Naqshband, and Ghawth al-`Adham and Sayyidina Muhyideen ibn `Arabi and we are hoping we could even see one of them.

But we are forgetting and not recalling that what is with those is with our master Mawlana Shaykh Nazim. And to be able to see him, know him and praise him and to say salaam to him, that awliyaullah were looking all their life to be given such a favor. And we are so spoiled we are not even recognizing what we have.

And today Mawlana Shaykh was speaking about the blessings that are coming and raining on earth. So the few that are doing they are getting everything. For a favor that Allah `azza wa jall is showering us, to meet His holy servants. And Allah made us to be included in that special gathering and that group.

Those favors ...as we are weak ones and complaining day and night. We are ungrateful. The Prophet (s) warned us to recognize the favors and not be ungrateful.

Allah addressing his Holy Qur'an through His uncreated Words of light and lowering from His endless mightiness to the language of humankind. And what is more precious to us than the carrier of light of the Prophet (s)? The Sultan al-Awliya are carrying the light of Prophet (s). As that light was manifested for life to be in existence. And it cannot be leaving the earth. When the Prophet (s) was veiled from this world it was transferred from one to one to one until Mawlana Shaykh we believe in that. And that favor, I am shy to be addressing and it is enough we should be always remembering.

We should give shukr and hamd for all these favors and instances. Even so many times we are coming and kissing the hand of Mawlana Shaykh Hisham. And from the elementary laws of physics, when touching something atoms are exchanged and this is safety for us on Day of Judgment. That “O our Lord! We are the weakest ones and we have elements of that holy one.”

May Allah forgive me for addressing in front of Mawlana Shaykh and elders. And to be here on Eid night.


And may Allah grant us from the baraka of this majlis and the baraka of Mawlana Shaykh.




Mawlana Shaykh Muhammad Hisham Kabbani



Audhu billah min ash-shaytan ir-rajeem

Bismillahi 'r-Rahmani 'r-Raheem

Nawaytu'l-arba`een, nawaytu'l-`itikaaf, nawaytu'l-khalwah, nawaytu'l-riyaada, nawaytu's-salook, nawaytu'l-`uzlah lillahi ta`ala fee hadha'l-masjid



When you put a switch on, lights come, electricity comes and these lights shine, giving us light. We put the switch off, no more lights, even you have the lamps there, but no more light.

Theories are too many. But laboratories to get results to make discoveries, you have to go through laboratories in chemistry, and physics; in science. You cannot only go on theory. Theory is something that says to you “O there is light; this chandelier will give you light” but you don’t see the light. What is the benefit? So theories are too many that we learn, we hear but if it is not accompanied by laboratories, lab experiments you cannot see the result.

And what we are after is the result, not the theories. Speakers, they speak all over but unfortunately it is a theory because even speakers who achieved level of education, they don’t have training experiences in the result.

They can describe for you the chandelier but they cannot describe fro you the light. Because there is no light, the switch is not on, If is off.

Awliyaullah have a switch, it can be on, it can be off. And it can be, as they discovered today, dimming. You can have a very bright light or you can dim the light to a very low light.

We are lamps in their hands. Everyone of us is a lamp. Allah swt as he said, "He honored us.” He made us lamps. Shining. When a child is born, he is born shining. He is born with a light and slowly, slowly that light become dimmer and dimmer and fade and disappeared because of too much negative energy, pollution comes. He will be veiled or she will be veiled.

Why we are here, for what reason. Always it is a question. We are not seeing anything. We are in tariqah for many many years and we are not seeing. Is it correct. We cannot claim we are saying. Are you seeing? What we are seeing. Only ourself. Because the switch is not on, we are in darkness we cannot see.

So what is then the benefit? Awliyaullah they want us to shine but they want to put on the plug but they don’t want to burn the lamp. Because if you cannot absorb the electricity that is coming, the light that is coming, what happens to the lamp? It blows up. So they don’t want to blow you up. They want you to shine up.

Ey, we are coming and cleaning, but still there is a sign that we are trying to be on the main track because we are coming together. That is a good sign, although we are not seeing anything, but coming together is a sign that there is some kind of booster, that is coming form our shuyukh, from our shaykhs, boosting us at least to come, in at least a loving situation. Still it is a loving situation, muhibeen. We are not yet beginners in tariqah. That is why we must not claim that “we are this” or “we are that”. We must claim that “we are babies in this journey”. Whatever you try to speak, as we said in the previous session:

وَفَوْقَ كُلِّ ذِي عِلْمٍ عَلِيمٌ

Wa fawqa kulli dhi `ilmin `aleem - Above every knower there is a greater knower. Yusuf [12:76]

So what we are? If another higher knower comes you are nothing. If a knower above that come, then that one is nothing. So that is why we say Sultan al-Awliya. That is the Ghawth, no one higher in knowledge than that one, except the Prophet (s).

Just today when we were sitting before Maghrib, sitting to break fast someone handed me the phone and said, " “O there is a call. Someone from Mecca, Ahl al-Bayt, a scholar, is calling.”

I am giving that example only to show where we are standing and where is reality. And this I am speaking to everyone who likes to hear. And that is to me and to everyone. He said salams from this one and salaams from that one, many ashraaf from Mecca the descendants of the Prophet (s) sending their salaams. And he said, "they called and you gave him the telephone, he said, "I want to tell you this dream. It is a very significant dream to me.”

That happened two days ago, before I sent him an SMS congratulating for an important event, two days ago. He called back and said, "I want to tell you what I saw in the dream when you sent the SMS. I was sleeping after praying taraweeh, doing my awraad, I was sleeping and a shaykh appeared. And it was that shaykh I know him very well, he is our shaykh Mawlana Shaykh Nazim. But he was not talking to me, and there is one on his right side, who I know very well who was talking to me.” And I will not mention his name and he is at a lower [station].

And he said to me, “How do you hear the voice of Allah? And how you see Allah?” In that dream Mawlana Shaykh Nazim is not saying anything, but that one is saying to me and he said, "I didn’t know what to answer.” That is in the dream. I didn’t know what to answer. Then he looked at me and said, "Do you want to see and do you want to hear?” Adab, I didn’t say anything. Of course I want to see and I want to hear. But my mouth is frozen. Then he put his shahada finger on my jugular vein on my neck and I was feeling the beat of the heart; the pumping of the heart. Here you can put your finger and you can feel it. Do you feel it? I was feeling the beat of the heart and the skin below moving. As soon as he put the finger everything opened up. I was seeing things that I never imagined. I was in an ecstasy that I never felt it before and I begin to hear voices and praise of angels that I never heard before. Then I woke up, but in a state of rash, shivering in Allah’s love was with me until today. I am telling you that. Then in the morning my wife said, "what is on your neck.” I looked in the mirror and I saw the sign of the finger on my neck and it is there up to today.

That is what he saw, and then he is asking me some questions to read these questions and what I explained for him of the dream. And he said, "til now that sign is still there. At the moment he talked to me and I am feeling under that place where that shaykh put his hand, the heartbeats and every heart beat says ‘Allah, Allah, Allah.’”

That is a reality; that is an experience. But because he is not yet to the level of vision, it came through a dream, else he will immediately be in a complete coma, he cannot take it. It will be like voltage through a switch of 360. There are 360 ways in the heart of human being. Every way, and every tariq, and every direction, there are 360 directions that the Prophet (s) told us that Allah created in our system, as the Chinese say, points, that each of them shows you a way to Allah.

Now I am throwing that to you. Think where are you at what level compared to that person’s level. Where are we standing? Zero.

So the beauty of tariqah is not theory. We can speak day and night. But the importance is action. What we have to act and what are going to be the results. It is not only “qawlan bal `amalan - it is not only to say, but to act and have an action.” When you end there must be a result. When you do something there is a product. But when you say by tongue there is no product. So if you la ilaha illa-Allah it means “there is no god except Allah.” But our ego what is says? “I am your god. O you cannot come out of my control, I will kill you.” There is a struggle. So when you really act on what you say then you can active these experiences that some people have achieved as they have already gone further down the road in tariqah and thy begin to fee that. Now on the way you may find many hypocrites that claim they see or claim they hear. Either they are hallucinating because the one who is achieving must be very pure: who Doesn't talk too much, doesn’t backbite. There are signs you can read from people’s eyes. There are many claiming that but these are charlatans. But our problem is we are struggling in order to take away the charlatan picture from us and to purify our self. What I mean by charlatan, is those who didn’t reach a level and still they claim they reached. No! For what? Say, “I don’t know anything.” Allah will cover you and veil you but you cannot claim something and do the opposite. Say, “I am like you. I am heedless, helpless and weak, and we cannot achieve. We are asking that our shaykh to switch on - that is what we need.”

And that light will come. Now there is light. There is a lamp but it is still in a dim position. From one to another it changes everyone according to his level. But we have to do more.

For example they told us we have to do 500 times “Ya Samad” a day. Why? To take away the childish action of the ego. Why? Because the child has a childish ego, if he doesn’t get something he cries, cries, cries. When a child asks for something don’t give him. When he forgets then you give. But we have a problem: we have been raised on the ego. So the problem we have to recite “Ya Samad.” That is a secret to bring down the ego. That is the child of the blameworthy self.

Is it correct.? He said “yes”. So 500 “Ya Samad” will take that down. So slowly, slowly your ego cannot claim anything. But we are not doing it. So we are leaving loose our ego. And awliyaullah want you to be like a horse with a bridle. You pull it, the horse stops from running. The ego is like the horse, running everywhere. You have to put the bridle to stop that horse. How? 500 times “Ya Samad.”

We are claiming that we are attending associations of shaykhs. Of course their associations are full of beauty and love and manifestations of blessings that Allah will shower us with. But that is from Allah’s mercy. Allah wants us to do an action. To act on what we are supposed to do. So once they said, "awliyaullah do 500 times ‘Ya Samad’.” That will take that problem down.

So for everything there is sickness and there is a medicine. The awliyaullah give right medicine for the right sickness. If you want to benefit you must follow.



قُلْ إِن كُنتُمْ تُحِبُّونَ اللّهَ فَاتَّبِعُونِي يُحْبِبْكُمُ اللّهُ وَيَغْفِرْ لَكُمْ ذُنُوبَكُمْ وَاللّهُ غَفُورٌ رَّحِيمٌ

Qul in kuntum tuhibboon-Allaha faittabi`oonee yuhbibkumu Allahu wa yaghfir lakum dhunoobakum w’Allahu ghafoorun raheem.

Say: "If ye do love Allah, Follow me: Allah will love you and forgive you your sins: For Allah is Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful." Al-Imran [3:31]

Allah said to the Prophet (s), “If you really love me follow.” Are we following?

You know in some airports there is a car, before, now the plane goes direct to the gate. But before there was a car written on it “follow me”. When the airplane lands it follows the sign. It goes and stops in the yard or area for airplanes - there was no jetway at that time.

Allah said, "Follow Muhammad." If we follow we reach. If you really love Allah follow. Then what will happen? Then you being to see as that person was seeing - in a vision. So that is an example of one person. How many of these there are in the journey of gnosticism. So real teaching, real awliyaullah, they have their mureeds who are able to move mountains; not their representatives even. Their mureeds.

Now there are two kinds of representatives. There are lovers (muhiboon) and representatives among the lovers. And there are representatives from among mureeds who have the power of guidance. So we are asking, “Ya Rabbee, make our shuyukh to be happy with us that they will guide us to the right way and to switch on the switch. We ask them from here. You know we are heedless and You say You are generous. Because Allah gave them generosity. What is the problem if You push that switch? What are You going to lose. Kun fayakoon – Be! And it will be.. Put that plug up and finished. Why are You making us to suffer? To run and run and run. Put that plug up. That switch up. Everyone finished will be in that [Divine] presence. Why do we have to do this and do that?"

جاء رجل إلى رسول الله صلى الله عليه و سلم و قال” يا رسول الله إن شرائع الإسلام قد كثرت علىّ فدلني على عمل أتشبث به قال لا يزال لسانك رطباً بذكر الله “

One person came to the Prophet (s), and said, “The laws and discipline in Islam is too much I cannot take it.”

See how much they are becoming a reality between them and the Prophet (s). So the Prophet (s) is patient with them, he hears and listens to them. “Give me something easy, please. I am fed up.” So he said, لا يزال لسانك رطباً بذكر الله - ija`la lisanak ratban bi dhikrullah.” He left. He was happy with doing dhikr. What they are going to lose if they put that switch on for us. We are asking a question .you are the ones that Allah and his prophet has chose. We are coming to your door, is there any harm to you put on the switch. If not, then that is our property that Allah gave to you. Give it to us. They like that they ar spoiled brats. If they want to close their door to where are we going. Which door we have to go?

قال رسول الله ‏صلى الله عليه وسلم ‏إني قد تركت فيكم ما إن أخذتم به لن تضلوا بعدي ‏الثقلين ‏أحدهما أكبر من الآخر كتاب الله حبل ممدود من السماء إلى الأرض ‏وعترتي ‏أهل بيتي ألا وإنهما لن يفترقا حتى يردا علي الحوض

I am leaving among you that which if you hold to it, you shall never go astray, one of them greater than the other: Allah's Book?a rope extended down from the heaven to the earth?and my mantle (`itra), the People of my House. These two shall never part ways until they come to me at the Pond. Look well to how you act with them after me. [al-Tirmidhi (hasan ghareeb) and al-Hakim]

تركت فيكم ما إن تمسكتم به لن تضلوا كتاب الله وسنتي

The Prophet (s) said, “I left behind me the Holy Qur'an and the Sunnah.” [al-Bayhaqi in al-Sunan al-kubra, al-Hakim and Malik in his Muwatta] And the Prophet (s) said, “I left behind the Holy Qur'an and my family.” [two different hadiths]

The Prophet (s) said that, so you are the one who has the control on the switches. He said, “My family.” We are from your family, Ya sayyidee, ya Rasulullah.

Then what will happen. The elder ones will ask. You think on Judgment Day that Allah will not save the family of the prophet. Of course hasha, istaghfirullah, will he lose anything. If he sends His servant to Paradise what is the loss? It is benefit. It is loss for shaytan. Allah is not going to let shaytan to win. The power is for Allah. May Allah forgive us. I was not going to speak but Shaykh Omar made me to speak.

Bi hurmati’l-Fatiha.



You have to show a very delicate issue in tariqah. You have to show you are worthless. You have to show humility and humbleness. Whenever there is an opportunity, try. You cannot sit and say, “I know everything I am going to speak.” No let this one speak, let that one speak. Then Allah’s mercy will come. He knows you are trying to put these people u and he will put you up. If you put people down He puts you down. Show you are in need to listen to them. Don’t always to sit on the main chair and say, “I am the shaykh.” Be a sheep; don’t be a shepherd. The shepherd is responsible. We have to run away from responsibility. O Allah keep us children. We cannot save ourselves and not those around us. We are coming to the Prophet (s) and those around him asking them to save us.