A Scent of Saintliness (32 Sohbats, 144 pages, 2/4)
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lt is enjoying the hospitality of S. Ibrahim (as) until the end of time.
The souls who answered Labbayk once will
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make Haj j one time. The souls who answered twice will make Haj j two times and so on.
The first Ka’aba was actually the Bayt al Ma’mur which, at the time of the flood, was raised to the fourth heaven. It is there today and the angels make Tawwaf around it. It is exactly the same as the Ka’aba in Mecca and directly above it. If it should fall it would occupy exactly the same space. But it will not fall or come to this earth again.
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ISuhbat 10
Once Khidr (as) asked his Lord, “Ya Rab- bi, in Qur’an it says that everything, wet or
dry, is contained in the Kitab al-Mubin. Teach me because I don’t know all of it. ”
He was told to go to the most elevated Imam, Abu Hanifa (ra). He stayed with him for five years. After five years Imam Abu Hanifa (ra) died. So Khidr (as) asked to be allowed in enter his tomb and continue to learn from Abu Hanifa (ra) there. He stayed twenty-five years in the tomb of Abu Hanifa (ra) and finished all truths of the Qur’an, thirty years of knowledge.
In that same village there was a fatherless boy who was very hardworking and kind. Heearned three coins a day as a laborer. One coin he gave to his mother, one
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he gave as sadaqa and one he kept to live on. This boy had only one desire in his heart and that was to learn. But he had no money and he had no time. The de- sire to learn grew within him until finally he asked his mother what he should do.
His mother told him to go to Samarqand. Al- though it broke her heart to let him go she had to do it. He arranged to travel with a friend. His mother hugged him and stood by the door to watch him leave. Her heart prayed silently to Allah: “My Lord if you don’t bring him back I will not move from this door. ”
The two boys journeyed on until it was time to pray. The boy knew that his mother’s permission came from her tongue not from her heart. He made ablution in preparation to pray and a little urine got on his clothes. He thought, “The first time only my clothes are dirt- ied. The second time it will be my body and the third time it will be my soul. Imust return to my mother. It is better. ” But his heart remained heavy, longing for knowledge.
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When he returned, he found his mother still stand- ing by the door. They hugged each other in joy. He re- turned to his old life carrying firewood on his shoulders and selling it. He and his mother lived in a one-room house. At night he prayed on the roof so as not to both- er his mother. Even in the deep snow he kept praying.
One night this boy heard a voice calling him from down below. It was an old man who climbed to the rooftop and announced that he had come in answer to the boy’s prayer for knowledge. So every night at Tahaj jud this man came to teach the boy for one hour. This old manwas Khidr (as) and what he had learned in thirty years he taught the boy in three years.
The boy grew up to be Imam Qushayri. He pos- sessed ‘ilm/knowledge that no one else had. He became very famous and had many disciples. He wrote a book of one thousand volumes. He put these volumes in a box and told his closest companion to throw them in the river Dijla in Iraq.
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The murid was about to obey when the idea oc- curred to him to hide the precious volumes instead. He returned to the Shaykh who asked him what he had seen. “Nothing,” he answered. The Shaykh then knew the man had not thrown the box in the river. He commanded him to go a second time and a second time the disciple could not get himself to throw his master’s works in the river. On returning to the Shaykh he still answered his question by saying he had seen nothing. So for a third time the Shaykh sent his disciple to do as he asked. This time the man could only obey. He picked up the box and heaved it into the middle of the river. A huge hand rose out of the water and grabbed the box like a box of matches. The disciple asked the hand who it belonged to. “I am the angel entrusted to protect the books of Imam Qushayri,” a voice an- swered.
Now the disciple returned and told his Shaykh what he had seen and he asked for an explanation. The Shaykh told him that he had prayed to be of benefit
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to the community of the Last Prophet, Muhammad (sas), in the later days. The book will be hidden un- til Isa (as) returns. The Anti-Christ will come and burn all the truthful books. Then Isa (as) will make two rakats and the books of Qushayri (ra) will reap- pear and spread the lost knowledge everywhere. This is the help for the community of Muhammad (sas) that the knowledges of Qur’an are kept safely hidden until they are needed at the end of times.
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The Sto1r1thySofohbThat
Suhbat 11
Once long ago there was a man who was very, very rich but he had no children. His
brother had two boys. The brother died and the rich uncle took the boys into his home. The boys lived there and became more and more envious and greedy. All they wanted was their uncle’s money.
They talked together and decided that it might take much too long for their uncle to die naturally. They de- termined to kill him in spite of the fact that he was very generous to them.
Together they murdered him and dragged his body out of town. They did not bury it but left it lying on the open ground. They went home and began cry- ing, “Where, oh where, is our beloved uncle?”
The place where they placed the body was on the border between two towns. Each town accused the other of the murder because they both loved the old
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man equally.
The boys said they wanted revenge and they wanted blood money. This was in the time of the Prophet Musa (as) and people went to him to solve their differences. Musa (as) asked his Lord, “Show us the truth. ” So Allah ordered them to slaughter a cow and take the tongue and the tail to the corpse.
The Bani Israil thought at the time that this was a joke. So they began to ask frivolous questions about what kind of cow. If they had just obeyed, any cow would have done, but they kept asking so the kind of cow became more and more specific until only one particular cow would do: a yellow cow owned by a poor boy who used to carry wood from the mountains to sell. This boy worked so hard that he had cuts all over his back from the weight of the bundles of wood and his clothes were stuck to him in dried blood.
He told his mother that he wished they had an ani- mal to help carry the wood. She told him that his fa- ther had left him a yellow calf that had been put out to pasture. If the boy called the cow would come.
So the boy went to the pasture and called the yel-
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low cow and he recognized it as if he had known it all his life. He took the cow home.
His mother told him to take it to market and sell it. With the money he should buy a donkey and save the rest of the money. He went to market where a man offered him twenty coins. The boy had to go home and check with his mother. She gave him permission to sell but the next day on his way to market another man offered him thirty coins. This confused him so he went home to check with his mother. She told him to stop coming back. He should just sell the cow.
He returned to the market the next day and an- other man told the boy that his cow was very precious and he advised the boy to sell the cow only on the con- dition that when they kill it they do so without cutting the skin. Then they should take the intact skin and fill it with gold and that would be the price of the cow. This third man was really an angel sent by Allah and the boy must obey.
The Bani Israil accepted the boy’s terms because this was now the only cow that would serve Allah’s purpose. So the Bani Israil slaughtered the cow and
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beat the corpse of the old man with the tongue and tail. The dead man sat up and said, “My nephews killed me. ”
The Bani Israil filled the cow’s skin with the dead man’s fortune and gave it to the boy. And all of this was because of the baraka of the boy who always pleased his mother..
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Suhbat 12
Once there was a lady who had a son who did all the forbidden things (drinking, gambling,
etc.). The lady was a disciple of Hassan al-Basra (q) and she was pious and good. Everyday she went to the Shaykh and asked him to pray for her boy. Everyday the Shaykh said to her, “InshaAllah,” and everyday the boy remained the same.
One day the boy left home and did not return until the next morning.
The mother went again to the Shaykh. This time he told her to go home, get her ablution and pray. At the end she should make du’a herself because the du’a of the mother is always accepted.
She prayed all night while her son was out drink- ing with his friends. While he was drinking heavily he suddenly heard a voice coming out of his cup. It said, “You despair of Allah’s mercy. ” He threw the cup to
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the floor and he immediately repented sincerely. His friends made fun of him by telling him he was just like his mother, but he did not mind.
As morning approached the boy reached his home repentant. He found his mother making du’a for him and her tears were pooling under her prayer rug. He hugged his mother and told her he repented and would never touch drink again. She hugged her son and he became limp and unconscious in her arms. Maybe he has fainted she thought and threw cold water on his face. But no, her beloved son was still lying like the dead.
She went to the Shaykh and told him. The Shaykh instructed her to put the body of her son on a donkey and go to the Ka’aba in Mecca. There she should make tawwaf seven times. If he woke up then she could return home, but if he didn’t then she must con- tinue on to the Lebanese mountains. It took her more than a month to travel to Mecca but she completed the journey and made tawwaf. Nothing happened. Her son was still as if he were dead.
So she put him back on the donkey and went to the Lebanese mountains. It took many, many months.
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Finally they reached a garden. She saw seven men at the end of it standing in line ready to make the fu- neral prayer. When they saw her they explained that they were saints and that their Shaykh had died. He had told them just before dying to wait until their new Shaykh would appear and lead them in his funeral prayer.
The lady looked at her son and he was struggling to get off the donkey. “O my mother,” he said, “do I have any clean clothes?” He took the clean clothes and made ablution in a nearby waterfall and then he led the saints in the funeral prayer.
“O mother,” the boy said, “you made du’a for me and now we must part until the end of time. ”
Then he left with the saints, walking up the moun- tain until they disappeared from sight.
This is the power of the mother’s du’a. Allah made the boy unconscious as a khalwat to clean the boy for his new job.
A mother’s du’a is accepted like a prophet’s du’a. Sometimes mothers get upset and in anger they ask some punishment for their children but a mother’s love is
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like a wall protecting her children. No harm can enter. Once the sahaba (ra) asked the Prophet (sas), “What do we do if we have no mother to make du’a for us?” He answered, “Then do kind favors for the people your mother loved. Your mother will be pleased
and make du’a for you in eternity. ”
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Suhbat 13
There was a king who decided that Khidr (as) must be among the believers and he
wanted to meet him. So he sent all his ministers out looking around the country for anyone who knew where to find S. Khidr (as). No one had seen him or knew anything. Finally one poor dervish answered that he could find Khidr (as). The King then commanded that he should produce him. The dervish answered that he had no time to search for Khidr (as) because he had to provide for himself and his family. They asked how many days he needed. He replied, “Forty days. ” So the king sent provisions for forty days to the house of the dervish so that he would be free to search for S. Khidr (as).
The wife of the dervish thought he must have stolen all that food and asked him about it. He told her. She asked if he really knew where to find Khidr (as). The
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dervish answered that his plan was to relax and enjoy the food and rest for forty days and then maybe Allah would send Khidr (as).
They did this. On the thirty-ninth day there was still no sign of S. Khidr (as) and the dervish knew that the king would behead him. So he planned to run away early in the morning of the fortieth day. But Allah kept the dervish and his family asleep late until noon the next day at which time they were awakened by a loud knocking at the door. It was the soldiers of the King. They escorted the dervish alone to the palace that was crowded with people hoping to see S. Khidr (as). In front of the King were two chairs one of gold and one of wood. The dervish sat on the wooden chair. The king then asked for Khidr (as) and the dervish had to tell the truth: he had no idea. The king was very angry and he asked his ministers what punishment was appro- priate to inflict on the dervish.
The first Minister said to cut him into pieces and hang the pieces around the city to warn the people not to lie to their king.
A small boy in the crowd called out, “Everything
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returns to its origins. ”
The second Minister said “No, better to rip his flesh from his bones, and grind it up and scatter it to the dogs. ”
The small boy called out again, “Everything re- turns to its origins. ”
The third Minister advised the King saying that he had every right to kill the dervish, but if he spared his life the people would be impressed and love the Kind for the mercy he showed.
The small boy repeated again, “Everything returns to its origins. ”
The King then asked the dervish, “Is that your son?” But the dervish said he did not know the boy and thought he belonged to the court. But no one in the palace knew the boy. So finally the King asked the boy himself for his name.
He answered that he was S. Khidr (as). The King then asked him to explain what he had been saying. He said that the first Minister was the son of a butcher and so made judgments befitting a butcher. The second Minister was the son of a cook and so made
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judgments like a cook. The third Minister was the son of a minister and so his judgment took into account how to please and win over the people. The King should appoint him chief Minister, and the others, chief butch- er and cook. He then told the King, “You are not tak- ing good care of your people if they are so hungry they have to lie to eat. A king’s job is to take care of his people and look after their welfare. ” And with that S. Khi- dr (as) disappeared.
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Suhbat 14
brahim (as) loved guests. If he had no guests he would fast. If he still had no
guests he would break his fast on only water and so on. One time he fasted three days in a row. And it came to his heart, “Is there anyone else in the world like me?”
Allah inspired Ibrahim (as) and told him to trav- el around and look at the people and learn. So he traveled until he came to a place with hollow trees. He looked inside one tree and he saw a man and he said, “As-salamu alaykum. Iwould like to be your guest. ” The man replied, “Welcome, guest of Allah. ” Ibrahim (as) looked around and saw no pots, no food, no cooking. He wondered how they were going to break fast. Outside he saw a bowl with two pomegran-
ates.
The man broke fast on the seeds of the pomegran- ate with thanks to Allah for sending a guest. Ibrahim
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(as) then asked him how often he broke his fast. He answered that he broke only when a guest came and that was about once a month.
Ibrahim (as) was astonished, because he broke fast every third day. Ibrahim (as) then asked him if no guest came what he would do. The man answered that he would fast another month.
Ibrahim (as) expressed his wonderment. The man then told him that this was nothing, that there was a higher saint one day’s journey away. So Ibrahim (as) followed his directions and found a man sitting in a cave. He gave his salams and asked to be his guest. “Welcome, guest of Allah,” the man said, but contin- ued to sit without doing anything.
At sunset they rose and prayed together but there was no sign of food or cooking. Just then a deer passed by. The man pointed to the deer to come and when it arrived it was already cooked and ready to eat.
The man thanked Allah for sending him a guest. Ibrahim (as) asked him how often he broke his fast. “Once in two months,” he replied. “And if no guest ar- rives I fast another two months. ”
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Ibrahim (as) was astonished. “Is there another like you around here?” he asked. “Yes indeed, ” said the man, “In the Lebanese mountains. ”
So Ibrahim (as) went to the mountains and found a well-dressed man with a beautiful turban. Ibrahim (as) said to him, “I would like to be your guest. ” He replied, ”Welcome, guest of Allah,” and took Ibra- him (as) to a cave that was furnished very comfortably and richly. Ibrahim (as) liked the cave very much and the way it was outfitted.
They prayed the sunset prayer together, and then the man asked Allah to bring them food to break fast. The ceiling of the cave opened and a table descended with all kinds of food on it. They ate and the man thanked Allah and the table ascended and the ceiling closed.
“How often do you break fast?” asked Ibrahim (as). “Every three months,” his host answered. “And if there is no guest I fast another three months. ”
Ibrahim (as) then asked him if the cave was his house. “Oh no,” said the man. “This is a mosque. I have another house. ” Ibrahim (as) asked if he might
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see it. The man told him to go to the cave next door. He said, “If you come back I will take you to my house. ” Ibrahim (as) went next door and found a cave.
Inside a huge lion was roaring and making the moun- tain shake. Ibrahim (as) said to the lion, “Be still. This is Ibrahim in front of you,” and the lion became peace- ful.
Ibrahim (as) then returned to the man who told him to close his eyes and climb on his back. They flew through the air until they reached an island in the mid- dle of the sea. There was a long rug on the shore for praying. The direction of prayer was marked by stones, a broken jug held water for ablution, and there was a small oil lamp. Ibrahim (as) was very surprised because the cave had been very luxurious but the saint’s house was very spare.
Ibrahim (as) asked the man to make du’a for him. But the man said sadly that his du’a was never accept- ed. Ibrahim (as) asked him how this could be? The man answered that for forty years he had been making one du’a and that it had never been granted. Ibrahim (as) then asked what he had been asking for.
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“Once, forty years ago on one of my travels, I saw a beautiful long-haired boy by the sea crying. He was saying, ‘Oh I want to see my father, Ibrahim. ’” This beautiful boy was Ismail (as). Since that time the man had had a longing to meet the father of that beautiful boy. He had made du’a for forty years to meet Ibra- him (as).
Then Ibrahim (as) told the man who he was and they embraced and the man happily breathed his last breath. Ibrahim (as) felt so sad. He washed him, wrapped him and buried him. Allah sent an angel to take Ibrahim (as) from that island on his back. The angel asked Ibrahim (as) where he wanted to go. “To the end of the world, ” said Ibrahim (as).
He reached the end of the world and found a gate decorated with precious stones. He was told it was the gate of tawba (repentance) and it would remain open until the sun should rise from the West. Then it would close.
Then Ibrahim (as) asked the angel to carry him to Ismail (as). Ibrahim (as) and his son hugged and the Prophet Ibrahim (as) made tawba for having thought
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that he was so special for fasting three days waiting for a guest.
For every level there is a higher level. Allah is not happy with those who think too well of themselves.
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Suhbat 15
Sayydina Fatima (ra) was looked after very well by S. Ali (ra). When she passed by
the door he jumped to his feet out of respect for her, the Prophet’s (sas) daughter. But she did not rise to her feet for him.
She was called the Mistress of all women.
One day when she was sitting with her father she asked who among them would be the first to pass to Paradise?
He said the wife of a certain shepherd would be the first. Fatima (ra) was very surprised. She asked to go visit her to learn why she would be the first.
She went to the poor cottage where the woman lived. She knocked at the door and announced her- self. The lady answered in a gruff voice that she had no permission to open the door, and to please go away and
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come again the next day.
Fatima (ra) went home. The next day she went again to the shepherd lady’s cottage, this time with her small son Hassan.
The lady answered her knock by saying “Oh, I only took permission from my husband for you to enter, not the little boy. Please go away and come again to- morrow. ”
The next day Fatima (ra) returned, this time with Hassan (ra) and the infant Hussain (ra) in her arms.
Again she was turned away, for the women had no permission for the baby.
Three days S. Fatima (ra) had been turned away but her adab was so good and her patience so plentiful that she returned again the fourth day.
This time the gruff old voice of the shepherd lady said she had permission to enter. Once inside Fatima (ra) found a lovely young woman. She had been put- ting wool in her mouth to make her voice ugly.
The lady sat Fatima (ra) and the children inside the small house while she sat outside in the sun. Fatima
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(ra) invited her to squeeze in with her but she said that her husband, the shepherd, worked outside in the sun all day. So it was not right that she sit in the shade.
The lady put a bag of breadcrumbs in the sun. Fa- tima (ra) asked why. The lady said that her husband ’s lunch sits all day in the sun so hers should as well.
She had two clay pots of water one in the shade and one in the sun. She drank the hot water, as her hus- band must be doing.
She set food on the table and three plates, one hot, one lukewarm and one cold. When her husband re- turns he could choose the one he preferred.
As Fatima (ra) was leaving she saw a strong stick behind the door. The lady said that sometimes her hus- band returned, angry with the sheep, so she provides him with the stick to beat her instead and feel better.
Fatima (ra) went home and cleaned her house until it shone. She prepared three bowls of soup, hot, warm, and cold. When Ali (ra) returned she jumped
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up to greet him.
He was very surprised and asked what had hap- pened. When she told him he was so happy that he said, “I will not enter the house until I kill one hundred unbelievers. ”
Then because of this vow he could not enter his own house for many days and S. Fatima (ra) went to ask her father the whereabouts of her husband. He was sleeping in the mosque in order to keep his vow.
Ali (ra) explained to the Prophet (sas) what had happened. The Prophet (sas) ordered him to go to a man sitting in the mosque reading The Quran and slice him through the middle. Ali (ra) objected but the Prophet (sas) insisted.
So Ali (ra) went and cut the man in half. One half became a monkey and one half became a pig and both jumped out of the window.
“Now you can go home” the Prophet (sas) told him. Your oath is fulfilled. ” But first Ali (ra) wanted to know about the man. The Prophet (sas) told him
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that the upper half was always reciting The Quran from pride rather than from the heart and so it was like a monkey. The lower half he was not keeping clean so it was like a pig.
Ali (ra) went home to Fatima (ra) his wife.
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Suhbat 16
Two beautiful men approached the Prophet (sas) and asked him to give them the secret
of Fatihah. The Prophet (sas) asked who they were and where they came from.
They said they were from an earlier time. They had heard there was to be one surah revealed that was so special that they prayed for a thousand years to be told this surah. Then they were told it was only for the nation of Muhammad (sas) so they prayed another thousand years to live long enough to meet the Prophet Muhammad (sas).
They were Khidr (as) and Ilyas (as) and their du’a was accepted.
Their prophethoods ended and they were now only a part of the umma of the Prophet Muhammad (sas). Muhammad (sas) gave them Fatihah and they were content. They raised their hands to ask Allah to
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take them in death now that their prayer had been an- swered. But the Prophet Muhammad (sas) put his hand over their mouths and asked them to stay. He said his umma is so weak they need all the help they can get. So Ilyas (as) became protector over people on the sea (Bahr) and Khidr (as) over the people of the earth (Barra).
They then asked the Prophet (sas) to tell them the benefits and rewards of reciting Al-Fatihah. He said that if he spoke until the end of time he could not finish, but he would tell them the rewards of Amin which is said at the end, (spelled: alif, mim, ya, nun).
Alif is written on the Arsh of Allah Almighty. Mim is written on the Kursi.
Ya is on the Preserved Tablet (lawh). Nun is on the Pen (qalam).
Alif is on the forehead of the Archangel Israfil (as).
Mim is on the forehead of Mikail (as). Ya is on the forehead of Jibrail (as).
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Nun is on the forehead of Azrail (as).
Alif is on the Torah.
Mim is on the Zabur (Psalms). Ya is on the Injil (New Testament). Nun is on The Quran.
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Suhbat 17
When S. Adam (as) was expelled from paradise Allah gave him seeds from the
wheat plant to plant on earth, saying, “Because you ate from it, your children will eat from it without ever being satisfied and they will have to eat from it daily. ”
Allah gave him two oxen to help in plowing. S. Adam (as) harnessed up the oxen to the plow and began plowing a furrow that went on and on. Finally Jibrail (as) told him to stop, saying, “This is yours and that is mine. ” Jibrail (as) had to put stones down as a boundary. Adam (as) contested the boundary and be- gan to push the stones, because humans are greedy and are always asking for more.
S. Adam (as) threw the wheat seeds in the furrow until the time of ‘asr. Hawwa (ra) planted barley un- til maghrib. The seeds took one day to grow and they were ready for harvest. The next day Adam (as) and
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Hawwa (as) wanted to continue but the heavenly oxen refused. So Adam (as) hit the oxen and the oxen ob- jected saying, “Why are you beating me?” “So that you will work more and do what I tell you to do,” said Adam (as). And then he remembered that Al- lah had told him to do something and he had not lis- tened. In memory of this terrible thing he sat down and lamented for a hundred years.
Then the oxen made a deal. “If we work,” they said, “we must share the food. ” They began to work until there were two piles, one of hay, one of grain. Adam (as) asked the oxen which pile they wanted for their share. Because it was by far the largest, they took the huge pile of hay. That is why today we are eating grain and not hay.
In the beginning the animals could talk. Since then Allah has told the animals to be quiet.
Then Allah showed Adam (as) and Hawwa (as) how to make bread from the wheat. They made three loaves. Adam (as) took two and Hawwa (ra) took one.
Adam (as) ate his two loaves right away but
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Hawwa (ra) ate only half of hers and put the other half away for the next day. This is why women always save for the morrow, and Shaykh Effendi adds that it is why women are always on a diet.
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Suhbat 18
The Prophet Daud (as) had many chil- dren. The youngest of them was Su-
layman (as). Before he died S. Daud (as) spoke to Jibrail (as) saying that he wanted Sulayman (as) to be his heir, but since he was the youngest he did not know how he could accomplish this.
Jibrail (as) told him to spread sand on the floor of a small room and have each of his sons plant their staff upright into it and write his name beside it in the sand. The one whose stick had begun to sprout by morning would be his heir. They did this. Then they shut and locked the room.
The next day when they opened the room all the staffs were still dry and dead sticks except for the staff of Sulayman (as) which had grown into a huge tree. So all Daud ’s (as) sons accepted the choice of S. Su- layman (as) as sultan and they took swore allegiance to
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him.
Once he was on the throne S. Jibrail (as) came to Sulayman (as) and told him that he must look af- ter the poor ones. S. Sulayman (as) asked, “O Jibrail (as), which ones are the poor ones? Even Imyself am poor. I have nothing of my own. ” S. Jibrail (as) told him to go to the top of the mountain where a lady was living with two orphans, “Go look after her, ” he said.
Sulayman (as) climbed the mountain and found a lady living in a poor hut with two daughters. Both her arms were covered with scratches and there was just a tattered mat on the hard floor. Sulayman (as) asked about the scratches and she told him that her girls slept with their heads on her arms at night so that her dear children would not hurt their heads on the rough floor. She said her husband had died a martyr and she had no family in this land to look after her.
Sulayman (as) said, “Allah made it permissible for you to marry someone to care for you and your daugh- ters. ” She replied, “I can’t bear to bring a stepfather to care for my daughters. That’s why I remain patient. ” Sulayman (as) said, “If a good man comes you
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must marry him. ”
Sulayman (as) was very sad for this family. He returned to the palace. He made du’
Link: https://www.nvrislam.net/index.php?j=eng&post=5747
lt is enjoying the hospitality of S. Ibrahim (as) until the end of time.
The souls who answered Labbayk once will
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make Haj j one time. The souls who answered twice will make Haj j two times and so on.
The first Ka’aba was actually the Bayt al Ma’mur which, at the time of the flood, was raised to the fourth heaven. It is there today and the angels make Tawwaf around it. It is exactly the same as the Ka’aba in Mecca and directly above it. If it should fall it would occupy exactly the same space. But it will not fall or come to this earth again.
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ISuhbat 10
Once Khidr (as) asked his Lord, “Ya Rab- bi, in Qur’an it says that everything, wet or
dry, is contained in the Kitab al-Mubin. Teach me because I don’t know all of it. ”
He was told to go to the most elevated Imam, Abu Hanifa (ra). He stayed with him for five years. After five years Imam Abu Hanifa (ra) died. So Khidr (as) asked to be allowed in enter his tomb and continue to learn from Abu Hanifa (ra) there. He stayed twenty-five years in the tomb of Abu Hanifa (ra) and finished all truths of the Qur’an, thirty years of knowledge.
In that same village there was a fatherless boy who was very hardworking and kind. Heearned three coins a day as a laborer. One coin he gave to his mother, one
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he gave as sadaqa and one he kept to live on. This boy had only one desire in his heart and that was to learn. But he had no money and he had no time. The de- sire to learn grew within him until finally he asked his mother what he should do.
His mother told him to go to Samarqand. Al- though it broke her heart to let him go she had to do it. He arranged to travel with a friend. His mother hugged him and stood by the door to watch him leave. Her heart prayed silently to Allah: “My Lord if you don’t bring him back I will not move from this door. ”
The two boys journeyed on until it was time to pray. The boy knew that his mother’s permission came from her tongue not from her heart. He made ablution in preparation to pray and a little urine got on his clothes. He thought, “The first time only my clothes are dirt- ied. The second time it will be my body and the third time it will be my soul. Imust return to my mother. It is better. ” But his heart remained heavy, longing for knowledge.
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When he returned, he found his mother still stand- ing by the door. They hugged each other in joy. He re- turned to his old life carrying firewood on his shoulders and selling it. He and his mother lived in a one-room house. At night he prayed on the roof so as not to both- er his mother. Even in the deep snow he kept praying.
One night this boy heard a voice calling him from down below. It was an old man who climbed to the rooftop and announced that he had come in answer to the boy’s prayer for knowledge. So every night at Tahaj jud this man came to teach the boy for one hour. This old manwas Khidr (as) and what he had learned in thirty years he taught the boy in three years.
The boy grew up to be Imam Qushayri. He pos- sessed ‘ilm/knowledge that no one else had. He became very famous and had many disciples. He wrote a book of one thousand volumes. He put these volumes in a box and told his closest companion to throw them in the river Dijla in Iraq.
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The murid was about to obey when the idea oc- curred to him to hide the precious volumes instead. He returned to the Shaykh who asked him what he had seen. “Nothing,” he answered. The Shaykh then knew the man had not thrown the box in the river. He commanded him to go a second time and a second time the disciple could not get himself to throw his master’s works in the river. On returning to the Shaykh he still answered his question by saying he had seen nothing. So for a third time the Shaykh sent his disciple to do as he asked. This time the man could only obey. He picked up the box and heaved it into the middle of the river. A huge hand rose out of the water and grabbed the box like a box of matches. The disciple asked the hand who it belonged to. “I am the angel entrusted to protect the books of Imam Qushayri,” a voice an- swered.
Now the disciple returned and told his Shaykh what he had seen and he asked for an explanation. The Shaykh told him that he had prayed to be of benefit
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to the community of the Last Prophet, Muhammad (sas), in the later days. The book will be hidden un- til Isa (as) returns. The Anti-Christ will come and burn all the truthful books. Then Isa (as) will make two rakats and the books of Qushayri (ra) will reap- pear and spread the lost knowledge everywhere. This is the help for the community of Muhammad (sas) that the knowledges of Qur’an are kept safely hidden until they are needed at the end of times.
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The Sto1r1thySofohbThat
Suhbat 11
Once long ago there was a man who was very, very rich but he had no children. His
brother had two boys. The brother died and the rich uncle took the boys into his home. The boys lived there and became more and more envious and greedy. All they wanted was their uncle’s money.
They talked together and decided that it might take much too long for their uncle to die naturally. They de- termined to kill him in spite of the fact that he was very generous to them.
Together they murdered him and dragged his body out of town. They did not bury it but left it lying on the open ground. They went home and began cry- ing, “Where, oh where, is our beloved uncle?”
The place where they placed the body was on the border between two towns. Each town accused the other of the murder because they both loved the old
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man equally.
The boys said they wanted revenge and they wanted blood money. This was in the time of the Prophet Musa (as) and people went to him to solve their differences. Musa (as) asked his Lord, “Show us the truth. ” So Allah ordered them to slaughter a cow and take the tongue and the tail to the corpse.
The Bani Israil thought at the time that this was a joke. So they began to ask frivolous questions about what kind of cow. If they had just obeyed, any cow would have done, but they kept asking so the kind of cow became more and more specific until only one particular cow would do: a yellow cow owned by a poor boy who used to carry wood from the mountains to sell. This boy worked so hard that he had cuts all over his back from the weight of the bundles of wood and his clothes were stuck to him in dried blood.
He told his mother that he wished they had an ani- mal to help carry the wood. She told him that his fa- ther had left him a yellow calf that had been put out to pasture. If the boy called the cow would come.
So the boy went to the pasture and called the yel-
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low cow and he recognized it as if he had known it all his life. He took the cow home.
His mother told him to take it to market and sell it. With the money he should buy a donkey and save the rest of the money. He went to market where a man offered him twenty coins. The boy had to go home and check with his mother. She gave him permission to sell but the next day on his way to market another man offered him thirty coins. This confused him so he went home to check with his mother. She told him to stop coming back. He should just sell the cow.
He returned to the market the next day and an- other man told the boy that his cow was very precious and he advised the boy to sell the cow only on the con- dition that when they kill it they do so without cutting the skin. Then they should take the intact skin and fill it with gold and that would be the price of the cow. This third man was really an angel sent by Allah and the boy must obey.
The Bani Israil accepted the boy’s terms because this was now the only cow that would serve Allah’s purpose. So the Bani Israil slaughtered the cow and
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beat the corpse of the old man with the tongue and tail. The dead man sat up and said, “My nephews killed me. ”
The Bani Israil filled the cow’s skin with the dead man’s fortune and gave it to the boy. And all of this was because of the baraka of the boy who always pleased his mother..
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Suhbat 12
Once there was a lady who had a son who did all the forbidden things (drinking, gambling,
etc.). The lady was a disciple of Hassan al-Basra (q) and she was pious and good. Everyday she went to the Shaykh and asked him to pray for her boy. Everyday the Shaykh said to her, “InshaAllah,” and everyday the boy remained the same.
One day the boy left home and did not return until the next morning.
The mother went again to the Shaykh. This time he told her to go home, get her ablution and pray. At the end she should make du’a herself because the du’a of the mother is always accepted.
She prayed all night while her son was out drink- ing with his friends. While he was drinking heavily he suddenly heard a voice coming out of his cup. It said, “You despair of Allah’s mercy. ” He threw the cup to
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the floor and he immediately repented sincerely. His friends made fun of him by telling him he was just like his mother, but he did not mind.
As morning approached the boy reached his home repentant. He found his mother making du’a for him and her tears were pooling under her prayer rug. He hugged his mother and told her he repented and would never touch drink again. She hugged her son and he became limp and unconscious in her arms. Maybe he has fainted she thought and threw cold water on his face. But no, her beloved son was still lying like the dead.
She went to the Shaykh and told him. The Shaykh instructed her to put the body of her son on a donkey and go to the Ka’aba in Mecca. There she should make tawwaf seven times. If he woke up then she could return home, but if he didn’t then she must con- tinue on to the Lebanese mountains. It took her more than a month to travel to Mecca but she completed the journey and made tawwaf. Nothing happened. Her son was still as if he were dead.
So she put him back on the donkey and went to the Lebanese mountains. It took many, many months.
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Finally they reached a garden. She saw seven men at the end of it standing in line ready to make the fu- neral prayer. When they saw her they explained that they were saints and that their Shaykh had died. He had told them just before dying to wait until their new Shaykh would appear and lead them in his funeral prayer.
The lady looked at her son and he was struggling to get off the donkey. “O my mother,” he said, “do I have any clean clothes?” He took the clean clothes and made ablution in a nearby waterfall and then he led the saints in the funeral prayer.
“O mother,” the boy said, “you made du’a for me and now we must part until the end of time. ”
Then he left with the saints, walking up the moun- tain until they disappeared from sight.
This is the power of the mother’s du’a. Allah made the boy unconscious as a khalwat to clean the boy for his new job.
A mother’s du’a is accepted like a prophet’s du’a. Sometimes mothers get upset and in anger they ask some punishment for their children but a mother’s love is
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like a wall protecting her children. No harm can enter. Once the sahaba (ra) asked the Prophet (sas), “What do we do if we have no mother to make du’a for us?” He answered, “Then do kind favors for the people your mother loved. Your mother will be pleased
and make du’a for you in eternity. ”
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Suhbat 13
There was a king who decided that Khidr (as) must be among the believers and he
wanted to meet him. So he sent all his ministers out looking around the country for anyone who knew where to find S. Khidr (as). No one had seen him or knew anything. Finally one poor dervish answered that he could find Khidr (as). The King then commanded that he should produce him. The dervish answered that he had no time to search for Khidr (as) because he had to provide for himself and his family. They asked how many days he needed. He replied, “Forty days. ” So the king sent provisions for forty days to the house of the dervish so that he would be free to search for S. Khidr (as).
The wife of the dervish thought he must have stolen all that food and asked him about it. He told her. She asked if he really knew where to find Khidr (as). The
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dervish answered that his plan was to relax and enjoy the food and rest for forty days and then maybe Allah would send Khidr (as).
They did this. On the thirty-ninth day there was still no sign of S. Khidr (as) and the dervish knew that the king would behead him. So he planned to run away early in the morning of the fortieth day. But Allah kept the dervish and his family asleep late until noon the next day at which time they were awakened by a loud knocking at the door. It was the soldiers of the King. They escorted the dervish alone to the palace that was crowded with people hoping to see S. Khidr (as). In front of the King were two chairs one of gold and one of wood. The dervish sat on the wooden chair. The king then asked for Khidr (as) and the dervish had to tell the truth: he had no idea. The king was very angry and he asked his ministers what punishment was appro- priate to inflict on the dervish.
The first Minister said to cut him into pieces and hang the pieces around the city to warn the people not to lie to their king.
A small boy in the crowd called out, “Everything
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returns to its origins. ”
The second Minister said “No, better to rip his flesh from his bones, and grind it up and scatter it to the dogs. ”
The small boy called out again, “Everything re- turns to its origins. ”
The third Minister advised the King saying that he had every right to kill the dervish, but if he spared his life the people would be impressed and love the Kind for the mercy he showed.
The small boy repeated again, “Everything returns to its origins. ”
The King then asked the dervish, “Is that your son?” But the dervish said he did not know the boy and thought he belonged to the court. But no one in the palace knew the boy. So finally the King asked the boy himself for his name.
He answered that he was S. Khidr (as). The King then asked him to explain what he had been saying. He said that the first Minister was the son of a butcher and so made judgments befitting a butcher. The second Minister was the son of a cook and so made
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judgments like a cook. The third Minister was the son of a minister and so his judgment took into account how to please and win over the people. The King should appoint him chief Minister, and the others, chief butch- er and cook. He then told the King, “You are not tak- ing good care of your people if they are so hungry they have to lie to eat. A king’s job is to take care of his people and look after their welfare. ” And with that S. Khi- dr (as) disappeared.
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Suhbat 14
brahim (as) loved guests. If he had no guests he would fast. If he still had no
guests he would break his fast on only water and so on. One time he fasted three days in a row. And it came to his heart, “Is there anyone else in the world like me?”
Allah inspired Ibrahim (as) and told him to trav- el around and look at the people and learn. So he traveled until he came to a place with hollow trees. He looked inside one tree and he saw a man and he said, “As-salamu alaykum. Iwould like to be your guest. ” The man replied, “Welcome, guest of Allah. ” Ibrahim (as) looked around and saw no pots, no food, no cooking. He wondered how they were going to break fast. Outside he saw a bowl with two pomegran-
ates.
The man broke fast on the seeds of the pomegran- ate with thanks to Allah for sending a guest. Ibrahim
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(as) then asked him how often he broke his fast. He answered that he broke only when a guest came and that was about once a month.
Ibrahim (as) was astonished, because he broke fast every third day. Ibrahim (as) then asked him if no guest came what he would do. The man answered that he would fast another month.
Ibrahim (as) expressed his wonderment. The man then told him that this was nothing, that there was a higher saint one day’s journey away. So Ibrahim (as) followed his directions and found a man sitting in a cave. He gave his salams and asked to be his guest. “Welcome, guest of Allah,” the man said, but contin- ued to sit without doing anything.
At sunset they rose and prayed together but there was no sign of food or cooking. Just then a deer passed by. The man pointed to the deer to come and when it arrived it was already cooked and ready to eat.
The man thanked Allah for sending him a guest. Ibrahim (as) asked him how often he broke his fast. “Once in two months,” he replied. “And if no guest ar- rives I fast another two months. ”
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Ibrahim (as) was astonished. “Is there another like you around here?” he asked. “Yes indeed, ” said the man, “In the Lebanese mountains. ”
So Ibrahim (as) went to the mountains and found a well-dressed man with a beautiful turban. Ibrahim (as) said to him, “I would like to be your guest. ” He replied, ”Welcome, guest of Allah,” and took Ibra- him (as) to a cave that was furnished very comfortably and richly. Ibrahim (as) liked the cave very much and the way it was outfitted.
They prayed the sunset prayer together, and then the man asked Allah to bring them food to break fast. The ceiling of the cave opened and a table descended with all kinds of food on it. They ate and the man thanked Allah and the table ascended and the ceiling closed.
“How often do you break fast?” asked Ibrahim (as). “Every three months,” his host answered. “And if there is no guest I fast another three months. ”
Ibrahim (as) then asked him if the cave was his house. “Oh no,” said the man. “This is a mosque. I have another house. ” Ibrahim (as) asked if he might
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see it. The man told him to go to the cave next door. He said, “If you come back I will take you to my house. ” Ibrahim (as) went next door and found a cave.
Inside a huge lion was roaring and making the moun- tain shake. Ibrahim (as) said to the lion, “Be still. This is Ibrahim in front of you,” and the lion became peace- ful.
Ibrahim (as) then returned to the man who told him to close his eyes and climb on his back. They flew through the air until they reached an island in the mid- dle of the sea. There was a long rug on the shore for praying. The direction of prayer was marked by stones, a broken jug held water for ablution, and there was a small oil lamp. Ibrahim (as) was very surprised because the cave had been very luxurious but the saint’s house was very spare.
Ibrahim (as) asked the man to make du’a for him. But the man said sadly that his du’a was never accept- ed. Ibrahim (as) asked him how this could be? The man answered that for forty years he had been making one du’a and that it had never been granted. Ibrahim (as) then asked what he had been asking for.
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“Once, forty years ago on one of my travels, I saw a beautiful long-haired boy by the sea crying. He was saying, ‘Oh I want to see my father, Ibrahim. ’” This beautiful boy was Ismail (as). Since that time the man had had a longing to meet the father of that beautiful boy. He had made du’a for forty years to meet Ibra- him (as).
Then Ibrahim (as) told the man who he was and they embraced and the man happily breathed his last breath. Ibrahim (as) felt so sad. He washed him, wrapped him and buried him. Allah sent an angel to take Ibrahim (as) from that island on his back. The angel asked Ibrahim (as) where he wanted to go. “To the end of the world, ” said Ibrahim (as).
He reached the end of the world and found a gate decorated with precious stones. He was told it was the gate of tawba (repentance) and it would remain open until the sun should rise from the West. Then it would close.
Then Ibrahim (as) asked the angel to carry him to Ismail (as). Ibrahim (as) and his son hugged and the Prophet Ibrahim (as) made tawba for having thought
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that he was so special for fasting three days waiting for a guest.
For every level there is a higher level. Allah is not happy with those who think too well of themselves.
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Suhbat 15
Sayydina Fatima (ra) was looked after very well by S. Ali (ra). When she passed by
the door he jumped to his feet out of respect for her, the Prophet’s (sas) daughter. But she did not rise to her feet for him.
She was called the Mistress of all women.
One day when she was sitting with her father she asked who among them would be the first to pass to Paradise?
He said the wife of a certain shepherd would be the first. Fatima (ra) was very surprised. She asked to go visit her to learn why she would be the first.
She went to the poor cottage where the woman lived. She knocked at the door and announced her- self. The lady answered in a gruff voice that she had no permission to open the door, and to please go away and
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come again the next day.
Fatima (ra) went home. The next day she went again to the shepherd lady’s cottage, this time with her small son Hassan.
The lady answered her knock by saying “Oh, I only took permission from my husband for you to enter, not the little boy. Please go away and come again to- morrow. ”
The next day Fatima (ra) returned, this time with Hassan (ra) and the infant Hussain (ra) in her arms.
Again she was turned away, for the women had no permission for the baby.
Three days S. Fatima (ra) had been turned away but her adab was so good and her patience so plentiful that she returned again the fourth day.
This time the gruff old voice of the shepherd lady said she had permission to enter. Once inside Fatima (ra) found a lovely young woman. She had been put- ting wool in her mouth to make her voice ugly.
The lady sat Fatima (ra) and the children inside the small house while she sat outside in the sun. Fatima
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(ra) invited her to squeeze in with her but she said that her husband, the shepherd, worked outside in the sun all day. So it was not right that she sit in the shade.
The lady put a bag of breadcrumbs in the sun. Fa- tima (ra) asked why. The lady said that her husband ’s lunch sits all day in the sun so hers should as well.
She had two clay pots of water one in the shade and one in the sun. She drank the hot water, as her hus- band must be doing.
She set food on the table and three plates, one hot, one lukewarm and one cold. When her husband re- turns he could choose the one he preferred.
As Fatima (ra) was leaving she saw a strong stick behind the door. The lady said that sometimes her hus- band returned, angry with the sheep, so she provides him with the stick to beat her instead and feel better.
Fatima (ra) went home and cleaned her house until it shone. She prepared three bowls of soup, hot, warm, and cold. When Ali (ra) returned she jumped
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up to greet him.
He was very surprised and asked what had hap- pened. When she told him he was so happy that he said, “I will not enter the house until I kill one hundred unbelievers. ”
Then because of this vow he could not enter his own house for many days and S. Fatima (ra) went to ask her father the whereabouts of her husband. He was sleeping in the mosque in order to keep his vow.
Ali (ra) explained to the Prophet (sas) what had happened. The Prophet (sas) ordered him to go to a man sitting in the mosque reading The Quran and slice him through the middle. Ali (ra) objected but the Prophet (sas) insisted.
So Ali (ra) went and cut the man in half. One half became a monkey and one half became a pig and both jumped out of the window.
“Now you can go home” the Prophet (sas) told him. Your oath is fulfilled. ” But first Ali (ra) wanted to know about the man. The Prophet (sas) told him
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that the upper half was always reciting The Quran from pride rather than from the heart and so it was like a monkey. The lower half he was not keeping clean so it was like a pig.
Ali (ra) went home to Fatima (ra) his wife.
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Suhbat 16
Two beautiful men approached the Prophet (sas) and asked him to give them the secret
of Fatihah. The Prophet (sas) asked who they were and where they came from.
They said they were from an earlier time. They had heard there was to be one surah revealed that was so special that they prayed for a thousand years to be told this surah. Then they were told it was only for the nation of Muhammad (sas) so they prayed another thousand years to live long enough to meet the Prophet Muhammad (sas).
They were Khidr (as) and Ilyas (as) and their du’a was accepted.
Their prophethoods ended and they were now only a part of the umma of the Prophet Muhammad (sas). Muhammad (sas) gave them Fatihah and they were content. They raised their hands to ask Allah to
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take them in death now that their prayer had been an- swered. But the Prophet Muhammad (sas) put his hand over their mouths and asked them to stay. He said his umma is so weak they need all the help they can get. So Ilyas (as) became protector over people on the sea (Bahr) and Khidr (as) over the people of the earth (Barra).
They then asked the Prophet (sas) to tell them the benefits and rewards of reciting Al-Fatihah. He said that if he spoke until the end of time he could not finish, but he would tell them the rewards of Amin which is said at the end, (spelled: alif, mim, ya, nun).
Alif is written on the Arsh of Allah Almighty. Mim is written on the Kursi.
Ya is on the Preserved Tablet (lawh). Nun is on the Pen (qalam).
Alif is on the forehead of the Archangel Israfil (as).
Mim is on the forehead of Mikail (as). Ya is on the forehead of Jibrail (as).
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Nun is on the forehead of Azrail (as).
Alif is on the Torah.
Mim is on the Zabur (Psalms). Ya is on the Injil (New Testament). Nun is on The Quran.
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Suhbat 17
When S. Adam (as) was expelled from paradise Allah gave him seeds from the
wheat plant to plant on earth, saying, “Because you ate from it, your children will eat from it without ever being satisfied and they will have to eat from it daily. ”
Allah gave him two oxen to help in plowing. S. Adam (as) harnessed up the oxen to the plow and began plowing a furrow that went on and on. Finally Jibrail (as) told him to stop, saying, “This is yours and that is mine. ” Jibrail (as) had to put stones down as a boundary. Adam (as) contested the boundary and be- gan to push the stones, because humans are greedy and are always asking for more.
S. Adam (as) threw the wheat seeds in the furrow until the time of ‘asr. Hawwa (ra) planted barley un- til maghrib. The seeds took one day to grow and they were ready for harvest. The next day Adam (as) and
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Hawwa (as) wanted to continue but the heavenly oxen refused. So Adam (as) hit the oxen and the oxen ob- jected saying, “Why are you beating me?” “So that you will work more and do what I tell you to do,” said Adam (as). And then he remembered that Al- lah had told him to do something and he had not lis- tened. In memory of this terrible thing he sat down and lamented for a hundred years.
Then the oxen made a deal. “If we work,” they said, “we must share the food. ” They began to work until there were two piles, one of hay, one of grain. Adam (as) asked the oxen which pile they wanted for their share. Because it was by far the largest, they took the huge pile of hay. That is why today we are eating grain and not hay.
In the beginning the animals could talk. Since then Allah has told the animals to be quiet.
Then Allah showed Adam (as) and Hawwa (as) how to make bread from the wheat. They made three loaves. Adam (as) took two and Hawwa (ra) took one.
Adam (as) ate his two loaves right away but
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Hawwa (ra) ate only half of hers and put the other half away for the next day. This is why women always save for the morrow, and Shaykh Effendi adds that it is why women are always on a diet.
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Suhbat 18
The Prophet Daud (as) had many chil- dren. The youngest of them was Su-
layman (as). Before he died S. Daud (as) spoke to Jibrail (as) saying that he wanted Sulayman (as) to be his heir, but since he was the youngest he did not know how he could accomplish this.
Jibrail (as) told him to spread sand on the floor of a small room and have each of his sons plant their staff upright into it and write his name beside it in the sand. The one whose stick had begun to sprout by morning would be his heir. They did this. Then they shut and locked the room.
The next day when they opened the room all the staffs were still dry and dead sticks except for the staff of Sulayman (as) which had grown into a huge tree. So all Daud ’s (as) sons accepted the choice of S. Su- layman (as) as sultan and they took swore allegiance to
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him.
Once he was on the throne S. Jibrail (as) came to Sulayman (as) and told him that he must look af- ter the poor ones. S. Sulayman (as) asked, “O Jibrail (as), which ones are the poor ones? Even Imyself am poor. I have nothing of my own. ” S. Jibrail (as) told him to go to the top of the mountain where a lady was living with two orphans, “Go look after her, ” he said.
Sulayman (as) climbed the mountain and found a lady living in a poor hut with two daughters. Both her arms were covered with scratches and there was just a tattered mat on the hard floor. Sulayman (as) asked about the scratches and she told him that her girls slept with their heads on her arms at night so that her dear children would not hurt their heads on the rough floor. She said her husband had died a martyr and she had no family in this land to look after her.
Sulayman (as) said, “Allah made it permissible for you to marry someone to care for you and your daugh- ters. ” She replied, “I can’t bear to bring a stepfather to care for my daughters. That’s why I remain patient. ” Sulayman (as) said, “If a good man comes you
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must marry him. ”
Sulayman (as) was very sad for this family. He returned to the palace. He made du’
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