Lesson 6: Stations of Certainty
Taught By: Shaykh Yahya Rhodus
- Repentance
- Fear and Hope
- Gratitude and Patience
- Trust
- Contentment
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Maqamat al Yaqeen - Stations of Certainty
- All of these stations were exemplified in the best of manner in our Prophet (SAW)
- The Prophet said: I was only sent to perfect noble character.
- All of the messengers that came before him all had good character but the Prophet (SAW) gathered all the different character traits dispersed in the various prophets and perfected them in himself. Similarly as we say the Quran is a summation of the other scriptures likewise is the case with the Prophet (SAW).
- This is why his (SAW) ummah is special. By adhering to his way of life (i.e. sunnah) which is very simple at one level and sophisticated/extremely detailed in a deeper level. It will fulfill the most deepest desire of the most philosophical person who yearns for deep meanings just as it will fulfill the desires of those who are very simple.
- Islam is accessible to individuals at different levels: sophisticated, simple etc.
- People who have doors open up to them for sophisticated thought, they will begin to look down upon religious people and scholars and will claim that their discourse is of a simplistic discourse but in reality they say this due to their own lack of insight. The books exist for those who want to get in dept but the point is Islam as a world religion, the only true world religion intended by God has to be accessible to everyone. From the most simplistic individual who has the least portion of the intellect to the most brilliant genius who has ever lived to everyone in between.
- There has to be equal access.
- Sidi Abdul Hakeem was asked do you think they will find a unified theory of existence. He said no and his rationale was that this would give people who had stronger intellect a greater advantage to obtain the ultimate truth which is in reality we know that there was some simple people in fact that were Ummi (couldn't read or write) that reached the very pinnacles of closeness to Allah (SWT).
- GEM: Book: Pure Gold by Sidi Abdul Azeez Ad Dabbag and this will blow your mind and this person was a Ummi (he didn't know how to read or write)
- The way he's able to navigate religious issues and time it into the bigger picture is quite amazing. This is one of the amazing aspects of the deen.
- All dichotomies are reconciled in the Prophet Muhammad (SAW) The inward and the outward. The duniya and the aakhirah etc.
- This is why Imam Ghazali placed the book of noble character right in the heart of the Ihya. It's book of twenty. Half of forty is twenty.
Khauf and Raja3 - Fear and Hope
- Both are sister virtues
- Maqmat al Yaqeen are mystical virtues.
- This word mystical/mystery has been misused. We think of sherlock holmes and scooby do but it has a noble definition.
- It means that which is beyond the intellectual grasp. Experienced with the higher level of being: the heart, soul or spirit.
- These mystical virtues - they stem from one's certainty.
- Certainty is a precondition for all of these.
- Each is a prerequisite for those that come after it.
- Two wings of the believer. We have to have both of them.
- We have mechanisms in the deen that prevent these psychological conditions. It's a major sin to despair from the mercy of Allah.
- Despair is a major sin.
- GEM: In the shafi madhab - If you stand on the plain of Arafat and think you haven't been forgiven, its from the kabair - its a major sin to stand on the plain of Arafah and think you are not forgiven. It's also a major sin to feel safe from God's punishment.
- The state you want to be in is somewhere in the middle.
How to attain them?
- Annihilate yourself in love of the Prophet (SAW)
- Attach yourself with people who have these virtues.
- Then by living it (Mujahida)
- These books are not just about theory, its about living it. This is the most important thing we can be trained to do : live Islam.
- GEM: Polemic discourse gets really tiring. How many people are you going to refute before you are worried about your own heart. You will only be responsible for yourself and to the extent you can affect other people if they listen but in the end you are only responsible for yourself those that you are directly responsible for. That gives you the breathing room that you need to move forward.
Fear of the punishment of God
- We have to have the fear of punishment of God.
- He has attribute of vigor.
- We also have to have mercy but these two need to be balanced.
- We have to have times in our life where the overwhelming state is fear and there are times in our life where the overwhelming state should be of hope.
- Each one is positive. When we think about fear, we think negatively but we have to differentiate between : Fear of Nafs - which will make you feel incapacitated and fear of heart which spurs you to take action.
- If you have fear that is not spurring you into action, its fear of your lower self, its not true fear. Just as when you have hope that's not spurring you to action, its not hope . It's hope of the nafs. We have to have fear and hope. These two happen to be there at the same time.
- Those who worship Allah out of fear are like slaves. Those who worship Allah out of hope are like businessmen and those who worship Allah because he deserves to be worshiped are the truly freely and those who worship Allah out of love for him that is the highest of love and most powerful emotion of all.
- All of the stations of certainty culminate in love.
- It doesn't mean though while we are striving to be the person that worships Allah out of love for him, fear and hope have their place.
- But fear and hope based upon love is different than fear and hope that's not based upon love. Meaning your fear and hope than is directly related to the divine presence - either being close to it or distant.
- The Quraan is filled with Allah's promises and his threats. Targheeb and Tarheeb. Encouragement and warning. Generally speaking when Allah gives warning, he will give glad tidings after that or that if he gives glad tidings, he will give a warning.
Gratitude and Patience
- Sabr - Patience. One of the most foundational of all of the virtues and the most difficult to inculcate as well. Patience is to your faith what is your head is to the body. There's no way of disposing of patience. As long as we are in this world, we are required to be patience.
- Opposite is Jazaa - Panic. They are so absorbed in the moment that they respond in a way that is displeasing to Allah.
- In the end, you are the one who is going to abuse your own self, if your not patient.
- Patient is in the benefit of the patient one. It would be nice to have a patience retreat. Force people to be patient.
- We live in an age of instant gratification. Everything around us is teaching us the opposite of patience. "Have it now, don't wait." It's just buy it now and go into debt with a credit card. Worry about the consequences later. We live in a time where its very difficult to be patient. people don't have tahammul, the patience to bear difficulties.
- Tahammul means to bear difficulty or pain of something while being able to function without 'skipping a beat'.
- Tahammul is when Imam Malik was being stung by the bee seventeen times while quoting the hadith of the Prophet (SAW) and not even cringing because he wanted to relate the hadith of Ar Rasool (SAW).
- Patience has three different breakdowns:
1) Tribulations - What is our response when tribulation arises. The first response should be to turn to Allah (SWT)
2) Acts of disobedience
3) Acts of obedience
- When tribulation first strikes, what is our first response. We need to train ourselves to have our first response be to turn to Allah (SWT).
- He will try you with what you are able to bear.
- Patience pertains to tribulations and every single human being have tribulations. People have different tribulations. Some greater than others.
- Our tribulations in the state of afiyah may be more than people starving else where. What I mean is intellectual tribulations. I know the mental chains put around people's thinking and how they are tormented when they think. Until they can overcome those chains place over their minds and overcome their arrogance, they are going to be trapped and not open to guidance. This is another type of tribulation. We can argue about the intensity of it but we are not to think that just because someone is lounging in the suburbs that they don't have tribulations. I know of people who make six digit figures but can't sleep at night because they are constantly tormented about what will happen at work the next day etc. They don't have five minutes a day of repose in their heart and it never stops
- One of the beautiful things I benefitted from Mauritania. No one there goes hungry. They are the most humane people I’ve ever lived with even though they are Bedouins. They are the most generous and amazing people I’ve ever seen. They don’t make a lot of money but they are all happy. I can’t tell you the last time I saw a Mauritanian with grey hair prematurely because they are stressed out. They are not all happy but most of them are. Same with in Yemen. They have huge families and average salary is hundred dollars a month but they are happy. It is ultimately a give and take.
- Avoiding disobedient actions:
- You have to patiently avoid the Haraam.
- You have to endure it. Sometimes there is no solution except patience. The very definition of fitnah is that there is no easy way out.
- Patience in Performing acts of obedience:
- When the companions too on a sunnah, they would do it for the rest of their lives.
- Patiently endure Salah, Saum, Zakat, etc
- Something we learn through patience, we can't learn in any other way. The minimum is patience.
- Shukr - Gratitude
- Gratitude is of three types: Gratitude of the tongue, heart and limbs.
- Hadith - I am amazed at the affair of the believer.."
- This is only for the believer and requires belief in God.
- The sahabah actually preferred to be in states of difficulty because they knew the states of ease would follow.
- You will be thankful for tribulations (when you reach such a state)
- Ibn Ataillah – Tribulations are the festival days of those who are seeking closeness to God. Meaning that they see something else behind it. Seeing things being from God requires Emaan that allows you to have a very different perspective on tribulations.
- We have to be thankful with our tongue – Alhamdulillah. Duas before we wear clothes, before we eat etc.
- Gratitude also relates to the heart – exalting the giver of the blessing. Understanding that the blessing is from him. Even though that we thank people is that we are taught to always see that it is from Allah. Great object of reflection.
- Gratitude is continuous.
- Once you die there is no more zuhd, in jannah there is no zuhd, when you enter into paradise, there is no more patience, you just enjoying. You are not making istigfar anymore but Akhir dawana anil hamdulilahi rabil alameen. That their last prayer is all praise be to the lord of the worlds. Shukr and hamd remain. Gratitude and praise remains.
- Shukr pertains to the limbs.
- Highest level of gratitude is to use everything Allah has given to fulfill its purpose as commanded by Allah.
- That is the essence of gratitude.
- One of the words for the ingrate is a Kaafir. Gratitude and the foundation of disbelief is that they go hand in hand. The lack of gratitude and disbelief. Unwillingness to show gratitude relates to that covering up.
- GEM: Some of the tendencies that take place in the depths of the heart. You will find at times people that are outwardly very happy and intelligent but there hiding something between the depths of their soul. It is one of the worst sins possible that you can never see. Ultimately at the depths of their heart, they can be totally rebellious in relation to their lord and outwardly you can't ever perceive it. That what's behind what people do and what's hidden in the hearts is something that ill only become clear on Yaum Al Qiyamah.
- Article to read: Theodicy and the problem of evil. Human suffering and divine wisdom by Nuh Keller.
- Zuhd - Asceticism, detachment.
- Preferring something that is more worthy over something that is less worthy. "That the next world is better for you than this world".
- That the eternal life is more worthy to work for than the transient life.
- Highest form of zuhd is the detachment of the heart. In order to attain detachment of the heart, some people went to the extremes.
- The goal of everything is to balance. The Prophet (SAW) was a perfectly balanced person and to attain that is not necessarily easy.
- Zuhd is the solution to a lot of our problems. Spend extra money for a better cause.
- Not a poor man starves except to the extent that a rich man indulges (Ali r.a)
- Even though its permissible to take from the halal, you will be accountable. If you didn't take thanks to the Halal, you will be accountable for it.
- To teach ourselves to be frugal. Miserly is something else. Frugal is a virtue.
- Cutting back a little bit. Do you have to buy that new car. Their family sent their kids to such and such school so we have to now to . To cut the drama.
- The poverty of the Prophet was out of his choice. He could have been a king Prophet but he chose to remain frugal.
- Doing what we can to cut back. We live in a country that there is gross indulgence. Small percent of the world's population but consume about 25 o 30% of the world's resources. That is something to think about.
- Tawakkul - Trust in God
- The stronger your belief is in the oneness of Allah, naturally the more tawakkul and trust you will have.
- The fruit of belief and certainty of your belief in one god, the natural state to come is that you trust in God.
- The summary is the principle states is that you should have more trust in God than in anything you do that you have in your own hands.
- If you place your trust in your wealth, age, looks, status or anything other than Allah, if Allah loves you, He will break that down for you so you only place your trust in Allah. If Allah loves you, he will put you through the ringer, so you learn to place your trust in Allah and even though you may go through what seems to be an unbearable tribulation. The wisdom of that is that you have learned the meaning of tawakkul - relying upon Allah.
- If you have trust in Allah he will suffice you.
- Everything you do in your life - study or go for job. That you understand that despite your concern and worries, everything is in Allah's hands and control, you will find wonders of a difference in every affair you enter into. When you consciously trust in Allah, you will find constant ajaib. (wonders)
- You will see things were made easy for you that are made so difficult for other people.
- One is placing their trust in Allah and the situation is facilitated. The other is relying upon themselves they have problem after problem.
Muhabbah - Love
- The whole purpose of human being is to love Allah.
- Everything in the deen is living up to that.
- If anyone tells you Islam is not a religion of love, they have lied and don't know the deen.
- The epithet of the prophet is that he is habib of Allah.
- He has left us with the religion that if you follow it, that you will become the beloved of Allah.
- Love is the goal of everything. Love is the foundation of creation. It is why Allah brought it into existence even though its a weak hadith.
- 'I was a hidden treasure and I loved to be known'. 'I created the creation so they come to know me".
- He didn't have to create us but He loved to be known.
- The foundation of creation is love.
- Muhabbah is the essence of mercy.
- The very end of the path for us after the obligatory and supererogatory is that you come to love of Allah.
- The only thing that comes after love is Ridaa - contentment. All are pre-requisites to attain love.
- The highest thing of all is contentment. Someone is in a state of sheer contentment. They have moved up to degree where they no longer question the divine decree and they see everything as perfect. Where the veiled to be removed, you would see everything in Allah's creation as perfect. Everything.
- To someone being tortured in the torture chamber to the most evil and wicked thing you can possibly imagine happening to the most beautiful thing imagine happening. Were the veil to be lifted from your heart, you would see everything as perfect from the standpoint of Haqeeqa (reality) From the standpoint of human being taken into account, from the shariah.
- Ali (r.a) said: Were the veil to be removed, I would have chosen things to be as they already are. Meaning that he had the ability to see things that others didn't see. Because everything that happens is either in the circle of mercy or in the circle of wisdom and that translates into the next world into other realities.
- Behind every wisdom is a meaning and when someone starts to perceive that , that everything that happens in existence is a manifestation of one of the names and attributes of God. It's either a majestic name or its a name of beauty and that good and evil is in relation to human being.
- Once someone reaches a state of contentment that they are in a state of submission. A person who is content with the divine decree that the bitterest of the divine decree becomes sweet. They asked Bilal r.a while he was being tortured on the hot ground. He was asked why he was saying ahad ahad. Every time I said Ahad, it just got sweeter and sweeter and more and more pleasurable. How do you explain by someone who is shot with the arrow and they say, “I’ve been successful by the Lord of the Ka’bah”. What kind of person is this? The type of person who is going through a sever sickness at the end of their life and he says no matter how much you put me through pain, you know my heart loves you. Through ridaa and contentment that it opens up a whole new aspect in the divine decree.
- The sour divine decree becomes sweet when you see it is from the wisdom of Allah because you see that everything he sends your way, ultimately it is what is best for you. The key is in the way you respond. How do you respond to the divine decree
- You are required to deal with your own reality. If you tap into the prophet sunnah, you will learn to live out of your reality. You will be able to live out of the comfort of your own reality. To force yourself to live other people’s realit
- The prophet taught us and twice in the Quraan: Perhaps you will kill yourself out of grief. He was concerned for ALL people.
- STORY: When we were recently in Toronto and Habib Ali told us and said quote me on it” If you were ever in a mosque and you hear people preaching words of hate and excommunicating others and making takfeer, make a scene and walk out of the mosque and Jummah is not wajib upon you. This stuff has to stop.” This is the most serious crisis and it has to simply stop.
- Who was our prophet (SAW)? If he was going to move an entire army because a female dog is giving birth to a pup as to not to disturb her, you don’t think he’s going to be concerned about a Kaafir? If he’s concerned about inanimate objects, don’t you think he will be concerned about the kaafir? What is this nonsense? Why have we reached such a sub human level, that we have to remind people to be human let alone religious? This is a given. When you walk outside of house whether its Muslim or not Muslim, dog, swine, horse, bug. You can’t even kill a bug if it is not harming you. Let alone a human soul. And the fact that we are at such a remedial stage that we even have to mention this shows why we are as backwards as we are and why we are in the situation we are in.
- The Muslims are the Khulafa of Allah on earth. It’s because we are in such a state of decadence that the world is in the state that it is in.
- Until Muslims recognize who they are and their responsibility we have to the world, we are not going to get out of the situation we are in. It’s our fault and we should blame ourselves for everything that is happening. All this pointing of fingers is totally foreign to us. Allah has promised us victory but we have a responsibility.
- We have sidq and we have ikhlas. There are related but difference. All of sincerity is sidq but not all of sidq is sincerity.
- Sincerity is that were you to choose the best of intentions that is to draw near to Allah (SWT) in anything you do and to worship him because he deserves to be worshipped. Anything else to do it for clear motives, to do it for your health, for people… takes away from your sincerity.
- Sidq is that everything you do that you place your maximum benefit in it.
- You have truthfulness of your speech, your state, your action.
- Learning how to be truthful in your tongue. To learn about what is a lie and what’s not a lie.
- Be truthful in your state and in your dealing with people leads to truthfulness of your over all state.
- Result of this is: He becomes intimately acquainted with Allah. He becomes an Aarif. Someone who knows God. Which is the purpose of existence, it is for us to know God.
- We should be thinking about this in everything we do. What is behind that? It will take you to knowledge of Allah.
- We will be free when we submit to Allah (SWT)
- If you do all of this you will become the Mehboob.
- Imam haddad..two twins came into his presence. Outwardly he couldn’t see. One he praised extensively and the other he just welcome a little bit and as they are walking out. They went back because one was a scholar and said maybe he got it wrong. He said what do you say of the one who is mehboob? One is already mehboob to Allah and other is still trying to be beloved to Allah.
- The divine selection is when you become beloved to Allah.
- People outwardly would do anything to be elected, to be on tv, to smile and take a picture with obama etc. All that matters is when your Lord calls out to Jibreel and says Ya Jibreel, I love so and so so love him. Jibreel will say to the angels in heaven, I love so and so so love him. And then this person will be placed and given acceptance in this earth and sometimes become chosen by Allah and beloved to Allah. At that point it doesn’t matter what anyone thinks of you. No one can take away from that.
- Allah said to Musa a.s. I have created you for me. If that doesn’t move our hearts, I don’t know what will.
- There are certain servants that Allah has created for himself.
- We should love them and be desired to be with them and the beauty that you will experience when the inner realm of beauty opens up, this is where the tongue stops and there is nothing else that needs to be said. All you need to do is to take it seriously and collectively tread this path. When you perceive the tranquility that comes with it, there’s nothing that could be said, its just about experiencing the beauties of what Allah has prepared for his righteous servants and then no eye has seen no ear has heard and that which even comes to the heart of anyone.
- We are blessed to be part of this deen. Make mujahidah and attaching our hearts to Allah and his beloved of Allah (SWT).
- The greatest proof of this is that there are thousands upon thousands who have realized this deen.
- Hadith : There will be 70,000 people of this ummah who will get into Paradise without reckoning and each of those will have additional 70,000 and they were asked about who they were and were given the description.