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Why do people come here, to the zawiyah? That desire comes to the heart, and that drives us to the places we want to go. This is what moves human beings from where they are to what they are seeking. So, what do we speak about here?
ٱتْلُ مَآ أُوحِىَ إِلَيْكَ مِنَ ٱلْكِتَـٰبِ وَأَقِمِ ٱلصَّلَوٰةَ ۖ إِنَّ ٱلصَّلَوٰةَ تَنْهَىٰ عَنِ ٱلْفَحْشَآءِ وَٱلْمُنكَرِ ۗ وَلَذِكْرُ ٱللَّهِ أَكْبَرُ ۗ وَٱللَّهُ يَعْلَمُ مَا تَصْنَعُونَ
Recite what has been revealed to you of the Book and establish prayer. Indeed, prayer should deter ˹one˺ from indecency and wickedness. The remembrance of Allah is even greater. And Allah ˹fully˺ knows what you do.
Surah Al-Ankabut 29:45
Even when two people sit together, they are in sohbat, remembering Allah and reciting from His Holy Book. One person speaks and the other listens; they both benefit from remembering the knowledge, speaking of Allah ﷻ, by Allah ﷻ, to Allah ﷻ.
وَلَكُمْ فِي ٱلۡأَرۡضِ مُسۡتَقَرّٞ وَمَتَـٰعٌ إِلَىٰ حِينٖ
“And for you on Earth will be a dwelling place and provision for a time.”
Surah Al-Baqarah (2:36)
In this ayat, Allah ﷻ is speaking to Adam ع and Eve ع, and their entire progeny, which is all of mankind. They descended from the heavens to settle on Earth for a fixed period. Our time on Earth is limited, because the time of death is set. The physical body of Adam ع settled on Earth, and the heart of Adam settled inside his physical body, and in the heart is where the Love of Allah ﷻ dwells. So the Love of Allah ﷻ is in the heart, which is in the body, which is on Earth. The Qalb (heart) is the Earth of the Love of Allah ﷻ.
Awliyallah have said, one of the (many) meanings behind Adam ع eating from the Forbidden Tree, was that he wanted to reach the higher levels of Jannah. That higher level can only be reached through the tears of yearning. There is no crying in Jannah, you already have everything you need. So when Adam ع ate from the tree, the seed of Divine Love settled in his heart.
But why was this tree's fruit forbidden? Because Allah ﷻ said, if you taste from this fruit, you will yearn for Me. You are already in Paradise, so why would you want this yearning for True Love? It's agony when your Beloved is far from you.
So it is with this Divine Love in the heart that drives seekers to their destinations on this Earth. It's the Love of Allah ﷻ that draws people here to the Zawiyah. While we are here on this Earth, we must find ways to make the Divine Love grow in our hearts. It grows from a seed, into a tree, and that tree will give you fruits. When you taste from these fruits you will find the muhabba, love of Allah, the marifah, the knowledge of Allah. The seeds bear fruits of various divine attributes. So if the tree gives the fruit of Kashf, the veils of the ego will be lifted. If it gives the fruit of mushahada, you will see and witness the Divine. If it gives wusul, you will arrive at the station of the Divine Presence. If it gives wisal, you will find direct connection to the Heavens, the Divine Headquarters. After connection, you will reach Kamal, which is Perfection. So how do you cultivate these trees? It is through La illaha ilAllah, Muhammad Ar-Rasullulah ﷺ, since we are living in the time of Prophet Muhammad ﷺ, the Last of the Messengers.
So while we are on Earth, we spend our time watering these seeds with La Illaha ilAllah and following the way of our Prophet ﷺ, until they grow into a trees with deep roots, a strong trunk, and branches that reach the heavens and give heavenly fruit. Before we came to this Earth, the Love that you tasted was forbidden to you because it causes you to suffer the pangs of separation, but it also drives you to find ways back to connection to the Divine Presence. Allah ﷻ commands the tree in your heart to give you the fruit of faith (iman) and knowledge (marifah), which will bring you back to Him. When you know about your Lord, you love Him, and you see Him with the spiritual eyes of iman. You worship Him as if you are seeing Him, sensing His presence everywhere. The moment you remember Allah ﷻ, you have reached Him, He no longer veils Himself from you.
We come to the Zawiyah to seek Knowledge of Allah and nurture the Love of Allah. We don't come here for dunya. This dunya is like a carcass, and the egos are like hyenas tearing flesh off of the dead body. We are here for something spiritual, more refined, to cultivate the fertile soil of our hearts.
Everyone is free to go anywhere they like and befriend whom they like. People are free to go where their hearts take them.
وَلَا تُجَـٰدِلُوٓا۟ أَهْلَ ٱلْكِتَـٰبِ إِلَّا بِٱلَّتِى هِىَ أَحْسَنُ إِلَّا ٱلَّذِينَ ظَلَمُوا۟ مِنْهُمْ ۖ وَقُولُوٓا۟ ءَامَنَّا بِٱلَّذِىٓ أُنزِلَ إِلَيْنَا وَأُنزِلَ إِلَيْكُمْ وَإِلَـٰهُنَا وَإِلَـٰهُكُمْ وَٰحِدٌۭ وَنَحْنُ لَهُۥ مُسْلِمُونَ
"Do not argue with the People of the Book unless gracefully, except with those of them who act wrongfully. And say, “We believe in what has been revealed to us and what was revealed to you. Our God and your God is ˹only˺ One. And to Him we submit.”
Surah Al-Ankabut 29:46
Sit with anyone you like, in order to seek to Love of Allah and to make your seeds of Divine Love grow, until you taste the fruits directly. Don't let the seeds rot in dunya, don't leave them to the worms, rodents, and mold that is Shaytan, ego, and desires. Put them in the soil and learn how to grow them, because this is all you truly need. The Perfect One doesn't need anything except Allah and His Book, which contains endless secrets....
Listen to the full sohbat and uncover the secrets of this teaching for yourself.
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