Neither Heavens nor Earth Can Contain Laa ilaha ill Llah Mawlana Shaykh Hisham Kabbani 5 March

2011 Burton, Michigan Suhbah at As-Siddiq Mosque A oodhu billahi min ash-Shaytaani 'r-rajeem. Bismillahi 'r-Rahmaani 'r-Raheem. Nawaytu 'l-arba een, nawaytu 'l- itikaaf, nawaytu 'l-khalwah, nawaytu 'l- uzlah, nawaytu 'r-riyaadah, nawaytu 's-sulook, lillahi ta ala fee haadha 'l-masjid. Ati oollaha wa ati oo 'r-Rasoola wa ooli 'l-amri minkum. Obey Allah, obey the Prophet, and obey those in authority among you. (4:59) Allahumma salli wa salllim wa baarik ala Sayyidina Muhammad (s) wa ala alihi w a sahbihi ajma een. Allah (swt) said in His noble Book: inna-Llaha wa malaa'ikatahu yusalloona ala 'n-nabi, yaa ayyuhal-ladheena aamano o salloo alayhi was sallimoo tasleemaa. Verily, Allah and His angels send praise on the Prophet. O Believers! Pray upon him and greet him. (al 'Ahzaab, 33:56) Inna is for ta'keed, a confirmation that Allah and His angels are praising the Pro phet (s). No one can elevate or raise themselves, but the ego, with all its bad desires and tricks, tries its best to tell you otherwise. It says to you, You are the best and the greatest, is it not? You know the ego is tricking you when it g ives you a title that does not belong to you. Who can give a title to someone? N o one can give a title to themselves or anyone else, because if it is not coming from Allah (swt), these dunya titles have no importance! Qaalati 'l-A araabu aamannaa qul lam tu'minoo wa laakin qooloo aslaamnaa wa lamm aa yadkhuli 'l-imaanu fee quloobikum wa in tutee oollaaha wa rasoolahu laa yalit kum min aamaalikum shayan innAllaaha Ghafoorun Raheem. The Arabs declare, "We believe." Say (to them), "You do not. Rather say, 'We sub mit,' because belief has not yet found its way into your hearts. If you obey All ah and His Messenger, He will not reduce a thing from your deeds. Allah is the O ft-Forgiving and the Most Merciful." (49:14) So dont say, we believe, say, we became Muslim, we are not believers yet, until imaa n has entered our hearts. But how will you know imaan has entered your heart, who will tell you? Me, you, or someone else? No! It has to be from Allah (swt). To day people are making fake titles for themselves and we are seeing many of them fall down one by one in the Middle East. Why is it happening there? Because it i s the Holy Land of prophethood; all prophets came from that area. So everyone wh o gave titles to themselves are now falling. Who can give titles? Only Allah (swt), and He did not give titles to anyone exce pt Sayyidina Muhammad (s). He didnt say to anyone else, You are Abd Allah. Sayyidi na 'Isa (a) called himself Abd Allah. qaala innee abdAllahi ataaniyyal kitaaba wa ja alanee nabiyya. He said, Behold, I am a servant of God. He has vouchsafed unto me revelation and made me a prophet. (al-Maryam, 19:30) But Allah gave Sayyidina Muhammad (s) the true title of abdAllah. Allah is saying , yaa ayyuhal-ladheena aamanoo salloo alayh, Me and My angels are sending praise on the Prophet (s)! He gave him the title, Praised One. No one is praised except t he Prophet (s) as Allah (swt) raised him. You cannot say Laa ilaaha illa-Llah wit hout saying Muhammadun Rasoolullah. You may say Laa ilaaha illa-Llah millions of tim es, but you will not be rewarded until you say, Muhammadun Rasoolullah. One cannot become a Muslim unless they declare Laa ilaaha illa-Llah followed by Muhammadun Ra soolullah. This way, Allah is giving greatness to Prophet (s). People dont give th e right to the Prophet (s). They say, He was simply a postman who came, gave the message, and left. What is this stupidity? Your Prophet (s) is your hero! You mus t praise him to show that he is our hero and the role model for human beings. So we have confirmed now that without saying Muhammadun Rasoolullah, you cannot b e a Muslim. Therefore, we have to say Laa ilaaha illa-Llah Muhammadun Rasoolullah .

It is said, Laa ilaaha illa-Llah hadha al-ismil azham alladhee hasala bihi al-f adal, wa law qaala biha mukallaf wa lam yutimma amdan faqad kafar, If one says La a ilaaha illa-Llah without intentionally saying Muhammadun Rasoolullah, that is an indication of kufr (unbelief) in their heart. Although whoever says Laa ilaaha ill a-Llah will enter Paradise, your heart must be engraved by Muhammadun Rasoolullah. Shaykh Ahmad Zayn-adDahlan is a very famous scholar from the early 20th century w ho wrote many books such as As-Sawaiq al-Muhriqa, the first book we translated t o English. In his book Taqreebul Usool, he wrote that Muhammad bin Ali Tirmidhi said, Allah's servant will come on the Day of Judgment looking at the Scale, beca use Allah is going to judge everyone according to what they did, and he will not see Laa ilaaha illa-Llah in the Balance. So then the servant will ask, "Where is it? I used to recite Laa ilaaha illa-Llah Muhammadun Rasoolullah all my life, but I cannot see it. Where is it? Because it will make my amal (good deeds) strong. You have to know that Laa ilaaha illa-Llah Muhammadun Rasoolullah is going to sa ve you from punishment on the Day of Judgment! That is why it is imperative to k eep reciting Laa ilaaha illa-Llah Muhammadun Rasoolullah as much as we can, as i t will disable Shaytan from moving. But on the Day of Judgment when you look for it you will not find it. Why? Allahs servant will ask, Yaa Rabbee, laa ajidhou fe e meezaanee, Where is it, I cant find it in my Scale? And then a voice comes and sa ys to him, Yaa abdee, Laa ilaaha illa-Llah is not something easy. It is the diff erence between belief and unbelief, maa bayn al-kufri wal-imaan. It is not somet hing that has no power, rather is something very heavy. Not everyone can carry i t. Even the Balance that can contain the entire Heavens and Earth is on one side . And that is what we are seeing. Earth is not even a dot in our solar system; the Balance is bigger than Earth, our galaxies and the entire universe, because it can take it like a ring in a desert. In fact, it can take much more than that. Do not think Allah is not going to reward Muslims and mumin. A Muslim may not be a mumin, but a mumin is a Muslim. One can be a Muslim by saying, Laa ilaaha illa-Ll ah Muhammadun Rasoolullah, but they might still drink acohol or be involved in ot her such activities. This whole universe can go on one side of the Balance and m ight even disappear. So dont think Allah is not going to reward Muslims. Just one declaration of Laa ilaaha illa-Llah Muhammadun Rasoolullah is going to give you u nlimited rewards as it is bigger then the whole Balance. The Balance is like a p in in the desert in comparison to Laa ilaaha illa-Llah Muhammadun Rasoolullah, a nd the universe is like pin in the desert in comparison to the Balance. So they will say, How can a created Balance hold something that is Uncreated? All ah is Uncreated and He creates. The Balance is created, but Laa ilaaha illa-Llah is not created. It is Allah's confirmation, negating and confirming that there is no Creator except Allah. Allahu Akbar! The voice will come and say, Laa yas uha l-meezan, The Balance cannot contain it, w hich is created. The universe is also created, so it too cannot contain La ilaah a illa-Llah. The Heavens is also created. That means that the one who says, Laa i laaha illa-Llah Muhammadun Rasoolullah, is above Heavens. Idha nazalat fee 'l-maj lis imma yadhak aw yabqee, When the manifestation comes on the gathering, there m ay be a tajalli of laughing or crying. Right now we are laughing, this is a taja lli of mercy. Thus, neither Heavens nor Earth can contain Laa ilaaha illa-Llah. And the proof is in what Prophet (s) said, subhaanAllah wa bihamdihi tamlau l-meezaan, which is w hat you say in sajdah. In ruk u you say, subhaanAllahil- azheem wa bihamdihi, an d in sajdah, subhaanAllah Rabbee al- ala wa bi hamdih. Why does it change in saj dah from ruk u? It is to tell you that He is the Most High, so give Him a prostr ation. Thus, in prostration you must remember that Allah is the Highest and you are the lowest. The lowest makes sajdah to Highest, and no one on Earth is high. That is why Prophet (s) said, The most lovely time is when Allah calls me abd. SubhaanAllah, look at how great Islam is; it teaches humbleness. Sayyidina Adam, Sayyidina Nuh, Sayyidina Ibrahim, Sayyidina Musa, Sayyidina Isa (a) through Sa yyidina Muhammad (s), hence, all prophets are happy to say, I am a servant. Servan thood teaches you humbleness. Whoever denies this shows arrogance. They humiliat ed Sayyidina Isa (a) in front of His Lord by saying, You are the son of God.

It is said in the Holy Quran: wa idh qaal Allahu yaa Isaa bna maryam aanta qulta lin-naas ittakhidhoonee wa umm iya ilahayni min doonillahi qaala subhaanaka maa yakoonoo lee an aqoola ma laysa lee bi-haqqin in kuntu qultuhu faqad alimtahu t alamu maa fee nafsee wa laa a lamoo ma fee nafsika innaka anta allama l-ghuyoob. And behold, Allah will say, O Jesus, son of Mary! Did you say unto men, Worship me and my mother as gods in derogation of Allah? He will say, Glory to You! Never cou ld I say what I had no right (to say). Had I said such a thing, You would indeed have known it. You know what is in my heart, and I know not what is in Yours, f or You know in full all that is hidden. (al-Maidah, 5:116) What will happen if you are questioned on the Day of Judgment? You shake from fe ar in front of a normal judge! That is why on the Day of Judgment, people will b e running for shaf a (intercession) of Prophet (s). So Allah will reprimand Sayy idina 'Isa (a) on Judgment Day, Did you dare say to people, Take me and my mother as two gods besides Allah? Prophet (s) never claimed to be God. It says in the noble Quran: Qul innamaa anaa basharun mithlukum yooha ilayya. Say (O Prophet), "I am but a mortal man like all of you." (18:110) Sayyidina Isa (as) said, I am Allah's servant. Allah gave Me the Book and taught me to pray and to give zakaat. But with all our love and respect to Sayyidina I sa (a), Sayyidina Muhammad (s) never claimed any title. The Holy Quran is teachin g us the difference between Prophet (s) and all other prophets. And it is quoted in a famous hadith that Prophet (s) is will be making shaf a fo r everyone, including their prophets. So in ruku you have to say, subhanAllahilazheem wa bi-hamdihi, dont cut it. Many people dont include wa bi-hamdihi. tamla ma bayna s-samawaati wa l-ard, All things between Heavens and Earth are full of angels making that tasbeeh and all of that is rewarded to you when you recite that. Sub haanAllah wa bi hamdihi fills up what is between Heavens and Earth. And as we hav e mentioned before, due to the enormity of the Balance, all of Heavens and Earth will go into it and disappear, like a ring in an ocean. And then he said, alham dulillah, tamlau l-meezaan. Alhamdulillah fills and takes over the Balance. Tamlau l -meezaan, the Balance is contained by alhamdulillah. So the Balance can contain the whole Heavens and Earth, what have we lost? What is between Heaven and Earth can disappear into the Balance and alhamdulillah fille d the meezan, so where can anything else go? That is why that servant will not b e able find Laa ilaaha illa-Llah, as it is above Creation and it cannot be conta ined by something that is created. This is something you need to think about; it cannot be written in a book, and here we have only explained three lines! What happened to that beautiful expression, Laa ilaaha illa-Llah? Who do you pleas e when you say, Laa ilaaha illa-Llah? Allah (swt) is happy from His servants when they say, Laa ilaaha illa-Llah, and follows it with, Muhammadun Rasoolullah. Allah a nd his Prophet (s) are happy with anyone who says, Laa ilaaha illa-Llah Muhammadu n Rasoolullah. What comes from that when you say it? If we are not looking for rewards, somethi ng higher happens. What happens to an abd when he says, Laa ilaaha illa-Llah Muh ammadun Rasoolullah? Our selves are not satisfied because we are not giving our l ives to Allah and His Prophet (s) as the Sahaabah (r) did. We are giving our liv es only to our own selves, we are not remembering the Presence of Allah and His Prophet (s). Allah (swt) said in the Holy Quran: Allahu nooru s-samaawaati wa l-ardi mathala noorihi ka-mishkaat feehaa misbaah. Allah is the Light of the Heavens and Earth. The parable of His Light is as if t here were a niche and within it a lamp. (an-Noor, 24:35) And Prophet (s) said in Hadith Qudsi: ma wasi tnee samawaatee wa laa ardee wa laakin wasi ani qalbi abdee al-mu'min. Neither My Heavens nor My Earth contain Me, but the heart of My believing servan t contains Me.

So that is telling the ego, the self, You are not ilaah (gods), because everyone h as taken their desires as their god. That is why when we pray, although it is fa rd it is not perfect. As soon as we begin to pray, we begin to think as Shaytan begins to whisper. Why is it not recommended in prayer to close your eyes? When you say Allahu Akbar, you have to look where you are going to make sajdah. When yo u close your eyes, you travel through space with all kinds of gossips that fill your head. That is why one school of thought differs from another. For example, in the Hana fi School of Thought, you dont recite anything, only the imaam says, Allahu Akbar a nd you do not think Bismillahi 'r-Rahmaani 'r-Raheem. And as soon as Surat al-Fati hah begins, hundreds of gossips enter the mind. In the Shafi i School of Thought , you recite behind the imaam; while he is saying Bismillahi 'r-Rahmaani 'r-Rahee m, you are reciting at the same time, so less gossips enter this way. Even when r eciting the Fatihah, the imaam stops for one minute, in order for you to read al -Fatihah. Then he recites the surah and if you know it, you read behind him. Tha t way, there is less chance of sending the imagination here and there. Thus, whe n we pray, we have to look where we are making sajdah, not closing our eyes. Too many people close their eyes, then Shaytan immediately comes and tests you in t he prayer. In that case, what will be our reward for saying Laa ilaaha illa-Llah? We will leave it until next time. Bi hurmati 'l-habeeb, bi hurmati 'l-Fatihah.