The Prophets. Sohbet 161125

Taking a look out what Insan-i-Kamil (fully integrated human being) looks like, from a more contemporary point of view.

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Transcript

shaykh ibrahim: 0:19

Sura Al Fatiha A-uzu billahi min ash-shaytanir-rajim. Bismillahir Rahmanir Rahim. Al hamdu lillahi Rabbil ‘Alamin. Ar Rahmanir Rahim. Maliki Yawm id-Din. Iyaka na‘budu wa iyaka nasta’in. Ihdinas sirat al mustaqim. Siratal-lazina an ‘amta ‘alayhim, Ghayril maghdubi ‘alayhim wa lad-daalin. (Amin)

shaykh ibrahim: 0:47

[Opening Chapter of the Qur’an I seek refuge in Allah from Satan, the outcast. In the name of Allah, The One Who Acts with Mercy, The Source of Mercy. All gratitude and praise belong to Allah, the Lord of the worlds. The One Who Acts with Mercy, The Source of Mercy. The Owner of the Dominion on Judgment Day. We connect and devote ourselves to You, and we ask for Your help. Guide us to the confirmed and sure path. The path of those on whom You have bestowed Your grace, not of those who deserve Your wrath nor of those who misguide themselves. (Amen)] Madad

shaykh ibrahim: 0:48

Madad Madad Ya La Ya Rasulala

shaykh ibrahim: 0:52

I want to start with a poem This is the Stairway of Existence by Hafiz.

shaykh ibrahim: 0:59

"We are not in pursuit of formalities or fake religious laws. For through the stairway of existence we have come to God's door. We are people who need to love because love is the soul's life. Love is simply creation's greatest joy. Through the stairway of existence, oh through the stairway of existence affairs, have you now come. Have we now all now come to the beloved's door."

shaykh ibrahim: 1:52

I like that. So the subject today is about the prophets. And the purpose of the prophets is when we're trying to look for what is an example of what a Sufi looks like or acts like or thinks or does, the prophets are there. They've always been there for us. And you can find them in the Quran, in the Torah, in the Gospels, they're everywhere. There's all kinds of stories about them. It doesn't matter which one. But the idea as a Sufi is to connect with them on a deep and intimate Rabita level, whichever one you feel comfortable with, or whichever one you feel connected with through the level of the Nefs, through the Makams. Each of the prophets has many lessons to teach us, and they're very deep and profound and human. They all dealt with the human problems that we deal with, but sometimes on a larger scale. And the virtues of the Prophet, and this is from The Sun Will Rise in the West book by Shaykh Tanner. Those who follow the messenger prophet, who can neither read nor write, whom they will find described in their Torah and their gospel, he enjoins on them that that which is right and forbids them that which is wrong. He makes lawful for them all good things, and prohibits for them only the bad, and he relieves them of their burden and the yokes they wore. Then those who believe in him, honor him, help him, and follow the light which is sent down with him, they are the successful. Allah says in Quran that He sent Muhammad, blessings upon him, as a mercy to creation. His softness of character drew disciples to his side who were enveloped in the magnetism of his loving kindness. He spoke softly and he listened well. Prophet Muhammad was a single-minded slave of Allah who never lost focus on his beloved. His humility and constancy of purpose bespoke a state of complete surrender to his Lord. His grateful heart fostered an extreme measure of patience, with which he endured some very trying circumstances, and through which he was able to tolerate both the foibles and the malice of his fellow human beings. Such a model as this, Allah's beloved, is a great favor bestowed on those who wish to be close to Allah. Muhammad displayed hundreds of characteristics which his followers should wisely strive to attain and maintain throughout life. All believers are enjoined to follow Prophet Muhammad's example because he is the paradigm of good alak, which is good manners, and the most excellent adab. Allah loved his Prophet very much, and Sufis wish for this love above all else. To this end, every Sufi is encouraged not only to observe and emulate his flawless behavior, but to truly internalize the Prophet's refined demeanor. This cannot be accomplished without profound surrender. We must begin the process with the intention to surrender willingly, and Allah, who has all the power, will then help us to realize his love deep within our being. This love is the fruit of surrender, which is the composite of pure intention with good ahak, and is manifest in acting with adab at all times. And then he goes on for just a little bit and says, surrender is an ongoing practice. And each of the prophets came to us in a way that we could understand, that we could relate to, and that the problems that they face are human problems, but they are good examples of how one overcomes many of the problems that we face. So getting to know the prophets is as important as any of the other practices. I'll stop here for just a moment and ask uh if there's any questions or comments that you want to say.

Robert: 7:31

Uh it stood out to me when you said that the fruit of surrender is love.

shaykh ibrahim: 7:39

Yes, that goes back to a whole other talk that Shaykh Tanner often gave about Sharia, Tariqah, Hakika, and Marifet. And he described it as a great fruitful tree. That sharia is like the bark of the tree that protects it. And that tarika is like the sap that runs through the tree and is the lifeblood of the tree. And that Hakika is like the branches and the leaves that gather the light and bring it to the tree. And Marifet is the fruit that that tree offers to us. So when he says the fruit is surrender, it's kind of like, yeah, that's very cool. I have a little story for you that is a retelling about Jonah. Jonah is one of the prophets, and his lesson was very deep. When I first think about the prophets in that, uh, what we're doing with our third volume with the South African group of writing about Insani Kamil, which means an integrated human being, somebody that's put all the parts of themselves together, assigned to us by Sheikh Tanner before he left. We've continued on, so we went on to a second volume about being Insani Kamil, and this third volume is going to be about the prophets who are examples of what Insani Kamil looks like, because these were human beings who embodied these teachings. And I thought about, well, what prophet could I write about and do it as a retelling and make it more relatable? I thought about Jonah and what he went through. So this is my silly version of Jonah. One of the most hardworking programmers for the global conglomerate Introtel was Jonah Pemberton. He was employee of the month three months in a row. His manager and the HR were proud of him, a model for all who worked, not just in the IT office, but throughout the corporation globally. And around his cubicle were photos he had taken on his vacations. The marine life in Hawaii, Jamaica, the coral reef on the east coast of Australia, and still from the videos he had captured with his own design of an underwater camera when he scuba dived off of Crete. It was a fairly balanced life for a man of his place and time, but one day he received an unexpected call. It was the head not just of his corporation, but it was the boss of all the bosses. Her voice was sweet, tinged with a force impossible to withstand, but somehow Jona could see the direction of the request. Jonah, blessed good day to you. How are you? Just Dandy, your bossness, working on the back end of the coating for the Tiernan site. Good, good. We've all heard such good things about you. I had an idea. I'd like to send you out to a small town in Mali that could benefit from your expertise. Uh oh. Jonah had heard about the witness he'd witnessed numerous experts never returning from their foray into one of these unknowns. He gulped, found himself saying the unthinkable. Thank you for this great honor, ma'am. But um uh listen, I'll pass. Thank you for considering me. Jonah, my dear I may have phrased that as a request. It may have even sounded like a question, but in reality it is not. Jonah panicked. He made static like noises in his throat. Sorry, ma'am, there's some can't I can't he rubbed his glasses over the microphone, creating a loud clicking sound and hung up. He stood up quickly, grabbed his briefcase and scarf, strode to the elevator in large steps, repeatedly jabbing the down button. Finally the doors opened. He jammed the garage button, tried to slow his breathing as he exploded out at the garage level to get his car. Brakes squealing, he headed straight to the Marine Research Center. Laura, the dyed blonde receptionist, immediately recognized him. Jonah? What? Hey, Laura, can't talk. Uh assignment, gotta see Paul. Jonah, no can do. He's with the client at Did he take the Leviathan? No, it was a hey! Jonah tucked down the hallway to the submersible's launch area. The Leviathan was a cutting-edge ultra deep submarine suitable for marine exploration. It was still undergoing its initial tests. If I can just get deep enough, the boss will never find me. I know what happens to anyone stand on one of her cultural fix-em-ups, thought Jonah as he went over the diving preparations. The distressed young man checked on the compressed air tanks, went over all the proper battery tests and failsafes, and as he finished the final prep, Laura strode over and tapped him on the shoulder as he tightened a bolt. What are you doing? You can't just take a submersible. It's a prototype. We can't Jonah stepped inside the metal and glass bubble, shutting the hatch. I'll take good care of her, Laura. Don't worry. Paul said it was okay as the great steel arm swung out over the slapping sea, lowering the sealed container. Jonah released the chain, and the Leviathan was free to swim in the great ocean. He switched the lights on and began the forward descent into the deep cavern of mottled sunlight. For a moment, he stopped to finally take a deep breath. He was back home in his favorite environment. It was like the ocean inside him, his blood, feeling its draw and connection down here. He was close to a forbidding trench that no one had yet mapped, and that was his goal. To stay down there as long as possible until the boss forgot about him. He'd be free of the onus of responsibility and no longer a slave to expectations. The phone inside the capsule rang and jarred him out of his daydream. Who knew he was here besides Laura? Oh, she probably informed Paul of his borrowing. If it was possible, he had some ideas of how to negotiate a reasonable barter. He picked up the phone. It was the big boss, the boss of all bosses. Jonah are you okay? Jonah hung up immediately, put the Leviathan in full dive mode, and headed for the abyss. If he could get just deep enough, the sub's walls vibrated with her voice. Where are you going, Jonah? This was impossible, of course. He was probably fasten hallucinating loudly. Probably the nitrogen mixture wasn't set properly. Down into darker waters he drove the little bubble. It's like driving an ink, except for what the halogen lights could reveal in their tight beams. An ugly moray eel swam sinuously by, scaring him, and a shark smiling menacingly stopped to stare at him for a moment. The little craft resonated inside once again. Are we having a problem, Jonah? You know I care about you. I want only the best for you. Is this about the assignment? Jonah stared around the inside, trying to find anything that could explain this intrusion. You can't really be here. I'm everywhere, Jonah. You silly man. There's nowhere that I'm not. Or to say it differently, I am everywhere. And that means wherever you are, I will always have your back. You are protected and you know it. It finally dawned on Jonah that the boss might just make his mission smoother than he originally feared. And possible because she believed in him. And he admitted, believed in her. But then the doubts returned. Hold on a moment. I know what happened to the company ambassadors you sent out last year. Only one was able to return, and he was traumatized. Is that what's gonna happen to me? No, Jonah. You'll be well taken care of and no one's gonna hurt you. It's an easy in and out kind of gig, and well you know me. And that's the story. So what do you think?

Robert: 18:03

How how come it is that I mean Jonah couldn't turn off the the voice. But a lot of people don't even have the voice. Um seems like yeah. I don't know. I guess my questions are related to that.

shaykh ibrahim: 18:20

There comes a time when you realize you have to let go. You have to let go of control. That was it for him. Everybody eventually comes to that point. You can't stay in charge all the time. At some point you have to surrender. That the voice has the power that you want, the connection that you want, and that it seems just a lot smarter and wiser to just let go. It's a good question, Robert. We're not in charge of other people, though. We're in charge of connecting ourselves to that voice, to the heart. And sometimes the heart, once you start to go into that, you realize this is much easier than trying to be in charge of everything and in charge of everybody and in charge of everybody's feelings.

Alamin: 19:27

Yeah, the the other interesting thing for me, Shaykeh was there, the um even though Jonah's best efforts to get away and to control and ultimately sort of ended up where the first um where the initial interaction happened and yeah, ultimately ended up there. But it was cost it was necessary for him to get into the uh Leviathan and and do that to end up there.

shaykh ibrahim: 20:05

That's right. And everybody is kind of in a way on that journey. We never know when they'll get to that moment where they have to let go, but there will be a lot of okay. We have free will, meaning we can choose to be with the law or not. That's the deal. We don't have to. We can pretend that we're independent, and that lasts for a little while until something happens. For Jonah, that was a phone call. That was a message, a voice. For some other people, it might be a uh moment when you find somebody has that you cared about has died or has gotten cancer. Or when you realize that you can't carry everybody. You can't be responsible for everybody. That you have a responsibility to your heart rather than everything else. This moment is different for everybody. That's Suluk, that is your special path that no one else can walk. How it comes is your journey and what makes it yours, and makes it personal, and makes it your makes it relevant for you, which gives it value. It's really hard to find value when somebody else is doing it. But when you experience it, it's yours.

Muhyiddin: 22:01

Um if if Allah cared about Jonah so much, why didn't he care about the previous prophets that did get clinched or whatever? Do you know what I mean? Like Jonah's only going off the experience of what he's seen, in which Allah has let these other people have a certain faith. Why didn't Allah protect those people? Like, why does he protect some people and other people?

shaykh ibrahim: 22:38

What if it's all about what people need in their training and how they respond and what they need to learn? I mean, even Moses, of all the prophets, of what he went through, of all the different things, of having to face Pharaoh, having to go 40, maybe 40 years in the desert, trying to lead his people, letting the old people die out so he could bring new generation in, all of that, he finally gets there, and then he has to meet a new teacher, Kidher, and get more training when he thought he was done, when he thought he had it covered. We never stop learning, and we never know the training that another person's getting because it seems different. It seems like that seems horrible, that seems like a bad thing that's happening to them when it's exactly what they need. We don't know that. We don't have that much information, we've only got what we're dealing with within our own hands and eyes. So we don't know what what that was about. So we don't have the ability to make a judgment about what other people are going through. Unless Allah gives it to us, and then we go, ooh, I see. And then you have to let it go because it's not about you.

Muhyiddin: 24:27

So from the point of view of um Allah, it's like those people Jonah was worrying about the same thing happening to him, um, but they had a different path. They were supposed to go down that way, uh, but he wasn't, and he assumed that the same thing that happened. Right. What he needed would be different.

shaykh ibrahim: 24:48

Yeah, that's one of the other big lessons here. It's not about you. We tend to judge very easily when other people go through certain things and we think, well, I wouldn't do that, or gee, that's pretty terrible. We don't know what's going on. We have no idea. I mean, we barely have an idea what's going on with us. It's hard to see, you know, the story. And as somebody once said, you don't know the story until it's finished. So we can't even tell our own story because we're living it. And that's kind of what that's about, too. Yes? No. Don't have a clue and barely have a clue about ourselves and what's happening. And is this what I'm supposed to be learning? How can we do that for anybody else? Unless you got little ones who you are responsible for. Then it's even more of a trying to stay out of the way and let them learn what they need to learn without screwing that up. Okay. Thoughts?

Ruqqayah: 26:27

Um, yeah, two. I think I've kind of answered the first one in my head, but also just wanted to double check. I was thinking what Robert was saying about um how not all of us have the voice. And I was like, initially I thought, okay, well, do you have to kind of quote unquote work for the corporation to hear the voice? Like, do you have to seek to hear the voice? And then I was like, well, okay, so a lot of people go into religion because they're trying to find something. My story is a little bit different because I felt like Allah found me at the time when I needed um the time when I was ready. But then I was also like, the voice isn't always the same voice for everyone. In terms of sometimes it's a big, you must go into this religion, this is the right thing for you. Other times it's just let go of this little bit for now. Like the the voice and the message can change based on person, place, situation, what they need, all the things. Does that make sense? Is that kind of I'm beginning to get it. Uh the idea that okay, did you say the voice is different for everybody? Or the same. Yeah, okay. Different, yeah. Yeah. Or at least the message anyway.

shaykh ibrahim: 27:59

Right. Right. Well, you're experiencing this now. How do you see it?

Ruqqayah: 28:07

Yeah, I'm kind of like the message changes over the years as to what you need and stuff. But I was thinking back to like what some people might refer to as like the initial part of the voice. Does that make sense in terms of like, you know, how some people say, I've had a calling to oh yeah, yeah. Yeah.

shaykh ibrahim: 28:31

That's so individual. I know. So person-specific that it it's really hard to make a religion out of that because each person is on their own path. So for Sufism, the idea of like being within Islam is just kind of like that idea of the bark of a protective kind of shield that allows us to know, okay, well, this is what makes Allah happy, and this isn't. So what do I want? I want Allah to be happy with me, of course. So, okay, it's not that big a deal, and it helps. It just keeps keeps keeps me from falling off the bridge. Yeah. Doing something stupid. So it's a it's kind of a uh a path that allows you forward movement that you can continue on your way. And the call comes in all kinds of different ways. And it for some people, uh, as we've all discovered, there's a readiness. When it's time, it comes. And you can't even fight that. But you can but that's the thing about free will of what makes humans different than a lot of other beings, is that we can choose to ignore it if we want to. Except when it gets really, really insistent, especially when you get Keep getting hit in the head, and you go, Why am I getting hit in the head? Why does this hurt so much? And then at some point the the bell rings and you go, What if I didn't fight this? Huh? Let's see what that's like. And then you find I'm not getting hit in the head so much. Maybe this is a better way. The whole idea of when you're ready, you're ready, and you become more in tune with how to tune yourself to that transmission, if you will, that frequency. The frequency is always there. It's us tuning ourselves to it. Part of the problem in that is that a lot of the culture and the family are set up for you to ignore it because it interferes with consumerism and following the cultural paradigm. Especially through now technology and the algorithm that makes you want to be a certain way and get an amount of clicks. And this is makes it even worse. So part of this is kind of how do you stop it? You have to recognize the programming. You have to see it for what it is and be objective about it. And that's that's tricky. That's looking in the mirror when it's been cleaned enough to be able to see back at what you are. Until then you just see what the culture thinks you should be, or your family, or both, or your friends. So your experiences and everything fog up the mirror, and when you're ready, you begin to clean it. And sometimes something will pop through. All of a sudden, a part of the mirror will be cleaning. You go look at it, you go, What is that? And when somebody who maybe knows a little more says, That's you, you go, that can't be me. That's a mess. That's terrible. That's ugly. I don't want to look at that. That's oh, oh, what if I become? And then and then there's these students that come in, and well, I want to I want to find myself. And they think, am I worthy to find myself? This I get this one a lot. And and the trick is no, of course not. What what are you thinking? You're a mess. You are a grown over parking lot filled with glass and throwing away tires and broken refrigerators. Who's gonna clean that mess up? Hmm? Now, when you're ready to start cleaning up, then we got something. Let's do that. Because then you know what you got. Then you really understand what you're working with. Uh yes, you are a being of light, but you gotta get the tires and broken glass out of the lock if you want to grow something.

Alamin: 33:35

Yeah, I agree with um with what you just said, Sheikh. I was just reflecting a little bit of on um the voice that Jonah was hearing and just made me think about you know, my experience that the voice has always been quite harsh and authoritative, sort of a a voice that you'd be be sort of fearful of, where and it's from like conditioned family and cultural conditioning, and and when when you were telling the story, part of me expected to hear that voice, and it was really nice or reassuring to hear a sweet, benevolent voice, and um so it just yeah, it just made me think that the voice that we hear is a lot of it's dependent on our own experiences and conditioning, I'm uh assuming. And and if one is unsure, then should one always default to you know uh Bislala Rahman Rahim, the most merciful, the compassionate.

shaykh ibrahim: 34:57

Yes, and you I just recalled how it was for me growing up that it took it took a great deal of work to get beyond the smiter of nations to a loving, caring, merciful, compassionate creator. That was a big leap for me, also. Uh being raised Jewish and reading, you know, the history of the Jewish people and what they went through and all the travails and uh horrible things that they experienced and continue to experience still, trying to understand where is the compassion. And when entering and understand uh and studying Islam is kind of like Islam comes from the word salaam. A Muslim comes from the word Salaam. It is the path of peace, and that the path of peace is made of love and compassion and being merciful and also wisdom, but the idea that there is this whole other heartful approach to creation rather than demanding and jealousy and fear and whipping and destroying and the smiting. That takes a big turnaround. That's a that's a 180-degree turn from most religions, because that's pretty much how the marketing works. Yes, Rukia.

Ruqqayah: 36:51

I was just kind of thinking about that as well, like when you guys were talking, and it's kind of like it feels like there's a difference between and sorry if this sounds weird, but this is where my brain is at. Um the voice that comes from humans in terms of structured religion saying God says this, rah-rah, rah, you must be worthy, you must blah, blah, blah. And then there's a different voice when it comes from your heart, that direct connection with Allah. Um it's kind of like it goes through layers of being shifted and changed, changed it, because that's totally a word now, when it comes out of someone else's mouth in terms of a lot of structured religions. And that's not to be negative about structured religions, but that's kind of, as you said, that's how the marketing works sometimes. And I've found it really beautiful with the Sufi Path experiencing that. Because growing up Catholic, it was just words. There was no context, there was no connection with my world and my life and everything. But now I'm getting like direct, hey, go this way, do this, hug a tree. Um, things that you need in the moment, as well as like, okay, let's work on some past stuff from your childhood as well, because you need that now. Yeah. Yes. But it's there's all the love there.

shaykh ibrahim: 38:15

Right. And that's a whole different thing. Exactly. And when when you're feeling that because it is true and what's the word, primary. It's like that's what we were born with, that connection, then it feels like you have purpose, that you are fulfilled. You don't have to go anywhere special or do anything special because being what you're doing what you're doing is fulfilling. Whatever it is, because you're connected. And without that connection, it feels like I don't know what I'm doing. I don't know what I why am I doing this? It's just uh, am I just an animal that just, you know, I do my thing and then I die and that was it? So these are very different points of view that the world is filled with, and many times religion and communities of different kinds will come together to um explore that idea in a community. And I'm thinking of like both as churches and also uh those who believe in non-belief, atheists who, even though they say that they don't believe in anything, are believing that they don't believe in anything and are connecting with each other in a church like religion. In my weird view of things, whenever communities come together and like uh philosophies, that's a that's a community. So anyway. Thank you. That's that was nice, yes.

Ruqqayah: 40:15

The other thought that I had from the story before, and kind of what you were saying as well, about the getting out of the way stuff and not judging other people's paths, for lack of a better word, because it's not that at all, but it seems like you're being forced to be quote unquote egotistical in that you have to focus on yourself and your own path and not worry about the outside. It's the wrong word, I know, because normally it's just like egotistical means I am higher than everyone else and that stuff, but I don't know what the right word is. But it's like you shrink down your world to what's here, what's in your heart, what's with Allah, what's your truth kind of thing.

shaykh ibrahim: 41:07

Yes. That's the way I'm thinking of this is about boundaries in the sense in the sense of where do you end and others start? What are your limits? What what is the um compass of your being? Within this egg of energy and light, we have the ability to do many things, but we have limits. And uh part of our learning is to become aware of like what is mine and what is yours, and where do I stop and you begin. These are these are very important things, and uh everybody is learning about these things in their own way and in their own time. And uh we can learn from different people by observation by seeing how they deal with it and deciding whether that's a way we want to go or not, because in some ways we think of everyone as our teacher. And we have to look we have much to learn from each other. That's why we're all in this together. Uh just one more thing I want to say, and that is in many ways we each create our own prison. We put ourselves in a cell of our own regrets and uh uh shoulds and could-ofs, things we feel guilty about, things we want to be forgiven for, and in this cell we create our own jail. However, the Sufi says, You may be in your own cell, but no one ever locked the door. You're welcome to leave at any time. A-uzu billahi min ash-shaytanir-rajim. Bismillahir Rahmanir Rahim. Al hamdu lillahi Rabbil ‘Alamin. Ar Rahmanir Rahim. Maliki Yawm id-Din. Iyaka na‘budu wa iyaka nasta’in. Ihdinas sirat al mustaqim. Siratal-lazina an ‘amta ‘alayhim, Ghayril maghdubi ‘alayhim wa lad-daalin. (Amin)

Alamin: 43:37

Thank you, Shaykh, thank you, everyone.

Ruqqayah: 43:40

Thanks, guys. Thanks. See you. We'll talk later, Rosie.

shaykh ibrahim: 43:45

Okay. Take care, everyone.

Ruqqayah: 43:47

You too. Salaam.