In this concluding part
of the sermon, shaykh painstakingly pointed out some points that we believed
are negligible but are fast in pulling one away from Allah and could make one
an enemy of Allah. Therefore, it is strictly advice to be conscious of these points
and apply shaykh’s advice in all our day – day activities. May Allah in His
infinite guidance shields us from acts that invites His wraths. Amin!
Shaykh
speaks!
“I admonish you to be watchful and
mindful of parts of issues that could make Allah let one die a kaafir
(unbeliever) without doubt. The first of the kind is causing bad things to
befall a fellow Muslims, secondly, enormous adultery/fornication without
taubah, thirdly, false claim of wilayat (sainthood), fourthly, taking part in
affairs of shaykh without permission. Fifth, intentional falsehood against the
prophet (saw) with narration of his sayings. Sixth, criticism, backbiting,
false claims against another without second thought. Verily, these are a thing
that cut one from the line, causes one to die as an unbeliever even if one does
the best of deeds and never seek forgiveness from these. We seek refuge from
that”
It
is incumbent on every seeker of the face of Allah to refrain from these acts as
it will invalidates one’s good deeds and invites the wrath of Allah (swt), we
seek Allah’s guidance from that.
Shaykh
speak!
“I admonish you of purification of
heart from bad thought and bad envy on muslims, whosoever has the character
would not excel. I also admonish you to refrain from suggesting bad things to
Allah and His slaves. The prophet says ‘there
are two characters in which there is nothing that could supersede it, first,
good attributes to Allah and to his slaves and there are two characters in
which there’s nothing worse than them, bad attributes to Allah and His slaves’.
I also warn you against haram consumption of food and embezzlement of money as
whosoever indulges in this duo would have all his good deeds nullified by
Allah. You should also be mindful of friends in commercial activities while
care should be taken to avoid buying and selling on acts that are prohibited
and these (acts) could be found in the book of jurisdiction.”
In
one of prophetic narrations, it was reported that then heart is the power house
of the body and once the heart is faulty every other part of he body would be
faulty. Such is the same when relating with people care should be taken to
avoid harboring things that could actually invalidate one’s good deeds. More so,
our day to day activities should be carried out strictly according to shariah
as indulging in things that are haram is of grave concern.
Shaykh
speaks!
“I urge you to be mindful of the
time and period you move close to Allah either carrying out good work or
recitation of Qur’an or sending blessings on the prophet (saw). Whoever completes
the recitation of salat on the prophet ten thousand times would be among the ones
favored by Allah in hereafter. And if one is busy (or finds the counts much)
should recite the salat five hundred times either once daily or once in the morning
and evening. And if one is preoccupied (or finds the count much) should recite
it three hundred times at the stipulated period. Whosoever does this would
excel with Allah’s favour in hereafter and finds all his intentions eased, life
sufferings would be lifted and finds his generations excel. This should also be
accompanied with regular recitation of Qur’an and the purified statement ‘laila ila Allah’ hundred times and then
‘subhanalah wali madu lillah wa ilaha
ilalah Allahu akbar wala haola wala quwata ila bilah malha maa alimawa adada
maa alima wa zinata maa alima – ten times”
The
above azkar in remembrance of Allah should be done at the stipulated time while
the time should be strictly adhered to as the best of zikr is the that done
systematically with strict adherence even if it is short and concise.
Shaykh
speaks!
“I also mandate you to give out
sadaqat everyday, the smallest it; four cakes, whosoever does that would be
protected by Allah from perils while intention of sadaqat is to seek the face
of Allah (swt). I also mandate you to refrain from mingling with people while
your voice is raised in vices”
And
this finalizes the sermon of shaykh delivered to his beloved in Sham, it is
expected of mureeds and mureedats to keep their voices low and desist from
uttering false statements while emphasis should be laid on avoiding statements
that could incur the wrath of Allah while chatting with people or giving alms
to the needy. Oh beloved reader, it could be recalled I wrote in the beginning
of this paper the assertion of shaykh Ahmad Tijanni (rta) attributing his
sayings and actions to shariah and prophetic tradition, meaning everything said
in the sermon is of relation to the divine words and prophetic sayings. So, I
urge you to act well on them and take heed of the warnings. May Allah (swt)
envision our ways with nur hidayat (light of guidance). Amin!
I
shall conclude this sermon with the special words of wisdom admonished by
shaykh to some of his special disciples and thus all of us all!
Shaykh
speaks!
“Be warned! Be warned of
incapacitation, sluggishness, tardiness and reluctance in executing what I have
commanded, sitting in places of transgression and doubt. I admonish you of the
fear of Allah secretly and publicly, follow the prophetic way in utterances and
idiosyncrasies and then be pleased with Allah in time of adversity and abundance.
Seek your lord in all endeavours and states. Turn away from expecting too much
from people; wisely apply prophetic tradition in all facets. Stay firm in your
Lord in every move and places. I implore you of patience, remembrance of Allah;
move closer to Allah with guiding rules while you also desist from bad deeds
while patience on bad occurrences draws one closer to peace and thanks in the
end”
Pertinent
to thorough and faithful studentship as a disciple of shaykh Ahmad Tijanni (May
Allah be pleased with him), it is highly imperative to follow the above words
of wisdom of shaykh as he’s versatile in the fear of Allah and teaching us part
of the way in seeking Allah’s face as a teacher is necessary. May Allah give us
Allah! Amin!!!
