Words of Wisdom

Kissing the Threshold of Rasul-Allah

Bismi-llāhi r-rahmāni r-rahīm

What differentiates us and Awliya? They are struggling and we are relaxed. They live their lives by fighting their desires, we live our lives by listening to our desires. Their struggle against their desires takes them to see what cannot be seen and hear what cannot be heard, while we say we love Prophet (s), we say we love Allah (swt), but when desire comes on us we forget about Allah (swt) and Prophet (s) and follow our desires!

When we do salawat on Prophet (s) it is like a switch: when you do salawat the switch is on, the connection between you and Prophet (s) is open, but your desires will veil it, you cannot see where the tunnel is to reach Prophet (s). Between us and Prophet (s) there is a bridge or a tunnel we have to cross and if your desires close it for you then you cannot see. Awliya enable us to see and to reach the other side to see Prophet (s). Can anyone say to me that when they make salawat they are able to see Prophet (s)? Prophet (s) is waiting to be seen!

Just now they were making salawat, did anyone see Prophet (s)? No. Is Prophet (s) present? Why can't you see him? Because we are not struggling, we are listening to our desires. `Young ones are trying to show their love to Prophet (s), which is very good, but`ulama whose ages are 70, 60, 50, can they see Prophet (s) when they do salawat? We never heard one of them say they saw Prophet (s), but can Awliya say they saw Prophet (s)? Yes, they can see him!

Sayyidina `Umar (r) was in Madinah and his army general Sariya (r) was fighting inShaam and Sayyidina `Umar (r) was able to see him and give him information how to fight the enemy from Madinah; with no computer he was able to reach him because his eyes and ears were open, he is a wali, he is not a prophet. Sayyidina Muhammad (s) is the Last Messenger, but there are Awliya who can see. Isma`il al-Bukhari was able to see Prophet (s) to ask him in a dream if the Hadiths are correct and which chapter to put them in; he didn't publish a Hadith without asking Prophet (s). They were able to see and to hear because they struggled.

These young flowers, if they insist to destroy their egos, for sure they will see Prophet (s). Look at the power of Awliya. I was in Madinah a long time ago, in the early 70's, and I was in Jeddah and went to Madinah and called my shaykh, Sayyidee Shaykh Muhammad Nazim Adil al-Haqqani (q), and said, "Sayyidee, I am in Madinah, do you need anything?"

He said, "Kiss the threshold, the floor of the soil between you and Prophet (s) when you are standing in the muwaajaha facing Prophet (s) and making salawat. There is the threshold, kiss there."

I said, "This is my order?"

He said, "Go along, inshaa-Allah you will be successful."

I began to ask in my mind, but as a mureed you cannot ask when your shaykh says something, we listen and obey, don't argue, don't question, don't say this or that, but as a mureed you are still growing up, and I said, "Subhaan-Allah! What kind of a test Mawlana has given me? How can I kiss the threshold when all these people say, 'move, move, move'?" But since my shaykh said, "Go!" I went.

Do you like to kiss the threshold of Prophet (s)? Inshaa-Allah! Listen to the story. I went because many times I went there, I was living there for more than 5, 10 years and I know where you can stand and not be seen behind the pillars in front of the Holy Grave of Prophet (s). I said to myself, "I will stand behind the pillar and approach when not too many people are coming," but always there were too many. I was unable and was making du`a and the head of the staff of al-amr bi 'l-ma`roof wa 'n-nahi `an al-munkar left his position standing by the door and I saw him coming to me, and said to myself, "This is finished, he is going to shout at me." I can see that person's face now: he was very white with a reddish beard, wearing white, coming to me, reaching me and then making du`a.

He looked at me and smiled, and he said, "Come with me."

I said to myself, "Where is he taking me?"

He said, "I am taking you to where you want. Come." He held my hand and brought me to the grille, to the fence behind which is the Holy Grave, then he said, "Kiss the threshold of Prophet (s). Don't rush, take your time."

I went down, put my hand on the threshold and the whole dunya disappeared as if I was in a beautiful garden and there was no time, time disappeared, there were no limits, no forward or backward time, everything stood still. I did not hear any voices, everyone disappeared. I spent half-an-hour at the threshold of Prophet (s). When I raised my head he (the official) was there and said to me, "Send my salaam to Shaykh Nazim." I fell down at that time. How he reached him? Awliya can move, they can see, they can hear because they struggle against their egos, as mentioned in the Hadith:

My servant does not cease to approach Me through voluntary worship until I will love him. When I love him, I will become the ears with which he hears, the eyes with which he sees, the hand with which he acts, and the legs with which he walks (and other versions include, "and the tongue with which he speaks."). (Hadith Qudsi, Bukhari)

Allah will give, Allah is not hiding or holding the treasures, He has all treasures, He gives and it never ends! So that man said to me, "Send my salam to Shaykh Nazim!" Anyone who keeps doing salawat for sure will see Prophet (s) in a dream. Allahumma salli `ala Sayyidina Muhammad wa `ala aali Sayyidina Muhammad. I continued on my way and went out of the Haram far away and began to hear someone calling me, "Hisham, Hisham!" and I saw a nicely dressed young person running to me. I stopped and looked at him, he was smiling with a Qur'an in his hand. He said, "My father told me to give you this gift to take to Shaykh Nazim." His father was the man who took me to kiss the threshold, and he sent a gift to Mawlana Shaykh Nazim (q) with his son. How were they able to communicate? He not only led me to kiss the threshold, but sent a gift also to make sure that Mawlana knows what he did, which means he had a direct connection.

Mawlana Shaykh Hisham Kabbani