Mahabba: On ways of attaining and maintaining it
Alhamdulillah Rabbil ‘Alameen wa salaatu wa salaamu ‘alaa Sayyidil Mursaleen Habibunaa wa Shafeeuna wa Mawlaanaa Muhammadin ‘Abdika wa Rasulikan Nabiyyil Ummiyy, Khaatimul Ambiyaa'i wal Mursaleen, wa Imam ul Muttaqeen wa Qaaidil Ghurril Muhajjaleen, wa ‘alaa Aalihi wa Sahbihi wa Sallim.
Wa Qaal Allahu ta ‘ala fi Kalamihil Qadim ba’a Authu Billahi Min Ash Shaytanir Rajim Bismillahir Rahim,
قُلْ إِن كُنتُمْ تُحِبُّونَ اللَّهَ فَاتَّبِعُونِي يُحْبِبْكُمُ اللَّهُ وَيَغْفِرْ لَكُمْ ذُنُوبَكُمْ ۗ وَاللَّهُ غَفُورٌ رَّحِيمٌ [٣:٣١]
Say: "If ye do love Allah, Follow me: Allah will love you and forgive you your sins:
For Allah is Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful."
Allahu ta ‘ala has directed His beloved and our Master, Sayyidinaa wa Mawlaana Muhammad Sall Allahu ‘alaihi wa Aalihi wa Sallim to show us the way of Mahabba [Divine Love]. He Azza wa Jalla was coupled loving Him with following the example of the Greatest Lover Habibunaa our Beloved Nabiyy Muhammad al Mustafa Sall Allahu ‘alaihi wa Aalihi wa Sallim.
Because of following our Master, Allahu ta ‘ala will shower us with His love and all that which is befitting of those who love Him. If we examine this closely, we come to realize that there is no forgiveness or mercy except through following the example of Nabiyyul Kareem Sall Allahu ‘alaihi wa Aalihi wa Sallim.
Is it possible to love someone without knowing him, without seeking, without intimate knowledge of their perfections seen and perceived? None of us can truly know Allahu ta ala except as He has himself described himself. About this Nabiyyul Kareem Sall Allahu ‘alaihi wa Aalihi wa Sallim said:
“Laa Uhswi thanaa an ‘alaih,
Anta kamaa athnayta ‘ala nafsik.”
I am incapable of praising you as is befitting your majesty,
You are as You have praised Yourself.
At the very beginning of our deeni education we are taught Iman Mujmal [Aamanu Billahi kamaa Huwa bi Asmaa ihi wa Swifaatihi wa Qabiltu Jami’a Ahkaamihi].
This obligation to follow the master Sall Allahu ‘alaihi wa Aalihi wa Sallim is not possible except truly loving him. And as the saying goes: “To know him is to love him.”
This obligates us to know the Sirah, the blessed life of our master Sall Allahu ‘alaihi wa Aalihi wa Sallim. We must know and imitate his blessed character and mannerisms; we must know obtain the ability to visualize his blessed features, the beauty of his blessed face which is the source of the beauty of Sayyidinaa Yusuf ‘alaihi salaam. The teeth that emanate nur illuminating the house of Sayyidinaa ‘Aaisha Siddiqah radhi Allahu ‘anha when he Sall Allahu ‘alaihi wa Aalihi wa Sallim smiled. The perfectly formed hands and fingers in which stones find life and did dhikr of Allahu ta ‘ala, the blessed fingers that split the moon in two, subhan Allah.
This obligates us to know about his Sall Allahu ‘alaihi wa Aalihi wa Sallim worship, his Khilwat [seclusion], about his intimate conversations with the source of all love Allahu ta ‘ala.
Without knowing and loving the perfect worshipper [‘aabid], how is it possible to love the Only One truly worthy of our love and adoration?
"None of you will have true Imaan [faith] till he loves me more than his father, his children and all mankind." [Sahih Bukhari]
About this Mahabba, Al Imam Abu ‘l-Qasim ‘Abd al-Karim b. Hawazin al-Qushayri, radhi Allahu ‘anhu in his “Risaalatul Qushayriyya” states:
“[Love is] a constant longing of the enraptured heart” (al-mayl al-da’im bi-’l-qalb al-ha’im). They say: “Love is giving preference to the beloved over all other attachments.” They say: “[It is] to agree with the beloved in his presence and his absence.” They say: “[It is] erasing the lover’s attributes and fixing the beloved in his [lover’s] essence.” They say: “[It is] the heart’s compliance with the will of its Lord.” They say: “[It is] the fear of [displaying] irreverence (tark al-hurma) accompanied by the constancy of service.”
Abu Yazid al- Bistami said:
“Love means denigrating your own efforts and exaggerating whatever your beloved does, no matter how small it is.”
Sahl [al-Tustari] said: “Love means to embrace obedience and part ways with disobedience.”
When someone asked al-Junayd about love, he answered:
“[It is] the substitution of the attributes of the lover for those of the beloved.” He [al-Junayd] thus eluded to the remembrance of the beloved that takes possession of the lover to such an extent that only the remembrance of the attributes of the beloved remains and he becomes totally oblivious of his own attributes and no longer perceives them.
Abu ‘Ali al-Rudhbari said: “Love means compliance.” Abu ‘Abdallah al-Qurashi said: “True love means giving yourself fully to the one you love, so that there would be nothing in you that belongs to you.” Al-Shibli said: “Love is named mahabba because it erases (tamhu) everything from the [lover’s] heart except the beloved.”
Our Shaykh His Eminence Al Imam Sayyid Mubarik ‘Ali Shah Jilani Hafidhuhullah taught us that love of Allahu ta ‘ala is found in annihilating oneself in the Beloved of Allahu ta ‘ala, Sall Allahu ‘alaihi wa Aalihi wa Sallim so much so that ones’ own attributes are effaced and nothing else is left but the qualities, the manners of Nabbiyul ‘Adhim Sall Allahu ‘alaihi wa Aalihi wa Sallim. He taught us that this love is found and the Ruhani Nisbah [spiritual connection] is maintained by constantly remembering Habibullah Sall Allahu ‘alaihi wa Aalihi wa Sallim. He instructed us not to identify with any culture other than Islamic culture. He further explained that true Islamic culture is Ikhlaaqi Muhammadiyya the manner, the way of our Beloved Sayyidinaa Muhammad al Mustafa Sall Allahu ‘alaihi wa Aalihi wa Sallim.
I can see before my very eyes Sayyidi Mubarik ‘Ali Shah our Shaykh. I was one of those privileged to be in his company here and in Pakistan. He remained constantly in Dhikr of Allahu ta ‘ala and Dhikrun Nabiyyul Kareem Sall Allahu ‘alaihi wa Aalihi wa Sallim. When sitting down I could hear him reciting “Allahumma Salli ‘Ala Sayyidinaa wa Mawlanaa Muhammadin wa ‘Alaa ‘aalihi wa Sahbihi wa Sallim.” When getting up, “Allahumma Salli ‘Ala Sayyidinaa wa Mawlanaa Muhammadin wa ‘Alaa ‘aalihi wa Sahbihi wa Sallim.” When walking from one place to another I could hear him reciting “Allahumma Salli ‘Ala Sayyidinaa wa Mawlanaa Muhammadin wa ‘Alaa ‘aalihi wa Sahbihi wa Sallim.”
When our Shaykh came to the United States to rescue us we had no clue as to the true meaning of Mahabba. Intellectually, we understood the meaning. Many of us had read the Ihya of Al Imam Ghazzali Rahimuhullah, and the Futhul Ghayb of Shaykunaa Abdul Qadir al Jilani Radhi Allahu ‘anhu, and other books of Tasawwuf, but we were luke warm at best. Our hearts had not yet been set ablaze with true love of Allahu ta ‘ala and Habibi Muhammad Sall Allahu ‘alaihi wa Aalihi wa Sallim. We needed a guide, someone who walked the path of Mahabba and could show us the way.
The greatest obstacle the Shaykh pointed out to us was our attachment to, our love of the Dunya and its supposed pleasures. Though we were sincere in our desire to Love Allahu ta ‘ala and Nabiyyul Kareem Sall Allahu ‘alaihi wa Aalihi wa Sallim, we were worshiping the Nafs, giving in to its commands. He explained that this fire of Nafsi Ammara bi Soo was being fanned by our listening to unislamic music. He commanded us to abandon this attachment and attach ourselves to listening to and reciting Salaat ‘alan Nabiyy or Darood Sharif. He instructed us to beautify the English language by composing nasheed, naat in English.
His eminence explained that in order to heal sick hearts one must replace that which sickens it with that which heals it. The Shaykh made available to us on cassette, Salaatul Tajiyya also known as Darood Taj, Darood Akbar [or the Great Salawaat]. His eminence even went as far as composing a Darood Salaam [Salaah ‘alan Nabiyy] in English which we recite after Salaatul Jumu’ah each week along with Salaatul Taajiyya [Darood Taj]. Those of us who took to learning and reading and listening to Holy Qur’an and reciting reading and listening to Salaah ‘alan Nabiyy Sall Allahu ‘alaihi wa Aalihi wa Sallim made the most progress. Those of us who continued to listen to haram music have made very little progress on the path toward love of Allahu ta ‘ala and Hubbun Nabiyy Sall Allahu ‘alaihi wa Aalihi wa Sallim and continue to fall victim to shaytan and the lower desires.
If we are to save ourselves and our families we must adopt the way that is tried and true. The example of Ashabul Kiram Ridhwan Allahu ta ‘ala alaihim ajma’een is instrumental. They followed, imitated, emulated the Beloved Messenger Sall Allahu ‘alaihi wa Aalihi wa Sallim so much so that they became mirror images of an Nabiyy Sall Allahu ‘alaihi wa Aalihi wa Sallim. And yes their hearts were purified by reciting Qasaaid, nasheed if you will. They wrote and recited poetry in praise of Habibuka Muhammad Sall Allahu ‘alaihi wa Aalihi wa Sallim. Is it not so that they welcomed him to Madinah with “Tala ‘al badr ‘alayna”?
The great companions of the Messenger Sall Allahu ‘alaihi wa Aalihi wa Sallim, Sayyidinaa Hassaan bin Thabit and Mahmud ibn Labib blazed the trail for us, to be followed by such giants as Sayyidinaa Abdul Qadir Jilani in his “Bahaa’irul Khayraat”, Al Imam Busiri with “Al Qasida Burdah, Muhammadiyya, Hamziyya, Mudariyya” and others. We have the well know collection of Salaah ‘alan Nabiyy Sall Allahu ‘alaihi wa Aalihi wa Sallim, “Dalailul Khayrat” of Imam Muhammad ibn Sulaiman al Juzuli as well, Ridhwan Allahu ta ‘ala alaihim ajma’een.
Quoting from Risaalatul Qushayriyya once again:
I heard al-Junayd say: I heard al-Harith al-Muhasibi say:
“Love means you are inclined toward someone in your entirety, then you give preference to this someone over yourself, your spirit and your possessions, then you comply with his wishes openly and secretly, whereupon you acquire the awareness that your love is imperfect.”
Without instilling this Mahabba this Divine love, in our hearts and the hearts of our dear children, our Iman our purity of belief we will not survive untainted in this country, nay the whole dunya.
"None of you will have true Imaan [faith] till he loves me more than his father, his children and all mankind." [Sahih Bukhari]
And there is no such thing as excessive love of Nabiyyul Kareem as witnessed by this Blessed saying of Sayyidinaa Muhammad al Mustafaa Sall Allahu ‘alaihi wa Aalihi wa Sallim.
Wa Sall Allahu ta ‘ala ‘alaa Khayri khalqihi wa Nuri ‘Arshi Afdhalil Ambiyaa’i wa Mursaleen, Habibunaa wa Shafee’unaa wa Mawlaanaa Muhammadin wa ‘Alaa Aalihi wa Sahbihi wa Ummatihi ajma’ina bi Rahmatika Yaa Arhamar Rahimeen