Sulayman Van Ael – The Divine Names 15 part 1 of 2
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AI: Transcript ©
Assalamu alaikum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuhu Today has
been a day of traveling.
I started at 9.30, I traveled to
another part in London, then to the other
extreme in London and then I just arrived
now from the other extreme in London.
So it has been a day of teaching.
Today we are going to talk, inshallah, I
was on my way here and I thought
it would be important to talk about the
name of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala, Al
-Ahad Al-Wahid.
Don't ask me why.
Don't ask me why I don't have the
book of Imam Ghazali with me.
Very often I just talk without knowing what
I am about to say.
So khair, inshallah, I hope you will be
beneficial.
So the first thing we need to know
when we look at the name Al-Wahid
or Al-Ahad, we say the first one.
But what we need to know is that
the first one with regards to the name
of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala doesn't mean
a numeric first.
So there is not a competition where there
is a first one and a second one
and a third one.
And this is why Allah subhanahu wa ta
'ala is Al-Awwal and Al-Akhir.
He is the first and the last and
there is nothing in between.
So Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala is Al
-Awwal Bil-Abtida Wal-Akhir Bil-Antiha.
This is what they say, Allah is the
first one without a beginning and the last
one without an end.
So his presence is Al-Hayy and Al
-Hayy means the living one who always had
life and his life is not taken from
external or internal factors.
This is just his being, he is Al
-Hayy.
And we humans and everything else are in
need of external things to be able to
continue living or existing.
If this room were to crush us or
become smaller and smaller at the end we
wouldn't be able to continue living because we
wouldn't have space.
If we don't have air we will die
because we can't breathe.
And if our heart stops working or our
lungs stop working we no longer live.
So we are always dependent on external and
internal factors to be alive while nothing threads
Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala's life.
While nothing can interfere with Allah subhanahu wa
ta'ala's being Al-Hayy jalla wa ala
subhanahu wa ta'ala.
So Allah being the first and the last,
as we said, the first one without a
beginning and the last one without an end.
The Prophet Muhammad alayhi salatu wa salam said
shaytan will keep on pushing you, asking subhanAllah,
try to wait with saying Alhamdulillah until I
say Alhamdulillah, Alhamdulillah, Ya ahdikunAllahu islihun zanakun.
So you say Alhamdulillah to someone who sneezes
because when he sneezes there is such a
power behind sneezing that if Allah subhanahu wa
ta'ala weren't to have designed our eyes
to close during sneezing that they would just
pop out of our face.
And when you sneeze it is with such
a power that it could actually stop your
heart.
So when you say Alhamdulillah it is like
you were about to die but Allah subhanahu
wa ta'ala gave you life again.
So now, he is the first one without
a beginning and the Prophet Muhammad alayhi salatu
wa salam said someone will keep on asking,
okay Allah created this one and that one
and such and such until shaytan will push
you to say but who created Allah?
And he says when you say, when you
come to this stage where you ask yourself
this question then this is from shaytan, it
is not from your intellect.
Because the intellectual being who thinks with his
soul and with a pure state of mind
will always be guided to Allah subhanahu wa
ta'ala and this fitrah Imam al-Nawawi
mentioned is qabiliyatul insan an yu'mina bi rabbil
insan.
It is that every human being has been
given the possibility and the clarity within himself
to accept Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala being
his Lord.
And they say that if a human being
were to be left alone without any outward
influences or outward manipulations that he would know
that Allah exists.
And this is why the Messenger of Allah
sallallahu alayhi wa sallam said kullu insani yuladu
ala al-fitrah.
Every human being is born with the fitrah,
the pureness of accepting Allah subhanahu wa ta
'ala as the one, as the Lord.
And Imam al-Ghazali says that even without
a aql, if we were to be left
alone and that our soul would believe in
a creator because just by looking at things
we come to the conclusion that everything is
made, everything is made.
Like even if I were to, sorry I
am looking for something, ok this here.
If I would say this, this simple thing
here wasn't made, nobody would believe me.
This is something without structure, without life, it
doesn't reproduce itself, it doesn't breathe, has no
lungs, has nothing.
But nobody, no scientist in the entire world
would believe me if I were to say
that this just came into the mosque without
someone putting it here, without someone creating it.
Everybody would say if I were to believe
that they would send me to a psychiatrist.
They would say this man has gone, somebody
get a tissue please, it's behind you, yes
you can throw it, it's ok.
I had a sheikh throwing with candies at
us, with every Eid.
He was a very serious sheikh, he still
is.
But with Eid he gave us a smile
and then he threw candies.
The candies were never enough for everybody so
he got people fighting and he looks at
his students.
So then at the end he understood that
everybody wanted the candy so he started throwing
more.
Anyway, so if we were to say this
then everybody would declare me crazy, right?
So we know just with the aqal that
everything which exists, no matter what it is,
has been created.
Apart according to the scientists, the world, the
universe, the moon, the stars, the sun, the
human body, the eye, the brain, the kidneys,
whatever.
When my father was very sick he had
a machine cleansing his blood, dialysis.
Back in the days, I'm talking about 18
years ago, it was like 2 meters high,
it was like 1 meter width and it
was plugged in.
All this machine was replacing something that doesn't
weigh even 500 grams.
This machine had to be plugged in.
We don't plug it, right?
We just walk around, nobody sees it.
If I were to say this machine has
been created, not been created, they would say
you are crazy.
When I say my kidney has not been
created, they would say you are right.
How many people did you need to design
this machine which eventually will break down one
day?
How many people did you need to think
about how to do it?
So Allah Subhanahu wa ta'ala is the
first one to do it and the last
one to do it and nobody can reproduce
what he produced.
Even now when they say we will be
the first one that will create a human
being, we say okay, if you do, then
don't use anything from the human being.
If you say that you can create and
decide whether he or she is going to
have blue eyes, brown eyes, blonde hair, brown
hair, black hair, we say okay, if you
are special, then use nothing which originates from
the human being.
And if you can't, you are just using
Allah's creation.
And so at a certain point, Imam Ghazali
says that if you now are left alone,
you will be born with this fitrah, the
qabiliyyah, it means that a person will believe
in one maker.
He says in a maker, okay, but how
in one maker?
He says because when there are two people
in charge, at a certain period in time,
there will be chaos because they will choose
to disagree.
And the world is in harmony, showing that
there is only one.
Is this clear?
And then he said when you look at
creation to make things, you are in need
of knowledge, you are in need of wisdom,
you are in need of power, you are
in need of knowledge, of so many more.
He says so just by leaving a person
alone, one, he will believe in a maker,
two, he will believe that the maker is
one, not two, and then he will believe
that the maker is wise, powerful, that he
can do what he wants, that he has
knowledge and everything, and then he will come
to the conclusion just by his aqal that
this lord needs to be worshipped.
And then because he says then, because he
knows that his lord is from the world
of the unseen, then there must be someone
the lord has sent to show him how
to be worshipped.
So he says merely by your aqal, you
will come to the conclusion that there is
a maker that needs to be worshipped and
a prophet that has been sent.
This is when we have no impressions, false
impressions from the world around us.
If we were to be left alone, and
this is al-fitrah.
This is the deen we are naturally inclined
towards to.
And this is why you find that in
a lot of European countries, at the end
they will adapt their laws and very often
it will bend more and more towards Islamic
laws.
Not everything, but a lot of things.
Like drinking, no it's dangerous, drink a bit
less.
Even now they are thinking about segregation and
this and that.
So they are thinking about so many different
things, but it's not in the name of
religion.
Last time I went to Antwerp, I saw
a road sign with a man with a
can of beer, it's an official one, in
his hand, like this, with a stripe like
that, no drinking allowed in these streets.
If we were to demand this, they would
say we are the Taliban of Europe.
Police controlling, did you drink, did you drink,
did you drink?
If a Muslim would do, did you drink?
No extremism.
So everything which is good, but in the
name of religion, is considered to be dangerous,
to be threatening our way of life, while
we are actually saying very often exactly the
same things, but from another perspective.
And what they are saying now is something
which we have been saying for 1400 years.
Why?
Because this is deen al-fitrah.
Allah is al-awwal.
So he is the first one to do
everything and nobody can reproduce what he does.
And he is the first one to show
which path we need to follow to prosper
and to be saved as a whole, as
the human race, if we were to listen
to Allah SWT.
Because why?
As Allah being the first and the last,
he knows the results of everything he says
and does.
The human being doesn't.
Like 50 years ago, cigarettes, Marlboro, yes, L
&M, publicity and everything was allowed.
And now, when everybody has got cancer, when
everybody is ill and sick, and people are
addicted, all of a sudden, photos, no longer
allowed to say cigarettes, it's a cancer stick.
And so all of a sudden now, it's
haram, or not haram, you need to pay
more.
The problem is when people are addicted, they
are ready to pay more.
Like this packet of cigarettes that was like
3 pounds, is now maybe 10 pounds.
I mean, it increased, and people are smoking
as much as they were before.
It didn't decrease.
And now this electric cigarette, within 10 years
they will do exactly the same thing because
it's worse for the health than just smoking.
And light cigarettes are even worse than normal
cigarettes.
And the nicotine in cigarettes in Arab countries
is 7 times more than nicotine in Europe.
And the sugar in Coca-Cola and Fanta
and so much more in Arabic countries is
more than the sugar here in Europe.
So, to cut things short, Allah subhanahu wa
ta'ala, we would be guided towards the
one just by being left alone.
And this is why shaytan is on the
way of the fitrah.
Shaytan, you don't have to go to look
for shaytan with drug addicts.
He's not there.
He's got nothing to look for.
No, it's ok, khalas, they're occupied.
If you want to look for shaytan, look
in the mosque.
Look when you are reading Qur'an.
Look when you try to find your way
to Allah, which is the fitrah.
And the thing is, that which you feel
that you are always looking for, this happiness.
You always feel that there is an emptiness.
You're looking for it.
You try to find it in buying new
shoes, buying a new car, buying a house,
building the future.
And subhanAllah, every time you get there, you
feel that still there is something missing.
Why?
Because we are nurturing the mind, the body
and our intellect, but we're not nourishing the
soul.
And the hunger we are feeling is the
hunger and the yearning of the soul to
connect to Allah subhanAllah, which is the fitrah.
We want to be connected to the one,
because we are zero.
And when zero is added to the one,
it's times ten.
Zero, if it's connected to one, what does
it become?
Ten.
So now, we are always longing for this.
And this is what we feel.
And we won't be happy unless we feed
our souls with connecting to Allah subhanAllah, which
is the fitrah.
So now to come back to Shaytan.
Shaytan, subhanAllah, he's actually very funny, because he's
like, everything he does is obvious, but nevertheless,
his biggest goal is for us to forget
that he's trying to fool us.
How often do we think about Shaytan?
Just when we sin, Shaytan, it's also the
nafs.
But we forget that Shaytan is trying to
give the impression to Muslims and non-Muslims
alike that paradise can be found on the
face of the earth.
And this is why he's trying to perfect
the life in dunya, the bodies to make
this internal, Botox, Botox, Botox, you know, he's
trying to give you this internal youth, which
can only be found in Jannah.
He's trying to give you the eternal perfect
villa.
You live in a villa for ten years,
it needs to be painted, it needs to
be reconstructed, it needs to be, you know,
subhanAllah.
So we are building in this life, but
Shaytan, he said, لَأَقْعُدَنَّ لَهُمْ صِرَاطَكَ الْمُسْتَقِيمُ He
said, I will establish myself, I will be
a resident, I will be an obstacle on
Siratul Mustaqeem.
Siratul Mustaqeem is your way to Fitrat Allah.
It's your fitrah to be on the Siratul
Mustaqeem.
This is why people whose souls are alive,
when they sin, they feel sad.
They feel like a heavy burden.
What did I do?
Even your eyes feel heavy.
Your brain feels heavy.
You feel that you are uncomfortable in your
own body.
This is when your soul is alive.
This is when your heart is alive.
This is when Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala
grants you spiritual light in your heart.
So Shaytan is on the way of the
fitrah.
لَأَقْعُدَنَّ لَهُمْ صِرَاطَكَ الْمُسْتَقِيمُ And he said subhanAllah,
so many things he promised Allah subhanahu wa
ta'ala to do.
So anyway, Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala being
the one, and being the first, and there
is no one before him, and his being
first is not connected to time.
And there is no competition as I said.
So هو الأول فليس قبله شيء وهو الآخر
فليس بعده شيء وهو الظاهر فليس دونه شيء
He is the first one without beginning.
He is the last one without an end.
So now the question which arises is, if
he is the last one, well, aren't our
souls everlasting?
We will be forever in paradise.
خالدين فيها خالدين فيها Forever and ever.
So how can we now harmonize between understanding
that Allah is the last one, no one
will be after him, and us ourselves inshaAllah
being in Jannah forever.
Well, Allah being the last one isn't depending
on someone.
It doesn't depend on someone or something.
Us having an everlasting life is dependent on
Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala granting us this
life.
Does that make sense?
So every moment in time that we exist
is subjected to death and is subjected to
absence if it were not for Allah subhanahu
wa ta'ala granting us this life.
So our life is not a true life
in a certain sense.
It is always in need of Allah subhanahu
wa ta'ala creating this life for us
and making our bodies and souls everlasting.
Is that clear?
So Allah's everlastingness doesn't depend on anything.
He is.
And we, when we live forever it's thanks
to Him.
So we are subjected to death but He
chose not to and He chose to keep
us alive subhanahu wa ta'ala.
So this is very important to make this
difference between Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala being
everlasting and us living forever and ever.
And our living forever is connected to time
while Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala is the
creator of time.
We are subjected to time Allah is not
subjected to time subhanahu wa ta'ala.
We don't share the same dimension with Allah
subhanahu wa ta'ala.
So now, He's the first one and He's
the last one.
Nothing is before Him nothing will come after
Him.
So now from a ta'alluq point of
view from a spiritual connectivity point of view
when you know that He's the first one
you should know if you have an idea
that no one had before you Allah knew
this before you knew it and it didn't
come out of nowhere it came from Allah
and He wanted to use you to make
a part of His knowledge known to mankind
so every new invention is nothing more than
Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala unveiling a part
of His knowledge to mankind because He wanted
it now and not 100 or 200 or
300 years ago Allah decided when someone would
think about making an airplane and this is
why some of the scholars say about the
verse Allah says that He created the horses
and so much more and He creates what
you don't know yet He creates subhanahu wa
ta'ala so we think of new things
I said it wrong help me out they
will not encompass anything of His knowledge apart
from that which He wants you see so
He subhanahu wa ta'ala when you are
inspired to do something new you come up
with a new idea you're not the first
one Allah is the first one He knew
this and He granted you this knowledge and
when you have this knowledge like Jeff Boses
for example from Amazon you don't know the
Amazon guy the bold man who is building
a watch in a cave to celebrate within
1000 years you know Amazon Bezos yes anyway
he's not that rich he only has 160
billion but after he split up with his
wife it's public and he only has 60
billion so they say he came up with
an idea in his garage exactly like many
other social media hypes started in their garage
he wasn't rich we go back 10 years
ago it was in his garage everybody saying
you're a fool you don't know what you're
doing he said no no no people can
come up with things here then I quickly
run to the shop and then I deliver
it myself I have a little percentage 160
billion what mankind did mankind can do but
who came up with this idea Allah why
did He give it to this person or
to Zuckerberg like Facebook why to them well
because it's their test it's their test when
Allah gives you an idea and this is
why when Suleyman alayhi salam received the throne
of Saba of Bilqis the queen of Saba
and it was a very magnificent throne with
diamonds and pearls a human being wouldn't be
able to carry it but Allah subhanahu wa
ta'ala put the jinn at the service
of Suleyman so one of the people of
the jinn who were given knowledge of the
book says Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala said
I will bring the throne before you can
blink your eyes and it came there it
was and it was such a heavy throne
I mean people wouldn't be able to carry
because they were building it while it was
in its place and always making it bigger
and bigger so anyway and when Suleyman saw
this he said this is a test from
my lord Liyabluwan to test me whether I'm
going to be ungrateful or whether I'm going
to be grateful so everything we receive was
already known by the one who preceded everything
and he made it take place in your
life so that you would show what you
are going to do with it so when
you have a new idea you are immediately
humbled in front of Allah subhanahu wa ta
'ala this is why a muslim inventor or
muslim doctor who finds a remedy for a
disease will be humbled the stronger we become
intellectually the stronger we become physically the more
humble our souls become in front of Allah
subhanahu wa ta'ala why?
because we know it's from him and we
were his object of choice through which he
wanted to manifest his knowledge so this is
very important to always keep in mind subhanallah
your intellect, your capacities your power it's all
from Allah the one subhanahu wa ta'ala
who injected it in whom he wants is
that clear?
ok and our
everlastingness will be interrupted you see?
when we say Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala
is everlasting meaning without a beginning, without an
end there is no interruption and there is
nothing which preceded his existence there was no
nothingness for him Allah says in surah al
-insan wasn't there a time where the human
being was not even mentioned not in the
world of the angels not in the world
of the jinn who preceded us he was
not even mentioned, nowhere but now look al
-insan, here I am like Ibn Hazm said
if you run fast, know that there are
animals that run faster than you do he
said when you are strong and can carry
things, know that there are animals that can
carry heavier things he said and if you
know how to sing very well, know that
there are birds that sing much more beautifully
than you do he said whatever you do
there are always animals that will do it
better than you apart from one thing worshipping
Allah by choice we brought the human being
to the lowest of the lowest degree the
degree of animals and then you can climb
out of this by turning into a better
human being with good qualities with not just
going by your instincts and desires and passions
but by your intellect, your ethics, norms and
values so now Ibn Hazm said don't be
proud of anything you do because animals are
better than you at this apart from sharing
apart from giving apart from self-sacrificing apart
from by choice worshipping Allah fasting praying
visiting the sick through all these things we
distinguish we distinguish ourselves from the animal kingdom
this is what makes us humans says Allah
and we have honoured the human being by
what?
by believing by good deeds so now as
we said the existence of Allah wasn't preceded
by nothingness and it was never interrupted we,
a certain moment in time we were not
even we were not even desired by our
parents when they just got married they weren't
talking about Sulaiman and Omar they weren't it's
when you came into existence that they said
Sulaiman, Omar I'm sure they all were expecting
us it's just to give you an example
like even our own parents and grandparents we
don't have to go very far we are
not even mentioned and now we think we
are important we are between being not mentioned
and being not mentioned so if you live
between being not mentioned and a future where
you will be