Yahya Rhodus – The Rawha – Hikma 103
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We've reached the 100 and third aphorism.
The 100 and third hikmah from this blessed
collection of hikm
of
that he is presenting to us.
And what a blessing to have an adviser,
someone who is a that
can help us
help show us the way
to Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala.
And this is a blessing.
You don't know the greatness of this blessing
until that it's taken from
you. To actually have that a path to
Allah
when he speaks about the 6 foundational meanings
of the Quran.
That the first two that he mentions which
is when he
will then mention specific verses from them,
is
that
that making known the one that we're being
called to Allah.
And he said the second most important meaning
after that is the,
So he it's making known the path, the
straight path
that it's required. It's an obligation for someone
to travel if they want to that draw
near to him.
And so to have the spiritual path laid
out for us is an immense blessing from
our Lord Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala.
So in this aphorism number 103
is it
says
This could translate
the knower of Allah.
And really what we'd say here is the
utter need of the knower of Allah never
ceases,
nor does he find rest in anything other
than Allah.
So you could summarize this by saying that
this is about how the Knower of Allah
always remains in a state of need
of Allah.
So the two most important words here
that we need to understand
this aphorism is the word and
They rhyme in Arabic, but
is utter need,
absolute need.
The need where you realize that absolutely you
have nowhere other nowhere else to turn except
to Allah
that no one can help you except Allah.
There is that no escaping Allah
that
anyone or anything else that you fear you
run from it. But Allah,
you run to him. And no answer
So, Alarif.
The Arif
is the Gnostic,
the knower of Allah.
Is to cease,
to vanish,
to disappear.
So what is not ceasing here? What is
that not vanishing here? What is not disappearing
here?
His.
So his feeling
and his the reality of him being in
absolute need.
And really what he's saying here is is
that the Adaf is aware of that. This
is a reality
whether or not you and I realize it
as we will see it shortly.
This is our reality as human beings,
but the enlightened person is the one who
aligns
themselves
with reality.
So the knowers of Allah are more in
tune with reality, the true nature of things
than anyone else in Allah taught his creation.
In fact, you could say the vast majority
of people
are living in Oham.
They're living in this world of illusion
and delusion.
They're living in this world of fanciful imaginations,
of wishful thinking, of some utopian reality,
and they are
oftentimes
trying to change their state of mind
so they can have mind altering experiences
of different sorts,
all of which are haram in the sacred
law to escape the reality as they know
it.
And then all of these other
that things of our time
were that all of a sudden that you
can
put on that goggles and you're in a
whole different room.
You're seeing totally different things
and you're in the state of virtual reality
and on and on and on.
People
will do all different types of things to
try to escape
reality,
but we will all die.
No matter how
many pills that you take to prolong your
life, no matter how much you watch your
health,
no matter what is it you try to
do, they're not gonna find
that death is some gene that they can
remove and that we're going to attain immortality.
It's not gonna happen. Allah has decreed that
we're all gonna die.
Even if they freeze your body after is
that you die and so forth,
this is wishful thinking.
Allah has decreed that everyone's going to die.
So it's better
for us to come to terms with reality
now
to prepare
for the hereafter. And the more that we
come to terms with reality now,
the easier it will be when we transition
from this world into the hereafter.
And so the
best case scenario
is that our spirit
is taken from us hair
is pulled out of dough. So if you
have some hair stuck in dough and you
just
comes right out. No problem.
And that's the easiest.
But then on the other side, it gets
really severe
in terms of the difficulty,
yeah, Latif,
of the spirit being pulled
out. So
So this word
is a word in the Arabic language, has
a range of meanings.
And it's most outward meaning,
it's settledness,
physically
being in a place
where you reside.
You're settled somewhere.
And then it takes on this meaning and
connotes
steadiness
and stability.
So Allah says
in the in relation to the
It's
been uprooted
from the ground.
It has no stability.
So that if your roots aren't planted, there's
no stability. This is
the is the people who that
think that somehow they're going to attain something
by
disbelieving in Allah or relying than other than
Allah. They realize that this whole world is
like a spider's web
and it's the
So Allah says
has no stability.
So this is has the meaning of steadiness
and stability and then it takes on the
meaning
of reposed
rest
and stillness.
So the is
someone does not find rest
in anything other than Allah,
and this is a deep meaning.
And you can start to see
when we go through difficulties in our life
how much we're in need of this science.
This book should be studied in modern psychology.
For people to realize that actually,
the better long term solution, if someone needs
medication, that's a different story. But aside of,
like, the need for medication,
this is much more effective long term to
have these meanings internalized in you than any
medication
whatever possibly do for you.
They they should be studied. Think about if
you have that meaning. What does it mean
to be settled in your life?
So normally,
when things are going okay for us,
we have our home,
everything is fine at home, of stillness. Everything's
fine. And we have a lot of work.
We have a lot of work. We
have a lot of work. We have a
lot of work. We have a lot of
work. We have people that are part of
our lives. And
there's a bit of repose, there's a bit
of stillness,
everything's fine.
But then, imagine if all of a sudden
something goes wrong at home,
and you have something go wrong in a
relationship, and something going wrong at work.
Is it now
you have a state that's the opposite of
repose, rest, and stillness.
You're agitated.
And so what he's going to say here
is is that normal people like us
is that we oftentimes don't realize our absolute
need of Allah until we're sent tribulations
that agitate us.
Whereas the people of Allah,
whether things are easy, whether things are hard,
whether things are turbulent, or whether things are
still,
They're always with a law.
Think about the greatness of that meaning.
If you and I,
despite turbulent times of our life,
is that we could find stability,
and we ground it.
Wow.
That's an amazing state to be in. That's
how we want to be. That's why we
read these books.
We want to be like this and
we're not. We're distant from that.
We're like common folk. We're like children.
If we get what we want, we're happy.
If we don't get what we want, we
cry.
And many of us were adults but we
throw tantrums all the time.
That's the reality of our state, Daniel. So
the previous aphorism, number 102,
was about
having a meaning come to your heart,
I e that you're inspired with that meaning
by Allah and to ask when Allah literally
loosens your tongue, is it to know that
he wants to give you?
And so how does that relate to this
one, the city, Ahmedabad, that he says about
this?
Is that
once the door
of for the knowledge of Allah opens up
for you,
he said,
then the way that you approach
asking
is very different
because you find your sufficiency
in
the one who
causes everything to happen in his creation.
So then,
the motivation
behind your supplication
starts to change.
It becomes
You're showing your need to Allah.
You're showing
that your absolute
need of Him,
And the state of impoverishment and need
is always with you. It never ceases.
And this is what he's indicating in
this aphorism, why he follows it up after
the one that preceded.
Because that we might think that, okay, if
I'm being inspired
with all of these supplications,
is that I'm just going to keep asking
and keep getting. But there's an there's an
etiquette that goes along with this.
Is that where then
we start to ask, Ganny, the motivation behind
us asking
is more one of
showing that we're in need and asking
because
he wants us to ask him.
It's a subtle but huge difference.
And at the basic level, there's nothing wrong
whatsoever
in asking Allah to add her for something
you need. There's nothing wrong with that.
So this doesn't mean that, okay, I'm not
going to ask Allah for anything. No. That's
a state.
It's a
state.
And there is a hadith that says,
Anyone who has my remembrance preoccupy him from
asking me for something, I will give him
the greatest of what I give
those who are asking.
So this is a state that overcomes 1.
And
it's a blessed state and this is what
Imam Haddad is referring to in his famous.
Is that the knowledge of my lord is
sufficient?
It suffices me
from my and
that anything that I would might what I'm
asking for and anything that I can choose
from myself.
So my supplication and my turning to Him
is a testimony
to my absolute need.
For this reason, I supplicate him.
In times of ease and in times of
difficulties. See the relationship to the meaning here?
Because
the vast majority of people will usually only
ask a lot in times of difficulty, please
make dua for me.
We should ask you to make dua for
us even if we're not in a difficult
state.
And of course, it's fine to ask someone
to make for them when you're in a
bad state or you're going through a difficult
time.
But
we should make
in times of ease and in hardship.
But there's just something about a stubborn human
beings
is that we find rest in the things
of this world
where we're comfortable
that everything's going okay.
And
we just feel like everything is fine and
we don't need anything.
But that's a huge veil.
The state that we want to be in
is that where we don't need a tribulation
to be in the right state.
And when those type of people do receive
tribulations, it's very different from it's Taraki.
It's not a punishment nor is it an
atonement. It's for them to spiritually ascend.
And ultimately, the people of Allah Ta'ala are
the ones who are tried the most.
So the other need
of the Knower of Allah
never ceases
nor does he find rest
in anything other
than
Allah.
So the one who knows Allah
is fully aware
of his own reality,
which includes
his own ego, his lower self, which includes
his attributes.
And the greater our insights are
into who we truly are
and the various attributes that we have,
the more that
knowledge of Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala we will
have.
And so
whoever knows his own self
will know Allah.
And so that the way that we do
this is is that
we realize is that we are in absolute
need and Allah has no need.
It's that we are humble,
and Allah is great.
It's that we are powerless,
and Allah is all powerful.
Is that we are that lowly and Allah
is noble.
So
we're aware of the reality of our state,
but if there's a veil on the heart
is that we'll think that we're the ones
who are acting, we're the ones who are
doing, and outwardly, has given us a freedom
of choice to do certain things for sure.
But
they see things differently.
They don't see it as them.
They know that they've been given,
freedom of choice and they acquire
their acts, but they try to do everything
that relying solely upon Allah He
said that as for people who that are
not,
people who do not know Allah from the
common folk like our own selves.
Is
that usually is that the state of of
absolute need, other need
arises
some type of sickness,
whether that be poverty
or whatever else it might be.
And
that the same author
has in his famous book,
he says a quote,
The one who has a more comprehensive and
expansive
light
And the lights are shining.
And there taking over the
the more light of faith in the heart,
the more they realize how much they're in
need of Allah.
And then he goes on to say is
that Allah
rebuked people
in the Quran
who only turn to him
when things go wrong such that they realize
that they're in need of him.
And so he quotes a few verses.
Whatever blessings you have
are from Allah.
Imagine if we just put the part of
that one verse into practice
that you and I were aware that every
blessing
that we have is from Allah.
It's very easy to understand
with our intellects,
but what we want is that to be
our reality where we are ever aware
that every blessing that we have is from
Allah. So we are
in completely immersing ourselves
in
gratitude and thankfulness.
Then, whenever hardship touches you,
to him alone, you cry
for help.
So, when do you turn to him, cry
for help when
hardship comes to you?
And
then Allah subhanahu wa
ta'ala says
Whenever someone is touched by hardship,
they cry out to
us whether lying on their side sitting or
standing.
But when we relieve their hardship,
they
return to their old ways as if they
had never cried to us to remove any
hardship.
This is how the misdeeds of the transgressors
have been made
appealing to them. So just think you and
I, is that all of a sudden that
we get sick.
Oh, do you have any that I can
say? Do you have any that I can
say? And during that period, we're doing a
lot of that. We're doing a lot of.
We're very concerned about a lot our state
and this type of but then, all of
a sudden, we start to get a little
bit better,
and we fall back into our heedlessness
as if that we never were in need
before that.
And then Allah
says,
Say, oh, prophet,
who rescues you from the darkest times on
land and at sea?
He alone you call upon with humility openly
in secret. If you rescue us from this,
we will be ever grateful.
And that's the state that they're in. While
they're going through that here, the here
is translate as darkest times, like difficulties, tribulations.
So
what the scholars of this science say is
that
the, the common Muslim,
because is that they're unaware of the reality
of the situation. They're unaware
in their normal state
experientially
of how much they're in need of Allah
Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala,
Allah
sends
these tribulations
to them
so that they'll be in a state of
be
aware
of their other need,
so that they can realize
his his lordship,
and his greatness.
What a meaning.
So the next time we go through a
tribute, may Allah protect us and preserve us,
from all tribulations, and if we're afflicted with
them, may Allah assist us,
We need to turn to Allah,
not run away from him.
And we need to see everything coming from
him
and
to learn to find
the opportunities for
in the very same tribulations that we're experiencing
because there are means for us to come
to know our other and absolute need
and to rectify our relationship with him, and
to be aware of reality even if before
a short period of time. Most powerful internal
etiquettes if we get sick, for instance. May
Allah bless us with good health.
You realize
your weakness.
I'm weak.
I can't do anything without you. I was
going through my day
thinking almost that I'm just in of myself
doing this.
And if a believer was asked, of course,
that we know everything is from Allah. But
then all of a sudden you get sick,
and that same day that you're able to
do on a Nobel, you can't do anymore.
And you struggle.
You can only do a half day. You
have to rest
because you're sick.
These are moments for us to be aware
of reality.
So Sheikh Abu Abbasid Mercy
RadiAllahu Anhu said
This is the state of the Noor of
Allah. He always is in the state
of feeling an absolute need and what a
blessed state to be in. And think
about how much how many delusions he'll be
protected from
where he's broken before Allah realizes
his absolute need.
You're worse. That person is spared
from so many different things,
so much hardship that would come their way
where that state not to be there.
So adds
a little,
slightly more deeply spiritual meaning here.
And he says,
to the degree that we
understand
the greatness of Allah
his lordship,
is to the degree that we will recognize
our own
our own servitude.
And the more that we realize our servitude,
the more that we'll realize how we're absolutely
in need of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala
in every single moment.
And understanding this
is one of
the
one of the secrets
of spiritual ascension.
We can understand this meaning.
Understand this is one of the secrets
to constantly
spiritually ascend.
And when our teachers have said on different
occasions,
traits that we need to attain high degrees
degrees of closest to Allah subhanahu tend to
benefit in a short amount of time
from
blessed places and from blessed people.
One of the 5 trades that they mentioned
is
Is it clinging to
constantly being in a state
of humility
and brokenness before Allah
And these meanings of humility,
brokenness, and absolute need, they all go hand
in hand.
So this is the door
that opens up.
The door that opens up from this
is a door of spiritual ascension.
And
one of the things that Allah Subhanahu Wa
Ta'ala that teaches us in his book, and
he directs this to our prophet
and say, my lord, increase me in knowledge.
Is that no matter what it is that
we attain, and it's mentioned here in terms
of knowledge,
no matter how much knowledge that we attain,
there's more knowledge to attain.
So this is the state. You want more,
and then you get more and then you
want more and then you get more and
then you want more and then you get
more.
And no matter how much knowledge that we
come to know,
what we don't know
is
significantly greater than what we do know.
And in fact, that
what do we actually ever even really know?
And knowledge doesn't have an end.
So in paradise,
we will eternally
be increasing in knowledge,
eternally.
It never ends.
We can understand that as a concept. We
can't understand that too.
Right here in this world, let's say, okay,
how can you get more than a perfect
score on the SATs?
Right?
You can
conceptually at least learn everything that you can
learn about algebra.
You could conceptually, at least, learn
everything that you could possibly learn of what's
been discovered about chemistry
or any of the sciences.
You could that potentially learn everything that could
possibly learn about medicine,
and most people don't can't do that, but
it's possible
that in terms of a rational possibility.
But
those knowledges have limits.
There's a limit to what you just said,
you know, but knowledge of Allah has no
limit.
You learn and then you can learn more
and you learn and you learn what you
learn and then you're constantly in a state
of feeling in absolute need of Allah and
then your knowledge just increases
and increases
and increases
eternally.
What we want is to live right here
where we plant the seed
for
that internal increase here in this world and
then harvest it next
in the hereafter. And
this is why says to everyone,
you've only been given
a little
of knowledge.
So that pertains to the first part
of this aphorism.
Okay. How many words is that?
Four words.
Look at how much depth there is in
4 words.
And then the second half of the statement
is
nor does he find rest in anything other
than Allah.
And this is because of the state of
the
is that he only finds intimacy in the
rumors of Allah
is that his
devotion and his focus
is on his lord.
And so this leads him to feel a
natural feeling of
estrangement from human beings.
And at first, it seems very difficult. This
seems like something that is against our nature
as human beings.
One of the reasons that we are in
San
is because of, is because we find familiarity
with people,
is that we're social creatures.
We can't just
separate ourselves from people in the lower states.
We suffer
when we don't have people. I I'm just
thinking about this other day that there's there's
something so beautiful just having a center that
we can all come to. And even if
you're just briefly speaking to people,
you don't think that it's
really that important, but it's so important.
Just saying salaams to people,
just asking about people, just very small things,
just small
exchanges, even if they're brief. It's very meaningful,
very important for the human being.
As we progress in the spiritual path. But
what we're talking about now is that someone
who's reached this goal,
it doesn't mean by saying that they feel
estranged from people that they don't give them
their right. No. On the contrary,
they give people their rights more than other
people of doing to give people their rights.
Because all of her interactions
are for Allah. It doesn't mean that there's
not
that love that they have for that person.
It doesn't mean that there's not connection that
they have that person. There is. But what's
behind it is different.
It is actually more real
and that it's more meaningful.
And so
the people of Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala, this
is their state.
And so their state of of
stability,
of repose, of rest
is only
in
Allah They're different.
And so it's possible for this person
to have a life
that is very turbulent,
but they're extremely stable.
They're not phased by the ups and downs.
They're not phased by being moved from a
state of
that difficulty
to
ease. They're not phased by moving from a
state of wealth to poverty.
Hakada,
from good health to bad health.
They're stable.
They're grounded.
Why? Because they're reposes and Allah, they see
all of the different states as
being from Allah
and this allows them to remain firm
and to be the way that it is
that they need to be.
But
the source of that is
their recognition
of their of their utter need.
And then what comes from their being in
a state of other need
is
is that whatever state comes their way because
they see it
as being from Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala,
then they're able to adjust accordingly.
These are precious
gems
of wisdom.
And in closing, there's just a beautiful quote
that
mentions
in,
his commentary on the saffarism
where he says,
There are 3 traits that are characteristics
of the know of Allah.
So these are people that see
all of creation.
And
they when they see all of creation,
is that they see
that everything in creation is in need of
Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala.
2nd,
is that these are people that witness the
one who originates everything, who brings everything to
existence,
is that he has
the traits
of perfection
and majesty.
And then,
as if this is their state
that remains with them. So he said what
comes from the first state is seeing everything
in need of Allah
is is that their reliance is just on
is only upon Allah. They don't climb towards
the things of this world.
And of the second, I. E. That they're
always aware of
the attributes of perfection and majesty of Allah
is that
they
rushed to him and find intimacy in his
remembrance.
And then the third,
which is this being a perpetual state in
them
that
leads them to being present with Allah
at all times.
And these are words that we say upon
our tongue, and then we fall into hatelessness
that in the moment after, not even 5
minutes after, not even 30 minutes later,
let alone an hour.
But we read them
and it's a good sign for the heart
to be attached to them
even if we're bereft of them, even if
we're not even close to them.
It's a good sign that we love these
books and that these meanings
enrich us. And
they excite us to do what it is
that we can by way of by way
of action and by way of by way
of learning.
We learn, we put that knowledge into practice
and John Neerajohn hopes that we start to
get a scent or a glimpse
of something what Allah gives
to his close servants. May Allah, Subhanahu wa
ta'ala, open up the doors of our understanding
And to make these meanings a reality in
us and to give us Tawfiq in all
of our affairs.
Are there any questions?
Right. So what he's saying is is that
there are some people who
that are
firmly rooted in these meanings.
For some people, they're states that come and
go.
And then for other people, they're firmly rooted
in them. So he's saying is that it's
it's,
that the knower of Allah, someone who's firmly
rooted in these meanings. Meaning that they don't
just come and go there. He's grounded in
those realities.