This was a poem written by Shaykh Abdalqadir as-Sufi and given to me in the zawiyyah in Bristol Gardens, London in the early 1970s, along with a note he wrote, unfortunately lost, which said words to the effect, ‘he who digs a hole for his brother falls into it himself’, referring to sayyidina Yusuf, alayhi sallam.
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The original hand written poem from Shaykh Abdalqadir’s hand to mineRendered more legible
الحمد لله على نعمة الإسلام والحمد لله على نعمة الجماعة والحمدللهعلى الأخوة والوفاء وعلى التعاون على البر والتقوى، نحمده تعالى ونستعينه، ونشكره تعالى ونستغفره ونستغيثه، نعوذ بالله من شرور أنفسنا ومن سيئات أعمالنا، من يهد الله فهو المهتد ومن يضلل فلن تجد له وليا مرشدا، ونشهد أن لا إله إلا الله وحده لا شريك له، له الملك و له الحمد، يحيي ويميت، بيده الخير، وهو على كل شيء قدير، ونشهد أن سيدنا و مولانا محمداً عبده ورسوله، وحبيبَه وصفيَّه، بلغ الرسالة وأدّى الأمانةَ ونصح الأمة، النبي الأمي الذي أرسله الله بالهدى والدين الحق، بشيرا ونذيرا بين يدي الساعة، صلى الله عليه وسلم وعلى آله وأصحابه ومن تبعهم بإحسان إلى يوم الدين
أما بعد! فيا عباد الله اتقوا الله حق تقاته ولا تموتن إلا وأنتم مسلمون. يأيها الذين ءامنوا اتقوا الله وقولوا قولا سديدا يصلح لكم أعمالكم ويغفر لكم ذنوبكم. ومن يطع الله ورسوله فقد فاز فوزا عظيما. اتقوا الله فيما أمر وانتهوا عما نها عنه وزجر.
يأيها المسلمون! يقول الله تعالى في محكم آياته وهو أصدق القائلين:
Allah says in His noble Book, the translation of which is:
“Those who pledge you their allegiance, pledge allegiance to Allah. Allah’s hand is over their hands. He who breaks his pledge only breaks it against himself. But as for him who fulfils the contract he has made with Allah, We will pay him an immense reward.” (Surat al-Fath. 48:10) Continue reading “Mawsim Khutbah October 14th 2022 “
Shaykh Abdalqadir as-Sufi at the Jumu’a Mosque of Cape Town
Audhu billahi-minash-shaytanir rajeem
Bismillahir Rahmanir Rahim
We are gathered here this weekend to celebrate the birthday of Shaykh Abdalqadir as – Sufi. To really celebrate him we need to remind ourselves of his teaching and what he brought us throughout his life. He did not call to himself, but to the remembrance of Allah and His Messenger sallallahu alayhi wa sallim, and what was established in Madinah as a blueprint for all of mankind, the Deen established and practiced in its purest and most perfect form.
As he said at the start of Root Islamic Education:
“Islam is not, and can never be, by definition, in crisis or need of revisionist change, Islam, Kitab wa Sunnah, is immutable in all places until the end of time. It is itself a critique and balance-principle against which all human ventures must be measured and themselves revised and changed”.
Allah has gathered us all together in this blessed Jumu’ah mosque, in this blessed city of the mountain, sea and awliya, to honour the blessed life of sayyidina Shaykh Abdalqadir as-Sufi, may Allah have mercy on him, as was fore-ordained before anything came into existence. Each person is here because He, subhanahu wa ta’ala, decreed that it should happen; it is His will and for His purpose.
Allah, subhanahu wa ta’ala, has made clear to mankind that He wants us to know Him in His Mercy and Majesty, and to that end He brought forth creation, which was firstly recorded in a book, from beginning to end. Nothing and no one outsteps what Allah wants, either in time or place, whether sun, sand particle, animal, jinn or human being.
Recently we mentioned a most important ayah from Surah adh-Dhariah in Allah’s book,
بعد أعوذ بالله من الشيطان الرجيم
56 I did not create jinn and man except to worship Me.
This reminds us, firstly, that we, that is, Jinn and Men, are Allah’s creation, with no say in our coming into existence or departure, leaving us without doubt about our origins, and clarifying that our parents are not the initiators of our arrival, and, secondly, why we are here.
The universe and our world, including the Jinn were already created by Allah before Adam’s mud was invested with spirit, and by this introduction Allah’s purpose was complete. He says,
بعد أعوذ بالله من الشيطان الرجيم
44 The seven heavens and the earth and everyone in them glorify Him.
There is nothing which does not glorify His praise.
But you do not understand their glorification.
He is All-Forbearing, Ever-Forgiving. 17:44
Everything of its nature glorifies Allah, which is what it was created to do, but not until Abu al-Bashir was there a part of creation that could appreciate what the Creator had done because Allah taught him what even the angels did not know, and the Jinn did not understand. Knowing the names of things and this inherent ability to communicate with language makes man the crown of creation, its highest point and the locus of the fulfilling of Allah’s intention with creation.
La ilaha illa Allahu, wahdahu la sharika lahu, lahul mulku wa lahul hamd, wa Huwa ‘ala kulli shay’in qadir.
La ilaha ila Allah. There is nothing in existence worthy of being worshipped or submitting to other than Allah, that is, that any worship that is directed to anything other than Allah is misplaced, and merits response. Recall, that ‘jinn and men were only created to worship Him, subhanahu wa ta’ala.
Wahdahu la sharika lahu. Alone and without partner. He has no assistance in His Lordship and all outcomes are His.
Lahul Mulku wa lahul Hamd. The Kingdom, everything in existence belongs to Him and all Praise is His by right and reality.
Wa Huwa ‘ala kulli shay’in qadir. And He has power over everything, without exception. This is not potential power but actual dominance over everything that exists and everything that happens.
Anas ibn Malik reported that the Messenger of Allah, sallallahu alayhi wa sallim, said, “When the Qiyamah (end of the world and Rising) comes upon one of you while holding a sapling, then let him plant it.”
A clear message from the Rasulullah, sallallahu alayhi wa sallim, about action in this world and its relation to the next. A sapling, of course, needs time and conditions to grow to its fullness and it may seem pointless to bother with it when there is no time left and no earth to grow it in. But he, sallallahu alayhi wa sallim, never said anything without purpose or meaning, and he helps us understand the nature of this world and the next and their relation to time/beyond time.
Hajj Issa - for the Fuqara 