Day of Promises: Shaykh Maulana Nazim al-Hakkani

Peace, one and all…

I came across a very interesting and beneficial post at Sidi Yursil’s blog today, on the Day of Promises (Yaum al-Alastu).  The passage I’m quoting comes to us from Shaykh Maulana Nazim al-Hakkani, Grandshaykh of the Naqshbandi Hakkani tariqa (may Allah preserve him):

‘What we are listening to now of Grandsheikh’s words is not knowledge of the sort that we may be accustomed to hearing – it may seem new and strange to our ears, but nonetheless it is the truth from the secrets which are opened up day by day to the Saints (Awliya). Allah  Almighty granted faith to the Sons of Adam on the Day of Promises, the day when the souls of all the descendants of Adam were brought forth from his backbone and asked by their Lord: “Am I not your Lord?”  We were all present on that day – looking to our Lord, talking to Him, knowing Him – and we replied: “Yea, verily. We testify that You are our lord.” (Surat-ul-Araf : 172).

That faith was granted to everyone, but Divine Wisdom decreed that in this life some people’s faith would remain covered while that of others would appear. The Holy Prophet said in regards to this: “The hearts of the Sons of Adam contain treasures, and the keys to the hearts are in the Hand of our Lord.” Therefore, if He is not going to open the hearts, no one can- not even His Beloved Muhammad, for whose sake the whole creation was created.

If you understand that faith is present in all of mankind, you must be very respectful towards each one of them and you must understand that only with Allah  Almighty’s permission are you believing and showing your faith, while someone else is not showing faith only because his Lord has not opened it up for him. You must understand the matter like this, and never say about anyone, “He is an unbeliever’, – who can know what will be the state of any person at the end of his life? The key to the hearts is in the Hand of the Almighty, and what will become of each person in the end is a secret known in its entirety only to Allah  Himself; even the Prophet can only know something about this matter within defined limits. On the Day of Promises, Allah  Almighty granted faith to His servants, and He is not going to take it away from them – perhaps they will declare their faith upon breathing their last breath – such is Allah ’s mercy. Allah  Almighty is keeping and hiding so many mercy oceans which are destined for His servants.”

Ma’as salama,
Abdur Rahman