Those Who are Not Afraid, Fire Cannot Burn

Words of Wisdom

Mawlana Shaykh Hisham Kabbani

As-Salāmu `Alaykum

When they put you in the fire sit there and don't complain. Be patient.

The heart of a believer who doesn't complain will never know and will never let in his or her heart, at any moment in his life, to ask, "why?" Everything he or she says is, "yes!" Everything he admits and everything he says "Allah has wisdom in this" and he doesn't say anything.

You must know, O mureed in the tariqah or representative in the tariqah or whatever you are in tariqah, that the self and the ego is always in a struggle against you, munaza`a. It is a competition, trying to take what you have to itself, it will not let you submit. So you must always have a struggle with yourself... therefore don't give the ego an excuse. If you want to fix it you can fix it. How? By mujahada. Try always not to listen to it. Keep listening to what Allah wants from you.

When you do that it is Maqam al-Wilayah, sainthood level, and when it returns to its origin it becomes clean and it will not be dependent on any of whom Allah created and is dependent on Allah Alone. At that time you can give it a name after the name of Sayyidina Ibrahim (as), as he is the father of all these souls that have been polished and have become dependent solely on Allah.

When he was struggling and Nimrud was throwing him in the fire - Sayyidina Ibrahim (as) is father of all prophets, can he not walk out of the fire? But Allah is showing us that if he walks out then he is walking by his ego. Submission is to sit in the fire, if you are saved you are saved, but if not "you come to Me."

So what happened to him? His heart was peaceful - saakin. Still it was not agitated, like a salmon-fish out of the ocean. His heart is still in the level of love of Allah in the Divine Presence.

Awliyaullah say that there was not one creature which Allah created that did not come to Sayyidina Ibrahim (as) and offer its help to him. All creatures that you can imagine in this universe, this creation, came to him one by one, and Allah stretched time for him, so that one minute became for him one year, two years, 10 years, 100 years. In the eyes of Nimrud it was one minute, but for Sayyidina Ibrahim (as) it was time for every creature to come to him and offer something to save him. They didn't delay from running to him. Jinn, Ins, angels, head of angels, creations on this earth, even planets, they came to him and said, "We will destroy Nimrud for you. Accept!"

What was his answer? `ilmahu bi haalee yughneennee `an suwalee - the One who knows about my state, makes me not need to ask. He knows what I want. So why do I have to ask? He doesn't know I am in this fire? Why are you coming. For what? Did He send you? If He sent you, I don't need you, I need Him. So why do I have to ask?"

So he was quiet, awaiting his destiny.

That is the level of sakina - he didn't complain. And he went through all these trials and his heart was peaceful. When he had been tried completely and it was seen he was in complete submission to his Lord, how can fire burn him now? Fire burns only those who are afraid. Those who are not afraid, the fire cannot burn them.

Mawlana Shaykh Hisham Kabbani

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