Ask, Glorify, and Bring your best to Allah

By the name of Allah Almighty, All Merciful, Most Beneficent and most Munificent, - Everything reaching to Allah.  Everyone reaching to Allah.  Allah knows where everything is.  He knows where everyone is.  

          A leaf on a tree can’t move if its Creator, its Lord is not giving it permission to move.  No bird can open its wings for flying without His permission.  Everything is under such a perfect control;  and He is asking that people must know this.  Don’t say, ‘I may go.  I may come.  I may do.  I may not do.’  No.  Everything is just controlled.

         Leave aside the children of Adam – no atom can change its position without His command, without His permission.   That atom must ask, and Allah must give. 

         He is not obliged to give, but His generosity towards every creation makes everything ask, because He is the giving One for everything, for everyone.  His generosity makes that atom ask ‘Oh my Lord, I am asking to change my position.’ 

         Even the smallest piece of creation must glorify its Lord.  And they are asking ‘Oh our Lord from Your generosity give me energy, give me support through Your Divine energy oceans to continue, to continue glorifying You.’   Subhanallah.   Can you reach that point by thinking?  

        And He is asking from His common creatures, only glorifying; because their creation is not same as the creation of mankind.  Mankind’s creation is different, and man’s creation is on the top level of creation.    Mankind’s glorifying is glorifying at its highest.

 The Lord asking from mankind, and making them by their will to say ‘Subhanallah, subhanallah, subhanallah, al’Aliy, al’Azim,’ to use you will, and to say ‘Glory be for Allah.’  And that is the top point.

 And now for the story

Once a Bedou, a Bedouin, was saying ‘I must go to Baghdad.’ 

That Bedouin was living in the desert.  One day he was saying, ‘I would like, oh my darling (wife), to visit the Caliph, Emir al Mumini.  Oh my darling what are you saying to this?’  She was saying, ‘As you like my darling, you may go.’  ‘Yes, I may go, but you know that if I am going to visit Emir al Mumini I must not go without a gift in my hand.  It is not good manners.  I must take something to give him.’ 

They were thinking what they could send to Caliph, Emir al Mumini;  then they were making their decision that, ‘Oh my darling, fill that clay pot, fill it with water.  We may take that; because water is so valuable in this place.  I must take him our most valuable gift from the desert.  Nothing can be more valuable than a pot of water.”

And the wife is filling, and he is taking, and putting on his shoulder.  Running, going to Baghdad, and asking ‘Where is our Aziz, our Sultan’s palace?’  They are saying ‘Here, there, here, there,’ and he found it.

He came, and the doorman saying ‘Who are you? 

He was saying, ‘I am a Bedouin, coming from the desert asking to meet Emir al Mumini.’ 

‘Oh! You!  You are asking to come, to meet Emir al Mumini?’ 

‘Yes.  I am a citizen of his nation, and I am looking that I have a right to meet my Sultan.’  Then the doormen looked at each other, ‘What we shall do?’  One saying, ‘Sit down here. We will send word to Emir al Mumini that someone coming from the  Bedouin and asking to meet you.  If you are accepting we may let him.  If not you can’t go in.’

They are sending.  Running that one and coming, saying ‘Oh Emir al Muminin, one peasant, one Bedouin just coming and he is asking to meet you.’  And Emir al Muminin saying ‘Let him come.’  And (they came back) and giving good tidings – ‘Come, follow me, follow me, follow me.’  Till reaching the throne room.    ‘Welcome.’ 

‘Yes.  Oh Emir al Muminin, it came to my heart to visit Emir al Muminin;  and I am coming many days from the desert. Praise be to God, I am looking at your brilliant face that the Lord of Heavens is putting on you the brilliance of faith and crowning you with His greatness making you on the line of Prophet (s).  I am happy.  I am thanking to Allah Almighty.’

These words entered the heart of Emir al Muminin, and he said ‘Put your pottery here.  What is it?’ 

‘Oh Emir al Muminin, it is the Prophet’s advice that if one is visiting another one, he must bring something as a gift.  If nothing bringing, but if on the way finding a nail, bring it and say “I have only this.  Take this as my gift to you.”  Therefore from sunnah, the holy command of your aba, from your grandfather, spiritual teacher, Rasul Allah, I am bringing to you a gift that it is the most valuable gift anyone can bring to you.’

The Emir is saying ‘What it is in it?’ 

The Bedouin is saying, ‘Water.’ 

‘Oh!  May Allah bless you!  … You did your best for me bringing me the source of life to me.  I am thankful to you, oh my citizen, oh Abdullah.’ 

The Emir was not saying that the river Tigris is running through Baghdad.  He is not, out of good manners saying the Tigris runs through Baghdad and we are sitting in water.  He was saying, ‘You did your best.  You brought your best gift.’ 

And the Emir ordered his servant, ‘Take his gift.  Fill one of my pots with gold.’  (Because if someone giving gift you must also, as much as possible, you must give something to him also.) 

And he was saying, ‘Fill it with gold and give to him to ..?...’

That is a true story.  When you are telling a story don’t ask if it happened or not;   you must stop and look at the wisdom in it.  All tales are giving some lessons and teaching mankind something, teaching mankind to be much more perfect. 

He was bringing his most valuable gift from the desert;  and we have treasures and we are returning to Him from our treasures. 

It is like this when Allah Almighty is ordering His servants to glorify Him.  He is not in need of your glorifying - even less than the Emir al Mumini needed water;  but   Allah Almighty from His glory oceans is dressing that one a glorious dressing that no one can imagine its price, its value.  

May 3 04