The Journey Continues

From Konya, the home of mawlana Jalaluddin ar-Rumi, I continued my journey toward North Cyprus, a country that was created by Turkey, and is not recognized by the rest of the world. There, in the little town of Lefke, was shaykh Nazim. I travelled by buses to a little port town called Tasucu (pronounced Tashuju), where you can get daily boats to the popular resort town of Kyrenea (Girne). Slept the night there, and took a boat the next day at noon. Now, there are boats that take 6 hours, and boats that take 2.5. I had assumed that the 6 hour boats are just really really slow, because they carry cargo and all kinds of things. But I was wrong. The 6 hr boats might be a little slow, but the 2.5 hr boats were just really really fast.

5 minutes into the sea, a man from the crew walked down the isles, just as flight attendants do when they’re giving you a nice hot towel to clean your hands and face with. Except he was passing out puke bags.

Not long after that, people on the boat began to puke. Soon, almost the entire boat was running to the back of the boat and throwing up, some of them basically stayed there the whole time. Others bent over on their seats, with their heads down, as if they’re about to faint, while others squirmed in their seats, or went into a fetal position. An old Turkish comedy film was being played on tv, and people’s laughter became louder the more scared they were.

Alhamdulillah I did not throw up. I took out my tasbeeh and started doing some tahleels, as the boat jumped (almost flying) from wave to wave.

Allah Most High said in a Hadith Qudsi:

“I, I am Allah, there is no god but I. He who admits to My tawhid enters My fortress, and he who enters My fortress is secure from My punishment.”

Sayyidi wa mawlay Shaykh Saleh al-Ja’fari radi Allahu anhu said:

“He who does dhikr with Lā ilāha illa Allah should keep the meaning of the ḥadīth ‘is secure from my punishment’ in mind, and assure himself of safety and security as long as the dhikr goes on.”

So I kept reminding myself that while I repeat it, I am in the fortress of Allah, in a safe and secure place.

The Benefit of Travel by Sea (and by extension, Air)

Sayyidi wa mawlay Shaykh Ahmad ibn Idris, radi Allahu anhu said:

“And no one truly knows the greatness of the earth except he who rides the sea. For if he rode it, and experienced the swaying and dizziness, and became ill without any illness, let alone the great terrors of the strong winds and the like, then he would know the greatness of the earth.

Our shaykh, sayyidi Abd al-Wahhab at-Tazi rode the sea 40 days. He was asked: How long were you on the sea? He said: 40 years! He made each day a year, and he, may Allah be pleased with him, used to say: “There is nothing good in the sea except one: the attachment of the heart to Allah alone.” And right he was. For the human experiences the cutting off of all attachments except from Allah Most High, so that even if the Sultan was with you on the sea, you do not rely on him. No- he is scared like you, restless. And so the sea, even if in riding it there are terrors, its tribulations are good, a blessing. For the best of tribulation is the one that produces pure tawhid. He who rides the sea is secure from shirk: “But when He saves them and brings them to the land, then they commit shirk.” (Q 29:65)

Whether He really saves them to the land or sends them a mild wind with which they travel, they will commit shirk. “When you are sailing on ships and rejoicing in the favoring wind, a storm arrives.” (Q 10:22) Because they became happy by the wind, not by its Creator, as if it came from themselves, and so He punished them by sending a storm. For the origin of misguidance is happiness in other than Allah. “Thus does Allah lead unbelievers astray. That is because you were wont to rejoice on the earth in other than the haqq.” (Q 40:74-5) And al-Haqq is Allah. “This then is Allah, your Lord, the haqq. So what is there, beyond the haqq, except misguidance?” (Q 10:32)

A Great Ijaza

Since we are speaking of travel by sea and its blessings, I thought this would be a great opportunity to present the reader a great blessing that came while sayyidi Shaykh Saleh al-Ja’fari was travelling by sea. This is a great blessing to everyone who reads it, so read carefully.

The shaykh says:

“I was travelling by sea on the boat from Jeddah to Libya, and I saw in my sleep that I was sitting in the room that I was in, on a bed, and next to me was another bed. I was sitting and reciting the First Salaat (of the Salawat of Shaykh Ahmad ibn Idris). So when I began reciting it, the Prophet salla Allahu alayhi wa Alihi wa sallam entered the room and sat on the other bed and he said, salla Allahu alayhi wa Alihi wa sallam: ‘I came to hear from you the salaat of Ibn Idris.’

Then he laid down on his right side, salla Allahu alayhi wa Alihi wa sallam, and the more I continued in reciting it, the more his light increased, and so did his visbility to me, salla Allahu alayhi wa Alihi wa sallam. So I thought to myself, whilst in the middle of the recitation, to get up and greet him, salla Allahu alayhi wa Alihi wa sallam, so I stood up and kissed his noble hand and he wiped with it my face and my chest. Then he pointed to me with his hand to sit and finish the salaat. So I sat back and finished the First Salaat, and said after it: “Oh you of perfect body, of you of beautiful attributes,” until the end of the Seventh Salaat. Then I woke up from my sleep, rejoicing, happy, thanking Allah Most High.

And he, salla Allahu alayhi wa Alihi wa sallam, had already given me a general ijaza for all the salawat. And that is that I saw in my dream that I was doing salaat on the Prophet salla Allahu alayhi wa Alihi wa sallam, with salawat other than the ones from our Idrisi tariqa. But when I began with the Azeemiyya (of shaykh Ahmad ibn Idris), he appeared to me, salla Allahu alayhi wa Alihi wa sallam, sitting on a chair. So I got up and kissed his noble hand and said:

“Shall I do salaat on you, oh Messenger, with this formula?”

So he said: “With it and with other than it.” And he pointed with his noble head from top to bottom, and from bottom to up, salla Allahu alayhi wa Alihi wa sallam tasleema.

And I give ijaza to all the brothers from the Idrisi tariqa and from others, from the East to the West of the world, in this Salaat Azeemiyya, in which the Messenger of Allah salla Allahu alayhi wa Alihi wa sallam gave me ijaza. And likewise I give them ijaza in the First Salaat, which the Messenger of Allah salla Allahu alayhi wa Alihi wa sallam heard from me, and like wise I give them ijaza with the rest of the salawat, which the Messenger of Allah salla Allahu alayhi wa Alihi wa sallam gave me ijaza in by saying: “With it and with other than it.” And I make my sanad in that the Messenger of Allah, salla Allahu alayhi wa Alihi wa sallam.

And I have great hope that everyone who hears these words of mine, and turns with his heart and body toward these salawat, and recites them regularly with love and belief, that he will see him, salla Allahu alayhi wa Alihi wa sallam, in sleep and in the waking. And nothing stands between me and the doubters except trying.

So oh you who is fond of himself, proud of his every action, heedless of the enclosures of sanctity, turning away from the causes of his uns, hurry to us! And then hurry to us! For in every age we have appearances… and pearls, and jewels!”

———-

So there you go, oh happy reader. You now have an ijaza in the great Salaat Azeemiyya, and the rest of the Salawat of shaykh Ahmad ibn Idris, and all other salawat formulas in the world. And your sanad is this:

From the great Qutb, sayyidi Shaykh Saleh al-Ja’fari, from the Messenger of Allah, salla Allahu alayhi wa Alihi wa sallam.

Here is the Salaat Azeemiyya (riyada.hadithuna.com/files/2009/06/azeemiyya-ijaza.jpg) with the shaykh’s sanad in it from the Messenger of Allah salla Allahu alayhi wa Alihi wa sallam, as well as the sanad that he took in the waking from his shaykh, sayyidi shaykh Muhammad from his father sayyidi shaykh Abd al-Aali, from his father sayyidi shaykh Ahmad ibn Idris, may Allah be pleased with them all. And it is known as the Formula for Openings (Seeghat al-Futooh) in the Mirghaniyya, Sanusiyya and Rashidiyya tariqas. And here again, shaykh Saleh al-Ja’fari repeats that he gives ijaza in it to all the believers who see it.

And reciting it regularly brings about close adherence to the Prophetic Sunna, and nearness to the Messenger salla Allahu alayhi wa Alihi wa sallam.

والحمد لله رب العالمين على نعمه كلها

اللهم صل وسلم وبارك على سيدنا ومولانا محمد خير البرية

وعلى آله في كل لمحة ونفس عدد ما وسعه علم الله