Muqatta’at ALIF, LAAM, MEEM الم Huda lil Mutaqeen Who Are Muttaqeen? Taqwa & Yaqeen

From the Teachings of Mawlana Shaykh Hisham Kabbani As Taught By Shaykh Sayed Nurjan MirAhmadi

A’odhu billahi minash shaytaanir rajeem
Bismillahir Rahmanir Raheem

الم ﴿١﴾ ذَٰلِكَ الْكِتَابُ لَا رَ‌يْبَ ۛ فِيهِ ۛ هُدًى لِّلْمُتَّقِينَ ٢
 “Alif, Laam, Meem. Dhaalikal kitaabu laa rayba feeh, hudal lil muttaqeen.” (Surat al Baqara)           

 “Alif, Lam, Meem. This is the Book about which there is no doubt, a guidance for those conscious of Allah .” (Holy Quran 2:1-2)

Bismillahir Rahmanir Raheem  Alif, Laam, Meem. Dhaalikal kitaabu laa rayba fee, hudan al-muttaqeen. Huda al-muttaqeen means thatalhamdulillah that, all guidance coming from Holy Qur’an. And to reach towards the realities that Allah Azza wa Jal after Surat al-Fatiha, means ‘The Opening’ of Holy Qur’an, then Allah Azza wa Jal giving us a code:Alif, Laam, Meem, muqatta`مقطع, these are a code for Holy Qur’an.Dhaalikal kitaabu laa rayba fee, means a revelation of a Book in which there is no crookedness, no doubt. And hudan al-muttaqeen is then a secret of that opening.

It means then we ask ourselves: then why do people have so much crookedness? Why is the understanding so crooked in the Last Days? That they read the same kitaab (book) and they quote the same verses, but their understanding is crooked, their understanding is warped, their understanding are incorrect, aggressive and violent. A reminder for ourselves that its reality has to open. When that reality opens within the heart, the oceans of guidance open within the heart, that is then the barakah (blessing) of Holy Qur’an.

It means there must be a light from Sayyidina Muhammad (s) that begins to emanate, so the understanding, the verses, and the quality of life is a dressing and a secret. So we understand that many people don’t have that love and their understandings are very warped. Alhamdulillah Allah Azza wa Jal guides us towards the oceans of love of Sayyidina Muhammad (saws).

And huda al-muttaqeen is for us to understand that the oceans of guidance, through the attribute of taqwa andyaqeen. Means to open that reality because the secret of that and one of the secrets of that understanding is to accompany the muttaqeen.

يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا اتَّقُوا اللَّـهَ وَكُونُوا مَعَ الصَّادِقِينَ ١١٩
9:119 – Ya ayyuhal ladheena amanoo ittaqollaha wa kono ma’as sadiqeen. 
(Surat at Tawba) O you who have believed,fear Allah and be with those who are true.  (The Repentance 9:119)

Because Allah Azza wa Jal grants the muttaqeen a guidance and a light. That light is a tremendous blessing. So all our life is about finding the muttaqeen! That they have a tremendous amount of taqwa, consciousness, and they have been granted from Allah Azza wa Jal and from Prophet (s) yaqeen, certainty.

2:4 – Wal ladheena yuminona bima unzila ilayka wa ma unzila min qablika wa bil akhirati hum yoqinon.`(Surat al Baqara)                              

And who believe in what has been revealed to you, [O Muhammad], and what was revealed before you, and of the Hereafter they are certain [in faith].

Now the hidayat and the huda (Guidance);

Then means how to reach towards that hidayat and to open those realities. So that the Holy Qur’an becomes a way of life for us. That the dress of Holy Qur’an becomes a blessing upon us. Then the huda is the reality of guidance.

2:5 -“Olayeka ‘ala hudan mir Rabbihim, wa Olayeka humul muflihoon.” (Surat al Baqara)                
“Those are upon [right] guidance from their Lord, and it is those who are the successful.” (Holy Quran 2:5)

That we have to use the five senses. And they begin to teach that taqwa, and consciousness, has to be through all the five senses. Because most people, they take a word and they translate from Arabic into English and say “you have to have taqwa and then you become muttaqeen”. No, no, taqwa is a stake in which the five senses have to become conscious of Allah Azza wa Jal. It is not just a word that you use and say “okay this is taqwa, you have taqwa and we have taqwa”. No, they are teaching that huda and hidayat and guidance is from the five senses.

Consciousness of Hearing:

Holy quran 7:179 Already have We urged unto hell many of the jinn and humankind, having hearts wherewith they understand not, and having eyes wherewith they see not, and having ears wherewith they hear not. These are as the cattle – nay, but they are worse! These are the neglectful.

It means then your hearing has to have a higher level of consciousness. It means you have to be able to hear the reality, hear ourselves, because they are teaching how to reach towards the reality of taqwa. The reality of taqwa means that we have to train ourselves on how to hear. Not just the physical hearing but to hear with the soul. To train the self to hear, to contemplate, tafakkur and to meditate: yaa Rabbi I want that consciousness to open within me. And they begin to teach that the true reality of consciousness is when all senses are conscious of Allah Azza wa Jal that you are hearing with your innermost hearing from the level of your soul and consciousness. You begin to hear your conscious. It means that at night when we meditate and we begin to contemplate, I have to be able to hear myself. Yaa Rabbi what did I do? What were my actions? Make a hisaab and an accounting of myself and that level of consciousness begins to open.

Consciousness of the Sight:

Then I have to, through my sight, I have to be conscious of what my eyes are looking at, what my eyes are seeing, and that these eyes are hungry for dunya (material world). And if I don’t take a path in which I constantly close my eyes, and let my eyes become conscious of Allah Azza wa Jal ‘s surrounding. It means Allah’s Qudra (Power) is everywhere, but it is not only going to see it with the physical eyes but the spiritual eyes. It means every sense has to be trained by spiritual guides. That your hearing has to be conscious of Allah Azza wa Jal, not just the hearing on the physical, but the hearing of the soul. You have to begin to see, not only with the eyes of your head but the eyes of the heart.

If that hearing is becoming more conscious. And that I close my eyes to the material world, and become more conscious of the energy and the subtle energies all around me. Then they begin to teach that if the hearing, the seeing, then the state of touching.

Consciousness of Touch:

Means if I put too much emphasis on my physical pleasure that my spiritual touch won’t become subtle. So then the life of Prophet (s) always put hardship on the physicality. Means even the sense of touch has to be put through difficulty.  Either we have physical difficulty, ailments in knees, pain in the legs and back, and all of those brings us to a higher level of understanding of consciousness, of taqwa. As soon as you have pain you become very conscious of Allah Azza wa Jal, you become very conscious ofazhaab and punishment of the grave. Anybody in pain believes there is punishment of the grave, because you have punishment in your bed, you have punishment walking around in this dunya if you are in pain. 

Means the sense of touch and all of them become conscious. The hearing isbecoming conscious listening to the self. The vision is becoming conscious of what I am searching for is not through the physical eyes, I’m searching for something through my heart yaa Rabbi. My touch and my sense of touch, I begin to become tough with my self. You sit in positions that may be  uncomfortable for your self so that the subtlety of your desire begins to drop.

Prophet (s) would sleep on a hard surface so that the sleep wouldn’t go too deep and he couldn’t wake for Fajr. Anybody with difficulty for waking for Fajr, sleep on the hard floor. Put a bamboo mat and sleep and the whole night you are in pain from the wood all over your body.

Consciousness through the Smell and Breath:

So if my hearing, my seeing, my touch, now to be conscious with the smell. Every sense has to have a sense of taqwa. If now my smell becomes subtle, means you become trained in the fragrance of smell, so you seek out good smells, and you seek a refuge from bad smells and dirtiness. That becomes now an angelic reality, that you surround yourself with fragrance, you surround yourself with that which is clean and has a sense of purity. And you seek refuge away from everything that has a noxious and toxic smell because it doesn’t bring a happiness to the soul and doesn’t elevate your level of consciousness.

It means that if now the hearing is in taqwa, the eyes are moving intotaqwa, the sense of touch is entering into taqwa, the sense of the breath and what you are breathing of smells and fragrance. Means yournafas (breath) becomes so significant to you. They say that Grandshaykh and many pious people, they smell the cigarettes hundreds of feet away because they are very sensitive to that noxious smell. They don’t like that smell and they understand what type of energy is coming with that, because you are breathing through that energy. At even higher levels, they take the secret out of that breath as an energy for the soul. So it means you become in taqwa and consciousness of the breath through thetarbiya and the training.

Consciousness through Taste:

So what opens? Dhawq ذوق , the level of taste, where your taste is now conscious of Allah Azza wa Jal. It means through your tafakkur, your training and contemplation, you begin to hear what people don’t hear. That is the holy hadith because you are doing this out of love; we are doing this not as an obligation but we are doing it out of love for Allah Azza wa Jal.

“Man ‘ada li waliyan faqda adhantahu bilharbe, wa ma taqarraba ilayya ‘Abdi bi shayin ahabba ilayya mim maftardatuhu ‘alayhi, wa la yazaalu ‘Abdi yataqarrabu ilayya bin nawafile hatta ahebahu, fa idha ahbabtuhu kunta Sam’ahul ladhi yasma’u behi, wa Basarahul ladhi yubsiru behi, wa Yadahul lati yabTeshu beha, wa Rejlahul lati yamshi beha, wa la in sa alani la a’Teyannahu, wa la in asta’adhani la u’yidhannahu.”

“My slave does not draw near Me with anything I love more than what I have made obligatory for him. My servant continues to draw near to Me with voluntary acts of worship so that I shall love him. When I love him, I am his hearing with which he hears, his seeing with which he sees, his hand with which he strikes and his foot with which he walks. Were he to ask [something] of Me, I would surely give it to him, and were he to ask Me for refuge, I would surely grant him it. I do not hesitate about anything as much as I hesitate about [seizing] the soul of My faithful servant: he hates death and I hate hurting him.” (Bukhari)

Allah Azza wa Jal’s promise was that any servant who approaches through love I become the hearing in which you hear, it means now that hearing has a taqwa, it hears from realities; I become the seeing in which you see, I become the touch in which you touch, I become the breath which you breath, I become the tongue in which you speak; because you guarded your taste, you took away the taste of the forbidden. You took your whole life now into siyaam because this is the reality of the siyaam (fasting); that everything is fasting for Allah Azza wa Jal , for the love of Allah Azza wa Jal. Then those are the people of true taqwa.

If somebody is not hearing anything, what does he care to cheat and lie? He is already behind a metal door. If he is not seeing anything, what does he care to cheat and lie? He is already behind the metal door. It means the way of ascension, the way of huda al-muttaqeen, because they have laa rayba fee, they are not living a life of crookedness; their understanding is correct from Holy Qur’an and Holy Qur’an is dressing them of every reality.

51:15-16 – “Innal Muttaqeena fee jannatin wa ‘Uyoon. (15) ” Akhidheena ma atahum Rabbuhum, innahum kano qabla dhalika Muhsineen. (16) ” (Surat Adh Dhuriyat)                     

  “Indeed, the righteous will be among gardens and springs.(15)  Accepting what their Lord has given them. Indeed, they were before that doers of good.(16) (Holy Quran 51:15-16)

It means their hidayat and their guidance, they entered into the real oceans of taqwa. If their shaykh is taking them through the oceans of taqwa, then begins for them, they are now entering into be muttaqeen. Why? because they have the perfection of ya`qeen.

كَلَّا لَوْ تَعْلَمُونَ عِلْمَ الْيَقِينِ
Kalla law t’alamoona ‘ilm al y’aqeen (Surat  At Takathur 102:5)

No! If you only knew with knowledge of certainty. 
(The Rivalry in world increase 102:5)

Ya`qeen means perfection, it is a perfected state of taqwa. When you are conscious, it means you have ayaqeen of your hearing. Your hearing is very fine tuned; you hear through your soul, you hear through your body because your taqwa reached such a level Allah Azza wa Jal grants it to be yaqeen, to be certain. You are hearing from the oceans of certainty of the heavens. You are seeing with the ocean of certainty, and these are indarajats (degrees).

ثُمَّ لَتَرَوُنَّهَا عَيْنَ الْيَقِينِ
Thum ma la tara wun naha ‘ayn al y’aqeen (102:7)
Then you will surely see it with the eye of certainty. (Surat At Takathur 102:7)

If you are hearing from certainty, and begin to see from certainty, because all your senses are under Allah Azza wa Jal’s taqwa, you are hearing from certainty, you begin to see from certainty. That hearing of certainty, the seeing of certainty, opens from the haqq of certainty because it is no longer imagination. It’s real.

إِنَّ هَٰذَا لَهُوَ حَقُّ الْيَقِينِ
Inna hatha la huwa haqqul y’aqeen. (Surat Al Waqi’ah 56:95)

Indeed, this is the true certainty. (The Inevitable 56:95)

People of Consciousness Taste the Lailatul Qadr

It is said that Ahl at taqwa, the people of consciousness, they hear the tajalli’s beginning; on Laylatul Qadr and holy nights, and Allah Azza wa Jal is dressing with these realities, it is described: I am sending all the angels, all the Ruh,

97:3 – Laylatul Qadre khairum min alfe shahr.
The Night of Decree is better than a thousand months. (Quran 97:3)
97:4 -Tanaz zalul malaikat u wa rroh, fiha bidhne Rabbihim min kulle amr.
The angels and the Spirit descend therein by permission of their Lord for every matter. (Quran 97:4)

Means all the oceans of Qudra are moving and then to their darajats, every knower there is a knower above them. It means they hear the tajallis. They see the tajallis. They begin to touch and sense and feel the tajallis. They begin to smell the tajallisand then they begin to taste. They taste Laylatul Qadr; they taste all these realities, because Allah Azza wa Jal dressed them from taqwa, made them to be from Ahlul Yaqeen, al muttaqeen.

51:20 – “Wa fil Ardi ayatun lil Moqineen.”(Surat Adh Dhariyat)              

“And on the earth are signs for the certain [in faith] (20) (Holy Quran 51:20)

Means that they don’t guess when holy events are taking place, they are living them, dressing, breathing and tasting them. They are in those oceans.

That is why Allah Azza wa Jal describes, all the opening of Holy Qur’an is a huda for the muttaqeen. They are not people who make all sorts of crazy jurisprudence and lies about Islam. Their belief, istiqaam is onSiraat al-Mustaqeem.

46:13 – Innal ladheena qalo rabbuna Allahu thumma Istaqamo, fala khawfun ‘alayhim wa la hum yahzanon.” (Surat al Ahqaf)                    

“Indeed, those who have said, “Our Lord is Allah ,” and then remained on a right course – there will be no fear concerning them, nor will they grieve.” (Holy Quran, 46:13)

Allah Azza wa Jal describes that all of Holy Qur’an is a guidance for the muttaqeen. And the finale, why AllahAzza wa Jal put Alif Laam Meem? Because this was a description of how to have taqwa.

Taqwa must be from all the senses. And if you are really from the Ahl at-taqwa, you are now from the Ahlul Yaqeen. If you are from Ahlul Ya`qeen then you are from muttaqeen.

Muttaqeen Must be able to Describe – Alif Laam Meem الم

Then Allah Azza wa Jal says this huda al-muttaqeen they have to at least be able to describe Alif Laam Meem. So how many tafsirs are on the internet where people say: there is no Alif Laam Meem. It is a secret nobody knows. Okay, the person just revealed that they are not from the muttaqeen? Otherwise why would Allah Azza wa Jal say, “hudan al-muttaqeen”.

What is ‘huda’ of the muttaqeen? Alif, Laam, Meem! It means the opening of that kitaab is the key. If they don’t have the key then what they are reading is not holy Qur’an, they are reading Furqaan. They are reading a book of right and wrong, right and wrong, right and wrong. The reality of Holy Qur’an means it has from Nur Muhammad (s). That you have to have the love of Prophet (s), where your faith is reaching its completion, where you begin to love Sayyidina Muhammad (s) more than you love yourself. It means Nur Muhammadi (s) is encompassing your soul and you have been granted from oceans of guidance. You become from the muttaqeen, under the guidance of muttaqeen, and no doubt they describe to you: “Alif Laam Meem! الم ”

39:33 – “Wal ladhee jaa a bisSidqi wa Saddaqa bihi Olayika humul Muttaqon.  (Surat Az Zumar)       ” And he who brings the Truth and he who confirms (and supports) it – such are the men who do right/Muttaqeen.” The Troops 39:33)

What is Contained in Alif, Lam, Meem الم –

Alif ا  , Laam ل  ,Meem م

Alif  – Izzatullah

One understanding, Alif = ‘Izzatullah’, Laam = ‘Lisaan al-Haqq’.This is the story of the whole unfolding of Holy Qur’an. Why is it at the beginning? It is the story of the unfolding of Creation and all of Creation is contained in Holy Qur’an!

Alif ا , Allah Azza wa Jal telling before anything was Izzatullah. When Allah Azza wa Jal, a Hidden Treasure wanting to be known, to be known through Lisaan al-Haqq, means

كُنْت كَنْزاً مخفيا فَأَحْبَبْت أَنْ أُعْرَفَ؛ فَخَلَقْت خَلْقاً فَعَرَّفْتهمْ بِي فَعَرَفُونِي
Kuntu kanzan makhfiyya, fa ahbabtu an a’rafa,

fa khalaqtu khalqan, fa ‘arraftahum bi fa ‘arafonee.

“I was a hidden Treasure then I desired to be known, so I created a creation to which I made Myself known; then they knew Me.”

Laam ل  – Lisaan ul Haqq لسان الحق

Laam ل  is now the unfolding. Means the Power of Allah Azza wa Jal, `I am a Hidden Treasure, wanting to be known.` Allah Azza wa Jal will eternally be known only through that Laam,because nobody can approach Allah Azza wa Jal. Then Allah Azza wa Jal describes the Laam, as who? As Muhammadun Rasulullah. It means never outstrip your imam, never go ahead of him. Never think that you have a relationship directly with Allah Azza wa Jal without Sayyidina Muhammad (s). Otherwise where are you coming?

These are the knowledges of the `arifeen, that they are reaching towards these realities, asking their souls to ascend to these realities. And Allah Azza wa Jal begins to unfold the story of Creation: that My Izzah, never you can come to, never can you approach Me. You come to My Laam, you come to the tongue of My Truth. That that Tongue of Truth in the oceans of Akhirah is Rasulullah (s).

Al-hadith al-awwal, “What was the first thing created, Yaa Sayyidi yaa Rasulullah?” The Light of your prophet (s) ya Jabir.

 أَوَّلُ مَا خَلَقَ اللهُ نُوْرِ نَبِيِّكَ يَا جَابِرْ
Awwalu ma khalaqAllahu nuri Nabyika, Ya Jabir. 

“The first thing that Allah created was your prophet`s light (referring to himself (saw)) O Jabir.” Prophet Muhammad (saws)

Meem  م – Muhammad [as]
Means the prophetic light of Prophet (saws) has eternally been “Muhammadun Rasulullah (s)”. Is the unfolding, and begins to describe the Meem م of Muhammad محمد (saws).

Holy Quran 67:4 Thumma irjiAAi al basara karra tayni yanqalib ilayka al basaru khasi-an wahuwa haseer.

Then look again and yet again, thy sight will return unto thee weakened and made dim.

Breakdown of the letters of Alif, Lam, Meem الم 
Then they begin to teach but they don’t give permission to talk, is that from that Alif Laam Meem, they can open.  How they talk about each huroof  they can bring up to 12,000 levels of knowledge. And the unfolding of knowledge, means that from this Alif ا  (Shaykh points to Alif ا  of the Alif Laam Meem ا ل م on whiteboard) they begin their tafakkur again, their consciousness, the yaqeen, and begins to open Alif Laam Faa.

From  Alif     الف = ا , Alif is contained with Alif ا  , Laam ل , Faa فFrom Laam لام = ل , they bring              Laam ل , Alif ا , Meem م 
From Meem ميم = م , they bring              Meem م ,  Yaa ي , Meem م

Means they took from three (3 letters – Alif, Lam, Meem) and brought it to nine (each of 3 letters made up of 3 letters). So immediately unfolded it into nine levels down of reality. From that, again we are showing just an example, they can open that into twenty-three levels down of realities; and each one a different reality from the one above. Each one more descriptive of that reality. It means it goes into the form, and from the form to the molecule, from the molecule to the atoms of that reality. And now they are finding even smaller realities within that atom. Means that the knowledge is infinite. As much as Allah Azza wa Jal wants to expand, nothing can end whatever Allah Azza wa Jal wants to expand. 

This for us is an understanding that to keep the company of the people of taqwa, keep the company of people ofyaqeen and that they are the true muttaqeen. They have been granted a guidance by Allah Azza wa Jal, by Sayyidina Muhammad (saws), and by awliyaullah. We pray that Allah Azza wa Jal always keep us in their company to be blessed by them, dressed by them, and be under their nazar (gaze).

Subhaana rabbika rabbil izzati amma yasifoon wa salaamun `alal mursaleen wal-hamdu lillahi rabbil `aalameen.  Bi hurmatil Habib wa bi sirre Surat Al-Fatiha.

Related Ayaat of Quran about Muttaqeen and Taqwa:

28:83 – “Tilka addarul akhiratu naj’aluha lilladheena la yureedona ‘Uluwwan fil Ardi wa la fasadan wal ‘aqibatulil Muttaqeen.” (Surat al Qasas)

“We will reserve the houses of the hereafter exclusively for those who do not seek self-glory in this life anddo not cause oppression and corruption to spread. The final outcome belongs to those who fear (Allah)/ Muttaqeen.” (Holy Quran The Stories 28:83)

2:177 – Laysal birra an tuwalloo wujohakum qibalal Mashriqi wal Maghribi wa lakinnal birra man Amana billahi wal Yawmil akhiri, wal Malaikati, wal kitabi, wan Nabiyyeena, wa aatal mala `ala hubbihi dhawil qurba wal Yatama wal Masakeena wabnas Sabeeli, was Sa ileena wa fee arriqabi wa aqamas Salata, wa ataz Zakata,walmofona bi`ahdihim idha `ahado was Sabireena fee albasa ei wad darra ei wa heenal basi, olaikal ladheena sadaqo, wa olaika humul Muttaqon.` (Surat al Baqara)

`Righteousness is not that you turn your faces toward the Rising of Sun /east or the Setting of The Sun/west, but [true] righteousness is [in] one who believes in Allah , the Last Day, the angels, the Book, and the prophets, and gives wealth, in spite of love for it, to relatives, orphans, the needy, the traveler, those who ask [for help], and for freeing slaves; [and who] establishes prayer and gives zakat; [those who] fulfill their promise (covenant) when they promise; and [those who] are patient in poverty and hardship and during battle. Those are the ones who have been true, and it is those who are the Highly/righteous/Muttaqon.`(Holy Quran 2:177)

Holy Quran 8:34 – “Wa ma lahum alla yu’adhdhibahumu Allahu wa hum yasuddona ‘anil masjidil harami wa ma kano awliya ahu,  in awliyaohu illal Muttaqona wa lakinna aktharahum la ya’lamon.”(Surat al Anfal)

“But what plea have they that Allah should not punish them, when they keep out (men) from the sacred Mosque – and they are not its guardians/wahabi custodians ? No men can be its guardians except the High Level Consciousness /Mutaqeen; but most of them do not understand. ” (Holy Quran, The Spoils of War 8:34)