Some Benefits of Bismillahi ‘r-Rahmani ‘r-Raheem

The Benefits of Bismillah Series, Vol 1

Mawlana Shaykh Hisham Kabbani

6 August 2012 Nelson, UK

Suhbah after Fajr at Jamia Ghausia Masjid (1)

Allahumma salli `ala Sayyidina Muhammad, hatta yarda Sayyidina Muhammad!

A`oodhu billahi min ash-Shaytaani 'r-rajeem. Bismillahi 'r-Rahmaani 'r-Raheem.

Nawaytu 'l-arba`een, nawaytu 'l-`itikaaf, nawaytu 'l-khalwah, nawaytu 'l-`uzlah,

nawaytu 'r-riyaadah, nawaytu 's-sulook, lillahi ta`alaa fee haadha 'l-masjid.

‫ُوا ال َّرسُو َل َوأُوْ لِي األَ ْم ِر ِمن ُك ْم‬

ْ ‫ُوا هّللا َ َوأَ ِطيع‬
ْ ‫أَ ِطيع‬

Ati`oollaha wa ati`oo 'r-Rasoola wa ooli 'l-amri minkum.

Obey Allah, obey the Prophet, and obey those in authority among you. (Surat an-Nisa, 4:59)

As-salaamu `alaykum wa rahmatullaahi wa barakaatuh. It is a new day and a new page; every day is a
page in our life. We don't want to lose these special moments in this house of Allah, so we try to sit
together as much as we can. Sayyidina Anas ibn Malik (r) related that Prophet (s) said:

‫ حلق الذكر‬:‫ وما رياض الجنة؟ قال‬:‫ قالوا‬،‫إذا مررتم برياض الجنة فارتعوا‬.
Wa idhaa ra'aytum riyaad al-Jannati farta`oo feehaa. qaaloo yaa Rasoolullah wa maa riyaadu ‘l-Jannah.
Qaaloo yaa Rasoolullah wa maa riyaadu ‘l-Jannah. Qaala Rasoolullah hilaqu ‘d-dhikr.

(O my Companions!) If you find the Heavenly Gardens on earth, stay there and sit in it and be in it. They
asked, “What are these riyaadu ‘l-Jannah that we must run to?” He said, "Associations of dhikrullah."

That is why we don't want to lose the meaning of that hadith, but we have to fulfill it as much as we can.
Prophet (s) said, wa idhaa ra’aytum riyaadu ‘l-Jannah, “If you pass through a group of people sitting like
this, it is considered a rawdah from Paradise,” meaning a quarter of Jannah, which is assigned to people.
Sitting in a masjid or a house making dhikrullah, remembering Allah (swt) and His Prophet (s), and sitting
and listening to each other is rawdatu ‘l-Jannah. Everyone is killing themselves to reach Madinatu 'l-
Munawwara to visit Prophet and to pray in Rawdat an-Nabi (s). We try to go there because it is a piece
of Paradise, but why? Did Allah bring a stone like Hajar al-Aswad there? No, it is because of the barakah
of the feet of Prophet (s): when they touched that place they turned it into a rawdah of Paradise.
Prophet wants his ummah to be dressed with the secret of being in dunya, while in reality they are in
Paradise!

So wherever and whenever these meetings happen, such as in masajid where people sit together
making dhikrullah, it becomes a rawdah of Riyaadu ‘l-Jannah, a place of peace and safety from Hellfire.
So even if you sit in a place of Riyaadu ‘l-Jannah once, do you think Allah (swt) is going to put you in
Hellfire after He dressed you with the manifestations and beautiful paradises of Jannah? No way! That is
why Prophet (s) said, “Sit and graze,” meaning, sit and eat from the manifestations of dhikr, from the
Beautiful Names and Attributes, as you are remembering Allah (swt) with these words.

O Muslims! Hilaqu ‘d-dhikr and dhikrullah are mentioned in many ahadith. Anything that relates to
dhikrullah is Heaven. If you read Qur’an or ahadith, make salawaat, recite the Beautiful Names and
Attributes, or even if two people sit together in a masjid without saying anything, it is considered
dhikrullah as their breath will become dhikrullah!

Imam Jalaluddin as-Suyuti (r), who wrote the first half of Tafsir al-Jalalayn, among many other books,
was asked:
Regarding dhikr associations, is it accepted or makhrooh, disliked, to raise your voice loud when you are
in a masjid and you say, “SubhaanAllah, w 'alhamdulillah, wa laa illaha illa-Llah, w 'Allahu Akbar?” He
said, “There is no dislike in anything like that, but it is accepted and liked by Allah (swt) and His Prophet
(s).” (Imam Suyuti, Kashf al-Kina`ah)

Therefore, no one can say that dhikrullah is not allowed! Imam Suyuti, one of the big `ulama whose
works they still study everywhere around the w