Eternal Destinations and Prophetic Mission By Habib Umar

Praise be to God, the Self-Existent, the Everlasting. Who made secrets, manifestations, and gifts, originating from what was in eternity and the beginning, to continue in the creation as generosity from the Creator. The ends conclude in what was decreed concerning the permanence and eternity of the two abodes: Paradise and Hell. In both of them are the accountable ones (Mukallafūn).

The consequences for all these accountable ones end either in success and happiness for those who believed in the Messengers and what they brought from this God, or in misery and painful torment for those who disobeyed the command of Allah and the command of His Messengers. This includes everyone who was deceived by themselves or their desires and followed them, and everyone who was deceived by their knowledge, civilization, power, ability, or thought, or everyone who was deceived by one of their kind among humans, or deceived by one of the Jinn, cutting off from servitude to the Divine and the testimony of the Truth: that there is no god but Allah and that Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah, and cutting off from acting according to what that necessitates, which is adherence to the methodology of Allah, Glorified and Exalted is He.

A caller cries out: O dwellers of Paradise, permanence, no death! O dwellers of Hell, permanence, no death! As for the common things by which the accountable ones (humans and jinn) were deceived on the face of the earth, they have been replaced, changed, dispersed, and ended. Only Paradise and Hell remain, along with the souls and the bodies that Allah prepares for them at the blowing of the Trumpet. They will rise with bodies into which the souls have been introduced, just as He created their parts as bodies in the mothers' wombs and introduced the souls...

**** ...He returns them as bodies in the wombs of the earth, the mother of all, and the souls enter them. Then they rise. Then the second blowing (of the Horn) occurs, and behold, they are standing, looking on. The earth shines with the light of its Lord. The Book is laid down, and the Prophets and the Truthful ones (Siddiqīn) are brought. Judgment is passed between them in truth, and they are not wronged. Every soul is paid in full for what it did, and He knows best what they do, Glorified and Exalted is He.

This is the reality regarding the goals of creation and the ends of these created beings. This is the greater, more enduring, and most perilous future for these created beings among all the accountable ones. None of them possesses the power to leave this end, or not to be present in it, or not to approach its outcomes, just as none of them possessed the power not to be created initially by the Creator Himself, or to come to earth by His command, the Exalted, or to inhabit it for the lifespan decreed for them. None of them owned the ability to prevent any of that. And none of them owns the ability to prevent attending the Station (of Judgment) and the judgment of entering Paradise or Hell, and permanence in them. None can escape that. None can move away from it.

"And We shall gather them and leave not one of them behind. And they will be presented before your Lord in rows. [He will say:] 'Indeed, you have come to Us just as We created you the first time. But you claimed that We would not appoint for you an appointed time.' And the Book will be placed, and you will see the criminals fearful of what is in it. And they will say, 'Woe to us! What is this Book that leaves neither a small thing nor a large thing but records it?' And they will find what they did present...

**** ...nor shall your Lord wrong anyone. O dwellers of Paradise, permanence, no death! And O dwellers of Hell, permanence, no death! In that permanence remain the traces of the manifestation (tajalli) of Allah, the Creator, Owner of Majesty and Honor, upon those who approach Him and believe in Him, with various kinds of bounties: "I have prepared for My righteous servants what no eye has seen, nor ear has heard, nor has it crossed the heart of man". It will be said to every dweller entering Paradise (may Allah make us and you among its people, among the foremost to it, and those He admits without reckoning, O Lord of all Lords), it will be said to every entrant:

"Indeed, you shall live therein and never die, and you shall stay young and never grow old, and you shall be healthy and never become sick, and you shall be blessed and never suffer misery". And regarding the Other Abode (Hell), they will have sighing and moaning therein, and they will be told: "Remain disgraced therein and do not speak". They will say: "Did no Warner come to you?" They will say: "Yes, a Warner certainly came to us, but we denied and said, 'Allah has not sent down anything. You are only in great error'".

And they will say: "Had we listened or used our intellect, we would not be among the companions of the Blaze". So, they confess their sin. So, away with the companions of the Blaze. We seek refuge with Allah from Allah's wrath. These are the great ends. Everything in them is based upon this short lifespan which we live on the face of the earth. And in this short lifespan, the Most High, the Great, honored us by revealing the Books and inspiration (Wahy) to the Prophets, selecting them, and their duty of conveying good news and warning to the accountable ones among humans and jinn...

**** ...and warning, until the Seal, the perfect, the most noble, the purest, the most radiant, the most blessed, the most glorious, Muhammad, came. Then the manifestation (tajalli) of Allah upon the earth and those upon it—upon humans, jinn, and the rest of the beings—was a greater manifestation through favor, gifts, and mercies. All praise and favor belong to Him. This characteristic of goodness has accompanied this Nation (Ummah) from the days of his mission until their last ones, and until the wind blows that snatches away anyone who has an atom’s weight of faith in his heart.

This Nation is the best nation. No matter how much the enemy of Allah, Iblis, succeeds in mocking, lying, and deceiving many of their young and old, their men and women, their humans and jinn, their kings and subjects, their individuals and groups, and deviates them from the straight path, there still remains within the Nation people of goodness and guidance, and connection to the Highest Assembly (Al-Mala' Al-A'lā), indeed, a connection to the Most High through the widest of doors: the door of the Master of the Beloved ones. This connection stems from the effects of the Sunnah and the Book, in terms of knowledge ('ilm), spiritual experience (dhawq), spiritual state (hāl), and realization of the truths of servitude, until Lordship takes over, so that servitude vanishes into Lordship, and he becomes 'with the Lord' (عند الرب), so that servitude vanishes into 'nearness' (Al-'Indiyyah).

He is with his Lord while he is on the face of the earth, walking on the face of the earth, eating, and drinking. He is mentioned in the Highest Assembly and supported by the continuous aid of the Lord of the earth and sky. Thus, his life becomes like his death, and according to his status and rank in understanding Allah and connecting with the revelation of Allah, and sincerity (Ikhlāṣ) to the Face of Allah, being beneficial and helpful with various benefits and advantages to his surroundings. This extends according to the divine aid (Al-Madad Al-Ilāhi) and the Lordly outpouring (Al-Fayḍ Al-Rabbānī) apportioned to him.

**** A group will remain apparent upon the Truth in the Nation. Righteous, just successors (Khulafā' 'Adūl) will remain in the Nation who negate the distortion of the extremists, the impostures of the false claimants, and the misinterpretations of the ignorant—a favor and grace from Allah. Their existence and abundance have a great impact on the manifestation of thousands of favors and abundant gifts.

The death of one of them is a gap (thulmah) in Islam that only a successor from him can fill, who upholds the right of knowledge and action based on sincerity, fear of Allah, piety (wara'), and truthfulness with the Most Merciful, Glorified and Exalted is He. From this (path) appeared in the Nation the great ones (Al-Akābir), the chosen ones (Al-Akhyār), and the pure, righteous servants (Al-Ṣālihūn), the virtuous ones, who prefer Allah over everything else through the secret by which He preferred them, put them ahead of others, and distinguished them with His special qualities and favors.

We mention among them those who are connected to this assembly and what revolves within it, concerning the men of the chain of transmission (Sanad): many of our sheikhs, fathers, scholars, and masters of excellence and secret among us, such as the Master Al-Wālid (father), upon whom be the mercy of Allah, the Blessed, the Most High. He was the direct cause of the emergence of these favors and blessings through his patience, truthfulness, sincerity, sacrifice, and the offering of his soul, and the dedication of his life, wealth, and everything he possessed, upon him be the contentment of Allah, the Blessed, the Most High. He had among his peers great ones of...

**** ...the people of excellence and knowledge, and among our sheikhs with whom we connected. Through all of them, the outpouring of Divine Lordly Generosity extended from the Prophetic Muḥammadan Sea. Consequences and affairs arose whose fruits, outputs, and products we observe in many situations concerning humans and jinn in the east and west of the earth, by the fingers of Divine ability and will, by which states change as He wills and through which benefit and goodness flow as He wills, Glorified and Exalted is He. And they had sheikhs who were masters of deep-rootedness (Rusūkh) and truthfulness with the Ever-Living, the Sustainer (Al-Ḥayy Al-Qayyūm), Glorified is His Majesty, whose understandings were broadened, whose resolves were strengthened, and who fulfilled the right of the Lordly Covenant. Thus continues the chain of transmission (Silsilat Al-Sanad) until the great ones emerged, like Al-Faqīh Al-Muqaddam, and those connected to that circle and those who succeeded them. And he (Al-Faqīh Al-Muqaddam) took from Sheikh Shu'ayb Abū Madyan Al-Maghribī, and he took from our Master Abdul Qadir Al-Jilani. This luminous, Lordly, Muḥammadan chain will not remain in the east or west of the earth without there being connecting ropes to it through this blessed, good chain.

Even if the matter of succession runs through them father to grandfather, they have connections with the people of their eras, their times, their cousins, and the rest of the chosen ones of the Nation, necessitated by the inheritance of Muḥammad, and required of them by the deputation (Niyābah) on behalf of Ahmad, and the bearing of his secret. They are the bearers of the secret after his Prophet, and what a noble inheritance! Upon them be the contentment of Allah. They were people of mercy to the worlds and...

**** ...people of compassion for all creation, and people of intention to disseminate goodness and spread guidance in what is hidden and what is manifest. Among those connected to this direct origin for us was a group we lost: our beloved Ali Al-Mashhūr bin Muhammad bin Salim bin Hafīẓ, our beloved Salim bin Abdullah Al-Shāṭirī, our beloved Abdullah bin Muhammad bin Alawī bin Shihāb Al-Dīn, and a group of their peers. Among the peers of Habib Salim Al-Shāṭirī was Habib Mashhūr and our beloved Abdul Qadir bin Salim bin Ali Al-Kharid, may Allah exalt his ranks and gather us with him in the highest of His Gardens. He was present with us during the opening days of this house (Dār), and he has a poem and a takhmees (quintain) for [the phrase] "The Lights of the House of the Chosen One (Dār Al-Muṣṭafā) have shone". He wished that the house would be for women, and Dār Al-Zahrā' was established.

He wished that generations and people would come, and Allah fulfilled all those wishes. His spiritual sustenance (istiqā') came from the secret of sitting with those he met among the elders of the Valley and its Imams, Habib Ali bin Abdullah bin Shihāb Al-Dīn, who took completely from the Master Al-Wālid (father), upon them be the mercy of Allah, and those in their rank: stars and full moons, great ones, all of them light, all of them etiquette, all of them truthfulness with the Lord, all of them preferring Allah over everything else, all of them preparation for the Hereafter, and readiness to meet the great ones in the presence of the Pure One (Muṣṭafā), peace and blessings be upon him, his family, and companions. Among them were those who died while engaged in the call to Allah the Almighty and in conveying the message...

**** ...our beloved Muhammad bin Alawī bin Shihāb Al-Dīn, upon whom be the mercy of Allah, the Blessed, the Most High. He spent his life dedicated to sincere counsel (Nuṣḥ), enduring hardships and weariness, until he died calling people sincerely, in the presence of a master who followed the Creator. How noble is this conclusion, which contains pride, hope, intention, and aspiration. Upon him be the contentment of Allah, the Blessed, the Most High. He spent his life with purified deeds. The burden of fear for his Lord appears upon his back from its load, not for reputation or hypocrisy (Riyā'). Between him and hypocrisy are deserts and peaks. You read lines of lights apparent in a figure clothed in nobility and reverence. If you look at him in his majesty, you see an example of his predecessors who passed away.

He walked their path and drew their line, until his appointed time came. Upon them be the contentment of Allah, the Blessed, the Most High. How many peers do we count who focused their attention on these paths, these calls, these orientations, and this service to the Qur'an and Sunnah, and to the Chosen One (Muṣṭafā) Muhammad, his law, his methodology, his nation (millah), his household ('itrah), his companions, and his successors (Khulafā'), and to the generality of his Nation (Ummah).

These are great trusts from which abundant goodness spreads, and those who are prepared among those who approach are blessed to enter the precinct (ḥaḍīrah): the Precinct of Holiness (Ḥaḍīrat Al-Quds), which is forbidden to whoever is not sanctified, forbidden to whoever does not purify and characterize himself; and the Seat of Truth (Maq'ad Al-Ṣidq), which only the truthful and the pious sit in. Its men and attendees are mentioned in the verse: "Indeed, the pious will be in Gardens and rivers, in...

**** ...a Seat of Truth (Maq'ad Ṣidq), with a Sovereign, Omnipotent Lord. In the Seat of Truth, whose lights shone with nearness (Al-'Indiyyah). What a splendor! The pious are its men and attendees. O Lord, join us with them, O our Lord. And place among them our beloved Abdul Qadir bin Salim bin Ali Al-Kharid, and grant him the highest ranks and great degrees in the Holy Precinct and the Seat of Truth with the truthful ones (Siddiqīn), O Most Generous of the generous, O Most Merciful of the merciful. He was dyed with the coloring (ṣibghah) of knowledge, the coloring of turning to Allah, and the coloring of the received chain of transmission (Sanad). He thus formed insights and subtleties. Our Sheikh, Habib Abdul Qadir bin Ahmad Al-Saqqāf, commanded him in his later years, when he became weak and stayed home in Jeddah, to hold a lesson for people in his house every Monday night.

This continued for years and contained benefits, indicating that he was among those who carried the Light from which benefit must be derived and which must be conveyed to the creation. He entrusted him with that, and he fulfilled it, upon him be the contentment of Allah, the Blessed, the Most High. He participated with his orientation, intention, etiquette, presence, knowledge, poetry, and prose. As was his father, our beloved Salim bin Alawī, and his grandfather, who was among the saints (Awliyā') of Allah and masters of strong, upright spiritual conduct (Sulūk) on the Straight Path, with a sound heart, and awareness and understanding of what Allah inspired and what His Messenger received, and what the chosen ones of Allah and the righteous servants received from him.

**** These are commodities whose value and price cannot be approached by everything in the East and West that people are deceived by, play with, and glorify, but which returns to its reality as nothing. "The deeds of those who disbelieve in their Lord are like a mirage in a desert. The thirsty one thinks it is water until he comes to it and finds nothing, but finds Allah with him". He only honors the people of His piety (Taqwā) and the people of truthfulness with Him, and He abandons and humiliates everyone else. "And whomsoever Allah humiliates, for him there is no one to honor. Indeed, Allah does what He wills". "O mankind, We have created you from a male and a female and made you into peoples and tribes that you may know one another. Indeed, the most noble of you in the sight of Allah is the most pious of you".

If we come to the people of piety, we find the pious, and the most pious is the Head of Mankind, Muhammad. He is the most noble by every measure, by every standard. May the prayers and peace of my Lord be upon him. May Allah grant us excellent adherence to him and entry into his circle. In recent days, we lost Sayyid Abdul Rahman bin Hasan bin Ahmad Al-Jifri, may Allah exalt his ranks, who was among those Allah colored with the coloring of connection to the people of this path, and the share of this inheritance and legacy of the Master of Bilāl, peace and blessings be upon him, his family, and companions.

He connected and approached, and Allah caused goodness to flow through his hands. May Allah exalt their ranks and gather us in the best of Gardens. Before that, we lost our beloved Muhammad Al-Bakri bin Muhsin Al-Hāmid, the son of Sheikh Bakr, may Allah exalt their ranks, and a number of others whom we recently lost. May Allah make our gathering with...

**** ...them in the highest ranks, at the Fount of the Prophet (Al-Mawrūd), under the Banner of Praise (Liwā' Al-Ḥamd), and in the shade of the Throne, and in the Highest Paradise (Al-Firdaus Al-A'lā). O Lord, gather us and our beloved ones in Your Paradise, the best dwelling place. And all that You have granted them and favored them with, of spiritual states, goodness, and righteous deeds, accept it from them and increase them from Your bounty as You are worthy.

Bless us in their children, bless us in their grandchildren and descendants. Bless us in our relatives and grant us enjoyment in the rest of those among us in our time who possess light, knowledge, reverence (khashyah), spiritual experience (dhawq), and connection to this Way (Sīrah). By connecting to it, the secret is attained and one draws near to the Kind Divine (Al-Ilāh Al-Barr), Glorified and Exalted is He, and connects with the Purest Beloved (Al-Ḥabīb Al-Aṭhar), peace and blessings be upon him, his family, and companions. May Allah grant us enjoyment through the remainder (of the pious ones) and increase among us the masters of sciences, understanding, and truthfulness with the Ever-Living, the Sustainer, whether Arab or non-Arab, that Allah may spread them in the east and west of the earth, reviving through them the realities of connection to Him and His Messenger, and manifesting His religion through them in the East and West.

O You who chooses whom He wills to manifest His religion and spread the Sunnah of His Trustworthy One, make us among those You choose and those You approve for these great gifts, O Most Merciful of the merciful. Just as You have favored us by making these centers a place for tying the banners of guidance to You, and inviting to You, and joining the path in which goodness flows...

**** ...We ask You, O Allah, to complete the favor upon us, and upon those present and those listening, and to gather us with our beloved ones in the Abode of Honor (Dār Al-Karāmah) and to bless the families, children, and descendants for us all. And do not let there be among them anyone deprived, rejected, or cut off from this blessed convoy until You gather everyone in the Abode of Honor and the place of rest of Mercy.

O Lord, gather us and our beloved ones in Your Paradise, the best dwelling place, through favor, excellence, and a gift from You, O Owner of the Most Complete and Vast Generosity and Favor, O Most Merciful of the merciful. May Allah make this an hour of response, and make the supplications answered, and shower the precincts of our hearts with the abundant rain of the cloud of favor, by which we are satisfied with His watchfulness (murāqabah) and enter among the people of response (istijābah), and are honored by the Lord, Glorified and Exalted is He, with what He is worthy of, and grants us the sweetness of connection (wiṣlah), and deals with us through His favor, and makes us among those of great virtue in His sight. O Lord, establish us upon the truth and guidance.

O Lord, seize our souls upon the best of my faith, and include our ancestors and descendants in mercy, and our families, companions, and all our relatives, and the rest of the people of the religion from every Muslim who established Your Oneness without doubt. And send prayers and peace eternally and perpetually upon the best one sent to the best nation, Muhammad, Muhammad, who was singled out by Your great favor, and the revelation of the Book and wisdom. And praise be to God, Lord of the worlds.