Seeking Closeness to Allah and His Messenger @ Masjid Istigfar

Shaykh Khalil sitting at the Mimbar

Shaykh Zakaria reciting the Maulid

Hubby carrying baby Adam to meet the Shaykh.

* Pictures taken by Massy

Alhamdullilah, hubby, me and sis went for the talk by Shaykh Khalil Moore last sunday at Masjid Al-Istigfar.

Prior to the talk, Shaykh Zakaria Bagharib and our Naqshabandi brothers led Maulid.

We had arrived late around 12.15pm because hubby and me sent our dear son to the DR as his cough and phlegm was terrible thus he needed the nabuliser. After that, we passed him to my parents and we zoomed to Masjid. It was a pity that Little Habib could not join us for this ceramah as he needed to rest at home, but I am confident that he will be blessed with something greater insya'allah.

When we arrived, surprisingly, Shaykh Zakaria was still leading the maulid. Great, I have not miss the start of the talk.

The Maulid was nice, with drums this time. I was explaining to sis who the men were and she was excited taking their pictures and all. May Allah (swt) show her to the right path. Insya'allah.

After the maulid, Shaykh Khalil was invited to sit on the chair at the mimbar.

Shaykh Khalil started by making DOA, then he said we are all blessed with the ni'mah, blessings of being in this gathering together with Shaykh Zakaria. Allah (swt) has allowed us to grace this event.

He said, he looked at the chair that he was sitting on and said that his teacher, Habib Umar Bin Hafiz has sat on the exact same chair when Habib Umar and the entourage came to Singapore a few months back.

He recalled a story that when he met Habib Umar in Yemen once, many people around him was saying " Habib Umar, when are you coming to our country? "
and Habib Umar said " Yes, we have schedule to visit your country in so and so month. "
Seeing this, Shaykh Khalil said he didnt want to miss the opportunity and he said "Habib, when are you visiting America? Please please come to America."
And Habib Umar smiled. He has this unique smile and laugh. Habib Umar than told him "Everything in its proper time and place."

Shaykh Khalil says that Singapore is so blessed to have many pious Ulama's and Masyakhs coming to spread Ilmu here. Knowledge comes in terms of breaths and chest of these men. He says that he does not deserve to be sitting in the same chair that his teacher Habib Umar Bin Hafiz has sat on. But Allah (swt) is Merciful.

Then Shaykh Khalil reminded us that we are in Masjid Istigfar. Thats the name of the mosque. We have to be people of Istigfar. May Allah (swt) forgive our sins and veil our shortcomings. We must know the importance of Istigfar.
If we can wake up in the wee hours of the morning and make Istigfar, it is a beautiful thing that Allah (swt) have blessed us with, that we can say "O Allah, Please forgive me, Please accept me once again Ar Rahman"

Sometimes we dont even say it, we dont make Istigfar. What state are we in?
Our Prophet Muhammad (saw) in 1 majlis, can make 70 or 100 times Istigfar. He is the Master of Existence making Istigfar in a Majlis with the Companions. Sitting as if they have birds perched on their heads as respect.

Shaykh said Al Ulama' warasatul Ambiar. The Scholars or people of Knowledge are the inheritors of our Prophet. Whoever takes this knowledge have taken a vast fortune. True Knowledge comes from these hearts and not from books only.

Shaykh said, we are all seeking Closeness from Allah (swt), but why are we all here in this majlis? Ask ourselves why are we here listening to the talk? If the purpose is other that Seeking Closeness to Allah (swt) and seeking Closeness with Rasullulah (saw), then we MUST change our intentions. "The Deeds are But by their Intentions."
( At this point, I asked myself what was my intentions : Could it be I wanted to update my blog or I wanted bragging rights that I have gone for Shaykh Khalil Moore's talk? Well... Shaitan can play around with our hearts and intentions. I was confused. I normally go to these talks because I wanted its blessings. Yes, I am 'Kiasu" for Blessings. Well No matter what, I changed whatever intentions I had solely for Allah (swt) and Rasullulah (saw). )

Shaykh Khalil stopped the syarahan and made DOA that all who came will change their intentions solely for Allah (swt) and Rasullulah (saw). Everyone around me said "Ameen" and made Doa too.

He continued saying he has never never never been to a gathering like this in America. Such Blessings, Masya'Allah. He said we sang maulid, and give Praise to Allah (swt) and our Prophet (saw).

There is a hadith Sahir when a man came to Rasullulah (saw) and said " O Muhammad, I have sent Selawats and Salaams to you 1/4 of the night. "
Rasullulah (saw) responded " This is good, but if you can do more, it will be better. "
Then the man said " O Muhammad, I shall send Selawats and Salaams to you 1/3 of the night. "
Rasullulah (saw) responded " This is good, but if you can do more, it will be better. "
Then the man said " O Muhammad, I shall send Selawats and Salaams to you 2/3 of the night. "
Rasullulah (saw) responded " This is good, but if you can do more, it will be better. "
Then the man said " O Muhammad, I shall send Selawats and Salaams to you all night long. "
Rasullulah (saw) responded " In that case, if you will go to that level, your sins will be forgiven and your grief and anxieties will be remove from you"

Shaykh Khalil said that making Selawats will take you out of the darkness and into the Light and the light is Rasullulah (saw). Our Prophet (saw) is the door to Allah (swt). May Allah (swt) open this door for us.

There are many Angels looking for circles of remembrance for Allah (swt). When an angel finds one, the angel will tell the other angels " Come, I have found a gathering that Glorifies Allah (swt). Allah (swt) says that all who are in the gathering no matter what is their purpose, will get Barakah. It is a great honour. Who is going to say that these type of gathering is wrong?. May Allah (swt) guide their hearts.

Shaykh Khalil then close his talk by making doa.

At the end of the talk, Shaykh Zakaria Bagharib reminded us 2 things about making Selawats.
1. Rezeki will chase us. He says if we find that Rezeki does not chase us, then we must inspect ourselves why.

2. Defend us against Black Magic.

Shaykh Zakaria also advised us to read Selawat Fatih. With 1 Selawat Fatih that we read, Allah (swt) will return us with 600'000 rahmats.

للَّهُمَّ صَلِّ وَ سَلِّمْ وَ بَارِكْ عَلىَ سَيِّدِناَ مُحَمَّدِنِ الْفَاتِحِ لِمَا أُغْلِقَ وَ الْخَاتِمِ لِمَا سَبَقَ وَ نَاصِرِ الْحَقِّ بِالْحَقِّ وَ الْهَادِيْ إِلىَ صِرَاطِكَ الْمُسْتَقِيْمَ وَ عَلَى آلِهِ وَ أَصْحَابِهِ حَقَّ قَدْرِهِ وَ مِقْدَارِهِ اْلعَظِيْمِ .

Ya ALLAH, limpahkanlah Selawat dan Salam serta Keberkahankeatas Penghulu kami Muhammad (ShalALLAHu`alaihiwasalam),Pembuka bagi yang telah tertutup, Penutup risahlah yang telah berlalu,Penolong kebenaran dengan kebenaran, dan Penunjuk ke jalanMU yang lurus.Semoga ALLAH melimpahkan Selawat keatas nya (ShalALLAHu`alaihiwasalam)dan keatas Keluarga nya dan para Sahabat nya dengan hak kadar nya dan kedudukan nya (ShalALLAHu`alaihiwasalam) yang Agung. - Selawat Fatih ( translation taken from Ukhti27 blog )

After Zohor Prayers, we were served with Roti Perancis and Curry Ayam. Alhamdullilah, I am thankful hubby and me and sista made it for ceramah, despite missing 3/4 of the maulid and going through some rush in the morning sending Little Habib to the DR. Kita benar-benar Bersyukur.

The above narrations are written from my own notes and any mistakes are made by me only. May Allah (swt) help me with the trails that I am facing right now.

At this moment, this Ummi is praying hard for her dear Little Habib to recover from his fever of 5 days.

Ameen Ya Rabbal Alamin. Wassalam.