By the name of Allah, All-Mighty, All-Merciful, Most Beneficent and Most Munificent.
A person once came to a Sheikh and asked, “Tell me something, O master. I wish very much to see the Prophet ﷺ in my dream. How can it be?”
The master replied, “Tonight prepare a meal and put too much salt in it. Eat, eat, and do not drink. Then go to sleep. You will be thirsty but do not drink.”
That night he followed the instruction. In his dream he saw himself running from spring to stream to lake, searching desperately for water.
In the morning the master asked him, “Did you see the Prophet ﷺ?” He answered, “No, I was running from water to water but I did not see him.”
The master said, “If you had been truly thirsty for the Prophet ﷺ as you were for water, then you would have seen him.” The person went silent and understood his lesson.
When the heart becomes truly thirsty for the Prophet ﷺ, yearning for him as a parched person yearns for water, then his ﷺ noble presence will be opened to that servant.
Grandshaykh Abdullahق would often tell me stories of Sayyidah Rabi‘ah al-Adawiyahر (Rabia Basri), who was from the blessed descendants of the Prophet ﷺ. She had married a man who was a drunkard, who returned every night intoxicated.
Every night she waited for him patiently. He would come home stumbling, swearing, and drunk, often lashing out at her. She bore it with quiet strength, never uttering a complaint.
She tended to him, cleaning his wounds, washing his face, changing his clothes, and settling him in his bed. Many nights she was insulted, beaten, or cast aside, yet she never retaliated, for her heart was already with Allah ﷻ.
When she asked permission to lie beside him, he would reject her, saying, ‘Get out of my sight!’ She would obey and withdraw to her small private cell, where she prayed, wept, and made dhikr until the break of dawn.
It was in this way that Allah ﷻ, in His Divine Wisdom, raised her. For He ﷻ makes everything perfect.
Allah ﷻ is perfect and all He does is perfect. When seeing imperfection, it is coming from ourselves. Perfection is for Allah ﷻ, imperfection for servants. If not given wisdom, then we are imperfect.
Perfection is given to sincere ones who look at everything in their lives and say, “This is from my Lord, so it must be perfect.” As long as you see imperfection, it is a sign of your own imperfection.
You may be famous, you may be learned, you may know too much. But knowledge alone does not bring perfection. Shaytan had oceans of knowledge, but still he saw imperfection and refused to bow to Sayyidina Adam (AS).
To be learned is one thing but to be perfect is another. A person may know nothing at all, yet if he sees only perfection coming from his Lord ﷻ, he is on the way of perfection.
We must learn to see, in events and mankind, perfection. We must learn to see, in everything, perfection!
Allah ﷻ allowed the husband of Sayyidah Rabi‘ahر to act in such a harsh way, turning her away every night, so that the patience of His servant might shine like a star.
Night after night, she met his harshness with forbearance, tending to him with gentleness. When he rejected her, she withdrew in silence, and in that rejection lay her honor, for it opened to her long hours alone with her Lord ﷻ.
If she had been allowed to lie beside him, she would have slept as long as he slept. Instead, Allah ﷻ granted her the sweetness of worship and finding solace in Him. Her nights were filled with prayer, tears, and dhikrullah.
Outwardly it looked like humiliation, but in reality it was a gift from Allah ﷻ. But most people would not have understood that.
One year, two years, four, five, six… she never grew tired. She carried him with love, never with bitterness. Such is the way of the Awliya, who turn every burden into service and every hardship into nearness to their Lord ﷻ.
At the end of seven years her husband came home drunk as usual. She cared for him as she always did, then retreated to her cell. That night Allah ﷻ caused him to wake earlier than usual. He searched for her, went to her room, and peered through the keyhole.
He saw Sayyidah Rabi‘ahر sitting with a radiant man whose face shone like the sun. He knocked, but when she opened the door there was no one with her.
Trembling he asked, “Rabiʻah, who was that one? Let me look at him once, for the sake of your Lord!”
Sayyidah Rabi‘ahر prayed, “O beloved Messenger ﷺ, please let him look once at your shining face.” And the Prophet ﷺ appeared. Her husband saw the holy light of the Prophet ﷺ, and he could not bear it. In that instant, his soul departed.
Sayyidah Rabi‘ahر was powerful. She was always striving in worship, never tiring, always making dhikr. Her heart was with her Lord ﷻ at every moment. Her patience had made her ready for the presence of the Prophet ﷺ, but her husband was not ready and could not carry it.
Yes! We must try to reach to the Prophet ﷺ. That is possible for us, but we must be patient. Sometimes to be patient brings a servant more spiritual improvement than anything else.
Yesterday Grandshaykhق was listening to the ladies and he was advising, “Tell my daughters to be patient. Even if for one night they are patient, they will be given as Rabiʻah was given. They are not losing, they are gaining by being patient, reaching to perfection in the Divine Presence.”
This life will end. It is not eternal, so do not be saddened by its difficulties. It is only numbered days, our lives. The one who can be more patient, their degree in the Divine Presence is growing more and more.
Therefore we say, to be patient is better for everyone.
The Prophet ﷺ said that on the Day of Resurrection every person will feel regret. People will say, “I wish that during my life I had endured all difficulties with patience, so that today I might be in such lofty stations in the Divine Presence.”
Yes, to reach such lights and such a Paradise, their trials were worth it. Allah ﷻ rewards patient ones, especially from among the women. Everyone should say, “If only I were such a one!”
So we are speaking now about thirst. To see the Prophet ﷺ is possible in dreams. To be patient is to prepare the heart, and patience is the thirst of the soul. When the thirst becomes real, his ﷺ presence comes.
Not only in dreams, even in life, his ﷺ spiritual body may be seen as you see another person.
In every Association ( sohbah), Allah ﷻ sends a light and a power from His Mercy Oceans. In every gathering of Grandshaykhق, there was always the spiritual presence of the Prophet ﷺ.
Even now, the fragrance of his presence ﷺ is with such gatherings.
We ask forgiveness from Allah ﷻ, and we ask from His Mercy Oceans to fill our hearts with love and respect for the Prophet ﷺ and his friends.
May Allah ﷻ grant us the company of the Prophet ﷺ, and the perfection of seeing everything as coming from Him.
Al-Fatiha.