Question:
Salaam,
Maulana to you Hajja and all. We are shocked and very upset at the passing of our beloved Sheikh Raja Ashman. Sheikh Raja gave me shahada and bayat. Since his passing I often see Sheikh Raja. Before I fall asleep at night and sometimes when I wake up in the morning. Even during the day I can see him in my minds eye. Is Sheikh Raja still with me and still guiding me…?
Answer:
wa alaykum salam,
Be happy and at peace with the qadaa and qadar of our Lord. At the passing of his 2-year-old son the Holy Prophet (upon him blessings and peace) only said, “The heart grieves and the eye weeps but we say nothing displeasing to our Lord.”
May Allah have mercy on Raja Ashman Shah and grant him Paradise. He helped bring Mawlana Shaykh Nazim (Allah bless his secret) to Brunei for the first time and represented him in Malaysia. He was generous in helping others. May Allah reward you for your love of this good prince and brother in Tariqa.
However, at the risk of overstating this reply, I remind myself and your good self that the Prophet (upon him blessings and peace) said, “Give people their due respect;” and that Bayaa is to Mawlana Shaykh Nazim (Allah bless his secret), Rabita is with him, suhba is with him, irshad or guidance is through him, and focus is on his Way, his teachings, his states; all of which as Raja Ashman would have been no doubt the first to tell you.
All representatives the world over are tottering under the onus of being put by well-meaning brethren (or in many cases, what is worse, putting themselves) into positions which then deprive the latter of their rightful connection to Mawlana at great spiritual cost; hence, as he and his two major deputies always reminded us, adab is irreplaceable in Tariqa and we ask Allah to grant us all understanding.
Hajj Gibril Haddad
