MERCY OCEANS, Book 01 (Shaykh Nazim, 208 pages, 4/12)
https://www.nvrislam.net/index.php?j=eng&post=5764
lah won’t give until the last day.”
* * * * * * *
“What is the most valuable thing to ask from Allah?” a visitor asked Shaykh Nazim.
“Our Grandshaykh is speaking to me,” replied Mawlana, “and asking me to tell you of a dream he had.”
“O Nazim Effendi,” says our Grandshaykh, “l was dreaming today of the eyes of my Lord! I cannot describe the beauty of his eyes! They are not like anything. ‘What do you want?’ He asks me. ‘O, my Lord! I am asking to be your obedient servant, nothing else!’”
* * * * * * *
From Tariq’s notes:
Today there are only three of us for Salat al-Dhur (the Noon Prayer); Shaykh Mustafa, Shaykh Muhammad Salli, and this writer. As we stand in the doorway of the mosque, waiting for Shaykh Nazim to enter first, he stops and turns to us.
“Shaykh Mustafa, what are you thinking?” asked Mawlana. “Nothing,” he answered.
“Shaykh Muhammad Salli, what are you thinking?”
“Right now, I am not thinking of anything,” replied the other.
“You must think,” said Mawlana. “I am asking for power to catch my nafs, and a sword with which l might return to my country and fight the dragon of evils, and save my people! Your time is very valuable here in this sacred area of Damascus. Here, Divine Power is coming down! Each day, you must ask for more power. You must be aiming at this , not just passing the day!”
* * * * * * *
PART TWO
* * * * * * *
Rasulullah (peace be upon him) said, “lman is sabr!” Faith is patience. Patience (sabr) is the root of all good character. It is enough for the practice of Islam, completely! How can you reach the end of patience?
Our Grandshaykh tells us that Allah Almighty tries His servants to see if they will be patient. We must remember this so that when an event comes to tax our patience, we will remain firm. We must keep ‘patience at the first blow.’ If we keep patience, if we keep our Iman, our power will grow and our enemies’ power will become smaller.
When we speak of enemies, we must know who our enemy really is. So many people are ready to go to war to kill other people. In Islam there can be no war without a Khalif, a leader bringing the authority of Allah and His Prophet (peace be upon him). We are waiting for such a leader to come. He will be Mahdi (peace be upon him), and until he comes, there is no authority for war in Islam.
War against other men is the lesser of two wars for man. The war that must concern us now is the greater war, the war against our nafs. That is our real enemy, our own egos! In this war, the angry man loses and the patient man gains.
* * * * * * *
If Satan, himself, would ask pardon of Allah Almighty,” says our Grandshaykh, “Allah would pardon him! He will not ask pardon, though. Why? It is because of his ego and pride.
“All of us have such a character. We say to ourselves, ‘lam something!’ We give ourselves rank and distinctions. ‘I am a scholar,’ we may say about ourselves. Or, ‘I am a German, an American, a Creole, a Turk, a shaykh..’ Each one of us makes of himself something to be proud of.
“This keeps us from our Heavenly stations. Our egos tie us in this way. Allah Almighty would pardon even Satan if he would leave his ego, his self-importance! This is the main strategic point in the great war on
our nafs. We must not be proud. We must not think, ‘I am something.’ We must lose our self-importance. This is the top point! If we reach this, then we may take other points easily.”
* * * * * * *
Now, another lesson from our Grandshaykh:
“All believers from all Holy religions believe that Allah is Creator. He created all bounty and all favours. For whom did He create all this? For His obedient servants.
“To be an obedient servant means to be doing your actions with your Lord’s pleasure. If an action is for your Lord’s pleasure, or a favour is taken with your Lord’s pleasure, it means that it is ‘Halal.’ If a favour is taken without your Lord’s pleasure, that thing is ‘Haram.’ Allah Almighty gives to all His servants, believers, and unbelievers alike; but for non- believers, those who take and do without their Lord’s pleasure, those favours are ‘haram.’
“It is Halal to remember your Lord when you take a favour. When you say, ‘Bismillahir Rahmanir Rahim’ before you take something, and ‘Alhamdulillah’ afterwards, it indicates that your heart is with your Lord, even if you say it without thinking. It is, of course, better to say it from the heart, knowingly.
“Anything an unbeliever does is ‘Haram,’ for he does it without his Lord’s pleasure.”
* * * * * * *
“If everything is written for us,” asked a murid of Shaykh Nazim, “then what difference does it make what we do? We can only do what we are destined to do.”
“Do you know what is written for you?” replied Mawlana. “Can you see what the future holds for you?”
“No,” replied the disciple, “but still, if something is written for me, I will have no choice but to do it. I have no free will in my actions.”
Again the Shaykh replied, “We don’t know what is written for us. Therefore, we have the responsibility to choose our actions. We must choose our Lord’s pleasure. If we could see what is written for us, then we would have no responsibility. But now we can’t see, we don’t know, and so we must assume responsibility for our actions. We can choose halal or haram. We must choose our Lord’s pleasure. If we will listen to our conscience, we can know goodness from badness, halal from haram. Our conscience is from the Heavens, it is always right.
“There is no such thing as a sick conscience, but sometimes we put such a heavy load on it that we are unable to hear its cry. Therefore, we must make an intention to always listen to our conscience. lf we do this, Allah will give our conscience more power. Our conscience is giving us good signs, don’t try to fight against it. Don’t try to justify bad actions. It is wrong.
“When Allah is not pleased with a man’s actions, he makes all favours for that man haram, in this life and in the next. Adam (peace be upon him) disobeyed his Lord’s orders and was cast out from Paradise. His trial and examination were from Allah Almighty, but Adam (peace be upon him) did not know this. He did not know what was written for him. He listened to Satan and to his ego, not to his Lord. He had a responsibility to choose goodness and obedience to Allah, and so do we today. Discussions of free will versus predestination are empty talk. We don’t know the reality of that point. Therefore, we have choice. We must intend to listen to our conscience, and to choose our Lord’s pleasure, always.”
* * * * * * *
“Don’t be lazy!” says our Grandshaykh.
* * * * * * *
Here is an important point for all people, especially believers:
We know that Allah Almighty sent one hundred and twenty-four thousand Prophets. They began with Adam (peace be upon him) and ended with the Seal of the Prophets, Muhammad (peace be upon him).
We also know that Allah sent all the Holy Books. Why were they sent? There are so many tariqats, sufi schools, and shaykhs, but what is their wisdom? What are they teaching people?
The main point, the goal (riya) is to teach people that they are the servants of Allah Almighty, and how they can be obedient servants.
“Our serving Allah Almighty,” says our Grandshaykh, “how shall it be?” He is answering for us: “It is not asking anything from Him. It is honour enough for men to be His servants, nothing more.”
Sayyidina ‘Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) said, “It is glory enough for us to be Your slave, and it is honour enough for us that You Almighty are our Lord.” When a man reaches this point, it means that he has stopped being his ego’s servant.
He will then be as Sayyidina ‘Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) was – his Lord’s sincere servant.
Our Grandshaykh says, “When we shall be free of our ego’s enslavement, we will be free from our bad characters. This will take fighting step by step, like capturing a country. First you must capture the capital, then you may rule! The ego is always demanding to be king. While it rules, your inner kingdom is hidden. You can never reach it while your nafs is king!
“If a man is serving his Lord and asking rewards, he and Satan are on the same level. Satan was asking big rewards – to be chief of all creatures. When Allah made Adam (peace be upon him) chief. Satan began rebelling. If he had not been asking rewards to begin with, he would never have felt the need to rebel. He would have been, instead, satisfied with his Lord’s will in all matters.
“The most acceptable dua for us is to ask, ‘O my Lord! May l be your sincere servant! May l be always with that honour, here and hereafter!’ According to their level, people are asking something. But the highest level of faith is to be asking nothing, to serve for the love of Allah Almighty.”
Shaykh Nazim said, “Shaykh Anwar here serves us tea. I do not pay him any money to do this. No, he serves for the love of his Shaykh and his Grandshaykh, and therefore for the love and pleasure of our Prophet (peace be upon him) and our Lord, Allah Almighty. This is how our serving should be.”
* * * * * * *
“Mawlana,” asked one of his murids, “You told us that there were one hundred and twenty-four thousand Prophets before Muhammad (peace be upon him). What happened to the revelations that they brought? Did they become so changed over the years that their followers were no longer people of the book?”
Shaykh Nazim answered him, “Before Holy Books were sent, there came to man only pages. Each Prophet received his special orders. Some of these are mentioned in Quran, some are not. It is not important to know all the names and times of those Prophets. Before us, so many nations passed away. Now it is our turn. Therefore, the most important thing for us is to know that those Prophets came only to teach men how it is to be an obedient servant to Allah Almighty.”
Mawlana continued, “It is important to know what is the main goal for our lives. Each of us has an ego, nafs. saying that it is our king, and that we must be its subjects. All Prophets came to show men how to take that kingdom away from our nafs and give it to our spirits. Only then can we be real servants to Allah Almighty. This alone must be our goal. This is what is important, not so many names and places.
“Our egos never finish with asking questions. You must say ‘NO’ to your ego. Otherwise, your soul will remain imprisoned.”
“What exactly is the ego?” asked another murid. “What are its
weaknesses, and what is the best way to fight it?”
Again, Shaykh Nazim spoke, “There are, within ourselves, two contrary powers always in struggle. One takes us toward goodness, the other takes us toward badness. Our nafs is asking badness from us always. It demands that you serve it, and it is never satisfied. It is asking
all things; there is no end to its cravings. You must stop it. You must say to it, ‘Nothing for you, O nafs! But all things for my Lord!”‘
The murid continued his questioning, “Does this mean that I
should give up things like eating, etc?”
“No,” answered the Shaykh, “You must eat to stay healthy. The nafs, however, demands not only what the body needs to sustain itself, but also to eat all things. The ego desires its own share, and also everybody else’s share! This is the character of the nafs, and it is growing with us as we get older. A little boy wants all toys. A big man wants the whole world!
“We are like little fish with their mouths open wanting to swallow the ocean. All nafs’ are like this. We are little creatures, but our desires are endless. Therefore, we are saying firstly that you must stop all your desires. Take only as you need. We are all sitting at the Divine feast. Allah Almighty says, ‘O my servants! Each of you may take from what is provided as you need.’ Each of us has a share, but ego says, ‘No! Whole feast for me! Nothing for another!’
“So, each ego tries to swallow the whole feast. But it cannot: we can hold only a little. Therefore, all Prophets are saying, ‘Each of you must take as he is given from his Lord’s table. You must not look to other’s shares.’ You are not real believers if you are not accepting for each person as you are accepting for yourselves.”
A disciple asked, “How do I recognize my rightful share? For instance, when I go out to run my business, how shall I know what is mine and what is not?"
“Your share will come to you,” answered the Shaykh, “But, if you are looking to take from him also, no. You must look to what is coming to you, not what is coming to another. Never take from your neighbour’s share!”
“Do I have to take everything coming to me’?” came the question.
“Yes!” came the reply. “If it is more than you need, and more than those dependent upon you need, you must give it to those who have
nothing. Allah will give you rewards for your giving! Don’t keep from Allah’s favour more than you need. It is your Lord’s pleasure that you give to those who don’t have!”
Shaykh Nazim went on, "There is no end to pursuing your ego’s desires. Our greed grows in proportion to our wealth. In the time of Moses (peace by upon him), there was a very rich man named Kora. So wealthy was he that it took sixty mules just to carry the keys to his treasure chests! And yet this man found it impossible to spare any of that enormous wealth for zakat. (In Islam zakat is the obligatory charity to be given to the needy. For each person, the amount of zakat is figured to be one-fortieth of all that he owns in excess of what is required to sustain him and his family.)
“This is the character of the nafs. As riches grow, so does greed. A man may have one dollar, he will give away fifty cents. If he has ten dollars, he will give ten cents. If he has one-thousand dollars, he will give nothing! Until we leave that character, we will not be our Lord’s sincere servants. All problems come from that character; when a man is not satisfied with his share, he looks to take from others.”
“Shaykh Nazim,” asked another murid, “today l was walking in the town, when I saw a beggar. I was carrying a lot of money with me, and suddenly I felt the desire to give it all to that man. But quickly l thought that if l gave him everything, while l was in this city so far from home, it wouldn’t be such a good idea. So, I gave only a coin. As l walked away, however, I began to feel terrible, like I had something very bad. And yet, the idea of leaving myself stranded in a strange country with no money still didn’t seem too good either. Was that original impulse to give everything away the correct one?”
“Yes,” the Shaykh laughed, “that was all right. But this character of the ego is very difficult to fight. It needs long treatment!”
* * * * * * *
Our Grandshaykh was saying how we can be sincere servants of our Lord:
“When a man is the servant of his Lord, he is not asking anything from Him. Then he is a real servant. He says only, ‘May you be pleased with me, O my Lord.’ All Prophets and saints are real servants of Allah Almighty. They have been taken to freedom from the hands of their egos.”
* * * * * * *
“There are three actions,” says our Grandshaykh, “that will never leave their actors. Even if a man becomes an unbeliever he will find these actions at the end of his life. At that time, they will come to save him from unbelief and carry him into lman! He will come to Islam at the end of his life.
“The first of these good actions is Salawat for the Prophet (peace be upon him). ‘Allahumma salli ala Muhammadin wa ala aali Muhammadin wa sallim’: this gives our respect and love for our Prophet (peace be "upon him). It means, ‘O my Lord! Give Muhammad your mercy and your glory and your honour, here and hereafter.’ This respect, even if spoken only once in a man’s life, will come back at the last moment of his life to save him. It is a mercy from Allah.
“Secondly, we have been ordered in Islam to do goodness along our lives (ma’ruf). There is no permission for us to do or think badness for anybody. We must do goodness for everyone. Our faith pushes us away from badness and pulls us toward goodness. Even after our death we have been ordered to do goodness! ‘Wasiyyah’ is the obligatory inheritance we must leave for the general good of the community. One- third of our estate must be left for the benefit of the needy, and the other two-thirds may go to our heirs. This may be used to build schools, for instance, or hospitals, or to feed the poor. It is ordered for us. Yet, as beneficial as ‘wasiyyah’ may be, it is even more acceptable to Allah if you give during your life. It is, in fact, better to give one dollar with your own hand, during your life, than it is to leave seventy dollars in your will, after your death. This action, to do goodness throughout your life, and to give to those who are in need, will not leave a man at the end of his life, but will come back to save him. It is a sign that you believe in the Last Day, in the Judgment and the Resurrection.
“‘If anyone harms you, forgive him!’ This is the third action that will come back to save a man at the last moment of his life. The act of forgiveness cannot be lost to a man; it is the character of Prophets. If a man has the character to forgive people, Allah Almighty will forgive him huge sins. He will not give permission for the angels to write any sin against him! People with the character of forgiveness are very, very few – not even one in one million! it is the reality of faith, for a believer believes that ‘If I am forgiving, my Lord is forgiving me.’ If anyone is forgiving, believer or unbeliever, his Lord is forgiving him. This is the character of Prophets, and will come to a man even at the last moment. He will not die an unbeliever. Even among believers, this character is very rare!”
A question was asked, “What if you witness a crime?”
Shaykh Nazim answered, “For those things, there are two responsibilities: for the victim, and for Allah Almighty. If a man is stealing your property, you may forgive him. Allah also may forgive him, or He may punish him as He wishes. If a man is stealing from someone else, and you see it, then you may be a witness in court. If you are called, then you must go and tell what you saw. If you are not called, if nobody knows you witnessed the crime, you may go your way. You may try to stop the criminal, if you can, but you must not throw yourself into danger. You are not a policeman. What can you do if the criminals have guns?
“The rights of forgiveness are for yourself. If someone is harming you, you may forgive. You must remember this with regard to crimes involving things: there is no value for this world in the sight of Allah Almighty.
“Forgiveness brings peace; revenge brings troubles. Allah says, ‘If you are bringing peace, your reward is on My shoulders!’ When a murder is committed, it is permitted in lslam to take revenge on the killer. However, if even one of the victim’s heirs says, ‘No!,’ then that revenge cannot be carried out. Instead, ‘blood money’ is paid to the dead person’s survivors. Even in a case such as this, however, forgiveness may be better. When Jesus (peace be upon him) was reminded that the Torah prescribed execution, he replied, ‘That was for governments, not for Prophets!’ (In lslam, Shariah is law for governments also.)
“Absolute forgiveness is for Allah only. To let incorrigible murderers, repeat offenders who are dangerous to society, loose would be a mistake. To forgive them would not bring peace. This is the essence of the principle of forgiveness. Will it bring peace? Why are you leaving snakes? You cannot forgive a snake!”
Then someone mentioned a news item of the day that a former government leader had just been hung for crimes he had committed while in office. He asked Mawlana, “Should we be glad when a villain like that gets what he deserved?”
The Shaykh answered him like this: “Allahumma la takilni ila nafsin tarfata ayn! ‘O my Lord! Keep me from my ego!’ This is what we must say when we hear or see anyone undergoing any punishment. This is because it was his ego’s badness that led him to that fate, and if we are left to the hands of our egos, our fate may be the very same! We cannot enjoy the punishment of another; when we hear of such a thing, we must immediately escape to our Lord, and ask not to be left to the hands of our egos. ‘Allahumma la takilni ila nafsin tarfata ayn.’ It means, ‘O my Lord! Don’t leave me to my ego’s hands for even one moment!’ It is so dangerous; in a single moment, the ego may make a mistake that will carry a man to punishment along the rest of his life. Imprisonment! Hanging! All for one moment’s mistake, khatam (finished)!
“Therefore, it is not enough to say only in words, ‘l am Muslim! l am a believer!’ You must really believe; you must show it in your actions. Just because a man is Muslim, it does not mean that he has conquered his ego. Muslims have more responsibility than others. Our punishment is heavier than others’ punishment. We are responsible as our knowledge grows. There is no responsibility for ignorant people.
“Our Grandshaykh once told me, ‘The most acceptable, the most valuable, the most lovely worshipping is sajdah (prostration). If a man makes sajdah from the beginning of the world to the end, how big will be his reward! But, if a man tries to make peace between two people, it is more lovely and more acceptable to Allah than all the worshipping of all men and all jinn since the beginning of time!”
* * * * * * *
Our Grandshaykh says, “FATIHA, the first surah of Quran, came twice, once in Mecca, and once in Medina. What is the reason that Allah sent this surah twice?
“It is because FATIHA is the most important surah in Quran. According to tradition all Holy books are contained in Quran, and all meanings of Quran are contained in FATIHA. Therefore, if a man reads surah FATIHA, it is as if he had read all Holy books and Quran also!
“FATIHA contains the Bible, Torah, Psalms, one-hundred pages that were sent before the Holy books, and all of Quran. Therefore, it has been ordered to read FATIHA in every rak’at (cycle) of every prayer. It a man reads Quran seven times, without FATIHA, he cannot reach the reward gained by one reading of FATIHA!
“Allah sent FATIHA first in Mecca. Along with it came endless Rahmah (mercy). Gabriel, bringing FATIHA to Muhammad (peace be upon him), said, ‘O, Muhammad! Allah Almighty gives you His salaams and says to you, “Good tidings for FATIHA; if anyone from your ummah (nation) reads FATIHA even once in his life, it will be enough, and more, for that servant!”
“He who reads FATIHA will take enough Rahmah from one reading to last his whole life. Even if he is an unbeliever, one reading will bring him to lman, perhaps at the last moment of his life. This is because faith is original, inborn with people. Unbelief is a temporary condition added later. FATIHA will bring faith even to a doer of bad things.
“The second time FATIHA came was in Medina. Again it came with endless Rahmah, but this Rahmah was not like the first. The second Rahmah for FATIHA was so big and so powerful that the angels who brought the first Rahmah were unable to carry it. Allah said to Muhammad (peace be upon him) the second time, ‘O my Prophet! I am sending to you, from My mercy oceans of FATIHA, only one wave; one wave only from the mercy oceans in My Divine Presence! If you knew the whole mercy oceans belonging to FATIHA, you would not order your nation to worship, pray, or anything else; for that mercy from FATIHA would be enough! But no one knows the wideness of My mercy oceans!’
“This second wave of mercy from FATIHA was so strong that, by comparison, the first wave, which came in Mecca (and from which one reading in a man’s life is enough), was nothing. Allah Almighty said, ‘O My beloved Muhammad! If My servants know what I am hiding from them in My mercy oceans they would say, “No need for any worshipping. If a man does sajdah all his life, he will take from that ocean only a drop. But Allah is sending oceans, not drops. He gives out of His generosity, not because of anyone’s worship and regardless of anyone’s lack of worship. This is the interpretation of the verse, ‘Allah Almighty is giving endless honour and glory to the sons of Adam (peace be upon him).
“If a man knows that his Lord, Allah Almighty, gives His mercy to all regardless of their worshipping, he will gain adab, good manners. How can he be proud of his worshipping, when a lifetime of prayer will bring only one drop compared to what his Lord is sending out of His Divine generosity? The worst thing for a man is to say, ‘I am a good worshipper. I am a good servant, and others are bad.’ This is the way of Satan. This is a good lesson for all religious people; don’t be proud with all your prayers, fasting, Hajj, long beards, big turbans. It is as nothing. More Rahmah than you could ever gain is already coming; coming also to those you hold in contempt.
“Knowing this makes us humble. None of us can be the authority to put people in Heaven or Hell. Allah gave without looking for our prayers and worship. He gave before our birth. We need do nothing, and yet we still worship to show thanks, to show good manners to our Lord. We are in need of His mercy. Without it, nothing.
“Therefore, we give good tidings and happiness to people. If we say to unbelievers, ‘You will receive punishment,’ will their love for their Lord grow? Or will good tidings of their Lord’s endless mercy for them as they are cause their hearts to open! So we are giving good tidings to people, not making them afraid or unhappy. If you were to tell people, for example, about a good king, so much tolerance, so much justice, so much goodness and mercy – wouldn’t they open their hearts to him, and look to find him? But if you tell about a bad king – so difficult, stern, giving punishment, all his prisons are filled up – will people like him or hate him? Allah said to Moses (peace be upon him), ‘O Moses! Make My people like Mel’ This is the order of our Lord, not hating – liking! Therefore, we
give all good tidings for all people, whether they accept our beliefs or not. It is not important.”
* * * * * * *
“The first sunnah,” says our Grandshaykh, “is to ask only for life in the Divine Presence. Don’t hold any love for this world in your heart. A man who asks only the Divine Presence, and who directs all his actions toward that goal, will receive strength in this life. The Sahaba followed this way and, therefore, were glorious in everything that they did.
“Sunnah is the way of the Prophet (peace be upon him). Where does his way lead? It leads to the Divine Presence; and so, we must follow it. It is simple. ‘What was the way of Prophets?’ I ask all religious men. The way of Prophets is to reach the Divine Presence. Who can say differently?
“Men have changed their ways to those different from the way of the Prophets. Now, we are on the way of this life; the way of devils! More and more, we are tasting this life; more things, more palaces, more money, more pleasures. Therefore, we fight with each other. We fight over this dirty life.
“You can’t see a man who asks for the Divine Presence, who is asking for Allah, fighting for that dirty life. This is the sunnah! it is not external things. It is not making wudhu, praying, wearing turbans. The sunnah is making your heart pure. The sunnah is asking to be in the Divine Presence, and leaving the love of this dirty life! This is a powerful lesson for those who object to following Islam.
“The vulture is the biggest of birds, but its character is not to run after its prey. It waits, and eats after the other animals have eaten. This is a good way for us. When you see all people rushing on a thing, leave them. Take only what you need. This is the way of Prophets. Anyone taking more than he needs takes poison, not pleasure!
“In this life, the measure of richness is by zeroes. Ten, one- hundred, one-thousand, one-million, people are rushing after zeroes! They are fighting for zeroes; one for today, and some more to keep for tomorrow. No! This is the way of devils. This lesson is for people who are
running after zeroes; who are running after nothing. We may show them that they may leave ‘nothing,’ and come to reality, the way of Prophets. Don’t keep zeroes!”
* * * * * * *
Our Grandshaykh says, “In your opinions, you must come to Allah and His Prophet (peace by upon him). It means also, that you must come to a representative of Allah and His Prophet (peace be upon him), so that you can take the right answer from them. In every time there are, there must be in this world, some persons who are representatives for Allah and His Prophet (peace be upon him). You must ask them: they will judge.
“Two men may turn to Quran and hadith, looking for the answer to a particular problem or question. Each may read the same verses, yet each will interpret a different answer from them. Therefore, Allah says, ‘Wattabi sabiila man anaaba ilayy’ (Quran, Luqman, 15). It means ‘Follow in the path of him who has turned in repentance to Allah.’
“Repentance, real repentance, means to leave your ego’s desires and turn to Allah. Therefore, we have been ordered to follow someone who has defeated his ego, and is living as his Lord’s sincere servant only. It is fard (compulsory), and whoever denies this denies Quran.
“Each of us must follow a man who is on the way to Allah. If a man is not doing this, he is wrong; he is mistaken. You cannot go toward Allah without that person. You must follow! lf a man won’t do this, devils will lead him to their ways. Even though he says, ‘l am Muslim,’ he will be going after devils!
“No one can say, ‘We are looking in books and we are going to Allah.’ No! Here is a story:
“Imam Nawawi was a distinguished scholar (alim) who wrote a famous book about Hajj (the pilgrimage to Mecca), although he had never been there himself. It so happened that one year he at last had the chance to make the journey he had described in his book.
“When he returned he told of how it was. One day he was in Mecca walking along a certain way when a little boy came up to him and grabbed him by the arm. ‘O shaykh!’ cried the little boy, ‘You must not go that way.’ Imam Nawawi was perplexed. ‘What do you mean l can’t walk here? How do you know this?’ he asked the boy.
“‘Because, O shaykh,’ the boy returned, ‘Imam Nawawi has told us in his book that we must go another way!’
“Therefore, we can see from that story that a man needs a guide when he is going to a place where he has never been before. A man may read Quran and hadiths, but still he cannot know the way to go unless he will take a guide. If it was enough to merely read Quran, Allah would have sent the Book alone. But Allah also sent the Prophet (peace be upon him) as guidance in front of the ummah (nation). In every age, the ummah must have a guide. If there is no guidance, a man’s work will be unacceptable. Perhaps Satan will be leading him!
“Thus, Allah says, ‘You must follow a man who is on My way.’ But so many people are too prou
Link: https://www.nvrislam.net/index.php?j=eng&post=5764
lah won’t give until the last day.”
* * * * * * *
“What is the most valuable thing to ask from Allah?” a visitor asked Shaykh Nazim.
“Our Grandshaykh is speaking to me,” replied Mawlana, “and asking me to tell you of a dream he had.”
“O Nazim Effendi,” says our Grandshaykh, “l was dreaming today of the eyes of my Lord! I cannot describe the beauty of his eyes! They are not like anything. ‘What do you want?’ He asks me. ‘O, my Lord! I am asking to be your obedient servant, nothing else!’”
* * * * * * *
From Tariq’s notes:
Today there are only three of us for Salat al-Dhur (the Noon Prayer); Shaykh Mustafa, Shaykh Muhammad Salli, and this writer. As we stand in the doorway of the mosque, waiting for Shaykh Nazim to enter first, he stops and turns to us.
“Shaykh Mustafa, what are you thinking?” asked Mawlana. “Nothing,” he answered.
“Shaykh Muhammad Salli, what are you thinking?”
“Right now, I am not thinking of anything,” replied the other.
“You must think,” said Mawlana. “I am asking for power to catch my nafs, and a sword with which l might return to my country and fight the dragon of evils, and save my people! Your time is very valuable here in this sacred area of Damascus. Here, Divine Power is coming down! Each day, you must ask for more power. You must be aiming at this , not just passing the day!”
* * * * * * *
PART TWO
* * * * * * *
Rasulullah (peace be upon him) said, “lman is sabr!” Faith is patience. Patience (sabr) is the root of all good character. It is enough for the practice of Islam, completely! How can you reach the end of patience?
Our Grandshaykh tells us that Allah Almighty tries His servants to see if they will be patient. We must remember this so that when an event comes to tax our patience, we will remain firm. We must keep ‘patience at the first blow.’ If we keep patience, if we keep our Iman, our power will grow and our enemies’ power will become smaller.
When we speak of enemies, we must know who our enemy really is. So many people are ready to go to war to kill other people. In Islam there can be no war without a Khalif, a leader bringing the authority of Allah and His Prophet (peace be upon him). We are waiting for such a leader to come. He will be Mahdi (peace be upon him), and until he comes, there is no authority for war in Islam.
War against other men is the lesser of two wars for man. The war that must concern us now is the greater war, the war against our nafs. That is our real enemy, our own egos! In this war, the angry man loses and the patient man gains.
* * * * * * *
If Satan, himself, would ask pardon of Allah Almighty,” says our Grandshaykh, “Allah would pardon him! He will not ask pardon, though. Why? It is because of his ego and pride.
“All of us have such a character. We say to ourselves, ‘lam something!’ We give ourselves rank and distinctions. ‘I am a scholar,’ we may say about ourselves. Or, ‘I am a German, an American, a Creole, a Turk, a shaykh..’ Each one of us makes of himself something to be proud of.
“This keeps us from our Heavenly stations. Our egos tie us in this way. Allah Almighty would pardon even Satan if he would leave his ego, his self-importance! This is the main strategic point in the great war on
our nafs. We must not be proud. We must not think, ‘I am something.’ We must lose our self-importance. This is the top point! If we reach this, then we may take other points easily.”
* * * * * * *
Now, another lesson from our Grandshaykh:
“All believers from all Holy religions believe that Allah is Creator. He created all bounty and all favours. For whom did He create all this? For His obedient servants.
“To be an obedient servant means to be doing your actions with your Lord’s pleasure. If an action is for your Lord’s pleasure, or a favour is taken with your Lord’s pleasure, it means that it is ‘Halal.’ If a favour is taken without your Lord’s pleasure, that thing is ‘Haram.’ Allah Almighty gives to all His servants, believers, and unbelievers alike; but for non- believers, those who take and do without their Lord’s pleasure, those favours are ‘haram.’
“It is Halal to remember your Lord when you take a favour. When you say, ‘Bismillahir Rahmanir Rahim’ before you take something, and ‘Alhamdulillah’ afterwards, it indicates that your heart is with your Lord, even if you say it without thinking. It is, of course, better to say it from the heart, knowingly.
“Anything an unbeliever does is ‘Haram,’ for he does it without his Lord’s pleasure.”
* * * * * * *
“If everything is written for us,” asked a murid of Shaykh Nazim, “then what difference does it make what we do? We can only do what we are destined to do.”
“Do you know what is written for you?” replied Mawlana. “Can you see what the future holds for you?”
“No,” replied the disciple, “but still, if something is written for me, I will have no choice but to do it. I have no free will in my actions.”
Again the Shaykh replied, “We don’t know what is written for us. Therefore, we have the responsibility to choose our actions. We must choose our Lord’s pleasure. If we could see what is written for us, then we would have no responsibility. But now we can’t see, we don’t know, and so we must assume responsibility for our actions. We can choose halal or haram. We must choose our Lord’s pleasure. If we will listen to our conscience, we can know goodness from badness, halal from haram. Our conscience is from the Heavens, it is always right.
“There is no such thing as a sick conscience, but sometimes we put such a heavy load on it that we are unable to hear its cry. Therefore, we must make an intention to always listen to our conscience. lf we do this, Allah will give our conscience more power. Our conscience is giving us good signs, don’t try to fight against it. Don’t try to justify bad actions. It is wrong.
“When Allah is not pleased with a man’s actions, he makes all favours for that man haram, in this life and in the next. Adam (peace be upon him) disobeyed his Lord’s orders and was cast out from Paradise. His trial and examination were from Allah Almighty, but Adam (peace be upon him) did not know this. He did not know what was written for him. He listened to Satan and to his ego, not to his Lord. He had a responsibility to choose goodness and obedience to Allah, and so do we today. Discussions of free will versus predestination are empty talk. We don’t know the reality of that point. Therefore, we have choice. We must intend to listen to our conscience, and to choose our Lord’s pleasure, always.”
* * * * * * *
“Don’t be lazy!” says our Grandshaykh.
* * * * * * *
Here is an important point for all people, especially believers:
We know that Allah Almighty sent one hundred and twenty-four thousand Prophets. They began with Adam (peace be upon him) and ended with the Seal of the Prophets, Muhammad (peace be upon him).
We also know that Allah sent all the Holy Books. Why were they sent? There are so many tariqats, sufi schools, and shaykhs, but what is their wisdom? What are they teaching people?
The main point, the goal (riya) is to teach people that they are the servants of Allah Almighty, and how they can be obedient servants.
“Our serving Allah Almighty,” says our Grandshaykh, “how shall it be?” He is answering for us: “It is not asking anything from Him. It is honour enough for men to be His servants, nothing more.”
Sayyidina ‘Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) said, “It is glory enough for us to be Your slave, and it is honour enough for us that You Almighty are our Lord.” When a man reaches this point, it means that he has stopped being his ego’s servant.
He will then be as Sayyidina ‘Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) was – his Lord’s sincere servant.
Our Grandshaykh says, “When we shall be free of our ego’s enslavement, we will be free from our bad characters. This will take fighting step by step, like capturing a country. First you must capture the capital, then you may rule! The ego is always demanding to be king. While it rules, your inner kingdom is hidden. You can never reach it while your nafs is king!
“If a man is serving his Lord and asking rewards, he and Satan are on the same level. Satan was asking big rewards – to be chief of all creatures. When Allah made Adam (peace be upon him) chief. Satan began rebelling. If he had not been asking rewards to begin with, he would never have felt the need to rebel. He would have been, instead, satisfied with his Lord’s will in all matters.
“The most acceptable dua for us is to ask, ‘O my Lord! May l be your sincere servant! May l be always with that honour, here and hereafter!’ According to their level, people are asking something. But the highest level of faith is to be asking nothing, to serve for the love of Allah Almighty.”
Shaykh Nazim said, “Shaykh Anwar here serves us tea. I do not pay him any money to do this. No, he serves for the love of his Shaykh and his Grandshaykh, and therefore for the love and pleasure of our Prophet (peace be upon him) and our Lord, Allah Almighty. This is how our serving should be.”
* * * * * * *
“Mawlana,” asked one of his murids, “You told us that there were one hundred and twenty-four thousand Prophets before Muhammad (peace be upon him). What happened to the revelations that they brought? Did they become so changed over the years that their followers were no longer people of the book?”
Shaykh Nazim answered him, “Before Holy Books were sent, there came to man only pages. Each Prophet received his special orders. Some of these are mentioned in Quran, some are not. It is not important to know all the names and times of those Prophets. Before us, so many nations passed away. Now it is our turn. Therefore, the most important thing for us is to know that those Prophets came only to teach men how it is to be an obedient servant to Allah Almighty.”
Mawlana continued, “It is important to know what is the main goal for our lives. Each of us has an ego, nafs. saying that it is our king, and that we must be its subjects. All Prophets came to show men how to take that kingdom away from our nafs and give it to our spirits. Only then can we be real servants to Allah Almighty. This alone must be our goal. This is what is important, not so many names and places.
“Our egos never finish with asking questions. You must say ‘NO’ to your ego. Otherwise, your soul will remain imprisoned.”
“What exactly is the ego?” asked another murid. “What are its
weaknesses, and what is the best way to fight it?”
Again, Shaykh Nazim spoke, “There are, within ourselves, two contrary powers always in struggle. One takes us toward goodness, the other takes us toward badness. Our nafs is asking badness from us always. It demands that you serve it, and it is never satisfied. It is asking
all things; there is no end to its cravings. You must stop it. You must say to it, ‘Nothing for you, O nafs! But all things for my Lord!”‘
The murid continued his questioning, “Does this mean that I
should give up things like eating, etc?”
“No,” answered the Shaykh, “You must eat to stay healthy. The nafs, however, demands not only what the body needs to sustain itself, but also to eat all things. The ego desires its own share, and also everybody else’s share! This is the character of the nafs, and it is growing with us as we get older. A little boy wants all toys. A big man wants the whole world!
“We are like little fish with their mouths open wanting to swallow the ocean. All nafs’ are like this. We are little creatures, but our desires are endless. Therefore, we are saying firstly that you must stop all your desires. Take only as you need. We are all sitting at the Divine feast. Allah Almighty says, ‘O my servants! Each of you may take from what is provided as you need.’ Each of us has a share, but ego says, ‘No! Whole feast for me! Nothing for another!’
“So, each ego tries to swallow the whole feast. But it cannot: we can hold only a little. Therefore, all Prophets are saying, ‘Each of you must take as he is given from his Lord’s table. You must not look to other’s shares.’ You are not real believers if you are not accepting for each person as you are accepting for yourselves.”
A disciple asked, “How do I recognize my rightful share? For instance, when I go out to run my business, how shall I know what is mine and what is not?"
“Your share will come to you,” answered the Shaykh, “But, if you are looking to take from him also, no. You must look to what is coming to you, not what is coming to another. Never take from your neighbour’s share!”
“Do I have to take everything coming to me’?” came the question.
“Yes!” came the reply. “If it is more than you need, and more than those dependent upon you need, you must give it to those who have
nothing. Allah will give you rewards for your giving! Don’t keep from Allah’s favour more than you need. It is your Lord’s pleasure that you give to those who don’t have!”
Shaykh Nazim went on, "There is no end to pursuing your ego’s desires. Our greed grows in proportion to our wealth. In the time of Moses (peace by upon him), there was a very rich man named Kora. So wealthy was he that it took sixty mules just to carry the keys to his treasure chests! And yet this man found it impossible to spare any of that enormous wealth for zakat. (In Islam zakat is the obligatory charity to be given to the needy. For each person, the amount of zakat is figured to be one-fortieth of all that he owns in excess of what is required to sustain him and his family.)
“This is the character of the nafs. As riches grow, so does greed. A man may have one dollar, he will give away fifty cents. If he has ten dollars, he will give ten cents. If he has one-thousand dollars, he will give nothing! Until we leave that character, we will not be our Lord’s sincere servants. All problems come from that character; when a man is not satisfied with his share, he looks to take from others.”
“Shaykh Nazim,” asked another murid, “today l was walking in the town, when I saw a beggar. I was carrying a lot of money with me, and suddenly I felt the desire to give it all to that man. But quickly l thought that if l gave him everything, while l was in this city so far from home, it wouldn’t be such a good idea. So, I gave only a coin. As l walked away, however, I began to feel terrible, like I had something very bad. And yet, the idea of leaving myself stranded in a strange country with no money still didn’t seem too good either. Was that original impulse to give everything away the correct one?”
“Yes,” the Shaykh laughed, “that was all right. But this character of the ego is very difficult to fight. It needs long treatment!”
* * * * * * *
Our Grandshaykh was saying how we can be sincere servants of our Lord:
“When a man is the servant of his Lord, he is not asking anything from Him. Then he is a real servant. He says only, ‘May you be pleased with me, O my Lord.’ All Prophets and saints are real servants of Allah Almighty. They have been taken to freedom from the hands of their egos.”
* * * * * * *
“There are three actions,” says our Grandshaykh, “that will never leave their actors. Even if a man becomes an unbeliever he will find these actions at the end of his life. At that time, they will come to save him from unbelief and carry him into lman! He will come to Islam at the end of his life.
“The first of these good actions is Salawat for the Prophet (peace be upon him). ‘Allahumma salli ala Muhammadin wa ala aali Muhammadin wa sallim’: this gives our respect and love for our Prophet (peace be "upon him). It means, ‘O my Lord! Give Muhammad your mercy and your glory and your honour, here and hereafter.’ This respect, even if spoken only once in a man’s life, will come back at the last moment of his life to save him. It is a mercy from Allah.
“Secondly, we have been ordered in Islam to do goodness along our lives (ma’ruf). There is no permission for us to do or think badness for anybody. We must do goodness for everyone. Our faith pushes us away from badness and pulls us toward goodness. Even after our death we have been ordered to do goodness! ‘Wasiyyah’ is the obligatory inheritance we must leave for the general good of the community. One- third of our estate must be left for the benefit of the needy, and the other two-thirds may go to our heirs. This may be used to build schools, for instance, or hospitals, or to feed the poor. It is ordered for us. Yet, as beneficial as ‘wasiyyah’ may be, it is even more acceptable to Allah if you give during your life. It is, in fact, better to give one dollar with your own hand, during your life, than it is to leave seventy dollars in your will, after your death. This action, to do goodness throughout your life, and to give to those who are in need, will not leave a man at the end of his life, but will come back to save him. It is a sign that you believe in the Last Day, in the Judgment and the Resurrection.
“‘If anyone harms you, forgive him!’ This is the third action that will come back to save a man at the last moment of his life. The act of forgiveness cannot be lost to a man; it is the character of Prophets. If a man has the character to forgive people, Allah Almighty will forgive him huge sins. He will not give permission for the angels to write any sin against him! People with the character of forgiveness are very, very few – not even one in one million! it is the reality of faith, for a believer believes that ‘If I am forgiving, my Lord is forgiving me.’ If anyone is forgiving, believer or unbeliever, his Lord is forgiving him. This is the character of Prophets, and will come to a man even at the last moment. He will not die an unbeliever. Even among believers, this character is very rare!”
A question was asked, “What if you witness a crime?”
Shaykh Nazim answered, “For those things, there are two responsibilities: for the victim, and for Allah Almighty. If a man is stealing your property, you may forgive him. Allah also may forgive him, or He may punish him as He wishes. If a man is stealing from someone else, and you see it, then you may be a witness in court. If you are called, then you must go and tell what you saw. If you are not called, if nobody knows you witnessed the crime, you may go your way. You may try to stop the criminal, if you can, but you must not throw yourself into danger. You are not a policeman. What can you do if the criminals have guns?
“The rights of forgiveness are for yourself. If someone is harming you, you may forgive. You must remember this with regard to crimes involving things: there is no value for this world in the sight of Allah Almighty.
“Forgiveness brings peace; revenge brings troubles. Allah says, ‘If you are bringing peace, your reward is on My shoulders!’ When a murder is committed, it is permitted in lslam to take revenge on the killer. However, if even one of the victim’s heirs says, ‘No!,’ then that revenge cannot be carried out. Instead, ‘blood money’ is paid to the dead person’s survivors. Even in a case such as this, however, forgiveness may be better. When Jesus (peace be upon him) was reminded that the Torah prescribed execution, he replied, ‘That was for governments, not for Prophets!’ (In lslam, Shariah is law for governments also.)
“Absolute forgiveness is for Allah only. To let incorrigible murderers, repeat offenders who are dangerous to society, loose would be a mistake. To forgive them would not bring peace. This is the essence of the principle of forgiveness. Will it bring peace? Why are you leaving snakes? You cannot forgive a snake!”
Then someone mentioned a news item of the day that a former government leader had just been hung for crimes he had committed while in office. He asked Mawlana, “Should we be glad when a villain like that gets what he deserved?”
The Shaykh answered him like this: “Allahumma la takilni ila nafsin tarfata ayn! ‘O my Lord! Keep me from my ego!’ This is what we must say when we hear or see anyone undergoing any punishment. This is because it was his ego’s badness that led him to that fate, and if we are left to the hands of our egos, our fate may be the very same! We cannot enjoy the punishment of another; when we hear of such a thing, we must immediately escape to our Lord, and ask not to be left to the hands of our egos. ‘Allahumma la takilni ila nafsin tarfata ayn.’ It means, ‘O my Lord! Don’t leave me to my ego’s hands for even one moment!’ It is so dangerous; in a single moment, the ego may make a mistake that will carry a man to punishment along the rest of his life. Imprisonment! Hanging! All for one moment’s mistake, khatam (finished)!
“Therefore, it is not enough to say only in words, ‘l am Muslim! l am a believer!’ You must really believe; you must show it in your actions. Just because a man is Muslim, it does not mean that he has conquered his ego. Muslims have more responsibility than others. Our punishment is heavier than others’ punishment. We are responsible as our knowledge grows. There is no responsibility for ignorant people.
“Our Grandshaykh once told me, ‘The most acceptable, the most valuable, the most lovely worshipping is sajdah (prostration). If a man makes sajdah from the beginning of the world to the end, how big will be his reward! But, if a man tries to make peace between two people, it is more lovely and more acceptable to Allah than all the worshipping of all men and all jinn since the beginning of time!”
* * * * * * *
Our Grandshaykh says, “FATIHA, the first surah of Quran, came twice, once in Mecca, and once in Medina. What is the reason that Allah sent this surah twice?
“It is because FATIHA is the most important surah in Quran. According to tradition all Holy books are contained in Quran, and all meanings of Quran are contained in FATIHA. Therefore, if a man reads surah FATIHA, it is as if he had read all Holy books and Quran also!
“FATIHA contains the Bible, Torah, Psalms, one-hundred pages that were sent before the Holy books, and all of Quran. Therefore, it has been ordered to read FATIHA in every rak’at (cycle) of every prayer. It a man reads Quran seven times, without FATIHA, he cannot reach the reward gained by one reading of FATIHA!
“Allah sent FATIHA first in Mecca. Along with it came endless Rahmah (mercy). Gabriel, bringing FATIHA to Muhammad (peace be upon him), said, ‘O, Muhammad! Allah Almighty gives you His salaams and says to you, “Good tidings for FATIHA; if anyone from your ummah (nation) reads FATIHA even once in his life, it will be enough, and more, for that servant!”
“He who reads FATIHA will take enough Rahmah from one reading to last his whole life. Even if he is an unbeliever, one reading will bring him to lman, perhaps at the last moment of his life. This is because faith is original, inborn with people. Unbelief is a temporary condition added later. FATIHA will bring faith even to a doer of bad things.
“The second time FATIHA came was in Medina. Again it came with endless Rahmah, but this Rahmah was not like the first. The second Rahmah for FATIHA was so big and so powerful that the angels who brought the first Rahmah were unable to carry it. Allah said to Muhammad (peace be upon him) the second time, ‘O my Prophet! I am sending to you, from My mercy oceans of FATIHA, only one wave; one wave only from the mercy oceans in My Divine Presence! If you knew the whole mercy oceans belonging to FATIHA, you would not order your nation to worship, pray, or anything else; for that mercy from FATIHA would be enough! But no one knows the wideness of My mercy oceans!’
“This second wave of mercy from FATIHA was so strong that, by comparison, the first wave, which came in Mecca (and from which one reading in a man’s life is enough), was nothing. Allah Almighty said, ‘O My beloved Muhammad! If My servants know what I am hiding from them in My mercy oceans they would say, “No need for any worshipping. If a man does sajdah all his life, he will take from that ocean only a drop. But Allah is sending oceans, not drops. He gives out of His generosity, not because of anyone’s worship and regardless of anyone’s lack of worship. This is the interpretation of the verse, ‘Allah Almighty is giving endless honour and glory to the sons of Adam (peace be upon him).
“If a man knows that his Lord, Allah Almighty, gives His mercy to all regardless of their worshipping, he will gain adab, good manners. How can he be proud of his worshipping, when a lifetime of prayer will bring only one drop compared to what his Lord is sending out of His Divine generosity? The worst thing for a man is to say, ‘I am a good worshipper. I am a good servant, and others are bad.’ This is the way of Satan. This is a good lesson for all religious people; don’t be proud with all your prayers, fasting, Hajj, long beards, big turbans. It is as nothing. More Rahmah than you could ever gain is already coming; coming also to those you hold in contempt.
“Knowing this makes us humble. None of us can be the authority to put people in Heaven or Hell. Allah gave without looking for our prayers and worship. He gave before our birth. We need do nothing, and yet we still worship to show thanks, to show good manners to our Lord. We are in need of His mercy. Without it, nothing.
“Therefore, we give good tidings and happiness to people. If we say to unbelievers, ‘You will receive punishment,’ will their love for their Lord grow? Or will good tidings of their Lord’s endless mercy for them as they are cause their hearts to open! So we are giving good tidings to people, not making them afraid or unhappy. If you were to tell people, for example, about a good king, so much tolerance, so much justice, so much goodness and mercy – wouldn’t they open their hearts to him, and look to find him? But if you tell about a bad king – so difficult, stern, giving punishment, all his prisons are filled up – will people like him or hate him? Allah said to Moses (peace be upon him), ‘O Moses! Make My people like Mel’ This is the order of our Lord, not hating – liking! Therefore, we
give all good tidings for all people, whether they accept our beliefs or not. It is not important.”
* * * * * * *
“The first sunnah,” says our Grandshaykh, “is to ask only for life in the Divine Presence. Don’t hold any love for this world in your heart. A man who asks only the Divine Presence, and who directs all his actions toward that goal, will receive strength in this life. The Sahaba followed this way and, therefore, were glorious in everything that they did.
“Sunnah is the way of the Prophet (peace be upon him). Where does his way lead? It leads to the Divine Presence; and so, we must follow it. It is simple. ‘What was the way of Prophets?’ I ask all religious men. The way of Prophets is to reach the Divine Presence. Who can say differently?
“Men have changed their ways to those different from the way of the Prophets. Now, we are on the way of this life; the way of devils! More and more, we are tasting this life; more things, more palaces, more money, more pleasures. Therefore, we fight with each other. We fight over this dirty life.
“You can’t see a man who asks for the Divine Presence, who is asking for Allah, fighting for that dirty life. This is the sunnah! it is not external things. It is not making wudhu, praying, wearing turbans. The sunnah is making your heart pure. The sunnah is asking to be in the Divine Presence, and leaving the love of this dirty life! This is a powerful lesson for those who object to following Islam.
“The vulture is the biggest of birds, but its character is not to run after its prey. It waits, and eats after the other animals have eaten. This is a good way for us. When you see all people rushing on a thing, leave them. Take only what you need. This is the way of Prophets. Anyone taking more than he needs takes poison, not pleasure!
“In this life, the measure of richness is by zeroes. Ten, one- hundred, one-thousand, one-million, people are rushing after zeroes! They are fighting for zeroes; one for today, and some more to keep for tomorrow. No! This is the way of devils. This lesson is for people who are
running after zeroes; who are running after nothing. We may show them that they may leave ‘nothing,’ and come to reality, the way of Prophets. Don’t keep zeroes!”
* * * * * * *
Our Grandshaykh says, “In your opinions, you must come to Allah and His Prophet (peace by upon him). It means also, that you must come to a representative of Allah and His Prophet (peace be upon him), so that you can take the right answer from them. In every time there are, there must be in this world, some persons who are representatives for Allah and His Prophet (peace be upon him). You must ask them: they will judge.
“Two men may turn to Quran and hadith, looking for the answer to a particular problem or question. Each may read the same verses, yet each will interpret a different answer from them. Therefore, Allah says, ‘Wattabi sabiila man anaaba ilayy’ (Quran, Luqman, 15). It means ‘Follow in the path of him who has turned in repentance to Allah.’
“Repentance, real repentance, means to leave your ego’s desires and turn to Allah. Therefore, we have been ordered to follow someone who has defeated his ego, and is living as his Lord’s sincere servant only. It is fard (compulsory), and whoever denies this denies Quran.
“Each of us must follow a man who is on the way to Allah. If a man is not doing this, he is wrong; he is mistaken. You cannot go toward Allah without that person. You must follow! lf a man won’t do this, devils will lead him to their ways. Even though he says, ‘l am Muslim,’ he will be going after devils!
“No one can say, ‘We are looking in books and we are going to Allah.’ No! Here is a story:
“Imam Nawawi was a distinguished scholar (alim) who wrote a famous book about Hajj (the pilgrimage to Mecca), although he had never been there himself. It so happened that one year he at last had the chance to make the journey he had described in his book.
“When he returned he told of how it was. One day he was in Mecca walking along a certain way when a little boy came up to him and grabbed him by the arm. ‘O shaykh!’ cried the little boy, ‘You must not go that way.’ Imam Nawawi was perplexed. ‘What do you mean l can’t walk here? How do you know this?’ he asked the boy.
“‘Because, O shaykh,’ the boy returned, ‘Imam Nawawi has told us in his book that we must go another way!’
“Therefore, we can see from that story that a man needs a guide when he is going to a place where he has never been before. A man may read Quran and hadiths, but still he cannot know the way to go unless he will take a guide. If it was enough to merely read Quran, Allah would have sent the Book alone. But Allah also sent the Prophet (peace be upon him) as guidance in front of the ummah (nation). In every age, the ummah must have a guide. If there is no guidance, a man’s work will be unacceptable. Perhaps Satan will be leading him!
“Thus, Allah says, ‘You must follow a man who is on My way.’ But so many people are too prou
Link: https://www.nvrislam.net/index.php?j=eng&post=5764