https://www.nvrislam.net/index.php?j=eng&post=5765
d to follow another man. They say, ‘We know! We are reading Quran, we know sunnah, we are not in need of guidance!’ They are wrong, because they are proud. Whoever comes to Allah with pride is refused, not accepted. Satan didn’t accept Adam (peace be upon him) for his guide. He said, ‘I know more than he. I am a better worshipper than he, and therefore I am not in need of his guidance.’

“The way begins with a guide. Everyone is free to take a guide or not, but Allah says, ‘We didn’t accept anyone without a guide. You must take a guide.’ Therefore, for anything that happens to us, we must ask the advice of a man who we trust is in the way of Allah. He is guide.

“This is fard (order of Allah), but nowadays, people are denying this. ‘No Madhhab (the 4 schools of jurisprudence)! No Tariqat (Sufism)!’ they say. They are wrong. Allah says, ‘Wattabi sabiila man anaaba ilayy.’ Follow in the way of he who has turned to Me in love. (Quran, Luqman, 15)

“If your heart and your conscience are satisfied with a person, there is no need to look for another. He is your guide. But you must choose someone; to deny this is kufr (unbelief). It is denying Quran.”

“Shaykh Nazim,” asked a murid, “how can we keep from arguing among ourselves when we aren’t with you?”

“In every place,” answered the Shaykh, “we shall appoint one person to be a director for our brothers. If a question arises, or if something happens, he shall decide among you. If he cannot find an answer, then he may write to us.

“Eastern people are like sheep; they agree easily and follow. Western people are learned people. Each looks to himself and says, ‘I know something.’ Therefore, they cannot agree; they are not coming together. They are like goats scattered about on the mountainside, each goat standing by himself.

“Just as we follow an Imam (leader) in prayer, so also must we follow in our lives. The Sahaba (companions) followed Rasulullah (peace be upon him). After his death, they followed Abu Bakr as-Siddiq (may Allah be pleased with him). Like this, we must have a leader to follow; an Imam for our lives.

“When people don’t have a leader, or won’t follow the one they have, quarrelling and fighting result. This is how the Arabs were in the days before Rasulullah (peace be upon him), filled with pride and fighting amongst themselves. InshaAllah (if Allah wills), there will be one imam for all Americans, one for all Germans, one for all French, and so forth.”

Shaykh Nazim continued, “When l was younger, I read and studied a great deal. Not only religion, Quran and hadith, but also ‘European’ knowledge, ‘positive, objective knowledge,’ as they called it at the university. So many books I read. Also I met several shaykhs and learned people, but my heart was not at peace with anyone until I met our Grandshaykh. When he was speaking, Ah! He was illiterate, but with his words he gave Divine knowledge; knowledge that I could trust one- hundred percent! I was at peace in his meetings. For forty years I was with him, and for forty years I tried to follow him. I am the weakest person, but my intention was to follow him. I felt as though I were an ant

with a broken leg trying to crawl from Damascus to Mecca; that is how I saw myself in our Grandshaykh’s presence. But my hope was to follow him, as my Prophet says, ‘The value of actions is according to the intentions behind them.’ Therefore, I hope my Lord, Allah Almighty, will send me to where Grandshaykh is; to the Divine Presence; even though I am like that little ant. I accepted Grandshaykh as Allah Almighty ordered in Quran (‘Follow him who has turned to Me with Love’). This is my intention. I intend to follow him, and I am interested only in that point. I left all my knowledge and intended to follow his way to Allah Almighty.

“Now, I am reading to you from his teachings. As much as I have trust in him, you may have trust in me. However much I am clutching his hand, you may clutch my hand as strongly. However much I am weak with him, you also will be weak with me. Thus, the Prophet (peace be upon him) was strongly with his Lord, and the Sahaba were strongly with the Prophet (peace be upon him). Anytime you are looking at a man who is clutching strongly at the Prophet’s ‘coat-tails’ you may trust in him. However strongly you are believing, people may trust in you. However strongly you have trust in one man (your shaykh), people can trust in you also. This is important. Therefore, when you have trust in me, he will have trust in you, and another will have trust in him also. This is the reason you must keep a relation with a person strongly in love with Allah. Then that love may come to you as well.”

* * * * * * *

Our Grandshaykh told me this story about his Grandshaykh, Abu Ahmad as-Sughuri (may Allah be pleased with him):

“My Grandshaykh was living in a village in Caucasia. One day as he was walking near his house, he saw a cat catch a neighbour’s chicken and run off with it in its mouth. Quickly Abu Ahmad (may Allah be pleased with him) said, ‘Inna lillahi wa inna ilayhi raji’un!’ This is a verse from Quran (surah Baqara, 156), and it is sunnah to say it when we are coming upon any bad thing, disaster, or affliction. It means, ‘To Allah we belong, and unto Him we are returning!’

“‘How many years have I lived in this village?’ he thought, ‘yet until now, I never saw a cat attacking a chicken before. I must leave this village and these people. This is no mercy coming down here!’

“He made hijra to another village one-half hour’s walk away where he lived for the rest of his life. He said, ‘lf there were no bad character in people, all the blossoms on the trees would bear fruit and none would fall to the ground.’

“What is the meaning of this story? Why did Abu Ahmad (may Allah be pleased with him) leave his home because a cat ate a chicken? It is because lie knew that the wildness of people’s bad characters has an effect on their animals. The bad characters of the people in that village were going through their animals. They could be seen affecting that cat which, up until then, had never attacked any chickens. It is an important sign; when people’s characters are good, it shows in their animals. When their characters are bad, there is badness and wildness in their animals also.

“Solomon (peace be upon him) once came upon two dogs fighting. As he was given the power to talk with all creatures, he asked them, ‘Why are you fighting? You are dogs, not people! What can you take from this world that you will quarrel about?’

“‘Yes, O Prophet!’ replied the dogs, ‘It is as you say. We haven’t anything from this world. It is our owners’ bad characters that you see fighting here!’

“You may see this quality in children as well. Hard people will have wild children, whereas soft, gentle people will have gentle children. Therefore, our good and bad characters have a pronounced effect upon all who are around us – our families, our neighbours, and our animals. We must carry a good view of our surroundings, not darkness. When Abu Ahmad (may Allah be pleased with him) saw that cat acting wildly, he knew that the characters of the people in the village were no good and that it was time for him to leave.

“It is also people’s bad characters that cause blossoms to wither and die without bearing fruit, and insects to infest them. In these times, how many medicines and chemicals are needed to make things grow! If people’s characters were good, there would be no need for all those things! Now it is the twentieth century. People are proud of their learning and technology. But originally, before all the modern

‘improvements,’ people found life to be easier. All the things that make life easy were readily at hand. That satisfaction is lost now. It is impossible today to find any good people. Everywhere bad character is growing.

“Therefore, we must fight to erase, wipe-out (mahw), our bad character. The more we wipe out bad character, the more happiness will come down on that place. Nowadays, happiness is not coming down. Such dirty places! Everywhere there is cruelty. You cannot find one place to step on! This world is filled with wild characters, running after such a power to whip up all people. Such terrible weapons. It is a sign! When no mercy is coming down, it means that there are no good characters. Good characters are living in mercy oceans of Allah Almighty. Without belief in our Lord, there are no good characters and mercy in people. In unbelievers’ hearts you cannot find a minimum of mercy.

“Today,” said Shaykh Nazim, “a letter came to me. In it was a newspaper clipping perhaps from the London Daily Telegraph. It says how Marxism has killed one hundred and forty-three million people: sixty-five million in Russia from nineteen-seventeen up until nineteen fifty-nine; sixty-three million in China! Other places total one hundred and forty-three million! Because Marxism denies all Prophets, all religions, and all Holy things, you cannot find any mercy in it. Marxists have no mercy for other people, not even for themselves. No mercy in Marxism!

“As we said,” repeated the Shaykh, “good characters only live in mercy oceans where there is belief in Allah Almighty. Therefore, we must look after the mercy in our hearts to grow. As your mercy grows, you are approaching Allah. Abu Yazid al-Bistami (may Allah grant him more honours) was praying to his Lord, ‘O my Lord! You have power, You can do anything! l am asking to make my body bigger and bigger, till it will fill all Your Hell, so that there will be no place to put anybody else there! Put them in Paradise, and give me the punishment!’

“When your faith grows up, your mercy grows up. All Awliya have in their hearts oceans of mercy. Another one said, ‘O, my Lord! Make me into a bridge over Hell, that Your people may pass over me into Paradise!’ It is like that. If any of them have been given permission for ‘shafa’a’ (intercession) on the Day of Judgment, they are not going to let even one

person go to Hell! This is the meaning of Iman. If a person says, ‘l am a believer,’ and he has no mercy, he is a liar. No mercy, no Iman.

“The biggest ocean of mercy is for our Prophet (peace be upon him). He was sent as a mercy for all creatures, the whole universe.

“Everyone will see his deeds on the Judgment Day, whether they are going to Heaven or to Hell. Then Allah will decide. He may do as He likes. The Almighty is not obliged to pardon or to punish. He may, if He likes, pardon everybody.”

“What about that man in Quran, Ahu Lahab, and his wife?” asked
one of our brothers. “Doesn’t Allah promise a punishment for them?”

“That verse (surah Lahab) was sent only as a warning,” re- plied Mawlana, “so that people will not do like Abu Lahab. Allah Almighty will show each servant what he has done with his life on the Judgment Day. But He Almighty is free to give mercy as He likes.

“The Ummah, the nation of a Prophet, is dearer to that Prophet than children are to their parents. If you have one hundred boys, and ninety-nine are with you but one is in prison, are you happy? No! Because one of them is suffering punishment. Even if one out of one thousand is suffering, your heart is with that one who is suffering. Therefore, our Prophet (peace be upon him) will stand by the entrance to Paradise. How can he have pleasure in Paradise if his nation is in Hell! How?! He will stand by the entrance and when Allah Almighty says, ‘Enter, O Muhammad!’ He will say, ‘O my Lord! I cannot enter until my nation enters.’ He will then look, ‘One, two, three, four, . . .,’ and if any are missing, he will say, ‘O my Lord! I cannot enter!’”

“Mawlana, who are the Ummah? Who will be counted among
them on the Judgment Day?”

“He Almighty knows,” answered the Shaykh. “Don’t be worried, European people also are his nation. American people, also; Russian people, also; Chinese people, also; Hindus, also; Negroes, also; all are of his nation! The Prophet (peace be upon him) says, ‘If I am given permission, I will not leave one person behind!’ Do you understand? You are coming home with your one-hundred boys, riding on your horses,

coming up to the palace gates. You stop and count, ‘Thirty, fifty, one- hundred boys.’ When you see that they are all safely inside, then you will cross over the bridge, and close it behind you. You are not leaving one, two, or ten outside. No! Especially when they are little boys. Father will come and put little boys inside first, and then he will enter. Yes? Too many good tidings for us. We are like little boys. There is no worry for us. You are big boys? MashaAllah!”

* * * * * * *

One day, after the Dhuhr (Noon) prayer, Shaykh Nazim told his murids that they could ask whatever questions they wished. The group consisted mainly of Europeans and Americans, and so they used this opportunity to question the Shaykh about difficulties they had encountered trying to practice his teachings in their own countries.

“Shaykh Nazim, what is our job in America? Why is it that we must go back there to live, away from you and your teachings?”

“Allah Almighty created this world,” replied the Shaykh. “You can see here, all around you, the city of Damascus. Perhaps there are one hundred thousand houses. Each house has some people. Those people are not distributed without an arrangement but are appointed, each to a private place. These people must live in this place next door to some other people. They cannot be in this place too. Also, in each place, there may be several rooms; in each one there must be different persons. The Holy Prophet (peace be upon him) said, ‘Allah created people, and made for each a private station.’

“Therefore, Allah decides for Syrians to live in Syria, Turks to live in Turkey, Americans to live in America, and so forth. In each state, some. In India, Madagascar, in every place, must live whoever Allah has appointed. He Almighty decided. He Almighty appointed.

“Our Lord decides movement, travel, also. Some travels are
temporary, some are permanent. All are directed by Divine Wisdom.

“Allah Almighty appointed our breaths for us – when, where, and how many. We must be there, where He has appointed those breaths.

“Therefore, you will be in your homeland, as your Creator has appointed for you to be there. The important thing for every servant who knows his Lord, who believes in his Lord, who loves his Lord, is to be with Him everywhere and always! When a servant is with his Lord, with love, with belief, and with obedience, his Lord will be with him always, with His mercy, with His protection, and with His help! Enough?”

“Then why do we become disturbed in our hearts?” asked a disciple.

Shaykh Nazim answered, “Disturbances come when you are forgetting your Lord’s relationship with you, when you are forgetting His mercy. When people forget that they are in mercy oceans, all disturbances and sufferings come into their hearts.

“They are like fish out of water oceans. To be happy, you must always remember that you are in mercy oceans. This is a fine point, an important matter (Dhaqiq). You must be careful."

“I know it in my head, but I don’t always know it in my heart.” "Yes! . . . InshaAllah.”
“Is there anything specific that we could do, like teaching?”

“Teach yourself!” returned Mawlana. “Teach yourself that you are in the mercy ocean, forever! No teaching another! This is a job for all people, not just Americans. You will be like a fish swimming in the ocean, joyful in the water, for outside it will die. Why are you coming out of that ocean? You are mad people!”

“What if people ask us about what we are doing?”

“You are swimming in mercy oceans. Therefore, you are happy everywhere.”

“Shaykh Nazim, are these teachings, these words, just for
ourselves? Are they just for your murids, or may anyone read them?”

“They are for everyone, because no one will come to hear these teachings, or to read these words unless he has a promise from Allah Almighty in the spiritual world. This promise was made on the Day of Promise, in the Divine Presence, before we came into this world. No one can listen to these words, nor can he read them, unless he is from our group. Don’t be worried about that!”

“In other words, if someone comes to read this, is it a sign?”

“You must know that he is sent,” replied Shaykh Nazim, “Whoever is sent will come to you. He will come to listen to us because it is his destination. He will come, he will listen, and he will take it! Clear enough?”

“Thank you. Now I have a question about how we should dress. Should we wear sunnah clothes, turbans, and so forth, when we are back home in our country?”

“When you are in your home, with your Lord only, you will dress like this (he indicates his own clothing; loose pants, jacket, and a turban). When you are with other people, dress like them. He who is working for Allah alone is free to dress as he likes. He who must work in the world, with other people, must be like them. For Jumma (Friday prayers), for worship, and when you are alone with your Lord at home, you may put on turbans and sunnah dress.”

“Shaykh Nazim, as it is written in hadith, and as you have explained to us, there are signs in the world now that the great war is coming quickly. What preparations can we make for this terrible event? Shall we try to build some kind of a shelter, community, or retreat?”

“We are saying,” said the Shaykh, “that shelter will be for everyone who is with his Lord. We are asking shelter with Allah Almighty. Any other shelter will not be enough, not at all enough during that war. Our ‘Noah’s Ark’ is in our hearts! You cannot find any shelter without our Lord’s shelter.”

“What can we do for concentration? Are there any techniques you can recommend to us to keep from forgetting that we are in the mercy oceans?”

“As we are beginners,” the Shaykh replied, “we must keep in our hearts, fifteen-hundred times, ‘Allah, Allah, Allah….,’ every twenty-four hours. Once daily, you must listen to your heart’s dhikr. When you listen, you can hear your heart saying ‘Allah, Allah, Allah.’”

“Is this dhikr separate from the wird that we say ever day?”

“This is a wird also,” said Mawlana. “This is an important wird, more important than our tongue’s dhikr. This gives concentration for all of the body.”

“What is the best time of the day to do this wird?”

“After midnight, tahajjud. First make two rak’ats, then sit and listen to your heart’s dhikr fifteen hundred times. For tahajjud prayer, the minimum is two rak’ats, and the maximum is eight. For witr prayer, we are praying after isha (the late night prayer). Perhaps it may be that we cannot awaken before the time for witr goes away. Therefore, it is a precaution to pray witr immediately after isha; it is better. You may pray tahajjud after witr. It is permissible. When you listen to your heart’s dhikr as I have told you, your concentration will grow from this point to where that dhikr, the remembrance of your Lord, will be with you twenty-four hours a day! Yes, this is the beginning! I am giving you permission as my Grandshaykh gave me permission for that.”

“Thank you.”

“Permission; it means to take that ‘electricity’ from the center they are opening for us. When my Grandshaykh gave me permission, he was opening, from his heart to my heart, such power.”

“This may be too big a question for a beginner, but I’ll ask it
anyway.”

“What is that?”

“When I first met you, in London, they told me that you could appear to me wherever I am, and to experiment with this. I have tried various things, but so far, with no success. Can you tell me how to do it?”

“Ah, yes! You may do that. You may do it with your heart. When you are in need of something, your heart may be in connection with me. Anytime!”

“There are no special words I have to say, or any special technique I have to do?”

“You can call, ‘O my Shaykh! O my Grandshaykh! Reach to me, I am in difficulties, I am in need of your help!’ Your Grandshaykh is ‘Abdullah Daghestani (may Allah be pleased with him). It is enough to call him.”

“How shall we make ready for you to come to America? Should we arrange for lectures, TV? We haven’t talked to Hollywood yet!”

“Cinema? Some people came to Cyprus, once, and made a huge photo of me with my turban. Then, some filmmakers came to find me to make a film of Moses! Fortunately, I was absent. If I had been in Cyprus, they would have caught me and taken me to America to make a film with me!”

“Better than Charles Heston?”

Shaykh Nazim stroked his long white beard, “Much better!” He then continued, “We ... our way, is to step after Allah opens the way for us. Therefore, we are not using so many programs, so much planning to do this and that. We are living as our Lord’s demands appear, and He sends us toward His will. Therefore, if we are coming to America, it will become clear, little by little, how we shall act. We are not going to decide from now, but a decision will come as soon as possible from our Lord’s Will. Therefore, we do not worry about that point. It is easier for us.”

“If it is a question of us doing something for you, we’ll do it. If it is a question of us getting money to send you a ticket and saying, ‘Shaykh Nazim, come!’ we’ll do everything for you; we’ll do it.”

“Thank you. When my Lord wills to send me to your country, He will send me, also a ticket! I am waiting for His command.”

“What are our wives’ responsibilities?”

“Three times shahada, every day, and to be clean always. And, for beginners, one sajdah, five times a day, at the time of the regular prayers. At each prayer, only one sajdah. It is enough.”

“What if they want to do the whole prayer, is it all right?”

“For beginners, one sajdah is enough. As they are stepping forward, they will ask. This command is from my Grandshaykh. Also, they should love only believers, not unbelievers. They should sit with believers, and not with unbelievers.”

“What about parents? What if parents are unbelievers?”

“I meant to say for other people. Your parents, you must respect them forever!”

“I had been doing a lot of physical training – running, lifting weights, and so on. Is this good?”

“Why are you doing this, to be stronger than animals, quicker than animals? If it were an honour to carry heavy loads, then we shall give medals to donkeys! Why this stupidness, this foolishness?”

“I think you’ve answered the question!”

“This is not to say that we shouldn’t play, or practice games of war. This is sunnah. Walking, swimming, riding horses, swords and shooting – those are sunnah. But the most beautiful game is the game with your wife!”

“How about the martial arts, karate and judo?”

“It is too much. You must use your strength for useful things. When you are free, you must set apart a time for a useful thing, like gardening and planting, for instance. This is very good. In Islam there is no waste of time. Every action must bring a benefit. It is a bad thing to sit down. All or at least most illnesses come from sitting too long without moving. Therefore, games and useful work will be beneficial for you. Also,

every weekend you must gather in a good place with friends for talking and doing halal. Not preaching! Not tabliq! It must be a simple gathering, a meeting of friends. It is enough simply to make friends. If people like you and respect you, they will come. If we are preaching, the load will be too heavy for their egos to bear! We are not Jamaat al-Tabliq! People cannot carry heavy loads.”

“Can you tell us when the war will happen?”

“Allah knows well. But it will happen, maybe within two years. Our Prophet (peace be upon him) gave to us knowledge of the Last Days’ signs, and as he said, those signs indicate that huge event is nearly upon us now. Afterwards, there are some other big signs for Qiyama, the Resurrection Day. This is what we are saying.”

“But within two years, not longer?”

“Within two years. It is waiting. It is expected.”

“Is Mahdi (peace be upon him) supposed to come before, or after this war?”

“During.” “And Dajjal?” “Same time.”
“I read a hadith that there would be a fire from east to west. Is that referring to the war?”

“No, that is after.”

“Are there any signs that we can look for?”

“For Mahdi (peace be upon him) coming, there are two signs. The first is that Turkey will become communist. Then, the great war will break out. That is the second sign. Then, Mahdi (peace be upon him) will come. I just now heard this from my Grandshaykh. And Turkey is going to be communist very quickly now. I first heard this from my

Grandshaykh over forty years ago, when you couldn’t find even one communist in Turkey. And now, . . .”

“Mawlana, how do the saints receive their knowledge?” “It is through the Prophet (peace be upon him).”
* * * * * * *

Our Grandshaykh says, “Allah Almighty created all mankind, all human nature, and He said, ‘I have directed everyone to his destination.’ So, for everyone, there is a destination to which he is being guided.”

Our Lord said to Rasulullah (peace be upon him), ‘O Muhammad, to reach My Divine Presence, there are so many ways! As many as all the breaths of all creatures!’ Each day, one man has twenty-four thousand breaths. How many, then, for all mankind, for all creatures?! As many as that number, there are ways for reaching to Allah! These are very good tidings, but what does Allah say also, ‘No one knows from which way My People, My servants, are corning to Me.’ All ways are going to Him. Every way that a man may walk, he must arrive at the Divine Presence. He Almighty says, again, ‘No one except me can know those ways by which My servants are coming to Me. By looking, you may see that a servant is going another way. But he is coming to Me also. He cannot find anything except Me, no matter which way he may travel! Any way, that My servant follows, he must come to Me!’

“Buddhists, Christians, Catholics, Communists, Confucians, Brahmans, Negroes; who created them? He created all of them, and each one says, ‘We are going on a way that leads to the Divine Presence. So many, many ways; you cannot know. Therefore, Allah says, ‘Allay sa’llahu biya kaymi hajimn.’ This means, ‘No one may judge for My servants, except Me! I will judge for My servants. Not any of you will judge for My servants, not Iblis, and not even Prophets! They haven’t any authority to judge My servants. I am the judge!’ This is the order of our Lord, Allah Almighty.”

“Mawlana?” asked a disciple, “What about the ways leading to Hell? Do they lead to Allah, also?”

“Yes,” replied the Shaykh. “The ways to Hell are going to Him, also, after Hell. Hell is cleaning people, cleaning them from sins and bad characters and then guiding them to Allah!

“And some stay in Hell always?”

“Yes.” The Shaykh paused, and then continued, “Iman is original, kufr is temporary. With all people, faith is the permanent condition. There may be one man to be endlessly in Hell, if He so orders, but everyone is going to His Divine Presence. He is not going to leave His servants to the hands of Satan, and Satan will not be the judge of His servants either! Do you think that Satan will win? Satan will never win! Allah Almighty is victorious! His mercy is not leaving any to endless Hell.”

“I don’t understand this,” said one of the brothers, “Yesterday, you said that a man must have a guide, that he must follow one who is on the way to Allah. Now, you said that all are on the way to Allah.”

“To understand this point,” answered Mawlana, “you must know that people are of two kinds. Ordinary people, common people, are, in general, satisfied with their actions. They do not see a need to follow a man. But whoever is asking higher degrees in Divine Presence, he must take a guide. Does everyone have a college diploma? No, only a few people. Common people are not asking for a diploma. There are, however, a few people who are in need to reach more excellent positions, the highest degrees before the Divine Presence. The first rank are Prophets and those who are on the ways of Prophets. Then comes the second, the third, and so forth. But all glory comes to the first rank. It is they who will take the most glory, the most mercy, the most light. Of course the glory of Allah will reach to all people. But only as much as they are approaching His Divine Presence. Therefore, Allah says, ‘You must follow one man who is approaching me in order to be in the first rank.’ If you are not interested in the first rank, you may take the second, or the third, … do you see?”

“But what about those who have their backs to the Ka’aba? “

“Some may return to Him by their own good will, but most need urging with power. If they don’t accept power (take a guide), then Divine power will make them ready to return.”

“So, ultimately, after Paradise and Hell, there is only Allah?”

“All things are in the oceans of His power. We are swimming in power oceans. We are only like shadows; we haven’t any real existence for Allah Almighty. He stands by Himself. He is Qayyum; not in need of another to make Him stand. He stands by Himself. But, we are standing with Him.”

Trying to understand this point, another murid asked, “Then, Allah will eventually finish with the creation? Will there then be only Him?”

The Shaykh spoke, “There is no finish to creation. Creation is
always going on, and we are creatures.”

“Then what does it mean when Quran says that, ‘Everything will
vanish, except His face?’”

“Yes,” responded Shaykh Nazim, “this world is going to be vanishing. But those belonging to Allah Almighty, our spirits, are not ending, not vanishing. Our bodies will go, but our spirits are with Him always. We say that our bodies are from ‘Alam-al Khalq,’ and our spirits (arwah) are from ‘Alam al-Amr.’“

Another brother continued, “Sometimes it seems as if all is Allah, and there is no ‘I’.”

Mawlana spoke to him, “You are asking what is Creator, and what is creature?”

“Yes,” answered the murid, “When we go from this world, do we remain as individuals? Will we sit, InshaAllah, in Paradise with Nazim Effendi?”

“Yes, there is individual life,” replied the Shaykh. “And will we have knowledge of ourselves, too?”
The Shaykh smiled, “We shall have absolute knowledge.”

“And individual existence?” the brother persisted. “And individual existence!” returned the Shaykh. “Yes?”
“Yes!” said Mawlana. “You understand?”

One of the disciples shook his head. “Who can write that!”

Shaykh Nazim remained patient: “All of us have individual personality in the Divine Presence.”

“I have read things like this,” said another murid, “but don’t know how to really understand it.”

Mawlana smiled again. “Yes,” he explained, “because now, we are yet at the beginning. You cannot describe for a person how it is working.” He paused, and gestured to the tape recorder we were using to record his lectures. “This is a tape recorder,” he said. “Can you explain to a common person how it works? You cannot explain. He can look at it, and see that is working, but he does not know how. Only a few people can know this. Each time we raise our knowledge
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