MERCY OCEANS, Book 01 (Shaykh Nazim, 208 pages, 8/12)
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d. It is very clean, beautiful, joyful – exact happiness, no harm, no bad things, no death, no ugly things!”
* * * * * * *
Our Grandshaykh says, “Knowledge is an endless ocean. All things that belong to Allah Almighty are endless, and Allah is teaching His servants so many different kinds of knowledge. Some of this knowledge originated at the time of Adam (peace be upon him), and has come down to our times. It is a huge body of knowledge, but it is very small compared with the knowledge that saints know about from before the time of Adam (peace be upon him).”
Shaykh Nazim continued, “Now, from Adam (peace be upon him) up until our time, there is Divine knowledge, held by the Awliya. But, before the creating of Adam (peace be upon him) there was so much knowledge, according to those who know. This knowledge, the knowledge that we have about our own era, is only like a drop from an ocean!
“This makes our heads turn! What was there before Adam (peace be upon him)? Thinking of these things makes man humble, not able to say ‘l know all!’ What do we know? Only a little drop from oceans, no more.”
A brother asked, “Was Adam (peace be upon him) the first man, or, was he the first man of this batch of men, of which we are a part?”
Shaykh Nazim answered, “We are coming to that now. Our Grandshaykh said that this is the period of our father, Adam (peace be
upon him), and his sons. We are living in it now. But, before our father’s period, so many Adams have been created, no one knows how many except Allah Almighty, the Creator! No one knows their number!”
A murid asked, “Were these…” “Adams,” supplied the Shaykh.
“…Adams,” repeated the questioner, “Were they like us, or were they different?”
“Like them,” answered Mawlana. “Each Adam, and his sons, were generally like us, in that they may be recognized as sons of Adam. All are servants of our Lord. Also, He Almighty, alone knows how many Adams will come after us, how many periods there will be. Not on this world, because Allah Almighty has so many universes beyond counting.
“He is Creator,” Mawlana continued, “Creating. To create means to make them appear. They are hidden; to create is to make them appear. We were hidden in His power oceans but now He makes us appear. When our period is finished, we will go back into that power ocean, to be hidden again. We are going to another station in that power ocean, Paradise. Paradise is also in His power oceans. They are swimming in His power oceans and in His mercy oceans, living, enjoying. When we disappear from this appearance, then we shall be in mercy oceans, enjoying.”
* * * * * * *
“Our Grandshaykh says, ‘Allah Almighty was addressing those Adams that were created before our father, Adam (peace be upon him), with the secrets of Holy Quran. Quran, the Holy book, contains endless secret knowledge. Its secrets are such that you can find, included in it, all news from before and after us.”
Someone asked, “When the Quran is translated into English, are all the secrets lost?”
Shaykh Nazim answered, “From translations you can take only a little part. What is a translation? It is like you and your photograph. What
is the relationship between them? Are you the same as your picture? One may look at the photograph, and know that it is you, but... Do you prefer to take the photograph of your wife to sleep with, or her? The original and the translation is like this. Now, Shakespeare’s Hamlet is translated into German. Is it the same? It cannot be. It is only an appearance without spirit!”
The Shaykh continued, “Our Grandshaykh says that secrets of Holy Quran will appear in the time of Mahdi (peace be upon him). Jesus (peace be upon him) also said, ‘The secrets of Holy books will appear at the end of our period when Mahdi (peace be upon him) comes.’ Quran is addressed to all and speaks to all. No one can be excluded from the Quran’s address. It is for everyone, generally and individually.
“There are seven heavens – no planets, but seven flats of heavens, and so many creatures, most of them angels.”
A disciple asked in surprise, “You say there are no other planets?” “Everywhere, there are so many creatures,” said the Shaykh.
“Nothing is empty. Everything is full-up with servants of our Lord,
worshipping and giving respects to their Lord.”
“Mawlana, is this the only place there are disobedient servants, Satan, etc?”
Shaykh Nazim replied, “This is for the sons of Adam (peace be upon him). When the secrets of Holy Quran appear, it means we shall be in contact with Heavens, that people will be in contact with their Heavenly positions.
“Our Grandshaykh says that the Holy Quran is written in the Divine Presence, but not in the words and letters that we use here. It is written in a manner that is impossible to speak about. You cannot describe it.”
A murid points to some copies of Quran, and says, “Then these books are not the real Quran?”
Mawlana answered, “In the Divine Presence, it is completely different writing.”
“The same words?”
“It is different, quite different. That is the secret Quran, in the Divine Presence. It belongs to Allah Almighty, eternally.
“Now,” continued Shaykh Nazim, “we are coming to that question you asked that ‘Alim, that Shaykh, last night. (He was referring to a discussion some of the murids had at dinner the night before. They had been the guests of a scholarly shaykh who lived in Damascus.) Here, our Grandshaykh asks, ‘When Allah said, ‘I am Allah!’ (Inna anAllah) – He is the first, eternal, no beginning and no end for Him, to whom did he say, ‘I am Allah?’ Was he Allah for Himself? It is impossible. The king is not king for himself. He is king for his people. Allah, to whom was Allah? Without anything He was Allah? Do you think so? Servants need Allah, but Allah does not need to be Allah for Himself?
“We need Allah for ourselves. But Allah has no need for Himself to be Allah. Allah is the Creator, isn’t He? He became Creator after a time, or was He Creator? He was Creator! All His attributes are eternal. All things belonging to Allah, His attributes exist with Him eternally. If a thing came later, it would not be fitting to be a Divine attribute. He is not like us. We have beginning; from weakness we grow, becoming stronger. We are illiterate and then we learn. But Allah? He is not like His creatures. The Creator has completeness forever – Perfection. He was Creator at the beginning. Was He Creator without creatures? You think so? You are wrong. How can you say that Allah is Creator and had no creatures? Is it only a title, without meaning? No, He is the owner- ‘Rabbil alameen.’ He is Lord, ‘Rabb,’ He was Lord for ‘alameen,’ for all. When was He the Lord? He was Lord at the first, and at the last. He is Lord, arranging His creatures, and giving them directions to their destinations. Without any servants how can He be Lord of creatures?
“Therefore, when we say, ‘When He created,’ it means that all creatures were hidden in His mercy oceans. When He wills, when He orders creation; He makes them appear. All the universe was in His mercy oceans. It was in His power oceans, hidden, without appearance. Creation makes it appear. Understand?”
A brother said, “So we, His servants, always were? Is that correct?”
“Always,” replied Mawlana.
“And always will be?” the brother asked again.
Before the Shaykh could answer, another asked, “Before this was made manifest, when we were hidden in the mercy ocean, was there any awareness of existence?”
“We are coming to that,” answered Shaykh Nazim. He continued his talk: “Is there anything you can imagine that is out of His power? Or, is there anything out of His mercy? He says, ‘My mercy is around all things.’ Therefore, it encompasses all things – finished. Did any other creature buy us from Him? Did they capture us from Him, and bring us here? What are you saying – not thinking?
“This is a very deep ocean, but Alhamdulillah, with the power of Grandshaykh, makes it easy to understand. He says, ‘La Ilaha illAllah’ is written eternally. Muhammadun Rasulullah is written in eternal existence, also. Allah wrote, in His Divine Presence, also, ‘La Ilaha illa anna wa Muhammadin Rasuli!’ This means, ‘I am your Lord, and Muhammad is My servant and My Prophet!’”
“Shaykh Nazim,” asked a murid, “when you said that there were countless Adams before us, were there also countless Muhammads?”
“Just one,” answered the Shaykh.
* * * * * * *
Our Grandshaykh says that in our time no one from among the Awliya has been given permission to speak about secret knowledge except him. He may speak Quranic secrets. He says also that Allah Almighty opened to Muhammad (peace be upon him) the ocean of secrets of the Holy Quran, and He is also opening it to Mahdi (peace be upon him), and giving to him from that secret knowledge of Quran. Mahdi (peace be upon him) is given seven hundred kinds of knowledge
over the knowledge of all saints! No one has yet been given such as Mahdi (peace be upon him) has been given. Because he is coming to address all people, it will be enough to correct and direct all people on to their destinations.
* * * * * * *
It is from secret knowledge that our Grandshaykh says that Allah Almighty wrote His Name and His Unity (La Ilaha illAllah) firstly, and no one can know the time it was written. At the same time it was written, ‘Muhammadin Rasulullah’. As Muhammad (peace be upon him) was Prophet, he was also his Lord’s servant. This is very important – that Muhammad (peace be upon him) was worshipping his Lord at the same time that he was Rasulullah. No one, except his Lord, knows when he began worshipping his Lord. Muhammad (peace be upon him) was the servant of Allah Almighty from the beginning. No one knows that beginning. It is in eternal existence.
“We are saying,” continued Shaykh Nazim, “to whom was Allah in eternal existence? Who was in the Divine Presence that Allah was speaking to, who was He addressing? He was Muhammad (peace be upon him). Muhammad (peace be upon him) was His servant and His Prophet in eternal existence. Other Prophets were under the flag of Muhammad (peace be upon him), worshipping their Lord, also.”
Mawlana continued, “When a Prophet comes, he makes wrong things correct. He doesn’t destroy good things also. Such a person is a devil, not a Prophet. You may look in history; every time people were becoming like animals, Allah Almighty sent them a Prophet to keep them on the right way, and to keep their honour – to correct people’s wrong actions. All Prophets came just for that purpose. if anyone says that after Muhammad (peace he upon Him) there is a Prophet, we must look at what he did. Nothing! If they are saying Bahaii is a Prophet, we must ask what he did. Did he correct wrong things in people, or did he make them more wrong? If a man claims Prophethood after Muhammad (peace be upon him), he must show us what good thing he did for mankind. Bahaii? Show us what he did. The followers of Muhammad (peace be upon him) number millions and millions, and many people are correcting their wrongs when they follow him. But who corrects his way from Bahaii? They are drinking, they are eating dirty things, they are doing dirty
actions. They are not preventing zina, adultery! How will it be a correction for people to follow that way!
“We understand that Prophets and religions are sent to give us a control on our nafs, to give people a power for controlling themselves. This is the meaning of religions, and the purpose of Prophethood. As our Prophet (peace be upon him) said, ‘I came just to complete good character, and to save people from bad character. And, no one can reach good character until he can control himself, his ego.’
“This is because egos’ characters are all the worst characters. If a man cannot control himself, his character is the worst: he will be worse than wild animals.”
“Shaykh Nazim,” said a murid, “in America, a man may say, ‘I can do whatever I like as long as I’m not harming anyone else, and I am still a good man.”
“If he is a good man,” answered the Shaykh, “he cannot harm himself either. How may a man who destroys his house with his own hands be a good man? He who burns his house, his family, is he good?”
“People say this,” the murid insisted.
Mawlana replied, “He may go to the jungle to make himself free!
Understand? In jungle, freedom; no one says ‘No.’”
“But that’s the kind of questions they ask!” the brother said.
“He may ask question,” said Mawlana, “we shall give answer, ‘O guy! You may be in jungle, free! Not here, O guy! You may go to jungle, where animals are free like you!’ (Everyone is laughing.)
“We have a method from our Grandshaykh. You must not argue with a man, if you know that you are on the right way, if you know that rightness is with you. If that person doesn’t accept, don’t tire yourself in arguing with him or trying to teach them. Don’t argue with hard-headed people. Leave them! You must be like rivers; when a hard rock is in the way, you must go around it. You must not stop with hard-headed people. Change your way to a soft one. In the time of our Prophet (peace be
upon him), he left hard-headed people, and so many Sahaba came and accepted him. ‘Argument,’ says our Grandshaykh, ‘extinguishes the light of faith.’ Therefore, it is prohibited.
“This is a very important point! Because, nowadays, men are proud of their knowledge, of their thinking. No one is humble enough to listen to another. Everyone says, ‘I know!’ Therefore, you may find so many arguments everywhere. Quickly leave that argument; no baraka, no blessing from that meeting. There is no ‘inaya,’ no Divine help. Therefore, you must leave it. Understand? The example of the river is very good for us. It is an important lesson for us, because arguing is wasting your time, wasting your energy, and wasting your faith, also!”
* * * * * * *
Our Grandshaykh is explaining to us the reality of mankind, the sons of Adam (peace be upon him):
“Our bodies have no life without spirit. Also for our spirit there is again a spirit. And then for that spirit there is also a spirit. No one knows what is the reality of spirit. What is spirit? No one can explain it. There is no description for the spirits of men. And no one can know the spirit of our spirit except Allah Almighty.
“We were already with our spirit’s spirit in the Divine Presence, when Allah Almighty said, ’La Ilaha illAllah, Muhammadun Rasulullah.’ We were in the Divine Presence; our spirit was there.”
Someone asked, “How many spirits?”
Mawlana answered, “Three: spirit, spirit’s spirit, and spirit’s spirit’s spirit! The third spirit was in the Divine Presence when Allah said, ‘La ilaha illAllah, Muhammadun Rasulullah.’ We accepted that, and we were His servants from that time. Those spirits belong to Divine stations, it is out of time and space. When a thing is out of time and space, you cannot give any description for it: It is impossible.”
“When Allah said, ‘La Ilaha illAllah, Muhammadun Rasulullah,’ was that out of time and space?” asked a brother.
“Yes.”
“So, when you say, ‘We have been serving him ever since,’ you don’t mean ‘ever since,’ as in time?”
“Now, we are in time and space,” said Mawlana, “we cannot understand.”
“But it doesn’t mean the same thing if Allah said it yesterday, does it?” the murid wanted to know.
“No,” replied the Shaykh, “no time, no space in Divine Presence. Therefore, people lose their understanding. They are trying to bring all the realities into time and space. How can you put an ocean in a glass? It is impossible. How can you bring realities from out of time and space into time and space? But we believe only that our origins are out of time and space, that we have been caught from that Presence and brought here to this world.”
“The mercy oceans are out of time and space?” asked a brother.
“Yes,” said Mawlana. “Yes. All things belong to Allah. Allah Almighty is out of time and space, and we are His servants out of space and time, also. We are worshipping Him, timelessly and endlessly.
“Do you think that we came from that Divine Presence with our whole originality, our whole personality? Never! We are like one ray coming from the sun. We are, in our originality, in reality, still in the Divine Presence. Not moving, out of time and space there is no moving. We are worshipping, continuously. Here, in this life, there is only one ray, from that timeless ‘sun,’ for us. We are here for a little time, only.
“There are so many things you have yet to hear. Now, nothing. When you break your prisons, you will be free and you will catch your personality. At that time you will know your Lord; not now. Our worshipping is going on, without stopping, out of time and space. We are always in the Divine Presence for service. Prophets have come to us to open that door through which we can look at our realities. We have realities in the Divine Presence (Haqiqat). Step by step, if you are going, it
will open for you to look at yourself, to know yourself. As of yet, you don’t know yourself!
“Our Prophet (peace be upon him) says, ‘When you know yourself, you will know your Lord.’ We don’t know ourselves; we need a Divine mirror to look in to see ourselves. You are asking why we are coming to this life. It is to be witnesses of ourselves! We were in Divine oceans; no time to look at ourselves. When we come to this world, there is no time to look to that position; now, we are all looking to ourselves. We have been sent to attain perfection, to look at ourselves and say, ‘We are something, also!’ We recognize ourselves now.
“These things,” Mawlana went on, “all that I am saying to you, is like trying to describe the taste of honey. Yet, you have never tasted it. When you will taste, you will know. More than this description I cannot make until you taste it by yourself. Then… (he puts his finger to his mouth, as if tasting) . . . ‘It’s honey!’
“How can I describe for a little boy what it means to be a perfect man? Can you describe anything about the attributes of a perfect man to a three-year-old boy? A five-year-old boy? Can you describe it? Never! He may sleep with ten girls; nothing. He knows nothing, and you cannot describe to him yet what it will be like. But when he reaches the age of perfection, he will know! Understand? Now, we are saying, ‘Like this, like that.’ We must wait to reach that age; then you will taste.
“And this is the way for tasting; there is no other. You can’t find it. So many devils, making such wrong ways; making people most foolish also! No one is coming for dunya to this masjid. No, you are asking valuable things. You are asking to know yourself, and my Grandshaykh is ordering me to tell about all ways, directing you to your stations in the Divine Presence. You are asking me if I know your positions in the Divine Presence. I know who is sitting on my right side, on my left side, in front of me, behind me, around me; I know!”
* * * * * * *
PART THREE
* * * * * * *
Our Grandshaykh says, “Allah says that He has all power, and that His servants are powerless. Only Allah has absolute power. Now, people are saying, ‘We have power!’ They don’t accept their powerlessness. Therefore, they cannot reach any target in their lives.
“All the universe needs power to work. Without power, nothing moves, nothing stands. The smallest atomic particle – from where does it get the huge amount of power it needs to exist?
“Allah, nothing else, is giving this power to all the universe. All things, from the smallest to the biggest, are receiving from the endless power oceans of Allah Almighty. Only the Creator can say. If He withheld that power for even an instant, everything would vanish!
“Who gave Prophethood to Prophets? If Allah didn’t give prophecy, they would be ordinary people. Sainthood is also a power given by Allah Almighty. So it is for all creatures; each has a power given to it by Allah. From where does the ant get his huge strength? The elephant his huge size? There are countless insects, countless creatures in the oceans; each has been given a private destination and corresponding power from Allah’s endless power oceans.
“Muhyiddin ibn ’Arabi (may Allah be pleased with him) spoke about ‘Malakut,’ describing it as the Divine power that accompanies all things. He said that this power is in our Lord’s hands, and that it is within everything that is in existence. His kingdom is going on everywhere, from the smallest to the biggest.
“Allah is the main power station for all creatures. Therefore, Muhammad (peace be upon him) asked his Lord, ‘O my Lord! Don’t leave me to myself! If You leave me to myself, I will perish!’ The Prophet (peace be upon him) had exact knowledge of this point. Therefore, he was asking for Divine help and Divine power every second, every moment, in all conditions throughout his life. If a man knows this point (yaqin), he knows that as much as you are powerless, you must ask from your Lord.
“All Divine help, all Divine power, comes to weak people more than to powerful people. As much as you are in need, as much as you are opening to Allah, help is coming. If you don’t feel in need of your Lord, you will be left to yourself, and you will perish.
“O my Lord, every second, I am in need of Your Divine help! Don’t leave me for even the blink of an eye to my nafs, or I will perish! This is a most important thing to know. Very few people possess this secret.
“Now, learned people depend on their knowledge, rich people on their wealth, powerful people on their power. This is wrong. I am always asking my Lord for power to explain these realities. Without it, I am nothing. If a man claims, ‘I am clever!’ he is stupid-clever. Don’t be this way. He who claims, ‘I know! I am a learned man!’ he is an ignorant learned-man. He who claims, ‘I am rich! I do not need anyone for anything!’ he is a poor rich-man.”
* * * * * * *
“This my Grandshaykh taught me,” said Mawlana. “The Prophet’s hadiths are equal to and have the same rank, as Quran. We must respect the hadiths as much as we respect the Holy Quran’s verses. They are an explanation of Quranic verses. In hadiths the Prophet (peace be upon him) did not speak for himself, but with revelation from Allah Almighty. If Allah didn’t permit it, he couldn’t speak. Therefore, we respect the words of the Prophet (peace be upon him) as much as we respect the words of Holy Quran.”
Someone asked, “Does this mean that we should make wudhu before reading a book of hadiths, as we do for reading Quran?”
Mawlana answered, “If we are asking real goodness from any religious book, we must not take it without wudhu. Without wudhu, we are not on the right way. Our Prophet (peace be upon him) advised us always to have wudhu because it is the weapon of Muslims against devils. Devils cannot approach a man who has wudhu.
“Our Prophet (peace be upon him) explained Holy Quran according to our capacity,” the Shaykh continued, “because the Quran is Allah’s word while hadiths are the Prophet’s words. Our Prophet (peace
be upon him) is from mankind like ourselves, and so his words are easier for us to understand. Therefore, he is explaining the intricacies of Quran to us.”
A murid asked, “How do we know if a hadith is authentic?”
Shaykh Nazim replied, “If a trustworthy ‘Alim says or writes in a book that such and such is a hadith, you must believe. For example, al- Ghazali (may Allah be pleased with him) wrote many books containing many hadiths. Some people consider some of these hadiths to be weak, but we are not in agreement with this thinking. We believe Imam Ghazali (may Allah be pleased with him) to be a gigantic ‘Alim, a ‘king size’ ‘Alim. He is not an ordinary ‘Alim; he is true and trustworthy. Therefore, we trust in all hadiths that he has written.
“If you find any learned man in whom your heart believes and trusts, you must believe any hadiths he tells you. This is the way of students and also of common people, for hadiths. But Awliya, to whom Allah Almighty has given light, are different. They may listen to a man and see if light is coming from his speech. Then, they may know if his words are correct. Also, when Awliya are reading, they may see those hadiths which are exact, shining from the page. They are the words of the Prophet (peace be upon him), coming with light, filled with light. When a man can see this, he is not in need for the opinions of another as to which hadith is strong and which is weak.
“So many ‘Alims are denying this or that hadith While Awliya say that those hadiths are all right. Thus, we take hadiths from those people who have the light of lman in their hearts showing them the truth. Also, if any book has hadiths from the Prophet (peace be upon him), we accept it out of respect for the Prophet (peace be upon him). If it is an incorrect hadith, there is no responsibility for us if we accept it. This is a high adab, or good manners. If someone says, ‘This is a hadith,’ we believe it out of respect to our Prophet (peace be upon him)”
Someone asked, “So, until we receive that higher vision that the Awliya have, we must accept all hadiths as true?”
“Yes,” said Mawlana, “if you are not doing this, you cannot go forward, no! If we read it in a book, hear it from an ‘Alim or from a man, out of respect for our Prophet (peace be upon him) we must believe it.”
“You mean, we cannot question the source?” said a murid.
“No,” Mawlana answered, “it is no good. To agree, to say, ‘All right’ is better. But it is difficult to do this. It is a sign of a clean heart to say, ‘All right.’ If a man’s heart is not clean, he will ask, ‘From where is this? From where is that?’ So many questions! It shows that his heart isn’t clean. As much as he questions, so much is his heart filled with doubts.”
“Are there many collections of hadiths that are valid?”
“So many,” said Mawlana. “All of them. Any book that is written as hadiths of Prophet (peace be upon him), we must believe. This is my way (madhhab).”
“But now have you reached the point where you can see the light coming from the true hadiths?” asked a disciple.
The Shaykh replied, “Ahh, yes. But you cannot reach that point until you believe every word and saying that is hadith. This way will take you to that point; to look . . . Lights! It is very difficult to accept this.”
* * * * * * *
Shaykh Nazim said, “Our Grandshaykh also told me another important point. It is about the importance of dhikr-the importance of remembrance of Allah.
“He said to me, once, ‘O Nazim Effendi! All ranks, or spiritual levels, that a man may reach in this life and the next life will be reached by remembrance of Allah with dhikr. Dhikr means to be with Allah Almighty always; in all situations all the time. So many people are saying, “Allah! Allah!” but when they are acting they are not with their Lord; only their tongues. Understand? It is not important to say, “Allah!” It is important to remember, always, that He is with you. When you are looking, He is with you. When you are walking, He is with you. When you are sitting, He is with you. When you are speaking, He is with you. When
you are thinking, when you are eating, when you are sleeping, He is with you. He is not going to leave you. This is dhikr!’”
* * * * * * * My Grandshaykh taught me:
“The highest degree of miracles for a person, what is it? It is to keep the way of his Lord firmly so that any time his Lord looks after him, He will see him on his Lord’s way. He will see him on the correct way – moving towards Him. If you catch a thing, it must be forever, without leaving it. If you catch something in your hand, no one must take it from you; even if they cut off your hand. Our Prophet (peace be upon him) said, ‘In those times (He was referring to the times We are living in today), it will be more difficult for a man to keep religion, to keep belief in his hand, than to keep fire in his hand!’ It is so difficult, but you must keep it.”
“What about a man who gives up his religion?” someone asked Shaykh Nazim.
“It is like a man who had a ruby in his hand and threw it away,” answered Mawlana. “He didn’t know the value of what he had. If he knew, he wouldn’t leave it.”
“So,” the brother said, “that man never really knew what he had?” “Yes,” the Shaykh answered. “If he knew, how could he leave it? If
a man has a diamond in his hand and knows it, he will not give it up even
if they cut his hand.”
“Our Grandshaykh told me a story that took place during World War I. Some soldiers from one side were chasing a soldier from the other side. They came to a river, where they finally caught him, and took his rifle away. When the soldier who took the gun examined it, he found that the stock was filled with diamonds! When his comrades, who were in need of weapons, tried to take the captured rifle from him, that soldier wouldn’t give it up. He struggled so hard to keep it that seven men couldn’t get it away from him. Finally, our Grandshaykh persuaded him
to let them have the gun, saying, ‘O my brother! We are not the enemy! We are your comrades, and we need that gun to defend ourselves!’
“Your service to your Lord should be like that. You must not leave it. No one must take it from you. This is the biggest miracle for Muslims, for believers. When you know that an order, a faith, an action, or a religion is true, you must keep it forever, until the end. Don’t leave it!”
“This belief that we are holding in our hands,” said a murid, “can you pass it along to others, also?”
“Yes,” said Mawlana. “You may look in your hand and say, ‘So many diamonds! Look! Each of you may take one and keep it!’ You must advise them.”
“Must people ask for that knowledge?” said another.
“If someone asks you,” replied the Shaykh, “you may give to him, if you know. If you are with your Lord, you will be able to answer him. You will not be alone if you are making dhikr. Allah says in Quran, ‘You must ask from those who are in remembrance with Me.’ If you are with your Lord, anyone can ask you any question; your Lord will put answers on your tongue.”
* * * * * * *
“For each act of worship that Allah or Prophet (peace be upon him) has ordered, Allah Almighty opens a door from His mercy for those who perform that worship. It is a reward for them from their Lord. There are five hundred kinds of worship, or five hundred different acts of worship and goodness. According to a servant’s capacity, he may do as much as he is able. All of them are to please Allah only. This is our target, to make our Lord pleased with us.
“He is pleased with us when we do goodness, but He is not pleased with us when we leave worship and do badness. For each worship, there is a special mercy coming. That door is opening into this life from time to time, and if a servant meets that opening time, he can reach his Lord’s Presence very quickly at that moment.
“For example, Allah Almighty gave the order for the Laylatul Qadr, the Night of Power. It is only once in a year, and during that night there is only a second in which the Divine Presence occurs. At that time, the Heav
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d. It is very clean, beautiful, joyful – exact happiness, no harm, no bad things, no death, no ugly things!”
* * * * * * *
Our Grandshaykh says, “Knowledge is an endless ocean. All things that belong to Allah Almighty are endless, and Allah is teaching His servants so many different kinds of knowledge. Some of this knowledge originated at the time of Adam (peace be upon him), and has come down to our times. It is a huge body of knowledge, but it is very small compared with the knowledge that saints know about from before the time of Adam (peace be upon him).”
Shaykh Nazim continued, “Now, from Adam (peace be upon him) up until our time, there is Divine knowledge, held by the Awliya. But, before the creating of Adam (peace be upon him) there was so much knowledge, according to those who know. This knowledge, the knowledge that we have about our own era, is only like a drop from an ocean!
“This makes our heads turn! What was there before Adam (peace be upon him)? Thinking of these things makes man humble, not able to say ‘l know all!’ What do we know? Only a little drop from oceans, no more.”
A brother asked, “Was Adam (peace be upon him) the first man, or, was he the first man of this batch of men, of which we are a part?”
Shaykh Nazim answered, “We are coming to that now. Our Grandshaykh said that this is the period of our father, Adam (peace be
upon him), and his sons. We are living in it now. But, before our father’s period, so many Adams have been created, no one knows how many except Allah Almighty, the Creator! No one knows their number!”
A murid asked, “Were these…” “Adams,” supplied the Shaykh.
“…Adams,” repeated the questioner, “Were they like us, or were they different?”
“Like them,” answered Mawlana. “Each Adam, and his sons, were generally like us, in that they may be recognized as sons of Adam. All are servants of our Lord. Also, He Almighty, alone knows how many Adams will come after us, how many periods there will be. Not on this world, because Allah Almighty has so many universes beyond counting.
“He is Creator,” Mawlana continued, “Creating. To create means to make them appear. They are hidden; to create is to make them appear. We were hidden in His power oceans but now He makes us appear. When our period is finished, we will go back into that power ocean, to be hidden again. We are going to another station in that power ocean, Paradise. Paradise is also in His power oceans. They are swimming in His power oceans and in His mercy oceans, living, enjoying. When we disappear from this appearance, then we shall be in mercy oceans, enjoying.”
* * * * * * *
“Our Grandshaykh says, ‘Allah Almighty was addressing those Adams that were created before our father, Adam (peace be upon him), with the secrets of Holy Quran. Quran, the Holy book, contains endless secret knowledge. Its secrets are such that you can find, included in it, all news from before and after us.”
Someone asked, “When the Quran is translated into English, are all the secrets lost?”
Shaykh Nazim answered, “From translations you can take only a little part. What is a translation? It is like you and your photograph. What
is the relationship between them? Are you the same as your picture? One may look at the photograph, and know that it is you, but... Do you prefer to take the photograph of your wife to sleep with, or her? The original and the translation is like this. Now, Shakespeare’s Hamlet is translated into German. Is it the same? It cannot be. It is only an appearance without spirit!”
The Shaykh continued, “Our Grandshaykh says that secrets of Holy Quran will appear in the time of Mahdi (peace be upon him). Jesus (peace be upon him) also said, ‘The secrets of Holy books will appear at the end of our period when Mahdi (peace be upon him) comes.’ Quran is addressed to all and speaks to all. No one can be excluded from the Quran’s address. It is for everyone, generally and individually.
“There are seven heavens – no planets, but seven flats of heavens, and so many creatures, most of them angels.”
A disciple asked in surprise, “You say there are no other planets?” “Everywhere, there are so many creatures,” said the Shaykh.
“Nothing is empty. Everything is full-up with servants of our Lord,
worshipping and giving respects to their Lord.”
“Mawlana, is this the only place there are disobedient servants, Satan, etc?”
Shaykh Nazim replied, “This is for the sons of Adam (peace be upon him). When the secrets of Holy Quran appear, it means we shall be in contact with Heavens, that people will be in contact with their Heavenly positions.
“Our Grandshaykh says that the Holy Quran is written in the Divine Presence, but not in the words and letters that we use here. It is written in a manner that is impossible to speak about. You cannot describe it.”
A murid points to some copies of Quran, and says, “Then these books are not the real Quran?”
Mawlana answered, “In the Divine Presence, it is completely different writing.”
“The same words?”
“It is different, quite different. That is the secret Quran, in the Divine Presence. It belongs to Allah Almighty, eternally.
“Now,” continued Shaykh Nazim, “we are coming to that question you asked that ‘Alim, that Shaykh, last night. (He was referring to a discussion some of the murids had at dinner the night before. They had been the guests of a scholarly shaykh who lived in Damascus.) Here, our Grandshaykh asks, ‘When Allah said, ‘I am Allah!’ (Inna anAllah) – He is the first, eternal, no beginning and no end for Him, to whom did he say, ‘I am Allah?’ Was he Allah for Himself? It is impossible. The king is not king for himself. He is king for his people. Allah, to whom was Allah? Without anything He was Allah? Do you think so? Servants need Allah, but Allah does not need to be Allah for Himself?
“We need Allah for ourselves. But Allah has no need for Himself to be Allah. Allah is the Creator, isn’t He? He became Creator after a time, or was He Creator? He was Creator! All His attributes are eternal. All things belonging to Allah, His attributes exist with Him eternally. If a thing came later, it would not be fitting to be a Divine attribute. He is not like us. We have beginning; from weakness we grow, becoming stronger. We are illiterate and then we learn. But Allah? He is not like His creatures. The Creator has completeness forever – Perfection. He was Creator at the beginning. Was He Creator without creatures? You think so? You are wrong. How can you say that Allah is Creator and had no creatures? Is it only a title, without meaning? No, He is the owner- ‘Rabbil alameen.’ He is Lord, ‘Rabb,’ He was Lord for ‘alameen,’ for all. When was He the Lord? He was Lord at the first, and at the last. He is Lord, arranging His creatures, and giving them directions to their destinations. Without any servants how can He be Lord of creatures?
“Therefore, when we say, ‘When He created,’ it means that all creatures were hidden in His mercy oceans. When He wills, when He orders creation; He makes them appear. All the universe was in His mercy oceans. It was in His power oceans, hidden, without appearance. Creation makes it appear. Understand?”
A brother said, “So we, His servants, always were? Is that correct?”
“Always,” replied Mawlana.
“And always will be?” the brother asked again.
Before the Shaykh could answer, another asked, “Before this was made manifest, when we were hidden in the mercy ocean, was there any awareness of existence?”
“We are coming to that,” answered Shaykh Nazim. He continued his talk: “Is there anything you can imagine that is out of His power? Or, is there anything out of His mercy? He says, ‘My mercy is around all things.’ Therefore, it encompasses all things – finished. Did any other creature buy us from Him? Did they capture us from Him, and bring us here? What are you saying – not thinking?
“This is a very deep ocean, but Alhamdulillah, with the power of Grandshaykh, makes it easy to understand. He says, ‘La Ilaha illAllah’ is written eternally. Muhammadun Rasulullah is written in eternal existence, also. Allah wrote, in His Divine Presence, also, ‘La Ilaha illa anna wa Muhammadin Rasuli!’ This means, ‘I am your Lord, and Muhammad is My servant and My Prophet!’”
“Shaykh Nazim,” asked a murid, “when you said that there were countless Adams before us, were there also countless Muhammads?”
“Just one,” answered the Shaykh.
* * * * * * *
Our Grandshaykh says that in our time no one from among the Awliya has been given permission to speak about secret knowledge except him. He may speak Quranic secrets. He says also that Allah Almighty opened to Muhammad (peace be upon him) the ocean of secrets of the Holy Quran, and He is also opening it to Mahdi (peace be upon him), and giving to him from that secret knowledge of Quran. Mahdi (peace be upon him) is given seven hundred kinds of knowledge
over the knowledge of all saints! No one has yet been given such as Mahdi (peace be upon him) has been given. Because he is coming to address all people, it will be enough to correct and direct all people on to their destinations.
* * * * * * *
It is from secret knowledge that our Grandshaykh says that Allah Almighty wrote His Name and His Unity (La Ilaha illAllah) firstly, and no one can know the time it was written. At the same time it was written, ‘Muhammadin Rasulullah’. As Muhammad (peace be upon him) was Prophet, he was also his Lord’s servant. This is very important – that Muhammad (peace be upon him) was worshipping his Lord at the same time that he was Rasulullah. No one, except his Lord, knows when he began worshipping his Lord. Muhammad (peace be upon him) was the servant of Allah Almighty from the beginning. No one knows that beginning. It is in eternal existence.
“We are saying,” continued Shaykh Nazim, “to whom was Allah in eternal existence? Who was in the Divine Presence that Allah was speaking to, who was He addressing? He was Muhammad (peace be upon him). Muhammad (peace be upon him) was His servant and His Prophet in eternal existence. Other Prophets were under the flag of Muhammad (peace be upon him), worshipping their Lord, also.”
Mawlana continued, “When a Prophet comes, he makes wrong things correct. He doesn’t destroy good things also. Such a person is a devil, not a Prophet. You may look in history; every time people were becoming like animals, Allah Almighty sent them a Prophet to keep them on the right way, and to keep their honour – to correct people’s wrong actions. All Prophets came just for that purpose. if anyone says that after Muhammad (peace he upon Him) there is a Prophet, we must look at what he did. Nothing! If they are saying Bahaii is a Prophet, we must ask what he did. Did he correct wrong things in people, or did he make them more wrong? If a man claims Prophethood after Muhammad (peace be upon him), he must show us what good thing he did for mankind. Bahaii? Show us what he did. The followers of Muhammad (peace be upon him) number millions and millions, and many people are correcting their wrongs when they follow him. But who corrects his way from Bahaii? They are drinking, they are eating dirty things, they are doing dirty
actions. They are not preventing zina, adultery! How will it be a correction for people to follow that way!
“We understand that Prophets and religions are sent to give us a control on our nafs, to give people a power for controlling themselves. This is the meaning of religions, and the purpose of Prophethood. As our Prophet (peace be upon him) said, ‘I came just to complete good character, and to save people from bad character. And, no one can reach good character until he can control himself, his ego.’
“This is because egos’ characters are all the worst characters. If a man cannot control himself, his character is the worst: he will be worse than wild animals.”
“Shaykh Nazim,” said a murid, “in America, a man may say, ‘I can do whatever I like as long as I’m not harming anyone else, and I am still a good man.”
“If he is a good man,” answered the Shaykh, “he cannot harm himself either. How may a man who destroys his house with his own hands be a good man? He who burns his house, his family, is he good?”
“People say this,” the murid insisted.
Mawlana replied, “He may go to the jungle to make himself free!
Understand? In jungle, freedom; no one says ‘No.’”
“But that’s the kind of questions they ask!” the brother said.
“He may ask question,” said Mawlana, “we shall give answer, ‘O guy! You may be in jungle, free! Not here, O guy! You may go to jungle, where animals are free like you!’ (Everyone is laughing.)
“We have a method from our Grandshaykh. You must not argue with a man, if you know that you are on the right way, if you know that rightness is with you. If that person doesn’t accept, don’t tire yourself in arguing with him or trying to teach them. Don’t argue with hard-headed people. Leave them! You must be like rivers; when a hard rock is in the way, you must go around it. You must not stop with hard-headed people. Change your way to a soft one. In the time of our Prophet (peace be
upon him), he left hard-headed people, and so many Sahaba came and accepted him. ‘Argument,’ says our Grandshaykh, ‘extinguishes the light of faith.’ Therefore, it is prohibited.
“This is a very important point! Because, nowadays, men are proud of their knowledge, of their thinking. No one is humble enough to listen to another. Everyone says, ‘I know!’ Therefore, you may find so many arguments everywhere. Quickly leave that argument; no baraka, no blessing from that meeting. There is no ‘inaya,’ no Divine help. Therefore, you must leave it. Understand? The example of the river is very good for us. It is an important lesson for us, because arguing is wasting your time, wasting your energy, and wasting your faith, also!”
* * * * * * *
Our Grandshaykh is explaining to us the reality of mankind, the sons of Adam (peace be upon him):
“Our bodies have no life without spirit. Also for our spirit there is again a spirit. And then for that spirit there is also a spirit. No one knows what is the reality of spirit. What is spirit? No one can explain it. There is no description for the spirits of men. And no one can know the spirit of our spirit except Allah Almighty.
“We were already with our spirit’s spirit in the Divine Presence, when Allah Almighty said, ’La Ilaha illAllah, Muhammadun Rasulullah.’ We were in the Divine Presence; our spirit was there.”
Someone asked, “How many spirits?”
Mawlana answered, “Three: spirit, spirit’s spirit, and spirit’s spirit’s spirit! The third spirit was in the Divine Presence when Allah said, ‘La ilaha illAllah, Muhammadun Rasulullah.’ We accepted that, and we were His servants from that time. Those spirits belong to Divine stations, it is out of time and space. When a thing is out of time and space, you cannot give any description for it: It is impossible.”
“When Allah said, ‘La Ilaha illAllah, Muhammadun Rasulullah,’ was that out of time and space?” asked a brother.
“Yes.”
“So, when you say, ‘We have been serving him ever since,’ you don’t mean ‘ever since,’ as in time?”
“Now, we are in time and space,” said Mawlana, “we cannot understand.”
“But it doesn’t mean the same thing if Allah said it yesterday, does it?” the murid wanted to know.
“No,” replied the Shaykh, “no time, no space in Divine Presence. Therefore, people lose their understanding. They are trying to bring all the realities into time and space. How can you put an ocean in a glass? It is impossible. How can you bring realities from out of time and space into time and space? But we believe only that our origins are out of time and space, that we have been caught from that Presence and brought here to this world.”
“The mercy oceans are out of time and space?” asked a brother.
“Yes,” said Mawlana. “Yes. All things belong to Allah. Allah Almighty is out of time and space, and we are His servants out of space and time, also. We are worshipping Him, timelessly and endlessly.
“Do you think that we came from that Divine Presence with our whole originality, our whole personality? Never! We are like one ray coming from the sun. We are, in our originality, in reality, still in the Divine Presence. Not moving, out of time and space there is no moving. We are worshipping, continuously. Here, in this life, there is only one ray, from that timeless ‘sun,’ for us. We are here for a little time, only.
“There are so many things you have yet to hear. Now, nothing. When you break your prisons, you will be free and you will catch your personality. At that time you will know your Lord; not now. Our worshipping is going on, without stopping, out of time and space. We are always in the Divine Presence for service. Prophets have come to us to open that door through which we can look at our realities. We have realities in the Divine Presence (Haqiqat). Step by step, if you are going, it
will open for you to look at yourself, to know yourself. As of yet, you don’t know yourself!
“Our Prophet (peace be upon him) says, ‘When you know yourself, you will know your Lord.’ We don’t know ourselves; we need a Divine mirror to look in to see ourselves. You are asking why we are coming to this life. It is to be witnesses of ourselves! We were in Divine oceans; no time to look at ourselves. When we come to this world, there is no time to look to that position; now, we are all looking to ourselves. We have been sent to attain perfection, to look at ourselves and say, ‘We are something, also!’ We recognize ourselves now.
“These things,” Mawlana went on, “all that I am saying to you, is like trying to describe the taste of honey. Yet, you have never tasted it. When you will taste, you will know. More than this description I cannot make until you taste it by yourself. Then… (he puts his finger to his mouth, as if tasting) . . . ‘It’s honey!’
“How can I describe for a little boy what it means to be a perfect man? Can you describe anything about the attributes of a perfect man to a three-year-old boy? A five-year-old boy? Can you describe it? Never! He may sleep with ten girls; nothing. He knows nothing, and you cannot describe to him yet what it will be like. But when he reaches the age of perfection, he will know! Understand? Now, we are saying, ‘Like this, like that.’ We must wait to reach that age; then you will taste.
“And this is the way for tasting; there is no other. You can’t find it. So many devils, making such wrong ways; making people most foolish also! No one is coming for dunya to this masjid. No, you are asking valuable things. You are asking to know yourself, and my Grandshaykh is ordering me to tell about all ways, directing you to your stations in the Divine Presence. You are asking me if I know your positions in the Divine Presence. I know who is sitting on my right side, on my left side, in front of me, behind me, around me; I know!”
* * * * * * *
PART THREE
* * * * * * *
Our Grandshaykh says, “Allah says that He has all power, and that His servants are powerless. Only Allah has absolute power. Now, people are saying, ‘We have power!’ They don’t accept their powerlessness. Therefore, they cannot reach any target in their lives.
“All the universe needs power to work. Without power, nothing moves, nothing stands. The smallest atomic particle – from where does it get the huge amount of power it needs to exist?
“Allah, nothing else, is giving this power to all the universe. All things, from the smallest to the biggest, are receiving from the endless power oceans of Allah Almighty. Only the Creator can say. If He withheld that power for even an instant, everything would vanish!
“Who gave Prophethood to Prophets? If Allah didn’t give prophecy, they would be ordinary people. Sainthood is also a power given by Allah Almighty. So it is for all creatures; each has a power given to it by Allah. From where does the ant get his huge strength? The elephant his huge size? There are countless insects, countless creatures in the oceans; each has been given a private destination and corresponding power from Allah’s endless power oceans.
“Muhyiddin ibn ’Arabi (may Allah be pleased with him) spoke about ‘Malakut,’ describing it as the Divine power that accompanies all things. He said that this power is in our Lord’s hands, and that it is within everything that is in existence. His kingdom is going on everywhere, from the smallest to the biggest.
“Allah is the main power station for all creatures. Therefore, Muhammad (peace be upon him) asked his Lord, ‘O my Lord! Don’t leave me to myself! If You leave me to myself, I will perish!’ The Prophet (peace be upon him) had exact knowledge of this point. Therefore, he was asking for Divine help and Divine power every second, every moment, in all conditions throughout his life. If a man knows this point (yaqin), he knows that as much as you are powerless, you must ask from your Lord.
“All Divine help, all Divine power, comes to weak people more than to powerful people. As much as you are in need, as much as you are opening to Allah, help is coming. If you don’t feel in need of your Lord, you will be left to yourself, and you will perish.
“O my Lord, every second, I am in need of Your Divine help! Don’t leave me for even the blink of an eye to my nafs, or I will perish! This is a most important thing to know. Very few people possess this secret.
“Now, learned people depend on their knowledge, rich people on their wealth, powerful people on their power. This is wrong. I am always asking my Lord for power to explain these realities. Without it, I am nothing. If a man claims, ‘I am clever!’ he is stupid-clever. Don’t be this way. He who claims, ‘I know! I am a learned man!’ he is an ignorant learned-man. He who claims, ‘I am rich! I do not need anyone for anything!’ he is a poor rich-man.”
* * * * * * *
“This my Grandshaykh taught me,” said Mawlana. “The Prophet’s hadiths are equal to and have the same rank, as Quran. We must respect the hadiths as much as we respect the Holy Quran’s verses. They are an explanation of Quranic verses. In hadiths the Prophet (peace be upon him) did not speak for himself, but with revelation from Allah Almighty. If Allah didn’t permit it, he couldn’t speak. Therefore, we respect the words of the Prophet (peace be upon him) as much as we respect the words of Holy Quran.”
Someone asked, “Does this mean that we should make wudhu before reading a book of hadiths, as we do for reading Quran?”
Mawlana answered, “If we are asking real goodness from any religious book, we must not take it without wudhu. Without wudhu, we are not on the right way. Our Prophet (peace be upon him) advised us always to have wudhu because it is the weapon of Muslims against devils. Devils cannot approach a man who has wudhu.
“Our Prophet (peace be upon him) explained Holy Quran according to our capacity,” the Shaykh continued, “because the Quran is Allah’s word while hadiths are the Prophet’s words. Our Prophet (peace
be upon him) is from mankind like ourselves, and so his words are easier for us to understand. Therefore, he is explaining the intricacies of Quran to us.”
A murid asked, “How do we know if a hadith is authentic?”
Shaykh Nazim replied, “If a trustworthy ‘Alim says or writes in a book that such and such is a hadith, you must believe. For example, al- Ghazali (may Allah be pleased with him) wrote many books containing many hadiths. Some people consider some of these hadiths to be weak, but we are not in agreement with this thinking. We believe Imam Ghazali (may Allah be pleased with him) to be a gigantic ‘Alim, a ‘king size’ ‘Alim. He is not an ordinary ‘Alim; he is true and trustworthy. Therefore, we trust in all hadiths that he has written.
“If you find any learned man in whom your heart believes and trusts, you must believe any hadiths he tells you. This is the way of students and also of common people, for hadiths. But Awliya, to whom Allah Almighty has given light, are different. They may listen to a man and see if light is coming from his speech. Then, they may know if his words are correct. Also, when Awliya are reading, they may see those hadiths which are exact, shining from the page. They are the words of the Prophet (peace be upon him), coming with light, filled with light. When a man can see this, he is not in need for the opinions of another as to which hadith is strong and which is weak.
“So many ‘Alims are denying this or that hadith While Awliya say that those hadiths are all right. Thus, we take hadiths from those people who have the light of lman in their hearts showing them the truth. Also, if any book has hadiths from the Prophet (peace be upon him), we accept it out of respect for the Prophet (peace be upon him). If it is an incorrect hadith, there is no responsibility for us if we accept it. This is a high adab, or good manners. If someone says, ‘This is a hadith,’ we believe it out of respect to our Prophet (peace be upon him)”
Someone asked, “So, until we receive that higher vision that the Awliya have, we must accept all hadiths as true?”
“Yes,” said Mawlana, “if you are not doing this, you cannot go forward, no! If we read it in a book, hear it from an ‘Alim or from a man, out of respect for our Prophet (peace be upon him) we must believe it.”
“You mean, we cannot question the source?” said a murid.
“No,” Mawlana answered, “it is no good. To agree, to say, ‘All right’ is better. But it is difficult to do this. It is a sign of a clean heart to say, ‘All right.’ If a man’s heart is not clean, he will ask, ‘From where is this? From where is that?’ So many questions! It shows that his heart isn’t clean. As much as he questions, so much is his heart filled with doubts.”
“Are there many collections of hadiths that are valid?”
“So many,” said Mawlana. “All of them. Any book that is written as hadiths of Prophet (peace be upon him), we must believe. This is my way (madhhab).”
“But now have you reached the point where you can see the light coming from the true hadiths?” asked a disciple.
The Shaykh replied, “Ahh, yes. But you cannot reach that point until you believe every word and saying that is hadith. This way will take you to that point; to look . . . Lights! It is very difficult to accept this.”
* * * * * * *
Shaykh Nazim said, “Our Grandshaykh also told me another important point. It is about the importance of dhikr-the importance of remembrance of Allah.
“He said to me, once, ‘O Nazim Effendi! All ranks, or spiritual levels, that a man may reach in this life and the next life will be reached by remembrance of Allah with dhikr. Dhikr means to be with Allah Almighty always; in all situations all the time. So many people are saying, “Allah! Allah!” but when they are acting they are not with their Lord; only their tongues. Understand? It is not important to say, “Allah!” It is important to remember, always, that He is with you. When you are looking, He is with you. When you are walking, He is with you. When you are sitting, He is with you. When you are speaking, He is with you. When
you are thinking, when you are eating, when you are sleeping, He is with you. He is not going to leave you. This is dhikr!’”
* * * * * * * My Grandshaykh taught me:
“The highest degree of miracles for a person, what is it? It is to keep the way of his Lord firmly so that any time his Lord looks after him, He will see him on his Lord’s way. He will see him on the correct way – moving towards Him. If you catch a thing, it must be forever, without leaving it. If you catch something in your hand, no one must take it from you; even if they cut off your hand. Our Prophet (peace be upon him) said, ‘In those times (He was referring to the times We are living in today), it will be more difficult for a man to keep religion, to keep belief in his hand, than to keep fire in his hand!’ It is so difficult, but you must keep it.”
“What about a man who gives up his religion?” someone asked Shaykh Nazim.
“It is like a man who had a ruby in his hand and threw it away,” answered Mawlana. “He didn’t know the value of what he had. If he knew, he wouldn’t leave it.”
“So,” the brother said, “that man never really knew what he had?” “Yes,” the Shaykh answered. “If he knew, how could he leave it? If
a man has a diamond in his hand and knows it, he will not give it up even
if they cut his hand.”
“Our Grandshaykh told me a story that took place during World War I. Some soldiers from one side were chasing a soldier from the other side. They came to a river, where they finally caught him, and took his rifle away. When the soldier who took the gun examined it, he found that the stock was filled with diamonds! When his comrades, who were in need of weapons, tried to take the captured rifle from him, that soldier wouldn’t give it up. He struggled so hard to keep it that seven men couldn’t get it away from him. Finally, our Grandshaykh persuaded him
to let them have the gun, saying, ‘O my brother! We are not the enemy! We are your comrades, and we need that gun to defend ourselves!’
“Your service to your Lord should be like that. You must not leave it. No one must take it from you. This is the biggest miracle for Muslims, for believers. When you know that an order, a faith, an action, or a religion is true, you must keep it forever, until the end. Don’t leave it!”
“This belief that we are holding in our hands,” said a murid, “can you pass it along to others, also?”
“Yes,” said Mawlana. “You may look in your hand and say, ‘So many diamonds! Look! Each of you may take one and keep it!’ You must advise them.”
“Must people ask for that knowledge?” said another.
“If someone asks you,” replied the Shaykh, “you may give to him, if you know. If you are with your Lord, you will be able to answer him. You will not be alone if you are making dhikr. Allah says in Quran, ‘You must ask from those who are in remembrance with Me.’ If you are with your Lord, anyone can ask you any question; your Lord will put answers on your tongue.”
* * * * * * *
“For each act of worship that Allah or Prophet (peace be upon him) has ordered, Allah Almighty opens a door from His mercy for those who perform that worship. It is a reward for them from their Lord. There are five hundred kinds of worship, or five hundred different acts of worship and goodness. According to a servant’s capacity, he may do as much as he is able. All of them are to please Allah only. This is our target, to make our Lord pleased with us.
“He is pleased with us when we do goodness, but He is not pleased with us when we leave worship and do badness. For each worship, there is a special mercy coming. That door is opening into this life from time to time, and if a servant meets that opening time, he can reach his Lord’s Presence very quickly at that moment.
“For example, Allah Almighty gave the order for the Laylatul Qadr, the Night of Power. It is only once in a year, and during that night there is only a second in which the Divine Presence occurs. At that time, the Heav
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