MERCY OCEANS, Book 03 (Divine Sources, Shaykh Nazim, 83 pages, 1/4)
https://www.nvrislam.net/index.php?j=eng&post=5785
MERCY OCEANS DIVINE SOURCES
The Discourses of Our Master Sheikh Nazim Al-Qubrusi (Imam ul-Haqganiyyin)
Delivered with the Permission of his Grandsheikh Sultan ul-Awliya Sheikh Abdullah Ad-Daghistani (May Allah Sanctify his Blessed Soul)!
Selected Lectures Summer [403 A.H. (1983 C.E.) England and Germany Winter 1404 A.H. (1984 C.E.)
IN THE NAME OF ALLAH THE ALL-MERCIFUL, THE ALL-BENEFICENT; THE MOST-MUNIFICENT
MEDED: ASKING SUPPORT FROM GRANDSHEIKH
Our Grandsheikh is Sheikh Abdullah Al-Faiz Ad- Daghistani, may Allah Almighty sanctify his blessed soul and draw him ever closer to His Divine Presence. May He Almighty cause us to benefit from Grandsheikh’s blessings and teachings, and from his spiritual care for us even from the grave. We derive out spiritual power from his heart center. If he cuts us off we are stranded. Every breath that our Grand- sheikh turns toward us from his spiritual breaths is like a warm spring breeze which blows on the bare branches of trees, causing buds and blossoms to burst forth.
Like the spring breeze that carries the revival of life within it, so do the breaths of Allah’s Saints give life to their followers, to their spiritual sons and daughters, That relationship is stronger than the relationship to our parents, as there is only a short period of time in which they are all and everything to their small children, and, ultimately, it is very difficult for them to influence their children to follow the way of life that they would choose for them. Perhaps those children will leave them and go away to the far corners of the Earth and choose a way of life totally unrelated to that of their parents. But a real Grandsheikh always keeps a watchful eye on his followers, whether that Grandsheikh be living in this world or already has passed on to the existence beyond this world. Henever abandons them. Yes, we ate always seeking our Grandsheikh’s support, support that will help us act according to our Lord’s commands, and support to help us stand firmly in the face of our enemies: the lower self, Satan, vain desires and worldliness. For both of these goals - progress on the right way and avoiding deviation from it completely - we need his support. Without such a strong support a person will be vanquished.
Therefore, we seek out Grandsheikh’s support by saying: “Meded Ya Sayyidi”, “Support, oh my Master.” You must call upon your Grandsheikh in such a manner when you are in need of support, then that support may reach to you. The more you feel yourself to be weak and in need of support, the more support he will extend to you. But the more you depend on your own knowledge and your mind's powers, the less support you will receive, as Grandsheikh will say: “He is self-sufficient, so why lend him support. Leave him in the hands of his ego.”
When the Holy Prophet asked his Lord, “Oh my Lord, don’t leave me in the hands of my ego even for a moment”, he was seeking refuge from two undesirable possibilities: I) to be left in the hands of his ego’s base desires, and 2) to be left alone to guide himself only by his mind and knowledge. In both these ways the ego attempts to separate us from true guidance, and in admitting our weakness and seeking support in the face of the ego's trickery we gain that help.
Just as Divine Guidance and help reached to our Prophet through the Archangel Gabriel who acted as Allah's
representative in carrying His revelation to the Prophets, so that Divine Help reaches to the Saints via the Holy Prophet, who acted as Allah Almighty’s representative in bringing guidance to his Nation. And ultimately, after the Prophet's time, that guidance reaches to our hearts through the Saints, his inheritors, as we have not yet developed the senses with which to listen directly to the Prophet's guidance. Some foolish people, even among the Muslims, will undoubtedly deny this, saying that all that remains of the Holy Prophet’s guidance is what is written in books. This point of view, far from being the reality, is a blind man's view, for were the Holy Prophet to have taken those powers with him upon his death there would remain no mote religion, no mote faith, no nothing from Islam. No, that prophetic power never leaves the Earth; it is only transformed and distributed through the
awareness of the Holy Prophet's inheritors.
Therefore, you must look for the support of the Saints in a Universe in which you are totally weak. Once you have established a good connection with such a person you will always be in contact with him: a “wire” will carry current to your heart from his power source. That aid will make itself felt most in times of need. Now it is daytime and you don't
seek a torch, no need; but at night such a small light will prevent you from falling into a pit. FABRICATION DESTROYS SINCERITY
I have come here today with empty hands; I have brought with me no prepared lessons or syllabus. I am not a school teacher or a university professor, and it is not my duty to fill up your heads with much information on “Islamic Mysticism”. No, our goal is not just to feed you mote knowledge, for you are all very knowledgeable people already. Our purpose is another, and it can only be gained through spontaneity: you must feel comfortable in this assembly, for only then can anything of real value be passed to your hearts.
We have been granted permission by our Grand- sheikh to hold such spontaneous meetings for the sake of Allah Almighty, for the purpose of fanning the spark of His Divine Love in all of you, We have no permission to make well- thought-out fabrications to fan the fire of self-worship.
It is for this reason that I could not give you notice far in advance of my coming here. During last year's visit, when Sheikh H. asked me to kindly inform him well in advance of the date, duration, etc. of our visit here, in order to notify all the people who might want to attend, so that they could adjust their schedules accordingly, I had to refuse to give him a date. In explanation of why I could not comply I told him: “Tam only a servant of my Lord. I can only move according to His Almighty’s Will, not according to my own. He rules over me and determines my movements, not I; therefore, I hope to be with you next year after Ramadan, but more than this I cannot now say.”
Now Ramadan is past, and as I had hoped, we are here in the assembly of our beloved brothers and sisters once again. And, as our Grandsheikh used to say: “To be in the presence of loved ones is a great good fortune.” We have thus come together even without your having had a firm commitment of my attendance far in advance; and it is in this manner that we may come together any time without appointment.
This is a Divine Feast, and all those present have been invited from pre-eternity when the souls were gathered in the Divine Presence to pledge their eternal worship and loyalty to their Lord. At that time those who were destined to meet in love in this World were gathered near to one another, and it is for this reason that their hearts are drawn together in this world. Whoever is attending has been invited from that day, the Day of Promises, and it is impossible that any of you be late or absent. Now all of us are taking our shares of that Divine Feast.
May those who come here come as sincere seekers. That is our hope and prayer, for sincerity is what every seeker needs in his search, and he must ask his Lord to make him sincete and keep his heart turned towards His Divine Presence with sincerity. He must ask for this, as the Lord never accepts devotion — neither “worship” nor “good actions” — presented insincerely. This must be the main concern of every seeker: to attain to sincerity is the secret of success, When sincere people come together, that meeting has spiritual light.
Sincerity is never a partner to fabrication, The atmosphere of a fabricated meeting is nota suitable one for sincerity to dwell in. Thus sincerity flees in the face of fabrication, leaving hearts cold.
Be as you are. Don't fabricate yourself into something “important”, In our time everyone is busy puffing himself up with the result that light is extinguished and evil nurtured. But when sincerity prevails evil flees from our assemply —no way in for the Accursed Devil. That is the power of sincerity. Therefore, I ask my Lord that I may always be with His sincere servants — and He has granted me my request so that we have seen this happy day upon which we are together once again with my Lord's Saints from the German Nation. And I ask my Lord to make meas ametcy to you, not ameans of pun- ishment because of my sins. He Almighty has honoured me by making me a servant to all of you; even though I am speaking, lamnot your Master but your servant, bringing you spiritual guidance on this spiritual occasion.
I thank my Lord for bestowing upon me such an honour, and I take refuge in Him Almighty. Oh my Lord, don't leave me in the hands of my ego, as my ego always asks to show itself in a false form, to make everyone believe it is what it isn't. Ego is the Expert of Fabrication. As in the university you have “Master of Science”, so the ego is the “master of fabrication”, always looking for an occasion to show off.
One should always seek refuge in his Lord from the tricks of his ego, as the ego's goal is to deprive us of that open channel to the heart. Who indulges in fabrication cannot give anything from the heart. They may give everything from the
tongue or pen, but nothing from the heart, never — their hearts are locked. They are but bags of hot air.
Oh my Lord, don’t leave me to fabricate to Your servants.
10 Please teach me, let Your Prophet and Your Saints teach me, and make me worthy of receiving such noble instruction! Such teaching passes from heart to heart. It is easily understood and effective on people's hearts, as hearts cannot be deceived or cheated. The heart remains closed until it encounters sincerity. No one can ever open his heart to another until he knows that that person is sincere. He may listen to that person's lectures and teachings, but they will never reach into his heart, because his heart is locked.
Therefore, I am asking forgiveness of my Lord if my ego seeks to show itself in this sincere assembly and invent some fabrications. The more you can be sincere with people, the more trust they will have in you when they come to you for help. That is the key to the success of the call of our Prophet Muhammad, Peace be upon him, and to that of all the Holy Prophets - sincerity. Only because of their sincerity people believed in them, and were able to make such hard sacrifices for the sake of their trustin that Prophet.
We are living in a time in which we are in most acute need of sincerity. We must destroy fabrications which are products of the Devil. We must endeavour to destroy the sovereignty of devils on this Earth, and the most effective weapon in that struggle is sincerity. Therefore, it is important for all of us to ask for more and more of it from our Lord.
11 ABOUT PEACE
Question: “We are always praying for peace. How may all the different peoples live together in peace?”
Your question is a very important one, and I thank you for asking it. We have a saying: “The question is half of the knowledge”. Asking such important questions indicates an active mental life and sincerity on the part of the questioner. Not all questions can be described as “half of the knowledge”, for some questions indicate insincerity and closed-mindedness: the expected answer ot desired opinion is built into the question. Such questions are no questions at all, and they come upon us with the weight of a mountain: they natrow the perspective of the discourse. But a sincere question suchas this one is the kind we are pleased to be asked and to answer.
We ptay for peace, you pray for peace and Christians pray for peace as well. But neither individually nor generally is peace attained - why? For anything to occur in this world the right conditions must exist. Peace is no exception to this rule. For peace to exist certain conditions must be fulfilled, and if they are fulfilled you may attain, firstly, inner peace, and then peace between yourself and those around you. But peace will remain an unattainable ideal as long as the conditions for its attainment are not fulfilled.
For peace to be attained between people a primary condition is that they look to each other with benevolence
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and tolerance. Look at these beautiful gardens; one and the same soil and so many hundreds of different kinds of trees and plants! They cannot be seen complaining about the proximity of the other kinds of plants. They are not fanatics insisting that all of the trees in the area should be of one and the same variety.
If you live near to people of a different background or religion and each is respecting the other's rights, then youmay live in their neighbourhood without any problems. Our Prophet Muhammad. Peace be upon him, was living next door to a Jew. He never objected, saying: “Take that person out of my neighbourhood and make him stay with his own kind.” No. The Holy Prophet’s example is the best example for us, and he always stressed the importance of neighbourly relations. In the Holy Qut’an it is specifically mentioned that neighbours be some of the first recipients of help and charity. Therefore, the neighbourhood is an important concept in Islam, and the proximity of different peoples destroys fanaticism. You have been called to be good neighbours.
You have your religion, way of life and ideas, and he has his. Leave him to his Lord in those matters in which you differ, but by all means keep your respect for your neighbour and give your best to him. That is your duty, and if you do your duty you may expect your neighbour to show goodness to you. Don’t look after his faults or cause enmity by attacking his beliefs. Leave your Lord, the Judge of Judges, to judge, and fanaticism will die.
Now I am sitting with you. If I look to you (and to all) as my Lord’s creatures, as unique and perfect fruits of my Lord's
13 excellent cteation, seeing you as one would look at a rose or a fruitful tree, then I am sitting in a paradise garden, and from everyone comes to my heart inner peace. If we can look to each other in sucha manner we will attain not only acceptance and tolerance, but familiarity and appreciation, and, ultimately love and peace.
But because people are not regarding each other as theit Lord’s unique and beloved creatures, people cannot even tolerate each other, what to speak of appreciating them or seeking to be more familiar with them: “This world is not big enough to hold both of us,” say individuals to each other, and nations to each other. Each one puffs itself up so large as to crowd out all others from existence. And this attitude makes people so heavy as well, that the Earth can hardly carry mankind anymote, not because of their numbers but because of their attitudes and behaviour.
We ate preventing ourselves from appreciating others and seeking their familiarity. We see them not as our Lord’s favoured deputies on Earth but as threats to ourselves. And they, in turn, see us as dangerous, and withhold their familiarity from us. Therefore, wildness is the attribute growing up most rapidly in people, and from this wild nature _ comes frigidity and enmity between people.
Our lower selves build walls around us — impenetrable walls. Break down those walls so that you may learn to appreciate others and approach them. You will then find that good feelings overflow from your heart and that most people start to show a better attitude towards you. But when you are quarrelsome and controlled by your ugly, greedy lower self,
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no one can reach you and you can reach out to no one except with harm, It is reciprocal. Therefore, the first thing to work upon is yourself, getting that lower self under control, so that you may give familiarity to people.
One of the great Saints of the Sufi Way used to ride around in the desert on the back of a tiger and use a snake as a whip. How is such a thing possible? What is the secret? Allah Almighty gives feeling and perception to every creature. If you can open up and give familiarity even to a huge tiger, itcan be tamed and you can use it as a riding beast. And thatis onlya beast, so what about the Descendants of Adam, who have been given so much potential by their Lord that He has called them the “Crown of Creation” and His deputies on Earth? ‘You must gain familiarity with them so as to tame them.
And in the face of so much evil and wildness in the world we must not despair and say: “Whatkind of God is it who has made such horrible, evil people who harm others and cause mass violence and world wars?” With magnanimity we must try to tame the wild. Don’t say that there is no Divine Wisdom in the creation of tigers and snakes (and people who resemble them in their actions)! Say that He Almighty created tigers to tide upon and snakes to be used as riding whips!
Once upon a time there was a man who was plagued by cockroaches. Everywhere he went he encountered the unpleasant dirty creatures. And no matter what he did he could not rid himself of them. He even moved several times within his home town hoping that the new habitation would not become cockroach- infested, but it always did. Finally he grew so desperate that he even migrated to another
15 country where there were less cockroaches, and settled there.
Eventually this man developed a very bad abscess on his leg. He went to many doctors, but all the medicine they prescribed just made the abscess worse and irritated it mote, So finally he gave up trying to treat it. One day he was sitting in front of his house with his leg up, moaning and groaning: “Ah, eeh, oh, ooh!” when along came a travelling dervish, The dervish asked ‘him: “Why are you sitting there saying ‘Ah, eeeh, oh, ooh’? He replied: “Ihave a terrible abscess on my leg and no matter what I do, it won't heal; in fact it just gets worse each time I seek treatment.” The dervish said: “Oh, it is the easiest thing in the world to treat. Have you ever seen a cockroach?” “Cockroach! The curse of my life! In my home country there were so many that they drove me to the brink of madness. That is why I came to live in this land, just to escape the cockroaches.” The dervish said: “You must catch a lot of them, kill them, burn them, then take the ashes and apply them to your wound; then, God willing, it will be healed quickly.” The man followed the advice of that dervish, hunting cockroaches in that land and finding them only with great difficulty, and presently his abscess was healed. After
that he never again cursed the existence of cockroaches.
And what about the most highly honoured Descendants of Adam, whom Allah has made His deputies on Earth? Don't hate them because of their bad actions, but remind yourself that they ate your Lord’s beloved creatures; and try to be magnanimous, as the Holy Qur'an exhorts:
“Counter harm with goodness and behold, the one who is now your enemy will become as a close
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friend. And no one can attain this except the patient, and no one can attain this except those endowed with great good fortune.”
Look, as I mentioned before, the Holy Prophet used to live next to a Jew in Medina. The Prophet tolerated his presence even though that person used to throw his garbage in front of the Prophet's house every day as a sign of contempt for him. One day the Holy Prophet, Peace be upon him, noticed that there was no garbage in front of his house. On the following day as well no garbage could be seen. He then inquired about the well-being of that neighbour and discovered that he was ill.
Then the Holy Prophet made the intention to visit him, to make a sick call. That Jewish man was astounded to see the Prophet at his doorstep, and inquired: “How did you know that I was ill?” He replied: “I noticed that your daily gift was notin front of my house as usual, so I thought that something might be wrong with you. Therefore, J inquired and was told that you were ill.”
But far from showing such goodness to members of other communities, people nowadays can have no appreciation, nor share any familiarity even with the members of their own families. Wives cannot appreciate the good qualities of their husbands, and vice versa. Families may live under one roof, but there is no feeling of home or family. People have become strangers to their closest relatives, each one being wrapped up in the world of his ego's desires, and no one figures into that
world except himself, unless it be for selfish exploitation. If no familiarity can be found in families, then what about
17 the community at large? It is impossible. So to speak about worldwide peace is even more futile, for familiarity, love and
peace must be established in the individual, then in the family and so on, from the smallest unit upwards, not the opposite.
We pray fora peaceful world, for all the burning fires to be extinguished, from East to West. But the walls of alienation have become so formidable that no nation can even consider real closeness or cooperation with another. Familiarity is
‘imprisoned and wildness and alienation are spreading day by
day so quickly that unless that current can be stemmed soon, - it will sweep away the whole world. That wildness current is gushing forth, and no dams that we may erect can contain it, as man only reaps what he sows. Man is sowing wildness, and so he must reap wildness, not familiarity and friendship. This current has swept over every level of human interaction; it has covered the Earth. What should be the result? According to tradition mankind will eat itself wp in a spree of violence until Divine Intervention calls ahalt to that raging fire.
a ee
Question: “What about the people who are marching and demonstrating for peace — carrying banners and chanting - are they furthering the cause of peace or hindering it?”
If those people are at peace with themselves, in their inner lives, then their efforts may be of benefit, but if they are as yet wild and violent in themselves, what should be the result of their activities? More enmity and wildness will gush forth, that is all.
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Now peace is being characterized in the newspapers as a dove, but there are so many eagles waiting to snatch it. If there is no provision for protecting that dove, peace is only a meaningless word. Now a large group of ladies are marching from Scotland to London for peace, masha’ Allah! So many ladies bringing peace from Scotland! Such demonstrations are only something for people to laugh and scoff at, nothing
more; for this matter needs Divine Support.
Peace must be supported, and to support peace one needs power: no power, no peace. And the most powerful support for peace is an awakened inner life: the familiarity that grows in our hearts and spreads its boughs over the whole world. Without such a fertile and fruitbearing heart, what is the meaning of a “peace match”? That is only child’s-play, who can take it seriously?
19 WHY THE WORLD IS ALWAYS DIVIDED BETWEEN “US” AND “THEM”
Question: “Sheikh Efendi, why is the world always divided between “us” and “them”? Why is there constant conflict between nations and religions? You said yesterday that appreciation and familiarity are the way to peace, but if we only shate familiarity with those on our own side, does that familiarity not simply feed enmity towards those who fall outside that familiar group? Why is it always this way, and is it possible to do anything aboutit?”
This is a very important question, and our guest should be acquainted with the context of the answer, as itis dealt within
all Holy Scriptures, not only in the Holy Qur'an.
First of all we must clarify one thing: that the true answer to this question can only be found in traditional sources. The answer is an unchangeable reality, and we discover it in those sources that come down to us over the centuries. His question is about a topic that is impossible for us to encompass with our own knowledge. The Almighty Creator has created countless creatures on Earth and in other realms of existence. He is the Creator; when it comes to understanding the creation our knowledge is always limited, as we were not present at the beginning of this world or at the creation of its creatures.
All the explanations that scientists have come up with on these matters are mere theories; they have no real knowledge
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on these subjects and no power to grasp such knowledge, as that authority has not been given them. Their affair is only
one of speculation.
Our knowledge, on the other hand, is not speculative, not guesswork of the mind in a realm beyond the mind's reach. Our sources are the two kinds of traditional knowledge that reach down to our time. The first is the authority of Scripture, and the other is something that passes from heart to heart over the centuries, Nowadays both these traditional sources are under attack by those who rely for their knowl- edge solely on observation and experimentation. Questions like the one we are discussing however, fall outside of this realm.
Now we will look back to the beginning of mankind on Earth as it is described in traditions. The Lord of Adam and his Descendants, the Lord of Angels, the Lord of the Heavens and the Earth, before creating the first man, Adam, declared to His Angels: “I am going to create a new kind of creature and make him My deputy on Earth.” Yes, itis written inall Holy Books, all are in agreement.
That rank, the rank of Allah’s deputy on Earth, the rank known as the “Crown of Creation”, is the highest possible station for created beings. Who occupies that station carries great authority in his hands, and great power; power even to act on behalf of the Lord of the Worlds. Who can imagine a gteater honour than this for any creature? What creature is not going to ask for that honour to be bestowed upon him, particularly the Angels who were created in such beautiful forms for the sole purpose of glorifying and praising their
21 Lord with all manners of praise and in all postures of devotion?
When Allah Almighty informed them that He was going to create a new creature to be His deputy, and to dress him in the robe of His Own Attributes and Characteristics, the Angels were disappointed, for they had been sure that that honour would be bestowed upon them. Not only disappointment was their feeling but the utmost bewilder- ment, as, with the light of their Angelic vision, they were given the privilege of regarding the Preserved Table upon which the characteristics and actions of that still uncreated creature could be discerned. Naturally the Angels were horrified with what they saw, and they said:
“Oh our Lord, is it really Your intention to place upon the Earth a creature such as this one who will do evil upon it and shed blood, while we, who are glorifying You with endless praises and sanctifying your Holy Name (are ready to take that position)?”
Now the Angels were not worthy of receiving that honour, and from this statement that becomes clear. For shall anyone teach or correct the Lord? Does He Almighty not know what He is doing, that you need to confront Him about any of His decrees? Therefore, the Angels are servants of Mankind, and not vice versa, despite the fact that we are such an evil race,
shedding the blood of our innocent fellow human beings.
The Angels could perceive our evil nature even at that time — before our creation — and they remonstrated, but the All- Knowing Creator replied: “I know, and My knowledge is absolute. I know all about the Descendants of Adam: that
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which you know about them as well as what you can't know, I know, also, what you say and what you mean to say, what you declare and what you hide in your, innermost being. I know, also, that your objections are not
Link: https://www.nvrislam.net/index.php?j=eng&post=5785
MERCY OCEANS DIVINE SOURCES
The Discourses of Our Master Sheikh Nazim Al-Qubrusi (Imam ul-Haqganiyyin)
Delivered with the Permission of his Grandsheikh Sultan ul-Awliya Sheikh Abdullah Ad-Daghistani (May Allah Sanctify his Blessed Soul)!
Selected Lectures Summer [403 A.H. (1983 C.E.) England and Germany Winter 1404 A.H. (1984 C.E.)
IN THE NAME OF ALLAH THE ALL-MERCIFUL, THE ALL-BENEFICENT; THE MOST-MUNIFICENT
MEDED: ASKING SUPPORT FROM GRANDSHEIKH
Our Grandsheikh is Sheikh Abdullah Al-Faiz Ad- Daghistani, may Allah Almighty sanctify his blessed soul and draw him ever closer to His Divine Presence. May He Almighty cause us to benefit from Grandsheikh’s blessings and teachings, and from his spiritual care for us even from the grave. We derive out spiritual power from his heart center. If he cuts us off we are stranded. Every breath that our Grand- sheikh turns toward us from his spiritual breaths is like a warm spring breeze which blows on the bare branches of trees, causing buds and blossoms to burst forth.
Like the spring breeze that carries the revival of life within it, so do the breaths of Allah’s Saints give life to their followers, to their spiritual sons and daughters, That relationship is stronger than the relationship to our parents, as there is only a short period of time in which they are all and everything to their small children, and, ultimately, it is very difficult for them to influence their children to follow the way of life that they would choose for them. Perhaps those children will leave them and go away to the far corners of the Earth and choose a way of life totally unrelated to that of their parents. But a real Grandsheikh always keeps a watchful eye on his followers, whether that Grandsheikh be living in this world or already has passed on to the existence beyond this world. Henever abandons them. Yes, we ate always seeking our Grandsheikh’s support, support that will help us act according to our Lord’s commands, and support to help us stand firmly in the face of our enemies: the lower self, Satan, vain desires and worldliness. For both of these goals - progress on the right way and avoiding deviation from it completely - we need his support. Without such a strong support a person will be vanquished.
Therefore, we seek out Grandsheikh’s support by saying: “Meded Ya Sayyidi”, “Support, oh my Master.” You must call upon your Grandsheikh in such a manner when you are in need of support, then that support may reach to you. The more you feel yourself to be weak and in need of support, the more support he will extend to you. But the more you depend on your own knowledge and your mind's powers, the less support you will receive, as Grandsheikh will say: “He is self-sufficient, so why lend him support. Leave him in the hands of his ego.”
When the Holy Prophet asked his Lord, “Oh my Lord, don’t leave me in the hands of my ego even for a moment”, he was seeking refuge from two undesirable possibilities: I) to be left in the hands of his ego’s base desires, and 2) to be left alone to guide himself only by his mind and knowledge. In both these ways the ego attempts to separate us from true guidance, and in admitting our weakness and seeking support in the face of the ego's trickery we gain that help.
Just as Divine Guidance and help reached to our Prophet through the Archangel Gabriel who acted as Allah's
representative in carrying His revelation to the Prophets, so that Divine Help reaches to the Saints via the Holy Prophet, who acted as Allah Almighty’s representative in bringing guidance to his Nation. And ultimately, after the Prophet's time, that guidance reaches to our hearts through the Saints, his inheritors, as we have not yet developed the senses with which to listen directly to the Prophet's guidance. Some foolish people, even among the Muslims, will undoubtedly deny this, saying that all that remains of the Holy Prophet’s guidance is what is written in books. This point of view, far from being the reality, is a blind man's view, for were the Holy Prophet to have taken those powers with him upon his death there would remain no mote religion, no mote faith, no nothing from Islam. No, that prophetic power never leaves the Earth; it is only transformed and distributed through the
awareness of the Holy Prophet's inheritors.
Therefore, you must look for the support of the Saints in a Universe in which you are totally weak. Once you have established a good connection with such a person you will always be in contact with him: a “wire” will carry current to your heart from his power source. That aid will make itself felt most in times of need. Now it is daytime and you don't
seek a torch, no need; but at night such a small light will prevent you from falling into a pit. FABRICATION DESTROYS SINCERITY
I have come here today with empty hands; I have brought with me no prepared lessons or syllabus. I am not a school teacher or a university professor, and it is not my duty to fill up your heads with much information on “Islamic Mysticism”. No, our goal is not just to feed you mote knowledge, for you are all very knowledgeable people already. Our purpose is another, and it can only be gained through spontaneity: you must feel comfortable in this assembly, for only then can anything of real value be passed to your hearts.
We have been granted permission by our Grand- sheikh to hold such spontaneous meetings for the sake of Allah Almighty, for the purpose of fanning the spark of His Divine Love in all of you, We have no permission to make well- thought-out fabrications to fan the fire of self-worship.
It is for this reason that I could not give you notice far in advance of my coming here. During last year's visit, when Sheikh H. asked me to kindly inform him well in advance of the date, duration, etc. of our visit here, in order to notify all the people who might want to attend, so that they could adjust their schedules accordingly, I had to refuse to give him a date. In explanation of why I could not comply I told him: “Tam only a servant of my Lord. I can only move according to His Almighty’s Will, not according to my own. He rules over me and determines my movements, not I; therefore, I hope to be with you next year after Ramadan, but more than this I cannot now say.”
Now Ramadan is past, and as I had hoped, we are here in the assembly of our beloved brothers and sisters once again. And, as our Grandsheikh used to say: “To be in the presence of loved ones is a great good fortune.” We have thus come together even without your having had a firm commitment of my attendance far in advance; and it is in this manner that we may come together any time without appointment.
This is a Divine Feast, and all those present have been invited from pre-eternity when the souls were gathered in the Divine Presence to pledge their eternal worship and loyalty to their Lord. At that time those who were destined to meet in love in this World were gathered near to one another, and it is for this reason that their hearts are drawn together in this world. Whoever is attending has been invited from that day, the Day of Promises, and it is impossible that any of you be late or absent. Now all of us are taking our shares of that Divine Feast.
May those who come here come as sincere seekers. That is our hope and prayer, for sincerity is what every seeker needs in his search, and he must ask his Lord to make him sincete and keep his heart turned towards His Divine Presence with sincerity. He must ask for this, as the Lord never accepts devotion — neither “worship” nor “good actions” — presented insincerely. This must be the main concern of every seeker: to attain to sincerity is the secret of success, When sincere people come together, that meeting has spiritual light.
Sincerity is never a partner to fabrication, The atmosphere of a fabricated meeting is nota suitable one for sincerity to dwell in. Thus sincerity flees in the face of fabrication, leaving hearts cold.
Be as you are. Don't fabricate yourself into something “important”, In our time everyone is busy puffing himself up with the result that light is extinguished and evil nurtured. But when sincerity prevails evil flees from our assemply —no way in for the Accursed Devil. That is the power of sincerity. Therefore, I ask my Lord that I may always be with His sincere servants — and He has granted me my request so that we have seen this happy day upon which we are together once again with my Lord's Saints from the German Nation. And I ask my Lord to make meas ametcy to you, not ameans of pun- ishment because of my sins. He Almighty has honoured me by making me a servant to all of you; even though I am speaking, lamnot your Master but your servant, bringing you spiritual guidance on this spiritual occasion.
I thank my Lord for bestowing upon me such an honour, and I take refuge in Him Almighty. Oh my Lord, don't leave me in the hands of my ego, as my ego always asks to show itself in a false form, to make everyone believe it is what it isn't. Ego is the Expert of Fabrication. As in the university you have “Master of Science”, so the ego is the “master of fabrication”, always looking for an occasion to show off.
One should always seek refuge in his Lord from the tricks of his ego, as the ego's goal is to deprive us of that open channel to the heart. Who indulges in fabrication cannot give anything from the heart. They may give everything from the
tongue or pen, but nothing from the heart, never — their hearts are locked. They are but bags of hot air.
Oh my Lord, don’t leave me to fabricate to Your servants.
10 Please teach me, let Your Prophet and Your Saints teach me, and make me worthy of receiving such noble instruction! Such teaching passes from heart to heart. It is easily understood and effective on people's hearts, as hearts cannot be deceived or cheated. The heart remains closed until it encounters sincerity. No one can ever open his heart to another until he knows that that person is sincere. He may listen to that person's lectures and teachings, but they will never reach into his heart, because his heart is locked.
Therefore, I am asking forgiveness of my Lord if my ego seeks to show itself in this sincere assembly and invent some fabrications. The more you can be sincere with people, the more trust they will have in you when they come to you for help. That is the key to the success of the call of our Prophet Muhammad, Peace be upon him, and to that of all the Holy Prophets - sincerity. Only because of their sincerity people believed in them, and were able to make such hard sacrifices for the sake of their trustin that Prophet.
We are living in a time in which we are in most acute need of sincerity. We must destroy fabrications which are products of the Devil. We must endeavour to destroy the sovereignty of devils on this Earth, and the most effective weapon in that struggle is sincerity. Therefore, it is important for all of us to ask for more and more of it from our Lord.
11 ABOUT PEACE
Question: “We are always praying for peace. How may all the different peoples live together in peace?”
Your question is a very important one, and I thank you for asking it. We have a saying: “The question is half of the knowledge”. Asking such important questions indicates an active mental life and sincerity on the part of the questioner. Not all questions can be described as “half of the knowledge”, for some questions indicate insincerity and closed-mindedness: the expected answer ot desired opinion is built into the question. Such questions are no questions at all, and they come upon us with the weight of a mountain: they natrow the perspective of the discourse. But a sincere question suchas this one is the kind we are pleased to be asked and to answer.
We ptay for peace, you pray for peace and Christians pray for peace as well. But neither individually nor generally is peace attained - why? For anything to occur in this world the right conditions must exist. Peace is no exception to this rule. For peace to exist certain conditions must be fulfilled, and if they are fulfilled you may attain, firstly, inner peace, and then peace between yourself and those around you. But peace will remain an unattainable ideal as long as the conditions for its attainment are not fulfilled.
For peace to be attained between people a primary condition is that they look to each other with benevolence
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and tolerance. Look at these beautiful gardens; one and the same soil and so many hundreds of different kinds of trees and plants! They cannot be seen complaining about the proximity of the other kinds of plants. They are not fanatics insisting that all of the trees in the area should be of one and the same variety.
If you live near to people of a different background or religion and each is respecting the other's rights, then youmay live in their neighbourhood without any problems. Our Prophet Muhammad. Peace be upon him, was living next door to a Jew. He never objected, saying: “Take that person out of my neighbourhood and make him stay with his own kind.” No. The Holy Prophet’s example is the best example for us, and he always stressed the importance of neighbourly relations. In the Holy Qut’an it is specifically mentioned that neighbours be some of the first recipients of help and charity. Therefore, the neighbourhood is an important concept in Islam, and the proximity of different peoples destroys fanaticism. You have been called to be good neighbours.
You have your religion, way of life and ideas, and he has his. Leave him to his Lord in those matters in which you differ, but by all means keep your respect for your neighbour and give your best to him. That is your duty, and if you do your duty you may expect your neighbour to show goodness to you. Don’t look after his faults or cause enmity by attacking his beliefs. Leave your Lord, the Judge of Judges, to judge, and fanaticism will die.
Now I am sitting with you. If I look to you (and to all) as my Lord’s creatures, as unique and perfect fruits of my Lord's
13 excellent cteation, seeing you as one would look at a rose or a fruitful tree, then I am sitting in a paradise garden, and from everyone comes to my heart inner peace. If we can look to each other in sucha manner we will attain not only acceptance and tolerance, but familiarity and appreciation, and, ultimately love and peace.
But because people are not regarding each other as theit Lord’s unique and beloved creatures, people cannot even tolerate each other, what to speak of appreciating them or seeking to be more familiar with them: “This world is not big enough to hold both of us,” say individuals to each other, and nations to each other. Each one puffs itself up so large as to crowd out all others from existence. And this attitude makes people so heavy as well, that the Earth can hardly carry mankind anymote, not because of their numbers but because of their attitudes and behaviour.
We ate preventing ourselves from appreciating others and seeking their familiarity. We see them not as our Lord’s favoured deputies on Earth but as threats to ourselves. And they, in turn, see us as dangerous, and withhold their familiarity from us. Therefore, wildness is the attribute growing up most rapidly in people, and from this wild nature _ comes frigidity and enmity between people.
Our lower selves build walls around us — impenetrable walls. Break down those walls so that you may learn to appreciate others and approach them. You will then find that good feelings overflow from your heart and that most people start to show a better attitude towards you. But when you are quarrelsome and controlled by your ugly, greedy lower self,
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no one can reach you and you can reach out to no one except with harm, It is reciprocal. Therefore, the first thing to work upon is yourself, getting that lower self under control, so that you may give familiarity to people.
One of the great Saints of the Sufi Way used to ride around in the desert on the back of a tiger and use a snake as a whip. How is such a thing possible? What is the secret? Allah Almighty gives feeling and perception to every creature. If you can open up and give familiarity even to a huge tiger, itcan be tamed and you can use it as a riding beast. And thatis onlya beast, so what about the Descendants of Adam, who have been given so much potential by their Lord that He has called them the “Crown of Creation” and His deputies on Earth? ‘You must gain familiarity with them so as to tame them.
And in the face of so much evil and wildness in the world we must not despair and say: “Whatkind of God is it who has made such horrible, evil people who harm others and cause mass violence and world wars?” With magnanimity we must try to tame the wild. Don’t say that there is no Divine Wisdom in the creation of tigers and snakes (and people who resemble them in their actions)! Say that He Almighty created tigers to tide upon and snakes to be used as riding whips!
Once upon a time there was a man who was plagued by cockroaches. Everywhere he went he encountered the unpleasant dirty creatures. And no matter what he did he could not rid himself of them. He even moved several times within his home town hoping that the new habitation would not become cockroach- infested, but it always did. Finally he grew so desperate that he even migrated to another
15 country where there were less cockroaches, and settled there.
Eventually this man developed a very bad abscess on his leg. He went to many doctors, but all the medicine they prescribed just made the abscess worse and irritated it mote, So finally he gave up trying to treat it. One day he was sitting in front of his house with his leg up, moaning and groaning: “Ah, eeh, oh, ooh!” when along came a travelling dervish, The dervish asked ‘him: “Why are you sitting there saying ‘Ah, eeeh, oh, ooh’? He replied: “Ihave a terrible abscess on my leg and no matter what I do, it won't heal; in fact it just gets worse each time I seek treatment.” The dervish said: “Oh, it is the easiest thing in the world to treat. Have you ever seen a cockroach?” “Cockroach! The curse of my life! In my home country there were so many that they drove me to the brink of madness. That is why I came to live in this land, just to escape the cockroaches.” The dervish said: “You must catch a lot of them, kill them, burn them, then take the ashes and apply them to your wound; then, God willing, it will be healed quickly.” The man followed the advice of that dervish, hunting cockroaches in that land and finding them only with great difficulty, and presently his abscess was healed. After
that he never again cursed the existence of cockroaches.
And what about the most highly honoured Descendants of Adam, whom Allah has made His deputies on Earth? Don't hate them because of their bad actions, but remind yourself that they ate your Lord’s beloved creatures; and try to be magnanimous, as the Holy Qur'an exhorts:
“Counter harm with goodness and behold, the one who is now your enemy will become as a close
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friend. And no one can attain this except the patient, and no one can attain this except those endowed with great good fortune.”
Look, as I mentioned before, the Holy Prophet used to live next to a Jew in Medina. The Prophet tolerated his presence even though that person used to throw his garbage in front of the Prophet's house every day as a sign of contempt for him. One day the Holy Prophet, Peace be upon him, noticed that there was no garbage in front of his house. On the following day as well no garbage could be seen. He then inquired about the well-being of that neighbour and discovered that he was ill.
Then the Holy Prophet made the intention to visit him, to make a sick call. That Jewish man was astounded to see the Prophet at his doorstep, and inquired: “How did you know that I was ill?” He replied: “I noticed that your daily gift was notin front of my house as usual, so I thought that something might be wrong with you. Therefore, J inquired and was told that you were ill.”
But far from showing such goodness to members of other communities, people nowadays can have no appreciation, nor share any familiarity even with the members of their own families. Wives cannot appreciate the good qualities of their husbands, and vice versa. Families may live under one roof, but there is no feeling of home or family. People have become strangers to their closest relatives, each one being wrapped up in the world of his ego's desires, and no one figures into that
world except himself, unless it be for selfish exploitation. If no familiarity can be found in families, then what about
17 the community at large? It is impossible. So to speak about worldwide peace is even more futile, for familiarity, love and
peace must be established in the individual, then in the family and so on, from the smallest unit upwards, not the opposite.
We pray fora peaceful world, for all the burning fires to be extinguished, from East to West. But the walls of alienation have become so formidable that no nation can even consider real closeness or cooperation with another. Familiarity is
‘imprisoned and wildness and alienation are spreading day by
day so quickly that unless that current can be stemmed soon, - it will sweep away the whole world. That wildness current is gushing forth, and no dams that we may erect can contain it, as man only reaps what he sows. Man is sowing wildness, and so he must reap wildness, not familiarity and friendship. This current has swept over every level of human interaction; it has covered the Earth. What should be the result? According to tradition mankind will eat itself wp in a spree of violence until Divine Intervention calls ahalt to that raging fire.
a ee
Question: “What about the people who are marching and demonstrating for peace — carrying banners and chanting - are they furthering the cause of peace or hindering it?”
If those people are at peace with themselves, in their inner lives, then their efforts may be of benefit, but if they are as yet wild and violent in themselves, what should be the result of their activities? More enmity and wildness will gush forth, that is all.
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Now peace is being characterized in the newspapers as a dove, but there are so many eagles waiting to snatch it. If there is no provision for protecting that dove, peace is only a meaningless word. Now a large group of ladies are marching from Scotland to London for peace, masha’ Allah! So many ladies bringing peace from Scotland! Such demonstrations are only something for people to laugh and scoff at, nothing
more; for this matter needs Divine Support.
Peace must be supported, and to support peace one needs power: no power, no peace. And the most powerful support for peace is an awakened inner life: the familiarity that grows in our hearts and spreads its boughs over the whole world. Without such a fertile and fruitbearing heart, what is the meaning of a “peace match”? That is only child’s-play, who can take it seriously?
19 WHY THE WORLD IS ALWAYS DIVIDED BETWEEN “US” AND “THEM”
Question: “Sheikh Efendi, why is the world always divided between “us” and “them”? Why is there constant conflict between nations and religions? You said yesterday that appreciation and familiarity are the way to peace, but if we only shate familiarity with those on our own side, does that familiarity not simply feed enmity towards those who fall outside that familiar group? Why is it always this way, and is it possible to do anything aboutit?”
This is a very important question, and our guest should be acquainted with the context of the answer, as itis dealt within
all Holy Scriptures, not only in the Holy Qur'an.
First of all we must clarify one thing: that the true answer to this question can only be found in traditional sources. The answer is an unchangeable reality, and we discover it in those sources that come down to us over the centuries. His question is about a topic that is impossible for us to encompass with our own knowledge. The Almighty Creator has created countless creatures on Earth and in other realms of existence. He is the Creator; when it comes to understanding the creation our knowledge is always limited, as we were not present at the beginning of this world or at the creation of its creatures.
All the explanations that scientists have come up with on these matters are mere theories; they have no real knowledge
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on these subjects and no power to grasp such knowledge, as that authority has not been given them. Their affair is only
one of speculation.
Our knowledge, on the other hand, is not speculative, not guesswork of the mind in a realm beyond the mind's reach. Our sources are the two kinds of traditional knowledge that reach down to our time. The first is the authority of Scripture, and the other is something that passes from heart to heart over the centuries, Nowadays both these traditional sources are under attack by those who rely for their knowl- edge solely on observation and experimentation. Questions like the one we are discussing however, fall outside of this realm.
Now we will look back to the beginning of mankind on Earth as it is described in traditions. The Lord of Adam and his Descendants, the Lord of Angels, the Lord of the Heavens and the Earth, before creating the first man, Adam, declared to His Angels: “I am going to create a new kind of creature and make him My deputy on Earth.” Yes, itis written inall Holy Books, all are in agreement.
That rank, the rank of Allah’s deputy on Earth, the rank known as the “Crown of Creation”, is the highest possible station for created beings. Who occupies that station carries great authority in his hands, and great power; power even to act on behalf of the Lord of the Worlds. Who can imagine a gteater honour than this for any creature? What creature is not going to ask for that honour to be bestowed upon him, particularly the Angels who were created in such beautiful forms for the sole purpose of glorifying and praising their
21 Lord with all manners of praise and in all postures of devotion?
When Allah Almighty informed them that He was going to create a new creature to be His deputy, and to dress him in the robe of His Own Attributes and Characteristics, the Angels were disappointed, for they had been sure that that honour would be bestowed upon them. Not only disappointment was their feeling but the utmost bewilder- ment, as, with the light of their Angelic vision, they were given the privilege of regarding the Preserved Table upon which the characteristics and actions of that still uncreated creature could be discerned. Naturally the Angels were horrified with what they saw, and they said:
“Oh our Lord, is it really Your intention to place upon the Earth a creature such as this one who will do evil upon it and shed blood, while we, who are glorifying You with endless praises and sanctifying your Holy Name (are ready to take that position)?”
Now the Angels were not worthy of receiving that honour, and from this statement that becomes clear. For shall anyone teach or correct the Lord? Does He Almighty not know what He is doing, that you need to confront Him about any of His decrees? Therefore, the Angels are servants of Mankind, and not vice versa, despite the fact that we are such an evil race,
shedding the blood of our innocent fellow human beings.
The Angels could perceive our evil nature even at that time — before our creation — and they remonstrated, but the All- Knowing Creator replied: “I know, and My knowledge is absolute. I know all about the Descendants of Adam: that
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which you know about them as well as what you can't know, I know, also, what you say and what you mean to say, what you declare and what you hide in your, innermost being. I know, also, that your objections are not
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