MERCY OCEANS, Book 03 (Divine Sources, Shaykh Nazim, 83 pages, 4/4)
https://www.nvrislam.net/index.php?j=eng&post=5788
not like ordinary people but are seeking to open themselves up and to immerse themselves in endless reality, For that reason also, not everyone is listening to classical music, and most people don’t know what to make of such music.
Some kinds of light music are for the common folk which they may listen to for relaxation and to temporarily lighten theit burdens. As long as it is not sexually arousing it may be acceptable as well, as a means for people to enjoy themselves at weddings, celebrations and on their holidays. We have nothing against such activities, only, in Islam, folklore- dances should be segregated affairs; ladies celebrating with
ladies, and men with men.
Yes, such light music and celebrations are alright in theit limited functions, but when such distractions occupy too much of people’s attention they may also prove harmful. Such pastimes and other recreational activities, like watching television, are the twentieth centuty means of making people forget themselves and letting their minds wander in fantasy. But the main point of our work is to bring people back to themselves, to help them approach their inner beings.
People are running away from a shadow which is
themselves, that is why they are ill - and the harder they run,
61 the more theit miseries catch up with them. They flee from themselves all their lives in pursuit of a desert mirage that turns out to be nothing but sand. After all that struggle to reach that “oasis” and to quench their thirst, they find that their struggles and false hopes have only made them more parched and that much closer to death for their efforts. When they arrive they drink the draught of death and must face a meeting with their Lord for which they are unprepared. This is the fate of those who waste away their lives in vain amusements.
The main goal of Islam and of Sufi Paths, especially the Nagshbandi Path, is to bring people back to themselves, to teach them to stop fleeing from their own shadows and from chasing mirages. When they turn to themselves they may find everything present in themselves, even the whole universe, and they may receive endless Divine help, never again tiring or being overcome by exhaustion or depression. Yes, Divine treasures are within you, but to attain them is like climbing Mount Everest; to reach that summit, as everyone knows, one must undergo arduous training, and even then if he hopes to succeed, one must be patient and perseverant in traversing narrow, difficult passages and steep cliff walls. But if you are lazy you will never seek such treasures — you will be satisfied with treading the beaten path.
Now followers of every teligion are fooling themselves by anticipating only ease on their ways, and they never strive in the manner that peoples of ages past used to strive for that
spiritual goal. The Holy Prophet. Peace be upon him, said: “He who is patient and perseverant ultimately succeeds”, But
62 without patience and perseverance you may be like a person who sits and watches scenes from an Everest expedition on television and imagines that he has been to the summit along with the mountain-climbers. Thus the people of our times are satisfied with vicarious living, and are never willing to take the difficult steps toward any summit. This is an important point to understand.
Every new invention that supposedly serves man becomes another shackle, a bond, making man its prisoner. Among all of this century's inventions television and video have been put to the most destructive use by Satan, so that he has succeeded through them in making man a slave bound by every hair in his body. Previously slaves were bound by their necks, wrists and ankles, but today’s slaves are bound by every hair on their bodies. Such addictive habits as television and video-viewing are destroying people's mental and spiritual lives, so that if they are deprived of that stimulation they will be miserable, bored and unable to enjoy their life at all. But a person who lives simply and doesn't become dependent on complicated technology for his physical or mental life will be happy and able to cope with any condition of life. Therefore, apart of the solution to out problems is simplicity, as it opens the doors to rest and inner peace, whereas a life dependent upon the functioning of complicated technology that may someday break down makes us slaves to a very unreliable master. For this reason we are advising our followers to learn to cope with life without complicated appliances, to know how to make do with very simple implements so that they are not taken by surprise.
63 People of the last century may have been in need of ten ot fifteen implements, basic tools, for survival but now we depend on thousands and thousands of things, and we are in fact slaves to those needs. That is the disease called the “consumer society” - in which things ate quickly invented, ptoduced, advertised and sold as absolute necessities, when in teality one can do very well without them.
Sheikh Nazim Al-Qubrusi (May Allah Sanctify his Blessed Soul)!
64 WHY ISLAMIC ASSOCIATIONS OFTEN GO WRONG
It is a symptom of the illness of the degenerate time in which we live that people may be content and at peace with their fellow Muslims as long as they remain in the routine of their homelife and jobs, but when they come together supposedly for the sake of their religion, they quarrel among themselves, and hatred and emmity begin to sprout up everywhere to choke the tree of sincerity and brotherly love.
In all the different communities with which we have had contact we always heat the same story: A community of Muslims exists in friendship. Someone figures out a way to obtain outside financial support from a rich Muslim country or organization; an Association is formed in order to put this money to use to benefit the Muslims, but everyone's ego gets stitred up by the presence of so much money and many start to cast covetous eyes on the funds, vying for positions of power in the Association, in the hope of being able to fill their pockets. Love of being “Number One” takes over as the members compete for power in the positions of President, Secretary, Treasurer, etc., like a bunch of worldly politicians. Money and status occupy their hearts and minds, and they quarrel so much that no benefit arises from their efforts. No such Associations will ever be successful in serving Islam, and they may in fact harm Islam by driving away sincere people.
I have been with the Cypriot Muslims on behalf of my Grandsheikh fot forty years, and thanks to Allah Almighty I
65 have been given the opportunity by my Lord to travel this island from end to end and visit Muslims in virtually every village and every mosque. Everywhere I have gone I have encountered a few people who love their Lord and His beloved Prophet and the Inheritors of the Holy Prophet. Among those interested people there always were good telations and mutual love.
But now that the Cypriot Muslims have formed themselves into a type of Association, they have fallen into disputation and bickering so that their aspiration and enthusiasm have weakened and they have stopped listening to their “spiritual headquarters”, though it is incumbent upon them. This being the case, I advise our brothers not to form associations outside of their mosques. As far as mosques are concerned, the administration of them is clearly defined: a mosque must be under the care of three qualified and dedicated people, the Imam, Muezzin and Mosque- Keeper, and the qualifications for those positions are adequately defined by such matters as knowledge of leading the prayers correctly, uprightness of character and availability for daily service. No one should quarrel with those three as long as they do what they can for the mosque and its congregation.
As believers it is our duty to do our best to call people to Islam and to call Muslims to the practice of Islam; and it is our duty as well to make sure that we call people to Islam in the best way, with perception and wisdom. But we must seek to accomplish this duty through our own means and with our own energy, and not grow dependent on huge influxes of
money from wealthy Muslim countries, who with their
66
money would make us pawns for their political ends, and lead us into cheating ourselves and others. We would thereby acquire only greed and insincerity.
It is as if we had some pute milk; even if it is a modest amount of milk it is pure and nourishing. Then along come some insincere people with vast quantities of water for us to add to our milk, in order to fool people with a watered-down drink sold as the original thing. Such actions are strictly prohibited in our religion, as the Holy Prophet said: “Whoever cheats people is disassociated from us.” This is a very important point: for the sake of money people lose their sincerity, fall in love with money and power, and then they call it an “Islamic Association”. It is a blatant and manifest lie; such associations are “Money and Power Associations,” that is all.
Money will never bring sincere people into Islam, nor make non-practising Muslims into better Muslims. If this were the case we would now see millions and millions of new Muslims in the mosques of these worldwide associations which are pouring money into propagation of Islam in Europe and America. Instead, all we see are bureaucracies that cannot draw even five sincere people to Islam and only send those who come to ask about it away cold, successfully alienating newcomers who come to Islam through other ways. Only by sincerity and strong faith can we ever be successful in our efforts to purify ourselves or to be examples for others. Instead, however, we insist upon destroying ourselves and others by running after wealthy countries for their money. Thatis the illness of our egos.
67 ISLAMIC EDUCATION FOR THIS DAY AND AGE
The Sheikh received the following letter from the founders of “Dar-ul-Islam”, a rural Islamic community in New Mexico. After expressing their greetings and requesting the Sheikh’s blessing and prayers for them, the text read:
“We have begun a small Muslim school hete based on the pattern of the Islamic Madrasah. We want to develop a strong programme of Islamic education based both upon religious and worldly knowledge. We would like to consult with you on what would be the best form of education for our children in order to prepate them for life in the modem world. Please bear in mind that we will try to use your answer.”
“At ptesent our children ate studying Arabic, Qur'an, Islamic Studies, Fiqh (Islamic Law and Jurisprudence) , © Stories of the Prophets, Sirah (Biography of the life of the Prophet Muhammad), Mathematics, Science and English. The school is organized so that all grades are in one roomona nearly one-to-one basis with their teachers. We would be very grateful for any advice you could give us regarding curriculum, teaching methods and goals. We don’t know if we — can implement your ideas, but we will certainly contemplate
them and do the best we can. The parents of the children will also welcome your help.”
The Sheikh:
Know, that if we have been asked a question we shall give a reply with the permission of spiritual authority. You must be aware that these are not my words, rather I am asking spiritual
68
power centers for a useful answer for the brothers and sisters
of the Dar-ul-Islam community, I start by saying “Bismillahirrahmanirrahim” (In the Name of Allah, the All- Beneficent, the All-Merciful), as under this honourable title I don’t think that their message will be lost or that I will speak wrong words.
It is our belief that the Holy Prophet. Peace be upon him, was sent to mankind to complete the task of all of the earlier Prophets, Peace be upon them all. His task was to teach people what benefits them most in this life and the next, and to educate them to live in the best of ways. The Seal of Prophets, Sayyidina Muhammad, taught his companions, and they, in turn, taught mankind what they had learned from the Holy Prophet.
One of the Prophet's closest companions and his son-in- law was Sayyidina Ali, who was blessed with deep insight into matters of both inward and outward religious concern; indeed he was one of the Holy Prophet's true heirs. In one of the many wise sayings of Sayyidina Ali which have been recorded and passed down to us, he said: “You must educate your children with an eye toward che future, anticipating the conditions they will face when they grow up, and preparing them to deal with that world. Therefore, remember that the world is always undergoing change, and don't educate them for your own time, leaving them unprepared for what they must do.”
In accordance with Sayyidina Ali’s holy words of divine wisdom we must try to educate our children to deal with the future, and we must use teaching methods suitable for
69 accomplishing that task. Our Holy Prophet Muhammad, Peace be upon him, once said: “Wisdoms are our lost property, therefore, anywhere we come across them we should recover them.” The import of this Hadith is that a Muslim must be aware; he must be aware that this is a wide world in which it is his right and duty to look from East to West, to the heavens and to the earth, that he may find the lost wisdom that is his property.
In educating our children, therefore, we must be very versatile in our thinking so that we may put these two pieces of advice into action: to prepare our children for the future and to use every available wisdom in doing so, They must grow up to be bright and aware Muslims in order to keep their faith in a predominantly non-Muslim society, and indeed, only by taking these two important pieces of advice firmly into hand can we hope to succeed in such a formidable task.
In order to have any hope of succeeding we must understand the wisdom contained in the following example: Itis our duty to remain like pure water, and to be careful about maintaining our purity and avoiding pollution. But if we are poured into a clean bottle we have no objection to taking the bottle’s shape for as long as we are in the bottle. And if that bottle is tinted, it may appear that the water is coloured, but it is not: the water remains clear and clean, its characteristics exactly the same. Therefore, we must have the goal in the education of our children to make them good Muslims in a society of many temptations, to teach them how they may keep their purity by learning how to distinguish between clean bottles which they may enter and filthy ones they must
70 avoid.
Yes, this is a very important point, and we will draw some general guidelines for you to think over. For example, in this letter our sister says that all grades are together in the same classroom on a nearly one- to-one basis with their teachers, but I think that in the neighbouring communities the students are separated according to age in different grades and that each student and teacher has a private seat in the classroom. It is alright if you do it in the same way - no harm - so that when your children come together with other children and perhaps talk about or even show them their school, those children won't feel estranged from your children and think that Islam is a very weird and wrong way that forbids classrooms and seats (and therefore condemns everything they have been taught). Your school may look similar to other American schools, but it should give your children an education and training that will help them keep the purity of their faith. You may use all modem techniques and guidelines for teaching your children, but they must be based on Islamic ptinciples.
Now I see from your letter also that your curriculum is an “overdose”, a dosage prescribed for young adults on their way to becoming scholars, not a dose suitable for children. We are not going to make all the children into Muftis and Qadis; it will become clear when they are older which of them have an inclination in that direction. For the children in general we must give common and practical knowledge about Islam and make such teaching interesting and enjoyable so that they may become attracted to their religion, not repelled and burdened
71
by it and as adults come to hate Islam. You must know that no religion can be as tolerant as Islam, particularly in respect to the younger generation. We must apply such tolerance so they may find comfort and feel pleasure in their religion. If we cannot manage to impart an Islamic education in such a manner we will never be successful.
By tolerance I do not of course refer to tolerating lack of discipline in school and bad behaviour, no; what I mean is that huge burdens of religious knowledge should not be forced down the children’s throats against their will, as there is no compulsion in religion. Therefore, we must try to give them more classes under the title of “worldly” knowledge and impart divine knowledge through that medium, but shifting the emphasis or focus from what might be taught in classes of the same name in other schools. Fiqh (Islamic Jurisprudence) may be taught on an elementary level in the context of “Social Studies”. Stories of the Prophets and particularly the biography of the Prophet Muhammad may be taught in the context of “History”; and other Islamic subjects may be given through such subjects as Science and Mathematics.
You may ask what the wisdom is in applying such a method. For example: a person may be inneed of more ironin his diet, Now if we go and buy iron filings from a merchant, spoon them up and swallow them, is it good? Is that the best method? What need is there for such a terrible mouthful when Allah Almighty in His endless Power and Wisdom has commanded the roots of plants to search in the Earth for atoms, molecules and tiny particles of iron, draw them up,
72 and make them available for our consumption in the edible and delicious forms of lentils, spinach etc. Reflect upon this: in such an iron-rich diet lies the cure for the iron-deficiencies of the body, not in the force - feeding of iron filings. That is what wisdom demands. If you can understand the purport of what we are saying you may meet with success, otherwise, all of your methods will be comparable to giving spoonfuls of
sulphur to children rather than feeding them eggs. Which is more suitable forthe body?
We are seeking new methods suitable to our time and to a Muslim community in America, not trying to cling to old methods that were suitable in a different age. New methods must give students Islamic knowledge and characteristics through modern knowledge. Don't create artificial separations between “worldly” and “otherworldly”, as sucha separation is, in any case, foreign to Islamic thought, which presents a unified and harmonious outlook ona believer's life in this world.
Remember to present Islam as a living and joyful way of life through the example of your own life, and by showing tolerance alongside firmness and determination in imparting Islam to your children. Try to awaken their interest and get them to ask questions and seek to know more about Islam. Don't make them feel imprisoned, let them feel freedom in a school that accords with the better side of their nature.
Remember that it is the nature of the lower self to do the opposite of what it should. Therefore you will find that when you push out, it pushes in, and when you push in, it pushes out
- and the harder you push the harder it pushes. Knowing this
73 you must not start such a wrestling match in motion, but you must show your children Islam and Islamic life so that they won't be seeking a way out, but will be trying, to enter.
This is our program, and it is the best one, as I am not speaking on behalf of my ego, but from our spiritual center and from where has come direction for our new Muslim brothers and sisters regarding their children’s education.
mK Oe
I am very sorry to say that our educators, even in the Islamic countries, can no longer successfully impart Islamic realities to their students. The reason for this is, as we have pointed out, that they are trying to force-feed “iron filings”, “sulphur” and “calcium” to the children That is the method of people who lack wisdom, and the result is that children come to hate Islam and Islamic topics and never approach Islamic practices. So bad are their methods that today’s teachers and scholars even manage to make themselves allergic to Islam, so that they, even more than others, are quick to leave every practice, and may only be seen to teach in order to make a living fromit.
People are waiting to taste delicious new fruits from the Holy Qur’an and the sayings of the Holy Prophet, Peace be upon him; but to taste those fruits they are in need of real teachers who have inherited wisdom, not only knowledge from the Holy Prophet. It is that wisdom alone that enables true teachers to impart knowledge and, most importantly, love of Islam to their students, as that wisdom opens their eyes as to which methods will be effective to accomplish the task at hand. Sometimes a tree may be in need of grafting, of
74 bringing some bark from another tree in order to produce new and better fruits. The root of this great tree of Islam is eternal and unchanging, but the fruits of each time may vary so as to be easily digestible for those who eat them.
Some people will certainly accuse us of condoning the introduction of non-Islamic methods into Islamic - education, of creating harmful innovations. Such reaction will be testimony to the blindness of those people Our faith _ and practice are eternal, and all the teaching methods we may adopt are for the purpose of perfectly imparting that faith and practice. Do they not understand the implications of the Prophet's saying: “All wisdoms are a believer's lost property that he may recover anywhere,” and his saying: “Seek knowledge even unto China”? Can they comprehend nothing about the Islamic approach by knowing that a church building may be purchased and turned into a mosque, and needn't be torn down for a new mosque to be built from the foundations? Besides, the Holy Qur’an states that it encompasses all things “wet and dry, large and small” — new understanding gushes forth eternally from that fountain. If your eyes have been opened you may perceive unlimited meanings in its Holy Verses; it is the ultimate key to that portion of our Lord’s knowledge that has been made available to man; therefore, in reality, nothing is outside its scope. You must know this and believe it.
x KORO
Today's Islamic scholars can be very strict in their dealings with their students, showing no tolerance or compassion, while they never judge themselves with the same strict
75 measurements or standards: ready to tolerate laxity and sin in themselves but not in others. It is very rare indeed to find a tolerant Islamic scholar, despite the fact that our Prophet, Peace be upon him, has declared the Islamic code to be the most tolerant of all the divinely revealed codes of law.
We must practise the widest possible tolerance and have the most leniency in relation to new Muslims and their children. Behaving towards such delicate young “saplings” in any other manner, in ways that emanate from the teacher's own ego can do irreparable harm to that person’s faith; it can be like pouting acid on the roots of a young tree. Whoever does such a destructive thing will carry a very heavy load of responsibility in the Divine Presence and may face his Lord witha heavy burden of blame.
Therefore, I am warning all the teachers of new Muslims, and be they Egyptians, Pakistanis or other, to be very careful in their behaviour towards them, to watch themselves closely, and ask themselves whether they are succeeding in instilling love of Islam in their young charges. Remember that they are very new to Islam and have not been taised in an Islamic society. So if you have an urge to be very strict, be so with yourself and be most forbearing with them. If you cannot lighten your hand with regards to those new Muslims then you had better do something else with your time than trying to teach them.
Ponder on the following Hadith Qudsi, in which Allah Almighty declares: “La ilaha ilia Allah (Declaration of faith in the Unity of God) is My Fortress, and whoso enters My Fortress has secured himself safety from My punishment.”
76 What statement of mercy from our Lord could be more encompassing than this? We must emulate this Divine tolerance with every new Muslim. And mightI point out, that in teality the new Muslims are applying themselves one- hundred times more than the scholars themselves are in their attempt to observe the Divine code of law, striving with. sincetity to learn more and more and to live according to that knowledge. Remember that forbearance and tolerance draws hearts to the obedience of their Lord while the portrayal of Islam as a very, very narrow path frightens people away and closes their hearts.
May Allah keep us from mistakes and misguidance,
especially in religious matters.
a a a
Tt LOVE
Love is the bond that binds hearts, the basis upon which to build. If love is the foundation, your building will withstand all earthquakes and storms; and you may build it as high and wide as you please without it being in danger. Therefore, our Way is the Way of Love. Leave what is keeping you from following that Path and turn to follow it with perseverance; follow this path all the way to your destination...
78 me
SNAK
18, Eo, 20.
The Golden Chain Of Spiritual Transmission Of the Nagshbandi - Khwajagan Masters
The Holy Prophet Muhammad Mustafa, Peace be upon him. Abu Bakr as-Siddiq
Salman al-Farsi
Al-Imam Qasim bin Muhammad bin Abu Bakr as-Siddiq Al-Imam Ja’ fer as-Sadiq
Abu Yazid al-Bistami
Abul Hasan al-Kharqani
Abu Alial-Farmadi
Yusuf al-Hamdani
. Abul-Abbas (Khidr, upon whom be Peace) if 12. 13. 14. 1d: 16. 17;
Abdul Khaliq al-Ghujduwani
Arif Righwari
Mahmud al-Faghnawi
Ali Ramitani
Muhammad Baba Sammasi
Seyyid Amir Kullal
Qutub at-Tariqah Shah Muhammed Bahauddin Nagqshband al-Uwaysi al-Bukhari Alauddin Muhammad al-Attar Yaqub al-Charkhy
Ubeydullah al-Ahrar as-Samargandi
79 21. 22. 23. 24. 25.
26.
27. 28. 29. 30. 31.
a2. 33. 34. 35. 36. 37. 38. 39. . Sultan al-Awliya Sheikh Muhammad Nazim
Al.
Muhammad az-Zahid
Dervish Muhammad al-Bukhari HajegiEmkeneki as-Samargandi Muhammad al-BagibiUah as-Samarqandi Mujaddidal-Alf ath-Thanilmam Rabbani Ahmad Farug as-Sirhindi
Urwat ul Wuthga Muhammad Ma'sum Ar-Rabbani
Haji Sayfuddin ar-Rabbani
Nur Muhammad al-Badwani
Habibullah Mirza Jan-i-Janan al-Mazhar Ghulam Ali Abdullah ad-Dehlawi Ziyauddin Abu Naasan Mubammad Khalid al-Baghdadi ash-Shami
Sheikh Ismail an-Narani
Khas Muhammad Shirwani
Sheikh Muhammad Yaraghi
Sayyid Jamaluddin al-Ghumugi al-Husseini Abu Ahmed as-Sughuri
Abu Muhammad al-Madani
Sayyid Sharafuddin ad-Daghistani Sultan al-Awliya Abdullah ad-Daghistani
Adil al-Qubrusi
Sheikhuna wa-Ustazuna Sheikh Muhammad Adil al-Qubrusi
Fatiha
80
People are running away from a shadow - a shadow which is themselves, that is why they are ill - and the harder they run, the more their miseries catch up with them. They flee from themselves all their lives in pursuit of a desert mirage that turns out to be nothing but sand. After all that struggle to reach that "oasis" and to quench their thirst, they find that their strugg- les and false hopes have only made them more parched and that much closer to death for their efforts. When they arrive they drink the draught of death and must face a meeting with their Lord for which they are unprepared. This is the fate of those who waste away their lives in vain amusement.
The main goal of Islam and of Sufi Paths, especially the Naqshbandi Path, is to ‘bring people back to themselves, to teach them to stop fleeing from their own shadow and to stop chasing a mirage.
Link: https://www.nvrislam.net/index.php?j=eng&post=5788
not like ordinary people but are seeking to open themselves up and to immerse themselves in endless reality, For that reason also, not everyone is listening to classical music, and most people don’t know what to make of such music.
Some kinds of light music are for the common folk which they may listen to for relaxation and to temporarily lighten theit burdens. As long as it is not sexually arousing it may be acceptable as well, as a means for people to enjoy themselves at weddings, celebrations and on their holidays. We have nothing against such activities, only, in Islam, folklore- dances should be segregated affairs; ladies celebrating with
ladies, and men with men.
Yes, such light music and celebrations are alright in theit limited functions, but when such distractions occupy too much of people’s attention they may also prove harmful. Such pastimes and other recreational activities, like watching television, are the twentieth centuty means of making people forget themselves and letting their minds wander in fantasy. But the main point of our work is to bring people back to themselves, to help them approach their inner beings.
People are running away from a shadow which is
themselves, that is why they are ill - and the harder they run,
61 the more theit miseries catch up with them. They flee from themselves all their lives in pursuit of a desert mirage that turns out to be nothing but sand. After all that struggle to reach that “oasis” and to quench their thirst, they find that their struggles and false hopes have only made them more parched and that much closer to death for their efforts. When they arrive they drink the draught of death and must face a meeting with their Lord for which they are unprepared. This is the fate of those who waste away their lives in vain amusements.
The main goal of Islam and of Sufi Paths, especially the Nagshbandi Path, is to bring people back to themselves, to teach them to stop fleeing from their own shadows and from chasing mirages. When they turn to themselves they may find everything present in themselves, even the whole universe, and they may receive endless Divine help, never again tiring or being overcome by exhaustion or depression. Yes, Divine treasures are within you, but to attain them is like climbing Mount Everest; to reach that summit, as everyone knows, one must undergo arduous training, and even then if he hopes to succeed, one must be patient and perseverant in traversing narrow, difficult passages and steep cliff walls. But if you are lazy you will never seek such treasures — you will be satisfied with treading the beaten path.
Now followers of every teligion are fooling themselves by anticipating only ease on their ways, and they never strive in the manner that peoples of ages past used to strive for that
spiritual goal. The Holy Prophet. Peace be upon him, said: “He who is patient and perseverant ultimately succeeds”, But
62 without patience and perseverance you may be like a person who sits and watches scenes from an Everest expedition on television and imagines that he has been to the summit along with the mountain-climbers. Thus the people of our times are satisfied with vicarious living, and are never willing to take the difficult steps toward any summit. This is an important point to understand.
Every new invention that supposedly serves man becomes another shackle, a bond, making man its prisoner. Among all of this century's inventions television and video have been put to the most destructive use by Satan, so that he has succeeded through them in making man a slave bound by every hair in his body. Previously slaves were bound by their necks, wrists and ankles, but today’s slaves are bound by every hair on their bodies. Such addictive habits as television and video-viewing are destroying people's mental and spiritual lives, so that if they are deprived of that stimulation they will be miserable, bored and unable to enjoy their life at all. But a person who lives simply and doesn't become dependent on complicated technology for his physical or mental life will be happy and able to cope with any condition of life. Therefore, apart of the solution to out problems is simplicity, as it opens the doors to rest and inner peace, whereas a life dependent upon the functioning of complicated technology that may someday break down makes us slaves to a very unreliable master. For this reason we are advising our followers to learn to cope with life without complicated appliances, to know how to make do with very simple implements so that they are not taken by surprise.
63 People of the last century may have been in need of ten ot fifteen implements, basic tools, for survival but now we depend on thousands and thousands of things, and we are in fact slaves to those needs. That is the disease called the “consumer society” - in which things ate quickly invented, ptoduced, advertised and sold as absolute necessities, when in teality one can do very well without them.
Sheikh Nazim Al-Qubrusi (May Allah Sanctify his Blessed Soul)!
64 WHY ISLAMIC ASSOCIATIONS OFTEN GO WRONG
It is a symptom of the illness of the degenerate time in which we live that people may be content and at peace with their fellow Muslims as long as they remain in the routine of their homelife and jobs, but when they come together supposedly for the sake of their religion, they quarrel among themselves, and hatred and emmity begin to sprout up everywhere to choke the tree of sincerity and brotherly love.
In all the different communities with which we have had contact we always heat the same story: A community of Muslims exists in friendship. Someone figures out a way to obtain outside financial support from a rich Muslim country or organization; an Association is formed in order to put this money to use to benefit the Muslims, but everyone's ego gets stitred up by the presence of so much money and many start to cast covetous eyes on the funds, vying for positions of power in the Association, in the hope of being able to fill their pockets. Love of being “Number One” takes over as the members compete for power in the positions of President, Secretary, Treasurer, etc., like a bunch of worldly politicians. Money and status occupy their hearts and minds, and they quarrel so much that no benefit arises from their efforts. No such Associations will ever be successful in serving Islam, and they may in fact harm Islam by driving away sincere people.
I have been with the Cypriot Muslims on behalf of my Grandsheikh fot forty years, and thanks to Allah Almighty I
65 have been given the opportunity by my Lord to travel this island from end to end and visit Muslims in virtually every village and every mosque. Everywhere I have gone I have encountered a few people who love their Lord and His beloved Prophet and the Inheritors of the Holy Prophet. Among those interested people there always were good telations and mutual love.
But now that the Cypriot Muslims have formed themselves into a type of Association, they have fallen into disputation and bickering so that their aspiration and enthusiasm have weakened and they have stopped listening to their “spiritual headquarters”, though it is incumbent upon them. This being the case, I advise our brothers not to form associations outside of their mosques. As far as mosques are concerned, the administration of them is clearly defined: a mosque must be under the care of three qualified and dedicated people, the Imam, Muezzin and Mosque- Keeper, and the qualifications for those positions are adequately defined by such matters as knowledge of leading the prayers correctly, uprightness of character and availability for daily service. No one should quarrel with those three as long as they do what they can for the mosque and its congregation.
As believers it is our duty to do our best to call people to Islam and to call Muslims to the practice of Islam; and it is our duty as well to make sure that we call people to Islam in the best way, with perception and wisdom. But we must seek to accomplish this duty through our own means and with our own energy, and not grow dependent on huge influxes of
money from wealthy Muslim countries, who with their
66
money would make us pawns for their political ends, and lead us into cheating ourselves and others. We would thereby acquire only greed and insincerity.
It is as if we had some pute milk; even if it is a modest amount of milk it is pure and nourishing. Then along come some insincere people with vast quantities of water for us to add to our milk, in order to fool people with a watered-down drink sold as the original thing. Such actions are strictly prohibited in our religion, as the Holy Prophet said: “Whoever cheats people is disassociated from us.” This is a very important point: for the sake of money people lose their sincerity, fall in love with money and power, and then they call it an “Islamic Association”. It is a blatant and manifest lie; such associations are “Money and Power Associations,” that is all.
Money will never bring sincere people into Islam, nor make non-practising Muslims into better Muslims. If this were the case we would now see millions and millions of new Muslims in the mosques of these worldwide associations which are pouring money into propagation of Islam in Europe and America. Instead, all we see are bureaucracies that cannot draw even five sincere people to Islam and only send those who come to ask about it away cold, successfully alienating newcomers who come to Islam through other ways. Only by sincerity and strong faith can we ever be successful in our efforts to purify ourselves or to be examples for others. Instead, however, we insist upon destroying ourselves and others by running after wealthy countries for their money. Thatis the illness of our egos.
67 ISLAMIC EDUCATION FOR THIS DAY AND AGE
The Sheikh received the following letter from the founders of “Dar-ul-Islam”, a rural Islamic community in New Mexico. After expressing their greetings and requesting the Sheikh’s blessing and prayers for them, the text read:
“We have begun a small Muslim school hete based on the pattern of the Islamic Madrasah. We want to develop a strong programme of Islamic education based both upon religious and worldly knowledge. We would like to consult with you on what would be the best form of education for our children in order to prepate them for life in the modem world. Please bear in mind that we will try to use your answer.”
“At ptesent our children ate studying Arabic, Qur'an, Islamic Studies, Fiqh (Islamic Law and Jurisprudence) , © Stories of the Prophets, Sirah (Biography of the life of the Prophet Muhammad), Mathematics, Science and English. The school is organized so that all grades are in one roomona nearly one-to-one basis with their teachers. We would be very grateful for any advice you could give us regarding curriculum, teaching methods and goals. We don’t know if we — can implement your ideas, but we will certainly contemplate
them and do the best we can. The parents of the children will also welcome your help.”
The Sheikh:
Know, that if we have been asked a question we shall give a reply with the permission of spiritual authority. You must be aware that these are not my words, rather I am asking spiritual
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power centers for a useful answer for the brothers and sisters
of the Dar-ul-Islam community, I start by saying “Bismillahirrahmanirrahim” (In the Name of Allah, the All- Beneficent, the All-Merciful), as under this honourable title I don’t think that their message will be lost or that I will speak wrong words.
It is our belief that the Holy Prophet. Peace be upon him, was sent to mankind to complete the task of all of the earlier Prophets, Peace be upon them all. His task was to teach people what benefits them most in this life and the next, and to educate them to live in the best of ways. The Seal of Prophets, Sayyidina Muhammad, taught his companions, and they, in turn, taught mankind what they had learned from the Holy Prophet.
One of the Prophet's closest companions and his son-in- law was Sayyidina Ali, who was blessed with deep insight into matters of both inward and outward religious concern; indeed he was one of the Holy Prophet's true heirs. In one of the many wise sayings of Sayyidina Ali which have been recorded and passed down to us, he said: “You must educate your children with an eye toward che future, anticipating the conditions they will face when they grow up, and preparing them to deal with that world. Therefore, remember that the world is always undergoing change, and don't educate them for your own time, leaving them unprepared for what they must do.”
In accordance with Sayyidina Ali’s holy words of divine wisdom we must try to educate our children to deal with the future, and we must use teaching methods suitable for
69 accomplishing that task. Our Holy Prophet Muhammad, Peace be upon him, once said: “Wisdoms are our lost property, therefore, anywhere we come across them we should recover them.” The import of this Hadith is that a Muslim must be aware; he must be aware that this is a wide world in which it is his right and duty to look from East to West, to the heavens and to the earth, that he may find the lost wisdom that is his property.
In educating our children, therefore, we must be very versatile in our thinking so that we may put these two pieces of advice into action: to prepare our children for the future and to use every available wisdom in doing so, They must grow up to be bright and aware Muslims in order to keep their faith in a predominantly non-Muslim society, and indeed, only by taking these two important pieces of advice firmly into hand can we hope to succeed in such a formidable task.
In order to have any hope of succeeding we must understand the wisdom contained in the following example: Itis our duty to remain like pure water, and to be careful about maintaining our purity and avoiding pollution. But if we are poured into a clean bottle we have no objection to taking the bottle’s shape for as long as we are in the bottle. And if that bottle is tinted, it may appear that the water is coloured, but it is not: the water remains clear and clean, its characteristics exactly the same. Therefore, we must have the goal in the education of our children to make them good Muslims in a society of many temptations, to teach them how they may keep their purity by learning how to distinguish between clean bottles which they may enter and filthy ones they must
70 avoid.
Yes, this is a very important point, and we will draw some general guidelines for you to think over. For example, in this letter our sister says that all grades are together in the same classroom on a nearly one- to-one basis with their teachers, but I think that in the neighbouring communities the students are separated according to age in different grades and that each student and teacher has a private seat in the classroom. It is alright if you do it in the same way - no harm - so that when your children come together with other children and perhaps talk about or even show them their school, those children won't feel estranged from your children and think that Islam is a very weird and wrong way that forbids classrooms and seats (and therefore condemns everything they have been taught). Your school may look similar to other American schools, but it should give your children an education and training that will help them keep the purity of their faith. You may use all modem techniques and guidelines for teaching your children, but they must be based on Islamic ptinciples.
Now I see from your letter also that your curriculum is an “overdose”, a dosage prescribed for young adults on their way to becoming scholars, not a dose suitable for children. We are not going to make all the children into Muftis and Qadis; it will become clear when they are older which of them have an inclination in that direction. For the children in general we must give common and practical knowledge about Islam and make such teaching interesting and enjoyable so that they may become attracted to their religion, not repelled and burdened
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by it and as adults come to hate Islam. You must know that no religion can be as tolerant as Islam, particularly in respect to the younger generation. We must apply such tolerance so they may find comfort and feel pleasure in their religion. If we cannot manage to impart an Islamic education in such a manner we will never be successful.
By tolerance I do not of course refer to tolerating lack of discipline in school and bad behaviour, no; what I mean is that huge burdens of religious knowledge should not be forced down the children’s throats against their will, as there is no compulsion in religion. Therefore, we must try to give them more classes under the title of “worldly” knowledge and impart divine knowledge through that medium, but shifting the emphasis or focus from what might be taught in classes of the same name in other schools. Fiqh (Islamic Jurisprudence) may be taught on an elementary level in the context of “Social Studies”. Stories of the Prophets and particularly the biography of the Prophet Muhammad may be taught in the context of “History”; and other Islamic subjects may be given through such subjects as Science and Mathematics.
You may ask what the wisdom is in applying such a method. For example: a person may be inneed of more ironin his diet, Now if we go and buy iron filings from a merchant, spoon them up and swallow them, is it good? Is that the best method? What need is there for such a terrible mouthful when Allah Almighty in His endless Power and Wisdom has commanded the roots of plants to search in the Earth for atoms, molecules and tiny particles of iron, draw them up,
72 and make them available for our consumption in the edible and delicious forms of lentils, spinach etc. Reflect upon this: in such an iron-rich diet lies the cure for the iron-deficiencies of the body, not in the force - feeding of iron filings. That is what wisdom demands. If you can understand the purport of what we are saying you may meet with success, otherwise, all of your methods will be comparable to giving spoonfuls of
sulphur to children rather than feeding them eggs. Which is more suitable forthe body?
We are seeking new methods suitable to our time and to a Muslim community in America, not trying to cling to old methods that were suitable in a different age. New methods must give students Islamic knowledge and characteristics through modern knowledge. Don't create artificial separations between “worldly” and “otherworldly”, as sucha separation is, in any case, foreign to Islamic thought, which presents a unified and harmonious outlook ona believer's life in this world.
Remember to present Islam as a living and joyful way of life through the example of your own life, and by showing tolerance alongside firmness and determination in imparting Islam to your children. Try to awaken their interest and get them to ask questions and seek to know more about Islam. Don't make them feel imprisoned, let them feel freedom in a school that accords with the better side of their nature.
Remember that it is the nature of the lower self to do the opposite of what it should. Therefore you will find that when you push out, it pushes in, and when you push in, it pushes out
- and the harder you push the harder it pushes. Knowing this
73 you must not start such a wrestling match in motion, but you must show your children Islam and Islamic life so that they won't be seeking a way out, but will be trying, to enter.
This is our program, and it is the best one, as I am not speaking on behalf of my ego, but from our spiritual center and from where has come direction for our new Muslim brothers and sisters regarding their children’s education.
mK Oe
I am very sorry to say that our educators, even in the Islamic countries, can no longer successfully impart Islamic realities to their students. The reason for this is, as we have pointed out, that they are trying to force-feed “iron filings”, “sulphur” and “calcium” to the children That is the method of people who lack wisdom, and the result is that children come to hate Islam and Islamic topics and never approach Islamic practices. So bad are their methods that today’s teachers and scholars even manage to make themselves allergic to Islam, so that they, even more than others, are quick to leave every practice, and may only be seen to teach in order to make a living fromit.
People are waiting to taste delicious new fruits from the Holy Qur’an and the sayings of the Holy Prophet, Peace be upon him; but to taste those fruits they are in need of real teachers who have inherited wisdom, not only knowledge from the Holy Prophet. It is that wisdom alone that enables true teachers to impart knowledge and, most importantly, love of Islam to their students, as that wisdom opens their eyes as to which methods will be effective to accomplish the task at hand. Sometimes a tree may be in need of grafting, of
74 bringing some bark from another tree in order to produce new and better fruits. The root of this great tree of Islam is eternal and unchanging, but the fruits of each time may vary so as to be easily digestible for those who eat them.
Some people will certainly accuse us of condoning the introduction of non-Islamic methods into Islamic - education, of creating harmful innovations. Such reaction will be testimony to the blindness of those people Our faith _ and practice are eternal, and all the teaching methods we may adopt are for the purpose of perfectly imparting that faith and practice. Do they not understand the implications of the Prophet's saying: “All wisdoms are a believer's lost property that he may recover anywhere,” and his saying: “Seek knowledge even unto China”? Can they comprehend nothing about the Islamic approach by knowing that a church building may be purchased and turned into a mosque, and needn't be torn down for a new mosque to be built from the foundations? Besides, the Holy Qur’an states that it encompasses all things “wet and dry, large and small” — new understanding gushes forth eternally from that fountain. If your eyes have been opened you may perceive unlimited meanings in its Holy Verses; it is the ultimate key to that portion of our Lord’s knowledge that has been made available to man; therefore, in reality, nothing is outside its scope. You must know this and believe it.
x KORO
Today's Islamic scholars can be very strict in their dealings with their students, showing no tolerance or compassion, while they never judge themselves with the same strict
75 measurements or standards: ready to tolerate laxity and sin in themselves but not in others. It is very rare indeed to find a tolerant Islamic scholar, despite the fact that our Prophet, Peace be upon him, has declared the Islamic code to be the most tolerant of all the divinely revealed codes of law.
We must practise the widest possible tolerance and have the most leniency in relation to new Muslims and their children. Behaving towards such delicate young “saplings” in any other manner, in ways that emanate from the teacher's own ego can do irreparable harm to that person’s faith; it can be like pouting acid on the roots of a young tree. Whoever does such a destructive thing will carry a very heavy load of responsibility in the Divine Presence and may face his Lord witha heavy burden of blame.
Therefore, I am warning all the teachers of new Muslims, and be they Egyptians, Pakistanis or other, to be very careful in their behaviour towards them, to watch themselves closely, and ask themselves whether they are succeeding in instilling love of Islam in their young charges. Remember that they are very new to Islam and have not been taised in an Islamic society. So if you have an urge to be very strict, be so with yourself and be most forbearing with them. If you cannot lighten your hand with regards to those new Muslims then you had better do something else with your time than trying to teach them.
Ponder on the following Hadith Qudsi, in which Allah Almighty declares: “La ilaha ilia Allah (Declaration of faith in the Unity of God) is My Fortress, and whoso enters My Fortress has secured himself safety from My punishment.”
76 What statement of mercy from our Lord could be more encompassing than this? We must emulate this Divine tolerance with every new Muslim. And mightI point out, that in teality the new Muslims are applying themselves one- hundred times more than the scholars themselves are in their attempt to observe the Divine code of law, striving with. sincetity to learn more and more and to live according to that knowledge. Remember that forbearance and tolerance draws hearts to the obedience of their Lord while the portrayal of Islam as a very, very narrow path frightens people away and closes their hearts.
May Allah keep us from mistakes and misguidance,
especially in religious matters.
a a a
Tt LOVE
Love is the bond that binds hearts, the basis upon which to build. If love is the foundation, your building will withstand all earthquakes and storms; and you may build it as high and wide as you please without it being in danger. Therefore, our Way is the Way of Love. Leave what is keeping you from following that Path and turn to follow it with perseverance; follow this path all the way to your destination...
78 me
SNAK
18, Eo, 20.
The Golden Chain Of Spiritual Transmission Of the Nagshbandi - Khwajagan Masters
The Holy Prophet Muhammad Mustafa, Peace be upon him. Abu Bakr as-Siddiq
Salman al-Farsi
Al-Imam Qasim bin Muhammad bin Abu Bakr as-Siddiq Al-Imam Ja’ fer as-Sadiq
Abu Yazid al-Bistami
Abul Hasan al-Kharqani
Abu Alial-Farmadi
Yusuf al-Hamdani
. Abul-Abbas (Khidr, upon whom be Peace) if 12. 13. 14. 1d: 16. 17;
Abdul Khaliq al-Ghujduwani
Arif Righwari
Mahmud al-Faghnawi
Ali Ramitani
Muhammad Baba Sammasi
Seyyid Amir Kullal
Qutub at-Tariqah Shah Muhammed Bahauddin Nagqshband al-Uwaysi al-Bukhari Alauddin Muhammad al-Attar Yaqub al-Charkhy
Ubeydullah al-Ahrar as-Samargandi
79 21. 22. 23. 24. 25.
26.
27. 28. 29. 30. 31.
a2. 33. 34. 35. 36. 37. 38. 39. . Sultan al-Awliya Sheikh Muhammad Nazim
Al.
Muhammad az-Zahid
Dervish Muhammad al-Bukhari HajegiEmkeneki as-Samargandi Muhammad al-BagibiUah as-Samarqandi Mujaddidal-Alf ath-Thanilmam Rabbani Ahmad Farug as-Sirhindi
Urwat ul Wuthga Muhammad Ma'sum Ar-Rabbani
Haji Sayfuddin ar-Rabbani
Nur Muhammad al-Badwani
Habibullah Mirza Jan-i-Janan al-Mazhar Ghulam Ali Abdullah ad-Dehlawi Ziyauddin Abu Naasan Mubammad Khalid al-Baghdadi ash-Shami
Sheikh Ismail an-Narani
Khas Muhammad Shirwani
Sheikh Muhammad Yaraghi
Sayyid Jamaluddin al-Ghumugi al-Husseini Abu Ahmed as-Sughuri
Abu Muhammad al-Madani
Sayyid Sharafuddin ad-Daghistani Sultan al-Awliya Abdullah ad-Daghistani
Adil al-Qubrusi
Sheikhuna wa-Ustazuna Sheikh Muhammad Adil al-Qubrusi
Fatiha
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People are running away from a shadow - a shadow which is themselves, that is why they are ill - and the harder they run, the more their miseries catch up with them. They flee from themselves all their lives in pursuit of a desert mirage that turns out to be nothing but sand. After all that struggle to reach that "oasis" and to quench their thirst, they find that their strugg- les and false hopes have only made them more parched and that much closer to death for their efforts. When they arrive they drink the draught of death and must face a meeting with their Lord for which they are unprepared. This is the fate of those who waste away their lives in vain amusement.
The main goal of Islam and of Sufi Paths, especially the Naqshbandi Path, is to ‘bring people back to themselves, to teach them to stop fleeing from their own shadow and to stop chasing a mirage.
Link: https://www.nvrislam.net/index.php?j=eng&post=5788