MERCY OCEANS, Book 07 (Hidden Treasures, Shaykh Nazim, 220 pages, 1/12)
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Mercy Oceans, Hidden Treasures, Book 7
Damascus Lectures Spring 1400 H. (1980 C.E.) ~ Winter 1401 H. (1981 C.E.)
The Teachings of Mawlana Shaykh ‘Abdullah al-Fa’iz ad-Daghestani An-Naqshbandi
As expounded upon by our Master Mawlana Shaykh Muhammad Nazim ‘Adil al-Haqqani An-Naqshbandi May Allah Sanctify Their Blessed Souls
Edited by Ibrahim Shukrullah
Our Masters Shaykh ‘Abdullah al-Fa’iz ad-Daghestani (right) Shaykh Nazim al-Haqqani (left) May Allah Sanctify Their Blessed Souls
Our Master Shaykh Muhammad ‘Adil ar-Rabbani 41st Grandshaykh of the Naqshbandi Tariqat May Allah Sanctify His Secret
Mercy Oceans’ Hidden Treasures, First Edition (1981) Second Edition (1988) Third Edition (2018)
All Rights Reserved Shaykh Nazim al-Haqqani ©
Table of Contents
Introduction I
* PART ONE
* “And We Taught Him Knowledge From Our Divine Presence” 1
* The Unfathomable Power In The Ayats Of Qur’an 3
* Who Likes To Eat The Flesh Of His Dead Brother? 5
* About Backbiting: A Story From The Life Of The Prophet 7
* Some Secrets Of His Divine Realm 10
* “Ask More Of Me And I Will Bestow On You More Than You Can Imagine Of This Boundless Ocean” 13
* Position Of Prophet Muhammad On The Last Day 16
* The Importance Of Aligning Our Will With The
* Will Of The Lord 18
* Surpassing The Mind’s Limitations 24
* Sayyidina ‘Umar’s Merits, Sayyidina Abu Bakr’s Perfection 28
* Real Servanthood, Fighting The Ego, And Questions 32
* The Ladder To The Moon, Effort And Trust In The Lord 40
* Miracles: The Power To Pack The Universe Into A Thimble 45
* Graves Have Ears;
* The Station Of Our Grandshaykh 48
* The Mission Of Prophets And Awliya;
* Our Grandshaykh’s Special Guidance Quality;
* A Very Good Manner 50
* Allah’s Boundless Mercy: Everyone Has His Place In Paradise;
* The Black Stone: Different Levels Of Understanding; Telescopes 54
* Concerning Judgement And The Sixth Pillar;
* Qudrat Allah 60
* The Murid’s Total Submission To His Guide Will
* Train Him To Keep His Faith In Severe Trials 63
* The Power Of Real Faith: When No One But Allah
* Is Watching… 68
* Patience Is The Key, And Only Faith Will Yield It 70
* The Real Honour Of Mankind:
* Ibrahim Bin Adham’s Awakening;
* Defending Our Iman Against Its Enemies 71
* The Importance Of Everyone’s Hidden Aptitude (Ahliyya):
* A Story, The Day The Sahaba Decided To Sleep In; It Is Useless To Depend On One’s Own Actions
* Or Worshippings 76
* Only One Ray Of The Effulgent Soul Comes To The Forms In This World 82
* The Story Of How ‘Ali Confounded The Philosophers; And What Jesus Read On The Tombstone Of A King 86
* Attaining Real Humility In Worship: To Avoid Being
* Self-Satisfied With The Amount Of One’s Devotions 91
* Advice For Instructors: Understand Wisdom With Your Heart Before You Attempt To Teach It 94
* One Bud In Each Tree Confirms The Approach Of
* Spring: Westerners Are Being Granted Faith As
* Muslim Nations Abandon It 98
* When People Say: “I Don’t Care...” 100
* The Worst Blasphemies Are No Burden On Allah, But He Will Reward The Faithful By Drawing
* Them Close To His Presence 103
* “My Mercy Outdoes My Anger” 105
* Punishment And Reward In The Grave
* And Beyond 108
* Our Being’s Essence (Dhat) Is Forever Free Of Sin; Humility, Accepting The Quranic Truth: “And Above Every Knower There Is One Who
* Knows More” 113
* A Definition Of Following (Ittiba’a):
* Leaving The Ego’s Choice 119
* Fooling The Ego: Today Cash, Tomorrow Credit 122
* Istiqamah: Bearing The Load Of The Divine Trust 123
* Allah Will Not Retract What He Has Given 125
* Who The Unbelievers Are, How They Are Serving
* The Faithful And What Will Be Their Reward. 126
* Tap Your Underground Springs 129
* Understanding The Secrets Of The Deathbed 132
* The Wisdom Of Not Trying To Be A Teacher 134
* The Story Of The Man Who Was Infatuated
* With His Own Knowledge And Put The Assembly
* To Sleep 137
* The Grand Mufti Who Cleaned Toilets 141
* Epilogue 146
* PART TWO
* Do Your Best For The Whole World And Carry No Enmity In Your Heart 149
* The Two Condemned Actions 150
* The Four Witnesses 153
* A Warning To Mankind 154
* The Intricacies Of Ruling 157
* Hunters Wear Camouflage: The Time Abu Yazid
* Donned Priests’ Garb 161
* Purification Of Our Hearts 164
* Knowledge And The Necessity Of Acting Upon It 167
* About Television 169
* Trust In The Lord; Traveling 171
* You Are As Good As The Companions You Keep 173
* Ma Sha’Allah — Whatever Our Lord Has Willed 176
* Be Patient, Mild And Forbearing; Not Angry And Short-Tempered 177
* Tables From Heaven 180
* PART THREE
* Glossary of Arabic Terms;
* Biographical Sketches 191
* The Golden Chain Of Transmission Of The Naqshbandi Khwajagan Masters 223
INTRODUCTION
Oh my brothers, this book is a mine into which you may dig, and from which you may take jewels and precious metals. Miners are digging up rocks, cutting them open and extracting precious metals. My English is like rocks, but through my words you may find the precious metals you need — so don’t look at my English but take from it those treasures. Shaykh Nazim ‘Adil Al-Qubrusi
i
IN THE NAME OF ALLAH THE ALL BENEFICENT, THE ALL MERCIFUL
PART ONE
WINTER LECTURES DAMASCUS 1401 H. (1981 C.E.)
SHAYKH NAZIM AL-HAQQANI
“AND WE TAUGHT HIM KNOWLEDGE FROM OUR DIVINE PRESENCE”
We are reading from my Grandshaykh’s lectures. Grandshaykhwas an unlettered man, but Allah Almighty teaches some people because they put everything out of their hearts excepting their Lord, and they choose their Lord over everything — until their Lord loves them, and when He loves His servant He gives him treasures from His knowledge. No one can learn this knowledge through books, this knowledge which is called “Ilm-ul-ladunni”, or knowledge directly from His Divine Presence, as the Qur’an declares:
“And We taught him knowledge from Our Divine Presence.”
(Surat al Kahf, Ayat 65)
Outward religious knowledge is easy to obtain, even non-Muslims can know it, but this knowledge can’t be gained except through purifying the heart of all created things, of all that exists besides Him Almighty.
One of those chosen people was our Grandshaykh ‘Abdullah Ad-Daghestani, Sultan al-Awliya. He was telling us from his knowledge-treasures that every verse of Qur’an and Hadith of the Prophet, Peace be Upon Him, contains every knowledge concerning everyone living, already passed away, or yet to be born in future generations; therefore, a person if thinking about or pondering over a verse of Qur’an or a Hadith, he may attain the ability of clear distinction, and so he will find his way to his Lord with ease. If anyone takes up his journey with a holy verse or Hadith, his path will become clear within himself, as Allah says about His Prophet that he is calling people to a clear, bright, clean
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and safe way. Therefore, it is important for everyone to search for a verse or a Hadith and ponder it so that it will become clear to him and then, so many beneficial ways and Divine Signs will appear to him.
Grandshaykh said that each person will derive benefit from verses and Hadiths according to his faith- power. The more faith-power he reaches, the more benefit he may derive; he may dive deeper and deeper into those meaning oceans contained therein. Grandshaykh said that Awliya may perceive at least twenty-four thousand meanings from one verse’s oceans of meanings. You can’t see anything in a drop of water, but when you are looking with a microscope you may see millions of living bacteria coming and going every which way. Therefore, there cannot be any valid objection to this saying, and anyone who claims that there is only one meaning for an ayat is indeed a foolish person.
If anyone is objecting, we may say to him, “Oh my brother, look — Allah sent to Muhammad only one book. Now just look at the Islamic World and you will find huge libraries overflowing with books, and the main source for all these books is the Holy Qur’an; millions of books on the whole range of Islamic topics (and very precious books at that) — where then, do all these books come from?” They are springing from the living source of the Holy Qur’an; they didn’t exist, nor could they have ever existed before the Qur’an was revealed. It is then but a small thing to say that a Wali can know at least of twenty-four thousand meanings for a verse. You can find libraries growing every day. Some Islamic authors wrote several hundred volumes on the meanings of Qur’an, and now even Europeans are joining the Muslims in writing about its meanings. This generation may write two or three books on every book which is presently in the library just for their clarification and explanation. And so, you may know that the Knowledge of Qur’an is
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constantly expanding.
If such is the case for scholarly knowledge of the Qur’an, then what about the knowledge of such people whose teacher is Allah Himself? Allah’s Knowledge is limitless, and for all He bestows upon His servants from it, still it will never decrease. We are never going to be satisfied with our level of learning, as mankind has a boundless yearning for knowledge. Therefore, Islam is best and Islam is highest — giving mankind as much knowledge as it could wish for, and explaining the reality of all existence. There is a proverb: Man will never be satisfied with regard to two desires — money and knowledge: whosoever seeks money will never say “enough,” and likewise he who seeks knowledge will never say “enough.” This saying points out the two sides of man’s personality: the ego (Nafs) asking for endless pleasures in this life and the soul asking for endless heavenly knowledge.
* * *
THE UNFATHOMABLE POWER IN THE AYATS OF QUR’AN
I am asking our Grandshaykh to reach to us with his spiritual powers so that we may give explanations of his teachings, and also, I am asking for spiritual powers for those who will listen to his words.
Grandshaykh was saying that if a person can arrange and direct his actions according to a Qur’anic verse and do so with full belief, he can receive from it every knowledge of which he may be in need throughout his life. Also, he says in regard to the meaning of ‘Ayat’ or verse of the Qur’an, that to call it a ‘verse’ is not sufficient, for an ayat is in reality much, much more than
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explaining something through a verse; as I understand from Grandshaykh, ‘ayat’ belongs to Allah Almighty and is a ‘Sign of Allah’, sign of His endless Power and Knowledge. Ayat reaches to the highest point and is in all cases victorious, so that no matter what comes upon one from the Sons of Adam, one ayat will be enough to vanquish it all and to make one victorious. That is ayat: it has such a power that it outweighs the power of all mankind put together.
For what reason has ayat been so named? — Because Allah Almighty challenged all of the Arabs and all mankind to put forward one verse alike unto a Quranic ayat; to all come together — poets, learned men, clever people — and see if they were able to, but they failed — and they had to fail — as it is impossible to meet the challenge. Why? — Because an ayat contains the word of Allah, quite distinct from the word of men. The Prophet recited Qur’an as it was read to him, and at other times he spoke from himself (Hadith), but if you compare the two you can tell the difference immediately, just as one may easily distinguish between rubies and normal stones; such is the difference between the two — one the word of mortal man and the other the word of the Almighty and Eternal Lord.
Our Grandshaykh was saying that if a man can keep and totally practice one ayat, that he himself will become an Ayat from among the ayats or signs of Allah, and will be victorious over all. We are not speaking about such people who name themselves ‘ayatullah’; if a person is a true ayatullah then power is coming through him so that he has no need to use guns, rockets and soldiers. Even one of his holy breaths is adequate to protect himself and his whole nation from evil.
* * *
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(A question was asked): “Is it true what I was told, that it took Abu Bakr As-Siddiq ten years to completely absorb and incorporate Surat al-Fatiha (The Opening Chapter of the Qur’an)?”
This is such a chapter (Surah) that if it even took Abu Bakr ten years to incorporate it, then we cannot reach it even in ten-thousand years. The important point is that Abu Bakr attained to the understanding of this surah, and that this surah contains within it all of the Holy Qur’an. The Fatiha stands for the whole Qur’an but the whole rest of the Qur’an cannot stand in the place of the Fatiha. If you read Qur’an seven times from beginning to end without reading the Fatiha it will not be equal to reading the Fatiha just once — that is why we read the Fatiha in every rakat of the prayer. I once heard from my Grandshaykh that Sayyidina ‘Ali said: “Oh people, I can sit here and tell you so many meanings of Fatiha that if you wrote them down, they would fill enough volumes to overburden one-hundred camels, and still it would not be enough to express the meanings of al-Fatiha.”
* * *
WHO LIKES TO EAT THE FLESH OF HIS DEAD BROTHER?
My Grandshaykh was speaking on a point of utmost importance for everyone — about a very terrible and dangerous characteristic of egos which is the main source of every trouble for mankind, the fountain of evil and the famous ‘arm of devils’ for turning people into each other’s enemies and destroying good relations between people in general. We are very proud of our religion of Islam for the fact that it prohibited this worst characteristic of the ego. This characteristic is backbiting, and it destroys
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everything — thus it is strongly prohibited by Allah. My Grandshaykh says that we must be very careful on this point. Our faith (Iman) will never grow if we cannot desist from backbiting. Every time we backbite we do to our Iman what pouring acid on the roots of a young tree does to that tree. It is a very terrible action, and Grandshaykh pointed to the following verse (Ayat) of Qur’an in order to show Just how terrible:
“O ye who believe! Shun much suspicion; for lo! some suspicion is a sin. And spy not, neither backbite on another. Would one of you like to eat the flesh of his dead brother? You abhor that (so abhor the other)! And keep your duty to Allah. Lo! Allah is Relenting, Merciful.”
(Surat al-Hujrat, Ayat 12)
Allah gave this ayat to the sons of Adam in order that they should hate that characteristic and be disgusted by it: you, when you backbite, are the same as someone who eats his brother’s cadaver.
We must clearly define backbiting so that we can distinguish it and seek to avoid it: if you are plagued with a characteristic which you detest in yourself and are trying to hide, and then someone comes along, spots it and makes it public with the intention of degrading and debasing you in the eyes of people — then he is backbiting. You are trying to hide your faults, and he comes along and spreads word of them around so that people’s hearts may turn away from you.
On the other hand there are some people who are committing every badness and are proud of their doings, not caring what people think of them, not hiding, nor feeling any shame for their sins; if you are cautioning someone so that he may not fall victim of such a devil,
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then this is certainly not backbiting but, quite to the contrary, a duty. You must differentiate between the two: One person is, so to speak, dragged to evil because his ego pulls him there and he is too weak to resist, but he feels shame; the other is a conscienceless devil, and you must describe his characteristics exactly and warn. Allah Almighty Himself describes Abu Lahab, Nimrod, Abu Jahl, Pharaoh and Haman in the Holy Qur’an for this reason.
Another very delicate matter is that of giving advice (Nasihat). We must not tell people about their faults directly, but we must be tactful and indirect in our approach. In Turkish we use the example of the mother- in-law who wanted to correct an objectionable trait in her daughter-in-law, but in order to avoid offending her she reprimanded her own daughter in the presence of the daughter-in-law for just that very fault which she wished to correct in her. In this manner the daughter- in-law understood without taking offense. It is very important to use this sort of tactic, especially in our times when people’s feelings are more fragile than china teacups — you must be very careful.
In general, one must not tell anyone anything directly. When you see a no-good characteristic in someone you may say, “Oh my brother, sometimes I have such-and-such a problem with my ego, what shall I do about it?” Perhaps he will say, “Oh, I also have that problem.” This is real guidance.
* * *
ABOUT BACKBITING: A STORY FROM THE LIFE OF THE PROPHET
Allah Almighty is teaching us so many lessons so
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that we may become suitable for His Divine Presence. Now we shall speak about our Prophet’s miracles. Every Prophet brought miracles and indeed must bring miracles, so that people can understand that he is an extraordinary person with a personality distinct from ours.
Our Prophet said: “Whoso sees me (and the miracles that I have brought) and believes in me, that is a grant from Allah Almighty to His servant; but I am not surprised that those who see me should believe; what I am astonished by are that those who come after our generation are believing in me just from reading about me in history books. Greatest happiness (Tooba) for those who have seen me and believe in me, but seven times greater happiness for those who did not meet me but are believing through having heard of me.”
One day the Holy Prophet was sitting with his companions when two men entered holding their stomachs in pain, saying, “Oh Rasulallah, we have intense pain in our stomachs — please treat us with your medicine.” The Prophet answered, “You must have eaten something which caused you this, you must have eaten some raw meat.” “Oh Prophet, we haven’t eaten any meat in fifteen days, what to speak of raw meat.” “No, you must have eaten raw meat I tell you.” Again they denied it, so he instructed them to induce vomiting, and each of them vomited out large chunks of green, rotten, raw meat. At this the two men were astonished on account of two things: Firstly, because they never had eaten any such thing, nor would they have dreamed of doing so, yet they regurgitated it from their very own bellies; and secondly, because the pain they had been suffering disappeared immediately. “Oh Rasulallah, we swear to you that we never ate this.” To this the Prophet replied: “Oh people, did you not just pass by the house of a certain person and backbite about him? Did not Allah
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say that whosoever backbites eats the raw meat of his brother’s cadaver? Allah speaks only the truth, and this is proof of it.”
When you are backbiting you destroy your own faith and that of your victim as well, because when one speaks badly about another, a bad current reaches to that person, and he wears that offense as if it were a heavy burden around his neck. You destroy your faith and his faith, and bring darkness and madness upon him. For this reason it is strongly forbidden in Islam to defame one another.
On the other hand, if you are speaking good things about a person, a good current reaches out to him and sheds light on his soul; therefore, it has been ordered to make supplication (Du’a) for people in their absence. The Prophet says that when a believer makes a du’a for an absent brother, that good wish goes out to him and makes him lighter, stronger and more joyful; also Allah Almighty sends an Angel to that suppliant with the following good tidings: “As much as you are asking for that brother of light, strength and happiness, that much Allah is giving to you also.” In this way both parties’ profit, and similarly, in the case of backbiting, both sides will suffer, as darkness will descend on your heart as well as his. If not for backbiting, relationships would be stronger, and as much as we are connected with each other the more Allah Almighty is pleased with us and extends to us His Divine Protection.
Our Grandshaykh was furthermore explaining that if a person backbites it means that he is burdening the victim with a heavy load so that it becomes difficult for him to bring himself to perform acts of worship. Allah Almighty has stated that He created man only to worship Him, and if you are backbiting you are cutting that person from worship, and thus killing him.
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In this time the majority of people cannot perform the acts of worship asked of them; they are very heavy and lackadaisical in this respect but so quick and agile in serving the Devil and following his way. Backbiting is one of the biggest underlying reasons why people are delaying in performing their worship.
The Prophet says that Allah is the Judge of Judges and that no one can judge anyone as Allah does. If one is backbiting, he is making himself into a judge with no authority from the Judge of Judges: “So-and-so is a no- good person.” Know that you are not the judge of your Lord’s servants; He created them and He judges them as He wills! Whoso ignores this point is making himself out to be a partner to Allah (Shirk), and this is one of the greatest sins — as Allah never accepts that partners be ascribed to Him.
Who seeks a partner? He who hasn’t enough power seeks a partner, but Allah Almighty has Endless Power and All-Penetrating Will — for what does He need to seek a partner? No partner for Him and no son. A man may be in need of a son to succeed him, but Allah has no need for a successor. His is Eternal Existence knowing no boundaries of time. Therefore, everyone must be very careful. I think this is enough to show us what a terrible thing backbiting is.
* * *
SOME SECRETS OF HIS DIVINE REALM
I am always asking Divine Help from my Lord so that I may clearly explain these important matters. Perhaps hundreds or thousands of people will listen to these words, and I am asking my Lord to grant them understanding and benefit, so that they may tread a
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straight path and escape from the traps of devils. This is a very high ideal, and everyone must have this ideal and purpose! We must try to help everyone, not only for the sake of our own salvation, but for that of all mankind. Allah Almighty is calling us to this way.
We are speaking about the holy verses (Ayat) of our Creator, Allah Almighty. According to our Grandshaykh’s explanation, every verse is an endless independent ocean of meaning; you can take all things from that ocean. Even if we would absorb from the ocean of one ayat throughout all eternity, it would never be exhausted; they remain the same limitless oceans eternally.
Perhaps someone may ask, “For what did Allah create these eternal oceans?” We must know that Allah Almighty is never in need of anything, and therefore is creating all those oceans solely for the sake of His servants. The main attribute of Allah Almighty is His being beyond need of anyone; but while He is never in need of anything, His creatures’ main attribute is to be in need at every moment. The creature can never be above need of his Creator; if the Divine Help which keeps everything in existence was to be pulled out for even a second from the smallest atomic particle, then that piece would cease to exist.
Now, you must know that Allah Almighty is the Creator, and He is forever creating. No one can define a limit or a beginning for His creation. He was creating from pre-eternity and will create forever. Eternity means ‘outside of time’; Allah is the Creator, and He brought the Sons of Adam into time — but they originated outside of time. They are like a gigantic river — every creature coming from timelessness, from a world where time has no meaning, then entering into time and ultimately returning to eternity from whence he came. On both
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ends of the river’s journey we find eternity.
We are all in need of those endless meaning oceans, and every creature is swimming in them, taking from his Lord’s favours. The divine reason for His verses being such endless oceans is that we may say, “Our Lord has limitless sovereignty over His Realm.” For such a realm there must be an infinity of servants, creatures, worshippers, angels and kingdoms. No one can fully understand his Lord; one may know a little regarding his Lord, but it is quite impossible to know all. He is the absolute King over His Kingdom, and there is no partner unto Him. When His servants know this they will say, “Oh my Lord, we are powerless.” When they are thus recognizing and admitting their powerlessness, He gives them from His Divine Power and dresses them with it, which enables them to dive into those oceans and derive more and more benefit from Divine Wisdom and Knowledge.
Our Grandshaykh was saying that each Prophet and Saint has a special position and rank particular to him and unlike that of another. In accordance with their respective positions, they are taking Divine Wisdom and Knowledge from that ocean. What are they doing with this Knowledge and Wisdom? The more they take of it the more they are improving through Divine Lights, thus approaching their Lord’s Divine Presence where they experience boundless pleasure in witnessing more beauty oceans from His Divine Face. Therefore, they have become obsessed with their Lord. If, for example, a thirsty person drinks salty water, he will demand more and more in a vain attempt to quench his thirst, and eventually he will die. In the case of Prophets and Saints, they also ask to drink more and more of their Lord’s beauty oceans; but contrary to the drinker of salt water, they become endlessly more satisfied as they drink and grow ever more pleased with their Lord’s Presence, so
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that they pursue it tirelessly and will sacrifice all things for the sake of this Divine Favour.
The Prophets and Saints who sacrifice everything in this way are most wise and discerning, but those people who neglect that excellent and most valuable life, turning instead to this dirty life, are the most foolish of people; they abandon eternal life in exchange for a bit of fading enjoyment.
* * *
“ASK MORE OF ME AND I WILL BESTOW ON YOU MORE THAN YOU CAN IMAGINE OF THIS BOUNDLESS OCEAN”
Everyone and everything is powerless in relation to Allah Almighty, and no one has any power without his Lord’s giving it to him. If the Lord Almighty gives power to servants, they may become powerful, but their original state is one of total powerlessness. If a servant declares his powerlessness in front of his Lord, it is an honour for that servant, and as a result of his humility his Lord will grant him power and support in every situation. The Prophet, Peace be Upon Him, is the first to declare his powerlessness in the Divine Presence; therefore, Allah Almighty has granted him more power than He ever gave to anyone. This is a very good lesson for mankind: if we are seeking more Divine Support and spiritual power, we should first admit our own powerlessness.
Now, Grandshaykh is explaining more upon this point: Allah Almighty gives of His Power to His beloved servants so that they may swim in those
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oceans of knowledge and wisdom. What they take, they take eternally; they ask endlessly and are endlessly bestowed upon by their Lord. Neither servant nor Lord is ever going to say ‘enough’; rather, the Lord will say, ‘‘My servant, ask for as much as you can because I am always giving more and more. Ask ten and I will give a hundred, ask a hundred and I will give a thousand, etc.; if you don’t ask, 1 shall become angry with you.”
It is one of Allah Almighty’s attributes that He always wants to give more to His servants — if you can recognize this attribute, it will give you satisfaction. If Allah were to say, “That is enough, don’t ask more,” it would mean that He doesn’t have any more to give to His servants, and if it were so, the hearts of mankind would explode. But Allah Almighty says, “Oh My servants, ask more and more, and I will bestow more than you can possibly imagine.” We must thank Allah for this and be happy that we have such a Creator, such a Lord.
Our Grandshaykh says that although you may take more and more from Allah’s wisdom and knowledge oceans, don’t think that you can take all, for in reality you can take but one drop, not a bit more. Perhaps that drop may even be a huge drop, but it is still only a drop, and no matter how large it is, it still has bounds, whereas His ocean knows no boundaries. In this is real pleasure for us: Everything that Allah Almighty is giving us grows within bounds. If we could go beyond the realm of boundaries, we would become partners to Allah, and that is an impossibility.
Now my Grandshaykh was saying that there are two kinds of knowledge. One kind belongs only to the Almighty Himself, and the other kind Allah Almighty gives to His servants. We are speaking about that second kind only, for the first kind, the knowledge belonging to His Essence (Dhat), is impossible to behold, even
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for the Angels, Prophets and Saints — off limits. The endless oceans which He bestows upon His servants are nothing compared to His Essential Knowledge, which He is keeping to Himself.
Look at this point also: When Allah Almighty called His Prophet on the Night of the Ascension (Laylatul- mi’raj) and spoke to him without intermediary, He imparted unto Muhammad three types, or areas of knowledge. One part of that knowledge He ordered the Prophet to keep with himself only: “No one can know that; it is private between Me and you.” The second part He allowed the Prophet to share with a selected elite (Khawas) of the Nation (Ummah), and the third part He ordered to be opened to everyone. The accounts we read in books about the mi’raj are from the third part of these knowledges, and further knowledge of it is given to people according to their individual ranks. The palm tree has a knowledge that it may produce dates, the orange tree has a different knowledge, as it learned from its Lord to make oranges. Apple trees produce apples, olive trees olives, and just so everything in the universe is producing according to its rank and position.
You have also been taught a knowledge from your Lord, but now in our position it is covered. You are yet like a seed which hasn’t even been planted. You must plant yourself in seclusion (Khalwa). As the seed must be covered by earth, so you must be covered from this world — then you can know yourself. When a seed is in the ground for ten days, it will sprout, but our seed has not yet been planted and thus we cannot yet see whether we are orange trees or olive trees. This is the reason why the Prophet relates from Allah Almighty: “As long as you don’t know yourself you can’t know your Lord.” Bees learn to make honey, snakes learn to bite you,
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and mules learn to kick you in the head.
* * *
POSITION OF PROPHET MUHAMMAD ON THE LAST DAY
The Last of the Prophets, Sayyidina Muhammad, Peace be Upon Him, is the most humble person of all mankind; no one can attain to his humbleness in the Divine Presence. Humility is the most beloved attribute of m
Link: https://www.nvrislam.net/index.php?j=eng&post=5801
Mercy Oceans, Hidden Treasures, Book 7
Damascus Lectures Spring 1400 H. (1980 C.E.) ~ Winter 1401 H. (1981 C.E.)
The Teachings of Mawlana Shaykh ‘Abdullah al-Fa’iz ad-Daghestani An-Naqshbandi
As expounded upon by our Master Mawlana Shaykh Muhammad Nazim ‘Adil al-Haqqani An-Naqshbandi May Allah Sanctify Their Blessed Souls
Edited by Ibrahim Shukrullah
Our Masters Shaykh ‘Abdullah al-Fa’iz ad-Daghestani (right) Shaykh Nazim al-Haqqani (left) May Allah Sanctify Their Blessed Souls
Our Master Shaykh Muhammad ‘Adil ar-Rabbani 41st Grandshaykh of the Naqshbandi Tariqat May Allah Sanctify His Secret
Mercy Oceans’ Hidden Treasures, First Edition (1981) Second Edition (1988) Third Edition (2018)
All Rights Reserved Shaykh Nazim al-Haqqani ©
Table of Contents
Introduction I
* PART ONE
* “And We Taught Him Knowledge From Our Divine Presence” 1
* The Unfathomable Power In The Ayats Of Qur’an 3
* Who Likes To Eat The Flesh Of His Dead Brother? 5
* About Backbiting: A Story From The Life Of The Prophet 7
* Some Secrets Of His Divine Realm 10
* “Ask More Of Me And I Will Bestow On You More Than You Can Imagine Of This Boundless Ocean” 13
* Position Of Prophet Muhammad On The Last Day 16
* The Importance Of Aligning Our Will With The
* Will Of The Lord 18
* Surpassing The Mind’s Limitations 24
* Sayyidina ‘Umar’s Merits, Sayyidina Abu Bakr’s Perfection 28
* Real Servanthood, Fighting The Ego, And Questions 32
* The Ladder To The Moon, Effort And Trust In The Lord 40
* Miracles: The Power To Pack The Universe Into A Thimble 45
* Graves Have Ears;
* The Station Of Our Grandshaykh 48
* The Mission Of Prophets And Awliya;
* Our Grandshaykh’s Special Guidance Quality;
* A Very Good Manner 50
* Allah’s Boundless Mercy: Everyone Has His Place In Paradise;
* The Black Stone: Different Levels Of Understanding; Telescopes 54
* Concerning Judgement And The Sixth Pillar;
* Qudrat Allah 60
* The Murid’s Total Submission To His Guide Will
* Train Him To Keep His Faith In Severe Trials 63
* The Power Of Real Faith: When No One But Allah
* Is Watching… 68
* Patience Is The Key, And Only Faith Will Yield It 70
* The Real Honour Of Mankind:
* Ibrahim Bin Adham’s Awakening;
* Defending Our Iman Against Its Enemies 71
* The Importance Of Everyone’s Hidden Aptitude (Ahliyya):
* A Story, The Day The Sahaba Decided To Sleep In; It Is Useless To Depend On One’s Own Actions
* Or Worshippings 76
* Only One Ray Of The Effulgent Soul Comes To The Forms In This World 82
* The Story Of How ‘Ali Confounded The Philosophers; And What Jesus Read On The Tombstone Of A King 86
* Attaining Real Humility In Worship: To Avoid Being
* Self-Satisfied With The Amount Of One’s Devotions 91
* Advice For Instructors: Understand Wisdom With Your Heart Before You Attempt To Teach It 94
* One Bud In Each Tree Confirms The Approach Of
* Spring: Westerners Are Being Granted Faith As
* Muslim Nations Abandon It 98
* When People Say: “I Don’t Care...” 100
* The Worst Blasphemies Are No Burden On Allah, But He Will Reward The Faithful By Drawing
* Them Close To His Presence 103
* “My Mercy Outdoes My Anger” 105
* Punishment And Reward In The Grave
* And Beyond 108
* Our Being’s Essence (Dhat) Is Forever Free Of Sin; Humility, Accepting The Quranic Truth: “And Above Every Knower There Is One Who
* Knows More” 113
* A Definition Of Following (Ittiba’a):
* Leaving The Ego’s Choice 119
* Fooling The Ego: Today Cash, Tomorrow Credit 122
* Istiqamah: Bearing The Load Of The Divine Trust 123
* Allah Will Not Retract What He Has Given 125
* Who The Unbelievers Are, How They Are Serving
* The Faithful And What Will Be Their Reward. 126
* Tap Your Underground Springs 129
* Understanding The Secrets Of The Deathbed 132
* The Wisdom Of Not Trying To Be A Teacher 134
* The Story Of The Man Who Was Infatuated
* With His Own Knowledge And Put The Assembly
* To Sleep 137
* The Grand Mufti Who Cleaned Toilets 141
* Epilogue 146
* PART TWO
* Do Your Best For The Whole World And Carry No Enmity In Your Heart 149
* The Two Condemned Actions 150
* The Four Witnesses 153
* A Warning To Mankind 154
* The Intricacies Of Ruling 157
* Hunters Wear Camouflage: The Time Abu Yazid
* Donned Priests’ Garb 161
* Purification Of Our Hearts 164
* Knowledge And The Necessity Of Acting Upon It 167
* About Television 169
* Trust In The Lord; Traveling 171
* You Are As Good As The Companions You Keep 173
* Ma Sha’Allah — Whatever Our Lord Has Willed 176
* Be Patient, Mild And Forbearing; Not Angry And Short-Tempered 177
* Tables From Heaven 180
* PART THREE
* Glossary of Arabic Terms;
* Biographical Sketches 191
* The Golden Chain Of Transmission Of The Naqshbandi Khwajagan Masters 223
INTRODUCTION
Oh my brothers, this book is a mine into which you may dig, and from which you may take jewels and precious metals. Miners are digging up rocks, cutting them open and extracting precious metals. My English is like rocks, but through my words you may find the precious metals you need — so don’t look at my English but take from it those treasures. Shaykh Nazim ‘Adil Al-Qubrusi
i
IN THE NAME OF ALLAH THE ALL BENEFICENT, THE ALL MERCIFUL
PART ONE
WINTER LECTURES DAMASCUS 1401 H. (1981 C.E.)
SHAYKH NAZIM AL-HAQQANI
“AND WE TAUGHT HIM KNOWLEDGE FROM OUR DIVINE PRESENCE”
We are reading from my Grandshaykh’s lectures. Grandshaykhwas an unlettered man, but Allah Almighty teaches some people because they put everything out of their hearts excepting their Lord, and they choose their Lord over everything — until their Lord loves them, and when He loves His servant He gives him treasures from His knowledge. No one can learn this knowledge through books, this knowledge which is called “Ilm-ul-ladunni”, or knowledge directly from His Divine Presence, as the Qur’an declares:
“And We taught him knowledge from Our Divine Presence.”
(Surat al Kahf, Ayat 65)
Outward religious knowledge is easy to obtain, even non-Muslims can know it, but this knowledge can’t be gained except through purifying the heart of all created things, of all that exists besides Him Almighty.
One of those chosen people was our Grandshaykh ‘Abdullah Ad-Daghestani, Sultan al-Awliya. He was telling us from his knowledge-treasures that every verse of Qur’an and Hadith of the Prophet, Peace be Upon Him, contains every knowledge concerning everyone living, already passed away, or yet to be born in future generations; therefore, a person if thinking about or pondering over a verse of Qur’an or a Hadith, he may attain the ability of clear distinction, and so he will find his way to his Lord with ease. If anyone takes up his journey with a holy verse or Hadith, his path will become clear within himself, as Allah says about His Prophet that he is calling people to a clear, bright, clean
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and safe way. Therefore, it is important for everyone to search for a verse or a Hadith and ponder it so that it will become clear to him and then, so many beneficial ways and Divine Signs will appear to him.
Grandshaykh said that each person will derive benefit from verses and Hadiths according to his faith- power. The more faith-power he reaches, the more benefit he may derive; he may dive deeper and deeper into those meaning oceans contained therein. Grandshaykh said that Awliya may perceive at least twenty-four thousand meanings from one verse’s oceans of meanings. You can’t see anything in a drop of water, but when you are looking with a microscope you may see millions of living bacteria coming and going every which way. Therefore, there cannot be any valid objection to this saying, and anyone who claims that there is only one meaning for an ayat is indeed a foolish person.
If anyone is objecting, we may say to him, “Oh my brother, look — Allah sent to Muhammad only one book. Now just look at the Islamic World and you will find huge libraries overflowing with books, and the main source for all these books is the Holy Qur’an; millions of books on the whole range of Islamic topics (and very precious books at that) — where then, do all these books come from?” They are springing from the living source of the Holy Qur’an; they didn’t exist, nor could they have ever existed before the Qur’an was revealed. It is then but a small thing to say that a Wali can know at least of twenty-four thousand meanings for a verse. You can find libraries growing every day. Some Islamic authors wrote several hundred volumes on the meanings of Qur’an, and now even Europeans are joining the Muslims in writing about its meanings. This generation may write two or three books on every book which is presently in the library just for their clarification and explanation. And so, you may know that the Knowledge of Qur’an is
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constantly expanding.
If such is the case for scholarly knowledge of the Qur’an, then what about the knowledge of such people whose teacher is Allah Himself? Allah’s Knowledge is limitless, and for all He bestows upon His servants from it, still it will never decrease. We are never going to be satisfied with our level of learning, as mankind has a boundless yearning for knowledge. Therefore, Islam is best and Islam is highest — giving mankind as much knowledge as it could wish for, and explaining the reality of all existence. There is a proverb: Man will never be satisfied with regard to two desires — money and knowledge: whosoever seeks money will never say “enough,” and likewise he who seeks knowledge will never say “enough.” This saying points out the two sides of man’s personality: the ego (Nafs) asking for endless pleasures in this life and the soul asking for endless heavenly knowledge.
* * *
THE UNFATHOMABLE POWER IN THE AYATS OF QUR’AN
I am asking our Grandshaykh to reach to us with his spiritual powers so that we may give explanations of his teachings, and also, I am asking for spiritual powers for those who will listen to his words.
Grandshaykh was saying that if a person can arrange and direct his actions according to a Qur’anic verse and do so with full belief, he can receive from it every knowledge of which he may be in need throughout his life. Also, he says in regard to the meaning of ‘Ayat’ or verse of the Qur’an, that to call it a ‘verse’ is not sufficient, for an ayat is in reality much, much more than
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explaining something through a verse; as I understand from Grandshaykh, ‘ayat’ belongs to Allah Almighty and is a ‘Sign of Allah’, sign of His endless Power and Knowledge. Ayat reaches to the highest point and is in all cases victorious, so that no matter what comes upon one from the Sons of Adam, one ayat will be enough to vanquish it all and to make one victorious. That is ayat: it has such a power that it outweighs the power of all mankind put together.
For what reason has ayat been so named? — Because Allah Almighty challenged all of the Arabs and all mankind to put forward one verse alike unto a Quranic ayat; to all come together — poets, learned men, clever people — and see if they were able to, but they failed — and they had to fail — as it is impossible to meet the challenge. Why? — Because an ayat contains the word of Allah, quite distinct from the word of men. The Prophet recited Qur’an as it was read to him, and at other times he spoke from himself (Hadith), but if you compare the two you can tell the difference immediately, just as one may easily distinguish between rubies and normal stones; such is the difference between the two — one the word of mortal man and the other the word of the Almighty and Eternal Lord.
Our Grandshaykh was saying that if a man can keep and totally practice one ayat, that he himself will become an Ayat from among the ayats or signs of Allah, and will be victorious over all. We are not speaking about such people who name themselves ‘ayatullah’; if a person is a true ayatullah then power is coming through him so that he has no need to use guns, rockets and soldiers. Even one of his holy breaths is adequate to protect himself and his whole nation from evil.
* * *
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(A question was asked): “Is it true what I was told, that it took Abu Bakr As-Siddiq ten years to completely absorb and incorporate Surat al-Fatiha (The Opening Chapter of the Qur’an)?”
This is such a chapter (Surah) that if it even took Abu Bakr ten years to incorporate it, then we cannot reach it even in ten-thousand years. The important point is that Abu Bakr attained to the understanding of this surah, and that this surah contains within it all of the Holy Qur’an. The Fatiha stands for the whole Qur’an but the whole rest of the Qur’an cannot stand in the place of the Fatiha. If you read Qur’an seven times from beginning to end without reading the Fatiha it will not be equal to reading the Fatiha just once — that is why we read the Fatiha in every rakat of the prayer. I once heard from my Grandshaykh that Sayyidina ‘Ali said: “Oh people, I can sit here and tell you so many meanings of Fatiha that if you wrote them down, they would fill enough volumes to overburden one-hundred camels, and still it would not be enough to express the meanings of al-Fatiha.”
* * *
WHO LIKES TO EAT THE FLESH OF HIS DEAD BROTHER?
My Grandshaykh was speaking on a point of utmost importance for everyone — about a very terrible and dangerous characteristic of egos which is the main source of every trouble for mankind, the fountain of evil and the famous ‘arm of devils’ for turning people into each other’s enemies and destroying good relations between people in general. We are very proud of our religion of Islam for the fact that it prohibited this worst characteristic of the ego. This characteristic is backbiting, and it destroys
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everything — thus it is strongly prohibited by Allah. My Grandshaykh says that we must be very careful on this point. Our faith (Iman) will never grow if we cannot desist from backbiting. Every time we backbite we do to our Iman what pouring acid on the roots of a young tree does to that tree. It is a very terrible action, and Grandshaykh pointed to the following verse (Ayat) of Qur’an in order to show Just how terrible:
“O ye who believe! Shun much suspicion; for lo! some suspicion is a sin. And spy not, neither backbite on another. Would one of you like to eat the flesh of his dead brother? You abhor that (so abhor the other)! And keep your duty to Allah. Lo! Allah is Relenting, Merciful.”
(Surat al-Hujrat, Ayat 12)
Allah gave this ayat to the sons of Adam in order that they should hate that characteristic and be disgusted by it: you, when you backbite, are the same as someone who eats his brother’s cadaver.
We must clearly define backbiting so that we can distinguish it and seek to avoid it: if you are plagued with a characteristic which you detest in yourself and are trying to hide, and then someone comes along, spots it and makes it public with the intention of degrading and debasing you in the eyes of people — then he is backbiting. You are trying to hide your faults, and he comes along and spreads word of them around so that people’s hearts may turn away from you.
On the other hand there are some people who are committing every badness and are proud of their doings, not caring what people think of them, not hiding, nor feeling any shame for their sins; if you are cautioning someone so that he may not fall victim of such a devil,
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then this is certainly not backbiting but, quite to the contrary, a duty. You must differentiate between the two: One person is, so to speak, dragged to evil because his ego pulls him there and he is too weak to resist, but he feels shame; the other is a conscienceless devil, and you must describe his characteristics exactly and warn. Allah Almighty Himself describes Abu Lahab, Nimrod, Abu Jahl, Pharaoh and Haman in the Holy Qur’an for this reason.
Another very delicate matter is that of giving advice (Nasihat). We must not tell people about their faults directly, but we must be tactful and indirect in our approach. In Turkish we use the example of the mother- in-law who wanted to correct an objectionable trait in her daughter-in-law, but in order to avoid offending her she reprimanded her own daughter in the presence of the daughter-in-law for just that very fault which she wished to correct in her. In this manner the daughter- in-law understood without taking offense. It is very important to use this sort of tactic, especially in our times when people’s feelings are more fragile than china teacups — you must be very careful.
In general, one must not tell anyone anything directly. When you see a no-good characteristic in someone you may say, “Oh my brother, sometimes I have such-and-such a problem with my ego, what shall I do about it?” Perhaps he will say, “Oh, I also have that problem.” This is real guidance.
* * *
ABOUT BACKBITING: A STORY FROM THE LIFE OF THE PROPHET
Allah Almighty is teaching us so many lessons so
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that we may become suitable for His Divine Presence. Now we shall speak about our Prophet’s miracles. Every Prophet brought miracles and indeed must bring miracles, so that people can understand that he is an extraordinary person with a personality distinct from ours.
Our Prophet said: “Whoso sees me (and the miracles that I have brought) and believes in me, that is a grant from Allah Almighty to His servant; but I am not surprised that those who see me should believe; what I am astonished by are that those who come after our generation are believing in me just from reading about me in history books. Greatest happiness (Tooba) for those who have seen me and believe in me, but seven times greater happiness for those who did not meet me but are believing through having heard of me.”
One day the Holy Prophet was sitting with his companions when two men entered holding their stomachs in pain, saying, “Oh Rasulallah, we have intense pain in our stomachs — please treat us with your medicine.” The Prophet answered, “You must have eaten something which caused you this, you must have eaten some raw meat.” “Oh Prophet, we haven’t eaten any meat in fifteen days, what to speak of raw meat.” “No, you must have eaten raw meat I tell you.” Again they denied it, so he instructed them to induce vomiting, and each of them vomited out large chunks of green, rotten, raw meat. At this the two men were astonished on account of two things: Firstly, because they never had eaten any such thing, nor would they have dreamed of doing so, yet they regurgitated it from their very own bellies; and secondly, because the pain they had been suffering disappeared immediately. “Oh Rasulallah, we swear to you that we never ate this.” To this the Prophet replied: “Oh people, did you not just pass by the house of a certain person and backbite about him? Did not Allah
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say that whosoever backbites eats the raw meat of his brother’s cadaver? Allah speaks only the truth, and this is proof of it.”
When you are backbiting you destroy your own faith and that of your victim as well, because when one speaks badly about another, a bad current reaches to that person, and he wears that offense as if it were a heavy burden around his neck. You destroy your faith and his faith, and bring darkness and madness upon him. For this reason it is strongly forbidden in Islam to defame one another.
On the other hand, if you are speaking good things about a person, a good current reaches out to him and sheds light on his soul; therefore, it has been ordered to make supplication (Du’a) for people in their absence. The Prophet says that when a believer makes a du’a for an absent brother, that good wish goes out to him and makes him lighter, stronger and more joyful; also Allah Almighty sends an Angel to that suppliant with the following good tidings: “As much as you are asking for that brother of light, strength and happiness, that much Allah is giving to you also.” In this way both parties’ profit, and similarly, in the case of backbiting, both sides will suffer, as darkness will descend on your heart as well as his. If not for backbiting, relationships would be stronger, and as much as we are connected with each other the more Allah Almighty is pleased with us and extends to us His Divine Protection.
Our Grandshaykh was furthermore explaining that if a person backbites it means that he is burdening the victim with a heavy load so that it becomes difficult for him to bring himself to perform acts of worship. Allah Almighty has stated that He created man only to worship Him, and if you are backbiting you are cutting that person from worship, and thus killing him.
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In this time the majority of people cannot perform the acts of worship asked of them; they are very heavy and lackadaisical in this respect but so quick and agile in serving the Devil and following his way. Backbiting is one of the biggest underlying reasons why people are delaying in performing their worship.
The Prophet says that Allah is the Judge of Judges and that no one can judge anyone as Allah does. If one is backbiting, he is making himself into a judge with no authority from the Judge of Judges: “So-and-so is a no- good person.” Know that you are not the judge of your Lord’s servants; He created them and He judges them as He wills! Whoso ignores this point is making himself out to be a partner to Allah (Shirk), and this is one of the greatest sins — as Allah never accepts that partners be ascribed to Him.
Who seeks a partner? He who hasn’t enough power seeks a partner, but Allah Almighty has Endless Power and All-Penetrating Will — for what does He need to seek a partner? No partner for Him and no son. A man may be in need of a son to succeed him, but Allah has no need for a successor. His is Eternal Existence knowing no boundaries of time. Therefore, everyone must be very careful. I think this is enough to show us what a terrible thing backbiting is.
* * *
SOME SECRETS OF HIS DIVINE REALM
I am always asking Divine Help from my Lord so that I may clearly explain these important matters. Perhaps hundreds or thousands of people will listen to these words, and I am asking my Lord to grant them understanding and benefit, so that they may tread a
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straight path and escape from the traps of devils. This is a very high ideal, and everyone must have this ideal and purpose! We must try to help everyone, not only for the sake of our own salvation, but for that of all mankind. Allah Almighty is calling us to this way.
We are speaking about the holy verses (Ayat) of our Creator, Allah Almighty. According to our Grandshaykh’s explanation, every verse is an endless independent ocean of meaning; you can take all things from that ocean. Even if we would absorb from the ocean of one ayat throughout all eternity, it would never be exhausted; they remain the same limitless oceans eternally.
Perhaps someone may ask, “For what did Allah create these eternal oceans?” We must know that Allah Almighty is never in need of anything, and therefore is creating all those oceans solely for the sake of His servants. The main attribute of Allah Almighty is His being beyond need of anyone; but while He is never in need of anything, His creatures’ main attribute is to be in need at every moment. The creature can never be above need of his Creator; if the Divine Help which keeps everything in existence was to be pulled out for even a second from the smallest atomic particle, then that piece would cease to exist.
Now, you must know that Allah Almighty is the Creator, and He is forever creating. No one can define a limit or a beginning for His creation. He was creating from pre-eternity and will create forever. Eternity means ‘outside of time’; Allah is the Creator, and He brought the Sons of Adam into time — but they originated outside of time. They are like a gigantic river — every creature coming from timelessness, from a world where time has no meaning, then entering into time and ultimately returning to eternity from whence he came. On both
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ends of the river’s journey we find eternity.
We are all in need of those endless meaning oceans, and every creature is swimming in them, taking from his Lord’s favours. The divine reason for His verses being such endless oceans is that we may say, “Our Lord has limitless sovereignty over His Realm.” For such a realm there must be an infinity of servants, creatures, worshippers, angels and kingdoms. No one can fully understand his Lord; one may know a little regarding his Lord, but it is quite impossible to know all. He is the absolute King over His Kingdom, and there is no partner unto Him. When His servants know this they will say, “Oh my Lord, we are powerless.” When they are thus recognizing and admitting their powerlessness, He gives them from His Divine Power and dresses them with it, which enables them to dive into those oceans and derive more and more benefit from Divine Wisdom and Knowledge.
Our Grandshaykh was saying that each Prophet and Saint has a special position and rank particular to him and unlike that of another. In accordance with their respective positions, they are taking Divine Wisdom and Knowledge from that ocean. What are they doing with this Knowledge and Wisdom? The more they take of it the more they are improving through Divine Lights, thus approaching their Lord’s Divine Presence where they experience boundless pleasure in witnessing more beauty oceans from His Divine Face. Therefore, they have become obsessed with their Lord. If, for example, a thirsty person drinks salty water, he will demand more and more in a vain attempt to quench his thirst, and eventually he will die. In the case of Prophets and Saints, they also ask to drink more and more of their Lord’s beauty oceans; but contrary to the drinker of salt water, they become endlessly more satisfied as they drink and grow ever more pleased with their Lord’s Presence, so
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that they pursue it tirelessly and will sacrifice all things for the sake of this Divine Favour.
The Prophets and Saints who sacrifice everything in this way are most wise and discerning, but those people who neglect that excellent and most valuable life, turning instead to this dirty life, are the most foolish of people; they abandon eternal life in exchange for a bit of fading enjoyment.
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“ASK MORE OF ME AND I WILL BESTOW ON YOU MORE THAN YOU CAN IMAGINE OF THIS BOUNDLESS OCEAN”
Everyone and everything is powerless in relation to Allah Almighty, and no one has any power without his Lord’s giving it to him. If the Lord Almighty gives power to servants, they may become powerful, but their original state is one of total powerlessness. If a servant declares his powerlessness in front of his Lord, it is an honour for that servant, and as a result of his humility his Lord will grant him power and support in every situation. The Prophet, Peace be Upon Him, is the first to declare his powerlessness in the Divine Presence; therefore, Allah Almighty has granted him more power than He ever gave to anyone. This is a very good lesson for mankind: if we are seeking more Divine Support and spiritual power, we should first admit our own powerlessness.
Now, Grandshaykh is explaining more upon this point: Allah Almighty gives of His Power to His beloved servants so that they may swim in those
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oceans of knowledge and wisdom. What they take, they take eternally; they ask endlessly and are endlessly bestowed upon by their Lord. Neither servant nor Lord is ever going to say ‘enough’; rather, the Lord will say, ‘‘My servant, ask for as much as you can because I am always giving more and more. Ask ten and I will give a hundred, ask a hundred and I will give a thousand, etc.; if you don’t ask, 1 shall become angry with you.”
It is one of Allah Almighty’s attributes that He always wants to give more to His servants — if you can recognize this attribute, it will give you satisfaction. If Allah were to say, “That is enough, don’t ask more,” it would mean that He doesn’t have any more to give to His servants, and if it were so, the hearts of mankind would explode. But Allah Almighty says, “Oh My servants, ask more and more, and I will bestow more than you can possibly imagine.” We must thank Allah for this and be happy that we have such a Creator, such a Lord.
Our Grandshaykh says that although you may take more and more from Allah’s wisdom and knowledge oceans, don’t think that you can take all, for in reality you can take but one drop, not a bit more. Perhaps that drop may even be a huge drop, but it is still only a drop, and no matter how large it is, it still has bounds, whereas His ocean knows no boundaries. In this is real pleasure for us: Everything that Allah Almighty is giving us grows within bounds. If we could go beyond the realm of boundaries, we would become partners to Allah, and that is an impossibility.
Now my Grandshaykh was saying that there are two kinds of knowledge. One kind belongs only to the Almighty Himself, and the other kind Allah Almighty gives to His servants. We are speaking about that second kind only, for the first kind, the knowledge belonging to His Essence (Dhat), is impossible to behold, even
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for the Angels, Prophets and Saints — off limits. The endless oceans which He bestows upon His servants are nothing compared to His Essential Knowledge, which He is keeping to Himself.
Look at this point also: When Allah Almighty called His Prophet on the Night of the Ascension (Laylatul- mi’raj) and spoke to him without intermediary, He imparted unto Muhammad three types, or areas of knowledge. One part of that knowledge He ordered the Prophet to keep with himself only: “No one can know that; it is private between Me and you.” The second part He allowed the Prophet to share with a selected elite (Khawas) of the Nation (Ummah), and the third part He ordered to be opened to everyone. The accounts we read in books about the mi’raj are from the third part of these knowledges, and further knowledge of it is given to people according to their individual ranks. The palm tree has a knowledge that it may produce dates, the orange tree has a different knowledge, as it learned from its Lord to make oranges. Apple trees produce apples, olive trees olives, and just so everything in the universe is producing according to its rank and position.
You have also been taught a knowledge from your Lord, but now in our position it is covered. You are yet like a seed which hasn’t even been planted. You must plant yourself in seclusion (Khalwa). As the seed must be covered by earth, so you must be covered from this world — then you can know yourself. When a seed is in the ground for ten days, it will sprout, but our seed has not yet been planted and thus we cannot yet see whether we are orange trees or olive trees. This is the reason why the Prophet relates from Allah Almighty: “As long as you don’t know yourself you can’t know your Lord.” Bees learn to make honey, snakes learn to bite you,
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and mules learn to kick you in the head.
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POSITION OF PROPHET MUHAMMAD ON THE LAST DAY
The Last of the Prophets, Sayyidina Muhammad, Peace be Upon Him, is the most humble person of all mankind; no one can attain to his humbleness in the Divine Presence. Humility is the most beloved attribute of m
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