THE DIVINE KINGDOM (Shaykh Nazim, 104 pages, 4/6)
https://www.nvrislam.net/index.php?j=eng&post=6003
the Divine Signature all of us. That is to be honored (tashrif) by the Divine Seal. We have that honor. Now, with the Will of God (insha Allah), as they give to me, as my "Spiritual Headquarters” gives to my heart, Iam going to translate to you, according to your spiritual desires.
Now, there are two kinds of people who have knowledge. One group of people claim that they are scholars. They claim that they have knowledge. Another group of people claim that they have wisdom. Scholars may get their knowledge by looking at everything, testing and observing, obtaining knowledge, but wisdom is heavenly knowledge, and it is given to certain people, not given generally.
The vision of those who have been given knowledge is different from the vision of wise people. Scholars may look at you, but wise people look and see you in another shape or form. Wisdom gives honor to everyone, as Allah Almighty honored them, even though they may do bad actions.
What is the proof? When God Almighty, the Creator, the Lord of the children of Adam, the Lord of the universes, the Lord of the angels, the Lord of the heavens, decided to create Adam, or when He decided to make him appear in existence, Adam was our Lord's deputy from the time when there was no time. Time is created by this world. If the sun does not move or the world does not
33 turn, no more time; time would finish. Allah Almighty made Adam and his children to be deputies from eternity to eternity. That is in the sight of Allah Almighty, but it was appointed by His Divine Will that he appear when He declared to all the angels that now is the time when I am going to create, saying, in effect, "The time has now come to appear, O My deputy Adam."
Then the angels said, "O Lord, what are you doing? What are you creating’? Are You going to create creatures who do evil and kill each other, doing every dirty thing, while we are always, from beginning to end, glorifying You?" They meant to say that those creatures whom You are going to create or to cause to appear in existence are creatures of such bad actions, while we are correct, glorifying You, servants to You. If You need to make someone Your vicegerents, then it must be ourselves. We are suitable for that.
Yes, that was the meaning of their statement, but God Almighty said, "I know whom I am making My viceregents because I gave them something I didn't give to you." A ruby or diamond may fall into the dirt, but no one would leave it there and go away. If it fell from someone's hand into the dirt, no one would leave it there. Yes, the person who found it would take it from there and wash it, putting so much soap on it, and also cologne. Then no one would say to him, "Why did you take it out of the dirt and put it here?” No, it is right. Why? It has its value and dirt does not affect it.
Therefore, even if they kill each other, they make so much trouble, suffering, war - every kind of dirtiness, yet they have something from My Divine secrets, My precious Divine thing I have given to everyone. Even though they may do everything, they are still vicegerents because I gave them that Divine secret which I never gave to anyone else. Therefore, the children of Adam are at the top. No one can reach their ranks. "Then all the angels said nothing.” They knew.
Those who have been given Divine wisdom, wise people, look at all those people who are corrupting the earth and say, "Oh our Lord, one drop of Your Mercy Oceans will clean them, We respect Your servants. No matter how corrupt and dirty they are from their actions, yet that secret which You gave them is still there and it is well-protected in their hearts, deeply planted, as the most precious treasure is placed in the deepest place of their hearts."
You still do not know about yourself. When you look at yourself, you may understand about yourself step- by-step. But we are occupied by everything around our selves. We are looking outside, not within our selves. As long as you look outside, you are heedless of your "self." If you can look into yourself, you will find something else. You look at your photograph or you look in the mirror and you still see the outward view of yourself, but you must think about
34 yourself that you have been given Divine secrets. The universe that you have been given within yourself is something like a very little drop in an ocean. There are five secret treasures hidden in your heart. The heart is not that piece of flesh in yourself. That is the physical body's heart. You have something else within yourself. That is your personality in the Divine Presence. You have been given five treasures, five universes. Each one is wider than the next and deeper. The deepest one, which has no limits, is the Throne of your Lord. It is the Throne of your Lord because nothing can contain your Lord. It is impossible. Neither the worlds nor the heaven can contain your Lord Almighty, only your heart, the hearts of the children of Adam contain it. This means there is no limit to your heart.
Yet you are running after this temporary life's pleasures and you do not reach any of them because when you reach one, your eyes go to the second one. No time to take pleasure, enough pleasure, from this because the second one appears. When you move to reach the second, then a third one appears, saying, "Come to me. Leave that one and come to me.” Then you put this one in your mouth but another says, "No, leave this and take that." And this is our life. You are tiring yourself to catch a pleasure but it is impossible to enjoy anything because so many are calling you, "Leave that one and come to me,” and when you reach that, then another calls, "Come to me." No one is going to be in a state of enjoyment throughout his whole life, even if he may live eighty years, ninety years or more, particularly as each time he becomes more tired, and when your age increases your taste goes down, also, little-by-little. In this way you are leaving the true tastes which you can end within yourself, leaving them and running after something which is just an illusion.
Now we are here. Where did all our life's pleasures go up to this day? All of them are finished. Nothing is left with us. Therefore, if we can use wisdom - not knowledge - if we can use wisdom - we must look to ourselves.
When we look within ourselves, then we may look at the whole universe. Then you may look at, you may know about yourself. When you know about yourself, you are going to know about everyone else, also. When you are pleased with yourself, at the same time you are going to be pleased with everyone else. When your true personality appears, you will take care to respect yourself. We have also been commanded to respect ourselves because we have been honored by Divine Honors.
Therefore you must respect yourself. How can you respect yourself? We say, "We bear witness that there is no god but God and that Muhammad is the Servant and Messenger of God" (ash-shadu an la ilaha ill-Allah. wa ash-shadu anna Muhammadan ‘abduhu wa rasulahu). The Prophet (saws) also must bear
35 witness to himself. He also said, "I bear witness that Muhammad is His Servant and His Messenger" (wa ana ashhadu anna Muhammadan abduhu wa rasulahu). He had to proclaim the honor that he had been given by his Lord and say, "The Servant of God and His Messenger" (abd Allah wa_ rasulihi). Everyone of the children of Adam has to pro-claim that he has been honored by his Lord, Almighty God. That is one meaning that God Almighty commanded by saying, "And proclaim the favor of your Lord" (93:11) (wa ammo bi-ni'mati Rabbika fa-haddith). You must know what God Almighty gave you endless honors and glory. You must know this and you must respect yourself.
There is a good saying among Arabs. when they are angry with someone or someone makes them angry, they say, "Maintain your honor!" (yahtanll nafu). What does that mean? When you are angry then I may do something that is against your honor. When two people are quarreling and insulting each other, the saying goes, "Maintain your honor,” because if I begin, your honor goes down. "Maintain your honor." Everyone must keep respect for himself because he has been honored by his Lord, God Almighty.
Then when he respects himself, he is going to keep respect for everyone else. That makes our Lord pleased with us. If you keep respect, everyone must keep respect for you, also. And if everyone keeps respect for you, you will keep respect for them, as well. Then all problems will find a solution among people. Everyone is going to be in satisfaction within himself.
A sister was asking me today, "If we face a tyrannical person, doing so many cruelties, what are we going to do?” Yes, if you face Pharaoh - and you can find a lot of pharaohs in our time, I mean to say tyrants, because our time is the period of tyrants, and tyrants are worse than dictators. Tyrants are like Nero. He gave the order to burn Rome so that he could see the city burn and take pleasure in it. The Prophet (saws) described our time as the time of tyrants - not dictators, but tyrants like Nero saying, "Tyrants and after monarchy will come the tyrants" (Jababirah. Wa mirl ba'd al-muluk al-jababimttm). They have fallen into the dirt and as long as their bad actions remain, they must be in dirtiness. God Almighty created seven hells for purifying every impurity that comes upon the children of Adam. That cleaning, that purification, may be during his life. God Almighty Purifies His servants through every means - every suffering, misery, every trouble - purifies them. Then if that is not enough for them, there will be further purification in the grave. If that is not enough, it will be on the Day of Resurrection. If it is still not enough, they will go into hellfire to be purified. And if it is all right, they may come out. If not yet enough, they may stay more and more and more, up to eternity. And for eternity - He knows about the people of hellfire. When God Almighty orders, purification ends. No one may object.
36 Hujjaj was a well known tyrant who made hills out of the heads of people. He died, and then he was seen in a dream, saying, "For each one of the people I killed, I have been killed, also, this for this, and for just one Companion, Ibn Zubayr, may God be pleased with him, for that one alone, seventy times."° Yes. God Almighty will never leave him alone. There must be purification, according to our impure actions.
Now, every night in our countries there are advertisements for washing powders; Every night I look. This one is the best. That one is the best, making dirty clothes very clean, Yes, big machines in hellfire to make you clean, very pure. Therefore, you may do everything. You are free. But you must know that at some time you will be caught. No one can escape. Everyone must come to that door to pass through it. Then, "Come here, come here!" Hujjaj thought it was alright to order, "Cut off his head! cut off that other head!" But then he said, "For each of them, my head has been cut off once, and for that one Companion alone, seventy times." Yes. Therefore you are free to do everything, but He says, "I will give you free will. Do everything, but if you make yourselves dirty, there will be washing."
Now, no one enters paradise except clean people - the pure. They will be bought from hellfire, burned bodies. There are two oceans, springs, at the entrance of paradise. Burned people will come from hellfire and be thrown into one of those springs. They will come out with beauty like that of Prophet Joseph (as). Then they will come and drink from the second spring, and every dirty characteristic of their egos, envy and others, will go away, and the Prophet's (saws ) good attributes will replace them. They will become perfect in beauty and character. Then paradise will open to them and say, "Welcome." Up to that point, too much washing; no one can enter paradise if they have not been purified.
Therefore, the one who has been given wisdom looks at people and respects them and feels pity for them, because they are in need of purification. He feels respect and pity towards everyone, particularly sinners. The eyes of knowledge, however, look at them in a different way. They curse them and if they can they take revenge on them, they do so. Therefore, wisdom cares more about everyone and wants to bring them under Mercy Oceans, while knowledge's eyes sees them as sinners and wants to punish them. Divine punishment is also a mercy for sinners, to clean them, to purify them. Thus Islam, true faith, looks at all people and sees them as respectable and honored creatures and as candidates to be vicegerents of God Almighty. If they are clean, pure human beings, then God Almighty crowns them with His Divine crowns, and no one except the children of Adam have been given that honor.
37 You must respect yourself and keep respect for everyone. Don't say, "That is a sinner, that is an unbeliever, that is a Christian, that is a Jew, that is a Buddhist, that is anything else." Their actions may be of any kind but they have been honored and their Lord wants to purify them. God Almighty never leaves His servants permanently in the hands of their egos or in the hands of Satan. Haqq, Truth, Reality is going to destroy the kingdom of Satan. It must be destroyed, finished and vanish.
38 THE DAY OF THE GATHERING NIGHT, JUNE 3, 1985
"God Almighty will ask His angels to find one person who during his or her life had so much pleasure, who was most pleased with this life, every enjoyment for himself or herself - look for that one..."
The greatest good tidings for the people of faith (ahi al-iman), the people of paradise is that when they enter into paradise, angels come and say, "You are welcome to be in these paradises eternally. Whoever enters never goes out."
That is the greatest good tidings for them, the Divine guarantee that they will never leave. The greatest sorrow, however, is for the people of hellfire. They enter and never leave. If you could count as many as the whole universe has atoms, and also has electrons, for each electron you may be in it for one million years and then you come out. But still they are happy because it is a period of time which is counted and it is going to be finished one day. The hope of that one day gives them peace, even if they are in hellfire. It is such a huge, huge number of years, but they are still going to be happy and say "Praise belongs to God (al-hamd Allah), it is not eternal." There is going to be nothing, nothing, nothing beside eternity. Therefore, the people of hellfire, when they hear that they will stay in it eternally, that is the deepest suffering. And they ask to be taken out of hellfire, even one moment of it is so difficult.
Then, on the Day of the Gathering (yaum al-mashar), the Day of Resurrection, God Almighty will ask his angels to find one person who during his life had so much pleasure, who was most pleased with his life, every enjoyment for himself - "Look for that one." And they will bring a person who lived 1,700 years. He had been king of all the world. He had been given everything of enjoyment. That person will be brought and God Almighty will order, "Take this person into hellfire for one second. Put him in it and then bring him here."
They will put him and then bring him there. Then God Almighty will ask, "Oh My servant, what thing that you tasted throughout your life of more than one thousand years during which time you were given everything - what thing from those pleasures and enjoyments is with you now?" He will say, "Oh my Lord, I swear by Your Name that I have tasted nothing, nothing. That one second I was put into hellfire and taken out just finished everything that I tasted during the thousand-and-so years of this life." Then, what about being in hellfire for thousands, millions of years, billions of years, not finishing, not ending, no hope? That is terrible! Therefore, so many believers’ eyes do not sleep from the fear of hellfire, the fear of the anger of their Lord.
39 Then He will order the angels to find one person among all the people in on that Day of Gathering who suffered so much. God Almighty will command, "Take this person for one second into paradise." The angels will put him in it. Then God Almighty will ask, "What kind of suffering did you have during your life?”
"Oh my Lord, nothing! Nothing for me, finished!" Nothing does he remember because of that paradise. If all the prophets, saints, and religious scholars, were to sit together from the beginning of this world up to the end and speak about paradise, it would be impossible for them to give a description of it. They could speak about only one drop from an ocean.
What would you think if the last person who enters paradise should be given ten-times of this world? In this world, out of four parts, one-fourth is continents and three-fourths is oceans. Of the continents, also, half of them are deserts or forests where no one lives. However, ten-times of this world is filled with every favor of our Lord Almighty. That is just for the last person who is to be given from paradise. Then what about for the others? Yes, this is also our life, counted days or months or years. It is going to finish. Every breath takes us towards the Day of Judgment, toward Eternal Life. Keep your breaths for your Lord, Almighty God, and say, "God! God" (Allah! Allah!). If you do not say it by your will, still your breath each time says, "Huwa. Huwa. Huwa. Huwa. Huwa. Huwa."’ This is going on, "Huwa" with each breath whether you like to say it or not, this "Huwa. Huwa. Huwa. Huwa" must be. May God Almighty call us to His remembrance (dhikr).
40 THE BEST CHARACTERISTIC OF HUMANITY AFTERNOON, JUNE 4, 1985
"Therefore, the most acceptable and lovely characteristic of humanity is..."
Which characteristic places you in a high rank in the Divine Presence? This is an important point. Everyone must ask and must know it, because we are trying to make our Lord, God Almighty, pleased with us.
Which characteristic makes God Almighty pleased With us? It is humility (tawadu) that makes our Lord pleased with us. The first thing that made our Lord Almighty be angry with His creatures is the opposite of humility. What is that’? Pride, the first sin appeared from pride.
The first one who raised his head and was rebellious to his Lord Almighty was Satan. The reason was that he claimed to be proud towards one of his Lord's creatures. God Almighty created Adam. Then Satan claimed to be above Adam, not to be beneath his rank, saying, "I am more important than this creature. How can You order me to make to prostate (sajdah) myself before him? I see that my station is higher than anyone else's, particularly the station of the one who has just been created. I fill every square foot on earth and in the heavens with prostration. I give You the highest respect while that one, the new one, has not even made one prostration to You. Yet You are saying that I must prostrate myself, I must give my highest respect to that one? I am the one who will never accept to prostrate to anyone except You,” Satan said to God Almighty, seeing himself as being above every creature, and particularly over Adam. That was pride from him, so that the Divine anger or the Divine curse fell upon him.
Therefore, every prophet came to advise people that they should put aside pride. They should be humble, because pride makes your Lord angry with you and humility makes Him pleased with you. That wisdom is enough for everyone throughout his life. But it is not so easy to make your ego accept that, particularly as our ego always votes for Iblis, Satan, never voting for God Almighty. Isn't it so? Everyone knows it. Always for God? No! For everything that Satan does our ego says, "Alright. Yes this is correct, that is wrong.” "We seek refuge in God from satan” (istighfar Allah).
Therefore, each prophet came with a Book and with commands (manffiuma), a law including other laws, as prophets came from the Lord. The last, the Seal of the Prophets (saws) also came with so many commands, bringing them to people in his time and up to the Last Day, so that if this world were to continue, his Message would cover every nation, even up to eternity. The summary or
41 soul of all the commands that the Seal of the Prophets (saws) brought to the children of Adam is for what? To teach people how they can be humble servants.
In the Holy Qur'an and in the Divine Law (shariah), commands have been given to keep - 500 kinds of commands and good deeds that you may do out of respect to your Lord and as charity to His servants, because all commands consist either of respect to God Almighty or charities to His servants, which are at the same time most high respects to your Lord. Therefore, Islam is perfect because it brought people the highest respect to give to their Lord and, at the same time, it brought the children of Adam every kind of charity, good actions, and at the same time as you are doing or giving your charities, you are giving your highest respect to your Lord Almighty. If you look at Islam from this direction, you will find it perfect because it covers every charitable work and includes every respect, the highest respect, to your Lord. Yes, You can find in Islam every charity that you can think of and every kind of highest respect for your Lord can be found in Islam, as well.
Then there are also 800 prohibitions, prohibited actions, so from that direction, also, Islam is perfect because you can't find any evil, any wrongdoing or anything that harms people, without its being prohibited in Islam. Any harmful thing, no matter how simple or unknown or unthought of, Islam brings before people to see that this evil, even such a thing that you can't imagine but which harms you, either in your faith or in your health or in your thoughts, because our ego always allies with Satan when it comes to following prohibitions. The ego, the "I" likes the taste of bad things. Therefore, it generally conceals them and tries to show you that they are excellent. "What is wrong if you go to the pub? What is wrong with drinking wine and whiskey and spirits? Why are they prohibited when they give you so much enjoyment?"
That is the animal soul's defense, wanting to make things seem good, to present them as good to your ego. The Prophet (saws) said that when the Last Days approach, people will drink wine, but will give different names. They do not say "Wine," they say "whiskey," "champagne." They say, "This is vodka, this brandy," doing so much advertising, making so many beautiful looking bottles, saying, "This is Johnny Walker. You must be like this when you drink," doing so many things to cheat, to deceive people. Therefore, your ego always comes with Satan and conceals prohibited things, saying, "This may be good. Particularly in our community, in our time, you must use it. You must also put a bar in your house. It must be there, and every kind of bottle." I see some houses which are like a hotel. Yes, up to here with bottles of wine and whiskey. One thousand Satans are in them, sitting - sitting quietly, but when drinking, all of them appear.
42 Thus 800 things which are harmful physically or spiritually have all been prevented in Islam, so that no one can object concerning any of them that it gave benefit and was useful to people, but Islam prevented that. Therefore, Islam is perfect through its commands, and it is perfect through keeping people from harmful things. God Almighty honors us with each of the commands He gives. We said that there are 500 respects, highest respects, to God Almighty and also charity. Each one that you do, that you keep, gives you more honor. That is honor (karamah) and the prohibited things are for safety (himayah) - for the safety of humanity physically and spiritually. That is perfection. For this reason God Almighty said, "Oh My Prophet, beloved Muhammad, I have just completed your faith, your religion, your Islam, and I am pleased with whomever comes to Me with Islam" (see 5:4).
It is complete now. No one can imagine a religion more perfect than Islam even for the 20th century. Islam is perfect even up until the 121st century and beyond, Islam is perfect since God Almighty created the human being as a human being,* not creating people as monkeys or apes. No. He created the human being as the human being from the beginning. Apes were created as apes. Monkeys were created as monkeys, but the human being was created as the human being. He gave the human being His form. Even if one hundred centuries more may pass, no one can think of a more perfect form either for men or for women.
Therefore, when God Almighty says that it is now complete, perfect, it is perfect. What is after the full moon? Islam has become the full moon. If you ask for something else after the full moon, you are going to find it waning. Therefore, people now are running. They are not looking at the full moon of Islam and they are running to find something, particularly old religions. Christianity or Judaism are trying to make themselves like the full moon, but it is impossible because they were before Islam and Islam came as a full moon. If anyone wants something after the full moon, he will find only deficiency. For this reason, God Almighty says, "Who is the one who can bring something more perfect than what I brought to you, Oh Muhammad? Tell them that anyone who can do that may do it, may try. But no one can." And we are saying, as our Lord commands, "Then proclaim" (93: IL) (fa-haddith), issuing a challenge.
Yes, come - Christians, come. Jews, come. Islam is the full moon. From any direction you may look, you can find it perfect. Don't look at its followers. No. Look at the full moon itself. Why are you accusing Islam because of the actions of its followers? Islam is perfect, but its followers are not perfect.
Now we shall come to the important point, humility. In summary, what is the main goal of all these commands and prohibitions? Why does God Almighty
43 order all these commands and prohibitions? T
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the Divine Signature all of us. That is to be honored (tashrif) by the Divine Seal. We have that honor. Now, with the Will of God (insha Allah), as they give to me, as my "Spiritual Headquarters” gives to my heart, Iam going to translate to you, according to your spiritual desires.
Now, there are two kinds of people who have knowledge. One group of people claim that they are scholars. They claim that they have knowledge. Another group of people claim that they have wisdom. Scholars may get their knowledge by looking at everything, testing and observing, obtaining knowledge, but wisdom is heavenly knowledge, and it is given to certain people, not given generally.
The vision of those who have been given knowledge is different from the vision of wise people. Scholars may look at you, but wise people look and see you in another shape or form. Wisdom gives honor to everyone, as Allah Almighty honored them, even though they may do bad actions.
What is the proof? When God Almighty, the Creator, the Lord of the children of Adam, the Lord of the universes, the Lord of the angels, the Lord of the heavens, decided to create Adam, or when He decided to make him appear in existence, Adam was our Lord's deputy from the time when there was no time. Time is created by this world. If the sun does not move or the world does not
33 turn, no more time; time would finish. Allah Almighty made Adam and his children to be deputies from eternity to eternity. That is in the sight of Allah Almighty, but it was appointed by His Divine Will that he appear when He declared to all the angels that now is the time when I am going to create, saying, in effect, "The time has now come to appear, O My deputy Adam."
Then the angels said, "O Lord, what are you doing? What are you creating’? Are You going to create creatures who do evil and kill each other, doing every dirty thing, while we are always, from beginning to end, glorifying You?" They meant to say that those creatures whom You are going to create or to cause to appear in existence are creatures of such bad actions, while we are correct, glorifying You, servants to You. If You need to make someone Your vicegerents, then it must be ourselves. We are suitable for that.
Yes, that was the meaning of their statement, but God Almighty said, "I know whom I am making My viceregents because I gave them something I didn't give to you." A ruby or diamond may fall into the dirt, but no one would leave it there and go away. If it fell from someone's hand into the dirt, no one would leave it there. Yes, the person who found it would take it from there and wash it, putting so much soap on it, and also cologne. Then no one would say to him, "Why did you take it out of the dirt and put it here?” No, it is right. Why? It has its value and dirt does not affect it.
Therefore, even if they kill each other, they make so much trouble, suffering, war - every kind of dirtiness, yet they have something from My Divine secrets, My precious Divine thing I have given to everyone. Even though they may do everything, they are still vicegerents because I gave them that Divine secret which I never gave to anyone else. Therefore, the children of Adam are at the top. No one can reach their ranks. "Then all the angels said nothing.” They knew.
Those who have been given Divine wisdom, wise people, look at all those people who are corrupting the earth and say, "Oh our Lord, one drop of Your Mercy Oceans will clean them, We respect Your servants. No matter how corrupt and dirty they are from their actions, yet that secret which You gave them is still there and it is well-protected in their hearts, deeply planted, as the most precious treasure is placed in the deepest place of their hearts."
You still do not know about yourself. When you look at yourself, you may understand about yourself step- by-step. But we are occupied by everything around our selves. We are looking outside, not within our selves. As long as you look outside, you are heedless of your "self." If you can look into yourself, you will find something else. You look at your photograph or you look in the mirror and you still see the outward view of yourself, but you must think about
34 yourself that you have been given Divine secrets. The universe that you have been given within yourself is something like a very little drop in an ocean. There are five secret treasures hidden in your heart. The heart is not that piece of flesh in yourself. That is the physical body's heart. You have something else within yourself. That is your personality in the Divine Presence. You have been given five treasures, five universes. Each one is wider than the next and deeper. The deepest one, which has no limits, is the Throne of your Lord. It is the Throne of your Lord because nothing can contain your Lord. It is impossible. Neither the worlds nor the heaven can contain your Lord Almighty, only your heart, the hearts of the children of Adam contain it. This means there is no limit to your heart.
Yet you are running after this temporary life's pleasures and you do not reach any of them because when you reach one, your eyes go to the second one. No time to take pleasure, enough pleasure, from this because the second one appears. When you move to reach the second, then a third one appears, saying, "Come to me. Leave that one and come to me.” Then you put this one in your mouth but another says, "No, leave this and take that." And this is our life. You are tiring yourself to catch a pleasure but it is impossible to enjoy anything because so many are calling you, "Leave that one and come to me,” and when you reach that, then another calls, "Come to me." No one is going to be in a state of enjoyment throughout his whole life, even if he may live eighty years, ninety years or more, particularly as each time he becomes more tired, and when your age increases your taste goes down, also, little-by-little. In this way you are leaving the true tastes which you can end within yourself, leaving them and running after something which is just an illusion.
Now we are here. Where did all our life's pleasures go up to this day? All of them are finished. Nothing is left with us. Therefore, if we can use wisdom - not knowledge - if we can use wisdom - we must look to ourselves.
When we look within ourselves, then we may look at the whole universe. Then you may look at, you may know about yourself. When you know about yourself, you are going to know about everyone else, also. When you are pleased with yourself, at the same time you are going to be pleased with everyone else. When your true personality appears, you will take care to respect yourself. We have also been commanded to respect ourselves because we have been honored by Divine Honors.
Therefore you must respect yourself. How can you respect yourself? We say, "We bear witness that there is no god but God and that Muhammad is the Servant and Messenger of God" (ash-shadu an la ilaha ill-Allah. wa ash-shadu anna Muhammadan ‘abduhu wa rasulahu). The Prophet (saws) also must bear
35 witness to himself. He also said, "I bear witness that Muhammad is His Servant and His Messenger" (wa ana ashhadu anna Muhammadan abduhu wa rasulahu). He had to proclaim the honor that he had been given by his Lord and say, "The Servant of God and His Messenger" (abd Allah wa_ rasulihi). Everyone of the children of Adam has to pro-claim that he has been honored by his Lord, Almighty God. That is one meaning that God Almighty commanded by saying, "And proclaim the favor of your Lord" (93:11) (wa ammo bi-ni'mati Rabbika fa-haddith). You must know what God Almighty gave you endless honors and glory. You must know this and you must respect yourself.
There is a good saying among Arabs. when they are angry with someone or someone makes them angry, they say, "Maintain your honor!" (yahtanll nafu). What does that mean? When you are angry then I may do something that is against your honor. When two people are quarreling and insulting each other, the saying goes, "Maintain your honor,” because if I begin, your honor goes down. "Maintain your honor." Everyone must keep respect for himself because he has been honored by his Lord, God Almighty.
Then when he respects himself, he is going to keep respect for everyone else. That makes our Lord pleased with us. If you keep respect, everyone must keep respect for you, also. And if everyone keeps respect for you, you will keep respect for them, as well. Then all problems will find a solution among people. Everyone is going to be in satisfaction within himself.
A sister was asking me today, "If we face a tyrannical person, doing so many cruelties, what are we going to do?” Yes, if you face Pharaoh - and you can find a lot of pharaohs in our time, I mean to say tyrants, because our time is the period of tyrants, and tyrants are worse than dictators. Tyrants are like Nero. He gave the order to burn Rome so that he could see the city burn and take pleasure in it. The Prophet (saws) described our time as the time of tyrants - not dictators, but tyrants like Nero saying, "Tyrants and after monarchy will come the tyrants" (Jababirah. Wa mirl ba'd al-muluk al-jababimttm). They have fallen into the dirt and as long as their bad actions remain, they must be in dirtiness. God Almighty created seven hells for purifying every impurity that comes upon the children of Adam. That cleaning, that purification, may be during his life. God Almighty Purifies His servants through every means - every suffering, misery, every trouble - purifies them. Then if that is not enough for them, there will be further purification in the grave. If that is not enough, it will be on the Day of Resurrection. If it is still not enough, they will go into hellfire to be purified. And if it is all right, they may come out. If not yet enough, they may stay more and more and more, up to eternity. And for eternity - He knows about the people of hellfire. When God Almighty orders, purification ends. No one may object.
36 Hujjaj was a well known tyrant who made hills out of the heads of people. He died, and then he was seen in a dream, saying, "For each one of the people I killed, I have been killed, also, this for this, and for just one Companion, Ibn Zubayr, may God be pleased with him, for that one alone, seventy times."° Yes. God Almighty will never leave him alone. There must be purification, according to our impure actions.
Now, every night in our countries there are advertisements for washing powders; Every night I look. This one is the best. That one is the best, making dirty clothes very clean, Yes, big machines in hellfire to make you clean, very pure. Therefore, you may do everything. You are free. But you must know that at some time you will be caught. No one can escape. Everyone must come to that door to pass through it. Then, "Come here, come here!" Hujjaj thought it was alright to order, "Cut off his head! cut off that other head!" But then he said, "For each of them, my head has been cut off once, and for that one Companion alone, seventy times." Yes. Therefore you are free to do everything, but He says, "I will give you free will. Do everything, but if you make yourselves dirty, there will be washing."
Now, no one enters paradise except clean people - the pure. They will be bought from hellfire, burned bodies. There are two oceans, springs, at the entrance of paradise. Burned people will come from hellfire and be thrown into one of those springs. They will come out with beauty like that of Prophet Joseph (as). Then they will come and drink from the second spring, and every dirty characteristic of their egos, envy and others, will go away, and the Prophet's (saws ) good attributes will replace them. They will become perfect in beauty and character. Then paradise will open to them and say, "Welcome." Up to that point, too much washing; no one can enter paradise if they have not been purified.
Therefore, the one who has been given wisdom looks at people and respects them and feels pity for them, because they are in need of purification. He feels respect and pity towards everyone, particularly sinners. The eyes of knowledge, however, look at them in a different way. They curse them and if they can they take revenge on them, they do so. Therefore, wisdom cares more about everyone and wants to bring them under Mercy Oceans, while knowledge's eyes sees them as sinners and wants to punish them. Divine punishment is also a mercy for sinners, to clean them, to purify them. Thus Islam, true faith, looks at all people and sees them as respectable and honored creatures and as candidates to be vicegerents of God Almighty. If they are clean, pure human beings, then God Almighty crowns them with His Divine crowns, and no one except the children of Adam have been given that honor.
37 You must respect yourself and keep respect for everyone. Don't say, "That is a sinner, that is an unbeliever, that is a Christian, that is a Jew, that is a Buddhist, that is anything else." Their actions may be of any kind but they have been honored and their Lord wants to purify them. God Almighty never leaves His servants permanently in the hands of their egos or in the hands of Satan. Haqq, Truth, Reality is going to destroy the kingdom of Satan. It must be destroyed, finished and vanish.
38 THE DAY OF THE GATHERING NIGHT, JUNE 3, 1985
"God Almighty will ask His angels to find one person who during his or her life had so much pleasure, who was most pleased with this life, every enjoyment for himself or herself - look for that one..."
The greatest good tidings for the people of faith (ahi al-iman), the people of paradise is that when they enter into paradise, angels come and say, "You are welcome to be in these paradises eternally. Whoever enters never goes out."
That is the greatest good tidings for them, the Divine guarantee that they will never leave. The greatest sorrow, however, is for the people of hellfire. They enter and never leave. If you could count as many as the whole universe has atoms, and also has electrons, for each electron you may be in it for one million years and then you come out. But still they are happy because it is a period of time which is counted and it is going to be finished one day. The hope of that one day gives them peace, even if they are in hellfire. It is such a huge, huge number of years, but they are still going to be happy and say "Praise belongs to God (al-hamd Allah), it is not eternal." There is going to be nothing, nothing, nothing beside eternity. Therefore, the people of hellfire, when they hear that they will stay in it eternally, that is the deepest suffering. And they ask to be taken out of hellfire, even one moment of it is so difficult.
Then, on the Day of the Gathering (yaum al-mashar), the Day of Resurrection, God Almighty will ask his angels to find one person who during his life had so much pleasure, who was most pleased with his life, every enjoyment for himself - "Look for that one." And they will bring a person who lived 1,700 years. He had been king of all the world. He had been given everything of enjoyment. That person will be brought and God Almighty will order, "Take this person into hellfire for one second. Put him in it and then bring him here."
They will put him and then bring him there. Then God Almighty will ask, "Oh My servant, what thing that you tasted throughout your life of more than one thousand years during which time you were given everything - what thing from those pleasures and enjoyments is with you now?" He will say, "Oh my Lord, I swear by Your Name that I have tasted nothing, nothing. That one second I was put into hellfire and taken out just finished everything that I tasted during the thousand-and-so years of this life." Then, what about being in hellfire for thousands, millions of years, billions of years, not finishing, not ending, no hope? That is terrible! Therefore, so many believers’ eyes do not sleep from the fear of hellfire, the fear of the anger of their Lord.
39 Then He will order the angels to find one person among all the people in on that Day of Gathering who suffered so much. God Almighty will command, "Take this person for one second into paradise." The angels will put him in it. Then God Almighty will ask, "What kind of suffering did you have during your life?”
"Oh my Lord, nothing! Nothing for me, finished!" Nothing does he remember because of that paradise. If all the prophets, saints, and religious scholars, were to sit together from the beginning of this world up to the end and speak about paradise, it would be impossible for them to give a description of it. They could speak about only one drop from an ocean.
What would you think if the last person who enters paradise should be given ten-times of this world? In this world, out of four parts, one-fourth is continents and three-fourths is oceans. Of the continents, also, half of them are deserts or forests where no one lives. However, ten-times of this world is filled with every favor of our Lord Almighty. That is just for the last person who is to be given from paradise. Then what about for the others? Yes, this is also our life, counted days or months or years. It is going to finish. Every breath takes us towards the Day of Judgment, toward Eternal Life. Keep your breaths for your Lord, Almighty God, and say, "God! God" (Allah! Allah!). If you do not say it by your will, still your breath each time says, "Huwa. Huwa. Huwa. Huwa. Huwa. Huwa."’ This is going on, "Huwa" with each breath whether you like to say it or not, this "Huwa. Huwa. Huwa. Huwa" must be. May God Almighty call us to His remembrance (dhikr).
40 THE BEST CHARACTERISTIC OF HUMANITY AFTERNOON, JUNE 4, 1985
"Therefore, the most acceptable and lovely characteristic of humanity is..."
Which characteristic places you in a high rank in the Divine Presence? This is an important point. Everyone must ask and must know it, because we are trying to make our Lord, God Almighty, pleased with us.
Which characteristic makes God Almighty pleased With us? It is humility (tawadu) that makes our Lord pleased with us. The first thing that made our Lord Almighty be angry with His creatures is the opposite of humility. What is that’? Pride, the first sin appeared from pride.
The first one who raised his head and was rebellious to his Lord Almighty was Satan. The reason was that he claimed to be proud towards one of his Lord's creatures. God Almighty created Adam. Then Satan claimed to be above Adam, not to be beneath his rank, saying, "I am more important than this creature. How can You order me to make to prostate (sajdah) myself before him? I see that my station is higher than anyone else's, particularly the station of the one who has just been created. I fill every square foot on earth and in the heavens with prostration. I give You the highest respect while that one, the new one, has not even made one prostration to You. Yet You are saying that I must prostrate myself, I must give my highest respect to that one? I am the one who will never accept to prostrate to anyone except You,” Satan said to God Almighty, seeing himself as being above every creature, and particularly over Adam. That was pride from him, so that the Divine anger or the Divine curse fell upon him.
Therefore, every prophet came to advise people that they should put aside pride. They should be humble, because pride makes your Lord angry with you and humility makes Him pleased with you. That wisdom is enough for everyone throughout his life. But it is not so easy to make your ego accept that, particularly as our ego always votes for Iblis, Satan, never voting for God Almighty. Isn't it so? Everyone knows it. Always for God? No! For everything that Satan does our ego says, "Alright. Yes this is correct, that is wrong.” "We seek refuge in God from satan” (istighfar Allah).
Therefore, each prophet came with a Book and with commands (manffiuma), a law including other laws, as prophets came from the Lord. The last, the Seal of the Prophets (saws) also came with so many commands, bringing them to people in his time and up to the Last Day, so that if this world were to continue, his Message would cover every nation, even up to eternity. The summary or
41 soul of all the commands that the Seal of the Prophets (saws) brought to the children of Adam is for what? To teach people how they can be humble servants.
In the Holy Qur'an and in the Divine Law (shariah), commands have been given to keep - 500 kinds of commands and good deeds that you may do out of respect to your Lord and as charity to His servants, because all commands consist either of respect to God Almighty or charities to His servants, which are at the same time most high respects to your Lord. Therefore, Islam is perfect because it brought people the highest respect to give to their Lord and, at the same time, it brought the children of Adam every kind of charity, good actions, and at the same time as you are doing or giving your charities, you are giving your highest respect to your Lord Almighty. If you look at Islam from this direction, you will find it perfect because it covers every charitable work and includes every respect, the highest respect, to your Lord. Yes, You can find in Islam every charity that you can think of and every kind of highest respect for your Lord can be found in Islam, as well.
Then there are also 800 prohibitions, prohibited actions, so from that direction, also, Islam is perfect because you can't find any evil, any wrongdoing or anything that harms people, without its being prohibited in Islam. Any harmful thing, no matter how simple or unknown or unthought of, Islam brings before people to see that this evil, even such a thing that you can't imagine but which harms you, either in your faith or in your health or in your thoughts, because our ego always allies with Satan when it comes to following prohibitions. The ego, the "I" likes the taste of bad things. Therefore, it generally conceals them and tries to show you that they are excellent. "What is wrong if you go to the pub? What is wrong with drinking wine and whiskey and spirits? Why are they prohibited when they give you so much enjoyment?"
That is the animal soul's defense, wanting to make things seem good, to present them as good to your ego. The Prophet (saws) said that when the Last Days approach, people will drink wine, but will give different names. They do not say "Wine," they say "whiskey," "champagne." They say, "This is vodka, this brandy," doing so much advertising, making so many beautiful looking bottles, saying, "This is Johnny Walker. You must be like this when you drink," doing so many things to cheat, to deceive people. Therefore, your ego always comes with Satan and conceals prohibited things, saying, "This may be good. Particularly in our community, in our time, you must use it. You must also put a bar in your house. It must be there, and every kind of bottle." I see some houses which are like a hotel. Yes, up to here with bottles of wine and whiskey. One thousand Satans are in them, sitting - sitting quietly, but when drinking, all of them appear.
42 Thus 800 things which are harmful physically or spiritually have all been prevented in Islam, so that no one can object concerning any of them that it gave benefit and was useful to people, but Islam prevented that. Therefore, Islam is perfect through its commands, and it is perfect through keeping people from harmful things. God Almighty honors us with each of the commands He gives. We said that there are 500 respects, highest respects, to God Almighty and also charity. Each one that you do, that you keep, gives you more honor. That is honor (karamah) and the prohibited things are for safety (himayah) - for the safety of humanity physically and spiritually. That is perfection. For this reason God Almighty said, "Oh My Prophet, beloved Muhammad, I have just completed your faith, your religion, your Islam, and I am pleased with whomever comes to Me with Islam" (see 5:4).
It is complete now. No one can imagine a religion more perfect than Islam even for the 20th century. Islam is perfect even up until the 121st century and beyond, Islam is perfect since God Almighty created the human being as a human being,* not creating people as monkeys or apes. No. He created the human being as the human being from the beginning. Apes were created as apes. Monkeys were created as monkeys, but the human being was created as the human being. He gave the human being His form. Even if one hundred centuries more may pass, no one can think of a more perfect form either for men or for women.
Therefore, when God Almighty says that it is now complete, perfect, it is perfect. What is after the full moon? Islam has become the full moon. If you ask for something else after the full moon, you are going to find it waning. Therefore, people now are running. They are not looking at the full moon of Islam and they are running to find something, particularly old religions. Christianity or Judaism are trying to make themselves like the full moon, but it is impossible because they were before Islam and Islam came as a full moon. If anyone wants something after the full moon, he will find only deficiency. For this reason, God Almighty says, "Who is the one who can bring something more perfect than what I brought to you, Oh Muhammad? Tell them that anyone who can do that may do it, may try. But no one can." And we are saying, as our Lord commands, "Then proclaim" (93: IL) (fa-haddith), issuing a challenge.
Yes, come - Christians, come. Jews, come. Islam is the full moon. From any direction you may look, you can find it perfect. Don't look at its followers. No. Look at the full moon itself. Why are you accusing Islam because of the actions of its followers? Islam is perfect, but its followers are not perfect.
Now we shall come to the important point, humility. In summary, what is the main goal of all these commands and prohibitions? Why does God Almighty
43 order all these commands and prohibitions? T
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