Bridge To Eternity (Shaykh Nazim, 104 pages, 8/10)
https://www.nvrislam.net/index.php?j=eng&post=6013
GrandShaykh, the last link in the chain. | am only his servant. We are waiting for the Naqshbandi Sheikhs to come and renew their Beyat with us. If not, they are just putting titles on themselves. There may be a thousand Sheikhs, but only one GrandShaykh. If they come together, who will be the Imam? If all of the 124.000 Sahaba are brought together, who is the Imam? Sayyidina Abu Bakr.
Sayyidina Mahdi a.s. and his seven Grand Wazirs, 99 Caliphas, and 313 Grand Murshids are
all in the Naqshbandi Tariqat. In these times, there is no power for other Tariqahs to carry people all the way to the ultimate goal. All are invited to renew their Beyat with our
60|Bridge to Eternity GrandShaykh, and they may observe their improvement. Both Abu Bakr and Ali reached their divine positions and took their holy trusts from the Prophet during their lifetime. Because they desired and did what the Prophet desired and did, they reached a station where they were shown Sayyidina Muhammad's real Prophetic Personality in the Divine Presence.
If we can use our willpower as we should, making it accord with our Lord's desires, carrying out our Lord's Will, then we may improve to reach the ranks of Saints and Prophets, approach the Divine Presence and be accepted there. Allah Almighty has said, through all of His Holy Prophets: "Oh My people, if you claim that you are servants, then put your desires in line with Mine, otherwise you are not servants... | am not in need of your worship; all | want from you is that you accord with My Desires."
We have to learn manners and keep a form of discipline, so we can say inside ourselves: "As You like, oh My Lord..."
6l11Bridge to Eternity ON SINCERITY ‘Ihsan Magam’- The Station of Sincerity
We must be sincere believers. As servants, we must know that Allah Almighty is watching us all the time, and that He is with us, wherever we are: "Huwa maakum aina ma kuntum..." We are living through Him; how can anyone or anything exist without Him? Therefore He is always with us, reaching us everywhere, like the government. If you know there is a hidden camera, don't you drive slowly? This is the meaning of the "Ihsan Magam", the Station of Sincerity, leaving imitated faith and reaching to true belief. We have to direct ourselves towards Allah, always fulfilling His Rights first, then to look after Dunya, worldly things.
Our Conscience is from Heavens
We must choose our Lord’s pleasure. If we listen to our conscience, we can know goodness from badness, Halal from Haram. Our conscience is from the Heavens; it is always right. There is no such thing as a sick conscience, but sometimes we put such a heavy load on it that we are unable to hear its cry. Therefore, we must make an intention to always listen to our conscience. If we do this, Allah will give our conscience more power. Our conscience gives us good signs- don’t try to fight against it. Don’t try to justify bad actions. It is wrong. When Allah is not pleased with a man’s actions, he makes all favours for that man Haram, in this life and in the next.
Do not imagine that Allah Almighty is waiting for your prayers, your fasting, your covering your heads or your dressing in Islamic clothes, no. He is looking to your hearts to see if they contain an atom's weight of sincerity, and only if He finds that sincerity does He accept anything from you. None of your actions are, of themselves, pleasing to your Lord if they are not motivated by sincere intentions.
Reaching to Unity
GrandShaykh once spoke to me about Jafar as-Sadiq r.a. from the Golden Chain of the Naqshbandi Silsilah. He was a descendant of the Prophet. When he was worshipping, he was absent from himself, going into the Divine Presence. The value of worship is in that Presence. As much as you are with yourself, you are far away from real worship; you are a servant to yourself. Being absent from yourself means coming to Unity, ‘Tawhid’. When you are present in the Divine Presence, all powers are present with you. There is no heedlessness, you don’t forget anything. When you are with your ego, you may forget something in the prayer. The purpose of all worship is only to make you absent from yourself and present in the Divine Presence. As much as you are with yourself, there is no real unity.
The Heart’s Dhikr
Once, daily, you must listen to your heart’s Dhikr. When you listen, you can hear your heart saying: ‘Allah, Allah...’.This is an important Wird, more important than the tongue’s Dhikr.
62|Bridge to Eternity This gives concentration to the whole body. The best time to do this is after midnight, at Tahajjud. First pray two Raka‘ats, then sit and listen to your heart’s Dhikr... Your concentration will grow from this point to where that Dhikr, the remembrance of your Lord, will be with you 24 hours a day. | am giving you permission; it means to take that ‘electricity’ from the centre which the GrandShaykhs are opening for us. When my GrandShaykh gave me permission, he was opening, from his heart to my heart, such a power.
631Bridge to Eternity BE WITH YOUR SHEIKH Allah is the Main Power Station
Allah says that He has all power, and that His servants are powerless. Only Allah has Absolute Power, and only He gives power to the whole universe. Divine Power is within everything that is in existence. Allah is the main power station for all creatures. If you know this, you know that as much as you are powerless, you must ask from your Lord.
Therefore the Prophet asked his Lord: “Oh my Lord, don’t leave me to myself, my nafs, for even the blink of an eye. If you leave me to myself, | will perish.” He was asking for Divine Help and Power every moment, in all conditions throughout his life.
He used to say that he was only a powerless servant and completely dependent upon his Lord; and when he said this, Allah Almighty gave him from His Absolute Powers, saying: "For as much as you are admitting your own powerlessness, that much power We will give to you." All Divine Help and Power comes to weak people more than to powerful people. As much as you are in need, as much as you are opening to Allah, help is coming. If you don’t feel in need of your Lord, you will be left to yourself, and you will perish.
The Power of the Shaykh
The Holy Prophet sws used to pray: “ Allahumma, la takilni ila nafsi tarfataini...Oh Lord, don’t leave me in the hands of my ego for even the blink of an eye.” If you are with your ego, it cuts you off from others, and then you are alone with the ego. To feel and think that you are alone makes you depressive; it destroys the personality, and you are in a helpless situation. Loneliness is the beginning of difficulties and suffering, physically and spiritually. If you are alone, you are unable to think clearly and realize the needs of other people. And if you are speaking to people and you are not with your Sheikh, then you are like a blind man throwing stones, unable to reach your target. Therefore you must ask: “Oh my Shaykh, | am asking to be with you. You are with me, but | am not with you. | will try to be with you.” If these two currents meet, the power will run. The more you are able to concentrate on his being with you, the more power reaches you from his side. If you are wholly with him, then he is in you, and you are your own Shaykh. That is the meaning of being with your Shaykh... His power will surround you as much as you are with him, and then you should reach to unlimited power, because the Sheikh is connected to the Prophet, and the Prophet is in the Divine Presence.
Be with your Shaykh, and you will lose neither power, knowledge, wisdom, patience, nor your life, because everything is with him. You are never alone, not even in deserts or on seas, even if you were the only human being on earth. You will be most powerful among people; and even if the whole of mankind was coming against you, you wouldn’t fear, because you are connected to the real power station. If anyone was to touch you, he would fall down. The fact that this power exists makes our life easy and safe. There is no need to fear if we concentrate on our Shaykh. But if we forget him, hopelessness and depression, suffering and fear may come to us. Therefore take him with you, wherever you are going. Then he will lead and guide you in everything. Then you will understand what it means to be
64|Bridge to Eternity with the Prophet, to be with Allah. You will experience Fana...you will vanish, and He will appear in you. Those are the people about whom the Prophet said: “When you look to them, you look to Allah.” If you are with your Shaykh, Shaytaan will never conquer your heart. He can’t enter because your Sheikh is there with you. May Allah make it easy for us to be with one of His servants who is in the Divine Presence... Fatiha.
Heart Connection
“Anytime you lose control over yourself, or you are in a difficult situation, you can be in contact with my heart immediately. If you just think about me there will be a relationship with me, and | will look to you. That connection will cause a power to run quickly between us, and you will be protected. It is like putting a plug in the socket, to connect with electricity.”
The Secret Power of the ‘Bismillah’
All power is from Allah Almighty, and we must always ask for His support, because we are in need, we are weak ones. Allah Almighty ordered His Beloved Prophet S$. Muhammad sws. to inform his Ummah that anything that is not begun with His Holy Name : "Bismillahir Rahmanir Rahim", will never be supported by Allah; it means it will never give fruit, and it must fail... If you say Allah’s Holy Name, you will take benefit from that action, and any harm that may be in it will leave you. Whoever is feeling weak should say it, and power will come to his physical body and to his heart.
The Bismillah is the most important key for opening all treasures in the Heavens and on earth, and for opening all forms of knowledge. Allah Almighty has put three thousand of His Holy Names in it: looo Names that are known only to the Angels, looo Names known by the Prophets, 999 Names contained in the 4 Holy Books, and His Greatest Name. All of these Names are contained in the Bismillah... Whoever is able to reach to the secret power of the Bismillah should be dressed in miraculous powers. We, as servants of Allah, should say it at least loo times daily. If a person continues for 40 days, he should find some power, some changes in himself, especially if he says it one thousand times between Fajr and sunrise... From unseen worlds, from Malakut beautiful views will appear to him. According to the thickness of the veils of his heart, from 1x 40 days, up to 7x 4o days, there should be an opening... If not, it means that his heart is too occupied with Dunya, and he should try to put Dunya last, and then try again. It is a rule which can’t be wrong. Even in one day it may be opened, because it is so powerful...
Every time you say: "Bismillahir Rahmanir Rahim", it means that you are remembering the
Lord: "Oh My Lord, | am remembering You!" And then Allah says: "Oh My servant, | am remembering you!" Don’t forget! If you forget, you will be forgotten.
65|1Bridge to Eternity DIVINE GUIDANCE ‘Istikhara’- Asking for Guidance
If you are in doubt about something, whether it is the right thing to do or not, if it is according to Allah’s will or not, you can ask about it in the following way anytime you need to: Take a shower, with hot or cold water. You must be in a silent place. Give your greetings to Allah, to your Lord. Then sit and say: "Oh my Lord, | am intending something, and | am asking for my will to follow Your will. Give me the right sign for this purpose." You will be given a green or a red light. You must take this seriously. Then it is impossible to do this and not to get an answer. This is a form of Istikhara. Anybody may do it. There is free permission to ask for everybody, who is interested to know, if they are acting according to their Lord’s will. But you must not ask about something that is already clear, and the direction has already been shown. In that case you must accept whatever it is, and there is no need to ask about it. It is best is to do this exercise before going to bed. Pray two Raka‘ats, ask, and then go to bed without talking to anyone.
Real Inspirations
In order to distinguish real inspiration from stray thoughts and the whisperings of Shaytaan, wait and see whether that inspiration recurs or not. Divine Inspiration is not going to leave you until you do it. It will come to your heart repeatedly. Badness and wrong suggestions from the Nafs and devils, stray thoughts, will not persist. And even if evil whisperings do persist, it will become clear that they are not good by a kind of disturbance you feel in your heart. If it is an inspiration, there is never going to be a doubt in your heart. You will find absolute satisfaction. But if it is from the ego, your conscience will not be at rest.
From Heart to Heart
What is the method of fighting the ego in our Tariqah? To become accustomed to doing everything with permission of the Sheikh, especially concerning marriage, divorce and long journeys; and it is best to consult him in every important matter. We posses a 'walkie- talkie’, and we can send waves from heart to heart. If you know the wavelength you can tune in, because a real Sheikh must send. According to a Murid's station, a real Sheikh can send him those waves: At the first station, the Sheikh's presence comes to the heart of the disciple. At a more advanced stage, the Murid may actually feel the Sheikh by his side and perceive his breathing. The final and most advanced stage is when the spiritual power of the Sheikh dresses itself on the Murid, so that he 'becomes' the Sheikh for a certain time.
The Ears of the heart
Knowledge comes in two ways. One is by listening from outside and using that in directing oneself on a way. But some knowledge comes from the heart, and this is more powerful in pushing one towards his target. In other words, if a command comes from outside, the ego doesn’t take care to keep it, but when it comes from yourself, it has more effect. The ego never likes to be commanded, but if it is coming from the heart you see it as honourable.
66|Bridge to Eternity You may listen to so many lessons, but really you are waiting for that command to come from yourself. Correct and Divine Guidance come with the second way. The Awliya may speak, but they also send inspiration to hearts. The Murshid may teach by inspiration. Then one thinks about the knowledge coming:” | am thinking this." The more we are purified, the more Divine Wisdom waves can be caught by our hearts' ears. The Prophet said that if man can keep his heart pure, and worship sincerely for 40 days, then he may catch Divine Wisdom in his heart and may speak wisdom. Wisdom is the essence of knowledge.
Meetings for the Sake of Allah
Allah’s Hand is over a Jamaat; if they are meeting for worship, there will be Divine Assistance for those people. If they are going to do something according to our Lord’s order, they will be under the guard of Allah. If they are going to do something according to the advice of the Prophet, they will be under the guard of the Prophet sws. Whenever any group of our brothers or sisters meet for the sake of Allah, joining their hearts to the hearts of the Masters of this Way, that meeting will attain the level of an association with the Sheikh. In such a meeting, such a power descends on the hearts of the attenders that even the deepest roots of hidden idolatry, of ego-worship, can be pulled out. Such an assembly is more beneficial than years of supererogatory worship. Don't think that the only beneficial meeting is the one where the Sheikh is physically in attendance. When our brothers or sisters meet, one of them must be the channel for inspiration to come from the Sheikh: one must speak and the others listen; one must take from the Sheikh and the others take through him from the Sheikh. In this way all the meetings of our brothers and sisters are blessed. If more than one person speaks or if there are arguments and contention, then there will be no spiritual power in that meeting, and hearts will be left cold.
67|Bridge to Eternity REAL LIFE COMES FROM DIVINE LOVE S.0.5.- Save Our Souls!
All souls are calling S.0.S.- Save our Souls! They feel as if they are in Hell. All mankind is in need of spiritual food. It makes their faces bright and their hearts full of light, peace comes to their minds, and their spirits open towards the Heavens. Contentment is dressed on their physical beings. Sufi Ways are spiritual ways, the ways to the Heavens. If you like, you may follow them, so that your soul is in Paradise before you die. Then dying will only be like a change from one place to another, so easy- opening a door and being welcomed.
The Soul’s Food is Divine Light
The Prophets brought Divine Lights for our souls, which go through the hearts of people. Souls can only be fed by Nur, Divine Lights. There is no need for eating and drinking; their food is Lights. Everyone's soul is in need of Light. If they are not asking for Light today, they will ask for it tomorrow, or next month, next year or on their last day in Dunya. This is important: Souls are thirsty for the stream of Divine Lights. If there are no Lights, there is no Love. If Allah's Beauty Oceans can't be seen, no Love comes to His servants. Souls know that, and therefore they are asking for those Divine Lights. Through them, those Oceans become visible, and souls should be satisfied.
Love is Life and Light
Try to give more time every day to prayers and Dhikr. Angels glorify their Lord without tiring- it is their food. So the power of one angel is more than the power of all mankind. It is a special power...spiritual people, Prophets and Saints, have it...
Glorifying the Lord gives you energy and peace, more power and support, and more love for Allah. Real life comes from that Divine Love. When there is no Love, there is no life. The Awliya say that whoever doesn't have that Love is like a dead body walking on earth. Love is life and light, and the more we have of it, the more our life will be complete and full of pleasure.
The Power of Divine Love
“In their inner life, people are in need, and with their souls they are in contact with my soul, so they come to me. | am doing nothing with my followers. | am only sending Divine Power to them without their knowing, which works through their personalities without harming them. The benefit of a Master is that he takes away bad characteristics in order to give good attributes to people. It needs a gardener to look after fruit trees and make them perfect. Masters give perfection to Murids. To be like the Master is the perfection of a Murid. As much as you imitate your Master, following him step by step, you are going to be on the same level, but you are an imitation of him. | am making Murids follow me through their hearts, with love. | am not using force, but the power of Love.”
68| Bridge to Eternity The Heart is for Allah alone
Allah Almighty asks of His servants to worship with Ikhlas, sincerity, purity. He asks for pure worship, which means to have a pure heart, a heart that has nothing in it but its Lord. Each of us knows which side of himself is not true, or which of his characters is not good. We must strive to have pure hearts. That is ‘Jihad’; to fight with one’s bad characters and change them into good ones. Everything that occupies your heart and keeps you from your Lord makes your heart impure. You must try to keep everything away from your heart, but Allah. We say that the heart is for Allah alone. Man is created for the love of Allah Almighty. Any time you put your love in this dunya, it will be wasted. But if you put your love with Allah, with the Prophet, with your Sheikh, or with your fellow Mu’mins, you may find that love here and hereafter; it is never going to be wasted. Love is the most precious, most valuable, most expensive thing, that the Sons of Adam have been given.
69|1Bridge to Eternity ‘IHAD-UL-AKBAR’ - THE BIGGEST FIGHT The Base of Faith
The base upon which faith is built; the spirit of faith (Ruh ul Iman) is to carry everything that you don’t like, and to be patient with those you don’t like. For as many people as there are on this earth, such is the number of different characters and abilities, and you must carry them all. Whenever you are carrying other people, you get more power, more strength for your faith. The real power of faith is to remain unchanged in the face of trials. In our times, the sign of a good character, and the highest degree of Jihad-ul-Akbar, is to carry other people’s bad characters and to tolerate them. We have not been ordered to refuse people, but to make them more pleased. We are living in a time when people may say anything and everything; you must be patient with them, and excuse them, always without fighting. You must know that people are ill with their egos. If you are claiming to be doctors, you must excuse them. If you are on the way of Prophets, you must help them and be tolerant of them. This is the highest degree of good manners.
You must not forget a goodness that has been done to you. If someone does a goodness for you, and afterwards you become displeased with that person over something he said or did, your displeasure, your forgetfulness of that person’s good deed toward you is from bad character. You will be like a cat. You may give it meat one hundred times; but if you leave it just once, that cat will make objections and complaints to Allah, saying:” He left me hungry!” It is good manners not to argue with people, even if you know that you are in the right. Arguing extinguishes the faith.
Who is a real Muslim? One who doesn’t harm anyone, either with his hands or with his tongue. People are safe from him. This is a wide entrance to Islam, and it is for all people.
The 6th Pillar of Faith
Whenever something is wrong in a person, everything around him appears wrong to him. When he is all right within himself, the world appears all right to him. The world is created perfectly by our Creator. If something appears wrong to you, you must ask yourself: “What is wrong in me that | see this as wrong? Oh my nafs, you are wrong!” This is the highest degree of faith, and the highest degree of belief in the goodness of the Creator. Allah is not creating anything wrong or imperfect. At the essence of everything, if we could but see it, there is perfection. Until we behave correctly with our Lord, it is impossible for our actions, our family, our neighbours to behave correctly with us. It is impossible to find a better situation than that which exists today, for those who are ready. You cannot wish for things to be as they used to be, nor for the way that they might be. The conditions that we are in now are perfect, most suitable for us. Allah Almighty is giving as much of His mercy as we need; as much as we are able to carry.
Real faith is like that: to believe that all actions, whether from goodness, or from badness, are from Allah Almighty. If we believe this, we must be patient with each other’s actions. Allah is trying our faith, each of us with others. The Prophet sws said: “People will deal with you according to your actions.” If you are good and someone intends you harm, Allah will
70|Bridge to Eternity defend you. You must be honourable to all, good, respectful, merciful, generous and think well of all. We must be patient with all people because we believe that no one comes to us without our Lord’s Will. Therefore, there is no enmity in Islam. We have been ordered to do goodness. Anyone can return goodness for goodness; but only a few people can return goodness for badness.
“Oh my Lord, | am in Need of Your Mercy!”
A real servant to his Lord knows that all the goodness that he has is a mercy from his Lord, guiding him to his Lord’s way. He knows that but for his Lord’s mercy, he wouldn’t be praying, fasting, making Dhikr, and so forth. So, when he comes to his Lord’s Presence, he says: “Oh my Lord, | am standing in Your Divine Presence, and my hands are empty. | am in need of Your Mercy always. Give me more mercy, oh my Lord.”
A real servant of the Lord is not asking anything from Him. He says only: “May you be pleased with me, oh my Lord.” Some Awliya are too ashamed to ask anything from their Lord, because they see that they are in endless need of Him. They say: “Oh my Lord, You know best what | need from Your Mercy. My needs are endless. Fulfil my needs, oh my Lord, as You know.”
The Station of Contentment- How to Control Anger
Who is the happiest person in this life? Who is the most satisfied? He who is satisfied with that station in life in which his Lord put him. It is the station of contentment- to look at everything and see that it is most suitable for him, and also for all. You must say: “This situation is most suitable for me because my Lord put me in this situation. It it were no good for me, He wouldn’t have put me in it.” We must believe that Allah Almighty desires goodness for us, always. Don’t be a teacher to Allah. He knows best, and you don’t know anything. Don’t make any objections for anything; you are servants, you are slaves to Him, and He is Governor, Absolute King of the Universe.
You must know that all actions, all events, are not going to happen as we like them to happen. Nothing happens no one can be as we like them to be; it is impossible. When you know this, you may keep yourself far away from anger, because anger is the result of thinking that you can have everything as you want it to be.
“With Pleasure, Oh My Lord!”
If a man is going to do anything, worship, or any other action, it must be done voluntarily and gladly. If he is not pleased with that action, he must not do it, for there will be no good result for him from it. If there is no pleasure in it for you, there will be no pleasure in it for Allah Almighty. For worship, it is important to realize that we are speaking of the soul’s pleasure. When we are worshipping, our nafs is not pleased, but our souls are. We must look to the pleasure of our soul. Actions may be easy or difficult. What is the secret? For the one who finds an action easy, it is because it gives him pleasure, while for the one who finds it difficult, it is because he is forced to do it. Easy actions make people happier, while difficult actions make people unhappy.
7ilBridge to Eternity There is No ‘Empty Time’
Everything that is going to happen in this life has a fixed time. Every event has an appointed hour. If we know that all events will come in their appointed time, we will be at rest, patient; and patience shows the perfection of man, a
Link: https://www.nvrislam.net/index.php?j=eng&post=6013
GrandShaykh, the last link in the chain. | am only his servant. We are waiting for the Naqshbandi Sheikhs to come and renew their Beyat with us. If not, they are just putting titles on themselves. There may be a thousand Sheikhs, but only one GrandShaykh. If they come together, who will be the Imam? If all of the 124.000 Sahaba are brought together, who is the Imam? Sayyidina Abu Bakr.
Sayyidina Mahdi a.s. and his seven Grand Wazirs, 99 Caliphas, and 313 Grand Murshids are
all in the Naqshbandi Tariqat. In these times, there is no power for other Tariqahs to carry people all the way to the ultimate goal. All are invited to renew their Beyat with our
60|Bridge to Eternity GrandShaykh, and they may observe their improvement. Both Abu Bakr and Ali reached their divine positions and took their holy trusts from the Prophet during their lifetime. Because they desired and did what the Prophet desired and did, they reached a station where they were shown Sayyidina Muhammad's real Prophetic Personality in the Divine Presence.
If we can use our willpower as we should, making it accord with our Lord's desires, carrying out our Lord's Will, then we may improve to reach the ranks of Saints and Prophets, approach the Divine Presence and be accepted there. Allah Almighty has said, through all of His Holy Prophets: "Oh My people, if you claim that you are servants, then put your desires in line with Mine, otherwise you are not servants... | am not in need of your worship; all | want from you is that you accord with My Desires."
We have to learn manners and keep a form of discipline, so we can say inside ourselves: "As You like, oh My Lord..."
6l11Bridge to Eternity ON SINCERITY ‘Ihsan Magam’- The Station of Sincerity
We must be sincere believers. As servants, we must know that Allah Almighty is watching us all the time, and that He is with us, wherever we are: "Huwa maakum aina ma kuntum..." We are living through Him; how can anyone or anything exist without Him? Therefore He is always with us, reaching us everywhere, like the government. If you know there is a hidden camera, don't you drive slowly? This is the meaning of the "Ihsan Magam", the Station of Sincerity, leaving imitated faith and reaching to true belief. We have to direct ourselves towards Allah, always fulfilling His Rights first, then to look after Dunya, worldly things.
Our Conscience is from Heavens
We must choose our Lord’s pleasure. If we listen to our conscience, we can know goodness from badness, Halal from Haram. Our conscience is from the Heavens; it is always right. There is no such thing as a sick conscience, but sometimes we put such a heavy load on it that we are unable to hear its cry. Therefore, we must make an intention to always listen to our conscience. If we do this, Allah will give our conscience more power. Our conscience gives us good signs- don’t try to fight against it. Don’t try to justify bad actions. It is wrong. When Allah is not pleased with a man’s actions, he makes all favours for that man Haram, in this life and in the next.
Do not imagine that Allah Almighty is waiting for your prayers, your fasting, your covering your heads or your dressing in Islamic clothes, no. He is looking to your hearts to see if they contain an atom's weight of sincerity, and only if He finds that sincerity does He accept anything from you. None of your actions are, of themselves, pleasing to your Lord if they are not motivated by sincere intentions.
Reaching to Unity
GrandShaykh once spoke to me about Jafar as-Sadiq r.a. from the Golden Chain of the Naqshbandi Silsilah. He was a descendant of the Prophet. When he was worshipping, he was absent from himself, going into the Divine Presence. The value of worship is in that Presence. As much as you are with yourself, you are far away from real worship; you are a servant to yourself. Being absent from yourself means coming to Unity, ‘Tawhid’. When you are present in the Divine Presence, all powers are present with you. There is no heedlessness, you don’t forget anything. When you are with your ego, you may forget something in the prayer. The purpose of all worship is only to make you absent from yourself and present in the Divine Presence. As much as you are with yourself, there is no real unity.
The Heart’s Dhikr
Once, daily, you must listen to your heart’s Dhikr. When you listen, you can hear your heart saying: ‘Allah, Allah...’.This is an important Wird, more important than the tongue’s Dhikr.
62|Bridge to Eternity This gives concentration to the whole body. The best time to do this is after midnight, at Tahajjud. First pray two Raka‘ats, then sit and listen to your heart’s Dhikr... Your concentration will grow from this point to where that Dhikr, the remembrance of your Lord, will be with you 24 hours a day. | am giving you permission; it means to take that ‘electricity’ from the centre which the GrandShaykhs are opening for us. When my GrandShaykh gave me permission, he was opening, from his heart to my heart, such a power.
631Bridge to Eternity BE WITH YOUR SHEIKH Allah is the Main Power Station
Allah says that He has all power, and that His servants are powerless. Only Allah has Absolute Power, and only He gives power to the whole universe. Divine Power is within everything that is in existence. Allah is the main power station for all creatures. If you know this, you know that as much as you are powerless, you must ask from your Lord.
Therefore the Prophet asked his Lord: “Oh my Lord, don’t leave me to myself, my nafs, for even the blink of an eye. If you leave me to myself, | will perish.” He was asking for Divine Help and Power every moment, in all conditions throughout his life.
He used to say that he was only a powerless servant and completely dependent upon his Lord; and when he said this, Allah Almighty gave him from His Absolute Powers, saying: "For as much as you are admitting your own powerlessness, that much power We will give to you." All Divine Help and Power comes to weak people more than to powerful people. As much as you are in need, as much as you are opening to Allah, help is coming. If you don’t feel in need of your Lord, you will be left to yourself, and you will perish.
The Power of the Shaykh
The Holy Prophet sws used to pray: “ Allahumma, la takilni ila nafsi tarfataini...Oh Lord, don’t leave me in the hands of my ego for even the blink of an eye.” If you are with your ego, it cuts you off from others, and then you are alone with the ego. To feel and think that you are alone makes you depressive; it destroys the personality, and you are in a helpless situation. Loneliness is the beginning of difficulties and suffering, physically and spiritually. If you are alone, you are unable to think clearly and realize the needs of other people. And if you are speaking to people and you are not with your Sheikh, then you are like a blind man throwing stones, unable to reach your target. Therefore you must ask: “Oh my Shaykh, | am asking to be with you. You are with me, but | am not with you. | will try to be with you.” If these two currents meet, the power will run. The more you are able to concentrate on his being with you, the more power reaches you from his side. If you are wholly with him, then he is in you, and you are your own Shaykh. That is the meaning of being with your Shaykh... His power will surround you as much as you are with him, and then you should reach to unlimited power, because the Sheikh is connected to the Prophet, and the Prophet is in the Divine Presence.
Be with your Shaykh, and you will lose neither power, knowledge, wisdom, patience, nor your life, because everything is with him. You are never alone, not even in deserts or on seas, even if you were the only human being on earth. You will be most powerful among people; and even if the whole of mankind was coming against you, you wouldn’t fear, because you are connected to the real power station. If anyone was to touch you, he would fall down. The fact that this power exists makes our life easy and safe. There is no need to fear if we concentrate on our Shaykh. But if we forget him, hopelessness and depression, suffering and fear may come to us. Therefore take him with you, wherever you are going. Then he will lead and guide you in everything. Then you will understand what it means to be
64|Bridge to Eternity with the Prophet, to be with Allah. You will experience Fana...you will vanish, and He will appear in you. Those are the people about whom the Prophet said: “When you look to them, you look to Allah.” If you are with your Shaykh, Shaytaan will never conquer your heart. He can’t enter because your Sheikh is there with you. May Allah make it easy for us to be with one of His servants who is in the Divine Presence... Fatiha.
Heart Connection
“Anytime you lose control over yourself, or you are in a difficult situation, you can be in contact with my heart immediately. If you just think about me there will be a relationship with me, and | will look to you. That connection will cause a power to run quickly between us, and you will be protected. It is like putting a plug in the socket, to connect with electricity.”
The Secret Power of the ‘Bismillah’
All power is from Allah Almighty, and we must always ask for His support, because we are in need, we are weak ones. Allah Almighty ordered His Beloved Prophet S$. Muhammad sws. to inform his Ummah that anything that is not begun with His Holy Name : "Bismillahir Rahmanir Rahim", will never be supported by Allah; it means it will never give fruit, and it must fail... If you say Allah’s Holy Name, you will take benefit from that action, and any harm that may be in it will leave you. Whoever is feeling weak should say it, and power will come to his physical body and to his heart.
The Bismillah is the most important key for opening all treasures in the Heavens and on earth, and for opening all forms of knowledge. Allah Almighty has put three thousand of His Holy Names in it: looo Names that are known only to the Angels, looo Names known by the Prophets, 999 Names contained in the 4 Holy Books, and His Greatest Name. All of these Names are contained in the Bismillah... Whoever is able to reach to the secret power of the Bismillah should be dressed in miraculous powers. We, as servants of Allah, should say it at least loo times daily. If a person continues for 40 days, he should find some power, some changes in himself, especially if he says it one thousand times between Fajr and sunrise... From unseen worlds, from Malakut beautiful views will appear to him. According to the thickness of the veils of his heart, from 1x 40 days, up to 7x 4o days, there should be an opening... If not, it means that his heart is too occupied with Dunya, and he should try to put Dunya last, and then try again. It is a rule which can’t be wrong. Even in one day it may be opened, because it is so powerful...
Every time you say: "Bismillahir Rahmanir Rahim", it means that you are remembering the
Lord: "Oh My Lord, | am remembering You!" And then Allah says: "Oh My servant, | am remembering you!" Don’t forget! If you forget, you will be forgotten.
65|1Bridge to Eternity DIVINE GUIDANCE ‘Istikhara’- Asking for Guidance
If you are in doubt about something, whether it is the right thing to do or not, if it is according to Allah’s will or not, you can ask about it in the following way anytime you need to: Take a shower, with hot or cold water. You must be in a silent place. Give your greetings to Allah, to your Lord. Then sit and say: "Oh my Lord, | am intending something, and | am asking for my will to follow Your will. Give me the right sign for this purpose." You will be given a green or a red light. You must take this seriously. Then it is impossible to do this and not to get an answer. This is a form of Istikhara. Anybody may do it. There is free permission to ask for everybody, who is interested to know, if they are acting according to their Lord’s will. But you must not ask about something that is already clear, and the direction has already been shown. In that case you must accept whatever it is, and there is no need to ask about it. It is best is to do this exercise before going to bed. Pray two Raka‘ats, ask, and then go to bed without talking to anyone.
Real Inspirations
In order to distinguish real inspiration from stray thoughts and the whisperings of Shaytaan, wait and see whether that inspiration recurs or not. Divine Inspiration is not going to leave you until you do it. It will come to your heart repeatedly. Badness and wrong suggestions from the Nafs and devils, stray thoughts, will not persist. And even if evil whisperings do persist, it will become clear that they are not good by a kind of disturbance you feel in your heart. If it is an inspiration, there is never going to be a doubt in your heart. You will find absolute satisfaction. But if it is from the ego, your conscience will not be at rest.
From Heart to Heart
What is the method of fighting the ego in our Tariqah? To become accustomed to doing everything with permission of the Sheikh, especially concerning marriage, divorce and long journeys; and it is best to consult him in every important matter. We posses a 'walkie- talkie’, and we can send waves from heart to heart. If you know the wavelength you can tune in, because a real Sheikh must send. According to a Murid's station, a real Sheikh can send him those waves: At the first station, the Sheikh's presence comes to the heart of the disciple. At a more advanced stage, the Murid may actually feel the Sheikh by his side and perceive his breathing. The final and most advanced stage is when the spiritual power of the Sheikh dresses itself on the Murid, so that he 'becomes' the Sheikh for a certain time.
The Ears of the heart
Knowledge comes in two ways. One is by listening from outside and using that in directing oneself on a way. But some knowledge comes from the heart, and this is more powerful in pushing one towards his target. In other words, if a command comes from outside, the ego doesn’t take care to keep it, but when it comes from yourself, it has more effect. The ego never likes to be commanded, but if it is coming from the heart you see it as honourable.
66|Bridge to Eternity You may listen to so many lessons, but really you are waiting for that command to come from yourself. Correct and Divine Guidance come with the second way. The Awliya may speak, but they also send inspiration to hearts. The Murshid may teach by inspiration. Then one thinks about the knowledge coming:” | am thinking this." The more we are purified, the more Divine Wisdom waves can be caught by our hearts' ears. The Prophet said that if man can keep his heart pure, and worship sincerely for 40 days, then he may catch Divine Wisdom in his heart and may speak wisdom. Wisdom is the essence of knowledge.
Meetings for the Sake of Allah
Allah’s Hand is over a Jamaat; if they are meeting for worship, there will be Divine Assistance for those people. If they are going to do something according to our Lord’s order, they will be under the guard of Allah. If they are going to do something according to the advice of the Prophet, they will be under the guard of the Prophet sws. Whenever any group of our brothers or sisters meet for the sake of Allah, joining their hearts to the hearts of the Masters of this Way, that meeting will attain the level of an association with the Sheikh. In such a meeting, such a power descends on the hearts of the attenders that even the deepest roots of hidden idolatry, of ego-worship, can be pulled out. Such an assembly is more beneficial than years of supererogatory worship. Don't think that the only beneficial meeting is the one where the Sheikh is physically in attendance. When our brothers or sisters meet, one of them must be the channel for inspiration to come from the Sheikh: one must speak and the others listen; one must take from the Sheikh and the others take through him from the Sheikh. In this way all the meetings of our brothers and sisters are blessed. If more than one person speaks or if there are arguments and contention, then there will be no spiritual power in that meeting, and hearts will be left cold.
67|Bridge to Eternity REAL LIFE COMES FROM DIVINE LOVE S.0.5.- Save Our Souls!
All souls are calling S.0.S.- Save our Souls! They feel as if they are in Hell. All mankind is in need of spiritual food. It makes their faces bright and their hearts full of light, peace comes to their minds, and their spirits open towards the Heavens. Contentment is dressed on their physical beings. Sufi Ways are spiritual ways, the ways to the Heavens. If you like, you may follow them, so that your soul is in Paradise before you die. Then dying will only be like a change from one place to another, so easy- opening a door and being welcomed.
The Soul’s Food is Divine Light
The Prophets brought Divine Lights for our souls, which go through the hearts of people. Souls can only be fed by Nur, Divine Lights. There is no need for eating and drinking; their food is Lights. Everyone's soul is in need of Light. If they are not asking for Light today, they will ask for it tomorrow, or next month, next year or on their last day in Dunya. This is important: Souls are thirsty for the stream of Divine Lights. If there are no Lights, there is no Love. If Allah's Beauty Oceans can't be seen, no Love comes to His servants. Souls know that, and therefore they are asking for those Divine Lights. Through them, those Oceans become visible, and souls should be satisfied.
Love is Life and Light
Try to give more time every day to prayers and Dhikr. Angels glorify their Lord without tiring- it is their food. So the power of one angel is more than the power of all mankind. It is a special power...spiritual people, Prophets and Saints, have it...
Glorifying the Lord gives you energy and peace, more power and support, and more love for Allah. Real life comes from that Divine Love. When there is no Love, there is no life. The Awliya say that whoever doesn't have that Love is like a dead body walking on earth. Love is life and light, and the more we have of it, the more our life will be complete and full of pleasure.
The Power of Divine Love
“In their inner life, people are in need, and with their souls they are in contact with my soul, so they come to me. | am doing nothing with my followers. | am only sending Divine Power to them without their knowing, which works through their personalities without harming them. The benefit of a Master is that he takes away bad characteristics in order to give good attributes to people. It needs a gardener to look after fruit trees and make them perfect. Masters give perfection to Murids. To be like the Master is the perfection of a Murid. As much as you imitate your Master, following him step by step, you are going to be on the same level, but you are an imitation of him. | am making Murids follow me through their hearts, with love. | am not using force, but the power of Love.”
68| Bridge to Eternity The Heart is for Allah alone
Allah Almighty asks of His servants to worship with Ikhlas, sincerity, purity. He asks for pure worship, which means to have a pure heart, a heart that has nothing in it but its Lord. Each of us knows which side of himself is not true, or which of his characters is not good. We must strive to have pure hearts. That is ‘Jihad’; to fight with one’s bad characters and change them into good ones. Everything that occupies your heart and keeps you from your Lord makes your heart impure. You must try to keep everything away from your heart, but Allah. We say that the heart is for Allah alone. Man is created for the love of Allah Almighty. Any time you put your love in this dunya, it will be wasted. But if you put your love with Allah, with the Prophet, with your Sheikh, or with your fellow Mu’mins, you may find that love here and hereafter; it is never going to be wasted. Love is the most precious, most valuable, most expensive thing, that the Sons of Adam have been given.
69|1Bridge to Eternity ‘IHAD-UL-AKBAR’ - THE BIGGEST FIGHT The Base of Faith
The base upon which faith is built; the spirit of faith (Ruh ul Iman) is to carry everything that you don’t like, and to be patient with those you don’t like. For as many people as there are on this earth, such is the number of different characters and abilities, and you must carry them all. Whenever you are carrying other people, you get more power, more strength for your faith. The real power of faith is to remain unchanged in the face of trials. In our times, the sign of a good character, and the highest degree of Jihad-ul-Akbar, is to carry other people’s bad characters and to tolerate them. We have not been ordered to refuse people, but to make them more pleased. We are living in a time when people may say anything and everything; you must be patient with them, and excuse them, always without fighting. You must know that people are ill with their egos. If you are claiming to be doctors, you must excuse them. If you are on the way of Prophets, you must help them and be tolerant of them. This is the highest degree of good manners.
You must not forget a goodness that has been done to you. If someone does a goodness for you, and afterwards you become displeased with that person over something he said or did, your displeasure, your forgetfulness of that person’s good deed toward you is from bad character. You will be like a cat. You may give it meat one hundred times; but if you leave it just once, that cat will make objections and complaints to Allah, saying:” He left me hungry!” It is good manners not to argue with people, even if you know that you are in the right. Arguing extinguishes the faith.
Who is a real Muslim? One who doesn’t harm anyone, either with his hands or with his tongue. People are safe from him. This is a wide entrance to Islam, and it is for all people.
The 6th Pillar of Faith
Whenever something is wrong in a person, everything around him appears wrong to him. When he is all right within himself, the world appears all right to him. The world is created perfectly by our Creator. If something appears wrong to you, you must ask yourself: “What is wrong in me that | see this as wrong? Oh my nafs, you are wrong!” This is the highest degree of faith, and the highest degree of belief in the goodness of the Creator. Allah is not creating anything wrong or imperfect. At the essence of everything, if we could but see it, there is perfection. Until we behave correctly with our Lord, it is impossible for our actions, our family, our neighbours to behave correctly with us. It is impossible to find a better situation than that which exists today, for those who are ready. You cannot wish for things to be as they used to be, nor for the way that they might be. The conditions that we are in now are perfect, most suitable for us. Allah Almighty is giving as much of His mercy as we need; as much as we are able to carry.
Real faith is like that: to believe that all actions, whether from goodness, or from badness, are from Allah Almighty. If we believe this, we must be patient with each other’s actions. Allah is trying our faith, each of us with others. The Prophet sws said: “People will deal with you according to your actions.” If you are good and someone intends you harm, Allah will
70|Bridge to Eternity defend you. You must be honourable to all, good, respectful, merciful, generous and think well of all. We must be patient with all people because we believe that no one comes to us without our Lord’s Will. Therefore, there is no enmity in Islam. We have been ordered to do goodness. Anyone can return goodness for goodness; but only a few people can return goodness for badness.
“Oh my Lord, | am in Need of Your Mercy!”
A real servant to his Lord knows that all the goodness that he has is a mercy from his Lord, guiding him to his Lord’s way. He knows that but for his Lord’s mercy, he wouldn’t be praying, fasting, making Dhikr, and so forth. So, when he comes to his Lord’s Presence, he says: “Oh my Lord, | am standing in Your Divine Presence, and my hands are empty. | am in need of Your Mercy always. Give me more mercy, oh my Lord.”
A real servant of the Lord is not asking anything from Him. He says only: “May you be pleased with me, oh my Lord.” Some Awliya are too ashamed to ask anything from their Lord, because they see that they are in endless need of Him. They say: “Oh my Lord, You know best what | need from Your Mercy. My needs are endless. Fulfil my needs, oh my Lord, as You know.”
The Station of Contentment- How to Control Anger
Who is the happiest person in this life? Who is the most satisfied? He who is satisfied with that station in life in which his Lord put him. It is the station of contentment- to look at everything and see that it is most suitable for him, and also for all. You must say: “This situation is most suitable for me because my Lord put me in this situation. It it were no good for me, He wouldn’t have put me in it.” We must believe that Allah Almighty desires goodness for us, always. Don’t be a teacher to Allah. He knows best, and you don’t know anything. Don’t make any objections for anything; you are servants, you are slaves to Him, and He is Governor, Absolute King of the Universe.
You must know that all actions, all events, are not going to happen as we like them to happen. Nothing happens no one can be as we like them to be; it is impossible. When you know this, you may keep yourself far away from anger, because anger is the result of thinking that you can have everything as you want it to be.
“With Pleasure, Oh My Lord!”
If a man is going to do anything, worship, or any other action, it must be done voluntarily and gladly. If he is not pleased with that action, he must not do it, for there will be no good result for him from it. If there is no pleasure in it for you, there will be no pleasure in it for Allah Almighty. For worship, it is important to realize that we are speaking of the soul’s pleasure. When we are worshipping, our nafs is not pleased, but our souls are. We must look to the pleasure of our soul. Actions may be easy or difficult. What is the secret? For the one who finds an action easy, it is because it gives him pleasure, while for the one who finds it difficult, it is because he is forced to do it. Easy actions make people happier, while difficult actions make people unhappy.
7ilBridge to Eternity There is No ‘Empty Time’
Everything that is going to happen in this life has a fixed time. Every event has an appointed hour. If we know that all events will come in their appointed time, we will be at rest, patient; and patience shows the perfection of man, a
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