Love (Shaykh Nazim, 57 pages, 3/4)
https://www.nvrislam.net/index.php?j=eng&post=6018
llow Mu’mins ’ in
never going to be eae love here and hereafter; it is
Love is the most precious, most valuable, most
expensive thing, that the sons of Adam have been given
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To rove What Belongs to the Beloved ’ - This is the way of all Awliya (Saints). They love Allah Alaighty, ais Gea
they love all His creaty belonging to the beloved, /OV€ #8 to love ail things
There is a story ab
‘ Ty about Layla and M. :
: Stone aa! ean for her love. Everything belongit vely to Majnun, even stones a
; , nd trees! bs oe Nae be this way with love for Allah Almi; hty. os g belonging to Him must be lovely t ac or his love will not be true. — sul for the serves oF ie ce ey 0 Sachi
a r, Awliya (Sai
So following that way. They are looking to oe
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with mercy. Not one of the Saints bears any hatred his fellow servants even though they may be sinners. This way will win victory.
In Need of Love Now we are living in a time when enmity and red are reaching their highest degree. People are in of love. Not the sexual kind; this maybe found in als even more than in people. Love is a grant from hh Almighty. Some keep it in a precious place, and some
it it in a dirty place. i Now all people are in need of love for their Lord
e, and we must ask our Lord to give us love, more . When love comes, so does mercy. The attribute of Is is love. Souls are living in love-oceans.
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Connection to the Source How it is possible to open up your heart to your
fellow man?
Your hearts must meet in the heart of one of Allah's Saints, for in their hearts is Divine Attraction, and it is that power which enables them to be a medium for the binding of hearts. If there is no connection to the Source of all love -the Lord of all beings- then no really durable familiarity can develop between people, only the commonplace surface familiarity that is so easily disregarded when self-
interest intervenes, The Lord sympathizes with His creatures, and
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whoso has received a ray of that attri his heart inclining towards people. This transmission from heart to heart.
Familiarity with our fellow men is only the first
level upon which familiarity is made manifest, for the truly loving soul
evokes affection even from wild animals. Once I was with my GrandSheikh in the countryside.
bute may find familiarity is a
the vicious guard dog took on the aspect of a frolicking Puppy, rolling on the ground and prancing about.
Then GrandSheikh explained to me:
“He recognized me. am no stranger to anyone”.
Even ferocious lions may become pussycats in the presence of the receptacles of Divine familiarity.
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The Love of Those Actions Which Lead Me To the Love of You
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- (a) -
In Silence
During the day or at night, take a bath, sit quietly
ind say in silence:
“My God, I have left everything,
everything, except You.
Now, I am with You.
I know that You will never leave
me, that You are always with
me.
But I am not with You and now I
would like to be with You, if only ‘for a little while. A while, my God, I will sit with You, looking at You, listening to You, doing what I do only for You, and being only for You.”
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” (c) ~ Recite: Ya Wadud All creatures appeared through Allah's Divine Love. @ loved them and they appeared; therefore everything in xistence carries its share of Divine Love in it. The electrons of atoms turn around the nuclei with - (b)- ae speed of light, because they are alive with the Divine To Return ove Power that their Lord has granted them.
People pass their da It is Allah who, through His Holy Name ‘Ya Wadud’
the All-Loving) gives His Divine Love to everything in the Universe. Those electrons spin at such high speed around the nuclei because they are drunk with Divine Love. That is how the influence of that Love is manifested by them. Through the Divine Name, ‘Al Wadud’, real, never- _ changing, permanent love is granted to us by the Lord. When we say ‘Ya Wadud’, we are opening ourselves C& up to that Divine Love, asking our Lord to awaken that
unlimited and eternal love.
I have been ordered to teach and advise people to call on our Lord, saying: “Ya Wadud” As this will enable the sincere to attain real love of their Lord Allah Almighty and to love everything around
ar, and will be able to rely
6 ‘ ; ; Pon Him even in the midst of great and terrible events.
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themselves for the sake of the love the Creator has for all of His creation.
This love is the essence of all success in the way of spiritual purification.
To realize that love, to come into contact with the Divine Love Oceans, is the challenge and fulfillment of human existence.
We seek to awaken permanent love.
Practices, prayers and rules are of no use in our time without that love, because the ego easily attaches itself to practices and uses them, so that they only serve our vanity.
Note about this Practice
Wadud: Attribute of the divinity that refers to the Divine Love. “Al Wadud” means “The All Loving” or “The One coming to us with love”. “Ya Wadud" ~invocation asking for the Divine Love- means “Oh Lover!”. To repeat the name “Ya Wadud” is a way to remember God.
The Prophet said, “If My servant mentions Me in himself, I will mention him in Myself.”
Dhikr (remembrance of God) can be done both, silently or aloud. In the understanding of the people of Sufism, dhikr is essential because it is the primary means for conveying the seeker to the Presence of God. Imam Ghazali said, “You must know that Allah removed all the veils of ignorance and brought people to the state of vision through their continuous dhikr. The first stage of dhikr is the dhikr of the Tangue, then the dhikr of the Heart, then the Appearance of the Divine Presence in the reciter of dhilr, making him no longer need to do dhikr.” That is why our Nagshbandi Masters have chosen the dhikr of the heart. Moreover, the heart is the place where the Forgiver casts
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His Gaze, and the seat of belief, and a of — mon , iti is si fi urce of lights. If it is sound, the whole body ee crsonnd, the whole body is unsound -as was made clear for
us by the Propheté ae
eo
* adapted from “The Nagshbandi Sufi Way” by Sheikh Hisham
Kabbani.
Sais
GR
a (d) - To Give Love
Everyone has a circle of friends, relations, acquaintances, Starting from those closest to us, our wives or husbands, parents and children, brothers and sisters, we must be generous in giving of our permanent love, making peace with them.
Giving of our permanent love is the most important practice for our time. The lower self of man, the selfish ego, never wants to give permanent love to anyone except himself. But Man has been created to love all creation, as he represents his Lord on Earth and has the greatest reservoir of Divine Love with him. Hecan bea great means of expression for that Divine Love in this world, a fountain of love that every creature may drink from.
GR
be ae
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- (e) - Looking Now I am sitting with you. If I looks at ie por everybody) as the creatures of my Lord, 7 me a De nd lock ira roe orraa sulrtoe ihe to you as one would look to a oe am sitting in the garden of paradise, an es inner peace to my heart. If we can look to eac on would reach not only acceptance Sep, beedenalibaety and affection, and finally, love
eo
and peace.
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Thanks Thank you for listening: my heart is overflowing with mercy and love for all people, here and everywhere...
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GLOSSARY *
Abraham: From him descend the three Semitic religions (Judaism, Christianity and Islam). Judaism and Christianity come from Isaac -son of Abraham and Sarah-; Islam descends through Ismael -son of Abraham and Agar.-. Abraham and Ismael reconstructed the ancient temple of the world: the Kaaba situated in Mecca, Saudi Arabia.
Abu Bakr: Born in the year 53 (b.h.) -570 of the Christian calendar- and passed away in the year 13 (a.h.) -634 of the Christian calendar-. He was the first Caliph (Representative) of the Holy Prophet Muhammad and inheritor of his inner teachings. The Holy Prophet said: “Never was anything revealed to me that I did not pour into the heart
* The current glossary has been made based on the follow- ing books: “Mercy Oceans” Hidden Treasures”, by Mawlana Sheikh Nazim Al Haqqani, Turkey, 1981; “Power Ocean of Love” by Mawlana Sheikh Nazim Al Haqqani Naqshbandiyah, Zero Productions, Lon- don 1993; “Servanthood and what it is” by Mawlana Sheikh Nazim al Haqqani Nagshbandiyah, Damascus, 2001; “The Secret of Secrets” by Hadrat Abdul Qadir al Jilani, The Islamic Texts Society, Cam- bridge, 1992; “Viaje al Serior del Poder” by Muhiddin Ibn Arabi, ed. Sirio, Spain, 1986; “Los Sufis de Andalucia”, by Muhiddin Ibn Arabi, ed. Sirio, Spain, 1990; “Tratado del Amor” Muhiddin Ibn Arabi, ed. Edaf, Spain, 1996; “En brazos del Amado”, by Mawlana Jalaluddin Rumi, ed. Edaf, Spain, 1998; “El Memorial de los Santos (Tadkhkirat ul Awliya)” by Farid ud Din Attar, Ediciones Del Peregrino, Rosario, Argentina, 1994; “The Naqshbandi Sufi Way” by Sheikh Hisham Kab- bani, Kazi Publications, Chicago 1995; “Angels Unveiled. A sufi per- spective”, by Sheikh Hisham Kabbani, Kazi Publications, Chicago 1995; “The Unveiling of Love”, by Sheikh Muzzaffer Ozak al-Jerrahi al-Halveti, Inner Traditions International, New York, 1981; “El hom- bre de luz en el sufismo iranio”, by Henri Corbin, ed. Siruela, Spain; “La ultima barrera. Un viaje sufi”, by Rashad Field, ed. Troquel, 1994, Argentina.
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much prayer or his heart”,
of Abu Bakr”, “Abu Bakr does not precede you because of
fasting, but because of a secret that is in
i: He was born in Bistam, northeast
of Persia (Iran), in the year 186 (a.h.) and passed away in 261 (a.h.) -875 of the Christian calendar-. The sixth Sheikh of the Nagshbandi Tarigat. Once he said: “I made four
mistakes in my
preliminary steps in this way: I thought
that I remembered Him, that I know Him, that I love Him and that I seek Him, but when I reached Him, I saw that His remembering ofme preceded my remembrance of Him, that His knowledge about me preceded my knowledge of Him, that His love towards me was more ancient than my love towards Him, and that He sought me in order that I
would begin to seek Him”.
Adam: The first created man, the father of mankind,
the first prophet. It is said that paradise was empty when Adam was created. He was in the Gardens of Eden and he was feeling lonely because there was no one like himself there. He was longing and missing something, but he didn’t know what it was. Paradise is full with perfection, but his feelings gave him the sign that there was still something missing. Then, while he was sleeping, Allah gave Eve to him (peace be upon her). When Adam opened his eyes Eve was sitting close
by. The beauty
of all future generations of women
was expressed in Eve. She looked like the full moon. So when Adam saw her, he realized that paradise was
complete, it was they are mankin Divine Presence.
perfect. Adam and Eve in their beings d. They are all equal in their ranks in
: see “Hijra”.
: The hereafter.
: Attribute of the divinity that indicates the Jealousy of God or the Jealous God. It is said that the Understanding of this divine attribute is based on the
‘knowledge that all goodness in life comes from Allah.
And the Divine Jealousy would be the indicator that the man has turned towards something different than Allah Almighty. Ibn Arabi explains this attribute in the union of the man with the woman: “There isn’t’ more intense union than the act of love. In it, the voluptuousness invades all the parts of the body, that is why the Sacred Law prescribes a complete bath after the act of love, because the extinction of the man in the woman has been complete in the moment of the ecstasy by the voluptuousness of the sexual union. Therefore, God is jealous of His servant. He doesn’t tolerate that he believes that he enjoys something that is not Him. So He purifies him with the complete bath, in order to turn his vision towards the One in whom he has extinguished in reality, since there is no one but Him”.
Allah: The One True God for whom there is neither partner nor any equal in the Heavens or the Earth. The Creator of all things, Who was never born and will never die. He is aware of all that happens in the Heavens and the Earth -even the movements of the tiniest insect in the darkness nights- He is with us wherever we go, and nothing can be hidden from Him Almighty. He created everything just to worship Him and He bids His creatures to follow those who have turned to Him with love (the Prophets and Saints) so
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that they may perfect their obedience and servitude to Him Alone. He is the Most Merciful and the Most Beneficent
and no one can know nor match the extent of that mercy and forbearance.
Amana: The spiritual treasure of the disciple given for safe- keeping to a spiritual master, Spiritual secret placed inside every human being. In the Book of Love, Amr ibn Otman declares: “God Almighty created the Hearts 7000 years before the Souls, and kept them in the Garden of. Intimacy. He created the Secrets 7000 years before the Hearts and kept them in the State of Union. God made the Souls to receive 360 glances of Grace every day, and to hear 360 words of Love. Every day He manifested 360 delights of the Intimacy to the Hearts. Every day 360 times He revealed the Beauty of the Secrets, so that they beheld all the things existing in the world of the Self, and they saw that none was so precious than them. And the vainglory and the pride appeared in them. That is why God judged them. He imprisoned the Secret in the Soul; He confined the Soul in the Heart; He put the Heart in the Body; after He infused the Mind in all that, God sent the prophets with the commandments. Each one of them engaged searching their suitable place. God ordered them the Prayer, This way the Body devoted to
the Prayer, the Heart attained Love; the Soul, Nearness; the Secret, had rest in the Union.”
Angel: Angels are honored, subtle beings created from light who serve their Lord. They exemplify the qualities of perfection, obedience, and dedication. They carry unlimited miraculous powers through which they can reach anyone in the blink of an eye to help and to heal, to serve and to console, to love and to be loved.
} ny form they wish in the physical world at ime e is As ays takes the form of the cup in which itis poured, angels can take the form of any ns on which they visit. They have a mind and a heart, - no will and no desire other than to serve and obey God. do _ Angels worship day and night without fatigue. They not need to sleep as their eyes never tire. They oe - heedlessness. Their attention never wavers. Their - is glorification of God. Their drink is to sanctify ene » magnify Him. Their intimacy comes from calling = Lord through hymning and singing His praise. Ihei enjoyment is to serve Him.
Angel _Jibril (Gabriel): Gabriel is responsible to bring down the ee ie to the Prophets and steele = Allah. Gabriel’s name in the Divine Presence is Abdu : i: the servant of God. He is known by that name among oad angels. He is one of the foremost among those _ 1 near to God. Whenever God mentions a servant X a _ chanting and calling his Lord, He tells rps oo : that person because he is praising Me. Gabriel the makes all the inhabitants of heaven praise that _ a God has given Gabriel the responsibility to look a bis the needs of His servants on earth. God says to him, Gabriel! Take care of the heart of My believer. Remove from the heart of My believing servant the sip that he experienced in My love. Let Me me = ew long for Me and whether his love is true.” Then He _ “O Gabriel! Put back into the heart of My servant . a you have taken from him because he is trustworthy. I am
giving him more.”
Awliya (singular Wali): Saints; Friends of Allah. The
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Station of the Awliya i . Real by direct mete: is the station of knowledge of the
b.h.: see Hijra. Caliph: Representative.
Dergah: Meeting pl ' oie eae of the murids (disciples) with the
: Mankind. The h ; descendants of the fi - Ihe human beings, glossary). irst created man: Adam (see in this
ae a = eh ee of God. It is the key rating ae Dun a ways of remembrance is by e Prophet said, “If M I a : ; himself, Iwill mention him in Myseit.” ss Me 1” ma. be done both, silently or aloud. The Prophet . at en says, “I am with my servant when he cane e and by his remembrance of Me his li S el : ommenting on this hadith, Imam Nawawi s a ks - hi with the one who remembers Him and cails Him ik i. “he and calls Him on his tongue, but we must pe € that the dhikr of the heart is more perfect. Th Py enn tied : om 08 in order to feline ikr in his heart. Wh Alleh and His Remembra vee eee oe arance overwhelms the heart and rile € tongue is moved and the seeker brought Sa ne of the people of Sufism, dhikr is €cause it is the primary means for conveying
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seeker to the Presence of God. It is of three gradations ng the stages of the journey to the Divine Presence:
The dhikr of the common people by the tongue;
The dhikr of the special people by the heart;
‘The dhikr of the Elect of the Special by their Annihilation
eir Dhikr, when they see the One they are Remembering
annihilated in His Presence. Ghazali said, “You must know that Allah removed
the veils of ignorance and brought people to the state vision through their continuous Dhikr. The first stage Dhikr is the Dhikr of the Tongue, then the Dhikr of Heart, then the Appearance of the Divine Presence the reciter of dhikr, making him no longer need to do ikr. wn” t is why our Nagshbandi masters have chosen the ikr of the heart. Moreover, the heart is the place where the Forgiver casts His Gaze, and the seat of belief, and the receptacle of secrets, and the source of lights. If it is sound, the whole body is sound, and if it is unsound, the whole body is unsound -as was made clear for us by the Prophet
(} (Sheikh Hisham Kabbani). Dunya: Literally “low”, the world, the worldly life.
_ Ego: Illusory consciousness of our Self. The consciousness ~ in a state of identity with the essence belongs to our real
Self; the consciousness in a state of identification with the personality, belongs to the ego. ;
Fasting It is said that when Allah asked the ego, “Who are you?” The ego answered, “I am myself, and you are yourself”. So Allah Almighty ordered for him to be put in the fire for
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one thousand ; the same amaretto sie = _ out and asked him What is the ego for? J am that one”. So he was cise a are youared Jur ego is not for harming ourselves. No! It is like an © put in the cold ectric cable without the protective covering. It may harm ou. If you ask “why is that harmful wire inside?” And if you ake it out from the plastic, it would have no more use, and fou would have lost that huge power. Our ‘ee is such a T a big grant from Allah Almighty. The Prophet was saying ta Prophett# brought the order Bousale ether hat it is your horse that you may ride on, to wherever * ©go comes do , “No longer i _ fasting. ‘ou want to reach. Allah Almighty is saying, “Use your you a ~ * am your weak 7“ Selrntioag ego, and come to Me”, but when you ask to enter in the re my Lord”. The one w abet gee Divine Presence of your Lord, He will say “leave your horse
terri ho can’t co i :
= ble and dangerous. Fasting gives you e himself is outside, then come.” Your horse is your ego. No creature put control on your ego. € capability to is more powerful than our ego, and no creature is more Th ‘useful also. It may take us from the lowest level to the € wildest c highest. It is so dangerous and powerful, and its work is
Ther aacee reature i) g Pp ’ a S ae two Possibilities: the mani so important. No other means may take mankind form me “sa its vanis| ifna). beh Pa tes the lowest level to the highest. No one understands. That ; etween one t ; : _ important ride was not granted to you only for it to eat,
drink and enjoy. No! The Sultan is expecting that your ride on it and come to Him. (Mawlana Sheikh Nazim)
Grandsheikh: Sheikh whose spiritual station is over the
The test _ other Sheikhs.
Th aa oe o hey pumanking, so that they may win ccor ' ot. 0 resi . (spiritual stations). You areast aceaset Sto higher Magams Hadith: Prophetic tradition, Verified reports of the sayings is Hed to their nafs, we may eaedly fee ide Ifsomeone and practices of the Holy Prophet Muhammad®, that ir bad side. But were transmitted by unbroken chains of traditionalists - 1 and were collected the next century after his lifetime. hen the way to find s " em ' . - Out. Don't think that in the presence of Allah you are
more valuable. All peopl i ie ieee eo : P — against each other, but in
Haggani: The Truthful One, the one who reached the station of Reality and Truth (Haqq).
Hijra: Literally emigration. It shows the beginning of the
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Islamic calendar ij thatis wh:
hijra” (b.h. i [ Sw: y the dates are divi ay
the Prophet M4 tite a (a.h.)]. It is ie
Medina. During the j ade to emigrate from M ered
took refuge in the cave of thaw Prophet@ and Abu Bakr
that the secret of of Thawr (Saudi Arabi u Ba
fies the emigrati : rabia). It is said
inside of th gration consists j i
inner tees dees — Propheti eiteaerttoe *, Ky eart e
related with the origin of the aauiew a heart and it is
Himmah: Ene i Tgy, determination, spiritual aspiration
Ibn Arabi’s fath er to Baghdad when
dir al Ji i God to grant hi Jilani and asked hi m a child. The Shei ee to pre in aw e Sh ¥ state of deep cmicicion Whe Pe was med he
informed Ali i Ali ibn Muhammad: “I have examined th e
world of Secret: 's and was revealed to me that you will
not have desc man was Sete So stop trying it”. Although th “O Saint! For rane cat give up. He begged and i e old tdanedaie God will thank your prayers. opie and once again ee *: Sheikh Abdul Qadir al Jile ask you awhile hee ae fee of deep etiaistinlintion: Ae . Garpile he returned and said that although it was 1 ‘i ie have one. Wauli gece to havea child Genin e saint? His visi man accépt the { : miei ia jhe visitor accepted fuciiy fie seg cance iP, back to back, with laced eas heer - Later Ali
descended it again, an
i Muhammad reported this situation: “When I was *k to back with Abdul Qadir al Jilani, I felt something
» descending from the neck till the bottom of the ine. After the time I had a son and I put him the name uhyiddin (the Reviver of the religion) as the saint had 4.” It is said that Ibn Arabi knew well the alchemy ad knew the Secret of the Greatest Name of God that it hidden in the Quran. It is said he was the Pole of the owledge as Jalaluddin Rumi was the Pole of Love. He ote “The Covenant of Love”, that says that the love is energy that attracts every Being to its divine origin.
brahim ibn Adham: He died in 165 a.h. (782 of the ‘Christian calendar). He was born in Balkh (Central Asia) ‘of Arab descent. He was born into a royal family and had become the King of Balkh. He repented of worldliness and became a wandering dervish. He lived a life of complete
“asceticism so that he became known as the King of the ell, he hung down
Ascetics. One day Ibrahim reach a w He emptied it and
a bucket and it emerged full of gold. d this time emerged full of pearls.
With good humor, he emptied it again. “O God!”, he cried, “You are offering me a treasure. I know that You are Almighty, and You know that nothing of these can cheat me. Give me water so that I can make my ablutions.”
Islam: Literally, surrender to Allah. A religion that is based in 5 pillars: 1) Declaring that there is no god save the One True God (La ilaha ill-Allah) and that Muhammad is the messenger of Allah; 2) To pray five times a day;
3) To fast in the holy month of Ramadan; 4) To give a
portion of the property annually to the poor, 5) To make
the pilgrimage to Mecca at least once in a lifetime, if one
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possesses the necessary material means.
Kaaba: The ancient temple for devotion in the world, in Mecca, Saudi Arabia. Re-established by the Prophet Abraham and his son Ismael. Layla: The story of Layla and Majnun is the story of the relative love that leads to the real love. The legend tells that Majnun, after having a glimpse of Layla, he spent the rest of his life looking for her. One story tells that when finally Majnun found Layla, he had lost all the interest in her, because his longing for her have been transformed in the longing for the love itself, and for the Originator of that love. Ithas been shown that this story comprise a supplication to the Lord to lead us all from imitation to verification, from metaphorical love to Real Love. By way of Layla the Lord is reached. From the idol we turn to the Everlasting. From the ascription of partners to God we come to recognize His Oneness. From metaphorical love we move on the Real Love. Metaphorical love is where a man has an extreme affection for a woman and loses himself in his beloved. However, metaphorical love leads to Real Love. While calling “Layla, Layla!” Majnun was united with his Lord. We should pity anyone stuck with Layla and not finding his Lord, because it means that his Layla veils his Lord. The real name of the legendary Majnun was Qays. He was given the name -or tather, the nickname- Majnun because of his love and affection for Layla. Such was his love for Layla that on arriving in his beloved’s village he would kiss the eyes and feet of the village dogs, saying to those who tried to deter him from this behavior: “Leave me alone. These eyes have seen Layla. These feet
com
hat have seen iden where Layla walked. Eyes t
oe foe that have trodden in her oe ahi aa
a ose i
nd worthy of being kissed”. To ; s
ayia ts very ugly! Let us find you a prettier one”,
ave this reply: “If you saw my Layla through my a
a would not be making me that kind of proposal”.
i zaffer Ozak al-Jerrahi) ecko texto) the story shows different aspects of the
searching of the ee ee ai Sea
is an abbreviation of “la ilaha ill- r Uae Allah”, pointing that the searc! ;
pes the aig for the transcendent love behind
the veils of the apparent.
Mahabba: Love. Majnun: Literally “crazy”, see “Layla”.
i i of nearness to Magam: Spiritual Station. Level or degree the aiod oer. It
Link: https://www.nvrislam.net/index.php?j=eng&post=6018
llow Mu’mins ’ in
never going to be eae love here and hereafter; it is
Love is the most precious, most valuable, most
expensive thing, that the sons of Adam have been given
Ge
To rove What Belongs to the Beloved ’ - This is the way of all Awliya (Saints). They love Allah Alaighty, ais Gea
they love all His creaty belonging to the beloved, /OV€ #8 to love ail things
There is a story ab
‘ Ty about Layla and M. :
: Stone aa! ean for her love. Everything belongit vely to Majnun, even stones a
; , nd trees! bs oe Nae be this way with love for Allah Almi; hty. os g belonging to Him must be lovely t ac or his love will not be true. — sul for the serves oF ie ce ey 0 Sachi
a r, Awliya (Sai
So following that way. They are looking to oe
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with mercy. Not one of the Saints bears any hatred his fellow servants even though they may be sinners. This way will win victory.
In Need of Love Now we are living in a time when enmity and red are reaching their highest degree. People are in of love. Not the sexual kind; this maybe found in als even more than in people. Love is a grant from hh Almighty. Some keep it in a precious place, and some
it it in a dirty place. i Now all people are in need of love for their Lord
e, and we must ask our Lord to give us love, more . When love comes, so does mercy. The attribute of Is is love. Souls are living in love-oceans.
Ge
Connection to the Source How it is possible to open up your heart to your
fellow man?
Your hearts must meet in the heart of one of Allah's Saints, for in their hearts is Divine Attraction, and it is that power which enables them to be a medium for the binding of hearts. If there is no connection to the Source of all love -the Lord of all beings- then no really durable familiarity can develop between people, only the commonplace surface familiarity that is so easily disregarded when self-
interest intervenes, The Lord sympathizes with His creatures, and
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whoso has received a ray of that attri his heart inclining towards people. This transmission from heart to heart.
Familiarity with our fellow men is only the first
level upon which familiarity is made manifest, for the truly loving soul
evokes affection even from wild animals. Once I was with my GrandSheikh in the countryside.
bute may find familiarity is a
the vicious guard dog took on the aspect of a frolicking Puppy, rolling on the ground and prancing about.
Then GrandSheikh explained to me:
“He recognized me. am no stranger to anyone”.
Even ferocious lions may become pussycats in the presence of the receptacles of Divine familiarity.
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The Love of Those Actions Which Lead Me To the Love of You
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- (a) -
In Silence
During the day or at night, take a bath, sit quietly
ind say in silence:
“My God, I have left everything,
everything, except You.
Now, I am with You.
I know that You will never leave
me, that You are always with
me.
But I am not with You and now I
would like to be with You, if only ‘for a little while. A while, my God, I will sit with You, looking at You, listening to You, doing what I do only for You, and being only for You.”
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Ge
” (c) ~ Recite: Ya Wadud All creatures appeared through Allah's Divine Love. @ loved them and they appeared; therefore everything in xistence carries its share of Divine Love in it. The electrons of atoms turn around the nuclei with - (b)- ae speed of light, because they are alive with the Divine To Return ove Power that their Lord has granted them.
People pass their da It is Allah who, through His Holy Name ‘Ya Wadud’
the All-Loving) gives His Divine Love to everything in the Universe. Those electrons spin at such high speed around the nuclei because they are drunk with Divine Love. That is how the influence of that Love is manifested by them. Through the Divine Name, ‘Al Wadud’, real, never- _ changing, permanent love is granted to us by the Lord. When we say ‘Ya Wadud’, we are opening ourselves C& up to that Divine Love, asking our Lord to awaken that
unlimited and eternal love.
I have been ordered to teach and advise people to call on our Lord, saying: “Ya Wadud” As this will enable the sincere to attain real love of their Lord Allah Almighty and to love everything around
ar, and will be able to rely
6 ‘ ; ; Pon Him even in the midst of great and terrible events.
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themselves for the sake of the love the Creator has for all of His creation.
This love is the essence of all success in the way of spiritual purification.
To realize that love, to come into contact with the Divine Love Oceans, is the challenge and fulfillment of human existence.
We seek to awaken permanent love.
Practices, prayers and rules are of no use in our time without that love, because the ego easily attaches itself to practices and uses them, so that they only serve our vanity.
Note about this Practice
Wadud: Attribute of the divinity that refers to the Divine Love. “Al Wadud” means “The All Loving” or “The One coming to us with love”. “Ya Wadud" ~invocation asking for the Divine Love- means “Oh Lover!”. To repeat the name “Ya Wadud” is a way to remember God.
The Prophet said, “If My servant mentions Me in himself, I will mention him in Myself.”
Dhikr (remembrance of God) can be done both, silently or aloud. In the understanding of the people of Sufism, dhikr is essential because it is the primary means for conveying the seeker to the Presence of God. Imam Ghazali said, “You must know that Allah removed all the veils of ignorance and brought people to the state of vision through their continuous dhikr. The first stage of dhikr is the dhikr of the Tangue, then the dhikr of the Heart, then the Appearance of the Divine Presence in the reciter of dhilr, making him no longer need to do dhikr.” That is why our Nagshbandi Masters have chosen the dhikr of the heart. Moreover, the heart is the place where the Forgiver casts
= 7G
His Gaze, and the seat of belief, and a of — mon , iti is si fi urce of lights. If it is sound, the whole body ee crsonnd, the whole body is unsound -as was made clear for
us by the Propheté ae
eo
* adapted from “The Nagshbandi Sufi Way” by Sheikh Hisham
Kabbani.
Sais
GR
a (d) - To Give Love
Everyone has a circle of friends, relations, acquaintances, Starting from those closest to us, our wives or husbands, parents and children, brothers and sisters, we must be generous in giving of our permanent love, making peace with them.
Giving of our permanent love is the most important practice for our time. The lower self of man, the selfish ego, never wants to give permanent love to anyone except himself. But Man has been created to love all creation, as he represents his Lord on Earth and has the greatest reservoir of Divine Love with him. Hecan bea great means of expression for that Divine Love in this world, a fountain of love that every creature may drink from.
GR
be ae
Ge
- (e) - Looking Now I am sitting with you. If I looks at ie por everybody) as the creatures of my Lord, 7 me a De nd lock ira roe orraa sulrtoe ihe to you as one would look to a oe am sitting in the garden of paradise, an es inner peace to my heart. If we can look to eac on would reach not only acceptance Sep, beedenalibaety and affection, and finally, love
eo
and peace.
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Thanks Thank you for listening: my heart is overflowing with mercy and love for all people, here and everywhere...
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GLOSSARY *
Abraham: From him descend the three Semitic religions (Judaism, Christianity and Islam). Judaism and Christianity come from Isaac -son of Abraham and Sarah-; Islam descends through Ismael -son of Abraham and Agar.-. Abraham and Ismael reconstructed the ancient temple of the world: the Kaaba situated in Mecca, Saudi Arabia.
Abu Bakr: Born in the year 53 (b.h.) -570 of the Christian calendar- and passed away in the year 13 (a.h.) -634 of the Christian calendar-. He was the first Caliph (Representative) of the Holy Prophet Muhammad and inheritor of his inner teachings. The Holy Prophet said: “Never was anything revealed to me that I did not pour into the heart
* The current glossary has been made based on the follow- ing books: “Mercy Oceans” Hidden Treasures”, by Mawlana Sheikh Nazim Al Haqqani, Turkey, 1981; “Power Ocean of Love” by Mawlana Sheikh Nazim Al Haqqani Naqshbandiyah, Zero Productions, Lon- don 1993; “Servanthood and what it is” by Mawlana Sheikh Nazim al Haqqani Nagshbandiyah, Damascus, 2001; “The Secret of Secrets” by Hadrat Abdul Qadir al Jilani, The Islamic Texts Society, Cam- bridge, 1992; “Viaje al Serior del Poder” by Muhiddin Ibn Arabi, ed. Sirio, Spain, 1986; “Los Sufis de Andalucia”, by Muhiddin Ibn Arabi, ed. Sirio, Spain, 1990; “Tratado del Amor” Muhiddin Ibn Arabi, ed. Edaf, Spain, 1996; “En brazos del Amado”, by Mawlana Jalaluddin Rumi, ed. Edaf, Spain, 1998; “El Memorial de los Santos (Tadkhkirat ul Awliya)” by Farid ud Din Attar, Ediciones Del Peregrino, Rosario, Argentina, 1994; “The Naqshbandi Sufi Way” by Sheikh Hisham Kab- bani, Kazi Publications, Chicago 1995; “Angels Unveiled. A sufi per- spective”, by Sheikh Hisham Kabbani, Kazi Publications, Chicago 1995; “The Unveiling of Love”, by Sheikh Muzzaffer Ozak al-Jerrahi al-Halveti, Inner Traditions International, New York, 1981; “El hom- bre de luz en el sufismo iranio”, by Henri Corbin, ed. Siruela, Spain; “La ultima barrera. Un viaje sufi”, by Rashad Field, ed. Troquel, 1994, Argentina.
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much prayer or his heart”,
of Abu Bakr”, “Abu Bakr does not precede you because of
fasting, but because of a secret that is in
i: He was born in Bistam, northeast
of Persia (Iran), in the year 186 (a.h.) and passed away in 261 (a.h.) -875 of the Christian calendar-. The sixth Sheikh of the Nagshbandi Tarigat. Once he said: “I made four
mistakes in my
preliminary steps in this way: I thought
that I remembered Him, that I know Him, that I love Him and that I seek Him, but when I reached Him, I saw that His remembering ofme preceded my remembrance of Him, that His knowledge about me preceded my knowledge of Him, that His love towards me was more ancient than my love towards Him, and that He sought me in order that I
would begin to seek Him”.
Adam: The first created man, the father of mankind,
the first prophet. It is said that paradise was empty when Adam was created. He was in the Gardens of Eden and he was feeling lonely because there was no one like himself there. He was longing and missing something, but he didn’t know what it was. Paradise is full with perfection, but his feelings gave him the sign that there was still something missing. Then, while he was sleeping, Allah gave Eve to him (peace be upon her). When Adam opened his eyes Eve was sitting close
by. The beauty
of all future generations of women
was expressed in Eve. She looked like the full moon. So when Adam saw her, he realized that paradise was
complete, it was they are mankin Divine Presence.
perfect. Adam and Eve in their beings d. They are all equal in their ranks in
: see “Hijra”.
: The hereafter.
: Attribute of the divinity that indicates the Jealousy of God or the Jealous God. It is said that the Understanding of this divine attribute is based on the
‘knowledge that all goodness in life comes from Allah.
And the Divine Jealousy would be the indicator that the man has turned towards something different than Allah Almighty. Ibn Arabi explains this attribute in the union of the man with the woman: “There isn’t’ more intense union than the act of love. In it, the voluptuousness invades all the parts of the body, that is why the Sacred Law prescribes a complete bath after the act of love, because the extinction of the man in the woman has been complete in the moment of the ecstasy by the voluptuousness of the sexual union. Therefore, God is jealous of His servant. He doesn’t tolerate that he believes that he enjoys something that is not Him. So He purifies him with the complete bath, in order to turn his vision towards the One in whom he has extinguished in reality, since there is no one but Him”.
Allah: The One True God for whom there is neither partner nor any equal in the Heavens or the Earth. The Creator of all things, Who was never born and will never die. He is aware of all that happens in the Heavens and the Earth -even the movements of the tiniest insect in the darkness nights- He is with us wherever we go, and nothing can be hidden from Him Almighty. He created everything just to worship Him and He bids His creatures to follow those who have turned to Him with love (the Prophets and Saints) so
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that they may perfect their obedience and servitude to Him Alone. He is the Most Merciful and the Most Beneficent
and no one can know nor match the extent of that mercy and forbearance.
Amana: The spiritual treasure of the disciple given for safe- keeping to a spiritual master, Spiritual secret placed inside every human being. In the Book of Love, Amr ibn Otman declares: “God Almighty created the Hearts 7000 years before the Souls, and kept them in the Garden of. Intimacy. He created the Secrets 7000 years before the Hearts and kept them in the State of Union. God made the Souls to receive 360 glances of Grace every day, and to hear 360 words of Love. Every day He manifested 360 delights of the Intimacy to the Hearts. Every day 360 times He revealed the Beauty of the Secrets, so that they beheld all the things existing in the world of the Self, and they saw that none was so precious than them. And the vainglory and the pride appeared in them. That is why God judged them. He imprisoned the Secret in the Soul; He confined the Soul in the Heart; He put the Heart in the Body; after He infused the Mind in all that, God sent the prophets with the commandments. Each one of them engaged searching their suitable place. God ordered them the Prayer, This way the Body devoted to
the Prayer, the Heart attained Love; the Soul, Nearness; the Secret, had rest in the Union.”
Angel: Angels are honored, subtle beings created from light who serve their Lord. They exemplify the qualities of perfection, obedience, and dedication. They carry unlimited miraculous powers through which they can reach anyone in the blink of an eye to help and to heal, to serve and to console, to love and to be loved.
} ny form they wish in the physical world at ime e is As ays takes the form of the cup in which itis poured, angels can take the form of any ns on which they visit. They have a mind and a heart, - no will and no desire other than to serve and obey God. do _ Angels worship day and night without fatigue. They not need to sleep as their eyes never tire. They oe - heedlessness. Their attention never wavers. Their - is glorification of God. Their drink is to sanctify ene » magnify Him. Their intimacy comes from calling = Lord through hymning and singing His praise. Ihei enjoyment is to serve Him.
Angel _Jibril (Gabriel): Gabriel is responsible to bring down the ee ie to the Prophets and steele = Allah. Gabriel’s name in the Divine Presence is Abdu : i: the servant of God. He is known by that name among oad angels. He is one of the foremost among those _ 1 near to God. Whenever God mentions a servant X a _ chanting and calling his Lord, He tells rps oo : that person because he is praising Me. Gabriel the makes all the inhabitants of heaven praise that _ a God has given Gabriel the responsibility to look a bis the needs of His servants on earth. God says to him, Gabriel! Take care of the heart of My believer. Remove from the heart of My believing servant the sip that he experienced in My love. Let Me me = ew long for Me and whether his love is true.” Then He _ “O Gabriel! Put back into the heart of My servant . a you have taken from him because he is trustworthy. I am
giving him more.”
Awliya (singular Wali): Saints; Friends of Allah. The
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Station of the Awliya i . Real by direct mete: is the station of knowledge of the
b.h.: see Hijra. Caliph: Representative.
Dergah: Meeting pl ' oie eae of the murids (disciples) with the
: Mankind. The h ; descendants of the fi - Ihe human beings, glossary). irst created man: Adam (see in this
ae a = eh ee of God. It is the key rating ae Dun a ways of remembrance is by e Prophet said, “If M I a : ; himself, Iwill mention him in Myseit.” ss Me 1” ma. be done both, silently or aloud. The Prophet . at en says, “I am with my servant when he cane e and by his remembrance of Me his li S el : ommenting on this hadith, Imam Nawawi s a ks - hi with the one who remembers Him and cails Him ik i. “he and calls Him on his tongue, but we must pe € that the dhikr of the heart is more perfect. Th Py enn tied : om 08 in order to feline ikr in his heart. Wh Alleh and His Remembra vee eee oe arance overwhelms the heart and rile € tongue is moved and the seeker brought Sa ne of the people of Sufism, dhikr is €cause it is the primary means for conveying
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seeker to the Presence of God. It is of three gradations ng the stages of the journey to the Divine Presence:
The dhikr of the common people by the tongue;
The dhikr of the special people by the heart;
‘The dhikr of the Elect of the Special by their Annihilation
eir Dhikr, when they see the One they are Remembering
annihilated in His Presence. Ghazali said, “You must know that Allah removed
the veils of ignorance and brought people to the state vision through their continuous Dhikr. The first stage Dhikr is the Dhikr of the Tongue, then the Dhikr of Heart, then the Appearance of the Divine Presence the reciter of dhikr, making him no longer need to do ikr. wn” t is why our Nagshbandi masters have chosen the ikr of the heart. Moreover, the heart is the place where the Forgiver casts His Gaze, and the seat of belief, and the receptacle of secrets, and the source of lights. If it is sound, the whole body is sound, and if it is unsound, the whole body is unsound -as was made clear for us by the Prophet
(} (Sheikh Hisham Kabbani). Dunya: Literally “low”, the world, the worldly life.
_ Ego: Illusory consciousness of our Self. The consciousness ~ in a state of identity with the essence belongs to our real
Self; the consciousness in a state of identification with the personality, belongs to the ego. ;
Fasting It is said that when Allah asked the ego, “Who are you?” The ego answered, “I am myself, and you are yourself”. So Allah Almighty ordered for him to be put in the fire for
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one thousand ; the same amaretto sie = _ out and asked him What is the ego for? J am that one”. So he was cise a are youared Jur ego is not for harming ourselves. No! It is like an © put in the cold ectric cable without the protective covering. It may harm ou. If you ask “why is that harmful wire inside?” And if you ake it out from the plastic, it would have no more use, and fou would have lost that huge power. Our ‘ee is such a T a big grant from Allah Almighty. The Prophet was saying ta Prophett# brought the order Bousale ether hat it is your horse that you may ride on, to wherever * ©go comes do , “No longer i _ fasting. ‘ou want to reach. Allah Almighty is saying, “Use your you a ~ * am your weak 7“ Selrntioag ego, and come to Me”, but when you ask to enter in the re my Lord”. The one w abet gee Divine Presence of your Lord, He will say “leave your horse
terri ho can’t co i :
= ble and dangerous. Fasting gives you e himself is outside, then come.” Your horse is your ego. No creature put control on your ego. € capability to is more powerful than our ego, and no creature is more Th ‘useful also. It may take us from the lowest level to the € wildest c highest. It is so dangerous and powerful, and its work is
Ther aacee reature i) g Pp ’ a S ae two Possibilities: the mani so important. No other means may take mankind form me “sa its vanis| ifna). beh Pa tes the lowest level to the highest. No one understands. That ; etween one t ; : _ important ride was not granted to you only for it to eat,
drink and enjoy. No! The Sultan is expecting that your ride on it and come to Him. (Mawlana Sheikh Nazim)
Grandsheikh: Sheikh whose spiritual station is over the
The test _ other Sheikhs.
Th aa oe o hey pumanking, so that they may win ccor ' ot. 0 resi . (spiritual stations). You areast aceaset Sto higher Magams Hadith: Prophetic tradition, Verified reports of the sayings is Hed to their nafs, we may eaedly fee ide Ifsomeone and practices of the Holy Prophet Muhammad®, that ir bad side. But were transmitted by unbroken chains of traditionalists - 1 and were collected the next century after his lifetime. hen the way to find s " em ' . - Out. Don't think that in the presence of Allah you are
more valuable. All peopl i ie ieee eo : P — against each other, but in
Haggani: The Truthful One, the one who reached the station of Reality and Truth (Haqq).
Hijra: Literally emigration. It shows the beginning of the
=§3-
Islamic calendar ij thatis wh:
hijra” (b.h. i [ Sw: y the dates are divi ay
the Prophet M4 tite a (a.h.)]. It is ie
Medina. During the j ade to emigrate from M ered
took refuge in the cave of thaw Prophet@ and Abu Bakr
that the secret of of Thawr (Saudi Arabi u Ba
fies the emigrati : rabia). It is said
inside of th gration consists j i
inner tees dees — Propheti eiteaerttoe *, Ky eart e
related with the origin of the aauiew a heart and it is
Himmah: Ene i Tgy, determination, spiritual aspiration
Ibn Arabi’s fath er to Baghdad when
dir al Ji i God to grant hi Jilani and asked hi m a child. The Shei ee to pre in aw e Sh ¥ state of deep cmicicion Whe Pe was med he
informed Ali i Ali ibn Muhammad: “I have examined th e
world of Secret: 's and was revealed to me that you will
not have desc man was Sete So stop trying it”. Although th “O Saint! For rane cat give up. He begged and i e old tdanedaie God will thank your prayers. opie and once again ee *: Sheikh Abdul Qadir al Jile ask you awhile hee ae fee of deep etiaistinlintion: Ae . Garpile he returned and said that although it was 1 ‘i ie have one. Wauli gece to havea child Genin e saint? His visi man accépt the { : miei ia jhe visitor accepted fuciiy fie seg cance iP, back to back, with laced eas heer - Later Ali
descended it again, an
i Muhammad reported this situation: “When I was *k to back with Abdul Qadir al Jilani, I felt something
» descending from the neck till the bottom of the ine. After the time I had a son and I put him the name uhyiddin (the Reviver of the religion) as the saint had 4.” It is said that Ibn Arabi knew well the alchemy ad knew the Secret of the Greatest Name of God that it hidden in the Quran. It is said he was the Pole of the owledge as Jalaluddin Rumi was the Pole of Love. He ote “The Covenant of Love”, that says that the love is energy that attracts every Being to its divine origin.
brahim ibn Adham: He died in 165 a.h. (782 of the ‘Christian calendar). He was born in Balkh (Central Asia) ‘of Arab descent. He was born into a royal family and had become the King of Balkh. He repented of worldliness and became a wandering dervish. He lived a life of complete
“asceticism so that he became known as the King of the ell, he hung down
Ascetics. One day Ibrahim reach a w He emptied it and
a bucket and it emerged full of gold. d this time emerged full of pearls.
With good humor, he emptied it again. “O God!”, he cried, “You are offering me a treasure. I know that You are Almighty, and You know that nothing of these can cheat me. Give me water so that I can make my ablutions.”
Islam: Literally, surrender to Allah. A religion that is based in 5 pillars: 1) Declaring that there is no god save the One True God (La ilaha ill-Allah) and that Muhammad is the messenger of Allah; 2) To pray five times a day;
3) To fast in the holy month of Ramadan; 4) To give a
portion of the property annually to the poor, 5) To make
the pilgrimage to Mecca at least once in a lifetime, if one
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possesses the necessary material means.
Kaaba: The ancient temple for devotion in the world, in Mecca, Saudi Arabia. Re-established by the Prophet Abraham and his son Ismael. Layla: The story of Layla and Majnun is the story of the relative love that leads to the real love. The legend tells that Majnun, after having a glimpse of Layla, he spent the rest of his life looking for her. One story tells that when finally Majnun found Layla, he had lost all the interest in her, because his longing for her have been transformed in the longing for the love itself, and for the Originator of that love. Ithas been shown that this story comprise a supplication to the Lord to lead us all from imitation to verification, from metaphorical love to Real Love. By way of Layla the Lord is reached. From the idol we turn to the Everlasting. From the ascription of partners to God we come to recognize His Oneness. From metaphorical love we move on the Real Love. Metaphorical love is where a man has an extreme affection for a woman and loses himself in his beloved. However, metaphorical love leads to Real Love. While calling “Layla, Layla!” Majnun was united with his Lord. We should pity anyone stuck with Layla and not finding his Lord, because it means that his Layla veils his Lord. The real name of the legendary Majnun was Qays. He was given the name -or tather, the nickname- Majnun because of his love and affection for Layla. Such was his love for Layla that on arriving in his beloved’s village he would kiss the eyes and feet of the village dogs, saying to those who tried to deter him from this behavior: “Leave me alone. These eyes have seen Layla. These feet
com
hat have seen iden where Layla walked. Eyes t
oe foe that have trodden in her oe ahi aa
a ose i
nd worthy of being kissed”. To ; s
ayia ts very ugly! Let us find you a prettier one”,
ave this reply: “If you saw my Layla through my a
a would not be making me that kind of proposal”.
i zaffer Ozak al-Jerrahi) ecko texto) the story shows different aspects of the
searching of the ee ee ai Sea
is an abbreviation of “la ilaha ill- r Uae Allah”, pointing that the searc! ;
pes the aig for the transcendent love behind
the veils of the apparent.
Mahabba: Love. Majnun: Literally “crazy”, see “Layla”.
i i of nearness to Magam: Spiritual Station. Level or degree the aiod oer. It
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