In the Mystic Footsteps of Saints, VOLUME 2 (Shaykh Nazim, 115 pages, 6/7)
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pear to fly by. So often, at this critical time in people’s lives, no prudence is exercised and heeding the urges of the ego they expend all of their energy. Such unrestrained indulgence is the sure way to deplete one’s energy quickly–and foolishly–zero for life is like a marathon run: it requires pacing. If you just sprint from the start you will collapse after a few hundred yards. Keeping back a reserve of energy calls for self control and willpower–attributes rare among the young.
For the most part very young people steer clear of spiritual paths; only when they suffer a “breakdown” do they come limping in here for “servicing.” Hundreds of people come to me saying, “Oh Shaykh Effendi, can you help me?” It is such a difficult task to help people who have expended all their energy uselessly and whose physical and mental powers are at a pitifully low level.
Sometimes I am amazed at what I see, for these people are still, for the most part, quite young. Raising the dead is a miracle given only to prophets, but as long as there are signs of life we hope to be able to arouse people from their coma like states.
As a result of the excesses brought about by the manic state, its opposite–depression manifests itself in these young people. Now time no longer flies, but drags along at a snail’s pace. A depressed person wishes that time would again fly, but on the contrary, minutes seem like hours, hours like days and days like weeks. Usually, people who lack useful outlets for their energies and feel unfulfilled are subject to these feelings. How foolish it is for people to wish that their time would pass quickly, when, as we pointed out, time is like a priceless jewel.
In the most distinguished Naqshbandi Sufi Order we have a rule of thumb: a person’s value corresponds to the value he assigns to his time. If you perceive your time to be a worthless burden that you hope will pass away quickly, then you are a burden on the face of the earth, and it would be better to be under it than on it. Why? Because you wantonly squandered one priceless treasure–your vital energy–now that other priceless treasure–time–is not like wealth in your hands but like an immense pile of treasure underneath which you are buried.
Be judicious with your vital energy so that the value of time may become manifest to you. When you keep your time like a diamond you will be exalted in the eyes of people and in the Divine Presence, here and in the hereafter.
There is a Sufi aphorism: “The Sufi is the son of his time.” This means that he treats his time with the same veneration and respect due to his parents. Filial piety is a
paramount duty in religion, and in the Sufi way we are exhorted to honor our time as if we were honoring our mother and father. A true dervish will never waste a moment, but will catch it as a skilled jockey grabs the reins of his horse, applying his skill so that it runs in the right direction and at the right speed. Look in on a true dervish and you should find him occupied with something useful, never with detrimental or useless activities.
If a person can guide himself in such a manner he is on the road to perfection, because he knows what he must do. His heart’s eyes will never be blind, for he is keenly aware of the significance of all he encounters.
Our grandshaykh used to say, “Oh people, how are you filling your days? Don’t waste time, but strive to weave time and space with skill so that you will leave an enduring legacy behind you in this world and be honored thereby here and in the Hereafter.”
For followers of a Sufi way, wasting time either idly or in useless activity is the greatest sin. Guard your vital energy and your valuable time–make every moment live.
The Power of Love
(Shaykh Nazim led the assembly in calling upon the Holy Name of Allah, “Ya Wadud”, a divine name signifying God’s all embracing love).
Then he spoke:
There is nothing in all creation that the Creator, Allah Almighty, hates. Indeed it is impossible to be hated by Allah and to be in existence: one absolutely precludes the other. All creation appeared through His divine love. He loved them and they appeared; therefore, everything in existence carries its share of divine love in it.
When I say “everything”, I mean everything, from atoms and their parts–the very building blocks of the universe–up to mankind. Yes, everything, even the smallest particles of matter, carries that divine gift. As you know, the electrons of atoms revolve around the nuclei, and at enormous velocity. Someone told me that the famous scientist Albert Einstein once declared, “I have come to understand so much, but what I have never been able to fathom is what power gives electrons the energy to orbit nuclei at such a speed. From where does such power come to them?”
We believe, and furthermore, have been granted certainty in our belief, that everything in existence has life, is living. For the sake of everyday reckoning we classify certain things, such as rocks, as inanimate objects, and recognize life only in plants, animals and human beings. But we believe that beyond these outward distinctions everything has life. Therefore, atoms, and their electrons that turn around the nuclei with such speed as to baffle even the renowned Mr. Einstein, are, in reality, alive. They are alive with the divine love
Power that their Lord has granted them: that’s what makes them spin at the speed of light.
Science may make penetrating and wonderful discoveries. Scientists’ knowledge may advance and climb to unimagined heights in the realm of the observable and what may be proven through experiments. But even such a great realm, the realm of observation and experimentation, is finite, has its limits, and only within these limits can it draw authoritative conclusions. Therefore, scientists who recognize their limitations and are not blinded by pride may admit, that some occurrences are not applicable by science.
It is for those who have access to a realm of knowledge beyond science to say with certainty, that it is Allah Almighty, the Lord of the universe, who through His holy name “Al Wadud” (The All Loving) gives His divine love to everything in the universe. Those electrons, drunken with divine love, spin at such velocity around the nuclei. That is how the influence of divine love is manifested by them.
Science can neither prove nor deny this explanation, as this phenomenon is beyond their realm, and they cannot as much as offer a theory. But our hearts may be content with this explanation, as each and every one of us may try it himself within himself; for we all have the power of that divine love in our hearts ready to be contacted.
There is no one word in Western languages that gives the full meaning of “Al Wadud”, and even explanations don’t do it justice, even though the West claims its knowledge to be superior and looks down disdainfully on every religious experience. And this Holy Name, the meaning of which cannot even be adequately expressed in advanced Western languages, is
the most suitable “dhikr”, the most suitable of all the divine names to repeat and meditate upon for people who see themselves as superior beings and as being above normal standards.
“Love”, it is certainly not a concept that Western culture is unfamiliar with, and undoubtedly most people lay claim to loving and being loved, to knowing the meaning of love, and to it being an important aspect of their lives, indeed the most important. But the love we refer to in connection with the divine name “Al Wadud” is not the physical transitory love that is rapidly becoming the only meaning of love applicable to modern man, the love that one may find in the zoo. If you can’t imagine a love other than what is on the level of animals, then you belong in the zoo.
There is a real love, never changing, never dying love; and then there is temporary animal love. Both are in man through the wisdom of the Creator, but the permanent love is the love given to man through the divine name “Al Wadud”. To realize that love is the challenge and fulfillment of human existence—to come in contact with those Love Oceans, for He has given His divine love most abundantly to His most honored representatives in creation, mankind.
You may love a young lady for her youth, and when that youth departs you love her no more. That is false love. Sometimes we may have both kinds of love simultaneously, but usually the physical overpowers the spiritual, so that it is never allowed to appear. But to reach the ultimate goal of human life we are in need of permanent love, and it is only the Lord of the universe who can grant it.
Therefore, when we say “Ya Wadud” we are opening ourselves up to that divine love, asking our Lord
to awaken that love that knows no limitation, that is eternal and extends to all creation. 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 Almighty and to love everything around themselves. We must learn to love everything for the sake of the love the Creator has for all His creation. And we are in utmost need to pray for such love, as, although it is the essence of all success in the way of spiritual purification, it has become almost extinct in our times. Therefore, suffering, disturbances, struggle, crises and chaos are continually on the rise.
What passes for human love nowadays is indeed a very far cry from real human love. Mostly, people cling to it for two or three months then throw it away. You are saying, “Oh my goddess”, and she is saying, “Oh my god”, but look in again on them two or three months later and see what is left of that “true devotion” and “deep emotion”. That is the greatest cause of wretchedness in our times. For this reason I don’t refer to this century as a civilized one. Rather, the twentieth century is witnessing the destruction of civilization and every minute violence and misery are increasing.
A society may be termed “civilized” when it provides the surrounding in which people may easily reach to the point of extending their permanent love to everyone. One shouldn’t be so proud of being a part of “Twentieth Century Civilization”, for I really don’t consider such a violent and sick society to be civilized, and when I come here I feel my hair standing on end from what I see. Such wildness! No familiarity! Everyone looking so suspiciously to each other!
When I say this people may be offended and put on the defensive, and may ask, “If you feel such feelings here then why do you come? Why do you come if you
don’t like the Western world?” Yes, people may ask. A physician may visit a hospital or a mental institution, but he is going there in order to do his job, in order to be of benefit to the patients interned in those institutions. I have been trained to heal spiritual ailments from a side and with methods not known in these countries, and so I have been sent by spiritual centers to look after the Western countries, and if even one person should benefit, we have profited.
Every little improvement in the spiritual health of Western society is a relief for the whole world, as throughout the world nations have abandoned their cultures and are following the West. Therefore, the diseases of the West are rapidly becoming our diseases, and so, we hope, improvement in the spiritual climate of the West will lead to our improvement as well.
Because of this acute situation in our times we must, first and foremost, seek to awaken permanent love. Practices, prayers and rules are of no use in this time without love. For people whose hearts have not regained contact with such love, the ego easily attaches itself to practices and uses them as a means to pin empty titles onto itself. Leave every practice that serves your vanity and strive for permanent love.
Where shall we start? Every person has a circle of friends, relations, and acquaintances. Starting from those closest to us wives and husbands, parents and children, brothers and sisters we must be generous in giving of our permanent love. How can we consider a person who cannot make peace with those nearest to him as civilized? If we could approach the level of permanent love that befits us, the world’s courts would have to be closed down from a lack of suits: no complaining, no divorce, no wretchedness, no struggle.
Giving of our permanent love is the most important practice for our time. No one can say, “I am not in need of practicing it,” neither the speaker nor the listeners. Don’t tell me that so and so is on such and such a level when he is tightfisted with permanent love, withholding it even from those with whom he is most intimate.
The lower self of man, the selfish ego, never wants to give permanent love except to himself. I don’t believe that such petty self love is all we have been created for; I believe that we have been created to love all creation. Man represents his Lord on earth and has the greatest reservoir of divine love within him; he can be a great means of expression for that divine love in this world, indeed a fountain of love that every creature may drink from.
I have not spoken to you from a prepared text, but have opened up just a little from these Oceans in accordance with your spiritual thirst.
Don’t Worry!
The Seal of Prophets, Sayyidina Muhammad, peace be upon him, imparted this good advice to mankind:
If you awaken in the morning and find that you are lacking nothing in the way of material sustenance, and that you and your family are in good health, then don’t burden yourself with worry.
The Holy Prophet advises us not to make problems for ourselves. If there are immediate and pressing problems, that is another story, but so many “problems” in people’s minds are not problems at all except in their minds. They are only “projected problems” which may or may not ever materialize. This is the affliction of twentieth century man: anxiety, or suffering inflicted upon oneself over the possibility of future suffering. As a result of this neurotic anxiety people may suffer intensely over a long period of time, although none of what they fear ever materializes. This is the epitome of foolishness.
We are shouldering weekly, monthly and yearly burdens each day. Why carry such baggage when you may walk unburdened; and find all that you need awaiting your arrival at each station of your journey? You only exist here and now. Tomorrow’s “you” is only a fantasy, as you can’t even know if you’ll live that long. By inventing so many problems for yourself you are only making yourself ill. Is this advice of the Prophet not enough evidence of his adherence to a way that leads man to felicity?
Allah Almighty doesn’t want His servants to suffer needless, self inflicted misery, and He says, “Oh My servants, don’t load heavy burdens on yourselves by
worrying about the future. Just bring yourselves in line with My Will; accord with My Purposes this moment, and then rest assured that I will help you keep your future moments similarly aligned with My Will.”
Perhaps you may understand my point from the following example. When a new railway track is laid, before a locomotive and train are ever sent over it, a two wheeled cart is first drawn over it to check whether the tracks have been laid straight. In the same way, if you can align your will to that of your Lord even for one moment, without carrying a heavy burden, you may be sure that your way is right, and that, even should times get rough, and so many burdens be coupled to your locomotive, your track is straight and true and you will pass along it smoothly and safely. A solution to this moment’s problem is the solution to next year’s derailment.
When I am here in Western countries I daily encounter people carrying the weight of anticipated problems. It is so difficult in the modern world to escape from having this perspective, and to concentrate on the moment in order to put it right. With tens of thousands of problems in front of you all at once, how should a solution seem possible?
I often see people running into the mosque, saying the obligatory prayers quickly and running out. Sometimes I ask them, “What’s the rush?” Then they nervously look at their watches and say, “We have tarried in the mosque too long already. We have so many things to do today!” I reply, “It is laudable to be industrious and to look after your affairs well, but who would look after your affairs were you to drop dead here and now?”
I am not encouraging people to spend their whole days in the mosque, but only trying to remind people who are not only running after their sustenance, but leaping head over heels after ambitious, all encompassing undertakings that it is impossible to “master the world”, and destructive to devote so much energy to their attempt, and with so much abandon. First of all, the world already has a Master, and addressing Him humbly and with presence of mind (not hurriedly) in your prayers is even more instrumental in attaining your sustenance than rushing through the city. Secondly, far from attending to your affairs more efficiently by running, you are only likely to have a heart attack and die young!
Don’t live in a world of great big time schemes, for such schemes will not save you from trouble, but entangle you in it even further. Simplify your problems so that the solutions may be simple, and don’t regard your problems with a magnifying glass, so that they are out of perspective, that habit will destroy you physically and spiritually.
Association
Once our grandshaykh addressed me, saying, “Oh Nazim Effendi, I want to speak to you on a very serious point, a point for which you and all seekers must take the greatest care. Don’t worship your ego as a god beside Allah Almighty. You must be most careful, as this kind of polytheism is the kind you may be engaging in without even knowing it. Ego worship is the most dangerous deviation from pure faith: hidden idolatry.”
Look, we human beings are actually the weakest of creatures. Every animal that walks on the earth, swims in the water or flies in the air has better mechanisms of adaptation than we do. They may roam about in the nature eating grasses, drinking muddy water, sleeping on the ground; they have furs to keep them warm or else they are cold blooded.
They are not going to be affected by the normal change of weather. But our bodies are so delicate. We are in need of different kinds of clothes for each of the seasons, and we must maintain a certain level of cleanliness in our food and drink or else we become ill. In other words, if we were to be subjected to the conditions under which other creatures survive we would die quickly. Therefore, in this sense, mankind is a weakling among the animals.
But notice that even we weaklings, the most delicate of creatures, even as vulnerable single individuals never like to accept a partner in any activity if we think we can do it ourselves. Only when we estimate a particular task to be beyond our capability of performing alone do we seek a helper. For example, if a man establishes a business and is easily able to finance and run it himself, will he seek a partner? No, that would be useless.
And so, if you can recognize that even a weak creature never accepts a partner when none is called for, Who can you ascribe as partner or partners to Allah Almighty? Who could be a partner to the Lord of the universe, the Lord of all, who has endless power and created everything? How can He accept a partner, a son, a wife or a daughter? Which creature may be a suitable partner for Him? Can anyone be up to that? Shall the Creator create a creature and set it up with Himself? That is absurd! You accept a partner to provide something you lack, be it financing or labor; otherwise no one tolerates such a burden. So who can help Allah?
Therefore, all prophets have spoken out strongly against such foolish notions in religion, against any kind of polytheism. But there is a kind of polytheism that is secret, not so easily detectable. And in reality, so many men are worshipping a god other than God Almighty without even knowing it. Even those who claim to worship only Him alone usually persist in the worship of this secret idol in themselves. And who or what is claiming to be a partner to Allah Almighty—none other, of course, than our ego.
Your ego approaches you and says, “I am the partner. Whether you like it or not I am the idol you worship, beside Allah. If you insist on worshipping Allah and claim that He is your Lord, and I cannot dissuade you from that folly, then at least you must recognize me as your second Lord, and you will endeavor to please me too. If you strive to be an obedient servant of your Lord, you must also strive to be my servant; if you are obeying your Lord you must sometimes also obey me. Go ahead, if you must, and declare your belief in Allah, pray five times a day, fast in Ramadan, make pilgrimage to Mecca, give charity, but I will not tolerate all of this unless you
dedicate these actions to me as well—I demand my share!”
When our egos address us in such a manner, we reply, “Oh my ego, you are right to demand that I pay homage to you as well, and I shall strive to please you, to honor and obey you. And if, sometimes, I cannot do your bidding, please forgive me, please pardon me, and know that I am doing the best I can to please you.”
Now we, as Muslims, as followers of the purest monotheistic religion, may be very smug and complacent about the status of our faith. Perhaps in museums or by the roadside we may see idols that the ancients hewed from stone, shaped from clay or from metal, and we may laugh at the foolishness of worshipping the product of one’s own hands, saying, “Those ancients, how foolish they were—ha, ha—making some statues and offering them their humble obeisance, making vows to them, loving and honoring them!” And all the while we are in reality no better—devotees of the ego god. The Holy Prophet warned in the strongest terms against this pitfall, especially as it is so well hidden, like a trap in the jungle covered over with branches and grass. So many people worship this partner without ever even suspecting it.
Grandshaykh warned us also that this ego god is never really going to be satisfied with being number two. “No”, it says, “I am first, second and third . . . worship none but me.” But when it perceives resistance it makes a sly calculation and says, “Alright, He is first, I am second”, knowing that this is his chance to place himself in a position to sabotage our faith and eventually stage its coup.
Therefore, our task is to dethrone the partner; and all of the prophets were sent to mankind in order to teach them how to go about that task. We are in need of
training at the hands of someone who can be firm in the face of his ego’s demands; one who, beyond that, has tamed his ego so that it never demands undue attention or pampering. Until you have reached that point you must be aware that you are a secret idolater, and so, your heart will be locked up and cut off from the blessings of divine knowledge.
By being in the company of a man who has, firstly, realized what a deadly game the ego plays, and secondly, rid himself of its domination, the seeker of truth may arrive at his goal. Therefore, the Seal of Prophets, Muhammad, peace be upon him, taught his companions, by entering them into association with him. Accordingly, the inheritors of the Prophet, the Naqshbandi Masters, stress the importance of “sohbet” association with the Shaykh as the essential pillar in the training of seekers.
Shah Naqshband, the illustrious Imam of the line of Masters we follow, the Imam after whom the path is named and without whom there would be no Naqshbandiyya, always used to repeat in his asse
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pear to fly by. So often, at this critical time in people’s lives, no prudence is exercised and heeding the urges of the ego they expend all of their energy. Such unrestrained indulgence is the sure way to deplete one’s energy quickly–and foolishly–zero for life is like a marathon run: it requires pacing. If you just sprint from the start you will collapse after a few hundred yards. Keeping back a reserve of energy calls for self control and willpower–attributes rare among the young.
For the most part very young people steer clear of spiritual paths; only when they suffer a “breakdown” do they come limping in here for “servicing.” Hundreds of people come to me saying, “Oh Shaykh Effendi, can you help me?” It is such a difficult task to help people who have expended all their energy uselessly and whose physical and mental powers are at a pitifully low level.
Sometimes I am amazed at what I see, for these people are still, for the most part, quite young. Raising the dead is a miracle given only to prophets, but as long as there are signs of life we hope to be able to arouse people from their coma like states.
As a result of the excesses brought about by the manic state, its opposite–depression manifests itself in these young people. Now time no longer flies, but drags along at a snail’s pace. A depressed person wishes that time would again fly, but on the contrary, minutes seem like hours, hours like days and days like weeks. Usually, people who lack useful outlets for their energies and feel unfulfilled are subject to these feelings. How foolish it is for people to wish that their time would pass quickly, when, as we pointed out, time is like a priceless jewel.
In the most distinguished Naqshbandi Sufi Order we have a rule of thumb: a person’s value corresponds to the value he assigns to his time. If you perceive your time to be a worthless burden that you hope will pass away quickly, then you are a burden on the face of the earth, and it would be better to be under it than on it. Why? Because you wantonly squandered one priceless treasure–your vital energy–now that other priceless treasure–time–is not like wealth in your hands but like an immense pile of treasure underneath which you are buried.
Be judicious with your vital energy so that the value of time may become manifest to you. When you keep your time like a diamond you will be exalted in the eyes of people and in the Divine Presence, here and in the hereafter.
There is a Sufi aphorism: “The Sufi is the son of his time.” This means that he treats his time with the same veneration and respect due to his parents. Filial piety is a
paramount duty in religion, and in the Sufi way we are exhorted to honor our time as if we were honoring our mother and father. A true dervish will never waste a moment, but will catch it as a skilled jockey grabs the reins of his horse, applying his skill so that it runs in the right direction and at the right speed. Look in on a true dervish and you should find him occupied with something useful, never with detrimental or useless activities.
If a person can guide himself in such a manner he is on the road to perfection, because he knows what he must do. His heart’s eyes will never be blind, for he is keenly aware of the significance of all he encounters.
Our grandshaykh used to say, “Oh people, how are you filling your days? Don’t waste time, but strive to weave time and space with skill so that you will leave an enduring legacy behind you in this world and be honored thereby here and in the Hereafter.”
For followers of a Sufi way, wasting time either idly or in useless activity is the greatest sin. Guard your vital energy and your valuable time–make every moment live.
The Power of Love
(Shaykh Nazim led the assembly in calling upon the Holy Name of Allah, “Ya Wadud”, a divine name signifying God’s all embracing love).
Then he spoke:
There is nothing in all creation that the Creator, Allah Almighty, hates. Indeed it is impossible to be hated by Allah and to be in existence: one absolutely precludes the other. All creation appeared through His divine love. He loved them and they appeared; therefore, everything in existence carries its share of divine love in it.
When I say “everything”, I mean everything, from atoms and their parts–the very building blocks of the universe–up to mankind. Yes, everything, even the smallest particles of matter, carries that divine gift. As you know, the electrons of atoms revolve around the nuclei, and at enormous velocity. Someone told me that the famous scientist Albert Einstein once declared, “I have come to understand so much, but what I have never been able to fathom is what power gives electrons the energy to orbit nuclei at such a speed. From where does such power come to them?”
We believe, and furthermore, have been granted certainty in our belief, that everything in existence has life, is living. For the sake of everyday reckoning we classify certain things, such as rocks, as inanimate objects, and recognize life only in plants, animals and human beings. But we believe that beyond these outward distinctions everything has life. Therefore, atoms, and their electrons that turn around the nuclei with such speed as to baffle even the renowned Mr. Einstein, are, in reality, alive. They are alive with the divine love
Power that their Lord has granted them: that’s what makes them spin at the speed of light.
Science may make penetrating and wonderful discoveries. Scientists’ knowledge may advance and climb to unimagined heights in the realm of the observable and what may be proven through experiments. But even such a great realm, the realm of observation and experimentation, is finite, has its limits, and only within these limits can it draw authoritative conclusions. Therefore, scientists who recognize their limitations and are not blinded by pride may admit, that some occurrences are not applicable by science.
It is for those who have access to a realm of knowledge beyond science to say with certainty, that it is Allah Almighty, the Lord of the universe, who through His holy name “Al Wadud” (The All Loving) gives His divine love to everything in the universe. Those electrons, drunken with divine love, spin at such velocity around the nuclei. That is how the influence of divine love is manifested by them.
Science can neither prove nor deny this explanation, as this phenomenon is beyond their realm, and they cannot as much as offer a theory. But our hearts may be content with this explanation, as each and every one of us may try it himself within himself; for we all have the power of that divine love in our hearts ready to be contacted.
There is no one word in Western languages that gives the full meaning of “Al Wadud”, and even explanations don’t do it justice, even though the West claims its knowledge to be superior and looks down disdainfully on every religious experience. And this Holy Name, the meaning of which cannot even be adequately expressed in advanced Western languages, is
the most suitable “dhikr”, the most suitable of all the divine names to repeat and meditate upon for people who see themselves as superior beings and as being above normal standards.
“Love”, it is certainly not a concept that Western culture is unfamiliar with, and undoubtedly most people lay claim to loving and being loved, to knowing the meaning of love, and to it being an important aspect of their lives, indeed the most important. But the love we refer to in connection with the divine name “Al Wadud” is not the physical transitory love that is rapidly becoming the only meaning of love applicable to modern man, the love that one may find in the zoo. If you can’t imagine a love other than what is on the level of animals, then you belong in the zoo.
There is a real love, never changing, never dying love; and then there is temporary animal love. Both are in man through the wisdom of the Creator, but the permanent love is the love given to man through the divine name “Al Wadud”. To realize that love is the challenge and fulfillment of human existence—to come in contact with those Love Oceans, for He has given His divine love most abundantly to His most honored representatives in creation, mankind.
You may love a young lady for her youth, and when that youth departs you love her no more. That is false love. Sometimes we may have both kinds of love simultaneously, but usually the physical overpowers the spiritual, so that it is never allowed to appear. But to reach the ultimate goal of human life we are in need of permanent love, and it is only the Lord of the universe who can grant it.
Therefore, when we say “Ya Wadud” we are opening ourselves up to that divine love, asking our Lord
to awaken that love that knows no limitation, that is eternal and extends to all creation. 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 Almighty and to love everything around themselves. We must learn to love everything for the sake of the love the Creator has for all His creation. And we are in utmost need to pray for such love, as, although it is the essence of all success in the way of spiritual purification, it has become almost extinct in our times. Therefore, suffering, disturbances, struggle, crises and chaos are continually on the rise.
What passes for human love nowadays is indeed a very far cry from real human love. Mostly, people cling to it for two or three months then throw it away. You are saying, “Oh my goddess”, and she is saying, “Oh my god”, but look in again on them two or three months later and see what is left of that “true devotion” and “deep emotion”. That is the greatest cause of wretchedness in our times. For this reason I don’t refer to this century as a civilized one. Rather, the twentieth century is witnessing the destruction of civilization and every minute violence and misery are increasing.
A society may be termed “civilized” when it provides the surrounding in which people may easily reach to the point of extending their permanent love to everyone. One shouldn’t be so proud of being a part of “Twentieth Century Civilization”, for I really don’t consider such a violent and sick society to be civilized, and when I come here I feel my hair standing on end from what I see. Such wildness! No familiarity! Everyone looking so suspiciously to each other!
When I say this people may be offended and put on the defensive, and may ask, “If you feel such feelings here then why do you come? Why do you come if you
don’t like the Western world?” Yes, people may ask. A physician may visit a hospital or a mental institution, but he is going there in order to do his job, in order to be of benefit to the patients interned in those institutions. I have been trained to heal spiritual ailments from a side and with methods not known in these countries, and so I have been sent by spiritual centers to look after the Western countries, and if even one person should benefit, we have profited.
Every little improvement in the spiritual health of Western society is a relief for the whole world, as throughout the world nations have abandoned their cultures and are following the West. Therefore, the diseases of the West are rapidly becoming our diseases, and so, we hope, improvement in the spiritual climate of the West will lead to our improvement as well.
Because of this acute situation in our times we must, first and foremost, seek to awaken permanent love. Practices, prayers and rules are of no use in this time without love. For people whose hearts have not regained contact with such love, the ego easily attaches itself to practices and uses them as a means to pin empty titles onto itself. Leave every practice that serves your vanity and strive for permanent love.
Where shall we start? Every person has a circle of friends, relations, and acquaintances. Starting from those closest to us wives and husbands, parents and children, brothers and sisters we must be generous in giving of our permanent love. How can we consider a person who cannot make peace with those nearest to him as civilized? If we could approach the level of permanent love that befits us, the world’s courts would have to be closed down from a lack of suits: no complaining, no divorce, no wretchedness, no struggle.
Giving of our permanent love is the most important practice for our time. No one can say, “I am not in need of practicing it,” neither the speaker nor the listeners. Don’t tell me that so and so is on such and such a level when he is tightfisted with permanent love, withholding it even from those with whom he is most intimate.
The lower self of man, the selfish ego, never wants to give permanent love except to himself. I don’t believe that such petty self love is all we have been created for; I believe that we have been created to love all creation. Man represents his Lord on earth and has the greatest reservoir of divine love within him; he can be a great means of expression for that divine love in this world, indeed a fountain of love that every creature may drink from.
I have not spoken to you from a prepared text, but have opened up just a little from these Oceans in accordance with your spiritual thirst.
Don’t Worry!
The Seal of Prophets, Sayyidina Muhammad, peace be upon him, imparted this good advice to mankind:
If you awaken in the morning and find that you are lacking nothing in the way of material sustenance, and that you and your family are in good health, then don’t burden yourself with worry.
The Holy Prophet advises us not to make problems for ourselves. If there are immediate and pressing problems, that is another story, but so many “problems” in people’s minds are not problems at all except in their minds. They are only “projected problems” which may or may not ever materialize. This is the affliction of twentieth century man: anxiety, or suffering inflicted upon oneself over the possibility of future suffering. As a result of this neurotic anxiety people may suffer intensely over a long period of time, although none of what they fear ever materializes. This is the epitome of foolishness.
We are shouldering weekly, monthly and yearly burdens each day. Why carry such baggage when you may walk unburdened; and find all that you need awaiting your arrival at each station of your journey? You only exist here and now. Tomorrow’s “you” is only a fantasy, as you can’t even know if you’ll live that long. By inventing so many problems for yourself you are only making yourself ill. Is this advice of the Prophet not enough evidence of his adherence to a way that leads man to felicity?
Allah Almighty doesn’t want His servants to suffer needless, self inflicted misery, and He says, “Oh My servants, don’t load heavy burdens on yourselves by
worrying about the future. Just bring yourselves in line with My Will; accord with My Purposes this moment, and then rest assured that I will help you keep your future moments similarly aligned with My Will.”
Perhaps you may understand my point from the following example. When a new railway track is laid, before a locomotive and train are ever sent over it, a two wheeled cart is first drawn over it to check whether the tracks have been laid straight. In the same way, if you can align your will to that of your Lord even for one moment, without carrying a heavy burden, you may be sure that your way is right, and that, even should times get rough, and so many burdens be coupled to your locomotive, your track is straight and true and you will pass along it smoothly and safely. A solution to this moment’s problem is the solution to next year’s derailment.
When I am here in Western countries I daily encounter people carrying the weight of anticipated problems. It is so difficult in the modern world to escape from having this perspective, and to concentrate on the moment in order to put it right. With tens of thousands of problems in front of you all at once, how should a solution seem possible?
I often see people running into the mosque, saying the obligatory prayers quickly and running out. Sometimes I ask them, “What’s the rush?” Then they nervously look at their watches and say, “We have tarried in the mosque too long already. We have so many things to do today!” I reply, “It is laudable to be industrious and to look after your affairs well, but who would look after your affairs were you to drop dead here and now?”
I am not encouraging people to spend their whole days in the mosque, but only trying to remind people who are not only running after their sustenance, but leaping head over heels after ambitious, all encompassing undertakings that it is impossible to “master the world”, and destructive to devote so much energy to their attempt, and with so much abandon. First of all, the world already has a Master, and addressing Him humbly and with presence of mind (not hurriedly) in your prayers is even more instrumental in attaining your sustenance than rushing through the city. Secondly, far from attending to your affairs more efficiently by running, you are only likely to have a heart attack and die young!
Don’t live in a world of great big time schemes, for such schemes will not save you from trouble, but entangle you in it even further. Simplify your problems so that the solutions may be simple, and don’t regard your problems with a magnifying glass, so that they are out of perspective, that habit will destroy you physically and spiritually.
Association
Once our grandshaykh addressed me, saying, “Oh Nazim Effendi, I want to speak to you on a very serious point, a point for which you and all seekers must take the greatest care. Don’t worship your ego as a god beside Allah Almighty. You must be most careful, as this kind of polytheism is the kind you may be engaging in without even knowing it. Ego worship is the most dangerous deviation from pure faith: hidden idolatry.”
Look, we human beings are actually the weakest of creatures. Every animal that walks on the earth, swims in the water or flies in the air has better mechanisms of adaptation than we do. They may roam about in the nature eating grasses, drinking muddy water, sleeping on the ground; they have furs to keep them warm or else they are cold blooded.
They are not going to be affected by the normal change of weather. But our bodies are so delicate. We are in need of different kinds of clothes for each of the seasons, and we must maintain a certain level of cleanliness in our food and drink or else we become ill. In other words, if we were to be subjected to the conditions under which other creatures survive we would die quickly. Therefore, in this sense, mankind is a weakling among the animals.
But notice that even we weaklings, the most delicate of creatures, even as vulnerable single individuals never like to accept a partner in any activity if we think we can do it ourselves. Only when we estimate a particular task to be beyond our capability of performing alone do we seek a helper. For example, if a man establishes a business and is easily able to finance and run it himself, will he seek a partner? No, that would be useless.
And so, if you can recognize that even a weak creature never accepts a partner when none is called for, Who can you ascribe as partner or partners to Allah Almighty? Who could be a partner to the Lord of the universe, the Lord of all, who has endless power and created everything? How can He accept a partner, a son, a wife or a daughter? Which creature may be a suitable partner for Him? Can anyone be up to that? Shall the Creator create a creature and set it up with Himself? That is absurd! You accept a partner to provide something you lack, be it financing or labor; otherwise no one tolerates such a burden. So who can help Allah?
Therefore, all prophets have spoken out strongly against such foolish notions in religion, against any kind of polytheism. But there is a kind of polytheism that is secret, not so easily detectable. And in reality, so many men are worshipping a god other than God Almighty without even knowing it. Even those who claim to worship only Him alone usually persist in the worship of this secret idol in themselves. And who or what is claiming to be a partner to Allah Almighty—none other, of course, than our ego.
Your ego approaches you and says, “I am the partner. Whether you like it or not I am the idol you worship, beside Allah. If you insist on worshipping Allah and claim that He is your Lord, and I cannot dissuade you from that folly, then at least you must recognize me as your second Lord, and you will endeavor to please me too. If you strive to be an obedient servant of your Lord, you must also strive to be my servant; if you are obeying your Lord you must sometimes also obey me. Go ahead, if you must, and declare your belief in Allah, pray five times a day, fast in Ramadan, make pilgrimage to Mecca, give charity, but I will not tolerate all of this unless you
dedicate these actions to me as well—I demand my share!”
When our egos address us in such a manner, we reply, “Oh my ego, you are right to demand that I pay homage to you as well, and I shall strive to please you, to honor and obey you. And if, sometimes, I cannot do your bidding, please forgive me, please pardon me, and know that I am doing the best I can to please you.”
Now we, as Muslims, as followers of the purest monotheistic religion, may be very smug and complacent about the status of our faith. Perhaps in museums or by the roadside we may see idols that the ancients hewed from stone, shaped from clay or from metal, and we may laugh at the foolishness of worshipping the product of one’s own hands, saying, “Those ancients, how foolish they were—ha, ha—making some statues and offering them their humble obeisance, making vows to them, loving and honoring them!” And all the while we are in reality no better—devotees of the ego god. The Holy Prophet warned in the strongest terms against this pitfall, especially as it is so well hidden, like a trap in the jungle covered over with branches and grass. So many people worship this partner without ever even suspecting it.
Grandshaykh warned us also that this ego god is never really going to be satisfied with being number two. “No”, it says, “I am first, second and third . . . worship none but me.” But when it perceives resistance it makes a sly calculation and says, “Alright, He is first, I am second”, knowing that this is his chance to place himself in a position to sabotage our faith and eventually stage its coup.
Therefore, our task is to dethrone the partner; and all of the prophets were sent to mankind in order to teach them how to go about that task. We are in need of
training at the hands of someone who can be firm in the face of his ego’s demands; one who, beyond that, has tamed his ego so that it never demands undue attention or pampering. Until you have reached that point you must be aware that you are a secret idolater, and so, your heart will be locked up and cut off from the blessings of divine knowledge.
By being in the company of a man who has, firstly, realized what a deadly game the ego plays, and secondly, rid himself of its domination, the seeker of truth may arrive at his goal. Therefore, the Seal of Prophets, Muhammad, peace be upon him, taught his companions, by entering them into association with him. Accordingly, the inheritors of the Prophet, the Naqshbandi Masters, stress the importance of “sohbet” association with the Shaykh as the essential pillar in the training of seekers.
Shah Naqshband, the illustrious Imam of the line of Masters we follow, the Imam after whom the path is named and without whom there would be no Naqshbandiyya, always used to repeat in his asse
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