Islam – The Freedom To Serve (Shaykh Nazim, 93 pages, 2/4)
https://www.nvrislam.net/index.php?j=eng&post=6049
our way.
The purpose of these words is to show you what is of benefit and what brings harm to you. This is also the aim of the sayings of the Prophet, may peace be upon him, and of the verses of the Holy Qur’an.
It is the same with all Holy Books: Allah Almighty never al- lows His servant to be harmed. He never leaves him without help. But people believe that they can do without the advice of God, His prophets and their inheritors, the friends of God.
At least their selfish self tells them so. It insists on the satis- faction of its own desires and considers Divine Laws only as so many obstacles. It wants its pleasure here and now, tries to cir- cumvent the advice of Allah, and does not know that even this is only possible with the consent of Allah. If He left us to ourselves even for the blink of an eye, we would be in the greatest danger, for the ego finds pleasure only in what is harmful.
Help comes to us through Allah Almighty’s wisdom, through the wisdom of His prophets and through the wisdom of the in- heritors of the prophets, the saints. Within Islam the first is found in the Book of Allah, the Holy Qur’an, the second is found
in the aªadîth, the sayings of the Prophet, peace be upon him, and the third in the sayings and lives of the masters.
The Holy Qur’an consists of 6666 verses, and there are thou- sands of sayings of the Prophet which were kept and guarded by the ¶aªâbas, the companions of the Prophet, and then handed on to following generations.
If you keep only one verse of the Qur’an or one saying of the Prophet in your heart, if you really keep it and always carry it with you, if you think about it and act according to it, it will suffice for your whole life. You do not need anything more. There are many more verses because Islam is so vast, because it exists for all, not only for Arabs, Turks, or other Orientals, but for each human being.
The verses of the Qur’an and the sayings of the Prophet and of his inheritors are like gold mines. Each one of them contains knowledge for the beginner and knowledge for those who are close to the goal. Each one of them contains so much wisdom that one person alone cannot sustain it. Thus, all these verses demand our greatest respect, for knowledge must be respected and honoured. Knowledge honours us in the Divine Presence. Through it servants learn about and begin to comprehend their Lord. As their knowledge of the greatness and glory of Allah Almighty increases, their respect increases to the same degree, as well as
their glorification of Him.
When a servant glorifies Allah Almighty, He blesses him. This blessing comes down upon the servant because he does something which his Lord is not in need of and which neither adds to Him nor diminishes Him. In truth, a servant cannot glo- rify his Lord, for Allah is glorious beyond measure for all eter- nity. Even if all of mankind and all the angels glorified Allah Almighty, it would not add one iota to His glory. That is why the worship of a servant who praises his Lord becomes the grace with which the servant is blessed.
th e i nne r j our ney
When you say subªâna llâh, ‘glory be to Allah’, then Allah Almighty sends down favours upon you. Whatever we give, we are given favours accordingly. All creatures glorify Him because He has brought them from nothingness into existence. Not one of them comes forth without praising his Lord. Men, animals, trees, rocks, earth, heavens, clouds, water, atoms, all glorify Him, for without Him they would not be in existence. The more they glorify Him, the more knowledge they are given; and the more knowledge they are given, the more they praise and hon- our Him.
Both an ordinary man and a saint praise God, yet their worship is very different. For the rank of worship is in accordance with the knowledge of the worshipper. As you truly learn and keep verses of the Qur’an and sayings of the Prophet in your heart, as you sincerely practise them, you will truly increase in knowledge. In this way you will truly increase in grace and the light which falls upon your station in the Presence of the Divine will increase.
New meanings will be opened up for you and they will continue to open as long as you continue to worship and praise Him.
Allah’s order to His servants to glorify Him is a gift. He has ordered us to glorify Him, and has thereby given us the gift of being favoured before His Divine Countenance. When we recite the first verses of the Qur’an, when we say:
‘A’udhu bi-llâhi mina sh-shay†âni r-rajîm, we glorify Allah, and when we say, bismi llâhi r-raªmâni r-raªîm, we praise. When- we say, al-ªamdu li-llâhi rabbi l-‘alamîn, we glorify, ar-raªmâni r-raªîm, we praise You, mâliki yawmi d-dîn, we praise You, iyyâ- ka na‘budu wa iyyâka nasta‘în, we worship You, ihdinâ s-¶irâ†a l-mustaqîm, we glorify You, ¶irâ†a lladhîna an‘amta ‘alayhim ghayri l-maghdûbi ‘alayhim wa lâ ¡-¡âllîn, we glorify Allah Almighty, Amîn.
Each act of worship and praise, each meaning which is opened to us, is a way. These ways take us to oceans of Divine Knowl-
edge, Divine Wisdom, Divine Beauty. Only worship is impor- tant. It is the key that gives Allah’s servants their standing in the Presence of the Divine.
Whoever praises his Lord has grace bestowed upon him and becomes a station of Divine Power for others. He will become âyatun min âyati llâh, a sign from the signs of God.
th e fight
agai nst our ego
In the Name of Allah Almighty, Most Beneficent and Most Munificent.
slam teaches only one thing: how to fight against your ego. This fight is also a way of worshipping Allah Almighty.
We will now take a verse about which our master has spoken very often. This verse mentions one of the worst characteristics of our ego and thus, something which gives it a great deal of pleasure – backbiting.
The ego feeds on it and feeds it. It insists on it and consists of it. It does not want to let go of it under any circumstances and it knows the reason very well. If you take away backbiting and other similar habits to which the ego clings, it will collapse. For the ego is nothing but its attributes. Take them away, and you take it away.
It is a Divine Order to fight against our ego, to catch it, and to force it to surrender. The means for this fight is our will-power. Everyone has this will-power, but only a few use it. It has been given to us to help us in the fight against our ego, and not for any other reason. Will-power has nothing to do with the desire for food, drink, or sex. Those are habits of our animal nature which make themselves felt without will. Will only appears when we try to free ourselves from our habits.
Our body consists of habit patterns and it does not want to give them up willingly. It is averse to praying, to fasting, to
reading the Qur’an, and so, for the performance of any of them, will-power is necessary. If it could, our ego would also turn them into habits and add them to all the others. But this is not possible, and so the ego tries, by hook or by crook, with all its tricks and traps, to deceive you. The clearest sign is your resist- ance with regard to praying, fasting, keeping ritual purity, and the remembrance of Allah. If you can keep these up only through some effort of your will, take it as a good sign.
Now, here is a verse that says: You, who believe, do not back- bite! For each act of backbiting is an injury and causes enmity between brothers and friends. However, Islam does not tolerate enmity caused by human beings towards each other. Therefore, the enemy of what is human in man is also the enemy of Islam. Just as the enemy of Islam is also the enemy of mankind.
The enemy of mankind, Satan, is most powerful when he can provoke us to insult and to defame one another. For he knows very well that love between us strengthens Islam and that a strengthened Islam is the greatest helper of mankind. Satan is the biggest and most dangerous enemy of the children of Adam. His aim is the destruction of mankind. But Allah Almighty warns us of him and tells us about the weapons of the destroyer. As a result, the evil one must find a way to make us savour our own self-destruction. Before the time of the Prophet, may peace and blessings be upon him, Satan even appeared to ordinary peo- ple in his true form. Afterwards, this was forbidden to him, and only the friends of God, the saints, see him from time to time. One day a saint met him holding ashes in one hand and a jar of honey in the other. When the devil saw the friend of God, he immediately wanted to turn around and run away. But the saint called him, saying, ‘Hey, what’s the hurry? Wait a bit and tell me what you’ve got there in your hand.’ The devil answered, ‘These are ashes. I’ll blow them into the face of an orphan, so his eyes will swell and fill with pus and nobody will want to come
th e f ight agai n st our e go
close to him.’ Satan knows, of course, that Allah Almighty has ordered us to take care of orphans. ‘I will blow ashes in their eyes’, he thought, ‘so people will chase them away.’
The saint said, ‘I understand about the ashes, but what is the honey for?’
And Satan answered: ‘Oh, the honey! Wherever people meet, in any association, I will be with them. It doesn’t matter if they are two or more, I like all kinds of gatherings. As soon as I hear of one, I am there with my honey. This isn’t just any old kind of honey, you know. It’s my speciality, home-made. So I take a bit and smear it on their mouths so that their backbiting will be very sweet to them and the words will just melt on their tongues. Then they will be happy, the idiots.’
You have certainly seen how it works. We meet and sit to- gether. Then someone makes a light remark about someone who is not present but whom everybody knows. A second remark follows, this time a little bit stronger, then a third, and one is in the midst of things, one is excited and amused, the atmosphere heats up, we are going full sail, and with full sails we sail into the abyss. The person they are backbiting about is destroyed, and as a result the slanderers themselves are destroyed.
The backbiter harms himself to the same degree that he harms the one who has been denigrated. He destroys himself, destroys humanity, and destroys Islam. Allah Almighty gives a striking image of what happens in His verse.
He asks: ‘Who likes to eat the flesh of his dead brother?’ Who- ever has ears to hear will jump up from his slumber and notice what was so pleasantly lulling him to sleep. The Prophet also says that backbiting is like preying on a corpse. You speak about someone absent, someone who cannot defend himself. He is ly- ing there like a corpse in your midst.
In this way Allah Almighty teaches us adab, good manners. He says, if you eat from your dead brother’s flesh, you will lose
all honour. Do not participate. Your refusal to participate is a way of glorifying your Lord.
It is not easy to get rid of this terrible addiction. However, even if it takes a long time, do not lose courage. Why do you eat your dead brother’s flesh? All ties will be severed between the slanderer and the one who has been defamed. They will never get together and never be friends again.
Fear Allah Almighty, and follow His Prophet. Then you will be able to put this habit aside, as well as all the other terrible habits of your ego.
kn ow ledg e of
th e
lord o f th e worlds
In the Name of Allah Almighty, Most Beneficent and Most Munificent.
e are speaking about the Knowledge that perceives the Lord of the Worlds. Sharî‘ah, meaning ‘street’ or ‘course’ and commonly translated as ‘Divine Law’ ex-
ists for one reason only: to help us to gain knowledge of the Lord of the Worlds, to prepare a way for the children of Adam which brings them closer to their Creator.
Generally, sharî‘ah is only presented as law: that is, as a col- lection of orders and prohibitions. Following these laws and rules or not following them seems then, to be a matter mere- ly imposed for the sake of them. In other words, you have to comply because God wants it like that. If you follow the law, you will be rewarded by being left as and where you are, and if you do not, you will be punished. The sharî‘ah becomes then, a kind of penal system with higher backing. Because it seems to be much more cruel than our oh-so humanistic modern penal sys- tem, it is often and easily used to frighten those away from Islam who show some interest and who would like to understand it. Amongst all orders and prohibitions there is, however, one that is more basic than all of them, and which colours them all. It is the order, or the offer which Allah Almighty gave us when He gave us understanding. He offered us the possibility of know- ing our Creator by giving us His Laws, so that we, by walking alongside them, by thinking about them, can try to come nearer
to Him. Man can sink below the level of animals or rise above it. However, he can only rise above it through the law and not through his own efforts. This is a law which allows him to know his Lord.
Such knowledge is of the greatest importance. Who created us? If we do not know this, or do not want to know, we are not even on the level of animals, for they know their Creator.
The sign that the animals know and follow their Lord is their satisfaction with the way they have been created. No animal complains about its station. That is the doubtful privilege of human beings. A cat is happy to be a cat. It does not want to be a dog. A mouse does not want to be a cat. The snake is a creature without legs, without feet, without wings, but it is content. It does not want to be a donkey. The donkey, although it has to carry heavy loads, although people beat it, still wants to be only a donkey. All creatures are happy and content with their Crea- tor and they know Him. If they did not know Him, they would complain, object, refuse.
The animals know their Creator according to their capacities. But what about man? Man has been given a mind so that he may know his Lord, in a way appropriate for him. Thereby, human beings are able to know themselves and their Lord, and be con- tent with their lot in the same way. Each prophet came with a sharî‘ah appropriate for his time. In this way, all human beings had the chance to know their Creator. The sharî‘ah brought by the Seal of Prophets is, according to the Will of God, the last and most perfect testament. Without it, the people of our time are incapable of knowing their Lord and themselves. For they can only know of their Creator to the degree that He makes Himself known to them. This is precisely what happened with the last sharî‘ah.
Yet, although knowledge may bring a creature very close to contentment with itself and with its Creator, it does not give
kn ow le dg e o f th e l ord o f th e wor l ds
complete peace. Love grows from knowledge. The more you hear of someone, the more you understand and know that per- son, the stronger the desire in your heart will be to go and find him, to be with him. Knowledge is the first step, love is the second. When the believers hear about their Lord through the sharî‘ah, then, the more they hear of Him, the closer they will want to come to Him. They will want to know where He is and want to go where He is and be where He is.
Nothing is more lovely to them than being with the Beloved. By knowing about Allah Almighty with His perfect attributes, you will want to get up and go and look for Him. The Arabic word for this way, for this search, is †arîqah.
Nowadays, it is quite common to raise objections against
†arîqah. It is said that †arîqah is not an expression of true reli- giousness, and especially not of Islam. It is also said that it is only for people who mistake religion for superstition and flights of fantasy, and cannot see that it consists of sober reasoning and social ethics. Such objections are usually the product of misun- derstanding or ignorance. If such people knew that †arîqah is nothing but the way to Allah Almighty, they would keep quiet. For, if you have heard of God, if you know Him, how can you stay put on your chair? Does not each chair on which you sit, each spot where you are, become a fire driving you towards the
Beloved?
Whoever has heard of the Kaaba, of the House of the Lord, whoever knows about it, will set heaven and earth in motion to reach this sacred place. But there are two groups of people run- ning to the House of the Lord. One is on its way to the House of the Lord, the other is on its way to the Lord of the House.
Each will find what it is looking for. The first group is bigger, the second is given more honour in the Divine Presence.
Sharî‘ah leads to the House of the Lord, †arîqah leads to the Lord of the House. That is all.
To know of the Lord of the Worlds, you do not need to pay attention to particular objects only, you do not have to study selected fields. All and everything gives tidings and knowledge of its Creator. Turn towards what you find and learn from it. Learn to know your Lord.
Maybe you think that †arîqah, the way to the Lord of the House, is long and difficult for you, especially in the beginning. But when you ask Allah Almighty for help, He will make your way easy. This is one of His attributes. If you put yourself into His hands, He will make things light for you.
Sharî‘ah is necessary because it lays the foundation for our personality. But the perfection of this personality and the fulfill- ment of our destiny which consists in being a perfect servant can only be reached through †arîqah.
a blossom
in th e
he arts o f mankind
In the Name of Allah Almighty, Most Beneficent and Most Munificent.
ow can it happen that in our time precisely those who are so much concerned about the reality of things show such little interest in Sayyidinā Mukammad? Or,
how is it, that where they show some interest, they are so care- less in their research? How can it happen that in Western coun- tries, where so much time is spent in thinking about the world in which we live, about its future, and about the conditions of life, hardly any serious study about the Seal of Prophets has been pub- lished? It seems strange that the scholars and thinkers display such sloppiness in this regard as well as a kind of prejudice which is irreconcilable with their established principles of science.
It is really surprising! If they are so much concerned about reality, why do they not notice Islam? Or, why is Islam not a reality for them? Why do they look at it, wishing that it should rather not exist? Already a quick glance shows that Islam is a reality. It is spread over the whole earth, it has more than one billion followers from all nations, from all levels of society. If there is nothing to it, how then, are all these people attracted by it? How has it been able to touch their hearts, their minds, and their senses, if it is nothing, or just an old-fashioned mixture of antiquated things?
The scholars and thinkers should think quietly and calmly about it. If they are sincere with themselves, if they are really
concerned about reality, they should think about the reality of Islam.
There are so many reasons and during our time a new reason has appeared. For centuries, Islam was restricted to Islamic ter- ritory. But in our century, in the century of freedom and of hu- man rights, the surprising fact is that exactly in those countries where freedom and human rights are most widely spread, people are coming into Islam. The number is not important. There may be hundreds or thousands. (Of course, one may hold against this the fact that there are still millions who do not show the slight- est interest in Islam.) What is important and significant is the evidence that, despite all this freedom and liberality, so many people, especially young ones, are turning towards the last tes- tament, the last message of Allah Almighty.
It is even more surprising when one sees the hate and the contempt showered on Islam by religious leaders and scholars of the Western world. Their only aim has been to prevent simple people from recognising Islam as a true way, a true religion, a re- ality. Usually, people judge by appearances, and certain features of these appearances have been used to lead them by the nose. The current opinion about Islam and its Prophet still prevailing today, has been formed by people who were brought up to hate Islam without knowing the reason for this hatred. Why are they opposed to Islam, what is wrong with it? Which one of its rules harms mankind? Which of its injunctions dishonours man or at- tacks his honour?
There is no answer. At one point the blockade of thought is fortified by a blockade of speech. Despite our claims about hu- man rights, freedom of thought and freedom of speech, certain things are still not allowed to be said. Or, they are so well and so deeply ignored that it does not occur to anyone how they could be banished from our consciousness. Because what does not exist cannot be forbidden, can it? Like the fact that people are against
a b l ossom i n th e h e arts o f ma nk i n d
Islam because it does not accept the Crucifixion of Christ nor the dogma that Jesus Christ is the Son of God.
In this way, the hatred which thrives on the ignorance of its own origin is further nourished, not with standing the liberal gesture of opening the dialogue of religions. What kind of di- alogue could this be? How will they be able to speak with one another, when at the same time each one is unwilling to accept the other as a reality? Added to this, it is always overlooked that Jesus Christ counts as one of the greatest prophets, and that Islam places him on the same level as Noah, Abraham, Moses, and Mukammad, may peace and blessings be upon all of them. We are inviting the scholars and thinkers in Western coun- tries to take a look at the life of Mukammad, to look at his ac- tions and deeds, to see the building he established. If they are not able to recognise the hand of a Prophet in these, they may,
at least, see that he was a great man, a very wise person.
Each one of his sayings is a sign of wisdom. What is the source of wisdom? Wisdom comes from a pure heart. A heart which is dark and dull cannot receive it. If they recognise wisdom in him, then we would like to ask them if, in their opinion, a wise man can lie? Does not wisdom exclude lying?
The pronunciation of a single statement of wisdom is suffi- cient to make any lie from such a person impossible. He nourish- es himself from heaven, but lies are found underground. How, then, can the one who has addressed so many nations with so many millions of aªadîth be a liar when he says, ‘I am a Prophet’? This should make the scholars and thinkers think. All lies are unearthed at one time or another. Now, fifteen centuries have passed since the Seal of Prophets appeared on this earth. His influence has not decreased, but increased. During our time, it is even entering the hearts of the people in Western coun- tries. This is, in our eyes, more important than the develop- ments within Islam in Islamic countries. The people in those
countries are born Muslims and live in an environment which is still largely Islamic. They do not have to discover Islam. They have enough on their hands with practising it the way it was laid down. But Islam is blossoming in Western countries under the most unfavourable circumstances, in the hearts of men and women who are often surrounded by fanatical enemies of any- thing religious. This is truly remarkable.
We are inviting the religious leaders of Christianity and the scholars to think seriously. If they really care about a solution to the most pressing problems, if they are really concerned with reality, then they should take a look at Islam. It will change their hearts.
th e
star
o f muªammad
In the Name of Allah Almighty, Most Beneficent and Most Munificent.
llah Almighty blesses His Prophet and glorifies
him for all eternity. Whoever belongs to the community of Mukammad should thank Allah Almighty, for this is a
gift and a grace from his Lord. He is the First. Allah Almighty is the First. Amongst all creatures, Sayyidunā Mukammad, peace be upon him, is the first.
No one knows when the beloved Prophet of God was created. On the Night Journey, the mi‘râj, Allah Almighty invited him into His Divine Presence. He reached the place beyond which no creature can go. Its name is sidrat al-muntahâ. This place is the station of the Angel Gabriel, that is, the Angel of the Intellect. Here, the knowledge of creatures ends. Everything the mind un- derstands must finally come to this point and must come to a halt there.
When the Prophet, peace be upon him, reached this point, he saw a very bright star rising on the horizon whose brilliance struck him. He asked Gabriel about it and the angel answered, ‘This is the star that rises once every seven thousand years from this horizon. Up to this very day I have seen it rise seven thou- sand times. It is so beautiful that I can hardly take my eyes off it, but I do not know whose star it is.’
The Prophet answered, ‘This is my star, through which my light shines. Dear star, you are there to show me that I am the
first creature created by Allah Almighty.’ – The Prophet preced- ed Gabriel. Gabriel saw, but he did not understand. Allah knows how often the star had risen before the creation of Gabriel.
The Prophet Mukammad, peace be upon him, is the first crea- ture, and his community was created before all others, although both were sent last. They were sent so that the time could be fulfilled.
The blessing of Allah Almighty rests on the community, the ummah, of Mukammad. It was created at the beginning of time and was kept in a state of waiting. Then, Allah in His endless mercy, decreed that it should come forth at the end of this age, so that it would not have to remain hidden and wait any longer for the day of its appearance in this world.
Is there a burden heavier than the burden of waiting? So many communities of so many prophets have waited thousands of years for the sign which allowed them to appear. The time is fulfilled. We are now living in the fifteenth century of the Is- lamic calendar. The Day of Justice is close and life on this earth will not continue beyond this century. The Day of Judgement is approaching. We thank God for not letting us wait any longer and for calling us into life at this time.
On the Day of Judgement, Allah Almighty’s glance will fall on Mukammad’s nation first of all. When this mustering has taken place, Mukammad, may peace and blessings be upon him, will be the first one to cross the bridge over the abyss of Hell, and his nation will be the first ummah, the first group to enter para- dise. None of the other prophets will enter before the last one of Mukammad’s people has entered. Then, the others will follow. It is such an honour to belong to the nation of Sayyidinā Mukammad, but who is aware of this honour, who thinks about it, who shows any gratitude? The other prophets knew it very well, and they asked their Lord to count them amongst Mukammad’s nation. They asked, ‘Oh
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our way.
The purpose of these words is to show you what is of benefit and what brings harm to you. This is also the aim of the sayings of the Prophet, may peace be upon him, and of the verses of the Holy Qur’an.
It is the same with all Holy Books: Allah Almighty never al- lows His servant to be harmed. He never leaves him without help. But people believe that they can do without the advice of God, His prophets and their inheritors, the friends of God.
At least their selfish self tells them so. It insists on the satis- faction of its own desires and considers Divine Laws only as so many obstacles. It wants its pleasure here and now, tries to cir- cumvent the advice of Allah, and does not know that even this is only possible with the consent of Allah. If He left us to ourselves even for the blink of an eye, we would be in the greatest danger, for the ego finds pleasure only in what is harmful.
Help comes to us through Allah Almighty’s wisdom, through the wisdom of His prophets and through the wisdom of the in- heritors of the prophets, the saints. Within Islam the first is found in the Book of Allah, the Holy Qur’an, the second is found
in the aªadîth, the sayings of the Prophet, peace be upon him, and the third in the sayings and lives of the masters.
The Holy Qur’an consists of 6666 verses, and there are thou- sands of sayings of the Prophet which were kept and guarded by the ¶aªâbas, the companions of the Prophet, and then handed on to following generations.
If you keep only one verse of the Qur’an or one saying of the Prophet in your heart, if you really keep it and always carry it with you, if you think about it and act according to it, it will suffice for your whole life. You do not need anything more. There are many more verses because Islam is so vast, because it exists for all, not only for Arabs, Turks, or other Orientals, but for each human being.
The verses of the Qur’an and the sayings of the Prophet and of his inheritors are like gold mines. Each one of them contains knowledge for the beginner and knowledge for those who are close to the goal. Each one of them contains so much wisdom that one person alone cannot sustain it. Thus, all these verses demand our greatest respect, for knowledge must be respected and honoured. Knowledge honours us in the Divine Presence. Through it servants learn about and begin to comprehend their Lord. As their knowledge of the greatness and glory of Allah Almighty increases, their respect increases to the same degree, as well as
their glorification of Him.
When a servant glorifies Allah Almighty, He blesses him. This blessing comes down upon the servant because he does something which his Lord is not in need of and which neither adds to Him nor diminishes Him. In truth, a servant cannot glo- rify his Lord, for Allah is glorious beyond measure for all eter- nity. Even if all of mankind and all the angels glorified Allah Almighty, it would not add one iota to His glory. That is why the worship of a servant who praises his Lord becomes the grace with which the servant is blessed.
th e i nne r j our ney
When you say subªâna llâh, ‘glory be to Allah’, then Allah Almighty sends down favours upon you. Whatever we give, we are given favours accordingly. All creatures glorify Him because He has brought them from nothingness into existence. Not one of them comes forth without praising his Lord. Men, animals, trees, rocks, earth, heavens, clouds, water, atoms, all glorify Him, for without Him they would not be in existence. The more they glorify Him, the more knowledge they are given; and the more knowledge they are given, the more they praise and hon- our Him.
Both an ordinary man and a saint praise God, yet their worship is very different. For the rank of worship is in accordance with the knowledge of the worshipper. As you truly learn and keep verses of the Qur’an and sayings of the Prophet in your heart, as you sincerely practise them, you will truly increase in knowledge. In this way you will truly increase in grace and the light which falls upon your station in the Presence of the Divine will increase.
New meanings will be opened up for you and they will continue to open as long as you continue to worship and praise Him.
Allah’s order to His servants to glorify Him is a gift. He has ordered us to glorify Him, and has thereby given us the gift of being favoured before His Divine Countenance. When we recite the first verses of the Qur’an, when we say:
‘A’udhu bi-llâhi mina sh-shay†âni r-rajîm, we glorify Allah, and when we say, bismi llâhi r-raªmâni r-raªîm, we praise. When- we say, al-ªamdu li-llâhi rabbi l-‘alamîn, we glorify, ar-raªmâni r-raªîm, we praise You, mâliki yawmi d-dîn, we praise You, iyyâ- ka na‘budu wa iyyâka nasta‘în, we worship You, ihdinâ s-¶irâ†a l-mustaqîm, we glorify You, ¶irâ†a lladhîna an‘amta ‘alayhim ghayri l-maghdûbi ‘alayhim wa lâ ¡-¡âllîn, we glorify Allah Almighty, Amîn.
Each act of worship and praise, each meaning which is opened to us, is a way. These ways take us to oceans of Divine Knowl-
edge, Divine Wisdom, Divine Beauty. Only worship is impor- tant. It is the key that gives Allah’s servants their standing in the Presence of the Divine.
Whoever praises his Lord has grace bestowed upon him and becomes a station of Divine Power for others. He will become âyatun min âyati llâh, a sign from the signs of God.
th e fight
agai nst our ego
In the Name of Allah Almighty, Most Beneficent and Most Munificent.
slam teaches only one thing: how to fight against your ego. This fight is also a way of worshipping Allah Almighty.
We will now take a verse about which our master has spoken very often. This verse mentions one of the worst characteristics of our ego and thus, something which gives it a great deal of pleasure – backbiting.
The ego feeds on it and feeds it. It insists on it and consists of it. It does not want to let go of it under any circumstances and it knows the reason very well. If you take away backbiting and other similar habits to which the ego clings, it will collapse. For the ego is nothing but its attributes. Take them away, and you take it away.
It is a Divine Order to fight against our ego, to catch it, and to force it to surrender. The means for this fight is our will-power. Everyone has this will-power, but only a few use it. It has been given to us to help us in the fight against our ego, and not for any other reason. Will-power has nothing to do with the desire for food, drink, or sex. Those are habits of our animal nature which make themselves felt without will. Will only appears when we try to free ourselves from our habits.
Our body consists of habit patterns and it does not want to give them up willingly. It is averse to praying, to fasting, to
reading the Qur’an, and so, for the performance of any of them, will-power is necessary. If it could, our ego would also turn them into habits and add them to all the others. But this is not possible, and so the ego tries, by hook or by crook, with all its tricks and traps, to deceive you. The clearest sign is your resist- ance with regard to praying, fasting, keeping ritual purity, and the remembrance of Allah. If you can keep these up only through some effort of your will, take it as a good sign.
Now, here is a verse that says: You, who believe, do not back- bite! For each act of backbiting is an injury and causes enmity between brothers and friends. However, Islam does not tolerate enmity caused by human beings towards each other. Therefore, the enemy of what is human in man is also the enemy of Islam. Just as the enemy of Islam is also the enemy of mankind.
The enemy of mankind, Satan, is most powerful when he can provoke us to insult and to defame one another. For he knows very well that love between us strengthens Islam and that a strengthened Islam is the greatest helper of mankind. Satan is the biggest and most dangerous enemy of the children of Adam. His aim is the destruction of mankind. But Allah Almighty warns us of him and tells us about the weapons of the destroyer. As a result, the evil one must find a way to make us savour our own self-destruction. Before the time of the Prophet, may peace and blessings be upon him, Satan even appeared to ordinary peo- ple in his true form. Afterwards, this was forbidden to him, and only the friends of God, the saints, see him from time to time. One day a saint met him holding ashes in one hand and a jar of honey in the other. When the devil saw the friend of God, he immediately wanted to turn around and run away. But the saint called him, saying, ‘Hey, what’s the hurry? Wait a bit and tell me what you’ve got there in your hand.’ The devil answered, ‘These are ashes. I’ll blow them into the face of an orphan, so his eyes will swell and fill with pus and nobody will want to come
th e f ight agai n st our e go
close to him.’ Satan knows, of course, that Allah Almighty has ordered us to take care of orphans. ‘I will blow ashes in their eyes’, he thought, ‘so people will chase them away.’
The saint said, ‘I understand about the ashes, but what is the honey for?’
And Satan answered: ‘Oh, the honey! Wherever people meet, in any association, I will be with them. It doesn’t matter if they are two or more, I like all kinds of gatherings. As soon as I hear of one, I am there with my honey. This isn’t just any old kind of honey, you know. It’s my speciality, home-made. So I take a bit and smear it on their mouths so that their backbiting will be very sweet to them and the words will just melt on their tongues. Then they will be happy, the idiots.’
You have certainly seen how it works. We meet and sit to- gether. Then someone makes a light remark about someone who is not present but whom everybody knows. A second remark follows, this time a little bit stronger, then a third, and one is in the midst of things, one is excited and amused, the atmosphere heats up, we are going full sail, and with full sails we sail into the abyss. The person they are backbiting about is destroyed, and as a result the slanderers themselves are destroyed.
The backbiter harms himself to the same degree that he harms the one who has been denigrated. He destroys himself, destroys humanity, and destroys Islam. Allah Almighty gives a striking image of what happens in His verse.
He asks: ‘Who likes to eat the flesh of his dead brother?’ Who- ever has ears to hear will jump up from his slumber and notice what was so pleasantly lulling him to sleep. The Prophet also says that backbiting is like preying on a corpse. You speak about someone absent, someone who cannot defend himself. He is ly- ing there like a corpse in your midst.
In this way Allah Almighty teaches us adab, good manners. He says, if you eat from your dead brother’s flesh, you will lose
all honour. Do not participate. Your refusal to participate is a way of glorifying your Lord.
It is not easy to get rid of this terrible addiction. However, even if it takes a long time, do not lose courage. Why do you eat your dead brother’s flesh? All ties will be severed between the slanderer and the one who has been defamed. They will never get together and never be friends again.
Fear Allah Almighty, and follow His Prophet. Then you will be able to put this habit aside, as well as all the other terrible habits of your ego.
kn ow ledg e of
th e
lord o f th e worlds
In the Name of Allah Almighty, Most Beneficent and Most Munificent.
e are speaking about the Knowledge that perceives the Lord of the Worlds. Sharî‘ah, meaning ‘street’ or ‘course’ and commonly translated as ‘Divine Law’ ex-
ists for one reason only: to help us to gain knowledge of the Lord of the Worlds, to prepare a way for the children of Adam which brings them closer to their Creator.
Generally, sharî‘ah is only presented as law: that is, as a col- lection of orders and prohibitions. Following these laws and rules or not following them seems then, to be a matter mere- ly imposed for the sake of them. In other words, you have to comply because God wants it like that. If you follow the law, you will be rewarded by being left as and where you are, and if you do not, you will be punished. The sharî‘ah becomes then, a kind of penal system with higher backing. Because it seems to be much more cruel than our oh-so humanistic modern penal sys- tem, it is often and easily used to frighten those away from Islam who show some interest and who would like to understand it. Amongst all orders and prohibitions there is, however, one that is more basic than all of them, and which colours them all. It is the order, or the offer which Allah Almighty gave us when He gave us understanding. He offered us the possibility of know- ing our Creator by giving us His Laws, so that we, by walking alongside them, by thinking about them, can try to come nearer
to Him. Man can sink below the level of animals or rise above it. However, he can only rise above it through the law and not through his own efforts. This is a law which allows him to know his Lord.
Such knowledge is of the greatest importance. Who created us? If we do not know this, or do not want to know, we are not even on the level of animals, for they know their Creator.
The sign that the animals know and follow their Lord is their satisfaction with the way they have been created. No animal complains about its station. That is the doubtful privilege of human beings. A cat is happy to be a cat. It does not want to be a dog. A mouse does not want to be a cat. The snake is a creature without legs, without feet, without wings, but it is content. It does not want to be a donkey. The donkey, although it has to carry heavy loads, although people beat it, still wants to be only a donkey. All creatures are happy and content with their Crea- tor and they know Him. If they did not know Him, they would complain, object, refuse.
The animals know their Creator according to their capacities. But what about man? Man has been given a mind so that he may know his Lord, in a way appropriate for him. Thereby, human beings are able to know themselves and their Lord, and be con- tent with their lot in the same way. Each prophet came with a sharî‘ah appropriate for his time. In this way, all human beings had the chance to know their Creator. The sharî‘ah brought by the Seal of Prophets is, according to the Will of God, the last and most perfect testament. Without it, the people of our time are incapable of knowing their Lord and themselves. For they can only know of their Creator to the degree that He makes Himself known to them. This is precisely what happened with the last sharî‘ah.
Yet, although knowledge may bring a creature very close to contentment with itself and with its Creator, it does not give
kn ow le dg e o f th e l ord o f th e wor l ds
complete peace. Love grows from knowledge. The more you hear of someone, the more you understand and know that per- son, the stronger the desire in your heart will be to go and find him, to be with him. Knowledge is the first step, love is the second. When the believers hear about their Lord through the sharî‘ah, then, the more they hear of Him, the closer they will want to come to Him. They will want to know where He is and want to go where He is and be where He is.
Nothing is more lovely to them than being with the Beloved. By knowing about Allah Almighty with His perfect attributes, you will want to get up and go and look for Him. The Arabic word for this way, for this search, is †arîqah.
Nowadays, it is quite common to raise objections against
†arîqah. It is said that †arîqah is not an expression of true reli- giousness, and especially not of Islam. It is also said that it is only for people who mistake religion for superstition and flights of fantasy, and cannot see that it consists of sober reasoning and social ethics. Such objections are usually the product of misun- derstanding or ignorance. If such people knew that †arîqah is nothing but the way to Allah Almighty, they would keep quiet. For, if you have heard of God, if you know Him, how can you stay put on your chair? Does not each chair on which you sit, each spot where you are, become a fire driving you towards the
Beloved?
Whoever has heard of the Kaaba, of the House of the Lord, whoever knows about it, will set heaven and earth in motion to reach this sacred place. But there are two groups of people run- ning to the House of the Lord. One is on its way to the House of the Lord, the other is on its way to the Lord of the House.
Each will find what it is looking for. The first group is bigger, the second is given more honour in the Divine Presence.
Sharî‘ah leads to the House of the Lord, †arîqah leads to the Lord of the House. That is all.
To know of the Lord of the Worlds, you do not need to pay attention to particular objects only, you do not have to study selected fields. All and everything gives tidings and knowledge of its Creator. Turn towards what you find and learn from it. Learn to know your Lord.
Maybe you think that †arîqah, the way to the Lord of the House, is long and difficult for you, especially in the beginning. But when you ask Allah Almighty for help, He will make your way easy. This is one of His attributes. If you put yourself into His hands, He will make things light for you.
Sharî‘ah is necessary because it lays the foundation for our personality. But the perfection of this personality and the fulfill- ment of our destiny which consists in being a perfect servant can only be reached through †arîqah.
a blossom
in th e
he arts o f mankind
In the Name of Allah Almighty, Most Beneficent and Most Munificent.
ow can it happen that in our time precisely those who are so much concerned about the reality of things show such little interest in Sayyidinā Mukammad? Or,
how is it, that where they show some interest, they are so care- less in their research? How can it happen that in Western coun- tries, where so much time is spent in thinking about the world in which we live, about its future, and about the conditions of life, hardly any serious study about the Seal of Prophets has been pub- lished? It seems strange that the scholars and thinkers display such sloppiness in this regard as well as a kind of prejudice which is irreconcilable with their established principles of science.
It is really surprising! If they are so much concerned about reality, why do they not notice Islam? Or, why is Islam not a reality for them? Why do they look at it, wishing that it should rather not exist? Already a quick glance shows that Islam is a reality. It is spread over the whole earth, it has more than one billion followers from all nations, from all levels of society. If there is nothing to it, how then, are all these people attracted by it? How has it been able to touch their hearts, their minds, and their senses, if it is nothing, or just an old-fashioned mixture of antiquated things?
The scholars and thinkers should think quietly and calmly about it. If they are sincere with themselves, if they are really
concerned about reality, they should think about the reality of Islam.
There are so many reasons and during our time a new reason has appeared. For centuries, Islam was restricted to Islamic ter- ritory. But in our century, in the century of freedom and of hu- man rights, the surprising fact is that exactly in those countries where freedom and human rights are most widely spread, people are coming into Islam. The number is not important. There may be hundreds or thousands. (Of course, one may hold against this the fact that there are still millions who do not show the slight- est interest in Islam.) What is important and significant is the evidence that, despite all this freedom and liberality, so many people, especially young ones, are turning towards the last tes- tament, the last message of Allah Almighty.
It is even more surprising when one sees the hate and the contempt showered on Islam by religious leaders and scholars of the Western world. Their only aim has been to prevent simple people from recognising Islam as a true way, a true religion, a re- ality. Usually, people judge by appearances, and certain features of these appearances have been used to lead them by the nose. The current opinion about Islam and its Prophet still prevailing today, has been formed by people who were brought up to hate Islam without knowing the reason for this hatred. Why are they opposed to Islam, what is wrong with it? Which one of its rules harms mankind? Which of its injunctions dishonours man or at- tacks his honour?
There is no answer. At one point the blockade of thought is fortified by a blockade of speech. Despite our claims about hu- man rights, freedom of thought and freedom of speech, certain things are still not allowed to be said. Or, they are so well and so deeply ignored that it does not occur to anyone how they could be banished from our consciousness. Because what does not exist cannot be forbidden, can it? Like the fact that people are against
a b l ossom i n th e h e arts o f ma nk i n d
Islam because it does not accept the Crucifixion of Christ nor the dogma that Jesus Christ is the Son of God.
In this way, the hatred which thrives on the ignorance of its own origin is further nourished, not with standing the liberal gesture of opening the dialogue of religions. What kind of di- alogue could this be? How will they be able to speak with one another, when at the same time each one is unwilling to accept the other as a reality? Added to this, it is always overlooked that Jesus Christ counts as one of the greatest prophets, and that Islam places him on the same level as Noah, Abraham, Moses, and Mukammad, may peace and blessings be upon all of them. We are inviting the scholars and thinkers in Western coun- tries to take a look at the life of Mukammad, to look at his ac- tions and deeds, to see the building he established. If they are not able to recognise the hand of a Prophet in these, they may,
at least, see that he was a great man, a very wise person.
Each one of his sayings is a sign of wisdom. What is the source of wisdom? Wisdom comes from a pure heart. A heart which is dark and dull cannot receive it. If they recognise wisdom in him, then we would like to ask them if, in their opinion, a wise man can lie? Does not wisdom exclude lying?
The pronunciation of a single statement of wisdom is suffi- cient to make any lie from such a person impossible. He nourish- es himself from heaven, but lies are found underground. How, then, can the one who has addressed so many nations with so many millions of aªadîth be a liar when he says, ‘I am a Prophet’? This should make the scholars and thinkers think. All lies are unearthed at one time or another. Now, fifteen centuries have passed since the Seal of Prophets appeared on this earth. His influence has not decreased, but increased. During our time, it is even entering the hearts of the people in Western coun- tries. This is, in our eyes, more important than the develop- ments within Islam in Islamic countries. The people in those
countries are born Muslims and live in an environment which is still largely Islamic. They do not have to discover Islam. They have enough on their hands with practising it the way it was laid down. But Islam is blossoming in Western countries under the most unfavourable circumstances, in the hearts of men and women who are often surrounded by fanatical enemies of any- thing religious. This is truly remarkable.
We are inviting the religious leaders of Christianity and the scholars to think seriously. If they really care about a solution to the most pressing problems, if they are really concerned with reality, then they should take a look at Islam. It will change their hearts.
th e
star
o f muªammad
In the Name of Allah Almighty, Most Beneficent and Most Munificent.
llah Almighty blesses His Prophet and glorifies
him for all eternity. Whoever belongs to the community of Mukammad should thank Allah Almighty, for this is a
gift and a grace from his Lord. He is the First. Allah Almighty is the First. Amongst all creatures, Sayyidunā Mukammad, peace be upon him, is the first.
No one knows when the beloved Prophet of God was created. On the Night Journey, the mi‘râj, Allah Almighty invited him into His Divine Presence. He reached the place beyond which no creature can go. Its name is sidrat al-muntahâ. This place is the station of the Angel Gabriel, that is, the Angel of the Intellect. Here, the knowledge of creatures ends. Everything the mind un- derstands must finally come to this point and must come to a halt there.
When the Prophet, peace be upon him, reached this point, he saw a very bright star rising on the horizon whose brilliance struck him. He asked Gabriel about it and the angel answered, ‘This is the star that rises once every seven thousand years from this horizon. Up to this very day I have seen it rise seven thou- sand times. It is so beautiful that I can hardly take my eyes off it, but I do not know whose star it is.’
The Prophet answered, ‘This is my star, through which my light shines. Dear star, you are there to show me that I am the
first creature created by Allah Almighty.’ – The Prophet preced- ed Gabriel. Gabriel saw, but he did not understand. Allah knows how often the star had risen before the creation of Gabriel.
The Prophet Mukammad, peace be upon him, is the first crea- ture, and his community was created before all others, although both were sent last. They were sent so that the time could be fulfilled.
The blessing of Allah Almighty rests on the community, the ummah, of Mukammad. It was created at the beginning of time and was kept in a state of waiting. Then, Allah in His endless mercy, decreed that it should come forth at the end of this age, so that it would not have to remain hidden and wait any longer for the day of its appearance in this world.
Is there a burden heavier than the burden of waiting? So many communities of so many prophets have waited thousands of years for the sign which allowed them to appear. The time is fulfilled. We are now living in the fifteenth century of the Is- lamic calendar. The Day of Justice is close and life on this earth will not continue beyond this century. The Day of Judgement is approaching. We thank God for not letting us wait any longer and for calling us into life at this time.
On the Day of Judgement, Allah Almighty’s glance will fall on Mukammad’s nation first of all. When this mustering has taken place, Mukammad, may peace and blessings be upon him, will be the first one to cross the bridge over the abyss of Hell, and his nation will be the first ummah, the first group to enter para- dise. None of the other prophets will enter before the last one of Mukammad’s people has entered. Then, the others will follow. It is such an honour to belong to the nation of Sayyidinā Mukammad, but who is aware of this honour, who thinks about it, who shows any gratitude? The other prophets knew it very well, and they asked their Lord to count them amongst Mukammad’s nation. They asked, ‘Oh
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