The Sufi Path of Love (Shaykh Nazim, 15 sohbets, 90 pages, 7/8)
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at about doing Sajda to Sayyidina Muhammed (on whom be peace).
Animals they did Sajda to Sayyidina Muhammed (on whom be peace). We are more than animals we may also do Sajda. At the beginning however it may not be clear for people, as they have been prevented from doing Sajda to Sayyidina Muhammed (on whom be peace).
When you say Iyyaka Na’budu Wa Iyyaka Nasthaeen, to whom do you address it. Allah Almighty is Ghaib. If he is Ghaib, not present, to whom do you say Iyyaka? Who is that Iyyaka. Allah Almighty knows that you do not know to whom you are doing Sajda when you do Sajda to Allah Almighty because you are told that He is Ghaib - Invisible. This is Secret Sirr, and there are Oceans of Knowledge and Oceans of Secrets in the Holy Quran and this is from its Secret Wisdom. Yes, when you are saying Iyyaka Na’budu Wa Iyyaka Nasthaeen, Allah Almighty knows that common servants are not looking at Him. But as a training you must look at the one to whom you make Sajda to. You must know that one when you are looking towards that one .
When some people say Allahu Akbar, they look towards the Kibla but who are they looking at through this Kibla. They are looking at that One to whom they are saying “Iyyaka N’abudu wa iyyaka nasthaeen”, and not to the empty walls or to the empty house which is the Kibla.
The empty Baithullah does not give any benefit to the Umma.
Baithullah means the House of Allah Almighty. I am saying that it is the Baith or the house of Sheik ul Burra. If he is not in that house how could I say that it is the house of Sheik Ul Burra. Iza Ma Yakhthanee Sheik Ul Burra Ma Yakoon Haqiqathan Baithul Sheik Ul Burra. If there was not the Lord in His House we cannot call it the House of Allah Almighty (Baithullah).
Why are we saying Baithullah to the House of the Lord if He is not in it. We know that Allah Almighty is everywhere. Yes, we know that, but He is also specially in that Baithullah to be seen. If anyone, who looks for Him, looks for Him there, they may see Him. The Umma are making Sajda, looking to the Kibla, to the Baithullah. Yes, they must look as to whom they are making Sajda. Surely they are not making Sajda to the walls of the Ka’aba. That is Shirk.
How can you say that you can make Sajda to walls. How can it be so. Who do they see when they look towards the walls of the Ka’aba. They are looking at the Lord of the Ka’aba, who has been dressed by Divine Dressings, and to him who is the Khalifathullah, the representative of Allah Almighty. When you say Iyyaka you look at him and when you look at him you are looking at Allah Almighty.
Therefore this is the way of training so that people would be able to reach the Divine Presence of Allah Almighty. How can one be a servant of Allah Almighty if he is not ready to be the servant of Rasulullah (on whom be peace), before that.
The training of a soldier first takes place at the hands of a Sergeant, and then thereafter at the hands of a Colonel. When he is a Colonel he goes up to be a General after receiving training at the hands of a General. How is it possible for a soldier to go up to the highest position of being a Commander when he does not know the lower position of being a soldier. This is the Adab.
Likewise it is important for a Muslim to be trained at the hands of a Murshid Ul Kamil, a perfect inheritor of Sayyidina Muhammed (on whom be peace), who knows to train Mureeds. May Allah Almighty help us.
12-THE CHANGING OF MASTERS
and the CONSENSUS OF THE TRUE SHEIKHS
Insha’allah, we are about to speak on a very important subject. We are going to talk on Tariqa Orders (Sufi Orders). So many people come to Damascus from different countries in order to visit us. Some of them already belong to a sheikh and a Tariqat order. They are now asking for new Bayyat from us. One of them, Sheikh Salahuddin, is finding conflict in himself about this. This is why we have to make clear to everyone all over the world so they may know as to what is Tariqat, who is a sheikh, how many Sheikhs may one follow, and what the relation of Sheikhs to each other is.
Allah Almighty will ask from everyone on the Last Day, “What did you bring today, oh My servant? Did you bring Qalb-us-Saleem, a pure heart, a golden, precious heart?” Allah Almighty is asking from everyone to have a clean heart. You may make it pure only through tariqat orders. Those without tariqat are only occupying themselves with the outer life and leaving out the heart.
There are 41 tariqats (Sufi Orders). Forty (40) of them springing from the heart of Imam Ali, and one (1), the Naqshabandi order, coming from the heart of Abu Bakr as-Siddiq, (may Allah be pleased with them). The Prophet had 124,000 companions. Who was the Grand companion? It was Abu Bakr. The Prophet said, “The whole of what Allah entrusted to me on the Night Journey I put into the heart of Abu Bakr.” Sayyidina Ali was connected to Abu Bakr in such a way as to make Ali the entrance of the City of Knowledge. This is well known among the real tariqat Sheikhs. They respect the Naqshbandi Order as the first one. I am talking about the real Sheikhs, not of those giving titles to themselves.
All of the Great Sheikhs, Jilani, Rumi, Darqawi, Rifai, knew the real station of the Naqshabandi order. If a person is following one of these other tariqats, they may take Tariqat Naqshabandiya also and remain free to follow those exercises or follow the Naqshabandiya exercises. If also they only follow the Naqshabandi exercises it is enough. It doesn’t matter whether you are coming from another Tariqat into the Naqsahbandi Order. Some fear that their first Sheikh will hear they have taken a second tariqat and be angry with them. If he is a real Sheikh, how can he be angry? A real Sheikh must know if his mureed was given to him on the Day of Promises or not. A shepherd knows his sheep, even one from a thousand and even if they are all white. He has light in his eyes and recognizes them without mistake.
In Tariqat there is no sorrow or anger if any mureed goes to another Sheikh. We are thankful to the first Sheikh for training him until he reaches his real Sheikh. Abu Yazid al Bistami said, “During my search, I met 99 sheikhs before reaching my Grandsheikh.” You may meet so many Sheikhs and take exercises, but you may not find satisfaction until you find your Grandsheikh and then it is like a river meeting the Ocean. So many Sheikhs are only trainers, but finally a Grandsheikh must call you. Not by letters but from heart to heart. There are ways. If a Naqshabandi Sheikh is giving tariqat, he must tell the mureed who the Grandsheikh for the Naqshbandi Order is in this time. He must point out to him.
So many people from the West are coming now invited by the way of hearts, to our Grandsheikh. The chain of Sheikhs ends in one. Our Grandsheikh is the last link in the Golden Chain and he is holding that position. I am only his servant. As for the other Naqshabandi Sheikhs, we are waiting for them to renew their Bayyat with us or else they are only putting on titles for themselves.
Seyyadina Muhammad Mahdi alaihi salam and his seven (7) Grand Wazirs, his ninety nine
(99) Caliphas and the three hundred and thirteen (313) Grand Murshids are all from the Naqshabandi Tariqat. In this time, there is no power for other tariqats to carry people all the way to the ultimate goal. All are invited to renew Bayyat to our Grandsheikh and then they may observe their improvement. In our time, there may be one thousand (1000) Naqsahbandi Sheikhs, but there is only one Grandsheikh bringing them all together and he is the Imam. If you bring the 124,000 Sahaba together, who is the Imam? It is Abu Bakr as Siddique (ral).
Each Sheikh must appoint one Deputy. Mevlana Khalid Baghdadi appointed Sheikh Ismail, but so many Naqshbandi Orders lost him in their Silsila (Chain of Spiritual Transmission) and lost also the secret of our Grandsheikh. Now there are so many Naqshabandi Sheikhs in Damacus, Aleppo and Homs who can’t find a successor. Except for our Grandsheikh, no one has pointed to a Deputy. This is because we have Sheikh Ismail in our Silsila.
If my Grandsheikh’s power would fully appear, no one could be sitting here; but that tremendous guiding and directing power (Irshad) is being stored up for the time of Sayyidina Al-Mahdi. At that time, al other Tariqats will be engulfed by the huge irshad ‘ power carried through the Naqshbandiyya Tariqat , they will be engulfed like inland seas being absorbed into a great ocean. Other Tariqats are already all slowly grinding to a halt, not moving forward. Since no Grandsheikhs are appearing among them, all that is left of them is their saying, “Follow this Tariqat or that one.” Since no Grandsheikhs are now appearing among them, they are only imitating what they found their predecessors practicing, without being able to improve - like soldiers marching in place.
(A person in attendance commented) : “Some of the Sheikhs of the other Tariqats are angry at you for your making such statements; they think that you are making Naqshbandi politics, trying to take away their disciples.”
(Sheikh Nazim replied) : Don’t speak foolish words. They may scream, “Politics!” and they may be angry, but they must know that what we are saying is reality, not politics; for we hate politics. If they have real spiritual knowledge (Maanawi Ulum), then they may see the reality of what we are saying; if not, they may be angry - but their anger is useless. Now, the Last Prophet, Muhammad (sal), is present in the spiritual realm and for the Awliya there is an assembly with the Prophet’s Presence every night. If they are there, they may realize and know; if not, then they are only with us - not seeing what will happen and not seeing the reality of what happens now. If the latter is the case, then they are only looking at books and talking, and you can’t know these things like that - no, that knowledge is distinct, it comes by way of the hearts.
When you are mentioning the names of persons, we may know whether they are inside or outside. In the time of Abdul-Qadir Al-Jilani, a great Grandsheikh, there was another sheikh who heard about him and said to his pupils : “I have heard so much about this Sheikh Abdul- Qadir, but I have been waiting at the entrance of Allah Almighty’s Power Castle for thirty years, and up until now I haven’t seen him entering or leaving, so how is it that they are saying he is such a huge Sheikh?” When Abdul-Qadir heard this, he laughed and said: “How can a doorkeeper know who sits in the presence of the King, in the proximity of the Majestic Lord?”
And so, you may find so many Tariqat Sheikhs, but their levels are different. So why are they angry? Do they claim to know everything? What we have stated we know from the Heavenly Assembly, and that knowledge is coming to us from the “central power station”, so that if they bring forward a statement, claim or knowledge, we know from where they are bringing it. If anyone is angry because of these things, he is providing proof that he is not from the Assembly of Awliya; but he who says, “I believe in this and more,” you must know that he is from within.
Al Tariqats teach people humbleness and to accept the truth. Who accompanied the Prophet when he made his migration (Hijra) from Mecca to Medina? - Abu Bakr. And what did the Prophet say about Abu Bakr? – “Everything My Lord put into my heart, I have put into the heart of Abu Bakr.” Which Sheikh can come to argue with us saying, “Abu Bakr is our father in Tariqat”? (Only the Naqshbandiyya Tariqat traces its lineage back to the Prophet through Abu Bakr, the rest of the Tariqats came through Sayyidina Ali). Grandsheikh is the inheritor of Abu Bakr - only ignorant people can deny this.
13-INTERPRETATION OF THE QURAN and THE OCEANS OF KNOWLEDGE
Allah Almighty says that whatever that a person may ask for is to be found in the Holy Quran. He says Quranul kareem kithabul mubeen, but we cannot enter into these Oceans of Knowledge because it is for Sahib Makamul Mahmud who is Seyyadina Muhammad, on whom be peace. It is he who has been authorised to enter into these Oceans and to bring out pearls from it. He is the one who during a period of twenty three years made the Holy Quran clear to the Sahabas.
Everything must be found in the Holy Quran. Everything that everyone does must therefore also be found in the Holy Quran. If a person says that this meeting or association is not mentioned in the Holy Quran there will be danger for his Iman, for his belief. Yes, if Allah Almighty says that everything is in the Quran, it must then be so. This meeting too should be mentioned in it. The verse of the Holy Quran, Le fee hee Zikrukum, is proof of this. Allah Almighty says “Oh! mankind you have been mentioned in the Holy Quran”. “You cannot say “how can this be”? You must believe in it.
You must believe in the endless Power of Allah Almighty, in Kudratallah. You have been created weak; therefore do not try to measure huge things with your small mind. Huge things belong to Allah Almighty and that is His attribute forever. He says that everything about you is in the Holy Quran. You must believe in it. This is why the Prophet, on whom be peace, gave “Thafseer” or explanations of the Holy Quran for a period of over twenty years. Without this giving you cannot enter into these Oceans.
This is why you are not able to read Quran Kareem or the Hadees (Traditions) of the Prophet and give an interpretation as to its meaning. You have not been authorised to do this. Therefore you must not try to give meanings to this. Today however, people who are not authorised are giving all types of meanings and interpretations of the Hadees of the Prophet, on whom be peace, and they say “I know Thafseer, I know the explanation”.
The Ulemas (Scholars) of days gone by authorised their successors and their students only after teaching them for a period of time. This period may have been for over ten years, fifteen years, twenty years, twenty five years, thirty years or maybe
even for over forty years. It is only after teaching their students for such a long period of time that they gave their students the authority to speak to people about the Holy Quran and the Hadees.
I am therefore ashamed to give the meaning of a verse (Ayah) of the Quran or of the Hadees and to say that this is its meaning. Yes, I am ashamed to do this even though I have the authority from my teacher under whom I learnt. He gave me this authority fifty years ago. My teacher gave me authority in the traditional way. I was authorised to speak on Quran Kareem and on Hadees. It was given to me in writing, “I am giving authority to my student Muhammad Nazim bin Adil to speak to people on the Quran and on the Hadees, I give that authority to him”.
My teacher was also an authorised person. He was authorised by his teacher and likewise and so on until from teacher to teacher it reaches to the authority of the Beloved Rasoolullah , on whom be peace.
If a person gives meanings and interpretations to verses of Quran or Hadees and addresses people on it, and also if that person has not been authorised to do so by
such an authority, he will be held responsible by Allah Almighty for the meanings that he gives to people. It is wrong, yes, very wrong for unauthorised people to give Bayan (religious preaching). They do not have permission to do that. Allah Almighty is their witness when they interpret without authority. They carry entirely the responsibility for this.
The Prophet Muhammed, on whom be peace, explained the meanings of the Quran for a period of twenty three years. The Prophet, on whom be peace, also spoke many Hadees during this period, perhaps millions of them. The Wahabi people take only a few hundred Hadees from one book or the other and say that these are all the Hadees that they accept to be the sayings of the Prophet. No! this cannot be so. The
Prophet spoke for a period of twenty three years after the revelation came to him. He spoke not only for his Sahaba (Companions) but for the entirety of his Nation (Umma), He spoke to teach the whole World. How can this be that he only spoke a few hundred Hadees which are to be accepted?
Even when I speak to people they do not allow me to stop speaking. They want me to speak more. I am nothing compared to the Prophet, on whom be peace. Then what about the Prophet, on whom be peace, how much more would he have spoken. The Prophet Muhammed, on whom be peace, is an Ocean of Knowledge. In comparison to the knowledge of the Prophet, on whom be peace, the knowledge of all the Alims (learned scholars) put together would be like a drop of water compared to the mighty Oceans. Then how do we say that we know something.
People came from all over and from all directions to speak to the Prophet, on whom be peace, and he spoke to all of them. They came like unending rivers and he spoke to them. Therefore I am wondering why is it that out of all the things that the Prophet said only a few hundred Hadees of the Prophet, on whom be peace, are today acceptable to some people. Yes, he spoke so much and people are only accepting a few Hadees.
When the revelation of the Quran (Wahi), came to the Prophet, on whom be peace, he spoke to them about it, and he spoke so much else also. If people are not accepting this they cannot accept the Risalath or Prophethood of Seyyadina Muhammad, on whom be peace. These people claim that they are Doctors but they are ignorant ones. Yes, they say that they have received their Doctorates from England or from France or from some other such place. With their small minds they say that this Hadees is true and that Hadees is false. They say that a certain Hadees is weak and therefore it cannot be accepted. How can they say this? It is not Adab (good manners) to say such a thing.
If a person relates to you a Hadees, it is Adab, a good manner to accept it for the
sake of the saying that it is a Hadees. This is giving respect to Rasoolullah , on whom
be peace. You may however say that you have not heard of it before, but do not throw it away and say that it is a weak Hadees. Yes, we must give this respect just for the sake that it is a Hadees. It is a good manner to do so.
Today the whole culture of Islam has been put into one book or one volume. Is the culture of Islam so small that you can do this? Therefore our levels of belief keep getting gradually lower. It is slowly loosing its power. Our belief levels keep getting weaker and weaker and then there shall not be the Power of Iman.
This is why people are suffering great calamities and have so many problems. There
is now not enough power for our Iman to be able to bring solutions for us. The Muslim World today, because of this is like a boiling pot. The enemies of Islam are making everything difficult for the Muslims and the Christian World is helping them to do this.
I heard recently that thousands of Muslims have been thrown out of their mosques and their homes. Yet, the Islamic World is still quarrelling and fighting amongst themselves. This is because our Iman levels have come down. Allah Almighty has ordered us to be united and we are separated from each other.
The vast body of water that surrounds the land masses is known as an Ocean, It is one of the great seas that divides the continents. A thimble is a cap that is used to protect the end of the finger when pushing a needle through cloth. This being the situation how one could put an Ocean into a thimble. Neither can a person put some water from the Indian Ocean into a thimble and call that the Indian Ocean. But the Wahabis are well known for this. They try to put some water into a thimble and call it an Ocean.
A translator has only a little knowledge of the Quran and his knowledge can be compared to a thimble and the Quran to an Ocean. He translates the Quran and says that he has written the translation of the Quran and the interpretation of it.
The Quran Kareem is an Ocean. How can the Wahabis translate and interpret the Quran? They cannot. They disrespect the Holy Quran by doing this. But the Saints respect the Holy Quran when they say that the Holy Quran through every letter is like an Ocean. Alif Laam Meem, these three letters are like three Oceans. Alif, contains an Ocean of Knowledge. Therefore the Saints as a mark of respect would not interpret less than 24,000 meanings on that letter Alif . The letter Laam has another 24,000 meanings, the minimum, and Meem at least another 24,000 meanings. Alif, Laam, Meem contains at least three different meanings to each other. This is the reason that it is not good for a person to bring down the meanings of the Holy Quran by giving only a few meanings. This is why the Saints are ashamed to interpret even a verse of the Holy Quran.
The Saints give at least a minimum of 24,000 meanings to each letter from the Holy Quran. How then is it that these ordinary people give only a very few meanings and say that, it is the interpretation. We cannot accept it because they cannot give as much as a Saint. This being the situation can we accept their translation of the Holy verses in a few sentences in English, French, German or any other language. They say “this translation is according to my understanding”, we cannot accept this because we do not get the proper translation or the interpretation. They are ignorant
of the fact that the Divine Verses cannot be translated or interpreted even with their high intellectual capacity. Hence, these people are exhibiting the highest degrees of ignorance.
Therefore, in the early days, the the learned religious people did not allow the others to interpret the Holy Quran because they knew that they did not have the knowledge to do so. They also knew that those who listened to this interpretation would also misunderstand and would be mislead, and as a result they would start loosing faith in the Alims.
The Alim may look at the Holy Verses and give some meaning. Without an Alim you cannot read Thafseer and you cannot read the translation. Even an Alim can only give a few meanings. Therefore how can others translate or interpret these Holy verses. A person should have personal knowledge through wisdom to interpret, but even with that knowledge you must not translate the Quran or the Hadees.
Presently the Wahabis are trying to stop people from following the Imams. They tell you to read the Quran and that you will find your way through the Quran. I would like to ask them as to which Quran they are referring to, and is it the translation. They are so foolish, and they are trying to direct people by way of their so called path by telling them to follow only the translations and not the Imams or the Madhabs. They are asking the people to find their own way without following Imam Shafi, Imam Hanafi, Imam Hambali and Imam Maliki.
The Wahabis are advising people by telling them not to follow these Imams. Due to these Wahabi teachings the Islamic World is in danger. It is a very difficult time for Muslims throughout the Islamic World.
Each person is trying to translate the Quran and give his own view on it, and not the Divine Meaning, because they cannot and the Wahabis are encouraging them to do this. They are also trying to prevent people from following the Imams. This is a very bad situation. The Islamic World is in danger. Therefore the only way that we can take steps to mitigate the Wahabi‘s actions is by following an Imam and to follow the Madhabs. If you follow you will be safe, if you do not follow you are in danger.
There are so many people who make Bayan. They cannot give Bayan, because they have not been authorised by an Alim. Therefore they have no authority to give Bayan and through this great danger, most people are being misled and only a very few have survived in the right path. People who are trying to go out of Madhabs and who do not follow Imams have fallen into a valley. No one can save them. But there is a way that way is to follow the way of the four Imams. The mission of Shaitan and his
army is to change everything and to make people go in the wrong direction. May Allah Almighty forgive and protect us and our belief from Shaitan.
14-SAINTS ADDRESS THE SOULS while SCHOLARS ADDRESS THE MIND
The Importance of Sohbet
Tariqatuna as-sohbet wa khairu fi jamiat’- The way of our Tariqat is association with the Sheikh and goodness lies in the congregation This is the root of our Tariqat. Allah Almighty made Shah Naqshaband the main pillar of the most distinguished Naqshabandi Order. He is one of the guides who take people on their way to the Divine Presence, so that they never lose their direction towards Allah Almighty. He was saying: “We are teaching people, so that they never lose their way, and their efforts never go without benefit.”
It is a short way, a safe way, a happy way. Everyone is walking, moving by themselves, or time makes them move. So many people are not moving, only time makes them move. And at any moment they may reach to an end, as every beginning must have an end. The movement of people must stop one day, and then they will find themselves in front of two entrances. On one of them is written: ‘The Way of Paradise’, or the way on which people reach to the Divine Presence. On the second entrance is written: ‘The Way of Hell’, who steps through that entrance should be taken to Hell. There is no safety on that way. It is a terrible end.
Day by day we are approaching that day. One more day has passed. It is going to be one day less, and the day will come when we reach to that entrance. The Naqshabandi Order is taking people in a direction, where their destination in the end will be Paradise. It is the way of the Prophets and the Saints. It is difficult for our egos but happiness for our souls. Everything that is going to be difficult for our egos finally should give us an enjoyment, a pleasure.
Most people are carried on the second way, and Shaitan is walking ahead of them with his devils and soldiers. Who follows that way finally should reach the entrance to Hell. Why are they going on that way? They are running after it, because their egos are enjoying that way.
If you are not using your will-power, your ego will take you in that dangerous direction. Every association in our Tariqat makes people to pay attention, so they don’t follow their ego, but follow the way of the Saints and Prophets. Every association with the Sheikh gives a spiritual power to our soul, so that we may be able to use our will-power
against our ego’s will. If you are not taking power, spirit
Link: https://www.nvrislam.net/index.php?j=eng&post=6058
at about doing Sajda to Sayyidina Muhammed (on whom be peace).
Animals they did Sajda to Sayyidina Muhammed (on whom be peace). We are more than animals we may also do Sajda. At the beginning however it may not be clear for people, as they have been prevented from doing Sajda to Sayyidina Muhammed (on whom be peace).
When you say Iyyaka Na’budu Wa Iyyaka Nasthaeen, to whom do you address it. Allah Almighty is Ghaib. If he is Ghaib, not present, to whom do you say Iyyaka? Who is that Iyyaka. Allah Almighty knows that you do not know to whom you are doing Sajda when you do Sajda to Allah Almighty because you are told that He is Ghaib - Invisible. This is Secret Sirr, and there are Oceans of Knowledge and Oceans of Secrets in the Holy Quran and this is from its Secret Wisdom. Yes, when you are saying Iyyaka Na’budu Wa Iyyaka Nasthaeen, Allah Almighty knows that common servants are not looking at Him. But as a training you must look at the one to whom you make Sajda to. You must know that one when you are looking towards that one .
When some people say Allahu Akbar, they look towards the Kibla but who are they looking at through this Kibla. They are looking at that One to whom they are saying “Iyyaka N’abudu wa iyyaka nasthaeen”, and not to the empty walls or to the empty house which is the Kibla.
The empty Baithullah does not give any benefit to the Umma.
Baithullah means the House of Allah Almighty. I am saying that it is the Baith or the house of Sheik ul Burra. If he is not in that house how could I say that it is the house of Sheik Ul Burra. Iza Ma Yakhthanee Sheik Ul Burra Ma Yakoon Haqiqathan Baithul Sheik Ul Burra. If there was not the Lord in His House we cannot call it the House of Allah Almighty (Baithullah).
Why are we saying Baithullah to the House of the Lord if He is not in it. We know that Allah Almighty is everywhere. Yes, we know that, but He is also specially in that Baithullah to be seen. If anyone, who looks for Him, looks for Him there, they may see Him. The Umma are making Sajda, looking to the Kibla, to the Baithullah. Yes, they must look as to whom they are making Sajda. Surely they are not making Sajda to the walls of the Ka’aba. That is Shirk.
How can you say that you can make Sajda to walls. How can it be so. Who do they see when they look towards the walls of the Ka’aba. They are looking at the Lord of the Ka’aba, who has been dressed by Divine Dressings, and to him who is the Khalifathullah, the representative of Allah Almighty. When you say Iyyaka you look at him and when you look at him you are looking at Allah Almighty.
Therefore this is the way of training so that people would be able to reach the Divine Presence of Allah Almighty. How can one be a servant of Allah Almighty if he is not ready to be the servant of Rasulullah (on whom be peace), before that.
The training of a soldier first takes place at the hands of a Sergeant, and then thereafter at the hands of a Colonel. When he is a Colonel he goes up to be a General after receiving training at the hands of a General. How is it possible for a soldier to go up to the highest position of being a Commander when he does not know the lower position of being a soldier. This is the Adab.
Likewise it is important for a Muslim to be trained at the hands of a Murshid Ul Kamil, a perfect inheritor of Sayyidina Muhammed (on whom be peace), who knows to train Mureeds. May Allah Almighty help us.
12-THE CHANGING OF MASTERS
and the CONSENSUS OF THE TRUE SHEIKHS
Insha’allah, we are about to speak on a very important subject. We are going to talk on Tariqa Orders (Sufi Orders). So many people come to Damascus from different countries in order to visit us. Some of them already belong to a sheikh and a Tariqat order. They are now asking for new Bayyat from us. One of them, Sheikh Salahuddin, is finding conflict in himself about this. This is why we have to make clear to everyone all over the world so they may know as to what is Tariqat, who is a sheikh, how many Sheikhs may one follow, and what the relation of Sheikhs to each other is.
Allah Almighty will ask from everyone on the Last Day, “What did you bring today, oh My servant? Did you bring Qalb-us-Saleem, a pure heart, a golden, precious heart?” Allah Almighty is asking from everyone to have a clean heart. You may make it pure only through tariqat orders. Those without tariqat are only occupying themselves with the outer life and leaving out the heart.
There are 41 tariqats (Sufi Orders). Forty (40) of them springing from the heart of Imam Ali, and one (1), the Naqshabandi order, coming from the heart of Abu Bakr as-Siddiq, (may Allah be pleased with them). The Prophet had 124,000 companions. Who was the Grand companion? It was Abu Bakr. The Prophet said, “The whole of what Allah entrusted to me on the Night Journey I put into the heart of Abu Bakr.” Sayyidina Ali was connected to Abu Bakr in such a way as to make Ali the entrance of the City of Knowledge. This is well known among the real tariqat Sheikhs. They respect the Naqshbandi Order as the first one. I am talking about the real Sheikhs, not of those giving titles to themselves.
All of the Great Sheikhs, Jilani, Rumi, Darqawi, Rifai, knew the real station of the Naqshabandi order. If a person is following one of these other tariqats, they may take Tariqat Naqshabandiya also and remain free to follow those exercises or follow the Naqshabandiya exercises. If also they only follow the Naqshabandi exercises it is enough. It doesn’t matter whether you are coming from another Tariqat into the Naqsahbandi Order. Some fear that their first Sheikh will hear they have taken a second tariqat and be angry with them. If he is a real Sheikh, how can he be angry? A real Sheikh must know if his mureed was given to him on the Day of Promises or not. A shepherd knows his sheep, even one from a thousand and even if they are all white. He has light in his eyes and recognizes them without mistake.
In Tariqat there is no sorrow or anger if any mureed goes to another Sheikh. We are thankful to the first Sheikh for training him until he reaches his real Sheikh. Abu Yazid al Bistami said, “During my search, I met 99 sheikhs before reaching my Grandsheikh.” You may meet so many Sheikhs and take exercises, but you may not find satisfaction until you find your Grandsheikh and then it is like a river meeting the Ocean. So many Sheikhs are only trainers, but finally a Grandsheikh must call you. Not by letters but from heart to heart. There are ways. If a Naqshabandi Sheikh is giving tariqat, he must tell the mureed who the Grandsheikh for the Naqshbandi Order is in this time. He must point out to him.
So many people from the West are coming now invited by the way of hearts, to our Grandsheikh. The chain of Sheikhs ends in one. Our Grandsheikh is the last link in the Golden Chain and he is holding that position. I am only his servant. As for the other Naqshabandi Sheikhs, we are waiting for them to renew their Bayyat with us or else they are only putting on titles for themselves.
Seyyadina Muhammad Mahdi alaihi salam and his seven (7) Grand Wazirs, his ninety nine
(99) Caliphas and the three hundred and thirteen (313) Grand Murshids are all from the Naqshabandi Tariqat. In this time, there is no power for other tariqats to carry people all the way to the ultimate goal. All are invited to renew Bayyat to our Grandsheikh and then they may observe their improvement. In our time, there may be one thousand (1000) Naqsahbandi Sheikhs, but there is only one Grandsheikh bringing them all together and he is the Imam. If you bring the 124,000 Sahaba together, who is the Imam? It is Abu Bakr as Siddique (ral).
Each Sheikh must appoint one Deputy. Mevlana Khalid Baghdadi appointed Sheikh Ismail, but so many Naqshbandi Orders lost him in their Silsila (Chain of Spiritual Transmission) and lost also the secret of our Grandsheikh. Now there are so many Naqshabandi Sheikhs in Damacus, Aleppo and Homs who can’t find a successor. Except for our Grandsheikh, no one has pointed to a Deputy. This is because we have Sheikh Ismail in our Silsila.
If my Grandsheikh’s power would fully appear, no one could be sitting here; but that tremendous guiding and directing power (Irshad) is being stored up for the time of Sayyidina Al-Mahdi. At that time, al other Tariqats will be engulfed by the huge irshad ‘ power carried through the Naqshbandiyya Tariqat , they will be engulfed like inland seas being absorbed into a great ocean. Other Tariqats are already all slowly grinding to a halt, not moving forward. Since no Grandsheikhs are appearing among them, all that is left of them is their saying, “Follow this Tariqat or that one.” Since no Grandsheikhs are now appearing among them, they are only imitating what they found their predecessors practicing, without being able to improve - like soldiers marching in place.
(A person in attendance commented) : “Some of the Sheikhs of the other Tariqats are angry at you for your making such statements; they think that you are making Naqshbandi politics, trying to take away their disciples.”
(Sheikh Nazim replied) : Don’t speak foolish words. They may scream, “Politics!” and they may be angry, but they must know that what we are saying is reality, not politics; for we hate politics. If they have real spiritual knowledge (Maanawi Ulum), then they may see the reality of what we are saying; if not, they may be angry - but their anger is useless. Now, the Last Prophet, Muhammad (sal), is present in the spiritual realm and for the Awliya there is an assembly with the Prophet’s Presence every night. If they are there, they may realize and know; if not, then they are only with us - not seeing what will happen and not seeing the reality of what happens now. If the latter is the case, then they are only looking at books and talking, and you can’t know these things like that - no, that knowledge is distinct, it comes by way of the hearts.
When you are mentioning the names of persons, we may know whether they are inside or outside. In the time of Abdul-Qadir Al-Jilani, a great Grandsheikh, there was another sheikh who heard about him and said to his pupils : “I have heard so much about this Sheikh Abdul- Qadir, but I have been waiting at the entrance of Allah Almighty’s Power Castle for thirty years, and up until now I haven’t seen him entering or leaving, so how is it that they are saying he is such a huge Sheikh?” When Abdul-Qadir heard this, he laughed and said: “How can a doorkeeper know who sits in the presence of the King, in the proximity of the Majestic Lord?”
And so, you may find so many Tariqat Sheikhs, but their levels are different. So why are they angry? Do they claim to know everything? What we have stated we know from the Heavenly Assembly, and that knowledge is coming to us from the “central power station”, so that if they bring forward a statement, claim or knowledge, we know from where they are bringing it. If anyone is angry because of these things, he is providing proof that he is not from the Assembly of Awliya; but he who says, “I believe in this and more,” you must know that he is from within.
Al Tariqats teach people humbleness and to accept the truth. Who accompanied the Prophet when he made his migration (Hijra) from Mecca to Medina? - Abu Bakr. And what did the Prophet say about Abu Bakr? – “Everything My Lord put into my heart, I have put into the heart of Abu Bakr.” Which Sheikh can come to argue with us saying, “Abu Bakr is our father in Tariqat”? (Only the Naqshbandiyya Tariqat traces its lineage back to the Prophet through Abu Bakr, the rest of the Tariqats came through Sayyidina Ali). Grandsheikh is the inheritor of Abu Bakr - only ignorant people can deny this.
13-INTERPRETATION OF THE QURAN and THE OCEANS OF KNOWLEDGE
Allah Almighty says that whatever that a person may ask for is to be found in the Holy Quran. He says Quranul kareem kithabul mubeen, but we cannot enter into these Oceans of Knowledge because it is for Sahib Makamul Mahmud who is Seyyadina Muhammad, on whom be peace. It is he who has been authorised to enter into these Oceans and to bring out pearls from it. He is the one who during a period of twenty three years made the Holy Quran clear to the Sahabas.
Everything must be found in the Holy Quran. Everything that everyone does must therefore also be found in the Holy Quran. If a person says that this meeting or association is not mentioned in the Holy Quran there will be danger for his Iman, for his belief. Yes, if Allah Almighty says that everything is in the Quran, it must then be so. This meeting too should be mentioned in it. The verse of the Holy Quran, Le fee hee Zikrukum, is proof of this. Allah Almighty says “Oh! mankind you have been mentioned in the Holy Quran”. “You cannot say “how can this be”? You must believe in it.
You must believe in the endless Power of Allah Almighty, in Kudratallah. You have been created weak; therefore do not try to measure huge things with your small mind. Huge things belong to Allah Almighty and that is His attribute forever. He says that everything about you is in the Holy Quran. You must believe in it. This is why the Prophet, on whom be peace, gave “Thafseer” or explanations of the Holy Quran for a period of over twenty years. Without this giving you cannot enter into these Oceans.
This is why you are not able to read Quran Kareem or the Hadees (Traditions) of the Prophet and give an interpretation as to its meaning. You have not been authorised to do this. Therefore you must not try to give meanings to this. Today however, people who are not authorised are giving all types of meanings and interpretations of the Hadees of the Prophet, on whom be peace, and they say “I know Thafseer, I know the explanation”.
The Ulemas (Scholars) of days gone by authorised their successors and their students only after teaching them for a period of time. This period may have been for over ten years, fifteen years, twenty years, twenty five years, thirty years or maybe
even for over forty years. It is only after teaching their students for such a long period of time that they gave their students the authority to speak to people about the Holy Quran and the Hadees.
I am therefore ashamed to give the meaning of a verse (Ayah) of the Quran or of the Hadees and to say that this is its meaning. Yes, I am ashamed to do this even though I have the authority from my teacher under whom I learnt. He gave me this authority fifty years ago. My teacher gave me authority in the traditional way. I was authorised to speak on Quran Kareem and on Hadees. It was given to me in writing, “I am giving authority to my student Muhammad Nazim bin Adil to speak to people on the Quran and on the Hadees, I give that authority to him”.
My teacher was also an authorised person. He was authorised by his teacher and likewise and so on until from teacher to teacher it reaches to the authority of the Beloved Rasoolullah , on whom be peace.
If a person gives meanings and interpretations to verses of Quran or Hadees and addresses people on it, and also if that person has not been authorised to do so by
such an authority, he will be held responsible by Allah Almighty for the meanings that he gives to people. It is wrong, yes, very wrong for unauthorised people to give Bayan (religious preaching). They do not have permission to do that. Allah Almighty is their witness when they interpret without authority. They carry entirely the responsibility for this.
The Prophet Muhammed, on whom be peace, explained the meanings of the Quran for a period of twenty three years. The Prophet, on whom be peace, also spoke many Hadees during this period, perhaps millions of them. The Wahabi people take only a few hundred Hadees from one book or the other and say that these are all the Hadees that they accept to be the sayings of the Prophet. No! this cannot be so. The
Prophet spoke for a period of twenty three years after the revelation came to him. He spoke not only for his Sahaba (Companions) but for the entirety of his Nation (Umma), He spoke to teach the whole World. How can this be that he only spoke a few hundred Hadees which are to be accepted?
Even when I speak to people they do not allow me to stop speaking. They want me to speak more. I am nothing compared to the Prophet, on whom be peace. Then what about the Prophet, on whom be peace, how much more would he have spoken. The Prophet Muhammed, on whom be peace, is an Ocean of Knowledge. In comparison to the knowledge of the Prophet, on whom be peace, the knowledge of all the Alims (learned scholars) put together would be like a drop of water compared to the mighty Oceans. Then how do we say that we know something.
People came from all over and from all directions to speak to the Prophet, on whom be peace, and he spoke to all of them. They came like unending rivers and he spoke to them. Therefore I am wondering why is it that out of all the things that the Prophet said only a few hundred Hadees of the Prophet, on whom be peace, are today acceptable to some people. Yes, he spoke so much and people are only accepting a few Hadees.
When the revelation of the Quran (Wahi), came to the Prophet, on whom be peace, he spoke to them about it, and he spoke so much else also. If people are not accepting this they cannot accept the Risalath or Prophethood of Seyyadina Muhammad, on whom be peace. These people claim that they are Doctors but they are ignorant ones. Yes, they say that they have received their Doctorates from England or from France or from some other such place. With their small minds they say that this Hadees is true and that Hadees is false. They say that a certain Hadees is weak and therefore it cannot be accepted. How can they say this? It is not Adab (good manners) to say such a thing.
If a person relates to you a Hadees, it is Adab, a good manner to accept it for the
sake of the saying that it is a Hadees. This is giving respect to Rasoolullah , on whom
be peace. You may however say that you have not heard of it before, but do not throw it away and say that it is a weak Hadees. Yes, we must give this respect just for the sake that it is a Hadees. It is a good manner to do so.
Today the whole culture of Islam has been put into one book or one volume. Is the culture of Islam so small that you can do this? Therefore our levels of belief keep getting gradually lower. It is slowly loosing its power. Our belief levels keep getting weaker and weaker and then there shall not be the Power of Iman.
This is why people are suffering great calamities and have so many problems. There
is now not enough power for our Iman to be able to bring solutions for us. The Muslim World today, because of this is like a boiling pot. The enemies of Islam are making everything difficult for the Muslims and the Christian World is helping them to do this.
I heard recently that thousands of Muslims have been thrown out of their mosques and their homes. Yet, the Islamic World is still quarrelling and fighting amongst themselves. This is because our Iman levels have come down. Allah Almighty has ordered us to be united and we are separated from each other.
The vast body of water that surrounds the land masses is known as an Ocean, It is one of the great seas that divides the continents. A thimble is a cap that is used to protect the end of the finger when pushing a needle through cloth. This being the situation how one could put an Ocean into a thimble. Neither can a person put some water from the Indian Ocean into a thimble and call that the Indian Ocean. But the Wahabis are well known for this. They try to put some water into a thimble and call it an Ocean.
A translator has only a little knowledge of the Quran and his knowledge can be compared to a thimble and the Quran to an Ocean. He translates the Quran and says that he has written the translation of the Quran and the interpretation of it.
The Quran Kareem is an Ocean. How can the Wahabis translate and interpret the Quran? They cannot. They disrespect the Holy Quran by doing this. But the Saints respect the Holy Quran when they say that the Holy Quran through every letter is like an Ocean. Alif Laam Meem, these three letters are like three Oceans. Alif, contains an Ocean of Knowledge. Therefore the Saints as a mark of respect would not interpret less than 24,000 meanings on that letter Alif . The letter Laam has another 24,000 meanings, the minimum, and Meem at least another 24,000 meanings. Alif, Laam, Meem contains at least three different meanings to each other. This is the reason that it is not good for a person to bring down the meanings of the Holy Quran by giving only a few meanings. This is why the Saints are ashamed to interpret even a verse of the Holy Quran.
The Saints give at least a minimum of 24,000 meanings to each letter from the Holy Quran. How then is it that these ordinary people give only a very few meanings and say that, it is the interpretation. We cannot accept it because they cannot give as much as a Saint. This being the situation can we accept their translation of the Holy verses in a few sentences in English, French, German or any other language. They say “this translation is according to my understanding”, we cannot accept this because we do not get the proper translation or the interpretation. They are ignorant
of the fact that the Divine Verses cannot be translated or interpreted even with their high intellectual capacity. Hence, these people are exhibiting the highest degrees of ignorance.
Therefore, in the early days, the the learned religious people did not allow the others to interpret the Holy Quran because they knew that they did not have the knowledge to do so. They also knew that those who listened to this interpretation would also misunderstand and would be mislead, and as a result they would start loosing faith in the Alims.
The Alim may look at the Holy Verses and give some meaning. Without an Alim you cannot read Thafseer and you cannot read the translation. Even an Alim can only give a few meanings. Therefore how can others translate or interpret these Holy verses. A person should have personal knowledge through wisdom to interpret, but even with that knowledge you must not translate the Quran or the Hadees.
Presently the Wahabis are trying to stop people from following the Imams. They tell you to read the Quran and that you will find your way through the Quran. I would like to ask them as to which Quran they are referring to, and is it the translation. They are so foolish, and they are trying to direct people by way of their so called path by telling them to follow only the translations and not the Imams or the Madhabs. They are asking the people to find their own way without following Imam Shafi, Imam Hanafi, Imam Hambali and Imam Maliki.
The Wahabis are advising people by telling them not to follow these Imams. Due to these Wahabi teachings the Islamic World is in danger. It is a very difficult time for Muslims throughout the Islamic World.
Each person is trying to translate the Quran and give his own view on it, and not the Divine Meaning, because they cannot and the Wahabis are encouraging them to do this. They are also trying to prevent people from following the Imams. This is a very bad situation. The Islamic World is in danger. Therefore the only way that we can take steps to mitigate the Wahabi‘s actions is by following an Imam and to follow the Madhabs. If you follow you will be safe, if you do not follow you are in danger.
There are so many people who make Bayan. They cannot give Bayan, because they have not been authorised by an Alim. Therefore they have no authority to give Bayan and through this great danger, most people are being misled and only a very few have survived in the right path. People who are trying to go out of Madhabs and who do not follow Imams have fallen into a valley. No one can save them. But there is a way that way is to follow the way of the four Imams. The mission of Shaitan and his
army is to change everything and to make people go in the wrong direction. May Allah Almighty forgive and protect us and our belief from Shaitan.
14-SAINTS ADDRESS THE SOULS while SCHOLARS ADDRESS THE MIND
The Importance of Sohbet
Tariqatuna as-sohbet wa khairu fi jamiat’- The way of our Tariqat is association with the Sheikh and goodness lies in the congregation This is the root of our Tariqat. Allah Almighty made Shah Naqshaband the main pillar of the most distinguished Naqshabandi Order. He is one of the guides who take people on their way to the Divine Presence, so that they never lose their direction towards Allah Almighty. He was saying: “We are teaching people, so that they never lose their way, and their efforts never go without benefit.”
It is a short way, a safe way, a happy way. Everyone is walking, moving by themselves, or time makes them move. So many people are not moving, only time makes them move. And at any moment they may reach to an end, as every beginning must have an end. The movement of people must stop one day, and then they will find themselves in front of two entrances. On one of them is written: ‘The Way of Paradise’, or the way on which people reach to the Divine Presence. On the second entrance is written: ‘The Way of Hell’, who steps through that entrance should be taken to Hell. There is no safety on that way. It is a terrible end.
Day by day we are approaching that day. One more day has passed. It is going to be one day less, and the day will come when we reach to that entrance. The Naqshabandi Order is taking people in a direction, where their destination in the end will be Paradise. It is the way of the Prophets and the Saints. It is difficult for our egos but happiness for our souls. Everything that is going to be difficult for our egos finally should give us an enjoyment, a pleasure.
Most people are carried on the second way, and Shaitan is walking ahead of them with his devils and soldiers. Who follows that way finally should reach the entrance to Hell. Why are they going on that way? They are running after it, because their egos are enjoying that way.
If you are not using your will-power, your ego will take you in that dangerous direction. Every association in our Tariqat makes people to pay attention, so they don’t follow their ego, but follow the way of the Saints and Prophets. Every association with the Sheikh gives a spiritual power to our soul, so that we may be able to use our will-power
against our ego’s will. If you are not taking power, spirit
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