Breaths from beyond the Curtain (Shaykh Nazim, 135 pages, 2/13)
https://www.nvrislam.net/index.php?j=eng&post=6075
G EGO CONTROL
A‘udhu bil-Lahi min ash-Shaytani-r-rajeem. Bismillahi-r- Rahmani-r-Raheem. La hawla wa la quwwata illa bil-Lahi-l- ‘Aliyt-I“Azheem.
We are in need, daily, of control on ourselves. Have you seen any driver leaving his steering wheel and looking at others? Everyone is careful about his own car, everyone’s concern is only his car’s control. If anyone’s car gets out of control, that means that there should be an accident, harm- ing the driver and destroying his car.
And we, also, each one, if we do not take care to keep control of ourselves, we should be harmed physically, or physically and spiritually (when it is physically, spiritually comes together with it). Therefore, the most important duty, most important responsibility, is for everyone to take care, full care, of controlling himself.
The Prophet % was speaking to his nation, from his time up to the end. And he was addressing everyone up to the end of the world, to keep his nation in safety and not to be touched by anything that makes them suffer.
If a person causes an accident and breaks his bones, legs, hands, chest, head, he suffers. People take him to the hospital, and the treatment is not an enjoyable thing. No one enjoys himself in the hospital. Have you ever seen someone in a hospital enjoying himself and happy? No. As long as he is in the hospital, he is suffering. When he is taken out, he is joyful, saying, “Oh, I am happy that that treatment finished and now J am done.”
He may say, “I suffered for days or months in the hos- pital. Now I am free. | am okay now, I am getting out.” And 2 person who does not keep himself from causing an accident, he should suffer. Therefore, the Prophet % was saying “O people! Everyone keeps his line straight and eve- ryone controls his vehicle. If not controlling, he should suf- fer" —finished!
The Seal of the Prophets, the most honoured one in the Divine Presence, Sayyidina Muhammad 4%, was speaking, addressing people. Only unjust people, only no-mind peo- ple only square-headed people, only safilt,?’ the lowest level people, only no-mind people, only dishonoured people, only Shaytan’s followers are coming in the face of that most honoured one and saying. “You are not a real prophet.” And we have a saying in Islam: “Kamala-l-insan_ tahta falanihi.@ If you want to know someone's value, make him speak because when he speaks you can quickly understand his level,
"Foolish, brainless, 2A person's perfection/maturity is according to his speech.
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Bring a person from a flea market and put him on TV. [Chuckles.] You may say, “Speak a little bit. These people want to hear something from you.” And he is going to speak.
What is he is going to say? [Parodies:] “We have, every Sunday, a flea market in Southall, and we have, also, every Thursday a flea market in Dalston.”
“Speak!” “Yes, We also have, on the weekend, a jumble sale in a churchyard, every week. O people, you must look there be- cause it is better for you. You also go and buy something, and bring it to the flea market and we will sell it. Jumble sale is so, so sweet! Each day we are looking in newspapers, and you must also look each day in newspapers, particu- larly The Times, to see where there will be a jumble sale in London.” That is his speaking.
Eh, another one; bring someone else. “Speak to peo- ple!”
“I may speak.”
“What do you do?”
“T sell cats, small dogs, in the animal garden.” “What?”
“Listen to me! If you want a jumping cat, you must see that its hair is short. If you want to use it as a cushion, you must choose one whose hair is long because they always like to sleep in beds. You may put your head—oh-h! It may sing to you, ‘Purr-purr, purt-purr, purr-purr, purr-purr’—so beautifull”
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You can understand what is his level. And if you listen to someone whose speech gives your heart, satisfaction, tak- ing away from your heart, from your mind, darkness and cleaning your intellect, you can understand that his level is high. Yes.
Mens intellect, men’s minds, will never be able to reach the level of understanding of the Seal of the Prophets #7 For twenty-three years, he was like a mercy rain, raining on all people who were like a dry field, becoming green with those mercy rains. But those who were like rocks never re- ceived anything. What comes on rocks goes down, what comes on the earth grows upward.
Up to today, the non-Muslim world has not taken any care to look and see his ultra-perfection, and to look at his dominion on earth and in the Heavens, and among proph- ets, among angels. Why? One word of his is enough for them to understand, but they are jealous people.
He was saying one word, the Seal of the Prophets # “O people, nafsuka matiyatuka.“** Your physical being repre- sents your ego, the representative of ego is your physical being. That takes us to our interest in eating and drinking and dressing and every kind of physical desire that can be fulfilled. That belongs to our ego, and our ego wants us to fulfill its desires.
“Muhammad, peace be upon him.
“Your nafs [ego [lower self] is your mount.” meaning a riding animal that you master and ride on with firm control of its direction.
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The Prophet 3 was saying, “Nafsuka matiyatuka.” Your ego is like a horse, like a donkey, like a camel that you can ride on. Your mount was not given to you to leave it like a cow in a meadow, only letting it eat and drink there; it was not given to you for that. It was given to you to ride on it and move. If you have a horse, why not use it? You must use it because it was granted to you for some purpose.
The Prophet # used a word here that is suitable up to eternity. He did not say, “Nafsuka dabbatuka,“** not saying that your ego is your animal, your horse or your camel or your donkey, no. What is matiyah? Anything that you can ride on and use. In his time, there were no cars, no trains, no planes. There were only donkeys, horses, camels, but his advice is up to eternity. If the life of man on earth were to continue up to the end, his words would keep their value.
“Nafsuka matiyatuka.” Your ego is your mount, some- thing that carries you, something that can be used to help people reach their goals, their destinations; and the destina- tions of people are going to end either in Paradise or in Hells. And that is granted to you. If you use it according your intention, if you control it and ask to send it to your destination, the good, final, last station for you should be Paradise. If you control your mount, that is your mukafat,?6 reward—rewarded by reaching Paradise.
If not controlling and leaving your mount, camel or horse or donkey, free to go as it likes, you will never get from Mecca to Medina, or from Medina to Damascus, or from Damascus to Aleppo, or from Aleppo to Istanbul.
*“Your ego is your mount.” **Recompense, reward.
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Now you have a car to reach from one point to another. If you do not keep control of yourself, there must be an acci- dent harming you and destroying your car completely. Therefore, Allah Almighty is ordering His servants, “Be- ware of your egos!” Don’t let your ego do as it likes but take control of it so that it is going to be like a Buraq” for you, the holy horse coming from Paradise and taking people from here to their Paradise. “
Now people, the twenty-first century's people, they are saying, “We have reached the height of civilization.” They are such foolish ones, such no-mind people, such square- headed people, and no one is controlling himself. Because of their egos, no one is taking any care, no. All people are running after their egos, to see how they can make a more enjoyable life for their egos.
They did it a week ago, enjoyment for their egos, the whole world giving trillions and quadrillions of dollars.
Did they reach their final goals? No! Now they are longing again for that night. I am saying, “Repeat it!”
And they are saying, “We can’t do that. We can only reach it from one year to the next, only for a few minutes in the darkness, and running into the new year. That is our final goal. We reach it once each year, and it is only for minutes, no more.”
For what are you doing that? What is the meaning of your egoistical desires’ highest limit, highest goal? What is
*The name of the steed from Paradise upon which the Prophet % rode during his Night Journey (‘Isra),
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after that? To where do you want to move? And each year their enjoyments are also coming down, not going up, be- ginning to come down, to come down.
Perhaps old people are not able to come out of their
homes, to go to big squares and dance and shout; only young ones are coming there. Then the old ones are cover- ing themselves up, sitting under roofs, in buildings, and they are saying, “We can’t do as they are doing. We can’t do it” But they are drinking something that brings imagina- tion to people.
[Chuckles.] Even an old cat, it thinks that it is becoming a tiger. [Laughter.] Oh-oh, one drink! [Parodies:] “O my darr-ling, we may go out!”
“O my darling, if anyone touches me I will fall. Leave that!”
“No-o-o! We are drinking, drinking Irish whisky. Now [am like tiger! Get up!”
Once Grandshaykh®* was saying to me that a small mouse was inspecting the cellar” to see if there was any cheese. And it jumped to reach the cheese, then fell into an open barrel of old wine, and drinking, drinking, drinking. It wanted to get out and it was swimming. Getting out, and it was shouting, “Where are those cats? [Much laughter.]
*Shaykh ‘Abdullah ad-Daghestani, Shaykh Nazim's shaykh, who passed away in 1973.
*Here the Shaykh adds parenthetically: “Europeans have cellars because they like to be like tigers, keeping wine to be old and changing its posi- tion every time. ‘Now it is forty years old. Must come in front and an- other will go to that side,’ —
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Where are the cats? Cats can come to me now!” because it had become a tiger. [Shaykh laughs heartily.]
And old people who drink old wine, even if they are ninety years old, they think that—arrrgh!—they are now like tigers. “Oh my darr-ling, get up! We may do a dance.” {Much laughter.)
“can't do it.”
“Stand up!” [Laughter.]
That is the famthil, metaphor, of peoples’ lives in the twenty first century—drunk people, too drunk to see Reality and to reach Reality. Therefore they are rejecting everything that belongs to Heavens and they are going into sewers be- cause they have no control on their egos. And their egos are making them be like comedians, people laughing, at them. Finished!
Therefore, if anyone wants to reach heavenly stations, he must be able to control himself to reach his high position, station, in Heavens. If they leave themselves without con- trol, they will never reach even one foot up. They will fall on earth, never going up.
Therefore, all the prophets were coming and saying, “O people, try to make a control on yourselves. If you do not do that, you can’t reach your goals. Use your mount in the right way, and you should be happy and should reach eter- nity.” Eternity—so sweet a word! If not, no eternity for you. You are going to be finished and vanish.
And therefore the Prophet # was saying, “Day by day, this world is approaching its last station. Good ones from
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among sultans,” from among learned people, from religious people, from holy ones, day by day they are leaving this life and there are no inheritors for them. Then there should re- main on earth only rubbish ones, rubbish ones.”
And the Prophet # was saying as a tamthil, example, that a farmer, when the wheat is ready, does like this with this shovel, and the inferior grains go to one side and the good grains go to the other side. Then the farmer puts the good grain in bags and takes it to the warehouse for himself. And the rest, with a broom, supiiriige, he brushes away be- cause it has no value.
In this world, when the Last Days approach, you are not going to find a good one in power or walking among, people. All should be like that valueless grain and straw, to be taken away.
1am asking forgiveness from Allah Almighty and ask- ing not to be from among those people. We are trying to be from among His good servants. O our Lord, keep us from being among the rubbish ones and being thrown away in dustbins. For the honour of the most honoured prophet in His Divine Presence, Sayyidina Muhammad *—Fatela! &
“Rulers, kings,
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CONCERNING HARMFUL FREEDOM
By the name of Allah, All-Mighty, All-Merciful, Most Beneficent and Most Munificent.
Avudhu bil-Laki min ash-Shaytani-r-rajeem. —Bismillahi-r- Rahmami-r-Rakeem. La hawla wa la quwatta illa bil-Lahi-l- ‘Aliyyi-l-‘Azheem." By the name of Allah, Almighty, All- Merciful, Most Beneficent, and Most Munificent.
Crying, not raining—crying on mankind, what is com- ing on them during this year not raining, crying.
A‘udhu bil-Lahi min ash-Shaytani-r-rajeem. Bismillahi-r- Rahmani-r-Raheem. La hawla wa la quwwata illa bil-Lahi-l- ‘Aliyi-l-'Azheem ®
They are saying, “Today is a new year. Yesterday was an old year. Today is New Year's Day.” People are very
**] take refuge with Allah from Satan, the rejected. In the name of Allah, the Heneficent, the Merciful. There is no might nor power except with Allah, the Most High, the Almighty.”
"| seek refuge in Allah from Satan the accursed. In the Name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful. There is no power or might except with Al- lah, the Most High, the Almighty.
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happy to make this earth seem young as its years increase, saying, “Oh-h-h-h! The old is going, a fresh world is com- ing. Oh, very good! Good tidings! New year, young year! Our planet is going to be younger because its years are in- creasing and it is becoming new.” Masha’Allah!©
People have lost their minds. Therefore, I am saying, “Yahu, itis also good tidings for me that I am increasing to ninety, so that I will become a new one.” What a mentality, what a shaytanic teaching, making everything upside-down, showing lighted worlds as dark worlds, and showing dark- ness to people as light!
If all people had died yesterday and today was the sec- ond day of their death, if you asked what happened, some- one would say, “Today is the second day. Now, for two days, they have passed away.” “What happened?”
“Whoever was on the planet just fell down and died, passed away. No more mankind on it, finished!”
Before yesterday, they were in this world. Yesterday they passed away and today there is no longer any sign of them, not one among mankind walking on this earth— finished. But people, they think that this life is a never- ending life.
If it is a never-ending life, that means that it is running like a river. If you stand and look at a river, you think that it is same. No; each moment it changes. It is not same water but flowing, new water coming. People think that that river,
As Allah wills, “Turkish expression, meaning, “See here!” BREATHSFROM BEYOND THE CURTAIN
the Volga, Danube, Nile or Amazon, is running, but it is not same water. No; it just flowed away. And people are look- ing and saying, “Today is the same as yesterday.”
No! You can't bring a proof that the people going in the streets, from East to West, from North to South, are the same. No. New ones are coming and so many are passing away. But people think it is the same dumya, the same world.
No, itis not. Change is written on everything so that you can't find any creature in this world the same as yester- day. Yesterday, people were in another position — with their thoughts, with their actions, with their movements, with their desires. It was just a hundred per cent different from what they are in today.
Thirteen hours ago, this world was another world, and the people in it—their minds, their goals, their desires, their activities, their thoughts—were different. Now thirteen hours have just passed. Now they are saying,“We have passed from the old ship, from the old vessel, into a new vessel,"
Yes! Each day is a chest, but what it carries is different. They are thinking so many things. Thirteen or fourteen or twenty hours ago, all their desires finished and were buried and disappeared. Today is another world for them. And each day gives a perfect lesson to any of mankind who can
If they do not think, they are like animals because think- ing has not been granted to animals. To think, it is a grant
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from Allah Almighty to mankind. No other creatures think. No, you can’t find one.
Do you think that cats sit like this and think? Perhaps thinking, thinking, sitting in front of the table and looking like this, sometimes looking like that, showing its owner that it is sleeping but from time to time opening its eyes. A cat thinks about tat point [laughter], or it sits in front of the mouse’s hole and does like this. “That mouse is looking at me, and I am preparing myself to catch it because it is New Year's and I must celebrate.” [Laughter.] Even if you say, “Psst-psst-psst,” the cat will never look at you, very carefully muragaba, observing, that hole, and inside the mouse is do- ing like this. “Heh-heh-heh, heh-heh!”
Eh-h-h! Only a cat sits and observes very carefully, to catch and to have its breakfast for the honour of the new year—yes?—because New Year's night is important for cats, also, and mice. When men are falling down drunk, they are running at them, jumping on them, cats not looking at mice at that time because there are so many leftover things. And last night, so many tandhifat ma’mur, municipal cleaning workers, cats, were so busy that they never slept. Why? Because they were waiting to see how they could reach that, people putting so many things in the municipal sanduq, dustbin. Cats were jumping, reaching the top. So many dogs were trying to reach, also, but they are not suited to doing like this, falling down.
Cats were jumping into it and looking. “Heh-heh!” za- kum* “You are our enemies. Eat poison, O dogs!”
“We [dogs] are here, also. Throw away a little bit!”
“Gobbling.
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“No, no! Eat poison!” [Laughter.]
A very happy night it was, but no thinking. Today, as before, going-coming, going-coming. Last night, no one was thinking and their level was beneath the level of animals. Yes.
Today this is a world; yesterday it was another. It was in another, different, state, and today’s state is different from it. So many people who were in existence yesterday and up to midnight, are not in existence today. They passed away, through change, coming, coming.
How, under such conditions, can a person reach ¢uman- ina, tranquility or contentment, within himself? It is impos- sible, itis impossible! If you are on a vessel and it is full of passengers, and a big wind storm comes and the waves or the storm take some of the people on it, how can they be in tranquility? And this world now is like those people who are on a ship and a storm just comes on them and — woo-o0- oo!—taking them away, and no one is able to stop it or to protect himself. How can they be in peace? Even if they are not al the top of the ship, even if they are in their rooms, even in their rooms they do not feel tranquility in their souls, And now the whole world is in a position like a big vessel on the Atlantic and a storm is just coming on it. Eve- ryone is trembling. No tranquility, no contentment.
Once a famous shaykh, perhaps ‘Ubaidullah al-Ahrar Hazretleri, gaddas-Allalt sirruliu al-‘aliya,* may Allah bless
* (adds Allahu sirruhu al-aliya, may Allah sanctify his lofty secret,” the evocation for Muslim holy men and saints (avoliya),
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him, or some other one, was on a ship and a storm broke. All the mureeds” were just occupied with the safety of their lives, Only one person, he was sitting and keeping with himself a mangal, a brazier. And his shaykh came and said, “What are you doing? What are you doing?”
“I am guarding my shaykh’s fire.” “Look where your brothers are!”
He looked. All of them were sitting on air by their spiritual powers, not sitting on the ship.“ Only that one was sitting on the deck. And his shaykh said, “What are you doing?”
“O my shaykh, an-naru fakihat ush-shitta, fire is the food of winter. | am keeping this fire here so that it does not fall down and burn the entire ship.”
Then the shaykh said to the others who were sitting above, “Oh! What are you doing? From whom did you get that order to sit above, not to be on the ship?” And the shaykh looked with his spiritual power, and all of them— ooh-h!—just fell into the ocean.
When they had fallen into the ocean, not drowning, also, he said to them, “You are free people, free from the heaviness of your physical being. No need to go above and siton air. If you fall into the ocean, the ocean will not accept you, either. You can’t drown in it. Come and take your good manners from that one who never changed his posi-
"Disciples or followers of a shaykh or holy man,
“That is, so they would not go down with the ship, they wei
: re sitting on air,
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tion and is sitting on the ship. Take your good manners from him!”
Tumani, tranquility, in a difficult position, dangerous situation, is only by being with Allah. Those who are with Allah, no trouble for them, no problem for them, no danger for them, no fear for them, no hopelessness for them. And now we are saying that the whole world is in such a condi- tion. Only ahadt-n-nass, certain people who are never af- fected by what happens on earth, are exceptions because people are just occupied by material aspects, and material aspects make them feel unrestful, hopeless and fearful.
Yesterday they reached the top point of their pleasure. Today, they are just falling down from the highest point, falling ftom maximum to minimum—finished! And all the world’s people who were at the top point of their pleasure yesterday, today they are at the point of zero, below zero, except those who are with Allah. Others, they took their tickets from Shaytan’s vessel, and the shaytanic “Transatlan- tic’ brought them to a terrible and dangerous whirlpool. Those who are taking the vessel, the Ark of Noah, the Ark of Safety, Allah Almighty's vessel, they are very few...
Therefore, today is so normal for those people, and yes- terday was not any different. They are not saying that we lost yesterday's pleasures. No, normal life is running; rou- tine has not changed for them. But those people who come like this, “Al-N!” are falling down. And they are coming, saying, “Happy New Year!”
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[am saying, “It is not today. Tomorrow.” [Laughter.] “New year for me is tomorrow. Today is for you. Go away!” But they are not happy. For them, Happy New Year finished from midnight. Allahu Akbar!”
O people, it is a big Ocean of wisdoms They are giving us, that we may be able to control our desires, to put a limit on them. Without limits, what we are doing is harm-
ing us physically and spiritually.
A person was discussing about TV and saying to me, “O Shaykh, we want more freedom and we can’t find it through Islam. We are finding it through democracy.”
I am saying, “Pocracy!”*! a dirty-smelling system that is just locked down now, everywhere. No country has a key for opening and for cleaning that dirtiness that democracy is pouring on countries? I am asking, “What more freedom than this do you want? If you are want that freedom that is like New Year's midnight, it is impossible to continue it, and the second night, tonight, you can’t do it. You can’t bring it back, you can’t repeat it.” Yes; I am saying, “Why do you not repeat it tonight, also?”
*Allah is Most Great.
“Here and elsewhere, “They” refers to the departed high saints of the Nagshbandi Tariqah, from whom Shaykh Nazim’s inspirations are de- rived.
“'A play on the word democracy substituting it with a derogatory Turkish word.
“Through permitting unlimited freedom, BREATHS FROM BEYOND THE CURTAIN
They are saying, “O Shaykh, we are finished, physically finished, financially finished. From every direction, we are finished!”
“Last night you were so happy, and you thought that you had reached the peak of pleasure and enjoyment. Why do you not repeat it tonight?”
“Ttis difficult.”
“Anyone preventing you?”
“No. No one is preventing us but we are finished. We can fill our physical being and our minds for such a night once a year. We can’t repeat it.”
lamsaying, “Repeat it every month!” “No.”
"Three months!”
"No"
“Six months!”
“No.”
“Nine months!”
“No. Must be twelve months, once.
Yes, no hindrance for them to repeat it. The govern- ment is saying, “If you can do it, do. You are free.” But no,
noone. They are saying, “We are finished.”
We understand that democracy, which that foolish one was discussing with me and saying that democracy is the
most perfect system for nations, to give people their free- dom. And I was saying, “Why not use that freedom every
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night as you used it on New Year's midnight? Repeat it!” And they are such foolish ones, asking for that freedom every day, every hour. And I am saying, “Who is prevent- ing you now? Repeat it! Make it every night.”
Therefore, democracy, the system of complete freedom, may be a fully harmful system, first killing their spirituality, then taking their physical being and also breaking it, as a meat-grinding machine breaks meat with bones and it goes out. But people are still running after democracy. Yahu, it is not suitable! You can’t carry democracy for even two nights; you are waiting for one year to repeat it. How are you asking for that freedom and its activities to be every day, every hour, to give people mutlaq, absolute, freedom to do everything? No!
Therefore I am saying that IsI am is the
Link: https://www.nvrislam.net/index.php?j=eng&post=6075
G EGO CONTROL
A‘udhu bil-Lahi min ash-Shaytani-r-rajeem. Bismillahi-r- Rahmani-r-Raheem. La hawla wa la quwwata illa bil-Lahi-l- ‘Aliyt-I“Azheem.
We are in need, daily, of control on ourselves. Have you seen any driver leaving his steering wheel and looking at others? Everyone is careful about his own car, everyone’s concern is only his car’s control. If anyone’s car gets out of control, that means that there should be an accident, harm- ing the driver and destroying his car.
And we, also, each one, if we do not take care to keep control of ourselves, we should be harmed physically, or physically and spiritually (when it is physically, spiritually comes together with it). Therefore, the most important duty, most important responsibility, is for everyone to take care, full care, of controlling himself.
The Prophet % was speaking to his nation, from his time up to the end. And he was addressing everyone up to the end of the world, to keep his nation in safety and not to be touched by anything that makes them suffer.
If a person causes an accident and breaks his bones, legs, hands, chest, head, he suffers. People take him to the hospital, and the treatment is not an enjoyable thing. No one enjoys himself in the hospital. Have you ever seen someone in a hospital enjoying himself and happy? No. As long as he is in the hospital, he is suffering. When he is taken out, he is joyful, saying, “Oh, I am happy that that treatment finished and now J am done.”
He may say, “I suffered for days or months in the hos- pital. Now I am free. | am okay now, I am getting out.” And 2 person who does not keep himself from causing an accident, he should suffer. Therefore, the Prophet % was saying “O people! Everyone keeps his line straight and eve- ryone controls his vehicle. If not controlling, he should suf- fer" —finished!
The Seal of the Prophets, the most honoured one in the Divine Presence, Sayyidina Muhammad 4%, was speaking, addressing people. Only unjust people, only no-mind peo- ple only square-headed people, only safilt,?’ the lowest level people, only no-mind people, only dishonoured people, only Shaytan’s followers are coming in the face of that most honoured one and saying. “You are not a real prophet.” And we have a saying in Islam: “Kamala-l-insan_ tahta falanihi.@ If you want to know someone's value, make him speak because when he speaks you can quickly understand his level,
"Foolish, brainless, 2A person's perfection/maturity is according to his speech.
20
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Bring a person from a flea market and put him on TV. [Chuckles.] You may say, “Speak a little bit. These people want to hear something from you.” And he is going to speak.
What is he is going to say? [Parodies:] “We have, every Sunday, a flea market in Southall, and we have, also, every Thursday a flea market in Dalston.”
“Speak!” “Yes, We also have, on the weekend, a jumble sale in a churchyard, every week. O people, you must look there be- cause it is better for you. You also go and buy something, and bring it to the flea market and we will sell it. Jumble sale is so, so sweet! Each day we are looking in newspapers, and you must also look each day in newspapers, particu- larly The Times, to see where there will be a jumble sale in London.” That is his speaking.
Eh, another one; bring someone else. “Speak to peo- ple!”
“I may speak.”
“What do you do?”
“T sell cats, small dogs, in the animal garden.” “What?”
“Listen to me! If you want a jumping cat, you must see that its hair is short. If you want to use it as a cushion, you must choose one whose hair is long because they always like to sleep in beds. You may put your head—oh-h! It may sing to you, ‘Purr-purr, purt-purr, purr-purr, purr-purr’—so beautifull”
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You can understand what is his level. And if you listen to someone whose speech gives your heart, satisfaction, tak- ing away from your heart, from your mind, darkness and cleaning your intellect, you can understand that his level is high. Yes.
Mens intellect, men’s minds, will never be able to reach the level of understanding of the Seal of the Prophets #7 For twenty-three years, he was like a mercy rain, raining on all people who were like a dry field, becoming green with those mercy rains. But those who were like rocks never re- ceived anything. What comes on rocks goes down, what comes on the earth grows upward.
Up to today, the non-Muslim world has not taken any care to look and see his ultra-perfection, and to look at his dominion on earth and in the Heavens, and among proph- ets, among angels. Why? One word of his is enough for them to understand, but they are jealous people.
He was saying one word, the Seal of the Prophets # “O people, nafsuka matiyatuka.“** Your physical being repre- sents your ego, the representative of ego is your physical being. That takes us to our interest in eating and drinking and dressing and every kind of physical desire that can be fulfilled. That belongs to our ego, and our ego wants us to fulfill its desires.
“Muhammad, peace be upon him.
“Your nafs [ego [lower self] is your mount.” meaning a riding animal that you master and ride on with firm control of its direction.
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The Prophet 3 was saying, “Nafsuka matiyatuka.” Your ego is like a horse, like a donkey, like a camel that you can ride on. Your mount was not given to you to leave it like a cow in a meadow, only letting it eat and drink there; it was not given to you for that. It was given to you to ride on it and move. If you have a horse, why not use it? You must use it because it was granted to you for some purpose.
The Prophet # used a word here that is suitable up to eternity. He did not say, “Nafsuka dabbatuka,“** not saying that your ego is your animal, your horse or your camel or your donkey, no. What is matiyah? Anything that you can ride on and use. In his time, there were no cars, no trains, no planes. There were only donkeys, horses, camels, but his advice is up to eternity. If the life of man on earth were to continue up to the end, his words would keep their value.
“Nafsuka matiyatuka.” Your ego is your mount, some- thing that carries you, something that can be used to help people reach their goals, their destinations; and the destina- tions of people are going to end either in Paradise or in Hells. And that is granted to you. If you use it according your intention, if you control it and ask to send it to your destination, the good, final, last station for you should be Paradise. If you control your mount, that is your mukafat,?6 reward—rewarded by reaching Paradise.
If not controlling and leaving your mount, camel or horse or donkey, free to go as it likes, you will never get from Mecca to Medina, or from Medina to Damascus, or from Damascus to Aleppo, or from Aleppo to Istanbul.
*“Your ego is your mount.” **Recompense, reward.
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Now you have a car to reach from one point to another. If you do not keep control of yourself, there must be an acci- dent harming you and destroying your car completely. Therefore, Allah Almighty is ordering His servants, “Be- ware of your egos!” Don’t let your ego do as it likes but take control of it so that it is going to be like a Buraq” for you, the holy horse coming from Paradise and taking people from here to their Paradise. “
Now people, the twenty-first century's people, they are saying, “We have reached the height of civilization.” They are such foolish ones, such no-mind people, such square- headed people, and no one is controlling himself. Because of their egos, no one is taking any care, no. All people are running after their egos, to see how they can make a more enjoyable life for their egos.
They did it a week ago, enjoyment for their egos, the whole world giving trillions and quadrillions of dollars.
Did they reach their final goals? No! Now they are longing again for that night. I am saying, “Repeat it!”
And they are saying, “We can’t do that. We can only reach it from one year to the next, only for a few minutes in the darkness, and running into the new year. That is our final goal. We reach it once each year, and it is only for minutes, no more.”
For what are you doing that? What is the meaning of your egoistical desires’ highest limit, highest goal? What is
*The name of the steed from Paradise upon which the Prophet % rode during his Night Journey (‘Isra),
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after that? To where do you want to move? And each year their enjoyments are also coming down, not going up, be- ginning to come down, to come down.
Perhaps old people are not able to come out of their
homes, to go to big squares and dance and shout; only young ones are coming there. Then the old ones are cover- ing themselves up, sitting under roofs, in buildings, and they are saying, “We can’t do as they are doing. We can’t do it” But they are drinking something that brings imagina- tion to people.
[Chuckles.] Even an old cat, it thinks that it is becoming a tiger. [Laughter.] Oh-oh, one drink! [Parodies:] “O my darr-ling, we may go out!”
“O my darling, if anyone touches me I will fall. Leave that!”
“No-o-o! We are drinking, drinking Irish whisky. Now [am like tiger! Get up!”
Once Grandshaykh®* was saying to me that a small mouse was inspecting the cellar” to see if there was any cheese. And it jumped to reach the cheese, then fell into an open barrel of old wine, and drinking, drinking, drinking. It wanted to get out and it was swimming. Getting out, and it was shouting, “Where are those cats? [Much laughter.]
*Shaykh ‘Abdullah ad-Daghestani, Shaykh Nazim's shaykh, who passed away in 1973.
*Here the Shaykh adds parenthetically: “Europeans have cellars because they like to be like tigers, keeping wine to be old and changing its posi- tion every time. ‘Now it is forty years old. Must come in front and an- other will go to that side,’ —
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Where are the cats? Cats can come to me now!” because it had become a tiger. [Shaykh laughs heartily.]
And old people who drink old wine, even if they are ninety years old, they think that—arrrgh!—they are now like tigers. “Oh my darr-ling, get up! We may do a dance.” {Much laughter.)
“can't do it.”
“Stand up!” [Laughter.]
That is the famthil, metaphor, of peoples’ lives in the twenty first century—drunk people, too drunk to see Reality and to reach Reality. Therefore they are rejecting everything that belongs to Heavens and they are going into sewers be- cause they have no control on their egos. And their egos are making them be like comedians, people laughing, at them. Finished!
Therefore, if anyone wants to reach heavenly stations, he must be able to control himself to reach his high position, station, in Heavens. If they leave themselves without con- trol, they will never reach even one foot up. They will fall on earth, never going up.
Therefore, all the prophets were coming and saying, “O people, try to make a control on yourselves. If you do not do that, you can’t reach your goals. Use your mount in the right way, and you should be happy and should reach eter- nity.” Eternity—so sweet a word! If not, no eternity for you. You are going to be finished and vanish.
And therefore the Prophet # was saying, “Day by day, this world is approaching its last station. Good ones from
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among sultans,” from among learned people, from religious people, from holy ones, day by day they are leaving this life and there are no inheritors for them. Then there should re- main on earth only rubbish ones, rubbish ones.”
And the Prophet # was saying as a tamthil, example, that a farmer, when the wheat is ready, does like this with this shovel, and the inferior grains go to one side and the good grains go to the other side. Then the farmer puts the good grain in bags and takes it to the warehouse for himself. And the rest, with a broom, supiiriige, he brushes away be- cause it has no value.
In this world, when the Last Days approach, you are not going to find a good one in power or walking among, people. All should be like that valueless grain and straw, to be taken away.
1am asking forgiveness from Allah Almighty and ask- ing not to be from among those people. We are trying to be from among His good servants. O our Lord, keep us from being among the rubbish ones and being thrown away in dustbins. For the honour of the most honoured prophet in His Divine Presence, Sayyidina Muhammad *—Fatela! &
“Rulers, kings,
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4
CONCERNING HARMFUL FREEDOM
By the name of Allah, All-Mighty, All-Merciful, Most Beneficent and Most Munificent.
Avudhu bil-Laki min ash-Shaytani-r-rajeem. —Bismillahi-r- Rahmami-r-Rakeem. La hawla wa la quwatta illa bil-Lahi-l- ‘Aliyyi-l-‘Azheem." By the name of Allah, Almighty, All- Merciful, Most Beneficent, and Most Munificent.
Crying, not raining—crying on mankind, what is com- ing on them during this year not raining, crying.
A‘udhu bil-Lahi min ash-Shaytani-r-rajeem. Bismillahi-r- Rahmani-r-Raheem. La hawla wa la quwwata illa bil-Lahi-l- ‘Aliyi-l-'Azheem ®
They are saying, “Today is a new year. Yesterday was an old year. Today is New Year's Day.” People are very
**] take refuge with Allah from Satan, the rejected. In the name of Allah, the Heneficent, the Merciful. There is no might nor power except with Allah, the Most High, the Almighty.”
"| seek refuge in Allah from Satan the accursed. In the Name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful. There is no power or might except with Al- lah, the Most High, the Almighty.
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happy to make this earth seem young as its years increase, saying, “Oh-h-h-h! The old is going, a fresh world is com- ing. Oh, very good! Good tidings! New year, young year! Our planet is going to be younger because its years are in- creasing and it is becoming new.” Masha’Allah!©
People have lost their minds. Therefore, I am saying, “Yahu, itis also good tidings for me that I am increasing to ninety, so that I will become a new one.” What a mentality, what a shaytanic teaching, making everything upside-down, showing lighted worlds as dark worlds, and showing dark- ness to people as light!
If all people had died yesterday and today was the sec- ond day of their death, if you asked what happened, some- one would say, “Today is the second day. Now, for two days, they have passed away.” “What happened?”
“Whoever was on the planet just fell down and died, passed away. No more mankind on it, finished!”
Before yesterday, they were in this world. Yesterday they passed away and today there is no longer any sign of them, not one among mankind walking on this earth— finished. But people, they think that this life is a never- ending life.
If it is a never-ending life, that means that it is running like a river. If you stand and look at a river, you think that it is same. No; each moment it changes. It is not same water but flowing, new water coming. People think that that river,
As Allah wills, “Turkish expression, meaning, “See here!” BREATHSFROM BEYOND THE CURTAIN
the Volga, Danube, Nile or Amazon, is running, but it is not same water. No; it just flowed away. And people are look- ing and saying, “Today is the same as yesterday.”
No! You can't bring a proof that the people going in the streets, from East to West, from North to South, are the same. No. New ones are coming and so many are passing away. But people think it is the same dumya, the same world.
No, itis not. Change is written on everything so that you can't find any creature in this world the same as yester- day. Yesterday, people were in another position — with their thoughts, with their actions, with their movements, with their desires. It was just a hundred per cent different from what they are in today.
Thirteen hours ago, this world was another world, and the people in it—their minds, their goals, their desires, their activities, their thoughts—were different. Now thirteen hours have just passed. Now they are saying,“We have passed from the old ship, from the old vessel, into a new vessel,"
Yes! Each day is a chest, but what it carries is different. They are thinking so many things. Thirteen or fourteen or twenty hours ago, all their desires finished and were buried and disappeared. Today is another world for them. And each day gives a perfect lesson to any of mankind who can
If they do not think, they are like animals because think- ing has not been granted to animals. To think, it is a grant
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from Allah Almighty to mankind. No other creatures think. No, you can’t find one.
Do you think that cats sit like this and think? Perhaps thinking, thinking, sitting in front of the table and looking like this, sometimes looking like that, showing its owner that it is sleeping but from time to time opening its eyes. A cat thinks about tat point [laughter], or it sits in front of the mouse’s hole and does like this. “That mouse is looking at me, and I am preparing myself to catch it because it is New Year's and I must celebrate.” [Laughter.] Even if you say, “Psst-psst-psst,” the cat will never look at you, very carefully muragaba, observing, that hole, and inside the mouse is do- ing like this. “Heh-heh-heh, heh-heh!”
Eh-h-h! Only a cat sits and observes very carefully, to catch and to have its breakfast for the honour of the new year—yes?—because New Year's night is important for cats, also, and mice. When men are falling down drunk, they are running at them, jumping on them, cats not looking at mice at that time because there are so many leftover things. And last night, so many tandhifat ma’mur, municipal cleaning workers, cats, were so busy that they never slept. Why? Because they were waiting to see how they could reach that, people putting so many things in the municipal sanduq, dustbin. Cats were jumping, reaching the top. So many dogs were trying to reach, also, but they are not suited to doing like this, falling down.
Cats were jumping into it and looking. “Heh-heh!” za- kum* “You are our enemies. Eat poison, O dogs!”
“We [dogs] are here, also. Throw away a little bit!”
“Gobbling.
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“No, no! Eat poison!” [Laughter.]
A very happy night it was, but no thinking. Today, as before, going-coming, going-coming. Last night, no one was thinking and their level was beneath the level of animals. Yes.
Today this is a world; yesterday it was another. It was in another, different, state, and today’s state is different from it. So many people who were in existence yesterday and up to midnight, are not in existence today. They passed away, through change, coming, coming.
How, under such conditions, can a person reach ¢uman- ina, tranquility or contentment, within himself? It is impos- sible, itis impossible! If you are on a vessel and it is full of passengers, and a big wind storm comes and the waves or the storm take some of the people on it, how can they be in tranquility? And this world now is like those people who are on a ship and a storm just comes on them and — woo-o0- oo!—taking them away, and no one is able to stop it or to protect himself. How can they be in peace? Even if they are not al the top of the ship, even if they are in their rooms, even in their rooms they do not feel tranquility in their souls, And now the whole world is in a position like a big vessel on the Atlantic and a storm is just coming on it. Eve- ryone is trembling. No tranquility, no contentment.
Once a famous shaykh, perhaps ‘Ubaidullah al-Ahrar Hazretleri, gaddas-Allalt sirruliu al-‘aliya,* may Allah bless
* (adds Allahu sirruhu al-aliya, may Allah sanctify his lofty secret,” the evocation for Muslim holy men and saints (avoliya),
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him, or some other one, was on a ship and a storm broke. All the mureeds” were just occupied with the safety of their lives, Only one person, he was sitting and keeping with himself a mangal, a brazier. And his shaykh came and said, “What are you doing? What are you doing?”
“I am guarding my shaykh’s fire.” “Look where your brothers are!”
He looked. All of them were sitting on air by their spiritual powers, not sitting on the ship.“ Only that one was sitting on the deck. And his shaykh said, “What are you doing?”
“O my shaykh, an-naru fakihat ush-shitta, fire is the food of winter. | am keeping this fire here so that it does not fall down and burn the entire ship.”
Then the shaykh said to the others who were sitting above, “Oh! What are you doing? From whom did you get that order to sit above, not to be on the ship?” And the shaykh looked with his spiritual power, and all of them— ooh-h!—just fell into the ocean.
When they had fallen into the ocean, not drowning, also, he said to them, “You are free people, free from the heaviness of your physical being. No need to go above and siton air. If you fall into the ocean, the ocean will not accept you, either. You can’t drown in it. Come and take your good manners from that one who never changed his posi-
"Disciples or followers of a shaykh or holy man,
“That is, so they would not go down with the ship, they wei
: re sitting on air,
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tion and is sitting on the ship. Take your good manners from him!”
Tumani, tranquility, in a difficult position, dangerous situation, is only by being with Allah. Those who are with Allah, no trouble for them, no problem for them, no danger for them, no fear for them, no hopelessness for them. And now we are saying that the whole world is in such a condi- tion. Only ahadt-n-nass, certain people who are never af- fected by what happens on earth, are exceptions because people are just occupied by material aspects, and material aspects make them feel unrestful, hopeless and fearful.
Yesterday they reached the top point of their pleasure. Today, they are just falling down from the highest point, falling ftom maximum to minimum—finished! And all the world’s people who were at the top point of their pleasure yesterday, today they are at the point of zero, below zero, except those who are with Allah. Others, they took their tickets from Shaytan’s vessel, and the shaytanic “Transatlan- tic’ brought them to a terrible and dangerous whirlpool. Those who are taking the vessel, the Ark of Noah, the Ark of Safety, Allah Almighty's vessel, they are very few...
Therefore, today is so normal for those people, and yes- terday was not any different. They are not saying that we lost yesterday's pleasures. No, normal life is running; rou- tine has not changed for them. But those people who come like this, “Al-N!” are falling down. And they are coming, saying, “Happy New Year!”
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[am saying, “It is not today. Tomorrow.” [Laughter.] “New year for me is tomorrow. Today is for you. Go away!” But they are not happy. For them, Happy New Year finished from midnight. Allahu Akbar!”
O people, it is a big Ocean of wisdoms They are giving us, that we may be able to control our desires, to put a limit on them. Without limits, what we are doing is harm-
ing us physically and spiritually.
A person was discussing about TV and saying to me, “O Shaykh, we want more freedom and we can’t find it through Islam. We are finding it through democracy.”
I am saying, “Pocracy!”*! a dirty-smelling system that is just locked down now, everywhere. No country has a key for opening and for cleaning that dirtiness that democracy is pouring on countries? I am asking, “What more freedom than this do you want? If you are want that freedom that is like New Year's midnight, it is impossible to continue it, and the second night, tonight, you can’t do it. You can’t bring it back, you can’t repeat it.” Yes; I am saying, “Why do you not repeat it tonight, also?”
*Allah is Most Great.
“Here and elsewhere, “They” refers to the departed high saints of the Nagshbandi Tariqah, from whom Shaykh Nazim’s inspirations are de- rived.
“'A play on the word democracy substituting it with a derogatory Turkish word.
“Through permitting unlimited freedom, BREATHS FROM BEYOND THE CURTAIN
They are saying, “O Shaykh, we are finished, physically finished, financially finished. From every direction, we are finished!”
“Last night you were so happy, and you thought that you had reached the peak of pleasure and enjoyment. Why do you not repeat it tonight?”
“Ttis difficult.”
“Anyone preventing you?”
“No. No one is preventing us but we are finished. We can fill our physical being and our minds for such a night once a year. We can’t repeat it.”
lamsaying, “Repeat it every month!” “No.”
"Three months!”
"No"
“Six months!”
“No.”
“Nine months!”
“No. Must be twelve months, once.
Yes, no hindrance for them to repeat it. The govern- ment is saying, “If you can do it, do. You are free.” But no,
noone. They are saying, “We are finished.”
We understand that democracy, which that foolish one was discussing with me and saying that democracy is the
most perfect system for nations, to give people their free- dom. And I was saying, “Why not use that freedom every
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night as you used it on New Year's midnight? Repeat it!” And they are such foolish ones, asking for that freedom every day, every hour. And I am saying, “Who is prevent- ing you now? Repeat it! Make it every night.”
Therefore, democracy, the system of complete freedom, may be a fully harmful system, first killing their spirituality, then taking their physical being and also breaking it, as a meat-grinding machine breaks meat with bones and it goes out. But people are still running after democracy. Yahu, it is not suitable! You can’t carry democracy for even two nights; you are waiting for one year to repeat it. How are you asking for that freedom and its activities to be every day, every hour, to give people mutlaq, absolute, freedom to do everything? No!
Therefore I am saying that IsI am is the
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