LIBERATING THE SOUL, Book 5 (Shaykh Nazim, 199 pages, 5/13)
https://www.nvrislam.net/index.php?j=eng&post=6091
ust use it;69 they can use it as a foundation, like the foundation of a builing. Then it is so easy to help them; we can give support to them. If not, we can’t do it. They must fall down into darkness and difficulty.
Jews have that cleanliness, also. If they have lost it, they are responsi- ble for losing the shari‘ah of Moses ¡.70 And Christians are not using that order. Every heavenly religion has ordered cleanliness; then divine support comes and they should be safe from misery. But a dirty person is cursed; as long as he walks about dirty, everything curses him. Don’t run away from wa- ter!
Those who are claiming to follow prophets must take more care of their steps because there are two poles on earth, good and bad poles. You
68The Declaration of Faith, “I bear witness that there is no deity except Allah, and I bear witness that Muhammad is His messenger [Ashhadu an la ilaha illa-Llah wa ashhadu anna Mu- hammadu-r-Rasul-Allah].”
69Islam prescribes ghusl (showering with wudu) as purification after sexual relations, wet dreams, and the termination of menstruation and postpartum bleeding.
70That is, what was prescribed in the original shari‘ah or divine Law revealed to Moses for the Israelites, which is, by extension, obligatory on all Jews and also on Christians, since Jesus saw was a prophet to the Israelites following the Mosaic Law.
must take more care. Our steps must be towards the good pole. You must control your steps, beginning with minutes till you reach twenty-four hours’ control. And if you are a believer, you must not be a liar, saying one thing with your tongue but your steps saying, “You are a liar!” The one who de- ceives us is not from our nation. Believers are not liars. ▲
17: PUTTING OUR LORD’S WILL FIRST, THEN MAKING OURSELVES FOLLOW HIS WILL
We are trying to make people understand the value of this life. If not understanding that, you can’t understand the value of the eternal life.
You must understand that mankind is not created for this life, but the Creator is creating them as divine deputies for an eternal life. When He honored us by making us candidates for deputies, it was not limited in time; it was an endless and unlimited honor.
Mankind are the most fortunate ones among creatures. Every creature in this world is just created to give benefit to mankind here and Hereafter. All creatures are glorifying the Lord and are happy at being in existence; they are keeping the purpose of their creation perfectly. Every creature is keeping the reason of its creation, following it, and never deviating from the purpose that Allah created it for. Only mankind are heedless about their creation and about their creation’s purpose.
Allah Almighty created everything for the service of mankind, and fi- nally it is all going to vanish. On the Day of Resurrection, mankind is going to carry responsibility and is going to be rewarded or punished. All others He is going to order to vanish and they will disappear in divine Power Oceans.
According to the honor that we have been given, we are carrying something of divine responsibility. We are thinking that we have will power and we can do everything as we like, but if everyone tries to do everything as he likes, he will finally regret it because his actions according to his de- sires are going to be punished here or Hereafter. Man must know that he is created to be his Lord’s deputy; he must follow his Lord’s divine desires and
Will. Then he will be successful in his life and reach real deputies’ stations in the Divine Presence.
Every time a person follows his desires against his Lord’s Will, he should be punished. If you try to put your will first, it is against His Will. He never likes His Will to be second and His servant’s will first. Who can think that it is good manners to put His servant’s will first and his Lord’s Will second?
Mankind’s suffering is mounting day by day and people are looking for a cure for their miseries, but they are looking only with a simple sheep’s vision. Mankind is accustomed to looking as sheep look at grass, never try- ing to look deeply at what is the reason, collectively and individually, for suffering.
It is so simple. All the prophets, from beginning to end, are trying to teach people, “O people, you are servants and He is the Lord. You must learn servanthood!” A simple waiter in Wimpy’s or Kentuky Fried Chicken or a pizza shop knows; he says, “Welcome! What would you like?” He does not bring something you don’t like and say, “You must eat or drink this.”
How are we servants? You are a waiter, also. Like you, he knows that he is serving you, learning good manners to serve you. If you go to the Hil- ton Hotel or the Park Hotel, they even do ruku’; if possible, making sajdah,71 also, so gentle and polite.
But we are saying for the Lord Almighty, “No! My will must go on!” Adam only once tried to put his will first and he was thrown out. But we are doing it every day one thousand times; then we are looking at books to find a way out economically or sociologically or psychologically. People are all going to be crazy from reading and not finding a way out. So simple: put your Lord’s Will first, then make yourself to follow His Will. Then He will make
71That is, to please their customers, they may figuratively bow (ruku’) and prostrate (make
sajdah), as in the Islamic prayer.
everything as you wish. He is saying, “You can’t reach My pleasure by fighting Me. I am irrisistible!”
There is a way you must know: O people, you must come to houses through their doors. Everyone comes through doors; if anyone comes another way, he is caught by the government. Allah says, “You must come to houses through their doors.”72 He means, “O people, you may reach goals through doors. Every goal has a way. You must know the way, the door.” If you want to go to America but the pilot flies to Turkey, can you reach America? Allah is not greedy, but you must know the way to ask. What is the best way?
Moses ¡, before revelation came to him, was a shepherd for a prophet, Shu’ayb saw. Once he was with his flock, coming to a valley full of wolves and wild animals. He became very sleepy; as much as he tried, he couldn’t make sleep go away. The Arabs say, “An-naum as-sultan.”73 You can’t defend yourself; sleep must win.
Moses ¡ was helpless. He fell down and said, “O my Lord, Your Will is first. I don’t want to sleep but You want it.”
He slept, and after a while he was rested and quickly stood up, fear- fully looking at what had happened to his flock. He saw a gigantic grey wolf, putting its stick under its shoulder and guarding the flock, other wolves never approaching, fearing so much. And Allah addressed Moses
¡: “If you are as I like, I am as you like.”
“Put your will down and let My Will go on. Then everything should be as you like.” You must say, “As You like,” for everything. That is the key for mankind to take troubles away. As long as you want everything to be as you like, nothing is going to be as you like all your life.
722:189.
73“Sleep is the ruler.”
Prophets didn’t come to make people be proud of empty titles; they taught people servanthood. The second part of the Shahadah says “‘Abduhu was rasulihu, His servant and messenger.”74 He has endless favors! ▲
74[“I bear witness that Muhammad is] His servant and His Messenger.”
18: CONCERNING FAMILIARITY
When the Last Days approach, time will run, passing quickly. We were waiting for the three holy months75 to come, and Rajab arrived and passed away and joined so many previous Rajabs. Sha‘ban also arrived and passed away, and Ramadan has also arrived and is quickly passing. Tonight is the fifteenth.
Grandshaykh Shah Naqshiband, the most important pillar of our Or- der, our Distinguished Naqshbandi Way, always repeated his Association to make his attenders more familiar with each other and with Almighty Allah. Association is the best way to reach familiarity between creatures, and then with the Lord Almighty. Prophets, all of them, did that.
Without talking to each other, people are wild animals, never going to agree. Egos never agree to be on the same level with others—impossible! If they are forced, they may do it, but inside, never agreeing. Everyone’s ego wants to be singular in its station, never wanting a partner. Therefore, ladies, if anyone wears the same dress, never agree; must put on a different one from others to be a special one.
Allah, the Creator, gives from His divine attributes to His deputies. He just created each one of mankind unique; no one is like other ones. Their forms and characteristics are all unique.
Each one of mankind represents one Holy Name of Allah; each one of mankind is trained, physically and spiritually, under one Holy Name of the Lord, Almighty Allah. As we are created different, everyone wants to be
75Rajab, Sha’ban and Ramadan.
singular in his state. But Allah is asking from mankind to be familiar. Even though they are unique, He wants them to be familiar with one other.
Mankind can’t live by themselves; we are created to live all together. Familiarity is one of the most important characteristics that we must try to acquire. Ego is wild, never wanting to be on the same level with others, escaping from being familiar with others. But we have been asked to reach familiarity with the Lord, Almighty Allah, and the way passes through being familiar with people. If you can be familiar with everyone, you may be fa- miliar with Almighty Allah.
Prophets, when they made Association with people, peoples’ hearts came in contact with the prophets’ hearts. It is not easy to bring hearts into contact with one heart; must be divine powers and sources so that at- tenders’ hearts can reach those prophets’ hearts and be familiar.
Prophethood is from the Heavens. Prophets can address the hearts of people, and it is impossible for open-hearted people not to be impressed by prophets’ hearts. Their hearts must affect the hearts of those people whose hearts are open and must have an impact on their hearts.
Simple people crowded around prophets, first because their nature is near to Nature, open, and quickly they were affected by prophets’ speech. The simple ones, women before men, were affected by prophets’ Associa- tions, their hearts easily opening. And when their hearts met, familiarity from the prophet went around that group.
The first step of faith in Islam is familiarity, planted into hearts, and an important condition is to like for others the same as you like for yourself. You can’t be a real, sincere believer until you want for others the same as you like for yourself. And if no familiarity, you can’t want the same things for others.
You must meet in the heart of a big one who has divine attraction in his heart because that comes from Allah Almighty. If not reaching to such a heart, you can’t be familiar with anyone. A simple one whose heart does not belong to the Lord can’t carry people. He must be a high-standard one whose heart belongs only to the Lord.
Therefore, Associations with prophets gathered open-hearted peo- ple—not like some people, who knew that there would come a great prophet but envy closed their hearts, and even Association with the Prophet saw never affected them. They said, “Our hearts are locked.76 As much as you may talk, it does not enter.” Impossible for a person to come open-hearted to the Seal of the Prophets and to be with him for even a second, and not to accept him and say Shahadah. Sayyidina ‘Umar for so many years locked his heart from listening to the Prophet , and the day that Allah blessed him and he embraced Islam, he came with an open heart.
Until our days, it was impossible for a holy one to speak and an open- hearted person not to accept. But if a person comes proud of his knowl- edge, proud of his mind, he comes not to accept anything but comes to make you accept something from himself. So many people are locking their hearts against tariqats; they can’t take anything. We are giving Association and one who comes with an open heart must accept. If not, leave him. The Prophet’s speech never affected Abu Lahab or Abu Jahl77 because both of them came with locked hearts.
No one can reach peace and satisfaction without reaching familiarity. If that familiarity, uns, does not come to someone, no peace; everyone dis- turbs that person, becoming like a thorn to him. And if you do not train under a holy man’s association, you can’t reach familiarity. Ordinary peo- ples’ standard never carries people but a big heart carries people. It is Al- lah’s attribute; He carries people.
Everyone who has the same attribute as Allah may carry [others]. Such a person takes from the Prophet’s heart familiarity and knowledge, and peoples’ hearts meet in his heart. Then people from that group be- come familiar with one other.
Important is not knowledge, but to transfer from heart to heart. I may speak from under the ground or from above the Heavens; important is to
762:88, 4:155, 41:5.
77The most bitter enemies of Islam and of the Holy Prophet saw.
be transferring from heart to heart. Don’t look at my words but at my transmission.
We are asking divine familiarity through His servants. And at the sec- ond step, familiarity runs to you from every creature and from you to them. Wild animals do not touch familiar people. They are obedient and show love to those people.
Once I was with Grandshaykh, traveling in the countryside. We passed by a farmhouse and a yellow dog came out with its tail curled like a scorpion. It reached Grandshaykh. He touched it, and that dog played on the ground and ran back. Grandshaykh said, “He recognized me, no stranger.” Even lions amidst deserts may come to those people who are familiar with their Lord.
Once ‘Abdullah ibn ‘Umar, the son of Sayyidina ‘Umar, may Allah bless them both, went to Hijaz for pilgrimage, going with a long caravan of camels. Then all of them stopped, and he asked, “What is the matter?”
They said, “A lion is lying in the way.”
Everyone was afraid. But he said, “Make my camel kneel down.” He got down and went to the lion. When he reached it, he took the lion by its ear and said, “Don’t be here! This is not the place for you. This is the way for hujjaj, pilgrims, to the Lord’s Holy House.”
You must be obedient and respectful, not quarreling with anyone. ▲
19: THE COMMON SICKNESS OF MANKIND: LOVE OF DUNYA
The Holy Qur’an is endless Oceans, from pre-eternity up to eternity. We may ask divine help [in understanding it] from Sayyidina Muhammad saw, because it was sent to him and he was the strongest one among creatures to be able to accept the holy words of Allah Almighty. No one else is able.
Allah, at the end of the holy month,78 gave His divine Message to all nations. He had given some revelations to the nations of earlier prophets but the Seal of the Prophets was sent for all nations. He was sent from among the children of Ishmael, but his prophethood is for all nations and for every period, for every time.
The most important book from the Heavens on earth is the Holy Qur’an, endless Knowledge Oceans and endless Wisdom Oceans. Anyone who needs anything, individually or nationally or universally, may find in it what he needs.
A question that is interesting to everyone: There are 6,666 verses in the Holy Qur’an, from beginning to end. And if anyone is asking what is the main teaching to people among those 6,666 verses, what the Holy Qur’an gives to people, what the Prophet wants to teach people, it is important to know something about the teachings of the Holy Qur’an.
If we are giving an answer, the Qur’an says to people, “O people, you are not created for dunya,79 but you are created for Maula”80—not for dunya,
78Referring to the fact that, the first revelation of the Qur’an came to the Holy Prophet saw
toward the end of Ramadan.
79This world.
because the Holy Qur’an gives a cure for the sickness of people and the sickness must be well-known in order to cure it. If you don’t know a sick- ness, no medicine.
The Lord Almighty knows well the sickness of His creatures. All peo- ple coming to this life, their sickness is the love of dunya. Tasteless pleas- ures surround a person as soon as he comes here and make him sick. Love of this life is a common sickness for common people; only a handful of people are not sick from it. Most people must be touched by that sickness.
Through traditions, we know that whenever a child is born, Satan is looking. And when a baby comes to this world from the womb of its mother in the form of sajdah81 and Satan sees that, he is very angry and slaps it, and the new baby cries. No one is safe from Satan’s slapping except prophets. That is the share of Satan in everyone, and that causes that sick- ness.
While growing up, everyone must have a share of that sickness and they need a cure, and all prophets came to cure people from that sickness. It causes all troubles, wars, fighting, quarreling—the love of this low, tem- porary life, the lowest standard of life; you can’t find anything lower than this life that we are in now. And we have been asked to reach to the high- est level of life; we have been asked, through awliya and prophets, to come to the highest level.
But that sickness is very difficult to cure. Some people may be in the beginning of that sickness, but if it comes, that sickness, over hearts, no more cure.
O people, you have been created for eternal life, not only for this low- est, temporary life. Imam al-Ghazali, one of the biggest, king-sized schol- ars, whose good ideas and wisdoms are well-known in Western countries, also, was saying, “O people, if you could choose between temporary and eternal life, and temporary life was in a world whose buildings were of gold and whose streets were silver, everything with precious stones and orna-
80God Almighty.
81That is, in the fetal position, which, when the baby is on its stomach, resembles sajdah.
ments (you can’t imagine anything so beautiful in this temporary life), and the other one, the eternal life, was like what you see here now, with stone buildings, what would be your choice—to enter this temporary life with gold and pleasures, or endless pleasure in an endless life with stone build- ings? Which would you choose?”
Some people’s heads are like footballs, nothing in them. If anything were inside, what would be their choice—to enter those dream cities or to live forever?
Reality is better than a dream. Better eternal life with this world’s conditions than golden cities. But now people are not thinking. Truly, no time for our people to think about anything. People are just occupied with temporary works and enjoyments, daytimes occupied by work and night- times with imitated pleasures, because each night, nightlife gets to be more tasteless.
That gives depression to people. If you do it from time to time, it is tasteful. But if you must sit at a table from morning up to night, forced to sit there, it may last half-an-hour for someone who has thirty-two teeth.82 Then, up to evening, twelve hours, what would he do?
People are not thinking. Every night your ‘factory’ is quickly making ready power for enjoyment, but if it is every night, it is going to be dis- pleasure. Yet they are making it obligatory; they must go every night. They feel that they are pushed, their feet only walking. They don’t feel any pleas- ure, they can’t have any taste.
The Prophet saw brought absolute wisdoms to mankind. He spoke a short sentence, four words in Arabic. Only a prophet could bring such jewels to mankind; common wisdom, but its application is for all. If man- kind can keep that, the whole world is going to be Paradise. “If you visit someone every day, he is going to be fed-up.”
82Shaykh Nazim adds parenthetically, “I may take one or two hours. I am taking one bite and seeing people finishing one plateful!”
He said, “You must visit from time to time. Then it increases love be- cause too frequently makes love to be less. From time to time.” You may make longer intervals; then love is going to increase. When the time is longer, better.
A dervish came to his shaykh from time to time. And his shaykh asked him, “O clever one, why don’t you come frequently?”
He said, “O my master, I don’t want to be told, ‘Don’t come fre- quently.’ That is the reason that is preventing me from coming daily.”
If you want to increase in love, you must make it from time to time; if the interval is longer, it makes you happier and gives more love. Allah ar- ranges everything to be from time to time. Even for ladies, to be more happy, He makes a period, a kind of fasting;83 it makes you to increase in love. Through the Holy Qur’an, everything has been arranged according to this measure—like praying times, making you to increase in desire for your Lord.
The Holy Qur’an teaches how to ask for eternal life at full speed. When you are wasting desire for the eternal life on this temporary life’s pleasures, it comes down. The more you ‘diet’ from this life, the more you have desire for the eternal life.
That carries you to the Lord’s pleasure. When you ask for endless pleasures, ask for eternal life. O people, be far away from the endless de- sires of this life; it is dangerous! If taking a handful from Niagara, it is enough. A thirsty one thinks he can drink all of it, but, no; it is physically impossible to reach every desire.
When you are asking for endless desires, Allah may create a spiritual body and power; then you may enjoy endlessly in Paradise through a line of power. Here are only batteries, not enough for all desires; they need chang-
83That is, because women do not pray, fast, read Qur’an or engage in marital relations during their menses, it is a kind of ‘fast’ from these obligations.
ing. Down below, when the battery is finished—finished! Youngsters must not be cheated, so that they can reach to endless desires.
Keep yourself within limits: establish permitted actions for your life and forbidden ones. Even if all people do haram, forbidden actions, it never does harm to Allah, but haram harms people. You can enjoy yourself with halal.84 Don’t run after haram! It makes you unhappy! ▲
84Haram—forbidden, prohibited; halal—permissible, lawful.
2O: MAKING ALL OUR ACTIONS FOR THE PLEAS- URE OF ALLAH
Bismillahi-r-Rahmani-r-Rahim. We are trying to do everything in Allah’s Holy Name. The Prophet saw said everything by the order of Allah Al- mighty, and he said, “O mankind, you must do everything for the Lord, Almighty Allah. Every action you do should begin with His Holy Name. A believer must try to make his actions important.”
He meant to say that useless actions are not good for a believer. Any- one who carries responsibility must be careful even about breathing. Then how can he do something useless, making him guilty? He must be careful not to be guilty because it is no good for a believer to come into the Divine Presence guilty.
Believers must think about their actions, to do them for the pleasure of Allah Almighty. When actions are important, there should be a benefit for himself and for others. And He orders believers, if it is important, to begin it for the sake of Allah or for the pleasure of Allah. Even you eat because He orders you to eat and drink, to support to your physical body for His service, for worshipping.
Our Grandshaykh, may Allah bless him, said, “By fighting his ego and by the way of dhikr, glorifying, a person may reach a level at which he is not in need of eating and drinking, at which his spiritual power carries him without eating and drinking.” But it is not a liked standard for awliya. If anyone had done that, it would have been the Prophet saw. He would go one or three days without eating, but he prevented anyone from trying that, say- ing, “I am eating in the Divine Presence, but you can’t.”
In seclusion, our Grandshaykh was not in need of eating and drinking. When he was in Medina, also, and I was in his service, I ate and drank what he gave to me, but he did not eat.
When he was at that level, refusing to eat or drink, Shaykh Sharafuddin sent for him. He said, “I know you don’t have to eat and you have no pain, never feel thirsty or hungry, but I am ordering you to eat and drink. Up to the end of your life, you have enough power from your souI, but I am or- dering you to eat and drink and give shukr, thanks, for these favors.”
Even in eating and drinking, people must consider their Lord’s pleas- ure. Now in this holy month, we are not eating and drinking, but at break- fast time, iftar, too much pleasure! You must try to do that action in the name of Allah.
Don’t eat and drink only for the pleasure of your ego! Throw ego back; be with your Lord, not with ego. If you are with ego, always punishment, ter- rible
Link: https://www.nvrislam.net/index.php?j=eng&post=6091
ust use it;69 they can use it as a foundation, like the foundation of a builing. Then it is so easy to help them; we can give support to them. If not, we can’t do it. They must fall down into darkness and difficulty.
Jews have that cleanliness, also. If they have lost it, they are responsi- ble for losing the shari‘ah of Moses ¡.70 And Christians are not using that order. Every heavenly religion has ordered cleanliness; then divine support comes and they should be safe from misery. But a dirty person is cursed; as long as he walks about dirty, everything curses him. Don’t run away from wa- ter!
Those who are claiming to follow prophets must take more care of their steps because there are two poles on earth, good and bad poles. You
68The Declaration of Faith, “I bear witness that there is no deity except Allah, and I bear witness that Muhammad is His messenger [Ashhadu an la ilaha illa-Llah wa ashhadu anna Mu- hammadu-r-Rasul-Allah].”
69Islam prescribes ghusl (showering with wudu) as purification after sexual relations, wet dreams, and the termination of menstruation and postpartum bleeding.
70That is, what was prescribed in the original shari‘ah or divine Law revealed to Moses for the Israelites, which is, by extension, obligatory on all Jews and also on Christians, since Jesus saw was a prophet to the Israelites following the Mosaic Law.
must take more care. Our steps must be towards the good pole. You must control your steps, beginning with minutes till you reach twenty-four hours’ control. And if you are a believer, you must not be a liar, saying one thing with your tongue but your steps saying, “You are a liar!” The one who de- ceives us is not from our nation. Believers are not liars. ▲
17: PUTTING OUR LORD’S WILL FIRST, THEN MAKING OURSELVES FOLLOW HIS WILL
We are trying to make people understand the value of this life. If not understanding that, you can’t understand the value of the eternal life.
You must understand that mankind is not created for this life, but the Creator is creating them as divine deputies for an eternal life. When He honored us by making us candidates for deputies, it was not limited in time; it was an endless and unlimited honor.
Mankind are the most fortunate ones among creatures. Every creature in this world is just created to give benefit to mankind here and Hereafter. All creatures are glorifying the Lord and are happy at being in existence; they are keeping the purpose of their creation perfectly. Every creature is keeping the reason of its creation, following it, and never deviating from the purpose that Allah created it for. Only mankind are heedless about their creation and about their creation’s purpose.
Allah Almighty created everything for the service of mankind, and fi- nally it is all going to vanish. On the Day of Resurrection, mankind is going to carry responsibility and is going to be rewarded or punished. All others He is going to order to vanish and they will disappear in divine Power Oceans.
According to the honor that we have been given, we are carrying something of divine responsibility. We are thinking that we have will power and we can do everything as we like, but if everyone tries to do everything as he likes, he will finally regret it because his actions according to his de- sires are going to be punished here or Hereafter. Man must know that he is created to be his Lord’s deputy; he must follow his Lord’s divine desires and
Will. Then he will be successful in his life and reach real deputies’ stations in the Divine Presence.
Every time a person follows his desires against his Lord’s Will, he should be punished. If you try to put your will first, it is against His Will. He never likes His Will to be second and His servant’s will first. Who can think that it is good manners to put His servant’s will first and his Lord’s Will second?
Mankind’s suffering is mounting day by day and people are looking for a cure for their miseries, but they are looking only with a simple sheep’s vision. Mankind is accustomed to looking as sheep look at grass, never try- ing to look deeply at what is the reason, collectively and individually, for suffering.
It is so simple. All the prophets, from beginning to end, are trying to teach people, “O people, you are servants and He is the Lord. You must learn servanthood!” A simple waiter in Wimpy’s or Kentuky Fried Chicken or a pizza shop knows; he says, “Welcome! What would you like?” He does not bring something you don’t like and say, “You must eat or drink this.”
How are we servants? You are a waiter, also. Like you, he knows that he is serving you, learning good manners to serve you. If you go to the Hil- ton Hotel or the Park Hotel, they even do ruku’; if possible, making sajdah,71 also, so gentle and polite.
But we are saying for the Lord Almighty, “No! My will must go on!” Adam only once tried to put his will first and he was thrown out. But we are doing it every day one thousand times; then we are looking at books to find a way out economically or sociologically or psychologically. People are all going to be crazy from reading and not finding a way out. So simple: put your Lord’s Will first, then make yourself to follow His Will. Then He will make
71That is, to please their customers, they may figuratively bow (ruku’) and prostrate (make
sajdah), as in the Islamic prayer.
everything as you wish. He is saying, “You can’t reach My pleasure by fighting Me. I am irrisistible!”
There is a way you must know: O people, you must come to houses through their doors. Everyone comes through doors; if anyone comes another way, he is caught by the government. Allah says, “You must come to houses through their doors.”72 He means, “O people, you may reach goals through doors. Every goal has a way. You must know the way, the door.” If you want to go to America but the pilot flies to Turkey, can you reach America? Allah is not greedy, but you must know the way to ask. What is the best way?
Moses ¡, before revelation came to him, was a shepherd for a prophet, Shu’ayb saw. Once he was with his flock, coming to a valley full of wolves and wild animals. He became very sleepy; as much as he tried, he couldn’t make sleep go away. The Arabs say, “An-naum as-sultan.”73 You can’t defend yourself; sleep must win.
Moses ¡ was helpless. He fell down and said, “O my Lord, Your Will is first. I don’t want to sleep but You want it.”
He slept, and after a while he was rested and quickly stood up, fear- fully looking at what had happened to his flock. He saw a gigantic grey wolf, putting its stick under its shoulder and guarding the flock, other wolves never approaching, fearing so much. And Allah addressed Moses
¡: “If you are as I like, I am as you like.”
“Put your will down and let My Will go on. Then everything should be as you like.” You must say, “As You like,” for everything. That is the key for mankind to take troubles away. As long as you want everything to be as you like, nothing is going to be as you like all your life.
722:189.
73“Sleep is the ruler.”
Prophets didn’t come to make people be proud of empty titles; they taught people servanthood. The second part of the Shahadah says “‘Abduhu was rasulihu, His servant and messenger.”74 He has endless favors! ▲
74[“I bear witness that Muhammad is] His servant and His Messenger.”
18: CONCERNING FAMILIARITY
When the Last Days approach, time will run, passing quickly. We were waiting for the three holy months75 to come, and Rajab arrived and passed away and joined so many previous Rajabs. Sha‘ban also arrived and passed away, and Ramadan has also arrived and is quickly passing. Tonight is the fifteenth.
Grandshaykh Shah Naqshiband, the most important pillar of our Or- der, our Distinguished Naqshbandi Way, always repeated his Association to make his attenders more familiar with each other and with Almighty Allah. Association is the best way to reach familiarity between creatures, and then with the Lord Almighty. Prophets, all of them, did that.
Without talking to each other, people are wild animals, never going to agree. Egos never agree to be on the same level with others—impossible! If they are forced, they may do it, but inside, never agreeing. Everyone’s ego wants to be singular in its station, never wanting a partner. Therefore, ladies, if anyone wears the same dress, never agree; must put on a different one from others to be a special one.
Allah, the Creator, gives from His divine attributes to His deputies. He just created each one of mankind unique; no one is like other ones. Their forms and characteristics are all unique.
Each one of mankind represents one Holy Name of Allah; each one of mankind is trained, physically and spiritually, under one Holy Name of the Lord, Almighty Allah. As we are created different, everyone wants to be
75Rajab, Sha’ban and Ramadan.
singular in his state. But Allah is asking from mankind to be familiar. Even though they are unique, He wants them to be familiar with one other.
Mankind can’t live by themselves; we are created to live all together. Familiarity is one of the most important characteristics that we must try to acquire. Ego is wild, never wanting to be on the same level with others, escaping from being familiar with others. But we have been asked to reach familiarity with the Lord, Almighty Allah, and the way passes through being familiar with people. If you can be familiar with everyone, you may be fa- miliar with Almighty Allah.
Prophets, when they made Association with people, peoples’ hearts came in contact with the prophets’ hearts. It is not easy to bring hearts into contact with one heart; must be divine powers and sources so that at- tenders’ hearts can reach those prophets’ hearts and be familiar.
Prophethood is from the Heavens. Prophets can address the hearts of people, and it is impossible for open-hearted people not to be impressed by prophets’ hearts. Their hearts must affect the hearts of those people whose hearts are open and must have an impact on their hearts.
Simple people crowded around prophets, first because their nature is near to Nature, open, and quickly they were affected by prophets’ speech. The simple ones, women before men, were affected by prophets’ Associa- tions, their hearts easily opening. And when their hearts met, familiarity from the prophet went around that group.
The first step of faith in Islam is familiarity, planted into hearts, and an important condition is to like for others the same as you like for yourself. You can’t be a real, sincere believer until you want for others the same as you like for yourself. And if no familiarity, you can’t want the same things for others.
You must meet in the heart of a big one who has divine attraction in his heart because that comes from Allah Almighty. If not reaching to such a heart, you can’t be familiar with anyone. A simple one whose heart does not belong to the Lord can’t carry people. He must be a high-standard one whose heart belongs only to the Lord.
Therefore, Associations with prophets gathered open-hearted peo- ple—not like some people, who knew that there would come a great prophet but envy closed their hearts, and even Association with the Prophet saw never affected them. They said, “Our hearts are locked.76 As much as you may talk, it does not enter.” Impossible for a person to come open-hearted to the Seal of the Prophets and to be with him for even a second, and not to accept him and say Shahadah. Sayyidina ‘Umar for so many years locked his heart from listening to the Prophet , and the day that Allah blessed him and he embraced Islam, he came with an open heart.
Until our days, it was impossible for a holy one to speak and an open- hearted person not to accept. But if a person comes proud of his knowl- edge, proud of his mind, he comes not to accept anything but comes to make you accept something from himself. So many people are locking their hearts against tariqats; they can’t take anything. We are giving Association and one who comes with an open heart must accept. If not, leave him. The Prophet’s speech never affected Abu Lahab or Abu Jahl77 because both of them came with locked hearts.
No one can reach peace and satisfaction without reaching familiarity. If that familiarity, uns, does not come to someone, no peace; everyone dis- turbs that person, becoming like a thorn to him. And if you do not train under a holy man’s association, you can’t reach familiarity. Ordinary peo- ples’ standard never carries people but a big heart carries people. It is Al- lah’s attribute; He carries people.
Everyone who has the same attribute as Allah may carry [others]. Such a person takes from the Prophet’s heart familiarity and knowledge, and peoples’ hearts meet in his heart. Then people from that group be- come familiar with one other.
Important is not knowledge, but to transfer from heart to heart. I may speak from under the ground or from above the Heavens; important is to
762:88, 4:155, 41:5.
77The most bitter enemies of Islam and of the Holy Prophet saw.
be transferring from heart to heart. Don’t look at my words but at my transmission.
We are asking divine familiarity through His servants. And at the sec- ond step, familiarity runs to you from every creature and from you to them. Wild animals do not touch familiar people. They are obedient and show love to those people.
Once I was with Grandshaykh, traveling in the countryside. We passed by a farmhouse and a yellow dog came out with its tail curled like a scorpion. It reached Grandshaykh. He touched it, and that dog played on the ground and ran back. Grandshaykh said, “He recognized me, no stranger.” Even lions amidst deserts may come to those people who are familiar with their Lord.
Once ‘Abdullah ibn ‘Umar, the son of Sayyidina ‘Umar, may Allah bless them both, went to Hijaz for pilgrimage, going with a long caravan of camels. Then all of them stopped, and he asked, “What is the matter?”
They said, “A lion is lying in the way.”
Everyone was afraid. But he said, “Make my camel kneel down.” He got down and went to the lion. When he reached it, he took the lion by its ear and said, “Don’t be here! This is not the place for you. This is the way for hujjaj, pilgrims, to the Lord’s Holy House.”
You must be obedient and respectful, not quarreling with anyone. ▲
19: THE COMMON SICKNESS OF MANKIND: LOVE OF DUNYA
The Holy Qur’an is endless Oceans, from pre-eternity up to eternity. We may ask divine help [in understanding it] from Sayyidina Muhammad saw, because it was sent to him and he was the strongest one among creatures to be able to accept the holy words of Allah Almighty. No one else is able.
Allah, at the end of the holy month,78 gave His divine Message to all nations. He had given some revelations to the nations of earlier prophets but the Seal of the Prophets was sent for all nations. He was sent from among the children of Ishmael, but his prophethood is for all nations and for every period, for every time.
The most important book from the Heavens on earth is the Holy Qur’an, endless Knowledge Oceans and endless Wisdom Oceans. Anyone who needs anything, individually or nationally or universally, may find in it what he needs.
A question that is interesting to everyone: There are 6,666 verses in the Holy Qur’an, from beginning to end. And if anyone is asking what is the main teaching to people among those 6,666 verses, what the Holy Qur’an gives to people, what the Prophet wants to teach people, it is important to know something about the teachings of the Holy Qur’an.
If we are giving an answer, the Qur’an says to people, “O people, you are not created for dunya,79 but you are created for Maula”80—not for dunya,
78Referring to the fact that, the first revelation of the Qur’an came to the Holy Prophet saw
toward the end of Ramadan.
79This world.
because the Holy Qur’an gives a cure for the sickness of people and the sickness must be well-known in order to cure it. If you don’t know a sick- ness, no medicine.
The Lord Almighty knows well the sickness of His creatures. All peo- ple coming to this life, their sickness is the love of dunya. Tasteless pleas- ures surround a person as soon as he comes here and make him sick. Love of this life is a common sickness for common people; only a handful of people are not sick from it. Most people must be touched by that sickness.
Through traditions, we know that whenever a child is born, Satan is looking. And when a baby comes to this world from the womb of its mother in the form of sajdah81 and Satan sees that, he is very angry and slaps it, and the new baby cries. No one is safe from Satan’s slapping except prophets. That is the share of Satan in everyone, and that causes that sick- ness.
While growing up, everyone must have a share of that sickness and they need a cure, and all prophets came to cure people from that sickness. It causes all troubles, wars, fighting, quarreling—the love of this low, tem- porary life, the lowest standard of life; you can’t find anything lower than this life that we are in now. And we have been asked to reach to the high- est level of life; we have been asked, through awliya and prophets, to come to the highest level.
But that sickness is very difficult to cure. Some people may be in the beginning of that sickness, but if it comes, that sickness, over hearts, no more cure.
O people, you have been created for eternal life, not only for this low- est, temporary life. Imam al-Ghazali, one of the biggest, king-sized schol- ars, whose good ideas and wisdoms are well-known in Western countries, also, was saying, “O people, if you could choose between temporary and eternal life, and temporary life was in a world whose buildings were of gold and whose streets were silver, everything with precious stones and orna-
80God Almighty.
81That is, in the fetal position, which, when the baby is on its stomach, resembles sajdah.
ments (you can’t imagine anything so beautiful in this temporary life), and the other one, the eternal life, was like what you see here now, with stone buildings, what would be your choice—to enter this temporary life with gold and pleasures, or endless pleasure in an endless life with stone build- ings? Which would you choose?”
Some people’s heads are like footballs, nothing in them. If anything were inside, what would be their choice—to enter those dream cities or to live forever?
Reality is better than a dream. Better eternal life with this world’s conditions than golden cities. But now people are not thinking. Truly, no time for our people to think about anything. People are just occupied with temporary works and enjoyments, daytimes occupied by work and night- times with imitated pleasures, because each night, nightlife gets to be more tasteless.
That gives depression to people. If you do it from time to time, it is tasteful. But if you must sit at a table from morning up to night, forced to sit there, it may last half-an-hour for someone who has thirty-two teeth.82 Then, up to evening, twelve hours, what would he do?
People are not thinking. Every night your ‘factory’ is quickly making ready power for enjoyment, but if it is every night, it is going to be dis- pleasure. Yet they are making it obligatory; they must go every night. They feel that they are pushed, their feet only walking. They don’t feel any pleas- ure, they can’t have any taste.
The Prophet saw brought absolute wisdoms to mankind. He spoke a short sentence, four words in Arabic. Only a prophet could bring such jewels to mankind; common wisdom, but its application is for all. If man- kind can keep that, the whole world is going to be Paradise. “If you visit someone every day, he is going to be fed-up.”
82Shaykh Nazim adds parenthetically, “I may take one or two hours. I am taking one bite and seeing people finishing one plateful!”
He said, “You must visit from time to time. Then it increases love be- cause too frequently makes love to be less. From time to time.” You may make longer intervals; then love is going to increase. When the time is longer, better.
A dervish came to his shaykh from time to time. And his shaykh asked him, “O clever one, why don’t you come frequently?”
He said, “O my master, I don’t want to be told, ‘Don’t come fre- quently.’ That is the reason that is preventing me from coming daily.”
If you want to increase in love, you must make it from time to time; if the interval is longer, it makes you happier and gives more love. Allah ar- ranges everything to be from time to time. Even for ladies, to be more happy, He makes a period, a kind of fasting;83 it makes you to increase in love. Through the Holy Qur’an, everything has been arranged according to this measure—like praying times, making you to increase in desire for your Lord.
The Holy Qur’an teaches how to ask for eternal life at full speed. When you are wasting desire for the eternal life on this temporary life’s pleasures, it comes down. The more you ‘diet’ from this life, the more you have desire for the eternal life.
That carries you to the Lord’s pleasure. When you ask for endless pleasures, ask for eternal life. O people, be far away from the endless de- sires of this life; it is dangerous! If taking a handful from Niagara, it is enough. A thirsty one thinks he can drink all of it, but, no; it is physically impossible to reach every desire.
When you are asking for endless desires, Allah may create a spiritual body and power; then you may enjoy endlessly in Paradise through a line of power. Here are only batteries, not enough for all desires; they need chang-
83That is, because women do not pray, fast, read Qur’an or engage in marital relations during their menses, it is a kind of ‘fast’ from these obligations.
ing. Down below, when the battery is finished—finished! Youngsters must not be cheated, so that they can reach to endless desires.
Keep yourself within limits: establish permitted actions for your life and forbidden ones. Even if all people do haram, forbidden actions, it never does harm to Allah, but haram harms people. You can enjoy yourself with halal.84 Don’t run after haram! It makes you unhappy! ▲
84Haram—forbidden, prohibited; halal—permissible, lawful.
2O: MAKING ALL OUR ACTIONS FOR THE PLEAS- URE OF ALLAH
Bismillahi-r-Rahmani-r-Rahim. We are trying to do everything in Allah’s Holy Name. The Prophet saw said everything by the order of Allah Al- mighty, and he said, “O mankind, you must do everything for the Lord, Almighty Allah. Every action you do should begin with His Holy Name. A believer must try to make his actions important.”
He meant to say that useless actions are not good for a believer. Any- one who carries responsibility must be careful even about breathing. Then how can he do something useless, making him guilty? He must be careful not to be guilty because it is no good for a believer to come into the Divine Presence guilty.
Believers must think about their actions, to do them for the pleasure of Allah Almighty. When actions are important, there should be a benefit for himself and for others. And He orders believers, if it is important, to begin it for the sake of Allah or for the pleasure of Allah. Even you eat because He orders you to eat and drink, to support to your physical body for His service, for worshipping.
Our Grandshaykh, may Allah bless him, said, “By fighting his ego and by the way of dhikr, glorifying, a person may reach a level at which he is not in need of eating and drinking, at which his spiritual power carries him without eating and drinking.” But it is not a liked standard for awliya. If anyone had done that, it would have been the Prophet saw. He would go one or three days without eating, but he prevented anyone from trying that, say- ing, “I am eating in the Divine Presence, but you can’t.”
In seclusion, our Grandshaykh was not in need of eating and drinking. When he was in Medina, also, and I was in his service, I ate and drank what he gave to me, but he did not eat.
When he was at that level, refusing to eat or drink, Shaykh Sharafuddin sent for him. He said, “I know you don’t have to eat and you have no pain, never feel thirsty or hungry, but I am ordering you to eat and drink. Up to the end of your life, you have enough power from your souI, but I am or- dering you to eat and drink and give shukr, thanks, for these favors.”
Even in eating and drinking, people must consider their Lord’s pleas- ure. Now in this holy month, we are not eating and drinking, but at break- fast time, iftar, too much pleasure! You must try to do that action in the name of Allah.
Don’t eat and drink only for the pleasure of your ego! Throw ego back; be with your Lord, not with ego. If you are with ego, always punishment, ter- rible
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