Mercy Oceans, Book 10 (239 pages, 9/21)
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rson," coming in this way and saying something good about us that our egos like. If anyone makes a high rank for our egos, they become like this, like a turkey. You
know a turkey? Comes like this, sometimes looking at himself, preening; to be proud anong the hens, he goes like this.
Satan has a long elephant trunk. If you are ghafil, heedless, he puts it into your heart and blows. Then you are going to be bigger than your capacity; little by little you will fill the whole world, even the whole universe: you are a worshipper, you are an obedient servant, you fast, you pray, you are a Muslim, you are a believer. He comes and says to you, "You are a doctor (we forgot to mention doctors), a Doctor of Shari'ah; you are a big 'alim, learned person, " and as we learn more, we grow bigger, becoming like a balloon. And yet our Prophet, p.b.u.h., came, saying, "I sit as slaves sit and I eat as slaves eat," teaching us humbleness.
Every knowledge that we gain must take away something from our ego so that nothing remains with us, so that we become like dust; but, instead, we use our knowledge and our worshipping as the means of being proud. That is an illness of our egos in our time. Satan comes from that side, saying, "You are a learned person, you are a worshipper, you are a good servant," making us proud, while all the prophets came to teach us to be humble. As we are trying to be something, they are calling to us, "Be nothing. But our egos are never going to be satisfied to be nothing, never; they want to be something, and in our time everyone is happy when he is going to be something. "Who is that person?" "That is such-and-such. He is important!"
Everyone makes some rank, some status, for himself so that there may be a rank, a position, for him among people, also. But the Shari'ah came to make us be nothing; if you are something, you can't enter the Divine Presence with something. Therefore Allah Almighty called to Moses, p.b.u.h., when he came to Mount Sinai, saying, "Fakhla' na'laik76, take off your shoes."
You understand? That word is addressed to everyone who takes something with him. "Take it off," Allah Almighty says. "You must be satisfied to be nothing." When you come and say, "I am nothing," then He gives to you. If you say, "I am something," He leaves you with yourself to be "some thing".
We are trying to be nothing, but people are asking to be something, and then, after being something, they are asking to be the whole thing. Pride, to be proud - it is a worm, eating up our faith. Some years ago there was a worm in England eating up trees, gigantic trees coming down eaten by a very small worm. That pride is like such a worm, eating away our faith.
For what are we saying this? If you are going to be Allah Almighty's friend, you must be a friend to everyone, and you can't be a friend to everyone if
76 XX:10-12, containing the account of Moses' call to prophethood
you are proud. And we want to take that pride from ourselves; then we may be friends to everyone - to everyone.
In England people are friends to animals more than to people: yes. They are stepping on the wrong place. First you must be a friend to every person and then, at the second step, it is all right to be a friend to animals. And animals are going to be friends to you by the order of their Lord Almighty. In the past Grandsheikh would order his murids into khalwah, seclusion, and to test whether they were all right or not, he would say to them, "Go out now." When a murid went out, if birds came to him, if hens and turkeys and geese ran after him, he was all right; he was a friend of his Lord, and every animal would run after him, looking at him as our Lord's friend. Therefore the first step which is important is to be a friend to everyone. Then you may be the friend of animals if they understand about you.
Rabi'at al-Adawiyah, the famous lady saint of Islam, was sitting in the desert making dhikr, and geese were sitting with her. Once Hasan al-Basri, may Allah bless him, came and saw that geese were sitting around Rabi'ah.
When they saw him, they ran away. "O Rabi'ah, why are they running away?" he asked.
"Perhaps they can smell that you eat from their flesh," she said. That is divine familiarity, friendship. If you are in friendship with Allah
Almighty, animals will come to you. But the first step is that you must be a friend of your Lord's servants.
There are two kinds of servants. One of them accepts - accepts that he is a servant. Some others run away, not saying, "We are servants," even though they are servants. You must consider both of them as your Lord's servants, and you must train yourself to be a servant to every servant of your Lord who is doing His service, whether he is worshipping or not.
That is an important point. If we know it, peace and pleasure and mercy will cover the whole world. As long as we do not know this wisdom, fighting will continue, wars will continue, people will destroy each other, and enmity, endless enmity, will exist among people.
GIVING YOUR HELP TO OTHERS
We have four seasons in our lives. First, springtime comes; second, summertime; the third season, autumn; the fourth one, winter. So many people may go during springtime, at the beginning or the middle or the end.
Some people come to summertime, also; at the beginning or the middle or the end of summer, they may go. Some people come to autumn; yes. Mr. Stanley (a visitor) is in autumn now. Some people go away at the beginning or middle or end of autumn. Then, a very few people come to wintertime. In wintertime, also, some people go at the beginning, some people go in the middle, but most must go at the end of wintertime. This is our life.
Now, for the whole world, also, there is a period with four seasons. Springtime went away. Summertime went away. Autumntime went away. We are now in the final season, the winter season, of the whole world.
Allah Almighty, the Creator, created the universe, and in all the universe He prepared this planet to be for the Sons of Adam. No one can look and see any other planet on which there are Sons of Adam or any other creatures, no; they are only imagining something. He prepared this planet, Dunya, this world, to be the residence, the landing-place, of the Sons of Adam, and we believe that Adam and Eve landed on this planet from Heaven. And every one of the People of the Book77 believes that Adam and Eve came from Heaven and landed on this earth.
First man, Adam; first prophet, Adam. The last prophet is Muhammad, p.b.u.h., and between the first and the last, Allah Almighty sent 124,000 prophets. It means that when the last one has come, we are now in wintertime; that period is going to be ended because for every beginning there must be an ending. Allah Almighty made a beginning for the Sons of Adam on earth, and He is also going to make an end for the Sons of Adam on earth. Therefore we know, according to holy books and in particular the last holy book, the Holy Qur'an, that we are in the final part of this world's life. And we are, step by step, approaching the last station.
Now, what is important for believers - for anyone who believes in the Last Day, for anyone who believes in the Last Judgment, for anyone who believes that for every action there must be an effect on its doer in the next life and that we are going to see the effects of our actions on Judgment day? We believe that we shall see every action, whether of goodness or of badness, and, whether of goodness or of badness, we shall be pleased or we shall be sorry about that action. Who is going to be pleased with his action?
All the prophets came to teach us what thing makes a person pleased on Judgment Day, so that we may keep that way and that action, and what
77 Ahl al-Kitab, a term used in the Holy Qur'an for the peoples of the earlier God- centered faiths which originated, like Islam, in divine revelation, namely, Judaism and Christianity. The term implies a special relationship and special bonds which unite Muslims with the peoples of the earlier monotheistic faiths, as their source is one and the same
makes people weep, to ask to return again to this life - what actions make their doers sorry. All prophets just came to give that knowledge, to teach people concerning that point, not to classify people - those are Christians, those Jews, those Muslims, those another kind; no. Titles are not important but actions are important.
But we do not understand; even in this time, ignorance is common for people. They think that titles give benefit in the Divine Presence on the Day of Judgment. No benefit! Your title can continue only up to the time that your coffin is brought to a holy place - to a mosque, to a church, to a synagogue; up to there your title goes on, but after that it stops. So we must ask for titles which may continue with us up to the Day of Judgment and give us benefit on that day.
Therefore, don't be cheated by titles. All titles are going to be nothing except that title which your Lord gives you - not from people, not from this world; no. But your Lord's titles are not like a medal, put here or here, on your shoulders or on your chest. He gives you from His titles, and they are on your heart and on your face.
Sometimes we shine. Therefore Christians make pictures of prophets or of saints, and they put lights around their faces, haloes, so that anyone who is not blind can see their light. But a blind person cannot see even the -- sun in the daytime; he cannot look at a face and see its light. ,
Therefore, people are of two kinds or groups. One group can see with these eyes and the others see with their hearts. Therefore, for prophets, who are the best quality among the Sons of Adam, most people in their times rejected them, saying, "You are the worst people." Every prophet was attacked by devils, by evil people. Prophets are the best quality. - precious diamonds they are; but so many people who looked only with these eyes said such things. But those people who looked at them with their hearts' eyes said, "Oh-h! You are beloved people of our Lord," accepting and believing in them.
Yes. all the Sons of Adam are in two groups, in two camps. In one camp are believers, in the other unbelievers. Unbelievers are blind people, never seeing light; for divine lights, they are unable to see. And prophets and saints have lights from Allah Almighty. What are they saying to us about what it is important for people to do? Which action gives us benefit on the Day of Judgment? We must know it.
There are so many actions which give us benefit, but some things we may do give benefit to ourselves and some give benefit to others. One of these belongs to you, remains for you, while some actions benefit other people.
Now we will look at which of them is more lovely to our Lord: to work for yourself or to work for others.
Yes, it is good to do good actions for yourself, actions whose benefit returns to you, but actions which give benefit to others - those are excellent and more lovely to our Lord. You must know this.
To do charities for others, to think about others, that is excellent. Therefore, all the prophets came to give charities or to teach people to give benefit to others, and they bore every kind of suffering from people but yet they gave. Every saint, every wali, thinks of giving benefit to others and forgets himself; their pleasure is in giving benefit to others, not to themselves.
They can give to themselves. That is good, but the best and most excellent thing is to give your benefit to others. Therefore, it is our beloved Prophet's most high attribute, most important and lovely attribute in the Divine Presence, that he never asked anything for himself; he never said, "For me." Each time he would say, "Ummati, ummati" - for my nation, for my nation, o my Lord - never asking anything for himself but only asking for his nation.
That is the highest point that gives honour to Muhammad, p.b.u.h., the Seal of the Prophets, in the Divine Presence. And we must follow his way and must prefer others' benefit over our own.
Don't take everything for yourself instead of giving! As much as people in our time want everything for themselves, crises are mounting, not lessening.
Everyone wants everything for himself; even if someone is given the whole world with its treasures, he asks for more, not saying "Enough"; no. For everything that a person may take pleasure from, he says, "That should be for me. That for me, this for me," like a little child, when you take his hand and go into a toy shop, looking and keeping this all for me.
We are little boys. We want the whole world to be for ourselves, not for anyone else. That is the reason for the crises and sufferings of people in the twentieth century, nothing else. We have left the teachings of the prophets, the ways of the saints; finished. It is impossible for such people to save themselves from suffering. As much as Allah Almighty pours His favours upon them, they are not satisfied. Yes; we have everything but we are not yet satisfied.
We must follow the ways of the prophets and particularly the way of the Last Prophet, p.b.u.h. It is enough for all nations to make him their guide only because of one single matter: that he said, "For my nation," and never said, "For myself"; that he always said, "For others, for everyone, ". but never, "For me."
That is enough for all the world, for anyone who can think about the Last Prophet, the Seal of the Prophets, p.b.u.h., showing that he is on the right, he is on the truth. No need of anything else, to ask anything more. If a person says such a thing and guides people according to it, for what are we asking anything else? It is enough. He advises us, "O people, everyone works for others. Then this world will be Paradise - yes." But everyone is asking only for his own pleasure, and his pleasure and his desires are unlimited; you can't find any limit to stop them.
Therefore Allah Almighty likes the one who works for others, who gives benefit to others, who gives charity to others. Then Allah Almighty says, "The one who works for My servants, for the sake of My servants - I am his Guarantor, and, more than Guarantor, I am also his Supporter." Not good?
For what are you asking more than this? Allah Almighty is going to be your Guarantor and Supporter! Who can bring you down?
But we do not believe; we only read but we do not believe. Our beliefs are here (on our tongues), not coming here (in our hearts). That is the reason for the illness of the twentieth century's people. Everyone is making claims.
Christians are claiming, "We believe," doing like this to Jesus Christ, to Mary, to the saints, coming like this on their knees. Only here (on the tongue).
Muslims, also; most of them are talking from here, not from here. Every kind of people - they read, they say good words, but from their hearts they are not doing anything; yes. If they say, "You are wrong, Sheikh, you are wrong" - if I am wrong, then where is your Lord's support for the Muslim world, or where is your Lord's support for the Christian world? Half of them are unbelievers. Where is it? Give me a proof. "Bring your evidence78, "* Allah Almighty says. There is evidence? No!
"Wa Allahu fi 'auna-l-'abd na dāma-l-'abdu fi 'auni akhihi" 79- this saying is from the Prophet, the Seal of the Prophets,;p.b.u.h. As much as a servant supports his brother, Allah is going to be his Supporter, his Helper, his Guarantor. But, although this is an Arabic saying, Arabs do not understand it; a Turkish saying, but Turks do not understand; an English saying, but English-speaking people do not understand. What are we saying? Which language must we speak?
78 II:111
79 And Allah is in support of the slave (of Allah) as long as the slave is in support of his brother." (Hadith)
Now there is an answer, but I am listening to it, hearing it, from your hearts; I am not hearing it from your tongues.' Your hearts are replying to me, saying, "Speak to us in the language of your heart. If anyone speaks to us in his heart's language, we can understand. We do not understand even Arabic or Turkish or English. We can understand only one language: the one who speaks from his heart we can understand."
Yes, that is true, because what comes from the heart goes into the heart; but when it comes from here (lips), it goes from here, quickly, like the wind.
Therefore, 124,000 Sahabah, followers of the Prophet, peace be them and upon him, did not know any language except Arabic, but, during a quarter of a century, during the passing of only twenty-five years after Hijrah, the Migration, Islam spread from East to West.
Now there are in the Muslim world perhaps fifty million "scholars"; yes, knowing so many languages. But what are we doing? Our beliefs only remain here [on our tongues). And Christians, also - perhaps one hundred million "scholars," people of religion. What are they doing?
I am asking, I am demanding from all, from every religious person, "What are you doing? Everyone speaks from here - oh, so much! - but people have so many illnesses in their hearts. The whole world is becoming darker every day. Where is your power to take away darkness from the earth, to give light to hearts? Where are you? What are you doing?"
I have rights to ask. I am nothing. I am not claiming to be anything; nothing, no title. But all of them have titles, yes. I haven't any title. I am asking to be a very weak, humble servant if my Lord accepts me. That is the ultimate, the highest degree for me; the highest, final pleasure for me is to be accepted by my Lord as His very, very humble servant, if He accepts me. Yes, that is honour, that is my aim, nothing related to all the world; finished. I am going; what am I asking from this world? We are in wintertime with Mr. Stanley.
By which language did the Sahabah, the followers of Muhammad, p.b.u.b., address people, speaking to them, giving faith, beliefs, to those strange people? From East to West, so many nations came into Islam, including us, also, the Turks; including non-Arabs - Irani people, Pakistani people, Bukhara people, Afghani people, so many nations with different languages. How did they explain?
They spoke from their hearts, that is all. Therefore it is important to return to the language of hearts because everyone understands the heart but not everyone understands this language. Therefore it is a more important thing for understanding.
We must understand when I am telling this hadith of the Prophet, p.b.u.h.: "Wa Allah fi 'auna-l-'abd ma dama-l -'abdu fi auni akhihi." Someone may say, "There is an English translation, there is a Turkish trans lation, a French translation. Anyone can read but may never practice, never understand. You must understand: Don't ask help from him; you give your help to him, then take your support from your Lord, the greatest Guarantor, Guarantor and Supporter, more than the United States, more than the British government. How is it that Allah Almighty is saying to you that I am going to be your Guarantor and your Supporter but you are not listening, you are not acting, you are not practising? What is our Islam, what are our beliefs? You must think about that point.
Therefore, the Prophet's main and most lovely attribute was to give everything, every help, every support, to his nation and never, never to think about himself. Why would he think about himself? Allah was the Guarantor for him! Guarantor enough, or not? Yes, because the Prophet rose up among a nation of people who worshipped idols, 360 idols.. Without anyone's being at his side, he stood up among those people and said, "La ilaha illa-Llah, there is no deity except God." Who supported him? Now there are more than one billion people saying "La ilaha illa-Llah." Did the Prophet give money to bring those people into Islam? Who was his supporter? God Almighty! You must believe; you must believe in God Almighty.
When you speak from your heart, you may speak in any language; doesn't matter. The Holy Qur'an, Glorious Qur'an, was written in Arabic in its original words, but you may listen to it from the English translation or from the Turkish one or the French one if not understanding Arabic. People may not understand Arabic but the Holy Qur'an, the Glorious Qur'an, carries them.
Their souls understand. Their minds may not, but their souls may understand, may be pleased, filled with enjoyment, when they listen.
Do you understand Arabic? No. Then how can you listen?. That is something miraculous; the Holy Qur'an is miraculous. You can't find that with the Old Testment or the New Testament. They may read it in English or in Greek, but those who listen do not take any pleasure in their hearts because they have lost the originals of the old and New Testaments, and they have also lost the holy words and holy language that came through Gabriel, p.b.u.h80.
80 According to Islamic belief, heavenly scriptures were revealed to Moses, David and Jesus, as well as to Muhammad, peace be upon them all, through the Angel Gabriel who transmitted Allah's direct speech. In the course of time, however, human words and ideas were intermixed with the divine words to produce the existing old and New Testaments. This did not happen in the case Holy Qur'an, as the Prophet learned it from Gabriel, peace be upon them both. During his lifetime it was memorized in entirety by large numbers of people. It was also written by scribes from his own dictation. Consequently the Qur'an is preserved today exactly as he himself received and dictated it, without the slightest alteration. After the night
But for the Holy Qur'an, Gabriel took what Allah Almighty said with His divine speech and brought it to the Prophet, beloved Muhammad, p.b.u.h., and the Prophet recited it. The original has never changed; therefore it goes into hearts.
The noble Companions, the followers of the Prophet, p.b.u.h., knew no language but Arabic. Then they went from Hijaz in western Arabia to the East and the West, and they encountered various nations with many languages. The Sahabah brought Islam to strange peoples without knowing any language of the Far East or the Far West, so many languages; you can imagine. Look at India; only there, there are forty different languages. How did the Sahabah explain to those people what Islam is, what faith is, what ikhlas, sincerity, is? How did they take the message of Islam from East to West? You must think about that.
They spoke by means of their ikhlas, their sincerity. Therefore it went quickly from their hearts to peoples' hearts so that they became Muslims, Islam covering from East to West. If they had been like ourselves, not knowing English, they would have sat like statues. What would you say to people?
And even if you said something, it would go in one ear and out the other, also.
They spoke with their hearts. The Sahabah would recite the Holy Qur'an and the people who heard them would say, "Amantu bil-Lāh - we believe in your God, we believe in your Prophet. We say, 'La ilaha illa-llah' - easy for us."
The Sahābahs' hearts spoke, and they gave kalimatu-l-ikhlas, the word of sincerity, "La ilaha illa-Llah." For the one who says that truly, Allah Almighty opens in his heart an ocean from those Oceans. Now, therefore, when I speak to our Turkish sisters and brothers in their language, it doesn't matter;' you are going to enjoy it a little, also, even Turkish. And they are also looking now when I am speaking English; so many sisters do not understand too much English, but they are enjoying it, also.
SINCERITY, THE ESSENTIAL ELEMENT OF FAITH
prayers during Ramadan, Sheikh Nazim occasionally gave a brief talk in Turkish to the Turkish-speaking Muslims present, which he afterwards translated into English
Today we are in the fifteenth century of Hijrah81," which honours the last prophet of the world and of the universe, Sayyidina Muhammad, p.b.u.h., the Seal of the Prophets.
He came and carried out his trust; he gave us what he brought from his Lord perfectly. Now we are far from his time, fifteen hundred years, and, as he said, we are so many people now, more than one billion people of Islam, Muslims. Wa lakinnakum ghutha82.
We are Muslims, but in our time we have lost one thing - the most important thing in Islam, that one thing; while I was praying it came to my heart to say this. And when we have lost that most important thing in Islam, we are going to be like a piece of rubbish - useless. What is that? I am listening now to what is coming to my heart.
That most important thing is ikhlas, sincerity; finished. And if ikhlas is finished, everything is going to be rubbish. The most important thing for Muslims - that is ikhlas. "Mukhlisina lahu din83" - Allah Almighty is asking us to be mukhlis to Him, to be sincere; "Ala lil-Lahi-d-dinu-l-khalis84?" - Allah Almighty is asking for ikhlas, for sincerity. As we have lost that, we go after painting the outside, making a good appearance, designing, decorating, the outward part; but where is the place of ikhlas? Here: ikhlas, sincerity, is in our hearts. But we do not look at hearts; we look at outward appearances. "Halaka-l-'alimu illa-l-'amilu; halaka-l-amilu illa-l-mukhlisu85”.
Now, as Muslims, we must learn which thing we have lost and how we can recover or obtain that lost thing. We must return to taking care of our hearts. The Prophet, p.b.u.h., took the most care of the hearts of his Companions, and his Companions were never concerned about outward matters but their entire concern was for their hearts. They were so careful to acquire ikhlas. The source of ikhlas was the Prophet, p.b.u.h., and they tried to take, to drink, from that source as much as they were able - and they drank,
And that source is not going to be dry. As long as the ummah of Muhammad, p.b.u.h., is in existence, that source, like a spring. is always pouring forth.
But you can't find that source or spring externally: you must find it in hearts. Even one is enough for billions, because the Prophet, p.b.u.h., was only one
81 The Islamic era, which begins with the date of the Holy Prochet's migration from Mecca to Medinah in the year 622 After Christ
82 But you are like the foam of the sea - that is, totally negligible and without substance
83 With sincerity to Him in religion." (VII:29, XL:65, and XCVIII:5)
84 Is not the sincere religion for God (alone) ? (XXXIX:3)
85 The knowledgeable one will perish except for the one who acts on it; the one who acts on it will perish except for the one who is sincere." (Hadith)
and he was enough for all the Companions. And his source did not decrease, Allah Almighty giving him as much as his nation needs.
Therefore, in our time we are in need, most in need, to look for that source, in whose heart it is flowing. We must ask, the whole ummah must ask. We must find it in the heart of even one person, and he is enough to give everyone's heart ikhlas.
Once a Sahabi, Companion, asked the Prophet, p.b.u.h., "What is ikhlas?" And the Prophet said, "Let me ask Jibril," the Angel Gabriel. When he asked Jibril, Jibril said, "Let me ask the Angel Mikail." When he asked Mikail, Mikail said, "Let me
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rson," coming in this way and saying something good about us that our egos like. If anyone makes a high rank for our egos, they become like this, like a turkey. You
know a turkey? Comes like this, sometimes looking at himself, preening; to be proud anong the hens, he goes like this.
Satan has a long elephant trunk. If you are ghafil, heedless, he puts it into your heart and blows. Then you are going to be bigger than your capacity; little by little you will fill the whole world, even the whole universe: you are a worshipper, you are an obedient servant, you fast, you pray, you are a Muslim, you are a believer. He comes and says to you, "You are a doctor (we forgot to mention doctors), a Doctor of Shari'ah; you are a big 'alim, learned person, " and as we learn more, we grow bigger, becoming like a balloon. And yet our Prophet, p.b.u.h., came, saying, "I sit as slaves sit and I eat as slaves eat," teaching us humbleness.
Every knowledge that we gain must take away something from our ego so that nothing remains with us, so that we become like dust; but, instead, we use our knowledge and our worshipping as the means of being proud. That is an illness of our egos in our time. Satan comes from that side, saying, "You are a learned person, you are a worshipper, you are a good servant," making us proud, while all the prophets came to teach us to be humble. As we are trying to be something, they are calling to us, "Be nothing. But our egos are never going to be satisfied to be nothing, never; they want to be something, and in our time everyone is happy when he is going to be something. "Who is that person?" "That is such-and-such. He is important!"
Everyone makes some rank, some status, for himself so that there may be a rank, a position, for him among people, also. But the Shari'ah came to make us be nothing; if you are something, you can't enter the Divine Presence with something. Therefore Allah Almighty called to Moses, p.b.u.h., when he came to Mount Sinai, saying, "Fakhla' na'laik76, take off your shoes."
You understand? That word is addressed to everyone who takes something with him. "Take it off," Allah Almighty says. "You must be satisfied to be nothing." When you come and say, "I am nothing," then He gives to you. If you say, "I am something," He leaves you with yourself to be "some thing".
We are trying to be nothing, but people are asking to be something, and then, after being something, they are asking to be the whole thing. Pride, to be proud - it is a worm, eating up our faith. Some years ago there was a worm in England eating up trees, gigantic trees coming down eaten by a very small worm. That pride is like such a worm, eating away our faith.
For what are we saying this? If you are going to be Allah Almighty's friend, you must be a friend to everyone, and you can't be a friend to everyone if
76 XX:10-12, containing the account of Moses' call to prophethood
you are proud. And we want to take that pride from ourselves; then we may be friends to everyone - to everyone.
In England people are friends to animals more than to people: yes. They are stepping on the wrong place. First you must be a friend to every person and then, at the second step, it is all right to be a friend to animals. And animals are going to be friends to you by the order of their Lord Almighty. In the past Grandsheikh would order his murids into khalwah, seclusion, and to test whether they were all right or not, he would say to them, "Go out now." When a murid went out, if birds came to him, if hens and turkeys and geese ran after him, he was all right; he was a friend of his Lord, and every animal would run after him, looking at him as our Lord's friend. Therefore the first step which is important is to be a friend to everyone. Then you may be the friend of animals if they understand about you.
Rabi'at al-Adawiyah, the famous lady saint of Islam, was sitting in the desert making dhikr, and geese were sitting with her. Once Hasan al-Basri, may Allah bless him, came and saw that geese were sitting around Rabi'ah.
When they saw him, they ran away. "O Rabi'ah, why are they running away?" he asked.
"Perhaps they can smell that you eat from their flesh," she said. That is divine familiarity, friendship. If you are in friendship with Allah
Almighty, animals will come to you. But the first step is that you must be a friend of your Lord's servants.
There are two kinds of servants. One of them accepts - accepts that he is a servant. Some others run away, not saying, "We are servants," even though they are servants. You must consider both of them as your Lord's servants, and you must train yourself to be a servant to every servant of your Lord who is doing His service, whether he is worshipping or not.
That is an important point. If we know it, peace and pleasure and mercy will cover the whole world. As long as we do not know this wisdom, fighting will continue, wars will continue, people will destroy each other, and enmity, endless enmity, will exist among people.
GIVING YOUR HELP TO OTHERS
We have four seasons in our lives. First, springtime comes; second, summertime; the third season, autumn; the fourth one, winter. So many people may go during springtime, at the beginning or the middle or the end.
Some people come to summertime, also; at the beginning or the middle or the end of summer, they may go. Some people come to autumn; yes. Mr. Stanley (a visitor) is in autumn now. Some people go away at the beginning or middle or end of autumn. Then, a very few people come to wintertime. In wintertime, also, some people go at the beginning, some people go in the middle, but most must go at the end of wintertime. This is our life.
Now, for the whole world, also, there is a period with four seasons. Springtime went away. Summertime went away. Autumntime went away. We are now in the final season, the winter season, of the whole world.
Allah Almighty, the Creator, created the universe, and in all the universe He prepared this planet to be for the Sons of Adam. No one can look and see any other planet on which there are Sons of Adam or any other creatures, no; they are only imagining something. He prepared this planet, Dunya, this world, to be the residence, the landing-place, of the Sons of Adam, and we believe that Adam and Eve landed on this planet from Heaven. And every one of the People of the Book77 believes that Adam and Eve came from Heaven and landed on this earth.
First man, Adam; first prophet, Adam. The last prophet is Muhammad, p.b.u.h., and between the first and the last, Allah Almighty sent 124,000 prophets. It means that when the last one has come, we are now in wintertime; that period is going to be ended because for every beginning there must be an ending. Allah Almighty made a beginning for the Sons of Adam on earth, and He is also going to make an end for the Sons of Adam on earth. Therefore we know, according to holy books and in particular the last holy book, the Holy Qur'an, that we are in the final part of this world's life. And we are, step by step, approaching the last station.
Now, what is important for believers - for anyone who believes in the Last Day, for anyone who believes in the Last Judgment, for anyone who believes that for every action there must be an effect on its doer in the next life and that we are going to see the effects of our actions on Judgment day? We believe that we shall see every action, whether of goodness or of badness, and, whether of goodness or of badness, we shall be pleased or we shall be sorry about that action. Who is going to be pleased with his action?
All the prophets came to teach us what thing makes a person pleased on Judgment Day, so that we may keep that way and that action, and what
77 Ahl al-Kitab, a term used in the Holy Qur'an for the peoples of the earlier God- centered faiths which originated, like Islam, in divine revelation, namely, Judaism and Christianity. The term implies a special relationship and special bonds which unite Muslims with the peoples of the earlier monotheistic faiths, as their source is one and the same
makes people weep, to ask to return again to this life - what actions make their doers sorry. All prophets just came to give that knowledge, to teach people concerning that point, not to classify people - those are Christians, those Jews, those Muslims, those another kind; no. Titles are not important but actions are important.
But we do not understand; even in this time, ignorance is common for people. They think that titles give benefit in the Divine Presence on the Day of Judgment. No benefit! Your title can continue only up to the time that your coffin is brought to a holy place - to a mosque, to a church, to a synagogue; up to there your title goes on, but after that it stops. So we must ask for titles which may continue with us up to the Day of Judgment and give us benefit on that day.
Therefore, don't be cheated by titles. All titles are going to be nothing except that title which your Lord gives you - not from people, not from this world; no. But your Lord's titles are not like a medal, put here or here, on your shoulders or on your chest. He gives you from His titles, and they are on your heart and on your face.
Sometimes we shine. Therefore Christians make pictures of prophets or of saints, and they put lights around their faces, haloes, so that anyone who is not blind can see their light. But a blind person cannot see even the -- sun in the daytime; he cannot look at a face and see its light. ,
Therefore, people are of two kinds or groups. One group can see with these eyes and the others see with their hearts. Therefore, for prophets, who are the best quality among the Sons of Adam, most people in their times rejected them, saying, "You are the worst people." Every prophet was attacked by devils, by evil people. Prophets are the best quality. - precious diamonds they are; but so many people who looked only with these eyes said such things. But those people who looked at them with their hearts' eyes said, "Oh-h! You are beloved people of our Lord," accepting and believing in them.
Yes. all the Sons of Adam are in two groups, in two camps. In one camp are believers, in the other unbelievers. Unbelievers are blind people, never seeing light; for divine lights, they are unable to see. And prophets and saints have lights from Allah Almighty. What are they saying to us about what it is important for people to do? Which action gives us benefit on the Day of Judgment? We must know it.
There are so many actions which give us benefit, but some things we may do give benefit to ourselves and some give benefit to others. One of these belongs to you, remains for you, while some actions benefit other people.
Now we will look at which of them is more lovely to our Lord: to work for yourself or to work for others.
Yes, it is good to do good actions for yourself, actions whose benefit returns to you, but actions which give benefit to others - those are excellent and more lovely to our Lord. You must know this.
To do charities for others, to think about others, that is excellent. Therefore, all the prophets came to give charities or to teach people to give benefit to others, and they bore every kind of suffering from people but yet they gave. Every saint, every wali, thinks of giving benefit to others and forgets himself; their pleasure is in giving benefit to others, not to themselves.
They can give to themselves. That is good, but the best and most excellent thing is to give your benefit to others. Therefore, it is our beloved Prophet's most high attribute, most important and lovely attribute in the Divine Presence, that he never asked anything for himself; he never said, "For me." Each time he would say, "Ummati, ummati" - for my nation, for my nation, o my Lord - never asking anything for himself but only asking for his nation.
That is the highest point that gives honour to Muhammad, p.b.u.h., the Seal of the Prophets, in the Divine Presence. And we must follow his way and must prefer others' benefit over our own.
Don't take everything for yourself instead of giving! As much as people in our time want everything for themselves, crises are mounting, not lessening.
Everyone wants everything for himself; even if someone is given the whole world with its treasures, he asks for more, not saying "Enough"; no. For everything that a person may take pleasure from, he says, "That should be for me. That for me, this for me," like a little child, when you take his hand and go into a toy shop, looking and keeping this all for me.
We are little boys. We want the whole world to be for ourselves, not for anyone else. That is the reason for the crises and sufferings of people in the twentieth century, nothing else. We have left the teachings of the prophets, the ways of the saints; finished. It is impossible for such people to save themselves from suffering. As much as Allah Almighty pours His favours upon them, they are not satisfied. Yes; we have everything but we are not yet satisfied.
We must follow the ways of the prophets and particularly the way of the Last Prophet, p.b.u.h. It is enough for all nations to make him their guide only because of one single matter: that he said, "For my nation," and never said, "For myself"; that he always said, "For others, for everyone, ". but never, "For me."
That is enough for all the world, for anyone who can think about the Last Prophet, the Seal of the Prophets, p.b.u.h., showing that he is on the right, he is on the truth. No need of anything else, to ask anything more. If a person says such a thing and guides people according to it, for what are we asking anything else? It is enough. He advises us, "O people, everyone works for others. Then this world will be Paradise - yes." But everyone is asking only for his own pleasure, and his pleasure and his desires are unlimited; you can't find any limit to stop them.
Therefore Allah Almighty likes the one who works for others, who gives benefit to others, who gives charity to others. Then Allah Almighty says, "The one who works for My servants, for the sake of My servants - I am his Guarantor, and, more than Guarantor, I am also his Supporter." Not good?
For what are you asking more than this? Allah Almighty is going to be your Guarantor and Supporter! Who can bring you down?
But we do not believe; we only read but we do not believe. Our beliefs are here (on our tongues), not coming here (in our hearts). That is the reason for the illness of the twentieth century's people. Everyone is making claims.
Christians are claiming, "We believe," doing like this to Jesus Christ, to Mary, to the saints, coming like this on their knees. Only here (on the tongue).
Muslims, also; most of them are talking from here, not from here. Every kind of people - they read, they say good words, but from their hearts they are not doing anything; yes. If they say, "You are wrong, Sheikh, you are wrong" - if I am wrong, then where is your Lord's support for the Muslim world, or where is your Lord's support for the Christian world? Half of them are unbelievers. Where is it? Give me a proof. "Bring your evidence78, "* Allah Almighty says. There is evidence? No!
"Wa Allahu fi 'auna-l-'abd na dāma-l-'abdu fi 'auni akhihi" 79- this saying is from the Prophet, the Seal of the Prophets,;p.b.u.h. As much as a servant supports his brother, Allah is going to be his Supporter, his Helper, his Guarantor. But, although this is an Arabic saying, Arabs do not understand it; a Turkish saying, but Turks do not understand; an English saying, but English-speaking people do not understand. What are we saying? Which language must we speak?
78 II:111
79 And Allah is in support of the slave (of Allah) as long as the slave is in support of his brother." (Hadith)
Now there is an answer, but I am listening to it, hearing it, from your hearts; I am not hearing it from your tongues.' Your hearts are replying to me, saying, "Speak to us in the language of your heart. If anyone speaks to us in his heart's language, we can understand. We do not understand even Arabic or Turkish or English. We can understand only one language: the one who speaks from his heart we can understand."
Yes, that is true, because what comes from the heart goes into the heart; but when it comes from here (lips), it goes from here, quickly, like the wind.
Therefore, 124,000 Sahabah, followers of the Prophet, peace be them and upon him, did not know any language except Arabic, but, during a quarter of a century, during the passing of only twenty-five years after Hijrah, the Migration, Islam spread from East to West.
Now there are in the Muslim world perhaps fifty million "scholars"; yes, knowing so many languages. But what are we doing? Our beliefs only remain here [on our tongues). And Christians, also - perhaps one hundred million "scholars," people of religion. What are they doing?
I am asking, I am demanding from all, from every religious person, "What are you doing? Everyone speaks from here - oh, so much! - but people have so many illnesses in their hearts. The whole world is becoming darker every day. Where is your power to take away darkness from the earth, to give light to hearts? Where are you? What are you doing?"
I have rights to ask. I am nothing. I am not claiming to be anything; nothing, no title. But all of them have titles, yes. I haven't any title. I am asking to be a very weak, humble servant if my Lord accepts me. That is the ultimate, the highest degree for me; the highest, final pleasure for me is to be accepted by my Lord as His very, very humble servant, if He accepts me. Yes, that is honour, that is my aim, nothing related to all the world; finished. I am going; what am I asking from this world? We are in wintertime with Mr. Stanley.
By which language did the Sahabah, the followers of Muhammad, p.b.u.b., address people, speaking to them, giving faith, beliefs, to those strange people? From East to West, so many nations came into Islam, including us, also, the Turks; including non-Arabs - Irani people, Pakistani people, Bukhara people, Afghani people, so many nations with different languages. How did they explain?
They spoke from their hearts, that is all. Therefore it is important to return to the language of hearts because everyone understands the heart but not everyone understands this language. Therefore it is a more important thing for understanding.
We must understand when I am telling this hadith of the Prophet, p.b.u.h.: "Wa Allah fi 'auna-l-'abd ma dama-l -'abdu fi auni akhihi." Someone may say, "There is an English translation, there is a Turkish trans lation, a French translation. Anyone can read but may never practice, never understand. You must understand: Don't ask help from him; you give your help to him, then take your support from your Lord, the greatest Guarantor, Guarantor and Supporter, more than the United States, more than the British government. How is it that Allah Almighty is saying to you that I am going to be your Guarantor and your Supporter but you are not listening, you are not acting, you are not practising? What is our Islam, what are our beliefs? You must think about that point.
Therefore, the Prophet's main and most lovely attribute was to give everything, every help, every support, to his nation and never, never to think about himself. Why would he think about himself? Allah was the Guarantor for him! Guarantor enough, or not? Yes, because the Prophet rose up among a nation of people who worshipped idols, 360 idols.. Without anyone's being at his side, he stood up among those people and said, "La ilaha illa-Llah, there is no deity except God." Who supported him? Now there are more than one billion people saying "La ilaha illa-Llah." Did the Prophet give money to bring those people into Islam? Who was his supporter? God Almighty! You must believe; you must believe in God Almighty.
When you speak from your heart, you may speak in any language; doesn't matter. The Holy Qur'an, Glorious Qur'an, was written in Arabic in its original words, but you may listen to it from the English translation or from the Turkish one or the French one if not understanding Arabic. People may not understand Arabic but the Holy Qur'an, the Glorious Qur'an, carries them.
Their souls understand. Their minds may not, but their souls may understand, may be pleased, filled with enjoyment, when they listen.
Do you understand Arabic? No. Then how can you listen?. That is something miraculous; the Holy Qur'an is miraculous. You can't find that with the Old Testment or the New Testament. They may read it in English or in Greek, but those who listen do not take any pleasure in their hearts because they have lost the originals of the old and New Testaments, and they have also lost the holy words and holy language that came through Gabriel, p.b.u.h80.
80 According to Islamic belief, heavenly scriptures were revealed to Moses, David and Jesus, as well as to Muhammad, peace be upon them all, through the Angel Gabriel who transmitted Allah's direct speech. In the course of time, however, human words and ideas were intermixed with the divine words to produce the existing old and New Testaments. This did not happen in the case Holy Qur'an, as the Prophet learned it from Gabriel, peace be upon them both. During his lifetime it was memorized in entirety by large numbers of people. It was also written by scribes from his own dictation. Consequently the Qur'an is preserved today exactly as he himself received and dictated it, without the slightest alteration. After the night
But for the Holy Qur'an, Gabriel took what Allah Almighty said with His divine speech and brought it to the Prophet, beloved Muhammad, p.b.u.h., and the Prophet recited it. The original has never changed; therefore it goes into hearts.
The noble Companions, the followers of the Prophet, p.b.u.h., knew no language but Arabic. Then they went from Hijaz in western Arabia to the East and the West, and they encountered various nations with many languages. The Sahabah brought Islam to strange peoples without knowing any language of the Far East or the Far West, so many languages; you can imagine. Look at India; only there, there are forty different languages. How did the Sahabah explain to those people what Islam is, what faith is, what ikhlas, sincerity, is? How did they take the message of Islam from East to West? You must think about that.
They spoke by means of their ikhlas, their sincerity. Therefore it went quickly from their hearts to peoples' hearts so that they became Muslims, Islam covering from East to West. If they had been like ourselves, not knowing English, they would have sat like statues. What would you say to people?
And even if you said something, it would go in one ear and out the other, also.
They spoke with their hearts. The Sahabah would recite the Holy Qur'an and the people who heard them would say, "Amantu bil-Lāh - we believe in your God, we believe in your Prophet. We say, 'La ilaha illa-llah' - easy for us."
The Sahābahs' hearts spoke, and they gave kalimatu-l-ikhlas, the word of sincerity, "La ilaha illa-Llah." For the one who says that truly, Allah Almighty opens in his heart an ocean from those Oceans. Now, therefore, when I speak to our Turkish sisters and brothers in their language, it doesn't matter;' you are going to enjoy it a little, also, even Turkish. And they are also looking now when I am speaking English; so many sisters do not understand too much English, but they are enjoying it, also.
SINCERITY, THE ESSENTIAL ELEMENT OF FAITH
prayers during Ramadan, Sheikh Nazim occasionally gave a brief talk in Turkish to the Turkish-speaking Muslims present, which he afterwards translated into English
Today we are in the fifteenth century of Hijrah81," which honours the last prophet of the world and of the universe, Sayyidina Muhammad, p.b.u.h., the Seal of the Prophets.
He came and carried out his trust; he gave us what he brought from his Lord perfectly. Now we are far from his time, fifteen hundred years, and, as he said, we are so many people now, more than one billion people of Islam, Muslims. Wa lakinnakum ghutha82.
We are Muslims, but in our time we have lost one thing - the most important thing in Islam, that one thing; while I was praying it came to my heart to say this. And when we have lost that most important thing in Islam, we are going to be like a piece of rubbish - useless. What is that? I am listening now to what is coming to my heart.
That most important thing is ikhlas, sincerity; finished. And if ikhlas is finished, everything is going to be rubbish. The most important thing for Muslims - that is ikhlas. "Mukhlisina lahu din83" - Allah Almighty is asking us to be mukhlis to Him, to be sincere; "Ala lil-Lahi-d-dinu-l-khalis84?" - Allah Almighty is asking for ikhlas, for sincerity. As we have lost that, we go after painting the outside, making a good appearance, designing, decorating, the outward part; but where is the place of ikhlas? Here: ikhlas, sincerity, is in our hearts. But we do not look at hearts; we look at outward appearances. "Halaka-l-'alimu illa-l-'amilu; halaka-l-amilu illa-l-mukhlisu85”.
Now, as Muslims, we must learn which thing we have lost and how we can recover or obtain that lost thing. We must return to taking care of our hearts. The Prophet, p.b.u.h., took the most care of the hearts of his Companions, and his Companions were never concerned about outward matters but their entire concern was for their hearts. They were so careful to acquire ikhlas. The source of ikhlas was the Prophet, p.b.u.h., and they tried to take, to drink, from that source as much as they were able - and they drank,
And that source is not going to be dry. As long as the ummah of Muhammad, p.b.u.h., is in existence, that source, like a spring. is always pouring forth.
But you can't find that source or spring externally: you must find it in hearts. Even one is enough for billions, because the Prophet, p.b.u.h., was only one
81 The Islamic era, which begins with the date of the Holy Prochet's migration from Mecca to Medinah in the year 622 After Christ
82 But you are like the foam of the sea - that is, totally negligible and without substance
83 With sincerity to Him in religion." (VII:29, XL:65, and XCVIII:5)
84 Is not the sincere religion for God (alone) ? (XXXIX:3)
85 The knowledgeable one will perish except for the one who acts on it; the one who acts on it will perish except for the one who is sincere." (Hadith)
and he was enough for all the Companions. And his source did not decrease, Allah Almighty giving him as much as his nation needs.
Therefore, in our time we are in need, most in need, to look for that source, in whose heart it is flowing. We must ask, the whole ummah must ask. We must find it in the heart of even one person, and he is enough to give everyone's heart ikhlas.
Once a Sahabi, Companion, asked the Prophet, p.b.u.h., "What is ikhlas?" And the Prophet said, "Let me ask Jibril," the Angel Gabriel. When he asked Jibril, Jibril said, "Let me ask the Angel Mikail." When he asked Mikail, Mikail said, "Let me
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