Mercy Oceans, Book 11 (183 pages, 7/17)
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t of your eyes. For this reason we are giving this khutbah; it is suitable for this jama'ah, this congregation.
You must not be deceived by your egos, saying that all people are running, enjoying; then why am I imprisoning my ego? Your ego cries to you, but you must know that it is the worst enemy, the most dangerous and terrible enemy to you, your nafs. Don't look around for anyone who may be an enemy to you but your nafs.
Therefore, o believers, o mumins, anyone who believes in the real life, the Eternal Life - restrain the legs of your horses a little bit. Your nafs is your horse; don't leave your horse to walk as it likes, no. You must be rider on it, not carrying the horse on your shoulders. But we are doing that; we are carrying our egos, our horses, not riding on them. Allah gave you that horse to ride on and you are putting it on your shoulders? What kind of faith is that?
Yesterday an old person, an English oane, came to me and cried, saying, "O Sheikh, show me a way, because I am so old and yet I am not able to conquer my ego. And I am afraid that death may come to me and find me still in that struggle with my nafs, killing me. Please tell me something that may be a help to me to kill my dragon."
I was surprised. Among our people, no one has come and asked such a question, but that English person, an old one like this, came and asked. What about you?
Yes, this holy Ramadan is for that purpose. We are fasting to conquer our egos, to make them under our command, and the last ten days, the last one- third, is coming. We are asking Allah Almighty to help us to conquer our egos. If you can do that, then you have the right to have 'Eid55. That is 'Eid
al-akbar, the greatest 'Eid. Then you may make a parade for Allah Almighty on your horse on the day of Eid.
Ya Rabbi, forgive us and help us because we are in need of Your divine help. If your divine help does not come, all of us will fall, will stay, in Hell. O our Lord, save us from Your Hell. Hell - that is our ego's Hell. Keep away from your ego's, from your nafs' Hell. Wa a'adhana Allahu wa iyyakum56.
Allah Almighty examines or tries His servants by everything. You must be ready for every trial from Allah Almighty. Anything may be Anything is possible, endless possibilities in this life. Something may happen to you that you never expected but yet is possible.
We have a Turkish saying that it is possible that the oceans are going to be fire - possible; it is a possibility. You can't say it is impossible because we live in a world of possibilities and any condition, expected or unexpected possibilities or conditions, may reach any one, or everyone. Therefore it is important for everyone to practice and to examine or to test his faith: If this comes on me, what am I going to do? If something happens to me, to my family, to my business, to my car, to my neighbors, to my coumtry, to my everything, what am I going to do? Am I going to be patient or am I going to fight?
55 Eid al-Fitr, the Festival of Fast-breaking at the end of Ramadan, one of the two major festivals of Islam
56 And may Allah save us and you
Against what are you going to fight? Against the will of your Lord Almighty? Everything must be according to His will. No one can change it; you can't fight your Lord's will. We are speaking of all these things, these conditions that you cannot expect, and then they come, suddenly come. That is a test from Allah Almighty of whether you have sufficient power of belief, if you believe that khairihi wa sharrihi min Alani Ta'ala57.
Through everything that may touch us with His will, He is testing whether, when we say it with our tongues, we are also going to bear it practically or not - if it is only a word or if it is really an action with in ourselves. Therefore we do not want our Lord to put us into such conditions for which we must be brave, because it is too difficult for our level of faith. We are asking from His endless favors to make everything that may touch us lighter, lighter, because we are not too strong. Ya Rabbi, ajalna sābirin; O our Lord, make us patient (when I say this I am afraid, because it is so difficult). Wa ajalnā shakirin; and make us thankful, because that pertains to His endless favors. To be patient is more important, and for those who are patient, Allah Almighty's favors and mercies come to them without count. (but not for shakirin, thankful people, because it is easy, while that is so difficult).
May Allah Almighty make everything easy for us, and we believe that it is only lighter loads which may come on us to bear. It is, according to our faith, not too heavy.
MURĪD: You said that all is possible, nothing is impossible, so it must be possible for a proud person to become humble. How can a proud person become a humble persan?
SHEIKH: All things are possible, yes. The weather may be cloudy or the sun may be shining. Possibility means that the sky may be clear or may be covered, cloudy. Therefore, when you are asking this, it must be possible for a proud person to become a humble person.
57 Everything of either good or evil is from God Most High, by His permission will and decree. This is the sixth and last of the Articles of Faith in Islam (the others are belief in Allah, God Almighty; in His angels, who are emissaries of His divine will; in His divinely-revealed Scriptures; in His messengers, the prophets; and in the Day of Judgment and Heaven and Hell
Yes, depending on his heart. Sometimes it is covered, clouded, by his ego; then he is proud, but when his faith shines like a sun he is humble. When that sun is covered, there is darkness and he is proud, that person. You can understand, yes?
Everything that comes to a person of goodness or of badness is related to his faith. When his faith shines like a sun, he can't do a wrong thing; he is looking, but when he is in darkness, he can't see where he is putting his foot. Therefore the Prophet says, p.b.u.h., that a person cannot kill when he is a believer, his faith in his heart - never killing, never stealing, never drinking, never fornicating. Yes, it is impossible, the Prophet says, until his faith goes away, from his head up, so that his heart is in darkness. Then he can do that prohibited thing.
To be proud - that is also prohibited. When a person has lost his faith's shining in his heart, then he can be proud. When Satan lost his faith, he fell into darkness and then became proud in his Lord's Divine Presence; if he had had his faith's sun shining in his heart, he couldn't have been proud in the Divine Presence. He was proud and said “Why?" to his Lord. No one can say to Allah Almighty, "Why are you doing this?" but when a person loses his faith and falls into darkness, he never hears what he is saying or sees what he is doing.
Therefore everything is possible for a person depending on his faith or loss of faith. When he loses his faith he can do anything. He is terrible, more terrible than any wild animals, also. A wild animal may be terrible for one person, for two, but when its hunting is finished, then it may say, "That is enough." But one who has lost his faith and falls in to darkness may kill the whole of mankind and he may say, "I don't care if all of them are killed." Therefore the danger for the future of mankind is increasing because people living in our time are quickly losing their faith in their Lord, their Creator, and saying, "No Lord, no God, in existence." What can be expected from such people? What shining future can you imagine now for this mankind?
Yes. From goodness and from badness everything is possible. When you believe in your Lord Almighty, every goodness may be expected from you, from anyone, but when a person falls in darkness, losing his faith, finished; every evil, every badness, can be expected from him. That is a possibility for both sides.
Therefore so many people are going to psychiatrists now. Those people do not go until they lose their faith. When people are ill and they are in need of a
psychiatrist, it is for this reason. They are falling in darkness and they are like a blind person, going along, and they can’t see where is the exit, where is the door, where is the entrance, where are the windows - not knowing, and coming to fight with themselves. For illnesses, physical and mental, that is the reason - losing faith. When a person loses it, quickly the physical body goes down and he is spiritually, mentally, destroyed, also.
Therefore happiness, peace and enjoyment are in faith. Gueranteed safety is in faith, in believing. When people lose that, finished; no more faith or peace, no more safety, no more satisfaction, no more garantee for them; no more health or wealth - finished, burning their personalities by losing their faith.
This is a simple, general diagnosis for the whole world. In two words, when they lose their faith, everything comes upon them, finished. Every problem may be solved by faith, and a faith, even though that faith may not be a true one, is useful for a person; it helps him to believe in something. Even though that may be wrong, it helps him and supports him but it is not perfect.
Therefore, anyone who wants perfect help, perfect support, must believe in a true faith. Others may give a brief support for a short time but without any beliefs it is terrible for the future of man, individually and collectively. For this reason there is darkness now, people running into darkness, the darkness of Hell, because they are quickly running to lose their faith, and the kingdom of devils urges them to lose their faith and advises them, "Don't believe in anything."
If people believe, the kingdom of devils must be destroyed; because the supporters of the kingdom of devils and Satan are unbelievers, so that now troubles are increasing, and Satan, the king of the kingdom of devils, is so happy, so happy, and is preparing a fire celebration for all humanity on earth, working so hard to make a festival of fire. Working so hard in Russia, in America, in the East, in the West; every nation is working hard to produce more fire for that day, making fuel for that fire. And they are happy, giving millions and millions - for what? For defense.
You must defend against devils. But now people have lost the knowledge of who is their enemy, the terrible enemy who makes people forget that he is their enemy, making people enemies to each other. People are enemies, natians are enemies to each other, but they are forgetting the common enemy of mankind whom Allah Almighty mentions throughout all holy books, saying, "Satan is the most terrible enemy to you." Yes? And we are asking
for a sultan who cuts off the heads of devils with his divine sword. That is important.
'Asr June 8, 1985
By the name of Allah, Allmighty, All-merciful, Most Beneficent and Most Munificent - our Lord, the Lord of Jesus Christ, the Lord of Moses, the Lord of beloved Muhammad, peace be upon them, the Lord of the universes, the Owner, the Creator. As He likes, He makes; as He likes, He creates; as He likes, He gives life to people; as He likes, He takes them from life, killing them. No one can stand against His will. Everyone in the Heavens and on earth is a slave to Him; whether they like it or not, they are slaves and His command goes on. And everyone must listen to his command. If you listen to His commands and obey, that is honor for you. If not, it is dishonor for you.
We are trying to do something, we are intending always to be obedient servants, but we have a nals. Our egoes like to be disobedient; ego likes to have its commands go on and not anyone else's. Therefore fighting takes place between our egoes and our souls. Souls always want to be the Lord's obedient servants, but our naf's says, "No!"
To the one who wins over his nafs Allah Almighty will give a different world, giving him istiklal, independence; whoever is an obedient servant to his Lord, Allah Almighty will take him through this world and will give him another, independent world. He can be in that world, and even though he still goes around among people in his bodily form, he has a private world and a private life - a peaceful world for him. This is a secret: that if anyone can keep to being an obedient servant to his Lord, he receives a prize from his Lord Almighty. But it is secret. He has a peaceful world for him self alone and lives in that world with sincere people, peaceful people; there are no fighting, no quarreling, no harming people there.
Whoever can be an obedient servant to his Lord, he may take his divine prize during this life. He may be among us, with ourselves. Grandsheikh was saying, may Allah bless him, that once a day Bilal, the first muedhdhin58,
58 Muezzin, the one who makes the call to prayer, the adhan (azan). Bilal al Habshi, who in the early days of Islam was an oppressed glave, later freed by Abu Bakr Siddiq, was the first muedhdhin of Islam during the Prophet's years in Madinah. Fajr is the first of the five daily prayers, observed between dawn and sunrise
calls the adhan for Fajr prayer in the Heavens. Whoever hears his adhân must go and be present for Fajr prayer at Bait al-Mamūr59, which is in the First Heaven. Whoever can hear that adhan, it means that he has been invited and that he has spiritual authority to reach, to take his physical body, also, to that masjid60 in the First Heaven's station. Then, all the prophets and awliya must pray that morning prayer even though they are in Barzakh 61; even though they have gone from this life, they still pray morning prayer, Fajr prayer, with beloved Muhammad, p.b.u.h. Every day that prayer goes on, and all the prophets make a jama'ah, congregation, behind Muhammad, p.b.u.h.; Jesus Christ, also. I am seeing Moses I am seeing, Abraham I am seeing, peace be upon them, so many prophets whose names are mentioned in the Holy Qur'an and who are not mentioned but whose Inner meanings have been mentioned.
That is an authority coming through the Prophet, p.b.u.h., to awliya, and Grandsheikh, may Allah bless him, has authority to take caliphs from among his murids to show them, to make them pray in that holy place, and that is all right. And even while they are praying in that holy masjid, Bait al-Mamūr, they also leave one shape on earth, standing with people as imam for prayer or standing with the jama'ah, so that people do not think wrongly about them, why they do not pray Fajr. They pray with the people, also, but really, actually, they pray morning prayer with the Prophet, p.b.u.h., every day.
Now, So many awliya and so many true believers who have reached sainthood and true faith have been given a private world for themselves, peaceful. They live in their worlds, happy and peaceful and in satisfaction, no troubles or sufferings harming them; no. What is the reason? Being an obedient servant to the Lord, Almighty Allah; then He gives them their prizes, beginning from here up to eternity. But those who are disobedient to their Lord, every day there reaches them more fire from Hell to give them suffering, reaching their hearts. And those people for whom the veils have been taken away from their hearts, from their hearts' eyes, can see so many millions or billions of people on fire, in flames.
That is a punishment for disobeying their Lord. They are indeed in flames but they are unseen flames; only awliyā can see them. And now in our time,
59 The spiritual prototype of the Holy Klaba in the First Heaven
60 Mosque
61 The state between death and the Last Judgment, in which the life of the soul and the spiritual body continues
subhanallan, glory to Allah Almighty! most people are in flames. No chance for them to extinguish those flames except to be obedient servants.
Those who are obedient servants to their egos, all of them are in flames, burning. Very few people, if you were able to look, could you see in their worlds or in their universes, peaceful and happy, no flames, but in our time most people are in flames, burning. Little by little that burning is finishing them and they are going to die.
Therefore we muist be obedient servants or we are going to burn in the flames of our egos. And what is the way that you can be an obedient servant to your Lord, Allah Almighty? Allah Almighty says, instructing His Last Prophet, the Seal of the Prophets, p.b.u.h., to say that fasting is a shelter, junnah. Sawm62, fasting, is a shelter from what thing? From everything. You should use fasting as a shelter from every suffering and from burning by flames because it is the way to be an obedient servant to Allan Almighty.
Without using fasting, it is impossible to be an obedient servant, impossible to command your ego - always refusing you.
So many methods you may use but they are going to be unsuccessful. The single way that you may be able to command your ego is the way of fasting; whoever is able to fast, it means that he may be able to command his ego. When you command it, you are going to be an obedient servant to your Lord. Then you may listen to your Lord Almighty. If not, you are a disobedient person. And if anyone enters by that door, he should be a sincere worshipper because in fasting you are doing a worship, a secret worship; no one knows if a person is lasting or not. Only your Lord, Almighty Allah, knows. Therefore it is a sincere worship, and therefore fasting teaches a person how he can be a sincere worshipper to his Lord, Almighty Allah.
But then your nafs may attack you after iftar63, claiming, "Now I am free." Be careful after iftār. If you are able to catch it also af ter iftār, then after Ramadan you may be able to take your nafs under your command. The whole day you may fill this tire, such heavy work, filling, to continue on your
62 What is referred to here is fasting prescribed by Islam (sawm or siyam), either during the month of Ramadan or optional (nafil) fasting during the remainder of the year. Islamic fasting follows a strict discipline of total abstinence from food, drink and marital realtions during the daylaight hours, beginning just before dawn up to sunset. The fast is broken at sunset with an evening meal, and eating a pre-dawn meal (suhur) is a sunnah of the prophet, p.b.u.h.
63 The breaking of the fast at sunset with food or drink
way; then after iftar comes your nafs and makes it whsh-sh! - flat. Yes - then you will have to wait for the next day and begin to do it again. Therefore you must be careful after iftar, also. Don't give your nafs all its desires. No; must be within limits. Then, every day, every day, bit by bit you may take more authority and power over your ego.
Then on the first day of ‘Eid 64it will say, "Oh-h, now I am free. Today is 'Eid. I am free." It means to say, "I can do everything now. Everything is halal, everything is permissible, for me now." But not everything is halal. Haram, prohibited things, are not halal for you; haram is harām, and you must fast up to the end of your life from harām things. Then your nafs is going to cry, "Oh-h-h! How can I be patient up to the end of my life, such long years? How can I be patient? I must look, I must listen, I must go, I must eat, I must drink!" asking for freedom at that time.
O believers, you who believe in your Lord, Almighty Allah, you must know that at any time we may be returned to Him - at any time. No safety, no guarantee, no insurance. Yes, no insurance for anyone, for at any time you may be recalled. At any time Allah Almighty may order to cancel that person's life, to take it back, finished. Therefore we are fighting with our egos and we must use a method because our nafs is a burden, a heavy burden, on ourselves, on our shoulders. Therefore Grandsheikh was always advising everyone, "O people, don't say to your ego that you are going to live long years. Then it is going to be very lazy and to deceive you. But you must say, 'It is the path that you must go on today only. From morning up to nighttime you must keep this path, not tomorrow - finished; today only. Keep me, and tomorrow I shall leave you alone. Today from morning up to night you must be as your Lord wants you to be but don't think about tomorrow, only about today, because so many millions saw sunrise today but they will never see sunset; perhaps you may be one of those millions. Or so many people saw sunset this night but will never see the sun rise to morrow.' And when you make short distances, your nafs may go to reach a short distance, but if you make long distances then it is going to be very lazy, saying 'No' to you. For a short distance you may be at rest, you may gain everything. You must go on."
Therefore our ego calls each one of us to listen to it and to be disobedient to our Lord. But if the whole day you are a disobedient person, you can gain
64 This festival marks the end of the month of fasting and the transition from the discipline of Ramadan to customary habits
nothing. If the whole day you do everything that your ego wants to do, giving it every desire, when the sun sets and Maghrib65 time comes, you must put your ego in front of you for judgment. That is muhasabah. taking account. "O my ego, today from morning up to sunset I did just as you said. What has happened now? You made me be a disobedient servant to my Lord today and to be obedient to you. What benefit did I gain What honor is there for me, and what thing do I have from it now? Show me."
And the next day you must say, "Now, today, I must be obedient to my Lord because you can give me nothing. Yesterday I was under your command up to the night but no benefit could you show me except that my heart became contracted in darkness, in unhappiness, and I had bad dreams, also.
Therefore I will not follow you today. I am going to be an obedient servant to my Lord."
Do that, and then that night, also, put your ego in front of you and make a judgment. "How are you now? Anything wrong with me if I am disobedient to you and obedient to my Lord? What thing was wrong with me now, today? I am feeling peace and happiness and satisfaction in my heart, and I see that everything around me is allright because when I am right with my Lord, everything surrounding me is allright."
You must try this for two days, the first day listening to your ego, the second day obeying your Lord. Then you will find the difference, like night and day, like darkness and light. You can try this; everyone must try it now. This is an important teaching.
Sawm, fasting, is a shelter. I am saying this for all those people who are complaining of sufferings and miseries, of troubles. Yes, for all of it there is a way to bring them into peace. But whoever wants peace must follow a path.
Christianity, they say, is a shelter. If a person is going to practice Christianity, and if he finds satisfaction and peace, he can keep it; no worry. I am not objecting. And Judaism, also. If they practice it and find peace within themselves, they may keep it. But if they find in their hearts disturbances and unhappiness and dissatisfaction, then they must try the way of Islam, the method that Islam ultimately brought - a new method.
I don't think that a person can fast and not find peace within himself. Yes, a fasting person sits down to eat at the time of iftar and at the same table a
65 The fourth prayer of the day, observed at sunset
non-fasting person may sit, and you may examine the heart of the first and of the second. If you look at the fasting person's heart, you may find that at the time of iftar the fasting one is flying with peace and tasteful enjoyment in his heart, and pleasure, divine happiness, in his heart, but that one who did not fast never feels such a thing66.
That is proof enough for fasting. That gives us peace and happiness and enjoyment, pleasure in our hearts, but the one who all the day did not fast but ran after his ego's desires can't find that. Therefore the Prophet, p.b.u.h., said, "Allah Almighty rewards the one who fasts with two pleasures at the time of iftar. No one can taste that enjoyment and happiness except fasting people; others never taste it. One pleasure for fasting people is in this life, and there is another enjoyment and pleasure for them when they meet with their Lord on the Day of Resurrection. No one can feel such a pleasure as fasting people will find or will be rewarded with on the Day of Resurrection."
For this reason, o believers, we are fighting with our egos. Every time we win we have such a pleasure. And the fight of the ego passes through fasting.
You can fast; then you may feel or you may see that fighting, and then you may feel that pleasure, also. Therefore Allah Almighty prescribes fasting for everyone, and fasting for only one day at a time, saying, "From Fajr to sunset, keep yourself. Then I will keep you after wards."
Morning/ June 9, 1985
Allah Almighty likes people to be happy, but I see that people are unhappy. Why? Because He created them from mankind, not creating them monkeys? If He had created us donkeys, what could we do? You are Sons and Daughters of Adam, you are from mankind. You are deputies or candidates for being deputies of your Lord. Why are you not happy? Why are you unhappy?
O people, every day crying, complaining about this, that, something else! Why are you complaining? What is the reason? If we had been created as black beetles, what could we say? You could say anything? No. That black beetle is so happy and glorifying its Lord Almighty, saying "Subhānallan!" but you, the Children of Adam - thousands and thousands of complaints.
66 That pleasure is a natural result of a day spent with one's soul in control of his body, at the command of his Lord, freed from the usual preoccupation with bodily appetites and their satisfaction
That is never going to be suitable for your rank in the universe. No one else has been given such a rank in the whole universe; then for what are you always complaining? There is complaining from everyone; everyone complains. Man has been given everything but he still complains, also. Our egoes find so many things to complain about.
One day I was walking from my house to Grandsheikh's house in Damascus. It was raining heavi
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t of your eyes. For this reason we are giving this khutbah; it is suitable for this jama'ah, this congregation.
You must not be deceived by your egos, saying that all people are running, enjoying; then why am I imprisoning my ego? Your ego cries to you, but you must know that it is the worst enemy, the most dangerous and terrible enemy to you, your nafs. Don't look around for anyone who may be an enemy to you but your nafs.
Therefore, o believers, o mumins, anyone who believes in the real life, the Eternal Life - restrain the legs of your horses a little bit. Your nafs is your horse; don't leave your horse to walk as it likes, no. You must be rider on it, not carrying the horse on your shoulders. But we are doing that; we are carrying our egos, our horses, not riding on them. Allah gave you that horse to ride on and you are putting it on your shoulders? What kind of faith is that?
Yesterday an old person, an English oane, came to me and cried, saying, "O Sheikh, show me a way, because I am so old and yet I am not able to conquer my ego. And I am afraid that death may come to me and find me still in that struggle with my nafs, killing me. Please tell me something that may be a help to me to kill my dragon."
I was surprised. Among our people, no one has come and asked such a question, but that English person, an old one like this, came and asked. What about you?
Yes, this holy Ramadan is for that purpose. We are fasting to conquer our egos, to make them under our command, and the last ten days, the last one- third, is coming. We are asking Allah Almighty to help us to conquer our egos. If you can do that, then you have the right to have 'Eid55. That is 'Eid
al-akbar, the greatest 'Eid. Then you may make a parade for Allah Almighty on your horse on the day of Eid.
Ya Rabbi, forgive us and help us because we are in need of Your divine help. If your divine help does not come, all of us will fall, will stay, in Hell. O our Lord, save us from Your Hell. Hell - that is our ego's Hell. Keep away from your ego's, from your nafs' Hell. Wa a'adhana Allahu wa iyyakum56.
Allah Almighty examines or tries His servants by everything. You must be ready for every trial from Allah Almighty. Anything may be Anything is possible, endless possibilities in this life. Something may happen to you that you never expected but yet is possible.
We have a Turkish saying that it is possible that the oceans are going to be fire - possible; it is a possibility. You can't say it is impossible because we live in a world of possibilities and any condition, expected or unexpected possibilities or conditions, may reach any one, or everyone. Therefore it is important for everyone to practice and to examine or to test his faith: If this comes on me, what am I going to do? If something happens to me, to my family, to my business, to my car, to my neighbors, to my coumtry, to my everything, what am I going to do? Am I going to be patient or am I going to fight?
55 Eid al-Fitr, the Festival of Fast-breaking at the end of Ramadan, one of the two major festivals of Islam
56 And may Allah save us and you
Against what are you going to fight? Against the will of your Lord Almighty? Everything must be according to His will. No one can change it; you can't fight your Lord's will. We are speaking of all these things, these conditions that you cannot expect, and then they come, suddenly come. That is a test from Allah Almighty of whether you have sufficient power of belief, if you believe that khairihi wa sharrihi min Alani Ta'ala57.
Through everything that may touch us with His will, He is testing whether, when we say it with our tongues, we are also going to bear it practically or not - if it is only a word or if it is really an action with in ourselves. Therefore we do not want our Lord to put us into such conditions for which we must be brave, because it is too difficult for our level of faith. We are asking from His endless favors to make everything that may touch us lighter, lighter, because we are not too strong. Ya Rabbi, ajalna sābirin; O our Lord, make us patient (when I say this I am afraid, because it is so difficult). Wa ajalnā shakirin; and make us thankful, because that pertains to His endless favors. To be patient is more important, and for those who are patient, Allah Almighty's favors and mercies come to them without count. (but not for shakirin, thankful people, because it is easy, while that is so difficult).
May Allah Almighty make everything easy for us, and we believe that it is only lighter loads which may come on us to bear. It is, according to our faith, not too heavy.
MURĪD: You said that all is possible, nothing is impossible, so it must be possible for a proud person to become humble. How can a proud person become a humble persan?
SHEIKH: All things are possible, yes. The weather may be cloudy or the sun may be shining. Possibility means that the sky may be clear or may be covered, cloudy. Therefore, when you are asking this, it must be possible for a proud person to become a humble person.
57 Everything of either good or evil is from God Most High, by His permission will and decree. This is the sixth and last of the Articles of Faith in Islam (the others are belief in Allah, God Almighty; in His angels, who are emissaries of His divine will; in His divinely-revealed Scriptures; in His messengers, the prophets; and in the Day of Judgment and Heaven and Hell
Yes, depending on his heart. Sometimes it is covered, clouded, by his ego; then he is proud, but when his faith shines like a sun he is humble. When that sun is covered, there is darkness and he is proud, that person. You can understand, yes?
Everything that comes to a person of goodness or of badness is related to his faith. When his faith shines like a sun, he can't do a wrong thing; he is looking, but when he is in darkness, he can't see where he is putting his foot. Therefore the Prophet says, p.b.u.h., that a person cannot kill when he is a believer, his faith in his heart - never killing, never stealing, never drinking, never fornicating. Yes, it is impossible, the Prophet says, until his faith goes away, from his head up, so that his heart is in darkness. Then he can do that prohibited thing.
To be proud - that is also prohibited. When a person has lost his faith's shining in his heart, then he can be proud. When Satan lost his faith, he fell into darkness and then became proud in his Lord's Divine Presence; if he had had his faith's sun shining in his heart, he couldn't have been proud in the Divine Presence. He was proud and said “Why?" to his Lord. No one can say to Allah Almighty, "Why are you doing this?" but when a person loses his faith and falls into darkness, he never hears what he is saying or sees what he is doing.
Therefore everything is possible for a person depending on his faith or loss of faith. When he loses his faith he can do anything. He is terrible, more terrible than any wild animals, also. A wild animal may be terrible for one person, for two, but when its hunting is finished, then it may say, "That is enough." But one who has lost his faith and falls in to darkness may kill the whole of mankind and he may say, "I don't care if all of them are killed." Therefore the danger for the future of mankind is increasing because people living in our time are quickly losing their faith in their Lord, their Creator, and saying, "No Lord, no God, in existence." What can be expected from such people? What shining future can you imagine now for this mankind?
Yes. From goodness and from badness everything is possible. When you believe in your Lord Almighty, every goodness may be expected from you, from anyone, but when a person falls in darkness, losing his faith, finished; every evil, every badness, can be expected from him. That is a possibility for both sides.
Therefore so many people are going to psychiatrists now. Those people do not go until they lose their faith. When people are ill and they are in need of a
psychiatrist, it is for this reason. They are falling in darkness and they are like a blind person, going along, and they can’t see where is the exit, where is the door, where is the entrance, where are the windows - not knowing, and coming to fight with themselves. For illnesses, physical and mental, that is the reason - losing faith. When a person loses it, quickly the physical body goes down and he is spiritually, mentally, destroyed, also.
Therefore happiness, peace and enjoyment are in faith. Gueranteed safety is in faith, in believing. When people lose that, finished; no more faith or peace, no more safety, no more satisfaction, no more garantee for them; no more health or wealth - finished, burning their personalities by losing their faith.
This is a simple, general diagnosis for the whole world. In two words, when they lose their faith, everything comes upon them, finished. Every problem may be solved by faith, and a faith, even though that faith may not be a true one, is useful for a person; it helps him to believe in something. Even though that may be wrong, it helps him and supports him but it is not perfect.
Therefore, anyone who wants perfect help, perfect support, must believe in a true faith. Others may give a brief support for a short time but without any beliefs it is terrible for the future of man, individually and collectively. For this reason there is darkness now, people running into darkness, the darkness of Hell, because they are quickly running to lose their faith, and the kingdom of devils urges them to lose their faith and advises them, "Don't believe in anything."
If people believe, the kingdom of devils must be destroyed; because the supporters of the kingdom of devils and Satan are unbelievers, so that now troubles are increasing, and Satan, the king of the kingdom of devils, is so happy, so happy, and is preparing a fire celebration for all humanity on earth, working so hard to make a festival of fire. Working so hard in Russia, in America, in the East, in the West; every nation is working hard to produce more fire for that day, making fuel for that fire. And they are happy, giving millions and millions - for what? For defense.
You must defend against devils. But now people have lost the knowledge of who is their enemy, the terrible enemy who makes people forget that he is their enemy, making people enemies to each other. People are enemies, natians are enemies to each other, but they are forgetting the common enemy of mankind whom Allah Almighty mentions throughout all holy books, saying, "Satan is the most terrible enemy to you." Yes? And we are asking
for a sultan who cuts off the heads of devils with his divine sword. That is important.
'Asr June 8, 1985
By the name of Allah, Allmighty, All-merciful, Most Beneficent and Most Munificent - our Lord, the Lord of Jesus Christ, the Lord of Moses, the Lord of beloved Muhammad, peace be upon them, the Lord of the universes, the Owner, the Creator. As He likes, He makes; as He likes, He creates; as He likes, He gives life to people; as He likes, He takes them from life, killing them. No one can stand against His will. Everyone in the Heavens and on earth is a slave to Him; whether they like it or not, they are slaves and His command goes on. And everyone must listen to his command. If you listen to His commands and obey, that is honor for you. If not, it is dishonor for you.
We are trying to do something, we are intending always to be obedient servants, but we have a nals. Our egoes like to be disobedient; ego likes to have its commands go on and not anyone else's. Therefore fighting takes place between our egoes and our souls. Souls always want to be the Lord's obedient servants, but our naf's says, "No!"
To the one who wins over his nafs Allah Almighty will give a different world, giving him istiklal, independence; whoever is an obedient servant to his Lord, Allah Almighty will take him through this world and will give him another, independent world. He can be in that world, and even though he still goes around among people in his bodily form, he has a private world and a private life - a peaceful world for him. This is a secret: that if anyone can keep to being an obedient servant to his Lord, he receives a prize from his Lord Almighty. But it is secret. He has a peaceful world for him self alone and lives in that world with sincere people, peaceful people; there are no fighting, no quarreling, no harming people there.
Whoever can be an obedient servant to his Lord, he may take his divine prize during this life. He may be among us, with ourselves. Grandsheikh was saying, may Allah bless him, that once a day Bilal, the first muedhdhin58,
58 Muezzin, the one who makes the call to prayer, the adhan (azan). Bilal al Habshi, who in the early days of Islam was an oppressed glave, later freed by Abu Bakr Siddiq, was the first muedhdhin of Islam during the Prophet's years in Madinah. Fajr is the first of the five daily prayers, observed between dawn and sunrise
calls the adhan for Fajr prayer in the Heavens. Whoever hears his adhân must go and be present for Fajr prayer at Bait al-Mamūr59, which is in the First Heaven. Whoever can hear that adhan, it means that he has been invited and that he has spiritual authority to reach, to take his physical body, also, to that masjid60 in the First Heaven's station. Then, all the prophets and awliya must pray that morning prayer even though they are in Barzakh 61; even though they have gone from this life, they still pray morning prayer, Fajr prayer, with beloved Muhammad, p.b.u.h. Every day that prayer goes on, and all the prophets make a jama'ah, congregation, behind Muhammad, p.b.u.h.; Jesus Christ, also. I am seeing Moses I am seeing, Abraham I am seeing, peace be upon them, so many prophets whose names are mentioned in the Holy Qur'an and who are not mentioned but whose Inner meanings have been mentioned.
That is an authority coming through the Prophet, p.b.u.h., to awliya, and Grandsheikh, may Allah bless him, has authority to take caliphs from among his murids to show them, to make them pray in that holy place, and that is all right. And even while they are praying in that holy masjid, Bait al-Mamūr, they also leave one shape on earth, standing with people as imam for prayer or standing with the jama'ah, so that people do not think wrongly about them, why they do not pray Fajr. They pray with the people, also, but really, actually, they pray morning prayer with the Prophet, p.b.u.h., every day.
Now, So many awliya and so many true believers who have reached sainthood and true faith have been given a private world for themselves, peaceful. They live in their worlds, happy and peaceful and in satisfaction, no troubles or sufferings harming them; no. What is the reason? Being an obedient servant to the Lord, Almighty Allah; then He gives them their prizes, beginning from here up to eternity. But those who are disobedient to their Lord, every day there reaches them more fire from Hell to give them suffering, reaching their hearts. And those people for whom the veils have been taken away from their hearts, from their hearts' eyes, can see so many millions or billions of people on fire, in flames.
That is a punishment for disobeying their Lord. They are indeed in flames but they are unseen flames; only awliyā can see them. And now in our time,
59 The spiritual prototype of the Holy Klaba in the First Heaven
60 Mosque
61 The state between death and the Last Judgment, in which the life of the soul and the spiritual body continues
subhanallan, glory to Allah Almighty! most people are in flames. No chance for them to extinguish those flames except to be obedient servants.
Those who are obedient servants to their egos, all of them are in flames, burning. Very few people, if you were able to look, could you see in their worlds or in their universes, peaceful and happy, no flames, but in our time most people are in flames, burning. Little by little that burning is finishing them and they are going to die.
Therefore we muist be obedient servants or we are going to burn in the flames of our egos. And what is the way that you can be an obedient servant to your Lord, Allah Almighty? Allah Almighty says, instructing His Last Prophet, the Seal of the Prophets, p.b.u.h., to say that fasting is a shelter, junnah. Sawm62, fasting, is a shelter from what thing? From everything. You should use fasting as a shelter from every suffering and from burning by flames because it is the way to be an obedient servant to Allan Almighty.
Without using fasting, it is impossible to be an obedient servant, impossible to command your ego - always refusing you.
So many methods you may use but they are going to be unsuccessful. The single way that you may be able to command your ego is the way of fasting; whoever is able to fast, it means that he may be able to command his ego. When you command it, you are going to be an obedient servant to your Lord. Then you may listen to your Lord Almighty. If not, you are a disobedient person. And if anyone enters by that door, he should be a sincere worshipper because in fasting you are doing a worship, a secret worship; no one knows if a person is lasting or not. Only your Lord, Almighty Allah, knows. Therefore it is a sincere worship, and therefore fasting teaches a person how he can be a sincere worshipper to his Lord, Almighty Allah.
But then your nafs may attack you after iftar63, claiming, "Now I am free." Be careful after iftār. If you are able to catch it also af ter iftār, then after Ramadan you may be able to take your nafs under your command. The whole day you may fill this tire, such heavy work, filling, to continue on your
62 What is referred to here is fasting prescribed by Islam (sawm or siyam), either during the month of Ramadan or optional (nafil) fasting during the remainder of the year. Islamic fasting follows a strict discipline of total abstinence from food, drink and marital realtions during the daylaight hours, beginning just before dawn up to sunset. The fast is broken at sunset with an evening meal, and eating a pre-dawn meal (suhur) is a sunnah of the prophet, p.b.u.h.
63 The breaking of the fast at sunset with food or drink
way; then after iftar comes your nafs and makes it whsh-sh! - flat. Yes - then you will have to wait for the next day and begin to do it again. Therefore you must be careful after iftar, also. Don't give your nafs all its desires. No; must be within limits. Then, every day, every day, bit by bit you may take more authority and power over your ego.
Then on the first day of ‘Eid 64it will say, "Oh-h, now I am free. Today is 'Eid. I am free." It means to say, "I can do everything now. Everything is halal, everything is permissible, for me now." But not everything is halal. Haram, prohibited things, are not halal for you; haram is harām, and you must fast up to the end of your life from harām things. Then your nafs is going to cry, "Oh-h-h! How can I be patient up to the end of my life, such long years? How can I be patient? I must look, I must listen, I must go, I must eat, I must drink!" asking for freedom at that time.
O believers, you who believe in your Lord, Almighty Allah, you must know that at any time we may be returned to Him - at any time. No safety, no guarantee, no insurance. Yes, no insurance for anyone, for at any time you may be recalled. At any time Allah Almighty may order to cancel that person's life, to take it back, finished. Therefore we are fighting with our egos and we must use a method because our nafs is a burden, a heavy burden, on ourselves, on our shoulders. Therefore Grandsheikh was always advising everyone, "O people, don't say to your ego that you are going to live long years. Then it is going to be very lazy and to deceive you. But you must say, 'It is the path that you must go on today only. From morning up to nighttime you must keep this path, not tomorrow - finished; today only. Keep me, and tomorrow I shall leave you alone. Today from morning up to night you must be as your Lord wants you to be but don't think about tomorrow, only about today, because so many millions saw sunrise today but they will never see sunset; perhaps you may be one of those millions. Or so many people saw sunset this night but will never see the sun rise to morrow.' And when you make short distances, your nafs may go to reach a short distance, but if you make long distances then it is going to be very lazy, saying 'No' to you. For a short distance you may be at rest, you may gain everything. You must go on."
Therefore our ego calls each one of us to listen to it and to be disobedient to our Lord. But if the whole day you are a disobedient person, you can gain
64 This festival marks the end of the month of fasting and the transition from the discipline of Ramadan to customary habits
nothing. If the whole day you do everything that your ego wants to do, giving it every desire, when the sun sets and Maghrib65 time comes, you must put your ego in front of you for judgment. That is muhasabah. taking account. "O my ego, today from morning up to sunset I did just as you said. What has happened now? You made me be a disobedient servant to my Lord today and to be obedient to you. What benefit did I gain What honor is there for me, and what thing do I have from it now? Show me."
And the next day you must say, "Now, today, I must be obedient to my Lord because you can give me nothing. Yesterday I was under your command up to the night but no benefit could you show me except that my heart became contracted in darkness, in unhappiness, and I had bad dreams, also.
Therefore I will not follow you today. I am going to be an obedient servant to my Lord."
Do that, and then that night, also, put your ego in front of you and make a judgment. "How are you now? Anything wrong with me if I am disobedient to you and obedient to my Lord? What thing was wrong with me now, today? I am feeling peace and happiness and satisfaction in my heart, and I see that everything around me is allright because when I am right with my Lord, everything surrounding me is allright."
You must try this for two days, the first day listening to your ego, the second day obeying your Lord. Then you will find the difference, like night and day, like darkness and light. You can try this; everyone must try it now. This is an important teaching.
Sawm, fasting, is a shelter. I am saying this for all those people who are complaining of sufferings and miseries, of troubles. Yes, for all of it there is a way to bring them into peace. But whoever wants peace must follow a path.
Christianity, they say, is a shelter. If a person is going to practice Christianity, and if he finds satisfaction and peace, he can keep it; no worry. I am not objecting. And Judaism, also. If they practice it and find peace within themselves, they may keep it. But if they find in their hearts disturbances and unhappiness and dissatisfaction, then they must try the way of Islam, the method that Islam ultimately brought - a new method.
I don't think that a person can fast and not find peace within himself. Yes, a fasting person sits down to eat at the time of iftar and at the same table a
65 The fourth prayer of the day, observed at sunset
non-fasting person may sit, and you may examine the heart of the first and of the second. If you look at the fasting person's heart, you may find that at the time of iftar the fasting one is flying with peace and tasteful enjoyment in his heart, and pleasure, divine happiness, in his heart, but that one who did not fast never feels such a thing66.
That is proof enough for fasting. That gives us peace and happiness and enjoyment, pleasure in our hearts, but the one who all the day did not fast but ran after his ego's desires can't find that. Therefore the Prophet, p.b.u.h., said, "Allah Almighty rewards the one who fasts with two pleasures at the time of iftar. No one can taste that enjoyment and happiness except fasting people; others never taste it. One pleasure for fasting people is in this life, and there is another enjoyment and pleasure for them when they meet with their Lord on the Day of Resurrection. No one can feel such a pleasure as fasting people will find or will be rewarded with on the Day of Resurrection."
For this reason, o believers, we are fighting with our egos. Every time we win we have such a pleasure. And the fight of the ego passes through fasting.
You can fast; then you may feel or you may see that fighting, and then you may feel that pleasure, also. Therefore Allah Almighty prescribes fasting for everyone, and fasting for only one day at a time, saying, "From Fajr to sunset, keep yourself. Then I will keep you after wards."
Morning/ June 9, 1985
Allah Almighty likes people to be happy, but I see that people are unhappy. Why? Because He created them from mankind, not creating them monkeys? If He had created us donkeys, what could we do? You are Sons and Daughters of Adam, you are from mankind. You are deputies or candidates for being deputies of your Lord. Why are you not happy? Why are you unhappy?
O people, every day crying, complaining about this, that, something else! Why are you complaining? What is the reason? If we had been created as black beetles, what could we say? You could say anything? No. That black beetle is so happy and glorifying its Lord Almighty, saying "Subhānallan!" but you, the Children of Adam - thousands and thousands of complaints.
66 That pleasure is a natural result of a day spent with one's soul in control of his body, at the command of his Lord, freed from the usual preoccupation with bodily appetites and their satisfaction
That is never going to be suitable for your rank in the universe. No one else has been given such a rank in the whole universe; then for what are you always complaining? There is complaining from everyone; everyone complains. Man has been given everything but he still complains, also. Our egoes find so many things to complain about.
One day I was walking from my house to Grandsheikh's house in Damascus. It was raining heavi
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