Mercy Oceans, Book 12 (192 pages, 4/15)
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r denying the existence of the Lord, Almighty Allah, a new current from Satan; Satan and his helpers,
his devils, are teaching people to deny the existence of the Lord, Allah Almighty. As the first step, they are teaching people to deny the existence of the Creator; and second, they are teaching them to claim that each one is the creator of himself, so that there are endless "creators," each one claiming that only I am in existence. They are denying the Creator, Allah Almighty, and proclaiming their own lordship or godhood; anyone who has a little bit of authority is proclaiming his own lordship.
That is a sign of darkness in the hearts of people, and it makes the future of mankind in this world dark and black. That is the reason that in our time most of the honor of mankind is taken away and you can find only very few honorable people. Earlier there were a lot of honorable ones among people, but now a wrong system has come, wrong ideas which say that all people are "equal."29 Now there is no respect for anyone, because that current which denies the existence of the Lord, Almighty Allah, makes people like a flock of sheep or goats. No respect for anyone; they say, "I am as you are." No respect for parents, no respect for holy men, no respect for old people - nothing. Yes, you can find millions, perhaps billions, of such people.
It means that honor and respect have been taken away from people, although earlier there were a lot of honorable people. And it began from the year 1789, the French Revolution - from that time when honorable people became the "feet" and the "feet" became the "head";30 holy books have informed us about this through traditions.
29 The “wrong ideas" of equality referred to here are those which deny the existence or intrinsic ranks among human beings according to the value of their characteristics, abilities or actions, which is inherent in the ordering of the universe and any balanced social order, even those making the greatest claims of "equality. This principle is proclaimed in the Qur'an in such verses as VI:132: "And for all, there are ranks according to what they do."
30 That is, the French Revolution brought about a total reversal of the natural order of society by opening the door to anarchy and mob rule, thereby making possible the infliction of untold oppression and suffering by upholding the domination of the lowest, most savage elements of the society
This is not a good sign, and it is a fruit of kufr, unbelief. That tree that was planted in the French Revolution is now giving its fruits; all the crises in the world are coming from that tree, its fruits, and we are eating them, bitterly eating. People must eat them; it is a punishment.
This life is every day getting to be more bitter. For what reason? Because people are denying the existence of Allah Almighty and they are saying, "Only we are in existence, not anyone else." Therefore we are advising people, as all prophets and their inheritors, awliya, advised the servants of God, Almighty Allah, to come and believe in the existence of Allah. That gives us honor, here and Hereafter. If we do not teach our children, do not look after their beliefs, then darkness will come on ourselves, also, and there will be no respect given to such people here or Hereafter.
By the name of Allah, All-mighty, All-merciful, Most Beneficent and Most Munificent. Allah Almighty says, "Wa khuliqa-l-insanu dha'ifa31, Allah created man weak." It means that people need a covering, they need support; they need to be protected and defended, also, from enemies. Therefore we are in need to have with ourselves something like an umbrella, to be under it in order to be in safety; we are in need of that here and on the Day of Resurrection.
Allah Almighty makes beliefs and faith to be an umbrella for everyone, protecting people here and Hereafter. In this world, during this life, everywhere, at every time, like rain, so many burdens are falling on people, raining heavily on them, so that without beliefs and faith you can't keep them away from yourself. Therefore Allah Almighty makes faith and beliefs for His weak servants, to keep them, to protect them, here and Hereafter.
31 "' And We created man weak." (IV:28)
Each day you may face so many things that harm you and give you trouble and suffering. If no beliefs, you can't bear it; this life is a heavy burden.
Without believing in the Lord, Allah Almighty, it is impossible to bear it; so many people are unable to bear it and kill themselves. But the one who believes in his creator, in his Lord, Allah Almighty, and who believes in the eternal life, it is all right for him: that is an umbrella giving a support to him to carry this life's heavy burden.
In our days, everywhere you are observing that people are getting down, and every day their complaints are increasing. And every day, glory to Allah Almighty! you are hearing about something that was not in existence earlier; every day some new thing comes out and goes on. It is difficult to explain how in our time the sources of evil are increasing day by day, but it indicates that heavenly occurrences are affecting people on earth. And we are observing also that, as long as people think that no relationship exists between earth and the Heavens, those troubles are increasing; we are observing that point.
People are saying that no relationship exists between earth and Heaven. They are telling themselves that we are now free from every divine command or divine control; they say, "We are taking our freedom." How can they say this, when divine commands have come to people through divine religions? But day by day people are leaving divine commands, and they think, "We can do anything and we are free. No one can prevent us from doing anything that we like to do." That is the idea, the new idea, of people.
Then, the Divine Controller says, "You are free. You can do anything, but you must know that punishment is always coming with you and running along with you. You are free to do, and I am free, also, to do anything to you, freely." That is the reason why every day crises and troubles and sufferings are increasing and not lessening.
People are thinking that economic conditions are the main reason for these crises. They are foolish people who are saying this; only no-mind people can say this, because we are observing the same crises in rich countries. If your country is not rich enough, I have been to one of the richest countries on earth, Switzerland, and I have seen that there, also, crises and depression are increasing among people. The more a person makes himself free from divine commands, the more he is going to be a slave to his ego, a servant and a slave to his ego's desires. And our ego's desires are endless; no matter how much you may run after it, to fulfill its desires, it is impossible to reach a limit. Therefore, even in rich countries, depression and crises are mounting.
What is the dawa', cure, for it? What is the cure? Allah knows His servants; the one who made this tape recorder knows best how you can use it. Allah Almighty created man and He knows best how man must use his life.
Therefore I am saying that whoever wants to be free from divine commands, there must be something wrong in his head, and whoever thinks that crises are coming from economic problems, he is also an ignorant person, not knowing anything about mankind.
Allah Almighty knows our characteristics, and through the first prophet, Adam, He made for man, for the Sons of Adam, halal and haram32. Those are limits, to put a limit on our desires. But our egos want to be free for everything, and that is the end of our life, that is destroying us.
Therefore, as we are weak and may easily be carried away by our egos and by Satan, we are in need to protect ourselves under an umbrella of faith.
32 According to the Islamic teachings, the first man, Adam, was also the first prophet. After his descent to earth from his original home in Paradise, from which he and Eve were expelled after disobeying God, God revealed to him His laws of what is permissible (halal) and what is prohibited (haram) for the guidance of his descendants, humankind, who are to work out their return to the Paradise from which their souls have come, either during this life or through cleansing in the Life- to-come
What is that faith? You must believe in God, Almighty Allah, and you must keep the limits that He put for us, saying, "This you have permitted to take or to do, and that is prohibited for you."
-That puts a limit on our actions. If no limits in a religion, it is not a religion, it is not a faith. There must be limits. But now everyone wants to have a religion without putting any boundaries. That is the whole reason why people are going down, every day becoming worse; going from bad to worse, and from worse to worst, also.
We are in need to establish a shelter for ourselves in order to be in safety, and this is our shelter and umbrella: to believe in God and to believe in the Last Day. Therefore, every prophet just called people to believe in Allah Almighty, the Creator, and to believe in the Last Day. It is not enough to believe in God Almighty only while not believing in the Last Day, not believing in Paradise and Hell, because, without belief in the eternal life, people think that there is no responsibility for themselves. But "no responsibility" is for animals only; human beings have responsibility, and that is the main point that Allah Almighty ordered to all the prophets: to proclaim that there is an eternal life, there is a judgment day.
Everyone must be judged in the Divine Presence according to his actions during this life. That is responsibility. And without there being halal or haram, without there being some things which we are commanded to do and some others to leave, there is no responsibility.
We are carrying that responsibility. Therefore, everyone who has been ordered to do something or to leave off something is in need of strong willpower to keep those orders; without willpower you can't do anything. Your will must be above your ego's desires so that you can command your ego to do something or to leave something; without willpower it is impossible. And without worshipping, it is impossible for a person to take his will. power in his hands.
And among worships, there is no other worship like fasting for sharpening our willpower; fasting sharpens it to cut those egos' desires. Therefore fasting is important in our lives so that we can command our egos.
Now we are fasting from halal; during Holy Ramadan we are fasting and, leaving halal eating and drinking because Allah Almighty says to leave it33. Then what about prohibited things? If you are leaving halal, you must be able to leave haram. And that is the benefit of fasting: you are sharpening your willpower. If for this one month you may be able to take command of your ego, Allah Almighty may support you during the other eleven months; you may be able at any time to command your ego. But if you leave your ego free during this month, during Holy Ramadan, your ego will carry you during the other eleven months.
Therefore we must try to fast and to practice after Ramadan, also. After Ramadan fasting is sunnah, not fard34; the Prophet, p.b.u.h., made it a sunnah so that sometimes we may order ourselves to fast, to keep away from our egos' desires. Our egos are saying, "What about that fasting? It is not fard." You may answer it, "Yes, I know it is not fard, but the Prophet said, 'You may fast,' and as he fasted, therefore I must fast also."
That sunnah fasting also gives us some willpower. Therefore the Prophet, p.b.u.h., taught us and made fasting on certain days sunnah, particularly six days after 'Eid35. And during each month, when the moon becomes perfectly full, the thirteenth, fourteenth and fifteenth, the brightest days, may also be
33 That is, while eating and drinking when one wishes is ordinarily permissible (halal), under the discipline of the Islamic fasting, one foregoes these ordinarily-halal activities, as well as engaging in marital relations, during the daylight hours, thereby making it easier to reject the ego's and Satan's promptings toward haram activities and pleasures
34 Fard means "obligatory," while sunah denotes something which was practiced or recommended by the Holy Prophet but which is not obligatory, such as the sunnah parts of the prayer or fasting at times other than Ramadan
35 Referring to the six days of fasting during Shawwal (the month following Ramadan) after 'Eid al-Fitr, the Festival of Fast-breaking at the conclusion of Ramadan
sunnah fasts36. And for the second 'Eid, from the beginning of Dhul-Hijjah, nine days or only the Day of 'Arafat37; and in Muharram, also, ten days or two days or three days38; and Rajab and Sha'ban, two holy months, also39. Or every month you may fast three days, or you may fast every week on Monday and Thursday40, as you like. This is sunnah in order to keep your ego under your control any time you may order it; and that day you may be in safety and you may feel a happiness within yourself, and Allah will support you. Therefore it is a good habit to follow sunnah fasting; for every occasion (mentioned above) you may observe it. It gives us more power, more willpower.
Fasting means to command and to keep your ego from any of its desires. Yes, it is fasting if your ego is asking for something to eat, to do, to say, and you say "No"; that is fasting, also. And fasting from evil keeps you under the shelter of your faith, because, for every trouble that reaches and touches people, its only reason is that they are fulfilling some desire of their egos.
Then, after fulfilling your ego's desire, you must expect that something will touch you and harm you.
It is impossible for a person to run after his ego's desires without some harm touching him. It must be; it is a divine judgment. "Fa-man ya'mal mithqala dharratin khairan yarah, wa man ya'mal mithala dharratin sharran yarah"41:
36 Fasting on the White Days" (Ayyam Baid), the 13th, 14th and 15th of every lunar month when the moon is at its brightest
37 Fasting during the first nine days of the month of Dhul-Hijjah during the season of Hajj (Pilgrimage), or only on the Day of 'Arafat, the 9th of Dhul-Hijjah, the day preceding ; 'Eid al-Adha, the Festival of Sacrifice
38 Fasting during the first ten days of the month of Muharram, or on the 10th and the day preceding and/or following it (the 9th and 10th; the 10th and 11th; ar the 9th, 10th and 11lth)
39 Fasting during the holy months of Rajab and Sha'ban
40 Fasting each week on Mondays and Thursdays is also sunnah
41 Then whoever does an atom's weight of good shall see it, and whoever does an atom's weight of evil shall see it." (XCIX:7-8)
whoever does even the smallest thing of good, he must keep that reward with himself, in his heart, and whoever does the smallest thing from the desires of his ego, some punishment must touch him; he must await it, he must expect it. Only if he asks forgiveness from his Lord, Allah Almighty, saying, "O my Lord, I have made a mistake; forgive me," then that asking forgiveness carries that punishment away from him. Otherwise it is impossible; the one who runs after his ego's desires must be punished.
And we are asking forgiveness from Allah Almighty for everything in which we are following the desires of our egos. As long as people are following their desires, there is not going to be a good future for humanity on earth and darkness is awaiting it. Therefore all the prophets advised their nations to take a shelter.
I heard that in Switzerland some people are building a house above the ground and another underground to be their shelter from atomic weapons. But they are not shelters. The shelter for people is only their belief, their faith. As much as it is strong, it is most suitable for keeping and protecting you, here and Hereafter.
People are afraid of fire, atomic fire or other fires. In the next life also there is fire, and the shelter from that fire is only our souls. Here people are afraid of fire falling on them from the skies, but on the Day of Resurrection, Hell will send out bombs of fire as big as houses, and each person will be protected only under the shelter of his faith.
By the name of Allah, All-mighty, All-merciful, Most Beneficent and Most Munificent. May Allah Almighty keep us from falsehood. Every falsehood brings sufferings to people; therefore, untill all falsehood goes away from this earth, sufferings are never going to finish. And Allah Almighty sent His prophets to take away falsehood from the earth, and finally our Prophet,
beloved Muhammad, p.b.u.h., just came to take away all falsehood from the earth and to spread truth everywhere.
We are living at a time when, in the general view, falsehood is filling every place and truth is secret, hidden. And most people are working for falsehood. They may know it or not know it; but if they are not working for falsehood directly, they are working indirectly, each one putting one stone to build falsehood on earth, and they are imagining that that building will be a shelter for themselves. But all of those who are putting even one stone for falsehood and entering under it, that building will fall on them and finish them, taking them away.
It is important for every believer to control his actions, his deeds. Without looking after his actions, everyone is going to lose. And Satan knows everything concerning the life of mankind; he knows all the paths, and in each path he puts something from that falsehood. In every religion Satan has put something from his secret traps, in every kind of thought he has put some of his tricks.
Therefore tariqats, and in our time the Most Distinguished Naqshbandi Order, are ordering thought-control to people. If you are able to make a control on your thoughts, you may be in safety from satanic ideas; but if someone is not able to control his thoughts, then satanic ideas and falsehood come into his mind through his thoughts.
If a person gets under the control of Satan, you can't say that he is an obedient servant to his Lord. And in our time, Satan controls almost all peoples' thoughts; he controls everyone, every community, every religion, claiming to control Islam, also, the last Message of Allah Almighty, wanting to take control of it. And in our time, I am sorry to say that Satan is controlling the thoughts of Muslims, also; a huge number of Muslims, their thoughts are just controlled by Satan. This is a reality; no doubt about it.
If Satan did not control the Muslim community, they must be the first on earth and their words must be listened to. But we are not the first. The Muslim world is only first from the end, not from the beginning; next to the last, all of it, because every level of Muslims - ignorant or learned people or scholars or statesmen, every level, every class of people - is controlled by Satan and satanic ideas; finished. Therefore we are not able to save ourselves from Satan's control.
While you are under his control, particularly while your thoughts are controlled by Satan, no hope for you to be an obedient servant to Allah Almighty; it is impossible. That thought of yours which is under satanic control will never let you be a sincere servant, an obedient servant and a beloved one in the Divine Presence. Therefore we are saying that almost all people are falling under satanic control in our time and Satan is controlling the earth now, from East to West, from North to South, without doubt, and he has established his hegemony and kingdom on earth. You may know it or not. If you know, it is better than being ignorant about that satanic control.
That is the first thing that we must think about as Muslims and believers. You must control yourself. If you find any control by Satan on yourself, on your actions or on your thoughts, you must look after them to make them clean.
Now we are in the holy month, Ramadan, and we have been ordered to fast. Grandsheikhs say that there are three kinds of fasting, and the most important fasting is the third kind, making a control on your thoughts, and that is the fasting of prophets and saints. If anyone is not able to control his thoughts, it means that his heart is in the hands of Satan, and the heart is the sultan which commands our organs and our limbs; otherwise our limbs and organs would be under our hearts' command. Therefore the most important kind of fasting is to control your thoughts while you are fasting.
This is a simple fasting that we are doing now, not eating or drinking; we are happy, also, in waiting for a good breakfast42 - that is our pleasure in fasting. This is the first level of fasting. But if you can try to guard your limbs, your organs, to make them fast, also, that is stronger than the first kind of fasting, so that you may be able to help your heart to take control of your thoughts; because as long as you leave your eyes without control, your ears without control, your tongue without control, to look, to say, to listen as they like, you will not be able to take control of your thoughts, since the source of thoughts comes through your eyes. This looking-around is the source of thoughts in your heart; with no control on your looking, on your eyes, there is no control on your thoughts. You must fall down, and Satan is able to take control of your thoughts through your looking. Therefore it is so important for the one who is fasting to try to take control of his eyes.
People think that just not eating and drinking is enough for fasting, but it is really the lowest form of fasting. We are asking to make our minds safe, safe from satanic ideas, and our thoughts clean from satanic control, and this fasting helps us, from the beginning up to its perfection. Even if you are only fasting to keep yourself away from eating and drinking, it is helpful, it is the way to reach thought control; without taking the first step, you can't reach the top step. Therefore, the one who wants to make himself in safety from satanic control must be careful about his fasting.
If you do not control your thoughts, your thoughts will push you or pull you into falsehood. They are not going to remain only as thoughts; thoughts turn into actions, yes? And then we are going to be the servants or helpers of falsehood, to build Satan's kingdom; without knowing or without thinking, we are working for Satan and his kingdom. Therefore it is so important to take control of our thoughts.
42 For fasting people, "breakfast" is actually iftar, the breaking of the fast at sunset
Among tariqats we have some methods; if a person wants to keep his heart clean, Satan no longer controlling him, we have a method in our tariqat. One grandsheikh was ordering his murids, when they were thinking bad thoughts related to this life, to take a shower bath: if, a person thinks about haram, he is ordered to take a shower, ghusl43; every time that haram thought comes and repeats in your heart, you are going to take a shower and then pray two rak'ats. Then Satan says, "It is useless if I give bad thoughts to this person because each time, he gets up to take a shower and pray two rak'ats. It is not a good thing to make a person take a shower and pray; no benefit for me. He is gaining!" And if you continue with that method for forty days, then he will never come to you to take control of your thoughts, running away, because he will say, "We are gaining nothing, but he is gaining."
And even for beginners, they are asked to do wudu44: if you are thinking some bad things, Satan putting into your mind some bad thoughts or harams, then you may renew your wudu and make Shahadah and istighfar45." Then Satan will say, "Every time, that person makes wudu, makes istighfar, renews his Shahadah. What am I doing? I am giving him benefit! I must leave him."
Yes, for everything there is something against it to protect believers from satanic ideas. Therefore, it is good manners to make wudu for every prayer or to take a shower, ghusl, once every twenty-four hours; it takes away bad thoughts from you, and day by day they are going to finish. If a person does not leave those bad thoughts which are in his heart, his name is written in the book of Satan; famous names are with Satan. And in our time, most people are doing things without thinking about controlling their minds,
43 A shower-bath which includes all the parts of wudu (see footnote 44)
44 The ablution or cleansing prescribed in Islam for prayers, reading the Qur'an, and other acts of worship
45 Shahadah: the Declaration of Faith, "I bear witness that there is no deity except God Almighty, and I bear witness that Muhammad is H
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r denying the existence of the Lord, Almighty Allah, a new current from Satan; Satan and his helpers,
his devils, are teaching people to deny the existence of the Lord, Allah Almighty. As the first step, they are teaching people to deny the existence of the Creator; and second, they are teaching them to claim that each one is the creator of himself, so that there are endless "creators," each one claiming that only I am in existence. They are denying the Creator, Allah Almighty, and proclaiming their own lordship or godhood; anyone who has a little bit of authority is proclaiming his own lordship.
That is a sign of darkness in the hearts of people, and it makes the future of mankind in this world dark and black. That is the reason that in our time most of the honor of mankind is taken away and you can find only very few honorable people. Earlier there were a lot of honorable ones among people, but now a wrong system has come, wrong ideas which say that all people are "equal."29 Now there is no respect for anyone, because that current which denies the existence of the Lord, Almighty Allah, makes people like a flock of sheep or goats. No respect for anyone; they say, "I am as you are." No respect for parents, no respect for holy men, no respect for old people - nothing. Yes, you can find millions, perhaps billions, of such people.
It means that honor and respect have been taken away from people, although earlier there were a lot of honorable people. And it began from the year 1789, the French Revolution - from that time when honorable people became the "feet" and the "feet" became the "head";30 holy books have informed us about this through traditions.
29 The “wrong ideas" of equality referred to here are those which deny the existence or intrinsic ranks among human beings according to the value of their characteristics, abilities or actions, which is inherent in the ordering of the universe and any balanced social order, even those making the greatest claims of "equality. This principle is proclaimed in the Qur'an in such verses as VI:132: "And for all, there are ranks according to what they do."
30 That is, the French Revolution brought about a total reversal of the natural order of society by opening the door to anarchy and mob rule, thereby making possible the infliction of untold oppression and suffering by upholding the domination of the lowest, most savage elements of the society
This is not a good sign, and it is a fruit of kufr, unbelief. That tree that was planted in the French Revolution is now giving its fruits; all the crises in the world are coming from that tree, its fruits, and we are eating them, bitterly eating. People must eat them; it is a punishment.
This life is every day getting to be more bitter. For what reason? Because people are denying the existence of Allah Almighty and they are saying, "Only we are in existence, not anyone else." Therefore we are advising people, as all prophets and their inheritors, awliya, advised the servants of God, Almighty Allah, to come and believe in the existence of Allah. That gives us honor, here and Hereafter. If we do not teach our children, do not look after their beliefs, then darkness will come on ourselves, also, and there will be no respect given to such people here or Hereafter.
By the name of Allah, All-mighty, All-merciful, Most Beneficent and Most Munificent. Allah Almighty says, "Wa khuliqa-l-insanu dha'ifa31, Allah created man weak." It means that people need a covering, they need support; they need to be protected and defended, also, from enemies. Therefore we are in need to have with ourselves something like an umbrella, to be under it in order to be in safety; we are in need of that here and on the Day of Resurrection.
Allah Almighty makes beliefs and faith to be an umbrella for everyone, protecting people here and Hereafter. In this world, during this life, everywhere, at every time, like rain, so many burdens are falling on people, raining heavily on them, so that without beliefs and faith you can't keep them away from yourself. Therefore Allah Almighty makes faith and beliefs for His weak servants, to keep them, to protect them, here and Hereafter.
31 "' And We created man weak." (IV:28)
Each day you may face so many things that harm you and give you trouble and suffering. If no beliefs, you can't bear it; this life is a heavy burden.
Without believing in the Lord, Allah Almighty, it is impossible to bear it; so many people are unable to bear it and kill themselves. But the one who believes in his creator, in his Lord, Allah Almighty, and who believes in the eternal life, it is all right for him: that is an umbrella giving a support to him to carry this life's heavy burden.
In our days, everywhere you are observing that people are getting down, and every day their complaints are increasing. And every day, glory to Allah Almighty! you are hearing about something that was not in existence earlier; every day some new thing comes out and goes on. It is difficult to explain how in our time the sources of evil are increasing day by day, but it indicates that heavenly occurrences are affecting people on earth. And we are observing also that, as long as people think that no relationship exists between earth and the Heavens, those troubles are increasing; we are observing that point.
People are saying that no relationship exists between earth and Heaven. They are telling themselves that we are now free from every divine command or divine control; they say, "We are taking our freedom." How can they say this, when divine commands have come to people through divine religions? But day by day people are leaving divine commands, and they think, "We can do anything and we are free. No one can prevent us from doing anything that we like to do." That is the idea, the new idea, of people.
Then, the Divine Controller says, "You are free. You can do anything, but you must know that punishment is always coming with you and running along with you. You are free to do, and I am free, also, to do anything to you, freely." That is the reason why every day crises and troubles and sufferings are increasing and not lessening.
People are thinking that economic conditions are the main reason for these crises. They are foolish people who are saying this; only no-mind people can say this, because we are observing the same crises in rich countries. If your country is not rich enough, I have been to one of the richest countries on earth, Switzerland, and I have seen that there, also, crises and depression are increasing among people. The more a person makes himself free from divine commands, the more he is going to be a slave to his ego, a servant and a slave to his ego's desires. And our ego's desires are endless; no matter how much you may run after it, to fulfill its desires, it is impossible to reach a limit. Therefore, even in rich countries, depression and crises are mounting.
What is the dawa', cure, for it? What is the cure? Allah knows His servants; the one who made this tape recorder knows best how you can use it. Allah Almighty created man and He knows best how man must use his life.
Therefore I am saying that whoever wants to be free from divine commands, there must be something wrong in his head, and whoever thinks that crises are coming from economic problems, he is also an ignorant person, not knowing anything about mankind.
Allah Almighty knows our characteristics, and through the first prophet, Adam, He made for man, for the Sons of Adam, halal and haram32. Those are limits, to put a limit on our desires. But our egos want to be free for everything, and that is the end of our life, that is destroying us.
Therefore, as we are weak and may easily be carried away by our egos and by Satan, we are in need to protect ourselves under an umbrella of faith.
32 According to the Islamic teachings, the first man, Adam, was also the first prophet. After his descent to earth from his original home in Paradise, from which he and Eve were expelled after disobeying God, God revealed to him His laws of what is permissible (halal) and what is prohibited (haram) for the guidance of his descendants, humankind, who are to work out their return to the Paradise from which their souls have come, either during this life or through cleansing in the Life- to-come
What is that faith? You must believe in God, Almighty Allah, and you must keep the limits that He put for us, saying, "This you have permitted to take or to do, and that is prohibited for you."
-That puts a limit on our actions. If no limits in a religion, it is not a religion, it is not a faith. There must be limits. But now everyone wants to have a religion without putting any boundaries. That is the whole reason why people are going down, every day becoming worse; going from bad to worse, and from worse to worst, also.
We are in need to establish a shelter for ourselves in order to be in safety, and this is our shelter and umbrella: to believe in God and to believe in the Last Day. Therefore, every prophet just called people to believe in Allah Almighty, the Creator, and to believe in the Last Day. It is not enough to believe in God Almighty only while not believing in the Last Day, not believing in Paradise and Hell, because, without belief in the eternal life, people think that there is no responsibility for themselves. But "no responsibility" is for animals only; human beings have responsibility, and that is the main point that Allah Almighty ordered to all the prophets: to proclaim that there is an eternal life, there is a judgment day.
Everyone must be judged in the Divine Presence according to his actions during this life. That is responsibility. And without there being halal or haram, without there being some things which we are commanded to do and some others to leave, there is no responsibility.
We are carrying that responsibility. Therefore, everyone who has been ordered to do something or to leave off something is in need of strong willpower to keep those orders; without willpower you can't do anything. Your will must be above your ego's desires so that you can command your ego to do something or to leave something; without willpower it is impossible. And without worshipping, it is impossible for a person to take his will. power in his hands.
And among worships, there is no other worship like fasting for sharpening our willpower; fasting sharpens it to cut those egos' desires. Therefore fasting is important in our lives so that we can command our egos.
Now we are fasting from halal; during Holy Ramadan we are fasting and, leaving halal eating and drinking because Allah Almighty says to leave it33. Then what about prohibited things? If you are leaving halal, you must be able to leave haram. And that is the benefit of fasting: you are sharpening your willpower. If for this one month you may be able to take command of your ego, Allah Almighty may support you during the other eleven months; you may be able at any time to command your ego. But if you leave your ego free during this month, during Holy Ramadan, your ego will carry you during the other eleven months.
Therefore we must try to fast and to practice after Ramadan, also. After Ramadan fasting is sunnah, not fard34; the Prophet, p.b.u.h., made it a sunnah so that sometimes we may order ourselves to fast, to keep away from our egos' desires. Our egos are saying, "What about that fasting? It is not fard." You may answer it, "Yes, I know it is not fard, but the Prophet said, 'You may fast,' and as he fasted, therefore I must fast also."
That sunnah fasting also gives us some willpower. Therefore the Prophet, p.b.u.h., taught us and made fasting on certain days sunnah, particularly six days after 'Eid35. And during each month, when the moon becomes perfectly full, the thirteenth, fourteenth and fifteenth, the brightest days, may also be
33 That is, while eating and drinking when one wishes is ordinarily permissible (halal), under the discipline of the Islamic fasting, one foregoes these ordinarily-halal activities, as well as engaging in marital relations, during the daylight hours, thereby making it easier to reject the ego's and Satan's promptings toward haram activities and pleasures
34 Fard means "obligatory," while sunah denotes something which was practiced or recommended by the Holy Prophet but which is not obligatory, such as the sunnah parts of the prayer or fasting at times other than Ramadan
35 Referring to the six days of fasting during Shawwal (the month following Ramadan) after 'Eid al-Fitr, the Festival of Fast-breaking at the conclusion of Ramadan
sunnah fasts36. And for the second 'Eid, from the beginning of Dhul-Hijjah, nine days or only the Day of 'Arafat37; and in Muharram, also, ten days or two days or three days38; and Rajab and Sha'ban, two holy months, also39. Or every month you may fast three days, or you may fast every week on Monday and Thursday40, as you like. This is sunnah in order to keep your ego under your control any time you may order it; and that day you may be in safety and you may feel a happiness within yourself, and Allah will support you. Therefore it is a good habit to follow sunnah fasting; for every occasion (mentioned above) you may observe it. It gives us more power, more willpower.
Fasting means to command and to keep your ego from any of its desires. Yes, it is fasting if your ego is asking for something to eat, to do, to say, and you say "No"; that is fasting, also. And fasting from evil keeps you under the shelter of your faith, because, for every trouble that reaches and touches people, its only reason is that they are fulfilling some desire of their egos.
Then, after fulfilling your ego's desire, you must expect that something will touch you and harm you.
It is impossible for a person to run after his ego's desires without some harm touching him. It must be; it is a divine judgment. "Fa-man ya'mal mithqala dharratin khairan yarah, wa man ya'mal mithala dharratin sharran yarah"41:
36 Fasting on the White Days" (Ayyam Baid), the 13th, 14th and 15th of every lunar month when the moon is at its brightest
37 Fasting during the first nine days of the month of Dhul-Hijjah during the season of Hajj (Pilgrimage), or only on the Day of 'Arafat, the 9th of Dhul-Hijjah, the day preceding ; 'Eid al-Adha, the Festival of Sacrifice
38 Fasting during the first ten days of the month of Muharram, or on the 10th and the day preceding and/or following it (the 9th and 10th; the 10th and 11th; ar the 9th, 10th and 11lth)
39 Fasting during the holy months of Rajab and Sha'ban
40 Fasting each week on Mondays and Thursdays is also sunnah
41 Then whoever does an atom's weight of good shall see it, and whoever does an atom's weight of evil shall see it." (XCIX:7-8)
whoever does even the smallest thing of good, he must keep that reward with himself, in his heart, and whoever does the smallest thing from the desires of his ego, some punishment must touch him; he must await it, he must expect it. Only if he asks forgiveness from his Lord, Allah Almighty, saying, "O my Lord, I have made a mistake; forgive me," then that asking forgiveness carries that punishment away from him. Otherwise it is impossible; the one who runs after his ego's desires must be punished.
And we are asking forgiveness from Allah Almighty for everything in which we are following the desires of our egos. As long as people are following their desires, there is not going to be a good future for humanity on earth and darkness is awaiting it. Therefore all the prophets advised their nations to take a shelter.
I heard that in Switzerland some people are building a house above the ground and another underground to be their shelter from atomic weapons. But they are not shelters. The shelter for people is only their belief, their faith. As much as it is strong, it is most suitable for keeping and protecting you, here and Hereafter.
People are afraid of fire, atomic fire or other fires. In the next life also there is fire, and the shelter from that fire is only our souls. Here people are afraid of fire falling on them from the skies, but on the Day of Resurrection, Hell will send out bombs of fire as big as houses, and each person will be protected only under the shelter of his faith.
By the name of Allah, All-mighty, All-merciful, Most Beneficent and Most Munificent. May Allah Almighty keep us from falsehood. Every falsehood brings sufferings to people; therefore, untill all falsehood goes away from this earth, sufferings are never going to finish. And Allah Almighty sent His prophets to take away falsehood from the earth, and finally our Prophet,
beloved Muhammad, p.b.u.h., just came to take away all falsehood from the earth and to spread truth everywhere.
We are living at a time when, in the general view, falsehood is filling every place and truth is secret, hidden. And most people are working for falsehood. They may know it or not know it; but if they are not working for falsehood directly, they are working indirectly, each one putting one stone to build falsehood on earth, and they are imagining that that building will be a shelter for themselves. But all of those who are putting even one stone for falsehood and entering under it, that building will fall on them and finish them, taking them away.
It is important for every believer to control his actions, his deeds. Without looking after his actions, everyone is going to lose. And Satan knows everything concerning the life of mankind; he knows all the paths, and in each path he puts something from that falsehood. In every religion Satan has put something from his secret traps, in every kind of thought he has put some of his tricks.
Therefore tariqats, and in our time the Most Distinguished Naqshbandi Order, are ordering thought-control to people. If you are able to make a control on your thoughts, you may be in safety from satanic ideas; but if someone is not able to control his thoughts, then satanic ideas and falsehood come into his mind through his thoughts.
If a person gets under the control of Satan, you can't say that he is an obedient servant to his Lord. And in our time, Satan controls almost all peoples' thoughts; he controls everyone, every community, every religion, claiming to control Islam, also, the last Message of Allah Almighty, wanting to take control of it. And in our time, I am sorry to say that Satan is controlling the thoughts of Muslims, also; a huge number of Muslims, their thoughts are just controlled by Satan. This is a reality; no doubt about it.
If Satan did not control the Muslim community, they must be the first on earth and their words must be listened to. But we are not the first. The Muslim world is only first from the end, not from the beginning; next to the last, all of it, because every level of Muslims - ignorant or learned people or scholars or statesmen, every level, every class of people - is controlled by Satan and satanic ideas; finished. Therefore we are not able to save ourselves from Satan's control.
While you are under his control, particularly while your thoughts are controlled by Satan, no hope for you to be an obedient servant to Allah Almighty; it is impossible. That thought of yours which is under satanic control will never let you be a sincere servant, an obedient servant and a beloved one in the Divine Presence. Therefore we are saying that almost all people are falling under satanic control in our time and Satan is controlling the earth now, from East to West, from North to South, without doubt, and he has established his hegemony and kingdom on earth. You may know it or not. If you know, it is better than being ignorant about that satanic control.
That is the first thing that we must think about as Muslims and believers. You must control yourself. If you find any control by Satan on yourself, on your actions or on your thoughts, you must look after them to make them clean.
Now we are in the holy month, Ramadan, and we have been ordered to fast. Grandsheikhs say that there are three kinds of fasting, and the most important fasting is the third kind, making a control on your thoughts, and that is the fasting of prophets and saints. If anyone is not able to control his thoughts, it means that his heart is in the hands of Satan, and the heart is the sultan which commands our organs and our limbs; otherwise our limbs and organs would be under our hearts' command. Therefore the most important kind of fasting is to control your thoughts while you are fasting.
This is a simple fasting that we are doing now, not eating or drinking; we are happy, also, in waiting for a good breakfast42 - that is our pleasure in fasting. This is the first level of fasting. But if you can try to guard your limbs, your organs, to make them fast, also, that is stronger than the first kind of fasting, so that you may be able to help your heart to take control of your thoughts; because as long as you leave your eyes without control, your ears without control, your tongue without control, to look, to say, to listen as they like, you will not be able to take control of your thoughts, since the source of thoughts comes through your eyes. This looking-around is the source of thoughts in your heart; with no control on your looking, on your eyes, there is no control on your thoughts. You must fall down, and Satan is able to take control of your thoughts through your looking. Therefore it is so important for the one who is fasting to try to take control of his eyes.
People think that just not eating and drinking is enough for fasting, but it is really the lowest form of fasting. We are asking to make our minds safe, safe from satanic ideas, and our thoughts clean from satanic control, and this fasting helps us, from the beginning up to its perfection. Even if you are only fasting to keep yourself away from eating and drinking, it is helpful, it is the way to reach thought control; without taking the first step, you can't reach the top step. Therefore, the one who wants to make himself in safety from satanic control must be careful about his fasting.
If you do not control your thoughts, your thoughts will push you or pull you into falsehood. They are not going to remain only as thoughts; thoughts turn into actions, yes? And then we are going to be the servants or helpers of falsehood, to build Satan's kingdom; without knowing or without thinking, we are working for Satan and his kingdom. Therefore it is so important to take control of our thoughts.
42 For fasting people, "breakfast" is actually iftar, the breaking of the fast at sunset
Among tariqats we have some methods; if a person wants to keep his heart clean, Satan no longer controlling him, we have a method in our tariqat. One grandsheikh was ordering his murids, when they were thinking bad thoughts related to this life, to take a shower bath: if, a person thinks about haram, he is ordered to take a shower, ghusl43; every time that haram thought comes and repeats in your heart, you are going to take a shower and then pray two rak'ats. Then Satan says, "It is useless if I give bad thoughts to this person because each time, he gets up to take a shower and pray two rak'ats. It is not a good thing to make a person take a shower and pray; no benefit for me. He is gaining!" And if you continue with that method for forty days, then he will never come to you to take control of your thoughts, running away, because he will say, "We are gaining nothing, but he is gaining."
And even for beginners, they are asked to do wudu44: if you are thinking some bad things, Satan putting into your mind some bad thoughts or harams, then you may renew your wudu and make Shahadah and istighfar45." Then Satan will say, "Every time, that person makes wudu, makes istighfar, renews his Shahadah. What am I doing? I am giving him benefit! I must leave him."
Yes, for everything there is something against it to protect believers from satanic ideas. Therefore, it is good manners to make wudu for every prayer or to take a shower, ghusl, once every twenty-four hours; it takes away bad thoughts from you, and day by day they are going to finish. If a person does not leave those bad thoughts which are in his heart, his name is written in the book of Satan; famous names are with Satan. And in our time, most people are doing things without thinking about controlling their minds,
43 A shower-bath which includes all the parts of wudu (see footnote 44)
44 The ablution or cleansing prescribed in Islam for prayers, reading the Qur'an, and other acts of worship
45 Shahadah: the Declaration of Faith, "I bear witness that there is no deity except God Almighty, and I bear witness that Muhammad is H
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