Mercy Oceans, Book 12 (192 pages, 6/15)
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oms, for everything. I am not saying that a person may reach that level in one step; that may be only for awliya. But it is possible to take away from your heart, little by little, the enjoyment of this life.
You may speak and address your ego or yourself directly: "We are in this world but we are not here for playing. Playing is for little boys. But you, O Thomas, or Nicholas; or 'Ali," you must say to yourself, "up to where are you going to play? No limit for you for that playing? When are you going to return to Reality?"
And little by little you will take your foot away from those enjoyments, moving it to Enjoyment Oceans through real faith. A little bit at a time; each time you may put it less, less, less. Then you are going to be a person who may eat, may drink, but for living; you are not going to be a person who lives only for eating and drinking.
You must understand these two ways. Most people are living for eating and drinking only. Then what is the difference between themselves and animals? They live for eating and drinking only, and if a person lives for eating and drinking, no difference between himself and animals. Therefore we are saying that the Prophet and his companions were taking less to eat and drink because they were only in need of it to live.
You can understand in which class you may be of the two classes. Are you living for eating and drinking only? Then you must put yourself in the zoo. But if you are eating and drinking to live, you can be a distinguished one among people, and you can balance yourself, also. Then you are with the Prophet and his Companions, and that makes you, step by step, to come into the station of real faith and opens your heart to real faith.
And we are asking forgiveness. This is an important lecture that we are in need of: that in tariqats we are making a limit for enjoyment, even of halal, so that the followers of tariqats, and particularly the followers of the Naqshbandi Tariqat, may step into the area of real faith.
By the name of Allah, All-mighty, All-merciful, Most Beneficent and Most Munificent. For real faith, we are in need to know about Akhirah, the Hereafter. We must know, because as long as our hearts are occupied with this world, it is difficult for real faith to make room in our hearts.
The Prophet, beloved Muhammad, p.b.u.h., was saying, "La burika li fi samihatin lam azdat fihi ilma - if a day comes in which I do not in crease in knowledge, it is not a blessed day for me." Yes, when the Prophet, p.b.u.h., says that each day must be more than the day before it in divine knowledge, it is an important rule for everyone.
If we increase in something for this life, that is nothing; rather we must increase each day in ma'rifat, divine knowledge. And it is a part of divine
knowledge, perhaps an obligatory part, for every believer to know about the Hereafter, as a person who wants to go to Hajj, to pilgrimage, asks about Jiddah, Makkah Mukarramah and Madinah Munawwarah59 because he intends to make Hajj and is in need to know; as much as he can know about Hijaz, he tries to learn.
Then what about if we believe in Eternal Life, the Life Hereafter, and each day we are coming closer to the Life Hereafter or to Eternal Life - is it not necessary to ask about that Life and about the Hereafter? It is a part of divine knowledge to learn and to know, day by day increasing in knowledge.
What is the benefit of increasing in that knowledge? We may mention two kinds of benefits when you increase in that knowledge about that life in the Hereafter. The first of them is that our hearts, little by little, get to be in contact with the Eternal Life and its conditions. We are taking our heart from this temporary life's conditions and enjoyments, taking it to the Eternal Life's conditions and enjoyments. And that is important, because the Prophet, p.b.u.h., said that the most dangerous thing or thought for a believer is to have in his heart the love of this life.
The love of this life is the source of every sin. "Hubba-d-dunya rasu kulli khatayah, every evil has its source in the love of this life," and through that love devils may be able to control our thoughts and to put their hands into our hearts and take us toward evils. Therefore the Prophet said that it is the most dangerous thing for believers to have their hearts attached to this life's pleasures and its love.
Yes. We have been ordered to take from this life only what is enough for ourselves, because if it is more and more, it is going to be more of a burden on ourselves, preventing us from moving toward Allah Almighty, like a person putting big iron balls-and-chains on his feet; then he can move only
59 Makkan the Blessed, Madinah the Radiant, Islam's two holiest cities, located in the western sector of Saudi Arabia known as the Hijaz
with too much difficulty. It begins with little balls. Then, as much as our property, our dunya, increases, that ball is also going to be bigger and bigger and bigger, and then you are going to be like an ant beside that huge iron ball: if it comes on you, it flattens you out.
Yes. We have been ordered to take from this life only what is enough for ourselves, because if it is more and more, it is going to be more of a burden on ourselves, preventing us from moving toward Allah Almighty, like a person putting big iron balls-and-chains on his feet; then he can move only with too much difficulty. It begins with little balls; then, as much as our property, our dunya, increases, that ball is also going to be bigger and bigger and bigger, and then you are going to be like an ant beside that huge iron ball: if it comes on you, it flattens you out.
Therefore the advice of all the prophets is that you must take only that thing which you may be in need of. Leave more for everyone else so that you may be free for walking toward Allah Almighty, because He is waiting for you.
That knowledge is the most necessary knowledge for everyone to know about the life of the Hereafter. It makes us free from this heavily-burdened life's conditions and makes our hearts also free for the love of Allah Almighty, for divine love. You must be only of your Lord, Allah Almighty!
Don't put a partner with Him - no partner, because Allah Almighty never likes to have a partner with Himself, and this life, the world, dunya, becomes a partner for the love, the divine love, of your Lord Almighty.
When you increase in the love of the permanent life, the Eternal Life, then Allah Almighty gives to your heart from His divine lights and darkness goes away; because the more the love of this life gets into your heart, the more darkness gets in, also. In darkness all bad thoughts and fears grow, and dissatisfaction and unhappiness grow in your heart because darkness makes them grow; but if darkness goes away from your heart, then it is lighted everywhere. No more troubles or unhappiness can be in your heart;
lights, divine lights, give you satisfaction and peace, and as much as those lights grow in your heart, so much peace and happiness and satisfaction will grow in your heart, and hope will grow each day. That is the aim of the hadith of the Prophet, p.b.u.h., when he asked to increase each day in divine knowledge about the Eternal Life and about the Lord, Allah Almighty. That gives more lights to your heart, and each day more satisfaction, each day more peace, come into your heart, and each day more pleasure.
Prophets and their followers, saints, awliya, each day are more joyful; they find in themselves more pleasure each day for the reason that they know that now they are approaching the Divine Presence of their Lord. Each one of the Propet's Companions knew, and also every wali, saint, knows when he is going to leave this life; when they are going to die, they know, and every person of real faith also knows the day of his death.
Bilal, may Allah bless him, a Sahabi, companion of the Holy Prophet, p.b.u.h., knew that he was going to die on the next day; and the day before that, and the week before, also, he was so happy. People around him were crying but he was very happy, very pleased and joyful, saying, "Oh-h!
Tomorrow I will meet with my beloved Muhammad, p.b.u.h., and with his beloved Companions."
And all saints are asking for the day when they are going to meet their Lord, their Prophet, and his beloved Companions. One king-sized wali, Maulana Jalaluddin Rumi, may Allah bless him, ordered that the night he died should be like a wedding night for him, and he ordered that no one should cry or be sad. Have you seen a wedding at which the person who is going to his wedding night, and the people around him, cry? No; very happy on that night. For what? "Because I am going to meet my beloved Lord, Allah Almighty, whom I love, for whose divine love my life has been lived; I am going to meet Him. Why are you sad? I am so happy and joyful. Then why are you crying? I don't like this," he was saying. And every one of those
whose hearts are for their Lord and whose hearts are full-up with their Lord's love, they never look at this life and its enjoyments; no taste for anything from this life. Their physical bodies have needs for eating and drinking and procreation, but they do not taste that. They know what is the reality of this life, and they know about the life of the Hereafter in Paradise, and they know what is the Divine Presence.
If you say that there is beauty on earth, it is only that one drop which, if you put a needle in an ocean, the needle takes from that ocean - a little drop: all the beauty that this world and people have been given, it is only that drop, that little drop, from the endless Beauty Oceans of our Lord. They know about absolute Divine Oceans, about Mercy Oceans, about Beauty Oceans, about Power Oceans, about Wisdom Oceans, about endless Knowledge Oceans; they know. What thirsty person can take anything from one drop? They are asking to sink into those Oceans, and Allah Almighty is calling them, "O people, come to Me! Give your love to Me, not to anyone else.
Nothing is suitable for your love except Me. Give it to Me!".
Therefore, we are in need of more knowledge every day so that we may increase in the knowledge of the Eternal Life; and when this life's pleasures go away, then Allah Almighty gives instead those pleasures from among His divine pleasures. Don't suppose that if you do not look at this world's pleasures He leaves you without pleasures, no; He gives another kind of pleasure, real pleasure. This is an imitation life, it is not real life; and those who understand this, they are running after real life, real pleasure, real Beauty Oceans, to be there.
This is one benefit for the one who understands the real life and its pleasures, so that he begins to ask for more and to run after it. And the second benefit is that then you will leave every badness, you will leave devils' ways and their advice; you will see them as dirty and you will say to yourself, "Don't touch them! Leave them alone.”
If you have been asked to leave halal enjoyment little by to be with divine enjoyment, then what about for haram enjoyments, for which all devils are doing advertising? Yes, advertising; now all devils are advertising for haram, for every forbidden thing, as Satan advertised the Forbidden Tree to Adam in Paradise. He said, "Oh, this is very good; you must eat. If you eat from this, you will never go out of Paradise."
He was the first advertiser, Satan, and he cheated Adam and Eve. (The first to believe in that advertisement was a woman; they quickly accept that.
Hawwa, Eve, was saying that this must be a very good thing because the Advertiser is saying such a thing about this Tree.) And now Satan and his armies from ins wal-jinn, from among mankind and jinn, are all advertisers for haram, for forbidden things. How can you be in safety now in our time?
It is so difficult, and the Prophet said that there will come a time on my nation, on my ummah, when to keep their faith will be more difficult than keeping fire in their hands; yes. Every place you go is full-up with advertisers for forbidden things, and if you are not supported by divine knowledge that makes clear to you the Eternal Life and its pleasures, it is too difficult to save yourself from these advertisers, from Satan and his volunteers.
By the name of Allah, All-mighty, All-merciful, Most Beneficent and Most Munificent. We must try to know about our Lord, ma'rifat Allah60, and the way passes through knowing yourself. Then you may find a way to the knowledge of Allah Almighty, divine knowledge.
As long as you are interested in this world and everything about i, you are going to be heedless of yourself; and people now are just occupied with everything that is around themselves. We must cut, little by little, step by step, our interest in what is around us, to turn our interest to ourselves.
60 Spiritual knowledge of God Most High
We know about this life, adh-dhahir al-hayāt ad-dunya61, outward knowledge; we know about this world. But we do not know what is the wisdom for this planet - why, amidst a huge universe, this is the only living planet. To the One who made it and gave our life-conditions on this planet, there must be not only one but perhaps so many wisdoms for this planet's being a living planet. But we always use material eyeglasses to look at it and never use our hearts to understand what is the wisdom or wisdoms for this planet, which is for the Children of Adam.
It is only a very small part of this universe, and the universe is of two kinds of materials. One, as we see, is this world and the skies. But there is another universe which is not of the same kind as this universe, and it is impossible for the Children of Adam to look at that universe with their physical bodies.
But we have been given an authority by the Creator, by Allah Almighty, to look at everything in existence which He has created. And we have, in Islamic mysticism, tasawwuf, a rule: It is impossible to know the Creator or to find a way to divine knowledge without knowing His creatures. If you do not know about this [tape recorder), how can you claim to find a way to its inventor?
Therefore, whoever wants to find a way to divine knowledge of the Lord, Allah Almighty, first he must know His creatures - every kind of creature in existence. Then he may find a way; otherwise, it is impossible to leave something unknown from among His creatures and to ask to know about the Creator. And mankind or the Children of Adam have been created and granted an authority and capability or ability to know every thing in existence, to make everyone surrounding or encircling them under their authority.
Yes, we have been given that, because, among all creatures, Allah Almighty only made mankind to be deputies for Himself. When a person is going to be a deputy for the Lord, Allah Almighty, he is granted such spiritual or divine
61 The outward things of the life of this world
powers which give an authority to him to look at everything in existence; otherwise he is not a deputy. But we are still candidates for that, as 'Abdur- Rahim is a candidate to be an adult - yes to be a father, but not now; he is a candidate. And we, also, all mankind, all the Children of Adam, are candidates to be deputies, real deputies, if we leave off imitation and walk into the reality of being a deputy.
Allah Almighty sent prophets, peace be upon them, and He addressed one of those prophets, saying, "O My prophet, be enemy to your nafs. You must be against your ego because it is that one which is against Me. Be against your ego because it is the one, the single one among all creatures, which goes against Me." That is what does not let us reach that real deputy's station, always staying on earth, not reaching our heavenly, real deputies' stations in the Divine Presence.
Allah Almighty was addressing one prophet, and if He addresses one, it means it is for all. And if all the prophets have been ordered to be against their egos, then what about ourselves?
Whoever is in agreement with his ego goes against his Lord; and whoever goes against his ego, he is going to be with his Lord, always agreeing. And it is impossible for a person to take all authority in existence as a real deputy until he is going to be absolutely against his ego. If he sometimes goes with his ego - even if he is mostly against it but sometimes with his ego - it is impossible for him to reach that real deputy's station. And every message that has come from Allah Almighty to His servants is: "O My servants, if you claim to be My servants, you must be against your egos. If you are not against your ego, you can't be My servant. It will pull you to itself."
Therefore we may summarize all the messages of the messengers of Allah Almighty, which are saying to people, "O people, you must be against your egos." The first sin was done for our ego; our ego went against the order, the holy command, of Allah Almighty, and then Adam and Eve came down from
Paradise onto the earth. The one who goes against the Lord's will must be punished; and there is no punishment for you or for anyone until he goes against his Lord, nor any happiness or peace or success or honor for a person until he is going to be against his ego.
When Adam went against his Lord's command, quickly punishment came to him and made him come on earth. He cried for three hundred years in Serendib, Ceylon62;" all his tears flowed down, becoming precious stones (it is precious when these tears come for the sake of Allah; that is precious, not for anything else). He was so angry with his ego and stood against it, and when he turned to be against his ego, Allah Almighty opened Paradise to him: "To you and your followers, those who are against their egos - this Paradise is open to them. They are still in prison. I am imprisoning you and your descendants on this planet, but you may get out of that prison by My divine authority."
One prophet, Sayyidina Yusuf, Joseph, was in prison in Egypt, and that prison was the worst prison on earth. No one entered it and came out alive or without losing his mind; but he entered and for more than forty years he lived there and came out safe in his mind and body. Nothing was lacking; perfect. Why? He was in prison, but he had been given divine authority by his Lord, Almighty Allah, and he was free throughout the whole universe and was permitted to be in the Divine Presence, not in prison.
Therefore, if anyone may be able to imprison his ego, Allah Almighty gives to him an authority through his soul, and he is free to be in East and West, or on earth or in the Heavens; to be one, to be one hundred, to be one thousand - yes, to be 124,000. He may be even more than that, 700,000; if there may appear now in our time a person who is able to be against his ego and to put it in prison, he may be given 700,000. As we are taking from this
62 According to Islamic tradition, when Adam and Eve were expelled from Paradise for disobeying God, they cane to this earth in Ceylon (Sri Lanka)
one physical body, it may be in 700,000 forms, its source coming from our spiritual power, looking and listening and speaking and able to do everything.
That is a dress of Paradise. Therefore you must know about the life of the Hereafter so that this life becomes small and pleasure in this life is going to be, in front of that huge light, a small thing. The more this life becomes small in your eyes, the more the life in Paradise becomes bigger.
That is a dress in which Allah Almighty clothes His sincere servants. It begins by being seven, up to 700,000 now in our time, that dressing of Paradise, and in Paradise you can't say how many there are going to be for you. The real deputies are clothed in this way from Paradise, a divine dress.
When I say a "divine dress," it means that Allah Almighty clothes them in His divine attributes, and no one can give a limit for the divine attributes; everyone who is His real deputy, Allah Almighty clothes him in His divine attributes. At that time you are going to be a real deputy; when you are clothed in them, finished. "Wa sakhkhara lakum ma fis-samawati wa ma fil- ardi jami'an63": that is the verse which indicates that status for ourselves. We have been given that power, that authority, to be in all the universe.
And the way on which we are marching to reach that authority is only one, as Allah Almighty advised His prophet, saying, "Be against your ego," and no need for anything else, "When you are going to be against your ego, it will be all right; you may come to Me. Because your ego is against Me, I am asking from My servants, if they want my pleasure with themselves, that they must be against their egos."
You may fill whole world with worshipping; it is easy. But to be against your ego once - it is more important. And during this holy month, Allah Almighty is
63 And He has subjected to you whatever is in the Heavens and whatever is on the earth altogether (XLV:13)
teaching His servants how they can be successful in being against their egos.
Fasting teaches us to be against our egos. Therefore it is the most important worship that Allah Almighty has ordered for all nations through His prophets. And we must ask forgiveness from Allah Almighty because for so long we have been going along with our egos, not against them, and because for so long they have been going against our Lord and not going with Him. And we are saying, "Astaghfirullah, astaghfirullah, astaghfirullah64"
By the name of Allah, All-mighty, All-merciful, Most Beneficent and Most Munificent. May Allah bless you. Allah Almighty blesses those people who declare war against their egos. Everything, every help that they may ask, Allah promises to give them, and difficulties are going to be made very easy and unsolved problems are going to be solved by divine help.
We must know which things bring divine help to ourselves and which things make divine help go away from us; if you know, that is a key, opening to you. Not only from one side will come to you divine help; from the Heavens, from the earth, from the East, from the West, from every direction, divine help will flow to you, as Allah Almighty is mentioning in the Holy Qur'an that, o people, if you keep your Lord's commands and advice, at each one foot's distance you may eat from the earth and from the Heavens.
If you can keep His divine advice to you, He promises to give you everything. Wherever you may step, everything will come to you from the earth, reaching you, or from the Heavens, coming on you. And it is so important a thing; to keep His divine advice opens to you everything from every direction. And the contrary, also. It means that if you do not listen to His divine advice, from every direction every open door becomes locked.
64 I ask God's forgiveness
Therefore you must be very careful. So many times people accuse Almighty Allah of not opening the way for them, but that is a meaningless accusation because He gave us one key which opens and another one which locks. We are using the key which locks, not which opens. Through every prophet He has given those keys to His servants. But we are using them in the opposite way, and if you want to open but instead you close or you lock it, it is impossible for it to be opened to you.
Allah Almighty wants a very easy life for His servants; He does not want to make our life a heavy burden on our shoulders. And therefore He guarantees the rizą, the provison, of His servants by His divine promises, saying, "O My servants, don't be worried about your provision. I am that one who is going to give you your provison. You must believe in Me and you must trust in Me. Am I not a trustworthy one for you?65"
What is your answer? We may say "Yes" with our lips but not with our hearts. We are quickly running, quickly working; then how is it true? It can be true only if you believe and trust, saying, "You are the Trustworthy' One," and then you run. And Allah Almighty never, never forgets you; He does not forget even an ant. And I see that in the morning time, from dawn, birds are flying. They do not plant, they do not grow, they do not do anything but go and come back full.
To us, the children of Adam, Allah Almighty gives so many promises in His holy books, in the Holy Qur'an, but yet we have a doubt. We are not able to say, "O my Lord, You are the Trustworthy One; the Most Trustworthy One is You." We aren't able to say that; perhaps we may say it with our lips but not with our hearts. And the most dangerous method that Satan uses to destroy our faith is to make us not to believe that Allah Almighty is the Trustworthy One in promising us our provisions, making us to be in doubt: "If I don't work, how can I live? If
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oms, for everything. I am not saying that a person may reach that level in one step; that may be only for awliya. But it is possible to take away from your heart, little by little, the enjoyment of this life.
You may speak and address your ego or yourself directly: "We are in this world but we are not here for playing. Playing is for little boys. But you, O Thomas, or Nicholas; or 'Ali," you must say to yourself, "up to where are you going to play? No limit for you for that playing? When are you going to return to Reality?"
And little by little you will take your foot away from those enjoyments, moving it to Enjoyment Oceans through real faith. A little bit at a time; each time you may put it less, less, less. Then you are going to be a person who may eat, may drink, but for living; you are not going to be a person who lives only for eating and drinking.
You must understand these two ways. Most people are living for eating and drinking only. Then what is the difference between themselves and animals? They live for eating and drinking only, and if a person lives for eating and drinking, no difference between himself and animals. Therefore we are saying that the Prophet and his companions were taking less to eat and drink because they were only in need of it to live.
You can understand in which class you may be of the two classes. Are you living for eating and drinking only? Then you must put yourself in the zoo. But if you are eating and drinking to live, you can be a distinguished one among people, and you can balance yourself, also. Then you are with the Prophet and his Companions, and that makes you, step by step, to come into the station of real faith and opens your heart to real faith.
And we are asking forgiveness. This is an important lecture that we are in need of: that in tariqats we are making a limit for enjoyment, even of halal, so that the followers of tariqats, and particularly the followers of the Naqshbandi Tariqat, may step into the area of real faith.
By the name of Allah, All-mighty, All-merciful, Most Beneficent and Most Munificent. For real faith, we are in need to know about Akhirah, the Hereafter. We must know, because as long as our hearts are occupied with this world, it is difficult for real faith to make room in our hearts.
The Prophet, beloved Muhammad, p.b.u.h., was saying, "La burika li fi samihatin lam azdat fihi ilma - if a day comes in which I do not in crease in knowledge, it is not a blessed day for me." Yes, when the Prophet, p.b.u.h., says that each day must be more than the day before it in divine knowledge, it is an important rule for everyone.
If we increase in something for this life, that is nothing; rather we must increase each day in ma'rifat, divine knowledge. And it is a part of divine
knowledge, perhaps an obligatory part, for every believer to know about the Hereafter, as a person who wants to go to Hajj, to pilgrimage, asks about Jiddah, Makkah Mukarramah and Madinah Munawwarah59 because he intends to make Hajj and is in need to know; as much as he can know about Hijaz, he tries to learn.
Then what about if we believe in Eternal Life, the Life Hereafter, and each day we are coming closer to the Life Hereafter or to Eternal Life - is it not necessary to ask about that Life and about the Hereafter? It is a part of divine knowledge to learn and to know, day by day increasing in knowledge.
What is the benefit of increasing in that knowledge? We may mention two kinds of benefits when you increase in that knowledge about that life in the Hereafter. The first of them is that our hearts, little by little, get to be in contact with the Eternal Life and its conditions. We are taking our heart from this temporary life's conditions and enjoyments, taking it to the Eternal Life's conditions and enjoyments. And that is important, because the Prophet, p.b.u.h., said that the most dangerous thing or thought for a believer is to have in his heart the love of this life.
The love of this life is the source of every sin. "Hubba-d-dunya rasu kulli khatayah, every evil has its source in the love of this life," and through that love devils may be able to control our thoughts and to put their hands into our hearts and take us toward evils. Therefore the Prophet said that it is the most dangerous thing for believers to have their hearts attached to this life's pleasures and its love.
Yes. We have been ordered to take from this life only what is enough for ourselves, because if it is more and more, it is going to be more of a burden on ourselves, preventing us from moving toward Allah Almighty, like a person putting big iron balls-and-chains on his feet; then he can move only
59 Makkan the Blessed, Madinah the Radiant, Islam's two holiest cities, located in the western sector of Saudi Arabia known as the Hijaz
with too much difficulty. It begins with little balls. Then, as much as our property, our dunya, increases, that ball is also going to be bigger and bigger and bigger, and then you are going to be like an ant beside that huge iron ball: if it comes on you, it flattens you out.
Yes. We have been ordered to take from this life only what is enough for ourselves, because if it is more and more, it is going to be more of a burden on ourselves, preventing us from moving toward Allah Almighty, like a person putting big iron balls-and-chains on his feet; then he can move only with too much difficulty. It begins with little balls; then, as much as our property, our dunya, increases, that ball is also going to be bigger and bigger and bigger, and then you are going to be like an ant beside that huge iron ball: if it comes on you, it flattens you out.
Therefore the advice of all the prophets is that you must take only that thing which you may be in need of. Leave more for everyone else so that you may be free for walking toward Allah Almighty, because He is waiting for you.
That knowledge is the most necessary knowledge for everyone to know about the life of the Hereafter. It makes us free from this heavily-burdened life's conditions and makes our hearts also free for the love of Allah Almighty, for divine love. You must be only of your Lord, Allah Almighty!
Don't put a partner with Him - no partner, because Allah Almighty never likes to have a partner with Himself, and this life, the world, dunya, becomes a partner for the love, the divine love, of your Lord Almighty.
When you increase in the love of the permanent life, the Eternal Life, then Allah Almighty gives to your heart from His divine lights and darkness goes away; because the more the love of this life gets into your heart, the more darkness gets in, also. In darkness all bad thoughts and fears grow, and dissatisfaction and unhappiness grow in your heart because darkness makes them grow; but if darkness goes away from your heart, then it is lighted everywhere. No more troubles or unhappiness can be in your heart;
lights, divine lights, give you satisfaction and peace, and as much as those lights grow in your heart, so much peace and happiness and satisfaction will grow in your heart, and hope will grow each day. That is the aim of the hadith of the Prophet, p.b.u.h., when he asked to increase each day in divine knowledge about the Eternal Life and about the Lord, Allah Almighty. That gives more lights to your heart, and each day more satisfaction, each day more peace, come into your heart, and each day more pleasure.
Prophets and their followers, saints, awliya, each day are more joyful; they find in themselves more pleasure each day for the reason that they know that now they are approaching the Divine Presence of their Lord. Each one of the Propet's Companions knew, and also every wali, saint, knows when he is going to leave this life; when they are going to die, they know, and every person of real faith also knows the day of his death.
Bilal, may Allah bless him, a Sahabi, companion of the Holy Prophet, p.b.u.h., knew that he was going to die on the next day; and the day before that, and the week before, also, he was so happy. People around him were crying but he was very happy, very pleased and joyful, saying, "Oh-h!
Tomorrow I will meet with my beloved Muhammad, p.b.u.h., and with his beloved Companions."
And all saints are asking for the day when they are going to meet their Lord, their Prophet, and his beloved Companions. One king-sized wali, Maulana Jalaluddin Rumi, may Allah bless him, ordered that the night he died should be like a wedding night for him, and he ordered that no one should cry or be sad. Have you seen a wedding at which the person who is going to his wedding night, and the people around him, cry? No; very happy on that night. For what? "Because I am going to meet my beloved Lord, Allah Almighty, whom I love, for whose divine love my life has been lived; I am going to meet Him. Why are you sad? I am so happy and joyful. Then why are you crying? I don't like this," he was saying. And every one of those
whose hearts are for their Lord and whose hearts are full-up with their Lord's love, they never look at this life and its enjoyments; no taste for anything from this life. Their physical bodies have needs for eating and drinking and procreation, but they do not taste that. They know what is the reality of this life, and they know about the life of the Hereafter in Paradise, and they know what is the Divine Presence.
If you say that there is beauty on earth, it is only that one drop which, if you put a needle in an ocean, the needle takes from that ocean - a little drop: all the beauty that this world and people have been given, it is only that drop, that little drop, from the endless Beauty Oceans of our Lord. They know about absolute Divine Oceans, about Mercy Oceans, about Beauty Oceans, about Power Oceans, about Wisdom Oceans, about endless Knowledge Oceans; they know. What thirsty person can take anything from one drop? They are asking to sink into those Oceans, and Allah Almighty is calling them, "O people, come to Me! Give your love to Me, not to anyone else.
Nothing is suitable for your love except Me. Give it to Me!".
Therefore, we are in need of more knowledge every day so that we may increase in the knowledge of the Eternal Life; and when this life's pleasures go away, then Allah Almighty gives instead those pleasures from among His divine pleasures. Don't suppose that if you do not look at this world's pleasures He leaves you without pleasures, no; He gives another kind of pleasure, real pleasure. This is an imitation life, it is not real life; and those who understand this, they are running after real life, real pleasure, real Beauty Oceans, to be there.
This is one benefit for the one who understands the real life and its pleasures, so that he begins to ask for more and to run after it. And the second benefit is that then you will leave every badness, you will leave devils' ways and their advice; you will see them as dirty and you will say to yourself, "Don't touch them! Leave them alone.”
If you have been asked to leave halal enjoyment little by to be with divine enjoyment, then what about for haram enjoyments, for which all devils are doing advertising? Yes, advertising; now all devils are advertising for haram, for every forbidden thing, as Satan advertised the Forbidden Tree to Adam in Paradise. He said, "Oh, this is very good; you must eat. If you eat from this, you will never go out of Paradise."
He was the first advertiser, Satan, and he cheated Adam and Eve. (The first to believe in that advertisement was a woman; they quickly accept that.
Hawwa, Eve, was saying that this must be a very good thing because the Advertiser is saying such a thing about this Tree.) And now Satan and his armies from ins wal-jinn, from among mankind and jinn, are all advertisers for haram, for forbidden things. How can you be in safety now in our time?
It is so difficult, and the Prophet said that there will come a time on my nation, on my ummah, when to keep their faith will be more difficult than keeping fire in their hands; yes. Every place you go is full-up with advertisers for forbidden things, and if you are not supported by divine knowledge that makes clear to you the Eternal Life and its pleasures, it is too difficult to save yourself from these advertisers, from Satan and his volunteers.
By the name of Allah, All-mighty, All-merciful, Most Beneficent and Most Munificent. We must try to know about our Lord, ma'rifat Allah60, and the way passes through knowing yourself. Then you may find a way to the knowledge of Allah Almighty, divine knowledge.
As long as you are interested in this world and everything about i, you are going to be heedless of yourself; and people now are just occupied with everything that is around themselves. We must cut, little by little, step by step, our interest in what is around us, to turn our interest to ourselves.
60 Spiritual knowledge of God Most High
We know about this life, adh-dhahir al-hayāt ad-dunya61, outward knowledge; we know about this world. But we do not know what is the wisdom for this planet - why, amidst a huge universe, this is the only living planet. To the One who made it and gave our life-conditions on this planet, there must be not only one but perhaps so many wisdoms for this planet's being a living planet. But we always use material eyeglasses to look at it and never use our hearts to understand what is the wisdom or wisdoms for this planet, which is for the Children of Adam.
It is only a very small part of this universe, and the universe is of two kinds of materials. One, as we see, is this world and the skies. But there is another universe which is not of the same kind as this universe, and it is impossible for the Children of Adam to look at that universe with their physical bodies.
But we have been given an authority by the Creator, by Allah Almighty, to look at everything in existence which He has created. And we have, in Islamic mysticism, tasawwuf, a rule: It is impossible to know the Creator or to find a way to divine knowledge without knowing His creatures. If you do not know about this [tape recorder), how can you claim to find a way to its inventor?
Therefore, whoever wants to find a way to divine knowledge of the Lord, Allah Almighty, first he must know His creatures - every kind of creature in existence. Then he may find a way; otherwise, it is impossible to leave something unknown from among His creatures and to ask to know about the Creator. And mankind or the Children of Adam have been created and granted an authority and capability or ability to know every thing in existence, to make everyone surrounding or encircling them under their authority.
Yes, we have been given that, because, among all creatures, Allah Almighty only made mankind to be deputies for Himself. When a person is going to be a deputy for the Lord, Allah Almighty, he is granted such spiritual or divine
61 The outward things of the life of this world
powers which give an authority to him to look at everything in existence; otherwise he is not a deputy. But we are still candidates for that, as 'Abdur- Rahim is a candidate to be an adult - yes to be a father, but not now; he is a candidate. And we, also, all mankind, all the Children of Adam, are candidates to be deputies, real deputies, if we leave off imitation and walk into the reality of being a deputy.
Allah Almighty sent prophets, peace be upon them, and He addressed one of those prophets, saying, "O My prophet, be enemy to your nafs. You must be against your ego because it is that one which is against Me. Be against your ego because it is the one, the single one among all creatures, which goes against Me." That is what does not let us reach that real deputy's station, always staying on earth, not reaching our heavenly, real deputies' stations in the Divine Presence.
Allah Almighty was addressing one prophet, and if He addresses one, it means it is for all. And if all the prophets have been ordered to be against their egos, then what about ourselves?
Whoever is in agreement with his ego goes against his Lord; and whoever goes against his ego, he is going to be with his Lord, always agreeing. And it is impossible for a person to take all authority in existence as a real deputy until he is going to be absolutely against his ego. If he sometimes goes with his ego - even if he is mostly against it but sometimes with his ego - it is impossible for him to reach that real deputy's station. And every message that has come from Allah Almighty to His servants is: "O My servants, if you claim to be My servants, you must be against your egos. If you are not against your ego, you can't be My servant. It will pull you to itself."
Therefore we may summarize all the messages of the messengers of Allah Almighty, which are saying to people, "O people, you must be against your egos." The first sin was done for our ego; our ego went against the order, the holy command, of Allah Almighty, and then Adam and Eve came down from
Paradise onto the earth. The one who goes against the Lord's will must be punished; and there is no punishment for you or for anyone until he goes against his Lord, nor any happiness or peace or success or honor for a person until he is going to be against his ego.
When Adam went against his Lord's command, quickly punishment came to him and made him come on earth. He cried for three hundred years in Serendib, Ceylon62;" all his tears flowed down, becoming precious stones (it is precious when these tears come for the sake of Allah; that is precious, not for anything else). He was so angry with his ego and stood against it, and when he turned to be against his ego, Allah Almighty opened Paradise to him: "To you and your followers, those who are against their egos - this Paradise is open to them. They are still in prison. I am imprisoning you and your descendants on this planet, but you may get out of that prison by My divine authority."
One prophet, Sayyidina Yusuf, Joseph, was in prison in Egypt, and that prison was the worst prison on earth. No one entered it and came out alive or without losing his mind; but he entered and for more than forty years he lived there and came out safe in his mind and body. Nothing was lacking; perfect. Why? He was in prison, but he had been given divine authority by his Lord, Almighty Allah, and he was free throughout the whole universe and was permitted to be in the Divine Presence, not in prison.
Therefore, if anyone may be able to imprison his ego, Allah Almighty gives to him an authority through his soul, and he is free to be in East and West, or on earth or in the Heavens; to be one, to be one hundred, to be one thousand - yes, to be 124,000. He may be even more than that, 700,000; if there may appear now in our time a person who is able to be against his ego and to put it in prison, he may be given 700,000. As we are taking from this
62 According to Islamic tradition, when Adam and Eve were expelled from Paradise for disobeying God, they cane to this earth in Ceylon (Sri Lanka)
one physical body, it may be in 700,000 forms, its source coming from our spiritual power, looking and listening and speaking and able to do everything.
That is a dress of Paradise. Therefore you must know about the life of the Hereafter so that this life becomes small and pleasure in this life is going to be, in front of that huge light, a small thing. The more this life becomes small in your eyes, the more the life in Paradise becomes bigger.
That is a dress in which Allah Almighty clothes His sincere servants. It begins by being seven, up to 700,000 now in our time, that dressing of Paradise, and in Paradise you can't say how many there are going to be for you. The real deputies are clothed in this way from Paradise, a divine dress.
When I say a "divine dress," it means that Allah Almighty clothes them in His divine attributes, and no one can give a limit for the divine attributes; everyone who is His real deputy, Allah Almighty clothes him in His divine attributes. At that time you are going to be a real deputy; when you are clothed in them, finished. "Wa sakhkhara lakum ma fis-samawati wa ma fil- ardi jami'an63": that is the verse which indicates that status for ourselves. We have been given that power, that authority, to be in all the universe.
And the way on which we are marching to reach that authority is only one, as Allah Almighty advised His prophet, saying, "Be against your ego," and no need for anything else, "When you are going to be against your ego, it will be all right; you may come to Me. Because your ego is against Me, I am asking from My servants, if they want my pleasure with themselves, that they must be against their egos."
You may fill whole world with worshipping; it is easy. But to be against your ego once - it is more important. And during this holy month, Allah Almighty is
63 And He has subjected to you whatever is in the Heavens and whatever is on the earth altogether (XLV:13)
teaching His servants how they can be successful in being against their egos.
Fasting teaches us to be against our egos. Therefore it is the most important worship that Allah Almighty has ordered for all nations through His prophets. And we must ask forgiveness from Allah Almighty because for so long we have been going along with our egos, not against them, and because for so long they have been going against our Lord and not going with Him. And we are saying, "Astaghfirullah, astaghfirullah, astaghfirullah64"
By the name of Allah, All-mighty, All-merciful, Most Beneficent and Most Munificent. May Allah bless you. Allah Almighty blesses those people who declare war against their egos. Everything, every help that they may ask, Allah promises to give them, and difficulties are going to be made very easy and unsolved problems are going to be solved by divine help.
We must know which things bring divine help to ourselves and which things make divine help go away from us; if you know, that is a key, opening to you. Not only from one side will come to you divine help; from the Heavens, from the earth, from the East, from the West, from every direction, divine help will flow to you, as Allah Almighty is mentioning in the Holy Qur'an that, o people, if you keep your Lord's commands and advice, at each one foot's distance you may eat from the earth and from the Heavens.
If you can keep His divine advice to you, He promises to give you everything. Wherever you may step, everything will come to you from the earth, reaching you, or from the Heavens, coming on you. And it is so important a thing; to keep His divine advice opens to you everything from every direction. And the contrary, also. It means that if you do not listen to His divine advice, from every direction every open door becomes locked.
64 I ask God's forgiveness
Therefore you must be very careful. So many times people accuse Almighty Allah of not opening the way for them, but that is a meaningless accusation because He gave us one key which opens and another one which locks. We are using the key which locks, not which opens. Through every prophet He has given those keys to His servants. But we are using them in the opposite way, and if you want to open but instead you close or you lock it, it is impossible for it to be opened to you.
Allah Almighty wants a very easy life for His servants; He does not want to make our life a heavy burden on our shoulders. And therefore He guarantees the rizą, the provison, of His servants by His divine promises, saying, "O My servants, don't be worried about your provision. I am that one who is going to give you your provison. You must believe in Me and you must trust in Me. Am I not a trustworthy one for you?65"
What is your answer? We may say "Yes" with our lips but not with our hearts. We are quickly running, quickly working; then how is it true? It can be true only if you believe and trust, saying, "You are the Trustworthy' One," and then you run. And Allah Almighty never, never forgets you; He does not forget even an ant. And I see that in the morning time, from dawn, birds are flying. They do not plant, they do not grow, they do not do anything but go and come back full.
To us, the children of Adam, Allah Almighty gives so many promises in His holy books, in the Holy Qur'an, but yet we have a doubt. We are not able to say, "O my Lord, You are the Trustworthy One; the Most Trustworthy One is You." We aren't able to say that; perhaps we may say it with our lips but not with our hearts. And the most dangerous method that Satan uses to destroy our faith is to make us not to believe that Allah Almighty is the Trustworthy One in promising us our provisions, making us to be in doubt: "If I don't work, how can I live? If
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