Mercy Oceans: Oceans of Unity

Shaykh Muhammad Nazim Adil al-Haqqani



Love Is The Water Of Life


Everything pertaining to this world is impermanent, constantly in a state of transition. Therefore, it is only natural that I am here addressing you today and elsewhere tomorrow. Don't let this condition sadden you, for, in reality, transition is God's mercy to man. Don't wish even for good times to last forever, for you wouldn't be able to bear permanence -you would just get fed up. Know that the discontinuation of any desirable state or condition is the catalyst for gaining an even deeper appreciation of what is good. Longing for the attainment of the spiritual realities of which you have caught a glimpse is the means to their attainment. Is there any morsel tastier than that upon which the fast is broken?

This is the reason that Allah Almighty created the world as it is. The signs of the heavens take their turns inspiring our souls. The rising sun brightens our day, but just when we would start to get fed up with it, lo and behold, it bows out and the soft light of the moon enchants us with its many forms: appearing first as a delicate crescent, then waxing gradually to its full and waning. If it never waned no one would be able to appreciate the awe inspiring immensity of the starlit heavens.

A Visit to God's Holy House
The threadbare pilgrim may cross snowy mountain passes and sun-scorched deserts barefoot, or even on his hands and knees in order to reach Mecca. When he finally arrives he is struck dumb by the awesome majesty of the Holy Kaaba. Tears stream down his face as he clings to its door, pouring out his heart and soul to his Lord--and the Lord fulfills his heart's innermost desire in accordance with the longing that drove him to suffer freezing wind and scorching sun. Longing brought him to the house of the Lord, but the pilgrim's dedication to his Lord will not be served by his staying in Mecca on and on, but by returning to his country with the cherished memories of his pilgrimage inspiring his faith. Should he choose to remain in Mecca he runs the risks of gradually becoming callous and hardened to the sight of the Kaaba like the inhabitants, who never had a Mecca as their distant sought-after goal, who crossed no deserts to attain it, but who may, rather, cross through the holy Mosque as a shortcut to get from one part of the market to another, barely casting a glance at the magnificent Kaaba.

Once a disciple used to attend his Shaykh's discourses only occasionally, although he lived in the vicinity of the Shaykh's Dergah (Sufi School). The Shaykh asked him: "Why do you attend so infrequently?" The clever disciple answered: "Because I don't like being asked to attend less frequently".

The sun, the moon, the stars, the Holy Kaaba, the beauty of nature or architecture, or the face of a beloved person: all these sights may inspire us, may remind us of a great truth that is alive in our hearts, but of which we are yet heedless. But don't become enamoured of the signs to such an extent that they become ends in themselves, and you cease to follow the directions they seek to impart to you. The object is not a heavenly body that will set, a symbol which may become commonplace nor a face that will age or turn away from you. When Abraham was yet a seeker of truth, at a stage of bewilderment on his road to truth, he became enamoured of the sun, moon and stars, but as each set he said: "My love is not for those that disappear".

Love is eternal, and the transitory nature of all things pertaining to this world is a sign of truth, a sign that shows us by means of contrast. Real spiritual love, love of God and love of mankind for the sake of God is the only truth, the only thing in this world that is permanently and constantly sweet. Physical separation from someone you love, in accordance with the rule that pertains to the physical, may create a longing that will cause love to increase, may augment the bliss of reunion. But on the spiritual level that love is constant, is never interrupted by distance nor by time. Your beloved may be on the moon and you may be in bliss at the thought of reunion, but if love is unrequited, that is not sweet separation but a bitter pill. The extinction of love is pitch darkness. You may regard the sunset as beautiful, but how would you feel if it were setting forever?

Love is the water of life. God created Adam from clay and water. If it were not for water the clay would hold no shape. Divine Love is what binds our souls together. That is why people become so miserable when they feel unloved. It is a feeling that something essential is missing from one's life, that life itself is incomplete, and in the face of this ache people set out in search of love with the desperation of a man dying of thirst.

Lesson in a Bumper Sticker
Yesterday, as we were driving back from Sheffield I noticed a bumper sticker that read: "God is Love". That is a statement that accords with a common level of understanding; in reality such a description can never do justice to the Almighty; never can a single word or emotion, nor even all words and all emotions come close to describing His splendour, what to speak of "being" Him. However, the saying: "God is Love" can be called a common wisdom, as the intention is to accord the highest degree of veneration and devotion to love--that is correct--but to say it is God is, let us say, an oversimplification.

Love is an attribute of God Almighty which binds His servants to Him eternally. If God were to hate mankind it would be so easy for Him to bring about an abrupt and terrible end to our follies--but He loves us and therefore shows us so much tolerance.

If you are a parent, consider your love for your children. If your son grew up to be a criminal, would you not love him still? Would you not maintain that despite his bad actions he still had good in him, his essential character is known to you as good, not evil.

Noah's Forty Clay Jugs
Everyone knows the story of Noah, peace be upon him. He is one of the five greatest prophets of God. He called on his people day and night for years, asking them to leave their evildoing, to repent and return to love of God and His worship and to abstain from wrong. His people rejected him repeatedly and scoffed at him. As much as he preached they rejected his teachings.

However he was patient and continued to preach to them. They never let up in their mockery of him. So it continued for years and years, and Noah was persistent and patient. He did not tire of calling his people to truth and goodness, and they in turn did not tire of scoffing at him. This continued for decades, a century, two centuries, and Noah was patient and persistent. Three centuries, four, five...

After nine centuries of non-stop preaching accompanied by endless mockery and rejection, Noah reached his limit. Finally he asked God to punish his people and to send a flood upon them and not leave a single one of them alive. As he was a prophet of God, God was obliged to answer his prayer. We know what came to pass.

Once some time after having been saved from the flood, the Lord addressed Noah saying, "O my servant, I am asking you to go and with your utmost care make for Me forty clay jugs." As he was an obedient servant and a great prophet, Noah immediately went about complying with this order. He gathered the finest clay he could find and spent days and nights laboring with love to create 40 beautiful clay jugs.

After so much effort, the Lord then addressed Noah again saying: "O my servant, now that you have made these forty jugs, go outside and take each one and throw it down upon the rocks." Noah, an obedient servant, had no choice but to obey. He took the jugs which he had spent so much effort in making, and one-by-one smashed them against the rocks.

Then the Lord addressed Noah, saying: "Oh Noah, you made forty clay jugs, and it was odious to you to break them. Do you think that it was a pleasure for Me to kill all of My servants, even though they were unbelievers?" Then Noah began to cry and wail. So proverbial was his wailing that "Nuh" came to mean "wail" in Arabic.

Moses and Korah
Do you know the story of Moses and Korah? Among the Children of Israel at the time of the exodus from Egypt Korah was the richest man. Korah carried a large part of that wealth into the Sinai with him, and with that wealth a great deal of influence over the Children of Israel. Unfortunately for Korah he used his influence to stir up rebellion and discontent with the leadership of Moses. In order to discredit Moses once and for all Korah bribed a dishonourable woman to claim that Moses had committed adultery with her and that the child in her womb was his. As he was of course innocent, Moses was livid with rage, as he could only deny the accusation but could do nothing to prove it false. How could he lead the Children of Israel when they would hold doubts in their hearts regarding his morals and veracity?

So Moses turned to his Lord, saying: "Oh my Lord, vindicate me!" The Lord replied: "I have granted you the power to command the Earth. You may use it to vindicate yourself and prove your innocence to the Children of Israel". Then Moses announced to all the people: "All who are with me come to my side and those who adhere to Korah stay by his side". Then Moses said: "Oh Earth, catch him and swallow him up!" Responding to this command the Earth caught Korah, laying firm hold of his feet and ankles. Korah cried: "Oh my dear cousin Moses, for the sake of our kinship please forgive me!" But Moses was very angry and determined to punish Korah for all of his crimes: "Oh Earth, swallow him!"

Then the Earth grabbed a little more of his legs, and he again cried out to Moses for forgiveness--and so it went on, a full seventy times: Korah asking for pardon and Moses refusing and demanding retribution. Finally the earth had completely swallowed Korah. Then the Lord addressed Moses: "Korah begged you for forgiveness seventy times, but you had no mercy for him in your heart. I swear by My Might and Glory, had he even once addressed himself to Me, saying: 'Oh my Lord, I repent, please forgive me', I would have rescued him. You had no mercy for him because you didn't create him. I am the Creator and I have boundless mercy for My repentant servants".

The Lord created us and loves us; that is why everyone loves love. No one complains of love or wants it to be taken from him, but all want to be loved more. Where are you seeking love? Are you taking pure water from the gushing source, or muddy, slimy water from the ditch? You love people, but they will die. Perhaps your love will be unrequited, or because of a small error or indiscretion on your part that person's heart will harden to you and love will be no more. You say that you love him or her, but do you love him or her unconditionally? Is your love permanent-love for the real immaculate divine essence living in that person, or temporary, as a result of some desirable attributes: beauty, youth, wealth, station or wit? When that beautiful, young, wealthy, clever, amiable socialite becomes an ugly, old, penniless, senile, grumpy outcast will you still love her? Is your love of the spirit or of the world?

Oh people, seek real love, a love that cannot go astray. That love is the love of God and the love of his creatures for the sake of his love for them. That love emanation may bind all receptive hearts. There is a common saying: "The friend of a friend is a friend", so love people if you love God, for you must know that He loves them. It is not always easy to love people, even good people, so what about the Korahs of this world?

Love pertaining to the ego is not love, as all the ego knows is to love itself, and what is commonly called love is but a mutual understanding to support each other's egoism. Don't trust your ego, nor anyone else's, for the ego is disloyal by nature. When the spirit gains ascendancy the ego may be harnessed and put to good use, as the Holy Prophet said: "Your ego is your mount", but left to its whims it will take you many miles from your path in search of herbage.

This discourse is an Ocean, its summary is: what is of the world beware of, and pay attention to the dose. When crossing that ocean embark on a sturdy ship with well maintained lifeboats and life-preservers, and if you swim in it keep your head above water!



Swallow Your Anger: Then Digest It


For those of us whose physical bodies are "over the hill", by this I mean over the age of fifty or so, we must face the fact that, no matter how well we look after ourselves, our physical powers are gradually deteriorating: step by step we are approaching death.

But as for our spiritual condition, there is no such limit, no age when powers are at their maximum, then recede. Spiritual power may continue to grow strongly throughout our lives, but we must seek out conditions conducive to that continuing growth, and weed out those qualities which threaten to choke the precious plant.

One of the most harmful weeds, the most inimical to our spiritual growth is the anger generated by the vanity of our egos. When anger rages it engulfs the light of faith, transforming in into fire. The light of Faith is the pure light of God, but when it is transformed into fire it no longer illumines, it burns.

When you find yourself overcome with anger you must quickly run to a mirror and behold your own face. That ugly spectacle will be enough to calm your anger: for who wants to look like the devil himself? When a person is angry his actions are satanic - destructive and self-destructive. Our Grandsheikh stressed the necessity of abandoning anger, for when the ego's anger dominates a person he may readily deny even the sovereignty of God, and put himself in rebellion against the Overwhelming One - and that is very dangerous. Anger also wreaks havoc on our physical bodies, causing illness and premature aging, especially when a high level of anger is maintained over a long period of time.

Very few people can turn back anger when it assaults them. This is why so few people advance spiritually. The reason that anger is so difficult to defeat is simply because it is an intrinsic part of our physical and spiritual constitution. Anger corresponds to the element of fire in our make-up, which is a balance of fire, water, earth and air. Only those who are trained from a very early age by enlightened parents or teachers will have learned to keep these elements in balance. As for most people, each of these elements may predominate on different occasions according to exterior circumstances and intrinsic propensities, setting the equilibrium off center. Fire flares up in the face of provocation and teasing, aggression or attempts to subdue the will (of the child). Since these occasions are usually frequent in our early lives, we are all adept at getting angry, and from a very early age.

Our Grandsheikh also suggested that we perform a special Dhikr (prayer-meditation) at night in order to gain the upper hand in our struggle against anger. When you arise in the last third of the night to perform superrogatory prayers, after performing your ablutions, start by turning your face to the House of God and implore Him to aid you in your attempt to subdue anger. Then repeat one-hundred times. "Ya Halim" which means "Oh (God, who is) Forbearing and Slow to Anger" This name, al-Halim, is a Divine attribute of God which He wishes to bestow generously upon us, should we seek to receive it.

The first step is to ask God, in this manner, to help us become forbearing; then we must meditate on that Divine Attribute, that it may be absorbed into our being. We are literally calling it upon ourselves. Next we must adopt a practice in our everyday lives that will further our purposes. This practice is, simply, not to show anger, even when you feel it welling up inside. Don't spit that anger out at those around you and poison the atmosphere, like a fire-breathing dragon. Hold it in, but not like a lump of undigested food; no, you must digest it. A certain amount of anger is part and parcel of every personality. Without some of that fire in our constitution we would die; therefore, it is possible for us to digest a certain amount of anger without suffering adverse side-effects. Of course, if we were to remain unchanged over a long period of time and swallow the same amount of anger, we wouldoverdose; but that is not the case, for in time our intake of anger decreases as we learn, and are granted the ability not to react angrily to provocation in the first place. So, just as a baby initially drinks great quantities of milk, then graduates to solid food, decreasing its milk consumption drastically, we can swallow and digest anger, in the full knowledge that other forms of nourishment are soon forthcoming.

If you can manage to refrain from showing anger for forty days, you will have passed a great milestone. When it assails you, you must evade it, and when it is going to issue from you, you must swallow it. If you can successfully avoid it for forty days, anger will begin to assault you less frequently: once every forty days. If you can manage to keep yourself in this manner the initial forty days, and thereafter, in the face of forty more assaults (forty periods of forty days, a little more than four years), Satan will announce to his helpers: "Don't bother attacking that person; you are just wasting your time and energy. His defenses are impenetrable: one thousand attacks are just as futile as one. Leave him alone, he has escaped from our hands". Satan's helpers are the selfish ego, vain desires and worldliness: these are our four great enemies, and whoso learns to control his anger will be victorious against these base influences.

Whenever you feel anger arising you must be aware that you are being tested. Such tests are sent your way from the spiritual world in order to ascertain your trustworthiness. Disliked events are sent from that realm so that you may have the chance to forbear, and thereby advance toward your goal. If there were not some benefit to be found in anger it would not exist. The benefit is found in being patient in the face of it. Without passing this test there can be no improvement.

Forbearance is a key to Divine Stations, and that key is forged by facing odious events with patience and controlling our anger. So, anger is a two-edged sword: if you can grasp its handle firmly you may rent the veils that blind your heart's eyes, but if it is in the hands of your enemies your faith will be severed.



Meded - Asking Support From Grandsheikh


Our Grandsheikh is Sheikh Abdullah Al-Faiz Ad-Daghistani, may Allah Almighty sanctify his blessed soul and draw him ever closer to His Divine Presence. May He Almighty cause us to benefit from Grandsheikh's blessings and teachings, and from his spiritual care for us even from the grave. We derive our spiritual power from his heart center. If he cuts us off we are stranded. Every breath that our Grandsheikh turns toward us from his spiritual breaths is like a warm spring breeze which blows on the bare branches of trees, causing buds and blossoms to burst forth.

Like the spring breeze that carries the revival of life within it, so do the breaths of Allah's Saints give life to their followers, to their spiritual sons and daughters. That relationship is stronger than the relationship to our parents, as there is only a short period of time in which they are all and everything to their small children, and, ultimately, it is very difficult for them to influence their children to follow the way of life that they would choose for them. Perhaps those children will leave them and go away to the far corners of the Earth and choose a way of life totally unrelated to that of their parents. But a real Grandsheikh always keeps a watchful eye on his followers, whether that Grandsheikh be living in this world or already has passed on to the existence beyond this world. He never abandons them.

Yes, we are always seeking our Grandsheikh's support, support that will help us act according to our Lord's commands, and support to help us stand firmly in the face of our enemies: the lower self, Satan, vain desires and worldliness. For both of these goals - progress on the right way and avoiding deviation from it completely - we need his support. Without such a strong support a person will be vanquished.

Therefore, we seek our Grandsheikh's support by saying: "Meded Ya Sayyidi", "Support, oh my Master." You must call upon your Grandsheikh in such a manner when you are in need of support, then that support may reach to you. The more you feel yourself to be weak and in need of support, the more support he will extend to you. But the more you depend on your own knowledge and your mind's powers, the less support you will receive, as Grandsheikh will say: "He is self-sufficient, so why lend him support. Leave him in the hands of his ego."

When the Holy Prophet asked his Lord, "Oh my Lord, don't leave me in the hands of my ego even for a moment", he was seeking refuge from two undesirable possibilities: 1) to be left in the hands of his ego's base desires, and 2) to be left alone to guide himself only by his mind and knowledge. In both these ways the ego attempts to separate us from true guidance, and in admitting our weakness and seeking support in the face of the ego's trickery we gain that help.

Divine Guidance and help reached to our Prophet through the Archangel Gabriel who acted as Allah's representative in carrying His revelation to the Prophets, so that Divine Help reaches to the Saints via the Holy Prophet, who acted as Allah Almighty's representative in bringing guidance to his Nation. And ultimately, after the Prophet's time, that guidance reaches to our hearts through the Saints, his inheritors, as we have not yet developed the senses with which to listen directly to the Prophet's guidance. Some foolish people, even among the Muslims, will undoubtedly deny this, saying that all that remains of the Holy Prophet's guidance is what is written in books. This point of view, far from being the reality, is a blind man's view, for were the Holy Prophet to have taken those powers with him upon his death there would remain no more religion, no more faith, no nothing from Islam. No, that prophetic power never leaves the Earth; it is only transformed and distributed through the awareness of the Holy Prophet's inheritors.

Therefore, you must look for the support of the Saints in a Universe in which you are totally weak. Once you have established a good connection with such a person you will always be in contact with him: a "wire" will carry current to your heart from his power source. That aid will make itself felt most in times of need. Now it is daytime and you don't seek a torch, no need; but at night such a small light will prevent you from falling into a pit.



Familiarity Breeds Enlightenment


Shah Naqshband, the most important pillar of the Naqshbandi Tariqah, used always to say: "The essence of our Tariqah is to be found in gathering in the company of the Sheikh or of fellow aspirants. Such meetings generate pure goodness". This kind of gathering is referred to as "Sohbet", and may involve either the Sheikh (or an appointed deputy of the Sheikh) addressing the group (after having linked his heart with the chain of Sheikhs through which he is connected to the heart of the Holy Prophet), or simply an informal "get-together", a happy occasion for intimacy. (Often a Sohbet consists of both aspects, a discourse followed by familiar interchange) .

Why does Shah Naqshband assign so much importance to such gatherings? Why does he stress this even more, seemingly, than prayer or Dhikr (prayer-meditation)? Why? Because the familiarity arising from such blessed gatherings opens our hearts to each other and to our Lord. Gathering people in such an intimate atmosphere was the method utilized by the Prophets to soften the hearts of their people, and soft hearts make our worship acceptable in the Divine Presence.

If people cannot bring themselves to defer to another, as when people gather with a Sheikh or a deputy of a Sheikh, they will grow to be ever more assertive, wild and egoistic. In our assemblies one person must be the symbolic leader and address the others. If he is a deputy of the Sheikh, he may be, on the level of everyday life, just one of a group of brothers pursuing a common goal, or he may have already attained spiritual stations which enable him to take on a more comprehensive role in guiding the members of his group. Whether the former or the latter be the case, when any of our deputies puts his heart in connection with the spiritual transmission for the sake of leading Dhikr and delivering a Sohbet discourse, he should become the means for that spiritual power and blessings to pervade that assembly.

Divine blessings descend on meetings where one person is presiding humbly and the others are deferring humbly. Such blessings never rest on a group where each is vying to prove the superiority of his views. No, our assemblies should not be debate clubs. If we follow these guidelines, after one person addresses the group and the others defer both outwardly and inwardly, a special atmosphere of intimacy should settle on that meeting, so that everyone feels well inclined towards the other members of the group, and all are able to exchange ideas in a constructive, non-confrontational manner.

Our egos rebel against being on an equal footing with others, so how should they feel about showing deference! The ego is a wild creature, constantly seeking to assert its uniqueness and superiority and to belittle others. If we can manage to get the upper hand in the struggle with our egos, they may reluctantly accede to show deference, but they will never do it voluntarily.

Man is subject to conflicting impulses. He wants to be unique, but he is also a social animal. Uniqueness is an attribute of our Lord, and we have all been given a share of that Divine attribute in that we are all different physically and in the realm of personality. In fact, there is a unique Divine Name reflected in each and every one of us, a Divine Name which the Lord has bestowed us a share of to the exclusion of others. Because of this we have an intrinsic tendency to see ourselves as being unique-because we are - but the mistake is to see ourselves as being superior to others, for it is in unity with others that we fulfill our potential for completeness, as our unique name is made manifest through the act of joining it to the whole of Divine Attributes.

The way to the fulfillment of this great potential passes through familiarity with people. Whoso finds a way to the hearts of mankind finds his Lord's Divine Presence. This is why the Holy Prophet brought people together in such informal meetings. But don't think that this is an easy task! The power to draw people together is a gift of Heaven. The Prophets and their Inheritors have been granted the gift of addressing people's hearts directly, so that all those whose hearts are not of stone, all open-hearted people and all those whose hearts are closed but not locked must be affected by their message.

Usually a humble class of people responded widely to the message of the Prophets, as being close to nature they were more easily able to distinguish something living from a fabrication. In general, women also were more open to the message of the prophets than men, because women's hearts are more easily opened. Men's hearts are often locked tightly.

It is impossible for an open-hearted person to reject the guidance of a Prophet or one of their Inheritors. But as for people who are puffed up with their knowledge, and approach men of God in order to make them accept their ideas rather than accepting Divine teachings, such people are likely to lock their hearts to Tariqahs.

The sign of real spiritual transmission is that hearts are affected and softened so that real familiarity and affection grow among the recipients of that transmission. That is the first step towards real faith. You aren't a real believer until you want for others what you would like for yourself, until you can put yourself in the shoes even of those with whom you find yourself in conflict. Until you can feel affection and familiarity towards a group of fellow seekers, it is impossible to imagine sympathy for people inimical to yourself.

How is it possible to open up your heart to your fellow man? Your hearts must meet in the heart of one of Allah's Saints, for in their hearts is Divine Attraction, and it is that power which enables them to be a medium for the binding of hearts. If there is no connection to the Source of all love- the Lord of all beings-then no really durable familiarity can develop between people, only the commonplace surface familiarity that is so easily disregarded when self-interest intervenes.

If a person has not undergone training at the hands of an Inheritor of a Prophet it is impossible for him to bear with people who inflict trouble upon him. He will become like a thorn bush: unapproachable, always ready to prick whoever approaches, friend or foe. Usually, however, such people are unable to perceive that they are prickly, but attribute the thorniness to others. This is not surprising, as it is a common mechanism of the human psyche to put off on others our own objectionable characteristics. We are all mirrors, but we do not realize that it is our own ugliness we are abhorring in others.

The Lord sympathizes with His creatures, and whoso has received a ray of that attribute may find his heart inclining towards people. This familiarity is a transmission from heart to heart. Don't bother with my words, just receive my transmission.

Familiarity with our fellow men is only the first level upon which Divine familiarity is made manifest, for the truly loving soul evokes affection even from wild animals.

Once I was with my Grandsheikh in the countryside. As we approached the house of the person we had gone to visit, a yellow dog started to rush at us with his tail curved between his legs like a scorpion. I thought that we would be torn to shreds, but then, as the dog came within clear sight of us, his whole aspect changed (even though Grandsheikh had never been there before, and therefore, the dog did not recognize him in the ordinary sense of his being a frequent visitor) and he began to wag his tail. Then the dog approached and Grandsheikh rubbed his head. At this the vicious guard dog took on the aspect of a frolicking puppy, rolling on the ground and prancing about. Then Grandsheikh explained to me: "He recognized me. I am no stranger to anyone".

Even ferocious lions may become pussycats in the presence of the receptacles of Divine familiarity. Once, in the early days of Islam, a caravan of pilgrims were coming to visit the House of God in Mecca. All of a sudden the caravan stopped. Abdullah Ibn Umar was with the caravan and when it stopped he went forward to see what was the matter. The people were in a state of great trepidation, for a lion was sitting in the middle of the road, and they were afraid he would attack the pilgrims. Abdullah Ibn Umar made his camel kneel and climbed off its back. He went over to the lion, lifted up its ear, and reprimanded him gently, saying: "Don't stay here. This is not the place for you: this is a road for the pilgrims bound for the House of God. You must be obedient and respectful, and not attack us, as we are under the Protection of the Almighty".



Depression: Cause & Cure


A PERSON'S VALUE CORRESPONDS TO THE VALUE HE ASSIGNS TO HIS TIME

Time is the "Hand of God": it moves everything along its course towards its ordained destination. Some are able to comprehend the purport of the passage of time, and observe it with the eye of wisdom. Such people deal with time by grasping the reins of each passing day, utilizing their God-given vision to move their lives in the right direction.

Others perceive time in a distorted manner, like a person looking at a convex or a concave mirror. This malady of perception occurs because they are not reconciled to the "Hand of God", haven't understood the reason why God has confined us to the realm of time and space. He intends thereby only to give us a chance to perfect ourselves, to acquire Divine Attributes through our own efforts in a difficult situation, and thus prepare ourselves for the day of our reunion with our Lord.

In a Holy Tradition the Lord said:
"The Children of Adam curse time, and I am time. In My Hand is the passage of day and night".

For those who have not yet understood this truth, time seems to behave in an erratic and disturbing way. The effect of this is to draw our attention to the need tp change ourselves to feel in harmony with the passage of time, since time itself, obviously, will neither speed up nor slow down to accommodate our wishes. Our perceiving our own problem with time is a mercy from God, for as a stomachache indicates the need for a change in eating habits, so does this malady awaken us to the need for adjustment of our lifestyle.

For some people time seems to fly, carrying them along like helpless riders on the backs of stampeding horses, in a herd headed over a cliff. For others time seems to stand still as if it were bogged down in the mire.

First of all we must understand the value of time; how, once spent, it is irretrievable. If all the nations were to pool their resources to try and redeem even one second of the past (in order to change a catastrophic decision, for example) would they succeed? No, a mountain of treasure cannot bring back even a second of your life. So, time is precious beyond reckoning, but yet do people idly frit- ter away the hours, and seek means for gaining even more leisure time.

So many people (not only those who would be considered clinically manic-depressive) suffer from an inability to adapt to the passage of time in a way that accords them peace of mind.

The egos of very young people want to devour the whole world immediately. The feverish heat of the fulfillment of passions and the pursuit of pleasure makes time appear to fly by. So often, at this critical time in people's lives no prudence is exercised, and heeding the urges of the ego they expend all of their energy. Such unrestrained indulgence is the sure way to deplete one's energy quickly and foolishly for life is like a marathon run: it requires pacing: if you just sprint from the start you will collapse after a few hundred yards. Keeping back a reserve of energy calls for self-control and willpower attributes rare among the young.

For the most part very young people steer clear of spiritual paths: only when they suffer a "breakdown" do they come limping in here for 'servicing'. Hundreds of people come to me saying: "Oh Shaykh Efendi can you help me?" It is such a difficult task to help people who have expended all their energy uselessly and whose physical and mental powers are at a pitifully low level. Sometimes I am amazed at what I see, for these people are still, for the most part, quite young. Raising the dead is a miracle given only to Prophets, but as long as there are signs of life we hope to be able to arouse people from their coma-like states.

As a result of the excesses brought about by the manic state, its opposite, depression, manifests itself in these young people. Now time no longer flies, but drags along at a snail's pace. A depressed person wishes that time would again fly, but, on the contrary, minutes seem like hours, hours like days and days like weeks. Usually, people who lack useful outlets for their energies and feel unfulfilled are subject to these feelings. How foolish it is for people to wish that their time would pass quickly, when, as we pointed out, time is like a priceless jewel.

In the Most Distinguished Naqshbandi Sufi Order we have a rule of thumb: A person's value corresponds to the value he assigns to his time. If you perceive your time to be a worthless burden that you hope will pass away quickly, then you are a burden on the face of the earth, and it would be better to be under it than on it. Why? Because you wantonly squandered one priceless treasure: your vital energy. Now that other priceless treasure, time, is not like wealth in your hands but like an immense pile of treasure underneath which you are buried. Be judicious with your vital energy so that the value of time may hecome manifest to you. When you keep your time like a diamond you will be exalted in the eyes of people and in the Divine Presence, here and hereafter.

There is a Sufi aphorism: "The Sufi is the child of his or her time". This means that the Sufi treats his or her time with the same veneration and respect due to his or her parents. Filial piety is a paramount duty in religion, and in the Sufi Way we are exhorted to honour our time as if we were honouring our mother and father. A true dervish will never waste a moment, but will catch it as a skilled jockey grabs the reins of his horse, applying his skill so that it runs in the right direction and at the right speed. Look in on a true dervish and you should find him or her occupied with something useful, never with detrimental or useless activities.

If a person can guide himself in such a manner he is on the road to perfection, because he knows what he must do. His heart's eyes will never be blind; he is keenly aware of the significance of all he encounters.

Our Grandshaykh used to say:
"Oh people, how are you filling your days? Don't waste time, but strive to weave time and space with still so that you will leave an enduring legacy behind you in this world and be honoured thereby here and hereafter".

For followers of a Sufi Way wasting time either idly or in useless activity is the greatest sin. Guard your vital energy and your valuable time make every moment live.



Seek your Sustenance


The Holy Prophet advised his Nation to work for a living, though our stay in this world be only temporary. He advises us to seek out our sustenance, not to wait for it to find us. It is best for us to work for our livelihood, to engage ourselves in any type of work that does not transgress the Law, as the most tasteful of food is that earned with one's own hands. For man to seek his sustenance within the bounds of the Divine Law is most pleasing to our Lord, and is also conducive to good mental and physical health. So whoever is able-bodied must work. Don't argue that, since the sustenance of every creature is already destined for him you need neither pursue it nor avoid it - these are the excuses of lazy people - and Allah does not favour laziness. As long as you are in this world there must be some work that you can do with your hands.

King Solomon, who was both a Prophet and a Divinely Ordained Monarch was granted by his Lord opulence far beyond the imagination of even the richest man of our time, for Allah Almighty granted him knowledge of the exact location of all the treasures in the Earth, and also empowered him over armies of Jinn who not only guarded those treasures but would bring up any of them upon command. Solomon was also granted the power to discourse with the animals, and they too were his servants.

Even such a magnificent emperor as Solomon never in his life ate food except the proceeds from the sale of baskets he himself wove. Can we find such scrupulousness anywhere? King Solomon set an example for all of his subjects, and people of all time by not using the wealth of the Nation for his personal needs. But nowadays, on the contrary, the government is expected to supply everyone's needs, so that many people, other than those who are truly handicapped or in need, unashamedly take government handouts and demand that they be increased. Don't be unemployed! Perhaps you can cheat the government, but you can't deceive Allah; and He Almighty punishes such people in this life by making that money a cause of discontent for them. No "barakah" comes from unearned money, and the result of such a life will be both physical and mental illness. Therefore, if you value your health and your sanity, eat from the work of your hands!

Sultan Abdul Hamid, the last Khalifa of the Ottoman Empire was a great personality of his time. By virtue of his great stamina and charisma he was able to not only hold together the crumbling empire, but to actually effect a kind of revival of spirit throughout the vast realm. He was the last ruler to be mentioned in sermons all across the Muslim World, and he was the last keeper of the holy relics of the Prophet which are in Istanbul.

In the midst of all the affairs of his empire that needed his attending to, he found time to engage in a craft and eat from the proceeds of that work. Not only this, but he never ascended his throne to attend to court until he had recited his Naqshbandi exercises and read a portion of the Qur'an and also of the prayer book Dalail-ul-Khairat, as well as praying the two sets of supererogatory prayers of the early morning. It is enough of a testimony to his strength to mention that he sat on the throne for thirty - three years in a time when most kings could not manage to retain their power for even ten years because of the many intrigues and the growing chaos of the times. The magnitude of his majesty was such that Kaiser Wilhelm II once said:
"I have met many monarchs and rulers in my life and have found them all to be my inferiors, or at best my equals, but when I entered the presence of Abdul Hamid I began to tremble."
The Holy Prophet once said:
"You must work for your honest provision as if you are going to remain in this world forever, and for the afterlife as if you will die tomorrow".
Now why would the Prophet, whose mission it was to call to eternal life suggest that we work as if we will always be in this world? Because when hope for the life of the world is abandoned man will die. Hope for the future of this world and for our position in it is necessary for our being able to devote ourselves to our duties in this life. Besides this, the Holy Prophet declared that man's good deeds live on after him in this world, through the benefit that future generations derive from them.

And with regard to the afterlife, the Holy Prophet was reminding us that we will cross that barrier, and it could be tomorrow, or even today: So, should we not be prepared? In order to put the matter in perspective, the Holy Prophet also said:
"Oh people you must consider how long you may remain in this world and work for it in accordance with the length of your stay; and you must consider as well how long you will be in the life of the hereafter and strive for it accordingly".
This saying may seem to contradict the previous one, for if you balance the time you will spend in this world against the time you will be in the hereafter, it will be nothing. Each of our Prophet's sayings is perfect; therefore, for those who would abandon their worldly duties, he has urged them to oppose this tendency by thinking of this world as eternal, so that they may give value to their duties. And for those who would pursue this world exclusively, the second measure: the time spent here against the time there, so that they may seek what is in fact eternal.

Sayyidina Ali related from the wisdom he gained from the Prophet, that exaggeration on the one hand, and the total abandonment, on the other, of any aspect of life is a sign of ignorance. Therefore, in this matter of balance between different aspects of effort we have been urged to seek equilibrium. And our Naqshbandi predecessors recommend the following division of our day: eight hours for prayer and devotions and eight hours for seeking our sustenance, (and time devoted to our families may be considered as devotion, as Allah has ordered us to attend to them). Following such guidelines, even people with heavy responsibilities may find time for both work and prayer, like King Solomon and Sultan Abdul Hamid.

Question: "What shall I do in my work situation where I am surrounded by people who are really antagonistic, and are always trying to drag me down to their level? Shall I be very short with them, reject their familiarity and just go about my business?"

The Sheikh answered:

There is no wisdom in pointing out people's faults to them directly, nor in behaving in such a way that your disapproval becomes very obvious. All you may do is to make some very generalized statements at an appropriate time without coming too close to directly attacking their actions or ideas, for there is nothing that the ego hates more than being blamed or accused.

All souls have wings, but the wings of sinners are broken, and they cannot fly until their wings heal, and that takes time. Meanwhile, they do not seek nests in high places-on roofs, mountains or trees - but crawl into the basement. Because they are imprisoned by their egos they remain in that dark surrounding, never seeing the light of day, only knowing artificial light.

They may in time emerge from that dark basement, but if you make them angry with you they will become even more stubborn. Allah Almighty warned the Holy Prophet of the consequences of such an attitude when He said:
"And if you were short-tempered, severe and hard-hearted they would flee from you".

This verse indicates that only through exemplary tolerance and kindness can any impression be made on ill-mannered and badly educated people.

It is not Allah Almighty's way to punish people, not even tyrants, until a Divine Messenger has been sent to them, to offer them a better way than the way of tyranny on which they tread. The door to repentance and just dealing is open to everyone, and it was the duty of the Prophets and their Inheritors to beckon all towards that door; all the more so the tyrants, as their bad actions may adversely affect millions of people or the whole world!

The very word "Pharaoh" has become synonymous with "tyrant". Our Lord teaches us the proper way of trying to turn a tyrant away from his tyranny, when He ordered Moses and Aaron, peace be upon them, to:

"Go unto Pharaoh and speak to him smoothly and politely, that perhaps he may be guided".

Only later, when Pharaoh's intransigence became apparent, Moses was ordered to threaten him with divine wrath and to bring down divine retribution upon Pharaoh's people.

According to this Divine Wisdom, it is wrong for a believer to confront anyone with bad manners and derision. We have not been ordered to be quarrelsome and scowling, cursing-and-swearing people.

Whenever our Grandsheikh would receive government officials, secret police or people who had come to his assembly to try and find fault, in order to oppose him, he, of course, could easily read their secret intentions. He always treated such people with especial kindness, showing them extraordinary respect and deference. The result was that they would feel ashamed of their previous insincere intentions and go away with a good feeling about Grandsheikh, resolving to treat him respectfully from then on. Our Grandsheikh's wife used to warn us: "If you see Grandsheikh making a great fuss over a visitor, beware of that person!"



What to expect in the grave


CONTROLLING ANGER AND PASSION
We are speaking on the life of Barzakh--life in the grave, between this life and last life. Commonly, everyone will enter grave, perhaps with some exceptions. The Prophet said that everyone must find in his grave what he or she did throughout his life. In our life one's rank or riches or highly honoured father's and mother's may be useful for one, but in the grave only one's actions are important. from the heart. You can't listen to your Lord or to your Prophet. If a person dies angry, he will go to Hell.



Bayazid’s 24,000 Expansions


Our Grandsheikh was saying that whoeve has real spiritual exercises, if he can complete them, there may appear from himself many forms like himself. Firstly there may be three then seven, having the same shape and bodily pov ers, but in seven different places, each independent, looking, acting and knowing. This power grows from one completing exercise under the supervision of a Perfect Master: Murshidun Kamil.

Abu Yazid once prayed one Juma'a prayer in 24,000 different places. He told the religious authorities in one place: "I was praying in 12,000 different houses of worship today." They asked: "How?" He said "by the power of the Lord Almighty. If you don't believe me, send people around to ask." The sat and waited until messengers returned saying that he was seen in so many places. Abu Yazid said later: "I was afraid to say 24,000 so only said half."

Allah says that when planting one grain of wheat, it disappears into the earth and becomes seven ears, each ear with a hundred grains, 700 grains coming from one. If a person gives his body to be nothing, Allah gives a body from His Divine Presence. Don't be surprised about Allah's actions; He is al-Qadir, The All-Powerful. But no one agrees to be nothing, everyone is asking to be something, to be, to be, to be, even in religion. In Tariqat also, people ask miracles and heavenly vision, no one likes to be nothing. When agreeing to be nothing, you will be all things. The Palace of Unity is not open to those saying 'we are something'. You must enter into Khalwat, seclusion, not thinking to come out, finished, addressing to your ego; "Don't think that you are coming out and able to do miracles. I am going to bury you. My sheikh will send the Angel to take your soul." Then it will be real seclusion, otherwise it is only training. For the first condition, the sheikh looks to the disciple to see if desires of the ego are still running in his heart. Ego must be finished there; then to such a person ready for death, all keys to treasures can be trusted. This body must be taken. Everyone will die. Some may offer themselves to death with their willpower. This does not mean killing oneself, but killing the ego's desires. Then you are ready for Divine powers.

Abu Yazid was such a hard fighter to ego. People asked him what is the most difficult fighting. He replied: "You can't live up to it at all." And what is the lightest fighting? Maybe you may listen a little. I called my ego to come out to pray: It said, 'but I want to sleep'. I told it 'Enough, leave sleeping and get up!' 'But I like to sleep'. 'I swear by God won't give you any sleeping or drinking one year if you don't get up.' This is lightest fighting to my greatest enemy."

For twelve years he was in a dry well; he buried himself there to make his soul free for the whole Universe; free to wear any body. These are most expensive pearls, only Kings Queens may put on their heads. For them you must sacrifice your ego. We're now only listening but saints are also from mankind and perhaps they are weaker than us; but they know the Lord and He is All- Powerful. You must do everything for His sake. Say: "Oh Lord, we are needy."



Purity Of Heart:
To Forgive And Forget And To Be Immune To Vainglory


Once the Prophet Muhammad, upon whom be peace, was sitting with his companions, when, sighting from afar a man approaching, he said: "Oh my companions, if you want to behold one of the inhabitants of Paradise, look at that man who is now approaching". The man presently arrived and took his place among the congregation. The next day, and yet the next day after that, the Prophet delivered his companions the good tidings of that man's eternal felicity (without saying anything, however, to the man himself).

So often I have heard people lay claim to possessing pure hearts. Especially people who reject religion and mystical practices out of hand love to make such claims. We don't lay any such claims, but we believe that our Way is the way of purification, and that our efforts should set us in the right direction. Anyone who thinks of himself as a pure-hearted person should pay heed to this account and reexamine his claim in light of it.

This account has reached our time through Abdullah, the son of Umar, the second Khalipha of Islam. When Abdullah heard the Prophet laud that person three times he decided to follow him to his house and seek both his blessings and knowledge of exactly what means had led to his attaining such a high station of perfection in this life.

When Abdullah arrived at the man's home he knocked on his door and was welcomed in. The man asked him: "May I inquire as to the purpose of your visit?" Then Ibn Umar related to the man what the Holy Prophet had said about him each of the three preceding days. The man said: "I know". Abdullah Ibn Umar continued: "Oh my brother, I would also like to be one of those fortunate people to have secured a place in paradise while still living in this world. What exactly have you done to attain such distinction in the Divine Presence? What kind of ascetic austerities have you undergone? What kinds of superrogatory acts of devotion have you performed?"

"Oh Abdullah, I don't worship more than you or anyone else does. My being given those good tidings is not a result either of my austerity or my devotions. There are, however, three attributes that I have cultivated and which I prize very much, as one would cherish rare pearls in his possession. First of all, every night as I lay in bed before sleeping I say to my Lord: "Oh my Lord, if any of Your servants has harmed me today, either with his hand or with his tongue, I have forgiven him with complete forgiveness, and will never raise a complaint against him to anyone nor to You, neither now nor on the Day of Judgement. You are my witness that I have forgiven them all: now and forever, here and hereafter."

I must ask all people who claim to be pure of heart: Can you forgive in such a manner? Or do you run to court over sixpence, reciprocate for a single word of abuse with a shower? When slapped do you turn the other cheek, or answer it with ten blows? Do you hold grudges over a long period of time? If you react in this manner to provocation you must know that you are cultivating filth and disease, not purity. Don't hold grudges, for their fruit is hatred and enmity. Where then is your purity?

Then Abdullah Ibn Umar said: "Hmmm... that is a very difficult attribute to emulate. Tell me the second attributeÐthat, perhaps, may be easier to aspire to". The man said: "Look, if I were given the whole world and its treasures, and if the people were to make obeisance to me, saying. 'We are making you our king and putting a huge royal treasury at your disposal. Please take your place now on the Imperial throne and order us to do what you like, your wish is our command', I would not be happy or gratified at all. And what is the sign that I really feel this way? That is the third attribute, and it confirms the second, is proof that I care nothing for wealth and power. For, if those same people were to come the next day, abuse me and kick me off the throne, saying, 'Go away! We don't accept such a foolish king who is not even happy at being crowned king nor pleased at having sovereignty over the whole world bestowed upon him, nor with vast wealth and treasures', I would not be sorry in the least, but greatly relieved".

Are such attributes so easy to attain that everyone should go around claiming to have purity of heart? If someone were to give us an ordinary house Ðforget about palaces Ðwe would be happy, and certainly if they came the next day and claimed it back we would be sorry. So what about having the whole world at our command? Such renunciation is a sign that the topmost point of fait has been reached. Allah has said, "The material world is of less value to Me than the wing of a mosquito". That man had attained certainty of this, had taken this wisdom to heart and stopped coveting this world. The true believer will say: "Oh my Lord, as much as the material world is worth in Your sight, so let it be in mine".



Being Fully Present


Our Grandshaykh was saying that if you like to take benefit from listening or attending a meeting, you must be present in body and heart. But so many people are just like empty jars, sitting. Divine Knowledges pour out when the heart is present. It means when listening with the ears of your heart it gives you Divine Powers. Our Grandshaykh said that if one person in a meeting is scratching his head, the one speaking must come down seven degrees. He may lose that Divine outpouring. But some people are speaking with each other, some watching the door to see who is coming and going, some looking at the clock, and the power is going down. Grandshaykh was always annoyed about this. If you are giving care, my heart is in his hands, and he is in relationship with the Prophet, and the Prophet is in the Divine Presence.

Our Grandshaykh told of two mureeds in his homeland. One was in seclusion for spiritual practice. The second came one day by order of their shaykh to take the brother for a walk outside of the village. They were going on the road in conversation about important spiritual instructions when they reached to the fields of the one in seclusion. As they approached, his eyes wandered to those fields. The other said: "Oh my brother, turn back to your seclusion, you are leaving pearls and turning to fields."

Our attention span is very short, Psychologists say, first fifteen minutes, keen attention, afterwards decreasing. Our Grandshaykh says, not to make any meeting more thar three hours, even though people may be strong and interested. As much as you can make it shorter, more benefit comes, especially in our time.



The Station of Unity


"Oh my Lord, I ask You to grant me understanding, and to enable me, Oh my Lord, to make others understand."
(A prayer of the Holy Prophet Muhammed, Peace be upon him)


Every time I address people I silently make this supplication, as I know that only he who himself understands can teach people anything useful. A visitor recently told me about a spiritual teacher whose lectures and writings were so difficult that only trained intellectuals could make sense of what he was saying. It is not a sign of a man's understanding that his teachings be incomprehensible; a man of understanding will always try to make himself well understood by using clear and straightforward speech, adjusting to the level of his audience, and he will try to address as broad an audience as possible, otherwise his words will be scattered with the winds.

Even Allah Almighty, the Lord of all creatures, the Master of existence, in all His Glory and Greatness condescends to the level of His creatures. This is called "Tanazzulat Subhani" or, as close as it can be translated, "the Condescension of Glory" (or "the Condescension of the Glorious One"). You may find Him Almighty with His creatures on every level.

If He were not with an ant, and knew not the conditions in which that ant lives and what are its needs, He could not, by definition be the Lord of that ant. He, the Lord of all, in His knowledge, is even with microscopic creatures; so what about mankind, the most distinguished of His creatures, is it saying too much to say that He is with us? "Does the Creator not know what He created?" asks the Lord, that we may understand His Omniscience, and that being the Lord of all creation does not detract from His being with each individual creature.

The Holy Prophets and their Inheritors in every age have been endowed with knowledge of Divine Realities which is hidden from the rest of humanity, and it is their main duty to make these realities comprehensible to mankind in general, and to individual people in whatever way possible, in accordance with the respective levels and capabilities of those people. As the teachers of humanity they have been granted the ability to communicate in this manner: to speak directly to people's hearts.

This they have been granted from the Attributes of their Lord. But only Prophets and their true inheritors may find such flexibility available to them; for others it is very difficult to address anyone other than those who share with them a similar background and manner of perception. But Divine Teachers may be to every people what they need, may say what they need to hear; that is why people of varying backgrounds and ranks in life may all find peace with the same man and follow him.

A Concorde could never land on the roof of this building, but a helicopter could. Most scholars are like Concordes: so proud of their immense wingspans, streamlined form and speed. Only a few statesmen and tycoons - men and women of distinction and endowed with great wealth - may enter and ride Concordes. So scholars may speak and write for the appreciation of other scholars. Concordes fly at tremendous speeds and require huge runways at international airports to land, but a helicopter can land anywhere, even sometimes at sea, and can always hover in mid-air while lowering a lifeline to people trapped by a fire. So Divine Teachers are accessible to everyone in every situation, whereas Concordes might crash in a place where only helicopters can reach to rescue the survivors. Therefore, I am not leaving them on the tops of Himalaya mountains, but bringing them to safety.

Seekers of truth must look for those qualities in a teacher who purports to be addressing subjects related to the Divine. Otherwise they will be pursuing useless studies, and, according to the Holy Prophet, a sign of a person's perfection in Islam is his abandonment of useless activities ("that which doesn't concern him").

Our guest mentioned that this scholar was addressing the topics of "Fana and Baqa",or ''Annihilation and Permanence in the Divine". I think that no one except those who have arrived at these Stations is qualified to speak of them, otherwise his description will be like that of a person who has never tasted honey trying to describe its taste from what he has read about it to others who have been deprived of honey. Or it will be like asking a little boy about the pleasures of a honeymoon... useless.

These topics are Oceans. When you melt, dissolving in the Unity Ocean of Allah Almighty, then you may understand the meaning of "Fani-fillah" (Annihilation in Allah). When you abandon your position as a being in existence, when you become as a drop of rain falling from the sky and are immersed, united in that Ocean of Divine Unity, then no one can ask where that drop has gone: the drop became an Ocean.

As long as the drop is falling, it continues to say: "I am something", but when it reaches that Ocean, it looks and says: "Where am I? I am finished. I am with Him. I am here, but not here; only He is here, but I am now with Him. I am in His Ocean. I feel this, but no more can it be said that I am a drop: this drop has become an Ocean". That is only a very simple description of Annihilation in God.

"Baqa" or Permanence, is to be with Him always. In such a Station your personality does not appear; what appears is only Divine Existence. You have been dressed in Divine Unity. That is the "Station of Unity", "Maqam at-Tawhid". What Baqa means is that you will never lose sight, hearing, feeling, knowing, understanding - never, but they will be without limits. We must try to attain these Stations, but the Way is difficult and requires severe training.

One of the aspects of that training is to try and see everything as proceeding from Him Alone. This is the sixth pillar of faith in Islam: The belief that everything that happens in this world, the good and the bad alike, are from God. This is referred to as "Tawhid al-Af'al" or "The Unity of Actions". The way to begin to realize this point is to remember the source of all events, Allah Almighty, when events occur, and not to occupy one's self with blaming or lauding those who are not really the causes of events, only the instruments to their occurrence. This means that if Ahmed comes and gives you a pound coin and then Fulan comes and slaps you and takes it away, you don't think of Ahmed as the giver of the money, nor of Fulan as a thief. If you think like this you have fallen from that high level of faith. You must perceive the hand of Allah behind both hands - that which giveth and that which taketh away as He is the creator of the actions of people.

When someone is generous or kind to you, you must remember that it was your Lord who sent him with that favour, and you must thank your Lord. But at the same time you are going to say: "Thank you" to that person, as without giving thanks to the carrier of that blessing your thanks to its origin is not going to be complete. Therefore the Holy Prophet said: "Who thanks not people thanks not Allah". Our Prophet, upon whom be peace, is advising us strongly that we should not allow our vision of unity to distract us from perfecting our politeness with our fellow men. But you know that it is your Lord who sent him, and you are not forgetting that under any circumstances. And when you see that Ahmed has filled your hands with gold, you must say to him: "Oh Sheikh Ahmed, thank you so much! And firstly thanks to your Lord, who sent you with favours for me, and thank you for faithfully delivering what was entrusted to you".

And when that robber Fulan comes, hits you and takes all the money, don't be angry with him! Yes, the Divine Law, the Shariah, permits you to retrieve that money if you can, and prescribes a Punishment to be meted out by the society as well, but if you are on the way of Unity, then you must regard that action as coming to you from Allah Almighty too. He Alone sent that man to rob you, because the Creator of every action is only One: Allah Almighty.

Because it is not possible for all people to aspire to this high level of faith in which God's Hand is seen behind every event, Allah Almighty in one verse of the Holy Qur'an, condones "a life for a life" in the case of murder, and goes on to call those who are capable of it to "turning the other cheek". These are the levels, respectively, of Shariah, the Law, and Tariqah, the Path. Based on this verse, therefore, the Islamic Law concerning murder is balanced, making concession for the normal human feelings for vengeance in the face of such an abominable crime. Islam allows for the execution of the duly convicted murderer, and in this way assuages the feelings of the close relatives, thus preventing extended blood-feuds. The law also allows for the payment of blood money in lieu of execution, to be paid to the victim's close relatives. Lastly the verse calls those who are seeking the highest level of faith and unity of vision to forgiveness, saying: "And whoso forgives and promotes understanding, his reward is incumbent on his Lord".

What Allah is saying to seekers of absolute truth is: "Now forgive him, because I sent him to do that action". Then you realize that, in reality, there is no question of guilt nor need for revenge. But that is not the common level. That is the level to be striven for, and it is beyond us to forgive in such a manner because our egos are like volcanoes.

Now people may be very polite in their everyday dealings, as long as everyone behaves in accordance with their expectations and everything falls into place according to plan; but should, God forbid, the smallest thing go wrong - for example a small error in driving, even one that causes no accident - for such a small reason one may hear the ugliest obscenities pour from their mouths like a lava eruption. That ego makes people dangerously ill, and now that people are totally under their egos' command, where can you find the tolerance described in that Holy Verse of the Qur'an?

So much hate and frustration is pent up in people - I see it in their looks - and so often a scapegoat is sought upon whom to release that torrent, and the best, the tried and true scapegoat throughout the world is always the "foreigners"; so I am quick to assure people here in the West: "We are just here as your guests. This is your homeland." But is it? You can't stay here either except in your graves. Your homeland is the grave, not above ground. Thank God, no one is begrudging us cemetery plots, no one is trying to prevent our being buried. The gravedigger wipes the dirt off his hands and goes away, and the Earth accepts us indiscriminately; but people on the Earth are Once I was in Mecca with our Grandsheikh making Tawaf (circumambulating) the House of Allah, the Kaaba. Grandsheikh said to me: "Look up!" When I looked I saw above the heads of the people another group of worshippers performing their Tawaf; but these people were of a different class: calm, peaceful and graceful. They too were of mankind, not Angels, but they were the ones who had reached the level of seeing every action as issuing from Allah Almighty, therefore they left the level of earthly struggle.

But, meanwhile, back on the ground, amidst the throng, with those who lack such certainty, we were being pushed, shoved and trampled upon, Some groups locked arms and shoved straight through the crowd, full-speed ahead, sending all who were unfortunate enough to fall in their path flying through the air, like discarded banana peels. Elbows in my ribs, heels on my toes... but above us, the ones who concur with God's Will have no need for earth under their feet. Now, perhaps, you are thinking that such a thing is impossible. that I am telling a "tall tale", but Yet, when you are told that airplanes fly you think nothing of it. If man can make metal fly, cannot God make man fly? They are at peace with their Lord and with everything in creation, therefore, everything carries them.

And so, we have been shown a higher way, the vision of Unity, and we have been asked to be patient with those events that are not to our liking, remembering their source. This is the best training for our egos. Undergo this training or you will struggle fruitlessly - up to the grave. We are being trained by our Lord to recognize the Unity of Actions, so that we can come to understand the Unity of His Holy Names, which leads us to the knowledge of the Unity of His Holy Attributes; that knowledge will prepare us for that ultimate dive into the Unity Ocean of Allah Almighty's existence - essence. That is the final goal: that raindrop falls, and it will not emerge again ever - and it is content because it has just gained everything eternally, forever.

Therefore, Allah Almighty addresses mankind, saying: "Oh man, verily you are striving towards your Lord, and you will meet Him". He Almighty is teaching us that all our striving on Earth, our running from East to West, here and there, night and day, is, unwittingly, nothing else than our race towards our Lord's endless Unity Ocean, but we can't now understand. Our souls long for our Lord, therefore we move, and there is nowhere to move save towards the One.



Look not to the Faults of Others


HOW TO BECOME FREE OF BAD CHARACTER

Our Grandshaykh is saying - his every advice is like ammo for guns, given to you to use against the enemy. But you are only taking them and making a stash. We are giving them to you for shooting; that is our intention. We are giving you shells for every range, some for nearby and some for the other side of the mountain. Yet our Grandshaykh is saying: "I can't find anyone to keep my advices." I hope you may keep his advice.

Our Grandshaykh is asking, what is that which Allah and his Prophet don't like? You must know, and when knowing, keep far away from it. He answers that it is to look after a person's faults. Allah has prohibited this. It is a big sin and the worst action a person can make. You also have faults--everyone has so many--and you have a responsibility for those faults in the Divine Presence. So why are you looking at the faults of others; you must eliminate your own. When one is looking to the faults of another, the respect we have for him or her in our heart disappears, and the love toward that person is extinguished. Therefore, it is prohibited. Everyone has so many faults, that if we were looking at them, all would become enemies to one another. It causes separation of the Community and then comes Satan to capture us. Sufism calls for such actions as bring love and strong relations between people, to protect from badness and give power to faith. Therefore, we are ordered to worship together, so that our faith will grow stronger.

Our Grandshaykh says we must be careful that Satan does not make our worship unacceptable. It is unacceptable when we are asking for any rewards. We must ask for our Lord's pleasure only. When all the ego's desires are finished, then one is a servant of the Lord. To look for some reward for worshipping is like idol worship, it is a secret form of polytheism. Sincerity is to ask only your Lord's service. So many people are worshipping and then doing what their ego demands. This means that they are servants of Allah and of Satan. It is a dangerous way. Until we become clean of bad character we can't be free of Satan, this world, our egos, and vain desires. Until you become fully aware for each you make with your foot, whether that step is on the right way or the wrong way, you remain in need of alignment in your heart. You must know and be awake to where you are putting your foot. One second's heedlessness may be cause a dangerous accident. Therefore, we are always in need to repeat the word of Testification, to put us on the right way. Until we become free of bad character, we cannot attain to real faith; and without real faith, then there is no real life, the life that is forever. Whoever realizes real faith in this world will live on in the tomb, his body not turning to dust. That is a sign from God that he or she has reached true life.

How is it possible to save ourselves from bad character? A bad charecteristic is pride. Satan was thrown out of the Divine Presence for his pride. If a person is not humble enough to accept another to teach him lessons, he is proud. You must have a Sufi Teacher to show you how to apply the Divine Ordinances to yourself. He learned from his Shaykh how to use Shariah on himself. There can be no surgeon who hasn't witnessed a surgery performed, but learned only from books.



Don't Worry!


The Seal of Prophets, Sayyidina Muhammad, peace be upon him, imparted this good advice to mankind: "If you awaken in the morning and find that you are lacking nothing in the way of material sustenance, and that you and your family are in good health, then don't burden yourself with worry".

The Holy Prophet advises us not to make problems for ourselves. If there are immediate and pressing problems, that is another story, but so many "problems" in people's minds are not problems at all except in their minds. They are only "projected problems" which may or may not ever materialize. This is the affliction of twentieth century man: anxiety, or suffering inflicted upon oneself over the possibility of future suffering. As a result of this neurotic anxiety people may suffer intensely over a long period of time, although none of what they fear ever materializes This is the epitome of foolishness.

We are shouldering weekly, monthly and yearly burdens each day. Why carry such baggage when you may walk unburdened and find all that you need awaiting your arrival at each station of your journey? You only exist here and now. Tomorrow's "you" is only a fantasy, as you can't even know if you'll live that long. By inventing so many problems for yourself you are only making yourself ill. Is this advice of the Prophet not enough evidence of his adherence to a way that leads man to felicity?

Allah Almighty doesn't want His servants to suffer needless self-inflicted misery, and He says: "Oh My servants, don't load heavy burdens on yourselves by worrying about the future. Just bring yourselves in line with My will; accord with my purposes this moment, and then rest assured that I will help you keep your future moments similarly aligned with My will".

Perhaps you may understand my point from the following example. When a new railway track is laid, before a locomotive and train are ever sent over it, a two-wheeled cart is first drawn over it to check whether the tracks have been laid straight. In the same way, if you can align your will to that of your Lord even for one moment, without carrying a heavy burden, you may be sure that your way is right, and that, even should times get rough, and so many burdens be coupled to your locomotive, your track is straight and true and you will pass along it smoothly and safely. A solution to this moment's problem is the solution to next year's derailment.

When I am here in western countries I daily encounter people carrying the weight of anticipated problems, It is so difficult in the modern world to escape from having this perspective, and to concentrate on the moment in order to put it right. With tens of thousands of problems in front of you all at once how should a solution seem possible?

I often see people running into the mosque, saying the obligatory prayers quickly and running out. Sometimes I ask them: "What's the rush?" Then they nervously look at their watches and say: "We have tarried in the mosque too long already. We have so many things to do today!" I reply: "It is laudable to be industrious and to look after your affairs well, but who would look after your affairs were you to drop dead here and now?"

I am not encouraging people to spend their whole days in the mosque, but only trying to remind people who are not only running after their sustenance, but leaping, head over heels after ambitious all-encompassing undertakings that it is impossible to "master the world", and destructive to devote so much energy to their attempt, and with so much abandon. First of all, the world already has a Master, and addressing Him humbly and with presence of mind (not hurriedly) in your prayers is even more instrumental in attaining your sustenance than rushing through the city. Secondly, far from attending to your affairs more efficiently by running, you are only likely to have a heart attack and die young!

Don't live in a world of great big-time schemes, for such schemes will not save you from trouble, but entangle you in it even further. Simplify your problems so that the solutions may be simple, also don't regard your problems with a magnifying glass, so that they are out of perspective: that habit will destroy you physically and spiritually.



Importance of Enduring Troubles


Our Grandshaykh was saying about trials: everyday they are coming afresh and the seeker must be ready and careful each time for that trying, that his faith may become real faith. Everyone may improve his station. For one still under his ego's rule, he will be tested by that which his ego will never like, From everything, family, friends, work and neighbours, may come to you what you don't like. The way of development is the way of patience. There is no quick development. One must be agreeable to all happenings to and around himself.

That is the sign of development, to endure peoples' troubling you. It is not important to fly in the sky or to walk on the sea or to be seen in several places at once or to dream good dreams. lmportant in our way is to be patient, resisting every wave of evil like a mountain in a storm, not beiilg pushed back. That is development. Or like the ocean, not becoming dirty from the rivers pouring into it. People with extraordinary powers may fly, but may in the end lose their faith when Satan rushes to attack them. We must be able to endure every harm from everyone.

Our Grandshaykh says, we must be awakened for everything coming contrary to our liking and be ready to tolerate it. This is the real station of faith. Three times a day at shaykh looks to his seekers, but not with a looking to give them pleasure, intead they are looking to send something to the seeker that he will never like. Are you patient, or giving up? When you are patient, your heart is given satisfaction, and a light comes on your real eyes and more faith comes to you. At each opportunity you may advance or regress. This time is particularly filled up with unliked things, the world is full of evils and devils. The Prophet said, "to keep religion in this time is more difficult than to keep fire in one's hand." We must be patient. Allah gives to those enduring unliked things endless reward. It is the way of real faith, like the way of Prophets and of Saints, to endure the badness of people.