This letter, written to Shaikh Darwish, explains that the best
medicine for clearing away the rust of loving others from the heart is to hold
on to the Sunnat-i saniyya (the Sharî’at).
May Allahu ta’âlâ give you salvation! As
long as a man remains attached to various things his heart cannot be purified.
As long as it remains foul it will remain deprived of and far from happiness.
Loving things other than Allahu ta’âlâ blackens, stains the heart, which is
called Haqîqat-i-Jâmi’a[3]. This stain should be cleared away. The
best cleaner is to follow, to obey, the Sunnat-i saniyya-i Mustafâwiyya (’alâ
masdariha-ssalâtu was-salâmi wat-tahiyya). Following the Sunnat-i saniyya does
away with the habits and the desires of the nafs that cause the heart to
darken.
How lucky for those who are honoured with
receiving this blessing! Shame upon those who are deprived of this high luck!
May Allahu ta’âlâ give salvation to you and to those who follow the righteous
way!
[The word “sunnat” has three meanings in
our religion. When “the Book and Sunnat” is said together, “the
Book” means “the Qur’ân” and “Sunnat” means
“hadîths.” When referred to as “fard and sunnat” fard means “Allah’s commands”
and “sunnat” means our “Prophet’s sunnat, that is, his commands”. When the word
“sunnat” is used alone, it means “the sharî’at, that is, all the rules of
Islâm”. Fiqh books say that this is so. For instance, it is
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[1] To receive the hidden blessings that are
given to the darling himself, Rasűlullah.
[2] To receive the hidden blessings that are
given to the darling himself, Rasűlullah.
[3] That which has accumulated everything
within itself.
written in the book Mukhtasar al-Qudűrî,
“He who knows the sunnat the best becomes the imâm[1].” In explaining this point, the book Jawhara says,
“Here, ‘Sunnat’ means Islam’.”
It is understood that it is necessary to
obey Islam for purifying the heart. Obeying the Sharî’at means doing the
commandments and abstaining from prohibitions and bid’ats.
Bid’at means something that was
invented afterwards. They are things that had not existed during the time of
our Prophet and his four caliphs ‘radiy-Allâhu anhum’ which were fabricated and
done in the name of worships. For example, since it is necessary to recite the
(âyat called) Âyat-al-Kursî[2]
immediately after the (five daily prayers called) namâz, it is bid’at to recite
the (prayer termed) ‘Salâtan Tunjînâ’[3]
or to say other prayers. These must be recited after Âyat-ul-Kursî and
telling the tasbîhs[4].
It is bid’at to prostrate and then get up after finishing namâz and saying duâ
(personal, individual prayer.) It is bid’at to call the azân[5] through loudspeakers. Every kind of
change and reform in the religion is bid’at. On the other hand, it is not
bid’at to use forks and spoons, to wear ties, to drink coffee or tea, or to
smoke cigarettes, for they are not worships, but habits, and they are mubâh.
They are not
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[1] When Muslims perform namâz in
congregation (jamâ’at), one of them leads, conducts namâz. He is called the
imâm.
[2] Verses in the Qur’ân are called âyats.
There are 6236 âyats in the Qur’ân. “Âyat-ul-kursî” is one of them. It explains
the greatness of Allah and that His power is infinite.
[3] The word salât means both namâz and
prayer. Muslims send their prayers to Allah so that the Prophet’s grade will go
up and he will be given more blessings. Such prayers are called salât, too.
Allah loves those who pray so. He rescues them from trouble. Salâtan Tunjînâ
means to ask a blessing on the Prophet in order to get rid of problems.
[4] After namâz, it was the Prophet’s habit,
so it is sunna, to recite “Âyat-ul-kursî”, once, to say “subhânallah”
thirty-three times, which means, ‘there is no defect in Allah,’ “alhamdulillâh”
thirty-three times, which means, ‘hamd, thanks done to anybody will have been
done to Him, for He is the only One who sends every favour,’ “Allahu akbar”
thirty-three times, which means, ‘Allah’s greatness cannot be comprehended
through the mind, through knowledge or through thoughts.’ This procedure is
called “telling one’s tasbîhs,” or counting beads on a rosary of 3x33=99 beads.
[5] At prescribed prayer times, (morning,
noon, afternoon, evening and night), a Muslim goes up the minaret and calls all
Muslims to pray. This is called the “azân” (adhân).
harâm. Statements made by Islamic scholars
about smoking are quoted and explained in detail in the (Turkish) book Se’âdet-i ebediyye.
There are three types of bid’at:
1 – It is the worst bid’at to use things
which Islam says are symbols of disbelief.
2 – Kinds of belief not conforming with
what the Ahl-i sunnat scholars communicate are also bad bid’ats.
3 – Renovations and reforms done as
worships are bid’ats and are grave sins.]
Couplet:
Faithfulness is what becomes a man, even when wronged;
If a person is true, Allah will him uphold.