This letter, written to a very pious lady, explains beliefs and
encourages worship:
May hamd-u-thenâ[1] be to Allahu ta’âlâ, who sends us all the
conspicuous and invisible blessings, who shows us the way to safety, and who
honours us by making us an Ummat of His beloved Muhammad (alayhissalâm).
Allahu ta’âlâ is the only one who gives
every blessing, every goodness to all creatures. He is the One who creates
everything and who gives the blessing of existence. He is also the One who
keeps everything in existence every moment. Perfect and good attributes are
given to men through His mercy, through His sympathy. Our attributes of life,
knowledge, hearing, seeing, power and speech are all from Him. He, alone, sends
innumerable blessings. He is the One who saves people from troubles. He is the
One who accepts prayers and rescues
people from disasters. He is such a Razzâq[2] that He does not cut off the sustenance
of His born servants on account of their sins. His forgiveness and mercy is so
plentiful that He does not disclose the ugliness of the faces of sinners. He is
so patient that He does not hurry in punishing His born servants.
He is so bounteous that He showers His
favours and blessings upon everybody, whether beloved or hostile. And, as the
most honourable, most valuable and highest of all His blessings, He
communicates Islâm to His born servants clearly, and shows them the way He
likes. He deigns to command them to attain endless bliss by following the
highest of creatures. Thus, His blessings and favours are clearer than the sun
and more conspicuous than the moon. Also, He is the One who sends the blessings
that come through others. Others’ favours are similar to the custodian
depositing something with a person. To ask anything from somebody else means to
expect something from a poor person. An ignorant person as well as a learned
one knows this. A blockhead as well as a clever person understands it.
Couplet:
Even if the hairs on my body began to speak
They couldn’t do even one-thousandth of the thanks Thou deserve.
Everybody knows that he who does favours
should be
------------------------------------
[1] Thanking, praising and lauding.
[2] He who gives sustenance, food.
thanked. It is a requirement of being
human. Those who do favours are respected. Generous people are deemed great.
Then, it is a requirement of being a human to thank Allahu ta’âlâ, who is the
real owner of every blessing. It is a duty, a debt, which the mind
necessitates. However, since Allahu ta’âlâ is free from any defect or fault,
while men are smeared with the taint of defects and with the stains of
deficiency, they do not have any relationship with Him. They cannot understand
how great He is or how to thank Him accordingly. Methods which they think of as
beautiful and use to describe Him may be loathsome to Him. What they think appropriate
as a way of lauding and praising Him may, in fact, insult and belittle Him.
Unless He dictates the means by which He should be praised and thanked, other
ways cannot be trusted as being worthy of Him, nor can they be acceptable ways
of worshipping Him. A way that a man chooses to thank Him may actually be a
form of slander. Therefore, the religions and sharî’ats which have been
communicated by His prophets ‘alaihim-us-salawatu wa-t-taslîmât’ reveal how He
should be praised, respected and thanked. Ways of respecting Him through the
heart are communicated in the religion, and the thanks that are rendered to Him
by the tongue are, again shown there. Religions explain clearly and in detail
the actions which every organ will do. Then, thanking Allahu ta’âlâ by
believing with the heart while the body does certain actions is possible only
by adapting oneself to the religion. The reverence and the worship that is
rendered to Allahu ta’âlâ outside the religion cannot be depended upon. They
usually are done in a form contrary to His wishes and what is thought of as a
blessing turns out to be a sin. As it is understood from these words, following
the religion is a requirement of being a human and is something which the mind
approves and likes. Allahu ta’âlâ cannot be thanked outside His religion.
Each religion which Allahu ta’âlâ declared
is of two parts: i’tiqâd (belief) and ’amal (worship); that is, îmân and rules.
Of them, i’tiqâd is the same in every religion. I’tiqâd is the essence and the
basis of the religion. It is the trunk of the tree of the religion. And ’amal
is like the branches and leaves of the tree. The i’tiqâds communicated in
ancient religions were defiled in the course of time. The only righteous
i’tiqâd today is the i’tiqâd which is communicated by the Islâmic religion. He
who does not have this correct i’tiqâd will not be saved from Hell. It will be
impossible for him to escape the torment of the next world. There
is hope for those without ’amal to be
saved. They may depend on the mercy of Allahu ta’âlâ, who may forgive them, if
He wants, or may torment them to the extent of their sins, if He wants, and
then take them out of Hell. Staying eternally in Hell is for those who do not
have the correct i’tiqâd as communicated by the Islâmic religion, that is,
those who do not believe the tenets that are of the Islâmic religion, which
were communicated by Muhammad (alaihissalâm). Those who have the i’tiqâd, but
who do not have ’amal, that is, who do not carry out the rules with their heart
and body, will not stay in Hell eternally, though they may go there.
Since the tenets that must be believed are
the essentials, the absolutely indispensable bases of Islâm, it is necessary
for everybody to teach and to learn them. [It is everybody’s first duty to
learn them. He who does not learn correct îmân and its rules and who does not
teach them to his children has not done his duty as a human being. Everbody has
the right to learn them. It is the first of all human rights.]
Since the ahkâm, that is, the commandments
and prohibitions, are dependent upon i’tiqâd (îmân) and since they are lengthy
and detailed, we will leave them to be dealt within the books of fiqh [and
morals]. We will note down only the very necessary ones, inshâallahu ta’âlâ.
[Îmân and i’tiqâd are the same. There is a
very lengthy and profound branch of knowledge describing them called ilm-i kalâm. Savants
of kalâm are very great people, and books of kalâm are numerous. These books
are also called books of aqâid. Things that are to be done or
abstained from with the heart and body are called ahkâm-i Shar’iyya or shortly the Sharî’at. The
branch of knowledge communicating the ahkâm-i shar’iyya, which is done with the
body, is called ilm-i fiqh. The books of kalâm of the four
madhhabs are the same, but their books of fiqh are different. The books that
are written for non-educated people and that briefly and clearly describe the
knowledge of kalâm (îmân), morals and fiqh, which everybody should know and do,
are called the books of ilm-i hâl. It is the first duty of each
Muslim to get books of ilm-i hâl written by blessed people who know, love and
take care for their religion. Afterwards, he must teach what he has learned to
his wife and children. To attempt to learn the religion from the speeches and
articles of ignorant people who call themselves and play the part of men of
religion means to throw onself down into Hell.]
THINGS THAT ARE ABSOLUTELY NECESSARY TO BE BELIEVED: Allahu
ta’âlâ exists by His zât; His existence is of Himself. As He exists now, He has
always been existing and will continue to exist. There cannot be nonexistence
before or after His being. His existence is indispensable. That is, He is Wâjib-ul-wujűd (the
Indispensable Being). There cannot be nonexistence at that rank. Allahu ta’âlâ
is One. That is, He does not have a partner or a likeness. He does not have a
partner in being Wâjib-ul-wujűd, in being worshipped or in being worthy of
worship. For having a partner, Allahu ta’âlâ has to be insufficient, dependent,
which are defects and faults. There cannot be deficencies in wujűb, and
ulűhiyyat[1]. He is sufficient, independent. That is,
He is by Himself. Then, there is no need for a partner or a likeness. And being
unnecessary is a defect and is not compatible with wujűb and ulűhiyyat. As it
can be seen, to think that He has a partner shows that each of the partners is
insufficient. That is, to think that there is a partner exposes the fact that
there cannot be a partner. That means to say that Allahu ta’âlâ does not have a
partner. He is one.
Allahu ta’âlâ has perfect Attributes that
are not deficient. They are: hayât (to exist), ’ilm (to know), sam’ (to hear),
basar (to see), qudrat (to be omnipotent), irâda (to will), kalâm (to say) and
tekwîn (to create). These eight Attributes are called Sifât-i thubűtiyya or
Sifât-i
haqîqiyya. These attributes of His are eternal. That is, they
are not (of recent occurrence). They exist separately from Himself. The Ahl-i
Sunnat savants have communicated this, so may Allahu ta’âlâ reward them for
their work! None of the seventy-two sects, but only the Ahl-i Sunnat could
realize that Allahu ta’âlâ had separate Attributes. In fact, the recent ones of
the sôfiyya-i ’aliyya (great men of tasawwuf) said that those Attributes were
the same as the Divine Person (Allah Himself), thus they are akin to the
seventy-two sects,
------------------------------------
[1] ‘Wujűb’ means ‘being necessary.’ It also
means ‘the being whose existence is indispensable.’ Allahu ta’âlâ and his eight
Attributes are in the grade of wujűb. They are wâjib. ‘Ulűhiyyât’ means ‘being
worthy of being worshipped and entreated.’ It is necessary to worship, entreat
a being who creates man and keeps him in existence every moment and who creates
everything which is necessary for man and who protects him against horror and who
is powerful enough to do everything and who does not have a likeness, an
assistant or any being powerful enough to oppose Him. This being is the grade
of ulűhiyyat.
though they were of the Ahl-i Sunnat. Yes,
they do not say that the Attributes are nonexistent, like the others say, but
it is understood from the implications of their words that they view the
Attributes as nonexistent. The seventy-two sects claim that they protect Allahu
ta’âlâ against defects and that they know Him as perfect by considering the
Attributes to be nonexistent. While they think of this as being perfect, they
disagree with the Qur’ân al-kerîm. May Allahu ta’âlâ bless them
with adhering to the way of the Qur’ân al-kerîm!
The other Attributes of Allahu ta’âlâ are
either i’tibârî (thought of as being) or salbî (impossible to exist). For
example, qidam (not nonexistent before His existence), azaliyyat (not having a
beginning as an existence), wujűb (impossible to cease existing), and
ulűhiyyat. For example, Allahu ta’âlâ is not a substance. He is not of a
substance. He is not of matter. He is not a state. He does not have a place. He
is not of time. He has not entered anything or settled in any place. He is not
limited or surrounded by anything. He is not on any side or in any direction.
He is not connected with anything. He does not resemble anything. He does not
have a likeness or an opposite. He does not have a mother, father, wife or
children. [He who says, “Allah, the Father,” becomes a kâfir.] All these are
things that exist in creatures, in beings who were created later. They are all
signs of a defect and fault. They are all Sifât-i Salbiyya. All perfect attributes
exist in Allahu ta’âlâ. No defective attributes exists in Him.
Allahu ta’âlâ knows the wholes, the
fragments, the big things and the tiny motes. He knows every secret. He knows
the tiniest motes in earth and in the skies. He is the One who creates
everything. Certainly, He knows the things He creates. To create, it is
necessary to know. Some unfortunate people say that He does not know of every
mote. They suppose that it is greatness and perfectness not to know of every
mote. Likewise, by saying that Allahu ta’âlâ created something which they call
active mind, willy-nilly, they suppose that this is perfection too. They are so
ignorant that they think of ignorance as perfection. They suppose that it is an
act of greatness to do something willy-nilly, like the forces recognized by the
knowledge of physics. They fabled something called the active mind. They say
that everything comes to being from it. They know Him as incapable and
ineffective and as someone who created the worlds, the skies, and everything in
them. To this poor person [Hadrat Imâm-i Rabbânî means
himself], there is nobody on earth who is
more ignorant and baser than they are. And some other people think of them as
scientists, as men of positive knowledge, and suppose that they know something
and tell the truth.
Allahu ta’âlâ is the speaker of one word
from eternity in the past until eternity in the future. All His commandments
are from that one word. All His prohibitions are, again, from that one word.
Likewise, all His news and all His questions originate from that one word. the
books Tawrât and
Injîl denote
that one word. Also, the Zabűr and the Qur’ân al-kerîm signify that one word.
Likewise, His other books and pages are all explanations of that one word. When
eternity in the past and eternity in the future become one moment at that rank
despite their being infinite –even though it would not include the word ‘one
moment,’ we use the word ‘one moment’ since there is no other word– the word,
which is in that one moment, is also certainly one word, one letter, and even
one dot. To say one dot, like saying one moment, is due to there being no other
appropriate word. Otherwise, it would not be correct to say even one dot. The
wideness and the narrowness in Allah Himself and in His Attributes are not like
those which we know and with which we are familiar. He is far from being wide
or narrow, which is an attribute for creatures.
Believers will see Allahu ta’âlâ in
Paradise. But they will see Him with a seeing which is not known. Seeing
something which is not known or comprehended, will be seeing which is not
comprehended. Maybe the one who sees will go into a state that cannot be
understood, and then will see. This is a mystery, a puzzle, which has been
communicated to the distinguished ones of the Awliyâ in this world. This
profound, difficult matter, which is hidden to everybody, has been revealed to
them. It has not been understood, with the exception of the Ahl-i sunnat,
neither by groups of Believers nor by any individual from the disbelievers. All
but those great people said that Allahu ta’âlâ could not be seen. Others
went wrong because they likened the
things which they did not know to those which they saw. It is obvious that such
comparisons and measurements will give wrong results. [And today, many people
are dragged towards eternal disaster by losing their îmân because of this wrong
measurement and comparison.] To be blessed with the honour of îmân in profound
matters such as these falls to one’s lot only in the light of obeying the
sunnat (that is, the Sharî’at) of Muhammad (alaihissalâm). How can they be
honoured with attaining this blessing, those who are deprived
of the honour of believing in seeing
Allahu ta’âlâ in Paradise in light of the famous saying, “He who refuses will
be deprived”? On the other hand, it is not suitable to be in Paradise and not
see, for the Sharî’at says that all of those in Paradise will see. It does not
say that some of them will see while some others will not see. We will quote
for them the answer which Hadrat Műsâ gave to Pharaoh, which Allahu ta’âlâ
declares through the 51st and 52nd âyats of Sűra Tâhâ: “Pharaoh said,
‘What became of those who came and passed before us!’ He said in response, ‘My
Allah knows their states and futures. It is written in Lawh-i mahfűz [see
fn. (1) in preface]. My Allah never goes wrong or forgets anything. As for me, I am merely a born servant like you. I know only as much as He lets me know.’ ”
Paradise is also a creature of Allahu
ta’âlâ, as everything is. Allahu ta’âlâ does not enter or stay in any of His
creatures. But His divine lights appear in some of His creatures. And some
others do not have that talent. The mirror reflects the images of the things
opposite itself. But stone or soil does not reflect them. Though Allahu ta’âlâ
is in the same nisbat (relation) to each of His creatures, the creatures are
not the same in respect to one another. Allahu ta’âlâ cannot be seen in the
world. This world is not convenient for attaining the blessing of seeing Him.
He who says that He can be seen here is a liar, a slanderer. He has not
understood the truth. If this blessing were attainable in this world, Hadrat
Műsâ ‘alaihis-salâm’ would have seen Him before anybody else. Our Prophet
‘sall-Allâhu alaihi wa sallam’ was honoured with this good luck in the Mi’râj[1]. Yet it did not happen in this world. He
went into Paradise. He saw Him there. That is, he saw Him as he will be seen in
the next world. He did not see Him in the world. While being in the world, he
went out of the world, went into the next world and saw Him.
Allahu ta’âlâ is the creator of the worlds
and skies. He is the one who created mountains, seas, trees, fruits, metals,
germs, animals, atoms, electrons and molecules. As He ornamented the first sky
with stars, so He ornamented the earth by creating human beings. He created
simple substances, elements. Compounds came into being through His creation. He
is the one who created everything out of nothing. Everything other than Him was
nonexistent. None of them is eternal. All righteous religions declare that
everything other than Allahu ta’âlâ came to
------------------------------------
[1] The Prophet’s ascent to Heaven.
being later while having been nonexistent
and that there is nothing eternal except Allahu ta’âlâ. They say that those who
know others as eternal are disbelievers. Imâm-i Ghazâlî, the Proof of Islâm,
said in his book al-Munqidhu ’aniddalâl (reproduced by offset
press by Hakîkat Kitabevi) that he who knows anybody besides Allahu ta’âlâ as
eternal is a kâfir.
Qun’ân al-kerîm communicates that those who
know the skies, the stars and other things as eternal are liars. There are many
âyat-i-kerîmas showing that the worlds were created out of nothing. Extremely
dissolute is the person who disbelieves the Qur’ân by following his mind, which
may go wrong at any time. Unless Allahu ta’âlâ gives light to a person, he will not be
enlightened.
As human beings are creatures, so all
their deeds and actions are Allahu ta’âlâ’s creatures. For, nobody besides Him
can make or create anything. How can a creature create another, while it itself
has been created? The stamp of createdness denotes little power and signifies
insufficient knowledge. He who has little knowledge and power cannot create or
invent. In man’s action, what falls to his lot is a result of his acquiring.
That is, action has been produced through his power and will. It is Allahu
ta’âlâ who has created and made that action. It is man who has acquired it. As
it is seen, the optional actions of men, those which they do willingly, happen
from their acquiring and Allah’s creating. If man’s acquiring or option [that
is, his liking] does not take part in his action, that action turns into
convulsions. [It becomes like the movement of the stomach or of the heart.]
However, it is obvious that optional actions are not like them. The difference
between optional actions and convulsions, though they are both created by
Allahu ta’âlâ, is in the acquiring. Pitying His born servants, Allahu ta’âlâ
made the creation of their actions dependent upon their intention and wish. He
creates man’s action when man wants. It is for this reason that man is
responsible. The blessing or the sin of the action is given to man. The
intention, the option, which Allahu ta’âlâ has given to His born servants, is
equal in doing or not doing the action. He declared clearly to His born
servants through His prophets which actions are good or bad to do or not to do.
Man, being free to do or not to do each of his actions, will for certain choose
one of them; the action will be either good or bad, and he will receive either
a blessing or a sin. Allahu ta’âlâ has given His born servants as much power
(energy) and option (liking, choosing) as to carry out His commands and
prohibitions. There is no need for Him to
give any more ability. He has given as much as is necessary. He who does not
believe this is a person who cannot realize things easily. Because his heart is
sick, he looks for pretexts for not obeying the Sharî’at.
[Allahu ta’âlâ willed in pre-eternity to
give to mankind the power of option, and to let them choose freely the things
they want to do or do not want to do. He never forces men to do something. The
reason for mankind having the power of option is because Allahu ta’âlâ willed
it so. The freedom that mankind has in doing what he wishes clearly indicates
that mankind has the power of option, as well, it denotes that Allâhu ta’âlâ
willed it in preeternity that way. If He had not willed mankind to have the
power of option, and if He had not created it in them, then man would not be
free, but would be obliged to do the thing he wished for. However, when a man
wishes and wills to do something, Allahu ta’âlâ, too, wills it and creates it.
Allahu ta’âlâ is the creator of the things men opted for. Man cannot create and
then do any one of his wishes. After he wills something, then Allahu ta’âlâ
also wills it and creates it. He, Allahu ta’âlâ, is the only Creator and Maker
of every thing. There is no creator other than Him. To call anyone other than
Him Creator, or
to say ‘...someone created’ is very wrong and is an act of making someone a
shareholder, a partner with Allahu ta’âlâ, which is what He most strongly
prohibited and informed that such people will experience an endless and most
vehement torment.]
All of this which we have communicated
concerns profound matters involving the knowledge of kalâm. Their easiest and
clearest explanation consists of what we have written here. We have to believe
what the savants of the right way have communicated. We shouldn’t busy
ourselves with discussing or researching [them].
Couplet:
Attacking is not good in all circumstances,
Digging in is better in some instances.
Having mercy upon His born slaves, Allahu
ta’âlâ sent them prophets ‘alaihim-us-salawâtu wa-t-taslîmât’. Through them He
guided His born servants to the right way, to the way of endless bliss, and
called His born servants to Himself. He invited them to Paradise, the place for
His consent and love. Man is so poor, but he will not accept the invitation of
such a giver of favours, as He
is. Man is very stupid and deprives
himself of His blessings. All the information which those great people
communicated from Allahu ta’âlâ is true. It is necessary to believe all of it.
Though mind is a means for finding out the truth and what is good, it cannot
find it alone, for it is insufficient. It has been completed with the coming of
prophets ‘alaihim-us-salawâtu wa-t-taslîmât’. There is no excuse, no pretext
left for men. The first of the prophets is Hadrat Âdam. And the last one is
hadrat Muhammad Rasűlullah ‘alaihi wa alaihim-us-salawâtu wa-t-taslîmât’. It is
necessary to believe in all the prophets. All of them should be known as
innocent (sinless) and true. To disbelieve one of them means to disbelieve all
of them. For all of them communicated the same îmân. That is, the essentials,
the bases of the things to be believed in were the same in all of their
religions. [Wahhabis do not believe that Âdam (’alaihi’s-salâm) was a Prophet.
The book Kashf-ush-shuhubât,
a book of Wahhabism, states in its initial pages
that the first prophet was Noah (’alaihi’s-salâm)]. This is only one of their
wrong credal tenets. Hadrat Îsâ (Jesus) did not die. When Jews wanted to kill
him, Allahu ta’âlâ raised him alive up to Heaven. At a time towards the end of
the world he will descend to Damascus from Heaven and will follow the Sharî’at
of Muhammad (alaihissalâm). Hadrat Khwâja Muhammad Pârisâ, one of the great
Awliyâ educated by Hadrat Bahâaddîn-i Naqshibandî Bukhârî, a great Awliya, a diver
into the ocean of tasawwuf, says in his book Fusűl-i sittâ, “Hadrat Îsâ will
descend from Heaven, will act according to the madhhab of Imâm-i Abű Hanîfa,
will say halâl about what he said was halâl, and will say harâm about what he
said was harâm.”
ANGELS: They are the precious born
servants of Allahu ta’âlâ. Some of them have been honoured with conveying
information to other angels and to His prophets (alaihimussalâm) among mankind.
They do what they are commanded to do. They do not revolt. They do not eat or
drink. They do not get married. They are neither male nor female. They do not
have children. They carried the (heavenly) books and pages. Because they are
trustworthy, what they convey is true. To be a Muslim, it is necessary to
believe in angels in this manner. According to the majority of the savants of
the right way, the exalted ones from among human beings are superior to the
exalted ones from among the angels. Since human beings struggle against the
Devil and their own nafs, they are exalted, though they are in need. But angels
were created exalted. Angels
say tasbîh and taqdîs[1]. Yet it is peculiar to the higher ones
from among human beings to add jihâd to it. Allahu ta’âlâ declares in the
ninety-fourth âyat of Sűrat-un-Nisâ, as interpreted: “Those Muslims who
perform jihâd, who war against the enemies of religion by sacrificing their
possessions and lives for Allah’s sake, are more exalted than those who do not
go out, but instead only worship. I promise Paradise for all of them.”
All of what the Mukhbir-i sâdiq ‘alaihi wa
’alâ âlihi-s-salâtu wa-s-salâm’ (he who always tells the truth (the Prophet)
communicated about the grave, Resurrection, Hashr (assembling in the space of
Arasât after the Resurrection), Nashr (dispersing after the settling of
accounts to go into Paradise or Hell), and about Paradise and Hell, is true.
Believing in the next world, like believing in Allahu ta’âlâ, is a principle of
îmân. He who disbelieves in the next world is a kâfir, as if he disbelieved in
Allahu ta’âlâ.
There is torment in the grave and there is
squeezing in the grave. He who disbelieves it does not become a kâfir, but he
becomes Ahl-i bid’ât since he has not believed the hadîths that are well known.
[Such people disbelieve the torment in the grave because they doubt that those
hadîths are true ones. If they accepted them as hadîths, they would believe it.
For this reason, they do not become disbelievers, but they stray from the Ahl-i
sunnat. But, he who says, “I do not believe in the torment of the grave,
whether it is written in hadîths or not. Mind and experiments do not confirm
it,” becomes a kâfîr. Now those who disbelieve it in this manner become
disbelievers.] Since the grave is a pass between this and the next worlds, the
torment in the grave is transient like worldly torments but resembles the
torments of the next world. That is, in one respect, it is like worldly
torments, while in another respect, it is like those of the next world. The
torment in the grave will be mostly done to those who fouled their clothes
while urinating and to those who spread gossip among Muslims while they are in
the world. Two angels named Munkar and Nakîr will ask questions in the grave.
It is difficult to answer their questions. [Munkar and Nakîr mean that which is
unacknowledged. See the explanations after Jum’a salât in the 4th fascicle.]
------------------------------------
[1] The words ‘tasbîh’ and ‘taqdîs’ are used
in the same meaning. Though there is a very delicate difference between their
meanings, they both mean ‘without any fault or defect.’
There is the day when the world will end.
That day will surely come. On that day, the skies will be torn into pieces, the
stars will disperse, the earth and mountains will break into pieces and will be
annihilated. The Qur’ân communicates this fact and all
groups of Muslims believe it. He who disbelieves it becomes a kâfir. Even if he
misrepresents his obstinacy well by means of some fantastic stories, or if he
deceives the ignorant by pushing knowledge and science on them, he is still a
kâfir. At the end of the world, after all creatures are annihilated, they will
then be recreated, and everybody will be resurrected from his grave. Allahu
ta’âlâ will resurrect the bones that have rotted and turned into dust. That day
a pair of scales will be set up; the account-books of all humans will fly to
their owners, to the righteous ones from their right and to the evil ones from
their left. The bridge of Sirât, which is set over Hell, will be passed, the
pious ones will pass over it and will go into Paradise, but those who are for
Hell will fall down into Hell. These things which we communicate are not
impossible. Since the Mukhbîr-i sâdiq ‘sall-Allâhu ta’âlâ alaihi wa sallam’ has
declared them, we have to accept them and believe them instantly. We shouldn’t
doubt about them by being fed on illusions. Allahu ta’âlâ declares in the
seventh âyat of Sűrat-ul-Hashr: “Take what my Messenger has brought for you!” that
is, believe whatever he says! On the Day of Resurrection, with the permission
of Allahu ta’âlâ, the virtuous ones will perform shafâ’at for the bad ones,
that is, they will intercede for them. Our Prophet declares: “My shafâ’at is for
the ones with great sins from among my Ummat.” After
settling accounts, disbelievers will go into Hell and will stay in Hell and be
tormented eternally. Believers will stay in Paradise and in the blessings of
Paradise eternally. Those Muslims whose sins are greater than their good deeds
will possibly go into Hell, being tormented there for a while or to the extent
of their sins. Yet they will not remain in Hell eternally. A person with îmân
equaling a speck will not remain in Hell eternally, but being blessed with
divine mercy, he will enter Paradise.
[It is written on the two hundred and
ninth page of the book Âmentü Ţerhi, written by Kâdýzâde Ahmed
Efendî, “In Hell, there is a place called Zamharîr. That is, it is the cold
Hell. Its cold is so vehement that it cannot be endured for even a moment.
Disbelievers will be tormented by being thrown once into the cold Hell and then
once into the hot one, and then again into the cold one and then again into the
hot one.” It is written in the sixth
chapter of the fourth part of the book Kimyâ-yi Sa’âdat, and
also in the chapter “Calling One’s Nafs to Account” at the end of the book “The States of the
Resurrection and the Next World,” which is the Turkish
version of the book ad-Durrat al-Fâkhira, by Imâm-i-Muhammad
Ghazâlî, that there are cold zamharîr torments in Hell. This fact is also
stated clearly in hadîth-i-sherîfs.
By attacking Islâm through lies and
slanders, the enemies of religion say, “Because all prophets came to hot
countries, they always frightened people with fire by saying that fire was the
means of torment of Hell. If they had come to the poles, to the cold northern
countries, they would have said that the torment would be done with ice.” These
disbelievers are both ignorant and stupid. As a matter of fact, if they knew of
the Qur’ân and
if they had heard of the words of the great men of Islâm and if they were a
little clever, they would become Muslims immediately. At least, perhaps, they
would not be so low as to write down these reckless lies. Our religion both
declares that there are cold torments in Hell, and communicates that prophets
were sent not only to hot countries, but also to every country on earth,
whether hot or cold. The Qur’ân answers the questions asked to
our prophet according to the knowledge and understanding of the persons who
asked them. Also, it explains the unknown beings in the next world by likening
them to the ones which they have seen and known in the world. Since the Meccans
had not heard of the poles and of the countries of ice, it would be useless to
tell them about the freezing torments of Hell. The existence of such information
compatible with this subtlety in the Qur’ân and hadîths causes today’s
disbelievers to become more confused.]
Believers and disbelievers become evident
at their last breath. Many people remain disbelievers throughout their lives,
and, at last, they get blessed with îmân. As well, there are those whose lives
go by with îmân, but who turn into quite the opposite at last. On the Last
Judgement, they will be judged according to their last breath. O our Allah!
After showing us the right way and honouring us with îmân, protect us against
going wrong, against aberration! Have mercy upon us, pity us! Thou alone can
show the right way!
ÎMÂN (FAITH): It is called îmân to believe through the heart the things that are known as being of the religion, and to express one’s îmân with one’s tongue. The things that must be believed in are: To believe in the existence of Allahu ta’âlâ, His oneness, His books and pages, and His prophets and angels. To believe in the
Hashr (Allâhu ta’âlâ’s causing people to
rise and assemble for judgement) and Nashr (dispersal after judgement) of the
next world, the eternal blessings in Paradise, the eternal torments in Hell,
the cracking of the skies, the dispersing of the stars, and the breaking of the
earth into pieces. To believe that it is fard to perform the prayer of namâz
five times each day, to believe in the numbers of rak’ats[1] in these prayers, to believe that it is
fard to give the zakât of one’s property [see fn. on page 101], to fast
everyday in the month of Ramadân and, for those who qualify, to go to the city
of Mecca and perform the hajj. It is necessary to believe that it is harâm to
drink wine, to eat pork, to kill a person unjustly, to disobey one’s parents,
to steal, to commit adultery, to appropriate an orphan’s property, to charge or
pay interest when lending or borrowing money, [for women to go out unvelied or
naked, and to gamble]. If a person with îmân commits a grave sin, his îmân does
not go away, nor does he become a kâfir. He, who says halâl about a sin, that
is, about a harâm, becomes a kâfir. He who commits a harâm becomes a fâsiq
(sinner). One should say, “I am certainly a Mu’min.” One should say that one
has îmân. One should not say inshâallah (if Allah wills) while saying that one
is a Believer. It may imply doubt. Yes, it may be permissible to say inshâallah
about one’s last breath, yet it is better not to say so.
The superiority of the four Khalîfas to
one another is in accordance with the sequence of their caliphates. All the
savants of the right way said, “After the prophets ‘alaihim-us-salawâtu
wa-t-taslîmât’ the highest of human beings is Hadrat Abű Bakr Siddîq
‘radiy-Allâhu anh’. After him is Hadrat ’Umar Fârűq ‘radiy-Allâhu anh’.” To
this poor person, being higher or superior does not depend on having virtues,
attributes or good habits. It depends on accepting Islâm before others, giving
one’s property more than anybody else for one’s religion, and risking one’s
life. That is, it depends on being a teacher to one’s successors. The successors
learn eveything from their predecessors. All of these three conditions were
found in Hadrat Siddîq. He accepted Islâm before anybody else and sacrificed
his possessions and his life for the sake of the religion. This blessing has
not been the lot of anybody else besides him in this Ummat. Rasűlullah declared
------------------------------------
[1] In performing namâz, the actions of
standing, bowing, putting the head on the ground twice are altogether called
one ‘rak’at.’ Most prayers consist of two or four rak’ats. One of them consists
of three rak’ats.
towards his death: “To the extent that
Abű Bakr did, there is nobody who sacrificed his property and life for my sake.
If I were to have a friend, I would have made Abű Bakr my friend.” He
declared in a hadîth: “Allahu ta’âlâ sent me to you as a prophet. You did not believe.
Abű Bakr believed me. He helped me with his property and life. Do not hurt him
and revere and respect him!” He declared in a hadîth: “There will not
come another prophet after me. If there were another, certainly ’Umar would be
a prophet.” Hadrat Amîr ’Alî ‘radiy-Allâhu anh’ said, “Both
Abű Bakr and ’Umar are the highest of this ummat. He who holds me superior to
them is a slanderer. As slanderers are to be thrashed, I will thrash him.”
We should know that the battles amongst
the Ashâb-i kirâm ‘alaihim-ur-ridwân’ were for good reasons. Those differences
among them were not for the desires of the nafs or for the passion of obtaining
a post, a chair, an office, or to become a leader, for all these are the evils
of the nafs-i ammâra. But their nafses had become quite pure through the
company, or by the presence of the Best of Mankind (Rasűlullah). Only, in the
battles that took place during the caliphate of Hadrat Amîr ’Alî, he (’Alî) was
right. Those who disagreed with him were wrong. But, because it was a mistake
of ijtihâd [see fn.
esteem the Ashâb-i kirâm ‘radiy-Allâhu
ta’âlâ ’anhum ajma’în’ has not believed in Rasűlullah ‘sall-Allâhu alaihi wa
sallam’.”
A’MÂL-I SHAR’IYYA (The acts pertaining to the
Sharî’at): After correcting our belief, it is necessary to do the things which
the Sharî’at commands. Rasűlullah ‘sall-Allâhu alaihi wa sallam’ declared: “The building of
Islâm has been constructed upon five pillars. The first of them is to say,
“Ash-hadu an lâ ilâha illallah wa ashhadu anna Muhammadan abduhu wa rasűluh’
and to believe its meaning.” The meaning of this word of
Shahâdat is: “I know and believe as if I saw that there is no god, nobody
besides Allahu ta’âlâ, whose existence is necessary and who is worth
worshipping and obeying. I know and believe as if I saw that Muhammad
(alayhissalâm) is both a born servant and the Prophet of Allahu ta’âlâ. He
having been sent, the religions of the prophets preceding him have been
completed and their validity has been abrogated. Attaining endless bliss
necessitates following him. Each of his utterances has been communicated to him
by Allahu ta’âlâ. All of them are correct. There is no likelihood for any
mistake.” [A person who wants to become a Muslim first expresses this word of
Shahâdat and its meaning. Then he learns how to perform a ghusl and namâz, and
then the fards and harâms to the extent that is needed.]
The things to be believed in have been
written above.
The second pillar of Islâm is to perform
namâz five times each day, which is a basic pillar of the religion. Namâz is
the highest of worships. The most valuable worship after îmân is namâz. Like
îmân, its beauty also is of itself. But the beauty of other worships are not of
themselves. We should be very careful to perform namâz correctly. First, we
should perform a perfect abdast (ablution), and then we should begin namâz
without showing any indolence. We should try to perform it in the best manner
in the qirâat (standing and reciting the Qur’ân when performing namâz), in
rukű’ (bowing by putting the hands on the knees, in sajdas (prostrating twice),
in qawma (standing upright and motionless after rukű’) and in jalsa, (sitting
upright and motionless for a moment between the two sajdas) and in its other
places. We should know that tumânînat is necessary, which means to keep each of
our limbs motionless during rukű’, sajda, qawma and jalsa. We should perform
namâz at the beginning of its time and avoid slackness.
The acceptable, beloved born servant is
the one who does the commands of his owner only because they are his commands.
It will be an act of obstinacy and impertinence to be late in doing
the command. You should always keep at
hand one of the fiqh books written in Persian, such as the book Targhîb-us salât wa
taysîrul-ahkâm, or any other like this one. [Teachings in
the book Targhîb-us salât wa taysîrul-ahkâm were collected after extracting
them from about one hundred books. The book is in three parts. The first part
deals with the fact that namâz is fard, the second part is about abdast, and
the third part deals with the things which break an abdast. This book can be
found in the Library of Nűr-i Osmâniyye.] We should learn the matters of the
Sharî’at by referring to such books. [He who learns the religion from books and
magaziness written by doubtful persons for the sake of earning money learns
wrong things. We should find and read the books written by pious Muslims for
Allah’s sake. The best Turkish books for learning the Sharî’at are the books Birgivî
Vasiyetnâmesi Ţerhi and Âmentü Ţerhi by Kâdýzâde. Also
helpful are the books Mewkűfât, Dürr-i Yektâ Ţerhi, Ey Ođul Ýlmihâli, Mevâhib-i
Ledünniyye, Mecmű’a-i Zühdiyye and Miftâh-ül Cennet
Ilmihali. The book Islâm Yolu (The way of Islâm) written by
Muhammad Âtif Efendi of Ýskilip, who was a dersiâm (lecturer of that time) in
Fâtih medresesi (school of theology) and the head of a school named ‘Ibtidâ-i
dâhil Medresesi,’ is very useful. This
book was printed in 1959. It has sixty-three pages. These have been printed
with Arabic letters. A book may be trusted not only by seeing its title, but
also by seeing the name of its author].
We should not read the book Gulistan or
other story books before learning the Ahl-i sunnat belief and knowledge of
fiqh. The book Gulistan or other books of its kind are
unnecessary when compared to fiqh books. [When Gulistan is unnecessary. I
wonder what we should say about those who are addicted to newspapers and
magazines that are the religion’s enemies?] It is primarily necessary to read,
learn and teach what is indispensable in the religion. What is more than this
remains as of secondary importance. [Especially those who learn other things
before learning religious knowledge and those who strive so that their children
acquire money, property and posts, instead of teaching them correct religious
knowledge – they are so wrong! I wonder if earning one’s future means to
acquire these things? Or does it mean to earn Allah’s consent? Each parent
should first think of having their children earn their real future, their
endless bliss.]
We should try not to miss Tahajjud namâz
(namâz performed after midnight) unless there is a necessity. [The namâz which
is performed after the two-thirds of the night has elapsed is called
the tahajjud; it is performed before the
dawn. Tahajjud means to forgo one’s sleep. Our Prophet ‘sall-Allâhu alaihi wa
sallam’ used to perform tahajjud even during war. He who has omitted prayers of
namâz should perform his omitted prayers during the time of tahajjud. Thus he
will both pay his debt of omitted prayers and earn the thawâb of tahajjud. How
to perform the namâz called Tahajjud and other nâfila (supererogatory) prayers
of namâz is written in our (Turkish) book Islâm Ahlâký (Islamic Morals). If it
is difficult to wake up at midnight, order some of your servants to wake you up
then. After getting up for a few nights, you will form it as a habit and will
begin to wake up. He who wants to wake up for tahajjud and morning prayer
should go to bed right after performing the night prayer, instead or being late
for sleep by busying oneself with useless things. At the time of tahajjud, it
is necessary to repent, to say istighfâr, to trust oneself to Allahu ta’âlâ, to
entreat Him, to think of one’s sins, to remember one’s faults, defects, to fear
by thinking of the torment in the next world; and to tremble with the thought
of the bitter torments of Hell. One should beg for afw and maghfirat (forgiveness)
very much. At that time and also at any time, it is necessary to say istighfâr (Astaghfirullah-al-’azîm-allazî
lâ îlâha illâ huwa-l-hayy-al-qayyűma wa atűbu ilayh) a
hundred times and to think of its meaning. [‘’Azîm’ means one whose person and
attributes are perfect. ‘Kabîr’ means one whose person is perfect. ‘Jalîl’
means one whose attributes are perfect.] One should say it a hundred times
after the afternoon prayer [after telling one’s tasbîhs and saying one’s
prayers]. It may be said when one has an abdast (ablution) or when one does not
have an abdast. It is declared in a hadîth: “Good news to those on whose pages there are many istighfârs
on the Day of Last Judgement!” Muhammad Ma’sűm-i Fârűkî, in
the eightieth letter of the second volume, states, “It has been proven by experimentation
that reciting istighfârs is effective in getting rid of calamities and
hardships. It has been reported in a hadîth-i
sharîf that saying istighfâr causes every sort of
adversity to be removed and one’s sustenance to increase.” During the time of duha,
that is, at a certain time after sunrise, it is necessary to perform at least
two rak’ats of namâz. The namâz of tahajjud or duhâ (forenoon) is of twelve
rak’ats at most. [In supererogatory prayers of namâz, you should say salâm
after two rak’ats at night and after four rak’ats during the day.]
After performing each fard namâz, you
should try to recite the Âyat-ul-Kursî [see fn.
namâz, there is no obstacle besides death.” After
each of the five times of namâz every day, you should silently say the word
tanzîh (Subhânallâh)
thirty-three times, the word tahmîd (Alhamdulillâh) thirty-three
times, the word takbîr (Allahu akbar) thirty-three times and a
certain prayer (Lâ îlaha illallahu wahdahu lâ sharîka-lah, lahu-l-mulku wa
lahu-l-hamdu yuhyî wa yumîtu wa huwa ’alâ kullî shay’in qadîr) once;
all of them add up to a hundred. [See fn.
You should say “Subhânallâhi wa bi hamdihî” a
hundred times every day and every night. There are many blessings in it. Also,
it is necessary to say once every morning and once every evening the prayer, (Allâhumma mâ
asbaha bî min ni’matin aw bi-ahadin min khalqika, fa minka wahdaka, lâ sharîka
laka, fa laka-l-hamdu wa laka-sh-shukr) by substituting (mâ amsâ) for
(mâ asbaha) in
the evenings, which the Prophet has prescribed. Our Prophet declared: “He, who says this
prayer during the day, would have fulfilled the thanks for that day. When he
says it at night, he would have fulfilled the thanks for that night.” It
is not necessary to have an ablution for saying it. You should say it every day
and every night.
The third principle of Islâm is to give
the zakât of one’s property. It is certainly necessary to give zakât. You
should give zakât willingly to the persons whom the Sharî’at commands you to
give it to.
Allahu ta’âlâ, who is the real owner of
all blessings and possessions, commands the rich to give Muslims one-fortieth
of their blessings He has given them and promises that as a recompense for this
He will give them many blessings and many more rewards. [He declares:
“Certainly I will increase the property of the zakât which has been given, and
I will bless you with using it at useful occasions. As for the property of the
zakât which has not been given, I will make you spend it unwillingly through
nuisance or calamity; I will take it away from you and give it to your enemies,
and you, seeing this case, will be burned and scorched about it.”] It will be
such a great absurdity, obstinacy not to give such an insignificant amount [to
any one of your Muslim brothers whom you want].
Not to do the commandments of Allahu
ta’âlâ is caused by a sickness in the heart. A sickness in the heart means that
it does not believe in the Sharî’at thoroughly. To be a Believer, it is not
enough only to express the word Shahâdat (Ash hadu an lâ...). Munâfiqs (those
who pretend to be Muslims though being
disbelievers) also express it. The sign of
the existence of îmân in the heart is to do the commands of the Sharî’at
willingly. To give one gold coin to a poor Muslim with the intention of zakât
is more blessed than giving a hundred thousand gold coins as alms because to
give zakât is to obey the Sharî’at’s command. But those that are given without
the intention of zakât are supererogatory worships. Supererogatory worships are
of no value when compared to fard worships. They are not even like a drop of
water compared to an ocean. The Devil, by deceiving Muslims, prevent them from
performing their omitted salâts. Performing the supererogatory salâts,
[supererogatory pilgrimage, and umra] are made to appear more beautiful. Also,
by misrepresenting supererogatory deeds and actions as beautiful, he prevents
them from giving zakât. [The promised great rewards for the sunnats and for the
supererogatory are for those who do not owe fard deeds and who have paid their
omitted fard worships. But those who still have omitted fard worships will not
be given any rewards for any worships besides the fard ones.]
The fourth principle of Islâm is to fast
every day in the holy month of Ramadân. We should be sure to fast every day in
the blessed month of Ramadân. We should not miss this important fard for any
reason. Our Prophet declared: “Fasting is a shield that protects the Believer against Hell.” If
one cannot fast for some indispensable reasons, such as sickness, one should
eat secretly and, immediately after the excuse is over, one should perform it.
We are all His born servants. We are not independent or without an owner. We
should live within the commandments and the restrictions of our owner so that
we may be saved from Hell. Those who disobey the Sharî’at are obstinate born
servants and perverse, disobedient agents; they must be punished.
The fifth principle of Islâm is the hajj
[once in a life, to go to the city of Mecca and perform the duty of hajj]. The
duty of hajj has certain requirements. All of them are written in fiqh books.
It is declared in a hadîth-i-sherîf: “An accepted hajj does away with one’s past sins.”
He who wants to escape Hell should learn
very well what is halâl and what is harâm and should earn from the halâl and
abstain from the harâm. He should avoid the things which the bringer of the
Sharî’at (Rasűlullah) has prohibited. He should not go beyond the limits of the
Sharî’at. How long will this sleep of unawareness last? When will we become
attentive? When the hour of one’s death comes, one will be awakened, and one’s
eyes
and ears
will be opened. But repentance will be of no avail then. Nothing will be
obtained, except being disgraced. Death is gradually approaching us all. The
various torments of the next world are awaiting people. When man dies, the end
of his world takes place. Let us wake up before death wakes us up and before it
is too late! After learning the commandments and prohibitions of the Sharî’at,
let us live these few days of life of ours compatibly with them. Let us save
ourselves from the various torments of the next world! The interpretative
meaning of the sixth âyat of Sura (chapter) Tahrim, is: “O you who believe!
Save yourselves and your families from a fire whose fuel is men and stones.”
After correcting our belief and doing the
worships compatible with the Sharî’at, we should enrich our time with dhikr-i
ilâhî (mentioning Allah’s name); we should not live one moment without
remembering Allahu ta’âlâ. While the body, the hands and feet are busy with
worldly affairs, the heart should always be with Him, getting flavour from
remembering Him. This great fortune falls to anybody’s lot in a short time who
is on the way shown by our superiors. Alhamdulillâh, you know that this is so.
Perhaps, some of it has occurred to you, even though it may be very little. You
should not let go of what you have obtained; you should thank Allah very much
and strive so that it may increase. Things which everybody may attain only in
the end are attained at the beginning of this way. Then, even when they
obtained little, they have still obtained very much. For they know of the end,
yet at the beginning. Nevertheless, you should not be contented with what you
have obtained no matter how much it is. You should not, however, discontinue
thanking Allahu ta’âlâ. You should both thank and wish that it will increase. The
purpose of the heart’s mentioning Him is to dispel the love of anybody else
besides Him from the heart. The illness of the heart is that it has various
attachments. Unless such attachments are eradicated, real îmân will not fall to
one’s lot. It will not be easy to carry out the commandments and the
prohibitions of the Sharî’at.
A couplet:
Make dhikr, dhikr as long as you are alive
Your heart gets purified, into dhikr as you dive.
[Dhikr means to remember Allahu ta’âlâ.
And this may well be done through the heart. When a person makes dhikr, his
heart becomes purified. That is, love of the world leaves his heart and love of
Allah takes its place. It is not dhikr for many persons to
assemble together and to shout “Hay” or
“Hűy!” or to dance and whirl. Many things have been made up under the name of
tarîqat for a hundred years [see articles 35 and 40]. The way of the great men
of religion, of the murshids of tasawwuf, of the Ashâb-i kirâm has been
forgotten. The ignorant, and even the sinners have become shaikhs and have
committed sins under the names of dhikr and worship. Especially recently, there
has not been a dervish convent left in which the harâm and the Shî’ism have not
asserted themselves. Today, there are almost no real savants of tasawwuf either
in Istanbul, in Anatolia, or in Egypt, Iraq, Iran, Syria, Hidjaz or Pakistan,
that is, in any of the Islâmic countries. False and counterfeit murshids, those
members of a tarîqat exploiting Muslims, however are numerous.
We should read the old, real books of
great men of religion and correct our worships, dhikr and thoughts in
accordance with them. We should not believe the thieves of property and
religion, who work behind the curtain of valuable names, such as, men of
tarîqat, shaikhs, murîds; but we should avoid them.]
We should eat food not for pleasure or
flavour, but for getting strong enough to do Allah’s commands. If in the
beginning you cannot intend so, force yourself to intend so at each meal.
Entreat Allahu ta’âlâ so that you can develop a real intention! We should wear
new and clean clothes, and, when dressing, we should intend to adorn ourselves
for worship, for namâz. Allahu ta’âlâ declares in the Qur’ân: “When performing
each namâz, wear your adorned, clean, and favorite clothes!” We
should not wear our clothes for ostentation in front of others; this is a sin.
[Ibni Âbidin, while explaining the makrűhs in fasting, says that it is mubâh to
dress smartly.] All actions, work, words, reading and listening, [sending one’s
son to school] should always be for Allah’s sake. One should try so that these
will be compatible with His Sharî’at. Then each of one’s limbs and one’s heart
will turn towards Allahu ta’âlâ. One’s heart will mention Him [that is, it will
remember Him]. For example, sleep, which is altogether a state of unawareness,
will thoroughly be an act of worship when done with the intention of doing
religious service with strength and soundness. For one has slept with the
intention of woshipping. Our Prophet declared: “A savant’s sleep is worship.” Yes,
I know, it will be difficult for you to do these today. For you are surrounded
by various obstacles. You have been seized by customs and by fashion. You have
been struck with such illusions as to feel shame because your self-respect will
be injured. All
these prevent you from carrying out the
Sharî’at’s commands. But, Allahu ta’âlâ sent the Sharî’at in order to abolish
corrupt customs, loathsome fashions, and to tranquilize the madnesses of the
nafs-i-ammâra, such as egoism and self-respect. Yet, if it falls to your lot to
remember Allahu ta’âlâ’s name continuously through the heart, if you perform
namâz five times each day without being slack by observing its conditions, and
if you are careful about the halâl and the harâm as much as you can be, it may
be hoped that you will get rid of these obstacles and will be allured towards
doing everything for Allah’s sake. The second reason why I have written down
this advice is that it will be useful for you to realize your own defects and
faults, even if you do not fulfill them, and this is a great blessing, too. We
trust ourselves to Allahu ta’âlâ against the complacency of missing a blessing
and yet being unaware of what we have missed, against not knowing of our fault,
and against not being ashamed of not having done our duty. Such persons are the
stubborn and ignorant persons who do not know the Sharî’at and who do not do
their duties as worshippers.
[In the one hundred and fortieth letter of the second volume, Muhammad Ma’thűm Serhendî (rahmat-Allahi ’alaih) says, “In a hadîth-i qudsî it was stated: ‘He who opposes any of my born servants who are Awliyâ will be at war with Me. Among the things [deeds] which get my born servant closer to Me, I like the fards best. I like very much my born servant who comes closer to Me by making nâfila ’ibâdat. I will be the ears which hear, the eyes which see, the hands which hold things, and the feet which walk, of my born servant whom I like very much. I will certainly give him whatever he wants. I will certainly protect him when he takes refuge with Me.’ ” This hadîth-i qudsî has been explained in the third page of the seventeenth chapter of the second part and in the one hundred and eighty second page of the book Hadîqa, on the one hundred and sixty-fifth page of the Turkish book Kýyâmet ve Âhiret, and also on the sixty-second page of the book The Sunni Path. The qurb (that is, to approach Allâhu ta’âlâ) which come forth with fards, is more than the qurb which comes from the nâfilas. But, the fards of taqwâ owners when done with ikhlâs cause qurb. Ikhlâs means to do the worships because Allâhu ta’âlâ commands them. Every Sunnî Muslim has an amount of ikhlâs. Depending on his taqwâ and worshipping, pieces of information pertaining to heart and called fayz (fayd) will come to his heart. If he receives these fayds, which emanate from a Walî’s heart, his ikhlâs will grow stronger in a short time.
Taqwâ is to hate the harâms and even not
to think about doing a harâm. It means a case of spiritual closeness to Allâhu
ta’âlâ, and to obtain His consent, and being loved by Him. [See the last
paragraphs of the section Final Word of Se’âdet-i Ebediyye in this book.]
The nűrs and fayds, which Allâhu ta’âlâ
sends to Believers’ hearts, will come more profusely to those who have stronger
taqwâ and who worship more. In other words, there will be an increase in such
people’s aptitude and tendency to receive fayz. Fayds emanate from Rasűlullah’s
blessed heart. Receiving the fayds coming requires loving Rasűlullah. And loving
him, in its turn, requires learning his knowledge, beautiful moral properties,
miracles and perfections. If Rasűlullah, too, sees a person, his receiving
fayds will become augmented. It is for this reason that those who attended his
sohbat and saw his beautiful face and heard his sweet words received more fayz.
And it is for this reason that the As-hâb-i-kirâm received more fayz, their
hearts were purified from worldly affections and they had ikhlâs. The nűrs and
fayds they attained travelled through the hearts of the Awliyâ and reached our
time. If a person knows a Walî living in his time, loves him, attends his
sohbat and ingratiates himself with him, the nűrs which emanated from
Rasűlullah’s blessed heart and arrived into the Walî’s heart will flow into his
heart, too, and thus his heart will become purified. If he cannot attain his
sohbat, he might as well do Râbita, that is, imagine the Walî’s countenance,
face, in which case he will be blessed as if he attained the Walî’s sohbat.
Mazhar-i-Jân-i-Jânân, who was in Delhi, made tawajjuh towards Shâh Behîk, who
was in Kâbil (Kabul), and made him attain high grades despite the enormous
distance. Hadrat Mazhar-i Jân-i Jânân said, “I have attained all my blessings
and faids because of my love for my masters. Can our defective ibâdât be a
means for our getting closer to Allahu ta’âlâ?” In order to get closer to
Allahu ta’âlâ humans must perform ibâdât with ikhlâs. Ikhlâs is possible only
by receiving faid from the ârifs. A hadîth-i
sharîf written in Qunűz ad-daqâiq says, ‘Everything has a
source. The source of ikhlâs and taqwâ is the hearts of ’Ârifs.’ In
order to be a walî, that is, to obtain spiritual closeness to Allahu ta’âlâ,
that is, to attain love for Allahu ta’âlâ, the things that are fard must be
performed. The first of the fard things is to have a belief as taught by Ahl-i
sunna scholars. The second step is to abstain from the things which are harâm,
to perform the worships which are fard].