بِسۡمِ اللهِ الرَّحۡمٰنِ الرَّحِيۡمِ

Sultan ul-Awliya Mawlana Shaykh Muhammad Nazim Al-Haqqani An-Naqshibandi(Qs), Sohbat, 14th July, 2013.

As-salāmu ‘alaykum, O attendees. “O beloved brethren of Shah Mardan”, from that point they make us start our speech. From wherever they make us start, is from where they open up a way for us. As-salāmu ‘alaykum, O beloved brethren of Shah Mardan. As-salām qabla l-kalām! Before speaking, give greetings of peace (salām)! Greetings of peace bring salamat, a state of well being, safety, and that means peace. Let us say, “astaghfiru-Llāh, I ask Allah for forgiveness!” Let’s be from those who are pure and clean! Allah loves those who are clean. “Inna-Llāha yuhibbu l-mutatahhirīn.” (2:222)

Our assembly is an assembly according to our own strength: An ant isn’t given the load of a bee, and a bee isn’t given the strength of a bird. Lā yukallifu-Llāhu nafsan illa wus‘ahā. (2:286) Allah doesn’t task a self beyond its capacity. Dastur, yā Rijāl Allāh. Madad, O Shah Mardan, support! O beloved brethren of Shah Mardan, welcome, O lovers of the Lion of Allah. With his love we live; by his purity we become pure; from his knightliness and his high aspiration we learn adab. O our Lord, how many are Your gracious Favours!

Here you go, O Shah Mardan. Your brethren adore you lovingly. Your awe-inspiring appearance envelops the world and makes it shake. Learn adab, ta’addabu! Learn adab! What does it mean to learn adab, Shaykh Muhammad Effendi? It means to know your limits. Adab! Who is a person possessing adab? The person who knows his limits. Here you go, O Shah Mardan. Explain to us about proper adab! Our Lord, Jalla Jalāluhu brought us into existence. From nothingness, from nonexistence, He brought us into existence. Here you go, O Shah Mardan, explain it, try to make your brethren understand. To those who are ready for your orders, who want to keep to your path, O servants of Allah, salāms (greetings of peace) to you! “Without salāms, there’s no goodness!”, he says. What’s his value? He’s an animal. An animal doesn’t give salāms nor does it understand the meaning of peace.

Dastur, yā Shah Mardan. Let us learn. Innama l-‘ilmu bi ta‘allum (Verily, knowledge is through learning) So let’s learn! Slowly, slowly we will learn the adab of entering into the (divine) Presence. It is not easy, Shaykh Mehmet Effendi. There is a special adab of being in the Presence, entering into the Presence is step by step. Someone who doesn’t have a mentor by his side cannot simply present himself for a face-to-face meeting. O human, the rank of the Station of Divinity (Martabat al-Uluhiyya) is not just any kind of rank. No one can comprehend its reality! Our Lord, the Eternal Most High Being, He said, “I will create a new creature, to represent Myself: a khalīfa.” What does it mean, Shaykh Mehmet Effendi, His khalīfa? “I will create a new creature that will represent Myself”. The angels fell down prostrate, all the majestic angels lay trembling in prostration before the Exalted Lord of Might and Glory.

Here you go, O Shah Mardan. We are incapable, according to our state, of bearing even the magnificence of His Words, but there are noble Angels, majestic Angels. Allah Allah! Even those majestic Angels fell trembling into prostration. Here you go, O Shah Mardan. your brethren adore you lovingly. So how did it all start? “I will create”, He proclaimed, the All-Compelling (al-Jabbār) Owner of all Greatness (al-Mutakabbir). O Allah Most High, Possessor of absolute Might, Glory and Majesty! He declared, “I will create a new creature to represent Myself. Allāhu akbar! Here you go, O Shah Mardan. your brethren adore you lovingly. Adjust to it, O you human animals, who don’t want to rise above the rank of being animals, insisting to remain in the category of quadrupeds, as speaking animals, a creature that can speak. Be careful! What kind of honor comes to you?

Allah, the Possessor of all Majesty, Magnificence, Greatness and Sovereignty, our Lord, He said, “I will create.” The noble Angels said, “We are always busy with Your servanthood, O our Lord. This one, which You are creating, is being given preference over us, he will be above us. We were hoping that this rank would be granted to us.” “You were created for a special purpose and to fulfill this is your duty, no one should interfere in someone else’s affair!” In this Presence, giving orders and existence to creation is the privilege of the Lord of Might and Glory. That’s what you must understand. Who is the Lord of Might and Glory? Allah Most High. Amruhu bayna l-kāf wa n-nūn (His order is between kāf and nūn) He is the One, who, if He wants a thing, orders it saying “Be! Kun” and it is. Thanks belong to Allah!

Welcome to this congregation, O beloved brethren of Shah Mardan. Mā shā’ Allahu kāna wa mā lam yashā’ lam yakūn. What Allah wills happens and what He doesn’t will does not! Here you go, O Shah Mardan. We are weak servants. You are weak, but your weakness may go. Allah Most High doesn’t say “Stay weak!” “Prostrate to Me”, He said to the angels; and with each prostration (sajda) the noble angels increase in their knowledge of the Divine. Allah Haqq! Allah Hu, Allah Haqq! Allah Hu, Allah Haqq! Proclaim “Allah Hu” I am saying. There’s no need to tell them to proclaim it, because they live by it, but a life by eating and drinking is the life of animals. Real human life is by “Allah Hu, Allah Haqq! Allah Hu, Allah Haqq!”, you go beyond earths, reaching to heavens. Here you go, O Shah Mardan, your brethren adore you lovingly. Explain it, so we may learn!

His (swt) greatness and His power have no limits. They go beyond every description. He is the Lord of Might and Glory and all-overwhelming Power (jabarūt). When Jabarūt is mentioned, the whole universe starts to shake in its place, Shaykh Mehmet Effendi. Allahu Dhū l-Jalāl wa ‘Azamat (the Possessor of Majesty and Greatness) Allah’s greatness and all-overwhelming power (Jabarūt), when His all-overwhelming power is mentioned, no one can give its meaning, they all fall down prostrate. When the manifestation of Allahu Dhū l-Jalāl wa Jabarut appears, there remains no one who does not fall down prostrate, Shaykh Mehmet Effendi. That’s why our exalted Protector loves those, who perform sajda. Let us be among them! Our honor lies in prostrating to our Lord. O Allah, whose greatness and grandeur are without limits, Dhū l-‘Arshi wa l-Qudrati (Possessor of the Throne and Almightiness) wa l-Jabarūt.

When al-jabarūt is mentioned nobody really understands what exactly is meant; they can’t even get near it! It is a term related to Divine Unity, O Shaykh Mehmet Effendi, it is not for us. It is a magnificent word: Allahu Dhū l-‘Arshi wa l-Jabarūt. Allah. Here you go, O Shah Mardan! Shah Mardan, who with his sword Dhū l-Fiqqār in his hand, approached the fortress of Khaybar in his awe-inspiring majesty. To the watchman of this fortress of the Jews he said, “Soldier, is there anyone who dares to come out against me?” One of the leaders of the Jews said, “I do, I’m the owner of this fortress!” “Are you? So are you ready to come down onto this field?” “I am ready”, he replied. Our distinguished master ‘Alī was clad in such robes of majesty. When that leader of the Jews said “I am ready to oppose you”, he said, “Are you?” Hardly were the words “Are you?”, “I am”, spoken, when he struck the Jew with his sword Dhū l-Fiqqār. Nothing remained of the Jew nor of his head, it fell down to the ground. Water gushed forth from the earth. You saw it. I drank from that water. It still flows, that blessed spring in the desert.

O people, look for spiritual orientation! Don’t be like some chopped off, dried up tree trunks! Be sensitive! Learn what perfection is and prostrate. Allāhu Akbar! Mercy, O my Lord! If Shah Mardan had wished, with one strike of his sword he could have split the whole world into halves like a melon. Did anything like that happen? We’re in the world of possibilities, I am not discussing whether it happened or not. It may happen or not, but he is the invincible hero. Can he do it? If he wants, he can split the world into halves. Here you go, O Shah Mardan. your brethren adore you lovingly. Let’s open up, let our spiritual power appear! Let our souls rejoice! “Tarīqatunā as-suhba”, “our way”, he says “is the way of association”. Speak, if permission comes to your heart! He has permission, Shaykh Mehmet Effendi, he may speak. After entering inside it opens up more and more. What marvelous things open up! What wonderful roses open up, what beautiful rose gardens appear! What is this? It’s our view of things.

Allāhu Allāh, Allāhu Rabbī Allāhu Allāh, Allāhu Hasbī Hasbunā-Llāh wa ni‘ma l-wakīl. Here you go, O Shah Mardan. “We’ll take these small humans along a little distance on the way into the spiritual world”, he said. “That’s why they are making you speak now. Really, our words aren’t worth mentioning.” Astaghfiru-Llāh – that’s what they say. Along the way Shah Mardan arranges for the Son’s of Man to be told a few realities, like – “What is the definition of man?” “Al-insān haywān nātiq”, someone says, “Man is a speaking animal.” This is not the correct definition. Look at what Shah Mardan is saying. “He (Man) is the khalīfa representing his Lord. He is a highly honored creature, created to represent the Lord of Might and Glory in this world.” Be honorable! Who is without honor is an animal. Who is honorable is a human being. Allāhu akbar! Allāhu akbar! Allāhu akbar wa li-Llāhi l-hamd.

Let’s not get tired! Say it, proclaim it everywhere! Proclaim it, in whichever gathering you enter! Allāhu akbar! Allāhu akbar! Allāhu akbar wa li-Llāhi l-hamd. If man learns two words a day, he gets closer to being human. Every human has a rank of humanness, Shaykh Mehmet Effendi. To reach your given rank there is a certain way to educate you. To detach him from this detestable world, there exist for every human being possessors of powerful forces who pull him towards the heavenly dominions. They are the beloved ones of Allah and Shah Mardan is the beloved of Allah’s Beloved (sallAllahu alaihi wa sallam). Love those whom Allah loves, O you, who claim to be humans! They claim to be humans, dressing according to the latest fashion, our men as well as our women. But really, by dressing fashionably a human, cannot reach his human identity. The human possesses a higher reality. You should look to learn about it! This is what Shah Mardan is explaining now, O beloved brethren of Shah Mardan. Allah Allah.

May they make it our path to follow the way of these lions. Let us learn adab. This assembly is an assembly of adab. That’s why in former times it said everywhere “Adab, yā Hu!” Teach this, Shaykh Mehmet Effendi! Teach it. Let them learn that there has to be adab. “Adab, yā Hu!”, learn adab! Who has no adab – out the door with him! Who has adab is accepted inside. If you see someone who doesn’t watch his steps, throw him out! Know your place, young man! Know, where you’re stepping! Know, where you have to stop! Learn who you are, know what your duties are! Don’t be an evil servant of this evil world! The people of today have become servants in the service of shaytān and this evil world. All people are after is to serve this evil world. They have no value, no value at all.

Here you go, O Shah Mardan. Who is a human being? Teach it to your brethren! “‘Allamanī Rabbī”, “My Lord taught me.” What can be higher than that? “Addabanī Rabbī”, He taught me adab. Adab! Nowadays, the whole world is without adab. They’ve become the laughingstock of shaytān. To destroy each other, they have produced countless devilish inventions. They don’t have any value. O human, O human, look at the address coming from on high. Prophet Ādam was created. The exalted Lord of Might and Glory said, “Yā Ādam, khalaqtuka”, “O Ādam, I have created you, to be My khalīfa”, He said. The meaning of “My khalīfa”, says Shah Mardan, is – “Make yourself ready to be My servant! Be ready for servanthood!

A person who doesn’t know servanthood is an animal. Dressing fancily, pinning on fake medals and decorations doesn’t make you human. These kinds of things are also attached to horses necks; they stick some bangles on a horse and say, “It makes it gallop nicely.” But you, you are not a horse, you are not a stallion! You are not a bear. You are not a wolf. Your place is high and lofty. You are a human being. You were created to be the master of creation.

The term “ocean of existence” – here you go, O Shah Mardan – the Lord of Might and Glory’s “ocean of existence” means that the beings He brought into existence are countless and without a limit. He is Allah, al-Jabbār (the Irresistible Compeller). He is al-Jabbār, Allah, the Possessor of Majesty. Here you go, O Shah Mardan. “Learn adab!”, he says, “and all doors will open for you, but if you don’t learn adab, every direction will be closed for you. Nothing!” Adab is learnt from those who possess adab. Let it be written everywhere: “Adab, yā Hu!” Let this be written and hung in every place! The same goes for “Bismillahi r-Rahmani r-Rahim”. Say it and let it be written and hang it up in every place!

Here you go, O Shah Mardan. O Lion of Allah, your brethren adore you lovingly. We are asking for power. But we’re not asking for horse power. No! We want neither horse power, nor ox power, nor elephant power. The power we want is that kind of power, which pushes us forward on the ways of adab. Sit with adab! Get up with adab! Everyone who has ever won a rank in the Presence of Allah the Majestic has only won it by way of adab. The Turks took down the Basmalah, they took down the Basmalah and hung up a picture in its place. The two don’t go together. They are watching them from Heaven. Without stopping to watch, He is leaving them – “Leave those, they’ve left the ranks of humanity and have entered the category of quadruped animals. Let them enter it”, He said. Allāhu akbar! Allāhu akbar! Allāhu akbar wa li-Llāhi lhamd.

We’ll get used to it. “Addabanī Rabbī”, “My Lord taught me adab”, the Prophet (sallAllahu alaihi wa sallam) says. A human without adab is not worth five pence. Here you go, O Shah Mardan, your brethren adore you lovingly. Teach us the ways of servanthood of our Lord. And bring down our wicked ego, because our wicked ego is with shaytān. We’ll leave the evil traits of our character. If we don’t acquire the good adab that is coming down from heavens for ourselves, we are worthless. O sacred human being, Allāhu akbar! Allāhu akbar wa li-Llāhi l-hamd. Why are you running around the streets? Those running around the streets belong to the category of animals, while you belong to mankind. Why are you shouting in the streets, O Muslims? What rights do you have? What is it, you demand? Doesn’t Allah the Majestic grant you your rights? He does. But you demand more that this. For what? For your animals. ‘For your animal’ means ‘for your wicked ego’. Leave it!

Let Allah the Majestic dress you in the robes of majesty befitting you as a sacred human being, so that, without having to shout, if you say “Allah” only once you could turn the whole world upside down. Say, “Allāhu Allāh, Allāhu Hasbī Allāhu Rabbī, Allāhu Hasbī”, That’s what you must teach, O ulema! Teach these people, not to hang around in the streets. In the old days it used to be said, but the people of the end of times are all running around in the streets. Roaming the streets, saying, “what’s up?” “Let’s go there, we cannot go back home.” That’s the condition of people today. No! They don’t know what they want. They don’t know what they’re doing.

Here you go, O Shah Mardan. Come on, explain it! Is it a handful of provisions that they want? There it is. Beyond that, what do you want? Do you want this world? This world is not just a handful. This world is a treasure chest reaching from East to West providing for so many thousands of thousands of creatures. It may suit you here, but in the hereafter it is useless. Be a man! O Islamic world, be men! Don’t be animals! Say, “Rabbī Allāh” (My Lord is Allah) say: “Hasbī Allāh” (Allah suffices me), don’t be afraid. Stay in your homes, your provision comes to you. May Allah dress us in the beauty of true faith! Fashion does not make a human beautiful. No benefit comes from fake decorations. O our Lord, dress us in the robes of servanthood. To become Your servants makes heavens and earths tremble: “A servant of Allah, ‘Abdullah!”

O our Lord, for the sake of this holy month send us someone from Your blessed servants to inspire us and wake us up! Here you go, O Shah Mardan, Your soulful supplications are not rejected. Let us get together with his close companions. Let’s learn and practice adab, you have everything. A human, whose desire is this world, his value is in the category of animals. Those, who desire the hereafter belong to the category of businessmen. Beyond them are those, who desire the Pleasure of their Lord – they are the sincere, the ones who are accepted in the (divine) Presence. Here you go, Shah Mardan, your brethren adore you lovingly. They should change, these people. Let us change, let us know our Lord. O our Lord, forgive us! For the sake and sanctity of this holy Ramadan send us a master, send us a sultan! We’ve fallen into the category of those who have no apparent head. Send us sultans to educate us, O Absolute Sultan!

Whose desire is this world, he is an animal. Whose desire is the hereafter, that is the rank of servanthood. Draw closer, see to drawing closer! This world drags man away from his Lord, so don’t crave it! This world takes one away (from Allah). Shah Mardan (and companions) are not bringing us closer to this world but to the hereafter. Shah Mardan, your brethren adore you lovingly. How wonderful. May our inside be pure; may our dresses be robes of awe-inspiring majesty, may our food be halāl (permitted), may our appearance be beautiful! O our Lord, forgive us, for the honor of Your noble Beloved! Let’s tear it down!

Among the servants of Allah Most High there are the likes of Shah Mardan, who are not taken to account and who will turn this whole world upside down. Show adab and you will find them. Don’t sleep! Don’t say, “I want this world!” Don’t run after this world from the moment you open your eyes! Those running after this world are garbage like this world itself; it is nothing but a carcass. O our Lord, O our Exalted One, O our Sultan, Yā Muhawwil al-hawli wa l-ahwāl hawwil hālanā ilā ahsani l-hāl. From the East a sun of majesty and power rises like a dragon moving along its course, filling the whole world with radiant light. In the evening it returns. Where it returned to Allah knows. Is there one sun? Are there two? Allah knows. O our Lord, make our hearts full of faith! For the honor of Your Beloved (sallAllahu alaihi wa sallam), let no doubt or ambiguity remain! Let’s find honor through Your servanthood!

Open your eyes, say, “Allah”, Don’t be afraid! This evil world is under your feet, the heavens are above your head. Look high above, don’t pay attention to what’s under your feet, because looking at it lowers a person’s rank. Don’t focus on the earth, mountains, stones, gold, silver. Don’t pay attention to them. If you do, your worth diminishes. Your worth is not this world. Here you go, O Shah Mardan. your brethren adore you lovingly. Get used to it, let’s learn adab!

O our Lord, dress us in the majesty of this blessed month of holy Ramadan, dress us in well being in Your service. May performing our duties be made easy! Let’s say, “Bismillahi r-Rahmani r-Rahim” How wonderful! Bismillahi r-Rahmani r-Rahim. Bismillahi r-Rahmani r-Rahim. O our Lord, we are Your servants. We are plunged in confusion, send us a sultan, O my Lord! For the sake of the Almighty’s Beloved, send us a sultan, send us power! O our Lord, You are Exalted! “Subhāna Rabbika Rabbi l-‘izzati ‘ammā yasifūna wa salāmun ‘ala l-mursalīna wa l-hamdu li-Llāhi Rabbi l-‘ālamīn”(37:180-182), Fātiha.

For the honor of Shah Mardan, Fātiha.

Shah Mardan doesn’t spur his horse once without reaching from West to East. Spurring their horse a single time they dash from West to East, Shaykh Mehmet Effendi. They are dragons! They don’t look at this evil world. Don’t look, my son! Let your gaze be fixed on the heavens! Let all your aspiration be only for heavens. On earth there is nothing for us. Fātiha.

May Allah increase your light, increase your strength, increase your majestic appearance! “Ad-dunya jīfa (the world is a carcass). This detestable world, this evil world, it’s nothing but a carcass”, he says. Don’t run after it, may your aspirations be high! May those, who listen to us, enter the way of Truth as well.

Please recite over me, Mehmet! Fātiha.

May Allah be pleased with you. Guard the attribute of being a servant. Get used to this!