بِسۡمِ اللهِ الرَّحۡمٰنِ الرَّحِيۡمِ

To be true to Allāh’s ﷻ Oneness is to refuse the ego’s domination of the self; to accept Allāh’s ﷻ decree; to think well towards Him ﷻ and to abstain from supposition.

Sultan ul-Awliya Mawlana Shaykh Muhammad Nazim Al-Haqqani An-Naqshibandi (QS), Sohbat June 6, 1986.

Alhamdulillah we’re people of tawhid (Allah’s Oneness). We are muwwahidun, we are servants of One Allah. We stay away from shirk (associating partners with Allah). We refuse shirk. We refuse our egos’ claims to partnership with God and we fight against it. Is it clear? The ego (nafs) is prone to oppose Janabu l-Haqq on every issue. It wants to go even further than partnership and announce its being/existence/domination. As a matter of fact, its real nature is affirmed by Janabu l-Mawla, in view of Pharaoh’s claims, when Pharaoh said, “Ana rabbukumu l-ala” “I am your lord most high” (79:24).

The Egyptians worshipped many gods. Pharaoh disliked being equated with these idols and set for himself a status above the idols. He asserted, “I am your lord most high.” “Rabbukumu l-ala”, superior, the highest, the greatest. These are the claims of the ego. Going beyond Allah, hasha! That’s to say, it even rejects partnership. So, nafs as owner, within us, wants to dominate and do as it likes. It wants domination over and above Allah. So it is even worse than shirk. The claim of the nafs is oneness. The claim of divinity. This is why our fight is against our egos. The one who can control the ego, can control the whole world. The one who can’t control his ego, has no influence over others. “La yukallifullahu nafsan illa wus’aha” (2:286) Janabu l-Haqq charges everyone according to their capacity/quality.

Some stand on the level of shariat. Can a helicopter rise as high as a jet plane? Its airspace is lower. Its altitude is lower. And jet planes cannot fly to the height of rockets. [Guest: Fate and share.] We are upon Allah’s generous grants. Our fate is good, our naseeb (share) is enough. We have countless grants. Our fate is good. That’s that. We are a sacred being (hazrat-i insan). Had we a bad fate, we would have been created a donkey or snake. We would have been a mouse or a scorpion. However these creations are content in having been created and glorify Janab Allah. They don’t complain about fate.

Heedless people. “Innahu kana zuluman jahula.” (33:72) It is ignorant man who doesn’t like his fate. As Man, how can his fate be bad? What else would he like to be? Do you want to be an animal? Why complain about their fate? Who among all creation has the honour of being human? Despite this, all of creation is glorifying Janabu l-Haqq, satisfied only with having been created. We don’t appreciate – “What a fate I have!” What is wrong with your fate? We were granted the best fate, to be created as a human being, to exist as a human being.

“Janabu l-Mawla decreed a beautiful fate for me.” When one thinks like this, he will find it as he thinks.

Hazrat Bayazid Bastami, as he was passing in a street, a puppy, a dog, little dog, hasha min alhudur, as he was passing by in his spiritual majesty, that poor dog ran across Hazrat. It was baffled. However that great saint, Sultan ul-Arifin stepped aside, giving way to the dog and that dog went by. His mureeds (disciples) were astonished and bewildered. They asked, “Ya Sayyidina, Ay Sultan ul-Arifin, Is it fitting for you to yield to a dog? Would you not rather the dog move aside! What is this? Is it a gentleman, a pasha?” What is the wisdom in this?

There is a wisdom, no doubt, in the action of one who is Sultan ul-Arifin. He said, “Ay yaran, O beloved friends, that animal, as it was walking towards me, do you know what it said to me? The deaf can’t hear. The blind can’t see, the deaf can’t hear. It said to me, ‘Ya Bayazid, don’t be proud! The One who created us in the realm of creation, dressed you with this attribute, with this aspect. He dressed me with this aspect. I appear as a dog in this realm, you appear in human form. Praise and give thanks to your Lord, Janab Allah, Who created you a human and so you appear in the world as a human. It is not because of you. Don’t gaze at me in arrogance. Allah created me in this form, in this world.’ Then, in embarrassment I yielded.”

I am as My servant thinks of Me.

Since Allah dressed us with this robe, may the ones who bemoan their fate go to hell! People should appreciate their fate. And Janabu l-Haqq counsels in a Hadith Qudsi, as He wants to teach His servants, Janabu l-Haqq says: “Ana ‘inda zanni ‘abdi bi” (I am as My servant thinks of Me). Hal yazun bi masha. I am as My servant thinks of Me. Let them think of Me as they like. Let them think. How they think of Me, how they believe Me to be, I am that. Hence, if one thinks that Janabu l-Haqq decreed a bad fate for him, he will suffer a bad fate. “Janabu l-Mawla decreed a beautiful fate for me.” When one thinks like this, he will find it as he thinks.

Thus, a good thought is halal, a bad thought is haram.

Actually, Janab Allah forbids su az-zann (thinking ill). it is haram – inna b’ada az-zanni ithmun. Some thougts are haram. They are a big sin, He says. Zann (thought). There are good thoughts, there are bad thoughts. Thus, a good thought is halal, a bad thought is haram. If holding bad thoughts about each other is haram can su az-zann towards Allah be halal? If su az-zann towards servants is haram, then what about su az-zann towards Allah? So, it is a great haram. How dare you say Allah decreed a bad fate for me? Astaghfirullah, astaghfirullah. It is the worst su az-zann. Surely what we are talking about is the station of rida (contentment), ‘not everyone can eat the morsel of rida’ (Yunus Emre).

---