We are born with the eyes of our hearts open but those eyes begin to close after eight days and our hearts become blind. Only belief will help us to see again. Most of us can distinguish light from darkness – this is imitated belief. We must try to have real belief in order to be safe from shayṭān and to open the eyes of our hearts.
بِسۡمِ اللهِ الرَّحۡمٰنِ الرَّحِيۡمِ
Sultan ul-Awliya Mawlana Shaykh Muhammad Nazim Al-Haqqani An-Naqshibandi (QS),
Sohbet of the 5th of March, 1988.
Madad yā Sulṭānu l-Anbiyā’, madad yā Sulṭānu l-Awliyā’. A‘ūdhu biLlāhi mina sh-shayṭāni r-rajīm. Bismi Llāhi r-Raḥmāni r-Raḥīm. “And remind, for indeed, the reminder benefits the believers.” (51:55) lā ḥawla wa lā quwwata illā biLlāhi l-‘alayyi l-‘aẓīm.
Forgetfulness is the cause of mankind’s tragedy.
Mankind forgets and falls into error. Forgetfulness is the cause of mankind’s tragedy. The first man, first prophet, Ādam ‘alayhi s-salām, forgot and approached the forbidden tree. That caused him to go out of paradise. The moment he (alayhis salam) forgot his promise to Allāh, and forgot what Allāh wanted from him, forgetfulness caused him to fall into error, to be sent out of paradise. We also keep forgetting. We made a promise to Allāh Almighty (jj). When Allāh Almighty (jj) addressed our souls – “Am I not your Lord?” We said: “Yes, You are our Lord. You are our Lord and we are Your servants. So, we will serve You, we confess our servanthood.” When we accepted our Lord, we directly confessed our servanthood. “You’ll order, we’ll obey the orders.” There was this vow in that promise. But after we made that promise, when we came to this world, we came with a veil of heedlessness. We forget.
The child isn’t veiled in his mother’s womb.
Now if I ask you, you won’t remember that you were inside your mother’s womb. However, your soul was given. Do you remember the moment you were born? No. One day, one week, one month, do you remember when you were one year old? No. When is the first time you remember? The first time you remember is maybe when you were three, you try to remember pieces. So when we come from that world, to this world, there are so many things we forget. Leave aside that, how can we not forget coming from the spiritual world to our father’s seed, to our mother’s womb and to this world? Of course, we’ll forget. The child isn’t veiled in his mother’s womb. So, after his soul is blown into him, he watches the world of angels. He comes to this world in prostration. He knows whom he prostrates to. He has a soul, responsible to prostrate.
So, when the time comes to be born from the mother, Allāh Almighty (jj) sends two angels to bring that baby into this world. One angel holds him and tries to pull him out. He slips to this side. The other angel tries to pull, he slips to the other side. Hitting right and left that causes the mother’s grief and pain. He doesn’t want to surrender and come to this world. He knows the world is the land of troubles. He was peaceful in the womb, he doesn’t want to leave. The angels say: “O Lord, your servant doesn’t want to be born to this world”. Then there is a manifestation of Allāh Almighty (jj) to the baby. When he sees the manifestation of Allāh Almighty (jj), the manifestation of that that nūr, he prostrates. He comes to this world, by prostrating. Mankind comes in prostration. He sees that manifestation and the angels because there is no veil – his heart is completely open, the eyes of the heart. The soul watches. From the moment he comes to this world until seven days or eight days, he watches the Preserved Tablet. He sees his own oath.
So he is open, he watches with the eyes of the heart. He watches the world of angels, seven days, finally eight days. After eight days, a veil comes on the eye of the heart with the mother’s milk. Just like the physical illness passes with the mother’s milk, the mother’s state passes on to the baby. Because the mother’s heart is veiled, from her milk a veil starts to fall on the eye of the baby’s heart. And even if not from the mother, from the food that the father brings, from the unclean food, from the ill gotten gains, food, from every kind of undeserved thing, darkness comes to the heart. Mother’s milk slowly starts to close the eye of the baby’s heart. The baby grows up in that state. After that mankind needs an operation.
When a veil comes on your physical eye, you say: “Oh, I can’t see. I go to the doctor immediately so I won’t be blind.” You run to the doctors to lift that veil because you can’t see the world. You want to see. The doctor operates. Some are more blind, some have their eyes open. When your physical eye can’t see, you panic immediately and try to find a cure. If not here, you go to Turkey. If not in Turkey, to Europe. If not in Europe, to America, if not to the moon, to find a good doctor so you’ll see. You search for the best doctor. What about the heart? I’ve never seen someone uncomfortable about the heart. I’ve never seen a man asking for his heart to be opened. There’s nobody, who feels that need. “If I can see right and left. Why do I need more than this?”
This world is a prison
This world is a prison, what do you see in this world? You can’t see at night. During the day you can’t see beyond what comes in your way. You look down, can’t see underground. You look up, can’t see beyond the skies. If you look from here, you can’t see Turkey. If you stand here, you can’t see the Ka‘bah. You can’t see the East and the West. As if you are in a prison. But feeling, when we look down why don’t we see underground? When we look up, what is beyond the sky? Why don’t we see? Everybody is happy. They don’t want more. Allāh Almighty, Asta‘īdhu biLlāh “Wa-man kāna fī hādhihi a‘mā fa-huwa fī l-ākhirati a‘mā.” (17:72) “Whoever is blind in this life, will be blind in the hereafter”. It isn’t the physical eyes. Whoever is deprived of two eyes, Allāh Almighty (jj) will reward them on Judgement Day because they were patient. They’ll get rewards that people, who had eyes, won’t get. That reward is for physically blind people.
“Blind in this life, blind in the hereafter”
So what does Allāh (jj) mean, when He (jj) says: “Blind in this life, blind in the hereafter”. There are many blind people, believers. If they’ll be blind in the hereafter, what a pity? But that isn’t the meaning. He mentions those people whose heart’s eye is blind. They resurrect like that in the hereafter. If they can’t open their hearts’ eyes with the light of belief, they’ll be in darkness in the hereafter also. There is imitated belief and certain belief. Imitated belief also works; it also serves to take away blindness from your heart. There are blind people, who can feel a bit of light. Some can differentiate day and night. They are blind but can see the light. Imitated belief is like that, it works and takes people out of the group who will be blind in the hereafter. But a sighted man and a man, who can only differentiate day and night are not the same. You see everything, day and night. You see inside the day and night. A man, who sees the light is still grateful. “I can differentiate day and night.” He is also content.
He wants us to move from imitated belief to certain belief.
But it isn’t good for us to remain in imitated belief. Allāh (jj) doesn’t want His servant to be stay the same. He wants us to move from imitated belief to certain belief. Because if you have imitated belief you may be deceived by shayṭān and its followers. When it deceives, it takes your belief. There are a lot of shayṭāns inside and outside, inside, outside, everywhere. I’m asking Ismā‘īl, do you know anywhere without shayṭān?
I: No.
Ask, there are two, new guests at the back. Ask those Jordanians if there’s a place without shayṭān. It can deceive people everywhere. No place without shayṭān. It is in every assembly. If you don’t hold the door of the heart, shayṭān comes in. When you leave it open, it turns your heart upside down. It can deceive and steal your belief – if you have an imitated belief. It can deceive. ‘Abdu l-Qādir Jīlānī, may Allāh sanctify his secret, he is a big awliyā’. One day, when he was in the desert a voice came from within a light. “O ‘Abdu l-Qādir. I’m your Lord”. I’m your Lord.” Perish the thought. “I made everything permissible for you.” “Get out of my sight, Allāh’s cursed shayṭān!” said Jīlānī. shayṭān was surprised. “How did you know? I appeared inside the light in order to deceive.” Shayṭān bothers the big saints also. “I know you aren’t my Lord, I know you are shayṭān.” “How did you know?” “Because Allāh’s addressing doesn’t come from a direction. Because Allāh (jj) can’t be in one direction. Time and space can’t cover Allāh (jj). So when you said, “I’m your Lord” from that direction, I knew immediately you were shayṭān. Besides, Allāh (jj) didn’t make everything permissible, even to the Prophet (ﷺ). How can it be for me? What a nonsense addressing! It is obvious you are shayṭān.” It cracked there. Its back was broken, shayṭān ran away.
We have to secure our belief with knowledge.
If you have imitated belief, if shayṭān comes and speaks to you, you’ll think, “Allāh (jj) talked to me, made it permissible for me, I won’t listen to anyone.” So we have to leave imitated belief. We have to secure our belief with knowledge. There are so many shayṭāns outside, to deceive you, if possible to deceive us. There are many shayṭāns, who are dumb but are responsible for deceiving people. Don’t be weak against them. Allāh (jj) ordered Prophet Abraham and sent him to Nimrod. He called Nimrod to believe in Allāh (jj). Nimrod said: “What does it mean? Who is that god? Where is your god? Your god is in the sky. I’m the god of the earth. How can you invite me for servanthood? I’m the god. To whom are you inviting me to be a servant?” “My Lord says: “yuḥyī wa yumīt.” (2:258) He makes to die and resurrects.” “I also do it”. He called two slaves, beheaded one, let the other one free. Both are prisoners. “I let one go, I revived him. I beheaded and killed the other.” Idiot Nimrod. He was an idiot. Perhaps his whole nation was like that. He said: “I also do it. If Allāh is making to die and resurrecting, I also did it.”
Prophet Abraham (alayhis salam) didn’t argue. He brought another proof immediately. “My Lord makes the sun rise in the East, set in the West. If you can, make the sun rise from the West and set to the East.” Nimrod was puzzled. He couldn’t find an answer. Can a god be unable, unable to do something? Is there anything Allāh is unable to do? Is it possible? He didn’t say this or that, he reasserted. “My lord makes the sun rise in the East, set in the West. If you can, make the opposite. Make the sun rise in the West and set in the East.” Nimrod was puzzled, when he (alayhis salam) said that. He didn’t know what to say, he started to mumble. Nimrod was petrified. Now there are many men out there, who are from the seed of Nimrod. Don’t argue with them. If they say something you must know what to say to make them unable to continue. It will come to your heart. When it comes, say it directly, no need for anything else. They’ll be puzzled like Nimrod. If your heart finds pleasure, if it says Allāh, gives a sharp reply immediately.
Allāh Almighty “wa-Llāhu ghālibun ‘alá amrih”. (12:21) Certainly Allāh is absolute victorious. His believer servant is also victorious; he won’t be defeated. Allāh won’t put you down against unbelievers. Don’t be afraid.
Allāh Almighty “wa-Llāhu ghālibun ‘alá amrih”. (12:21) Certainly Allāh is absolute victorious. His believer servant is also victorious; he won’t be defeated. Allāh won’t put you down against unbelievers. Don’t be afraid. Beware. You are running away from him and coming here. Say it, so you demoralize them. Believers are raised. “Antumu l-a‘lawna in kuntum mu’minīn.” (3:139) Why are we down? Our belief is rotten. As long as our belief is strong, we won’t be down, we’ll be up. The whole Muslim world is like that. Our belief is like a salad. That’s why they always rule us, put us down, both in the West and in the East and what our rulers are doing to us. A believer can’t be down! Now every night, they talk about the oppression on Muslims, they pity them. “This many people were killed. Jews shot this many Palestinians.” So? Nobody asks why punishment came? How did the Jews come? How did the Russians, other unbelievers come? Nobody asks. They say; “They are to blame, we aren’t.” If we were innocent, would Allāh let them to bother us? Would He (jj) ever do that? He wouldn’t. Iran is to blame, He (jj) bothered them with Iraq. Iraq is also wrong, He (jj) bothered them with Iran. Afghan is also wrong, bothered them with Russia. We are wrong, bothered us with unbelievers, since long ago. Palestinians are wrong, bothered them also.
Belief is the solution.
A‘mālukum ‘ummālukum [as you are so will your leaders be]. When you are true believers, “wa antumu l-a‘lawna in kuntum mu’minīn.” (3:139) “You’ll be superior as long as you believe.” If you leave belief, you can’t be superior. Be as Allāh wants you to be, then you’ll be superior. When you aren’t as Allāh wants, do they go with stones, sticks, etc? Can’t be. Be careful about it. We’ll leave imitated belief and have certain belief. Be patient. You’ll find victory with patience. Whoever isn’t patient, will waste his own blood. We’ll be patient and try to strengthen our belief. This isn’t about bombs, weapons. Belief is the solution. So many bombs, weapons. Muslims also have them. We all have bombs, weapons. They aren’t the solution. Belief is the solution. “Wa dhakkir fa-inna dh-dhikrá tanfa‘u l-mu’minīna” (51:55) Either you like it or not. This is reality, this is an addressing to all. He says “Remind”. So we remind. I remind my ego. You can either remember or go to sleep. It is up to you.
May Allāh wake us up from heedlessness. Send the Saḥib to the Muslim nation. biḥurmati lḤabīb, biḥurmati l-Fātiḥah.
Sufi Qalam 