A servant cannot serve this world, his whims, desires and his self and, at the same time be a servant to Allāh ﷻ. Mawlānā explains that the illnesses of the ego must be destroyed. The Naqshbandī Way imparts teaching, bit by bit, through ṣuḥbah, the address given by the Shaykh.
Bismillahi r-Rahmani r-Rahim
Sultan ul-Awliya Mawlana Shaykh Muhammad Nazim Al-Haqqani An-Naqshbandi (ق ), sohbat, 2003
Bismillahi r-Rahmani r-Rahim. Tariqatuna as-sohbah wa l-khayru fi l-jam’iyya. The way of our tariqat is association (with the sheikh), and goodness lies in congregation, said Hazrat Shah-i Naqshband. We heard this from our Sheikh. My Sheikh is Sultanu l-Awliya no doubt. Without a doubt, may Allah sanctify his secret. Hz Shah-i Naqshband said this saying twelve thousand times. Tariqatuna as-sohbah wa l-khayru fi l-jam’iyya. Our tariqat goes on with association; it continues. Without association teaching cannot be imparted. The sheikh who teaches must give sohbat/lecture. He is teaching/training by means of the sohbats. Sometimes he tells the same story a hundred times. He tells it a hundred times, each time to train the ego a little bit more, till the ego is finished.
If you let it, ego makes you, abdu n-nafs, the ego’s servant, abdu s-shaytan, shaytan’s servant, abdu d-dunya, the servant of dunya/world, abdu l-hawa, the servant of its whims/passions.
One cannot be Allah’s servant without the ego finishing This is our illness – ego. One can surrender when he finishes with his ego. When he is with his ego – the ego is very jealous, the ego wants you only for itself. It won’t let you be for others. It says, “You are mine, you will be in my service, you will do as I like, you will give me what I want, you will be as I want you to be, you will worship me.” Astaghfirullah. This is its claim. If you let it, ego makes you, abdu n-nafs, the ego’s servant, abdu s-shaytan, shaytan’s servant, abdu d-dunya, the servant of dunya/world, abdu l-hawa, the servant of its whims/passions.
The aim of all these tariqats is to save people from those illnesses; to save people from those four falsehoods and bring them to the servanthood of Janab Allah which is Haqq (Truth). The one without tariqat is either a slave of dunya or a slave of shaytan or a slave of his ego or a slave of his whims/passions. The Murshid-i Kamil (Sheikh), uses his apparent power also. Additionally, his main spiritual mission is to make his mureeds recover from the illnesses/deficiencies of the heart. “Mahdi alaihi s-salam will come,” said Hazrat Sheikh Effendi. He has nothing to do with tariqats. He is not concerned about tariqats. All the falsehood on Earth, all the sects established on falsehood, all institutions, houses, situations of falsehood will be swept away.
Spirituality – turning the hearts of people to Allah, will happen by the power of this Hazrat who is the last of the Naqshbandi Sheikhs.
He will not let stand a single stone established on falsehood. He will break them all and have them thrown away. He will make those buildings of falsehood, all, be broken in one night. The jinn will throw (rubble) in bahr al-muhit, the Pacific Ocean. With a single command of his the whole world will change overnight. He will tidy up the outer appearance. Spirituality – turning the hearts of people to Allah, will happen by the power of this Hazrat who is the last of the Naqshbandi Sheikhs. He will open hearts. Whatever veils they have in their hearts, he will open them. Ya! Just like the power of Shah-i Naqshband, all the awliya (of the Golden) Naqshbandi Order are empowered. Naqshbandi.
When Mahdi alaihi s-salam is entering an assembly, he (Sheikh Abdullah Daghestani) said, actually he related the situation, he didn’t mean himself. When Hazrat Sheikh Sharafuddin, is present with awliya who inherited the oath from him, Sahibu z-Zaman stands up in respect of them. Actually, Sahibu z-Zaman stands up when he (Sheikh Abdullah) enters the assembly. Hazrat Sheikh Abdullah Daghestani, is called va’iz al-ummah. Abdullah al-Faiz is his name among the awliya.
There are ten sahaba-i kiram/ companions of the Prophet who are promised, given glad tidings for Paradise. The Prophet said that there are some people that Paradise is given glad tidings of from my ummah, our Prophet alaihi s-salatu wa s-salam said that Janab-i Haqq said to Paradise – that it received the glad tidings that “Such of My servants will come and when they step on you, your honour, your light will be raised,” and so, there are Awliya who desire to reach that favour/honour. Their name has been inscribed already. Hazrat Sheikh Sharafuddin says, “I cannot remove the name I wrote by the order of the Prophet.” He is very angry at the people of Daghestan, those who are in Rashadiya.
This is Hazrat, Ya Sayyidi! Let us be in your service! He used to call us ‘Nazim Effendi’. He never called me Nazim. He would say, ‘Nazim Effendi’. He used to refer to me as Sheikh Nazim when talking with others, Arabs. When talking to our people, he referred to me no less than ‘Effendi, Nazim Effendi’. When he addressed me, he addressed me with ‘Nazim Effendi’. When he mentioned my name to some Arab people, he would say ‘Sheikh Nazim’. On account of of his high, decent manners/adab he would call me Sheikh Nazim Effendi. Hazrat was addressing a useless person like me, as such. Ya Sayyidi. He used to cook khinkali and treat us. He used to say “Nazim Effendi, I made khinkali, come tonight, have your dinner here, tonight.” Ey ya Sayyidi.
Human beings wish all their desires to materialize. They want to reach all their desires. However Janab al-Haqq says: Do people think that they will get their every desire? We made no such promise to them because if everyone got their desire, peaceful life would not exist in the world. He (Allah) says: whatever I want, will happen in this world, and you will accept what I want. Not what everyone wishes, but whatever I wish, whatever I want, you will follow that, you will go after that. Don’t you ever make claims that “Only my wish should come true, may my desires come true”. No! My desires will prevail in this world. (Allah says.) There are billions of people, were everyone’s desire to be given the world would get into utter confusion/chaos. This doesn’t work.
If it was so, Haji Munira Khanum, when she was young perhaps 30 men proposed to her. Wasn’t it so? Thirty men asked her parents’ permission to marry her. But Haji Munira Khanum could’t accept them all. Some could have a hundred proposals. But if a hundred men want the same thing or a thousand men, how could it be given to all? It can’t be.” You have to be pleased with whatever I appointed for you and if you accept willingly and are pleased, you make Me pleased with you,” says Janab Allah. When you pass from this world to the Hereafter you will be given, the unlimited property of Eternity. “I will give you from eternal property (says Allah,) there you will get whatever you want.” Whatever you want! You are the only one there and in that Paradise given to you, whatever you want, will happen there. But in this world do not insist, and wait as “My desires must prevail”.
Say, “O my Lord! Whatever You want, “kama tuhibbu wa tarda”. As You like, as it pleases You, O our Lord, we too are pleased with that. People are unable to say this but are struggling against Allah’s Will. They are fighting with the Lord’s Will. Who is at peace/comfort? The one who surrenders. If one falls into the sea, as he struggles/thrashes about, the sea pulls him deep into it. When it finishes off that one it allows him up. When alive and struggling, it doesn’t keep one up, the sea pulls him down. When the sea overcomes him then it allows him up. The sea carries up the one up who surrenders. That is why as Divine Will prevails, and the more one surrenders, that much more one will be in ease, in relief. Allah Allah. Allah Allah. After drowning, the human body the same body, the same weight, does not sink to the bottom, it floats on the sea. La hawla wa la quwwata.
On every issue the nafs/ego is prone to opposition, it doesn’t want to surrender. The mureed, in the presence of his Murshid, can’t have claims, like, “I don’t want/like this”. The murshid in the presence of the Prophet, can’t have any claims, like, “I like this or, I don’t like this”. Alaihi s-salatu wa s-salam in the presence of Allah doesn’t have claims like, “I want this or I don’t want this”. That is the maqam/station of tawheed – becoming one. Becoming one, becoming one. When you pour the coffee, bubbles appear on the surface. A bubble moves next to another, then the other becomes one with that bubble, a third one gets nearer then unites with them immediately. As many as the bubbles bubbling on the surface, gently, they approach each other and become one. Then there is no separation. All are united as one.
Now, if one can be united to the Sheikh, he can be with the Sheikh in his maqam. When they look, they see themselves in the Sheikh. When the Sheikh looks at them, the Sheikh sees himself in them. There is no more separation/difference. People who are not relieved of ‘me and my ego’ claims can’t be at ease. In claiming ‘me-you’, the fighting goes on. Wa min Allah at-tawfiq. This is enough. I shall make ablution, then there is something to read, I shall read it.
G: What time are you going to bed at night?
SNE: It passes 1.
G: Then do you wake up at 3 a.m.?
SNE: Quarter past 3, that is like one and a half hour, sometimes one hour or two but it is less than two hours nowadays. At the time of tahajjud (night praying) I am teetering (from insomnia), after that sometimes a heaviness comes on me and I go to bed before Ishraq. Then I wake up and make ablution, pray Ishraq and busy myself a little bit, then sometimes I feel sleepy and go to bed again, shukr to Allah! I have permission to sleep up to 6 hours.
G: But it is less than 6 hours.
SNE: Sometimes, I don’t make it and manage with 4 hours. We make it with 3 hours, 4 and half hours or 5 hours. At this time, after Isha, I don’t usually sit. I am sitting with you since you are guests here, otherwise I don’t sit. After Isha the body wants rest. Two or three hours’ rest relieves the body. But if you pass the resting hours, not three, not even six hours will be enough to relieve the body.
Wa min Allah at-tawfeeq.
Sufi Qalam 
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