SHAYKH AL ISLAM

                                       Articles (4)

                                
                                

Endless Bliss
( Continued from Articles (3) )

Chapters 42 - 48

(42)  Wara and Taqwa. A symptom of true worship 
(43)  Tawba, Wara and Taqwa  
(44)  The Importance of the Fard, the Sunnat and the supererogotary
(45)  What is meant by 'Allahu ta'ala is close to us' ?
(46)  Iman, worships and necessary advice
(47)  The Ahl as-Sunnat Madhhab
(48)  Iman, worships and the haram


Chapters 49 - 55

(49)  The value of worship done in youth
(50)  He who wants the next world should not be fond of this world
(51)  The greatness and the honor of performing Namaaz
(52)  What is A'mal-i Saliha? The importance of Namaaz
(53)  The Qur'an is the word of Allah (SWT)
(54)  Hadrat Isa (AS) was a human being. He cannot be worshipped
(55)  Hadrat Isa (AS) was a Prophet. He cannot be a god

Chapters 56 - 59

(56)  Hilya-i Saadat, Books of Siyar. Wives of Prophet Muhammad SAW
(57)  Prophet Muhammad (alaihissalam) is the Highest of Mankind
(58)  Prophet Hadrat Muhammad's SAW beautiful moral qualities
(59)  Prophet Muhammad's SAW parents were all believers and pious


60 -The Final Word

The Final word of Se'adet-i-Ebediyye

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Courtesy of Hizmet Books - Wakhf Ikhlas

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Chapter-42

First Volume, 96 th Letter

42 - Second Volume, 81 st Letter

Wara' and Taqwa'. A symptom of true worship

This letter, written to Muhammad Murad, gives advice and praises wara' and taqwa.

Hamd be to Allahu ta'ala and salam to the people whom He chooses and loves! I am afraid that my dear friends might have been deceived by the decorated and ornamented sins of the world. I get worried thinking that they might fall for its pretty and sweet appearance, like children. I feel anxious that with the prodding of the accursed devil and the human satans they may cease from what is mubah (permitted) and do what is dubious or dive into the haram, thus falling down to a shameful state in the presence of our Owner. It is necessary to repent and ask for Allah's pardon and entreat Him. Things that are haram or dubious should be known as fatal poisons.

Couplet:
In short, what is there to tell you but,
You are a child, and the way is dreadful.

Being very bounteous, generous and merciful, Allahu ta'ala made many things mubah (permissible) for His born servants; He gave us permission to do many things. So wretched and poor are those who, not being satisfied with the mubah because of their sick souls and corrupt hearts, exceed the borders of Islam and go as far as to do the dubious or haram things, leaving off so many inexhaustible mubah choices. It is necessary to observe the borders of Islam and not to go beyond it. There are many people who perform Namaaz and who fast customarily and habitually. But those who observe the borders of Islam and who pay attention so as not to fall into the haram and dubious activities are very few. The distinction that differentiates those who worship correctly and sincerely from those who worship habitually and insincerely is observing the commandments of Allahu ta'ala. The sincere Namaaz and Fast are outwardly the same as those that are done insincerely. Our Beloved Prophet Salla Allahu Alayhi wa Sallam declared: "The basic pillar of our religion is wara." He declared in a hadith: "Nothing can be compared to wara."

[While describing the conditions for being an imam, Ibni Abidin says, "It is called wara' to abstain from the dubious. It is called taqwa to abstain from the haram. It is called zuhd to abstain from the majority of the mubah for fear that they may be dubious."

At the end of the book Hadiqa it says, "In our time having Wara' and Taqwa is very difficult. At present, those who keep their hearts, tongues and other organs from the harams and those who do not torture humans nor animals and who do not take away others' possessions without paying for them and those who know that everything which belongs to others is their halal property are said to have Taqwa. Property is said to be halal, unless it is known for sure that specific goods were usurped, stolen, acquired by way of interest, [gambling, bribery], torture, treachery, or that the items themselves are haram. This is the case even if it is known that a certain person has a history of acquiring property by haram means. If one gives it to another party, accepting it is jaiz, though the property is tainted (mulk-i habis). If the gifted property is known to be haram in any case, it will not be jaiz to accept it. If one mixes all of the haram goods taken from various people with one's own halal property of with the things left in a trust, and if one cannot easily distinguish the haram ones from the others, this mixture becomes one's own property. This mixture is called mulk-i habis. However, if one is able to distinguish the haram goods, one should give them back to their owners or their heirs. But if one is unable to do so, one should reimburse the owner (s). Compensation is possible by giving back its mithl (similar, equal) from one's halal Zakaat goods. If one does not have the mithl, one should pay the value of the goods at the time when one usurped them. After indemnification, it becomes mubah for one to use. [The Zakaat of it should be given. But, in case one knows the owner, one cannot use it before reimbursing the owner, or one can give it as alms or as a present. And it is not necessary to add it to the amount for Zakaat. If one does not know the owner or his heir, it will become wajib to give away all the haram property and the tainted mixture as alms. If the owner happens to come forth later, the owner should be compensated as well.]. It won't be jaiz (permissible) if one knows that the property is haram itself to get it from the owner who gives it away by selling, gifting, renting, loaning, paying debts, or any other way. If a poor person, whom one gave the haram good as alms, gives it back to one as present, one can use it as well. It is not jaiz to acquire any dirty goods when the owner is known, by way of buying or renting, nor is it not jaiz to receive them as alms or as donations. The tainted property won't become halal by these methods. One who has got tainted items, money for example, if the owner is known, one should give it back to him. If the owner is unknown the item should be given to a poor person as alms. It will be a sin to give it to anyone else. Accepting this item is not jaiz for anybody, except the poor. It has been judged that inheritance could be accepted by a heir who knows that it is haram property. Please see the beginning of the seventy-eighth chapter in the Turkish version. For practical purposes in buying and selling, the fatwa was given according to Imam-i Karhi's inference. That is, after an item has been sold, if the seller is paid with haram money, but he did not know the buyer would pay him with haram money, in this case the seller can accept it, and that item will be halal for the buyer to use. If the buyer says before buying something that he will give something haram or entrusted, and the seller promises that he will accept it, in this case the item bought won't be halal for the buyer to use. If the buyer says he will pay for an item with something haram, but he pays with something else, or if the buyer says that he won't pay with something haram, but he actually pays with something haram, in this case, the thing bought won't be haram or tainted." While explaining usurpation, Ibn Abidin (rahmat-Allahu ta'ala 'alaih) says, "Usurpation is to take someone's property by force, or to deny the thing entrusted. Usurpation is a grave sin. If the item changed its form, the owner can ask to be given his property together with the amount of value changed, or to be paid its real value. One should give it back at the place where one usurped it. After compensation, it is jaiz for the usurper to use the item, but the profit which he obtained by selling it won't be halal. The profit should be given as alms. If the goods usurped from various individuals were mixed with each other, or with usurper's own property, and if they cannot be separated, all of them will be the usurper's tainted property. But, it is not halal for him to use them unless he compensates for them. Compensation does not cause that sin to be forgiven." In the commentary of the book Durar, Sharnblali says, "If the cruel man mixes the usurped goods with his own goods, they become his own property. If his own halal property left is to equal the amount of nisab after he has given them for compensation, he should give zakat for all the mixture before the compensation. If the mixture equals the amount of nisab, or his own halal property is not enough to compensate for it, or the amount left after compensation is not equal to the nisab, zakat will not be necessary."]

Though our beloved ones there are interested in sweet meals and smart dresses, real pleasure is in what the people of wara' eat and wear.

COUPLET:
He who gave that to rank occupiers
Gives this to the men of wara'.

The difference between 'that' and 'this' is very great. For Allahu ta'ala does not like 'that,' but He likes 'this.' Moreover, on the Day of Resurrection the accounting for 'that' will be difficult, while the accounting for 'this' will be easy. O Allah! Have mercy upon us! Do not allow us to deviate from the right way!

Chapter-43

Tawba, Wara and Taqwa

This letter, written in Arabic to Khan-i Khanan 'rahmatullahi ta'ala alaih' a governor of India, explains tawba (repentance), inabat, wara' and taqwa.

I begin my letter with the Bismala. That is, to be able to write this letter, I trust myself to Allahu ta'ala, who is so merciful and bounteous, and I depend on Him. Every hamd, every thanks, belongs to Him by right. I send my salam to the good people whom He chooses and loves. Our valuable lives are elapsing into committing sins, making mistakes, and doing what is wrong. Therefore, it will be pleasant for us to converse on repentance, on hanging the head in shame towards Allahu ta'ala, and to talk about wara' and taqwa. Allahu ta'ala declares in the thirty-first ayat of Surat-un-Nur: "O Believers! You all repent and ask Allah's pardon! You can be saved only by repenting." He declares in the eighth ayat of Surat-ut-Tahrim, which is at the end of the twenty-eighth chapter of the Qur'an [the Qur'an consists of thirty chapters equal in page numbers], "O elite, who have iman! Return to Allahu ta'ala! Repent sincerely! That is, do not break your repentance! If you repent in this manner, maybe your Allah will forgive you and will put you into Paradise, where there are trees and villas under which water flows." He declares in the hundred and twentieth ayat of Surat-ul-Anam, "Abstain from sins, whether they are evident or secret." It is fard-i ayn [Actions, words, and thoughts which Allahu ta'ala clearly commands in the Qur'an are called fard (or fard). Fard-i-ayn means a fard which is obligatory for every Muslim. Every Muslims has to carry out the fard-i-ayn. Please compare to the explanation of "muakkad" in article 51.] for everybody to repent for his sins. Nobody can escape repentance. How can anyone ever escape it, despite the fact that all Prophets (alaihimussalawatu wattaslimat) used to repentance. Sayyiduna Muhammad ('alaihi wa alaihimussalawat), who was the final and the greatest of all, stated: "A curtain [that prevents divine lights from coming] gets drawn across my heart. Therefore, I say istighfar [To ask Allah's pardon. To entreat Him for His forgiveness.] seventy times each day." If there are no human rights in the sin which is committed, if it is only between Allah and oneself, e.g. committing adultery, having alcoholic drinks, listening to musical instruments, looking at na-mahram women, holding the Qur'an without having an abdast (ritual ablution), getting stuck in corrupt beliefs, such as Rafidi, Wahhabi, and others, one can repent by regretting [what one has done], by saying istighfar, and by being ashamed, embarrassed towards Allahu ta'ala and begging His pardon. If one has omitted one of the fard without an excuse, for repenting, one has to perform that fard together with all of these.

[It is said in the book Targibussalat: "In a Hadith ash-Sharif it was declared: 'If a person, without any excuse, performs a Salaat after its due time, he will be burned in Hell for as long as eighty huqba. One huqba is eighty years. One year in the Hereafter is three hundred and sixty days. One day is as long as eighty years of this world.' As the amount of time necessary for one to perform one's omitted prayers of namaz elapses, the sin of that one namaz gets bigger and bigger. Well then, if there are two or more omitted namaz, it will be all the more difficult. Omitted Salaats, no matter what their costs, must be performed as soon as possible, and one must invoke and feel repentance so much so that one will be forgiven. He who does not perform namaz should tremble and melt after seeing the greatness of Allahu ta'ala.]

If human rights are involved in a sin, for repenting, one should pay back his rights immediately, ask his forgiveness, do him favors and send prayers for him. If the one who has been deprived of his rights is dead, one should say prayers and istighfar for him, pay his rights back to his inheritors, and do them favors. If his children or other inheritors are not known, one should distribute money equaling the property or indemnity (against loss of life) to the poor and to the miskeens [They are people who do not have more possessions than what they need for one day. It means 'very poor.'] as alms, and intending that its reward be given to the claimant of the rights, who has been tormented. Hadrat Ali 'radi-Allahu anh' said, "Hadrat Abu Bakr 'radi-Allahu anh' always told the truth. I heard him say that Rasulullah declared: "If a person who has committed a sin repents and performs abdast and then performs Namaaz and then says istighfar for that sin of his, Allahu ta'ala will certainly forgive him; Allahu ta'ala declares in the hundred and ninth ayat of Surat-un-Nisa: 'If a person commits a sin or torments himself and then repents and says istighfar, he will find Allahu ta'ala very merciful and forgiving'." Rasulullah (saw) said in a Hadith, "If a person commits a sin and then repents, this repentance of his becomes an atonement for his sin. That is, it causes him to be forgiven." He declared in a Hadith: "If the sinful person says istighfar and repents, then does that sin again, then says istighfar and repents again, and then does it a third time and repents again, it will be written down as a grave sin when he commits it the fourth time." He declared in a hadith: "Musawwifs perished." That is, those who put off repentance by saying, "I will repent later on," suffered a loss. Loqman Hakim 'radi-Allahu anh' was a wali or a prophet. He advised his son by saying, "Sonny, do not put off repentance until tomorrow. For death catches one abruptly." Imam al-Mujahid says, "The person who does not say tawba every morning and every evening torments himself." Abdullah Ibni Mubarak said, "To return one cent that has been obtained through haram means to its owner is more blessed than giving ten cents as alms." Our savants declare: "To return one cent that has been taken unjustly to its owner is more blessed than six hundred times of supererogatory Hajj (pilgrimage) that have been accepted." O our Allah! We have tormented ourselves. If you do not pity us, if you do not forgive us, we will fall into a very bad situation!

Our Beloved Prophet Salla Allahu Alayhi wa Sallam said, "Allahu ta'ala declares: 'O My born servant! Do the fard I command; you will be the most devoted of human beings. Avoid the haram which I prohibit; you will be a man of wara'. Be contented with the sustenance that I give you; you will be the wealthiest of human beings; you will not need anybody." Our Prophet said to Abu Huraira 'radi-Allahu anh': "Be a man of wara' so that you may be the most abid (devoted) of human beings." Hadrat Hasan-i Basri 'rahmatullahi alaih' says, "Attaining wara' as much as a mote is more useful than a thousand supererogatory fasts and namaz." Abu Huraira 'radi-Allahu anh' said, "On the Day of Resurrection, those who are valuable in the presence of Allahu ta'ala are people of wara' and of zuhd." Allahu ta'ala said to Hadrat Musa 'alaihis-salam': "Among those who approach Me and who attain My love, there will not be anyone who approaches as close as people of wara do." Some great savants said, "If a person does not know the following ten things as fard for himself, he will not be a man of perfect wara': he should not backbite; he should not feel su'i-zan for Muslims, which means to distrust them and to think of them as bad persons; he should not make fun of anybody; he should not look at women and girls (that are forbidden for him by Islam); he should tell the truth; he should think of the gifts and blessings which Allahu ta'ala has endowed upon him so that he will not be self-conceited; he should spend his possessions on the halal; he should not spend them for the haram; he should desire rank and posts not for his nafs nor for his comfort, but because he knows them as positions for serving Muslims; he should know it as his first duty to perform the five times of namaz in their due time; he should learn well iman and the deeds communicated by the Ahl as-Sunnat savants and adapt himself to them. O Allah! Increase the light of the right way which you have endowed upon us! Forgive us! You can do everything!"

My dear, mercy-worthy sir! If one is granted the lot of repenting for all of one's sins and having wara' and taqwa [that is, abstaining from all the haram and dubious], the great blessing, the exalted good luck will have been obtained. If this cannot be obtained, it will be a blessing as well to repent for some sins and to abstain from some of the harams. Maybe, the blessings and lights of some of them will spread among all and will open the way to repenting for all the sins and for being a man of perfect wara'. It was said, "If one thing cannot be obtained as a whole, one should not lose it all." O Allah! Grant us the lot of doing the things which Thou like! As alms for The Beloved Muhammad Mustufa 'alaihi wa alaihim wa 'ala ali kullin min-as-salawati afdaluha wa min-at-taslimati akmaluha' who is the highest and master of Prophets, the head of the travelers on the way of greatness and honour, do not make us cease from being in Thine religion and from obeying Thee!

[Billions of people have lived in this world. They have lived for a certain time period; afterwards, they have died. Some of them were rich, some were poor. Some of them were beautiful, some ugly. Some of them were cruel and some of them were kind. All of their characteristics are now non-existent and forgotten. Some were Believers - Muslims. The remaining ones were disbelievers - kafirs. All of them will either be non-existent eternally or after Doomsday those who do not believe will be tormented eternally. But there will be no torment for those who are Believers. Disbelievers will experience an everlasting and extremely severe punishment. Those who will pass away as Believers are now at ease, and they are experiencing inner happiness. As for disbelievers, they are afraid of the prospects of burning in fire eternally. O, human beings, think carefully! After a few years, you will be one of them. At that time, all of your life, activities and painstaking efforts will be an image or dream, as is the case with the years that have passed. Therefore, which party do you want to belong in? You cannot say that you do not want to belong to neither party. This is impossible. You will be among either one at any rate. Even if it is merely a probability, do you want to be burned eternally in a fire? Wisdom, knowledge, and science prevent the rejection of the existence of Allah and a belief regarding Paradise and Hell. Objective individuals are unable to assert that such things cannot happen. Those who do not believe are unable to show any documents or evidence supporting their rejection. However, the evidences that prove belief to be unavoidable is innumerable. World libraries are full of books which spell out these proofs. Deceived by their nafs and pleasures, they reject. They think of nothing except their pleasures. However, Islam does not prohibit pleasure itself. It prohibits the hazardous effects of certain pleasures. Therefore, the one who has wisdom obtains his pleasure through the means shown by Allahu ta'ala. He is adorned with the superior morality of Islam. He is helpful to everyone. He retaliates with goodness to those who act maliciously towards him. If he is unable to be benevolent at least, he should act with patience. He should not be destructive; he should be constructive. Thus, he will attain his pleasures, comfort and peace of mind. Besides, he will be spared the eternal torments of the next world. It is a proven fact that to be a Muslim and to have iman are prerequisite for peace of mind and happiness. To have Iman is very easy. It is not necessary to give money to a certain place, to give goods, to do hard work, to receive permission from someone. Additionally, it is not necessary to declare it openly and to inform someone about your Iman. Iman consists of learning six things and believing in them through the heart in a secret way. The one who has iman becomes submissive to Allahu ta'ala's commandments. In other words, he willingly practices without any compulsion. Thus, he becomes a Muslim. In short, every Believer (Mumin) is a Muslim. Every Muslim is a Believer (Mumin)].

Chapter-44

44 - SECOND VOLUME, 82 nd LETTER

The importance of the Fard (farz), the Sunnat and the supererogotary,
and the differences between them

This letter, sent to Khawaja Sharafaddin Hussain, discusses avoiding the haram and adhering to the Shariat.

O our Allah! Make us know the world as it is and place in our hearts the greatness, the importance of the next world! O my clever son! Do not ever fall for the decoration, the ornaments of the harams; do not get deceived by their transient, exhaustible flavors! Be extra careful so that all your actions, thoughts and behavior are compatible with the Shariat! Try to live under its lights! First of all, it is necessary to learn the belief which the Ahl as-Sunnat savants - may Allahu ta'ala give them many blessings for their ceaseless efforts - communicate and write in books, and to correct the iman in accordance with it. Then we should learn the rules of fiqh (the commands and prohibitions of the Shariat). We should adhere to doing the fard and be careful about the halal (permitted) and haram (forbidden).

Supererogatory worships are worth nothing when compared to the fard. The Muslims of our time abandon the fard and give their utmost to supererogatory worships; they value doing supererogatory worships [e.g. reading Mawlid, sitting together with men and women, building Mosques, giving alms and doing favours], while they deem it unnecessary and unimportant to do the fard [e.g. performing the five times of namaz each day; fasting in the month of Ramadan; giving Zakaat; giving 'ushr [A kind of Zakaat. Ushur is given from the things that grow on a field watered by rains or by streams. It is explained in detail towards the end of the first part.]; paying one's debts, learning what halal and haram is; girls and women covering up their heads, hair, arms, and legs; not listening to the words of those men on the radio or television who are the enemies of our religion and who try to corrupt our beliefs and good morals.]

[Gerard, the major of a town called Charvieu in the providence of Lyon in France, upon seeing that the number of Muslims going to the mosque was increasing every day but that the number of Frenchmen going to church was decreasing became rabid as a dog and had the mosque destroyed with a bulldozer. Newspapers dated 8-18-89 reported this madness, this abomination. Neither books, radios, nor televisions of this type of ignorant, stupid, inferior, dirty disbeliever, who attacks Islam, who is unaware of Islam's brilliant way, and who has never read Islam's books, should be put into our houses, and we must protect our women and innocent children from lies and slander. We should not be deceived by gilded lies which praise freedom of religion, human rights and mutual support!]

Nevertheless, they do not understand that to give one cent of zakat to the proper people (declared in the Qur'an) is more blessed than giving thousands of dollars as alms. To give Zakaat is to do Allah's command. But alms and favors are mostly intended to earn fame, reverence and the sensual desires of the nafs. When one does the fard, hypocrisy or ostentation do not get mixed with the action. But there is a lot of ostentation in supererogatory worships. It is for this reason that Zakaat should be given publicly. In this way one will be safe from being slandered. The supererogatory alms should be given secretly, which will increase the probability that it will be accepted [by Allah]. In short, to be safe from the harm of the world, there is no other way than doing the rules of the Shariat. Those who cannot cease from worldly pleasures completely should relinquish them at least supposedly, that is, they should think of themselves as having forsaken the world. And for doing this, one should adapt one's every action and each word to the Shariat.

[Disbelievers and murtads', [These persons who were born as Muslims because their parents were Muslims but who then turned disbelievers.] performing deeds compatible with the Shariat in order to get some of their desires may be useful for them and cause them to live happily in comfort in the world, yet it will not give them any benefit in the Hereafter, for they have not been honored with Iman. It is necessary to have iman so that one's worships may be accepted and one may earn rewards for one's good deeds. It is said in Ifsah, "The most valuable of worships are those that are fard-i ayn. After the fard the most valuable ones are the Sunnat salat in the Shafi'i madhhab, jihad in the Hanbali madhhab, learning and teaching knowledge and then jihad in the Hanafi and Maliki madhhabs."] 

Chapter-45

45 - THIRD VOLUME, 1 st LETTER

What is meant by "Allahu ta'ala is close to us?"

This letter, written to As-Sayyad Murshid al-Kamil Hadrat Mir Muhammad Numan, explains that Allahu ta'ala and His Attributes and Deeds are very close to His born servants.

My hamd (thanks) be to Allahu ta'ala, and goodness and salams to the people whom He chooses and loves! We have received your precious letter. You went to a great trouble. May Janab-i-Haqq reward you for your efforts! You ask us time after time to explain Allahu ta'ala and His Attributes and Deeds, which are closer to these classes of beings than anything else is, and you are eager to learn the answer. So I feel compelled to reveal the matter a little:

Everything exists with its true nature, with its essence. There is no need for giving something its own nature, or for anybody to give it, for everything has its nature in itself. It is for this reason that it was said that the nature of anything could not be made. Every substance has an essence, a nature. It is not necessary to do some work to give substances their natures. But, some work is to be done to produce the nature of something in something else. For example, the dyer's work is to dye fabrics, but not to make a fabric fabric or to make a dye dye, which is unnecessary. Then, the nature of a thing is not given to that thing later. But some work is done to bring that thing and its nature together. Everything is itself together with its own nature. This word of ours is not valid when shade is considered. The shade of something, or its reflection or fancy, or its image on a mirror, has become a shade, or a reflection, etc., not with its own nature, but with the nature of the original that causes it to be formed, for a shade, or an image, does not have a nature of its own. The nature that exists in the shade is the nature of the original thing that forms it. Then, the original is closer to its shade than the shade is to itself, for the shade has become the shade with the nature of its original, that is, with the original, not with its own nature; for it does not posses its own nature.

Since all classes of beings, all creatures are the shades, reflections, and images of Allahu ta'ala's deeds, these works, which are the originals of these beings, are closer to these beings than these beings are to themselves. And since these deeds are the shades of the Divine Attributes, Allahu ta'ala's Attributes are closer to the beings than the beings and the deeds, that is, the originals of the beings, for they are the originals of originals. And since the Divine Attributes are the shades of the Divine Person (Zat-i ilahi), and since Allahu ta'ala Himself is the original of all the originals, the Person of Allahu ta'ala is closer to the beings than the beings themselves, the Divine Deeds, and the Divine Attributes. The intellectual individuals, who will understand these by reading them carefully, will admit our word, if they are reasonable enough. If there should be any person who does not believe us, it is not important at all, for our word is not intended for them. 

Chapter-46

46 - THIRD VOLUME, 46 th LETTER

Iman, worships and necessary advice

This letter, written to a very pious lady, explains beliefs and encourages worship:

May hamd-u-thena [Thanking, praising and lauding.] be to Allahu ta'ala, who sends us all the conspicuous and invisible blessings, who shows us the way to safety, and who honors us by making us an Ummat of His Beloved Muhammad Salla Allahu Alayhi wa Sallam.

Allahu ta'ala 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 Razzaq [He who gives sustenance, food.] 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 favors and blessings upon everybody, whether beloved or hostile. And, as the most honorable, most valuable and highest of all His blessings, He communicates Islam 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 favors 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' favors 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 favors should be thanked. It is a requirement of being human. Those who do favors are respected. Generous people are deemed great. Then, it is a requirement of a being human to thank Allahu ta'ala, who is the real owner of every blessing. It is a duty, a debt, which the mind necessitates. However, since Allahu ta'ala 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 Shariats which have been communicated by His prophets 'alaihim-us-salawatu wattaslimat' 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'ala 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'ala 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'ala cannot be thanked outside His religion.

Each religion which Allahu ta'ala declared is of two parts: itiqad (belief) and 'amal (worship); that is, iman and rules. Of them, itiqad is the same in every religion. Itiqad 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 itiqads communicated in ancient religions were defiled in the course of time. The only righteous itiqad today is the itiqad which is communicated by the Islamic religion. He who does not have this correct itiqad 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'ala, 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 itiqad as communicated by the Islamic religion, that is, those who do not believe the tenets that are of the Islamic religion, which were communicated by Sayyiduna Muhammad (Alaihis-salam). Those who have the itiqad, 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 Islam, 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 iman and its rules and who does not teach them to his children has not done his duty as a human being. Everybody has the right to learn them. It is the first of all human rights.]

Since the ahkam, that is, the commandments and prohibitions, are dependent upon Itiqad (Iman) 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, inshallahu ta'ala.

[Iman and itiqad are the same. There is a very lengthy and profound branch of knowledge describing them called ilm-i kalam. Savants of Kalam are very great people, and books of Kalam are numerous. These books are also called books of aqaid. Things that are to be done or abstained from with the heart and body are called ahkam-i Shariyya or shortly the Shariat. The branch of knowledge communicating the ahkam-i Shariyya, which is done with the body, is called ilm-i fiqh. The books of kalam 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 Kalam (Iman), morals and Fiqh, which everybody should know and do, are called the books of ilm-i hal. It is the first duty of each Muslim to get books of Ilm-i hal 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 oneself down into Hell.]

THINGS THAT ARE ABSOLUTELY NECESSARY TO BE BELIEVED:

Allahu ta'ala exists by His zat; 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 Wajib-ul-wujud (the Indispensable Being). There cannot be nonexistence at that rank. Allahu ta'ala is One. That is, He does not have a partner or a likeness. He does not have a partner in being Wajib-ul- wujud, in being worshipped or in being worthy of worship. For having a partner, Allahu ta'ala has to be insufficient, dependent, which are defects and faults. There cannot be deficiencies in wujub, and uluhiyyat [ 'Wujub' means 'being necessary.' It also means 'the being whose existence is indispensable.' Allahu ta'ala and his eight Attributes are in the grade of wujub. They are wajib. 'Uluhiyyat' 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 uluhiyyat.]. 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 wujub and uluhiyyat. 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'ala does not have a partner. He is one.

Allahu ta'ala has perfect Attributes that are not deficient. They are: hayat (to exist), 'ilm (to know), sam' (to hear), basar (to see), qudrat (to be omnipotent), irada (to will), kalam (to say) and takwin (to create). These eight Attributes are called Sifat-i thubutiyya or Sifat- i haqiqiyya. These attributes of His are eternal. That is, they are not (of recent occurrence). They exist separately from Himself. The Ahl as-sunnat savants have communicated this, so may Allahu ta'ala reward them for their work! None of the seventy-two sects, but only the Ahl as-Sunnat could realize that Allahu ta'ala had separate Attributes. In fact, the recent ones of the Sufiyya-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, though they were of the Ahl as-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'ala 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'an al-Karim. May Allahu ta'ala bless them with adhering to the way of the Qur'an al-Karim!

The other Attributes of Allahu ta'ala are either itibari (thought of as being) or salbi (impossible to exist). For example, qidam (not nonexistent before His existence), azaliyyat (not having a beginning as an existence), wujub (impossible to cease existing), and uluhiyyat. For example, Allahu ta'ala 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 kafir.] 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 Sifat-i Salbiyya. All perfect attributes exist in Allahu ta'ala. No defective attributes exists in Him.

Allahu ta'ala 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'ala 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 Imam-i Rabbani 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'ala 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 Tawrat and Injil denote that one word. Also, the Zabur and the Qur'an al- karim 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 thought 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'ala 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 Awliya 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 as-sunnat, neither by groups of Believers nor by any individual from the disbelievers. All but those great people said that Allahu ta'ala 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 iman because of this wrong measurement and comparison.] To be blessed with the honor of iman in profound matters such as these falls to one's lot only in the light of obeying the sunnat (that is, the Shariat) of Muhammad (alaihissalam). How can they be honored with attaining this blessing, those who are deprived of the honor of believing in seeing Allahu ta'ala 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 Shariat 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 Musa gave to Pharaoh, which Allahu ta'ala declares through the 51 st and 52 nd ayats of Sura Taha: "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 al-Mahfuz [see 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'ala, as everything is. Allahu ta'ala 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'ala is in the same nisbat (relation) to each of His creatures, the creatures are not the same in respect to one another. Allahu ta'ala 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 Musa 'alaihis-salam' would have seen Him before anybody else. Our Prophet 'sall-Allahu alaihi wa sallam' was honored with this good luck in the Miraj [The Prophet's ascent to Heaven.]. 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'ala 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'ala came to being later while having been nonexistent and that there is nothing eternal except Allahu ta'ala. They say that those who know others as eternal are disbelievers. Imam al-Ghazzali, the Proof of Islam, said in his book al-Munqidhu 'aniddalal (reproduced by offset press by Hakikat Kitabevi) that he who knows anybody besides Allahu ta'ala as eternal is a kafir.

Qur'an al-Karim communicates that those who know the skies, the stars and other things as eternal are liars. There are many ayat al-karimas showing that the worlds were created out of nothing. Extremely dissolute is the person who disbelieves the Qur'an by following his mind, which may go wrong at any time. Unless Allahu ta'ala gives light to a person, he will not be enlightened.

As human beings are creatures, so all their deeds and actions are Allahu ta'ala'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'ala 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'ala, is in the acquiring. Pitying His born servants, Allahu ta'ala 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'ala 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'ala 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 Shariat.

[Allahu ta'ala 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'ala 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 Allahu ta'ala 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'ala, too, wills it and creates it. Allahu ta'ala 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'ala also wills it and creates it. He, Allahu ta'ala, 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'ala, 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 kalam. 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,
It'll be better to take shelter sometimes!

Having mercy upon His born servants, Allahu ta'ala sent them prophets 'alaihim-us- salawatu wattaslimat'. 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 favors, as He is. Man is very stupid and deprives himself of His blessings. All the information which those great people communicated from Allahu ta'ala 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-salawatu wattaslimat'. There is no excuse, no pretext left for men. The first of the prophets is Hadrat Adam. And the last one is hadrat Muhammad Rasulullah 'alaihi wa alaihim-us-salawatu wattaslimat'. 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 iman. 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 Adam ('alaihi's-salam) was a Prophet. The book Kashf-ush- shuhubat, a book of Wahhabism, states in its initial pages that the first prophet was Noah ('alaihi's-salam)]. This is only one of their wrong credal tenets. Hadrat Isa (Jesus) did not die. When Jews wanted to kill him, Allahu ta'ala 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 Shariat of Muhammad (alaihissalam). Hadrat Khwaja Muhammad Parisa, one of the great Awliya educated by Hadrat Bahaddin-i Naqshibandi Bukhari, a great Awliya, a diver into the ocean of tasawwuf, says in his book Fusul-i sitta, "Hadrat Isa will descend from Heaven, will act according to the madhhab of Imam-i Abu Hanifa, will say halal about what he said was halal, and will say haram about what he said was haram."

ANGELS: They are the precious born servants of Allahu ta'ala. Some of them have been honored with conveying information to other angels and to His prophets (alaihimussalam) 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 tasbih and taqdis [The words 'tasbih' and 'taqdis' are used in the same meaning. Though there is a very delicate difference between their meanings, they both mean 'without any fault or defect.']. Yet it is peculiar to the higher ones from among human beings to add jihad to it. Allahu ta'ala declares in the ninety-fourth ayat of Surat-un-Nisa, as interpreted: "Those Muslims who perform jihad, 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 sadiq 'alaihi wa 'ala alihi-s-salatu wa-s-salam' (he who always tells the truth (the Prophet) communicated about the grave, Resurrection, Hashr (assembling in the space of Arasat 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'ala, is a principle of iman. He who disbelieves in the next world is a kafir, as if he disbelieved in Allahu ta'ala.

There is torment in the grave and there is squeezing in the grave. He who disbelieves it does not become a kafir, but he becomes Ahl-i bidat since he has not believed the hadiths that are well known. [Such people disbelieve the torment in the grave because they doubt that those hadiths are true ones. If they accepted them as hadiths, they would believe it. For this reason, they do not become disbelievers, but they stray from the Ahl as-sunnat. But, he who says, "I do not believe in the torment of the grave, whether it is written in hadiths or not. Mind and experiments do not confirm it," becomes a kafir. 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 Nakir will ask questions in the grave. It is difficult to answer their questions. [Munkar and Nakir mean that which is unacknowledged. See the explanations after Juma salat in the 4 th fascicle.]

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'an communicates this fact and all groups of Muslims believe it. He who disbelieves it becomes a kafir. 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 kafir. 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'ala 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 Sirat, 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 Mukhbir-i sadiq 'sall-Allahu ta'ala 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'ala declares in the seventh ayat of Surat-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'ala, the virtuous ones will perform shafaat for the bad ones, that is, they will intercede for them. Our Beloved Prophet Salla Allahu Alayhi wa Sallam declares: "My shafaat 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 iman 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 Amantu Sharhi, written by Kadizada Ahmad Effendi, "In Hell, there is a place called Zamharir. 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 Kimya-yi Saadat, 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 Durrat al-Fakhira, by Imam-i-Muhammad Ghazzali, that there are cold zamharir torments in Hell. This fact is also stated clearly in Hadith ash-Sharifs.

By attacking Islam 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'an and if they had heard of the words of the great men of Islam 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'an 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 Makkans 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'an and hadiths 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 Iman. As well, there are those whose lives go by with Iman, 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 honoring us with Iman, protect us against going wrong, against aberration! Have mercy upon us, pity us! Thou alone can show the right way!

IMAN (FAITH): It is called Iman to believe through the heart the things that are known as being of the religion, and to express one's iman with one's tongue. The things that must be believed in are: To believe in the existence of Allahu ta'ala, His oneness, His books and pages, and His prophets and angels. To believe in the Hashr and Nashr 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 namaz five times each day, to believe in the numbers of rakats [In performing namaz, the actions of standing, bowing, putting the head on the ground twice are altogether called one 'rakat.' Most prayers consist of two or four rakats. One of them consists of three rakats.] in these prayers, to believe that it is fard to give the Zakaat of one's property [see article 34], to fast everyday in the month of Ramadan, and, for him who can, to go to the city of Makkah and perform the Hajj. It is necessary to believe that it is haram 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 unveiled or naked, and to gamble]. If a person with iman commits a grave sin, his iman does not go away, nor does he become a kafir. He, who says halal about a sin, that is, about a haram, becomes a kafir. He who commits a haram becomes a fasiq (sinner). One should say, "I am certainly a Mumin." One should say that one has iman. One should not say inshallah (if Allah wills) while saying that one is a Believer. It may imply doubt. Yes, it may be permissible to say inshallah about one's last breath, yet it is better not to say so.

The superiority of the four Khalifas 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- salawatu wattaslimat' the highest of human beings is Hadrat Abu Bakr Siddiq 'radi-Allahu anh'. After him is Hadrat 'Umar Faruq 'radi-Allahu anh'." To this poor person, being higher or superior does not depend on having virtues, attributes or good habits. It depends on accepting Islam 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 everything from their predecessors. All of these three conditions were found in Hadrat Siddiq. He accepted Islam 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. Rasulullah declared towards his death: "To the extent that Abu 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 Abu Bakr my friend." He declared in a hadith: "Allahu ta'ala sent me to you as a prophet. You did not believe. Abu Bakr believed me. He helped me with his property and life. Do not hurt him and revere and respect him!" He declared in a hadith: "There will not come another prophet after me. If there were another, certainly 'Umar would be a prophet." Hadrat Amir 'Ali 'radi-Allahu anh' said, "Both Abu 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 trash him."

We should know that the battles amongst the Ashab-i kiram 'alaihim-ur-ridwan' 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 ammara. But their nafses had become quite pure through the company, or by the presence of the Best of Mankind (Rasulullah). Only, in the battles that took place during the caliphate of Hadrat Amir 'Ali, he ('Ali) was right. Those who disagreed with him were wrong. But, because it was a mistake of ijtihad [see article 26], it can by no means be criticized, let alone saying that they were fasiq (sinful)! All of them were just. The judgements given by any of them were acceptable. With respect to correctness and dependability, there was no difference between the judgements given by those who followed the Amir and the ones which were given by those who disagreed with him. The battles between them did not cause them to lose their being trustworthy. Then, it is necessary to love all of them; to love them is to love our Sayyid, the Prophet. He declared in a hadith: "He who loves them loves them because he loves me." We should utterly abstain from disliking them, especially from feeling hostility towards one of them because having enmity towards them means having enmity towards our Prophet. He said in a hadith, "He who is their enemy is so because he is my enemy." To revere, to respect those great people would be to revere and to respect the Best of Mankind. To belittle them would mean to belittle him. For respecting the company of the Best of Mankind and the words of the Best of Mankind, it is necessary to respect and esteem all of the Ashab-i kiram. Hadrat Abu Bakr-i Shibli 'quddisa sirruh', one of the great ones of the Awliya, says, "A person who does not respect or esteem the Ashab-i kiram 'radi-Allahu ta'ala 'anhum ajmain' has not believed in Rasulullah 'sall-Allahu alaihi wa sallam'."

A'MAL-I SHARIYYA (The acts pertaining to the Shariat): After correcting our belief, it is necessary to do the things which the Shariat commands. Rasulullah 'sall-Allahu alaihi wa sallam' declared: "The building of Islam has been constructed upon five pillars. The first of them is to say, "Ash-hadu an la ilaha illallah wa ashhadu anna Muhammadan abduhu wa Rasuluh' and to believe its meaning." The meaning of this word of Shahadat is: "I know and believe as if I saw that there is no god, nobody besides Allahu ta'ala, whose existence is necessary and who is worth worshipping and obeying. I know and believe as if I saw that Muhammad (alaihissalam) is both a born servant and the Prophet of Allahu ta'ala. 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'ala. 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 Shahadat and its meaning. Then he learns how to perform a ghusl and namaz, and then the fards and harams to the extent that is needed.]
The things to be believed in have been written above.
The second pillar of Islam is to perform namaz five times each day, which is a basic pillar of the religion. Namaz is the highest of worships. The most valuable worship after iman is namaz. Like iman, its beauty also is of itself. But the beauty of other worships are not of themselves. We should be very careful to perform namaz correctly. First, we should perform a perfect abdast (ablution), and then we should begin namaz without showing any indolence. We should try to perform it in the best manner in the qiraat (standing and reciting the Qur'an when performing namaz), in ruku' (bowing by putting the hands on the knees, in sajdas (prostrating twice), in qawma (standing upright and motionless after ruku') and in jalsa, (sitting upright and motionless for a moment between the two sajdas) and in its other places. We should understand the tumaninat as necessary, that is, to keep each of our limbs motionless during ruku', sajda, qawma and jalsa. We should perform namaz 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 Targhib-us salat wa taysirul-ahkam, or any other like this one. [Teachings in the book Targhib-us salat wa taysirul-ahkam were collected after extracting them from about one hundred books. The book is in three parts. The first part deals with the fact that namaz 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 Nur-i Osmaniyye.] We should learn the matters of the Shariat by referring to such books. [He who learns the religion from books and magazines 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 Shariat are the books Birghiwi Vasiyetnamesi Sharhi and Amantu Sharhi by Kadizada. Also helpful are the books Mawkufat, Durr-i Yakta Sharhi, Ey Ogul Ilmihali, Mawahib-i Ladunniyya, Majmua-i Zuhdiyya and Miftah-ul Cennet Ilmihali. The book Islam Yolu (The way of Islam) written by Muhammad Atif Effendi of Iskilip, who was a dersiam (lecturer of that time) in Fatih medresesi (school of theology) and the head of a school named 'Ibtida-i dahil 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].

When should not read the book Gulistan or other story books before learning the Ahl as- 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 namaz (namaz performed after midnight) unless there is a necessity. [The namaz 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-Allahu alaihi wa sallam' used to perform tahajjud even during war. He who has omitted prayers of namaz should perform his omitted prayers during the time of tahajjud. Thus he will both pay his debt of omitted prayers and earn the thawab of tahajjud. How to perform the namaz called Tahajjud and other nafila (supererogatory) prayers of namaz is written in our (Turkish) book Islam Ahlaki (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 istighfar, to trust oneself to Allahu ta'ala, 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 istighfar (Astaghfirullah-al-'azim-allazi la ilaha illa huwal-hayy-al-qayyuma wa atubu ilayh) a hundred times and to think of its meaning. [''Azim' means one whose person and attributes are perfect. 'Kabir' means one whose person is perfect. 'Jalil' means one whose attributes are perfect.] One should say it a hundred times after the afternoon prayer [after telling one's tasbihs 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 hadith: "good news to those on whose pages there are many istighfars on the Day of Last Judgement!" Muhammad Mathum-i Faruqi, in the eightieth letter of the second volume, states, "It has been proven by experimentation that reciting istighfars is effective in getting rid of calamities and hardships. It has been reported in a hadith ash-Sharif that saying istighfar 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 rakats of namaz. The namaz of tahajjud or duha (forenoon) is of twelve rakats at most. [In supererogatory prayers of namaz, you should say salam after two rakats at night and after four rakats during the day.]

After performing each fard namaz, you should try to recite the Ayat-ul-Kursi [see article 31]. Our Beloved Prophet (saw) said, "Between Paradise and the person who recites the Ayat al-Kursi after fard namaz, there is no obstacle besides death." After each of the five times of namaz every day, you should silently say the word tanzih (SubhanAllah) thirty-three times, the word tahmid (Alhamdulillah) thirty-three times, the word takbir (Allahu akbar) thirty- three times and a certain prayer (La ilaha illallahu wahdahu la sharika-lah, lahu-l-mulku wa lahu-l-hamdu yuhyi wa yumitu wa huwa 'ala kulli shay'in Qadir) once; all of them add up to a hundred. [See article 31].

You should say "SubhanAllahi wa bi hamdihi" 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, (Allahumma ma asbaha bi min nimatin aw bi-ahadin min khalqika, fa minka wahdaka, la sharika laka, fa laka-l-hamdu wa laka-sh-shukr) by substituting (ma amsa) for (ma asbaha) in the evenings, which the Beloved Prophet Salla Allahu Alayhi wa Sallam has prescribed. Our Beloved Prophet (saw) 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 Islam is to give the zakat of one's property. It is certainly necessary to give Zakaat. You should give Zakaat willingly to the persons whom the Shariat commands you to give it to.

Allahu ta'ala, 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 Zakaat which has been given, and I will bless you with using it at useful occasions. As for the property of the Zakaat 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'ala is caused by a sickness in the heart. A sickness in the heart means that it does not believe in the Shariat thoroughly. To be a Believer, it is not enough only to express the word Shahadat (Ash hadu an la...). Munafiqs (those who pretend to be Muslims though being disbelievers) also express it. The sign of the existence of iman in the heart is to do the commands of the Shariat willingly. To give one gold coin to a poor Muslim with the intention of Zakaat is more blessed than giving a hundred thousand gold coins as alms because to give Zakaat is to obey the Shariat's command. But those that are given without the intention of Zakaat 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 Salaats. Performing the supererogatory Salaats, [supererogatory pilgrimage, and umra] are made to appear more beautiful. Also, by misrepresenting supererogatory deeds and actions as beautiful, he prevents them from giving Zakaat. [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 Islam is to fast every day in the holy month of Ramadan. We should be sure to fast every day in the blessed month of Ramadan. We should not miss this important fard for any reason. Our Prophet (SAW) 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 Shariat are obstinate born servants and perverse, disobedient agents; they must be punished.

The fifth principle of Islam is the Hajj [once in a life, to go to the city of MAKKAH 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 Hadith ash-Sharif: "An accepted Hajj does away with one's past sins."

He who wants to escape Hell should learn very well what is halal and what is haram and should earn from the halal and abstain from the haram. He should avoid the things which the bringer of the Shariat (Rasulullah) has prohibited. He should not go beyond the limits of the Shariat. 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 Shariat, 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 ayat 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 Shariat, we should enrich our time with dhikr-i ilahi (mentioning Allah's name); we should not live one moment without remembering Allahu ta'ala. While the body, the hands and feet are busy with worldly affairs, the heart should always be with Him, getting flavor from remembering Him. This great fortune falls to anybody's lot in a short time who is on the way shown by our superiors. Alhamdulillah, 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'ala. 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 iman will not fall to one's lot. It will not be easy to carry out the commandments and the prohibitions of the Shariat.

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'ala. 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 "Huy!" or to dance and whirl. Many things have been made up under the name of tariqat for a hundred years [see articles 35 and 40]. The way of the great men of religion, of the murshids of tasawwuf, of the Ashab-i kiram 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 Darwish convent left in which the haram and the Shiism have not asserted themselves. Today, there are almost no real savants of tasawwuf either in Istanbul, in Anatolia, or in Egypt, Iraq, Iran, Syria, Hijaz or Pakistan, that is, in any of the Islamic countries. False and counterfeit murshids, those members of a tariqat 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 tariqat, shaikhs, murids; but we should avoid them.]

We should eat food not for pleasure or flavor, 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'ala 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 namaz. Allahu ta'ala declares in the Qur'an: "When performing each namaz, wear your adorned, clean, and favorite clothes!" We should not wear our clothes for ostentation in front of others; this is a sin. [Ibni Abidin, while explaining the makruhs in fasting, says that it is mubah 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 Shariat. Then each of one's limbs and one's heart will turn towards Allahu ta'ala. 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 worshipping. Our Prophet (SAW) declared: "A savants' 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 Shariat's commands. But, Allahu ta'ala sent the Shariat in order to abolish corrupt customs, loathsome fashions, and to tranquilize the madnesses of the nafs-i-ammara, such as egoism and self-respect. Yet, if it falls to your lot to remember Allahu ta'ala's name continuously through the heart, if you perform namaz five times each day without being slack by observing its conditions, and if you are careful about the halal and the haram 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'ala 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 Shariat and who do not do their duties as worshippers.

[In the one hundred and fortieth letter of the second volume, Muhammad Mathum Sarhandi (rahmat-Allahi 'alaih) says, "In a hadith al-qudsi it was stated: 'He who opposes any of my born servants who are Awliya 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 nafila 'ibadat. 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 hadith al-qudsi 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 Hadiqa, on the one hundred and sixty-fifth page of the Turkish book Kiyamat ve Ahiret, and also on the sixty-second page of the book The Sunni Path. The qurb (that is, to approach Allahu ta'ala) which come forth with fards, is more than the qurb which comes from the nafilas. But, the fards of taqwa owners when done with ikhlas cause qurb. Ikhlas means to do the worships because Allahu ta'ala commands them. Every Sunni Muslim has an amount of ikhlas. Depending on his taqwa and worshipping, pieces of information pertaining to heart and called fayd (fayz) will come to his heart. If he receives these fayds, which emanate from a Wali's heart, his ikhlas will grow stronger in a short time. Taqwa is to hate the harams and even not to think about doing a haram. It means a case of spiritual closeness to Allahu ta'ala, and to obtain His consent, and being loved by Him. [See the last paragraphs of the section Final Word of Se'adet-i Ebediyye in this book.]

The Nurs and Fayds, which Allahu ta'ala sends to Believers' hearts, will come more profusely to those who have stronger Taqwa and who worship more. In other words, there will be an increase in such people's aptitude and tendency to receive fayd. Fayds emanate from Sayyiduna Rasulullah's (saw) blessed heart. Receiving the fayds coming requires loving Sayyiduna Rasulullah (saw). And loving Him, in its turn, requires learning his knowledge, beautiful moral properties, miracles and perfections. If Sayyiduna Rasulullah Salla Allahu Alayhi wa Sallam, 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 fayd. And it is for this reason that the Ashab al-kiram received more fayd, their hearts were purified from worldly affections and they had ikhlas. The nurs and fayds they attained traveled through the hearts of the Awliya and reached our time. If a person knows a Wali living in his time, loves him, attends his sohbat and ingratiates himself with him, the nurs which emanated from Rasulullah's blessed heart and arrived into the Wali'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 Rabita, that is, imagine the Wali's countenance, face, in which case he will be blessed as if he attained the Wali's sohbat. Mazhar-i-Jan-i-Janan, who was in Delhi, made tawajjuh towards Shah Behik, who was in Kabil (Kabul), and made him attain high grades despite the enormous distance. Hadrat Mazhar-i Jan-i Janan said, "I have attained all my blessings and faids because of my love for my masters. Can our defective ibadat be a means for our getting closer to Allahu ta'ala?" In order to get closer to Allahu ta'ala humans must perform ibadat with ikhlas. Ikhlas is possible only by receiving faid from the arifs. A hadith ash-Sharif written in Qunuz ad-daqaiq says, 'Everything has a source. The source of ikhlas and taqwa is the hearts of 'Arifs.' In order to be a wali, that is, to obtain spiritual closeness to Allahu ta'ala, that is, to attain love for Allahu ta'ala, the things that are fard must be performed. The first of the fard things is to have a belief as taught by Ahl as-Sunnat scholars. The second step is to abstain from the things which are haram, to perform the worships which are fard]. 

Chapter-47

47 - THE CREED OF THE AHL AS-SUNNAT

Imam Muhammad al-Ghazzali (rahmat-Allahi 'alaih) wrote in Kimya-yi saadat: "It is fard for a Muslim to know and believe primarily the meaning of the phrase La ilaha ill-Allah, Muhammadun Rasul-Allah. This phrase is calledKalimat at-Tawhid. It is sufficient for every Muslim to believe without any doubt what this phrase means. It is not fard for him to prove it with evidence or to satisfy his mind. Sayyiduna Rasulullah Salla Allahu 'alaihi wa Sallam did not command the Arabs to know or mention the relevant proofs or to search and clarify any possible doubt. He commanded them to believe only and not to doubt. It is enough for everybody also to believe briefly. Yet it is Fard Kifaya that there should exist a few 'alims in every town. It is Wajib for these 'alims to know the proofs, to remove the doubts, and to answer the questions. They are like shepherds for Muslims. On the one hand, they teach them the knowledge of Iman, which is the knowledge of belief, and, on the other hand, they answer the slanders of the enemies of Islam."

"The Qur'an al-Karim stated the meaning of Kalimat at-Tawhid and Rasulullah Salla Allahu 'Alaihi wa Sallam explained what is declared in it. All as-Sahabat al-Kiram learned these explanations and communicated them to those who came after them. The exalted scholars who conveyed to us what the as-Sahabat al-Kiram had communicated, by committing them to their books without making any alterations in them, are called Ahl as-Sunnat. Everybody has to learn the itiqad of the Ahl as-Sunnat and to unite and love one another. The seed of happiness is this itiqad and this unification."

"The 'ulama' of the Ahl as-Sunnat explain the meaning of kalimat at-tawhid as follows: Men were nonexistent. They were created later. They have one Creator. He is the One who has created everything. The Creator is one. He does not have a partner or a likeness. There is no second creator. He has been ever-existent; His existence did not have a beginning. He will be ever-existent; there is no end to His existence. He will not cease to exist. His existence is always necessary. His nonexistence is impossible. His existence is of Himself. He does not need any means. There is nothing that will not need Him. He is the One who creates everything and makes it go on existing. He is not material or a thing. He is not at a place or in any substance. He does not have a shape and cannot be measured. It cannot be asked how He is; when we say 'He,' none of the things which occur to the mind or which we can imagine is He. He is unlike these. All of them are His creatures. He is not like His creatures. He is the creator of everything that occurs to the mind and of every illusion and of every delusion. He is not above, below or at one side. He does not have a place. Every being is below the 'Arsh. And the 'Arsh is under His Power, under His Omnipotence. He is above the 'Arsh. Yet this does not mean that the 'Arsh carries Him. The 'Arsh exists with His Favor and in His Omnipotence. Now He is the same as He way in eternity, in eternal past. He will always be the same in the everlasting future as He had been before creating the 'Arsh. No change occurs in Him. He has His own Attributes. His Attributes called as- Sifat ath-Thubutiyya are eight: Hayat (life) 'Ilm (Omniscience), Sam' (Hearing), Basar (Seeing), Qudra (Omnipotence), Irada (Will), Kalam (Speech, Word) and Takwin (Creativeness). No change ever occurs in these Attributes of His. Change implies deficiency. He has no deficiency or defect. Though He does not resemble any of His creatures, it is possible to know Him in this world as much as He makes Himself known and to see Him in the next world. In the present world He is known without realizing how He is, and in the Hereafter, He will be seen in an incomprehensible way.

"Allahu ta'ala sent Prophets ('alaihimu 's-salam) to His human creatures. Through these great people, He showed His human creatures the deeds that bring happiness and those which cause ruination. The most exalted Prophet is Sayyiduna Muhammad ('alaihi 's-salam), the Last Prophet. He was sent as The Prophet for every person, pious or irreligious, for every place and for every nation on the earth. He is The Prophet for all human beings, angels and genies. In every corner of the world, everybody has to follow him and adapt himself to this exalted Prophet."  [Kimya' as-Saada. Muhammad al-Ghazzali (rahmat-Allahi ta'ala 'alaih) was one of the greatest Islamic scholars. He wrote hundreds of books. All his books are very valuable. He was born in 450/1068 in Tus, i.e. Meshhed, Persia, and passed away there in 505/1111.]

The great scholar and Murshid-i-kamil Sayyid 'Abdulhakim-i Arwasi [He was born in Baskal'a in 1281/1864 and passed away in Ankara in 1362/1943.] (rahmat-Allahi 'alaih) said: "Rasulullah (sall-Allahu 'alaihi wa sallam) had three tasks: the first one was to communicate and make known (tabligh) the rules of the Qur'an al-karim, that is, the knowledge of iman and of ahkam fiqhiyya, to all human beings. Ahkam fiqhiyya is composed of the actions commanded and actions prohibited. His second task was to transmit the spiritual rules of the Qur'an al-karim, the knowledge about Allahu ta'ala Himself and His Attributes, into the hearts of only the highest ones of his Umma. His first task, tabligh, should not be confused with his second task. The la-madhhabi reject the second task. But, Abu Huraira (radi-Allahu 'anh), said, 'I learned two types of knowledge from Rasulullah (sall-Allahu 'alaihi wa sallam). I told you one of them. You would kill me if I divulged the second one. This word of Abu Huraira's is reported in the 267 th and 268 th letters of the Turkish book Mujdeci Mektublar, and also in those books namely Bukhari, Mishkat, and Hadiqa. The third task was carried out upon those Muslims who failed to adhere to the advice and warnings concerning carrying out the ahkam fiqhiyya. Even the use of force is to be applied to get them to obey the ahkam fiqhiyya.

"After Sayyiduna Rasulullah Salla-Allahu 'alaihi wa Sallam, each of the four Khalifas (radi-Allahu 'anhum) accomplished these three tasks perfectly. During the time of Hadrat Hasan (radi- Allahu 'anh), fitnas and bidats increased. Islam had spread out over three continents. The spiritual light of Rasulullah (sall-Allahu 'alaihi wa sallam) had receded away from the earth. The as-Sahabat al-kiram (radi-Allahu 'anhum) had decreased in number. Later, no one was able to do all these three tasks together by himself. Therefore, these tasks were undertaken by three groups of people. The task of communicating iman and ahkam fiqhiyya was assigned to religious leaders called mujtahids. Amongst these mujtahids, those who communicated iman were called mutakallimun, and those who communicated fiqh were called fuqaha. The second task, that is, making those willing Muslims understand the spiritual rules of Qur'an al-karim, was assigned to the Twelve Imams of Ahl al-Bayt (rahmat-Allahi ta'ala 'alaihim) and to great men of tasawwuf. Sirri (Sari) as-Saqati (d. 251 in Baghdad) and al-Junaid al-Baghdadi (b. 207/821 and d. 298/911 in Baghdad) were two of them (rahmat-Allahu ta'ala 'alaihima).

[Scholars of Ahl-as-sunnat, learning this second task of our master the Messenger of Allah from the Twelve Imams, established the (branch of) knowledge (called) Tasawwuf. Some people do not believe in the Awliya, in karamats, in Tasawwuf. This denial of theirs indicates that they have nothing to do with the Twelve Imams. If hey had been following the way taught by the Ahl al-bayt, they would have learned this second task of Rasulullah from the Twelve Imams and scholars of Tasawwuf, Walis would have been educated among them. Not only were no such people educated among them, but also they do not believe in the existence of such people. As it is seen, the Twelve Imams are the imams of the Ahl al- bayt. And the people who love the Ahl al-bayt and follow the Twelve Imams are the Ahl as-sunnat. For being an Islamic scholar it is necessary to be an inheritor of the Messenger of Allah in these two tasks of his. In other words, it is necessary to become specialized in both these two branches of knowledge. Abd-ul-Ghani Nabulusi, one of such great scholars, quotes the hadith ash-Sharifs showing the spiritual principles taught in Qur'an al-karim on the two hundred and thirty-third and later pages, and also on the six hundred and forty-ninth page of his book Hadiqat-un-nadiyya, and writes that denying this fact is sheer ignorance and lack of good luck.]

"The third task, having the rules of the religion done by force and authority, was assigned to sultans, i.e. governments. The sections of the first class were called madhhabs. Sections of the second one were called Tariqas, and the third one was called huquq (laws). Madhhabs that define iman are called madhhabs in itiqad. Our Beloved Prophet Salla Allahu ta'ala 'alaihi wa Sallam had prophesied that Muslims would part into seventy-three groups in respect to iman, and that only one of them would be right and the others wrong. And so it happened. The group that was given the good news of being on the right path is called the Ahl as-Sunnat wal-Jama'at. The remaining seventy-two groups, which were declared to be wrong, are called the groups of bidat, that is, heretics. None of them are disbelievers. All of them are Muslims. But, if a Muslim who says he belongs to one of the seventy-two groups disbelieves any information that has been declared clearly in the Qur'an al-Karim and the Hadith ash-Sharif and that has spread among the Muslims, he becomes a disbeliever. There are many people today who, while carrying Muslim names, have already dissented from the madhhab of the Ahl as-Sunnat and have become heretics or non- Muslims." This is the end of our quotation from Abdulhakim Effendi.

Muslims have to keep on learning from birth to death. The knowledge which Muslims have to learn is called al-'Ulum al-Islamiyya (Islamic sciences), which consist of two parts: (1) al-Ulum an-Naqliyya; (2) al-'Ulum al-'Aqliyya.

1) Al-'Ulum an-naqliyya (also called 'religious sciences'): These sciences are acquired by reading books of the 'Ulama' of the Ahl as-Sunnat. The 'Ulama' of Islam derived these sciences from four main sources. These four sources are called al-Adillat ash-Shariyya. They are al-Qur'an al-Karim, al-Hadith ash-Sharif, Ijma al-Umma and Qiyas al-Fuqaha'.

Religious sciences consist of eight main branches:

i) 'ilm at-tafsir (the science of the interpretation of the Qur'an al-Karim). A specialist in this branch is called Mufassir. He is a profoundly learned scholar able to understand what Allahu ta'ala means in His Word.

ii) 'Ilm al-Usul al-Hadith. This branch deals with the classification of Hadiths. The different kinds of Hadiths are explained in Endless Bliss (second fascicle, sixth chapter.)

iii) 'Ilm al-Hadith. This branch studies minutely the utterances (Hadith), behavior (Sunnat) and manners (Hals) of our Beloved Prophet Salla-Allahu Ta'ala 'Alaihi wa Sallam.

iv) 'ilm al-usul al-kalam. This branch studies the methods by which 'ilm al-kalam is derived from al-Qur'an al-Karim and al-Hadith ash-Sharif.

v) 'Ilm al-Kalam. This branch covers the study of the kalimat at-tawhid and the kalimat ash-shahada and the six fundamentals of iman which depend on them. These are the teachings to be believed by the heart. The scholars of Kalam usually wrote 'Ilm al-Usul al-Kalam and 'Ilm al-Kalam together. Therefore, the layman takes these two branches of knowledge as one single branch.

vi) 'Ilm al-Usul al-Fiqh. This branch studies the derivation of the methods of fiqh from the Qur'an al-Karim and the Hadith ash-Sharif.

vii) 'Ilm al-Fiqh. This branch studies afal al-Mukallafin, that is, it tells how those who are sane and pubescent should act on matters concerning the body. This is the knowledge necessary for the body. Afal al-mukallafin has eight categories: fard, wajib, sunnat, mustahab, mubah, haram, makruh and mufsid. However, they can be briefly classified into three groups: actions commanded, actions prohibited and actions permitted (mubah).

viii) 'Ilm at-Tasawwuf. This branch is also called 'ilm al-akhlaq (ethics). It describes not only the things we should do and should not do with the heart but also helps the belief to be heartfelt, makes it easy for Muslims to carry out their duties as taught in 'ilm al-fiqh and helps one attain marifa.

It is Fard 'ain for every Muslim, man or woman, to learn kalam, fiqh and tasawwuf as much as is necessary out of these eight branches, and it is a crime, a sin, not to learn them. [Al-Hadiqa, p. 323, and in preface to Radd al-mukhtar.]

2) Al-'Ulum al-'aqliyya (also called 'experimental sciences'): These sciences are divided into two groups: technical sciences and literary sciences. It is Fard kifaya for Muslims to learn these sciences. As for Islamic sciences, it is Fard 'ain to learn them as much as is necessary. To learn more than is necessary, that is, to become specialized, in Islamic sciences is Fard kifaya. If there is no alim who knows these sciences in a town, all of its inhabitants and the government authorities are sinful.

Religious teachings do not change in the course of time. It is an unexcusable crime to go wrong as a result of reasoning and erroneous thinking on 'Ilm al-Kalam. In matters pertaining to Fiqh, the variations and facilities shown by Islam can be made use of when one has the excuses permitted by Islam. It is never permissible to make alterations or to make reforms in religious matters with one's own opinion or point of view. It causes one to go out of Islam. Change, improvement and progress in al-'Ulum al-'aqliyya are permissible. It is necessary to develope them by searching, finding and learning them from non-Muslims, too.

The following article is quoted from the book Al-majmu'at az-Zuhdiyya. The book was complied by an ex-Minister of Education as-Sayyad Ahmad Zuhdu Pasha (rahmat-Allahi ta'ala 'alaih):

"The word 'Fiqh', when used in Arabic in the form of 'faqiha yafqahu', that is, in the fourth category, means 'to know, to understand.' When it is used in the fifth category, it means 'to know, to understand Islam.' A Scholar in 'Ilm al-Fiqh is called faqih. 'Ilm al-Fiqh deals with the actions which people should do and those which they should not do. The knowledge of fiqh is obtained from the Qur'an al-Karim, the Hadith ash-Sharif, Ijma' and Qiyas. The consensus of the as-Sahabat al-Kiram and the mujtahids, who came after them, is called ijma' al-Umma. The rules of the religion derived from the Qur'an al-Karim, the Hadith ash- Sharif and Ijma' al-Umma are called qiyas al-fuqaha'. If it could not be understood from the Qur'an al-Karim or the Hadith ash-Sharif whether an action was halal (permitted) or haram (forbidden), then this action was compared to another action which was known. This comparison was called qiyas. Applying qiyas required the latter action to have the same factor which made the former action permitted or forbidden. And this could be judged only by those profound 'ulama' who had attained the grade of Ijtihad.

" 'Ilm al-Fiqh is very extensive. It has four main divisions:

i) 'Ibadat, composed of five subdivisions: Salaat (Namaaz), Sawn (Fast), Zakaat, Hajj, Jihad. Each has many sections. As it is seen, it is an 'ibada to make preparations for jihad. Our Beloved Prophet (Salla-Allahu 'alaihi wa Sallam) said that jihad against the enemies of Islam was of two kinds: by actions and by words. It is fard to learn how to make and use new weapons in preparation for jihad by actions. Jihad is done by the State. It is fard for the people to join in the jihad by obeying the State laws and orders. Nowadays, the attacks of our enemies through publications, motion pictures, radio broadcast and every means of propaganda - the second kind of war - has tremendously increased, and it is also a jihad to stand against the enemies in this field.

ii) munakahat, composed of subdivisions, such as marriage, divorce, alimony and many others [written in detail in our book Se'adet-i Ebediyye].

iii) muamalat, composed of many subdivisions, such as purchase, sale, rent, joint- ownership, interest, inheritance, etc.

iv) 'uqubat (penal code), composed of five main subdivisions: qisas (lex talionis), sirqa (theft), zina (fornication and adultery), qadhf (forgery) and ridda (case of becoming an apostate).

"It is Fard for every Muslim to learn the 'ibadat section of fiqh briefly. It is fard kifaya to learn munakahat and muamalat, in other words, those who have anything to do with them should learn them. After 'ilm at-tafsir, 'ilm al-hadith and 'ilm al-kalam, the most honorable ilm is 'ilm al-fiqh. The following six Hadiths will be enough to indicate the honor of Fiqh and the faqih 'rahmatullahi ta'ala alaihim ajmain':

'If Allahu ta'ala wants to do a favor for a servant of His, He makes a faqih of him.'

'If a person becomes a faqih, Allahu ta'ala sends what he wishes and his sustenance from unexpected sources.'

'The person about whom Allahu ta'ala says 'most superior' is a faqih in the religion.'

'Against Satan, a faqih is stronger than one thousand 'abids (those who worship much).'

'Everything has a pillar to base itself upon. The basic pillar of the religion is the knowledge of Fiqh.'

'The best and most valuable 'Ibadat is to learn and teach Fiqh.'

The superiority of al-Imam al-A'zam Abu Hanifa (rahmat-Allahi ta'ala 'alaih) is understood also from these hadiths.

The rules of Islam in the Hanafi madhhab were transmitted through a chain beginning with 'Abdullah ibn Masud (radi-Allahu anh), who was a Sahabi. Al-Imam al-A'zam Abu Hanifa (rahmat-Allahi ta'ala 'alaih), the founder of the madhhab, acquired the knowledge of fiqh from Hammad, and Hammad from Ibrahim an-Nakhai. An-Nakhai learnt it from Alqama and Alqama, learnt it from Abdullah ibn Masud, who learnt it from Rasulullah (sall-Allahu 'alaihi wa sallam).

Abu Yusuf, Imam Muhammad ash-Shaibani, Zufar ibn Hudhail and Hasan ibn Ziyad were al-Imam al-azam's disciples (rahimahum-Allah). Of these, Imam Muhammad wrote about one thousand books on Islamic teachings. He was born in 135 A.H. (752) and passed away in Rayy, Iran, in 189 (805). Because he was married to the mother of al-Imam ash-Shafi'i, one of his disciples, ash-Shafi'i inherited his books upon his death, thus his knowledge increased. For this reason, al-Imam ash-Shafi'i (rahmat-Allahi ta'ala 'alaih) said, 'I swear that my knowledge of fiqh has increased by reading Imam Muhammad's books. Those who want to deepen their knowledge of fiqh should be in the company of the disciples of Abu Hanifa.' And once he said, 'All Muslims are like the household children of al-Imam al-A'zam.' That is, as a man earns a living for his wife and children, al-Imam al-A'zam took it upon himself to find out the religious knowledge which people needed in their affairs. Thus, he spared the Muslims from a lot of work.

Al-Imam al-A'zam Abu Hanifa (rahmat-Allahi 'alaih) compiled the knowledge of fiqh, classified it into branches and sub-branches and set usuls (methods) for it, and also collected the knowledge of itiqad, as Sayyiduna Rasulullah (Salla-Allahu 'alaihi wa Sallam) and the as- Sahabat al-Kiram (ridwan-Allahi 'alaihim ajmain) had preached, and taught them to thousands of his disciples. Some of his disciples became specialists in 'ilm al-kalam, that is, in the teachings of iman. Of them, Abu Bakr al-Jurjani, one of Imam Muhammad ash- Shaibani's disciples, became famous. And Abu Nasr al-'Iyad, one of his pupils, educated Abu Mansur al-Maturidi in 'ilm al-kalam. Abu Mansur wrote in his books the knowledge of kalam taught by al-Imam al-A'zam (rahmat-Allahi ta'ala 'alaih). By contending against heretics, he consolidated the itiqad of the Ahl as-Sunnat. He spread it far and wide. He passed away in Samarkand in 333 A.H. (944). This great alim and another alim Abul- Hasan al-Ashari, are called the imams of the madhhabs of itiqad of the Ahl as-Sunnat.

The fiqh scholars are grouped in seven grades. Kamal Pasha Zada Ahmad ibn Sulaiman Effendi (rahmat-Allahi ta'ala 'alaih), in his work Waqf an-niyya, explained these seven grades as follows:

1. The mujtahids of Islam constructed the methods and the principles of deriving rules from the four sources of the religion (al-adillat ash-Shariyya) and thus derived rules. The four aimmat al-madhahib were of these.

2. The mujtahids in a madhhab, following the principles formulated by the imam of the madhhab, derived rules from the four sources. They were Imam Abu Yusuf, Imam Muhammad, etc. (rahmat-Allahi ta'ala 'alaihim ajmain).

3. The mujtahids of matters (masala), for the matters that were not dealt with by the founder of the madhhab, derived rules by using the methods and principles of the madhhab. Yet in doing this, they had to follow the imam. They were at-Tahawi (238-321 A.H., in Egypt), Hassaf Ahmad ibn 'Umar (d. 261, in Baghdad), 'Abdullah ibn Husain al-Karkhi (340), Shams al-aimma al-Halwani (456, in Bukhara), Shams al-aimma as-Sarahsi (483), Fakhr al-Islam 'Ali ibn Muhammad al-Pazdawi (400-482, in Samarkand), Qadi-Khan Hasan ibn Mansur al-Farghani (592), etc. (rahmat-Allahi ta'ala 'alaihim ajmain).

4. Ashab at-takhrij were not able to employ ijtihad. They were the scholars who explained brief, unclear rules derived by mujtahids. Husam ad-din ar-Razi 'Ali ibn Ahmad (d. 593 A.H., in Damascus) was one of them. He (rahmat-Allahi ta'ala 'alaih) wrote a commentary to Al-Quduri.

5. The arbab at-tarjih selected one of several riwayas (narrations or the opinions of mujtahids as narrated) coming from mujtahids. They were Abul'-Hasan al-Quduri (362-428 A.H., in Baghdad) and Burhan ad-din 'Ali al-Marghinani (rahmat-Allahi ta'ala 'alaiha), the author of Al-hidaya, who was martyred by the soldiers' of Genghis in the Bukhara Massacre in 593 A.H. (1198).

6. Certain muqallids wrote various riwayas about a matter in an order with respect to their reliability. They did not include any refused riwaya in their books. Abu 'l-Barakat 'Abdullah ibn 'Ahmad an-Nasafi (d. 710 A.H.), the author of Kanz ad-daqaiq; 'Abdullah ibn Mahmud al-Musuli (d. 683), the author of Mukhtar; Burhan ash-Sharia Mahmud ibn Sadr ash-Sharia 'Ubaid-Allah (d. 673), the author of Al-wiqaya; and Ibn as-Sa'atee Ahmad ibn 'Ali al-Baghdadi (d. 694), the author of Majma' al-bahrain, are of these (rahmat-Allahi ta'ala 'alaihim ajmain).

7. Muqallids incapable of distinguishing weak riwayas from genuine ones. These were counted among fiqh scholars because they were able to understand what they read and explained it to the muqallids who could not understand.

Chapter-48

48 - THIRD VOLUME, 34 th LETTER

Iman, worships and the haram

This letter, written to the mother of Mir Muhammad Numan, gives some advice.

The first advice is to correct the belief in accordance with the tenets which the Ahl as-Sunnat savants teach in their books. For, it is this group only that will be saved from Hell. May Allahu ta'ala give plenty of rewards for the work of those great people! [Scholars of the four Madhhabs who have reached the grade of ijtihad and the great Scholars educated by them are called scholars of Ahl as-Sunnat.] After correcting the belief (Iman), it is necessary to perform the acts of worship communicated in the knowledge of Fiqh, i.e. to do the commandments of the Shariat and to abstain from what it prohibits. One should perform namaz five times each day without reluctance or slackness, observing its conditions and tadil-i arkan.

He who has as much money as nisab [see article 41] should give zakat.

Imam al-A'zam Abu Hanifa (ra) says, "Also, it is necessary to give the Zakaat of gold and silver which women use as ornaments."

A person with iman should not waste his time [playing musical instruments]. He should not waste his precious life even on unnecessary mubahs. It is certainly necessary not to waste it on the haram. We should not busy ourselves with taghanni, singing or songs. We should not be deceived by the pleasure they give our Nafses. These are poisons mixed with honey and covered with sugar.

One should not commit giybat. Giybat is haram. [Giybat means to talk about a Muslim's or a Zimmi's [The Islamic religion recognize two kinds of countries in the world: 1) The Muslim country called "Dar al-Islam"; 2) The country of disbelievers called "Dar-ul-harb," Those disbelievers who live in "Dar-ul-Islam" and who have submitted to pay the jizya [see article 19], are called "ahl-i-zimmat" or 'zimmi." They live comfortably and peacefully possessing Muslims' rights and freedom fully. They perform their worships freely. See our book "The Religion Reformers in Islam," chapter No. 49] secret faults behind his back. It is necessary to tell Muslims about the faults of Harbis [Those disbelievers who live in Dar-ul-harb and who are not under Islam's authority are called "Harbis."] and bidat holders, about the sins of those who commit these crimes in public, about the evil deeds of those who torment Muslims. Such efforts help Muslims to be aware of their harm. Also to reveal those who slander and intentionally misrepresent Islam in their writings is not a sin; this is not giybat (backbiting). Radd al-Mukhtar: 5- 263)].

Namima, that is, gossip, carrying words among Muslims, should not be done. It has been declared that various kinds of torments will be inflicted on those who commit these two kinds of sins. Also, it is haram to lie and to slander; this must be avoided. These two evils were haram in every religion. Their punishments are very heavy. It is very thawab [Muslims will be rewarded in the next world for all their pious actions which they have done in the world. The rewards which Muslims will be given in the next world are called "thawab." The word is used as an adjective as well as a noun. For example, when we say that an action is very thawab, it means that Allah will give many rewards for that action.] to conceal Muslims' defects, not to spread their secret sins and to forgive them. One should pity one's inferiors, those under one's command, [such as, wives, children, students, soldiers] and the poor. One should not reproach them for their faults. One should not hurt or beat or swear at those unfortunate people for trivial reasons. [One should not violate anybody's religion, property, life, honor or chastity, and should pay one's debts to individuals and to the state. It is haram to take or give a bribe. Only, it would not be bribery to give money unwillingly in order to shun being tormented by a cruel ruler or under duress. However, it is haram to accept something offered as such. Everybody should see his own defects, and should every hour think of the faults which he has committed against Allahu ta'ala. He should always bear in mind that Allahu ta'ala does not hurry in punishing him, nor does He cut off his sustenance. [The orders compatible with the Shariat of parents and of the government must be obeyed, but the ones incompatible with the Shariat must not be rejected or opposed outright. We should not cause fitna (discord and trouble). See the 123 rd letter in the second volume of the book Maktubat-i Mathumiyya.]

After correcting the belief and doing the commands of Fiqh, one should spend all one's time remembering Allahu ta'ala. One should continue remembering and mentioning Allahu ta'ala as the great men of religion have communicated. By feeling hostility towards all the things that will prevent the heart from remembering Allahu ta'ala, that is, from Dhikr, one should abstain from them. The more you adhere to the Shariat, the more delicious it will be to remember Him. As indolence and laziness increase while obeying the Shariat, that flavor will gradually decrease, eventually vanishing altogether. [One should not believe the slanders concocted by the enemies of Islam and should be extremely wakeful not to fall into their traps.] What should I write more than what I have written already? It will be enough for a reasonable person. May Allahu ta'ala bless us all with doing the things that will make us attain saadat-i abadiyya!
Amin.

What is sweet besides remembering Him whatsoever;
Is poison for the soul, even if it were sugar!

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Chapter-49

49 - THIRD VOLUME, 35 th LETTER

The value of worship done in youth

This letter, written to Mirza Manu Jahr, gives advice.

May Allahu ta'ala bless you with an auspicious life! Giving you happiness and goodness, He makes you forget about the tragedies that befell on you! My child! When a person is young, the desires of the nafs surround him. The time of youth, however, is the most profitable time for learning knowledge and worshipping. During this time, which is the time when lust and fury invade a person, to carry out one commandment of the Shariat is much more valuable than the same worship which is done when one is old. [Especially if other obstacles join them, the worship which is done by overcoming them will increase the blessings so much that only Allahu ta'ala knows how much.] For the difficulty and trouble in doing a worship against obstacles will exalt the honor of a worship to the skies. Acts of worship that are done easily and without any obstacles to prevent them will remain lower. It is for this reason that the higher ones among men have become higher than the highest ones of angels. This is because man worships among obstacles. But angels obey the commandments without any obstacles. During the time of war, the value of a soldier increases and his one insignificant deed done in combat become more valuable than all his efforts done in the time of peace. The desires of youth are things which the nafs and the Devil like, but they are the enemies of Allahu ta'ala. The things that conform with the Shariat are the things which Allahu ta'ala likes. It is not worthy of wise and intelligent people to please the enemies of Allahu ta'ala, while, by doing so, angering the real owner who gives all blessings. May Allahu ta'ala bless us with doing reasonable actions and protect us against being deceived by the Nafs, by the Devil, or by the sayings and writings of the enemies of religion! [Especially at a time when the irreligious, those who ridicule Muslims, are on the increase, and when propaganda causing Muslim children to deviate from the religion is spreading, little worship will be given much greater rewards, provided that it is correct. Our Beloved Prophet Salla Allahu 'alaihi wa Sallam declared: "O my Ashab! You have come at such a time that you will be destroyed, you will go to Hell, if you do not do one-tenth of Allah's commands, though you do nine-tenths of them! However, there will come such a time that at that time, Muslims will be saved from Hell, if they do one-tenth of the commands and cease from doing nine-tenths of them. How lucky for those with iman at that time."] 

Chapter-50

50 - FIRST VOLUME, 72 nd LETTER

He who wants the next world should not be fond of this world

This letter, written to Khawaja Jihan, states that he who wants the Hereafter should not be fond of this world. It explains how to abandon the world.

May Allahu ta'ala give you salvation and health! It is impossible to obtain the religion together with the world. He who wants to earn the next world should give up this world. At such a time as this, it is not easy to give up this world altogether. At least, it is necessary to give it up nominally, that is, to think of oneself as having given it up. This means to obey the Shariat in doing everything. It is necessary to obey the Shariat in doing everything. It is necessary to obey the Shariat while eating, while drinking, while dressing and while setting up a home. It is necessary not to go beyond the commandments of the Shariat. It is fard to give the Zakaat of gold and silver, of commercial goods and of the quadruped stock animals that graze on the grass and plants in the field. It is certainly necessary to give their Zakaat.

A person who has been ornamented with obeying the Shariat has escaped the harm of this world and has procured the next world. The person who cannot abstain from the world even nominally may be said to be a munafiq. [see article 19] His saying that he has iman will not rescue him in the next world. It only protects his property and his life in this world.

Translation of a Persian couplet:
Well, I have told you the essence of the matter;
Either get annoyed or follow my advice.

Who is that manly, fortunate person who will lend an ear to this right word, despite the striking appearance of this world, its servants, maids, delicious foods, various sherbets, ornamented and attractive dresses and many pleasures?

Translation of a Persian couplet:
The weight of the pearls has deafened your ears,
What can I do, none of my cries and laments he hears.

[The word 'Dunya' (the world) is an Arabic word which is the feminine form of the word 'adna.' That is, it is a superlative noun. Its infinitives is 'dunuw' or 'danaed.' If it comes from the first one it means the closest.' The word 'dunya' in the Ayat al-Karima which purports, "We adorned the closest skies with lights," has this meaning. If it comes from the second one it means 'the worst.' Sometimes it has been used with this second meaning. For example, in the hadith ash-Sharif, "The base, the infamous things are mal'un," it has this second meaning. That is, it means, 'Dunya is mal'un.' Base things are those which are haram and makruh. Property has not been blamed because Allah considers property to be prosperity. An example which will prove this word of ours to be right is the property which Hadrat Ibrahim (salawatullahi 'alaih) had. He was the second highest person among mankind. His cattle, half a million of which were only beef cattle, covered plains and valleys.]

May Allahu ta'ala honour us and you with adapting ourselves to the Shariat of  Hadrat Sayyiduna Muhammad (Alaihis-Salaam)!

Shaykh Mayan Zakariyya is the ex-administrator of finance. He is an Alim [learned] and a virtuous person. He has been in prison for a long time. He is needy and miserable due to his old age, shortage of a livelihood, and long imprisonment. He asks this faqir [Imam al-Rabbani] to visit the headquarters where he is kept so that he may be released. I could not come because of the long distance between us. By taking advantage of our brother Khaja Muhammad Sadiq, I caused you to have a headache from those few words presented by Khaja when he addressed your audience. Insha-Allah the said wretched person will get what is expected of your high kindness and favor, for he is an Alim and he is old. Wa'ssalam awwalan wa akhiran.

Chapter-51

51 - FIRST VOLUME, 137 th LETTER

The greatness and the honour of performing Namaaz

This letter was written to Khaji Khidir from Afghanistan. It explains the honor of performing Namaaz, which can be understood only by superior individuals who have reached the end.

Your precious letter has reached us. Its contents are understood. It is one of the greatest blessings of Allahu ta'ala for one to take pleasure from worshipping and not to find it difficult to do them. Especially to taste the flavour of Namaaz does not fall to the lot of those who have not reached the end. It is only peculiar to them to feel its taste, especially when it is Fard. Those who are close to the end are able to taste the flavour of the supererogatory prayers of Namaaz. But, only those prayers of Namaaz that are Fard are tasted at the end. The supererogatory prayers are tasteless to them; they deem it a great benefit to perform the prayers that are Fard.

Translation of a Persian line:
The work is a great blessing.
On whom will they bestow it?

[Supererogatory prayers of Namaaz are those which are other than the prayers that are Fard or Wajib. The Sunnats of the five prayers of Namaaz and also the prayers other than those that are wajib are all supererogatory. All Sunnats, whether they are muakkad (As we have explained in the initial pages of our book, the actions which the Beloved Prophet Salla Allahu Alayhi wa Sallam used to do as worship and which he omitted from time to time are called "muakkad Sunnat." Those which he never omitted are called "wajib." Wajib is next to Fard, which is, as is known, Allah's command.) or not, are supererogatory. (Durr-ul-mukhtar, Ibni Abidin, Halabi and others)].

The nafs does not have any share in the taste that is experienced from all prayers of namaz. While man is enjoying this taste, his nafs moans and yells. O our Allah! It is such a great rank!

Translation of an Arabic Line:
Those who attained the blessings, let them enjoy it.

It is a great blessing and a real happiness also for us, whose souls are ill, to hear these words.

Translation of Persian Line:
At least, let there be a consolation in our hearts.

Be it known very well that the grade, the rank of namaz in this world is like the exaltedness of seeing Allahu ta'ala in the next world. In the world, the time when man is closest to Allahu ta'ala is the time when he performs Namaaz. And in the next world, the time when he is closest to Allahu ta'ala is the time of Ruyat, that is, when he will see Allahu ta'ala. All kinds of worships in the world are intended to make man capable of performing Namaaz. The real purpose is to perform Namaaz. I wish you endless bliss and infinite blessings. 

Chapter-52

52 - FIRST VOLUME, 304 th LETTER

What is A'mal-i saliha? The importance of Namaaz

This letter is written to Mawlana Abdulhay. It is declared in many parts of the Qur'an al-Karim that those who perform 'A'mal-i saliha (pious deeds) will enter Paradise. This letter explains this and also explains how to thank Allahu ta'ala and describes the mysteries of Namaaz.

After thanking Allahu ta'ala and sending my prayer to the soul of our Beloved Prophet Salla Allahu Alayhi wa Sallam, I ask a blessing on you so that you will attain endless bliss. In many Ayat al-Karimas, Allahu ta'ala declares that those Believers who perform 'Amal-i saliha will enter Paradise. I had been searching for a long time to find out what these pious deeds might be. I had been wondering if they were all pious deeds or only a few of them. If they were all good deeds, no one could do them all. If there were only a few of them, what good deeds were they? Eventually, Allahu ta'ala blessed me with understanding the fact that these pious deeds were the five binding rules, the five basic pillars of Islam. If a person does these five pillars of Islam thoroughly and perfectly, he will most probably be saved from Hell. These are original pious deeds and will protect man against sinning and from doing loathsome actions. As a matter of fact, it is declared in the forty-fifth Ayat of Surat-ul-'Ankabut of the Qur'an al-Karim: "A prayer of Namaaz performed perfectly will certainly protect man against doing fahsha (foul) and munkar (loathsome actions)." If it falls to a person's lot to carry out the five principles of Islam, he has expressed gratitude for the blessings. If he thanks Allah, he will be protected from the torment of Hell. He declares in the hundred and forty-sixth ayat of Surat-un-Nisa: "I will not torment you if you have Iman and thank Me." Then, one should try most willingly to carry out these five principles of Islam.

Of these five, among the ones that have to be done with the involvement of the body, Namaaz is the most important; it is the basic pillar of the religion. One should try not to miss even one of the Adabs of Namaaz [see article 40]. If Namaaz has been performed perfectly, the basic and the greatest pillar of Islam has been erected. The strong rope that will save one from Hell has been caught. May Allahu ta'ala bless us all with performing Namaaz correctly!

When beginning Namaaz, saying "Allahu akbar" means to profess that "Allahu ta'ala does not need the prayer of any of His creatures; He does not need anything in any respect; men's performing namaz does not give Him a benefit." And the Takbirs (saying "Allahu akbar") that are in namaz signify that "We are not capable of doing the worship worthy of Allahu ta'ala." Since the Tasbihs in ruku' (bowing when performing Namaaz) have this same meaning, we are not commanded to say "Allahu akbar" when straightening up after ruku'. However, we are commanded to say it after the Tasbihs of Sajda (prostrating), for Sajda is the lowest grade of humility, inferiority and degradation. By doing this one may suppose that one has worshipped properly and perfectly. In order to protect one against this supposition, it is not only a sunnat to say the Takbir when prostrating and straightening up during these Sajdas, but also we are commanded to say "ala" in the Tasbihs of Sajda. Because Namaaz is the Miraj of a believer, we are commanded to say the words "attahiyyatu..." which our Beloved Prophet Salla Allahu Alayhi wa Sallam was honoured with saying on the Night of Miraj [see article 46]. Then, a person who performs Namaaz should make the Namaaz a Miraj for himself. He should look for the ultimate in closeness to Allahu ta'ala in Namaaz.

Our Beloved Prophet (alaihis-Salam) declared: "The time when man is closest to his Allah is the time when he performs Namaaz." A person who performs Namaaz speaks to his Allah, entreats Him, and sees that everything other than Him is equal to nothing. Therefore, because there will be fear, terror and fright in Namaaz, it has been commanded that we give Salaams twice at the end of namaz so that we might be consoled and relieved. Our Beloved Prophet (saw) commanded, in a Hadith, to recite: "33 Tasbih, 33 Tahmid, 33 Takbir and one Tahlil after every Fard Namaaz." [see article 31]. As far as this humble person understands, the reason for this is that the defects in performing Namaaz are covered with Tasbih. In this way it is professed that not a worthy or perfect worship could be done. Knowing that being blessed with performing namaz is through His help and His making it possible, He is thanked for this great blessing by saying Tahmid. And by saying Takbir, it is professed that no one besides Him is worthy of being worshipped. One should not miss this important Sunnat. [One should not omit the Ayat-ul-Kursi and the Tasbihs even when there is a funeral.

We should learn how to perform Namaaz, the omitted prayers of namaz, and all kinds of religious information from the books of the Ahl as-Sunnat savants; we should not believe the false writings and sweet words of the insidious enemies or of the ignorant.

In Islamic States there used to be Shaykh-ul-Islams, that is heads of religious affairs, and Islamic Muftis. Also, there were times when there used to be State officials called "Mufti." Islamic Muftis and the officials called Muftis should not be mistaken for one another. Islamic Muftis were the savants who taught Allah's commandments and prohibitions, that is, the Shariat. But the State official called Muftis did not know the Shariat themselves. If laws commanded something which Allahu ta'ala had prohibited, they would not say that it was not permissible to do that thing. If laws prohibited something which Allahu ta'ala had commanded, they could not say that it was necessary to do that thing. They would either remain silent or say the opposite. Thus, they would dissent from the religion and drive the Muslims into sins or disbelief. During the times such as when the armies of Genghis invaded Muslims' lands, or during the times of the Fatimids and the Rasulids, and even during the time of the Abbasids, such government officers called Muftis said "permissible" about the haram (forbidden). They even said that the Qur'an was a creature. During the times when those officials caused the religion to be demolished by writing made-up Fatwas, those who remained loyal to the books of Fiqh and to the books teaching the truth about the religion remained on the right way. They thus were able to save their faith.

Fatwa means to communicate if something conforms or not with the Shariat. It is not a fatwa only to say, "It conforms," or, "It is not permissible." It is necessary also to say from which book of Fiqh and from which writing this answer has been derived. The Fatwas that are not conformable with books of fiqh are wrong. It is not permissible to depend on them. Those who read Ayats and Hadiths without learning or knowing Islamic knowledge and who give them meanings according to their own minds and opinions are not called Islamic savants. They can be translators with a knowledge of Arabic like the priests in Beirut. No matter how ornamented and bright their writings and words are, they are worth nothing. Allahu ta'ala does not like or accept the writings and words that are not conformable with what the Ahl as-Sunnat savants understood or with the books of Fiqh which they wrote.

Ibni Abidin, while describing Qadis (judges), says on the three hundred and first page of the fourth volume, "It is not suitable for a sinner to become the Mufti because it is a religious matter to give a Fatwa. The sinner's words cannot be accepted in religious affairs. The case is the same according to the other Madhhabs. It is not permissible to ask such Muftis about anything. Also, according to the unanimity (of savants), it is an essential condition that the Mufti must be a Muslim and sane. The Fatwa of a just and pious lady or of someone dumb (unable to speak) person is acceptable. The Mufti or the judge should give a fatwa according to the words of Imam-i azam Abu Hanifa. It he does not find it clearly in his words, he should take Imam-i Shaibani's words. After him, he should prefer Imam-i Zufar's words, and then Hasan bin Zayyad's. Those Muftis who are Ashab-i tarjih (Mujtahids within a Madhhab) choose the ones with sound documents from among Ijtihads. Those who are not Mujtahids follow the words which these have preferred. The words of the Muftis and judges who do not do so are not acceptable. This comes to mean that in the affairs which are not chosen by Ashab-i tarjih it is necessary to prefer the word of Imam al-A'zam. As it is seen, the Mufti has to be a Mujtahid in a Madhhab. He who is not so is not called a Mufti; he is called a narrator, that is, one who conveys the Fatwa. Conveyors derive the Fatwas from well-known books. These books are called Mutawatir news."]

A Namaaz may be acceptable if it has been performed in full observance of its suhurut and adab (conditions and rules) and if the mistakes in performing it have been compensated for covered by saying the tasbih, tahmid and takbir. Then one should extend thanks (shukr) to Allahu ta'ala for enabling you to perform Namaaz. And lastly, with sincerity, one must declare through one's heart the Kalima-i Tawhid, which indicates that no one other than Him deserves being worshipped. Such a performer becomes one of those who performs Namaaz and who attains salvation. Oh my Allah! For the love of the highest of your Prophets (alaihi wa 'ala alihimussalawatu wattaslimat) make us among those who perform Namaaz and attain salvation!
Amin.

Chapter-53

 QUR'AN AL-KARIM IS THE WORD OF ALLAH

Sirri Pasha (rahmatullahi 'alaih), the Governor of Baghdad, wrote in his book entitled Sirr al-Furqan, on the seventy-fifth page of the first volume of its third edition, which was printed in Istanbul in 1312 A.H.:

A year before writing this book of mine, on a Friday, in Diyar-i Bakr [A city in southeast Turkey.], we were sitting with the notables of the city. The famous priest of Kaldani, Abd-i Yasu', well- known for his profound learning of the Arabic language and of the knowledge of religion, was among us. As I introduced those who were with me to Mehmed Rashid Pasha, the governor of Musul, my guest, I said about Abd-i Yasu: "He is very deep in Arabic literature." So, eloquence became the major topic of our conversation. Later, the subject was changed from language to nationalism. On that occasion, I narrated the conversation which once had taken place between me and a Christian from Beirut. I said that I had asked him, "Everybody boasts about the great personalities of his nation. You are of Arabic origin. If they asked you who was the greatest man of your nation with respect to knowledge, art, and eloquence in establishing a great state, how would you answer?" The Christian from Beirut had immediately answered, "We have to say, Sayyiduna Muhammad Mustufa [alaihissalam]." Then, turning to Abd-i Yasu' I asked, "What would you say if I asked you?"

Abd-i Yasu' said, "Yes, I agree that he is the greatest and the most famous man from among the Arabs with respect to establishing are great state and serving a civilization. But I do not agree that Sayyiduna [Hadrat] Muhammad Salla Allahu Alayhi wa Sallam is the most eloquent of the Arabs because he does not have a work to demonstrate this. If you should put forward the Qur'an, well, you say that the Qur'an is not his word. That the Qur'an is very literary and very eloquent does not mean that he is very literary and eloquent. Yes, he was literary and eloquent. But there were others, too. For example, [Hadrat] Ali's sayings show us the fact that he was like Sayyiduna [Hadrat] Muhammad (saw) in possessing literary talent and eloquence. We all know about the fame of Umruul Qays and Qus bin Saida before Islam. Even Sayyiduna [Hadrat] Muhammad (saw) liked the khutba performed by Qus bin Saida."

Those who listened to his statements began to talk with one another, making some noise. So I got up and said, "For the time being, I will not ask anybody to help me. Easy, please." Everybody was silent. I answered him as follows:

S.P .- At this time, let us put our religious feelings and our bigotry aside, and talk seriously with knowledge! What do you say about the Qur'an! Whose word is the Qur'an al-Karim?

A.Y. - Sayyiduna Muhammad Salla Allahu Alayhi wa Sallam made the Qur'an together with his friends.

S.P. - Recently, after the written order about my governorship was read, you recited an Arabic prayer. If they tell you that somebody else wrote that prayer and gave it to you, will you keep silent?

A.Y. - I will not; I will say that I prepared it.

S.P. - Why?

A.Y. - Because I prepared that prayer.

S.P. - You are right. If a person who wrote a lyrical poem of only five couplets finds out that one of this couplets has been stolen, he will want the thief to be punished. Every person boasts about his own work; isn't it right?

A.Y. - Yes.

S.P. - Is it possible to make a prayer better than that of yours?

A.Y. - Yes, it is.

S.P. - Is there a difference between your prayer and the Qur'an al-Karim with respect to literature and eloquence?

A.Y. - Sure. There is a great deal.

S.P. - Shouldn't great honor be bestowed upon those who wrote a Qur'an with expressions that Arabic men of letters and all men of knowledge, whether they are friends or enemies, cannot convey as the Qur'an al-Karim does, though they strive so hard?

A.Y. - Yes, it should!

S.P. - Does the owner of such a superior work donate it to someone else? Hadrat Sayyiduna Muhammad Salla Allahu Alayhi wa Sallam used to say, "This Qur'an is the word of Allah. If you do not believe it, try to express yourself as well as one of its verses! You cannot!" They were not able to do so, despite their great enmity and their cooperative efforts. Some of them believed it as soon as they saw its literary superiority and its eloquence. And some others admitted it willy- nilly by saying that man could not express it. If Sayyiduna Hadrat Muhammad (saw) had done it together with a few persons, the enemies also would have assembled together and done the same, for there were literary and eloquent people among the disbelievers as there were among the Muslims. Furthermore, while challenging them with it, how can he be said to have silenced his assistants with his property, rank or government, since he did not have any of these? The Qur'an al-Karim was not put forward as a whole as the Tawrat, the Zabur, and the 'Injil were. Then, how can one say that his assistants could not know that this work of theirs would be so valuable, and that later they would repent, but it would be too late? The Qur'an descended slowly over twenty-three years. When each verse was revealed everybody admired it. If he had assistants, could they have kept silent for twenty-three years while seeing that their own work won so much fame and honor, no matter how patient, how devoted they were?"

A.Y. - "The correct statement is that Sayyiduna Muhammad (saw) wrote the Qur'an by himself."

S.P. - "How do you find the Qur'an al-Karim?"

A.Y. - "Very eloquent, very literary and full of great wisdom."

S.P. - "Then he who wrote it should be a sage."

A.Y. - "Yes."

S.P. - "This means to say that Sayyiduna Hadrat Muhammad (saw) was a sage."

A.Y. - "No doubt, he was."

S.P. - "Can a liar be a sage?"

A.Y. - "No."

S.P. - "You say that Muhammad (alaihissalam) was a sage, and also say that he who is a sage will tell the truth. Besides, all Christians must know him as true, because in the big church named Dair-i Za'faran in one of the villages of Mardin, I read the statement, 'Everybody called Sayyiduna [Hadrat] Muhammad Salla Allahu Alayhi wa Sallam the trustworthy Muhammad Salla Allahu Alayhi wa Sallam before His Prophethood, for he was well-known for being truthful', in one of the Arabic copies of The Divine History of Christians. Here, that trustworthy Beloved Muhammad Salla Allahu Alayhi wa Sallam told us, "The Qur'an is not a human word. It is the word of Allah.' What do you say about that? If you say, 'No, I do not believe it,' you will be disbelieving also the fact that he was a sage. If you abide by your word of saying that he was a sage, you will have to believe what he said, too."

A.Y. - "To be more exact, Sayyiduna [Hadrat] Muhammad* Salla Allahu Alayhi wa Sallam was The Prophet. But He was The Prophet of the Arabs only."

S.P. - "Thank you. The clouds of doubt are slipping away and the light of the truth is beginning to shine. You said that he who is divine does not lie. Does a Prophet ever lie? Surely he never does. Then, you have to believe that Sayyiduna Hadrat Muhammad Mustufa Salla Allahu Alayhi wa Sallam is the Prophet for all people and all nations, for he communicates to us, 'I am the Prophet for all human beings and all genies.' What do you say about that?"

Pausing for a few seconds, he got up and went out, and he never came close to me again.

More detailed information about Christianity can be found in the books Herkese Lazim Olan Iman (Iman that is Necessary for Everybody), Islam and Christianity, especially in its chapters under the headings Qur'an al-Karim and the Gospels and The Islamic Religion and Other Religions, and in the book Could not Answer.]

Chapter-54

 Hadrat Isa (as) was human he is not to be worshipped

A committee of Christians from Nejran came to our Master, Sayyiduna Rasulullah Salla Allahu Alaihi wa Sallam'. Nejran is a city between Hijaz and Yaman. They were sixty horsemen, twenty-four of whom were eminent chiefs. Their spokesman was named Abdulmeseeh. A man named Abdulharis bin Alqama was the most learned one among them. He had read about the signs of the latest time's Prophet in the Bible. Yet his aspiration for worldly ranks and ambition for fame would not let him become a Muslim. Being well-known for his knowledge, he was revered by kaisers and obeyed by churches. They arrived in Madinah and entered the Masjid ash-Shareef after the afternoon prayer. They wore adorned priestly garments. It being their time for prayer, they stood for prayer in the Masjid ash-Sharif, and Sayyiduna Rasulullah Salla Allahu Alaihi wa Sallam' said, "Let them pray." They performed their prayer eastward. Their three leaders began to talk. During the conversation, they referred to Isa 'alaihis-salam' now as 'God', then as the 'Son of God', now as 'One of Three Gods.' They called him 'God' "because," they said, 'he resuscitated the dead, cured ill people, informed about the unknown, made birds from mud, breathed life into them and made them fly." He was called the 'Son of God' because "he did not have a father." He was, according to them, "One of Three Gods," because "God Himself uses such expressions as 'We have made,' 'We have created.' If He were one, He would say. 'I have made,' 'I have created,'they said. Sayyiduna Rasulullah Salla Allahu Alaihi wa Sallam' invited them to the (Islamic) religion. He recited a few ayat al-Karimas. They would not believe. "We had believed before you did," they said. Sayyiduna Rasulullah Salla Allahu Alaihi wa Sallam  said, "You are lying! A person who says that Allah has a son cannot have believed." "If he is not the Son of God, then who is his father," they said.

Sayyiduna Rasulullah Salla Allahu Alaihi wa Sallam' stated, "Do not you know? Allahu ta'ala never dies, and He, alone, keeps everything in existence. But Isa 'alaihis-salam' was nonexistent, and he shall cease to exist again."

They said, "Yes, we know."

Rasulullah (saw), "Do not you know? Is there any child which is unlike its father?"

They said, "Every child will resemble its father. [The young of a sheep will be like the sheep].

Rasulullah (saw), "Do not you know? Our Rab (Allahu ta'ala) creates, grows, sustains everything. Yet Isa (alaihis-salam' did not do any of these."

They said, "No, he did not."

Rasulullah (saw), "Our Rab created Isa 'alaihis-salam' as He willed, didn't He?"

They said, "Yes, He did."

Rasulullah (saw), "Our Rab does not eat or drink. No change occurs in Him. Do you know this, too?"

They said, "Yes, we do."

Rasulullah, "Isa 'alaihis-salam' had a mother. He came to the world like any other child. He was fed like other children. He would eat, drink, and dispose of waste matter. You know this, too, don't you?"

They said, "Yes, we do."

Rasulullah (saw), "Then, how could Isa 'alaihis-salam' be as you think he is?"

They could not answer and remained silent for a while. Then they said:

"O Beloved Muhammad 'alaihis-salam'! Don't you say that Jesus is 'The Word of Allah, and a Soul from Him'?"

Rasulullah (saw) said, "Yes, (I do)."

They said, "Then this will be enough for us," and resumed their stubborn stance.

Upon this, Allahu ta'ala ordered (Rasulullah) to challenge them to mubahala (cursing one another). So Sayyiduna Rasulullah Salla Allahu Alaihi wa Sallam' said, "If you do not believe me, then come on and let us make mubahala, that is, let us say, 'May Allahu ta'ala damn him who is lying!' This commandment of Allahu ta'ala is cited in the sixty-first Ayat al-Karima of Al-i-'imran sura. One of them, who was named Sharhabil and was called 'Sayyad' by his colleagues, convened them and said, "He evinces all sorts of qualifications that would make him a Prophet. If we made mubahala with him, we would certainly incur a catastrophic scourge that would devastate not only us, but also all our descendants!" So, being afraid to make mubahala, they said, "O Beloved Muhammad Salla Allahu alaihi wa Sallam'! We want to remain friends with you. We will give you whatever you want. Let a trustworthy person among your Sahaba accompany us back home, and we shall give him our taxes."

Our Beloved Prophet Salla Allahu alaihi wa Sallam' stated, "I shall send an extremely trustworthy person along with you." As the Ashab al-Kiram 'alaihimur-ridwan' awaited in submissive silence, eager to know who would be honored with the exalted Prophet's trust, Sayyiduna Rasulullah Salla Allahu Alaihi wa Sallam ordered, "Stand up, o Aba Ubaidah!" Declaring, "This (person) is the (most) trustworthy among my Ummat (Muslims)," he sent him along with them.

A peace treaty was made under the following terms: They were to give two thousand sets of clothing every year. One thousand of them would be given in the (Arabic) month of Rajab, and the remaining one thousand in the month of Safer. Forty dirhams [135 grams] of silver would be added to each set of clothing. Sometime later Abdulmeseeh, their chief, and Sharhabil, their Sayyad, became Muslims and were honored with taking service with Sayyiduna Rasulullah Salla Allahu Alaihi wa Sallam.

The (Holy Bible), which Christians have translated into all languages and spread all over the world, contains the following statements in the fourth verse of the sixth chapter of (Deuteronomy), (fifth book) of the Old Testament: "Harken, o Israeel! Our God, our Rab is One. Let this word of mine settle in thine heart. And teach this to thine sons with care!"

The fifth verse of the forty-fifth chapter of the Book of Esh'iya (saiah) reads as follows: "I am Rab (Allah). There is no Lord besides Me. There is no God but Me. Let those who are in the east and those who are in the west know that there is none except Me. I am the Lord. There is none but Me."

And it is stated in its twenty-second verse: "Worship Me, all of thee! I am Allah, and there is none besides Me."

The thirty-ninth verse of its forty-sixth chapter states: "I am Allah, and there is none else. I am Allah. I do not have a counterpart or a likeness." Christians' Holy Bible says, "Allah is One. There is nothing like Him." They deny their own Book. May Allahu ta'ala give them wisdom and reason! May He bless them with realizing the truth, so that they will stop deceiving themselves and misleading others!

 

Chapter-55

 Isa (as) is a Prophet he is not to be worshipped

Imam-i Fakhr-ud-din Razi 'rahmatullahi alaih', a great Islamic 'Alim, and the author of the book (Tafsir-i kabir) and many other valuable books, gives the following account in his interpretation of the sixty-first Ayat al-Karima of Al-i-'Imran Sura:

I was in the city of Harazm. I heard that a priest had come to the city and was trying to spread Christianity. I went to him. We began to talk. He asked me, "What is the evidence showing that Sayyiduna Hadrat Muhammad 'alaihis-salam' is the Prophet?" ' gave the following answer:

Fakhr-ud-din Razi - As there are narratives reporting that Musa, Isa and other Prophets 'alaihimus- salam' display wonders and miracles, so it has been reported that The Beloved Muhammad Salla Allahu Alayhi wa Sallam displayed miracles. These reports are in forms of narratives. You either accept or refuse reports coming in forms of narratives. If you refuse them and say that a miracle does not prove a person's prophethood, then you should also deny the other Prophets whose miracles have been reported to us through narratives. If you admit the truth of the reports coming through narratives and believe that a person who has displayed miracles is a Prophet, then you should accept also that Sayyiduna Hadrat Muhammad Mustufa Salla Allahu Alayhi wa Sallam is a Prophet. For The Beloved Prophet Muhammad Salla Allahu Alayhi wa Sallam displayed miracles, which have been reported to us through authentic narratives called (Tawatur). Since you believe other Prophets' Prophethood because of the miracles reported through narratives, you should believe that Sayyiduna Muhammad Salla Allahu Alayhi wa Sallam is the Prophet!

The priest - I believe that Isa 'alaihis-salam' is a god, not a Prophet.

[God means mabud (that which, or who, is, or is to be, worshipped). Anything which is worshipped is called a god. The name of Allahu ta'ala is Allah, not God. There is no ilah (god) besides Allahu ta'ala. It would be a very vile mistake to say 'God' instead of 'Allah'].

Fakhr-ud-din Razi - We are talking about prophethood now. We have to settle the question of prophethood before passing on to divinity. Moreover, you are wrong to say that Isa 'alaihis-salam' is a god. For a god has to exist always. Material beings, objects, things that occupy spaces cannot be gods. And Isa 'alaihis-salam' was matter, human. He came into existence from nonexistence and was, according to you, killed. He was a child and grew up. He ate and drank. He spoke as we do. He would go to bed, sleep, wake up, and walk. Like any other human being, he needed a number of things to live. Could a person in need ever be Ghani (who is in possession of everything)? Could something that came into existence from nothing, exist eternally? Could something that changes be everlasting, eternal?

You say that Isa 'alaihis-salam' ran away and hid himself but the Jews arrested him and hanged him. You say that Isa 'alaihis-salam' was very sad then and had recourse to various ways to escape. If he had been a god or if a piece of God had entered him, would not he have defended himself against the Jews and even destroyed them? Why did he feel sad and look for a place to hide himself? I would swear on the name of Allah that this paradox appalls me. How could a reasonable person make or believe these statements? Reason testifies against these statements.

You have three different assertions:

1 - You say that he is a visible, substantial god. To say that the god of the universe is Isa 'alaihis-salam', the substantial god incarnate, would mean to say that the Jews killed the god of the universe, since (you believe that) they killed him (Isa 'alaihis-salam'). In that case the universe must have been deprived of its god, which is impossible. Furthermore, is it possible for a weakling whom the Jews arrested and killed unjustly to have been the god of the universe?

Another fact reported through narratives is that Isa 'alaihis-salam' worshipped Allahu ta'ala very much and was very much fond of praying. If Isa 'alaihis-salam' were a god, he would not worship or pray. For a god will never worship himself. [On the contrary, others will worship him].

This is another evidence showing that the priest is wrong.

2 - You say that God has entered him completely and (therefore) he is the Son of God. This belief is wrong. For God cannot be an object or an attribute. It is impossible for God to enter an object. If God were an object He would enter another object. When something enters an object it will become an object and the components of the two objects will be mixed with each other. And this, in its turn, will mean God's being broken. If God were an attribute, then He would need a space, a place, which would mean God's needing something. And he who needs something cannot be a god. [What was the reason for God's entering Isa 'alaihis-salam'? His entering Isa 'alaihis-salam' without any reason to do so would mean tarjih-i-bi-la murej-jih, which, as we have explained while proving the unity of Allahu ta'ala, is out of the question].

3 - You say that he is not a god but a part of God has entered him and settled in him. If the part which (is supposed to have) entered him were a component part of God, then God should have completely lost His capacity of being God with the departure of that component part. If that part did not have any function in God's being God, then it should not have been a part from God. Hence, God has not entered him.

Now, what is your other evidence to prove that Isa 'alaihis-salam' was a god?

The priest - He is a god because he resuscitated the dead, opened the eyes of people who were blind from birth, and cured the disease called leprosy resulting in itchy patches on the skin. Only God could make such things.

Fakhr-ur-din Razi - Could it be asserted that when there is no evidence for the existence of something it must be nonexistent? If you say that absence of evidence proves non-existence of the thing whose existence would otherwise be inferred from the evidence, it will mean to say that the Creator of the universe did not exist before creating the universe, that is, in the eternal past. And this inference, in its turn, is quite wrong. For the universe [all creatures] is an evidence for the existence of the Creator.

If you say that absence of evidence does not necessarily mean nonexistence of the thing whose existence were to be inferred from the evidence, you will have accepted the existence of the Creator in eternity, when creatures did not exist yet. On the other hand, if you say that God entered Isa 'alaihis-salam' in eternity, when he was nonexistent, you will need evidence to prove it. Otherwise, you will have accepted it without evidence. For Isa 'alaihis-salam' was created afterwards. His nonexistence in eternity shows nonexistence of evidence. Since you believe without evidence that God entered Isa 'alaihis-salam', how do you know He did not enter me, you, animals, plants, stones? Why don't you believe without evidence that He entered all these things?

The priest - It is obvious that God entered Isa 'alaihis-salam' and He did not enter you, me, or other beings. You, I, or other beings did not display such wonders. We infer from this that He entered him, and not us or other beings.

Fakhr-ud-din Razi - You assert that Isa's 'alaihis-salam' displaying miracles is an evidence for God's having entered him. Why do you say that absence of evidence, that is, not displaying miracles, shows that God should not have entered. You cannot say that God will not enter you, me, or other creatures because we do not have wonders or miracles. For we have already proved that absence of evidence does not necessarily mean that something does not exist. Accordingly, God's entering something does not have to do with the appearing of wonders and miracles. Then, you will have to believe also that God has entered me, you, cats, dogs, mice. Now, could a religious system which leads to believing that God has entered these humble creatures ever be a true religion?

It is more difficult to make a viper or a serpent from a rod than it is to resuscitate a dead person. For a rod and a serpent are in no way similar. You believe that Musa 'alaihis-salam' transformed the rod into a viper and yet do not call him 'God' or 'Son of God.' Why do you call Isa 'alaihis-salam' 'God' or ascribe divinity to him?

Unable to find an answer to this argumentation of mine, the priest had to remain silent. This chapter has been translated from the (Turkish) book (Se'adet-i Ebediyye).

O priest! We wish that you explain the belief systems of these two religions to philosophers who do not belong to either religion or to other wise and reasonable people, ask them which of these two religions they find logical, factual and beautiful, and be true to your advice, "One should compare the two religions, and then accept the one which is beautiful," which you suggest in your book (Ghada-ul-mulahazat).

Allahu ta'ala, alone, will grant guidance and assistance.

In order to mislead Muslims and Christianize them, priests wrote many books. The Islamic 'Ulama wrote answers to the lies in these books, and thus protected Muslims from falling into the pit of Christianity. One of these answers is the Turkish book (Izah-ul-Maram), which was written by Abdullah Abdi bin Destan Mustafa 'rahmatullahi alaihima' and was published in Istanbul in 1288 [A.D. 1871]. He was from Manastir (Bitolj), and passed away in 1303 [A.D. 1896].

Chapter-56

56 - HILYA-I SA'ADAT

The appearance and introduction of Rasulullah Salla-Allahu ta'ala 'Alayhi wa Sallam

The shapes of all the visible limbs of our master, Rasulullah, his idiosyncracies, his beautiful manners, his entire life, with all their delicacies, have been written clearly and in detail by savants along with references and documents. These are called siyar books. Of the thousands of siyar books, the one which was written first was Ibni Ishaq's book, Sirat-i Rasulullah, which was elaborated upon under the same title by Ibni Hisham Humairi and reprinted by Westenfeld, a German orientalist. Allahu ta'ala also bestowed upon Muhammad (alaihissalam) all the mujizas (miracles) which He had given to all His anbiya (prophets). Many of them are written in the books al-Mawahib-ul-Ladunniyya (Arabic); Madarij-un-Nubuwwa (Persian); al-Anwar-ul-Muhammadiyya (Arabic), which is the mukhtasar (abridged version) of Mawahib; and Hujjatullahi alal'alamin fi mujizati Sayyad- il-Mursalin (Arabic).

In this booklet of ours, we quoted from the two-volume book entitled al-Mawahib-ul- ladunniyya by Hadrat Imam-i Ahmad Qastalani, one of the great Islamic savants from Egypt. AbdulBaqi Effendi, a Muslim poet, has translated this book from Arabic into Turkish. Out of the whole book, the parts considered necessary for youngsters have been written briefly as follows:

The blessed face and all the blessed limbs and the blessed voice of Fakhr-i kainat (Muhammad Salla Allahu 'alaihi wa Sallam) were more beautiful than the faces and limbs and voices of all people. His blessed face was roundish. When he was cheerful, his blessed face used to shine like the moon. It would be evident by his blessed forehead that he was pleased. Sayyiduna Rasulullah Salla Allahu alaihi wa Sallam' used to see during the night just as well as he saw during the day. He used to see what was behind him just as he saw what was in front of him. Hundreds of events proving this fact are communicated in books. Allahu ta'ala, who creates vision in the eye, is a well potent enough to create it in another organ. When he would look towards one side or look around, he used to turn with all his body and then look. He used to look at the earth more than he looked at the sky. His blessed eyes were large. His blessed eye-lashes were long. There was a certain amount of reddish color in his blessed eyes. The iris of his blessed eye was extremely black. Fakhr-i alam had a broad forehead. His blessed eye-brows were thin. His eye-brows were apart from each other. The vein between his two eyebrows used to swell when he became angry. His blessed nose was extremely beautiful and was a little higher in the middle. His blessed head was great. His blessed mouth was not small. His blessed teeth were white. His blessed front teeth were sparse. When he expressed a word, it used to sound as if haloes (nur) were coming through his teeth. Among the creatures of Allahu ta'ala, no one has been seen with a more eloquent or sweeter speech than his. His blessed words used to be understood easily, pleasing hearts and attracting souls. When he spoke, his words used to string like pearls. Had someone wanted to count his words, it would have been possible to count them. Sometimes, he used to repeat something three times in order that it might be understood well. In Paradise everybody will speak like Sayyiduna Hadrat Muhammad Salla Allahu Alayhi wa Sallam . His blessed voice could reach a distance which no one else's could.

Fakhr-i alam (Salla-Allahu 'alaihi wa Sallam) was affable. He used to smile pleasantly. When he smiled, his blessed teeth used to be seen. When he smiled, his sacred light used to enlighten the walls. His weeping was easy like his smiling. As he never burst out laughing, so he never used to cry loudly, but his blessed eyes would shed tears and the sound of his blessed chest would be heard. He used to weep when thinking of the sins of his Ummat [that is, Muslims], and he used to weep out of fear of Allah. He also wept when he heard the Qur'an al-Karim and, sometimes, when performing Namaaz (ritual prayer).

Fakhr-i alam's (Salla-Allahu 'alaihi wa Sallam) blessed fingers were big. His blessed arms were fleshy. His blessed palms were wide. The scent of his entire body was more odorous than the most beautiful scent. His blessed body was both soft and strong. Anas bin Malik says, "I served Sayyiduna Rasulullah Salla Allahu Alayhi wa Sallam for ten years. His blessed hands were softer than silk. His blessed sweat was more odorous than the most fragrant scent or than any flower. His blessed arms, feet and fingers were long. His blessed toes were big. The bottom of his foot was not too high and was soft. His blessed belly was wide and his chest and his belly did not exceed each other. [They were in the same vertico-frontal plane.] The bone at the point of his shoulder was big. His blessed chest was wide, his qalb-i Shareef (blessed heart) was nazargahi ilahi (a place of Divine Sight).

Sayyiduna Rasulullah (Salla-Allahu 'alaihi wa Sallam) was not too tall, nor was he short. When someone came near him, Rasulullah Salla-Allahu 'alaihi wa Sallam would look taller than the person. When he sat, his blessed shoulders would he higher than all of those who sat down.

His hair and the hairs of his beard were not too curly, nor too straight, but they were undulate from his creation. His blessed hair was long. Formerly he used to have a ringlet of hair in front, later he parted his hair into two. Sometimes he use to grow his blessed hair long, and sometimes he used to have it cut and shortened. He didn't use to dye his hair and beard. When he passed away the white hairs in his hair and beard were less than twenty. He used to trim his blessed moustache. The length and the shape of his moustache were as much as and like his blessed eye brows. He had private barbers in his service. [Also, it is a Sunnat for Muslims to grow their beard as long as a small handful and to cut what is more than this and to trim their moustache.]

Rasulullah (Salla-Allahu 'alaihi wa Sallam) always had his miswak and his comb with him. [A miswak is the twig of the arak tree that grows in Arabia. It is used for brushing the teeth.] He used to look in a mirror when he combed his blessed hair and beard. At nights he used to put kohl in his blessed eyes.

Fakhr-i kainat (Muhammad [Salla Allahu 'alaihi wa Sallam]) used to walk fast while looking down at the ground in front of him. When he went past a place, he would be recognized by his odorous scent.

Fakhr-i alam had a white complexion mixed with red, and was extremely handsome with a blessed and lovable appearance. If a person says that the Beloved Prophet Salla Allahu Alayhi wa Sallam was ugly he becomes a disbeliever.

He (Salla-Allahu 'alaihi wa Sallam) was an Arab. 'Arab' means 'beautiful' in the dictionary. For instance, 'lisan-i arab' means 'beautiful language.' In the geographical sense, 'Arab' means the person who was born on the Arabian Peninsula and who grew up in its climate with its water and food and who is of the blood of its people. As those of Anatolian blood are called Turks, those who are born and raised in Bulgaria are called Bulgarians and those in Germany German; likewise, Rasulullah Salla Allahu Alayhi wa Sallam is an Arab because he was born in Arabia. Arabs, during the time of Rasulullah were white, light-complexioned. Especially the family of our Beloved Prophet (Muhammad) Salla Allahu Alayhi wa Sallam was white and very beautiful. As a matter of fact, his ancestor Hadrat Ibrahim had a white complexion and was the son of a Muslim named Taruh, who was one of the inhabitants of the city of Basra. Azar, who was a disbeliever, was not Hadrat Ibrahim's ('alaihi's-salam) father. He was his uncle and stepfather.

The fame of Rasulullah's 'Salla-Allahu alaihi wa Sallam' father, Abdullah, had spread outward even to Egypt due to his beauty and owing to the blessed light on his forehead; almost two hundred girls had come to Makkah in order to marry him. But, Sayyiduna Hadrat Muhammad's 'Salla-Allahu alaihi wa Sallam' sacred light fell to Amina's lot.

For a century, in Turkey and in many Islamic countries, the Raghaib Kandil is referred to as the night on which Abdullah got married. It is not right to give such a meaning to the Raghaib night. It would mean that Rasulullah honored the world with his presence earlier than nine months, which is a deficiency, a defect. As he was superior to every man in every respect and as he was perfect in every way, so he was perfect and adequate when he enlightened our mother Amina. A deficiency in this gestation time is considered a defect and fault in medical science.

The first Friday night (the night between Thursday and Friday) of Rajab-i Shareef is called the Raghaib Night, for Allahu ta'ala endows raghibats, that is, blessings and gifts, on His human creatures on that night. The prayer done on that night will not be refused and the worships, such as Namaaz, Fasting and Alms, will be rewarded many times more than usual. He (Allah) will forgive those who respect that night.

In the early ages of Islam, and before Islam, it was Haram (forbidden) to war in the months of Rajab, Zilqada, Zilhijja and Muharram. It is written in the eighth paragraph of the second chapter of the book Riyad-un-nasihin, 'It is written in the Tafsirs of Zahidi and Ali Jurjani and in all the Tafsirs that before Islam the Arabs used to change the places of the months in order to be able to make war in the months of Rajab and Muharram by putting them forward or backward. Sayyiduna Rasulullah Salla Allahu Alayhi wa Sallam, when he performed the Farewell Hajj with ninety thousand Muslims in the tenth year of the Hegira, said, "O my Ashab! We are performing the hajj just at its proper time. The sequence of months is just as it was when Allahu ta'ala created it!" In the year when Abdullah got married the places of the months were wrong. The month of Rajab was in the place of Jama'zil'akhar. That is, it was one month ahead. Then, the transition of the Beloved Prophet's Salla Allahu Alayhi wa Sallam  blessed light to our mother Amina is in today's month of Jama'zil'akhar. It is not on the Raghaib Night.

His uncle Abbas and his son Abdullah shared his fair complexion. Also, our Beloved Prophet's Salla Allahu Alayhi wa Sallam descendants until the end of the world will be beautiful and sympathetic. For example, the Amir of Jordan, the late Abdullah, who had been to Istanbul, was such a person. The virtuous Ahmad Makki Effendi, the late mufti of Kadikoy, was a Sayyid (a descendant of the Prophet), and like his ancestors, he was white with black eye-brows, big black eyes, very sympathetic and affable. Rasulullah's Ashab were sympathetic and beautiful, too. Hadrat 'Uthman was white with blond hair. Dihya-i Kelabi, the ambassador whom Rasulullah Salla Allahu Alayhi wa Sallam used to send to the Emperor of Byzantium, Heraclius, was very handsome, and as he went around on the streets of Istanbul, the Byzantine girls used to rush out into the streets in order to see his face. Hadrat Jabrail (Gabriel) usually came in the disguise of Hadrat Dihya (radi-Allahu 'anh).

The natives of Egypt, Damascus, Africa, Sicily and Spain aren't Arabs. But since the Arabs came to these places after having migrated from the Arabian Peninsula in order to spread Islam all over the world, there are Arabs in these lands, too. Likewise, they exist in Anatolia, India and other countries. But, today, none of the citizens of these countries can be called Arabs.

The Arabic language, the one and only language of knowledge and civilization in the Middle Ages and which is, in fact, the most advanced and sophisticated language among the seven hundred and seventy languages used in the world today with its richness in grammar, eloquence and literature, had entered and settled in every countries along with the Islamic civilization. In those times, the French and other European people who had gone to Arabic universities and Muslim schools in Spain for specialization had taken with them many Arabic words, especially technical terms used in knowledge and science, to their countries and mixed them with their own languages. Today, in Western languages, Arabic words are still in use.

In "The Gospel in Many Tongues," published by The British and Foreign Bible Society in London, in 1947, there are a few lines written as examples of each of the seven hundred and seventy languages.

The people of Egypt have a light-brown complexion. The people of Ethiopia (Habashistan, Al-habashatu) are black and are called habashi. The people of Zanzibar (Zanjibar) are called Zanji (negro), and they are also black. It is an act of worship to love and respect our Beloved Prophet's Salla Allahu Alayhi Wa Sallam relatives, the Arabs. Every Muslim loves them. Everybody who came to Asia Minor as guests, introduced themselves as Arabs to us in order to receive respect and kindness, and the credulous Anatolian Muslims believed and loved them. This was because the black and the white weren't looked upon differently in terms of this love. For a Muslim, a black Muslim is better, dearer, and more lovable than a white disbeliever. To be black does not diminish the value of iman (faith) for any person. Some of Rasulullah's Salla Allahu Alayhi wa Sallam Ashab were black even though they were Arabs. Hadrat Bilal-i Habashi and Usama whom the Prophet loved very much were black. But such disbelievers as Abu Lahab and Abu Jahl, whose evil and baseness are known by everybody, were white. Allahu ta'ala evaluates a man not with regard to his color, but with respect to the strength of his iman and taqwa.

However, the enemies of Islam, the Jews, introduced blacks as if they are of a low class and horrible. They used them as slaves. They wanted to wipe out the love existing among Muslims and to break off their relation of brotherhood. On the other hand, by calling black pets such as cats and dogs 'Arab' and by referring to the blacks in their pictures, cartoons, magazines and newspapers as Arabs, they tried to misrepresent the Arabs to our youth as badly as they could in order to alienate Muslim children from our Prophet (Salla Allahu 'alaihi wa Sallam). Today, people living in Arabia, Makkah al-Mukarrama, and Madinah al-Munawwara are the descendants of the foreigners who came in the course of centuries from Africa, Asia, and other places and settled there. Those foreigners were black and were lovers of Allah and Rasulullah. Ayyub Sabri Pasha, 'rahmatullahi alaih', one of Sultan AbdulHamid Khan II's 'rahmatullahi alaih' admirals, writes in his five-volume Turkish book Mirat-ul-haramain that in the entire city of Mecca there are only two Arab homes left. And today, there aren't any. After our Prophet's death, all of his companions and then his descendants moved out of Arabia for jihad, that is, in order to spread Islam all over the world. They spread far into Asia, Africa, Cyprus, Istanbul and, in brief, everywhere. In order to introduce Allah's religion to His human creatures, they fought and they sacrificed their lives. These vast lands are full of those blessed martyrs. They sent their sons to the faculties of Baghdad University, which was at that time the greatest university in the word - and it can be seen in its existing artifacts today that they had experimented and discovered many new things in physics, chemistry, astronomy, geography and mathematics - in order that they might learn knowledge. When Hulaghu, the famous tyrant, and the disbeliever Genghis [Whose real name is Timuchin] Khan's grandson persecuted and killed more than eight hundred thousand Muslims, including women and children, and burned and destroyed Baghdad in 656 (1258 A.C.), only those who hid in wells and those who escaped to Anatolia were able to remain alive. Thus, the descendants of our Master, the Beloved Prophet Salla Allahu Alayhi wa Sallam, and his companions had at that time settled in every part of Anatolia, especially in the East. Today, the intelligent, patient, and studious persons, whom we call Kurds, are all descendants of those blessed people. There are two groups of Kurds. One of them is the descendants of Yafes, Hadrat Nuh's son. This group consists of the rude and ignorant people who in very ancient times came to Asia Minor from Central Asia and who now lead a nomadic life. The historian Xenophon, a pupil of Socrates, writes that he has seen the Kurds in eastern Anatolia. The second group of people who are called Kurds are civilized and polite people living in cities. Almost all of them are the descendants of our Beloved Prophet Salla Allahu Alayhi wa Sallam and of his companions. Imam-i Hasan's descendants are called "Sharif" and Imam-i Husain's descendants are called "Sayyads." Sayyads are higher than Shareefs. During the time of the Ottomans, in Aleppo there was a great court of justice reserved for Sayyads and Shareefs. All their descendants were registered there and liars couldn't claim to be Sayyads. The famous Irisan Beghs, who lived on the land between Van and Hakkari, are the descendants of the Abbasid Khalifas and have multiplied out of a child who had escaped the massacre of Hulaghu. In every part of our country today, there are descendants of the Beloved Prophet's Salla Allahu Alayhi wa Sallam companions and Sayyads. We should appreciate their value and spare no effort to respect them.]

All the beautiful habits were accumulated in Sayyiduna Rasulullah Salla Allahu Alayhi wa Sallam. His beautiful habits were given to him by Allahu ta'ala; he did not acquire them later by striving. He never cursed a Muslim by mentioning his name, nor did he slap anybody with his blessed hand. He never took revenge for himself. He used to avenge for Allah's sake. He used to treat his relatives, companions and servants well and modestly. He was very mild and affable in his home. He used to visit the sick and attend funerals. He used to help his companions with their work and take their children on his lap. Yet his heart wasn't busy with them. His blessed soul was in the world of angels.

Fear would grasp a person who saw Rasulullah Salla-Allahu 'alaihi wa Sallam suddenly. If he hadn't behaved mildly, no one could have sat near him, no one could have had the strength to listen to him, owing to his manners of prophethood. However, out of embarrassment, he himself would never look at anybody in the face with his blessed eyes.

Fakhr-i alam (Salla-Allahu 'alaihi wa Sallam) was the most generous of human beings. He has never been heard to say, "I don't have," about something asked from him. If he had the thing asked for, he gave it; if he didn't have it, he didn't answer. The Prophet had so many great attributes and had done so many favors for so many people that the Byzantine emperors and the Persian shahs could not do enough to compete with him. But he himself liked to live in inconvenience. He led such a life that he would not even remember to eat or drink. He never used words like "Bring something to eat," or "Cook such and such food." He used to eat when they brought the meal to him, and he used to accept whatever fruit they gave him. Sometimes he ate very little for months, and he liked hunger. And sometimes he ate much. He used to eat with three fingers. He didn't drink water after meals. He used to drink water while sitting. When he ate with others, he used to stop eating after everybody had finished. He used to accept presents from everybody. In response to someone who had brought him a present, he used to give much more.

Rasulullah, together with twelve thousand heroes, after departing from Medina on the tenth day of Ramadan, conquered Mecca on Thursday, the twentieth of Ramadan, in the eighth year of the Hegira. On the following day, Friday, when reciting the khutba, he had a black turban around his blessed head. After staying eighteen days in Mecca, he went to Hunayn. He used to let the end of his turban hang down. He used to say, "The turban distinguishes Muslims from disbelievers." It was his habit to wear various clothes. When ambassadors from foreign countries came, he used to adorn himself. That is, he used to wear precious and beautiful clothes and expose his beautiful face. First, he used to have a gold ring, but later he wore a ring with an agete. He used his ring as a seal. "Muhammadun Rasulullah" was written on his ring. It is not permissible for men to wear gold rings in all four madhhabs. His bed was made of leather filled with date tree threads. Sometimes he laid on his bed and sometimes on the leather laid on the ground, on a mat and sometimes on dry soil. He laid on his right side putting his blessed palm under his right cheek.

Sayyiduna Rasulullah (Salla-Allahu 'Alaihi wa Sallam) didn't accept zakat, and he didn't eat such things as raw onions or garlic, and he didn't recite poems.

Sayyiduna Rasul-i Akram (Salla Allahu 'Alaihi wa Sallam) was born in Makkah, in the hegira year 571, on the twelfth of the month of Rabi'ul-Awwal, on a Monday night, which coincides with the twentieth of April, towards morning. Every year, Muslims all over the world celebrate this night as the Mawlid Kandil. Everywhere, Sayyiduna Rasulullah Salla Allahu Alayhi wa Sallam is remembered by reciting Mawlid Qasidas [Eulogy of Mawlid]. The Sultan of Erbil, Abu Said Muzaffar-ud-din Kukburi bin Zaynaddin Ali, used to organize festivals on mawlid nights and used to give gifts and presents. The beautiful character, benevolence and good deeds of the sultan is noted in detail in a history book by Ibni Khilligan, on the 234 th page of Hujjatullahi 'alal'alamin and in a pamphlet entitled Mawlidi Sharif by Sayyad 'Abdulhakim-i Arwasi. 'Mawlid' means 'the time of birth.' 'Rabi'ul-Awwal' means 'the Spring.' Our Beloved Prophet, after he had become the Prophet, used to lay very much stress on this night every year. The ummat of each prophet had made the birthday of their prophet a feast day. And this day is the Muslims' feast day. It is a day of pleasure and happiness. When Hadrat Adam was between soul and body, he (Muhammad) was the Prophet. Hadrat Adam and everything were created for his honor. His blessed name is written in Islamic letters on the Arsh, on skies and heavens. His name Muhammad was given to him by his grandfather, Abdulmuttalib. He had dreamt that (Muhammad's) name would be spread over the world and that everybody would praise and laud him. 'Muhammad' means 'he who is praised much.' Hadrat Jabrail's first coming and informing him of his prophethood, his leaving the city of Makkah  Hegira, his setting foot in the village of Kuba of Madinah-i-Munawwara, his leaving Madinah for the conquest of Makkah his death all took place on Mondays. When he was born, it was discovered that his umbilical cord had been cut and that he had been circumcised. When he honored the earth with his presence, he raised his index finger and prostrated. Angels used to cradle him. He began talking while yet in the cradle. It is said in the annotation Zarqani of Mawahib, "When they got married, Hadrat Abdullah was eighteen and Hadrat Amina was fourteen years old. Hadrat Amina passed away when she was twenty. First he was suckled by his holy mother for nine days, then by Suwayba, a jariya of Abu Lahab, for a few days. Then, Halima-i Sadiyya suckled him for two years. He stayed in the village of Bani Sad bin Bakr for two years; then, when he was four years old, he was brought to the city of Mecca. When he began to walk, he used to watch children play; he wouldn't join the playing. When he was six years old, his mother Amina passed away, and when he was eighth, his grandfather Abdul-muttalib passed away. When he was twenty- five years old, he married Hadrat Hadija 'radi-Allahu anha'. When he was forty years old, in the month of Ramadan on a Monday, as he was in a cave on a mountain that was called Jabal-i-hira and Jabal-i-nur and which was an hour's walk north of the city, the angel appeared to him and he was informed that he was the Prophet for all human beings and genies. First, Hadrat Jabrail came. Then, for three years Hadrat Israfil kept coming to teach him. Yet, Israfil didn't bring the Qur'an al-Karim. Then, Hadrat Jabrail began to come and conveyed all of the Qur'an al-karim in twenty years. Jabrail 'alaihis-salam' came to him twenty-four thousand times. [However, he had descended to Hadrat Adam twelve times, to Hadrat Nuh (Noah) fifty times, to Hadrat Ibrahim forty times, to Hadrat Musa (Moses) four hundred times, and to Hadrat Isa ten times.] He didn't manifest his prophethood for three years, and then, with the command of Allahu ta'ala, he declared it.

When he was fifty-two years old, on the twenty-seventh night of the month of Rajab, in Makkah, Hadrat Jabrail descended and took him from Masjid al-Haram to Masjid al-Aqsa in Jerusalem and thence to heavens. In this Miraj, he saw Allahu ta'ala. On this night, the five times of namaz (ritual prayers) during the day became fard. Please read the last page on the fifth chapter of the second part (of the Turkish version).

When he was fifty-three years old, he migrated to Medina with a divine command. He left his house early in the morning, on Thursday, the twenty-seventh of the month of Safar. He came to Hadrat Abu Bakr Siddiq's RadiAllahuAnho house in the afternoon. After a short time, he and Abu Bakr left the latter's house together. They went to a cave on Mount Sawr, five and a half kilometers south-east of Mecca. The way to this mount, which is 759 meters (about 2530 ft.) above sea level, was very rough. His blessed feet bled. They stayed in the cave for three nights and left it on Monday night. After a week's travel, they arrived at Kuba village near Medina on Monday, the eighth of Rabi'ul-awwal, which coincided with the twentieth of September. It is written in the book of Tafsir entitled Baidawi that after staying here until the twenty-third of September, when day and night are of equal length, they spent the day here and left for Medina on the twelfth of Rabi'ul-awwal, a Friday, arriving in the blessed city on the same day. Later, during the caliphate of 'Umar ul-Faruq, the first day of the month of Muharram of that year, which was sixty-six days before the Hijrat, became the beginning of the Muslims' Hijri Kamari calendar. That first day, according to historians, was in the year 622 A.D. It is written in Ahmad Ziya bey's book Ilm-i Hey'et, printed in 1316 [1898 A.D.], that it corresponds with Friday, the sixteenth of July. The beginning of Muslim's Hijri Shamsi year (Hegira solar calendar) is the day when he entered the village, Kuba, which was the 20th of September. The first day of the year of 623 A.D. was in the first year of the Hegira solar calendar, and lunar calendar.

One solar year contains 365.342 days. And one lunar year contains 354.367 days, that is, 354 days plus eight hours plus 48.5 minutes.

He went to war twenty-seven times, nine times of which he attacked as a soldier, and the other times he occupied the rank of commander-in-chief. He used two types of flags in his holy wars. His Raya was black. His Liwa, which was smaller, was white. We have already explained in the twenty-ninth chapter of the first part (of the Turkish version) that the banner of the Ottoman State was designed by Timurtas Pasha.

In the city of Madinah, he passed away before noon on Monday, Rabi'ul-Awwal 12th, 11 [632 A.D.], when he was 62 or 61, according to the calculations done by using the lunar calendar or the solar calendar, respectively. Without taking his holy shirt off, he was washed three times, was wrapped with a new white shroud folded three times, and was buried where his blessed soul was taken.

Sarwari alam's (Muhammad) blessed eyes used to sleep, but his blessed heart would not sleep. He used to go to bed hungry, but he would feel satiated when he got up. He never yawned. His blessed body was luminous, and he never cast a shadow on the ground. Flies didn't alight on his clothes, nor would mosquitos or other insects suck his blessed blood. When he was made Rasulullah (Allah's Messenger) by Allahu ta'ala, satans could not ascend to the sky and could get news any longer, nor could soothsayers make predictions.

If a person dreams of Rahmatan-lil-alamin 'sall-Allahu alaihi wa sallam', this person certainly has seen him, for the Devil cannot disguise himself as him.

Sarwar-i alam 'sall-Allahu alaihi wa sallam' is now alive in a life we do not understand. His blessed body never rots. An angel stays in his tomb and informs him of the prayers which his Ummat (Muslims) say for him. Between his pulpit and his blessed tomb is a place called Rawda-i-mutahhara. This place is one of the gardens of Paradise.

It is one of the greatest and most valuable of worships to visit his blessed shrine. He said, "My shafaat is certain for him who visits my shrine."

Sarwar-i alam 'sall-Allahu alaihi wa sallam' had three blessed sons and four blessed daughters, eleven blessed wives, twelve uncles and six paternal aunts.

[In order to deceive youngsters, immoral and indecent people, the enemies of religion say that the Prophet 'sall-Allahu alaihi wa sallam' was fond of women and girls, and they insolently slander him by saying and writing very loathsome things which become their abominable souls, but of which we would be ashamed to write in this book of ours. Rasulullah 'sall-Allahu alaihi wa sallam' first got married when he was twenty-five years old; he married Hadrat Khadija. She was forty years old and a widow. But she had much property, beauty, wisdom, knowledge, honor, nobility, chastity and decency. They lived together for twenty-five years, and she passed away three years before the Hegira in the month of Ramadan in Mecca. When she was alive, Rasulullah (sall-Allahu 'alaihi wa sallam) never married another.

Rasulullah 'Salla-Allahu alaihi wa Sallam', secondly, married Hadrat Aisha 'radi-Allahu anha', Hadrat Abu Bakr's daughter, when he was fifty-five years old. He took her under his nikah [religious betrothal in Islam] one year after Hadrat Hadija's death, with the command of Allahu ta'ala, and lived with her for eight years, until he died.

He married all the others after marrying Hadrat Aisha 'radi-Allahu anhunna' and did so either for religious or political reasons or out of mercy or as a blessing. All these women were widows. Most of them were old. For example, when the Meccan disbelievers' persecution and harm to the Muslims had become unbearable, a group of the Prophet's companions migrated to Ethiopia. Najashi (Negus), the Ethiopian emperor, was a Christian. He asked the Muslims several questions, and, admiring the answers he received, he converted to Islam. He did the Muslims many favors. Ubaidullah bin Jahsh, who had a weak belief, in order to escape poverty, submitted to the priests and became a renegade by changing his faith for the world - may Allah protect us. This accursed person, who was Rasulullah's aunt's son, incited and forced his wife, Umm-i Habiba, to dissent from the religion and become rich. Yet, when the woman said that she would rather die than dissent from Hadrat Muhammad's 'sall-Allahu alaihi wa sallam' religion, he divorced her. He waited for her to die out of misery. But he himself died after a short while. Umm-i Habiba was the daughter of Abu Sufyan, who was the commander-in-chief of the Quraish disbelievers in Mecca. Meanwhile, Rasulullah 'sall-Allahu alaihi wa sallam' was busy with a very difficult armed struggle against the Quraish armies, and Abu Sufyan was fighting with his utmost power in order to annihilate Islam. Rasulullah heard of Umm-i Habiba's strength of faith and the dismal happenings which she had undergone. He wrote a letter to Najashi, saying, "I will marry Umm-i Habiba, who is there; perform my nikah! Then send her here!" Najashi had already converted to Islam. He respected the letter very much and gave a feast inviting many Muslims from that area to his palace. The nikah was performed in the seventh year of the Hegira, and he gave many presents and gifts. In this way, Umm-i Habiba attained the reward of her iman and became rich and comfortable there. Owing to her, the Muslims of that area became comfortable, too. Since women will be with their husbands in Paradise, she was given the good news of the highest grade of Paradise. All the pleasures and blessings of this world are almost nothing when compared to this good news. This nikah was one of the reasons contributing to Abu Sufyan's 'radi- Allahu ta'ala anh' being honored with becoming a Muslim afterwards. As it is seen here, this nikah not only shows how wrong and worthless the disbelievers' slanders are, but also indicates the degree of wisdom, intelligence, genius, blessing, and mercy in the Messenger of Allah.

Another example is that of Hadrat Hafsa; Hadrat 'Umar's daughter was widowed. In the third year of the Hegira, when Hadrat 'Umar 'radi-Allahu ta'ala anh' said to Hadrat Abu Bakr and Hadrat 'Uthman 'radi-Allahu anhuma', "Would you marry my daughter?" each of them said, "I'll think about it." One day when all three of them and others were present, Sayyiduna Rasulullah Salla Allahu Alayhi wa Sallam asked, "O 'Umar! I see you are sad. What's the reason?" As it is easy to see the color of ink in a bottle, so Rasulullah Salla Allahu Alayhi wa Sallam used to understand everybody's thought at first glance. He sometimes used to question the person when he deemed it necessary. Since it is fard for us to tell the truth to him and even to others, Hadrat 'Umar answered, "O Rasulallah 'Salla-Allahu alaihi wa Sallam'! I offered my daughter to Abu Bakr and to 'Uthman 'radi-Allahu anhum'. They wouldn't marry her." Rasulullah, because he never wanted his most beloved companion to be hurt, immediately said in order to please him, "O 'Umar! Would you like it if I gave your daughter to a person better than Abu Bakr and 'Uthman 'radi-Allahu anhum'?" 'Umar was astonished. For he knew there was no person higher and better than hadrat Abu Bakr and 'Uthman. He said, "Yes, O Rasulallah." Rasulullah said, "O 'Umar, give your daughter to me!" Thus Hadrat Hafsa became the mother of Abu Bakr, 'Uthman 'radi-Allahu anhum' and of all Muslims; and they became her servants, and Hadrat Abu Bakr, Hadrat 'Umar and Hadrat 'Uthman became closer to one another.

For a third example, let us explain briefly that in the fifth or sixth year of the Hegira, Juwayriyya, who was amongst the hundreds of slaves captured from the tribe of Bani Mustalaq, was the daughter of Haris, the chief of the tribe. When Rasulullah bought, emancipated and married her, all his companions said, "We would be ashamed to use as jariyas and servants the relatives of Rasulullah's wife, our mother." They all emancipated their slaves. This nikah caused hundreds of captives to be emancipated. Hadrat Juwayriyya often mentioned this fact boastfully. Hadrat Aisha used to say, "I haven't seen a woman more auspicious than Juwayriyya."

The fourth example is that of Zaynab-bint-Huzaima (radi-Allahu anha).

Our booklet is too small to allow us to write down the other examples. The first three examples will certainly suffice for him who has wisdom, quick understanding and the capacity to realize the truth. We will state also the fact that though he was the strongest of men in every respect, he lived only with his nine wives. And that lasted a few years. Besides, in those times he was always busy with wars; the days when he stayed home were very few. If it had been as priests write about it or as the dishonest, who suppose he was like themselves, describe it, in his youth he could have had as many women as he wanted by marrying young girls and divorcing them after a short while. As a matter of fact, his grandson, Hadrat Hasan, married almost a hundred pretty young girls by marrying and divorcing them. One day when his father, Imam-i Ali, said in a khutba of his, "O Muslims! Don't give your daughters to my son Hasan! He divorces, drops girls soon." The Muslims said, "We will gladly sacrifice our daughters to him. It will be enough for them to be honored by his nikah (marriage in a manner prescribed by Islam). We will give our daughters to him." In Badr, in Uhud, in Handak and in Khaybar, by attacking a superior enemy with one signal from Rasulullah, those lions sacrificed their lives for him. Wouldn't they have given their daughters to him? Yet, he didn't want them. On the Night of Miraj (his ascent to heaven), when he entered Paradise, he never turned to look at the houris of Paradise. Voltaire, one of the enemies of Islam, dramatized Rasulullah's marrying Hadrat Zaynab and calumniated them with vulgar and base slander. For this reason, he received a letter of congratulation from the Pope, who was his enemy. This fact is written in Kamus- ul-alam, under the entity Zaynab. In a translation of Mawahib-i Ladunniyya, on page 459, it is written, "Rasulullah 'sallallahu alaihi wa sallam' married his aunt's daughter Zaynab to his adopted son Zayd. After a long time, Zayd said that he wanted to divorce his wife. When he was asked 'Why?' he said, 'I have not seen a bad thing in her, and I have always appreciated the useful things from her. But, she boasts about the honor of her lineage and always reminds me of it.' Though Rasulullah said to Zayd, 'Do not divorce her for this reason.' Allahu ta'ala stopped him from preventing this divorce. Allahu ta'ala married Zaynab to his Messenger and ordered him to ask her for marriage." Dawud (alaihissalam) had one hundred wives and three hundred jariyas. Sulaiman (alaihissalam) had three hundred wives and seven hundred jariyas. Voltaire does not even mention the names of these great prophets, but attacks Rasulullah for taking a wife that he was ordered to by Allahu ta'ala.

One of the important reasons why Rasulullah married many wives was to communicate the Shariat. Before the ayat of Hijab was revealed, that is, before women were commanded to veil themselves, women also used to come to Rasulullah to ask and learn what they did not know. When Rasulullah (sallallahu alaihi wa sallam) went to the house of one of them, they used to come and sit, and listen and obtain information. But, after the ayat of Hijab, it was prohibited for na-mahram women and men to sit together and talk, and Rasulullah did not allow na-mahram women to come and ask questions afterwards. He ordered them to ask and to learn from his blessed wife Hadrat Aisha. There were so many women and so many questions that Hadrat Aisha was unable to find time to answer all of them. In order to make this important task easy, and to reduce the weight on Hadrat Aisha, Rasulullah married as many wives as necessary. He communicated to Muslim women hundreds of delicate pieces of information concerning women through his blessed wives. If he had one wife, it would have been difficult, and even impossible, for all the women to learn from her.]

Rasulullah was ummi, that is, he hadn't read books; he was not schooled in writing nor had he received lessons from anyone. Born and raised in Mecca, brought up among certain people, and despite having never traveled, he conveyed information about facts and events in the Tawrat (Hadrat Musa's holy book), in the Injil, and in the books written during the Grecian and Roman centuries. In order to communicate the Shariat, he sent letters to Muslims. In the sixth year of the Hegira, he sent letters to Byzantine, Iranian, and Abyssinian rulers and to other Arabic emperors. More than sixty foreign ambassadors came to his service.

It is wajib for everybody who has heard of Rasulullah's 'sall-Allahu alaihi wa sallam' prophethood to believe in him, the Qur'an, which he brought, and Islam. He who, after having heard, dies without having iman will go into Hell and will be eternally tormented there.

Fakhr-i alam's 'sall-Allahu alaihi wa sallam' names and characteristics were written in the Tawrat and in the Injil. Jews and Christians had been awaiting his honoring the world with his presence. But, because he came not from their own race, but from the Arabs, they became jealous and denied him. However, many of their learned and wise ones were reasonable enough to believe, and they did believe. It will not decrease his value and honor not to believe in his prophethood nor not to appreciate his greatness and superiority. Allahu ta'ala says in Surat al-Inshirah: We exalted (raised high) for you your reputation (name, esteem)" [your name is said together with My name everywhere]. While moving one degree of longitude towards the west, the times of prayer begin four minutes later. Therefore, Muslims all over the world call the Adhan every minute of the day, and his blessed name is mentioned with esteem and love everywhere, all the time.

Unless a person follows Rasulullah 'sall-Allahu alaihi wa sallam' in everything he does, he will not be a Muslim. Unless he loves him more than his own life, his iman will not be complete.

It is stated in the chapter about namaz in Ibni Abidin that it is fard to say the (certain prayer) Salawat (pronounced as a benediction over our Prophet's soul) once in one's lifetime. It is wajib to say it each time one says, hears, reads or writes (his blessed name) for the first time, and it is mustahab to pronounce this blessed benediction whenever the blessed name (of the Prophet) is repeated.

He is the Prophet of all people and genies. It is wajib for every nation living in every century to follow him. Every Muslim should help his religion, adapt himself to his habits, mention his blessed name very often, say salat and salam for him respectfully and with love whenever he mentions or hears his blessed name. A Muslim should want with love to see his blessed beauty, and love and respect the Qur'an and the Shariat, which he brought. The book Mirat-i Kainat says, "Ignorant and lazy people write initials [such as (SAW)] instead of 'Salla Allahu alaihi wa Sallam.' This is not advisable. We should carefully avoid this."

Whoever on Earth can attain by force his goals?
Whatever the divine decree is, it will certainly take place.

Chapter-57

57 FIRST VOLUME, 44 th LETTER

Muhammad (alaihissalam) is the Highest of Mankind

This letter, written to Naqib and Sayyad Shaykh Farid, praises the Best of Mankind (Muhammad alaihissalam) and gives advice to follow him.

Your dear letter, sent out of mercy, honored this poor person at the best time. We were happy to read it. Thanks be to Allahu ta'ala, you have been blessed with the inheritance of Hadrat Muhammad's faqr [The quality of not regarding worldly possessions, not hesitating to give one's possessions away for the cause of Allah.]. This tawajjuh, this love and this adherence towards faqirs ensue from that inheritance. This faqir, who has nothing, is confused about what to write in response. I will make this letter of mine a means for being saved from the torments of the next world, by writing information concerning the superior qualities of your great ancestor, who is the most auspicious of Arabs. I do not attempt to praise our Sayyiduna Rasulullah Salla Allahu Alayhi wa Sallam. Rather, I will enrich my writings with him.

Translation of an Arabic couplet:
To praise Muhammad ('alaihissalam), I'm not able,
With his name, I only make my lines valuable.

Trusting myself to Allahu ta'ala and begging for help from Him, I communicate:

Sayyiduna Hadrat Muhammad Salla Allahu Alayhi wa Sallam is Allahu ta'ala's Messenger. He is the Sayyad, the Master of the sons of Adam. On the last day of the Last Judgement, he is going to have the greatest number of followers. He is the most glorious among the latter and former in front of Allah.

[Sayyad Abdulhakim Arwasi (Qaddasallahu ta'ala sirrahul 'aziz) said, "Every Prophet (salawatullahi ta'ala 'alaihim ajmain) is the highest of his tribe, of his time, in his country, in every respect. As for Hadrat Muhammad ('alaihi's-salam), he is, in every respect, the highest of all classes of beings that have come and that will come in every country in every age from the creation of the world until its end. No person is superior to him in any respect. This is not something impossible for Him to do. He (Allah), who makes whatever He wills and who creates whatever He wants, has created him so. No person has the power to praise him. No person has the capacity to criticize him."]

On the Day of Resurrection, he will rise from the grave first. He will do shafaat first. His shafaat will be accepted first. He will knock on the door of Paradise first. The door will be opened for him at once. In his hand will be a flag called "Liway-i hamd." Adam 'alaihis-salam' and all Believers from his time until the end of the world will be under this flag. He declared in a hadith: "On the Day of Resurrection, I am the Sayyad of the former and the latter. I am telling the truth, I am not boasting." He declared in a hadith: "I am the habib, the darling of Allahu ta'ala. I am the Head of Prophets. I am not boasting." He declared in a hadith: "I am the Last Prophet; I am not boasting. I am Muhammad, the son of Abdullah. Allahu ta'ala created human beings. He created me as the best of human beings. Allahu ta'ala separated human beings into groups [nations, races]. He put me in the best. Then He separated this best group into tribes [societies]. He put me in the best. Then He separated this society into homes. He caused me to be born in the best home [family]. I am the best of mankind. I am from the best family. On the [Day of] Resurrection, when everybody will be silent, I will talk. At a time when nobody can move, I will intercede for people. At such a time when everybody will be utterly hopeless, I will give them good news. That day, I will have the key to every kind of goodness, to every kind of help, and to every door. Liwa-yi hamd will be in my hand. I am the most useful, the most generous, the best of mankind. That day, thousands of servants will be in my service. On the Judgement Day, I will be the leader, the preacher, the intercessor for all prophets. I am not saying these in order to boast. [I am telling the truth. It is my task to tell the truth. If I do not tell you this, I will not have done my duty.] "If it hadn't been for him, Allahu ta'ala would not have created anything. It would not have been revealed that He is the One to be worshipped. When Adam 'alaihis-salam' was between water and earth, [that is, as his clay was being kneaded], he 'Salla-Allahu alaihi wa Sallam' was a Prophet.

He who follows the footsteps of such a noble guide,
Will never give his account, even of committed sins.

A person who believes and follows the footsteps of such a prophet, who is the Sayyad, the most exalted of all mankind, is certainly in the best of the ummats. The hundred and tenth ayat of Surat-u Al-i 'Imran, "You are the most useful, the best of ummats, of those who possess a religion," is good news for such people. Those who do not believe him [those who cannot understand him and who suppose him to be like themselves] are the worst of people. The ninety-eighth ayat of Surat-ut-Tawba, "The stone-hearted, wild and ignorant people will not believe you. They are mostly munafiqs," signifies them. In the present state of the world, those who are honored with obeying his Sunnat-i saniyya [in other words, Islam] are very fortunate. He who believes him and who is of his Ummat will be given many more blessings for a small amount of good deeds. The Ashab-i Kahf 'rahmatullahi alaihim ajmain' [The seven men in the cave of Tarsus] attained high grades by doing one beautiful deed. This deed was: When the enemies of religion spread out everywhere, they migrated somewhere else in order to protect the iman in their hearts. Today, to believe him and to do a few favors is similar to the insignificant actions done by soldiers that become very valuable when the enemy attacks and invades the country. During the time of peace, extensive efforts done by soldiers cannot be as valuable.

Since Sayyiduna Hadrat Muhammad Salla Allahu Alayhi wa Sallam is Allah's darling, he who follows him reaches the grade of belovedness. For the lover will love any person in whom he sees the habits or the signs of his darling. This should tell us about the states of those who do not follow him!

Translation of a Persian couplet:
Muhammad ('alaihi's-salam) is the pride of both words.
Let them who'd not be dust of his gate be under ground!

A person who cannot migrate like the Ashab-i kahf (rahmatullahi 'alaihim ajmain) should migrate through the heart and soul. While being among enemies, he should keep his heart away from them. Allahu ta'ala may open the doors of happiness by this way, too. The Nawruz Day [the first day of the Persian calendar, the 20th of March] is coming soon. You know that there is so much tumult, impetuosity and stupidity on these days, [which are feast days for disbelievers, fire worshippers]. After passing over these obscure days, I hope to attain the honor of meeting you. In order not to give you a headache, I will not write more. May Allahu ta'ala let you not deviate from the way of your noble grandfathers. My Salaam is extended to you and upon them until the Day of Resurrection.
Amin!

Chapter-58

58 - HADRAT MUHAMMAD'S BEAUTIFUL MORAL QUALITIES

The following article has been translated from the tenth chapter of the second division of the third section of the book Riyad-un-nasihin.

Allahu ta'ala, while pleasing the blessed heart of His beloved Prophet by enumerating a series of the virtues and blessings which He has given to him, also counted the beautiful habits which He bestowed upon him, "Thou art created with a beautiful character." Akrama says that he has heard from Abdullah Ibni Abbas that his Khuluq-i 'azim, that is, beautiful habits, are the beautiful moral qualities declared by the Qur'an al-karim. It is written in the book Hadaiq-ul-Haqaiq, "It was declared in the ayat, 'You are with khuluq-i-'azim.' 'Khuluq-i 'azim' means 'to have secrets with Allahu ta'ala and to be kindhearted to people.' The beautiful nature of Sayyiduna Hadrat Muhammad Salla Allahu Alayhi wa Sallam was the reason for the conversion of many people to Islam."

One thousand miracles of Sayyiduna Hadrat Muhammad Salla Allahu Alayhi wa Sallam were seen; enemy or friend, everybody talked about them. Of his many miracles, the most valuable ones were his high manners and beautiful habits.

It is written in the book Kimya-yi Saadat, "Hadrat Abu Sa'id-i Khudri 'radi-Allahu ta'ala anh' said: Sayyiduna Rasulullah Salla Allahu Alayhi wa Sallam would give grass to an animal. He would fasten a camel. He would sweep inside his house. He would milk the sheep. He would repair a hole in his shoes. He would patch his underwears. He would eat with his servant. When his servant got tired of grinding with small millstones, he would help him. He would go shopping and bring what he had bought in a sack to his home. When he met somebody, he would be the first to greet, whether the other was poor or rich, young or old. He, first, would hold out his blessed hand when he wanted to shake hands. He held the servant, the master, the black and the white as equal. He would go wherever he was invited, no matter who invited him. He would not despise what was put in front of him to eat, even if it were only a little. He would not reserve meals from evening to morning or from morning to evening. He was good-natured. He liked to do favors. He established friendly relations with everybody. He was affable and he spoke pleasantly. He wouldn't grin as he spoke. He would look sorry, but he would not frown. He was modest, but he was not low-natured. He was majestic; that is, he would inspire respect and awe. But he was not nasty. He was polite. He was generous, but he would not waste, nor would he give anything in vain. He used to pity everybody. He always bent his blessed head forward. He would not expect anything from anybody. He who wants happiness and ease should be like him."

It is written in the book Masabih that Anas bin Malik 'radi-Allahu anh' said, "I served Rasulullah Salla Allahu Alayhi wa Sallam for ten years. He never uttered "Ugh!" towards me. He never asked me why I had done this or why I hadn't done that." Again in Masabih Anas bin Malik said, "Rasulullah Salla Allahu Alayhi wa Sallam was the most beautiful-natured of human beings. One day, he told me to go to some place. I said, 'By Allah, I won't'. But I did. I went out to do his command. Children were playing in the street. As I passed them, I looked round. Rasulullah Salla Allahu Alayhi wa Sallam was coming behind me. His blessed face was pleasant. He said, 'O Anas! Did you go to the place I told you?' I said, 'Yes, O Rasulullah, I am going there.' "

Abu Huraira 'radi-Allahu anh' said, "During a holy war, we asked him to pray so that the disbelievers would be annihilated. He said, 'I was not sent to curse people so that they will be tormented. I was sent to do favors for everybody so that people will attain ease." Allahu ta'ala declares in the hundred and seventh ayat of the Surat al-Anbiya, "We sent thee as a mercy, as a blessing for beings."

Abu Said-i Khudri 'radi-Allahu anh' said, "Rasulullah 'Salla-Allahu alaihi wa Sallam' was more bashful than Muslim virgin girls."

Anas bin Malik said, "When Rasulullah 'Salla-Allahu alaihi wa Sallam' shook hands with a person, he would not take his hand away from that person's hand before that person did so. He would not turn his face away from that person before the latter turned his face. As he sat near a person, he would sit on his two knees; to respect a person, he would not erect his blessed knee."

Jabir bin Sumra says, "Rasulullah 'Salla-Allahu alaihi wa Sallam' used to talk very little. He used to talk when necessary or when he was asked a question." This means to say that a Muslim should not talk about nonsense; instead, he should keep silent. He used to speak very clearly and methodically; his words would be understood easily.

Anas bin Malik said, "Rasulullah would visit the sick, walk behind the dead as they were taken to the cemetery and accept invitations. He would ride a donkey. I saw him in the holy war of Khaybar. He rode a donkey with a rope halter. When Rasulullah went out after morning prayer, children and workers of Medina would bring containers full of water in front of him. They would beg him to dip his blessed finger into the water. Though it was winter, he would put his blessed finger into all the containers one by one, thus pleasing them." Again, Anas bin Malik 'radi-Allahu anh' says, "If a little girl held Sayyiduna Rasulullah's Salla Allahu Alayhi wa Sallam hand and wanted to take him somewhere for some matter, he would go with her and solve her problem."

Hadrat Jabir 'radi-Allahu anh', said, "Rasulullah Salla-Allahu alaihi wa Sallam' was never heard to say 'no' for anything asked from him."

Anas bin Malik 'radi-Allahu anh' said, "I was walking with Rasulullah 'Salla-Allahu alaihi wa Sallam'. He had Burd-i Najrani on. That is, he wore an overcoat made of Yaman cloth. A villager, who came from behind us, pulled his collar so harshly that the collar of the coat scratched his blessed neck and the scratch remained there. Hadrat Sayyiduna Rasulullah 'Salla-Allahu alayhi wa Sallam' turned round. The villager wanted something from the property of Zakaat. Rasulullah 'Salla-Allahu alayhi wa Sallam' just chuckled at his manners. He commanded that something should be given to him." It is written in the book Tatummat al-Mazhar, "This means to say that the person who is in an authoritative position should, like Sayyiduna Rasulullah Salla-Allahu alaihi wa Sallam' did, put up with the problems and troubles given by people. Besides, it is an act of being good-natured for everybody to endure problems. It is all the better for the superior ones."

It is written in the book Zad al-Mukwin that there was an old woman who was Sayyiduna Rasulullah's Salla-Allahu alaihi wa Sallam' neighbour. She sent her daughter to Sayyiduna Rasulullah 'Salla-Allahu alaihi wa Sallam' to beg of him, "I do not have a dress to cover myself when praying. Send me a dress to cover myself for Namaaz." Rasulullah 'Salla-Allahu alaihi wa Sallam' did not have any dresses at the moment. He took the loose robe off his blessed body and sent it to the woman. When it was time for Namaaz, he couldn't go to the mosque without a dress. The Ashab-i Kiram 'rahmatullahi ta'ala alaihim ajmain', hearing about this, said, "Sayyiduna Hadrat Rasulullah Salla-Allahu alaihi wa Sallam' is so generous that he has no clothes left; therefore, he cannot come to the mosque for jamaat. Let us give all we have to the poor, too." Consequently Allahu ta'ala sent down the twenty-ninth ayat of Surat-ul-Isra. First, He commanded His darling not to be stingy, or not to give nothing; then He commanded him not to give so much as to fall into straits, to miss the namaz, or to become worried! He ordered moderation in giving alms! That day, after prayer, Hadrat Ali 'Karram-Allahu wajhah' came to Rasulullah and said, "O Rasulallah Salla-Allahu alaihi wa Sallam'! Today I borrowed eight dirhams of silver to spend for the subsistence of my family. I'll give you half of them. Buy a loose robe for yourself." Rasulullah Salla-Allahu alaihi wa Sallam' bought a robe for two dirhams. While he was going to buy food with the remaining two dirhams, he saw a blind man, who sat down and kept saying, "Who will give me a shirt for Allah's sake and in turn be blessed with the dresses of Paradise?" He gave the robe he had bought to the blind man. When the blind man took the robe, he smelled a fragrant scent like musk. He realized that it was from the blessed hand of Rasulullah Salla-Allahu alaihi wa Sallam' because everything which Rasulullah Salla-Allahu alaihi wa Sallam' had worn once would smell like musk, even if it had been worn to pieces. The blind man prayed, "O Allah! Open my eyes for the sake of this shirt." His two eyes opened at once. He sprang down to Rasulullah's Salla-Allahu alaihi wa Sallam' feet. Then Rasulullah Salla-Allahu alaihi wa Sallam' left the place. He bought a robe for one dirham. As he was going to buy food with the other dirham, he saw a maid weeping. He asked "Why are you crying, daughter?" She said, "I am a Jew's maid. He gave me one dirham and told me to buy a bottle for half a dirham and olive oil with the remaining half, I bought them. But as I was going back, I dropped the bottle. Both the bottle and the oil are gone, I don't know what to do now." Rasulullah Salla-Allahu alaihi wa Sallam' gave his last dirham to the girl. He said, "Buy the bottle and the oil with this and take them home." But the poor girl said, "I am afraid the Jew will beat me for being late." Rasulullah 'Salla-Allahu alaihi wa Sallam said, "Don't be afraid! I will go with you and tell him not to beat you." So they went to the Jew's house and knocked at the door. The Jew opened the door and was bewildered to see Rasulullah Salla-Allahu alaihi wa Sallam' who then told him what had happened and interceded for the girl. The Jew sprang down to Rasulullah's Salla-Allahu alaihi wa Sallam' feet and supplicated. "O the great Prophet Salla Allahu alaihi wa Sallam', who is loved and honored above all by thousands of people! Thousands of lions are awaiting to do your commands. And you honor the door of a wretched person like me for a maid's sake. O Rasulallah Salla-Allahu alaihi wa Sallam'! I have emancipated this girl for your honor sake. Teach me iman and Islam. Let me become a Muslim in your presence." Rasulullah Salla- Allahu alaihi wa Sallam' taught him Islam. He was converted to Islam. He went back into his house and told his household what had happened. They all became Muslims, too. All these were the fruits of Rasulullah's 'Salla-Allahu alaihi wa Sallam' beautiful habits.

O Muslim! Now, you also should acquire the beautiful habits of Rasulullah Salla-Allahu alaihi wa Sallam'! It is even necessary for every Muslim to acquire the habits of Allahu ta'ala; for Rasul 'alaihis-salam' declared, "Acquire the habits of Allahu ta'ala." For example, one of Allah's Attributes is Sattar. That is, He covers sins. A Muslim should cover the faults and the defects of his brother-in-Islam, too. Allahu ta'ala forgives His born servants for their sins. So, Muslims should forgive one another for their faults and defects. Allahu ta'ala is Karim and Rahim. That is, His blessings are plentiful and His mercy is extensive. A Muslim should be generous and merciful. The same applies to all good habits.

Rasulullah Salla-Allahu alaihi wa Sallam' had many beautiful habits. Every Muslim should learn them and form habits similar to them. Thus, he will be blessed with the lot of escaping disasters and troubles in this and the next worlds by attaining the shafaat of that master of both worlds.

Sayyiduna Rasulullah Salla Allahu alaihi wa Sallam' used to say the following prayer in Arabic, Allahumma inni as'aluka-s-sihhate wal-'afiyata wal-amanata wa husn-al-khulqi wa-r-rida bi-l-qadari bi-rahmatika ya arham-ar-rahimin "O my Allah! I ask Thee to give me health, forgiveness, trustworthiness, beautiful habits and contentment with qadar. O the most merciful of the merciful! Give me these for Thy mercy's sake!" We, the humble ones, should pray like our exalted and honorable Beloved Prophet Salla-Allahu alaihi wa Sallam'!

Chapter-59

59 - RASULULLAH'S (sall-Allahu'alaihi wa sallam) PARENTS, HIS GRANDFATHERS WERE ALL BELIEVERS

A letter by Sayyid Abdulhakim bin Mustafa Arwasi (rahmatullahi ta'ala 'alaih):

Imam-i Busayri (rahmatullahi ta'ala 'alaih) the greatest of the Awliya educated by Shaikh Abul-Abbas Mursi 'rahmatullahi ta'ala alaih', a man of karamats and a disciple of shaikh Abul-Hasan-i Shazili (rahmatullahi ta'ala 'alaih), who was one of the great ones from the Sufiyya-i aliyya [ Great men of Tasavvuf, that is, the Awliya.], wrote a book entitled Qasida-i hamziyya that was read by Islamic savants with enthusiasm. In this book he praises our Prophet and says, "The mothers and fathers of the Best of Mankind were all good. Allahu ta'ala, of His human beings, picked out the best fathers and mothers for him."

In all the books of Mawlid written in various Islamic languages, it is written that his parents were extremely innocent. [Poems describing the Prophet's life are called "Mawlid."]

None of the ancestors [fathers and mothers] of our Prophet (sall Allahu 'alaihi wa sallam) nor of any prophet was a disbeliever or base ('alaihimussalam). The following are the ayat al-karimas and hadith ash-Sharifs proving our statement correct:

1 - In a hadith ash-Sharif in Bukhari-i Sharif, the most valuable and the most correct book after the Qur'an al-karim, our Prophet declares: "I was born from the distinguished, the best ones of people living in every century, in every era."

2 - In a hadith in the book of Imam-i Muslim, which has, of the thousands of hadith books, won second place, Rasulullah declares: "Of the descendants of Hadrat Ismail 'alaihis- salam', Allahu ta'ala selected a person named Quraish. And of the descendants of Quraish, He selected the Hashim Family. And among them He placed me."

3 - In a hadith communicated by Tirmuzi, he declares: "Allahu ta'ala created everyone. He made me from the best group of humans. Then He created the best of these groups in Arabia. He made me from them. Then, choosing the best of homes, the best of families, He created me from them. Then, my soul and body are the best of creatures. My ancestors are the best people."

4 - In a hadith in a book by Tabarani, one of the most valuable hadith savants, he declares: "Allahu ta'ala created everything out of nothing. Of all things, He liked human beings and made them valuable. Of mankind He made those whom He selected settle in Arabia. And of the distinguished in Arabia, He chose me. He placed me among the distinguished, the best of the people in every age. Then, those who love the ones in Arabia who are obedient to me, love them for my sake. Those who feel hostility towards them feel hostility towards me." This hadith ash-Sharif is also written at the beginning of Mawahib-i Ladunniyya.

5 - As it is informed in Mawahib-i-Ladunniyya and in the explanation of Zarqani 'rahmatullahi ta'ala alaih', it is stated in a hadith ash-Sharif quoted by Abdullah bin Abbas 'radi-Allahu anhuma': "None of my grandfathers committed adultery. Allahu ta'ala made me from beautiful and good fathers and pure mothers. If one of my grandfathers had two sons. I would be in the most useful, the best of these." Before Islam, adultery was usual in Arabia. A woman would not marry a man before having been his mistress for a long time. [Today's disbelievers do the same.]

Hadrat Adam ('alaihi's-salam), when he was about to die, said to Hadrat Shis ('alaihi's- salam), his son, "My son! This nur shining on your forehead is the nur of Hadrat Muhammad, the Last Prophet. Deliver this nur to pure and chaste ladies, who believe in Allah, and tell your son to do so in your last request!" Up to Muhammad (alaihissalam), all fathers told their sons to do so. Each of them fulfilled this will by marrying the noblest, the chastest girl. The nur, passing through pure foreheads and chaste women, reached its owner. Allahu ta'ala calls the disbelievers foul in the Sura-i-Tawba. Since Rasulullah (sall-Allahu 'alaihi wa sallam) declares that all his grandfathers were innocent, Azar, who was a foul disbeliever, must not be Ibrahim's ('alaihi's-salam) father. To say that Azar was Hadrat Ibrahim's ('alaihi's-salam) father would mean to disbelieve the hadith above. Molla Jami (rahmatullahi 'alaih) says in his Persian book Shawahid-un-Nubuwwa, "A nur (holy light) shone on Adam's forehead ('alaihi's-salam) because he bore a mote of hadrat Muhammad ('alaihi's-salam). This mote was passed on to Hadrat Hawwa [the first mother] and from her to Hadrat Shis, thus passing from innocent men to innocent women and from innocent women to innocent men. The nur, together with the mote, passed from foreheads to foreheads."

It is written on the forty-eighth page of the book Qisas-i-Anbiya (History of Prophets), "If one of Rasulullah's grandfathers had two sons or if a tribe had been divided into two branches, the descendants of the Last Prophet would be on the best side. In each century, the person who was his grandfather was evident by the nur on his forehead. Ismail 'alaihis- salam' also had the nur on his forehead. It shone like the planet Venus. This nur, an inheritance from his father, passed from him on to his descendants, thus reaching Maadd and Nizar.

'Nizar' means 'a little.' He was named Nizar due to the following event: When he was born, his father Maadd, being pleased to see the nur on his son's forehead, gave a feast and said that the feast was only a little thing for such a son, thus causing his name to remain as Nizar. This nur was the nur of Hadrat Muhammad. Passing from son to son since Hadrat Adam, it came to its owner, Khatam-ul-anbiya, i.e. Hadrat Muhammad.

Thus, among the sons of Hadrat Adam, there was a distinguished race carrying Hadrat Muhammad's nur; in each century, the face of a person of this race was very beautiful and very bright. By this nur he was conspicuous among his brothers, and the tribe he belonged to was more exalted and more honorable than other tribes."

6 - It is declared in the two hundred and nineteenth ayat of Surat-ush-Shu'ara of the Qur'an al-karim: "You, that is, your nur has reached you after having always been transferred from one worshipper to another." Interpreting this ayat, the Ahl as-sunnat savants 'rahmatullahi ta'ala alaihim ajmain' have inferred that "All his fathers and mothers were Believers and were innocent." As it is explained in the booklet Ashab-i kiram, there are also some people who suppose that the Ahl as-sunnat savants are Rafidis and who say that these are the words of Rafidis.

The great ones of the Ahl-i-sunnat 'rahmatullahi ta'ala alaihim ajmain' say that his father and his mother, Amina, were in the religion of Hadrat Ibrahim. That is, they were Believers. Allahu ta'ala enlivened these two and had them hear the word 'Shahadat' from our Prophet and express it, not for giving them have iman, but in order that they might be honored with being in his Ummat [See article 46 for the word 'Shahadat'.] The ayat, "Do not ask a blessing on your relative," was intended for Abu Talib. It was not intended for his parents. It is written in the translations of Imam-i Azam's book Fiqh-i Akbar, of which there are many copies in the world, that they (his parents) died without belief. Yet it is written in Imam-i Azam's manuscript that they died with iman. Later, it was discovered that his enemies made this mistake on purpose by erasing the word 'ma' [In Arabic, the words 'ma' and 'la' make the meaning of the verb negative. 'Matu' means 'they died.' 'Ma-matu' means 'they didn't die.' When 'ma' in front of the sentence 'They didn't die as disbelievers' is erased, it becomes 'They died as disbelievers.'].

The manuscript of Fiqh-i Akbar by Imam-i Azam Abu Hanifa, along with a part of the Qur'an al-karim, which was written by the blessed hands of Hadrat 'Uthman, the Amir-ul- Muminin, and which was colored with his blood of martyrdom, and a number of valuable books were taken to Samarkand in 656 A.H. when Hulaghu burned Baghdad and massacred more than eight hundred thousand Muslims. When Samarkand was captured by the Russians in 1284 A.H. [A.D. 1868], these books were transferred to Petersburg and kept there very carefully. This fact is communicated by Shamsaddin Sami Beg, the author of Qamus-ul- alam, while explaining the entry 'Samarkand.' The book was taken to the city of Ufa in 1335 [1917 A.D.], and then from there to the mosque of Khwaja Ubaidullah-i Ahrar in the city of Tashkand in 1341 [1923 A.D.].

Some pages of the copies of the Qur'an written by the blessed hands of the Khalifas 'Umar-ul-Faruq, 'Uthman-i Zinnurain and Ali-yul-Murtada 'radi-Allahu ta'ala anhum' exist in the Museum of Islamic Works, which is next to the Sulaimaniya Mosque in Istanbul. Those who wish may see them.

The enemies of religion laid their hands on the books of great men of the religion, as they had at one time defiled the Tawrat and the Injil, the books of Allahu ta'ala. For example, they mixed some fables with the books Fusus and Futuhat by Muhyiddin-i Arabi. Yet, they were soon discovered. The great savant Hadrat Abdulwahhab-i Sharani 'rahmatullahi ta'ala alaih' explains this policy of the irreligious in his books Kibrit-i Ahmar and Al-yawaqit. And today, the policy of misrepresenting Islam to youngsters is being carried out far and wide; we notice with regret that the world no longer has any real savants to silence them.

For this reason, Hadrat Jalaladdin-i Rumi wrote his Mathnawi in a rhyme scheme, thus leaving no possibility for Islam's enemies to defile it.

The following books give valuable information by explaining the words of Islamic scholars: While beginning the discussion concerning the marriage of disbelievers in the annotation of Durr-ul-mukhtar by Ibni Abidin (alaihirrahma), chapter al-Hazar-wal-ibaha in the annotation of Ashbah by Hamawi (rahmat Allahu ta'ala 'alaih), and the book Mirat-i kainat write, "According to great savants, who have realized the truth, we shouldn't talk on whether our Prophet's 'sall-Allahu alaihi wa sallam' parents had or did not have iman, and we should watch our manners when discussing it. It has been stated in a hadith ash-Sharif, 'Do not hurt the living by talking ill of the dead.' It does not bring harm upon one not to talk about it or not to learn it, nor will it be asked in the grave or on the Last day of Judgement." [See article 18 for Ibni Abidin.] And again, they say, "Allahu ta'ala, as a blessing on our Prophet, enlivened his parents during his farewell hajj. They believed in His Prophet. The sahih hadith [A kind of hadith.] quoted by Muhammad bin Abu Bakr and Ibni Nasir-ud-din declares this fact. By the same token, His enlivening a man killed by the Bani Israil and the man's giving information about his murderer and His enlivening many dead people with the prayers of Hadrat Isa and Sayyiduna Hadrat Muhammad Salla Allahu Alayhi wa Sallam were all blessings. It is incorrect to say that the ayat 'Do not ask My pardon on behalf of those who are for Hell' is about Rasulullah's Salla Allahu Alayhi wa Sallam blessed parents. As for the hadith ash-Sharif 'My father and your father are in the fire,' which is communicated in Muslim; it was said with ijtihad. It was declared afterwards that they had iman." It is written in the book Ahwal-u atfal-il-muslimin that it had ben declared so about the two sons of Hadrat Khadija, too, but afterwards it was communicated that they were not in Hell.

As it is understood from ayat al-karimas and hadith ash-Sharifs and as it is written in thousands of Islamic books, all the fortunate people who were honored with being Rasulullah's 'sall-Allahu alaihi wa sallam' fathers and mothers were the noblest, the most honorable, the most beautiful and the purest people of their times and in their countries. They all were cherished, blessed and respectable. Therefore, Hadrat Ibrahim's father was a Believer and was far from having evil habits or abominable, low attributes. Azar, who was a disbeliever, was not his father, but his uncle.

As it is declared at the beginning of Surat-u Al-i 'Imran, the Qur'an's ayats are of two kinds. Firstly, the ayats with clear, obvious meanings, which are called "Muhkamat." Secondly, there are ayats called "Mutshabihat" which are not apparent, plain or usual, but which contain unusual meanings. That is, it does not conform with the mind or with the Shariat to give them their clear, known meanings; it is necessary to give them unusual meanings, that is, tawil (to interpret) them. It is a sin to give them their obvious meanings. For example, the savants of Tafsir (interpretation) have interpreted the word yad (hand) as 'power' which means capability. By the same token, it is written in The Interpretation of Baidawi that in the ayat "When Ibrahim (alaihissalam) told his father Azar..." Azar is an atf-i bayan [In Arabic, the second noun, which is written for explaining the meaning of a noun, is called "atf-i-bayan." Its English counterpart is 'appositive'.] for the word 'father.' When a person has two names and these two names are mentioned together, it is understood that one of them is famous and the other is not famous, which is called "atf-i bayan." For this reason, according to the rules of balaghat, fasahat and ijaz [These words are the names of literary arts that make a statement valuable.], Hadrat Ibrahim calls two persons father. One of them is his own father, and the other is somebody else whom he refers to as father. The meaning of the ayat is: "When Hadrat Ibrahim told his Azar father." If it weren't so, it would be enough in the Qur'an to declare: "When he told Azar," or "When he told his father," instead of declaring: "When he told his father Azar." If he were his own father, the word 'his father' would be superfluous.

All of the scholars of the Tawrat (Torah) followed the religion of Musa ('alaihi's-salam) for a 1800 year period and along with them the Apostles of Jesus ('alaihi's-salam) and the priests who followed them said that Azar was not the real father but that he was the uncle of Ibrahim ('alaihi's-salam). As it is inferred from the undefiled old manuscripts of the Torah and the Bible, the name of the father of Ibrahim ('alaihi's-salam) was Taruh. The word Taruh is not the Hebrew synonym of Azar as some ignorant people write. It means that they both are not names for the same person. There are many verses in the Qur'an-al karim in accord with those in the Torah and the Bible. In the thirtieth page of the Turkish version of his book, Bayan-ul-haq, Rahmatullah Effendi (rahmat-Allahi 'alaih), one of the Islamic scholars of India, says, "Naskh; i.e., anything to be made invalid by Allahu ta'ala, involves only the commandments and the prohibitions. In the commentary Ma'alim-ut-tanzil al-Imam al-Baghawi says that Naskh did not occur in the qisas (narrations) and akhbar (information) [nor scientific and experimental knowledge] but only in the commandments and prohibitions. Naskh does not mean to change them but to inform as to the ending of their period of validity. The Qur'an al-karim did not invalidate the whole Torah and Bible but a part of them." [There is some information about Naskh in this fascicle in a letter by Imam-i Rabbani, Vol. 3-22]. Therefore, the tawil (explaining away) of the above- mentioned ayat-i karima becomes necessary.

Allahu ta'ala declares in the hundred and thirty-third ayat of the Surat-ul-Baqara that Hadrat Yaqub's (Jacob's) sons said to him, "And the creator of your fathers Ibrahim, Ismail and Ishaq...." This may come to mean that hadrat Ismail is the father of Hadrat Yaqub. However, Hadrat Yaqub is the son of Hadrat Ishaq 'alaihis-salam', who is the son of Hadrat Ibrahim 'alaihis-salam'. And Hadrat Ishaq 'alaihis-salam' is Hadrat Ismail's 'alaihis- salam' brother. Then, Hadrat Ismail 'alaihis-salam' is not Hadrat Yaqub's 'alaihis-salam' father but his uncle. This means to say that in the Qur'an al-karim 'uncle' means 'father.' It is written in the interpretation of this ayat in many books of interpretation that the word 'father' is used for uncle in various Arabic lexicons. It is written in many books that our Prophet used to call an Arabian villager and his uncle Abu Talib and also Abu Lahab and Abbas, father. It has been a custom in every nation, in every language, in every age to use the word 'father' for uncle, for step-father, for father-in-law, and also for any protecting or helping person. Besides, Azar was both the uncle and step-father of Hadrat Ibrahim. Also Firuzabadi confirms this fact in Qamus by saying, "Azar is the name of Hadrat Ibrahim's 'alaihis-salam' uncle. His father's name is Taruh." The statement, "The unanimity that Azar is the uncle is unsound. According to the sound unanimity, Azar is his father," is an unsound and worthless claim against such a clear declaration in religious books. It results from misunderstanding the subtlety in the words of savants.

It cannot be a document for the interpretation by Baidawi to give the seventy-fourth ayat in Surat-ul-Anam its plain meaning instead of interpreting it, [and that this ayat-i karima and the hundred and fifteenth ayat of Surat-ut-Tawba were explained away with an improper tawil in the commentary Ruh al-bayan.] Nor can it abrogate the unanimity among the savants of interpretation, the savants of hadith, the savants of kalam, and the Sufiyya-i aliyya. For it is only Muhammad (alaihissalam) who has given the Qur'an al-karim its correct meaning and who has interpreted it correctly through his hadith ash-Sharifs. None of the Ashab-i kiram or Tabiin-i 'Izam thought of Azar as the father when they heard this ayat al-karima, nor did any of them say so. They understood that he was his uncle. This is the belief of the Ahl as-sunnat.

It is written at the end of Fatawa-i Khayriyya, "It is written in Qamus that Azar is the name of Hadrat Ibrahim's uncle. His father's name is Taruh. It is written as Ibrahim bin Taruh in Tarih-i Hanbali. It says that Azar is the nickname of Taruh. In The Interpretation of Jalalayn it is written that the name Azar in the ayat is Taruh's last name. Ibni Hajar writes in his revision of Hamziyya: 'Azar was a disbeliever. It is declared in the Qur'an that he was Hadrat Ibrahim's 'alaihis-salam' father. The ummats with holy books say that Azar was not Hadrat Ibrahim's 'alaihis-salam' own father, but he was his uncle, for the Arabs call the uncle father. So the uncle has been called father in the Qur'an. It has been declared, 'The creator [Allah] of your father Ibrahim and Ismail' about Hadrat Yaqub. Nonetheless, Hadrat Ismail was Hadrat Yaqub's uncle, not his father. When the words of savants do not conform with one another, it is wajib to interpret a ayat in a manner agreeable with hadiths. choosing the easier way, Baidawi and others did not interpret the ayat."

Abdul-Ahad Nuri Bey wrote a special booklet for proving the fact that Rasulullah's parents were Believers. This booklet is in Turkish and consists of eighteen pages. It is kept with the call number '3612' in the Asad Effendi section in the library of Sulaimaniya, Istanbul.

Hadrat Imam-i Suyuti 'rahmatullahi ta'ala alaih' proves that Azar is not Hadrat Ibrahim's father, but that he was his uncle, through documents in his book Kitab-ud-darj-il-munifa. This book is available in the Sulaimaniya, library. Its call number 1150 is in the Rais-ul- kuttab Mustafa Effendi section.

It is written in Anwar-ul-Muhammadiyya that it is declared in the hadith ash-Sharif quoted by Hadrat 'Ali, "From Hadrat Adam up to my father Abdullah, I always passed through married fathers and mothers. None of my fathers had any child through adultery, without nikah." Sayyiduna Rasulullah Salla Allahu Alayhi wa Sallam communicated the names of his twenty-one fathers back up to Adnan, as follows:

His father is Abdullah. The fathers of Abdullah successively are Abdulmuttalib, Hashim, Abdu-Menaf, Kussayy, Kilab, Murra, Ka'b, Luwayy, Ghalib, Fihr, Malik, Nadr, Kinana, Huzaima, Mudrika, Ilyas, Mudar, Nizar, Maadd and Adnan. All of them, with a brief description of each, have been written in alphabetical order at the end of the Turkish version of our book.

The passages announcing the purification of the ascendants of our Beloved Prophet Salla Allahu Alayhi wa Sallam in the book Matali'un-nur by Abdullah-i Rumi, the annotator of the book Fusus, are written in our book Nimat-i kubra.

Hadrat Sanaullah-i Dahlawi [pani-Puti], who had deep knowledge in branches of Tafsir, Hadith, Fiqh, Tasawwuf and Islamic knowledge, and who performed great services to human beings by showing them the way to endless bliss, says in the first and third volumes of Tafsir-i Mazhari that the word 'Azar' in Surat-ul-Anam is an atf-i bayan for the word 'Abihi.' Documents stating that Azar was not Hadrat Ibrahim's 'alaihis-salam' father but that he was his uncle are more correct. In Arabia, an uncle is called father. In the Qur'an Hadrat Ismail 'alaihis-salam' is called the father of Hadrat Yaqub. Whereas, he is his uncle. Azar's real name was Nahur. Nahur was formerly in the righteous religion of his ancestors. When he became Nimrod's vizier, he turned into a disbeliever, changing his faith for the world. Also, Fakhraddin Razi and most of the salaf-i salihin have conveyed that Azar was an uncle. Zarqani, while explaining the book Mawahib-i ladunniyya, writes the words, "Those who believe holy books and also historians have unanimously said that Azar was an uncle," by Ibni Hajar-i Haitami, as a document. Imam-i Suyuti says that Ibni Abbas has communicated that Azar was not Hadrat Ibrahim's father and that Hadrat Ibrahim's father was Taruh. This word of Ibni Abbas has also been communicated by Mujahid, Ibni Jarir and Suddi through documents. Again, it is communicated by Suyuti, that also Ibni Munzir clearly explains in his interpretation that Azar was an uncle. Imam-i Suyuti wrote a booklet communicating that Rasulullah's Salla Allahu Alayhi wa Sallam grandfathers, up to Hadrat Adam were all Muslims. Despite this fact, Muhammad bin Ishaq, Dahhak, and Kelbi said that Hadrat Ibrahim's father was Azar whose other name was Taruh. "Yaqub 'alaihis-salam' had two names, too. His second name was Israil," they said. Also, mukafil and Ibni Habban said that Azar was the nickname for Hadrat Ibrahim's father, Taruh. As noted by Baghawi, Ata communicates from Ibni Abbas that when Rasulullah Salla Allahu Alayhi wa Sallam wondered about his parents, the hundred and nineteenth ayat of Surat-ul-Baqara descended, declaring: "Do not ask about the states of the inhabitants of Hell!" Yet Ibni Jarir has stated that this information was not dependable. If we should say that this information is true, then Ibni Abbas communicated his own supposition. And even if his supposition were true, it is not explained clearly that his (Rasulullah's) parents are in Hell. Even if they were in Hell, still they could not be said to be disbelievers, for there will be those Muslims who will go to Hell. It is declared in a Hadith: "As I am the best of you, so my father is better than your fathers." The translation from the book Tafsir-i Mazhari is completed here.

It is written in the Al-hazar section of the book Uyun-ul-Basair, "Qadi Abu Bakr Ibnul- Arabi 'rahmatullahi alaih', one of the savants of the Maliki madhhab, said that he who said that Rasulullah's parents were in Hell would become accursed. Every Muslim has to abstain from saying something that will hurt Sayyiduna Rasulullah Salla Allahu Alayhi wa Sallam . Allahu ta'ala has cursed the person who hurts him. Nothing could cause bitter pain than saying that his grandfathers were disbelievers!"

It is written in the book, al-Mustanad (p. 33): "Al-Imam as-Suyuti proves that Azar is the uncle, not the father of Ibrahim (alaihi's-salam). The Hadith ash-Sharif: 'My father and your father are in Hell' means that Abu Lahab is in Hell." The book, on its hundred and seventy- fifth page, refutes with documents the assertions of 'Ali al-Qari, who slanders as-Suyuti. Translation of these pages exists in the section Din Adami Bolucu Olamaz (A Man of Religion Cannot Be A Separatist) of the book Faideli Bilgiler (Useful Teachings).

 

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Chapter 60 - FINAL WORD OF SE'ADET-I EBEDIYYE


We come to know our surroundings through our five senses. If it were not for our sense organs, we would not know of anything. We would not even know of ourselves. We would not walk, find out anything, do anything, eat, drink, or live. We would not have parents nor would we exist. If we thank our Allah ceaselessly only for our sense organs, still we will not have adequately expressed adequate gratitude.

We call anything which affects our sense organs being or existence. Sand, water, the sun are all beings, for we see them. Sound is a being, too, for we hear it. Air is a being because we feel the air strike when we open our hand and wag it like a fan. Also, the wind strikes our face. Likewise, cold and hot are beings, for we feel them through our skin. Moreover, we believe in the existence of energies [powers], such as, electricity, heat, and magnetism. We perceive and comprehend that electric currents cause heat, electromagnetism or chemical reaction; when heat comes the temperature rises and when it deceases it gets cold. We also understand that a magnet attracts iron. We say that it is wrong to say, "I don't believe in the existence of air, heat or electricity because I don't see them." Although they are not seen, we perceive them or their effects through our sense organs. Therefore, we believe in many beings that cannot be seen. We say that things are not necessarily nonexistent because they are not seen. By the same token, it is wrong to say. "I don't believe in Allah. There are no such things as angels or genies. I would see them if they existed. Since I don't see them, I don't believe them." It is a statement contrary to mind and science.

As shown by science, beings that have weight and volume are called "substances." Accordingly, air, water, stone and wood are substances. Light and electric currents are beings, yet they are not substances. Substances with shapes are called "objects." A nail, a shovel, pincers and a pin are objects. They are all made of the same matter, iron. The cause that makes a stationary object move or that makes a moving object stop or that changes its movement is called "force." Unless a force acts on a stationary object, it remains stationary; it cannot move. Unless a force acts on a moving object, its movement does not change; it never stops.

Substances, objects, and energies existing in substances, altogether, are called "alam" or "nature." Every object in nature continuously moves, changes. This means that every object is affected by various forces every moment, thus a change takes place. The change that takes place in substances is called an "event."

We see that something cease to exist while other things come into being. Our ancestors, ancient people, as well as their buildings and cities, ceased to exist. And after us, others will come into being. According to scientific knowledge, there are forces affecting these tremendous changes. Those who disbelieve Allahu ta'ala say, "These are all done by Nature. Everything is created by the forces of Nature." If we ask them, "Have the parts of an automobile been brought together by the forces of nature? Have they been heaped together like a pile of rubbish which has been brought together by flowing water with the effects of waves striking from this and that direction? Does a car move with the exertion of the forces of nature?" Will they not smile and say, "Of course, it is impossible. A car is a work of art which a number of people have built by working together strenuously and by using all their mental abilities to design it. A car is operated by a driver who drives it carefully, using his mind while obeying the traffic laws?" Likewise, every being in nature is also a work of art. A leaf is an astounding factory. A grain of sand or a living cell is an exhibition of fine art, which science has explored to only a small extent today. What we boast about as a scientific finding and accomplishment today is the result of being able to see and copy a few of these fine arts in nature. Even Darwin [Darwin died in 1299 (1882 A.D.)], the British scientist whom Islam's adversaries present as their leader, had to admit: Whenever I think of the structure of the eye, I feel as if I will go mad." Could a person who would not admit that a car is made by chance, by the forces of nature, say that nature has created this universe, which is entirely a work of art? Of course, he could not. Should he not believe that it has been made by a creator, who has calculation, design, knowledge, and infinite power? Is it not ignorance and idiocy to say: "Nature has created it" or "it has come into being by chance?"

Allahu ta'ala created everything in the best form and for the most useful purposes. For example, He created this spherical earth one hundred and fifty million kilometers away from the sun. If He had created it at a distance longer than this, there would have been no warm seasons and we would have died from the cold. If He had created it at a distance shorter than this, it would have been very hot; hence, no living creatures would have been able to exist. The air around us is a mixture of 21 poor oxygen, 78 poor nitrogen, and 0.0003 carbon dioxide. Oxygen comes into our cells, burns the food there so that power and strength are provided for us. If the amount of oxygen in the air had been more than this, our cells would have been burned by the oxygen, too; therefore, we would have become ashes. If its percentage had been less than 21, it would not have been adequate enough to burn the food in our cells, and again there would have been no living creatures. During rainy and thunderous days, oxygen mixes with nitrogen and nitrogenous salts are formed in the sky; they fall down to the earth with the rain. They feed the plants. Plants are food for animals, and animals are food for human beings.

Therefore, it is understood that our sustenance is produced in the sky and rains down from there. The carbon dioxide in the air stimulates the centers of the heart and breathing in the cerebellum; that is, it makes them work. When the amount of carbon dioxide in the air becomes less, our hearts will stop, and we will not be able to breathe. On the other hand, if its percentage increases, we will choke. The amount of carbon dioxide in the air should never be changed. In order to keep it in the same consistency, He created the seas. When the amount of carbon dioxide in the air increases, its pressure increases, too, and the excessive amounts are dissolved in the seas. After uniting with the carbonate in the water, it is converted into bi-carbonate. This goes down under the sea and forms a layer of mud there. When the amount of carbon dioxide decreases in the air, it leaves the mud, passes in the water, and then passes from water into the air. No living creature can live without air. That is why air is given to every living creatures everywhere, free of charge, without any effort, and sent into their lungs. We cannot live without water either. He created water everywhere too. But, since it is possible to live without water for some time, it has been created in a way that forces people to look for it, and then to carry it away. Fa- tabarakallahu ahsunal-khaliqin! Aside from man's ability to utilize those facts above, how fortunate for them to be able to see and to understand them.

Statements and claims of those who say 'chance existences' about these countless beings created by Allahu ta'ala with explicit order and harmony are ignorant and contrary to positive science. For example: Let us put ten pebbles numbered from one to ten in a bag. Let us then take them out of the bag one by one with our hand, trying to take them out successively, that is, number one first, number two second, and eventually number ten last. If any pebble taken out does not follow this numerical order, all the pebbles taken out so far will be put back into the bag and we shall have to try again beginning with number one first. The probability of taking out ten pebbles successively in numerical order is one in ten billion. Therefore, since the probability of drawing ten pebbles in numerical order is extremely weak, it is surely impossible that innumerable kinds of orders in the universe came into existence only by chance.

If a person who does not know how to type presses on the keys of a typewriter, let's say, five times at random, to what extent would it be possible for the resulting five-letter word to express some meaning in English or any other language? If he wanted to type a sentence by pressing on the keys heedlessly, could he type a meaningful sentence? Now, if a page or a book were to be formed by pressing on the keys arbitrarily, could a person be called intelligent who expects the book or the page to have a certain topic by change?

Things cease to exist all the time, while other things come into being as a result of them. But, according to the latest knowledge in chemistry, one hundred and five elements never cease to exist; changes only take place in their electronic structure. Radio-active events have also shown that elements, and even their atoms, cease to exist, and that matter turns into energy. The German physicist Einstein even calculated the mathematical formula for this conversion.

The fact that things and substances have been changing and issuing from one another continuously does not mean that existence itself comes from past eternity. That is, one cannot say, "So it has been, and so it will be." These changes do have a beginning. To say that the changes have a beginning means that the substances coming into being have a beginning, which in turn means that all of them have been created from nothing while nothing existed. If the substances were not first created out of nothing and if their issuing from one another went far back into eternity, this universe would necessarily be nonexistent now. The existence of the universe in the eternal past would require the pre-existence of other beings to bring it about, and those beings, in turn, would require others to pre-exist so that they could come into being. The existence of the latter is dependent upon the existence of the former. If the former does not exist, the latter will not exist, either. Eternity in the past means without a beginning. To say that something existed in the eternal past means that the first being, that is, the beginning did not exist. If the first being did not exist the latter beings could not exist, and consequently nothing could exist. In other words, there could not be a series of beings each of which requires the pre-existence of another for their own existence. Therefore, all of them would necessarily be nonexistent.

Hence, it has been understood that the present existence of the universe indicates that it has not existed since past eternity, and that there existed an original being, which had been created out of nothing. In other words, we have to accept the fact that beings have been created out of nothing and that today's beings are the result of a succession of beings coming from those first beings.

The book Sharh-i Mawaqif proves in detail in the first section of its fifth chapter that there is a Creator who creates all classes of beings from nothing, that this Creator should be eternal, that is, should always exist, and that He should exist eternally without changing. Briefly, 'to change' means to become something else. When the Creator changes He becomes something else. His creativeness gets deranged. As explained in the third letter of the third volume of the book Maktubat by Imam-i Rabbani, it is necessary that the Creator will never change and that He will always remain the same. Reasoning from what we have explained, the various classes of beings could not be eternal, and the unchanging Creator must be eternal, He must exist everlastingly. Therefore, there is a Creator who never changes and who is eternal. The name of this never changing creator is Allah. Allahu ta'ala sent prophets to men in order to make Himself known. A reasonable, understanding person who reads about the life, the superior qualities of Sayyiduna Hadrat Muhammad Salla Allahu Alayhi wa Sallam, who is His last and highest prophet, will at once realize that Allahu ta'ala exists and that Sayyiduna Hadrat Muhammad is His Beloved Prophet Salla Allahu Alayhi wa Sallam. He will eagerly become a Muslim.

It is called having iman and being a Muslim to believe that Allahu ta'ala exists, is one, and that Muhammad ('alaihi's-salam) is His Beloved Prophet and the most superior among His Prophets, and his every word is true and beneficial. The person who believes these facts is called a Mumin and Muslim. The words of Muhammad ('alaihi's-salam) are called Hadith ash-Sharif. The person who does not believe any of those things clearly reported in the Qur'an al-karim and hadith ash-Sharifs is called a Kafir. Those disbelievers who believe a history book written in ancient times by men as the words of Allahu ta'ala are called Ahl-i kitab, that is, disbelievers with a book. Jews and Christians are disbelievers with a book. Those who prostrate in front of a statue or grave of a man who is known by them as great and believe that he is able to do everything are called Mushriks or idolaters. Brahmins, Buddhists, and Zoroastrians are of this group. Those who believe in none of the religions are called Atheist and Dahri. Communists and Freemasons and those who have fallen into their traps because they are ignorant of religion are of this group.
The knowledge which Muslims have to learn is called Ulum-i islamiyya. Islamic knowledge consists of two parts. The first is religious knowledge. This is also called Ulum-i naqliyya. This is the knowledge derived from four sources called Adilla-i Shariyya, and are of two sections. The branches tafsir, kalam, and fiqh of the knowledge of Ulum-i zahiriyya are written in their special books. The second one is Ulum-i batiniyya. There can be no changes in either of them. The second part of ulum-i islamiyya is scientific knowledges or Ulum-i 'aqliyya. This deals with the structures of matter and substances, and the alterations in them. These are discovered through experiments and calculations. Alterations in this aspect of knowledge is possible in the course of time. See the eleventh article! Those disbelievers who changed religious knowledge to make it compatible with scientific knowledge are called Philosophers and Reformers of religion. These people believe in their minds, not the words transmitted. Those muslims who try to corroborate religious knowledge with scientific knowledge are called Hukama. The meanings of some verses in the Qur'an al-karim and also some hadith ash-Sharifs are not clear and cannot be comprehended exactly. These kinds of verses and hadith ash-Sharifs were interpreted with different meanings by different Islamic scholars. Thus, seventy-three groups who believe differently some of the facts which are to be believed emerged. Among them, one group whose belief is true is called the Ahl as-sunnat or Sunni. Those who derived wrong meanings are called Heretics or the ones who have deviated from the right path. Shiites and Wahhabis are of this group. One who tries to corrupt the beliefs of a Muslim by giving wrong meanings to scientific discoveries is called a zindiq or scientific yobaz.
Allahu ta'ala created Paradise and Hell. He declared that He will fill both of them up. A great many human beings and genies will go to Hell. But he will put most of the creatures into Paradise, thus His mercy will exceed His wrath. Genies are more than ten times in number greater than human beings, and angels are more than ten times as many as genies. Since all of the angels will be in Paradise, those in Paradise will be more numerous.
Who will remain in Hell eternally? Those who do not perform salat? Those who commit sins? No! The enemies of Allahu ta'ala will burn eternally in Hell. The Muslims who committed sins are not Allah's enemies. They are guilty human beings. They are like a naughty, guilty child. Will parents become an enemy towards their naughty child? Of course, they will not. They will just fondle it a little. Hell consists of seven levels. The first level is the least vehement. But it is seventy times as vehement as worldly fire. Its name is Jahannam. Here, a part of the Muslims will be purified of their sins. Heretical people will certainly be burned in the Hell for some time. Kadi Zada Ahmad Amin Bey, who revised the book Vasiyyetname by Imam-i Muhammad Birghiwi, says, "The Muslim who will get out of Hell last will have burned for seven thousand years of the next world. One year of the next world is as long as a thousand mundane years."

The second level of Hell is more vehement. Its name is Sair, People who changed the Torah will burn there [Ibni 'Abidin]. These people do not believe in Hadrat Isa (Jesus), who is Allah's prophet, and they slander this great prophet by saying "the son of an unknown father." They changed the Tawrat, thus defiling Allah's book, and after Hadrat Musa, they martyred one thousand prophets who were sent to advise them.
People who changed the Bible will burn in the third level of Hell called "Seqar" which is more vehement. For they did not follow Hadrat Isa's commands and disbelieved in him by changing the Injil (Bible). In addition, they have become worse than Jews - they have even become polytheists - by saying that there are three gods and that Isa is God [Ibni Abidin]. [Some of them say that Jesus is the son of God.] Isawis (real believers of Hadrat 'Isa) were not polytheists before Christianity was subverted and idolatry was mixed with it. Jews are farther away from Islam. [Marifatnama and Tazkira-i Qurtubi]

In the fourth level called "Jahim," those who worship the sun or the stars will be hurled. In the fifth level called "Hutamah," those who worship fire or the ox will go. Buddhists and Brahmans will be tortured in the sixth level called "Lazy," along with those with no religion, and polytheists.

In the seventh level called "Hawiyah," the very bottom, the most vehement level of Hell, munafiqs and murtads will burn. The order of these seven levels is not the same in the books Tafsir-i Mazhari and Galiyya. One's going to Hell, that is, his being a disbeliever, becomes evident at his last breath when he dies. If a disbeliever, that is, a man without iman, becomes a Muslim, or if a Muslim with many sins and crimes, or who is the practitioner of a bidat, repents, they all become pure Muslims. They will not go to Hell.

Murtads are irreligious people who are either ignorant or educated or who assume to be scholars or scientists after receiving a diploma, though they have been brought up with an Islamic education by Muslim parents. Since these poor people, who suppose that they have swallowed the ocean by tasting one drop from the sea of knowledge and science, know nothing of Islamic savants and religious knowledge, they make up imaginary meanings for the words which they heard at early ages and suppose that Islam is like that. Thus, they deny Islam. They say that their mothers' and grand fathers' heads are full or cobwebs, that Muslims are "retrogressive," and that those who only run after what is worldly and those who have dived into dissipation are "enlightened and modern." They say "fanatical idiots" about those who think of the next world along with the world and those who observe others' rights. They say, "This is the way of the world and so it goes. Paradise and Hell are empty words; who on earth has seen them? Whatever you can do here is to your benefit." No matter what happens to others, they only think of their own advantages, nafs and lusts. But they never cease talking about goodness and humanism in order to deceive and to get along well with everybody. As the most tragic and the basest of crimes, they strive to steal the iman of youngsters, of Muslim children by deceiving them, thus driving them along with themselves towards disasters.
Thousands of valuable books communicating the beliefs, orders and prohibitions of the din of Islam have been written, and many of these have been translated into other languages and have been spread in all countries. Contrarily, heretical and short-sighted people have always attacked the beneficial, blissful and illuminating principles of Islam; they have striven to blemish and change them and to deceive Muslims. I used to pity such people of the wrong path when I was yet a child. I was surprised as to why they could not see the truth and understand the greatness of the Islamic din. I wanted everybody to find the right way, and to be saved from the corruption and calamities of both worlds, here and the Hereafter. I strove to serve people in this way. I requested Allahu ta'ala imploringly to protect youngsters, the innocent and pure children, the sons of martyrs, from the corrupt books and words, to grant everyone success in learning exactly and correctly Islam as it is written in its main original sources. Because the ignorant of the religion cannot attack Islam through knowledge, medical science, cleanliness or morals, they assault by means of base and cowardly lies and slander.
How could Islam ever be defied through knowledge? Islam is the very essence of knowledge. Many parts of Qur'an al-karim command knowledge and praise men of knowledge. For example, it is declared in the ninth ayat of Surat-uz-Zumar: "Is it possible that he who knows and he who does not know be the same? He who knows is certainly valuable!" Rasulullah's 'sall-Allahu alaihi wa salam' words praising and recommending knowledge are so numerous and so famous that even our enemies know about them. For example, in the books Ihya-ul-'ulum and Mawduat-ul-'ulum, the following hadith is written in a section describing the value of knowledge, "Acquire knowledge even if it is in China!" That is, "Go and learn knowledge, even if it is at the farthest place in the world and in the possession of disbelievers! Do not say, 'I don't want it; it is invented by disbelievers'." And it is declared in another hadith ash-Sharif: "Study and learn knowledge from the cradle to the grave!" That is, an old man of eighty, one of whose feet is already in the grave, should study. It is an act of worship for him to learn. And once he declared: "Work for the next world as if you were to die tomorrow, and work for the world as if you would never die." He declared in a hadith ash-Sharif: "Little worship done with knowledge is better than much worship done without understanding." Once he said, "The Devil is more afraid of a savant than of thousands of ignorant worshippers." Muslim woman cannot go on supererogatory hajj without taking her husband's leave; she cannot set out on a journey or pay a visit, either. However, she can go out for the purpose of learning without his permission, if he does not teach her or allow her to learn. As it is seen, though it is a sin for her to go on hajj without permission, which is a great worship liked by Allahu ta'ala, it is not a sin to go out to learn without permission.

Then how can disbelievers ever attack Islam through knowledge? Does knowledge blame knowledge? Of course not, it likes, praises it. He who attacks Islam through knowledge will suffer a defeat. They cannot attack through science, either. 'Science' means 'to see creatures and events, to observe and understand them, and to experiment and make the like.' These three are commanded by Qur'an al-karim. It is fard-i kifaya to study scientific knowledge, arts, and to try to make the most up-to-date arms of war. Our religion commands us to work more than our enemies do. We have communicated one of Rasulullah's very vivid expressions commanding us to study science in one of the initial pages of our book. Then, Islam is a dynamic religion commanding us to study science, experiment and to do positive work.

The enemies cannot attack through medical science, either. Our Prophet 'sall-Allahu alaihi wa sallam' has praised medical science in various ways. For example, he declared: "Knowledge is of two kinds: physical knowledge and religious knowledge." That is, by saying that the most necessary kinds of knowledge are religious knowledge, which will protect the soul, and knowledge of health, which will protect the body, he declared that first of all it is necessary to try to keep the soul and the body healthy. This hadith ash-Sharif is written on the three hundred and eighty-first page of the book Riyad-un-nasihin, which also writes that it has been quoted from the book Zubda-tul-akhbar. There are also those (savants) who say that these are the words of Imam-i Shafi'i 'rahmatullahi ta'ala alaih'. Every word of this great imam is an explanation of ayat-i karimas and hadith ash-Sharifs. Islam commands us to learn physical knowledge before religious knowledge. For all kinds of virtuous deeds can be done with a healthy body.
As it is taught in all universities today, medical science is of two sections: the first one is hygiene, that is, the preservation of health; the second one is therapeutics, the treatment of diseases. The first one is of primary importance. It is the first task of medical science to protect people against diseases, to preserve their health. For the most part, a diseased person remains damaged and unhealthy, even if he is cured. Islam has guaranteed and ensured hygiene, the first task of medical science. In the second part of Mawahib-i ladunniyya, it is proved through ayat al-karimas that Qur'an-al-karim recommends both sections of medical science. Sayyiduna Rasulullah Salla-Allahu alaihi wa Sallam' used to correspond with Heraclius, the Greek Byzantine emperor. They used to exchange messages. We can read the words and the letters of both parties in books. The originals of the letters exist in the two hundred and thirty-eighth page of the Turkish translation of Mawahib-i ladunniyya. As the names of the ambassadors, together with their biographies and many events are obvious, who on earth, both learned and considerate, will say that these are lies, thirteen hundred years later? Their hostility towards the religion, their grudge against our Sayyid Rasulullah 'sall-Allahu alaihi wa sallam' must have covered their minds and ravaged their discernment to the extent that they cannot see the events, proofs or documents; hence, unhesitatingly, they openly lie in order to deceive youngsters. Lying and slandering will disgrace and dishonor one in front of everybody! O our Allah! Your justice is very correct. Those who attack Islam, and thereby attack the comfort and ease of others, deserve eternal torment!

Once, Heraclius sent a few presents. One of these presents was a doctor. The doctor came to Sayyoiduna Rasulullah Salla Allahu Alayhi wa Sallam and said, "Sir, His Excellency sent me to serve you. I will examine your patients free of charge." Rasulullah accepted him. He ordered the Muslims to give him a home, and it was carried out. Every day they brought him delicious food and drinks. Day, months passed, but no Muslim visited the doctor. Ashamed, the doctor came to Rasulullah and said, "Sir, I came here to serve you. Up to now, no patient has visited me. I have just sat idly, eating and drinking. Let me go back now." Upon his request, Rasulullah smiled and said, "It is up to you! If you would like to stay longer, it is the first duty of a Muslim to serve a guest, to show honor to him. If you would like to go, good luck! Only, let it be known that nobody will visit you if you stay here for years, since my Ashab do not become sick! The Islamic religion has shown the way of how not to become sick. My Ashab are extra careful about being clean. They do not eat anything before getting hungry, and they leave the meal table before becoming satiated with food." It is seen that a Muslim, that is, he who obeys the commandments of Islam, does not suffer from illness. Those Muslims who suffer from illnesses are those who do not learn and carry out the commandments. Yes, the illness of death will come to everybody. This illness is a blessing upon Muslims. It is the herald of the voyage to the next world. It is an alarm for getting ready, repenting and saying one's last will. Allahu ta'ala has rendered various diseases the causes of death. Everybody will catch a disease when the appointed time of death comes:
Since there is death in the world, A headache is no more than a pretext.
The life of the person who follows the path shown by Islam and who does not commit human faults or spiritual faults does not pass with a disease! But, everybody, except prophets, may follow his nafs and thereby commit sins. Allahu ta'ala awakens sinful Muslims from unawareness by warning them through disease, paucity and disgrace.
Religiously ignorant people cannot attack Islam through cleanliness, either. When some youngsters among the Tabiin asked the Ashab-i kiram 'ridwanullahi ta'ala alaihim ajmain', "Allahu ta'ala loves you. He praises you in the Qur'an al-karim. What is the reason for this love? Tell us, and we will be like you, so that He will love us, too," they answered, "He loves us because we were extra careful about being clean." Allahu ta'ala declares at various part of the Qur'an al-karim: "I like the clean ones." The person who has seen the beautiful and luminous face of Rasulullah 'sall-Allahu alaihi wa sallam' is called a "Sahabi." When there are more than one, they are called "Ashab." Those who did not see the Most Beautiful but who saw a Sahabi are called "Tabiin. Muslims do not enter mosques or houses with their shoes on. Therefore, the floors and carpets are clean and dustless. Every Muslim has a bath in his home. His body, his underwears, and his food are always clean. Therefore, they don't have microbes or diseases. There is no bath in the palace of Versaille, which the French boast about to the world. Disbelievers are dirty.
They can never attack Islam through morals and virtue, justice or the values of humanity, either. Islamic religion is thoroughly moral and virtue. goodness, justice and generosity, which the Islamic religion commands towards friends and enemies, are so high that they bewilder the mind. The events of the past fourteen centuries have well demonstrated this fact to Islam's enemies as well. Of the innumerable documents let us cite the one which we remember:
In the archives of the Museum of Bursa, it is written in the records of a lawcourt belonging to a period of two hundred years ago: "Muslims built a mosque on an area near the Jewish quarter of a town in Alti Parmak. The Jews said, 'The place belongs to us, you shouldn't have built it here.' So it became a case to be judged in a court. After it was understood that the area belonged to the Jews, the court decreed the mosque to be demolished and the land to be given back to the Jews; the decree was carried out." What justice!
Rasulullah 'sall-Allahu alaihi wa sallam' declared: "I was sent to perfect good habits and to spread good morals over the world." It is declared in a hadith ash-Sharif: "Of you, the one with exalted iman is the one with beautiful moral quality!" Even iman is measured with morals! [The beautiful moral qualities in Islam are written in the book Islam Ahlaki (in Turkish).]
Since those ignorant people who are against Islam can never attack through morals, they produce base ideas to deceive Muslim children through lies and slanders, thus stealing the belief of these innocent youngsters. Most of the time, they disguise themselves as Muslims and pretend to be Muslims by performing salat without a wudu' or ghusl or by financially supporting mosque-building societies. They strive to make them believe their lies, tricks and fables.
Our Prophet tells us what to do in order not to fall into the traps of disbelievers. He declares: "There is Islam where there is knowledge. There is disbelief where there is no knowledge!" Here, too, he commands knowledge.
Then, in order not to be deceived by disbelievers, there is no other way than learning our religion.
From where shall we learn our religion? From the articles, radio broadcasts, movies or newspapers which the enemies of religion have prepared with lies and slanders in order to deceive youngsters or which they have translated from books written by priests or Masons? Or shall we learn it from those ignorant people who, with the purpose of earning money, edit incorrect books and translations of the Qur'an? In Ramadan, in 1960, the Radio of Moscow attacked Islam insolently through very base and loathsome lies. The enemy's motion pictures misrepresent the lives of the prophets 'alaihis-salatu wattaslimat' and Islamic history as loathsome by fabricating pictures. Muslims watch these corrupt pictures, assume that they are true, and in this way their faith, iman becomes depraved. The enemy's radio, motion pictures and magazines continue to proliferate. From where shall we learn our religion so that we can defend ourselves from these attacks?
Whom does a person who has trouble with his eyes resort to? To a dustman, a porter, a lawyer, a teacher of mathematics or to a doctor who is an eye specialist? Of course, he goes to the specialist and learns its remedy. And he who is seeking ways to save his faith and iman should approach a religion specialist, instead of resorting to a lawyer, a mathematician, a newspaper or movies. Where and who are the religion specialists? Are they the translators who learn Arabic in Beirut, Syria, Iraq or Egypt? No. Religion specialists are now under the ground! It is very hard to find them on the earth today!
To be a religious savant, it is necessary to know contemporary knowledge of science and art to the extent of a graduate level at the faculties of science and letters, to receive a doctorate degree in these branches, to know the Qur'an al-karim and its meaning by heart, to know thousands of hadiths and their meanings by heart, to be specialized in he twenty main branches of Islamic knowledge, to know well the eighty sections of these branches, to have efficiency in the delicate points of the four madhhabs, to reach the grade of ijtihad in these madhhabs, and to reach the highest grade of tasawwuf called "Wilayat-i Khassa-i Muhammadiyya." Where is such a savant now? I wonder if those who are known as religious men and who know Arabic perfectly could read and understand the books of those great people? If there were such a savant today, no one could attack the religion, and the false heroes who bluster shameless slanders would look for a place to take shelter. Formerly, in madrasas and mosques, also contemporary scientific knowledge was taught. Islamic savants used to be brought up well versed in scientific knowledge. The Tanzimat Kanunu (Reorganization Law), which the freemason Rashid Pasha prepared in cooperation with the British Ambassador and announced on 26 Shaban 1255 [1839 A.D.], during the reign of Sultan 'Abdulmajid, prohibited the instruction of scientific subjects in madrasas. This was the first step taken towards the stratagem of educating ignorant men of religion.
Once there were many such savants. One of them was Imam-i Muhammad Ghazali (rahmatullahi 'alaih). His work is a witness to his depth in religious knowledge and his high grade in ijtihad. He who reads and understands these writings of his will know him. He who does not know him will attempt to impute his own defects to him. In order to understand a savant, one has to be a savant. He was specialized in all the branches of the scientific knowledge of his time, too. He was the Rector of Baghdad University. After learning Greek, the second language of that time, in two years, he examined Roman and Greek philosophy and science, and proclaimed their errors, their disgrace in his books. He wrote about the rotation of the earth, the structure of matter, the calculations of solar and lunar eclipses and many other technical and social facts.
Another Islamic savant was Imam-i Rabbani Ahmad-i Faruqi. It has been unanimously stated by religious authorities that his dept in religious knowledge, his high grade in ijtihad, and especially his perfection in tasawwuf were above the mind's ability to comprehend. The books that have appeared recently in the United States have begun to be illuminated by the rays of this sun of happiness. Imam-i Rabbani 'rahmatullahi alaih' was specialized in the scientific knowledge of his time, too. In the two hundred and sixty-sixth letter of the first volume of his book Maktubat, he writes, "My son Muhammad Mathum has recently completed reading the book Sharh-i Mawaqif. During his lessons, he has well understood the errors and the defects of the Greek philosophers. He has learned many facts." This is a scientific book and has been taught until recently in the high (university) division of Islamic madrasas. Mawaqif was written by Qadi 'Adud and this, (that is, the book mentioned above by Imam-i-Rabbani), is the revision of it by Sayyid Sharif Ali Jurjani [740-816 A.H. (1336-1413 A.D.)]. A great Arabic work of about a thousand pages, it explains all the scientific knowledge of that time. The book is divided into six parts, each of which contains different sections. In the second paragraph of the third chapter of the first section of the fourth part, it proves that the earth is spherical, and in the sixth paragraph, it proves that it rotates from west to east. It also gives valuable information about atoms, various states of matter, forces and psychological events.
Europeans have derived most of their scientific knowledge and its basis from Islamic books. While Europeans assumed that the earth was flat like a tray surrounded by a wall, Muslims had known that the earth was spherical and was rotating. This fact is written in detail in the books Sharh-i Mawaqif and Marifatnama. They measured the length of the meridian in the open plain of Sinjar between Musul and Diyar-i Bakr, finding the result as it is found today. Nur-ud-din Batruji, who passed away in 581 [1185 A.D.], was a professor of astronomy at the Islamic University of Andalusia. He wrote today's astronomy in his book Alhayat. When Galileo, Copernicus and Newton said that the earth rotated after learning this fact from Islamic books, they were deemed guilty for their words. Galileo was judged and imprisoned by priests. Until the Tanzimat [reforms of Abdulmajid in 1839], scientific lessons had been taught in madrasas. Enlightened men of religion had been educated. They had been leading the world. When scientific lessons were abrogated, explorations and inventions stopped. The West began to gain on the East.
Today, we will learn our religion from the books of those great savants. Religious knowledge can be learned from the Ahl as-sunnat savants or from their books. It cannot be acquired through kashf or inspiration. He who reads their books will both learn knowledge, and his heart will be purified.
Useful things providing men with a healthy, salutary, comfortable and cheerful life (in this world) and endless happiness in the Hereafter are called Nimat (blessing). Allahu ta'ala, being very compassionate, created all the blessings His born servants would need. And through His heavenly books, which He revealed to His Prophets, He instructed us on how we should use and utilize them. These instructions are called Din. If any person, Muslim and disbeliever alike, leads a life in conformity with these books, he will enjoy comfort and peace in the world. A drugstore carries hundreds of medicines. And each of these medicines has a set of instructions packed with it. A person who uses the medicine as it is prescribed in the instructions will benefit from it. He who does not follow the instructions will suffer harm. Likewise, a person who lives compatibly with Qur'an al- karim will benefit from the blessings.
It is necessary to be a Muslim so that you can attain happiness in this world and in the Hereafter, while living peacefully and joyfully. One who has faith and does his worships is called a Muslim. Having faith means to believe in six certain principles and all of the commandments and prohibitions. Allahu ta'ala is pleased with those who are true Muslims. A true Muslim is loved by Allahu ta'ala. Being a true Muslim requires you to have the faith communicated by the Ahl-as-Sunnat savants, and to worship correctly and sincerely. Allahu ta'ala has promised that He will love such people, that He will inspire fayds and nurs into their hearts in the world and that in the Here after He will give thawab (blessings) as a reward for the worships performed correctly and sincerely. Worshipping means doing the commands (fards) and taqwa means avoiding the prohibitions (harams). Performing an act of worship correctly requires learning how it is to be done, and performing it by following he things you have learned. Ikhlas means doing every worship for the sake of Allahu ta'ala only. Worshipping Allahu ta'ala is done either by giving away one's property or by worshipping physically. For example, performing pious and charitable deeds, saving Muslims from trouble, remembering Allahu ta'ala, and asking for forgiveness (tawba) are all forms of worship. There is no ikhlas [Doing everything only for Allah's sake.] (sincerity) but riya (hypocrisy) in the worship which is done to obtain property, rank, respect or fame. Such worship is not rewarded with blessings. It will be a sin and a cause for being tormented. Dark stains develop in the hearts of those who commit harams or bidat (heresy), and also in the hearts of those who are the friends or neighbors of disbelievers or la-madhhabi individuals. Imam-i Rabbani (rahmat-Allahu 'alaih) says in the fifty ninth letter of the first volume of his book Maktubat, "When beginning any worship, all Muslims must keep in their minds the intention of performing an action for Allahu ta'ala's sake. Allahu ta'ala has ordered them to do so, and He loves it. Hence, they will perform that action sincerely. However, all good deeds and favors should be done with sincerity (Ikhlas), and this sincerity must come immediately from the heart. A good intention and ikhlas are obtained with difficulty and by disciplining oneself, and the results are never permanent. Gradually the desires of nafs settle upon the heart. Owners of permanent ikhlas are called Mukhlas. Those who have inconstant ikhlas and who strive to obtain ikhlas are called Mukhlis. It is easy and sweet for a mukhlas to worship. This is because three are no desires of the nafs or anxiety from satan in their hearts. This kind of ikhlas can only come into one's heart through the heart of a Wali." While beginning to worship one can obtain inconstant ikhlas by fighting against one's nafs and satan. Doing worships with this ikhlas causes the nafs to become weak in the course of time. This, in turn, brings about permanent ikhlas. However, to attain permanent ikhlas takes years.
As we now know, ultraviolet rays kill microbes. Tuberculous patients have their lungs cleaned through radio therapy in sanitariums. As ultraviolet rays clean the lungs, likewise, there are rays that clean the heart. These rays are called nur and fayd. The heart's sickness is its following the nafs, liking and being fond of the harams. The sun radiates ultraviolet rays. And the source that radiates nur is the heart of a Wali. The hearts of the Awliya are like full moons. The moon reflects the rays which it receives from the sun. And the hearts of the Awliya radiate to the world the nur which they receive from Rasulullah's blessed heart, which radiates energy like the sun. The Awliya are dead. And the ones living today are not known. But, when man dies, his heart and soul do not die with him. In fact, they get stronger because they have gotten rid of the cage of the body. Today, there are electro- magnetic waves everywhere, in every room. But we do not perceive them. A receiver, e.g. a radio, is necessary to receive them. Also, there are rays of nur everywhere. But we do not perceive them either. Some force or some means is necessary to receive them and to make use of them. Again this receiver is the heart. The heart is like a substance with phosphorescent properties. Dispensing nur it has received to dark hearts, it causes them to shine. The longer a Believer lives and the better he becomes in worshipping and taqwa, the more nurs will his heart include. However, receiving these nurs and fayds abundantly requires loving a Wali. And if he brings himself into favor with him by attending his sohbat and keeping him company, he will receive even more fayd.
By "the heart," we do not mean the piece of flesh on the left hand side of our chest, which is also called "heart," and which animals have, too. The heart proper to man is different. The heart is an invisible force. It is noticed through its effects. An electric current is not seen, either. But, because it causes the resistance wire to radiate light by heating it up when it passes through the bulb, we understand that it exists in the bulb. However, electricity is not matter. It does not occupy a place. And the force which we call "the heart" is not matter, either. It does not occupy a place. Since its effects are seen in a piece of flesh, which is also called the "heart," we say that its place is in the heart.
[If the defects of a person's heart or of its lids cannot be corrected through a surgical operation, the healthy heart of another person who is about to die is transplanted to him. As we often hear, persons with transplanted hearts die within a few days. Supposing that they should go on living, their insubstantial properties, which we also call "the heart," do not change; no change occurs in their hearts or souls. A person with a transplanted heart or any other organ does not get any younger. He keeps on getting old.]
Electricity is conducted through copper wires. The sender and the receiving set of a radio are attached to each other through electromagnetic waves. It is written in the twentieth letter of the fourth volume of the book Maktubat that what attaches the hearts to one another is love. When a person sees a Wali and talks to him or reads his books, he loves him, seeing that he adheres to the Shariat perfectly, that his knowledge is like an ocean, that he has excellent morals, and that he does favors for everyone. Since he loves Rasulullah, he also loves the person who is in His way. But, loving these good characteristics of his is not sufficient. He has to know very well and love the owner of these good characteristics. For, hypocrites, disbelievers, and freemasons can have the same good qualities, too. So, it is necessary to know that he is a murshid, to recognize his face, figure and physiognomy. It must be a pleasure for one to see and dream of him by heart. This is called performing Rabita. By always performing rabita towards him, it will be as if he were seeing him. Everything that has an effect on sense organs has an effect on the heart, too. As seeing something beautiful has an effect on the heart, so thinking of it will have an effect of the heart and the heart will enjoy it. That is, performing Rabita will be like being with him.
The more the love, the more light he will receive. Hadrat Ubaidullah-i Ahrar said, "While attaching the heart to property, to goods and to every kind of worldly affairs is not considered a crime, why should it be a crime to attach the heart to a Mumin (Muslim)?"
Suppose we put a mirror against the sun, a second mirror against this, a third one against the second one, and a fourth one against it..., the sun will be seen in each of the thirty mirrors put in such an order. For each mirror reflects the sun to the other. By the same token, the heart of each of the Ashab-i kiram ('alaihimurridwan) was brightened like a mirror by the nur radiated by the blessed heart of Rasulullah (sall-Allahu 'alaihi wa sallam). Seeing his beautiful moral qualities, hearing his sweet words, witnessing his mujizas, and watching his luminous face, they loved him a great deal. They tried to be like him in everything they did. Each of them would have sacrificed his life upon one signal of his. By spreading abundant nur, which they thus received to the young hearts attached to them, they purified these hearts. This nur was passed from these hearts to those of other youngsters who were attached to them. Thus, for thirteen hundred years, being radiated by the hearts of the Awliya, his same nur purified the hearts attached to these hearts and thereby brightened them like mirrors. That is, the eyes of their hearts were opened. The fortunate persons who were blessed with this lot were called Wali or Awliya (those whom Allah loves.)
Mazhar-i Jan-i Janan, the 'qutb' of his time and a great Wali, says, "I attained all of what I gained by loving my murshids (religious teachers) very much. The key to all kinds of happiness is to love those whom Allah loves." And Hadrat 'Ali Ramitani 'radi-Allahu ta'ala sirrahul'aziz' says, "The hearts of people who devoted themselves to Allah is the place where He looks. To people who entered such hearts, there will be a share in that look."
The heart is dependent both upon the nafs and upon the sense organs and is attached to those things which the sense organs are preoccupied with. When man sees something lovely, hears a beautiful voice, or tastes something sweet, the heart becomes attached to them. Man cannot help this love. Also, when man reads something beautiful, the heart becomes attached to the writer and its meaning. By "beautiful and sweet", 'what comes beautiful and sweet to the heart' is meant. Most of the time, man cannot realize real beauty. He confuses what appears beautiful to the nafs with what appears beautiful to the ruh. If the heart is strong, it realizes beauty and loves it. Valuable things such as ayats, hadiths, words of the Awliya, prayers, and tasbihs are originally beautiful. They are very sweet. The heart, after its attachment to the nafs decreases and it is released from the bondage of the nafs, it will love them too. When a man reads or hears them, his heart becomes attached to them without his awareness of it. When this person reads Qur'an al-karim or listens to it being read or makes dhikr, his heart loves Allahu ta'ala. To release the heart from the bondage, from the oppression of the nafs, it is necessary to oppress the nafs and strengthen the heart. This is possible only by obeying Rasulullah. If person who has released his heart from the paws of his nafs by following Muhammad 'alaihis-salam' observes a Wali, he will realize that he is a beloved born servant of Allah and a (spiritual) heir to the Messenger of Allah. Since he loves Allah very much, he will also love very much whomever Allah loves. But loving is not easy. There have been many people who were mistaken by thinking of what their nafs loved to be real beauties which the ruh loved and they have ended up in disasters.
He who does his best to attain the love of Allahu ta'ala is called a Salih. He who has already attained this love is called an Arif or Wali. He who is a means for others to attain the love of Allahu ta'ala is called a Murshid. These three people are called Sadiq. It is declared in the hundred and twentieth ayat of the Surat-ut-Tawba in the Qur'an: "O Believers! Always, at all times be in company of Sadiqs!" This ayat-i karima commands doing the rabita. It is declared in a hadith: "All the blessings and nur which Allahu ta'ala has poured into my heart, I poured them into Abu Bakr's heart." Because Abu Bakr 'radi- Allahu ta'ala anh' was ahead of all others in taqwa and worshipping and because he realized better than anyone else did how great Rasulullah was so that he himself was a mere nothing when compared with the Messenger of Allah, and because won Rasulullah's love more than anyone else did, more fayds came to him than did to anyone else and he received all he fayds coming. As it is understood from these and the like, our religion asks us to keep company with the Awliya, and to learn Rasulullah's path from them.
Ashab-i kiram (the companions of the Prophet) and Tabiin-i izam (those who conversed with the Ashab-i kiram) are called Salaf-i salihin. The Ahl-as-Sunnat savants of the Salaf-i salihin who lived until the end of the four hundredth year of the Hegira are called Halaf-i sadiqin. Halaf-i sadiqin always followed the Salaf-i salihin in the knowledge of faith, deeds and heart; they never deviated from the way of the Salaf-i salihin. It appeared to be impossible to see murshid-i kamils (perfect murshids) after the year fourteen hundred, just as was the fact that there had been no mutlaq mujtahids (absolute mujtahids) left after the year four hundred. In the world, until the Day of Resurrection, there will be mujaddids [renovators] (rahmat-Allahu ta'ala 'alaihim ajmain), who will be neither murshid-i kamils, Wali (Awliya) nor mujtahids. These mujaddids will spread the books of the mujtahids all over the world and teach the teachings of the Ahl as-Sunnat and the right way, which will have been forgotten by people. They will answer the slanders and lies of the people of bidat (heretics), who will have spread all over the world, the sham mystics, the zindiqs (the hypocrites), and the exploiters of religion and science. Those who will find and read the books of the mujaddids will attain happiness in this world and in the Hereafter.
Sultan Mahmud Ghaznawi, the founder of the Ghaznawi Empire, which was a great Islamic empire, was born in 357 and died in 421 A.H. in Ghazna. One day, this great emperor of Asia visited Hadrat Abul-Hasan-i Harqani, one of the higher ones of the Awliya. In the course of their conversation, he asked him, "What kind of a person was your leader Bayazid-i Bastami?" Hadrat Shaikh answered him, "Bayazid was such a perfect Wali that those who saw him attained the right way. They became of those whom Allahu ta'ala likes." Sultan Mahmud did not like this answer. He said, "People such as Abu Jahl and Abu Lahab saw Rasulullah, the Sayyid of the universe, many times. Despite this fact, they did not come round to the right course. How can you say that those who saw your shaikh came round to the right course?" He meant to say, "Was your shaikh higher than our Sayyid, Rasulullah? Do you mean to say that those who saw your shaikh escaped disbelief, while those who saw Hadrat Muhammad, Sayyid of both worlds, the most superior of the superiors, Allah's beloved Prophet, did not escape it?" Hadrat Abul Hasan said, "The idiots Abu Jahl and Abu Lahab did not see Allah's beloved Prophet, our Master Muhammad, who is the highest of mankind. They saw Muhammad, who was the orphan of Abu Talib, and the son of Abdullah. They saw him from that point of view. If they had seen him as Abu Bakr Siddiq did, they would have escaped disbelief, thus attaining perfection like him. Allahu ta'ala, to point out this subtlety, declared in the one hundred and ninety- seventh ayat of Surat-ul-Araf: "You see them look at you. They cannot understand you. They do not see your superiority." Sultan Mahmud Khan (rahmat-Allahi ta'ala 'alaih) liked these answers very much. His respect and love for religious savants increased.
No matter what one's rank or post, it must be understood that he who attacks Islam is ignorant in religion; he knows nothing about the Islamic religion.
A fortunate person who reads and understands the book Se'adet-i Ebediyye both will learn religious knowledge and will get to know Imam-i Rabbani; thus, his heart becoming inclined, he will become attached to him. Receiving the nur which he (Imam-i Rabbani) radiates over the world, he will, unknown to himself, begin to approach perfection. As an unripe watermelon ripens and sweetens under the rays of the sun, so will he mature, thus becoming a perfect person. He will note the changes in his views of the world and life. He will begin to experience some hals, zawks and sweet dreams. He will begin to dream of Imam-i Rabbani and of the other Awliya, of the Ashab-i kiram and of Rasulullah, to see their faces when awake and even to talk with them. His nafs being freed from unawareness, he will begin to experience the taste of salat and to take pleasure from worshipping. He will now hate sins, things that are haram and bad habits. He will form good habits. He will do favors for everybody. He will be useful for society, for people. He will attain, and will also make others attain, eternal felicity. As Hadrat Sayyid Sharif Jurjani, one of the great savants of the Hanafi madhhab, writes at the end of Sharh-i mawaqif and at the beginning of Hashiyatu Sharh-ul-Matali' and in Bariqa, p.270, the figures of the Awliya show themselves to their murids even after their death and give them fayd. To see them and receive fayd is not easy; it is necessary to hold the belief of Ahl as-sunnat by learning it from books, to obey the Shariat, and to like and to respect the Awliya. It is written in the book Maraj-ul-bahrayn, "All great men of tasawwuf were of the Ahl as-sunnat. None of the performers of bidat reached the Marifat of Allahu ta'ala. The nur of Wilayat did not enter their hearts. The darkness of the bidat, concerning either worship or belief, prevented the nur of Wilayat from entering their hearts. If the dirt of bidat is not removed from the heart, and if the heart is not ornamented with the Ahl as-sunnat belief, the rays of the sun of haqiqat will not enter the heart. Such a heart will not be illuminated by the nur of yaqin." See Makatib-i Sharifa, letter 69.
It is written in Irshad-ut-talibin, "When a Murshid-i kamil dies, he does not cease giving fayd. He even gives more. But, men's contact with the dead is unlike their contact with the living. For this reason, little fayd is received from the soul of a dead one. Those who have reached fana and baqa have extensive relations with a dead one, almost as much as when he was alive. Therefore, they get much fayd; yet still they get more when the latter is alive. Murshids facilitate those in their company to adhere to the Shariat, and inspire them with love and respect through all their manners and words, thus causing them to receive more fayd." As it is seen, it is necessary to look for a murshid. Though a faithful and pure Muslim can receive fayd from an Awliya, dead or alive, the living Awliya will instruct him on the tasks that he has to do. He will correct his faults, thus it will become easy to receive much more fayd. On the contrary, the dead cannot say anything. They cannot show the way. They cannot correct his faults. His receiving fayd comes to an end. He cannot be taught through inspiration or dreams by the dead either. Delusion, fancy or the Devil might get involved in inspirations and dreams. And the inspirations and dreams that are not involved with them, may be connotative and in need of an explanation; the correct ones cannot be distinguished from the false ones. The gain would be very valuable, but the loss is much more dangerous. Nevertheless, in case one cannot find a real murshid, one should not fall into the traps of false and ignorant murshids. Rather, he should try to receive fayd from the souls of the dead ones. For attaining this, it is necessary to have the Ahl as-sunnat belief and to obey the Shariat, to read books written by real scholars, and to make sohbat with those who read the books of true Islamic savants. A little child likes its mother best and trusts in her. When it becomes wise enough, it trusts its father more, relies on him and gets use from him. When it begins going to school or to work, it adheres to its teacher or master and gets use from him. Allah's divine way is so. Likewise, the earnings of the soul are acquired first through parents and then through the murshid and then through Rasulullah 'sall-Allahu alaihi wa sallam'.
Question: Since no Murshid-i kamil has been seen after the first half of the fourteenth century of the Hegira, why don't we attach our heart to the heart of Rasulullah, and thereby receive his strong nur, instead of attaching our heart to the hearts of past Walis by reading their words and thus knowing them? Besides, isn't it a principle of iman to be attached to him, that is, to believe and love him?
Answer: No doubt it is better to follow Rasulullah directly (sall-Allahu ta'ala alaihi wa sallam), and after his passing, to follow his holy soul. This is even necessary and wajib. In the 81 th letter of the book (Makatib-i Sharifa), it states: "Thinking of a Wali as an eyeglass, we should look at Rasulullah and Allahu ta'ala through this eyeglass." To find a Wali or his books, to know him, to do rabita with him is actually for the purpose of becoming attached to the sacred soul of Rasulullah (sallallahu ta'ala alaihi wa sallam). By merely reading or hearing about him, it is difficult for one to dream of the figure, the physiognomy, of someone whom he has never seen before. Not the desired one, but someone else may be seen in this case. That is why rabita is not practiced with Rasulullah. It would be kufr (infidelity) to believe someone else to be Rasulullah. This danger does not occur when practicing rabita with the Awliya. One who performs rabita with a murshid-i kamil will have with the heart looked into his blessed heart. Therein, he will see the holy heart of Rasulullah. Thus, he will have performed rabita with Rasulullah. This is the only way the ignorant, the heedless, like us, do rabita with Rasulullah. Through this kind of rabita, after receiving fayd (spiritual power) from Rasulullah, it will be possible and easy to perform rabita directly with him, and to get fayd from the graves of Awliya and from their souls. One who performs rabita with Rasulullah and receives fayd from him loves him very much. Imam-i Ghazali (rahmatullahi alaih), at the end of his book (Ayyuhal Walad), says, "Every Muslim is in need of an education from a murshid. A murshid, by training him, saves him from bad habits. He supplants good habits in the place of bad ones. Education is similar to a farmer's efforts to make the plantation on his land strong and improved by cleaning away harmful herbs. Allahu ta'ala sent prophets (alaihimussalam) to show his creatures the correct path. He created murshids to represent the prophets after their death. The signs of a murshid is as follows... ." The Arabic original of this book and its Turkish and French translations are published by Hakikat Kitabevi (bookstore). Since a Wali knows better and is strongly tied to Rasulullah (sallallahu ta'ala alaihi wa sallam), he gets fayd from his sacred heart, and these fayds are directed towards the hearts of those tied to that Wali. [Hearts receiving fayd become clean. They attain good morals.] Imam-i Rabbani 'quddisa sirruh', in his 260 th letter says, "Fayd, nur, which are in the heart of a murshid, like sunlight, shine on everybody. They flow towards the hearts of those Muslims who love him and who adapt themselves to the Shariat. They are unaware of the reception of these fayds. They understand that their hearts are purified. Like a watermelon maturing under the light of the sun, they reach maturity. Ashab-i kiram (ridwanullahi ta'ala alaihim ajmain) matured and reached perfection during the sohbats of Rasulullah (sallallahu alaihi wa sallam). The worst obstruction preventing Muslims from receiving fayd is being a bidat holder." In his 61 st letter, he also says, "The most harmful thing that destroys people's willingness to attain of Allahu ta'ala is religious leaders who are ignorant and full of lies. Their books and words blacken the heart. Those who fall into their traps are similar to sick people going to a sham and ignorant doctor." Most apparent distinction between a real Wali and a counterfeit shaikh is that a real Wali has wara' and taqwa. (Taqwa) means believing in accordance with the Ahl as-sunnat itiqad and abstaining from the harams. Abstaining also from those things which are doubtful is called (wara'). Ahl as-sunnat savants were all owners of wara' and taqwa. In a hadith ash-Sharif, contained in the one hundred and twelfth letter of the book (Maktubat) by Muhammad Mathum (rahmatullahi alaih), it is declared: "It is an act of worship to sit with an owner of wara'." Islamic savants wrote many books in which they explained things that cause kufr, which are haram and which are doubtful. The book (Al-Kabair) by Ibni Nujaym-i Misri is a famous book. It is published with a Turkish translation in 1304 in Istanbul. In the book Kufr ve Kabair (Disbelief and Grave Sins), written by Sayyid Abdulhakim Arwasi, it points out about three hundred and three things which are grave sins, and one hundred and eleven things that cause kufr.
The religious knowledge conveyed by Rasulullah (sallallahu ta'ala alaihi wa sallam) is divided into two categories: knowledge of the body and knowledge of the heart. It was his duty to teach his Ashab the knowledge of the body, that is, the knowledge of the things to be believed in with the heart and the knowledge of the belief and the worship to be performed or abstained from with the body. He informed all of them personally and directly. The spiritual teachings that pertain to the heart and which are termed Marifat and Tasawwuf, like the rays of the sun, emanated continuously from his blessed heart and spread out in all directions. Each Sahabi attained a certain portion of fayd coming [flowing] to his heart in proportion to his ability and talent. Because they had very strong affection for the Messenger of Allah, in no time they attained as much of the nur radiated as their capacity allowed. And these nurs they attained, in their turn, hastened the formation of ikhlas in them and enhanced the already existing lot. Please recheck the final part of the forty-sixth chapter. Knowledge of the body has been learned from the four sources and has reached us through fiqh books. Those who want to obey Rasulullah must worship according to fiqh books. The knowledge of the heart, which purifies the heart, soul and the nafs has come to us by means of the hearts of the Awliya. Those who want to adapt themselves to Rasulullah in the knowledge of the heart and soul, should stay near a Wali and take this knowledge from his heart. A Wali is a means, a path between the heart of a man and the sacred heart of Rasulullah (sallallahu ta'ala alaihi wa sallam). The knowledge of the heart is not obtained quickly by reading books of tasawwuf. The fountain and source of this knowledge is the hearts of arifs. At the end of the book Samarat-ul-fuad it is also written this way. Each Sahabi had also conveyed the knowledge of the body and of the heart which he had obtained from Rasulullah to those requesting it. Muslims coming afterwards took the knowledge of the body from books of fiqh and the knowledge of the heart from the hearts of murshids. Those who say, "I will learn the knowledge of the body directly from Rasulullah's sayings, that is, from the hadith ash-Sharifs," have fallen into the traps of the nafs and the devil by understanding the meanings of the hadith ash-Sharifs wrongly. Those who say, "I will receive the knowledge of the heart directly from the heart of Rasulullah," have also fallen into the traps of the nafs and the devil. It is necessary to obtain knowledge of the body from the words or books of the Ahl as-sunnat savants, and knowledge of the heart from the hearts of these savants who are alive or from their souls if they are death. The experts of this knowledge, that is, the murshids all expressed the same idea. The hadith ash-Sharifs contained in the book Kunuz-ud-daqaiq, such as, "A savant among his students is like a prophet among his Ashab" and "The superiority of a savant to his students is like the superiority of a prophet to his ummat" and "Everything has a source. The source of taqwa is the hearts of arifs" and "To obtain a fiqh session is better than worshipping for a year" and "looking at the faces of savants is worshipping" are proofs for the things we have written above. Allahu ta'ala promised that the Islamic religion will survive till the end of the world. He created the Ottoman Empire for the protection of the knowledge of the body and the Murshids for the preservation of the knowledge of the heart. The British State, Islam's bitterest enemy, annihilated these two guardians after working for centuries. Allahu ta'ala is creating new guardians and Islam is going on in its way.
Let us mention also the fact that as each person has a different illness in his heart and soul, so everybody has a different property, a different tendency called "idiosyncracy: Uberempfindlickheit gegen bestimmte Reize." Rasulullah has not only communicated the diseases of the heart and its treatment, but he has also given hundreds of thousands of different kinds of facts regarding individuals, families, societies, wars, and problems of inheritance, that is, all kinds of affairs pertaining to this and the next worlds. It is next to impossible for us, ignorant people, who do not know our own disease or its medicine, to pick out the one which is suitable for us of these hadiths. It is stated in the fifty-fourth letter of the second volume: "Hadiths have been forgotten by now. Bidats are widespread. True and false books have been mixed with one another. Murshid-i kamils, being specialists of the heart and the soul, have picked out these hadiths the spiritual medicines which are suitable for the nature of each individual, for his special illness, and for the time's zulmat and fasad. Rasulullah, being the chief doctor, prepared hundreds of thousands of medicines for the world's pharmaceutical store. Awliya are like his assistant doctors who distribute these ready-made medicines in accordance with the diseases of the patients. Since we do not know our own disease or understand its appropriate cure, if we attempt to look for a medicine for ourselves among hundreds of thousands of hadiths, we may, having an allergy, suffer harm instead of getting better, thus getting our desert for being ignorant. It is for this reason that it was declared in a hadith: "He who interprets the Qur'an in accordance with his own understanding becomes a disbeliever." Since la-madhhabis and the like cannot understand this subtlety, they say, "Everybody should understand his faith by himself by reading the Qur'an and hadiths. He should not read the books of the four madhhabs." By saying this they prevent the books of the Ahl as-sunnat savants from being read. The Persian book Radd-i Wahhabi gives excellent answers to these slanders of the La- madhhabis. Also in the 97 th letter of the second volume of Maktubat, Imam-i Rabbani Ahmad Faruqi answers them, too.
As a final word, I would like to say that Wali means 'an Ahl as-sunnat scholar who has attained the love and the consent of Allahu ta'ala' and 'The Ahl as-sunnat Madhhab' means 'the way shown by Qur'an-al-karim and hadiths.' The savants of the Ahl as-sunnat learned this way from the Ashab-i kiram. They respected not what they understood, but what they heard from the Ashab-i kiram. "To dissent from the Ahl as-sunnat' means 'to dissent from the right way of the Qur'an and hadiths.' Of these people, even who dissent from the Ahl as- sunnat and who misunderstand occult indications in the Qur'an and in well-known hadiths, do not become kafirs; they become holders of bidat. They start deceiving ignorant people by calling their wrong derivations 'The way of the Qur'an,' 'The way of the Ashab.'
In order to attain the consent and love of Allahu ta'ala, it is necessary for us to have ikhlas and qalb-i salim. Purification of the heart is only possible by believing in Rasulullah (sallallahu alaihi wa sallam), by loving and by being dependent on him. To do this, the shortest and easiest way is to know a Wali and to establish rabita with him, that is, to become attached to him by heart, provided that we learn the Ahl as-sunnat itiqad, Shariat and manners of tasawwuf from his words and books. A Wali is understood to be a Wali from the document given to him by his master in a written form, and from the suitability of all of his words and actions to Shariat. In times when such a Wali can not be seen, one who does rabita with any Wali will become his Uwaysi. In the 286 th letter of Maktubat, it is stated: "Someone who could not participate in the sohbats of an arif may enjoy the luck of receiving fayd from the souls of the great men (of the din). Allahu ta'ala make these souls a means in order that these people may progress." Arifs and Walis continue to give fayd to those who desire it even after they die, since they attained the good news declared in the hadith al-qudsi, which was written at the end of 46 th item of the first part [of the Turkish original]. Please look at the 54 th item of the second part and the 291 st letter of Maktubat also! It is explained in the 17 th item of the second part how to receive fayd from the soul of a Wali. Muhammad Mathum-i Faruqi (rahmatullahi alaih), in this 142 nd letter in the third volume (of his Maktubat), writes, "It is very good for you to come to the city of Sarhand with the intention of making a visit to the qabr-i Sharif (honored grave) of Imam-i Rabbani (quddisa sirruh). You will obtain fayd and blessings here. You will profit from the lights and secrets coming from the source in Madina-i Munawwara. Even though the darkness of kufr and wickedness in India blacken hearts and make souls sick; just as water in the darkness of the forest gives life to souls and cleans hearts, the city of Sarhand today is a place where fayds and lights, coming [through the blessed hearts of Awliya] from the source in Madina-i munawwara, are emanating. You should not deem that place like the ones in India where there is kufr (disbelief) and oppression. This place is the door of [the way which leads someone to attain the consent of Allahu ta'ala] Wilayat. The lights and secrets coming from the blessed heart of Rasulullah (Salla Allahu ta'ala alaihi wa Sallam) are now springing here. Those who want to attain the consent of Allahu ta'ala will receive, at the rate of their love for him, fayd and blessings by believing and visiting his grave. Most of those living close to this blessed place are deprived of this blessing because they do not believe in and underestimate its value. People who enter a room where there is musk will smell a nice perfume. Even if you put musk inside the nose of a man who has a cold, he will not sense its smell." The book (Tuhfat-ul-Ushshaq) informs us that something are written in the book (Muzakkin-nufus) by Ashrafzada Abdullah Rumi. While fayds and blessings flow abundantly in sohbats, the second method will give them only in drops. But, only a single drop of it is more valuable and delicious than all earthly earnings. Visiting his grave will cause an increase in the number of drops, but falling into the traps of la- madhhabis, corrupt ones, impostors, and lying shaikhs causes a full stoppage of the drops. Connection between hearts and souls results from believing, loving and desiring.
If a Muslim attends the sohbat of a Wali, or makes (rabita) to Wali, that is, imagines with great respect his figure, face [in front of his heart's eye], or if he learns his life and words and loves him and thinks of him weeping, fayd and marifas in the heart of the Wali will flow into that Muslim's heart. There are a lot of happy and lucky people who have matured in this way, by rabita only, and have become Walis. They have informed us in hundreds of books about the blessings and high degrees they attained by this way. Allahu ta'ala's mercy and blessings in this respect will continue until doomsday.

When we say that we love someone, it is understood that we have a figurative affection for him. The ignorant, bidat practitioners, and pure and faithful Muslims all love Rasulullah in this way. For being a Muslim this affection is adequate. To attain a love that will facilitate the reception of fayd, they must learn about and love his words, actions, behavior and morals. Someone is obeyed when he is thoroughly loved; he will be followed in every matter.
Someone will forget everything else if the love he has is enormous. This type of forgetting is called (Fana-i qalb). He will even forget himself. The forgetting of the self is also called (fana-yi nafs). In Makatib-i Sharifa, in the 90 th letter, it is said that "When fana-i qalb is attained, the hatera (thinking of creatures) will not stay in the heart. But they still stay in the mind. When fana-yi nafs is attained, they leave the mind, too. Only the ahl-i tasawwuf can understand this writing of ours. It is not learned by being educated being in high schools or universities." Thus, when fana is attained, that is, when an Arif is loved very much, fayd, lights, and sacred blessings, which are coming to that arif from Rasulullah, (sallallahu ta'ala alaihi wa sallam) flow toward the heart of these lovers and they attain real ikhlas. Hence, they enjoy worshipping, and they obtain the consent of Allahu ta'ala. After this stage, "Fana-fir-Rasul" will be obtained; that is, by deeply loving Rasulullah (sallallahu ta'ala alaihi wa sallam), a person receives fayd directly from his sacred heart. In this case, he no longer needs a Murshid (a spiritual guide).

The only way to attain happiness here and in the Hereafter is to become a Muslim. And being a Muslim requires believing in the facts such as that Allahu ta'ala exists and is one, that He sees and knows everything, that He is the maker [creator] of everything, that Sayyiduna Muhammad 'alaihis-salam' is the Beloved Prophet, that after death there will be everlasting blessings and a sweet life in a place called Jannat (Paradise) and an everlasting burning in a place called Jahannam (Hell), that Muslims will go to Jannat and non-Muslims, i.e. those who deny Islam after hearing about it, will burn eternally in Jahannam. More than ninety- per-cent of the world's population, that is all Christians, all Jews, all politicians and statesmen in Europe and America, all scientists, commanders, brahmins, buddhists, fire- worshippers and idolaters believe that we will rise after death and that there is everlasting torment in Hell.

We hear about some ignorant and idiotic people who are quite unaware of Islam's beautiful ethical principles and human rights. They are wasting their lives at sports fields, beaches during the days and at places of amusement, indulging in luxuries, debaucheries and indecencies with girls and boys, or in music, gambling and alcohol, at nights. They are obtaining the money they need for their pleasures, completely disignoring the legitimacy of their earnings. With this eccentric, fraudulent and outrageous conduct of theirs, they harm not only themselves but also society, people, their lives and chastities. In their terminology irreligiousness and atheism are 'progressive attitudes' and 'young people's modernism'. They say that theirs is a way of life that a wise person would normally prefer. They boast about their behavior and suppose that they are imitating Europeans and Americans by doing so. They stigmatize true and honest Muslims, who possess faith, belief and pure morals and who observe others' rights, as bigots and fanatics. Thus they lull themselves into a false sense of self-complacency. Are all those Europeans and Americans unwise to be devoted to their religious beliefs and being wise is a characteristic peculiar to these people alone? They do not realize that they are heading for damnation and inuring themselves to a habitude that will eventually offer them everlasting torment in return for a few years' dissipation. Nor do they seem to take a lesson from history. Those who fall into their traps are only pitiable.

Though a few thousand communist statesmen who are fond of worldly pleasures, heedless, oppressive, attack others property and chastity, tyrannize over millions of people and prevent them learning Islam, such people who have never heard of Islam will not enter the Hell. Since they are not Muslims, they will not go to Paradise, either. They will cease to exist after the Day of Judgement, as will the case be with animals. A sound person, after learning science, biology and astronomy, should study the religions ad should select the Islamic religion, which corresponds with logic and science. Someone who fails in this should still immediately become a Muslim as a result of fearing and trembling from the danger of being eternally burned in hell, which is believed everywhere on the earth. If he still disbelieves, then he does not follow logic.

In short, the source and even the best of pleasures here and in the Hereafter is to attain the love and the consent of Allahu ta'ala. Being close to Allahu ta'ala means to attain His love. One's spiritual closeness to Allahu ta'ala means to attain His love. He who has attained this happiness is called Wali or Arif. It is necessary to carry out the fards to become a Wali. The fards entail having faith compatible with the faith communicated by the Ahl as-Sunnat savants, abstaining from the harams, performing the worships that are fard to do, and having love for the Muslims who are salih (one who is on the right path). It will not be useful, that is, there will be no rewards (thawabs) for the worships performed without ikhlas (sincerity). Ikhlas means to act only for the sake of Allahu ta'ala, that is, in such a way that you will forget everything. Ikhlas is obtained automatically by having love for nothing but Allahu ta'ala. The case of having love only for Him in one's heart is called tasfiya (purification in the heart), itminan (ease of heart), or Fana-fillah. The twenty-eighth ayat of Sura Rad declares that it is possible for the heart to have itminan (ease of heart) only by dhikr (remembering Allahu ta'ala) and by pondering over His greatness and blessings. Performing dhikr is done by repeating the name of Allahu ta'ala or by seeing someone who is a Wali. If you cannot find a Wali, you can make rabita to a Wali whom you have heard of before. It is communicated through a hadith ash-Sharif, "When they are seen, Allahu ta'ala will be remembered." In other words, seeing a Wali is dhikr of Allahu ta'ala. This is one of the hadith ash-Sharifs communicated by Irshad-ut-talibin, Ibni Maja, Azkar, Rabita-i Sharifa of Abdulhakim Effendi, and in the eleventh letter of Dost Muhammad Kendihari. It is not a condition to make rabita to the exact figure of a Wali.
When a person sees a murshid or reads his books, he will love him as he loves himself for the murshid is the person who has taught him Islam correctly, who has saved him from worldly disasters and perdition in the Hereafter, and who has guided him to everlasting felicity. When he sees him or, if he cannot see him, thinks of him lovingly, the fayds coming to the murshid from Rasulullah will flow into his heart, too. It is stated in the seventy-fourth page of Maqamat-i-Mazhariyya: "As Mukarram Khan was dying, they put Ubaidullah-i- Ahrar's skullcap on his head. 'Take it off! Fetch my murshid's headgear, instead. For he is the person who caused me to attain happinesses,' he said." The figure with which Rabita is made does not necessarily have to be exactly the murshid himself. If a person closes his eyes and makes rabita to the same image for five to ten minutes in the morning and in the evening every day, after a while the Wali's soul will appear in the same image and will begin to talk like in a dream, and will do him favors. As it is understood from the hadith-i- qudsi we have quoted in the seventeenth chapter of the second part (of the Turkish version), if a Muslim mentions the name of a Wali whom he knows and loves upon attending his sohbats or reading his books and calls on him imploringly, Allahu ta'ala will make that Wali hear him, even if the Wali is absent or dead. The Wali will come and help him. If a Wali wishes to know about something that has happened before or which will happen later, Allahu ta'ala will make him know about it. Such favors and gifts which Allahu ta'ala bestows upon Walis are called karamat. Badr-ad-din Sarhandi writes in his book Hadarat-ul-quds that he has seen and heard of thousands of Imam-i-Rabbani's karamats and relates more than a hundred of them. When the heart becomes fani, that is, when (it attains a grade where) it remembers nothing, the brain, mind and memory, does not necessarily become oblivious of worldly matters. The heart, when it becomes fani, still lets all the limbs, including the brain, mind and memory, carry on all sorts of worldly activities, and a person in this state, like other people, goes on working for his worldly needs. He does all his human tasks and favors with the intention of obtaining the consent of Allahu ta'ala. Whatever he does becomes dhikr. See the last part of the 46 th article in the first part (of the Turkish version)! It fulfills all its human tasks and favors with the intention of obtaining the consent of Allahu ta'ala. Whatever it does becomes dhikr. See the last part of the 46 th article in the first fascicle!

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