| MONTH OF OVERCOMING NAFS Prof. Dr. Mahmud Es'ad COSAN
Aùzu billâhi
minesh-shaytànir rajîm. Bismillâhir rahmânir
rahîm. Elhamdu lillâhi rabbil
àlemîne Praise is due to Allah, The
Lord of the Universe. The Prayers and peace be on our beloved
Prophet
Muhammad, his family, his companions and his sincere followers till the
Day of
Resurrection. We have heard the call for
the Isha prayer, offered the Isha prayer and the tarawih prayer.
May
Almighty Allah accept our prayers. With the sunset a new day
starts, and
it is already Friday. It is the best of the days in the week; its
night
is the most illuminated and fruitful night of the week. We are
also in
the most blessed month--Ramadhan. We have gathered here in a
masjid,
which is a house of Allah, a blessed place. We praise Allah for
His grace
and blessings. If Almighty Allah has
granted the opportunity to get into a mosque, the owner of the house
has
permitted to his house. This is a great blessing. May
Almighty
Allah forgive those who neglect the prayers and mosques. May He
guide
them to the right path and give them opportunities to attend the
mosques.
We wish guidance for all. Our brothers recited the Qur'an in the
prayer
very clearly as though crystal clear water is flowing from their
mouth.
In Surah Yunus Almighty Allah said: (Bismillahir rahmânir rahîm)
والله يدعوا
الى دار السلام، ويهدى من يشاء الى صراطٍ
مستقيم (يونس:٢٥) (Wallàhu
yed'ù ilâ daris selâm)
It is something amazing and to be happy about: "Verily Allah call you
to
the abode of peace, (Wa yehdî men yeshâu ilâ
siratin mustaqîm.) "And He guides whom He wills to the straight
path." (Qur'an 10:25) He shows the straight path and has His selected
servants step in that path. Hidâyah, the guidance, is from Allah,
and it
is the greatest blessing on us. It is the path of mercy leading
to His
Paradise. It is a great blessing from Allah to His
servants. The
best blessing is to be on the straight path because it takes to the
eternal bliss.
He deprives some of His
servants from this great blessing. He does not guide those who He
does
not like. That is why a person whom Allah does not like cannot
become a
Muslim. A person whom Allah does not like cannot do worship,
spend on
charitable causes, come to the mosque, or do His dhikr. He lets
His
beloved servants do all of these good deeds. We ought to search
and find
out whom Almighty Allah does not like. Almighty Allah does not
guide the disbelievers. He does not guide those who are
ungrateful, who
does not realize the blessings that Allah has given, who cannot see the
real
sustainer. He guides those who realize their wrongdoing, but not
those
who does not appreciate the blessings of Allah. We ought to know
that all
we have comes from Allah. The water we drink, the air we breathe, food,
drinks,
health, happiness, intelligence, thoughts, and everything else is a
blessing
from Almighty Allah. Almighty Allah deprives of the guidance
those who do
not know Him, who do not appreciate the blessings, and who fail to
realize that
all blessings are from Allah. Almighty Allah does not
guide the oppressors. He does not grant His guidance for those who do
injustice
to others or themselves or indulge in sins by disobeying the orders of
Allah. Almighty Allah does not
guide the fasiqs (those who commit
sins in public and insist on them). People with public debauch
and vice
are not guided. The prerequisite for a person to be favorable by
Allah is
that he should realize his wrongdoing, repent for them and turn to
Allah.
When this repentance does not take place, when the person insists in
committing
the offenses, the guidance is not granted. Almighty Allah accepts
the
repentance and favors the person when the person gives up the offenses.
We have to be fair and
equitable. We ought to see the truth and realize our shortcomings
and
wrongdoing. The muedh-dhin brother recited beautifully: Oh
the king of the prophets! Beautiful words that we
ought to memorize. No matter how much a person is indulged in
sins, there
is the possibility of being forgiven when he realizes his faults and
turns to
Allah in repentance. When he regrets, Almighty Allah may forgive
him. The crux of the matter is for one to realize his faults. There are some words that
are attributed to Mawlânâ Jalâleddîn-i Rûmî who is a blessed personage
in our
path. In fact, these words belonged to an Iranian poet: "Come
even
if you broke your repentance one hundred times, this is not the dargah
of
hopelessness." In other words, you feel sorry for your sins and
say:
"My Lord! I had promised not to disobey you, yet I broke my
promise.
I committed another sin. Would you forgive me?" Almighty
Allah
would forgive you. Almighty Allah forgives those who regret
committing
offenses and turn to him in repentance sincerely. The first thing we must do,
dear Brothers and Sisters, is to realize our shortcomings and
wrongdoing and
turning to Allah in repentance: "My Lord! I know I have
sinned. I am guilty. Forgive me!" It is said that the years
pass like the flowing river or blowing wind. Arabs divide the
lunar moths
into three parts: the beginning, the middle and the end. The
first ten
days are called ashr-i ewwel.
The next ten days in the middle are called ashr-i
awsat, and the last ten days are called ashr-i
âkhir The first ten days of this blessed Ramadan has
gone. The ashr-i ewwel of this Ramadhan has
slipped away. Time is impossible to
replace. Once it passes, there is no way to bring it back or
replace
it. The most important advice for a believer is to appreciate his
time
and not to spend his life in vain. Not even a second in life
should pass
in unawareness. That is why our elderly in the tariqa suggested
that we
uphold the principle hush der dem and
be aware every breath we take. The first ten days of
Ramadhan has already gone. It passed so fast that we could not
realize
it. I would like to read a hadith of the Prophet from the hadith
collection Ramuzul Ahadith of Ahmad
Ziyauddin Gumushkhanawi (Rahmatullahi aleyh, qaddasallahu sirrahul
aziz.
It is the tenth hadith from the ninth page. It is related to
Ramadhan. Ubade ibn-i Sâmit Ra reported it. It is in the
collections of Tabaranî and Ibn-ul Najjar. The Prophet said: اتاكم شهر
رمضان شهر بركة فيه خيرٌ يغشيكم الله فـيـنـزل
الرحمة ويحطّ فيــه الخـطـاء ويســتـجـيـب فـيــه الدعاء
يـنـظـر الله تنافســـكم ويـبــاهى بكم ملائكـتــه فادوا الله
من انـفـسـكم خيـرًا فان الـشــقىّ من حرم فيه رحمة
الله عزوجل (راموزالاحاديث:٢/١٢٤) (Etâkum
shehru ramadàn) The month of
Ramadhan came to you (shehru bereketin), a month of
abundance." There is abundance in everything. As we bear
witness "Eshhedu en lâ ilâhe illallah wa eshhedu enne muhammeden
abduhû
wa rasûluhû--there is no deity but Allah and Muhammad is His
servant and
messenger," we bear witness that Ramadhan is the month of barakah
(abundance). The tables will get
the barakah; time gets barakah.
There will be barakah in everything because almighty
Allah through His angels prepares this month for the believing
servants.
Almighty Allah orders angel Jibrîl Alayhisselam to chain the warriors
of the
army of Satan. The activities of Satan is limited who would fool
people,
wrong them, confuse them, make them angry, and have them fight with one
another. His activities toward believers are limited in Ramadhan.
When the percentages of
certain gases increase in the atmosphere, we consider the air pollution
increased. There would be an alarm such as "The elderly should
not
go outside; they should observe this and that." When the
percentage
of these gases is low or zero, then we call it clean air. We
consider
such places as the clean places with fresh air. People who have
illnesses
such as asthma would go to such places. Retired and old people
try to
move to such places. [Compared to the other months, Ramadhan has
such a
spiritual atmosphere; it is a desirable month.] In this high-spirituality
month, Almighty Allah has the sources of the evil tied up and the
sources of
good deeds increased. That is there are all kinds of blessings
and barakah in this month. Satans are
chained; the heaven is decorated, and the gates of the heavens are
opened. As you know, the gates of
the heavens are not something we can see with our eyes. It is
stated in the
Surah Mulk: ولقد
زيَّــنــَّا السماء الدنيا بمصابيح (الملك:٥) (Walaqad
zayyannas samâ ed-dunya bimesâbîha)
Almighty Allah has decorated the lowest heaven with stars. We
cannot see
the heavens beyond that; in fact, we cannot even see the end of the
lowest
heaven. There are stars whose light comes to us in five million
years. It is possible that the light of some stars hasn't reached
us. Another possibility is that the star is not there anymore
because we
still see the light that left the star five million years ago. We
do not
see what is there right now--the image we see belongs to a time that
existed
millions of years ago. There is a colossal curtain of time around
the
lowest heaven. There are curtains of time and space around
us. That
is why we cannot comprehend or see the gates of the heavens. The gates of the heavens
are important because almighty Allah granted his messenger the night
journey
and ascension (Miraj), that is something that has not been granted to
any other
human being. He was the habibullah
the beloved of Almighty Allah, so he was blessed with a very special
treatment.
He was taken to "Men ente--who
are you?" The archangel Jibril was
stopped and questioned. Jibril responded: "Ene Jibrîl--I
am Jibrîl." "Wa men ma'ake?--who
is with you?" "Muhammad--the chosen
one, the messenger of Allah." "Hel uzine lahu
-- is he given permission to pass here? He lives on earth; does
he have
permission to pass here?" "Ne'am--yes!"
Then the angel opened the
gate and let them pass. Imagine a gate that the chief of angels,
Jibrîl,
is stopped and asked, and the Prophet, too, is questioned whether he
has the
permission to pass. There are such gates that we could never see
or sense
with our sensory organs. During the month of
Ramadhan, the gates of the heavens are opened: No
interrogation, no
stopping. Outside of Ramadhan, the angels are stopped: "Hold it! Where
are you going?" "We are going to the
Divine Presence." "What are you taking
with you?" "One of the servants
offered some prayers, did some good deeds and spent for the charitable
causes. We are taking them with us." "Go back and slam them
to the head of that person. He did all of these for
showoff. I have
been ordered by Almighty Allah that I shall not let any deeds that
belong to
those who do them for showoff pass beyond this point." Such deeds are not brought
to the Divine Presence despite the fact that almighty Allah is all
aware.
He is aware, yet the deeds are not taken to Him. There is a
deprivation,
some sort of a punishment for the servant in that sense. In Ramadhan, the gates of
the heavens are opened; the Do you see this many people
in congregation for the Isha Prayer in Kapi Mosque in this town out of
Ramadhan? I am a guest here, so I would not know the details, but
you
would. How many rows would you see other times and in Ramadhan?
You can
compare. Are the brothers who fast in Ramadhan eager about worship
outside of
Ramadhan? As a matter of fact, no they are not. Would they
perform
prayers this long other times? No, they would not. It is
obvious
that people change in Ramadhan; they become practicing Muslims in
Ramadhan. Their disposition changes for better: They do not
get
angry or nervous; they become more generous and they tend to do good
deeds for
people. It is very obvious that Ramadhan has a very special
atmosphere. (Shahru barakatin)
"A blessed month." As you know both Arabic and Farisi have the
word shahr. In Arabic it means
"month." Shahru Ramadhan is the month of Ramadhan; Shahru
Rajab is the month of Rajab. The plural form of shahr
is shuhûr or ash-hur. Ash-huru hurum means haram moths--sacred months. Shuhûru thelâthe means the three months:
Rajab, Sha'ban and Ramadhan. In Persian, shahr
means a locality, a town that is
inhabited by people. Shahr-i (Shahru barakatin)
Ramadhan is a blessed month, a month of barakah (fîhi khayrun)
"there is goodness in it." There is so much goodness in this
month that we all observe. In addition, there is the Night of
Power in
Ramadhan which is better than a thousand months. The Night of
power is
hidden in Ramadhan by Almighty Allah. Almighty Allah did not
specify it
definitely where it falls in. According to the Qur'an the Night
of Power
is better than one thousand months: ليلة القدر
خيرٌ من الف شهرٍ (القدر:٣) (Laylatul
qadri khayrun min elfi shahrin)
The companions asked the
Prophet: "O prophet of Allah! Is this night of Power
happens
only once in the history of the world during your lifetime? Does
it
happen every year?" The Prophet responded:
"Every year." Every year, in Ramadhan,
there is a night that is better then one thousand months." It is hidden
in
Ramadhan, yet the prophet gave a hint: "Look for the Night of Power
during
the last ten days of Ramadhan." There is the Night of Power
that is hidden in the last ten days of Ramadhan. If a person does
worship
on that night, he will earn the rewards as though he spent one thousand
months
in worship which ads up to 83.3 years. It is a very precious
night.
What shall we do then? Our beloved prophet used to
stay in the mosque (i'tikaf) for the I'tikaf is a strong Sunnah
of the Prophet. If nobody does i'tikaf in a locality, the whole
population in that locality will be held responsible for missing that
Sunnah. On the day of Judgment, the whole population would be
asked why
they missed a strong Sunnah. That is why those of you who can do
it
should decide and inform the authorities about doing i'tikaf for the
last ten
days or Ramadhan. The house of the Prophet
was not far away from the mosque; it was attached to the mosque.
When he
opened his house door, he would step in the mosque. Despite that
proximity,
he would stay in the mosque for the last ten days of Ramadhan and spend
his
time--day and night-- in worship. The Prophet used to
increase his worship when the three months--Rajab, Shaban and
Ramadhan--started. He was already constantly in worship.
Still he
would increase his zeal in Rajab. He would increase it even more
in
Sha'ban. In Ramadhan, he would take it even further. In the
last
third of Ramadhan, he would stay in the mosque and not go to his
house.
The companions of the Prophet did the same thing. Once something interesting,
somehow funny, happened. The prophet entered the mosque and saw
many
tents in the mosque. These were the tents of the wives of the
prophet. They are our mothers. As the Qur'an indicated, وازواجه
امهاتهم (الاحزاب:٦) (wa
ezwâjuhû ummehâtuhum) The wives of
the Prophet are your mothers." We call them mothers: Our
Mother Hadrat Aisha, our Mother Hadrat Khadijah. They are all our
mothers. They put up tents in the
mosque. The Prophet said: "Do they think that they are doing
something good?" The Prophet did not practice i'tikaf that
Ramadhan
because there were women in the mosque doing i'tikaf, too. He did
not ask
them to leave either. They completed their i'tikaf. The
Prophet did
his i'tikaf after Ramadhan. Women practice i'tikaf in
their house. In a proper room in the house, a woman can practice
i'tikaf. Men practice i'tikaf in the mosque. Women are more
sensitive and need protection. They have to make wudu, lie down,
and
sleep. A mosque is not a proper place for women to do these
things; her
house would be better. Men stay in the mosque. The Prophet
and his
companions practiced i'tikaf in the mosque. You should practice it,
too.
You should taste the honor, the love, and the worship in the last ten
days of
Ramadan. Once a sister among our
ikhwan asked us: "Could I do i'tikaf at home?" May Allah be
pleased with her--she completed the ten days then she told our brother
khawaja:
"I enjoyed it very much and benefited in a great deal from the
worship." Naturally, during the i'tikaf, a person would turn to
Allah and be with Him. In a Hadith Qudsî, Allah said: ان جليس من
ذكرنى (Ene
jelîsu men dhekerenî) "I am
with those who remember me." That is why the i'tikaf is so
excellent. A person could spend all of his time reading Qur'an,
doing
dhikr, and offering prayers. It is an opportunity to earn great
rewards. We have reminded you about
the i'tikaf right in time because the first ten days of Ramadhan is
already
gone; we are in the second ten days of Ramadhan. The i'tikaf
is in
the last ten days of Ramadhan. Those who have the time should
experience
it. You can look it up in the ilmihal (catechism) books
and figure
out about the details of it. Do it this year and realize how
sweet it is.
A poet says in a hymn: I
could not find in sweets These are simple words, yet
they are beautiful. You experience and taste it. Once a
great Sufi
said: "If the kings, the commanders and the warriors knew the spiritual
pleasures and tastes of dhikrullah, they would send armies on us to get
those
pleasures from us." They would attack them just as they attack
people to conquer a city or a country. One who has not tasted that
pleasure would not know it, and it is difficult to describe it with
words. Amy Almighty Allah grant you the pleasure, taste and
excitement of
the i'tikaf. It is stated that (Shahru
ramadhan, shahru barakatin) Ramadhan is the month of barakah in all
sense. The rewards are given in multitude. The worship is
rewarded
more in Ramadhan. In Ramadhan, a good deed is rewarded seventy
times more
than it is rewarded in other times. There are some smart and
knowledgeable Muslims who take advantage of such more rewarding
times.
They could pay their Zakah at any time during the year, but they prefer
paying
it in Ramadhan to get the rewards in seventy folds. The person has the
intention of paying the Zakah anyway. He has calculated the
amount and
ready to pay it. That amount belongs to the needy. He has
to
separate that amount and give it to whom it belongs. Almighty
Allah has
ordered to pay one fortieth of it to the needy. The rate for
different
types of wealth and goods can be found in books. He has to pay
that
amount and return it to the rightful owner. He will earn rewards
for
doing so. والذين فى
اموالهم حقٌّ معلومٌّ. للسائل والمحروم (المعارج:٢٤-٢٥) (Walledhîne fî emwâlihim
haqqun ma'lûmun lis sâili wal mahrûm) "And those within whose
wealth
is a known right for the petitioner and the deprived" (Qur'an
70:24-25). A Muslim knows that the needy have a right on his
wealth. Look how beautiful Islam is. A Muslim believes that
something that belongs to the poor is mixed with his wealth. He
himself
worked, sweated, accumulated the goods, yet Almighty Allah says: "The
needy have a right in what you have accumulated." The believer happily
separates the part that belongs to the poor and gives it away.
The Zakah
for the farm crops is one tenth which is called oshur--ashara means
ten; oshur, one-tenth. If
the filed is irrigated, the amount is different; it changes from
one-tenth to
one-twentieth. It is one-fortieth for money; i.e., 2.5
percent. It
is different for camels: one in five. The list is long and can be
found
in books. There is also a list
indicating who may receive the Zakah payment: "The poor, those who are
in
debt, travelers who have no means to rich their destination,
..." The Zakah is to be paid according to those lists, yet when
it
is paid in Ramadhan, its reward is multiplied by seventy. Any
spending
for a charitable cause in Ramadhan weighs seventy times that of
spending
outside of Ramadhan. Isn't this month full of barakah?" When one
does 100 dhikr in Ramadhan, he will be rewarded 70 times more that he
would outside
the Ramadhan. There is abundance in worship, in sustenance and in
rewards
as well as in time. There is a very blessed
night hidden in Ramadhan. Almighty Allah kept it hidden, for the
servants
to search for it. Another reason is that if it were not hidden, a
person
might be relaxed thinking: "I prayed in the night of power, so I do not
need to do anything else. I am through." Once Hasan-i Basri (Hasan
of Basra) got out of his house in a Night of Baraah. His face
looked
extremely pale; he looked sick and sad. Those who saw him
inquired:
"O brother, what happened? Are you sick? Do you have
pain? Do you have headache? Have you vomited?" He responded: "Tonight
is the Night of Baraah. This is the night that the deeds are
submitted to
angels. I am aware of my offenses. I committed them when I
was
young, when I was grown up, during the day and during the night; I am
sure
about my sins. I have repented for them and asked for
forgiveness, yet I
have received no indication that they have been forgiven. I do
not know
if they are forgiven. I definitely committed sins, yet I am not
sure if
they have been forgiven." It is possible that
Almighty Allah may not accept a person's repentance for various
reasons.
One has to know about them. That is the true Islam. One has
to
learn under what conditions Almighty Allah guides a person to the right
path
and what conditions keep a person away from the guidance. That is
the
most important matter of this life. One has to know how he can
earn the
forgiveness of Allah and what prevents the forgiveness. If a
person does
not know these, he would be living in vain. We need to learn
about these.
As Hasan-i Basrî said, we
know about our sins--for sure we have committed them. We do not
know if
they have been forgiven. We have done some worship, too, yet we
do not
know if they are accepted. What if none of the daily prayers we
have
offered so far is accepted? Imagine that the prayers we have
offered so
many years were not accepted. What is going to become of us?
Suppose a
seventy-year old person were told in his dream that Almighty Allah did
not
accept any of his prayers. Can you imagine how he would feel? Hasan-i Basrî said: "I
know about my sins, but I am not sure if they have been erased. I
have
offered prayers, yet I do not know if they have been accepted. Is
there
anybody who is in a worst state than I am?" These thoughts made
him
extremely pale and worried. He was one of the most blessed people
who met
the companions of the Prophet. They were the intelligent servants
of
Allah; they have striven hard to save themselves from the hell
fire and to
deserve Now I am going to read this
hadith the last sentence of which gives me goose bumps. For sure
it is
blessed month, and there is goodness in it: يغشيكم الله
فـيـنـزل الرحمة ويحطّ فيــه الخـطـاء ويســتـجـيـب
فـيـه
الدعاء (Yughash-shikumullah)
Almighty Allah encompasses you with goodness. There is
goodness in it;
Allah showers this goodness on you. Allah covers you with
goodness.
The earth and the Muslims are covered with goodness. Then (fayanzilur-rahmetu)
the mercy of Allah descends. The mercy of Allah comes down on
homes,
hearts, countries, towns, and mosques. (Wa yahuttu fîhil
khatâyâ) Almighty Allah forgives the wrongdoings in this
month. He
forgives the sins at time of iftar in the evening. He forgives
the sins
at the time of suhur. He forgives everybody who turns to
Him. Many
people receive the forgiveness in this month. May Almighty Allah
place
among those who receive forgiveness in this month. (Wa yestejîbu fihid
duâ) "Almighty Allah answers the prayers
in this month."
I do not know what you ask from Almighty Allah. You raise your
hands in
prayer and ask for something. We ought to know what we should ask
from
Almighty Allah. We often go for Hajj in a
group. Some of the pilgrims come to me and ask in despair:
"Khawaja,
I heard that the prayer a person makes when he sees the Ka'abah for the
first
time is accepted. How shall I pray? What shall I say?" Why didn't you think of it
earlier? Why didn't you search for the best of the supplications?
How
come we are not interested in such things? We do not miss
anything in
newspapers, in sports and other things. We remember how
Fenerbahçe soccer
team beat Galatasaray 3 to nothing and who made the goals. We
remember
which team is eliminated from the league. I consider one sports
page in a
newspaper excessive, yet they kept increasing it to That is why Shaikh Sâdi
said in remorse: Omru
giran bahâder
in sarf shod tâ. Perhaps he himself is not
like that, yet he says it for us to take heed: This
precious life has
been spent over In summer the weather is
warm, so people do not worry about clothing; instead, they worry about
what to
eat. Yet in winter, as the cold weather presses hard, people look
for
warm clothes. They also need coal and wood to warm up the
house.
That is why the mountains have been deforested. That is why we
have
barren mountains. By the way, I feel
embarrassed to look at the mountains that have no trees. My heart
is torn
into pieces when I look at the mountains: there are giant tree roots on
these
mountains. Let me tell you a story
about planting trees. Once a ruler and his vizier disguised
themselves as
villagers and traveled in the country. They were followed from a
distance
by his men who were also disguised. On their way, they run into
an old
man who had a white beard and a hump. He was digging the ground
to plant
a tree. The ruler wanted to joke with the old man: "Selamun Alaikum
Uncle!" "Alaikum selam
Son." "Why are you planting
this tree? Do you think you will live long enough to see its
fruit?
Why do you bother?" Well, he was the ruler of
the country; he would feel free to make such statements. The old
man
responded: The ruler was pleased wit
the response. He told his vizier: "Give him a purse of money." The vizier got a purse of
money--whatever the amount in it consisting of dinars, dirhams or gold
coins--with a red wax seal on it. The vizier handed the money to
the
ruler. The ruler gave it to the old man: "Sir, here is a purse
of money. I liked your response." The old man received the
money and looked at it. He became rich all of a sudden. He
looked
at the ruler and realized that he had to be an important
person. He smiled
and said: "Look Son! You
said that I could not have the fruit of this tree, yet I have harvested
the
fruit." He lifted the purse of money and showed to the ruler: "Here,
this is the fruit of my tree." The ruler enjoyed that
response, too. He signaled his vizier to hand him another purse
of
money. The old man was very happy. He had a purse in each
hand. He turned to the ruler: "Son, you said I could
not have the fruit of my tree, yet I got two harvests right now." The ruler was pleased with
this response, too. He turned to his vizier and said: "Give
him the third purse. Yet we'd better leave; if not, this man
will
get all we have." They handed in a purse to the old man and left.
This is a pleasant story on
the light side. The essence of the matter is that if we chop a
tree, we
should plant three trees. I tell my friends: "Go and
purchase
these mountains which have no trees on them. Almighty Allah gave
you a
car; get in and go to these mountains." "Khawaja, there is no
water!" "Why?" "It is because a tree
is a sadaqa-i jâriya, i.e.,
continuous charity. A tree could earn a person rewards." If a person rests in the
shade of a tree, the person who planted that tree will get
rewards. If a
bird lands on a branch of the tree, the person who planted the tree
will get
rewards. Suppose it is a mulberry tree and a bird pecks on the
fruit. If a child eats the fruit, the person who planted it will
get
rewards. If people benefit from the trimmed parts as firewood, it
will
earn rewards. We call this sadaqa-i
jâriya. What does sadaqa-i
jâriya mean? The word
"jâriya" here does not mean
a "slave woman" or the "women in harem." It means
"current, continuous." Sadaqa-i
jâriya means something that has the continuous rewards, a charity
which
continues earning rewards for the person. We ought to do these
kinds of
good works. Let us come back to the
hadith: Almighty Allah forgives sins and accepts prayers in this
month. How did we bring this topic to the discussion? We
waste our
precious time with useless things such as football and alike, and we do
not
think about what is necessary for us. We ought to know how to
make dua
and learn what is useful in this life and in the hereafter. If we
do not
know it, we need to occupy our minds with these matters and seek
knowledge. Once we learn these, we could harvest its fruits. "Khawaja, what deeds
take me to I am not sure if there is
anybody who has asked this question to our imam/khawaja brothers: "I
want
to go to It is stated in the Qur'an:
و الله يحب
المحسنين (اۤل عمران:١٤٨) (Wallàhu yuhibbul
muhsinîn) "Allah loves those servants who are
muhsin." ان الله يحب
المتقين (التوبة:٤) (Innallàhe yuhibbul
muttaqîn) Allah loves the muttaqî
servants. We also know
that Almighty Allah loves those who are patient, who spends on
charitable
causes, who are clean. Make a list of those and try to be a
beloved
servant of Allah. Isn't this the most important responsibility on
each of
us? Isn't it the most important duty to earn the love of Allah?
People
get old, the life is consumed up, yet people leave this life without
learning
this fact. In fact this is the essence of the life, the most
important
business in this month. Which dua is more
acceptable? What kind of dua should be made? How should we
conduct
the dua? We ought to worry about it, inquire and learn. حسن السئال
من العلم (Husnus suâl minel 'ilm)
"Asking good questions is a sign of
scholarship and a requirement for acquiring knowledge." Our minds
should be concerned with good and important matters, and we should seek
answers
to the questions that come to our minds. Unfortunately most
people have
no concern. Once I went to a mosque in The imam responded:
"The person who had this mosque built was extremely 'zâlim'
(oppressor). That is why he was nicknamed as Zal
Mahmud Pasha." I objected: "If he
were a zâlim, an oppressor, he would
not have a mosque built. He had to be a very religious and
god-fearing
person to have such a nice mosque built." I decided to do a research
on this matter. I looked up the encyclopedias and found the
information. It was not like how the imam described at all.
Zal means very old, aged. That
means this Mahmud Pasha was a very old blessed person with a white
beard.
To differentiate him from another Mahmud Pasha, they called him Zal
Mahmud
Pasha, i.e., Old Mahmud Pasha. He had a very beautiful mosque
built. May Allah make his abode in I sent a person to the imam
of Zal Mahmud Pasha Mosque and asked him to tell the imam that Zal
Mahmut Pasha
was not an oppressor; he was an old and blessed person. This was an example to how
we are negligent about seeking the information. We ought to have
some
curiosity. That is a prerequisite for acquiring knowledge.
Curious
people will learn a lot. One who lacks curiosity will not learn
anything
significant. That is why you ought to
learn what supplication is good. Don't you ever wonder how the
Prophet
made dua and what he asked from Almighty Allah? Isn't it
something we
should be curious about? Are there any verses of dua or
supplication in
the Qur'an? What are they? Can we find them in a book all
together? We ought to seek knowledge on these matters. We
need to
aspire to be like the Prophet and say what he said in his
prayers. We
need to author such books and make it available to the congregation and
community. In this blessed Friday
evening, we are talking about our problems. Preaching in the
Mosque and
explaining various Islamic matters are rewarding, yet listening to the
talk and
just being in the mosque are rewarding, too. A person would earn
rewards
by being in the mosque as though he had been in the prayer all that
time.
It is possible that a person could make mistakes in the prayer; on
the
other hand, you did not make any mistakes by sitting and listening
here, so you
earned complete rewards. Studying and learning something of a
chapter of
an Islamic matter is better than this world and everything in it. ..... We need to learn
Arabic. Without it, we would not understand the meaning of a
verse.
For instance, in a wedding ceremony, we would hear a verse about death
being
recited. In a marriage ceremony, we hear a verse about
divorce. The
person who recites the verse would not know its meaning; hence, he
recites it
at the inappropriate time or place. The prayers and
supplications made in this month are accepted. I will pose some
questions, so you start wondering and searching. Since Allah
accepts the
prayers in this month, what kinds of prayers should we offer in this
month? You can figure this out by yourselves. A sincere
supplication
is preferred over some cliché. You see a person raising
hands in prayer yet inspecting the mihrab,
the ceiling, the decorations and alike. It is called "lâhiyen";
when the heart is
occupied with some other things, a person will be unaware of his
words in
his supplication. Almighty Allah does not like such supplication.
He
likes the sincere supplications that come from the bottom of the
heart.
That is how we should offer our prayers and supplications. In addition to what we
should ask from Almighty Allah, we should know when to ask. There
are
preferred times for the supplications. We need to inquire about
them. The blacksmith pounds the iron to shape it at the proper
temperature of the iron. Likewise, we should search for the
proper time for
supplication. That is important. Then, "I person must
pray for his parents" said the Prophet. For whom shall we pray?
"When one prays for his friend, for his Muslim brother in his absence,
the
prayer is answered speedily." There is so much to learn about the
prayers and supplications. We need to be curious about the topic,
ask
questions and find answers. We should do this in this Ramadhan. يـنـظـر
الله تنافســـكم ويـبــاهى بكم ملائكـتــه (Yenzurullàhi
tenâfüsekim) "In this month, Almighty Allah
looks at your eagerness as if you were in a competition." You go
to
the mosques, recite the Qur'an or attend the recitation. You
spend on the
charities, invite people for iftar,
and do other good deeds. Almighty Allah looks at your eagerness, and
one look
suffices for a person [in this life and in the hereafter]. On the
contrary, if a person is subjected to the statement (wa lâ
yenzuru ileyhim) "Allah does not look at him," he
would be in deep trouble. That means Allah does not favor that
person. Almighty Allah looks at the
eagerness of the believers in worship, (wa
yubâhî bikum melâiketehû) and tells His angels that He is proud of
them:
"Look at My servants! They are so eager to worship Me. They fast,
recite Qur'an, and offer prayers--20 units, 33 units. They spend
on
charity. They open their houses to all -- poor or rich --
offering them
meals. They give away money or goods to the needy; they take food
and
supplies to the poor families and make them happy." فادوا الله
من انـفـسـكم خيـرًا (Fe eddullàhe min
enfusikum khayran) "Then, you pay your
servitude to Allah in this month. Hurry in doing the good deeds
with
zeal." This is the advice of the Prophet for us. Here is the most important
sentence of the hadith: فان
الـشــقىّ من حرم فيه رحمة الله عزوجل (Feinnesh shaqiyye)
"verily the shaqî is the one (men hurime
fîhî rahmetallàhi azze wa jelle) who is deprived of the Mercy of
Allah in
this month." Shaqî means
brigand, robber, rebel, outlaw, miserable, wretched, evil-doer, or
sinner; shaqî is the one who is
headed to hellfire if he does not repent. How sad it is! A
person
who is deprived of the Mercy of Allah in this month, who does not
receive the
blessings of Allah in this month, is truly unfortunate. These are
the
words of the Prophet. Dear Brothers and Sisters! Mere speech has no
significance unless it is backed up by action. Man should take a
lesson
from the words and do what he must accordingly. Now, the first
one third
of this month of Ramadhan has gone. Examine yourselves to see if
there is
any change on yourselves. Are there any signs that you have
become a good
Muslim? Check your manners, worship, thoughts, hearts, and minds to see
if
there is any improvement. One-third is gone, and the rest will go
as fast
as the wind. You remember the imams stating in their sermons: "As
we
said it was Rajab, Sha'ban, then Ramadhan has already gone. Today
is the
Eid day." The Eid will arrive soon and the blessed season will
end. That is why the Prophet said:
"Do the good deeds that Almighty Allah is pleased with and pay your
servitude to Allah as you are expected in the best way." Do not
be
unaware! Dear Brothers and Sisters! There is a wisdom in every
worship and in every order of Allah. Every rule of Islam has a
wisdom. Each one is proper and has a reason and a benefit for
mankind. There are many benefits of fasting for the body, for the
mind,
for the stomach and for the spirit. It earns rewards.
Ramadhan has
great benefits for us. You should know it well
that Ramadhan is the month of spiritual training from Allah for you to
be good
servants. You attend a month-long course to become better
servants.
It is similar to vocational training courses. Each person is
given a
certificate at the end of such a course perhaps along with a pay raise
or a
higher position. You should be aware that the month of Ramadhan
is an
improvement course for us to be good Muslims. There is this
wisdom in
it. That is why Almighty Allah chains the devils in this month
and opens
the doors of heavens. That is why Almighty Allah accepts the
prayers and
supplications in this month. You should ask for forgiveness and
try to do
the good deeds. This is the proper time and good opportunity, and
the
conditions are excellent. Try to complete this course with great
success!
Here is something that is
scary; it is a hadith. On a Friday, to deliver the sermon, the
Prophet
stepped on the pulpit and said: "Amen." He took another step
and said, "Amen." He took yet another step and repeated:
"Amen." Everybody was curious: "Why did the Prophet said
'Amen' three times?" After the sermon, at a
proper time, the companions asked the Prophet: "O Prophet of
Allah!
As you stepped on the pulpit you did something that you had never done
before. At every step you said 'Amen.' What was it for?" The Prophet responded:
"The Angel Jibrîl came to me and said: 'Shame on the person who saw his
parents and could not earn The Prophet continued:
"Jibril added: 'Shame on the person who does not improve himself or
become
a good servant of Allah as the month of Ramadhan comes and
leaves. Let
him be humiliated.' I said 'Amen' to that." This statement
concerns
us because we are in the month of Ramadhan. There are two dangers
at the
end of Ramadhan: 1. Our worship may not be
accepted in Ramadhan; then we would miss the entire month. 2. We may be subjected to
the malediction of If a person does not
improve himself in Ramadhan, he would be humiliated and punished.
We
ought to be familiar with how serious this matter is. The third one:
"Jibril also said: 'Shame on the person who does say salât and selâm to
the Prophet (i.e., Allàhumme salli alâ seyyidinâ Muhammedin wa alâ âli
seyyidinâ muhammed) when the name of the Prophet is mentioned.
Let him be
humiliated.' I said 'Amen' to that, too." What we learn from this
hadith is that we have to love the Prophet. You should memorize
the poem
that was chanted by the muezzin after the twelfth rek'a and love the
Prophet. We all should be in love with the Prophet. We all
should
learn how to love the Prophet. Love is part of the
education. One learns how to love. You should raise your
children
with the love of the Prophet. Each child should love the Prophet
from the
bottom of his heart. You must do the same, too. You must listen
to his
words and follow his Sunnah. Without the love for the Prophet,
one cannot
be a true Muslim. "What kinds of
feelings do you have in your heart towards the Prophet of Allah? " "Nothing." "I am sorry to say that
you failed." Here is what the Prophet
said: والذى نفسى
بيده لايؤ من احدكم حتى اكون احــب
الــيــه من والده و ولده والــنــاس اجمــعــين (راموز الاحاديث:٩/٤٥٧) (Welledhî nafsî
biyedihî) "By
Allah who has my soul in His hand, (lâ yu'minu ahadikum) one of
you
could not be a true believer (hattâ ekûnu ahabbe ileyhi min wâlidihî
wa
waladihî wan nâsi ajma'în) unless I am dearer to him than his
father, his
son, and everybody else." Each of us must love the Prophet
more than we love our fathers. We all must love the Prophet more
than we
love our children. We must love the Prophet more than we love the
person
who is dearest to us in our lives. We must love the Prophet more
than we
love our spouses or fiancées. Without that love, a person would
not be a
true believer. Then we should try to
acquire the love of the Prophet. That is the key for the true
belief. If a person does not know the Prophet, does not
understand his
message, disregards the recommendations of the Prophet, does not follow
the Sunnah
of the Prophet, does not have the mercy for the Ummah of the
Prophet, or
does not have the desire to be useful to the Ummah of the Prophet, then
he
would be living in vain. He will not make progress. It is
likely
that he would deviate from the straight path and fall into the
abyss. We
all have to love the Prophet. May Allah take us out of
the numbness and give us desire and stamina to follow the path of the
Prophet. We are so used to not doing so much good works and
negligence. We have a tendency to maintain our condition which is
less
than the desirable. Where are we headed? We are drafted to
the end
of our lives in this world. We see everyday that somebody is sent
to
hereafter with the funeral prayer at the mosques. Someday it will
be our
turn. You never know when it will be your turn. We have to
wake up
and be prepared for the hereafter. For that we have to shake
ourselves first. We have to abandon our habits and
stagnancy.
Examine yourselves and see what you have, what you do, what you eat,
what you
wear, and what you talk. Question your lifestyle to see if it is
pleasing
to Allah. Getting used to, habits and
addictions are grave calamities on us. They lead to stagnancy,
laziness
and negligence. They lead to unpreparedness for the hereafter and
sorrow
in the hereafter. We have to clear ourselves from the habits and
addictions. We have to pull ourselves together and question
ourselves:
"At this age of my life, what should I do to be a good Muslim from now
on? I had never thought of these things until I came to this
mosque
today. The khawaja is right. I must start thinking about
these
issues." When a person starts
thinking, he starts earning rewards because in Islam there is the
principle: لاعبادة
كالتفكر (Lâ ibâdete kettefekkur)
"There is no worship as valuable as tefekkur,
i.e., thinking, pondering." As a person ponders about issues, he
would find the truth. Whatever he desires, Almighty Allah grants
him
eventually. He will attain his desires. One who searches
finds his
Lord. One who searches for trouble will find it, too.
When
somebody comes and bugs us we say, "Man, are you looking for
trouble? Get out of my way!" One who looks for trouble finds it;
one
who looks for his Lord finds Him, too. والله يدعوا
الى دار السلام (يونس:٢٥) (Wallàhu yed'û ilâ dâris
selâm) "Almighty Allah is inviting you to His paradise."
Hafiz recited the verse; I am giving you its meaning. Almighty
Allah is
inviting all of you to His paradise. Go ahead! Search for what
you need
to enter His paradise and try doing it. Take advantage of
Ramadhan and
complete the course successfully. Try to be a successful Muslim
before
the Eid. Our habits and addictions
are our worst enemy; so is our nafs: اعدا عدوك
نفسك التى بين جنبيك (A'dâ aduwwuke
nafsukelletî beyne jenbeyke) "Your worst enemy is your nafs
(yourself,
your ego) [between your two sides]." Your ego is preventing you
from
becoming a good Muslim. Your nafs is holding you back. You
must
overcome that first. You cannot do your prayers before you
overcome your
nafs. You could not fast unless you overcome your nafs. If
you do
not overcome your nafs, you will not be able to do worship. If
you do not
overcome your nafs, you cannot stay away from sins. Your worst
enemy is
within yourself. Almighty Allah chains Satan in Ramadhan, yet you
have
your nafs. You must overcome your nafs. Ramadhan is the month of
learning taqwa and overcoming nafs. How does Allah have you
overcome your
nafs? He makes you fast--no food or drink. That is how you learn
how to
overcome your nafs. When a person fasts, his nafs gets
weaker.
While fasting, the nafs remains calm. When the person eats, his
nafs gets
stronger. Imagine a strong and big person like a wrestler sitting
at the
table and eating a whole lamb. Can you control this man
afterwards?
He has to do something afterwards. You must have watched the
shadow puppet show Karagoz. The main character Karagoz comes to
the scene
and screams: "Yar bana bir eglence--I
need some entertainment!" Why does he do that? When a
person's
stomach is full, he asks for company, entertainment, music, fun and
pleasure. When he is hungry, he would worry about his stomach,
his life
and his future. Staying hungry, a person
learns how to overcome his nafs. The desires of nafs are kept
under
control. You overcome your nafs and keep it under control whole
day, yet
in the evening, the nafs takes revenge. That is not acceptable--you
cannot be a
winner, a champion like that. As you fasted the whole day, your
nafs was
laying in an ambush and laughing at you: "I see that you are used to
fasting. You know how to withstand hunger and thirst till the
sunset. I will take revenge in the evening." And it does. The person fasts during the
day and goes to the theater or other entertainment places in the
evening.
The televisions and newspapers prepare special programs. They
talk about
the old Ramadhans: they do not say any word about khawajas or
other
scholars, but they bring out the cabaret singers, comedians, and other
show-biz
people. They call it the special Ramadhan program. In fact
that is
not a Ramadhan program at all; on the contrary, it is a Satan
program!
During the day the person overcomes his nafs, yet he surrenders to his
nafs in
the evening and goes to Beyoglu district [in In the past, some people
would go to "Direklerarasi" in You have had special
spiritual training as in the military training. You are given a
handful
of bullets, and you have learned how to use a handgun. You
learned how to
shoot at 12. As you fire, you hit the bull's eye without any
failure. You
will be given a certificate indicating that you are qualified as a
first-class
commando. After Ramadhan, you fail to shoot the target board.
What
happened to you? Where did the training go? You are a
commando who
cannot lift an arm, move about, and ineffective in all. At every
match,
you get knocked out. What happened to the training? That
means it
did not stick. If Ramadhan is not spent
well, the training will not stick well. We have to take Ramadhan
very
seriously. We ought to overcome nafs during the night, too, as we
do
during the day. We should maintain our superiority over our nafs
during
the rest of the year, too. We must be good servants of Allah
throughout
our lives. We must learn taqwa, be a beloved servant of Him and
return to
his as one of His awliya. We must return to Him as one of His
friends. We
must return to Him as friends visiting one another just as the Shab-i
Arus of
our master Mawlana Jalaluddin Rumi. The night of death should be
like the
night of wedding or a feast. We must return to Him with
pleasure
observing the stages in Ramadhan is the month to
get ready for May Almighty Allah awaken
you from the sleep of unawareness. May he place you among the
righteous,
knowledgeable and conscious servants. May He place you among
those who
are close associates and close friends to Him. May He grant you
means to
lead a life in compliance with His consent. May He keep His
guidance with
you and make you special servants. May He grant you a pleasant
departure
from this life to the hereafter. May He honor you in His paradise
with
His beauty. With the respects for the
secrets of Surah Fatiha! Here is the poem that was
chanted after the 12th unit of Tarawih Prayer: SHAHIDIM
ARZ U
SEMADIR Shahidim
arz u semâdir
bütün ecrâmiyle, Bu
günahkâr gidishin
son demi bilmem ne olacak? Hâkine
yüz
sürmek için ne yüzüm ne imkânim var... MY
WITNESSES ARE THE
EARTH AND HEAVENS My
witnesses are the
earth and the sky with all their might I wonder
what would be
the end of this journey in sin I
have no means
to reach your grave, nor do I have face
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