| The following is a
translation of the Mi'raj
Night discourse by Shaikh Mahmud Es'ad Cosan in MI'RAJ, BELIEF and DHIKR
Prof. Dr. Mahmud Es'ad
Cosan Eùdhu billâhi
minesh-sheytànir-rajîm. Bismillâhir-rahmânir-rahîm...
Rabbishrahlî sadrî, wa
yessirlî emrî, wahlul 'uqdeten min lisânî, yafqahû Elhamdü lillâhi haqqa
hamdihî was-sàlâtu was-selâmu alâ khayri Dear Brothers and Sisters, May Almighty Allah make
this Mi'raj Night a good, blessed and fruitful event for all of
you. May
He grant you the His special treats, forgiveness and mercy
tonight. May
He grant you happiness both in this life and in the hereafter.
May He
honor you with His beauty in His Paradise. In Muslim countries, people
gather in the large mosques for these special nights. They fill
out
Ulucami in For this Mi'raj Night, I
wanted to be among my brothers who are in ghurbat (i.e., away
from
home). This is the land of ghurbat. In a hadith our
beloved
Prophet SAS praised ghurabâ (people who live away from their
homes): (Fatùbâ lil-ghurabâ')
"How nice it is to be one of the ghurabâ!" May Almighty Allah
make us among such praised Muslims. Why did the Prophet praise
such people? It is because such Muslims live in a society who are
unaware of
Islam, uninformed about it and do not understand what a Muslim
experiences in
such a society. They live as foreigners and strangers among
them.
That is why such Muslims are praised. The companions asked the
Prophet: (Wamal-ghurabâu ya rasûlallah?)
"Oh Prohet of Allah, who are the ghurabâ?" He responded: (Elledhîne yuslihûne mâ
efseden-nâs) "These are people who try to correct the society, the
code of conduct, the condition of the society that have been spoiled by
other
people." The description fits
you. You live in a non-Muslim society, and you have been here to
work. You have held on to Islam, kept your belief, and made
the
mosque your home. You come to the mosque, the house of
Allah, when
you get tired at work or bored at home. The description in the
hadith
fits you in that sense. In a strange environment, we are Muslims
alhamdulillah. May Almighty Allah place
you among the praised ghurabâ. May He also grant you wuslat (uniting
with the beloved ones.) Dear and beloved Brothers
and Sisters! As you know, some nights are different from the
others; some
moths are different from other months. We all know that Ramadan
is the
queen of the remaining eleven moths. We also know that the night
of power
in Ramadan is more fruitful than a thousand months. A person
cannot
worship eighty-three years without sleep, yet he could appreciate and
take
advantage of the Night of Power. It has such a great value. There are nights that
Prophet SAS informed us about. For instance, the first Friday
night of
the month of Rajab is the Raghàib Night. The angels of Allah call
that
night as Raghàib Night. It is a Friday night; it is in the
beginning of
the month Rajab. The Prophet SAS praised that night because
Almighty
Allah showers his servants with great spiritual rewards and
mercy.
Another special night is the middle of Sha'ban (Nisf-i Sha'ban) which
is called
Barat Night -- a very blessed night indeed. Alhamdulillah, tonight is
the 27th night of Rajab. We have had 26 nights since the
beginning of the
month Rajab, and this one is the 27th. On this special night, our
Beloved
Prophet, his Excellency, the intercessor for the disobedient on the day
of
judgment, one who had the miracles, Ahmed, Mahmud and Muhammed
Mustafâ--peace
and blessing be on him--received very special treatment from Almighty
Allah. As Suleyman Chelebi expressed: Irmedi
evvel gelen
bu devlete, No
previous prophet
received such a blessing; The special treatment took
place in the night of Rajab 27th. It was great journey that no
man had
ever taken. a. The Depth of Heavens We all wonder what there is
beyond the heavens and at the depths of space where no missiles could
go or no
telescopes could see. We know that the planet Venus is in our solar
system. Americans have sent a spacecraft that has been traveling
for the
last three years with full speed, yet it has only recently been close
to the
planet. For a person to get out of
our solar system, a person must get in a spaceship and travel twenty
thousand
years. Who would live twenty thousand years? That means he will
die in
the spacecraft and become dust, yet still could not go beyond the solar
system. In fact, our solar system is like a small point in our
galaxy,
and our galaxy has a negligible volume in the universe. One must
travel
the seven heavens and even go beyond... Dear Brothers and Sisters,
Almighty Allah states in the Surah Mulk of the Qur'an: (Walaqa
zayyannas-semâ-ad-dunyâ bimasabîha wa ja'alnâhâ rujûmen lish-shayâtîn)
"We have decorated the closest heaven with stars." (Qur'an 67:5) Here
"zayyannâ" means "We have adorned, beautified." In
the phrase "as-semâ-ad-dunyâ," both words have the definite
article "alif-lâm." That makes the word "dunyâ"
an adjective for the word "semâ." Here the word "dunyâ"
does not mean "earth" [as it would in Turkish], but it means
"the nearest, the closest." That is for sure. In fact,
the word "ardh" is used for "earth" in the Qur'an
and in the ahadith of the Prophet. "Dunyâ" is the
feminen form of the word "ednâ," and it means the lowest. In
the verse, Almighty Allah says, "We have decorated the closest heaven
with
stars." I am stating this to
describe how colossal the universe is and how it is beyond the
imagination of
human mind. The conclusion from the verse "We have decorated the
closest
heaven with stars" is that the space where the stars are and what we
see
when we look at the sky are all in the first heaven. (Elledhî khalaqa seb'a
samâwâtin tibâqâ) "He created seven heavens in layers one covering
the
other" (Qur'an 67:3). Since it is stated as 'seven heavens,"
there must be six other layers beyond what we can see. Then comes
the
throne of the Almighty: (Wasi'a
kursiyyuhus-samâwâti wal-ardh) "His Kursî comprises the heavens and
the earth" (Qur'an 2:255). [The Arabic word kursî means chair
or
footstool. Sometimes it is translated as throne. However,
the
Throne is also used for al-'Arsh which is infinitely higher and
greater
than al-Kursî.] We all know about
Ayat-al-Kursî, the 255th verse of Surah Al Baqara. We often
recite it
after the prayers because reciting it has so much reward. The
Prophet SAS
recommended it: "If a person recites Ayat-al-Kursî after the prayers,
his
life is the obstacle preventing him from entering the paradise."
That means, he immediately deserves to enter It is reported from Ibn-i
Abbas RA: "In comparison to the Kursî, the seven layers of heavens
become
like a ring in the sands of the Great Sahara desert." Subhàna
rabbiyal-'aliyil-a'lel wahhâb!..
I glorify the Lord, The most High and the Most Bountiful. Look at
the greatness of the creation of Almighty Allah and realize the
Greatness of
Allah. Realize this when you utter "Allahu akbar!"
His Kursî covers the heavens and earth. It is also stated: "In
comparison to His Arsh, His Kursî is like a droplet of water in the
vast
ocean." Subhanallah! What a glory, what a greatness! All of the visible stars
are in the first heaven. We are told that there are some stars in
this
heaven that their light has been traveling five million years to reach
us. It is the science of astronomy that tells us such things:
"That
star is five million light years away. That light comes from
there." These are not my words. Had I uttered these words,
I
would have been accused with exaggeration. Yet these are the
words of the
scientist who are fluent in physics, chemistry and math. They
calculate
the distance between the Moon and Earth, the distance between the Sun
and the
Earth, and the diameter of the Sun. They talk about how small the
Earth
is in comparison to the Sun. They use telescopes and other
devices to
calculate the distances. Five million light
years--not our kind of year. Light travels three hundred thousand
kilometers per second. They say, "It travels around the world
seven
times in one second." Remember pilgrims circumambulating around
Ka'bah seven times... Light could circle around the world seven times
in one
second. Imagine the light from a particular star has come to the
earth in
five million years. That is an indication of how great the
dimensions of
the universe is. I also realize that what we
see is what was there five million years ago. Perhaps the source of the
light
is not there anymore. An explosion could happen and the star
would
disappear. However, we still see the light that left the star
five
million years ago. That means we cannot see
the bottom of the universe because of the time limit. We cannot see it
because
of the great time depth or the greatness of the time dimension.
By the
grace and power of Almighty Allah, our beloved prophet, Muhammed the b. Reasons for the Mi'raj We have acquired some
knowledge and accept it as truth. For instance, I could ask you:
"Is
there a country called "How do you
know? Have you been there?" "No, I have not been
there, but I know for sure there is such a country." "How do you
know?" "The geography books
describe it. Encyclopedias have articles about it. Newspapers and
magazines have articles about it. The National Geographic writes
about
it. There are pictures from that country. That is how I
know."
That means people know
things for sure without seeing it. This is called ilm-al-yaqîn
"Is there life in the
hereafter?" "(Amentu billâhi wa
melâiketihî wa kutubihî wa rasulihî, wal yawmil âkhir) I have
believed
in Allah, His angels, His scriptures, His messengers, and the Day of
Judgment. Amennâ wa saddaqnâ--We believe and hold it as
truth. Yes there is life in the hereafter." "How do you
know? Have you seen it?" "I have not seen it,
yet I know it. I have not seen it, but our Honorable Prophet informed us about it, and
there are explanations in the Qur'an. Almighty Allah has informed
His
servants about it. I know that there is life in the hereafter for
sure. (Elledhîne yu'minûne bil
ghayb) [They believe in the unseen. (Qur'an 2:3)] We believe
in the
unseen with which Almighty Allah praises us. It will happen in
future. People will see it when it happens. The
disbelievers, the
infidels, the oppressors will realize that everything the messengers of
Allah
informed about was true, yet it will be too late for them. We are
not
like them. We know it already. Since they do not believe it
now, it
will be too late for them when they realize the truth. That is
why
Almighty Allah praises us in the Qur'an: "(Elledhîne yu'minûne bil
ghayb) They believe in the unseen." (Qur'an 2:3) We believe in the
unseen. We believe that there is life in the hereafter. Is
there (Wal waznu yawma
idhinil-haqqun) "And weighing [of deeds] that day will be the
truth." (Qur'an 7:8) Almighty Allah will weigh the deeds. (Femen ya'mal mithqàla
dherretin khayran yerah. Wa men ya'mal mithqàla dherretin sherran
yerah)
"So whoever does an atom's weight of good will see it, and whoever does
an
atom's weight of evil will see it." (Qur'an 99:7-8) We know all
of
this. We have yaqîn knowledge about it. Yaqîn means knowledge without any tinge
of doubt or hesitation. Our faith is strong alhamdulillah,
and we
know that all of this will take place. By the grace of Allah, we
shall
see Some people in Almighty Allah will
inform: "Your friend is in Hell." One who is in The disbelievers will enter
Hell and taste the torments whereas the believers will enter Almighty Allah showed the
Prophet Paradise, Hell, the (Amantu billâhi wa
melâiketihî wa kutubihî wa rusulihî) "I have believed in Allah, His
angels, His scriptures, His messengers..." We believe in the
prophets whom were sent to various nations, so did Prophet Muhammed
SAS.
However, Almighty Allah wanted to show him all of them. Having
seen them,
the faith of the Prophet became so strong that there was no comparison.
The
Prophet eyewitnessed them. As he ascended the layers of heavens,
he saw
the prophets, greeted them, talked to them, led them in prayer,
listened to
their advices, received their well wishes and prayers, and got to know
them. He saw the prophets, the angels, Almighty Allah had the
Prophet experience Mi'raj because He wanted the Prophet observe what he
was
teaching to people. He wanted His prophet to have the haqqal-yaqîn
knowledge and convey that knowledge to people. How would a person who has
the extended knowledge about a matter describe that matter? He
would be
confident; he would describe the details without any hesitation.
One who
does not know quotes: "I read in a book about this. I heard from
somebody..." It would not be as convincing. Almighty Allah
had
the Prophet experience the Mi'raj because He wanted His Prophet to
convey the
message with the eyewitness knowledge. Are there any other reasons
for the Mi'raj? Dear Brothers and
Sisters! With his manners and physique, the Prophet was the most
handsome
person, the most truthful person, and the most beloved servant of
Allah.
He was Habîbullah (someone whom Allah loves) and habîbunâ
(someone we
love). All creation loved him. The Buraq, the Refref, all of the
angels,
and all of the prophets were anxious to see Prophet Muhammad-i Mustafâ,
Muhammadul-Amîn. He was commissioned as a
prophet when he was forty years old. He had miracles; he taught
the
Qur'an. He lived 12 years as a prophet in Makkah, and people did
not
believe in him. Their disbelief was very strong; their hearts,
very
hard. Our honorable Prophet preached for 12 years in Makkah, he
described
Islam, explained the verses of the Qur'an, talked about belief, and
showed
miracles, yet they did not believe in him. Abû Jahls, Abû Lehebs,
rivals,
enemies, oppressors, murderers... They killed the Muslims and tortured
them
just because of their beliefs. They increased their oppression
and injustice
towards Muslims gradually to the extreme levels. The oppressors increased
their oppression towards Muslims and the Prophet after Abû Talib
died.
Initially the Prophet was under the protection of his grand father
Abdulmuttalib who was the most respectable personage in Makkah.
Nobody
could dare to do anything to his grandchild. After he died, the
prophet
was protected by his uncle Abû Talib. The Makkans were afraid of
him and
his family. After Abû Talib died, the pagans of Makkah felt free
to
attack the Prophet. Despite the 12 long years in Makkah, very few
people
accepted Islam. Even though people knew that the Prophet was
telling the
truth, they were afraid of associating themselves with the Prophet and
Muslims
because they were afraid of the pagans. The Prophet would not
give up; he
would talk to the pilgrims who came to Makkah. People used to
perform
Pilgrimage at that time, too. The Prophet would go to Mina and
Muzdalifa,
greet people and talk to them: "Where are you
from?" "We are from such and
such tribes." "Good.
Welcome! I am a Messenger of Allah. Almighty Allah informs
me about
His orders. You must not associate anything with Allah. You
must
abandon the disbelief and accept Islam." The pilgrims would listen
to the prophet and say: "O Muhammad, o Ebel-Qàsim, o father of
Qàsim! What you say makes sense. However, if we declare
that we
accept you as a prophet and if we follow you, the Quraish tribe will
not be
happy about it. They would become an enemy towards us. Our
caravans
to The torture and oppression
lasted years. Finally, one evening, on the 26th of Rajab, Abu
Jahl
attacked the Prophet. He threw a rock and wounded the foot of the
Prophet. The foot of the Prophet was bleeding. Hadrat
Abubakr
arrived. The Prophet felt extremely sad: "I have been preaching
for
12 years, yet nothing has changed. They do not listen to
me."
He was so sad on that day that Almighty Allah blessed him with Mi'raj. (Al faraj
ba'dash-shiddah) "The relief comes after the trouble." (Inna ma'al-usri yusrâ)
"Indeed, with hardship there will be ease." (Qur'an 94:6) Almighty
Allah will send the rewards after one endures the hardship. They tortured the Prophet,
and Almighty Allah granted His Prophet the Mi'raj. The Prophet
was
extremely sad on that day. He went to the house of his aunt Umm-u
Hâni. In fact, she was the older daughter of Abû Talib. She
was the
older sister of Hadrat Ali. Her name was Atîka bint-i Abî Talib,
but she
was known as Umm-u Hâni, i.e., the mother of Hâni. She was an
intelligent, knowledgeable lady. The Prophet went to her house
and wanted
to get some rest. While the Prophet was in
Umm-u Hâni's house, the angel I would like to help those
who have performed Pilgrimage visualize the location. There are
two
hills: Safa and Marwa. The Pilgrims do sa'y (a brisk
walk) between
the two hills. To start it, one climbs the Safa hill, turns to Ka'bah,
towards
the Hajarul-Aswad (The Black Stone) and says, "Bismillahu Allahu
akbar!". Then one starts the sa'y towards the hill of
Marwa. If there were no walls, one could look at the right hand
side and
see the neighborhood where the Prophet lived. That was the
neighborhood
of Banî Hashîm, the family of the prophet. The house of the
Prophet was
located there. Today, there is a building
outside of the masjid walls and yard. The area has been cleared
of all
construction except for one building. That building is a library
now. The Prophet was born in that place. I wish that place
had been
preserved. It was destroyed, and a concrete building has been
erected
there to be used as a library. In that part of Makkah,
there was the house of Abû Talib. Umm-u Hâni lived there after
her father
died. It was very close to the Ka'bah. While resting in the house
of Umm-u Hâni, c.
Preparation and Journey to Between Safâ and Marwa
hills, the Prophet went to the well of Zamzam. He made wudu there
and
circumambulate the Ka'bah seven times. There is a circular wall
by the
Ka'bah. The area circled by the wall is called Hatîm or Hijr-i
Ismâil. The prophet offered two units of prayer there and sat
down.
The angel The Prophet described it
later: "My chest was placed back." We conclude that the
operation by the angel does not cause any bleeding and we would not
know how it
was done. It is described in the
interpretation of the book Delâilul-Khayrât as follows: "A ruby belt was
placed on his waist. A cape made of light was placed on his
shoulders." I believe these were space suits. "Green
emerald shoes were placed on his feet." Well, people of that era
would describe it that way. People of our time could use their
mind and
accumulation of knowledge to interpret the preparation. As "Did he arrive in
there?" Amennâ wa saddaqnâ -- We believe and hold it as truth
because it is stated in the Qur'an--bismillâhir-rahmânir-rahîm: (Subhànelledhî esrâ
bi'abdihî laylan minal-masjidil-harâmi ilal-masjidil-aqsalledhî bâreknâ
hawlahû
linuriyahû min âyâtinâ, innehû huwas-semî'ul-basîr.) This surah starts with the
word "subhân." Dear brothers and Sisters, when you hear
the word "subhân," you should get goose bumps.
"Subhânallah" means "O Allah, I acknowledge that You are free
from imperfections. You have created all the perfections.
You
posses all perfections." This is a very important
expression and dhikr. It is a brief word, yet it is a phrase full
of very
important meanings. The following word in the verse is esrâ.
Esrâ-yusrî-isrâen -- These words have the meaning to walk,
to travel
during the night. "Why would these
people travel at night?" It would be extremely hot
during the day. That is why they would travel at night. A
person
could not stand the heat during the day. His brain feels like it
is
boiling. If you place some meat on a rock, it will cook.
You could
slaughter the animal, slice the meat and place it on a rock; the meet
gets
cooked. Your meal would be ready, so you can sit down and eat
it.
That becomes so hot. That is why they enjoy traveling at night. O the full moon or stars in
the sky would be beautiful at night. They appear to be closer in
the
desert. It feels like you can reach and catch some of them
because the
sky would be clear and the air, not polluted. It is not like here
[in People in the desert travel
on camels in the coolness of the night. Traveling or walking at
night is
called isrâ. (Subhànelledhî esrâ
bi'abdihî laylan) "Allah, who is free from all imperfections, had
his
servant travel at night." Almighty Allah makes His servant travel
at
night. How the servant, i.e., the Prophet, traveled is not stated
in the
verse, yet we know it from the ahadith that it was with Buraq. This
part of the
verse means, "The lord of the universe is all powerful; He is able to
do
all things." The word subhân includes that meaning.
This word is such an important word, so you should get goose bumps when
you
hear it. (Minal-masjidil-harâmi
ilal-masjidil-aqsa) Almighty Allah had his servant travel "from the
Masjid-al-Haram to Masjid-al-Aqsa." That means, the Prophet traveled
from
Makkah to Since it is stated in the
Qur'an, none of the believers could oppose to this statement. In
one night,
Almighty Allah had his Prophet travel from Makkah to Masjid-al-Aqsa in Well, it was in the hands
of Muslims, yet we did not appreciate it, we could not protect
it. May
Almighty Allah grant it to us again. Once something is not
appreciated,
it is taken away. The nation that neglects jihad will be
humiliated. Once a nation abandons the duty of (Amr-i bil
ma'ruf-nahyi
anil munkar) ordering the good and forbidding the evil and jihad,
Almighty
Allah subjects them to the humiliation until they repent and hold on to
the
orders of Almighty Allah and uphold Islam. It happened once more in
the history. Why did Almighty Allah take
his Prophet to The word ayah has
two meanings: 1. A verse of the Qur'an. 2. The great events that
result in major effects in the heaven and earth are also ayah.
For
instance, both Sun and Moon are among the ayahs of Allah The solar and
lunar
eclipses, too, are such ayahs (signs). The word ayah does not
necessarily mean a verse of the Qur'an. It could mean a very
important
event. In this sense, the verse means: "Almighty Allah is free
from
all imperfections Who took His servant from Masjid-al-Haram in Makkah
to Masjid-al-Aqsa
in Did Almighty Allah show all
kinds of signs to His Prophet that night? Yes, indeed: Sidretul-Muntehâ
is an
ayah, and so are "My Dear
Khawaja. Sometimes people could dream about flying over
places.
They could see the Day of Judgment in their dreams. Could it be
something like
that? Did the Prophet have a dream?" Not at all. That was
not something like a dream! I am going to prove that it was not a
dream. d. Some Proofs As the Prophet SAS traveled
with Buraq, he saw some caravans down below. He could identify
them. He realized that a camel was strayed from one of the
caravans and
everybody was looking for that camel. The Prophet told them where
the
camel was. Why would he get involved
with such an incident while going towards Later, they passed by
another caravan. People in the caravan argued on something and
they
started a fight. Some got wounded. As he was returning to
Makkah al Mukarramah, he saw another caravan in the Ten'im
locality. The
place is about 25 kilometers to Masjid-al-Haram. Now there is the
Umrah
Masjid there and it takes only fifteen minutes to half an hour to
arrive there
from the Masjid. In the past, it would take five-to-six hours on
foot. Twenty-five kilometers is not easy to walk. He saw
the
caravan there. There was a gray camel leading the caravan.
The
Prophet looked at the goods in the caravan. In the morning, the pagans
did not believe in the Prophet when the Prophet said: "I went to "Do you have anything
to tell us?" The Prophet
responded: "Yes! Last night I had the Isrâ and Mi'raj last
night." "Where did you
go?" "I went to "You are with us right
now, and you were with us yesterday evening. Do you mean that you
went to
"Yes I do!" "Are you telling this
to me only? Could you repeat this to before a crowd?" "I can repeat to
anybody." Abu Jahl went to his clan:
"O children of Kâ'b! Gather here! I have something for
you." This despicable man thought he had found something to mock
at
the Prophet. He screamed, "Come on over here!" Abu Jahl returned with a
group of people. He asked the Prophet SAS: "Can you repeat what
you
told me before these people?" The Prophet said,
"Last night I had the Isrâ and Mi'raj." "Where did you
go?" "To "You have returned in
the morning, right?" "Yes, I am with you
now." They slapped their knees
and heads with their hands. They looked one another. The
unbelievers naturally did not believe him. However, those with a weak
belief,
those who declared their belief with their tongues only, did not
believe what
they heard either: "That is too much to believe. He could not go
there in one night." The history books mentioned
that some of the people got out of Islam. If the faith is not
strong, it
is possible to lose it. As you know, one person of
the group went to Hadrat Abu Bakr-i Siddîq and asked: "Have you heard
what
your dearest friend, Abul-Qasim Muhammad has been telling people?
Do you
know what he told us today?" Hadrat Abu Bakr asked:
"What did he tell?" "He said he had been
to "Tell me if you are
making these thing up. Did he really say all of these? Did
you hear
him saying it with your own ears?" "We swear he
did. There are witnesses." "If you are not making
this up, if he really said it, then it must be the truth!" These words earned him the
title As-Siddîq. He had no doubts that Muhammad was the Prophet
of Allah
and Almighty Allah would grant him extraordinary things. He had
no doubts
about it. He only asked: "Did he really say it or are you making
it
up to create mischief? Did he really say it?" "He did!" "Well then, it is the
truth." People by the Prophet
continued asking him questions: "If you claim to be in The Prophet had never been
to People were asking him to
describe the Masjid-al-Aqsa, its windows, doors, and details. If
a person
goes to Often we criticize the
pilgrims: They sit in the Masjid-al-Haram and ask, "Khawaja, how
many gates does the Masjid-al-Haram have?" What is it to you?
Why do you need to know such a detail? You are not here to gather
information about such details. You should offer your prayers,
read the
Qur'an, do your Tawaf and worship. "What is the name of
this gate? How many minarets does it have?" "Stop worrying about
these details. Try to take advantage of the time and place.
Try to
earn rewards by doing worship. Do not waste your time in the
marketplace
or shopping malls." That is what we recommend
the pilgrims. I am sure the guides tell them the same
thing. You
probably give the same advice to your friends. Would you expect the
Prophet be concerned with the details of the Masjid-al-Aqsa? Yet
Almighty Allah
removed the curtains from the eyes of the Prophet. He could see
the town "I saw the caravans
that you sent to They said, "That would
be a proof for us. we shall inquire when they get back?" "There was another
caravan going to another place. Two people in the caravan had a
fight and
got themselves wounded on their feet." "All right! That
would be another proof." "Then I saw a caravan
in Ten'im headed to Makkah. There was a gray camel leading the
caravan. Such and such a man was holding the leash of that
camel. It
is carrying such and such
goods. I saw them when I was returning. They should arrive
here
soon." The prophet described the details of the caravan. People went to Seniyye Hill
to watch the arrival of the caravan. While some were spreading
the rumors
that there was no such a caravan, one person screamed: "Here is the
caravan!" The description of the
Prophet was correct. When the other caravans returned, people
asked about
what the Prophet said about the caravans. "Yes, we had lost a
camel. We heard a voice telling us where the camel is. We
went
there and found it." "Yes, two of us had a
fight and wounded one another on the foot." After the proofs, the
pagans were silent. Why am I telling these to you? The All
Powerful, Almighty Allah took the Prophet from Makkah, brought him to The night journey is called
Isrâ, and it is stated in the Qur'an. e. Gates of Heavens The Prophet met with other
prophets in What does Mi'raj
mean? In Arabic, Mi'raj is the alet-i urûj-- instrument
for
ascension. It is something that elevates a person to the
sky. It
reminds a person an elevator. It is some kind of an elevator made
of
light that carried the Prophet to heavens. The word mi'raj
refers
to that elevator of light. The Miracle of Mi'raj is the Ascension
of the
Prophet. Mâlik ibn-i Sa'saa RA
reported from the prophet that the Prophet was elevated with this fast
elevator
of light along with the angel With this fast elevator,
they passed through the stars and arrived at the gate between the first
and
second heavens which is at a distance that we could not even
estimate.
They stopped at the gate. The gates of the heavens are mentioned
in the
Qur'an: (Lâ tufettehu lehum
ebwâbes-semâ') 'The gates of the heavens will not open for the
infidels and
evil people." (Qur'an 7:40) Only Almighty Allah knows the nature of
these
gates. They are not likely to be like the ones carpenters make. At the first gate, The angel responded: "Men
ente--who are you?" Dear brothers and
sisters! The guard angel asked:
"Who are you?" "Ene Jibrîl-- I
am Jibrîl" "Wa men me'ak--who
is with you?" "Muhammed, the messenger
of Allah, the beloved of Allah, the chosen servant, a very special
servant of
Allah, Muhammed." "Has he been
commissioned on earth as a messenger?" Obviously the angel did not
know it. That means they were at a very far distance.
Remember the
five million light year distance. "Yes, he has been
commissioned." "Does he have the
permission to come up here? Has he been invited?" We gather that no mortal is
supposed to pass beyond that gate. that is why the angel is
asking these
questions. Let me take a break from
the story and tell you something about this gate. There are some
deeds
that cannot pass beyond this gate where "Well, such a person
did such deeds. We are taking them up." "Go back and slap them
on his face. That man is a hypocrite! He did not do them
with
sincerity. Almighty Allah instructed me not to pass the deeds of
the
hypocrites. I would not let you pass." You should know that these
are not jokes. The gates of the heavens are for real. We
should be
aware that the deeds of the hypocrites, liars, sinners and insincere
people are
returned. Let me tell you something
with glad tidings, too: When one third of the night or one half
of the
night passes, the gates of the heaven is opened. At that time,
all of the
deeds reach almighty Allah. That is the time to get up for the
night
vigil prayer. It is the time for repentance, dhikr and
prayers.
Other times, our deeds could be rejected! What we conclude is that we
should get up when one third, one half or two thirds of the night
passes.
Actually, any time would be fine. We should make wudu, offer
prayers and
repentance and benefit from the blessed time of the night. That
is what I
remind my brothers and sisters. We know that the night of Mi'raj
is once
a year, but there is such an opportunity every night! That is why
I am
telling these to you. To get up and do worship at
night, one should go to bed early and get enough sleep. Make your
body
get used to getting up for tahajjud (night vigil prayer).
This is
stated in the Surah Muzammil. There are other verses that
Almighty Allah
recommended his Prophet: (Aqimis-salâte
lidulûkish-shamsi ilâ ghaseqil-layli wa qur'ânal-fajr, inne
qur'ânal-fajri kâne
mashhûdâ. Wa minal-layli fatahajjad bihî nâfileten lek, 'asâ en
yeb'atheke
rabbuke maqàmen-mahmûdâ.) [Perform the prayer at the sinking of the
sun to
the darkening of the night and the recital of dawn; surely the recital
of dawn
is witnessed. As for the night, keep vigil a part of it, as a
work of
supererogation for thee; it may be that your Lord will raise thee up to
a
laudable station.] (Qur'an 17:78-79) Our beloved Prophet has been
encouraged "Get up at night, offer the night vigil prayer. Your
Lord
will elevate you to Maqam-i Mahmud, be thankful for that." Well. it is a great
opportunity for us, too. Appreciate the special time of the
night,
appreciate the seconds of your life. Do not waste your life in
the
coffeehouses! Go to bed early, right after you pray Isha.
Get up at
night and turn to Allah as the gates of the heaven is open.
Tonight, the
gates will be open, too--not because it is the Mi'raj night but it
opens every
night. There are times at night that Almighty Allah, by His
grace, turns
to the lowest heaven and calls His servants: "Isn't there anybody
who seeks forgiveness from Me? Ask Me, and I will grant
forgiveness! Isn't there anybody who seeks My Mercy? Ask Me
and I
will grant it! Isn't there any body who requests something from
me?
Ask me and I will grant it!" Do not miss out that opportunity! Do not miss that
market! Do
not let the sun rise before you get up. Do not miss the night
vigil
worship. f. The Duration of Mi'raj If the Isrâ and Mi'raj took
place in the dream, if it were not physical,why would the guard angel
stop
them? We dream about the Day of Resurrectionand the Dear Brothers and
Sisters! Mi'raj is a colossal phenomenon; donot overlook it or
down scale
it. I am telling you these as it wasdescribed in the authentic
sources so
that you may comprehend its greatness. Another proof of the Mi'raj
is the fact that the pagans denied it andmocked at it. The Prophet told
them
about Mi'raj and they refused to acceptit. If th e prophet had
kept it to
himself, there would not have beenany objections. The Prophet
told them
about it, they rejected itand it is written in the authentic books. Dear Brothers and
Sisters! The Prophet passed the seven layersof heavens and had
great
observations. All of it could not be describedin one
hadith. I have
read many ahadith of the Prophet about Mi'raj. These ahadith are
included
in the Sihah-i-Sitte, the six collections ofauthentic hadith
books. Most
of the ahadith are about the observationsof the Prophet. There is
so much
information about Mi'raj. Almighty Allah showed His Prophet so
many
things. How long did the Mi'raj
take? According to the reports, it tookthree to four hours.
The
Prophet was resting in the house of Umm-uHâni, then came to
Masjid-al-Haram and
made wudu. Then, the spiritualpreparation was completed.
The
Prophet went to "Is it possible to
have so many things and observations in a short time?" "Sure, it is
possible." Here is a simple proof:
Here there are some brothers or sisters whoare listening to me.
But every
now and then, their eyes get closedand they sleep for a brief
time. You
might have experienced the samething. It is possible that he did
not
sleep much at night or gottired during the day. He would doze for
a
second or two. Duringthose two seconds, he could even
dream. I am
pointing this friendof mine as an example. He and I were going
some place
in a car. He was driving the car on the autobahn, and I was
talking to
him. It was daytime. All of a sudden he said: "Hay Allah
yâ" (O my God!)and slapped his knee. I asked, "Did you
forget something? Do you mean you want to return topick something that
you have
forgotten?" He said, "No!" "Why did you say 'Hay
Allah' then?" " I dosed." "I have been t alking
to you. When did you sleep?" "I slept and even
dreamt." Certain things could be
seen in a brief time. That is called bast-izaman--the expansion
of
time. That is also observed in the karâmatof the
awliyaullah. A
year of time could be fit in a second. I must be content wit this
much
information on this. Those who experiencedit know it
better. A person
could dose a few seconds and talk abouthis dream for an hour.
This is
similar to the recording of a talkover two hours and copying it in few
minutes. "Why did it take so
little time to copy it?" "Well, it is the
technology." In the spiritual realm, there
would be time within time; a particulartime interval could be
expanded. A person could observe many thingsin that short time
period. That is how it happens. g. Observations during
Mi'raj g. Observations during Mi'raj Our beloved Prophet
observed so many things that could be describedin volumes of
books. Here
is a summary: He observed the sevenlayers of heavens, the
Prophets within
them: Adam AS, Then Almighty Allah showed
him the tortures in Hell. I will mentionone as an example.
While he
was guided by The Prophet asked, "O
Jibrîl, what is this?" The hadith is long;
however, I will tell you briefly. "This man was a
Muslim." You should pay attention to
this: "This man was a
Muslim, and he knew in his head that the daily formalprayers were an
obligation
on him. He would not do the prayers. Thatis why the angel [in the
form of
another man] is hitting him with a rockon the head." Look at the torture!
"With this head, you knew the orders of Allah! Why did you disobey
them?" Our beloved Prophet saw
these and others in Hell. He sawpeople whose tongue is cut
with
scissors of fire. They were the oneswho did backbiting. He
saw
people whose sexual organs emitted an unbearable awful odor. They were
adulterers and fornicators. TheProphet saw these and then he saw (Innâ
a'taynâkal-kawthar.) [Indeed, We have granted you O Messenger,the
Kawthar
(Qur'an 108:1)] He also saw Sidratul-Muntehâ and the Tûba tree. The vehicle of the journey
was different for different parts: From Makkah to "O Jibrîl, let us
continue. Do not leave me alone. Let usgo further together." The Prophet left Söyleshirken
Cebrail ile kelâm, As he
was talking to
"As-salâmu alayka
O Messenger of Allah and O Jibrîl!" Allahknows what they talked
about and what happened. The Prophet got onRefref. After
the el
evator of Mi'raj, the Prophet had traveled onthe wings of the
archangels h. Arrival in the
Presence of the Lord of the Universe h. Arrival in the Presence of the Lord of the Universe After the
Sidrat-ul-Munteha, the Prophet traveled with Refref. He passed
through
the space in which the concept of time and place disappeared. The
prophet
describes the vacuum of space. He described it precisely and
beautifully. It could not be described in another way. Suleyman Chelebi describes
it to us: Bir
fezâ
oldu o demde rû nümâ, At that
moment the
space appeared
Kim
ne
hâlidir, ne mâli ol mahâl, The
space was neither
full nor empty
Ref
olup ol
shâha yetmishbin hijâb, Seventy
thousand
curtains were lifted for the King
Her
birinden
geçer iken ilerü, As he
passed through
each curtain,
As the Prophet passed each
curtain, he was called: "Come closer o My Prophet. Come
closer
o My beloved! The curtains were lifted one by one and the Prophet
observed the light of Tawhîd (Unity). What a nice
description! The description belongs to Suleyman Chelebi.
He should
be rewarded generously for his work. What a blessed poet, what an
art! He describes things that are very difficult to
comprehend. He
must have been a great scholar with a great amount of spiritual
knowledge. He must have been an elegant person. May
Almighty Allah
have us meet in "Why?" "You have written
poems to praise the Prophet. You loved him so much! Let me
be
sacrificed for you!" Shesh
jihetten ol münezzeh Zül-Jelâl, Almighty
Allah, who is
not confined in all six directions,
(leyse kemislihi shey'un)
there is nothing that resembles Almighty Allah. That is why it is
impossible to describe. (Walâ tadribû lillâhil-emsâl)
"Do not attempt to describe Almighty Allah by giving examples."
Why is it so? It is because there is nothing comparable to
Him.
What could you name as an example when there is nothing in His
likeness? (Allàhu lâ ilâhe illâ
hû, alhayyul-qayyûm) [Allah--there is no deity except Him, the
Ever-Living,
the Sustainer of all existence (Qur'an 2:255).] (Allàhu lâ ilâhe illâ
hû, lahul-esmâul-husnâ) [Allah--there is no deity except Him.
To Him
belong the Names Most Beautiful (Qur'an 20:8).] (Huwallàhülledhî lâ
ilâhe illâ hû,
elmelikul-quddûsus-selâmul-mu'minul-muheyminul-azîzul-jabbârul-mutekebbir)
[He is Allah, other than Whom there is no deity, the Sovereign, the
Pure, The
Perfection, the Bestower of Faith, the Overseer, the Exalted in Might,
the
Compeller, the Superior. (Qur'an 59:23)] Read each one them and
understand it. Digest its meaning and become a knowledgeable
person. Do not remain ignorant. Our beloved Prophet saw the
Beauty
of Allah, he had been to the Divine Presence. You, as a member of
his
Ummah, try to understand Ma'rifetullah, the knowledge about Allah. "What does
Ma'rifetullah mean? Who is an àrif?" Àrif is a person who has the knowledge
of Allah, a person whom Allah granted His knowledge. Now these people say,
"Oh, my God! Güris God." Come here! I am not
going to let you go. Tell me what do you mean when you say
God.
Come on have a seat. What did you mean when you said "my
God"? Tell me what you mean when you say "Güris God." Let
me hear it! Oh you poor man! I am sorry for you! You have
not
understood anything about the knowledge of Allah. When you uttered the
word
"God," I thought you meant the Lord of the Universe, my Lord, and I
had enjoyed hearing it. May Allah guide you! What he meant
by the
word "God" was a dead body nailed on a piece of wood from the hands
and feet. How is it possible that you
call Jesus Christ "God"? Wasn't there human beings before Jesus
AS? Who was the "God" of people who lived before Jesus?
Why don't you think about it? Why do not you acknowledge that
Almighty
Allah is the Lord of the Universe and declare "lâ ilâhe illallah--there
is no deity but Allah"? We need the knowledge of
Allah, i.e., ma'rifetullah. Ashîkâre
gördü
Rabbül-izzet'i He saw
the Glorious
Lord clearly That is the summary as
Suleyman Chelebi put it. During the Mi'raj, our beloved Prophet
saw
Almighty Allah clearly. How about us, his Ummah? Shall we
see
Almighty Allah, too? Don't worry. If we
are believers, if we enter The companions of the
Prophet asked: "O Prophet of Allah. Shall we see our
Lord?" He responded: "Yes! Would people prevent one
another from seeing the full moon? Can everybody see it when
looking at
it? You shall see Almighty Allah in The belief is a
requirement, so hold onto your belief tight! We do not need money
or rank
[in the hereafter]. We are here in this life for a test; we
need
the belief, we need Islam. Hold onto Islam tight! Do not be
fooled
by the Deutsche Mark or dollar. Do not be fooled by the worldly
things.
This life is transient, it is an illusion, it is false and fake. Yalan
dünyasin,
yalan dünyasin, You are
the transitory
life, a false world, This dunya, the transitory
life, has no loyalty to anybody. Pull yourself together and try
to be a
beloved servant of Allah. Neither the Deutsche Mark not the
American
Dollar has any value in the hereafter! Nor would the position and
the
rank will have any effect. Let me criticize myself, too--being a
professor, a mufti or a teacher will not be any good either. You
ought to
be a beloved servant of Allah. You must be a beloved servant of
Allah. You have to be an obedient and practicing servant of
Allah. Tell me which of your children,
your friends or your associates you like the best. When would you
like a
person" Why do you like a person? When do you get angry at
somebody? When do you love a person? Think about all of
these and
figure out how you can become a beloved servant of Allah.
Anything else
has no value. If Almighty Allah does not like you, nobody can
help you
even if the whole world gets together. But if Almighty Allah
loves you,
nobody could harm you even if the whole world gets together. It
would be
just as Prophet Ibrâhim AS being protected by Allah. Hadrat Ibrahim was a brave
man, a blessed person. During the Mi'raj, Our beloved Prophet met
Prophet Ibrahim AS never
worshipped idols, the Sun or the Moon. He never worshipped the
idols of
Babylonians. He figured that the was a creator for all of
it.
"The lord of the Universe has created all of these." He warned
his people that they should not worship the idols. He told them
that he
would demolish all of their idols. On a day of ceremonies, he
demolished all of
the idols. His people wanted to burn him. They threw him
into the
fire. Yet they could not burn him. Almighty Allah loved him
and
provided protection for him. When Allah loves a person and
protects him,
nobody could inflict any harm on that person. That is why we must
try to
be a beloved servant of Allah. i. Wealth of this Life
and Generosity i. Wealth of this Life and Generosity Dear Brothers and
Sisters! The important thing is to be a beloved servant of Allah,
the
rest is futile. We realize that truth in the end of our lives. The Prophet said once: "You
all love the property and belongings of other people. Is there
anybody
among you who loves his own property rather than other people's
property?
Which one of you loves his own property?" The companions did not
understand what the Prophet meant. They inquired: "Oh Prophet of
Allah! Everybody loves his own property. Look, the person does
not want
to give anything for charity even if you ask for it." The person's hand has
formed a fist, and it would not be opened. The strong people,
even the
wrestlers, could not open the tight fist of the individual. He
grabs his
money and property and would not want to give away
anything.
Everybody loves his wealth and property. The Prophet explained:
"The wealth that you have saved and accumulated belongs to your
heirs. You will die and they will get your property." Do you understand now whose
property and wealth you have loved and protected? You have been
guarding
the property of your inheritors. You avoided spending too much
for your
food, entertainment and comfort, and you did not spend on charitable
causes and
jihad. Now your heirs are having a feast on your wealth and
property. You may remorse: "Look
at them how affluent they are spending. I could never spend like
that. I
had worked very hard to save that money. My sweat was running
down when I
was earning that money. How could they spent it in such an
extravaganza?" Well, they would because
easy comes easy goes. You should have spent it for the sake of
Allah. You loved the property that belonged to others. Dear Brothers and
Sisters. Do you know what belong to a person? When you
spend
something in the way of Allah, you acquire its title. It will
become
yours when you give it for a cause that Allah loves. How do we
know
it? Once the Prophet SAS had a lamb slaughtered as
sacrifice. He
instructed his household: "I am going to the mosque; you
distribute the meat to neighbors and the needy." This is very important; it
left an indelible mark in my mind. I love it. The Prophet
SAS
returned from the mosque and asked: "What did you do with the
meat
of the lamb?" They said: "Oh Prophet of Allah, upon your
instruction, we gave it away the legs, the ribs, the heart, the tail
except for
one of the shank and shoulder (front leg)." Our beloved prophet used to
like the meat of the front legs. I believe that portion of the
lamb is
rather lean. The butchers would know it, and I am sure you all
know it
too. When it comes to the taste of the food, everybody becomes an
expert!
A person would know where the good baklava is sold; he could go
and get
it while his eyes closed. He would know about the best meat, too.
"We gave it away all
except for one front leg." The Prophet SAS responded:
"That means, except for one front leg, the whole lamb became ours." Why is it so? It is
because he gave it away and turned to rewards for the hereafter to be
written
on his account. When you eat something, it stays in this
life. We
fail to understand why Almighty Allah loved the Prophet SAS and Prophet
Ibrahim
AS. Why did Allah chose Prophet Ibrahim as Halilullah?
Halil means
a very dear and true friend. Prophet Ibrahim was very generous, and so
was our
beloved Prophet SAS. You have to generous, too. There are three levels of
generosity one of which should suit you: 1. Generosity in wealth and
property. If you have money, spend it for the sake of
Allah. Give
it for charity, have a mosque built, bring water to someplace, spend it
on
students, give it to widows and the sick, have a hospital built.
Search
for the good causes and spend it on them. This is called
generosity of
the wealth. 2. Generosity in
body. That does not mean selling your meat, your liver or
kidney.
It means running for the services. It is going to work with the
body for
the sake of Allah. "Does the mosque
require painting? All right. I can do it! get me some
paint
and a brush." The mosque became spick-and-span; it was a great
spring cleaning. That man displayed a generosity in body. "I heard that a
neighbor is sick." "Really? I did
not know that." "I heard it the other
day that his blood sugar increased and he was hospitalized. His
wife is
at home alone." "Really?" He goes and knock at the
door: "Sister, I heard that our brother is in the hospital. May
Allah grant him health soon. Do you need anything from the
market?
I could go and get it for you." "No thanks. May
Allah be pleased with you." "You must need
something..." He goes to the market and
gathers a bunch of stuff that would be needed on a daily basis.
The man
of the house is in the hospital. Would he let the Hajji Aunt go
to the
market and do shopping? He buys these goods and takes them to
her. This
is a service; it is generosity in body. Service is the
second kind
of generosity. Service for Allah, for the mosque, for the Qur'an
and for
a Muslim in need. All are well accepted. 3. Generosity in
life. That is giving up own life for the sake of Allah. It
means
being eager to go to the grave just as being eager to entering a rose
garden. It means going for jihad uttering the takbir: "Allahu
akbar... Allahu akbar... Allah... Allah..." It means giving the
life
for the sake of Allah in jihad. Once a person came to the
prophet and said: "O prophet of
Allah! I am a drunken man. I know that there is a jihad
going on
right now. If I become a Muslim now, if I believe in you, If I
join the
jihad and die in the battle, would I enter The Prophet said,
"Yes, you would." "I have always drunk
wine; I have never prayed. I have no good deeds. Still
would I enter
The Prophet said again,
"Yes, you would." How is it possible? Once a
person declares faith saying, "Ash-hadu an lâ ilâhe illallah--I
bear witness that there is no deity but Allah," all of his wrongdoing
are
erased immediately. Imagine a non-Muslim German declaring "Ash-hadu
an lâ ilâhe illallah," his past offenses--no matter what they
were--are erased immediately. Entrance to Islam wipes out
previous
offenses and wrongs. When the prophet repeated
the answer, the man declared his faith: "Ash-hadu an lâ ilâhe
illallah
wa ash-hadu anna muhammadan abduhû wa rasûluh--I bear witness that
there is
no deity but Allah I also bear witness that Muhammad is a servant and a
messenger of Allah." He asked for the hand of the prophet for
bay'ah
(pledge of allegiance). He held the hand of the Prophet and said:
"I
pledge allegiance to you Oh Prophet of Allah. I am at your
order. I
am a believer, I am a Muslim. I follow your orders." He was very happy. He
wanted to eat something before leaving for jihad. He thought he
should
eat something to gain strength. He sat down and got some dates out of
his
bag. He had a bite then said, "Oh Lord! Over there This is an example of the
third kind of generosity. People of other beliefs would not have
this
kind of generosity. Muslims would not mind giving up their lives
for the
sake of Allah. Our forefathers have given up their lives--may
they rest
in light. The martyrs will have the right for intercession on the
Day of
Judgment. May Allah grant us their intercession. They
became
martyrs for Allah. There were many from my own
family. My grandfather, my paternal uncle, my maternal uncle, and
my
relatives had been to the front in Canakkale. Since we lived
close to
there, they went to the front and gave their lives. I do not know
their
number. We are the grandchildren of martyrs. For their
sake, this
country has the independence. A man has to go and search
for deeds that are pleasing to Almighty Allah. He should carry
them out
and earn Allah's consent. He has to acknowledge the Creator and
the Lord
of the Universe. He has to be aware of His unity and turn to him:
"My Lord! You are aware of my life. I regret for committing
those offenses. I am sorry. During this night of Mi'raj, my
heart
got softer. I would like to be a good servant for you from now
on. I
would like to obey Your commands." He has to try to earn the
consent
of Allah. What is our purpose in this
life? What is our goal? (Ilâhi ente maqsùdî wa
ridàke matlûbî) "O Allah! You are my purpose, and I seek Your
consent!" I do not need the praise, reverence, money, wealth or
love
of others. Why do we keep committing
the offenses? I hear some people telling jokes that give me goose
bumps. They tell jokes that do not have sexual content, but they
scare me
and give me goose bumps. I warn them, "What are you doing?
Are
you aware of what you are saying?" For instance in the joke they
say
a man goes to Then they al laugh:
"kih kih kih, kah kah kah..." Wait a minute? Are you aware what
you are joking with? Are you out of your mind? Is religion
a matter
of joke? How could you make fun of We ought to do things to
earn the consent of Allah. (Ilâhi ente maqsùdî wa ridàke matlûbî)
Our
purpose is to earn the consent of Allah. Look how beautiful Islam
is. Our beloved Prophet SAS said: (Dînârun enfaqtahû fî
sebîlillâh) "The money you spent in the way of Allah..." It
is the money you spent for the charity, jihad, Hajj and alike; (wa
dînârun
enfaqtehû fî raqabetin) "And the money you spent in freeing a
slave..." (wa Now tell me which one has
the most rewards. Is it the money spent for Allah, in jihad,
Hajj; money
spent in freeing a slave; the money spent for the poor and needy, or
the money
spent for the family. Which one has the most rewards? The Prophet SAS answered
this question: (A'zamuhâ ajran elledhî
enfaqtehû alâ ehlik) "The most rewarding one is the money you spent
for your family." Do you realize how much
importance Islam allocates for the love in the family? You take
food for
your wife, and children. You spend for them. That is the
most
rewarding of all. You see how beautiful Islam is. You see how important
the love
in the family is. You have to look for ways to earn the consent
of Allah.
j. The most rewarding
worship: Dhikrullah j. The Most Rewarding Worship: Dhikrullah One of the most rewarding
worships is dhikrullah. Our beloved Prophet SAS said: "The
most rewarding worship is dhikrullah." He was asked: "Is it
more rewarding than jihad?" The prophet said:
"Yes, even if you take your sword, attack the enemy, fight with them,
they
wound you, they break your sword, and your horse gets wounded, the
dhikrullah
is more rewarding." Dhikrullah is one of the
most rewarding deeds. "Khawaja, can you tell
us how we can get dhikrullah? Where is it sold? How do we
do
it? How do we do dhikrullah?" It is easy. Our
beloved Prophet recommended it. Remember his aunt, Ummu Hânî whom
the
Prophet visited before Mi'raj. He told her once: "Say 'lâ
ilâhe
illallah' one hundred times a day. There could not be more
reward for
anything except for one who says more." Here is dhikrullah for you
to say "lâ ilâhe illallah" one hundred times a day.
Would it be too difficult to do? Would you lose something if you
said
it? Would it take too much of your time? It does not take too
much time,
and it is easy to say. "I could do it even in
the bus. By the time I go from one bus stop to another, I could
say
"lâ ilâhe illallah" one hundred times. I could go from
beginning to the end of a rosary. Look, it is easy. It
has so much rewards. It weighs the most on the scale on the day
of
judgment. It is an honorable deed. How is it honorable? If
a person
remembers Allah by doing dhikr, Almighty Allah remembers him, too. "Wait a minute
Khawaja. I have heard this for the first time. Is it true?"
Let me recite you a verse
of the Qur'an-- bismillâhir-rahmanir-rahîm: (Fedhkurunî adhkurkum
washkurûlî walâ tekfurûn) "Oh My servants. Remember Me, I
will
remember you, too. Be thankful to Me, and do not be ungrateful."
(Qur'an 2:152) Our Prophet said: If a
servant remembers Allah, Allah remembers him, too. If the servant
remembers Allah in a group, Almighty Allah mentions the name of the
servant in
a better group. If a servant gets closer to Allah one hand span,
Almighty
Allah goes to the servant running." These words indicate that if
a
servant makes an attempt to please Almighty Allah, Almighty Allah
grants him
great blessings. Can you imagine Almighty
Allah mentioning your name? He will tell His angels: "I have a
servant in Allah-u akbar! What a great honor. Saying
"Allah' is an easy form of worship. The Prophet also said:
"Even I seek forgiveness from Almighty Allah by saying 'Astaghfirullah'
one hundred times a day." Even though he was a
prophet of Allah, he would say "Astaghfirullah" one hundred times a
day. "Astaghfirullah" means, "Oh Allah! Forgive
me! I seek forgiveness and mercy from You." Would it be too
difficult for you to say "Astaghfirullah" one hundred times a
day? Our beloved prophet recommends it. He recommends it so
that
you can receive forgiveness and earn rewards. While a person seek
forgiveness, he will be wiped of his sins because Almighty Allah
forgives a
person his sins. He is al-ghaffâr-uz-zunûb--the most forgiving of
the
offenses. You should think about your
faults, see your wrongdoings and seek forgiveness by saying
"Astaghfirullah."
You know how to say "Excuse me" and "I am sorry." You
should learn how to say "Astaghfirullah," too. Say, "My
Lord! I fail to be a good servant for You. I want to be a
good servant,
but I make mistakes. Please forgive me!" We all have
shortcomings. We all want to be good servants, yet we keep
committing
mistakes from the down to dusk. We speak rough and hurt people's
feelings. We keep hurting the family members and others. One
hundred
times of "Astaghfirullah" will not be sufficient for us; we need
thousands of it. If we are to say one "Astaghfirullah" for each
mistake, we need to say it thousands of times every day. Say
"Astaghfirullah" one hundred times a day, and let it be a memento
from this blessed night of Mi'raj. Also, say "La ilâhe illallah" one
hundred times a day as a memento from our respected mother Ummu
Hânî.
Would it be too difficult? Then recite salawat one hundred times
a day. "Wait a minute
Khawaja! What is that? It looks like you are drafting us
onto a
tariqa slowly. You are advancing slowly in the trench without
lifting
your head." Look! Almighty Allah
say in the Qur'an: (Innallâhe wa
melâiketehû yusallûne 'alen-nebiy) "Indeed, Allah confers blessings
upon the Prophet, and His angels ask Him to do so. (Yâ
eyyuhelledhîne âmenû)
O you who believe, (sallû aleyhi wa sellimû teslîmâ) ask Allah
to confer
blessings upon him and ask Allah to grant him peace." (Qur'an 33:56) Allaaahumme
salli
alâââ seyyidinâââ... Allaaahumme
salli alâââ seyyidinâââ... What did we say" (Erseltehû
rahmeten lil-àlemîn) "May the blessings of Allah be on the Prophet
whom You have sent as a mercy for the universe." Here "jâe bil
haqqi" means "he brought the truth." He brought us the
clear truth. May Allah be pleased with him. May Allah grant
us his
intercession. I he did not teach us Islam with his ahadith,
we
would have been ignorant. "He brought us the truth. You
have
sent him as a mercy to the universe. Your blessings be on him." You could say this one
hundred times a day, can't you? The Prophet himself recommended
one
hundred salawat for us. If a person says one salawat
for
the Prophet, Almighty Allah grants him ten blessings. If the
person says
ten salawat, he will be given one hundred blessings or
rewards:
Thirty of them is for this life, and the seventy of them is for the
hereafter. k. Greetings of Hans to
the Prophet k. The Greetings from Hans to the Prophet I am going to tell you a s
story that never gets old. A brother in He was a worker at a
factory. He filled out a petition for some vacation time.
He was a
hardworking and respected person. He told the director: "Mr. Director. I
would like to use my vacation time from such date to such date." The director or the boss
refused: "I am sorry, I cannot give you the vacation during those
dates." "But I have to use
that vacation time." "I do not
approve." "Even if you do not
approve, I have to use that vacation time." "You will use your
job." "It does not
matter." "You would use all of
your earned rights." "I do not mind that
either." "Why do you insist so
much? What is the big deal?" "Well, it is an
obligation to go to Makkah and do the Pilgrimage for me." "Then it is
different. I will approve the request." He was not stubborn as the
supervisors that we see in Imagine a spider in the
basement of an abandoned house. It sets its net and waits.
Allah
sends him his sustenance with wings. A fly comes and gets caught
in the
net. It is not at a crowded place to set up the shop. Yet
Almighty
Allah sends him the fly. He goes and eats it right there.
Everybody
goes out to seek food, the spider waits at home and its sustenance
comes to
him. Does an infant know how to
work? How does he gets his sustenance? Almighty Allah sends
him the
milk--the parents are the instruments. Allah provides for
everybody. The director or boss of
this worker granted the permission: "If it is a religious requirement,
then I will let you go. We like you. We will make
arrangements to
manage without you." This worker prepared his
suitcase, made travel arrangements, and went to his boss to say
good-bye:
"I am leaving now. Good bye." The boss wished him a safe
trip. As the worker left the room, the boss said: "Convey my
greetings to Muhammad." The name of the boss was
Hans. Well most Germans have this name, yet this was truly
Hans.
Just like Turkish soldiers being called Mehmetçik. Hans said:
"Say
selam to Muhammad." This worker brother told me
later on: "I left for the Pilgrimage. I Finished all
duties.
Then we came to Madina al Munawwarah. I went to the Masjid of the
Prophet. It was extremely crowded. I stood up across from
the grave
of the Prophet and closed my eyes. I said: 'As-salatu
was-salâmu
'aleyke yâ Rasulallah!'" Of course, his tears were
running on his cheeks. Then he remembered the greetings of Hans:
"Yâ
Rasûlallah, I do not know if it is proper to bring you greetings from a
non-Muslim. When I left After he returned from his
trip, he met me in How did it happen? It
is because he sent greetings to the Prophet. l. Dhikr Protects the
Belief l. Dhikr Protects the
Belief "Is there more dhikr
you are going to recommend?" Yes there is. You
should say "Allah" as often as you want and as much as you want.
"Allah... Allah... Allah..." Do this dhikr as much as you
want. Why do we do this dhikr? With Suleyman Chelebi's
words: Bir
kez Allah dise,
ashq ile lisân, If the
tongue utters
the name "Allah" with zeal, All of the sins will be
wiped out! It has to be with zeal and eagerness: "Allah..
Allah.." It is not going to be like when we say "Allah
Allah" [like they say in English "Oh my God!"]. It
has to be with devotion and eagerness. Then you could recite one
hundred times Surah Ikhlas, i.e., Qul huwallahu ahad.
This is not
a long surah--it is one of the shortest ones: (Qul huwallàhu ahad.
Allàhus-samed. Lem yelid, wa lem yûled. Wa lem yekun lehû kufuwan ahad.)
"Say He is Allah, Who is one. Allah, the Everlasting
Refuge.
He neither begets nor is born. Nor is there to Him any equivalent."
(Qur'an 110:1-4) That is not very long is
it? You should recite this one hundred times, too. Why do I
recommend it? It is because the Prophet SAS recommended it. I have conveyed you five
recommendations from the Prophet. One hundred times "Astaghfirullah,"
one hundred times "La ilâhe illallah," As many times as you
can say "Allah," one hundred times salawat, and one hundred times
Surah Qul huwallahu ahad... It is for me to say and for
you to do. We shall share the rewards. I am not going to
get your
rewards; I am not going to get your share. Almighty Allah gives
the
rewards in full when a person does some good deed. He has
infinite
treasure of rewards. (Lehû meqàlidus-semâwâti
wal-ard) [ The keys of the heaven and earth, the absolute
sovereignty
belongs to Allah. (Qur'an 39:63) (Lehû mulkus-semâwâti
wal-ard) [The Sovereignty of the heavens and earth belongs to
Allah]
(Qur'an 57:5) (Wa lillâhi
khazâinus-semâwâti wal-ard) "The depositories, treasuries of the
heavens and the earth belong to Allah." (Qur'an 63:7) Almighty Allah will not
reduce your rewards; you will get it in Full. What I am
going to
get is the matching rewards: an equivalent amount of rewards will
be
written on my account. How is it possible? If a person
leads others
to do a good deed, he will be rewarded as though he carried out the
deed
himself. You are going to say "Astaghfirullah," recite salawat,
recite Surah Ikhlas, and you will get your rewards. Dear Khawaja, what is the
reward for saying "Astaghfirullah"? When a person says "Astaghfirullah,"
Almighty Allah forgives him his sins. The sins will be wiped
off.
That is the reward for saying "Astaghfirullah." (Lâ kebîrete
meal-istighfar) "The sins will be wiped out with
repentance." That is why we should say "Astaghfirullah."
Khawaja, why do we say
"Lâ ilâhe illallah"? (Men qàle lâ ilâhe
illallah muhlisan, dekhalel-jenneh.) "If a person says 'Lâ ilahe
illallah' sincerely, he will enter Were not we so eager to
enter "Dear Khawaja, I
would like to ask you something. Suppose a person declared faith
by
saying "Lâ ilahe illallah," and carried out good deeds.
However, suppose that later he had some doubts as some people had with
Mi'raj
and he got our of Islam. What happens to the deeds that he
carried out
between the two events?" In that case, the good
deeds of the person is canceled. As becoming Muslim erases the
previous
offenses and bad deeds, becoming a disbeliever after being a Muslim
wipes out
all of the good deeds. "Khawaja, he had
performed Hajj several times. Later he deviated from the straight
path.
He started drinking, gambling. Finally he died as a disbeliever."
Look, that could
happen. I read in a literature history book titled Tadhkira-i
Lâtîfî:
There was a drunken poet during the time of Ottomans. When the
spring
arrives, meadows get green, the nightingales start singing, the
butterflies
start flying, he would say: Esdi
nesîm-i
nevbahar, açildi güller subh-dem, The
winds of spring
have blown, the roses bloomed in the morning He says: "The winter
has gone, the spring has arrived. The roses bloomed in the
morning.
Oh, this is the red rose, the yellow rose, the vine rose that has
climbed
up. How nice they all are. We want to be happy, too. We
want to get
rid of the sadness. O bartender, give us some wine in the glass
of
Jamshid. We want to drink, too." That was how he wanted to
drink. There were also other poems: Gâh
þarki okuyup,
gâh gazelhân olalim, To us
sing songs and
chant poems, All they wanted was
entertainment. Once another poet was reminded: "Quit
drinking.
There is the life in the hereafter. You will be questioned
there.
Repent and quit drinking." He agreed: "My Lord! I seek
forgiveness from You. I quit drinking and I will start praying
regularly." Soon, his friends convinced him to drink again.
Those things happen in life often. They keep repeating. Satan
fools
people like that. His friends offered him the drink. Then
he wrote
a poem that is very scary: "From now on, I am not planning to
repent. I quit repenting." Tevbe
ettim ki
etmeyem tevbe, I
repent for
repenting He meant that the was going
to continue drinking and he will not repent for it at all. He is
determined not to repent for his offenses. These were his words. I got scared when I read
that poem. His words were extremely offensive. I was curious
about how
his life would end. I continued reading about his life. In
what
circumstance would such a person die? He died in the bar while he
was drunk.
That was his reward for uttering those words. That means a person could
deviate from the straight path. Sometimes Satan fools a
person.
Sometimes a person looses the control. For instance, a person
could incur
the wrath of Allah upon watching an improper scene on television or
uttering
improper statements. Almighty Allah may not grant you another
opportunity
for repentance. It could cost a person his belief. May Almighty
Allah
protect us from such an end. Dear Brothers and
Sisters! We ought to pay attention to keep our belief. There are
two ways
of protecting the belief: 1. Continuing the worship, 2. Abstaining from
the
offenses. The Qur'an is a
fortress. The Prophet said that if a person continues to read and
study
the Qur'an, his belief will be protected. Likewise the mosques
are
fortresses, too. They provide shelter for our belief. Dhikrullah is a fortress,
too. A person who remembers Allah by doing dhikr, a person is
protected. I am not telling too much. You need all the
protection
you can get for your belief. If you keep wudu all the
time, Satan cannot get close to you. Be in the state of wudu all
the
time, do dhikr, be inside the fortress so that Satan stays away from
you. The faith is like a
precious stone in a person. Do not let the thief steal it.
The
thief could get in to a place if the door is left open. Satan is
the
thief, and the eyes, ears and mouth are the doors of a person. When a
person
looks at the haram, listens to the haram, and utters haram words, the
thief
gets in. Satan steals the precious belief. Then you will
have a
hard time to get it back. We have to protect our
faith. We must continue doing dhikr to protect our faith.
these are
not my words, but the Prophet's words. I am only conveying the
message. I am quoting from the Qur'an. I am telling all of
these
because you live in Dear brothers and
Sisters! I am telling all of these so that you protect your
faith. One
who says "Lâ ilâhe illallah" enters paradise if he keeps his
words until he dies. What if Satan fools him and takes his faith
away? That is why you have to get used to saying "Lâ ilâhe
illallah." Then, you know the rewards of saying
"Allah"; if a person says "Allah" with zeal once,
his sins will be wiped out. You also know the rewards of salawat.
What is the reward of
reciting Surah Ikhlâs? Reciting Surah Qul huwallahu ahad once
could earn
a person the rewards of reciting one third of the entire Qur'an.
That is
why we have recommended these dhikr. You should carry out them. m. The Gift from
Mi'raj: Daily Five Prayers m. The Gift from Mi'raj: Daily Five Prayers The Prophet had Mi'raj in
the year 621--may Allah grant us his intercession in the hereafter.
About
fourteen hundred years has passed since then. How does it concern
us? Don't worry, there is a
gift for you, too. The gift from Mi'raj for you and for me is the
daily
five prayers. Almighty Allah ordered the Ummah of Prophet
Muhammad to
pray five times a day. This order was conveyed to the prophet
during the
Mi'raj, and he passed it on to Muslims. With Suleyman Chelebi's
words: Sen
ki Mi'rac
eyleyip kildin niyaz, You have
ascended to
me and prayed Look at the beauty of the
words. "O My beloved, O my Muhammad-i Mustafa, O My blessed
messenger. I blessed you with Mi'raj. You have ascended
through
seven heavens. You ride on Refref and passed seventy curtains of
light.
You came to My presence. You witnessed My Beauty. You had
requests
from Me. I ordered the daily prayers as the ascension of your
Ummah." (Assalâtu
mi'râjul-mu'min) "The daily prayers are the ascension of a
believer." Dear Brothers and
Sisters! The daily prayers, (salat or namaz), is
an
excellent form of worship, yet 99.99 % of Muslims are not aware of its
beauty. They perform the prayer in form, not in essence. As you know, if a person
keeps saying, "honey, honey," his mouth does not get any sweet
taste. He has to put the honey in his mouth. If a person
does not
experience something, he would not know it well. If a person does
not
practice, the knowledge has no value. The formal prayer is a very
precious
worship, yet many people does not appreciate it. Have you thought
of what
we do when we raise our hands and say "Allah-u akbar!"? That is
a greeting to Almighty Allah. That is the greeting when we enter
the
Presence of Almighty Allah. Do you know what we do when
we make tawaf around Kâ'bah? When we come to the line towards
Hajar-ul-Aswad, we greet it with "Bismillahi Allahu akbar!" Allahu akbar means Allah is the greatest.
There is no comparison. There is no doubt that Allah is the
greatest. That is the greeting in the beginning of the
prayer:
"Allahu akbar!" Then we stand putting one
hand onto the other. We start with the supplication
Subhaneke.
Remember, when we hear "subhaneke" we should get goose bumps.
"Subhaneke" is a very important phrase. "My Lord,
you have no imperfections, you are all powerful, you know everything,
you see
everything, you create all beauties." Then We recite the Surah
Fatiha: "Alhamdu lillahi rabbil àlemîn..." This is the
ascension of the believer. Standing in the prayer is
called "qiyam." Bowing is "rukû,"
prostration is "sajdah." These are the forms of worship
angels of Allah carry out. Some angels are in qiyam, some
are in rukû,
some are in sajdah positions. We do all of them.
Our beloved
prophet asked us to pray like them. We ascend like
angels. A servant would be closest to Allah in the sajdah
position. When a person starts his
prayer with "Allahu akbar," the gates of the seven layers of
heavens are opened: "Zzzzt, zzzzt, ..." then the gates of eight
levels of In the divine Presence,
could a person be busy with what is to be bought from the supermarket,
what to
feed to cows, or how to get rid of flies? Could a person worry
about if
the ground beef his wife asked hinm to buy is to be lean? Come on
now! You are in the Divine Presence. Leave the work and
worries of
this life a side. Think about Almighty Allah. Imagine that
you are
at His Presence. Dear Brothers and
Sisters! A person could learn something everywhere he goes.
I
learned something during a visit in (Sawwu suwûfekum,
fastaqîmû wa'tedilû!) "Keep your lines straight." The order
and discipline in the prayer is a must. We need order in life, in
speech. Islam is a religion of order and cleanliness. After
he
said, "Keep your lines straight," he said something else that hit me
in the heart: "Turn you faces to
Qibla, and your hearts to Allah!" Allahu akbar! Those words gave me goose bumps. I
have never heard anything like that from an imam before. You
could
imagine that you are facing Kâ'bah, yet how are we going to turn our
hearts to
Allah? "How are we going to
do it Khawaja?" Where is this spiritual heart? Where is its
gear shift? Where is its steering wheel? How does it turn?"
You come to me later on and
I will tell you. We need topics to talk later on. You need to turn your
spiritual heart to Allah. It should be away from this worldly
life. n. Memento from
Mi'raj: Tahiyyat n. Memento from Mi'raj: Tahiyyat There is tahiyyat in the
prayer. When we sit we say: (At-tahiyyâtu lillâhi
was-salawâtu wat-tayyibât) This
is a memento form Mi'raj. When the Prophet arrived in the
Divine Presence, he uttered these words. At first, the prophet was
scared. Wouldn't a person get excited or nervous when he arrives in the
Divine
Presence? He was almost speechless because of the awe of Almighty
Allah
and importance of that state. He said: "Something from the Arsh-i
'Alâ dripped in my mouth. It was sweeter than honey, smooth and
cold. I
swallowed it. Then I felt illuminated. Then I started to talk and
remember what I wanted to say." Look, Almighty Allah
offered the Prophet something like honey. We ought to sit down ad
tell
people about Mi'raj for one year. The prophet was going to
talk to Almighty Allah. A servant was going to talk to the Lord
of the
Universe in His Divine Presence. What could he say? What
should he
say? (At-tahiyyâtu lillâhi
was-salawâtu wat-tayyibât) Tahiyye means greeting.
In a verse
it is stated: (Waidhâ huyyîtum
bitahiyyetin fehayyû feahsenu minhâ aw ruddûhâ) "When you are
greeted
with a greeting, greet in return with one better than it or at least
return it
in a like manner." (Qur'an 4:86) That means when a person say,
"As-salamu alaikum," you say "Wa alaikum salam wa rahmatullahi
wa barakatuh." (At-tahiyyâtu lillahi)
"The best of the greetings is to Allah!" All kinds of greetings, the
most beautiful one, the highest one, the most esteemed one, the most
acceptable
one, the most sincere one, the purest of all greetings are to
Allah.
Words are not sufficient to describe; feelings are more
comprehensive. (Was-salawatu
wat-tayyibât) "All kinds of prayers and worship are to
Allah." The prayer we do with our body, the charities we spend,
the
fasting, the pilgrimage and alike all are for Almighty Allah.
That is
what our beloved Prophet said. He greeted Almighty Allah with
these
words. Almighty Allah responded: (As-salâmu aleyke
eyyuhen-nebiyyü wa rahmetullàhi wa berakâtuhû!) "Peace be with you
oh
Prophet, oh My Messenger! The Mercy and Abundance of Allah be
with
you!" The Prophet thought about
his Ummah, us, the disobedient, the sinners. He said: "My Lord!
May
I ask for my Ummah, too?" (As-salâmu 'alaynâ wa
alâ ibâdillâhis-salihîn) "Peace be with us and with the righteous
servants of Allah." The righteous (sâlih) servants are
you,
the Ummah of the Prophet, those who believe in Allah and follow His
orders." Our Lord! Make us
Your righteous servants. Righteous servant means a good
servant.
Yet I ask for something additional: "My lord, make us sâlih and
muslih servants." Being righteous is good for
the individual. Being muslih means trying to correct or
improve others,
too. That is something better than being sâlih. You
should
try to have your spouse, your children, your neighbor and your
friend. Be
a sâlih and muslih servant of Allah. Be a
righteous person
and make others righteous, too. When the prophet said,
"Peace be with us and with the righteous servants of Allah," the
angels responded with shahâdah: (Ash-hadu en lâ ilâhe
illallah wa ashhedu enne muhammeden abduhû wa rasûluh.) "I bear
witness that there is no deity but Allah. I also bear witness
that
Muhammad is His servant and messenger." This tahiyyat is a
memento from Mi'raj. Oh Lord! we have been saying these
words, but
we did not know their meanings or where they came from. We
remember the
scene of Mi'raj because we are in Mi'raj when we do our prayer.
We are in
the Divine Presence. With the Mi'raj, the last
verses of the Surah Baqara, the verses that start as "Amenar-rasûlu..."
Of course other information and orders were revealed with Mi'raj. o. We ought to Know
about Islam o. We ought to Know about Islam May Almighty Allah give us
opportunities to learn Islam. We ought to know Islam well.
Dear
Brothers and Sisters! There is one thing that prevents us from
learning
our religion: The fallacy that we know our religion well.
Whenever
someone tells us something about Islam, we say: "All right, we
know it."
What do you know? You
know nothing! You know nothing but you thing you know
it
all. There are so many things to learn. You tell me what
you
know. Sit down here and tell me about Almighty Allah. Tell
me about
your concept of Allah. You know nothing. While we were in itikâf in
the Masjid al Haram, one of the Saudi secret police agent came there
and sat
down. He was a young man. He kept asking: "What does this verse
mean? What does the 'face of Allah' mean? What is
this? What
is that?" I answered all of his
questions. He responded: "O really? Do you believe like
that?" Yes! That is what we
know and how we believe. He did not like us because of our
beard.
He did not like us because we were not wahhabî. He thought we had
some
false creed. That is why he came there and asked questions. Yet
he got
surprised after finding out what we believed. They do not like Imam Abu
Hanifa, nor do they like Imam Mâturîdî or Imam Ash'arî. Why do you
reject
them? Alhamdulillah, These great scholars had the knowledge and
made the
statements. What if a person does not know? Many people utter the
words: "Allah baba--Allah the father" Fasubhânallah!
How could you call Almighty Allah as father? For one to be a
father, the
person must get married, have a wedding, and consummate the
marriage.
Then he has to wait nine months and ten days, and there has to be a
birth. Are you out of your mind? How could you utter such
words? Are you crazy or sick? If you knew the meaning of
the Surah Ikhlas, would you utter such words? (Qul huwallàhu ahad)
"Say, Allah is one. (Allahus-samed) He provides sustenance
for all, accepts the prayers, and sends everybody's needs. He is the
owner of
the throne of grace, the sovereign of the universe, and the owner of
all
treasures. (Lam yelid wa lam yûled) He begets not nor was
he
begotten. He is neither a father, a mother nor a child." Let the
whole This Surah puts the history
of religions on the operating table, gets the lancet, and cuts all of
the
spoiled and malignant tissues out and leaves what is healthy and
pure. It
eliminates all of the corrupted beliefs. It crosses out the
pluralist
beliefs, polytheist religions and dualist faiths. It eliminated
the
beliefs of the god of mercy, the god of torture, the god of light, and
the god
of darkness. It left no basis for Zoroastrianism, Judaism, or
Christianity. Only one thing is left: (Lâ ilâhe illallahu
wahdehû lâ That is why the reward for
Surah Ikhlâs is very high; it is equivalent to that of reciting one
third of
the whole Qur'an. You ought to know about this. There is no
idol,
no cross, no partner, no associate for Allah. He is unique. (Wa huwa ma'akum eyne mâ
kuntum) 'Wherever you are, He is with you. He is aware of all
what
you do." This is part of the knowledge about Almighty
Allah.
Are you aware of that? Istemegil
ani irak Do not
seek Him at far
That is how Yunus
expressed. "Almighty Allah is everywhere, yet you do not need to seek
Him
at far; just look at your heart." He is omnipresent.
In
brief, there are so many things to say, yet we must emphasize one
thing:
"The notion that we knew Islam prevents us from learning Islam and
reading
authentic texts. Volumes of books are on the
shelves, quietly and sadly looking at us. Each one complains:
"You
did not read me. You paid money, bought me, brought me here and
you never
read me. I thought you were somebody who are interested in
learning. You put me on the shelf and left me there. You
did not
learn anything from me." You put the Qur'an in a
case and never got it out. Is the Qur'an to be hanged on a wall
in its
special bag? Is it for reading the deceased only? You could
read it
for the dead, yet it is a guide for the living. It is a guide for
people to
find the concept of Allah. You have not memorized
anything from the Qur'an, you do not study its interpretations.
You are
unfamiliar with jurisprudence or ahadith. what do you think Islam
is? Is it made of three words? There is the ocean of
knowledge, a
spiritual treasure, yet you are unaware of it. You put three
pennies in
your pocket and you think you are rich. You have lit three
candles, yet
you think the whole universe is illuminated by that. You must
realize
that you are nothing, you have no knowledge. Hold tight onto the
Qur'an
and study Islam. Try to save yourself. This is not a joking
matter.
Dear Brothers and
Sisters! Life in this world is a test. Even one second of
this life
is precious; it should not be wasted. Try to earn the
consent of
Allah. Let us pray for one
another. You pray for me, and I pray for you. May Almighty
Allah
save us from the unawareness and ignorance. May He soften our
hearts, and
wet our eyes. May He make us realize our helplessness and turn to
Him. May
He make us put our trust in Him and follow His path. May he grant
zeal
and power for us. Let us be good Muslims. If there were this many, as
many as the ones in this mosque, true Muslims, there would not be any
unbelievers in the world. If there are unbelievers, it is because
of our
laziness and weakness of our belief. We do not work because we do
not
know. We lack knowledge, we do not work, we do not talk, we do
not try,
we do not have the eagerness to work in the path to Allah.
That is
the reason. Let us seek forgiveness for
all of our sins. Astaghfirullàh... (I seek forgiveness from Allah).
Astaghfirullàh... Astaghfirullàh... Astaghfirullàh al-azîm,
al-karîm, ar-rahîm, ellezî lâ ilâhe illâ hû... Al-hayyel-qayyûm, wa
atûbu
ileyh. (I
seek forgiveness from Allah who is the most Glorious, the most
Generous, the
most Mercy Giving, the One who is the only deity. He is living
and
eternal, to Whom we turn.) Allahumme ente rabbî (O Allah, You are my Lord), lâ
ilâhe illâ ente (there is no deity other than You), khalaqtenî
(You
have created me), wa ene abduke (and I am Your servant) wa
ene alâ
ahdike wa wa'dike mesteta'tu (and I am on my promise to be a good
servant
to you as much as I can) aûzu bike min sherri mâ sana'tu (I
seek refuge
with you against my wrongdoing), abûu leke bini'metike aleyye
(I praise
for Your blessings on me), wa abûu bizenbî (and I also admit my
wrongdoing) faghfirlî (forgive me) fe innehû lâ
yaghfiruz-zunûbe illâ
ente (verily, there is none to forgive sins other than You)... Amentu billâhi (I believe in Allah), wa
melâiketihî (And His angels), wa kutubihî (and His
scriptures), wa
rusulihî (and His prophets), wel-yewmil-âkhiri (and the
Day of
Judgment and hereafter), wa bil-qaderi (and the destiny), khayrihî
wa
sherrihî minallàhi teàlâ (the good and evil comes from Allah), wal-ba'su
ba'del-mawti haqqun (the resurrection after death will take place),
ash-hadu
en lâ ilâhe illallàh (I bear witness that there is no deity but
Allah), wa
ash-hadu enne muhammeden abduhû wa rasûluhû (and I bear witness
that
Muhammed is His servant and Messenger) sallallàhu teàlâ aleyhi wa
âlihî wa
sahbihî wa men tebiahû bi-ihsânin ajmaînet-tayyibînet-tàhirîn (May
the
Mercy and blessings of Almighty Allah be on him, his family, his
companions and
all of his sincere followers). Subhàne rabbike
rabbil-izzeti ammâ yesifûn. Wal-hamdu lillâhi rabbil-âlemîn, elfâtiha!.. p. How to enliven a
special night p. How to Enliven a Special Night Havýng talked so much, I do
not want to start another dýscourse. Nevertheles, I must say few
things
on how to enliven a special night. 1. The first thing in
enlivening a special night is to attend the Isha prayer in the mosque
in
congregation. This is an excellent deed. The next thing is
to
attend the Fajr prayer, too, in the mosque in congregation. You
must pay
attention to this. Why is it important to
attend the prayers in the mosque for the Isha and Fajr? If a
person
offers the Isha prayer and Fajr prayer in the mosque, he receives
rewards as
though he spent the night and day in prayers and worship. That is
why we
must try to attend the prayers in the mosque regularly. It is
good that
you attended the Isha prayer; you broke the leg of the devil and earned
rewards. Try going to the mosque for Fajr, too. "Khawaja, my dear
Khawaja. I work the night shift; our work starts in
the
evening." Then, it is
different! Nevertheless, the intentions count. May Allah
reward you
for your intentions. 2. If a person makes fresh
wudu', offers two units of prayers and goes to bed, he earns rewards as
though
he spent the whole night in prayers! This is important,
too. You
ought to do this everyday! It is reported by the
Prophet that an angle is appointed for the person who goes to bed with
fresh
wudu'. The angle prays whole night for the person: "My
Lord!
This servant of yours went to bed clean and with wudu'. Forgive
him his
sins and shortcomings. Have mercy on him." The angel comes to the
person with wudu'. The angels search for people whoa re going to
bed with
wudu'. They go to them. They gather around such a
person.
When the angels gather around a person, the devil stays away from him. When a person goes to bed
with wudu', the devil stays away from him. Isn't it great? If a
person
dies in sleep, he leaves this life with imân because the devil stays
away. He had already offered two units of prayers, and he had
wudu'. He had stated in the prayer: "Ash-hadu an lâ ilâha
illallah--I bear witness that there is no deity but Allah." He
had
declared his faith in the prayer before going to bed. The devil
is kept
away, so he keeps his belief if he dies at night. When the person gets up in
the morning, he will have rewards as though he had spent the night in
prayers. Can you stay up in prayers till the morning? You
ought to
try and see if you could. "Sir, the nights in Yes, the nights are
two-three hours longer, and as you go to the north, they get longer and
longer. Can you stay up and pray throughout these long nights
until your
legs get swollen from standing on them? Our beloved Prophet used to
pray with eagerness and zeal. He used to say that the prayer was
the
pupil of his eye; he loved the salât. You do not seem to enjoy
the
prayer, neither do I. that is why we do not stay up in prayers
whole
night. If we loved the prayer, if we enjoyed the prayers, we
would say:
"I am going before Allah. I am going to be in his presence.
I
am sorry, I cannot spare time for you." Then, we would start the
prayer and enjoy every moment of it. We would stay away from
empty talk,
chitchat, useless engagement, money matters, political parties and
everything
else that is insignificant. That is why you should pay
attention to going to bed with wudu'. 3. During the special
nights, try offering salât and dhikr as much as you can. If you
have to
sleep, if you cannot stay up late... "Honestly, my dear
Khawaja, I cannot stay up late in prayers. I had a hard time coming to
the
mosque; If I am here, it is because of my friends. I cannot
come to
the mosque regularly. Today I am at the mosque because of this
special
night." All right, then! You
have stated frankly that you cannot stay up late. Then sleep for
a while,
then get up at the Tahajjud time. It is the time that comes after
one
half or two thirds of the night passes. It is a very precious
time.
It is precious because the gates of the heaven are opened at that time
and the
angels do not stop any deeds. They would not say, "Take these and
slam them to the head of the servant who offered them."
Everything
you offer arrives to the presence of Allah. At least, you should get up
at the sahur time (dawn). Don't you remember anything
about the
Night of Power which is described in the Qur'an? There are some
hints: (Hiye
hattâ matla-il fajr) The shower of blessings and mercy, the
descent
of the angels and the archangel Jibrîl during the Night of Power are
until the
beginning of the Fajr time. "That means all of
these are until imsak (dawn, the time that we start fasting)." Yes, the precious time ends
at the time that we start fasting. At that time the night ends
and the
morning (Fajr) begins. You ought to pray during the
"night." You must get up before imsak, make wudu' and offer
prayers. You should sit on your prayer rug and do some dhikr with
tears
in your eyes. Our beloved Prophet
said: "Now I am going to recite you a surah. You should
weep
when you listen to this surah. If you cannot cry, force
yourselves to
have some tears in your eyes." You may wonder, "Which
surah is it?" It is the one that begins
as "Alhâkumut-takâthur..." (Qur'an 102:1) "The love of
accumulating the wealth in this life has kept you so busy!.." Was
your purpose in life to accumulate wealth? Did you come to this
life for
that purpose? You had come to this life for a test; You
were to be
good servants to Allah. The surah begins with these words: "The love of
accumulating the wealth in this life has kept you so busy!.." Well, isn't it true?
Don't we do everything for money? why did we come to We ought to weep at the
special night. It is because the prophet said that the hellfire
does not
touch the eyes that weep for Allah. we ought to learn how to cry!
"Khawaja, could a
grownup man cry? Could an old person who has children and grand
children
cry? Yes, he could! Hadrat
Omar ibn-Khattab used to cry, too. The tears would leave marks on
his
face. Are you as brave as he was? Can you twist his
arm? He
used to fight with five people at a time and beat them up. Nobody
could
dare to challenge him! He was strong and brave like a
mountain. He
was tall; his feet did not fit the grave, so the they made a hole
in the
wall to place his feet. That is how he was buried behind the
grave of the
Prophet. My Almighty Allah have him as our intercessor on the day
of
judgment. You shall see his awe when you meet him in Hadrat Omar had tears
leaving tracks on his face. You should learn how to cry,
too. You
have learned how to laugh! we all keep laughing "kah kah kah, kih
kih kih" until our bellies shake and almost crack. You should
learn
how to cry! We should cry for some time so that Almighty Allah
forgives
us. What kind of a fool have we
been? How did we spend our life? How did we live this
precious
life?
This
precious life has
been spent over
(Rak'atâni minal-layli
khayrun minad-dunyâ wa mâ fîhâ)
"Two units of prayer at night is better than this world and
everything in it," said the Prophet. "Wait a minute
Khawaja! Is it better than everything? There is a large
building in
Well, a large building in "Khawaja, I thing I
missed the beginning. Can you tell me what is better than all of
these
that you have listed? Can you tell once more what is better than
the oil
wells of It is the two units of
prayer performed at night. Do you understand why dervishes
perform tahajjud
prayers? They must know something. May Almighty Allah be
pleased with you and place all of you in His paradise. May He
send you to
May Allah honor you with
His beauty in His Paradise. May He make you neighbors to His
beloved
Prophet. Al-fâtiha!
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