TASAWWUF AND LIFE
Prof. Dr. Mahmud Es'ad COSAN
translated from the book Islam, Tasavvuf, Hayat , Istanbul: Seha, 1996, pp.127-176

Dear Guests, Ladies and Gentlemen!

I would like to thank to the organizing committee for suggesting such a conference and to you for attending it.

It is an exciting honor for me to be here.  I have a great respect for the professors as well as for the students of Bosphorus University; it is a prestigious institution of learning, indeed.

I am a theologian whose specialty is the literature.  I am a graduate of the College of Literature of Istanbul University;  I have taught at Ankara University, College of Theology.  The Turkish-Islamic literature is my field of expertise.  That is why I am a theologian as well as a man of letters.  Verily, the way a person is raised and the field he concentrates his research and studies are important for him to be useful to others.  I will try to give you an understanding of the Tasawwuf and Life while emphasizing some important points.

Life is something we all try to preserve with utmost attention.  We try to appreciate it and be successful in all aspects of life.  It could be a section of a line in time that has a different length for each person.  In the end, it is a line.  As a poet put it:

"It curls and goes further, yet this line never becomes a circle!"

That means the line of life is continuous from one end to the other; no matter how much it curls, it has a beginning and an end.

Man has the ability to think, and he is very curious.  He searches in the bottom of the oceans, goes to the depths of space, and investigates underground.  He wonders what he was before he was born and what will happen to him after he dies.  A line from a Persian poet comes to my mind...

As you know, the handwritten books are very precious, and each one of them has a significance.  We become mesmerized when we find an original manuscript in the libraries.  I was told by a person who established the Izzet Koyunoglu Museum in Konya:  "Since I am interested in books, people used bring me books in sacks.  When I opened each sack of books, I would be excited just like a groom removing the veil of his bride."

What would be among the books?  Could there be a copy of Kutadgu Bilig?  Could it be a rare copy of Divân-i Lugatit-Turk?  One never knows what would be there.

The Persian poet talks about life as though it is a book:

Awwal-u âkhiri in kohne kitâb melhûdest
The beginning and the end of this old book has been ripped off.

In fact, most old books would be missing the beginning and the end.  The missing parts would be the most important parts of the book.  The preliminary pages would have the title of the book and the name of its author.  There would be table of contents, too.  If the title page is missing, you have to do serious research to figure out the title and the author.  The end of the book is also important because there would be information about the author and the scriber--who wrote the book, when it was written, who copied the book, when it was copied, where it was written or copied.  That is why the beginning and the end of a book are important.  When the binding of the book is broken and when the preliminary pages are missing, it would be difficult to find the author.  We feel sorry for such a case.

The Iranian poet describes life as "an old book whose beginning and end are missing."  Some people do not know the beginning of it.  Many people do not know its end.  We have been informed about the beginning of this life and its end.  Our belief provides us with this information.
 

There are various opinions about how this life should be lived just as the opinions vary about the nature of this life.  There are philosophies and theories.  There are different ways of carrying out this life that you can observe around you.  You can see it on campus, too because this university provides a rich environment for different thoughts and opinions.

There is one point that I consider very important.  [I would like to illustrate the point with an example.] We had a neighbor who moved into a new villa with our help.  He was a civil engineer.  There was no electric power in the house.  I turned on the electricity for him.  When we moved to our first house in Ankara, we experienced some electrical problems, too.  It looked like the electrician intentionally wired the house incorrectly.  Whenever you turned on the power, the fuse would burn with an explosion due to some short circuit in the wiring.  He sabotaged the wiring with expectations that the residents would have to call him for repairs.  He opened a shop in the neighborhood.  Each house had ten to fifteen electrical problems.  When I figured out the intention of the electrician, I said, "I am not going to call you for repairs!  I will solve the problems by myself."

You must have seen some lights that can be turned on and off from two switches.  For instance, you turn the light on upstairs and turned it off downstairs.   I sat down and studied the possibilities.  In the end, I figured out how it worked and eradicated the problems.

Dear Youth and respected audience!

I think life resembles the electrical wiring in certain ways.  Each person has a certain lifestyle; each one has a wiring.  If light does not come on when you turn the switch on, if the wiring is faulty, that wiring has no use or value.  There are many philosophies of life and styles of life, and we have to determine carefully which one is the correct one.

I remember a young person.  One could use the expression "he has become like a dal."  Here the word "dal" is not the one which means "a branch of a tree."  It refers to the Arabic letter "dal."  The expression means, the person cannot stand straight.  When he stands up, his body is bent forward.  His age could be only 32, yet his posture reminds you the letter "dal."  He walks like as though he is looking for something on the ground.  Why is it so?  That is the effect of leading a wrong life style.  He is at a point that there is no return.  He has wasted his youth.

The wiring in the house must be done correctly; the life must be understood and lived correctly.  The essence of wiring in the house is to provide power for the light bulb and produce illumination.  A wrong life style leaves no room for correction because when it is over, there is no second chance.

Naturally, life has so many complicated matters, compound and complex issues and mysteries.  It also has so many amazing wonders.  I could talk about them, too, if I had time.

For the questions regarding the beginning and end of this life, many minds, thinkers and philosophers produced answers.  There were also institutions providing answers to the questions: "What is the beginning of this life?  How will it end?  What is it now?  How should mankind look at life?"  As a social institution, religion too provides answers. Religion does not generate the answers for these questions through a process of reasoning.  Instead, it brings news from a transcendental domain.  That has a special value, for it is different from our limited and fruitless reasoning process based on the material accumulated in our minds.  It brings news, an answer to the questions from the realm beyond this life.

The Tasawwuf is a special and different form of practicing the religion.  There are those who are quite religious. There are also those who are negligent or disobedient, even atheist.  Among the religious people, there are some who follow a Tasawwuf style, a special way of life and thought.

This is very important for us.  We belong to a religious nation; our culture is shaped by Tasawwuf.  We can see the effects of Tasawwuf all around us: in our architecture, in our literature, in our traditions and in our customs.

The educated people among the Ottomans, including the sultans, practiced Tasawwuf.  There were sultans who were also dervishes.  Literally, a dervish is a poor person who goes from one door to another to beg for food-- just the opposite of the sultan.  The Ottoman sultan would be someone who was initiated to a tariqa and received spiritual training.

The scholars among Ottomans, the artisans and the merchants, and people in general got involved in Tasawwuf, too. There was a spiritual joy in the business deals of merchants.  There were vocational associations and unions shaped by Tasawwuf.

The soldiers in the military were like that too. The Janissary School had a Tasawwuf atmosphere.  There was the stage of Hadji Baktash-i Velî in the school.  He was the pîr (spiritual leader) of Janissaries.

All of the personages who held the Sheikh-al-Islam position in Ottoman administration were respected by all.  One exception was for one who had a negative opinion about Mawlana Jalal-ud-dîn Rumî and other great Sufis.  In other words, he was removed from his position because of his negative attitude towards Tasawwuf.

Our poets were into Tasawwuf, too.  To understand their poetry, one has to know about Tasawwuf.  In our daily interactions we utilize the expressions such as "Eywallah!" (i.e., all right, agreed),  "Erenler" (i.e., those who have arrived at the divine truth), and "Jânim!" (i.e., my soul).  They all come from Tasawwuf, some from the Mawlawî tariqa, some from the Baktâshî tariqa.  Our language, our life style, our thought patterns, and our way of looking at other people have been positively influenced by Tasawwuf.

When we see a person in old and torn clothes, we do not look down upon that person, nor we treat him as of no account.  We say, "You never know who he really is.  Our elderly said, 'Consider everybody you see as Khidir, and every night you live as the Night of Power.'  Who knows, he could be one of awliyâullah, a beloved servant of Allah."  That is how we treat such a person.  We never consider ourselves above anybody. The westerners are not like that.

In brief, our ancestors, our grandfathers, people who have lived on these lands practiced Tasawwuf and accumulated a culture based on Tasawwuf.  Today, Tasawwuf is still attractive for many.  You see the Tasawwuf not only in the history, in the museums, and in the books but also in actual life.  At our present time, there are so many people who are involved in Tasawwuf and follow a tariqa.

[I will give you an example from the real life.]  Ibrahim Agah Cubukcu is a professor at Ankara University College of Theology.  He is often invited to television for special occasions.  He is a pleasant person to listen to.  Once the rector of the University asked him to host a French professor who was visiting Ankara.  Professor Ibrahim Agah Bey took his guest to the Ethnography Museum in Ankara.  The French professor pointed somebody in the museum and said:

"Do you see that man over there?"

"Yes, sir."

"That man belongs to a tariqa; he is involved in Tasawwuf.  You may go and ask him."

Professor Ibrahim Agah Bey is an expert in philosophy.  He decided to go to talk to the person.  He introduced himself, said nice words to the person, and gained the confidence of the person.  Then he inquired: "Hadji Bey, where do you belong?  Which tariqa do you follow?"  The man told him which tariqa he belonged to.  The French professor was right!  When he told me about the incident, he lamented: "A French person knows our people better than we do.  From a distance, he discerned a Sufi from the rest."

Our very own Prof. Yusuf Ziya Binatli Bey [the son of the grand shaikh Omar Ziyauddin Daghistani] --may Almighty Allah grant a long life to this dear and sweet person--used to say: "In our youth, we would not ask one another about our favorite soccer team.  We would ask, 'My dear Friend!  Which Dargah do you benefit spiritually? '''  Some would attend the Mawlawi Dargah, while others attend other dargahs.  You belong to a generation that came through such a society.

Tasavvuf is not limited to people only.  Recently, the administration in Turkey got involved in Tasawwuf.  The last cultural year was Yunus Emre year.  This year has been declared as Ahmed Yesevî year.  Each year is allocated for the memorial of a great Sufi.  In participation to these activities, last week we held an Ahmed Yesevî Symposium in Çemberlitas, Istanbul.  Professors delivered talks on the subject.

I am sure you are aware of the Mawlana Ceremonies held in Konya.  The Turkish Presidents have been attending to them.  I remember, during one such ceremony, President Kenan Evren praised a whirling dervish.

Another amazing fact is that some Germans, French and British in Europe and Americans in the United States are interested in Tasawwuf and Tariqas.  They are initiated to tariqas.  I know a German who is in Mawlawi tariqa.  He must be advanced in the tariqa, for he leads the dhikr circles.  In England, there is Abdulqadir Es-Sûfî School.  There are Sufis in America, in France and in other countries.

Philosopher Roger Garudî came to Istanbul and met Professor Abdulkadir Karahan.  Professor Abdulkadir Karahan told him: "We are very much pleased for your acceptance of Islam.  You must watch out not to get involved in Tasawwuf."  Naturally, there is an interest in Tasawwuf.  People of the west are inquisitive: "What is mysticism?  What is Islamic Tasawwuf?"

Tasawwuf was not limited to Ottomans only.  Sure, the Ottoman administration and the nation were different from other administrations and nations.  There are variations in the culture and traditions.  For instance we are not like the citizens of Saudi Arabia.  The religious structure and mentality in Saudi Arabia is different from ours.  There are wahhabi and salafi tendencies there.  Again, there are differences between Iranians and us in being religious.  In Iran, believers have very strong bonds to their mollas and ayatullahs.

Tasawwuf has a different religious atmosphere. There are variations in the practice of Tasawwuf in different countries and in different regions.  For instance, Tasawwuf in India and Tasawwuf in North Africa, in Tunisia or Algeria, are not the same. Tasawwuf in Yemen is different, too.  The Tasawwuf practiced by our ancestors in Middle Asia has a different look and style.

These differences originate from the fact that Tasawwuf is an institution that has existed over centuries.  It has spread over vast lands.  It has a historical dimension, a time dimension and a geographical dimension.  Having faced different countries and cultures, the "color" of the Tasawwuf has been affected.  The color white is white everywhere; however, if you put a coat of white paint on an object which was painted red, you could get some pinkish color.  If the previous color were green, you would get a greenish white.  It means, the paint absorbs something from what is underlying.  Tasawwuf was affected by the culture in the similar way.

Despite the influences, Islamic Tasawwuf is different from the western mysticism, Judaic mysticism, Hindu mysticism and Greek pantheism.  It is free from the concepts of Tenasûh (metempsychosis--a soul's passing at death into another body of the same species) and hulûl (reincarnation, transmigration of souls) because its origin is different.  Different sources yield different institutions.  We should be able to see the difference.

For instance, Muslims greet one another with the words, "As-salamu alaikum!"  There is a big difference between our "As-salamu alaikum" and other greetings such as "Good morning!"  "As-salamu Alaikum" has a deeper meaning: "May peace and prosperity be with you in this life as well as in the hereafter.  May you be safe and sound in the hereafter, enjoy paradise and stay away from the hell fire and worries."

There is also a big difference between "bye bye" and "Allah'a ismarladik--Allah be with you!"  We wish that Almighty Allah be with the person; we leave the person to the care of Allah.  That is how we depart. 

There is also a difference in the meaning of the western word "God" and our word "Allah."  A French or an Englishman thinks of something when he says "God." Perhaps, they think of Hadrat Jesus.  We should not use the word "God" but the word "Allah." The transcendental being that we think of when we hear the word "Allah" is definitely different.

The concept of the deity is different for a western, a Hindu, an Egyptian, and a Japanese person.  The Japanese worship sun; they think of their emperor to be the son of the sun.  We do not have any such beliefs.

The words that are used commonly may have different meanings in different places.  Even the letters are different.  We use the letter "v" whereas the Arabs use the letter "w" which have a different pronunciation.  They cannot pronounce some of our letters--e.g., the dotless i.  Similarly, we have a problem pronouncing the sound "th" in English.  There are differences in the pronunciation of letters.

What I wanted to emphasize is that Tasawwuf existed throughout the history in every nation, yet ours was different.  And, it is alive.  It is not a historical institution to be found in museums only;  it is a living institution that people love .  It is loved in the east as well as in the western world.  You see an English person at the Mawlana ceremonies. You can see a French or an American there, too.  You notice that they became dervishes of the Mawlawî order and put a felt hat.  These are not unusual incidences because Tasawwuf meets a real need, a spiritual need.  Every person who feels that need approaches to this institution.  There is no other solution.

Our Tasawwuf is truly different from any other mysticism.  You can see that clearly when you are part of it.  It is different because the sources and origins are different.  Islamic Tasawwuf is based on the Qur'an and the lifestyle of Prophet Muhammad (peace be on him), i.e., his sunnah.  Whenever something contradicts the Qur'an or the Sunnah, it is criticized and rejected.  The source of Tasawwuf is the Glorious Qur'an and the words and deeds of our beloved Prophet.  Since Islam is different from other religions in nature, Islamic Tasawwuf is different from other spiritual paths.

The primary issue in Islam is the belief in the existence and unity of Allah--wahdâniyyat.  That is also the main characteristic that makes Islam different from other revealed or invented religions that have been observed throughout the history.

Islam accepts the revealed heavenly religions (i.e., Judaism and Christianity).  Without Islam, there would have been doubts in the minds of researchers in the authenticity of the origin of these religions.  The Europeans would be amazed if they knew that we love prophet Jesus and Prophet Moses (peace be with them).  We name our children after them.  We accept all prophets named in the scriptures including Prophet Abraham, Prophet David, Prophet Isaac, Prophet Jacob, and Prophet Job.

The Glorious Qur'an states that it includes the essence of the scriptures that came before.  The message of Prophet Abraham to his nation, the message of Prophet Moses to his people, and the message of Prophet Jesus to his Ummah are included in the Qur'an.

Another characteristic of Islam is that its message is preserved with utmost attention.  The revealed message of Islam is not altered.  Other religions lack this characteristic.  They have a lack of reliable original sources, and there are doubts about their true essence.

Another important point is that in all previous religions, people have been informed: "Later in life, there will be a very precious and beloved servant of Allah."   For instance, the Turkish texts that have been found in the Turfan excavations and some Buddhist texts include prophecies of a savor--somebody like Mahdi or Messiah--to come to mankind.  The Glorious Qur'an indicates that in Torah and Gospel, Hadrat Muhammad was mentioned by name as a prophet to come.

In fact many priests and Jewish scholar confirmed the statement in the Qur'an and accepted Islam.  For example, Abdullah ibn-i Selâm was a Jewish rabbi during the Time of the Prophet and accepted Islam.  He said, "Yes, it is written in the Torah.  We have been expecting such a prophet."

Another example is Abdullah at-Tarjuman.  He moved to Tunisia from the island Majorca, accepted Islam and wrote a book titled Tuhfetul Erîb fî Reddi alâ Ahlis-Salib--A Rejection for the Christianity.

Still another example is Ibrahim-i Muteferrika.  He was the first person to use the printing machines in Ottomans.  He was a priest from the town Kolojvar in Romania.  I have published one of his works.  He said: "I have studied the ancient books in the library and found evidence in them supporting the statements of the Qur'an.  That is how I accepted Islam."  He wrote a book titled Risâle-i Islamiye, which I have published in Turkish, to explain why he accepted Islam.

Yet another example is a priest who lived in the 19th century.  He had been to Istanbul.  His original name was Abdul Mesih; later he changed his name to Abdul Ahad Dâwud.  He wrote a book and showed how Prophet Muhammad was mentioned in the earlier scripture.  He had a running knowledge of Hebrew, Syriac, Armenian, English, French, and Latin.  He completed two doctorate degrees, taught in Universities in Iran.  With all his knowledge, he accepted Islam.  He did all the research and published the book without leaving any work for us.  If we had written a book like that, they would have said: "He is a Muslim, so he is biased.  He is defending Islam."  When a priest makes a statement about how Prophet Mohammed is mentioned in the scriptures, it is more effective.

In the book mentioned above, Abdul Ahad Dâwud says, "Gospel means good news. Evangelos means good news that Hadrat Jesus spoke about Prophet Muhammad to be sent to mankind after him.  That is why it is good news."

Islam, a religion that has been favored by many in the twentieth century and chosen by certain personages for the reasons mentioned above, is the origin of our Tasawwuf.  It is a logical strong belief without flaws or contradictions.

What is the Islamic Tasawwuf in brief?  A person could study the Glorious Qur'an and the Ahadith of our beloved Prophet and become a Muslim.  In fact, there are such persons.  What would be the difference between these persons and the mutasawwifs?  A person could study the Qur'an, carry out his worship and become a righteous servant of Allah.  He could follow the recommendation of the Prophet.  The mutasawwif will be different from such a person.

As a person who is an expert in the field, I could state and underline that sometimes people, especially the young ones, object to our statements.  Sometimes they ask questions on the issues of faith and Islam.  Sometimes, they express their opinions, other times they tell us what they hear.  Some claim to be "radical Muslim."  Some claim to be "Salafî Muslim."  They say, "I take the Qur'an only, push away anything else which has been accumulated over hundreds of years, and live Islam according to the Qur'an."  Is there any difference between a mutasawwif and a person who has such claims?  Well, the answer depends on the school of the mutasawwif.  A Mutasawwif who upholds the Sharia and person who has such claims would meet at the same point.

That is why I say, "All right, you follow the Qur'an.  I support you with all my heart.  'After all wanderings, the fox will end up in the furrier's shop.'  You will come to the same point whether you like it or not."  It is all because the Tasawwuf is based on the Glorious Qur'an.

What is the main difference between a mutasawwif and an ordinary Muslim?  Let me try to explain it:

Some of the religious books are written on formal worship.  They describe how one performs the ablution and salat.  For instance, there was a movie on TGRT television last night.  In the movie a mother explained her son:  "Son, rinse your mouth three times.  Then rinse your nostrils three times." These books describe the details of the worship:  How the salat is performed, how the zakat is calculated and distributed, how the inheritance is distributed.  These are the formal, apparent part of the worship.

In addition to the apparent dimension of the religion, there is the inner dimension.  For instance, an apple has an external part and an inner part.  The outside could be bright red, yet the inside could be rotten.  The inner and outer parts could be different.  The envelope may look beautiful, but the contents could be bad.  Tasawwuf pays attention to the inner dimension of the religion.

Once I saw some plums at a table during one Ramadhan dinner at Erenkoy, Istanbul.  I did not want to get any of the plums.  I wanted to taste everything on the large dinner table, except for the plum in the corner because it looked like green walnuts that were not appealing.  Then I felt sorry for the plums.  I said to myself: "I have tasted everything at the table.  I should ask how this plum is doing.  I ought to taste it, too.  It would not be fair if I did not."  I picked one and bit it. The inner part was reddish like a peach.  It had a very good, sweet taste.  It remminded me a good dervish:  He may look poor outside, but his heart is excellent.

Then I inquired about the plum: "What kind of plum is this?  Is the tree located here?  I would like to get a graft for the tree in our yard."  Nobody knew the answer.  I kept inquiring.  Finally, I described the plum to a villager in Çanakkale.

"Do you know such a plum tree?"

"That plum is called 'hirsiz almaz erigi' (a thief would not take it)."  The outlook is quite unattractive, so the thief would not take it. He would not know that inside is delicious.

Tasawwuf looks into the inner dimension, not the external part.  That is why you may see a great philosopher, a great man of knowledge in clothes with so many patches.

Tasawwuf deals with the pith of the religion and the heart of the man.  A scholar once stated: "There is the fiqh-i zâhir--the jurisdiction on the apparent part of the religion.  It is a branch of knowledge dealing with rules of worship.  Tasawwuf is the fiqh-i bâtin--the jurisdiction on the heart and feelings of a believer."  That is how we can differentiate.

One is the fiqh of the mind and reasoning: the other one is the fiqh of feelings and heart.  Something may be good and attractive outside, yet not so good inside.  A person may be respectful towards you, make a reverence before you, or smile at you, yet he could be your enemy number one .  As soon as you turn your back, he may make you stumble or kill you with a dagger.  The appearance could be good, but the inside, bad.

Tasawwuf is the branch of knowledge that deals with the inner beauty of a person.  I must point out that this inner beauty is not a secular beauty.  It is not something that does not base on faith.  It is not the secular ethics of Socrates.  In contrast, it is based on the faith in Allah.  It is a sincere ethic that requires belief in Allah and in the accounting on the Day of Judgment.  They claim that Socrates was a secularist.  It is not for sure and impossible to prove.

Socrates was asked: "Why do you convince the youth not to worship our deities?  Why do you take them away from our path?  Does somebody tell you to do so?"

He responded: "Yes, I receive revelations."

Socrates had important criticism.  Cahit Tanyol claims that Socrates was the originator of the secular ethics.  On the contrary, Socrates could be a very religious person, perhaps a prophet.  He could be a prophet sent to Greeks to save them from the multitude of deities and teach them the unity of Allah.

The very first matter that Tasawwuf deals with is the belief in Allah, finding Allah and knowing Allah.  It is called "marifetullah" or "irfan."  A person who has such knowledge is called an "ârif" or "ârif-i billâh" i.e., a person who knows Allah, who attained the knowledge of Allah.

Such a person is called "eren" in Turkish. This word could come from the verb "ermek" (to attain, to reach spiritual perfection).  I have a theory about the etymology of the word "eren."  In Persian, the suffix "-ân" is used to make a noun plural.  For instance, "merd" means a man; "merdân," means men.  "Zen" means a woman; "zenân" means women.  "Dost" means a close friend; "dostân" means friends.

Ashiq Pashazâde had a classification... Among the very first Muslims who came to Asia Minor were "Ghaziyân-i Rum,"  i.e.,  "veterans of the Asia Minor."  There were also "Bâjiyân-i Rum," i.e., "Sisters of the Asia Minor."  These were some ladies who carried out Islamic work. Then, there were "Abdelân-i Rum," i.e., the saints of Asia Minor who were three, seven or forty in number.  Whenever one passed away, another one replaced him.

Just like these words, the word "erân" is used to make the word "er" (man) plural.  In Arabic, there is a word "rijâlullah" which means men on the path of Allah, men close to Allah.  To me, "erân" is a Turkish word with a Persian suffix. [In time: the word "erân" is pronounced as "eren."]  Literature is my field; that is why I had to give you this explanation.

There is a hadith of the Prophet:

"Suppose one of you is traveling on a camel in the desert.  You have to get off the camel for some needs.  There is nothing to tie the leash of the camel.  You are between some sand dunes.  While you are performing the prayer, the camel wanders off.  If you do not catch your camel, you die of thirst and hunger because all your supplies are on the camel.  The camel is gone.  There is no way to catch the camel.  It is not easy to walk on the sand; one could get tired easily.  If something like that happens, you say: '(Yâ rijâlallah, einûnî!) O men of Allah, help me. (Yâ rijâlallah, eghisûnî!)  O men of Allah, answer my call for help.'"  The Prophet continued: "(Fe inne lillâhi ibâden lâ yerâ) Verily there are men of Allah that a person cannot see."

I think the word "eren" has the same meaning.  It could be the other meaning too, i.e., a person who completed the spiritual training and reached Almighty Allah.  It is possible, yet the dervishes do not consider themselves as such.  They were humble persons;  they refer to themselves as, "the powerless, the sinful."  Sometimes they say they are "ed'aful ibâd" (the weakest of the servants) or "efkarul fuqarâ" (the poorest of the poor).  They describe themselves as "the person who needs the Mercy of Allah the most." They say they are "pur-gunah, pur-khatâ, pur-isyân" (full of sins, wrongdoings and rebellion).  In fact, they are not like that at all.  They spend their time in worship and in charitable acts.  They utter these words because they are humble.  That is why I am inclined to believe that the word "eren" does not come from the verb "ermek."

The main goal of the Tasawwuf is to know Allah, to attain and reach almighty Allah, and become an "arif."

Yunus Emre said once:

Istemegil ani irak
Gönüldedir ana durak

"Do not look for Almighty Allah in the depths of the space; His stage is in your heart." Yunus Emre is full of love for Allah.  With that love, he is trying to know and reach Allah.  Loving Allah and doing everything for His consent, thus, becoming a beloved servant of Allah is the main purpose.

They do not care about people's love, affection, or praise.  They do not care about the fame.  They do not care about what people give them.  All they want is the love of Allah.  They want to be loved by Allah.  They work day and night to deserve the love of Allah.

What can a person do to become a beloved servant of Allah?  What do these people try to do in this life to deserve the love of Allah?

Our beloved Prophet, Muhammad the Chosen, invited some rabbis to Islam.  They said: "We love Allah;  we are beloved servants of Allah.  We have a religion, Judaism.  We have our own beliefs.  Why should we accept your faith?  We do not need to become Muslims because we already believe in Allah and love Him."  Upon this response, the 31st verse of Al-i Imran was revealed:

(Qul in kuntum tuhibbûnallaha fattabiûnî yuhbibkumullah wa yaghfirlakum zunubakum ...)  "Say: 'If you love Allah, follow me, and Allah will love you, and forgive you your sins...'"

This verse is a clear indication of how Almighty Allah loves a person.  To be loved by Allah, a person must follow the path of the Prophet and be like him.  One has to follow his advice and adhere to his principles.  That is what the great mutasawwifs did.

There was a dear mutasawwif:  Eshrefoghlu Rûmî who has a mosque and dargah in Iznik.  He wrote:

Ey Allah'im beni Sen'den ayirma!
Beni Senin jemâlinden ayirma!
Balighin jâni su ichre diridir
Ilâhi balighi gölden ayirma!

O my Allah, do not keep me away from You!
Do not keep me away from Your Beauty!
The Soul of the fish is alive in water only
My Lord, do not keep the fish away from the lake.

Just like a fish encompassed by water in the lake, he wanted to be in the love and beauty of Allah to be alive and sound.  He also said: "There are two duties of spiritual guides:  1. To have the servants love Allah, 2. To have Allah love the servants."

Naturally, having the servants love Allah is something good.  For instance, you can mention the sweets, pastries, apple candy, chocolate, or similar treats to a child and give him some.  He tastes it and enjoys it.  He loves it.  One can have the servants love Allah.  It is possible.  On the other hand, Almighty Allah is not a being to be affected by servants.  How can a person have Almighty Allah love people?

Eshrefoghlu Rûmî answers that question: "I can have my disciples follow the path of the Prophet, practice the Sunnah of the Prophet.  I can train them in accordance with the Sunnah.  When they adhere to the path of the Prophet, Almighty Allah loves them."  This is also clear in the verse mentioned above.

In Tasawwuf, the first principle to earn the love of Allah is to obey the Prophet of Allah.  That would mean leading a life in accordance with the Sunnah and away from the bid'ah--i.e., away from the innovations in religion.

This has been the first principle in the famous Naqshi tariqa: "Adhering to the Sunnah of the Prophet and abstaining from the bid'ah."  The Qadiri Tariqa, Khalwati Tariqa, and Mawlawi Tariqa have the same principle.  If you study their books, you see this principle.

One of you may object: "We have seen some people who are in tariqa, yet they do not adhere to the Sunnah."

Well, I know that, too.  For instance, about ten years ago, a journalist from Cumhuriyet newspaper went to Albania and visited some Baktashi tekkes.  He was offered hard liqueur there.  A person reading this in the paper and seeing the photographs would say: "I thought intoxicating beverages were not allowed in Islam.  Why is he offering liqueur to him?"

The answer is the following:  Tasawwuf developed in many branches and it has differences in different countries.  It may have been influenced locally.  I said earlier that a white paint would reveal what is underneath, and could be mixed with the previous paint and look greenish, pinkish or bluish.  It can be affected by the previous paint.

In the Balkans, there have been Muslims and Christians.  The region is not 100 percent Muslim.  Non-Islamic practices have influenced the culture.

"What about the practices in the Eastern Anatolia, Middle Asia, or Iran?  We see some practices which contradict Islam."

In Iran, there was the Zoroastrians before Islam.  In the middle Asia, there was Shamanism.  Their effects could occur in some of the practices of the mutasawwifs. This is the reason why some books on tariqas classify the tariqas into two main groups:

1. Sunnî tariqas

2. Rafizî tariqas, i.e., non-sunnî tariqas.

This classification was used by Fuat Koprulu first.  He would use the terms orthodox and heterodox.  Orthodox means conservative.  Since it reminds the orthodox Christianity, this term has not been preferred.  The word "sunni" should be used for the conservative tariqas.  [Non-sunnî tariqas have elements in contradiction to Islam.]

The logical solution to earn the love of Allah is good.  As indicated in the Qur'an, one should follow the exemplary life of the Prophet who was the beloved servant of Allah.  When a person lives like the prophet, Almighty Allah would love him.  This is logical and acceptable.  This was the first duty of a spiritual guide.

For the next duty... Would Almighty Allah love a person who disobeys Allah?  Would Allah love a person who is disobedient or a person who is obedient?  Would He love a person who does all good things or a person who does mischief and oppression?  The answer is very clear to all.  Of course, Almighty Allah loves the person who is obedient, who does good things and who worships in sincerity.  It is stated in a verse:

(Innallaha yuhibbul muhsinîn)  "Allah loves those servants who worship sincerely and wholeheartedly."

We can understand this, too.  If an employee wants to advance in the company, he would listen to the supervisors and carry out their requests.  If a student wants to pass the course, he has to do the assignments given by his teacher.  He has to study and solve the exam questions.  It is something like that.

To be loved by Allah, a person must carry out his responsibilities!  If a person disregards the orders such as offering the salat, fasting in Ramadhan, paying zakat, doing good, stopping the oppression, abandoning the laziness, and alike, he will not be loved.  Other people who do good things and obey Allah would be loved but not him.

The third principle is loving one another.  This is also logical and indicated in various ahadith by the Prophet.  In a hadith qutsi Almighty Allah said:

(Haqqat mahabbatî lil mutehâbbîna fiyye)  "I love those who love one another."  Almighty Allah loves Muslims who love one another.  To deserve the love of Allah, Muslims must love one another.  The hadith qutsi continues:

(Haqqat mahabbatî lil mutazâwirîna fiyye) "I love those who visit one another."  Then, we ought to visit one another and inquire how our brothers and sisters in Islam are doing.

(Haqqat mahabbatî lil mutabâzilina fiyya) "I love those who offer things to one another, spend freely to one another, or give gifts to one another."  Then we ought to give gifts and spend for others [without any expectations in return.]

(Haqqat mahabbatî lil mutanâsihîna fiyya) "I love those who are sincere and open-hearted towards one another."

The conclusion from the verses and the ahadith is that a Muslim must love other Muslims.  I will tell you another hadith as a proof.

Almighty Allah forgives the sins of His servants in the Night of Power.  He forgives them, yet there are some exceptions to His forgiveness.  He does not forgive those who have enmity towards one another and refuses to make peace.  When the angels request, "Our Lord, forgive this servant, too," Almighty Allah refuses: "They have to make peace between them first."

That means a Muslim has to get along well with other Muslims.

Here is another proof: A Muslim cannot stay angry at another Muslim longer than three days.  It is not lawful.  Drinking wine, killing a person, and stealing something are haram (unlawful), so is staying angry at a Muslim longer than three days.

That means, a Muslim has to love the fellow Muslims.  That is how he will earn the love of Allah.  That is why there is a strong sense of brotherhood and love in tariqas.  There is the 'brotherhood for the hereafter" in the tariqas.  In some villages, people take up a "brother for the hereafter."  When they want to address one another in sincerity, they say, "how are you ahretlik?" That is, "How are you doing my brother who I choose for the hereafter?"

That is why affection, love, brotherhood and friendship are important concepts to earn the love of Allah.

There is a hadith: (Men lâ yerham, lâ yurham) "He who has no mercy for other will receive no mercy."

There is another hadith about a woman who was angry at a cat--it could be due to some scratching or mess.  She confined the cat in a room without any food.  Then the cat died of hunger and thirst.  The Prophet said, "This women deserved hell fire for killing the cat." the woman incurred the punishment for the cruelty she committed towards an animal.  Then another woman is mentioned in the hadith.  She was in the desert and got thirsty.  She climbed down a well and got water to drink.  When she climbed out, she saw a dog who was extremely thirsty.  She felt sorry for the dog and climbed down again and brought some water .  There were no containers, then.  She put the water in her shoe.  She gave the water to the dog.  "For her treatment of the dog, almighty Allah forgave her previous sins and had her deserve paradise."

That means we ought to have mercy and love for all creatures.

The last --but not least-- thing to earn the love of Allah is service to people.  We have been talking about how we can earn the love of Allah.  To earn the love of Allah, a servant must do the following: Follow the Prophet, obey the commands of Allah and carry out the worship, love Muslims, be merciful to all creatures, and serve people for the sake of Allah.

Is the person a servant, a care taker, a service personnel?  For whom is he going to serve?  It will be all for the sake of Allah.  He will do good things, provide his help to people.  He will bring water, build bridges, carry somebody's load, and do something for people.  There are endless ways of service. One who is in the service of people for the sake of Allah advances in the spiritual path and earns the love of Allah.

The main mentality of a mutasawwif is earning the love of Allah.  He will do things that Allah will love him in return.  There have been techniques and methods developed to assist people in earning the love of Allah.  These methods are called tariqas.

The beginning of all tariqa books have the following words: (Atturûqu ilallahahi biadedi anfâsil khalâiq) "The number of paths leading to Allah are as many as the breaths of the creation."  I am only one person, but up to this age, I had so many breaths.  It is not by the number of the creatures, it is by the breaths of the creatures.  It is that many.  A person can reach Allah in countless ways and earn His love.  Still, one needs a method to train himself.  Tasawwuf has assumed that responsibility of developing methods to lead to Allah.

Each branch of Islamic studies has a different subject.  For instance, the subject of Tafsîr is to study and understand the Qur'an.  The subject of Aqâid is the true faith.  The subject of Fiqh includes the interactions among people. The subject of Hadith is the authenticity of the words attributed to our beloved Prophet.  The subject of Tasawwuf is the advancement and perfection of man in code of conduct and manners.

When the purpose is the advancement and perfection of man, some method had to be developed.  These methods have variations and appear as tariqas.  A tariqa could be based on the truth, yet it may have a different method leading man to the perfection.  It is similar to the various makes of cars: BMW, Mercedes, Ford, Rolls Royce, and Chevrolet.  They all are cars, yet each has different parts.

There are two main paths to train a person spiritually:

1. To train the self and will, there is a program with a discipline just like the military discipline.  It is called riyâzat.  It is a spiritual training.  The physical education was called riyâzatul beden. There is the spiritual training:  Tasawwuf.  It is  a moral advancement.

2. There is the path of love and affection.  While the first one uses a strict discipline and arduous task to train nafs, the latter instills love and affection in people thus enabling them to do good deeds.

Our culture, the Ottoman culture, the Culture of the Middle Asia, our path of spiritual training has been the path of love.  It is the path of love, affection and enthusiasm.  You can see this in the poems and wisdom of Ahmed Yesevî and in the Divan of Yunus Emre.  Mawlana Jalal-ud-din Rumi used the divine love and affection theme in most of his poems.  You observe an enthusiasm in all of them.

For instance, we observe a great spiritual ebullience in Mawlana Jalal-ud-din Rumi that outlasted centuries.  We witness the love for fellow humans in Yunus.  We see the same thing in Eshrefoghlu Rûmî:
 

Your love is my religion, my belief...

He is deeply in love: "The fish is alive in water and dies when it gets out.  Do not take me away from the ocean of your love O my Lord!  Let me be there!"

Orhan Veli is a Turkish poet of recent era from a different "world." He wrote, "I wish I were a fish in the bottle of raki!"  Hundred years before him, Eshrefoghlu said, "Do not take me away from the ocean of Your Love O my Lord!"  The cultures are different, worlds are different, and so are the manners.

Our main methodology is based on love.  In our history, all of the great mutasawwifs dwelt on this theme, wrote poems of love.

Fuzûlî comes from the same schools.  Mawlânâ, Hajji Baktash-i Velî, Yunus Emre, Ahmed Yesevî and others are the representatives of the school of love and affection of Khorasan.  You are familiar with Fuzûlî's words:
 

Ashq derdiyle khoshem el chek ilâjimdan tabîb,
Qilma derman kim, helâkim zehri dermanimdadir.

"I am very happy with the disease of love.  I am happy the way I am.  Never mind me; stop treating me.  Leave the medicine a side.  If I am cured, I will perish.  Let me be in love."

Shaikh Ghalib is like that, too.  He wrote Husn-u Ashq.  Mawlânâ and his supporters are alike, too.  They are truly in divine love.  Their lives are full of love and affection.  There would not be anything a person could resist doing for the beloved.  We all are familiar with Yunus Emre's words:
 

Yaradilani hosh gör Yaradan'dan ötürü!

Be tolerant towards the creatures because of their Creator.

Yunus sen bu dünyaya niye geldin?
Gece gündüz hakki zikretsin dilin,
Evliyâya ughramaz ise yolun,
Göchtü kervan, kaldin daghlar bashinda...

Yunus why did you come to this life?
Let your tongue do dhikr day and night
If your path does not go thru the Awliya
The caravan has left; you are in wilderness.

When we investigate in our culture how a mutasawwif is, we see a forgiving and humble person.  He has a sweet tongue, smiling face, and desire to help and serve people.  He overlooks the shortcomings and is very active in all senses.

Some people claim:  "Being dervish is being lazy.  That is why we are behind."  Sometime, a person tells a lie downtown, and when he comes home he believes in his own lie.  The statement could be true, yet when we look at the examples, we see just the opposite.  For instance, the disciples of Ahmed Yesevi, the dervishes of Khorasan, never stayed in the same  place.  They kept moving towards Anatolia.  They spread the message of Islam in Asia minor.  They continued to Balkans.

Ord. Professor Omer Lutfi Barkan has a paper on this issue: "Colonizator Turkish Dervishes."  He describes the roles of dervishes in the Islamization of Balkans.

The dervish is not afraid of death; he gets up and goes when called for jihad.  He is used to the poverty; he is not afraid of it either.  He goes to a foreign place as a humble and quiet person.  He settles at a passage on top of a mountain where caravans would pass.  He offers good things to travelers without expecting anything in return.  He invites guests to his place.  If the number of the guest is increased, he enlarges the building.  Soon his place becomes a tekke.  Later on that locality becomes a small town and grows in time.  In a non-Muslim country, a colony is thus established.  Then it is spread to other locations.

The Christians in the local area like the dervish.  He is a trustworthy, sweet-tongued, and smiling person.  He likes to help all and serve people.

This is not done for people in expectation of worldly benefits.  It is not carried out with materialist purposes.  I would like to have your attention on this:  They never had any plans of going someplace in order to establish a colony and expand it in time.  If one said, "I should go to Yugoslavia, establish a colony there and in time, the whole Yugoslavia will be my territory."  That would be a materialistic plan.  They never made a plan like that.

These dervishes served not only people, but also animals.  When they see a dog with mange, they would take the dog and treat it.  They do this because they want to please the creatures because of the Creator.  They know that a good deed, even if it is for a dog, will be rewarded in the hereafter.

A companion came to the Prophet and said:

"O Prophet of Allah.  I had dug a water-well for my camel.  It was really difficult to dig it, and it is difficult to pull water and give it to the camels.  The rope cuts my hands.  Some abandoned old camels come and drink from the water that I pour for my own camels.  It is very difficult for me to water them all.  What should I do?"

The Prophet responded: "Let them drink, too.  They get thirsty, too.  It is good deed on your part."

When a dervish does a good thing, he expects the reward from Almighty Allah in the hereafter.  There is no benefit from old camels;  if they were useful, their owners would not have let them free.  Poor animals have a hard time surviving in the wilderness.

A dervish does good deeds for Allah.  He can set up a foundation.  For instance, a foundation to pay for the plates that were broken by servants while doing dishes or busing the table was established in the past.  There was also a foundation to care for the migrant birds and storks with broken wings or legs.  When a dervish builds a house, he makes a birdhouse on the roof for the sparrows.  The songs of the birds are considered to be some form of dhikr and supplication.

When a dervish looks at a flower, he feels like talking to it:

Sordum sari chicheghe, niye benzin saridir?
I asked the yellow flower, "Why are you pale?"

He asks, "Why are you so pale and faint?" The flower is pale and faded because there is death and it is scary.  "Why is your head tilted, oh flower?"  It is a yellow flower with a bent neck.  The flower responds, "My neck is crocked, but pith is straight towards the Truth."  He asks again, "Do you have any siblings?" You observe Yunus Emre talking to a flower or to a water-wheel.  He loves birds, trees, and flowers.

In our cultural history, love for flowers is something so great and exceptional.  Baron de Busbek came from Holland to Istanbul as an ambassador.  When his caravan got closer to Istanbul through Yedikule, he saw the gardens of tulip, hyacinth, and roses.  He was amazed with the scenery.  He wrote in his book: "This Ottomans are incredibly in love with flowers.  It is unimaginable how much money they would spend for a flower."  He took tulip bulbs to Holland.  They took the tulips from Ottomans.

Having a love for flowers, a love for birds, a love for the nightingale, a mercy for all creatures, and a zeal to serve people, winning a persons heart, not looking down upon anybody, being humble as earth, earning worldly sustenance during the day and spending it for charitable causes in the evening and alike, have been the characteristics of a dervish.  They have been raised with these principles.
 

Ibn-i Batuda was a famous Arab traveler.  He traveled in Anatolia with a caravan and horses.  When he entered the town Denizli, a man with a long mustache grabs the leash of Ibn-i Batuda's horse and says, "Let's go!"  Ibn-i Batuda did not know Turkish, nor did the man know Arabic.  The man looked quite strong and had a big sword on his waist.  He had loose baggy pants and a sash around his waist.  His cheeks were red, and he looked pretty strong and brave.  Ibn-i Batuda was scared. He had his horse, camels and a train of mules to carry the gifts he was given.  He was hosted by the kings and other rulers.  He was afraid that the man who grabbed the leash of his horse would take everything away from him.

While he was in that state of awe, another brave-looking man comes and grabs the other side of the leash. The two men kept pulling the horse in different directions.  They started a gentle argument.  Ibn-i Batuda was confused by what he has witnessed.

The cause of the argument was the following:  The first man said: "I saw this guest from Allah first.  That is why I have to take him to our tekke, offer him food and entertain him."  That was why he grabbed the leash of the horse.  Then the second man opposed: "Yes, brother but what you are doing is not proper.  This is our neighborhood.  You cannot take a guest from Allah from our neighborhood to your neighborhood.  We cannot allow that.  Almighty Allah sent him to us, so we shall entertain him, offer him food and bed.  We have a right to get all the rewards.  You just cannot take him away."

That was the cause of the argument.  That was the attitude of the Ottomans, Yunus, Mawlana, Eshrefoghlu Rûmî, Ibrahim Haqqi and others.  That was the main approach of a mutasawwif.

All of these beauties and experiences produce a special kind of a personality, a personality like that of Mawlana Jalal-ud-din Rumi who has ideas that have been appreciated by people all around the world.  Once a poor man came to Hadrat Mawlana.  Mawlana wrote a message to the minister in charge and set it with the poor man.  The minister responded: "You request does not comply with the regulation of the Divan (i.e., the council of ministers, the cabinet).  We regret that your request has not been fulfilled."

Hadrat Mawlana wrote two lines on the same letter and returned it: "Honorable Minister is the ruler of the Divan; the Divan does not rule the minister."  In Persian, the word divan has two meanings:  1. The cabinet of the ministers, 2. The plural of the word div which means "devil."  In his response, Mawlana implied: "The minister rules over the cabinet and other administrators.  He can have things done.  Do not let the devils point the minister wrong way."  The minister was quite pleased with the response.

They were very gentle, graceful and sweet-tongued personages. They were not afraid of death, either.  Mawlana Jalal-ud-Din Rumi calls death as Shab-i Arus (the wedding night).  He says, "Do not cry after me when I die!  Do not say good-bye.  I am not departing, but joining to my beloved."  He was a strong believer.

That is why Tasawwuf has been alive.  That is why the mutasawwifs have been loved.  This training still continues today and attracts Europeans and Americans.  It is banned in Turkey, so we do not have many new mutasawwifs, yet it is practiced freely in Europe and in other places allowing people to become Mawlawi, Qadiri, or Naqshi or receive spiritual instruction from various shaikhs in North Africa.

Ahlâq (ethics) is an institution in a society that regulates the relationships and interactions among people.  Tasawwuf provides the ethical training of the individual in the society; that is why people love Tasawwuf.  It is strongly related to life in the society.  We ought to have that ethical training.

There are institutions for learning: the elementary school, junior-high, high school, college and graduate school.  We advance our knowledge with masters and doctoral degrees.  Then we become professors.  We receive the instruction for knowledge at school.  How are we going to receive the instruction for ethical training?  How do we learn love and mercy?  How do we learn preferring other people to ourselves?  How do we learn making other people happy?  How do we learn loving one another and respecting?  We need training for that, too.

Mawlana Jalal-ud-Din Rumi says:
 

Shuz nihânî hikmeti Yunâniyân,
Hikmeti imâniyan ra bemidân.

Since you are studying the philosophy of the Greeks,
You ought to study the philosophy of the believers.  It is needed.
 

There are universities, like Bosphorus University and Bilkent University.  There is the instruction in English.  There are branches such as sociology, psychology, and management.  There is nothing on ethics.  How do we educate a student on ethics?  One can teach, convey the information, yet it is not enough.  A person is valuable when he is educated and trained to be a gentle person.

You may ask: "Do you mean that a person who graduates these colleges does not become a gentleman?  Do you claim that a person who is raised in America does not become a gentleman?"

An American gentleman cannot be like our Yunus.  They cannot get close to our Yunus or Mawlana.

Once, Hadrat Mawlana met a priest on his way.  The priest saw him from a distance as a blessed and illuminated man and greeted him by bending his body.  Hadrat Mawlana, too, greeted him by bending his body towards him. When the priest saw that Mawlana, a respectable Muslim man, was greeting him, a poor priest who lived in a poor neighborhood, he greeted Hadrat Mawlana once more.  Hadrat Mawlana responded again.  They greeted one another many times.  In the end, well pleased with the greeting, the priest accepted Islam.

What amazes me is the following part of the story.  Hadrat Mawlana described the event: "A humble priest got into a competition with us on humbleness.  I could not let him win."

This type of education cannot be obtained in America or Europe.  One cannot receive such education from Cambridge University, Yale University, or Bosphorus University.  Yet, this kind of education must be received.

May Almighty Allah provide us the means and opportunities to complete our education for this life and for the hereafter.  May He place us among those who completed their spiritual training and filled their hearts with good feelings for all creatures.
 

Question:  Can we describe Tasawwuf as "an organized form of supererogatory (nafila) worship?"

Answer: No!  Tasawwuf is not an organized form of voluntary non-obligatory worship.  Sometimes a mutasawwif could skip the non-obligatory worship.  Our elderly said: "When serving people is the issue, we skip the supererogatory worship because the supererogatory worship is the earning of a person alone.  When people are served, that is an earning for the society, thus has more rewards."

When Prophet Abraham built the Ka'aba, he offered one thousand rek'at of prayers in each corner.  He said:  "My Lord!  I have worshipped you.  Is it pleasing to you?  Is there any other worship that is dearer to You than the prayer?"

Almighty Allah responded: "Yes, O Abraham!  A bite of food in the stomach of a poor person is dearer."

That means, when you do the supererogatory worship, only you benefit from that.  When you do something that is beneficial to others, then it is more valuable that the supererogatory worship.

Since the service for people is a primary concern of Tasawwuf, we could not define it as the organized form of supererogatory worship.   There are individuals who worship day and night.  We call such an individual "âbid."  Being an âbid is a low level in Tasawwuf - it is the lowest level.  It is followed by being a zâhid, then an ârif, then an ashiq-i sâdiq (true lover).  The top level is the level of those who love Allah and are loved by Allah.

Question:  What is inâba?  What is bi'at?  What is the difference between them?  What is their importance in Islam.

Answer:  Inâba means "turning to Allah"; one who turns to Allah is called "munîb."  "Tawba," too, means turning to Allah.  Tawba and inâba means abandoning the wrong and turning to the path that Almighty Allah loves.

Inâba symbolizes the changes within a person.  Bi'at (bay'ah) is the statement one makes:  He goes to a shaikh, a spiritual guide, accepts him as his trainer, and tells him that he will do what the shaikh tells him to.  Bay'ah is an agreement, a promise, a commitment.  It is done by shaking or holding hands.

The companions of our beloved Prophet (may Allah be pleased with them) went to the Prophet and stated their pledge by shaking his hand.

Where did it happen?

There were general bay'ahs such as the first Akaba Bay'ah, the Second Akaba Bay'ah, and Hudaybiyah Bay'ah.  There were individual bay'ahs as well as group bay'ahs.  It is done by shaking/holding hands and pledging allegiance. There were the bay'ah by women and by men.

Bay'ah is a contract; a person who makes bay'ah gives a legal form for his inâba.  That is the difference in meanings.  For the importance in Islam, we can state some verses that dictate making bay'ah to the Prophet:

(Innalladhîna yubâyi'ûnaka innamâ yubâyi'ûnallah) [Those who swear allegiance to thee swear allegiance in truth to Allah ...] (Qur'an 48:10)

 (Idhâ jâ-akal mu'minâtu yubâyi'naka alâ an lâ yushrikna billâhi shay'an) [When the believeing women came to you to swear allegiance that they will not associate anything to Allah ...] (Qur'an 60:12)

(Laqad radiyallahu 'anil mu'minîna idh yubâyi'ûnaka tahtash-shajarati) [Allah was well pleased with the believers whom offered their pledge to thee under the tree ...] (Qur'an 48:18)

These verses indicate that the bay'ah is a truth from the Qur'an.  The believers during the time of the Prophet had to pledge their allegiance to the Prophet.  It is from the Qur'an, and it is a main principle in Islam.

What should the believers who are living today do about the bay'ah?  We all agree that while the Prophet was alive, all Muslims had to make bay'ah to him.  We never object to that.  What was to happen after the Prophet?

Let us see what happened after the Prophet passed away:  First, Muslims pledged allegiance to Hadrat Abubakr Siddîq RA.  They pledged allegiance to other Khulafâ-i Râshidîn -- Hadrat Omar RA, Hadrat Othman RA, and Hadrat Ali RA.  Then there was a time that rulers used force to have people make bay'ah.  Armed soldiers were kept at the gates of the masjid in Madina al-Munawwara and Muslims were forced to pledge allegiance to the rulers of Umayyads.  That was not bay'ah at all.

In this aspect, there were disagreements between scholars and rulers.  For instance, Hajjaj the Oppressor besieged Makkah al-Mukarramah and martyred Abdullah ibn-i Zubayr.  During the time of Yazid ibn-i Muawiya, the grandchild of the Prophet, Hadrat Hussain was invited to Iraq.  Despite the invitation, he and his family members were massacred.

Naturally, the bay'ah made to such rulers were not true and comforting to the hearts.  Since then, Muslims have pledged their allegiance to awliyaullah and scholars of Islam.  That is how it should be.

Question:  Said-i Nursî (Rh.A) stated many times that the era was not the Tasawwuf era, instead one has to save his faith.  How do you interpret that?

Answer: There are eyewitnesses that Said-i Nursî called our grand shaikh Ahmed Ziyauddin Gumush-khanawi as his "teacher."  Mustafa Bagislayici in Samsun and the father of Abdulvahab Teker in Eskisehir are two of such witnesses.  For instance, one of the witnesses is from Gumush-khanawi.  Said Nursî asked him, "Son, where are you from?"  He responded, "From Gumush-khanawi."  Said Nursi commented: "You are from the town of my teacher (khawaja)."  This is a clear statement that he considered Shaikh Gumush-khanawi as his teacher.

I heard from my teacher, Mehmed Zahid-i Bursevî (Kotku) told me once that Said Nursi came to visit him before a court hearing.  He said: "Dear teacher, I have been reading the Ewrad-i Bahâ-iyya--the prayer collection of Hadrat Shaikh Bahâeddin-i Naqshiband.  Please pray for me, for I have a court hearing today."

In addition, Mustafa Bagislayici had statements that Said-i Nursî followed a tariqa.  Besides, saving the faith, attaining the knowledge of Allah, and becoming a perfect believer are main concerns of Tasawwuf, too.

With all things considered, Ustâd Said Nursî was unlikely to have uttered these words.  If he did, it would mean, "For the time being, follow my advice instead of pledging allegiance to a shaikh.  We are in a state of emergency.  Read and write these letters and treaties.  Let us carry out such a work!"

Question: How has the Tasawwuf been affected by the modernization? It is claimed that you have adapted Tasawwuf to modern world.  How do you respond to this?

Answer: I do not see any modernization in Tasawwuf.  Tasawwuf is very fresh, it is not "stale," or spoiled.  That is why there is no modernization in it.

We follow a tradition that came mostly through Naqshi, Qadiri, Chisti, Suhrawardi and Kubrewi tariqas.  In our path, upholding the Glorious Qur'an and the Sunnah of the Prophet is very important.  We are trying to emphasize the adherence to the Sunnah in Tasawwuf.  We carry out work against bid'ahs.  We want to bring people to the path of the Prophet.

Some people blame us for that.  For example, the daily newspaper Hurriyet has published a booklet on tariqas and Tasawwuf, I believe it was written by Yasar Nuri Ozturk.  In that book Baktashi tariqa is praised: "It is a pleasant tariqa, men and women mingle.  They are tolerant towards wine and other things."  There are other statements: "Mawlawi tariqa is fine, for it allows music.  They do whirling, which is some kind of a dance.  It allows dance. There are the musical instruments ..." On the other hand, Naqshi tariqa is downgraded: "These people are passé and fanatic.  Among them there are people who oppose to the reforms that were introduced in the early years of the Republic Era in Turkey."

These are the proof that we want to adhere to the Sunnah of the Prophet.  That is all we want.  We seek refuge with Allah from introducing to Tasawwuf anything that is not in Islam be it called modernization or reform.  We want to live in accordance with the principles laid by the Prophet of Allah.  We want to lead a life in compliance with the Qur'an.

Question:  What are your comments on the claims that Tasawwuf was affected by Greek and Hindu philosophies?

Answer: These are mentioned in books when the philosophy of Tasawwuf was discussed.  It is possible.  Some tariqas in India and Turkistan could be affected by Shamanism, brahmanism or Buddhism.  Some tariqas in other localities could be affected by Christianity. It is possible, yet these are local and isolated incidence.

Even if something is taken from other practices, there is no harm as long as it does not contradict to Islam because those practices are not completely wrong.  Perhaps it is from the original part of the Christianity or Judaism.  It could be a form of mercy towards people or a method on training the nafs.  Such a method could have been practiced because we are instructed to seek knowledge even if it is in China--a distant land.  In our path, we do not have such influences.  We try to follow what is instructed by the Prophet and what is stated in the Qur'an.  We avoid the rest and clear our path from influences that are not compatible with Islam.

There is, for instance,  a Hindu influence in Kalanderi tariqa.  Kalandaris shave four things:  Hair, eyebrows, mustache, and beard.  It is claimed that this kind of shaving proves that it was affected by Hindus.  It is possible.  Our beloved Prophet SAS did not do anything like that, so there could be such an influence.

Among some Alavî-Baktashi groups, one can observe men with long nails, hair and mustache.  They make it look like it is from Tasawwuf: "The mustache has to go into the bowl when you drink water and it has to float." These are not Islamic, at all.  Perhaps it is from Shamanism.  Some junk-jewelry that is worn also reminds Shamanistic influences, yet these are localized and isolated practices.
 
Question: One of our scholars said, "Time is not for tariqa, but for truth."  What do you say on this issue?

Answer: Tariqa takes a person to the truth at the end of a spiritual training.  The person overcomes his nafs, controls his desires and will, and does things that Almighty Allah loves.  Hence, he becomes a beloved servant of Allah, he reaches the truth, he becomes like a saint.  Tariqa makes it possible; it does not happen any other way.

If it were possible by reading from the books, Almighty Allah would have revealed the book and asked us, "Read it!"  It did not happen that way.  The proper method is called sohbet (sohbah).  [It is education by being present among trainees and practicing with them.]  Our beloved Prophet introduced the truth of Islam to people and educated them for 23 years.  Reading from a book alone is not sufficient.  Books can be a part of the education, yet a trainer, an educator is a must.

You can give verbal instructions, tell them what to read or memorize; still, actual demonstration with instruction is a very common way of education.  It is the method between the expert and apprentice.  It is an easy and effective method.  Tasawwuf has this method; that is why it is needed.

Question: Some claim that our society is not fit for Tasawwuf.  Instead of isolating oneself from the society and doing dhikr alone, one should serve people for Islam.  That is why there is no need for Tasawwuf.  What is your opinion on this?

Answer:  We cannot say that our society is not fit for Tasawwuf.  There have been events that disprove this statement.  There are Americans, French, British and German who accept Islam and follow a tariqa.  We know that Abdulqadir es-Sufi bought a place close to London and established an Islamic school and a supermarket to sell halal food for the Islamic community that he wanted to establish there.

If the society is not fit for Tariqa or Islam, then a Muslim does not imitate the individuals in the society but struggle for his own existence as a Muslim entity.  That is what we do in Turkey. In an environment where un-Islamic elements have their effects, practicing Muslim men and women struggle to lead a life in compliance with our own faith Islam.  We do not have to go with the flow of the society in all circumstances.  Sometimes, we have to oppose the society to prevent injustices.

If the society is not fit for tariqa, and it the tariqa is providing a training -- an inner training, an ethical training -- then the society needs it.  The society must change to accept the training for the ethics.  That will put an end to all kinds of improper behavior and dealings.  A code of ethics is needed for the society, so an ethical training is a must for the society.  That is how we can look at the issue.

The claim "isolating oneself from the society and doing dhikr alone"  does not reflect the truth.  It is an expression to downgrade Tasawwuf and tariqas.  Tariqa is not like that at all.  Those who practice that are monks and some mystics before Islam.  They lived in mountains and worshipped there away from people.  Some lived in caves such as the ones in Cappadokia.  They abandoned the world and refused a married life.  They spent their time in worship.

Islam is not like that at all.  All mutasawwifs in Islam had skills and occupations.  You can see the examples in Tadhkiratul Awliya: some were attâr (herbalist, perfumer), some were qassâb (butcher), some were nessâj (knitter, weaver).  They earned a living with their own hands.  They carried out their worship while they worked.  They earned rewards by working.  They also spent their earning on charitable causes.

In Islamic Tasawwuf, isolation from society is not allowed.  There is a limited retreat called khalwet, but it is for a limited time for training purposes.  Nobody can accuse a student of isolation for his staying home for three days to complete his final project.  That is a preparation, part of the education.  That is not abnormal.

In tariqas, there are training methods.  The seeker practices retreat for forty days and spends his time in worship.  He receives the instruction, his knowledge increases and his heart is opened.  Eventually he becomes a beloved servant of Allah.  There is the retreat for forty days, but afterwards, the person has to serve the society.  For example, Eshrefoghlu Rûmî went to Hadrat Saâdeddîn-ni Hamawî in Hama.  He was taken to retreat three times.  That adds up one hundred twenty days.  It is a four-month training.  He spent four months in worship then came to Iznik and work towards guiding people and educating them in Islam.  He trained dervishes, too.

Muslim mutasawwifs tried to earn a living by themselves.  For example, Hadrat Ahmed Yesevî used to carve wooden spoons.  He would send his spoons to bazaar. He would not take them to bazaar himself but sent with his donkey.  He would put spoons in baskets and mount the baskets on the animal.  He would tell the animal to go.   While the animal roams in bazaar, people would pick spoons and put the money in the basket.  If a customer does not leave the money, the animal would not leave.

We hear stories like this, yet it is for sure that they never wanted to be a burden on anybody.  They earned their living, they went for jihad when called.  There were business, jihad and service to people.  There was dhikr, too.  You have to let him do dhikr in the middle of the night, between two o'clock and three o'clock, about half an hour.  Let him say "Allah, Allah" and shed some tears.  It is recommended by the Prophet.

Question:  What is the attitude of Tasawwuf towards tabligh?  Can you give some examples?

Answer:  Tabligh means conveying the message of Islam to someone so that the person accepts Islam.  That is one of the most important activities of Tasawwuf.  Irshad (guidance to the path of Allah) and tabligh...  In Tasawwuf the guide, the shaikh is called murshid--one who guides.

If you ask for examples, I could give you one, about the dervishes of Hadrat Ahmed Yesevi.  They were from Khorasan.  They left their own lands and moved on all the way to Anatolia.  They spread Islam over those lands.  If necessary, they participated in Jihad and conveyed the message of Islam.  They become instructors when needed.

The principle of the mutasawwifs has been "work and service during the day and worship at night."  That is what they practiced.  Imam Ghazzali was a famous mutasawwif.  He used to teach at the madrasa.  Across from his madrasa, there was a tekke where he would train students in Tasawwuf.

Our elderly in the tariqa have been great professors at madrassas.  Mawlana Jalal-ud-Din Rumi, Imam Ghazzali, and Haji Bayram Veli were professors at their madrassas.  They had been well equipped with knowledge pertaining all aspects of Islam.  They had interpretations on the Qur'an; they had explanations of hadith, and they wrote books on fiqh.  They were true khawajas in Islamic studies, their knowledge was deep and wide like oceans.

Hadrat Yusuf-u Hemedânî was reported to have 90 thousand Zoroastrians converted to Islam.  He used to go from one door to another and explain people what Islam is.  His life was described by Fuat Koprulu in the book Ilk Mutasavviflar (The Early Mutasawwifs).  Yusuf-u Hemedânî was the teacher of Hadrat Ahmed Yesevî.

After becoming a guide in tariqa, Ahmed Yesevî too spread Islam among the nomads in Turkistan and Siberia, and among Turkish-speaking tribes.

Then, Chisti tariqa spread Islam in India.  Many Hindus accepted Islam through their tabligh work.  Sunusî tariqa spread Islam in Africa.  Mutasawwifs were instrumental for many non-Muslims to accept Islam.

I thank you very much for being here.  I wish you happiness in this life and in the hereafter.

As-Salamu Alaikum wa rahmatullah

May 1993-- Bosphorus University