English
TürkçeQUESTION: (A.Ç): What does “Seyr-i Sülük (Special training of a religious order) mean in Sufism? How is it practiced? Would you explain it for us?
ANSWER: (K.Y) Yes, Sheikh Galib, the great teacher of Mawlawi Order, said:
“I searched and investigated numerous talks.
I had a friendly chat with whomever I saw supposing that he is a saint,
I looked for my friend day and night and I dreamed about him,
I shed tears and watered the ground with my tears.
I asked the Perfect Man the eternal life,
He told me “to die before you die”, so I passed away… “
Let me explain these lines: Shekh Galip, who wrote these lines, outlined how the path of an aspirant, an adherent or a follower of God would start and end in his poem. He said: “I thoroughly searched many books, works whether or not they were the books concerning Jurisprudence, Sufism or its philosophy and the science of Canonical Jurisprudence. I read them and discussed on them but it did not work.”
He said: “Then I started to look for the Friend of God in this world. I looked for him in this way: Whoever I saw, I talked to him supposing that he was a Friend of God. For, the Friend of God and the Prophet of God are human beings, man. They are the descendants of Adam. The Friends of God are among the people.”
The Poet Hayali had already said:
“The world-adorning is in the world but they do not know the adorning one,
Those fish are in the sea but they do not know the sea.”
The beloved human of the world, the Perfect Man of the world, the adorning man of the world is in this world. However, they do not know this Perfect Man same as the fishes in the sea do not know the sea though they are in the sea. They are not aware of water though they are in the water.
He said whoever he saw he thought he was a friend of God because he could not find the reality in books. He was not able to solve, perceive and comprehend the mystery. He was not satisfied with it. His high spirit was not calmed down with it. He looked for the esthetic pleasure (heartfelt pleasure).
He said after this: “I looked for my friend day and night and I dreamed about him”. He looked for his friend, dreamed and thought about him all the time. Pay attention to his constant searching and his power of seeking him!
He did not give up. He would find the reality by all means.
“I shed tears and watered the ground with my tears.” I cried, mourned and begged the Creator and the Friends of God. I made everywhere flood with my tears.
Then, when he found the Friend of God, he said: “I asked the Perfect Man the eternal life”. What does eternal, immortal life - the spiritual life - the life of Angels mean? The Perfect Sheikh answered: “It is to die before you die”. If you die before you die you will get to know the eternal life because you live it then.
What does “Dying before you die” mean? Sufism starts just at this point. This is a (hadith) sacred saying of the Prophet (A.S.V): “Mutu kable ente mutu! - Die before you die!” (Ajluni, Kashfu’l Hafa, vol. 2, p. 402) What does “to die before you die” refer to? How can a person die before he dies? It means “to kill your carnal desires (nefs)”. We have a fake ego who says “I, I, I” all the time. Kill this carnal self! Whose ego is left when this fake ego dies? “Super ego” is left. The ego of Allah remains.
If a person dies before he dies, he is not there anymore. He goes to a superior world. He surpasses all things. He surpasses himself, the Universe and finds the Essence. He finds the essence of all things.
The essence of all things is Allah the Almighty. You may call Him as the Lord, God, Hod or Hade. All of them is He. In another word, He is the Creating Power. He is the place where we came from.
He said “die before you die!” Here, the physical body does not die. This is a psychological state. The fake ego in us should be annihilated and the True Ego should remain. After we complete the explanation of this poem, we will touch on what the fake ego means. We will explain what it is and the kinds of it. It affected Hz. Sheikh Galip so much that he said in the following lines:
“Ask this difficult question to the person who spares his life,
And ask the mysterious cipher of God’s secret to the one who knows “Men Araf”.
Ask it to the one who constantly drinks the love wine from the hand of the Perfect Man.
If you want to reach God, ask it to the one who reached the path of God.
I asked the eternal life to the Perfect Man
He said: “It is to die before you die”, so I passed away.
He is repeating the last two lines. I think this poem was written as “Terci-i Bend: A long poem with a recurrent couplet at the end of each stanza”. Sheikh Galip was a great poet. He contributed great innovations to Divan Literature (Ottoman Literature classical school of poetry). So, “to die before you die” is a great mystery. It is a great difficulty. For, you die before being put into the grave. How will you perceive it? Ask it to the person who dared for this and who gave up his life.
You will plunge into the sea of Sufism and you will destroy the ego that says “I, my, me” in the divine sea of God. You will completely annihilate it. Yunus once said (those who read his works may know it):
“If your being is annihilated, your Creator is left.”
This matter “to die before you die” is such an event that the aspirant, the dervish, the follower of God becomes“Fenafillah - Annihilation in Allah” as he proceeds in Sufism. He becomes annihilated in Allah. He becomes as if he has not been created. He enters into a different new state. Wherever he looks at, he sees the Person of Allah.
“Fesemme vechullah - Whichever way you turn there is the face of Allah.” (Al-Baqarah, 115) He sees the face and the person the divine beauty of Allah wherever he looks at.
And this happens spontaneously.
This state can be exemplified as follows: When you throw a piece of ice into a warm sea, for example, in Mersin, in July-August, if you look for it, you see that there is no ice anymore. It is such a state. It is destroyed, but in this annihilation, it transforms into its origin. Its origin is water and it becomes the sea. This can be given as an example.
This is the matter of “Enel Haq - I am God”. Most people do not know this. Enel Haq cannot be known before he becomes Mansur.
Once a question was asked to me: “Did you know Enel Haq?”
I answered “I have not become a Mansur yet so I cannot know Enel Haq”. The person like Mansur can know it,
The person who is like Mansur melts same as that ice melted in the sea. Than that sea says: “I am Haq (Truth, God)”. Those who hear him say that this person says he is Haq, he is Allah. The sea said “I am the Sea” not the servant because the ice melted down and there was no ice anymore.
Those who do not spare his life should not enter this path, the path of annihilation in Allah.
This is the path of Hz. Muhammad (A.S.W.) and this is love.
Mawlana said: “The path, the order, the religion of our Holy Prophet is Love -the Love for Allah-”.
Love is fire-heat-warmth. It burns up. It removes the dirtiness by burning because fire does not leave anything where it burns besides itself. When it is in the heart of a person, there is nothing except Allah there. Only love is left.
In the second line of this poem:
“And ask the mysterious cipher of God’s secret to the one who knows “Men Araf”.
Who will you ask the mysterious cipher of God’s secret? You will ask it to the one who knows “Men Araf”.
What does “Men Araf” mean? Bismillahirrahmanirrahim, our Prophet (A.S.V.) said: “Men arefe nefsehu kad arefe rabbehu - He who knows Man-Adam- surely knows his Lord.” (Sadake Resullullah - The Prophet of Allah is the speaker of truth) (Sayyid Abdulkadir Geylani, Sirrul Esrar, p. 31; Şemseddin Yeşil, “Binbir Hadis”, p. 212, 1983-Istanbul)
Therefore, knowing the Lord depends on knowing Man/Human. Everything is human-centered or sourced. Adam was the man whom all the Angels prostrated before. We are his descendants. The descendant of Adam is also Adam.
He said: “Ask it to the man who studied “Men araf”!” In other words, ask it to the man who knows his essence. He who knows himself knows his Lord. Here Lord -“Rab”- means the One who trains, who educates. Rab or Rabbe means trainer, educator or the one who equips. And the Essence of human equips human. He equipped him with His own attributes. All the attributes of Allah exists in man except the Attribute of Deity or Divinity because it is Himself-His Ego. Man has all the other attributes.
“Ve allemel ademe esmae külleha - I taught Adam all My names.” (Al-Baqarah, 31)
When he learns all His names, he attains them. The Angels were not able to know all His names. This is written in the Koran in Chapter Baqarah. (Baqarah, 32)
So, there is a great secret in man. He has His secret in him. He has His spirit in him. He said: “I created man” and
“Venefehtü fihi min ruhi - I breathed into him from My spirit.” (Sad, 72)
He regarded him more superior than Angels.
Spirit is directly His Personal Attribute. His attribute of His essence.
The Angels were created from the Divine Lights of His names. They are the manifestations of His names same as the waves of the sea. The Universe was also created from this.
Men Araf:
Those, who are not the discoverers of the mystery of the knowledge of “men araf”,
Cannot understand to spare one’s life for your sake, O, the Shah of Najaf!
The Sun of your divine Light gives glory and honor to the Universe,
Have mercy on me O Ali, who knows all my states!
Tell me o Ali, is there anybody else who is my place of refuge!
By Neyzen Tevfik
Therefore, those who do not attain the secret of “Men araf” cannot acquire the secret of the Prophet’s Brother, the Shah of Najaf and of the Prophet. He cannot understand how to spare one’s life for him.
Only those who know their essence can spare their lives for Hz. Ali. For, the King of the science of “knowing your essence” is Hz. Muhammad (A.S.) and Hz. Ali. Nobody can surpass Hz. Ali.
Then he said:
“Ask it to the one who constantly drinks the love wine from the hand of the Perfect Man!”
Murshid (The Perfect Man) and the love wine drunk by his pure hand. The Science of Love! When this love falls into the heart of the aspirant or adherent, he starts to burn and burn and the carnal desires (self), the clown inside us (God damn it!), we call it as “Nafs-i Ammarah”, is annihilated.
This ego is called as the self in man.
“Feelhemeha fücureha ve takvaha - I inspired man with the knowledge of sin, immorality and piety.” (Al-Shams, 8)
Here man gets into a fight. He fears, respects God and there is also evil and satan. He is in a dilemma over how to beat wickedness.
What a suffering the man goes through! He cannot get rid of immorality. Immorality is the source of all the wickedness. It is an evil attribute. It is not a merciful attribute. Piety is a merciful attribute.
“Takvel kulub - The piety of the hearts” (Hajj, 32)
There is a verse concerning this. Piety is also in the heart. It is not related with worships, appearance etc.
Our Prophet put his hand on his heart and said three times: “Piety is here! Piety is here! Piety is here!” (Muhammed Hamdi Yazır, Hak Dini Kur’an Dili vol.6, p.4479 Binbir Hadis, Şemseddin Yeşil, p.77)
Piety is in the heart. It is said that even hypocrites can perform external worships reluctantly. (Allahümmahfezna- May Allah protect us!) We love and respect those who perform them faithfully. However, fear is only in the heart. To attain this state, the heart must say “Allah”. The heart must make the remembrance of Allah.
“İza zükirellahü vecilet kulubuhüm - Their hearts are filled with awe at the mention of Allah.” (Hajj, 35)
He enters into a different state. Actually, he that does not have an ecstasy state does not have a religion. There is also a hadith. “He who does not have ecstasy does not have religious pleasure.” (Ahmed b. Hanbel, Musned, Suyuti, Camiüssağir) Ecstasy is an inner motive (incentive). It is an action, a response.
“Kad eflehe men zekkaha - Blessed shall be the man who has kept it pure (who is purified).” (Al-Shams, 8)
How will this immorality be cleansed or removed?
Our Lord said: “I inspired into you”. (Shams, 8)
He says that He has already inspired it into us. Nobody is born without evil. The evil is inspired into him for sure. Both evil and piety are inspired into us. The person who is purified from this dirtiness, from this immorality is saved. What will happen to those who are not purified? Our Lord said:
“Femen habe men desseha - Ruined he that has corrupted it.” (Al-Shams, 10)
He becomes the toy of the Satan.
So, Sufism is such a divine, psychological path which is called as Seyr-i Süluk, Sainthood and Tariqat; and it produces a revolution in the inner world. It is a radical change. We shall make this revolution. If we do not make this revolution, this evil stays with us. It is in that person whatever he does. Our Prophet (A.S.V.) said:
“The enemy is between your two ribs.” (Beyhaki, Kitabü’z Zühd. Hadith No: 343. See also Zahabi, Ghazzali and Ajluni)
It is between your left ribs and it bites you from the back. It is treacherous like the snake. The snake also bites from the back.
Your enemy is always with you. You can get rid of Satan. You can get rid of your spiritual enemies. When you pronounce: “Bismillahirrahmanirrahim, la havle vela kuvvete illa billahil aliyyil azim” and satan goes away from the believer. What will happen to your carnal self? The carnal self is in you. It is with you wherever you go; it is with you when you even go to a mosque, to market, to toilet or to the Kaaba. Is there any error or a lie concerning this? Is the reality not this? It goes everywhere with you. It travels with you when you go to Istanbul or to Mecca. You carry this filthiness with you. Therefore, our Prophet (A.S.) opened the path of Sufism. He opened the path of “to die before dying” (Ajluni Kashf’ul Hafa, vol.2, p. 402) and “Fenafillah - to annihilate in Allah”.
By the way, one day while our Prophet (A.S.V.) was sitting, he asked: “Would you like to see someone who died before his death and who was reckoned by God and who lives among you though he died? He is with you all the time.” They said that they would and he told them to look at pure Abu Bakr”. (Muttefekun Aleyh hadiths: Bukhari and Muslim, p. 640, h. 1613-1614 Ashara-i Mubashshara, Muslim, Fedailü’s Sahabe, 28; Thirmizi, Menakib, 26 Musned, vol.1,p,187-188)
He was purified from immorality! How was he purified? He was purified by the prayer of the Prophet of Allah and by looking at his rosy face.
Nobody can be purified by only practicing worship, by fasting, by going to Pilgrimage, by sacrificing sheep and by giving alms (reluctantly); it is not certain whether he gives it regularly or not, anyway. These are the by-products or worships. The basic is the love of the face of the Prophet (A.S.V.). It is the affection felt for him and the pleasure of it.
He said: “Nazaru vechü Aliyyün ibadetün - To look at Ali’s face is worship.” (From Abdullah ibn Mes’ud; Taberani, Aziziye, vol.3, p. 417: Binbir Hadith, Şemseddin Yeşil)
It is also the secrecy of spiritual divine connection. For, “Allah, who fits neither into the earth nor Heavens, is in the heart of the believer”. (Sacred Hadith, Sadreddin Konevi, Vahdet Publ. Ajluni Kashf’ül Hafa, vol. 2, p.195)
He is the Perfect Man whom Allah calls as “Al-Mu’min - The Inspirer of Faith (the Believer)”. When Allah calls a servant of Him as a “Believer”, he is a believer. If we call a man as a believer, Allah must confirm it. He must be included in “ya eyyühellezine amenu”. Allah says:
“Ya eyyühellezine amenu - O Believers!” (Al-Baqarah, 163 / Nisa 29)
The real believers are: Ahl al Bayt, the Companions of the Prophet, the Family of the Prophet, the Hashim family, and the personalities like Abu Baqr, firstly, Hz. Ali. He said: “Keremellahu vechehu - Allah honored his face” for him. He said this only for Hz. Ali. He did not say this for others. Allah honored the divine light of Ali’s face. He made it divine, honorable and noble. This does not confirm the nobility that comes from lineage. He confirms the spiritual nobility which is the Mercy, the Grace of Allah.
Yunus said:
“At the dervish convent of Taptuk Emre,
I became at his door a slave.”
“I became a servant at the door of Tapduk Emre”. Such a person like Yunus Emre said he became a slave at the door of Taptuk Emre. Therefore, if a person does not serve a real servant of Allah, he cannot be a servant of Allah. This is the reality for those who believe in Yunus Emre.
The people of Madrasa believe neither Yunus, nor our Master Sayyid Abdulkadir Geylani. He believes neither Mawlana nor Muhyiddin Arabi, neither Sayyid Ahmed al Rufai nor Hadji Beqtash-i Veli. They have been against Sufism since it started. This is another matter. Let us not talk about it. That school is another kind of school. They study only Theology, Philosophy etc. there. They are based on rationalist philosophy. They also say that they believe in divine revelation. Whereas, when a person accepts divine revelation, intellect stops.
Brothers, this is the reality! Why are they discussing it? They are the words of Allah, the words of the Prophet. They are all confirmed. They must not make any comments on them. They must stop talking about it. God, Allah the Almighty, said in the Koran:
“When the Koran is recited, listen to it in silence!” (Al-Araf, 204)
What does it mean? It means that Allah is speaking. Allah said:
“Would you tell Him of that which is unknown to Him on this earth?” (Al-Rad, 33)
Our Lord! Then our knowledge is restricted.
Does mind a role? Yes, it does. But it has a role in physical sciences, in juridical sciences. Both our Prophet (A.S.V.) and Allah accepted this. He who does not have intellect does not mean anything.
However, how will this simple mind perceive superior comprehensions? They are beyond comprehension. Everyone is able to observe this.
There are 30-40-50 philosophers in history. How many of them constituted a community? However, the Four Prophets who had Divine Books have influenced 3-4 billion people they are still calling them saying “Ya Muhammad, Ya Jesus, Ya David, Ya Abraham”. They are known by everybody because the Prophets are the Words of Allah.
“İnhüve illa vahyün yuha - The word of Muhammad is the Word of Allah.” (Najm, 4)
“İnnehu le kevlü resulin kerim - This Koran is the utterance of a noble messenger.” (Al-Haqqah, 40)
That word of Allah was revealed to the heart of the Prophet and it turned into letters in the speech of the Prophet. Letters compose hadiths. However the Word of Allah is Divine Light. It descends into the heart of the Prophet as a Divine Light.
“Nezele bihi ruhu’l emin ala kalbike - It is revealed into your heart.” (Al-Shuara, 193-194)
I would not like to bore you. When we start to talk about Sheikh Galip, we are unable to finish talking about him. Why have we placed Sheikh Galib on the agenda? This poem explains how Sheikh Galib started and achieved his purpose. After that:
“If you want to reach God, ask it to the one who reached the path of God!”
Do you want to have union with God? What is the union with Allah like? You think you can be a Yunus, a Muhammad, Abu Baqr, Abdulkadir Geylani, Sayyid Ahmed ar Rufai, Hz. Ali, Muhammad Naqshibandi, Hadji Beqtashi Veli, Hadji Bayram Veli and Niyazi Mısri without seeing Yunus, Sheikh Galib, Hz. Abdulkadir Geylani, the Prophets, our Prophet, Hz. Ali, Hz. Abubaqir, Mawlana, people like Yunus, the Apostles and the Friends of God, don’t you? How easy!
Why can’t anybody become Niyazi, Yunus or others although they read their books?
They have such blessings, ranks, perfection, beauty and good morals that nobody can have easily.
Islam is based on good morals. Somebody asked the Prophet of Allah: ‘What is Religion?’ The Prophet of Allah answered that it was ‘Good Morals.’ (From Ghazzali İhya, vol.3, p.43) It is your good temper, your good behaviors. A sheep is a sheep and a goat is a goat. In this respect, a goat is trying to be a sheep. He says he is also a Yunus. He reads the works of Yunus or Muhyiddini Arabi and acts like Yunus or Muhyiddini Arabi. He tells the words of Abdulkadiri Geylani and becomes like him. When he reads the books of Yunus, he thinks he is Yunus. This quality cannot be attained by reading their books. If it were just by reading them, then why did Yunus serve Taptuk Emre?
Taptuk Emre was a great Kadiri Sheikh. Yunus Emre was also a Kadiri. He said: “Please help me O My Sheikh Abdulkadir Geylani!” Therefore, Yunus is a Kadiri although he was said to be a Beqtashi or other. Taptuk Emre was not an aspirant of Hadji Beqtash. Hadji Beqtash was a great Friend of God. He represents Hz. Abu Baqir perfectly. He came from Khorasan. He was a disciple of Ahmed Yesevi. His path goes to Hz. Abu Baqr and from him to the Prophet of Allah. The branch of Hadji Beqtash is different. Naqshibendi Order is also a branch of Yesevi Order. They combine at Gujduvani, at Beyazidi Bistami and Jafari Sadiq. Jafar al Sadiq is the great Sun and the sheikh of Naqshi Order. The spirituality comes from him.
The branches of Hz. Ali and Hz. Abubaqir combine at our Exalted Master Hz. Jafar al Sadiq. In other words, a Baqri becomes an Alawi and an Alawi becomes a Baqri. They do not separate from each other. Jafar al Sadiq’s mother is the granddaughter of Hz. Abu Baqr. His mother was Hz. Kasım’s daughter. They were relatives. Kasım was also the son of Muhammad. Muhammad was also the son of Abu Baqr. Hz. Muhammad bini Abu Baqr was also called as “Little Muhammad” in order not to be confused with the Prophet of Allah. Taptuk Emre was a Kadiri sheikh. I saw this in the books of Yunus. He said “Please help me O My Sheikh Abdulkadir Geylani!” However, Taptuk Emre was a Friend of God like Hadji Beqtash. They were friends and brothers. They spread Sufism in Anatolia together. Hadji Beqtash also supported Taptuk Emre. Hadji Beqtash was an exalted person. He was greater than Taptuk Emre.
However, he helped him. They worked together. They made no personal claim. Their claim was Haq and to set up Islamic religion in Anatolia. It was not easy to make Anatolian people Muslim. It was done by the efforts, struggle and divine help of those powerful dervishes sparing their lives for this. The Seljuks fought together with the Ottomans in wars. They drew their swords together against enemies and they encouraged people. Why? Did they do this to maintain the existence of the Ottomans or Seljuks? No! They did this for Islam. These nations lived in the shelter of Islam. They do not understand it. Ottomans, Seljuks were all means. Here the aim was the religion of Allah. The effort of Yunus Emre, Hadji Bayram, Sayyid Nizamoğlu, Eşrefoğlu Rumi, Aziz mahmud Hudai and Nesimis was for Islam.
After that he said:
Lift the veil of your body so that Allah can be apparent for you!
Give up the trouble of your being and let your flesh be concealed in God!
Become existent with the being of God so that manifestations can be apparent!
Let your heart always be a place of the manifestations of Allah!
I asked the eternal life to the Perfect Man.
He said: “It is to die before you die”, so I passed away.
The Great Poet Sheikh Galib
He said: “Lift the curtain of body (we mentioned above)!” and “Die before you die!” Pass into the first state! You do not exist. Allah exists. Heme ost - All is Him. Then you give up your own being. We have already mentioned the dirty ego in us. You will get rid of it if you come to being with the being of God. Come to such a state that you will not see yourself! Hide yourself in God! If you exist with the existence of God, manifestation starts to disclose. If you become existent with the existence of God, with the being of Mansur, then “Enel Haq” comes true.
You cannot be in the state of Enel Haq, if you are not a Mansur. If a person says “Enel Haq” before he becomes Mansur, he becomes an infidel, a pervert. However, Mansur is different. He can say it because he became existent with the existence of God. The being of God told: “I’m God, Mansur did not”. He used Mansur as a tool for His religion. He covered all the shore by coming like a wave. When you become existent with the being of God, the manifestations disclose. Then the manifestations of Allah, His inspirations, high divine guidance descend to your heart, your spirit and your brain like the rain from the high holy places.
He says that you enter into such a state that your heart becomes an object of the manifestations of Allah. In every instant of 24 hours, Allah manifests to your heart. Your heart is struck by lightening. In every
Manifestation, thousands of kinds of inspirations are seen in you in each manifestation. Allah does His divine tasks by using His servants, His angels and with the people who have holy spirits.
He does His worldly affairs with the directors, officials, governors, ministers, prime ministers, kings and the presidents and so on…
There is a divine-spiritual hierarchy like the state hierarchy.
“Refiüdderecatü zü’l arş - He is Exalted above all ranks and He is the owner of the Throne.” (Mumin, 15)
It means He has emperors. However, here He says “ranks”. This is very important. He said “Refiüdderecat” but not “Refiüdderece”. He accepts the ranks by saying “refiüdderecat”. He says there are degrees. He has degrees, ranks, manifestations like the sea and waves.
“Refiüdderecatü zü’l arş - He is Exalted above all ranks and He is the owner of the Throne.” (Mumin, 15)
In this verse, He confirmed the degrees. There are Prophets, the Friends of God, Angels and Saints of God.
Our Madrasa does not accept this. They say: Nobody can enter between Allah and His servants. Who is entering between Allah and His slaves? Yunus is entering between Allah and His servants. Mansur who said: “Enel Haq” enters, Haq enters or the waves of Haq enter. They know the Friends of God apart from Allah. Why? They said: “Haza Mislüna - This man is but a mortal like us - Shall mortals be our guides?” And “they became disbelievers.” (Mu’minun 24, 33; Teghabun 6)
Our Master said: “I am a mortal”. Would he say: “I am an Angel”? Nobody said that the Prophet was not a human. However, he said:
“Ena beşerun mislüküm - I am a mortal like you.” “Yuha ileyye - Allah is speaking to Me.” (Al- Kahf, 110)
How can a person who speaks with Allah be like us? He entered into a dialogue with Allah but they are still saying that he is like us. They also say he died. Allah Allah! Who died? Did the Spirit which is the decree of God die? Did the intellect of Muhammad die? Does Spirit-Intellect die? The physical body of our Holy Prophet which was made of earth died. I spare my life for his physical body as well. His spirit was the attribute of Allah. It is His word and it is with Allah. Brothers! Physical bodies die but spirits do not die. Do abstract beings die? Spirit-mind, paradise etc. are abstract beings. They are the abstract manifestations of Allah. They are the Ilm -Divine Science-Knowledge attribute of Allah. Does Allah’s attribute of science die? Mind is the science attribute of Allah. It is given only to man. Where does mind go then? It goes to the place where spirit comes from.
What is “mind-intellect”? Does anything that has no spirit have a mind? In that case, animals would also have a mind? Allah has not breathed His spirit into animals. He breathed it into only to Adam, only to us.
When a spirit gets rid of or purified from wickedness, satan, evil, he is near His Lord. The authority, place, recourse or source of spirit is Allah and he returns to Allah. The spirit is from the Essence of Allah, from the Divine Light of His face. The spirit of Hz. Prophet is the divine Light of the face of Allah. Spirits, angels were created from that Spirit. Then, the sun was created. Stars, the earth, physical world, and the world of physical things were created from the heat of the sun. When they are split into atoms, only one thing is left “the divine Light of the Essence of Allah.”
“Allahu nurussemavati ve’l ard - Allah is the divine Light of the Heavens and the Heart.” (Al-Nur, 35)
“Maşaallah, La Kuvvete illa billah - What God has ordained must surely come to pass; there is no strength except in God.” (Kahf, 39)
He says that there is no power except Allah. Allah qualifies Himself as “strength-power”. The French of it is energy-force.
Allah says: “There is no strength except Me. There is no strength, power, divine light except Me. I am the Divine Light of the Heavens and the earth.”
Electricity was invented, atom was split; however, their eyes are blind and they cannot see.
The origin of the Universe is Divine light. Allah has the name “Nur-Divine Light-” among His Beautiful names “Ya Nur!”. Allah says the Koran is Divine Light, Spirit is Divine Light, Angels are Divine light and the Word of Allah is Divine Light. Not only the Koran but also the Four books are Divine Light. They are also the words of Allah, the Speech of Allah. We do not differentiate between them. They have been slightly changed, it is another matter. The Four books are Divine light. They are the Words of Allah and they are not differentiated.
Why do we regard the Koran great? We say the Koran unites all of them because the Torah, the Pentateuch and the Bible are in the glorious Koran. The Koran has united, included all of them. All of them are the Koran. This Book or that Book, the Word of Allah, the speech of Allah are the same, they cannot be regarded as big or small. They are the same. They cannot understand it and they are taking a nationalist attitude towards it and they do not explain it. The Torah is the Speech of Allah. The Pentateuch is also the Speech of Allah. The other pages are also the Speech of Allah. Speech is speech. They are the Eternal Speech of Allah. As the Koran united all of them in itself and as our Prophet united all the Prophets. His Supreme Spirit was created. We cannot assimilate it. Besides, the word “create” was invented by the Ottoman Theologians. In Arabic, “halake” means “to make”. The maker of the Universe. Let it not be a comparison! The expert of the Universe, the maker, the doer of the Universe. You can look it up in Arabic dictionary. Arabs understands it in that way. “Halake” means “to make”. They changed this word into creator and tried to give it a different meaning. In other words, man/human cannot create anything. Why cannot he create? To create means to make.
Allah said about Hz. Messiah:
“He made a bird from clay by My leave.” He uses the word “halake-make-” there. He could say another word such as “build or craft”. He used the word “halk”. “Then He breathed into it by My permission.” And “By My leave that bird flew.” (The Imrans, 49 / Maidah, 110) In this respect, (God Forbid!) is Hz. Jesus a creator? When we say “creator” there is only one Creator “Allah”. Allah the Almighty says that Hz. Jesus was a creator in this verse. He made a bird by His leave. “To make a bird” means “to be the creator or to be Allah”. Everybody can make a bird. He made a bird because He permitted him. He breathed into it and the bird was formed.
He is “Kadir- the Almighty”. He also created us from the earth. Then we became human beings.
“La feta illa Ali, La seyfe illa Zulfikar
Sellu ala Muhammed, sellu ala Ali
Aman ya Muhammad, medet ya Ali,”
(Lâ feta illâ Ali, Lâ seyfe illâ Zülfikar-There is no soldier like Ali and no sword like Zülfikar.” May Allah salute Muhammad, May Allah salute Ali, Help us O Muhammad and please have Mercy on us O Ali!)
I think those, who are interested in Sufism may say that this friend is telling something. I usually tell what I hear. I am not a sheikh and I do not serve as a sheikh. I am interested in Sufism besides the traditional madrasa teaching. I am interested in Sufi Literature. I occupied myself with spirituality. I cannot deny it. I carry off Sufism in the cultural grounds. Not in traditional tekke way. I am human-centered because our age is the age of human. The traditional way is continuing. However, I am a Sufi and my speech is based on Sufism. Sufism is a science of Divine wisdom. I chose myself a path that is centered on Sufi Wisdom. I write, I tell. May the beneficial part of what I have told be of my audiences! If I have made a mistake, the sin of it is mine. Allah knows the best. (The next part is in Article 113)
Note: These conversations were made upon our brother Abidin Çalış’s question “What does “Seyr-i Sülük (Spiritual Journey) mean in Sufism? How is it practiced? Would you explain it for us?”
You may also listen to it in our Turkish website using the link: “Sesli Tasavvuf Sohbetleri- Sound Conversations on Sufism”.
ADIYAMAN / TURKİYE
DECEMBER 2005