09. MONTH OF OVERCOMING NAFS
Prof. Dr. Mahmud Es'ad COSAN
Aùzu billâhi minesh-shaytànir rajîm.
I seek refuge with Allah against Satan
Bi’smi’llâhi’r-rahmâni’r-rahîm.
In the name of Allah, the Merciful, the Mercy-giving
El-hamdu li’llâhi rabbi’l-àlemîne hamden kethîran tayyiben
mubâreken fîh... Kemâ yenbaghî li-jelâli wajhihî wa li-azîmi
sultânih... Wa’s-salâtu wa’s-selâmu alâ seyyidinâ muhammedin wa âlihî wa sahbihî wa men tebiahû bi-ihsânin ejma'în.
Praise is due to Allah, The Lord of the Universe. The Prayers
and peace be on our beloved Prophet Muhammad, his family, his companions and his sincere followers till the Day of Resurrection.
a. Allah Invites His Servants to His Paradise
Dear Brothers and Sisters,
We have heard the call for the Isha prayer, offered the Isha prayer and the tarawih prayer. May Almighty Allah accept our prayers. With the sunset a new day starts, and it is already Friday.
It is the best of the days in the week; its night is the most
illuminated and fruitful night of the week. We are also in the most
blessed month—Ramadhan. We have gathered here in a masjid,
which is a house of Allah, a blessed place. We praise Allah for His grace and blessings.
If Almighty Allah has granted the opportunity to get into a mosque, the owner of the house has permitted to his house. This is a great blessing. May Almighty Allah forgive those who neglect the prayers and mosques. May He guide them to the right path and give them opportunities to attend the mosques. We wish guidance
for all. Our brothers recited the Qur'an in the prayer very clearly
as though crystal clear water is flowing from their mouth. In Surah
Yunus Almighty Allah said, Bi’smi’llâhi’r-rahmâni’r-rahîm:
وَاللهُ يَدْعُو إِلَى دَارِ السَّلاَمِ وَيَهْدِي مَنْ يَشَاءُ إِلَى صِرَاط مُسْتَقِيم
(يونس:٥٢)
(Wa’llàhu yed'ù ilâ dari’s-selâm) It is something amazing and to be happy about: "Verily Allah call you to the abode of peace,
Paradise." Al-hamdu lillah! He is inviting us to His Paradise. May he place us among those who comply with that call.
(Wa yehdî men yeshâu ilâ siratin mustaqîm.) "And He guides
whom He wills to the straight path." (Qur'an 10:25) He shows the straight path and has His selected servants step in that path.
Hidâyah, the guidance, is from Allah, and it is the greatest blessing
on us. It is the path of mercy leading to His Paradise. It is a great
blessing from Allah to His servants. The best blessing is to be on the straight path because it takes to the eternal bliss.
He deprives some of His servants from this great blessing. He does not guide those who He does not like. That is why a person
whom Allah does not like cannot become a Muslim. A person whom
Allah does not like cannot do worship, spend on charitable causes,
come to the mosque, or do His dhikr. He lets His beloved servants
do all of these good deeds. We ought to search and find out whom
Almighty Allah does not like.
Almighty Allah does not guide the disbelievers. He does not guide those who are ungrateful, who does not realize the blessings
that Allah has given, who cannot see the real sustainer. He guides
those who realize their wrongdoing, but not those who does not appreciate the blessings of Allah. We ought to know that all we have comes from Allah. The water we drink, the air we breathe,
food, drinks, health, happiness, intelligence, thoughts, and everything else is a blessing from Almighty Allah. Almighty Allah
deprives of the guidance those who do not know Him, who do not appreciate the blessings, and who fail to realize that all blessings
are from Allah.
Almighty Allah does not guide the oppressors. He does not grant
His guidance for those who do injustice to others or themselves or indulge in sins by disobeying the orders of Allah.
Almighty Allah does not guide the fasiqs (those who commit sins in public and insist on them). People with public debauch and vice are not guided. The prerequisite for a person to be favorable by Allah is that he should realize his wrongdoing, repent for them and turn to Allah. When this repentance does not take place, when the person insists in committing the offenses, the guidance is not granted. Almighty Allah accepts the repentance and favors the person when the person gives up the offenses.
We have to be fair and equitable. We ought to see the truth and realize our shortcomings and wrongdoing. The muedh-dhin brother
recited beautifully:
Aman ey shâh-ı rasul,
Yok elimden tutacak!
Kapı Mosque, KONYA
Gunahlara batmishim...
Oh the king of the prophets!
There is none to hold my hand
I am stranded in sins...
Beautiful words that we ought to memorize. No matter how much a person is indulged in sins, there is the possibility of being
forgiven when he realizes his faults and turns to Allah in repentance. When he regrets, Almighty Allah may forgive him. The crux of the matter is for one to realize his faults.
There are some words that are attributed to Mawlânâ
Jalâleddîn-i Rûmî who is a blessed personage in our path. In fact, these words belonged to an Iranian poet: 22
بازآ بازآ، هر آنچه هستی بازآ
گر کافر و گبر و بت پرستی بازآ!
اين درگه ما درگه نوميدی نيست؛
صد بار اگر توبه شکستی بازآ!
Bâz â bâz â, her anchi hestî bâz â!
Ger kâfir u gebr u putperestî bâz â!
In dergeh-i mâ dergeh-i nevmîdî nist;
Sad bâr eger tevbe shikestî bâz â!
Come back, come back whoever you are! An infidel, a fire-worshipper or an idolater, come back!
This dargah is not the place of despair.
22 Ebû Saîd-i Ebu’l-Khayr.
In case you broke your vow hundreds of times, come back!
"Come even if you broke your repentance one hundred times,
this is not the dargah of hopelessness." In other words, you feel sorry for your sins and say: "My Lord! I had promised not to disobey
you, yet I broke my promise. I committed another sin. Would you forgive me?" Almighty Allah would forgive you. Almighty Allah
forgives those who regret committing offenses and turn to him in repentance sincerely.
The first thing we must do, dear Brothers and Sisters, is to realize our shortcomings and wrongdoing and turning to Allah in repentance: "My Lord! I know I have sinned. I am guilty. Forgive
me!"
It is said that the years pass like the flowing river or blowing
wind. Arabs divide the lunar moths into three parts: the beginning,
the middle and the end. The first ten days are called ashr-i ewwel.
The next ten days in the middle are called ashr-i awsat, and the last Prof. Dr. M. Es'ad COŞAN, KONYA
ten days are called ashr-i âkhir The first ten days of this blessed
Ramadan has gone. The ashr-i ewwel of this Ramadhan has slipped
away.
Time is impossible to replace. Once it passes, there is no way to bring it back or replace it. The most important advice for a believer
is to appreciate his time and not to spend his life in vain. Not even
a second in life should pass in unawareness. That is why our elderly
in the tariqa suggested that we uphold the principle hush der dem and be aware every breath we take.
The first ten days of Ramadhan has already gone. It passed so fast that we could not realize it. I would like to read a hadith of the Prophet from the hadith collection Ramuzul Ahadith of Ahmad
Ziyauddin Gumushkhanawi (Rahmatu’llahi aleyh, qaddasa’llahu
sirrahu’l-aziz. It is the tenth hadith from the ninth page. It is related to Ramadhan.
b. Specialties of Ramadhan
Ubade ibn-i Sâmit RA reported it. It is in the collections of Tabaranî and Ibn al-Najjar. The Prophet said:23
أَتَاكُمْ شَهْرُ رَمَضَانُ، شَهْرُ بَرَ كَة ، فِيهِ خَ يْرٌ يُغَشِّيكُمُ اللهُ ، فَيُنزِلُ
الرَّحْمَةِ، وَيَحُطُّ فِيهِ الْخَطَايَا، وَيَسْـتَجِـيبُ فِـيـهِ الدُّعَاءُ ، يَ نْظُرُ اللهُ
تَنَافُسِكُمْ، وَيُبَاهِي بِكُمْ مَ لاَئـِ كَــتـَهُ ، فَأَدُّوا اللهَ مِنْ أَنــْفُ ـسَكُمْ خَـيْرًا،
فَإِنَّ الشَّـقِيَّ، مَنْ حُرِمَ فِيهِ رَ حْمَةُ اللهِ عَزَّ وَجَ لَّ (طب. وابن النجار
23 Taberânî, Müsnedü’ş-Şâmiyyîn, c.III, s.271, no:2238; Ubâde ibn-i Sâmit RA’dan.
Kenzü’l-Ummâl, c.VIII, s.749, no:23691, Mecmaü’z-Zevâid, c.III, s.344, no:4783; Câmiü’l-Ehàdîs, c.I, s.158, no:255; Münzirî, et-Tergîb, c.II, s.60, no:1490.
عن عبادة بن الصامت)
RE. 9/10 (Etâkum shehru ramadàn) The month of Ramadhan
came to you (shehru bereketin), a month of abundance." There is abundance in everything. As we bear witness "Eshhedu en lâ ilâhe
illallah wa eshhedu enne muhammeden abduhû wa rasûluhû—
there is no deity but Allah and Muhammad is His servant and messenger," we bear witness that Ramadhan is the month of barakah (abundance). The tables will get the barakah; time gets barakah. There will be barakah in everything because almighty
Allah through His angels prepares this month for the believing
servants. Almighty Allah orders angel Jibrîl Alayhisselam to chain
the warriors of the army of Satan. The activities of Satan is limited
who would fool people, wrong them, confuse them, make them
angry, and have them fight with one another. His activities toward
believers are limited in Ramadhan.
When the percentages of certain gases increase in the atmosphere, we consider the air pollution increased. There would
be an alarm such as "The elderly should not go outside; they should
observe this and that." When the percentage of these gases is low or zero, then we call it clean air. We consider such places as the clean places with fresh air. People who have illnesses such as asthma would go to such places. Retired and old people try to move
to such places. [Compared to the other months, Ramadhan has such a spiritual atmosphere; it is a desirable month.]
In this high-spirituality month, Almighty Allah has the sources
of the evil tied up and the sources of good deeds increased. That is there are all kinds of blessings and barakah in this month. Satans
are chained; the heaven is decorated, and the gates of the heavens
are opened.
As you know, the gates of the heavens are not something we can see with our eyes. It is stated in the Surah Mulk:
Kapi Mosque, KONYA
وَلَقَدْ زَيَّنَّا السَّمَاءَ الدُّنْيَا بِمَصَابِيحَ (الملك:٥)
(Wa laqad zayyanna’s-samâ ed-dunya bi-mesâbîha) Almighty
Allah has decorated the lowest heaven with stars. We cannot see the heavens beyond that; in fact, we cannot even see the end of the lowest heaven. There are stars whose light comes to us in five million years. It is possible that the light of some stars hasn't
reached us. Another possibility is that the star is not there anymore
because we still see the light that left the star five million years ago.
We do not see what is there right now—the image we see belongs to a time that existed millions of years ago. There is a colossal curtain
of time around the lowest heaven. There are curtains of time and space around us. That is why we cannot comprehend or see the gates of the heavens.
The gates of the heavens are important because almighty Allah
granted his messenger the night journey and ascension (Miraj), that is something that has not been granted to any other human
being. He was the habibullah the beloved of Almighty Allah, so he was blessed with a very special treatment. He was taken to Jerusalem and lifted up to heavens to the Divine presence. It is stated in the hadith that when the Prophet and Archangel Jibril
arrived at the gate of the first heaven, the guarding angle stopped
them:
"Men ente—who are you?"
The archangel Jibril was stopped and questioned. Jibril
responded: "Ene Jibrîl—I am Jibrîl."
"Wa men ma'ake?—who is with you?"
"Muhammad—the chosen one, the messenger of Allah."
"Hel uzine lahu — is he given permission to pass here? He lives
on earth; does he have permission to pass here?"
"Ne'am—yes!"
Then the angel opened the gate and let them pass. Imagine a gate that the chief of angels, Jibrîl, is stopped and asked, and the Prophet, too, is questioned whether he has the permission to pass.
There are such gates that we could never see or sense with our sensory organs.
During the month of Ramadhan, the gates of the heavens are opened: No interrogation, no stopping. Outside of Ramadhan, the angels are stopped:
"Hold it! Where are you going?"
"We are going to the Divine Presence."
"What are you taking with you?"
"One of the servants offered some prayers, did some good deeds
and spent for the charitable causes. We are taking them with us." "Go back and slam them to the head of that person. He did all of these for showoff. I have been ordered by Almighty Allah that I shall not let any deeds that belong to those who do them for showoff
pass beyond this point."
Such deeds are not brought to the Divine Presence despite the fact that almighty Allah is all aware. He is aware, yet the deeds
are not taken to Him. There is a deprivation, some sort of a punishment for the servant in that sense.
In Ramadhan, the gates of the heavens are opened; the Paradise
is decorated, and the gates of the Hell are closed. Satans are chained. These are the spiritual changes that we infer from the ahadith of the Prophet. Without noticing these changes, we enter
the beautiful atmosphere of Ramadhan and enjoy worshipping and doing good deeds. That is how people fill the mosques in Ramadhan.
Do you see this many people in congregation for the Isha Prayer
in Kapi Mosque in this town out of Ramadhan? I am a guest here,
so I would not know the details, but you would. How many rows
would you see other times and in Ramadhan? You can compare.
Are the brothers who fast in Ramadhan eager about worship
outside of Ramadhan? As a matter of fact, no they are not. Would
they perform prayers this long other times? No, they would not. It is obvious that people change in Ramadhan; they become practicing
Muslims in Ramadhan. Their disposition changes for better: They
do not get angry or nervous; they become more generous and they tend to do good deeds for people. It is very obvious that Ramadhan
has a very special atmosphere.
c. A Month of Blessing and Abundance
(Shahru barakatin) "A blessed month." As you know both Arabic and Farisi have the word shahr. In Arabic it means "month."
Shahru Ramadhan is the month of Ramadhan; Shahru Rajab is the month of Rajab. The plural form of shahr is shuhûr or ash-hur.
Ash-huru hurum means haram moths—sacred months. Shuhûru
thelâthe means the three months: Rajab, Sha'ban and Ramadhan.
In Persian, shahr means a locality, a town that is inhabited by people. Shahr-i Istanbul, Shahr-i Burûsa, and Shahr-i Tahran are examples.
(Shahru barakatin) Ramadhan is a blessed month, a month of barakah (fîhi khayrun) "there is goodness in it." There is so much
goodness in this month that we all observe. In addition, there is the Night of Power in Ramadhan which is better than a thousand
months. The Night of power is hidden in Ramadhan by Almighty
Allah. Almighty Allah did not specify it definitely where it falls in.
According to the Qur'an the Night of Power is better than one thousand months:
لَيْلَةُ الْقَدْرِ خَيْرٌ مِنْ أَلْفِ شَهْر (القدر:٣)
(Laylatu’l-qadri khayrun min elfi shahrin) [The Night of Power is better than a thousend months.]
The companions asked the Prophet: "O prophet of Allah! Is this night of Power happens only once in the history of the world during
your lifetime? Does it happen every year?"
The Prophet responded: "Every year."
Every year, in Ramadhan, there is a night that is better then
one thousand months." It is hidden in Ramadhan, yet the prophet
gave a hint: "Look for the Night of Power during the last ten days
of Ramadhan."
There is the Night of Power that is hidden in the last ten days
of Ramadhan. If a person does worship on that night, he will earn
the rewards as though he spent one thousand months in worship
which ads up to 83.3 years. It is a very precious night. What shall
we do then?
Our beloved prophet used to stay in the mosque (i'tikaf) for the last ten days of Ramadhan so that he would not miss the Night of Power.
I'tikaf is a strong Sunnah of the Prophet. If nobody does i'tikaf
in a locality, the whole population in that locality will be held responsible for missing that Sunnah. On the day of Judgment, the whole population would be asked why they missed a strong Sunnah.
That is why those of you who can do it should decide and inform the authorities about doing i'tikaf for the last ten days or Ramadhan.
The house of the Prophet was not far away from the mosque; it was attached to the mosque. When he opened his house door, he would step in the mosque. Despite that proximity, he would stay in the mosque for the last ten days of Ramadhan and spend his time—
day and night— in worship.
The Prophet used to increase his worship when the three
months—Rajab, Shaban and Ramadhan—started. He was already
constantly in worship. Still he would increase his zeal in Rajab. He would increase it even more in Sha'ban. In Ramadhan, he would
take it even further. In the last third of Ramadhan, he would stay in the mosque and not go to his house. The companions of the Prophet did the same thing.
Once something interesting, somehow funny, happened. The prophet entered the mosque and saw many tents in the mosque.
These were the tents of the wives of the prophet. They are our mothers. As the Qur'an indicated,
وَأَزْوَاجُهُ أُمَّهَاتُهُمْ (الأحزاب:٦)
(Wa ezwâjuhû ummehâtuhum) The wives of the Prophet are your mothers." We call them mothers: Our Mother Hadrat Aisha,
our Mother Hadrat Khadijah. They are all our mothers.
They put up tents in the mosque. The Prophet said: "Do they think that they are doing something good?" The Prophet did not practice i'tikaf that Ramadhan because there were women in the mosque doing i'tikaf, too. He did not ask them to leave either. They
completed their i'tikaf. The Prophet did his i'tikaf after Ramadhan.
Women practice i'tikaf in their house. In a proper room in the house, a woman can practice i'tikaf. Men practice i'tikaf in the mosque. Women are more sensitive and need protection. They have
to make wudu, lie down, and sleep. A mosque is not a proper place
for women to do these things; her house would be better. Men stay in the mosque. The Prophet and his companions practiced i'tikaf in the mosque. You should practice it, too. You should taste the honor,
the love, and the worship in the last ten days of Ramadan.
Once a sister among our ikhwan asked us: "Could I do i'tikaf at home?" May Allah be pleased with her—she completed the ten days
then she told our brother khawaja: "I enjoyed it very much and benefited in a great deal from the worship." Naturally, during the i'tikaf, a person would turn to Allah and be with Him. In a Hadith
Qudsî, Allah said:24
أَنَا جَلِيسُ مَنْ ذَكَرَنِي .
(Ene jelîsu men dhekerenî) "I am with those who remember me."
That is why the i'tikaf is so excellent. A person could spend all of his time reading Qur'an, doing dhikr, and offering prayers. It is an opportunity to earn great rewards.
24 Beyhakî, Şuabü’l-İman, c.I s.451, no:680; Ka’bü’l-Ahbar’dan.
We have reminded you about the i'tikaf right in time because
the first ten days of Ramadhan is already gone; we are in the second
ten days of Ramadhan. The i'tikaf is in the last ten days of Ramadhan. Those who have the time should experience it. You can look it up in the ilmihal (catechism) books and figure out about the details of it. Do it this year and realize how sweet it is. A poet says in a hymn:
Shekerlerde bulamadım,
Zikrullahin tadini!..
I could not find in sweets
The taste of dhikrullah!
These are simple words, yet they are beautiful. You experience
and taste it. Once a great Sufi said: "If the kings, the commanders
and the warriors knew the spiritual pleasures and tastes of İ'tikaf, Mosque Nabavi, MADİNAH
dhikrullah, they would send armies on us to get those pleasures
from us." They would attack them just as they attack people to conquer a city or a country.
One who has not tasted that pleasure would not know it, and it is difficult to describe it with words. Amy Almighty Allah grant you the pleasure, taste and excitement of the i'tikaf.
It is stated that;
شَهْرُ رَمَضَانُ ، شَهْرُ بَرَكَة ،
(Shahru ramadhan, shahru barakatin) Ramadhan is the month
of barakah in all sense. The rewards are given in multitude. The worship is rewarded more in Ramadhan. In Ramadhan, a good
deed is rewarded seventy times more than it is rewarded in other
times.
d. Paying Zakah in Ramadhan
There are some smart and knowledgeable Muslims who take advantage of such more rewarding times. They could pay their
Zakah at any time during the year, but they prefer paying it in Ramadhan to get the rewards in seventy folds.
The person has the intention of paying the Zakah anyway. He has calculated the amount and ready to pay it. That amount
belongs to the needy. He has to separate that amount and give it to whom it belongs. Almighty Allah has ordered to pay one fortieth of it to the needy. The rate for different types of wealth and goods can be found in books. He has to pay that amount and return it to the rightful owner. He will earn rewards for doing so.
وَالَّذِينَ فِي أَمْوَالِهِمْ حَقٌّ مَعْلُومٌ . ِللسَّائِلِ وَالْمَحْرُومِ
(المعارج:٤٢-٥٢)
(Wa’lledhîne fî emwâlihim haqqun ma'lûm. Li’s-sâili wa’l- mahrûm) "And those within whose wealth is a known right for the petitioner and the deprived" (Qur'an 70:24-25).
A Muslim knows that the needy have a right on his wealth. Look
how beautiful Islam is. A Muslim believes that something that belongs to the poor is mixed with his wealth. He himself worked,
sweated, accumulated the goods, yet Almighty Allah says: "The
needy have a right in what you have accumulated."
The believer happily separates the part that belongs to the poor and gives it away. The Zakah for the farm crops is one tenth which
is called oshur—ashara means ten; oshur, one-tenth. If the filed is irrigated, the amount is different; it changes from one-tenth to one- twentieth. It is one-fortieth for money; i.e., 2.5 percent. It is different for camels: one in five. The list is long and can be found
in books.
There is also a list indicating who may receive the Zakah
payment: "The poor, those who are in debt, travelers who have no Prof. Dr. M. Es'ad COŞAN, KONYA
means to rich their destination, ..." The Zakah is to be paid according to those lists, yet when it is paid in Ramadhan, its reward
is multiplied by seventy. Any spending for a charitable cause in Ramadhan weighs seventy times that of spending outside of Ramadhan. Isn't this month full of barakah?" When one does 100 dhikr in Ramadhan, he will be rewarded 70 times more that he would outside the Ramadhan. There is abundance in worship, in sustenance and in rewards as well as in time.
There is a very blessed night hidden in Ramadhan. Almighty
Allah kept it hidden, for the servants to search for it. Another
reason is that if it were not hidden, a person might be relaxed
thinking: "I prayed in the night of power, so I do not need to do anything else. I am through."
Once Hasan-i Basri (Hasan of Basra) got out of his house in a Night of Baraah. His face looked extremely pale; he looked sick and sad. Those who saw him inquired: "O brother, what happened? Are you sick? Do you have pain? Do you have headache? Have you vomited?"
He responded: "Tonight is the Night of Baraah. This is the night
that the deeds are submitted to angels. I am aware of my offenses.
I committed them when I was young, when I was grown up, during
the day and during the night; I am sure about my sins. I have
repented for them and asked for forgiveness, yet I have received no indication that they have been forgiven. I do not know if they are forgiven. I definitely committed sins, yet I am not sure if they have
been forgiven."
It is possible that Almighty Allah may not accept a person's
repentance for various reasons. One has to know about them. That
is the true Islam. One has to learn under what conditions Almighty
Allah guides a person to the right path and what conditions keep a person away from the guidance. That is the most important matter
of this life. One has to know how he can earn the forgiveness of Allah and what prevents the forgiveness. If a person does not know
these, he would be living in vain. We need to learn about these.
As Hasan-i Basrî said, we know about our sins—for sure we have committed them. We do not know if they have been forgiven.
We have done some worship, too, yet we do not know if they are accepted. What if none of the daily prayers we have offered so far is accepted? Imagine that the prayers we have offered so many
years were not accepted. What is going to become of us? Suppose a seventy-year old person were told in his dream that Almighty Allah
did not accept any of his prayers. Can you imagine how he would
feel?
Hasan-i Basrî said: "I know about my sins, but I am not sure if they have been erased. I have offered prayers, yet I do not know if they have been accepted. Is there anybody who is in a worst state
than I am?" These thoughts made him extremely pale and worried.
He was one of the most blessed people who met the companions of the Prophet. They were the intelligent servants of Allah; they have
striven hard to save themselves from the hell fire and to deserve
Paradise. They were not inattentive like us. Judge yourself on how you spend the first ten days of this Ramadhan.
e. Allah’s Mercy Showers in Ramadhan
Now I am going to read this hadith the last sentence of which
gives me goose bumps. For sure it is blessed month, and there is goodness in it:
يُغَشِّيكُمُ اللهُ، فَيُنْزِلُ الرَّحْمَةِ، وَيَحُطُّ فِيهِ الخَطَايَا، وَ يَسْـتَجِـيبُ
فِـيـهِ الدُّعَ اءُ،
(Yughash-shikumu’llah) Almighty Allah encompasses you with goodness. There is goodness in it; Allah showers this goodness on you. Allah covers you with goodness. The earth and the Muslims
are covered with goodness. Then (fayanzilu’r-rahmeti) the mercy of
Allah descends. The mercy of Allah comes down on homes, hearts,
countries, towns, and mosques.
(Wa yahuttu fîhi’l-khatâyâ) Almighty Allah forgives the wrongdoings in this month. He forgives the sins at time of iftar in the evening. He forgives the sins at the time of suhur. He forgives
everybody who turns to Him. Many people receive the forgiveness
in this month. May Almighty Allah place among those who receive
forgiveness in this month.
(Wa yestejîbu fihi’d-duâ) "Almighty Allah answers the prayers
in this month." I do not know what you ask from Almighty Allah.
You raise your hands in prayer and ask for something. We ought
to know what we should ask from Almighty Allah.
We often go for Hajj in a group. Some of the pilgrims come to me and ask in despair: "Khawaja, I heard that the prayer a person
makes when he sees the Ka'abah for the first time is accepted. How
shall I pray? What shall I say?"
Why didn't you think of it earlier? Why didn't you search for the best of the supplications? How come we are not interested in such
things? We do not miss anything in newspapers, in sports and other
things. We remember how Fenerbahçe soccer team beat Galatasaray 3 to nothing and who made the goals. We remember
which team is eliminated from the league. I consider one sports
page in a newspaper excessive, yet they kept increasing it to 4 to 5 pages. Is the sports on the top of this nation's agenda? Isn't there
any urgent problem besides sports? Aren't there any crucial
matters for Muslims? There are many matters concerning a believer: life and death, heaven and hell, to be forgiven or not, and many other matters. We keep ourselves busy with insignificant
matters.
That is why Shaikh Sâdi said in remorse:
عمرگران بها در اين صرف شد تا
چه خورم صيف و چه پوشم شتا
Omru giran bahâ der in sarf shod tâ. Che khorem sayf u che pûshem shitâ!
Perhaps he himself is not like that, yet he says it for us to take heed:
This precious life has been spent over
What to eat in summer, wear in winter.
In summer the weather is warm, so people do not worry about
clothing; instead, they worry about what to eat. Yet in winter, as the cold weather presses hard, people look for warm clothes. They
also need coal and wood to warm up the house. That is why the mountains have been deforested. That is why we have barren
mountains.
By the way, I feel embarrassed to look at the mountains that have no trees. My heart is torn into pieces when I look at the mountains: there are giant tree roots on these mountains.
We had an engineer from the town of Bor, Nigde. He was the general director of the Highway Department some time ago. You must know Hasan Dagi— you cannot miss this giant mountain if you travel towards Nigde. The mountain and the valley have hardly
any trees. According to this brother from Bor, Hasan Dagi has roots
of giant trees. The trees became firewood and were never replanted.
Men chopped the trees and never planted new ones. They should
have been replanted.
Let me tell you a story about planting trees. Once a ruler and his vizier disguised themselves as villagers and traveled in the country. They were followed from a distance by his men who were
also disguised. On their way, they run into an old man who had a white beard and a hump. He was digging the ground to plant a tree.
The ruler wanted to joke with the old man:
"Selamun alaikum Uncle!"
"Va alaikum selam Son."
"Why are you planting this tree? Do you think you will live long enough to see its fruit? Why do you bother?"
Well, he was the ruler of the country; he would feel free to make
such statements. The old man responded:
"Son, those who lived before us planted the trees, and we eat the fruits. We should plant the trees so that those who come to this life after us could eat the fruits."
The ruler was pleased wit the response. He told his vizier: "Give
him a purse of money."
The vizier got a purse of money—whatever the amount in it consisting of dinars, dirhams or gold coins—with a red wax seal on it. The vizier handed the money to the ruler. The ruler gave it to the old man:
"Sir, here is a purse of money. I liked your response."
Prof. Dr. M. Es'ad COŞAN
The old man received the money and looked at it. He became
rich all of a sudden. He looked at the ruler and realized that he had to be an important person. He smiled and said:
"Look Son! You said that I could not have the fruit of this tree,
yet I have harvested the fruit." He lifted the purse of money and showed to the ruler: "Here, this is the fruit of my tree."
The ruler enjoyed that response, too. He signaled his vizier to hand him another purse of money. The old man was very happy.
He had a purse in each hand. He turned to the ruler:
"Son, you said I could not have the fruit of my tree, yet I got two harvests right now."
The ruler was pleased with this response, too. He turned to his vizier and said: "Give him the third purse. Yet we'd better leave; if not, this man will get all we have." They handed in a purse to the old man and left.
This is a pleasant story on the light side. The essence of the matter is that if we chop a tree, we should plant three trees. I tell my friends: "Go and purchase these mountains which have no trees
on them. Almighty Allah gave you a car; get in and go to these
mountains."
"Khawaja, there is no water!"
"Well, if there is no water, put plastic containers in the trunk of the car, and close them tightly. Go, plant the trees, water them and make these naked mountains green."
"Why?"
"It is because a tree is a sadaqa-i jâriya, i.e., continuous charity.
A tree could earn a person rewards."
If a person rests in the shade of a tree, the person who planted
that tree will get rewards. If a bird lands on a branch of the tree,
the person who planted the tree will get rewards. Suppose it is a mulberry tree and a bird pecks on the fruit. If a child eats the fruit,
the person who planted it will get rewards. If people benefit from
the trimmed parts as firewood, it will earn rewards. We call this
sadaqa-i jâriya. What does sadaqa-i jâriya mean? The word "jâriya" here does not mean a "slave woman" or the "women in harem." It means
"current, continuous." Sadaqa-i jâriya means something that has the continuous rewards, a charity which continues earning rewards
for the person. We ought to do these kinds of good works.
f. Beloved Servants of Allah
Let us come back to the hadith: Almighty Allah forgives sins and accepts prayers in this month. How did we bring this topic to the discussion? We waste our precious time with useless things such
as football and alike, and we do not think about what is necessary
for us. We ought to know how to make dua and learn what is useful
in this life and in the hereafter. If we do not know it, we need to occupy our minds with these matters and seek knowledge. Once we learn these, we could harvest its fruits.
"Khawaja, what deeds take me to Paradise?"
I am not sure if there is anybody who has asked this question to our imam/khawaja brothers: "I want to go to Paradise; what should
I do for that?" We should ask: "What do I do to save myself from
hellfire? Whom does Allah love?"
It is stated in the Qur'an:
وَاللهُ يُحِبُّ الْمُحْسِنِينَ (اۤل عمران:٨٤١)
(Wallàhu yuhibbul muhsinîn) "Allah loves those servants who are muhsin."
إِن اللهَ يُحِبُّ الْمُتَّقِينَ (التوبة:٤)
(Innallàhe yuhibbu’l-muttaqîn) “Allah loves the muttaqî
servants.” We also know that Almighty Allah loves those who are patient, who spends on charitable causes, who are clean. Make a
list of those and try to be a beloved servant of Allah. Isn't this the most important responsibility on each of us? Isn't it the most
important duty to earn the love of Allah? People get old, the life is consumed up, yet people leave this life without learning this fact.
In fact this is the essence of the life, the most important business in this month.
Which dua is more acceptable? What kind of dua should be made? How should we conduct the dua? We ought to worry about
it, inquire and learn:25
حُسْنُ السُّئَالِ نِصْفُ الْعِلْمِ (الأزدى فى الضعفاء،
وابن السنى عن ابن عمر)
(Husnu’s-suâl nisfu’l-'ilm) "Asking good questions is a sign of scholarship and a requirement for acquiring knowledge." Our minds should be concerned with good and important matters, and we should seek answers to the questions that come to our minds.
Unfortunately most people have no concern.
Once I went to a mosque in Istanbul and offered our prayers
there. It was a beautiful mosque, excellent architecture. I believe
it is one of the works of Mimar Sinan. The name of the mosque was Zal Mahmud Pasha Mosque. After the Isha prayer, I asked the imam: "Khawaja, do you know what the word 'zal' in the name of this mosque means? Who is Zal Mahmud Pasha?"
The imam responded: "The person who had this mosque built
25 Taberânî, Mu’cemü’l-Evsat, c.VII, s.25, no:6744; Beyhakî, Şuabü’l-İman, c.V, s.254, no:6568; Kudàî, Müsnedü’ş-Şihâb, c.I, s.55, no:33; İbn-i Asâkir, Mu’cem, c.I, s.453, no:936; Deylemî, Müsnedü’l-Firdevs, c.II, s.141, no:2716; Heysemî,
Mecmaü’z-Zevâid, c.I, s.395, no:727; İbn-i Asâkir, Târih-i Dimaşk, c.LXI, s.360; Mizzî, Tehzîbü’l-Kemâl, c.XXIX, s.220; İbn-i Hacer, Lisânü’l-Mîzân, c.VI, s.11, no:35; Abdullah ibn-i Ömer RA’dan.
Kenzü’l-Ummâl, c.X, s.238, no:29262; Keşfü’l-Hafâ, c.I, s.359, no:1142;
Câmiü’l-Ehàdîs, c.XII, s.122, no:11589.
was extremely 'zâlim' (oppressor). That is why he was nicknamed
as Zal Mahmud Pasha."
I objected: "If he were a zâlim, an oppressor, he would not have
a mosque built. He had to be a very religious and god-fearing person
to have such a nice mosque built."
I decided to do a research on this matter. I looked up the encyclopedias and found the information. It was not like how the imam described at all. Zal means very old, aged. That means this Mahmud Pasha was a very old blessed person with a white beard.
To differentiate him from another Mahmud Pasha, they called him Zal Mahmud Pasha, i.e., Old Mahmud Pasha. He had a very beautiful mosque built. May Allah make his abode in Paradise in the hereafter. May Allah be pleased with him. May Allah be pleased with those who had this mosque built, too. May He give us the opportunities to have mosques built and shower his mercy on us. I sent a person to the imam of Zal Mahmud Pasha Mosque and asked him to tell the imam that Zal Mahmut Pasha was not an oppressor; he was an old and blessed person.
Zal Mahmud Pasha Mosque, ISTANBUL
This was an example to how we are negligent about seeking the information. We ought to have some curiosity. That is a prerequisite for acquiring knowledge. Curious people will learn a lot. One who lacks curiosity will not learn anything significant.
That is why you ought to learn what supplication is good. Don't
you ever wonder how the Prophet made dua and what he asked from
Almighty Allah? Isn't it something we should be curious about? Are there any verses of dua or supplication in the Qur'an? What are they? Can we find them in a book all together? We ought to seek knowledge on these matters. We need to aspire to be like the Prophet and say what he said in his prayers. We need to author
such books and make it available to the congregation and community.
In this blessed Friday evening, we are talking about our problems. Preaching in the Mosque and explaining various Islamic
matters are rewarding, yet listening to the talk and just being in the mosque are rewarding, too. A person would earn rewards by being in the mosque as though he had been in the prayer all that time. It is possible that a person could make mistakes in the prayer;
on the other hand, you did not make any mistakes by sitting and listening here, so you earned complete rewards. Studying and learning something of a chapter of an Islamic matter is better than
this world and everything in it.
We need to learn Arabic. Without it, we would not understand
the meaning of a verse. For instance, in a wedding ceremony, we would hear a verse about death being recited. In a marriage
ceremony, we hear a verse about divorce. The person who recites
the verse would not know its meaning; hence, he recites it at the inappropriate time or place.
The prayers and supplications made in this month are accepted.
I will pose some questions, so you start wondering and searching.
Since Allah accepts the prayers in this month, what kinds of prayers
should we offer in this month? You can figure this out by
yourselves. A sincere supplication is preferred over some cliché.
You see a person raising hands in prayer yet inspecting the mihrab, the ceiling, the decorations and alike. It is called "lâhiyen"; when the heart is occupied with some other things, a person will be unaware of his words in his supplication. Almighty Allah does not like such supplication. He likes the sincere supplications that come
from the bottom of the heart. That is how we should offer our prayers and supplications.
In addition to what we should ask from Almighty Allah, we should know when to ask. There are preferred times for the supplications. We need to inquire about them. The blacksmith
pounds the iron to shape it at the proper temperature of the iron.
Likewise, we should search for the proper time for supplication.
That is important.
Then, "I person must pray for his parents" said the Prophet. For whom shall we pray? "When one prays for his friend, for his Muslim
brother in his absence, the prayer is answered speedily." There is so much to learn about the prayers and supplications. We need to be curious about the topic, ask questions and find answers. We should do this in this Ramadhan.
يَنْظُرُ اللهُ تَنَافُسَكُمْ، وَيُبَ اهِي بِكُمْ مَلاَئـِكَــتـَهُ،
(Yenzuru’llàhi tenâfüsekim) "In this month, Almighty Allah
looks at your eagerness as if you were in a competition." You go to the mosques, recite the Qur'an or attend the recitation. You spend
on the charities, invite people for iftar, and do other good deeds.
Almighty Allah looks at your eagerness, and one look suffices for a person [in this life and in the hereafter]. On the contrary, if a person is subjected to the statement (wa lâ yenzuru ileyhim) "Allah
does not look at him," he would be in deep trouble. That means
Allah does not favor that person.
Almighty Allah looks at the eagerness of the believers in
worship, (wa yubâhî bikum melâiketehû) and tells His angels that He is proud of them: "Look at My servants! They are so eager to worship Me. They fast, recite Qur'an, and offer prayers—20 units,
33 units. They spend on charity. They open their houses to all — poor or rich — offering them meals. They give away money or goods
to the needy; they take food and supplies to the poor families and make them happy."
فَأَدُّوا اللهَ مِنْ أَنــْفُـسَكُمْ خَ ـيْرًا،
(Feeddu’llàhe min enfusikum khayran) "Then, you pay your servitude to Allah in this month. Hurry in doing the good deeds
with zeal." This is the advice of the Prophet for us.
g. Who is a Shaqî?
Here is the most important sentence of the hadith:
فَإِن الشَّـقِيَّ، مَنْ حُرِمَ فِيهِ رَحْمَةُ اللهِ عَزَّ وَجَل .
(Feinne’sh-shaqiyye) "Verily the shaqî is the one (men hurime
fîhî rahmetallàhi azze wa jelle) who is deprived of the Mercy of Allah
in this month." Shaqî means brigand, robber, rebel, outlaw,
miserable, wretched, evil-doer, or sinner; shaqî is the one who is headed to hellfire if he does not repent. How sad it is! A person
who is deprived of the Mercy of Allah in this month, who does not receive the blessings of Allah in this month, is truly unfortunate.
These are the words of the Prophet.
Dear Brothers and Sisters!
Mere speech has no significance unless it is backed up by action.
Man should take a lesson from the words and do what he must
accordingly. Now, the first one third of this month of Ramadhan
has gone. Examine yourselves to see if there is any change on
yourselves. Are there any signs that you have become a good
Muslim? Check your manners, worship, thoughts, hearts, and minds to see if there is any improvement. One-third is gone, and the rest will go as fast as the wind. You remember the imams
stating in their sermons: "As we said it was Rajab, Sha'ban, then
Ramadhan has already gone. Today is the Eid day." The Eid will arrive soon and the blessed season will end. That is why the Prophet said: "Do the good deeds that Almighty
Allah is pleased with and pay your servitude to Allah as you are expected in the best way." Do not be unaware!
Dear Brothers and Sisters!
There is a wisdom in every worship and in every order of Allah.
Every rule of Islam has a wisdom. Each one is proper and has a reason and a benefit for mankind. There are many benefits of fasting for the body, for the mind, for the stomach and for the spirit.
It earns rewards. Ramadhan has great benefits for us. You should know it well that Ramadhan is the month of Kapi Mosque, KONYA
spiritual training from Allah for you to be good servants. You attend a month-long course to become better servants. It is similar
to vocational training courses. Each person is given a certificate at the end of such a course perhaps along with a pay raise or a higher
position. You should be aware that the month of Ramadhan is an improvement course for us to be good Muslims. There is this wisdom in it. That is why Almighty Allah chains the devils in this month and opens the doors of heavens. That is why Almighty Allah
accepts the prayers and supplications in this month. You should
ask for forgiveness and try to do the good deeds. This is the proper
time and good opportunity, and the conditions are excellent. Try to complete this course with great success!
Here is something that is scary; it is a hadith. On a Friday, to deliver the sermon, the Prophet stepped on the pulpit and said:
"Amen." He took another step and said, "Amen." He took yet another step and repeated: "Amen." Everybody was curious: "Why
did the Prophet said 'Amen' three times?"
After the sermon, at a proper time, the companions asked the Prophet: "O Prophet of Allah! As you stepped on the pulpit you did something that you had never done before. At every step you said 'Amen.' What was it for?"
The Prophet responded: "The Angel Jibrîl came to me and said:
'Shame on the person who saw his parents and could not earn
Paradise. Let him be humiliated.' I said 'Amen' to that." That
means we have to respect our parents, threat them well, deserve
their prayers, earn their consent, thus earn paradise. How easy and how important it is!
The Prophet continued: "Jibril added: 'Shame on the person who does not improve himself or become a good servant of Allah as the month of Ramadhan comes and leaves. Let him be humiliated.' I said 'Amen' to that." This statement concerns us because we are in the month of Ramadhan. There are two dangers at the end of Ramadhan:
1. Our worship may not be accepted in Ramadhan; then we would miss the entire month.
2. We may be subjected to the malediction of Jibrîl AS. We may be humiliated afterwards.
If a person does not improve himself in Ramadhan, he would be humiliated and punished. We ought to be familiar with how serious
this matter is. The third one: "Jibril also said: 'Shame on the person who does say salât and selâm to the Prophet (i.e., Allàhumme salli alâ seyyidinâ Muhammedin wa alâ âli seyyidinâ muhammed) when the name of the Prophet is mentioned. Let him be humiliated.' I said 'Amen' to that, too."
h. Love of the Prophet
What we learn from this hadith is that we have to love the Prophet. You should memorize the poem that was chanted by the muezzin after the twelfth rek'a and love the Prophet. We all should
be in love with the Prophet. We all should learn how to love the Prophet.
Love is part of the education. One learns how to love. You should raise your children with the love of the Prophet. Each child
should love the Prophet from the bottom of his heart. You must do the same, too. You must listen to his words and follow his Sunnah.
Without the love for the Prophet, one cannot be a true Muslim.
"What kinds of feelings do you have in your heart towards the Prophet of Allah? " "Nothing."
"I am sorry to say that you failed."
Here is what the Prophet said:26
26 Buhàrî, Sahîh, c.I, s.14, İman 2/7, no:15; Müslim, Sahîh, c.I, s.67, İman
1/16, no:44; Neseî, Sünen, c.VIII, s.114, no:5013; İbn-i Mâce, Sünen, c.I, s.26, no:67;
Ahmed ibn-i Hanbel, Müsned, c.III s.177, no:12837; Dârimî, Sünen, c.II, s.397, no:2741; İbn-i Hibbân, Sahîh, c.I, s.405, no:179; Ebû Ya’lâ, Müsned, c.VI, s.23, no:3258; Beyhakî, Şuabü’l-İman, c.II, s.129, no:1374; Abd ibn-i Humeyd, Müsned,
وَالَّذِي نَفْسِي بِيَدِهِ، لاَ يُؤْمِنُ أَحَدُكُمْ حَتَّى أَكُونَ أَحَبَّ إِلَيْهِ
مِنْ وَالِدِه،ِ وَوَلَدِهِ، وَالنَّاسِ أَجْمَعِينَ (حم . خ . م . ن. ه.
و عبد بن حميد، والدارمي، حب. عن أنس؛ حم. خ. ن. عن أبي هريرة)
c.I, s.355, no:1175; Neseî, Sünenü’l-Kübrâ, c.VI, s.534, no:11745; Begavî, Şerhü’s- Sünneh, c.I, s.23; Enes RA’dan.
Buhàrî, Sahîh, c.I, s.14, İman 2/7, no:14; Neseî, Sünen, c.VIII, s.115, no:5015; Neseî, Sünenü’l-Kübrâ, c.VI, s.534, no:11746; Beyhakî, Şuabü’l-İman, c.II, s.132, no:1383; Ebû Hüreyre RA’dan.
Kenzü’l-Ummâl, c.I, s.29, no:70, 71; Keşfü’l-Hafâ, c.II, s.344, no:2955; Câmiü’l- Ehàdîs, c.XVI, s.490, no:17360; c.XXII, s.395, no:25156.
Mosque Nabavî, MADİNAH
(We’lledhî nafsî bi-yedihî) "By Allah who has my soul in His hand, (lâ yu'minu ahadikum) one of you could not be a true believer
(hattâ ekûnu ahabbe ileyhi min wâlidihî, wa waladihî, wa’n-nâsi ajma'în) unless I am dearer to him than his father, his son, and everybody else."
Each of us must love the Prophet more than we love our fathers.
We all must love the Prophet more than we love our children. We must love the Prophet more than we love the person who is dearest
to us in our lives. We must love the Prophet more than we love our spouses or fiancées. Without that love, a person would not be a true believer.
Then we should try to acquire the love of the Prophet. That is the key for the true belief. If a person does not know the Prophet,
does not understand his message, disregards the recommendations
of the Prophet, does not follow the Sunnah of the Prophet, does not have the mercy for the Ummah of the Prophet, or does not have the desire to be useful to the Ummah of the Prophet, then he would be living in vain. He will not make progress. It is likely that he would
deviate from the straight path and fall into the abyss. We all have
to love the Prophet.
May Allah take us out of the numbness and give us desire and stamina to follow the path of the Prophet. We are so used to not doing so much good works and negligence. We have a tendency to maintain our condition which is less than the desirable. Where are we headed? We are drafted to the end of our lives in this world. We see everyday that somebody is sent to hereafter with the funeral
prayer at the mosques. Someday it will be our turn. You never
know when it will be your turn. We have to wake up and be prepared for the hereafter.
For that we have to shake ourselves first. We have to abandon
our habits and stagnancy. Examine yourselves and see what you have, what you do, what you eat, what you wear, and what you talk.
Question your lifestyle to see if it is pleasing to Allah.
Getting used to, habits and addictions are grave calamities on
us. They lead to stagnancy, laziness and negligence. They lead to unpreparedness for the hereafter and sorrow in the hereafter. We have to clear ourselves from the habits and addictions. We have to pull ourselves together and question ourselves: "At this age of my life, what should I do to be a good Muslim from now on? I had never
thought of these things until I came to this mosque today. The khawaja is right. I must start thinking about these issues."
When a person starts thinking, he starts earning rewards
because in Islam there is the principle:27
لاَ عِبَادَةَ كَ التَّ فَكُّرِ (أبو بكر بن كامل، وابن النجار عن الحارث عن على)
(Lâ ibâdete ke’t-tefekkur) "There is no worship as valuable as tefekkur, i.e., thinking, pondering." As a person ponders about
issues, he would find the truth. Whatever he desires, Almighty
Allah grants him eventually. He will attain his desires. One who searches finds his Lord. One who searches for trouble will find it, too. When somebody comes and bugs us we say, "Man, are you looking for trouble? Get out of my way!" One who looks for trouble
finds it; one who looks for his Lord finds Him, too.
وَاللهُ يَدْعُو إِلَى دَارِ السَّلاَمِ (يونس:٥٢)
(Wa’llàhu yed'û ilâ dâris selâm) "Almighty Allah is inviting you
27 Taberânî, Mu’cemü’l-Kebîr, c.III, s.68, no:2688; Beyhakî, Şuabü’l-İman, c.IV, s.157, no:4647; Kudàî, Müsnedü’ş-Şihâb, c.II, s.38, no:836; Ebû Nuaym, Hilyetü’l-Evliyâ, c.II, s.36; Deylemî, Müsnedü’l-Firdevs, c.V, s.179, no:7889; Mizzî, Tezhîbü’l-Kemâl, c.VI, s.239; İbn-i Asâkir, Târih-i Dimaşk, c.XIII, s.256; Hz. Ali RA’dan.
İbn-i Ebi’d-Dünyâ, Vera’, c.I, s.122, no:216; Hz. Hasan RA’dan.
Kenzü’l-Ummâl, c.XVI, s.163, no:44135; Keşfü’l-Hafâ, c.II, s.2039, no:3038; Câmiü’l-Ehàdîs, c.XVI, s.446, no:17233, 17253.
to His paradise." Hafiz recited the verse; I am giving you its meaning. Almighty Allah is inviting all of you to His paradise. Go ahead! Search for what you need to enter His paradise and try doing it. Take advantage of Ramadhan and complete the course
successfully. Try to be a successful Muslim before the Eid. Our habits and addictions are our worst enemy; so is our nafs:28
أَعْدٰى عَدُوُّكَ نَ فْسُكَ الَّتِي بَيْنَ جَنْبَيْكَ .
(A'dâ aduwwuke nafsuke’lletî beyne jenbeyke) "Your worst
enemy is your nafs (yourself, your ego) [between your two sides]."
Your ego is preventing you from becoming a good Muslim. Your
nafs is holding you back. You must overcome that first. You cannot
do your prayers before you overcome your nafs. You could not fast unless you overcome your nafs. If you do not overcome your nafs,
you will not be able to do worship. If you do not overcome your nafs,
you cannot stay away from sins. Your worst enemy is within
yourself. Almighty Allah chains Satan in Ramadhan, yet you have
your nafs. You must overcome your nafs.
Ramadhan is the month of learning taqwa and overcoming nafs.
How does Allah have you overcome your nafs? He makes you fast—
no food or drink. That is how you learn how to overcome your nafs.
When a person fasts, his nafs gets weaker. While fasting, the nafs remains calm. When the person eats, his nafs gets stronger.
Imagine a strong and big person like a wrestler sitting at the table
and eating a whole lamb. Can you control this man afterwards? He has to do something afterwards.
You must have watched the shadow puppet show Karagoz. The
28 Beyhakî, Zühdü’l-Kebîr, c.I, s.359, no:355; Abdullah ibn-i Abbas RA’dan.
Deylemî, Müsnedü’l-Firdevs, c.III, s.408, no:5248; Harâitî, İ’tilâlü’l-Kulûb, c.I, s.35, no:32; Ebû Mâlik el-Eş’arî RA’dan.
Kenzü’l-Ummâl, c.IV, s.431, no:11263; Keşfü’l-Hafâ, c.I, s.143, no:412, 2144; Câmiü’l-Ehàdîs, c.XVIII, s.270, no:19379.
main character Karagoz comes to the scene and screams: "Yar bana
bir eglence—I need some entertainment!" Why does he do that?
When a person's stomach is full, he asks for company,
entertainment, music, fun and pleasure. When he is hungry, he would worry about his stomach, his life and his future.
Staying hungry, a person learns how to overcome his nafs. The desires of nafs are kept under control. You overcome your nafs and keep it under control whole day, yet in the evening, the nafs takes
revenge. That is not acceptable—you cannot be a winner, a champion like that. As you fasted the whole day, your nafs was laying in an ambush and laughing at you: "I see that you are used
to fasting. You know how to withstand hunger and thirst till the sunset. I will take revenge in the evening." And it does.
The person fasts during the day and goes to the theater or other
entertainment places in the evening. The televisions and newspapers prepare special programs. They talk about the old Ramadhans: They do not say any word about khawajas or other
scholars, but they bring out the cabaret singers, comedians, and other show-biz people. They call it the special Ramadhan program.
In fact that is not a Ramadhan program at all; on the contrary, it is a Satan program! During the day the person overcomes his nafs,
yet he surrenders to his nafs in the evening and goes to Beyoglu
district [in Istanbul] or to the local center of entertainment.
In the past, some people would go to "Direklerarasi" in Istanbul
[which was a district famous for entertainment such as theaters].
Man would tilt his fez and twist his mustache. They would go to the theaters and watch singing women. What happened? All the reward of fasting is gone!
The man fasted whole day and earned rewards, yet in the evening he earned sins to wipe out his rewards from the day.
During the day, he overcame his nafs, yet in the evening, his nafs knocked him out. That is not acceptable. With the spiritual
strength you accumulate during the day, you ought to overcome
your nafs in the evening, too. You must continue overcoming your
nafs even after Ramadhan, too, and become a good Muslim.
You have had special spiritual training as in the military
training. You are given a handful of bullets, and you have learned
how to use a handgun. You learned how to shoot at 12. As you fire, you hit the bull's eye without any failure. You will be given a certificate indicating that you are qualified as a first-class
commando. After Ramadhan, you fail to shoot the target board.
What happened to you? Where did the training go? You are a commando who cannot lift an arm, move about, and ineffective in all. At every match, you get knocked out. What happened to the training? That means it did not stick.
If Ramadhan is not spent well, the training will not stick well.
We have to take Ramadhan very seriously. We ought to overcome
nafs during the night, too, as we do during the day. We should
maintain our superiority over our nafs during the rest of the year,
too. We must be good servants of Allah throughout our lives. We must learn taqwa, be a beloved servant of Him and return to his as one of His awliya. We must return to Him as one of His friends. We must return to Him as friends visiting one another just as the Shab- i Arus of our master Mawlana Jalaluddin Rumi. The night of death
should be like the night of wedding or a feast. We must return to Him with pleasure observing the stages in Paradise. That is how we should prepare ourselves.
Ramadhan is the month to get ready for Paradise. Ramadhan
is the month of correcting the nafs. Ramadhan is the month of becoming a good Muslim. One third of it is already gone, so you have only the two thirds. It will pass fast, too. You pull yourselves
together before it is too late. May Almighty Allah awaken you from the sleep of unawareness.
May he place you among the righteous, knowledgeable and conscious servants. May He place you among those who are close
associates and close friends to Him. May He grant you means to lead a life in compliance with His consent. May He keep His
guidance with you and make you special servants. May He grant
you a pleasant departure from this life to the hereafter. May He honor you in His paradise with His beauty.
With the respects for the secrets of Surah Fatiha!
February 9, 1995 / Ramadhan 9, 1415
Kapi Camii - KONYA, TURKE
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NOT: Here is the poem that was chanted after the 12th unit of Tarawih Prayer:
SHAHIDIM ARZ U SEMADIR
Shahidim arz u semâdir bütün ecrâmiyle,
Ashiqim sidq ile ben Hazret-i Shâh-i Rusûle,
Yaksa da âh-i derûnum beni bu hasret ile,
Tâkati yok dilimin halimi takrîre bile,
Ey bâd-i sabâ ughrarsa yolun semt-i Haremeyn'e,
Ta'zimimi arzeyle Rasûlüs Sakaleyn'e!..
Bu günahkâr gidishin son demi bilmem ne olacak?
Gelecek bir gün ecel, kâse-i ömrün dolacak,
Yevme lâ yenfeûda her kishi râhin bulacak,
Aman ey Kân-i Kerem, yok elimden tutacak,
Ey bâd-i sabâ ughrarsa yolun semt-i Haremeyn'e,
Ta'zimimi arzeyle Rasûlüs Sakaleyn'e!..
Hâkine yüz sürmek için ne yüzüm ne imkânim var...
Tahsis-i shefaat kebâir ehline, imanım var...
Ancak beni kurtaracak bir ulu sultanim var…
Aman ey Kân-ı Shefâat, pek büyük isyanim var...
Ey bâd-i sabâ uğrarsa yolun semt-i Haremeyn'e,
Ta'zimimi arzeyle Rasûlüs Sakaleyn'e!..
MY WITNESSES ARE THE EARTH AND HEAVENS
My witnesses are the earth and the sky with all their might
I am truly in love with the King of the Prophets
Even if the sighs of my heart burn me with the longing
My tong has no strength to describe my state
O the breeze of the morning, if you pass by the Harameyn
Convey my reverence to the Prophet for the men and the djinn.
I wonder what would be the end of this journey in sin
A day will come to fill the cup of your life
Everybody will find a path on the day when there is no help
Help me O Mine of the Generosity; there is none to hold my hand
O the breeze of the morning, if you pass by the Harameyn
Convey my reverence to the Prophet for the men and the djinn.
I have no means to reach your grave, nor do I have face
I believe that the great personages will have permission to intercede
Yet I do have a great king to save me from the fire
Help me o Mine of Intercession, I am gravely disobedient.
O the breeze of the morning, if you pass by the Harameyn
Convey my reverence to the Prophet for the men and the djinn.