DISCOURSES AT THE 1996 MOUSEEM

GATHERING IN ISTANBUL, TURKEY

Bismi’Llahir-Rahmanir-Rahim.

This gathering is a gathering of baraka and kararnat. The baraka of this gathering and the karamat is by the blessing of the people whom have come here for the sake of Allah. It is very important that you know that in all the Muslim world the people of this great nation and this great city are the leaders of spirituality in the Muslim world. One alim from Morocco said when you go on Hajj the people of Turkey are the hosts of Makkah and Madinah. There is today in this blessed country a very high spiritual power. There is a light from here that shines all around the world. The truth is that we spiritually now can see again that Istanbul is the capital of all the ummah. And maybe we could say that Fatih (mosque) is the Topkapi (centre) of Istanbul because with the people in Fatih you see in the streets, madrasahs and in the mosques you see living Islam. This is by karamat and this is by barakat.

Saving Islam For The Future

If the great shuyukh of Naqshbandiyya had not struggled through these years this would not be the case. The shuyukh of Naqshbandiyya are the people who have saved Islam for our time and for the future. I remember when I went on Hajj over 30 years ago, meeting at the House of Allah meeting Shaykh Sami Affendi RA. My shaykh, Shaykh Muhammad ibn al-Habib RA had died on his way to Hajj and found myself at the wall of the Kaaba and was led by Turkish fuqara to Shaykh Sami Affendi and from that moment a connection between us was born. For all the frrst part of my development in Islam as a Muslim I sought the company of the shayukh living and dead. It was Moulay Abdal Qadir al-Jilani who called me into Islam from the unseen which is why I took his name. Shaykh Moulay Abdas Salam ibn al-Mashish called me. Shaykh Shadhili called me. This was in the days I was studying the fiqh and studying the the Qur'an as a student of it.

As I saw the suffering of the Muslim people and I saw the degradation of the Muslims in the Arab lands then my spiritual light changed and other voices called, other presences came from the unseen Sultan Abdal Hamid RA called me here to Istanbul. Now the doors of this blessed mosque of Sultan Salim RA has brought us to this gathering. The celebration of Sultan Fatih, I was called to attend it. But they too are wali of Allah as are the shayukh.. These great sultans are all wali Allah. And then I realised that the Ummah of Islam is in need. It is calling out for leadership. Now there is no door we can knock on in the Arab world. Because you see the state of the Arabs. The Arabs are broken, the Arabs have been disgraced, they do not know their deen anymore. And we know what has happened in Arabistan with the shayateen of the Saudi regime. So now the ummah is turning to you.

The Real Struggle

The interesting thing is that for the last 40 years the Muslims have understood only to struggle only by young men going out and being killed and never to have success. The Syrians ask us to fight in Syria for jihad. The Egyptians ask us to fight against their leaders. In Algeria, you know the list it goes on and on. Everyone of these causes is a national cause. Now the phrase ummatun wasatan is not a spiritual term, not a batini term it is a political term. Now the bringing together of the Muslims to accept one leadership will not be done by struggle and in fighting among Muslims. Already too many young men have died for nothing. The people of this nation are all Muslims. Some may not call on Allah when they are healthy but they call on Him when they are sick. They may not call on Allah when they are sick but they turn to Allah when that person dies. What now we will see is something else, another struggle.

I wanted to say one thing important that you must understand about the kuffar. Russia was defeated without one missile or one bomb being dropped on them. This enormous state, this great powerful state was broken in pieces because they pulled the paper ruble from under their feet with the paper dollar. The kuffar say they want to make one world and of course that means it will be dominated by this one paper currency of the dollar.

Gold Dinar and Zakat

Allah subhanahu wata'ala says in Qur'an, you were one nation but we meant you to be separate. Now the power of the kuffar on the muslims is this magic of this worthless paper and by that paper the khalifate of Osmaniyya was destroyed. Sultan Abdal Hamid RA paid back the debt and paid back the debt but he had to pay in gold and they gave back in paper. He had almost completely paid the debt at the time he was deposed. Now today that same debt has increased to these trillions you read about in your daily papers. The sword of Islam today is not a scud missile of Saddam Hussein, the sword of Islam is that gold dinar that has been ordered in wahi –revelation of our deen which will cut the dollar. The rejection of the dollar is the beginning of the liberation of all the muslim lands. There will not be a conflict with the state and the republic and the Muslims. All these political conflicts are out of date. The founder of the republic created four banks. These banks will be privatised shortly. Already their capital is not is Turkish hands. And after privatisation none of this will be in Turkish hands. The people of Uzbekistan have declared no one will buy and sell their currency. Zakat has been abolished by the absence of the dinar. Zakat must be taken not given, it is not sadaqa. It must be taken by force. The best I pray for is the the shayukh that you trust in this country begin to take the zakat with zakat collectors in the waiting for that time when the change goes from this secret committee government to another kind of Islamic government.

I want to make a dua now for this great country and its people. And also there was a very old Turkish lady, she rang up, her name is Shukran. She is a very old lady who is now not able to make salat. We will begin the dua by asking Allah's mercy on this old lady Shukran that Allah make the last of her days the best of her days. We ask Allah to protect all the armed forces of this great Turkish nation. We ask Allah to protect the Turkish soldiers and officers against the intrigue of the Americans and the Greeks. We ask Allah as he gave Sayyedina Muhammad salla’Llahu alaihi wasallam Umar from among the strong people of Quraish to give us from among the high command of the army a man who will enter Islam with love and passion for Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. We ask Allah to protect the government and to give it good Islamic guidance and to understand the intrigues of what is happening on the frontiers of the Republic and to protect us against our enemies who want to take a piece of the Turkish land away from Turkey. And give the baraka from Allah that Turkey can open its arms and become greater and take in Muslims under the authority of Istanbul. Unify Turkey with Turkic speaking Republics beyond the frontiers. We ask Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala to give a great light to the people of Istanbul and we ask for baraka and the light from the presence of Sultan Salim and from the tomb of Sultan Abdal Hamid RA. To release a great secret from the tomb of Sultan Abdal Hamid in our time and to protect the family of Uthman. And we ask Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala to give blessing to this mosque and its imam. And we ask that by this gathering that there will be a new opening from the muslims in all the world. Allah accept our dhikr and accept our brotherhood in Islarn, Strengthen us by this gathering. Al fatiha.

The Next Events

I tell you what may happen. The Americans think that they have this enemy that is Islam and they must fight Islam, I tell you America will collapse from inside. America will collapse internally. America is already in civil war, it is decadent beyond anything you can Imagine. There are 30 million Muslims in Europe. This is not how history will go. Maybe it will go like this, Allahu alim But I see that the Turkish nation will expand, will embrace the Turkish Republic, will take in the Europe that will collapse after the European Union and then you will see the enemy is between the Muslims led by the Turks and the Chinese kuffar. That is the great battle of the future. The real battle will be between the Muslims led by Turkish leadership ? This is what may await your children and this is what we must prepare for. But Allah knows best.

SECOND ISTANBUL DISCOURSE AFTER DHIKR

BismiLlah. Shahada- La ilaha illa Allah

Look at the miracle of this gathering, look at it in the perspective of the passing years. And look at the miracle and power of Allah subhanahu wa ta' ala. La hawla wala quwatta ila billahi alayhi al-adheem. Allah has power over everything. There is no power except the power of Allah. And in the age of darkness what you must know is everything is under the power of Allah. The people who love Allah are the slaves of Allah. But the people who hate Allah are also the slaves of Allah. Allah makes his miracles not only by the friends of Allah but by the enemies of Allah. I am going to give you a proof that takes you around the world.

Transformed By The Love For Jalalludin Rumi

Lessons From The Story of Abu Lahab

Look at the most hated person in the history of Islam Abu Lahab. Allah in Qur'an says Abu Lahab will destroyed/finished. The most dreaded enemy of Rasul salla’Llahu alaihi wassalam. Abu Lahab was the power, he was the state, he was the Quraish leader, he was all the things against Rasul s.a.w. . Rasul s.a.w with his people was weak and Allah subhana wa ta'ala turned everything around. And Rasul s.a.w entered Makkah in triumph. And from this the great deen of Islam unfolded.

But what in this world is the destiny of Abu Lahab? Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala sends down ayat on Rasul saws and the name Abu Lahab becomes part of the blessed Qur'an al Karim. So this most hated of people's name becomes blessed because it is ayat Quranul-Karim of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala's revelation. If the fly falls into the honey slowly, slowly it becomes completely honey. And So Abu Lahab becomes the absolute servant of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala and a perpetual dhikr of Allah for all time.

So this changes our understanding of existence. The other day I was sitting with a blessed shaykh of the Naqshbandi tariqa, may Allah give him long years and increase his secret. And a man in his company spoke things against the way the talk was going with the shaykh. But you see when the shaykh heard what the matter was, he withdrew into himself; to his heart. The other man made the argument and very forceful, and very clever. And then after a time the shaykh sat up and he said this matter is very important. So in saying this he confirmed what was to be said and negated this gentleman. So then he said 'Do it'. So I said 'Look what has happened', the heart of the Shaykh has moved, the tongue of the Shaykh has spoken and now action will come. This is how things happen.

The Power of Baraka

The beginning of Qur'an Surat al-Baqarah. This Book is for the people who believe in the ghayb. Things come from the ghayb into the material world. As with you the impulse comes from your heart which is invisible and the act is. visible. So the hidden dominates the visible. The awliyya after their death cannot act, but they do not sleep, they have presence. And this we call baraka. Now if the heart is alive it can taste the baraka. This is not magic. Let me explain it to you in a very simple way. It is of baraka but of its opposite of trouble, stress. If in a family two people have had a row in a room and then you open the door and you come m but as you open the door they become silent and they do not move. Nothing has happened but you then say 'what is wrong?' because your spirit knows there is something not there but it is hidden. When you visit the Shaykh it is the opposite. If your heart is in a good state then Rasul saws said the mumin is the mirror of the mumin but the Shaykn's heart is polished so it is a clear mirror. So then you go and you do not see him you see you.

Secret of The Murid

My second Shaykh, Shaykh al-Fayturi RA (Benghazi, Libya) , he was 97 years and he was very feeble but you would see strong men come in, they would see him, and they would break down and weep. Why did they break down and weep? Not something about him but by him they saw themselves and they did not like it and they cried. Not for the Shaykh for themselves. But then the murid who wants something more, who wants knowledge of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala, who wants to taste something of the presence of Allah. Hadrat al rabbani. Then something else happens. The ignorant or the beginner look at the shaykh and see themselves but the traffic is the other way.

With the murid who desires knowledge of Allah. Then the shaykh looks on the murid and that looking fills him up like pouring water from a jug into a cup and it can go on fling up till the cup overflows. So you can't see where the cup stops and where the water stops. And these waridat these openings, these illuminations come by the one who desires knowledge of Allah subhanahu wa ta' ala.

Shaykh ibn Ajiba, one of the scholars of this knowledge, said that the metaphor of this is like the turtle which lays its eggs in the sand and then the mother turtle exhausted having laid the eggs crawls back into the ocean and then just before going into the ocean, the mother turtle turns and glances at her eggs and goes back into the ocean. This he said is like the shaykh when he looks on the murid. The look of the mother turtle is to tell the eggs to come into the ocean so when they hatch they know to head for this great ocean. And this glance is like the glance of the shaykh on the murid to call him into the ocean of divine love.

The Nature and Task of The Khalif of Allah

My first Shaykh, Muhammad ibn al Habib said in his Diwan, if a man knew the meaning of his secret he would shed a tear with every breath he took. Because the real message of tawhid and of the power of Allah is not to make you feel low but to raise you up. And then we find that Allah has said in the Qur'an about man, we have made you a khalif on the earth. So that the real nature of the human being, if he knows from Allah who he is, then his real nature is that he is khalif. He is the representative on earth of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. Khalifa in Arabic means the one who stands in in the absence of the King. Now this means that you are not something low but you are something very high with Allah. There is no one more important than you. Allah has made all of creation for you. He has made all of the stars for you. He sent the Prophets for you. They were sent for you. Their business with Allah is complete, it is finished. They came to let you complete your business with Allah. This is the difference between the kuffar and the muminun, that you know that you have a contract with Allah. Allah says in Qur'an, they will ask you 'who created the earth?' and the kuffar will say Allah. That is not what creates the kuffar, this is not what makes the kuffar. The kuffar is that. they cover up, that their destiny is under the power of Allah. They think they are outside the process. They think they will live forever or they say, 'I do not believe.' Not because they are brave on the face of nothingness but because they are afraid of the destiny. That is why properly speaking you cannot be a soldier and an atheist. Not possible. That is why a handful of Chechens defeated the whole Russian army. They should not have won. But they destroyed the Russians because the Russians thought we have our tanks, we have our guns and we are generals and soldiers. And they said these people are wolves. And the whole of Chechnya is one enormous tekke ( place/house of dhikr). They said no, we are khalifs of Allah. Allah knows something about us that the angels do not know. And they cried Allahu Akbar and the blood of the Russians turned to vinegar and they defeated them.

So you see with us, there is no politics. Once you know that you are khalif in the haqiqat, in the truth, then we remember that Rasul s.a.w said that 'As you are so you have people set over you.' So once you know that with Allah you are khalif~ then you will be governed by khalif. And so you see then you find that Allah says in Qur'an that 'Allah did not change a people until they changed what is in their heart.' Once you know that this instrument is alive, this thing called the heart is alive, everything changes.

What I have seen in Fatih, that has more power, borrowed attribute from Allah than all the kuffar if they came against it could defeat. But it doesn't need a battle because what is spreading is honey. And the people will say I like this honey I twill cure my sickness. But our honey is not the honey of the bee, our honey is the knowledge we get from Qur'an al Karirn. And Allah said Qur'an is a healing for the muminun. And Allah has said in the Qur'an that by the dhikr of Allah the heart of man is made tranquil, the heart is made tranquil.

So this change that is coming in the world is the awakening of Islam from the inward to outward. And this person who knows that they have been appointed to a great task by Allah, they clear everything out of the way. Now I must obey Allah and his Messenger. So what do I have to do? Shahada, salat, zakat, sawm, hajj. So I must confirm my Islam which is to make it public, do not hide it. And also you are a muslim because you are m a register, you are a muslim because you have been witnessed by muslims. Then you find salat, then you find for salat someone must stand in front of you. Who stands in front? The one with the best knowledge of Qur'an and it:is never a.problern you saw you are the Imam. Jamaat makes the Irnam. Not someone in a distant town. And the mosque is not the property of anybody just to close it or open it. Qur'an says - inna masajadi li’Llahi, the mosques belong to Allah.

Establishing Islam

So then you have shahada, salat, now there comes a point of Ramadan and zakat and at that -point you need an Arnir. In all our history, in the great history of the Osmaniyya and the muslims before it, the confirmation and the order of Ramadan came from the Amir after the witnessing of the moon had been confirmed in front of the Qadi. So you need someone over you who is himself the ordering Muslim leader. And that man is the one who says this one and this one are honourable men, they will collect the zakat. And the zakat must be paid in gold and silver. The great Shaykh Allish of Cairo at the time when the paper money came said it is haram to pay zakat by paper money. It is only worth the price of the paper. Something we would all now agree with.

Then for Hajj that power of authority must control Makkah and Madinah to fullfil the orders of Hajj. And this is what we call Sultaniyya. But this will be because of the people who love Allah. And say these things will happen in my lifetime not after my lifetime. We have to answer for what we know. Once you know there is no excuse and that is why we are people of success. And that is why when I sat with the great Naqshbandi shaykh and we were discussing this matter he was filled with great joy and he said 'We are ahlal dhikr, and we have met on the sirat al mustaqeem, so we will have success.' And by this he meant all of us.

Our Supplication To Allah:

May Allah give us success in this world and the next.
Allah increase in knowledge and Allah give us fear of him
and Allah take from us all fear of this world. Allah protect us from the enemies of Islam.

Allah raise up the station of this great Turkish nation. Allah make the people of this land the leaders of all the Muslims. By it bring back great wealth to this country, wealth of this world and the next. Allah restore to us the day when from Istanbul to Makkah /Madinah the caravans go out laden with gold for the Governors of Makkah and Madinah.

We ask Allah to purity the Arabistan from the rabbis and kuffar of the Americans. We ask Allah to give back to this great country those lands that it lost. Allah make it that to be a Turkish nationalist is to be a nationalist of a nation that stretches to the limits of the ummah. Allah give us the victory with Him. And Allah bless all of the people of this great city.

And Allah bless its police and awaken in them love of Allah and obedience to Allah. And help by them to purity this town of things that are forbidden by Allah. Allah bless its mothers and its children. Allah bless its teachers. Allah bless Shaykh Mahmoud Affendi and the great Naqshbandi shaykhs.

Allah give victory to all the muslims in this time. And as you are hosts in Makkah and Madinah Allah make you hosts in Istanbul to all the muslim ummah. Allah bless the son of Othman al Ghazi. Allah waken love in our heart for them.

Allah give light to the tomb of Sultan Abdal Hamid ulu haqan. Allah give us desire to say fatihah for him at his tomb. We now make fatihah that we ask a blessing that covers all the muslim world. Al-Fatiha