Religion means the way prescribed by Allahu Taala in order to guide people to endless bliss. The unwholesome ways which people make up under the name of religion are not called religion; they are called irreligiousness and disbelief. Since the time of Prophet Adam (alaihi-salam), Allahu Taala has sent mankind a religion by means of a Prophet every thousand years. These Prophets (sall-Allahu alaihi ajmain) are called Rasul. On the other hand, in every century, by making the purest person the Prophet, He has strengthened the religion through him. These Prophets who followed the Rasuls are called Nabi. All the Prophets have taught the same iman; they have asked their umma (community of followers of a prophet) to believe in the same tenets. Yet, since their Sharias, that is, the things that are to be done and avoided through the heart and body, were different, they were different in being Muslims. Those who have iman and adapts themselves to the Ahkam Islamiya is a Muslim. Those who want to adapt the Ahkam Islamiya to their desires and pleasures are disbelievers. They don’t understand that Allahu Taala has sent religion in order to break the desires and pleasures of the nafs (a force in people that is enemious to Allahu Taala) and to prevent their excessive indulgence. Every subsequent religion (religious system, devine order) has abolished or changed the religion previous to itself. The latest religion that has changed all the religions prior to it, which has assimilated all the previous Sharias within itself, and which will never change until the end of the world is Prophet Muhammad’s (alaihi-salam) religion. Today, the religion which Allahu Taala likes and loves is the Islamic religion, which is based on these rules and essentials. To those who perform the fard and abstain from the haram, which this Sharia communicates, Allahu Taala will bestow blessings and favors in the Hereafter. That is, they will receive thawab (rewards in the Here-after). For those who do not perform the fard and do not abstain from the haram, there are punishments and suffering in the next world.

‘Malak’  (angel) means ‘envoy’, ‘messenger’ or ‘power’. Then the Hamalat al-Arsh  and then the four archangels will be annihilated. At the second sound  all angels will come back to life. The Hamalat al-Arsh and the four  archangels will rise before the second sound of the Sur. That is, these  angels will be annihilated after all the living creatures, as they were  created before all.

In  Islam, iman means believing that Rasulullah (sall-Allahu Taala alaihi  wa salam) is the Prophet sent by Allahu Taala; knowing to be the truth  and saying with belief that he is the Nabi, the Messenger chosen by  Allahu Taala, believing in brief what he conveyed briefly and in detail  what he conveyed in detail from Allahu Taala, and saying the Kalimat  ash-shahada with the mouth whenever possible. Strong iman is such that,  as we know for certain that fire burns and serpents kill by poisoning  and so try to avoid them, we should believe in Allahu Taala and His  Attributes deeming them great, fully at heart, strive for His approval  (rida), run to His beauty (jamal), escape from His wrath (ghadab) and  torment (adhab), and place iman on the heart firmly like an inscription  on marble.

Rasulullah  (sall-Allahu Taala alaihi wa sallam) said that the first of the  essentials of Islam was “to say the Kalimat ash-shahada”; that is, one  should say, “Ash’hadu an la ilaha illa Allah wa ash’hadu anna Muhammadan  abduhu wa rasuluh.” In other words, a sane person who has reached the  age of puberty and who can talk has to say, “On the earth or in the sky,  there is nothing nor anyone but Allahu Taala who has the right to be  worshipped and Who is worthy of deifying. The real Deity is Allahu Taala  alone. He is the Wajib ul-wujud. Every kind of superiority exists in  Him. No defect exists in Him. His name is Allah,” and to believe in this  absolutely with all their heart. Also one should say and believe: “The  most noble person named Muhammad ibn Abdullah who had a face that was  rosy in appearance, white-reddish, bright and lovely, with black eyes  and brows, a blessed wide forehead and beautiful manners, whose shadow  never fell on the ground, who was soft-spoken and was called Arab  because he had been born in Mecca of Hashemitedescent, is the human  being and Messenger sent by Allahu Taala.” The Prophet’s mother was  Hazrat Amina bint (daughter of) Wahab. His birth in Mecca honored the  world [at the dawn of Monday, April 20, in the (Gregorian) year 571].  When he was forty, he was informed that he was the Prophet [Monday,  Ramadan 17, 610]. That was named the year of ‘Bi’tha’ (a prophet’s being  sent for calling people to the right path). After this, he invited  people to Islam, in Mecca, for thirteen years. Then he migrated (the  Hijrat, Hegira) to Medina on the command of Allahu Taala. From there, he  spread Islam everywhere. Ten years after the Hijrat, he passed away in  Medina in July 632 (on Monday 12, Rabi al- Awwal) 5. Islam’s fifth  essential is “for the able person to perform the hajj (pilgrimage) once  in their life.” For an able person who has money enough for going to and  coming back from the city of Mecca including an amount sufficient for  the subsistence of the family they leave behind until they come back, it  is fard once in their lifetime to perform tawaf around the Kaaba and to  perform Waqfa on the plain of Arafat, provided that the way is safe and  their body is healthy.

The  Quran al-Karim is the Kalam al-Ilahi (Divine Speech, Word of Allahu  Taala). Allahu Taala sent the Quran al-Karim to Muhammad (alaihi-salam)  through an angel named Jebrail (Gabriel, alaihi-salam). The words in the  Quran al-Karim are in the Arabic language, and they descended in ayats  (verses), letters and words arranged together by Allahu Taala. The  meanings carried by these letters and words convey the Kalam al-Ilahi.  These letters and words are called the Quran al-Karim. The meanings that  disclose the Kalam al-Ilahi are the Quran al-Karim as well. This Quran  al-Karim which is the Kalam al-Ilahi is not a creature. It is eternal  and everlasting, like the other Attributes of Allahu Taala. Once every  year Jebrail (alaihi-salam) would visit to recite, in the same order as  they had been recorded in the Lawh almahfudh (where all matters have  been inscribed, in Paradise), the part of the Quran al-Karim that had  already been revealed, and our Prophet would repeat it. In the year when  he was about to honor the Hereafter, Jebrail (alaihi-salam) visited  twice, reciting the entire Quran al-Karim. Our blessed Prophet and most  of the Sahaba had memorized the Quran al-Karim wholly. In the year when  he honored the Hereafter with his blessed being, Abu Bakr as-Siddiq, the  Caliph, brought together those who had memorized the Quran al-Karim and  having gathered those parts that had already been written, had a  committee write down the entire Quran al-Karim. Thus a written copy  called the mus’haf came about. Thirty-three thousand Sahabis reached a  consensus that every letter of that copy of the mus’haf was in its right  place.

What  is initially necessary for every person to do is to say the kalimat  at-tawhid and to believe its meaning. The kalimat attawhid is: “La ilaha  illa Allah, Muhammadun Rasulullah,” and it means: “Allahu Taala exists  and is One. Muhammad (alaihisalam) is His Prophet.” To believe this fact  means to “have iman,” and to “become a Muslim.” A person who has iman  is called a ‘Mumin (Believer)’ and a ‘Muslim’. Iman has to be  continuous. Therefore, it is necessary to avoid doing acts that cause  disbelief and using things that symbolize disbelief.

The  debt of gratitude and human duties to be performed and believed by  human beings towards Allahu Taala with the heart, tongue and body were  defined by Allahu Taala and communicated by His beloved Prophet  (sall-Allahu Taala alaihi wa sallam)! The human duties which Allahu  Taala showed and ordered are called Islam. One thanks Him by following  the way His Prophet taught. Allahu Taala does not accept or like any  thanks, any worship incompatible with or outside this way, because there  are many things which men consider good or beautiful but which Islam  disapproves of and regards as ugly. Hence, in thanking Allahu Taala,  people who have reasoning should adapt themselves to Hazrat Muhammad  (alaihi-salam). His way is called Islam. A person following Muhammad  (alaihi-salam) is called a Muslim. Thanking Allahu Taala, that is,  following Muhammad (alaihi-salam), is called ibada (worship).

Man has two kinds of heart. One of them is piece of flesh in his chest, which also we call ‘heart’. The other one is a force placed in that piece of flesh. Whenever we say, “heart,” we will mean the latter. Belief and unbelief, love and hostility all take place in this second heart. Man’s limbs are under the command of this heart. An owner of a pure heart will follow reason and will always do useful things. A person with an unhealthy and wicked heart will follow the nafs and will always do whatsoever is harmful. Acts of worship performed with ikhlâs, and performing namâz, particularly, will purify the heart. Allâhu ta’âlâ has prohibited things that are deleterious to the heart and make it unhealthy, (that is, He has made them harâm.) Sinning is deleterious to the heart. The illness incurred by sinning will be light or heavy, depending on the gravity of the sin committed. When the heart becomes ill, worship will feel difficult. Primary medicine for an illness of heart is tawba and istighfâr. Acceptability of a tawba made requires ceasing from sinning and doing acts of worship. Performing namâz is the most useful act of worship for the acceptability of tawba, which in turn is a medicine for a heart illness. It is very easy to perform namâz once daily. To perform namâz five times daily will feel difficult to people whose hearts are unhealthy. On the other hand, if namâz is performed frequently, love of Allah will blossom in the heart. In process of time love of Allah will fill the entire heart.

Once love of Allah has settled in the heart, the greatest fortune has been attained. [Love of Allah will leave the hearts of people who are preoccupied with worldly activities and whose concern is how to obtain the transient blessings and pleasures of this world. The most effective medicine to heal a person of this illness is to repeat the Kalima-i-tawhîd. Therefore, Allâhu ta’âlâ, owing to His infinite Mercy, has commanded to perform namâz five times, and not only once, daily. This command of Allâhu ta’âlâ is intended not to cause trouble for men, but to heal them of their heart illness.] Namâz is the pillar of Islam, performing it will strengthen one’s faith. If a person does not perform namâz, he will be a person without faith. During the Ottoman times, young people would gather around a Walî in order to learn their faith and patriotism. Paths guided by great scholars were called tarîqa(t). Tarîqats spread far and near. Number of Muslims and that of young people learning patriotism increased. When freemasons who had obtained government positions saw this state of affairs, they helped irreligious and ignoble people to infiltrate the tarîqat organizations. As the number of true Muslims decreased and dwindled, the blessed organizations remained in the hands of irreligious and immoral people.

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ALLAH EXISTS Shaikh Muhammad Rebhâmî, one of the renowned Islamic scholars, relates in the fifteenth page of his book entitled Riyâdun-nâsikhîn, borrowing from the book entitled Zâd-ul-muqwîn: The Byzantine Kaiser sent an envoy to Me’mûn bin Hârûn, the seventh Abbasid Khalîfa. An awesome and arrogant man was with the envoy. The envoy said to the Khalîfa, “This man is an irreligious unbeliever. He does not believe in a creator. Byzantine priests failed to answer him. If the Islamic scholars manage to silence him, they will make millions of Christians and Muslims happy.” The scholars of Baghdâd said that there was only one scholar to answer that man, and he was Ahmad Nishâpûrî. The Khalîfa decided on a certain hour of a certain day and ordered all the scholars to convene at the palace. Nishâpûrî was rather late for the session, so he offered the following apology: “I saw something astonishing and quite unusual on my way. Watching it made me late. As I was waiting for the ship at the shore of the Tigris River, a huge tree came out of the earth. Then it fell down and broke into pieces, which presently turned into planks of wood. Then the planks came together to make a ship. Without a captain the ship began to sail.”

When the Byzantine unbeliever heard these words he sprang to his feet and said, “This man must be crazy. Are those things ever possible? He who says so is a liar. One must be without a brain to believe him.” Nishâpûrî interrupted him and said, “When these things cannot take place on their own, how can so many astonishing things on the earth come into being on their own? Mustn’t a person be even more idiotic and more lowly to deny the creator of all these things?” Thereupon the unbeliever said, “Now I realize and believe that the entire existence has a creator.” Expressing the statement LÂ ILÂHA IL-L-ALLAH, he became a Muslim. It is narrated that a similar event took place during the time of Imâm Ghazâlî. Khalîfa Me’mûn passed away in the hijrî year 218.

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Performing dhikr is done by repeating the name of Allâhu ta’âlâ or by seeing someone who is a Walî. If you cannot find a Walî, you can make râbita to a Walî whom you have heard of before. It is stated in a hadîth-i sherîf: “When they are seen, Allâhu ta’âlâ will be remembered.” In other words, seeing a Walî is dhikr of Allâhu ta’âlâ. This is one of the hadîth-i sherîfs quoted in Irshâd-ut-tâlibîn, in Ibni Mâja, in Edhkâr, in Râbita-i sherîfa of ’Abdulhâkîm Efendi, and in the eleventh letter of Dost Muhammad Kendihâr›. Râbita does not necessarily have to be made to the exact figure of a Walî. When a person sees a murshid or reads his books, he will love him as he loves himself, for the murshid is the person who has taught him Islam correctly, who has saved him from worldly disasters and perdition in the Hereafter, and who has guided him to everlasting felicity. When he sees him or, if he cannot see him, thinks of him lovingly, the fayds coming to the murshid from Rasûlullah will flow into his heart, too. It is stated in the seventy fourth page of Maqâmât-i-Mazhâriyya: “As Mukarram Khân was dying, they put Ubaydullâh-i-Ahrâr’s skullcap on his head. ‘Take it off! Fetch my murshid’s headgear, instead. For he is the person who caused me to attain happinesses,’ he said.” The figure with which Râbita is made does not necessarily have to be exactly the murshid himself. If a person closes his eyes and makes râbita to the same image for five to ten minutes in the morning and in the evening every day, after a while the Walî’s soul will appear in the same image and will begin to talk like in a dream, and will do him favours.

As is understood from the hadîth-i-qudsî we have quoted in the thirty-fourth chapter of the second fascicle of Endless Bliss, if a Muslim mentions the name of a Walî whom he knows and loves upon attending his sohbats or reading his books and calls on him imploringly, Allâhu ta’âlâ will make that Walî hear him, even if the Walî is absent or dead. The Walî will come and help him. If a Walî wishes to know about something that has happened before or which will happen later, Allâhu ta’âlâ will make him know about it. Such favours and gifts which Allâhu ta’âlâ bestows upon Walîs are called karâmat. Bedr-ad-dîn Serhendî writes in his book Hadarat-ul-quds that he has seen and heard of thousands of Imâmi-Rabbânî’s karâmats and relates more than a hundred of them. When the heart becomes fânî, that is, when (it attains a grade where) it remembers nothing, the brain, mind, memory, does not necessarily become oblivious of worldly matters. The heart, when it becomes fânî, still lets all the limbs, including the brain, mind, and memory, carry on all sorts of worldly activities, and a person in this state, like other people, goes on working for his worldly needs. He does all his human tasks and favours with the intention of obtaining the grace of Allâhu ta’âlâ. Whatever he does becomes dhikr. See the final part of the thirty-fourth chapter of the second fascicle of Endless Bliss! It fulfills all its human tasks and favours with the intention of obtaining the consent of Allâhu ta’âlâ. Whatever it does becomes dhikr.

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