The heart is dependent both upon the nafs and upon the sense organs and is attached to things which the sense organs are preoccupied with. When man sees something lovely, hears a beautiful voice, or tastes something sweet, the heart becomes attached to them. Man cannot help this attachment. Also, when man reads something beautiful, the heart becomes attached to the author and its meaning. By ‘beautiful and sweet’, ‘what comes beautiful and sweet to the heart’ is meant. Most of the time, man cannot identify real beauty. He confuses what appears beautiful to the nafs with what appears beautiful to the rûh. If the heart is sound, it recognizes beauty and loves it. Valuable things such as âyats, hadîths, words of the Awliyâ, prayers, and tesbîhs are originally beautiful. They are very sweet. The heart, after its attachment to the nafs decreases and it is released from the bondage of the nafs, it will love them too. When a man reads or hears them, his heart becomes attached to them without his awareness of it. When this person reads the Qur’ân al-kerîm or listens to it being read or makes dhikr, his heart loves Allâhu ta’âlâ.

To release the heart from the bondage, from the oppression of the nafs, it is necessary to oppress the nafs and strengthen the heart. This is possible only by obeying Rasûlullah. If a person who has released his heart from the paws of his nafs by following Muhammad ‘’alaihis-salâm’ observes a Walî, he will realize that he is a beloved born slave of Allah and a (spiritual) heir to the Messenger of Allah. Since he loves Allah very much, he will also love very much whomever Allah loves. But loving is not easy. Many people have ended up in perdition as a result of confusing things loved by the nafs with real beauties loved by the soul (rûh).

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Suppose we put a mirror against the sun, a second mirror against this, a third one against the second one, and a fourth one against it...; the sun will be seen in each of the thirty mirrors put in such an order. For, each mirror reflects the sun to the other. By the same token, the heart of each of the Ashâb-i kirâm ‘’alaihimurridwân’ was brightened like a mirror by the nûr radiated by the blessed heart of Rasûlullah ‘sall-Allahu ’alaihi wa sallam’. Seeing his beautiful moral qualities, hearing his sweet words, witnessing his mu’jizas, and watching his luminous face, they loved him very much. They tried to be like him in everything they did. Each of them would have sacrificed his life upon one signal on his part. By spreading abundant nûr, which they thus received, to the young hearts attached to them, they purified these hearts.

This nûr was passed from these hearts to those of other youngsters who were attached to them. Thus, for thirteen hundred years, being radiated by the hearts of the Awliyâ, his same nûr purified the hearts attached to these hearts and thereby brightened them like mirros. That is, the eyes of their hearts were opened. The fortunate people who were blessed with this lot were called Walî or Awliyâ (those whom Allah loves). Mazhar-i Jân-i Jânân, the ‘Qutb’ of his time and a great Walî, says: “I attained all of what I gained by loving my murshids (religious teachers) very much. The key to all kinds of happiness is to love those whom Allah loves.” And Hadrat ’Alî Râmitenî ‘radiy-Allâhu ta’âlâ sirrahul’azîz’ says: “The hearts of people who devoted themselves to Allah are nazarghâh-i-ilâhî, (i.e. place where Allâhu ta’âlâ turns His Attention to.) People who have managed to enter those hearts will get a share from that Attention.”

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Electricity is conducted through copper wires. The sender and the receiving set of a radio are attached to each other through electromagnetic waves. It is written in the twentieth letter of the fourth volume of the book Maktûbât that what attaches hearts to one another is love. When a person sees a Walî and talks with him or reads his books, he loves him, seeing that he adheres to Islam perfectly, that his knowledge is like an ocean, that he has excellent morals, and that he does favours to everyone. Since he loves Rasûlullah, he also loves the person who is in his way. But, loving these good characteristics of his is not sufficient. He has to know very well and love the owner of these good characteristics. For, hypocrites, disbelievers, and freemasons can have the same good qualities, too.

So, it is necessary to know that he is a murshid, to recognize his face, figure and physiognomy. It must be a pleasure for one to see and dream of him by heart. This is called performing râbita. By always performing râbita towards him, it will be as if he were seeing him. Everything that has an effect on sense organs has an effect on the heart, too. As seeing something beautiful has an effect on the heart, so thinking of it will have an effect on the heart and the heart will enjoy it. That is, performing râbîta will be like being with him. The more the love, the more light will he receive. Hadrat ’Ubeydullah-i Ahrâr said: “While attaching the heart to property, to goods and to every kind of worldly affairs is not considered a crime, why should it be a crime to attach the heart to a Mu’min (Muslim)?”

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By “the heart,” we do not mean the piece of flesh on the left hand side of our chest, which also is called “heart,” and which animals have, too. The heart proper to man is different. The heart is an invisible force. It is noticed through its effects. An electric current is not seen, either. But, because it causes the resistance wire to radiate light by heating it up when it passes through the bulb, we understand that it exists in the bulb. However, electricity is not matter. It does not occupy a place. And the force which we call “the heart” is not matter, either. It does not occupy a place. Since its effects are seen in a piece of flesh, which also is called the “heart,” we say that its place is in the heart.

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As we now know, ultraviolet rays kill microbes. Tuberculous patients have their lungs cleaned through radio therapy in sanitariums. As ultraviolet rays clean the lungs, likewise, there are rays that clean the heart. These rays are called nûr and fayz. The heart’s sickness is its following the nafs, liking and being fond of the harâms. The sun radiates ultraviolet rays. And the source that radiates nûr is the heart of a Walî. The hearts of the Awliyâ are like full moon. The moon reflects the rays which it receives from the sun. And the hearts of the Awliyâ radiate to the world the nûr which they receive from Rasûlullah’s blessed heart, which radiates energy like the sun. The Awliyâ are dead. And the ones living today are not known. But, when man dies, his heart and soul do not die with him. In fact, they become stronger because they have gotten rid of the cage of the body. Today, there are electro-magnetic waves everywhere, in every room. But we do not perceive them. A receiver, e.g. a radio, is necessary to receive them. 

Also, there are rays of nûr everywhere. But we do not perceive them, either. Some force or some means is necessary to receive them and to make use of them. Again this receiver is the heart. The heart is like a substance with phosphorescent properties. Dispensing nûr it has received, to dark hearts, it causes them to shine. The longer a Believer lives and the better he becomes in worshipping and taqwâ, the more nûrs will his heart contain. However, receiving these nûrs and fayds abundantly requires loving a Walî. And if he brings himself into favour with him by attending his sohbat and keeping him company, he will receive even more fayd.

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Useful things providing men with a healthy, salutary, comfortable and cheerful life (in this world) and endless happiness in the Hereafter are called Ni’met (blessing). Allâhu ta’âlâ, being very compassionate, created all the blessings His born slaves would need. And through His heavenly books, which He revealed to His Prophets, He instructed us on how we should use and utilize them. These instructions are called Dîn. If any person, Muslim and disbeliever alike, leads a life in conformity with these books, he will enjoy comfort and peace in the world. A drugstore carries hundreds of medicines. And each of these medicines has a set of instructions packed with it. A person who uses the medicine as it is prescribed in the instructions will benefit from it. He who does not follow the instructions will suffer harm. Likewise, a person who lives compatibly with the Qur’ân al-kerîm will benefit from the blessings. It is necessary to be a Muslim so that you can attain happiness in this world and in the Hereafter, while living peacefully and joyfully. One who has faith and performs his acts of worship is called a Muslim. Having faith means to believe in six certain essentials and all of the commandments and prohibitions. Allâhu ta’âlâ is pleased with those who are true Muslims.

A true Muslim is loved by Allâhu ta’âlâ. Being a true Muslim requires you to have the faith taught by the Ahl-as-Sunna savants, and to worship correctly and sincerely. Allâhu ta’âlâ has promised that He will love such people, that He will inspire fayds and nûrs into their hearts in the world and that in the Hereafter He will give thawâb (blessings) as a reward for the acts of worship performed correctly and sincerely. Worshipping means doing the commands (fards) and taqwâ means avoiding the prohibitions (harâms). Performing an act of worship correctly requires learning how it is to be done, and performing it by following the instructions you have learned. Ikhlâs means to do every act of worship for the grace of Allâhu ta’âlâ only. Worshipping Allâhu ta’âlâ is done by giving away one’s property and by worshipping physically. For example, performing pious and charitable deeds, saving Muslims from trouble, remembering Allâhu ta’âlâ, and asking for forgiveness (tawba) are all forms of worship. There is no ikhlâs (sincerity) but riyâ (hypocrisy) in the worship which is done to obtain property, rank, respect or fame. Such worship is not rewarded with blessings. It will be a sin and a cause for being tormented. Dark stains develop in the hearts of those who commit harâms or bid’a (heresy), and also in the hearts of those who are the friends or neighbours of disbelievers or lâ-madhhabî individuals.

Imâm-i Rabbânî ‘rahmatullâhi ’alaih’ says in the fifty-ninth letter of the first volume of his book Maktûbât: “When beginning any worship, all Muslims must keep in their minds the intention of performing an act for Allâhu ta’âlâ’s grace. Allâhu ta’âlâ has ordered them to do so, and He loves it. Hence, they will perform that act sincerely. However, all good deeds and favours should be done with sincerity (Ikhlâs), and this sincerity must come immediately from the heart. A good intention and ikhlâs are obtained with difficulty and by disciplining oneself, and the results are never permanent. Gradually the desires of the nafs settle in the heart. Owners of permanent ikhlâs are called Mukhlâs. Those who have inconstant ikhlâs and who strive to obtain ikhlâs are called Mukhlis. It is easy and sweet for a mukhlâs to worship. This is because there are no desires of the nafs or anxiety from the devil in their hearts. This kind of ikhlâs can only come into one’s heart through the heart of a Walî.” While beginning to worship one can obtain inconstant ikhlâs by fighting against one’s nafs and the devil. Doing worships with this ikhlâs causes the nafs to become weak in process of time...

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Europeans have derived most of their scientific knowledge and its basis from Islamic books. While Europeans assumed that the earth was flat like a tray surrounded by a wall, Muslims had known that the earth was spherical and was rotating. This fact is written in detail in the books Sharh-i Mawâqif and Ma’rifatnâma. They measured the length of the meridian in the open plain of Sinjar between Mûsul and Diyâr-i Bekr, finding the result as it is found today. Nûr-ud-dîn Batrûjî, who passed away in 581 [1185 A.D.], was a professor of astronomy at the Islamic University of Andalusia. He wrote today’s astronomy in his book al-Hayât.

When Galileo, Copernicus and Newton said that the earth rotated after learning this fact from Islamic books, they were deemed guilty for their words. Galileo was judged and imprisoned by priests. Until the Tanzîmât (reforms of ’Abdulmejîd in 1839), scientific lessons had been being taught in madrasas. Enlightened men of religion had been being educated. They had been guiding the world. When scientific lessons were abrogated, explorations and inventions stopped. The West began to gain on the East. Today, we will learn our religion from the books of those great savants. Religious knowledge can be learned from the Ahl-i Sunnat savants or from their books. It cannot be acquired through kashf or inspiration. He who reads their books will both learn knowledge, and his heart will be purified.

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Another Islamic savant was Imâm-i Rabbânî Ahmad-i Fârûqî. It has been unanimously stated by religious authorities that his depth in religious knowledge, his high grade in ijtihâd, and especially his perfection in Tasawwuf were above mind’s ability to comprehend. The books that have appeared recently in the United States have begun to be illuminated by the rays of this sun of happiness. Imâm-i Rabbânî ‘rahmatullâhi ’alaih’ was specialized in the scientific knowledge of his time, too. In the two hundred and sixty-sixth letter of the first volume of his book Maktûbat, he writes: “My son Muhammad Ma’thûm has recently completed reading the book Sharh-i Mawâqif. During his lessons, he has understood well the errors and the defects of the Greek philosophers. He has learned many facts.” This is a scientific book and has been taught until recently in the high (university) division of Islamic madrasas.

Mawâqif was written by Qâdî ’Adûd and this, (that is, the book mentioned above by Imâm-i-Rabbânî), is the revision of it by Sayyid Sherîf Alî Jurjânî [740-816 A.H. (1336-1413 A.D.)]. A great Arabic work of about a thousand pages, it explains all the scientific knowledge of that time. The book is divided into six parts, each of which contains different sections. In the second paragraph of the third chapter of the first section of the fourth part, it proves that the earth is spherical, and in the sixth paragraph, it proves that it rotates from west to east. It also gives valuable information about atoms, various states of matter, forces and psychological events.

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Religiously ignorant people cannot attack Islam through cleanliness, either. When some youngsters among the Tâbi’în asked the Ashâb-i kirâm ‘ridwânullâhi ta’âlâ ’alaihim ajma’în’, “Allâhu ta’âlâ loves you. He praises you in the Qur’ân al-kerîm. What is the reason for this love? Tell us, and we will be like you, so that He will love us, too,” they answered, “He loves us because we have been extra careful about being clean.”

Allâhu ta’âlâ declares at various parts of the Qur’ân al-kerîm: “I like cleanly people.” A person who has seen the beautiful and luminous face of Rasûlullah ‘sall-Allâhu ’alaihi wa sallam’ is called a “Sahâbî.” When there are more than one of them, they are called “Ashâb.” Those who did not see the Most Beautiful but who saw a Sahâbî are called “Tâbi’în. Muslims do not enter mosques or houses with their shoes on. Therefore, the floors and carpets are clean and dustless. Every Muslim has a bath in his home. His body, his underwears, and his food are always clean. Therefore, they don’t have microbes or diseases. There is no bath in the palace of Versaille, which the French boast about to the world. Disbelievers are dirty.

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The enemies cannot attack through medical science, either. Our Prophet ‘sall-Allâhu ’alaihi wa sallam’ praised medical science in various ways. For example, he stated: “Knowledge is of two kinds: physical knowledge and religious knowledge.” That is, by saying that the most necessary kinds of knowledge are religious knowledge, which will protect the soul, and knowledge of health, which will protect the body, he declared that first of all it is necessary to try to keep the soul and the body healthy. This hadîthi-sherîf is written in the three hundred and eighty-first page of the book Riyâd-un-nâsihîn, which also writes that it has been quoted from the book Zubda-tul-akhbâr. There are also scholars who say that these are the words of Imâm-i Shâfi’î ‘rahmatullâhi ta’âlâ ’alaih’. Every word of this great imâm is an explanation of âyat-i kerîmas and hadîth-i sherîfs. Islam commands us to learn physical knowledge before religious knowledge. For, all kinds of virtuous deeds can be done with a healthy body. As is taught in all universities today, medical science is of two sections: the first one is hygiene, that is, the protection of health; the second one is therapeutics, the treatment of diseases. The first one is of primary importance. It is the first task of medical science to protect people against diseases, to safeguard their health. For the most part, a diseased person remains damaged and unhealthy, even if he is cured. Islam has guaranteed and ensured hygiene, the first task of medical science. In the second part of Mawâhib-i ladunniyya, it is proved through âyat-i-kerîmas that the Qur’ân-al-kerîm recommends both sections of medical science. Rasûlullah ‘sall-Allâhu ’alaihi wa sallam’ used to correspond with Heraclius, the Greek Byzantine emperor. They used to exchange messages. We can read the words and the letters of both parties in books. The originals of the letters exist in the two hundred and thirty eighth page of the Turkish translation of Mawâhib-i ladunniyya.

As the names of the ambassadors, together with their biographies and many events are obvious, who on earth, both learned and considerate, will say that these are lies, thirteen hundred years later? Their hostility towards the religion, their grudge against our Sayyid Rasûlullah ‘sall-Allâhu ’alaihi wa sallam’ must have covered their minds and ravaged their discernment to the extent that they cannot see the events, proofs or documents; so they do not hesitate to openly lie in order to deceive youngsters. Lying and slandering will disgrace, dishonour one in front of everybody! O our Allah! Your justice is very correct. Those who attack Islam, and thereby attack the comfort and peace of others, deserve eternal torment! Once, Heraclius sent a few presents. One of these presents was a doctor.

The doctor came to Rasûlullah and said, “Sir, His Excellency sent me to serve you. I will examine your patients free of charge.” Rasûlullah accepted him. He ordered the Muslims to give him a home, and it was carried out. Every day they brought him delicious food and drinks. Days, months passed, but no Muslim visited the doctor. Ashamed, the doctor came to Rasûlullah and said, “Sir, I came here to serve you. Up to now, no patient has visited me. I have just sat idly, eating and drinking. Let me go back now.” Upon his request, Rasûlullah smiled and said, “It is up to you! If you would like to stay longer, it is the first duty of a Muslim to serve a guest, to show honour to him. If you would like to go, good luck! Only, let it be known that nobody will visit you if you stay here for years, since my Ashâb do not become ill! The Islamic religion has shown the way of how not to become sick. My Ashâb are extra careful about cleanliness They do not eat anything before getting hungry, and they leave the meal table before becoming satiated with food.”

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