Sohbet, association with the sheikh

In The name of Allah, The All-Compassionate, All-Merciful, Audhu billahiminash shaytanirrajim, Bismillahir Rahmanir Rahim, alhamdulillahi Rabbil alemiyn
Discourse of Maulana Shaykh Nazim Al Haqqani Ar Rabbani, Head of the most ditinguished Naqshbandi tariqa
January 26, 2002

Meded,ya Sayidi, Destur. Audhu bi-llahi minashaitani rajim, Bismillahir Rahmanir Rahim.
'Tariqatuna sohba wa khairu fi jamiat', that is our Grandsheikh
Shahu-Naqshband' s description for tariqat; he was the Imam of the most distinguished Naqshbandi order. Sohbet, association with Sheikh, is the engine for the mureed to make him move towards Allah Almighty's Divinely Presence. If you take the engines from an airplane, you can't use it; it is impossible for it to move; perhaps you may put in front of the plane an ox or a horse, and they may carry it on the runway, but the power of the horse or the ox is not enough to make the plane fly. It needs engines. And everything in existence is moving. We may say that we see so many things but they are not moving; but really everything through their atoms is moving through its place or in any direction. And movement is the characteristic of creatures; creatures can move and must move. You can't find anything in existence to be in the same position or movement for even the smallest unit of time that is passing. That is the characteristic of creatures. But movement is
not a Divine Attribute. He is Samad, Allahu Samad, only we can give some description to make it closer to our understanding, but beyond that you can't enter..
There are two kinds of cane: one is the ordinary cane, the second is the sugar cane; one is empty; the second one is full so that you can't find in it any hole.. filling everything inside, so that you can't find an empty spot through the sugar cane. 'Samad' means the existence of someone that fills the whole universe or universes or the whole creation so that you can't find a smallest spot empty. There is no space without the existence of The Creator. Therefore movement can't be impossible. To where it should be? But we are moving in a space or atmosphere that is empty; we are not related. Therefore we may move in space because our existence never fills the space. But Samad means Who fills every existence, every space, every atmosphere. It is a Divinely Attribute that He is approving His Existence everywhere, in every direction, through every distance, so that no space, not even less than an atom, is empty from His Existence. We may move because we can
find space and distances and directions to move in, because our existence never fills except where we are standing. And when we are walking, where we were before, is going to be empty: therefore, we may move; and everything in existence through this atmosphere is moving. Movement is the attribute of creatures, and to be not moving is the Divinely Attribute. An ocean is not moving from its place, but everything in it is moving. You can't find through an ocean anything fixed,; everything in it is moving, only the ocean never moves: to where it should move? It can't move. But everything in it must
move! nothing is fixed in it.. And the whole creation is moving through the oceans of Samadiya; it must move, and its movement and existence belong to the ocean. If there is no ocean, nothing lives in the ocean, and if the countless creatures through the ocean are not moving, they can't be in existence. Everything that is in existence must move. Can you find a fish to be in the same
position from even one second to the other? Never! But the ocean is the ocean. And the whole creation is through Allah Almighty's endless power oceans. Allah Almighty is filling everything, but nothing is going to be with Him. Creatures are not with Him but Allah Almighty is with them. But they can't be with Him.
We are asking to move, and our material being can't move through the spiritual world; we are in need of a spiritual engine to get up and enter the spiritual worlds. Yes, we have engines; through our creation we have been granted engines, but it is not enough that the engines are on the plane to make it to fly.. must come petrol in it, and then petrol makes the engine work; if not coming in it, it can't work. We are tariqat people; which means that we are asking to reach to our Heavenly positions. If you are asking to reach to your Heavenly station, you must put petrol, and then you may reach to your position or station through Heavens. Therefore we have association with the Sheikh, and Sheikh is asking and taking from the Prophet's spiritual power. That power is running through the Sheikh's heart and through his heart he may give that spiritual power to people, to make them move up; therefore it is a perfect description what Shah Naqshband said:
'Tariqatuna as sohba': it means that our way is a
way towards Allah. We are asking to move to Allah, and everything that is asking to move is in need of a power for pulling or pushing it.
And mureeds who are asking to reach their Heavenly stations or the Divinely Presence must take a power through their plane, and that power may take them to their real positions or Heavenly stations, or through the Divine Presence. You must use it! Therefore the sahaba/companions were those who were coming and going to be present with Rasulullah sallallahu alaihi wa sallam pace be upon him, who were attending the Prophet's association. Even one association with him was enough for them to take them from the lowest level to the highest.. That is the Prophet's power. If all nations, billions and billions of people would be with Rasulullah, he would be able to give everyone enough power to take them from the lowest level to the highest! '..wa khairu fi jamia'. Therefore Grandsheikh was always saying, 'Association is the power center that makes you move towards Heavens or the Divinely Presence'. Every day you can find another reality coming into appearance..
Every day coming a new opening; it can't be the same like the day before! And it is not going to be same the next
day, tomorrow, as today: 'Kulli yaumin Huwa fi sha'an'; every day must be independent in its being, and there is no similarity among two days, not with the day before, not with the day after. Every day has a special being through its existence. Today you are someone that you were not yesterday, and your personality is again going to be different next day, tomorrow you are going to
be changed physically and spiritually.
And physically the improvement is that whatever you do for your material being is bringing you to a limit for your physical being. That is improvement, bringing you to a limit. But what you are reaching spiritually is taking you from 'asfala safilin', the lowest level of today, to the highest level of today, and that is not same level the next coming day and it was not the same or a
similar level as yesterday. Therefore we need always a renewment, refreshment, re-acting and re-moving, day by day asking more to move towards the Divine Presence.
If you are not doing anything, you have been carried, as a person that fainted. If they take a fainted person to Arafat, and he never feels or sees or does anything, what do you think about his Hajj? Okay or not? Okay! Therefore so many people, the majority of people, come here like fainted people, drunk people, coming not knowing, getting out not knowing, but their names are just recorded or registered that they were through this life on earth.. coming and going, but coming fainted and going fainted; coming and going knowing nothing.. It is approved that he has been through that life, but he was like a fainted or a drunken person. He never knew about this life and it's obligations, no- coming and going. Allah Almighty, and this is something you didn't hear before, will order to deal with these people with another treatment the Day of Resurrection or Judgment Day: They are going to be at least figures. But those, who were ready or present with Allah
Almighty (during their life), they are like sultans, and the others are their people. They are not going to be lost, because nothing is created batil, without wisdom.
And we said now: If a person is going to Arafat and the whole day he was fainted, but he was carried and put on Arafat, and he was not with himself or herself up to sunset and then taken away but still this holy appearance and blessings that come on whole people is coming on him, cleaning him. But his rank is something else. Who is awakening and doing what is obligatory for him should be dealt with in another way. But those people who are never ready with themselves, never knowing where they are or were, who are only brought to Arafat and taken away, they reach to the blessings that come on everyone from mankind who is living, but they are reaching 1%, and some others take more, 1oo% or 9o%, or 5o%, or 1o%. For the other people it is written: Nothing they reached. Then they should be granted another blessing on them. We said as an example that people who go on
Mount Arafat and who are awakening reach treasures. Who can never take anything should be granted something else from Allah Almighty's charity and generosity. They should be granted because just they reached and they were through this life; Allah Almighty is sending them but they were fainted or drunk people, never knowing anything. And we are trying not to be 1oo% drunk people, not doing anything; at least something we must do through our whole life daily, so that we are going to be registered as: sometimes awakening, sometimes heedless.. You should be dealt with in such a way.. or: fully present, or: fully heedless, fully fainted, or: part-time heedless, part-time fainted- coming and going..
They are going on Arafat, and we must ask from Allah Almighty to be awaken, and this honor no doubt is just dressed on who is opening his hands and asks. Those people who fainted, no, but he should be granted something else.
This is also an answer for some Awliya who are sad about the majority of people, what should be their position in Divinely Presence. Therefore this is coming, that Allah Almighty is giving His Divinely Judgment through His Divinely Justice, and when He is giving His Judgment for all nations, all mankind, you cannot find anyone to say: 'Dhulimtu', 'I have been unlucky or I lost', and that Allah's Judgment is oppression. They can't say, because Adam alaihi salaam said: 'Rabbana dhalamna anfusina'. The first man and our father, the father of the Children of Adam, was saying: 'O our Lord, just we did unjust dealing, we dealt with You so badly. We did that bad dealing only for our ego's sake, and we are asking Your forgiveness. ' He was not asking forgiveness only for himself and his wife, Hawa/Eve, our mother, but it was a general asking: 'O Allah, if You are giving Your
blessings, forgiveness, give it to me and ourselves as well as to our whole generation.' Therefore on the Day of Resurrection, Judgment Day, no one can stand up and say: 'I have been oppressed', no. That is adlu mutlak, perfect judgement, it is
just and people should be happy with Allah Almighty's Judgment. That happiness is going to be for them even if they may be thrown into the fire; that happiness will give them pleasure even they are in the fire. They are not angry about their Lord's Judgment for them. They should say: 'Your Judgment is 1oo% perfect, and more and more and more. We are happy with Your Judgment.' That
happiness is coming through them, and even they are through fire, the fire can't touch them. They may be only in it but through their inside there is an opening to say that: 'Allah did His best, His most excellent, most perfect Judgment.' That refreshment makes the fire not to affect them even it is eating them. That is another ocean. May Allah forgive us.