Mawlana Shaykh Nazim

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Khatam Sharif: Mawlana Sultan al Awliya Shaykh Nazim Date:24/12/2009 Compiled by: Sayyid Amjid and Sajid Hussain Page: 1 of 17 ا م رحیّ من ال ح لرّ سم ب ف ری م ش ی ح م اظ ن خ ی ش ا ن موKhatam Sharif in honour of the venerable Sultan al Awliya Mawlana Shaykh Muhammad Nazim Molvi har giz na shud Mawla-i Rum Ta ghulam e shams Tabrizi na shud Molvi can never become the Master of Rum, Until he becomes a slave of Shams Tabrizi ® Listen dear friend to the story of Molvi. He was a man seeking external knowledge at all times, whilst being unaware of the ways of the path, sulook. He had become well known for his pursuit of knowledge but was very far from any contact with the real path, as the main object of all knowledge is to reach the Divine presence.

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Sufi Master

Transcript of Mawlana Shaykh Nazim

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ما لرحمن الّرحی ّ ب سم للا

ری ف م ش

ی ح

م

اظ خ دمحم ن ی

ا ش

موالن

Khatam Sharif in honour of the venerable

Sultan al Awliya

Mawlana Shaykh Muhammad Nazim

Molvi har giz na shud Mawla-i Rum

Ta ghulam e shams Tabrizi na shud

Molvi can never become the Master of Rum,

Until he becomes a slave of Shams Tabrizi ®

Listen dear friend to the story of Molvi. He was a man seeking external knowledge at all

times, whilst being unaware of the ways of the path, sulook. He had become well known for

his pursuit of knowledge but was very far from any contact with the real path, as the main

object of all knowledge is to reach the Divine presence.

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However, on whomever Allah almighty’s grace shines, one day or another he will indeed

attain His qurb, nearness. It was not long before the Lord’s grace shone upon Molvi and from

the unseen, help finally reached him. Indeed all achievements only come about through

Divine Grace and without His favour nothing comes about.

So it was Shaykh Shams Tabrezi ® who set off for Rum and cast his tawajjuh upon Molvi,

who fell unconscious forgetting all he had attained. He dropped his robe of knowledge and

readily accepted Shams ® as his Master.

At one time Molvi was known as a man of dignity and splendor. His popularity was such that

crowds would be attracted to him, and out of respect and honour they would rush to kiss his

hands and feet. He used to be carried in the royal carriage with an entourage and had

hundreds of soldiers and servants at his disposal.

Indeed, what a glance was thrown on him by Shams ® that on this day the Master of

knowledge fell down unconscious. It was this glance that made him leave all his desires and

signs of pomp and splendor. He completely surrendered himself to his Shaykh and desired

only to seek his pleasure and follow in his footsteps. He found new pleasures in even

carrying on his head the blessed sandals of the Shaykh. Having found the threshold of the

master all that he was had now turned to dust.

And so, upon Jalaluddin Rumi ® there was the full effect of the influence of Shams, who

filled his heart with burning love and certainty. Whatever bounty he received from the hands

of the Shaykh filled his every breath with gratitude and trust.

So then look dear friend, from what did Shams ® transform Rumi ® into and through this

companionship what great wonders resulted. Most certainly it was the link of the ordinary to

the extraordinary that the Molvi of Rum had now become Mawlana Rum ®.

Introduction – ordinary to the extraordinary

Mawlana Shaykh Nazim said;

“We are going to speak from our Grandshaykh’s ® lectures, as he was a

representative of the Holy Prophet (S) in our time. Every wali, saint, must be a

representative of his Prophet in his own time. They are masters for teaching people

the ways of Allah Almighty. Each one of mankind is going towards his Lord, but each

has a private and different destination. Everyone must know his destination. The

Awliya, saints, have lights in their hearts; they are not blind. For most people, their

heart’s eyes are veiled, but Awliya have taken off the veils and like Prophets, may

look to the future. With their light, they may help people to their destinations, as

Allah Almighty says to His Prophet Muhammad (S), in the Holy Qur’an,

‘Say: This is my way, that I am inviting you unto your Lord, Allah Almighty, with

exact vision and perfect guidance which I am on as are they who completely follow

me’.”

(Surah Yusuf, Verse 108)

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Ordinary Arabs living in Makkah and Madinah sharif became known as the Sahaba,

companions of the Prophet (S). Abu Bakr became al Siddiq ®, Umar became al Faruq ®,

Uthman became al Dhul nurayn ® and Ali became al Murtada ®. All these ordinary people

became special because of their love and association with the extraordinary one (S). Thus,

the Sahaba remained firm in their obedience and loyalty to Rasulullah (S) and his noble

cause, as Allah almighty declares in the holy Quran;

"Whoever obeys the Messenger, he indeed obeys Allah."

(Holy Qur’an 4:80)

The mufassirin explain that in following Allah’s command to obey Him and His Messenger

(S) we are being taught the correct adab to reach Allah almighty. The qurb, nearness to

Allah almighty, can only be attained through his beloved, Rasulullah (S). The Awliya explain

that the Sahaba understood this ayah and pledged their loyalty to Rasulullah (S). They spent

their entire lives in obedience as they knew that success in attaining his pleasure, meant

success in attaining Allah almighty’s pleasure. Thus, they attained closeness to their Lord

through the guidance of Rasulullah (S); the Tabi’in, next generation, attained it from the

hands of the Sahaba, and the Taba tabi’in, third generation, attained it from the Tabi’in.

Consequently, people in each generation sought to attain nearness to Rasulullah (S) and

Allah almighty by keeping their pledge of obedience to those extraordinary ones who

represented Rasulullah (S) in their respective times. They received guidance from these

noble people by surrendering themselves and linking onto this unbroken chain which traces

back to Rasulullah (S).

In this manner, representatives of Rasulullah (S) emerged in each generation that excelled

in their love for Rasulullah (S) who guided and taught people the adab of this path, Sulook,

which were passed down through this chain. In following the Sunnah of Rasulullah (S), these

Masters call others and provide them with the opportunity to become a part of this chain and

attain salvation. All those who seek and find such masters then surrender themselves as

murids and are guided and trained in this path. Allah almighty says in the holy Qur’an;

“O Lord! We have heard a proclaimer calling to faith (saying):’Believe in your Lord;’ so we

have come to believe. O Lord! Forgive us our sins, and wipe off our misdeeds from us and

cause us (in all grace) to die with the righteous.

O Lord! Grant us that which You have promised to us through Your Apostles and disgrace us

not on the Day of Reckoning. Surely You never fail in Your Promise.”

(Sura al-Imran: Ayah 193&194) (English Translation from Jamal ul Qur’an)

The Awliya explain that as adab is the key to attaining closeness to Rasulullah (S) it is

therefore necessary for us to adopt this adab and seek the perfect man, the master, the

extraordinary one who is representing Rasulullah (S) in his time and connect with this

unbroken golden chain.

Mawlana Jalaluddin Rumi ® said, “Turn this dust into gold dust by kissing the threshold of

the perfect man.”

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In this day and age we have a perfect example of the one who has attained nearness and

acceptance in the Divine presence through connecting with the extraordinary. He can be

described as a true murid, a seeker who found the perfect man. His total surrender to his

Master helped him succeed on this path to Allah almighty, as he was also transformed into

the extraordinary.

This extraordinary man who accepts everyone regardless of creed, colour or social status

onto this path, who purifies many souls through guidance, who has lifted the ordinary to

become extraordinary by taking them into the presence of Rasulullah (S), who is still

continuing to carry the whole world, is Sultan al Awliya Mawlana Shaykh Muhammad Nazim.

Early life

Mawlana Shaykh Muhammad Nazim was born on Sunday 21st April 1922 (26th Sha’ban

1341AH), in the sea side city of Larnaca, Cyprus. His lineage from his father’s side traces

back to the seal of prophets Sayyiduna Muhammad (S), as he is a direct descendant of

Sayyiduna Shaykh Abdul Qadir Jilani ®, founder of the Qadiriyya order. His blessed mother

also belonged to a very noble family as she was a descendant of the great sufi saint

Mawlana Jalaludin Rumi ®, the founder of the Mevlavi order whose lineage goes back to

Sayyiduna Abu Bakr al Siddiq ®.

Mawlana’s home in Larnaca was situated next to a large mosque which also housed the

shrine of Sayyidah Umm Haram ®, a lady Sahabiya. His grandfather was a Shaykh in the

Qadriyya order who remained the imam of this mosque and served people at the mizar for

forty years.

As a child, on many occasions Mawlana would disappear from home and would spend much

of his time at the mizar. His mother would often find him either sitting in dhikr circles with

Ulama and Awliya in the mosque or sitting alone next to the shrine. It was apparent that he

would be involved in deep conversation as he would ask and respond to questions with

Sayyidah Umm Haram ®.

In his youth Mawlana impressed many of his teachers through his ability to learn. It was

only necessary for them to merely mention a complicated point once for Mawlana, who not

only understood it, but was able to further elaborate upon it. He had a great understanding of

all that he learnt and was highly skilled in all the sciences. In 1944 after completing his

studies at high school in Cyprus, he left for Istanbul and enrolled into the University.

Each of Mawlana’s three brothers also studied at the same University; one was studying for

his Mechanical Engineering degree, the other Law and the third Medicine. It was during the

Second World War that his third brother was drafted into the army, as doctors were very

much needed.

Mawlana was nearing completion of his degree in Chemistry when he was given the sad

news that his brother had been martyred during his service in the war. As Mawlana was

closest to this brother than the others and loved him dearly, his departure from this world

shocked Mawlana so much that it became the turning point where he reviewed the direction

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of his own life and began to accept the reality of life itself. This incident made him realise that

as everything in this life has an end, why should he then continue working for duniya and

why not instead work for the akhirah. He said to himself, “We are going to leave everything

and everything is leaving us, and we are heading towards Allah almighty. So let me from

now go to Allah almighty, why should I wait?”

Rasulullah (S) said, “Love whomever you wish, but one day you will be separated.” No

matter how much a person is successful and can enjoy and desire life, have many

relationships and love unconditionally, everything will leave him and he will leave everything.

However, the one who loves Allah almighty will remain with Him as He never dies.

Although he had attained his degree and could now pursue any career, Mawlana felt a

strong desire to leave everything in this world and pursue the journey to Allah Almighty

instead.

Murid and Irada

Khwaja Muhammad Baqi Billah ® once asked his companion, Shah Abdul Haq Muhaddith

Dehlawi ®, “What is the beginning of sulook, the sufi path?”

Although Shah Abdul Haq ® was a great scholar and a master in the traditional sciences; he

was a very sensible murid and had proper adab towards his Shaykh. He replied, “O Master

you know better, and your asking is surely for some other purpose. However we have heard

the masters explain that when an ordinary person falls in love with an extraordinary person,

that is the beginning of sulook.”

Mawlana said,

“When I was younger, I read and studied a great deal. Not only religion, holy Qu’ran

and Hadith, but also European knowledge, ‘positive, objective knowledge’, as they

called it at the university. So many books I read. Also, I met several Shaykhs’ and

learned people, but my heart was not at peace with anyone until I met our

Grandshaykh ®. When he was speaking, ah! He was illiterate, but he was giving,

with his words. Divine Knowledge; knowledge that I could trust 100%!

“I was in peace with his meetings. For forty years I was with him, and for forty years

I tried to follow him. I am the weakest person, but my intention was to follow him. I

felt as though I were an ant, with a broken leg, trying to crawl from Damascus to

Makkah; that is how I saw myself in our Grandshaykh’s ® presence. But my hope

was to follow him, as our Prophet (S) says, “The value of actions is according to the

intentions behind them.” Therefore, I hope my Lord, Allah almighty, will send me to

where Grandshaykh ® is; to the Divine Presence; even though I am like that little

ant.

I accepted Grandshaykh ® as Allah almighty ordered in the holy Qu’ran, “Follow in

the path of him who has turned to Me with love.” This is my intention, I intend to

follow him, and I am interested in that point only. I left all my ‘knowledge’, and

intended to follow his way to Allah almighty.”

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Imam Qushayri ® says that irada, desire, is the beginning of this path; it is the first stage for

the people who intend to meet Allah almighty. Consequently, irada is to have no desire other

than this one.

A murid is someone who has this irada. His irada is to reach Allah almighty and to attain His

Qurb, and to attain this desire he leaves all other desires. In order to be successful in this

venture, he puts all his efforts and energy into this point. As he surrenders to his master,

who takes him to Allah Almighty, he thus only has one desire; the pleasure of his Shaykh,

which is attained only through obedience.

For these people everything begins and ends with their Shaykh; no matter if it is business or

family. Before acting upon anything a murid will first ask himself, ‘is my Shaykh’s pleasure in

this work?’ and even if it is the most beneficial thing in the world, these people of sincerity

will avoid it, as their Shaykh’s happiness is worth more than the world itself.

When the Master accepts a person as a murid, the person then moves from a rebellious

state to an obedient one. And because of this humility he will have the negative traits of

duniya taken out of him. His focus will then be his Shaykh. The murid then does not want to

talk nor wishes to listen about anybody else.

Search for the Master

After making his irada, Mawlana began his pursuit of knowledge in religion and went in

search of a Master. He began studying Shari’ah and Jurisprudence under the Imam of that

time, Shaykh Jamaluddin al Lasuni ®.

Whilst he was studying with his teacher Shaykh Jamaluddin al Lasuni ® he felt in his heart a

great attraction towards a great Saint of Allah almighty, a Naqshabandi Shaykh called

Shaykh Sulayman Arzurumi ®, also known as Shaykh al Mashaikh in the Turkish territory.

Shaykh Sulayman ® took Mawlana into his care and trained him in all aspects of practices

and devotions in order to improve his spiritual rank. He taught him the Divine knowledge and

the Divine Secrets. Mawlana’s most favourite moments during this time was to be in prayers.

Whenever anyone looked for him he was found praying.

After a period of time Shaykh Sulayman ® said to Mawlana, “I have educated and trained

you up until now but now your training with me is finished. Your himmah, determination,

power and energy is so much greater than what I expected and I am unable to continue

teaching you. For this reason I asked Rasulullah (S) as to what I should do with you. He (S)

said that your spiritual trust is not with me, and that on the Day of Promises I had not been

given it. Your amana was given to another Saint, the Seal of Saints and a Sultan ul

Awliya. He has the power to help all Awliyas who are in need and is currently in Damascus,

his name is Mawlana Shaykh Abdullah Faiz Dhagistani ®.”

Mawlana was then instructed to go to Damascus in order to meet Shaykh Abdullah Faiz

Daghistani ®.

“When Shaykh Sulayman ® told me this news, I felt that everything inside me was

crying out and telling me to leave for Damascus immediately. It was my intention

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that after meeting with Grandshaykh ®, I would seek permission to migrate to

Madinah sharif and settle down near the maqam of Rasulullah (S).

As it was the will of my Shaykh that I go to Damascus, I did not even look back nor

take anything with me, I did not even have money in my pocket. I left with only my

clothes that I was wearing and my walking stick.

Grandshaykh ® lived in a cemetery in Damascus. It was a humble room over the

maqam of a wali, and for the last six years he had remained in this room in

seclusion.

Upon arriving in Damascus, I knocked on this door and it was opened by

Grandshaykh ®, who looked at me and said, ‘most welcome to the person whom we

have asked to come’ He then spoke without looking at us but looking far away, ‘I

have now received this trust that you have sent’, this was addressed to Shaykh

Sulayman ® my earlier Shaykh.

This was my first meeting with Grandshaykh ® and at this time I was at the mere

age of twenty three. From that time I was attached to him and did not let go of him.

This meeting was in 1945.

During the first meeting with him, Grandshaykh ® began to lecture on all kinds of

Divine Knowledge, Divine Wisdom and Divine Secrets. This knowledge was new

and fresh knowledge which had never before been disclosed before. He gave this

knowledge as if he was receiving it from Rasulullah (S) and from the Divine Secret

Oceans of Allah Almighty. He spoke, answering all my questions on Shari’ah and on

the knowledges of Reality, all the questions that had been with me due to my

education, and all queries inside me were answered and solved for me in this

very short time of three hours. This made me love him and connect to him even

more. This was what I had been searching for all my life and for what I had left

everything behind. Now I had found it with Grandshaykh ®.

He then asked whether there were any other questions I would like to know from

him. It was at this point I said that I was intending to migrate to Madina sharif to be

near the Prophet (S), to which Grandshaykh ® replied, ‘O my son, we are ones who

do not speak from our egos, so I cannot tell you. We must ask such a question from

Rasulullah (S) himself. Every night during the third part of the night I go up spiritually

to the Divine Presence of the holy Prophet (S). I will ask him what you should do,

and then I will tell you the answer by Fajr prayer, tomorrow.’

Throughout the evening Grandshaykh ® looked after me with such a courteous

manner, he cooked and made the tea thereafter, he then bid me farewell and I

retired to the mosque for the night.

This night seemed to be the longest night in my life, I was so eager for Fajr time to

arrive. I was waiting impatiently to rush towards my Grandshaykh ® in the

morning in order to find out the answer to my question.

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In the morning after Fajr prayers I rushed to meet Grandshaykh ®. It was as if the

light coming from the heart of the Prophet (S), through the heart of Grandshaykh ®

was dragging me like a magnet towards the place where he was and I went

towards him as if I was flying.

Upon meeting with Grandshaykh ®, he said, ‘O my son, all your spiritual realities

and your spiritual trust is in my hands, and you have been my son from pre-eternity

to eternity. You are going to serve our Naqshabandi way. On the Day of Promises

you made a promise to be a Grandshaykh ® of the Naqshabandi line which you will

serve till the last days. As for the question of migrating to Madina sharif to be with

the Prophet (S), it has been accepted because of your intention and it has been

ordered to the Angels to write it down in your favour that from this moment up to the

Last Days with every wink of an eye you have been given the good tiding as if you

have fulfilled that purpose. The ummah of Rasulullah (S) is very much in need of

you, your advice, teachings and leadership.’”

Return to Cyprus

“Grandshaykh ® then said, according to the will of the Prophet (S), it is best for you

to return to Cyprus, because the people there do not know much about Islam. They

are in need of you in order to learn the right way, our way.”

After this, Grandshaykh ® initiated me into the Naqshabandi order and opened the

divine secrets to me. He then taught me the dhikr and the khatam al Khwajaghan

and said, ‘when you visit people, you will be able to give them knowledge, and my

knowledge is coming to me from Rasulullah (S)’. I then kissed his hands and also

his forehead and made the intention to go back to Cyprus to fulfil the order of my

Shaykh.

I then immediately went to the bus stand for Lebanon where a stranger said,

‘Shaykh Nazim? I know you are Shaykh Nazim, if you want to go to Tripoli I will pay

for your fare.’

I got into the bus for Tripoli and finally reached Lebanon. There I met a person who

looked very respectable and had a long beard, nur on his face and blue eyes with

much light coming from them; he seemed to me to be a man of Allah almighty. He

told me, ‘Three days ago I was ordered by the beloved Prophet (S) to wait at this

bus station for you, he said, ‘Make good hospitality for my son Nazim, and serve him

yourself, then help him to go to Cyprus’.

He made himself known to me that he was Shaykh Munir al Malek ®. Day and night

he served me for three days, throughout which he was searching for a boat.

Due to the Second World War it was very difficult and dangerous to cross the seas.

However, Shaykh Munir’s ® friend offered to take me in his small fishing boat.

This journey on any other occasion would have taken six hours, but due to our

circumstances and boat, we sailed for eight days and nights. It was not an easy

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journey as there was not much food and water; and to make ablution was very

difficult.

After a long and arduous journey with many obstacles, the order of Grandshaykh ®

was finally fulfilled. As I reached the island of Cyprus and stepped onto the dry land

my heart was glowing. I felt an extraordinary power.

Suddenly the spiritual body of Grandshaykh ® was there to welcome me, he was on

my right hand side walking with me. All kinds of Divine knowledge and Divine

secrets opened in my heart, which were transmitted from the spirituality of my

Shaykh to me. From that moment on the spiritual presence of Grandshaykh ® has

been with me, and not even for a moment have I ever been away from him.”

Love for your Master

Once Shaykh Hasan Sijzi ® asked his Shaykh, Hadrat Mehbub e Ilahi ®, “O Shaykh which

kind of murid is better; the one that does the very basic of actions and practices but has a

strong connection with his Shaykh, or the one that does a lot of ibadat, riyazat and other

exercises but has less love and affection for his master?”

Hadrat Mehbub e Ilahi ® replied, “The one that will benefit the most is the one who has

e’itimadh, greater trust, is a muhib, loves his Shaykh and is a mutaqid, has strong belief in

him, as his one moment is greater than all the other person’s worship in comparison.”

Although there were many people who became Sahaba towards the end of their lives, they

still attained so much spirituality and closeness to Rasulullah (S) in such a short period of

time. This was only due to the love and certainty in their belief and not due to their actions.

Sayyiduna Bilal ®, who could neither read nor write and even as he called the adhan he

would not pronounce the words correctly as he had a lisp. Yet through good adab and

extreme love for Rasulullah (S), Bilal the slave became Sayyiduna Bilal ®, the Master.

The more adab a seeker possesses and the more love he has for his Master, the quicker is

his progresses on the path to Allah almighty. When a murid becomes this dedicated, the

Shaykh will flood him with tawajjuh and will hold nothing back from him. As this is what the

Master is waiting and looking for, a dedicated and loyal murid.

Whatever Grandshaykh ® ordered Mawlana to do he did without question and with complete

and total yaqin in his master. However, this training was not easy as he was given a strict

discipline, but he passed all tests and emerged as a mountain of certainty.

Shaykh Abu Hafs al Suhrwardi ®, Grand Master of the Surwardi order, said, “When the

sincere disciple enters into the obedience of the master, he keeps company with him and

learns from his manners. Then something magnificent starts to happen. However, this can

only take place if the disciple restricts himself to the Master and sheds the desires of his

soul, simply leaves all other desires.”

Therefore a real murid is someone who desires nothing but his Shaykh, and if he desires

anything else, then simply put, he is not a murid.

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Sayyiduna Imam Ghazali ® narrates that Allah almighty sent a revelation to Sayyiduna Daud

(as), “O Daud (as), if you see someone seeking Me, then become his servant.”

The masters are in constant search for those that desire to follow this path to their Lord. And

when these masters find a true seeker they are overwhelmed and honoured. It is when the

Shaykh accepts as his murid the one seeking Allah almighty that he gives his full tawajjuh

and tries to do everything he can to serve this seeker as he recognises that this person has

Allah almighty’s grace upon him; Just like Grandshaykh ® did with Mawlana.

The Khwajagan masters say that when a Shaykh is given a true murid like Grandshaykh ®

was given Mawlana, then the Master is so much at peace. He is thankful to his Lord for

sending someone to whom this trust can be passed onto. He then knows that his work is in

safe hands and he has no fear of the work fading away. In fact he is hopeful that this murid

will take this trust to different heights.

Even though Grandshaykh ® lived in Daghestan and never went to any other country apart

from migrating to Turkey and going for Hajj, his work and influence has been globalised by

Mawlana. The gift of ‘Divine acceptance’ that Mawlana has been granted cannot be seen in

any other Shaykh today.

The love that Mawlana has for Grandshaykh ® is such that his whole life and essence

revolves around his Master. If anyone has had the blessed opportunity to spend a moment

with him will know that no matter what the topic, Mawlana will always remember

Grandshaykh ®, and attribute his words to him. Whenever he gives suhbah he does not

speak from himself, as his heart is always connected to Grandshaykh ® waiting for

inspiration. Mawlana says, “We derive our spiritual support from his heart centre. If he cuts

us off we are stranded.”

Mawlana explains,

“The love that a person has for a beloved of Allah is not physical love, it is heavenly.

The affection people show for their spiritual teacher is a sign of belief. It is the power

that holds believers together. When people tell you, that you should not have a

Shaykh, it is like asking a tasbih not to have a string. Without a master, believers are

scattered like loose beads without a string, by the end of the day half of them will be

lost.

There is no reaching the Divine Presence without a real guide. Whoever is seeking

to follow the path to Allah almighty must take a guide. It is the quickest and shortest

way. Sayyiduna Ali ® asked Rasulullah (S), ‘Ya Rasulullah (S) what is the easiest

way to our Lord?’

Rasulullah (S) replied, ‘O Ali ®, look for one friend of Allah and stay in his shadow. A

shadow is not going to separate from a man. Only then may you easily and quickly

reach the Lord’s Presence.’”

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Mawlana explain the need for a Shaykh by saying,

“This way is the way of good manners. Everyone must learn good manners so he

may be a good person. Man may have a good personality or even a bad personality.

Originally, everyone without training has bad characteristics. The ego is strong at

first. To have a good personality you must take the power from the hands of your

ego. If you are leaving yourself in its hands you will be a bad personality. Therefore,

at the same time Allah created the first man, He gave to him Prophethood. The first

man is also the first Prophet, so that he may train his children with good manners

and characteristics.

Man is in need of training; therefore, Allah is giving him parents to teach him as a

baby and child. But the training of Prophets is most important. Others teach you to

give the ego its desires. Prophets teach to save us from our ego’s desires, because

they are endless, asking more and more and still more, without limit. Following the

ego’s desires, we tire and die tired. Prophets teach us to stop within a limit, keeping

one’s self from endless work and tiring. They teach us the purpose of life, showing

us our destinations. Whoever follows this way has good personality; because the

Prophets’ training is good manners for everyone. Now that the Prophets are gone

but their deputies can be found if one is searching for them. They teach people to

save themselves from the assaults of their egos. Now, an important good manner is

to listen and act upon guidance: medicine is for taking. A sick man is not putting it on

the table and leaving it. Good manners are for acting upon.”

Training of a murid

Mawlana’s whole life is a perfect example of how a real murid seeks, finds and then

surrenders himself to a master who then trains and develops him taking him through all the

stages of the path to the Divine presence. As Mawlana had arrived in Grandshaykh’s ®

presence seeking Allah Almighty, he was welcomed and received with honour, as

Grandshaykh ® had expressed that his wait was now over. Mawlana had found the

threshold of the master who would take care of his progression and build his character and

manners befitting the one who is to be presented in front of Allah and His Messenger (S).

Thus, Mawlana became the dearest murid of Grandshaykh ®. He was the one that showed

the most capacity and greatest progression.

Mawlana has always possessed a good personality and has noble qualities since childhood,

but it was only through the influence and guidance of Grandshaykh ® that he was perfected.

He has always lived his life only according to Grandshaykh’s ® guidance and sought his

pleasure. He got married according to Grandshaykh’s ® will, he moved and travelled

according to his order, underwent seclusion only when he was told to do so and only

adopted practices and exercises as commanded by Grandshaykh ®. In fact every decision

he has ever made was, and is in complete accordance to Grandshaykh’s ® will, nothing was

ever done out of his own free accord.

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Mawlana says,

“In our days very few people are accepting a guide for themselves, everyone is so

proud, saying, “I am clever, I know better.” They may know this world’s knowledge,

but this guidance is not such that you can read in books and follow. You only know it

with a murshid. You must have a guide; only pride is keeping people away. There is

no reaching the Divine Presence without a real guide. For a humble murid following

a murshid, if he is consulting his murshid in every matter it is good, but for three

things it is a must. These are marriage, divorce, and far journeying. Also for the

pilgrimage is necessary consultation with the shaykh. If not consulting, one may fall

in a bad condition. The shaykh may give his orders by dreams, as it is prohibited for

jinn or devils to appear in the form of Rasulullah (S) or the shaykh.”

Consequently, Mawlana underwent training on this noble path under Grandshaykh’s ®

guidance. Mawlana had done so much mujahida in order to control the ego and reach higher

maqams from an early age. Discipline and struggle of the ego is necessary to keep it under

check, otherwise it will explode and destroy all that may have been achieved. He accepted

every instruction from his Shaykh and never questioned its purpose or benefit, even though

he may have already advanced many stages. Thus, Mawlana emerged as a beautiful and

successful murid of Grandshaykh ®. Simply put, he is a perfect example of a real murid.

Everything and anything related to his life is connected with his Master as his focus is always

on his Shaykh.

Once during seclusion, Grandshaykh ® did not speak for a long time. Although this was

neither out of anger nor to express displeasure in Mawlana, but the mere idea of not hearing

the voice of his Master was a great test in itself. “I was with Grandshaykh ® for forty days

and forty nights not speaking one word. This was too heavy for me. I was ready to give up all

the world for his speaking to me. Then at dawn after the fortieth night he spoke.”

Once a person came to Grandshaykh ® and asked a maslah. As Grandshaykh ® had never

studied anywhere and was not a certified scholar; he turned to Mawlana and said, “Nazim

Effendi, you may answer, you are knowing.”

Although Mawlana was a certified Alim and could have easily solved the maslah, he replied,

“I know nothing my Shaykh.”

Grandshaykh ® was very happy with Mawlana’s answer, as this was his test. His adab

showed that his heart would always put his Master before anything else, as he had totally

surrendered himself.

Once in Damascus, Mawlana was walking with Grandshaykh ® when a Christian priest

approached Grandshaykh ® and kissed his hand. Mawlana smiled at him and upon noticing

this, Grandshaykh ® got very angry and said, “Nazim Effendi, why did you smile? You think

he is a kafir and you are a Muslim so you are better?”

This was not Mawlana’s intention for smiling, as it was more likely that he smiled because he

was happy to see a Christian kissing his Shaykh’s hand. However Grandshaykh ® said,

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“Read shahadah again, you should be so grateful that Allah almighty has granted you iman,

and there are such good people like him and they have not.”

Another time, whilst walking with Grandshaykh ® Mawlana kicked a stone on the floor,

Grandshaykh ® had a very jalali tabiyyat and so said, “Nazim Effendi, what are you doing?”

Trembling with fear of having upset his Shaykh, Mawlana lowered his head in shame.

“Do not even do that without making an intention. You should know why you even kicked a

stone. Read shahadah because for that moment you were out of iman.”

Characteristics of a murid

Imam e Rabbani ® said that Awliya are the deputies of Rasulullah (S), and if you do not treat

them as the holy Prophet’s (S) representatives then there is no path, there is no Sufism. Men

of understanding explain that by not showing the correct manners towards the Awliya you

are in fact disrespecting Rasulullah (S), and Allah almighty says that the ones that disrespect

Rasulullah (S) will have all their actions wiped out without them even knowing.

Athough Imam Qushayri’s ® Shaykh stayed in the same Madrassa, he would follow strict

adab before visiting him. He said, “Before I stepped into my Shaykh’s room I would make

sure I was fasting, I would take a bath and wear clean clothes, and throughout all of this I

would be in constant fear thinking, ‘I may end up showing disrespect in some way or

another’.”

It is necessary for every murid to have adab for his Shaykh, as Sufism is nothing but adab.

The ones who learn adab will attain Him, and the ones who leave adab will never reach the

Divine presence. In fact, these unfortunate people will not only burn themselves, but will burn

everything around them; such is its devastating destruction.

Shaykh Abu Bakr Kattani ® said that anyone who does not learn adab when associated with

a Master, he will attain nothing. Shaykh Abu Ali Daqqaq ® said that a person can reach

heaven through good actions, but with good manners he may reach his Lord. It is clear that

more than our actions adab is required to enter the Divine presence. Iblis, who had done so

much ibadah was disgraced and thrown out of paradise because of his lack of adab.

“He who has no adab, has no iman.”

Shaykh Suhrawardi ®

Our Grandmaster, Khwaja Abdul Khaliq al Ghujdawani ® enforced the importance of adab

by teaching, “Serve the masters with your wealth and your life and do not criticise them;

because anyone who criticises them will never be successful.”

Shaykh Dhun Nun al Misri ® say, “When a murid is unable to keep the adab of his Shaykh,

he goes back to the state he was in before he became a murid, he does not progress.

A murid is trapped in the prison of his desires and cannot escape on his own. It is the

Shaykh who can release him through a cleansing process. The murid undergoes this training

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of purification, character refinement and adab throughout his life. It is only upon completion

of this process that the Shaykh acknowledges him as a true murid.

Imam Qushayri ® explains the basic etiquettes that a murid should posses in his book,

Risala Qushayriyyah. Some of these are outlined below.

Whether in his holy presence or not, a murid should address his Shaykh with beautiful and eloquent names.

A murid should be self-critical and consider himself as the lowest and insignificant

follower of his Master’s flock. A murid should keep his heart alive with the award and dhikr prescribed by his Shaykh,

as he is the doctor of the soul and knows what illness is affecting him. A murid should be loyal to his Shaykh even if he is angry with him and tells him to

leave. One night during extreme cold weather Hadrat Amir Kulal ® threw his murid, Hadrat Shah e Naqshband ® out. Hadrat Shah e Naqshband ® went out of the room and lay down on the threshold of his Shaykh’s door. After a while due to the freezing weather, snow and ice covered him. At Tahajjud time Hadrat Amir Kulal ® opened the door and took his first step which landed on the head of Hadrat Shah e Naqshband ®. Hadrat Amir Kulal ® then picked him up and took him inside. Pleased with his conduct and love he was given the keys to Divine secrets.

A murid should be reliable and trustworthy, and carry out any order given to him. Even

if a murid is about to pray nafl salah, he should postpone it to carry out his Master’s order.

A murid should never step on the sajjadah of his Shaykh, nor wear his clothes. A murid should never question the Shaykh and if devilish whispers come to his heart

he must remember the story of Sayyiduna Khidr (as) and Sayyiduna Musa (as). A murid should be generous with his wealth; otherwise the love of duniya will embed

itself in his heart, preventing him from ever being generous. A murid should never doubt his Shaykh, he should have complete trust in his Master,

for any moment a doubt creeps in, then his faith is gone, he is no longer a murid.

A murid is he who only desires what his Master desires; he completely gives himself over to

his master. At this point nothing matters to him, as he truly understands that his life is no

longer his. His Shaykh knows him better than himself, and will protect him not only from the

shaytans of duniya, but also from the shaytan of the self.

The murid may be tested through hardships of health, wealth and family; he must obey all

his Masters commands. Khwaja Ubaydullah Ahrar ® once told his murid, “Go to the

mountain and wait for me, I will be there soon.”

Immediately the murid got up and made his way up the mountain. Seven years later Khwaja

Ubaydullah ® went to the mountain and saw his state. He had lost his health due to lack of

food and water and had withered away; weak and feeble he kissed his Master’s feet. Khwaja

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Ubaydullah ® said, “You foolish one! Why did you not return to the dergah after noticing we

had not come! What if something had happened to us?…”

The murid replied, “O my Shaykh, you said you would see me at the mountain, and as far as

I was concerned, I knew you would come.”

Thus, a murid should be obedient to his Master without any doubt and have complete trust in

his words.

Shaykh Ruwaym ® said to Shaykh al Kabir ®, “O my son, make your actions like salt and your adab like flour.” Actions can be less, but adab should be in abundance in everything that a murid does.

When sitting with ulama, a seeker must control his tongue otherwise they may put a

fatwa on him; and when sitting with the Masters he must control his heart, as they are the spies of the heart.

A murid should not ask for faqiri, khilafat or anything else from his Shaykh. This is

considered to be bad manners because it is like saying, ‘Shaykh you do not know my capacity, and are holding back on what is mine’.

When he is talking, a murid should not distract his Shaykh towards something else. A murid should not raise his voice in the Shaykh’s presence. A murid must believe that whatever he attains or receives in duniya or akhira is all from

his Master. In his Maktubat sharif, Imam e Rabbani ® writes, “Whatever a person attains, he must believe that it is coming from his Shaykh.”

A murid must not walk in front of his Shaykh, step on his shadow or let his own

shadow fall upon his Shaykh; and when in his presence, he must not talk about himself.

A murid should never test nor seek miracles from his Shaykh as this is very

disgraceful. A murid must not upset his Shaykh, as to hurt him is the root of all destruction.

Conclusion

The whole purpose of becoming a murid is to cut off from something ordinary and to join with

something special. It is to cut off from duniya and to join with Allah. So, whenever the

traditional masters saw any person who had not severed his link with duniya, they would not

accept him as a murid, as this was a necessary requirement. The murid would have to be in

a proper state with the firm intention to follow this path leaving all other desires. Anyone who

was unable to qualify this condition would not be accepted by the Shaykh.

However, in the time of other awliya such as Shaykh Abu Sa’id Abu Khayr ®, Shaykh Saif

Uddin Bakhrazi ®, Shaykh Shuhab Uddin Suhrwardi ® and Baba Farid ® common people

also began to be accepted as murids. Although, not every murid had the same irada; to seek

Allah Almighty, nevertheless everyone received some benefit from this connection and made

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some progress on the path. As the Shaykh is a beloved of Allah, even if the most sinful and

the most useless person comes to him, he will still be able to transmit something because of

his qurb, nearness to his Lord.

Once Mawlana Zia Uddin Barni ® visited Hadrat Mehbub e Ilahi ® in Delhi and saw him

giving ba’iyat to the masses. He thought about the reason why the Shaykh was accepting

everyone and anyone as murids.

Hadrat Mehbub e Ilahi ® read his thoughts and said, “Dear Mawlana, you should know that

Allah almighty creates different needs for different times. We cannot use the same formula

for every time, as He has created people with different tabiyats, temperaments and

characteristics. My son, it is difficult to find people whose characteristics resemble those of

the previous generations, as they were people of steadfastness, dedication and

commitment. The people in this time are in need of tolerance and leniency. I have heard on

many occasions that from the people who have become murids, many have now started to

pray become occupied in some sort of goodness. Just the mere fact that they are murid has

led them to do something good. If we were to first set conditions on them, then who would

want to follow us?”

This characteristic is also evident in Mawlana’s life. Since Grandshaykh ® ordered him to go

and teach people the ‘right way’ he was given access to Divine support for this task. It is his

extraordinary appeal that has attracted people from all corners of the world. As Mawlana

says, “Throughout history, whenever Islam was spread, it was done so by such chosen

friends of Allah carrying Divine lights to whom people felt attracted to. Like pieces of iron

being drawn to a magnet. Not everyone has the authority to act as a magnet for others. But

those that do are constantly attracting others to this path.”

Mawlana has been blessed with an extraordinary gift which a person from every age, nation

and background feels a connection with. In accordance with his Grandshaykh’s ®

instructions and Rasulullah’s (s) command, Mawlana has accepted everyone that has come

to him. It is no wonder then, that amongst his murids we can find athletes, artists,

musicians, poets, scientists, film stars, singers, doctors, politicians, sultans, slaves,

professionals, farmers, businessmen, and in fact people from every profession and every

nationality in the world. This kind of attraction and acceptance from people of this global

variety is not found in any other person today. Although it is apparent, it is something that

cannot be explained in words.

The Awliya explain that it is not necessary for every person to understand the purpose of

becoming a murid but what matters is gaining acceptance by the Shaykh and being linked to

him. This is so because despite the murids ignorance, it is the Shaykh that ultimately knows

the real purpose and can determine the needs of his murid. Thus, he will offer his tawajjuh

and guidance which will be of great benefit here and in the hereafter. If the murid is sincere,

devout and obedient then obviously his progression will be greater.

It is for this reason that we have been encouraged to run to the Awliya even if it is for duniya,

as they will certainly offer worldly benefits but along with this they will also transmit

something greater; that which will enrich our akhirah.

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Yak zamana sohbet e ba awliya

Behtar az sad saala ta’at e be riya

One moment spent in the company of the Friends of Allah

is better than a hundred years of sincere worship

In one Hadith Sharif Rasulullah (S) mentioned that when someone looks upon the face of

their parents, they will be rewarded with thawab equivalent to one Hajj. The Awliya explain

that as this is true even for those whose parents are sinners and not good Muslims, then

what would be the reward for looking upon the face of any of Allah’s beloveds? Thus, Sultan

Bahu ® said that for him to look at his murshid is equal to thousands and millions of Hajj.

Once someone asked a Shaykh, “O Master, should I consider the rank of my parents

superior to that of my Shaykh?”

The Shaykh replied, “My dear son, indeed both are a source of great blessings and benefit

to you. It was your parents that brought you from the heavens into this world. However, it is

your Shaykh that takes you from this world back into the Divine presence.”

Hadrat Baba Farid ® said that he had heard from a master, “To serve your shaykh sincerely,

with true devotion for one day is better than one thousand years of worship.”

Hadrat Shah e Naqshband ® said that we are ahl e fadhl, the fortunate people. It is certainly

because of Allah almighty’s grace that we are blessed and fortunate to be linked to his

beloved friends. By reflecting on the sayings of these previous masters we should realise the

need to be forever grateful to our Lord for bestowing on us the honour to have seen

Mawlana and to have spent even one moment in his blessed presence. Allah has favoured

many of us with opportunities to be in his company, converse with him and ask for his

tawajjuh, listen to his voice, kiss his blessed hands and even to have served him.

Undeniably, we will never know his greatness; only Allah knows his reality.

The Khawajagan masters say that a murid cannot get out of his rut; his desires for duniya

and his lust. He is trapped by his ego. He cannot escape from this prison without the

himmah of his Shaykh.

Mawlana’s teachings and guidance give everyone hope and love. His way is to make the

path easy for all that seek it, yet he himself imposes the most difficult practices on himself.

We must sincerely be thankful to our Lord for gracing us with this particular favour. Indeed

we do not deserve this, nor are we worthy of being linked with such a beloved friend of Allah.

However, it is Mawlana’s caring, merciful and generous nature that he tolerates filthy and

rebellious ones like us. Even if we were to simply understand the purpose of the murid and

his relationship to the Shaykh, we might achieve the stage of becoming the meem of the

word murid.

Al Fatiha