BismillahirRahmanirRahim
Auzu billahi min ash-sheytanir rajim BismillahirRahmanirRahim. Destur, Medet Ya Seyyidi. Tariqatuna Sohbet wa Khayru fil Jamiat. It’s not every night that is a night like this, that now our spirit is wanting something else that is going to be sent, special. You know how to eat special every night. Every day you know how to eat, breakfast is special, lunch is special, dinner is special. Especially for Americans, they said, ‘eggs for dinner? Eggs is for breakfast.’ You know, we come from the east, we put eggs in everything. ‘Eggs is for breakfast.’ You know how to make special. Tonight is special. We are looking for something. Our spirit wants something.
Our Tarikat it is based on association, on sohbet. With the sohbet, you can keep your faith. Without the sohbet, these days, you no longer will have the faith that is going to save you. Everyone running to have more knowledge. You are running like sheytan. Sheytan has more knowledge than you and me. All the alims, all the scholars of this world, he has more knowledge than you. He has reached to the Paradises. He has seen the angels, he was teaching the angels. He saw Adam Safiullah before the spirit was blown, and he saw Adam Safiullah when the spirit is blown, but he’s too stubborn to acknowledge that Adam Safiullah, Hazreti Adam, Hazreti Insan meaning, he’s much higher than him. He’s too proud. He said, ‘no, from the outside,’ that kind of knowledge, ‘from the outside,’ he knows the inside knowledge too, but what is preventing him from making that sejdah? From accepting? He knows, don’t think he doesn’t know. He knows what is in Adam (as), but because of his proudness now, and because of his sleekness, he is saying, ‘I’m made of fire, anyway, I make sejdah only to You Allah. Not to him. Although You are telling me to make sejdah to him.’ But to make sejdah to Allah is to make sejdah to His commands, to His words. If He says, make sejdah to this stone, you are going to make sejdah to the stone or not? We are. They are going to say, ‘what are you saying? Muslims don’t make sejdah to stone.’
There is a Ka’aba, we are making sejdah. The direction is to the Ka’aba. Sheytani people are going to say, ‘we make sejdah to a stone.’ Why are you not going to say, ‘why are you making sejdah to a stone? Destroy that.’ Oh you cannot. Now you are going to see each other and it’s going to be more, it’s going to be hard on your ego. Just as sheytan was very hard on his ego to say I’m going to make sejdah to Adam (as). So the sohbet is to find knowledge that is about you, for you. To find your way, safety, in walking in that sirat. Because to walk in that sirat, the bridge, you are not going to rely on anything. Nothing that time except for your faith. Where is your faith going to be? Are you going to now risk everything on your faith? The intelligent people, they are not going to depend on their faith. The intelligent people is going to depend on the mercy of Allah. Not on their faith. Otherwise, the Prophets on the day of judgment, they are going to rely on their faith. But even the Prophets on the day of Judgment they are going to rely on the mercy of Allah, and the mercy of Allah is through who? Through His Habib (asws). Through the intercession of His Prophet (asws). So you can depend on that. Don’t depend on anything else. Doesn’t matter, Wahhabis is going to say you are kafir, you are this…it doesn’t matter. Let them say until judgment day. Their time is up anyway. Because they are no better than the Prophet. If the Prophets, on the day of Judgment, they are relying on the shafa’at of the Prophet, then who are we, living in this world? Who are we?
So what is this night? What is this night of Mawlid? What are we supposed to do on this night? What is this night representing? Yes, this night is the birth of the Holy Prophet (asws). The Jewel of creation. Yes, this night, we are not just remembering when this world suddenly found the light, we are trying to pull that light that is happening every year, on this night. So what is this night? This is the night of Mercy. This is the night where the world found safety.
We are saying, Shukr ya Rabbi for the Holy Prophet (asws), because if it was not for him, we would not have been created. If it’s not for him, our creation will be thrown into non-existence. If it’s not for him, what is the use of us living? If it’s not for him, what is the use of the rain falling? If it’s not for him, what is the use of the wind that is blowing? That’s why Sultan Mehmet Fatih Khan is saying, ‘I don’t want the rain that falls if it doesn’t fall for your love.’ Sultan Mehmet Fatih, the conqueror of Istanbul, who brought alive the prophecy of the Holy Prophet (asws), bringing an end to Roman rule and bringing the whole world now to not just Islam but to Tarikat, that now they are discovering he’s bringing Islam and Tarikat all the way to Indonesia. Sultan Mehmet Fatih, the name is there, the one who is opening and he is the one who is victorious. Both, all, everything that is there. And he is saying, standing in front of Istanbul, he says, ‘I will burn the whole of Istanbul, just to get a smile from you.’
So for this night, we want that smile. We want that smile from the Holy Prophet (asws). Because this was the night that 1400 years ago, it was the fulfillment of a promise that was made thousands of years before, since the time of Adam Safiullah. This was a fulfillment of a promise that Hazreti Adam, he found his syafaat, and his safety and his forgiveness, when after 300 years standing on one leg on the Mt of Serendib in Sri Lanka, where he was sent to this world separated, his wife was separated from him, she was crying for him, he was not crying for her, he was crying for Allah. He was separated from Allah, she was separated from him. And he was standing, begging for Allah’s forgiveness. After 300 years he’s saying, ‘for the sake of Muhammad (asws), forgive me.’ Everything is forgiven.
When was Adam (as) and when was the Holy Prophet (asws)? You can say maybe, 5000/6000 years passed. It was asked, ‘how do you know of this one?’ He said, ‘because when You have blown the spirit into me, and when I open my eyes, and the base of Your Arsh, was right over me and I saw written down, ‘La ilaha illallah Muhammadur Rasulullah.’ La ilaha Ilah Allah, Muhammadur Rasulullah, and I say, the name that was joined to Your name, that one must be very beloved to You and I ask for his sake. And the Holy Prophet (asws) was born, the world enter into a new era of mercy and forgiveness, and ease. For forty days, sheytan was locked up, he was not wondering around. The lights from the Heavens to the world, it was turned on and everyone was there to be witness to it. When he was born, the whole of the Paradises and this world rejoice, except for mankind. When he was born, those one who were waiting for him they were happy. Those ones who were waiting for him to receive him, they were happy. Those ones who were waiting for him because they were envious of him, they were very sad. Because now they say, Haqq has appeared and falsehood has fallen. Falsehood will fall.
One of the companions of the Holy Prophet (asws), Abdullah ibn Salam, he’s from the ahle kitab, he said, ‘at that time of the Prophet’s birth, I was with this one other person, a Rabbi, Bani Israel, and he was looking agitated. He kept looking out to the skies, seeing and coming back, seeing and coming back, and I asked him and he said, tonight, that one is born. That last one, by the stars that we are seeing, he is born. That one that has a name in the Taurat e-Sharif, and he went inside and he saw in a special room, seventy candles were lit for him.’ They were waiting. And some they were very happy, from mankind. Some they were very happy before the ego were tricking them. Some, before the ego was tested, to celebrate the birth of the Prophet (asws), who was it, his uncle who freed the slave? The father of fire, his name was not Abu Lahab that time. He had a different name. He was the uncle of the Prophet (asws). He was so happy when the Holy Prophet (asws) was born. Because he heard so many strange sounds. And he smells so many wonderful smells coming on that night, because the Ka’aba itself cracked in two. There was a light that was coming. There was a sound that was coming. And he’s asking his slaves, he says, ‘what is so special about tonight?’ They said, ‘oh don’t you know, you have a new nephew. His name is Muhammad (asws).’ He was so happy, he said, ‘go and give them my congratulations and I free you because you brought me the news. I will free you. You go and you become the first one to give milk to that one.’ That was before Halimatus Sa’adiah. So his name was before father of fire. After he became the father of fire, Abu Lahab, because he celebrated the birthday of the Prophet (asws), he said, ‘oh if I had only listened to my nephew who was the most beautiful, the most perfect one, the most blessed one that Allah has ever created, I will not be in the Hellfire now. Because I was his enemy for all of his life. But two things happened to me because I celebrated his birthday. Every Monday, he says, the punishment of Jahannam was lifted from me and I’m able to take my fingers and put into my mouth and the cool water is giving me comfort from the punishment that I have been receiving.
Understand now, to the one who is named the father of fire, that he celebrate the birthday of the Prophet (asws), you can say he was one of the most deadly ones to the Prophet (asws), but because he celebrated it, and he was happy, mercy reach to him every week. Should we wait for one day in a year to celebrate his birthday? Celebrate his birthday everyday. It’s okay. Make the wahabbis to go crazy. They are crazy anyway. Because now their head is saying, ‘oh we are going to build a city, you know?’ Wahhabi is saying, ‘what do you mean, build a city?’ Yeah, build a city, man and woman they can mix. ‘no, this is haram.’ No, no, no, during Prophet’s time, man and woman they were mixing too, it’s okay. Now, even that time it’s up. Because that one becoming more sheytan. Even they get confused. If they are not holding on tightly to their dajjal, they are going to get even more confused. They are going to come to Haqq.
So tonight, yes, ask for that mercy. As Holy Prophet (asws) said, ‘my syafa’at, it is for my nation who have committed the major sins.’ Don’t say, ‘oh, I don’t commit any major sins so I don’t need his Syafa’at.’ In reality, those who are completely against to his syafa’at are going to say this. Because he’s saying, ‘my syafa’at is for those who commit the major sins.’ Because everybody is saying, ‘I’m a good one.’ But Holy Prophet (asws) is saying, ‘most likely, especially in the ahir Zaman, you are all going to commit the major sins.’ And the most major sin in Islam is what? Shirk. Which is the opposite of La ilaha ilallah. Shirk. He was so serious that he said, ‘shirk it is more difficult to detect than a black ant on a black rock in the darkest part of the night.’ That means it’s very difficult for you to detect. It’s there, but it’s difficult. You want to try to understand this and to try to get rid of it, this is why Tarikat they were given to mankind. That they are going to sit down in the dark darkness, where everything is dark, everything is covered, and they are going to sit very carefully, to look what is there, what is this shirk, partnership. Don’t think the shirk it is worshipping others now. No, the shirk of the ahir Zaman, it is worshipping yourself.
First, step by step, to say, Prophet is just a man, like I’m a man. It’s only me and Allah. So you are replacing the Kalimah to say that you are the one who He has appointed. No one else. Then later, the ego may trick you more. The ego may trick you more for you to even think that nothing else is in existence except for you. There’s no reality except for your reality. They are already teaching it in school anyway. Correct or no? It’s only a matter of time, Muslims who are so jealous of this kind of dirty knowledge, they are going to run after it, saying that, ‘wow, this is something new. Never we’ve heard. You didn’t discover it. We discover it. Now we are very civilized, very modern Muslims.’
Foolish ones, all these ideas, they were already looked at, sifted through, good things they take, and the bad things they were just thrown to garbage, hundreds of years ago. And even the more recent development in western, what they call philosophy, the Muslim scholars, real scholars who are not looking at that and saying, ‘oh, we can also take that,’ the real scholars. This is especially in the time of the Ottomans. Because the Ottomans, for six hundred years, were bringing mankind, the Muslims all the way to the 1900s, this is modern era, that our scholars have taken all these things that is sweeping the Europe by storm, philosophies and then they were looking at it and comparing it and showing how Islam, and showing how the Prophet (asws) is ordering us to believe.
This is the night to ask for forgiveness. This is the night to ask for syafa’at. So how are you going to ask for forgiveness if you don’t know what you have committed? Not only for individuals, but for whole ummat now. This is a very open night. It’s a special night for us to ask for help. But help, help for what? If you are not saying we need help for this, just help like that, nothing specific is going to come. It’s just something that is so general because you are not really knowing what you are asking. How many you think, now, subhanaAllah, there are so many Maulids all over the world. It’s good. Masya’Allah. But how many Maulids do you think now, East and West, North and South, that millions are celebrating Maulids, how many do you think they are going to raise up their hands and they are going to say, ‘Ya Rabbi, for the sake of your Prophet, bring back the Khalifah.’ How many, you think, they are going to say that? ‘Bring back Your Sultan.’ How many are going to say that? ‘Bring back your Shari’at.’ Ohh, do you think they dare to say that?
So they don’t know what to ask. And Allah is showing us in the Quran e-Kerim, when the Bani Israel, they were in a very tough situation, what did they do? They ask Allah for what? For help? No, they ask Allah to send them a Prophet. Correct? And when they were in need, they went to that Prophet, they didn’t go straight to Allah, because they’re smart, you know. So now, how is this mercy going to appear in this world of complete tyranny if we are not asking for the shadow of Allah on earth to return.
So there’s no coolness now. The shadow is going to bring you coolness in the burning sun. You don’t want the shadow of Allah, now all you are going to get is the full force of the heat. I dare them to say that. More than that, those calling themselves Muslim leaders, I dare them to say that in front of their parliament. I dare them to say: BismillahirRahmanirRahim. To ask medet from Sidul kai’nat and to say, ‘bring us back the Sultan. Bring us back the Khalifah.’ They cannot, because that was one of the conditions they say, ‘we bring you up there, you cannot speak things like this, okay. You can talk about other things. You cannot speak like this.’ They say, okay. Now we are seeing it. Eh, those who are higher up with worldly power. Those who don’t have worldly power, claiming to have spiritual power, they must say this.
On a night like this, sit down and understand how you need help, in your life. He is the one that the mercy it is never ending, that has been given from his Lord. So sit and say, ‘Ya Rasulullah,’ don’t worry, he’s listening to you, he’s amongst us, he is inside of us, say, ‘I have this problem, I have this problem, I have this problem,’ before you do that, sit and think about your problems, is it worthy to be presented to the Holy Prophet (asws)? That time you are going to come to realize, ‘oh, my problems, hundred percent it’s about dunya. It’s not about ahirat.’ You dunya is going to be in trouble if you don’t fix yourself with ahirat. If you fix everything with ahirat, your dunya is not going to be any problem at all. Even when it is hard, it’s not going to be a problem. You are going to be able to carry it. You are going to be able to understand the hikmah, the wisdom and you will be able to understand the mercy of Allah beyond that. You are not going to lose hope. Your faith is going to become stronger. Just like the Sahaba e-Kiram. So you are going to check, what is it, what is the problem now? ‘the problem is, my connection now, it is not strong. My intentions, they are not too clean. My actions, I want to make them to become more powerful. My manners, I’m asking you, you are the one that Allah SWT has sent to turn our hearts. I’m asking you, turn my heart.’
Fix with your Ahiret. Fix our Ahiret, in a night like this, the dunya will come easy. You are running after your dunya, it’s going to be fixed, definitely it’s going to be fixed, but it’s going to break down again. You are going to fix it, ten things are going to break down, you fix the ten things, a hundred things are going to break down. Never ending. You are just going to chase. Because that is the nature of dunya. Those ones who are chasing after the dunya, Allah says what? ‘Run away from it. If mankind is chasing after you, run away from it. Give it little bit, and run. Give it little bit and run. Keep running, they will forget about Me.’ Those who are running after Ahiret, it is ordered for the dunya to run after those ones, to serve them. Before you know it, you’ll see things are easy, opening up here and there. Those who are trying to run in the way of Ahiret, but your dunya it is not fixing itself, fix yourself, understand where the problem is. Especially if you are murids, it is very clear, you are just being stubborn. Fix. Hmm, you are very passionate about fixing your dunya, but when it comes about things of Ahiret, ‘oh Allah will understand. It’s okay, Allah is merciful. Oh, Sheykh will pray for us,’ you are not stubborn about the Ahiret at all huh? With that kind of faith, we cannot be safe. Definitely.
May Allah forgive me, Insya’Allah. May Allah forgive all of us. We are asking to be clean ones, we are asking to be sincere ones. We are asking to be useful in the way of Allah and His Prophet and our Sheykh. We are asking for hypocrisy to leave us. We are asking to be with sincere people. We are asking for strength. We are asking for weakness to leave us. We are asking for us to be refreshed by our religion, we are asking that all sincere ones come to this way. We are asking for us never to let go of our Sheykh dunya and Ahiret. Wa min Allahu Taufik. Bihurmatil habib. Bihurmatil Fatiha. Amin. SelamAleykum Warahmatullahi Wabarakatu.
Commemorating Mawlid al-Nabi
Sohbet by Sheykh Lokman Efendi Hz
Khalifah of SahibulSaif Shaykh Abdulkerim el Kibrisi (qs),
Osmanli Dergahi NY
12 RabiulAwwal 1439
November 29, 2017
Sahibul-Saif Sheykh Abdul Kerim al-Kibrisi 