Be Together in Ramazan

BismillahirRahmanirRahim 

Tariqatuna sohbet wa khairu fi jamiat.  InsyaAllah, we are asking our Sheykh, SahibulSaif Sheykh Abdul Kerim el-Kibrisi el-Rabbani to send us something in this night. The seventh night of Ramazan, it’s a Holy night. It’s a Holy night outside of Ramazan, inside of Ramazan it’s even more. And whatever blessings that we are getting, the Holiness that is descending on this night is not coming ever. What is coming tonight has never come before. So the intelligent man must run to see if the new treasures and the new blessings that Allah SWT is giving. The believer never looks at anything to be the same. The believer looks at everything as a new chance to understand, a new chance to fall in love again with your Lord. A new chance for forgiveness, a new chance to ask for what is good in this world and in the next.

The believer is excited and the believer is the one who is in love with his Lord and everyday he is wishing to see something new. Just as if you love something, or if you love someone, you never get bored from looking at that thing. You never get bored. Every time it is giving a new beauty,  it is giving a new love, giving a new energy. Man understands from the lowest level love to the highest level love. These days people are in love with their shoes, they are in love with their car. They are in love with themselves, forget about it. Long time ago, man has always been in love with himself. Not angels, not animals, they are created to fall in love with themselves. But mankind ego is such that he falls in love with himself. Everything that is showing a partner to Allah, is in reality man trying to put himself next to his Lord. Because there is no Lord except Allah. Don’t say Allah is saying He is not accepting any partner. It doesn’t mean that there are so many partners but He is not accepting. That means that there is no such thing as even a partner. There is only Allah. But mankind, from the beginning, whatever that he is putting there that is not Allah, is just a part of himself and that one that is trying to be a partner to Allah that he puts there, it is nothing but his ego. Sheytan will boost it of course. Sheytan will make it to be something that seems as if it is existing, but it is not. It cannot do itself any good or any harm.

So, in this month, we must make more zikr of La ilaha ilallah. In this month, we must look at the things that is standing in the way of obedience to Allah SWT and to step on it. Especially when you are fasting and especially in the night time. Now why am I saying two especially? Because this month, the beauty of the fasting in the Islamic tradition, in the tradition of the Holy Prophet (AS), is that Allah SWT is not requiring us to fast night time. He could. The fast of the earlier nations, there are so many different kinds, so many different ways. But for this ahir zaman nations, for the nations of the Prophet (AS), it is only during the daytime. But the fasting, it is so important but it is in the daytime. But it is in the night time that it is more valuable to Allah SWT when it comes to worship. But Allah is not putting the heaviness on us. And in the daytime you fast while still being busy with the world you fast, you are winning, if the daytime you fast and you are busy with the world and you are busy with ahiret, you win more, but night time you are busy with ahiret. Night time Allah is giving us ease, be busy with Him and it is not difficult. There is more energy that comes. In the old days too, people adjust their sleeping times according to Ramazan. During daytime they fast, but it’s not so important, night time they stay awake. They would not only worship, they will pray, they will make zikr, they will make hadra, they will do all sorts of things but they will also find time to connect to one another which is a big part of the sunnah of the Prophet (AS).

Silaturahim, to build the bond of compassion, Rahim, mercy with each other, this is the time to build mercy with each other. So this is the time when people are going to come together, they are going to break fast together, they are going to eat together, they are going to worship together, they are going to visit together, and for the Muslims, for the ummati Muhammad (AS), Allah SWT in the month of Ramazan has given the whole month, the whole month Muslims are celebrating the month. Never Muslims for 1400 years see this month of Ramazan as something that is heavy, as something they are not looking forward to, as something that is painful for them. They are welcoming it because they understand, with the fasting comes the sweetness. And that sweetness, we are feeling more in this month, and that sweetness and that power that comes, to be able to have more of our ego to be in control.

This is the month of Jama’at. This is the month of getting together. This is not the month of seclusion, to be separate from one another. The prayer that we are doing, that is special in this month, Tarawih prayer, it is so beautiful, it is so special, that Hz Umar decided to take the best out of the practices of the Prophet (AS), regarding this month and he made it into law and this is the month that we are praying Tarawih prayers, everyone coming together. What makes terawih prayers to be special? We are doing it every night. There is consistency. You are doing it every night, you feel the power that is coming. Allah SWT is saying, Prophet (AS) is saying, ‘Allah is saying that He loves more a deed that is small but you are doing it continuously then something that is big and you are doing it once in a while.’

Twenty raka’ats, if you pray according to the ahle sunnah way, not the squarehead way, the ahle sunnah way, it is very light. And it gives you more energy instead of making you to be tired. So that when you finish the Tarawih, you are more ready to do other things, to be more ready do worship, to make zikr, to make more ibadat. This is the month that we are getting together. And the whole world now is given one big slap and one big test. Although physically we are not together, Allah is testing everyone. Can you be together with your hearts? Can you be together where it really matters, not to be together just by the bodies, coming together and not feeling anything, but to understand the taste of it. Because when you are in jama’at, there is protection. Where there is a jama’at that is doing good, even if your ego is wishing to go here and to go there, you are in jama’at of even one person, two people, that is enough to stop you. But if you are by yourself, doesn’t matter if it is Ramazan or Laylatul Qadr, or a Holy night, you by yourself, with your ego, with your sheytan attacking you, yes this sheytan is locked up in this month, like I’ve said before, when I say the door of Paradise is open and the door of hell is open, meaning that inhabitant of hell they are not being punished in this month. Meaning that it is closed for any new ones to come in because this is the month of mercy. And in this month, all the Holy ones they are walking around everywhere. They are with us. They are looking at us. So this is the month that if you want to find, that if you are really serious, should sit and think what are the things that you need fixing.

Don’t be alone. If you are alone, you are with your ego, you are with your sheytan. Sheytan is locked up, like I said, but there are other ones that’s not sheytan but they are like sheytan and Allah describes those ones, from humans, from this taifas. And they have been trained by sheytan. When sheytan leave, to say, ‘I’m going to go but you are going to take over my place.’ And he’s training our egos too. He says, ‘I’m going to go but when I’m gone, you are going to do this and this and this. Our hawa and the dunya, everywhere it is attacking us. That’s why Allah is saying, ‘be jama’at. Be in jam’at.’

Don’t be in jama’at empty. Be in jama’at and consult. Be in jama’at and look to see what you want to gain. Don’t just be in jama’at in ghaflat. Be in jama’at, especially when you are murids, now you have to look, ‘I want to get rid of this characteristic.’ There are people there with the same characteristic. You are going to see, you are going to be so attracted to that. Of course, people are attracted by like characteristic that are the same. Don’t do that. If it is a bad thing, don’t be attracted to those ones. Find those ones that they have the characteristics that you want and be with them. Just being with them, the smell, the perfume, it will come to you. More that you are in sohbet with them, more those characteristics that you are going to take is so much easier in this month. Don’t be by yourself.

I’m watching some of you too, so many times you are just being by yourself. What are you doing? ‘Oh, I’m married. I have children.’ So what? They are not going to help you. In fact, you have to help them and if you are not being able to help them, you are in big trouble and you are putting them into trouble. Because it has become like that too. It has become Robotic. Ramazan also becomes Robotic. Everyone come together, everyone cook, everyone eat, everyone prays and then finished. When there is no meaning, when you are not putting the meaning in there, even if the best actions you do, you’ll be empty because there’s no meaning. The most silly, stupid, let’s say useless actions that you do , when there is a meaning, when you put the meaning to it, it becomes the most valuable thing. So you have to put the meaning. You have to be around people who have meaning. Not just to say, ‘okay I’m just going to be here when the Sheykh is here.’ How much more are you going to understand, the Sheykh works in the whole dergah. The Sheykh may move this one and this one and this one. He may put some wisdom in this one, he may put some test in this one, he may put some sohbets in this one. You have to go, you have to be, but don’t be, especially in this month I’m seeing everyone they are pulling back like this. You are gaining nothing.

All these things that we have been busy with, all these physical things that we have been busy with, these are all just excuses for you to come together to do something for the work of Allah. Because everything that we are doing now, we are just waiting. We are not doing anything that is great for the kingdom of Haqq in reality. So we must wake up and we must connect to each other. Not to be in sohbet or zikr or eating or doing things around the dergah or anything and your hearts are not there, that you don’t care, that you don’t ask, that you are not interested. There is no silaturRahim. There is no bond of compassion. ‘Eh, I don’t like this one. This one is always like this. Eh, this one always talk. Eh, this one is always like this.’ You don’t like everyone? How you can find a problem with a believer? How you can find a problem? You may say, ‘eh, this one is like this but he has so many other good qualities.’ You are concentrating on that. The problem is, when you are trying to be authority, when you are trying to be a Sheykh and that is not given to you, then there is going to be some problems there. If it is not given to you, don’t run for it. When it is given to some people, they run away from it. They don’t want it. because they understand, Allah is explaining, Sheykh Effendi, how many times he is saying, the Quran it is revealed to the mountains and the mountains they refused. But mankind, the ignorant and arrogant mankind they are receiving it. Mountains is not referring to this physical mountains but he is referring to those ones who love Allah the most, the Qutubs and they understand how heavy the Quran is.

In this month, look at our disobedience to Allah. Sit down and understand our disobedience to Allah SWT, individually, as a family, as a group, as a nation, look at our disobedience and ask for forgiveness. Don’t just ask for mercy, ‘oh, hide my fault, hide my this. Give me more mercy.’ If you don’t understand that you’ve done something wrong, how can mercy reach to you? How can mercy reach to you? Mercy is understanding whatever I’m doing is not deserving good. Whatever I’m doing is deserving punishment. But instead of Allah giving me punishment, He has forgiven me. How bad I must feel for myself. More that time. How much more meaningful my sejdah is going to be. That is understanding what mercy is. Mercy is not doing wrong after wrong, after wrong, after wrong and say, ‘ah, it’s okay. Allah is Merciful.’ That kind of mercy, Allah SWT is saying it’s coming from sheytan. He’s going to trick you. Allah SWT is saying in the Quran e-Kerim, ‘sheytan is going to say to you, do the wrong thing, it’s okay. Your lord is the most merciful, He is going to forgive you.’ How are we taking advantage of our Lord this way. Then we don’t understand.

Whole world is in disobedience and Allah is showing His power. Allah is showing His power by something so small, that is so invincible, that in reality it is so weak. But Allah is showing His power. How many more invincible army that Allah SWT has. The believer must be shaking, the believer must be more in sejdah in this month and thanking and asking forgiveness from Allah SWT and watching themselves. Like I said, they are testing our pulse to see, ‘what are we doing? What are we busy with this Ramazan?’ Are we still being busy with just eating and drinking and meeting each other? Or are we contemplating, thinking, wondering about the wonders of our Lord, His mercy, our disobedience, His beauty, our own ugliness that we are running away from that. Not to contemplate our own beauty. Please. The ummat has not done anything great for one hundred years passed.

Be with those ones that you are running to have those characteristics. Watch them. Learn from them. Seeing, why they are doing this, why they are doing that. Don’t be stubborn and don’t say, ‘I won’t do it like that. Why is he doing like this?’ Because so many times it is our stubbornness, the rejection that is there, that is stopping a man from becoming better. We are believers. If we are open, if you are saying, ‘huh, this is interesting. How he is doing like this instead of like this? Oh, there is something like that.’ You add and you become better. Slowly you start changing. But be with those ones you want to change into. Don’t be by yourself. And don’t be with those ones that they are encouraging you to be the same. That time it is pretty easy.

InsyaAllah, may we grow. We must. The most ignorant man is the man who does not see himself. The most ignorant one is the man that he’s not understanding his own reflection. The more that we understand ourselves, the more you understand Allah. Sometimes it is difficult for us to understand. Sometimes you may take years. With some people, I used to speak to them, they are not understanding. Then I’m saying, don’t worry, remember this conversation. In five years, we have same conversation, you will understand. Five years later, they understand. It’s okay. Be patient. Be patient. InsyaAllah.

May Allah accept our fast and our worship today and tonight and in this Holy night, may it not pass empty, insyaAllah. And we are asking for more protections and more blessings and more rahmat for those ones that are in need Ya Rabbi of Your mercy, of those ones who are oppressed, of those ones who are yatim, of those ones who are poor, of those ones that our hands cannot reached to them Ya Rabbi.

We are very ashamed and we are asking, Ya Rabbi, to make us to be able to reach out to them some way, somehow, but make those ones that are able to make a difference for their hearts to change Ya Rabbi. Make those ones with the means and the power, for them to wake up and to understand their responsibility and to help those ones who are oppressed Ya Rabbi.

We are asking for Your protection and we are asking You to take away this disobedience from us, from inside our hearts, from inside our jama’at, take away this disobedient ones, Ya Rabbi and make us to be in the straight path, keep us on the straight path and not to listen to anything, to any of the dogs that is barking but to continue the caravan of our Sheykh.

Wa minAllahu Taufik. Bi hurmatil Habib, Bi hurmatil Fatiha. Amin. SelamAleykum warahmatullahi Wabarakatu.

Sheykh Lokman Efendi Hz
Khalifah of SahibulSaif Shaykh Abdulkerim el Kibrisi (qs),
Osmanli Dergah, New York
8 Ramazan 1441
April 30, 2020