Shaykh Huseyn Hilmi Isik (rah) :Tasawwuf [From his Will]

[Al Malibari]

Shaykh Huseyn Hilmi Isik (rah) :Tasawwuf [From his Will]

For worships and worldly dealings; being useful and blessed is dependent upon doing only for Allah's sake, earning only for Allah's sake, and giving only for Allah's sake; and in short having Ikhlas. Ikhlas means to love Allahu ta'ala only and to love for the sake of Allahu ta'ala only. When one loves someone, one remembers him very frequently. One's heart always makes (Dhikr) of him, that is remembers and mentions him.

If a person loves Allahu ta'ala, he will remember him very frequently, that is, his heart will always make Dhikr of Him. For this reason, it is stated in the Qur'an al-karim, "Make much Dhikr of Allahu ta'ala." The following hadith ash-Sharifs are written in the book Kunuz-ud- daqaiq: "People with high grades are those who make Dhikr of Allahu ta'ala." "The sign of love for Allah is love of making Dhikr of Him." "He who loves someone will make much dhikr of him." "He who loves Allah very much will be free from mischief." "Allahu ta'ala loves the person who makes much Dhikr of Him." Scholars of Tasawwuf have shown the ways to perform much Dhikr of Allahu ta'ala. The easiest of these ways is to find a Murshid-i kamil, love him, observe the rules of adab about him, and thus receive fayd from his heart.

Murshid-i kamil is an 'Islamic Scholar' who has received fayd from the Murshid-i-kamil preceding him and thus attained the competence of giving fayd. When he attains this competence, he receives a written warrant from his Murshid certifying that he has the qualifications. A succession of Murshids receiving fayd from one another is like the links of a chain that can be traced back to the time of Rasulullah (sall-allahu 'alaihi wassalam). In other words, a Murshid-i-kamil receives the 'fayd's, 'hal's and 'barakats' coming from Rasulullah through a chain of Murshids that flow into his heart; he then pours them into others' hearts.

The Murshid and the Murid who wishes to receive fayid from him have to be Salih Muslims. A person who does not hold the Sunni belief; e.g., who speaks ill of any one of the Ashab-i- kiram or who does not adapt himself to one of the four Madhhabs; or anyone who does not avoid the harams, e.g., who condones his wife's or daughter's going out without covering themselves properly though he can prevent them from doing so; or who does not try to teach his children Islam and how to read the Qur'an al-karim cannot be a Salih Muslim, and all the more impossible, a Murshid. Everything a Murshid says or does will be compatible with the principles of the Ahl as- sunnat and the teachings in the books of Ilmihal. One thousand years after Rasulullah's Hijra (Hegira, Migration to Medina) an era termed Akhirzaman (the latest time) began, and the signs prognosticating the end of the world began to increase in number. During this latest time period, Allahu ta'ala will manifest His Attributes of Qahr (Wrath) and Jalal (Vehemence), and mischief and afflictions will be on the increase. Religious teachings will be defiled, scholars of the Ahl as-sunnat and Murshid-i-kamils will be on the decrease.

Oral dhikr, i.e. saying, "Allah, Allah," is very thawab (deserving of rewards in the Hereafter) and will prime the pump for the heart's dhikr. However, the heart's dhikr requires one's being a Salih Muslim and performing dhikr for years. If a Murshid-i-kamil teaches a person how to dhikr and extends tawajjuh towards him, i.e., asks his Murshid to help this person's heart to dhikr, his heart will begin dhikr immediately.

If a person cannot find a Murshid-i-kamil, he should remember any Murshid-i-kamil (he has heard of or read about). That is, he should imagine seeing him and looking with adab at his face, and beg him through his heart to make tawajjuh towards him. This is called Rabita. The following account is given in the seventeenth page of the book Barakat: "Khawaja Burhan-ud-din, a respectable Indian scholar, endeavored very hard to set his heart upon the act of performing dhikr. Try as he would, he could not attain this blessing. He looked for a Murshid-i-kamil. While visiting Hadrat Muhammad Bakee-Billah in Delhi, he begged him. This great Murshid advised him to perform Rabita towards him wherever he was, that is, to imagine himself looking at his face and ask for fayd. Surprised at his advice, the Khawaja went to the great Murshid's close friends and said, 'This advice would be given to novices coming to him for the first time. I would like a task of a higher level.' They told him he would have no other choice than follow his advice. Because he was fully convinced that this noble person was a Murshid-i-kamil, he imagined himself looking at his blessed face and began to beg him. He lost himself. His heart began to dhikr. He would hear his heart performing dhikr aside from its physiological beatings."

The book Hadarat-ul-quds, in its discourse on karamats (miracles occurring through a person loved by Allahu ta'ala) through Hadrat Imam-i Rabbani, relates his fifty-fourth karamat as follows: "Hadrat Mawlana Abd-ul-hakim Siyalkuti(qs), a great Indian scholar whose books and name are renowned world over, states: I had known and liked Hadrat Imam-i Rabbani(Shaykh Ahmed Sirhindi-qs) for a long time. Yet I had not attached myself to him. One night, in my dream, he made tawajjuh towards me. My heart, began to make dhikr. Continuing this dhikr for a long time, I attained many valuable occult blessings. He educated me from a distance in a manner termed Uwaysi. Later, I attained his Sohbat."

It relates the sixty-eighth karamat as follows: "One of the relatives of Hadrat Imam-i Rabbani (qs) wanted to attach himself to him. Yet he could not tell him about it. One night he decided to tell him the following morning. That night he dreamt of himself standing near a stream. On the other side was Hadrat Imam-i Rabbani, calling him, "Come here, quick, come here, quick! You're late.' When he heard this his heart began to dhikr. The next morning he visited him and told him what was happening in his heart, he said: 'This is exactly our way. Go on with it.' "

Allahu ta'ala declares in the Qur'an al-karim, in the thirty-first ayat of Al-i-'Imran sura, "Tell them: If you love Allahu ta'ala adapt yourselves to me! Allahu ta'ala will love those who adapt themselves to me and will forgive your sins [if you do so]. Allahu ta'ala is forgiving and very compassionate." He declares in the seventy-ninth ayat of Nisa sura: "He who obeys the Prophet will have obeyed Allah." Our Prophet (sall-allahu alaihi wa sallam) stated, "Be on my way and after me on the way of my four Khalifas!" Islamic scholars following the way of the four Khalifas are called Ahl as-sunnat. As it is seen, attaining love of Allahu ta'ala requires having iman as written in the books of scholars of the Ahl as-sunnat and adapting all of one's words and actions to the manners prescribed by them. This comes to mean that a person who wants to attain love of Allahu ta'ala will have to have iman accordingly and lead a life accordingly. If a person does not observe these two conditions, he cannot be a Salih Muslim. He cannot attain comfort and peace in the world nor in the Hereafter. These two values are either learned by reading books, or acquired by  imitating a Murshid-i-kamil. The words, looks and tawajjuhs of a Murshid-i-kamil will purify one's heart. And when one's heart is pure one will begin to experience pleasure from iman and from worships, and the harams will seem bitter, ugly and abominable. During those times when Allahu ta'ala has more mercy on His born servants the number of Murshid-i-kamils increases and it is easier to recognize them. The closer we come to the end of the world, the more severe will be the manifestation of Allahu ta'ala's Wrath, the more scarce the Murshid-i-kamils will be, and the existing ones will not be recognized. Ignorant, miscreant, and heretical people will appear in the name of religious men and will mislead people towards disasters, thereby obstructing the way leading to Allah's love.

In such murky times, those who learn iman and the teachings of the Shariat from books written by scholars of the Ahl as-sunnat will attain safety, and people who fall for the cajoling and exciting words in the bogus religious books written by ignorant and heretical people, will slip out of the right way. In such times, for purifying one's heart and setting it to perform dhikr as soon as possible, one should imagine seeing one of the past renowned Murshid-i-kamils wherever one is and whatever one is doing, except when performing namaz. And one should wish that the fayd that flowed into his heart coming from Rasulullah (sall-allahu alaihi wa sallam) will flow into one's heart. One should keep in one's mind that a Murshid-i-kamil is a (spiritual) heir to Rasulullah, and, therefore, Allahu ta'ala permanently manifests His Mercy in his heart. Hadrat Muhammad Mathum Sirhindi[Son &Khalifa of Imam-I Rabbani](QS), a great Murshid, stated in his fiftieth letter, "Continual rabita will ensure thorough contact with the Murshid. Consequently, fayd will be received easily. Being in the presence of a Murshid has other uses. A Murid who cannot manage rabita in a suitable manner should attend the Murshid's sohbat. It was owing to sohbat that the Ashab al-kiram attained such high grades. UWAISUL al-qarani received fayd from a distance by making Rabita; yet because he could not attain the sohbat, he could not reach the grades attained by the Ashab al-kiram." He stated in the seventy-eighth letter, "For receiving fayd and barakat from a Murshid-i-kamil, it is necessary to attach oneself with a cord of love to him. The Ashab al-kiram received fayd from Rasulullah (sall-allahu alaihi wa sallam) by way of in'iqas [reflection]. By the same token, a person who sits with adab and love in the presence of a Murshid-i-kamil will receive fayd from him. Anyone, no matter whether he is young or old, alive or dead, will receive this fayd. Imagining a Murshid-i- kamil sitting opposite you while you look with love and adab at his face is called Rabita. This Rabita is very useful, for man has dived into harams and his heart has darkened. As long as he is in this state(Harams) he can’t receive fayd and barakat from Allahu ta'ala. A means is requisite. The means here is a noble person capable of receiving this fayd and giving it to those who demand it. And this person is a Murshid-i-kamil." He stated in the hundred and sixty-fifth letter, "Keeping a Murshid-i-kamil's face in your heart is called Rabita. Rabita is the most powerful link connecting a Murid to a Murshid. When the Rabita becomes firm, he will see his Murshid wherever he looks." He stated in the hundred and ninety-seventh letter, "When the Rabita is firm, there will seem to be no difference between the blessings attained when one is away from a Murshid-i-kamil and those attained when one is in his presence. Yet these two can never be equal. The more powerful the rabita, however, the less the difference."

He stated in the eighty-ninth letter of the fifth volume, "A great scholar has said, 'Allahu ta'ala would not have given the wish if He had not wanted to give the blessing.' The essence of our way is sohbat. With the barakat of sohbat, a talented Murid will receive fayd from a Murshid's heart in proportion to his talent and the degree of love he has for a Murshid. He will be freed from his bad habits, which will be replaced with the Murshid's good habits. It is for this reason that they have said that being fani (extinct, nonexistent) in a Shaikh, (who is the Murshid-i-kamil), is the beginning of (the stage), Fana-fillah (in Tasawwuf). If one cannot attain sohbat, one will receive fayd only by means of love and in proportion to one's tawajjuh towards the Murshid. Loving the people loved by Allahu ta'ala is a great blessing. Through this love one will attain the fayd gushing out of their hearts. One should not miss the blessing of making tawajjuh in a Murshid's absence. One should learn the Shariat and act accordingly. One should not waste one's lifetime playing and merrymaking. Things that are disagreeble with the Shariat are called Dunya. One should think that such things are useless and will be of no value in one's grave or on the Day of Judgement. Safety is in adapting oneself to the Sunnat and abstaining from bidats. [Adapting oneself to the Sunnat means learning the belief of the Ahl as-sunnat, adapting one's belief to it, then doing the commandments and avoiding the prohibitions, and then performing the Sunnat. When the Sunnat is done without observing this successive order, it will not be the Sunnat at all. It will be bidat. For instance, growing beard will not be a Sunnat. It will be a bidat. The beard thus grown will be a Jewish beard, a Rafidi beard, or a Wahhabi beard.] One should not make friends with bid’at holders and mulhids, [that is, people without a Madhhab and religious men who are not Sunni]. They are thieves of the faith. They will defile one's religion and faith. [It is stated in a hadith ash-Sharif that bidat holders will be turned into dogs for the people of Hell].

Hadrat Imam-i-Rabbani[Shaykh Ahmed Sirhindi-qs] stated in the hundred and eighty-seventh letter, "If a Murshid-i- kamil's image is shown to a Murid everywhere, this is a sign indicating that the rabita is very strong. Rabita will cause of flow of fayd from one heart to the other. This great blessing will be bestowed on only selected people"

Documents for what has been said so far are the hadith ash-Sharifs: "Everything has a source. The source of taqwa is the hearts of arifs"; "When the Awliya are seen, Dhikr of Allah is made"; "looking at an 'Alim's (scholar's) face is a worship"; "Those who keep company with them will not be shaqi; "Disasters coming upon my Ummat will be due to fajir [miscreant] men of religion," and a number of other similar hadith ash-Sharifs. These hadith ash-Sharifs are written in various books of Hadith, e.g., in Kunuz-ud-daqaiq.

That Hadrat Sayyid Abdulhakim Arwasi (qs)was a Murshid-i-kamil is a fact that can be seen as clearly as the sun from the letters of Ijazat written by his Murshids, from the letter written in the hundred and sixty-first page of my (Turkish) book, from the profundity of his knowledge, from his beautiful morality, and from his karamats. His blessed face is easy to remember, once one has seen his photograph. To remember him and receive fayd from his blessed face is a great blessing Allahu ta'ala has bestowed on Muslims. People like us, whose hearts have been blackened with so many sins, are certainly far from attaining the great blessing. Our purpose is to show the way to the desired treasure. Perhaps there will be people to attain it, though we have not. During these last days it will fall to few people's lot to hear these facts, to believe them, and to try to attain these blessings. May thanks be to our Rabb (Allah) for blessing us with the fortune of knowing and loving His beloved ones.                                                                                                                                                       Ya Rabbi! Grave and many as our sins are, Thine forgiveness and compassion are boundless. Have mercy on us and forgive us for the sake of Thine beloved ones! Amin.