Mahmud Sami Ramazanoğlu, may his secret be sanctified, refers to the “People of uprightness”.
Allah Almighty declares:
fa-is’taqim kamā umir’t
“Pursue, then, what is exactly right (in every matter of the Religion) as you are commanded (by Allah)…” (11:112)
“…Be as upright as a mountain. For a mountain has four characteristics. A believer needs to possess these four characteristics also:
Mountains do not melt from the heat.
They do not freeze from the cold.
They do not topple over from the wind.
Floods cannot sweep them away.”
Allah Almighty provides various examples in the Qur’an. He tells us of the sorcerers persecuted by the Pharaoh. The Pharaoh threatens them, saying:
“Either turn back, give up being Muslim and accept my divinity, or I will subject you to the most formidable of punishment.”
And they reply:
“After having witnessed such plain belief and seeing such a thing as this, seeing God’s greatness, we will not turn back. Any harm or torment to come to us from you belongs to the world. Sooner or later we will return to our Lord. The hands and feet you are to cut off belong to the world.”
The Pharaoh, of course, begins great persecution, having their hands and feet cut off alternately. He has them suspended from date palm branches in such a state. And they say:
rabbanā afrigh ‘alaynā ṣabran wa tawaffanā mus’limīn
“…Our Lord! Pour out upon us persevering patience, and take our souls to You as Muslims (wholly submitted to You)!” (7:126)
“Our Lord, pour forth upon us patience that we do not make such concessions to the Pharaoh as might diminish our faith…”
So, “They do not melt from the heat. They do not freeze from the cold. They do not topple over from the wind. They are not swept away by floods.”
There are many such examples in the Qur’an. This means that a believer does not compromise their belief.
Similarly, Mahmud Sami Efendi says:
“A child who rebels against a compassionate father is called mad or crazed. Whatever is said of a person who objects to the commands of Allah Almighty, the Most Merciful of the merciful, is not enough!”
My father Musa Efendi used to say:
“Many people think that spiritual progress is comprised only of extra acts of worship. No. True progress is possible through awareness of being in the presence of Allah Almighty and regulating your life in accordance with the elevated Sunna.”
From Mawlana Jalal al-Din al-Rumi:
“Shams, may his secret be sanctified, taught me one thing:
‘If even a single believer in the world is cold, you do not have the right to keep warm.’
And I know that there are believers on earth who are cold and I can no longer keep warm.”
What a horizon of compassion is this?
Allah Almighty is All-Merciful and All-Compassionate, the Messenger of Allah is full of pity and compassion, so this means that the servant, too, needs to exude compassion. And they are to consider this a trial.
Again, Mawlana Jalal al-Din al-Rumi states:
“A rose’s enduring its thorns made it beautiful in fragrance.”
A rose’s enduring its thorns… In other words, look at the rose, the master of all flowers. Look at its stem – there are thorns on it. And so:
iq’ra bi-is’mi rabbika alladhī khalaq
“Read in and with the Name of your Lord, who has created.” (96:1)
In brief, spiritual advancement takes place as a result of suffering, endeavour and sacrifice.
Once again, Mawlana Jalal al-Din al-Rumi describes the pleasure, devoted reverence, fervour and rapture of the prayer as follows:
“Perform such an ablution that it is never annulled. (In other words, always be aware that you are in the Divine presence.)
Observe such a prayer that it never finishes. (In other words, let your prayer be an Ascension.) The Messenger of Allah says, “Prayer is an Ascension.”
Five daily prayers are not enough for a lover. They seek five hundred thousand prayers. Can the true lover ever want the end of union?”
So, as Mehmet Akif says, “…For only then, shall my fatigued tombstone, if there is one, prostrate a thousand times in ecstasy.” Here, one begins with a thousand prostrations in ecstasy. This is what Mawlana Jalal al-Din al-Rumi describes:
Spiritual fervour turns the pleasure of worship into love.
Again, Rumi says:
“No matter how wealthy you are, you can only eat as much as you can eat. If you dip a jug into the ocean, it only takes in as much water as it can carry and the rest remains.”
So, one of the biggest weaknesses of the human being is destructive envy (hasad), it is ambition. These (character traits) destroy their possessor. Never being satisfied. Only the earth, the dust will satiate them.
Once again Rumi says:
Allah Almighty declares wal-mus’taghfirīna bil-asḥāri “…[those] who implore Allah’s forgiveness before daybreak.”(3:17) He invites to the hours before dawn. And to be able to prepare for those hours…
Again, Rumi says:
“One night, my inspiration was interrupted. (The occurrences to my heart were severed.) I came to realise that several doubtful morsels had entered my body. Both knowledge and wisdom arise from the lawful morsel. And both love and compassion are the product of the lawful morsel. If heedlessness arises from a morsel, then know that that morsel is doubtful or unlawful.”
The individual needs to assess themselves.
Again, he says:
“The (inner) human being resembles a forest. Just as a forest contains hundreds of swine, wolves, good and ill-natured animals, the human being too possesses every kind of beauty and vice.”
fa-alhamahā fujūrahā wataqwāhā
“And Who has inspired it with the conscience of what is wrong and bad for it, and what is right and good for it.”(91:8)
“Water has hundreds of graces and wonders, that it accepts impurities and purifies them.”
This is precisely how a believer needs to be. So, Rumi says,
“Come, come, whoever you are…”
In other words, he says come and become purified here. This goes to show that a believer’s heart needs to become a sanctuary wherein its addressee will find peace.
“Even if one who has no heart or state has a hundred tongues, they are still considered mute.”
The best expression is to be found in the eyes and the countenance. A sad and joyful person becomes apparent from their countenance. This goes to show that there must be a harmony between their countenance and their tongue for them to have any impact on others.
“One who has a good friend is in no need of a mirror,” says Rumi.
Human beings are forever in admiration of good character and disposition. They follow whosoever they admire. They take on their state and manner.
Again, Rumi says:
“Who says the rose lives under the auspices of the thorn? The thorn’s esteem is only by virtue of the rose.”
Nobody removes the rose and puts its stem in a vase. In other words, their placing the stem in the vase is on account of the rose. This means that it is through putting up with the thorn that the rose is purified. What is the act of purification? It is patience, it is enduring difficulty…
Similarly:
“Just as an animal gains value through its ability, the human being gains value through their ability to use their heart and mind (in line with the elevated Prophetic Practice and the Qur’an).”
Again, Rumi says:
“O those who lose the jewel of belief for the sake of self-interest (who subjugate themselves for worldly interests and who forsake the jewel of belief)! O miserable creature selling a treasure for a single grain of barley! (The world is a barley grain and the treasure, the eternal realm.) O miserable creature selling a treasure for a single grain of barley! (O one sacrificing their Hereafter!) Nimrod did not lose his heart to Abraham, but he surrendered his life to a single mosquito.”
“The affliction arising from lack of belief (or defectiveness in creed) deserves pity (this deserves most pity); for there is no remedy for such an affliction.”
In other words, it is foolishness to prefer the drop to the ocean – to aspire for the world and forget the Hereafter.
“Many a fish has become hooked on the line due to their greed, while they were assured of everything under the water.”
They were taken by half a worm, by half a worm at the end of the fishing line. This is the situation of the world in comparison with the Hereafter.
Again, he says:
“The impurity within you can be cleaned not with water, but with tears.”
Likewise, this is another beautiful example:
“Cease swimming where there is Noah’s Ark.” Allah sent the religion of truth to you. Do not seek another way.
“Cease swimming where there is Noah’s Ark.”
His fourth son did not embark upon the ship and said that he would instead climb to the top of the mountain. He thus perished. That is to say, do not destroy yourself in the dead-end streets of different philosophies. Follow the direction of the Qur’an and the Prophetic Practice and find salvation.
Again, it is stated:
“No matter how black an impenetrable is the darkness, knowing how to light a single match illuminates that darkness.”
It is only by lighting a match with truth, with the Qur’an and the Prophetic Practice, with a Qur’anic verse, that your whole horizon will be expanded. Of course, to the extent to which you can use your heart…
Another one of his expressions:
“Were the earth to be in opposition to the skies, it would become barren and waste away.”
In other words, the human being needs to know whom they are in need of. They need to seek help from Him. If you surrender to fate, you will find salvation. This is also very important, if you surrender to fate.
For it is stated in a Qur’anic verse:
“…It may well be that you dislike a thing but it is good for you, and it may well be that you like a thing but it is bad for you. God knows, and you do not know.” (2:216)
What is more important here is surrender. Knowledge of the Unseen belongs only to Allah.
“Befriend the people (the people of belief). For the bandits attacking a caravan will be as powerless as the caravan is itself crowded and populated.”
In other words, you will reflect their righteous to the extent that you are in their company.
This is also very important:
The brothers of Prophet Yusuf, peace be upon him, were jealous of him. They threw him into a well. A passing caravan lowered a bucket into the well to draw some water. And Yusuf got into that bucket. He got out of the well. But the owners of that caravan did not say, “Oh we have found something!” They did not think about how a child could survive in a well – for this was indeed a well, not a maternity hospital. Nobody thought about where he came from. They immediately set out to sell him. So, Rumi says, this is the state of those who lose themselves in the world, and he gives this example:
“Those who set their hearts on the world are like hunters hunting shadows. How can a shadow become their property? And so, some fool wanted to capture the shadow of a bird, but even the bird perched on the branch was baffled.”
When there is such Divine majesty and grandeur and when there are so many paths to happiness, they push those paths aside to pursue the path of their carnal desire, and they thus perish. In other words, this is the state of those who are deceived by the world in the face of so many manifestations of Divine majesty…
Again, Rumi says:
“Nightingales grow silent when the crows begin to caw.”
This means that coarse and bad words offend souls.
This is why Allah Almighty says:
Qawlan balīghan (4:63) Profound words that penetrate hearts.
Qawlan sadīdan (4:9; 33:70)
Qawlan layyinan (See 20:44)
Qawlan maysūran (17:28)
Allah Almighty instructs us in how our speech needs to be. To be able to free ourselves from bad sound and to increase our impact on those before us…
Again, Rumi says:
“Do not sell mirrors in the bazaar of the blind and recite odes in the bazaar of the deaf.”
In other words, be careful of who you address and know how to address those that you do.
Again, he says:
“Have you ever sown wheat and reaped barley?”
In other words, the human being finds only the result of their labour and exertion.
“An auspicious branch comes from a good tree.”
If parents are good, if they are righteous, then they will yield auspicious branches, righteous sons and daughters.
The quality of the teacher causes the growth or weakness of their students.
This is also nice:
“The raven croaks in the vineyard, but does the nightingale ever cease singing because of the raven’s croaking?”
In other words, those on the true path continue conveying the message. Even if God’s enemies continue their vituperation, they continue promoting the good and forbidding the wrong.
“A person is esteemed in connection to that which they seek.”
In other words, their inclinations are their mirror.
“One who counsels with manner is better than one who counsels with words.”
In other words, one who counsels with their manner emanates energy and becomes an example.
“If you want to emit light like the day, then you must burn your carnal soul that resembles the night.”
fa-alhamahā fujūrahā wataqwāhā
“And Who has inspired it with the conscience of what is wrong and bad for it, and what is right and good for it.”(91:8)
Again, Rumi says:
If your pen is of wind and your paper of water, whatever you write will be destroyed in an instant.
In other words, wasting your life on empty things is to be on the verge of a spiritual destruction.
“If your pen is of wind and your paper of water, whatever you write will be destroyed in an instant.” Heedlessness, that is.
“Most afflictions befall the Prophets, as reforming the immature and unrefined is an affliction in and of itself.” In other words, training the fool is the first of the greatest calamities. The fool’s heart is blind in the face of all this Divine grandeur.
“Worldly wealth is the trap Allah uses to test humanity, for it intoxicates and deceives us. This is why the eye of the spirit of those who give their heart to the world is blind. For they drink of the bitter and salty waters in the mud.”
Allah Almighty informs us that those who are blind in the world, of course whose hearts are blind, will be resurrected as blind in the Hereafter.
Again, he says:
“Be a word that is beautiful to mention, as the human being consists of the beautiful things said about them.”
In other words, true happiness is to be able to leave a pleasant echo in our wake and to thus continue along on our journey…
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