The following is the simplified translation of a letter written as an answer to a university student by Sayyid ’Abdulhakîm Efendi while he was the senior professor of tasawwuf at the Madrasa-tul-mutassisîn (the Faculty of Theology), which was located in the garden of the Sultân Selîm Mosque in Istanbul:
(continuation of the Part1 from previous days)
Do you think of your state before and after you were born? Where were you, in what were you, during the creation of this globe, on which you live, eat and drink, go about, amuse and divert yourself. On this planet, you have discovered the means that are remedies for your diseases and the ways of defending yourself against the attacks of your enemies and the harms of wild and poisonous animals. Where were you while the stones and soil of this globe were being baked on fires in the ovens of creation and while its water and air were being distilled in the chemistry laboratories of the Omnipotence?
Have you ever thought: Where were you while the lands, which you claim to be yours today, were gliding away from the seas, while mountains, rivers, plateaus and hills were being laid down? Where and how were you while, with Allahu ta’âlâ’s omnipotence, the salty waters of the seas evaporated and formed clouds in the sky, while the rains, falling from those clouds, took substances [of nourishment prepared by lightning and waves of power and energy in the sky] into the motes of burnt, dried soil, and while these substances, stirred [by the influence of the rays of light and heat], vibrated and nourished the cells of life?
Today, they say that you have descended from monkeys, and you believe it. When they say that Allahu ta’âlâ created you, gave you life, will cause you to die and that He alone makes everything, you don’t want to believe!
O man! What are you? What were you in the veins of your father? At one time, in the veins of your father, whom you insult with such terms as imbecile, old-fashion and retrogressive, you used to make him feel uncomfortable. Who made you move then, and why did you disturb him? If he had wished, he could have thrown you into a rubbish-heap, but he did not. He hid you like a deposit. While he was so kind as to entrust you to a chaste woman, where you would be nourished unsparingly, and struggled to protect you for a long time, why do you insult your father by holding him responsible for your inconveniences, instead of reserving a share of thanks for him and your Creator for the blessings you were given? Moreover, why do you throw your own deposit into the rubbish-heaps dirtied by everybody?
When people around you follow your wishes and desires, you believe that you are creating everything with your intellect, knowledge, science, power and strength, and that you are inventing all accomplishments. You forget about the task which Allahu ta’âlâ has assigned to you, and you refrain from that high official duty and attempt to claim ownership of the deposit. You want to regard and introduce yourself as the owner and dominant one. On the other hand, when those around you do not follow your desires, when the external forces seem to overcome you, you can see inside you nothing but regret and frustration, incapacity and despair. You claim that you own no will or option, that you are under the slavery of everything, that you are like a machine, automatic but with a broken spring. You understand fate not as al-’ilm al-mutaqaddim (the eternal knowledge) but as al-jabr al-mutahakkim (the despotic compulsion). While saying this, you are not unaware of the fact that your mouth is not like a record-player.
When your favorite meals do not come to your table, you hold out your hand and tongue and eat the dry bread which you are able to obtain, though you are free to eat or not and die of hunger. You eat the dry morsels that are not crammed into your mouth by force! You eat but also think that you are deprived of doing everything. You do not think that your hand and mouth have moved under your own control, and it has not been caused by involuntary movements. But, though you possess your self-control even at such times as this, when you have to, you deem yourself compelled, a slave, in short, nothing against external effects.
O man! Which of these are you? You claim to be “all” when you thrive well and when success and victory are with you, and “nothing” under the force of fate when the affairs turn out bad and contrary to your wishes? Are you “everything” or are you “nothing”?
O mankind! O man who is floating on deficiency and stupidity! You are neither “all” nor “nothing”! At any rate, you are something between these two. Yes, you are far from being inventive, dominant and victorious over everything. But you have an irrefutable freedom and option and a wish and choice rendering you authoritative. Each of you is an official undertaking individual and collective duties under the command of Allahu ta’âlâ, who is the Unequalled Authority and Absolute and Unconditional Owner without a partner! You can do your duties under the rules and regulations established by Him, within the limits of your ranks assigned by Him, within your responsibilities and means which He has created and entrusted to you as deposits. He alone is the Sole Commander, the Unique Ruler and the Single Owner. There is no other commander besides Him, nor a ruler resembling Him, nor a partner with Him. Unless the aims and purposes which you lay claim to and rush upon so zealously, the struggles which you set about, the glories which you take pride in, and your accomplishments are for Him, they are false and vain. Then why do you give a place to lies in your hearts and turn towards polytheism? Why do you not obey the commands of Allahu ta’âlâ, the Unequalled Ruler, and know Him as the Creator? But instead you run after thousands of imaginary idols and get drowned in distress? Whatever you run towards, isn’t it an idea, an option or a belief that drags you on? Why do you look for that ideal belief in someone other than Allahu ta’âlâ? Why do you not direct your belief to Allahu ta’âlâ and place your option in this belief and in the deeds which are the results of this belief?
When you know Allahu ta’âlâ as the Absolute Ruler and work without violating this trust and responsibility, indeed, you will love one another and be attached brothers! What will not the Mercy of Allahu ta’âlâ create from this brotherhood? Every favor you gain is the result of a brotherhood produced by the belief in Allahu ta’âlâ and of His mercy and benevolence. And every trouble or calamity you experience is the result of fury, resentment and hostility, which are infused in you as a retribution for not paying attention to Allahu ta’âlâ, for cruelty and injustice. And this is the result of attempting to make laws by yourselves or by following others who will compete with Allahu ta’âlâ, in short, of not believing only in Allahu ta’âlâ with a real belief in His Oneness.
Briefly, the chief reason for the suffering of humanity is the crime of polytheism committed against Allahu ta’âlâ. The darkness of corruption that has surrounded the horizons of humanity, despite the improvements in knowledge and science, is the result of polytheism, disbelief, lack of belief in Allahu ta’âlâ’s Oneness and lack of mutual love. Unless they love one another, however hard human beings may try, they will not escape sufferings and disasters. And, unless they know Allahu ta’âlâ, love Him, regard Him as the Absolute Ruler and worship Him, men cannot love one another. Whatever might be thought of other than Allahu ta’âlâ and the path of Allahu ta’âlâ, all of them are paths leading to divisiveness and wretchedness. Can’t you see that those who attend the mosque love one another and those who haunt the tavern fight?
Whatever you give your heart to, or whomever you worship besides Allahu ta’âlâ, each of them can be opposed and equated. And all of them are under the omnipotence and will of Allahu ta’âlâ. He is the Single Ruler who does not have a partner, match, like, opposite or equivalent, and He alone is the One whose equivalent is non-valid, false, a nonexistent equivalent, the existence of which is impossible.
Whatever you follow, worship, love or regard as the absolute ruler besides Allahu ta’âlâ, be it known that it will burn together with you.
[1] Ref: These paragraphs are quoted from the book “Tam İlmihal Seâdet-i Ebediye” (Endless Bliss) page 73 written in Turkish by Hüseyn Hilmi Işık ‘rahimahullâhu ta’âlâ,’ who passed away in 1422 A.H (2011 A.D.) in Istanbul / Turkey. “Tam İlmihal Seâdet-i Ebediye” and “Endless Bliss” published by Hakikat Kitabevi, Istanbul. You can find the whole book and the other valuable books in the web site www.hakikatkitabevi.com.tr and download in PDF format for Adobe Acrobat Reader, EPUB format for iPhone-iPad-Mac devices and MOBI format for Amazon Kindle device.
