بِسْمِ اللّٰهِ الرَّحْمٰنِ الرَّحِيمِ

وَ بِهِ نَسْتَعِينُ

اَلْحَمْدُ لِلّٰهِ رَبِّ الْعَالَمِينَ وَ الصَّلاَةُ وَ السَّلاَمُ عَلَى سَيِّدِنَا مُحَمَّدٍ وَ عَلَى آلِهِ وَ صَحْبِهِ اَجْمَعِينَ

DISSIPATION-SAFAHAT - 1

(For the literal meaning of dissipation-safahat please refer to the dictionary.)

1. A debate between Bediüzzaman and the ma’nawî collective personality that encourages dissipation (safahat) and opens the door to anarchy:

One time, I was sitting by the window in Eskishehir Prison during Republic Day. The older girls of the high school opposite the prison were laughing and dancing in the schoolyard. Suddenly, their situation fifty years later appeared to me in a ma’nawî cinema. I saw that forty-fifty of those fifty-sixty girls and students had become earth in the grave and were suffering torment. And ten of them, at the age of seventy or eighty, became ugly because they did not preserve their ‘iffah in their youth; they were hated by those from whom they expected to be loved. I witnessed it with complete certainty and wept at their pitiable states. Some of my friends in prison heard my weeping and came and asked me about it. I told them, "Leave me alone for now and go."

Yes, what I saw was haqiqah, not imagination. Just as the summer and autumn are followed by winter, so the summer of youth and the autumn of old age are followed by the winter of the grave and barzakh. If there were a cinema showing the future events of fifty years later, just as in a cinema, the events of fifty years ago are shown in the present, and if the people of dhalâlah and dissipation were to be shown their situation fifty or sixty years later, they would weep with hatred and sorrow at what they are laughing at now and their haram pleasures.

When I was preoccupied with these observations in Eskishehir Prison, a ma’nawî collective personality that advocates dissipation and dhalâlah stood before me like a human shaytan and said, "We want to experience all the pleasures and joys of life and to make others experience them; don't interfere with us!"

I replied: Since you do not recall death and plunge yourself into dissipation and dhalâlah for the sake of pleasure and enjoyment, you should certainly know that due to the judgment of your dhalâlah, all the past is dead and non-existent; it is a fearsome graveyard inside of which corpses were rotten. The pains that come into your head and your heart, if you have one and it is not yet dead, the pains that arise from those infinite separations and the eternal deaths of those numberless friends of yours, destroy your insignificant and drunken present pleasure in a very short time by means of dhalâlah and due to concern arising from humanity. The future, too, is a non-existent, dark, dead, fearsome and savage place due to your unbelief. And since the heads of the unfortunate, who came from the past, stick out their heads into existence and pass by the present time, are struck off by the sword of the executioner of the appointed time of death and thrown into non-existence due to the concern of your intellect; it continuously rains down grievous worries on your head, lacking îmân, and completely destroys your petty and dissolute pleasure.

If you give up dhalâlah and dissipation and enter the sphere of îmân al-tahqîqî and istiqâmah, through the nûr of îmân, you will see that the past is not non-existent and not a graveyard that rots everything, but an existent ‘âlam full of nûr transforming into the future and a waiting-room for the eternal rûhs who will enter palaces of bliss in the future. Since it appears thus, it does not give pain but, according to the strength of one’s îmân, a kind of ma’nawî pleasure of Jannah in this world. Through the eye of îmân, the future, too, is not seen as a dark, savage place, but a place where banquets and exhibitions of bestowals of Ar-Rahmân, Who is Rahîm Zuljalâl Wa’l-Ikrâm, Whose rahmah and munificence are infinite in His palaces of everlasting bliss, and Who makes each spring and summer tables and fills them with ni’mahs, have been set up. Since, through the cinema screen of îmân, he witnesses that there is a dispatch to that place, he can experience a kind of pleasure of the eternal ‘âlam according to his degree. It means that true pleasure without pain is only in îmân and is possible only through îmân.

Being related to our discussion, we shall declare only a single benefit and pleasure out of the thousands of benefits and fruits that îmân produces in this world, too, by means of a comparison, which was written in A Guide For Youth as a footnote. It is as follows:

For example, when your beloved only child was about to die in the sakarât and you were despairingly thinking of your sorrowful eternal separation, suddenly, a doctor like Hazrat Khidr or Luqman the Wise came and gave your child medicine like a panacea. Your lovely and lovable child opened his eyes and was delivered from death. You can understand what joy and happiness it would give you.

Now, like that child, when millions of people whom you love and are earnestly concerned for — in your view — were about to be rotten and annihilated in the graveyard of the past, suddenly, the haqiqah of îmân, like Luqman the Wise, shines a light from the window of the heart onto the graveyard, which is imagined to be a vast place of execution. Through that light, all the dead were revived. Îmân giving endless joy and cheering in this world, too, which you feel in their saying through the language of their being, "We had not died and shall not die; we shall meet with you again," proves that îmân is a seed that, if it were embodied, a private Jannah would emerge from it; it would be the Tuba-tree of that seed.

The obstinate turned and said, "At least we will live like animals in order to pass our lives in pleasure and enjoyment with entertainment and dissipation by not thinking about these subtle matters."

I replied, "You cannot be like an animal because animals have no past and future. It receives neither sorrow nor regret from the past, neither anxiety nor fear from the future, but perfect pleasure. It lives and rests, and offers shukr to its Khâliq. As proof, it may be mentioned that an animal that was laid down to be slaughtered does not feel anything. It even wants to feel when the knife cuts, but that feeling disappears; it is also saved from that pain. It means that the greatest rahmah and compassion of Allah is not informing the ghayb and veiling the things that will befall one. It is especially perfect for innocent animals. But, O man, due to your past and future emerging from the ghayb to an extent because of your mind, you are entirely deprived of the comfort of the animals arising from the ghayb being concealed. The regrets and painful separations emerging from the past and the fears and anxieties coming from the future reduce your insignificant pleasure to nothing and make you fall a hundred times lower than the animals regarding pleasure. Since the haqiqah is this, either throw away your mind, become an animal and be saved, or come to your senses through îmân, and listen to the Qur'an. In this transitory world, too, attain pure pleasures a hundred times greater than those of the animals!" Saying this, I silenced him.

That obstinate person, again, turned to me and said, "At least we will live like foreign irreligious people."

I replied, "You cannot be like foreign irreligious people, either. Because even if they deny one prophet, they can believe in the others. If they do not know the prophets, they may believe in Allah. And even if they do not know Him, they may possess certain moral qualities that are the source of perfection. But if a Muslim denies the Prophet of the âkhirzaman, ‘Alayhissalâtu Wassalâm, who is the final and greatest of the prophets and whose religion and call are universal, and gets out of his (asm) chains, he will no longer accept any other prophet, not even Allah. Because he has learned all the prophets and Allah and all perfections through him (asm); without him (asm), they cannot remain in his heart. It is for this reason that since early times people have entered Islam from all other religions, but no Muslim can be a true Jew, Magian, or Christian. He would rather become irreligious, his moral qualities corrupt; he becomes harmful for the country and nation." I proved this. That obstinate and rebellious person has nothing left to hold on to. He vanished and went to Jahannam.

The Eleventh Ray-The Third Topic

 

O nafs! By looking at ahl ad-dunyâ, especially the people of dissipation, especially the people of kufr, and being deceived by their superficial adornment and haram pleasures, do not imitate them, because if you imitate them, you cannot be like them. You will greatly decline. You cannot even be an animal because the mind in your head becomes an inauspicious tool. It will constantly beat your head. For example, there is a palace, and in one of its large apartments is a big electric lamp. Small electric lights that branch out from it and are attached to it have been divided among its small apartments. Now, if someone touches the switch of the big light and turns it off, all the apartments will plunge into deep darkness and terror. Another palace has small electric lights in all its apartments, which are not connected to the big light. If the owner of the latter palace turns off the switch for the large electric light, there may still be lights in the other apartments. He can carry out his work; thieves cannot benefit.

Thus, O my nafs! The first palace is a Muslim. Hazrat Prophet ‘Alayhissalâtu Wassalâm is the big electric light in his heart. If he forgets him (asm) or, al-‘iyâzu Billah1 , expels him from his heart, he cannot accept any other prophets. No place will remain in his rûh for any perfection; he will not even recognise His Rabb. All the apartments and subtle faculties in his essence will fall into darkness, and there will be terrible destruction and savagery in his heart. I wonder, against this destruction and savagery, what benefit can you gain and feel a friendly familiarity with it? What benefit can you find with which you will repair the harm of such destruction? However, the foreigners resemble the second palace; even if they expel the nûr of Hazrat Prophet ‘Alayhissalâtu Wassalâm from their hearts, some kinds of nûr may remain, or they suppose that some nûr may remain. A kind of îmân in their Khâliq and Hazrat Mûsâ or ‘Îsâ ‘alayhimassalâm, which will be the source of their ma’nawî moral perfection, may remain in them.

O nafs al-ammarah! If you say, "I want to be an animal, not a foreigner," how many times have I told you, "You cannot be like animals because there is a mind in your head, and it beats your face, eyes and head with the slaps of pains of the past and fears of the future. It adds a thousand pains to one pleasure. Whereas animals receive pleasure without pain and enjoy it, so firstly, take your mind off and throw it away, then be an animal and see the chastening slap of كَاْلاَنْعَامِ بَلْ هُمْ اَضَلُّ .2

2. One of the terrifying conditions of the âkhirzaman:

At this time, there are two terrifying conditions:

The First: Since man's feelings, which do not see the consequences and prefer an ounce of present pleasure to tonnes of future pleasures, have prevailed over the mind and reason, the only way to save the people of dissipation from dissipation is to defeat their feelings by showing them the pain present in their pleasure. And through the indication of the âyâh يَسْتَحِبُّونَ الْحَيَوةَ الدُّنْيَا عَلَى اْلاٰخِرَةِ3, in this time, the only way to save the mu’mins from the danger of following the people of dhalâlah while being the people of îmân due to the above mystery and the love of the world, and the danger of choosing pieces of worldly glass soon to be shattered, although they know the diamond-like ni’mahs and pleasures of the âkhirah, is to show pains like Jahannam torment even in this world. This is the way Risale-i Nur takes. Otherwise, in the face of the obstinacy of dhalâlah arising from science, the addiction of dissipation and kufr al-mutlaq at this time, perhaps only one in ten or even twenty can receive a lesson by way of dissuading from evil and bad deeds by proving the existence of Jahannam and its torments after acquainting Janâb-i Haqq. After he receives the lesson, he says, "Janâb-i Haqq is Ghafûr and Rahîm, and Jahannam is a long way off," and he might continue his dissipation. His feelings defeat his heart and rûh. Thus, by showing the grievous and frightening results of kufr and dhalâlah in this world, the Risale-i Nur, through most of its comparisons, makes even the most obstinate people, who perform ‘ibâdah to their nafs, feel disgusted at dissipation and inauspicious pleasures, which are not permitted by the Sharî'ah; it leads those who still possess the mind among them to tawbah.

The introduction to the translation of the Arabic lesson called Al-Khutbah Ash-Shâmiyyah (Damascus Sermon)

3. One who wastes due to dissipation, amusement and frivolous occupations will be enslaved by Sufyan:

In the riwâyât, it was mentioned that "the hand of Sufyan, one of the significant individuals of the âkhirzaman, will be pierced."

4اللّٰه أعْلَم , a ta’wîl of it is as follows: due to extreme wastefulness for dissipation and trivial amusements, he cannot keep possessions in his hand; they are poured away for waste. It is said in the proverb, "so-and-so has a hole in his hand." That is, he is very wasteful.

Thus, this hadith warns that Sufyan makes people subjected to himself by encouraging wastefulness, arousing intense greed and ambition and holding those weak veins of man. It informs us that the one who wastes becomes his captive and falls into his trap.

The Fifth Ray-First Matter

(Please also refer to the compilation on Frugality-Iqtisâd)

4. The social life amidst dissipation (safahat) in the time of Sufyan and Dajjal:

In the riwâyât, it was mentioned that "the fitnah of the âkhirzaman will be so terrible that no one will restrain his nafs." It is because of this that all ummah have sought refuge with Allah (isti‘âdha) from that fitnah for one thousand three hundred years, on the command of the Prophet (asm). مِنْ فِتْنَةِ الدَّجَّالِ وَ مِنْ فِتْنَةِ آخِرِ الزَّمَانِ5 became the wird of the ummah after seeking refuge from the torments of the grave.

اللّٰه أعلم بالصواب6, a ta’wîl of it is this: those fitnahs will attract the nafs of people to themselves and infatuate them. People will perpetrate them voluntarily, indeed, with pleasure.

For example, in Russia, men and women bathe naked together in public baths. And since, by fitrah, women have a strong inclination to show off their beauty, they willingly plunge themselves into that fitnah and are led astray. Men, too, who worship beauty in their fitrah, are defeated by their nafs and, with drunken joy, fall into the fire and are burned. By means of attraction, entertainment, kabâir and bid’ahs of that time, such as dance and the theatre, draw those who perform ‘ibâdah to their nafs around them, like moths, and daze them. But if this occurs through absolute compulsion, since the will is invalidated, it will not even be a sin.

The Fifth Ray-Sixth Matter

5. The fake Jannah of Dajjal, which was informed by the hadiths, is the dissipation (safahat) and fantasies of the civilisation:

As for the Dajjal's fake Jannah, it is the alluring amusements and fantasies of civilisation. As for his mount, it is the means of transport, like a train, at one head of which is the fire pit; he sometimes casts those who do not follow him into the fire. One ear of that mount, that is, the other head of it, has been furnished like Jannah, and he seats those who follow him in it. In fact, the train, which is an important mount of dissolute and cruel civilisation, brings a fake Jannah for the people of dissipation and ahl ad-dunyâ, while for the unfortunate people of religion and Islam, it brings danger in the hand of civilisation, like the zabânî of Jahannam, and casts them into captivity and indigence.

The Fifteenth Letter- The meaning of your Fourth Question

 

In the riwâyât, it was mentioned that "the despotic rulers of the âkhirzaman, especially Dajjal, will have fake Jannahs and Jahannams." الْعِلْمُ عِنْدَ اللّٰهِ7, a ta’wîl of it is this: it is an indication that the prison and the high school, which are the government offices that are situated opposite and facing each other, the high school will take the form of an ugly imitation of the houri and qilman8 and the prison will take the form of torture and a dungeon.

The Fifth Ray-Third Matter

6.  The harms of dissipation (safahat) and waste that the European civilisation instills into social life:

Why does the Sharî’ah reject this civilisation? {We seek after the virtues of civilisation and its goodness that are beneficial for mankind, not the sins and evils of it. The fools imitated its sins and dissipation by supposing them to be virtues, and they destroyed our property. Due to the sins of civilisation prevailing over its goodness and its evil being preferred to its virtue, mankind received two ghastly slaps, and the sinful civilisation was demolished by two world wars; mankind vomited it out so much that it messed up the face of the earth with blood. InshâAllah, with the strength of Islam in the future, the virtues of civilisation will prevail, clean the face of the earth from filth and establish general peace.}

I said: It has been founded on five negative principles. Its point of support is force, and the necessary consequence of it is transgression. Its aim is benefit, and the necessary consequence of it is jostling. Its principle in life is conflict, and the necessary consequence of it is collision. Its bond between the masses is racism and negative nationalism, which is nourished through devouring others, and the necessary consequence of it is such a severe clash. Its enticing service is to encourage, facilitate and satisfy the desires, appetites and wants of the nafs. And as for the desires of the nafs, the necessary consequence of encouraging them is to reduce humanity from an exalted level of malâikah to the lowest level of a dog9. It is to cause man to change, in a ma’nawî manner10, into a beast (maskh). If most of these civilised people had turned inside out, you would see the pelts of wolves, bears, snakes, pigs, or monkeys.

It is for this reason that the present civilisation, has thrown eighty per cent of mankind into difficulty and misery, ten per cent into an imaginary bliss and left the remaining ten in between. Happiness is that which brings joy to the majority or most, but this is only for the smallest minority. The Qur'an, which is rahmah to all mankind, only accepts a civilisation containing the happiness of all, or at least the majority.

The tyranny of the freed desires of the nafs has made non-essential needs essential. At the time of Bedouin life, a man was in need of four things; civilisation has made him in need of a hundred things and cast him into poverty. Since the work performed for the livelihood does not cover expenses, it has led people to haram and cheat, and it has corrupted the foundations of morality. Despite the wealth and glory it gave to the community and mankind, it has made the individual and the person poor and immoral.

This civilisation vomited the savagery of previous ages all at once.

Sünuhat-45

 (Please also refer to The Twelfth Word)