MURSHID –مرشد

 

A guide; especially, a ma’nawî guide or teacher. The one who guides to the right path and wakes up the ghâfils from their ghaflah.

 

Shaytan turned and said, "The Qur'an resembles the word of man; it is in the form of man’s conversation. That means it is man's word. If it were the word of Allah, it would be in a form that is suitable to Him and wondrous in all aspects. Just as His art does not resemble man's art, so His word also should not resemble man's word."

I said as a reply, "Just as our Prophet remained in the sphere of humanity in all his actions, states and conduct apart from his miracles and special attributes, and he submitted and obeyed to ‘Âdâtullah and His takwinî commands like other human beings. He, too, suffered from the cold and pain and so on. A wondrous state was not given to all of his states and conducts, so that he could be an imam to his ummah through his actions, a guide through his conduct, and could give lessons through all of his behaviour. If he was wondrous in all his conduct, he could not himself be an imam in every aspect. He could not be the absolute murshid to everyone. He could not be rahmah to all ‘âlams' through all his states.

In just the same way, Al-Qur'an Al-Hakîm is the imam to the conscious beings, the murshid to jinn and men, the guide to the people of perfection and the teacher to the people of haqiqah. Therefore, being in the form of man's conversation and style is a necessity and certainty. Because men and jinn take and learn their du‘â from it; they speak of their matters through its language and learn the adab of social behaviour from it, and so on, everyone has recourse to it; therefore, if it were in the form of the kalâm of Allah, which Hazrat Mûsâ ‘Alayhissalâm heard on Mount Sinai, man could not endure listening to and hearing it, nor had recourse to it. An ulu'l-‘azm prophet like Hazrat Mûsâ could only endure hearing a few words. Mûsâ ‘Alayhissalâm said,اَهكَذَا كَلاَمُكَ قَالَ اللّٰهُ لِى قُوَّةُ جَمِيعِ اْلاَلْسِنَةِ1

The Addendum to the Fifteenth Word

 

Just as if the property of a jamâ’ah is given to one man, it is an injustice, or if one seizes charitable foundations belonging to a jamâ’ah, he does injustice, so too attributing a result of a jamâ’ah's works, or the honour and fadhîlah that is the result of their good works to the leader or ustadh of that jamâ’ah is an injustice, both to the jamâ’ah and the leader or the ustadh, because it flatters his ananiyyah, drives him to pride and causes him to suppose himself to be the sultân while he is the doorkeeper. He also does an injustice to his own nafs. Indeed, it opens a way to a kind of hidden shirk. Yes, the major cannot take the prize, victory and honour of a regiment that conquered a citadel. The ustadh and murshid should not be considered the source or origin but be known to be the place of reflection and manifestation.

For example, heat and light reach you by means of a mirror. Forgetting the sun and considering the mirror as the source and being grateful to it instead of being grateful to the sun is lunacy. Yes, the mirror should be preserved because it is the place of manifestation. Thus, the rûh and heart of a murshid are a mirror; he becomes a place where the faydh coming from Janâb-i Haqq reflects on and a means of its being reflected to his followers (murîd). He should not be ascribed a higher rank regarding faydh than that of being the means. It sometimes even happens that an ustadh considered the source is neither the place of manifestation nor the source. But the follower (murîd) sees the faydh he receives in other ways, such as the purity of his ikhlas, the strength of his attachment and his concentration on his ustadh, as coming from the mirror of his ustadh's rûh. Just as, when some people look at a mirror attentively, a window to al-‘âlam al-mithâl is opened in their imagination by means of magnetism. They observe strange and wonderful things in the mirror. But it is not in the mirror; rather, they see a window that opened up in their imaginations outside the mirror by focusing their attention on the mirror. It is for this reason that sometimes the sincere follower (murîd) of a deficient shaykh can be more advanced than his shaykh. He guides his shaykh and becomes his shaykh's shaykh.

The Seventeenth Flash-13th Note-The 5th Matter

 

Islam says: لاَ خَالِقَ اِلاَّ هُوَ 2 , and does not accept causes and intermediaries as the real producer of an effect. It looks to intermediaries with ma’nâ al-harfî. Aqîdah of Tawhîd and the duty of submission (taslîm) and tafvîdh3 demand this. Due to corruption, present-day Christianity considers causes and intermediaries as the producers of an effect and looks to them with the view of ma’nâ al-ismî. The aqîdah of waladiyyah4 and the thought of priesthood demand this and urge it. They look to their saints through the view of ma’nâ al-ismî, as the source of faydh and the mine of nûr, according to one view, like a nûr of a lamp which transformed from the sunlight. Whereas, we look to the awliyâ through ma’nâ al-harfî, as a place of reflection and manifestation that is, like a mirror to the sun which spreads its light. {The Naqshbandis' method (râbita) is based on this mystery.} It is because of this mystery, with us, ma’nawî journeying begins from humility, it passes through self-annihilation, and reaches the station of annihilation in Allah (fanâ fillâh). It begins to journey through infinite ranks. The ana and nafs al-ammarah extinguish with their arrogance and pride. However, not true Christianity, but in the Christian who has been shaken by philosophy and corruption, the ana strengthens with its equipment. If a prominent person of high rank and station with a powerful ana is a Christian, he can be firm in his religion, whereas a Muslim becomes neglectful in his religion.

The Damascus Sermon (137)

 Undigested ‘Ilm Should Not Be Inculcated

The real ‘âlim guide (Murshid) is a sheep, not a bird; he gives his ‘ilm for the sake of Allah.

The sheep gives its lamb its digested, purified milk.

The bird gives its chick its vomit soiled with saliva.

The Gleams

 

This is important

This conservation which I have been reminded in order to amend to good thoughts and ifrât regard held of me far beyond my due, by some of my brothers from among the Risale-i Nur students.

I will recount to you a conversation I had with my older brother Mullah Abdullah (rahmatullahi ‘alayh) forty to fifty years ago.

My late brother was a sincere student of Hazrat Ziyaeddin (Kuddisa Sirruhu) among the great awliyâ. Since it was a widely accepted practice by the people of tarîqah to nurture excessive love and favourable thoughts towards their murshid, my late brother said to me: “Hazrat Ziyaeddin knows all the ‘ilms. Like a great qutb, he has an understanding of everything in the universe.” And he described his many marvellous ranks to connect me to him.

So I said to that brother of mine: “You are exaggerating. If I saw him, I could defeat him in many matters. In fact, you do not love him as genuinely as I do. For you love a Ziyaeddin that you imagine as knowing all the ‘ilms in the universe and is like a great qutb; that is, you are connected to him and show affection with regard to that title. If the veil of the ghayb was lifted and his haqiqah was revealed, your love of him would either be shattered or would be reduced to a quarter of that level. I, however, earnestly love that blessed person seriously and appreciate him just as much as you do. For he is a sincere, influential and important guide to the people of îmân within the circle of Sunnah as-Saniyyah and the way of haqiqah. Whatever his personal rank might be, for this service of his, I would sacrifice my rûh for him. If the veil was lifted and his true rank was revealed, let alone renouncing and abandoning him, or my love for him being diminished -far from it- I would be attached to him with greater respect and appreciation. That means I love a real Ziyaeddin, while you love an imaginary Ziyaeddin”5

Because my brother was an equitable investigative ‘âlim, he accepted and appreciated my point of view.

O valuable students of the Risale-i Nur and my brothers who are more self-sacrificing and fortunate than me! In relation to my personality, your excessive favourable view of me may not bring you harm. But perceivers of haqiqah such as yourselves should look to the duty and service performed and base their views on that respect. If the veil was lifted, my nature which is full of faults from head to toe would have you pity me. So that I do not lose your brotherhood and that you do not feel remorse, do not attach your connection with me to imagined ranks which are beyond my due.

My relationship with you is as a brother; it is not my right to become a murshid. Neither am I your Ustadh; rather, I am fellow in learning. I am in need of your compassionate du'â and support for my mistakes. It is that with the bestowal and generosity of Janâb-i Haqq through the principle of delegating duties, we have become partners in a very sacred, very important, very valuable service that is of benefit to everyone from the people of îmân. The extraordinary significance and value and guidance (Irshad) of the ma’nawî collective personality, which proceeds from our solidarity, and its being an Ustadh are sufficient for us.

And since beyond all things, the service of îmân is a most important duty in this age; and as for quantity, it has little importance compared to quality; and the temporary and constantly changing political worlds are of no importance compared to the eternal, permanent and fixed service of îmân; they cannot act as scales, nor can they serve as a means. We should seek contentment in the ranks with faydh within the Risale-i Nur’s circle of instructions and from the aspect of service, it grants us. Instead of affording exceptional and extraordinary favourable thoughts and excessive lofty ranks that is beyond due, what is needed is exceptional loyalty and steadfastness, excessive connection and ikhlas. We should progress in this.

اَلْبَاقِى هُوَ الْبَاقِى

Your Brother

Said Nursî

Kastamonu Addendum (100-101 )