بِسْمِ اللّٰهِ الرَّحْمٰنِ الرَّحِيمِ

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

‘ABD-SERVANT - 2

1. The meaning of the phrase “One who is truly an ‘abd of Allah cannot be an ‘abd to others” that expresses the freedom of the Sharî’ah:

The freedom of the Sharî’ah arising from îmân commands two principles:

اَنْ لاَ يُذَلِّلَ وَ لاَ يَتَذَلَّلَمَنْ كَانَ عَبْدًا لِلّٰهِ لاَ يَكُونُ عَبْدًا لِلْعِبَادِ لاَ يَجْعَلْ بَعْضُكُمْ بَعْضًا

اَرْبَابًا مِنْ دُونِ اللّٰهِ نَعَمْ اَلْحُرِّيَّةُ الشَّرْعِيَّةُ عَطِيَّةُ الرَّحْمٰنِ

That is, îmân necessitates not insulting others and making them fall into abasement through oppression and despotism, and not being humiliated by dhâlims. One who is truly an ‘abd of Allah cannot be an ‘abd to others. Do not take each other as your Rabb other than Allah! That is, one who does not recognise Allah will attribute a rubûbiyyah to everything and everyone in proportion to their degree, and he will cause them to worry him and attack himself. Yes, the freedom of the Sharî’ah is Janâb-i Haqq’s bounty through the manifestation of His Names Rahmân and Rahîm and is a characteristic of îmân.

The Damascus Sermon-61

 

Since the Illustrious Sharî’ah came from the Azalî Kalâm, it will continue through eternity.1

Our salvation from the vile tyranny of the nafs al-ammarah is by relying on Islam and holding that strong rope2 fast. Truly benefiting from the rightful freedom can be achieved by seeking help from îmân because the one who truly is an ‘abd and servant of As-Sâni’ of ‘âlam should not debase himself by being an ‘abd to His creatures. Since everyone is a commander in his own world, he is responsible for the greater jihâd3 in his small âlam and is assigned to gain the morals of Ahmad (asm) and revive the Sunnah of the Prophet.

The Damascus Sermon-85

2. The duty of an ‘abd is not to think about the results, but to obey and follow the commands of Allah:

Weakness encourages the enemy. Allah tests his ‘abd. ‘Abd cannot test his Allah

O fearful and weak one! Your fear and weakness are futile and also against you; they encourage external influences and attract them.

O you having wahm and waswasa! A certain benefit cannot be sacrificed for an imaginary harm. What is necessary for you is to act; the result belongs to Allah.

His work cannot be interfered with. Allah puts His ‘abd into the arena of trial and says, "If you do that, I'll do this."

But an ‘abd can never test his Allah. If he says, "My Rabb should help, then I'll do this," he transgresses his limits.

Shaytan said to ‘Îsâ (as), "Since He does everything, and qadar is one and does not change, throw yourself off the mountain, and let's see what He will do to you."

‘Îsâ (as) said, "O you cursed! An ‘abd cannot test his Rabb!"

The Gleams

 

Although those who work and perform jihad on the haqq way should think only of their own duties, they fall into error by thinking of the duty of Janâb-i Haqq and basing their actions on it. It is in the risale of Adabu'd-Din wa'd-Dunyâ that, one time, shaytan objected to Hazrat ‘Îsâ ‘Alayhissalâm and said, "Since the appointed time of one’s death and everything are specified by Ilahî qadar, throw yourself off from this high place, and see, you will die." Hazrat ‘Îsâ ‘Alayhissalâm said,اِنَّ لِلّٰهِ اَنْ يَخْتَبِرَ عَبْدَهُ وَلَيْسَ لِلْعَبْدِ اَنْ يَخْتَبِرَ رَبَّهُ   That is, "Janâb-i Haqq tests his ‘abd and says: If you do this, I will do that to you. Let's see if you are able to do it. But the ‘abd does not have the right, and he cannot dare to test Janâb-i Haqq and say: If I act in that way, will You do this? Testing Janâb-i Haqq’s rubûbiyyah in a manner of examining Him is discourtesy and contrary to ‘ubûdiyyah." Since this is the haqiqah, man should fulfil his own duty and not interfere in Janâb-i Haqq's duty.

It is well known that when Jalal ad-Din Khwarazm-Shah, one of the heroes of Islam who many times defeated Genghis Khan’s army, was going to war, his ministers and subjects said to him, "You will be victorious; Janâb-i Haqq will make you victor." He said, "I am charged with acting on the way of jihâd by the command of Allah; I do not interfere with Janâb-i Haqq's duty. To make us victorious or vanquished is His duty." Thus, since he understood this mystery of submission (taslîm), he became wondrously victorious many times.

Yes, in his actions, which he performs through juz’ al-ikhtiyârî in his hand, man should not think of the results belonging to Janâb-i Haqq. For example, many people joining Risale-i Nur increases the enthusiasm and zeal of some of our brothers. When people do not listen, the ma’nawî strength of the weak is broken and their enthusiasm wanes to an extent. Whereas by taking the decree of Allahوَمَا عَلَى الرَّسُولِ اِلاَّ الْبَلاَغُ 4 as his absolute guide, Ar-Rasûl Al-Akram ‘Alayhissalâtu Wassalâm, who is the absolute ustadh, universal leader and perfect guide, performed tablîgh with greater effort, zeal and seriousness when people held back and did not listen because, through the mystery of the âyah اِنَّكَ لاَ تَهْدِى مَنْ اَحْبَبْتَ وَلٰكِنَّ اللهَ يَهْدِى مَنْ يَشَۤاءُ 5 , he understood that making people listen and bestowing hidâyah on them is the duty of Janâb-i Haqq. And he did not interfere in Janâb-i Haqq's duty.

So, O my brothers! You, too, by basing your actions on a duty that does not belong to you, do not interfere and do not take up the position of testing your Khâliq!

 The Seventeenth Flash/Thirteenth Note

3. Nafs does not accept that it is an ‘abd:                                                                 

Nafs wants itself to be free and independent and considers itself to be so. By fitrah, it even desires an imaginary rubûbiyyah and to act as it pleases. It does not want to think that it is being given tarbiyyah through boundless ni’mahs. Especially if he possesses wealth and power in this world, and if ghaflah also assists, he usurpingly and thievingly devours the ni’mah of Allah like an animal.

Thus, in the Noble Ramadhan, from the richest to the poorest, everyone’s nafs understands that it is not the owner but is owned as an absolute property; it is not free but is an ‘abd. Since he cannot do the simplest and easiest thing, even stretch out his hand to the water if he is not commanded, its imaginary rubûbiyyah is shattered; it assumes ‘ubûdiyyah and begins to shukr, which is its true duty…

…Nafs does not want to recognise its Rabb; it wants rubûbiyyah like Pharaoh. However much torment is caused to be suffered, that vein remains in it. However, that vein is shattered by hunger.

Thus, the sawm in the Noble Ramadhan strikes directly at the pharaoh-front line of the nafs and shatters it. It shows its impotence, weakness and poverty. It makes it realise that it is an ‘abd.

The Risale on Ramadhan

4. The rahmah of Allah for His ‘abds:

Also, in this temporary hostel and transitory guesthouse, in a brief time and short life, such precious gifts and ni’mahs, and extraordinary outlays and bestowals, through the hands of the trees and plants, indicate, indeed, testify:

For a generous and powerful One, Who is Rahîm, and Who treats his guests so mercifully here, surely, has prepared out of His eternal treasuries of rahmah eternal fruit-bearing trees and flowering plants appropriate to Jannah, in His eternal Jannahs, in an eternal ‘âlam, in an eternal realm, for His ‘abds, whom He will leave there eternally, in order not to turn all His longing friends into enemies due to being deprived, not to cause all the creatures that He created to deny His infinite rahmah, not to nullify the sovereignty of His ulûhiyyah and not to cause them to say, "He gave us a taste,  but then executed us without permitting us to eat," which are completely contrary to His outlay and bestowals and to the purpose of making Himself loved and known. As for those bestowals in here, they are samples to demonstrate to customers.

The Third Ray

5. The philosophy appoints being like Al-Wâjib Al-Wujûd, instead of being an ‘abd, as the point of perfection for mankind:

Even men like Plato and Aristotle, Ibn-i Sina and Farabi, who were the perfect members of the chain of philosophy and the geniuses of that chain, said, “The ultimate aim of mankind is to be like Al-Wâjib6”, that is, “It is to resemble Al-Wâjib Al-Wujûd.” They judged like Pharaoh and opened the way to numerous different disciplines of shirk, like ‘ibâdah to causes, ‘ibâdah to idols, ‘ibâdah to nature and ‘ibâdah to the stars, by whipping up ananiyyah and galloping it free in the valleys of shirk. They have obstructed the road of ‘ubûdiyyah by closing the doors of impotence and weakness, poverty and need, deficiency and imperfection, which are contained in the essence of humanity. They could not find the wide door of shukr due to sinking in and sticking to nature and not being completely able to emerge from shirk.

…

There is no comparison between the principle “Be an ‘abd in the presence of Allah, by being endowed with His morals, turning submissively towards Janâb-i Haqq and recognising your impotence, poverty and fault,” according to the ruleتَخَلَّقُوا بِاَخْلاَقِ اللّٰهِ 7 which is one of the results of the principles of the nubuwwah concerning the individual life, and the boastful rule of philosophy “Work to resemble Al-Wâjib Al-Wujûd,” according to rule “Being like Al-Wâjib is mankind's extremity of perfection.”

The Thirtieth Word

6. The mystery of du'â:

As is explained in others Words du'â is an ‘ibâdah. An ‘abd proclaims his impotence and poverty through du'â. As for the apparent aims, they are the times of the du'â and that ‘ibâdah of du'â; they are not their true benefits. The benefit of ‘ibâdah looks to the âkhirah. If the worldly aim is not obtained, it cannot be said, "The du'â was not accepted." It should rather be said, "The time for du'â has still not ended."

…

Du'â is the rûh of ‘ubûdiyyah and the result of sincere îmân. For with his du'â, one who offers du'â shows that there is Someone Who rules the whole universe; He knows the most insignificant things and matters of mine; He can fulfil my most distant aims; He sees every state of mine and hears my voice. In that case, He hears all the voices of all beings, so He hears my voice too. He does all these things, so I await and ask for even my smallest things and matters from Him.

Thus, look at the vastness of sincere tawhîd that du'â gives and the sweetness and purity of the nûr of îmân that it shows. Understand the mystery of  قُلْ مَا يَعْبَؤُا بِكُمْ رَبِّى لَوْلاَ دُعَاؤُكُمْ 8, and listen to the decree of وَ قَالَ رَبُّكُمُ ادْعُونِى اَسْتَجِبْ لَكُمْ 9. As it was said, اگر نه خواهى داد ، نه دادى خواه   “If He had not wanted to give, He would not have given wanting.”

The First Addendum to the Twenty-Fourth Letter/2nd and 5th Subtle Points

7. The results of being or not being an ‘abd that will be experienced in this world:

If you are an ‘abd of Allah, everything subjugates to you. If you follow the desires of your nafs, everything will be against you.

 Al-Mathnawi al-Nuri-282

 

Because if a man is not a real ‘abd of Janâb-i Haqq, he will suppose himself to be the owner of himself. But with his juz’ al-ikhtiyârî and his little power, he cannot administer and control his being in this stormy world. He sees thousands of different sorts of enemies attacking his life, from harmful microbes to earthquakes. Amidst the painful terror of fear, he looks towards the door of the grave, which at all times appears dreadful to him. While in this state, since he is attached to the world and mankind due to his humanity, the state of the world and mankind always troubles him because he does not consider them to be under the control of The One, Who is Hakîm, ‘Alîm, Qadîr, Rahîm and Karîm, and he attributes the world and mankind to coincidence and nature. Together with his own pains, he also suffers the pains of mankind. Earthquakes, plagues, storms, famine, scarcity, separation and perishment of the world torment him in the form of an extremely dark and troublesome calamity.

The Thirty-Second Word/Third Stopping-Place/Second Point of The Second Topic

 

If the bestowal of hidâyah and îmân on a man who suffers the ghastly ma’nawî pains of dhalâlah is considered from the point of view of tawhîd, suddenly, the azalî and undying beauty of the One, Who is Karîm and Muhsin, is seen on the face of that supreme bestowal, which is to make the insignificant, transitory and impotent man an ‘abd, who is the addressee of Ma’bûd, Khâliq and Sultân of all the universe, and which is to bestow on him eternal happiness and a broad and splendid everlasting property and eternal world by means of îmân, and which is to honour all mu’mins like him with those favours according to their degree. One flash of that beauty makes all the people of îmân companions to itself and the pure ones amongst them fall in ‘ashq.

 The Second Ray-1st Station/1st Fruit

 

Through being related by means of ‘ubûdiyyah and servanthood, you are connected to and recorded in the wage book of such a Mâlik, Who is Karîm, that every spring and summer, He adorns, sets out, removes and sets out again, a hundred times, the table of the earth with His various foods from unexpected places, out of nothing and the dry soil. It is as though the years of the time and the days of each year are all receptacles for the fruits of bestowals and foods of rahmah that come in unending succession; each of them is an exhibition for the degrees of universal and particular bestowals of a Razzâq, Who is Rahîm. Thus, you are an ‘abd of such an Absolute Ghanî. If you are aware of your being an ‘abd, your grievous poverty will be a pleasurable appetite.

The Fourth Ray-The Second Degree

 

He is Al- Ghanî, Who is Mughnî, and in His hands are the keys to everything. If you can be His sincere ‘abd, when you look to the universe, you will see it as the sovereignty of its owner and Mâlik, and see His magnificence and glory. You can view the universe without difficulty as if it were your property, and its perishment will not grieve you. A sincere servant of a Sultân, who is annihilated in His love, prides himself on whatever belongs to Him.

 Al-Mathnawi al-Nuri-286

 

Know, O friend, who is satisfied with the world and is comforted by it. You are like one who rolls down from the top of a high palace. While he is falling, the palace, too, rolls down in a flood coursing down a high mountain, and the mountain, too, rolls down into the depths of the earth via earthquakes.

The palace of life has started to demolish, and the bird (plane) of your lifespan flies with lightning speed. Soon it will lay you in the nest of your grave. The stream of time turns its wheels with a speed horrifying all minds, and the ship of earth floats like clouds, by reciting the âyah 10 تَمُرُّ مَرَّ ٱلسَّحَابِ . If, while being in a fast-moving train, a man stretches his hand out — in the middle of the way and despite the speed — to grasp thorny flowers alongside the railways and the thorns tear his hands, can he blame anybody other than his nafs?

Thus, O friend! Do not stretch your hands or eyes to the world’s flowers, for if the pain of separation tears your heart when you grasp them, how painful is the time of final separation?

O my nafs commanding evil, be an ‘abd to whomever you wish and claim whatever you wish, or call whomever you wish. As for me, I am the ‘abd of only Him, He Who has created me and subjected to me the sun, the moon, the earth and the trees. I ask for help only from He, Who carries me on the plane of life that moves in the space of encompassing qadar and has subjected to me the earth that flies among the stars and planets. Sitting in the compartment of this day connected to both yesterday and tomorrow with His permission, I ask for help only from He, Who makes me mount the train of time travelling with the speed of lightning through the tunnel of earth, under the mountain of life towards the gate of the grave along the way to all eternity. I call and ask for help only from He, Who can stop the wheel of destiny, which apparently moves the ship of earth, and stop the movement of time by reuniting the sun and the moon. I ask for help only from He, Who can steady this changing earth rolling down from the peaks of existence into the depths of the valleys of perishment and decay by transforming it into another world through the mystery of يَوْمَ تُبَدَّلُ ٱلْأَرْضُ غَيْرَ ٱلْأَرْضِ11. For I have hopes and aims that are connected with all things. My hopes stick to things, on which time passes and the earth goes, and which the world leaves; they continue to eternity. I also have a deep connection with the joys and sorrows of all sâlih ‘abds of Allah in the samâwât and on the earth.

So I perform ‘ibâdah only to He, Who can be aware of my heart’s most secret thoughts and satisfy and reform its least hopes and inclinations, and can also create qiyâmah and change the world into the âkhirah in order to establish eternal happiness for mankind, which is the hope of my mind and imagination. His Hands reach the tiniest particle and the largest sun at the same instant. The smallest particle cannot hide itself from His control and administration, and the greatest sun cannot be arrogant before His Qoudrah. He is such that all your pains transform into pleasures if you know Him, and that without Him all ‘ilm change into wahm and hikmah into calamity and illness...

Yes, without the nûr of His ma’rifat, existence weeps the drops of non-existence, nûr rains darkness, living creatures pile dead things on you, pleasures pile pains and sins. Without the nûr of His ma’rifat, beloved ones — rather, everything — transform into enemies. Without it, permanence becomes a disaster, perfection goes for nothing, life goes like the wind and becomes a torment, the mind becomes a means of suffering and misery, and hopes and wishes weep the drops of pain.

Everything is for those who are for Allah; everything is against those who are not for Allah. Being for Him means to give everything to Him and have idh'ân that everything belongs to Him and is His property.

He is the One Who has created you in a form surrounded by circles of need and equipped you within the smallest circle of needs amongst them, which your will and power can only reach as long as your hands can stretch. Rest of your needs, some of them are related to an enormous circle stretching from the azal to eternity, and between the earth and the ‘arsh. To make you reach these needs, He has equipped you with du'â and said, قُلْ مَا يَعْبَؤُا بِكُمْ رَبِّى لَوْلاَ دُعَاؤُكُمْ12.

Yes, just as an infant calls its parents to provide what it cannot reach, so does an ‘abd call his Rabb through his impotence.

Al-Mathnawi al-Nuri 242-244

8. The desire to be loved and liked by people makes man their ‘abd:

O you who desire the fame that is, in tradition, called glory and honour! Listen to this matter from me and learn! For I witnessed that fame is the pure riyâ and the death of the heart. So do not seek it, lest you be the ‘abd of the people. If it is given to you, that is, you have fallen into it, say,  13 إنّا للّٰه وإنّا الَيهِ رَاجِعُونَ‌

Al-Mathnawi al-Nuri-181

(Please also refer to The Twenty-Ninth Letter-The Sixth Section, which is the Sixth Risale-First Wile.)

9. Allah chooses some of His ‘abds for the service of the Qur’an:

My azîz, steadfast, earnest, truthful, sincere and intelligent brother!

For brothers of the âkhirah and the haqiqah like us, differences in time and place form no obstacle to their conversations and companionship. Even if one is in the east, one in the west, one in the past, one in the future, one in this world, and one in the âkhirah, they can still be considered together, and they can talk together. Especially those who perform a single duty for a single aim are considered to be the same. Every morning, I imagine that you are here with me, and I give a part, a third of my gains (May Allah accept them!) to you. You are together with Abdülmecid and Abdurrahman in my du‘âs. InshâAllah, you always receive your share. The difficulties you suffer regarding this world saddened me a little, for your sake. But since this world is not eternal, and there is a kind of khayr in its calamities, it came to my heart to say, "This too will pass," on your behalf. I thought of the hadith, لاَ عَيْشَ اِلاَّ عَيْشُ اْلآخِرَةِ14. I recited the âyah اِنَّ اللّهَ مَعَ الصَّابِرِينَ15. I said, 16 إنّا للّٰه وإنّا الَيهِ رَاجِعُونَ‌ , and found consolation in place of you. If Janâb-i Haqq loves an ‘abd of His, He makes the world turn its back on him, and shows the world to be ugly. InshâAllah, you are among the class of those beloveds.

The Twenty-Third Letter

 

Whereas for those employed in the Qur'anic service, either the world must turn its back on them or they must turn their back on the world so that they can earnestly perform the Qur'anic service with ikhlas.

 The Tenth Flash-Third

 

So, O my nafs! If you make the life of this world your primary aim and work constantly for it, you will be the soldier of the smallest sparrow bird. But if you make the life of the âkhirah your primary aim, make this life the means of it and its tillage, and strive accordingly, then you will be a great commander of the animals, an indulged and suppliant ‘abd of Janâb-i Haqq and His honoured and respected guest in this world.

Here are the two ways for you! You can choose whichever you wish... Ask for hidâyah and success from Arhamurrâhimîn...

The Fifth Word