بِسْمِ اللّٰهِ الرَّحْمٰنِ الرَّحِيمِ

وَ بِهِ نَسْتَعِينُ

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

RIYÂ

1.Riyâ of the age that corrupts mankind:

Just as the Qur'an severely prohibits the ‘ibâdah to idols, so does it forbid the ‘ibâdah to images, which is a sort of imitation of the ‘ibâdah to idols. 1 Whereas, considering the images as one of its virtues, civilisation has wanted to dispute the Qur'an. But images, whether possessing shadow or not, are either petrified dhulm, embodied riyâ, or embodied desires of the nafs; by whipping up the desires of the nafs, they encourage mankind to dhulm and riyâ and to follow the desires of the nafs.

The Twenty-Fifth Word/3rd Ray/2nd Radiance/Fourth Principle

 

Now, the most valuable and most necessary principle amongst Islamic tarbiyyah and deeds pertaining to the âkhirah is ikhlas. Such true ikhlas is to be found in the heroism within this kind of compassion. If these two points begin to unfold among those blessed women, it will be the means of great happiness in the sphere of Islam. Whereas the heroism of men can not be without recompense, rather they want recompense in hundred ways. At least they want fame and honour. But unfortunately, in order to be saved from the sharr and oppression of their dhâlim men, unfortunate blessed women enter into another sort of riyâ arising from weakness and impotence.

24th Flash-The Risale On Tasattur-A conversation with women-First Subtle Point

 

Women Left Their Homes and Led Mankind Astray, They Must Return To Their Homes

اِذَا تَاَنَّثَ الرِّجَالُ السُّفَهَاءُ بِالْهَوَسَاتِ ٭ اِذًا تَرَجَّلَ النِّسَاءُ النَّاشِزَاتُ بِالْوَقَاحَاتِ2

{*This is the basis of Risale on Tasattur. Twenty years later, a court of law that made that risale the cause of its author's conviction eternally shamed and convicted itself and its judges.}

Vile civilization made womankind fly from their homes; it destroyed their blessedness and respect towards them and made them common goods.

As a rahmah, the Sharî’ah of Islam invites them to their previous homes. It is there, they are respected, their comfort is in their homes, in family life.

Cleanliness is their adornment; goodness of character is their splendour; innocence is their grace and beauty; compassion is their perfection’s beauty; their children are their amusement.

Despite so many causes of corruption, she has to be as strong and firm as steel so that she can withstand them.

When a beautiful woman enters a gathering of brothers, riyâ, rivalry, envy and selfishness stir the veins. Sleeping desires of the nafs suddenly awaken.

Increased freedom of womankind has caused a sudden unfolding of bad morality in mankind.

Little corpses, the smiling deads, which are called images, have played a great role in the violent-tempered rûh of civilized mankind. {**Just as to look lustfully at a dead woman shows extreme despicability of nafs, in the same way, to look with carnal desires at a beautiful picture of a helpless female corpse needy of compassion extinguishes the elevated feelings of the rûh.}

The statues and images prohibited by the Sharî’ah are either petrified dhulm, embodied riyâ, or frozen desires of the nafs. Or it is a talisman attracting those evil rûhs.

 The Words-Gleams

 

Because it3 admires a beauty that is sold to everyone, falsified, boastful, displaying and performing riyâ, it has applauded those who perform riyâ and has made those idol-like people worshippers to those who worship them. {Note 2: That is, those idol-like people display an attitude like an ‘ibâdah through pretension full of riyâ in order to appear nice to the desires of the people, who worship them, and to gain their attention.}

Thirtieth Word-The First Aim

2. Riyâ in 'ibâdah:

O you, my nafs performing-riyâ! Saying: "I served religion", do not be proud. According to the mystery of اِنَّ اللّهَ لَيُؤَيِّدُ هذَا الدِّينَ بِالرَّجُلِ الْفَاجِرِ4 , since you are not purified (tazkiyyah), you should know yourself to be that sinful (Fâjir) man. Accept your service and ‘ubûdiyyah as the shukr for past ni’mahs, the duty of fitrah, the obligation of creation and the result of art. And be saved from vanity and riyâ!

 The Twenty-Sixth Word/Conclusion

 

As a consequence of the instruction they receive from jinn shaytans, human shaytans want to deceive the self-sacrificing servants of Hizb al-Qur'an5 by means of the love for rank and position and to make them give up the sacred service and ma’nawî elevated jihâd. It is as follows:

Within man and in each individual of ahl ad-dunyâ, boastfulness and ambition for fame, which are called the love of rank and position, and being seen by the people in a manner of riyâ and holding a position in the public view, which are called dignity and honour, are mostly present to a lesser or greater extent. On account of that desire’s sake, the feeling of worshipping fame drives a person to the degree of sacrificing his life even. This feeling is extremely dangerous for people of the âkhirah; it is a tribulation for ahl ad-dunyâ too; it is also the source of many bad morals and is man's weakest vein.

That is, in order to seize a man and draw him to himself, he ties him to himself by flattering that feeling of his; he also defeats him with that feeling. My greatest fear for my brothers is the possibility of the people of ilhâd taking advantage of this weak vein of theirs. This state causes me much thought. By this way, they drew some unfortunate friends of mine who were insincere and put them in ma’nawî danger. {Note: With the thought “Our hearts are together with Ustadh”, those wretches suppose themselves not to be dangerous. Whereas a man who strengthens the current of people of ilhâd and is deceived by their propaganda, and perhaps who is in danger of unknowingly being used as a spy saying: “My heart is pure and loyal to the way of my Ustadh” resembles the following example: While performing the salâh, someone cannot hold his wind and expels it; his wudhû is invalidated. When he is told that his salâh is invalid, he says: "Why should my salâh be invalidated? My heart is pure."}

O my brothers and O my friends in the Qur'anic service! Say the following to the spies of the cunning ahl ad-dunyâ, or the propagandists of the people of dhalâlah, or the students of shaytan, who come from the aspect of the love for rank and position:

“Firstly, the acceptance and pleasure of Allah, favour of Ar-Rahmân and approval of Ar-Rabb are such a rank that the attention and commendation of men are a particle in comparison with them. If the attention of Rahmah is present that is sufficient. The attention of men is acceptable with respect to its being the reflection and shadow of the attention of Rahmah; otherwise, it is not something to be desired. Because it extinguishes at the door of the grave and is worth nothing!”

If the love for rank and position is not silenced and removed, it is necessary to turn its face to another aspect. It is as follows:

In consequence of the mystery of the following comparison, if it is for sawâb of the âkhirah and with the intention of gaining the du'â of the ummah, perhaps such feeling may have an aspect permitted by the Sharî’ah in point of the favourable effect of service:

For example, at a time when Aya Sophia Masjîd is full of honourable and blessed people from among the people of fadl and perfection, while there are one or two idle children and vagrant immoral men on the porch and door and foreign spectators worshipping amusement on the windows and around them, if a man enters the masjîd and is included into that jamâ’ah and recites a portion of ten âyahs from the Qur'an with a sweet and beautiful voice, the gazes of thousands of the people of haqiqah turn to him and they cause him to gain sawâb through their favourable regard and ma’nawî du'â. Only, this does not please the idle children, vagrant mulhids and one or two foreigners.

If he shouts out insolently vile and obscene songs, dances and jumps when he entered the blessed masjîd and into such esteemed jamâ’ah, he will cause the idle children to laugh and will please the vagrant immoral men since he encourages them to obscene acts and words; he will attract the mockingly smiles of foreigners, who receive pleasure at seeing the fault of Islam. But he will attract a look of disgust and contempt from all individuals of the esteemed and blessed jamâ’ah. In their view, he will appear vile to the degree of falling to the asfal sâfilîn.

Exactly like this example; the ‘âlam of Islam and Asia is an immense masjîd; the people of îmân and haqiqah within it are the honourable jamâ’ah in that masjîd. As for the idle children, they are boothlickers having the mind of a child. As for the vagrant immoral men, they are irreligious men who follow Europe and have no nation. As for the foreign spectators, they are the journalists who disseminate the ideas of foreigners. Each Muslim, especially if he is from among the people of fadl and perfection, has a place in this masjîd according to his degree; he is seen and the attention turns towards him. If regarding ikhlas and the acceptance and pleasure of Allah, which are the fundamental mystery of Islam, the actions and deeds concerning the rules and sacred haqiqahs that Al-Qur’an Al-Hakîm teaches appear from him, and if the language of his being recites the âyahs of the Qur'an, in a ma’nawî manner, he will be included in and will have a share of the du'â 6 اَللّٰهُمَّ اغْفِرْ لِلْمُؤْمِنِينَ وَ الْمُؤْمِنَات , which is a constant wird of each individual in the âlam of Islam and he will become connected to all of them in a brotherly fashion. Only, his value will not be seen by some of the people of dhalâlah, who are from among the species of detrimental animals, and by some fools, who are bearded children.

By abandoning all his ancestors, who he knows as the source of honour, all of his past, who he knows as the source of pride, and the luminous highway of Salaf as-Sâlihîn, which he considers to be the point of support in his rûh, if that man performs actions and works in the way of bid’ah and riyâ, and by being the slave to his fancies, following his desires and nourishing the love for fame, he will fall, in a ma’nawî manner, to the lowest position in the view of all the people of haqiqah and îmân. According to the mystery ofاِتَّقُوا فِرَاسَةَ الْمُؤْمِنِ فَاِنَّهُ يَنْظُرُ بِنُورِ اللّٰهِ7 , however ordinary and ignorant the people of îmân are, although their mind does not understand, if their heart sees such boastful men, they will look coldly and hate in a ma’nawî manner.

Thus, the man mad with the love for rank and position and afflicted with worshipping fame — the second man — descends to the asfal sâfilîn in the view of the immense jamâ’ah. He gains a temporary and evil position in the view of some insignificant, mocking vagrants who talk nonsense. According to the mystery of 8 َاْلاَخِلاَّءُ يَوْمَئِذٍ بَعْضُهُمْ لِبَعْضٍ عَدُوٌّ اِلاَّ الْمُتَّقِينَ , he finds a few false friends, who are harm in the world, torment in the barzakh and enemies in the âkhirah.

The first man in the example, even if he does not remove the love for rank and position from his heart, attains a sort of ma’nawî rank permitted by the Sharî’ah on condition that he takes ikhlas and the acceptance and pleasure of Allah as his principle and does not accept the love of position and rank as his aim; he attains a glorious rank at which he will perfectly satisfy the vein of the love of rank and position. This man loses something insignificant, very insignificant, but he finds numerous valuable and harmless things in its place. Indeed, he makes a few snakes run away from himself but finds numerous blessed creatures in their place; he becomes familiar with them. Or he makes stinging wild hornets run away but draws bees, the blessed makers of sweet beverages of rahmah, to himself. As though eating honey at their hand, he finds such friends that through their duâs, his rûh will always be made to drink the faydh like the water of Kawthar from all around the ‘âlam of Islam and those faydh will be made to record on his book of good deeds.

The Twenty-Ninth Letter/The Sixth Section/1st Wile

 

Warning: People’s attention is not to be demanded, it is rather given. Even if it is given, it is not to be pleased with. If one is pleased with it, he loses ikhlas and falls into riyâ. People’s attention as a consequence of the desire for glory and fame is not a reward and a prize but a reprimand and punishment received due to the lack of ikhlas. Yes, since people’s attention, glory and fame to the detriment of ikhlas, which is the life of ‘amal as-sâlih, on the other side of the grave, take an unpleasant form as the torment of the grave in return for a minor transitory pleasure as far as the grave's gate, it is necessary not to have the desire for people's attention but to run away from it and be frightened. Let the ears ring of those who worship fame and those who run after glory and fame!

The Twentieth Flash-The First Cause

 

The love for rank and attracting attention to one’s self is a sickness of the rûh. It is called the hidden shirk.

 Emirdağ Addendum-1 (15)

 

The Second Obstacle, Which Shatters Ikhlas: It is to flatter the ananiyyah and to give a rank to the nafs al-ammarah by attracting attention to one’s self and gaining public regard through the urge of the ambition for fame arising from the love for rank and position under the veil of dignity and honour. This is the most serious sickness of the rûh; it also opens the door to the riyâ and boasting, which are called hidden shirk, and harms ikhlas.

 The Twenty-First Flash

3. Shaâ’er should be displayed openly:

The most important among the Sunnah as-Saniyyah are the Sunnahs which are the symbols of Islam and connected with the shaâ’er. Shaâ’er is an ‘ubûdiyyah concerning the community which is, in fact, a sort of general right. As the whole community benefits through one person performing them, the whole community will be responsible due to its abandonment. Riyâ cannot penetrate in this sort of shaâ’er, and it is to be proclaimed. Even if they are of the nawâfil sort, they are more important than personal fardhs.

The Eleventh Flash-Sixth Subtle Point

 

Three points will be written about riyâ.

The First: Riyâ cannot penetrate in fardh and wâjib actions, the shaâ’er of Islam, following the Sunnah as-Saniyyah and abandoning harams. Displaying them openly is not riyâ unless, together with an extremely weak îmân, one has riyâ in his fitrah. In fact, ‘ulamâ such as Hujjat’ul Islam Imam Ghazâlî (ra) declare that to openly display the ‘ibâdah connected with the shaâ’er of Islam is much more rewarding than to perform them privately. Although it is much more rewarding to perform nawâfil privately, in this age of bid’ah, to display openly the shaâ’er, which shows the honour of following the Sunnah, and to display the taqwâ in abandoning the haram within such great kabâir is not a riyâ but rather more rewarding and sincere than performing them privately.

The Second Point: Of the reasons which lead people to riyâ,

The first is: Weakness of îmân. Those who do not think of Allah perform ‘ibâdah to causes and take up a state of riyâ through boasting before other people.

Through the powerful lessons of tahqiqî îmân they receive from the Risale-i Nur, the students of the Risale-i Nur attach no importance and significance to causes and people in point of ‘ubûdiyyah, therefore, they would not perform riyâ in their ‘ubûdiyyah by displaying to people.

The second reason: In points of weakness and poverty, greed and ambition lead to taking up a state of riyâ in order to attract people’s attention. The dignity of îmân that students of the Risale-i Nur receive from the lessons of the Risale-i Nur such as frugality, contentment, tawakkul and showing approval of their share in life ordained by Allah will inshâAllah prevent them from riyâ and boasting for the sake of worldly benefits.

The third reason: One falls into riyâ, through feelings such as ambition for fame, love for rank, the desire to occupy positions, to be superior over peers, and through manners such as being seen favourably by people, and artificially trying to have an excessively high opinion of people about himself and to appear in undeserved high ranks through false displays. Since students of the Risale-i Nur transform Ana9 into Nahnu10 , that is, they abandon the ananiyyah and work on behalf of the ma’nawî collective personality of the Risale-i Nur circle and say ‘We’ instead of ‘I’, and since they act according to “fana fil-ikhwan”11 which is one of the means that save one from riyâ in this age and resembles the means that are used by the people of tarîqah such as “fana fish-shaykh”12 , “fana fir-rasûl”13 and killing the nafs al-ammarah, and since they dissolve their personality in the ma’nawî collective personality of their brothers, inshâAllah, they will be saved too through this mystery like the people of haqiqah have been saved from riyâ.

The Third Point: In terms of religious duties, to make people accept favourably and the high manners and states required of that station are not considered boasting and riyâ and should not be considered as such, unless that person uses that duty and makes it subjugated to his ananiyyah.

Yes, while performing the duty as the imam, an imam can openly display and vocalise his tasbîhât, this can in no way be considered riyâ. However, when it is outside his duty since riyâ might interfere in making others hear the tasbîhât explicitly, it is more rewarding to perform it privately.

In their spreading religion, their ‘ibâdah in following the Sunnah and their taqwâ in abandoning the kabâir, true students of the Risale-i Nur are considered to be on duty on behalf of the Qur’an. InshâAllah it will not be riyâ unless they have entered the Risale-i Nur for some other worldly intention.

More was going to be written, but a state of stoppage has cut it short.

 Kastamonu Addendum (202-204)