May Allah not leave us in the the hands of our dirty ego. Beware of your ego. It is your biggest enemy, cutting off your way to Allah. It says, ?Serve me,? ?Bow to me,? and ?Leave every will and desire except for mine.? ?I am everything, and your are my slave.?
Worship and fasting is to take away your ego. To make it weak, then die. This is because as long as your ego gives orders, and you are working under its command, you wont be able to reach to anything from the Divine Presence. There is only one Sultan and you must be His servant.
Tariqat is training for reaching to good manners. You must forget and oppose your ego, and then accept and be happy with the Will of your Lord. Don?t be heedless of glorifying your Lord, because then you will be imprisoned by your dirty ego, like a lion in a cage. For every moment that you are heedless, some damage or punishment comes to you. Even a short moment may become a curse on you.
All people are so friendly with their egos. Theyask of it, ?What are you ordering?? ?O my ego, O my sultan,? ?Whatever you want, Whatever you wish, I must prepare it for you? ?I am your slave and you are my Sultan.?Finally, they will die, and their bodies will have a bad smell. The ego is a fully foolish one, but he is introducing himself as a mighty one. It says, ?You must obey me,? ?I don?t like any partner.? ?I am the first and I am the last for you.? ?All respect and praise that you give must be for me.? People are mostly lazy, and they are following their ego. (which is the laziest one amongst creatures.)
Your physical being cannot reach to the vastness of the world. But your spiritual being, that is something else. As much as we grant it more, from heavenly worlds, our spiritual being may reach to this vastness. In the beginning, when Allah Almighty created our nafs, He said, ?Go forward,? and the nafs went back. That is its nature, never to accept its Lords commands. Allah Almighty honoured man to be His servants, and his nafs always comes in the way, to prevent him from obeying his Lord.
Every Prophet, brought methods from Allah Almighty, for training our ego so that we can say, ?O my Lord, I surrender to you.? But your ego says to Allah, ?No, I will not surrender.? When Allah asked our ego, ?Who are you??, the ego answered, ?I am myself, and you are yourself.? ?You are You, and I am myself.? So Allah Almighty ordered for the ego to be put in fire for one thousand years. He then took the ego out and asked it the same question. The ego replied, ?You are You and I am that me.? So he was ordered to be put into the cold hell for one thousand years, after which he was asked, ?Who are you?? and it answered in the same way as before. Then it was ordered to be put into the valley of hunger for one thousand years, after which he was again called and asked again this same question, and this time it replied, ?You are my Lord, and I am your servant.?
The ego always says, ?I have Lordship.? Lordship is only for Allah. We are servants, but we do not want to declare that we are such! The Prophet Muhammad (sal) brought the order from Allah for fasting. When it comers to hunger the ego comes down, and says, ?No longer am I claiming to be Lord in front of you.? ?I am your weak servant, and you are my Lord.? The one who can?t control himself, is terrible and dangerous. Fasting gives you the capability to put control on your ego, so that it listens to you. You may say, ?do? and it does, or say, ?Stop,? and it stops. Therefore, from the beginning up to the end, fasting is the main pillar of servanthood. Without it no one may reach to be a real servant, because the ego is always winning otherwise. It takes a ride on your back and says, ?Follow me.?
Keep control of yourself, and try to have control of your ego. May Allah forgive us and give us the power and capability to control our ego?s.
If Allah Almighty ordered for us to take a feather, or a flower, five times a day inside a mosque, or even just from one room to another, the ego would still object and say, ?It is difficult,? and, ?For what is this?? Your ego makes you to fear. It says, ?I can?t control anger.? To swallow it at the beginning seems so difficult, but if you persist with the intention to swallow it, it will finally make you happy. You will say, ?Ooh, it is so sweet, to keep myself from the harm of anger.?
Allah is asking that we move up to heavenly levels, from worldly levels. The ego, enjoys worldly things, not spiritual things. (As the night does not benefit from the sun). Turn your body to face Qibla, and your soul to face heavens (Allah). The biggest favour from Allah is to be able to enter His divine presence. This is our last wish and hope.
Ask to take away your ego, and what it is looking to. Stop asking to enjoy this world.
He knows when we spend our physical power, for something which is not for Him, but for our ego?s happiness. We do this during the whole day, but our egos are never content.
As much as you are working for your ego that much will be the burden you carry and it will be heavy. We do countless acts for the ego, and the ego ends up saying, ?Ahh! what have you done for me?? Even if you were to work twenty-four hours a day to satisfy your ego, he will still say that you are a lazy one.
If anyone were to give for Allah, what they give for their ego, they would be able to fly. You are more than a slave of your ego, but it says that you take no care for it. It is very important to know that your ego (nafs) will never be pleased with you. But if you were to do just a small part of what you have been doing for your ego, for Allah instead, He will give you pleasure, satisfaction and hope through your heart, which will then run through your entire physical body. Which means your physical body will never die, or go to dust. In the grave it will never smell bad, and you will arrive on Judgment Day with the same body you had in this life. The will not be for others.. It will be known who the real believers, in Divine Service, were and who were for the service of their ego?s.
The one who is spending his life?s powers for Divine Service will be honoured. My Grandsheikh Abdullah said that people are either asking to manifest themselves, or to vanish themselves. This is the summary of all shariats (heavenly laws). Take good care of this. Every person is doing one of these two things. Making his ego to grow up, or making it to vanish. What a person does is either the manifestation of his own existence, or the vanishing of his own existence. Everyone?s ego likes to manifest its existence, and it uses every possibility to bring itself into existence and say, ?I am here.? The other choice is to vanish from your own existence. But mostly people, we may say ninety-nine from one hundred, prefer to manifest themselves.
Allah Almighty desires from His servants, that they make themselves to vanish (Ifna?al-Wujud) You have to choose between these two things- to be with your animal, or to be with your Lord. The person who loves to manifest his ego can be thrown away with the rubbish. He is useless. Why do you think people are reluctant to come into Tariqat?
If you stay with yourself, you can?t enter the Real Presence. Verily the God-fearing are in paradises, with rivers flowing, in a position of sincerity, in the presence of The All Powerful King (Quran). Al-Muktadi. The All Powerful. This name of Allah has an unreachable meaning, even to all Prophets, or by the power of all Awliya and Jinn.
How many people have upto date died with their egos, and were buried with their animal? When you agree to leave your ego, our Grandsheikh will say, ?Most welcome to our tariqat.? To enter the Holy Prophet Muhammad?s (sal) presence, it is obligatory to vanish your ego. For purpose do you think you are making zikr, keeping to your awrad, praying at night and fasting in the day? Still the evil and dirty ego sits on your back and with every step you take, it says, ?I am here, I am here, I am here.? Therefore you are on the lowest level.
Manifestation (ithbat) or Vanishing (ifna) the ego is the point. The murid should decide between one of these two. If he leaves his ego, he will be with his Sheikh, with the Holy Prophet Muhammad (sal) and with Allah Almighty. In the Human there is nafs (ego). The animals have nafs also, but their nafs are only for controlling themselves and their off spring. The animal?s nafs is used as an instinct. Without it they would not even be able to eat. The wish or desire, to eat, drink, and to continue their species, comes from nafs.
But the ego (nafs) is a test for humankind, so that they may win high stations, (or not). Who resists the ego reaches to higher Sriritual Stations- Maqams. There is something to gain. Everyone must ask for more power to save their spirituality and souls from their egos imprisonment. The ego is assaulting our spiritual being and is never leaving it to take heavenly support, or to reach to the level of Real Believers. Therefore we are in need at occasion, to ask for much more support, and food for our spirituality.Our Naqshabandi way is not for everyone, because not everyone can hold it. To become a Naqshabandi, you must wage war with and break down your nafs, making it to be zero.
If anyone takes their nafs under their control, they will be called, ?Come.? Only a mindless person will insist to go with his donkey to the presence of the Sultan. You cannot! You must leave your nafs. When you say that you have finished with existing, then you can go. Millions of people are saying that they are Naqshbandi, but if you touch them just a little bit, they kick. If you come from behind or in front, they kick and bite! If you don?t leave your donkey, you cannot become Naqshbandi, which is a hard discipline, and nothing less. (So you are not there).
If you are representing you own nafs, there is nothing to take, and they might as well send you to the stable, to be with the horses and donkeys, who are stamping on the ground, and moving their heads around. Don?t kick other people. Don?t argue and fight with people, and don?t interfere with other peoples affairs. Be busy with your own nafs. Don?t say that you are better than anyone. Anyone who says this belongs in the stable.
You must accept all people. People of every kind. Allah is creating as He likes, and He can create anyone in any way. So you must look to the Creator and like what He has created. Allah liked it and created it, so you must say that you like it also. You must bring down your nafs. You don?t know who is who and what secrets they have.
If someone is tied to his nafs, we may easily see their bad side. But you must forget that and look inside for the jewel. Don?t just accept the bad side and look to the reality of the nafs. Remember the jewel. Don?t say that you don?t like someone. If you look carefully, you have the same things too. Allah will say, ?You rejected that servant, when you also had the same values.?You rejected him, but you couldn?t even throw those same things awayfrom yourself. Be busy to find the goodness in each other. Then the way to Allah becomes closer and shorter. You may reach. The doors will be opened for you. If not you will remain with your ego (nafs).
If Allah did not give value to that person, He would not have created him. It is not the way to find someone?s bad things and to bring them out. This does not free you from your nafs. Don?t think that in the presence of Allah you are more valuable. All people are against each other, not liking each other, jealous of each other, or enemies of each other. But in reality they are all the same.
Don?t let your nafs get in front of you, or they will take you to the sewers, to become a rat. All Prophets invited people to a clean and honourable life. Your egos are like rats that say, ?What are we doing in clean water?? ?Our water is sewage.?
Twentieth century people are against Prophets, especially the Last Prophet Muhammad (sal), because he is inviting us to clean waters. All people are making themselves to be high up, and not on the earth. They claim, ?I am higher than you?, and the other one says, ?No, I am higher than you.? Both of them are speaking through their egos only. People of this life are competing amongst themselves, to be higher in the material world. Allah Almighty does not likes this. No. He likes that we compete with each other for being closer to His Divine Presence.
Simple life gives satisfaction to the soul. We must be happy to sleep on the floor. We must be happy to be altogether. We must be happy to walk, and we must be happy with what we are facing from other people. I am trying to change the power, from the hands of your ego, to your spirituality.
Really our nafs (ego) was created not to harm ourselves. No. It is like an electric cable without the protective covering and this may harm you. You cannot touch it and you cannot use it. Therefore you lose the big chance which Allah Almighty grants to you. But with protection we may touch it. If were to ask, ?Why is that harmful wire inside,?? and that if you take it out from the plastic, it would have no more use?, then you would have lost that huge power. Our ego (nafs), is such a big grant from Allah Almighty. The Prophet Muhammad (sal) was saying that it is your horse, which you may ride on, to wherever you want to reach.
It may take you up to the highest point of creation, but yet you ask, ?Why is an ego put inside us??
If we had no ego, we would be like angels. But Allah Almighty was asking to create a new creature, one hundred percent different from Angels. (For a reason, purpose and wisdom.) So He created Adam (alai) and gave him nafs. If He had not have given him nafs, Adam would have been the same as the Angels. Without this nafs, without this horse, you cannot reach to the honour which Allah Almighty granted, to those creatures who have nafs. This is a big wisdom, that must be understood.
Allal Almighty says, ?Use your ego (nafs), and come to me.?
When Abu Yazid Al-Bistami (ral), reached to the Divine Presence, and asked to enter, Allah Almighty said, ?O Abu Yazid, now leave your nafs and come to me.? Which also means the main purpose of nafs, is to make you to reach from the lowest level to the highest level. Like a plane takes a person to the destination that they like. If a plane takes you from here to Germany, you cannot then ask the plane to take you to your bedroom. No. The plane says to you that you must come down and walk. It says, ?I can?t come.? ?My limit finishes here.? ?Leave me and go.? Therefore anyone asking to reach to the Divine Presence must use his or her nafs as a horse. But when entering to your Lords Divine Presence, He says, ?Leave your horse outside, then come.?Your horse is your nafs. You can?t enter inside a palace to the Royal Presence with your horse. No.
If you are able to use your nafs, it will be your servant, up to the Divine Presence. When you arrive howerver, its importance is finished, and you may tell it to go back. (As a plane does, to take new passengers.) The ego is the wildest and most disobedient creature ever created. It has the worst characteristics, which represent the whole animal world within itself. Animals which live close to people, animals from the jungle, and the most terrible and dangerous animals. Their characteristics, all put together, are given to our ego.
No creature is more powerful than our ego, and no creature is more useful also. It may take us from the lowest level, to the highest. Yes, it is so dangerous and powerful, and its work is also important. No other means may take mankind from the lowest level to the highest. Allah created nafs and gave them to man and Allah never creates without wisdom. He said, ?I created the children of Adam (alai) to be My Deputies.?
You know that a Sultan, when he is among his solders, will ride the fastest, most powerful horse (not an old one, or a female one). This is because he is the Sultan. Allah Almighty gave his Deputies, the children of Adam, a most powerful and important steed to ride. He put them on the lowest level, on earth, and said, ?Come to me.?This is why the Prophet (sal) said, ?Your ego is your ride?.
This wisdom is enough for the whole of mankind to understand themelves. But people do not understand, so they fall under the lowest level. They only understand how to eat, drink and enjoy themselves. No one understands. That important ride, was not granted to you only for it to eat, drink and enjoy. No! The Sultan is expecting that you ride on it and come to him. That is the biggest problem in the life of mankind.
All people are occupied with their horse. They are making it happy by eating, drinking and enjoying, as much as possible. But no one is asking to ride on it and arrive. Perhaps from ten thousand people, you may find one who understands the wisdom of the ego.
The Prophet Muhammad (sal) was riding on his heavenly ride, the Buraq, on his Night Journey. When he reached to the Divine Presence, he asked Gibril (alai), ?Is there also such a ride for my ummah? Gibril answered, ?Yes.? ?And if they ride on it, they may also arrive, and reach to what you are reaching.? So then, that dangerous and powerful one, our ego, is our Buraq. But people do not understand, and they are not using it. All Prophets were calling people in this direction. Do you understand?!
It is the door or entrance to Al Wisdom. You may go inside and take every power. If not, you will remain under the hegemony of your ego, which will grind you, and make you to finally be dust through the cemetery. But those knights, who are riding their horses, through the cemetery, the earth will not grind them, and they will arrive on the day of resurrection with the same body, which will shine like the sun. The person who uses his mind should reach to that station. Why are you waiting?! The Sultan is looking after you. Why not prepare yourself for His Divine Presence?
Allah Almighty hears everything, and He is looks and sees who you are, and what your intention or purpose is. When you are objecting, He understands that your ego is claiming to be number one through all creatures, and that it wants all its commands to be obeyed. That is the secret to the hidden reality of your ego, when it asks, ?Why did this happen?? What it means through heavens, is that servant, is asking that Lordship be for himself. He is not happy with the Lordship of the Lord of the Heavens and he believes that he can think more perfectly. He says, ?What I am thinking regarding that situation is better than what happened.? Astagfirullah!
Those who always blame other people, and who do not like their actions and attributes, are the slaves of their egos. Someone who is asking for a way to perfection, must begin to blame himself, and look to his own imperfections, without looking to the imperfections of others. Only an imperfect one may look and see imperfection around himself. Who has imperfection, sees in everyone imperfection, except for himself. This is selfishness.
You must try to correct yourself. When you have corrected yourself and reached to perfection, you will only blame yourself. (Your ego or nafs). We hope not to live for our pleasure, but for Allah?s pleasure. We like life for Allah, not for our egos. No. If I am asking to live for my ego, I would rather pass away, but for Allah, I like to live.
Always ask for protection from your ego (nafs). We have been created weak and our ego carries us, as it likes. The ego in everyone?s physical being represents Shaitan. When one leaves childhood, and enters into maturity, the Lord of heavens says, ?Now you must be my servant.? ?Follow.? Shaitan says, ?Don?t follow,? and he has a better chance of being obeyed, because he addresses your physical desires, and says, ?You shall fulfill unlimited desires, don?t listen to those who say, don?t do this and that. I say, absolute freedom for you, even until you die.? Our biggest enemy is Shaitan, and his representative through yourself, which is your ego. Beware of shaitan. Beware of your ego.
Shaitan is asking to mix up our good thoughts and inspirations, which come to our hearts. When we want to do something good, Shaitan wants to destroy it, so that we don?t benefit. (or raise our level of development, which is endless). Shaitan makes you do the opposite of Divine Laws. It cheats you again and again, and you say that it does not. Terrible! You say, ?I am ok,? ?In perfection.? Astagfirullah!
For every step, there will be so many obstacles, preventing you from reaching to Reality. When it is difficult to reach Reality, Shaitan quickly finds a way to cheat you. (with artificial things and mind productions.) He teaches people, and tells them, ?This is Reality.? If we do not break the chains of desire, then always we shall be slaves. If you are a slave of your ego, then automatically you are a slave for dunya, Shaitan, and your physical desires. It cannot be only for the ego, because they are all connected. If one is catching hold of you as a slave, then you are a slave of them all. If you are freed and saved from your ego, then you cannot be cheated by Shaitan, and then you will not be heedless enough to fall into the hands of your ego. When your say, ?Auzo billahi mina shaitan ir rajim,?( I seek refuge in Allah from the cursed Shaitan), it really means, that you are asking Allah Almighty for protection.
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By : Shaykh Nazim Adil Haqqani
