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O our Lord. O You who have created us,
who have given us life, who have
granted us happiness
in this life and the next.
Where is happiness found in this world and the next?
We must try to find out. Come, O Lovers of Shah-i Mardan.
The world is in awe of your
knowledge and your forebearance. Mā shā 'Allahu kāna
wa mā lam yashā' lam yakūn.
Allahumma qawwi da‘fanā fī ridak.
We are weak servants.
Give us strength, O Lord,
grant us honour, O Lord. O our Lord,
our Subhān, our Sultān.
If from morning to evening, and from evening to morning
we spoke of nothing else than of the
honour of our Lord,
the beauty of His Beloved, and of the stations
of honour and glory
of the Kingdom of Heaven,
and if we took strength from that,
how lovely that would be!
Man is a creature of speech.
A speaking creature,
but
his speech needs to be of a certain value.
What is it that gives value to our speech?
Come, O Shah-i Mardan, your Lovers are in awe of you.
Our speech has its honour.
Man speaks,
but not from everything he says
does he derive honour.
O beloved friends, you want to have honour,
if you want to have honour, look at
what your honour consists of.
The respect you command among people
is one thing, the esteem of the heavens,
of the heavenly kingdom is quite another.
Mā shā' Allahu kāna.
Allahumma qawwī da‘fanā fi ridak.
Grant us some strength, let us have some honour.
Allahumma qawwī da‘fanā fi ridak.
Mankind - wa khuliqa l-insānu da‘īfa (4:28)
Man was created in weakness.
Qawwī da‘fanā fi ridak.
The honour we have comes from
that which You grant to us.
Our strength, our light comes from that.
Allahumma qawwī da‘fanā fī ridak.
O our Lord, please give us honour and strength
on the way of Your good pleasure.
We are weak, but We ask You
to grant us
from Your Divine Grace
so we might overcome our weakness.
Allahu Akbar. Each time
a person says Allahu Akbar, a power
is given to him. From every spiritual
word and action
man receives an honour. The Prophet Adam -
come, O Shah-i Mardan, your Lovers are in awe of you.
O Shah-i Mardan. To the Prophet Adam
ten pages were revealed, was it not so?
He was given an honour - ahh.
He was given an honour.
After him there came from his descendants
the blessed prophets of exalted rank.
They were given honour - by what means?
Allahu Dhu l-Jalāl addressed Himself to them.
They became the recipients of Divine address.
O Musa,
innī ana Rabbuka, fa-khla‘ na‘layka (20:12)
correct? - This was addressed to the Prophet Musa,
not to any of the other prophets; he was commanded:
ikhla‘ na‘layk. (20:12)
Be cleansed of human properties,
be pure, you are entering
a zone of spirituality.
Madad, ya Sayyidi. The station you are now
coming to is not an easy station.
Therefore, ikhla‘ na‘layk! (20:12)
Take off your shoes. innaka bi l-wādi l-muqaddasi Tuwa! (20:12)
Subhan Allah!
Jalla Jalāluhu, jallat ‘azamatuhu.
Musa was commanded: ikhla‘ na‘layk!
remove your sandals. This means to say:
whatever inclination towards this world you might have within you,
throw it out!
Let none of it remain!
innaka bi l-wādi l-muqaddasi Tuwa (20:12)
When He said "Tuwa", he knew the meaning
that Allah Almighty informed him of.
bi l-wādi l-muqaddasi Tuwa (20:12)
What an address! The Prophet Musa understands this.
This address did not come to every prophet,
it came to the Prophet Musa. ikhla‘ na‘layk (20:12)
It was an address coming from the heavens above.
Come closer, O Musa.
come closer, O Musa.
It is a speech coming from heaven - how are you going to approach?
Leave those human qualities.
We will dress upon you
a spiritual robe, Shaykh Mehmet Efendi.
ikhla‘ na‘layk, strip off your human quality,
We will give you a robe to wear.
Allahu Akbar. A force is reaching to us inside,
ikhla' na‘layk. Get rid of your human attributes, throw them out!
In Our Presence nothing that belongs to the world
has any value at all.
By na‘layk, He means the most base part,
your shoes; by shoes He means
a quality belonging to mankind,
which enables you to move around in the world,
that you have fitted onto your feet -
Cast it off! He says.
Cast the world out of your heart!
Bring yourself towards Us.
innaka bi l-wādi l-muqaddasi Tuwa (20:12)
Allahu Akbaru l-Akbar. Who knows what this means?
O Shah-i Mardan, come, let us listen.
innaka bi l-wādi l-muqaddasi Tuwa (20:12)
You are in such a hallowed place,
a place of such great holiness that you may not tread upon
this area with the soles of your shoes.
This means, before you have not been cleansed of human properties
you cannot comprehend that station.
We will clothe you instead. There is a subtle point here,
Shaykh Mehmet Efendi.
ikhla‘ na‘layk - through what means did You speak this?
Musa was standing there
when this Divine word came to him.
Who was it who conveyed it to Musa,
the speech of Allah Almighty? Allahu Akbar.
Allah Almighty in His exalted Divinity
does not condescend to make such an address.
It came to the spiritual reality
of Allah's Beloved;
he who made this address was Habibullah
who bears within himself
the secret of the universe.
Say: Does Allah Almighty,
in His exalted Divinity, condescend
to tell the prophet Musa
to take off his shoes?
O Allah, my Lord! Everybody thinks
that Allah Almighty plays a kind of doorkeeper here,
saying, "Take off your shoes."
Tawba, O my Lord. ikhla‘ na‘layk.
Who is being addressed by whom? What directions were given?
How was he to approach? Na‘layk - your shoes.
At the door of mosques there is a man
who takes the shoes of those entering the mosque.
He calls out: Leave your shoes here before entering.
You must try to realize
the Greatness of Allah Almighty,
may He be glorified and exalted.
ikhla‘ na‘layk! Who spoke this?
Was it the doorkeeper who addressed the Prophet Musa
and said: Take off your shoes!? What then became
of Allah Almighty's Divine Glory?
How can you claim that Allah spoke to His Prophet Musa, saying,
take off your shoes? What does this mean?
For the sake of Allah's Grandeur!
Please come, O Shah-i Mardan.
Who was it who addressed the Prophet Musa?
Take off your shoes. Is that the speech
of Allah Almighty? Are those the words of the Lord
of Might and Glory, Shaykh Muhammad?
To compare Him with the man who sits at the door of the mosque
telling a newcomer to take off his shoes,
is shameful, at the very least.
Come to us, O Shah-i Mardan!
O blessed Sultan! How lovely are his words.
ikhla‘ na‘layk. Who spoke this?
Was Allah Almighty a gatekeeper
that He should address His Prophet Musa telling him to take off his shoes?
Whatever our level of understanding may be,
Haji Muhammad, on that level
it was an angel who spoke.
It does not befit the Divine Essence of Allah Almighty to say,
O Musa, what about your shoes - What is that?
As when entering the mosque, the confused man
who is about to go in with his shoes
and the doorman calls to him: Hey, your shoes,
leave them here and enter. Does that figure here?
Allahu Akbar. The great and glorious Qur'ān.
Who was it who spoke to the Prophet Musa?
Ya Musa,
ikhla‘ na‘layk. Like that?
And this was followed by an reminder:
innaka bi l-wādi l-muqaddasi Tuwa (20:12)
[trembling sound], Everything would fall upside down,
an earthquake would occur, if that speech
came directly from the Exalted Divine Essence
of Allah Almighty. No!
The Sultan does not call to the man who has come
to see him: Take off your shoes and come along.
That Allah - may He be glorified and exalted,
the Great and Lofty, All-Gracious Lord,
the Sublime and Powerful - Himself should stoop to telling
His Prophet Musa to take off his shoes
does not befit His Divine Person.
Come, O Shah-i Mardan.
The things that are to be found in the Holy Qur'ān!
ikhla‘ na‘layk!
While Allah was speaking to the Prophet Musa,
was he taking off his shoes?
Who was He speaking to?
Who was He admonishing? To whom did Allah Almighty wish to explain?
Enlighten us, O Sultan, explain this to us.
O Shah-i Mardan, explain it to us.
He exhorts him, saying, innaka ya Musa,
innaka bi l-wādi l-muqaddasi, (you are in the holy valley)
the greatness of its holiness cannot be known.
bi l-wādi l-muqaddasi,
wādi l-muqaddas, those holy vales,
are those the valleys or wādis such as we know them,
that lie between two mountains?
That lie between man and his Lord? What are they?
ikhla‘ na‘layk!
Take the shoes off your feet!
Allah Dhū l-Jalāl, is He a gatekeeper? Who was it who spoke,
to the great Musa so that he might understand?
A confusion came upon him, the Prophet Musa was bewildered.
He was bewildered by the awesomeness of this address.
Ya Musa, ikhla‘ na‘layk!
O Musa, remove your shoes!
Was it the doorkeeper saying, take off your shoes? Far from it.
innaka bi l-wādi l-muqaddasi Tuwa
You are at such a station, Tuwa -
it will take everything and sweep it away. Aman, ya Rabbi.
O you Shaykhs, you have knowledge. We know nothing.
O Shah-i Mardan.
innaka bi l-wādi l-muqaddasi
What is its sanctity? How can you know?
This is the address, Allah Almighty
will not address Himself in person
to the Prophet Musa. Ya.
O Jewish people, listen to this.
Huuu.
Did Allah Dhu l-Jalāl speak to the Prophet Musa
in person, or did He not?
If Musa had the power not of one Musa,
but the power of a thousand Musas,
he could not carry this address, Haji Mehmet.
Even if he had 1000 x 1000 times the power, he could not bear it.
Who is there to interpret this?
Who is there who is qualified
to understand and explain this speech?
ikhla‘ na‘layk!
Shoes, I beg Allah‘s forgiveness, shoes..
Like the admonition of the gatekeeper of the palace,
to take off your shoes.
What were the shoes of the Prophet Musa?
And of whom did he take leave?
And he also spoke the name of the station:
innaka bi l-wādi l-muqaddasi Tuwa (20:12)
Aman, ya Rabbi.
O People of the Book, listen!
Listen to this and learn about how the Almighty
addressed Himself to the Prophet Musa.
Had the Prophet Musa been wrapped up in the world
as you are he would have been worth nothing.
Whoever is attached to the world,
who has love for the world, who has love of gold,
who is fond of ornaments, he has no value with Allah.
You must learn this, learn.
Was there a doorman there, where did this address come from?
Ya Musa, fa-khla‘ na‘layk.
Did this command come from the Divinity
directly or through a medium?
Musa could not bear it, not Musa alayhi s-salam,
but a thousand Musas would have melted away.
The Lord of Power who made him listen to this speech,
whom did He commission as His deputy to speak to him?
fa-khla‘ na‘layk.
Do not come with your shoes, leave off your shoes.
Was it the keeper of the gate who spoke such words?
Is the Word of Allah Almighty
a word on such a low level? Allah Dhu l-Jalal said:
fa-khla‘ na‘layk.
Who spoke these words? Whom did He authorize as deputy?
The Sultan will position a doorman and give him an order,
telling him to stay in his place and follow His orders.
Allahu Akbar, Allahu Akbar,
Allahu Akbar wa ajall wa a‘la wa a‘zam
wa akram, Allahu Akbar.
Let us try to learn. Come, O Shah-i Mardan.
We have spoken of His Grandeur, and after that
a reverence comes into the heart of man.
A reverence comes over us.
Take a worthless chap, a guy who is worth nothing
in the market, he will consider
himself worth a great deal, and will want to be respected.
I am such a person, he will say.
I am such a person.
Who are you? I am the head of such an empire,
the chief of such an enterprise, the head of state
or the king. All right then, you possess
such greatness and grandeur.
Someone said: Even though you possess such greatness,
I wonder, does a man boasting of such grandeur
not have to go to the toilet? When he said: Does he not go
to the toilet, all his greatness was finished.
Why, you are a man who goes to the toilet,
what can you be so proud of?
Greatness is granted by heaven,
it doesn't come from earthly decorations.
You can pin those worldly medals to your chest,
but they have no value. They have not come from the heavens.
Today you have your medals, tomorrow they are gone.
Allahu akbaru l-akbar.
O our Lord, You are Subhān, You are Sultān.
We have not even the right to say: O our Lord.
O Habibullah, O Shah-i Mardan,
show us the beauty of your ways,
teach us. ta‘allamu, you must learn!
What have you learnt in this world?
Eating and drinking, - and filling up the toilet hole.
This is not the honour of humankind.
Our honour is of a spiritual kind. Come, O Shah-i Mardan.
Strike them on their heads!
Those who think they are something on account of their fake medals,
they might have them today, but tomorrow
they will be made worthless, finished, gone.
Ya Musa, ikhla‘ na‘layk.
Through whom did this speech reach Musa?
By itself, directly, this speech cannot reach to the one addressed.
Allah Dhu l-Jalāl is not a doorkeeper
that he might say: Take off your shoes!
Who is it speaking, let him say!
Let the Prophet ‘Isa say who it was, ask him!
Let the Prophet Musa say who it was, ask the Prophet Sulaymān,
ask the Prophet Nuh, who was it who said
Take off your shoes?
Allahu akbar, Allahu akbar,
Allahu akbar wa li-llahi l-hamd.
I am Sulaymān, said the Prophet Sulaymān.
I rule from East to West, he said.
He was commanded to rule over mankind and Jinn.
The Prophet Sulaymān was a very majestic prophet.
Among the prophets he was the most majestic.
Mankind and Jinn trembled before his sovereignty.
The angel of death was commanded
to take the soul of the Prophet Sulaymān while he was
standing upright. He was standing there
with his staff, overlooking his works
when his soul was taken from him. By Allah's wisdom he did not fall over.
Not before his staff upon which he was leaning had rotted away. Then he fell.
Eh, and who are you? How much are you tied to this world,
for what are you attached to false titles?
Attach yourself to your adab, know what is adab and mind your manners.
He must know the meaning of: innaka bi l-wādi l-muqaddasi Tuwa.
We are not yet at that point.
For us is the address: fa-khlā na‘layk.
Take off your shoes, and enter Our Presence.
Where are your shoes from? Eh, what is the most well-known brand,
Bata shoes. Yes?
Eh, so are they going to be looking at your shoes -
will everybody look at your shoes, or at your face?
You sit with your legs crossed like this on purpose
so that your shoes can be seen. They are a bunch of mindless,
thoughtless, tasteless
insects. That's what they are.
Don't be like them. fa-khla‘ na‘layk, this address came to
the great Musa, take off your shoes.
Eh, so was Allah, exalted be His Glory, a doorman that He should say
to the Prophet Musa: Take off your shoes and come.
He Himself is always present.
Allah Almighty
is always present, never absent.
Why did He order him: fa-khla‘ na‘layk?
The servant must know his limits, so He teaches him adab.
It is ony one word.
Ya Musa, fa-khla‘ na‘layk!
Anything that deters you from servanthood,
get rid of it. Turn your attention to Us. Allahu akbar,
a'zamu wa a'la wa akram.
Glorified and exalted be He! He should be a doorkeeper?
fa-khla‘ na‘layk! Who was it who addressed him thus?
Since your Face is so lovely,
for what do You veil it? Allah.
There is no beauty such as Your Beauty.
However, on Your Face
there can be no veil.
What blemish can there be that You would hide Your Face,
the prophets and the saintly ones call out. Allah...
Take off your shoes, so that you might understand.
O Bani Israil, while this is the instruction
your Prophet Musa received,
is there anyone more attached to this world than you are?
That is why the Jews place upon their graves
a big stone. For what? They seek to prevent the dead
from rising and shaming them..
On the graves of the Children of Israel
there is always a big stone. So that their dead might not rise again.
Know your Lord, know Him who created you.
Of His Greatness, we cannot even speak
of the tiniest droplet of His Greatness.
innaka bi l-wādi l-muqaddasi Tuwa
Is this wādi in the world, or is it outside of this world?
The sacred valley, where is it, wadi l-muqaddas?
Look where it might be, O Jewish people.
is it in Palestine, or in America?
Is it in Russia, in Japan? Where is it situated?
Go ask and find out. This address to the Prophet Musa
where did it come from? From where did it come?
Huuuu, O our Lord.
There can be no end to His Grandeur and Power.
"I searched in the assemblies of the wise, I became a seeker.
Knowledge was the very last thing, naught but adab, nothing but adab."
Nowadays the world is without adab.
These people have become altogether lacking in adab. Why is that?
When they put on a new suit of clothes,
and set upon their heads a hat which
according to their opinion gives them honour,
they think of themselves as humans. If you are a human, don't die.
Allah clothes His servant with the attribute of Life,
His servant who recognizes Him.
Those who refuse to acknowledge Him, they turn into
something rancid and rotten beneath their statues.
O our Lord, You are Subhan. By the blessing of
this holy month, Your Beloved
has taught us Your lovely ways.
Let Shah-i Mardan teach us some of what he(sas) taught to him.
Let us get to know our state and our glory; let us say Allahu akbar.
Let us say: Allahu akbar, let us say: Allahu akbar ajallu,
wa a'zamu ajall. Let us say this.
Do not be arrogant. Therefore, when the Padishahs
stepped out for the public procession to the mosque on Jum‘a,
the populace would call out: Do not be proud, O my king!
Allah is greater than you are! In this way the people used to call.
The Sultan had adab and would bow his head.
Nowadays people have no adab, and they have no higher aspiration.
O our Lord, our Subhān, our Sultān.
Come, O Shah-i Mardan, teach something to the likes of us
who are claiming to be
your beloved friends.
You teach us and we shall learn, let us learn adab.
Without adab nobody can enter paradise.
O Shah-i Mardan, teach us!
May our bodies be given strength,
and may our spirituality develop. al-Fatiha.