Mawlana Sheikh Mehmed Adil. Translations.

مِّنَ ٱلۡمُؤۡمِنِينَ رِجَالٞ صَدَقُواْ مَا عَٰهَدُواْ ٱللَّهَ عَلَيۡهِۖ فَمِنۡهُم مَّن قَضَىٰ نَحۡبَهُۥ وَمِنۡهُم مَّن يَنتَظِرُۖ وَمَا بَدَّلُواْ تَبۡدِيلٗا (33:23) Allah praises the men who stand by their promise. This refers to what they promised Allah Azza wa Jalla and the Prophet (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam). They do not withdraw this promise. They pledged this for their whole lives, until death. They remain men of their word, never changing. Apologies to the ladies, but we must say this: Nowadays, many people have ceased to be "men" [of honor]. Some men say something, but later, when it doesn't suit them, they deny it. They say, "I just said that; I do not care about promises or anything else." Why are we saying this? Alhamdulillah, most of you here are locals. Perhaps half of this Jamaat is from this area, while others come to listen from London or other places. Whenever we came here in the past, we would visit Sheikh Walid. Sheikh Walid, the Palestinian. He was here in this area, spreading the Tariqa among the English, Pakistanis, Arabs—everyone. I have known him since 1985. Back then, we used to drive an old, small car to Peckham to visit Mawlana Sheikh. From that time on, he never changed his path. He could have claimed to be a Sheikh in his own right. He could have established a "Tariqa Walidiya," if he wished. Because no one forced him to guide people to Sheikh Nazim. He had knowledge, he had everything, and people were with him all the time. But he did not follow his ego and say, "I am a Sheikh, I am this, I am that." He strongly kept his promise until Mawlana Sheikh passed away. Until Mawlana Sheikh passed from this world, he did not change his word. Because Mawlana gave the order. I, too, am not eager to be a Sheikh, but it is Mawlana's order. He said, "This man will be the Sheikh for you." So he did not refuse, nor did he say, "No, I do not accept, I am already a Sheikh," or anything like that. He did not say, "There is no need to follow what Mawlana Sheikh said." He could have said, "I am a Sheikh, I have been in the Tariqa longer than this new Sheikh, and I am better than him." No, he simply accepted and gave his love just the same. Because he was very clever and wise; he possessed wisdom. He knew that this Way is not about the Sheikh. This Way is about the Path itself. The Sheikh comes and goes, but the Way remains the same. Love for this Way must not change. Whoever comes, follow the order. Especially those who claimed, "I love the Sheikh, I have been a murid for fifty or sixty years," but then, when the Sheikh gives an order, they say, "No, I do not accept this; I must be the Sheikh." But this man [Sheikh Walid] was not like that. For this reason, Allah praises such people. Allah calls this a "man." Even women are considered "men" when they stand by their promise; they are stronger than the men who do not stand by their word. This is a very important Tariqa because you cannot easily find a real Sheikh or a real Tariqa. If you spend fifty years in the Tariqa and do not understand this, then you are nothing. You are merely existing by accident. You find yourself in the Tariqa, and after a lifetime, you ask, "What am I doing here? Who am I?" You are here because this is the ship of salvation. Like Sayyidina Nuh—I often say Mawlana Sheikh is like Sayyidina Nuh. When you are on his ship, you will be safe from this world, and for the Next World as well. So you must know—do not be uncertain. Be sure you are safe, do not object, and do not say things Allah is unhappy with. Just follow. Alhamdulillah, our way is clear. Many times people asked, "Do you have a representative in your place?" Everywhere is open, Alhamdulillah; we are very open to everyone. Our door is open. Whoever comes is welcome. Whoever is not happy, bye-bye. We do not keep people by force, but our way is to keep people safe. To know—and not to wonder—"Why am I here? Why am I in this dunya?" Many people go crazy, shouting at their mothers and fathers, "Why did you bring me into this world?" Your father and mother did not bring you; Allah created you and sent you here. So when you realize this, you will be satisfied and happy. There is no running away. Just wait. Wait, wait, wait, and when your time comes, you will meet your Lord, InshaAllah. Do not be anxious or worried, asking "How will I survive?" When your provision ends, you will die. Even if you have billions, you cannot put one extra morsel of food in your mouth or drink one extra drop of water. You cannot take it. So don't worry, be happy. Allah Azza wa Jalla has promised everyone's provision (rizq) and life span. It is set for a certain amount and a certain time. When the time comes, you will go. Many people make their lives like hell before even going to the Akhirah (Hereafter). They make their lives hell, worrying every single day. When we are not happy, quickly perform Wudu and pray two rakat. It is important for all human beings to pray. Because prayer is the time we are nearest to our Lord, Allah Azza wa Jalla. Allah Azza wa Jalla is everywhere. But when you pray, He is in your heart. He said, "The whole universe cannot contain Me, but I can fit within the heart of My believer." It is a small heart, but Allah says when you realize this, He will be in your heart, and all problems will vanish, InshaAllah. This is very important, so do not leave. Do not leave this Way. Do not be deceived by others who claim they will teach you better than this Way. Because our Way, from Mawlana Sheikh Abdullah ad-Daghestani and Sheikh Muhammad Nazim al-Haqqani and all the Mashayikh, is exactly as it was in the Prophet's time. It follows the Prophet's (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) Sunnah and shows people every goodness. The best thing, the greatest teaching from the Prophet (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam), is to be humble. All the Mashayikh were humble; no one claimed to be better than others. They said, "We are only serving." "We are servants to the Ummah and to the Prophet (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam)." When you see others, scholars or otherwise, saying "I am this, I am that," do not follow them. Alhamdulillah, Allah bless this Walid Effendi; he was such a humble one. Such a good man, and Alhamdulillah, his lineage also continues. It is very important to see something continue. It is very important. Even if you are doing something small, do not quit. Do not leave this Way. Do not be deceived by others who claim to be "the real ones" these days. Find good people and follow them. If you follow some of these others, they will lead you off the path. They say, "There is no need for prayer," which is a misunderstanding. Great Mashayikh and Awliyaullah, like Jalaluddin Rumi, say, "To be with a Saint or a Sheikh is better than a hundred years of sincere worship." But some may misunderstand this to mean one should not pray or do anything. No; when you are with a Saint, he will show you how important it is to worship. How important it is to follow the right way, the way of the Prophet (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam). All these Awliyaullah adhere to the Sharia of the Prophet (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam). Tariqa and Sharia go together. Without Sharia, there is no Tariqa. Because at that stage, everyone would just do whatever their ego desires. They would say, "Why pray? We are sitting, doing Tasbih and Dhikr; there is no need to pray." Others would say, "Why go for Hajj when it is so crowded? We can go another time." Or, "Why fast in summer? It is too long and hot; we will fast on these short days instead, it is much easier." That is what would happen. So without Sharia, there can be no Tariqa. This is very important. You will find every Awliyaullah is very strict regarding the Tariqa. And not one of these Awliyaullah is outside the Sharia. You cannot find anyone who has a Maqam or Mazar (shrine) who is outside of the Sharia of the Madhahib. There are no blessed places for them. This is only for those who follow Sharia and Tariqa. You can see this around the world. In Turkey, Syria, Pakistan, Iraq—everywhere. It is those who are following Sharia. Those who do not follow Sharia have no place where people come to seek blessings from them. And to go and ask Allah for the sake of these people is also important. Because you receive Baraka; Allah showers blessings upon this place which is beloved to Him. And you can take from this. You are not asking *from* this person; rather, for their sake, you ask Allah Azza wa Jalla. To give you what you want. Because Allah gives everything. Many people confuse this, and later it becomes a problem for them. May Allah save us from our egos. And help us follow the right way. Not to be deceived by people who claim this and that. Those who do not listen to the Awliyaullah. Who do not listen to the will of the Awliyaullah. The will of the Awliyaullah is to be together, and not to stray from the way of the Mashayikh, InshaAllah. Allah bless you.

Wa ja'ala lakum al-arda tahura. Allah Azza wa Jalla created the Earth, and He made it clean for us. For the Ummah of Sayyidina Muhammad (salla Allahu alayhi wa sallam), the entire Earth is clean. You can pray anywhere; it is pure. Originally, it is clean, but human beings make it dirty. In some places, you cannot pray if it is filthy. But in a clean place, you can pray; it is permissible to pray anywhere, whether inside a mosque or outside. Before the Prophet (salla Allahu alayhi wa sallam), prayer had to be in a specific place, like a temple or a sanctuary. Why? Because for others, the land was not considered clean everywhere. It was restricted to certain places only. But for the sake of the Prophet (salla Allahu alayhi wa sallam), Allah made the whole world pure, so you can be anywhere and pray. But now, we see that people are making it dirty everywhere. As Allah says: "Zaharal fasadu fil barri wal bahri bima kasabat aydin nas." (30:41) Corruption has appeared throughout the land and sea by what the hands of people have earned. Now the land, the water, and the sea are spoiled; they have become bad. How? By human beings. It is human beings who make it like this. Through their envy, and because they want everything for themselves without thinking of others, they have ruined it. Mawlana Sheikh always used to say: "Beton, Nylon, Hormone." Beton means concrete, nylon is plastic, and hormone—you know what hormone is. They have made it so that life seems impossible without these things now. Why? Because they became accustomed to this. Before this, many other things could be used instead. But now, regarding concrete, you cannot do much about it. In our personal lives, you can hardly find anything without it. Maybe very few—perhaps five or two percent—are built differently, but most people are, of course, using concrete. Of course, it is acceptable to use it in places where it is obligatory or necessary. You can, but not where you are living. Everything is turning to concrete. In summer, it radiates heat, and in winter, it lets the cold pass through to your body. Unfortunately, we cannot do anything about this anymore. As for hormones, they put hormones in everything. You cannot avoid this; it seems impossible now. The third thing: Nylon—plastic. This, we can avoid. Even if you only avoid this third one, it is a huge achievement for us. For this reason, Allah made this material capable of being recycled. Yet, Muslims are throwing it everywhere. Alhamdulillah, there is inspiration for people to set up places everywhere to collect this waste. It is filthier than—sorry to say—human waste; plastic is more harmful. So, when you have something like this, it is obligatory for you not to throw it away and make the world dirtier. And do not commit israaf (waste) either. You must collect it and put it in the designated place. This will be a Sadaqah (charity) for you because you are cleaning. The Prophet (salla Allahu alayhi wa sallam) said: If you remove harm from the street, it is Sadaqah for you. Even if you do not give Sadaqah from money—because the Prophet (salla Allahu alayhi wa sallam) said that for each of the 360 joints in your body, you must give one Sadaqah daily. The Sahaba had nothing; most of them were hungry and could not find anything to give. They asked: "O Prophet, we don't have anything; how can we do this?" He replied: "Every good deed you do is Sadaqah." To remove dirt or a stone from the street is Sadaqah; to smile at your brother is Sadaqah. And ultimately, Salatul Duha suffices for all of this. But what is important here is that the more Sadaqah you give, the better. Especially regarding the mosque; when you clean the mosque, even for a small thing, Allah rewards you in Jannah with a brick of gold. Cleanliness is very important. Our main principle in Islam is: "An-nazafatu minal iman"—Cleanliness is from Iman (Faith). Iman is higher than Islam; it opens the heart and the self. So InshaAllah, this message is for the whole world. Now we hear of people who pay no attention to this at all. You see Islamic countries are dirtier than other countries; they lack this practice. May Allah help us; it is important. We say that by avoiding this, you save at least a third of your health, InshaAllah. May Allah keep us safe, clean, and beloved to Allah and the Prophet (salla Allahu alayhi wa sallam).

The Prophet (ṣallá Llāhu ‘alayhi wa-sallam) said: "Innamal 'ilmu bit-ta'allum, wa innamal hilmu bit-tahallum." Sadaqa Rasulullah fima qala aw kama qala. Knowledge is only attained through learning. You must acquire it, or you need someone to teach it to you. This knowledge is obligatory for every Muslim – from the cradle to the grave. Every day one must learn a little bit more. You must strive for knowledge. This is obligatory – Fard – for every Muslim man and every Muslim woman. Of course, this means: a little every day. But our intention should be constant, insha'Allah. And of course, you will discover something new every day, even in things you thought you already knew everything about. Do not say: "I already know everything, I do not need to learn or ask anything anymore." Knowledge is infinite. It is not reserved for just a single individual. Therefore, insha'Allah, everyone here must concern themselves with it – be it during the daily Wird, or when serving as an Imam or Muezzin. You must learn these things really well. "Innamal 'ilmu bit-ta'allum," says the Prophet (ṣallá Llāhu ‘alayhi wa-sallam). You must practice this. Now, for the future here with our Mashayikh: From morning until the Isha prayer, someone must recite. Not always just the Muezzin; every day someone else should do it, to learn how to perform the Tasbihat and call the Adhan. From Fajr to Isha, insha'Allah, someone different every day. And when we are traveling, when there are not many people around, a new Muezzin must step up. You must be trained to be a Muezzin. It should not always be the same person, or just the host. There should be many Muezzins. Alhamdulillah, we should take the Kaaba as an example; there are many Muezzins there. Also in Medina al-Munawwara there are many Muezzins. In the holy mosques there are many, all different. So it is important not just to listen and say: "Good, he is already doing it, we do not need to do it." No, you must learn and you must practice, insha'Allah. For being a Muezzin is a great honor. The Muezzins are praised in the Divine Presence of Allah – 'Azza wa Jalla. As far as their voice reaches, they will be forgiven by Allah. And on the Day of Qiyama, it is said, they will tower above all other people. So, insha'Allah, wherever you go: Learn and practice this. The second part: "Innamal hilmu bit-tahallum." That means not to be angry, but to show gentleness. People say: "I get angry quickly, what should I do?" "I cannot simply dip you into a paint pot and pull you out again so that you are no longer angry." The Prophet (ṣallá Llāhu ‘alayhi wa-sallam) said: "Gently, gently" – through practice. Every time anger rises, you must remember: "I must be gentle." If you are very angry, it will become a little less intense thereby. The next time again; remember every time. Eventually, perhaps in a month, a year, two years, or maybe ten, there will be no more anger, insha'Allah. May Allah protect us from anger. Even if you get angry, you must calm down again quickly. Such was the anger of Mawlana Sheikh: like a straw fire. It flares up quickly and is over quickly. That is how it must be, for everyone gets angry sometimes, but afterwards the anger must vanish. Because anger ignites a fire within you; that is not necessary. You must get rid of this anger quickly, insha'Allah. May Allah help us with that, insha'Allah.

‘Wa ta‘āwanū ‘ala l-birri wa t-taqwā wa lā ta‘āwanū ‘ala l-ithmi wa l-‘udwān’, (Qur’ān 05:02). This is the best path for all humanity. It applies to Muslims as well; indeed, this must be for Muslims. This command is a duty for all believers. You must help each other in acts of goodness, whether through charity or by assisting people in any way. It can be with your hand, your tongue, or any other means of support. There are thousands of ways to help people. Allah Azza wa Jalla says, “Help.” Be united. “Ta’āwanu” means to cooperate and assist one another. Do not cooperate in bad deeds or in doing wrong. Do not do this. This instruction is for all mankind. Whoever claims to be a human being must behave this way. A Muslim must be even more committed to this. They must support one another. Give naṣīḥah—advice—and offer help. Many people believe they are doing good, when in fact they are doing very wrong things. Therefore, they must ask for guidance: “Am I doing right or wrong? I thought this was good according to my own reasoning,” but upon asking, you may find that it is not good, but actually harmful. Receiving this advice becomes a great help to you. It wakes you up from committing sin or doing wrong unknowingly. Sometimes you do something thinking it is good, but in reality, it is bad. May Allah Azza wa Jalla grant us the joy of helping others and receiving help, insha'Allah. May Allah Azza wa Jalla bless you.

At all times, for Allah Azza wa Jalla, we say Alhamdulillah wa Shukrulillah. Allah Azza wa Jalla helps us with everything; every breath, every second, every minute. Allah Azza wa Jalla is with us; we must realize this and thank Him for it. Many people—ignorant people—do not know what is good and what is bad. Normally, those who lack this understanding have no mind and bear no responsibility; they belong in a mental institution. But there are some who are not in an institution; they are responsible. They go to school, they teach, they work and do business, but when it comes to thanking Him, they do not. This is not good for those who behave this way. Everything is accounted for by Allah Azza wa Jalla, and you should know Him and be thanking Him. The people who do not know this are worse than the creatures. Allah Azza wa Jalla created all creatures—even stones, even trees—and they are all praising Allah Azza wa Jalla. Allah Azza wa Jalla gave them the knowledge to recognize their Creator. If humans do not know their Creator, they arrogantly think they are better than you. Be careful with everything; you must be content. Allah Azza wa Jalla gave everything to you, including the knowledge to know Him. Many people act without looking at what the consequences will be. May Allah Azza wa Jalla make us knowledgeable people: to know Him, to accept Him, and to thank Him.

The Prophet ṣallá Llāhu ‘alayhi wa-sallam said, “Ad-Dīnu n-Naṣīḥah.” Everyone asks for naṣīḥah, which means advice. When someone asks you— “Al-mustashāru mu’taman.” So says the Prophet ṣallá Llāhu ‘alayhi wa-sallam. The one who is consulted must be trustworthy. Therefore, naṣīḥah is very important in religion to show the good things, to show the way—the right way—and every good thing for you in life, for Dunyā and for Ākhirah. Those who ask for naṣīḥah—people ask for advice on good things. Naṣīḥah is not: "How shall I rob these people?" "How shall I kill these people?" "How shall I cheat these people?" This is not naṣīḥah. And they do not even need to ask this much. They are doing so by themselves. Shayṭān teaches these people. There is no need for naṣīḥah for such people. Naṣīḥah is to prevent the doing of bad deeds. Our doors—the door of Ṭarīqah, the door of Allah Azza wa Jalla—are open for people who are asking for goodness. Goodness brings goodness. Badness brings badness; it never brings good. A bad deed never yields good results. So, we must be very careful about those who claim, “I am in Ṭarīqah,” yet cheat people, saying things that are not in Ṭarīqah, not acceptable in religion, and not acceptable in normal times; not like this current time, where everything is upside down. We cannot speak about right now. But in normal times, everything good would bring good. And the bad always brings bad. Maybe you enjoy yourself for one minute, two minutes. After that, nothing. Then again, you want to do this bad thing. You think you are enjoying yourself. But it is like a fire; every time you throw wood or throw anything flammable, like petrol, it flares up more against you. You will not be happy with this. This has become common all around the world. This evil is spreading from East to West, not only in Western countries. This badness is growing everywhere. Why? Because Allah Azza wa Jalla has given them so much from His Azza wa Jalla favors: money, cars, jewelry, work—everything. Now they claim there is poverty in the world. It is not true. The first time I went to Hajj, you could hardly find a fat man or a fat woman—I only saw that the Egyptians and Iraqis were fat. The others were just skin and bone; nothing. Now when you go, masha’Allah, it is like a herd of cows; everybody is huge, masha’Allah. Where does this come from? Because they have plenty. They are eating and growing their desires, growing their egos. Even those following Sharī’ah have now given themselves a fatwa to do whatever is ḥarām. "We make a fatwa according to this Madhhab, maybe according to the Ithna-‘Ashari [Twelver] Madhhab, or another Madhhab—I don’t know which Madhhab—that you can marry twenty women, you can take a woman as a jāriyah." This is now, SubhanAllah, all they are thinking about: from the stomach and below; nothing else. This is, unfortunately, what we see and what we hear about. Of course, also from above: sniffing powders up the nose or anything else. They are doing all of this. Muslims are doing this too! This is very sad! Allah Azza wa Jalla gave you all this, and you act this way! “Yā ’Ayyuhā Al-Ladhīna ’Āmanū Qū ’Anfusakum Wa ’Ahlīkum Nāran Waqūduhā An-Nāsu Wa Al-Ḥijārah”, (Qur’ān 66:06). This means: O people, O human beings! Beware of Hell! How is the Hellfire lit? With stones and people. Because when they are thrown into Jahannam, they will be like a mountain. Each one thrown into Jahannam will be atop the other like a mountain. Not like the mountains in England, which are small. It is like the Himalayas. So it will be fueled with stones and with people. Why is this? Because they are doing all of this. Even with what Allah Azza wa Jalla gave them, they are committing this ḥarām, doing this bad thing. After that, what happens? First, their Īmān leaves them. After that, their Islām is also gone from them. They become real Kāfir, atheists. They become unaccepting of Truth. For this reason, we say very surely to those who are cheated by such people: Be careful! The Ṭarīqah, our Naqshbandī Ṭarīqah, is the most careful regarding Sharī’ah. Sharī’ah is very important for us. You cannot do as you like. You cannot give fatwas as you like. You must be very aware. This is for the benefit of each individual, and for the benefit of the society you are living in. When one apple—every time we give this example—when one apple is rotten in a box of apples, all the apples will be ruined. Normally—I cannot go to the garden for work much now—we take maybe ten people, and masha’Allah they work very well. But if one of them is not working, he affects all of them. Because of this, I separate them: “You stay here. Just do khidmah [service] in the Dergah. If you like to sleep, sleep. If you like to leave, leave. But don’t come with us.” This is important. So, when there is a bad person in the family, he cheats on his wife all the time. I have heard this many times. I have heard this story many times just this week. He claims he prays five times, masha’Allah. Allah Azza wa Jalla will throw these prayers back in his face. “He is a Murīd,” he also claims. The Shaykh will spit on his face. Unfortunately, they come to Ṭarīqah and say “We are following,” and after that... You are coming for advice for your life. Be good! Do not commit ḥarām! Do not follow your ego! Because this ḥarām will never be enough for you. Even if the whole world were women, this would not be enough for you. As Mawlānā Shaykh used to say, a man who is good to his wife, Allah Azza wa Jalla protects him from other women; he does not look outside. But if he looks, it will be a curse upon him; he will never be satisfied. And zina (adultery) will make him poor! The first and biggest consequence of this, if he does not stop and does not ask for forgiveness from Allah Azza wa Jalla, is that he will eventually become poor, having no money. And when he has no money, no bad woman will look at his face. There is no loyalty. Their loyalty is only to money. And when this man commits zina, he will become poor and will have nobody, not even his wife. He will lose his wife and will just suffer in Dunyā. And in Ākhirah, he will be in Jahannam too. May Allah Azza wa Jalla protect us. Therefore, be very careful. Do not fall for someone wearing a turban and Jubbah saying, “Okay, we have a fatwa from Mawlānā, from the Shaykh, or from others.” Do not believe them. We never accept ḥarām. We do not accept ḥarām. It destroys families, destroys children, because the children will also become like him. I am very sad about this. All day, every day, I am hearing this same story. They are sending messages saying this. And people are still believing these people. They say, “Yes, Islam approves this for them.” Most of these "non-Madhhab" people are doing this. They say, “We go to Europe, there are jāriyahs, there is I don’t know what... this is ḥalāl for us.” It can never be ḥalāl. They do not know what is ḥalāl or ḥarām. And when it comes to you praying and making ṣalawāt upon the Prophet ṣallá Llāhu ‘alayhi wa-sallam, they say, “This is Bid’ah, this is ḥarām, this is shirk.” But when they do every dirty thing with women, or with non-women, it is somehow ḥalāl for them. So we must be very careful not to look at this. Do not look at bad things, bad movies, or anything else. Shayṭān has put this everywhere in the telephone. Sometimes when you open the telephone, they quickly pop up a bad, dirty picture. Shayṭān is everywhere. So be careful! Be strong! Have a strong will! Do not look at this. Allah Azza wa Jalla will be happy with you, and the Prophet ṣallá Llāhu ‘alayhi wa-sallam will be happy with you. And you protect your family, your society, your jamā’ah. All will be protected by this, in shā’a Llāh. May Allah Azza wa Jalla protect us. This is the most difficult fitnah. Really, this time is even worse than the time of Sayyidinā Lūṭ. It is worse than Sodom and Gomorrah. At that time, it was only in two cities. Now it is the whole world. And when you say something, it is forbidden to say that it is bad. For this, may Allah Azza wa Jalla protect us. We must protect ourselves because Shayṭān is in full power attacking human beings—not only Muslims, but attacking all human beings. May Allah Azza wa Jalla send us Sayyidinā Al-Mahdi ‘alayhi s-salām to save us. Really, we are sinking. Not thinking—sinking. As the Egyptians say: “About what you sinking?” The whole world is sinking. Like Qārūn with his money. Now that they have too much money, they are all sinking into the sewage; not into the earth, but under the sewage—we are all sinking together. May Allah Azza wa Jalla save us from them.

Alhamdulillah, we arrived safely in London. This is the first time, alhamdulillah, that we have visited this particular mosque. Mashallah, Muslims are building many mosques. In the past, nearly fifty years ago when Mawlana Sheikh first came, there was nothing; there were no mosques at all. Even at the Central Mosque, there was only a tent. Alhamdulillah, after that, thousands have started coming. Alhamdulillah, this is light. It is the House of Allah Azza wa Jalla. The House of Allah spreads light, spreads blessings, and spreads barakah. Alhamdulillah, Allah rewards those who build mosques, help mosques, or assist in anything for the sake of Islam. Regarding mosques specifically, the Prophet (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) says that whoever builds a mosque or helps build one, Allah will build a palace for him in Jannah, in Paradise. When you build something like this, the good that comes from it is like investing money and receiving interest—but this is interest that lasts forever. Alhamdulillah, this is wonderful. Mashallah, may Allah bless all of you. Alhamdulillah, I believe everybody helped; whether small or big, they helped. May Allah reward us, inshaAllah. As we said, it is the House of Allah Azza wa Jalla. Allah is the Most Merciful, the Most Beneficent—Allah Azza wa Jalla. We must also be merciful towards people, towards Allah's creation. This is the way of the Prophet (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam). The Ulama, the Salihin, the Awliyaullah, and the Mashayikh all follow this path. They want goodness for the creatures of Allah; whether human or not, we must be a mercy to everything. We should not be harsh. Allah Azza wa Jalla says of the Prophet (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam): Raufun Rahim. This means our Prophet (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) is very gentle and very merciful. We are Muslim, so we must imitate him as much as we are able. We must wish well for everything and everyone. Do not be an enemy, and do not be envious. Because Allah Azza wa Jalla controls everything; everything is under His control. There was a great Wali from Turkey named Merkez Efendi. His Sheikh was a great scholar—I believe he was a Qadi (judge)—who left his position. His Sheikh put him through many tests, and eventually, he made him his Khalifa (successor). Since he became very close to the Sheikh, many of the murids—older murids who had been there for thirty or forty years—were a little jealous of him. They thought, "How can this be? He is new, yet the Sheikh is so happy with him." So the Sheikh wanted to teach all of them a lesson. He said, "I ask everyone: If Allah gave you power, what would you do?" One of them said, "I would make the whole world Muslim." Another said, "I would finish off all the kafirs." Another said, "I would ensure nobody remains poor." Many different answers were given. Then he asked Merkez Efendi, "You, what would you do?" "I would not do anything," he replied. "Why?" "I would leave everything in the center (Merkez)." Merkez means unchanged, balanced. "Why?" the Sheikh asked. He said, "Because Allah Azza wa Jalla wants it this way. I cannot interfere with Allah Azza wa Jalla." Therefore, all of us must be happy with Allah's will. We should help as much as we can and do what we can. But not with force, and not with violence. When Allah wants hidayah (guidance) for someone, Allah sends him guidance. If you try to force it, you cannot do it. But through softness, mercy, and doing good deeds for people, they will be happier with you, and Allah Azza wa Jalla will be happy with you. We must have good intentions. This is our intention: goodness for people, for humanity. Nowadays, of course, everyone is suffering. We are at the end of the life of Bani Adam (humanity); it is the End Times, and everything is very difficult and miserable. People are not happy. Allah has given them everything, but they are not happy. Why? Because they harbor envy, bad intentions, and bad character—everything bad. They only want for themselves, not for others. Allah gave us the capacity for good thinking. You must realize that if everybody is good, you will also be good; everything will be good. But when you are not happy, others are also not happy. Others are also jealous of each other, trying to create problems for one another. And then, for all people, there will be misery and poverty. Now Ramadan is coming, Shahru Ramadan. Normally, you can give Zakat at any time, but in Ramadan, it is best so that one does not forget. So when people ask for money, others say, "We don't have money." Why? Because the rich people are not giving. They are not giving their Zakat; they are not thinking of others. If they gave, it would be enough for all the poor people. But by not giving, a curse comes from Allah upon those who withhold. It also causes the poor to become more aggressive and miserable. And they pray against those who do not give, those who do not look after them. The whole system becomes corrupted. Islam shows us what is best for humanity, for the whole world. For a hundred years now, there has been no real Islam. Nobody says "We are Muslim." Even where we have two billion Muslims, there is no benefit at all. The Prophet (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) said, "You will be many—lots of Muslims—but you will have no value." "Your value will be like the foam on the sea—no benefit, nothing." Maybe someone is happy with bubbles, but there is no substance to them. This is because they left real Islam, which existed with the Khalifa, the last state of the Ottoman Empire. This was not only for the Turkish; there were seventy nations within it—Muslim, Christian, Catholic, Orthodox, Armenian, Ethiopian, Zoroastrian—everything you can imagine was in this Ottoman Empire. The Islamic Ottoman Empire provided justice everywhere, defending poor people and oppressed people from everywhere. They finished it, and the whole world was finished. They thought, "When we finish this Empire, we will be happy; it will be good." No. They finished it, but things became worse and worse, full of suffering. And still, they do not accept this. They are poisoning everybody in this world, spiritually and physically. Even the sea is full of poison. This black poison—wherever it is found, there is misery, there are bad things, bad luck. I mean this black liquid, petrol (oil). Wherever there is oil, a curse descends there. Everybody descends upon them, killing them, taking from them, and not giving anything back. But in Ottoman times, no. They said the Ottomans were taking from the people. But what was in Saudi Arabia or the Gulf or any other place back then? Only desert. The Sultan used to send aid to feed them, to give them everything. And they did not appreciate this. When the oil came—this black, cursed liquid—they destroyed the Ottomans, and they destroyed the whole world. Even until now, you see that wherever there is oil, there is a curse. They keep running after it. SubhanAllah, it was not good from the beginning. There were times when it would seep out in some places, and people would say, "What is this black liquid? It is very dirty. Where is this coming from?" This was perhaps two hundred years ago; they didn't know about petrol or anything like that. Later, when they realized what it was, they started killing each other and killing all the poor people over it. And they claim, "We are saving them." This is not a system of justice. They finished the only system of justice; they killed it. After that, there was nothing. But we, alhamdulillah, are Muslim and we are happy because we depend on Allah. The Prophet (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) said that a time will come, a very bad time, a very dark time. There will be oppressors, zulm (oppression), and every bad thing; it will be like black nights. But when this happens, Allah will send one of my descendants, the Prophet (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) said. He will remove all this darkness and he will fill the whole world with justice and peace, inshaAllah. SubhanAllah, this is good tidings. Because we know this, we also depend on Allah. We are not afraid. Who is afraid? The other people—"What will happen? This one is taking this country, that one is taking another country, there is bombing here, bombing there." All of this, for a Muslim, does not matter. Allah will reward any oppressed person; Allah will reward him. But for the oppressor, there will be no mercy. May Allah keep us safe and may Allah send us this Mahdi (alayhi salam) so we can see the good days that Allah and the Prophet (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) promised. The whole world will be in peace, with no trouble. This will happen in Akhir Zaman (the End Times), inshaAllah. It is the end of time now. We are waiting, inshaAllah, for Sayyidina Mahdi (alayhi salam). May Allah send him to save this Ummah and to save humanity, all of humanity, inshaAllah.

Alhamdulillah, we are meeting again. We came last year, and now we are here again. Oxford is an important place that the whole world knows about. It is a place of knowledge, encompassing every kind of knowledge. There is good knowledge and there is bad knowledge, and they have both types here. We must choose good knowledge and not bad knowledge. Bad knowledge comes from Shaitaan, and good knowledge comes from Allah Azza wa Jalla. None of this knowledge comes from people themselves; all of it comes through the Prophets, especially through Sayyiduna Idrees Alayhis Salam. All of this knowledge, including technology, has been coming through this way for perhaps 10,000 years. Of course, knowledge is revealed slowly, bit by bit, through Sayyiduna Idrees Alayhis Salam. All languages, all writing, and all knowledge come through Sayyiduna Idrees Alayhis Salam. When the time is right, you will see new knowledge appear. Some people have knowledge now, but it is incorrect knowledge; they guess that this happened like this or that happened like that. One year there was less knowledge, the next year better knowledge, and ten years later even better, improving further after a hundred years. We are approaching the End of Times, so perhaps because of this, the opening of knowledge has accelerated in the last century. Now people are astonished by this machine that seems to think better than you. Some people are afraid that this machine will control everything, that it will be too much for people to handle, and that it will destroy human beings. This is a fear held by people who do not believe in Allah Azza wa Jalla and who think knowledge manifests by itself rather than through the Will of Allah Azza wa Jalla. When the time comes, things will be different. In the end, we will reach what the Prophet Salla Allahu Alayhi Wa Sallam told us regarding the last days before Qiyamah. There are big signs: Sayyiduna Mahdi Alayhis Salam, Sayyiduna Isa Alayhis Salam, Ya'juj and Ma'juj, and the forgetting of the Quran; many of these signs will appear before Qiyamah. What will happen will happen by the Will of Allah Azza wa Jalla. Knowledge comes through His Will and through His Prophets. For this reason, Sayyiduna Idrees Alayhis Salam paves the way for knowledge to be revealed. People say they discovered this thing or that thing. This and that is fine, but it is all still coming through Sayyiduna Idrees Alayhis Salam. Knowledge is very important to Allah Azza wa Jalla, as knowledgeable people know the truth of what things are and how they are. Ignorant people look and think without true understanding, so they do not know. All this knowledge is meant to serve human beings, to take them to their Creator, and to show them their Creator. Many creatures have not changed in 10,000 years, but human beings must reflect on how they were before and how they are now. All of this progress is through the knowledge of Sayyiduna Idrees Alayhis Salam and the Prophet Salla Allahu Alayhi Wa Sallam. To be knowledgeable is to save people from ignorance and to be beloved to Allah Azza wa Jalla. Allah Azza wa Jalla loves those who possess knowledge. The first command was "Iqra"—Read. This was to ensure the Ummah of the Prophet Salla Allahu Alayhi Wa Sallam learns about knowledge and goodness. The Prophet Salla Allahu Alayhi Wa Sallam knows the knowledge of the beginning and the knowledge of the end. He who looks at the Prophet's life from beginning to end will see the treasures the Prophet Salla Allahu Alayhi Wa Sallam gave to humanity. He was the Seal of the Prophets, and all knowledge was granted to him. There are many clever people whom Allah Azza wa Jalla guided to know and follow him, and they came to this city to study. Most of them are intelligent people, likely from good families and good backgrounds. Through Allah Azza wa Jalla, we hope they come to know Him. Although they are influenced by what they hear, many are interested and researching, and they will find the best thing, which is Islam, through the Prophet Salla Allahu Alayhi Wa Sallam. May Allah Azza wa Jalla help us to remain on this path, and protect Muslim children from following their egos and desires, which lead them away from the way of Allah Azza wa Jalla.

Innallaha yuhibbul mu'minin. Innallaha 'aduwwun lil kafirin. Allah loves the believer, the Mu'min. And Allah Almighty said in the Holy Quran that He is an enemy to the Kafir people. What does Kafir mean? It means they do not believe in Allah; a non-believer. What does non-believer mean? He does not thank Allah for what He gave him. Because of this, he is an enemy to Allah, and Allah is an enemy to him. Take an ant, for example. If a single ant were an enemy to a country—let alone the whole world—how could that one ant possibly matter? Although it is not good etiquette to give an example like this, it is necessary to show how valueless those who are against Allah Azza wa Jalla truly are. Allah Azza wa Jalla created the whole universe. Even our whole Earth—actually, the whole galaxy—is not even like a speck of dust. So, how crazy are these people who are against Allah Azza wa Jalla? They are against Him and want to wage war against Allah Azza wa Jalla. And they think they will win. They will never win. Because Allah is with us. We don't have any weapons; we don't have any power. Our power is with Allah Azza wa Jalla. He wins; nobody can win over Allah Azza wa Jalla. This means: never feel down about whom you support, and never feel superior if you are His enemy. Therefore, Alhamdulillah, everyone here is a believer whom Allah Azza wa Jalla loves. We are all together, and we would love for these people to come to our side, to become beloved ones of Allah Azza wa Jalla. Not against Him. If you are against Him, you will not win anything; if you are with Allah, you will win everything. The most important thing is the end; eternal life is what is important. Not this life. This life might last a hundred years. Not many people live more than a hundred years. A hundred years pass quickly. What comes after? The second life; the second life is forever. Not a hundred, thousand, million, or billion years. Nothing happens to it. Those who are against Allah will be in misery all the time. They thought they won in this life, but in the Akhirah (Hereafter), they will face punishment. They will be asked about everything, for every moment, and for what they have done. So if they do not ask for forgiveness, they will be in misery forever. Not for ten thousand, or ten thousand million billion years; it will be like that forever. Our next life is eternal. Maybe non-believers do not believe in this. But even non-believers, while they are living this life, never think about how they will die. They think they are living forever. Most people think like this. But of course, when the end comes, only at that time do people think, "Maybe we will die." We have even seen many old people who still do not think about dying. You can be a hundred years old and still not think that you will die. This is from Allah, an inspiration for human beings regarding the next life. There is no death after this. No second death; it is forever. Because the Prophet (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) said that after Judgment Day finishes—of course, this may take millions of years because some people will wait in a queue for their judgment one by one. Some of them wait a thousand years, some ten thousand, maybe a hundred thousand years; there are people waiting. After this is finished, Allah Azza wa Jalla orders Jibril Alayhis Salam to bring Death. They put it between Jannah and Jahannam, Paradise and Hell. They place it between them, and Allah orders Jibril to slaughter it. He slaughters it like a sheep. And they say, "This is death; after this, there is no death." It is forever for you: forever for Paradise, or forever for Hell. So it is not a joke. People are gambling, but this gambling might be the worst gamble they have ever made. Because after this, there is no chance for them to gamble again. Finished; they will be either in Paradise or in Hell. Therefore, whoever has good sense must not listen to these people. Now there are many Shaytan-people around, taking people from Paradise to Hell. They take them on a tour from Paradise to Hell. Some of them leave them there for ten years, for a hundred years, for a thousand years in Hell. This happens if they do not commit Kufr (disbelief). When they finish their punishment, they can come to Paradise. But if they have Kufr—wal iyadhu billah (and we seek refuge in Allah)—now in this time, many make people atheists, causing them not to believe in Allah. So this is a big gamble. And those Shaytan-people who take them on a tour to Jahannam, to Hell, may end up taking them there forever. Forever in Hell. But if they ask for forgiveness and repent to Allah, Allah will forgive them. Many people say, "We are angry with Allah." Who are you to be angry with Allah? We have a Turkish saying: "The rabbit was angry with the mountain, but the mountain didn't even know." This is ridiculous; nothing will happen to the mountain. Whatever happens will happen to the rabbit; so he will not go and eat or drink from there. So if anyone says, "We are angry with Allah because He didn't give us what we want," What do you want? You are not in a restaurant; you are not in a hotel to ask for whatever you please. If Allah gives to you, you must be happy. Allah gave you everything. You are like a horse running from place to place doing every bad thing, and afterwards, you blame Allah, or you blame the Awliya or Mashayikh, saying, "They are not protecting us." How can they protect you? You must protect yourself. You must know this. You will be asked for what you have done and what you do. You are a human being. Allah gave you a brain to think, to distinguish between good and bad. Who is not responsible? Many who have mental issues are not responsible. Even the government gives them a paper [certificate]. For many of them, if they do something, they are not responsible because they don't have a mind and they act without knowing. These are the only ones who can be saved from punishment or judgment. Therefore, whoever has a mind must think and know that Allah gives Rizq (provision) to everybody. Everybody has this. There is no need to put yourself in trouble, making yourself suffer forever. This is very dangerous, the most dangerous thing. Nothing is more dangerous than this in this life. Because you only have this life once. If you do not do good things, there is no chance anymore. In a Surah in the Quran, the people of Hell say, "Oh our Lord, let us go back to Dunya and we will obey, we will worship, and we will do every good thing." He says, "No, this is finished." It is only once in Dunya. Many people are teaching you, telling you to be aware, to be a good one, a beloved one of Allah. You used to laugh at them. You said, "You are not clever people; you are idiots." They said this about those who worship or believe in Allah. This is the fashion now. And they attract small children especially, in schools or in the street. They think their families, fathers, mothers, or everyone else are not as clever as them. They are a hundred times more clever than you. Because with this, they have happiness here before the Akhirah. When they see their children or relatives in the way of Allah, they are the happiest ones. Many people come asking for Hidayah (guidance) for their children, for their husband, or for a brother or sister. Many of them come asking for this, and we are praying, of course. All the time, this is also a big issue for this place, places in England or Europe. In Muslim countries, it is a little bit better than here. The men are going for Haram. This will be punished in the Akhirah. In Dunya, it is the worst when a married man goes to another woman without Nikah, without marriage. It is the biggest sin. There are small sins and there are big sins. This is the biggest sin. And they act as if it is normal; they are doing this. And they say, "We know it is Haram but we cannot control ourselves." But when you do not control yourself, it is because you don't know what punishment you will have for this. There is punishment for this in Dunya before Akhirah. There is a saying—I don't know if it is a Hadith or something else: "Bashir al-qatil bil-qatl wa law ba'da hin." It says: give news to the killer that he will be killed, even if it is later. "Wa bashir al-zani bil-faqr." And give news to the one who commits adultery that he will be poor. The Barakah (blessing) will go. He will not have anything. Even if he has millions, it will not remain for him. Suddenly it will go. This is very important. Because people know about the Akhirah and say, "Okay, maybe Allah will forgive us." But there is punishment in Dunya also. When you commit Haram, a sin, something must happen to you. Whenever you do a good thing, you will find good things in Dunya before Akhirah. Even if you are poor, if you do good things, Allah gives you some happiness. If you have millions, you might not have this happiness. If you do bad things, Allah also punishes you here. What kind of punishment? Any punishment. And the biggest punishment is for Allah Azza wa Jalla to look at you with anger. He does not look at you with Rahmah (Mercy). He looks with anger. But if a poor man, or anyone—normal people, small, big, girl, woman—if they do a good thing, Allah is happy with them. Allah blesses them. It is said in a Hadith Sharif that if Allah is happy with someone, He tells Jibril Alayhis Salam that He is happy with him. And Jibril tells all the angels to be happy with him. And all the angels become happy, so Allah makes the people also happy with this man. Therefore, it is very important for people to be in the way of Allah, to be away from sin and Haram. Especially this, the biggest Haram, to do this. So be careful. Don't throw yourself into danger. Don't make your family miserable. Don't make your relatives, father, or mother unhappy with you. Be a good one, Insha'Allah. Goodness spreads when one goes from one to one, to one, to the whole society, to all people; Allah looks upon them with mercy and love. This is very important. Prophet (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) said, "Ad-Deen an-Naseehah" (Religion is sincere advice). You must tell people about this; if what they have done is good or not good, you must tell them. And if you see any bad thing happening, if you can prevent it by yourself, you can. If not, then by saying "don't do this." If that has no benefit, then just by your heart you say, "It is not acceptable; Allah does not love this, does not accept this, and I also do not love this, nor accept this." "This is not good; this is bad, from Shaytan, and we do not accept this." So it will be your responsibility, or no responsibility [if you do this]. But if you are like, "Okay, they are doing this, leave them, what can we do? It's normal." Don't see bad things as normal. A bad thing is bad. You must know it is bad and say to yourself, "I cannot do anything, but I don't accept this; it is not normal." Now people are trying to show many things as normal, but they are not normal. I don't know where it is coming from—from food, from the air, where this poison is coming from—making everyone see abnormal things as normal. May Allah open our hearts. May Allah keep our society away from this illness. This is a very bad illness. May Allah give Hidayah to those who are doing this, and may Allah ask for forgiveness for us, Insha'Allah.

Alhamdulillah, today is the last day of Rajab, the first of Allah's Sacred Months. Tomorrow, in some of our calendars, is the first of Sha'ban; for others, it may be later. But alhamdulillah, throughout these thirty days of Rajab, Allah has blessed us. We are happy with what Allah has given us. To be on His path in this life, as the months and years pass. When you are with Allah, you win; you gain the life of these months. Alhamdulillah, a blessed month is going, and a blessed month is coming. The month of the Prophet, sallallahu alayhi wa sallam. "Rajab Shahrullah, Sha'ban shahri, Ramadan shahr ummati." Rajab means "Allah's month." Of course, everything is for Allah. But for the Ummah, Allah made this more blessed. And for the honor of the Prophet, sallallahu alayhi wa sallam, is the month of Sha'ban. Sha'ban is the month of the Prophet, sallallahu alayhi wa sallam. And Ramadan is for the Ummah. Allah made this the most blessed month for the Ummah; many things happen in it. But now, insha'Allah, we are in Sha'ban, to which the Prophet, sallallahu alayhi wa sallam, gave more attention and in which he performed more worship. Some new people say there is no value to this month; no, they do not know. This is the month of the Prophet, sallallahu alayhi wa sallam; he fasted the most in Sha'ban. Even the Sahaba thought it would become fard, as he was fasting nearly the whole month. And regarding Ramadan, he was also very happy with Ramadan. The Prophet, sallallahu alayhi wa sallam, is showing us all of this. Alhamdulillah, Tariqa people respect everything; they do not ask "what is this, what is not?" Alhamdulillah, especially in our Naqshbandi Tariqa, we try to follow every Sunnah in our wird and daily wazifa. We do nothing outside the Sunnah of the Prophet, sallallahu alayhi wa sallam. May Allah keep us on His path. We must praise that which the Prophet, sallallahu alayhi wa sallam, praised. You can praise even the smallest thing, but do not go against it. If you are against it... nothing will be less for Allah, but it will be less for you. They give you a jewel and you say, "I don't want this." Well, you are free to choose. May Allah make us realize the value of what we are in. This value is precious; we must know this. Alhamdulillah, Allah has let us enter this valuable time, insha'Allah.