Mawlana Sheikh Mehmed Adil. Translations.

Our Tariqa is about being together, giving good advice, and listening to advice. The Naqshbandi Tariqa is one of 41 Tariqa ways that come from the Prophet, sall'Allahu alayhi wa sallam. One lineage comes from Sayyidina Abu Bakr as-Siddiq. And the others come from Sayyidina Ali. The Sahaba, the companions of the Prophet, sall'Allahu alayhi wa sallam, are the highest of people. The highest people in the Ummah are the Sahaba, the companions of the Prophet, sall'Allahu alayhi wa sallam. Among all human beings, the prophets are the highest. There are 124,000 prophets. And the highest among them, the one who completed the religion, is our Prophet, sall'Allahu alayhi wa sallam. His name is mentioned with the Name of Allah: La ilaha illallah, Muhammadun Rasulullah, sall'Allahu alayhi wa sallam. So he is the highest, and we are fortunate to be from his nation. All prophets followed the same path; there is no difference between them. You cannot make a distinction. They all brought the command from Allah. The revelation came gradually, but it was not yet complete. It was completed with the Prophet, sall'Allahu alayhi wa sallam. For this reason, not only Muslims, but also Christians and Jews, do not claim that another prophet came after Prophet Muhammad, sall'Allahu alayhi wa sallam. Every prophet who came would say, "After me, a prophet will come." And the last prophet before the Prophet, sall'Allahu alayhi wa sallam, was Sayyidina Isa, alayhis-salam. And he, of course, was a believer in the Torah and said, "Allah will send the last prophet after me. His name will be Ahmad." This is what he said. So it is clear; people must understand that the religion is one. And we must believe in this. Each prophet who came accepted what Allah gave him and taught the people the principles of the religion. Of course, the religion was revealed step by step, until the Prophet, sall'Allahu alayhi wa sallam, in the last year of his life during Hajj, declared, "Today I have perfected your religion for you." Of course, many things the Prophet foretold in his prophecies have already come to pass. And there are still many prophecies that have not yet happened, but they will, insha'Allah. This is especially true regarding Sayyidina Isa, alayhis-salam, and his miracle, which Allah Azza wa Jalla mentioned in the Quran, the true word of Allah Azza wa Jalla. We Muslims are the only ones whose scripture has remained completely unchanged, unlike those of other religions. They have their books, but they have been altered. Only the Quran, for us Muslims, has been preserved exactly as it came from Allah Azza wa Jalla. We can draw a comparison, though any example falls short of the reality. For instance, consider a criminal investigation, a scenario you often see in movies. A crime is committed, but nobody knows what happened, who did it, or how it occurred. As a result, innocent people are often imprisoned or even given the death penalty. And afterwards, no one ever knows what truly happened. But Allah Azza wa Jalla knows. And Allah Azza wa Jalla is the Most Truthful; everything He says is the truth. And in the Quran, He tells us many such things. One of these stories is from the time of Sayyidina Musa, alayhis-salam. Someone killed a man and left his body in a certain place, causing the people there to be suspected of the murder. So they came to Sayyidina Musa, alayhis-salam, and asked: "Who killed this man?" "We must have justice," they said, because in their law there was qisas, which is retribution. If someone kills, they are killed. If you cut someone's hand, your hand is cut. If you cut an ear, your ear is cut. This was the law of retribution applied to the perpetrator. "A tooth for a tooth," as they say. So they came to Musa, alayhis-salam, Kalimullah, the one who speaks with Allah. They said, "Ask Allah Azza wa Jalla for us how we can find out who killed this man." Sayyidina Musa asked, and the command came: "Slaughter a cow, and strike the dead man with a piece of it." They asked, "O Musa, what kind of cow?" He said, "The cow must not be too old." Then they asked again, "We understand, but what color should it be?" He said, "Its color must be a brilliant yellow, a pleasing, golden-yellow." Still, they kept asking, "The description is not yet clear to us. What must this cow be like?" And the answer came: "It must be a young heifer of a brilliant yellow color, one that has never been put to work. It must be like this, like that." And then they said, "Alright, now we understand. We will do this." And they searched for this cow throughout the entire land and could only find one that fit the description. They asked its price. The owner was a poor, devout man, and Allah inspired him to say, "The price is its hide filled with gold." They had plenty of money, but they were very stingy. Nevertheless, they paid the price, filling its hide with what amounted to a ton or more of gold. And when they had slaughtered the cow, they took its tongue and struck the dead man with it, and he woke up. He said, "It was my nephew. He killed me for my money." Allah gives such examples in the Quran so that people may believe. And regarding Sayyidina Isa, Allah Azza wa Jalla tells us about Sayyidatuna Maryam. She was always worshipping and praying when Allah sent an angel to her, and she became pregnant without marriage, without any man having touched her. And Allah, who created everything, gives an example for the creation of Sayyidina Isa, saying he is like Sayyidina Adam, alayhis-salam. He created him from dust, then said to him, "Be," and he was. Then, at the end of the story of Sayyidina Isa, there was a traitor, as everyone knows. Allah says in the Quran that He made this traitor resemble Sayyidina Isa. So they seized the traitor, killed him, and put him on the cross. And in the Quran, Allah Azza wa Jalla tells us, "Wa ma qataluhu wa ma salabuhu wa lakin shubbiha lahum." (4:157) "They did not kill him, nor did they crucify him. It was only made to appear so to them; they only thought they had." Instead, Allah says, "Bal rafa`ahullahu ilayh." (4:158) Allah raised him from this world up to Himself, to Heaven. He was raised to the Second Heaven; there are seven heavens in total. And he will return to reveal the truth to all the people who were deceived, so that they will know the real Isa, alayhis-salam. Not, as they claim, the "Son of God." Anyone who thinks, even for a moment, cannot believe such a thing. Allah Azza wa Jalla has no shape; He has no place. All of space, the universe, light, sound, time, centuries, history—all of this was created by Allah Azza wa Jalla. Therefore, you cannot say someone is the son of God. It is impossible for anyone with a sound mind to believe this. As for these other religions, their scriptures were corrupted by their own religious leaders. Many of these changes were made for money and personal gain. They have led millions, even billions, of people astray from the path of Allah Azza wa Jalla. Someone might ask, "How could a priest, a rabbi, or other religious leaders do such a thing?" There are many examples. Consider the rabbi from the time of Sayyidina Yusha, alayhis-salam. He knew the Ism al-Azam, the Greatest Name of Allah, and anyone who knew it and called upon it could do anything. Yet even he fell into their trap. They deceived him with the promise of marriage to a beautiful woman, and so he betrayed Sayyidina Yusha, alayhis-salam. So you see, they are not innocent people. They are followers of Shaitan. They changed many things, perhaps 95 or even 99 percent of their holy books. Alhamdulillah, the greatest miracle of the Prophet, sall'Allahu alayhi wa sallam, is the Quran al-Adhimu-sh-shan. It is in our hands today, sent down from Heaven, without a single change. All goodness and all knowledge are contained within it. For this reason, we await Sayyidina Isa, insha'Allah. Everyone, believer and non-believer alike, is waiting for someone to come. Everyone has this feeling, and it is from Allah Azza wa Jalla. He has placed in people's hearts the expectation that someone will come to bring happiness and justice to this world, after all the corruption and oppression. Insha'Allah, we are close. The time is not far. Insha'Allah, Sayyidina Mahdi, alayhis-salam, is coming, and Sayyidina Isa, alayhis-salam, will descend from heaven. He will cleanse the world of all its filth, insha'Allah. May Allah make him to come soon, and insha'Allah, we will be with him. Sayyidina Isa, alayhis-salam, will follow the religion of the Prophet, sall'Allahu alayhi wa sallam. It was the wish of Sayyidina Isa, alayhis-salam, to be from the Ummah of Sayyidina Muhammad, sall'Allahu alayhi wa sallam. This is a tremendous honor. Alhamdulillah, we must be thankful to Allah for this. May Allah bless you.

Insha'Allah we are gathering for the sake of Allah. May Allah make us happy. Alhamdulillah, we are together, traveling from place to place in Argentina. Yesterday, masha'Allah, was our murid gathering—a nice gathering in Cordoba—and today, alhamdulillah, we have come to Mendoza. Mendoza is a wonderful place, on the border where you can see Chile nearby. So our murids, masha'Allah, have made a dergah, a mosque, and are living here with their families. It is a very nice place with water running from a spring. We are at an altitude of about 2,000 meters. It's cool and nice, very nice. And here, I want to make a point: I want to talk about two opposite things. This place, you know, its name is Las Vegas. The other place, also called Las Vegas, is its opposite. This is Paradise; that is Hell. Here, it is cool with water flowing everywhere; there, it is in the middle of a desert. That place has very nice buildings and very fancy, shiny cars. It has luxurious hotels and swimming pools. There are women with too much makeup. But in reality, it is just like the Dajjal: when you see it from the outside, it looks very nice and very good, but once you go inside, you are finished. And it isn't just people seeking spirituality who are affected; even ordinary, non-spiritual people are finished there. It is destroying families and destroying humanity. Of course, there are casinos everywhere in the world, but that place is the headquarters of gambling. It was built in the middle of a desert. It has hot air, bad air, and no greenery around. Subhan'Allah, they cheat people with money and a glamorous appearance to make it seem good, and people flock there, not only from America but even from our own country. Gamblers from all over the world feel they must be able to say, "I gambled in Las Vegas," even if they lose a lot of money. Alhamdulillah, here it is the opposite. It looks rustic; they built it with their own hands, finding wood from here and there to construct the building. But these are sincere people; Allah loves them and helps them. He also guides other people through them. I was here nine years ago, and coming back now, masha'Allah, it has grown, and they are building bigger. This is a Paradise in this Dunya and a Paradise in the Akhira as well. People who want happiness should not focus on appearances, but on the reality of things. You must look for the wisdom in everything you see. Even when you look at that evil place, you must also find the wisdom in seeing how evil can capture and destroy people. These gamblers, they give up everything for their gambling. In our country also, there is a so-called "paradise" of gambling; many people come, mostly from Turkey, to gamble in these satanic hotels. They welcome them and give them everything: food, a place to sleep, and even a return ticket. Because they will be left with no money, the return ticket is provided by the hotels or the casinos. Gambling is the worst thing for a person's well-being. Because when someone gets involved with gambling, they cannot stop. Perhaps addictions to other things, like alcohol or drugs, can be treated, but with gambling, it is a success if even one man in 10,000 can save himself. May Allah save us from this bad habit and from the evil people who lure others to casinos and similar places, offering them many things just to take their money. Here is the Halal Las Vegas, and that is the Haram Las Vegas.

We are happy. For everything comes from Him; everything happens by His will. So, you must be happy and thankful, and speak about the good things Allah has given you. We think that the greatest good for a human being is to be a believer. Alhamdulillah, this is what Allah gave us. We are happy with this. And we know that Allah also gave you this great favor and made you a believer. This is a very precious thing. And to thank Allah for this belief, so that He may continue this gift He has given us, what must we do? First of all, be good to people. With animals. With the planet. With the earth. With water. With everything. You must be doing good. This is for our own benefit. The benefit for us is that if you respect everything—everyone, every animal—this world will be like paradise. But unfortunately, they are not doing this, and because of this, they are suffering in this world. So, something is wrong with us, with human beings. Allah made everything most perfect. He created us in the most perfect shape, with perfect thinking and behaving. He showed us and taught us everything we must do. But people follow what they like. What they call "freedom." But when your freedom comes up against another's freedom, there will be a clash. When you go beyond your limit, and he has a limit, and others have limits—when all people go beyond their limits, it leads to war like this. So what is the solution for this? To follow what Allah Azza wa Jalla shows us and tells us to do. Allah says the religion is easy, not difficult. Alhamdulillah, we are here... We are on the other side because it was sunny and hot. So we brought people to this side, and they are relaxed and happy. There is no need to make things difficult for them, so they are not listening, thinking, "It is very hot," or "There is no place to sit." Alhamdulillah, now everybody is good and happy. This is the order of Allah. He said to make it easy for everyone. Yassiru wala tu'assiru. Make it easy, don't make it difficult. And this is one of the... Of course, there are some rare occasions that can be difficult for people, but at other times, "fa inna ma'al 'usri yusra." After difficulty comes ease and happiness. Like fasting: you fast the whole day and you become thirsty and hungry, but when you break your fast at Maghrib time, it is the happiest and most delicious experience for those who are eating. Those who do not fast don't know this happiness. And Hajj is also like this. Because it is once in a lifetime, it shows people what it is like on the Day of Resurrection, with the kafan, the heat, and going there. This one is a little difficult, but happiness comes after. And this principle is also for doing good things like this. But to prevent people from doing bad things, it must be made difficult for those who want to do them. You must not accept it. And if you can, you must prevent them from doing it. You must prevent this as much as you can. This is the opposite of making good things easy. For people who do bad things, you must make it not easy for them. Many people these days are doing things... you cannot imagine what bad things, and the sheer quantity of bad things that people are doing. So, whatever you know about and can prevent, you must prevent. In this world, what you do is good for the one you prevent from doing bad things. And Allah rewards you for this. Because maybe he will harm himself, or harm other people, or harm society. So it is good to not make it easy for him. Because there is an Arabic saying: "al-mal as-sa'ib yu'allim as-sariqa." Goods that are left unattended teach people to steal. This is an Arabic saying: "al-mal as-sa'ib yu'allim as-sariqa." Meaning, if you put your clothes, or money, or anything somewhere without taking care of it, you teach people to steal. For this reason, don't give these people any chance to learn to do bad things. Someone might say, "How can we do that?" We can. So many times, even these days, there are many people cheating others. "Give me money, I will do business... this is a good opportunity... you give me one, I will give you ten." So people get cheated. And this person takes from you, and takes from another, and another, and he learns to do this. We are living in a time when people have forgotten good manners, honor, or any good thing. They are not thinking about this. Slowly, when somebody cannot do bad things, insha'Allah, Allah will make him at least come back to the way of humanity. Alhamdulillah we are... We were here nine years ago. This is the second time. Alhamdulillah, we are happy that, insha'Allah, Muslims, and especially the tariqa people, are growing. And the tariqa people are making people happy with Islam. Because Islam is wrongly understood in every place. Even in Islamic countries, they don't understand Islam. For this reason, we must teach people about tariqa and about Islam, and insha'Allah, Allah will open their hearts to become believers, insha'Allah. And this is the road to paradise. Paradise in the dunya also. When you have satisfaction and happiness in your heart, you are in paradise here as well. And if you don't have this, even if you have a whole city full of money, you are in hell. For this reason, for the sake of Allah, we are calling people to happiness. We are travelling for the sake of Allah to help people save themselves from this fire of bad deeds. Every time someone does a bad thing, a fire enters his heart, one more fire. Of course, there is a chance for people who do this to repent and ask for forgiveness from Allah while they are in this world. If they do so before dying, Allah will forgive them. But after one dies, it is finished. Insha'Allah, Allah will give hidayah to all people, insha'Allah. Thank you for listening. May Allah bless you, may Allah keep you safe—you, your family, your children, your neighbors, and your country—and may you be, insha'Allah, among the believers, insha'Allah.

By order of Mawlana, we will make, insha'Allah, a short suhbah for our coming again to this place. Alhamdulillah. Our intention is that everything must be for Allah. We have made this long journey to see our friends, our beloved ones, for Allah's sake. Insha'Allah, may Allah make it a source of barakah for us and for you also. Alhamdulillah, we are here after many years. Nine years ago, we were here with Shaykh Bahauddin. Maybe we cannot come here again, because we are getting old and it is a very long distance. But when Allah wants something, alhamdulillah, He makes it happen again. So alhamdulillah, we are so happy to see all of our brothers, sisters, daughters, and all the murid from Brazil and from Argentina. Insha'Allah, we will continue like this. As I said, we are not coming as tourists, just to visit and look around. The important thing for us is that these believers have love for Allah, and they love those who love Allah. As Prophet Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam teaches, to see someone who reminds you of Allah Azza wa Jalla, you should be happy. And we are also happy for this. When we see a believer, a lover of Allah, a lover of Prophet Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam, a lover of Awliya Allah—if they are happy, we are happy also. Many times, people say "love, love, love," but it is not real love, real love is the love for Allah Azza wa Jalla. But for the people who truly love Allah Azza wa Jalla, this love does not finish. It keeps growing and growing and growing. Forever, insha'Allah. But with other kinds of love, people may love each other like crazy, but after one month, five months, one year, or five years, most of them do not continue. And why is this? Because people... everybody has something that is not complete. Nobody is perfect, nobody is complete. Because of this, after one month, they see, "Oh, she is like this," or "He is like that." After two months, five months, one year, five years, they become unhappy with it. But Allah Azza wa Jalla is Great. Nothing compares to Him. For this reason, the love of Allah does not get less; it only gets more. The love for Prophet Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam also gets more and more every day. For the mashayikh, the sahaba, the Ahl al-Bayt—the love for them becomes more and more, because they are perfect people, good people. And this is the secret of the difference between material love and spiritual love—why one lasts forever and the other cannot. Insha'Allah, our love will be forever, insha'Allah. And insha'Allah, people will come to this good thing, this sweet thing, this beneficial thing, insha'Allah. And this is purely for Allah Azza wa Jalla. And Allah will be with us, insha'Allah.

Say, “Travel through the land and see how He began creation.” (29:20) Allah, the Almighty and Exalted, says: "Travel throughout the earth." Contemplate Allah's creatures, His creation. To think about the essence of Allah, the Almighty and Exalted, to contemplate it – that is not possible for us. You should contemplate His creation. His essence is beyond all comprehension, all imagination. There is a group of people nowadays who say about Allah, the Almighty and Exalted: "He is in the sky, He is on the earth"... But Allah is not bound by any place. Allah is the Creator of all things. This topic is a delicate matter. Wherever you go – the purpose is to observe Allah's creation and to learn from it. Thanks be to Allah, we too will travel to a faraway place today. Through the blessings of Sheikh Muhammed Nazim al-Haqqani, our Sheikh-Father, and through his spiritual support, there are followers and lovers of the Order all over the world. To visit them, we travel here and there from time to time. Every place that Allah has created is beautiful. Allah has created everything in the most perfect way for the benefit of humanity. But the most important thing is: Wherever we go – our goal is not the journey itself, but Allah's pleasure. Besides, every place in the world has become the same by now. Big roads, buildings, and so on... By now, one hardly finds any pleasure in the world anymore. But what truly brings us joy is the joy of the people there – our brothers and sisters, or those who come to the faith or are guided. They are what is essential. Otherwise, for us, the world, the travel, the sights – all of that is unimportant. Our followers take us here and there, may Allah be pleased with them, and they are happy and say: "We are serving." What truly pleases us is that the people are joyful, that they are happy. This happiness springs from the love for Allah. That we come together because they have turned to Allah and are on this path – that brings them great joy. And that is our joy as well. Mountains, stones, buildings, this and that – all of it is meaningless. Whether it's the most luxurious, richest place in the world or the poorest – it makes no difference. That these people are happy for the sake of Allah's pleasure, that they rejoice... This love for the faith, which Allah bestows, this Islamic joy – that is what matters to us. May Allah increase their numbers, may He make the believers more numerous, insha'Allah. The place we will be traveling to is quite far away. We have been there once before. We wondered if it would be destined for us a second time. Thanks be to Allah, it was destined for today. May we go and return in peace, insha'Allah. May the brothers and sisters there also be happy. Because we will have come to them from far away. The material means of the people there are also modest. That is why they are very happy for the sake of Allah's pleasure when we come there. May their numbers grow even larger, insha'Allah. May Allah protect them. May they become a means for the guidance of others, insha'Allah. May first and foremost their families, their relatives, everyone come to the faith, to Islam, insha'Allah. May this mean happiness for all of us in this world and the Hereafter, insha'Allah.

If Allah helps you, none can overcome you; (3:160) Whoever adheres to Allah's commands stands on His side, and no one can defeat them; victory always belongs to them. No harm will befall them. Truly, the promise of Allah, the Almighty and Majestic, is true. This promise will certainly be fulfilled. This means there is no doubt about it. Therefore, hold fast to Allah. One must always remain steadfast on the path of Allah, so that Allah, the Almighty and Majestic, grants them victory and helps, insha'Allah. People are often impatient. They have no patience and want everything to happen immediately. But it happens as Allah decrees. The true victory lies in preserving one's own faith. That is the most important thing. Not to surrender to Satan and one's own ego. If you succumb to them, you have lost. But if you are victorious over them, you have achieved the true victory. Worldly victory is not the decisive factor. The important thing is, as our Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) taught, to move from the lesser jihad, the Jihad al-Asghar, to the greater jihad. Our Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) explains that the lesser jihad is warfare. The greater jihad, on the other hand, is the struggle against the ego. For this is a struggle that lasts a lifetime. A person wages a constant jihad against their ego, Satan, and his followers. This is the greater jihad. So one cannot simply say, 'I have won,' and then stop. What is meant by this? If you leave the path of Allah and think, 'Good, I have triumphed, I have defeated my ego and Satan,' then at that very moment, you have already lost everything. Precisely because this struggle lasts a lifetime, our Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) called it the 'Jihad al-Akbar.' That is the greater jihad, the great struggle. May Allah assist us in this struggle until our last breath. Thus we are on His path, insha'Allah. May Allah always be our Helper.

Then he has been of those who believed and enjoined upon one another patience and enjoined upon one another compassion. (90:17) Those are the companions of the right. (90:18) Patience and mercy characterize the Muslim and the believer. Allah, the Mighty and Exalted, loves these qualities. Whoever is merciful, Allah is also merciful to him. But whoever is unmerciful, his punishment will surely befall him. In our time today, there was and is, of course, a lot of oppression. Since the fall of the Ottoman Caliphate, oppression has reached its peak all over the world. They deceived the people with the promise: 'We will free you from the oppression of the Ottomans.' Not only here, but the whole world was afflicted by oppression. Millions of people were massacred, murdered, and oppressed. For what? A Muslim is merciful; he is filled with mercy. They enjoin one another to patience and mercy. By saying: 'Do not commit injustice.' The disbeliever, on the other hand, is the opposite; he knows no mercy, only oppression. That is why the Muslim is that servant whom Allah, the Mighty and Exalted, loves. Allah honors him and rewards him. Allah will hold the oppressor and the disbeliever to account. They should not rejoice that their reckoning does not take place in this world. In the Hereafter, the oppressor will most certainly be held to account. Even in this world, Allah places a fire in his heart so that he finds no peace. No matter what he does against this fire—whether he drinks alcohol, takes drugs, or commits every imaginable disgraceful act—it will be of no use to him. For this fire will never leave him. This is the reason for the world's current state. Everything that happens is to the advantage of the Muslim. Nothing is to his disadvantage. No matter how much oppression and suffering there is, all of this will be credited to the believer, the Muslim, as a reward with Allah in the Hereafter. As compensation for the hardship he has suffered here, Allah, the Mighty and Exalted, will reward him so richly in the Hereafter that other people will say, 'If only we had suffered the same.' May Allah not count us among the oppressors, Insha'Allah. Let us not oppress anyone, Insha'Allah.

Allah, the Almighty and Exalted, has placed humanity above other creatures. He has bestowed upon him every kind of good quality. But there is also the ego. He has also placed the ego within him. The ego, as we always say, always pulls one towards evil. Yet Allah has also placed something within us that does not strive for evil. This is called the conscience. Every person has a conscience. Whether Muslim or non-Muslim, everyone has a conscience. Allah, the Almighty and Exalted, has implanted the conscience into humanity. He has given the conscience so that man may question himself and not commit injustice. He has also given him mercy. But for a person to be able to act upon it, he must overcome his ego. For one who has a conscience oppresses no one, causes no one harm, does not steal the property of others, and deceives no one. Through this, his faith also gradually grows. And in the end, he is often granted guidance; he finds the right path. But if this conscience is missing, his ego will not let him do anything good, even if he is a Muslim. A person without a conscience, even if he is a Muslim, does not distinguish between right and wrong, between the permissible and the forbidden. He calls himself a 'Muslim,' performs his five daily prayers, and may have even been on the Hajj. But without a conscience, he follows his ego and its whisperings. In this lies a wisdom of Allah that we cannot fathom. The human mind cannot grasp this. Allah says: 'I have created man in the most beautiful form.' وَلَقَدۡ كَرَّمۡنَا بَنِيٓ ءَادَمَ (17:70) Allah, the Almighty and Exalted, says: 'I have created humanity at the highest level, endowed with the best qualities; We have honored them on land and sea, everywhere.' So, how does this humanity come about? Humanity arises from the conscience. Without a conscience, this humanity is also lost. Whatever a person does, he ultimately does to himself. That is why you sometimes see a non-Muslim who has such a conscience that he performs good deeds that some Muslims do not. 'Why is that?' people ask. It is because of the conscience. It comes from that conscience which Allah, the Almighty and Exalted, has placed in man. On the other hand, you see a Muslim who commits every kind of oppression, deceit, and malice. And why is that? Because he no longer has a conscience. He has silenced his conscience. Because once you have silenced your conscience, it is very difficult to reawaken it. But if you preserve it, it is for your own good. Then your deeds will also be righteous. The most beautiful thing is to attain the pleasure of Allah and our Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him). A conscientious and merciful person is loved by Allah, the Almighty and Exalted, the Prophet, the friends of Allah, and the believers. That is what truly matters. Otherwise, the wealth you accumulate through fraud, deceit, and the exploitation of others is of no use at all. Allah, the Almighty and Exalted, does not need these things. You are the one who is in need. People must return to their conscience to find peace. People say, 'My conscience is clear, my heart is at peace.' When a person's conscience is clear, his heart also finds peace. May Allah not count us among those without a conscience, insha'Allah. May Allah give guidance to all people, so that they do not kill this beautiful quality within themselves, insha'Allah.

Grandshaykh Abdullah ad-Daghistani always instructed Mawlana Sheikh Nazim to write down his Sohbahs. As the first lesson, he used to say, "Tarikatun kulluha adab." The Tariqa is based entirely on Adab, good manners. Whoever does not have good manners should not claim, "I belong to the Tariqa." Someone without good manners is no different from any person on the street. Whoever does not honor people, show respect to the elders, and do good to his relatives and neighbors, is not counted among the Tariqa. The Tariqa is good manners. And these good manners are the good manners of the Prophet (sallAllahu alayhi wa sallam). The most perfect manners among people are the good conduct of the Prophet (sallAllahu alayhi wa sallam). The members of the Tariqa must follow him on his path. Therefore, it contradicts the rules of good manners of the Tariqa to do evil or to engage in falsehood and lies. Adab means to obey the commands of Allah, the Almighty and Exalted, and to follow the path of the Prophet (sallAllahu alayhi wa sallam). Nothing else. People today are practically looking for opportunities to misbehave. That is the way of common people, not of the members of the Tariqa. The Tariqa means to adopt the noble character of the Prophet (sallAllahu alayhi wa sallam) and to strive to be like him. May Allah help us. Because nowadays, even the members of the Tariqa can hardly control their ego. They want to do whatever their ego commands them. They are subject to the desires of their ego. So what is the Tariqa? The Tariqa is discipline. You must discipline your ego. A disciplined ego rises to the highest levels. One does not advance through shouting and bad behavior. Instead of advancing, one even goes backwards. May Allah protect us from the evil of our ego. Some ask, "What should we do in the Tariqa?" The task in the Tariqa is to maintain good manners. That is the most important thing. To maintain one's good manners means to pay attention to one's actions and words. May Allah help us all. May Allah make it easy for us not to follow our ego.

The Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, says in essence: Whoever is humble for Allah's sake, He will raise him, and whoever is arrogant, He will lower him. The Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, says: Whoever is humble for the sake of Allah, Allah will elevate him. He whom Allah elevates is truly exalted. But the arrogant, Allah will continuously lower. Thus, he can never be elevated. A person who boasts with the words, 'I am this, I am that,' is unpopular among his fellow people from the very beginning. For Allah, the Almighty and Exalted, does not love the arrogant person. Arrogance is one of the greatest vices of man. It is a major sin, not a virtue. Unfortunately, most people are inclined towards arrogance. Whoever is arrogant has no standing in the sight of Allah. He also has no standing in the sight of the Prophet. Arrogance is permitted only towards disbelievers. However, to be arrogant among Muslims and to boast, 'I am a scholar, I am a sheikh, I am this, I am that,' is inappropriate and senseless behavior. Such behavior increases a person's sins and, at the same time, erases his good deeds. Therefore, humility is the most important characteristic for the people of the Tariqa. A person without humility should not even enter the Tariqa in the first place. Even if he is among scholars and, in his arrogance, tells himself, 'My knowledge is such and such'—it benefits neither himself nor anyone else. May Allah protect us from this evil of our ego. May Allah help us. May Allah, insha'Allah, protect us from arrogance.