We Will Carry Each Other To Paradise – Abdur Rahman’s Corner
Peace, one and all…
Once one of my dervishes asked me if the love of a dervish for a sheikh was an example of worldly love. To understand truly the relationship between sheikh and dervish, you have to look not only at this world but also at the Hereafter.
On the Day of Judgment each soul will be asked what deeds it brought with it, what good deeds it has accomplished, to gain admittance to Paradise. On the Divine balance scale all our good deeds will be weighed against our sins and errors. When your deeds are weighed and you are found lacking, as so many of us will be, you will turn to your husband or wife and ask if they can spare any good deeds to help your plight. Absorbed in their own judgment they will say, “What about me? I have not done enough to merit Paradise. Who will help me?” You will turn to your father, and he too will say, “I need help. Who will aid me?” Turning to your mother, you will ask her for help.
And your mother, overcome with the shock of Judgment Day, will also say, “I am lost myself. Will anyone help me?” Then your sheikh or one of your brother or sister dervishes will appear and say to you, “Take all of my good deeds. It is enough for me if you enter Paradise.” Divine Compassion and Divine Justice will then intercede. Not
allowing such generosity to go unrewarded, sheikh and dervish will be taken to Paradise.And that is how we will go, God willing, hand in hand, each holding on
to each other.
None of us may be truly worthy, but because of those who have gone before us and because of your love for each other, we will carry each other to Paradise! So, to answer the question, no, the love of a dervish for his or her sheikh is not an example of worldly love.
Shaykh Muzaffer Ozak Effendi, Love Is The Wine
