7 May: Commemoration of the 10th Urs of Mawlana Shaykh Nazim 2014-2024
“Allah created ego [nefs] and asked him to come to His presence; but ego went back. When Allah asked him to go back, he came nearer. Whatever Allah ordered, ego did the opposite. Allah asked him, ‘Who am I and who are you?’, ordering him to declare that he is servant to Him. But ego said ‘I am myself, you are yourself!’ Allah ordered to put ego into the prison of Hell’s fires for 1000 years. After 1000 years, He called him back and asked the same question. Ego gave the same reply. Thereupon, Allah ordered to put ego into the prison [of cold hells] for 1000 years. After 1000 years, He called ego again and asked the same question; ego again gave the same reply; ‘I am myself, you are yourself’, and not said ‘I am your servant’. Then Allah sentenced ego to hunger for 1000 years. When it was complete, Allah called him again and asked ‘who am I and who are you?’ Trembling, ego said, ‘I am your big servant; you are my Lord’ [meaning, ‘though being a servant to You, I am at least still superior to all Your other servants’]”
~ Mawlana Shaykh Nazim Adil Al-Haqqani
(8 March 1992 — the Peckham Mosque).
“Our donkey is our ego.” – Mawlana Shaykh Nazim
The Prophet (s), Habeebullah, what was he saying?
Allahumma laa takilnee ila nafsee tarfata `aynin
O Allah, don’t leave me to my ego for the blink of an eye.
Therefore, we are asking for heavenly support against our egos. Our ego is attacking us and asking to take the reins to make us its donkey, to do as it likes. I am using “it” because to say “that” would give it an honor. “It” is for animals and you may use “it” for that which doesn’t have any soul or living things on it. Always put Shaytan down. Put it down. Don’t give Shaytan any honor. Don’t use any honorable word for Shaytan. That is important!
I am saying A`oodhu billahi min ash-Shaytaani‘r-rajeem. O our Lord! We are asking humbly for protection against Shaytan and its followers. That is important. Dastoor yaa Sayyidee, yaa Sultaanu ‘l-Awliyaa. We are saying, O our Master, O Qutbu ‘z-Zamaan, O Qutbu ‘l-Mutassarif who has been granted from heavenly stations to look after this world and everything that is happening on it. Don’t think that this world is just left as it likes to be through space. Everything is under control very carefully, daqeeq, control must be on everything. Nothing can be in existence without its Creator knowing about it. How can it be? He creates and He knows a dharrah, an atom can’t know about itself.
You mankind, do you know about yourself? Are you able to know about yourself? Who knows? People are trying to know something around themselves but not themselves! Our eyes may look around us only but cannot look into our inner beings. If I ask you, “Where is your liver?” Many people don’t know. If we ask, “Where is your heart?” “I do not know.” Man is ignorant, fully ignorant about himself.
We are saying A`oodhu billahi min ash-Shaytaani‘r-rajeem because Shaytan is always trying to confuse people and not letting you know. It has been said that a person has 360 organs, small and big, and yet you do not know about yourself! How come you are asking to know around yourself? Don’t say that it is knowledge to look into space saying, “That is polestar, that is the sun, that is the moon, that is seven sisters, that is alpha systems.” It is nothing, it gives you nothing.
It is not real knowledge around you that you are looking at. How many of you understand yourself? How are your organs working? You are eating and enjoying it. You are drinking and enjoying but where is it going inside? What is its significance? You don’t know. You are only drinking and eating. And you man have been granted such an honor and your honor is to know! No other creature on this planet knows about themselves because they don’t have a mind or they can’t think. And their levels are animals’ levels but your level is over the level of angels!
«We ask to be no-one and nothing,
For, as long as we are someone,
we are not complete.»
