From “Sketches of Turkey in 1831 and 1832″ By James Ellsworth De Kay, describing the five pillars to his Christian contemporaries of the 1800’s.

Alms. The Turkish proverb, ” All that you give you
will carry with you,” beautifully expresses their belief in
lhe importance and efficacy of alms. The giving of alms
is frequently impressed as one of the highest duties of the
believer ; and we are told that at one time the practice was
carried to such an extent as to produce a decree from the
ulemah that not more than a fifth should be given to the
poor. At present we are informed that it is upon an
average about two and a half per cent. In no country in
the world are beggars treated with more kindness and consideration
than in Turkey, or their wants more speedily
relieved. Poverty, in fact, appears to be a passport under
which a beggar will not only thrust himself into the
highest public offices, but even into the council chamber of
the divan, with the certainty of having his wants relieved.

From Charles White’s Travelogue, “Three Years in Constantinople, or Domestic Manners of the Turks in 1844″

As regards the Turks, it may be affirmed that there
exists no city in Europe where fewer beggars are to be
found than in Constantinople. In no country either is
charity more extensive or more constant. This virtue
forms one of the five fundamental articles of Moslem
faith, and is enforced with rigorous exactitude, not only by
canonical law, but by social regulations.* Charity is, in
fact, a matter of strict religious duty, and is regarded
by all classes as the surest means of securing good fortune
in this world, and of contributing to salvation in
the next.

Versus Today:

The child slaves of Saudi Arabia
On the wealthy streets of Jeddah, in Saudi Arabia, thousands of young child-beggars, under the auspices of ruthless gangmasters, are simply trying to survive

The curious reader perusing the last few articles regarding the Ottomans might easily take for granted the power of such positive statements by European travelers about the character of the Ottomans. The full force of these quotes are only truly brought into light when understanding the environment of sheer racism on the part of the general European establishment towards the Ottomans and their intense hatred for their political successes.

Works such as these are, unfortunately, also the ultimate source for much of the history available today within English regarding the Ottomans. Of course, these statements have been filtered in modern day history books, however the biased opinion on various events and inclination to a negative character remains.

Some of these comments echo what we hear from today’s neo-cons. Interestingly enough, the criticisms against the Ottomans are largely against their faith and their strong hold of it. Not only does this help eliminate the myth of irreligious leaders, these comments describe the foundation for the European movement away from the Ottomans and Islam by some Turkish parties influenced by the Western lifestyle. Eventually this party became known as the nationalist ‘Young Turks’ which led to the abolishment of the Caliphate.

A small collection of these comments from authoritative works and sources of ‘history’ are presented below.

As always I am interested in your thoughts and comments.

Such a religion, so inwrought in every political, social,
and moral relation of every Moslem believer, cannot
but have a powerful influence upon the character, and
capacity of a nation, composed of such believers, for
progress and advancement in civilization; and facts
justify the position of some of our ablest historians, that
any real civilization is impossible for the Turk, until he
abandons the Koran and the faith of Mahomet. Of
course, in’the light and knowledge which forces itself
upon nations surrounded by a higher civilization in this
nineteenth century, the continued existence of such a
nation is a struggle, which can have but one of two terminations ;
either it must abandon Islamism, or it must
go to the wall. Unhappily, while all that was vital in
the Mahometan faith has been gradually eaten out in
the larger cities, the empty shell remains, and is strong
enough to bring about their destruction as a nation. In
the country and the provinces, the old bigotry yet remains.
As long as the Turks entertained no doubt of the superiority
of their religion, they zealously practised its
tenets, and only revealed the natural deformities of a
system, which, while it enforces and exaggerates the
Value of certain specific social virtues, more than makes
up for it, by giving the reins to all the worst passions
inherent in human nature.
-The Conquest of Turkey, Or, The Decline and Fall of the Ottoman Empire, 1877 …
By Linus Pierpont Brockett, Porter (1878)

“But your Turk is a Mahometan, it seems, and therefore an
ally not fit for a Christian !—I do not know, sir, but an alliance
with a Mahometan may be as good as a peace with an atheist; /
the sanction of its engagements may, perhaps, be as sacred, and
its stipulations as likely to be fulfilled. ”
-Memoirs of the Life of the Right Honourable George Canning
By John Styles (pg 99) Published 1829

“We have heard much of the
reforms introduced into Turkey during the last twenty or
thirty years, and the progress she is making in civilization,
or in approximating the civilization of the West, and we are
willing to admit that some progress has been made at Constantinople
in rejecting the least objectionable portions of
Mahometanism, and in adopting the vices and frivolity of
our Western civilization. But we see in this nothing to
encourage us. Western civilization is at bottom a Christian
civilization, and can be adopted in its essential and
living principles by no nation that rejects, or does not adopt,
the Christian religion. No nation can adhere to the Koran
and enter into the civilized order of Europe or America.
Even if a Mussulman people were to reject the Koran,
without accepting the Bible, it could not enter that order.
Jt could adopt only what is anomalous in it, accidental
to it, or exists along with it, in spite of it; for what constitutes
its life, its soul, its vigor, is Christianity, and not an
abstract or disembodied Christianity, but the Church.”
– Brownson’s Quarterly Review
By Orestes Augustus Brownson (Published 1860)

The man who has risen from a low estate to a great
one by vile means,’ the man who has bought his
place by bribes, the slave who has risen by craft
and cringing, the wretch who has risen by that viler
path which Christian tongues are forbidden to speak
of, but which is the Turk’s surest path to power,
in such men as these the lowest and basest form of
human nature is reached. And such men as these
rule at pleasure over South-eastern Europe. Barbarians
at heart, false, cruel, foul, as any of the old
Turks, but without any of the higher qualities of the
old Turks, these men have picked up just enough of
the outward show of civilization to deceive those who
do not look below the surface. They meet the
Ministers of civilized powers on equal terms; they
wear European clothes; they talk an European
tongue, and are spoken of as ” Excellency” and ”
Highness.” The wretched beings called Sultans are
thrust aside as may be thought good at the moment;
but the relations between the Sultan and his subjects,
the relations with which at the treaty of Paris the
Christian powers bound themselves not to interfere,
go on everywhere in full force. There is no barbarian
so dangerous as the barbarian who is cunning enough
to pass himself off for a civilized man. pg 202-203

“The Ottoman Power in Europe: Its Nature, Its Power, Its Decline” : pub: 1877

And when, as a result of this soul searching you begin to read from books of Sufi knowledge, of the Prophet (S), of Abu Bakr (R) and Ali (R), of Rumi, of Attar, you only feel your longing more strongly and feel that you are even thirstier. Through all this reading you have tasted only a trickle, just enough to know how sweet a spring this is. By now you must realize that books are not the best vessel for wisdom of the heart, for the heart itself is the vessel, and the precious draught is passed from heart to heart. Where may such heart springs be found in a time that has turned verdant fields into desert wastes? Wandering through huge desert wastes, how many of us may just happen to stumble upon an oasis? First you may stumble upon one hundred mirages! But you must keep on, don’t turn back saying, “I have found only illusions.” No, no one said you have embarked on an easy journey, so you must be perseverant.

- Shaykh Maulana Nazim al-Hakkani

“Junaid Baghdadi earned his livelihood as a professional wrestler. As
was the norm, the Leader of Baghdad announced one day, “Today, Junaid
Baghdadi will demonstrate his skills as a wrestler, is there anyone to
challenge him.” An elderly man shakily stood up with his neck
quivering and said, “I will enter the contest with him.”

Whoever was witness to this scene could not contain themselves, they
burst out howling with laughter, clapping their hands. The King was
bound by the law. He could not stop someone who of his own free will
entered the bout. The elderly man was given the permission to enter
the ring. He was about sixty-five years old. When Junaid Baghdadi
entered the ring, he was dumbfounded as was the King and all the
spectators of the Kingdom who were present. The single thought that
occupied their minds was, “How will this old man be able to fight?”

The old man addressed Junaid with these words, “Lend me your ears.” He
then whispered, “I know it is not possible for me to win this bout
against you, but I am a Sayyid, a descendant of Prophet Muhammad
(peace be upon him). My children are starving at home. Are you
prepared to sacrifice your name, your honour and position for the love
of Allah’s Prophet and lose this bout to me? If you do this I will be
able to collect the prize money and thereby have the means to feed my
children and myself for an entire year. I will be able to settle all
my debts and above all, the master of both the worlds will be pleased
with you. Are you, Oh Junaid, not willing to sacrifice your honour for
the sake of the children of Rasulullah (peace be upon him)?”

Junaid Baghdadi thought to himself, “Today, I have an excellent
opportunity.”

In a display of fervour Junaid Baghdadi executed a couple of
maneuvers, demonstrating his finesse so that the King does not suspect
any conspiracy. Junaid with a great display of antics did not use his
strength and allowed himself to be dropped. The elderly man mounted
his chest thus entitling him to the prize.

That night, Junaid Baghdadi had a dream of Prophet Muhammad (peace be
upon him) who said, “Oh Junaid, you have sacrificed your honour, your
nationally acclaimed fame, your name and position which was heralded
throughout Baghdad in the expression of your love for my children who
were starving. As of today, your name is recorded in the register of
the Auliya (friends of Allah).”

Thereafter, this great wrestler learnt to defeat his nafs (desires)
and became one of the most eminent Auliya of his time!”

[source: via Yeni Osmanli, islamjan.com]

Taken from Sources of Indian Tradition - Vol 1 (ed: Ainslie T Emree)
–

Shaikh Hamadani, who is considered largely responsible for the conversion of Kashmir to Islam, wrote Zakhirat ul-Muluk (The Treasuries of Kings) in the second half of the fourteenth century. It contains a clear statement on the origin and necessity of rulers.

-

Know ye that among the great ones of the learned, those possessed of intelligence and wisdom, it is established and proved that, at the very moment of creation, by reason of the different qualities and admixture of ability that are bestowed by the bounty of God like a lustrous and bejeweled costume, the souls and natures of men have fallen out differently. Hence, the inclinations, motives, and purposes of men have become different and the difference is manifested in all their words, deeds, and fundamental articles of faith.

The qualities of beastliness and of base morals - tyranny and injustice, hatred and rancor and avarice are implanted in the dispositions of men. Then, in the perfect of His great wisdom, God has decreed that there be a just and competent ruler of mankind so that, by the power of judicial process, the affairs of the progeny of Adam and the rules for managing the affairs of mankind may be kept and preserved on the right path; also a ruler has been ordained by God so that he may endeavor, as far as possible, to put into operation the mandates of the Sharia and to be on guard to preserve the prescriptions of rules of Islam among the people of all classes and, with the prohibitions of punishment and the curb of command, to prevent tyranny over and oppression of the weak by the strong. Thus the physical world may be assured of stability, the bound of the Sharia not invaded by the disorder of oppression and innovation, and the characteristics of brute beasts and camels may not be manifested among people of classes.

Sohbet given by Sheykh Abdul Kerim al-Hakkani al-Kibrisi

Friday 19 Rajab, 1428
August 3, 2007
Osmanli Naks-i’bendi Hakkani Dergahi, Siddiki Center, New York.

[After the Juma prayer someone asked Sheykh Abdul Kerim Efendi:
"Sheykh, please pray for the Ummat."]

Sheykh Efendi: Auzu billahi min ash-sheytanir rajim.
BismillahirRahmanirRahim. Medet Ya Seyyidi Sultanul Awliya, Medet.

There are hadiths for Ahir Zaman, for this time. Holy Prophet (sws) is
saying, “You have to know what you are asking and for whom you are
asking, on whose behalf you are asking.” Today’s Muslims, mashaAllah.
No prayer will help them unless they help themselves. Today’s Muslims
left the main safe road and they entered into the jungle road. And
warning is coming day and night but they are still going in the jungle
world. No prayer can reach. Prayer is only going to reach when they
are making a sincere intention to understand what the mistake they did
and turn back. That is the only time the forgiveness is given to this
nation.

Holy Prophet (sws) is saying, “When you reach to those times in Ahir
Zaman, there is going to be curse coming everywhere”, and the signs of
curse we are seeing now. It is not a blessing of course when the
planes are running over countries and dropping bombs, huh? It’s a
curse. Or everywhere when something is blowing up. You can say
whatever you want. It’s happening there. Why is it happening? What is
the reason and purpose, we have to know. Are we living on the road
that the Holy Prophet (sws) left to us or have we deviated from that
road? We have deviated from the road. The first thing, for the help to
reach to us, we have to turn back to that road again. It is easy for
Allah but it is not easy for us. Allah is looking at our sincerity.
Allah is looking at us and saying to us, “When you turn yourself to
me, your way back to me sincerely, I make the long distances very
short. I can turn all this upside down again the other way.”

NO REVENGE IN ISLAM AND NO JIHAD WITHOUT KHALIFAH

So now the Muslim nations first have to know, “What is our mistake?
Where have we fallen?” The problem is that the Muslim nations and the
Muslim Ummat are not looking to understand to say, “Where have we
fallen?” They are only running to get revenge, nothing else. And that
is not accepted in Islam. The Sahaba-e Kiram fought, they pulled the
sword and they fought for the sake of Allah. They didn’t fight to get
revenge. They fought because they were tyrannizing them and they were
not even letting them to continue with that Shahadat. And order came
to them to fight only then. When power reached to the hands of the
Muslims and the Muslims came back to Mekkah with a big army, what did
the Prophet (sws) do? He took revenge from them? Or did he forgive
every one of them?

This is what happened to us. Today’s Muslims, today’s Ummat that we
are talking about, the ones who are taking the gun and fighting
saying, “We are making Jihad”, their mind is not with them. That mind
is not controlling them. They lost their mind. Without a Khalifah you
cannot declare Jihad. Where in Islam are you finding that Jihad is
being declared without a Khalifah? Who are you to declare Jihad? You
are just another individual. Are you heavenly supported? No. Because
you are not heavenly supported, you are under the tyranny of tyrants.
They are also the servants of Allah subahana wa ta’ala. There are good
servants and there are bad servants. It doesn’t matter. Sheytan is a
servant of Allah also. We cannot say in our prayers, “Remove this
Sheytan from this world.” Can we make that prayer? No. He put the
Sheytan. So Sheytan is coming and whispering. Sheytan is not
committing the wrongdoing, the man is the one who is doing it. Sheytan
is doing his duty. Sheytan’s job is to come and whisper wrong things
to man and if man follows that wrong thing, he will become the tool of
Sheytan. And if he does the wrong thing, it is not Sheytan but the man
is doing it. If the man is doing right and he is following the order
of his Lord and his Prophet (sws), he becomes a tool of the Lord Allah
subhana wa ta’ala and Allah does good through his hands.

So there are two kinds of people now. Now leave Ummat. Now, especially
now because Holy Prophet (sws) is saying, “Ahir Zaman is completely
going to be different. You are going to have nations that will declare
that they have faith but when you search them you are not going to
find a drop of faith in them.” And there are going to be nations who
are going to be called unbelievers, kafirs, but so many of them are
going to be faithful ones. This is it now.

So now if a person comes to you as an individual asking for prayers,
for that one’s behalf you may ask saying, “Ya Rabbi, You are the one
who sent this person to me to ask on his behalf.”

[The questioner says: "I am asking your prayer for myself."]

Sheykh Efendi: Ah, for yourself. That we pray. For the Ummat we pray
differently. We pray differently for this Ummat to turn back, to ask
forgiveness and to say, “Ya Rabbi, we did wrong. Now we realize it. We
are turning back to Your door.” Then as Ali (ra) is saying in his
prayer, “If You close your door to me, I have no place to go but come
back to You again because there is no other door.” He said, “I am not
a perfect one.” He was a perfect one, he was a Murshid, he was
perfect. But he said, “I am not a perfect one but I am not the worst
one also from the ones that are doing the wrong things. I am not the
worst one among them. I am a weak servant, I have my weaknesses and I
am asking for Your forgiveness.” Any person today in this world
sincerely taking this prayer, sincerely believing on it and asking,
instantly the message is coming back to them saying, “I accept your
prayer.”

HOW DID THE UMMAT SEPARATE INTO NATIONS?

Muslims don’t do prayer. Muslims don’t do worship anymore. They don’t
pray. Pray means they don’t make Salat. But Salat is a worship that
you are doing. Asking prayers, asking du’a on your behalf and for the
nations, Muslims don’t do that anymore. They know how to scream and
cry going to doctors, going here, going there and I say, “How many
times a day do you sit somewhere, you open your hand and you ask your
Lord saying, “I am a weak servant. You are giving this to me but I
cannot carry it. Please help me.” How many minutes a day the Muslims
are doing this? If they do it sincerely then we are going to see that
the help is going to reach because Allah is nearer to you than your
own self. But man is not asking today. They only know how to ask from
doctors. The doctor needs a doctor. The doctor needs another doctor.

So we have fallen because our faith has fallen. So we have to turn
back to that faith again, to strong faith. We have to make our faith
to grow first. And the only way to do that is, we have to take the
examples of our role-models the Sahaba-e Kiram. We have to look at
them, we have to see how they lived, what was their behavior and how
did they act in every situation. Then we may turn back to our own origin.

Once upon a time, it’s not centuries ago, it’s not even a century ago.
Up till 1923, hmm? The Muslim nations, the Muslim Ummat was under one
ruling. Now how many rulings? How many nations of Muslims? We say,
“Muslim Ummat.” How many nations this Ummat became? Who put them in
separation like that? Who made that separation? Islam or the Christian
world? They say, “We are following the footsteps of the Christian
world.” Then we turn around and instead of running to the masjids of
Allah to ask forgiveness, we run in front of the United Nations or the
embassies saying, “Help us! Our rights are taken away!” Or going to
Europe, to European countries complaining saying, “We want our
rights!” Your rights? You are running to a wolf saying, “We want our
rights”? (Sheykh Efendi smiles). They are prepared to finish these
nations. That’s what their aim is. You are running to ask help from
them? How heedless these Muslims are becoming. They became real
heedless because they left the way, the traditions of the prophets.

NO GENERAL PRAYER ON BEHALF OF NATIONS

Holy Prophet (sws) is saying, “When those nations leave the ways of
the prophets and they leave according to their ego again, don’t ask
general prayer for their behalf. Ask for yourself and for those who
are running to become obedient to their Lord. Ask for their behalf.
Otherwise, you will be responsible for interfering in the work of
Allah then.” These are dangerous times. When we check all traditions
and Islam, we are seeing that we are coming almost to the end. Still
these nations are sleeping. They are finding some heedless ways and
running. Supermarkets and markets are full, keeping people busy that
way. That’s not the way that the Muslims should do. Muslims are under
this curse because they left their faith. Islam is a lifestyle. Islam
is not only a couple of words. Islam teaches man how to live, how to
eat, how to sleep, how to work, where to work, when to work, where is
woman’s right, where is mAn’s right, where is children’s right, where
is adult’s right, where is olderly’s right, Islam is teaching all this
to us. We lost all this and because we lost, warnings are coming back
and forth to us. We are still not waking up. We are picking up this
wrong lifestyle and continuing to go on that lifestyle. We say,
“Enough! It’s enough! Are you waiting until you are going to fall down
from the cliff? Stop! At least stop on that road. Sit and think a
little bit. When you sit and think you are going to come back to your
own senses saying, `Oh, I am doing wrong.”

WE HAVE SEPARATED AND WE HAVE FALLEN

So when the Muslims and Muslims nations sit and think what they are
doing wrong, they are going to see and they are going to understand,
“Where have we fallen?” That we have to understand first. Now we are
weak. One and a half billions Muslims are weak. But they have
everything. They have all the money in the world and they can get
anything they want too. But they are weak again because we have been
separated. (Sheykh Efendi holds up the palm of his right hand with his
fingers spread out). It is easy to break this finger now. When you are
separated into small nations then it’s easy. They are attacking one,
they are finishing that one. They are attacking the other one and they
are finishing that one, slowly. When they come together, it becomes
strong. (Sheykh Efendi puts his fingers together into a fist). A fist
is not that easy to bring down.

Muslims left Islam. The name of Islam (only remains). Holy Prophet
(sws) is saying, “In Ahir Zaman, their masjids are going to be very
beautifully designed but you are not going to find believers among
them inside the masjids.” The name of Islam is going to stay (only).
People they are going to recite the Quran but the Quran that they are
reciting is not going to enter into their hearts. The masjids that are
going to be so beautiful are going to be empty.” Is that the time we
are in? Tell me. Tell me. Of course we are. Go everywhere and look.
They are building, they are running saying, “Help the masjid brother,
help the masjid.” At every Juma, “Help the masjid. Money, money,
money, help the masjid.” They are building masjids. What are you using
the masjids for? Not even a social gathering anymore. At least if it
was a social gathering and some activities happened, people would at
least be praying there too. They say, “No, you cannot do this, you
cannot do that.” No social gathering too and so the masjids turned
into empty places. No life inside. In the masjids there aren’t any
people with authority to speak to people because people are now
saying, “You cannot tell me this. I paid this much money for the
masjid.” (Sheykh Efendi smiles).

So everyone is thinking. It became like Christian ways now. Christians
go to churches once every Sunday now. Other than that it’s empty.
Muslims, eh, so many are not even going to Juma now. No Juma. Allah is
saying, “This is a holy day for you. The holiest day! Leave
everything. It will become haram to you.” They say, “I am busy. I am
working.” So now I don’t think that at that time we can pray. We can
pray for the Savior, for those who are going to change the way, to
come quickly inshaAllah. Otherwise, the way that it is going, the
patent that the Western countries put into our countries, the way that
they are doing it in Pakistan now, twenty years from now, the way that
it’s going, you will be finding Pakistan like another European
country. Shutting down so many places, this is what Musharraf is doing
too, running and shutting down the Quran recitations and everything
because Western countries are ordering, western countries are saying,
“Don’t teach them Quran now. No need for them to learn.” So they are
going and they are burning the masjids, those squarehead Imams are
fighting with the government, the masjids are burned, people are
burned and everything is burned. This is not Islam. Who are you
fighting for? (Sheykh Efendi smiles).

WE HAVE LOST THE GUIDES, NOT THE QURAN

So, all this happened because we left, not the Quran, they claim that
they have the Quran but they don’t have a guide to show them the
Quran. People they lost the guide and they think that they are going
to find ways. It’s impossible. Allah is giving us to understand saying
to us, “Read and understand.” But reading and understanding is not for
everybody. There are fifty people here for instance. If you read
something, from that fifty people maybe three of them are going to put
it together to summarize. The rest are going to forget the beginning,
middle and they cannot put it together. So reading is something else,
reading and understanding is something else, reading, understanding
and living according to that understanding is something else. So Allah
subhana wa ta’ala is putting guides to us saying, “Those ones read,
they understand and they live according to that, they apply it to
their lives. So they turn around and they bring it down for you, for
you to easily understand.

Opening the Quran is the Surah Fatiha. You make the opening. Right
after the opening, “BismillahirRahmanirRahim. Alif, Lam, Mim.” How
many Muslims are sitting to think, “As soon as we are opening, Allah
locked us with these alphabets. Why is He putting these alphabets to
us? What is the meaning of these alphabets now?” They are not
considering that and they are diving inside thinking they are going to
take something. You are going to take something according to your ego,
according to your ego means according to your level of understanding.
Your level of understanding! You cannot give explanation of the Quran
according to your level of understanding. Quran is speaking the past,
the present and the future. Now what is for you there you may take it
to yourself. But there are so many ayats there that are not applying
to you. It’s applying to these nations, it’s applying to these leaders
and it’s applying to these people that are saying they are the nation,
the Ummat. So then when you take that according to your understanding
and you have power in your hand, like some figures in Islam, they have
money-power and they have gun-power in their hand, they read the Quran
and they say, “Oh, this is the meaning.” That is your meaning, for
you. You cannot take that meaning and apply to whole nations to say,
“Follow me, we are making Jihad.” Huh? This is what happened today.

DON’T ASK PRAYERS FOR THE TYRANTS

Now Holy Prophet (sws) is saying, “If the Nation, Muslims nations,
this Ummat, stays without a Khalifah for three days, Islam is no
longer ruling.” These nations are without a Khalifah for almost a
century now. And never mind about them even to think, “How we can fix
this?” They are standing in front of it. They are standing and saying,
“What you are doing doesn’t fit to Western ideas. We must get rid of
it.” And this is what’s happening in Muslim nations. And if we pray
for the Ummat then we will be praying for all wrongdoers too. Then we
will be sharing their wrongdoings too. We are asking safety from that.
Ask for yourself and for your family members. If they are tyrants then
don’t ask. Check it out. If they are tyrants then don’t ask because if
you are asking safety on behalf of a tyrant then the fire of that
tyrant is going to reach to you too. And tyrants come in so many
different categories.

InshaAllah this Nation will wake up before it’s too late. But we are
reaching to those last days that the Holy Prophet (sws) promised us
and we have very heavy, loaded, painful and difficult days waiting in
front of us. We did not finish it yet, we are just entering into that
era, the time of Dajjal, when the confusion is everywhere. Nobody is
listening to anybody anymore. Everyone is very happy with their mind,
with what they know only, but with what they know they cannot even
move from here to short places. Kids know, adults know, men know,
males know, females know, everyone is knowing. If you say something
saying, “This is from the Prophet (sws)”, they say, “It doesn’t fit
for this time.” (Sheykh Efendi laughs). It doesn’t fit?

Wa min Allahu tawfiq

Bihurmatil Habib

Bihurmatil Fatiha.

From washingtonpost.com:

Peter Houghton is grateful for his artificial heart. After all, it has saved his life.

He’s just a little wistful about emotions.

He wishes he could feel them like he used to.

Houghton is the first permanent lifetime recipient of a Jarvik 2000 left ventricular assist device. Seven years ago, it took over for the heart he was born with. Since then, it has unquestionably improved his physical well-being. He has walked long distances, traveled internationally and kept a daunting work schedule.

At the same time, he reports, he’s become more “coldhearted” — “less sympathetic in some ways.” He just doesn’t feel like he can connect with those close to him. He wishes he could bond with his twin grandsons, for example. “They’re 8, and I don’t want to be bothered to have a reasonable relationship with them and I don’t know why,” he says.

He can only feel enough to regret that he doesn’t feel enough.

Could the poets have been right all these millennia? Could emotions be matters of the heart?