O dear Lord, you’re the Padishah,
You’re worthy of it!
Every padishah takes refuge in you.
You humiliate the one you don’t like
and exalt the one you love.
Shahdom suits you.
You know each of your slave’s secrets.
If I’m a rebel, please don’t withhold your mercy, give us plenty.
No one can claim their innocence.
You’re the just and I live in your just land.
I’m the only passenger on a sorrowful road that leads to you.
Sometimes tears turn my face red
Because of the shame of my sins.
I’m like dawn full of stars,
The smoke of my burning heart veils my eyes.
This black face of mine is like the black ink of my letters.
My hope lies with no one but you
Forgive me, forgive your Selim!
These videos demonstrate that Seyh Abdul Kerim is Khalifa of Sheykh Maulana Nazim in America.
It also answers, very clearly, later on in the video why Sheykh Abdul Kerim goes to different masjids in Lefke (it is upon the request of Seyh Maulana).
Untitled from Haqqani OSMANLI on Vimeo.
SAHHIBULZAMAN and SEYH of MEHDI (a.s.) SEYH MOHAMMED NAZIM KIRBISI from Yusuf Dikici on Vimeo.
The Prophet (S) predicted a period of successorship, then a trying kingship, and a tyrannical kingship, and then a successorship based on the pattern of Prophethood (in that order).
Islam experienced these ruling systems as:
The Khalipha Rashidun
The Umayyads,
The Abbassids,
The Ottomans – The return of the successors
Hadith:
There shall be Prophethood (nubuwwa) among you for as long as Allah wishes it to be among you. Then it shall be lifted up when Allah wishes to lift it up. Then there shall be successorship (khilâfa) on the pattern (minhâj) of Prophetship for as long as Allah wishes it to be. Then it shall be lifted up when Allah wishes to lift it up. Then there shall be a trying kingship (mulkan `âddan) for as long as Allah wishes it to be. Then it shall be lifted up when Allah wishes to lift it up. Then there shall be a tyrannical kingship (mulkan jabriyyatan) for as long as Allah wishes it to be. Then it shall be lifted up when Allah wishes to lift it up. Then there shall be successorship on the pattern of Prophetship.
Narrated from Hudhayfa by Ahmad with a sound chain as stated by al-Zayn in the Musnad (14:163 #18319) and as indicated by al-Haythami (5:188-189):
” Narrated by Ahmad, al-Bazzar with a more complete wording, and al-Tabarani partly, in al-Awsat. The narrators in its chain are trustworthy. Also narrated from Abu `Ubayda by al-Tabarani in al-Kabir (1:157) with the wording
” Then there shall be kingship and tyranny after the mention of successorship.
-from livingislam.org
Johann Ludwig Burckhardt fooled Muslims across the lands in his knowledge of the Arabic language and Islamic sciences. He assumed the identity of “Shaikh Ibrahim ibn Abdullah” and traveled across Middle East, even entering Makkah and Medina and performing Hajj, reporting all the details back to his European employer. It was in 1809 that he went to Aleppo Syria to study Arabic and learned Shariah.
During all of this he continued to send reports of his travels to England, to be published by the “African Association”.
By the following spring, in fact, he was able to report to the African Association that “I am now so far advanced in the knowledge of Arabic that I understand almost everything that is said in common conversation and am able to make myself understood on most subjects …” (ref: Saudi Aramco World, Volume 18, Number 5 )
This progress in Arabic and Islamic Law went to higher and higher levels:
Burckhard prompted steeped himself in Arab life and became so proficient in Arabic and the Koran that Islamic scholars proclaimed him an authority on Islamic Law. In 1812 he turned up in Cairo, having adopted the name Sheykh Ibrahim ibn Abdullah (ref: The Rape of the Nile. Fagan, B. pub 2004)
One of his works was about the Wahabis, entitled “Notes on the Beoudins and Wahabys”. What he really thought of Islam was exposed pretty clearly in the following passage. Reading this passage also emphasises the fact that the Wahabis were essentially an anti-Ottoman religious movement.
“The founder of this sect is already known : a learned Arabian named Abd el Wahab, who had visited various schools of the principal cities in the East (as is much the practice with his countrymen even now), being convinced by what he had observed during his travels, that the primitive faith of Islam or Mohammedism, had become totally corrupted, and obscured by abuses, and that the far greater part of the people of the East, and especially the Turks might justly be regarded as heretics. But new doctrine and opinions are as little acceptable in the East as they are in the West ; and no attention was paid to Abd el Wahab until, after long wanderings in Arabia, he retied with his family to Derayeh at the period when Mohammed Ibn Saoud was the principal person of the town..”
He mentioned other betraying munafiqs in his dealings. It is sometimes hard to imagine to what extent outright hypocrisy exists and was proven to exist within the Muslim community. Numerous ayats of the Quran address the aspect of hypocrisy at various levels.
Another famous hypocrite was “Ali Bey el Abbasi”, who Burckhardt speaks about:
“He (the Pasha) entertained a notion, suggested to him by some of his Frank counselors at Cairo, that, in some future account of my travels, I might perhaps boast of having imposed upon him, like Ali Bey el Abbasi, whose work had just been received at Cairo, and who declares that he deceived not only the Pasha, but all the ‘olemas‘ or learned men, of Cairo.
Interestingly enough, his travels and experience gave Burckhardt the context to see what was coming up ahead in history due to the Wahabis and Arab rebellions:
Whenever the power of the Turks in the Hedjaz declines, which it will when the resources of Egypt are no longer directed to that point by so able and so undisturbed a possessor of Egypt as Mohammad Ali, the Arabs will avenge themselves for the submission, light as it is, which they now reluctantly yield to their conquerors; and the reign of the Osmanlis in the Hedjaz will probably terminate in many a scene of bloodshed.
And blood was indeed shed, not just between Turks and Arabs, but Wahabi Arabs slaughtered hundreds of Sunni Arabs in the city of Taif.
Burckhardt’s agenda in this travels was not to change or reform Islam. He knew the futility of reform movements trying to grow under the authority of the Osmanli Khalipha, he was witnessing the Wahabi movement already. Rather, he used his Islam to provide a sympathetic cover identity to allow him to conduct exotic expeditions in areas Europeans previously had never entered.
However, while these people fooled the ‘ulema’, they didn’t fool everyone. One of his simple guides through these lands eventually exclaimed:
“I see now clearly that you are an infidel, who have some particular business amongst the ruins of the city of your forefathers; but depend upon it that we shall not suffer you to take out a single para of all the treasures hidden therein, for they are in our territory, and belong to us,” according to Burckhardt.
Final Thoughts
The basis of Islamic ‘knowledge’ and ‘scholarship’ falls apart when it can exist at the highest levels without sincerity. Sitting in association of people who are learning or teaching ‘knowledge’ who have not one ounce of faith in their heart demonstrates an inherent deficiency in the ‘knowledge’ they are discussing, learning, writing, and memorizing in the first place.
Real knowledge is that which has a fundamental prerequisite of faith and builds faith in the tradition of the Holy Prophet (S). The inheritors of the Prophet (S) are not those who know a worldly science, there are those who know the meaning and power of transmitting faith.
People are ambitious in life, they seek to be the biggest and best at whatever it is they do. The goal of most peoples lives boils down to making the most money, earning the most fame, or otherwise being the best at whatever it is they do. Seems somewhat reasonable to live life in this manner, doesn’t it? It certainly provides for a comfortable lifestyle, if successful.
This type of lifestyle is in contrast to those who are perfectly happy in positions that provide for their basic necessities. These are the ones who deliberately don’t want to be exceptional at what they do, because they feel it introduces them to greater problems of politics and insecurity.
So there they are: the ambitious and the unambitious.
Of course there are consequences to both approaches, the people ambitious for the world are often deeply unhappy, finding little satisfaction in anything they do. Any level they achieve is a step down in some aspect of their personal life. Often the unambitious are content and live very fulfilling lives, however they may worry occasionally about their basic needs.
There is also a flip-side, an ‘alternative universe’, of ambition.
In this parallel understanding there is different target and goal for the ambitious, and another way to be unconcerned for the unambitious. When examining the results of pursuing and running away from this form of ambition, we find that it has almost opposite consequences to what we might normally think. The more ambitious ones are the ones finding peace, the less ambitious ones are the ones finding concerns. This is the realm of spirituality.
For modern day people of faith, this may be a perplexing idea. Ambition? Spirituality?
Ambition inherently involves ranks and gain. And modern day spirituality has been the great ‘equalizer’, everyone has become the same. For Muslim literalists, this is even more true. They refuse to accept spiritual training in a manner which inherently depends on recognizing the spiritual superiority of ones teacher. For them, the questions become asinine repetitions of “How do you know that teacher is not going to hell fire? No one knows!”
Didn’t Allah order us to be with the Saliheen? Is that not in itself a recognition of levels better than us? If our hearts are closed enough not to recognize the Saliheen when we sit with them, or constantly question whether they are going to hellfire or not, then certainly progress is impossible. We haven’t even applied for the school, so how do we plan to attend the class, much less get an A?
Being spiritually ambitious is about getting that A (or an A+, if we can manage)!
At the same time, in an interesting twist, the goal for getting that high grade of character involves humbling oneself to the point of servitude. The highest title the spiritual aspirant hopes to achieve is, in fact, “Servant of Allah”. Abdullah. The highest rank for the spiritually ambitious is to lose oneself in servanthood.
And ranks and levels have been a part of creation forever , whether it be ranking of angels or mankind. There are so many practical examples of the levels of spirituality. For example, when presented with the opportunity to give wealth for the sake of their Lord, it was Abu Bakr as-Siddiq (R) who gave all of his wealth away, this story is recounted by Umar (R):
From Abu Daud: Umar ibn Al-Khattab said: The Prophet (sas) ordered us to give sadaqa. It happened to coincide with some wealth I had just acquired and I said to myself: If I will ever surpass Abu Bakr, this is the day I will surpass him. And so I came to the Prophet (sas) with half of my wealth and he (sas) said to me: “What have you left for your family?” I said: The same amount. Then Abu Bakr came with all of his wealth. The Prophet (sas) said to him: “What have you left for your family?” He said: I have left them Allah and His Messenger.” I said: I will never surpass you in anything.”
So, indeed, the Sahabi were knowing the rank of each other in spiritual endeavors.
Yet, this should not be mistaken for a competition for a crude worldly recognition. In fact, in this flip-side world of the ambition of the spiritually elite, the goal is less recognition! The less you want to be known, the more Allah may cause you to be known. The less highly you think of yourself, the higher Allah makes you.
Again, the case of Abu Bakr (R) and how he was given the authority as the Khaliph of Islam, yet witness the humility of Abu Bakr as-Siddiq (R):
“I have been given the authority over you, and I am not the best of you. If I do well, help me; and if I do wrong, set me right. Sincere regard for truth is loyalty and disregard for truth is treachery. The weak amongst you shall be strong with me until I have secured his rights, if God will; and the strong amongst you shall be weak with me until I have wrested from him the rights of others, if God will. Obey me so long as I obey God and His Messenger (Muhammad, pbuh). But if I disobey God and His Messenger, ye owe me no obedience. Arise for your prayer, God have mercy upon you.”
These are not mere words to be read and passed by, they are witness to the spiritual struggle that Abu Bakr as-Siddiq (R) underwent. From the very first line Abu Bakr (R) is acknowledging the authority has been given to him. This is specifically contrary to how modern day people like to believe, we like to think we ‘earn’ things.
If we look further, we find the next gem: “I am not the best of you”.
This is not the pretentious and pretending humility that fills our world today, rather this is the reflection of the true belief that he was indeed lower than others. With that acknowledgment, we see that Allah opened the door for complete authority of all Muslims to him. But not only did Abu Bakr as-Siddiq (R) not desire this position and not seek it, he also didn’t even desire the salary from it, and continued for some time his clothing trade while ruling the Muslim empire until he was forced to stop by the people.
How can we achieve levels such as this? Achieving clarity of purpose and a state of mind which produced such character is purely an imaginary fantasy for us when being raised in a society filled with such deviancy. Can we hope to do so in the same exact manner as the Sahabi? I am quite certain there are acts, positions and parts of the human body, violences that they have never imagined much less witnessed, that you have both imagined and witnessed. Is that not a scar on your soul? Do you feel it?
In a world where even writing this article seems doomed to spiritual failure, not only due to the faults of the author, but due to the spiritual bankruptcy of the very language we communicate with, how are we hoping to make it ‘on our own’?
Without being spiritually ambitious how can we hope to escape from this? Certainly realizing our weakness is one of the first steps. Then comes understanding that in these days we must follow a path which has been adapted to take us from this disastrous situation to one of progress.
It is the spiritually ambitious who make the struggle against the ego, the greater struggle, one of the highest priority in their lives in order to progress. Removing that drive for worldly gains and turning it into one of spiritual gains is a reality which leads them to the path of spiritual training, now called ‘sufism’. In this way, certainly, we might be expected to be doing real things which others would deem ‘extreme’ for Allah’s sake (just as Abu Bakr as-Siddiq (R) did with his wealth, just as Ibrahim (AS) did with his son), since without struggle and sacrifice, progress is an illusion.
But arbitrary self sacrifice (as perceived by us) is no guarantee to progress. Rather this first involves enrolling in a ‘school’ which seeks to train you in this specific regard. Let it be known that not all of these schools are equal either, there are kindergarten levels, high schools, and colleges. The Naksibendi order of Sufism traces its lineage back to Abu Bakr as-Siddiq (R), and in this same manner the Tarikat aims to bring its initiates to the highest levels of spirituality and character following Abu Bakr as-Siddiq’s (R) example.
Yes, at a fundamental level all of this involves following the Sunnah of the Prophet (S) which any person believes they can read up on and understand. But there is something more to Abu Bakr’s (R) approach, something which all of the other Sahabi recognized. This somewhat amorphous quality of spiritual insight is what the spiritually ambitious are after.
Of course, there are also those who are content to ‘pass’, to do the basics and move on when it comes to spirituality. Alhamdulillah, the Prophet (S) met many who questioned him to know exactly that. What is the bare minimum in order to pass this examination of life? He delivered the instructions that we all know. However, we know our states and how much we waver. When we are at the pass fail mark its much easier to fall into the negative.
So, just like there were those who are content to simply pass, there are those of us who seek a bit more, and the benefits of living a lifestyle such as that bring a serenity and peace and success in both lives.
So, in our own weak way, we are trying to be a little spiritually ambitious. Of course, we hope to do so without building even an ounce of pride, for that in itself would be contrary to our ambition!
From sohbet of Sheykh Maulana:
“Look, a king may have thousands of subjects in his employ. Each of the king’s servants has a distinct rank and a distinct duty to perform. The King will be pleased with the servant who performs the duty that has been assigned him well, as pleased with the common infantryman as with a Field Marshall. That Field Marshall has an awesome responsibility towards his king, and he will have attained that rank, presumably, because he is qualified for it, and will be expected to live up to his immense responsibilities. But the foot soldier is not expected to perform the duties of a Field Marshall; his duties are simpler, but they are also important, and doing them will earn the good pleasure of the king.
And so, Allah Almighty has called all mankind to His service, everyone according to his rank. According to her circumstance that elderly woman was given a light load, and if she carried it well, she will be rewarded. If you are carrying more than that you must persevere in carrying your appointed burden and not throw it off halfway towards your goal — then you may attain your Lord’s pleasure.
And you should know also that a Field Marshall should not be proud because of his position, glorying in the edge that he has over those who have been assigned lower ranks. He must be thankful to his king who has honored him with such responsibilities, and must strive to fulfill that trust. It is not seemly for him to boast and gloat, saying ‘I am a Field Marshall.’”
yursil on 
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