Last week we started the Al-Nasr surah, one of the chapters which brings announcements to the Prophet (PBUH). It is one of the surah which informed the Prophet (PBUH) about the liberation of several crucial territories, this in a sense of the social aspect in Medina. Simultaneously this announcement came to him to notify him of the importance of his arrival and what will happen in those territories after his death in the world. There is one hadeeth of the Prophet (PBUH) that says “I have been sent as an outsider, a foreigner, as a single person”, it is true that when the Prophet (PBUH) arrived in the society of Mecca, he was found alone, as a single person who believed in Allah Almighty in a polytheistic society, and alone in calling and inviting people to believe in Allah Almighty. When we say this without deepening in an analytical analysis, then we don’t see much in it, but if we take a better look at this situation (being in a situation with ideologically plotted opponents) we realize that it was not so easy. This is the position in which the Prophet (PBUH) was found in the day he began the call to Islam. From the first moment of his arrival, Allah Almighty says: “O Messenger, announce that which has been revealed to you from your Lord, and if you do not, then you have not conveyed His message. And Allah will protect you from the people. Indeed, Allah does not guide the disbelieving people” (Al-Ma’dah, 67). Allah’s Aid has been consistently attached to the Prophet (PBUH); not only with our Prophet Mohammed, but also with all other Prophets and with everyone else who have left traces within history. Their birth, their presence on this stage of life, the successes that they have had within the horizontal dimension of life, has been directly related to their vertical dimension. When I say everyone else, then I also refer to the great philosophers, even the great statesmen / emperors. For example, have you ever wondered how a 12-year-old child like Fatih could possibly come to the throne and when he was only 18-19 years he liberated Istanbul / Constantinople (could someone today for example try to conquer Europe?) these are some states that cannot be explained solely from the horizontal historical viewpoint, so that’s why when Sufis lived and made history, they do not only create horizontal history (analyzing only the events that were visible to the naked eye) but they were also in the making of vertical history, in which apart from horizontal alignment there is also a close relationship with Allah Almighty. The Surah begins with “Idha”; which is an adverb that expresses time: idah / when ” When the victory of Allah has come and the conquest”. The verb is used in the past time, while the past tense in Arabic has meaning of reinforcement. It is not about a help that has come, it is a help that will come, but when we are speaking in relation to God then there is a permanent present time that even what has not come into reality has already come. For that purpose the Prophet (PBUH) says “Idha jae” where ‘jae’ in this case is a reinforcement not that it is about time that has passed, which is an integral part of human history, but instead jae here refers to a reinforcement that shows that this aid, even though it was not visible to the human eye, indeed it is with those who believe in Allah; and as a response to this conditioning Allah Almighty requires that we also become obliged towards Him, simultaneously. It is our right to seek God’s aid and help as the Prophet (PBUH) did. As the answer to God’s help is our duty to Him. The call of God to us is waẓīfa (duty, task) even when it says “when will the help of Allah arrive”, the answer to this i is “fe sebbih bi hambi rabbike / So celebrate the praise of your Lord“. Once one faces and receives the help of Allah Almighty, then we have an obligation to praise and commemorate Allah Almighty. The commentators of Qur’an, regarding the Nasr / Allah’s aid, which is mentioned in this verse, have discussed this in great measure and in the context of other verses of the Qur’an as well. (Again, the best interpretation of the Qur’an is made through the verses of the Qur’an itself: persons who do not know the Qur’an as a whole, cannot speak about the religion at all). Every conclusion made, given that it arises from a specific verse of the Qur’an, if it is not in agreement with the Qur’an as a whole unity, it is not a Qur’anic answer. In some instances, Fakir calls this, partition of the Qur’an. That is to say, people divide the Qur’an in pieces, and draw conclusions from different parts, and their conclusions end up being non-Qur’anic. (To convey a message from the Qur’an, it is necessary to comprehend the Qur’an as a whole). For example, in our case we are inferring the surah Nasr, the aid of Allah Almighty, which will come – is to arrive. When people generally assay situations and things, they initially look at them from a physical point of view (even when one is meeting another person for the first time, we initially look at their physical attributes, if he or she is handsome or not). Even in our case, we are also dealing with a physical aid, materialized help that Allah Almighty descended to the adherents; this has been encountered in several verses as well. There are a lot of examples of such physical aid. Most of you are aware that there has been such aid even in the Islamic history, for instance the Prophet (PBUH) came out to the battle of Badr, he did his most in terms of what was in his control, and prayed to Allah Almighty, he said: “Ya Rabb, if this group standing here today loses this battle and dies in battle, then in this world there will not be anyone left who will show deity to You”. Then Allah Almighty answered to the Prophet’s (PBUH) prayer: “Then Allah sent down His tranquility upon His Messenger and upon the believers and sent down soldiers angels whom you did not see and punished those who disbelieved. And that is the recompense of the disbelievers.” (At-Tawbah, 26). This tranquility contained both the physical and spiritual dimension; it has tranquilized the souls (The Prophet (PBUH) has said that they will conquer the battle), whereas at the same time, it has also rained that day. That’s why in our culture, instead of saying, its raining, we say, it is raining Rahman or mercy; the rain is a symbol of the descent of mercy and aid of Allah Almighty; something Muslims have experienced in the battle of Badr, and Allah Almighty says: “[Remember] when you asked help of your Lord, and He answered you, “Indeed, I will reinforce you with a thousand from the angels, following one another”. And Allah made it not but good tidings and so that your hearts would be assured thereby. And victory is not but from Allah . Indeed, Allah is Exalted in Might and Wise. [Remember] when He overwhelmed you with drowsiness [giving] security from Him and sent down upon you from the sky, rain by which to purify you and remove from you the evil [suggestions] of Satan and to make steadfast your hearts and plant firmly thereby your feet.” (Al-Anfar, 8-10). There are many examples of such physical materialized aids in the Islamic history, but I want to analyze further this specific dimension. The same aid, help, if a person views this aid through the lens of being and existence, that person will find it revealed to him in everyday life; the true adherent, is in constant battle with himself on daily basis; often time within himself he faces polytheists, egoists, ill manners….in other words, every state of a person occurs within him and there is a constant challenge within him, and surely with this inner challenge the help of Allah Almighty is needed; when the person will complete his duties, Allah Almighty will send his aid – help, both from the physical and the inner dimension of the person. The help and aid of Allah Almighty has an additional meaning. Another verse during hajj / farewell, descended to the Prophet (PBUH) after the above mentioned verse, the verse says: “This day I have perfected for you your religion and completed My favor upon you and have approved for you Islam as religion.” (Al-Ma’idah, 3). (this is part of a verse in the sura Al-Ma’idah and it is considered as one of the last verses that have descended to the Prophet (PBUH). A portion of the interpreters of the Qur’an believe that when Allah Almighty turns to the Prophet (PBUH) and says that my aid will come, He refers to aid from the religious point of view. What do they mean by this? They mean to say that most help one can receive in this life is to become a believer in God, observed from the eternal viewpoint of living in eternity. As a result, it is exactly what we are doing now; initially we try to live as believers and then help others be guided on this path, and then help them live as believers; well this is then is the biggest help that can be given to man on this world. Everything else in life is temporary. For example if you give $100 to someone today, he might be able to feed himself with that money for the next 10 days, but even if you don’t give him $100 he will not die from hunger; even if he dies from hunger, he has passed away from a life that is short termed (if he doesn’t die today, one day he will; if not now, in 10-15 years he would). But if we instead help this person live as a believer, then we have fed him eternal meal, to infinity. That’s why they say that Allah Almighty through the Nasr Surah conveys that He has aided the Prophet (PBUH) by fulfilling his religion, fulfilling Islam; this is the biggest help given to humanity and Allah Almighty conveys this to us through the Nasr surah. A third element from the Sufi comments directed to the Qur’an, is that, here the aid of Allah Almighty and the liberation / fet’hin, does not encounter the physical aid not even the aspect of fulfilling the laws and decrees of Islam, but instead the Sufis interpret it as a path towards reaching the heart of man. In fact, it is as if Allah Almighty says to the Prophet (PBUH) “this concept that descended to you from us above, will find its place in a million hearts of men and women after you”, and this is completely true and has occurred. The word faith essentially means liberation or opener; or the word miftah means key, in Arabic; in the Qur’anic context it refers to opening the hearts of people or one who guides others to the right path. We are all here from Tetovo and I am sure you have visited Arabati Baba Teḱe and have noticed that there is a masjid, but that’s not really a masjid. It is a summer masjid in which in its more inner part where there is no place for masjid, the Darwish have conducted namaz during summer time because it has been really warm weather, whereas on the other side by the water they have sat down and have discussed / sohbe (they have read Mawlana, Pir Sultan Abdal, Haji Bektash Veli) all inspired from the water. Could you guess what has been written in the entry door outside the masjid? There it has been written: “You who open all doors, open our own doors of compassion”. (these words exist from the XVIII century or the 1780s); whereas in the area where they conducted namaz there is another verse, which can also be found in the doors of the mosque “([Having been told], “Enter it in peace, safe [and secure]).” (Surah Al-Hijr, 46). You can see that in the Islamic culture even the conceptual platform has its place; in other words even at the entry door where one would enter to discuss about the goodwill of this world it has been written “God open our doors of good-will to us”. When one would enter so to go on sajdah to Allah Almighty, it has been said that once you complete the duties of this world, and once you enter from this door, you are officially in God’s hands; you are safe and kept safe from harm. I’m sure most of you have read the book “Les Misérables” by Victor Hugo, amid a lot of stories there is a part in which the main character enters one monastery and he does some work there then steals the golden spoons from the monastery. The worker recognizes that the spoons are missing and reports to the head of the monastery that the man has run away and has also stolen the spoons whereas the elder replies: “its irrelevant that he stole the spoons, because we have managed to conquer his soul; we sold the spoons but took his soul in return”. The message here is to understand that it is very important one to experience real opening of the heart and allow the goodness to flow into the heart. Alike, the aid and help from Allah Almighty, should always be used to show devotion to Him. Several times I have inferred a quote from Ataullah Iskandar, maybe I have mentioned it here as well, that says: “dear God, I seek help from you, so I can pray to you as you would be most pleased by my prayer”.
The essential element of the liberation mentioned in this surah and the aid of Allah Almighty, are found in the ability to reach hearts of people. I mentioned some time ago that one of the most volumized works in the Islamic history was written by the dean of written Islamic literature, Muhyiddin Ibn Al Arabi, known as “Futuhat Al Makkiyya” / “The openings in Mekkah”. He wrote this piece of work while being around the Kabba and across Kabba; that is where he faced the inspiration that came to him from Allah Almighty. The inspiration never ceases; the meaning of help / nasr, in this case refers to inspiration (God still knows better). The rays of help from Allah Almighty are never ending in the universe, they travel, whereas the fet’h, is depended on the heart of man; if there is a clear reception then these waves are easily transmitted, these waves are not prohibited to anyone; but if the receiver does not welcome them, then the beauty of these transmitting waves as inspiration cannot be seen. This is exactly one of the important connotations of fet’h. Islamic Tasawwuf too, has mainly been preoccupied with the education of hearts. Educating the heart, means, educating the self of man. In some places the Qur’an speaks about those whose hearts are ill. “there are some people whose hearts are ill, and Allah Almighty increases the illness in their hearts”. There is also a hadeeth by the Prophet (PBUH) that says: “there is a piece of flesh in the body of humans, which if that piece is prudent, the entire body is prudent and in good virtue, if that piece of flesh is rotten, then the whole body is rotten”. The ill hearted are the worse from all. There might be people who commit to wrongdoing and make mistakes, but mainly if there is a source of goodness inside them, then God enables these people to seek forgiveness. We face a lot of people in our society who have committed to a lot of wrongdoing in their life, but in their final days Allah Almighty enables them to turn to Him; go to sajdah to Him. And there is another group of people whom Allah Almighty simply does not forgive them; and believe it or not, the main element that plays significant role here is the heart of a person. Therefore it is crucially important for us to educate the character and the heart of man, which then generates positive energy in all fields of life. I am not sure if I have mentioned this before: there is one specific question that a dear professor of mine has asked us, prof. Dr. Mustafa Tahral, he would ask: “if they would ask us, the believers, what would we do to reign and have power in this world, would we create some destructive weapon, more powerful than the nuclear weapons that already exist?”, and his answer was: “no, this is not our purpose in this world. Instead we need to think of mechanisms that will neutralize the destructive weapon against humanity and install some measures for its control.” The Prophet (PBUH) says: “I have not been sent as a punisher, to punish and kill people, instead I have been sent as mercy”. The reason for man’s descend on this world is to have mercy and know his kind; to maintain a good relationship with his kind. If it is required from us to lead the world, surely we can become leaders only through gaining people’s hearts; reach that heart which is ready to destroy the world through one command, to be able to erase the feeling of destruction and pressing that button from him. This is the only way; this was the way of the Prophet (PBUH) and since the early days of his calling, the essence of his calling was on this mindset. What will happen if you do this? “Then you will notice how people enter the religion of Allah Almighty in multitudes”, it doesn’t mean that you will put them, but they will enter themselves. The Qur’an is always righteous and says “when the aid, assistance of Allah Almighty will arrive, you will open your hearts; you will abide as He requires from you, and then you will watch how people enter the religion of Allah. People entering into the religion of Allah Almighty is not the duty of any man; you will only observe how these people enter; it is merely your duty to present it righteously.” One of the greatest weaknesses of Muslim divisions up to date, is that these people concentrate their time and energy on the youth…we can ask a favor from someone to do something for us, but we cannot make people believe. We could never turn anyone into a believer, as long as Allah Almighty does not will this; but what we can do is to help this person get closer to the religion of God by presenting the person to the group of people who will also enter the religion of God. So, what is requested from us in this case? To become representable of goodness, the beautiful and the righteous. Allah Almighty criticized the Jews “because they decreed people to do righteous deeds but forgot themselves, they have been the people who have read the book and have not given a single thought about it” – this is what Allah Almighty says; these people don’t rationalize regarding this whatsoever. The same situation goes for the life of the Prophet (PBUH), he sought people’s hearts. If you assay this matter from a historic point of view (horizontal), in terms of when has the number of Muslims increased; during the time of the Prophet (PBUH) or after? More people have converted to Islam after the Prophet’s (PBUH) life. Do you think its because people who came after the Prophet (PBUH) were more capable of converting others to Islam? No, they were not; but the establishment was during the life of the Prophet (PBUH). It was during that time when the establishment of winning people’s hearts was established. It’s the same thing with building a house, If your base and core is strong, you can build the house up to 100 floors, but if the foundation is not a firm and solid you cannot start the building; regardless of the type of material you use. This is the element of the constitution of hearts of adherents that will be open / kulub meftuha, this is a term used by Muhyiddin Ibn Al Arabi, referring to liberated hearts, or hearts open to receive inspiration from Allah Almighty; these are in fact enslaved hearts if you look at it from the rational contemporary viewpoint, but in reality they are hearts set free. A lot of artists nowadays use the term, free artist, acting without any boundaries. An artist is supposed to perform without any limitations within himself, but he or she must go beyond himself to perform art; if the artist cannot motion beyond himself… he cannot become an artist and cannot create a deep meaningful art. And do you know when a person is set free? One of the ways of man being freed in this world is when he goes insane; he is free from all boundaries and the other element is when he becomes a true believer. He then is moving within a liberation that is part of the absolute liberty, the sacred universe, and there is no place for walking there calculated in meters; but instead it is a liberation towards oneself, towards the innerness. If we achieve this opening / this nirvana, the dwelling in Allah Almighty; this is the crucial point of losing yourself in the greatness of Allah Almighty. This is something experienced by each believer at one point. In all other ideologies this is the highest point and it stops here; after this stage there is no higher experience. In Islam everything begins from here. Maybe someone might think that after this stage he or she has gained a title, but not in Islam. This is just the beginning in Islam. After, melting with God / annihilation / fana fillah, begins a completely new procedure which is much more difficult and that is remaining together, dwelling with God / haka billah, to go back to the physical dimension together with God, and to stay there with God are some elements Allah Almighty explains in the continuum of the Nasr Surah which we shall elaborate next week. Thank you.