Oğuz Turks known for their violence raided a village to plunder their possessions. They captured two men from the village’s elite and intended to kill one. As they bound him, he said: “Kings are noble individuals. Why do you intend harm upon me? Why do you thirst for my blood? What is the purpose, what malice lies in killing me? You see, I am a poor man, stripped bare.”
One of the Oğuz men said, “We’re killing your companion so that your friend will be frightened and reveal his treasures.” The man replied, “He is poorer than I.” The Oğuz man then said, “They say he has gold.” The man responded: “If you seek something from either of us, kill him first so I may be frightened and show you the location of his gold!”
Now consider Allah’s grace, for we have arrived in the final age. The latter time is superior to the early periods. The hadith states, “Ahirunes Sabikun.” The Merciful Allah showed us the destruction of the peoples of Nuh and Hud so that we might be fearful and take heed. What if it were otherwise – woe to us!
Which prophet spoke of wrongdoing or fault? To those with hearts like stone, souls darkened by sin; who disregard Allah’s commands, do not consider the Day of Judgment, indulge in worldly pleasures, are enslaved by their desires, flee from those offering counsel, shy away from righteous company, deceive rulers, act slyly towards them, deem others stingy, harbor envy and secret animosity – which prophet spoke to them?
If one accepts a gift you offer, you call him poor; if he refuses, you call him hypocritical and dissembler! If he mingles with people, you call him greedy; if he is withdrawn and reserved, you call him arrogant! Or, like the hypocrites, he says, “I strive to earn a living for my family. I have no time to ponder or devote myself to worship!”
“Please, grant us grace so that even at the end, we may become of the walis.” He offers this excuse, but it is not born of sorrow or love. It’s like a sleeping man who briefly awakens, muttering, and then falls back asleep. “I do nothing but earn my family’s livelihood. What can I do? I toil with my teeth and nails, earning it honestly.”
O you who consort with the misguided – what is halal for you? I see no halal in your blood! The solution comes from Allah, not from Lokman. The remedy lies with faith, not idolatry! O you who cannot even endure this lowly world, how can you endure Allah, who has so beautifully adorned it?
O you who cannot even endure grace and blessings, how can you endure the Most Generous Allah? O you who are impatient even with purity and cleanliness, how can you endure your Creator? Where is a Khalil who emerged from his cave, saw a wolf, and said, “This is my Lord!” then turned to himself and said, “Where is Allah, the creator of the universe?”
I do not wish to see either world without seeing these two assemblies. I do not want bread in my mouth unless I see His attributes. How can a morsel enter if I do not witness His face, His rose, His rose garden? Does anyone drink this water without remembering Allah – except for oxen and donkeys?
Those who are like animals, or even fallen below that rank, are deceitful, impure, putrid, and foul-smelling, even if their deception appears clever. Such a person’s deception is turned upside down; so is he himself. His time has passed, his day never arrives. His thought is blinded, his reason corrupted, his life wasted. He possesses nothing like the letter Alif! Even if he says, “I hold this belief,” it too is from the trickery of the self and its illusions.
“Allah is a judge, Allah is merciful,” – that is nothing but the deception of the lowly self. O you who die of sorrow because you have no bread in your hand, if Allah is a judge and merciful, then why this fear?