HATMA- I HADJAGHAN
Hatma-i hadjaghan is the most important part of this great tariqa. Hatma-i sherif which has too much secret and abundance is divided into two parts; one is big hatma and the other is small hatma. It is a condition of a common prayer, supplication, expressing weakness, zikr and contemplation made for almighty Allah (c.c). Our beloved Prophet (s.a.v) used to sit with his companions as a circle in his meetings. So, everybody could easily see eachother and our Prophet (s.a.v). This way of sitting is also the way of Hatma’s sitting.
As you know zikr for almighty Allah is for taking heart away from dunya by directing it only towards Allah, and finding the way to get happiness, peace, taqwa and ikhlas by getting off with troubles, disgusting atmosphere and tumults of the world. It is important for one who mentions Allah to save himself from sitimulative and amusing environments in order to maintain peace of heart. Because of this reason, while starting hatma-i hadjaghan it needs to close eyes and not open until the hatma ends. The follower who participates in hatma-i hadjaghan sits in a well mannered way, closes his eyes and apologizes to Allah for his sins by saying Estagphirullah 25 times. He remembers his deficiencies and mistakes. He faces with the deficiency of his servitude. Since there isn’t any door except the door of almighty Allah and this is not the door of hopelessness, he turns towards Allah and gets ready for entering His endless mercy.
Salavats are said to our beloved Prophet (s.a.v) who is the greatest lover of Allah. Thus, the devotion of his great leadership, unique guidance and prophethood is renewed and love of him is expressed once more. This path is the path of the respecting his sunnah and his manner. It is the path of those who live his sunnah in a good manner with love and impulse. It is the path of purifying the soul and training himself with lofty moral hodjas. After saying salavat-i sheriffs which renew devotion to the prophet Mohammed (s.a.v) sura al fatiha is read. It is thanked to almighty Allah with this sura which is the first sura of Qur’an. After having been renewed the faith to the endless mercy of Allah, his special grace to the Muslims, and the hereafter, It is pleaded for entering the straight path. Everyone thinks of his deficiencies and asks Allah for being rid of these deficiencies.
Bismillhirrahmanirrahim
1. In the name of God , the Most Beneficent, the Most Merciful:
2. Praise be to God, the Lord of the Universe.
3. The Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.
4. Master of the Day of Judgment .
5. You alone we worship, and You alone we ask for help
6. Guide us to the straight path;
7. The path of those whom You have favored, not of those who have deserved Your anger, nor of those who stray.
Then sura-i inshirah is read. This sura, which consists of 8 verses of Qur’an, has a lot of secrets and it mentions us the great mercy of Allah to our beloved Prophet (s.a.v). The follower sitting in that great circle turns towards Allah and by means of the sura-i inshirah he asks Allah for widening his heart by faith, ikhlas, taqwa and love, taking troubles of dunya and saving him from the oppressive burdens. The follower knows and understands that this tariqa exalts his fame. Of course it has some difficulties. However, this path will get easy by means of sincerity, ikhlas, submission and love. If so, in order to get success, the follower must be disposed to live sunnah and worship for Allah.
Bismillahirrahminirrahim
1 Have We not caused thy bosom to dilate,
2 And eased thee of the burden
3 Which weighed down thy back;
4 And exalted thy fame ?
5 But lo! with hardship goeth ease,
6 Lo! with hardship goeth ease;
7 So when thou art relieved, still toil
8 And strive to please thy Lord.
At the end of sura-I inshirah, after the verse ‘ And strive to please thy Lord’, having read sura-i ikhlas which expresses our almighty Lord in the best and deepest way and which is called as sura-i tawhid, the follower tries to turn towards Allah. The belief of tawhid is strengthened by this sura, which is described as being one third of the holy Qur’an. For being filled with the Lord’s love, the follower turns towards him.
Bismillahirrahminirrahim
1. Say: He is Allah, the One and Only;
2. Allah, the Eternal, Absolute;
3. He begetteth not, nor is He begotten;
4. And there is none like unto Him.
At the end of hatma-e hadjaghan the followers pray and read silsilah-e sheriff. As it is known silsilah has an important place in tariqas. It is a chain extends as far as our beloved Prophet (s.a.v). By means of this chain the holy manner of our beloved Prophet is transferred from one generation to another. It is sunnah and khalat-e Rasulullah which is always alive. It is the field where the bright smell of Asr-i Saadat spreads out. Those holy people in silsilah had seen our Prophet Mohammed, had taken knowledge from him, then they had transformed that knowledge and manner to another. So, they represent the path of those that reaches to present time. Mentioning their names is a sample of loyalty, because they are benefactors. They are selected people by witness of Muslim community. Allah (c.c) loves them and he also loves the people who love them. Mentioning their names lead to a love in hearts. This path can’t be walked without love. After having completed the prayer the followers say tauba for their sins. At the end the eyes are opened so as to spend a better life.
In small hatma , after salavat-i sheriffs and sura-i fatiha the followers do zikr for the holy Allah by saying ‘ya baqi , antal- baqi.’ They are lost in thought: ‘Thee (alone) baqi! Since You are baqi and informed us this then we faith on this truth. O! Baqi Allah! Since You exist and You are baqi then there is no fear for me, because it is Your fame to open the way of Baqa and give Your endless blessings to your believers. If so, how happy to me and those who adhere your path!
In ancient times, when there were scarcities, troubles and disasters, the scholars and followers of Naqshbandiah tariqa used to come together and do hatma-e hadjaghan for being saved from those troubles and disasters. They used to look for liberation by means of this holy prayer. Now that we are in the latest time and troubles, dissensions are in everywhere, It needs to do hatma-e hadjaghan everyday.
Zikr-e Qalbi
Zikr-e Qalbi is very important for this holy path. Qalb is such a piece of flesh that its betterment is the betterment of the whole body and its disturbance is the disturbance of the whole body. In order to strengthen and reach perfection of faith, submission and love the zikr for Allah has a great importance. A servant, who prays for Allah five times in a day, shows his adherence and love to the holy Lord. The tariqa wishes to continue this manner of peace and wants people to know that they are at Allah’s disposal and in the presence of him. In this mode, Hadrat Ali (k.v) pleads like that in one of his prayers:
O! my Lord, O! my Lord, O! my Lord!
In the name of your holy justice, purity, role and name, I wish You would make alive my nights and days with your zikr. If only you would make me be at disposal of you and accept my performance in the presence of you. So that, all my performances and zikrs would be transformed into a unique zikr and all my manners would be at your disposal.
It needs training and aim to get this holy position. Here, the Naqshbandiah sadrats (r.anhum) take an active part. Those holy people, who are skilled in heart training, suggest zikr and determine it as a method in their tariqas. It is the zikr of heart by saying ?Allah, Allah, Allah? that strengthens heart, increases the peace between Allah and his servant, rouses the servant to action and makes him have ikhlas. The more this zikr mode increases from minute to minute and spreads to hours, the more the servant becomes close to Allah and his position gets high. This situation needs to be wanted. It is related to this that the heart strengthens, gets seriousness and reaches spiritual perfection. Hadrat Ali continues his prayer like that;
O! my Lord, O! my Lord, O! my Lord!
Strengthen my organs for your duty, give power and firmness to my heart in heading towards you. Give me such a seriousness in your duty that let me run towards you by taking place among those who struggle for you. Let me be inclined to your nearness among those who give their heart to you and let me become close to you like the people who have ikhlas. Let me afraid of you like the masters of faith and let me come together with the Muslims in the presence of you. O! my Lord! I want to become close to you with your zikr and I am asking you for intercession. And also I want you make me close to you for the sake of your generosity, I want you grant me your gratitude and inspire me your zikr.’
There are different meanings and manifestations of each names of Allah. Each name wants to manifest. The name ‘ Razzaq’ wants to give foods, the name ‘Shafi’ wants to cure, and the name ‘ Aziz’ wants to make honorable. One who wants food must take refuge behind the Lord’s name ‘Razzaq’, One who wants recovery must take refuge behind His name ‘Shafi’ and he should try to find a way to remedy his troubles by mentioning the Lord’s names and by means of these names he should take refuge behind his holy Lord.
These names are more important for the treatment of heart illnesses. If one can’t do his prayers because of getting agitated for his daily food and fears from the people as if they give his daily food, then his heart gets ill. Only if his heart believes that Razzaq-i Haqiqi is only Allah, then he gets rid of that illness. But it takes times. For a person believing a truth resembles the condition that a child learns something. In order to teach something to a child it needs to say it him again and again. This situation is also valid for heart. For that reason, knowledge is a different concept, being conscious and belief are different concepts. Even we know that a dead can’t give any harm to us, anyway we afraid of it and can’t sleep with it in the same room. However it is not alive and can’t do anything. Although the heart knows this truth , since the person isn’t conscious on this truth he is afraid of it. For getting rid of this fear, we should teach our heart and make it believe that it can’t give any harm. So, it needs to say the truth again and again. For the names of Allah manifesting and falling into one’s heart, it needs to consider the meaning of them repeatedly and reinforce them in heart. In terms of this, the Naqshbandiah sadats had shown their great understanding and had given their followers the great name ‘Allah’ as a lesson. The name ‘Allah’ includes the whole Asma-ul Husna. So, a person who does zikr of the name ‘Allah’ gets rid off all his heart illnesses by manifestation of that name. The person should take refuge behind the holy Lord and pray Him for being a master of zikr. It is the biggest happiness to go the path of scholars and want to resemble them. Hadrat Ali (k.v) expresses this truth like that in one part of his prayer:
‘O! the holy will of scholars! O! thee coming to the rescue of believers! O! The Lover of faithful hearts! And O! Lords of the universe!
O! You, whose name is remedy, whose zikr is recovery and whose obedience is richness! O! You, whose health is hope and whose weapon is weeping! Please have mercy on me…!’
Rabıta
Shaikh İzzeddin hadrat (k.s) had pointed out an important subject by saying that their path was in the manner of Companions (r.anhum). The companions were in love with our beloved Prophet (s.a.v). They were in such a manner that they couldn’t bear on separation from him. He never went out their minds. His imaginings were always in front of their eyes. This imagination was reinforcing their adherence to him. Even when they were not with him, they were feeling as if they were with him. Only he was adorning their world of dreams. His memory, his sayings and advices were always in their minds. Because they were in this manner they conduced to widening of the holy religion ‘Islam’.
The holy Naqshbandiah sadats had understood very good that manner of companions (r.anhum) and they had placed that manner in their tariqas as a system since they thought it was important for one to reach perfection. If that imagination skill can be improved well, it is transformed into a motivated strength. This is such strength that the companions become lofty thanked to it. If a person loves a scholar who is the lover of Allah and thinks his manner, his talks and the times he spent with him, it leads to improvement of his determination skill. It sets him into action. It leads him to feel himself bright. Imagining an important respected person brings the determination of being respected for nafs. To be bound those selected people, imitate them and benefit from them happens only by their love. However, love is sharing. It is opening one?s own door to the people. By doing rabita a person opens his inner life, thoughts, love and dreams to those people who love only for Allah. It means exalting the people who exalts the Lord’s holy religion, thinking them, mentioning their bright faces, seeing the alive sunnah and putting on the heavenly light. This is a actual prayer. This manner is asking Allah for living like those holy people and resembling them. It means being a unique soul with them despite having different bodies. This is the sunnah of the Companions. It is their manner. It means living this path of love and sunnah by means of this tariqa. Shaikh Ahmad Haznavi (k.s) says ‘our path has 2 important principles’. The first is to be dependent on Qur’an and sunnah. The second is to bound this path and the followers in the path with ikhlas, love and submission.
Reading Qur’an and Tahaccud Prayer
The most famous scholar of Ottoman Empire and saint İbn-I Abidin (rahmatullahi taala alayh) says: ‘Qur’an has come down in the night of Qadr and all of its stroke has longed for 23 years. The Torah, Gospel and all holy books had come wholly and at once. All of them was resembling the words of people and their words weren’t miracle. So, they deteriorated quickly and were changed. On the other hand, Qur’an is one of the biggest miracle of Hadrat Mohammad (s.a.v) and it doesn’t resemble people’s words.
Our holy book Qur’an has saved its beauty, loftiness and all his superiority and it has continued to give the right way since the time when it first came down. The more the Muslim communities appreciate its truth, the more they get high. However, the more they go away from it, the more they go back. The efforts of the scholars and those sadats (r.anhum) who follows them in adherence of the holy Qur’an are always praiseworthy. When it was asked to Zunnun-i Misri hadrats who was one of the biggest scholars lived in Egypt, he said: ‘They made their knees decay in this path. They spent their life for the sake of this path. Thus they had the knowledge of Qur’an. In order to be aware of this knowledge they did their best. Their lips got pale and their tears dropped like floods. They found the knowledge of Qur’an in this way. Then they reached perfection and protected their faith.?
One of the famous saint and big scholar of Islam Mohammed Masum Faruqi (rahmatullahi alayh) says: ‘Reading Qur’an is talking to Allah.’ Opposing in the presence of Allah by means of His words attracts mercy of Him and fills one’s heart with abundance and barakah. Qur’an is shifa (recovery). It gives shifa and helps ill hearts. Therefore, the Naqshbandiah sadats want his followers to read one part of Qur’an everyday. Vuheyb bin Verd (rahmatullahi alayh) who is one of the big saints and scholars of Macca-i Mucarramah says: ‘There isn’t anything but Qur’an which makes hearts thin, gives them compassions and saddens them. Ebu Umama (r.a) informed us that the Prophet Mohammad (s.a.v) said : ‘Read Qur’an, because Qur?an will come as an intercessor in the end of the world.’
(According to Ebu Hurayra’s hearsay) The Prophet Mohammad (s.a.v) said that almighty Allah ordered:
I certainly make the declaration of war for whoever treats one of my holy scholars as an enemy. My servant can get close to me with nothing but with my religious duties which are more lovable than everything. Additionally by getting closer to Me with supererogatories my servant have such a manner that I love him. When I love him, then I will be his ears that make him hear, I will be his eyes that make him see, I will be his hands that make him hold, I will be his feet that make him walk, ( I will be his heart that makes him understand, I will be his tongue that makes him say). I surely give him whatever he wants. If he takes refuge behind Me then I protect him.
Acdording to Abu Hurayra?s hearsay Rasullullah (s.a.v) says : ‘ Our holy Lord comes down universe every night. When there is last one third time of the night He orders like that:”I respond favorably to whoever prays for Me. If one asks me for something, I give him whatever he wants. I forgive whoever wants forgiveness.’ Imam Kurtubi (r.a) who clarifies the meaning of the Lord’s saying ‘I respond favorably to whoever prays for Me.’ Said in his book Al-Muphem : ‘This word of Allah is his promise and its truth can’t be discussed. Who can carry out his promise except from almighty Allah?’ According to the hearsay of Abdullah Ibn Omar who is the son of Hadrat Omar Ibn-ul Hattab, Our beloved Prophet said: ‘What a good man Abdullah is! If only he performed night prayer, too.? Salim who was Hadrat Omar’s grandson said: ‘After that day Abdullah used to sleep very little.’
According to the hearsay of Hadrat Abdullah Ibn Salam Our beloved Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam said: ‘O! People! Greet each other, feed each other, and pray for Allah at nights when the others sleep. If you do so, then you will go heaven in peace.’
According to the hearsay of Hadrat Abu Hurayra the Messenger of Allah sallallahu alayhi wa sallam said: ‘Apart from Ramadan, the most virtuous fast is the fast which is fasted in Muharram, the month of Allah. Apart from obligatory prayers, the most virtuous prayer is the night prayer, Tahaccud.’
Hadrat Cabir radiyallahu anh said: ‘ I saw the Messenger of Allah while He was saying that there was such a time at nights that if a Muslim came across it and asked Allah for beneficial things relating to the world and the hereafter, then almighty Allah would give him whatever he wanted. That was valid for every night.’
