There are eight kinds of people in the world:

The following is the written will prepared by Hüseyin Hilmi Işık on 24 Rabi-ul-awwal, 1410, which coincides with 24 Tashrini awwal, 1989, Tuesday:

There are eight kinds of people in the world:

 

1- Believer who is Sâlih (pious, good). He says that he is a Muslim. He holds the belief of Ahl as-sunna. A person who holds the belief of Ahl as-sunna is called Sunnî (Sunnite). He adapts himself to one of the four Madh-habs of the Ahl as-sunna. Thus in everything he does he is in a state of obedience to the Sharî'at. He performs his acts of worship in accordance with his Madh-hab. He avoids harâms (acts forbidden by Islam). If he makes an inadvertent mistake in this respect, he makes tawba by observing its conditions. Before sending his children to elementary school, he sends them to a Sâlih imâm or to a teacher of Qur'ân al-kerîm. He strives for their learning how to read Qur'ân al-kerîm, memorizing the sûras of Qur'ân to be recited in the namâz, and learning Ilmihâl. He sends them to elementary school after they have learned these things. He sends his sons to high school, to a university for education. It is a must that they learn religious knowledge and begin performing daily prayers of namâz regularly before elementary schooling. A father who does not bring up his children accordingly cannot be a Sâlih Muslim. He and his children will go to Hell. The worships he has done, e.g. pilgrimages, will not save him from going to Hell. The Muslim who is Sâlih will never enter Hell.

2- A Believer who is Aberrant. He says he is a Muslim, and he is a Muslim, too. Yet he is not Sunnî. He is without a Madh-hab. In other words, his belief does not agree with the belief taught by scholars of Ahl-sunna. Therefore none of his worships will be accepted. He will not escape Hell. If he does not perform the worships and commits harâms, he will remain in Hell additionally for these sins. Because his aberrant belief does not cause unbelief, he will not remain eternally in Hell. An example of such people is the Shiite group called Imâmiyya.

3- The Sinful Believer says he is a Muslim, and he is so. He is Sunnî, too. That is, he holds the belief of Ahl as-sunna. Yet he neglects some or all of the worships. He commits harâms. The sinful Believer will suffer Hell fire if he does not make tawba or attain Shafâ'at (intercession of the Prophet, one of the Awliyâ, or a Sâlih Muslim) or forgiveness of Allâhu ta'âlâ. Yet even in this case he will not remain in Hell eternally.

4- A disbeliever from birth is a person with parents who are (or were) disbelievers. He has been brought up as a disbeliever. He does not believe in the fact that Muhammad 'alaihi-salâm' is the Prophet. Jews and Christians are disbelievers with (heavenly) books. Communists and freemasons are disbelievers without a book. They do not believe in rising after death, either. People who worship idols and icons are called Mushrik (polytheist). Disbelievers will go to Hell and will be subjected to eternal fire. None of the goodnesses they have done in the world will be of any use, nor will they save them form Hell. If a disbeliever becomes a Muslim before death, he will be pardoned and will become a Sâlih Muslim.

5- A Murtad (renegade) is a person who abandons Islam and becomes a disbeliever. All the worships and pious acts he did as a Muslim will be deleted and, therefore, will be of no value after death. If he becomes a Muslim again, he will be pardoned and will become an extremely pure Believer.

6- A Munâfiq says that he is a Muslim. Yet he is not a Muslim. He is in another religion. He is a disbeliever. He pretends to be a Muslim in order to deceive Muslims. A munâfiq is worse than an (undisguised) disbeliever. He is more harmful to Muslims. Formerly, the number of munâfiqs was rather great. There are next to none today.

7- A Zindîq also says that he is a Muslim. Yet he is not a member of any religion. He does not believe in rising after death. He is an insidious disbeliever. In order to mislead Muslims out of Islam and to demolish their religion from within, he presents his disbelief in the name of Islam. Qâdiyânîs, Bahâîs and Bektâshîs are in this group.

8- A Mulhid also claims to be a Muslim and thinks he is a Muslim. He performs Islam's worships and avoids the harâms. Yet he has greatly digressed from the belief held by the Sunnites in his interpretation of Qur'ân al-kerîm, to the extent that some beliefs he holds abrogates his îmân and causes disbelief. In this group are Nusayrîs and Ismâîlîs, two Shiite sects, and Wahhabis. They try to present themselves as Believers and the Sunnîs, who are actually people with correct belief, as disbelievers. Since a person who calls a Believer a disbeliever will become a disbeliever himself, these people are worse and more harmful to Muslims than disbelievers are.

Any wise person would like to live in comfort and peace in the world and to avoid torment and attain infinite blessings in the Hereafter. To this end, I wrote my book Se'âdet-i Ebediyye (Endless Bliss). I tried to show the way leading to happiness for all kinds of people all over the world. First, I endeavoured to learn it myself. For many years I read hundreds of books. I carried out very stringent research in history and Tasawwuf. I meditated deeply on scientific knowledge. I recognized very well and definitely believed that attaining comfort in the world and eternal blessings in the Hereafter requires being a Sâlih Muslim. And being a Sâlih Muslim, in its turn, requires learning the Islamic teachings from books written by scholars of the Ahl assuna. An ignorant person cannot even be a Muslim, let alone be a Sâlih one. I explained in detail in my book Se'âdet-i Ebediyye how a Sâlih Muslim should be. In short:

1- He should believe as is taught by scholars of Ahl as-sunna. In other words, he must be a Sunnî.

2- Reading a book of fiqh belonging to one of the four Madh-habs, he should learn the teachings of the Sharî'at correctly, perform his acts of worship accordingly, and keep away from the harâms. A person who does not adapt himself to one of the four Madhhabs or selects the facilities in the four Madh-habs and thus makes a mixture of the Madh-habs, is called a 'Madh-hab'less person. A Madh-habless person has abandoned the way of the Ahl as-sunna. And a person who is not a Sunnî must be either a heretic or a disbeliever.

3- He should work to make a living. He should earn his living through halâl means, carrying on his dealings in a manner compatible with the commandments of Allâhu ta'âlâ. We live in such an age that a poor person can hardly protect his faith and chastity, not even his personal rights. To protect these values and serve Islam, he should utilize the latest scientific renovations and facilities. Earning through halâl ways is a great act of worship. Any way of earning that will not hinder the daily prayers of namâz and which will not cause one to commit harâms is good and blessed.

For worships and worldly dealings; being useful and blessed is dependent upon doing them only for Allah's sake, earning only for Allah's sake, and giving only for Allah's sake; and in short having Ikhlâs. Ikhlâs means to love Allâhu ta'âlâ only and to love for the sake of Allâhu ta'âlâ only. When one loves someone, one remembers him very frequently. One's heart always makes (Dhikr) of him, that is remembers and mentions him.

If a person loves Allâhu ta'âlâ, he will remember him very frequently, that is, his heart will always make Dhikr of Him. For this reason, it is stated in the Qur'ân al-kerîm, "Make much Dhikr of Allâhu ta'âlâ." The following hadîth-i sherîfs are written in the book Kunûz-ud-daqâq: "People with high grades are those who make Dhikr of Allâhu ta'âlâ." "The sign of love for Allah is love of making Dhikr of Him." "He who loves someone will make much dhikr of him." "He who loves Allah very much will be free from mischief." "Allâhu ta'âlâ loves the person who makes much Dhikr of Him." Scholars of Tasawwuf have shown the ways to perform much Dhikr of Allâhu ta'âlâ. The easiest of these ways is to find a Murshid-i kâmil, love him, observe the rules of adab about him, and thus receive fayz from his heart.

Murshid-i kâmil is an 'Islamic Scholar' who has received fayz from the Murshid-i-kâmil preceding him and thus attained the competence of giving fayz. When he attains this competence, he receives a written warrant from his Murshid certifying that he has the qualifications. A succession of Murshids receiving fayz from one another is like the links of a chain that can be traced back to the time of Rasûlullah[10] (sall-Allâhu 'alaihi wasallam). In other words, a Murshid-i-kâmil receives the 'fayz's, 'hâl's and 'barakats' coming from Rasûlullah through a chain of Murshids that flow into his heart; he then pours them into others' hearts.

The Murshid and the Murîd who wishes to receive fayz from him have to be Sâlih Muslims. A person who does not hold the Sunnî belief; e.g., who speaks ill of any one of the As-hâb-i-kirâm or who does not adapt himself to one of the four Madh-habs; or anyone who does not avoid the harâms, e.g., who condones his wife's or daughter's going out without covering themselves properly though he can prevent them from doing so; or who does not try to teach his children Islam and how to read the Qur'ân al-kerîm cannot be a Sâlih Muslim, and all the more impossible, a Murshid. Everything a Murshid says or does will be compatible with the principles of the Ahl as-sunna and the teachings in the books of Ilmihâl. One thousand years after Rasûlullah's Hijra (Hegira, Migration to Medina ) an era termed Âkhirzamân (the latest time) began, and the signs prognosticating the end of the world began to increase in number. During this latest time period, Allâhu ta'âlâ will manifest His Attributes of Qahr (Wrath) and Jelâl (Vehemence), and mischief and afflictions will be on the increase. Religious teachings will be defiled, scholars of the Ahl as-sunna and Murshid-i-kâmils will be on the decrease.

Oral dhikr, i.e. saying, "Allah, Allah," is very thawâb (deserving of rewards in the Hereafter) and will prime the pump for the heart's dhikr. However, the heart's dhikr requires one's being a Sâlih Muslim and performing dhikr for years. If a Murshid-i-kâmil teaches a person how to dhikr and extends tawajjuh towards him, i.e., asks his Murshid to help this person's heart to dhikr, his heart will begin dhikr immediately. If a person cannot find a Murshid-i-kâmil, he should remember any Murshid-i-kâmil (he has heard of or read about). That is, he should imagine seeing him and looking with adab at his face, and beg him through his heart to make tawajjuh towards him. This is called Râbita. The following account is given in the seventeenth page of the book Barakât: "Khwâja Burhân-ud-dîn, a respectable Indian scholar, endeavoured very hard to set his heart upon the act of dhikring. Try as he would, he could not attain this blessing. He looked for a Murshid-i-kâmil. While visiting Hadrat Muhammad Bâkî-Billâh in Delhi , he begged him. This great Murshid advised him to perform Râbita towards him wherever he was, that is, to imagine himself looking at his face and ask for fayz. Surprised at his advice, the Khwâja went to the great Murshid's close friends and said, 'This advice would be given to novices coming to him for the first time. I would like a task of a higher level.' They told him he would have no other choice than follow his advice. Because he was fully convicted that this noble person was a Murshid-i-kâmil, he imagined himself looking at his blessed face and began to beg him. He lost himself. His heart began to dhikr. He would hear his heart dhikring aside from its physiological beatings." The book Hadarât-ul-quds, in its discourse on karâmats (miracles occurring through a person loved by Allâhu ta'âlâ) through Hadrat Imâm-i Rabbânî, relates his fifty-fourth karâmat as follows: "Hadrat Mawlânâ Abd-ul-hakîm Siyalkutî, a great Indian scholar whose books and name are renowned world over, states: I had known and liked Hadrat Imâm-i Rabbânî for a long time. Yet I had not attached myself to him. One night, in my dream, he made tawajjuh towards me. My heart began to make dhikr. Continuing this dhikr for a long time, I attained many valuable occult blessings. He educated me from a distance in a manner termed Uwaysî. Later, I attained his Sohba." It relates the sixty-eighth karâmat as follows: "One of the relatives of Hadrat Imâm-i Rabbânî wanted to attach himself to him. Yet he could not tell him about it. One night he decided to tell him the following morning. That night he dreamt of himself standing near a stream. On the other side was Hadrat Imâm-i Rabbânî, calling him, 'Come here, quick, come here, quick! You're late.' When he heard this his heart began to dhikr. The nex morning he visited him and told him what was happening in his heart, he said: 'This is exactly our way. Go on with it.' "

Allâhu ta'âlâ declares in the Qur'ân al-kerîm, in the thirty-first âyat of Âl-i-'Imrân sûra, "Tell them: If you love Allâhu ta'âlâ adapt yourselves to me! Allâhu ta'âlâ will love those who adapt themselves to me and will forgive your sins [if you do so]. Allâhu ta'âlâ is forgiving and very compassionate." He declares in the seventy-ninth âyat of Nisâ sûra: "He who obeys the Prophet will have obeyed Allah." Our Prophet (sall-Allâhu alaihi wa sallam) stated, "Be on my way and after me on the way of my four Khalîfas!" Islamic scholars following the way of the four Khalîfas are called Ahl as-sunna. As it is seen, attaining love of Allâhu ta'âlâ requires having îmân as written in the books of scholars of the Ahl as-sunna and adapting all of one's words and actions to the manners prescribed by them. This comes to mean that a person who wants to attain love of Allâhu ta'âlâ will have to have îmân accordingly and lead a life accordingly. If a person does not observe these two conditions, he cannot be a Sâlih Muslim. He cannot attain comfort and peace in the world, nor in the Hereafter. These two values are either learned by reading books, or acquired by rote by imitating a Murshid-i-kâmil. The words, looks and tawajjuhs of a Murshid-i-kâmil will purify one's heart. And when one's heart is pure one will begin to experience pleasure from îmân and from worships, and the harâms will seem bitter, ugly and abominable. During those times when Allâhu ta'âlâ has more mercy on His born servants the number of Murshid-i-kâmils increases and it is easier to recognize them. The closer we come to the end of the world, the more severe will be the manifestation of Allâhu ta'âlâ's Wrath, the more scarce will be the Murshid-i-kâmils, and the existing ones will not be recognized. Ignorant, miscreant, and heretical people will appear in the name of religious men and will mislead people towards disasters, thereby obstructing the way leading to Allah's love.

In such murky times, those who learn îmân and the teachings of the Sharî'at from books written by scholars of the Ahl as-sunna will attain safety, and people who fall for the cajoling and exciting words in the bogus religious books written by ignorant and heretical people, will slip out of the right way. In such times, for purifying your heart and setting it to perform dhikr as soon as possible, you should imagine seeing one of the past renowned Murshid-i-kâmils wherever you are and whatever you are doing, except when performing namâz. And you should wish that the fayz that flowed into his heart coming from Rasûlullah (sall-Allâhu alaihi wa sallam) will flow into your heart. You should keep in your mind that a Murshid-i-kâmil is a (spiritual) heir to Rasûlullah, and, therefore, Allâhu ta'âlâ permanently manifests His Mercy in his heart. Hadrat Muhammad Ma'thûm, a great Murshid, stated in his fiftieth letter, "Continual râbita will ensure thorough contact with the Murshid. Consequently, fayz will be received easily. Being in the presence of a Murshid has other uses. A Murîd who cannot manage râbita in a suitable manner should attend the Murshid's sohba. It was owing to sohba that the As-hâb-i-kirâm attained such high grades. Weys al-qarânî received fayz from a distance by making râbita; yet because he could not attain the sohba, he could not reach the grades attained by the As-hâb-i-kirâm." He stated in the seventy-eighth letter, "For receiving fayz and barakat from a Murshid-i-kâmil, it is necessary to attach yourself with a cord of love to him. The Ashâb-i-kirâm received fayz from Rasûlullah (sall-Allâhu alaihi wa sallam) by way of in'iqâs [reflection]. By the same token, a person who sits with adab and love in the presence of a Murshid-i-kâmil will receive fayz from him. Anyone, no matter whether he is young or old, alive or dead, will receive this fayz. Imagining a Murshid-i-kâmil sitting opposite you while you look with love and adab at his face is called Râbita. This râbita is very useful, for man has dived into harâms and his heart has darkened. As long as he is in this state he cannot receive fayz and barakat from Allâhu ta'âlâ. A means is requisite. The means here is a noble person capable of receiving this fayz and giving it to those who demand it. And this person is a Murshid-i-kâmil." He stated in the hundred and sixty-fifth letter, "Keeping a Murshid-i-kâmil's face in your heart is called Râbita. Râbita is the most powerful link connecting a Murîd to a Murshid. When the râbita becomes firm, he will see his Murshid wherever he looks." He stated in the hundred and ninety-seventh letter, "When the râbita is firm, there will seem to be no difference between the blessings attained when one is away from a Murshid-i-kâmil and those attained when one is in his presence. Yet these two can never be equal. The more powerful the râbita, however, the less the difference."

He stated in the eighty-ninth letter of the fifth volume, "A great scholar has said, 'Allâhu ta'âlâ would not have given the wish if He had not willed to give the blessing.' The essence of our way is sohba. With the barakat of sohba, a talented Murîd will receive fayz from a Murshid's heart in proportion to his talent and the degree of love he has for a Murshid. He will be freed from his bad habits, which will be replaced with the Murshid's good habits. It is for this reason that they have said that being fânî (extinct, nonexistent) in a Shaikh, (who is the Murshid-i-kâmil), is the beginning of (the stage), Fanâ-fillah (in Tasawwuf). If you cannot attain sohba, you will receive fayz only by means of love and in proportion to your tawajjuh towards the Murshid. Loving the people loved by Allâhu ta'âlâ is a great blessing. Through this love you will attain the fayz gushing out of their hearts. You should not miss the blessing of making tawajjuh in a Murshid's absence. You should learn the Sharî'at and act accordingly. You should not waste your lifetime playing and merrymaking. Things that are disagreeble with the Sharî'at are called Dunyâ. You should think that such things are useless and will be of no value in your grave or on the Day of Judgement. Safety is in adapting yourself to the Sunna and abstaining from bid'ats. [Adapting yourself to the Sunna means learning the belief of the Ahl as-sunna, adapting your belief to it, then doing the commandments and avoiding the prohibitions, and then performing the Sunna. When the Sunna is done without observing this successive order, it will not be the Sunna at all. It will be bid'at. For instance, growing beard will not be a Sunna. It will be a bid'at. The beard thus grown will be a Jewish beard, a Râfidî beard, or a Wahhabi beard.] You should not make friends with bid'at holders and mulhids, [that is, people without a Madh-hab and religious men who are not Sunnî]. They are thieves of the faith. They will defile your religion and faith. [It is stated in a hadîth-i-sherîf that bid'at holders will be turned into dogs for the people of Hell].

Hadrat Imâm-i-Rabbânî stated in the hundred and eighty-seventh letter, "If a Murshid-i-kâmil's image is shown to a Murîd everywhere, this is a sign indicating that the râbita is very strong. Râbita will cause a flow of fayz from one heart to the other. This great blessing will be bestowed on only selected people"

Documents for what has been said so far are the hadîth-i-sherîfs: "Everything has a source. The source of taqwâ is the hearts of ârifs"; "When the Awliyâ are seen, Dhikr of Allah is made"; "Looking at an 'Âlim's (scholar's) face is worship"; "Those who keep company with them will not be shaqî; "Disasters coming upon my Ummat will be due to fâjir [miscreant] men of religion," and a number of other similar hadîth-i-sherîfs. These hadîth-i-sherîfs are written in various books of Hadîth, e.g., in Kunûz-ud-daqâiq.

That Hadrat Sayyid Abdulhakîm Arwâsî was a Murshid-i-kâmil is a fact that can be seen as clearly as the sun from the letters of ijâzat written by his Murshids, from the letter written in the hundred and sixty-first page of my (Turkish) book, from the profundity of his knowledge, from his beautiful morality, and from his karâmats. His blessed face is easy to remember, once one has seen his photograph. To remember him and receive fayz from his blessed face is a great blessing Allâhu ta'âlâ has bestowed on Muslims. People like us, whose hearts have been blackened with so many sins, are certainly far from attaining the great blessing. Our purpose is to show the way to the desired treasure. Perhaps there will be people to attain it, though we have not. During these last days it will fall to few people's lot to hear these facts, to believe them, and to try to attain these blessings. May thanks be to our Rabb (Allah) for blessing us with the fortune of knowing and loving His beloved ones.

Yâ Rabbî! Grave and many as our sins are, Thine forgiveness and compassion are boundless. Have mercy on us and forgive us for the sake of Thine beloved ones! Âmin.

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[1]1 lira is 100 kurushes
[2]Sarf:Arabic ethymology or morphology.
[3]Nahw:Arabic syntax.
[4]Hüseyin Hilmi Işık's this first translation is quoted at the end of the fourth chapter of Endless Bliss, II..
[5]Awâmil:a famous textbook of nahw.
[6]Salâm:Islamic greeting expressing peace and good wishes.
[7]Sunnat:an act done and liked by the Prophet, yet a duty of lesser degreee than a wâjib..
[8]Wâjib:an act never omitted by the Prophet, almost as compulsory as a fard.
[9]Marriage contract as prescribed by Islam. There is detailed information aobut nikâh in the twelfth chapter of the fifth fascicle of Endless Blisss.
[10]Talqîn:words telling and making the soul and heart of a dead person hear through the effect of the knowledge of îmân.
[11]With its twelve hundred pages, the book, in Turkish, is a masterpiece and an ocean of religious and worldly knowledge. Part of it has been translated into English in fascicles, 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5. Its Arabic translation is underway.
[12]Tekke:a school where a murhid trains his disciples.
[13]Sharî'at:the laws of Islam.
[14]Al-'ilm al-ladunnî:knowledge inspired by Allah to the hearts of Awliyâ'.

This part is quoted from the book of "The Proof of Prophethood"

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