These exalted souls are lovers with angels; they always stand their position, even in the case of possible devastation, collapse, or resentment. They carry out their duties only to please God. They deem themselves responsible towards the community in which they live. They are neither grieved by the disturbance of their work or the disruption of their plans, nor do they panic in the face of dangers descended over their community. Above all, they never fall into despair.

They are patient and skilled, and strong and determined in their relations with others. They prepare and build radiant kiosks, silently but vigilantly, and they wait for their guests. Whoever enters their atmosphere can feel as if they met Khidr, and whoever intermingles and sympathizes with them attains true happiness.

Brightness can be seen in their faces, wisdom in their thoughts, and truth in their speech. Those who enter their private spiritual space burdened with pessimism and hopelessness leave lightened with faith and hope, having acquired the secret to everlasting existence.

Neither the darkness of menacing nights, nor the multiplicity of accumulated problems can discourage them. Even if they were faced with Noah’s flood, they would walk away from it without a drop touching their feet. If the destruction like the one that befell the people of ‘Ad² fell upon them, they would carry on, marching towards their target without loss of resolution or determination. Neither the fire of Nimrod, or the Pharaoh’s arrogance, nor even the atrocious despotism of Caesar could intimidate them.

Their mind has no place for excuses like, “let it be morning, then we can go,” or “let first the cold winter finish, let the snow melt and the spring come, then we can carry on our way.” They are like graceful, inveterate trees whose branches spread beautifully towards heaven, and, by the grace of God, bear fruit in both winter and snow, in both spring and summer.

Owing completely to the All-Powerful in whom they put their trust, they do not expect help, or rely on appreciation. They are not deceived by the capricious attitudes of others. Their vision will not be blurred by the might of tyrants, and their path will not be diverted by promises of wealth or power. Whenever they visualize a terrifying day—when people are desperate and buckle at the knees, when even the proudest crumple—they despise everything about the worldly life, avoid falling into the materialist void, and rise up against the idol of sensuality. Luxury and comfort are the two things they never aspire to. They consider the lethargy of a comfortable life as death for themselves and misfortune for their nation. In the eyes of their community, they strive to accommodate new ideas and perspectives. They seek to engage in relationships with all who are open to healthy, appropriate dialogues.

Throughout history, such immortal souls have never avoided their responsibilities; they have stood firm as a chain of mountains. They were neither distracted by success nor dejected by defeat; they were not misled by the multiplicity of false lodestars, nor left dumbfounded by the destruction of their shrines. Throughout history the light of their moon was extinguished, their sun did not rise, and their stars fell one by one, but they changed neither their direction, nor their path. They have remained steadfast, resolute and truehearted.

They have always been like an army of spirits who carry the vessel of life to their people. In return, the people have always been thankful, and remained faithful.

What about those who give up and stay behind because they have been scared and disheartened when faced with a little adversity? those who always wait for spring to come? those who are shaken, slacken and easily discouraged when confronted with minor oppression? those who want to govern the masses but constantly defraud, mislead and stupefy them? What about those miserable people whose pasts are troubled, whose presents are humiliating, and whose futures are susceptible to unpredictable hysteria?

They are those who behave like daredevils when spring arrives, and hop from branch-to-branch when the sun rises. But when it snows they become sluggish, and when night descends, they, too, fall into languor. They await awards at the frontline, but when the drums of danger beat, they withdraw and vanish into thin air. They are abstinent only when confronted with poverty, but act like Korah³ when showered with abundance. They are dynamic when they are flattered, but lazy and indolent when forgotten. In short, they fall into such disrepute, humiliation, and failure that it would be no exaggeration to describe them as the disgraced of their community.

I am not sure if anything can be explained to those unfortunate ones who feel saturated with thoughts and ideas even before they have awoken to their own person, those who drown in the dullness of habit and routine, those who lose the fervor of their faith and spiritual delights. How I wish even these disordered lines could mean something to them…

¹ Khidr is a spiritual personality and a man of wisdom in Islamic tradition. He lives in an angelic way, serving God in the execution of His commands and succoring people in hard conditions. It is reported that Khidr drank from a fountain in Paradise, granting him immortal life.

² ‘Ad was an ancient tribe from the region of Yemen. The people of ‘Ad rebelled against the Prophet sent to them by God (Prophet Hud, peace be upon him), and did not heed his warnings. Thus, they received the wrath of God and were destroyed in a great storm.

³ Korah was a wealthy person from among the people of Moses, peace be upon him, and his story is told both in the Qur’an and the Bible. According to the Qur’anic description, he was so rich that the very keys of his treasures alone were “too heavy a burden for a company of strong people” (Qasas 28:76). But he falsely claimed exclusive ownership over this wealth which was granted to him by God, and he betrayed his own people.

Taking refuge in a remote place, seeking seclusion to put in order one’s relationship with the Lord is not the only approach. This relationship can also be maintained by restoring one’s interpretation of overall existence and one’s personal life, keeping it fresh with self-accounting and by seeking nearness, love, and zeal. A person engaged in this sort of practice does not spend even one minute in neglect, and feels greater peace as they deepen in servanthood. A physician, to give an example, perfects their studies of human anatomy and physiology as they research these subjects. Perhaps, for this reason, Imam Ghazzali ascribes equal importance to both medicine and religious studies in his work Ihya’ Ulum al-Din (Reviving the Religious Sciences), and he stresses the fact that the negligence of either will bring harm to the nation of Islam. What a great negligence that would be! Imagine, when even the smallest toenail gives discomfort to your foot, you look for someone to alleviate the pain. Then someone comes and soothes your pain; you look upon such a person as being Khidr.¹ A believing physician assumes the same role when they heal any major or trivial maladies. Rewarded for being helpful to others as a member of the community and providing services to people, physicians may be considered to be saints at a level which no one else can reach. It is my opinion that a believing physician can be saved just by engaging in medicine. This is a balance, and it should be considered as such. It is the same for religious studies; if you retreat in seclusion, others may suffer from denial and atheism, as they would be deprived of religious teaching.

I would like to refer to the experience of some of the Prophet’s Companions who came to his house one day when he was absent. They asked the Prophet’s purest wives about his prayers and his worship. His wives explained the Prophet’s way to them, but considering their level in God’s sight in comparison to that of the Prophet’s, they thought that they needed to do more than the Prophet did: “Who are we and who is the Prophet (how can we be compared to him)? The past and future sins of the Prophet have already been forgiven.” One of them said, “From now on I will say my prayers (perform salat) the whole night until the morning.” A second one said, “I will fast all my life, I will not miss a day.” The third said, “I will abandon women, and will never touch them.” They left the Prophet’s house with these thoughts. When the Messenger of God was informed of this, he commanded them as follows: “(I was told that) you said this and that. I swear by God that I am the one among you who fears God most and who avoids His prohibitions most. But, sometimes I fast and sometimes I eat, sometimes I pray and sometimes I sleep, and I sleep with women. (This is my way, Sunna) whoever turns away from my Sunna is not of me.”

This incident clearly reveals that the Messenger of God, peace and blessings be upon him, hated any extremism in the conduct of religion, just as he hated disobedience (ma’siyat). Like disobedience, or sinning, which upsets the balance in Islamic life and diverts one from one’s orbit, extremism in religion is an imbalance; it is something to keep well away from.

Perhaps all of us have had some kind of imbalance in our life. During my mission in Trakya, in order to restrain my human dispositions, and to avoid stumbling over the carnal desires of my youth, I used to eat one meal a day with no calorie. The Messenger of God, peace and blessings be upon him, recommended fasting to bring these desires under control. I could probably have obtained the same result if I had eaten less, slept less, and performed more services for the faith. I remember that I prayed “My Lord, send me affliction, so that I can only deal with my pain and forget about my carnal self.” I prayed for even harsher demands to demote my self. This was a mistake, and a result of ignorance about balance. The Messenger of God, peace and blessings be upon him, said, “Ask forgiveness and health from God.” We are supposed to keep to the balance which the Prophet enjoined us.

Another issue in which proper balance is not maintained today is the rights of parents and visiting relatives. God emphasizes this issue in the Qur’an to such an extent that showing respect to parents is listed next to worshipping Him. Even while running at the forefront in the service of the faith and the Qur’an, we have to make use of every opportunity to kiss their hands and win their hearts. We may have too many other things that we have to do; our parents may think differently from us on many issues. Unless they rebel against God, they are worth everything we can do for them; they are the means by which we were born into this life

Before we plan anything, we have to take into account every possible difficulty that we may confront-illness, elderliness, etc. When we decide on something, we have to focus to accomplish the work to the end; but we must make sure not to undertake a load we cannot carry.

Footnote

1. Khidr, peace be upon him, is a blessed person whose name is mentioned in the Qur’anic commentaries and the hadith (Bukhari, Tafsir, 249). Khidr (or Khadir) literally means green or a place with abundant green plantation. According to a hadith Khidr was named so because he sat over a barren white land and it turned green with plantation after (his sitting over it) (Bukhari, Anbiya, 29). It is also reported that since Khidr drank from a fountain in Paradise, every place he stepped on turned green (Makdisi, III, 78).