The First Word
بِسْمِ اللّٰهِ الرَّحْمٰنِ الرَّح۪يمِ IN THE NAME OF GOD, THE MERCIFUL, THE COMPASSIONATE
وَ بِهٖ نَس۟تَعٖينُ And from Him do we seek help.
اَل۟حَم۟دُ لِلّٰهِ رَبِّ ال۟عَالَمٖينَ All praise be to God, the Sustainer of All the Worlds,
وَ الصَّلَاةُ وَ السَّلَامُ عَلٰى سَيِّدِنَا مُحَمَّدٍ and blessings and peace be upon our master Muhammad,
وَ عَلٰى اٰلِهٖ وَ صَح۟بِهٖ اَج۟مَعٖينَ and on all his Family and Companions.
[Brother! You wanted a few words of advice from me, so listen to a few truths included in eight short stories, which since you are a soldier, are in the form of comparisons of a military nature. I consider my own soul to need advice more than anyone, and at one time I addressed my soul at some length with Eight Words inspired by eight verses of the Qur’an from which I had benefited. Now I shall address my soul with these same Words, but briefly and in the language of ordinary people. Whoever wishes may listen together with me.]
The First Word
Bismillah, “In the Name of God,” is the start of all things good. We too shall start with it. Know, O my soul! Just as this blessed phrase is a mark of Islam, so too it is constantly recited by all beings through their tongues of disposition.
If you want to know what an inexhaustible strength, what an unending source of bounty is Bismillah, listen to the following story, which is in the form of a comparison. It goes like this:
Someone who makes a journey through the deserts of Arabia has to travel in the name of a tribal chief and enter under his protection, for in this way he may be saved from the assaults of bandits and secure his needs. On his own he will perish in the face of innumerable enemies and needs.
And so, two men went on such a journey and entered the desert. One of them was modest and humble, the other proud and conceited. The humble man assumed the name of a tribal chief, while the proud man did not. The first travelled safely wherever he went. If he encountered bandits, he said: “I am travelling in the name of such-and-such tribal leader,” and they did not molest him. If he came to some tents, he was treated respectfully due to the name. But the proud man suffered indescribable calamities throughout his journey. He both trembled before everything and begged from everything. He was abased and became an object of scorn.
My proud soul! You are the traveller, and this world is a desert. Your impotence and poverty have no limit, and your enemies and needs are endless. Since it is thus, take the name of the Pre-Eternal Ruler and Post-Eternal Lord of the desert and be saved from begging before the whole universe and trembling before every event.
Yes, this phrase is a treasury so blessed that your infinite impotence and povert y bind you to an infinite power and mercy; it makes your impotence and poverty a most acceptable intercessor at the Court of One All-Powerful and Compassionate.
The person who acts saying, “In the Name of God,” resembles someone who enrolls in the army. He acts in the name of the government; he has fear of no one; he speaks, performs every matter, and withstands everything in the name of the law and the name of the government.
At the beginning we said that all beings say “In the Name of God” through the tongue of disposition. Is that so?
Indeed, it is so. If you were to see that a single person had come and had driven all the inhabitants of a town to a place by force and compelled them to work, you would be certain that he had not acted in his own name and through his own power, but was a soldier, acting in the name of the government and relying on the power of the king.
Öyle de her şey, Cenab-ı Hakk’ın namına hareket eder ki zerrecikler gibi tohumlar, çekirdekler başlarında koca ağaçları taşıyor, dağ gibi yükleri kaldırıyorlar.
Demek her bir ağaç, Bismillah der. Hazine-i rahmet meyvelerinden ellerini dolduruyor, bizlere tablacılık ediyor.
Her bir bostan, Bismillah der. Matbaha-i kudretten bir kazan olur ki çeşit çeşit, pek çok muhtelif leziz taamlar, içinde beraber pişiriliyor.
Her bir inek, deve, koyun, keçi gibi mübarek hayvanlar Bismillah der. Rahmet feyzinden birer süt çeşmesi olur. Bizlere Rezzak namına en latîf, en nazif, âb-ı hayat gibi bir gıdayı takdim ediyorlar.
Her bir nebat ve ağaç ve otların ipek gibi yumuşak kök ve damarları, Bismillah der. Sert olan taş ve toprağı deler, geçer. Allah namına, Rahman namına der, her şey ona musahhar olur. Evet, havada dalların intişarı ve meyve vermesi gibi o sert taş ve topraktaki köklerin kemal-i suhuletle intişar etmesi ve yer altında yemiş vermesi hem şiddet-i hararete karşı aylarca nazik, yeşil yaprakların yaş kalması, tabiiyyunun ağzına şiddetle tokat vuruyor. Kör olası gözüne parmağını sokuyor ve diyor ki:
En güvendiğin salabet ve hararet dahi emir tahtında hareket ediyorlar ki, o ipek gibi yumuşak damarlar, birer asâ-yı Musa (as) gibi فَقُل۟نَا اض۟رِب۟ بِعَصَاكَ ال۟حَجَرَ emrine imtisal ederek taşları şakkeder. Ve o sigara kâğıdı gibi ince, nâzenin yapraklar; birer aza-yı İbrahim (as) gibi ateş saçan hararete karşı يَا نَارُ كُونٖى بَر۟دًا وَ سَلَامًا âyetini okuyorlar.
Madem her şey manen Bismillah der. Allah namına Allah’ın nimetlerini getirip bizlere veriyorlar. Biz dahi Bismillah demeliyiz. Allah namına vermeliyiz, Allah namına almalıyız. Öyle ise Allah namına vermeyen gafil insanlardan almamalıyız.
Sual: Tablacı hükmünde olan insanlara bir fiyat veriyoruz. Acaba asıl mal sahibi olan Allah, ne fiyat istiyor?
Elcevap: Evet, o Mün’im-i Hakiki, bizden o kıymettar nimetlere, mallara bedel istediği fiyat ise üç şeydir. Biri zikir, biri şükür, biri fikirdir.
Başta Bismillah zikirdir.
Âhirde Elhamdülillah şükürdür.
Ortada, bu kıymettar hârika-i sanat olan nimetler, Ehad-i Samed’in mu’cize-i kudreti ve hediye-i rahmeti olduğunu düşünmek ve derk etmek fikirdir. Bir padişahın kıymettar bir hediyesini sana getiren bir miskin adamın ayağını öpüp hediye sahibini tanımamak ne derece belâhet ise öyle de zâhirî mün’imleri medih ve muhabbet edip Mün’im-i Hakiki’yi unutmak, ondan bin derece daha belâhettir.
Ey nefis, böyle ebleh olmamak istersen Allah namına ver, Allah namına al, Allah namına başla, Allah namına işle. Vesselâm.