Sohbet 12 January 2009 Muharrem sohbet with the guest from Egypt Ask Huseyin Bey (the guest

t from Egypt) if he will let me ask him a question. (Huseyin Bey said yes, of course) - Do you know any ceremonies that are done in Egypt on 10th Muharrem. May be you have heard from your grandfathers. - Yes, we celebrate 10th Muharrem in Egypt. - How? -We celebrate 10th Muharrem, we fast for 3 days, 1 before and 1 after -Do you do any common rituals, prayers? -We also celebrate 1st Muharrem. It is a public holiday and there is the celebration. It is the new years day. - Any rituals specifically for Kerbela? -The rituals on 10th of Muharrem do not have any relation with Hz Huseyin and Kerbela. They are all related to the sunnet of Resulullah sav. -So were there any ceremonies in the old days, in the dergahs? -Yes, in the old days, there used to be celebrations in the dergahs and mosques. -So what were the ceremonies? -They usually started with fasting that day, then tesbih and salavat -Do you cook asure? -Yes, it is a tradition. We cook it and eat it. -OK. Thank you Huseyin. This year, for some reason, TRT (the government tv of turkey) has done many programmes because of Muharrem. They have invited me to some and I have attended. And most of the time after a few sentences I took my leave not to start swearing. Unfortunately, they give wrong information and they give this as objective information. This is very wrong. Today, someone said on TV that alevis fasted in Muharrem. This is a false information. Before Ramadan fasting became farz, Resulullah sav used to fast between 1st and 10th of Muharrem. He did this since he was young ( even before the prophet hood). After the first year of Hicret, Resulullah sav saw that Jews of Medina also fasted during 10th Muharrem. As per the Medina treaty as you know, those days, they used to live happily together. Also, there were almost no idol worshippers in Medina, only a few. So Resulullah sav has asked Jews why they were fasting. Jews said that it was their Big Day (in Arabic Yevmi Kebir-in Hebrew Yom Kippur). Today is the day when Moses as, has rescued us from the Pharaoh. Today, Yom Kippur is not same as 10th Muharrem as in time Jews changed their calendars. Even the Gregorian calendar has seen many changes and in the end there is a 13 days difference. So today, all calendars have differences. In Turkey, hicri calendar was used until Sultan Mahmud. Then Rumi calendar was used and following 1925, Gregorian calendar came into use. Therefore, Yom Kippur has today changed, but during Resulullah savs time, it was same as 10th Muharrem. So just for the reason not to look like Jews, Resulullah sav has verbally banned fasting if it was only done on 10th Muharrem. Therefore, the fasting that is sunnet in Muharrem is done either on 1st and 10th of Muharrem, or on 9th and 10th or on 10th and 11th. Just like fasting only on Fridays. So you either fast Thursday and Friday or Friday and Saturday. The important thing here is the intention. The most repeatative form of worship is praying 5 times a day. However in Kuran, Allah does not say Pray. This is very important. Prayer is not something you can start and

finish. It never finishes. Allah always says Ikame Salat ( always keep the prayer alive, standing). So Allah is saying, always keep the prayer alive. There is a big difference. For example, you pray the noon prayer and you say it is finished. No. You have to get prepared for afternoon prayer. So you must say, in maximum four hours (biggest difference between noon and afternoon prayer is 4 hours in summer), I will again be in Allahs presence. The ones who can do it like this are called the doers of salati daimun (permanent salat). Salati daimun does not mean always pray at all times as we have natural needs. Allah says in the Kurani Kerim, Fesallili Rabbike (pray (do the salat) for your Rab, Allah). What does this mean? All other worships are for Allah as well. Not to Allah but for Allah. To pray for Allah also includes praying to Allah as well. So you do it for Allah. The reason is Allah and nothing else. Today, a part of our public think that Hz Huseyin was surrounded from 1st to 10th of Muharrem. He was only surrounded between 7th of Muharrem morning till 10th Muharrem noontime. Before that, there was a battle that went on until 7th Muharrem. And noontime 10th Muharrem, Hz Huseyin was martyred. People are saying that Between 1st and 10th of Muharrem, Hz Huseyin and people with him did not eat or drink, therefore we will not eat and drink. We will fast. This is wrong, as it is not worship for Allah. This cant be called fasting. If you do not eat (not fast-but just dont eat) just because of your immense love, then it is ok. Like Veysel Karani Hz, after learning that Resulullah sav has lost a tooth during Uhud war, he has broken his tooth with a rock saying, If the one I love has lost a tooth, I am ashamed to live with all my teeth. This is something else. Some may say that breaking ones tooth means doing harm to ones body. It does not. On the contrary, it is pleasure to ones heart. Knowing that Resulullah savs tooth is broken and breaking your own tooth is pleasure to heart and not all can understand this. Love is not the work of mind but it is work of the heart. There is a story that goes as Hz Veysel Karani has broken all his 32 teeth, as he did not know which one was broken. While doing this, he chipped his jawbone as well. So he did a tespih to himself in total with 33 pieces. This is narrative. It is also told that Hz Sad bin Ebi Vakkas tied 33 knots to a string and used it as a tesbih. Resulullah savs number of tesbih is 33 and today we also use 33 Subhanallah, 33 Elhamdulillah, 33 Allahu Ekber. Also in dervishood, we start with 33. In all tarikats it is like this except Mevleviyye and Nakshiyye. In these two paths, the numbers are different. So, as Veysel Karani Hz did out of his immense love, one today can say that Hz Huseyin did not eat or drink anything in first 10 days of Muharrem and I wont eat as well. This is OK. But, you cannot say I will fast because Hz Huseyin did not eat. You cant fast for Hz Huseyin or Resulullah sav. This is shirk (attributing partners to Allah). You can only fast for Allah. Wahabbis use the word shirk for too many things and I dont like it. But this is real shirk as it is a worship with intention of someone elses sake other than Allah. You can stay with an empty stomach because Hz Huseyin did not eat. But you cant fast for this reason. Also, out of their love there are people hitting themselves with chains to experience the same pain as Hz Huseyin. This is OK. However, if they show this as a duty that Islam states, then it is wrong. This is related to love and cant be explained with the mind. Some say this is tyranny against ones own body. No. A person is not only made of the body. A human being is made of the heart. Body is hearts instrument and it uses it like a car, horse etc. Like there is a term called ilgar which means the way to ride a horse in order to reach the ultimate speed in emergency. You kick the horse constantly with spur and whip. Sometimes the horse dies. Everything is for humans and the human is for Allah. And if the

horse dies it is like martyrdom. So out of love, what you do may hurt you. But this is not against Islam. If you say this is a duty in Islam, then it is wrong. You can do it out of love. If you will be sad because of Hz Huseyins martyrdom, first you have to strive to be like him. Then you can hit yourself with the chain. The reason behind Hz Huseyins martyrdom was that he did not say yes to the tyrant and did not submit to yezid, as sultanate that passed from father to son was not in Islam. There are others, like Hz Abdullah ibni Abbasnephew of Resulullah sav, who did not submit as well. There are some people that cut themselves with razor when they listen to Muslum Gursess songs. So why cant people accept that some (out of love) can hit themselves with chain? Many ehli sunnet have written nutuks about Hz Huseyin and we will try to bring all of these together in one book in the coming year. Among the ones who wrote, one is the latest seyh of Hz Misri Asitane, Semseddin Efendi Hz. He is also a father in law to our family in the past. We have heard many things about him. He is with immense love but he is a radical as well. He had immense love for Hz Huseyin. Many years ago, I have said this on television, to love Hz Huseyin is not in the ownership of any sect or group. Not to love them is against being a Muslim. That is it. And to say bad things about Hz Ebu Bekr, Hz Omer, Hz Osman and Hz Aise just because you love Hz Huseyin is also against Islam. It is an act of infidel. In the ayet, Allah says that Resulullah sav is dearer to the believers then their own selves. Many from the ashab, during the days of Resulullah sav used to say in immense love, may my father, mother, child, wife be sacrificed to you ya Resulullah These are the mumins. We are dust on all of their feet. Elhamdulillah the ones who pray five times a day automatically give salat and selam to Resulullah, his close ones and his ashab. So which one is better? To show your love of Resulullah and his close ones and ashab through praying 5 times a day and remembering them or to stay hungry just in the beginning of Muharrem? I am not talking about fasting. That is different. Also in the ayet Allah says, the wives of Resulullah sav are mothers of the believers. So Hz Ayse is our mother. Today during evening prayer, Hoca Efendi has recited the 41st ayet of surei Tevbe. There, there is a very important phrase and it says sani esneyn (the second of the two). In this ayet Allah explains the situation of Resulullah sav and Hz Ebu Bekr in the Sevr cave during the first days of their migration to Medina. And Allah says second of the two in the ayet. The first of the two is Resulullah sav and the second is Hz Ebu Bekr ra. How can you speak bad about Hz Aise. By the way today some idiot Muslims go to Iran to learn Islam. They go to Islamic academy in city of Kum. They dont teach Islam there. They are teaching how to govern a country through Islam. There they say Hz Aise did wrong after Resulullah sav has left this world and therefore they say Hz Aise is not included in that ayet. This is very bad. Allahs ayets are constant. Someone I knew went to Iran to learn Islam. I have told him not to go, as everything was present here. He went. And there, they have shown him very bad ways of interpreting the Kuran where Hz Ebu Bekr, Hz Omer and Hz Osman were attributed very badly. This is terrible. Hz Ali kv. Has submitted to all 3 khaliphs before him. This is a fact from history. When Hz Osman Efendimiz was surrounded, Hz Ali sent Hz Hasan and Hz Huseyin to protect him. And Hz Hasans left hand was cut during the incident. After Hz Osman was martyred they came back, and Hz Hasan was hiding his hand at the back. Hz Ali became very angry as he thought they could not rescue Hz Osman and he slapped them. Then Hz Hasan showed his deeply cut hand and said, we did everything we could but could not succeed. Also, I tell

every time and will tell again. Following Hz Fatmas moving on to hereafter, Hz Ali got married again and he had many children. Among his children, there were many called Ebu Bekr, Omer and Osman. Many of his children are buried in Baghdat today and you can see their tombs. Also, he had a daughter called Ummu Gulsum, and she got married to Hz Omer. So Hz Omer is Hz Alis son in law in a way. So how can you say bad things about Hz Omer while you claim you love Hz Ali? Last week I have told, and am telling now again. We can call imam Efendimiz (off spring of Hz Huseyin)imam. It means leader, chief. But, if you call them innocent imam, then it is wrong, as in Islam there is no concept of innocence. Even the prophets will be questioned, as even them are not innocent. If you study for an exam well, you feel great. But if you do not study, then you will be in pain. So the exam of prophets, like this, is very easy for them. Innocence only belongs to young children and crazy people, as you cannot question their actions. The idea of not doing wrong and not guiding wrong only belongs to the Pope in Catholic Christianity. Even in Orthodox Christianity, the Patrick is respectable but is believed that can do mistakes. By the way, when Galileo said the world was turning, the Pope of the time banned him from religion. Also, religion is a conscience act. A person is fully free to choose his religion based on his own conscience. No one can excommunicate another from religion. This is against the honour of being a human being. Same happens in alevis. Some elders in alevis can decide if one can become an alevi or not. This is not in line with Islam. And when you add all these contradictions up, you cant say alevis are muslims. Resulullah sav is rahmeten lil Alemin (mercy upon universes) not rahmeten lil muslimin (mercy upon muslims). Allah is Rabbul alemin, not Rabbul muslimin. Therefore, as happens in Yezidis, a beloved veli (like Adibi Misafir Hz) can be used as a saint on a false path. The very being of Resulullah sav is the reason for all existence. Today, idol worshipper, fire worshipper, non believer, drunkard, prostitute, thief etc, all owe their existence to Muhammed Mustafa sav. Therefore, even the non-believers, infidels can benefit from the evliyaullah that followed Resulullah sav. Just likes Yezidis did to Adibi Misafir Hz. Today, his tomb is occupied by Yezidis. Same happens in Istanbul to the tombs of beloveds of Allah like Karaca Ahmet Sultan. Ummi Sinan Hz may go very soon. Even Sunbul Efendi may be in danger. By the way, thanks for your attendance on 10th Muharrem. In the science of tefsir ( explaining Kuran), the first 2 steps are the meaning in dictionary, and the reason behind the ayets coming. So you first look at the reason and then try to give the meaning. There are 17, 18 other requirements, but the first two steps as explained above are a must to explain an ayet. So if you look at the ayets in tefsir, you will see the incidents in the lives of the ashab, their wills, requests etc in detail. For example, following Esma binti Ebu Bekrs (older sister of Hz Ayse) action against her mother, an ayet came. Hz Esma binti Abu Bekrs mother was not a muslim so she did not allow her to enter Resulullah savs house. Then Allah, in the ayet explained that it was good in His eyes to welcome guests who did not come as an enemy. So like this you can see the incidents happened to Hz Ebu Bekr, Hz Omer, Hz Osman and Hz Ali and understand the way they have lived. There have been many ayets related to them.

So do not only listen to these words and go. Try to turn them into action. Live by showing that you love Hz Huseyin. Be like him. Lets pray for each other so that we will be like him. But dont be a Don Chiote. Keep the balance. We learn this from Resulullah sav. When Hz Omer became muslim, that day, he wanted to pray in front of the Kabe. And Resulullah sav said that they were not ready yet. There is a man, who used my name and deceived a woman. The woman came to me in Konya during the day. I was sitting outside. She asked me if I knew so and so. I asked her to describe him, but couldnt remember. The woman told me that this guy told her that I was reading the Kuran and sending it to Medina with some money. So she gave him some money as well. I told her that I never collected money and I did not know anything about this. And I asked her why she gave the money. She said she knew my books, she loved me etc etc. She started to explain: after Hz Sems left, Hz Mevlana used to give anything to the ones who brought news from Hz Sems. And people said to Hz Mevlana, that many were lying. And Hz Mevlana said, thats ok, if they told the truth, I would have given them my life. She told this story to me. Then she said, I love you so much, so I really dont care what happened to the money. Then I said, look at me. I am not Sems and you are not Mevlana. So dont act like Mevlana before you are Mevlana. Then I told her the lines from Semseddin Sivasi Hz : O friend, do not think that the words of the drunkard come from themselves, How can one say Enel hak (I am the truth) if he is not Mansur So if you say Enel hak before being Mansur, you are a hypocrite. You can want to be like Mansur and that is OK, but you cant say I am mature, before you are mature. So before reaching a certain level in debating, battling, discussing, do not say that you are a man of wisdom. Do not be a Don Chiote. It is as if fighting a windmill with a broken stick and a skinny horse. So know what you are going to fight against and with what instrument. A muslims weapon is his faith. And right next to it is his knowledge. If you have this, then you come to a status where Resulullah sav said Beware of the Muslims foresight. Then what they call keramet ( incidents like miracles) happens. Then you start seeing through the wall of the nefs. Those nefs walls can only be taken down with the glance of the true muslim. If we can be like this, then todays public gets improved like it was in our forefathers time. May Allah forgive us for the sake of Resulullah sav and give us the foresight. Allah likes to hear Resulullah savs name in our supplications. And in order to make Resulullah happy, we need to make each other happy. May Allah let us be like this.. Selamun Aleykum.