Revival through Him and Ascension in the ‘School of Prophet Joseph’

Mecca experienced a prolonged drought.

When Almighty God’s mercy came down in a form of incarnation, with the name ‘Muhammad’, peace and blessings be upon him, the dry land once again became anew with the bliss of spring.

However, to spread seeds among the land, to beautify it with God’s will, to clean it as if to clean a garden, to cut the thorns, and to ‘welcome’ the roses, was not an easy task.

The Pride of Humanity suffered for 13 years there; then honoured the city of Medina for a period of 7 or 8 years.

Mecca is dry again, dry again, and dry again.

When he placed a foot on its ground; all at once, the land started blossoming, the land bloomed and grew upon hearing of his Prophethood

And it came alive as if being born for the first time.

‘His birth is like the birth of humanity’, as expressed in a saying.

Because before he graced the earth, humankind was far from its humanity; humanity was unaware of the intent of its creation.

God Almighty states, ‘I have created the jinn and humankind to (know and) worship Me (exclusively)’; as Ibn Abbas comments, ‘To know Me, to acknowledge Me, and to worship Me’.

However, humanity was unaware of this truth, heedless and estranged.

The Messenger of God tried many, many different strategies.

He tapped into main veins, and produced alternatives, with God’s permission; if one was clogged, then he used another.

‘May the roads to God always be open’, he said, by God’s permission.

Because of the roads and veins he opened, spreading like a centrifugal force, his cause has reached us today.

But droughts occur periodically.

‘We deal them out in turns among people so that God may mark out those who (truly) believe and select from among you such as bear witness to the truth (with their lives)—(it is a fact that) God does not love the wrongdoers (and in the end He punishes wrong and makes truth superior)’ (Al Imran, 3:140).

In a way, through Almighty God’s commands and Divine will, days and time go through phases; it is spring to one person one day, and spring to another the other day; autumn to one person one day, and autumn to another the other day.

It would be fatalism to turn a blind eye to human willpower when looking at all of this under ordinary conditions.

At the same time not seeing God’s will puts one in the place of determinism, but ‘human will’ is a must under ordinary conditions.

God transforms droplets into oceans, creates suns from particles.

As Bediüzzaman said, ‘I am but a particle, but I desire the eternal sun.

I am nothing, but desire all of creation.’

We, even with our particle sized constitutions, desire the universe, suns and the Milky Way; millions of galaxies such as the Milky Way.

When we ask with our tiny will, God will grant us those wishes, He will provide people with special abodes in the afterlife.

As that is the ‘realm of power’, with the decree ‘Be!’ anything can and will be created.

However, in this realm, causality may delay matters.

Let us return:

The world of Islam is experiencing a drought currently.

Let some people claim they have transformed it into ‘blooming gardens’.

It is nothing, just empty consolation, forgive my language, demagogy and cunning.

Those people that know of nothing, who willingly believe and follow those lies as if they were a herd may think so, but those in the heavens must be witnessing this with a bitter smile.

Those on earth who share the same emotions with those in the heavens also share the same bitter smile.

‘Everywhere is perfect, everything has turned into rose gardens!’

Alas! Where is it!

‘O the Rose that turns the scorching desert into Heaven!

Come and flow into my soul with your enchanting colours!

It is high time your smiles shone into my crying eyes.

O Rose that turns scorching deserts into Heaven!’

Everything depends again on feeling him, peace and blessings be upon him, deeply in our hearts.

When you feel him, he will respond to your inner feelings; he'll consider that an invitation and approach in spirit, in message or sense, without you realising your heart will share that deep feeling.

Do not be faint of heart nor cower, do not fall nor stumble; perhaps you could be shaken but never collapse, do not forget that you lean on pillars that will never collapse.

‘If a garden is not looked after,

it will become a thorn patch’

A garden that has not been looked after for a few centuries has surely turned into a thorn patch covered in weeds.

However, such a thorn patch, just like in the Period of Ignorance, will turn into a ‘rose garden’ thanks to his pure breath.

Persian books by the Zengid Turks had such titles referring to gardens.

Indeed, if you want your world to be like a garden once again, I think one has the responsibility to turn all their attention towards him, peace and blessings be upon him.

But where is our consent and our countenance; where is his countenance?

But so be it.

As expressed in different remembrances, the sultans, when inviting the people, could invite an unworthy one amongst them and say, ‘O naughty one, you come to’.

We should consider ourselves as such, to take steps in such a manner, as walking towards a Sultan.

We say:

Countenance breeds countenance; if you look, they will look, too.

You will look out with your narrow perception; but they will look with their unlimited and vast view.

And when they look, suddenly the thorn patch will become a garden, a rose garden.

‘By the disclosure of your beauty, O my Beloved, the spring is in fire!

the rose is in fire, the nightingale is in fire, the hyacinth is in fire, the soil and thorns are in fire.’

With his love, the hearts are like that of a flame.

These quotes are by the noble As’ad Effendi.

When the hearts burn like coal with his love, the noble Prophet comes to put out this fire.

At this stage, this will be equivalent to one crying tears of sadness.

Let those tears flow; because this will extinguish the fire of trouble and calamity.

Then tears of happiness will follow.

The generations that follow after you will bask in that garden, by the grace of God Almighty.

Do not doubt this.

Do not fall into hopelessness; for ‘Despair is a barrier to perfection’ says Bediüzzaman.

Mehmet Akif says:

‘Despair is such a pit that if one falls, they will drown.

Don’t let go of hope, and watch yourself grow.

Those who survived and live, do so, with their hopes and their perseverance;

Those in despair, bind their soul and their conscience.’

Though from some of his poetry, one could fall into a certain level of hopelessness as well.

As an example:

He is asked, ‘What did you see in your many travels through the East?

What I saw:

In some places,

Cities in ruin, leaderless communities and homes,

Ruined bridges; collapsed channels; roads with no passengers,

Wrinkled expressions; foreheads without a sign of sweat and lazy arms.

As I passed, I cried; as I stood, I cried;

Nobody hears nor replies; I saw thousands of wretched places.’

Elsewhere he says:

‘It is only my cries that hear my cries.

There is nobody that’s familiar, no beloved ones in the land.

I ask, ‘Where are my friends?’, in a loud voice

‘Where are my friends’, reply the valley, desert, and mountaintop.’

This, I think, is like the sound of a call to Prayer designed to wake those, such as us, from sleep.

Consider it like that.

You will recover and gather resilience and God will add great haste to your recovery and resilience.

You may be travelling along in 4th gear, then all of sudden you will realise you have increased to 8th gear and then to 16th—Is there such a gear?—or even 32nd gear.

The mercy of God is greater than all else.

My punishment—I afflict with it whom I will, but My mercy encompasses all things. (Al-Araf, 7:156).

God’s mercy is greater and encompasses all things. Just as He encompasses all things with His knowledge, so too does He with His mercy.

It is a favour of The Absolute, Eternal Authority.

If the calamities and challenges one is exposed to draws one closer to God then it must be regarded as a favour, and welcomed with praise.

Yet never fret nor worry.

‘Do not grieve; indeed God is with us.’ (At-Tawbah, 9:40).

‘If you do not aid the Prophet—you know very well that God has already aided him, God has always helped him.

And if you remember, those who disbelieved had driven Him out of Mecca and they had sought refuge in a cage as one of two, even when those who were following them approached the mouth of the cave, He did not show any fear nor worry, and with complete devotion and reliance on God He turned to his friend and said, ‘Do not grieve; indeed God is with us.’

God sent down his tranquility upon him and supported him with angels you did not see and He belittled the cause of the disbelievers.

God’s word and his cause on the other hand, is always sublime.

God is the owner of dignity and augustness, and God is Exalted in Might and Wise’ (At-Tawbah, 9:40).

He belittled the cause and thoughts of the tyrants; He belittled the claims and expressions of those involved in politics; God’s word and cause on the other hand, is always sublime.

The things the tyrants and persecutors will say and do to you are like trash beneath one’s feet.

However, ‘God’s word’ is different. Unspecific mentioning refers to the prime example, as this ‘word’ does.

When God speaks, all else is silent.

Come, let us all turn towards Him; let us always be in remembrance of Him, let us remember Him in a benevolent way; God, may He be glorified and exalted, will in turn reply to these drops of favours with oceans of favours.

We call that a ‘reply’ or a ‘return’; If you take a particle sized step towards Him, He will return to you by a distance that is to the Sun or Milky Way.

Do not give up, do not stumble, do not fall over, and do not be disrupted.

Oh, being ‘disrupted’ may be accepted; when a believer is disrupted, he won’t tumble forever; because he has faith, he leans on columns of faith.

The most important of these columns is the absolute column of the noble Spirit of the Master of Humankind; good news to Muslims, if they lean on such a column, then even the trumpet of Israfil cannot topple them.

Yes, even the trumpet of Israfil cannot topple them.

In my opinion, lean on him, consider him as a means to reach the ultimate goal.

To reach the ultimate aim.

If it was not like that, would God say, ‘There is no deity but God and Muhammad is the Messenger of God’?

Would He combine His Majestic Name, may He be glorified and exalted, with his majestic name, peace and blessings be upon him?

To reach the ultimate aim.

If you turn to him, this will be a means to turn to The Ultimate Truth and Ever-Constant.

The one who turns to Him will never experience any disappointment or defeat.

One day spent in prison, considered as the ‘School of Prophet Joseph’, is worth ten days of worshiping; the temporary hours will become means of gathering eternal fruits and few years will become means of freeing oneself from eternal prisons.

As Bediüzzaman says, ‘An hour of sentry duty under difficult circumstances will count as one year of worshipping, likewise an hour of worship under difficult circumstances will be worth many, and will turn the labour into mercy’.

Days spent in jail, each day can allow one to a gain ten days of worship.

And transform the temporary hours into eternal hours in terms of resulting fruits.

And become a means to free oneself from millions of years of eternal prison with only a few years of punishment is a translation of the blessed hadith:

‘An hour of sentry duty in war is worth a year of worshipping.’

God knows best, this is probably the minimum reward if one does this in belief.

If one considers sentry duty as an important duty, depending on sincerity, it may become ten years of worship. If he acts with passion and longing towards God, this may even become a hundred years.

This may lead to a reward that will exceed one’s lifetime.

Therefore, with God’s permission and grace, such a person can set up his imperial tent in the middle of Paradise.

Considering these points; you won’t believe how one small act will be rewarded with enormous courtesies of God, only if one is sincere.

Because God says so in a Divine hadith:

‘I have prepared for My righteous servants which no eye has ever seen, and no ear has ever heard, and no human heart has ever perceived’.

For My righteous servants.

For those who perform their servitude faultlessly, for those who do not tie their worship to ostentation, hypocrisy, applause and external appreciation, and worldly gains and profits. Who do not desire worldly gains and motives and dominion and lavishness and those who perform their worship with sincerity, and those who perform righteous deeds following their faith.

I have prepared such bounties that you cannot fathom them.

For this reason, it is said that no eyes have seen them, no ears have heard them, and no mind, not even the most sharp and imaginative, can ever imagine them. These bounties outstrip any imagination.

He says that He has prepared this.

From this perspective, in return for small deeds, the blessings that Almighty God will bestow have always been dazzling.

Therefore an hour could become a year, or a decade or even a century.

In times of dire need, for example, when the enemy strikes in wartime, or when one experiences martyrdom, this is multiplied by ten or a hundred. This is a separate matter.

It is described as ‘wakeful eyes’.

Those eyes are awake so that that the eyes that are meant to sleep can do so.

Those eyes are on sentry duty so that those resting can rest in peace; for the comfort of others.

In a way, they are sacrificing their own comfort for the comfort of others.

And this in one way represents the spirit of altruism, prioritising others’ living over one’s own.

Considering the foundation of the issue, this occurs.

And this is only in a situation where there is no war, no imminent danger, but a sentry duty in order to warn the others if danger appears.

Will he wake the others with a bugle, or an alarm, or by yelling? He will wake them up in some way, and warn them with ‘The enemy is coming’.

For this reason he is given such a reward.

The oppressors of today are resorting to means that the tyrants and disbelievers of the past did not dream of. They are attacking even the elderly in places of worship and the innocent women in their homes and babies in their cradles.

The imprisoned Hizmet people of our time did not engage in any adverse acts thanks to God’s consent and beneficence.

The people that are oppressing them now praised and paid tribute to them in stadiums, theatre halls and other places over the past twenty years.

‘What’s wrong with this?’

They said, ‘What’s wrong with this?’ to anyone who used to criticise them.

They said, ‘Our flag is being represented all across the world, the Majestic Name of God is breathed all across the world, and the majestic name of the Messenger is uttered all across the world.’

If you were to collate these, there may have been hundreds of times when hundreds of people said the same.

What kind of terrible lie through which they appreciated and praised for twenty years and now they want to turn rose gardens into gardens of thorns.

This is solely because uneducated people who are not even qualified to be shepherds occupy positions of power and suffer inferiority complexes.

Because they have been bestowed with the blessings of God Almighty that are beyond their comprehension and socio-cultural backgrounds.

Hence, they feel inferior.

This is because they do not have dignity.

They deny what they have been praising for twenty years.

In fact, some of them wrote in the newspapers of the day, ‘We should award these people the Nobel Prize’.

Now, for the past one or two years, in a tiny fraction of the past twenty years, they have turned against what they were glorifying in these dark days.

A person who can reason will use his judgment to see the inconsistencies of this issue and would compare what was said yesterday and today.

With this analysis one can make a sound decision on this issue.

But if one has ‘eaten their mind with cheese’ (has no sense), I guess there is nothing that could be said.

Why would you eat your mind with cheese when there is cream and honey?

But there are a lot of people who have ‘eaten their minds with cheese’.

Excuse me, this is a Turkish proverb that I have just used.

Yes, because they have done good.

Because they have exerted themselves for being a prominent factor in the balance of power on an international scale.

In this cause, they have done everything that they could have.

They remained hungry while feeding others.

They remained thirsty and let others drink.

They didn’t sleep and let others sleep.

They let others rest while they did not rest.

At a certain time they helped others carry out service that they considered to be significant.

A rebellious group comes upon this nation like a hammer every ten years under the guise of ‘renewal’.

First they used those people that they imprisoned to restrain others and said ‘an end to renewal’.

They would appear once in the 60s, 70s, 80s and say, ‘This country needs renewal’.

‘Well, the renewers of faith come every hundreds of years, that time span is quite distant, therefore, deformation can occur very quickly.

Then, it is best for us to appear every ten years. Let’s come down like a sledgehammer on their heads, so that they come to their senses and find the Straight Path, enter Paradise and gain God’s pleasure!’

I assume you understand the meaning behind this wit.

In order to bring them in line, those holding the reigns used these methods.

Then they put them under a tutelage, took their voices and said, ‘Enough of your talking’. ‘It is our turn for renewal’.

After getting them to complete this task, those in power say again, ‘One day these people will be a concern for us, perhaps it is best to overpower them as well’

What do we care? For the future and benefit of our fleet, villas and castles, we need to get rid of those who even imply some danger, so that we remain in pomp and power till we die.

They think like this, but they aren’t aware, there is a chance that those who hurt others can get hurt themselves.

Now, those people in jail have only been put there as the result of their innocence, their role in an important movement. They were put in jail in a cruel and oppressive manner.

Therefore, when we pray, we say; ‘The oppressed, the victimised, the jailed, those suffering, the broken-hearted’.

The broken-hearted people.

Ladies who have separated from their husbands; husbands who have separated from their wives, and their children are left all alone, some of them even thrown in jail.

The Friedrich Barbarossa’s, the Richard Lionheart’s who invaded those lands did not engage in the same extent of persecution. They didn’t touch those in places of worship, they didn’t touch innocents at home, they didn’t touch children.

All of what they do today is done simply to secure their rule and destroy the good that was achieved.

Whereas;

‘They put them on a lifeless horse

and put them down to darkness,

There are no parents, no ancestors.

they cover it all up.

No tribes, no brothers

Nor spouses, nor companions.

Only a pair of stones on your grave will be placed as a mark’

This belongs to Yunus Emre.

This is fate; it doesn't matter how much you struggle; it’s still fate.

God Almighty states:

‘Every soul is bound to taste death’ (Al Imran, 3:185).

The noun ‘soul’ is indefinite here.

Without exceptions, the words here can be attributed towards all individuals; all children, the elderly, the women and the men will surely taste death.

This is written at the entrance of some cemeteries, as if to say, ‘Come to your senses!’

A lady was disturbed by this and she said, ‘When people see this, they get uncomfortable, if only they hadn't written that.’

For example, if they had said, ‘Every human will live forever’ it would have relieved us.

Do you see the handicaps of disbelief?

Do you see how big of a calamity it is?

How it becomes the seed of Hell inside a human being?

Yes, belief carries the seed of Paradise, because they have lost this, they shiver with the fear of Hell.

Consequently, they lose themselves to drunkenness and worldly applause as they try to forget reality.

Never mind.

Those who are in the School of Joseph, the heroes of patience, are developing their spirituality exponentially; God willing, they will exit in the state of proximity to God in complete purity.

People are innocently jailed; they are suffering and are oppressed.

We see the following in the messages we receive:

We are making up for the Prayers that we were doubtful of.

If there are any Prayers that we have accidentally missed, we are making up for them as well.

We are fasting.

Some fast on Mondays and Thursday as others fast like the Prophet David (on alternate days).

‘The Night Vigil’ was a forgotten practice of the noble Prophet. It was obligatory for the Messenger of God, and Sunnah for us.

We are observing the Night Vigil and completing a reading of the whole Qur’an every two to three days.

Consequently, in the dreams they observe, our noble Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, says, ‘Be patient, I am going receive you with my Companions.’

I think, if they had said, ‘We are giving you a mansion in Paradise’, that would be nothing next to such a Prophetic glad tiding.

Yes, he says, ‘I am taking you next to me’ and accepting you among those whom he calls ‘My brothers’.

Let the others bear the torment of Hell; since you carry the seed of Paradise inside of you, in a way, you can envisage yourselves in the heart of Paradise, walking through its corridors.

They are probably seeing this as well, there are individuals who have.

They are saying, ‘We were walking and we stumbled upon a garden.

O my God!

This is dizzying.’

Now, among all the hardship, there are these events as well.

At the same time, putting up with those hardships is also a form of patience, it is called ‘Patience in the face of calamity and misfortune’ and it will earn you rewards.

They also multiply the amount of their religious practice and this becomes an amplified form of worship.

Also, God has put them into jail and has protected them from religiously forbidden things by force, He has formed curtains, it is as if He is saying, ‘Stay inside, do not allow your hands, feet, tongues, eyes and ears to commit sins.’

This also gives it a distinct depth; this becomes an abundant worship.

Bediüzzaman links patience to three things.

God provides more rewards to those who wait through these three forms of patience and worship all at once, more earnings than those who are on sentry duty on the frontier.

Those places transform in the ‘Schools of Joseph’.

Our noble master Prophet Joseph was raised to the position of a minister with the aid of such a school.

He was sold like a slave and was slandered: After failing to gain their desires with the slander, they sent him to the dungeon.

He said, ‘My Lord!

Prison is dearer to me than what they bid me to’ (Joseph, 12:33).

He walked towards the dungeon with compliance in his heart, as if he was walking towards the Ka’ba.

He walked... He emptied the inspirations of his spirit to the spirits of others in that prison and opened their eyes. He became a convincing person and they believed him; they became convincing too, every single one of them.

In fact, one of them got discharged and said, ‘I’ll get you information’, referring to the king’s dream; he gathered the interpretation of the dream and departed.

Thus, Prophet Joseph, peace be upon him, left the prison, as well as being instrumental in the opening of the eyes of a lot of people, he was also raised to the position of a minister in one move, in one breath.

He was thrown into a well, a deep well; it was impossible for him to make it out on his own.

God, may He be glorified and exalted, got him out with His grace.

This time around, God raised him to the position of a minister, as if he were on an elevator.

One day, those who did the evil would appear bent over before him and they would say:

‘Forgive us, we were at fault.’ And in a manner that suited him, he would say to them:

‘No.

There is no condemnation for you today.

(I have already forgiven you) May God forgive you, too.

Because He is the One with absolute mercy’ (Joseph, 12:92).

There he was reuniting with his father, mother and brothers, but now his eyes desired a different ‘wedding night’ (union with God):

‘My Lord!

You have indeed granted me some important part of the rule and imparted to me some knowledge of the inner meaning of all happenings (including dreams).

O You, Originator of the heavens and the earth, each with particular features!

You are my Owner and Guardian in this world and in the Hereafter.

Take my soul to You as a Muslim, and join me with the righteous’ (Joseph 12:101).

You, did this for me, this for me, that for me; You taught me to interpret dreams and with that You brought me here.

There is nothing left for me from this world.

‘Let me pass away as a Muslim and include me among the righteous ones.’

This, is the peak, the peak in a person.

Yes, for this reason, Bediüzzaman labels it the ‘School of Joseph’:

Where hearts develop; where minds turn towards the Hereafter.

This is a place where even those who you gave up on, will reach maturity.

I think one or two, one or two people falling out of a few thousand, can be considered a temporary shaking.

Because everyone’s immune system is not the same; I mean immune system in terms of ‘spiritual anatomy’.

Belief in God, knowledge of God, love of God, being pleased with God and pleasing Him, loving and longing for reunion with God; this is the immune system in terms of ‘spiritual anatomy’.

People, who don't have that type of immune system, can be stuck in bed from very small viruses, they can groan, and say, ‘Ah!’ or ‘Ugh!’

However, I think, nine hundred and ninety nine point nine people out of a thousand see that place as a School of Joseph.

From what they hear and do over there, from witnessing visits from our noble Prophet, from witnessing visits from the noble Umar, the noble Abu Bakr, the noble Khalid, they say, ‘What an interesting corridor this is?

The chief cavaliers of the other world have reared their horses and are coming here’.

Yes, what is this?

This is in one regard, a dramatic rise, in one move rising many steps and being able to do things that a human can’t do.

Or it is like getting in an extraordinary elevator and rising from the lowest level to the highest.

May God grant them long lives.

May God release them soon.

And then when they leave there purified, they will serve many fold; may He make them succeed in that service.

From where they left off, they say, ‘In the Name of God’ and make a new start.

It had already been brought to a certain point.

That cell strengthened them a bit more in terms of spiritual energy.

This time they will increase the gear, as I mentioned before.

They will continue their service, do not have any doubt.

Those who experience anguish and shed tears and make a physical and spiritual effort for the oppressed and sufferers of today, God willing, on the other side, they will be with them and the righteous predecessors.

When the people of Mecca plotted against the noble Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, and in one way forced him to leave Mecca, despite cutting off his path with various death corridors, and following and watching him relentlessly by stating ‘Beware’!

The term, ‘close pursuit, surveillance’; in the same manner you are being pursued and followed today.

Despite them pursuing and following the noble Messenger, God protected him:

‘God will certainly protect you from the people.

God will surely not guide the disbelieving people (to attain their goal of harming or defeating you)’ (Al-Maedah, 5:67).

Unquestionably, God will not allow the disbelieving people to attain their goal.

Without fail, God does not allow the oppressive people to attain their goal.

Have no doubt that God does not allow the hypocritical people to attain their goal.

Without doubt, God does not allow the evil politicians, who engage in illegitimate deeds, to attain their goal.

‘God will protect and fortify you from all of them.’

God protected him; they could not touch his blessed hair (May my soul be sacrificed for a single hair of his a thousand times), they could not even touch his blessed piece of hair.

God Almighty allowed for him to complete the mission of paramount importance.

He graced this world as the most beloved of hearts; he became the most beloved of hearts by fulfilling his duties, as I mentioned at the beginning.

He was a Sultan; and hearts began to hear and feel his majesty.

Those hearts now want that Sultan’s majesty to win over many more hearts again.

‘It is time to smile into my eyes that weep

O Rose that turns scorching deserts into Paradise!’

He was like a rose; he would transform his environment to perfumery.

Those people who are on this path, I believe, are gaining something new each time on the path that others are failing on; they are acquiring something new on each destination, they are gaining in each new journey.

Now in dreams or in states of wakefulness.

By God’s will, with that level of maturity, that growth in capacity, the things that they will do when they are free, they will induce God Almighty’s specific bounties.

Will it be only them?

Their nearest of kin, their friends who are overseas but spiritually close to them in the heart.

I am the smallest, the most despicable, the lowest, the most trivial person amongst them; but each day, in my five Daily Prayers, I pray and supplicate for each and every one of them ten times.

There are so many hearts that burn for them.

So He also makes you suffer.

So in order to feel what your incarcerated brothers and sisters feel, to not be left behind from them, to also walk on the path that they are walking on, to be near the tents that they have pitched on this path, you are full of sorrow.

God makes your profound, deep, and sensitive consciences aware of their struggles so that you may share it.

A Prophetic tradition:

‘One, who does not share the troubles of the Muslims, is not one of them.’

You share their suffering and distress as a requirement of your nature, your faith, and your lengthy togetherness, striving for the same cause.

Consequently you also feel distress.

You will not be separated from those brothers and sisters.

And those brothers and sisters will not be separated from the noble Companions of our Prophet.

And they will not be kept away from the Illustrious Beloved of God, the one who is always victorious.

They will reach his company.

And those who reach his company will also reach the company of God.

‘O God, we ask of You to favour us with love and mercy, to make our hearts content with Your Divine breezes, to save us from loneliness through Your exalted company and friendship, to guide and support us as the One Whom we entrust all our affairs to, to protect us, to grant us entry into spiritual abodes and sturdy sanctuaries otherwise unattainable, and to aid us to victory against all of our enemies.

My God,

Above all else, we ask that You bless us with an intimate love and attachment to Your Essence, with the desire to meet You, and with the ambition to reunite with Your Beloved One, peace and blessings be upon him, and those You love.

We ask of these as infinite, transcendent of time.

O the Owner of Glory and Kindness!

To conclude our entreaty, we ask of You to send peace and blessings to our Prophet Muhammad, whom we see as the greatest reason for the acceptance of our prayers, and to his family and Companions.’