Seadet-i Ebediyye - Endless Bliss Third Fascicle

[Now, such a real tâlib no longer exists.] Our Prophet ‘sall-Allâhu
’alaihi wa sallam’ commanded us not to talk about the events that
happened among the Sahâba. A sâlih (true, pious) Muslim does
not talk, write or read about them. Thus, he protects himself from
doing any irreverence against those great people. Loving those
great people is a sign of loving Allâhu ta’âlâ’s Messenger ‘sall-
Allâhu ’alaihi wa sallam’. He does not discriminate between the
Sahâba with his own point of view by saying that so and so is
superior to so and so. Who is superior or higher is understood
from âyat-i-kerîmas, hadîth-i-sherîfs, and the unanimous
declaration of the Sahâba. Certainly, however, the intoxication
caused by love is an exception. A lover is excusable.
Simâ’ means to listen to the poems, qasîdas, ilâhîs, mawlîds
that are recited by one or more people and which solidify the faith
and îmân and beautify morals. The superiors of Tasawwuf did
simâ’ and listened to those that were recited without musical
instruments and without men and women being together. No
musical instrument was ever seen in the sohbats, gatherings of the
Sultân-i Mashâyikh [Nizâmuddîn-i Dahlawî]. [1] People who were
in those sohbats would weep inwardly and would be greatly
grieved. The books entitled Fawâid-ul-fuâd and Siyar-ul-Awliyâ
explain this fact in detail. Deviating from a path of the superiors
of Tasawwuf darkens the heart. Those superiors permitted simâ’
in order to turn the heart’s constipation into relief and to increase
the state of relief. They said that simâ’ would increase tenderness,
love of Allah in the heart. Simâ’ is not permissible for the
unaware, that is, for those who have no love of Allah in their
hearts. Such gatherings of simâ’ become sinful gatherings. Every
Muslim should avoid such meetings of simâ’. Some men of
Tasawwuf said that such musical instruments as reeds were
permissible, yet they said so during an intoxication of love. Such
words, which Islam has prohibited, must not be followed. [See
page 174 of Tahtâwî’s annotation to the book entitled Merâq-ilfalâh,]
They said that dhikr-i jehrî, that is, to perform the dhikr aloud,
was medicine for heart illness. But dhikr-i khafî, that is, to do
dhikr silently, is more useful. It is stated in a hadîth-i-sherîf that it
[1] Nizâmuddîn Awliyâ Evrenk ’Âbâdî ‘rahmatullâhi ta’âlâ ’alaih’ (633 –
725 [1325 A.D.]).
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