Showing Off is an Illness of the Ego

As-Salāmu ‘Alaykum wa Raḥmatullāhi wa Barakātuh. A‘ūdhu Billāhi Minash-shayṭāni r-rajīm. Bismillāhi r-Raḥmāni r-Raḥīm. Wa ṣ-Salātu wa s-Salāmu ‘alá Rasūlinā Muḥammadin Sayyidi l-Awwalīna wa l-Akhirīn. Madad yā RasūlAllāh, Madad yā Sādāti Aṣḥābi Rasūlillāh, Madad yā Mashāyikhinā, Dastūr Mawlana Shaykh Abdullāh al-Fā’iz ad-Dāghistāni, Shaykh Muḥammad Nāẓim al- Ḥaqqānī. Madad. Ṭarīqatunā aṣ-Suḥbah wa l-Khayru fi l-Jam‘iyyah.

The ego has many illnesses. These illnesses don’t bring goodness to people but only harm. One of them is to show off. Showing off is from the illnesses that the ego likes. People want to show off even with the little things they’ve got. From the poor ones to the rich ones, everyone wants to show off. Those so-called Hojjahs and ‘Alims or people who have nothing to do with religion, all of them have this illness of showing off. Showing off is not important. If you show off by yourself, you will harm yourself, because people have envy and evil eyes. If they envy you, you won’t be good. You will have no goodness in your life.

In old times, there was ‘Aadaab/etiquette of social relations. People were taught not to eat in front of people, not to show off things that people don’t have. Islamic customs were shown and told very well during the time of the Ottomans. Afterwards, they started disappearing slowly. They lasted for 50-60 years after the Ottomans because old people know these customs. But then these customs started disappearing slowly. And instead, people are trying to show off more. Especially, in the last 10 years, it has gone completely out of control. They have in their hands these machines, mobile phones, and every minute they show off to thousands of people, friends and not friends, “I did this. I ate that”. Before, they used to say something rude to such people and call them ill-bred. When people become slaves of their egos, they deserve this nickname. They are ill-bred then.

Allah ﷻ made everything beautiful. And the most beautiful is Adab/good manners. Adab is Islamic Adab. When others cannot do what you do, when others cannot eat what you eat, it is a pity for them. They may want it too and feel envy. Your food won’t be good for you then. May Allah ﷻ protect us. As we said, the things that the ego likes are often things that bring harm, things that bring harm to people. We should pay attention to it.

Once Mawlana Shaykh Nazim - let us tell it as a joke - offered to keep a flock of sheep in Cyprus. We made a farm. They brought everything faulty from here and there to Mawlana Shaykh Nazim. And then they said, “Look, what a beautiful flock we made for you”. In fact, all of them were not good. We had a shepherd as well. He came down and asked how many sheep we had. We said, “Four hundred. How many will they be next year?” He said, “They must be at least twice more. If not twice, then six hundred”. The next year we looked, it wasn’t more. We asked, “How many are there?” And our shepherd was rather a jackal, he said, “Sheep should not be counted. Their Barakah will be gone”. While deciding if they should be counted or not, eventually, there were only a hundred sheep. In order not to show off, Mawlana Shaykh Nazim had accepted not to count. May Allah ﷻ raise his Maqam.

It is not good to tell people, “I have this much of this. I have this much of that”. It is good for you to keep some things hidden. People should know this. And they should check if the things others do are right or wrong. We should learn and pay attention to ‘Aadaab/etiquette of social relations and Islamic Adab/good manners. May Allah ﷻ protect us from the evil of our egos. May Allah ﷻ let us always be on the way of truth insha’Allah.

Wa min Allah at-Tawfiq. Al-Fatiha.

Mawlana Sheikh Muhammad Adil ar-Rabbani 08 February 2022/07 Rajab 1443 Fajr Prayer, Akbaba Dergah

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