Purity of Heart and Unity

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 Sheikh Abdullāh al-Fā’iz ad-Dāghistāni, Sheikh Muḥammad Nāẓim al- Ḥaqqānī. Madad. Ṭarīqatunā aṣ-Suḥbah wa l-Khayru fi l-Jam‘iyyah.

Our Prophet ṣallá Llāhu ‘alayhi wa-sallam says in ḥadīth sharīf,

“Istawū wa-la takhtalifū fa-takhtalifa qulūbukum”, “Stand straight together and do not differ, lest your hearts become divided.” [Ḥadīth]. Aw kama qāl. “Stand aligned and upright together,” says our Prophet ṣallá Llāhu ‘alayhi wa-sallam. “Do not cause discord; do not create division among yourselves. For if you cause discord, your hearts will become corrupted.” When the heart becomes corrupted, the deeds a person performs serve only their own ego; they are not done for the sake of Allāh ﷻ. “A person who does not subdue their ego has no place in ṭarīqah, nor in Islām,” says our Prophet ṣallá Llāhu ‘alayhi wa-sallam. So hearts must be united; they must be as one. Once you are on the same way—the way of Allāh ﷻ—your hearts must be united. “Do not make distinctions by saying 'You are this' or 'You are that,'” says our Prophet ṣallá Llāhu ‘alayhi wa-sallam. Do not let your hearts become corrupted. Stand together; remain steadfast.

This is often said during prayer—most notably by the imāms at the Kaabah and in Madīnah Munawwarah—though they often say it merely as a formality. Normally, according to our madhhab, the Takbir (opening declaration of prayer) should be recited immediately after the iqāmah is called. That is the rule in the Hanafi madhhab; it may differ in other madhhabs, but in the Hanafi madhhab, the Takbir is recited as soon as the phrase “qad qamati's-salah” (prayer has begun) is uttered. The imām recites the Takbir, but in our madhhab, it is not required to say it aloud—though it may be in other madhhabs.

However, this principle is essential outside of prayer as well. Stand together, remain steadfast, and do not stray from the way. Do not follow your ego. If you have come here, do not let shayṭān deprive you of that virtue; do not miss out on the reward. But if your intention is to cause trouble, then stay away; do not stir up discord. If you intend to stray from the way—if you harbor such negative feelings—there is no need to sow discord or corrupt hearts. When there is discord, hearts become corrupted. The heart is the most

important thing. The heart must be sound and pure; it must harbor neither malice nor hatred toward a Muslim brother.

This is the essence of the religion. And ṭarīqah is precisely to teach this principle. Not for anything else, and certainly not for conflict. May Allāh ﷻ protect us; shayṭān has come between all Muslims. There are beautiful ways, yet shayṭān strives to sow discord along them at every turn. May Allāh ﷻ improve everything. Yet often, he succeeds. Muslims become enemies to fellow Muslims; people of ṭarīqah become enemies to those of another. May Allāh ﷻ grant aid and bestow vigilance. One who has entered ṭarīqah must keep their heart pure. They must harbor no malice toward others and interpret everything in a positive light. When the ego says, “So-and-so did this, or such-and-such did that,” the person should tell their ego, “You deserve far worse.” If something is said to us, “It is the truth; what the other person says is correct, so let us focus on correcting ourselves.” We must seek to subdue our ego, not to inflate it. May Allāh ﷻ help us. May these beautiful communities multiply, in shā’a Llāh; may bonds of affection grow and hearts be purified, in shā’a Llāh.

Wa min Allāhi t-Tawfīq. Al-Fātiḥa.

Mawlana Sheikh Muhammad Adil ar-Rabbani 10 October 2026/ 29 Rabih Al-Akhir 1448 Fajr Prayer – Akbaba Dergah, Istanbul