Dervish Tasbih

Bismillahirrahmanirahim

Beloved dervishes,

May the Peace of the Beloved continue descending into our hearts, bodies, minds and spirits.

I want to speak to you about the essential practice of Tasbih.

Tasbih is the vehicle for moving on our path, for dervish progress and maturation, for unveiling Allah in our heart.

Tasbih is the main practice and pillar for dervishes. When we adhere to it we become full of divine light, when we let it go we become impoverished.

Of course, as with everything in creation, there are various levels of tasbih. But if we neglect the basic one, which is sitting with the physical tasbih and reciting the divine names we have been given, we will most likely not reach the other levels. Of course, Allah can always lift us and take us to Himself, completely apart from any practice or pillar or behavior. But do not rely on that, unless you also rely on His Grace for everything else in your life, such as food and all necessities. Usually we work very hard for those basic necessities.

So why should we not also apply ourselves intensely for our spiritual Razak and well-being? And then we still rely on Allah’s Grace, rather than our own actions.

The most basic necessity is to keep our heart flowing with Allah presence.

Remember Me and I will remember you.

Remember Me through Zikr of Me and you will find Me remembering you through My Zikr of you.

Know that I am always remembering and praising you, so you too should always remember and praise Me.

Fadhkuruni adhkurkum    (Quran 2:152)

The first step in this bond of mutual remembrance and praise on our side is to offer our daily Tasbih.

Make your Tasbih a priority in your day instead of trying to fit it in after all of your other daily actions. Reverse your priorities and arrange the daily actions around your Tasbih.

It would be preferable to designate a time of day in which you offer the greater part of your Tasbih. If you have the first level of Tasbih then you can easily complete it in one sitting.

It is preferable to have one place in your home where you offer your tasbih, meditation and prayers. This spot becomes infused with light and divine power and it will be easier for you to enter a state of tasbih without distractions. Angels will be guarding it.

Muzaffer Effendi, rahmetullah aleyhi, has said that the robbers of our Tasbih practice are our thoughts. So see them that way and strive to focus on the words without the thoughts.

Here is how.  Be sincere in your recitation. Do not just repeat words but truly call on Allah. Feel that you are sitting in front of Allah. Or that Allah is inside you calling His own Name, calling Her own Name. When you chant Allah know that it is Allah calling Allah.

When you recite La ilahe ilallah always include Muhammad Rasulallah. You may say it outwardly if you like, but mostly we repeat it inwardly, almost as a response of the heart to La ilahe ilallah. As you recite La ilahe ilallah you are turning your head toward your heart and dropping it slightly when you reach the heart. If you like, you may raise your head slightly as you go from the ‘La’ on your right to the ‘illahe’, toward the throne (the head), and then come down over the heart as you are saying ‘ilallah’. It is a subtle movement.

Almost before you have completed saying Allah in ‘il-Allah’ your heart responds with ‘Muhammad Rasulallah.’ It is rapid. Nur once said that for him the ‘Muhammad Rasulallah’ was like a flash of light from his heart. However it manifests for you it is the completion of La ilahe ilallah. When the two are together it is like the current from heaven meeting the current from the earth to form the lightning bolt.

The lightning flash is tawhid, unity, when the human servant (represented by Muhammad rasulallah) disappears back into Allah. And when Allah consumes the human servant.

If you recite the tasbih this way you will not be troubled by thoughts. There is no room for them.

The Name ‘Hu’ is usually so absorbing that it erases thoughts.

Please consult with your circle Guides about any tasbih you are doing. They are the ones to give you the Names and the number of recitations.

When our life on earth is concluded and all the pains and joys and distractions are removed, we will see clearly that the moments of value that shine in our heart are those when we remembered Allah with love and when we offered a kindness to another because we are in a state of love with Allah through our remembrance of Allah.

Fatima Nur   (I will explain in another letter)