Sohbat Sheikh Hassan
Juma, 11. September 2026, Osmanische Herberge Kall
Intention for a little sohbat. Sohbat is always with the Sheikh. Since I am not a Sheikh — there are perhaps some Sheikhs here, which is already enough. But our intention is to connect with our Sheikh, from the heart. We request permission, and he connects us, InshaAllah.
Usually you have a reason, if you ask him for a connection, because when you can’t go any further, there is nafs in the way, that is the lower self. The lower self is Shaytan, Shaytan is the lower self — these are only two aspects of Shaytan. The lower self (nafs) and Shaytan are actually one. They appear as two, two aspects. They are standing in between. And when we are in ghafla, in inattentiveness, then we’re stuck there. And depending on the situation, sometimes it seems like there is no way out of depression, out of anger, out of sadness, out of despair, out of darkness. You are stuck. There is something like that, I have heard — I have heard and experienced, and I am still experiencing.
And then, of course, Allah helps. Allah is the Helper, Muin al-Ajizin — the helper of those in need. We are created needy and weak. As Allah himself stated and He willed it, He created us weak. And He is the helper of the weak. You only have to want it. It’s that simple. This is also known in psychology, or in human life in general.
You want to help someone, because you see that he needs help. You are a good person — you want to be a good person, you want to be helpful and you would like to help him, and he needs help. One needs help, and then he refuses to accept help. He doesn’t want the help, he doesn’t want your help, so he stays there. That is the only condition for someone, let’s say, who is traumatized or mentally ill, spiritually ill, spiritually unbalanced. The only condition is actually — the only one — to let oneself be helped, if he wants to improve; that he allows it; that he says: „Yes, I accept it.“ That is the only thing.
But humans are stubborn. Mawlana Sheikh Nazim often said, one of the worst characteristics — or the worst characteristic of human beings — is their stubbornness. Starrköpfigkeit, that’s what you say in German. German is a good language. Stubborn, obstinate. In English, hardhead. He doesn’t want to be helped. And the severely traumatized, the mentally ill, who are also in psychiatric facilities and have been in treatment for a long time — they don’t even want to be helped. They always go to the doctor. You can take everything away from them, but not their illness.
„Don’t take my illness away from me. It’s the only thing I have left, that allows me to talk to someone. No one talks to me anymore, because I’m crazy. I’m lonely. The only person who talks to me is the doctor. Yes, every Wednesday I have a therapy session and there he talks to me. And Alhamdulillah, if I also get better now, then I won’t need him anymore.”
Such strange things go on in people. But this is a bit exaggerated and should be a little joking, but in life, people don’t want help — and that’s the condition, that we get better. And we are supposed to get better. How do we get better? We get better mentally. It’s not about the material things. The material things are a joke — it’s a gift. You get the material things for free, just like that, given away. From whom? From Razzaq, from Allah. If you’re worried about that, then you’re worried, okay.
„I have not said, you should worry,“ says Allah. „I said, you should trust me. And I’ve already given you everything.“ Everything — materially and spiritually. Everything. You just have to want. You just have to say, „Please, please. Ya Allah, please.“ That is why Sheikh Nazim always said, „Ask, ask. Ask for more.“ If you’ve already received something, ask again. Ask even more. Because He has treasures without end. It never ends. You can always ask. Always.
This is also true for Rabita. Rabita is simple. If you’re stuck and can’t move forward, then you do Rabita. That’s why we do Rabita in Sohbat. We do Rabita. We say, „Sheikh, Sheikh. We have nothing. We have nothing. We have an idiot sitting here, who is talking. You put him in place yourself. Someone has to talk. And we have nothing without you. There is is absolutely nothing. We beg you to connect our hearts with your heart. Please, let your heart be here. In all hearts — in each and every one and together.” That is our request. This is the supplication, when we say, „Madad ya Sayyidi. Madad. Support us. Let us be with your heart.“
And do more, more is not — more you cannot do. You cannot force it or say, „Look, I have now prayed two Rakats and recited Qul Huwa Allahu Ahad, but now I want Rabita too. And I have done so much.“ No, no, that’s not how it works. Who are you? How do you want to do Rabita? Do you know what Rabita is? No. You know the word. And you know that it is a relationship between two hearts. And something else? Something else? — Only if he connects you. The Sheikh connects you. And it’s easy. Today it’s easy. End times. The end. Only dirt. You see nothing but dirt in the world. Only lies, deception, killing, idiocy, madness — without end. Therefore, Allah says:
„Okay, it is Akhir Zaman — therefore I make it easy for My believers. I make it easier for them, the harder things become. Every day it becomes harder, therefore I make it easier for My believers every day. Because they are Mine.“ Or? „They are Mine. I watch over them. I am the one who watches. And of course, I have My people, My saints — My Prophet, sallallahu alayhi wa sallam, and those who come after him, his heirs. In every time I send them,” says Allah. „I always send them. They are always there. As long as this world exists, there are these saints, there are the friends of Allah, there are the Sadiqin. They are there. And I send them so that people can connect with Me.”
Actually, the connection is with Allah, but through the Sheikh. Then you say to the Sheikh: „Sheikh Efendi, I need the connection. I want to connect my heart with you — to be with you. I can’t seem to get any further. Not at all.“ Then he connects you. And today it’s two seconds and you are connected. You think of him once — Zack. Not like before. 600 years ago things were different. First of all, you weren’t simply accepted into the Tariqat. Not like today: Always Bayat (Sheikh Hassan raises his right hand forwards as in the Bayat). Renewing the Bayat. Then gone again. Bayat. Gone. Bayat. Amanu. Kafaru. Amanu. Kafaru. Amanu.
Always open — the door is always open. Alhamdulillah. Things were different before. Back then, you were tested for 1000 days. I was also tested for 1000 days, in my time, in 1973 or 1974. „1000 days,“ the Sheikh said, my first Sheikh. „Let’s see first.“ Not just taking someone in like that. There are many stories in the Naqshbandiyya, that people weren’t simply accepted. There are so many stories about that. And it was like that. And it was the same with Rabita. You had to be in a certain state, you had to do certain exercises, you had to achieve a certain concentration, you had to use your imagination, and this and that, until you were ready for the Rabita. Today it is simple. You think of the Sheikh — Zack. „Sheikh. Madad. Madad.“ And — he is there. And you have to accept it. You have to want it and you have to accept it. And immediately — so, I’m witnessing — after two minutes, sometimes after two minutes there’s already a change. Sometimes after five minutes. Sometimes after ten. And then you suddenly realize: „Ah. Something has changed.“
Mawlana Sheikh Mehmet is here. He is so present — endlessly. You have to trust in that. Mawlana Sheikh Nazim too, of course. Whoever is accustomed to make Rabita with Mawlana Sheikh Nazim has the permission to do so, Sheikh Mehmet said. Mawlana Sheikh Mehmet is also here. And he knows everyone, he knows everyone. You shouldn’t think, „He’s new and such, Sheikh Mehmet and — yes, Khalifa and so on.“ No, no. He has everyone on his radar — everyone, and even more — exactly on his radar. Alhamdulillah, what a gift. These are our gifts.
This is the dua we make, when we say without thinking:
„Rabbana atina fid-dunya hasanatan, wa fil-akhirati hasanatan …“
(Qur’an, 2:201)
„Give us Hasanat here and there — in the Hereafter — Hasanat.“ What is the meaning of this? Who is the best of all the interpreters, interpreters of the Qur’an? Jafar as-Sadiq. He is well known. Jafar as-Sadiq is the best and most famous interpreter of the Quran. And he said, that it means, „Let me be here with the saints, and let me be there with the saints.“ That means Hasanat. „Atina fid-dunya hasanatan, wa fil-Akhirati hasanatan“ — let us be here with the saints, with the Sadiqin, and there with the Sadiqin. Let us be here with your Awliya, with your friends, and let us be there with your friends. Or? Anything else?
That’s good news. You should always be in a good mood — in principle —, always just laugh. The only thing that makes you sad is the nafs — the nafs, the lower self —, this Shaytan, who manages to control you. He controls you. He is still in control — from time to time, or mostly, or — differently. He controls, and you fall for it. You still often fall for it and are then under his control. And that makes you sad — that makes you sad and desperate. It’s a catastrophe.
When I went to the doctor once … Since my operation, I have to go to the doctor from time to time. And then I always refuse the pills that he prescribes. He was already very angry with me. And then he said to me, as I once went — once every six months I have a major examination, where they do ultrasounds and so on —, and then the doctor, looking at the ultrasound, says, „Catastrophe, catastrophe, we are in a catastrophe.“ If it were up to the doctor, I’d be dead by now. „Catastrophe.“ I always wondered, „What does he mean by that, and so on?“ And then I meditated on it a little and asked myself: „Heart disease? Yes, my heart is sick, that’s true — in another way. And that is a catastrophe, that is correct.“ It is a catastrophe — to be ruled by Shaytan, to be ruled by the lower self, is a catastrophe. You can’t call it anything else. It’s a catastrophe. This is anti-life.
For a Muslim and for a believer, that is simply not allowed. absolutely not. He will make mistakes in the short term and slip, but he will immediately get up. He will immediately get up, and he will not fall into the same trap twice. He has the most attentive, highest and best consultation, nearest consultation, most intimate consultation, most beautiful consultation, constant consultation — uninterrupted consultation he has, the Mu’min. And the same goes for Muslims, if they take their faith a bit seriously, doesn’t it?
May Allah protect us, InshaAllah, from Shaytan, dunya, hawa, nafs — these are all illusory enemies, but they have… That is like magic. That is like black magic. They practice black magic. All the media are full of black magic. Television is full of black magic — that is black magic in film and in word, that is nothing more than black magic. That is illusion — it vanishes. When the truth comes, then — pfff. (The sheikh makes a gesture as if a cloud were vanishing.) When Mahdi comes, alayhi salam, then — pfff. It all disappears suddenly. He says once: „Allahu Akbar, Allahu Akbar, Allahu Akbar.“ Where were they? It is magic. And there is white magic against it.
Oh, my brothers and sisters, and I say it to myself: That is the white magic. Bismillahir-Rahmanir-Rahim is white magic. The Qur’an is white magic. Dhikr is white magic. Everything good that you think and say is white magic. And especially that which is recommended, is white magic — it works against that. Perhaps this is also magical and gives you strength. Why did Mawlana say every morning for two years, „Say: Bismillahir-Rahmanir-Rahim“ — from his chair, after the Fajr prayer, in his last year, continuously, every morning. Why does he say that? I have always wondered: Why does he always say, „Say: Bismillahir-Rahmanir-Rahim.“ Yes, yes, okay. „Say Bismillah.“ Again, again. Again, ten, twenty times. Then they all thought, „Yes, he’s already old and such. He’s already ninety. And so, wel l…“ Some really thought that. They thought of him like that.
There were groups in our — not in our, in the Naqshbandiyya Tariqa, let’s say —, they called him the Grand Sheikh. They already considered themselves Sheikhs, then they suddenly said to Sheikh Nazim, „Grand Sheikh“. „The Grand Sheikh said …“ Why is he the Grand Sheikh, suddenly? The Grand Sheikh was, after all, always Sheikh Abdullah Faizi Daghestani, who is already in the Hereafter. Mawlana is sitting on his chair, after all. „He’s the Grand Sheikh. No, no, he’s the Grand Sheikh. He’s repeating himself“, they said. He might not remember exactly …“ He knew perfectly well. You have to tell the donkey the same thing a thousand times — a thousand times. And that’s not enough, because he’s stubborn. The most stubborn is the donkey, so they say in German folk saying. Then Mawlana Sheikh Nazim said, „Bismillahir-Rahmanir-Rahim. Say, Bismillahir-Rahmanir-Rahim.“ And when he said that, „Bismillahir-Rahmanir-Rahim“, then there was Bismillahir-Rahmanir-Rahim.
Of course, you have to believe in it and say it with conviction. Someone who practices autogenic training — yes, Mr. Meyer, your neighbor:
„What are you doing?“
„I practice autogenic training.“
„What is that?“
„Yes, I imagine… I say to myself: ‘I am good, I am good, I am good, I am good, I am good.’ And: ‘I have the strength, and I can master my life.’“
Autogenic training. „He tells himself that“, would you then say.
„You’re just telling yourself that.“
No, no, that is autogenic training. He knows more about that than a Muslim does. Muslims reject Dhikr, or do they? Now we also have those who say: „Don’t make Dhikr. It’s Bidah. Bidah. Shirk.“ No! You have to use that. You have to use it, you must always use it. And always with the Sheikh, always with Rabita. May Allah help us, InshaAllah.
Wa min-Allahi at-taufiq, bi hurmati
Al-Fatiha.