Sohbat Sheikh Hassan
Khatm, 17. September 2026, Black Forest Health Centre, Germany
English translation
It comes through the heart of the Sheikh. He always said: „Be nothing.“ As they say, Fanabi-Sheikh, Fanabi-Rasul, Fanabi-Allah. You must be nothing, of course. And you are something and you worship yourself.
Our ego is the greatest mushrik there is — and it’s hidden, too. Already you think, „Ooh!“ (Sheikh Hassan gestures with his hand as if waving a car through.) No. You are preoccupied with yourself, even in spiritual matters, even in the religious matters. You think you are already advanced — MashaAllah — and how much you can read and how much you can pray, and what a good murid you are. You are preoccupied with yourself. And then you say:
„Now it is Tahajjud time. Now I am completely alone with my Lord. Now sincerity is required. No one is watching. No one looks to see how many rakats I have prayed. I don’t have to be afraid. Even if I pray six instead of four — no one sees it.”
The sacred prayer of the Murid in Tahajjud. Alone with his Lord. No one is there. And then he prays, and then suddenly … (The Sheikh looks around and suddenly flinches, as if startled):
„There was something here. Someone is here. What? Yes, indeed. Ah yes, there I am, I am here. There I was, watching myself. There was another spectator, one more was there — that was me.“
But there is good news, MashaAllah. As we said, love is always greater. And the Sheikh — the heart of the Sheikh is the unfathomable heart, the loving heart — and he loves us all. He loves us all, and he does not let go of anyone who loves him or has ever loved him. There is enough time, it doesn’t matter. Allah is time. Therefore, the principle of Rabita is still in effect. As the ancients said, the Ahl Khwajagan, in the time of Shah Naqshband — and all those who lived then, Ubaydul-Ahrar, and as they all were called, all those Mawlanas — they said that the foundation of the Tariqat, the Naqshbandi Tariqat, is Rabita. It is the relationship, it is your heart-to-heart connection — that is the foundation.
And the goal, of course, is to always remain connected to him. That is the goal. That is why the Sheikh also says, „Always make Dhikr,“ or Rasulullah, Sallallahu alayhi wa sallam, says, „Always make Dhikr.“ Or Rasulullah says to Sayyidina Ali … Sayyidina Ali says, „Ya Rasulullah, show me something that is very simple, that is quick, effective, uncomplicated, so that I can come closer to Allah.“
Then the Prophet ﷺ says without hesitation: „Always say, La ilaha illallah.“
Then Sayyidina Ali, Karamallahu Wajhahul-‘Aliyya, says: „I cannot. I cannot always say, La ilaha illallah, because I must speak and think and act and do.“
He ﷺ says, „Close your eyes. I will say it to you three times now, La ilaha illallah. And then I close my eyes and you say to me three times, „La ilaha illallah.“
They did that. He closed his eyes — the Prophet ﷺ — said it three times, and put it into his heart. From that moment on, the heart of Sayyidina Ali always said La ilaha illallah — always. And as confirmation, he said it to the Prophet ﷺ. That is why Sayyidina Ali has forty Tariqats. He is the initiator of forty Sufi orders. And he is the one about whom the Prophet ﷺ said:
„Whoever looks at Sayyidina Ali’s face is in Ibada.“
(Hadith)
Whoever looks at Sayyidina Ali is in ibada. Yes, what do we understand? Nothing, of course. But we say — let’s assume that this initiation is very important. Because the Sheikh already said it, Dhikrullah Khafi is Naqshbandi Dhikr in the heart. And you can’t learn that from an instruction manual or so: „I now have done so and so much, and now it must be this result.“ (Sheikh Hassan taps on an imaginary calculator.)
The Sheikh is giving to you when the time is right. The Sheikh initiates — just as the Prophet ﷺ initiated Sayyidina Ali, so Mawlana Sheikh Nazim initiates you, so Mawlana Sheikh Mehmet initiates you — the Naqshbandi Shaykhs initiate you, when the time comes. And when the time comes, then the time has come. And it comes when the moment arrives that Allah has already long ago written for your heart to open, for you to disappear, for you to let go of your personality, of everything connected to it — the time has already been written. It will not happen a minute before and not a minute after. It will happen exactly then. The sheikh will give it to your heart, InshaAllah. I wish that for everyone. I wish that for myself, I wish that for all my brothers, MashaAllah.
And if we are on this path, that is already such a gift. And it doesn’t matter — the timing. Is it important? Even in death, that’s okay. So I’m already nearly there, you understand? (Sheikh Hassan holds his flat hand to his forehead, as if scanning the horizon.) And then when the Sheikh comes and says, „Wait, this one belongs to me. You can’t just question him like that. Ask me first whether I even give permission.“
Yes, the Sheikh had made that a condition. He didn’t simply say, „I am now the Khalifa of Grand Sheikh,“ he said: „Only if I get this [the shafa’at for his community].“ The mercy is endless, MashaAllah. Mabruk, Mubarak and Alhamdulillah. May Allah open our hearts and make us steadfast. For the honour — not because of anything, no, that’s irrelevant — for the honour of the Prophet ﷺ, for the honour of the sheikh, or? It’s not about us. Not at all. Absolutely not. Not in the slightest. It’s about the Sheikh. Honour, do you understand? That’s already given. Why are you doing it? Why? For the honour of the Sheikh.
Look, nothing gets written down for me anymore. I mean, I’m already doing things — you have no idea what I do, you’re not there yet — but I’m already … (He makes a motion as if crossing out lines in an invisible book.) But for the honour of the Sheikh you don’t do it, do you? That is Adab.
„Adab Ya Hu!“
(Motto of the Naqshbandi Tariqat)
Adab is the greatest. Only Adab leads you to the goal, leads us to the goal — only Adab. Not your knowledge, your skill, what you think about yourself, what you think about others, what you do, your actions, this, that, all these wonderful things you’ve done. No. Only your Adab. Adab Ya Hu.
Big talk — the worst of all makes big talk. I simply wish it for all of us, InshaAllah. (Sheikh Hassan tilts his head back and looks upward with his arms raised): „Yes, Sheikh, look, what can we do? We just talk like this, simply saying whatever comes to mind. But look into our hearts — into all of our hearts —together, InshaAllah. May we all say, ‚After you, after you, after you. You go to Paradise first, after you.’ Just as you showed us by your example, InshaAllah.”
Wa min-Allahi at-taufiq, bi hurmati
Al-Fatiha.