The Black Robes of Dervishes – We Came From the World of Light and to It We Shall Return

January 16, 2013 September 20, 2023

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From the Realities of Mawlana (Q) as taught by Shaykh Nurjan Mirahmadi.

A’udhu Billahi Minash Shaitanir Rajeem
Bismillahir Rahmanir Raheem

I seek refuge in Allah from Satan, the rejected one
In the Name of Allah, the Most Beneficent, the Most Merciful

We Have Been Given a Two-Way Ticket Back to Paradise

Mawlana Shaykh’s teaching, every ending is actually a new beginning, like a circle. When you complete one cycle, you start a new cycle, or when you learn one knowledge, there is always new knowledge to learn. And the most important point for us to understand in spirituality is that you came from somewhere before this physical existence and you are going somewhere after this existence. “Inna lillahi wa inna ilayhi raji’un.”

﴾إِنَّا لِلَّـهِ وَإِنَّا إِلَيْهِ رَ‌اجِعُونَ… ﴿١٥٦

2:156 – “Inna lillahi wa inna ilayhi raji’oon.” (Surat Al-Baqarah)

“Indeed we belong to Allah, and indeed to Him we will return.” (The Cow, 2:156)

Seek Refuge in Allah (AJ) From Evilness That Blocks us

In this material world we are being tested by what we call satan or evilness, and the Divine is saying to you, ‘Seek refuge in Me from that one, for he is your fiercest enemy.’ That evilness, whether we call it Satan, or El-Diablo, or just negative energy, it exists everywhere. All you need to do is turn on the news for proof of that. And that evilness doesn’t approach you in a straightforward manner, with horns and a tail because, in a proper state of mind you would never accept to follow that. So instead, that negative energy becomes a very subtle energy that’s constantly bombarding the heart with bad inspirations and bad thoughts, and doing its best to block your connection to the Divine Presence, like a storm cloud that blocks the satellite reception. If that signal is blocked, then you become blind and everything you do becomes filled with tremendous difficulty.

Who Teaches That You Came from Nowhere and Are Going Nowhere?

Negativity knows that there is a tremendous light shining from the heart. If evilness approaches too directly, it will be exposed and burned by that light. That is why they say ‘evilness lurks in the shadows.’ So, evilness attacks with subtlety, with whispers and gossips. He comes and whispers into the heart, saying, ‘You came from nowhere and you’re going nowhere!’ He gives you that mantra. Like we have our mantras, and all spiritual people have mantras and holy recitations, satan gives people a mantra that comes against the Divine Presence, without them being consciously aware of it. He gives them the mantra that, ‘You came from nowhere and you’re going nowhere!’ And they repeat it throughout their lives.

Death is Like a State of Sleep, Don’t Burn the Dead Bodies

Until one day, they decide that when they die, they want to burn themselves. Astaghfirullah (may God forgive us). Negativity is the one from fire! So, who is inspiring people to burn themselves? We are a reflection in this world. We are an honoured creation deserving an honoured and peaceful death, because death is like a state of sleep. If someone lit a match under your foot while you were sleeping, you would wake up screaming – imagine feeling your whole body being burned.

﴾وَلَقَدْ كَرَّ‌مْنَا بَنِي آدَمَ…﴿٧٠

17:70 – “Wa laqad karramna bani adama…” (Surat Al-Isra)

“And We have certainly honored the children of Adam…” (The Night Journey, 17:70)

But people repeated his mantra until it penetrated deep into their consciousness, and they forgot that death is not the end. So we must be endlessly thankful to the Divine for granting us to be under the guidance of saints, because they are not blind. They know all of the subtle ways that satan uses to attack people and influence them in the wrong direction. And with that knowledge, they are able to guide us out of difficulties. Mawlana is teaching us that negativity is constantly whispering and inspiring us towards the belief that he (satan) wants us to have, saying ‘You came from nowhere and you are going nowhere.’

We Are Like Electrons Seeking to Approach the Nucleus, the Divine Presence

But spiritual guides are teaching us that you have an existence in the world of light first! If you didn’t exist in the world of light, you could not exist here. The Divine Presence is like the nucleus of an atom, powering that atom. And we are like electrons seeking to collide with the Divine Presence. But there is no permission for that so we begin to spin around it seeking a means to approach. It shows us that we are all connected to the center, to that source of power. Then the Divine gives us a sign that we are connected which is our bellybutton. With a little bit of contemplation, we begin to see just how deep negativity has penetrated into the heart, because that reality goes beyond the concept of life and death.

The Night is the Birth of a New Day

It can even impact something as basic as the concept of day and night. Because the next level of attack is for that evilness to come and teach you that your life begins with the day and ends with night, constantly reinforcing the notion that you exist and then you die and that is it. It is so subtle that most people never see it. Satan / negativity is very consistent in his approach – he has to get you to bite on every level, no matter how small or insignificant, because these are all subconscious attacks on your faith. So that evilness makes everyone to think that their existence is during the day and it ends at night when it becomes dark.

The day actually starts at maghrib (sunset) layl and it never ends. It is just a different manifestation. The night is actually the birth of a new day, which is why Thursday night is known as the ‘Night of Power’ for Sufis, because Thursday night is actually the birth of Jummah/Friday, which is the holiest day of the week. So every day is a new birth, and that is why the Fajr prayer at sunrise is the most powerful prayer of the day.

Night Represents Annihilation and All Holy Events Are at Night

The night is symbolic of our existence in the Heavenly Kingdom. The day is our manifestation in the world of form. Allah (AJ) always mentions night and then day to give importance and superiority of the night to the day. Our souls base is in heavens then the creation of the form in the material world. All holy events are at night – Isra wal Miraj, Night of Power (Laylatul Qadr), Night of Blessings (Shab Baraah). Blackness of the night represents the returning and union with our heavenly reality, our souls, what we call fana or annihilation, and that station of annihilation is what we are seeking on the spiritual path.

﴾وَهُوَ الَّذِي خَلَقَ اللَّيْلَ وَالنَّهَارَ وَالشَّمْسَ وَالْقَمَرَ ۖ كُلٌّ فِي فَلَكٍ يَسْبَحُونَ ﴿٣٣

21:33 – “Wa hu wal ladhee khalaqal layla wan Nahara, wash Shamsa wal Qamara, kullun fee falakin yasbahoon.” (Surat Al-Anbiya)

“And He (is) The One Who created the night and the day, and the sun and the moon, each swimming in an orbit.” (The Prophets, 21:33)

So then night time is not the end. It is actually the birth of a new day. In that understanding, there is hope because instead of being constantly told that you didn’t have an existence before you were born and you won’t have an existence after your death, Sufi teachings begin to counter that attack and teach that you have always existed, and as the night approaches you come into a new existence.

We Had An Existence in the Womb Before We Were Born

When you find yourself under the guidance of such huge saints from the Heavenly Kingdom, like Sultan al-Awliya Shaykh Muhammad Nazim al-Haqqani (q), you’re now being guided on a path towards self-realization – the knowledge of the self and the secrets of the spiritual kingdom – and they begin to reveal things that we never would have realized without their guidance. When a baby reaches 12 months of age, people say you are one year old. But Sufism comes and teaches us that you had an existence in the womb of your mother. That existence lasted 9 months before your physical arrival. And before the womb, you had an existence in Bahrul Qudra (Ocean of Power), in God’s infinite Ocean of Power.

Number 9 Represents Completion and Perfection

The number 9 represents the station of the sultan, 9 great prophets reflecting to 9 sultan of saints, and the nine saints holding the highest stations in the Divine Presence. Nine is the highest single-digit number and it represents completion and perfection. We are all a reflection of that nine. This means that we are dressed from that perfection in the womb, where these nine huge sultans are spiritually guiding and assisting in our formation in life. You were not born a giraffe or a monkey; you were born with that perfection and honour that was given to Sayyidina Adam (as) and which was passed on to the prophets and saints. ‘We honoured the children of Adam’.

﴾وَلَقَدْ كَرَّ‌مْنَا بَنِي آدَمَ…﴿٧٠

17:70 – “Wa laqad karramna bani adama…” (Surat Al-Isra)

“And We have certainly honored the children of Adam…” (The Night Journey, 17:70)

Reality of Manifestation From Two Bow-Lengths

So the womb holds a tremendous reality for us. If you were given the spiritual vision or the ability to see the womb at a microscopic level, you would see that it is an entire universe unto itself, drawing from the secret of the ‘two bow-lengths’. The two bow-lengths is from the reality of Prophet’s ﷺ ascension into Paradise, when Prophet ﷺ was raised to the station of ‘two bow-lengths or nearer’ to the Divine Presence.

﴾فَكَانَ قَابَ قَوْسَيْنِ أَوْ أَدْنَىٰ ﴿٩

53:9 – “Fakana qaaba qawsayni aw adna.” (Surat An-Najm)

“And was at a distance of two bow lengths or nearer [to the Divine Presence].” (The Star, 53:9)

Why two bow-lengths? Why not three? One understanding that is coming from Mawlana Shaykh is that from the two bow-lengths is manifesting, two parents in the material world who come together in a spiritual union to conceive a child, in that heavenly image.

Why Negate the 9 Months of Our Existence?

But shaitan, negativity, wants us to completely negate the reality of our existence in the womb. So, when you reach twelve months they say you are one years old, but in reality you are twenty-one months old! Why do they negate those 9 months as if you had no existence? Can you see how negativity is playing with us? We’re susceptible to his attack because we can’t see inside the womb with our natural vision. The baby is in seclusion, in complete darkness, and satan is making us to think that there is no existence in that darkness. We came from nowhere and we are going nowhere.

So when that negativity has constantly negated our existence in the womb, it begins to inspire to kill what is in the womb. Why? Because it doesn’t really exist for them. Therefore, since you had no physical manifestation before this life, you came from nothing. And since you will have no physical manifestation in the grave, you are returning to nothing. That is from negativity teaching and it is designed to make us lose hope.

Why Do Whirling Dervishes Wear Black Robes?

But spiritual mentors come and teach us that, ‘No, you have always had an existence!’ Because they are very aware of his attacks. That is why when you look closely at these traditional Sufi practices such as the whirling you realize that everything about what these spiritual masters taught was designed to combat the subtle attacks of evilness. The traditional garments of a whirling dervish are encoded with meanings and protections from negative energy.

When the dervishes begin, they’re all wearing a long black robe which is symbolic of the reality of the heavens. Black represents our existence before our physical manifestation in the material world. That dimension is a subtle dimension, robed in mystery, but it is more real than this physical dimension. If it didn’t exist, how could you exist here? How could anything exist? Where does it come from? You must know that you come from that dimension first. A baby doesn’t appear out of nowhere. It has 9 months of existence in the darkness of the womb, veiled from the world. It is showing you that you don’t just come and go. You have an existence in the world of light and you are going to return to that light.

We Exist in the World of Light and To It, We Shall Return

We come from the Ocean of Annihilation, but when we enter the world of form, we become drunk and unconscious of our heavenly reality. Spiritual masters are seeking to sober us and return us to the Divine, so that we may enter in His Oceans of Infinite Mercy. You are an imitated being. What you are seeing is not your reality. Your reality is from paradise, and that is an honour that has been given to you from your Creator. But the ego is blocking you from establishing a relationship with your reality because the ego knows when that happens, it will no longer be Lord over you.

Therefore, you must seek fana, or annihilation, with your real being. That is the station that a Sufi seeks to return to in this life, the station of annihilation. First, it is annihilation in the light of the master; then at a higher level, it is annihilation in the light of the Prophet ﷺ. So, when we reach toward that annihilation, it means that we are accepting to be nothing.

Approach the Divine Presence With Humility

‘O my Lord! I am coming to you on my hands and knees, asking to be of service. O my Lord! I am asking that Thy Will Be Done.’ The Divine is saying, ‘Don’t approach Me with arrogance, thinking that you are something.’ Satan also had arrogance when he refused to accept the authority that was given to Prophet Adam (as) and for that he was thrown out of Paradise.

﴾وَإِذْ قُلْنَا لِلْمَلَائِكَةِ اسْجُدُوا لِآدَمَ فَسَجَدُوا إِلَّا إِبْلِيسَ أَبَىٰ وَاسْتَكْبَرَ وَكَانَ مِنَ الْكَافِرِينَ ﴿٣٤

2:34 – “Wa idh qulna lilmalayikati osjudo li Adama fasajado illa ibleesa aba wastakbara wa kana minal kafireen.” (Surat Al-Baqarah)

“And [mention] when We said to the angels, ‘Bow Down/make prostration to Adam’; so they prostrated, except for Iblis. He refused and was arrogant and became of the disbelievers/who reject faith.” (The Cow, 2:34)

Yet this world teaches us from the time we are children that we have to be something important, and constantly pumping us up until we are like a huge balloon filled with hot air. At some point, that balloon is going to pop and when it does, you will be in tremendous difficulty. So the saints come and teach us that it is better to accept to be humble, accept to be nothing. Don’t follow your ego. As Jesus (as) was teaching his disciples, we are praying to Allah (AJ), ‘Thy will be done on earth as it is in Heaven.’ When I get out of the way, then the Divine Will can manifest through me and like a mirror, that light will reflect out towards all creation. But first I must cease to exist. I must cease to manifest.

“…Thy Kingdom come, Thy will be done. On earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread; and forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us; and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.” – The Lord’s Prayer

Like the Binary Code, Be Off in the Divinely Presence

That is the reality that science is teaching us with binary code. They say that all information can be broken down into a series of ones and zeroes. When you are ‘one’, it means you are on, you are manifesting. ‘Zero’ means you are ‘off’, not manifesting, you are in annihilation. In the Divine Presence, you must be ‘off’ because God is ‘on.’ There can only be One Creator, there cannot be two in His presence. That is the reality before our physical existence. And spiritual mentors are teaching us that we must seek to annihilate ourselves and die before we die. The saints are those who have reached that station and have died before they died. It means that they have died to their desires.

Seek Refuge in Rabbil Falaq – The Lord of Annihilation and Submit

That is why the station of annihilation is represented by the colour black. Black is the only colour that does not emit any light of its own. The Divine says in the Holy Qur’an, ‘Say: I seek refuge with the Rabbil-Falaq.‘

﴾قُلْ أَعُوذُ بِرَ‌بِّ الْفَلَقِ ﴿١

113:1 – “Qul a’odhu bi Rabbil falaq.” (Surat Al-Falaq)

“Say, I seek refuge in the Lord of daybreak.” (The Daybreak, 113:1)

It means ‘seek refuge with the Lords of Annihilation’ because they represent the highest realities of Paradise. So in the spiritual government, the Lords of Annihilation are always in black, and if you were to see them in a vision, you would see them dressed in black. They are the hidden saints supporting the sultans, taking from the secret of Sayyidina Ali (as).

The saints represent the moon because the moon has no light of its own. It is in complete submission – no ego – so it is able to perfectly reflect the light of the sun like the Divine Presence. But the moon has two faces, one visible and one that is never visible, what they call the ‘dark side of the moon.’ The dark side of the moon represents the hidden secrets. It represents complete annihilation and not wanting to be known.

Black Robes of Whirling Dervishes Are Symbolic

So, that station of annihilation is represented by the black robes worn by the dervishes, showing us that they have an existence before their manifestation in white, before they begin to turn. When they start turning they are dressed in white, symbolizing their manifestation in the material world. Then when they stop turning, they cover themselves again in a black robe. It means that their physical manifestation has died and they have returned to their real being, their real reality in the Divine Presence. This is one of the secrets of Sufi whirling, and its purpose is to emphasize that in life there is no ending, only a new beginning.

﴾إِنَّا لِلَّـهِ وَإِنَّا إِلَيْهِ رَ‌اجِعُونَ… ﴿١٥٦

2:156 – “Inna lillahi wa inna ilayhi raji’oon.” (Surat Al-Baqarah)

“Indeed we belong to Allah, and indeed to Him we will return.” (The Cow, 2:156)

Subhana rabbika rabbal ‘izzati ‘amma yasifoon, wa salaamun ‘alal mursaleen, walhamdulillahi rabbil ‘aalameen. Bi hurmati Muhammad al-Mustafa wa bi siri Surat al-Fatiha.

Special thanks to our transcribers for their help with transcribing this suhbah.

Original Suhbah date: January 16, 2013
Updated: June 3, 2020

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