Beloved Ones of God,
And when we come to the message of the Prophet Muhammad, the central theme of the message is unity. He said, ”The sultan and the slave, when they come in the Ka’aba, there is no distinction for them: they must stand shoulder to shoulder. ” That was fifteen hundred years ago, and we have not learned that lesson. We are inclined to say, ”He is from another race, he must keep away, he must not come to our restaurant; he is of a different class, he must stay in his place.” Fifteen hundred years ago a man came and united his people, who were daggers-drawn against one another, divided by family feuds, saying, ”My family is greater,” and each family having its own gods.
He brought them all before one God and made them stand shoulder to shoulder, sultan and slave, with all their family distinctions, sects, genealogical records and traditions. And he said Kullo muslim in akhwanon (”All Muslims are brothers”). And do you think that brotherhood was only called a brotherhood? No, it was taught, it was lived as brotherhood; and if you wish to see the example of it fifteen hundred years afterwards, you can see it today. Bedouins, who are the most savage people living in the desert, are always inclined to fight with their knives: if there is a little cross word there are knives taken against one another. But if a third person comes and says Salu all’ an nabi (”Friends, think of your Prophet, respect your Prophet”), that is enough. Neither of them will dare go forward; they will throw their knives away at once and take one another’s hands, say the name of the Prophet and kiss them.
Besides that, the teaching of the Prophet was, ”Know your relation”: your relation to your mother, to your father, to your brother, to your children, to the helpless, the poor and the orphans in the city, to the one who is of higher rank than you, and to the one of lower rank than you. Now you must consider, ”Is it not something which needs to be studied?” It is never enough. And we can never understand fully how much there is to be learned in acting in connection with those whom we meet in everyday life. The teaching of the Prophet was simple and at the same time deep. One might think that it is too exaggerated. But at the same time there is beauty in it. I shall give you an example of a family I went to see, a Muslim family who lived the typical Muslim life.
The middle brother was very fond of music and entertainments. But when his elder brother came to visit he would not have entertainment in the house, and when the younger brother came he would not have entertainment. The reason was that he was too respectful to have entertainment, gaiety before his elder brother. And he was too conscientious to give the example of his gaiety to his younger brother. It is in that way that brothers have regard for each other. When there is such a regard between brothers, then what regard must there not be between the mother, father, children, sister, and relations in the home? If one thinks about it, one can begin to feel that it is a civilization that can always be appreciated, once it is studied and known. And the central theme of it is what? Unity.
We cannot unite with another if we have not the sense of respect, the sense of understanding the ideal. Today, when brothers grow up fighting with one another and not respecting one another, it is quite different. Brothers apart, even that relation that should be between parents and children is not to be found. Every day it is worse and worse and worse. A friend of mine told a rich man how one should regard one’s parents, that it is part of one’s honor to have regard for the parents. And this rich man, on hearing that his father was out of work, sent a letter to him, a letter of good advice, and said there was a place vacant in his office. Does the world not need instruction on that point? It always needs it.
Besides, the Prophet’s teaching was to give the spirit, the spirit that is needed for every person. For every individual a certain spirit is necessary. The teaching of the Prophet was that that spirit must be wakened in each person. The way the Prophet treated his own daughter shows the nobleness of the spirit. He gave an example to the world: he taught his children to respect their parents by respecting children himself.
And now, in conclusion, coming to the task and to the services we are destined to render to the world. ”What is the work of the Sufi Message, its characteristic, its peculiarity?” Its peculiarity is truth. It is to bring to the world, to give to the world, to spread to the world that truth which is the essence of all religions. First the truth must be searched after, next the truth must be realized, third the truth must be lived. And it is by doing this that the Sufi will attain to that purpose which has brought him to the Sufi Movement, and that we all will attain to that purpose for which we are meant and which we are intended to accomplish.
And now in spreading the Cause, what we must do is to understand the psychology of human nature, to understand the need of the time, and to understand the best way of going forward. We must not waste time and we must not dispute with the authorities of other religions. We must give our whole thought to this purpose, which is given to us from God. Contemplate upon it, and meditate on it, and ask all blessing: that will help us to carry our work into the world. God Bless You.
