Life Increasing Light

After the love of Hz. Yusuf and Züleyha, who are described as "Ahsenü'l-kasas" in the Qur'an, there is such a love that attracts humanity the most; that is the divine love that Hz. Şems-i Tebriz-i and Hz. Mevlâna felt for each other.

This is a love that is as fresh as the unopened rosebud on its branch, as vivid and clear as the secret of Hây falling from the sky to the earth, as close to us as the breath we take.

Mevlana says in one of his ghazals about this divine love:

"This is such a radiant tree of love that it has no trunk. Its branches are in eternity and its roots in eternity. This tree of love neither rests on the heaven nor on the earth."[1]

"This is such a love that such a love has never come to the earth. It will never come again after this."[2]

For centuries, for this divine friendship, scholars, ignorant people, people of wisdom, and people of knowledge, everyone has said and written many things in accordance with their own knowledge. Many right and wrong interpretations have been made for centuries. Although I welcome all of these interpretations quite naturally, I would like to express some of the issues that have been insistently emphasized once again in your high presence with the couplets and point of view of Hz. Mevlana himself. As it is known, according to some, Hz. Shams-î Tabriz-î is the lover and Hz. Mevlana is the lover. According to others, Hazrat Shams-î Tabriz-î is the sheikh and Hazrat Mevlana is the disciple. According to Hz. Mevlana, in this divine love, which has no trunk, branches in eternity and roots in eternity, there is neither lover nor ma'shûk, neither sheikh nor disciple according to our superficial understanding. Although some of the words spoken about this love may be acceptable on the surface, only those who have disappeared into the depths of Shams-î Tabriz-î and Hz. Mevlâna, those who have been burnt to ashes by the fire of that love, know its essence.

Undoubtedly, our esteemed professors in whose presence we are, would agree that it is not enough to be an associate professor, a doctor, a professor, nor to have completed a school or a madrasa in order to be able to speak with certainty on the divine meaning of such a sublime love that rests neither on the earth nor on the heaven. In one of his ghazals in Divan-i Kebir, the Prophet Mevlana said:

"Since the opening of the madrasah of love on earth, a problem as difficult as the difference between the beloved and the beloved, the lover and the lover has not arisen in this world. There are other ways other than the syllogism used by physicians, but this way is closed to those who know the fiqh to solve the problem, it is closed to the physician, and it is closed to the astrologers who deal with the stars.

In this way and in that way, at various times, many deeply knowledgeable people, many sharp-witted people, have been very busy about the difference between the lover and the ma'shûk. They came up with various ideas. They engaged in various discussions and contradicted each other, but in the end they never reached the truth. They spoke of many differences between the lover and the ma'shûk, but all of them were bound. No one has ever reached the true knowledge of the lover and the beloved."[3]

When the sultan of lovers, Hz. Mevlana, said that centuries ago no one could reach the true knowledge of the lover and the ma'shûk, to what extent has this knowledge been reached today? To what extent has it been comprehended? This is only known to the experts.

Why did no one know the difference between the lover and the ma'shûk?

Why has no one ever come to this truth?

Again, I would like to present this with some couplets of the Prophet Mevlana:

"Both worlds are foreign to love. There are seventy-two madnesses and seventy-two divinities in love. The sect of the lover is separate from seventy-two religions."[4]

"Abu Hanifa, one of the greatest imams, did not mention love, and Shafi'i did not explain love. No imam of any sect has ever narrated anything about it. In the science of religion, there is an end to the discussion of this is permissible and that is not permissible. There is no end to the knowledge of lovers. The religion of love is separate from all religions. The shari'ah and the sect of the lovers is Allah."[5]

"Unfortunately, people have fallen into gossip on this subject. Love is not in superiority, knowledge, notebooks, pages of books."[6]

"LOVE is not learned by studying and reading."[7]

"I deny the humanity of a person who is not in love."[8]

"Whose pulse does not beat with love, even if he is the magenta of time, consider him an ass."[9]

"Consider the flock that knows nothing of love as a pack of dogs."[10]

While Hz. Mevlana, in another couplet, guides us by saying that if you want to learn about love and the states of love, go ask love and learn love from love, our grandfather Şefik Can, who devoted his whole life to Hz. Mevlana and his works, used to say: "Learn about Hz. Mevlana from Mevlana himself, not from left and right, Mevlana is hidden in his own works". Since we will learn love from love; therefore, what is love?

Who is the lover, the ma'shûk?

Where is the basis of this divine love between Shams-î Tabriz-î and Hz. Mevlana? I believe that the answers to all these questions should be sought and found in various couplets hidden in the works of Hz. Mevlana himself.

"The place where we are taught is love. It is Allah, the Owner of Celâl, who teaches us spiritually."[11] "Whomever you see in love, know that He is the lover. As thirsty people seek water in this world, water seeks thirsty people in the world."[12]

To Hz. Mevlana, who enlightens our hearts with these words, what is love then? If we ask; He gives us the answer to this question with various couplets in Divân-ı Kebîr:

"What is love? If they ask you, say: LOVE is to abandon the wish, the desire, the will, the will to do or not to do."[13]

"Love is like a prophet between God and the servant."[14]

"Love is devastation from devastation."[15]

"Love is nothing but the spiritual state, the grace and help of Allah, the peace of heart."[16]

"Love is the house of God."[17]

"Love is a divine mirror." [18]

"Love, like the soul, is a stranger from beyond."[19]

"Love has nothing to do with this mortal world."[20] "Love is the secret of Allah, who is eternal, who has no front.

Love is an uncharted sea with no shore.

Hope is but a drop of that endless sea; all that remains is fear."[21]

In conclusion, if we express Love in a few sentences in the light of the couplets presented above; "The Arabic letter "Ayın" at the beginning of the word Love indicates worship and servitude, the letter "Şın" indicates gratitude, and the letter "Kaf" indicates belief."[22]

As we can see, divine love has nothing to do with the mortal world, with worldly feelings and thoughts. Love is a divine substance that is only in the power of Allah Almighty, and He grants it only to those who have it.

There is also another issue that we would like to touch upon briefly: Is Hazrat Shams-î Tabrîz-î a Murshid and Hazrat Mevlana a Disciple? To what extent is this thought correct?

In answer to this question, I would like to present to you a Ruba of Hz. Mevlana: "In love there is neither inferiority nor superiority. In love, there is neither inferiority nor superiority."[23] As it can be seen, Hz. Mevlana gave the answer to this question very clearly by saying that there is neither sheikhship nor discipleship in love, and His Holiness Shams-î Tabrîz-i Hazretleri, in his work Makalât, while talking about Hz. Mevlana, Murshid-Disciple relations, says the following:

"What suits me is to preserve the way of friendship and brotherhood in our lives. Otherwise, I do not like relationships like sheikhship and discipleship."[24]

One of the very important issues is that, in general, we all believe that Hazrat Mevlana fell into a great love after he met Hazrat Shams-î Tabriz.

Of course, the surface, the form of this belief must be accepted as true. But where is the real beginning, the meaning, the essence, the essence of this divine love?

Again, I would like to share with you some of Mevlana's couplets on this subject:

"I was created neither from water nor from earth. I have no relationship with this world."[25]

Before the fight and noise of Hallâj-i-Mansur's witty Ene-l Haqq saying was in this world, we were saying Ene-l Haqq in Baghdad, the world of the soul.[26]

If Khallaj was alive now, because of the greatness of my words and secrets, Khallaj would pull me to the gallows.[27]

O Allah, I have been yours, I have been your lover since the day you said:'' Since the day you said, "Am I not your Lord?", I am yours, I am your lover.[28] O Allah, when you created me in eternity, my love for you had reached its perfection. At that time there was neither the earth nor the sky. There was neither the sun nor a single created person.

When You chose me for Your love and perfected me with that love, nothing existed. I was Your servant, Your friend, Your greatest lover before the worlds were created, before the heavens and the earth existed.[29]

As can be understood from the few couplets we have presented by saying that less signifies more, this divine love has a very different underbelly; there is no lover, no ma'shûk, no sheikh, no disciple as we see and understand it in its outward form. In Mawlana's own words, before the worlds were created, before the heavens and the earth existed, Allah Almighty chose him for His love, and with that love he reached the degree of perfection. If nothing is as it seems, then how should we understand the divine love for His Holiness Shams-î Tabrîz-î, which has been told for centuries and which has not been finished and will not be finished as long as the world lasts?

"Wherever I lay my head, He alone is prostrated. He alone is the god in six directions and out of six directions. The vineyard, the rose, the nightingale, the beautiful, the beloved are all pretexts. The purpose of all these is only Him."[30]

"O my Allâh, Whose attributes are manifest, and Whose essence is hidden like a soul within a soul, I swear by Your eternal Divine Essence;

All my wish, all my desire, all my desire is only you

I only love you, I only want you

I have never mentioned anything other than you in this world

I have always remembered You, I have always wanted You and no one else."[31]

Anyway, Shams of Tabriz is an excuse.

Whatever is on the tongue, other than remembrance of You, is all perversion, all vain.

"Everyone understood that I was in love. Unfortunately, no one understood who I was in love with. No one knew."[32]

"I am a beloved propeller who was thrown into the light of Elest, who scorched his soul with the light of Elest, whose wings were burnt with that first light. Now, I am serving a candle of my sultan of the light of Elest in this world."[33]

As a result, to those who evaluate the love-love of Hz Shams-î Tabrîz-î and Hz. Mevlâna, who are the manifestation of this divine love, which has no trunk, whose branches are in eternity and whose roots are in eternity, in the mortal world, within their own incomprehension, and who are stuck in form and form, Hz. Mevlâna says in a ruba as the last word: "The being we call Beloved is only an excuse. In fact, the true beloved is only one Allah. Whoever does not want to understand this truth, does not see it, does not know it, and thinks that these are two separate things, is either a Jew or a disbeliever."[34]

Hz. Mevlana said that the beloved is an excuse, the purpose is only Allah. The one who does not want to understand, see and know this is either a Jew or a disbeliever.

However, the words "Jew" or "infidel" should also be understood correctly. Mevlana neither judges nor insults anyone for their religion, faith or belief. A Jew is someone who has difficulty accepting the truth, and a disbeliever is someone who hides the divine truth. It is well known that throughout history, the people of the Prophet Moses had the most difficulty in accepting the divine truth.

If the real purpose is Allah, why is Shams-î Tabriz-î only an excuse? Why is there a need for such an excuse, what is the good wisdom in this?

I would like to present the answer to this in a few sentences with Mevlana's own couplets: "There is not a hair in my body that does not cry and moan with your grief. O beloved, who is the comfort of my soul, what is the cause of this cry of mine, this wailing of mine?

Do you want to gather everyone, the whole world around me?

Because if I don't cry so much, if I don't wail and wail (i.e. if I don't say Shams, Shams, Shams), these people will not gather around me.

What does it mean for the people to gather around me and gather together in response to my wailing? Why do you want to gather these people around me?

The gathering of the souls behind the shadow beings with the same purpose means people traveling from themselves to themselves. It means that they find the divine trust in themselves together.[35]

As can be seen, these couplets are so clear and clear that there is no need for any interpretation or commentary, and everyone can understand them. In another couplet, Mawlana said: "Poetry is the dress of my words. But who is inside the dress?"[36] He asks clearly. Unfortunately, everyone is interested in the dress, no one knows about the beauty inside. In order to understand both Hz. Mevlana and Shams-î Tabriz-î, it is necessary to first understand the hadith "A believer is the mirror of a believer" very well. If this hadith can be understood correctly enough, the place of Shams-î Tabriz-î in the life of Hz. Mevlana will also be understood.

In Divân-ı Kebîr: "Yusûf was a pretext, the purpose was Haqq. No Prophet's soul falls in love with a human being. Jacob is from the lineage of Prophet Abraham, he does not incline to falsehood."[37] For Prophet Mevlana, Shams-î Tabriz-î was only an excuse. As a great sultan of lovers, the heir of the Prophet, it is obvious that he too would not incline to falsehood. To be attached only to the mortal existence, shape and form of His Holiness Shams-î Tabrîz-î would be idol worship, and no one can claim that Hazrat Mevlana worshipped idols.

[1] Can Şefik Divân-ı Kebîr clt.1.192

[2] Can Şefik Divân-ı Kebîr clt.2.579

[3] Can Şefik Divân-ı Kebîr clt. 1. 345

[4] Can Şefik Mesnevi clt. 3. 4719

[5] Can Şefik Divân-ı Kebîr clt.1.199 6

[6] Can Şefik Divân-ı Kebîr clt.1.192

[7] Can Şefik Divân-ı Kebîr clt.2.751

[8] Can Şefik Divân-ı Kebîr clt.2.793

[9] Can Şefik Divân-ı Kebîr clt.2.552 10

[10] Can Şefik Divân-ı Kebîr clt.2.538

[11] Can Şefik Divan'ı Kebîr clt 1.162

[12] Can Şefik Masnavi clt.1,1740

[13] Can Şefik Divân-ı Kebîr clt.1.210

[14] Can Şefik Divân-ı Kebîr clt.1.118

[15] Can Şefik Divân-ı Kebîr clt.1.286

[16] Can Şefik Divân-ı Kebîr clt.1.199

[17] Can Şefik Divân-ı Kebîr clt.3,1213

[18] Can Şefik Divân-ı Kebîr clt.4,1196

[19] Can Şefik Divan-i Kebîr c.3,1123

[20] Can Şefik Divan-i Kebîr c.3,1193

[21] Can Şefik Divân-ı Kebîr clt.4.770

[22]Can Şefik Rubailer No:1178.

[23] Can Şefik Divân-ı Kebîr clt.4. no: 446

[24] Shams-î Tabrîz-î Maqlât M. Nuri Gençosman 1974 edition clt.1- pg. 151

[25] Can Şefik Divân-ı Kebîr clt.2.814.

[26] Can Şefik Divân-ı Kebîr clt.1418

[27] Can Şefik Divân-ı Kebîr clt.2.694

[28] Can Şefik Divân-ı Kekbîr clt.4.741.

[29] Divân-ı Kebir Külliyât-ı Shams-î Tabrîz-î 3238

[30] Can Şefik Divân-ı Kebîr clt.4. 222

[31] Can Şefik Divân-ı Kebîr clt.1.78

[32] Can Şefik Divân-ı Kebîr clt.3. 977

[33] Can Şefik Divân-ı Kebîr clt.2.762

[34] Can Şefik Divân-ı Kebîr clt. 4. 184

[35] Can Şefik Divân-ı Kebîr clt.1.431

[36] Can Şefik Divân-ı Kebîr clt.2.876

[37] Can Şefik Divân-ı Kebîr clt.2.503