Osmanli Naksibendi Hakkani Sufi Dergah

In the Name of Allah, The Most Compassionate, The Most Merciful

"I was a hidden treasure and I wanted to be known, so I created the world to be known."- Holy Traditions
"Were it not for you, were it not for you, I would not have created the universes."- Holy Traditions

Love for the Holy Prophet is the completion of faith to our Creator. The Holy Prophet is the most beloved one to the Creator, the cause for everything to exist, the first one to be created, the reason for creation. "Say O Muhammed: If they love Me they must follow you"- The Holy Kuran. Following his traditions, his practices, his manners, both internal and external means loving our Creator. Nothing about the Holy Prophet is arbitrary and all his actions however minute, are willed by the Creator. Everything that he did was pleasing to the Creator. Sufis are those who try to emulate him as much as possible because in that following, that emulation, Allah will be pleased with them.

Love is not an imagination- it requires proof. Those who love the Holy Prophet follow his ways. They keep both his internal and external practices. Love invovles sacrifice. In imitating him, they are in essence sacrificing their Selves, entering into his love oceans. That sacrifice is the sacrifice of the ego, not the spirit as the spirit swims towards its source, the Beloved of the Creator.

The most perfect example of those who loved the Holy Prophet were his companions. Their lives, their families, their properties, and their honor were sacrficed for the sake of the love of the Holy Prophet. In return they acheived exalted spiritual stations both in this world and the hereafter.

The sheykh is the spiritual inheritor of the Holy Prophet and just as the companions revolved around the Sun of the Creation, that is the Holy Prophet, so the followers revolve around the sheykh, emulating that Divine Dance. In this Tradition/Way continuous contact with the sheykh is of paramount importance. In the sufi center, the prophetic tradition is lived as a lifestyle, not as a concept. The traditions dictate behaivor in the center, from how followers dress and eat to how they pray and think and work. That lifestyle is a regimen, an immersion, and is distinct from regular day to day living.

Physical proximity to the sheykh is extremely beneficial but more importantly the heart must turn to him and remember him and his teachings often. This way is built on association, Prophetic Association, and goodness comes from such an association.