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Everyone Is Speaking of
Peace
I seek
refuge in Allah from the evils of the accursed
satan.
In
the name of Allah, Most Merciful, Most
Compassionate.
Brothers
and sisters born in this world, please listen to this
wonder! The heavens and earth have always existed in
peace. The sun, the moon, the stars, and the wind all
perform their duty in harmony. Only man, who lives on
this earth, has lost that peace. He only talks about it.
He gives speeches about establishing peace, but then he
disrupts the unity and sets out to rule the world. Is
this not a wonder? Such is the speech of man.
In this
present century, man has discarded God, truth,
peacefulness, conscience, honesty, justice, and
compassion. Man has changed so much! Instead of
searching to discover the three thousand gracious
qualities of God, he has lost all those qualities and
opened the way to destruction. He seeks to ruin the
lives of others and to destroy the entire world. But the
world will not be destroyed; the earth and the heavens
will never be destroyed. Only man will be destroyed.
Man, with all the various means of destruction he has
discovered, will in the end destroy only himself. He is
like a certain type of moth that is attracted to the
glow of a flame, thinking it is food. These moths circle
around and around the flame, until finally they fly
right into it and die. In the same way, man plummets
into evil actions, thinking they will benefit him. He
sees evil as good, but the end result is destruction.
Never has
destruction been so much in evidence as in the present
century. Man has changed the concept of God, who is
truth, and debased the meaning of man, who is wisdom and
beauty. He no longer understands what a true human being
really is. If man could rediscover who he truly is and
then change his present self, he would know peace. Man
says he wants to bring peace to others, but in order to
do that he must first find it within his own life. How
can anyone who has not found peace within himself hope
to bring peace to others? How can a man who has no
compassion, no unity, and no love within himself bring
peace to the world?
One who
has not found justice, conscience, honesty, and truth
within himself will not find these qualities in others.
One who has not found the value of patience within
himself will not find it in others. One who has not
understood his own state will not understand the state
of others. One who has not strengthened his own faith in
God cannot strengthen the faith of others or be
strengthened by the faith of others. One who has not
acquired good qualities cannot find them in others, nor
can he teach them to others. If he tries, his work will
be fruitless. How can a man who carries a water bag full
of holes hope to quench the thirst of others? As long as
he has not repaired his own vessel, he can never fill
that of another man.
To
understand this and to establish peace, man must first
change the thoughts and qualities within himself. He
must change his qualities of selfishness and avarice,
his desire for praise, and his love for earth, sensual
pleasures, and gold. He must stop thinking, "My family!
My wife! My children! I must rule the world! I must
advance my position in life!" When a man has all these
selfish ideas, how can he possibly create peace for
others? However, if he severs these qualities from
himself and begins to feel the hunger, the pain, and the
difficulties felt by others, and if he treats all lives
as his own life, then he will find peace. If he can
strive for this understanding and obtain inner patience,
contentment, and trust in God,1
if he can imbibe God's qualities and acquire God's
state, then he will know peace. And once he finds that
clarity within himself, he will discover peace in every
life. If everyone would do this, life in this world
would be heaven on earth. But if those who live in this
world and rule this world cannot find serenity within
themselves, they will only end up destroying the world
when they try to establish peace. We must think about
this.
One who
has not found peace within himself will forever be
giving speeches about peace. This world is a pulpit upon
which man preaches, and there is no end to this talk!
For millions of years man has been speaking this way,
but he has not come forward to first find peace within
himself. There is no use in making speeches. Man must
acquire the qualities of God and live in that state.
Only then can he speak of peace, only then can he speak
the speech of God and dispense the justice of God's
kingdom.
The people
who have come to rule the world should think about this.
Every man should think about it. Peace can only be found
in the heart. Good qualities, wisdom, and clarity must
provide that explanation within each heart. Man will
only know peace when he brings God's justice and His
qualities into himself. Therefore, before we speak of
peace, let us try to acquire God's words within
ourselves. Let us find tranquility within ourselves. If
we can do that, our speech will be fruitful. Then the
whole world will be at peace.
Man must
find peace, tranquility, happiness, unity, love, and
every good quality within his own life, within his own
innermost heart.2
Only a person who does that can understand the
difficulties, the pain, and the misery of others. A man
of wisdom will know this, understand this, and rectify
his own mistakes. Then he can help others.
We must
all think about this. May God help us. Amen.
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Footnotes
- sabr, shukr, and tawakkul
'ala'Allah
- qalb
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2003, Bawa Muhaiyaddeen
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