Bismillahirrahmanirrahim

My dear companions on the Path to Truth, Selamun Alaykum,

Allah’s constant lover and loyal servant, loving son of the Beloved of Allah, beloved of our Pir Hazreti Nureddin, our loving father, brother, teacher, guide and benefactor Sayyid Sheikh Safer Dal Efendi met his Lord on Sunday, February 21, late in the afternoon.  He is buried in the Derghah in Istanbul, close to Hazreti Pir.  As you see in the photograph, thousands of people came to pay their last respects, showing their sympathy and attachment to our Efendi and our path.

We all know his gentle yet strong character, his humility, his ability to forgive our worst faults, the love and care which he showed to us, his tireless and selfless service to the Path, which increased our numbers ten fold and helped build the largest, most beautiful Derghah in Turkey until the days that he could no longer move nor breathe, until the very last minute is a proof that he was endowed with the beautiful character which Allah most high bestowed upon his beloved prophet Muhammed.

May his soul find joy in Allah, may he find compassion and love.  May his tomb be a garden from the gardens of Paradise, enlightened by the light of his good deeds.  May his profound faith be his companion, and his continuous worship, obedience, submission and his actions for Allah’s sake be his aids in the Hereafter.  May he receive the compassionate intercession of Allah’s Mercy upon the Universe.  May his final destination be the highest levels of paradise.  And may we who are left behind find patience to bare his loss, and comfort in living the way he taught us, and strength to continue his work.

Neither did we ask to be brought to this world, nor will we be asked if we wish to return to our Lord.  When it is destined, death comes neither a moment before or a moment after we are called.  Sickness and accident, not even suicide are causes of death- they are but the means.  The cause of death is having been born.  Who ever is alive will die, and what ever is built will be destroyed.  Only Allah is Everlasting.

In the words of our master who is no long present in body but will always be present in spirit,”know that man lives three lives.  The first he loses when he breathes his last breath.  That is his individual, material life.  With its passing, man loses his body and the things which it enjoyed and possessed.  Look, it is packed in seven yards of cloth and that is all the body will take with it- the rest is lost.  That is why Allah says : Do not hold on to the dead world, you will find your hands empty when you leave.

The second life is the communal life that man lives as a good mother or father, wife or husband, neighbor or citizen.  If he is loving, caring, helping for Allah’s sake, giving not taking, giving joy not causing pain, building not destroying, then many will love him and follow him.  His name, his work, his memory will live after he is gone.

The third life is in accordance with man’s faith and inner wisdom, and has to do with actions in submission to Allah’s will.  If one keeps the orchard of this world with care, one certainly will receive its fruits in the Hereafter and be Allah’s friend and know no death.  Such a one passes from the temporal space to an eternal space without pain and with joy.”

May Allah in his mercy accord us a passage such as this, a voyage as our Efendi took.  And enable us to say:

WA ENNEKE RADIYTE BILLAHI RABBEN; WA BIL ISLAMI DINEN; WA BI MUHAMMEDIN SALLALLAHU ALEYHI WA SELLEM NEBIYYEN; WA BIL KUR’ANI IMAMEN; WA BIL KA’BETI KIBLETEN; WA BIL MU’MININE IHVANEN.

SHEHADETEN EN LA ILAHE ILLALLAH MUHAMMEDUN RESULULLAH.

WA ENNALLAHE YEB’ASU MEN FI-L KUBUR, MINHA HALAKNAKUM WA MINHA NU’IDUKUM WA MINHA NUHRIKJUKUM TARATEN UHRA.

RABBI LA TEZERNI FERDEN WA ENTE HAYRU-N NASIRIN. Amin.

Tosun Baba, 3/1/99