Editorial

A Life of True Devotion

To live only to worship, spread the words of Allah and His Messenger, and serve Islam and Muslims is a grand undertaking only someone who has attained the most sublime purity of iman can achieve. To give one’s entire life, not just a few years but all of one’s time in this world, to the service of Islam without expecting or hoping for respite or reprieve from these noble duties, no matter how exacting they might be, is a level of selflessness only true love can bring forth.

Ghawth-i Thani Shaykh Sayyid Abdülbaki el-Hüseyni (quddisa sirruhu) was living proof of such love, sacrificing his life, his health, and all his being to serve Allah and His Messenger. He worked tirelessly for decades to build a robust pillar of scholars, knowledge, and learning and, thus, uphold the legacy of Islam, echoing the will of the awliya of the Naqshbandi path, who have illuminated the way for this tariqah for hundreds of years.

His was a life of true devotion witnessed by millions, his passing a tragedy mourned by all who loved him. The reason so many hearts beat with such immense love for him is inexplicable by ordinary cause or logic. The only explanation is a love that transcends human-to-human interactions and comes into being through the special divine ordainment of Allah. All love originates from Allah the Most Merciful, but the reason why such overwhelming love pulses in the hearts of millions for a wali like Ghawth-i Thani is, as Rasulullah (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) emphasizes in the hadith below, none other than the love of Allah:

“When Allah loves a servant, He calls out Jibril and says: 'I love so-and-so; so love him.’ Then Jibril loves him. After that, he (Jibril) announces to the inhabitants of the heavens that Allah loves so-and-so; so love him; and the inhabitants of the heavens (the angels) also love him and then make people on earth love him."

No impetus is more powerful than a divine mandate to love and be loved. Such love resonates not only in people’s hearts but throughout the entire universe and all of creation. Indeed, the universe itself was created out of love: the love Allah has for His Messenger Muhammad Mustafa (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam). It is due to such cascading love having rained down upon Ghawth-i Thani (quddisa sirruhu) from Allah and His Messenger that the masses have known and loved him. May Allah grant us to join him and other awliya like him in cherishing and nurturing this love by following in their footsteps in the service of Islam.

I hope to see you in the October issue inshallah.

M. Galip Dönmez