Shaykh Nazim: Seek Eternity Oceans

It has become quite commonplace in contemporary culture to aspire to longevity and to maximize lifespan, yet such a goal begs the question, to what end and towards what purpose?

Do we seek to extend the length of our lives so as to enjoy and indulge in more of this world, or do we seek more time to more fully fulfill our purpose? And if the latter, is that purpose based in the temporal world, or are our goals and aspirations in seeking that which is eternal?

In this brief excerpt, Shaykh Muhammad Nazim Adil al-Haqqani (qs) advises human beings to not lose their lives and their souls seeking but the temporary and ultimately empty and vain pleasures and indulgences of the world, but rather to seek that which is true, that which is real and that which is eternal.

Shaykh Nazim (qs) points out that awakening to eternity and the Divine Presence of our Lord is the purpose of all religious and spiritual paths, and that if we are to truly maximize the time and value of our lives, we must invest our energy and our love in that which is eternal.

He (qs) explains that the vain aspirations of the world are ultimately but as a mirage in the desert that can never truly satisfy nor fulfill the human heart and soul, and that the great danger in pursuing empty and vain goals while neglecting true and real purpose is that the soul will eventually die of thirst, for what it seeks and truly requires are the life-giving waters of Allah Almighty’s heavenly and divine eternity oceans.

Shaykh Nazim: Seek Eternity Oceans

Believers are in need to move towards the Lord Almighty, towards the heavens. We have been ordered and offered, and we have been called to move towards the heavens, not to stay on this wild world, not asking to live on this earth for a hundred years and more — no.

It is not a genuine target to live longer, but our aim must be to worship as much as possible, more and more. If we are asking for a long life, we are asking only for that purpose: to pray and worship, to obey the commands of the Lord of Heavens, and to ask from His endless mercy oceans. This is a true aim for everyone, a true target for the followers of all religions.

Why are you asking for a long life? To eat and drink more? That is the life of animals. It is not an aim to say, “I am asking for a long life for my ego to enjoy this life.” Cattle and sheep, what are they asking to live for? To eat as much green grass as possible, that is their only aim. So if you are asking for a long life to enjoy eating and drinking, if you have the same aim, then you are going to be on the same level.

But if you are answering, “I am asking for a long life in my Lord’s service and for His worship because it gives me honor, and as long as I am alive, my honor is increasing; that is my aim,” then your heart is guided. Which of these positions is excellent? Therefore, excellence is for Islam.

Our direction, our last destination, is the Divine Presence. Up to there we must move, as rivers run through the land without stopping until they reach the ocean. When they reach to the ocean, their waters no longer run, there is no more movement, finished. Our aim, everyone’s aim, is only to reach the oceans in the Divine Presence.

Good tidings! Run to reach your ocean, your last destination in this life. But mindless people are now leaving the ocean. They are going to the desert and seeing a mirage on the horizon, they run to reach it to find something, but nothing is there, and they are finished. O people, leave the mirage in the desert and come to your ocean; that is for you forever, your last destination in the Divine Presence: love oceans, beauty oceans, endless sweet oceans that you have been granted from your Lord, the Lord Almighty.

Whoever runs after grass and meadows are like cattle, an unexpected and sad fate is awaiting them. But whoever is running after those oceans in the Divine Presence, endless enjoyments are awaiting for them, endless tastes, endless blessings, endless favors. You must decide which one is good for you. May God give us a mind to think about it.

— Shaykh Muhammad Nazim Adil al-Haqqani (qs)

About Shaykh Nazim Adil al-Haqqani (qs)

Shaykh Muhammad Nazim Adil al-Haqqani (qs), may Allah Almighty be pleased with him and sanctify his secret, was one of the rarest of spiritual teachers inheriting from the light of the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ, the last and final of God’s great messengers to humanity.

He was the 40th grandshaykh in the noble Naqshbandi Golden Chain, which traces its lineage directly back to the Prophet ﷺ in an unbroken chain of transmission through which the internal dimension of Islam has been taught and practiced for over 1400 years, its goal and purpose being the purification and transcendence of the self, and the awakening of the human heart so as to remember the purpose of our creation and come to know our Lord and Creator.

For additional information on this classical and traditional path of spiritual development and awakening, please see The Golden Path.

To your divine and eternal success.