Title Page
Stories of the Scholar Mohammad Amin Sheikho
Part Four
His Life, His Deeds, His Way to Al’lah
(1890-1964)
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The Great Humane Eminent Scholar
Mohammad Amin Sheikho
(God has sanctified his soul)
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Checked and Introduced by
Prof. A. K. John Alias Al-Dayrani
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English Language Editing by:
Jackie Feehan
Killing a Cat Is Not a Joke
During the Turkish reign over the country, a certain pasha sat with a large group of notables who were gathered around listening attentively to him narrating the events of an incident that had taken place the previous day. He said, ‘Gentlemen… yesterday I was incandescent with rage… do you know why? I put a pigeon on the roof of my house, and I took care of it not for one or two days, but for many months. I went up to check on it every day, and to feast my eyes on its beauty… it captivated my heart with its rapid little steps as it paraded right and left… to the extent that I became very attached to it. But, unfortunately, a sly cat came to our home yesterday and ate it. I caught it in the very act… ha… ha… ha…’ he laughed, ‘and I took a terrible revenge on it.
‘This eased my anger… so do you know what I did? Ha… ha… ha,’ he laughed again… ‘I caught it and tied a rope around its neck… then… do you know what? Ha… ha… I hanged it from a tree in the garden and killed it!’
Thereupon all the guests laughed and started to make silly comments. Mohammad Amin was listening to this talk with great sadness and there was a look of grave concern in his eyes. His strong voice interrupted the pasha’s wisecracks saying: ‘Oh Pasha… Oh honourable Pasha… do you know that the cat you killed is a spirit… a living being, a creature with a soul… sensations… it feels… it suffers pain… and you killed it, you killed a spirit willfully by doing such a thing. When it ate your pigeon it was a normal action for a cat… for this is a universal law… and all breeders take precautions against such things happening and put their pigeons out of the reach of cats. Hunting is natural for cats… this is how they find food for themselves… they are naturally disposed to hunt birds and mice that are nearing the end of their lives.
‘So you committed an offence, and you must repent and pay a penance as a proof of your true repentance and then Al’lah will accept it and wipe out the punishment you deserve, otherwise… I’m afraid that one day you may be subjected – God forbid – to the same fate as that cat, according to the proverb, “As you sow, so will you reap”; and what I’m telling you is very serious… believe me…!’
The pasha heard those sad, moving words and was momentarily affected by them so that he felt a sudden surge of fear in his very soul. He swallowed hard and shifted on his seat then he said, ‘Aslan!1 If what you say is correct…remember that I am not to be executed by hanging, but by firing squad… for I’m a member of the military, and according to the law – as you know – military men are executed by firing squad and not by hanging.’
Mohammad Amin, the officer, replied, ‘But honourable Pasha… Al’lah’s Justice is operative throughout this entire worldly existence; His Hand controls all creatures and His Rule is superior to all other rule.’
The commander thought about this for a moment then burst into laughter ‘… Ha… ha… ha…’ and then said, while twiddling his moustache, ‘My dear Aslan… you have exaggerated the whole incident so much and you’ve given the matter far too much importance. This cat is subject to our service and is ours to do with as we like, and what you have said – oh Aslan – does not happen and will never do so… ha… ha…!’The pasha laughed and all the guests laughed with him, turning the matter into a joke.
He had made fun of Al’lah’s Law which is above all the laws of mankind. And that is no laughing matter!
It was not long before the gathering was adjourned and the notables left. Our officer went out feeling sad and sorry for the pasha’s insensitivity to his admonition… that is, Al’lah’s Warning to him. From the pasha’s words it was clear that he had no intention of turning to Al’lah in repentance and would surely be chastised, a matter which saddened this humane officer, Mohammad Amin, as he liked the pasha.
Time passed by, day by day, and the Turkish Empire eventually came to its end. One day, the Turkish president, Mustafa Ataturk, issued an order (a firman)2 which forbade the wearing of the red tarboosh,3 and whoever broke the order had only himself to blame. It was indeed a very strange law and a most severe punishment would be imposed on those who broke it. All people observed it carefully and no man dared to wear the tarboosh however much he wanted to wear this style which was a prevalent fashion at the time.
But the pasha we are talking about continued to wear the tarboosh in a most arrogant way for no one could enforce any judgement against him, and no-one dared to even mention it to him as he was the mayor: he thought himself above the law and it was he who executed sentences against people when he became, during the rule of Mustafa Ataturk, the mayor of Istanbul.
One evening, when he was walking along a street in Istanbul – near the residence of the president of the Turkish state who had issued the order – he had the audacity to wear the tarboosh proudly, fully confident that no-one would dare to utter a single word against him as he was the mayor of Istanbul, and he and the president were old friends: in any case, he mistakenly thought, the law was followed only by the lower members of the hierarchy.
At that very moment, by the Will of Al’lah and His good Steering, the Turkish president was just coming out of a public building located on the same street, escorted by a great number of gendarmes surrounding him. He came out reeling right and left, giving orders this side and that in a shaky, slurred voice.
Surely, he was drunk… yet even in his intoxicated state he managed to look along the street and spotted a man in the distance walking towards him and wearing a tarboosh. The president stopped at once and scrutinised him, then as a look of extreme anger appeared on his face he burst out angrily: ‘Who is that despicable man who dares to break my order? Here? In the capital city? Execute him… now… at once… execute him here!’
The policemen escorting the president grabbed the man and how terrible his fate would be… the pasha’s sentence was to be swift and sure! One minute the mayor was walking proudly along the street full of confidence and… suddenly… a number of policemen rushed to arrest him! They actually arrested the honourable governor! This was something he had never expected… but his greatest terror was wondering what sentence they were going to carry out against him!
They apprehended him and cared not one iota about his objections or who he was, and they tied him up while he was still shouting: ‘Leave me… let go of me… you cowards… don’t you know who I am? Leave me… I’m… I’m… the mayor…!’
But they paid no attention to his words at all (as the order had been issued strictly and in anger by the great president, the ruler of the whole country), and they did not dare to delay in carrying it out. One of them rushed off and soon returned with a rope in his hand. They looped it around his neck and hanged him unceremoniously from the nearest tree at the side of the street.
The noose tightened and cut off his words and copious tears poured forth and ran down his face… maybe his last thoughts were of the cat he had killed so cruelly, and the words of the kind officer ‘Aslan’. He remembered, too late, his advice to repent to God and pay a penance, and how he had received the matter by laughing and joking, summarily dismissing the well-intentioned advice.
If only he had turned to his Provider in repentance and asked for his forgiveness! If only he had treated the advice seriously and not as a joke!
Within moments his face had turned a dark shade of blue as oxygen could no longer reach his lungs, his eyes had popped out, and foam frothed from his mouth… then he breathed his last… and died.
When the president sobered up, he looked at the hanged man, and realised, suddenly, that he knew him and thought: ‘Oh… how terrible… he is…’ and his thoughts tailed off as he realised what he had done in his drunken state. He then became extremely repentant and said with deep sorrow and regret: ‘Oh what have I done? I wish I hadn’t done it… ah… ah… if only I had stopped to think… I have killed my friend with my own hands.’
But what use are these words? What good will they do?
Will they bring the man back to life again? The die is cast and the wine had played its part!
In fact, the real Protagonist here is Al’lah, the Almighty, for it is His Hand that controls everything, and decides which one is paid in full and harvests the fruits of his own deeds, for Al’lah never oppresses people who do not deserve it.
All the officers who were present at the discussion between the pasha and Mohammad Amin concerning the hanged cat eventually heard of this strange occurrence, and they learnt a great lesson from it and knew for certain that Al’lah’s Law and Rule supercede all other law and rule.
The rule of justice is operative among people; This worldly life is not an abode of settlement.
Brilliant Tactics
This is the account of a certain situation in which Mohammad Amin undertook a particular course of action, out of his love for God, those who worship Him, and, indeed, all of mankind.
He experienced this incident when his brother, General Saleem Bey, went through some financial difficulties after he was wounded in battle and confined to his bed for many months.
So he asked Mohammad Amin to collect his accumulated salary by impersonating him and to use his, Saleem’s, military identity card in order to simplify the matter.
Mohammad Amin was only too happy to help his brother through this difficult period but something quite unexpected happened!
After the end of World War I, the countries allied against Germany incited Greece to attack Turkey which was Germany’s ally, and the bitter enemy of the Western allies. Those countries supported Greece by supplying arms and ammunition with the aim that Greece would bring down Turkey. Previously Greece was considered as one of the possessions of the Turkish Ottoman Empire, and Turkey was taken aback by this unanticipated attack.
General Saleem Bey, Mohammad Amin’s brother, was the commander appointed to one of the forward Turkish military divisions in the vanguard of the Turkish Army. He fought valiantly, gained ground, and defended his position strongly. Unfortunately, however, he lost many men and his squad was almost destroyed, yet he managed to maintain his position before the enemy. He stayed the course though he was exposed to death several times, and even after he was wounded on the battle field, he still showed unmatched endurance, and his outstanding efforts surely helped to save Turkey from certain defeat as he fought off the first attack. In spite of all of that he was up against, he held the line until the Turkish backup forces arrived and pushed large columns of soldiers forwards into battle after he had halted the enemy’s advance.
The fresh, advancing Turkish reinforcements forced the Greek Army to withdraw in defeat. If it were not for his steadfastness and stubborn resistance, the outcome of this battle might well have ended differently and history would have a different story to tell: the Greeks may well have entered Turkey and occupied the capital city.
With his outstanding bravery in battle General Saleem led his men to a great victory that raised Turkey’s esteem in the eyes of the rest of the world and saved the last spark of its prestige amongst other countries after the collapse of its empire.
However, his courageous stance came at a high price to him personally: after this arduous ‘do or die’ battle, he had to spend six months of sick leave at home because of his injuries sustained during the war.
During this time Mohammad Amin was visiting his brother, the General, in Turkey. On one occasion Saleem Bey asked him if he would be so kind as to collect his salary. Saleem explained that there was an accrued amount which he needed as he was in debt, and gave his brother his identity card to facilitate the process.
Mohammad Amin went to collect Saleem’s salary using his brother’s military identity card and became involved in a very difficult situation, which was potentially dangerous as he was taken aback by the guard who addressed him saying: ‘General Saleem Bey! Welcome!’ All of a sudden, two doors were flung wide open in front of him and he was told that the sultan wanted to talk to him!
All at once he found himself standing face to face with the sultan whose very appearance was enough to put fear into the hearts of all those who saw him because of his grandeur and grave character, not to mention the fearful aspect of his impressive moustache!
How could he, Mohammad Amin, face him in a military capacity, pretending to be his brother the high ranking
General Saleem Bey, commander of a division of the Turkish army that had defeated the enemy? His position had suddenly become complicated!
Since the grand sultan was the actual ruler of the Turkish empire, our officer understood the potential seriousness of the situation, and knew full well that his position was not in the least bit simple: the grand sultan had assumed it was the indomitable commander himself, coming to collect his salary, as he, the sultan, had previously commanded the army’s accountants to inform him when General Saleem came for it.
But with his usual alacrity and clarity of thought that had helped him through many a difficult situation, he instantly formulated a plan: he dashed towards the grand sultan, saluted him in military fashion, and gave his brother’s name and military rank. To all intents and purposes he was now the general and commander who had saved the Turkish State!
Such a strong and positive introduction astonished the sultan and filled him with admiration, as (by our officer’s quickness of intellect and appropriate behaviour) he did not have the slightest reason to believe that the man before him was impersonating General Saleem Bey.
There, the grand sultan said to him: ‘You, my son, have given Turkey an overwhelming triumph and achieved a great honour for this country. Now, I want you to tell me all about the heroic battle you fought against the enemy.’
The major problem that arose here was that our officer had not yet heard any of the details from his brother, the general, and so he was now faced with an increasingly difficult situation but, “For those who see by Al’lah’s Light, He always prepares a way out.”4
Mohammad Amin thought to himself, ‘By God! I know nothing about the battle except a few tidbits of news, but I’ll just imagine what I would have done if I’d been the commander of the division and surprised by an attack.
‘I’ll start by describing an imaginary battle: how I outflanked the enemy and then launched an attack with my brigades of artillery and infantry, repelling their vehement attacks and several squads of their soldiers… of course, all of this is imaginary, and helped by my understanding of war and military tactics. So, whatever I tell him about my plan of action, he’ll be so astounded and startled at the expertise of my manoeuvres… how I staved off the possibility of any side attack… drove back an attack from the front and foiled all attempts of the enemy to outflank us… that he’ll believe it all to be true. I’ll then say how we used small groups of men to engage large numbers of the enemy forces in numerous minor diversions so their front line forces were dispersed, and that’s why the major attack was aborted until the regular squads of the Turkish Army arrived, and were able to destroy the enemy and drive them back.’
Having devised his ingenious plan Mohammad Amin continued to regale the sultan with so many imaginary details of the battle and his proficient defence tactics for more than an hour until the sultan felt as if he was actually experiencing the battle for himself as he listened intently, full of admiration for ‘General Saleem’ and his military strategy that had turned potential failure into victory.
After Mohammad Amin finished the description of the battle which was astounding and full of ingenious military tactics, the supreme ruler snapped back to the present, having been mesmerised and alarmed at what he had heard. He heaped praise upon the man before him and asked after his current state of health, wanting to know if he was making a rapid recovery.
Bravely and strongly, the General replied, ‘I’m perfectly fit to fight and go back into battle.’ Yet, on seeing his high level of morals, despite his many injuries, the supreme ruler said to him, ‘No… no…! You must rest until the end of the convalescence period as prescribed by your doctors, for they are very competent and you should take their advice. Truly you have given us outstanding personal service, that’s why we hold you in such high esteem.’
By these words, Mohammad Amin understood that the meeting was over and he was being dismissed from the presence of the sultan. He then took his leave of the supreme ruler by giving him a stiff military salute and hurried back to his brother’s house to report on all that had taken place.
As Mohammad Amin related to him every little detail about the audience with the grand sultan his brother’s face turned pale as he thought of the possible consequences of Amin’s actions: his immense fear seemed written clearly on his face. Yet Mohammad Amin resumed his speech saying,
‘Don’t worry, there’s nothing to be afraid of! My plan and role-play succeeded before the grand Sultan as I described to him all the details of the imaginary battle and the plans of attack, defence and retreat by one side or the other, and so on… that is, after I had sought Al’lah’s Help.’
Startled at what he had heard from his brother, Saleem Bey said, ‘By God! I didn’t carry out even one percent of the heroic performance and military genius you have related to me!’
An Old Woman Finds a Safe Haven
Al’lah the Almighty brought man into being for a supreme and illustrious aim. He brought him to this lower world in order that he should treat his fellow man with humanity, in fact, to treat all creatures with compassion, so that these deeds will count as capital towards his gaining Paradise and the Afterlife. The Almighty says, “Such is the Paradise you have inherited by virtue of your good deeds.”5
Aiming to inspire the man who has achieved intellectual belief in his Creator, Provider, and Conductor, so that he might witness that certain faith which generates the performing of eminent deeds in order to gain Paradise, the Almighty has firstly urged him to overcome any obstruction when He says, “Let him break through the obstacle. If only you knew what the obstacle is! It is ‘Freeing of a neck’.”6 The ‘obstacle’ is the good deed which seems to be difficult for one’s spirit at first, but if it does not hesitate in its execution, this deed will find great goodness lying beyond it in this world and before reaching the Hereafter; hence the spirit will rush tirelessly and anxiously to carry out these good works.
So, what is this ‘obstacle’? It is referred to as ‘freeing of a neck’. The following is what is intended by the ‘neck’: Man and every creature that has a soul possesses the ability to rescue and offer help. Then, ‘freeing of a neck’ serves that man should give help to every creature inflicted with troubles that feel like a rope around its neck. If you save him, you have, in reality, released the seeming constriction around his neck and rid him of the noose and the bond. Then, if you found someone grieving and relieved him of that grief, or quenched the pain of thirst by offering him water, you will have broken the obstacle and released the constriction around his neck.
The
Impressum
Verlag: BookRix GmbH & Co. KG
Texte: Amin-sheikho.com
Lektorat: Prof. A. K. John Alias Al-Dayrani
Übersetzung: Jackie Feehan
Tag der Veröffentlichung: 02.05.2015
ISBN: 978-3-7368-9280-4
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