By Mawlana Shaykh Nazim Adil Al-Haqqani

The Prophet (peace be upon him) said that there will be, among his nation, a group of people who lead the flag of haqq, of truth, of right. Everyone may speak against them but they will not change their way; they are on the right path. And the Prophet said that when the Last Day approaches, Muslims are going to be lonely people, alone. Among great masses of people, they are going to be scattered like stars in the sky: There is one here, one there; in the mass of darkness, they are little dots.

There will come a time when the world is going to be in darkness, there is sun but yet darkness. It is not the darkness of night. The darkness that will come on the earth will be because of peoples’ dark actions.

Now, in Western industrialised countries, people are saying that the air is dirty, there is pollution. What is the reason? So many factories are causing it, making air pollution. This is as much as they are able to see. But there is another pollution, making darkness.

The whole world is in darkness now; you can’t find any place without pollution. Darkness, heavy darkness, the Prophet said, more than a midnight’s darkness in the countryside. At that time, Muslims will be alone amidst great masses of darkness, and if someone says, “this is white,” and it is white, in the darkness people will not be able to see, saying, “No, it is black.”

Therefore, you can’t change the minds of people during this time. The Prophet said, ”Jewish people will be divided into seventy-one parties, groups, and Christians into seventy-two groups. My nation is going to be divided into seventy-three groups. Seventy-one Jewish, seventy-two Christian, and seventy-three, my nation.”

We now have seventy-three different understandings, different ways of thinking, about Islam. And the Prophet said, “Except for one, all of them are wrong and their ways lead to Hell.”

And the sahabah (companions of the Prophet), may Allah bless them, asked, “What is that exception among the seventy-three groups?”

And he said, “Those who are on my way and my sahabah’s way.”

Now, therefore, you can find Muslims with different understandings everywhere. Particularly in our time, people are trusting in their minds more than in traditions and they are understanding different things, asking for evidence concerning Quranic verses and hadiths; but they are such people as have no leg to stand on. Therefore, it is difficult to change a person’s understanding. As the Prophet advised us, if people have different thoughts and different understandings, you must follow a way that your heart is pleased with, with which it is peaceful or satisfied.

If your heart is not in peace with a person, don’t listen, don’t sit with him. Leave him. That is the main sign for us. If your conscience says that person is sincere, it is enough to be with him to learn sincerity. That is the important thing; no need to learn anything else. Everything follows from sincerity.

Excerpt from, “Liberating the Soul: A Guide for Spiritual Growth: Volume 1”, by Shaykh Nazim Adil al-Haqqani, 2002.