They will necessarily have the abilities that they have, but they are free in their actions. People are bound to exist in their own form and spirit. He assigns to them the appropriate name as their destiny human form, spirit, abilities, and attitude are written in the sperm of humans. God grants His creatures what is required and desired by their abilities. Even before you have a need for water, a spiritual teacher guides you to the water. “The spiritual disposition with which you are born will enable you, through your efforts, to attain that maturity. …All kinds of affliction bring out our inner beauties.

A person who is in the presence of God is at peace in each moment Peace means being in the presence of God. We should try to reach true peace while we are in this world. Eventually, the human being comes to this world.

To this end, it chooses its own family and path. And a person’s name longs to perfect itself and to be reunited with God. One should not say, “I didn’t get to choose these parents,” or “I didn’t ask for these qualities,” or “why did I come into this world?” This is because each individual knows his name from the time of pre-eternity. …How our souls are attracted to our particular lives and trials in order to be purified before our return to God. The original Turkish transcription on which this English translation is based is titled Dinle (Listen), and was published in 2012 by Nefes press. More specifically, the discourses that form the core of this book were collected through oral interviews with Cemalnur conducted by her students as part of a weekly program aired on a national Turkish radio station. This volume represents the first text in English translation that brings together some of her major discourses and teachings as presented to her students through the genre of oral discourses. As a female Sufi teacher who commands a loyal and active worldwide following, especially in Turkey, Sargut’s career as a scholar and Sufi leader represents an important case study in the dynamics of contemporary global Sufism.

Cemalnur Sargut, one of the Turkish leaders of the Rifa’i Sufi order, occupies a special place in the intellectual and social landscape of contemporary Islam.

Beauty and Light by Cemalnur Sargut