Cemalnur Sargut

Completed Human Being (Insan-i Kamil)

 

Verse 109 of chapter Al-Kahf (18) in the Qur'an can be explained, from a tasawwuf perspective, as follows: "If all the sea were ink and all the trees were pens and they tried to describe a completed human being, who is a word of God, the sea would be exhausted and the trees would be broken. If you were to bring the same amount they would dry and be broken again."

 

Since Samiha Ayverdi is a mirror reflecting my Teacher's majesty and magnificence, the embroidery seen on that mirror is the embroidery of a completed human being.

 

As explained in the interpretation of the above verse, no language is enough to tell about Him and the pen would be incapable of painting Him. Whatever we say, we cannot explain anything about Him because He cannot be limited to our expression.

 

When my teacher Kenan Rifai passed away in 1950, Salih Yesil, an old Parliament Member, told me: "My dear daughter, what a great person Samiha Ayverdi is that I saw her in my dream last night; all her teacher's spiritual inheritance was given to her and the angels were witness to it." In fact, we were also witnessing this by living. We were following Samiha Ayverdi, who was not confusing the roads of both this world and the hereafter, was walking and leading people to walk within these parallel lines, and who was not wasting even one breath during her journey. She had full submission to her teacher, spiritual guide and master; we were watching a beauty who became one with her creator. Samiha Ayverdi had submitted her nothingness so much so that the manifestation of the creator is seen through her. Someone, who was fond of her writings, once visited her and said: "I liken you to Marcus Aurelius. In this house with very valuable antique furnitures, I found you in humility and nothingness. Just like Marcus Aurelius, who although in that magnificent palace, was sleeping on an animal skin and not in his bed.."

 

Samiha Ayverdi never attached importance to this world's temporary pleasures that dissolve like smoke into dreams. She carried the Divine Sultanate in her heart and injected that to the community in need. She always told us: "We are very rich even if we only have bread and olive on our table to eat...we are richer than anyone else. For we have the love of God, we have the treasure of love...This is the real richness..."

 

Samiha Ayverdi lives as a divine mercy. She always teaches goodness, philanthropy (Charity), and helping others to those around her. She works tirelessly for the benefit of community. She is a sincere person, she is a completed human being. She has not wasted even a bit of her teacher's investment in her. She distributes her knowledge, wisdom, good manners, advance (feyz), and love to the community without expecting any compensation. She revives all that is around her, every thing she touches. 

 

She is a pen in the hand of her teacher, defending God and righteousness. She is a reed flute (nay) in her teacher's hand, sounding the Creator's voice everywhere with beautiful tunes and removing the humanly fracas from ears. 

 

When the nafs is raw, it is filled with excessive desires. Only when it reaches the level of spirit can it be purified from these excessive desires. This progress cannot be realized without finding a completed human being. Until we find a completed human being and kill our ego in front of him or her, we can not be a real human even if we look like one. We are in need of rescuers who can save our spirit from remaining in an animal state. Samiha Ayverdi, who has a sincere rescuer, is calling the community from heresy and tyranny to the right path and to light with her knowledge of history, her understanding of spirituality and her art. Happy are they who listen to her voice.. Happy are they who adorn themselves in front of that mirror..

 

Meskure Sargut

March 2, 1984

Original article was published in Turkish in Academia Journal (Akademi Mecmuasi), April-July 1993 issue.