RELIGIOUS ORDERS

LEGENDS
Unconditional surrender to the will of the sheikh being mandatory, many legends are told in order to realize this. For instance, a sheikh tells his disciple to go and cut off his father’s head and to bring it to him. And the disciple performs such an absurd act believing that there is something beyond his comprehension known only to his sheikh. Then he realizes that the head he had cut off while he was by his mother’s bed was not his father’s but a man’s, a man in an adulterous relationship with his mother. The sheikh, in his hindsight, had seen the event and to try his disciple orders the disciple to perform such an act. This parable aims at illustrating the unconditional obedience to one’s sheikh, since what he does is the consequence of the mysterious dispensations of providence. Under normal circumstances, a Muslim would retort to the person giving this command: “How can you ordain me such a thing since murder is a major sin?” In religious orders such objections would be interpreted as a lack of faith.

Let us illustrate this situation with another well-known story. One day the powers that be, grown restless because of the crowd of disciples gathered round Hacý Bektaþ Veli, come to tell him of their discontent. Whereupon Hacý Bektaþ says: “Do not worry, I have merely one and a half disciples.” Then suiting the action to the word he goes inside and slaughters a sheep, draining its blood to the outside. Then he calls his disciples and tells them that he has to cut them and that they should come one by one. All of them scatter away with the exception of a man and a woman -she being counted only as a half, the result was one and a half as he had declared. This parable shows that the true disciple has to submit unconditionally to the will of the sheikh. Even though a sheikh may unreasonably demand something unlawful, the disciples will obey him without question. The way they are expected to embrace Islam is then decided by their sheikh. Thus they pledge allegiance to their sheikh instead of to the Quran. A parallel may be drawn to other religions reflecting the same mood:

31 – They take their rabbis and their monks to be their lords in derogation of God.
9 Repentance, 31

Turn to the First Page of the Article/

PAGE 2: TRANSFORMATION OF DERVISH LODGES INTO TAVERNS AND BROTHELS
PAGE 3: WHOSE SPIRITUAL LEADER IS SATAN?
PAGE 4: BLIND OBEDIENCE TO SHEIKHS
PAGE 5: EXPLOITED DISCIPLES
PAGE 7: FUNNY LINK
PAGE 8: DO NOT FOLLOW IN THE WAKE OF THEIR MASTERS
PAGE 9: DISCIPLES THAT CAUSE THEIR SHEIKHS TO FLY

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