Original subtitles

THE JOURNEY OF LOVE

I...

saw a dream, my sheikh.

It was a dream that happened.

You can even dream within a dream.

There is a universe within the universe.

The road of the dervish is the journey of love.

This road is long; this road is painful.

Moses took this journey with Khidr...

and our Prophet with Gabriel.

This road is long.

It has frightening passages.

It is narrow; sharper than a sword.

If your company is not Khidr...

or Gabriel...

then you would need a wise mentor.

It requires patience, dhikr, meditation and putting aside the ego.

It requires going through a lot of pain without food or water.

Remember this, Yunus.

This journey you are on...

Salik, is the ascension of the sufi.

Only those who demand it go on this journey.

It concerns being on the road. We came from Him, we will return to Him.

He is the Beginning.

The return is to Him as per His judgment.

This road brings together the past and the future...

it unites the past and the future, it gathers them into a singularity.

I'm telling you all these...

but they are secrets.

I'm letting you see them.

But do not ever reveal our secrets to those without love.

Remember this, Yunus.

This journey will be completed...

while you are still here, living in this world.

Eternity and obedience to God are here.

They will be acknowledged here.

Eternity is our town...

and obedience is our road.

Do not ever forget this, never ever.

I am sharing the secrets with you.

A loveless man is an animal.

An animal cannot appreciate a piece of advice.

Well...

Then, let us wake the sleepers up.

Let us refresh your dhikr now.

You may carry on with the second name.

Let’s give you the dhikr of the Great Name.

Bring your knees closer to mine.

Raise your head.

Let me see between your brows.

God.

-God. -God.

God.

-God. -God.

-God. -God.

The sleepers have woken up.

Let's not hold you back from your dhikr and duty.

We call this stage the Blaming Self.

His Name is the Greatest.

Your dhikr is 'Allah'.

You're obliged to repeat 'Allah' from now on.

Keep repeating The Great Name...

you will be inviting the Greatness of God.

You may not bear it. This phase must be kept short.

Do not neglect your duty as well as your dhikr.

Do not neglect and go through this phase of Greatness...

so that we can wake up the ones in the next row.

We have a long way to go.

It is a long road...

experience is limited...

and time is running out.

God.

Permission, my sheikh.

Come, Kasim, come.

Speak, do not let this old man guess.

I do not know how...

something like this can be brought up, master.

First say it.

If it comes from the heart...

the tongue cannot hold it back.

It is most probable...

that those who have recently started to attend our lodge and your sermons...

are unaware of our order as well as our master’s ways.

I've tried to explain to them as much as I could.

How time should be spent in the lodge...

what our ways are, how dervishes live.

How their relationship with each other should be...

as well as with your family members.

Even if they do not ask, I show the way.

Nevertheless...

nobody is perfect, master.

To the extent that...

I have been obliged to inform you...

about this certain issue.

You say that there should be no secret between the student and mentor.

That they should state whatever happens.

And you also say that...

the tongue cannot hold back something that comes from the heart.

The old man cannot see properly anymore.

So you wanted to tell me everything that happened...

has happened and is happening.

You did well.

I heard and I became aware of it.

Do you know why they put a flake after the 12th piece?

I don't know, sir.

Did I tell Yunus about it?

Anyway.

Their putting it after the 12th piece...

signifies the 12 Imams.

If you see a flake after the fifth piece...

it signifies the Prophet’s family.

I suppose I told that to Yunus Efendi as well.

The rosary will be over...

if my life is not over before that.

Do not waste time with me loafing around, Kasim.

Let me not hold you back from your dhikr.

It's you again!

Who am I? Go on, tell me, who am I?

You are the water bearer that saved the turtle.

And also the old cadi. I know.

Do you know the meaning of Tawheed?

You asked me before.

So you don't know. If you did, you'd tell me.

I hope I haven't made you nervous. I am not a madman.

I am an Armenian living in Sivrihisar. Artin is my name.

I'm an ironsmith. I am also a novice in our village's church.

What about Sheikh Tapduk Emre?

Do you know him?

Respect for all, Gungor Efendi.

We bring an oak branch from the mountain, we carve it to make a ladle.

Then we dip it into a boiling cauldron. Open the lid with basmala...

and close it with basmala.

When the ladle is in your hand, kiss it.

However, if you intend to become a cook to make money...

do not do it in the lodge’s or order’s kitchen.

Go to a Greek innkeeper and learn the trade from him.

Ali Taygu.

Yes, Kasim Agha?

Go around and inform the dervishes.

They should gather in the courtyard.

What happened?

Go on. Go and inform everyone. Some may be performing dhikr...

go to their cells and tell them. -Of course, sir.

What is he going to talk about? Don't you know?

No.

Kasim Agha.

Fellows.

We all know that all beings are imperfect.

There is no one who is complete.

No one is flawless.

The teachings we learn from our sheikh...

require us to cover the fault, not to expose it.

I am not good at talking.

To cut a long story short...

we do not always deal with nice things.

There comes a time...

when it's up to me to deal with these bothersome situations.

If there comes a time when you're also responsible for others...

you'll understand me, inshallah.

Fellows.

If the pillar of the house falls...

the roof falls on everyone in the house.

What is the pillar of our lodge?

Order...

method...

ways.

Aren't we allowed to make mistakes? Of course, we are.

Knowingly or unknowingly, one may make mistakes.

Or one forgets and makes mistakes. Then what does our sheikh say?

"If you are a friend, it is your duty to give a warning".

I have heard some rumour.

Yes, I have.

But I know that it's just a rumour.

Yunus Efendi may be a newcomer to our lodge.

He might be the last one to join us on this road.

Then, if not knowing is not a shame...

how can we reproach him for not knowing the ways of life here?

Yunus Efendi may not know...

how to interact with our sheikh's family.

When to go in...

when to go out.

What harem is, what privacy is, what the way is, what sharia is.

These are all as important as the coat, the turban

the needle, and the axe for a dervish. Each of them is his sign.

I guess, fellows...

I have made my point clear.

To dwell on it is a waste of words.

This matter shall be closed once...

and for all.

Nobody from the lodge shall even utter a single word...

about Yunus Efendi and Bacim Sultan. Not even one.

A thousand devils enter my mind every day.

None confused me as much as this.

How could this happen?

Yunus Efendi.

It has nothing to do with being a member of a lodge or a village.

Doesn't our sheikh say the devil is in Mecca and in the lodge?

Fellows.

Whatever one does, one does it to oneself.

Let’s give this subject a rest and not bear any more sins.

Let’s mind our own business.

Is this an ordinary problem, Ali Taygu Agha?

Fellow, I also heard what Kasim Aga said.

But let’s not dwell on it.

Let's forget it as Kasim Aga said.

You wait here, Artin Efendi.

I'll leave the pouch then we'll go see my sheikh.

Peace be upon you.

And upon you.

Where is the sheikh?

He must be in his room, Yunus Efendi.

Atilla Efendi.

Yunus Efendi.

Why did the dervishes turn away from me?

They looked at me as if I did something bad.

I have also just heard it, Yunus Efendi.

What is this thing you've heard?

Gossip.

Some gossip, Yunus Efendi.

What is this gossip, fellow?

What did I do wrong?

Say it.

Why would you keep my mistake from me?

I can't bring myself to say it.

Aren't I supposed to know...

what I am accused of?

Forgive me, Yunus Efendi, but even hearing it was unbearable.

They say that...

you do not respect other people's privacy.

That you don't know how to interact with our sheikh's family members.

-Who says these things, fellow? -I do not know, fellow.

-Then who did you hear it from? Tell me. -I do not know, fellow.

We heard it from and were warned by Mullah Kasim Efendi...

not to talk about it anymore.

Who uttered those evil words?

How can we know who said it, Yunus Efendi?

Whoever invented those evil lies...

has spoken their own desires.

A person only speaks what's in his own mind. Whatever he says is for himself.

If he has the courage, he should come to me...

and say it all to me, to my face.

We did not start the gossip. We only heard it, Yunus Efendi.

From whom did you hear it then?

We heard it from Mullah Kasim Efendi.

We were all here, Ali Taygu Agha as well.

He ordered the evil words to be uttered no more.

Are you invading my privacy without permission, Yunus Efendi?

Some people defamed my reputation...

without seeking my permission.

Yunus Efendi, our duty is not to fuel an arising gossip...

but to finish it off.

You said it, Kasim Agha. We can finish it off.

I thought I stated it clearly...

but I seem not to have got my point across.

We say that this ugly rumour should stay out.

We say that it should not come and invade our lodge.

So, when we heard it, with our sheikh’s guidance...

we warned the fellows to stop this gossip.

After all, it's not like we'll snitch on anyone, fellow.

We learn decency in this lodge, not ratting.

This isn't only your problem, Yunus.

Just like a knife cuts an object...

this warning will cut this rumour.

Flaw and sin are everywhere.

You may rest assured.

Since there's no fire, there won't be any smoke.

May I come in, my sheikh?

Come here, Yunus, come.

Let him wait. What is his hurry?

He walked on the wrong road for years...

is he out of time when he's almost there?

It's done, my sheikh.

We spent part of our lives together. But it's united at last.

The novice call it 'stringing'.

But it is actually uniting a rosary.

You take 33 pieces or 99 pieces...

and unite them around a string.

A lot of pieces unite in becoming a rosary.

What is the meaning of tasbih?

It is to unite.

Oneness of God.

Do not neglect your dhikr, Yunus.

You are at The Great Name.

You are faced with and thirsty for trouble.

When you recite God continuously...

you will be faced with the reflection of The Great Name.

It inflames all feelings.

It distances man from moderation.

It leads to exaggeration in care, anger and even love.

You start to surge like the sea.

The thing that causes waves in the sea is that greatness.

You beat and get beaten...

you curse and get cursed...

you run away from trouble, run into another one.

Speed up, it's not time to stop.

Trouble finding you is one thing...

going about looking for trouble is another.

But you can still say it, come on.

In the market an Armenian novice priest stood by me, master.

I had come across him once before.

Today, as it happens, he was looking for you.

Didn't he say why he was looking for me?

He would like to ask you a question.

Let him ask then.

Just as the answerer bears the burden of a question...

the asker will bear the burden of the answer he may or may not get.

Mikel Efendi knew that our sheikh is the right person hereabouts.

That's why he suggested you come to Nallihan.

Artin Agha, with your permission, I'd like to ask you a question.

I do not know any answers, I only know questions.

I will ask you about the question.

After you hear the meaning of Tawhid from our sheikh, what will you do?

Artin Efendi.

Our sheikh is waiting for you.

With your permission, my sheikh.

Do let him in.

Come now, Artin Efendi.

Come closer.

-I'm looking for Sheikh Tapduk Emre. -Why are you looking for him?

I'm going to ask him the meaning of Tawheed.

Tapduk Emre is an ignorant peasant.

He is just an illiterate man.

How could he know the meaning of Tawheed?

I realized when I saw the brothers in the courtyard.

Come, Brother Artin, come and sit.

Welcome to our humble abode, Brother Artin.

Tell us who you are.

Who is your family? Where do you come from?

Where are you going to? Where are you now?

Thank you, Sheikh Efendi.

I am Agop’s son, Artin.

I live in Sivrihisar. Do you know its market?

Well, Sivrihisar is our land as well.

I am an ironsmith in the market. Since Gregor Efendi fell ill...

I've lead religious services in the village church.

I am a novice priest. A while ago, Doctor Mikel Efendi came.

I suppose he had a patient.

He knew that I'd been seeking an answer for years.

-So you are seeking? -Of course, Sheikh Efendi.

Many who see me think that Artin is mad.

I have been seeking an answer to this for years.

Wherever I go, whichever wise men they refer me to, I ask...

but I cannot get a satisfactory answer.

How can you expect an answer from me, which the great sage couldn't give you?

I keep seeking, Sheikh Efendi.

You say, "if your answer does not convince me..."

"I will go and ask somebody else".

Which is correct.

Question is the charity of the mind.

And charity is given to the poor.

Ask away. Maybe I will experience an epiphany...

and my scarce mind may find an answer, which seems unlikely.

What is the meaning of Tawheed?

What does this La ilaha illallah mean?

I've found it, sir! I've finally found it!

This is my destination.

I never saw or heard an answer that reached my soul as such.

Then thank Him who made you see and hear, Artin Efendi.

Sometimes He uses the most wicked as a tool for the most gracious job.

If you want.

I promised that when I hear the most powerful answer, I would.

Go on then.

The Shahada is the sign of a Muslim.

May God bless you.

Welcome.

Artin Efendi, we are all curious.

What did our sheikh say? How did he reply...

that it became the convincing answer you sought?

What did our sheikh whisper to you?

There is death!

Thank you, my dear.

Dear, will you look if they've started the prayer?

As you wish, mother.

Mesud Efendi starts hours before.

Are you ready, wife? Are you ready, wife?

When our sheikh has a sermon he gets excited from the morning on.

Sheikh Efendi likewise respects Mesud Efendi very much.

"Hadn't it been for him, the fellowship would've been over in Nallihan" he says.

Is your mother at home?

Yes, she is, come on in.

Welcome, my bestfriend. Come in, have a seat.

Thank you.

I hope there's nothing wrong?

My dear, bring us some ayran, we need to cool down a bit.

What's wrong? You don't look so well. You look pale.

I don’t know if it's right or wrong.

I don't know how such a thing can be interpreted as right.

First, tell me what it is. Spill the beans.

I don’t even know if something like this can be mentioned so openly.

Go on, say it.

Rumour has it. People say things, Valide Sultan.

What gossip is that?

Mesud Efendi has heard it.

You should've seen him. He was deathly pale.

I have been told that people have said...

that Yunus Efendi does not respect others' privacy.

Supposedly, your daughter Bacim Sultan...

I know that you've done no wrong.

Whoever it is that spread this rumour...

I pray to God that their tongue would wither.

Whoever it is...

that slandered both you and I...

I wish the same to them from God.

Actually, I...

Actually, I apologise to you a thousand times.

If I caused those words to find you...

I wish that...

the things they say about us...

they may hear them about themselves.

We heard it from Mullah Kasim Efendi and were warned to end the subject.

We heard it from Mullah Kasim Efendi.

Kasim!

What do you want, Yunus?

I was trying to find out who started it and why.

Now I know who he is and I don’t care why!

I don’t know what you mean, fellow, but anger leads to mistakes.

You don't know?

Do you think I'd believe that?

Do you think that I'm so stupid?!

I don’t know what you're blaming me for...

but obviously it's something evil.

I didn't do anything evil.

You better hope that my sheikh has not heard about it.

You better hope that he doesn't know.

Otherwise, Kasim Efendi, woe to you!

You're always interested in the signs of dervishhood.

You think all dervishes are coward parasites like yourself.

Do not waste your breath trying to convince me...

Just pray.

They played many games and tricks to bring in Layla.

The khalifa had the candles lit early in the morning.

He eyed Layla from head to toe.

He looked down and kept thinking for hours.

Then, he said to himself...

"Let me make her talk".

"Maybe she would smile while talking..."

"and her beauty would be more noticeable".

He turned to Laila in the corner, who became sadness itself.

Khalifa Harun Resid asked, “Are you Layla?”.

“Yes, I am Layla”, she said.

“But you are not Majnun”.

“You are not looking at me in the way he does”.

Thus spoke Layla to Khalifa Harun Resid.

How can you see Layla...

with the eyes corrupted by the images of others?

If those eyes are not bathed in tears...

I don’t know who said it...

but it is the truth, thus it belongs to everyone.

She says, "look at me with Majnun’s eyes".

The lover must look at the beloved with Majnun’s eyes.

What is missing here then?

One must look at one's duty and at God with love and wisdom.

Considering things scholarly is something else.

Islam is compassion, love, wisdom.

If they describe it otherwise, it is incomplete.

Love leads one to Tawhid.

They consider the beings that reached Tawhid in the same way.

He is like this, she is like that and such.

Would such evil classifications and gossip stick on the eyes that look with love?

Those who look without love, splinters stick in their eyes; they are blind.

One blinds oneself...

and neither medicine nor doctors can cure one's blindness.

Have I told you of the adventures of Cuha...

the famous thief of Baghdad?

Cuha was lying down in the shadow of a date tree...

waiting for the evening to start work.

Someone nudged him.

"Look at that Cuha, look!"

"Trays of all kinds of jewels are passing by."

Cuha does not move. "What is it to me?" he says.

The other says, "but they are going to your house".

The thief still does not move.

"Well, but what is it to you, what is it to us?"

Your silence is important to us not your words.

Silence is a state.

Just like there are all kinds of sounds, words, sentences...

there are also all kinds of silence.

A person is not what he says but how he keeps his silence.

So that his silence becomes his speech.

Thus, one's state becomes one's action.

Whatever letters line up to unite...

whatever words line up to become a sentence...

the meaning is the essence.

The meaning renders communication.

Whatever the words say...

body language does not need translation.

All the created beings know body language.

Even a dog barks at someone it doesn't like.

What do they say?

Speech is silver, silence is golden.

Well...

why?

It is a nice phrase indeed.

But what does it mean?

Silence is such a thing that can only be compared to gold.

I wonder, does silence expose more secrets?

Does it speak louder than words?

The last stop of words is the tongue.

Well, then, what is the first stop?

Just like all water has a source...

a spring, a home; there must be a source from which words come out.

That place is silence.

Silence is the source, the home and the spring of words.

That is why one's words do not matter.

One's state does.

People say a lot of things.

He who believes everything he hears doesn't need a brain...

the tongue will do.

Now, just because I'm saying this, don't think words are insignificant.

Quite the opposite, the person is his words.

I'm talking about the Truth that will ultimately arise like the sun.

Our aim is not to belittle the power of words.

Words are indeed strong.

So powerful that they make you believe in lies.

But we cannot make them believe in the truth.

Where is Artin Efendi?

I am here, my sheikh.

If you want, we will call you Abdullah Efendi from now on.

I don’t know what that means.

It means the servant of God, Abdullah Efendi.

With your permission, my sheikh.

Come here, Yunus, come.

Why do you not hurry to finish your dhikr?

Didn't I tell you that you shouldn't stay there too long?

Come on, say it.

Obviously, you heard...

but did not believe it, sir.

I owe you a great debt of gratitude for your trust in me.

Gratitude is only to God.

Tell me.

When one is in such a state what else can one feel...

other than gratitude, my sheikh?

I was afraid...

that you would hear of it...

and that your family would be unhappy. Still...

isn't being the cause of all this enough to be devastated, sheikh?

First, I did not know the source of the rumour.

Or what gave birth to those evil words.

Then I understood.

I knew it.

I knew it, even if he denies it I knew...

it was him, no matter what.

But I don’t know why he did it...

why Kasim Efendi sees me as the enemy, I do not know.

I asked him his meaning.

I asked him if he could hear himself.

While he was in the lodge preaching goodness...

and throwing an evil blanket over me...

I do the job you gave me and perform my dhikr.

I go out with the morning adhan repeating my dhikr...

I come back with the evening adhan as you ordered...

repeating my dhikr.

I've been on this road...

ever since you showed it to me.

I don't have any other aim but to walk on this road.

My tongue is not accustomed to be busy with gossip like theirs.

Always performing dhikr.

My pouch’s strap...

sticks to my back under the sun.

It bleeds, sometimes I can't sleep because of my wounds...

but I carry my pouch.

I have not tried to make people pity me.

I haven't even asked for medicine.

On the contrary, I haven't complained about my wounds.

Mentioning it is a complaint.

The devil will find a place to settle under one's tongue.

He makes one complain by making him say 'I'm not complaining'.

Since that is the case...

since the duty I gave you makes you so tired and wears you out...

makes you complain...

then...

you may leave our humble abode.

I want neither to see your face... nor to hear your voice.

Go ahead, Yunus Efendi.

Go ahead.

Love most...

hurt most.