A seeker informed sayyidi wa sanadi Mufti Mohammad Taqi Usmani (Allah preserve him) about the extra time he had available daily and requested for advice on how to utilize it appropriately.

Sayyidi wa sanadi said,

‘Do two things in this time.

Firstly, perform excessive remembrance of Allah.

On request for further elaboration on what specific form of remembrance would be appropriate for him.  Sayyidi said,

‘Perform the ‘dowazdah tasbih‘. And if you already do this in morning (as the usual daily routine prescribed for seekers) then repeat it again in this spare time.’

The second thing to do is to read the biographies of the pious predecessors meticulously. High light and mark the beneficial passages for future review.

Start with the Sawanih e Qasimi of Shaikh Mawlana Qasim Nanotawi  written by Professor Mawalan Anwarul Hasan Sheirkoti (Allah have mercy on them) if you can get hold of it. It is difficult to keep focused in the one written by Mawlana Manazir Hasan Gillani (Allah have mercy on him).  Then read Tazkirat ur Raheed, Tazkirat ul Khalil,  Ashraf us sawanih and Arwah e salasa.’

Holiday Inn Salam, Jeddah, 15th May 2012, after esha