A seeker wrote, laziness and heedlessness persists. I humbly request for prayers (dua) for determination (himmat).
Hakim al Umma Maulana Ashraf Ali Thanvi (Allah have mercy on him) replied,
‘Supplication in this regards is not refused. However, you have to be determined to a degree yourself also. Supplication in these circumstances brings facilitation (barakah) only with it. Otherwise it will be similar to supplicating for a child without getting married. ”
Tarbiyet us Salik, volume 3, page 153
Imam Abu Hamid al-Ghazali (Allah have mercy on him) said,
‘You must seclude yourself from people, for they will preoccupy you from the worship of Allah Most Exalted.
Nay, they will prevent you from it altogether!
Nay, they will cause you to succumb to evil and ruin!’
Minhajal’abidin via The virtues of seclusion in times of confusion, page 20
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Please, note involvement in social media via internet is doing this in our era.
Our master Abu Huraira (Allah be please with him) reported:
The Messenger of Allah, (Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him), said,
“Verily, (from the) first people to be judged on the Day of Resurrection will be a man who was martyred. He will be brought, the blessings of Allah will be made known and he will acknowledge them. Allah will say: What did you do about them? The man will say: I fought in your cause until I was martyred. Allah will say: You have lied, for you fought only that it would be said you were brave, and thus it was said. Then, Allah will order him to be dragged upon his face until he is cast into Hellfire.
Another man studied religious knowledge, taught others, and recited the Quran. He will be brought, the blessings of Allah will be made known and he will acknowledge them. Allah will say: What did you do about them? The man will say: I learned religious knowledge, taught others, and I recited the Quran for your sake. Allah will say: You have lied, for you studied only that it would be said you are a scholar and you recited the Quran only that it would be said you are a reciter, and thus it was said. Then, Allah will order him to be dragged upon his face until he is cast into Hellfire.
Another man was given an abundance of blessings from Allah and every kind of wealth. He will be brought, the blessings of Allah will be made known and he will acknowledge them. Allah will say: What did you do about them? The man will say: I did not leave any good cause beloved to you but that I spent on it for your sake. Allah will say: You have lied, for you spent only that it would be said you are generous, and thus it was said. Then, Allah will order him to be dragged upon his face until he is cast into Hellfire.”
Source: Sahih Muslim
Our master Prophet Essa (Jesus) son of Mariam (peace be upon them) said,
‘Do not sit with the dead for your heart will die. ‘
Who are the dead? He was asked.
He replied, ‘The avid lovers of the worldly things.’
Kifayatuladhkiya 2513
‘One does not spend time with a corrupt individual, even while inwardly disavowing his corruption, except that one will perceive a decrease in the impact and severity of that sin in his heart.
And when one is a frequent witness of the major sins of others, one will deem one’s own minor sins to be of little consequence.’
KifayatulAtqiya 2672
A spiritual seeker and religious scholar wrote, there is strong involvement in the spiritual malady of seeing the unlawful. The Satan deceives by reassuring me that you are not going to actually commit the acts of these lustful desires so why refrain from only watching them. At these moments I even forget العینان تزنیان (the Prophetic saying that eyes commit adultery).
Please prescribe a treatment for this.
Shaikh Wasiullah Allahabadi (Allah have mercy on him) replied,
‘The treatment of spiritual malady you have written about was very simple. That is, contemplation of the Quranic and Prophetic statements mentioning the detrimental consequences of indulging in it. However, your mentioning that awareness of العینان تزنیان (the Prophetic saying that eyes commit adultery) is ineffective, makes the matter a bit hard. I find it difficult to what to tell you. The knowledge of rulings of Sharia should have been sufficient for an individual to keep him away from sinful activities. However, if they are not (for an individual) then what to do?
In light of principles of this path (tariqat) for these kind of individuals I tell a thing. However, prior to this take into account two points,
1. How detestable and despicable it is that people consider an individual to be a scholar and acquire religious knowledge from him but in reality his inner self is completely opposite of his outward appearance? In regards to this Ibn Kathir (Allah have mercy on him) relates that Prophet Musa (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) told the people of Bani Israel that you come to me wearing the clothes of monks and your heart are like that of wolves. Listen to me. Wear the clothes fit for a king but soften your heart and fill them to the brim with fear of accountability to Allah.
Similarly Imam Hasan al Basri (Allah have mercy on him) said, there are people who have arrogance filled hearts, however, in outwardly appearance they look utmost humble.
Contemplating on these can also lead to much reformation (islah).
2. You mentioned that Satan deceives you by telling that you are not going to indulge in these lustful acts so why abstain from just looking. So beware that all who committed adultery started by seeing the prohibited. Watching the sinful became a prelude to actual performance of the illicit activities. So how can a fallible individual be sure that this will not lead him to it.
An individual wrote to Hakim al Umma (Allah have mercy on him) that a thought comes to mind, (at the opportunity to see the prohibited) go ahead and watch it as there is (extreme) hardship (beyond my volition) in abstaining from it. Hakim al Umma replied, ‘Quickly take heed and remove this thought process. Otherwise soon you will be knocking at the door of disbelief (ilhad).
Now I will tell you the thing according to the principles of this path. Accept and follow it. The pious sages have written a parable, an individual (claimed to) fell in love with a lady. (One day) he was following her closely, the women turned to him and said why are you following me? A little behind me my sister is coming, she is much more attractive and prettier than me. The individual turned searching for her. The lady slapped him and said,
O! Moron if you were truthful in your love for me than why did you look for someone else. O creep! Is this love?
Now I ask you if a mortal being has so much pride and honor (ghairet) than what about the Supreme reality (Allah). He has the most pride and honor against someone claiming to love Him and is giving preference to other-than-Him.
Stepping on this path is like making a claim of Allah’s love. The laws of love do not allow even looking at others.
Understand this and let me know what you understood.
Islahi maktubaat, wasiyet al Irfan, Rabi II, 1403, page 15-16
The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, said,
“You must enjoin good and forbid evil
until
you see greed being obeyed,
desires being followed,
worldly life being preferred, and
everyone is impressed by their own opinion.
Then you must take care of yourself and leave the common people.
Verily, ahead of you are days of patience in which patience will be like grasping a hot coal.
The one who does good deeds in that time will have the reward of fifty men who do likewise.”
Source: Sunan al-Tirmidhī 3058
Hakim al Umma Moulana Ashraf Ali Thanwi (Allah have mercy on him) said,
It is absolutely vital for one to constantly remain vigilant and cautious regarding his nafs. The nafs is such that if it finds the opportunity and the means to fulfil its desires, it will never rest until it gets what it wants.
In fact, even those who have progressed sufficiently in the path of self reformation, it is nevertheless, dangerous for them as well to become complacent and relax their guard regarding the nafs. However, the difference with them is that due to their knowledge and experience in traversing the path of self reformation, it is not as difficult for them to bring their nafs under control at the time of danger.
The condition of our nafs is like that of a stubborn horse. When it is let loose, it neither looks forward nor backward (as it is out of control and runs in any direction without thinking). In this state, the damage that the nafs can cause is so serious that we cannot truly comprehend it.
(Malfoozaat Hakeemul Ummat 8/50)
Source:Ihyaauddeen.co.za
Abu Usman Hairi wrote to Mohammed bin Fazal (Allah have mercy on them) inquiring about the signs of spiritual infliction and depravity (شقاوہ).
He replied,
‘They are three,
1. The knowledge is present but there is deprivation from action (according to it).
2. The actions are present but they are void of sincerity.
3. The opportunity to be in the company (suhba) of pious is present but there is no reverence for them (in one’s heart). ‘
Al Risala Al Qushayri via Tilawat e Quran, page, 42-3
Source: Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī 2988, Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim 2961
Qazi Burhan ud Deen (Allah have mercy on him) said in regards to removal of blameworthy moral characteristics,
‘Understand it by an example. A rodent drops dead in a water well and starts rotting. It pollutes the water. The smell, taste and color of water changes. The water becomes impure (na-pak). The only way to clean this water well is to first locate the rotting rodent carcass and remove it. Then filthy water has to be drained (the amount is as per fiqhi recommendation).
Attempts to clean well, for example by adding more clean water, perfumes, sanitizing chemicals, etc. , but without removing the rodent carcass will remain futile.
The rotten rodent has to be removed. ‘
Madarij as Sulook, Dr Mir Waliuddeen rehmatullah
Similar is our case. The blameworthy morals remain imbedded in our soul. They spoil all the good actions we perform. In spite of all the supererogatory (nawafil) acts of worship, like excessive remembrance (dhikr) of Allah, salah, Hajj, Umrah, financial charities and physical effort etc. our condition does not change for better. The serene and absolute submission to Allah never materializes. The indulgence in sinful continues whenever there is an opportunity and there is hope of any physical pleasure or financial or social gain or loss. God-forbid, this continues forever.
Remember Tasawwuf is tazkiyah. Purification.
The Soul has to be purified from all the blameworthy moral traits.
All the other things in Tasawwuf are ancillary to this main objective.
May Allah make it easy for us all. Ameen!
Following is a list of most of the blameworthy morals that need to removed in islah/tazkiyah.
1. Ignorance/جھل
2. Heedlessness/ غفلت
3. Anger/غضب
4. Rancor/حقد
5. Resentful envy/حسد
6. Miserliness/بخل
7. Pride & boastfulness /فخرو افتخار
8. Arrogance/ کبر
9. Conceit/ عجب
10. Illusion/غرور
11. Ostentation/ریا
12. Love of prestige/ حب جاہ
13. Love of power/ حب ریاست
14. Love of material things/ حب مال
15. Disruption of social bonds/ قطع رحمی
16. Prying into privacy of others
17. Long hopes/طول امل
18. Greed/ حرص
19. Bad demeanor/ سُوخُلق
20. Disasters of speech/ آفات لسان: دروغ، کثرت کلام، غیبت، مزاح، نمیمہ
21. Lust/ شہوت
22. Spend-thriftiness/ اسراف
The Degrees of the Soul, p5 + Shariat wa Tariqat
In Tasawwuf and sulook what is meant by islah or tazkiya?
It is the cleansing of blame worthy moral characteristics (razail akhlaq) of nafs. That is ridding one’s self from arrogance, anger, show-off, envy, self-admiration, love of money and status, lustful desires, etc.
We focus on betterment of our outwards appearance and worship without paying attention to the removal of above mentioned blame worthy morals.
This is a big mistake!
The biggest obstacle in our path to achieving the pleasure of Allah is our nafs with all its blame worthy characteristics.
It is because of this lapse we see that outwardly pious-appearing people indulge in impermissible activities whenever they are tempted by a worldly gain or are fearful of worldly loss.
May Allah give us the correct understanding of islah and facilitate it for us effectively. Ameen!
Once we acknowledge this and recognize our blame worthy moral characteristics the next step is to remove them. This is by firm determination, self-control and constant vigilance.
Remembrance of Allah (dhikr) facilitates it. Advice from Shaykh facilitates it further. But both of these are like catalysts. Without the key ingredient of determination and use of self-control they do not work alone.
Sayyidi wa sandai Mufti Mohammed Taqi Usmani (Allah preserve & protect him) repeatedly instructs us that there is no formula of remembrance or litany or amulet to bring about islah. One has to use his determination and self control.
May Allah facilitate this for us all. Ameen!
Baba Fareed ud Deen Masud Ganjshakar (Allah have mercy on him) said,
‘Spiritual progress lies in discipline of soul and purification of inner life not in the mechanical performance of prayers.
If marifa (Gnosis) is desired then anger, jealousy and hatred should be completely wiped out from the heart. ‘
K A Nizami’s ‘The life and times of Shaikh Fareed ud Deen Ganjshakar rehmatullah aleh’
Vivanta Taj, Rebak, Langkawi, Malaysia
Baba Fareed ud Deen Masud Ganjshakar (Allah have mercy on him) said,
‘Knowledge should in its wake bring humility, sympathy and understanding. If it created arrogance and pride then it defeated its own purpose.
The aim of acquiring knowledge of religious law (ilm e Shariat) is to act upon it and not to harass people. ‘
K A Nizami’s ‘The life and times of Shaikh Fareed ud Deen Ganjshakar’ rehmatullah aleh
Vivanta Taj, Rebak, Langkawi, Malaysia