Category Archives: E. States

Haal.

Dai’i

Shaikh Haji Shakeel Ahmed (Allah preserve him) said,

‘We must be compassionate in calling others to the Islamic ways.

We should address ourselves first and then the others.

Please, remember the principle that a dai’i (one who invites others) never insults, criticizes, denigrates, humiliates or mocks the audience.’

Jeddah, al-Azizia 30th May 2012, bayan after maghrib

Reminder: Allah is watching me!

Shaikh Haji Shakeel Ahmed (Allah preserve him) said,

‘Develop the habit of reminding yourself every now and then that Allah is watching me.  Say in an audible voice ‘Allah! Allah! Allah!’.

It is to firmly establish and cultivate this state that Allah made it essential (wajib) for us to visit His house (masjid) five times a day and practice it in salah.

We should strife to establish this in our daily life. An easy way is to set a reminder in our mobile phone that alerts us every 15 minutes that Allah is watching me.’

Jeddah, al-Azizia 30th May 2012, bayan after maghrib

Maintain wudhu

Shaikh Haji Shakeel Ahmed (Allah preserve him) said,

The trustworthy and truthful messenger of Allah Prophet Mohammed (Allah bless him and grant him peace) told us that wudhu is a weapon of a believer.

In reality it is a spiritual hidden armament against the ploys of lower self (nafs) and Satan.

We should be vigilant in maintaining it.

Unhealthy habit of chewing pan, smoking cigarettes and drinking carbonated drinks makes it difficult to maintain wudhu most of the time. We should abandon them.

Moreover, the Prophet (Allah bless him and grant him peace) himself stayed in the state of wudhu most of the time. We should emulate his blessed sunna.’

Jeddah, al-Azizia 30th May 2012, bayan after maghrib

Shrewd & peaceful

Enumerating the qualities required for a mureed Shaikh Najamuddin Kubra (Allah have mercy on him) said,

‘He must be shrewd. Traversing this path requires cleverness and dexterity. This is to deal with perils that he will face in this journey.

He must keep peace with all the creation of Allah and only battle with his own lower self (nafs).’

Mirsad al-Abad, page 169

تلك خیالات تربی بھا اطفال الطریقہ

The ‘wali-tarash‘ Shaikh Najamuddin Kubra (Allah have mercy on him) writes,

‘In front of Khawajah Imam Yusuf al-Hamdani (Allah have mercy on him) an individual mentioned with astonishment that I was in the company of Shaikh Ahmad al-Ghazali (Allah have mercy on him) eating with other brethren. All of a sudden the respected Shaikh passed away (from the physical realm). Few seconds later when he gained consciousness he said, ‘At that time I observed that the Messenger of Allah (Prophet Muhammad, Allah bless him and give him peace) is placing food in my mouth by his own blessed hand.’

Shaikh Khawajah Yusuf Hamdani (Allah have mercy on him) listened and replied,

تلك خیالات تربی بھا اطفال الطریقہ

These are thoughts by which the infants of this path (tariqat) are nurtured.’

Mirsad al Abad, page 193-4

Perfection?

Hakim al Umma Mawlana Ashraf Ali Thanawi (Allah have mercy on him) said,

‘Torch your desires!

Burn your opinions!

Adopt absolute annihilation. And consign your affairs to Allah completely.

Try your best to please Allah.

Who are you to aspire for perfection?

I swear by Allah. If an individual is aware of his own reality than all claims of aspiring self perfection would collapse and flee from his mind.’

Waaz: al Wael wal Fazel, Khutbat e Hakim al Ummat ra, volume 15, page 204

Wasting time

Arif billah Dr. Abdul Hayy Arifi (Allah have mercy on him) said,

‘Wasting time in the hobby of reading newspaper & unimportant books, attending ceremonious gatherings,  or participating in useless entertainments results in failure to accomplish the essential things to be done. This (eventually) creates commotion and anxiety in one’s mind.’

Talemaat e Arifi ki roshini mein: Islah e haal aur Sukoon e qalb, page 41

Beware of imposters

Unfortunately we live in an era where the distinction between real and fake is sometimes very difficult to make. Even in religious issues. Marketing tactics, boastful false claims, slick presentation skills and mass propaganda can be misleading.

We often fall prey to these schemes. This is mainly because we are not aware of the gold standard to assess these issues. Making the correct decision is almost impossible.

Similar is the case in selecting a Shaikh for spiritual improvement.

Hakim al Umma Mawlana Ashraf Ali Thanawi (Allah have mercy on him) said,

‘I can not claim any perfections for myself.

All praise is to Allah. I have seen the real perfect men (the pious predecessors Shuyukh and scholars). No imposter can fool me by claiming to be human whereas in reality he is a buffalo.’

Malfuzat e Ashrafiya

The gold standard to make this distinction is the meticulous following of Sunna. This following should be comprehensive and perpetual in outward appearance, morals, behavior and dealings.

Proximity of Allah

‘Arif-billah Dr Abdul Hayy ‘Arifi (Allah Have mercy on him) said,

‘People wrongly assume that by observance of excessive worship, like supererogatory salah, excessive remembrance or recitation of Holy Quran,  they will gain pleasure and proximity of Allah.

In our everyday life the pleasure and proximity of Allah is obtained by being patient and responding with humility and good character when unexpected comes from those who are dear and near.

The real examination is when the curt comments and the sarcastic attitude of friends and family break your heart or make your blood boil.

Being patient, controlling one’s anger and responding with humility and good character will make you move closer to pleasure of Allah.

Only an individual who is cognizant that he/she will be accountable before Allah for his/her actions can do this.

This is taqwa.’

Audio:Mp3 CD # 2

Goal of remembrance:Ehsan

Qutub e ‘Alam Shaikh Rasheed Ahmad Gangohi (Allah have mercy on him) said,

‘The end result of all forms of remembrances (adhkar), spiritual exercises (ashgal) and meditations (muraqabat) is awareness of being in the presence of Allah all the time.’

Aap beeti via Zaad us Salikeen, page 803

It is essential to appreciate that this is not the creation of an abstract idle thought but an actual experience that brings a change in the behavior and actions of the individual.

That is, ehsan as mentioned in Hadith e Jibraeel (Allah’s peace be upon him)

Shaikh al Hadith’s autograph

Shaikh al Hadith Mawalna Zakariya Kandehlavi mohajir Madani was requested for an autograph by Shaikh Jameel Ahmad Hyderabadi (Allah have mercy on them).

Shaikh al Hadith inquired, ‘What is an autograph?’

It was explained that it would be an advice written by his blessed pen (in the autograph book).

Instantaneously he wrote;

Translation:

Be in intimate contact (with the Divine) inwardly and appear aloof outwardly.

(Heed) This beautiful characteristic is scarce in this world!

Tazkirat al Jameel, page 483

Signs of special relationship with Allah

Shaikh Dhunun al Misri (Allah have mercy on him) said,

Three things are sign of having a (special & close) relationship with Allah. They are;

1.Turning to Him all the matters

2. Asking everything from Him

3. Trying to get close to Him all the time.

Urdu translation of al Kaukab al duriyu fi manaqib Dhunun al Misri, by Ibn al Arabi (Allah have mercy on them), page 79

Practice makes perfect?

Then why do we see otherwise in ourselves?

That is, in spite of performing religious actions ( e.g. salah, tilawat, dhikr, etc) for so many years the same mistakes are repeated,  the outward beauty and inward concentration does not increase. Perfection remains a mirage.

Shah Wasiullah Allahabadi (Allah have mercy on him) said,

‘An action has to be done properly to be beneficial in this world and in hereafter.’

Majmua’ talefat e Mulih al-Ummat ra, volume 2, Sa’adet e haqiqi, page 323,

Foremost , what is going to be practiced must be established properly. The method must be correct.

It is futile to expect perfection when the thing initiated is done incorrectly and then repeated similarly manifolds. The obvious result of this mistake would be perfection in repeating the the mistake itself.

It for this reason our shuyukh stress on learning the basic religious (fiqhi) text (Bashishti Zewar/Thamar) thoroughly upfront on the path of sulook.

Arif billah Dr Abdul Hayy Arifi (Allah have mercy on him) said,

‘Read the book: Uswa e Rasool e Akram (sallalaho aleh e wasalam). It is a manual for your daily life.’

Sayyidi wa sanadi Mufti Mohammad Taqi Usmani (Allah preserve him) reinforces this in his instruction to the spiritual seekers.