Our master Shahr bin Jaushab (Allah be pleased with him) says:
“I asked Umme Salma (The Mother of the Believers, Allah be pleased with her) ‘What was the supplication (dua) most often made by the Prophet of Allah (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) in his house?’
She replied that Prophet of Allah (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) used to recite,
O the Controller of hearts! Make my heart firm on Your Deen.
(Tirmizi)
Shaykh Mohammad Abdullah Gangohi (Allah have mercy on him) said,
A humble man is not a person who regards himself above the act of humility he is displaying. A humble man is a person who considers himself below the act of humility he is doing.
Masih al-quloob Mawlana Masihullah Khan (Allah have mercy on him) said,
Stay among people, but remain aloof.
Your body should be among creation, but your heart with the Creator. This will ensure that negligence does not overtake you. Beware of such negligence lest you conform with people in a way which entails opposition to Allah and His displeasure.
The Path to Perfection, page 130
Arif billah Dr. Abdul Hayy (Allah have mercy on him) said,
‘Whenever, I make prayer for forgiveness and send reward of meritorious deeds I start with my parents. Then I include my forefathers from both paternal and maternal side. After them for my teachers and Shuyukh. Then for my household members and relatives. And finally for my juniors.’
He then instructed his disciples to do similarly.
Khubaat e Arifi, ‘Amal e hasna, page 391
Hakim al-Umma Mawlana Ashraf Ali Thanawi (Allah have mercy on him) said,
‘Perfection (kamal) is that an individual can successfully overcome a state (hal) without the state causing any change in him.
Great insight (baseerah) is needed to recognize such an individual. His condition is similar to that of the novice aspirant. Common people can not differentiate between them.
To recognize a spiritual-graduate (muntahi) is not an easy thing. It is for this reason that people recognized those who were still traversing the path(mutawassit) but failed to recognized the perfect awilya and Prophets.’
Waaz e Meerut, Khutbat e Hakim al-Ummat, volume 8, page 394
Mawlana Abul Hasan Ali Nadawi wrote the following regarding his first Shaykh Mawlana Ahmad Ali Lahori (Allah have mercy on them),
‘Being in Mawlana’s company created, in the least, a yearning to seek Allah, the sweetness of [uttering] Allah’s name, a love for the people of Allah, recognition of my own deficiency and the need for my rectification and perfection. And for us laypeople this is the greatest fortune and bounty.
Source: Pearls of the Elders
Hakeem ul Umma Mawlana Ashraf Ali Thanawi (Allah have mercy on him) tells an anecdote in one of his discourses:
A sufi aspirant busy with his islah (reformation) was overwhelmed with a thought of abandoning his spiritual struggle and to enlist in the Muslim Army engaged in Jihad. Being sincere he consulted his Shaykh before embarking on this holy journey.
Sheikh admonished him saying that this was the conspiracy of his nafs (lower self) to escape.
The nafs was tired of the daily jihad (struggle). That is, struggle of withholding it self from all the haram (forbidden) activities and engaging in extra (nafil) worship. For example, avoiding lustful glances, backbiting, anger, self-pride etc. and being humble, patient, pious, etc.. Tired of this daily struggle it wanted to escape by dying fighting in Jihad.
This might be the reason of calling the daily struggle of self-reformation (islah) Jihad e Akbar (The greater struggle) as compared to the holy war, Jihad e Asghar (The lesser struggle) in one of the Prophetic narrations (dha’eef).
At this point it is most appropriate to clear any misconception about Jihad in our days.
Sayyidi wa sanadi Mawlana Mohammad Taqi Usmani sahib (Allah preserve him) explains:
“Jihad is, no doubt one of the intuitions enshrined by Islam. But it does not mean a war to compel people to accept Islam, as the Holy Quran has declared that there is no compulsion in religion. Nor does it mean to occupy lands and extend territory of a Muslim state without a just cause.
Jihad is in fact means a well disciplined struggle against aggression and oppression. The struggle of jihad may be with or without arms. Armed struggle is allowed only when peaceful means have totally failed.
Apart from a just and rightful cause it is necessary that it is carried out under a competent Amir or leader in strict compliance with dictates of Shariah.
This armed struggle can never target innocent persons.
It is always a legitimate struggle against an oppressor or a tyrant and his warriors.
It has, therefore, nothing to do with terrorist activities which target innocent people and have been termed by the Quran as ‘Fasad fil-ard’ (spreading disorder in the land).”
Source:Usmani M T, Albalagh International: Vol 16 No. 8/September 2005 “Islamic vision on interfaith cooperation for peace”
حضرت خالد اقبال تائب مدظلہ
Hakim al-Umma Mawlana Ashraf Ali Thanawi (Allah have mercy on him) said something smilar to the following in one of his discourses,
The minimum benefits of maintaining regular correspondence with a Shaykh ( in form of islahi-ta’luq) is that it makes an individual a cognizant sinner (baydar gunahgar).
That is, if God-forbid he commits a sin he will be aware of this mistake. He will have remorse. This will evetually lead him to turn to Allah in form of repentance and supplication for forgiveness, protection and improvement.
Hadhrat Hakim al-Ummah Mawlana Ashraf Ali Thanawi (may Allah sanctify his secret) said,
“Since I now consider the knowledge derived from kashf unworthy of notice, I forbid people from discussing this with me, either orally or by way of writing. Although there was a time when I was engrossed in this knowledge, [so much so that] I would remain absorbed in this night and day, I now consider it (the knowledge derived from kashf) to be an impediment in reaching the goal.”
Bawadir al-Nawadir, page 589.
This is a salient feature of tarbiyet in the Ashrafiya path.
(Translation & editing by Shaykh Mawlana Ismaeel Nakhuda db.)
بوادر النوادر، صفحہ 589
تصوف میں مسلک اشرفیہ کا یہ ایک رہنما بنیادی اصول ہے۔
Hakim al-Umma Shaykh Mawlana Ashraf Ali Thanawi (Allah have mercy on him) said,
‘Ilm (knowledge) without suhba (company of the pious) is not beneficial.
The islah (reformation) of a person with suhba and‘ ilm is easier compared to the person with ‘ilm but without suhba.
All the Companions (may Allah be pleased with them) were not scholars. Whatever they achieved they achieved through suhba. The people of Allah (Ahl Allah) have always taken care with regard to suhba. They concentrated more on suhba than ‘ilm.’
Hakim al=Umma Shaykh Ashraf Ali Thanawi (Allah have mercy on him) said,
If someone fears that if he becomes pious (muttaqi), he will lose out on the worldly pleasures, then I say; “Make the intention that I do not want to become pious. However, for the sake of Allah spend some time in the company of the ‘ulama and the masha’ikh and understand the din. The result of this will be that you will not experience any difficulty in becoming pious. On your own accord you will build up the interest to practice (on the din) and you will experience such joy and pleasure in practicing on the din that you will forget about all the worldly pleasures.”
Advices of Hakim al-Umma: Part Six
Hagerstown, MD