Mawlana Wasiullah Allah have mercy on him) said;
“Three things are the sum up of Tasawwuf;
1. Shunning the heedlessness (ghaflah),
2. Getting rid of blame worthy moral traits (razail/muhlekat e nafs). (For example: anger, arrogance, envy, hatred, etc)
3. Being on alert of the various in coming thoughts/ideas (that may be either useless or leading to transgression).”
Halaat e Muslehul Ummat 379
Bridgeport, WV
Hakim al-Umma Mawlana Ashraf Ali Thanawi (Allah have mercy on him) said commenting on the verse 4 of surah al-Mumtahana:
There is for you an excellent example (to follow) in Abraham and those with him, when they said to their people: “We are clear of you and of whatever ye worship besides Allah. We have rejected you, and there has arisen, between us and you, enmity and hatred for ever, unless ye believe in Allah and Him alone”: But not when Abraham said to his father: “I will pray for forgiveness for thee, though I have no power (to get) aught on thy behalf from Allah.” (They prayed): “Our Lord! in Thee do we trust, and to Thee do we turn in repentance: to Thee is (our) Final Goal.
‘There is explicit evidence in this that the hatred that is for the sake of Allah (bugz fil Allah) does not lead to abandoning of kindness and consideration (for that individual), as compared to the hatred that is due to one’s self (nafs).’
Masail us Sulook min Kalam Malik ul Mulook, page 508
47th IDSA, Philadelphia, PA
Hakim al-Umma Shaykh Ashraf Ali Thanawi (Allah have mercy on him) said,
‘Perfect (kamil) and fully qualified (mukamal) individual is the one who is exactly following the footsteps of Allah’s approved Messenger (Muhammad, Allah bless him and grant him peace). His exterior appearance should be like the exterior appearance of the Messenger. And his inner condition (batin) must be like that of the inner condition of the Messenger to.
That is, he should be following the Messenger (Allah bless him and grant him peace) in every command and state (hal).’
Waaz: Tariq e qalander, Mawaiz e Hakim al-Ummat ra, page 246
Rockville, MD
Arif-billah Dr. Abdul Hayy ‘Arifi (may Allah have mercy on him) said,
“My respected Shaykh (Hakim al-Umma) used to say with much amusement,
‘Don’t always quibble about the inner-self (nafs) and Shaytan.
In a sense they are also our benefactor. That is, if there was no sinful ideation by them how could we progress spiritually?
See it for yourself. They instigate us to sin but with firm determination we avoid it. This leads to registering of reward for not sinning in our records.
God forbid, if we slip and commit sin, then immediately we feel remorse and repent making supplication for forgiveness. The feeling of inadequacy and incompetence arises. The pride of sanctimony and self-righteousness vanishes. Moreover in the heart the feeling of spiritual collapse and humility is born. This is the servitude (abdiyet) that Allah likes the most.
Now deduce from all of this how our innerself (nafs) and Shaytan are becoming a source of bringing us close to Allah, Most High.
The only essential condition (to achieve this benefit) is that one should not be negligent of their tricks.”
Ta’lemat e “Arifi, page 62
Washington DC
التكشف ص ٣٢١ْ
Arifbillah Dr. Abdul Hayy Arifi relates that in the last years of his life Hakim al-Umma Shaykh Ashraf Ali Thanawi (Allah have mercy on them) used to say,
‘At 80 years of age I have come to the conclusion that dua (supplication) is the most superior form of worship (i’badah).”
Explaining it further Hazrat Arifi ra said this because in dua one has a sincere concentrated attention(tawajuh ilal Allah) and turning towards Allah SWT(ruju’ ilal Allah).
Also it is a manifestation of one’s slavehood(a’bdiyat) and total dependence (muhtaj ).’
Jawahir Hakim al-Umma ra
مجالس حکیم الامت رح
In regards to the effort of acquisition and elimination of non volitional things (umur e ghair ikhtiyariyah) Hakim al-Umma Shaykh Ashraf Ali Thanawi (Allah have mercy on him) said,
‘Failure by the aspirants to achieve this produces progressive frustration. The potential consequences of this frustration are:
1. Physical illness may develop as a result of constant worry. This in turn results in the omission of many devotional practices.
2. Frustration sometimes results in ill-temper. Others are then inconvenienced by one’s display of ill-manners.
3. Overwhelming worry and frustration at times causes one to neglect the rights of one’s family as well as those of others. Such neglect becomes sinful.
4. Sometimes this frustration reaches to such a level that the aspirant becomes hopeless and commits suicide. Thus, both his dunya and his here-after (aakhirah) are destroyed.
5. Sometimes the frustration causes him to lose all hope and he starts considering acts of obedience and righteousness to be useless. In consequence he ends all his righteous activities and his spiritual affairs reaches an abrupt halt.
6. Sometimes he becomes disillusioned with his Shaikh, losing confidence in him. He then labors under the notion that his Shaikh is not aware of the Path of Sulook.
7. Sometimes the frustration becomes so extreme that one becomes displeased with Allah that I am trying so hard and still I remain unsuccessful. There is no mercy and attention on me. He then doubts and denies Allah’s promises (of guiding whoever so wishes to be guided, etc.)
Al-Usool al-wusool, page 22
May Allah Ta’ala protect us from such a disastrous end. Amin!
Hakim al-Umma Shaykh Ashraf Ali Thanawi (Allah have mercy on him) wrote,
‘From the impediments of the path two are specially so prevalent that it is rare if any of the travelers has escaped not being involved in them. Even the learned scholars are involved in them.
One of them is striving to acquire some non volitional (ghair ikhtiyari) things. That are, things like engrossment, enthusiasm, intense & deep concentration, ecstasy, serenity, blocking of disturbing thoughts, burning desire, overwhelming attraction, emotional love, etc. It is assumed that these are the results of remembrance (dhikr), concentration exercises (shugal) and spiritual struggle (mujahidah). Moreover they consider themselves to be at loss when these things are not achieved.
The other impediment is striving to remove some non volitional (ghair ikhtiyari) thing. For example, spiritual constriction (qabd), overwhelming thoughts, not developing interest, love of an individual, innate love of wealth, sexual desires, excessive natural anger, not having softness of heart, not being able to cry, overwhelming worldly sorrow or fear, etc. It is assumed that theses things are detrimental for the path and are an impediment in achievement of the goal.’
Al-Usool al-wusool, page 20
The genuine remorse, sadness and humiliation on realization of committing sins acts as a catalyst in spiritual progress of a salik.
It makes him aware of his deficiencies. The self-praise (ujub) and arrogance (kibr) are wiped off. A stronger feeling of dependency on Allah’s mercy and grace develops. He make more supplications and turning to Allah (ruju illAllah) with humility asking for forgiveness and protection from future such calamities.
In summary the mistakes of those on the path become a stepping stone for them in their progress.
(This is true only for the sincere salik who is trying his best and occasionally slips because of his ba-shar-iyat (humanness). This discussion can not be used to justify sinning by those who intentionally plan and commit sins.)
An aspirant wrote that,
‘At this time there is no new state (hal) that I want to mention. It is only to inquire about your well being that I am writing to you.’
Hakim al-Umma Mawlana Ashraf Ali Thanawi (Allah have mercy on him) replied,
‘Not having a new state is also a state (hal). This is, because it means that the condition is stable. Moreover, it is for sure reflective that there is no deterioration. ‘
Tarbiyat us Salik, volume 1, page 570
Audio: Latest bayans of sayyidi wa sanadi Mufti Taqi Usmani (Allah preserve him)
Hakim al-Umma Mawlana Ashraf Ali Thanawi (Allah have mercy on him) wrote in reply to a salik’s letter who had complained of decreasing interest and engrossment,
‘There are various ways of worshipping. Contemplation is also worship, remembrance without counting is also worship, and considering one’s self to be unprivileged, undeserving, deficient and imperfect is also worship. Hence, the objective is always achievable.
However, there are two undesired states, disobedience (ma’asiyet) and heedlessness (gaflah). And all praise is to Allah, you do not have them.
The overwhelming rapture (ghalba) and engrossing interest (shauq) are from the transitional states. The lack of them is not detrimental for the salik. Moreover, these states can not stay at the same level for ever.’
Tarbiyet us Salik, volume 1, page 592
محسوس تو ہوتے ہیں، نہ ہو دید تو کیا غم
اس راز کے محرم بھی اُدہر وہ ہیں اِدہر ہم
بابا نجم احسن رحمۃ اللہ علیہ
An aspirant wrote,
Respected Sir,
I have certain degree of skepticism in my personality. Listening to the criticism of the opponents greatly perturbs me. For this reason I only read your books. All praise is to Allah, whenever this kind of skepticism arises there is no effect on my acts of worship. However, the interest in worship that already existed is lost and I feel sad and depressed. At the same time I dislike and hate these doubts and suspicions. But they persist. I feel as if I have become a hypocrite. Please, inform me how to get rid of this ailment.
Hakim al-Umma Shaykh Ashraf Ali Thanawi (Allah have mercy on him) replied,
Do not read anything that will create doubts and suspicions.
If inadvertently you hear something of this category and this state (mentioned above) arises then there is no need to take any special measures to rectify it. This is because this effort will result in increasing distress and a permanent involvement (that is, seeking explanation & clarification) will afflict you. Therefore, instead of this effort ignore it actively. Do be bothered at all in spite of recurring random thoughts. However, continue making supplications and showing humility (to Allah).
Consider this to be enough.
InshaAllah, very soon the state (described) will be cleansed.
Once this habit is formed such power will develop in the heart that it will not be perturbed by such things.
This is a hikami (Divinely inspired wisdom) prescription. Bestowed by Allah’s grace recently and is very significant information.
And all praise is for Allah!
Tarbiyet us Salik, volume 3, page 135
Hakim ul Umma Shaykh Mawlana Ashraf Ali Thanawi (Allah have mercy on him) said commenting on the verse 83 of surah Shu’raa:
“O my Lord! bestow wisdom on me, and join me with the righteous”,
“A salik must not stop at any stage (during his spiritual quest).
He should always strive and aspire for more progress.”
Masail us Sulook min Kalam Malik ul Mulook, page 397