A disciple (mureed) wrote that there is nothing significant to report to you these days.
Hakim al-Umma Hadrath Mawlana Ashraf ‘Ali Thanawi (may Allah have mercy on him) replied, “It is beneficial to inform this also (to the Sheikh). At times there is some information in it as well.” Tarbiyat us Salik, volume 1, page 55
سیدی و سندی حضرت مولانا محمد تقی عثمانی صاحب دامت برکاتہم ہندوستان کے سفر(1980مارچ) میں فرماتے ہیں:
“اس مزار مبارک کے سامنے بیٹھ کر ایسا محسوس ہوا جیسے دنیا کے سارے غم و آلام کافور ہو گئے ہیں، اور پورا وجود سکینیت و طمانیت کی آغوش میں چلا گیا ہے————– واردات و کیفیات اور حالات و مقامات تو بڑوں کی باتیں ہیں—- ہم جیسے بدذوق اور کور دل افراد کو تو ان کی کیا ہوا لگتی؟ لیکن حضرت رح کے قدموں میں بیٹھ کر جو سکون خاطر نصیب ہوا وہ میرے اس سفر کی سب سے بڑی متاع تھی، اور یہ محسوس ہوتا تھا کہ
کرتی جاتی ہے سرایت جان و تن میں ان کی یاد
رفتہ رفتہ جانے کیا سے کیا ہوا جاتا ہوں میں”
جہان دیدہ: ص523
“Are you mad?”
“You are, for sure, insane.”
“Are you out of your mind?”
These are some of the compliments everyone who is sincerely practicing his deen gets.
Please, view them in the following context.
Commenting on the verse 25 of surah al-Mominoon,
ان ھو الا رجل بھ جنة
Hazrat Hakeem ul Ummat Mawlana Ashraf Ali Thanawi ra said:
“ِFrom this we come to know that such a state (hal) is very much praiseworthy (mehmood) that is considered by the nescient individuals (mahjoobeen) to be insanity. This is achieved by excellence of annihilation (fana). ”
Masail us sulook min kalam Malik ul mulook, page 366
Hakim al Umma Maulana Shah Ashraf Ali Thanvi (Allah ahve mercy on him) said commenting on the verse 100 of sura an-nisa:
“A salik who dies before the completion of the sulook is equal in standing and recognition to a person who completed his sulook.”
Masail us Sulook min Kalam Malik ul Mulook, page 133
The rulings of Shariah have been broadly classified into five categories. They are:
1. those related to the beliefs (‘aqaid)
2. those pertaining to the forms of worship (‘ibadaat)
3. those related to the mutual financial transactions (ma’amlaat)
4. those associated with manners of civilized living (ma’ashrat) and
5. finally, those dealing with the inner morals (ikhlaq)
It is sad to see that most of us, Muslims, only consider a’qaid and ‘ibadaat to be the components of deen and are completely ignorant of the rest.
Few select practicing ones include ma’amlaat to be deen also.
Ikhlaq, all praise to Allah SWT is practiced by those involved in tasawwuf.
Hazrat Hakeemul Ummat Moulana Ashraf Ali Thanvi ra said:
Salik should engage himself is his work/effort (of sulook) and not look forward to its reward & compensation.
This islahi/self-reformation correspondence is the vital cornerstone of sulook in our path.
–
Mureed writes about his state in regards to observance of Shariah, the wird prescribed, overwhelming thoughts and any questionable moral traits demonstrated in every day life in dealing with self and others. The Sheikh reviews it and diagnoses any ailments, if present and treats as appropriate.
To be definitely effective this has to be at regular intervals, usually once every month or fortnightly.
It is alchemy.
Recognizing its importance, nafs & shaytan try their best to put obstacles for doing it successfully. Mureed becomes lazy & slack, finding numerous excuses for not doing it. Even if he sits down to write a letter, he can not recall anything ‘significant’ to convey.
Once as similar mureed wrote to Sidi wa sandi Hazrat Moulana Mohammad Taqi Usmani sahib (Allah SWT preserve him & allow us to benefit from him a lot. Ameen!) that I can not bring to mind any thing to write in my letter.
Hazrat db replied:
“Writing even this, itself is sufficient.”
This is because; it keeps you in the habit of writing letters to the Sheikh, shows your concern and sincerity for self reformation, is an opportunity to request for dua and informs the Sheikh that at least you are not deteriorating and seeing your effort he makes special dua for you.
–
Hazrat db also said;
“For mureed who do not have the opportunity to be in close direct contact with the Sheikh to discuss their states in person regularly, it is essential to have this islahi correspondence. The mureed and even the Sheikh who do not recognize this are committing a fundamental mistake in Tasawwuf (especially our tareeq/path).”
Sheikh for self-improvement is a corner stone in Ashrafi path(tareeq).
Islahi Makatebat/ correspondence with the
Letters (emails) should be written at regular intervals (usually once a month).
They should include details regarding ones spiritual condition.
That is,
– If all the faraiz, wajibat and sunnah are being carried out as prescribed by Shariah. For example, is one unable to perform Fajer salah at time with jam’ah?
– Are the acts pending for completion of taubah (repentance) being fulfilled accordingly, e.g. qaza salah/zikat/saum being done.
– Is one performing the zikr & tasbehats prescribed
– Most importantly details regarding the m’amlats/social interaction. Especially where one notices that a blame worthy moral traits was a driving force or one lacked the praise worthy moral trait. For example, being envy (having hasad) when seeing brother-in-laws new Lexus car.
– Informing about one’s over-whelming or troublesome thoughts
– Requesting dua.
– Informing about any extra ordinary dream (seldom done).
This is the rabitah-e-Sheikh/Getting connected with Sheikh. Without it taking ba’iyet & traversing the sulook is just a dream.
This is the Ashrafi Khanqah/Zawiya!
wa taufiqi ilabillah!
As mentioned earlier, this is a physician-patient relationship.
The mureed tells/writes about his spiritual ailments seeking remedy. He has to be explicit and candid about his condition. Hiding vital information leads to nowhere and eventually mureed himself is the looser.
The Sheikh reviews mureed’s condition, taking into account his spiritual ailments/deficiencies, physical and working requirements and environment. He then prescribes a treatment plan. There may be multiple components of this plan.
The mureed has to follow this plan unconditionally.
If he faces difficulties in doing so he has to inform the Sheikh. And then follow the next advice.
The doctor may be the best in the whole world.
His diagnosis may be 100% accurate.
The treatment prescribed and made available may be the finest.
With all this in place,
if Mr. Mureed decides not to use it or use it partially, (using his brains)
how can a cure be imagined, less achieved?
A sincere mureed’s duty is to inform the Sheikh of his present condition.
That is, he reviews his daily activities, dealings and intentional thoughts. He analyzes them. He looks for any blame worthy traits that may be active in his intentions and actions or any praise worthy states that are deficient. He describes the actual case scenarios and asks assistance from Sheikh for diagnosis and treatment. He follows the recommendations of Sheikh and reports back. Adjustment may be made, treatment fined tuned and tailored accordingly. This process continues for a considerable period of time till a healthy spiritual state is reached, that is, achievement of nisbat-e-batini(a sustainable mutual relationship with Allah swt).
As every patient’s condition is different so is the treatment plan.
It is this individual attention and instruction which gives Tasawwuf a unique effectiveness in bringing about a permanent, durable and wholesome change for a complete Islamic life in its fullest sense.