Category Archives: F. Zikir & fikr

Remembrance, comtemplation and spiritual excersises

Intention

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Makhdum Zayn ud Deen (Allah have mercy on him) reported that one of the pious predecessors (salaf) said,

“I am ashamed that any action I do be without an intention, even my eating, drinking, sleeping and using the toilet. ”

……….

It is related that one of the righteous was seen in a dream after his death.

The dreamer asked him “what has Allah done with you?”

“He has forgiven me and has raised my rank.”

“By means of what?”

He replied “Here we are dealt with by generosity (jud) not by bowing (ruku’) and prostrating(sujud) (in worship), and are given on the basis of intention (niya), not by our acts of service (khidma), and are forgiven through Divine Grace (fadl), not by our deeds (fi’l).”

The Guidance for the Intelligent

Remembrance

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Makhdum Zayn ud Deen Chishti (Allah have mercy on him) said,

One of the disciples of Abu Uthman al-Maghribi (Allah have mercy on him) complained to him

“My tongue often flows with invocation and recitation but my heart remains heedless.”

The shaykh replied,

“Give thanks to Allah for He has put one of your body parts to use in goodness, accustoming it to invocation, rather than evil or useless speech.”

The Guidance for the Intelligent

Inner speech

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Makhdum Zayn ud Deen Chishti quotes from Shaikh Suhrawardi’s (Allah have mercy on them) Awarif regarding inner conversation,

“excess inner conversation hardens the heart just as excess speech does, for it is like speech without a tongue…

A seeker must take account of his inward self, just as he does for his outward self. For inner speech, and remembering past affairs, which he saw or heard, is akin to speaking with another person inside himself.

So he should bind his inward self with awareness of the divine gaze and watch over it (muraqabah wa ri’aya), just as he binds his outward self with acts of obedience and various forms of invocation.”

The Guidance for the Intelligent

Allah’s love

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The blessed companion Abū Hurayrah, may Allah be pleased with him, related that the Prophet, Allah bless and cherish him, said,

“Allah mighty and glorious said, ‘I am with My servant when he thinks of Me, and I am with him whenever he recollects Me.’

By Allah, He is more pleased with the repentance of His servant than any of you who is pleased to find his stray animal in the desert.

Allah said, ‘One who draws near Me by a hand span, I draw near him by an arm’s length, and one who draws near Me by an arm’s length, I draw near him by the span of open arms, and if he walks toward Me, I run to him!’”

Sahih Muslim

Time : used or wasted

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It is related that on the Day of Judgments each of a man’s nights and days will appear to him in the form of twenty four compartments, representing his hours for each day. An hour which he spent in obedience to Allah will be filled with light, one in which he spent in sin will be filled with darkness, while one in which he did neither will be found empty.

His agony will be tremendous when he finds a compartment empty; had he done an act of obedience to Allah, it would have been filled with light. If he finds a receptacle dark he will be filled with such regret and agony that if were able to die he would do so, but in the hereafter there is no death.

So choose for your soul, as long as you remain in this land of choice and free will, that which will benefit it and raise its rank, because after death, the affair will no longer be in your hands. And hasten and do not procrastinate, for procrastination is evil and human life is ever subject to numerous harms and distractions.’

Guidance for the intelligent

Remembering Death

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Remembrance of death is encouraged for its numerous benefits;

it inculcates short ambitions,

abstinence in the world,

contentment with a little of it,

avidness for the hereafter and

preparation for it through good actions.

Rasulullah said “Remember much the destroyer of pleasures.”

Guidance for the intelligent

Plead guilty!

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Proprietor of Nauratan Jewellers-Karachi, Malik sahib  narrated that once I visited Arif-billah Dr Abdul Hayy Arifi (Allah have mercy on them). I was in hurry, time was running short. I requested for a brief nasiha (advise).

Hazrat ‘Arifi  told me to always remember the fact that, in the judicial system of this world if you plead guilty you are held responsible and punished. Sometimes you are fined or even jailed.

Whereas, in the court of Allah if you plead guilty, accepting your shortcomings and sins and repent sincerely you are forgiven and set free of the humiliation of any punishment. Moreover you are rewarded in most instances for returning back to Allah.

Malik sahib passed away in the blessed city of Makkah immediately after performing Hajj last year (2017/1438). Allah have mercy on him. Ameen!

Treatment for arrogance

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Makhdoom Zayn ud Deen Chishti Malabari (Allah have mercy on him) said regarding the treatment of arrogance that

(One should contemplate that) throughout his existence he has been subjugated to terrifying diseases and dangers and various bodily challenges; he gets hungry and thirsty, falls sick and eventually dies-all against his wishes.

He desires to know something but does not, he wishes to remember something but cannot, he wishes to forget something but cannot, he delights in food that harms him, and hates medicine which restore his health.

At no moment in the night or day is he safe from being stripped of his hearing, sight, knowledge, or ability; his limbs may be paralyzed, his intellect destroyed, and his very life dissipated.

He is a mere slave with no power over himself or others. And this is the middle of his affair.

As for his end, he returns to his original state, a lifeless object; then he is placed in the dirt and becomes a filthy carcass just as he began as a filthy drop of sperm; his body decays and is eaten by worms, and becomes dirt, which is cultivated and built over.

And if only this were the end! How fine would his state be if he remained dirt! But he is brought back to life to bear the severity of the Day of Judgment and its horrors; then he will enter the fire unless his Lord has mercy on him.

(In spite of all these how foolish it will be to act arrogantly).

The guidance for the intelligent on the path of the saints

مراقبہ اتحاد/Muraqaba of Union

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Hakim al Umma Maulana Ashraf Ali Thanawi (Allah have mercy on him) instructed a spiritual seeker to perform muraqaba e etihad. That is, to contemplate that Shaikh and I have become one.

This seeker wrote a letter and made reference to it. (It was read out in the gathering of seekers)

On a question (by one of the attendees) regarding this Hakim al Umma replied,

‘In issues related to the spiritual training I do not bind myself to didactic text. I instruct (seekers) whatever (appropriate to their state) comes to mind. Observing his (this seeker’s) congeniality (with myself) I instructed him this muraqaba.’

Husn al Aziz, volume 1, page 35-6

The real achievement

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Sayyidi wa sanadi Shaikh Mufti Mohammad Taqi Usmani (Allah preserve him) said,

‘It is relatively easier to make ‘itekaf (of the last ten days of Ramadan), offer numerous supererogatory (nafil) salah, recite the whole Quran daily, perform many Umrah and Hajj.

However, the real feat is when it comes to leaving the sinful activities. This is the real achievement and mark (of true religiosity). To have control over the sinful desires of nafs. To be steadfast at the time of temptation. Being cognizant of the commands of Allah.

On the Day of Judgment an individual will not be questioned about missing supererogatory worshipful acts but he certainly will be admonished for being involved in sinful activities. ‘

Ramadan 20th, 1432, 21 August 2011, Darul Uloom Karachi Mosque