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Category Archives: W. Wird & wazaif
Observing effulgence
A seeker wrote, ‘One night when I was offering the tahajjud salah, as I turned (my head) to say (the exit) salam I saw a light, like a chandelier, near my home’s restroom. I expeienced heartfelt delighted at seeing it.
What was this that I saw? Was it my imagination?
Most of the time it is with (excessive) remembrance and (spiritual) exercises (shugal) that effulgence are observed. I have not started any of these activities as yet.’
Hakim al Umma Maulana Ashraf Ali Thanvi (Allah have mercy on him) replied,,
‘Sometimes (observing) effulgence like these are due to one’s imagination. At other times they may be Angelic effulgence.
The first type is most common. However, they are also beneficial for the seeker as they make him serene (yaksu). And if he utilizes this (serenity) in remembrance (of Allah) it will be more beneficial (form of remembrance) dhikr.’
Tarbiyet us Salik, voulme 1, page 552
Daily supplication x10
A check list for selecting a Shaikh
Shaikh Shah Kamal ur Rehman Qasimi (Allah preserve him) said,
My father (Shah Sufi Ghulam Mohammad Hyderabadi, Allah have mercy on him) use to say that there seems to be a connection in the worldly matter of marriage and the religious issue of baiyah. They share the important issue of selection (of the right individual).
In worldly matters the criteria for selection (of a groom or bride) include piety, financial status, (physical) beauty and perfection (of manners & behavior).
Similarly, in religion the ideal criteria for selecting (a Shaikh for baiyah) must include,
1. His state (halaat)
2. His time management (awqat)
3. The blessings (barkat) (of being associated with him)
1. His state (details include)
A. What are his instructions?
B. How close are they to the teachings of Quran and Hadith?
C. What is the state of adherence to the teaching of Quran and Hadith in principle (usooli) and peripheral issues (farui)?
D. How close is he in following the morals and practices of Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace)?
E. From what silsilah did he receive the authorization?
F. What is the state of the freshly authorized individuals of this silsilah?
G. What was the state of the recent predecessors of this silsilah?
H. Was the authorization given after formal completion of receiving instruction and training or was it inherited in family tradition?
2. Time management
A. How does he spend his day and night?
B. Has he mastered time management?
C. Is he ibnul–waqt or abul–waqt? That is, if there is time he does remembrance and reflection (zikr o fikr) or when he wants to do zikr o fikr he can find time to do so.
D. How conscientious is he of offering the faraidh on time?
E. Does he have a practical schedule for propagating the truth (in his circle of influence)?
F. What is his state in regards to (tahajjud and other) involvement at the end of night timings?
The blessings (barkaat)
This criteria is being mentioned thirdly, however, a seeker must give priority to it.
A. What are the general blessings of his silsilah?
B. What is the state of individuals attached to him?
C. What are the blessings of Shaikh in particular?
D. Is he genuinely authorized?
E. Is the training in this silsilah quick or slow?
F. What are the particular manifestation of (Divinely) love (in those attached to this Shaikh)?
These clear criteria are presented to make the selection (correctly).
A important reminder is that the real thing that facilitates receiving spiritual benefit from Shaikh is our congeniality (munasbet) with him.
If there are two flowers with similar color and fragrance pick the one closest to you.
Moreover, never forget that main thing is to receive instruction and be trained.
To recieve this instruction and training baiyah is not an essential enrollment criteria.’
Baiyat, page 30-1
Treatment of anger and boredom
A seeker wrote, ‘There have been two new developments in my behavior. The first is that I get angry quickly. This leads to humiliating consequences. The other is that I feel a sort of bored (all the time) without any sustainable serenity in my demeanor. Please, make dua for me, that Allah removes these traits from me.’
Hakim al Umma Maulana Ashraf Ali Thanvi (Allah have mercy on him) replied,
The treatment for anger is to reflect on the wrath of Allah and your sinful activities (at the time of anger).
The remedy for boredom is mindful excessive remembrance of Allah (dhikr).
With these (measures your) anxiety will subside. I also make dua (as requested).
Tarbiyet us Salik, volume 1, page 545
مراقبه
How much dhikr?
A seeker wrote,’ I have not fixed the number of times I make remembrance (dhikr) (of Allah). When I get disinterested I stop. Counting puts a pressure on my mind to complete what is remaining.’
Hakim al Umma Maulana Ashraf Ali Thanvi (Allah have mercy on him) replied,
‘This is a grave mistake.
Either fix a count or time period.
Leaving it on your own interest is opening the way for procrastination.’
Tarbiyet us Salik, volume 2, page 896
How to deal with worries?
A seeker wrote, ‘I am very worried these days. In spite that I do not want to discuss worldly issues with you, I mention this because it is being felt that this worrying is affecting my religious activities. Neither the daily recitations (wird) are done regularly nor I am being able to get up for tahajjud on time. Often I wake up late. These are adding to my worries.’
Hakim al-Umma Mawlana Ashraf Ali Thanawi (Allah have mercy on him) replied,
‘Paying attention to the worrisome state leads to increased apprehension.
When worried instead of paying attention to it, one should become attentive of Allah. This must be with the thinking that Allah is sufficient for me in these conditions and strengthening relationship with Him is the solution to all the troubles.
By using this strategy the effect of the worries will diminish and eventually vanish completely.
Try it and be at peace.’
Tarbiyat us Salik, volume 1, page 544
Dhikr
A seeker wrote,
‘My routine is to shut the eyes and contemplating about the Entity being named in the form of light, sometimes being attentive towards the qalb, imagine the voice emanating from it of the Supreme Name: ALLAH. Mostly it is audible (with jahar) especially when ecstatic. At that time it is audible without my volition.
Hakim al-Umma Mawlana Ashraf Ali Thanawi (Allah have mercy on him) replied,
همجنين ميرو كه زيبا مي روي
Indeed, confining (The Entity being remembered) intentionally in the form of light though without belief (‘eiteqad) is detrimental.
The seeker continued,
‘The count (of dhikr) twelve thousand is completed every day.
Sometimes a ecstatic state is felt in various parts of the body and I feel like letting out a loud noise. Occasionally this happens during salah.
At other times there is no (unusual) state felt.
Often the remembrance of Allah is replacing the mental speech (hadith e nafs) until I sleep. However, this vanishes while talking and interacting with others.
In remembrance (of Allah) the perfect imagination does not stay for long at one level. The desire (for perfect, sustained and prolonged imagination) remains.
Hakim al-Umma replied,
‘These changes of states are from the norms. Do not pay attention to them. However, it is essential to inform your mentor about them regularly.’
Tarbiyet us Salik, volume 3, page 92
Muraqaba
Shaikh al Mashaikh Haji Imdadullah mohajir Makki (Allah have mercy on him) instructed,
‘Sit as you sit in the jalsa of salah.
Bow your head forwards towards the knees.
Cleanse your heart (& imagination) from all other than Allah.
Be in the presence of Allah.
Recite أعوذ بالله و بسم الله and three time الله حاضري، الله ناظري، الله معي.
Then contemplate on its meaning.
That Allah is present, watching and is with me.
Put significant effort in this imagination until no awareness remains of other-than-Allah. Even the awareness of his/her own self vanishes.
If this contemplation and knowledge disappears very rapidly (after a session) then muraqaba is deficient.
(It must be acknowledged that) Initially one has to force one’s self to do the muraqaba. Then with persistent effort a time comes when returning back (to being neglectful of this imagination) becomes impossible.
However, one reaches this state gradually. Therefore, one should not abandon the effort due to initial hardship.’
Dhiya al Quloob, page 35
1st Rabi II 1435/1st February 2014
Stages of remembrances & lataif
Hakim al Umma Mawlana Ashraf Ali Thanawi (Allah have mercy on him) said,
‘As there are different levels of imagination (when making remembrance of Allah) therefore, to make it concise, clear and to classify them into five stages I use an example;
1. Remembrance is made of a Beloved who is neither present (in front of the the one making dhikr) nor he is aware(that he is being watched). He is absent (from his imagination) and (he is) unaware (of it).
2. Remembrance is made of Him who is in front but faraway and can not be visualized clearly.
3. Remembrance is made of Him who is in front and closer. He can be visualized clearly.
4. He is very close. Observing Him is engrossing. To extent that due to overwhelming love one becomes unaware on himself.
5. This engrossment progress to the stage that one becomes oblivious of this unawareness.
Now I apply the technical known names for theses stages;
1. This is ‘dhikr’. This is because there is only remembrance (of the name) in it.
2. This is ‘hudur‘ (being in presence). This is because the One being imagined is in front and present.
3. This is ‘mukashafah‘ (unveiling). The close proximity of the One being imagined leads to perfect sense of being in the presence and complete unveiling of the details.
4.This is ‘shuhood‘ or ‘mushahidah‘ (witnessing). Technically witnessing is the epitome of hudhur. This leads to overwhelming affection, infatuation and rapture. It is also known as ‘fana‘ (annihilation) because of these engrossing emotions one in unaware of himself.
5. This is ‘mu’ainiah‘ (viewing). This is because it is a hudur that exceeds the technical limits of shuhud. One is oblivious of his unawareness and therefore it is also known as ‘fana ul fana’.
(Applying this further on the schema of ‘lataif‘)
1. The action of latifa al qalb is dhikr (remembrance)
2. The action of latifa al ruh is hudur.
3. The action of latifa al sirr is mukashafah.
4. The action of latifa al khafi is shuhud, mushahida and fana.
5. The action of latifa al akhfa is mu’ainah and fana ul fana.
Some of the spiritual masters are of the opinion that remembrance (of Allah) must be done in the specified manner to the extent that these five lataif become active individually. That is they perform their actions.
Other (spiritual) masters opine that remembrance (of Allah) should be done only with (latifa) al qalb to the extent that all the actions (of other lataif) happen. There is no need at all to talk about the specific actions of lataif. They consider focusing on lataif in detail to be a veil. Also, in the Prophetic saying only qalb has been mentioned in this context. Moreover, even those who engage in activating these lataif (individually) acknowledge that there is a interconnection between these lataif. Therefore, making remembrance via al qalb eventually affects and activates the other lataif. This is because these lataif are like mirrors that reflect into each other.’
Bawadir al Nawadir, page 565-6
Summum bonum
Shaikh Ma’ruf al Karkhi (Allah have mercy on him) said,
‘When Allah decides the highest good for an individual the door to performance of virtuous deeds are opened and the doors for argumentation are shut closed for him.’
Manaqib wa Ahwal Shaikh Ma’ruf Karkhi rehmatullah aleh, Ibne Jawzi Ra, page 111
The objective
A seeker wrote: These days due to the illness of my wife, being busy with taking care of her and because of the the disruption of the household affairs most of the (routine virtuous) actions (wird) are missed. Only prayers (salah) is done. In this situation a thought troubles me that why did this happen to me and my routine works have been disrupted? This is adding to my distress.
Hakim al Umma Mawlana Ashraf Ali Thanawi (Allah have mercy on him) replied,
‘There is no reason to be distressed.
The real objective is the reward (thawab). Allah bestows this sometimes via (voluntary virtuous) actions and on other occasions through hardships and sufferings. (Thus) the objective is achieved in both the situations.’
Tarbiyet us Salik, volume 3, page 57
Q&A: Amal e Qurani and magic
Question
There are many salafis here in the uk who accuse Moulana Ashraf Ali Thanvi (Allah have mercy on him) of magic in his book remedies from the holy Quraan. What answer should be given to them? Please provide some proof or evidence as well .
Answer
In the Name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.
As-salāmu ‘alaykum wa rahmatullāhi wa barakātuh.
In A‘māl e Qur’ān of Hazrat Mawlānā Ashraf ‘Alī Thānawī, he extracts remedies and solutions from the Holy Qur’ān for a wide variety of problems. The book is a collection of verses of the Qur’ān, along with procedures for their application, which Mawlānā found to be effective in producing certain results by the will of Allāh Ta‘ālā.
The Qur’ān contains shifā’. Allāh Ta‘ālā says:
وننزل من القرآن ما هو شفاء ورحمة للمؤمنين
“And We send down from the Qur’ān that which is a remedy and mercy for the believers.” (Qur’ān, 17:82)
#2: Turn to Allah
Sayyidi wa sanadi Shaikh Mufti Mohammad Taqi Usmani (Allah bless him with a long, healthy and productive life, Amin!) continued,
The second thing is to be vigilant in turning to Allah (asking for assistance) all the time. That is, while walking or being busy in something or resting, in short whenever there is any need one should turn towards Allah and ask for assistance. One has to develop this habit.
For example, right now when we depart the masjid we should ask Allah for an appropriate ride. Once in the ride we should ask Allah that we reach our destination safely without any traffic problems. If feeling hot we should ask Allah to alleviate it. If feeling cold we should ask Allah to provide warmth. On entering our home we should ask Allah that we find all the family members safe and sound. In summary we should persist in turning towards Allah asking for assistance in all our activities.
Be vigilant in being thankful to Allah for all the blessings you have, however, small they might be. Repeat it verbally, ‘all praise is for Allah’ (Alhumdulillah).
If one does these things then every moment of his time is accounted as being in the remembrance of Allah.
May Allah facilitate this for all of us by His mercy and benevolence. Amin!
Attending Fiqh Academy session, Riyadh, KSA after Friday prayers, 11/22/2013