Shaikh Sari Saqti asked Shaikh Junaid (Allah have mercy on them),
‘What is the reality of thankfulness (shukr)?’
He replied,
‘The real thankfulness (for the blessings of Allah) is not to use them in disobeying Allah.’
Jahan e dedah, page 30
The Inspired Nafs
Allah Almighty says,
(9)ونفس وما سواها ( 7 ) فألهمها فجورها وتقواها ( 8 ) قد أفلح من زكاها
[91:7]
and by the soul, and the One who made it well,
[91:8]
then inspired it with its (instincts of) evil and piety,
[91:9]
success is really attained by him who purifies it,
In this stage of development the nafs is gifted with the ability to distinguish between good and evil. Moreover,the performance of good actions and abstinence from evil is facilitated for him by the Grace of Allah.
This Grace is manifested as immense desire to please Allah. And at this stage nafs remains drowned in intense love of Allah (‘ishq illahi).
This is possible by following the recommendations of the Shaikh and excessive remembrance of Allah as instructed by him. In fact it is mandatory (wajib) to follow the recommendations of the Shaikh at this stage to be successful.
This is both a phenomenal and a challenging stage.
Any heedlessness here will pull the nafs to its initial stage. (May Allah protect us all from this disaster. Amin!)
Its characteristics include; self restraint (hilm), philanthropy, contentment, humility, repentance, patience, forbearance, forgiveness, maintaining a good opinion about others, acceptance of others’ excuses, etc.
In addition to the excessive remembrance of Allah and following the instructions of Shaikh meticulously one has to repeatedly remind himself of meeting Allah and His perfections. He has to be vigilant in following the Shariah and be compliant to his daily wird. He must efface his ego by purposefully doing permissible humble actions.
Here the individual observes that everything is from Allah (tawhid e afa’li). He abandons all criticism. He cries often and is deeply effected by the crying of others. He withdraws from all the creation and finds solace with Allah. He is attracted to beautiful audition.
In short this stage is marked by intense love, lofty desires and high aspirations to please Allah.
A seeker inquired about some of his daily recitations (authentic recommendations of pious masters) he started on his own and has been persistently doing them for years now. He was having doubts about them being beneficial for him on the path.
The Shaikh replied,
‘The authentic recitations that a seeker has been able to be persistent on observing for a considerable period of time are blessed (mubarak) and certainly spiritually beneficial,
If you are not going to replace them with something equally or more beneficial than consider this thought to be a distraction from nafs and Shaytan.
May Allah protect us all from their deception. Amin!’
Waridaat, page 9
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Dover, DE
Hakim al Ummah Mawlana Ashraf Ali Thanawi (Allah have mercy on him) has made it repeatedly clear in his instructions to the seekers asking for help in giving up bad habits, morals and activities, that their determination and use of self discipline abilities forcefully is the only effective way to do so.
No doubt this is going to be difficult initially. However, with repeated use of determination and self-control it will gradually become easier.
Heartfelt supplications, pious company and better time management with recitations from Quran and remembrance of Allah are all helpful in facilitating this. But they can not replace the strong determination and forceful self-control.
This is a very simple basic principle that is often overlooked by seekers.
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Orlando FL
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AAP Practical CME,
Walt Disney Resort, Orlando, FL
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Shaikh Abdul Ghani at Tarablusi al Khalwati (Allah have mercy on him) said,
‘It is your lower self (nafs) that veils you from Allah.
The scholars of Reality (al haqiqa) have mentioned seven stages of the nafs according to its changing states, the ammara, lawamah, mulhema, mutmainah, radhiya, mardhiya and kamilah.’
Following is a summary of Shaikh’s discussion.
1. The inciting nafs (nafs-i-ammara)
إِنَّ النَّفْسَ لأَمَّارَةٌ بِالسُّوءِ إِلاَّ مَا رَحِمَ رَبِّيَ
Surely, man’s inner self often incites to evil, unless my Lord shows mercy.”[12:53]
In its primitive stage the nafs incites us to commit evil: this is the corrupt nafs as the lower self, the base instincts. Its characteristics include; stinginess, greed, envy, ignorance, arrogance, lust, anger, heedlessness, coveting, mad manners, involvement in useless, making others’ fun, having malice for them and harming them with speech or hand.
It becomes the instrument of Satan’s seduction (to sin). It the most lethal enemy. Therefore extreme caution is needed in not listening to its insolent commands. In Prophetic saying the struggle against it has been mentioned as highest level of righteous effort (jihad al akbar).
Being steadfast on the commandments of Shariah is essential. Keeping constant vigilance (muhasba) is required. It is imperative to have extreme humility and engagement in supererogatory deeds. This is facilitated by giving up (after consultation with Shaikh) the excessive permissible pleasures and all useless activities. By routinely crying in front of Allah asking for help and making remembrance of Allah as instructed by the Shaikh.
‘Never leave supplication because of being depressed and frustrated (by frequent slips) or lose hope by considering the goal to be unrealistic. This will severe the determination altogether.’
If one persists then Allah will spiritually enlighten the heart of the seeker that will make it possible to see the diseases that inflicts the nafs.
The comes the second stage.
continued.
A seeker requested permission to recite a famous litany of a pious sufi master as a regular wird.
The Shaykh replied, ‘The litany is superb. It can be recited if your daily schedule allows.
In addition, supplicate to Allah asking for the sincerity (ikhlas), truthfulness (sidiq) and humility (tawadhu) that the pious Shaykh (Allah have mercy on him) had in his heart that made these words of supplication so effective.’
Waridaat, page 7
.
Hakim al Ummah Mawlana Ashraf Ali Thanawi (Allah have mercy on him) recommended a curriculum for the seekers to develop a clear understanding of the path of Tasawwuf.
The text included are arranged in particular order. They start with the simple basic books of Hakim al Ummah and move to Imam Ghazali’s Arbaeen and then to more advanced text such as Mathnawi of Mawlana Rumi, Adaab al Uboodiyah of Imam Sharani and Akmal ush Sheyam explanation of Al Hikam of Shaikh Ibn e AtaAllah al Iskanderi (Allah have mercy on them).
In addition to clearing concepts, the reading of these texts motivates the seeker to be firm on the path and to progress further.
Senior Shuyuk of our path used to complete the reading and explanation of this curriculum in special sessions reserved only for the serious seekers.
Individual seekers must read these books diligently like textbooks. They should mark the outstanding passages and take notes for later review.
Our master Sheikh Shahab uddin Suharwardi (Allah have mercy on him) said,
‘It is mentioned that (spiritual) prosperity has ten components. Nine of them are in keeping silent and the tenth in remaining in solitude.’
Awarif al Ma’arif, page 619
Hakim al Ummah Mawlana Ashraf Ali Thanawi (Allah have mercy on him) said,
Contemplate (make muraqaba) that I love Allah and Allah also loves me.
This muraqaba is extremely beneficial.
When an individual afflicted with extremes of worries and anxieties does this muraqaba, all of them vanish completely. This is because there is conviction that Allah loves me and therefore there must be some benefit for me in this affliction. In love, who will hurt the loved one?
Shariat wa Tariqat , page 278
Hakim al Ummah Mawlana Ashraf Ali Thanawi (Allah have mercy on him) said,
‘To achieve strong nisbet (an experiential mutually friendly relationship with Allah) and perfect unison (wusool) the (the specific sufi methods of) remembrance (dhikr), spiritual exercises (ashgal) and meditation techniques (muraqabat) are needed.
It is highly recommended to acquire them.
The minimum criteria for being given ijaza and functioning as a Shaykh is acquired by achieving a strong nisbet,
Shariat wa Tariqat, page 51
Hakim al Ummah Mawlana Ashraf Ali Thanawi (Allah have mercy on him) said,
The sequence of events in the suook according to the people of this path are,
Firstly, there is development of determination (to traverse the path). At this time one should entrust one’s self to a perfect (kamil) Shaykh. In our era this is described as baiyah (or islahi ta’aluq).
Then the Shaykh e kamil will train the seeker either via general or comprehensive methods. This will create nisbet (experiential strong mutually friendly relationship with Allah) to an extent.
Alternatively, the Shaykh may initially bestow and transfer the nisbet and then proceed for training.
When the heart (qalb) is emptied from all the connections then the Shaykh may give khilafa (ijaza to instruct) to the seeker or wait till the down pouring of states and marifa. If they are destined then their knowledge and affects will descend on qalb (of the seeker). Their overwhelming is known as ascension (urooj ) and their peak is manifested as a indescribable effulgence (tajjali e bay kaif).
Then some are drowned in this forever while others recuperate. This recuperation is called descending (nuzool). The perfect viceregency (khilafat) and being a advanced level Shaykh is achieved at this level. ‘
Shariat wa Tariqat, page 51-2
A seeker inquired,
‘O Abu Saeed (Allah have mercy on him)! I spend the night in a sound state of physical health, I even have a desire to wake up at night for worship (tahajjud) and I also make arrangements for ablution but why is it that I can not get up?’
The Shaikh replied, ‘Your sinful activities hold you hostage (stopping you from getting up at this precious time to pray).’
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What sinful activities?
Shaikh Taiwiri (Allah have mercy on him) said, ‘Once I was deprived of benefiting from the tahajjud prayers for seven month as a result of a sinful activity.’
On being question about this sinful act, he replied,
‘I saw a person crying and I thought (actively and with conviction) that he is being pretentious (riya kar).’
Awarif al-Ma’arif, (Urdu) 567
Qutub e ‘alam Shaikh Rasheed Ahmad Gangohi (Allah have mercy on him) said,
The reasons for loss of (spiritually) achieved benefit include, lack of vigilance in maintaining it, entrapment in sinful activities or being careless in (permissibility of) food consumed.
Therefore, search for cause (and rectify it).
If it is the third reason then be careful (about the permissibility of food).
If it is the second issue then repentance and abandonment of the transgression is required.
If it is the first reason then intimate supplications, expression of weakness and humility in the court of Supreme Benefactor and chastisement of one’s self (nafs) heedlessness (gaflah).
In short the treatment is excessive repentance and (acknowledgment of) remorse.
Makateeb e Rasheediyah, page 39 quoted via Ifadat e wasiyah 348-9