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Category Archives: Z. Mustahebbat
Seclusion
Hakim al Umma Moulana Ashraf Ali Thanwi (Allah have mercy on him) once mentioned:
‘Nowadays, salvation lies in keeping to oneself and associating less with people. (In this way, one will be able to concentrate on one’s self reformation and be safeguarded from the wrongs of association and company.)
I came across the statement of a pious predecessor in a book wherein he stated that when remaining in seclusion, one should not make the intention that he is doing so in order to be saved from the harms of people. Rather, he should remind himself, “I am like a snake or scorpion that can harm people and therefore I should not associate with them in order to protect them from my harm.”
How cautious indeed were our predecessors and seniors in ensuring that they did not fall into self admiration and other similar sins! ‘
(Malfoozaat Husnul Azeez pg.116 Ihyaauddeen.co.za:Saying of the pious#110)
Durood shareef
Medinah al munawwarah
Tahajjud
Dua e ‘Arifi for protection
Arif-billah Dr Abdul Hayy Arifi (Allah have mercy on him) instructed,
‘It is best that after completing the daily morning recitations to supplicate,
O Allah! bestow upon us Your blessings and Grace,
Save me and my family from all apparent and hidden troubles, from all obscene and prohibited actions, from all tricks of my lowerself (nafs) and the Devil (Shaytan), from all calamities and accidents, from all extreme hardships and diseases, from all adversities of fellow individuals and grant us Your protection. Ameen!’
Ma’amoolaat e Yoomia, page 24
——-
Hammad International airport, Doha
Paas anfaas پاس انفاس
Hakim al Ummah Maulana Ashraf Ali Thanvi (Allah have mercy on him) instructed a very close murid,
‘Start doing ‘paas anfaas‘ and never abandon it. Try your best that not a single breath escapes without it. Initially, before it becomes a habit set a time period like quarter or half an hour for doing it. You have the choice of selecting لا الہ الا اللہ or any other form. ‘
The murid adds, that previously Hakim al Ummah told me,
‘It is summer these days I will instruct you a paas anfaas that has cooling effect and so it will not cause distress in hot weather.
The method of doing it is to attach your tongue to the palate and recite mentally as you inhale (the line in bold)
And (the line in lighter shade) as you exhale.
Keep your breathing normal while doing so. Intentionally increasing the breathing effort while doing so leads to development of diseases. ‘
Murid further adds, Hakim al Ummah used to say that,’I have been specifically instructed regarding (deligence in performance of) paas anfaas. That is, via a warid. ‘
Mubadi at Tasawwuf, published with Bunyan al Mushayed, Maktaba e Thanvi, page 314
Shogal e unhad/شغل انحد
Hakim al Umma Maulana Ashraf Ali Thanvi (Allah have mercy on him) instructed,
‘If after a considerable period of time consolidation of thoughts (yak suiy) during remembrance of Allah (dhikr) does not develop then it is appropriate to do a shogal (spiritual exercise for developing concentration).
There are many of them but in my opinion the most beneficial and straightforward is shogal e unhad. The best time to do it is late night after dowazdah tasbeeh. However, do not hold the breath in it. These days doing this leads to weakening of heart and mind. Only close the eyes and plug both the ears tightly with the index fingers. This will create a noise in the ears that feels limitless and incessant. That is the reason for calling shogal unhad so, In Hindi (language) un means without and had means limit. Thus unhad means limitless.
One should concentrate on this noise and recite ‘Allah’ ‘Allah’ with tongue or in heart/mind as to make sure that this time is not spend in heedlessness. Mere concentration on this noise is not a form of dhikr. This is because this noise in neither an attribute (siffet) of Allah as many have been deceived nor is it from any creature from the unseen world (alem e ghayb). It is only the trapping of air in the skull (auditory canals) that creates it. In spite of this, concentration towards it is done because it is from the perceived senses (hearing) and it is pleasant to listen to. Sometimes in this activity such noises are heard that one is spiritually overwhelmed and passes into (spiritual) ecstasy.
It is logical that a thing that is perceivable by senses like ears, eyes etc., is pleasing to do and involvement in it removes other (unnecessary) thoughts, establishes the habit of consolidation of thoughts in one direction. Once this habit is firmly rooted this shogal is abandoned and instructions are given to concentrate towards Allah.’
Tahseel qasdus sabeel (Shah Lutuf Rasool rehmatullah aleh), page 24
Quran: Dua after recitation
Arif Billah Dr Abdul Hayy Arifi (Allah have mercy on him) used to supplicate after recitation of Holy Quran,
‘O Allah! This is Your speech and (conveyed to us via) speech of Your (beloved) Prophet (Allah bless him and grant him peace ). Our aptitude is deficient (to fully recognize and benefit from it).
O Allah! Via the barakah, luster and spiritual effluence of this (holy) text illuminate our faith and actions. And (please) make us an object of Your absolute acceptance. ‘
Relationship with Allah Post-Ramadan
Sayyidi wa sanadi Mufti Mohammed Taqi Usmani (Allah preserve and protect him) said,
‘The prescription for maintaining a relationship with Allah (ta’aluq ma’Allah) after Ramadan is to include in one’s daily routine supplication (dua), being thankful for all the bounties of Allah (shukr) and excessive remembrance of Allah (dhikr). At least spare half an hour daily for these activities. ‘
29 Ramadan 1437/5 July 2016 Dar Uloom Karachi
Islah: Tip to develop spiritual strength
Sayyidi wa sanadi Mufti Taqi Usmani (Allah preserve and protect him) said,
‘The biggest obstacle in one’s islah are the sinful desires of nafs.
One has to force himself to fight these desires.
This is a difficult task. Firm determination and spiritual strength are required to do so.
There is a tip to facilitate the development of spiritual strength. It is that every day you intentionally give up one or two permissible desires. For example you have a desire to eat a particular food today, however, you make an intention that in order to train my nafs and not listen to whatever it tells me to do I will not eat this food today.
By doing this exercise one will develop the spiritual strength and stamina required to give up sinful desires.’
Majlis, 27 Ramadan 1437/ 3 July 2016, Darul Uloom Karachi, post zuhar
Refuge from calamities
Shaykh MansurAli Khansb Ali Khan (Allah protect & preserve him) said,
‘In this day and age where there are colossal calamities even in religious affairs around us we should ask Allah excessively for refuge.
Now I appreciate Arif billah Dr Abdul Hayy’s (Allah have mercy on him) inclusion of asking refuge (istea’za) in the four priceless spiritual actions (char beshbaha mahasen) he so often recommended. This is something outstanding.
Hakim al Umma Maulana Ashraf Ali Thanvi (Allah have mercy on him) included a section of Prophetic supplications of asking refuge in every day recitation of Munajat e Maqbool.
Once Mufti Mohammed Shafi (Allah have mercy on him) instructed me that if you are unable to ask Allah by reciting all the supplications in Munajat e Maqbool in lail al-qadr (the night of Power) then select the sections of asking Allah’s refuge. ‘
Jeddah 28 Sha’baan 1437/4 June 2016
Shaykh’s job
Musleh al Umma Maulana Shah Wasiullah Allahabadi (Allah have mercy on him) said,
‘A genuine (muhaqqiq) Spiritual mentor’s (Shaykh) job is to inform the disciple of his shortcomings.
That is what I (personally) practice. And then I evaluate how much sinful involvement has he (the disciple) abandoned.
I do not inquire about the litanies (wird) recited. Brother! If you recite the wird you will for sure get inspiration (warid). This is an affair between you and Allah. Your reward will be according to the effort you put in. ‘
Majales Musleh al Umma ra, volume 6, page 129
Tasawwuf
Maulana Professor Sayyid Suleman Ashraf Bihari (Allah have mercy on him) said,
Tasawwuf has two sections,
- Knowledge of spiritual endeavor (ilm e ma’amlah)
- Knowledge of revelation (of spiritual secrets) (ilm e mkashafa)
The knowledge of spiritual endeavor fulfills the purpose of scared law (Shariah). It entails that an individual develops within his soul a faculty that if he commits something sinful or is lax in performing a pious deed he feels a subjective pain similar to the one he experiences in physical sickness or with monetary loss. It is like the extreme (mental) suffering a noble, respectable and well known person feels if he has to beg for money.
After developing this ability even the thought of committing something inappropriate is spiritually distressing to this individual.
The second section, knowledge of revelations, consists of performance of specific pious actions and bearing hardships on one’s self (nafs) to develop in one’s spirituality special (malakuti) powers . This is to become worthy of receiving the hidden secrets of the sacred law (Shariah).
Al Sabeel 33-4
It is the first section that is the most important for novices like me and you.
The way to develop it is the islah (betterment) training done under the supervision of a spiritual mentor.
Tasawwuf: Ashrafiya Approach 2
Sayyidi wa sanadi Mufti Mohammad Taqi usmani (Allah protect & preserve him) continued,
‘Similar is the story in all of the Tasawwuf. In some quarters the method of treatment (of spiritual maladies) has been made a goal in itself.
This is the case of gathering of remembrance done aloud (ijtemai majalis e dhikr bil jaher). Remembrance (of Allah) done aloud and in a gathering are both per se permissible. However, these days in some (sufi) paths it is considered to be an essential part and without it remembrance is considered to be deficient and less rewarding.
Similarly, as an example is the case of supplicating in front of the graves facing the qibla. It is permissible per se. Moreover it is proven by Sunna of our master prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace). However, when our pious-predecessors saw that grave-worshipers can misuse it for their benefit then they discouraged doing so
We consider our master Hakim al Umma Maulana Ashraf Ali Thanvi (Allah have mercy on him) to be the mujaddid (one who revives) of this era. In Tasawwuf lots of things were done as a means of treatment prescribed by masters, however, gradually (with passage of time) they became an objective in them-self. The revival of Tasawwuf that Hakim al Umma did was to state that the real objective (of Tasawwuf) is the acquisition of praise worthy moral characteristics (fadhail) and riddance of blame worthy moral characteristics (razail) from one’s self.
In reality there are various degrees of crossing the limits in Tasawwuf. Some elders prescribed as a form of treatment something for their disciples, others selected something else to be more beneficial. Then some considered this treatment to be essential (for all), others promoted them to the level of things highly desired (mustaheb) or Prophetic practice (Sunna). The problem starts from here (with this meddling in the fiqhi hierarchy of status of actions) onwards. ’
Albalagh,Urdu, volume 51, publication 6-7, (April 2017) page 71-2
Tasawwur e Shaikh: Ashrafiya Approach 1
Mufti of Kazakhstan inquired, ‘The inclination towards purification (tazkiya) of soul and moral characteristics (ikhlaq) is arising in our youth. However, the mentors they approach (for this) instruct them ‘tasawwur e Shaikh‘ with much emphasis. This is to the extent that they are told to contemplate all the time that I am seeing the Shaikh. Please, guide us on this. Isn’t this an overstatement (gulu)?’
Sayyidi wa sanadi Mufti Mohammad Taqi Usmani (Allah protect & preserve him) replied,
‘Tasawwur e Shaikh’ was a form of (spiritual) treatment used by some of the ancient master of Tasawwuf. Its was for the the individual’s who found it difficult to keep the contemplation of Allah (‘s presence, especially) initially. For them some masters prescribed as a form of treatment (of this difficulty) to contemplate about their mentor (Shaikh). This is because the relationship, love and reverence for Shaikh is solely to gain Allah’s pleasure and it easier to imagine an entity one has seen than what he has not seen. Then gradually the masters will guide him to the real objective, that is, contemplation of Allah. Hence, tasawwur e shaikh is not an objective in itself. (It is a stepping stone to the real objective.)
The pious righteously-guided masters (ahle-haqq) who did use this did not make it an integral part of their path. They instructed it individually as needed for a disciple for whom it was suitable paying due considerations to its conditions and limitations.
Even so, the masters of our path, the pious-predecessors of Deoband did not encourage ‘tasawwur e Shaikh’. This is because sometimes its limits are not maintained and it leads to shirk (associating partners with Allah). However, at the same time they do not castigate the rightly guided masters who did instruct it with its conditions and limitations.
Once Sayyid Ahmed shaheed prescribed ‘tasawwur e shaikh’ for Shah Ismaeel shaheed (Allah have mercy on them). Shah Ismaeel apologized saying that if I was ordered to do something even inappropriate (sinful) I would have done it and then repented. But in ‘tasawwur e shaikh‘ I smell shirk. Therefore, I will not do this.
The way of our pious predecessors of Deoband (akabir e Deoband) was that the contemplation of Allah that develops by observing the Sunna practices is sufficient (for a seeker). This is because following the Sunna is the most effective way of gaining Allah’s proximity (acceptance & pleasure).
These days the problem has developed that some mentors consider ‘tasawwur e shaikh’ an essential part of their path (tareeq). They instruct this to all the disciples uniformly even if there is no need for it. Similar is the story in all of the Tasawwuf. In some quarters the method of treatment (of spiritual maladies) has been made a goal in itself.
This is the case of gathering of remembrance (ijtemai majalis e dhikr bil jaher)………..’
to be continued
Albalagh,Urdu, volume 51, publication 6-7, (April 2017) page 70-1