Being Considerate regarding the Ease of Others

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A person once sneezed and thereafter loudly recited, “Alhamdulillah!” 

Hakim al Umma Moulana Ashraf Ali Thanwi (Allah have mercy on him) was engaged in writing his correspondences at the time. When he heard this person recite “Alhamdulillah”, Moulana Thanwi replied, “Yarhamukallah,” and thereafter said, “A considerate person will recite ‘Alhamdulillah’ in very low volume voice. On account of you reciting it aloud, I was forced to leave the work that I was engaged in to fulfil the obligation of replying to the duaa that you recited after sneezing.” 

Hakim al Umma then added, “In such situations, when people are engaged in some work, then ‘Alhamdulillah’ should be recited in barely audible voice after sneezing. When I am in public, I always recite Alhamdulillah softly so that I will not inconvenience them by making it waajib upon them to reply”.

 Similarly, Hakim al Umma Moulana Ashraf Ali Thanwi (Allah have mercy on him) would recite the verses of Sajdah Tilaawah in the Holy Qur’aan  softly so that he would not inconvenience others by causing the Sajdah to become waajib on them. 

(Malfoozaat Husnul Azeez pg.485)

Via: Ihya ad Deen co za 

Changing Shaikh

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Qazi Sanaullah Panipati (Allah have mercy on him) said,

‘If an individual stayed in the company of a Shaikh with best intentions (husn e eitiqaad) for a duration but did not find it effective (in bringing him closer to Allah) then it is essential (wajib) for him to leave this Shaikh and seek another one. Otherwise it will be (like) his object of worship and goal is Shaikh and not Allah. This is shirk (associating partners with Allah). ‘

Talifaat e Musleh al Umma, volume 2, page 381

Recently a sincere individual inquired regarding his Shaikh who has broken his pledge with his own Shaikh due to some serious issues, like inappropriate interactions with opposite sex and financial fraud. He wanted to know on how to proceed with this new development.

It should be explicitly clear upfront that Tasawwuf is totally subservient to Shariah. Any negligence in observance of Shariah ruling can not be tolerated in Tasawwuf.

In this scenario people fall into two categories,

1. Mureedeen

2.  Mujazeen

The most appropriate thing for mureedeen is to seek a new Shaikh. However, they must not hurry and should be more careful in making sure that they have the true Shaikh this time. Also, they must do it with extreme adab. They must continue their daily routine recitations and dhikr etc. as previously. They must not start a movement against the previous Shaikh at all.

Like Hakim al Umma (Allah have mercy on him) Sayyidi wa sanadi Mufti Mohammed Taqi Usmani (Allah preserve and protect him) has emphasized on this last point. Moreover, they should make dua for Islah of the Shaikh they left.

The mujazeen (who have permission to initiate others) have to declare openly that they are no more mujaaz. They have broken their baiyet (pledge). They must try for islah (reformation) of the Shaikh. However, their mureedeen and mujazeen must be told that they are now free to seek someone appropriate. They have to recognize that this step is a bigger test for them (in testing their sincerity) than the first one (faltering of their Shaikh).  They should then seek another Shaikh and do as stated above for the mureedeen.  They must remember that Allah does not waste those who are sincere in seeking His pleasure.

May Allah protect us all from calamities of this path.

Amin!

Clarification about Ijaza

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Ijaza (permission) to initiate mureed is not synonymous with mashikhyet (being a Shaikh). 

Not all mujazeen are Shaikh!

This is especially true for the present day young very fresh mujaazeen (permission holders). 

Both the mujaaz and mureed are confused about this. 

This is because of not understanding the concept of Ijaza. 

Hakimul al Umma Maulana Ashraf Ali Thanvi (Allah have mercy on him) has explicitly stated that Ijaza is like graduation certificate. It indicates that the individual has completed the very basic course. It does not mean that this individual is a certified expert in this field. However, if continues his efforts to study further he has the capacity to excel. 

Mujaazeen these days consider Ijaza a certificate of excellence (mashaikhiyet) and are eager to initiate mureed to the extent of shamelessly having agents who act like pimps. 

This is in stark contrast to the example of our pious elders (akabir). On receiving ijaza they felt extreme humility and sense of worthlessness. They wished and tried to keep it secret. Even if someone approached them for initiation they would refer him to someone reliable. Only when forced by elders they would take mureed. And even then with the same feelings of humility and worthlessness and usually not within their Shaikh’s lifetime. 

The hallmark of our akabir is extreme humility in addition to the firm adherence to Sunna. 

A fresh mujaaz of sayyidi wa sanadi Mufti Taqi Usmani (Allah protect and preserve him) was instructed in year 2002 by a pious elder in the blessed city of Makkah that the real time to put effort and struggle has just started now. 

We must remind ourselves that graduates working for masters or doctorates can not even think of taking full time jobs or establishing their own setups. Similarly fresh mujazeen should not delve into setting up of khaqahs and enlisting an army of mureedeen.  They should focus on their own self for the time being. 

The naive seekers unaware of these details can not be blamed. However, the awareness of reality has to be highlighted. 

Some of the pious masters of this path (Tasawwuf) have mentioned that an individual should only take up initiating mureed after receiving an explicit  ijaza from Allah and His Prophet (Allah’s blessings and peace be upon him). (And Allah knows its real meaning and may He by His benevolence make us knowledgeable. Ameen!). 

Karachi 

The signs of good overcoming the evil

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Shaykh Al-Shabrawi (Allah have mercy on him) said,

The sign that the good is overcoming the evil is that you see yourself inwardly alive with the reality of faith (eman) and outwardly alive with the sharia of Islam.  This is to have the inner certainty that everything in existence moves according to the Divine will and by the Divine ability, and yet to remain outwardly active in obedience and far removed from all major sins and most minor ones, whether when amongst people or in solitude. 

Degrees of the Soul, p40

Eid: an unimaginable occasion of joy

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The Prophet of Allah (Allah bless him and give him peace) said,

“On the day of eid (when people gather to offer eid prayers)

Allah says to the Angels,

‘Have these people fulfilled the obligation (of fasting) and are now gathered for prayers?

I swear by My pride, magnificence, majesty, mercy and elevated status that I will fulfill their prayers.

Tell them to return,

I have forgiven them all and furthermore

I have replaced their sins with virtuous deeds.

Hence they return completely forgiven.

(Mishkat/Bahaiqi)

On our eid visit to Sayyidi wa sanadi Mawlana Mohammad Taqi Usmani (Allah preserve him) we always found him to be extremely happy and cheerful, repeatedly telling usArifbillah Dr Abdul Hayy Arifi (Allah have mercy on him)’s saying regarding Eidul fitr

“We are excessively blessed individuals today.

All our sins have been forgiven.

They have been bartered with good deeds.

We are completely clean and tidy.”

An unimaginable joy!

Narcissism

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Allah says:

“(Remember the time) when your great number pleased you (instilling vanity in you).”

Our master Prophet Mohammed (Allah bless him and give him peace) said:

“And the (spiritual) destroyers are: desires which are followed; stinginess which is obeyed; and a man being pleased with himself. And this. (last trait) is the worse of them (all).”

Arrogance

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Allah says:

“Verily, Allah does not love the proud ones.”

Our master Prophet Mohammed (Allah bless him and give him peace) said:

“He who has (even) a grain (‘s worth) of pride in his heart will nor enter Paradise.

Wedding advice

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Imam Ahmed ibn Hanbal (Allah have mercy on him) instructed his son on his wedding day:

Dear son, you will not attain good fortune in your home except by 10 characteristics which you show to your wife, so remember them and be enthusiastic in acting upon them.

As for the first two; women like attention and they like to be told clearly that they are loved. So don’t be stingy in expressing your love for your wife. If you become limited in expressing your love, you will create a barrier of harshness between you and her, and there will be a decrease in affection.

3, Ladies hate a strict, overcautious man, yet they seek to use the soft vulnerable one. So use each quality appropriately. This will be more appealing for love and it will bring you peace of mind.

4. Ladies like from their husbands what their husbands like from them, i.e. kind words, good looks, clean clothes and a pleasant odor. Therefore, always remain in that state.

5, Indeed, the house is under the sovereignty of the woman. While she remains therein, she feels that she is sitting upon her throne, and that she is the chief of the house . Stay clear of destroying this kingdom of hers and do not ever attempt to dethrone her, otherwise you will be trying to snatch her sovereignty. A king gets most angry at he who tries to strip him of his authority, even if he portrays to show something else.

6. A woman wants to love her husband, but at the same time she does not want to lose her family. So do not put yourself and her family in the same scale, because then her choice will be down to either you or her family. And even if she does choose you over her family, she will remain in anxiety, which will then turn into hatred towards you in your daily life.

7. Surely woman has been created from a curved rib, and this is the secret of her beauty, and the secret of the attraction towards her. And this is no defect in her, because ‘the eyebrows look beautiful due to them being curved’. So if she errs, do not rebuke her in a manner in which there is no gentleness, attempting to straighten her; otherwise you will simply break her and her breaking, is her divorce. At the same time do not let her off upon that mistake, otherwise her crookedness will increase and she will become arrogant with her ego. Thereafter, she will never soften for you and she won’t listen to you, so stay in between the two.

8. It is in the women’s nature to be ungrateful towards their husbands and to deny favors. If you were to be nice to her for her whole life but you grieved her once, she will say, “I have never seen any good from you”. So don’t let this attitude of her make you dislike her or to run away from her. If you dislike this feature of hers, you will be pleased with some other good habits within her, so create a balance.

9. Surely there are times when a woman goes through some conditions of bodily weakness and fatigue of the mind. Such that Allah has relieved her of some of her compulsory worships during that period; Allah has totally pardoned her from praying, and has postponed the days of fasting for her within this break to a later date until she regains her health and becomes normal in her temperament once more. Thus, during these days, treat her in a godly manner. Just as Allah has relieved her of the duties, you should also lessen your demands and instructions from her during those days.

10. Last but not least, know that a woman is like a captive with you. Therefore, have mercy upon her.

Source: The Jamiatul Ulama Gauteng