Definition of ‘abd
‘abd= slave + worshipper
| Main Entry: |
slave [sleyv]
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| Part of Speech: | noun | ||||||||||
| Definition: | person who serves, often under duress | ||||||||||
| Synonyms: | bondservant, captive, chattel, drudge, help, laborer, menial, peon, retainer, serf, servant, skivvy, subservient, thrall, toiler, vassal, victim, worker, workhorse | ||||||||||
| Antonyms: | master
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O you who believe, remember Allah abundantly, [33:41]
and proclaim His purity at morn and eve.[33:42]
Sayyidi wa sanadi Mufti Mohammad Taqi Usmani (Allah bless him with a long, healthy and productive life with ‘afiyet, Amin!) said,
‘It must be remembered that if the tongue is not immersed in vocalization of remembrance of Allah the heart (qalb) will never be habitable (to the remembrance of Allah).
This is because the remembrance of Allah by vocalization via tongue is like the first step. If an individual does not climb it, then how can he reach the (real) remembrance, (that is) with the heart.
Therefore, the first step in developing a sustainable relationship with Allah is the remembrance with tongue (dhikr e lisani). This must never be abandoned.
Dhikrullah kay fadhail, page 11
In this discourse Shaikh mentions the various methods of remembrance prescribed by the Sufis, including the dowazdah tasbih that is staple dhikr of Ashrafiya path.
It usually takes 30 plus minus 5 minutes . It is preferably done after tahajjud or fajr salah in solitude with as much concentration as possible.
This is the kickoff.
In the booklet ‘Manual for those seeking islah‘, sayyidi wa sanadi Mufti Mohammad Taqi Usmani (Allah grant him a long, healthy and productive life with ‘afiyet, Amin!) wrote,
‘For the above mentioned tasks one will have to spare at least an hour daily, though it may be in multiple sittings. If one feels mentally ready for them and can ensure that insha Allah I will do them then only request should be made to this lowly writer for service (of guidance in islah). Otherwise, please excuse me.’ Page 4
It is common practice nowadays that individuals attend the spiritual discourses of a Shaikh and read his books or those recommended by him.They improve somewhat in their outwardly actions and following of Sunna. They consider themselves seekers (talibeen e islah) and pride themselves to be associated with a particular Shaikh.
However, they rarely ask the Shaikh individualized spiritual advice for betterment of their morals and remembrance of Allah. Even if they do this than it is mostly random, disorganized and poorly abided with. Similarly those who are associated with a Shaikh for years are content with the initial tasbihats for remembrance of Allah. They do not yearn for more. As a result they do not progress spiritually. That is, they lack good moral characteristics, persist with the blame worthy ones and do not achieve the state of perpetual remembrance of Allah.
As instructed above one has to take islah seriously and spare time for it. The above mentioned hour is for a beginner, a novice. So what about the intermediate and advanced salik?
The third component of repentance (taubah) is the firmness of determination to never commit sin again.
This is volitional and can be done all the time. However, will power is needed for all endeavors. Similar is the matter here.
That is, one will have to make a firm determination to,
– bear whatever great difficulties or financial losses or physical hardships or public criticisms that may be encountered in following the commands of Allah and His Prophet (Allah bless him and grant him peace) and
-never to abandon the following of Allah and His messenger (Allah bless him and grant him peace).
If one does not have this determination then (it is evident that) he is not a seeker of Allah(‘s pleasure).’
Tahseel qasdus Sabeel, page 16
Sayyidi wa sanadi mufti Mohammad Taqi Usmani (Allah bless him with a healthy, long and productive life, Amin!) said,
‘I had some confusion about this component of taubah.
How can one guarantee about his own self (nafs) that he will never ever sin again in his future life?
In practical life it had happened that even after sincere repentance one succumbed to the same sinful temptations. Would this mean that the repentance done previously was deficient?
I inquired Shaikh Baba Najam Ahsan khalifa mujaz e suhbet of Hakim al Umma (Allah have mercy on them) about this.
He said,
‘It is at the moment of repentance one should have this conviction.
That is, one has to have firm determination at that moment of repenting never to commit this sinful act ever again.
As for the apprehension regarding the future one should ask Allah to facilitate this for him and try to the best of his ability. Doing this will, insha-Allah, keep him firm.
Sayyidi wa sanadi Mufti Mohammad Taqi Usmani (Allah bless him with a long, healthy and productive life, Amin!) spoke briefly about the common problem of the slips of a sincere seeker on this path (sulook).
Below is a discussion on this issue from that discourse and teaching of our pious predecessors,
It is often a case that a sincere salik has been trying his best effort and also making supplications to Allah to keep him firm on pious actions and save him from involvement in sinful. But after weeks or months of being successful a dreadful moment comes and he fails and falls into sinful.
On realization of his mistake he is perplexed and disheartened. Thoughts like, ‘this path is not for me’, ‘I’m a failure’, ‘Divine help did not come’, ‘all the effort and supplications went wasted’, etc. plague his mind.
An individual can be so dejected, especially after multiple such episodes that he abandons all the effort and becomes totally heedless. May Allah save us all from this calamity. Amin!
However, a salik consults his Shaikh. He is instructed to repent, reaffirm his determination and move forwards. Moreover, it is emphasized not to ruminate and go into a root cause analysis of the incident.
A sincere salik must trust his Shaikh. As a result this slip becomes a stepping stone for further progress.
There are many lessons learned from the mistakes of the sincere seekers. They are mentioned below. However, they should not be used for rationalization of sinful activities. This discussion is about those who are sincere in their intention and effort but rarely slip. They include,
And many others.
These are the mistakes that sometimes outweigh pious deeds!
(Ramadhan 1434, post-dhuhr talks, paraphrased)
In discussion about the need of repeated treatment for moral ailments sayyidi wa sanadi Mufti Mohammad Taqi Usmani (Allah bless him with a long, healthy and productive life, Amin!) said,
‘Do not assume that (the treatment of moral ailments once done) suffices forever.
There is always a need of re-treatment.
That is, one has to reevaluate (his/her condition) repeatedly and (if necessary) treat again.
Do not assume that all those individuals who are bestowed with the permission (ijaza) of taking bayiah have become so perfect that they neither falter nor are they infallible from making mistakes nor are they immune from developing the desires of sinful.
That is not the case.
They also develop the desires for sinful. They also falter. However, they become immediately aware of their slip. This is because of the attribute developed in them and (previous ongoing effort of) moral disciplining (by spiritual struggle and excessive remembrance of Allah). After this awareness they have do the treatment of their aliment.
Even (Hakim al Umma Mawlana Ashraf Ali) Thanawi (Allah have mercy on him) said that when I see a (spiritual) illness in myself, I treat it (sometimes by giving a public discourse about it. That is in order to wake up my nafs, so I practice what I preach).’
Islahi Majali, voume 1, page 69
In the discussion about offering the two rakah Sunna salah prior to Fajr once iqamah has been called, sayyidi wa sanadi Mufti Mohammad Taqi Usmani (Allah preserve him) said,
‘The authentic saying of Imam Abu Hanifa (Allah have mercy on him) and dhahir al rewaya is also that with two criteria being fulfilled it is permissible to offer this salah. Firstly, it is expected that one complete rakah (of the fardh salat al fajr) will be attainable. Secondly, that they must be offered out side the mosque.
Imam Mohammad (Allah have mercy on him) said that even if not one complete rakah only the last sitting (qaida al akhira) is expected to be attainable than also it is permissible to offer these Sunna .
Imam Mohammad (Allah have mercy on him) added further to the first criteria but not to the second one (that is to offer it outside the mosque).
Imam Tahawi (Allah have mercy on him) added to the second criteria. He said offering them outside mosque it is permissible, however, inside the mosque is also permissible provided it is far away from the rows of the congregational salah and in an isolated spot.
From all this discussion it is clear that the prevalent practice of offering this salah immediately behind the congregation or few rows away is not permissible according to any of the madhahib.
The predominant (viewpoint) is to follow the original way (madhab) of Imam Abu Hanifa (Allah have mercy on him). The Hanafi researches have given preference to this. However, Allama Shami (Ibne Abideen) keeping in consideration the feeble Muslims has given fatwa according to Imam Tahawi (Allah have mercy on them).
Whereas, our Hanafi researchers, that include respected (Shaikh Anwar) Shah (Kashmiri, Allah have mercy on him) do not agree. They stick to the original madhab of Imam Abu Hanifa (Allah have mercy on him). That is, one rakat is expected to be attainable and it is offered outside the mosque.
Another issue to be acknowledged is that the permissibility Imam Tahawi (Allah have mercy on him) gave for offering this salah in mosque was during an era when loud speaker were nonexistent and there was no clash between the recitation of the Imam and one offering his salah in an isolated corner. Nowadays when the recitation in (congregational) salah is being relayed on the loud speaker I have doubts about the permissibility of offering this (Sunna) salah in mosque. This is because there is clash of recitation in this situations. It is, therefore, best to offer it outside the mosque.’
Im’anul Bari, volume 3, page 416-7
Shaikh Wasiullah Allahabadi (Allah have mercy on him) said,
‘The pious elders have said, تارك الورد ملعون
It means that the individual who (intentionally) leaves his daily recitations (wird) is accursed.
This is because offering extra (nafil) salah or recitations (awrad) in the beginning (of sulook) is not as detrimental than to initiate and then stop them.
This is extremely bad. Allah’s alienation is for such an individual. This results in the individual becoming absolutely incompetent. He can neither follow the Deen properly nor achieve any worldly success.
Therefore, one should not initiate extra (routine) pious actions, like tahajjud or recitations. If he does initiate them then he should have a firm intention of doing them all his life. Otherwise misfortune will engulf him.
It is mentioned in Tabqat e Kubra (page 142) that on the day the murid leaves his wird the Divine help is cut off from him.’
Wasiyet ul ehsan, Talifat e Musleh al Ummat ra, volume 5, page 56-7
Shara’iah,near Jara’nah, Makkah al mukarramah
A senior seeker, who had taken bayiah several years ago, requested for its renewal.
Sayyidi wa sanadi Shaikh Mufti Mohammad Taqi Usmani (Allah preserve him) replied,
‘There is no need of repeating the ritual.
The essential thing to do is to reaffirm the determination (for one’s islah).’
Islahi makateeb
Jeddah, KSA
An individual wrote about his daily routine of reciting some verses of Holy Quran and passing on the reward (esal e thawab) to pious predecessors.
Hakim al Umma Mawlana Ashraf Ali Thanawi (Allah have mercy on him) appreciated the practice but made it clear that this must not be with the expectation that in return there will be spiritual benefit from their souls. This would be against sincerity. The passing on of rewards must be solely for Allah’s pleasure in appreciation of the services they provided in spreading the Deen.
Paraphrased from Tarbiyet us Salik,
Moreover, some people who do esal e thawab routinely are afraid that if they stop it, even for a genuine reason (poor health or lack of finances, etc.) there will wrath of these pious predecessors and some disaster will strike them. This is shirk. May Allah protect us all from this. Amin!
Vallejo, CA