Monthly Archives: April 2009

When in trouble?

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Sayyidi wa sanadi Mawlana Mohammad Taqi Usmani (Allah preserve him and allow us to benefit from him abundantly, Ameen) said:

“When in trouble or in a perplexing situation immediately repent (make tauba) before asking Allah for help & assistance.

There are definitely many sins we are not even aware of committing. Moreover, our worship itself is full of faults. Repenting from all these is a must.

An aftermath of sin (ma’seyat) is that it causes your decision making abilities to become cloudy/muddy. You forget things and make wrong judgements. Repentance will remove these and making your thinking and decision making clearer.”

Waaz 26th June 2005, Darul Uloom Karachi

Levels of khushoo

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A novice murid wrote his condition:
‘In namaz for khushoo I concentrate on the wordings of the recitation (as instructed). For zikr and tilawat, should I do similarly or concentrate on the meanings?’

Sayyidi wa sanadi Hazrat Moulana Muhammad Taqi Usmani (Allah preserve him & allow us to benefit from him abundantly. Amin) replied:
“It is best on both, if possible. Otherwise which ever is achievable.”

Trying his best to do as instructed after some considerable time the same individual wrote:

‘In zikr and namaz instead of concentrating on words and meaning I get focused on a thought as though Allah is present and He is watching me. Sometimes this thought is strong and at others it is weak. Is this thinking appropriate for me? Also if I voluntary try and keep this thought I can not concentrate on words and meanings.’

Shaykh said:
“Concentrating on words and meanings are a stepping stone and are for the purpose of creating this focusing that Allah is present and He is watching. All praise is for Allah, progress up the stairs occurred. Whatever excessive thankfulness (to Allah) is done for this blessing can not be enough.
Allah increase it manifolds.”

Islahi khutoot

درجہ عظمت شیخ

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حضرت حکیم الامت مولانا اشرف علی تھانوی قدس اللہ سرہ فرماتے ہیں،

 

اب پیر کا ادب خدا تعالی کے برابر کرتے ہیں کہ اگر سجدہ کا بھی حکم کرے تو شاید کرلیں اور استدلال میں حضرت حافظ رحمۃ اللہ علیہ کا شعر پڑھتے ہیں،

 

بمے سجادہ رنگیں گرت پیر مغاں گوید

کہ سالک بے خبر نہ بود ز راہ و رسم منزلہا

 

اور یہ معنی سجھتے ہیں کہ اگر پیر شراب خوری کا بھی حکم کرے تو بجا لاؤ کیونکہ وہ منزل سےواقف ہے، تمہارے حق میں بھی مفید ہوگا۔ استغفراللہ! حضرت حافظ رحمۃ اللہ علیہ کا یہ مطلب ہرگز نہیں۔ بلکہ مئے سے مراد طریق عشق ہے۔ اور سجادہ سے مراد قلب ہے۔ مطلب یہ ہے کہ سلوک میں ایک طریق اعمال کا ہے اور ایک طریق محبت و جذب کا ہے۔ پس اگر شیخ نے تمہارے لئےطریق محبت و جذب تجویز کیا ہو اور تمہاری راۓ میں طریقہ عمل مناسب ہو تو اس کو دل میں جگہ دو اور اپنی تجویز کو چھوڑو۔ کیونکہ عارف سالک اس منزل کی راہ و رسم سےنا واقف نہیں ہوتا۔

اور جو معنی مشہور ہیں وہ بالکل غلط ہے کیونکہ ہم نے تو پیر اس واسطے بنایا ہے کہ خدا تعالی کی رضامندی کا راستہ بتادے۔ اگر وہ راستہ نہ بتاوے۔ بلکہ راہ سے بٹادے تو اس کی پیروی ہرگز جائز نہیں ہے۔

 

واعظ: وحدۃ الحب، تسلیم و رضا،خطبات حکیم الامت رح، جلد 15، ص169-170

 

 

Marital Relationship & Taqwa

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Sayyidi wa sanadi Shaykh Mufti Mohammad Taqi Usmani (may Allah preserve him) said:

“My respected father Hadhrat Mufti Mohammad Shafii’ (amy Allah have mercy on him) used to say that the healthy and happy relations between husband and wife are not at all possible unless they have taqwa: the fear of Allah, in their heart.

The degree of intimacy between them can never be found in any other relationship. Both are sharing one another’s secrets and are so close to each other that a closer relationship can never be imagined of. These relations are such that they can not be known to others in detail. Under such conditions, when they are in private and intimate, if one partner decides to hurt the other or disregard his/her rights who is going to stop him/her?

There are many rights if they are not executed, one can report to the police or claim them through the court. But most of the rights of husband and wife are such that they can not be reported to the police or be demanded via court. The judicial system at the most will make it possible to claim for wife’s monetary allowance and meher but what about the husband’s arrogant attitude and bitter speech? Which court or police is going to reimburse for these hurtful things?

There is only one thing that can prevent these hurtful things from happening. It is the fear of Allah (taqwa).

That is, when the husband realizes that Allah by uniting his wife to him (via nikah) has imposed some rights for her. These are obligations for me to fulfill. I am bound to undertake them. If I do not comply with them I will be accountable before Allah.
Until this realization arises one can not discharge other’s (marital) rights thoroughly.

(Marry but Fear Allah SWT: Islahi Khutbat 73-73 Volume 11)

Be intelligent!

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Shaykh Shah Wasiullah (may Allah have mercy on him) said,

Imam Abdur-Rehman Ali al-Jauzi (may Allah have mercy on him) has stated in his book ‘Kital al-azkiya’ that,

From all the bounties of Allah bestowed on human beings the most phenomenal is the intellect. This is because it is the instrument of acquiring the  knowledge of Allah (ma’arifa). It helps in the organizing the demands of religion and this world.  It enables one to focus on the eventual outcome. It leads to understanding of complicated things. It drives one to go for the the beneficial things and accumulate them.’

Mawlana Shah Ahlullah, brother of Shah Waliullah (may Allah have mercy on them) stated this in his booklet “Chahar bab’,

‘Intelligence, prudence and far-sightedness are innate qualities but they grow and improve with increase in experience, company of the wise individuals, reading of books of knowledge and listening to tales of wisdom and general advice. Therefore, one must try constantly to improve his mental capabilities.

Furthermore, physical and mental struggle must be done to establish one’s self as intelligent and not being  in the category of stupids.

Intellect is a unique entity. It must be utilized appropriately and not wasted.’

I remind you, that we do not utilize it appropriately and hence we destroy the benefits of both this world and the here-after. As though, we have kept our mental abilities on hold. This in particular I find in the religious individuals. They are totally handicapped in this regards.

Tazkira e musleh al-Umma, page 134

دعا

tazkiraemusleh

یاالہی!

دور کر دل سے نفاق و کبر و طغیان و غرور

کر عطا عشق و وفا صدق و صفا اخلاص و نور

شہ وصی اللہ رح شیخ با صفا کے واسطے

آمین!

Mawlana Hanif Jaunpuri db

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Mawlana Mufti Mohammad Hanif Jaunpuri (may Allah preserve him) a khalifa of Shaykh Wasiullah (may Allah have mercy on him) is almost hundred years old.  He has been teaching for the past 63 years. Presently he is the Shaykh al-Hadith at Baitul Uloom, Sara-i-Mir, UP, India.

He is, mashaAllah, very active, alert and mentally sharp even at this age.

He was in Jeddah yesterday. In an informal talk  he informed us about himself. In my own words I will post some excerpts from it. May Allah make it beneficial for us. Amin!

‘I worked as a porter initially. I had attended school till fourth grade only. Then I became a famous ‘amil.People used to call me ‘Hanif Shah’. It was in 1942 or 43 that I recognized the importance of Tasawwuf and wrote a letter to Hakim Al-Umma Shaykh Mawlana Ashraf Ali Thanawi (may Allah Have mercy on him) asking for guidance. It was the period of Hakim al-Umma’s terminal illness. In response Hakim al-Umma excused himself from being able to do so but provided a list of 25 khulafa to select from based on one’s congeniality (munasbet).

I consulted with sincere friends and selected Shaykh Wasiullah (may Allah have mercy on him) as a Shaykh. I moved to his khanqah. In spare time I tended to the goats kept at his home. There I had a desire to formally study Islam. And in four and a half years I completed the basic curriculum.  It was  in the blessed month of Ramadhan at the tahajjud time that Shaykh Shah Wasiullah initiated the dars of Sahih al-Bukhari for us. We were 20 or 25 students. Thereafter, for the subsequent 11 years I attended this dars for my own benefit.

Once Shaykh Wasiullah for some tarbiyyah reason banished me from the khanqah. Shaykh had a jalali demeanor of tarbiyyah. We were apprehensive approaching him. It took me two years to gather courage and visit him again. During this period I moved to Banares. There I studied homeopathic medicine and established a clinic. It was on the eve of eid al-fitr that I decided to return to Shaykh. Travelling hundreds of miles by train I reached Gopaganj (a small town near the village of Shaykh) early morning on the eid day. There were festivities all around. People were celebrating eid. Each and everyone of them knew me from before. But no one even greeted me. They were all aware that I had been banished by the Shaykh. I greeted them and asked them to mediate for me and inform the Shaykh of my arrival. No one agreed. They said that they did not want to spoil their eid by upsetting the Shaykh. Eventually, I mustered the courage to go by myself.

My feet were trembling and the heart was racing amok as I climbed the stairs leading to the Shaykh’s room. On seeing me Shaykh said, ‘Oh! you have returned eventually.’ I dropped on his feet and started crying. Shaykh consoled me. He instructed others to make me comfortable at khanqah. He had siwayian(sweets made especially on eid) from his home brought for me and moreover presented me 30 rupees as eidee (eid gift). Thereafter he instructed me to stay at the khanqah as long as he was alive. (Mawlana was emotionally overwhelmed at narating this). ‘

Jeddah, Qari Rafique sahib’s residence, after ‘esha, 10th April 2009

Be very careful of the saintly ones

Shaykh al-Hadith Mawlana Zakiriyya Kandehlawi mohajir Madani (may Allah have mercy on him) said,

اللهم انا نعوذبك من عذابك و غضب رسولك و غضب اوليائك

‘O Allah we seek refuge in You from your anger and from the anger of your Rasul and your saintly servants.’

This is something concerning which I have written many times.

Be very careful of the saintly ones.

May Allah protect us from their anger and displeasure.

Aap beeti

Useful knowledge

Imam Abu Hamid al-Ghazali (may Allah have mercy on him) said,

‘Useful knowledge is that which,

makes you grow in the fear of Allah,

increases you in awareness of your defects,

deepens your knowledge of worship of your Lord Most High,

decreases your desire for this world and increases your desire for the life to come, and

opens your eyes to the defects of your actions so that you can guard against them.’

Ihsan

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An individual enthusiastically informed Arif-billah Dr. Abdul Hayy Arifi (may Allah have mercy on him) that by Allah’s grace he had attained the station of Ihsan. That is, worshipping Allah as though you see Him and if that is not possible then as though He sees you.

Shaykh Arifi (qaddas sirrahu) congratulated and encouraged him. And then inquired that if this ihsan was attained only in prayers (salah) or it was also present at other times, like dealing with house hold members, especially wife.

The individual looked in bewilderment at Shaykh and informed that he thought this ihsan was only meant to be limited to prayers and ritual worship.

Shaykh Arifi explained to the audience in detail that this is a common mistake. We tend to limit deen to formal acts of worship (Ibadaat). Our all other activities seem to be independent of the fact that each and every moment of our life we are as much a slave of Allah as in prayers and other worship.

The genuine ihsan is perpetual. The slave is aware that he is being watched and he will be accountable for whatever he does. Hence, he has utmost respect and does not do any thing inappropriate. Remember this is an intentional and a voluntary act of thinking.

As per instruction of Sayyidi wa sanadi Shaykh Mawlana Muhammad Taqi Usmani sahib (Allah SWT preserve him & allow us to benefit from him abundantly. Ameen) setting aside an allocated time every day to think repeatedly that: ‘I am in front Allah SWT & He is watching me’, is essential for achieving it. It becomes a habit in second nature only by doing it repeatedly. Practice makes perfect. Gradually it becomes almost like an instinctive performance, like breathing or drinking.

Wa ma taufiqi ilabillahi!