شریعت و طریقت

حضرت حکیم الامت مولانا اشرف علی تھانوی قدس اللہ سرہ

Sitting in mataf behind rukun-e-yamani sayyidi wa sanadi Shaikh Mufti Mohammad Taqi Usmani (Allah grant him a healthy, productive and long life. Amin!)  confided to Mufti Ahmad Khanpuri (Allah preserve him),

‘After recieivng your last letter asking me to write my memoirs I have started the project. I initiated by writing ten sentences. May Allah facilitate it.’

Mufti Ahmad Khanpuri and those present around were thrilled. Mufti sahib encouraged sayyidi wa sanadi excessively and requested to take this project seriously for the immense potential of benefiting others, especially the scholars.

Sayyidi wa sanadi repeatedly mentioned about the futility of writing about an insignificant creature comparing himself to a fly or a mosquito.

Mufti Ahmad Khanpuri (the top most Mufti of India, stationed at Dhabel & khalifa of Shaikh Mufti Mehmood Hassan al-Gangohi (Allah have mercy on him) was very pleased and said,

‘Now I will make special dua that this project is completed effectively.’

Masjid al-Haraam, Makkah e mukarramah, after ‘esha salah, Friday, 22 July 2011

Shaikh Abdul Qudoos Gangohi [d. 944 Hijri/1537 CE] (Allah have mercy on him) said,

‘Qutub e ‘Alam Sultan al-Mashaikh Khawaja Nizamuddin Awliya came to know that Shaikh Naseer uddin Chirag Dehlavi (Allah have mercy on them) is reading a book authored by Shaikh Dhunun Misri (Allah have mercy on him). He called him and informed him that this had come to his knowledge and it was his instruction not to do so. The reason being that when you read about the pious predecessors and do not find some of their attributes in your Shaikh the Satan finds a way to sow the seed of contention. Moreover, he creates doubts about your Shaikh in your heart (and mind). This dissipates the effort (of islah & sulook).

The point to pay attention attention in this incident is that he forbade reading such text for Qutub e ‘Alam Shaikh Naseer uddin Chirag Dehlavi (Allah have mercy on them) in spite the fact that he was perfect (kamil) and truthful (sadiq), and truthful can not be misguided by Satan. This forbidding was an admonition for the others.’

Maktubat e Qudusiya, # 89, page 331

‘A cardinal defect in translation: the intrusion of the translator’s presence and preconceived ideas. ‘

Speech of the birds,  (Mantiqu’t-Tair), Preface by Peter Avery (translator), page xi

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Arif Billah Dr. Abdul-Hayy Arifi (Allah have mercy on him) said that while I was visiting Jama-e-Ashrafiya, Lahore, the teachers requested for some naseeha (advice). I told them,

“You people read and teach the books of great scholars of Islam daily.

However, you do it carelessly.

To truly benefit from the barakah (blessings) of these books. Make it a habit that before starting to read them, turn towards Allah. Make dua (prayer). For the scholar first. That Allah make his magfirah, be pleased with him and raise his status in paradise. Then, supplicate for yourself. That is, may Allah make this reading most beneficial for you.

Only by doing so you will really benefit from these great books and their authors’ exalted knowledge.”

Now available!

‘Join XYZ-Jamat or PQRS-Tariqa!’

A common advice we all often get. Directly or indirectly by our well-wishers. Most of us are offended and become defensive. We retaliate with our own suggestions. A few become confused. A smaller number becomes disillusioned by these rivalries and schisms.  May Allah save us all from these disasters. Amin!

The sincerity of these well-wishers can not be questioned at all.

However, it should be a wake up alarm to us. Following questions must pop-up in our mind. Why did this person suggest this to me in particular? Am I following  correctly and progressing in my religious effort? Or there is something that made this person feel that I need to improve?

Thinking on these lines this lowly writer came up with a random quick checklist for myself. InshaAllah, it will be beneficial for others.

The Checklist:

I need to have explicit answers to the following statements from the time I joined this specific group, jamat, tariqa or started on my own to be more religious ,

1. I thoroughly studied the fiqh of everyday worship and apply it meticulously.

2. Made record of my missed salah, fasts, zikah, hajj and financial dues. I am trying to compensate for them.

3. I have improved my tajweed.

4. My actions on Sunna has increased. That is, appearance, manners, actions and supplications for different occasions like waking up, eating, sleeping, wearing clothes, etc.

5. My salah is more organized, on time, in congregation (if masjid is close by) with better concentration.

6. I deal with humility when interacting with my family members (especially parents and spouse) and others.

7. I can better control my anger.

8. My school/college/work performance has increased or at least not deteriorated.

9. My involvement in useless (TV, Internet, news, magazines, novels, etc.) has decreased substantially.

10. I am worried about causing discomfort and harm to others and try my best to avoid it.

11. The sins I used to commit previously have decreased substantially in frequency and intensity.

12. My day is better organized with time allocations for recitation of Holy Quran, dhikr and religious reading.

13. I do not look down upon fellow Muslims.

If answers to most (>11) of the above questions is affirmative then we need to be thankful to Allah and continue on our path to perform even better.

However, if this is not the case then there are two possibilities.

Firstly, either we are not following the teachings of that group, jamat or tariqa correctly.

Or if we are doing all the things as per instruction then that group, jamat or tariqa is invalid. At least this is true for us, maybe secondary to our circumstances and environment. It is only in this case that we need to pay heed to the advice of that well-wisher and look into the XYZ & PQRS option.

Sayyidi wa sanadi Shaykh Mawlana Mohammad Taqi Usmani (may Allah preserve him) said,

‘In a Prophetic tradition (hadith) it is narrated that; the person whose two days are the same is in big loss.

This means that his today was spent in the same manner as yesterday and no progress occurred.

That is,  progress in being more religious, in spiritual evolution, increase in worship and improvement in obedience, following of Sunna and abundance in Allah’s remembrance.’

The most important thing is to avoid all sins, especially those committed by eyes, ears and tongue.

This requires knowledge (fiqh) and self determination (himmat).

For fiqh the books Bashti Zewar/Heavenly Ornament or Essential Islamic Knowledge (A handbook of Hanafi fiqh by Qadi Thanaullah Panipati, Allah have mercy on him) are fine.

For determination motivation is required. This is gained by being in good, pious company or reading from the books of or about pious. The Path to Perfection by Shaykh Masihullah (Allah have mercy on him) is a good book to start. Also posts on this site are a selection from these kinds of books. Try to read a couple of them daily.

Min fayuzaat e sayyidi wa sanadi damet barkatahum

In the final chapter of his primer on Hanafi fiqh Shaykh Qadi Thana’ullah Panipati (Allah have mercy on him) [d. 1225 H/1810 CE] said,

‘The spiritual light of Islam or the Messenger of Allah, may peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, should be sought in the breasts of the true ascetics so that that light may be kindled in your own heart.

When this light enters you, you will be able to recognise, through your faculties of discernment, all good and evil.

One becomes a stranger in this temporal world and is transported to the next world through one’s constant remembrance of Allah.

One begins to seek the company of others who cause one’s love for this world to decrease, and one’s love for Allah and the next world to increase.’

Essential Islamic Knowledge: A Handbook of Hanafi Fiqh, page 256

Shaykh Nawab Eshrat ‘Ali Khan Qaiser (Allah preserve him) instructed,

‘To develop perfect congeniality of this path (tareeq) it essential that senior murid reads the biography of Hakim al-Umma, Ashraf us-Sawanih volume 2, Maasir e Hakim al Ummat and Tarbiyet us Salik. The intention should be to act on the information for his own reformation (islah).

Halaat e Eshrat wa Maktubat e Masih al-ummat ra, page 80