Shaikh Sharf-uddin Ahmed Yayha al-Muneri (d:786 Hijri/1384CE) in his search for a Shaikh visited Shaikh Nizam uddin Auliya (d:1325CE) (Allah have mercy on them) in Delhi. He was the most famous Shaikh of India at that time and people from all over the Islamic world came to benefit from him. He was known as Mehboob-e-Ilahi, the beloved of Allah. However, Shaikh al-Muneri did not find munasbet with this great wali and continued his search.

Eventually he found munasbet with a less famous al Suharwardi-al Kubrawi Shaikh Najib-uddin al-Firdausi (Allah have mercy on him) and became his disciple.

Maktubaat e Sadi: Introduction

It is from the basic principles of the tariq that munasbet with Shaikh is essential for spiritual benefit.

A common mistake is to overlook this principle and be hasty, go for famous Shuyukh and give in to peer-pressure.

I am displeased with the company of friends
To whom my bad qualities appear to be good;
They fancy my faults are virtues and perfection;
My thorns they believe to be rose and jessamine.
Say! where is the bold and quick enemy
To make me aware of my defects?

Shaikh Muslih ud din Saadi Shirazi Suharwardi (Allah have mercy on him)

The blessed Companion Jabir bin Samrah (Allah be pleased with him) narrated that,

The Prophet (Allah bless him and grant him peace) used to remain silent most of the time.

It means that talking less was a prominent feature of his character. If something important and beneficial was needed only then he would speak otherwise he remained silent.

It is reported in Shahih al-Bukhari, al-Muslim and other books of Hadith: ‘Whoever believes in in Allah and the Here-after he should either speak good or remain quite.’

Our master the leader of the believers Abu Bakr Siddiq ( Allah be pleased with him) said,

‘I wish I was (partially) inarticulate and only had the power of speech to make remembrance of Allah.’

Mazahir al-Haq, sharh Mishkat, volume 5, page 352

Related

The spouses of the seekers on the path to Allah often bemoan about their unromantic partners. Especially, when it comes to verbalization of romantic sentiments.

However, a true seeker is always over cautious to fulfill the rights of their spouse and keeps them happy.

He/she may be tongue tied fearing to be untruthful in making bold claims.

Please, have mercy on him/her and remember:

(Picture: Richard Templar’s Rules of Love)

Sayyidi wa sanadi Hadhrat Mawlana Mohammad Taqi Usmani (Allah preserve him) was approached by two scholars who requested for permission to narrate the Prophetic sayings (sanad e hadith). Both were graduates of Nadwat ul Ulama, Lucknow. They had brought the canonical books of the blessed Prophetic sayings (Hadith) with them and wanted to recite the initial hadith from all of them and then get the permission.

Hadhrat sayyid wa sandi told them that it is better to start with hadith musalsal bil awaliya. He narrated it to them through his Shuyukh, particularly Shaikh Hasan Mashat al-Maliki, al-Makki and Shaikh Yaseen Fadani (Allah have mercy on them):

The Prophet (Allah bless and give him peace) said, “The merciful are shown mercy by the All-Merciful, تبارك و تعالى. Be merciful to those on earth and the Lord of the Heavens will be merciful to you.”

Then they read the first hadith from each of the Hadith text. Sayyidi corrected their reading for any mispronunciations. When they read from Musnad e Ahmad he clarified that he has ijaza of it by permission and not via studying it with a Shaykh (darsan).

Afterwards they requested for some advice.

Sayyidi wa sanadi pointed out to them that traditionally the first lesson a student of Islamic sciences gets from his teacher is this Prophetic saying, musalsal bil awaliya.

Why is it like this?

The authors’ of the books of hadith have initiated their works by various different Prophetic sayings, as you read earlier in this session.

Imam Bukhari (Allah have mercy on him) considering the utmost importance of sincerity started with rectifying the ‘intention’: “The reward of deeds depends upon the intentions and every person will get the reward according to what he has intended. So whoever emigrated for worldly benefits or for a woman to marry, his emigration was for what he emigrated for.

Imam Muslim (Allah have mercy on him) started with the basic believes: One day we were sitting in the company of Allah’s Apostle (peace be upon him) when there appeared before us a man dressed in pure white clothes, his hair extraordinarily black. There were no signs of travel on him. None amongst us recognized him. At last he sat with the Apostle (peace be upon him) He knelt before him placed his palms on his thighs and said: Muhammad, inform me about al-Islam. The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) said: Al-Islam implies that you testify that there is no god but Allah and that Muhammad is the messenger of Allah, and you establish prayer, pay Zakat, observe the fast of Ramadan, and perform pilgrimage to the (House) if you are solvent enough (to bear the expense of) the journey. He (the inquirer) said: You have told the truth. He (Umar ibn al-Khattab) said: It amazed us that he would put the question and then he would himself verify the truth. He (the inquirer) said: Inform me about Iman (faith). He (the Holy Prophet) replied: That you affirm your faith in Allah, in His angels, in His Books, in His Apostles, in the Day of Judgment, and you affirm your faith in the Divine Decree about good and evil. He (the inquirer) said: You have told the truth. He (the inquirer) again said: Inform me about al-Ihsan (performance of good deeds). He (the Holy Prophet) said: That you worship Allah as if you are seeing Him, for though you don’t see Him, He, verily, sees you. He (the enquirer) again said: Inform me about the hour (of the Doom). He (the Holy Prophet) remarked: One who is asked knows no more than the one who is inquiring (about it). He (the inquirer) said: Tell me some of its indications. He (the Holy Prophet) said: That the slave-girl will give birth to her mistress and master, that you will find barefooted, destitute goat-herds vying with one another in the construction of magnificent buildings. He (the narrator, Umar ibn al-Khattab) said: Then he (the inquirer) went on his way but I stayed with him (the Holy Prophet) for a long while. He then, said to me: Umar, do you know who this inquirer was? I replied: Allah and His Apostle knows best. He (the Holy Prophet) remarked: He was Gabriel (the angel). He came to you in order to instruct you in matters of religion.

Whereas the authors of Sunan (Allah have mercy on them started with cleanliness and purity (tahara).

Imam Malik (Allah have mercy on him) thinking that the rulings of tahara will only be applied when the time of salah arrives started Muwatta with the timimgs of the prayers: Don’t you know that the angel Jibril came down and prayed and the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, prayed.’ Then he prayed again, and the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, prayed. Then he prayed again, and the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, prayed. Then he prayed again, and the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, prayed. Then he prayed again, and the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, prayed. Then Jibril said, ‘This is what you have been ordered to do.

The reason to select this specific hadith is, most likely, to remind us that Allah’s attribute of mercy predominates and surpasses His attribute of wrath. The Holy Quran starts with ‘With the name of Allah, the All-Merciful, the Very-Merciful’[1:1]. Then comes,’Praise belongs to Allah, the Lord of all the worlds [1:2] the All-Merciful, the Very Merciful[1:3].

The message that is being conveyed here to the novice student of Deen is that the characteristic of mercy should predominate in your character. This should be the moto of your life. Be merciful to all the humans on the face of the Earth, including the Muslims and the Non-Muslims. However, the modes and manifestation of this mercy may differ for each of them.

We should be merciful even to Non-Muslims. This means that we should have a burning desire in our heart that Allah guides them to truth. And they receive salvation, enter Paradise and are saved from Hell-fire. We should invite them to Islam with love and compassion.

We restrict this mercy to Muslims alone. However, in reality it should be on Non-Muslims to.  The hatred is not for any Non-Muslim individual but for his devious beliefs (kufr & shirk). As person we should have compassion for him like we have for a person afflicted with a disease.

Hence, the reason why our pious predecessor teachers selected this hadith for the very first lesson was to sow the seed of mercy in an aspirants heart. To make him realize its importance so that he becomes a manifestation of this mercy for the whole mankind.  Following our Master the ‘Mercy to the universe’ (rehmatul-il-’alameen) Prophet Muhammad (Allah bless him and grant him peace) he brings the creation closer to Allah.

May Allah make us understand this fully and facilitate acting according to it. Amin!’

Qari Rafiq’s residence, Jeddah, al-Safa distt. 14th January 2012, after maghrib

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Shaikh Shaddad bin Hakim (Allah have mercy on him) used to say:

“Whoever possesses the following three characteristics should instruct people; if not, then he should leave off teaching.

1. He reminds people of God’s favors in order that they give thanks for them;

2. He reminds them of their sins in order that they repent from them; and

3. He reminds them of their enemies (nafs & Shaytan) in order that they beware of them.”

Ikhlaq as-Saliheen, translation Tambih al Mughtarin of of Imam Sha’rani (Allah have mercy on him)

Shaikh ‘Abdullah bin Mubarak (Allah have mercy on him) used to say:

“A man will be circumambulating the Holy Ka’ba while showing off before the people of Khurasan.”

It was asked: “How could that be?”

He replied: “He is pleased (by actively thinking) that the people back in Khurasan are saying, ‘So and so is in the blessed Makkah right now circumambulating the Holy Ka’ba or pacing between Safa and Marwa. Cheers to him!’ ”

Ikhlaq as-Saliheen, translation Tambih al Mughtarin of of Imam Sha’rani (Allah have mercy on him)

An individual inquired that if it was still inappropriate to keep a face book account.

Sayyidi wa sanadi Shaikh Mufti Mohammad Taqi Usmani (Allah preserve him) replied,

‘Yes indeed one should not have an account on the facebook . It is against the Islamic honor to do so. The desecration they did for our master Prophet Muhammad (Allah bless him and give him peace) was despicable.

However, I do not say that it is impermissible (na-jaiz/haram) to do so.

Some people tell me there is an account under my name also. I do not approve of it. I tell them to delete it if possible. I have no connection with it.’

Medinah e munawwarah, Al-Taiba Suites, 11th January 2011

Sayyidi wa sanadi Shaikh Mufti Mohammad Taqi Usmani (Allah preserve him) said,

‘These days most of us are preoccupied by the past events or future apprehensions. In doing so we neglect the present.’

An individual inquired,

‘In our era due to technological advances every day chores are done relatively quickly. Hence we have extra time available to us. This usually results in preoccupation with useless involvements including those you mention. How can we utilize time more effectively?’

Sayyidi wa sanadi replied,

‘I repeatedly tell the people the same and ask them what are they doing with the time they save by using these new technologies.

An individual has to develop the importance of value of time.

Once this importance is developed then it will be impossible for him to waste a single second. Moreover, Allah will give barakah in his time and he will be able to do more work effectively in the same amount of time.’

Makkah Towers, 3rd January 2012, After esha