Teachings of Hakim al-Umma Mawlana Ashraf 'Ali Thanawi & his spiritual successors, particularly 'Arifbillah Dr 'Abdul Hayy 'Arifi (may Allah bless them) and Sayyidi Mawlana Mufti Mohammad Taqi Usmani (may Allah preserve him) regarding Tasawwuf
Sidi Ahmad Zarruq al-Barnusi al-Fasi (Allah have mercy on him) [1442 – 1493 CE] said,
I have also seen that the seekers of this age are afflicted with five things:
1.The preference of ignorance over knowledge
2. Being deluded by every spiritual impostor
3. The inability to prioritize important matters
4. Using the spiritual path as a means to inflate [...]
Hakim al-Umma Mawlana Ashraf Ali Thanawi (Allah ahve mercy on him) said regarding this,
The first type of gathering is that which does not contain any of the prevalent and customary restrictions (quyud). Neither [does it contain] mubah (permissible) restrictions nor makruh (prohibitively disliked) ones, i.e., it is free from all [sorts of] restrictions. For instance, [...]
اللهم صل على حبيبك خير الخلق كلهم دائما” ابدا
Shaykh Shah Wasiullah (may Allah have mercy on him) said,
“People yearn for vision of the Prophet (Allah’s blessing and peace be upon him) in their dream. However, this is not within our volitional achievements. Therefore, I am telling you a method by which perpetual spiritual vision of the Prophet (Allah’s [...]
Shaykh Sayyid Zawwar Hussain Shah (Allah have mercy on him) said,
‘Shaykh Mujaddid Alif Thani (Allah have mercy on him) has described seven levels of following the Sunna. (It is in his maktubat, letter number 54, volume 2).
What the general public and scholars of the outward (ashab e zawahir)consider following of the Sunna is the very first [...]
Shaykh Fazlur-Rehman Ganjmuradabadi (Allah have mercy on him) replied to a question regarding this,
‘When the following of Sunna beomes an instinct then it is the condition of annihilation in the blessed Prophet (Allah’s blessing and peace be upon him), i.e. fana fi Rasul.’
Mahnama Tamir e ifkar, eshaet khas bayad Shaykh Syed Zawwar Hussain Shah (Allah [...]
Sayyidi wa sanadiShaykh Mufti Taqi Usmani (Allah preserve him) is in the blessed Medinah these days.
With the Saudi school mid year vacations there is a huge crowd of pilgrims.
Going for the Friday prayers an individual inquired the Shaykh where could he find him in the Haram. The Shaykh replied that usually he tries to be in the first row [...]
Stepping out of Masjid al-Haram, Makkah sayyidi wa sanadi Shaykh Mufti Mohammad Taqi Usmani (Allah preserve him) replied to an individual’s question regarding the daily wird,
‘Keep the amount of the daily wird at the level which you can complete easily. However, if on some day you have extra time and desire then go ahead and [...]
Imam Abdallah ibn Alawi al-Haddad (Allah have mercy on him) (d.1132 Hijri) said,
And know that the loftiest of models, the most noble and the greatest and the most binding to all Muslims is the Messenger of Allah, Allah bless him and grant him peace: verily he is by unanimous agreement the Greatest Exemplar.
And [...]
Sayyidi wa sanadi Shaykh Mawlana Mohammad Taqi Usmani (Allah preserve him) encourages us to read the biographies of our elders (akabir).
One of the benefits of doing this is to get the motivation (hal) for our own reformation (islah).
Following incident has a great lesson for all of us.
‘Shaykh Syed Abul Hasan Ali Nadwi (Allah have mercy on [...]
Sayyidi wa sanadi Shaykh Mohammad Taqi Usmani (Allah presrve him) writes,
Abdullah ibn Musa, (Allah be pleased with him), reports that the Holy Prophet, (Allah’s blessings and peace be upon him), preferred the fast of ‘Ashura’ (10th Muharram) on the fasts of other days and preferred the fasts of Ramadhaan on the fast of ‘Ashura’. (Bukhari [...]
Our master Shahr bin Jaushab (Allah be pleased with him) says:
“I asked Umme Salma (The Mother of the Believers, Allah be pleased with her) ‘What was the supplication (dua) most often made by the Prophet of Allah (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) in his house?’
She replied that Prophet of Allah (blessings and [...]
Sayyidi wa sanadi Shaykh Mohammad Taqi Usmani (Allah preserve him) said,
The first ten days of Zulhijjah are among the most magnificent days in Islamic calendar.
The Holy Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace) has said,
“One fast during these days is equal to the fasting of one complete year, and the worship of one night [...]
The blessed Companion Abu Huraira(Allah be pleased with him) narrated:
The Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace) said: Allah created His creation and when He finished it, the womb said: This is the place for him who seeks Your refuge from severing blood relationship.
He said: Yes. Are you not satisfied that I should keep relationship [...]
Hakim ul Umma Shaykh Mawlana Ashraf Ali Thanawi (Allah have mercy on him) said:
“My (that is, the Shaykh’s) primary responsibility is to cultivate the desired moral characteristics in a murid (i.e. thankfulness, patience, love of Allah SWT and His messenger, humility, khushoo, fear, etc.) and not the rectification of his (outwards) actions (a’mal).
This is so [...]
Hakim al-Umma Shaykh Ashraf Ali Thanawi (Allah have mercy on him) said,
‘Perfect (kamil) and fully qualified (mukamal) individual is the one who is exactly following the footsteps of Allah’s approved Messenger (Muhammad, Allah bless him and grant him peace). His exterior appearance should be like the exterior appearance of the Messenger. And his inner condition [...]
