Shaikh Sa’id Al-Burhani (Allah have mercy on him) said,
And know that the esoteric that contravenes the exoteric is a fraud.
Counsels & Wisdom on Uprightness & Spiritual Transformation, t3.10 Reliance of Traveller
Beware of Fraud
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Category Archives: A. Reality of Tasawwuf
Priorities for a Salik
1. Learning the authentic beliefs (aqaid) as per the pious predecessors.
2. Learning the Sunna methodology (fiqh) of performing worship.
3. Abandoning major sinful actions and repenting on minor ones.
4. Get rid of blameworthy moral characteristics (radhail), adopting praiseworthy moral characteristics (fadhail).
5. Earning & consuming a halal livelihood.
6. Getting married, establishing a home and raising children
7. Learning etiquette of financial dealings for everyday life.
8. Actively making a good intention in permissible actions.
9. Actively making an intention of pleasing Allah and following Sunna in all thoughts & actions.
10. Recitation of Sunna adhkar for different occasions (adiya e ma’sora)
11. Recitation of the litanies (adhkar & ashgaal) prescribed by the Sufi Shaykh.
Qutub al Irshad, vol 1, p 92-3
Book: Ashraf us Sawanih English (pdf)
Hakim Al Umma Maulana Ashraf Ali Thanvi’s (Allah have mercy on him) biography translated into English
اصلاح اخلاق
سیدی و سندی حضرت مفتی تقی عثمانی صاحب مدظلہ نے فرمایا،
اصلاح اخلاق کے صرف دو راستے ہیں:
۱۔ صحبت اہل اللہ۔ وہ لوگ جنہوں نے کثرت مجاہدات سے اپنے اخلاق کو معتدل بنالیا ان کی صحبت کی کثرت۔
۲۔ توفیق الہی۔ اس کے لئے دعا کرتے رہنا چاہیے۔ جیسا کے احادیث میں تعلیم کیا گیا ہے۔ (اسئلک خلقا” مستقیما)
درس مناجات مقبول۔ ۷ اگست ۲۰۲۲
Tasawwuf: فرض عین
Proof-of-Islam Imam Ghazali (Allah have mercy on him) said,
Tasawwuf is an essential obligation (فرض عین)۔’
Shaikh Abul Hasan Al Shazli (Allah have mercy on him) said,
‘An individual who does not acquire Tasawwuf dies persisting on major sinful activities (گناہ کبیرہ) but is unaware of it.’
Eqaz Al Himam, p 35
Fiqh & Tasawwuf: Inseparable
Our master Imam Malik (Allah have mercy on him) said,
‘An individual who practices Tasawwuf without acquiring fiqh (knowledge of Shariah rulings), becomes a heretic (zindeeq).
Whereas the individual who acquires fiqh but abandons Tasawwuf becomes a transgressor (fasiq).
He who acquires both, fiqh and Tasawwuf is successful in reaching the reality (haqiqa).’
Eqaz Al Himam, p30
طلب صادق کیا ہے؟
حضرت شیخ عبد الحق صاحب محدث دھلوی رحمہ اللہ علیہ فرماتے ہیں،
طلب کی یہ شان ہوتی ہے کہ وہ طالب کی جان پر اس طرح غالب آجاتی ہے اور اس طور پر استیلا ہوجاتا ہے کہ مطلوب کے حصول میں کوئی اور شے یا اور آرزو یا خیال رکاوٹ نہیں ڈال سکتا اور شوق کا غلبہ اور حصول مطلوب کی پیاس اس قدر بڑھ جاتی ہے کہ اگر تمام دنیا کے عقلاء مل کر یہ حکم کریں کہ ارے میاں ! تمھار مطلوب حاصل ہونا محال ہے اور بلکل متعذر (ناممکن) ہے تو ان کی بات کی طرف یہ طالب کان بھی نہ لگاۓ (اور اپنی دھن میں لگا رہے۔ اس کا نام طلب صادق ہے)۔
حالات مصلح الامت رح ج ۲ص۱۳
How Islah is done?
Hakim al Umma Maulana Ashraf Ali Thanvi (Allah have mercy on him) said,
The treatment of spiritual ailments (blameworthy moral characteristics) is not possible without disclosing information about them. Some of them are so hidden and complicated that the one who is seeking the remedy is unaware of them. This is can be seen in books about the path (Sulook) and Moral reformation.
Therefore’ an individual is needed to diagnose and discern about these spiritual ailments. He is the Perfect Spiritual mentor (Shakyh e kamil). Most of the time for a Shaykh e kamil to make a diagnosis it is required that the patient himself informs him about the illness as much as possible and does not hide any information.
This is exactly like the medical Doctor (-patient encounter). Some information for diagnosing the illness he gets from pulse, appearance (physical examination), urine (laboratory test) and for the rest it is necessary that the patient himself gives him information (history).
In this special situation sometimes the (patient’s) nafs dislikes disclosing his spiritual illness to the (spiritual doctor). ………..
However, one should not be ashamed of telling him.
In this world this disclosure is to a single individual, in Here-after everyone will know it.
Here this single disclosure is beneficial in all aspects that it will lead to a cure, whereas the public disclosure in Hereafter will be nothing but explicit humility.
Kaleed e masnavi, volume 2, page 192-3
Do as You wish!
Sultan al Arifeen Shaykh Bayazeed Bustami (Allah sanctify his secret) said,
For thirty years I prayed, O Allah do this & don’t do that.
However, when I reached the very first step of realization (marifet) I pleaded,
My Lord! Be mine & do as You wish.
Mujama as Sulook, volume 2, p 111
Be afraid
(Allah said)
O Musa!
Be afraid of three things.
Me!
Your nafs (carnal desires), &
Anyone who is not afraid of Me!
Futuhat e Makiya, volume 37, p 265
Non-beneficial Knowledge
The Prophet of Allah (blessings and peace from Allah be on him) said,
The most severely tormented person on the Day of Resurrection will be a knowledgeable individual who did not benefit from his (own) knowledge.
Ihya al Uloom 1/31(Tabrani, Bayhaiqi)
Keep progressing
A seeker must never become content at a particular spiritual state.
He must constantly desire more progress. This is by worship & spiritual efforts, maintaining focus & firm determination, and sincere humble supplications.
Usool e Tasawwuf, Muqalat e Hakimul Ummat ra, volume 14, page 100
Enthusiasm
A seeker wrote, these days I feel completely listless. There is no enthusiasm at all for anything. This includes no eagerness to perform acts of worship.
Hakim al Umma Maulana Ashraf Ali Thanwi (Allah have mercy on him) replied,
Enthusiasm is not a necessary requirement. Performance of acts of worship (in itself) is an essential requirement.
Moreover, acts of worship done without enthusiasm entail hardship and hence carry more reward.
This tip is worth to be remembered forever.
Rafa adh dheeq an ahl tareeq, Muqalat e Hakim al Ummat, vol 14, page 72
Become a Muslim
Qutub Alam Shaikh Abdul Qudoos Al Gangohi (d:1537CE. Allah have mercy on him) said,
O Seeker of Truth! If the path of Islam was as easy (as you think) then everyone would become Shibli and Ibrahim bin Adham (Allah have mercy on them). (In reality) Until and unless you are a (true) Muslim from within you can never be a (real) Muslim from outside.
It is grieving and mournful to see these days that world is full of spiritual mentors (pir) and seekers (mureed) but no one can find a (true) Muslim.
What is mentor-seeker (piri-mureedi) relationship nowadays?
It is all idolatry and self-worship!
May Allah save us all from it. Ameen!
This is in reality my own mournful predicament. I tell it so others can learn from it.
Maktubaat e Qudoosiya, letter #111, page 480 (from Urdu translation by Shaikh Capt. Wahid Baksh Siyal rehmatullah aleh)
It
Golden Advice
Shaikh Syed Ahmed Kabeer Al Rifai said that I requested Shaikh Abdul Malik Al Herboni (Allah have mercy on them) for advice. He instructed
‘O Ahmed!
1. One who keeps looking left and right never achieves union (wisal).
2. One who has doubts seldom succeeds.
3. One who is not aware of his (spiritual) deficiencies all his time is spent in a deficient state.
Al Bayan ul mushyed, p120-1