Maseehul-quloob, Hadhrat Mawlana Maseehullah Khan sahib (Allah have mercy on him) said in regards to the spiritual progress:
“Being punctual in daily ma’moolat (wird) is a sign of proceeding in the right direction (towards the goal).”
Islah-afraoze bayanat, page 480
Karachi
A mureed wrote:
I can not recognize within myself any of the blame worthy moral traits. What should I do?
Sayyidi wa sanadi Mawlana Mohammad Taqi Usmani (Allah preserve him and allow us to benefit from him abundantly. Ameen!) replied;
“Read the section regarding the blame worthy morals in:
1. Tabligh deen (Urdu translation of “al-Arba’een” by Imam Ghazali), and
2. Basair-e-Hakeemul Ummat ra (A textbook of Tasawwuf by Dr. Abdul Hayy Arifi)
Reflect on each of these traits and search for their presence in your daily affairs.
Even after this if you do not see any of them, be thankful to Allah.
And if you feel or doubt their presence within your self then ask me.”
Islahi Khutoot
Allamah Sayyid Suleman Nadwi (Allah have mercy on him) said,
‘Even the Mathnawi of Mawlana Rumi (Allah have mercy on him) is not (a detailed systematic exposition of) Tasawwuf. It is a philosophical discussion of issues of Tasawwuf. It is meant for the treatment of those with distorted thinking. It is not intended for every one. ‘
Tazkirah e Suleman, page 332
Allamah Sayyid Suleman Nadwi (Allah have mercy on him) said,
‘Sultan al-azkar, shugal-e-anhad, kashaf-e-qaboor and things similar to them are not Tasawwuf. They are the art (creation meant to communicate or appeal to senses or mind) of Tasawwuf.
How can art be the reality?
The real purpose of Tasawwuf is to gain Allah’s pleasure and follow the example of Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace).
Yes, if any of these things are acquired involuntarily then it is another discussion.’
Tazkirah e Suleman, page 332
Karachi
New audios of
Sayyidi wa sanadi Hadhrat Mufti Muhammad Taqi Usmani (Allah preserve him)
2. Question And Answers Session (Urdu)
4. Question And Answers Session (English)
Source: Shariat.info
The great spiritual master Dhu’n Nun al-Masri (Allah have mercy on him) said:
“The early Muslims (salaf) would counsel each other with three counsels:
First: Whoever rectifies their relationship with Allah, Allah rectifies their relationships with people.
Second: Whoever rectifies their inward, Allah rectifies their outward.
Third: Whoever rectifies their Hereafter, Allah rectifies their worldly life.”
[Sharh al-Hikam al-Ghawthiyya, 111]
Source: Seeker’s Guidance
Arif-billah Dr. Abdul Hayy ‘Arifi (Allah have mercy on him) said,
It is not sufficient enough a goal to become a zakir (one who does excessive remembrance of Allah) and shagil (one who does spiritual exercises) only.
You acquired the nur by praying pre-dawn prayers (tahajjud) and doing remembrance of Allah. This is very good.
However, dear brother, is there a potential use of this nur?
The (nur of) remembrance of Allah makes the darkness go away, the obscurities fade, the rights and obligations become clear in front of you, the filthy and pure things become evident clearly in their appropriate places.
Now, why do you pick up the filth?
If by mistake you did this then remember Allah, throw it away and wash your hands.
(As a example:) Being a human you got angry. Now why do keep a grudge and intention of revenge? Throw away this filth and repent. The use of remembrance of Allah is to be shown here.
Sawanih wa ta’limat e Hazrat ‘Arifi, page 530
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Sayyidi wa sanadi Mawlana Mohammad Taqi Usmani (Allah preserve him) has repeatedly told us,
‘It must be remembered that these gatherings are not lectures and preaching sessions. The discussion here is to improve our spiritual condition. The first and foremost addressee is my own self.
Please, be attentive of this fact and have this intention of improving yourself. Otherwise it is a waste of time, energy and resources.’
Shaykh Mansur Ali Khan (Allah preserve him) said,
‘Every week we gather here to listen to religious discussion. It is imperative that we have a clear objective regarding these gatherings.
These are not lectures of formal religious education. These are training sessions (tarbiyeti) for the spiritual aspirants (salikeen).
Their objectives are, to
1. Create and nurture love of Allah and His beloved Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) in our hearts.
2. Develop the habit of turning (ruju’) to Allah in all circumstances via supplication (dua).
3. Emulating the Sunna method of doing things in every aspect of life.
4. Becoming cognizant of here-after and accountability for one’s deeds.
It is essential to have these goals in mind. It makes the journey easier by keeping you on the track and retuning to it if you slip.’
Sunday majlis, Jeddah, 3rd July 2010
Points to bear in mind for the daily routine (wird) of a novice seeker.
Go slow and easy initially.
Do not exhaust yourself by fixing a routine that is beyond your limits. (Inform the Shaykh upfront of your limitations).
Make lot of prayers (dua) for ease, guidance and acceptance from Allah in this regards.
Also, it must be remembered that all these things are supererogatory (nafil). They provide assistance in fulfilling the essential actions (wajibat) to gain Allah’s pleasure. The most important of which is to abstain from all that is impermissible (sins).
Also, your duties as a sonْ/daughter, brother/sister, spouse, parent, employee at work, or student in college have priority over all these nafil activities. This means that when there is a clash between these two kind of activities precedence in given to the wajib. If there is no clash then it is highly recommended to do them diligently.
Min ifadat e murshidi
Hakim al-Umma Mawlana Ashraf ‘Ali Thanawi (Allah have mercy on him) said,
‘My respected teacher Mawlana Yaqub Nanotawi (Allah have mercy on him) used to advice the seekers that they should end their routine activities (wird, tilawat, tasbihat, readings, etc.) before they loose complete interest in them. Leaving a desire to still do more. If they do not do this they will have a burnout (experience of long-term exhaustion and diminished interest) eventually.
Allah save us all form this.
To make it easier to understand he gave the example of yo-yo (Urdu:chakai/chukdor). The tip for successful play is to pull the string before it unwinds completely. If it were to unwind totally the yo-yo spool will never return and just dangle there aimlessly.
Similar is the tip for a salik (and the instructing murshid) to keep the flame of interest and desire burning.
Undertaking too much, too quickly with drastic lifestyle changes over a short period of time is usually spiritually unhealthy.
The natural spiritual growth is slow, continuous and imperceptible process. Just like the physical development. Years and decades are required to reach and manifest the signs of spiritual puberty and maturity.
A perfect murshid (Shaykh-e-kamil) is needed for this reason.
(Paraphrased. Malfuz reported in Majalis e Hakim al-Ummat ra, and repeated many times by sayyidi wa sanadi wa murshidi Mufti Mohammad Taqi Usmani (Allah preserve him) in his discourses.)
Giving instructions to a newly appointed mujaz sayyidi wa sanadi Shaykh Mufti Taqi Usmani (Allah preserve him) said,
The first and most essential thing is,
1. Never to be negligent of one’s own islah.’
Hidayet baraay e mujazeen
This reality has to be realized that islah never ends.
It is an ongoing process.
Hakim al-Umma Mawlana Ashraf Ali Thanawi (Allah have mercy on him) used to repeatedly tell the salikeen that if a person gets the idea that he has acquired a praiseworthy trait or state and gotten rid of a blame-worthy one then he should be extremely suspicious of this.
He gave this example to make it easy to understand.
That is, if a person is aware that he is sleeping then his sleep is defective. It is not a genuine sleep. A sleeping person is completely unaware of his sleep.
Similar is the case of a salik.
He should always rely completely on his Shaykh’s instructions and be suspicious of all his activities considering himself to a novice just initiated.
Min ifadat sayyidi wa sanadi Hazrat murshidi db
Like previous masters of the path Hakim al-Umma Mawlana Ashraf Ali Thanawi (may Allah have mercy on him) made it explicitly clear that Tasawwuf is a practical thing which has to be experienced personally.
It is, however, important to clear a misconception which especially plagues those who stress on reading the advanced text of Tasawwuf dealings with higher spiritual realities of experiences and unveilings without proper guidance of a Shaykh.
We mistakenly set an imaginary expected standard for this experiential knowledge.
For example, in love of Allah and His Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace) we select Sheikh Abdul Qadir Jilani or Khawajah Moinuddin Chishti ra’s state of love. And when this not happen within our expected short time frame, we feel at loss.
This is inappropriate. This is the path (tareeq) of slave hood (abdiyat). Our under-par desires, immature wishes and unrealistic standards have no place in this path. They have to be annihilated (fana).
Sayyidi wa sanadi Mawlana Mohammad Taqi Usmani (Allah preserve him) repeatedly tells us that after implementing the requirements of Shariah correctly (with the additional aid of the Shaykh’s instruction) experiential knowledge will be gained by each and every salik. It will develop accordingly to our aptitude and effort. Moreover, with persistence in these spiritual works of body and heart it will, inshaAllah, increase both in quantity and quality over time and become ingrained in us.
mun ifadat e sayyidi wa sanadi Hazrat murshidi db
Shahykh Shah Wasiullah (Allah have mercy on him) said,
‘Are you aware of the reason that why some of the people who come here (for islah &ta’aluq maAllah) do not benefit?
The reason is that this path (tariq) essentially requires propriety (adab) and reverence (aqidat).
People consider this path to be similar to the conditions in secular schools where a tutor teaches and the pupil learn irrespective of having any reverence for him. The student learns even if he does not show any respect to the teacher.
They consider that the teaching in Tasawwuf is also like this and there is no need of reverence and propriety towards the Shaykh.
Shaykh’s instructions are considered to be beneficial and are memorized, however, there is no reverence for the Shaykh in their heart. It is for this reason that they do not benefit.
It is as though Tasawwuf is now considered to be another branch of science and arts. In reality, it is a practical and experiential entity.
Hakim al-Umma Mawlana Ashraf Ali Thanawi (Allah have mercy on him) told us multiple times that if someone questioned Shaykh Haji Imdadullah mohajir Makki (Allah have mercy on him) regarding an issue (mas’ala) of Tasawwuf. He used to admonish the inquirer and tell him that this is not a school (maderasa) whenever (a need is felt and) I find it appropriate I will explain it.’
Taharet e qalb, Nifaq ka bayan, page 83
