Category Archives: A. Reality of Tasawwuf

The nature, definition, goals and principles of Tasawwuf

یکسوئی کے اقسام

shah_jahan_mosque

حال: بوجہ کمزوری دماغ بموجب حکم حضور بعد تہجد بارہ تسبیح بلا ضرب کے آہستہ کہ معمول ہے، مگر بوقت ذکر یکسوئی نہیں ہوتی۔

 

تحقیق حکیم الامت مولانا اشرف علی تھانوی رحمۃ اللہ علیہ: یکسوئی نہ ہونے کی جو شکایت لکھی ہے (اس کا علاج یہ ہے کہ) اپنی طرف سے دوسرے خیالات کا استحضار نہ کیا جاوے، اگر اس پر بھی یکسوئی نہ ہو تو مضر نہیں۔

 

جس یکسوئی کا نہ ہونا مضر ہے وہ یکسوئی اعتقادی ہے، ایسے یکسو کو حنیف کہتے ہیں۔ اس کی تحصیل واجب ہے، اور اختیاری ہے۔

 

باقی خیالی یکسوئی وہ نہ اختیاری ہے نہ واجب اور نہ اس کا عدم مضر ہے۔

 

اس بات کو خوب یاد رکھنا چاہیۓ۔

اس کے نہ جاننے سے بہت لوگ پریشان ہیں۔

 

تربیت السالک، جلد 1، ص518

Tafwidh

izz-lillah2

Tafwidh is to assign one’s all affairs to Allah.

Allah may do with one as He desires.

One’s aspiration and hope should be on none besides Allah. In addition to employing the means and the methods, the result of all things should be left to Allah.

Tafwid is accquired by immediately reflecting when being confronted with an event which is in conflict with one’s liking that this is from Allah and most assuredly there is wisdom and goodness in it.

In the beginning it will be difficult to acquire this attitude. However, constant reflection facilitates it and then this attitude assumes a natural condition in the Pious (Auliyaa).

Shariat wa Tasawwuf, Mawlana Masihullah Khan ra

Humility of the Prophet

 ieterafezunub1 

 Following is an extract from the supplications of our master, the mercy to the Universe Prophet Mohammad (Allah’s blessings and peace be upon him). It is very much reflective of his slavehood (abdiyet).

 

اللهم إنك تسمع كلامي

وترى مكاني وتعلم سري وعلانيتي

لا يخفى عليك شيء من أمري و

أنا البائس الفقير

المستغيث المستجير , الوجل المشفق

المقر المعترف بذنبه

أسألك مسألة المسكين

وأبتهل إليك ابتهال المذنب الذليل

وأدعوك دعاء الخائف الضرير

دعاء منخضعت لك رقبته 

وذل لك جسمه , ورغم لك أنفه

 

O Allah! You hear my speech and behold my situation.
You know my secret and open matters.
None of my affairs is concealed from You!
And I am the miserable, needy, suppliant, succor seeking,
fearful and anxious person who confesses and recognizes his sins.
I beg you – the begging of a destitute.
I implore you – the imploring of an abased sinner.
And I make dua to You – the dua of the fearful afflicted person,
whose neck is bowed down before You,
whose eyes pour out tears before You,
whose body is humbled before You and
whose nose touches the ground for You repeatedly.

(Munajat-e-Maqbul, manzil #3 (Monday) , Supplication #108)

May Allah bless us with some degree of this humility. Amin!

Right of the Shaykh

breach-of-trust

Imam Qushairy (Allah have mercy on him) said,

“It is essential (wajib) for the murid to conceal his private affairs with utmost vigilance.  He should not disclose them to his closest friend.

However, this concealment should not be done when dealing with the Shaykh.

If an individuals hides even a single breath from his Shaykh then indeed he has committed a great breach of trust in the rights of the Shaykh.”

Nasihah-lil-mustarshadin translation of last chapter of ‘Risala Qushairia: al-wasiay lil-murideen‘, via Ma’arif e Sufiya, page 310

اصل مقصود و تبلیغ

 

احمد تو عاشقی بمشیخیت ترا چہ کار

دیوانہ باش سلسلہ شد شد نشد نشد

 

(مجمع بڑھانے کی کوشش) فضول تو اسی درجہ میں ہے جب کہ

 اس سےضروریات و معمولات میں خلل نہ ہو، اگر اس کی بھی نوبت

آنے لگے تو پھر سدراہ ہے۔

 

لوگ کہتے ہیں کہ ہماری نیت تو مخلوق کی ہدایت ہے،

سو یاد رکھو کہ

 اصل مقصود اپنا وصول الی اللہ ہے،

 دوسروں کا ایصال بھی اسی لئے مطلوب ہے کہ

 اس کے ذریعہ سے ہم کو بھی وصول تام ہو جاۓ،

حق تعالی راضی ہوجائیں۔

 ورنہ ایصال خلق خود بالذات مطلوب نہیں، خصوص جبکہ

مخل وصول ہونے لگے۔

 پس اصلی کوشش اپنے وصول کے لئے کرنا۔

 

البتہ بدون کاوش اور گھیر گھار کے کوئی طالب آجاۓ اور

اس کی طلب بھی محقق ہوجاۓ

 تو اس کی خدمت کردینے کا بھی مضائقہ نہیں، بلکہ طاعت ہے۔

 

باقی یہ کیا واہیات ہے کہ ساری کوشش سلسلہ بڑھانے ہی

کے لئے کی جاتی ہے اور

 اپنے وصول کی فکر نہیں۔

 

وعظ: الوصل وہلفصل، خطبات حکیم الامت رح، جلد 15/ص 192

Why dhikr alone isn’t sufficient to give up sins?

mawajjah-sharif1

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

‘Recently a person inquired that is it beyond the capacity and effects of remembrance of Allah (dhikr) that sins are abandoned automatically and no additional determination and effort be required to do so?

I told him that my Shaykh (Arif-billah Dr Abdul Hayy Arifi, Allah have mercy on him) used to tell us that the remembrance (dhikr) and tasbihat (wird) provides a form of energy that makes it easy to give up sins and creates a desire to do good actions.  It facilitates these two provided one uses his determination to act accordingly.

Understand this by an  example.  Suppose there is a student suffering from mental debility. A physician prescribes a tonic for him and instructs him to drink it daily to energize his brain. Now if this student assumes that after taking this medicine he does not have to study the textbooks and only taking the tonic will be sufficient to pass the exam then this is an explicit proof of his stupidity. This is because the medicine was prescribed to cure the mental weakness and lead to facilitation of studying and remembering the course material.

Similar is the condition of these dhikr, tasbihat and other awrad.  One has to use his determination to abandon sins even after doing these activities.’

Bait al-mukkaram masjid, Karachi, Friday waaz 30th November 1990

Fana fi Rasool

maratibefana1

Shaykh Shah Wasiullah (Allah have mercy on him) said,

“Commonly people state that after achieving annihilation in Shaykh (fana fi Shaykh) the status of annihilation in Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace) is attained and after this annihilation in Allah (fana fil Allah) can be obtained.

However, at practical level it is observed that they are content at annihilation in Shaykh (fana fi Shaykh) and do not progress further.

I do not approve of this.

Moreover, I consider a Shaykh to be negligent in fulfilling the obligation of the path (tariq) and of his status by not guiding the disciple to the realization (ma’arifa ) of the Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace). ‘

Tazkirah Muslih al-Ummat ra, page 105

At another place Shaykh elucidates that by ma’arifa of Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace) it is meant recognizing the significance of following his example (Sunna). ( page 104)

At another place Shaykh repeats,

‘Moreover, the only feat for Shaykh is to ensure that the disciple reaches Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace). If he does not do this then he has not fulfilled his obligations and not done the essential job entrusted to him.’ (103)

علوم تصوف و تزکیہ کی تفصیل

attasawwuf1

از حضرت حکیم الامت مولانا اشرف علی تھانوی رحمۃ اللہ علیہ ،

 

1۔ مقامات

مقصود اصلی اس طریق میں اصلاح اعمال باطنی ہیں اور ان اعمال کو اصطلاح میں اخلاق و مقامات کہتے ہیں۔

 

2۔ احوال

وہ امور جو بمنزلہ ثمرات غیر اختیاریہ اصلاح مذکور کے ہیں۔

 

3۔ اشغال

وہ امور جو ان ثمرات کے معین و بمزلہ اسباب حصول  ہیں۔

 

4۔ تعلیمات

وہ امور جو کسی اشتباہ کا دفع یا کسی مرض کا علاج یا کسی عمل کا طرز و طریق بتلائیں۔

 

5۔ علامات

وہ  امور اختیاری یا غیر اختیاری جو ان ثمرات کے آثار ظاہری ہیں۔

 

6۔فضائل

وہ امور از قبیل نصوص جو ان اخلاق و صفات محمودہ پر بشارت دینے والے ہیں۔

 

7۔ عادات و آراب

وہ امور جو از قسم افعال اختیاریہ بمزلہ امور طبعیہ اس قوم صوفیہ کے ہیں۔

 

8۔ رسوم

وہ افعال از قسم افعال مباحہ مبنی بر بعض مصالح غیر ضروریہ۔

 

9۔ مسائل

وہ امور جو محض تحقیقات علمیہ ہیں۔

 

10۔ اقوال

وہ امور جو از قسم عبارات ہیں۔

 

11۔ توجیہات

وہ امور جو ظاہرنظر میں حدودجواز سے متجاوز معلوم ہوتے ہیں، اگر واقع میں وہ داخل حدود ہیں تو ان کی نسبت جو تاویل اور تطبیق کی جاۓ وہ۔

 

12۔ اصلاح

اور اگر واقع میں بھی خارج حدود ہیں تو اس میں جو تنبیہ کی جاۓ۔

 

13۔ متفرقات

بہت کم ایسے امور جو ان کلیات میں سے کسی کی فرد نہ ہوں۔

 

التکشف 258

مواعظ اشرفیہ

mawaizeashrafiya1

حضرت حکیم الامت مولانا اشرف علی تھانوی رحمۃ اللہ علیہ کے وعظ لاتعداد لوگوں کی زندگی میں ایک خوشگوار ایمانی تبدیلی کا باعث بنتے رہے ہیں۔

 

صحیح فہم دین پیدا اور جذبہ عمل کو بیدار کرنے کے لئے ان کی افادیت کیمیا اثر ہے۔

 

سیدی و سندی حضرت مولانا محمد تقی عثمانی صاحب مدظلہ طالبین اصلاح کو ان کے مطالعہ کی خصوصی ہدایت فرماتے ہیں۔

 

الحمدللہ اب پھر سے انٹرنیٹ پریہ مواعظ موجود ہیں۔

 آللہ سبحانہ و تعالی اس کام کو انجام دینے والوں کو دنیا و آخرت میں اجر عظیم عنایت فرمایئں۔ آمین!

The Goal

bismblack

Grand-Shaykh Haji ‘Abd al-Rahim Wilayati Shahid (1246 H)  instructed his khalifa Mianji Nur Muhmmad Jhinjhanawi (1259 H) (may Allah have mercy on them),

‘The main purpose and goal is for one to remain steadfast on the Shari‘a — both outwardly and inwardly — at all times, and abstain from all manners of shirk and bida’. ‘

more…………….

The absolute following of the Shaykh

foot-steps-on-rippled-sand.jpg

The issue of complete and unquestionable following of the Shaykh is usually described in such a dreadful manner that makes most of the listeners wary of Tasawwuf in general. This is very detrimental especially in this era of religious ignorance and arrogance. Below is an extract explaining the reality of this following.

Hakim al-Umma Mawlana Ashraf ‘Ali Thanawi (may Allah have mercy on him) wrote,

“This following is neither in beliefs (aqaid) nor in unveiling (kashafiyat), other collective issues (masail) and economic matters. It is only in methods of approach, diagnosis, instructions and treatment of spiritual diseases and issues related to spiritual reformation. Moreover,this following is further restricted to the mutual agreement of murid and the Shaykh on the permissibility of the issue. If there is a difference of opinion then it is against the way of people of the path (tareeq) to indulge in a debate with the Shaykh, when following his advice will be against the Shariah ruling. In this situation the best etiquette (adab) between the two proprieties (adab of Shariah and Shaykh) is to consult the scholars or do research of his own (if he is capable of it) and establish a ruling. He should then inform the Shaykh that I do not consider this particular action to be permissible and it is from the teaching of our path (silsila), what should I do? If the Shaykh still instructs him to do the same then it is best to abandon this Shaykh. However, if he gives the permission to forgo this action then this is also following his instruction in proxy.

This is the meaning of absolute following (itiba’ e kamil).

That is, complete following (of the Shaykh) must be done in whatever diseases of the lower self (nafs) he has diagnosed, the prescription he has provided and the permissible actions he has instructed to carry out, the permissibility of which Shaykh and murid agree mutually upon. Murid should not interfere in these issues at all with his opinions. It does not entail following in matters beside these issues.

Mawlana Abdul Majid Dayabadi ra’s book, Hakim al-Umma ra, page 304, quote taken from Al-‘Itedal fi matba’t ar-Rijal

Concern for others

alaikum

An individual wrote:

Now the only source of misery at home is the condition of younger brother.  It is the same as it was previously.  I pray for him daily, asking Allah that he gives up the habit of lying and embezzlement. These two problems are usually the cause of most of the suffering.  He is destroying both, his religion and worldly life. I request you to pray (make dua) for him and advice any practical solution to achieve this.

Hakim al-UmmatMawlana Ashraf Ali Thanawi(Allah have mercy on him)  replied:

‘I have no hesitation in making dua for him.

However, as far as the request for practical solution is concerned, for inept like us it is best to be concerned with our self rather than for others.

That is,
“فکر خود کن، فکر بیگانہ مکن “
(Be worried about yourself; do not be anxious regarding others’ condition.)

Moreover, there comes a time when even for the best and perfect individuals (kamileen) it is advisable:

عليكم انفسكم لا يضركم من ضل اذا اهتديتم

And that happens when even after substantial efforts other do not pay heed.”

Tarbiyatus Salik, volume 3 page 190

Repentance

repentance11

Shaykh Abd al-Ghani al-Rifai’ (Allah have mercy on him) instructed the novice disciples,

‘The rights of other that are due must be fulfilled or forgiveness sought for them.

If one finds himself  unable to do this now, then he should make a firm determination to do so whenever it is possible for him.

In the mean time he should continuously make supplications for the aggrieved individual and ask forgiveness for himself.

For example, he should says hundred times daily, ‘O Allah! I seek forgiveness in matters related to rights of other individuals (huqooq al-ibad).’  This recitation should continue till he fulfills these obligations as outlined above.

This is because repentance (tawbah) is the reality and foundation of this path (tareeq). In fact it is the very first station of the path.

Takhlees Tarsi’ al-Jawahir al-Makkiyah fi tazkiya tal-ikhlaq al-mardhiyah, page 78

Related: Clearing financial matters first!