Sidi wa Sanadi Hazrat Moulana Mohammad Taqi Usmani db tells us,

That when his oldest brother Moulana Zaki Kaifi ra (father of Moulana Mehmood Ashraf Usmnai db) learned to write Urdu, the first thing he was instructed by his father to write was a letter to Hakeeul Ummat Moulana Ashraf Ali Thanwi quds sirrahu.

Hazrat Hakeemul Ummat ra replied encouraging him abundantly. He also instructed him that, ” now you should try to improve your hand writing with the intention that this will make it easier for people to read. See, that I am making you a Sufi you from this age.”

Correcting the intention and saving others from slightest discomfort are the essence of Tasawwuf.

Sayyidi wa sanadi Hazrat Moulana Mohammad Taqi Usmani sahib db said;

These days majority of people think that reciting lots of dhikr, litanies and tasbehat is tasawwuf.

This is totally incorrect.

Tasawwuf primarily deals with cleansing the soul (nafs) from impurities of bad moral traits, such as arrogance, envy, anger, etc. and adnorning it with good characteristics, such as love of Allah swt & His Messenger, patience, thankfulness, etc.

The dhikr, litanies and tasbehat usually prescribed by shuyuk are for facilitating the achievement of this goal. They are supplementary to the primary effort of reforming one’s character. They are like vitamins. But we know that vitamins alone without proper nutritious diet can never result in good health.

Therefore, keep it very clear upfront what tasawwuf is.

Hakeemul Ummat Moulana Ashraf Ali Thanwi ra said;

“The real knowledge (‘ilm) is perceiving the reality which makes you restless until you act according to it. This knowledge (‘ilm) is acquired via an inspirational state (haal). This inspirational state (haal) is acquired by the company of Pious (ahlel-Allah).”

Ahsan us Sawanih page 42

Hazrat Allama Syed Suliman Nadvi ra khalifa of Hakeemul Ummmat ra said;

“Yearning to achieve Allah swt’s pleasure in each and every action is the end result of this tareeq (path).
And when this relationship is firmly established between Allah swt and His slave, it is known as the ‘nisbet’ in sufi parlance.”

Tazkeraeya-e-Suliman ra pg 412

In response to a question by a spiritual aspirant Arifbillah Dr. Abdul Hayy ra said;

“First find out of what is this yearning of yours for and how will? your thirst? be quenched.
Also, find out what deen (religion) is and why do you want it?

Establishing the goal is essential.
If the goal is attainment of pleasure (ridha) of Allah swt then understanding what is meant by it is necessary. May be the aspirant might have a different understanding of attainment of pleasure of Allah swt. He may consider it to be the recitation of special formulas and litanies (award o wazaif), renouncing the worldly (tark-e-dunya), abandoning the pleasures (tark-e-lazaat), or unveiling (kashef) & performing supernatural acts(karamat).

Life has many up and downs and no one knows which major hurdles (crises) one may pass through. What are you going to do if at any point in this life’s course you are unable to ascertain whether Allah swt is pleased with you or not?

The safest way is to consider obeying the commands of Allah swt as the goal.

Once you know this is the goal then persist on performing actions as per Shariah.

Ya bum aw ra ya na yabum aarzooay mekuniem
Hasil aayad ya na aayad justoojoay mekuniem

Sawanih wa ta’lemat e Hazrat Arifi ra pg 529

Ba’yit or Ahed is a solemn pledge. It hallmarks an agreement between the Sheikh and a spiritual aspirant. That is, in order to gain Allah swt’s pleasure the aspirant agrees to receive and obey the guidance and instruction from the Sheikh. And the Sheikh kindly accepts to direct him accordingly.

This is the reality of ba’yit.

Outwardly it takes the form of holding the hand of the Sheikh, who recites some Quranic verses, hadith and ask the mureed to repent for all previous sins and make a solemn affirmation of not committing them ever again. Also he announces that the aspirant is now a member of xyzSufi order. Then he instructs him accordingly.

Indeed, this outwardly form of ba’yit is filled with barakah. Being a Sunnah (ghair muakkidah) and the practice of saintly elders it has its own benefits. It is not an ordinary thing.

However, without the above mentioned reality it is a form devoid of soul.

History of religions is evident of the fact that with passage of time and spiritual decline means become goals by themselves and realities are ignored. Rituals and ceremonies eclipse the real meaning intended.

Same has happened with Tasawwuf. Ba’yit has become a ceremony. It is considered to be a goal by itself. This is not the correct teaching of Tasawwuf. Essential thing is continuously receiving instructions and acting on them as guided.

For this reason, in our tariq, ba’yit is deferred initially. The instruction and guidance starts immediately. However, the ba’yit is as a principle is delayed till the Sheikh is satisfied that the individual is sincere to follow the path and is doing so to the best of his ability. And, moreover, the potential mureed understands and agrees with the methodology of the Sheikh and himself acknowledges increasing benefit from these instructions.

This time period may be days or years.

The best deal is: Try before you buy.

Once the potential mureed sees himself grow spiritually, the real importance of ba’yit will become evident to him. However, if such is not the case, he will be free to try his luck somewhere else.

Contd.

Observing all of these [· 1. Excessive remembrance of Allah swt· 2. Observance of Sunnah, in all matters· 3. Keeping company with pious.Those who already have this strong relationship with Allah swt (Ahlil-Allah)· 4. Being thankful for the bounties of Allah swt.At the same time reflecting about our attitude in regards to them· 5. Being steadfast in following the rulings of Shariah· 6. Asking Allah swt (dua) a lot.] simultaneouly to the best of one’s ability, under the guidance and supervision of a Sheikh will, inshaAllah, result in t’aluq ma’Allah/Love of of Allah swt, indeed. There can be no doubts about this. Being steadfast and patient is the key.

An ill person receiving appropriate treatment needs a longer duration to acknowledge his health himself and has to rely on the satisfaction/opinion of his physician regarding his health.

Important to realize is the fact that this relationship (t’aluq) is mutual between Allah swt and His slave (abd). That is, from the slave total submission is required (following Shariah completely) and on it acceptance (ridha) of Allah swt occurs. One of this can not exist without the other integral. In summary acceptance can not exist for someone acting against Shariah (i.e. he comits sin).

However, once this relationship(t’aluq) has matured and reached a certain level, a person quickly acknowledges his mistake and makes sincere effort to repent and improve. He can not remain without doing this! And eventually when fully matured this relationship saves the individual from all froms of sins completely.

Hence the signs of this relationship(t’aluq) are:
1. Remembering Allah swt all the time, (as one is infront of Him), and
2. Being steadfast in observing the commands of Shariah.

Remeber this relationship/Love is the soul of this path.

May Allah swt, the Kind and the Benevolent, give us a iota of this Love. Ameen.

mujhay aasan hogaiy(n) manzilai(n) awar hawa kay rukh bhi badel gayaa,
tera hath, hath sey kiya laga, keh chirag rah kay jal gayaa.