Category Archives: B. Praise worthy morals

The good moral characteristics that are to be developed within one’s self

Company of awliya

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

‘Once a person asked Hakim al-Umma (Allah have mercy on him), that the famous verse;
Yak zamana suhbat ba awliya
Behter az sed sala ta’et e bay-riya
(Momentary companionship of Friends of Allah is better than hundred years of sincere worship) seems to be an exaggeration. How can this be possible?

Hakim al-Umma replied,

‘It was no exaggeration at all. Moreover, the message was still not completely conveyed. If the poet had said;
Yak zamana suhbat ba awliya
behter az sed lekh sala ta’et e bay-riya
(Momentary company of Friends of Allah is better than million years of sincere worship), it would not have been an exaggeration.”

This is because in the company of pious/awliya you get more than the sincerity. You get the ta’uluq ma’Allah/love of Allah swt. This is the master key for all the further good actions.’

Cognizant sinner

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Hakim al-Umma Mawlana Ashraf Ali Thanawi (Allah have mercy on him) said  something smilar to the following in one of his discourses,

The minimum  benefits of maintaining regular correspondence with  a Shaykh ( in form of islahi-ta’luq) is that it makes an individual a cognizant sinner (baydar gunahgar).

That is, if God-forbid he commits a sin he will be aware of this mistake. He will have remorse. This will evetually lead him to turn to Allah in form of repentance and supplication for forgiveness, protection and improvement.

 

An Essential Principle

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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 because, once these moral characteristics are successfully developed the outward actions are rectified automatically.”

Aspirant/Salik needs to understand and assimilate this principle very clearly upfront.

Maasir e Hakeemul Ummat ra 163

Bridgeport, WV

Tasawwuf summarized


Mawlana Wasiullah Allah have mercy on him) said;

“Three things are the sum up of Tasawwuf;

1. Shunning the heedlessness (ghaflah),

2. Getting rid of blame worthy moral traits (razail/muhlekat e nafs). (For example: anger, arrogance, envy, hatred, etc)

3. Being on alert of the various in coming thoughts/ideas (that may be either useless or leading to transgression).”

Halaat e Muslehul Ummat 379

Bridgeport, WV

Differentiation between hatred for the sake of Allah SWT vs hatred for nafs

BleedingHeart

Hakim al-Umma Mawlana Ashraf Ali Thanawi (Allah have mercy on him) said commenting on the verse 4 of surah al-Mumtahana:

There is for you an excellent example (to follow) in Abraham and those with him, when they said to their people: “We are clear of you and of whatever ye worship besides Allah. We have rejected you, and there has arisen, between us and you, enmity and hatred for ever, unless ye believe in Allah and Him alone”: But not when Abraham said to his father: “I will pray for forgiveness for thee, though I have no power (to get) aught on thy behalf from Allah.” (They prayed): “Our Lord! in Thee do we trust, and to Thee do we turn in repentance: to Thee is (our) Final Goal.

‘There is explicit evidence in this that the hatred that is for the sake of Allah (bugz fil Allah) does not lead to abandoning of kindness and consideration (for that individual), as compared to the hatred that is due to one’s self (nafs).’

Masail us Sulook min Kalam Malik ul Mulook, page 508

47th IDSA, Philadelphia, PA

Our benefactor: Nafs & Shaytan?

Arif-billah Dr. Abdul Hayy ‘Arifi (may Allah have mercy on him) said,

“My respected Shaykh (Hakim al-Umma) used to say with much amusement,

‘Don’t always quibble about the inner-self (nafs) and Shaytan.

In a sense they are also our benefactor. That is, if there was no sinful ideation by them how could we progress spiritually?

See it for yourself. They instigate us to sin but with firm determination we avoid it. This leads to registering of reward for not sinning in our records.

God forbid, if we slip and commit sin, then immediately we feel remorse and repent making supplication for forgiveness.  The feeling of inadequacy and incompetence arises. The pride of sanctimony and self-righteousness vanishes.  Moreover in the heart the feeling of spiritual collapse and humility is born. This is the servitude (abdiyet) that Allah likes the most. 

Now deduce from all of this how our innerself (nafs) and Shaytan are becoming a source of bringing us close to Allah, Most High.

The only essential condition (to achieve this benefit) is that one should not be negligent of their tricks.”

Ta’lemat e “Arifi, page 62

Washington DC

Principles of tareeq

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Shaykh Wasiullah Allahabadi (Allah have mercy on him) quotes from the book ‘Minhej al-A’amal’, that from the principles of the people of Tasawwuf are,

1.  Eating the lawful (halal)

2.  Having the beautiful manners (husun e khulq), and

3.  Avoiding the company of those who do not share the same goal as the salik (azdad/najins).

Tasawwuf wa nisbet o ihsan, via Ma’arif e Sufiya, page 301-3

Salik’s mistake

manarafa

The genuine remorse, sadness and humiliation on realization of committing sins acts as a catalyst in spiritual progress of a salik.

It makes him aware of his deficiencies. The self-praise (ujub) and arrogance (kibr) are wiped off. A stronger feeling of dependency on Allah’s mercy and grace develops. He make more supplications and turning to Allah (ruju illAllah) with humility asking for forgiveness and protection from future such calamities.

In summary the mistakes of those on the path become a stepping stone for them in their progress.

(This is true only for the sincere salik who is trying his best and occasionally slips because of his ba-shar-iyat (humanness). This discussion can not be used to justify sinning by those who intentionally plan and commit sins.)

Worship

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Hakim al-Umma Mawlana Ashraf Ali Thanawi (Allah have mercy on him) wrote in reply to a salik’s letter who had complained of decreasing interest and engrossment,

‘There are various ways of worshipping. Contemplation is also worship, remembrance without counting is also worship, and considering one’s self to be unprivileged, undeserving, deficient and imperfect is also worship. Hence, the objective is always achievable.

However, there are two undesired states, disobedience (ma’asiyet) and heedlessness (gaflah). And all praise is to Allah, you do not have them.

The overwhelming rapture (ghalba) and engrossing interest (shauq) are from the transitional states. The lack of them is not detrimental for the salik. Moreover, these states can not stay at the same level for ever.’

Tarbiyet us Salik, volume 1, page 592

Burying the past and moving ahead

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Recently Shaykh Mawlana Mohammad Taqi Usmani (may Allah preserve him) advised a murid to bury the past and make a fresh start.

Burying the past may sound a simple thing but in reality it is a big spiritual struggle (mujahidah) with many benefits.

For all of us it is a common event to slip and commit mistakes. These mistakes may be in exoteric (dhahiri) or esoteric (batini) works. Sometimes we are cognizant of our mistakes and at others oblivious. However, a true seeker is very much disturbed by these mistakes. He is ashamed infront of Allah, disheartened on his ability to control his desires, disillusioned by the effectiveness of the path in preventing this disaster and anxious about the future similar mishaps.

These are the moments when the need of a perfect spiritual mentor – the Shaykh-e-kamil, is essential to save the seeker from falling further in to the trap of Satan and lower self (nafs).  It is he who guides the murid out of this depressive and self-destructive attitude and puts him back on the path towards Allah.

He does so by,

a.  Giving the seeker hope. That is, it is human to err and Allah is Most Merciful to those who acknowledge their short comings.

b. Instruction to forget the past. Bury it. If this is not done, its dead body will rot and the stench emanating from it will spoil the best aroma of sincere good acts done in future. Also, remembering the sins after sincere repentance is wrong and leads to decreasing relationship with Allah.

c. To be concerned with improving the present condition right now. For this today will tomorrow become yesterday. A thing of past.

If handled in this way each and every mistake and fall of the sincere seeker results in increasing relationship with Allah, enhanced humility and complete dependence on His kindness and mercy. 

A seeker should remember that these falling episodes are not uncommon and continue until a permanent spiritual serenity (tamkeen) is achieved (which usually happens after years of sincere effort by method described above). Until then he/she has to bury the past with sincere repentance and move forwards on the path with renewed vigor.

And its facilitation is surely from Allah, Most High.

Love of Allah

wadud

Respected Dr. Nadeemul Haq (Pakistanwala) inquired,

‘How can the love of Allah be obtained?’

Sayyidi wa sanadiShaykh Mufti Mohammad Taqi Usmani (Allah prserve him) replied,

‘By,

1. Keeping the comapany (suhba) of those who already have this love.

2. Acknowledging the bounties and blessings of Allah.

3. Excessive remembrance (dhikr) of Allah all the time.’

Sunday, 9th December 1990, between ‘asr & maghrib. Hazret’s residence, Darul Uloom Karachi. Meeeting with Drs. SA Ahmer, Saqib ZH, Saeed Qaiser, etc.

Reminder:Parents & relatives!

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Your Lord has decreed that you worship none but Him, and do good to parents. If any one of them or both of them reach old age, do not say to them: uff (a word or expression of anger or contempt) and do not scold them, and address them with respectful words,

and submit yourself before them in humility out of compassion, and say, “My Lord, be merciful to them as they have brought me up in my childhood.”

Your Lord knows best what is in your hearts. If you are righteous, then He is Most-Forgiving for those who turn to Him in repentance.

Give the relative his right, and the needy and the wayfarer. And do not squander recklessly.

Surely, squanderers are brothers of satans, and the Satan is very ungrateful to his Lord.

[Quran, 17:23 – 27]

Action required:Turning to Allah SWT

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Addressing the audience sayyidi wa sanadi Hazrat Mawlana Mohammad Taqi Usmani (Allah preserve him) said :

“These things (that are being told) are to be acted upon.

Mere listening (or reading) is of no use.

Develop the habit of turning to Allah and asking His refuge immediately, whenever a worrisome or disturbing thought occurs.

Once this habit is developed not a single moment passes without one being in contact with Allah.”

Ina’mul bari volume 2 page 248

Khilafat?

ijazatnamamodified

Shaykh Haji Imdadullah mohajir Makki gave khilafat to Mawlana Rasheed Ahmad Gangohi (Allah have mercy on them) after eight days and told him: ‘Moulvi Rasheed Ahmed sahib whatever favour (nimat) Allah has bestowed upon me, He has also bestowed upon you. It will be your duty to go develop that nimat and work on it.’

Mawlana Gangohi used to say: ‘I was very surprised. I could not understand what nimat he was referring to, which had been granted to him and also to me. I only managed to understand and realise what it was fifteen years later.’

[Tazkira e Khaleel vol 1]

From: Aap beeti

Shaykh Dr. Abdul Hayy Arifi (Allah have mercy on him) explicitly told his khulafa (Mufti Rafi Usmani db, Mufti Taqi Usmani db, Mufti Sehban Mehmood ra and others) to wait for spiritual puberty & maturity (of wich they will become undoubtedly aware of themselves) before taking the responsibility of being a Shaykh in spite of having recieved permission (ijazet) to guide others.

مسلمانوں کا اس وقت مرض

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مولانا سید ابوالحسن علی ندوی رحمۃ اللہ علیہ فرماتے ہیں، 

میرے نزدیک مسلمانوں کا اس وقت مرض نہ کفر ہے نہ جہل ہے

 اور نہ عمومی و عالمگیر فسق۔

ان کا مرض ظاہر و باطن کا اختلاف،

 عقیدہ و عمل کی عدم مطابقت،

 دعوے اور عمل کا تضاد،

 عبادت اور اخلاق میں نہ صرف عدم مناسبت بلکہ بعد،

 دنیا کو آخرت پر ترجیح،

 اپنے حقیر و موہوم مفاد کے لئے دوسروں کے حقوق کی پامالی اور حق تلفی،

 شریعت کو زندگی کے تمام شعبوں میں جاری و ساری نہ کرنے کی عادت،

 رسوم و مظاہر کو حقائق و جواہر پر مقدم رکھنا اور ان کی احکام الہی کی طرح تعمیل کرنا ہے۔

 

(حیات مصلح الامت رح، ص3)