Imam Abu Hamid al-Ghazali (may Allah have mercy on him) said,
‘Useful knowledge is that which,
makes you grow in the fear of Allah,
increases you in awareness of your defects,
deepens your knowledge of worship of your Lord Most High,
decreases your desire for this world and increases your desire for the life to come, and
opens your eyes to the defects of your actions so that you can guard against them.’
The esteemed scholar Ibn Qudama al-Maqdisi (may Allah have mercy on him) said,
‘If you are tested by acts of disobedience towards Allah, then hasten to repent, ask for His forgiveness and express your regret. Weep for your errors for you do not know how many of them you have.’
Al-Wasiyyah, page 40
An individual enthusiastically informed Arif-billah Dr. Abdul Hayy Arifi (may Allah have mercy on him) that by Allah’s grace he had attained the station of Ihsan. That is, worshipping Allah as though you see Him and if that is not possible then as though He sees you.
Shaykh Arifi (qaddas sirrahu) congratulated and encouraged him. And then inquired that if this ihsan was attained only in prayers (salah) or it was also present at other times, like dealing with house hold members, especially wife.
The individual looked in bewilderment at Shaykh and informed that he thought this ihsan was only meant to be limited to prayers and ritual worship.
Shaykh Arifi explained to the audience in detail that this is a common mistake. We tend to limit deen to formal acts of worship (Ibadaat). Our all other activities seem to be independent of the fact that each and every moment of our life we are as much a slave of Allah as in prayers and other worship.
The genuine ihsan is perpetual. The slave is aware that he is being watched and he will be accountable for whatever he does. Hence, he has utmost respect and does not do any thing inappropriate. Remember this is an intentional and a voluntary act of thinking.
As per instruction of Sayyidi wa sanadi Shaykh Mawlana Muhammad Taqi Usmani sahib (Allah SWT preserve him & allow us to benefit from him abundantly. Ameen) setting aside an allocated time every day to think repeatedly that: ‘I am in front Allah SWT & He is watching me’, is essential for achieving it. It becomes a habit in second nature only by doing it repeatedly. Practice makes perfect. Gradually it becomes almost like an instinctive performance, like breathing or drinking.
Wa ma taufiqi ilabillahi!
Hakim al-Umma Shaykh Ashraf Ali Thanawi (may Allah have mercy on him) said,
‘Actions that diminish sufferings and hardships include:
– Recalling your transgressions (sin)
– Reminding yourself of the reward/compensation on hardships
– Reflecting that in hardship there is test of faith(’eman). That is, it analyzes if there is faith present or not.
– Remembering, it causes a state of overwhelming slave-hood (abdiyat). The dirt of self-assertion, arrogance and pride is cleansed. The reality of one’s being is revealed and the person realizes not to make any boastful claims.
– Bringing to mind that it causes one to perceive the supremacy and grandeur of Allah’s actions and one’s own feebleness.
Hence, hardships result in increasing slave hood(abdiyat).
And the abdiyat is a very distinguished state (maqam).”
Ma’asir Hakeemul Ummat, page 390-1
North Myrtle Beach, SC
Hakim al-Umma Sahykh Mawlana Ashraf Ali Thanawi (may Allah have mercy on him) said:
“Goal and objective are the maqamaat [stations: i.e. acquiring patience (saber), thankfulness (shukur), sincerity (ikhlas), etc. and getting rid of envy, arrogance, anger, etc.] and not the ahwal (temporary overwhelming emotional states).
This is because the former are voluntary (can be acquired by one’s effort) and the latter are involuntary (occur sponateously irrespective of one’s effort).”
Malfuzat
Rockville, MD/Washington DC
My respected father Cdr. Shaukat Kamal (may Allah have mercy on him) wrote,
‘Every friday I gather my family after asr salah and discuss religious matters with them. I am using your books and (Hakim al-Umma’s) Bahishti zewar for assistance. I feel that this activity is most beneficial for myself.
Sayyidi wa sanadi Shaykh Mawlana Mohammad Taqi Usmani (may Allah preserve him) replied,
‘The real intention (in these sort of activities) should be self benefit, indeed.’
Walid sahib kay Islahi khutoot, page 10
سیدی و سندی حضرت مولانا محمد تقی عثمانی صاحب مدظلہم العالی
Hakim al-Umma Mawlana Ashraf Ali Thanawi [may Allah have mercy on him] said in reference to the following verse of Holy Quran,
When Allah, the One and Only, is mentioned, the hearts of those who believe not in the Hereafter are filled with disgust and horror; but when [gods] other than He are mentioned, behold, they are filled with joy!
“Similar to it is the condition of some ignorant claimants of tasawwuf. That is, at the mention of pure tawheed they are sickened. And [are delighted to] do istighatha [calling for help] with awliya.”
Tawheed is one of the essential muqamat [stations] in Tasawwuf.
[Masail al-Sulook min Kalam Malik al-Malook, p.468]
Hakim al-Umma Shaykh Mawlana Ashraf Ali Thanawi (may Allah have mercy on him) said:
“The relationship between a Sheikh and a mureed is exactly like that between a physician and a patient.
If a person acknowledges being a patient of a certain physician and that physician agrees to it, would this contract by itself result in cure of all ailments of that person?
Never!
Therapeutic intervention will be needed.
Its method is to inform the physician of the illness in detail (get diagnosed and receive treatment).
It can not be achieved by just sitting in the company of physician silently for few hours daily without informing him of the illness and getting a prescription.
No one does this.
Moreover, people repeatedly tell the physician in specific details their condition. Even if the doctor acknowledges understanding them, they insist to repeat the details fearing some vital information may have been missed.
But it is distressful for the miserable Sheikh. No one tells him regarding their batini (esoteric) ailments (requesting treatment). It is assumed that he himself will tell what diseases you suffer from and treat them without your request. …….. Even if he were to have kashaf (unveiling) without you asking for treatment specifically, he will never impose it on you. Why would he care if you show such an attitude. You need his services (for cure), he does not need you.”
Waaz: Rahat-ul-quloob; Mawaiz e Ashrafiya volume 22, page 261
Masih al-Quloob Shaykh Masihullah Khan (may Allah have mercy on him) said,
‘As you say Allah o akbar (God is great) when starting the prayers (salah) be certain of your own minuteness and insignificance.’
Arifbillah Shaykh Dr Abdul Hayy (may Allah have mercy on him) said;
‘Reading or discussing something repeatedly usually results in recalling it when its need arises.
At that moment one needs spiritual determination to act according to it. Doing such for some time eventually leads to the creation of an instinctive inclination for acting so without effort.
Malfoozar e Arifi 167
حضرت مفتی محمد شفیع رحمۃ اللہ علیہ
Sayyidi wa sanadi Shaykh Mawlana Mohamamd Taqi Usmani (may Allah preserve him) said,
‘Sayidina Umar al-Farooq (may Allah be pleased with him) had himself heard the Prophet (Allah’s blessing and peace be upon him) say that, ‘Umar will be in Paradise’.
However, his state was such that he used to ask Sayidina Huzaifa (may Allah be pleased with him) to inform him if his name was amongst the list of hypocrites (munafiqeen) confided to him by the Prophet (Allah’s blessing and peace be upon him) .
Moreover, he told Sayidina Abu Musa al-Ashari (may Allah be pleased with him) that he wished he receives reward only for those actions done within the lifetime of the Prophet and those that were done afterwards are just condoned, without any reward or punishment.
This is the thinking of an individual who has heard the glad tidings of Paradise.
(We must question) Why?
The fact is his concern about himself. That is, certainly at that time the Prophet gave this glad tidings but it is possible that his condition has changed since then. He is afraid of this change.
Why have this fear (of change and deterioration in our state) vanished from ourselves?
Why aren’t we concerned (about the change and deterioration in our state)?
How are we free of this fear and self satisfied on our condition?’
Bayan: 5th February 2009, after ‘asr, Qari Rafiq’s residence, Jeddah.
