Category Archives: B. Praise worthy morals

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

Never be negligent

The very first advice sayyidi wa sanadi Hadhrat Mawlana Mohammad Taqi Usmani (may Allah preserve him) gave to a murid while giving him permission to instruct others,

“Never be negligent of your own self’s reformation (islah) effort.”

Hedayat bara-ay mujazeen

That is, the first and foremost in importance is my own self-reformation. Do not be missed led by Shaytan and nafs that I have graduated and now my primary concern is to do reformation of others.

This is a very common mistake.

Readers of the biographies of piously elders are well aware of the fact that how deligent they were in keeping their own self on tract. At the slightests indication of a slip they would jump and make amendments.

May Allah give us the tawfiq to do this also. Amin!

Manhattan, New York

Watchout for the demand of the moment

Sayyidi wa sanadi Hadhrat Mawlana Mohammad Taqi Usmani (may Allah preserve him) has instructed on multiple occasions,

“Do not be trapped in the dreamworld of fulfillment of your own desires even in the sphere of religion.

Be the son of the moment (ibn al-waqt). That is, do as each and every moment demands from you. For example, if there is a blessing be thankful to Allah, if there is a mistake repent, if there is hardship be patient and if there is fear ask refuge, etc.

This is servitude (abudiyet).”

IDSA, Washington DC

The company of the pious

Sayyidi wa sanadi Hadhrat Mawlana Mohammad Taqi Usmani (may Allah preserve him) read aloud an excerpt from a letter of a seeker,

‘How is it possible to achieve self annihilation (fana), especially when anger and arrogance is manifested in all daily interactions?’

And then read the answer he had written,

“As per the sayings of the elders this is only possible by being in the service of the pious with extreme humility, self-negation and readiness to perform as being instructed. That is as per Urdu proverb, being the dust under his shoe (paiymal hona).

However, when this is not possible their biographies, discourse and other works can be a substitute for this to some degree.”

Malfoozat e Kamalat e Usmani, Ramadhan 1429

New York, NY

Categories of love

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

‘There are two categories of love,

1. The intellectual and

2. The emotional

Of these it is essential to acquire the intellectual one. That is, being obedient in following the commands of the beloved by annihilating one’s desires and determinations by giving priority to none except them.

Whereas the emotional love, that is being attracted, having fascination and yearning is beyond one’s volition and control and therefore, not an essential requirement to be accquired.

The one that we are required to have is the intellectual love that is within our control.’

Ardha e Haqq, Mawaiz Ashrafiya, volume 15, page 62

P.S. It is essential to understand that, Hakim al-Umma is not downgrading the category of emotional love. The message is to take control and acquire what is within one’s reach. InshaAllah, eventually the blessings of obedience will bring the (true) emotional component along. Also, it is reminder to us that only emotional love without obedience is deficient and unflattering.

In order to achieve sincerity!

Instructing us on how to achieve sincerity (ikhlas)sayyidi wa sanadi Hadhrat Mawlana Mohammad Taqi Usmani (may Allah preserve him) said,

“It is imperative for the seeker to renew and reaffirm his intention (niyyah) prior to each and every act he performs.”

Ramadhan 1429, Daul Uloom Karachi, post-dhur dars

Advice at condolence 3

On their way to mosque for magrib salah one of the sons of Hadhrat Shaukat Kamal (may Allah have mercy on him) told sayyidi wa sanadi Hadhrat Mawlana Mohammad Taqi Usmani (may Allah preserve him), “After the demise of my respected father I have this feeling that I did not appreciate him enough during his life. I was negligent in fulfilling his rights.”

Hadhrat acknowledged this and said,

“This feeling is nothing inappropriate. ‘Qader e ni’mat ba’d az zawal’ (One truly appreciates a blessing only when it is gone forever) is a well known axiom.

However, all praise is for Allah, that even now you can be of assistance to him in his after-life by doing esal e thawab and making supplication (dua) for him as much as possible.”

26th Sha’ban 1429/29th August 2008

Advice at condolence 2

Sayyidi wa sanadi Hadhrat Mawlana Mohammad Taqi Usmani (may Allah preserve him) instructed the widow of his very close deceased murid/khalifa Hadhrat Shaukat Kamal (may Allah have mercy on him) from behind a partition,

“No doubt the loss is great but you must be patient. Remember that being sad, hearbroken and even crying is not in opposition to the patience (sabr) required by Shariah. Moreover, it is the right of the beloved deceased to miss him and grieve. The only thing that has to be avoided is to criticize and oppose the decree of Allah, Most High.”

JazakAllah!

DHA, residence, 26th Sha’ban 1429/29th August 2008, after maghrib

Advice at condolence 1

Sayyidi wa sanadi Hadhrat Mawlana Mohammad Taqi Usmani (may Allah preserve him) instructed the sons of his very close deceased murid/khalifa Hadhrat Shaukat Kamal (may Allah have mercy on him),

“Take special care of your mother. Acknowledge how precious her existence is now. Make sure to keep her content and comfortable.

This is especially so that with time the sorrow of other relatives of the deceased wanes away but that of the spouse does not. In contrary it increases with age and time.

Also, he encouraged them to do esal e thawab as much as possible for the deceased by praying, reading Holy Quran, giving charity, etc.”

JazakAllah!

DHA, residence, 26th Sha’ban 1429/29th August 2008, around maghrib

Conditions for esal e thawab

In the earlier part of his life Hakim al-Umma Mawlana Ashraf Ali Thanawi (may Allah have mercy on him) used to teach at the Islamic seminary (darul uloom) in Kanpur.

One day students entered the class to find him sitting there obliviously very sad. The signs of melancholy and sorrow were clearly evident on his face. The students were concerned and respectfully inquired what was the reason for this unusual demeanor. Hakim al-Umma informed them that he had just received the news of demise of his eldest sister. Students felt sad and requested him to postpone teaching session for that day. Hakim al Umma told them that he had come to teach as usual. However, seeing the sadness of their teacher students insisted and requested that instead of the usual daily class they wanted to recite the Holy Quran and forward its reward to the deceased muslimah. After much insistence Hakim al-Umma accepted their plea on three conditions,

Firstly, they would not recite the Holy Quran sitting together. It will be done individually and in private.

Secondly, every participant was to recite whatever amount was possible for him with ease. Half or quarter juz (section) or even sura iklas (chapter112) three time would be fine.

 Thirdly, after recitation no one should inform how much he recited.

Hakim al-Umma enforced these conditions to ensure absolute sincerity in the recitation. It is well established that the reward of good deed is based on the sincerity (ikhlas) with which it is done. Actions devoid of sincerity are worthless and there is no benefit in forwarding its reward to others.

Issue like social coercing, show-off and undue hardship on those involved essentially destroys the sincerity altogether.

Reality of love

 

Baba Najam Ahsan (may Allah have mercy on him) said,

“Love increases, eventually to a stage that its sensation annihilates and it is assimilated into the entity of beloved. (That is, our feelings & emotions (hal) undergo metamorphosis and the state (maqam) of keeping the beloved really happy emerges.)

I provide a few simple examples to make it understandable. Perceive it in your self (assuming that you are a perfectly content couple), neither do you verbalize your love for your wife nor does she articulates it for you, whereas in reality you both are true soul mates. (Your attitude and interaction towards each other is demonstrative of this love, more than the speech.)

Similarly, it is not essential for an individual to put into words feelings of love for his/her mother. (Your appreciation and affection are evident by your behavior and interactions.)

The blessed Companions (may Allah be pleased with them) were similarly immersed in the love of Prophet (Allah bless him and grant him peace) to such an extent that its feelings (verbalization and emotional expression) were gone, leaving them only with their awareness of servitude (bandagi). (Their ‘love’ was to perform with utmost sincerity all that is agreeable and abstain from all that is disagreeable to the beloved. Their goal was to keep the beloved well pleased.)

Zikr e Ahsan ra, page 198

We should reflect on this and examine ourselves!

What kind of love, if any do we have for Allah, His Beloved Prophet and friends?

Do our emotional feelings rule this realtionship or the pleasure of one whom we claim to love does so?

Excessive supplication

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Sayyidi wa sanadi Mawlana Mohammad Taqi Usmani (may Allah preserve him) was performing Umrah.

At each and every step he supplicated at length with utmost serenity, humility and servitude.

In the prayers after the tawaf (wajib ut-tawaf) his ruku and sujood were longer than usual. During sai’i he recited the supplications from Munajat e Mabool. However, at stops on Safa and Marwa he made dua at length in Urdu.

At the end of the Umrah rituals he made another very comprehensive supplication audible to those immediately besides him on Marwa.

All praise is for Allah, he did not miss a single moment without being in contact with Allah, Most High during the whole process. Moreover,  numerous individuals and few of his students on recognizing him came to greet him and asked for prayers for themselves. Again providing an opportunity to call upon Allah.

May Allah give us the ability (tawfiq) to learn from this. Amin!

The real karama

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Arif billah Shaykh Dr. Abdul Hayy Arifi (may Allah ahve mercy on him) said,

“Once I inquired a pious person that these days we do not see saints similar to those who performed extra-ordinary feats (karama) anymore.

He replied that saints who had this blessing had always been very few in each era. Most likely you have read a book that compiled many such incidents of pious individuals. And now you are misled to believe that all Shaykhs must have this capability.

Remember in previous days the karama was in matter (maadi) and hence, it was visible to others. Nowadays it is in essence (manawi).

These days any company (suhba) that leads one to do good deeds, cleanse inner self (batin from moral corruption) and make rememberance of Allah is a karama.

A company like this is achieved by true yearning (talub). If you sincerely desire this, than be reassured that individuals like this are always present in each era.”

Khutbat e Arifi, Idarae Talefat e Ashrafiya, Multan, page 164

Ramadhan and ta’aluq ma’Allah

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A murid requested sayyidi wa sanadi Hadhrat Mawlana Mohammad Taqi Usmani (may Allah preserve him) to consider a programme for the ‘itekaf (seclusion) in the last 10 days of Ramadhan. He elaborated that it will be of utmost benifit for the murideen. They will be in the company of their Shaykh and pious fellow seekers, able to better utilize their time in worship and listen to spiritual discourses gaining the essential understanding of religion and learning the arts of its application in personal life.

Hadhrat listened to it attentively and then commented,
“It is a very good idea. However, eventually people involved in this will lose focus and it will take a form of a religious carnival. This has happened a lot in our history. Things start simply but over time they are elevated to be akin to essential and compulsory actions (faraidh, wajibat).

The blessed moments of Ramadhan are not for communal activities. They are to establish and reinforce one’s relationship directly with Allah, Most High. This is best achieved in seclusion. That is the reason it is best to perform all the supererogatory (nafil) worship in private.  Where the slave (abd) is in front of his Lord alone, acknowledging his short comings, asking for forgiveness, thanking for the bounties, seeking protection from all that is discomforting and begging for the burning desire of his heart. That is, Allah’s pleasure in the exact foot steps of His Beloved Prophet!”

Jeddah International airport, May 2005