Our master Umar bin Abdul Aziz (Allah have mercy on him) said,
Taqwa of Allah does not consist of prayer by night or fasting by day, rather taqwa is avoiding what Allah has forbidden and performing what He has commanded; all besides this is goodness upon goodness.
Kifayatul Atqiya
Hakim al Umma Maulana Ashraf Ali Thanwi (Allah have mercy on him) said,
‘The second requirement for (true) repentance is leaving all sinful involvement immediately.
This can not be done without determination and self control (himmat).
The only way to develop this determination and self control is the company (suhba) of pious and saintly individuals and reading or listening about them.’
Tahseel Qasd is Sabeel, page 16
Shaikh Yusuf Gada khalifa of Shaikh Naseerud Deen Chiragh-e-Dehli khalifa of Mehboob-e-Ilahi Shaikh Nizam ud Deen auliya (Allah have mercy on them)
Baba Fareed ud Deen Masud Ganjshakar (Allah have mercy on him) said,
‘Spiritual progress lies in discipline of soul and purification of inner life not in the mechanical performance of prayers.
If marifa (Gnosis) is desired then anger, jealousy and hatred should be completely wiped out from the heart. ‘
K A Nizami’s ‘The life and times of Shaikh Fareed ud Deen Ganjshakar rehmatullah aleh’
Vivanta Taj, Rebak, Langkawi, Malaysia
Baba Fareed ud Deen Masud Ganjshakar (Allah have mercy on him) said,
‘Knowledge should in its wake bring humility, sympathy and understanding. If it created arrogance and pride then it defeated its own purpose.
The aim of acquiring knowledge of religious law (ilm e Shariat) is to act upon it and not to harass people. ‘
K A Nizami’s ‘The life and times of Shaikh Fareed ud Deen Ganjshakar’ rehmatullah aleh
Vivanta Taj, Rebak, Langkawi, Malaysia
Baba Fareed ud Deen Masud Ganjshakar (Allah have mercy on him) (d:664H/1266CE) is one of the Masters of our path (tareeq).
Following are some of his blessed sayings,
1. Do not fulfill the desires of your nafs. The more you comply greater it will still demand.
2. Whenever an affliction strikes you consider it to be the retribution of your wrongdoings.
3. Groom your inner-self (batin) more than your outward appearance.
4. Aspire for more spiritual progress every day.
5. Do good to others considering that you are doing good to yourself.
6. Whatever your heart dislikes (in permissible things) leave it immediately.
7. Be in search of excuses to do good actions.
8. Be afraid of the individual who fears you.
9. From all the spiritual struggles controlling one’s sexual desires is the most required
10. If you are rich then be a philanthropist
11. There is nothing more valuable than time.
12. Be critical of your own deficiencies
13. If you want to avoid humiliation then do not ask for anything
14. If you want to turn whole mankind against yourself then become arrogant
15. Defeat the planning of your enemy by consulting him
Shaikh Fareedudeen Masud Ganjshakar rehmatullah: Prof Kalique Nizami, p 535-537
Shaikh Ibn Atallah al-Iskandyari (Allah have mercy on him) said,
Bury your existence in the soil of obscurity, for whatever sprouts forth without having first been buried
blooms imperfectly.
Hikam-11
Shaykh Al-Shabrawi (Allah have mercy on him) said,
The sign that the good is overcoming the evil is that you see yourself inwardly alive with the reality of faith (eman) and outwardly alive with the sharia of Islam. This is to have the inner certainty that everything in existence moves according to the Divine will and by the Divine ability, and yet to remain outwardly active in obedience and far removed from all major sins and most minor ones, whether when amongst people or in solitude.
Degrees of the Soul, p40
Spiritual struggle, doing good and leaving the sinful esoteric and exoteric actions, has been alluded to as greater jihad (jihad e akbar) in classical Sufi texts.
Irrespective of the debate of it being a Prophetic quote (Hadith). Recently I came across a beautiful explanation.
Shaikh Sayyid Shabbir Kakakhel (Allah preserve him) said that the greatness here is due to the time involved in it. The jihad (armed struggle) with an enemy is for a restricted period of time and eventually ends. Whereas, the spiritual struggle is a lifelong, daily constant squabble. It ends only with death.
اندریں راہ می تراش و می خراش
تا دم آخر دمےفارغ مباش
JazakAllah
Saint Augustine of Hippo (354-430 CE) predates Islam.
Shah Wasiullah Allahabadi (Allah have mercy on him) said,
‘The sinners are to an extent cognizant of the mercy of Allah. Whereas the pious worshippers do not even get a random thought of Allah’s mercy. They assume and focus that they will enter the Paradise by their own efforts.
The poor sinner thinks what (efforts) do I have? I rely solely on the Mercy and the beneficence of Allah. And this (in realty) facilitates his dealing (with Allah).
And the issue with the (self sufficient) pious becomes difficult.
Respected Haji (Imdadullah mohajir Makki, Allah have mercy on him) said,
ہے عبادت کا سہارا عابدوں کے واسطے
اور عصائے آہ مجھ بے دست و پا کے واسطے’
Majales Muleh al Ummat, volume 6, page 159
A disciple of Sufi Hameed ud Deen Nagori (Allah have mercy on him) approached him and complained about the overwhelming (thoughts) by Satan (Iblees). That is, he does not allow me to pray two units of salah without causing distress and excessive random thoughts. Please, instruct him not bother me.
The Shaikh replied,
‘My son!
He (Satan) came to me before you came. He was complaining about your condition.
He told me to tell you to abandon the (involvement in unnecessary) worldly affairs. Only then He will not bother you. Moreover he added that if you do not abandon this and continue to desire worldly involvements then you will have to pay as he did himself. That is with his Deen.’
Suroor as sudoor wa noor al badur (Urdu translation), page 323
Hakim al Umma Moulana Ashraf Ali Thanwi (Allah have mercy on him) once mentioned:
‘Nowadays, salvation lies in keeping to oneself and associating less with people. (In this way, one will be able to concentrate on one’s self reformation and be safeguarded from the wrongs of association and company.)
I came across the statement of a pious predecessor in a book wherein he stated that when remaining in seclusion, one should not make the intention that he is doing so in order to be saved from the harms of people. Rather, he should remind himself, “I am like a snake or scorpion that can harm people and therefore I should not associate with them in order to protect them from my harm.”
How cautious indeed were our predecessors and seniors in ensuring that they did not fall into self admiration and other similar sins! ‘
(Malfoozaat Husnul Azeez pg.116 Ihyaauddeen.co.za:Saying of the pious#110)
Prophet (Allah bless him and grant him peace) instructed,
‘O Abu Hurairah ! If you desire not to be separated from my company on the Day of Judgement and eventually enter the Paradise along with me then love me in way that you can not forget me.
And remember that if you love me then you will not abandon three things,
1. Following my example (Sunna)
2. Longing for me
3. Sending salutations (salwaat) on me excessively. ‘
Fatuhaat Makkiya, volume 37 chapter 560, page 121